A/N: Time after time, I walk the fine line. But something keeps bringing me back.
Time after time, I'm going in blind. I don't know which way I need to go.
Time after time, I walk the fine line. But something keeps bringing me back.
Time after time, I can't see the signs.
Though all these roads lead me back to you…
Going in Blind - P.O.D.
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
"You…what!?" The last word finished off in a high shriek of disbelief, the dragons clustered around in a tight group giving a small wince at the volume. Astrid fumed angrily in front of them all, Hiccup standing by her side with an awkward sort of look. His green eyes had flashed with surprise himself as he translated news the others had brought back, but he hadn't asked any of his own questions yet. So far, it had only been Astrid to freak out. And when she freaked out, she went all the way. The girl's nails were digging into her scalp, mussing up her hair even more than it already was as her blue eyes went wild with anger. "How could you do something so stupid!? I mean- this isn't even stupid! It's way past stupid! It's- it's…I don't know what it is! But it's something!"
"I just thought that it would be an easy way to show them how humans and dragons can work together!" Nightflight blustered, voice seeming small next to Astrid's loud scream. The girl huffed angrily, coming up with nothing as the dragon barked out a jumbled reply. She turned swiftly, turning her glare over at Hiccup as she waited expectantly for him to relay the message. Looking somewhat torn, Hiccup rubbed his arm worriedly, mumbling out Nightflight's words to Astrid in a quiet tone. Mistyeyes sat dutifully beside Toothless, eyes slightly narrowed as she surveyed the scene.
Astrid seemed to lose a small smudge of her anger at the thought from the dragon, blanching a moment as her shoulders became much looser. "…Well…I guess it would be the best way…" She mumbled, eyes sparkling with worry. Nightflight straightened at the prospect of her agreement, a small smile playing at the edges of her mouth. But Astrid shook her head quickly, deflating Nightflight's small burst of hope as she corrected herself firmly. "No." She snapped. "We can't put ourselves at stake like that. If we die during that fight, it'll just show them that humans are even weaker than they thought in the first place."
"I don't think that would be the worst problem…" Hiccup whispered in her direction.
"Why can't we just play off the fact that we beat them on Berk?" Astrid demanded.
Toothless spoke up where he sat, getting to his feet and walking forward a few paces from where he had been sitting beside Mistyeyes and Toothless. "Because that doesn't matter." Toothless said, Hiccup talking over him as he translated his words for Astrid. "If that meant anything to them, they wouldn't be undermining humans as much as they are right now. We came here in the first place to make sure that the other Night Furies would join with the humans. So that means that we already knew that they wouldn't join on their own." He shot Nightflight a sour look. "We were trying to tell them what Berk is about before some dragon went too far."
"Don't pretend you weren't telling me to do it." Nightflight flashed over to him.
"I told you not to take what he was saying about you by telling him the truth of Berk like we had discussed." Toothless sighed in an irritated huff. "Not to go out and throw your weight around."
"Excuse me!" Nightflight blustered, furious. "I'm the only one who-"
"Stop!" Mistyeyes and Shadowclaw yelled in sync.
Hiccup reeled, having a little bit more than a difficult time in keeping up with all these voices.
"I think Nightflight's plan is a good one!" Mistyeyes shot angrily, blue eyes blazing as she went forward to stand beside the black Night Fury. Ludi, who had been nestling herself into the dragon's back, was jarred by the movement, letting out a sharp yelp as she tried to regain her balance. Eventually, the little cat gave up, slipping off of her perch and jogging over neatly to Astrid. Gathering herself up, the cat sprang upwards with a mighty leap, making for Astrid's shoulder. The blonde hadn't been paying attention, turning around and letting out a sharp yell as the cat slammed into her shoulder, knocking her backwards and causing her to fall flat on her back against the ground. Winded, Astrid's eyes were wide as she looked at Ludi, who, unfazed, was settling down on her stomach neatly.
Nightflight stiffened considerably at Mistyeyes's support, freezing altogether as she turned towards the voice. Shock was written across her face, and Mistyeyes caught the look, eyes softening a little at the thought. But she shook her head quickly, shaking it out as she turned back to the waiting audience. Hiccup was looking at the dragon with an odd sort of look in his eyes, and it took Mistyeyes a moment to realize what it was.
It was encouragement.
He agreed with the plan too.
Finding hope in the small hint of attitude in the boy's gaze, Mistyeyes took in a deep breath of air before speaking. "Nightflight knows much more about the Pack than we do." Toothless's ears flattened at this, opening his mouth to say something. But Mistyeyes held up her tail, cutting him off before he could say anything. "I was leader once before, but that was with an entirely different group of Night Furies than what they are now. I don't recognize any of them anymore, and there's only one dragon here who does." She turned back to look at Nightflight. "If she says that the only way to show our case properly is with this…than I'm willing to follow her."
"But you won't." Shadowclaw pointed out fairly. Mistyeyes straightened, having forgotten the youth's presence at hand. Twisting around, she looked at the boy oddly, waiting for some kind of elaboration. "Nightflight was the one who challenged Frost." Nightflight straightened at the name, blinking rapidly with a small hint of surprise. She obviously had had no idea who she'd threatened in the first place. Mistyeyes rolled her eyes, trying not to think about it too much. "It's Nightflight and one other human." Shadowclaw twitched his ears. "No more dragons. Just two on one is enough, considering they don't think a human will help very much."
"That's the point, though." Nightflight pressed at the teen's uncomfortable looks. "We'll prove them all wrong."
As Hiccup translated the conversation, Astrid became quiet, pushing Ludi off gently as the cat huffed with irritation. Pushing up, the girl righted herself beside Hiccup, looking over at the boy carefully as he spoke out the words from the dragons. Her blue eyes were troubled as she listened, rubbing her arms tightly as if cold. The words seemed to offer little comfort to the Viking's troubled mind as she looked at Hiccup carefully.
