Sadly, this story's authors are once again about 550 miles away from each other but it's okay because that won't stop us! We both decided that we prefer online writing but we will be doing a few things differently depending on the scene. And onto the next chapter!
Chapter Eleven: An Unlikely Hero
"ADDIE!"
As Hiccup ran as fast as he could toward the hole in the ice where his daughter had been standing moments before, every story he'd ever heard about people falling through ice into frozen water flitted into his mind. His heart stopped as he remembered that few of them had a happy ending. He heard several loud cracking noises before his own body fell beneath the water's surface. The world suddenly went silent as it felt like his body was torn apart by the freezing water around him. Everything in his brain told him to curl up to conserve heat but his little girl was far more important. Desperately trying to ignore the stabbing chill around him, he reached out and, after a few kicks of his legs and swings of his arms, he caught his daughter around the middle. He immediately swam upward and felt his hand burst through a tiny sheet of ice at the surface. Brandyn pulled him and Adrianna out of the water as Toothless tried to blow hot air on them without melting the ice beneath them.
"You okay?" Brandyn asked the barely conscious Hooligan chief.
"Ad-d-d-d-die..." Hiccup mumbled groggily as he leaned over his daughter. "C-c-c-come on..."
Brandyn looked at the Haddock girl, who now seemed to be coated in a layer of ice. Her arms were clasped tightly around her chest and her mouth was open but no movements came from her, nothing to indicate that she was still alive.
"B-b-b-breathe..." Hiccup muttered as he blew into her slack jaw and tried to push on her stomach.
Ignoring her freezing father, the teenager crawled over and shoved him out of the way. Hiccup yelled indignantly but stopped as he watched Brandyn use his fingers to pry Adrianna's mouth open a bit further. The teenager then took a deep breath and blew into it. He moved down and applied pressure to her stomach.
"Come on..." he muttered as he moved his way back up to her mouth.
Brandyn repeated the actions a few times, his mind racing as he tried to remember exactly what he'd seen a healer do for a similar patient years ago. Finally, the girl spat out the water that had been in her lungs and lay limp on the ice, her chest rising and falling and her limbs shivering but still very much unconscious.
"She's okay!" Brandyn called to Hiccup. "But we better get her back to the house!"
Syd bounded over and helped Brandyn mount him while also holding the Haddock girl. But Hiccup wasn't about to let his daughter out of his sight. He crawled over and reached out, trying to take her from the boy.
"Woah, hey, you should be headed back. I've got her." Brandyn protested but Hiccup paid him no heed.
"G-g-give her to m-m-me." he said stubbornly (or as stubbornly as a man shivering so hard he stuttered could say anything).
"Get on your dragon and fly back before you pass out." Brandyn held Adrianna as close to him as he could. "You're soaking wet and freezing to death. You'll just make her colder."
"Now, Brandyn!" Hiccup barked, his glare almost as cold as the water.
"Hiccup-"
"She's my daughter." Hiccup reminded him as he held out his arms. "Mine."
Brandyn growled in annoyance before placing the girl's frigid body into her father's arms. Toothless immediately bounded over and scooped them up before taking off.
If Hiccup though being submerged in freezing water was bad, flying while soaking wet in sub freezing temperatures was the worst. He curled his body over Adrianna's and prayed fervently that she would be okay. How in the world did she always end up in these situations in the first place? It was like trouble followed her everywhere and Hiccup's desperate attempts to protect her were as ineffective as trying to keep a treat away from a Terrible Terror.
Despite the piercing cold biting his exposed skin, he cried out, "Come on bud, faster!"
When they arrived at the village square, several Outcasts emerged from their houses and looked at them in concern. Hiccup ignored them, tumbling off his dragon and walking on his knees as he held his daughter close to his chest.
"Mom!" Brandyn called as he touched down next to them.
Lofn bustled out of the house, took one look at them, and immediately rushed forward to try to help Hiccup up.
