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In Time of Need

Chapter 2

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Astrid steered Stormfly through the fog as best she could; dodging trees as they came up out of seemly nowhere. She was on high alert for any bolas that may spring up at her, but she was more alert for whoever flung them. Though it boggled her, how did they—whoever they may be—see them flying in this fog? Granted, they could have heard them, but it takes sight to perfectly catch a Night Fury with a bola; or just pure luck.

But that didn't matter as much as it was to find Hiccup and Toothless and get out of here. Not only was the island giving off some negativity, especially with the fog, but it now also posed a threat.

"Hiccup!?" Astrid called out, one hand cupped to her mouth for better echo and the other grasping the saddle. "Hiccup!?" She tried again. No answer…

Great, trying to find a Night Fury at night within a fog is worse than trying to find a needle in a hay stack…

"Hiccup where are you!?" "Toothless!?" And again, she earned no response. Antoher tree caught her by surprise and Stormfly dodged it. Astrid shook her head and padded Stormfly's side.

"Come on girl, we can't fly in this anymore; land." Stormfly let off a noise of recognition and landed down on the damp grass. A sudden chill rose in Astrid and she shivered from the cold, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to get some warmth. She took them away and cupped her mouth again.

"Hiccup!?" She yelled through the dense mist. Her ear caught a moan in the distance; not a human's but a dragon's. Her eyes lit up and she dashed off in the direction the sound came from.

"Come on Stormfly!" Said Nadder pounded after her rider, a little uneasy with the environment.

"Hiccup; Toothless!?" Another moan, this time softer, replied.

That's definitely a Night Fury…! She thought as she readjusted her course.

The fog prevented her from seeing clearly in the distance, so looking for Hiccup and Toothless was pose a problem, not to mention the high risk of her tripping over roots. But to solve that problem, she ran with a bounce in her step, making sure to pick up her feet and leap over any loose undergrowth.

Soon enough, she found a fallen tree, a decently large one compared to the surrounding trees. But it wasn't its size that ultimately caught her attention. She gasped when she saw Toothless' red tail fin ripped and torn to shreds just underneath, his black one right beside it.

Her hands found their way to her mouth, "Oh no…" She stepped forwards twice, her breathing increased; then she dashed over and grasped the trunk with both hands.

"Stormfly, help me!" Astrid begged as she was trying with all her might to lift it up. Stormfly walked over and used her head to lift the trunk up and throw it over Toothless' body.

Another gasp escaped her lips, "Hiccup…"

Hiccup lay there right next to Toothless' back, his limps entangled in the bola that brought them down. His head was off to the side, facing away from Astrid, his eyes closed shut and his mouth slightly ajar. He had a nice cut on his left temple and an even nicer gash on his left side just above the hip. Though both injuries were bleeding quite a bit, Astrid knew there was more than just that.

She crouched down next to his limp body, gently laying her hands down on his stomach and forehead. Hesitating at first, she lowered her ear down onto his chest and closed her eyes waiting for that beat. And she received one, faintly there, but it was present. She opened her eyes and checked his mouth; he was breathing too!

A moan caused her head to swing upward, the black figure just beside her and Hiccup's form moved ever so slightly.

"Toothless…" she whispered. Not wanting to leave Hiccup's side, but seeing how she needed to check up on the Night Fury, she stood up and walked over to Toothless' head. Down on her knees again, she rested his head on her legs and examined his body. The wings looked fine, his red prosthetic tailfin was destroyed, but his other real one looked okay, he seemed sore from the way his eyes dully glanced up at her, but what really brought worry was his left forepaw. It was bleeding badly and looked broken.

Astrid looked around her, fog, trees, and more fog; there wasn't anything she could do at the moment besides build a fire right where they were and try to sleep. And that was her plan. She walked back over to Hiccup, untangled the bola from his body, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lifted him up half way; as best as she could, she gently dragged him over to Toothless' belly and laid him down next to the Night Fury.

A shiver ran up her spine again and she clutched her arms and rubbed them up and down. Glancing down at Hiccup, she couldn't tell if it was the fog or the fact that he was really pale. Kneeling down beside him again, she brought him up in a hug; closing her eyes tight, pretending that if she focused hard enough, her body heat would flow into Hiccup's faster. She felt someone loom above her and lifted her head up to see Stormfly out spreading her wings over them. The Nadder blasted some white hot flames into the ground and a patch of fire formed.

Astrid smiled, "Thank you Stormfly." Stormfly tilted her head sideways and cooed. Astrid positioned herself so her back was resting against Toothless' belly and Hiccup's head on her chest, her arms wrapped around his torso. Slipping her axe out of its holder, she laid it beside her and thanked the Gods for the fact that she brought it.

Sleep did not come easy and Astrid found herself constantly brushing Hiccup's right hand. She eventually fell asleep with her hand grasping his.

The morning was the worst out of any Astrid had encountered. Not only was there a brutal crank in her neck, but she woke up remembering that Hiccup was unconscious next to her and Toothless barely awake. Thankfully, the fog let up.

Gently lifting Hiccup up off her and laying him against Toothless, she got up and stretched out her back. Stormfly awoke too and folded her wings back against her sides. Seeing the fire down to small cinders, she fired again at the ground and produced another fire.

Astrid bent down and picked up her axe, holding it firmly in her right hand.

"Alright Stormfly, I need you to look after them while I'm gone. Don't let anything happen to them." She said, Stormfly cooing in response that she understood. Kneeling back down beside Hiccup, Astrid rested her hand against his chest.

"I'll be back," she whispered, glancing back and forth between him and Toothless.

Standing up, she trotted off, jumping over another fallen tree and running off out of view.

After walking for what seemed like twenty minutes or so, Astrid came upon a clearing, a quarry of some sort. Her eyes narrowed from recognition of the place and her grip on the handle of her axe strengthened. And for good reason because none too soon Astrid spotted something out of the corner of her vision. Ducking down behind a rock, she poked her head out and blew her banks out of her eyes. A cloud of smoke flew by in the distant, flying down into the quarry before racing back out and disappearing.

"Smothering Smokebreaths?" She questioned, but soon her memories came to her. "Breakneck Bog, of all the places we had to be stranded on!" She stood up and walked over to the edge, overlooking the quarry. "Well it is better than Outcast Island." Her eyes narrowed. "Speaking of which, Toothless was shot down with a bola…" She glanced down to her axe. Moving it up to her face, she angled it so the reflection was her.

"So who shot it…?"

She looked over in the direction the Smother Smokebreaths disappeared and began her search that way. Running around the rim of the quarry, she followed the sun's rising path. To make sure she didn't get lost, she made indents in the trees with her axe from the quarry onward.

Her first objective was to find some kind of evidence of other Viking threats, the first and foremost being Outcasts. The next being a way to get off of Breakneck Bog and the only way to do that was by dragon. Stormfly was perfectly fine for flight, but Toothless needed time to heal.

They were probably going to be here for a while… hopefully by that time, Stoick and the others back on Berk would bring up a search party and come looking for them. In the meantime, they'd just have to survive.

To be continued…

Sorry for any typos I missed, and thank you all who viewed, reviewed, favorite, followed, etc.