Hello. Thank you all for the support. I only posted the first chapter and I already have over 100 views This chapter will be based on the episode, "Crushing It," from Race to the Edge. Please enjoy. I'm sorry that the story hasn't gotten very exciting, but it will in the next chapter. Again, thank you. Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Please, enjoy. :):):):):):)
Jim had woken up after what felt like a few seconds, but as he looked at the dark sky filled with stars and a half-moon, he could only guess that he had been out for a few hours. He tried to sit up so he could get a better look at his surroundings, but his chest hurt too much and he just decided to lie still for a little while longer. His chest and arms were sore from the nasty burn he got and his head started to throb. He could feel a wet, cool, blanket draped over his torso and arms and a wet rag placed on his forehead. It had to of been Claire. He tried one more time to sit up. With great difficulty, he lifted himself, put his sore arms behind him for support, and looked around. As he did so, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from his right. He started to growl in that direction, thinking that it may be that dragon again. When he saw what it was, he started feeling relaxed again. It was Claire putting a bottle of water into her satchel. Her tired face turned into a joyful one.
"Oh my gosh! You're awake!" She exclaimed as she knelt beside him, put her satchel down, and without thinking, hugged Jim. Claire squeezed tightly. She was so excited that she forgot about Jim's injury. Jim yelped at the sudden pain he felt all over his chest. He pushed Claire away a little harder than he intended to. Claire landed on her bottom and wore a puzzled face. Then She realized what was going on and suddenly felt terrible. "Oh. Sorry. I forgot that you were hurt for a second. I was just so happy you were alright." Claire said as she crawled over to her side.
Jim looked over at her and his ears started to droop down. "I'm sorry." He said "I didn't mean to shove you away so hard. It was just a reflex." Jim's head started to droop down as well. Claire saw this and cupped Jim's left cheek with her right hand. She turned Jim's face towards her.
"Hey, it's okay," she said. "You didn't hurt me. You just surprised me. That's all." Jim gave a weak smile that only lasted for a few seconds. Jim moved his head away and looked down again. Claire was even more confused. Jim finally looked up at Claire after a few seconds.
Jim sighed deeply. "I should have never touched that thing in the first place. I was just so curious about that thing and I couldn't keep myself from touching it. The worst part is that I pulled you into this situation with me. I'm supposed to protect you and I've put you in more harm than good. I'm sorry. It's all my fault." Claire was at awe. She was not expecting this. She reached for his cheek again and pulled his gaze towards her.
"Jim. It's okay. Sure you touched something you should have left alone, but the important thing is the fact that we are okay. Besides, I'm glad I was pulled into this with you. I want to be here with you. I would walk through hell and back with you. I love you James Lake jr., and I will never stop loving you no matter how many mistakes you make. You're still human." Jim smiled and put his left hand on her cheek as well. He pulled her closer and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. After a few seconds, he pulled away and looked into her sparkling eyes.
"Your right. I'm sorry. I'm also glad you're here with me as well," Jim said. He leaned over and gave a soft like to her cheek. Claire gave a soft giggle. Jim pulled Claire into a softer hug and they stayed that way for a good few minutes before they separated. Claire looked down at Jim's burned chest and arms and realized something.
"Hey, Jim? Why didn't you wear your armor before standing up to that thing?" Claire asked as she took another wet rag and started pressing it against different parts of Jim's chest. Jim looked at her with a puzzled face.
"I honestly don't know," He said. "I guess my trollish instincts came over me and I forgot that I wasn't wearing my armor." Claire was about to say something, but she was cut off by an ear-deafening roar coming from the distance.
"What was that?" Claire asked. Jim started to get worried. He put his hand on her shoulder, turned her around, and faced her towards him.
"I don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out. Could you help me up? My legs are still feeling weak," Jim said. Claire nodded and took the blanket off of Jim and shoved it into her satchel. Then she wrapped Jim's right hand over her shoulder and tried to lift him. It took a few tries, but they finally managed to get him on his feet. He still leaned on her because his legs were still too weak to put weight on. Jim tried his best to put most of his weight on his own feet because he knew that he weighed more than the average sixteen-year-old.
