Author's Note: Hello, everyone and welcome back to "Sticks and Stones!" =D Don't really have much to say at the moment (I really need to come up with other stuff to put here XDD), so I hope you enjoy "Occupational Hazards!" =D
Summary: There are many occupational hazards that come with being a Dragon Rider. Hiccup experiences all of the in just one day. (RTTE.)
Occupational Hazards
There are many occupational hazards that came with being a viking. There were also many occupational hazards that came with being a Dragon Rider. And what are those things specifically?
Well, Hiccup experienced them all. Every single one of them, just in one day. And they go as follows…
Crashing
"Woo-hoo! Faster, Bud!"
It was early in the morning; the sun was just rising over the horizon. Hiccup and Toothless sped through the sky, slicing through clouds and spinning in the air. The wind ruffled Hiccup's hair; Toothless roared with joy as they flew through the pink and orange skies. The sunrise was beautiful, and Hiccup and Toothless were savoring every moment of it.
But it wasn't just the wonderful sunrise that the two had hopped out of bed so early. Hiccup had recently added some modifications to his most recent invention, Dragonfly two. If Hiccup's predictions were correct, the new improvements should allow him to glide through the air smoother than the previous glidings he had gone on before. Hiccup knew that if he tested his flight suit back on Dragon's Edge, Astrid was sure to reprimand him. So, he and Toothless set out early, but it took the Night Fury a while to go along with his riders' wishes. Toothless was impressed that his friend had found a way to fly with him, but he preferred Hiccup riding on him and not beside him. The flight suit had caused too many accidents, and Toothless had saved Hiccup more than once because of Dragonfly. Toothless grumbled as he felt Hiccup adjust Dragonfly, and the young viking smiled, giving Toothless a pat on the head.
"Come on, Bud," said Hiccup reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Besides, you'll be there to catch me, right?"
Toothless rolled his eyes. Sure…
Toothless spread his wings out into a steady glide, and Hiccup got ready to jump. Once he was satisfied and set, Hiccup pushed himself off of Toothless' back and dived down toward the ocean below. The young viking spread his arms out, and the wind immediately filled the wings of the flight suit, carrying Hiccup on its currents.
"Yes, it worked!" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless warbled beside him and Hiccup flashed him a smile. The best part was that there was nothing in the way of his flight path like there had been back on the Edge, and the fabric on Dragonfly was holding up rather well. Hiccup grinned triumphantly. Maybe he could finally call Dragonfly complete!
Unfortunately, the odds had other plans. Out of nowhere—completely out of the blue—a sea stack appeared right in front of Hiccup and Toothless. The young viking's eyes widened as the hard stone grew increasingly closer at a high speed. Hiccup tried to steer out of its way, but the stack was too thick and too wide to turn around, and he hadn't quite mastered the steering part to Dragonfly.
As the sea stack drew nearer, Hiccup began to panic. "Uh, Toothless?! A little help!"
The Night Fury had seen this coming. Dragonfly tests almost always ended in a crash. Toothless beat his wings but had difficulty keeping balance. Without Hiccup controlling the tailfin, it was much harder to fly. Toothless kept on pushing and he eventually dived toward Hiccup right in the nick of time before the auburn-haired boy crashed into the sea stack. Toothless wrapped his wings around Hiccup and the two hit against the rock, falling toward whatever laid below. Thankfully, it was land, not ocean.
Toothless and Hiccup hit the ground with a loud THUD. Hiccup felt as if his breath had been knocked out of him; the crash was rather forceful. Toothless opened his wings and peeked inside, his green eyes blinked three times as he stared at Hiccup.
Hiccup crawled out from Toothless' wings and dusted himself off. He looked around and shrugged. "Well, it looks like I still have some improving to do on Dragonfly. Maybe if I try thicker fabric and a lighter design, it'll be easier to steer…"
Toothless couldn't believe it. His rider was still going to use that crazy flight suit? Toothless whacked his tail lightly against Hiccup's forehead, and the Haddock looked at him in bemusement.
"What was that for?" asked Hiccup. Toothless only grumbled and he rolled his eyes.
…
Explosions
Upon returning to Dragon's Edge, Hiccup could tell that something was off. It was quiet. Too quiet. And when things were quiet on Dragon's Edge, there was definitely something wrong.
