It was chaos. The silence that had hung over Berk was long gone, having disappeared long ago. Now the air was alive with the scent of fear, the sound of Night Fury roars, human screeches, and even the sound of weapons, though the last one was much quieter. It was almost swallowed up by the torrent of rain that pounded down around them. The island was alive with panic now, confusion, terror, and horror thrilling in the air. Their plan was falling apart at the seams. It had been falling apart at the seams the second that Hiccup had been taken away from them, and by now there was no telling whether or not they would be able to fix it. And it was blatantly obvious that the Night Furies were at a loss of what to do from here on out.
They couldn't fly away; not in this kind of storm. Only the strongest could manage the feat, and there was no way that the Pack could just leave behind those unable to make the trip. Or at least he hoped not. They couldn't attack the humans, either. Not with what they were trying to do. Fighting was what had gotten them into this mess after all— increasing the conflict would be the fastest way for them to all get killed or worse. Mistyeyes, Toothless, Nightflight, and Hiccup…all of the ringleaders of this operation were gone. Splitting up had been the only logical solution to their plan, but now it was the worst thing that they could have come up with. Because now they were left to fend for themselves in this situation. Which wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that one wrong move could be the end.
The thoughts brewing in Shadowclaw's mind did nothing to ease the young Night Fury's nerves, which were frayed down to their very ends now. And for the dragon that had always been so carefree and optimistic, he was left without any sort of hope for this situation. He hoped it didn't show too much on his face to Leafdapple, who was sitting tensely at his side. The pair had crawled out from their hiding spot minutes ago, sitting out in the open now as they tried to desperately think of something that they could do. The dragoness was already so upset— there was no missing the frantic way in which her wings fluttered every so often, or the fear that alive in her bright green eyes. For Shadowclaw, showing any more of his emotions right now wasn't a good idea; it would only upset Leafdapple further, and that was the last thing that he wanted to accomplish.
Finally Leafdapple stood quickly, a sharp movement compared to her twitches and shifts of recent as she caused Shadowclaw to jerk with surprise. The female lashed her tail, her claws shooting out to root themselves into the mud. "We can't just sit here." She spat finally, closing her eyes tightly as she said this. Shadowclaw frowned with worry himself, looking unsure not only of their situation but how to react to her as she spoke. But she wasn't finished trying to take a stand for her point. She started to knit herself around Shadowclaw in tight circles, the male's head turning uncomfortably in the attempt to keep his gaze on her. "We can't sit here and just listen to what's going on and not know. We can't. We-"
"But we can't just go out there!" He replied instantly, trying to keep his voice level and not yell. Though there really wasn't an option to be heard over the rain. Not to mention that he had to speak over the female before she could continue. He couldn't let her. "Mistyeyes told us to stay where we were at all costs! Specifically she told us that no matter what kind of things that we heard that staying hidden and out of the way was the only thing that we had to focus on! Going out there— we just have no idea what will be waiting for us, Leafdapple! We could get hurt!" His eyes rounded out with worry as he took a step closer, cutting off the female from her panic-ridden pacing as she stopped short. "You could get hurt!"
"But they might be getting hurt!" Leafdapple objected with worry, not comforted by her friend's words as she shook her head. "They're our friends too, Shadowclaw, the whole lot of them! If we let members of the Pack die, that's like letting family die— no matter the kind of trouble that we've gone through with them." Shadowclaw shut his mouth, sighing softly through his nose as he listened with a slightly guilty expression. "It doesn't matter that we can't tell who that is." As if to accentuate her point, there was another shriek of a Night Fury. The rain made it impossible to tell who exactly it was, not to mention that it was far away. Not on the other side of the island, but it sounded close to it at least. Leafdapple grimaced away from the noise, as if it caused her physical pain.
"Leafdapple, I know. I do." Shadowclaw agreed, ducking his head in the form of something akin to a nod. "But…that was the last order that we got, and it came from Mistyeyes. Right before we split up ages ago, she told us that we needed to keep ourselves safe at all costs. That includes staying put." Leafdapple locked her jaw backwards, ears flattening in defiance as she stiffened. So Shadowclaw shook his head and went on. "We have no idea where any of them are now. Not Hiccup, not Toothless, not Nightflight, and not Mistyeyes. Everyone who was in charge is gone now and the only thing we have left of them at this moment are those orders. If we disregard that, it means disregarding them. And we can't-"
"We're in charge too!" Leafdapple snapped, lashing her tail for a second time now. Shadowclaw winced slightly at the yell, though he restrained himself from cutting her off again. "Maybe we're not as old as Toothless or as special as Nightflight or as wise as Mistyeyes. But we were the ones who brought the Night Furies back to Berk during the last Raid! And we were the ones who helped to bring this whole thing together too! We did a lot of things for the Pack— things that couldn't have been done without us. So we have just as much right as the others to change the plan. We're leaders too. Just as much as they are too."
Shadowclaw tried to find a logical argument against this, struggling to pin down enough reason to do so. His heart was heavy as he looked at Leafdapple's determined glare, and he knew in the back of his mind that arguing against her was probably a pointless venture. Once the female got an idea rooted into her head, there was no killing it as much as he tried. Or at least that was the case nine times out of ten. But the thought of racing into danger for the umpteenth time, into something as unplanned and unsure as this, was the last thing that he wanted. If he was by himself, he would certainly do it, without much thought either.
