So... one month since the last chapter. Oopsie. Sorry about that, got a lot going on right now and motivation to work on HTTYD stuff is at a all-time low. But, better late than never, right?
Morning had arrived on the Isle of Berk, the sun just barely above the horizon as the sky was still transitioning away from the black of night, the stars still visible but beginning to fade away as a nearly cloudless blue sky took their place.
And on top of one of Berk's many mountains laid a still sleeping Ender Dragon, still curled up in a tight ball like when he'd fallen asleep. He'd shifted a few times in sleep due to both the rough stone and whatever was going on in his now-existent dreams. It was only the bright near-blinding sunlight hitting the dragon right in the face that caused him to begin to stir, his body's internal sleep clock however damaged able to recognize it was time to wake.
Slowly the Ender Dragon's breathing grew faster and more light as his eyelids slightly moved in response to the light, without moving consciousness finally began to kick into gear and the dragon began to think, his mind sluggish after the previous day's events. *Where... am...*
Shadow's train of thought came to a screeching halt as his memories of the last few days came slamming into him like a truck at full speed. The Ender Dragon's breath grew slightly wheezing and stuttered as he processed everything that had happened, and for a moment he considered not opening his eyes but knew he had to.
He opened his eyes and uncurled, slowly rolling over until he was laying belly towards the sky and limbs all spread out. He lifted his long neck and head to stare with tired orange eyes at the bright day sky only to say, *I don't want to get up.*
*Getting up means facing what happened yesterday, it means remembering, it means existing as me and I don't want to... I'm just so tired...* The Ender Dragon thought with a shaky deep breath and tried to use his vocal cords to speak but all he could force himself to make was light croaks and whimpers, so he focused on his thoughts as he watched the stars fade, *I see three options... One, I sleep for the rest of time; Two, I get up and run away from Berk; Three, I get up off my scaly ass and actually face the others.*
He managed to audibly sigh, *Option two ain't really an option, I've already gone over that in detail. I could do option one but I... I... I know I have to do option three.* Thinking the last part had made his chest ache in a flurry of emotions too jumbled to process, so he forced himself to continue thinking before the emotion overwhelmed him, *I'm scared, I'm exhausted, I feel like shit and probably look worse, and I absolutely don't want to face the others like this and ask them if they want my useless ass around; But if I don't do it now, I won't ever, I'll put it off and off until another argument or another breakdown.*
Shadow mentally blanked his emotions and thoughts as he forced himself to roll over and stand up on his own four paws, trying his damndest not to think about how every action was just bringing him one inch closer to the others. *Don't think about it Shadow, just go to them without thinking too hard about it,* The Ender Dragon whispered quickly to himself as he got up.
As he got up, he could feel his urge to run and run and run, to hide away from his pain and problems ringing like a bell in his head and it was taking all his power to not give in. He moved to take a step forward and nearly winced from the aching pain in his body, and paused to consider stretching before ultimately deciding he... felt more alive, feeling this aching and pain.
*Ok I should really not go too far with this 'pain making me feel alive' thing or else that could develop into another issue to add to the many I've already got,* Shadow thought in his head with a shudder, still not stretching as he walked over to the edge of the mountain and spread his wings...
... Only to hesitate, his wings remaining open as the cold Berk air hit them and himself. *Do I deserve this? Do I deserve to fly with my wings? Rune wanted to be a dragon and he got stuck as a human, I can only imagine how much that would suck... I can somewhat, I still remember the feeling of wanting to be a dragon back in our original universe,* He thought to himself, standing there so still he almost looked like a statue.
What had previously brought him joy was now only making him feel guilty and undeserving, *Rune would be a better dragon than me; Lok would be a better dragon than me.* With a deep breath, Shadow brought his wings back to his side and then slowly began to climb down the side of the mountain instead of gliding down, stabbing his claws into the stone and slowly going down.
*Why did I end up as a big dragon? Why am I such a useless friend to them? Hell, I didn't even want to be an Ender Dragon, I'd wanted to be a Night Fury, but I'm not about to get mad over that; Hell, I really don't care so long as I am a dragon... but... that doesn't change who I am... It doesn't change the kind of person I am... Underneath the scales, I'm still useless,* The Ender Dragon thought to himself as he climbed, becoming distracted.
And that distractedness ultimately paid off when he moved to climb down again and a sharp rock on the mountain-side managed to slice in-between one of the gaps between one of his hind legs. The Ender Dragon hissed in pain and barely managed to hold on as his face scrunched up from the momentary sting.
*Damn it, I can't even...* The Ender Dragon swore and stopped as he nearly slipped, just barely managing to catch himself from falling, *...climb down this mountain right...*
Eventually, Shadow had climbed down far enough that he could let go and land on a stone ledge, a ledge from which he could walk down into the woods below. He dropped down and hissed as it made his hind-legs bleeding wound act up, which he glanced at and took a deep breath as he saw a good amount of blood.
He glanced towards the path down and took a very deep breath as he mentally talked to himself, *Don't run, don't run, don't run, face them, and don't be a coward like HE was.* After that bitter thought, he almost robotically began to walk down the mountain, taking shaky deep breaths as he did so.
Meanwhile, all the way down and at the site of the future Salty Dragon Bar, mostly everyone was still sleeping or at least appeared to be sleeping to a casual observer. The only two not present were Lok and Ash, but that quickly changed when not five minutes later Lok walked out of a nearby tree line, carrying a semi-lucid Ash.
"The child found drugs, I found him on my way back here rolling in a field of Dragon Nip," Lok explained to them all calmly and from his position in Lok's arms, Ash weakly waved at the other three as he spoke with a slur, *Hey guys, ths stuff is gweat.*
Lok just shook his head and added, "At the very least, the nip mellowed him so he didn't try to shank me, and slowed his reaction time so he's not fast enough."
Rune slowly began to wake up and groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, realizing that the sun was now up and the stars were all but gone. "Guess I should get up," Rune said tiredly, still waking up and trying to get up only to realize that he couldn't with Icelight still sleeping on his lap. As he smiled and quietly rubbed her head in thanks for the comfort last night, he spoke softly to the Flightmare, "Hey girl, wake up."
