Astrid panted, only then realizing that she could finally cover herself. She crossed her arms over her exposed chest, and pressed her knees firmly together. Curling in on herself as if she could sink right through the floor of the wooden deck.

Krogan looked at her with intensity, walking through the parted group of men until he was right in front of her. She glared at him. Half of her was beyond grateful that he'd stopped the assault on her, but the other half knew that whatever his reasons for doing so were, they likely weren't much better.

Besides, it was hard to look intimidating when she finally noticed the streaks of tears that had since masked her pale face.

The leader's eyes studied her entire form. Like he was taking mental snapshots of her every curve, her every inch, where her thin frame made her bones jut out into her milky skin, and where the blue in her eyes met the dark circles thereunder.

He just… kept staring!

What did he want with her? Was he sizing her up to determine which of the men should take her first? Was he deciding if he wanted her all to himself? Was he debating whether or not to just kill her now and get her out of the way entirely?! She could do nothing but sit there and tremble as he gazed on.

Finally, his eyes lifted from her small form, and began scanning the crowd of men that loomed behind her. He clasped his hands behind his back, wearing an angry, yet authoritative scowl; which could have very well been his natural expression.

"Listen. Closely." He articulated slowly. Keeping his voice low, but projecting clearly. "If any one of you rats lies another hand on this girl during her stay on this ship… You will be slaughtered where you stand."

Astrid gaped at his words, and listened as there were light mumbles coming from behind her, Krogan continued.

"Let that be known amongst all soldiers on board accordingly." He glanced down at her a final time, before turning on his heel and walking off. "Now finish what you were commanded to do!"

As he'd made it far enough away, the disappointed murmuring behind her grew louder by the second. Though, it seemed their leader had beyond exceeded putting them into their place. Astrid curled in on herself tighter, before looking over her shoulder at the group. She was pleased to see most of the men depleting, the crowd thinning enough to finally get a good view of exactly where she was.

But one thought still raged through her head, a thought that had been somewhat suppressed until now: Where was Hiccup?

She continued looking around, seeing nothing but guardsmen returning to their usual duties. Her clothes were nowhere to be found, and though she could barely see over the ship's railing, she guessed that the horizon was barren of distant islands, or anything to tell her how far they'd traveled.

Suddenly, footsteps were approaching her from the front again. Snapping her head towards the noise, she saw two masked guards, each holding buckets in their hands. Before she could read the situation too closely, the closest one spoke up.

"Hope 'yer feelin' dry."

A second later, the man had splashed the contents of the bucket over her naked body. She gasped, the cold, yellowish liquid dripping over every inch of her skin from the chest down. Before she could even blink, the second guard had emptied his bucket directly over her head, another wave cascading down her face and soaking into her golden scalp.

She shut her eyes firmly, waiting until most of the liquid had dripped off her features. That's when she was hit with the smell. A foul, sour odor emanated from the juice, and consequently, her entire body. She slowly opened her eyes, letting her lips part a bit, a small drop slipped onto her tongue.

She gagged, spitting onto the ground beside her. Laughter came from one of the guards.

"Ahahaha! What's the matter, love? Singetail piss don't set well with ya?"

Singetail… what?!

Before she could process anything, the two guards had tossed aside the buckets and each grabbed her upper-arms, hauling her to her feet.

She tucked her legs tightly together, struggling against their grasps to curl over and hide her naked form, but they dragged her forward anyway. To a passage leading below deck. It only took them rounding the final corner of the staircase before Astrid recognized it as the familiar setting she'd murdered the guard in. The blood staining the wooden steps and walls was enough to ensure her of that.

"Don't believe it," One guard murmured to his partner, eyeing the stained wood. "Kills three of our men, and we don't even get to fuck 'er."

"Oh I believe it." The other replied, speaking louder, as if to indirectly address the girl they were guiding. "Think about it? What would someone like Krogan want with an untouched girl like herself?"

Astrid growled as she heard chuckling.

Finally they'd reached the same cell she'd been held in before. They had opened the screeching metal door and tossed her inside before she could get a good look around, but she put her focus into covering her naked body. Placing her hands over her breasts and squeezing her legs shut where she sat, once the guards had shut and locked the door, they spent a moment longer looking her up and down before walking off.