Dragon's Edge was always alive and active. Whether it was training in the dome, a simple race around the island, or the arguing of the twins and Snotlout, the Edge was never quiet. There was always something going on, always something to do, and there was always activity and movement. To find the place completely silent was like entering a new environment for the first time. It was unfamiliar, and a little unsettling.
Hiccup and Toothless landed, and Hiccup did his best to dust himself off. He had a few bruises on his skin, but nothing too dire or painful. As Hiccup wiped the remaining dirt off his sleeves and pants, he looked around the dome and the rest of the Edge. No one was in sight.
"Where did everyone go?" asked Hiccup. Toothless shrugged at his side and he sniffed the air. He lowered his snout to the ground and his ears perked up. He had caught something.
"What do you smell there, Bud?" Hiccup questioned. Toothless gestured for Hiccup to follow him, and the two made their way up the stairs and platforms toward the huts, Clubhouse, and stables. Hiccup checked everyone's huts and found no one inside of them. The stables were empty of dragons and Riders, which left only the Clubhouse to investigate.
Toothless allowed Hiccup to enter first, and when the young viking opened the door, he was met with an empty, barren room. The place looked as if it hadn't been touched for a while, not even for breakfast. Only a single map with a dagger poked in a specific spot laid on the table. Hiccup walked up to it curiously, and his brow furrowed when he recognized the location.
"The others must have gone here," he said to himself and to Toothless. The black dragon walked up to his side and cocked his head at the map. Hiccup tapped the location that was marked. "We need to get there, and fast. I fear the others might be falling for a trap."
Toothless grunted and Hiccup grabbed the map. He climbed onto Toothless' back and the two dashed outside, taking into the air faster than a flash of lightning.
…
The location that had been marked by Astrid's dagger wasn't very far from Dragon's Edge, which was why Hiccup was upset to find an entire armada surrounding the island. He and Toothless stuck to the clouds, keeping themselves hidden from view. With his own eyes and Toothless' keener ones, Hiccup was able to spot the Dragon Riders flying through the air, blasting at the ships down below. Splinters and wood exploded into bright blasts when the incandescent fire reached them. Hiccup knew that Ruffnut and Tuffnut were probably having the time of their lives.
Swiftly making their way through the chaos and explosions, Hiccup spotted the familiar crest of the Berserker Tribe on the lead ship. Hiccup gritted his teeth at the sight of the mark of his enemy. What did Dagur want? And what was so important about this island that made the other Dragon Riders come to defend it? Hiccup guessed that there was something that Dagur was looking for there, something important. A dragon was a possibility, but what if it was something related to the Dragon Eye?
Hiccup saw Astrid flying through the smoke. Her braid was partially undone, and she was gripping at Stormfly's saddle with all her might. She told her dragon to fire, and Stormfly obeyed, sending a blast of sparking fire toward one of Dagur's ships. It exploded in a burst of fire and flame, and Astrid retreated toward the island to regroup with the others. Hiccup followed her to the others.
"Guys!" called Hiccup. The other Dragon Riders turned around. When they spotted Hiccup, their expressions brightened.
"Hiccup!" exclaimed Astrid. "Thank Thor you came!"
"I saw the map sitting in the Clubhouse," Hiccup explained. He looked down toward the armada below him. "What's going on?"
"We got a terror mail from Johann that Dagur came to infiltrate a Nadder migration here," Fishlegs replied. "But we knew that since he now knows the location of Dragon's Edge, that it could have been a trap to get us to move away from the Edge and nab the Dragon Eye."
"So we brought it with us," Astrid said. She pulled the precious, kaleidoscope like mechanism that contained thousands of secrets about dragons out of her sachtal. "I know we should have just hidden it, but you know Dagur. He's…"
"Berserk," finished Tuffnut.
While Hiccup wasn't all too happy that the Dragon Eye was vulnerable and a bit exposed in the position that he and his friends were in, he understood they had brought it with them. "I think the whole thing was a trap," said Hiccup. It seemed as if Dagur got smarter and smarter every day. He had lured the Riders out and forced them to bring the Dragon Eye along, knowing that they would do so in an attempt to protect it in case he went and attacked the Edge.
"The whole thing sounded super suspicious, but we came anyway," Astrid continued. "We managed to get the Nadders away, but the Berserkers are still attacking us and we can't get a clear way out without being bombarded by thousands of arrows and chains."