"What happened?" she asked her son as she grasped Hiccup's shoulders.
"Anna fell in and he went in after her." Brandyn explained.
They heard Allie the Insincere, who was strolling by, mutter to herself, "Of course she did."
Lofn and Brandyn paid her no heed as they helped the Hooligan chief shakily stand and walk into the warm house. Hiccup finally dropped Adrianna on the couch and grasped the blankets Brandyn had used the previous night, throwing them on her as best he could.
"Hey, slow down there." Brandyn grabbed Hiccup's shoulders. "Sit down, we can handle this."
Hiccup ignored him completely and continued to search for as many articles of clothing and blankets, even pillows, as he could find. He struggled with one blanket in particular, his fingers fumbling and sluggish. He shook his head to focus but felt his body slowing down rapidly. He fell to his knees next to her and touched her cheek with an equally frozen hand, sighing when it appeared to be just as cold as before. Finally forcing the last blanket he could find into the shape he wanted, he wrapped its long ends around Adrianna's head and tucked it under her chin with blue, shaking hands. Only her face could be seen through the bundle surrounding her, but he finally sighed in contentment. Surely she'd be okay with these many layers on and around her. Suddenly exhaustion washed over him and he closed his eyes, slipping out of consciousness with his forehead resting against Adrianna's chin.
Vidar and Dustin Jorgenson were a force to be reckoned with. All the grownups liked to call them the new Dynamic Duo for Destruction, second only to the Thorston Twins. As a result, they liked to call themselves the DDD. Nothing could stand in their way, not rocks nor trees, not scorching sun nor freezing cold. They were Jorgensons and Vikings through and through, and together they would conquer the world as their father before them-
"OW! Vidar!" Dustin bellowed, shoving his brother into the snow. "Mind your sword, man, you nearly blinded me!"
"Dang it. That would've been cool." Vidar grumbled as he stood back up.
Dustin stepped up to his twin nose to nose. "What was that?"
"You heard me, Dusty!" Vidar straightened, his black hair standing on end from under the rim of his helmet. "If you had one less eye then I'd beat you more often!"
Dustin's face reddened and he clutched his wooden sword in his hand tighter. "I told you not to call me that-"
"Hey, what's that on your helmet?" Vidar narrowed his eyes and swiped his fingers along the rims of his twin's helmet. He inspected his fingers and then harrumphed, "Oh, of course, silly me… It's just a little… dusty."
"That's IT! This means WAR!" Dustin raised his sword arm high over his head and cried, "AHHHHHH-"
"AHHHHHHHH!" Vidar met his sword midair, both screaming horrid war cries that made the Terrible Terrors fly for cover.
Sweat poured, eyes blazed, feet shuffled and wooden swords clashed. Snow flurried around the 8-year-olds' ankles as they slashed and thrust. The sounds of their epic battle rattled off the walls of their neighbors' houses and carried into the nearby square.
A fierce battle it was, the victor sure to obtain the wondrous riches of his superior execution of battle skills. Surrender was unacceptable; defeat was inevitable for one. Only one could prove himself victorious at the bitter end of such a gruesome battle.
At last, Vidar smacked the edge of his sword on Dustin's hand. The boy dropped his sword with a yelp and Vidar slid his blade onto his neck. "At last: victory!" Vidar crowed in triumph, grinning as wolfishly as his father. "Any last words, peasant?"
Dustin sneered. "I've nothing to say to you, fiend. Except that you are a worthless pig whose scum is not worthy on the sole of my shoe than in my sight."
"Kiss my boot." Vidar pressed the blade tighter against Dustin's neck.
Dustin closed his eyes reverently. "I would rather die."
"Ahh but such a waste to spill the blood of mine enemy so mercifully!" Vidar cried, mournful hand resting against his chest. Then he shrugged. "Oh well. DIE!"
"DAHHHHHH…" Dustin fell to his side in the snow, feigning death. His mortal enemy—his brother—stood before him, nodding in pride with a high chin.
