Journey: Part V

TUFFNUT

Oh no.

The dragon stable in flames. Hookfang getting chased by a Slitherwing. Nadder spines and scorch marks on the ground. And everywhere, the horrible, overwhelming stench of fish.

I begin to hear faint voices and shouts as I urge Death Ride down with my knees. He's surprisingly responsive. I didn't even need to train him, he already knew everything Belch knows. He's really smart.

Another scream rips the air—this one high-pitched and girly. That could only be Snotlout; even the girl dragon riders sound less girly than that. I angle Death Ride towards the scream.

Snotlout is on the roof of his hut, clinging to a board, still whimpering. There isn't a Slitherwing in sight. Typical.

"Wimp." I mutter as I fly away. He had his eyes shut tight, so he didn't see me.

A dozen meters away, I see Astrid stumble out of HIccup's hut holding…an oar? I can't see very well…oh Loki! That is a giant snake.

"Come on, Death Ride! We've got to help…"

I didn't get any farther than that before Astrid jumped into action. Swirls, parries, swings, jabs, all while avoiding the Slitherwings poisonous body. The dragon was snarling with rage as it tried to grab her, but it never even got close. Astrid leaped and danced beneath its winding coils like she was on a stage—instead of thousands of miles away from her home and fighting for her life against a giant poisonous serpent. I could tell the Slitherwing was getting angrier and angrier, it's whips and jumps getting faster and faster, eyes ablaze with fury (not like Death Ride blaze, more like metaphorical blaze. You get the picture.)

Finally, it got impatient and lunged straight at her, mouth agape, teeth dripping venom. Astrid didn't even flinch. Before it could stop, she set her feet and drove the oar straight into its jaws. She pivoted with perfect timing in an overhead stroke, hurling the Slitherwing a hundred meters with all the force of its blind charge. It landed with a thundering CRRASSHH on the hard rock. It shakily started to rise again, but it was met with Astrid's death glare and still-smoking oar. It closed its eyes and stayed down. Smart dragon.

Without me realizing it, Death Ride had moved closer, so I could make out everything.

Astrid suddenly turned around and jumped a full meter in the air with a stifled scream. Hmmm. That one was more girly than normal.

"By the Gods, Tuffnut, don't do that! And get that pyromaniac excuse for a dragon away from me!"

"Does 'pyromaniac' mean 'awesome?'"

"TUFFNUT!"

A fourth scream interrupts her in what was obviously going to be a stern lecture and probably an angry punch at the end.

That was Ruffnut again! I'd forgotten about her! "Astrid, we have to help her! Come on!"

"NO WAY! You think I'm gonna get up on that thing who almost killed me?! With only you keeping it under control?! I don't think so…"

Really, Astrid? Even you aren't going to stop me from helping my sis.

It's like Death Ride is reading my mind. With a perfect motion, his tail comes up behind the still-talking Astrid and wraps around her lifting her up, and he starts spiraling away towards the Sick Bay. I whooped in triumph.

Astrid, who had screeched in alarm as the tail had wrapped around her, now found her voice again as she was thrown around in a circle as the Whispering Death flew in its unique, spiraling, screaming-fast way.

I winced as I heard some of her (**ahem**) interesting word choices.

'Great job Tuff,' I think to myself. 'you've maybe saved your sister, but who's gonna save you?'

Wait. Why are the Slitherwings running away?

RUFFNUT

By. The. Gods. Why. Won't. He. Wake. UP!

Fishlegs is dying, I can feel it. And there isn't a thing I can do about it.

It's profoundly irritating. No. It's more than that. It's…heartbreaking.

It's not that I like him or anything! That would be crazy. It's just…

Okay, yeah. I like him. But only a little.

I've been sitting here for weeks, I don't know how many. I try to get up, to ride my dragon, to forget about him, but I just can't. Nothing seems the same without his exasperatingly cute self blabbering on and on while everyone pretends to listen.

And anyway, if it stops Snotlout from flirting, heck I'll do it all day.

I put my hand on his chest for what seems like the hundredth time.

But this time…nothing. No familiar beat of his heart. No movement under my hand. Oh Thor…

He's gone… I can't believe it…

I beat at his chest with my hands, tears streaming down my face without me even noticing. He can't be gone. He can't…

He doesn't move, no matter how hard I hit. My tears turn to a scowl, then back to tears as I realize he isn't coming back. He's gone.

I can feel a smoldering rage inside me growing. How dare he? How dare he die right when Hiccup said it was all right? It's not fair!

I turn around, propelled by my grief, and I punch him one last time, as hard as I can, right in the stomach. That felt good, but bad at the same time. I turn around again, but something tells me to turn back…

Wait a sec… what was that?

He moved! His eyelids flickered! Right when I punched him!

"Come on, come on…" I mutter without realizing it, voicing my thoughts as I peer anxiously at his prone figure.

There it was again! His eyes flickered, definitely!

I start towards him, ready to punch him to life again (which really sounds like fun...)

But before I can move, something wraps around my legs, and pulls me to the ground.