"I hope you're not willing to actually do this." Toothless growled, taking yet another step closer to Nightflight. "I'm sorry, Nightflight, but this is scatterbrained. You're taking the only two humans on Berk that believe you and our plan, and you're putting their lives on the line." Nightflight bared her teeth, but he wasn't finished. "Not only that, but Hiccup and Astrid are our friends." His eyes flashed dangerously at this, and Mistyeyes felt a sinkhole rip open the pit of her stomach. He would never let Hiccup or Astrid get near the fight. "We have no plan, no way of knowing our enemy's movements, and you can't see a foot in front of your nose! What kind of protection are you planning to offer?"
The black dragon bristled angrily. "They'll help me." She said tartly. "We'll fight together."
"How?" Toothless asked scathingly.
"Toothless can you just trust her?" Mistyeyes snapped, eyes flashing.
To her surprise, Toothless turned on her, eyes blazing. "As if you do!" He yelled, Mistyeyes stiffening as she flinched away from the harsh tone. Blinking rapidly, Toothless turned, looking at everyone around him as he spoke to all of them at once. "We have to face the facts: Nightflight just decided to make a change for herself! I'm not saying that she's lying to us…I'm just saying…" Toothless turned over to Nightflight, eyes heavy with emotion. "…can we really be so quick to trust her?"
"…Toothless…" Astrid managed. Even the girl looked a little stricken by this.
"Well?" Toothless sighed impatiently, still looking at Nightflight carefully. "You all might be willing to put your lives in her care…and you might be willing to trust her judgments with the Pack as well. And what to do in accordance to them." He paused, looking with despair at the female that he had once called a friend. It tore at his heartstrings to do this: to undermine the girl that he used to spend all day romping with. But he had to force out the words. "But I'm not too quick. I have to look out for all of us. I can't let any of you die."
He turned over, locking his withered look onto Hiccup, eyes raw with pain. "Please don't make me have to figure out how to deal with losing any of you."
Hiccup grew quiet at the plea, mouth setting into a firm line. Ludi whined at the boy's sour look, trotting over carefully and brushing herself worriedly against his leg. Astrid flinched, as if the words had slapped her across the face. Her blue eyes flickered over to Hiccup quickly, a small dash of fright going through her at the thought of losing him. Could she deal with it? Could she bear the thought of either of them going into this battle, and knowing they might not make it out alive? She remembered the pure rush of horror she had endured when Hiccup had first been rescued from the Night Fury cave when he went back in search of Toothless. The sheer amount of blood had just been enough to send the girl crashing down towards the cave floor, to scream with agony as if the wounds were her own.
If Hiccup died, she knew herself better than that. She wouldn't be able to get past it. She couldn't handle just swallowing her sadness and leaving him. All she would want to do would be to crawl into a corner and die alongside him. Cliché as the thought might be, the image struck home for her. If Hiccup died, the whole plan shattered along with her world and her heart. She leaned over, grabbing the teen's hand tightly and holding on for dear life.
Hiccup perked at the touch, breaking eye contact with Toothless and looking over at her slowly. Astrid's eyes pricked and stung, her vision blurring almost at once as green eyes met blue. The forest clashed with the ocean, and everything seemed to stop in the moment. All Astrid could think back to was Hiccup's prostrate form on the stone, unresponsive to the girl's touch as she hovered over him, pleading with Thor to give her back her Viking.
Please. Her eyes begged of him. I want you to stay with me.
Hiccup stared back at her, eyes searching her own frantically for a few moments. But then he ducked his head away, shattering their contact altogether as he let go of her hand. "No." He said flatly, catching the attention of all the others as they turned over to look at him. The boy stepped forward now, his limp that had been there a few days before having almost disappeared entirely. Hiccup turned over to Toothless, jaw locked backwards with determination. "I trust Nightflight. With my life." He paused, weighing the chances a moment before scrapping up his courage. "I'll fight with her. I'll go against the other Night Fury."
"No!" The objection rushed out of Toothless and Astrid at the same time, but the others seemed satisfied with the answer. Mistyeyes felt a small glow of pride for the Viking, chest swelling as she looked at Hiccup's firm look. Shadowclaw looked a little bit more thoughtful, turning and casting his eyes up towards the clouds. The sun was starting to drop from its maximum height in the sky; sunset was not far off at all. Nightflight looked too overcome at Hiccup's words, breathing having hitched slightly as Hiccup walked towards her.
"Nightflight has been through a lot." Hiccup said. "And Mistyeyes is right, she knows the Pack best. If this is what we have to do, I'm doing it."
"You don't have to." Surprisingly, the words came from Nightflight.
Hiccup glanced back towards her, crossing his arms a little uncomfortably over his chest. "Yeah, I do." He said softly, green eyes a little more troubled now. "I'm not going to have gone all this way to back down just because some scary Night Fury is out there hassling us. We beat that one Night Fury, and we win the respect of all the others. We just have this one last obstacle to overcome in order to get all of them on our side; I'm not going to back down when we're so close."
"It's dangerous." Toothless said, sounding almost whiny.
"Yeah, I kinda know that. But it's not the point." Hiccup said, voice barbed.
"But-"
"Are you sure?" Astrid asked, voice quiet.
Hiccup froze for a moment, surprised. He turned around, looking back at the girl with a small wince. The blonde looked at him steadily, looking as if she had just been delivered bad news, and was trying hard to deny it from her thoughts. She hugged herself tightly, knuckles bleached white as she looked on carefully. "You don't have any means of working together. You only started thinking about fighting with her at the same time like…ten seconds ago."
"It's the same as flying." Hiccup said lamely.
Astrid opened her mouth as if to say something, but bit it back quickly. She merely stared at him almost mournfully. Her eyes were sucking up every detail of the boy as he stood glued to Nightflight's side, and that was when he started to be aware of Toothless's gaze too. The dragon's ears were flattened, face creased with worry and agony as he looked at his human. The blonde and the Night Fury looked identical, and their looks sent an odd thrill of nervousness through Hiccup as he sidled closer to Nightflight.
