Hiccup hadn't slept well for three days now.

He should have been happy, what with rescuing a prisoner and driving off the Berserkers. But he wasn't. He was absolutely miserable.

He'd let Astrid fight. And he'd lost her.

The girl they rescued, Camicazi, felt terrible for Hiccup, and tried everything to encourage him.

"We'll find her, I promise," she told him. "I'll help. I'm a Bog Burglar, and, despite pilfering everything from everyone, we always help others. Besides, I owe you one. Oh, here's your dagger back. Sorry, bad habit."

Finally, Camicazi convinced Hiccup to make a plan to get Astrid back. He held a meeting at the Great Hall, and Toothless told me and Orca about it.

"What about the kids?" I'd asked.

"Just bring them."

So there I was in the Great Hall, sitting next to Toothless in the Alphas' spot. Camicazi was up next to Hiccup, chattering excitedly about battle tactics and ways to sneak into a fortress. "I break into Berserk regularly; trust me, I know my way around the place."

While the Vikings were discussing plans, we acquainted ourselves with Camicazi's dragon, who was named Stormcloud. Stormfly wasn't fond of her, mainly because she talked about herself too much. Orca didn't like her because she never shut up. Meatlug didn't like her because she tended to look down her nose at us...this stopped once Toothless asserted his dominance and Alpha ranking upon Stormcloud. Hookfang--despite making quite an impression on some other Nightmare--blushed whenever he was around her ((maybe he didn't like having another female so close)), and Barf and Belch argued over which head she liked more. Skullcrusher didn't care, and sat in a corner, bored. Cloudjumper found the Mood dragon "positively annoying and rather irritating; she could talk all four legs off a dead horse, and her voice is squeaky and I can't stand it."

I found Stormcloud somewhat annoying, but, I could tell she just wasn't used to having other dragons around her. I could sense she was insecure, and bragged about being able to speak Norse just so she wouldn't feel weird or different.

At one point, Stormcloud tried flirting with Toothless. He simply grinned, picked up Nym in one arm and put a wing around me. "Thanks, but I'm married."

Stormcloud kept a fake smile on her face as her body turned a stormy grey, and said, "Oh! Good for you!"

Hiccup pounded on the table. "Camicazi has come up with a few plans," he announced.

Camicazi strutted up, looking like a Terrible Terror that had just won a pile of fish. "Plan A," she shouted, "we take a small, sleek boat--about five or six people inside--and sneak up on the armada. We locate the main vessel, because that's where Astrid will be...probably. Assuming Hiccup will be leading that plan, he'd board the ship silently with two or three people, and those still in the boat would keep watch. They'd locate Astrid, incapacitate the guards, possibly pilfer some weapons, and get out of there...not necessarily in that order, of course.

"Plan B: Take the dragons and go whole hog, fighting everyone to the death or surrender--whichever comes first. I personally love that plan. Plan C: Hiccup goes in alone and attempts parlay. I haven't figured out the rest, and I don't intend to until--I mean, unless he gets captured. I like to improvise."

"So." Hiccup spread wide his arms. "All in agreement of A?" Some of the tribe raised their hands, muttering amongst themselves. "Okay...B?" A few more hands, and a lot of wings...not including mine. For some reason C sounded like the best option.

Toothless had other plans. B was the best choice for him, obviously. He raised his wing high.

Hiccup straightened. "And C?" More wings and hands, this time mine included. Hiccup frowned. "We have a tie--" Suddenly another hand shot up from the back. It was Gothi. The crowd hushed, and some of the dragons looked at each other uncertainly. If Gothi thought Plan C was the best option, then there was not argument about what course of action should be taken.

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably. I guess he didn't like Plan C. "Okay," he sighed. "Plan C it is."