There was something else with them in the cavern, and it wasn't the dragon they were tracking.
Astrid had been the first to notice it, hearing some sort of scraping on the ground between each step they took. It came from behind them, moving only when they moved, and no matter how many times she tried to peer into the darkness, whatever it was, it was hiding well.
Her worry was that it was more than one, because while she could deal with a single target, human or dragon, two were a stretch. More would be a suicide battle and while Hiccup knew she was all for Valhalla, he also knew she wasn't ready to go there yet.
"You think it's the same dragon of before?" she was close enough to him that she could speak without being too loud. "Or something else?"
There was a moment of silence as Hiccup frowned, one hand still holding the torch while the other reached for Inferno. "I think it's something else," he said, removing the sword from its holster but not unfolding it yet. "Maybe one of those dragons we found outside..."
With no wings and only four front legs, the creatures would be forced to drag most of their body on the ground, or perhaps they slithered on their tail like the snakes he heard about in the tales of traveling merchants. That kind of movement would surely match the scraping they were hearing and...
"Hiccup! Duck!"
When Astrid shouted like that, Hiccup wasted no time in asking questions or look around in search of why the order had been give. Instead he dropped to the ground as quickly as his body let him, then rolled to the side just in time to avoid sharp claws and needle-like teeth.
And a sword that made any other blade he had seen in the past pale in comparison. The thing was jagged and unrefined, created with the sole purpose of hooking and tearing rather than doing clean cuts. And by the look of it, the weapon was heavy and sturdy enough to not only survive an impact with the ground completely unscathed, but also cut through it as if it was nothing more than soft wood.
In that moment Hiccup thanked Odin, Thor, and every other deity for Astrid's keen eye, quick thinking, and battle experience. Without that, he knew, he'd be laying dead with his entire body being a bloody mess of crushed bones and ripped flesh.
He stood up, confusion momentarily taking over every other emotion he was feeling. He knew dragons could be outfitted with saddles and armors, but their paws' dexterity didn't extend far enough to be able to use a sword.
And they didn't act like dragons at all.
His doubts were reinforced when another of the creature's kin emerged from the shadows, slithering on its tail like he had previously guessed, and holding something that by looks alone just didn't belong in their world. Then the beast hissed and gurgled something to the other, all the while gesturing at them with that large piece of smooth metal that emitted blinking lights and a constant unnerving buzz.
"Astrid..." he whispered, knowing the girl was already preparing herself for battle. "Wait..."
The creature that had first emerged from the darkness produced a loud vocalization that was a mangled mix of a hiss and a bark. It tilted its head, first left, then right, then gurgled and stood up as straight as its body let it. "Weee..." it let out. "...not dragons, inferior human..."
Hiccup blanched and felt cold sweat run down his back. The words were mangled and the heavy throaty accent was everywhere, but he understood all the same.
Which meant these were not dragons, because while dragons could understand Norse, they certainly couldn't speak it despite Toothless incessantly trying to when he was in the mood.
"Weee..." it smacked its jaws together and its eyes narrowed in concentration. "...are..."
The other creature, which had been content in just observing until then, interrupted the first by saying something in what now Hiccup knew was their native language and not just a random garble of hisses and throaty sighs. They talked back and forth a few times until the one that knew Norse returned its attention on them with a predatory glint in its eyes.
"You..." it spoke. "... tressspassing..."
Hiccup instantly held up his hands to show he meant no harm, Inferno still folded and held between his loosened fingers. "Oh, uh, we apologize! We didn't know this was your territory! We're really, really sorry!" he seriously hoped his words weren't taken as a helpless ramble. "We were following a trail of..." he took a pause, not sure how to inform these two creatures about the bodies outside without causing a major diplomatic incident. Next to him, he could feel Astrid tense even further. "Well, we stumbled in here and then we heard a hurt dragon and just wanted to help... really! We mean no harm! No need to fight! And if you don't want vikings... humans... here, we can tell everyone to steer clear of the island! We even can convince dragons to..."
The fact that these beings had stopped paying attention to him halfway through his speech made him trail off. It was a bit disconcerting to be ignored after finally being recognized by his tribe, though not an entirely new occurrence to him. He just hoped it was a language barrier, what with only one of them barely managing broken sentences, but he also had the impression that, to them, he meant nothing.
Just a nuisance. A little hiccup in their otherwise normal day of patrol. Nothing more than a bug to be shooed away or squished under a boot.
Hiccup shivered at that idea, unnerved and offended at being considered so lowly after all the effort he put into being better than a scrawny, weak boy with strange ideas.
Thankfully, or maybe not, whatever conversation these two were having came to a close and the one that knew Norse pointed its sword towards Hiccup. "You..." it hissed, then did some strange thing with its throat that made a sound similar to a stone hitting stone. "...prisonersss..."
The smooth metallic thing the other held was pointed at them and it became louder. Its lights shone brighter too, and Hiccup felt in his bones that whatever that magical thing was, it was charging up to strike. And possibly kill.
"Or dieee..."
And that was the confirmation Hiccup needed to make his decision even if he really didn't like it. True, being taken prisoner was nothing new to him. Or Astrid. Or anyone in their little band of dragon riders, but still...
He knew nothing of these creatures. Their race's name. Their individual names. Their motivations. Just... nothing. It kind of was like the whole dragon raids back in the day, which was not an act of hatred like they had always thought, but an act of survival due to the giant queen holding the entire flock hostage.
There was no way he could talk his way out when he had no information to go with.
Beside him, Astrid was even more tense than before, her axe still firmly gripped in her hands. A quick glance at her, however, told him that she too had come to the same realization. Valhalla and the table of Odin had to wait until they knew these beings wouldn't turn their eyes onto Berk or anything close to it.
"Uhh... we come willingly," he offered, hoping his awkward smile wasn't interpreted as an hostile act. "Better than instant death, anyway."
A moment later Astrid lowered her weapon, a frown etched on her mouth. While she had decided to go with this decision, it didn't mean she was liking it. On the contrary. Hiccup was pretty sure she hated it more than he was hating it.
"We'll figure this out," he whispered to her as the two beings advanced. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."
He would figure this out. He just needed some time and some more knowledge and then he could come up with a solution that would result in everyone walking out of this alive and with no loss of limbs.
"So... uhm..." Hiccup tried while Astrid took a cautious step away from her discarded axe. "How can we call you? I don't want to be disrespectful by calling you... creatures... or beings... or dragons..."
His father, for being all hardheaded, stubborn, and hit-first-ask-question-later had taught him that if you wanted to go anywhere with diplomacy with someone that didn't want to, you first had to please them.
A name, or a title, to call them by would be a great first step.
"Weee..." the one with the sword moved, displaying an amazing skill of staying on its tail while leaning forward so much to the point of imbalance. "No name... in your... wordsss..."
Hiccup cringed and swore as many curses as he knew of.
That was not good. Not good at all.