A/N: Are you Sane? Where is the Shame?
A moment of time passes by, you cannot rewind.
Who's to blame? And where did it start?
Is there a cure for your sickness? Have you no heart?
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
Toothless and Mistyeyes were curled up on the ground, looking around at the island with twin gazes of relief and thoughtfulness. They were spaced apart respectively, not touching, but not far apart, either. The business on the island was in full swing, now that the Vikings had gotten a few hours of sleep from the fight. They looked strained and tired, eyes rimmed with heavy bags. But they were working anyway, the ones that had been released from the Elder, that is. The group of woman and children had returned a few hours ago, Mistyeyes having gone back to fetch them. They were working the hardest, having not fought in the long battle. Even the kids were helping, fetching things for their parents with determined looks. The island was slowly recovering, the burned shells of the houses already torn down in the short time that they had been working.
But Mistyeyes supposed that they were skilled at this whole thing by now.
A few outer shells of new houses were built by now, the men and women fixing them running out of energy fast. Dragons milled through the crowds of humans, lugging the heavy things and lifting them accordingly. Stoick was surveying the area with a look of pride in his eyes, satisfied at the quick work. Hopefully there would be at least a few houses by the time this day had ended. There was a whole separate work team on the Elder's house, that one was almost built by now. But Mistyeyes guessed that that house was the top priority so far. Right now, the Elder was just treating wounds out in the open. If the Night Furies came back…
Mistyeyes shook her head, growling crossly to herself. That wouldn't happen.
But her expression cleared to slowly be replaced with sadness. She looked over towards where the Elder was going about her business, eyes landing immediately on Stormfly and Astrid. The girl was sitting cross-legged beside her dragon, staring down at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The dragon was sleeping by now, most of her wounds wrapped by the Elder, and a few by Mistyeyes herself. Or at least what she had managed to do without supplies. Toothless followed her gaze, shifting a little uncomfortably at the sight, mumbling underneath his breath. Mistyeyes turned around to look at him, eyes wide. "Is Stormfly going to be alright, then?" She asked, voice soft.
Toothless eyed the Nadder, at her torn wings with gaping holes torn through them. "It depends what you mean by okay." The Night Fury mumbled, ear flicking. "I'm not sure at all whether or not wings heal. She may never fly again."
Mistyeyes flattened her ears, staring down at the ground a moment before giving a small sigh. "Well, at least she'll live." She said softly. "Maybe-" She got cut off, Stoick suddenly speaking up, voice echoing strongly throughout the island. Her ears perked at once, the dragon straightening as she looked up and over at the chief. He looked cross, and maybe more than a little worried. His eyes were narrowed as he looked over the village, the other humans halting in their work as they turned to look at him attentively.
"Had anybody seen Hiccup?" The chief asked, eyes roving the landscape with a sudden hint of urgency. He looked over at Mistyeyes and Toothless, where Hiccup would defiantly be if he were anywhere. But when he saw the way that they were alone, his eyes widened a fraction. Mummers spread through the crowd, people exchanging shocked glances as they mumbled out Hiccup's name through the mass of people. Astrid looked up from her hands for once, glaring over at Mistyeyes and Toothless, as if she thought the dragons were keeping something from her and the rest of the village. Mistyeyes stiffened a moment, narrowing her eyes as she held the blonde's gaze. Toothless blinked, shoulders hunching as he turned away, unable to look at her.
When Hiccup didn't shove his way out of the crowd to reply to his father, Stoick drew himself up more. "HICCUP!" He yelled into the crowd, becoming agitated by now. Still nothing. The chief turned, looking with alarm over to Gobber, who had been overseeing the building of the Blacksmith's. But when the two met eyes, the man turned, abandoning his work and retreating back to Stoick. "Maybe he's in the forest." Stoick murmured when his friend came to a stop beside him. He paused a moment, turning back to the crowd a moment. "Goober, get a search party. Go out and see if you can find him."
"Right." The man said, looking tense as he turned and rallied together a few people to go with him. Stoick watched them go, looking a little high-strung by now. It was obvious that he didn't believe his own words. He stayed like that until they had disappeared into the forest, pausing a moment before ducking his head, turning back and barking out instructions to the villagers, getting them moving once more. A little odd for somebody with a missing child, Mistyeyes thought. But she shrugged it off. He was chief, he wasn't supposed to let his feelings distract him from his job. That was the whole point.
"They wont find him." Toothless growled, stating the obvious.
