46At the same time that the Dragon Riders were preparing to fly to Berk, Camicazi was concentrating very hard on not falling to her death. It had been one thing to sit behind Hiccup and let him steer them peacefully through the sky. Hiccup made this whole dragon-flying thing look easy. Actually taking the reins and flying by herself on her own bat-winged lizard was another thing entirely.
Another gust of frigid air lifted her from the saddle with a barely-repressed shriek. She only saved herself from being carried away by clinging to the pommel with both hands. The Dragon Riders did this every day? She'd have to give them a little more credit. Just not being killed by their own flying death machines was an accomplishment in itself.
"Did you say something, Cami?" Hiccup turned in the saddle to look back at her. He must have heard her cry out.
"Nope, all good!" she said cheerfully, privately envious of how at home he looked on the back of his dragon. She'd never once doubted Hiccup's value as a Viking, but she had to admit that he'd been a distinctly…awkward child. For a few years there he hadn't seemed able to take three steps in a row without tripping. Now she wondered if it was because he just wasn't meant to be stuck on the ground. Up here, his long limbs and skinny frame weren't gangly. Even his missing foot (something Cami still wasn't used to seeing) wasn't a handicap, but the thing that connected Hiccup and his dragon into one whole being. They commanded the sky as easily as her mother commanded the sea. It was awesome to watch.
Especially now that Cami knew how cursed hard this was! With a groan, she shifted in the saddle for the hundredth time. Stormfly's back was just too broad for her diminuitive frame. They'd also been flying for hours. Cami guessed they'd left Berk not long after midnight, and now she could see dawn peeking over the horizon off to her right. If she weren't so stiff and tired, she might have appreciated the sight.
But stiffness and tiredness weren't enough to slow down the best burglar in the archipelago! If only she could find a better position… she squirmed again, causing Stormfly to squawk and flap her wings in protest. This certainly wasn't the first time she'd annoyed the dragon with her inexpert flying over the long night, but Cami noticed that this time, the indignant flaps weren't as strong. In fact, now that she thought about it she could tell that both dragons were flying a lot slower than they had been before. Cami didn't know much about dragons, but she'd commanded plenty of raiding parties and the people in them. She knew the look of soldiers who'd been pushed to their limit.
"Hiccup?" she shouted over the wind.
He pulled Toothless back to glide next to her. "What is it, Cami?"
Looking at him, Camicazi thought Hiccup could do with some sleep too. His frame was taut, his face anxious. He'd done an admirable job of trying to check in on Cami throughout the flight, but the pace he'd set was relentless. If she didn't know better, it was almost enough to convince her that he actually loved this girl… which would be really unfortunate, because in Cami's eyes, there was no way that Astrid loved him back. Her actions had proved that over and over, hadn't they? Yes, Cami would help free the girl- after all, what Bog-Burglar would pass up the opportunity to break into a real villain's lair and thrash a bunch of bad guys? Plus she'd needed to get out of Berk until her mom and Stoick gave up on this crazy marriage plan of theirs. But really, it was for Hiccup's sake that she'd offered to come. Someone needed to make sure that he didn't kill himself over a girl who would toss his poor, lovesick heart in the slop bucket without a second thought. And who could do that better than Cami? She'd always been there whenever Hiccup needed her, and she wasn't about to let him down now.
Starting with making sure he didn't fall out of the sky. "We've got to stop," she told him bluntly.
"What?" he said, his eyes still trained on the horizon.
"We have to set down and rest," she repeated, nudging Stormfly closer to force Hiccup to pay attention. "We've been up for a whole day now, and the dragons are tired. It's time to regroup."
"No!" Hiccup shook his head as if to banish the sensible suggestion. "Viggo's base is only half a day farther, we can make it!"
"And take him on with exhausted dragons and no sleep?" she asked. Stormfly huffed in agreement. Hiccup looked like he wanted to argue, but Toothless noticed him open his mouth and slapped his cheek with an ear-flap. Cami chuckled as Hiccup glared at his dragon, but was relieved when he sighed in defeat.
