Hiccup sat up, holding his head in his hands. Well, it didn't feel as bad as before. At least it didn't feel as numb and hazy, and he felt he could think clearer. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and braced himself against a nearby wall. He looked out the mouth of the cave, where rain dumped down in buckets. The dull roar of it must've woken him up. He yawned, stretching carefully. His muscles ached, and his shoulder especially.
Eventually his eyes went down to his badly damaged foot. The rock had crushed it. Or really badly sprained it. He frowned and laid his leg out flat, the other one tucked up by his chest to keep some heat in. It was chilly, and the occasional cold breeze from outside didn't help. At least it was better than hiding under a tree.
Hiccup blinked. Wait. How did he get in a cave? He doesn't remember finding it...or journeying to find one. He was aiming to hobble back to his campsite when he had...
He had passed out again. But how did he end up in a freakin cave? Perhaps he sleepwalked? Is that even possible? As he wracked his brain for answers, a dark shape bounded up towards the mouth of the cave, sliding in and shaking off. Hiccup sputtered and held his arms up to protect from the spray.
Ah. So the crazy weirdo dragon wasn't part of some pain induced hallucination. It was real, and it had dragged him into this cave. And judging by the little pebble shaped scales scattered around, it was the dragons own cave. Does that count as abduction? Has he been kidnapped by a flying lizard?
Then, the rest of the trauma-induced fogginess dissipated from his head. Oh. Oh no. He was in the den of a dragon, injured, and completely at its mercy. He tensed, then started to scramble backwards to the entrance. The dragon didn't notice, so he kept slowly moving. His heart was in his throat, and his breathes quick with fear. How had he been so lenient before? He must've hit his head really, really hard. It still ached, as if a reminder. His back was suddenly pelted with cold rain, and he gasped at the cold. The black dragon turned then.
It made a surprised noise, then padded after the frightened human. He tutted like an annoyed mother, reaching forward with a clawed paw to drag the Viking back into his cave.
"No!" The human yelled. It seemed to like that word. It started babbling quickly, his eyes wide with clear fear. He held his hands out, as if his noodley arms had any chance at stopping the large beast. The Night Fury grabbed the humans un-injured foot in his jaws, and gently dragged the human away from the cold rain. The human had his arms around his face now, his chest rising up and down quickly and mumbling words rapidly.
The Night Fury puffed out an annoyed breath. When this frightened the teen even more, he decided on staying completely still. Surely, after awhile, the human lowered his arms, and gazed at the Night Fury wearily.
Why was the dragon being so hospitable? The Night Fury has been alone for a long time. He has never met another one of his species, and doesn't get along with other dragons. Night Furies are mostly feared for their deadly aim and little mercy, so dragons of other species tended to leave them alone. This particular Night Fury couldn't help but feel a little...sad. He was playful and quite childish, not to mention brimming with curiosity.
He has never seen a Viking up close before. This human in his den didn't seem like a Viking, though. It was small, squeaky, and does not scream or hurl sharp things at him. Are there different species of human, like dragons? Is this one just a different type? He decided he liked this version of human better.
Plus, it was injured and scared. Like a helpless hatchling. The little guy would have died out there, trapped under a rock.
The Night Fury leaned forward a little, crooning. He hoped he sounded non-threatening to the humans ears. The human still watched him, eyes still flicking around as if looking for an escape. So, the dragon laid down, making himself seem less threatening. It seemed to work, after a few minute the humans heart stopped thumping so loud.
"What do you want from me?" The human asked. He had that annoyed tone in his voice, rather than scared. That was better.
Hiccup frowned as the dragon just crooned again, and stepped forward to nudge him. "No." Hiccup said. The dragon seemed to understand that one word, thankfully. It stopped. "Why'd you abduct me?" Hiccup questioned.
This dragon acted eerily human. It seemed very intelligent, and could sense Hiccups moods. He was sure it had figured out 'no' means stop. It learned quicker than a yak or horse, it seemed. That still didn't explain why the dragon had basically...saved him? It was a weird thing to say, but it wasn't wrong. It had freed his leg from the rock, and didn't just leave him to rot. It had taken him to the cave, all limbs intact.
The dragon looked impatient and drew nearer. "For the last time, no! No, no, no! Stay away from me you weird dragon!" Hiccup snapped. In retrospect, it probably was a bad idea to yell at a dragon. Or show it any kind of disrespectful attitude, really. To Hiccups surprise, the dragon drew away, looking a little like a kicked puppy. It tromped over to near the entrance, then curled up and laid down.
