events occur parallel to season 5, ep 8: wings of war, just in case anyone is following along. but really welcome to my fic where the timelines are made up and the plots don't matter. continuity who? please enjoy!
The contraption was nearly a perfect mimicry of Hiccup's prior diving bell design he'd used to descend into lava. With a few tweaks, the hunter had perfected its usage and reduced the strain on maneuvering. Able to support up to five people in the spherical gondola, it was suspended securely to dual chains that would be lowered into the volcano-stable, for the most part-where its passengers would seek out the Dragon Eye. The cauldron was raised once more, pulley system attached to a long, arching crane, hoisting up the souls from the volcano's maw.
Gasping for air, a hunter draped his body over the cauldron's rim, desperately clambering out to safe ground. "Nothing…" He reported in dismay.
Aqua had witnessed the several attempts. Three men boarded the gondola and began their descent. Not all made it back Another trio entered and only one emerged, empty-handed and soaked in sweat. She stood off to the side, having scoured the island for any trace of the little Night Fury, overcome with relief when she was only attacked by any remaining dragons inhabiting the island. Rare to be so elated over being the mauling target of a rampant deadly nadder.
Predicting that the two were arguing as she got closer was far too easy. She caught the tail end of the conversation on expendability, and how Krogan had no qualms with chucking a few soldiers to the flames if it meant securing their prize. Aqua's stomach lurched, remembering Ryker. Though, Viggo didn't share any insight on his position.
Stepping over a few stones and hopping down a platform, the huntress saw a man topple into the cauldron, cornered in there by Krogan himself. His deep purple cloak rippled around him with every movement.
"If I had known you two were going to bicker the whole time, I would have brought earplugs." It wasn't the best kept secret among the ranks that Krogan and Viggo were butting heads at every turn, but being subjected to it was a harrowing experience.
"You forget yourself, girl." Krogan admonished, already displeased with the setback his skilled Flyers had apparently run into. An issue he would have to rectify.
"I'll go down with him." Already rolling her shoulders, she stepped forward.
"No, you will not." Came a stern voice.
"Why not? I've already been down there. I know the general location. If you keep sending down men, you'll eventually have a crispy ladder of burnt flesh to climb down." Lips pressed into a thin line, Viggo kept his subordinate from advancing, his brow slanted sharply over his differently colored eyes.
"Hold on, you've been down there?" Krogan parroted her, suddenly quite interested in what she had to say. "I thought Viggo here was the one who took a little tumble off the edge." Indicating to his own eye as a visual, Krogan crossed his arms over his chest.
Blinking rapidly as if her eyelids could scrape away the daggers being glared at her, the huntress nodded. "I jumped in."
"Intentionally?" Perhaps she could do so again to speed up the process. "Fascinating." He mused, "I think it's a magnificent idea. Send her down!" Throwing his arm toward the compartment impatiently, Krogan took note of the hunter's stance, blocking the young girl.
"As you are fully aware, I do not like repeating myself." Controlled, though explicitly pernicious, Viggo didn't want to remind her of the chat they'd had on her failures.
"Can you please have some faith in me? I won't fail again. I swear, I won't." How pathetic did she sound? Vying for validation like the child she was.
"What's the matter, Viggo? I don't see any drawback with letting someone who actually knows where it is go down. She seems rather eager to prove herself as well." Viggo turned a critical eye on the man speaking, knowing a hunter that didn't follow orders wasn't a very good investment. And Aquaria was a … good investment. "And if she doesn't come back," He shrugged, "Plenty more where she came from." That was the truth she had lived her life by.
"Lest we forget, she isn't the only one who has a location." He turned and headed for the contraption, making to climb inside, "My memory of it is more exact-seared into my brain, as a matter of fact." Literally. "I'll retrieve it myself."
"What?!" Riding on the wave of an impulse, she jumped forward, much to Krogan's palpable amusement. She didn't understand. Did he distrust her abilities that intensely? Aqua grabbed his arm, only to have it practically flung away.
Out of every task he had planned for today, watching two people expostulate on who was getting into the death kettle to ride down into bubbling magma, periodically shooting spouts of flame, wasn't one of them. It was time to deal with the problem troubling his Flyers. "Hmph. Looks like you get to survive another day." Shame. He probably so would have enjoyed seeing her burn.
Krogan departed, leaving Aquaria, Viggo, and the hunter who was peering nervously over the rim of the gondola, caught in the crossfire.
"I don't think I understand…!" Refusing to relent right away, the huntress didn't expect him to turn so quickly to face her.
