AN/ Ok, so I have returned. I apologise for disappearing, but there was things to do. I used the whole last month to write a present for a friend of mine. It also evolved into the prequel for the project I'll be undertaking after I finish COTN. More details on that later. You guys should know that LEPShot is as usual the rock steady anvil against which I can place this story and beat it into what I want with a mighty hammer of laughter, sarcasm, and other misc. Shenanigans. He is the reason this story has gotten so much more awesome. Anyway, now that he's done blushing, I'd also like to give a shoutout to NF15617, for his magnificent in depth review which he sent via PM. Discussion with him has given me renewed vigour. I realize now that I'm rambling, so I'll stop and let you read. I can promise updates in the much-sooner-than-usual future. ONWARDS!
Chapter 27
Astrid
Astrid woke to a sharp jab in her side. Occasionally, there would be a large splinter sticking out of a bed frame that offered a jab, but nothing compared to this. It felt as though a small bone trowel had been stuck in her side. She sat up, hands automatically finding and grasping various sharp and pointed implements from beside her sleeping spot. Looking down, she found the Terror staring up at her with wide eyes.
Before Astrid could even lower her blades, the tiny dragon went running off at full speed towards the cove's edge. It stopped at the base of the crevice where they'd come in, and waved its tail at her, as though to hurry her along.
It would appear that our friend wants you to follow him.
"Well he can go ahead and lick my boots then, because I am damn hungry."
I think we both know why he's running.
"Yeah? Well I think only one of us cares."
There is only one of us.
"Shut up!" Astrid leaped to her feet and stomped over to the pond. The sun had come up, and was now in a position that suggested it was just an hour or so before noon. The sun turned all that was green in the cove even greener. Shades of colors that normally held a mute and greyed tone from the cloudy light filtering down from the sky were flamboyant and deep.
Luckily, her distraction did not prevent her from hearing the cry. Some distance to the southwest, the sound of a hunting Nadder rang through the forest. With a great burst of swearing, and a greater burst of speed, Astrid was off and running running for the Terror, which was still sitting beneath the crevice, staring back at her. The voice in her head was chuckling with mirth, but she found herself not caring, as she scrambled up the rock pile after the small reptile.
XXX
The Great Ice Shelf of the far north is an extremely peculiar environment. The Northern Ocean surrounds the entire sheet, and passes beneath it was well. For the most part, the Ice Shelf slopes down and meets the water in a gradual fashion, but in one particular place, the seabed is lower than anywhere else. The ice here rises up in an enormous wall, well over two hundred wingspans tall. This is a place where Shade's prefer to reside. On the surface of the Ice Shelf, snow accumulates in great drifts, and creates ideal den and burrowing conditions, while the drop to the ocean below provides easy access to nourishment.
There is, however, one place where more Shades are concentrated than anywhere else. If one travels along the edge of the Ice Shelf long enough, they would eventually find a single mountain peak, rising up over three hundred wingspans above the surface of the ice. Given that the ice itself is already two hundred spans, and the ocean extends to an undetermined length beneath it, this mountain is truly massive. There is a place in the side of the ice wall, where access can be gained to an enormous cave system within the mountain. Here, Shades have gathered in numbers never before seen, to address the threat of the Dragon Queen.
Heartbeat of the Arctic
Ryshkaa
XXX
Hiccup
"Well, I don't know about you two, but all I see is a mountain and a huge mound of ice." The frigid air whipping past Hiccup's face had started to sap the heat out of his ears. He pulled his new cloak tight about him and shook his head a bit. "It is also my personal opinion that it's damn cold up here. I can't imagine what the temperature actually is. I was dealing with early winter on Berk fine with no shirt." Toothless chuckled.
"Indeed you were, but that's an excellent point." He grudgingly turned to Ryshkaa. "I don't see anything that looks like a cave large enough to accommodate a society's worth of Shades."
Ryshkaa's snort produced a wisp of smoke.
"That's probably because you're using the wrong senses! Alda fixed the entrance specifically to fool the eye. Use your ears." Hiccup was thoroughly confused by this statement, but he saw Toothless prick his ears at once and turn them towards the ice. At first Hiccup had no idea what was going on, then he felt a slight pang in his mind, as though a pulse had just passed through his thoughts. As he watched, a white wave spread out across the frozen ocean, defining each crest and trough of the drifts of snow that sat atop it. When the whiteness reached the ice wall, it rushed upwards extremely quickly, tracing each and every contour of ice. And then, the entrance to Home Cave was suddenly made apparent.
