A/N: Sorry for the wait. Marching band ended a while ago, so hopefully I'll be able to get on the computer a lot more. I was also waiting for more reviews, I didn't get a lot last time : (
Just like I said, if I get a lot of reviews, I'll make more of an effort to get on~!
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The first time they went riding after everything that happened was the moment that Toothless was dreading ever since he first wondered about it. They couldn't go for a while, Hiccup was 'grounded' you could say, until his wounds healed fully. With the way that people watched him and the Night Fury zoom across the sky, it was no wonder that rule was made. They did more jumps and dares than all the other Vikings on the island combined together. Add that to the amount of injuries they both had, and they would crash into a crag of rock before you could count to ten. Which most of the village could, save a few like Snotlout.
It wasn't like Toothless even wanted to go flying. For the first few weeks back at the island, Toothless moped. He moped in the house, he moped outside the house, he even made the effort to mope back at the cove. Just as long as he could be alone wherever he was, he would mope. He felt like he didn't deserve to be back, and when he had to watch Hiccup make his daily trip to the Elder's home, he was in an even worse state. No words could explain the guilt that weighed over his conscience, and it didn't seem like anything could help him shrug it off his shoulders.
And being alone gave him time to think. Not thinking about it was bad, he felt like he was forgetting the biggest mistake he'd ever made. Remembering it didn't help much either, but it wasn't like he was able to do anything else. Everybody seemed to forgive him except for the higher-up people in the Village. Stoick didn't even forgive him for what he did, the thought always made him cringe. It wasn't like he blamed the man, he had every right to be mad, but people like Astrid and Snotlout were forgiving the moment he returned to Hiccup. Though Astrid was a little more reluctant with her forgiveness. None of them were as quick to forgive as Hiccup was, though.
As soon as Hiccup saw Toothless, he seemed to snap right back to the way he had been before everything happened. Despite the scrapes and bruises lining his face, despite the limp that his good leg had acquired, he rushed forward in a run to wrap his arms around Toothless. So it was no wonder that the first day he was granted the option, he made a point to go around the whole village to find Toothless and announce that they were going flying. Toothless was laying down, having melted a large circle in the snow so he could lay down, after the water evaporated, of course. His eyes were closed, he was just about to fall asleep, when Hiccup fumbled down into the cove.
"Hey, Bud!" The teen let out the familiar greeting, making his way over to where Toothless was curled up. The Night Fury stiffened at the sound of his voice, just like he always did even before whole mess started. Hiccup was always something to worry over, after all. He raised his head, watching with careful eyes as the human made his way around the shallow pond, which had been frozen over by now. The ice always made Hiccup's fake leg ever harder to maneuver, but that seemed to be the least of the boy's worries. In what seemed like no time at all, he came to a stop in front of the dragon, face flushed with excitement. "We can go riding now, isn't that great!? I've missed riding with you!"
Toothless's ears perked, slowly pushing himself up to his feet. He tilted his head to the side, unsure of what to do. He remembered the last time they flew together, and he had to fight back a grimace. Hiccup blinked rapidly, seeming to know what he was thinking as his smile faded. He narrowed his eyes slightly, opening his mouth. He looked like he wanted to lecture, and Toothless braced himself for the oncoming spiel about how Toothless shouldn't blame himself for this. He'd gotten the speech at least four times already. Twice in one night, that was a record that looked like it would be broken soon. But then Hiccup snapped his mouth shut, closing his eyes momentarily before shaking his head slightly.
"C'mon, let's go!" He said, pushing aside whatever he was about to say. Toothless blinked, hesitating a moment before shaking himself mentally. He was being ridiculous. Picking himself up off from the ground, the Night Fury flattened himself down close, waiting for Hiccup to climb onto his back. The icy snow burned his stomach where he pushed it against the ground, but he tried to ignore it as best he could, the cold usually didn't bother him that much, he could stand it.