"Fine, bud, you're right," he admitted. "I'm just worried about Astrid. I can't help thinking that the longer we wait, the worse it's going to be."
Cami restrained herself from adding a disparaging comment about Hiccup's misplaced care for the other shieldmaiden. Instead, she put her persuasive skills to work in a coaxing tone. "She can take care of herself, you know that. We might get there and find her sitting on the beach waiting for us." That got a half-smile from Hiccup. "And if we do need to blast our way out of there, we'll need to be in top form. I don't know about you, but I do my best burglarizing after breakfast."
That actually got a small chuckle from him. "All right, Cami, you win. As usual," he sighed. Camicazi grinned.
"And don't you forget it," she replied with a large smile. She pointed out a forested island with a pond just visible from the air a few ship-lengths to their left. "Does that look like a good place to camp?"
Hiccup didn't reply, but nudged Toothless toward the place she'd indicated. Just before he turned aside, though, Cami saw a look of absolute misery cross his face. Somehow, she had a feeling that Hiccup wasn't going to get any rest at all.
"Cami. Don't. Move." Cami hardly recognized the voice that called her from sleep. But she knew immediately that this voice - low, controlled, hard with authority - was to be obeyed. She froze exactly as she was curled on her side, only opening her eyes the tiniest crack.
It was full day now, the sunlight blinding to her sleep-adjusted eyes. From the awkward angle of her head she could only see a bit of grass, their dead campfire, and Toothless. The Night Fury was standing a good 20 feet away, teeth bared and growling low in his throat. What was going on? Toothless wasn't growling at her, was he? "Tooth-" she tried to call out.
"Quiet!" the authoritative voice snapped. It came from her left, which she couldn't see without turning her head. But there was only one person it could be, right?
"Hiccup, wh-" she said, a bit more quietly. Then she heard something that made her blood run cold. A snort… from directly above. As slowly and silently as she could, she rolled a quarter turn onto her back.
To stare directly into the snout of a large blue dragon.
Camicazi prided herself on being able to remain ready for anything. Pirates, avalanches, sea serpents - she'd looked on all of them with a calm eye. Still, she didn't think anyone could blame her for being a bit… startled… to wake from a sound sleep to find a wild dragon standing directly over her. Her eyes began to dart to the sides in panic.
"Cami, you've got to listen to me, okay?" Hiccup's voice sounded tense. "First thing you've got to do is to close your eyes."
"Close my eyes?! Are you insane?" Cami snapped back. There was a dragon standing over her, for Thor's sake! She wasn't about to lay down and let it finish her off!
"You've got to trust me, Cami! Just do it!" Hiccup shouted, impatience and command in his voice. She didn't want to anger him, but really? Did he even see the mess she was in?
She looked up to study her foe. The dragon had a long snout, steeply upturned at the tip, and long, wavy, tentacle-like protrusions coming from the crest of its head. The teeth, she noted with considerable concern, were very long and sharp, poking out all along the dragon's bottom jaw. Its body was a uniform pale blue, and currently, its wings were outstretched so far that from her prone position Cami couldn't see past them on either side. But none of these things were so intriguing as the beast's eyes. They stood up prominently from the top of the dragon's head, and they were focused tightly on hers. In fact, Cami realized that now that she'd met those eyes, it was hard to look away. They pulled her in, fascinating her. Her body relaxed without conscious thought.
"Cami!" Hiccup's voice screamed from off to her left. It seemed more distant, somehow. "Cami, close your eyes!"
"Huh?" she asked, a little sluggishly. Why would she want to close her eyes? If she closed her eyes, she wouldn't be able to see the mesmerizing kaleidoscope of blue orbs that was looking back at her. It was so soothing, to keep gazing up and see nothing but blue… blue…
"CAMICAZI! CLOSE. YOUR. EYES!"
That tone was something she'd never heard before. It wasn't just authoritative, it was… powerful? She had to do what it said. With enormous effort, she forced her eyelids shut.
Immediately, the spell the dragon had placed on her broke. Her fear and anger returned with a rush, and with her eyes tightly shut, she began groping for her swords.