At certain spot, about halfway up the wall, the wave broke, and parted around a large oval space.
"That's very well concealed. How did you manage it?" Toothless fired the question at Ryshkaa, sounding annoyed that anything to do with Ryshkaa could be successful.
"Nature managed it for us. The ice is contoured in just such a way that, when seen from the air, it looks exactly as though the wall itself continues unbroken. From below the gap is evident, but we're not worried about anything that dwells that low."
Now, Sycle's voice sounded again, gruff and authoritative.
"Alright stranger, you're going to pass through that hole in the wall with wings spread, then immediately afterwards, fold your wings quickly, and drop into the space beneath the entrance. And no, there is no chance that you could land somewhere and climb in slowly. Just enter... and drop."
Toothless looked at Sycle for a moment over his shoulder. Then he turned back to the gap that was rapidly approaching and bit down hard on his own teeth.
"If I kill us both, promise you'll forgive me?"
Hiccup laughed loudly, making the other Shade's look at him."I promise!"
Toothless closed his eyes and opened his mouth. Wave after wave of white light passed over the wall surface and Hiccup saw it all. The oval gap was always the center of focus. Toothless continuously shifted and altered his wings and tail fin to make his approach as precise as possible. Hiccup had his foot tense and ready in the stirrup, in case he needed to make any quick shift to keep their two bodies aloft.
Hiccup also noticed a change in the flight of their escort. Ahead of them, Ryshkaa also locked onto the hole. Kale and Sycle fell into file behind them. The wind whistling their ears became deafening. But just before the hole engulfed them, Hiccup, as he pressed himself to Toothless back, turned his head slightly, and caught a glimpse of the outline of a shade, hanging inside a crevice in the ice. Then darkness engulfed them. The pitch blackness was lit with wave after wave of white light spreading out from Toothless' mouth, outlining the smooth features of a completely smooth tunnel.
Almost immediately after entering the tunnel, the outline of Ryshkaa ahead of them narrowed as she closed her wings and dropped. At once, Toothless snapped his wings shut and Hiccup simultaneously flicked the tailfin closed. They fell forward into blackness.
As they dropped, the white light spread out and outlined a large space with the floor far below and walls spreading away on either side. Directly ahead, another tunnel sloped upwards and away. As Hiccup and Toothless registered these things, they spread their wings again and slowed their fall to a glide.
Ryshkaa's voice sounded in their heads. "Very good. No broken wings? No broken necks? Very good indeed."
There were two distinct rushing sounds from the opening, amplified by the massive space. Sycle and Kale came dropping out of the opening and snapped their wings open. All four Shade's circled in the air.
Just to be clear, Toothless, um... how exactly are we seeing?
Oh! I forgot to explain this? Shades have superior night vision, but in places like caves and snow dens, a lot of the time, there is no light. It so happens that we also have extremely sensitive hearing. Sensitive enough to perform echolocation.
So... What I'm seeing is an image constructed from echoes?
As far as I can tell at the moment, your mind is just observing. I'm the one seeing.
Well go ahead and brag about it, why don't...
"You two!" The voice of Sycle shattered the silent exchange. "I want everyone on the ground, now."
Ryshkaa and Kale closed their wings at once and fell. Toothless was just a hair behind them and Sycle stayed up for a full second longer, only dropping when Toothless did.
As soon as they landed, Hiccup launched himself from Toothless' back, feeling the pop and cracks as unused joints were set to work again as he stretched, extending every muscle within his power.
Ryshkaa made a small snickering snort. "Been holding still too long?"
Toothless released a furious snarl and his wings opened slightly. It was a very strange thing to see each movement wrought by the pulsing white waves. Ryshkaa responded defensively, rearing slightly and extending her teeth.
Before anything else could happen, Sycle's sinewed forepaw smashed into the side of Toothless' head, knocking him off balance and provoking a full on shriek. As Toothless staggered sideways, the white waves of sound emanating from his mouth became irregular, and motion was no longer as clear. The movements of everyone in the group became short and staggered. Kale flung himself in front of Ryshkaa as Hiccup leapt to Toothless' side, placing himself between him and the older Shade. Without bidding or thought, Hiccup's knees bent and his arms rose. Each of his fingers became stiff and crooked. He bared his teeth and released half of his breath in a high pitched scream of anger.
The complete unexpectedness of Hiccup's actions were enough to bring the entire party up short. Every Shade in the cave stood stock still and stared at the human. Toothless' sound had regained its even rhythm and Hiccup once again had access to near-normal sight. Sycle's upper lip was still lifted and his wings half open, but he did not move.