Icelight yawned and opened her eyes, slowly getting up to thus let Rune get up as well, although he didn't get up right away. After a quick stretch, the Flightmare commented to Rune, *Oh hey, that was comfortable.*
Ash, still high on Dragon Nip, blinked woozily at the green and red glowing Flightmare before commenting, *Oh, there's da glowin' bitch, ellllllllo.* Icelight turned to the smaller hybrid dragon and replied back with a question, *And nice to see the tiny chicken came back to us, how was your day?*
Ash flopped out his wings and slumped in Lok's grip, speaking loudly and with excitement, *It was gweat, lotsa drugs, and I fwond out that vikins has bras!* Icelight chuckled and commented, *Hehe oh your great, dude glad to know that.*
Suddenly, Ash softly headbutted Lok and commented, *You're warm.* Lok glanced down at the small dragon in his arms and hummed as he remarked, "Hm, you know you're actually kinda cute when you're not being a tiny menace." Ash blinked up at him and then replied, *Thankya.*
Rune chuckled and shook his head as he got up, stretching his back and eventually commenting to them, "Well, it's good to see most of us are here." Rune looked around and noticed that the only one still missing was Shadow, the man hiding from the others that he was worried about the dragon and sad about what had happened last night.
Nearby Rory shifted and slowly removed their big tail fin from over their face and watched the others, the Stormcutter had been awake for hours and never slept for longer than a few minutes at a time during the entire night. *Nothing like the looming specter of your own uselessness to keep you up at night...* The Stormcutter thought.
After a moment of silence Lok spoke up and asked them, "So, what happened after I left last night?" Icelight was quick to respond, *They both had a mental breakdown.*
Lok hummed as he caught enough to decipher the meaning, laying Ash down and scratching the hybrid's back, which made Ash curl up slightly and purr. "You mean Rune and Shadow?" Lok asked and Icelight nodded with a short, *Yep.*
Rune turned to Icelight and glared without saying anything, not blaming her for being concerned but not wanting anyone to know about his problems. Icelight gave an adorably confused head tilt and Rune chuckled with a smile before turning to the others and telling them, "It was no big deal, really. Just had some stuff that I needed to let off of my chest, nothing major."
Ash raised his head and blinked at Rune slowly before asking, *Doesn't sound good to me, do you need the thero-pay?* Icelight, nearby, seemed to nod and remarked, *I think we all do.* Ash's eyes, however, narrowed as the small hybrid focused on something else, *But, how would we pay for the thero-pay?* Icelight shrugged and just replied calmly, *I really don't know, dude.*
"How does a dragon even know what therapy is?" Lok thought and then spoke aloud in response to Ash's question, "Befriend a psychology grad student and ask them."
Rune however was quick to wave off Ash's comment with very small chuckles, "No, no, I'm good, I don't need a therapist." Ash twisted around sloppily on the ground to look at him before asking, *Are you sure about that? The thero of the pay is good.* Rune nodded and quickly lied as he didn't want anyone concerned about him, "I'm sure."
*Hmm alright 'en,* Ash commented with a shrug, whilst Icelight glanced at Rune with a look that showed she thought Ash was correct in that they all needed therapy.
Unbeknownst to them, nearby Shadow was slowly beginning to approach them and the campsite, his movement growing more rigid as he realized everyone was awake. *Run, run, run, run, run, run,* Went through his mind rapidly before he took a few shaky deep breaths and continued moving forward as he thought to himself, *Don't run, don't run, don't run.* He moved to take another step forward only to step on and break a very big branch, which happened to produce a very big noise that caught everyone's attention.
The Ender Dragon locked up as he realized all eyes were on him now, he couldn't make himself move as he watched them all before finally whispering to himself, *I'm not ready for this... *
Ash flopped over and peered up at Shadow, calling out happily, *Ello mother! I got some dwugs!* Rory remained silent and Icelight looked over and asked innocently, *Oh hey Shadow, did you enjoy the night under the beautiful stars?*
"Shadow, you're back," Was all Lok said to the Ender Dragon in regards to a greeting, seemingly ignoring last night's events. Rune, however, turned and felt guilt as he spoke in an empty and weak tone, "Shadow." Rune's eyes darted to the others to see how they were responding.
Shadow had really only heard Ash's response and then became fixed on it in his head, *Mother... I'm going so overboard with protecting them that Ash is calling me effectively a parent. I know it's a joke but it's obvious. Am I at fault for just wanting to protect them? Why wouldn't I be at fault? Of course, I screwed this up too... Can't even be a good friend,* The Ender Dragon thought to himself before realizing the others had spoken so he swallowed thickly, took a deep shaky breath, and spoke slowly and meekly, *Hi.*
Icelight looked at Rune and nodded, whilst Rune just gripped his left arm and shuffled his feet, the human wanting to do anything but stand there in the tense silence between everyone, or just Shadow and him, Rune could not tell.
Shadow realized his bloody hind leg was fully visible and thus moved to discretely hide it, thinking bitterly, *Am I a hypocrite? Yes.* Icelight looked and saw in time, speaking up and asking the Ender Dragon in a bit of concern, *Um Shadow, how in the heck did you get blood on you?*
"Why weren't you flying?" Lok asked as he realized Shadow walked instead of flew, and then the human also noticed the bloody leg which Shadow gave up on trying to hide, "You injured?"
*I-* Shadow choked out but didn't go further, *Lie or truth, lie or truth, lie or truth- I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.* He took a quivering deep breath and forced himself to respond with his go-to option, *Fine. I-I'm fine.* His eyes and the waver in his voice however told a different story. *Liar, not fine, not fine, I am not fine!*
Icelight spoke up quickly, *Dude, if you have blood on you, you either hunted or injured yourself.* Ash tilted his head at the Ender Dragon and asked, *Are you hwurt? Do you need a docter or sometin?*
*I haven't hunted, I don't know how to hunt, I didn't even eat yesterday,* Shadow thought to himself tiredly as he could feel a dull ache in his stomach from hunger. The Ender Dragon stayed silent in front of them whilst thinking, *Great, maybe they see me as even more useless, can't even be alone for twenty-four hours without injuring myself...*
Rune watched and could tell that something was bothering Shadow as well, the human thinking to himself as he wanted to help but didn't think the others needed him, "I know that this is my fault but what can I say that would make things better." Icelight saw this and moved over to Rune, attempting to coax him into talking to Shadow.