"There's some kind of base or outpost that's not far from here," Claire said as she pointed directly in front of them. " I think we should ask for shelter there. They may be okay with a troll taking refuge there." Jim thought about it at first but soon concluded that they had no other option.
"Yeah. Maybe so. And who knows? Maybe trolls are not new to people at this time," Jim said, trying to be optimistic. They started slowly walking towards the mysterious outpost that Claire had mentioned. It only took about fifteen minutes until the couple saw a light protruding from a hut that was elevated about two hundred feet in the air. They also saw other huts that seemed to be elevated at about the same height. They all seemed to have decorations that made them look like dragons. They continued walking towards the first hut.
"So," Claire began. "What do you think the response to a six and a half foot troll and a weirdly dressed human will be?" Jim looked up at Claire, then at the elevated and illuminated hut.
"Well, I think they will…" Jim was suddenly cut off by the weird mechanical noises that they heard around them. They both looked down and saw that the had accidentally kicked trip rope. Jim also realized that they were standing on a very large net. Jim realized what was about to happen and instinctively pushed Claire away. The net underneath Jim activated and violently pulled him into the air. Jim tried to summon his armor, but he was too weak and tired to do so.
Jim saw a sudden increase in the light coming from the hut and someone yelling, "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! Then the light dimmed back down to its softer glow.
"Jim, are you okay?" Claire asked. She was standing next to the tree that Jim was dangling from. He turned to her and nodded.
"Hide Claire. We don't know if these people will be friends or foes," Jim said. He pointed to the tree trunk and Claire, with a little hesitation, hid behind it. Jim soon heard the flapping of wings and the roars of what he could only assume were dragons. He looked up at the group of dragons and had his gaze follow it. He soon realized that people were riding on their backs. There were five dragons and six people riding them.
A large man with blonde hair was riding a very large brownish-green dragon with small legs and wings. A muscular but shorter man with black hair climbed off of a red and black dragon that seemed very intimidating. Two twins that looked almost identical with long blonde hair climbed off of what seemed to be a green, two-headed dragon with extremely long necks. A slightly muscular looking woman with braided blonde hair climbed off of what appeared to be a sky blue version of the dragon that attacked Jim. And finally, a scrawny man with hazel, brown, hair and a metal, prosthetic, foot climbing off of a pitch-black dragon with big green eyes. Jim could only assume that the scrawny, one-legged man was the leader based on how he talked to the rest of the group.
"Finally. We got it. Everybody stay back," the man yelled as the blonde women held up a lamp towards Jim. The two twins walked up to him with toothy grins.
One of them fanned their nose and said, "I didn't think it would be so smelly." This person had a male voice, so Jim could only assume that he was male.
The other twin came up and said, "I thought that it would be a lot bigger." This twin had a higher-pitched voice, so Jim could only assume that she was female. The blonde girl with the lamp moved in closer and moved the lamp up higher so that everyone could see Jim. Everyone gasped when they finally saw him. Jim tried to block the bright light from his face with his four-fingered hand.
"What in Thor's name is that thing?" said the muscular, black-haired, boy. Jim started to get a little worried. The group of people did not know what trolls were.
"I don't know, but I want one," said the male twin. "Hiccup. Can I keep it? I promise to feed and water it."
The one-legged boy, or Hiccup, ignored the male twin and said, "Everyone stay back. It looks pretty dangerous and we don't know what it is."
The larger man walked up and said, "I don't think its a dragon, Hiccup." The dragons around them started to look agitated and looked like they were ready to fight at a moment's notice. Claire finally left her hiding spot and ran in front of the group.
"Wow! Where did she come from?" Asked the blonde woman. The woman pulled an ax off of her back. Jim found himself growling and snarling in response to the ax being pointed at his girlfriend. Jim could not keep it up for very long but he only needed to do it long enough to make a point. The group took a step back in response.
