Summary: When Tuffnut decides that playing a 'friendly' game of murder in the dark at night in the woods was a good idea, things take a bad turn when Tuffnut isn't the only murderer roaming the woods.
To say the gang was bored, would be an understatement. Hiccup was fiddling around with a charcoal pencil, Fishlegs was feeding Meatlug stray rocks that were scattered aimlessly on the ground, Astrid was twisting her axe around in her hands, Snotlout was sleeping on Hookfangs head, and the twins were... Well, actually, they didn't know where the twins were.
The sun was already sinking below the horizon, and the moon and the stars had already taken over the sky. It was eerily quite in the clubhouse, so when the twins came barging into the clubhouse practically screaming, it scared everyone half to death.
Snotlout totally freaked out, and fell off of Hookfang, Fishlegs let out a terrified squeal, Hiccup dropped his pencil and looked up in alarm, and Astrid gripped her as if she were going into battle.
"Guys! We just came with the simple most GREATEST idea ever!" Tuffnut announced, as he bounced into the clubhouse.
"The most creative..." Ruffnut started, jumping forwards.
"The most extraordinary!" Tuffnut continued, hopping in front of Ruffnut.
"MURDER IN THE DARK!" They both shouted at the same time, their hands flying up into the air.
"Murder in the what?" Snotlout asked, crossing his arms and staring suspiciously at the twins.
"Murder in the dark! Basically one person is the murderer, and they have to kill everyone!" Tuffnut explained. Everyone stared at him, bewildered.
"Uh... Yeah, I don't think we'll be murdering anybody tonight." Hiccup spoke up, mildly concerned.
Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "We won't actually be murdering anybody,unfortunately...it'll be fake murder."
"How can you fake murder somebody?" Astrid asked, as she stood up and leaned on her axe.
"With a fake knife, of course!" Ruffnut told her, as if it were obvious.
Tuffnut pulled out a knife from his jacket, only it was incredibly blunt, and not at all sharp, it was more like a bone than a knife.
"This will be the knife, the weapon of DEATH!" Tuffnut shouted, raising the 'knife' into the air. Everyone stared blankly at them.
"No? Nobody want's to play?"
"I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to get chased around by some lunatics who are trying to kill me. At night, to add to that." Snotlout complained, and for once Hiccup agreed.
"And, to add to all of that, it'll be in the woods!" Tuffnut shouted excitedly, as if that would encourage them to play.
Hiccup rolled his eyes, and decided to continue fiddling with his pencil. Everyone went back to what they were originally doing.
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!" Tuffnut complained, trying to bribe them into playing.
"Your all sitting here and moping anyways, so it's obvious your bored." Ruffnut pointed out. It's true, they were incredibly bored. But still, nobody offered to join in.
"Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked. Hiccup looked up, and Tuffnut gave him a pleading stare.
"Tuffnut, running around in the dark at night, and in the woods is a terrible idea." Hiccup explained, hoping that would make sense to the young viking.
"I..." Tuffnut paused, and thought for a moment.
"Don't understand." He finished. Hiccup face palmed.
"What Hiccup is trying to say, that there are wild dragons out there, and walking around at night in the woods is dangerous." Astrid tried explaining to Tuffnut.
"When have we ever not done dangerous?" Ruffnut asked, actually making some sense.
Ruffnut tried reasoning with them. "We can play just a single round, and then you can all go back to your miserable lives, doing nothing."
The gang actually seemed to consider her words. And they were so bored to the point that running around in the woods at night sounded... Fun.
"Fine, I'm in." Snotlout announced, but he didn't look all to pleased. The twins looked around at the others hopefully.
Hiccup sighed, and stood up. "Well, I can't allow you three to go running off in the woods alone, so it's not like I have a choice."
"I'll play then, but ONE round, that's it!" Astrid said stubbornly.
"Fishlegs? You coming?" Hiccup asked, and everyone turned to look at him.
"I-i don't know, guys. I mean, this could be really dangerous, and it's dark and..." Fishlegs muttered, trying to come up with an excuse.
"Come on, Fishface, your not afraid of the dark, are you?" Snotlout teased.
Fishlegs stood up. "Fine, I'll go! Just... No jump scares."
The twins smiled, and they began leading the group outside, into the crisp cool air.
"Do we have to pretend to be dead, or something?" Snotlout asked. He really didn't like the idea of playing dead in the middle of the forest.
"Nah, but when I get you, you can just go back to the Edge or something." Tuffnut explained to them.
Toothless walked out of the clubhouse, and sat beside Hiccup, staring curiously at the group.
Tuffnut looked over at Toothless, then the group. "And no dragons."
Hiccup looked mildly dissapointed, as he turned to look over at his best friend.