Lok spoke to Shadow, "I didn't ask if you were fine, I asked why you didn't fly; Not answering simple questions is very much a sign things are not fine."
Shadow glanced at the human as he thought, *Do I lie to Lok? Or do I tell him exactly why I didn't fly here?* The Ender Dragon opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it once more, and then after a moment closed it again before giving up on that. He just... couldn't make himself talk about it.
Rune glanced between Icelight and Shadow before asking the Flightmare in an unsure tone, "Do you really think that this is the time to have this talk?" Icelight nodded quickly and Rune took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, "Alright guess it's better to get it over with; Rip it off like a bandage, huh." Rune tried to add some humor at the end to relieve the stress and anxiety, Icelight huffed and laughed a little as she agreed with Rune's statement.
Rune began walking towards Shadow and the Ender Dragon noticed, looking in his direction but avoiding eye contact, the dragon seemed to consider trying to open his mouth again but he just couldn't get himself to speak. *Why am I always like this in emotional situations?* Shadow questioned in his head with a broken tone.
*Icelight went up to Shadow and tried to comfort him, as Rune made his way up to right in front of the Ender Dragon before looking up into the dragon's orange eyes. "Hheeey Shadow, how are you doing?" Rune asked as he forced a smile, but it showed how uneasy he was standing there.
Icelight gave Rune an 'oh come on buddy you can do it' look of encouragement, to which Rune responded with a quick glance of 'this isn't easy' before preparing himself for an emotional conversation.
*I'm-* Shadow began automatically before stopping, almost choking on his own words as he thought to himself, *-not fine. I'm not fine, everything hurts and I regret so much and I'm a failure please gods I'm sorry. I'm not fine. I'm not fine.* He wanted to speak, to say everything in his head but it was like something was caught in his throat and stopping him. He'd always been like this before but even with a new body, new name, he still couldn't make himself admit he wasn't fine. *I...*
Shadow took a deep almost wheezing breath as he thought, *If this really is a fresh start, I'm just repeating all the same mistakes I used to make; I have to let people in, I have to admit I have issues and accept help, or learn to live with the potential rejection.* Finally, the Ender Dragon forced himself to look Rune in the eyes and let his tense posture fall away. He couldn't say his emotions, but he could show them through his body language and eyes, *And that's enough hopefully.*
Rune saw the body language and recognized it, having seen it multiple times on others before and even having used it himself. Without saying a single word, the human walked up and hugged one of the Ender Dragon's forelegs.
Lok stared kind of awkwardly as he had no idea what to do, whilst Icelight smiled at them as she felt proud of them.
Shadow let out a little choked noise as he was hugged, almost subtly beginning to shake, *I... do they actually care about me? Even with how useless I am? Even though I've made so many mistakes.* Shadow didn't know how to return the hug even though he wanted to, but the dragon knew his body was growing shakier and breathing more frantic by the second as his vision blurred as if he was crying. *Can I even cry as a dragon?* Shadow questioned himself in his head.
The Ender Dragon swallowed thickly and let out a choked noise as he managed to force out a quick two words, *I'm sorry.*
"Apology accepted," Lok said calmly and quickly whilst Rune spoke softly and squeezed the Ender Dragon's leg to comfort them, "Me too Shadow, me too." Rune also thought in his head, "Maybe I should start opening up as well; I'm so tired of keeping these emotions of his locked up and kept a secret from everyone," But he knew that right now the only thing he needed to do was comfort his friend.
*I... I'm sorry if I seem overbearing or... or if I screw up cause it's just who I am, I screw things up; I can't do anything right and you all probably knew that and I'm sorry,* Shadow choked out between breaths as he shook in place and his vision seemed to blur even more, *Am I crying right now? I can't tell, new body and all.*
Lok didn't really know how to handle the situation as he'd never been really good at emotions, but he did speak up, "Hey, you do some things right, but we're all adapting; To a new environment, new roles, even new bodies in your case."
Rune also spoke up to Shadow in an attempt to comfort the dragon, "No, Shadow I should be sorry, you were only worried about us and caring for our safety and well-being, and I just pushed it away and lashed out at you; You were just being a good friend, I'm just not used to people caring about me so much."
*'Rune should be sorry'? No.* Shadow thought in his head and spoke up slowly and carefully, *No, it's not your fault, it's mine, not yours; You didn't have an overreaction to something that wasn't that big of a deal... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let it get to me, I'm sorry... it's not your fault.* Shadow took a deep breath, *Why did I even have an over-reaction? I don't know anymore... but it's my fault, not Rune's.*
Lok, nearby, thought to himself, "It was my idea to start combat training that set this whole fiasco into motion."
"Shadow…" Rune said as he tried thinking of a way to get his message through to the Ender Dragon who was feeling guilt like he was. After a second he got an idea, so he let go of the dragon's leg and backed up before gesturing for Shadow to lower his head, which Shadow did whilst still slightly shaking.
Rune grabbed the side of the Ender Dragon's head and brought them close enough that they could lock eyes, which seemed silly but Rune wanted Shadow to fully see and hear these next words, "Shadow, I may not be good at this but I can promise you that you aren't at fault here; You shouldn't feel sorry for "overreacting," it just means that you care and because you cared you got hurt so badly and we were the ones to do it... I was the one to do it; So please don't beat yourself up about it, you are still our friend and you're very important to all of us, We wouldn't be the Salty Bar group without you." Rune gave a warm smile and internally laughed at how cheesy what he said sounded.
Icelight grinned at the dragon and human, happy and proud of them. Nearby Lok spoke up and stated, "I wouldn't go that far; Sure, don't beat yourself up for a mistake, but don't overstep your boundaries either." Lok went ignored by pretty much everybody.