"No!" The voice again. Somewhere inside her knew this had to still be Hiccup's voice, but another part of her didn't want that to make sense. Hiccup was a smart, goofy, and loyal kid, but he didn't have this level of confidence. He'd never been this competent in a crisis, or as fully in command of himself as he was now. He'd always needed her to protect him. Now, her very life depended on him protecting her.
She didn't like it.
"Don't attack him, Cami! He's just scared!" Hiccup cried.
Cami nearly opened her eyes to glare at her friend. "He's scared? You mean the dragon?" she asked, incredulous. "It tried to bewitch me!"
"Changewings can hypnotize their victims to try to prevent them from attacking. But if he really wanted to hurt you, he would have shot you with acid already," Hiccup tried to explain.
"Shot me with what?" Cami asked. "If you're trying to make me feel better, Hiccup, let me tell you it is. Not. Working!" Again, she thrust her hand under her back to feel for her swords. She had no idea what the dragon was doing, but she couldn't stay in this blind, vulnerable position forever.
"Sorry, sorry!" Hiccup said. "The point is, this Changewing hasn't attacked you, or me, or Toothless! So please, just don't hurt him and trust me!"
The pleading in his voice was raw and full of emotion. He really was worried. But was he worried for her, or the dragon? Maybe both? But he had saved her from being hypnotized, and he seemed to really know what he was talking about. He was in his element here, just like he'd been in the sky. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel it - this was a Hiccup she'd never known before. And she had told her mother just yesterday that she trusted Hiccup and Stoick. Now was her moment to prove it.
"Okay, Hiccup," she said. "I trust you."
"Good," he said, the relief audible in his voice. "Now, this is going to sound crazy, but I promise it's going to work out fine." Cami braced herself, eyes still tightly shut. "I need you to throw your swords as far away as possible."
"What?" Cami asked. He wanted her to get rid of her only weapons? Did he want to get her killed?
"Cami, please!" he said. "Pull them out nice and slow, and then as soon as they're free slide them away as hard as you can. Do not pick them up, understand? And keep your eyes closed!"
She swallowed hard. Trust Hiccup to make it so hard to, well, trust him! But she'd promised. "Okay, Hiccup." She gripped the hilts of each sword under her back. "One… two… three!"
Slowly, agonizingly, she pulled the swords free from under her. She could practically feel the dragon's eyes boring into hers, but try as she might she didn't feel the dragon's move. Maybe it really didn't mean to kill her? Finally, the tips of the swords cleared their sheaths. "Ready, Hiccup!" she said.
"Slide them, now! Straight above your head!" came the immediate reply. With a prayer to Odin, Cami swung both arms above her head and thrust with all her might. The swords were forced away from both herself and the dragon looming over her. The deed done, she flinched in anticipation of the fatal strike.
It didn't come. Curiosity burning, she finally cracked her eyelids. The dragon was still there, and still looking at her, but the intensity of the gaze had changed. The eyes no longer caught hers. Instead, it cocked its head slightly. Was it… puzzled? Did dragons get puzzled?
"Thank Thor," said Hiccup with fervor. "Okay, here's the next thing we're going to do."
Taking a calculated risk, Cami turned her head to finally look at her friend. What she saw nearly made her gasp in surprise. Hiccup stood about 10 feet away, outlined impressively against the bright blue sky. His arms were open, apparently to show the dragon that he carried no weapon, but that didn't stop him from giving off a distinct air of competence. His face was hard, confident, determined - the face of a general, not a boy. His back was straight, his movements assured, not hunched over as she often remembered him as a kid trying to remain inconspicuous. This was Hiccup in command.
"Cami?" he asked. Her mind snapped back to their situation, which wasn't even close to over yet. But she would never forget that moment when she first saw a glimpse of the chief that Hiccup would become.
"Uh huh," she replied. She sneaked a glance up at the dragon once more. It hadn't moved a muscle, but something in its demeanor had changed. She thought it might just have relaxed a trifle.
"You showed him we're not a threat, and that's good," Hiccup said. "Now, we're going to get you out of there."