Toothless, what did I tell you? I'll be damned if we get into a fight now, in their home no less!
Toothless shook his head and released a puff of smoke.
"This human has more to him than we thought, Sycle." The deep and rumbling mindvoice of Kale resonated in the silence.
"That may be so," Sycle snapped, "but I will not have this youngling disrespect me or any of my wing. Do you understand, newcomer?" The last word's volume dropped low and quiet. There was danger in that tone.
Toothless slowly folded his wings, and ducked his head while maintaining eye contact with Sycle. His pose spoke of submission. "I understand."
Sycle very abruptly turned away and began to make for the passage that cut into the wall.
"Kale, stay behind him, and make sure there are no... problems." The enormous Shade grunted once, then took up position behind Toothless. Ryshkaa circled and took up stride beside Toothless, with Hiccup in between her and him. The whole group moved off into the tunnel.
Hiccup gazed around at the walls, but there was little to see with no color. The floor was cold, but then, everything was cold here. He had no idea what any of the place was made of, be it ice or stone. There was a little niggling feeling in his mind, and with quiet clarity, Ryshkaa's voice rang in his head.
"I'll be damned if that didn't wake the whole cave." Hiccup glanced over to Toothless to gage his reaction, but the dragon simply walked on beside him, still seething in agitation. "Oh, I'm shielding these words from him. You can speak how you wish and he won't hear."
"Well, it's not as if I don't want him to hear, I just don't want him to get so angry again."
"It's common amongst newly mated males. They're so protective and so eager to please that they'll explode in the face of anyone that even looks at their mate in the wrong manner."
"Really? That's adorable."
"Until he picks a fight he can't win."
Hiccup frowned while that sank in. All the while the tunnel had been sloping gently downwards. "Well Toothless' behavior aside, as long as we're talking, would you mind answering a couple of questions?"
"Depends on what they are, I suppose."
"Alright I'll just go ahead and ask. Firstly, what is the power that you used, both to free Toothless' mind and bless Skuru with unearthly speed, and who is this Alda I've heard mention of?" Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw the corner of Ryshkaa's mouth lift slightly.
"Well, little human, seeing as we're near Home Cave, I'll tell you just this. The power that I used is known as the Heart's Fire, and Alda is the one who instructed me in its use. Now hush. I'm breaking contact in case one of the three tries to speak with me."
With that, the niggling feeling vanished. And almost at the exact same time, they reached the end of the tunnel.
Toothless' sound waves now spread far out in every direction, tracing a space that defied defining. As a matter of fact, the sound waves grew fainter, and vanished before they even reached the cambers end. In front of them, the ground sloped upwards and away, with jagged ledges and spires of floor protruding all over the place. As soon as Hiccup stepped out of the tunnel, he felt a difference. The air was warmer here, and the stone beneath his feet seemed to be leeching away the cold. Having regained feeling in them, and after the brief spasms and the needle-like feelings, he could definitely sense stone beneath his toes. Rough, warm, stone.
When he looked up, he saw that the ceiling also had spires of stone stretching downwards toward the floor. In some places, the spires from floor and ceiling touched and formed enormous columns that baffled his notion of architecture. And in whatever direction he looked, he could see Shades.
They weren't numerous enough to cover all the ground in the cave. Rather, he could see about five or more groups, scattered all over the place, each made up of five to six Shades. These groups seemed to be stationed regardless of terrain. Some hung from the ceiling spires while others lay on the floor or lounged on ledges. Hiccup estimated that there were about thirty here. And every single one of them was staring directly at him.
Ever since he'd run away with Toothless, Hiccup had not really been overly bothered by much of what he'd faced. But now, in the presence of thirty or more of Toothless' kind, he found it difficult to think of them as his own kind in that moment, he found himself to be nervous, and fidgety. The group did not stop, but marched right past the gathered dragons and continued up the slope. To Hiccup's increased discomfort, the majority of the Shades that watched them pass stood or took wing and started to follow them. In no time at all, they had gained an enormous procession of black scaled, solemn faced danger.
I don't know about you, bud, but I'm feeling the slightest bit unnerved. As he touched Toothless' mind, he found a roiling font of emotion. These were the first of his kind he'd seen in his lifetime, besides Ryshkaa and her cohorts. He was bouncing back between the emotions of happiness, fear, uncertainty, and suspicion so quickly, that they blurred into a single dizzying swirl of feeling.