Shadow took a shaky breath and laid down as his legs were shaking too much to stand still, thankfully his long neck prevented him from having to move his head out of Rune's grip, *Thank you long neck...* Shadow paused as he took a deep breath. *He blames himself too, doesn't he? He shouldn't, it's my fault... but maybe I can push that aside. They care, and maybe I had an over-reaction, but I can't not care... ugh, why is this so hard to figure out.*
Shadow took a deep breath and spoke, *You aren't to blame, no one is. I'll...* He took a moment to think, *This is going to be hard, but if it helps Rune then I guess I can try...* And with that he spoke slowly, or as slow as he could with his heart beating a thousand miles an hour, *If you promise not to blame yourself, because it isn't your fault, then I won't blame myself... O-Ok?*
"As long as you don't blame yourself," Rune stated and Shadow took a deep breath as he mauled it over in his head, *I don't know how to, when this is my fault... but I can try for them.* With a deep breath and a slow nod, Shadow answered verbally, *Ok... ok.* Rune smiled and said, "Then we have a deal."
Shadow took another deep breath and then decided to attempt to lighten the mood a bit, *Am I crying? I can't tell what with the whole... new body thing.* *I think I am, blurred vision, seemingly wet eyes and I swear I felt something wet roll down my snout just now and it sure wasn't sweat. Dragons can't sweat... I think,* Shadow thought to himself.
Rune let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, feeling an invisible weight lifting off his chest and shoulders and it made him feel almost woozy with how light he felt now. Rune sat next to Shadow as he rubbed the Ender Dragon's head in a comforting manner, "Yeah, you are crying, though I didn't think dragons could cry; Maybe something from your human side that came along when you turned dragon."
Lok quickly spoke up, "Tearducts are what he kept from being human? That's pretty underwhelming; Hm, anything other vestigial mammalian traits you kept? Useful enzymes or proteins? Organs? Do we need to worry about a vestigial body self-destructing like an appendix?"
Shadow took a few deep breaths, the aching in his chest and throat from the previous conversation having yet to go away... he felt like someone had cracked him open and drained him of all his blood, *Oh, yeah, my leg... I'll get to that later.* Shadow took a deep breath and spoke, *Huh, didn't realize I kept that; Don't know if I kept any other human traits or aspects, guess we'll find out.*
After a moment of silence, Icelight came a bit closer and spoke to Shadow gently, *Hey Shadow, do you think it's high time we get this shack finished already?*
Shadow glanced at Icelight for a moment confused before his brain finally caught up, *Oh, yeah, the Bar... geesh we can get side-tracked.* The Ender Dragon took a deep breath and spoke, *I... um, sorry my brain isn't working right just yet; But yeah, we do need to finish that.*
Rune glanced between the two of them and then asked Shadow in confusion, "Finish what?" The human hadn't caught all of what Icelight had said, due to having only started learning Dragonese the day before. The Ender Dragon glanced over at him and said simply, *The Bar.*
"Oh yeah," Rune said and grabbed the back of his own neck as he laughed a bit, "We totally forgot about the Bar." Shadow nodded in agreement whilst Icelight turned to the Ender Dragon and asked, *So Shadow, what do I do to help build it? Do you want me to get an endless supply of fish?*
Shadow didn't know why she was asking him of all dragons but hummed as he thought to himself, *We need to finish it but I need to clean the blood off my leg... who knows if the wound could get infected without cleaning.* The Ender Dragon paused thinking in order to control his wince as he felt his stomach twist painfully, *Oh, and I haven't eaten since the day we met Mildew and that was... the day before yesterday I think? But the Bar needs to get done...*
In the end, Shadow took a deep breath and joked, *Yeah, our ability to get sidetracked is unparalleled.*
"We still need to dry the lumber the Timberjack cut, otherwise the building will rot," Lok spoke up and told them, which made Shadow glance over at him and remark, *That's assuming the Timberjack has even cut the wood yet, we haven't met up with them yet to determine that.*
Rune got up from beside Shadow and quipped, "Yeah, but we should treat Shadow's wound first before it gets infected." The human walked around Shadow's side and to the bloody hind leg, which Shadow slowly untucked from his side in order to allow Rune to get a good look at it. The Ender Dragon tried to see it through blurry eyes, *I mean, it doesn't seem too bad? It looks to just be effectively a scratch, but on a dragon's scale; For a human, this would be bad...*
Rune and Icelight moved closer to look, and the Flightmare looked it over before remarking, *So basically a nick.*
Shadow used his tail to wipe his eyes in order to clear them, being careful not to jab himself in an eye with his spikes or spines, whatever they were called he did not know for certain. *Yeah, it... should be fine. I don't know, it took a while for it to stop bleeding,* Shadow told them and took a deep breath.
Icelight gave a concerned look and asked the Ender Dragon, *Did you run into any branches with thorns or something, dude?* After a moment the Ender Dragon began speaking, *No I...* He grew sheepish and continued, *I may have climbed down the mountain I slept on... And accidently cut myself on one of the rocks.*
Icelight hummed and just remarked, *Oh, so you scraped yourself while climbing down the mountain? Makes sense.* Shadow nodded.
Rune finished inspecting the wound and turned to look at them as he spoke, "It just appears to be a simple cut, nothing too serious; Cleaning the wound should be good enough."
Shadow nodded and now with a more clear mind and eyes, glanced over at Rory and Ash to speak to them, *Hey I see Ash is back, and... is he high on Dragon Nip again? Also, hey Rory, sorry for my, uh, breakdown, there.* Shadow trailed off awkwardly, going silent as he glanced around.
As Rune walked off to the satchel Hiccup had given them to try and find some supplies for cleaning the wound, Icelight looked at the little hybrid before commenting to Shadow, *To be honest dude, he seems chill that way.*
Ash flopped back around to face them, blinking tiredly from his spot on the ground as he spoke, *Emotions happened, I don't know how to feel about that.* Icelight shrugged and told him, *Believe me, one of these days you'll have a drama fest moment.* Ash whined and commented, *Noooooooo not emotions, just drugs.*
Meanwhile, Rory shrugged to Shadow and slowly blinked, the Stormcutter finding themselves unable to speak as their chest felt hollow after what had just happened around them. *Probably wouldnt've even noticed if I'd gone and left in the middle of that...* Rory thought.