"How?" Cami asked, although by this point she was sure her friend had a plan.
"I'm going to distract him. As soon as I give the signal, sneak over to Toothless. He'll be able to protect you if we spook the Changewing," he said.
"Wait, what do you mean, spook-"
"It's just a precaution!" Hiccup interrupted hurriedly. "You made sure he's relaxed now. Chances are that he'll just fly away."
"Okay," Cami said, feeling like this plan left too much to chance for her comfort. "And how do I sneak away?"
"What? Are you a Bog-Burglar or are you not?" came the incredulous answer.
Immediately, she felt her back straighten. She was a Bog-Burglar! The most talented burglar in her tribe. This was just another exercise in stealth and infiltration, a getaway mission. She could do this in her sleep. "Got it!" she cried with renewed confidence.
"Okay, one… two…" Instead of "three," Cami heard a trilling whistle. It didn't seem much different than a bird call to her, but the Changewing's attention snapped over to Hiccup immediately. Cami didn't wait for an invitation. As quickly and noiselessly as she'd ever moved, she rolled out from under the dragon's feet. That's all stealth was, really: a combination of speed, silence, and misdirection. Who knew those same tricks worked on dragons? In an instant she'd scampered to duck behind Toothless's wing. Just the feel of his warm, friendly body made her sigh in relief. Then, because she wanted to actually see the beast that had trapped her, she peeked over the top of the wing to observe the scene.
Hiccup had, apparently, ducked behind a boulder on that side of the clearing because he was nowhere to be seen. As Cami watched, the dragon appeared to give up on Hiccup as well and turned his snout back to the spot where the girl had been moments before. Cami nearly laughed aloud at the dragon's clear reaction of surprise when his eyes met only scuffed earth. He turned his long neck back and forth, obviously looking for Cami. And suddenly, for reasons she couldn't quite explain, Cami wanted to reveal herself. She stepped out from behind Toothless's wing to face the dragon.
This time, when their eyes met, Cami felt something different. The dragon didn't try to hypnotize her or attack. Instead, if dragons capable of such a thing, Cami might have called the emotion in the dragon's eyes respect. He stared at her in fascination. Cami stared back, a little pleased with herself that her stealth skills seemed to have impressed a dragon. Then suddenly, with what Cami swore was a dragon smile, the dragon vanished into thin air.
"Wh-what? You saw that, right?" she gasped in surprise. Hiccup emerged from behind his boulder, and he was, unbelievably, laughing. Didn't he know how closely she'd just escaped death at the hands of a dragon who'd simply disappeared?
"I told you, that was a Changewing," Hiccup explained, walking over to her and Toothless. "They can change their scales to blend in with any environment. I guess you could call them the Bog-Burglars of the dragon world," he joked. Then he sobered. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm… how did you do that?" Cami burst out.
"Do what?" Hiccup's eyebrows creased in puzzlement.
"That!" Cami waved her arm in the direction of the spot where the dragon had been. "You knew what… and the dragon just… you saved my life!" she sputtered.
"Don't tell me that's the first time someone's saved your life," Hiccup said casually. He opened Toothless's saddlebag to take out a canteen and small spit. "Things must be awfully tame on Bog-Burglar Island."
"Well, it's the first time you've saved it," she retorted. Privately, Hiccup's unconcerned tone made her wonder how many times he'd needed someone to save his life. "How did you know that would work?"
"I told you, we've learned a lot about dragons these past few years," he said. "That little guy was just an adolescent, you saw how small he was."
"Small?" Cami asked in disbelief. Hiccup smiled and began to set the spit up over their little campfire.
"I'm guessing he must have just left his mother. Full grown Changewings are MUCH bigger," he said. "And he's obviously lost, poor guy. Changewings are usually pack animals, and they don't stray far from their island alone. That's why I didn't think he would hurt you. All he wanted to do was make sure we weren't going to hurt him." The spit up, Hiccup began to stack fresh firewood underneath.
Cami stared. "You got all that from looking at a dragon that was a hands-length away from eating me alive?" Hiccup grinned and shrugged.