But Leafdapple….he didn't want to put her into danger. He didn't want to risk anything when it came to having the female at his side. The thought of dashing into whatever sort of fray was going on at the other end of the island and having something bad happen to her was enough to churn his stomach. He could track down when the feeling had changed. From reluctantly agreeing to follow a stranger back to the Night Fury island in order to bring back the others, to watching as a supposed friend left him behind, to being unnaturally excited to rejoin with her, to now finding the idea of bringing her into dangerous conflict enough to choke his windpipe, it had changed drastically.
"But I just…." Shadowclaw tried, face falling as his voice seemed to escape him. "You can't…"
"Shadowclaw." Leafdapple repeated, her eyes narrowing into determined slits. Though there was a sense of urgency and desperation in her tone as her eyes remained clashing against Shadowclaw's own. "They need us." Her words were slow and accented as she spoke, and Shadowclaw tried not to hear the hurt that was in her voice as he refused her over and over again. "You were right when you said that the rest are gone and we don't know where they are. But that just means that we're needed out there even more. Even if we're not the best out the lot— we're all that they've got now. Don't you understand that?" Shadowclaw didn't reply, keeping silent as his mouth remained shut. But his shoulders did loosen, drooping in a sense of slow defeat as Leafdapple's expression and words started to win him over. She shook her head and pressed even more. "We promised them, Shadowclaw. We promised that they wouldn't get hurt and that everything would be okay. We have a responsibility to them."
Shadowclaw ducked his head, closing his eyes as his tail curled around his body snugly. He let out a slow sigh from his nose and gradually he nodded his head. It was a little begrudgingly and hesitant, but he did it nevertheless. Leafdapple had a point. Despite the fact that taking her into such dangerous situations was worrying, and that the potential for her getting hurt in a moment like this was far too great, he knew that there was no other option. Not now. "Okay." He said, his words coming out in a small puff of air. "Okay, sure." He looked up, opening his eyes and realizing that the dragon's face had broken out into a relived smile as her point was won. "You're right— we have a job to do. Nothing else can change that."
She brightened significantly, dashing forward and pressing her nose briefly against Shadowclaw's cheek before drawing away. She looked as if she were about to say something more, but another Night Fury roar echoed faintly over the harsh wind, and all thought seemed to vanish from her mind. Instead she gave a quick nod, beckoning to Shadowclaw with her tail as she turned towards the shout. "Here!" She yelled, looking as if she had been shot full with energy in those sparse few seconds. "Come on!" Shadowclaw jerked as the female immediately took off with speed fit for a catapult. She threw herself forward, tearing off without any more sort of warning for the other.
Shadowclaw shook his head quickly, having to sprint in order to catch up with his friend as he raced after her. The raindrops flew back into his face with the feeling of little needles. He winced against the sensation, shivering as he realized that it was freezing cold outside. Sure enough the feeling would eventually leave, or be replaced with something of more importance. But he could tell that being out here in such weather was suicide enough. For dragons as well as humans. With this whole mess it was just a million times worse; but then again that wasn't all that surprising as of right now. The realization of that fact had sunken in quite a long time ago.
He shook his head free of the meaningless thoughts, instead focusing on Leafdapple, who was running by his side now that he had managed to catch up to her. He had to protect her, he knew. Whether or not the feeling was warranted between them, he knew that there was no doubt in his mind that if Leafdapple were to get seriously hurt, he could never forgive himself. Injuries were probably a given considering what was going on now. And any sort of protection that Shadowclaw might offer, Leafdapple would most likely refuse in the first place. But there wasn't much wriggle room when it came to things like this. Not anymore. And with each roar that ripped over the dense forest and with each muffled yell of humans, Shadowclaw grew more and more tense. This was all supposed to end nicely. A happy ending with peace and tranquility. That was what he'd had in mind when he gave the idea in the first place to Hiccup of joining the two groups. Was he wrong? Was all of this going to be his fault?
They had run for minutes upon minutes, slipping in the mud and not offering any more conversation between the pair of them. It was too tense, too close to do anything more of the sort. But with narrowed eyes and determination from the both of them, though somewhat more melancholy on Shadowclaw's side, there wasn't much more that needed to be said in the first place. They were getting closer he knew; the roars of the dragons were growing a tad louder against the drumming noise of rain. His ears pricked forward, trying to hear the calls better to assign names to the voices. But as soon as he started to strain in order to pick apart the sounds, Leafdapple screeched to a sudden halt.
Not paying enough attention and stumbling over his feet a little bit, Shadowclaw's eyes widened as he too came to a rather ungraceful halt, nearly falling forward over himself in the process of spinning around to look back at the female. She was standing stock-still now, her snout raised into the air as her pupils dilated in alarm. Shadowclaw tried to see what had gotten her so riled, but eventually panic and fear worked as impatience, and he demanded instead: "What's wrong?" When Leafdapple didn't reply, he pressed again a bit more sharply: "Leafdapple, what's wrong?"
She started to speak, looking unsure. "…I think-"
Before she could finish something exploded from the undergrowth directly towards Shadowclaw. The dragon grimaced, bracing himself against the shape as it beelined straight for him. Was it a human? Another dragon? Was another dragon going to attack him? He started to open his mouth to reason through things, when all of a sudden the shape collided with him head-on. The first thing that registered was that the thing was soaking wet from the rain, which wasn't surprising at all. The surprising factor was that, despite it being thickened with water, it was still…soft. Really soft. Confusion riddled over his features and he snapped his eyes open, looking down at the thing that was now latched onto his shoulder just as Leafdapple let out a yelp of joy.
