Birds of a Feather Chapter 10
"Fireworms! Toothless, get us out of here!" Hiccup shouted. Meatlug bounded into the air almost as quickly as Toothless did, but Fishlegs hesitated for a moment. He tried to see if there was some way of closing the door and stopping the onslaught of the tiny, superheated dragons. But there was no handle on the outside anymore, and the door swung inward, so the only way to shut it would be from the inside. Judging by the number of Fireworms flooding out through the open door, being inside that room was just about the last place Fishlegs wanted to be. He lifted off just as a Fireworm climbed up his left hind leg, and shook it off while he was still just a foot off the ground.
Hiccup sized up the situation quickly. Daylight was almost gone, and he wasn't equipped to spend the night here, or anywhere else but at home or back in his special cave on Dragon Island. They had to get those iron thorns to inoculate the Vikings of Berk against the draconitis that was ravaging them, and they had to get them now. "Back to the start of the walkway!" he shouted. "We can outfly them and grab some thorns before they get there." Two Gronckles and a Night Fury winged back toward the beginning of the stone walkway. But when they looked down, they saw the source of the scuttling, scurrying sounds they'd heard earlier.
"The whole island is full of Fireworms!" Fishlegs shouted. "They're in that room, they're under the thorns... they're everywhere!"
"That means we don't dare land," Meatlug added.
"How do you intend to get your thorns without landing?" Toothless asked.
Fishlegs tried to think fast. "Hiccup will have to hang upside-down from me or Meatlug while we hover. He can reach down and cut the thorns while we hold his legs."
"Fishlegs, you're still thinking like a human!" Meatlug protested. "I don't think our dragon paws can hold a human's ankles."
"Toothless did it with Astrid when they were fighting the Red Death," Fishlegs retorted. "If he can do it, then we can do it!" Toothless chuckled at the Gronckle's presumption, daring to compare himself to a Night Fury.
"Okay, I've got a question," Meatlug asked. "How are we going to explain this plan to Hiccup? You have to land so you can write, and we don't dare land with all these Fireworms around."
"And while you're asking hard questions, how about this one?" Toothless asked. "If Hiccup is hanging upside-down under you, how am I going to stay in the air? I need him working my tail controls or I'll crash. And I do not want to crash into all those thorns!"
"I really wish I could understand what you guys are saying," Hiccup interjected.
"I wish he could understand us, too," Fishlegs lamented. "He's the best thinker of all of us. Hey, I know!" He buzzed up next to the head of one of the statues, one who wore a conical helmet instead of a horned helmet. He reached out and scratched on the helmet.
YOU HANG
UNDER GRONCKLE,
GET THORNS
"Yeah, that will work, I guess," Hiccup nodded. "It's kind of crazy, but that never stopped me before." Fishlegs wrote some more:
WHERE TOOTHLESS BE
WHILE YOU UNDER ME?
"Huh. Good question." Hiccup looked thoughtful. Then his face lit up. "The statues! Toothless can perch on top of one of them while we're getting the thorns. He won't have to worry about flying without me."
Fishlegs translated for the other dragons. Meatlug was the only one with any qualms. "Fishlegs, you're still new at being a dragon. Should you be the one who carries Hiccup? Maybe I should do it."
"I appreciate the thought," Fishlegs replied. "But this is my quest, Hiccup is my friend, and I really feel like I need to do this. I'm pretty sure I can do it, and if I need help, I'll ask for it. Stay close, just in case." She nodded.
Their project didn't get off to a good start. The statue that looked like the best perch for Toothless was standing on a foundation that had grown unstable over the years, and when he landed on it, it toppled over. He got back into the air just before it crashed to the ground; the impact broke off one of the horns of the statue's helmet.
"Sorry, sir, whoever you were," Hiccup said apologetically. "We meant no disrespect." They found another statue that felt more stable, and Toothless landed and relaxed slightly.
"Okay, that's the first part," Hiccup called to the Gronckles. "Now, how are you going to pick me up so I'm upside-down?"