Icelight looked at Ash and told them, *Ash, you are very lucky you're at the age where you can have as many drugs as you can,* Ash seemed to enjoy this, purring as he remarked, *Oooooo that's nice.* From nearby, Rune looked up from the satchel and shouted to them, "That isn't a good thing!"
Rune continued digging through the satchel and pulled out a piece of cloth they could use to bandage the wound, however, there was something else they didn't have that would help in cleaning the wound. "Now all I need is some alcohol, maybe a trip to the village again wouldn't hurt," Rune thought and got up, turning to Rory and Icelight to ask, "Hey Rory, Icelight! Do one of you mind flying me to the village? I just need to grab some alcohol so I can clean Shadow's wounds."
Rory opened their mouth to speak only for Icelight to speak first, *Oh I can do it!* The Flightmare shouted excitedly whilst doing a wiggling motion and wagging their tail. Rory closed their mouth and sighed, looking away a bit.
Rune looked at the cute display Icelight was making and waved her over, "Aww, alright, let's go then." Icelight nodded and quickly made her way over to the human, *Yeah! Sweet!*
Shadow glanced at Rory in slight concern, the Stormcutter's quietness beginning to make the Ender Dragon think something was up, however, he decided to wait to bring it up. Shadow sighed and turned to Rune to ask, *So, do I just... wait here or come with?* Shadow then shifted in place as he thought to himself, *If I come with, maybe I can get some food.*
However before they could answer, Shadow suddenly thought of something. *Oh, and I assume you'll be asking Hiccup for it? We don't exactly have any money; Actually...* The Ender Dragon asked curiously and then trailed off as his eye caught the toolbox Rune had brought, *You borrowed those tools from Hiccup, didn't you?*
"Yes I did, why do you ask?" Rune replied and Shadow shook his head whilst answering with a slight chuckle, *Oh just curious, and it only just occurred to me to ask how you got it heh.*
Nearby Rory sighed and forced themself onto their feet, limbs shaking as they hadn't eaten at all since arriving, and it was beginning to have an effect on them. Without a word, Rory began to slog down the trail to the village, too tired to fly. Shadow watched all of this in concern.
*Ok something is wrong with Rory... But I don't know what,* Shadow thought, and then hummed as he put together a mental list of everything that could be bothering the Stormcutter.
Rune walked over to Icelight and was about to climb on before pausing, glancing at her to question if it was ok to climb on. Icelight nodded and got into position, to which Rune nodded and quickly climbed on, eager to get back in the air. The second Rune was on, Icelight took off into the sky slowly and carefully, eventually getting a bit higher up.
Shadow looked up at them and asked, *Hey, should I come with or should I stay here?* Rune glanced down at him from atop Icelight and told him, "You can come if you want, it's up to you, but I think it's best that you don't fly as you don't want to kick up dust into your wound." Shadow nodded in agreement.
Icelight flew higher up and straightened themselves out, glancing at Rune to confirm they were ready. Rune nodded and told her excitedly, "Heck yeah I am." And with that, the Flightmare and human were off, leaving behind Shadow, Lok, and Ash.
*I'm hungry and I really want to see if Rory is ok... whatever, time to walk,* Shadow thought as he got up from his laying position, being careful to not let any dust or dirt get into his wound. He turned to look at Lok and Ash, *If you wanna join us, we're in the village.* The Ender Dragon gave them a quick smile before walking after Rory at a slow speed.
Rory walked into the village slowly, each step labored and their wings and tail dragging behind them whilst they barely kept their head up. The Stormcutter wasn't even looking ahead as they walked, just shuffling towards hopefully the fish stations. *Because, that's all I'm good for now; Fetch dragons, fetch fish, maybe move some heavy shit when the rest could stop goofing off long enough to get something done... God, I'm so tired...* The Stormcutter thought.
Shadow walked up behind Rory and looked over the Stormcutter, easily recognizing that something was not right. *Ok, handle this... gently,* Shadow thought and took a deep breath before speaking slowly and gently, *Rory, are you ok?*
Rory flinched and tried to keep walking, not wanting to start a scene in the middle of town. *Nothing, just hungry,*The Stormcutter mumbled, *Haven't eaten at all, now I gotta grapple with eating raw fish for the next few years, and I never liked sushi; Gonna just, choke 'em down fast.*
Shadow took a deep breath as he thought about this, *Ok, Rory flinched and they haven't eaten at all, that probably is not a good sign; But I can't force them to tell me what's wrong, Rory can only tell me on their own terms.* With a nod, Shadow added vocally, *Alright, but, if it's anything else you can tell me and I'll listen.*
With a deep breath, Shadow decided to switch it to a more casual topic in order to hopefully make Rory more comfortable, *But... yeah, I'm hungry too, and I never even tried fish before ending up as a dragon and I don't know if it tastes better or worse; Just don't choke them down TOO fast, you don't want to choke... I don't know if the Heimlich maneuver can be performed on a dragon.* He tried to joke slightly.
*The last thing this kid needs is more guilt... Just back to business as usual; Even in a whole other universe, I'm still the perpetual fifth-wheel,* Rory thought and hummed with eyes half-open, the Stormcutter moving to dodge whatever Dragons and Vikings were out at the time. Eventually, the Stormcutter spoke, *Just... wanna get in and out before we draw too much attention; Astrid already hates our guts, and Toothless thinks something's sus... Better to not tempt fate.*
Shadow glanced over Rory and thought for a moment, *Half-open eyes, Rory looks like he's about to drop dead here and now; The reasons Rory's given are kind of solid, but they seem like deflection...* After a moment and a few breaths, the Ender Dragon spoke, *I guess, yeah, I wonder where the fish stations are...* Shadow gave Rory one last glance before looking around, *I wanna ask what's bothering him, I do, but I can't push or pry it out of them; Rory'll just have to tell me on his own terms.*
After a moment the smell hit them and Rory made their way over to it, the Stormcutter deciding to try and pick off the top as even in the cold of winter, fish left out in the open wouldn't last forever. The Stormcutter craned their neck over a few Gronckles and held their breath before picking up a big fat fish. The sudden taste and texture made them nearly gag, the Stormcutter quickly working their jaws and tossing it down their throat.