Shadowclaw's face broke out into a smile as well— the first genuine smile he'd had in a long time, actually. "Ludi!" He cried, grinning at the sight of the cat who was comically sliding down his side as she lost her grip on the dragon. He lifted up his leg to be at an angle to ensure that the little thing wouldn't fall off, his eyes sparking up at the notion that where Ludi was, others had the tendency to follow. "Is anyone else with you?" He asked uselessly, sinking back into old habits as he asked the cat directly. Though the question was more aimed for Leafdapple, who perked as well at the idea. He frowned, remembering the last time he had seen the cat was when she was being carried away in Astrid's arms. His face lit up and he started to look around eagerly. "Is Astrid with you?" The chance was probably a million to one.
And yet that million seemed to be in their favor.
Just as the question started to hang in the air between the couple, there was a rumbling of footsteps, Shadowclaw standing up quickly and nearly causing Ludi to fly off of her perch on his leg. He righted himself at the last moment so that she could stay where she was, on three legs with one extended forward almost awkwardly as the cat sat atop of it. From the bushes that were surrounding them, another shape exploded forward, though this one was much more substantial. But this time there was no fright in the unexpected arrival— instead, it was quite the opposite. Both Shadowclaw and Leafdapple cheered and brightened at the newcomers, shock and relief storming inside both of the pair simultaneously as they leaned forward.
Leafdapple was first to cry out. "Hiccup!" She shrieked, her voice nearly hysterical from the relief that was derived from the sight of the boy. Sure enough, on top of Toothless' back was not only Astrid, but also Hiccup as well. They both looked frazzled and worried, confused with their jumping into this situation nearly blind. But there was a hint of relief in them as well as their eyes met Shadowclaw and Leafdapple's, Astrid smiling a little bit wider than she had in what seemed like a long time. The wide-set smile came not only as a surprise, but also puzzlement as well. The unexpected warmth from her end was indeed really unexpected— Shadowclaw hadn't even considered that he would see her again in the first place. Not when she had left from the group ages ago to return to Berk herself. Was she….was she recovered now? Like Toothless had recovered years ago?
His attention was drawn over to Hiccup as the boy started to speak. His face fell a little as he did so, a frown crawling over his face at the mere sight of the teenager. He looked paler than normal, something that looked like bindings wrapped tightly around his good leg. Or…what used to be his good leg. There was a worn way in which the boy held himself, wincing a little bit as he straightened up on Toothless' back. Shadowclaw half-expected him to keel over, but Hiccup did quite the opposite. The boy moved on quickly, not even trying to bring to attention what had happened to him while he had been taken away from the Night Furies. Or the fact that he looked ready to collapse from a simple touch on the back. Quite the contrary, he completely skipped over himself as he smiled at the pair of Night Furies.
"Boy, am I glad to see you." He said, sounding beyond pleased as he took them in. "Ludi jumped off of Toothless and started tearing over here. We were going to keep going but I didn't want to let her be running around at a time like this. But it seems like she was just trying to get the gang back together." Ludi kneaded Shadowclaw's leg as Hiccup said this, and the young dragon looked down, gingerly lowering her to the ground with a soft plop instead of keeping her in midair. Gradually, Hiccup's smile pinched itself away once Ludi started scurrying back over to Toothless. And he frowned slightly as he glanced over his shoulder. "I take it you were heading towards that too?" He asked. Now that the relief of familiar faces had passed, Shadowclaw could tell that Hiccup didn't want to linger any more than Leafdapple had previously.
"Yes." Leafdapple was the one to respond before Shadowclaw could even attempt it. "We have to hurry— it's been going on for too long. Someone's going to get hurt or worse." Her eyes clouded over as she looked around quickly. "The other Night Furies are going to start running towards it too, there's no question about it. Pretty soon we'll have the whole Pack charging for it. And with the humans acting the way they are that can only send them the wrong kind of message."
"It sounds like they're already getting the wrong idea." Shadowclaw interjected.
"Then we have to go and make it right. Now." Hiccup growled. Ludi hopped up, nestling herself in between the boy and Toothless' head, looking troubled as she ducked down low. Her tolerance for rain was already at its threshold— with the sharp noises all around them, it was only furthering the issue. "The others in Berk are already running for it; they'll likely be there any minute. The place was a ghost town when we left it." Astrid nodded gravely, and Toothless was already starting to turn, obviously anxious to be off. "We have to get there before them, otherwise…" He broke off, not bothering to finish the sentence himself. That, or he just didn't want to.
"What are we going to do?" Shadowclaw asked suddenly. Toothless stopped short, looking frustrated as he turned back to look at the younger. But his ears merely flattened, a sense of desolation overcoming the normally upbeat dragon as he glanced past the group in front of him, farther down towards the noises. He ducked his head and shook it back and forth, feeling hopeless. "This was a bad idea." He said, Hiccup sobering at the sudden change in tone. Astrid frowned, looking from the boy to the dragon, seeming a little lost. So she still didn't understand dragons, then. "And it was mine." He looked up, green eyes wide with misery and guilt. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. To have given you the idea. I really did think that it would work." He hung his head again, closing his eyes. "I really did."
For a moment there was no reply from anyone. Toothless looked away, Shadowclaw remembering that the adult had voiced something along the lines of the exact same train of thought earlier to Mistyeyes and the rest of the group. It hadn't done anything for morale back then, and before now Shadowclaw hadn't realized how the dragon could have brought himself to give up in such a fashion as to voice his worries. But now…the longer that this went on…he could see. It was getting too hard. And he didn't want to see anyone else hurt either. He glanced at Leafdapple as the thought crossed his mind. He didn't want to have this threat hanging over them constantly like it has.
