A miserable man,
and ill-conditioned,
sneers at every thing;
one thing he knows not,
which he ought to know,
that he is not free from faults.
...
It was forlorn; the faces, the air. The atmosphere was anything but tender. It was a inconsolable sight. Neither of the two vikings in the distance even dared to conciliate with the blonde that sat in front of the lament Nightmare.
Hiccup heaved a shaky breath, afraid to even speak a word. But yet he gently whispered to himself, "I did this. This is my fault." It seemed the words didn't reach Fishlegs, luckily, but Astrid heard them clearly. She placed a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder as if he was the one that needed alleviation.
The rising of Fishlegs' body caught Hiccup's attention as it was the first sign of movement from him since he collapsed to his knees. "We've got to go. We've already wasted minutes mourning when he is still out there," Fishlegs voiced gravelly. He made his way to Meatlug and sat on her back. The other two followed suit and flew off in search of Snotlout; Hookfang flying beside Meatlug. The determination in the Monstrous Nightmare's eyes was confounding. Nobody believed Hookfang cared so much about his egoistic rider.
"You called this thing a beast," Hiccup started, almost afraid to speak. "What is this beast exactly?" Hiccup trailed behind Fishlegs, he knew to keep his distance and give the blonde some space.
"I can't," Fishleg's voiced cracked. He had finally lost control and his tears, along with his feelings, came spurting out. "To know what this thing can do, I just can't think about it. I just," Fishlegs heaved a shaky breath. He turned to look behind at the two worried Vikings.
"Nevermind. Let's speed this search up," said Fishlegs as he flew higher. He wiped away his tears, unaware that Astrid had flew up close beside him.
"You care for him a lot, don't you?" She voiced softly. Fishlegs glanced to the side to analyse the sympathetic features of her face. He coughed, as if he was trying to hold down his true feelings.
"We grew up together. Our families were close. Of course we weren't always friendly towards eachother but that fued subsided. Isn't it normal to worry about a childhood friend?"
Astrid was suspicious. She raised an eyebrow but didn't attempt to push him further.
The atmosphere became tense. It was silent. The fierce beats of their dragons' wings was somewhat therapuatic with the horrid thoughts that flooded the three Dragon Rider's minds. It was when Hiccup's loud and scared voice cut through the tense bubble that surrounded them that changed the atmosphere entirely.
"Snotlout!"
The two blonde's turned around to see Hiccup and Toothless diving fast towards what caught their eye. They followed suit and what they saw shot Fishlegs straight through the heart.
Fishlegs jumped off Meatlug as they hit the ground and ran towards the quivering body. He fell to his knees and softly placed his hand on the trembling boy, only to retaliate. His body was cold to the touch. So pale that his veins were clearly visible. The only sign of colour was the cuts that wept over his limbs.
Fishlegs was devasted. Tears welled up in his eyes as they travelled to Snotlout's face. Most of it was covered with his knotty black hair, but the trail of many tears could still be shown, along with his purple and dry lips. His head rested on his left arm and Fishlegs caught sight of damage made to Snotlout's hand. Many teeth marks were evident on his hand, even some left traces of blood.
The blonde couldn't take much more of the poor sight and dragged Snotlout into his arms. He tried to cover as much bare skin as possible to warm up the freezing Jorgenson.
He felt something wet hit his legs softly. The shivering and sniffling of the boy in his arms gave the indication that it was tears that he felt. But then he no longer felt anything. He didn't feel the clenching of Snotlout's nails in his skin as the boy tried to relinquish his pain. He didn't feel the hands prying his arms from the grasp he held on Snoutlout. He didn't feel the weight removed from his lap as Hiccup carried Snotlout onto Toothless. His aching heart was all he could feel as his whole body trembled as if to mimic Snotlout's condition.
...
How Fishlegs got back to Dragon's Edge was a blur. The last thing he remebered was Snotlout being carried onto Toothless, and then he ended up in a small room, sitting on a stool beside a bed staring at Snotlout as his chest moved up and down, unsteadily.
Fishlegs felt his tears drip onto his arm as he slowly reached out to hold Snotlout's hand. It was cold. But yet he kept holding as he cried for his friend's eyes to open.
Friend.
Fishlegs doubted himself as he knew these feelings were abnormal towards a friend.
This was something more.
"Fishlegs," Astrid ran into the infirmary, red faced and panicked. "Dragon Hunters gave been sighted on the shore. We need to get our defenses," she explained, walking a few steps in.
Fishlegs looked at Snotlout and nodded. He stood up, but before he left he placed a kiss on the boy's head.
"I'll be back."