They looked like they were already mourning for him.
Like they were picking out the flowers for his funeral in their minds.
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
By the time the sun was setting, and by the time that the shadows started to creep over the landscape, the Night Furies were already gathering around the claimed fighting spot. It was a wide grassy clearing that was near the base of the mountain; sharp rocks lined one side of the ring, and grass lined the other. Hiccup winced a little at the sight of the craggy stones, grimacing away from the thought of landing on them. "I'd stay away from the right side of the clearing." He whispered to Nightflight, the dragon perking as he spoke. "There's a bunch of sharp rocks there, they look kinda dangerous."
It seemed like the entire pack of dragons had made the journey down to the clearing just to see the fight's outcome. Little children barely weaned jumped from foot to foot with excitement, chattering like birds about the strange humans that thought they could win over the dragons. The younglings were playing mock-fights, howling out their game as they wrestled with one another.
"I'm a mean old human, and I'll rip you apart!" A speckled youngling squealed.
"Never!" The other little ones roared, pouncing forward and landing squarely on top of their target as they pummeled them with little claws. "We killed you! We killed you!" They chanted happily, purring and collapsing on themselves with their chuffs. The dragon that had been taking part in being the human sprawled awkwardly on the ground, tongue sticking out humorously as he pretended to be dead. Hiccup watched the scene with a small frown, his stomach twisting in a million knots as he felt bile rising in his throat.
Ludi swelled at the children's' game, bristling as she lashed her tail back and forth rapidly. Brushing past the scene with her head tilted upwards slightly, the cat let out a sharp mew of anger. The little dragons grew distracted at this, eyes growing wide with confusion and surprise as all their heads turned as one, craning to get a look back at whatever had just interrupted them. Rolling his eyes at the stubborn behavior, Hiccup leaned down, grabbing up Ludi and giving her a stern look. The cat chirped happily at the look, beaming unnecessarily as she gave him her signature 'I-didn't-do-it-and-you-know-that' look. It reminded him of the old days, back when he had no idea why Toothless had gone off and left him, leaving him with a kitten that had abandonment issues, and a village that always bended around him in the crowd.
Giving a sad sigh at the thought, Hiccup turned wearily, placing Ludi down on Mistyeyes's back with a sorrowful look. Giving the cat one last pat on the head, he turned back and caught up with Nightflight, eyes downcast as he stared at the ground.
"It'll be okay." Nightflight murmured.
"What?" Hiccup asked, turning over to her with a confused look.
"You're nervous." Nightflight said softly, twitching her ears back and forth as she picked her way through the crowd. "Don't be. I'll make sure that you'll make it out alright."
"How did you know I was nervous?" He whispered, curious.
But the dragoness was unable to reply, stopping abruptly in the middle of the grassy clearing. Frost stood on the other side of the plain, eyes glinting with anger as he stared down both Hiccup and Nightflight. The talking and murmuring going through the crowd behind them came to a sudden halt along with the pair, all eyes going to rest on them as the air immediately grew tense and stifling. Elders, younglings, and youths all stared intently at the trio that stood in the middle of their large circle, Toothless, Mistyeyes, Shadowclaw, and Astrid all stood a little closer than the rest.
Before anything could happen, Astrid rushed up to Hiccup's side, breaking through the ring of dragons and grabbing onto his hand. "Let me fight in your place." She whispered loudly, Hiccup freezing with surprise at her sudden arrival. "Your shoulder is still hurt, and you still have you bad leg, and your other bad leg, and you only have your knife with you, and if something were to happen-"
"I'll be fine." Hiccup said quickly, eyes softening as he looked at her. "I'll be fine. I promise."
"That's what you always say." Astrid whispered brokenly, eyes welling up at once. "Then something goes wrong."
"Well this time I'll make sure to keep my word." Hiccup pressed. Pausing a moment, and aware of all the eyes on the Night Furies on him, Hiccup leaned forward, wrapping his arms bracingly around the girl's frame. He closed his eyes tightly, holding her as close as he could. "We'll make it through this. I already told you." He looked over the girl's shoulder, towards the other Night Furies.
Toothless looked anxious, poised, it looked. As if he were ready to dash to Hiccup's rescue at the last moment if needed. Mistyeyes shot a pointed look in Toothless's direction, tail going out to rest over his shoulders calmly. It seemed like out of all of them, Mistyeyes seemed the most assured that Hiccup and Nightflight would actually make it through with the fight. Shadowclaw looked as if he thought the same, but his mind seemed to be wandering along with his eyes. The youngling shot Hiccup a comforting look for a moment or two before becoming sidetracked, letting his gaze flicker to and fro every once and a while, as if he were searching for some face in the crowd.
Astrid clung to Hiccup tightly, ducking her head low and pushing her forehead against the boy's shoulder with a small sigh. Nightflight shifted uneasily where she stood as the whispering got a little louder, and finally, Frost spoke up from where he stood. His eyes flashed with contempt as he spoke lazily, flexing his long, curved claws in and out slowly. They flashed in the dim light of what remained of the sun, and Astrid straightened at this, letting go of Hiccup and turning to glare sharply in the dragon's direction. Her nose wrinkled at the end, the way she always did when she was angry.
"Are we going to fight?" He drawled irritably. "Or are you just going to bore me to death? Why don't you quit while you're ahead? You're embarrassing yourself up here." The watching Night Furies sneered and roared at the comment, growing their confidence once more as smirks traveled through the group like wildfire. Frost straightened at the encouragement, feeding off of it as he became more and more cocky.
Hiccup opened his mouth to translate what he had said, but Astrid obviously didn't need a relay to get the message. Her eyes hardened, face growing a dark shade of red as she fumed angrily. She balled her hands into fists as she looked from one Night Fury to the other, making the connection as Nightflight bared her teeth. She hated him just as much as any of them did. Turning back over to Hiccup, Astrid hesitated a heartbeat or two before speaking. "…I don't know what he said, but make him regret it." Hiccup became quiet at this, blinking rapidly as he raised an eyebrow at her sudden mood change. Jolting, the girl corrected herself quickly, backtracking. "…I mean…if you're going to do it, do it right." She threw a dirty look the dragon's way. "Send him packing." She coached.