"Taste the defeat! I am the ruler of all of the archipelago! And NOTHING can stand in my way! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vidar shouted to the rooftops, reveling in his supreme… well, his supremeness.
Dustin suddenly sat up from the snow with a raised eyebrow. "Well that's obnoxious."
Vidar scowled. "You're supposed to be dead."
"I don't want to be dead. What if I choose myself to live forever?"
"You can't do that!"
"I just did! I am the forever living Viking! You cannot kill me! Taste the defeat now, your worship!"
"Oh I'm going to tear you to pieces-"
A sharp whimper cut through the young boy's play. They twisted around to see a Changewing limping through an alleyway toward them, whimpering all the way with her wings kept close to her body.
"Mystie?" Dustin was the first to reach her, scratching her jaw. The dragon panted heavily as if she'd traveled far. The boys scratched her jaw in confusion until she reared her head in agitation.
"Whoa, hey girl, what's the matter?" Vidar asked.
Mystie growled a complaint and turned toward the alley from which she'd come. When she turned, her right flank was exposed to reveal the jagged, nearly foot long laceration. Blood dripped from the wound freely and stained the snow in a long red trail from whence she'd come.
"Oh no! Her leg!" Dustin cried. Blood wasn't supposed to be so gruesome. It wasn't in their imaginations anyway. Then the strange twist in her left wing caught his eye and he petted her front leg sadly, "And her wing is twisted… poor girl."
Vidar nodded. "Dad will have to wrap her leg up. And maybe Chief Astrid will help with her wing. But where's Inga? It's her dragon."
Mystie huffed at the boys impatiently, annoyed that they were focused on her leg and not at where she was looking. The boys continued to talk to each other, completely ignoring what she so dearly wanted to say. Finally the dragon reared up and roared at the boys. The sound startled them so they fell back onto their bottoms in the snow, staring up at the Changewing with gobsmacked expressions.
Vidar frowned. "I think she's trying to tell us something." Mystie huffed in annoyance again.
Dustin snickered. "You think?" Mystie interrupted their goofing off once more and pulled Dustin to his feet by his coat. "Hey, put me down! Mystie!" The dragon plopped him down on the saddle strapped to her back, and finally he took note of its condition. Not only was Mystie injured, but her saddle was also torn to shreds! The new leather looked as though it'd been through years of wear, tear and bad weather…
Mystie groaned in pain as she twisted around and ran through the village with Dustin still on her back. He shouted for her to stop while Vidar chased them, trying to catch up. Mystie finally skidded to a stop at the edge of the village, facing the wintery woods and misty mountains beyond. Mystie whined pitifully and stared at the boys pleadingly.
"Vidar…" Dustin looked at his brother with wide eyes.
Vidar nodded with equally fearful eyes. "Mystie… where's Inga?"
Mystie crooned sadly and stared out into the forest. The boys' hearts stopped and it only took them a second to make a simultaneous decision. They had to find their father.
Dustin slid off of Mystie's saddle and took off after Vidar toward the Great Hall. Mystie roared after them in a hurrying tone and sat in the snow where she was. The boys were thankful that they only had to scale one small hill and the stone steps to reach the Hall… but they were icy. It was nearly a full ten minutes before they finally threw the door open, dodging the guards trying to grab them and keep them outside.
Vidar shoved his way through the heavy doors and nearly slid to a stop at the ravaging sickness all around him. Dustin grabbed his sleeve and yanked him further in, dodging women hurrying around, ignoring people's coughing and overall sickly expressions.
"DAD!" Dustin called as loud as he could. Many heads turned their way but they didn't stop running. "DAD! MOM!"
"Hey now!" Two large meaty hands descended and grabbed them by the back of their collars. They struggled from their hanging positions, but froze when the slightly haggard but definitely annoyed eyes of their grandfather loomed in front of them. "What in the blazes are you two doing in here?" Spitelout scolded. "Do you two want to get sick?"
