Author's Note: Aghhhhhh, it's Monday. =/ Well, only one more week of school left (not counting this one). =) Unfortunately, I have an ELA quiz next week Monday that's eight-five questions long! *Screams* Come on! It's almost the end of the school year! I don't want to take any more tests! X(
...I'm seriously wishing I had a dragon to fly away on right now.
*Cough* Shoving school aside...Hey everyone! =D Welcome back to yet another chapter for "Sleepless Nights on Dragon's Edge!" =D We're halfway-ish through the story, and I can't believe we're at chapter six already. X) *Sighs* Time really flies when you write, huh?
I hope you guys this chapter! =D
Chapter Six: A Little Bit of Trust
The Dreamcatcher's roar could very much destroy eardrums. That was how much Hiccup's ears hurt after the dragon of black let out a shriek so high-pitched that the entire cavern shook as if there was an earthquake. Hiccup was surprised that the eggs didn't crack open or burst.
Hiccup and the Dragon Riders dispersed immediately. They dashed to different areas around the cave to make space between them and the raging dragon in front of them. Knowing that being close to an upset dragon was likely to get yourself injured, the Riders knew to put as much distance from her and them as possible. Their dragons followed close behind, protective growls rumbling at the back of their throats.
Despite the clear warnings the dragons gave the Dreamcatcher if it came too close, she still pounced upon the Dragon Riders. She roared and snapped her teeth at them viciously. The Rider's dragons roared as well, and fired at the Dreamcatcher in hopes to stop her. The cave began to shake and rattle. Dust and stone sprinkled down from the ceiling. Hiccup's bright green eyes widened in realization.
"Stop firing!" shouted Hiccup. "You'll bring the cave down!"
The dragons stopped instantaneously, and the Dreamcatcher took her chance. She launched herself toward the Dragon Riders and the dragons, but it wasn't long until she let out a shriek of pain and collapsed. The feathered dragon fell to the stone ground, still seething, but pain swam in her amber eyes. They glittered like gemstones, and Hiccup couldn't help but pity the dragon who was only following her instincts to survive. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as she seemed and was just…scared. She was in a new environment, and she had four eggs to watch and look after all by herself until they hatched. Hiccup let out a breath and began to approach the dragon. Toothless grunted in warning, and Astrid started with a shocked expression.
"What are you doing?" she hissed. Hiccup looked at her.
"I'm going to try and train her," Hiccup replied. "It may make things easier than just moving her out. Besides, she's hurt and we can't send her out into the wild while she's this vulnerable."
"And she has eggs," added Fishelgs. "We'll have to think about them too."
Astrid sighed. "Okay, but be careful. There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal."
Hiccup nodded, and he turned his focus on the Dreamcatcher laying a few inches in front of him. She was whimpering in pain, and Hiccup felt his heart sink like a stone in the water. He needed to help this dragon, he just had to.
Carefully, Hiccup began to approach the Dreamcatcher. No sudden movements, he reminded himself over and over with each and every step. The Dreamcatcher looked up and growled, baring her sharp teeth dangerously. Her dragonese was unlike any Hiccup had ever heard; she had a foreign accent, but Hiccup was able to clearly make out the words "Stay back."
Hiccup gulped and he continued to walk toward the Dreamcatcher. "Hey there," he said softly. The Dreamcatcher shifted where she sat, her feathers twitching in aggravation. "I know you're scared, and I know you think we're a threat but we aren't. We're here to help you…"
Hiccup extended his hand, but the Dreamcatcher snarled at him. The young viking quickly drew his hand back, but he continued to walk toward the injured dragon.
"You took my dreams," said Hiccup. The Dreamcatcher cocked her head. "And while I'm not very fond of that, I know you only did it to survive. We want to help you, but you're going to have to let us."
Hiccup put out his hand and turned away. The Dreamcatcher stared at it warily. Would she trust this viking?
