I'm back! Posting from a kindle, so any weird mistakes, please feel free to point them out. I thought I might fill the gap between the hiatus of The Runaway 2 with this. You're welcome!
A chill breeze drifting through his hair. The bite of bitter snowflakes upon his wrists, his hands, his face. The rock and sway of flight. The warm heat of a dragon's body rising up through his own. The soft leather of the saddle. The warmth of his thick, heavy boot. Hiccup was registering everything one thing at a time. In fact, he was barely conscious as he and his dragon flew through the clouds. Not because of the cold, or the heat, or the altitude, or an injury. He was simply dozing away the long flight to the clan meeting.
Toothless was quite aware of his rider's lazy state, but wasn't concerned with keeping him awake, or with bothering him. His feet were firmly in the stirrups, keeping his tail in its position, and he couldn't ask for more. The Night Fury simply kept his head straight out and let the southerly wind carry him on, his wide, leathery wings stretched out at his sides, legs tucked up neatly beneath him.
The Dragon cast a glance below. The hard ground was coated in a layer of cold, wet and very deep snow, glimmering like piles of jewels heaped on hillsides and clinging to sea stacks. They passed over the edge of yet another unexplored land, then high up above a bank of thick cloud, and Toothless wondered whether his rider might want to get out the map and try to chart it, but he knew that the young man was keen to catch up on the copious amounts of sleep he had been losing lately thanks to a shortage of food and a single restless villager stirring up trouble all around the town of Berk. Toothless himself wouldn't have minded putting down somewhere for a little cat-nap himself, but he knew that his chance to sleep would come when the meeting began and Hiccup disappeared for a few hours.
After the meeting itself, there was a great feast, and then people turned in for the night at will, some sleeping well into the morning, others staying up until the early hours. Although Hiccup would have liked to travel back during the night, he had decided with Astrid that it would be rude not to accept the hospitality that was offered to him. Therefore, it had come to be that he would leave early tomorrow and she would share the workload of running the village with his mother, who was always happy to help out when needed. Thus finally, with a little time to himself, he readily dropped into the open arms of sleep as soon as he had the chance. He didn't regret it at all. In fact, he was rather enjoying it, so much so that he didn't bother to drag himself up as a strange, sulpherous smell hit his nostrils and was determined not to rise, even though it was beginning to break the veil of sleep around him.
It was only when Toothless gave a shrieking cry of alarm that he knew something was wrong. He jolted upright in the saddle, a knot of dread pulling tight in his stomach. A plume of smoke was pushing it's way up above the snow-filled clouds, black as night and dotted with ash. As he watched, a sudden rush of terrible fire streaked through the cloud barrier, a column of flame like a burning beacon. Instantly, he knew that someone, somewhere, needed his help.
"Come on, bud. Time to teach that dragon a lesson. Again."
The Night Fury dived under the low clouds, into the snow and ice and driving rain. His rider squinted through the blanket of white, catching a glimpse of a huge bulk, great thick legs and long claws stamping, a massive set of jaws longer and wider than longboats. A Red Death. Toothless gave a screech, looking back at his rider. Below, Hiccup could see a little town, huddled in the snowstorm, buildings burning and people screaming and shouting and running about in fear. However, he could also see a large band of Vikings with ropes and nets, crowded around the creature's feet, trying to toss them over it's back. Hiccup almost laughed. What on earth were they doing?
He could see the ringleader at the front, shouting, commanding his followers. They managed to get a few ropes around its great maw, but it easily snapped them. A few men ran away, much the the leader's disgust.
"Deserters! Cowards!" The chief heard him scream as Toothless flew closer. The Red Death's tail swept by and knocked every single person off their feet.
"I think we've seen enough, bud." He smirked, patting his dragon's neck. "Let's give them all a hand."
"Carron! We can't win this, we must retreat!" Jax hollered to his leader as the dragon's foot came down meters away. Luckily, the people beneath it threw themselves out of the way in time. Carron himself ran his fingers through his thick black hair and tugged his braided beard. His grey eyes were filled with fury as he turned on his lieutenant.
"We can't give up! We need this dragon! We can't survive without it!"
