AN: New year, new story. Please enjoy both.
CRASH
I followed Hiccup, my rider, towards the Great Hall after a hard day of work. The twins had struck again, leaving almost half the village in ruins and the other half covered in debris, and everyone had been working hard to get most of the houses habitable by nightfall. My wings, legs and tail were all aching with tiredness, and after getting a meal at the Great Hall, I was going to go home and sleep, no matter what my rider said.
In addition to pushing and pulling heavy boulders and lifting wooden beams that weighed as much as Stoick, there had been an uneasy sensation in my insides all day, twisting my guts painfully. Something wasn't right, but I was too tired to deal with it just now. Hopefully it would wait until the next day.
Hiccup heaved hard on the massive doors that led into the Great Hall, but they barely moved an inch. Chuckling, I grasped the handle in my mouth and limped backwards, slowly dragging the door open. My front left paw still smarted from where Bucket had accidentally dropped a log on it earlier, and Hiccup noticed.
"Rough day, huh?"
I nodded wearily as we slipped inside the Great Hall. The churning, prickling feeling in my gut intensified, and I held back a wince. Something was very wrong. Oblivious, Hiccup kept chatting about his day, fluidly winding through the crowd of Vikings to get to the food.
"…and then Gobber almost disemboweled Mulch with his hook, so I was left in charge of the forge while he apologized." Hiccup held up his arm. "And I accidentally put a hot weapon in the cold pile, then burnt myself when I tried to pick it up." I crooned sympathetically, and carefully licked the large burn. Hiccup tried to hold still, then held out his hands to accept the bowl of mutton from the cook.
"Go get your fish, bud," he urged me. "I'll wait here." He yawned, and I nudged him towards an empty table. He sank onto the bench with a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I might just sleep here tonight."
I chuckled, then forced my tired legs to carry me to the large feeding bowl for dragons. There was a heavy lump in my stomach, dragging me down and sapping my strength, and I didn't feel hungry. Halfheartedly slurping a couple of mackerel, I turned around to make sure Hiccup was alright. My small human was sleepily chewing on his mutton, but his head kept sinking, then jerking up again suddenly, and I knew that I would have to carry him back home tonight. I didn't mind, in fact, I enjoyed having my small charge on my back, but my legs felt leaden and I was dreading the long hill up to the Chief's house.
The lump in my stomach tightened, and I stiffened. Whatever was going to happen, it would be soon, and it wouldn't be good. I looked around, and noticed other dragons shifting from side to side nervously. A moment later, the ground started to expand and contract.
Earthquake!
The dragons in the Great Hall grabbed a human or two and flew away as fast as they could, and my sight was blocked by the colourful crowd for a moment. When they were all gone, there were only a few humans left, including Hiccup. All the other dragons knew that Hiccup was fiercely protected by me, so they'd prioritised the other humans, the ones without a dragon.
Knowing I only had a few seconds until the real shaking, the kind that humans could feel, started, I leapt desperately for Hiccup. I raced between and over tables, skidding to a stop in front of him. Growling slightly and nodding to my back, I grabbed him in my mouth and threw him across my shoulders. I wasn't wearing the saddle, but that didn't matter. What mattered was getting out of the Great Hall right now!
Hiccup wrapped his arms around my neck as he slid around roughly, but not nearly hard enough to choke me. I wanted to scream at him to hold on tighter, to never let go, but he wouldn't understand me.
"Everybody, get out of the Great Hall!" Thank Thor, Hiccup was sensible enough to trust the dragons. A moment later, the real shaking started. I landed awkwardly on the bucking floor and stumbled. Hiccup flew off my back and fell to the ground, landing with a soft thud. I knew he should have held on tighter! Every Viking still inside the building started pushing and shoving their way to the door, knocking over tables and throwing chairs out of the way in their hurry to get out. Normal houses weren't great in an earthquake, but the Great Hall was known to be unstable. If it collapsed, then anyone inside would surely die.
I leapt over the last few Vikings rushing in the opposite direction, and landed in front of Hiccup. He tried to get to his feet, but the shaking threw his balance off, and he stumbled into a nearby table and tripped over a chair, landing hard on the floor. Grabbing at my head to steady himself, my rider tried to climb onto my back again, his feet slipping with haste. There was an ominous crack from the ceiling, and I looked up to see one of the numerous heavy tapestries falling towards them. I shoved Hiccup away seconds before the tapestry hit me.
Completely covered in thick material, I tried to shake it off. The cracks and groans of the ceiling were becoming far too clear, and we needed to get out. It fell off eventually, and I whipped my head back and forth, looking for Hiccup. There! A few metres away, just over the table. A sharp crack rang out, louder than anything before. Even Hiccup heard it and looked up at the ceiling.
"Oh no."
I glanced up, and terror tore through my heart as a jagged crack raced across the top of the large cave. It held for a moment, and that moment was all I needed. I leapt across the table, adrenaline crackling through my veins, and landed almost on top of Hiccup. As debris started to fall, I scooped him underneath myself with my wings and stood protectively over him. I was a dragon; I could take the falling rocks far better than Hiccup. Even if I knew in my mind that we would both die, I wasn't going to go down without a fight!
