A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy with my new dog! You know how life is, it catches up to us a lot at the most random moments! I think this time is the most hectic, so bear with me, and please understand (and not get…aggressive about it like SOME people are) that I might only get out a few updates a week probably. I'm busy potty-training my dog so I wont have to pick up after her ^^
In case you all didn't get the link to the song that I posted a few chapters back, this is part of the song that really fits for this chapter:
You cried: WOLF
The tears they soaked your fur
The blood dripped from your fangs
You said: "What have I done?"
You loved that lamb
With every sinful bone
And there you wept alone
Your heart was so contrite…
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
The cave was silent. Quiet. Dark. Astrid could not see an inch in front of her nose without Stormfly's glowing eyes lighting the way. Dragons' footsteps seemed to be amplified in the darkness as Astrid wove through the twisted caverns of the cave. Stormfly seemed tense and alert as the dragon paced along confidently. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, and Astrid could only sit back silently and look as though she was the same. She was still at the lead, of course.
The people behind her seemed a little uneasy in the caverns, and Astrid could feel sympathy for each and every one of them. It seemed like the cave walls were pressing in one her, cutting off her oxygen and squeezing her tightly. It was all she could do to not leap forward and run back into the open air outside. But she held herself tightly, gritting her teeth as she reached forward to prod Stormfly restlessly.
But as soon as she did that, a loud noise ripped through the air, shattering her eardrums as she flinched backward automatically. Stormfly and the other dragons looked just as surprised, eyes widened as hackles rose. It was a dragon's screech, sounding somewhat like a warning cry for help. Narrowing her eyes, Astrid just barely spotted a black shape of what looked like a Night Fury dashing into a tunnel that lied before them.
Tightening her grip on Stormfly, Astrid surprised herself even as she opened her mouth and let out an angered yell that crashed into the cave walls and bounced back to her full-force. Stormfly lurched forward, feet pounding on the cave floor as they raced forward. The other Vikings behind her took up the yell, running forward so that they could keep up with her.
The tunnel sloped downwards, and before Astrid knew it, they came into a large clearing in the cave, walls branching outwards to make a very large space. There was a small hole in the ceiling, letting in light to the large area, and Astrid stiffened as she saw the sight.
There were Night Furies lining in the tunnel, some streaming in from the passages from behind the first few. More and more were trying to fill the cave, and Astrid realized with a sinking heart that they would not get out of here without a fight. But one Night Fury caught her eye, and when her eyes landed on the dragon's tail, a hand flew up to clamp over her mouth.
As she saw the fake tailfin that looking hauntingly familiar, Astrid wondered if this was a joke or not. But the dragon looked up at her, and she saw the same green eyes that she remembered from long ago it seemed. It was Toothless! So that meant that Hiccup was right, that he wasn't crazy! He really made it to where Toothless was! A slow smile went over her face, but it froze halfway through as she saw that Toothless's claws were matted with red…blood? "…What…?" Astrid breathed, a crease coming in her forehead.
The girl jumped as a startled scream made her snap back to reality. She looked over to see Jen, the girl's eyes were wide with horror. Astrid opened her mouth to ask, but was cut off as Jen jabbed a finger straight forward, staring to shake by now. "Jen…what is it?" Astrid turned to follow the girl's direction, and immediately snapped her mouth shut as she saw what had frightened the girl so much.
But she had no time at all to do anything before the Night Furies leaped forward from the edges of the cave. Their teeth were bared, and their long claws unsheathed as they charged at the Vikings with full-force. Astrid let out a startled yell, catching her off-balance. Stormfly leaped forward, and Astrid fell off of her dragon, slamming into the ground with a heavy thud.
Stormfly didn't seem to notice her human's sudden disappearance. The Nadder leaped at a random Night Fury, tackling him over to the ground and latching her teeth on his throat. The other dragons followed suit, the Vikings riding them pulling out their weapons quickly in an aid to help their dragons. Frazzle had backed against the wall, tail tucked in between his legs. Jen was squashed against the wall in a rather awkward-looking position, one eye closed as she tried to squirm out from the dragon. But to no avail.