Hiccup spoke up where he sat, and when Shadowclaw looked up, he was almost surprised to see that the boy almost looked angry. His tired eyes were bright with the emotion as they narrowed, and his grip on Toothless increased as his knuckles turned slightly white. "Stop." He said shortly, Shadowclaw straightening at the words that almost came across as some kind of order. Hiccup shook his head. "There's no use in doing that." He said. "There's no use in regretting anything because we're in too deep now. There's no going back; so there's no wishing to go back. We've led them here and we've promised them a life with Berk. That means that we are going to get that for them, no matter what. No questions or anything." Leafdapple nodded tensely where she sat, looking as if she agreed fully with what the teenager was saying.
"…Right." Shadowclaw mumbled softly.
Hiccup's expression cleared slightly, as if he realized that his tone might have been a bit too harsh. "Shadowclaw." He said, capturing the other's attention with the call of his name. "I know that it's hard. And I know that you're not the only one to be thinking this." Toothless' eyes flashed with the hint. "But I made a promise. And I'll die before I give up on trying to fulfill it. Do you understand?" Despite the fact that the teenager looked weak and tired, there was no trying to doubt the way that his voice hardened with grim determination. "We're not giving up now. Or at least I'm not."
Silence reigned in between everyone in the clearing, the only sound being the splashing of rain or the howling of the wind around them. Astrid leaned over, wrapping her arms around Hiccup's thin frame and burying her nose into the crook of the teenager's neck in response to his words. Leafdapple didn't make a move to say anything, though she kept casting fervent looks over Shadowclaw's way, who was just as silent. And after about five seconds, Hiccup nodded tensely. "Then let's go." He said steadily. "We have to get to them before anyone else does."
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
"Mistyeyes you can't put all of this onto her! This isn't fair!" Clearsky screamed, breaking off from his usual support and admiration of the gray dragoness as he yelled this. Mistyeyes grimaced at the yowl that came from the dragon, her teeth gnashed together as she glared his way. The expression of irritation and anger bright in her eyes was almost vexing to the male, and he jerked backwards, shrinking from the mere stare. He started to speak, maybe to ask her why she had taken such a shift in her stance on making sure that Nightflight didn't feel pressured or pushed. But just then Spitelout had gotten back onto his feet, Clearsky stumbling backwards as he tried to figure out how he could keep the Viking from charging and actually inflicting damage. Without inflicting any harm himself.
Quickly, Clearsky snaked forward, tripping up the Viking with his tail and watching as the man went face-down into the mud again. But as these attacks caused no harm, they did increase the amount of anger that was brewing inside of the opponent. And as anger increased, logic and reason flew out the window. Before Spitelout could recover and get back up —for if he got back up, Clearsky could tell that he would most likely do something he had the potential to regret later— the dragon dashed forward to pin him rooted against the spot. Spitelout immediately started growling and yelling, lashing out with his weapon to badger at Clearsky's legs, which caused the dragon to wince and flinch with pain. But this tactic was bad in itself just because he was rendered useless to stop any other advancement.
Nothing he was doing seemed to work!
"I'm not giving you a choice anymore, Nightflight, do it now!" Mistyeyes hollered, her wings tight against her sides as she stood. Talon had dashed forward to try and help Clearsky with the others, baring his teeth at Mulch and Speedifist as they started to advance, having recovered from the blows dealt their way now. The gray dragoness' eyes were bright as she bared her own teeth, and Nightflight shrank away from the snaps and yells. She knew that Mistyeyes had a point. Despite the anger and indigence that brewed in her stomach as her friend turned on her so suddenly, she knew that there wasn't a question anymore. If they were to run, they would be followed, and they would put everyone else in danger. They couldn't fly, or at least Nightflight wouldn't be able to manage that feat. They couldn't attack either— that was the last thing that any Night Fury wanted.
So there was no other alternative.
But that didn't change the fact that she still didn't know how to do it. She had tried, time and time again. But the last time she had attempted the spell of sorts, everything had gone haywire. She had ruined Astrid's life. The guilt that clawed its way inside of her was still very much alive with the idea, and she grimaced deeply at the idea of doing it again. Something worse could go wrong this time. Of course she hadn't meant for anything to go wrong the first time. Despite how hard that she had worked before, nothing had happened until she hadn't been paying attention— her simple shout of frustration causing the effect that she hadn't meant to even touch. She remembered Toothless as he had interrupted her concentration. Why are you trying so hard?
How else was she supposed to do it? She had no idea how these powers had worked. Coming to terms with the idea, she had used them in a wildly different fashion than she was now: for her own personal and greedy benefit. She had used the powers with everything that she did, not giving mind the idea of it even if it was something important. She remembered sickeningly the way that she had manipulated Toothless, then Hiccup. Both times it had come so easy; she had been under the impression that what she was doing was right and that it would come to her just because she was deserving of the supposed reward. How could she have been so stupid? So spoiled as to take the powers then for fruitless reasons, when she really did need them now?
She remembered the words she'd spoken not an hour ago. I used to be the most idiotic thing in the world; so cocky, as if no matter what I did I was doing it perfectly. She hadn't left room for mistakes because she believed that, to her, there was no room in the first place. She had been the epitome of perfection and her powers had been provided just as a way to ensure that she would stay that way— and that she would get what she wanted with no excuse. She wasn't like that way anymore. Not at all. She was a different dragon, and she had learned her mistakes. Did that mean that she was rendered entirely powerless? Because she had grown and learned better?
