SOME HICCSTRID ANGST. Remember when I said everything was supposed to be disconnected. I'm a liar, here's the continuation to what I wrote in the last one. Thanks for reading!
Humans had always been unique creatures to him, even when they were primarily murderous and intent on wiping out his kind. Truly, Toothless hadn't paid attention to their behaviors before encountering his Rider, mostly focused on how to evade and sabotage them. Since then, humans never ceased to amaze him. Generally, he grew fond of or begrudgingly tolerant of them. However, the night fury had not been able to stop baring his teeth at his situational company.
Her armor was darker than the night itself, save for some silver accents. A deep crimson shade lined her pauldrons, all the way along the flat, jagged dragon-wing shaped swordbreakers protecting both of her shoulders. Her lower arms were covered by vambraces, which had rows upon rows of barbed black metal pieces, mimicking dragon scales, complete with spiny claws. In fact, the armor from her gray cuirass, down to her legs, was layered in flexible, sharp scales that seemed to shift as she moved. Any area that was not imitating scales, namely her midsection, was lined with the same gray-hued exoskeleton meant to emulate a dragon.
Aqua could practically feel the hot breath of the beast spreading across her backside. One wrong move and the next exhale would have engulfed her in an inferno. Toothless stalked behind her even as she stopped at the base of a steep cliff. Ear appendages drooping in question, the dragon bellowed impatiently when she halted in front of the wall.
"Oh do hush up. I'm getting really sick of your snorting and honking." An otherworldly rumble warbled from the night fury as he lashed his tail thoughtfully. His pupils were narrowed in distrust, peeling back his lips even further. "Stay." She commanded. Toothless took the highest level of offense, shaking his head, not keen on ever obey her.
Brow arch rising as the huntress suddenly began scaling the steep wall, Toothless made a puzzled grunting noise. Helplessly he turned his emerald eyes skyward to witness Aqua deftly using the tiny footholds to climb higher. Growling, the night fury leapt and clambered up the abrupt incline, only to slide back down without the help of his rider.
"Oh for the love of—!" Aqua held fast to the small ledges provided, "I said to wait!" She nearly spun her head all the way around to scream at the giant black lizard waiting below. "Try that again and I'll make sure you actually become toothless!" Threats weren't her forte, but dying because of an overexcited dragon was the last thing on her list today.
Toothless crooned in exasperation, blustering at how loudly she had retaliated. Rearing, he placed his front paws on the ascent, stretching his neck as much as his muscles would permit. The woman produced something of a container and appeared to be scraping a clear liquid from the altitude she stopped at.
A glimmer of scales flashed in the night fury's line of sight. Toothless snarled and called to the huntress. "I swear to—Did you not hear me?" It was then that she saw the slithering creatures emerge from the jagged gaps in the precipice. A well-intentioned fireball exploded against the crag just above her head. Aqua capped the container with her hand and shouted as she fell back.
With lightning speed, characteristic of a night fury, Toothless launched himself upwards, catching the small woman on his back before dropping smoothly into the canyon parallel to the overhang. "Look out!" Her warning was heeded at the last second. Toothless swung his body, sending the huntress tumbling to the dirt floor.
"I'm gonna kill this dragon." She muttered sourly, checking the tiny wooden container to make sure she hadn't lost any liquid. "I'm going to commit some—" Brushing herself off when the dust settled, Aqua glanced over to find the dragon groaning in regret. A rockslide had been triggered from the concussive blast Toothless had delivered and a particularly colossal boulder now pinned his tail down. He thrashed, thundering at the sky, and then blasted the pile of rocks to open a path back to the other side.
"Stop! Stop! stop!" Why did she even try? "Uuughhhhhhh." It was the longest aggravated sound she had produced in years. Toothless recoiled at seeing a larger rock dislodge and roll its way down towards him. Aqua stood poised, unhooking a plain metal rod from her belt. The shaft was not longer than a nadder spine, but a press of her finger extended it into a long staff. Features screwing into a sneer as the staff end was aimed at him, Toothless grumbled curiously as she modified the trajectory upwards. Three consecutive shots of blue flame volleyed from the end of the staff, shattering the stone falling towards him into a shower of harmless sparks.
Fearlessly, she ran at him, jamming the rod underneath the stone crushing his tail. Aqua pressed all her weight down on the opposite end, lifting the pressure just enough for the dragon to free himself.
Exhaling sharply, Toothless tested the flexibility of his tail, swinging and rotating it for good measure. No damage had come to the prosthetic tail Hiccup had created for him.
"This is absurd. I didn't ask for babysitting duty. I could have just kept my mouth shut." She was talking to herself. Maybe Ryker had been accurate in accusing her of being soft.
The night fury moved his lips, his company's demeanor only creating more puzzlement as to why she had helped at her own volition. She then minutely slid her finger along her weapon, collapsing it into a small rod once more. Inquisitive eyes widening at the action, Toothless wondered how she had managed to shoot fire from the metal tip.
"Magic." Aquaria had caught his intent staring. Though it was obviously not magic, but pressurized gas and oil that performed the feat. There were only seven effective blasts per canister before she would have to refill. And she had already used three. "We're even, dragon." She seethed. Two more ingredients were still required and if she aimed to keep her promise of arriving before sundown, she'd have to hurry.
0_0_0
Claws digging into the skid marks on the soft earth she had been pacing across, Stormfly squawked quietly, rapidly blinking to adjust her eyes to the diminishing light. Every now and then, the dragon turned her head to center the riders in her line of vision. Nothing had disturbed them for the time being, but their real concern was invested in the hunter and dragon elsewhere on the island.