Astrid pushed herself up with a grunt, blinking rapidly as she looked at the mess to writhing dragons in front of her. They were locked in combat, and Astrid's eyes widened as she realized that she needed to find a way through them. Over the heads of the squalling beasts, Astrid straightened as she saw Toothless. The Night Fury was sitting amid the mess and destruction, green eyes wide as he looked down at the cave floor.
She immediately narrowed her eyes, anger boiling in her veins as she leapt off of the floor, charging straight into the mess of fighting bodies. There was doubt clinging in her mind, and she somehow doubted that what she had seen had been fake. Surely it was just a trick of the light? Her imagination? It had to be something, for it could never be true, not in a million years. It just couldn't happen.
She got scratched and clawed as she made her way through the fighting. The pain went unnoticed to her though, she could only push herself faster as she neared the center of the cave. As she neared Toothless. The words from before ran over and over inside her head, as if she were trying to imprint it inside of her mind. She found that she was shaking as she neared her destination, and as she stumbled from the fighting mass. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, Astrid looked down at the floor. She turned white almost at once, all color draining from her face as she staggered slightly.
It couldn't be. It made no sense! It wasn't possible! But…it was there. Amid the mess of fighting and yelling dragons, Hiccup lied on the ground, unmoving and limp. His eyes were closed gently, almost like he were asleep. And Astrid might have believed he was. If it wasn't for the large puddle of blood that she was standing in. The red liquid was slowly getting bigger, and Astrid let out a small whimper as the foul smell hit her nose.
She went shaky, she couldn't remember which way was up or down, whether or not she could move one foot in front of the other anymore. That must have slipped her mind too. She swallowed a lump in her throat with difficulty, opening her mouth with a small yell of anguish. That was all it took, and she dropped to her knees beside Hiccup, her knees landing in the dark red blood with a small splashing sound.
Breath coming in rapid gasps, Astrid reached forward, taking Hiccup by the shoulders and rolling him around so that he was on his back. She went slightly dizzy at the sight, but pushed away the feeling, shaking herself mentally as she gripped him more tightly. "Hiccup?" She yelled, barley hearing herself over the noise around them. "Hiccup, wake up!"
The boy's eyelids didn't even flicker at her voice. Astrid felt her eyes starting to burn, and she let out a sob as she started to shake Hiccup as hard as she could. "HICCUP!" She started to scream. "HICCUP WAKE UP, YOU CAN DO IT!" Tears streamed down her face, and Astrid's shoulders started to heave up and down as sobs worked their way out of her mouth. She didn't even look back to see if somebody would help her, she was frozen to the spot. "Please don't." She rasped, her voice going hoarse as she looked down at Hiccup's bloodied chest. She felt a strong wave of fear hit her, but some of it ebbed away as the boy's chest rose ever so slightly with a breath. There was hope.
"Okay okay." She rasped quickly, clearing her throat as her eyes roved over Hiccup anxiously. "I'll help you, I will. Just- Just tell me what you need. What I can do to keep you here." The words tumbled out of her mouth uselessly, and her eyes landed on Hiccup's good leg with a twinge of fear. She had to put a hand down on the ground to support herself, but she swallowed the lump in her throat quickly for the second time.
Hiccup's leg was a mess to say the least. It was bleeding heavily, and a long gash that started from his knee all the way down to his ankle had been torn open. She was about to get dizzy again, but she pushed the feeling away instantly, gritting her teeth as she leaned over to grab her wrist. Hands wrapping over the bandages she usually wore around her wrists.
Yanking it off of both hands roughly, she leaned over and started to wrap it around the large injury. "Please be enough," She growled under her breath, narrowing her eyes as she tried to tuck the last of the bit underneath the others to secure it. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. But they had to get out of here.