Mistyeyes turned to him, eyes narrowing as little bit. "At least they're doing something." She growled, unnaturally angry towards him. The whole events of the situation caught up with her in one swipe, she felt her anger getting the best of her. "Not sitting around moping and refusing to do anything else." She looked away, rolling her eyes for a moment. "That's the most I've heard you say in hours, and you're complaining again. Can't you just take something from Stoick? I miss him too, but you can't just-"
Toothless hissed suddenly, cutting her off.
"Stop!" Mistyeyes snapped. "You need to listen to me and get your head out of your-"
"Can you shut up for one minute!" Toothless yelled. He scrambled to his feet. "I heard something." Mistyeyes stiffened at once, sitting up and sliding her claws out at once. Toothless's eyes narrowed a moment. "No, it's nothing like that. I heard…a scream. I think…" He trailed off, blinking rapidly as he narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the cloudy sky. "I think it was…Hiccup." He said softly, turning and looking at Mistyeyes with wide eyes. The gray Night Fury started, trying to see what he was talking about, but she saw nothing. She couldn't see anything either. But the dragon's yes were blazing where he stood, he looked more alive than Mistyeyes had seen in…days? How long was the battle, exactly?
"Are you sure?" She asked.
Toothless did not reply. His eyes were closed, ears erect as he strained for a sound. The light was returning in his eyes, the liveliness in him returning bit by bit. He stayed that way for a moment or two before snapping forward, whirling around quickly, eyes blazing. "I'm positive." He said, voice rasping against his throat. Mistyeyes leaned backwards, a little caught off-guard by the sudden intensity. "Mistyeyes, you have to go out there! You have to find him! He's there, I can hear him!"
"…Are you sure?" She asked again, bewildered.
"POSITIVE!" Toothless repeated, much louder. "Please, I can't go out there! You have to go!"
Mistyeyes blinked, looking from the clouds to Toothless. She had no idea what he was hearing, or what he was thinking, but he seemed to believe in it with a considerable amount of faith. His eyes burned into her's, and she could almost feel the tension and burning want crackling through the air between them. She looked back up at the clouds, shuffling her paws. "…That way?" She asked, nodding over towards the direction Toothless had been looking. He nodded rapidly, looking panicked as he looked over at that clouds once more. Mistyeyes shuffled awkwardly a moment before dipping her head. "Okay then. I'll be right back." She had no idea what she was going to do, but…
She turned quickly, casting one last look back at Toothless, who nodded urgently, looking like he was wishing with all his heart that he could follow her. She turned, wings shooting out at her sides as she gathered herself up, pushing off the ground and spiraling into the air neatly. She gained altitude in less than a minute, the foggy clouds enveloping her and clouding her from Toothless's point of view. The Night Fury shot forward, going as fast as she could force herself to go. Blue eyes scanning the area around her with narrowed eyes. It was going to storm soon, she'd rather not be flying during the rain and lightening. She wondered what she was doing even now. Toothless heard something that she didn't and she's the one who has to go check it out? When there could be an obscene amount of Night Furies in wait hidden in these clouds?
But she shook her head quickly. That was just her fear getting to her, there was nothing left to scare her, the dragons had all left a long time ago. And she trusted Toothless. She always would. Even if he turned her down before, that wasn't going to make her care for him any less. And the slight hope of finding Hiccup…she made herself go even faster.
Hesitating a heartbeat, she raised her voice, shouting through the clouds as she started to dodge the cliffs and rocks that got in her way. "Hiccup!" She called out, voice seeming to echo back to her. "Hiccup, are you here! Where are you!?" She waited for a response, ears flattening as she hovered in the air a moment. She strained for a noise, something that Toothless had heard. How was she supposed to find anything? The cloud had thickened quicker than she had anticipated, it was like being in a room all alone, nothing around her. She looked all alone. The thought made her twitch, wincing away from the dark forms surrounding her.
She couldn't hear anything. It was silent.
She frowned, disappointment welling up inside of her. She turned, looking around one last time before turning, readying herself to go back to the island. But all of a sudden, a scream reached her ears, making her jerk backwards, whirling around to look the way it had come. "Hiccup!?" She yelled. There was a small growl, and then a gasp of pain. Mistyeyes gasped immediately, shooting forward like a million dragons were snapping at her heels. She flew forward as fast as she's ever gone before, freezing wind blowing back into her face. She finally heard other voices, Mistyeyes stiffening as she looked down. She was too high up. Folding her wings in close to her, she swooped down, catching sight of a cliff and moving figures. She turned, about to land. But she stiffened at once, eyes widening as she skidded to a halt in midair. She hovered, looking at the scene in front of her with horror.