Well.
That worked better than he expected.
Not for long though.
Hiccup had leaned against the cave wall, shutting his eyes. Despite being passed out for much of the day, he still felt exhausted. And hungry. The pain wasn't as bad as before, mostly because he had gotten used to the constant aching for now. He sighed and slumped against the smooth stone, rubbing his temples.
His eyes popped open when he felt a small nudge on his healthier leg. The dragon stared back at him, then went back to investigating the injured foot. "No. Go to your side of the cave, and stop bothering me!" Hiccup ordered, pointing to the other wall. The dragons ear flaps flattened against its skull, and it slowly backed up to the other side of the small cave. "Now stay, and don't eat me or whatever." Hiccup frowned. He still wasn't sure what the dragon wanted from him.
After a minute or two of two way glaring, Hiccup closed his eyes again. His eyelids felt heavy like lead. He even yawned, but didn't stretch. It hurt just a bit to much. Just as he felt himself slipping into sleep, he was suddenly yanked forward. Startled, he locked his gaze onto the culprit. The dragon had his mouth wide open, right over his injured foot.
He yanked it away, ignoring the flare of pain at the sudden movement. The dragon looked surprised, and slowly closed its mouth.
"What the heck?!" Hiccup gasped, his voice cracking. Fear settled in his gut once again. So it was going to eat him! It was just waiting until he couldn't defend himself! Deciding his stay in the cave was over, he started to awkwardly limp towards the entrance. Of course the large dragon agilely moved itself in front of him, blocking the only exit. It was making gurgling and crooning noises, ear flaps going up and down.
"No! Move!" Hiccup yelped, knowing bossing around a dragon who wanted to eat you would never work. The dragon stomped one of its feet and flared its wings in protest. With those large, bat like wings, it attempted to herd Hiccup back into the cave. The boy struggled the entire time, pushing against the membrane of the wing or the dragons chest.
Hiccup ducked under one wing then stumbled out the cave into the rain, slipping on a slick rock. He promptly landed on his butt. Which hurt. But he got up again, determined not to get eaten. Just when he thought the dragon would just leave him be, it appeared in front of him again. It snorted, blinking rainwater out of its eyes.
Hiccup paused mid-step, glaring at the dragon. His shin burned, and he couldn't feel anything beneath it. It was probably numb from the cold. He was soaking wet by now, his bangs hanging over his eyes and clothes clinging to his skinny frame. He must look pathetic. He sure did feel like it...this dragon was just toying with him. He couldn't die an honourable death, in combat or something. Noo, he had to be played with and tricked. By some random lizard.
Hugging himself, he felt tears wet his eyes. Luckily the dragon probably couldn't see them in the rain. Everyone was right. He was useless. Why did he even go on this trip? Why does he even try? It was his last chance to prove himself just a little, and he messed it up. The village would surely celebrate. The village menace would be gone. No more fires, crazy inventions, or embarrassment.
He found himself sniffling, and trembling violently. A mix of tears and rain made his vision blurry. He felt like he was falling apart finally. Nothing like impending doom to set off a long suppressed breakdown!
Suddenly he felt warm scales pressing into his chest. A soothing sound rumbled from the beast. Not finding the will to fight the creature anymore, Hiccup silently leaned more weight on the broad dragons head. His body twitched with quiet sobs, and shivers from the cold. He hurt. Physically, and emotionally. He was so tired. Hiccup knew he couldn't keep on like he had. Dark thoughts had started resonating in his head more often...and a crushing feeling of loneliness had set in.
The dragon nudged him back towards the cave. It lifted a wing, sheltering the Viking from the downpour. Hiccup walked with the dragon, leaning on its side heavily. He winced with every step, sniffling here and there. The two made it to the cave, where the dragon laid down. Hiccup hesitantly sat down, after the dragon had gestured to the place beside it. He leaned against its side, appreciating the warmth from the creature. It cooed at him, as Hiccup wiped away salty tears on his damp cheeks.
They met eyes, and this time it wasn't glaring. Hiccup saw...concern, of some type. The dragon saw sadness in Hiccups forest green eyes, now glassy with tears.
It was only a few moments before Hiccup drifted off to sleep, less fitful than any slumber before. His exhaustion finally took over, and he found it easy to slip into a deep sleep.