Rory shuddered as the whole process worked so strangely for them, the strangeness not helped by how their gut was already churning. *This's gonna be a long few years,* Rory croaked out.
Shadow chuckled as he walked up, *Hey, at least your first meal is of already dead fish and not still living flopping fish, small mercies.* The Ender Dragon's own stomach growled painfully and the dragon used his long neck and size to peer over the Gronckles, finding some untouched fish on the top, which he quickly snapped up whilst thinking happily, *Oh thank the Dragons Above, I am so damn hungry.*
*Honestly, not sure if that's better or worse...* Rory commented and sighed before trying again at eating, but they couldn't manage more than a few before the queasiness they felt was too much. Rory stopped eating and moved to shuffle away, *I- I'm going to lay down; I don't feel so good.*
Shadow paused eating as he heard Rory's words, forcing himself away from the fish even when his stomach audibly grumbled. *'Don't feel so good', why am I getting Avengers Infinity War flashbacks now?* Shadow thought and asked the Stormcutter in concern, *Rory, are you ok?* *Rory didn't eat a lot, probably not enough to count as a suitable meal,* Shadow added in his head.
*I'll... probably be fine; Just need to sleep this off, see if I sort myself out,* Rory told the Ender Dragon and offered the Stormcutter version of a smile, *Don't worry about me, I do my own taxes and everything; An upset stomach is just another bump in the road.* With that said, Rory began to make their way back towards the Bar construction site.
*I wanted to say something but what do I say?* Shadow thought and then called out, *Hope you feel good, upset stomachs are nightmares and I speak from personal experience!* With a deep breath, Shadow mentally rolled his eyes as he thought to himself, *Right, totally fitting the situation, Shadow.* He sighed, *Ok, gotta find out what is bothering Rory and soon.*
Shadow realized he'd been standing there for a while and moved back to the fish trough, *Ok, best to eat and get a move on.* Shadow speed-ate, he knew it was probably not a good idea to eat so fast but he knew the others were in the village and he wanted to talk to them about Rory.
After finishing, Shadow took a deep breath as his stomach ached slightly, *Ok, fastest I've ever eaten a full meal? Check. Ok, time to find Rune and Icelight.* With that, the Ender Dragon set off on a light jog, being careful to not get anything into their wound.
As this was going on, in the village square Icelight came in for a landing as the Twins followed Snotlout around, annoying the shorter teen.
"Can you two please stop; Don't you two have someone else to annoy?" Snotlout asked them incredulously and the Twins stopped, glancing at each other before speaking at the same time. "Nope," Tuffnut said as Ruffnut said, "Nada." Snotlout was annoyed as Tuffnut just added, "Besides it's fun to annoy you."
Snotlout sighed angrily and walked off, the Twins following whilst laughing. Icelight landed outside the Forge and Rune climbed off of the Flightmare, walking up to the Forge and trying to see if Hiccup was there. Hearing metal being pounded by metal, he knocked on the wood outside of the window that operated as a counter.
The pounding stopped and a voice called out, "Who is it?" After a moment, Rune called out and simply said, "Um Rune sir, I'm here to see Hiccup." After a moment, Gobber popped up at the window and looked over the human and Flightmare... before instantly fixating on the Flightmare, "What the- Flightmare?! What the hell is it doing here?"
Gobber looked torn between listening for an explanation or calling for backup from his fellow Vikings, Icelight tried giving the Viking Blacksmith a cute innocent look whilst Rune moved in front of Icelight to protect her. "Oh not again," Rune thought and then spoke quickly, "Woah, it's alright, she's with us, she's friendly."
Gobber grew confused and decided to go with listening for an explanation as he asked Rune, "What dah you mean friendly? Don't you know the Flightmare attacks Berk every ten years?" Icelight tilted her head as Rune quickly spoke with a lie, "Um no we didn't, we are new around here so we didn't know about that until Astrid told us."
Gobber grew surprised and leaned forward as he asked, "And Astrid didn't hurt your Flightmare? We talking about the same Astrid?" Icelight huffed and grumbled, *She tried to.*
Rune chuckled as he understood what Gobber meant, replying calmly, "Oh we are talking about the same Astrid; She probably would have killed her if we didn't convince her to leave Icelight alone." Gobber grew confused and asked, "And how did yah do that? She's been wanting to kill the Flightmare that killed her Uncle since... well since her Uncle died." Gobber looked at Icelight with narrowed eyes, thinking.
Icelight gave Gobber the puppy-dog eyes as Rune mentally slapped himself, "Um, well, she mentioned that she had a personal score to settle as she told us that one killed her uncle, so we kind of know about it now."
Gobber seemed to ignore him as he glanced at Icelight one last time before asking, well, more like stating to Rune, "This ain't the same Flightmare that attacks Berk, is it." Icelight gave a toothy grin-like smile to Gobber as Rune answered, "No, the one the Astrid mentioned was blue, this one is green with red scales; They aren't the same dragon."
Gobber finally calmed down fully and no longer being high on fear, it clicked with him who he was talking to, "Ah... you must be one of the two new humans on the island, Stoick told me about yah." Gobber thought for a moment and then asked curiously, "You said you needed to see Hiccup, what for?"
Rune explained, "Oh yeah, I need to ask Hiccup if we could borrow some alcohol; One of our dragons got injured and I need the alcohol to clean his wound." Gobber glanced at him confused and asked, "Eh, why would you want alcohol to clean a wound? What good would that even do..."
Rune realized that Gobber and Berk had no idea of the medical uses of alcohol, "Oh alcohol has properties in the liquid that is good at disinfecting the wound; I can't really go into details as I don't know the chemicals in alcohol that makes it really good at disinfecting wounds, but all of our healers back home use it as it's the simplest and most effective ways to clean wounds."
