If any of you were wondering why I started posting this story when it wasn't even on my poll, well, the reason is, when I have an idea for something, I can't write something else without rushing it horribly. For instance, I wrote "Wolves" (a one-shot) while writing "Plasma Blast" because I couldn't work on "Plasma Blast" without rushing it, because "Wolves" was in the front of my mind.
Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving! I won't be doing many updates today, because of said holiday. So, enjoy this chapter, and have a great rest of the day! Happy Thanksgiving, have a free virtual miniature thanksgiving dinner for you and your dragons (for those who have them). Thanks! :D
Astrid felt horrible for leaving Toothless, but really, she didn't have much of a choice. It was leave Toothless to find land, or try to think up a plan of saving him while Hiccup bled to death in her arms.
The choice was a bit obvious, don't you think?
Still, though, she felt awful for leaving him. He knew how serious it was, but he didn't know whether or not Hiccup would survive. And really, if it were Astrid in his place, she would have been having a major freak out fest.
Earlier on in their flight, Astrid had landed Stormfly temporarily on a large block of ice. She had pulled Hiccup to his feet (which was hard, since he was unconscious. Not very heavy, but unconscious), gotten him and herself back on Stormfly, and then told the dragon to head off in a search of real land.
It was challenging, though, finding land was. Astrid didn't know the area. And the fog and snow didn't help one bit. At first, they had headed straight for Berk, but then a blizzard washed in from nowhere, to the point where Astrid didn't even know which way was up and which way was down. So, she decided to keep flying straight. Straight, and hope something worked out.
Unfortunately, although it did get them out of the blizzard, it didn't get them out of their problem. Astrid ripped a piece of fabric off her skirt (using caution she missed any of the spikes) and pressed it to the arrow wound, wounding it around the ammo that was still deep in Hiccup's skin. She had tried to pull it out, but then found it near impossible. She would have to land and do it. No other way around it.
But landing would be a problem, adding onto their list. Where was there to land? Moreover, safe to land?
Astrid steered Stormfly through the clouds. By the looks of it, it was nearing the evening. She had lost count of how many hours they had been flying, but now, she was desperate. She had to find land. If she didn't...
Hiccup was paling more and more by the second. It almost hurt Astrid to look at him. She had to land, treat his wound, maybe find help, somewhere, somehow, find another inhabited island...but what were the chances of that happening?
And then, out in the distance, Astrid saw something that looked almost like a lion's mane...only it was made out of ice. Sharp, solid ice that shot up in every direction. It looked remarkably like the ice mess the dragon trappers from earlier had been complaining about.
At first, she was worried they had come in a complete circle, and then she was relieved when she learned that this was an entirely different area. The ice-thingamajig was located solidly on an island, not looking like it would either melt or collapse at any given moment.
Astrid breathed a breath of relief. A place to land. Good. Hopefully, if anyone lived there, they wouldn't have a problem. But that was crazy. No one would live there. Or, at least Astrid hoped they wouldn't.
She quickly landed Stormfly in front of the structure and then dismounted, pulling Hiccup with her. He was half-conscious, just barely aware enough to stay on his feet if Astrid supported his weight, but he didn't look good. She knew she had to do something. Fast. But what?
"Help!" she shouted, hoping something or someone would hear her. Part of her was worried if more dragon trappers lived there, that they would just be captured, but the other part was screaming that if she didn't try, Hiccup would die. "Anyone!"
Suddenly, a dragon dropped out of the sky, landing a few feet in front of Astrid. Hiccup jumped slightly, moaning and stumbling back against Astrid afterwards, regretting he had even tried to move. Astrid tightened her grip around him as she watched a figure dismount...
Wait. Dismount? Were there other dragon riders?
Well, apparently, there were, from what the dragon trappers had said...but they had also said that their leader (Drago Bludvist?) was building a dragon army. For all she knew, this being could have been Drago himself.
She watched with bated breath as the figure slowly stepped towards them. He or she was wearing a horned mask, so any facial expressions were hidden; any features unexposed. By what Astrid saw of the clothes he or she wore in the bad lighting, she learned that it was a skirt, made from different types of animal skins, or something like that.
A female, then. Strange. Was Drago a girl? Was this person Drago at all?
Astrid finally let herself speak.
"Who are you?" Astrid asked, not letting her voice betray any emotion.
...
Valka looked at the two figures in front of her, and then the dragon behind the two young looking people. One of them was a girl, wearing a spiked skirt with blue leggings and a red shirt. Her hair was blonde; braided to the side.
The other was obviously a boy, clad in light leather armor, short, auburnish hair from what Valka could tell in the bad lighting, half-closed eyes, nothing else distinguishable. She did notice, however, that he was missing a leg, replaced with a metal prosthetic that sparkled slightly against the slight moonlight.