Hiccup scanned the area. There were at least fifty ships (oh, how Dagur loved his armadas), and all of them were armed with arrow launchers and dragon proof chains. Like Astrid had said earlier, there didn't seem to be a way out of the mess, and Hiccup knew that the Berserkers wouldn't hesitate to follow them back to Dragon's Edge since they knew its location. The Dragon Riders needed to drive the Berserkers away right there and then, but they were ultimately outnumbered. Luckily, Hiccup was forming a plan in his head, and, like a spark of a flame, an idea popped into his mind.
"I got it," said Hiccup. He turned to the twins. "You two are going to cause a distraction. We need a giant—and I mean giant—cloud of gas. But don't light it until I give the word."
"Ohhhh, I'm lovin' the sound of this plan so far," Ruffnut said mischievously.
"One giant gas cloud, coming right up!" Tuffnut announced. The twins flew off and Barf began spewing out clouds and clouds of green, pungent gas between the armada and the island.
Hiccup turned to Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs. "You guys keep firing at the ships below. Once I give the word for Tuffnut to spark the cloud, we're going to escape from behind."
"On it," Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs said in unison. They flew off and continued to fire down at the many ships below. Hiccup didn't see Dagur among the men, but he knew he was down there.
Hiccup and Toothless dived down toward the large fleet of ships, and Hiccup shouted for Toothless to fire. The Night Fury opened his mouth and shot three plasma blasts in the direct center of the ships, causing them to sink. The two swerved away from the battle and Hiccup glanced where a rather large gas cloud was starting to take form. It was almost time to light it up.
Hiccup steered Toothless toward the sky and turned to where the twins were hovering. The young viking nodded.
"Light it up!" Hiccup yelled. The twins grinned and Tuffnut gave Belch a small nudge. The Zippleback head opened his mouth and sparks fluttered out of his mouth, causing a reaction that was instantaneous. The giant, green cloud of gas burst into a giant explosion, and the light of the fire was almost blinding. Hiccup spotted Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout retreating toward the back off the island as the explosion took place, and the young viking was just about to join his friends while the diversion was still going when he felt a sharp, stabbing pain from his good leg. Hiccup cried out and looked down to see the horrifying sight of a large arrow lodged in his thigh. He didn't have time to pull it out, but he needed to. And it was going to hurt.
Hiccup yanked the arrow right out of his flesh, and he immediately regretted it. Pain over to his senses, and his leg pounded like a hammer was being bashed into it over and over again. The auburn-haired viking's vision blurred, and he felt him and Toothless falling out of the sky toward the dark, misty island below.
…
Injury
He hated getting injured. It was his least favorite part of being a Dragon Rider. Getting hurt delayed him, and Hiccup did not like being delayed or hindered because of a wound.
Hiccup didn't remember hitting the ground; he was pretty sure he blacked out before he made contact with the earth. He forced his mountain-heavy eyes to flutter open, and his leg pulsed with pain. Hiccup hissed, and his emerald-green eyes flickered with hurt and agony.
Toothless had helpfully wrapped his wings around him; it was so much like the Night Fury to always come through for his best friend. Hiccup tapped Toothless' wing, just to see if he was conscious as well. The black dragon crooned, and he unfurled his large wings and looked at Hiccup with concerned eyes.
"H-Hey, Bud," said Hiccup in a shaky voice. The pain in his leg was unbearable, and he knew that he had received more wounds from the crash. Hiccup scrunched his face in discomfort as he slowly sat up. Toothless slipped his other wing out from under Hiccup, and he allowed the young viking to lean against him. Hiccup gulped; he felt like closing his eyes again, but he knew he couldn't stay where he was for long. He needed to get back to Dragon's Edge without getting caught by the Berserkers. But first, he needed to tend to his leg.
Hiccup rummaged through Toothless' saddle bag, which had thankfully stayed strapped on to the saddle, and pulled out a roll of gauze. Hiccup had learned during his time as a Dragon Rider that it was best to be prepared for any situation, and he always kept a roll of gauze inside of his saddlebag for times just like these. Hiccup rolled up his pant leg and he frowned deeply at the sight of the arrow wound. The arrow had gone rather deep, and blood flooded from the piercing. Hiccup gingerly wrapped the white gauze around his thigh, and he fastened it into place once he was done. Hiccup rolled down his pant leg, and with a little help from Toothless, he managed to stand up. He put very little pressure on his injured leg, and he took a look around his surroundings.