"Well, you know, we don't call ourselves the Dragon Riders for nothing," he drawled. "We've gotten to learn a lot about them. We even trained a Changewing a few years back. Well, kinda," he amended. "She didn't stick around too long, but she did help us in a sea battle."
"You trained one of those dragons?" Cami's eyes bulged as she pointed to the spot where the blue Changewing had disappeared. "You got to ride one?" Her mind immediately sprang into a vivid fantasy of herself riding the dragon. She soared through the air, then vanished in the blink of an eye, her dragon turning invisible in mid-air. She could see sky above and below, and she was riding the sky, a master of stealth among the clouds.
Hiccup's answer brought her back down to Midgard with a pop. "No, I didn't ride her. To actually ride on a dragon, you need to show them that they can trust you. You need to make a bond." He beckoned Toothless over, and the black dragon gleefully bounded to his friend's side. Just before Toothless reached him, however, Hiccup gestured for him to stop. Then the boy looked at Camicazi. "Like this," he said. He put up one hand, palm out, and turned his face aside. It left him completely exposed to whatever the dragon wanted to do to him - if Toothless wanted to bite that hand off, Hiccup couldn't possibly stop him in time. It was a gesture of absolute trust. Cami could hardly imagine leaving herself vulnerable like that with a wild dragon like the Changewing. And Hiccup had done it with a Night Fury?
"You figured that out all by yourself?" she asked, incredulous. Hiccup chuckled.
"Of course not," he said, turning his head to face Toothless again. The Night Fury happily bumped his forehead into Hiccup's outstretched palm, and for a moment the picture they made took Cami's breath away. They were two halves of a whole. "I had Toothless."
Toothless grinned, and Hiccup dropped his hand to return his attention to the wood pile. Cami shook her head. "I knew you were clever, Hiccup, but…" she trailed off, making Hiccup pause in his wood stacking to look curiously at her.
"But…what?" he asked, almost nervously.
"It's just…" she thought about how he'd handled himself, a clear leader, and how he'd navigated a perilous situation through to the end with no harm to either side. Cami was sure her own mother, one of the best chieftains in Bog-Burglar history, couldn't have done what Hiccup had just accomplished.
He really had changed.
She met his eyes, a little chagrined. "It's just that if this is what your friends see in you every day, it's no wonder they follow you," she finally admitted. "I'm sorry I doubted them, Hiccup."
Hiccup looked taken aback, then exchanged a quick glance with Toothless, who smiled a gummy smile. When he looked back up at Camicazi, the boy's smile could light up the entire archipelago. "Thank you, Cami," he said, depth in his voice. A beat passed, then Hiccup broke the awkward silence with a change of subject. "So, you ready for breakfast?"
"Breakfast?" Cami asked, startled. "What in Thor's name do we have to eat?"
Hiccup flashed her a grin, and then roared, literally roared, up to the heavens. Cami jumped back in alarm as the sound echoed around them. "Hiccup, what the-" she started, then stopped as Stormfly bounded into view, her beak full to bursting with freshly-caught fish. Cami could only stare.
"Come on," Hiccup said, gesturing toward the fire. Toothless set the carefully stacked wood ablaze in an instant. "Let's eat, then we fly."
Cami blinked in surprise for a second longer. Then Stormfly dropped her catch on the ground near Hiccup, making Cami glance in that direction. For the briefest of moments, she thought she saw the outline of a pointed dragon snout against the tree to Stormfly's right. She peered around the Nadder to get a better look. Nothing was there.
"Cami?" Hiccup asked. "What's up?"
"I thought I saw…" She allowed herself one last look at the tree, then shook her head and turned away. "Never mind."
AN: Thank you SOOOOO much to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and commented on this story! Your response has been AMAZING and I can't wait to let you see how things turn out. As always, if you have any plot suggestions I'd be happy to take them!
Also, for anyone who is curious the story of Hiccup training a Changewing (and being hypnotized) is actually canon! It's in the graphic novel "The Legend of Ragnarok," which I recently discovered and decided I had to work into the plot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think!