In the morning (or what he presumed to be morning), he opened his eyes to darkness. Puzzled, he reached out his hand. It met smooth, dark scales. He quickly drew his hand back. Curiosity made him push on the dragon more, though (also he had to the bathroom pretty bad). A rumbling noise from the beast was heard, and it's wing was lifted. It had been curled around him? Weird dragon. After freeing him, the teen sat up slowly. Most of the pain in his shoulder and back had dissipated. That's good. But he still couldn't feel his left foot.
A puff of fishy, hot air caught his attention and pulled him from his musings. He turned and paid attention to the sleek dragon. It gently nudged him back against itself, then draped its wing over him again.
"No, I have to get up!" Hiccup protested, voice muffled by the wing. He flicked it, in what he hoped was annoying. Soon the limb twitched and rose again, revealing two green eyes blinking at Hiccup, annoyance clear. Hiccup clumsily got to his feet, leaning on the dragons shoulder for support. His left leg has apparently decided not to work today, wonderful. He hobbled to the exit, noticing the dragon following him, looking tired.
"I'm going to the bathroom, don't follow me you weirdo," Hiccup explained "I'm not leaving this time." The dragon grunted, then sat down at the entrance. Hiccup shrugged then went to do his business. When he returned, the dragons ears perked and it cooed. It padded forward, to walk beside him. To assist him? That was decent of it. "Thanks, I guess." Hiccup muttered. The dragon led him to a large flat rock by the entrance. Ah, the one he slipped on last night. Speaking of that...
"Sorry you had to deal with that." Hiccup sighed, rubbing his arms awkwardly. "Like, what happened last night. Oh, and thanks for not eating me I guess. You're not too bad for a dragon..." Hiccup admitted, sheepishly. The dragon looked at him strangely, then 'chuffed' and nudged its head under one of his arms. Carefully, Hiccup pet the obsidian scales under his calloused fingertips. The dragon rumbled in what seemed like a purr.
It was quite warm outside, with a hot sun and crisp breeze. For once there were no rain clouds in the distance or overhead, just the robins egg blue sky. The Night Fury's cave was located some ways from the shore, a little ways up the mountain. Tall pine trees clung to the side of the mountain, and their needles blanketed the ground. It was quite nice up here, Hiccup noted. For once he felt a little safe, and even cared about. The dragon had its tail curled around him, and was purring like some giant, scaled cat. Maybe it was a larger-than-average Terrible Terror. But it's apparent great intelligence shot down that theory.
A weird dragon, it was. But it had also shown more kindness than he's ever received from any Viking (in its own way).
"There was a-a lot of blood on those rocks, Astrid. He might b-be-" before Fishlegs could finish, he was cut off with a sharp thud of Astrid's ax into a tree. She pulled it from the hard oak effortlessly, breathing sharp.
"We can't just give up! Hiccup is our future chief! We have to get him back," Astrid bit out, her icy blue eyes sweeping over everyone in the camp. They looked back with a mixture of worry and fear. "W-we need to at least bring a body back or whatever!" She said, more sullenly. The rest went pale faced at the thought.
"We don't have nearly enough time to search the entire island! We only have a week." Ruffnut protested weakly. She didn't want to give up on Hiccup, but if he had been carried away by a dragon, he could literally be anywhere. Astrid knew this too, but she held onto her hope and stubbornness more firmly.
"Let's try, at least..." Astrid sighed, slumping against a tree, with her arms crossed. "We'll do a few more sweeps of the island."
No one argued, just nodded tiredly. Most were gathered around the fire, as it was dusk and getting chilly. The forest was eerily quiet. They had found Hiccups small campsite this morning. The shelter he made was quite impressive, and hadn't leaked at all during the nightly downpours. They gathered his backpack and sleeping bag for safe keeping, as well as followed in his example and set their own shelters under large pine tree boughs. It worked like a charm, and there was no more waking up soaking wet. Snotlout had mentioned that Hiccup and his father used to camp a lot, and so he probably knew a lot about this kind of stuff. Apparently it was a weird Haddock family thing, as Snotlouts dad did the same with him.
'He can't be dead...' Astrid thought firmly, expression cold. 'Please be ok..."
A/n
Hello hello! Touchy-feely chapter, sorry! Poor Hiccup. Don't worry, he'll be back to his sarcastic/sardonic self soon! And also, Toothless will get his name next chapter. I'm tired of typing 'the dragon' lol. Ooo, also, thank you so much for all the follows and favourites! It's so nice to know people like reading my stuff :3
Hope you have a wonderful day! 3