Mistyeyes let out a loud roar, stepping forward in between Stoick and Nightflight as the chief started forward again. Gobber had started over as well, the dragoness' heart tearing at the idea of him caving enough to attack as well. Then again…she looked over at Clearsky, who was still managing to hold Spitelout down despite the way that his legs were being attacked and clubbing repeatedly. She looked at Talon, who was taking on Speedifist and Mulch at the same time, pushing them backwards when they got too close and giving them warning bites as well. The Night Furies were definitely taking more of the beating than the humans were, but to someone like Gobber who was watching the scene and his village mates being attacked, there could only be one logical conclusion to draw. "Nightflight!" She barked, ears flattening as Stoick and Gobber got closer, both drawing their weapons. She stumbled as she slipped in the mud, gasping loudly as she was forced to right herself with a grimace. "We don't have time!"
"I can't do it!" Nightflight gasped. "Mistyeyes, I'm not the same dragon as I was before-"
"What does that matter?!" She demanded hotly. "Nightflight you obviously have the ability to do something! You just have to do it again! You've done it enough before!" She cut herself off, letting out a harsh roar to the approaching Vikings, trying to send at least with her expression that the last thing she wanted was to attack and be on offense. But the pair didn't seem to realize this. Stoick lashed out with his sword, and Mistyeyes just barely staggered backwards enough to avoid the swing. Panic rooted in her heart and she screamed out her name again: "Nightflight!"
Nightflight winced, ducking her head and shutting her eyes tightly. How was she expected to react? She couldn't do it again, she didn't want to. She wasn't like she was— knowing that everything would be fine and that she was the best thing underneath the sun. She knew that this was her fault. She knew that everything was on her shoulders. And she knew that if she were to try anything more, she would mess up. She would disappoint Hiccup, and Toothless, and Mistyeyes. But…she was going to let them down now if she couldn't manage getting the Vikings to listen to her! She whined low in her throat, at a complete and utter loss on what she was supposed to do.
Mistyeyes suddenly straightened, her wings trembling with their efforts as her eyes widened suddenly to be a million times their normal size. Her pupils dilated, and her heart froze over as her ears went straight upright. "Oh no…" She rasped low in the back of her throat. "Please gods, no…" Off to the side, Clearsky and Talon looked up as well, Nightflight only shrinking with further confusion at her inability to see what was going on. Even the humans stopped at the dragon's third shift in tone, turning and looking up the ridge where her eyes were trained. Footsteps. A lot of them. Too many of them. And they weren't belonging to those of Night Furies or any other kind of dragon.
Sure enough, the other dragons' eyes widened with horror at the sight that was slowly making its appearance known. Mistyeyes had been right. The rest of Berk had been alerted by all this noise. And they were coming. It looked like twenty people rushing down the ridge towards them, the glinting of metal and bronze displaying weapons quite plainly even through all the rain and clouds. War cries were erupting through the group, and suddenly the Night Furies grew severely outnumbered. And severely at their limit. Mistyeyes let out a yowl of something almost akin to grief at the sight, which only increased as the crowd started to pour down the hillside, barreling straight towards the scene down below.
"Nightflight please!" Mistyeyes wailed. Talon even echoed his daughter's plead this time. Clearsky only felt a wave of despair, not only for himself as he looked over to Nightflight, who looked completely and utterly at her wit's end. He could picture this as the end— the final straw that would tear the plan apart into pieces as they were rushed on all sides. Vikings tore for the younger that was holding down Spitelout, Clearsky giving out yelps and warning snaps as weapons were drawn against him, still struggling to keep down the man underneath him. Others rushed Talon, who batted away every person that came near him, keeping his claws sheathed at the moment though knowing in the back of his mind that he was only delaying the inevitable. And Mistyeyes started to be swallowed by the rest of throng, those who still supported Stoick taking up stand with him against the gray Night Fury.
Nightflight remained out of the mob's vision as she kept to the far end of the clearing, curled so tightly into herself and so quiet that the violence-blinded villagers hardly noticed her. The luck was on her side at the moment though it certainly was going to run out quicker than she would have liked. The sounds of the dragons' screeches, the sounds of yelling humans, the sound of battle, was making the female sick to her stomach. She couldn't tell up from down before but now the world was entirely messed up. She was entirely messed up. How was she going to do this? Was she even going to do it? What was she supposed to do? She was as useful trying to do this as she was dashing in to fight as well without the ability to see.
She hadn't allowed herself any room for doubt back then. She hadn't left any room for failure. She knew that she wouldn't fail, she had had confidence in herself, she had performed the task adhering to the notion that it was expected and would indeed be delivered. But she couldn't do it anymore. It didn't come naturally to her like it had before. Like Toothless had said, she was trying too hard. But how could she let herself not try in a situation like this? Where it was so vital for her to pull it off and how one mistake could cause her and everything else to come crumbling down? She didn't think she could do it. There was just too much chance for her to make a mistake or to fail.
But…she couldn't. The dragon grimaced deeply, remembering how Hiccup had been so persistent in his befriending of her, even after everything she had done to him personally. And how much he helped her in flying and getting around afterwards. He had tried so hard and he had lost so much in the duration of that time. She couldn't fail him— not at all. She couldn't let herself give up on Hiccup, who had never once given up on her. And Toothless, who had forgiven her for all her flaws, and Mistyeyes, who she had even considered herself being a close friend with after all of this. Shadowclaw, Leafdapple… all of them. She couldn't let them down. Or fail them. Not after all of this.