The first one was heavy and it forced me to my knees over him, but at least the rock was flat. Sharper rocks with jagged edges landed on top of the first boulder, and I struggled under the weight. My legs trembled and my shoulders shrieked. It felt like someone was welding me together with a Nadder's flame.
The rocks kept piling up, draining my strength and pressing me hard against the floor. Hiccup squirmed underneath me as the torrent of rocks slowed, and stopped. The enormous weight crushed us, driving the wind out of my lungs, and I heaved for air.
"I'm… so… sorry," Hiccup wheezed, struggling for breath that wouldn't come. I licked his face comfortingly, trying to reassure him that we would be alright. But there simply wasn't room for our lungs to expand into, and we were slowly suffocating. The tiny breaths we could take only delayed the inevitable. Hiccup smiled weakly. "I'm… glad… I'm… with… you."
I keened my grief, wailing with my last breath. No! We were not going out like this! I pushed hard, trying to stand up. The rocks wouldn't budge, and eventually I collapsed, panting shallowly and fighting to stay conscious. Again! Pushing uselessly against the crushing burden, I fought for Hiccup's life. His face turned blue and his head lolled limply to the side. NO! Strength flooded me and, screeching with effort, I forced my legs straight, lifting the rubble off Hiccup. My muscles were on fire, and my bones felt like they were melting, but my heart healed as Hiccup dragged in a breath.
"Bud...?" Hiccup stared in wonder at me as I struggled to keep standing. My vision went fuzzy and I almost blacked out, but I couldn't give in.
"Just keep breathing. In… and out… In… and out…" Hiccup advised, and I focused on his voice. I took shallow breaths as Hiccup directed, and the darkness receded.
"That's it, bud. That's it," Hiccup coaxed, and I stayed standing, if barely. "Dad will get us out of here. Just a little longer."
A faint voice drifted in from outside, so quiet I could only just hear it. "Son! Astrid, Stormfly—get the other riders!"
"You know, it would be a miracle if anyone survived that," Gobber said tactlessly. "It might just be a body, Stoick."
My ears started to ring, but I caught the angry retort. "He's my son, Gobber! I can't just wait! Besides, don't underestimate Hiccup. He probably calculated exactly where the rocks were going to fall and took cover somewhere safe or something crazy like that!"
Every muscle screamed at me for a rest, but I couldn't give up, not without dooming Hiccup. If I went down, there was no way I could stand up again. Taking a deep breath, I let out my signature Night Fury screech. There was dead silence for a moment, then the loudest yell I'd ever heard Stoick produce.
"Toothless! Is Hiccup alright?"
Panting shallowly and utterly spent, I nudged Hiccup with my head.
"Yes!" he screamed loudly. "But you have to hurry!"
"Snotlout, start digging!" Stoick ordered.
Snotlout feigned a yawn. "Why?"
"Hiccup and Toothless are in there!"
I felt the first rock lift off my back and I concentrated on breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. A second rock vanished, and I crooned shakily to Hiccup.
"That's it, bud. You're doing so well," he encouraged, and I let my eyes slide shut. In and out. In and out.
The rocks lifted off one by one, but I was scraping the bottom of my reserves and had almost nothing left. In and out. In and out. My legs trembled uncontrollably as the penultimate rock flew away. ("Such a good girl, Meatlug!")
"Everyone together, this one's big!" Astrid ordered, and several claws scraped against the slab of stone. I gasped for breath, unable to drag enough oxygen into my lungs, and fell to my knees. Black spots gathered at the edge of my vision, and gradually crept towards the centre. My head swam. One end of the giant piece of rock lifted slightly, then the other end slowly joined it. The black spots grew thicker and more solid as the rock finally flew away. Only one end of the Great Hall was damaged, thankfully, and even then it hadn't completely collapsed.
I swayed, dizzy, then my legs gave out and I staggered to one side, falling onto the ground. Hiccup stood up, blessedly unharmed, and knelt down by my head.
"Come on, bud. Stay with me." His voice echoed strangely, like it was coming from far away, and my head felt like it was about to fly off into the clouds.
Everything went black.
I woke up in a dark place, covered in something thick and heavy. The tapestry! I panicked, sure that I was somehow still under the tapestry, and the Great Hall was about to collapse on top of me and—
Hiccup!
I got to my paws—or tried to, anyway. An embarrassingly pathetic whine escaped my lips as fire dripped down my shoulders and they shrieked with the movement, like they were still trying to support something that was way too heavy.
"Easy, bud," Hiccup murmured sleepily from somewhere. I crooned for him, looking around. "You strained your muscles really badly."
Light appeared, and I was mortified when I realised that a heavy blanket had been covering my face. I was back in our room, on my stone slab, and Hiccup knelt in front of me, the corner of a blanket in his hands.
"How are you feeling?"
I nuzzled his hand gently. Stoick thundered up the stairs—he must have heard our voices—and stooped to fit under the low ceiling.
"How's your wounded warrior?" he chuckled.
"Well, he's awake," Hiccup replied, shifting so that he was sitting next to me on the slab, instead of kneeling in front of it.
