Thanks to all who read and/or reviewed!
midnightsky0612: I don't know…what does Hiccup usually do? ;)
PART 2-How to Beat a Storm…(and everything else)
"That was the worst rescue mission ever…" said Fishlegs.
Snotlout huffed, "No it wasn't! I just…wanted it to seem…well, real..." he said.
Fishlegs scoffed, "It was real!" he said, "You got stuck in the bush and—"
"Alright, alright you two, don't make a scene," said Gobber, separating them.
Just then Ruffnut, Hiccup, and a very banged up Thornado clumsily entered the arena. Hiccup was being dragged by Ruffnut, who was wearing a scowl on her face.
"Whoa, what happened? You guys look as if you were—" started Tuffnut.
Ruffnut glared at him and shoved Hiccup into his chest, knocking him over. Gobber looked from the teens to Thornado, "What in Thor's name happened?!" he asked, bewildered.
Ruffnut sauntered forward, "Well," she said, "This genius," she gestured to Thornado, "Got himself hurt, and this other genius," she added, pointing to a struggling Hiccup, "Finally remembered everything," she said.
Tuffnut looked down at Hiccup and pushed him off, "So…why is he still…like that?" he asked.
Astrid gasped, "Where's Stoick?!" she asked.
Hiccup froze, bit his bottom lip and looked away, giving Astrid just enough information to figure it out herself. Her eyes widened in realization and she ran over to Hiccup and pulled him into an embrace—which he gladly accepted.
"So wait, you're saying that the Chief is somewhere out in the forest?" asked Fishlegs worriedly.
"Well, duh," deadpanned Snotlout, "Otherwise he would be here instead of out there," he said.
Everyone glared at him, "What?" he cried, "I call it like I see it!" he argued.
Gobber walked towards Thornado, "Alright what do we have 'ere?" he pondered, glancing at the torn wing. Gobber kneeled down and brushed his hand over the injury, the Thunderdrum's blood seeping onto his own hand. Gobber wiped his hand on his pants and said, "Yup, it's definetely torn…most likely from crashing into a tree," he said, "Although it looks a little jagged, meaning that he could've switched direction during the impact…" he wondered out loud.
Hiccup sniffed, "What are you saying?" he asked.
Gobber stood up, "I'm saying that we need to go look for your father," he said, waving his hook-hand around.
Just then, lightning flashed and rain started to pour into the arena, immediately soaking everyone. Gobber shook his head, "As soon as this storm had passed…" he mumbled, "Alright everyone, go to the Great Hall…you'll all be safe there," he said. The teens wordlessly climbed onto their dragons and took off, making record time as they reached the Great Hall—where the entire village already was gathered. Some people noticed the drenched teens and brought them next to the fire, where they also handed them blankets.
"So, uh…" said Snotlout quietly, "What happened out there?" he asked.
Ruffnut looked over at Hiccup for an answer, but all he did was shake his head, "I don't want to talk about it," she said.
Snotlout forced his mouth shut and let his gaze fall towards the fire as their dragons joined them…sitting behind their rider. Hiccup immediately curled up against Toothless and instantly fell asleep. Astrid looked at him with worry, but soon drifted off to sleep next to Stormfly. Fishlegs and Snotlout quickly followed her suit, leaving just the twins—who were still awake.
"Seriously Sis, why won't you tell anybody what happened?" asked Tuffnut.
Ruffnut heaved a sigh, "Because…" she said, "I don't think I should be the one to tell…"
Before Tuffnut could reply, Hiccup opened up one eye and said, "Ruffnut? Tuffnut? You guys still awake?" he asked.
"Duh," said Tuffnut.
Ruffnut shook her head and whispered, "What are you doing?" she asked.
Hiccup sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "I thought that maybe…well...you know…oh, never mind," he said.
Ruffnut scooted next to him, "You want to go look for your father…don't you," she said.
Hiccup stuttered, "Wh-wh-why would y-you think t-th-that?" he asked.
Tuffnut joined them, "Oooh! Are you going out in this storm?" he asked, "I wanna come! It's awesome!" he quietly cheered.
Hiccup looked at the sleeping teens, "I don't know…" he said.
Tuffnut looked at him, "Even if you wouldn't invite us, we would probably come…and if we actually listened to you, we would probably tell everyone where you went," he said, "So you should probably let us come with you," he suggested, pleased with his comeback.
Hiccup scratched his scalp, "I don't know you guys…I kind of wanted to do this alone," he said.
"We'll leave once you find him! We just wanna come for the adventure!" grinned Ruffnut.
"Please!" the twins chorused.