She might have been a horrible dragon in the past, and she might have been arrogant, but at least she had known then that she couldn't give up. She had persisted even when it was obvious that Toothless wanted nothing to do with her. Sure it had been in a bad light, and there wasn't any sort of way that she was justifying the things that she'd done, but… She shook her head quickly to clear it, wincing as she tried to muster up her resolve. She couldn't just give up— not when Hiccup was counting on her to do all of this. Not when there was no other possible way to ensure that things could be better without it.
By now dragons had started to enter the fray as well, from Berk as Zipplebacks and Gronckles and Monstrous Nightmares splashed through the mud. Mistyeyes gasped at the sight, feeling a heavy weight settle in her chest at the idea of even more people arriving to battle against them. Nearly every single person and dragon was here that was left to populate Berk, and with the three meager offerings of Night Furies to fight against them — because River was frantic in her efforts to keep the wailing younglings safe from the others — it wasn't a fair fight in the slightest.
Off to the side, Mistyeyes' name was called, the Night Fury's head whipping in the direction of the call as she briefly let her attention slide away from the woman that had been advancing her way. It was Stormfly, the Nadder's eyes wide with confusion and alarm as her tail spiked up with the emotions. "Mistyeyes!" She called out again, looking just as lost and occupied as the one she was addressing. "Mistyeyes, what's going on!?" It was obvious in the way that she said this that she thought the Night Fury to be senseless. And the idea wasn't too far from the truth of it really, she couldn't help but think. "There are younglings here?" Her eyes were round with panic and concern.
"We're all here!" Mistyeyes snapped, her voice grating on the edge of exhaustion as she was forced to quickly throw off yet another person that flew at her. An arrow whizzed by, nearly nicking her ear as she flinched down from the projectile. A sword flashed by her leg, leaving behind a gash that caused her to seethe through her teeth in pain. It wasn't a deep cut at all— shallow and barely there. But open to the wind and the rain, the feeling of pain seemed to triple in magnitude. "Stormfly you've got to help us— we can't do anything but-"
Her words are cut off as she was slammed into from the side, the female's words cutting off into a shriek of surprise as one of the Vikings suddenly slammed into her side full-force, the wind being knocked out of the Night Fury as she staggered and tripped, falling over her feet and crashing down against the mud with a breathless huff. She struggled to get up, feeling the weight of the human on her back and knowing that the simple weight could evolve into something much more lethal if she hesitated any more. But before she could do just that, more and more weight was piled onto her, the dragon letting out a yowl of alarm and panic as she was gradually pinned against the ground. She clawed against the wet grass frantically in the attempt to get up, but her efforts were wasted as she felt the beginnings of metal against her skin. She was going to be killed if it went on like this for much longer!
"Nightflight! Help!" Mistyeyes screeched into the ground, floundering in the attempt to get the humans off of her.
Nightflight tensed, her ears flicking up at the call of her name. Time was running out, she knew. The female didn't have to possess sight to see that the clearing was alive and writhing in fighting bodies by now. And that the commotion was little compromised of the Night Furies. They were losing. They were losing and after a while she knew that whatever kind of leverage or ground they were managing to just barely hold up would certainly start to slip if it hadn't already. She had to get this to work— she had no other choice. She had to do it for Hiccup, Hiccup and everyone else.
Mistyeyes looked up, flinching as Stoick started to rush forward again. His sword started to draw itself again, and this time Mistyeyes knew that she would have little to no chance of avoiding this one. Talon was sinking himself underneath all of the villagers that were holding their own against him, Clearsky doing his best to help cover the little younglings along with River as the two Night Furies stood guard. The younglings behind them had long since fallen into shock, their shouts and yells of fright leaving now for them to be subdued— their eyes merely rounded in shock as they watched the scene with muted stares of terror.
Mistyeyes let out a roar, knowing that any attempt at communication would be wasted. Spending all her efforts on trying to throw off the others that were holding her down, the dragon was too busy thrashing and wriggling to try and get out a coherent sentence. Each twist and turn caused the dragon's body to spasm slightly in pain, and her breath was coming in harsh, uneven gasps as she let out frenzied roars as often as she could. Stoick raised his sword, readying himself to bring it down with crushing force onto Mistyeyes, who screeched loudly, ducking her head and squeezing her eyes shut.
"I've got you!" Mistyeyes stiffened at the sound of another dragon's voice, the gray dragoness looking up in shock as she recognized Brightsky. The other female slammed into Stoick's side, knocking him out of the way and clear off of his feet as the man was thrown to the left. Mistyeyes went rigid as the weight was suddenly ripped off of her back as well, the female forcing herself to sit up quickly, her head ringing as she turned in puzzlement. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Asher, another Night Fury who was gripping a man's sleeve in between his teeth, his eyes narrowed as he fought to keep the other rooted in spot. And another Night Fury, Leap, was herding away the other humans, yipping and snapping as she helped to get them off of Mistyeyes.
"What's-… What're you-" Mistyeyes struggled to form a coherent sentence as she looked around, realizing that there were more and more Night Furies filtering into the clearing now. A female was charging for Talon, knocking aside those who were suffocating the older Night Fury and letting loose a loud roar in response as the others reacted to her sudden arrival. Sorrel, a younger Night Fury around Shadowclaw and Leafdapple's age, was making for the younglings, butting through the Vikings that stood in between her and them, roaring fiercely at those who were trying to get to the weaker three. Claws glinted even in the rain, and Mistyeyes' heart froze over. They may be slowly growing in numbers as the Pack started to congregate again…but they couldn't resort to violence!
"Stop!" Mistyeyes yelled. "Stop! You can't hurt them!"