Slowly, the Dreamcatcher pushed her snout into Hiccup's palm. Said viking let out a sigh of relief. Hiccup smiled and gave the Dreamcatcher a small pat on the head. She crooned in content. Toothless relaxed as did the other dragons and Riders.
"Okay," said Hiccup. "Now that you're calm, why don't we take a look at that leg of yours?"
The other Dragon Riders stepped in to help, but the Dreamcatcher regained her aggressive stance, growling at them. Toothless growled back, and Hiccup quickly put his hands between them before a dragon fight could ensue.
"Whoa, whoa, it's okay, it's okay," Hiccup reassured the Dreamcatcher. "We're here to help you, remember?"
After that, the Dreamcatcher calmed down, but her posture was still vigilant.
Tuffnut scoffed, breaking the tension. "The Dreamcatcher only likes Hiccup. No fair."
"I wonder why…" mused Fishlegs. "Of course, he trained it, but we were all here while he did…"
"Maybe it's because Hiccup shares a connection with a nocturnal dragon himself," Astrid suggested. She gestured to Toothless, who cocked his head inquisitively. "She trusts him because he shares a relationship with a dragon that's similar to her kind."
Astrid turned to Hiccup. "Since you're the only one who can get close enough to the Dreamcatcher—"
"Can we name it?" interrupted Tuffnut. Astrid glared at him, but the dreadlocked Thorston ignored her. "It's kinda getting annoying just calling her 'The Dreamcatcher.'"
Ruffnut agreed. "What are we gonna call the babies? 'The Baby Dreamcatchers?'"
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Fine." She planted her hands on her hips. "What are we going to name it?"
Tuffnut and Ruffnut opened their mouths to speak, but Fishlegs cut in before they could say something ridiculous.
"How about Midnight?" Fishlegs suggested. "Since she usually comes out around that time."
The Dreamcatcher seemed to like the name, and she gave a small nod, silently telling Hiccup that she approved of it.
"Midnight it is," said Hiccup, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Tuffnut, however, was appalled. "We didn't even take a vote!"
Ruffnut nodded vigorously. "Yeah, that's not fair!"
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "All in favor of calling the Dreamcatcher Midnight?" he drawled.
Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout raised their hands.
"All in favor of calling the Dreamcatcher…" Hiccup paused. "Whatever the twins come up with."
Ruffnut and Tuffnut's hands shot into the air like bullets. Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs pulled their hands down.
Hiccup crossed his arms in confirmation. "Okay. It looks like Midnight wins."
The twins grumbled, but they didn't argue, which was probably because they didn't even have any name ideas to begin with.
"Anyway," Hiccup said, reeling everyone back to the main situation. "We need to find a way to bring Midnight to Dragon's Edge so we can patch her up."
"But we still have the dragon eggs to think about," Fishlegs reminded him. Meatlug was currently sniffing at them, but she backed away when Midnight gave her a deadly glare. Fishlegs placed a comforting hand on Meatlug's side and continued. "We can't just leave them. What if something comes in here and attacks them?"
Hiccup thought for a moment. The Dragon Riders couldn't leave the eggs, but would Midnight be willing to take them to the Edge? Hiccup turned to the Dreamcatcher.
"Midnight…are you willing to move your eggs?" asked Hiccup.
Despite Midnight being a dragon (and the Dragonese and English barrier was rather difficult to break), she seemed to understand the meaning of the question, and she vehemently shook her head. Clearly, Midnight didn't want to move her eggs from where they were.
Hiccup chewed his lower lip. Perhaps the cave was the only spot where the baby dragons would hatch, and Midnight didn't want to move them anywhere else. Dreamcatchers must be territorial, thought Hiccup. Another thing to add to the Dreamcatcher notes later.
"Then what are we gonna do?" asked Snotlout. "Take the eggs with us anyway?"
Midnight snarled at the Jorgeson and Snotlout yelped.
"I was just kidding…" he squeaked.
Hiccup shook his head. "No, we're not going to force Midnight to bring her eggs…We'll just have to bring the things to tend to her leg from Dragon's Edge. I'll stay here with Midnight and watch over her while you guys get the materials."