Nightflight and Fleetfoot stood facing each other, Mistyeyes catching sight of Ludi, the cat near the edge of the cliff. She was curled up, eyes wide and stricken. She was terrified. And when Mistyeyes looked back towards Fleetfoot, she realized that the scream she heard was Hiccup's. The boy was pinned tightly underneath Fleetfoot, blood seeping out of the boy's skin as he struggled to breath, gasping with a painful-sounding wheeze that scraped through his throat. They locked eyes, Hiccup sending her a small plea of help. But there wasn't feeling behind it. It was like he had already come to terms with him not getting out of this one.
"Nightflight!" Mistyeyes screamed, anger making her voice hot and flinty. "Let Hiccup go! You've lost! Your Night Furies left the island, there's nothing left for you to do! Clear out of here, and let Hiccup go! Or I'll make you!" She swooped forward, landing on the cliff and digging her claws into the rock face. She glared sourly at both Fleetfoot and Nightflight, ready to keep going, when she stopped, surprise going through her eyes as she looked at Nightflight. The dragon wasn't meeting her eyes, looking at the space that was sort of by her. Her eyes were clawed…could she not see anymore?
Ludi scampered over, launching herself forward and landing on Mistyeyes's back, curling up tightly, shivering with fright. Mistyeyes glared at Fleetfoot, snarling deep inside her throat. "Let. Him. Go." She growled, eyes flaming with unspoken threats. "If you even remotely care about yourself and your well-being, you'll let go of Hiccup and get OUT of here." Fleetfoot curled his lip at her, wings twitching at his sides. Nightflight looked at Mistyeyes thoughtfully, up and down, like she was sizing the gray Night Fury up. Her tail lashed back and forth, she changed her gaze from Fleetfoot to Mistyeyes, or at least in their general directions where they were standing. Catching the movements, Mistyeyes turned around angrily, getting up into the female's face. "Having you caused enough TROUBLE?" She growled. "don't you realize that you've lost for once?! Or are you too shrewd to see past your own nose?" Narrowing her eyes, Mistyeyes spat. "You deserve whatever happened to you."
"Get away from her!" Fleetfoot snapped, eyes flashing as Mistyeyes turned back to look at him. Looking down at Hiccup once more, Mistyeyes cast a glance back to where Berk was. She had to get him back there somehow, and it was two to one. The odds were against her, but maybe if she was right and Nightflight couldn't see, she might have a chance. Even if it was a little one. She crouched down close to the ground, giving a sharp hiss as she dug her claws into the ground. She gave Fleetfoot a warning look, giving him a moment to rethink their situation. "Are you going to let him go?" She growled.
Fleetfoot bared his teeth. "Make one move to either me or Nightflight, and you'll regret it."
Mistyeyes let out a roar, leaping for Fleetfoot, aiming for his throat. When suddenly, Hiccup let out another scream, slicing through Mistyeyes's focus as she skidded to a sudden halt, eyes widening as she backtracked rapidly, sending rocks and grit spraying up around her. Fleetfoot glared over in her direction, pointedly ripping his claws an inch down Hiccup's back. Mistyeyes blinked rapidly, making a move to rush forward, when Fleetfoot repeated the action.
"STOP MOVING!" Hiccup screamed angrily at her.
"I don't-" Mistyeyes looked pained, but took a step backwards, shoulders hunched as she did so. Hiccup's face was creased with pain, he dug his fingernails into the rock, a small hissing noise coming out of his throat. Mistyeyes took another step backwards, eyes wide with confusion at what she was supposed to do. Why did Toothless had to break his stupid tail!? If he was here, it would be so much easier! She couldn't move forward without Hiccup getting hurt!
"Are you an idiot or something?" Nightflight snarled, sounding genuinely angered.
Mistyeyes turned, looking at her with confusion. But the dragon turned her nose into the air before coming forward, moving so that she was standing in front of the gray dragon. Her eyes bored into Mistyeyes's own, even though she couldn't see. She growled deep in her throat, "THINK before you act." She snapped under her breath, almost too low for Mistyeyes to even hear. This only made her look more stupid as she stared over at Nightflight oddly. But the dragoness turned, giving a small, impatient sigh. "How long do we have to stay here?" She prompted sourly. "I'm ready to leave now." She said it simply, as if it didn't matter. Mistyeyes gritted her teeth together, scraping them back and forth with anger and agitation. She made another move to step forward, but Fleetfoot threw her a look, making her shrink backwards immediately. She looked down at Hiccup wildly, eyes almost apologetic. The Viking met her eyes a moment, looking as if he wanted to give her the same look in return. But then he offered her a smile. It was a weak one, and tinged with a small wince of pain, but it was his sloppy smile that he always had. Mistyeyes whimpered at this, shuffling her paws, as if only just being able to hold herself back.