The area they had crashed in was mostly dirt. There were barely any trees for cover, and Hiccup could still see the Berserker ships that had survived the explosion positioned at the waters. The fire was long gone, which told Hiccup that some time had passed since he and Toothless had crashed. That also meant that they had to hurry; the Berserkers were probably lurking around the island at that very moment searching for him. And Hiccup didn't want him and Toothless to get caught or found.
Hiccup slowly climbed onto Toothless' back and patted him on the head. Once the Night Fury was sure his rider was comfortable, he began to walk. Hiccup knew that talking to the air would be a foolish move. There were probably Berserkers positioned on their ships, watching the air for any sign of a young viking and his Night Fury. They had shot Hiccup and Toothless once, and Hiccup knew that they wouldn't hesitate to fire at them again.
"We need to find a way out of here, Bud," said Hiccup. "It looks like we're on our own."
Toothless rumbled in agreement.
"Flying off of this island is too dangerous. We might have to wait until the Berserkers leave…" Although Hiccup didn't know how long it would be until the Berserkers decided to give up their search for him. Dagur was relentless, and he would probably stay for days and days on end looking for his "brother."
"We might be able to make it out of here if we fly fast enough though…" said Hiccup. His left leg was perfectly fine, and the trip to Dragon's Edge wasn't very far. Maybe flying was a possibility after all.
Toothless, however, had stopped walking. He sensed something. Something inauspicious. The Night Fury growled, and Hiccup knew in that small instant, that he and Toothless were in grave danger.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is!" an overly chipper voice from behind Hiccup and Toothless said. "My brother and his dragon! What a happy reunion!"
Hiccup and Toothless turned around, and Hiccup managed to put on a steely face as he glared at Dagur with hard, stone green eyes. "What do you want, Dagur?"
The leader of the Berserkers placed one hand on his hip and swung his crossbow around as he talked. "Oh, there's a lot of things that I want actually. Your Night Fury, lunch, maybe a new fleet of ships…but mostly you and your Night Fury."
Hiccup gripped Toothless' saddle. "Toothless and I were just leaving actually. We would love to stay—really, we would—but we have other things to attend to."
Dagur swiftly drew out an arrow and placed it into his crossbow. He aimed at Hiccup's heart and said, "I'm sorry, but you two are in my captivity now, which means you won't be leaving anytime soon."
Hiccup pursed his lips into a thin line. He and Toothless needed to escape somehow. Being captured by a mentally disturbed man wasn't on their schedules.
"No, I'm sorry, Dagur," Hiccup said. Toothless shifted on his feet, ready to shoot into the sky. "But we're leaving. Now."
Toothless fired a plasma blast at the chief of the Berserker tribe, and he shot into the air before Dagur even got to his feet.
…
Peril
He had underestimated the Berserkers, which took its toll on him greatly.
Hiccup's leg screamed with pain, but the young viking ignored it as he and Toothless flew into the air, dodging arrows, chains, and other various projectiles that were thrown their way. Toothless spread his wings and fired three plasma blasts at three ships below. They all began to sink once the blasts burned through them.
Even from the air, Hiccup could hear Dagur screeching for him to come back down (like he would ever do that!), and soon, the number of arrows multiplied. Chains snaked and clawed at Hiccup and Toothless. Dodging them became a lot more difficult.
They wouldn't last long; they needed to find a way out of there before they were shot out of the sky once again. Hiccup weighed out the odds. So far, things seemed hopeless.
Toothless barrel rolled out of the way of three chains. A flurry of arrows appeared at his side and nearly sliced at Toothless' prosthetic tail fin. Toothless blasted the arrows away with just one plasma blast. That was four plasma blasts used. Only three remained until they would be completely out. Out of fire and out of the sky perhaps.
Think, think, think, Hiccup! Hiccup thought to himself. You need to find a way to get you and Toothless out of here!
But it is rather difficult to think with chaos bustling around you. A pain in your leg that pulsed with hurt unimaginable. Hiccup almost wanted to give up. He almost wanted to turn himself in because it seemed as if there was no way out of the situation that they were in.
Toothless fired two plasma blasts at two wenches. They exploded and the chains scattered uselessly across the ship floor. Only one plasma blast remained.