Gobber looked confused but also intrigued, "Eh, I'll have to tell Gothi, our healer, about that one... Could be helpful." Gobber thinks about it for a moment and then nods to Rune, "Well, so long as it's going to a good cause, I do suppose I could give you some for free."
*Thank you,* Icelight said at the same time Rune smiled and also said, "Thank you."
Gobber disappeared into the Forge for a moment before coming back with a bottle of alcohol in his one non-prosthetic hand, "Here you go, lad, just actually use it for helping yer dragon and not... other things, like the Twins did once." Rune took the bottle but looked at Gobber confused as he asked, "What did the Twins do?"
Icelight nodded at the warning from Gobber, as the two-limbed Viking gave a long blank stare and said eerily calm, "Trust me, lad, you don't want to know."
Rune nodded but he was curious now, "I kind of do though, can't be as bad as the stuff that we've heard or seen back home." Gobber stared and said calmly, "They put it in the water supply for the Dragons, so we had to deal with a bunch of drunk Dragons for an entire day."
As Rune covered his mouth to try holding back his snickers, Icelight heard something and turned around to see Shadow running towards them at a light pace. Icelight slightly glared and scolded the Ender Dragon, *You aren't supposed to run, you know, especially when you have a mountain scrape on your leg.*
Shadow came to a stop with a slight wince as his stomach ached, but he glanced at his hind leg and nodded upon being sure nothing was in it. The Ender Dragon turned to Icelight and apologized, *Sorry Icelight, I wanted to get here before you two started heading back.*
Icelight sighed and asked, *Next time just fast walk, dude, okay please?* Shadow nodded with a sheepish wince and an apologizing smile, telling the Flightmare, *Ok, sorry.* Shadow shifted in place, uncomfortable after having eaten so fast, and sat down as he thought to himself, *I'll bring up Rory in a moment.*
Rune began to cough in order to calm down from his slightly hysterical snickering fit, looking at Gobber and asking, "Oh my god, they seriously did that?"
Gobber nodded with such seriousness that you might think he was talking about the Odin's Scourge, "Yes, and every dragon got drunk... Every... One... Even Toothless."
*Oh that would have been an interesting sight to witness,* Icelight remarked as Rune asked out loud, "Oh really, and how did that scenario play out?" In his head, Rune thought to himself, "Oh what I wouldn't give to see how Toothless acts when he's drunk."
Gobber shook his head and said in a haunted tone, "We... don't talk about it."
*Ok, Toothless being drunk, that is either something I wanna see or don't care to see,* Shadow thought in his head whilst Icelight looked at him curiously and asked, *Is that similar to how we react if we eat an eel?* Shadow leaned to her and whispered.
Rune quietly wheezed as an image of what Toothless might do whilst drunk popped into his head, "Oh I never thought that I would hear the day of dragons getting drunk, especially a Night Fury of all cases." Gobber shook his head and simply told him, "Aye, and I hope it never happens again; Especially with the two big ones you got on the island."
*Who, you and Rory?* Icelight asked Shadow who shrugged and responded, *I assume that's what he means; And trust me, if I get drunk it'll be because someone forced me.*
Rune shook his head and told Gobber, "I think it's the little one you got to worry about, as Shadow and Rory are responsible; Ash on the other hand is completely irresponsible, I'm more worried about the damage he would cause."
Gobber thought about that and shuddered, "Yeah, best to not think about that; Eh, anyway, you should probably go heal that dragon of yours." Gobber looked at Shadow and saw the bloody leg, "I think that's them right there?" Gobber gestured and Rune nodded as he glanced back at Shadow.
"Yup, thanks again," Rune told Gobber before walking towards Shadow and Icelight, Gobber waving with his prosthetic hand and telling them, "Yer welcome, have a good day!" Gobber quickly retreated back into the Forge and the sound of metal on metal resumed.
Shadow lowered his head down to Rune and nodded as he spoke, *Hey man, I see you got the supplies, did you still have the other stuff for the wound, or is it back at the base... bar... whatever?* Rune nodded as he pulled out the cloth and a rag, "Yup, I already got the cloth, I don't think I really need anything else unless you have a rock stuck into your skin or hide I guess."
Shadow nodded, *Good, we could just apply it here and now I guess? Would be better than walking all the way back and THEN applying it.* In his head, Shadow thought slightly urgently to himself, *And I need to tell you about Rory and my concerns, but I can do that whilst you bandage my wound...*
Rune nodded and gestured for Shadow to lay down, "Alright, lay down on your side so it will be easier for me to reach it, and so you don't accidentally break anything when I apply the alcohol." Shadow nodded and laid down on the side opposite of his injured leg, pulling in his wings and tail so they didn't lash about when the alcohol was applied. The Ender Dragon's stomach also hurt less like this, so win-win.
*I also have something important to tell you, it concerns Rory,* Shadow said slowly and Rune nodded, "Alright, you can tell me while I patch up your wound." Rune took the cork from the bottle and poured the alcohol onto a rag, "Alright, this is going to sting so brace yourself."
Shadow took a deep breath and braced himself before speaking, *I'm more sensitive to pain so it might hurt worse for me... just do it.* Rune nodded and placed the rag onto the wound. *Ow ow ow ow OW!* Shadow thought in his head as he clenched his jaw shut to avoid roaring, instead hissing and whimpering from the pain. *I don't know if I'm still over-sensitive to pain or if becoming a dragon has fixed that,* Shadow managed to somewhat wonder between thinking, *Ow.*
*Yep, I figured it would sting but at least it won't be infected,* Icelight remarked as Rune moved to do it as quickly as possible so Shadow didn't have to sit in pain for too long. "So, what is it you wanted to tell us?" He asked to get Shadow's mind off the pain.
