~˜~ § ~˜~

She then tipped backwards suddenly, her back and head slamming into the ground so hard that Valka winced. Astrid also showed her surprise, even though it was through a simple intake of breath.

"A-are you alright?" Valka finally asked, kneeling down beside the fallen bleeding girl in concern.

Her eyes didn't open. "J-just lemme see . . . see Toothl's an' Hiccup an' I'll be'un m-my w . . . w-way . . ." her voice trailed off to a painful sigh, before her body relaxed and she was knocked into unconsciousness.

After sharing a stunned glance with Astrid, Valka believed that this might be one of the strangest situations she had ever gotten into.

~˜~ § ~˜~

Ocean Eyes

Chapter III

~˜~ § ~˜~

"Hicc – wh–!"

"AH!"

"Hiccup? Oh – sorry!"

"I-it's alright . . . I dozed off . . ."

"Hiccup! We have a bit o' a problem, lad!"

"Gobber? Astrid, what's –"

"It's a mess. Just . . . come outside."

Hiccup sent his girlfriend a baffled look as she motioned toward the doorway that she had entered from only a moment ago, right before she tripped over his leg in the dim lighting. He seemed to have let the fire die as he nodded off . . .

Astrid noticed his brief hesitation and, not in the mood to be patient, took his arm and pulled him to the door. Still curious, Hiccup kept silent until he saw the commotion outside.

How had he slept through this?

There was a throng of people surrounding his house, all pressed close together and muttering amongst one another. Valka and Gobber stood closer to the home that everyone had gathered around, backs facing Astrid and Hiccup as they walked out into the night air. Immediately the buzz of bemused comments subsided, leaving an uncanny silence in its wake.

"What's going on?" Hiccup asked, tone somewhat breathless from surprise. His blonde companion didn't answer; instead she tugged him over to where Valka and Gobber were huddling. Valka turned first.

"Mom, what's . . ." he trailed off, hoping she could understand his confusion.

"We don' really know," Valka admitted, her own voice rather puzzled. "A girl came here, an' she got a nasty hit to the head. Astrid's never seen her around before, an' everyone believed she was a spy for Drago."

Hiccup heard some bitterness in his mother's tone at the name, but he didn't worry himself over it as he tried to peer over Gobber's broad shoulders and Valka's slimmer ones. "Is she alright?" he asked. "How'd she get hit?"

"Aye, ran into the ice, did she," Gobber said, shuffling out of the way and facing Hiccup. "I've been tryin' to stop the bleedin', but it won't seem to stop. I've sent Fishlegs to get Gothi."

It was then that the young chief caught sight of the supposed-spy.

His widened eyes and stuttered inhale gave his shock away.

Lo and behold, laying on the ground was a very pale and thin blood-redhead, her eyes peacefully closed despite the blood that pulsed from her forehead and trickled down her face like a river. She was dressed in gray clothing with blue wraps on her legs, and her dark eyelashes covered her bright ocean-blue eyes – not to mention she didn't look the cleanest, but nevertheless Hiccup recognized her. She might have been dressed differently, but her red hair was just as it was five years ago – sans for being a bit longer in length – and her sweet oval-shaped face was identical to the one when she and Hiccup first met.

For a moment panic tugged at Hiccup's mind. He expertly wove around Gobber and his mother to kneel beside the inert girl, and was relieved to find that her chest rose and fell slightly, indicating that she was alive.

Before anyone could question his odd behavior, Toothless jumped down from his spot on the roof. After noticing that Hiccup was dozing the Night Fury had simply left him alone, wanting to sleep as well. Once the commotion had jostled him awake, he had watched with a wary eye until he caught sight of the so-called "spy" as well.

Blizzard.

"Toothless," Hiccup began, turning to his dragon with mixed emotions in his eyes. Still, he couldn't keep the childish excitement out of his voice when he exclaimed, "It's Blizzard!"

The black-scaled dragon, ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be the Alpha and act cool and collected, bounded forward, namesake smile appearing on his face. His ecstasy caused even more befuddlement to the Berkians and their dragons.

Hiccup tentatively brushed Blizzard's bangs back – already damp with blood that went unnoticed from its color – and peered at the injury she had received. Everyone on Berk knew where the lingering ice was, and no one had gotten hurt in a week because of it.

"Hiccup, you know her?" Astrid asked in surprised disbelief.

Valka turned to her. "Didn't she say somethin' about Hiccup and Toothless?" she questioned, trying to piece everything together. "They probably all know each other."

"Yeah, we do," Hiccup responded breathlessly. "Mom, Astrid, Gobber, this –" he motioned towards the unconscious girl, "– is Blizzard. Toothless and I met her about four or five years ago, when we . . . er, went flying." keep it plain and simple for now, involve details later. Even if the details were big enough to be disappearing for a week.

