Edited.
"A-a! Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Snotlout's uncondescending voice was heard before Artichoke made the turn, following Hiccup's running by a sloppy jog. Was like an overbearing mother who just caught her children disobeying her direct rule of no sweets before dinner.
"The fuck you doing here?", Artichoke just held his chin to the other boy. He could've sworn they'd all left in those countless ships. His own mother was there, and he did remember seeing a few of his peers of this year's dragon training in the harbor, though he couldn't quite put a finger of an exact memory of them on board, he still doubted Snotlout would ever allow the chance of not being there for such certain glory.
"Hiccup! I looked everywhere for you!", the blond twin's shrill voice made the three of them cringe on different levels as she and the other two remaining boys of Artichoke's childhood group of friends showed up. Ruffnut had thrown her arms around Hiccup's thin frame, not like a hug, more like a bear gripping on her prize before it slipped away. Too energetic, she changed positions, bowing to not tower Hiccup, hands tight on each green sleeve covering Hiccup's arm. "Is it true? You tamed that dragon? How did you do it? Since when have you seen the Night Fury? It came to protect you, didn't it, didn't it, didn't it?", she gasped mid-thought, pulling the other girl closer "Are you a witch? A sorcerer? What other magic do you have? Tell me, tell me, tell me".
"Back off a little won't you", Ruffnut's twin headbutt her away and ignored her unsatisfied expression. "But seriously though, how did you do it? Can you control all dragons?".
"That", last but not least, Fishlegs voice rose up, a 'in-matter-of-fact' tone, "was the dragon you sketched, wasn't it? Can't believe I just held the first ever drawn anatomy of a Night Fury!" a nerd confirming his theories. Artichoke couldn't help but let his lip curl up at the sight of his friends. Curious, excited. But not lifting torches to condemn them both to a painful death of starvation in winter.
"Wait, but", a pairing question was still in his mind since Snotlout was first seen here, "what are you guys doing here? I thought the Chief wanted everyone on board for fighting?", that's true he could tell those exact words when he was still wondering about their village, looking for Hiccup in any possible corner. Though he didn't exactly paid attention to the discourse and the plan of action then, too nervous, almost scared of worry for her…
"Uh, we're not allowed to go to the campaigns yet, smartass", Tuffnut didn't bother to hide his mockery tone at all, but then, had he ever?
"Yea, but we passed the training classes this year, remember? Gobber said we-" their teacher had already selected those 'approved', considered ready to become warriors, to defend their tribe fighting dragons away rather than just putting out their fires, to accompany the traveling ships to foreign lands, raids or nest-searching as soon as they were ready to sail again come summer. The Elder only chose the best amongst those for the honor of killing a Monstruous Nightmare. To say this- to even think it right now already sounded like a lame joke for Artichoke's taste but was true.
"Pfffft, that didn't mean wack", the male twin only waved a hand and crossed his arms.
"The Chief said that, 'as the newest, youngest generation of fighting warriors yet to prove ourselves in actual combat, the tribe should not risk us into the battle of battles, for our young adult lives are needed to keep the children, the sick and the elderly alive through winter, as many casualties are expected', so we're here", Artichoke was completely sure those had been Stoick's exact words, due his taller friend's ability to quote people and books from the top of his head. Fishlegs had proven that countless times over their trainings this season.
"Yeah, which is pure bullshit, as if we're glass-made kids or something", Ruffnut added, stomping, ready to throw a tantrum just like a toddler herself. "I mean I'm more than ready to smash a dragon's head with my bare hands and-". The blond girl was looking at her own hands, as if imagining all the blood and gore filling them up when she stopped herself, looking at Hiccup, ready to ask something with half as excitement as before, but his wife beat her to it.
"I don't control her", that affirmative made the other five sets of eyes pay attention to her, shushing for a while. "We didn't- I didn't-", a deep breath, to gather words "that Night Fury is my friend, and she was just trying to protect me, I- you saw, you were all there, you saw how that Monstruous Nightmare wasn't attacking me! Dragons can be our allies if we only reach out a hand and-".