"Sorry, T, but you gotta stay here." Tuffnut told the dragon. Toothless retracted his teeth and snarled at Tuffnut, causing him to back off.
"Come on, bud, It won't be for long." Hiccup told the Night Fury. Toothless instantly stopped growling, and looked over at his rider sadly.
"I'll be fine, bud. You just stay here and watch the other dragons."
Toothless warbled and licked him on the face, earning a grunt of disgust from Hiccup, before backing away to allow him to go.
The riders entered the dark forest, walking silently. Tuffnut then stopped, and turned around to face the group.
"Alright, you guys can go run along now and then I'm going to come and MURDER YOU!" Tuffnut explained, his voice raising dramatically at the end.
"One... Two... Four, ten.. Um, what comes next?" Tuffnut began counting, but got confused. The gang rolled their eyes, before running off in separate directions.
Astrid followed Hiccup as he ran aimlessly into the woods, as she was unsure on where she should go. Besides, she liked his company.
Ruffnut ran off into the darkest part of the woods, for some reason snickering as she went.
"Snotlout is Outlout!" Snotlout announced, as he jumped away. Fishlegs stood still for a moment, having no idea where to go. He flicked his head around, before choosing a random area of the woods, disappearing into the darkness.
"ALRIGHT, I'M COMING TO MURDER YOU!" Tuffnut shouted as loud as he could, before picking a random spot and running towards it.
Hiccup pushed away tree branches as he travelled deeper and deeper into the forest. He felt something brush against his shoulder, and he flinched and turned around, only to see that it was Astrid.
"Oh, hey Astrid." Hiccup said while smiling.
"So... What are your thoughts on this game so far?" Astrid asked, as her and Hiccup continued their trek through the forest.
"I just hope nobody gets hurt." Hiccup replied, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Everyone will be fine, Hiccup." Astrid said, trying to reassure the worried rider.
Fishlegs was absolutely terrified.
"I shouldn't have agreed to playing! I'm going to die out here!" Fishlegs complained quitely to himself in harsh whispers, as he walked very slowly. A bird squawked, and Fishlegs screeched, jumping up into the air.
He glanced around nervously, expecting to see Tuffnut jump out at him, but it was silent. Uncomfortably silent. Somebody watched the boy through a gap in the bushes, fingering the sharp knife that was in their hand. The stranger narrowed their eyes, but soon realised that wasn't who they were looking for. With a light shake of their head, they stealthy walked away.
Ruffnut was skipping through the forest with obvious joy. She was going to win this game! Tuffnut didn't stand a chance. She already had plans and strategies scattered in her mind, that she would use if Tuffnut tried to kill her. She would most likely forget all of them later, but that didn't matter right now.
Snotlout's chest was puffed out, as he walked confidently through the woods. Although Snotlout looked confident and brave on the outside, he was honestly scared, but he would never show it.
"I'm going to win this game!" Snotlout announced to nobody, it was mainly just something to give him confidence.
Tuffnut was trying to be stealthy, but it honestly was not working. He paused, as he heard somebody talking to themselves in the forest. He followed the sound of the voice, and saw Fishlegs mumbling encouraging words to himself. Tuffnut let out a mischievous smile, and began slowly creeping towards him.
Tuffnut gripped the fake knife in his hands, and he was right behind Fishlegs. He raised the knife, before making a horrifying screech noise, and then plunged the soft knife onto Fishlegs back. Fishlegs screamed as loud as his lungs would allow him, before fainting.
"HAH! Got you!" Tuffnut shouted. Tuffnut paused to wait for a reply, but Fishlegs stayed laying on the ground. Tuffnut shoved his foot into his rib, but he stayed unmoved. Tuffnut merely shrugged, and walked off, not at all concerned.
Hiccup and Astrid continued to travel deeper and deeper into the seemingly endless woods, in a comfortable silence. Crickets buzzed silently in the distance, along with the sound of ruffling in the leaves as bird landed and took off. Astrid managed to pick up a noise to their left, and she turned sharply. She rose an eyebrow, as she saw Tuffnut standing there awkwardly, staring at her with his 'knife' in his hand.
Hiccup noticed that Astrid paused, and he to looked behind him.
"Erm... Hey guys." Tuffnut said coolly, waving a hand at them.
"Hey." Hiccup replied casually. Tuffnut decided this was his time strike, so he bounced forwards and towards them with a horrific screech, that only Tuffnut could make.
Hiccup split to the right, and Astrid went left. Tuffnut pounced after Hiccup, but for a skinny one-legged viking in the dark in the forest at night, he was surprisingly fast. Tuffnut soon lost sight of the young viking, and stopped to catch his breath.