"Of course you don't." Direct hit on her intelligence. He hadn't meant to sound condescending. Or maybe he did. Who knew?
"But-!" Seizing her left shoulder with his left hand made her jump.
"No more talking." Bending slightly to speak by her ear, "If you insist on being insubordinate, then get out of my sight." Accent dropping dangerously with a growl, which was always significantly worse than explosive conniptions or yelling. He may as well have had a knife pressed to her neck.
Casting a glance to the volcano opening, incandescent stones scintillating in the late afternoon sun. How pissed would he have been if she dove down again? He'd probably personally dunk her into the lava himself.
Shrugging him off, the huntress stalked away to complete her patrol inspection route.
oOo oOo oOo
Heather narrowed her eyes at the outpost. Her visit was unprecedented-unannounced. Should she have sent a terror mail? They would have been happy to see her regardless.
For the most part, whenever an arrow fired at an opponent, it was supposed to catch them off guard. A precisely fired projectile could catch even the most skilled warriors unawares and render them powerless for the rest of the fight. At the very least, it should have startled the target, whether it be a human, dragon, or animal.
However, the arrow sailing above the forest treetops slowly reached its peak, nearly a stone's throw away from Heather's position. "Huh?" It arced and fell harmlessly back down. The second didn't even reach the same altitude as them, wiggled for a second, and then spun back to earth. Windshear made a questioning sound. She couldn't even get angry at being the object for target practice because there was no possibility of being hurt.
After the third and fourth arrow soared in similar sloppy patterns, whizzing up past her a few feet ahead, "Maybe we should check it out." The arrows were coming from a remote section of the Edge, and the closer she ventured to the main area of the outpost, "Let's land over there, near the lagoon." There was only one archer, judging from the fire rate.
Heather caught sight of the hunter ships docked near the hub, veering away and flying low until Windshear executed a smooth descent to touch the sandy shores. She swooped into the dark green woods. Dismounting and motioning for her dragon to stay crouched, the Rider took the lead.
The overlapping greenery sprung in opposite directions as a familiar white-haired huntress barreled through the curtain for her encore. Heather spotted the bow gripped tightly in her hand. The arrowheads lacked the green coloring used to take out a dragon, which confirmed Aquaria meant no harm to them. But must have been trying to chase them off in her... weird way.
"You always fly in the direction of arrows being shot at you?!" Muttering angrily, she struggled to dock another arrow, "Did you not see the banners? The ones draped across the ships-No-the whole island?" Aqua threw her arms up. What if they had been seen? They probably had been spotted by one or two of the scouts. Pressing her fist right between her eyes until her knuckles left indents, "You know what, forget it, just go. Turn your giant dragon around and flap it out of here." The razorwhip growled softly. "I will shoot you again, don't test me. I-" Her arms were hugged at her sides, held down by Heather's embrace.
"You're alive!" She squeezed.
"I've killed before." Aqua wiggled uselessly, hearing a laugh, which dulled any insidious reputation she had.
"Yeah, because your aim was so deadly accurate the first five times. Tell me you weren't actually aiming to hit us." Still stiffly enduring the hug, suspecting the Rider was extending it purely for her discomfort. "Who taught you how to shoot? Let me guess, Viggo? Tell him he did great." Sarcasm duly noted.
"Y-You smell like... fish." The Gods were probably quaking from such a great insult.
"Oh yeah?" Mischievously, a grin twitched her lip as she slapped both her hands to the sides of the huntress' face, rubbing it in, "Fishy, huh?"
"Augh-"
Sliding her cheek against hers when she stepped back for good measure, Heather planted her hands on her hips to admire her handiwork.
Aquaria cracked a smile, a bemused smirk that came complete with an eye roll.
"I knew you didn't fall into a volcano." Her green eyes, blending with the forest itself, slid skyward, huffing at the thought.
"I didn't." Touching her cheek, now lightly smeared with sweat, "I jumped into it."
"Exactly-What?" Hearing about it was one thing. Confirming it from the source was another.
"Hiccup's got a mouth on him. Maybe he should use it to eat a massive-"
"So what's going on? Why are there hunters all over the Edge?" Aquaria watched as Heather's demeanor shifted, eyes darkening.
She was already reaching for her weapon, "Doesn't matter, we take it back by any means necessary."
"And they say I'm reckless." Holding out a hand to hover over the raven-haired girl's elbow before she could draw her twin axes. "We?" Trying to emphasize the irony of her plan, "You have no idea what you're up against." Boldly stepping closer, "I don't care how good you are. You can't take on a whole island of hunters." Aware she had just complimented her, she hoped to let it slide.