Toothless tentatively nudged Blizzard with his nose, flinching back when she opened her lips and let out a small moan of pain.

"Aye, that doesn't sound good," Valka murmured.

Luckily they didn't have to stand around and worry much longer; Fishlegs arrived, panting, with Gothi in tow. "We're here," he announced breathlessly, putting his hands on his knees. Hiccup felt a twinge of sympathy for him – it would be hard to run all the way to Gothi's home and back.

Gothi immediately approached Blizzard, opening the sack she held in her hands. Valka, Gobber, Astrid, and Hiccup all shuffled away, but Toothless stubbornly stayed by her side – though he did make sure to keep his nose out of the way while the Elder worked.

The gray-haired woman was leaning down, eyes squinting as she tilted her head and put her ear near Blizzard's neck. After a quick mutter to herself, she pulled out a winding piece of gauze from her pouch and pressed it against the girl's forehead.

"Will she be alright?" Valka murmured to no one in particular.

Gothi nodded, but she seemed distracted as she felt for Blizzard's pulse in her neck. When she was satisfied, she removed the piece of gauze and peered at the wound, grumbling in frustration when the light was too dark for her to see anything.

Valka seemed to note this, and hurried inside without a word. She came out again with a candle clutched in her hand, and approached Gothi and Toothless. When the Night Fury had – carefully – lit the candle, Valka held it above Blizzard's forehead.

Gothi shot the woman a grateful look as she returned busily to work. Hiccup couldn't clearly see what the Elder was doing from his position a few steps away.

"So, 'ow'd you meet this girl, again?" Gobber asked, leaning over and keeping his voice low.

Frowning, Hiccup struggled to explain. "Once . . . when I – do you remember, about five years ago, when I left for a week?"

The question, out-of-the-blue, surprised the blacksmith, but he thought about it before shaking his head. "I can't remember every single time you went away on an adventure," he sighed. "They all blend together!"

Hiccup smiled slightly. "Well, this one time," he began again. "I went off to try and find a new dragon species I'd heard about, and I found this girl . . ."

~˜~ § ~˜~

It was dark.

It was dark, and she was floating.

Not falling, not flying. Merely suspended in the eternal abyss of darkness that she saw with closed eyes. The air around her swelled with feeling, pressing against her in a comforting manner as she laid peacefully.

When a hand carefully laid across her forehead her eyes opened to reveal the other person in the fog.

His hair was cut near his ears, framing his face. He wore a dark brown tunic that was the same color of his hair and eyes, but the latter feature seemed to have a strange metallic look to them. He carried an aura of mystical formality.

She slowly righted herself so her feet were beneath her. Gravity didn't exist as she did so, and she noticed that she, once again, wore the same blue-tinted white dress that she always seemed to wear when she dreamt like this. Her feet were bare, and felt soft, as did her hands. When she brought her eyes to meet her companion's, he cracked a small smile.

"You fell unconscious again."

"Earth!" Blizzard exclaimed happily, throwing herself toward the spirit and squeezing him into a hug, easily picking him up and twirling him around. "You're back! Or I'm back!" Her foot rested on quickly-materialized ground so she could do her little pirouette with him in tow, but since she wasn't used to the strange sensation she slipped as if on ice, causing the two of them to become suspended unevenly again.

Earth grunted in annoyance as his feet floated slightly above his head. "You're so bothersome sometimes," he sighed, slowly moving to make himself stand upright again.

"Hey!" Blizzard protested, hiding her amused giggles and eyeing him as she was slowly turned upside-down. "Spirits are so light! I can't not pick you guys up; it's like lifting a cloud!" she bent her knees so her dress didn't come up, her hair gently flowing all around her face.

"Right yourself; I came here on serious terms." Blizzard rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I came here 'cuz I –" breaking off as memories flooded in about her run-in with ice, Blizzard quickly flipped around, eyes becoming wide and frantic. "Earth! You have to let me go back, now!"

Earth's brown eyes sparked amusement, making her cheeks flare up with embarrassment. "Be patient," he chastised her sternly. "That is why I need to speak with you, and quickly."

"Fine, fine," the blood-redhead mumbled impatiently. "What?"

For a moment the Earth Spirit paused, looking mildly uncertain, throwing Blizzard off as well. She wasn't used to seeing a Spirit – him, especially – looking hesitant. "I came . . . to warn you," he finally spoke, eyes averted from her own.

"Warn me?" when he nodded in affirmation, she tilted her head. "Why? I won't be harmed on Berk, I'm pretty sure . . . Hiccup and Toothless are there."

"For two reasons." Pause. "Blizzard, listen . . ."

"What?" she said, exasperated. "And since when do you say my name?"