"Stand down!" Talon yelled.
Brightsky yelped, jumping backwards and narrowly missing a blow from Stoick, who lashed his sword yet again. "But they're attacking!" She gasped, looking confused. "They were going to kill you, Mistyeyes!" There wasn't anger or resentment in her voice as she yelled— just confusion. Mistyeyes gasped unevenly for air, struggling to get her breathing under control again as she pressed her wings tightly against her sides. She looked around quickly, realizing that there wasn't as much hostility as there could have been in the eyes of the Night Furies who had gone against her orders and fled here in response to the yells and shouts. There was mostly confusion. That, and strained effort to knock aside the humans or work against them without hurting the villagers. But still— their attacks, as small or held-back as they were, could only prove against their motive.
"Get back!" Mistyeyes shouted. "We have to try and-"Again, she was cut off as an arrow shot itself forward, grazing her shoulder as she let out a pained howl. The other Night Furies jerked to attention at the blow, eyes widening and a few outraged roars ripping through the dragons at the idea of their leader being attacked in such a way. Stoick started giving orders rapidly at the sound of angered growls, Spitelout rivaling the commands with his own. The group of Vikings was split down the middle; it was obvious that they were torn in what to do as the attacks were uneven and haphazard. Mistyeyes forced herself to recover quickly. "We have to-"
Leap squeaked in pain, being cut with a sword as the female butted her head a little too roughly into the stomach of her attacker in response. The human flew backwards, knocking down others as the Night Fury straightened, her eyes widening with something close to guilt. "I'm sorry!" She yelped, rushing over to the fallen villagers as if she were trying to help them back up to their feet. "I can-" But her efforts of trying to make up for what she'd done on accident were misinterpreted— others of Berk, Gobber included, reacted instantly as they raised their weapons against the 'charging' dragon. She slipped, stumbling backwards with a sharp gasp, drawing forward her wrings in the attempt to shield herself.
Brightsky looked up quickly, eyes dilating at the sight of her friend being cornered. "Leap!" She yelled, trying to get closer to the other as her eyes widened. She was stopped short, a rope flying over her back and tightening down quickly, forcing the Night Fury down on the ground as her stomach was pressed forcibly into the mud. She let out a shout of alarm, looking down at herself as she started to crawl out of the binds, other Vikings taking hint as they too started to try and tie down the female. Unable to get to her friend who was being attacked, and unable to protect herself or even move for that matter, Brightsky let out a scream of dread. Others flew forward, snarling at the offenders and lashing out at not only the ropes tying the dragoness down, but at the people who were controlling the binds.
Clearsky had been forced to retreat backwards, standing directly over the younglings now as he bared his teeth warningly, River helping to claw away those who tried to get near. But now the Vikings were readying arrows instead, as they found that any attempts to get close to the cluster was proving impossible. Arrows were nearly impossible to dodge or deflect with the way that Clearsky was hovering over the children. And as Rivers efforts to hold back the Vikings grew more desperate, it was obvious that the fact was obvious to her as well.
Mistyeyes gasped sharply in and out at the sight of the chaos around her. She was rooted in place, her blue eyes wide and distraught as she surveyed the fighting and carnage. The clearing was so thick with brawling dragons and humans alike that she could hardly see the ground itself anymore. And as shrieks and screams ripped through the air as loud as the thunder overhead, the dragoness couldn't help but fall victim to hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening! Not now! In the distance, towards the other side of the clearing, Mistyeyes was not mistaken when she heard a voice from one of the Night Furies raised in alarm, splitting through the air as they called out: "Hiccup!"
Feeling her frustration and panic bubble at her throat, Mistyeyes shut her eyes tightly, ducking her head low and echoing her own kind of call, to the only person that she knew for a fact could save them at the moment. "Nightflight!"
Nightflight locked her jaw backwards, the screams and shouts around her acting as a filter in the background now as she sunk her claws deep into the ground, as if to root herself. She was needed. She was needed. She had promised herself, sworn as soon as she realized what a mess she had created in using these same powers, that she wouldn't use her gift anymore; as much as she could help. She hadn't been able to use them either— not in the recent past. There had been too much room for error. Or at least she had allowed herself to have too much room for error. She had let herself become too fearful of herself, too ashamed and too much of a wreck to even come close to managing the feat that she was trying to accomplish.
But there was no room for error anymore. No, she wasn't going to fail. She had to do this. Before she had shied away in the face of her powers and the capability that they had. They could ruin everything. Lives, friendships, futures, hope. But that had been before. She remembered the way that she had caused Astrid and the others to see what her and Hiccup had gone through— a scene that felt like ages ago. She had done it without thinking, only having the primal urge and need to have the others understand what was going on. That should have made her realize what this really had the capability of doing. Sure— it had the power to cause great destruction. But she had used her powers to bring them all together in the first place, hadn't she? Mistyeyes, Toothless, Shadowclaw, Astrid… they wouldn't be together on this without Nightflight's powers.
The villagers of Berk…the Night Fury Pack…they wouldn't be together at all.
Unless it came with the help of Nightflight's powers.
The dragoness was rigid, panic tightening around her throat now at the idea of what she was going to have to do. But there was no other way. And if she was the answer to all of this— to ending all of the fighting and the screaming and the violence…. then she would be the answer. She was a better dragon than she had been before, and she was going to use her powers for a better purpose. There couldn't be any more shying away, or doubting herself, or wincing from the idea of her gift. Whether she liked it or not, they were a part of her. She was deciding who she was going to be; she wouldn't let either her past or her abilities define her. She was going to decide. Not only what she would be, but how her powers would work.