Astrid processed everything for a moment, letting her mind sort through all that just happened to her in a matter of a few minutes. One thing stood out. It could've been the strange nature of the order, or the fact that the smell was still radiating through her nostrils. They'd covered every inch of her in Singetail urine. The confusion she felt at first was far more comforting than the realization she'd make.

Her scent... they were masking her scent.

Such a pungent odor would make tracking impossible.

She shut her eyes and sunk in on herself as she witnessed the only shred of reassurance she had left quickly evaporate. Breathe. She told herself. Hiccup and I will figure this out-

HICCUP!

Her shivering body was suddenly electrified with panic. She hadn't seen him since before Krogan had knocked them both out. Not on the deck when the group had cleared, not on her way back into the chamber of cells. Her breathing quickened as she tried desperately to think of what to do next. But then, as if the gods were speaking directly into her thoughts, she got the brilliant idea to finally look around the cell they'd thrown her in.

It was dark along the sides and corners, and she had to let her eyes adjust to a specific dark portion before she made the discovery she'd been yearning for.

It was him!

Hiccup was there! In the cell! He hadn't been thrown overboard, or slaughtered at Krogan's hand. He was right there with her-

And… just as naked as she was.

Her relief was lost as her cheeks suddenly burned hotter than ever before. He was lying on his front, thank Odin, and in the dim torchlight she could see his skin shimmering with a wet sheen. His damp hair hid most of his face, but he appeared to be out cold.

Shaking off her embarrassment, Astrid idly scooted closer to watch for a steady rise and fall of his ribcage, which she thankfully saw. He must've still been under the effect of Krogan's darts, he had taken a much more direct hit than she had. It made sense.

And upon getting closer to him, the sour odor that covered her own body became steadily stronger, it was clear he had gotten the same treatment she had.

Well, hopefully not the exact same.

A new fear blossomed in her chest, it was unlikely that the men had tried anything with him in that way, but she certainly wouldn't put such a thing beneath them. She moved until she was beside his upper-body, trying her best to keep her eyes from wandering further south in the process. She brushed some of the dark hair from his face to see if he'd been beaten, but only found the nasty bruise on his cheek that had already been there.

Then, well… she didn't really know what to do. She just sat there, trying to keep her mind from playing out a horrible scenario of him waking up while they were both stark naked. Not that there weren't more important things to worry about, but it was pretty hard to focus when your best friend, who happened to be the opposite gender, was laying in front of you completely exposed.

Astrid didn't think the sight of another guardsmen would bring her any form of relief, but surprisingly, one of the men appeared at the cell door with a bundle of something soaking wet in his hands. He tossed the contents through the metal bars indifferently, causing a wet plop to echo through the room. As he made his exit, Astrid's eyes lit up when she realized it was their clothes.

She quickly scuffled towards the pile, getting another big whiff of the pungent odor of urine, which was obviously the liquid the garments were coated with. She tried to ignore it as she laid out all the items carefully. Their shirts, Hiccup's trousers, her leggings, their boots. Hiccup's leg was tangled in one of the articles, but thankfully it looked unscaved. With everything in front of her, she quickly realized their armor, her skirt, Hiccup's leather vest, along with everything else was nowhere to be seen… neither was any underwear.

She grumbled. Either they'd decided the more intimate clothing would have a higher chance of emitting a traceable odor, which was gross, but plausible. Or, they'd just decided to fuck with them. The thought was filling her with rage, but sliding on her dripping leggings and shirt helped bring her some comfort, despite the fact that they were wet, cold, and smelled like an uncleaned dragon stable. She was just happy to not be naked.

Speaking of… she eyed Hiccup's clothing as she finished slipping on her soggy boots. The redness returned to her cheeks as she realized what needed to be done. She went for the most useful garment first, his pants. Taking the article in her shaky hands, she fearfully turned back to her exposed friend.

He laid there, still as ever, but he might as well have turned into a ravenous Hideous Zippleback. Nah, an annoying voice echoed in her head, I've faced horrifying creatures before, this is WAY scarier.

She fumbled to his legs, and carefully worked his appendages into the fabric. The wetness of the material made it difficult, but she managed to work it up over his knees. That's when she realized she'd have to look at him. She gulped, shifting her eyes and continuing to work the fabric over his backside.

Astrid couldn't exactly help the rush of blood that suddenly gushed through her lower belly, even though Hiccup usually wore pretty fitted pants, the sight of it entirely bare before her was captivating. Come on, she thought, it was just an ass, everyone had one! So what if his happened to be really… really nice?