I remembered Hiccup's face underneath me, slowly turning blue, and shivered in fear. I'd barely, barely, risen to my feet in time. Fingers gently traced my shoulder, and I buried my face under Hiccup's arm. His heart was still beating strongly, a reassuring thump thump thump that I could listen to all night.
"Yeah, I know, bud," he murmured reassuringly, then yawned. "It was scary."
More than scary, it was downright terrifying! At the time, adrenaline had pushed all unnecessary emotions out of the way, including fear, but now it came flooding back, making me shake with delayed terror.
"Bud?" Hiccup asked questioningly, and I pushed closer to him, hungrily soaking in the fact that he was still alive and breathing. "Dad, what's happening?" His voice shook, like I was, and his fingers tightened on my head.
"Calm down, both of you."
A band squeezed tightly around my chest, restricting my breathing to shallow gasps, like when we were buried under the rocks. Hiccup noticed instantly, and so did Stoick.
"Hiccup, breathe slowly."
He struggled, but he eventually got his breathing under control, except for the occasional yawn.
"Toothless, can you hear Hiccup's breathing?" I nodded, starting to feel a little light headed. "Match your breathing to his," Stoick ordered.
I tried, I really did, but it was near impossible to get past the panic and terror. The result was a series of hiccuping breaths; two or three normal breaths, before a quick gasp. Hiccup clamped down hard on his own fear, and rubbed my side in a soothing motion.
"In… and out… In… and out…"
Hearing him murmuring his soft rhythm made it slightly easier to breathe. The tight band gradually loosened and fell away, and my lungs could move freely again.
"That's it, boys," Stoick smiled. His rough fingers brushed my nose again, and I purred more genuinely, grateful for his help. Hiccup started to stand up, and I felt my throat start to constrict again. What if this house collapsed too? What if—
"Stay with him," Stoick said, without looking back as he descended the stairs. "He needs you."
I gently pulled Hiccup down with my wing, crooning at him pleadingly. He smiled, still shaken, like I was. "Alright, yah big baby."
I warbled tenderly at him, twisting so that he would be more comfortable. Curling up by my side, Hiccup snuggled under my wing. Relief filled my chest; anything that came for him would have to get through me first. He scratched my belly, and I crooned happily.
"Yeah, today was too close."
I nuzzled him, completely agreeing. If we never had an earthquake again, that would be too soon for me. I yawned, achingly tired, and Hiccup slumped against me, still rubbing supportively.
"You go to sleep, bud. I'm not going anywhere."
I wanted to stay awake a little longer, but sleep tugged at me like a stubborn Terror clutching a fish. My rider's small but steady heartbeat was soothing, and I yawned again, already half asleep. Hiccup's head drooped slightly, his breathing slowing. I couldn't tell who fell asleep first.
THE END
AN: You should know the drill by now. There are six options this time, choose the one you like best and tell me, either by PM or in a review. And yes, I did just copy and past from the last chapter of Victory Went To Snotlout's Head.
1) Cold—15k words, sixshot. For centuries, the Hooligan heir has travelled from one end of Berk to the other on their sixteenth birthday, with nothing but a pair of flint stones and four companions. Typical Hiccup luck, he was born in the middle of Devastating winter. An encounter with wild boars sends Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and Toothless over the tall mountain in the middle of a devastating blizzard.
2) Fix Yourself First—4k words, oneshot. I savagely swiped my sleeve across my face, swallowing hard. I was a chief now, Thor curse it! I was strong, I was immovable, I was hard working, I was loyal, I was fierce, I was—I was— Not my father. I choked down a sob, feeling the absence by my side more acutely than ever. I needed my dragon, and he needed me, but he wasn't here.
3) Lightning? Yes. Death? Hopefully not.—4.7k words, oneshot. Unholy offspring of Lightning and Death, meet lightning. Shot out of the sky by a summer storm and separated from his dragon, Hiccup fights for his life against the heaving waves.
4) Stay With Me—5.7k words, oneshot. It had all happened so quickly. One moment, the Dragon Riders were gliding easily over the sea, looking forwards to arriving at the Edge and relaxing after a hectic five days—I hadn't slept for thirty six hours, and neither had Astrid—and the next, we were completely surrounded by more of Krogan's fliers than we'd ever seen before, easily outnumbered four to one.
5) You're Mine—3.5k words, oneshot. The gas in his mouth lights. Three seconds until someone dies. Three. The Alpha thinks it will be Hiccup, but if he was given a choice between saving his life and Hiccup's, he'd choose Hiccup's in a heartbeat. Two. The hot hot hot ball of fire slides down his throat. One. If Alpha lets him die, Drago will be angry. Zero. He arches his back and screams.
Also, I've slightly changed how I count the votes. Instead of resetting them each time, I've created a spreadsheet on google sheets that will count how many votes each story has in total. It's still one vote per person per story, but if you vote for the same story twice then that story will now have two votes. Plus, I'm not going to reveal any new options until all the ones above are gone, because some of them have been sitting in my drive for ages.
~JustAnotherRandomPoster.