And they would work.
She wouldn't give them any other option.
"Stop." She growled lowly in her throat. Slowly, she looked up, narrowing her eyes and digging her claws deeper in the ground to still the trembling that was starting to take hold in her body. Raising her voice into a shout, she yelled out loudly: "Stop!" The Night Furies closest to her froze at her sudden interjection, turning and looking her way with eyes rounded out with not only surprise but bemusement. They probably hadn't even realized that she was there in the first place. Mistyeyes whipped her head around to stare fixedly at the Night Fury, her blue eyes burning at once at the sight of the female sitting up straighter now. Her breath stilled in her throat and she found herself locking her joints together in tense sort of stance.
Nightflight bared her teeth, tail shaking as she stood up. But still, she took in a calming breath, repeating her inner mantra inside her head to retain her courage. She had to do this. There was no other alternative. But she needed the humans looking at her, not the other Night Furies. Flinging her head back, the dragon sucked in a sharp breath, releasing the inhale in the loudest roar she could manage, the howl ripping itself out of her throat and striking itself through the rain and sounds of fighting with a clean slice. As it rang out over the clearing, Nightflight could tell that the entire place went completely still, her trained ears picking up nothing but the drumming of rain on against the island as she lowered her head again.
Knowing she had no time before violence ensued again, the dragon growled out firmly, leaving no space for question. "Listen to me!" She ordered, the command coming out in a stoic bark as she kept where she was. Mistyeyes staggered where she stood, waiting with bated breath for result. Off to the side, a relieved smile seemed to crawl over Brightsky's face, Leap keeping close around the younglings but craning her neck in order to see the female as she spoke. Clearsky was doing the same, though there was concern in his eyes as he stared a hole through Nightflight. Her muscles were taut, and he kept glancing around quickly at the humans in case they attacked. But at the moment, all eyes — though rounded out with fear and surprise — were on Nightflight. Just the way she had needed them to be.
The female narrowed her own eyes, putting forth everything that she could into her voice as she spoke as clearly as she could. She was going to do this. And it was going to work. There was no other alternative. "You will listen to me!" She declared firmly, ears flattening against her head at the idea of every bodied entity in the vicinity looking her way. But she pushed forth. "You will stop your fighting and you'll listen to what I have to say!"
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
Toothless had stopped running once they came over the rise, the entire group confused as to what they had walked into. Charging closer and closer, the sound of violence had caused them to rush and hurry. But once the noise of fighting suddenly came to an abrupt halt, their panic had resorted to more of confusion, Shadowclaw and Leafdapple still exchanging befuddled looks every once and a while as they trailed behind Toothless now. Astrid had tightened her hold on Hiccup, a hint of worry crawling into her blue eyes as she naturally assumed any of the worst ideas to bring upon such a silence. But Hiccup's look only showed slow concentration.
He had been the one to tell Toothless to slow, and though the Night Fury shot him a rather confused look from the corner of his eye, he complied easily with his friend. And as they got closer to the crest of the hill, they could hear clearly a single voice rose out among the silence. Toothless frowned, looking confused as he stiffened visibly. "Is that…?" He didn't finish his words. He didn't need to as Hiccup sat erect as well. Hopping forward the last few steps, Toothless stopped at the top of the ride, looking down the slope to the clearing that lay enclosed below. The Night Fury's eyes went wide at the sight that met him— everyone that populated Berk it seemed was down there, along with most of the Pack. Those who had had enough courage —and stupidity— to go against the orders of staying hidden at least. None of them were moving though. They were all still, and they were staring in the same direction that the humans were. At the head of the clearing. At-
"Nightflight." Hiccup breathed out, putting two and two together before anyone else as his voice became hushed.
Toothless gritted his teeth, looking more concerned than angry. "She's crazy. I thought she said that this was the last thing she wanted to do!"
Leafdapple paced forward as well; her face was grim at the sight below. At the Night Furies who were against the Vikings, some of them cornered, some of them tied down… "It didn't look as if she had much of a choice." She murmured softly, her voice rasping in the back of her throat. "And by the looks of things down there, it looks more dangerous than we could have predicted." Her tail lashed, and it was obvious by the way that she stood that she was anxious to throw herself down into the already crowded clearing.
Astrid was coming to terms with things, her process slowed thanks to the inability of being able to listen in on the dragons around them. "You mean she's….?" Hiccup gave a nod, not bothering to give her time to finish her question. The blonde sat up straighter, her blue eyes flashing. "We've got to go down there and help her!" She said in a whispered shout. Below, Nightflight continued to speak, words that Hiccup couldn't make out fully thanks to the rain and the talking that was going on around him simultaneously.
He nodded. "Let's go." He snapped softly.
"Why is she trying this now?" Shadowclaw asked where he stood, green eyes wide as he stayed close to Toothless and the others. "She said herself that she didn't want to try it again— we formulated a whole other plan just on the terms that she didn't ever want to use her powers again! Why is she trying now?"
Hiccup narrowed his eyes, looking at the dragon closely. He couldn't hope— not as much as he would have liked. Hope was the worst type of thing to have in a situation as dire as this one. But still…there wasn't stopping the slow spark that formulated in the back of the boy's mind, causing determination to settle itself in his green eyes, as well as the small tilt of a smile to tug up one corner of his lips wearily. And when he spoke, his voice was as assured as if he had been expecting the question from the young Night Fury. "She's not trying anything." He said, his eyes boring firmly into the dragon below them. "…This time she knows exactly what she's doing."