Fleetfoot looked mildly surprised at this, though. "Aren't you going to kill him?" He asked, making the question sound like the answer should have been obvious. Nightflight stiffened a moment, looking caught off-guard. She opened her mouth to say something, but Fleetfoot went on, answering her question before she could ask it. "Isn't this the human that you were after?" When Nightflight flicked an ear in response, he shrugged. "We have him here now, we might as well take revenge. What better way to do it? They'll never find him."
Mistyeyes made a noise in her throat, getting harder and harder to stay still.
Hiccup looked up at Nightflight, silently begging for her to reconsider what she had done. The Night Fury couldn't see him, but she obviously felt the look burning into her. She was shuffling every now and then, looking uncomfortable. Mistyeyes narrowed her eyes over to the dragoness, finding her voice finally. She shoved every single thing she had ever felt for the dragon into her words. The jealousy from when she was little, the irritation when she was older, the horror at her actions, the fear of the thought of Nightflight staking her, the desperation as she watched the dragon flying Hiccup farther and farther away from them. "You're sick." Mistyeyes snarled, voice laden with venom and anger. Nightflight did not turn back to face her, but became noticeably stiffer. "You're insane, doing all this for a person that could NEVER love you back!" Nightflight jerked, as if slapped, but still refused to turn. Taking that as a challenge, Mistyeyes drew herself up tightly, blue eyes balls of fire by now. "You may be able to heal your eyes in time, but it wont matter. Your eyes aren't the things that blind you. It's your selfish EGO. And that will NEVER change. Not for somebody so nearsighted like you."
Nightflight turned slightly, eyes narrowed. "You don't know anything about me." She said stiffly.
"I don't?" Mistyeyes challenged. Nightflight didn't reply. "I know you more than you think I do."
Fleetfoot snarled, looking like he wanted to smash Mistyeyes's head against the ground. But Nightflight stopped him with a sharp look. "You say that now. Just make sure you listen to me when I talk." Nightflight said, Mistyeyes blinking rapidly at the odd statement. She straightened, blue eyes confused as she stared oddly at Nightflight, the female pacing forward cautiously until she was beside Fleetfoot. "Alright, get off of him." She barked out. "I'll take care of him."
Fleetfoot glanced over at Mistyeyes, still a warning look. "You want me to help?" He offered.
"I think I can deal with him." She said dryly. "Worst case scenario, I'll just throw him off the cliff. If the fall doesn't kill him, the swimming will." Fleetfoot hesitated a moment more before slowly nodding. He leapt off from Hiccup, pushing the boy down into the rock one last time before he left. Hiccup groaned, eyes closing tightly as he curled into himself, holding his stomach as he hissed under his breath. Mistyeyes tried to dash forward, but Fleetfoot weaved forward, blocking her way. She snarled angrily, making another move to try and get around him. The dragon's claws glinted, the male lashing forward to cut her cheek open. Mistyeyes flinched, craning her neck to look at the boy on the ground.
"Hiccup!" She yelled, voice breaking.
Nightflight paced forward, looming over Hiccup and staring down at him a moment or two, trying to figure out where he was exactly. She raised her paw, bringing it down quickly. Mistyeyes's heart stopped, and panic washed over her like a tidal wave. What would she tell Toothless!? Nightflight was going to crack Hiccup's head open like it was a nut! It was all over! Her wings splayed out, ready to fly over Fleetfoot and rush to the boy's rescue, hopefully not too late. Fleetfoot copied her movement, ready to block her way from both ends. She was trapped. And so was Hiccup.
But to Mistyeyes's utter shock and disbelief, Nightflight was aiming for Hiccup's head. She wasn't making a killing blow. Far from it. The Night Fury lashed forward, planting her paw down on Hiccup's other side. She drew her arm backwards, pulling the boy forward and into her chest, hovering over him protectively. Hiccup looked at her with slight disbelief, and the dragoness lowered her head, touching her snout to his forehead for one small heartbeat. But then she snatched her head back up, letting out a sharp yell. "NOW, MISTYEYES!" She shouted.