"Hi," Claire said. "My name is Claire and that up there is Jim." She pointed up at Jim as she spoke. "We traveled here seeking refuge when we walked into your trap. We are very sorry but Jim has been injured very badly and he needs rest. If you could please cut him down and let us stay for a little while that would be great. I will answer any questions you have." Hiccup looked over to the blonde woman as if he were waiting for her approval. The woman looked over at Hiccup and nodded.
"Okay," he finally said. "Snotlout over here will cut it… uh… him, down." The black-haired boy, or Snotlout, looked back at Hiccup quickly and wore a worried face.
"Nuh-uh. I'm not going anywhere near that thing," he said pointing at Jim.
"Please," Claire begged. "I promise he won't bite. Snotlout looked over at her and Claire gave him a pleading look. Snotlout moaned and then looked back up at Jim who was struggling to keep his eyes open. Snotlout threw his arms in the air.
"Fine. I'll cut him down, but if it kills me it'll be on all of your heads," Snotlout said pointing a finger at the whole group.
"You know what? I hope it eats you. It would be very interesting," said the male twin. Snotlout turned to him and pointed at him.
"Shut up, Tuffnut," said Snotlout. He then turned to the net and slowly walked over to it while pulling a dagger out of his boot. He slowly raised his dagger to the bottom of it and cut it with ease. Then Jim slipped out of the net and landed on the ground and hit his head on a rock that was directly underneath him.
"JIM!" Yelled Claire. She ran over to him, knelt next to him, and lifted his head up off of the rock.
"Snotlout! What were you thinking?" Said Hiccup. Snotlout spun around to face Hiccup.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know that that would happen," said Snotlout.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh. Could you keep it down, please?" Claire asked. "Jim. Are you okay?" Jim managed to weakly move his hand over and put it on Claire's. Claire smiled and brushed Jim's hair out of his face. Hiccup came over and slowly knelt next to Claire and put his hand on her shoulder.
"I am truly sorry about that. Snotlout is a real mutton-head. You two may stay with us. For as long as it takes for him to recover," Hiccup said. "Here, help me carry him to my dragon.
"Okay," Claire responded. She looked back down at Jim and said, "Everything is going to be okay. You'll be back on your feet in no time. Jim gave a weak smile to show Claire that he heard her. And once again, Claire's beautiful face was the last thing Jim saw before his world grew dark as he fell unconscious.
Jim woke up after about six hours and It had been the best sleep that he had gotten since the battle against Gunmar. The sun was shining bright outside. Jim opened his eyes and was surprised by the sight of a ceiling above them. Usually, he would wake up and see a canopy of trees or the walls of a canyon but, this time, he woke up to a roof above his head and wooden walls surrounding him. It had also been almost a month since he has slept in a warm comfy bed. He was about to sit up, but he felt something laying on his arm. He looked over to his right to see what or who it was, and he could only smile. Claire was asleep on his arm. She breathed heavily as she laid her head on his shoulder. Jim was a little shocked. They would always sleep close to each other or maybe while they were holding hands, but Claire never laid on him. She started to move around a little bit and soon opened her eyes. She lifted her head and looked up at Jim with half-lidded eyes and started rubbing her left one.
"Well, good morning Jim. Did you have a good rest? I know I did," Claire said as she sat up and stretched her arms in the air.
"It was the best sleep I've had since we left Arcadia. And it was even better with you sleeping in my arms. Claire blushed a little when he said that.
"Well, they said that they only had one spare bed. So I told them that it wouldn't be a problem and that we could share it." Claire leaned back and kissed Jim's cheek. His blue cheeks turned a bright purple in response. He then licked her cheek in response and her cheeks turned into an even brighter pink.
"I think we should do this more often as well. I like waking up and with you so close to me. It makes me feel warm," he said as he sat up to stretch his arms out. He looked down and realized that his skin went back to its normal blue indicating that he was not burned anymore. "Hey Claire, I think I'm fully healed. And my legs, they feel a lot better too," Jim said as he stood up out of bed and did a few squats. Claire couldn't help but giggle when he did so.
"Well, I'm glad," she responded. "How's your head? You hit it pretty hard last night." Jim recalled that moment and felt the back of his head with his hand. It didn't hurt when he touched it, and there was no bump or any indication of and injury.