"Since now," Earth snapped back, before his eyes darkened to black and his voice turned ominous. "Something is crawling out of the shadows, filled with bloodlust and rage. Your destiny will be spoken again, through different words: you have been chosen out of those that have lesser strength than you. The dark creatures known as Shadows are arising after their own's destruction, and they hold you responsible for its demise.

"You are to be hunted, and you will be unable to –"

"DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!"

Blizzard's loud screech had stopped Earth's dark look, making his eyes blink up at her in surprise. Her pale features were contorted with anger. "I don't wanna hear anything you're gonna say! I may like you and Leaf enough, but I know that in the end Spirits will kill everyone I know and love just to get me to destroy those stupid Shadows for you, when you should be the ones protecting me, as a mortal. So listen here: I will never trust you."

Earth recoiled slightly, hurt flickering across his gaze, but it was only for a heartbeat. He then straightened up and gave her a cold stare. "You're an insolent and shallow mortal," he growled. "You have no right to speak to a Spirit like that, and don't feel special just because we converse with you through dreams. We do not have a casual friendship; Spirits control the world. You should bow down and grovel to us, for we keep balance and make sure your world is not thrown into undecipherable chaos for eternity.

"You are forbidden from this place for now. Leave, or your soul will be devoured."

Already the fog around Blizzard was starting to press threateningly to her, no longer caring like it had been a few moments prior. Her eyes turned sad, and she saw how he deliberately turned away from her. Hurt pulsed in her chest, and she hated it, but she couldn't deny that she had grown to become . . . rather intimate friends with him and Leaf. "Earth . . ."

When he kept his back away from her, she sighed, each breath becoming harder every time.

"I'm sorry."

The words were hardly inaudible but she knew he heard them. Blizzard rested her hand on his shoulder gently, before retracting and closing her eyes, concentrating hard on Dawny, like she always did to go back.

Quickly she disintegrated from the fog, but not before Earth jolted from his silent treatment, realization dawning on his face as his eyes widened in shock. Blizzard might not have known it, but something was wrong.

"Leaf," Earth murmured urgently, before also dematerializing from the place as well and leaving a barren, clouded land.

~˜~ § ~˜~

"So she just needs sleep?" Hiccup asked as Gobber and Valka gingerly lowered Blizzard into the bed that was now Valka's alone.

"Sleep can sometimes be the best treatment," Valka pointed out wisely.

Gobber nodded. "Gothi thinks that once she wakes up, she'll need water," he said.

Toothless, who stood beside Hiccup, nudged his rider's side. Hiccup absentmindedly patted him on the forehead.

"Somehow she got a piece of ice in her forehead," Valka added as Blizzard was finally settled, looking less ghostly now that she wasn't bleeding as heavily. "Gothi got it out, but I wouldn' be surprised if it left a scar there."

"Ouch," Astrid commented from the other side of Hiccup. "How long do you think she'll be out?"

Valka, hovering uncertainly near the blood-redhead, shrugged. "I'm not a healer, but I'd hope she would be awake by morning," she said optimistically. "We'll just have to make sure the bleeding doesn't start again."

Astrid and Hiccup nodded simultaneously, before the former let out a tired yawn and shook her head to keep her eyes open. Hiccup, noticing this, smiled in amusement as he said, "You look pretty exhausted."

The blonde gave him a weary smile. "Well, I spent the morning helping clear away the ice, and I would have won the dragon race if it weren't for you," she added teasingly. "And then Stormfly and I had night patrol, and she showed up."

"Sounds like a hard day," Hiccup sympathized, though the smile stayed on his lips. Astrid rolled her eyes, knowing he was being sarcastic.

"Yeah, it was," she responded, her grin growing, before she realized that Gobber and Valka watched them with their own amused gazes. Forcing herself not to flush, she leaned over and pecked Hiccup on the cheek. "I'm going home. Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight."

As Astrid left, Gobber piped up, "I think I'm off as well. I'll check up on our little redhead tomorrow morning, aye?"

Valka and Hiccup bade him farewell. When he was gone, the air turned awkward, since neither knew what to do with Valka's sleeping space being occupied by the unexpected guest.

"Do you want to stay in my bed?" Hiccup offered suddenly. "I can stay awake and see if Blizzard wakes up."

Valka smiled. "You're a kind boy," she said affectionately. "Thank you, Hiccup. You can wake me later, so you'll get to rest a bit."

As Valka climbed the wooden stairs leading to Hiccup's loft, Toothless retreated to the outside, where he settled on the roof of their house contentedly. Hiccup, as quietly as he could, relit the fire to a small flame as he brought his map of Berk closer so he could see, beginning to write a small note reading "house was accidentally broken by the twins during dragon race; fix" as the fire continued crackling quietly.

~˜~ § ~˜~

Updates might get a little more sporadic from now on. I'm surprised I was even able to get 4 updates on a regular basis already :)

Reviews would make me, like, uber happy~! (though that's not a word~!)

-Mitti