"…sure…" Hiccup mumbled, reaching into his vest and pulling out his small knife from its depths. He actually wanted to make sure that there wasn't any blood spilled here. The point was to display themselves working together to defeat a source of power, and influence themselves to the others. He didn't want to frighten the others into believing that their way was better; that was the opposite of what he wanted, or what any of them needed. "I'll be careful." He assured her, wishing that she would go away for once.
Rubbing her arms, Astrid suddenly grew a little colder. Shooting one last look over towards Frost, Astrid ducked her head, mumbling out a small sentence that sounded oddly close to that of: 'I love you.' But before Hiccup could react, she had turned, rushing away from the center of attention and sprinting back to stand beside Toothless. Hiccup watched her go with a long look before turning as well, going over and standing squarely beside Nightflight. He took in a shaky breath, reaching over and placing one hand lightly on Nightflight's side. "We're in it together." He breathed out, the words only meant for Nightflight.
She gave a tense nod.
"Just listen to my commands. We'll make it."
"I trust you." Nightflight said solemnly.
Hiccup suddenly wished that she didn't.
The place had gone completely silent by now. All eyes were on them, the world filled with bated breath and tense statures. They had the floor, and they were certainly going to use it. Frost spoke up once more where he stood, grinning wickedly as he held himself aloft. After all, he had the privilege of representing the entire Pack. "So, would you like to strike first?" He purred, trying to snort back amusement as he took in the sight of the pair. "After all, I already know I have the upper wing. One human with a fake leg and a skimpy weapon. Another is a dragon that's all washed-up and blind to the world. I don't think you stand much of a chance."
Nightflight's eyes narrowed as she pressed up against Hiccup. "That just shows that you're the blind one here." She snapped, Hiccup giving a small smile at the words as they rang true. "Go ahead." Nightflight invited coolly. "Loser always goes first." Her eyes flashed at the words, and Frost let out a growl at the hidden taunt. His claws dug deep into the ground, and he crouched low to the grass, the stalks bending against his stomach as he prepared himself for a strike. It was an amazing feat of stealth, and yet Hiccup's mind was racing a million miles an hour. He realized small details that a normal person, uninfluenced by adrenaline, would disregard.
Frost's eyes betrayed him.
"He'll strike to the right." Hiccup mumbled quickly and lowly, voice only a small mumble. The Night Furies that were closest to them perked at his words, eyes filling with sudden interest as they caught a few of his instructions. At once, Nightflight's ear flicked down closer to him, eyes filling themselves with intensity as she gave a tense nod. "Dive to the left with me, not too far. As soon as you hear him hit the ground, go towards the sound." His words became quicker and tighter together as Frost started to fling himself forward. "Wait for my signal." Hiccup said in a rush, eyes narrowing as Frost got closer and closer. "Attack him with whatever you have, he'll be too surprised to do anything."
Frost pushed off the ground, sailing towards them like a fireball.
"NOW!" Hiccup screamed, bunching his muscles and diving to the left. He skidded on the ground as he felt Nightflight jump after him, catching the sight of her claws glinting in the coming moonlight. Skidding ungraciously on the ground, Hiccup caught himself quickly as he whirled around. He tightened his hold on the knife, dashing forward and touching Nightflight's right side as he went, telling her that it was the way she had to run. "This way!" He barked out, the dragoness clambering to her paws at once, stumbling slightly.
Frost was picking himself up from the ground, spitting out grass with a disgusted look as he curled his tail with frustration. He whirled around to face Hiccup, the teen slowing with a mental curse as he took a defensive stance. He was too slow in getting back to the dragon; now that he was recovered, their element of surprise was gone. "I'll admit," Frost spat their way, eyes boring holes in Hiccup's clothing. "that was pretty impressive."
"Not too bad for a human." Hiccup growled through clenched teeth, shifting unconsciously as he bent his knees, digging his heels into the ground as best he could. "I guess that teaches you to never judge a person by looks." His green eyes flickered over to Nightflight, the Night Fury's ears twitching back and forth as she closed her eyes. She had taken to standing beside him, and yet by the way she was moving, Hiccup could guess what she was trying to do. She got her message that she was trying to send: Keep him talking.
Nightflight couldn't see him, but she could find him by her hearing.
Frost gave a rumble of mockery. "You two aren't getting off that easily." He growled.
"It's been pretty easy so far." Hiccup puffed, glancing over to Nightflight once more. Her eyes were open now. Dimly, he wondered in the back of his mind why the dragon wasn't questioning his ability to understand him, but he dismissed the thought. These dragons never really did get close contact with humans most often, it wouldn't be surprising if none of them ever really stopped to question what the humans did. After all: why did humans do anything according to them? "If this is the best you have to offer, I'll get pretty bored here in a second."
"I'm just warming-" Frost's words ended in a startled shriek, Hiccup breathing out a quick sigh of relief as Nightflight shot forward from his side. In an amazing feat of hearing and skill, Nightflight flung herself forward, landing squarely on top of the Night Fury and tackling him to the ground in a rush. Her claws ripped through the protective layer of scales, the black coverings scattering across the ground around them as the dragoness bowled over her opponent. Frost screeched like a maniac, flailing and spitting mad as Nightflight struggled to hold him down.
But her eyesight failed her. She couldn't make sense of the rapid movements happening underneath her, Frost catching her by surprise and managing to fling her off of him. The female was flung off to the side, letting out a hiss as she skidded across the ground in a heap. Hiccup's concern spiked as the Night Fury didn't move for a moment, heart shooting up in his throat as he turned his back to Frost. Jogging forward clumsily, Hiccup hovered over the dragon, one hand going up to hold the side of his head worriedly. "Nightflight!" He yelled, panicking as the dragoness didn't reply. "Nightflight! Are you okay? Nightflight, answer me right now!"