"It seems fine. There doesn't seem to be any visible injuries," Jim said. he looked down and saw that his pants burned and darkened. They were already too small for him, so he didn't care that much. He looked up at Claire, who was getting out of bed, and noticed that her clothes looked a little torn up as well. "I think we might need some new clothes. Mine are burnt to a crisp and your clothes are torn up." Claire looked down at her clothes and saw what he was talking about.
"Well, it's a good thing these nice hosts of ours left us some clothes in the closet," Claire said as she walked over to the closet behind her. She opened it up and found many different shaded tunics, shirts, skirts, leggings, pants, fur vests, armbands, hair bands, pairs of boots, and helmets with animal horns attached to them. Claire looked behind the clothes that were easy to see and found the undergarments in the back. Jim walked over and grabbed a pair of black pants, a dark brown tunic, and a pair of underwear. He didn't want to wear boots and he already had horns, so he didn't need a helmet. Claire grabbed a pair of black leggings, a light blue shirt, a pair of light brown boots, underwear, and a bra. They each stepped out of the room so that the other could change. Claire decided to let her hair down and got rid of her colorful hair clips. They both finished getting dressed and they both decided to go properly meet their hosts.
"I like your new hairdo. I think you look even more beautiful with your hair down," Jim said as they started walking to what appeared to be the clubhouse.
"Oh, thanks. I don't think hair clips existed during this time, so I decided to take them out," Claire said. She started messing with her hair and twisting it around her fingers. As they walked to the clubhouse, they heard loud voices coming from it. If Jim didn't have his enhanced hearing, he would still be able to hear every word they said. Jim's ears started to droop again when he heard a loud male voice.
"We don't know what that thing is. If it hadn't been weak and injured it would have tried to eat me. Jim recognized the voice. He remembered it belonging to the boy who cut him out of the net, Snotlout.
"Well, it didn't. Yay us," said a feminine voice. Since Jim heard the female twin's voice and it sounded nothing like this one, Jim could only assume that this voice belonged to the blonde woman with the light blue dragon.
"Snotlout, cut it out," another male voice. Jim knew that it belonged to the leader, Hiccup. "We have no reason to believe that he was going to eat. Besides the fact that you're annoying and that you deserve it. Jim couldn't help but smile at this, but Claire didn't seem too happy at all.
"Oh, come on. Did you not see those huge fangs and long horns? That thing came straight from Niflheim," claimed Snotlout. Jim realized that their hosts believed in Norse Mythology, so they had to have been Vikings. Jim and Claire finally got to the clubhouse and Claire looked like she was going to give Snotlout a piece of her mind. When Claire tried to walk in, Jim softly placed his hand on her shoulder and silently told her that he wanted to hear the rest.
"We should fly them off the island before it's too late. Wasn't that our mission in the first place? To catch this thing and relocate it. Well, we caught it, so I think we should get rid of it." Jim saw Claire ball her hands into fists. Her knuckles turned white. Jim could also feel his blood start to boil.
"Well, that was the plan when we thought it was another dragon, but now we know that it's not a dragon and that it's someone who can explain," said the one-legged boy, Hiccup. "Besides, I would rather make them our allies than our enemies." Jim started to like Hiccup and knew that Hiccup was the leader.
"Fine, Snotlout said in defeat. "Fine, we'll let them stay, but when this all goes awol I expect a full apology." Jim heard Snotlout cross his arms. "I still think he's just a mindless and dangerous beast." When he said this, Claire's fists became even tighter. Jim saw this and turned her around.
"Claire, it's okay. I'll handle it," he said quietly. "We don't want to make a bad first impression. If you stomp in there and start yelling at them, it's not going to look good for us." Claire,s fists loosened and she nodded. Then Jim leaned down and licked her cheek. Her cheeks glowed a light pink and she turned around and walked in.
"Hello," said Claire. " Sorry about last night and how we met. I hope that it wasn't too much to ask for." Hiccup turned around and smiled widely.
