Outside, however, things were going far less smoothly. The moment Eira knew she was out of the hunter's line of vision she suddenly collapsed from the pain, unable to stay upright for a second longer. Her body hit the ground harder than she would have liked, and she just prayed that the resulting slight thud couldn't be hear inside. She rolled so that her back was on floorboards of the landing strip beneath her and her eyes fell on the sky above. A smile wanted to make its way up to her face, but she was too tired even for that. Suddenly HiccupicHIc's voice registered in her ears, and she realised he had been calling her name.

"Eira?!" He said again, this time leaning over her so that his sprightly face came into her sight
"H-Heyyyy Hiccup!" She would have done her usual quirky pop of the 'p' sound but she was trying to conserve what little energy she had left. Hiccup, however, remained concerned and launched into his line of questioning.
"What are you doing here? Are you okay? Oh Thor you're bleeding again!" He bombarded her with the plethora of successive questions and then instinctively went to pick her up, but she waved him off with one hand before he touched her. Then used that same hand to lift her fingers to her lips and whistled a note that deliberately fluctuated in pitch, and Hiccup realised she was calling for Toothless. Since he'd heard her use that call before.
"I'll be fine Hiccup, I've had worse" She let her hand fall beside her again as she turned her head to see him better. "I just had to speak to that hunter before Gobber took him."

Suddenly Hiccup's face darkened into a scowl as he pulled a bandage from one of his many pockets and began wordlessly rewrapping her thigh wound, from which a red trail of blood was dancing down her skin towards the wooden floor below. Eira tried not to let her thoughts hover on how intimate it felt to have Hiccup's strong and calloused hand gripping her inner thigh, knowing it was meant as a pragmatic gesture, but it still got to her.
"He did this to you" He spoke, eyes blazing with anger as he continued his ministrations.
"Well not that injury no." Eira tried to lighten the mood, but Hiccup just looked at her with a stare that said don't you start.
"
I don't understand why Gobber even let you in there." Hiccup huffed, removing his gaze from her's again, and Eira couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. Does he seriously still not trust me?
"Well..." She looked away from him, trying to hide her expression "Gobber supervised me if that's what you're worried about. Besides I finally got him talking, he's in there spilling his guts… though not in the literal way as I would have preferred." Hiccup finished his motions as she talked, and shock filled his face.

"I wasn't worried about that, wait what?! You got him to talk?! Th-then I've gotta get in there now!" He stood up quickly, and Eira knew she had to stop him, so she sat up abruptly, ignoring her injuries, and grabbed his prosthetic in one hand, the rest of his leg in the other and swiftly separated the two, snatching it out from under him, knocking him over in the process, and he landed on his arse right beside her with an 'oof!'

He had fallen quite close to her, however. Their faces were only about 3 inches apart, and if he didn't know any better he'd think her eyes fell to his lips and back to meet his own eyes in a flash. But he assumed he was overthinking and went with the obvious "What did you do that for?!" He hollered and she handed him his leg and he proceeded to strap it back on his stump.

"Sorry, I had to act fast to stop you, you're a lot more mobile than me at the moment" She said, wincing as she realised that the prior motion had just torn a few more stitches. At that moment Toothless landed near them, cooing playfully seeing both of them on the floor. Not understanding what was happening he went and licked his best friend, but didn't bestow the same spit covering upon the redhead, knowing she was still in a fragile state. "Hey Toothy" She smiled at the night fury. Then turned her attention back to Hiccup "You can't go in there at the moment, it was a … delicate negotiation to get him to talk" Hiccup wondered what she had meant. "But don't worry, Gobber will tell you everything soon…. Besides-" She looked down and saw that she was now bleeding in multiple places yet AGAIN and sighed at her hopeless state "-I think I need you more than Gobber does at the moment" Hiccup almost blushed at her words, but concluded that there wasn't any special meaning behind it, so he went into his pragmatic leader-mode.
"Well I tried to pick you up and you stopped me. So... if you don't want me to carry you what do you need?" Hiccup's green eyes were intent and expressive as ever. Eira tried not to stare.
"It's not that I don't want you to carry me. I k-kind of do, actually." Now it was her turn to blush, and Hiccup himself felt flustered seeing her reaction "If you repeat that I will string you up Hiccup Haddock." He put his hands palms out in front of himself in a defensive pose, she sighed and continued "It's that … I'm sick of feeling useless." She balled her hands into angry little fists, and Hiccup knew exactly how she felt. He knew she wasn't useless, far from it, but he also knew how useless you can feel while being injured, even though you can't help it.

"So how can I help you but not make you feel that way?" He said knowingly, and Eira was glad he understood. It felt like they were on the same wavelength again.
"Could you put me on Toothless, please? He can carry me back to your room, I wouldn't feel so…. Childlike being carried by the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself, than I would being carried around like a damsel needing rescue. Oh Thor I sound ridiculous don't I?" Hiccup laughed, and shook his head.

"Not at all." He smiled and she matched it, tooth for tooth. Hiccup then picked up the redhead, trying not to love how right she felt in his arms, and he carefully put her on Toothless' saddle, and then he and his dragon walked side by side to his hut, in silence.

Once they reached the hut Hiccup had to break the quiet, which was a shame because it had been a long time since he was comfortable being in someone's company without talking or feeling awkward about the muteness. He spoke, eventually, once the need had arisen. "Do you mind if I carry you up the stairs?" Hiccup messed with his hair on the nape of his neck behind his head. "Toothless isn't known for his delicacy in tighter spaces" He chuckled at his own joke, and Eira smiled back and wordlessly outstretched her arms in a 'pick me up' gesture, and Hiccup couldn't help but think that in that moment she was so astonishingly adorable. How could someone this small be so brave, or so strong?

He even found himself thinking if my father had had her for a daughter, she'd have done him proud. This is the type of Viking Stoick the vast would relish calling his kin. But Hiccup didn't even think of how that reality would come about… he just was so wrapped up in all things Eira, he didn't even know what he was thinking meant! He picked her up and trudged up the stairs, "Gothi and the ship hasn't left yet, I'll get her to give you a once over before they go, they decided to wait for Gobber since the other Berkians wanted his specific brand of manpower to escort them. They said they didn't feel safe without him."
"I can see why!" Eira grinned as Hiccup laid her down in his bed. "He's got quite a way with weaponry." She chuckled. "And fists too!... errr fist. Sorry" Hicup laughed.

"I'm going to head back to the stables to wait for Gobber to finish his questioning, so I can hear everything as soon as possible, then he and the ship can leave…" His face turned sour "Don't want to delay the ship any more or the bodies will start to smell and make the journey even less pleasant for the survivors." Hiccup was trying to focus on the logistical side of things rather than the emotional, it was a move she recognised well. Eira, not thinking but acting on impulse, grabbed Hiccup's hand as it hung by his side. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to, as they locked eyes he knew he had all the understanding and support he could need. After a moment, he was re-energized, like she had charged him or something, he spoke again.

"Are you good to check those and rewrap them" He asked, gesturing to few wounds which were bleeding again. Eira squeezed his hand and then let it go.
"I've got this Hiccup, go." She smiled then waved him off while he turned and left his hut.

Neither one knew just how great the grin was on their respective faces were as they left each other's presence.