As solid as the plan sounded, Astrid was still wary about it. Why, they had just flown around half of the island in the middle of the night…Hiccup was bound to be exhausted! What if he fell asleep and Midnight decided to give him a nightmare that would hurt him even more? Astrid shook her head.
"Hiccup, you should have at least one of us stay with you and Toothless," said Astrid. Hiccup shook his head.
"Toothless and I are the only ones Midnight trusts," said Hiccup. "You guys need to head to the Edge and grab the stuff. We'll be fine."
Astrid pursed her lips; she wasn't at all comfortable with leaving Hiccup behind, but the young viking did make a good point. She sighed and laid a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Just…be careful, okay?" Astrid said. "We don't know much about Midnight and her kind. Don't do anything to her until we get the supplies."
Hiccup nodded. "I won't. I promise." He placed a kiss on Astrid's forehead, eliciting groans from the twins and Snotlout. Fishlegs only smiled.
Astrid brushed Hiccup's bangs out of his eyes. "Stay safe," she said. Then, Astrid followed the rest of the Dragon Riders through the tunnel that led back outside, leaving Hiccup, Midnight, and Toothless alone. The Night Fury was currently trying to comfort Midnight, but she was extremely agitated, and she would snap her jaws in Toothless' direction whenever he got too close. Toothless' ears flopped against his head and he let out a defeated croon.
Hiccup patted his dragon's head. "It's not your fault, Bud. You're only trying to help, but she's hurt and scared. We have to be slow and gentle."
Toothless grumbled in understanding, and he sent a cautious glance toward Midnight. He didn't completely trust this dragon either. While he hadn't seen or encountered many, Toothless had heard about the infamous Dreamcatchers who fed on human's dreams and nightmares. Dreamcatchers were known to be aggressive, but trusting to those who proved they weren't a threat.
Hiccup kneeled down in front of Midnight. "I'm going to check your leg, okay? I'm not going to touch it, since it hurts right now, but I need to get a good look at it so we know what we're working with."
Midnight hesitated, but she nodded slowly, unfurling her feathery tail from her leg. Hiccup walked over and he hissed at the sight of it. Stormfly's spine was buried in the leg, and it had gone rather deep too. Crimson, red blood oozed out of the wound, and Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, realizing that Midnight's injury was worse than he had thought.
"Okay…First, we're going to have to remove that spine," said Hiccup. "Then clean the wound. Hopefully we still have some gauze left at the Edge…I don't remember the last time we made a trip to Berk for materials."
Toothless warbled, and he looked at the eggs that were sitting in a bundle in the corner of the cave. Hiccup gazed at them, entranced by their mysterious beauty. They glistened like stars, and even though Hiccup had seen and touched many different dragon eggs, he had never seen any as unique as these.
Midnight crooned, pulling Hiccup out of his thoughts. The young viking turned to her, and the Dreamcatcher nodded, giving him permission to take a closer look at them.
Hiccup headed over to the eggs, which were nestled in a small, makeshift nest. There were four of them, and each of them glittered beautifully.
"These eggs are amazing," breathed Hiccup. He turned to Midnight, who was watching him with wary eyes. "Don't worry, we'll patch you up and make sure you'll be able to defend them when the time comes."
And little did Hiccup know was that time was going to come sooner than he thought.
…
Astrid and the Dragon Riders were flying to Dragon's Edge in a hurry. Well, Astrid was. She wanted to get back to Hiccup as soon as possible. She didn't know how long it would be until Midnight decided to take a nab at him. Even though she was trained, she was still a dragon who used to live in the wild, and was more likely to follow her instincts.
Astrid sighed; she really wished she would stop worrying. She knew that Hiccup would be okay; he always was. And whenever he found himself in trouble, he always managed to get out of it. This was just one dragon with a bundle of eggs whose leg needed fixing…The Riders had encountered many injured dragons in the past, so they all knew what to do. Astrid allowed herself to relax, knowing that Hiccup would be perfectly fine in his position.