"Bitch, all I saw was a monster questioning itself which part of you is less bony to start a meal it wouldn't choke on", Snotlout's rude interruption made Artichoke want to punch his nose till it bleed again. The sound of broken cartilage wasn't heard in his drunk memories then, maybe it would now.
"That isn't the point! Look, guys, I've been there, on the- on the island", Hiccup had too many words to gather, and Artichoke only wished he could place them any better than she was "it's not a nest, it's hive".
"They got a queen bee in there, it's a three-hundred-meter big thing in there that controls all dragons and makes them raid us so often", hey, just because he couldn't put it better, didn't mean he couldn't try.
"It controls them, they have to go there to bring it food or they're the ones to get eaten", Hiccup added quickly "I know it sounds crazy and absurd, but dragons aren't evil, they're intelligent and they'd leave us alone if they could".
"So now we're going to- Hiccup will- we're-" actually, since lighting up her flames back in the pier, Artichoke hadn't even stop to think about exactly what they were going to do. These were nearly all ships from the Archipelago natives and they couldn't exactly swim to Odin knows how far so-
"I'm going to free the dragons from the arena and fly with them up to their island" she is? Besides from the surprise on how bluntly and directly she'd tell them her clearly insane plan, Artichoke couldn't let it slide how she said 'I', rather than 'we'. They were up in this mud together now, for Odin's sake.
The group of teens just stared, wide-eyed, taking in what the girl said with simplicity and sudden confidence.
Ruffnut was the first one to speak, a grin growing in her lips. "I'm in".
Tuffnut was soon to follow, as one twin never went where the other didn't, "Me too".
"Wait, what?" he couldn't tell whether Hiccup or him had asked it out loud, blinking.
"As much as I'm really inclined to join, too", Fishlegs was fidgeting, always too much of an overthinker to join the twins' recklessness, "what makes you think the dragons would take us there?".
"I'm in too", Snotlout didn't let Hiccup answer, or maybe gave her extra time to think of an answer without meaning to. "If you can pull that off, I'm not going to stand by while our parents find the nest and if you can", he was grinning, half kidding, half honestly sadistic, apparently, "if not then it'll be another show to watch today".
"Trust me", Hiccup said, not minding the comment, shining as their group had just formed and standing still on her newfound confidence "they'll help us".
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Re-opening the Monstruous Nightmare's cage required a group effort, lifting the tree trunk blocking the solid door, then pulling them open. Soon enough, the six teens were back at inside the arena, as they had countless times this season. Four of them remained as close to the exit as possible, although eager, curious, and excited for what they were promised would come next. Artichoke had taken a few steps closer, inside the training circle area, though still holding to his axe as an extension of his own body, better safe than sorry, he had shrugged at Hiccup, but she'd soon ignored it. Speaking on the girl, she was the one to get close to the door, fearlessly and without a second's thought.
There was no slamming opening with flames and rage this time, the dragon was much more timid after getting beaten up by a Night Fury and locked back up again by so many Vikings… Frowning at the memory, Hiccup walked forward inside the gloominess of his cage, a pair of yellow eyes glowing at her, once again. "hey", she held out a fish to call his attention and threw at him, the dragon swallowed whole as nothing, it wasn't a big fish anyway "remember me?". He seemed to purr in acknowledge and curiosity. "Sorry for what happened to us today", she continued.
Laying in the dark, neck resting, the red animal wasn't half as frightening as earlier, as if his claws weren't the size of her torso, thickness of her forearms. It was just a resting, curious, orange-ish cat. "I'm going to set you free now. You can fly away if you want to, but I'm gonna need your help for something". Hiccup had yet to find out whether or not dragons actually understood her words, but they sure stop to listen with attention every time. And, as she finished her words, the Monstrous Nightmare finally stood up, slowly walking towards the human girl, as she slowly walked back, to the wide space of the arena. She held her hand up. "Remember that Night Furry that came here earlier? The black one?", the dragon didn't advance, didn't attack, just kept listening carefully, as if taking more words than what she was saying. "I need your help to save her, to save all of us really… Both of us".