"Wow, he's fast." Tuffnut huffed to himself, disappointed that his chase didn't end well for him. Turns out that Hiccup actually dashed behind a bush, and that Tuffnut ran straight past him. Hiccup smirked, and rolled his eyes.
He crept out from his hiding spot, and quickly jogged away, hoping to escape the area that Tuffnut was also in.
Astrid quickly realised that she wasn't being chased, so she stopped. She glanced around, but failed to notice the stranger staring at her through a cleft in a bush, their eyes narrowed. They hissed a soft curse under their breath, when they yet again found the wrong person. They shook their head slightly, before turning around and creeping off.
Ruffnut had heard a scuffle in the distance, and she assumed that Tuffnut had gone after someone, considering she could hear him hollering like a literal maniac. She turned around, and walked backwards as she stared off into the distance, and to where she heard the all the noise.
As Ruffnut continued to walk backwards, her foot bumped into something, causing her to fall over. Ruffnut cursed under her breath, before lifting herself up to see what had tripped her up.
"Fishlegs?" Ruffnut asked, looking at Fishlegs form laying in a fat lump on the ground.
She picked up a stick that was laying beside her, and unceremoniously prodded him with it. He suddenly jolted up with a loud shriek, causing Ruffnut to drop back.
"Morning." Ruffnut greeted him, but then her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Or is it goodnight?"
Fishlegs looked around wildly for a moment, before shaking his head. "Tuffnut got me." Is all he said.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes. Of course he was the first to get out, typical Fishlegs.
"I guess I'll see you back at the Edge!" Ruffnut called, as she began to walk off, but a hand around her arm made her stop.
"Wait! Uh... M-maybe we should stay together? I mean, it's dark, and I don't know where I am..." Fishlegs muttered. He really,reallydidn't want to be left alone again, and if that meant having to walk around with Ruffnut, then so be it.
"You'll give away where I am." Ruffnut replied, pulling her arm away from Fishleg.
"I-ill be quiet!" Fishlegs promised.
Ruffnut eyed him for a long moment. This wasn't merely a game to her, it was... Well, more than just a game!
"Please?" Fishlegs begged, his hands going together.
"Ugh, fine." Ruffnut scoffed, rolling her eyes. Fishleg's eyes lit up, and the pair began travelling aimlessly.
Snotlout was talking to himself as he travelled around, as a way to comfort himself. Obviously, it was a terrible strategy, as even Tuffnut would be able to hear him quite easily.
"The forest is just as afraid of you, as you are of it..." Snotlout tried reasoning with himself, but then he just got himself confused.
"Wait no, forest's can't have emotions..." He muttered, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Then again, I've learnt that many things I thought were impossible are in fact not impossible." He reasoned, his hand going onto his hip.
While Snotlout was debating with himself, Tuffnut had effectively snuck up behind him, without him realising. Of course, Tuffnut managed to step on a stick that resonated a loud crack through the eerily quite forest, catching Snotlout's attention. He quickly whirled around, and instantly sprinted forwards, barely avoiding Tuffnut as he tried leaping on him.
Snotlout let out a terrified screech, as Tuffnut lumbered after him.
"GO AWAY, GO AWAY, GO AWAY!" Snotlout yelled, as he dared to glance behind him, only to see Tuffnut advancing, and fast.
"I'm gonna get ya, I'm gonna get ya, I'm gonna get ya!" Tuffnut chanted, his arms outstretched as he reached for Snotlout. Tuffnut pushed his foot forward, and managed to wrap his arms around Snotlout's waist, effectively pushing both him and Snotlout to the forest floor.
Snotlout let out the most girl-like scream he could muster, as his face got smooshed into the dirt. Tuffnut fiddled for his fake knife that was strapped in his belt, and Snotlout took this opportunity to wriggle away from Tuffnut's grasp.
Snotlout dragged Tuffnut's arms off of him, and dragged himself out from his hold. He quickly got to his feet, and just as he was about to desperately sprint away, he felt something blunt stab against his back.
"HAH! You thought you could escape my mighty wrath!" Tuffnut boasted, his fist pumping in the air.
"And you were totally terrified!" He continued, holding his stomach as he began laughing.
"I was totally not afraid!" Snotlout snapped, his arms crossing indignantly.
"Sure, sure." Tuffnut giggled, his eyes rolling. "You have fun finding the Edge, I'm going to murder more innocent vikings."
"Have fun with that." Snotlout muttered, still very unhappy that he had been 'killed.' Snotlout turned, and stomped off, his arms still crossed over his chest, while he muttered curse words under his breath.
"So I've killed Fishlegs and Snotlout, so I need to get Ruffnut, Hiccup and Astrid..." Tuffnut murmured to himself, as he walked alone through the woods, his hand tapping his chin thoughtfully.
"I shall do just that.."