Mistyeyes did not move, blinking for a moment, not able to move as shock went through her. Fleetfoot turned, looking stunned as he look wide-eyed at the female. "W-What are you doing!?" He asked wildly, turning to face her with his jaw slack. "Nightflight, I thought we were a team!"
Nightflight jerked forward, covering Hiccup more protectively. "DO IT, MISTYEYES! ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING!? ATTACK!" The Gray Night Fury jerked, mind snapping into action as she turned quickly, claws snapping out of their sheaths as she let out a throaty growl. She threw herself forward, smashing into Fleetfoot and tackling him down to the ground. She snarled, immediately throwing herself forward as fast she could.
"…Nightflight?" Hiccup asked, letting out another cough as she looked up at the dragon. He looked a little unsure, but a small hint of happiness was bordering on the edges of his eyes. The dragon looked down at him, tearing her eyes away from Mistyeyes and Fleetfoot for a moment, who were locked in battle. They were both weary from the fight beforehand, the question remained on who had enough strength left afterwards to finish this fight. "What're you doing?" Hiccup asked, sounding muffled and confused.
"You didn't actually think I'd change my mind so easily?" She sniffed, almost sounding offended. "Honestly, how long did it take you for me to just stand to be in the same place as you? It would take a lot more to make me change my mind AGAIN." Hiccup still looked confused, or maybe it was just because he was bordering on the edge of unconsciousness. Nightflight blinked, feeling a small drop of blood smear on her scales. She flicked her ears a little guiltily. "My plan was to get Fleetfoot off of you, it took a little longer when Mistyeyes came." Her voice was a little more accusing at this part.
Hiccup's eyes started to close, voice slurring slightly. "She's a good dragon. You should give her another chance." He mumbled.
"Everything is another chance to you." Nightflight said, voice a little gentler, like a mother talking to a child.
Hiccup gave a small shrug with his good shoulder. "Maybe that's just because there's good in everybody, if you look hard enough." He whispered, blinking more and more slowly. Before long he shut his eyes fully, losing consciousness as he curled up beside Nightflight. The dragon's heart got stuck in her throat, she reached over, letting her claw rest on Hiccup's cheek for a moment before she withdrew, smiling softly. "I know." She said.
"There!" Mistyeyes yelled suddenly, Nightflight turning back to look at the fight. The gray dragon had finally managed to pin Fleetfoot down to the ground, thrusting her snout down and into the Night Fury's face. "Get out of here!" She spat, digging her claws into his scales as hard as she could. He let out a yelp, trying to jerk away, but she only tightened her grip. "Get out of here, and take you PACK with you!" Mistyeyes ordered. "NEVER come back to Berk AGAIN! Or there'll be worse things than this waiting for you!"
Fleetfoot turned, looking over at Nightflight with wide eyes. She was already glowering over at him, the dragon wrapping her tail tightly around herself and Hiccup. "Get out of here, Fleetfoot." She snapped. "And never come back, if you know what's good for you. I'm a dragon of Berk now, I'll defend it and the people on it with my last breath." Mistyeyes turned and looked at her skeptically, but Nightflight's words held true. Her eyes burned with her words, and with the way Hiccup was leaning into her, Mistyeyes felt like she had missed something.
Shaking herself, she jumped backwards, off of Fleetfoot. The Night Fury scrambled to his feet, looking from Mistyeyes to Nightflight, looking lost and scared. The Gray Night Fury let out an ear-splitting roar, dashing forward and slashing her claws down his sides. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She yowled. Taking the hint this time, Fleetfoot backtracked a moment, as if not able to take his eyes off of the two, in fear of another attack. But then he spun around, wings shooting out at his sides as he leapt off of the cliff. He caught the wind, and retreated from the scene.
He was gone in less than a minute.
Mistyeyes stared after him silently before turning to face Nightflight. She looked from Hiccup, to the dragon, eyes narrowed with distrust. Ludi blinked, tail flicking urgently as she got to her paws. The small cat dashed over to Nightflight, turning and jumping up onto the Night Fury's back. She turned, looking at Mistyeyes and giving a small but firm nod. The dragon jerked at the notion, still much more than confused. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it, snapping her mouth closed.
Nightflight ducked her head, closing her eyes. "I can explain."
