Chapter 7 is here, enjoy :)

Running Rivers

Chapter 07: Storm

He was gone

The only thing that remained of Hiccup, was a pile of clothes, and a mound of sand that was slipping between Alvin's fingers and scattering to the wind.

Dagur could only stare at the spot his lover had been, he felt Toothless finally awaken and move off of him, but a new weight settled on his heart. He couldn't move. Maybe if he just stayed still, the reality of the situation wouldn't hit him.

The reality that Hiccup was gone.

"H... Hiccup..." Dagur's voice came out as a whisper.

Toothless looked at him in question, then turned back to the battlefield looking for Hiccup, but he couldn't see him anywhere. The dragon gargled in question, where was his companion? He should be here?

Toothless started to panic, he turned back to Dagur and growled, ordering the spirit to tell him where his rider was.

But Dagur just stared at the ground, he was trying not to lose himself in the feeling of despair that washed over him. "He's gone..." he said quietly.

The dragon stared at him with wide eyes, how could Hiccup be... gone?

Then a cruel and gravelled laugh sounded, both dragon and spirit turned to see Alvin cackling, the rock cyclops clearly pleased with his work.

"I did warn him," Alvin laughed as if this whole thing was one big joke to him. But then his laughter stopped, an annoyed look replaced the maniacal grin, "But now I 'ave to find me-self another water sprite."

The fact that he'd just taken a life didn't faze the cyclops at all. But his indifference had a dramatic effect on Dagur and Toothless. Rage coursed through the two of them, how dare this monster act so casually about destroying their precious water sprite.

Toothless let out a roar and sprinted forward towards Alvin, fire in his eyes and throat as he attacked again and again. Alvin pulled up his stone walls once more to protect himself from the flames, but this time Dagur wasn't going to let him defend himself.

While the dragon had rushed forward, the forest spirit dug his fingers into the stones and dirt at his feet and forced his branches through his fingertips, leaves started to grow over Dagur's horns as he forced the roots to form deep within the ground at his feet. Once the roots were formed, Dagur pulled his fingers back and manipulated the new trees to sprout forth.

The new trees quickly grew and lashed around Alvin and his stones, thickening their bark as they wrapped tighter like wooden snakes. While Dagur bound Alvin to the ground and restricted his movements, Toothless kept firing, hitting Alvin from every angle.

Alvin felt the fires licking at his armour, penetrating deep through the stones. But he refused to be bested by these two. He stood at his full height and pushed his rocks against the branches and vines around them, stretching and pushing against them until they snapped, then he fired the boulders in all directions. Toothless and Dagur only just managed to avoid being hit by the projectiles.

Then they heard Alvin laugh again, "You stupid insects, what makes you think you can win against the king of the mountain!?" He bellowed.

In the back of their heads, Dagur and Toothless were starting to think that Alvin might be right.

But then the winds picked up.

The three stopped their fight and turned to the sky, watching as the clouds up above thickened and swirled over the mountain tops, then they began to darken like the beginnings of a storm.

"What the... What is this?" Alvin demanded. Something in the air didn't feel right.

Dagur didn't know what was happening, but as the wind strengthened and whistled through the leaves on his horns, there was something familiar about it. Toothless also sensed something different about the wind against his wings, and he roared loudly at the clouds, he sounded almost... happy.

Then an especially large gust of wind swept over the mountain ledge, Dagur wrapped the vines around his and Toothless's feet and planted the roots deep into the ground, but Alvin was starting to lose his footing. He tried adding more rocks to his armour to increase his weight, under normal circumstances this would have worked, but this wasn't normal wind.

Suddenly the wind changed direction. It swirled around Alvin's feet, before suddenly whipping under him and ripping him from the ground. Dagur and Toothless watched as Alvin gave a cry of surprise as he was thrown high into the sky, right into the eye of the storm. Inside the cluster of clouds, the rushing air cycled spun him around as if he weighed nothing at all, and it ripped his stone armour away piece by piece.

"Who's doing this? Show yer'self!" Alvin yelled at the clouds, trying not to let his fear show.

To Alvin's surprise, the creator of the storm did show himself. His presence shook Alvin to his core, as he recognised the wing being in front of him.

His form was tall and slim, with a hint of muscle in his long arms and legs, and his skin was pale but with a spattering of freckles across his cheeks and shoulders. His short auburn hair flowed in the gentle breeze, and his green eyes shone brightly. He wore a simple white sleeveless tunic with a gold sash around his waist, he also had white cloth wrapped around his shins and upper arms.

But his most startling features, were the large white wings on his back, beating gently to keep him airborne.

"But... But 'ow? I dried you out, you should be nothing but sand," Alvin spluttered, clearly surprised by the boys presence in front of him.

Hiccup glared at the cyclops in front of him, in truth, even he didn't fully understand what had happened to him. He had heard stories about water sprites becoming air spectres, something about the moisture in the air. But right now, Hiccup only cared about getting a little revenge on the mountain cyclops.

He pulled on the wind and brought Alvin closer to him, looking straight into his murderers eyes as he spoke. "Do you know what happens to rock giants in the ocean?"

Alvin felt a shiver run through him, he'd asked almost the exact same thing to the water sprite, right before he'd dried him out.

The air spirit just smiled down at the now helpless cyclops.

"They sink," He said simply.

With that, Hiccup tossed Alvin aside with a sweep of his white wings, sending him plummeting towards the ocean bellow. Alvin hit the water like a stone, and sunk deep below the surface of the water. He didn't resurface.

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, then he turned to the ground, he spotted Toothless and Dagur below. A smile broke out on his face, he tilted himself down and gracefully fluttered down to the mountain ledge.

He looked different to say the least, maybe a little taller and his hair a little shaggier, but even without the tints of blue in his hair and eye, and his blue scales, Dagur instantly recognised his lover.

"H-Hiccup? Are you... I mean... How are you... Just... How?" Dagur honestly couldn't find the words. He'd seen the love of his life shatter into sand right in front him, and now here he was, hovering just off the ground looking like an angle, Dagur was almost afraid to touch him in case Hiccup disappeared.

Hiccup watched as the older forest spirit inched closer to him, but he had other ideas. Hiccup jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Dagur tightly, holding him close as his wings fluttered behind him.

"It's me, Dagur. I okay," Hiccup said softly.

Thankfully this snapped Dagur out of his trance. The forest spirit wrapped one arm securely around Hiccup's waist, and brought his other hand into the now spectre's hair, bring his head closer and planting a deep kiss to the others lips. His hands ran through Hiccup's hair and his tongue tasted the other's lips, almost as if he was check to see if Hiccup still felt and tasted the same.

Just one final chapter to go, will be rated M ;) After that I will post the results of the Story Vote, let me know what you think :)