Shadow took a few deep breaths to focus, using one of his forepaws to rub his stomach and chest as he spoke, *First, Rory was pretty quiet earlier at the Bar site and walked here instead of flying; Then when Rory came into the village he was, like, half-awake... Looked almost like he was gonna drop dead right there... Then you remember how he hasn't eaten at all since we got here, and whilst at the fish stations, he barely ate before heading back to the bar site, saying he didn't feel good and upset stomach.*
Shadow took a few more deep breaths before continuing as Rune worked on the wound, *I'm concerned something's wrong, if not physically than emotionally.* Icelight hummed and suggested, *Hmm maybe it's something similar to how you felt earlier?*
Shadow hummed and nodded, *Maybe, today just seems to be a day for that sort of thing.*
Rune finished with the alcohol and as he began to tie the bandage he spoke up, "Hmm yeah, that does sound concerning, we should go check on him once we are done here." Icelight nodded and glanced at Shadow, *Yep, hey Shadow you feel up to flying, or would you rather walk?*
Shadow took another deep breath and whispered jokingly, *Well, at least I won't lose a leg like Hiccup, but if I did we could start a club.* Icelight's words finally registered and he glanced at her, *Oh, um, not sure yet... Give me a moment to think about it.* Icelight nodded and simply said, *Alright, whenever you feel up to it.*
After a moment, Rune finished applying the bandage and stood up, "There, tell me how the feels." The Ender Dragon slowly got up and experimentally moved his hind leg around, then did a short walk before turning to them, *Probably as good as it's gonna get, how long do you think the bandage should stay on?*
"Probably for a few days, the wound isn't bad so it just needs to make sure that it's closed and healing," Rune told him with a shrug and both dragons nodded, Icelight speaking up, *Yep, for a human though it takes a little bit longer to heal.*
Shadow nodded and then stilled, his eyes widening as he thought to himself, *My acid doesn't affect me but can destroy organic material.* Shadow groaned in annoyance and rubbed his snout with his tail as he spoke, *Oh I am a dumbass! I could've just cleaned my wound with my acid! It doesn't affect me and it would've killed any potentially threatening biological materials in there.*
Rune shook his head, "That might be the case for your outer skin, but we don't know if the same applies to the tissue inside you; I don't think it would have been a smart risk." Icelight nodded in agreement and Shadow sighed and nodded.
*Yeah, who knows if my acid would've or wouldn't have affected my internal tissue; Guess that's something we can test later in a safe way... hmm, maybe I should start writing all this knowledge down...* Shadow then paused and sighed before dramatically shaking one paw, *But I can't, paws, terrible handwriting, and no paper. Ugh.*
The Ender Dragon paused for a moment as he thought to himself, *Maybe a typewriter could work? It'd have to be big and built specifically for me, but it would allow me to write again...* Rune spoke up and said comfortingly, "We'll find a way for you to write again, don't worry."
*Um what?* Icelight asked confused and Rune turned to her, explaining, *Well Shadow loved to write before, but he can't now so he misses it.* One moment of silence before a banshee screech filled the air as Icelight excitedly asked, *Can I learn too?!*
Rune was a little taken aback by the Flightmare's excitement but quickly nodded, "Sure, since you are teaching us Dragonese it seems only fair to teach you how to write." Shadow nodded in agreement whilst Icelight looked incredibly happy.
*Writing might be hard for me to teach, actually scratch that it'll probably give me gray scales, but I can teach more story-writing concepts like the eight-point story circle, three-act structure, want vs need in characters...* Shadow began to say and then paused, sheepishly finishing, *Sorry, got a little carried away.*
*Sounds awesome!* Icelight told them whilst wagging her tail in excitement, doing a small little song to illustrate her point. Rune tilted his head at her and asked very curiously, "What was that? Did you just sing a song or something?"
Icelight nodded and did it again, this time to make sure both of them understood the notes and melodies. Both Ender Dragon and human thought it sounded nice, enjoying the song.
*That sounds nice!* Shadow complimented and then attempted to mimic it, doing his best to commit it to memory, *I can... somewhat... sing too, although my version of singing is more vocal and I only know like three songs, heh.*
Icelight chuckled as well, *Hehe, I can only do basics for humans to understand it a little bit more.*
After they quieted down, Rune spoke up, "Okay I think we should start heading back now; Do you think you can fly Shadow, or do you want to walk back?" The final part was directed at the Ender Dragon, who thought about it for a moment.
*I'll walk, don't want to ruin the bandage or make my stomach any more upset than it already is, heh. I really need to eat slower...* Shadow explained and Icelight nodded as she said, *I agree with Shadow on that.*
Shadow glanced at her confused and let out an uh sound, *Dang inability to read context sometimes.* With a deep breath he asked in confusion, *Agree as in your gonna walk too or just agree as in my line of reasoning for me not flying?*
*We're walking,* Icelight stated and Rune nodded, "Alright we'll walk then, I'm fine with walking back on my own two feet." Icelight nodded, *Alright sounds good to me.*
Shadow stretched like a large cat and he could feel the soreness begin to fade from his muscles and bones, something he had let stay throughout the morning. *Ok it's still morning and I may have pissed off my stomach a little, but things are getting better... I just hope Rory is ok,* Shadow thought whilst opening and closing his wings a few times, then rolling his shoulders as best he could as a quadruped with wings.
*Alright, let's go,* Shadow commented to confirm he was ready to begin walking and all three began to walk towards the Bar, the Ender Dragon mumbling to himself, *Wonder how a typewriter for an Ender Dragon would even work...*
*If we can build one,* Icelight pointed out and Shadow shrugged as he replied, *Pretty sure a typewriter is one of the least crazy things we'll end up seeing or building here.* With that, the Ender Dragon thought to himself, *Oh I can't wait for when Hiccup makes Inferno... oh, that reminds me, I still gotta find out if I'm fireproof, eh, I'll do that later.*
So... that happened. And is still happening, well, in the next chapter. One thing I can confirm is that Chapter 10 will officially be when we begin going over the Riders of Berk TV show storyline, with all the sessions needed for that chapter already done. However, the RP is currently on a break for 2-3 weeks (both because of IRL requirements and to allow the fanfic to catch up... hopefully) so it shouldn't get that much more behind.
Reviews are appreciated! Give us your thoughts on the story so far, predictions where you think it'll go (there is a semi-plan in place now behind-the-scenes), and what you like about it.
I should hopefully have the next few chapters out soon (without a month wait for the next one), so look forward to that influx of content!
This is JustANormalHTTYDFan, over and out.