"Watch me." She challenged, almost smashing her forehead against Aqua's skull with how close she leaned, determination sparking. "And, yes, we. You'd help me, right?"
"I think you have the wrong idea about me, again." Making her out to be something she was not wasn't going to magically reform her into a Rider. "Join Hiccup and his merry band of Riders. They're likely coming up with some plan to reclaim this place."
"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea. " Heather had also been present several times, watching the huntress and night fury interact. "So the dragons-Your night fury, is she still here-"
"She's safe. I made sure of that." Miles of ocean away from this place. And if they never saw each other again… so be it. "You should wait by the seaside caves until nightfall." Which wasn't all that far off. "Stop-Stop looking at me like that."
"You're a good person."
"Don't say that. It makes me uncomfortable."
Which of course meant, "I'm going to keep saying it."
They both heard a sound at the same time, which resulted in Aqua flapping her hand for both Rider and dragon to stealthily blend into the trees and head for where she'd instructed. Thankfully, without protest and reevaluating the urge to reclaim the outpost solo, Heather and her dragon disappeared.
Lowering the bow in her grip to relax her posture, rolling her shoulders to exude a minimal alert she determined the direction. Seven hunters emerged from the brush. "This is a little excessive, isn't it?"
"One of the scouts saw somethin'. Looked like a Razorwhip." Still, seven people for an alleged sighting.
"Seven of you? For one Razorwhip?" Aqua raised her eyebrows and averted her gaze as a blatant display of trying to suppress her hypercriticisms begging for airtime. A few of the men murmured amongst themselves, offended by her secondhand embarrassment. Then again, these were Krogan's men. Only a few were knowledgeable of her reputation, through whispered rumors, which didn't always hold weight. Seeing is believing for most.
"Krogan won't tolerate any blunders." Judging from his position at the head of the formation, he was the leader. "You're arrows don't 'ave any dragonroot on 'em."
"Then he's going to have a field day when he sees all of you waltzing around the island, not doing your jobs." They had been advancing in Heather's general direction, so the best she could do was stall them or bathe herself in the spotlight. Best case scenario was the whole lot of them heading back to their posts. No such luck.
"Y'know, I never liked your attitude." Hilariously, it wasn't the first time she had heard this complaint, Viggo's ranks or otherwise. "Marchin' around, givin' us orders, actin' like you're above us when you're only here because Krogan's usin' your boss to get what he needs." Another crease furrowed into his brow, "Don't really see where you fit in."
Swallowing a statement that confirmed she was definitely above them, she pushed down a few more revisions of their understanding. "Were you done?" The lack of attention paid seemed to piss them off more. "Or did you have more complaints on, let's see, rations… healthcare, getting a bigger axe to further overcompensate." Heather should have been a fair distance. And if not, she'd bought plenty of time to at least conceal herself from prying eyes.
Flashing two blackened teeth with a snarl, the hunter fumed under his armor, "Why don't we settle this the old fashioned way?" Making eye contact with his men sent a few anticipatory chuckles through his numbers. He pressed his fist against his opposite palm.
"If we must." Though indifference inlaid her speech pattern, she couldn't help the diabolical satisfaction pinching her cheeks, drawing a smile. Some of the taverns she had been to held underground matches, which weren't particularly entertaining if both parties were pissed-and they often were.
As much order as there was in the hunter ranks, a few scuffles over petty arguments weren't uncommon. Since she was little, there had been no shortage of hunters trying to "put her in her place". And while the number who opposed her shrank in proportion to her ascension through the ranks, she would have to start from scratch here.
Tossing the bow over her shoulder, it spun into the nearest bush, as the biggest combatant lunged for her. The window for formalities had slammed shut. Drawing her weapon would have been a waste…
Her boot made contact with his face, resulting in a bone-shattering cataclysm. Three other men advanced on her, weapons drawn. She quickly dispatched them in an orderly fashion, eliciting cries of terror as they fell. A scoff huffed from her lips. Her arrogance often had a way of getting the better of her. However, it seemed to be working at just the right angle today.
"That's enough!" A weapon clicked. At first, she wasn't fazed until she turned her body to find someone she recognized on her knees, at the mercy of a high-powered crossbow. The tip was buried into her hair, pushing bluntly against Heather's scalp. "Drop them." Instantly, she let go of her victim's skull in one hand and released the other's pauldron. "Your weapon." Knowing what damage it could do, they watched as she unhooked it from her belt and tossed it, palms up, supplicant, "Good. Good. Now on your knees."