After a quick conversation, Meatlug hovered in front of him, then tipped forward so her tail went up and her head went down. "I'm supposed to do a headstand on Toothless' back?" Hiccup wondered. "I'm not very good at those. You'll have to grab me fast, before I tip over." Fishlegs nodded and hovered right behind Toothless, forelegs extended and ready. Hiccup kicked himself into something like a headstand, and Fishlegs grabbed him with his claws. He made sure to catch him around the knees, rather than the lower leg, because he wasn't sure if Hiccup's artificial leg would stay on if half his weight was hanging from it. He made sure his claws didn't sink in, and he tried not to grip too tightly, but he didn't want to drop his friend and he slightly overdid it. Hiccup cried out in pain; the new Gronckle relaxed his grip very slightly.
"Whew! That's better," Hiccup gasped. He got his knife out of his pocket, which was a lot harder than usual because he was upside-down. "Okay, I'm ready! Let's do this."
Fishlegs hovered over the thorns, picking a portion where a few branches stuck up above the patch so they'd be easier to cut away. Hiccup began sawing at them; his knife was made of the best iron, and was as sharp as a skilled smith's apprentice could make it, but those thorns were tough! He also had to be careful not to impale his hands on the thorns he was trying to cut. Meatlug hovered nearby, ready to rush in if Fishlegs got into any trouble.
"Okay, I've cut off the first branch of thorns," Hiccup called. "We never did find anything to carry them in, so I'm going to stick them through my vest, with the points facing out – it's a good thing they grow with most of the thorns facing the same direction! They won't fall out that way. Just remind me to be careful, and not to hug Astrid when I'm carrying the thorns; I'm turning myself into a human pincushion." He worked the thorns into his vest. "I'm starting to get a headache; this upside-down stuff is for bats and Night Furies, not people. Here goes the second batch of thorns."
It was at that moment that Toothless shouted, "Whoa! This statue is falling over! Help me, somebody!" His perch was leaning to the side in slow-motion, and he was a few seconds away from a nasty encounter with the thorns. Meatlug was closer to him than Fishlegs was, so she hummed over towards him, unsure what she could do to help. Toothless jumped off the statue just as it toppled over, and bounced off Meatlug's back. He used her as an aerial stepping-stone to reach the next statue, which had a very small, pointed helmet on top. He had to balance himself carefully, and flap now and then to keep from falling off, but at least this statue seemed to stand on solid ground. The impact of the Night Fury on her back threw Meatlug straight downward, and two of her paws hit the thorns.
"Ow!" she cried. "Those thorns are sharper than human spears!" She checked the bottoms of her paws and found several tiny puncture wounds.
"At least we know the thorns will do the job now," Toothless commented. "Thank you, Meatlug. You had perfect timing. I'm sorry about your feet."
Hiccup was completely absorbed with his task and didn't see any of this. "I've got two branches of thorns. I'll cut a third one, just to be sure we have enough, and then we'll get out of here." The Fireworms were gathering in the thorn patch beneath him, curious about what he was doing, and ready to pounce on him if he fell to the ground. Their glowing light actually made it easier for him to see in the darkness. He needed all the help he could get.
"Got 'em!" he finally shouted. "Now get me right-side-up before my head explodes!" He sheathed his knife as Fishlegs hovered over to Toothless; he reached down and rested his hands on the saddle, Fishlegs let go, and he fell into riding position. His sudden weight on Toothless' back almost made the dragon fall off his precarious perch, but Hiccup was quick to lock his feet into the pedal controls, and the Night Fury took off before he could fall off.
"Now what?" Fishlegs asked as they flew away from that horrible little island.
"I think Hiccup intends for us to return to Dragon Island for the night," Toothless called from in front of him. "We'll probably arrange a return to Berk in the morning."
"Do you always do whatever Hiccup says?" Fishlegs wondered.
"Of course I do! I'm bonded to him," the Night Fury answered, sounding surprised. "If he's totally wrong about something unusual, I'll let him know, but in terms of daily life, whatever he wants, he gets."
"That gives him a lot of power over you," said Fishlegs.
"It does," the black dragon nodded, "but that doesn't worry me because he never abuses that power." He turned his head back to glare at Fishlegs. "Your bonded should be able to have the same confidence in you… unless you're stupid."
"Don't worry about that!" Fishlegs exclaimed quickly. "I think I've learned that lesson."
"I hope so," Toothless said quietly. "For her sake, and for yours, I hope so."
"I'm not worried," Meatlug whispered in her beloved's ear.