Hiccup reached up as high as he could, wrapping his hands tightly around the saddle that was strapped tightly onto the dragon's back. Hoisting himself up, he situated himself for a moment, fumbling slightly in his movements. They hadn't done this in a long time, Toothless wasn't about to condemn the boy for being a little slow with the process. It wasn't until they were just about to take off did both of them remember a very crucial bit of information. Hiccup swung his leg forward, to where it was always supposed to lock into the device that controlled Toothless's tailfin. He still made that mistake today, too, Toothless realized. It had been so natural for the both of them.
"Wha-" Hiccup twisted around to look back at the tailfin, eyes widening for a moment in surprise at the black and gold device. Toothless looked up a little nervously, waiting for the boy's response with an anxious shuffle. Realization seemed to smack into the boy, and he straightened, face reddening somewhat. "Oh, right." He said, reaching up and scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I almost forgot that you had that new tail, bud." He mumbled, obviously a little put-out. Toothless remembered the last time he had that tail, remembering the way he had assured Hiccup that we wouldn't go anywhere without him by smashing it. But he refused to do the same thing to this one.
Without waiting for Hiccup like he normally would have, Toothless shot into the air.
Toothless pushed himself harder and harder, wings pumping a mile a minute as he shot after Nightflight in a vain attempt to catch up to her. "HICCUP!" He yowled, trying to see through the smoke that clotted the air around him. But even he couldn't see, the burning village behind him was giving off enough smoke to blind the entire world. It was just black, and nothing more. No Hiccup, and no Nightflight. Skidding to a stop in midair, Toothless did a full circle, eyes madly flashing back and forth for a sight of his human. His breaths came in rapid gasps, and he couldn't control it. Feeling frustration build up inside him, he flung his head back, shooting a beam of white-hot fire up into the sky. He waited a moment, watching it spiral upwards anxiously.
It exploded somewhere high above him, purple sparks raining down to shower him in small pinpricks of flame. Still, nothing happened, nothing helped the smoke around him. If anything, it made it all worse. Lowering his head close to his chest, Toothless let out a low growl, frustration tearing at his throat like claws. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry." He grumbled, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, as if to block out whatever was happening around him. He cracked them open slightly, only to see the small gleam of his tailfin strapped onto the end of his tail.
The only reason he kept this tailfin was for a situation exactly like the one right now. If Hiccup was in danger, Toothless would be grounded, unable to shoot after and rescue him like a dragon is supposed to do. But it seemed that even with the stupid thing on his tail, he still couldn't save Hiccup, no matter how hard he tried. The thought made his heart jerk, and Toothless knew that he had to keep going. Even if he would be on a wild goose chase, he couldn't give up this easily. He was Hiccup's dragon. Without Hiccup, there just wouldn't be any point in anything.
Hiccup might not know it. They might have been on bad terms before…but Toothless would never be able to live without Hiccup. And he had to make sure that he caught up to Hiccup to make sure the boy knew it. So that he would know that no matter what happened, Toothless would be right by his side, just like it always had been before everything spiraled out of control. Toothless might not have been able to stop Nightflight and her Night Furies all at once, but he could stop this.
Determination settling in his green orbs, Toothless spun around quickly, pausing a moment to cast a glance back at the island, smaller now that he had flown so far away from it. "…Be safe, Mistyeyes." He murmured, suddenly unsure on how she and the rest of the village would be able to hold off everything until he got back. But he shook himself, he was only one dragon, he wouldn't make a difference. And Hiccup needed him, if he had to sacrifice a million humans for Hiccup's sake, he would do it without a passing glance. Gathering himself for one more moment, he started flying forward once more, dashing the way he thought that Nightflight had gone, leaving the island and Mistyeyes behind.
And he didn't look back.
It's funny how when you're totally freaking out and flailing around and yelling, how everything can go so much slower. And it was like you were watching from outside your body. So in short, you were watching yourself flipping out in slow motion. Usually you wonder what's going on, but all Hiccup could think of was: "Why am I such an idiot?" He had gone into the forest by himself during a dragon attack, something he should have learned NOT to do when he was like…five. From experience, mind you. And yet here he was, in this huge situation that he could barely comprehend. He was in such a panic, he couldn't even stop long enough to feel pain that was probably just waiting to slam into him any minute, the claws buried deep into his skin that were probably going to rip him to shreds in point five seconds.