Before them, the sound waves finally began to bounce off of a surface. Ahead of them, the ceiling rapidly dropped down towards the floor and the walls closed in. By the time they reached the top of the incline, they were standing in a space about the same size as the Mead Hall back in Berk. Hiccup could now see four distinct gaps in the white wave pulses that indicated openings, presumably other passages leading off from this room. There was an opening on either side in the walls, and two in the floor, one directly ahead, and the other off to the right side. Above the opening in the floor, a ledge protruded from the wall and on it, sat three Shades.
All three of them were leaner, and less intimidating looking than the others Hiccup had seen, but they also appeared frail. Almost all of them had one or more body parts that twitched or spasmed slightly. They sat with hunched backs, and their wings were not so much held against their backs as they were sagging against their sides.
These three are very old. Toothless' voice was quiet and tinged with awe. His mother had provided him with no memories when he was a hatchling to suggest that Shade's could ever be this old. But then, when they spoke, their voices resounded in unison very powerfully in Hiccup's mind. He could detect two feminine voices, and one masculine.
"Skuru, are these the visitors you told us of?"
As though he'd sprung from the rock itself, the lean and muscular form of Skuru appeared beneath the ledge, tail twitching excitedly.
"Yes, elders!"
All three pairs of eyes gazed down at the two unblinkingly. To either side of them, Ryshkaa, Sycle, and Kale all extended their left forelegs and nodded their heads slowly. The rustling behind them suggested that the others were doing the same. Toothless decided that the best course of action was to sit and keep his wings tightly closed, wrapping his tail about his legs. Hiccup sidled over and leaned against him, taking comfort from the brush of scales.
One of the voices that had before spoken in unison now spoke alone, allowing Hiccup to familiarize himself with it individually. It was one of the females.
"The human is as peculiar as you said, Skuru. He clings to the juvenile as though it were his mother. How very... odd."
Once again, the three voices spoke together.
"We would like to hear the story from the beginning. Ryshkaa, if you would?"
Hiccup saw Ryshkaa stiffen out of the corner of his eye, and inhale sharply. She stayed rigid for about three seconds, then her forelegs buckled and she sprawled on the ground, gasping loudly.
Now, the other female voice spoke alone.
"We're terribly sorry my dear. We're not used to the tender thoughts of you young striplings."
And now, the male voice spoke alone.
"This tale is quite peculiar. So, you answer to the name of Toothless? Why would a member of our noble race submit to such a ridiculous name as that?"
All was silent for a full ten seconds, then Toothless spoke.
"It's the only name I've known. I was in the Queens power for forty years, and it's the only name I was ever given."
What followed was an outbreak of what Hiccup could only assume to be the crowd of Shade's behind them muttering to themselves. He only caught snatches of what was said, but it mostly revolved around disbelief, and a few statements of disgust.
The first female voice spoke again, overriding and silencing all mental noise. Hiccup drew closer to Toothless, who unfurled his right wing and wrapped it gently around Hiccup.
"And when, exactly, did you start travelling with this human?"
This time, Toothless' response was faster and more sure.
"Only a few weeks after my freedom was attained. I found him wandering in the forest. I was injured, and either he's even duller than a human ought to be, or he's exceptionally compassionate. I'm inclined to believe the latter. He fashioned this prosthetic tail fin, which gave me back my flight."
The old, masculine voice boomed with judgment.
"I'd say he'd have to be damn bright if he's able to keep you both aloft."
The second female voice was quieter than the other two, and less forceful. Hiccup was already able to distinguish it from the other.
"There seems to be no harm here. The question is what to do with them."
Another murmuring outbreak sounded from the assembled Shades. Hiccup heard many suggestions including immediate death, slave labor, or a place in the ranks, whatever that might mean. But just as Toothless' wing was tightening protectively around him, a fourth voice, this one male and just as powerful as the other two, rang from the silence.
"I'll tell you what. First things first, is they are going to visit with me for a time in my hall. When they're story is recorded, and only then, will you start to put the young Shade through the paces."
Directly ahead, a Shade hobbled from the opening below the ledge on which the three elders sat. This Shade, was not quite so stooped or baggy winged as the other three, but his body still shouted of age. As he reached a point directly in front of the ledge, he spoke again, and Hiccup could hear a distinct smiling quality to his voice.
"Alright, here's what you need to know. My name is Alda, and those three fogeys behind me have forsworn their names as they put it, 'in the name of their duty'." The strange Shade made the final words sound particularly broken and creaky. Hiccup heard several dragon chuckles behind him. "Now, you'll be coming with me. You too, Rysh." Ryshkaa was just pulling herself off the floor, still panting, but she still nodded vigorously and took a few steps in Alda's direction.