Dragon's Edge soon came into view, and everyone landed in the dome. Astrid was the first to dismount Stormfly, and once everyone had gotten off of their dragons, she assigned each of the Riders to get a certain item.
"Fishlegs, you'll grab the gauze," instructed Astrid. The Ingerman nodded and he lumbered off with Meatlug to grab the requested bandages. "Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout, you guys grab some fish."
"Uh…why?" asked Tuffnut.
"For Midnight," responded Astrid. "Since she won't be eating dreams any time soon, she's probably going to want something else to munch on. Hopefully she's a fan of cod."
Astrid assigned herself the task of grabbing a bucket of water. Midnight's leg wound was most likely still bleeding, and it would need to be cleaned before it could be bandaged. Astrid flew to the Clubhouse on Stormfly and grabbed a bucket from the storage room. Then, she and Stormlfy headed to the beach where a big wide ocean laid before them. The moon was just beginning to dip into the horizon, and Astrid could make out a few clouds that were just appearing in the air.
Astrid slipped off of Stormfly and walked toward the water. She dunked the metal bucket into the ocean, ignoring the frigid cold that nipped at her hands. Astrid hoisted the bucket out of the water; it was filled to the brim, so she poured a little bit out so that it would be easier to carry. By the time Astrid and Stormfly returned to Dragon's Edge, they found that Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout had got everything that she requested.
"Nice job, guys," said Astrid. "Let's head back."
"I'm starving," complained Snotlout. "Could I cook some of the fish?"
Astrid shook her head. "We'll eat when we get back. Besides, that fish is for Midnight and our dragons."
"I'm dying of starvation and Astrid won't let me cook just one tiny little fish," grumbled Snotlout as he mounted Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare grunted.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "You'll live," she said tartly. Astrid climbed onto Stormfly, and her Deadly Nadder squawked. "Now come on. We have to bring this stuff to Hiccup."
The Dragon RIders took to the air and Astrid held the bucket of water close to her as they sailed through the sky, being careful not to let it spill. The Riders flew in silence until Snotlout spoke up, asking a question that all of them were thinking.
"So…now that Midnight's trained and everything…What are we gonna do with her once we fix her up?" he asked.
"I hope we get to keep her," said Tuffnut giddily. "She can stay in my room and sleep in my bed—"
"Uh, hello? Are you forgetting who you're living with?" asked Ruffnut as she glared at her brother. "She'll take up my side of the hut!"
"So?" said Tuffnut.
"Sooooo, she'll have to sleep outside," Ruffnut said. "That, or she'll stay in the boar pit."
Tuffnut gasped. "There is no way Midnight is sleeping outside! I forbid it!" The male Thorston paused as he thought for a moment. "Although…the boars would probably like some extra company…It gets kinda spooky down there at night."
"I rest my case," said Ruffnut.
Astrid shook her head. "Guys, Midnight is a wild dragon," she said firmly. "She's only here because she needs to lay her eggs in a warm environment so they can hatch. And when they do, she's going to head back to Freezing to Death where she originally came from."
"Midnight could live on Berk," prompted Ruffnut. "It's pretty much always cold there, and it's only twelve degrees south of Freezing to Death."
"That wouldn't be possible," Fishlegs pipped in. "Midnight would cause an uproar in dreams and nightmares whether she wanted to or not. And then when she eats those dreams, a lot of us will be left without a few hours of sleep because of Dream Deprivation. And being tired while our enemies are lurking out there isn't a good thing."
Astrid agreed, and she turned her sapphire blue eyes straight ahead, where the sun was beginning to peek out from the horizon. "We'll figure something out," she said. "Right now, let's get this stuff to Midnight before sunrise."
…
Hiccup and Toothless had made considerable progress with Midnight. She no longer tensed or growled when the two got close to her, and she even allowed Hiccup to pet her when she seemed like she needed some extra comfort. Hiccup was more than glad that Midnight was beginning to trust him and Toothless, but would she soon come to trust the other Dragon Riders? Hiccup was still unsure on that one.