Off to the side, he could see a few Night Furies tilt their heads with confusion at his worried tone, looking pleasantly confused as they exchanged glances. But he paid no heed, watching with a hot rush of relief as Nightflight's cloudy eyes blinked themselves open. She shook her head back and forth rapidly, grimacing as she pushed herself up to her feet shakily. "Sorry." She puffed, sounding tired already. "I couldn't pinpoint him."
"It's fine." Hiccup said quickly, not letting her blame herself for a moment. "We're good, just a little bit longer."
Frost heaved himself to his feet, turning around with a snarl that ripped through his throat. His eyes were twin balls of fury, blood dripping down from his forehead and dripping into his eyes. He seethed with anger, shaking his head back and forth impatiently. "Cheap shot." He growled.
"I believe it's called 'embarrassing.'" Nightflight shot back. "At least…for you."
Frost let out another roar of anger.
Toothless stiffened where he sat beside Mistyeyes, eyes wide with fright as he watched the scene, helpless to do anything at all. "This is bad." He whispered anxiously, shooting her a concerned look. "They're only making him mad! They need to finish this before it can get out of wing!" He looked back at them. His human and his childhood friend, up against the impossible. "They're already losing ground, Mistyeyes, how can they possibly do this?"
Astrid turned at this, catching onto his worried tone as she gave a small frown.
He expected words of encouragement from Mistyeyes, but she didn't even look away from the fight. Her blue eyes were steady and serious as she observed the battle, wings twitching every so often at Toothless' worries and fears. "The point is to prove themselves, no matter how long it takes. They both know this. That's why they're doing it in the first place." She paused, eyes traveling down to Hiccup's thin form; one thin Viking against a large Night Fury five times his size, it seemed. "…Hiccup will always do what he has to." She murmured.
Shadowclaw's shifted uneasily at this.
Frost dove forward once more, Hiccup letting out a hastily-thought-of plan right on the spot. "Crouch down low! Go forward!" He yelled, following his own advice as he took off. Nightflight jerked, caught off-guard by the boy's sudden shout. But she had promised to follow all his words as carefully as she could, the dragoness doing her best to sprint forward while crawling close to the ground. But when Hiccup looked back over his shoulder, he could tell that it was too late already. She wasn't going fast enough; Frost landed right on top of her back.
Stiffening as the dragon sunk his claws into the female's back, Hiccup retraced his steps at the sound of Nightflight's pained howl. He withdrew his blade, shooting himself forward and stabbing it into the shoulder of the attacker, wincing as he did the movement. Blood washed over the metal of his weapon, but he paid no heed to it. It served its purpose well as Frost howled, his grip loosening on Nightflight as he started to turn back towards whatever had made the pain blossom in his joint.
Nightflight too the chance wisely, a sharp roar ripping its way from her chest as she rocketed to her feet, rolling her shoulders and jerking herself upright. She bucked Frost clear off her shoulders, the male rocketing off from his perch and lancing awkwardly on one foot. The force had thrown him clear off from Hiccup's knife as well, the boy only managing to keep hold of it as the dragon was ripped out. Sure that he had already caused enough damage than what he wanted in the first place, Hiccup gave a small grimace as he wiped away the blood on the grass.
The Night Furies gathered around them were now watching with renewed interest, eyes wide with shock.
Frost's muscles trembled as he got to his feet, one eye closed in immense pain as blood gushed down the side of his left shoulder. He must have landed on his foot wrong, the Night Fury giving a hiss of pain as he held one foot up in the air, using his other three legs for balance. Eyes hardening at the sight of the dragon in pain, Hiccup spoke up firmly, tightening his hold on the weapon just in case. "We don't have to do this." He said firmly, not only talking to Frost, but to the group of Night Furies as a whole. "Our only purpose here is to show you how dragons and humans can work together as equals." He gestured to both him and Nightflight, the blind dragon straightening self-importantly at the explanation.
"We've shown you what you can do on Berk. Not only will you become close with others…but you'll get stronger too. Alone, you're powerless." Against his better judgments, Hiccup gestured over to Frost, who bristled furiously at the notion of him being unable to defend himself against a human. "But together, you can be so much more." Turning to Frost now, Hiccup gave a small sigh. "We don't have to fight." He said, taking a few small steps forward.
With each step, Astrid shook her head worriedly.
Hiccup reached out invitingly, green eyes cautious as Frost snarled at the gesture. "It doesn't have to be this way. It never does. Dragons and humans can learn to work together if they only try. Nightflight used to hate humans, and even she realized that it was pointless. That all of this is for nothing. You can have such a better future…if you only put your biases aside." He stopped, exactly a foot away from Frost now. He stood in between Nightflight and Frost, eyes steady as he reached out once more.
"Don't." Astrid croaked, vision blurring once again. "Hiccup…"
Toothless looked at her strangely, feeling panic start to flutter in his chest like butterflies. Perking, he turned back to the scene going on the clearing, getting to his feet already. Mistyeyes shot Toothless a frustrated look, blue eyes blazing at his movement. "This is their fight." She grumbled out softly, the words coming out as a harsh whisper. "If you get involved, that'll just make it even worse. We're already in the deep already, we don't need anything more."
"Something is wrong." Toothless protested lowly.
Shadowclaw came forward, Ludi perched on his back as she watched the proceedings with an anxious gaze. Her ears were slicked down to her head, her little claws digging into Shadowclaw a little painfully as the younger dragon winced. But the pain seemed to be the last thing on his mind as he studied the fight wearily. "I think Toothless is right." He whispered, catching Mistyeyes's attention as she turned and looked back at him questioningly. "…I think Frost is catching on to their tactics."
"What does that mean?" Toothless asked stiffly.