When Hiccup glanced up to the three on the ledge, he saw that they all had angrily narrowed eyes, and their sagging wings had shifted slightly towards an angry attitude. Toothless unwrapped his wing and nudged Hiccup in the back. The boy stepped off and made his way for the opening, while the thunderous mental voice of all three elders spoke in his head. He could hear the anger in their voice.
"Dismissed!"
XXX
Tuffnut
"OY!" Gobber's thunderous voice boomed out over the remnants of the Vikings of Berk. The twins looked up from their short swords, which they had been sharpening on pocket whetstones.
The two blond teenagers sat back to back on top of a table, away from the rest of the group. Ruffnut had joined Tuffnut after Astrid had woken him up, and the two had not said a word to anyone since yesterday. Conditions were rapidly deteriorating in the hall. It had never been built to sustain large groups of people with the doors sealed shut. There was a ventilation hole up in the roof for the smoke of the central hearth to escape, but not much air came back through it, and the atmosphere was swiftly becoming stuffy and dank.
As Gobber's call faded into silence, it took all of the low muttering with it, leaving silence in the room. The Twins sat rigid and alert.
"Anyone seen Astrid? I can' find 'er!"
Tuffnut's grip on his sword tightened. Muttering broke out once again, as everyone in the chamber started searching in all directions. Unfortunately, there weren't very many places to look. After a few moments, someone called over the shuffling of bodies.
"She ain' here Gobber!" The hushed mutterings elevated to loud grumblings. Questions started to fly between individuals. Tuffnut pushed off of his sister's back and leapt to his feet as she flailed for balance. She was on her feet as well mere moments later, delivering a sharp jab to his kidney. Both sheathed their swords as they headed for Gobber. The group was congealing around the man, so it was difficult, but they managed to force their way to the front, leaving many behind to hop on one foot or nurse a throbbing shin. When they got near enough to Gobber, Tuffnut spoke into his ear.
"My bet is that she couldn't take the inactivity. She's probably outside."
Gobber responded in like volume, below the angry drone of the other Viking's. "If she is, then it's her own damn fault if she get's fried."
Tuffnut raised an eyebrow, then turned and made his way back out to the edge of the crowd, with the aid of his sister's elbows and boots. A moment later, when they'd reached the edge of the throng, he heard his sister's low mutter.
"Something's buzzing around in your head Tuff. And I know from experience that that is a very bad thing."
He felt a scowl twist his face. "Oh, shut up. I'm going to find Astrid."
At these words, Ruffnut stopped short. "Aaaaaand, why would you do that?"
Tuffnut's hand rose and two fingers pressed against the slice that was scabbed over on his cheek. "Because she was right. I need to stop (=) around and fight back. She's out there doing something. That's where I want to be."
When Tuffnut reached the doors, he delivered a rapid, light blow to the watchman's gut. As he doubled over, his sister threw her hip into his side and he toppled to the ground. Tuffnut spared a glance back towards the group. They were still arguing about what to do about Astrid. Tuffnut felt disdain flicker through him. Then he noticed his sister, standing behind him.
"You don't have to come, you realize." Ruffnut snorted.
"For one, I'm not about to leave you alone in the company of Astrid. You'd probably come back missing a limb or two and sterile. I'm coming along to make sure you don't have all the fun." Tuffnut harrumphed, but as he turned away to shove the gate open, a small smile broke his angry expression.
XXX
Astrid
There was a horrendous crashing noise as the pine tree tumbled to the ground, knocking into other trees and showering the ground with needles as it went.
"Your fault, your fault, your fault, this is ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Astrid was running. Astrid was breathing heavily. Astrid was being hunted.
Well, how were we supposed to know that there was more than one of them?! All you noticed was a cry and you took off like a frightened Terror! No offense to our little friend.
The Terror in question was clinging tightly to Astrid's neck, having wrapped its entire body around her and woven its claws into the hair that spilled down her back. To her right, a fireball exploded against a tree, sending glowing splinters into Astrid's side as she was lifted and thrown to the left by the shockwave.
As she tumbled into the underbrush, swearing loudly as the splinters burned into her skin, she heard the Nadder come crashing through the trees behind her. When she finally stopped rolling, she was on her back, with the Terror sitting on her chest. Her view in every direction was obscured by a dense clump of brush.