"Ugh, fine," huffed Hiccup, "Just promise me that you'll let my father and I take care of our personal stuff," he said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah whatever," said Tuffnut.
"I'm serious, Tuff," said Hiccup.
"And when are you not?" replied Tuffnut.
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "That's…not the point," he said, defeated.
The twins didn't want to admit it, but truthfully they only wanted to come to make sure that Hiccup wasn't going to do anything crazy…well, crazier.
"Great! Let's go!" said Tuffnut, mounting onto Belch.
"Wait!" Hiccup said, "They'll know that we left when they wake up tomorrow! We have to make a plan so that they won't try to follow us," he said.
"Hmmm….think, think, think, think, think, think, think…I KNOW!" cried Tuffnut.
"Shhhhhhhh!" hushed Ruffnut.
Tuffnut pulled something out of his satchel and jumped off Belch's neck, "I can write them a note saying that we went to get some more supplies!" he said triumphantly.
Ruffnut and Hiccup stared at him, "What?" asked Tuffnut, "It's a brilliant idea," he said.
Ruffnut slapped her forehead as Hiccup rubbed his chin, "Actually," he said, "That's not such a bad idea."
"What?" said Ruffnut.
"If we tell them that we're getting supplies…to fix a leak in your roof—which will take the entire day, maybe longer—and say it's a three person job, hopefully they won't actually check on us," said Hicucp.
Tuffnut looked into his bag and sniffed, "Oooooh, dragon nip," he said dreamily.
"Where did you get that?" asked Hiccup.
"A while ago…" said Tuffnut, avoiding eye contact.
Hiccup's eyes lit up, "We can spread that around the Great Hall so the dragons won't be able to help them either!" he said, "Although…I feel kind of bad for the dragons…" he admitted.
"We have to do it…it's the only way this plan will work," said Ruffnut, snatching the nip from her brother's hands.
"Yeah!" said Tuffnut, "Wait, what's the plan again?" he asked.
By now Hiccup had finished the note, and Ruffnut had finished spreading the dragon nip—specifically around their friends dragons. Hiccup took a look at the others—specifically Astrid—and said, "We have to go guys…now," he said, mounting Toothless.
"Finally!" cheered the twins as they headed towards the door. They paused for a moment, "Uh, how are we supposed to leave when there's a storm outside that will probably wake everyone up?" asked Tuffnut.
Suddenly a there was flash of lightning, followed by loud rumbles of thunder. Hiccup saw this as a opportunity and said, "Now!" he instructed, forcing the doors open. By the time the trio had exited the Great Hall and closed the doors, the thunder had finally silenced. Luckily for them, they were able to leave unnoticed.
The next morning, Astrid was awakened by a loud roar of thunder. She shivered slightly, waking Stormfly up as well.
"Sorry girl," said Astrid, scratching Stormfly under her jaw.
Stormfly crooned in response and playfully nudged Astrid. Astrid quietly laughed and turned around to face Hiccup; However, she didn't see what she was expecting to see...
"Hiccup?!" she cried, looking around, "Ruff? Tuff?" she said, waking up Fishlegs and Snotlout.
"Astrid? What's going on?" asked Fishlegs, groggily.
Snotlout yawned, "I need my beauty sleep," he muttered.
Astrid ignored him and cried, "Hiccup and the twins are gone!"
Fishlegs look around and saw a sheet of paper, "Over there," he said, "It's…a note! From Hiccup!"
Astrid looked over Fishlegs' shoulder and read the note quietly to herself-
Good morning everyone!
Sorry we didnt wait, but Ruff and Tuff asked me to help them fix a leak in their roof. They said the storm would probably flood their house…and "that would be unfortunate". Oh, those two can be so hilarious! ...hahaha, and since this is just a three-person job, you guys can just relax and enjoy the rest of the day! We probably won't be back until tonight, so until then…have a great day!
-Hiccup
Astrid and Fishlegs looked at each other, "This note seems pretty fishy to me…" said Fishlegs.
"You're right, it doesn't sound like Hiccup at all," agreed Astrid. She turned around to mount Stormfly, but found that she had fallen back asleep.
"Well…I guess we could wait a little longer," she said, not wanting to face the consequences of waking up a sleeping dragon. Fishlegs looked at Meatlug—who was sprawled out on the floor—and nodded.
...
The day was almost over, yet their dragons were still "sleeping".
Question (for next chapter)-
If you and a friend were stuck in the middle of the woods and one of you was, well, somewhat helpless...what would you do to escape/wait out a storm? (i.e. Hiccup finds Stoick, but the storm is too strong to fly back…what happens now?)