Hiccup could hear his breathing grow more ragged, and the challenge of keeping Astrid's worry to a minimum was growing more and more impossible. Something traced his forehead, feathering a light touch down his face to his chin. Despite everything, a smile ghosted his lips. Daring to turn his head, the Viking discovered he was resting on something very soft. "If anything, you know, happens…" His jaw trembled, trying to form the sentence
Astrid had wrapped her arms around him tightly and pulled him up against her chest. Part of her reasoning was so that he would be comfortable; the other was the placebo concept that the tighter she held on, the harder it would be for his life to slip from her gasp. "We'll talk later." Astrid lowered her head until her cheek rested on his sweat-covered forehead, "Just don't move..." The inconsistencies in his breathing stabled to a point. Her eyes drifted to the bandage as a burning wave of fury washed over her cheeks.
She never should have placed even a droplet of trust in the huntress. The cost was far too great. Taking him to a healer, or Gothi on Berk would've increased his chance for survival, but now, with each passing instant, his existence dwindled. "I'm so sorry." Whispered the woman, holding tighter to his form.
"Wha—what for?" It was amazing that the croak of his voice was understood.
"It's all my fault, I shouldn't have even given any thought to…" What Hiccup assumed was his shuddering was actually the quavering of the body he was leaning against. "They need you. Berk, the dragons…" She begged, unsure if he even heard, "We need you." Quieter, "I need you." The woman's control was skidding fast.
"Astrid." His voice grabbed her by the shoulders and eased her back from the ledge. Astrid leaned down, her forehead pressing against his as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I love—…"
"Hope I'm not interrupting." Marginally more disheveled than earlier, Aquaria stepped through the entryway of the cave. Toothless bounded forward, circling his rider and gently nuzzling his arm. "With the cure or anything." Setting the container on the floor, she rolled it towards the Vikings.
Astrid snatched up the antidote instantly. Deep blue eyes glaring at the huntress, the blonde Viking helped place the rim of the cup to his lips, coaxing him to drink. Nearly choking on the bitter substance sliding down his throat, Hiccup gasped but didn't stir.
"It didn't work!" Astrid faulted her immediately. The night fury stomped the cavern floor, roaring so loudly the walls shook. Behind her, the deadly nadder puffed out its spiked tail in response to her rider's yell.
"For crying out loud. It is. NOT. MAGIC." Everyone withdrew, "He isn't going to suddenly jump up and perform a jig on command, but he will live." Aqua swept her gaze across the area, stopping on Toothless, who might have been the only living being able to somewhat vouch for her. "Find him a bed or some food." Did she have to walk them through caring for another person?
Wasting no time, Astrid helped her wounded companion mount Toothless and carefully climbed up behind him to slip her foot into the stirrup. She would be his support for the journey home. Admittedly, the color was beginning to return to his face, the pain having been extracted. "Um…"
Aqua smoothed her short, light colored hair down and swept her bangs away from her eyes, "Yes, I know. This changes nothing. Now please leave." The night fury must have given her a grueling run for her gold. With all of her devotion on Hiccup, Astrid only nodded. Getting him home was the prudent course of action.
Worried for his partner and beloved rider, Toothless flickered his gaze to the huntress fleetingly and took to the skies, convinced that there was more to her than she let on.
0_0_0
Finally glad to be rid of the nuisances, Aqua sauntered to the far west end of the island. It was the location she had struggled to keep them away from for the entire day. A neat row of cages held the inhabitant changewing dragons inside, all properly sedated and groggy from chemical influence. And the largest cage held the prized Titanwing changewing, unique for their sharper wings and striking shades, a stark contrast from the regular sized ones. Not only was she beaten and bruised from wrangling the enormous creature, but also procuring the cure for unexpected Riders nearly wrecked the entirety of her operation.
There were already ships appearing on the horizon. Her timing had been impeccable. Had these ships shown up while she was dancing around with the dragon riders, they would have baked her to a well-done crisp. But not after providing a thirty-minute presentation on never trusting her again.
"Does this place remind you of anything?" With a flock of dragon hunters on his heel, Viggo approached the girl, immediately initiating casual conversation.
"Yeah. It reminds me of that time you tied me to a tree in the dead of night and told me to track my way home." Home was a term she used loosely. He ignored the quip of recollection.
"Why did I ask you to come out here alone?" He heard the girl sigh as she checked the locks on the cages, careful not to fall victim to the fatal snap of a massive Titanwing jaw.
"It was a test." Aqua concluded assuredly. "To sharpen my skill." Adjusting the weapon on her belt, she didn't turn to face Viggo. "See how I'd do against prey that was faster, stronger, bigger, and more intelligent than the others." The sedated dragon growled menacingly in its confines. "Right?" Despite the sureness, she thought to ask for clarification anyways.
"Hmm. No." That got her full attention. "Well, I suppose you're not entirely wrong." Aqua wrinkled her nose, but listened. "I see the riders didn't disrupt your nicely laid plans." The only way he could have known of their attendance on the island was if he intentionally placed them there. Realization wove across her face at being purposely sabotaged, "You must always be prepared for multiple scenarios. The game can change at any moment, and prioritization can help you salvage what's at stake." She was used to him being vague, preachy, and of course referring constantly to his favorite game of Maces and Talons.
"You knew I'd help them." A flurry of overlapping questions hit her all at once. It was always an arduous task to predict his motives, but sometimes they just wholly evaded her. "That makes no sense." She didn't want to believe that this exercise was solely for her benefit.
"Patience."
Thanks again! Normally when I churn this stuff out, it sits in my documents for 84 years, but if two and a half people who aren't me read this then it's a GIFT!