A screech tore through the woods, quieting every other being. Crickets, (other insects) fell silent and still, and for a suspended moment, time froze. Astrid lay on her back, heart hammering away, and simply held the Terror against her chest with one hand, the other reflexively moving to her sword.
A wingbeat shattered the tension, and as a blue streak came flying through the leaves towards the pair from the right side, Astrid was up and running before she realized that she had moved. The Terror was on her shoulder, its claws digging into her flesh, but other than the pain, its presence went unnoticed.
Orange light registered to the young Viking from behind, and she rolled to the side, the shot singing some loose strands of hair while setting the tips of others alight as she attempted to dodge the flame.
As she rolled to her knees, her weapon was drawn, and she turned to face the dragon that was swooping down towards her, legs lowered and claws pointed at her face. An upward slash sent the scaly monster wide over her head with a gash in its chin. Astrid let her momentum carry her forwards and performed a shoulder roll as the dragon passed over her, raining fat drops of hot blood as it went. She came to her feet on the other side, once again facing the Nadder.
Unfortunately, the Nadder was readying its tail. Astrid leapt to the side and placed a large pine between herself and the dragon. There was a brief whistling sound. On either side of her, thin, angular lines of blurred motion cut across her vision. She heard a soft whimper directly in her ear, and just then remembered the Terror clinging for dear life to her shoulder. Her hand lifted and stroked along its back, then she jerked it away. Why the hel had she done that?
That was adorable, but I recomend running. Fast. Right now.
"I can deal with a single Nadder." She turned her head slightly."If you know what's good for you, you won't stay there while I'm fighting."
There was a quiet squeak, and the Terror leapt forward, scrambling up the tree. Astrid checked both sides. There was nothing but flat ground and a few bushes to her left, but on her right there was a rock. Not a very large rock, it only came up to her knees. But it was to some advantage.
Her right hand still grasped her sword, and her left hand quickly dropped to pull a dagger from its sheath. As she leapt up to the rock, the Nadder jumped around the side of the tree, a stream of flame bursting from its maw. Her feet had barely even brushed against the rock with she extended her knees and leaped again, this time to the side and past the tree. A blast of heat flashed across her right side, making the burns in her skin throb painfully.
There was a loud crunching sound, and the Nadder's tail lashed back and forth behind the tree.
It's not the brightest chicken in the flock, now is it? It's just run its head into a tree.
Astrid's voice hissed through gritted teeth. "I can see that, now shut up before..."
She was interrupted by the dragon rapidly shuffling to one side, removing the tree from its path, then charging. However, before Astrid could even lift her sword, the Nadder froze. In the sudden silence, a sound could be heard in the distance. It sounded rather similar to someone yelling. And it was getting louder.
Astrid took a few steps back as the Nadder's head swung up and to the side, angling towards the sound. The noise was becoming steadily louder. It was definitely someone yelling.
Without any warning whatsoever, two Vikings, both with golden hair flowing behind them in the breeze as they dashed through the bushes, passed between Astrid and the Nadder. Astrid felt her jaw drop, but unfortunately, she was not left there to ponder the surrealism of what she'd just witnessed. Rather, she was forced to turn and run as well, as the massive group of dragons behind them came thundering through the forest. There were all types included in the group: Zipplebacks, a Gronkle, even a Nightmare.
As Astrid ran, the dragons at the front of the horde ran directly into the Nadder. With a scream, the Nadder lashed out and drew lines of red across the Gronkle's face. With vigorous shrieks and angry cries, a battle royale exploded behind the running Vikings. A long and low list of curses and angry words fell from Astrid's mouth like water as she got her balance back and started to run at her normal speed.
Well, this is unexpected.
"I really hate you right now."
Why?
"You don't even have a damn body. I'm the one who's gonna get shredded!"
Don't be stupid. If we keep running and don't stop, then neither of us gets shredded.
Before Astrid could reply, there was a rushing sound and something impacted her shoulder. She felt the sharp bite of talons. As her left hand started to whip upwards toward her shoulder, Hiccup's voice thundered in her head.
It's your Terror, damn it all!
She glanced to the side to see the wide-eyed, tiny dragon clinging to her shoulder and whimpering softly. For just a moment, a tiny smile tugged at her face. Then she scowled and shook her head.
You two are adorable.
An angry snort was the last sound beyond labored breathing that Astrid made as she dashed off into the forest behind the Twins.
AN(2)/ Ok bros and um... female bros. This chapter is hot off the press and I didn't look over the whole thing when I finished so I apologise for any excessive errors. See you soon!