Ignoring the blush that was quickly spreading from her face down to her chest, she pulled the remaining fabric over his exposed backside. It took a surprising amount of effort, which she simply chalked up to the material being wet and clingy. She breathed a sigh of relief, glancing down his legs to make sure they were on properly. Her eyes fell to his left leg, or… lack thereof, and decided it would be best to leave his prosthetic off, rather than risk her putting it on the wrong way. Content with her work, and relieved he was finally covered, she gingerly rolled him over onto his back.

...Oh gods.

Oh GODS in ASGARD -

Well, that explains why the fabric was so hard to pull. The waistband had simply been caught… on the underside of his balls.

Before the poor, helpless girl could even remember how to breathe, she was gifted a view of what a man possessed between his legs for the first time in her life. And that man just so happened to be her closest friend and leader… and her crush, that too.

She sat still, entirely petrified. Eyes wide and blood turning to ice as she stared down at it. Though, perhaps it wasn't the blood in her appendages turning cold, it was likely the fact that it had simply started to pool hot in another part in her body, a part that very suddenly needed it for some odd reason.

This is wrong!

This is wrong!

This is SO wrong!

But the voices screaming in her brain fell on deaf ears. And years of morbid curiosity compelled her to continue staring at the strange object, not able to tear her eyes away even if she wanted to.

It was so… weird looking. The whole thing was a slightly darker color than the rest of him, with dusts of auburn hair coating the edges. His testicles sort of bulged with the tension of the fabric beneath them, making a few spidery veins visible even in the dim light. And the longer, more narrow thing above it flopped around a little as he'd been pulled over. The heat in her lower belly grew even hotter as she studied the foreign object, and the fire erupted entirely as she visualized exactly what the organ was intended for. Or rather, where it was intended to go.

She'd never thought she would find a thing like this so intriguing. Most women in Berk cringed when they spoke of it, saying it was one of the nastiest things Odin had graced the earth with. It didn't look nasty.

It looked sort of… cool.

Her wide eyes danced along his flaccid member, knowing internally that the object was supposed to get big and hard when engaged in that type of thing. But if she was being honest, she couldn't even fathom having something the size it was now being in her.

Gods her body burned. Just looking at the object sent her body into a state of arousal she'd never even felt before. Not that she even wanted to be aroused, it was the last thing she wanted at a time like this. But clearly, her groin knew something her brain didn't, and she fought the overpowering urge to reach out and touch it…

"I get first fuck…"

The memory of the voice snapped her out of her trance.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Suddenly, she could feel the hands of dozens of guards grabbing her at once. The memory hitting her like an arrow through the chest. She remembered the brush of a hot, hard object along her sensitive underside, which was now twinging at the idea of touching her unconscious friend.

Oh gods, she thought with terror, I'm no better than them!

This wasn't some toy she could entertain herself with, or some ancient painting she could stare at for hours. This was Hiccup! She could no longer look at the fascinating area of his body, shamefully shifting her eyes downward, she grabbed for his waistband and blindly tucked it up over his groin. When she looked at him again, she breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his lower body now completely covered.

It appeared that the gods were finally on her side, because the moment she looked up, she heard a low groan.

"Hiccup!" She breathed, scooting towards his upper-body just as she saw his brows furrow. She took his head in her hands, watching intently as his eyes fluttered open.

He winced, "Ughhh… A-Astrid?"

"I'm here," She swept his damp hair from his eyes once more. "You're okay. We're okay."

"Wha… what happened?" He shifted upwards and out of her grasp, setting himself upright, and looking down at himself. "Uhhh… why am I shirtless?"

She cringed at his obvious embarrassment, but was silently thanking the gods she'd gotten his pants on in time.

"Umm- here." She quickly handed him the wet article that laid on the floor behind her, his confusion was still evident, but Astrid was relieved when the smell seemed to distract him.

He sniffed the soaked fabric, wincing uncomfortably before slipping it on. "What is this stuff?"

Astrid stiffened, rubbing warmth into her upper arms. "It's… Singetail urine."

Hiccup froze, instantly realizing what she meant. "Our scent…"

She nodded sadly, "They knew we had tracker dragons, and they knew the other riders would try to find us."

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, Hiccup contemplating everything and unable to think of another solution. He rubbed the sour liquid from his eyes, "You have any idea how long it's been?"

"When I was on the upper deck, the sun was high, probably around midday. I couldn't see any landmarks."