"Carron, this is not going to work. Give up! Go for a smaller dragon!"
The wide, callous hand struck his high cheekbone with a stinging smack. Jax fell back with a cry, his eyes smarting from the blow. His leader loomed over him angrily. "Don't tell me what to do!" Though he was still a young man, Carron had wrinkles on his brow and rings around his eyes that made him look far older than what he was. His broad shoulders heaved as his deep chest filled and emptied in his anger. The painted lines on his chin where washing away with his sweat. Jax cowered: this man was mad, completely bonkers, but he had so much power. The younger man gulped.
Suddenly, something above the looming man caught his eyes. Eager for any excuse to escape, he pointed quickly. "Hey, look! What is that?"
Carron looked up slowly, a mean snarl curling the corners of his mouth. Above, there was a black shape speeding through the sky. A dragon. As the man watched, it swept in a circle around the Red Death, then dived daringly under its snapping jaws. Then, having caught the creature's attention, it came and landed lightly on the roof. It was then that Carron realised the dragon had a rider. The man stood tall in the creature's stirrups and, with a word, it fired on the Red Death. Its back was alight with a strange blue glow as it shot again and again. The other dragon didn't have a chance to fire as the bolts of strange blue energy struck its face and flanks. Something lit up in Carron's eyes.
"A smaller dragon..."
Hiccup sat tight as Toothless let blast after blast off at the enormous dragon. He had no doubt in his mind at all. They would easily defeat this enemy. After all, hadn't his dragon defeated the great Bewilderbeast? It wasn't long before, overwhelmed, the poor Red Death finally let out a scream and turned to run away. It took wing at the waterline, beating away and away into the driving snowstorm.
"Good job, bud!" Hiccup cried in elation. He then turned, grinning, as the inhabitants of the little village came out of their homes to cheer and applaud. Some threw their arms above their heads, others jumped up and down, and all had great grins plastered on their faces. Hiccup was just beginning to enjoy it when it was suddenly and inexplicably quelled.
In the silence, the leader of the tribe stepped forward, his fair-haired, skinny deputy by his side, looking nervous and frightened and... guilty. Hiccup frowned.
"Thank you! Thank you, sir! You've saved our humble village." The look in his eyes, the edge to his voice told Hiccup that this wasn't a genuine congratulations.
"Yeah," He replied curiously. "What were you doing with that dragon anyway?"
"Times are hard, my mysterious friend. The village needs money for crops and building materials. As you can probably see, that Red Death would have given us a sizable sum of gold from our, shall I say, associate." He scowled, and the man beside him stepped away, shoulders hunched. "We still need money, and now you've driven our catch away."
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise." He scowled. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Well, we still need gold. We can't exactly let you waltz away now, can we? Not when you've got yourself a pretty little Night Fury!" Toothless snarled indignantly. He was magnificent, strong, brave, not pretty. How insulting! Hiccup patted his neck to calm him down.
"I'm the chief of a village nearby. We can help you, trust me. If you need supplies, we'll help."
"No. I'm not dealing with another chief. Who says you'll be true to your word?" He lifted his hand and gave a signal. Hiccup tensed, looking about.
"What are you doing?"
"Only what I have to."
Toothless gave a sharp yelp, springing into the air with surprise. He turned to nibble at his hind leg, his ears pinned back. He felt a sharp pain there, and when he and his rider looked, they saw a little plume of red fur bursting from his scales. Toothless gave a groan, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"Oh no," Hiccup moaned. "No, no, no..."
The Night Fury turned back to the leader, teeth bared, his pupils wavering slits. He gathered himself to pounce down and tear the man apart, but suddenly, he found he couldn't see. Again, he tried shaking his head, giving a little whine and pawing at his face. His tail went limp, smacking into the roof like a dead fish. Hiccup gave a despairing cry as the dragon swayed and stumbled. Toothless' legs finally gave way as Hiccup pulled his prosthetic foot from the modified stirrup, and the man flung himself away as his dragon slid from the roof; a dead weight that crashed down onto the floor, eyes closed, and not moving to catch his rider as he too plummeted from the tiles and onto the hard ground below.
Yaaay! Enjoy, don't forget to R+R