"We need to find our dad-" Dustin began.
Spitelout scowled. "No excuses! This is no place for playing games!"
Vidar struggled again as his grandfather began to shove them towards the doors. "It's no game, grandpa, honest!"
"What will your sick friends think when they see you flaunting your good health-"
"Grandpa, this is serious!"
"Not another word, now out with you-"
A firm hand on Spitelout's shoulder stopped him in his tracks and Snotlout stood before them with an equally stern expression. "What did your mother and I tell you boys?"
Dustin sighed, "Dad, we-"
"I don't want you to get sick."
"Dad, it's not about us!" Vidar argued. "It's about-"
"I'd like my boys to survive until their tenth birthday if that's all right with you. We need good strong Jorgensons to carry on the line and we won't have either of you falling to the sickness." Snotlout interrupted each of the boy's attempts with a scowl.
"But-" The boys tried impatiently, then sighed happily when Heather joined the group by the door.
"What's going on?"
"Mom! We-"
"Why in all of Asgard are you two in here?"
Vidar sighed heavily, "Well if you'd just listen we might tell-"
"Don't talk back to your mother!" Snotlout warned, crossing his arms.
Spitelout shook his head. "Children these days. Back in my day-"
"Yes, dad, we've heard this a thousand times about how our parenting skills are so meager in comparison to your father's. But hey, the bad had to start somewhere." Snotlout patted his father's arm. "Great work!"
Heather rolled her eyes impatiently. "Odin grant me patience… boys, you need to leave. Right now."
"Mom seriously, we have to tell you something!" Dustin yelled.
"Out now, boys!" Heather turned to Snotlout questioningly as she nearly shoved them toward the door, "Is Inga back yet?"
The boys nearly tore out their hair. They both whirled around, faces turning red in anger at the adults. "That's what we've been TRYING to tell you!" Dustin shouted.
For a moment the adults stared at them in confusion before Vidar continued, "Mystie came to us by the house and she has a big cut on her leg-"
"Yeah, and she took us to the edge of the forest and kept whining real sad!" Dustin finished.
The adults were quiet until Heather gently said, "Boys, tell us the truth."
The twins frowned. "We are!"
"She's still out there, I swear!"
"Yeah, I'd gladly sacrifice my right eye if that would prove anything!" Vidar straightened and Dustin raised an eyebrow at him quizzically.
Heather scowled. "No one is sacrificing their anything for such a silly-"
"Heather," Snotlout interrupted softly. Heather looked at him and he continued, "They wouldn't make something like this up. And she was supposed to be back half an hour ago." Her husband suddenly turned on his heel and ran into the Hall.
"Snotlout!" Heather ran after him, but whirled around to order her father-in-law to 'keep them right there.' By the time she'd caught up to her husband he was already tying blankets to Hookfang's saddle. "Snotlout, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to find her." he muttered distractedly.
Heather smiled steadily at a few people looking their way. She didn't want to worry anyone, but she had to ask, "You don't actually think-"
"I don't know Heather, but I won't lose my baby to the ice." Snotlout kissed his wife chastely before jumping into his saddle. A hand on his leg stopped him and he looked down in confusion to see Gustav Larson standing there. "What? Kind of in a rush."
"I know. Do you want a second hand? Or third and fourth eye?"
Snotlout narrowed his eyes at the young man, glancing at his family sitting on their pallets nearby. "Shouldn't you stay with your family?"
"They're already on the mend. You need the help and I'm getting cabin fever in here." Gustav glanced over to the pillar nearby, "And my father…"
Snotlout sighed impatiently. "I'm leaving in thirty seconds with or without you."
"Fanghook's already saddled. Let's go." Gustav jogged to his Monstrous Nightmare and saddled up. He must have been heading outside anyway when he'd overheard Snotlout and Heather.
Snotlout looked down at Heather and said strongly, "I'll find her."