"You'd better." Mistyeyes said stiffly, barely giving her time to finish. "But that can be later. Hiccup needs the care of the Elder right now, we can't waste any more time than we already have." She eyed Nightflight before she walked forward, kneeling down and prodding Hiccup softly a few times, trying to shake him awake. It took a moment, but Hiccup's green eyes cracked open, the boy letting out another mumble of incoherent pain. "You have to get on my back, I'm going to take you back to Berk." She cooed, sounding much more gentler than Nightflight had.
The boy paused a moment, gasping as he accidentally moved his arm. He braced himself a moment before pushing up with his other arm, shaking as he grimaced under the strain. Nightflight leaned over, pushing her head against Hiccup's back, righting the boy and hosting him up to his feet. He staggered forward, gripping Mistyeyes and managing to get himself up onto her back. Mistyeyes gave a small nod, getting to her feet and gathering under herself, ready to shoot back up into the sky. But Hiccup cut her off, looking over at Nightflight. "We can't just leave her!" He said, words bunching together tiredly.
Mistyeyes turned, as if just remembering the dragon. "We can't stride into Berk with her either!" She protested. "The Vikings will make mince meat out of her on sight!"
"I'm not leaving without her." Hiccup said flatly, making a move to get off from her back.
"Okay, stop!" Mistyeyes said hurriedly, jerking so that Hiccup was back on. "We'll work something out, okay? But you need medical attention, and Toothless is worried sick about you!" Ludi jumped forward, landing square on Mistyeyes's head, sitting there neatly, as if she always sat there. "And we have to figure out this whole Nightflight thing, I need the whole story before we decide on doing anything at all. You know how the others would feel if we brought the thing that caused all this into the open." She looked at Nightflight sharply as she said this, the dragon's ears flattening at once.
"But…she can't stay here all alone." Hiccup said, refusing to give up.
"But we can't-"
"Hide her in the forest! I'm not…I'm not leaving without her!" Hiccup said, fumbling over his words yet again. He wasn't going to be able to stay awake much longer, he was already starting to give out already. Mistyeyes blinked, giving a small sigh as she looked at the dragoness across from her. This was so confusing.
"I'll be fine." Nightflight spoke up. "I'm better here, away from the island. I'll just stay here."
Mistyeyes blinked, surprised. "…What?"
"I'll just wait. It's fine." Nightflight tucked her paws underneath herself. She turned to Hiccup and gave him a small smile. "I'll be right here and you can just come back here when you're a little bit more patched up, okay?" She tilted her head to the side, looking at the boy with some kind of concern. Hiccup hesitated a moment, looking as though he wanted to protest some more. But then he nodded, still looking like he would rather have stayed.
What was going on here!?
"Okay, then." Mistyeyes said. "We'll be back then." She hesitated before adding, "Hopefully soon." But Hiccup looked pretty wounded, Mistyeyes had no idea how long it would take until they would be able to come back. But from the look on Hiccup's face, it looked like he wouldn't forget about this soon, even if he was half-awake right now. She paused, dipping her head to Nightflight. "Thank you, then. Nightflight. I'm not sure what's going on right now, but I just know that you saved Hiccup. So…thank you. And I'm sure Toothless would say that as well, if he were here."
Nightflight looked away at the last statement, not replying.
"…We'll be back, then." Mistyeyes said softly, turning and taking off into the air. Hiccup turned, craning his neck and looking back at Nightflight, watching her until the clouds swallowed her up. When they did, he turned, laying down against Mistyeyes's back, closing his eyes as he wrapped his hands around her tightly.
"So…is everybody okay?" He asked, a small voice by now.
"Yes, everything's fine." Mistyeyes said smoothly, voice much more light now that Nightflight was gone. "A lot of wounds and most of the buildings are gone. Maybe there were a few casualties, I'm not sure. I've been out of it the past few hours. But the battle was won, the island has been searched. There's no more Night Furies." She felt the boy relax, all tension in his body releasing as he went slack.
"Good." He murmured, a smile in his voice. "…And Mistyeyes?" He prompted.
"Mhmm?"
"You weren't lying right?" Hiccup asked. "We're really going to go back to Nightflight?"
"…Of course. I wouldn't lie to you." She assured him.
"Good." Hiccup repeated. "She's changed…she's better now. She trusts me, and I…" He trailed off, eyes closing as he fell unconscious once more. Mistyeyes's ears flattened at his words, a small worm of discomfort wriggling into her brain. She closed her eyes softly, letting out a slow sigh. She glanced back the way came, still feeling Nightflight's sightless gaze trained on her. An unnatural intensity for somebody who had recently lost her eyesight.
"….But can I trust her?" She whispered.