"Well, hello Claire. No, it wasn't too much. We're just glad that you're okay." Hiccup said as he walked over and shook her hand. Claire thought that she saw a blue light flash in the corner of the room, but she didn't think about it.
"Well, well, well," said Snotlout as she walked over to Claire. "Isn't it the intruder from last night. Say, where's your pet?" Hiccup was about to say something to him, but he was cut off by a loud growl. Everyone turned around to see what was making such an intimidating noise. Everyone then gasped as Jim slowly walked in. He looked right at Snotlout and started slowly walking over to him. Snotlout decided to try and defend himself by pulling out a sword. When he did this, Jim knew exactly what he was going to do. Snotlout started to wave the weapon around with his eyes shut. Hiccup was about to walk over there and try to keep them from fighting, but Claire put her hand out and told him to just watch. Jim continued to slowly walk over to Snotlout and growled even louder. He stopped when he was just outside of the sword's range. He stopped growling and stopped the sword, forcing Snotlout to open his eyes. Snotlout looked up at the tall figure in front of him and he shut his eyes and started screaming.
"OH MY THOR! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME! I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!" Jim couldn't help but give an evil grin. He yanked the sword out of his hands, sniffed it and waited for Snotlout to open his eyes. When He finally did, Jim put a hand on both ends of the sword and snapped it in two. Snotlout gave a small yelp when he did so and he started to tremble. Jim then decided to take a few bites out of the broken sword and he could see that Snotlout was shaking like crazy. He crunched on the sword with his mouth open to make it louder. He then threw the broken pieces on the ground and bent over towards Snotlout and got right in his face.
"I don't like it when people call me a mindless beast or a pet. However, you were right about one thing. I am dangerous. And you look like a very filling and delicious snack. So, unless you want to be on the menu, I would suggest that you treat your guests with respect. Especially when one of them can snap you in half like a twig." He then stood up and walked away. He soon heard a "thump" and He quickly turned around to see Snotlout laying on the ground, unconscious. He also heard applause. He looked to his right and saw that the twins were quickly and excitedly clapping.
"Bravo!Bravissimo!Encore!" Exclaimed the male twin.
"Wow. That was amazing. You knocked Snotlout out without even touching him," said the female one. "I have never seen anyone scare Snotlout that much." The male one picked up a chicken that was sitting next to him and started petting it.
"The chicken is very amused," he said. Jim scratched the back of his head and turned to Claire. She was trying to keep herself from laughing. He turned to Hiccup with a worried face.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to make him faint. I just meant to make a point. I don't eat people, I promise," Jim said. He was afraid that they would kick him and Claire out for making their friend faint.
The blonde-haired woman took a step towards him and said, "It's okay, he'll be fine. He's a mutton-head, he had it coming." Jim turned to Hiccup who was also trying to keep himself from laughing. He managed to calm down and walked up to Jim. Jim was a little confused about how calm they were. Hiccup walked up to him and held out his hand. He wanted to shake hands. Jim was skeptical at first but grabbed Hiccups forearm with his four-fingered hand.
"Claire told us that you might do something like this. So we were ready for it, but we didn't tell him about it." Jim looked over Hiccup's left shoulder to see his mate. She shrugged and walked up to Jim.
"Snotlout was acting like this last night, so I guessed that you would try to scare him into submission. Everyone seemed alright with it." Jim smiled and bent down to hug her.
"Awe. You know me so well." Hiccup then walked up to the couple and put his hand on his chest.
"My name is Hiccup," He stated. "This is Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and you scared Snotlout." He gestured to the whole group. Jim smiled. He was happy that this group of people was not afraid of him, except Snotlout, and that seemed to be calm in his presence. Fishlegs walked up and started examining Jim.
"Wow. Fascinating. I have so many questions," he said as he walked around Jim. Jim felt a little uncomfortable, but he stood still anyway. "I don't know where to start." Jim was happy that someone was interested in his troll form instead of terrified of it. Hiccup walked up and stopped Fishlegs from circling Jim.
"I have one that I believe everyone would like to know the answer to." Jim tilted his head to the right in confusion but shrugged to let him know that he could ask.
"Why are you terrorizing the island?