She leaned back and scooped him back up again. He was lighter than she had thought he was, but she knew that she couldn't even dream of carrying him. His breathing was labored, and Astrid bit her lower lip tightly. "Hiccup, please." She whimpered, leaning over and hugging him as hard as she could. "Hiccup, we're going to get out of here, but you need to stay here." She said quietly, her voice shaking as she spoke. Something skidded to a stop beside her, and Astrid looked up to see Snotlout and Fireworm standing behind her.
Snotlout's eyes were slightly wide, and he opened his mouth to say something to her. But she cut him off short as she spoke. "Go get Stoick!" She said stiffly. "We have to get out of here, now! We don't have time to loose!" A minute passed, and Snotlout didn't even move. At first, Astrid thought that the boy was just locked in place, but then he shifted to the side, and Astrid's heart nearly broke at the sight.
Ludi was perched on Hookfang's back, blinking large amber eyes up at Astrid. She looked slightly dazed with her misty eyes, but she seemed fine. Astrid made a move to go and pick her up, when she realized that she was still holding Hiccup to her chest. Her clothes were nearly soaked with blood, red liquid smeared on her arms and face. Ludi started as she caught sight of Hiccup, opening her mouth in a wail of anguish that could not be heard over the noise of the fighting dragons.
The cat gathered under herself and sprang over to land expertly on Astrid's shoulder with ease. Jumping down from Astrid's shoulder, she landed on Hiccup's chest lightly. Though the cat weighed no more than a feather it seemed, Astrid still winced as the feline landed. Crouching down, Ludi nosed Hiccup's chest softly, eyes widening with a scared sort of feeling as Hiccup did not respond to her.
Leaning over, Ludi's pink tongue flashed out, and she started to lick at the human's wounds with care, shaking anxiously where she sat. Astrid's lower lip quivered, and she felt the warm sensation of tears in her eyes once more. Whipping away from Snotlout so that he would not see, Astrid mumbled out her last words to him rather ungraciously. "Go get Stoick!" She yelled, reached up with a bloody hand and trying her best to wipe away the tears as best she could.
Hesitating for a moment, Snotlout obeyed her command, turning and dashing back in search of the chief. Tears ran freely down Astrid's face by now, and she found that she could not stop them. Bending her head over to press her forehead against Hiccup's she let out her sobs loudly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She pressed Hiccup's limp body to her chest and she didn't care who saw. All she wanted was to see Hiccup open his eyes again.
Shoulders shaking up and down, Astrid waited for Stoick to rush out of the crowd. She had no idea what the Viking chief would do when he saw his son, whether he would be angry, sad, or something else that Astrid didn't even want to consider. There was a fine line between anger and fury, and both of the emotions had different affects that came with the mood.
The thought made her start and look up. Toothless had not moved. He sat a ways away from Astrid, ears flat to his head with big green eyes aimed at her. She could see the sorrow and raw fear that shone in the dragon's eyes, but it didn't do anything for her. Her teeth gnashed together, and her eyes narrowed slowly down into furious slits as she looked at the dragon's bloody claws.
The scene basically played out in her mind. Hiccup, as unsuspecting and innocent as he could be (innocent for a lack of better word), would have been overjoyed to find Toothless here in the cave. But Toothless attacked him. The mental image of Toothless tearing Hiccup apart made Astrid's stomach to lurch over and do summersaults. The blonde looked down at Hiccup's sort-of-bandaged leg to see that the makeshift bandages were almost soaked in the blood by now. It wouldn't last much longer.
