A sudden, high pitched whistle and the familiar roar of a dragon.
Astrid opened her eyes to find herself still very much alive. She felt jolted from the delay to her demise and though her eyes recognised what was wrong immediately, it took her brain a few seconds to catch up with her.
Secret, tiny body trembling from how hard he was growling, facing off against the giant flaming Nightmare right in front of her. Every annoyed snap of the larger dragon being met with a snarl and a claw swipe of equalling fury.
And as terrifying as the situation was, Astrid just couldn't help herself when she mentally compared the sight to that of a kitten facing off against a bear.
Her mouth gaped as she felt her legs give way underneath her. She scrambled a little to get back from the two dragons as the rest of Berk seemed to catch up to the situation themselves.
She watched as Secret chanced a glance back at her when the Nightmare paused to listen to the screams of the vikings just outside the arena. There was no hole large enough for them to wedge their muscled bodies through.
Secret had been small enough to squish himself through the bars but fully grown vikings, not so much. Astrid felt her heart swell as she looked into his green eyes, the vigor of her will to live squirming its way back into her chest.
Secret had saved her life… Now she had to do the same for him.
"Go Secret! Please fly!" Astrid found herself screaming. Sounds of grunting and the screeching of the metal gate coming from behind her already.
Secret's ears perked. He looked back to the Nightmare, its jaws snapping at the vikings just behind the bars. They'd begun to chuck anything that could be used as a projectile at it, the small pebbles stabbing its eyes and face at every turn.
"Secret! Go!" Astrid made a surprised noise as she felt her body being yanked backwards.
"Get behind me! Now!" Valka's voice was a stern comfort as she quickly put herself between Astrid and the two dragons still facing off in the arena's center. She lifted Astrid's discarded axe from the ground and crouched into a ready stance.
"Valka please wait! You've got it all wrong!" Astrid turned to cry at her. She wobbled to her feet, desperate to still have a standing no matter how unstable she felt. "They're both scared! You don't have to kill them!"
"Astrid not now!" Valka almost snarled out her words. The anger behind them almost made Astrid fall once more and she found herself unable to move when the older woman charged ahead.
Valka leapt up high and onto the distracted Nightmare's head, skillfully twisting her nimble body around to bash and slash at the beast's scales with Astrid's axe.
The blade, finally meeting its mark, sliced clean through part of the Nightmare's throat as a river of blood cascaded down onto the arena floor. The Nightmare snarled. Head whipping back and forth to try and dislodge the shield maiden covering its eyes. And, in one final panicked, swooping motion, managed to throw her across the arena; her body slamming hard into the solid rock and down onto a lever pairing with the final door.
The Nightmare howled in pain as the automatic mechanism of the last door pulled open. A four legged scaly figure of black scales and pure rage tensed against its bindings.
Nightfury.
Astrid regained control of her legs and immediately made a dive for Secret. He made a surprised, indignant squeak as she wrapped her arms around his middle and hoisted him up into her arms. No way was she going to let this go on for much longer.
But in true Hofferson luck, just as she was about to make a run for the exit, the Nightmare decided it wasn't quite finished.
It's giant maw opened, the back of its throat glowing a violent white, as it prepared to spit a sizable stream of flame directly onto her and Secret. The tiny dragon in her arms made a loud squeal of terror and suddenly the Nightmare was hit by a black blur.
The Nightfury, bits of snapped chain raining down from its recently broken bonds, spread its wings in defiance and put its body directly between Astrid and the Nightmare.
Astrid felt Secret wiggle out of her arms and though she scrambled to grab him once more he slipped away to curl around the leg of the larger dragon. The gesture was incredibly affectionate and reminded Astrid longingly of the protective hugs her mother would give her when she was young. This was only exaggerated by the brief moment the larger Nightfury took to dip his head and coo out a purr to him before curling its lip up and snarling at the Nightmare again.
As the Nightmare dipped it's bloody head and backed away into its holding cell, Astrid felt stupid for not figuring out the connection before now. Secret wasn't alone because he was abandoned or stranded, just simply separated from his family.
She felt even worse when the hammer hit.
The larger Nightfury made a horrible pained sound as a heavy metal brick on a stick cracked into the side of its skull. It stumbled, dizzy but not quite out yet, eyes unfocused and trying to find its attacker through the haze.
Astrid followed the attack line and there, with all the presence of a man born to kill dragons with his bare hands, the chief stood. A second large mallet clutched in his right palm.
He visibly gritted his teeth, a war cry screeched from his throat as he dashed forward, clearly using the heavy weight of his weapon to bring a good deal of force to his swing. She barely had a moment to make a sound, let alone a protest, before the metal made contact.
Astrid refused to remember the sound it made, nor the terrified cry of Secret as the larger Nightfury was knocked from its feet and into the sidewall of the arena. It's dark scales dragged down the stone and there it fell limp. A pool of sticky red already spilling out onto the floor for all to see.
In Astrid's mind there was silence. Though she heard the distant roar of the vikings and felt the warmth of the chief's hand on her shoulder when he asked her if she was alright, it was almost as if Secret hadn't saved her just moments ago.
Everything felt cold.
Like her life essence, her soul had been knocked clean from her body the moment the chief hit his mark.
She briefly registered the chief saying something, calling for someone or something to help her because she was in shock. Is that what this was? She thought it would be scarier. She supposed it didn't matter now because all she could think about, all she could see, was Secret.
No one had thought to go against the tiny thing now that the bigger threats had been dealt with.
And so, surrounded by angry cries with enemies all around, Astrid watched as he cautiously approached the limp form of his guardian. Ears folded down and tail between his legs, his motion stuttered for a second as he nosed the larger Nightfury's front paw.
The body moved only when he touched it.
No eyes opening, no nostrils flaring, no twitch of acknowledgment when Secret brought both front paws up to shake it desperately. Little draconic whimpers escaped him as the larger dragon made no move to wake up.
Astrid flinched as someone came up behind her and lifted her off the ground. She wanted to fight back. To push at whoever it was and get them to put her down, though she wasn't sure what she'd do once they let go.
Just as she was about to be carried out of the arena a loud ear splitting screech echoed around the stone.
The cry itself was near demonic. Not something she had ever heard before and not something she thought she ever would again. Something that was inherently draconic but also something human. Vague noises of human vocal cords and sounds twisting its way into the unholy screech.
Panic ensued around her. She could see dark bodies of her neighbours piling into the arena, trying to get a glimpse of the spectacle she, herself, couldn't see.
At one point she thought she caught a glimpse of Fishlegs and a flood of relief nearly overwhelmed her. His eyes were wide with a look of terror and pure curiosity.
Finally after what seemed to have been an age the screeching came to an end. The person that was carrying her began to move once more as Astrid felt her eyes begin to get heavy.
Despite all that had happened all she could really think about was Secret. How maybe if she had been smarter, made the connection quicker, all this might not have happened… Or maybe not… who knows…
The solid ball of guilt in her gut faded with her consciousness, and Astrid drifted into a heavy sleep.
To be continued…