But Mistyeyes seemed to realize it before him, eyes flashing as she dug her claws into the ground tightly. "It means he knows how to break their link." She said gravely. "He'll go after Hiccup. Without him, Nightflight doesn't stand a chance."
Toothless went rigid at this, eyes flying open as he whirled around to look back at his human. Hiccup was still trying to persuade Frost, hand fully extended as he looked down firmly. His determination was set as he told Frost things like: 'I don't want to hurt you. It's the last thing I want to do.' But he didn't realize that Frost wasn't paying any attention at all. The dragon's eyes flashed from Hiccup to Nightflight, gauging the distance and how long it would take the blind dragon to catch on.
For her credit, Nightflight was doing exceptional right about now. Though blinded, bleeding slightly, and stumbling every so often, she looked almost as powerful and alert as she used to be. Her teeth were bared angrily, her form black against the growing moonlight behind them. But she was a few feet away from Hiccup; if anything happened, she probably wouldn't be able to get to the boy fast enough. The thoughts stabbed a burning hot nail of panic deep into Toothless's chest, and he shot up once more to his feet.
But once more, Mistyeyes held out her tail for him to stop, eyes closing firmly as she blocked him. "Stop." She said steadily. "This still isn't your fight."
Toothless cursed underneath his breath. "I don't care! That's my human!"
"Who's trying to prove a point." She said fairly. "You'll ruin everything if you go out and get into the mess."
"I'll save him!" Toothless protested.
"Will you?" She challenged.
By then it was far too late. Shadowclaw gave a sharp intake of breath, growing two inches taller as he stiffened with terror. On Mistyeyes's back, Ludi gave a wail of anguish. Frost had leaped forward, a furious growl ripping though the silence that had settled over the crowd as he made for Hiccup's throat. The boy gasped loudly, green eyes flying wide open as he tried to stumble backwards. Nightflight snapped to attention, ears perked and straining to make out where the pair were standing as she rushed forward blindly. Clumsily, Hiccup dove to the left abruptly, skidding across the grass as he tried to get out of the dragon's way in time.
Frost landed a few feet to the side; where he had been not less than a second ago. Hissing through his teeth, Hiccup held his stomach as he forced himself back to his feet, arms and forehead skinned painfully as blood started to seep from the wounds. Winded, the boy struggled to take in air and call out to Nightflight, who was still struggling to figure out where they were as she came closer and closer. She walked like she was on pins and needles, like every step pained her.
"Ni-" Hiccup's words were cut off as Frost slammed into his side, pushing him down and flattening him to the grass. Hiccup groaned as the full force of the blow left him dazed. Struggling to make his brain stop spinning, the boy attempted to struggle out of the heavy weight on top of him. Feeling the attempt, Frost chuckled darkly, claws digging into the boy's skin as Hiccup let out a sharp cry of pain. Nightflight stiffened at this, looking over in their general direction, ears flicking back and forth attentively.
Around them, the Night Furies that had started to lean forward with anticipation were slowly deflating. Their brief hope of a possibly-spectacular feat of a win were slowly disintegrating. Toothless's scales prickled with alarm and frustration as the Night Fury kneaded the ground with his paws. "They were so close!" He wailed, Mistyeyes not even breaking her intense eye contact with what was going on in front of her. "Look at them! They look disappointed! We were so close! They were ready for it!" Pausing heatedly, Toothless started to barge forward. "I'm helping them! They need me!"
"Stop!" Shadowclaw barked furiously. "Just stay where you are for once!"
Winded, Hiccup couldn't call out for Nightflight, the dragoness slowly shrinking backwards at the silence that suddenly greeted her. Frost turned with a sneer of contempt, eyes narrowing as he gave a wicked grin. "You see?" He prompted to the crowd watching, disgruntled looks meeting his words as Night Furies starting to lose their brief moment of excitement. Mumbles and grumbles were spreading through the crowd, dragons shifting this way and that as they started to space themselves away from Mistyeyes, Toothless, and all the others in their party, making them their own little space as the circle parted. The avoided people winced as eyes went from Hiccup to them, Frost's words sparking impatience and eye rolls aimed in their direction.
"These people are as frightening as a couple of Terrible Terrors." Frost said dismissively. "They go off thinking they're so high and mighty, and then they can't live up to their threats." He swept his tail in a wide arc. "If you want to follow a group like this, you'll eventually fall out with them. It's inevitable, really."
Talon, who had taken to sitting silently off to the side, raised his gaze so that it locked with Mistyeyes's own. The female stiffened as the two met gazes, and she winced almost at once. She looked away from her father, curling her tail tighter around her feet as she flattened her ears, closing her eyes and turning her head pointedly. Beside Talon, Leafdapple sighed softly, shoulders drooping with obvious disappointment. Catching the change in mood, Shadowclaw wilted as well, shame filling him from ears to tail-tip.
Hiccup's eyes widened a fraction at the dragons words, face creasing over with defeat as he ducked his head. Bringing his arm closer to him, the only thing that he could move that was out of reach of Frost, he balled his hand into a strained fist, hand shaking as he did so. Toothless let out a small mumble in the back of his throat, a small noise of objection. But it was too late. It was clear what had happened: their small window had collapsed in on itself.
They'd lost.
Frost turned over to Nightflight, grin only spreading at her puzzled expression. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He asked, sounding like a father that was reprimanding their daughter. He sneered. "You aren't so tough without someone to help you, huh? Seems like you need this human a lot more than he needs you." Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off once more as Frost only tightened his hold. He let out a squeak of pain, Nightflight stiffening at the yelp. "What happens if he ever realizes that? What happens if humans grow tired of dragons?" Not waiting for an answer, he gave one himself. "They kick them out of the island? We outnumber them by hundreds! Why bother associating ourselves with those who are weaker than us?"
"They're not weaker." Nightflight protested weakly.
"Really? I don't see this pathetic scrap doing anything to save himself." Frost snapped.
