Night had not yet fallen, but the sky had begun its slow descent into evening.
From high in the sea cliffs, the dragon watched.
Her body rested inside a narrow cave carved naturally into the rock face. It wasn't large, but it was deep enough to hide her silhouette from anything below. The entrance faced the ocean, and from here she had a perfect view of the small cove beneath the cliffs.
The Viking ship had already come ashore.
Men moved across the beach with practiced efficiency. Some dragged driftwood toward a growing firepit. Others hauled bundles from the ship. Two of them disappeared into the forest line carrying spears, likely hunting rabbits or small game.
They worked loudly.
Talking.
Laughing.
Completely unaware they had entered a dragon's territory.
Above them, the dragon lay quietly in the cave's shadow, her enormous ears angled forward to catch every sound.
Her tail curled slowly behind her.
Her wings stayed folded tight against her body.
She had no intention of being seen.
Not yet.
One of the Vikings planted a long pole into the sand near the ship.
A banner hung from it, snapping sharply in the wind.
The dragon narrowed her eyes.
Her gaze drifted for a moment… and something about the image stirred a memory.
Not from minutes ago.
From weeks earlier.
When she had still been learning the waters around the island.
Weeks earlier
The ocean had been calm that morning.
She had been practicing diving again—trying to perfect the timing of her glides into the water when chasing fish.
Her echolocation pulses had revealed something unusual along the far side of the island.
Something large.
Something straight.
Not natural.
Curiosity had pulled her downward.
She dove.
The water had been cold but clear enough to see shapes beneath the surface.
That was when she saw it.
A wreck.
A ship broken open against the rocks, half swallowed by the sea. Most of the hull had collapsed, but part of the mast still rose above the waterline like a crooked spear.
She had circled it slowly.
Fish darted through the ruined frame while seaweed wrapped around the beams.
At first she had simply been curious.
But then something bright had caught her eye beneath the water.
She dove again.
The object rested against a broken plank.
Round.
Wooden.
Painted.
A shield.
The dragon had surfaced beside it, lifting it carefully with one claw onto the rocks.
The paint had faded, but the design was still visible.
A crude dragon symbol surrounded by bold markings.
The moment she saw it, recognition hit.
Hairy Hooligan.
The crest of the tribe from Berk.
Her ears had twitched as the thought settled into place.
If a Hairy Hooligan ship had made it this far…
Then Berk couldn't be that far away.
Her island wasn't deep in the unknown wilderness after all.
It was simply… out of the way.
Close enough to pass through.
But isolated enough that no one bothered settling there.
At the time she had quietly slid the shield back into the water and left the wreck where it lay.
Some discoveries were better left untouched.
Present
The dragon blinked slowly as the memory faded.
Below, the Vikings continued working along the shoreline.
A fire had been lit now, smoke drifting upward into the evening air.
One of the men laughed loudly while another sharpened an axe.
They weren't hunters looking for dragons.
They were travelers.
Gatherers.
Stopping only long enough to collect wood, berries, and whatever food the island could offer.
They would camp the night.
Then leave.
The dragon shifted slightly in the cave, resting her chin on her forelimbs.
Her massive ears rotated slowly, tracking every movement below.
She studied them the way she studied the island's wildlife.
Body language.
Movement patterns.
Hierarchy.
The biggest one seemed to give most of the orders.
Others followed.
Predictable.
Humans weren't that different from other animals when you looked closely enough.
Her tail flicked lightly against the cave floor.
She had no reason to interfere.
And no reason to reveal herself.
So she simply watched.
Silent.
Still.
A shadow among the cliffs above.
While below, the Vikings of the Hairy Hooligan tribe unknowingly camped beneath the watchful eyes of a dragon that should not exist.