"The riders must've found Stormfly and Toothless by no-" He stopped, looking at her intently. "You were awake?"

Astrid cringed, not wanting to think about the events that had taken place, but Hiccup pressed on. "What happened up there? Did you see Krogan?"

She paused for a moment, not looking into his eyes. "Yeah, he was just… giving orders and stuff, nothing helpful." She continued rubbing her upper-arms, the urine beginning to dry tightly to her skin.

Hiccup focused on her face a little harder, she wasn't acting right.

"Astrid…" He said, almost sternly. She didn't reply. "What happened up there? Did-" He shuffled closer to her, taking her cold hand. "Did they do anything to you?"

She kept looking down, and an unholy fear began blossoming in Hiccup's chest. His mind went to the absolute worst scenario, and he wanted nothing more than for her to assure nothing of the sort happened.

Thankfully, she squeezed his hand, looking up at him with hopeful eyes, but he could still make out sadness in the depths of blue.

"No, nothing happened…" She trailed off a little, knowing he wouldn't buy a full denial. But she didn't want to worry him, "They just… touched me, a little…"

" WHAT?! "

Okay, maybe not the best approach.

"NO! I-I mean, uhh…" Her brows knitted, and she tried to think of the least-awkward explanation she could. As if there was one. "Th-they… didn't do THAT. I mean, they tried, but Krogan stopped them."

Hiccup's face was unreadable. Emotion after emotion flowed through him. Panic, worry, and now confusion.

"Krogan, he…" Hiccup started, thinking through his words. "What exactly did he say?"

Astrid paused, "He said if any man tried touching me again, they'd be killed."

Hiccup looked on, processing this. There was a tugging in his gut, the feeling he got when something dreadful was about to happen. Sure, being kidnapped trapped on a boat with absolutely no help was awful, but there was something different going on. This wasn't the way he typically felt when they were in perilous situations. And he felt that something bad, very bad was waiting for them.

"Hiccup," Astrid started, looking far more dreary than he was ever used to seeing her. "What's gonna happen to us?"

He studied the floor, debating on exactly how much he wanted her to know about this dreadful feeling.

"I'm not sure," He answered honestly, but slid his now-warmed hands up her upper-arms, squeezing them as she looked into his eyes. "But we're gonna make it out, you hear me?"

He then pulled her into a tight hug. It shouldn't have been very comforting, given their cold, wet clothes and sour smells, but it was exactly what they both needed. He went on, remembering the promise he'd made to her slumbering self. "I'm gonna get you out of this Astrid, somehow…"

"Us." She corrected, pulling back from him, and holding out an object she'd retrieved from the floor. His prosthetic. "You're gonna get us out of this."

He smiled.

Heather squinted at the horizon, unable to see extremely far through the blinding rays of orange sunset. Stormfly flew a few yards in front, actively sniffing the seaswept air and squawking in what she assumed to be fear. The girl couldn't exactly blame her, but the faster they flew, the more distance they covered, the more vast, empty ocean they came to.

Her and Fishlegs had spent most of the day in silence. Him, running through logical scenarios in his brain. And her, thinking of everything horrific that could be happening to their friends. But they would be without daylight soon, Fishlegs thought it best to finally speak.

"It's unlikely a ship could move much farther than this in a day," Fishlegs commented, speaking loudly over Meatlug's labored breathing, as the pudgy dragon was struggling to maintain pace with the others. Heather looked at him grimly, he gave a reassuring smile. "If Stormfly's scent is accurate, we should find them bef-"

Suddenly, Fishlegs was cut short as the Nadder that led them came to an abrupt halt. Both riders had to skew in different directions in order to keep from running into the blue dragon, but circled back around to see exactly what had happened. Stormfly looked even more afraid than she did on The Edge, but even then, she knew exactly where to look. Now her head whipped around in every which direction, sniffing the air and giving panicked squawks as she hovered.

Heather blinked. "What the… Fishlegs, why is she stopping?!"

"I-I don't-" He stared at the frantic Nadder, unable to come up with a viable answer. Stormfly then went from searching the horizon to looking between the two riders, and gave an ear-splitting cry.

Heather winced, "Did she lose the scent?!"

Fishlegs looked on, finally realizing what was causing the dragon's erratic behavior.

"No… she didn't lose it." He looked at Heather, expression contorted in fear. "The scent… stops here."