"I know." Heather nodded and stepped back for Hookfang to take off. "Be safe!"
"Safety's overrated." Snotlout called before he disappeared.
The Great Hall doors quickly closed behind them and they were hit with a vast difference in temperature. Snotlout and Gustav dove toward the edge of the village in search of Inga's Changewing. She soon came into view, watching as they landed beside her. Snotlout leaped down and quickly examined her.
"I think her wing is only sprained. Do me a favor and take her back to my barn."
"But how will you find Inga alone? You don't even know where she is!" Gustav cried as he and Hookfang rose into the air once more.
"I'll find her!"
"How?!"
"Simple: follow the trail of blood!" Snotlout didn't wait for Gustav's reaction. The young man was probably kicking himself for not thinking of that himself, but as Hookfang flew across the icy plains, he understood. The Larson family was under a lot of stress right now.
Snotlout and Hookfang followed the trail of blood until it began to fade in the snow, nearly a mile from the village. The father muttered to himself all the while, begging the gods to spare his child. Only white surrounded him aside from his red and orange dragon beneath him. When the blood trail became too faded to make out, he wanted to scream in frustration.
Hookfang suddenly lurched forward with a roar. Snotlout didn't question his dragon's instincts as he dove toward the ground. There, on the other side of a fallen tree, lying still next to a large boulder was his only daughter.
"Ahh no no no no no…" Snotlout cried as he jumped out of his saddle, nearly twisting his knee on the harsh landing. He cleared the fallen tree, scratching his arms and face on sharp branches, and scrambled the rest of the way to his daughter, sliding to his knees beside her. "Inga!" He gently picked her up and cradled her to his chest, checking her pulse and mouth for breathing. "Inga, come on baby, give me something. Inga!" he cried desperately, brushing his big hands across her pale, icy face.
Ripping off his black bearskin cloak, he wrapped it around her small body and carried her as carefully as he could to Hookfang. The Nightmare stretched as far as he could to reach them so Snotlout would have fewer troubles to worry about climbing through the debris. Snotlout climbed into the saddle, still clutching Inga to his chest as Hookfang took off.
"Come on, sweetheart, anything, give me anything to show you're okay. Please, daddy's here, I've got you, you just have to say something." Snotlout begged into her ear. Inga remained silent and she only seemed to grow colder in his arms. He growled angrily, "Hookfang, faster!"
Hookfang snapped his wings harder against the wind, propelling them through the air faster. His master and friend's young was in danger: he couldn't keep her out the cold a moment longer. The Monstrous Nightmare ignited his skin as gently as he could; at first Snotlout grew irritable but then nodded in thanks at the idea. The gentle heat of the dragon's skin began to warm the bearskin cloak that Inga was wrapped up in.
Inga remained unresponsive even as they landed in front of the Great Hall. Snotlout jumped off Hookfang's back and kicked the massive doors open. "MARA! I NEED YOU NOW!" his voice bellowed into the Hall, making people cower.
Ignoring the gasps of his (thankfully masked) sons and Spitelout sitting nearby, Snotlout ran directly to a fire and began to rub Inga's arms and legs to warm them up. He turned to yell for Mara again when she appeared at his side, her hands ghosting Inga's neck and face. Heather sat beside him with a gasp, her hands covering her mouth.
Mara had been silent too long. "Is she okay?" Snotlout asked tersely.
The healer nodded gently. "I think you found her just in time. If it weren't for that coat and those gloves you made her wear, Heather, then she may not be as lucky. Bring her here." Snotlout held his daughter close as Mara worked her magic, stripping the girl of her coat, boots and socks and packing her in with loads of blankets, then surrounding her with iron pots of steaming liquid. Spitelout nodded in satisfaction, boasting that a good healer knew what to do in hard times such as these.
