Chapter 7 Hurt
Hiccup screamed when Wrenlou grabbed his shoulder and rolled him on his back. His breathing was still raged and he was clenching his teeth. The blood had soaked Hiccup's tunic and pooled around him on the ground. Hiccup cried out when Wrenlou pried his hands away from the wound. His expression had changed to pure agony. Wrenlou couldn't blame him as soon as he saw the wound. Dagur must have had some sort of poison on that knife of his, because the skin around the wound was red and swollen. He opened the saddlebag. Inside were a rolls of gauze, lots of them. He also found a large piece of clean, white cloth. As he pulled it out of the bag, a shadow suddenly towered over them. Liberty.
'Ch... Change... wing.' Hiccup uttered, breaking into a coughing fit again.
'Shh, don't try to talk. Just lay still. It's going to be alright. And this is Liberty.'
Hiccup gasped for air and the dragon crooned softly, pushing her nose into his side. It send a wave of pain through his body and he moaned. Liberty wailed and backed up a few steps, laying down on the ground with her head next to Hiccup. Hiccup moved his hand towards her and the dragon perked up. She sniffed the hand, then started to lick the blood away. Wrenlou was glad that she distracted Hiccup, because what he was about to do next would hurt.
Hiccup screamed when Wrenlou suddenly pressed the cloth in the wound, sending sharp pain up his spine. His eyes were squeezed shut, but tears sprang into his eyes. How could a wound so small hurt so incredibly much?
'Try to breath even. It's no use if you start hyperventilating.'
Hiccup opened his eyes again. Both Wrenlou and the dragon were hovering over him.
'I... c... can't...'
'Breath shallow if that helps, but try to breath even. It will ease the pain.'
Hiccup closed his eyes again. It was really hard to even out his breathing. It just hurt too much. And every time he tried to take a deep breath, he would start coughing uncontrollably, which would hurt even more.
Wrenlou turned his attention to the wound again. The white cloth had turned red by now, but he knew he couldn't hold it forever. He had to wrap it, as tightly as he could. But Hiccup had to be upright for that. He cursed his broken arm and gestured to Liberty. The dragon apparently understood what he wanted, as she got up and moved behind Hiccup. She gently pushed him up, until he was leaning against her nose. Hiccup was crying now, but made no sound while Wrenlou wrapped the wound. He hoped it would at least help put pressure on it, and stop the bleeding. When he was done, he signaled to the dragon to lower Hiccup to the ground again. When she had done that, she curled up at his left side, watching over him as a mother would watch her young. Wrenlou looked at the bandage for a while, but it appeared as if the bleeding had stopped for now.
Dagur had left them alone so far, so Wrenlou made no move to get up. Having at least stopped the bleeding, Wrenlou finally took the time to look at his own injury. His arm was, after all, still broken. He looked in the bag. There was one roll of gauze left. He took of his wristguard and gasped. Even though it had acted as some sort of a splint, it hadn't stopped the swelling or the bruising. Almost his entire arm was purple, twice as thick as it should be. He winced as he used the last roll of gauze to wrap his arm as tightly as he could. After he finished bandaging his arm, he fastened his wristguard around it again.
'Looks... p... painful...' Hiccup whispered.
Wrenlou looked down at him. Hiccup's emerald green eyes were already feverish.
'Don't worry about me. I will be fine, really.'
Hiccup tried to say something, but coughed instead. Wrenlou put a hand on Hiccups chest, trying to comfort him a little.
Dagur suddenly shouted from across the arena, and Liberty growled, as she scrambled to a protective pose between Dagur and the two men on the ground. Wrenlou stood up, pushing the dragon aside.
'Just... give me a moment.'
But Dagur seemed not to care about giving him a moment. He signaled to two of his men. They pulled Hiccup up by his arms, resulting in another cry of pain, and half carried, half dragged him away. Wrenlou watched powerless as they dragged Hiccup through the gate. He turned to Dagur, hatred in his eyes. Dagur seemed unfazed by it and just stared back.
Liberty nudged Wrenlou's shoulder. Not having a choice, he turned around to her. He hated training dragons for Dagur, especially while Hiccup was in desperate need of his help.