The Rider thrashed against the hold of her captors, ears burning from the demand. Being reduced to leverage was one of the worst situations she imagined herself in. There still stood a chance that Aquaria—ruthless dragon hunter, purveyor of all things vicious—was smart enough to cut her losses and flee the scene.
Her foot sliding back to drop her knee forward was the only sound audible to each person present. The huntress kneeled silently, compliant with the direction.
"No!" Heather croaked at her submission. Cackling arose within the ranks. Some exchanged knowing glances, brimming with unexplored possibilities. Frankly, she wasn't too pleased with herself either, especially when an outrageous pain spread across the back of her head and turned her world black.
They hit her. They hit her again. And again. And again. She wasn't on her knees anymore, collapsing to the dirt, unmoving. "Aqua?! Fight back!" Every strike that landed thundered in her ears, jarring the beat of her heart into a rhythm that made her dizzy, "Don't hurt her! Please!"
"Windshear!" She called to her dragon, praying she could hear and come to their aid, but had an arm roughly cover her mouth.
Heart wrenched so tightly she couldn't breathe, Heather did not hear her own muffled scream when one of the hunters drew their sword and sauntered to Huntress' broken body. The point touched her neck-coated in a grotesque film of dark crimson over hideous purple bruising-lightly, judging where the aim would land. "W-wait!" Her eyes stung, flecks of dirt blotting her vision. She had been slammed against the ground, gravel grinding her cheek.
True to the ritual of an execution, the sword raised high, lingering above, pointed toward the sky. Like a pendulum, it swung down, aided by force and gravity.
Heather gasped as the whistle of an arrow, punctuated strongly by the sickening sound of it sheathing into flesh, reached her ears. The executioner fell, sword clattering. Two more arrows flew, striking the two men holding her down, respectively. No warnings. No incapacitation.
The precision of each arrow shot was meant to kill.
All remaining hunters turned to the source, who made no effort to conceal himself. Shadows clinging to his form, hugging onto the angles and curves of his dark armor, Viggo Grimborn descended on the stragglers.
There was no clemency.
There was no chance of reasoning.
Not slowing in stride, a quick, calculated lean to the left avoided a wildly swung axe, which sank into the earth from the attack velocity. "Oh? Really? Was that all?" Viggo switched his grip with one whirl of his wrist, thrusting his sword back, hearing the clogged gag as his blade plunged into his opponent's spine. "Disappointing." In two fluid motions, Viggo sliced his blade across the soft flesh of the first's neck, and ran his blade through the second, twisting for good measure. With the aid of his boot, he removed his weapon from his enemy's midsection.
Only numb silence reigned as the last opponent fell, spasming briefly before falling still.
The rage radiating from Viggo was so hot, the freezing night air burned against his skin. He slowly knelt near the unmoving girl. Her pulse fluttered like a dying butterfly at his fingertips.
Heather swept in the darkness for a weapon-any weapon. Her hand closed around the sword hilt of a fallen hunter. "You're supposed to be… dead." Shaking her head to clear the fog. Now wasn't the time for that. He had saved them, so perhaps he would be willing to listen. Regardless, the Rider kept her guard up, prepared to attack if necessary. "She needs help!"
Viggo didn't answer, but the tightening of his jaw and the silence was more definitive than any words he could have used.
She slid across the verdant grass, swallowing with an audible click at the sight of Aquaria's face. Trails of warm, fresh crimson slid down her face, snaking between her closed eyes, which fought to open. Squinting didn't improve her vision, but she recognized the silhouettes.
"Viggo? Y-You… came to rescue me?" Confusion embedded deep into her words, thinly veiling a whispering swell of sentiment, unsure if she was even interpreting the situation accurately. .
"My dear, you should know by now, I'm a businessman—inclined to protect my investments." Her consciousness departed once more and the hunter stood, sweeping his gaze over the immediate area. "Go. Take her. I know that dragon of yours is around here somewhere."
Heather didn't waste any time, knowing not to look a gift-yak in the mouth. Carefully looping an arm around the huntress' waist, she tried to implement as much gentleness as possible at lifting her. This was not how she wanted to sever Aqua's ties with the Hunters. She had intended not to have another exchange with the man, "What about th-?"
"I will handle this disaster. I doubt Krogan will incite much of a fuss over his expendable toy soldiers." His voice was cold. It was true, Heather had spent enough time with him to know Viggo could talk his way out of a noose snugly wound around his neck, unscathed, if need be, with a basket of gold and ripe fruit to show for his troubles.
Not another moment to spare, Heather disappeared with her new charge.
aqua loves getting her ass handed to her. thanks for reading!