She also realized that he had an arrow sticking out of his side. Her natural instinct would be to treat the wound, whether he was friend or foe, but if he was working for Drago, she couldn't help either one of them. She would have to take them prisoner, or...or worse.
The dragon behind them was a Nadder, Valka noticed easily. One of the more common dragons. But who were these two people? They certainly didn't look like trappers, but Valka wasn't taking any chances.
"Who are you?" the girl spoke.
Valka didn't answer. Instead, she waited to see if the girl would speak again; maybe give some more information about herself without really thinking about it.
"Did you hear me?" the girl asked again. "Hello? Are you...ahh, what's his name...Drago Bludvist?"
Valka decided not to answer, either. For all she knew, this girl could have been playing dumb, trying to get info out of Valka. But no, she wasn't going to allow that. She wasn't going to let any dragon trapper leave to go tell Drago of her forces.
"Actually, you know what? I don't care," the girl said. "You could be Drago, you could be a trapper, you could be a no one...someone just marooned here for some odd reason...but my friend really needs help."
She wasn't lying, Valka knew.
"We were ambushed by Drago's trappers," the blonde girl continued. "And...my friend here was shot." For some reason, she wasn't using names. Probably because she didn't want to give away information. Same reason as Valka. "I can't treat it, and..." she looked at Valka when the woman didn't respond. "CAN YOU NOT HEAR ME!?" she suddenly shouted. "He's DYING! CAN YOU HEAR THAT!?"
"How do I know you're not on Drago's side?" said Valka.
"How do you know...this boy was SHOT by one of his men!" said the girl in an almost outrage. Valka was slowly beginning to like her, the way she spoke boldly to defend one of her friends. But Valka still wasn't taking any chances. She held onto the fact that the girl could have been lying about the entire thing.
Then, for the first time since they had landed, the boy spoke. His voice was weak, but just loud enough for Valka to hear it, although it was clear she hadn't been intended to be able to do so.
"Astrid..." he whispered, "I might pass out."
So that was the girl's name? Astrid. For some reason, that name sounded slightly familiar to Valka, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"I know, Hiccup," said the girl (or, Astrid). Wait a minute...Hiccup? Did this girl just call the boy Hiccup? "Just hang on a few more minutes, okay?"
"Hiccup?" Valka repeated, almost in awe. Was this really him? Hiccup? "No. It's not possible."
"What's not possible?" Astrid snapped, clearly irritated.
"Astrid..." said the boy (Hiccup?). Then, he sank to the ground with a pain-filled moan. And the lighting changed just enough for Valka to see a small scar on his chin. That was it. This was Hiccup. That scar Cloudjumper had given Hiccup on accident, the day Valka had been abducted by dragons. She was awed, but didn't have much time to be amazed.
"HICCUP!" Astrid shrieked. She quickly collapsed beside him, wrapping her arms around him to keep him in an upright position.
That was enough for Valka. This was Hiccup. This was her son, whom she had not seen for twenty years. Valka took off her helmet, tossed it to the ground and ran forward instantly, falling to her knees in front of Astrid and Hiccup.
Astrid shot her a glare, hugging Hiccup tighter. Valka didn't blame her; it was obvious she and Hiccup were close by the way Astrid had been being so protective over him.
"I want to help," said Valka, sounding probably more pathetic than she had intended to.
"Sure you do," said Astrid with an eye roll. "How do I know you're not Drago? That you won't kill us as soon as I let my guard down?"
That was a strange question, yet Valka could tell the girl expected her to answer it accordingly. How did she answer it, though? Valka didn't know.
"The boy will die if I don't help him," snapped Valka. Calling Hiccup "boy" sounded strange, since he was twenty by math, but okay. Not that anyone would have cared. "Is he worth the risk to you?"
Instantly, Astrid's face changed from pure hatred to extreme horror. She tried to come back with some witty remark, but she couldn't think of any. She held onto Hiccup with one hand, and then drew her axe in the other, her face flashing with anger once more.
"Try anything against either of us," said Astrid, "and I'll make sure you'll regret it."
"Deal," said Valka, probably too fast, but she was desperate. She couldn't watch Hiccup bleed out while she did nothing. Astrid was unbelievably gentle as she laid Hiccup down on the ground in front of her, making sure her axe was close enough to Valka so it reminded her of the constant threat. Valka paid no heed to it, though, at that time.
"You never did tell me," said Astrid. "What is your name? Are you Drago?"
"Valka," Valka didn't even hesitate. She didn't want Astrid to think she was just faking a name. "No, I am not Drago, nor am I for him. I am entirely against him. I train dragons, rescue them, and protect them."