Chapter 44

( A/n: Part 4 of Heather Report part 1 )

Heather was about to leave the house when she saw that Meryl, not only has the book of dragons, but was putting it in a hidden compartment high up in the kitchen.

Heather: ( to Meryl: ) You have the book of dragons? And you keep it in a hidden compartment in your kitchen?

Meryl: It's better than where Hiccup used to keep it. Under his bed. I keep an eye on it, I also use it to help me with learning how to read. Plus Onyx likes to stash books, so I keep it in a hidden compartment just in case he gets the urge to, well, take it and hide it in one of book stashes. It's a Scalewalker thing.

Heather: Stashing books?

Meryl: No, that Onyx. I... stash shiny objects. Each Scalewalker hoards some kind of object or objects.

Heather: I get it.

Meryl then closes the compartment and closes it, but it was left open slightly. She then went out as loud crashes were heard outside.

Meryl: Um, Heather! Stay inside! Evergreen is having a random tantrum. Evergreen, put down that axe!

Once Meryl was out of the house, Heather grabbed a chair and used it to help her reach the hidden compartment the book of dragons is in, she opens the compartment and takes out the book of dragons. She opened it and looked through the pages.

Heather: Gotcha. The Book of Dragons. Monstrous Nightmare...the Gronkle...Egg biter...here we go. The Deadly Nadder. Piercing spines, loyal, powerful-

Astrid: Intelligent, and of course, deadly. That's why they got their name after all.

Heather quickly turned around in surprise and sees Astrid, who was looking at her suspiciously.

Astrid: ( to Heather, with a glare: ) What do you think you're doing?

Heather, panicking, began to back away, bumping the table slightly, which alerted Meryl and her dragons.

Astrid: ( to Heather: ) Well, are you gonna say something?

Meryl walks in and saw that Astrid had Heather backed up, which caused her to think that Astrid was scaring Heather and it caused her instincts to kick in. Meryl, within a blink of an eye, and she glared at Astrid with a slight growl as she stood in front of Heather. Evergreen and Goofball peeked inside and saw the situation.

Meryl: Back off, Astrid! What is wrong with you? Why are you treating Heather like this? She isn't an outcast or something.

Heather: I am so, so sorry, Meryl. I was going to clean up the kitchen, and the book fell out of the compartment and I caught it. I couldn't help myself.

Meryl: It's okay, Heather-

Astrid: It's okay? What do you mean?! Meryl, she's lying! She's reading the book of dragons and trying to use you!

Meryl: ( gives Astrid a warning growl ) Enough, Astrid! It's not a crime to read a book! And she isn't using me! You don't know her, you don't even try to get to know her! She had done nothing wrong!

Evergreen whines as all the arguing was scaring her, Goofball quickly picks her up by the scruff and takes the baby dragon back outside away from the arguing.

Astrid: Nothing wrong?! She has been sneaking around!

Meryl: Sneaking around? What are you talking about?

Astrid: I'm talking about last night. Near my house.

Heather: That was me. I couldn't sleep so... I went for a walk. I was having terrible nightmares.

Meryl: I... I understand-

Astrid: Meryl, you can't be seriously falling for this-

Meryl: ( growls at Astrid with a warning glare ) That's enough, Astrid!

Astrid: ( scoffs ) You're right, Meryl. It is.

Astrid then left, and Meryl lets out a sigh with a bit of sadness in her eyes. Meryl then turns to Heather.

Meryl: I am so sorry you had to see that Heather. I usually have more control.

Heather: No. I'm sorry. I was wrong to look at your book.

Meryl: It's alright, Heather. I trust you. ( Sighs ) I'm just... trying had to act less wild, and... I don't want to scare you or anyone away.

Heather: It's okay. I understand. You don't scare me, sure you are a girl who sorta acts and can turn into a dragon, but that's what makes you cool. I think we should be getting to bed, I did see the page about Scalewalkers and what happens when they don't...

Meryl: Yeah... Don't worry, that'll only happen if we don't turn into a dragon in a number of days.

Heather: But, if it's okay for me to ask, what happens if a Scalewalker stays out of their human body for too long?

Meryl: Oh...

Heather: It's okay if you don't want to tell me...

Meryl: No, it's not that, but, um... When a Scalewalker stays in their dragon body for too long, they slowly begin to lose their memories of being human or a Scalewalker... They will believe that they are just strange dragon with intelligence and the ability to speak like a human. And once they begin to lose their memories, they can't get them back...

Heather: ( gasps ) That's terrible.

Meryl: Yeah... It really is. Let's put the book back where it's safe, Okay?

Heather: Okay.

Meryl then turns around and sees the chair, which caused Heather to freeze up a little.

Meryl: Huh. I don't remember if that was there before or-

Heather: ( a bit nervously: )You left it there after using it to reach the compartment. I was going to put it back, that's when the book fell.

Meryl: Oh. Of course, silly me.

Heather hands Meryl the book of dragons and she lets out a silent sigh of relief.

( Slight Time Skip, with Heather, at the beach )

Heather was on the beach with Savage.

Savage: ( to Heather: ) What have you learned about the dragons and the Scalewalkers?

Heather: I've learned a lot, Savage. But there's something else. Something that's going to make Alvin very happy.

Savage: ( suspicious: ) I'm listening.

Heather: They have a book. A book of dragons. It's got everything Alvin could hope to learn about controlling dragons.

Savage: Where is this book?

Heather: I don't have it. But, I will! I promise. I just...I just need a little more time.

Savage: Alvin isn't known for his patience! He won't be happy having to wait.

Heather: Please! You have to trust me! When I get back to Outcast with that book, the wait will be worth it.