In just a few moments, the other Dragon Riders walked into the cave, their dragons following close behind them. Midnight resumed her defensive stance, but Hiccup soothed her.
"They're here to help," Hiccup reminded the Dreamcatcher reassuringly. Midnight relaxed, but her tail flicked from side to side nervously.
Astrid placed the bucket of water that she was holding down. She patted her hands together and turned to Hiccup. "So, what are we working with?"
"Well," said Hiccup. "Stormfly's spine is still stuck in Midnight's leg…We need to pull it out."
Astrid grimaced and she looked at Midnight's leg, which was still bleeding at a rapid rate, where Stormfly's colorful barb protruded from it. Astrid nodded.
"Alright. Since you're the only one who she fully trusts…you're going to have to do it," said Astrid.
Hiccup nodded slowly and he turned to Midnight, placing a hand on her snout. She crooned anxiously.
"Don't worry," reassured Hiccup. "This will only hurt for a little bit. I promise."
Hiccup walked behind Midnight and hovered over her leg. He placed his hands on the spine and gripped it tightly.
"I'm gonna pull on three," announced Hiccup. The Dragon Rider's braced themselves. Midnight's feathers flared.
"One…two…three!" Hiccup yanked the spine out of Midnight's leg as quickly as he could, and said dragon let out a blood curdling screech. The cave quaked and rattled, causing dust and pebbles to fall from the ceiling. Midnight whipped around and glared at Hiccup, her eyes dilated into slits.
Hiccup tossed the bloody spine aside and raised his hands. "It's okay, it's okay! It's all over now." Midnight relaxed slightly and shifted where she laid. Hiccup let out a relieved sigh as well as the other Dragon Riders. The dragons, who were ready to defend their riders, calmed down.
Astrid held up the bucket of water, and both she and Hiccup moved on to clean the wound. Fishlegs wrapped the gauze around Midnight's leg while the twins and Snotlout distracted her with fish. Midnight enjoyed them, even though she was more accustomed to her usual dreams over haddock and cod.
Soon, Midnight's leg was patched up, and the Dragon Riders were glad. There was still the problem of moving Midnight and her eggs to a better place, though. Hiccup sighed; he was still unsure of what to do. Midnight didn't want to move her eggs, but they needed to find someplace else for her to stay before the Dragon Hunters appeared again. Astrid walked up to the young viking and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Are you doing okay?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "I'm a bit tired, but I'm fine." He felt Toothless nudge his hand. Hiccup looked down and saw the Night Fury giving him a disapproving look.
Hiccup shook his head, a small smile crawling onto his lips. "I'll get some sleep once we're all sorted out." He turned to Astrid, a worried look on his face. "We still don't know what to do about Midnight and her eggs."
Astrid squeezed Hiccup's shoulder. "We'll figure something out."
Suddenly, a horn sounded outside, and Hiccup whipped around toward the tunnel that led back outside. Hiccup's brow furrowed.
"You guys stay here and take care of Midnight. Toothless and I will check out what's going on," said Hiccup.
Astrid grabbed his arm. "I'm not letting you go by yourself."
Hiccup chewed his lower lip; he wanted Astrid to stay where she was safe, but he knew that there was no point in arguing with her. "Fine. Let's go."
Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly ran outside. They breached out of the cave and shot into the air. The sun was just beginning to rise, and its rays crawled up against the island and Dragon's Edge in the distance. As beautiful as the sunrise was, Hiccup was washed with dread at what else he spotted in the distance.
The Dragon Hunters. The Dragon Hunters were sailing toward the Edge.
Author's Note: Oh, darn. The Dragon Hunters just had to come and ruin everything. =/
Hiccup: You made them come, Moon. You're the author! You have control over all of this.
Oh yeah...I do...*Shrugs* I don't regret any of my choices in the making of this story.
Hiccup: Wha-
Haha, anywayyy, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see ya in the next one! *Waves happily*
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203