Ludi was either in shock or too frightened to move. Either way, she was clinging to Hiccup, the only thing she could seem to do right now. She was locked, stiff, not looking as she buried her head into her owner, frightened out of her fur. Hiccup fought to keep hold of her, though, Nightflight was staggering through the air, unable to see out of her ruined eyes from what Ludi had done to them. The was twirling and bouncing through the air, making it all the more worse considering how fast she was going. Hiccup hadn't met more than two Night Furies, at least…personally. So he didn't know what their average wing power was, but Nightflight was MUCH faster than Toothless. Hiccup lost sight of the village a long time ago.
Floundering through the air, Nightflight was losing height, Hiccup could tell that pretty soon, they were going to smack right into the ocean. And with his now-bad arm and Ludi clinging to him, he wouldn't make it back to the island. Not by a long shot. The thought of his body being found by passing ships made his heart threaten to stop beating. The thought of him being returned to his father made his breath skip away from him. He closed his eyes tightly, grinding his teeth together as words rained down on him. What the Villagers would say about it. "Figures." "We should have locked him inside like we always did." "The screw-up screwed up again." "I guess he didn't change after all."
"The screw-up screwed up again."
Hiccup's eyes snapped open, fire burning in the depths of their green hue. He looked down, spotting an island that was coming closer. Nightflight was slowly spinning out of control, the island was just a haze of green that was spinning underneath them. Turning painfully, Hiccup gasped sharply as he felt his skin start to tear. He would fall in a matter of moments. The sea was getting closer. The island wasn't close enough, he wasn't going to land where he wanted. He had to do it anyway. Looking down at Ludi, Hiccup swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes burning already as bit by bit, the pain started to leak into his system. "I'm sorry." He said, the cat perking at the sound of his voice.
She looked up, obviously confused, but she didn't have any time before she let out a loud yowl of shock. Hiccup reached up to the claws that were slowly coming loose from his skin. Closing his eyes tightly and clamping his teeth together, Hiccup pushed upwards as fast and as hard as he could. He tore himself off of Nightflight, the sudden weight change making the dragon falter a moment, tumbling forward and smashing into the sea with a slam. Hiccup shot down to the water, blood already gushing freely from the wound on his shoulder. He screamed right before he hit the water, Ludi struggling, trying to get out of his grip. Going under the water, Hiccup jerked, back arching as the shock of the cold water jolted up his spine.
The water around him immediately dyed a dark red color, Hiccup couldn't even move his arm without pain shooting up the mangled limb. Which way was up!? Which was down!? Flailing for a moment, Hiccup felt Ludi start to struggle once more, running out of air just like the boy was. Finding use in his good leg, he kicked upwards, seeming to repeat the kick for hours before he finally burst out of the water, gasping for air. Ludi floundered in the water, smacking the surface with her paws and spraying water up in all directions.
Gasping, Hiccup looked over quickly to a loud splashing sound, legs churning in the water as he saw Nightflight. The dragon looked like she didn't even know which way to go, she didn't even look like she knew where she was, much less what was going on. She yowled and roared with anger, which was muffled by the water she was swallowing in her attempts to stay afloat. She was causing so much water to spray upwards, Hiccup was even getting splashed with it, even though he was a ways away from her. This was the first time he actually got a look at her eyes, and he had to swallow back the lump in his throat when he did.
They were swollen, blood still seeping out of the wounds and tingeing the water a light pink. It looked to painful to even look at, and Hiccup had to look away. She couldn't even open them anymore, that much was for certain. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had such an erratic flight. Whether or not it was permanent, that was to be decided later. Or Hiccup would never have the chance to find out, which was what he would have rather taken. Looking down at Ludi, who was wrapping herself tightly around Hiccup, shivering and shaking with wide eyes. She looked pathetic, but Hiccup was sure that he looked the same, if not even worse, considering how much his shoulder hurt.