But Snotlout ignored such optimistic responses. He tuned out all the surrounding noise of the Hall, ignored Mara fussing about his slightly swelling knee, kept one ear on Heather's quiet talk with their twins about their sister's condition. Instead of focusing completely on these things, he put all his energy and focus onto the still icy cold face of his daughter. Still cold, still quiet… too quiet.
Rage burned in his soul and it was all he could do to hold her gently. She'd only wanted to help her people. Of course she had to get punished for it. She hadn't deserved this… but underneath the anger he felt, Snotlout could only feel a petrifying fear gnawing in his gut.
An ice cold fear that meant his baby would never wake again.
By the time Hiccup and Adrianna awoke, it was a few hours later and they were both bundled up and lying by the fire. Neither of them could remember what had happened very clearly but they were slightly suspicious of the fact that they'd mysteriously changed clothes and were wrapped so tightly, they could barely move.
"Ahh, you're awake!" Lofn said cheerfully from across the room. "About time! We were starting to wonder if we'd lost you."
"Mmmmf..." Adrianna groaned, not enjoying the noises that were taking her out of her blissful slumber.
"Yeah, you guys almost died! Why do I get the feeling this wasn't the first time?" Brandyn asked, helping Hiccup out of his blanketed confines.
"We're Haddocks. A day without a near-death experience is a boring day." Hiccup quipped as he slowly sat up, arcing his back as he stretched.
"Huh... I guess today is just an average one for you then." Brandyn put a cup of tea in Hiccup's hands. "Your voice sounds terrible."
"Thank you. I get that a lot." Hiccup deadpanned.
"I mean you're really hoarse." Brandyn rolled his eyes. "You feeling okay?"
"Ahh, nothing a cup of tea won't clear up." Hiccup took a big sip and sighed contentedly. "Yep, that's all I needed."
Lofn, however, wasn't convinced. She hurried across the room and yanked Hiccup's mouth open. Adrianna giggled at the look of irritation on her father's face at having his mouth peered into without his consent yet again.
"Dah I hah oss om my oat?" Hiccup asked with his mouth open.
"What?" Lofn raised an eyebrow as she finally let Hiccup's jaw go.
"I said do I have spots on my throat?" Hiccup repeated.
"Oh. No but it's pretty red. Probably just a cold but that's what you get when you dive into freezing water." Lofn sighed and went back to her sewing.
"But the good news is that you've got the fish you need so as soon as you're up for it, you can be on your way." Brandyn added.
"We got the fish? But we went back to the house before we could do any real ice-fishing." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at a suddenly grinning Adrianna.
"Well someone took the mission a tiny bit too far." Brandyn nudged the girl on the shoulder. "But we're glad you did."
"Though it wasn't easy to pry the fish out of your frozen arms." Lofn added as she handed Adrianna a cup of hot tea.
"You didn't have to do that, Addie. Swimming to the surface would have been safer." Hiccup narrowed his eyes at his daughter, who stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well I didn't want to have to go back out again." Adrianna winked at him. "Plus I figured as long as I was down there, I might as well."
They all laughed at this, quite relieved that no harm seemed to have been done. Even the dragons laughed along, relieved that their humans would be okay after all. Toothless bounded forward and dragged his large, pink tongue from Hiccup's chest to his face.
"Gah!" Hiccup sputtered. "My mouth was open!"
Toothless let out a guffaw and licked his human again. Hiccup made a face as he tried to push the Night Fury away but the dragon was having none of it. If Hiccup was going to go and do something stupid like almost die, he might as well tolerate the dragon's relieved licking. It was the least he could do.
"You know Toothless," Hiccup said, grimacing at his dragon, "nothing against you, I'm sure you're a handsome beast in the dragon kingdom, but I don't much enjoy French kissing you."
As Brandyn and Lofn laughed, Adrianna's eyes widened. "That's French kissing?"
"Yeah. Well sort of. Tongues are involved but not usually dragon tongues." Hiccup explained as nonchalantly as he could with a reptile the size of a yak ambushing him. "What did you think it was?"