Suddenly, there was a shout, and hundreds of arrows flew from the remaining ships. Hiccup's eyes widened and Toothless' acid green ones flashed wildly at the tsunami of arrows that were flying toward them. This was it. Fight or flight.
Of course, Hiccup chose to fight.
"Make the last shot count, Bud," whispered Hiccup. Toothless opened his mouth, the last and final plasma blast charged in the back of his throat. He was ready to fire, but all of a sudden, something in the distance rekindled Hiccup's hope.
…
A Production
"FIRE!" Astrid shouted. And the Dragon Riders charged. The arrows were turned into ashes after just a few blasts. A group of wild Nadders launched what they had on the Berserker armada below. Ships were blasted into smithereens; Hiccup and Toothless dodged the dragon fire and reunited with the other Dragon Riders.
"Hiccup!" Astrid grinned. "You're okay!"
"Well, most of me is okay," corrected Hiccup. He winced as pain coursed through his leg again. "Anyway, we've got bigger troubles to handle."
"Sorry we didn't get to you right away," said Fishlegs. "The Nadders that we chased off this island got separated, and we had to herd them back together."
"It's a good thing we did that too, or we never would have gotten the backup we needed to fight off these Berserkers," said Ruffnut.
Hiccup nodded, and he turned to the battle behind him. "Shall we finish these guys off or…?"
"Let's blow this armada to pieces!" shouted Snotlout, and the Dragon Riders flew into battle, blasting and firing away at ships. Fires of all kinds were poured down on the Berserker ships, and they weren't expecting such a turn in events. They were so close. So close to capturing Hiccup and Toothless, but the other Riders had come to his rescue just in time.
The armada of ships soon turned into a group of ships. And the group of ships soon turned around and retreated. Fire still blazed on some of them, but Hiccup could make out the form of Dagur on the last ship that departed.
"This isn't the end, Hiccup! I will have your Night Fury and destroy Dragon's Edge if it isn't the last thing I do!" he shouted.
Tuffnut snorted. "I'd like to see him try."
"Actually, we don't," said Fishlegs. "And speaking of Dragon's Edge, we should be getting back."
"How about we handle these Nadders first?" said Astrid. The large group of wild Deadly Nadders flew behind her and Stormfly, squawking and chippering with one another.
"We can," said Hiccup. He hissed as his leg flared with pain again. Astrid's face immediately morphed into one of concern.
"Hiccup, are you hurt?" she asked.
"It's just a scratch," lied Hiccup.
"Nuh-uh. That's a full-blown arrow piercing in your right thigh," Tuffnut said professionally. Ruffnut nodded.
"And what a sloppy bandaging job," the female twin said with a shake of her head. "You're going to need to get that changed out and that wound cleaned. Or else it's going to get infected."
"And you don't want an infection," said Tuffnut. "You could easily get exposed to illness if your wound gets infected."
Hiccup blinked. "H-How were you able to get all of that just by looking at my leg? You can't even see the actual injury!"
"It's all in the positioning," Tuffnut and Ruffnut answered in unison.
Astrid flew to Hiccup's side. "Come on, I'll escort you back to the Edge and we can get the wound treated."
"But what about the Nadders?" asked Hiccup.
"Uh, hello?" Snotlout said. "There are other Dragon Riders here other than Astrid!"
"We'll handle the Deadly Nadders," said Fishlegs. "It'll take longer, but we'll be fine."
And before Hiccup could protest, Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout guided the Deadly Nadders away. Hiccup sighed.
"Well, I guess we're heading back to the Edge," he said.
"Yup," Astrid said. "Let's hurry before that wound of yours gets infected."
"You don't know if the twins were right about that or not," Hiccup pointed out.
"But they might, and I'm not taking any risks," Astrid said.
"We're vikings and Dragon Riders," said Hiccup. "Taking risks is an occupational hazard."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Let's just head home."
Hiccup and Astrid flew back to Dragon's Edge, and Hiccup finally noticed that the sun had dipped into the horizon. The day was over, and that day had definitely been an eventful one. Full of risks, peril, crashing, and explosions…
But in the end, things turned out just fine. And that was one occupational hazard that Hiccup didn't mind at all.
Author's Note: All's well that ends well, am I right? X)
I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot, and I'll see you in whatever comes next for "Sticks and Stones!" =D
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203