Both girl and dragon were out of the dark pit now. With the burnt iron above them, he could have let out a blast, kill them out and fly to freedom. But he didn't. The Monstrous Nightmare stood still, gazing from her green eyes to her small hand, letting Hiccup approach, let her touch the heated scales between its nostrils and its middle, smallest horn.
Hiccup noticed how her peers had approached, still all behind her, no blade in sight. They stared, awestruck with what she so desperately tried to show everyone earlier. He wasn't tamed, nor domesticated. He was convinced. She smiled to herself.
Her cousin was the closest to the dragon besides herself, showing more apprehension than wonder in his eyes, as if all his instincts still told him to run and attack. She remembered feeling the same thing, as her first thought was, indeed, killing her captured prey. Snotlout was itching to run, not to attack, she noticed.
Her gaze left the boy back to the dragon, as if asking you can trust this one too, okay?
"Wait, what are you-", she had to pull his form arm with certain strength and by seeing the boy's reluctance, the Monstruous Nightmare showed a bit of his own thoughts as well, thinning his eyes.
"It's okay", Hiccup said, "it's okay, it's okay", she told both males before placing Snotlout's bigger, brutish hand where hers had just been.
His grimace soon faded, the dragon's purring in response, no more attempts to leave from either. Hiccup slowly saw her cousin's face light up, an open smile just as what hers had felt on her first flight with Toothless, a conquest's smile. The Monstruous Nightmare seemed to nod in approval, or agreement, she couldn't tell. It didn't matter.
Once again, human and dragon were bonding against all odds and Hiccup took this moment to backdown from the scene.
"Where are you going?", Snotlout was still scared, still let this clear in his voice, but his hand kept still where she left it.
Suddenly, all five of them turned around to look at where she was, pushing regular training gear aside to pick up some ropes, explaining to them "you're going to need something to hold onto…" and as soon as she said it, her gaze focused to the sets of eyes above. Three smaller dragons of different shapes and colors had also watched it all from their corner. Hiccup had given them each fish before, though the Zippleback was the first, the others weren't much harder to reach back her hand. Intelligent creatures, aren't they?
She saw the Zippleback approach eager to another human's touch, the Nadder was unsettling her wings, ready to fly in the open and the Gronckle nodded, accepting the terms she had laid for the Monstrous Nightmare.
All teens looked up at them, smiling just like Snotlout had, gazing them as if they were prettier than all northern lights, approaching like the children they still were, trying to pet such friendly animals they were told to be monsters all their lives, it was as if Hiccup had taken off a blinding mask, and she let out a warm chuckle seeing it all happen, noticing how each dragon seemed a perfect fit for the teen.
The doubled-head dragon, two heads bounded to one body, two in one since birth, went for the Thorston twins almost immediately. A head sniffed Ruffnut's blond head until she couldn't hold in a laugh and the other soaked Tuffnut's face with its tongue, a green-ish saliva, rather than the usual, transparent one when Toothless showed this dog-like affection. "Wicked!", well, Tuff didn't seem to mind.
The heavy, stone skinned Gronckle walked low towards the taller blond of the group, while Fishlegs fidget nonstop, listing all information he knew from their old Dragon Book. She knew he would be the one to most bring up questions about her discoveries and, in all honesty, she couldn't wait to share, either, but that wasn't the time. The listing facts about that Gronckle was more as a calming chanting murmured to himself, soon eased down it- he- she? They initiated contact, rubbing her head, another trade similar to house cats.
And, finally, Hiccup's theory was right. The Deadly Nadder stared down at Artichoke, each seizing each, apparently, dragon and rider apparently happy with the new challenge.
Hiccup could always make up their nonverbal conversation in her head.
You hit me with a shield.
I know.
Toothless attempt to imitate her smile back in the cove showed her how dragons didn't, in fact, smile, but she could still swear that Nadder was showing a sly grin down Artichoke.