Adrianna's face grew hot. "I thought it was kissing under a rainbow." she admitted, averting the gazes of everyone in the room.
"You are so adorable!" Brandyn chortled. "Haven't had the big talk, have you?"
"Oh trust me, she's had the talk. We made sure of it." Hiccup assured the boy. "Although I suppose my wife wasn't as thorough as perhaps she should have been."
"I'll say." Brandyn shook his head and turned back to Adrianna. "I'm sure you have a lot to learn. Maybe I'll teach you one day." he winked at her and she rolled her eyes.
"Maybe but I'll stick with the guy at home for now." Adrianna replied. "Besides, you could have your pick of the ladies here."
Brandyn grimaced. "Outcast girls. No thank you."
"Oh, so Addie's only attractive by default then?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the boy.
"You're the one who didn't want me to be attracted to her." Brandyn shrugged.
"Yeah but she's got some gorgeous genes, as you can see." Hiccup ruffled his own hair.
"Pointing out that your daughter looks like you, a man which, as you may remember, I am not attracted to, is not helping." Brandyn rolled his eyes. "But you guys seem to be fine so don't waste any more time here on our account."
"Well..." Hiccup looked at Toothless and Lily; both of whom seemed quite comfortable and satisfied. "I guess we could get going if you're feeling up to it, Addie."
Adrianna stretched and took another sip of tea. "I think I'm okay. Ready to get this over with."
"Me too." Hiccup agreed.
Both Brandyn and Lofn helped the two pack up the dragons and insisted on giving them food and a few more blankets. Hiccup and Adrianna walked out into the bitter cold, thankful that it wasn't snowing.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality." Hiccup said as he mounted his dragon. "You guys are amazing."
"It was nothing, really. You were wonderful. You should come back again." Lofn offered with a warm smile.
"Or I might come to Berk." Brandyn winked at Adrianna. "You know, if I decide Outcast Island isn't the place for me anymore."
"That'd be cool. I'm sure we could find a place for you." Hiccup shook the teenager's hand. "Our village would be lucky to have someone like you."
"Oh I'm not so sure." Brandyn said, giving Hiccup's hand a final, firm shake before letting go. "Maybe I'll be the lucky one. I mean I'll get to spend a little time with Anna here at the very least."
"Sure you will." Adrianna rolled her eyes but her amused expression still shone through. "It was nice to meet you though."
"The pleasure was all mine." Brandyn kissed her hand, making her giggle. "Erick's a lucky guy."
"That he is." Hiccup said through his teeth, casting a sideways glance at his daughter. "But we should go. Come on, Addie."
And with that, the two dragons ascended into the sky, headed to an island neither the Night Fury nor his rider ever thought they'd visit once more. But, for some reason, Adrianna was excited. One last ingredient to get before the stop to Healer's Island. And they wouldn't need that last one anyway. Because surely no one would be that far gone. Her heart thudded as she thought about it and she focused her attention on other, more pleasant things. Things that had nothing to do with the most terrifying experience of her life.
This chapter suffered from a lot of procrastination. But we got it done and that makes it all better!
To reiterate and expand upon the above comments, EmmerzK and I think it's actually better that we write separately. We come up with dialogue and ideas together but our styles are our own and they're not as good combined as we might have liked. I think they're similar enough that the difference isn't too jarring. And with stories such as this, there are two major things going on at once so it is like two different stories. She wrote the bits on Berk and a few of the opening paragraphs and I wrote everything else.
Don't forget to review!
~KateMarie999
P.S. I've uploaded all the music from the soundtrack on my tumblr under the "growing up haddock soundtrack" tag so you can find them there. Please leave comments because he really wants feedback! I'll be uploading them to youtube when my video editor stops being annoying. Hopefully soon. So if you can't comment on tumblr, you can comment there. The link to the tumblr page with the soundtrack is at the bottom of my profile. You don't need an account to see it.