Astrid watched the scene, unable to understand and unable to comprehend anything at all. Eyes flashing wildly from Frost, to Nightflight, and then back down to Hiccup, she tried to think of anything she could do. Anything that could maybe help them. But Frost was a good few feet away; though right in front of her, she wouldn't be able to get close to him without him noticing her on the way over. And she had no weapon, either. What was she supposed to do, take him down with her bare hands?
She straightened at the thought, blinking as she looked down at her hands blankly.
"We're not beaten yet." Nightflight snarled thickly.
"Really? Is that so?" He asked skeptically, humor lining the edges of his voice like decoration. "I don't see you making a move to come at me. Or is this you just talking again?"
The crowd watching narrowed their eyes at the words, glaring at Nightflight critically.
Standing awkwardly across from Frost, Astrid clapped her hands together with a loud smack.
Frost turned towards her, eyeing her with hatred as the blonde repeated the odd movement. Toothless turned and looked down at her oddly, titling his head as he looked her questioningly. Rocking back and forth on her heels, Astrid forced herself not to look away from Hiccup, who's attention she had managed to grab as well. Green eyes met her own, and Astrid gave another loud clap, almost falling into some sort of musical rhythm. Hiccup's eyes softened a little at her movements, a small smile gracing his pained face as she did it again and again.
Nightflight's ear twitched.
"What're you doing?" Frost asked, voice sharpened with impatience. "Isn't it bad enough that you've made a fool of yourself enough? This is just showing them all how ridiculous humans are!" Astrid didn't react to the words, not understanding them as she merely gave another clap. "If you all want to follow in the footsteps of such ridiculous creatures, we might as well not even be Night Furies anymore!" Frost raised his voice to indicate the watching dragons. "They're as dumb as a rock in our cave." His lip curled with distaste as he spoke the words.
Astrid clapped again.
"What're you doing?" Shadowclaw asked with exasperation. "I'm embarrassed enough as it is."
She clapped again.
Nightflight flattened herself down towards the ground.
Frost was losing his patience. "Would you just stop doing whatever is it you're-"
Nightflight lunged forward in the direction of the claps, claws shooting out at once as she crashed dead-on into Frost. The crowd gasped in perfect sync at the new development, Nightflight knocking Frost clear off of his feet as she slammed into him. Teeth and claws going a million miles an hour, Nightflight gave her attack her all, Frost and her a mere blur as they rolled across the ground. Hiccup was up probably quicker than he should have been, the boy holding the side of his head with a slight wince as his head spun. But he forced himself to recover quickly, blinking back the dark spots that had rushed into his vision as he righted himself.
Leaning down and scooping up his knife once more, Hiccup rushed forward, trying to keep up with the dragons as best he could. One-edge once more, the crowd found themselves leaning forward once more. Talon and Leafdapple had twin looks of amazement on their faces, Shadowclaw and Mistyeyes relishing in their faces for their own, different reasons.
The crowd watched as Hiccup skidded to a stop, eyes calculating as he watched Nightflight. She'd gained a lot of ground with her surprise attack, but she was slowly losing it. She was doing her best to put as many non-lethal injuries on Frost, but it was hard to do when you couldn't see anything. She floundered in her attacks, getting clumsier and clumsier as she tried to regain her advantage. Breathing quickening little by little, Hiccup turned quickly, looking back towards the other side of the clearing with a profound sense of thought. His eyes landed on the jagged rocks that marked the start of the Pack's home. Panting in and out heavily, Hiccup's mind went a mile a minute, and he whipped himself around to look back towards Nightflight.
"Kick him off you!" Hiccup yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth to be heard over the other Night Furies that were talking excitedly. "Straight off! You'll throw him straight backwards!" Nightflight faltered a moment in her strikes, trying to decide where in the world she was, or needed to be in order to rocket him off of her. Closing her eyes tightly, Nightflight went lax for a moment, allowing herself to be taken over as Frost pinned her down to the ground. Trusting in Hiccup's directions, Nightflight remained limp, waiting until she felt the pressure of teeth increasing on her throat.
In doing so, Frost had lost some of his strength in holding her down. Scrapping up enough energy to perform the trick, Nightflight heaved herself forward, hooking her legs underneath Frost and right up against his stomach. Pushing upwards with a massive groan of effort, Nightflight jabbed straight out with her legs, yanking Frost off of her with a massive push. The dragon was thrown backwards, desperately trying to regain balance as he slammed into the grass with a painful crushing noise.
Hiccup cursed mentally. Though it was a formidable effort, the kick hadn't been enough. He was still a yard or two away from the rocks. Biting his lower lip, Hiccup sighed quickly before cupping his hands around his mouth once more. "Hey!" He shouted loftily, watching with a successful grin as Frost's head shot up. The dragon's eyes blazed at the smug tone that the child held, and Hiccup willed it to be enough. "Good fight! Or should I say good fight for a five year old?" Frost growled, getting to his feet slowly.
Nightflight was edging forward, one glass once more as she guided herself closer to Hiccup by the sound of his voice. She was losing herself, it looked like. Scrapes, cuts, bruises, and gashes lined her scales every which way, and her breath came in uneven gasps. She was a trooper already for staying in the fight for so long; Hiccup could never have asked any more of her. But she was running out of time, and Hiccup knew that pretty soon she wouldn't be able to go on. He had to do this fast. Good thing was that he was pretty good at making people angry.
"You couldn't pin me if I sat three feet away from you!" Hiccup shouted, the watching Night Furies eyeing him carefully at the words. Frost was breathing deliberately slow, as if trying to calm himself down by force. "Oh, wait!" Hiccup laughed. "I am three feet away from you!" Frost growled, pacing slowly forward as his eyes narrowed furiously. Hiccup made a show of rolling his eyes. "I'm so scared." He taunted. "I got away from you once already; are you really planning on letting me show you up again? I'm kinda confused on where your priorities are!"