Feeling slightly dizzy, Hiccup swallowed back the sick feeling that was rising in the back of his throat, heaving for air that stung his throat. Holding on tightly to Ludi, Hiccup started to kick forward, fumbling in the water as he made for the island. It wasn't far away, but it was a long swim to somebody with a wounded shoulder that couldn't move and a cat in tow. You factor in the dragon that they were trying to get away from, and this seemed like a lost cause. But Nightflight hadn't noticed them yet, and hopefully it would stay like that. Ludi buried her head into Hiccup's good shoulder, her fur in wet spikes that stuck out in all directions. Ludi hated getting wet, that much was certain. But there wasn't much good Hiccup could do for her right now.
"I have to get to the island. I have to keep Ludi safe." Hiccup thought, repeating the words as he paddled for the shore determinately. That was twice that Ludi risked her own life to save his, something that Hiccup would have never thought possible. If he didn't do the same and try to keep her alive just as much as himself, he would never be able to look at himself again. When he first got Ludi, he thought she was a ball of fluff that would lay around the house and do absolutely nothing, just like Ruffnut's cat had done so long ago. The same one that ended up mauling her face. But Ludi turned out to be so much different, and Hiccup wasn't about to let her die.
After what seemed like a decade or two, Hiccup finally reached land, crawling out of the water and collapsing on the pebbly shore. Collapsing, Hiccup gasped for breath, unable to get enough into his lungs, it seemed. He rasped and wheezed, until he could finally get his head to stop spinning. Propping himself up slowly, Hiccup looked over to where Ludi was, the cat curled up in a small, shivering ball. She was trying to lick herself clean rapidly, but she seemed to be losing the battle, finally just giving up and going slack against the ground. He reached over to pick her up, when he flinched from the sudden pain of moving his shoulder. The wound was numbed from the cold of the water, but the pain was returning once more.
Forcing himself to turn and look at it, Hiccup grimaced, immediately looking away. He couldn't even see the wound, there was too much gore in the way of it. Reaching up, he moved his shirt so that cloth was wrapped tightly around it, biting down on his good arm as he did so to keep from screaming. But pretty soon, he had made sure the cloth would stay tightly around it. Hopefully that would keep the wound okay for now until he could sort something out. But right now, they had to get deeper into the island. Reaching over, he picked Ludi up with his good arm, grimacing and growling under his breath as he pushed himself up to his shaky feet.
He was about to turn to dive into the woods that concealed the center of the island, when he froze, closing his eyes slowly. He turned, a little hesitantly, and stood there for a moment, watching as Nightflight struggled in the water. She was growing weaker, sinking deeper and deeper underwater when she stopped paddling. She gasped and choked, trying to call out but always swallowing back water when she tried. Before he could stop himself, Hiccup put Ludi down in a rush, running out to the edge of the water and cupping his hand over his mouth. "This way!" He called, immediately cursing himself mentally over and over. Nightflight stilled slightly at this, as if unsure of what to do. "It's this way! There's land over here! Follow the sound of my voice!"
Nightflight turned, looking straight at him, as if she could see him. Slowly, she started to paddle over to him, like a confused dog would do when not sure about something. Hiccup started to back away slowly, nodding to himself, as if satisfied. "That's good, keep coming this way!" He said, turning around and picking Ludi back up again. If he could understand HER, she would probably be ranting at him right now. The small cat was looking at him like he was an idiot. Like he had just done something that would melt the entire world on purpose.
But before she could do anything, Hiccup dove into the cover of the trees, forcing his tired legs into motion as he rushed through the foliage.
He had to find a way off of here before he could get them into even more trouble.
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A/N: Sorry if the chapter is kinda short, but I really liked this one for some reason.
One of my readers is creating fan art for my story on DA, and I'm soooo excited for it! :D I've always wanted fanart for one of my fanfictions, I just could never get any! But if you wanna check that out, I'll keep you posted! ;D So excited…
Anyway, I hope you liked, and I hope that you'll review! :P