Shutting her eyes tightly, the blonde whipped her head back up to glare at Toothless. The Night Fury shrank underneath her gaze, a small, worried mummer coming from him as he did so. But once again, Astrid felt nothing but hate for the dragon by now. "Get away." She snarled. Toothless perked at the words, confusion riddling his eyes. Raising her voice to a yell, Astrid held Hiccup to her so that his back was facing Toothless. Ludi was squished against Astrid and Hiccup, but the cat didn't see to mind. She just buried herself deeper, away from Toothless as her tail came to be in between her legs. "Get out of here! Go away! Can't you see that all you do is cause trouble now! Get out of here! We don't need you to mess more stuff up! I can't believe you did this!"
Toothless blinked largely, eyes wide with fear as he looked at her almost uncomprehendingly. Groaning loudly, Astrid raised her voice even more, face going slightly pink. "GET OUT OF HERE! HICCUP WAS WILLING TO COME ALL THIS WAY AND TRY AND GET YOU TO COME BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO HIM! I WONT BE AS QUICK TO TRUST YOU! GET OUT OF HERE!" Tears left trails on her face, and Astrid gave another withering glare at Toothless before she ducked her head back down to Hiccup's.
Toothless blinked, stiff as he looked down at Astrid with horror. The girl hated him, but the dragon supposed that she had a right. He looked down at Hiccup, shaking as he did so. Hiccup was limp on that ground, having not moving for what seemed like an eternity. Toothless had never known Hiccup to be still for more than five minutes, he was always bouncing around and laughing after the two second mark. But now his face was pale, eyes closed, form still, and breathing slow.
Slowly, Toothless looked down at his claws, matted with blood and cloth. A sick feeling started in his throat, and Toothless tasted bile in the back of his throat. He remembered briefly what had happened, though the images were blurry. Mostly they were of Hiccup, and what he saw made him flinch visibly.
Hiccup's smile faltering slightly as he looked at him. Hiccup messing up in their flight and making him angry. Hiccup looking almost…scared as he edged closer to him, trying to reach out and touch him with his hand. Hiccup, this time accompanied with Astrid as they came down into the cove. Hiccup being slammed backwards to the ground by Nightflight. Hiccup throwing rocks at Nightflight, shouting shaky words at her. Hiccup's scared face as Toothless roared at him. Hiccup strapping the new tailfin on him, and watching sadly as he flew away. Hiccup's slow smile as he caught sight of him in the cave. Hiccup's scared and wild face as Toothless clawed at him. Hiccup yelling for help as he just sat there. The knife. The attack. The blood.
Toothless curled up tighter to himself, shutting his eyes tightly as he whimpered. What had he done? How could he do something so terrible to somebody like Hiccup? Hiccup was special to him, and he had just done something that could very well kill him. From the corner of his eye, Toothless caught sight of Astrid giving him another icy glare. He knew that if he stayed any longer, than he might be the next one close to death.
Spinning around, Toothless leapt back into the crowd of fighting dragons, tail still tucked tightly to him. The dragons locked in combat paid no heed to him, the Vikings doing the same. Toothless saw with a twinge that the Night Furies were loosing. Facing an armed dragon and a Viking with weapons, he was hardly surprised. He tried to find some happiness in his heart that the Vikings were winning, but his heart was hollow, and he felt absolutely nothing as he looked bleakly at the scene.
Something moving to the side made Toothless straighten. Turning around, Toothless's eyes narrowed somewhat as he saw what had made the move. Nightflight was slipping away from the fight with wide eyes, turning and rounding the corner that led down to one of the passages.
A growl rumbling in his throat, Toothless felt a wave of anger crash into him as he watched her go. He remembered how Hiccup had used to look at her sourly whenever he saw her, and now -finally- Toothless could see why. Hiccup was smarter than him, and Toothless wished that he would have stayed with Hiccup knowing that fact.
Flattening his ears to his head and claws sliding out to scrape against the cave floor, Toothless started after Nightflight.
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
A/N: Sorry if this isn't as good as the others, I really had to get this out quick and it took longer than usual. So…I hope you like it anyway and review! ^^
Oh, I wont get an update out tomorrow, I'm going to the Fox and seeing Beauty and the Beast!