Frost was less than two feet away from him by now, and Nightflight was slowly bringing up his rear. Her eyes were narrowed with concentration as she got closer and closer to Frost, and Hiccup realized that she was slowly making the connection that he already had. "It's not like you would have enough room, anyway. Combining your big ego with all these rocks, there's barely enough room to breathe!" Nightflight's eyes lit up at the hint, and she gave a tense nod.
The waiting Night Furies were on-edge.
Frost let out a roar, gathering himself and preparing to spring. But Hiccup was much faster. "NOW!" He yelled for the second time, turning and diving out of the way. Nightflight reared up on her hind legs, letting out a sharp cry as she threw her weight forward. Knocking into Frost's backside, Nightflight shoved him clear off his feet yet again. The dragon shot forward, thrown to the side and unable to stop himself before he met with his fate.
Hiccup pushed himself up to his knees wearily, grimacing at the blood that was staining his clothes by now. Turning around, he watched with grim satisfaction as Frost sliced himself on the sharp rocks. The stones embedded themselves in his skin, the Night Fury letting out a howl of anguish as he tried to move out of the entanglement. Every time he moved, the rocks tore at his skin, ripping off his scales and scattering them in a discarded pile around him. Eventually, with a groan of pain, he gave up. Flopping down on the ground in a defeated heap, Frost seethed under his breath as shame and humiliation swamped over him. "Impossible." He croaked. "How could you beat me?"
"It was easy." Hiccup said tightly.
"You did it!" Astrid shrieked, cutting him off as the girl crashed into him full-on. The blonde wrapped her arms tightly around her Viking, shoulders shaking as she clung tightly to him. "I can't believe it! You're safe! I'm so glad!" She pulled back, eyes sparkling as she beamed at Hiccup.
"Thanks to you!" Hiccup said excitedly, forgetting to act mature as he shared her happiness.
"Hiccup!" Toothless charged forward, breaking up Hiccup and Astrid as he pushed his nose tightly into Hiccup's chest. He purred loudly, wings trembling at his sides as he shook with the relief. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" He scolded sharply, Hiccup giving a laugh at the words. "This is probably the third time you've made me tense in the past week alone! You have to learn to stop!"
"I'll try." Hiccup said fondly.
"Good show." Mistyeyes teased, blue eyes glinting as Shadowclaw giggled at her side. Ludi hopped up and down on the dragon's head, the dragon not even thrown off balance by the cat's movements. She turned to Nightflight, tone softening along with her expression. "See, Toothless?" She prompted gently. Toothless tore himself away from his human, turning and looking over at her blankly. "I told you we had nothing to worry about." She leaned over, pressing her nose to Nightflight's in a sign of affection. Drawing back, she gave a smile that Nightflight could undoubtedly hear in her voice. "We owe you a lot, now." She said. "Don't let us forget that anytime soon."
Nightflight blinked, stunned. "I-I won't."
Hiccup felt a warm burst of affection, pushing himself away from Toothless and Astrid as he rushed over to Nightflight. He pushed himself up, extending his arms and wrapping them tightly around Nightflight's neck. The dragon stiffened under the movement, eyes widening with surprise and shock as she looked down at Hiccup. The boy buried his face into her scales, chest aching. "Thank you." He breathed out hoarsely. "Thank you for everything."
Around them, the Night Furies watched the interaction silently, trying to get over the fact that a human and a dragon had just defeated one of their most skilled fighters. At first, nothing happened. But then a figure stepped out of the crowd, Mistyeyes going rigid beside Toothless as she shifted closer to him unconsciously. Talon paced forward until he was at least two yards away from them. His gaze shifted from one to the other, lingering only a moment more on Mistyeyes before he looked back at both Hiccup and Nightflight. The boy was still holding onto the Night Fury, but he had twisted his head around to look curiously in Talon's direction. As the dragon looked at Hiccup, he could easily tell by the stance the boy held that he was protective of the dragon he was hugging. That he would fight longer to prove not only himself, but Nightflight as well.
Slowly, Talon closed his eyes and kneeled. Flattening himself low to the ground, the old Night Fury bowed in deepest respect, his whole body going low to the grass as he ducked his head. Hiccup's eyes widened, and his arms slipped back down to his side as he looked at what was happening with disbelief. Off to the side, Leafdapple shot them all a proud smile before doing the same as Talon. She tucked her wings close to her sides, settling down quickly and ducking low to the ground.
Slowly, one by one, all of the other Night Furies did the same, the clearing going silent as they all bowed before the victors. The heads slowly bobbed down, figures ducking themselves low to the grass, as they left only Mistyeyes, Shadowclaw, Toothless, Ludi, Astrid, Nightflight, and Hiccup standing alone. The crowd wasn't jeering at them or making fun, even Fleetfoot managed to be subdued for once as he genuflected.
Every single Night Fury there had shrunken low to the plain.
The only ones standing was their rag-tag group.
And now they were left wondering what happens next.
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
A/N: So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air!
And accept the truth: that sometimes life isn't fair!
I'll send out a wish; I'll send up a prayer!
And finally! Someone will see! How much I care!
Get It Right - Lea Michele
Told you I would reference to that song more than once ;)
Dang. Oh my JEEBUS. Darn. This thing. Too long. WAY too freaking long. I better get some props for this, cause this is 15 PAGES LONG. 15 FLIPPING PAGES. NOT JUST 15 PAGES. NO. 15 FLIPPING PAGES. I'm so tired. Finals. So tired. Please help me. Save me. ;^;
On a more serious note, I really hope I did this chapter justice! This is my most reviewed story, and I really want to make sure you all know that I'm thinking about you guys all the time, trying to think up ways to make this story even better for you all! It means a lot to me that you would stick it out with me this long, and now that summer is on its way, I'll have CRAPLOADS of free time for you all! Heck, some days, if I get enough reviews, I can update TWICE a day. Seriously, I've done it before over summer.
So I guess it all depends on what you all say in my review box : )
Summer starts next Tuesday for me at 11:30, so brace yourselves!
GO VOTE ON MY POLL. IT'S ABOUT THIS STORY~! ((Sorry for the long note lol))