"Hahaha! You guys look terrible!" Snotlout laughed from Hookfang's saddle.
The teens glanced at one another: Ruffnut's hands were bandaged and she had little cuts and burns all over her arms, Tuffnut had sand and grass all over his body, Hiccup had "bucket" hair and had sand on his clothes, and Astrid and Fishlegs looked worn out.
"Snotlout!" Hiccup sighed, "...Back so soon?"
Snotlout puffed out his chest, "Duh. I knew you guys missed me, so I convinced my dad to let me join you," he grinned.
"Really?" Astrid asked.
"Of course," Snotlout said uneasily.
"That's not what I've heard," Fishlegs added.
Snotlout groaned, "Fine...my dad was sick of hearing me complaining, so he kicked me out..." he huffed, "Are you happy now?"
The twins chuckled, "Totally," they said in unison.
Snotlout glared at them, "...Ok-ay," Hiccup said, breaking the awkwardness, "How's your ankle, Snotlout?"
Snotlout paused, "It's...better," he said, looking down.
"Can you walk on it?" Fishlegs asked.
Snotlout looked away, "...Kind of," he sighed.
The teens glanced at each other, "Can you...fly with it?" Tuffnut asked.
Snotlout rolled his eyes, "Of course I can, muttonhead," he growled.
"Okay, he's back," Hiccup said, "So gang, what else should we do today?" he asked.
"Let's not ever take over the adult's jobs ever again," said Fishlegs.
Ruffnut vigorously nodded her head, "You know what they say...a challenge is only worth it if you don't have to hurt yourself in the process," she said.
Everyone blinked, "What's gotten into you, sis?" Tuffnut asked, backing away.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes and punched him. Hard.
"Nevermind..." Tuffnut wheezed.
Fishlegs cleared his throat, "Why don't we help out the village?" he suggested.
"And just how, exactly, would we do that?" asked Snotlout.
"Well...we could finish clearing dragon traps..." said Fishlegs.
"We could cover up all of the Whispering Death holes," Astrid said.
"You know...just help clean up Berk," Fishlegs said.
"Wait. Does that mean we have to work?! Again?!" Tuffnut asked.
"Ugh," Ruffnut groaned, "You've got to be kidding me."
"No, we're not," Hiccup said, "...Great idea Fishlegs! Even Snotlout can join us."
Snotlout sighed, "...Joy."
Snotlout grumbled under his breath.
"Hey Snotlout!" Tuffnut called, "What are we supposed to be doing again?" Tuffnut asked.
Snotlout groaned, "-We're supposed to be looking for Whispering Death holes," Ruffnut answered.
"Ohh..." Tuffnut said, "...Why?"
Snotlout smacked his forehead, "Ask Hiccup," he deadpanned.
"Okay," he said, knocking Ruffnut behind Snotlout, "See you later!"
"Where do you think you're going?!" Snotlout cried.
"To ask Hiccup why we have to do this," he said, snapping his fingers, "Barf...fly!" he instructed the riderless head.
The Zippleback took off in the other direction, leaving Snotlout and Ruffnut alone together.
...
"So...now what?" Snotlout asked.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Whispering Death holes...remember?" she said, forcing his face forwards.
"Oh...right," he said, urging Hookfang towards the ground.
"I wonder how Snotlout and the twins are doing..." Astrid said.
"-HICCUP!"
"I think we're about to find out," Hiccup chuckled.
"Hiccup! Thank Thor I found you!" Tuffnut gasped.
Silence.
"...Did you want something Tuff? And where's Ruff?" Hiccup asked.
"I left her with Snotface," he said casually, "But only because I have something very important to ask you," he explained.
Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs exchanged glances, "What?"
Tuffnut cleared his throat, "...Why are we looking for Whispering Death holes?"
The three teens groaned, "So nobody accidentally falls into them," Hiccup explained.
"Oh..." Tuffnut said, "But that's boring!"
"Tuffnut, just go," Astrid said.
"Fine. I'll go help make Berk lame," he huffed, taking off.
The teens shared a glance, "Why do I feel like we're going to see him again soon?" Fishlegs asked.
"Because we probably will," Hiccup sighed, "Come on guys, we have dragon traps to find."
"There's one!" Ruffnut exclaimed, "Uh...how do we cover it up?"
"Beats me," Snotlout replied.
Ruffnut inwardly groaned, "He's almost as bad as Tuffnut," she muttered.
"Did you say something?" Snotlout asked, walking over to her.
"Uh...no?" she asked.
Snotlout peered down, "Whoa...I wonder how deep it goes," he said.
"Why don't you find out?" Ruffnut sighed.
"Maybe I will," he said, leaning further forwards.
"Just don't fall in, we don't want you to...Snotlout?" she asked, looking around.
She was interrupted by a high pitched scream.
Ruffnut winced as she heard a muffled 'thump', "Great..." she sighed, squinting her eyes and peering down, "What did you do?!" she hollered.
No response.
Ruffnut sighed and looked around, "Hookfang, can you light this tunnel up?" she asked.
Hookfang obliged and spat a ball of fire into the side of the tunnel. Ruffnut peered down, "That idiot really did it this time..." she groaned, "He probably broke something too," she said, looking at Hookfang.
"I should probably go get Hiccup..." she said, mounting the Nightmare, "Let's go Hookfang!" she yelled, as he roared and took off.
...
"Hey guys, I'm back!" Tuffnut announced, looking around, "Oh really?! You guys think you're so funny," he huffed, clambering back onto Belch, "We'll see who's joke it is now," he said, flying away.
Down at the bottom of the tunnel, Snotlout was in a much worse condition than Ruffnut had predicted.
...And because this tunnel was still active, there were many other problems than just a broken leg...
Finally! An update!
...Did you like my little twist?
Thanks to all who read/reviewed!
Story Update(s):
-"Watching the Series" Animal House (full episode) should be up later today :)
-"Quit Pressuring Me!" will be a little longer wait... (Hiccup's interrogation has to be perfect)