Savage: About the Scalewalkers? What have you learned about them?

Heather was quiet for a moment, as she didn't want to say anything that could risk harming Meryl or Tida, as she had became attached to Meryl and she would never forgive herself if she was the cause of any harm that might come to the toddler if she said anything, but she then remembered something.

Heather: Yes! I know that Alvin had captured a Scalewalker and is planning to execute her in two days, but what if I told you that you could control her like the dragons.

Savage: I'm listening...

Heather: When a Scalewalker is in their dragon body for too long they begin to lose their memories of even being human. You can use that to make her loyal and fight for Alvin. But, to learn more about them you also need the book as well.

Savage didn't say anything else, but he begrudgingly agreed to Heather's terms.

Heather: I better go.

( A few minutes later, with Meryl )

Meryl was in her kitchen as a dragon, cleaning some dishes as a way to ease her quilt for yelling and growling at Astrid in for of Heather and her dragons. When suddenly Astrid bursts in, causing Meryl to almost drop a plate.

Meryl: Astrid! You of all people should know to not sneak up on a Scalewalker! What are you doing?!

Astrid: Saving our butts! I just saw Heather talking to Savage! She's working with the Outcasts!

Meryl: ( to Astrid, with her front talons crossed: ) Okay, Astrid, did the twins trick you into taking dragon nip again? Heather's in her room, sleeping. Evergreen is even in there with her.

Astrid: Oh, yeah? Let's find out.- Wait. Were you doing dishes as a-

Meryl: If you haven't noticed, I ran out of things to do at night as a dragon because I'm trying to get used to not living in the wild anymore. So, yes! I'm doing dishes as a dragon. Don't judge me.

Meryl and Astrid then goes to Heather's room, and opened the door. Heather was in bed, with Evergreen sleeping peacefully beside the bed.

Heather: Hey, guys. Is everything okay?

Meryl sharply turns to Astrid with a slight glare before turning to Heather with a kind smile.

Meryl: Everything's fine, Heather. Go back to sleep, I'm just going to talk to Astrid... ( Closes the door ) ( to Astrid: ) You probably saw something else, Astrid. It is dark out, and last I checked, humans don't have the greatest night vision.

Astrid: I know what I saw. The girl is not who you think she is!

Meryl: Then who is she?

Astrid: I don't know. Nobody knows! She just mysteriously washed up on our beach. Don't you find that strange?

Meryl: Ahem. Firstly: Onyx mysteriously washed up on the beach when you two were kids, and you didn't have a problem with it back then. And do I need to mention that, to you vikings, I mysteriously appeared on Berk? And Secondly: No, because her ship was taken over by pirates. She lost her family and her whole village!

Astrid: The only thing that is lost is your brain! You're not thinking clearly! She has made you think that you two share the same pain! The Outcasts could be attacking any minute!

Meryl growled at Astrid, making her stinger ready to strike by instinct, but she was holding back her instinct as she didn't want to hurt Astrid, the viking girl that she had grew to see as a sister sense Berk has made peace with the dragons and Scalewalkers.

Meryl: ( to Astrid, sternly: ) There's one thing I know, it's this: Heather is not working for the Outcasts. Now, this will be the last time I'll warn you to stop, you treating Heather like this when she's trying to cope with her lost, isn't right. This isn't the Astrid I know.

Astrid just walked away angrily, and Meryl lets out a sad sigh. Meryl then went back into the kitchen and continued cleaning the dishes, and soon the whole kitchen as she was trying to ignore her sadness.

( Meanwhile on Outcast island )

Alvin and Savage were watching as they were doing some combat experiments on a strange dark gray dragon with bright red eyes.

( A/n: This is the dragon, or is it a scalewalker...? What kind of dragon/scalewalker do you think they are? )

The strange dragon was about half the size of a Deadly Nadder, and they dodged the outcast soldiers with ease, by using their claws to climb the walls, but they only went high enough where the soldiers couldn't reach them. They then extended their talon out to the soldiers' weapons, and the weapons levitated out of their grasps and began attacking them, the strange dragon seemed to be the one controlling them.

Alvin: Interesting... She can make weapons go against their owners at will. There's really no rhyme or reason to that thing, is there?

Savage: That's why we need the book! And why we need keep that Scalewalker alive! She says everything the boy knows is documented in its pages. If we have it, not only can we control any dragon, we can control Scalewalkers.

Alvin: Eh? Then why aren't I holding this book in me hand?

Savage: You will be. But we need to keep the Scalewalker girl alive if we want to control her. She said that if we separate the girl from her human body when she's a dragon for a certain amount of time, she'll slowly lose her memories of being human, which means she'll be easy to control.

Alvin: Ugh, fine. I won't be executing that little beast. And put her human body in a separate cell from her dragon self, put it in a cell that she can't be able to see her human body. Maybe it'll make the process faster.

Savage: Yes, sir.

The strange dragon looked up at the sky, with longing and as they were about to reach a talon trying to touch the sky, one of the outcast soldiers lassoed their neck and pulled them down from the wall, and the soldiers pinned them to the ground. They continued to look at the sky with longing, but they then closed their eyes in sadness and defeat as the soldiers began tying their wings together so they couldn't fly, and they tied their mouth shut so they couldn't fight back.

( Meanwhile, with the twins and Tida )

Tida was a dragon and she walked to the twins' room, she jumped on Ruffnut's bed and curled up to her with a purr, and she closed her eyes to fall asleep as a dragon with a smile.

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That's it for this chapter, I hope you like it

What do you think will happen next chapter?

Till next time my agents of mischief 😜