Warning: Abuse.
Also, John is jaded, and lacks some social skills, so he might say the wrong thing when he's not meaning to.
Out of everything I never thought I'd admit, it was that Helheim was real.
I had lost feeling in my fingers long ago and was simply pressing as close to the Woolly Howl as I could.
"I see land!" Hiccup, my savior in multiple ways at the moment, called out. Astrid replied with a shout of her own.
"Go! We can make camp in the trees!" We dove at a quicker pace than I was comfortable with, but getting warm was more important. Our dragons landed and used their wings to clear a small space. I shivered out of the saddle and the Woolly Howl gave me the warmest hug I had ever received. Her wings wrapped around us in a cocoon, trapping her body heat inside.
I shivered furiously, not fighting the sensation as I blew on my hands. I swore there were ice crystals on my fingernails. The Woolly Howl placed the bottom of her jaw again the back of my head and pulled me closer.
"I-I-I-I will n-never take you for granted-d." I could hardly get a word out as I tried to wiggle closer to her amazing body heat. The shivers gradually went down as I was warmed up. She nosed my head and I looked up at her. Gratitude warmed me more as I reached up and scratched her jaw, feeling her purr.
"John? Are you feeling better?" Came Hiccup's voice minutes later.
"Yeah, I'm warmed up now."
"Good, can you lead us to your village?"
"It's…not really a village…"
"Okay?"
««{{¤}}»»
"Woah."
"Yeah."
"You lived down there?"
"Yeah." There was a beat of silence. We were laying at the edge of a forest, looking down over a snow covered bowl in the landscape that stretched a good quarter mile across. The edge of the bowl had a spiraled ramp that reached down to the bottom. Wooden huts were placed along the spiral, suspended by pylons made of wood. Sounds of metal and rock colliding echoed up from the bottom.
"They keep the slaves just inside the cave," I muttered. Astrid and Hiccup traded looks before turning to me.
"Slaves?" Astrid asked. My lips pressed into a thin line.
"No other name for kids forced to work without pay." That drew a wince from them.
"I…didn't know," She mumbled. I grunted as I pushed myself back.
"I'm not holding it against you. Either of you. Come on."
"Wha-woah, we're just going to walk down there?" Hiccup grabbed my arm.
"Well, we certainly aren't flying," I scoffed.
"You don't think we should think this through?" I gently pulled my arm from his grasp.
"I've thought it through a million times." My feet hit the path that lead inside the bowl.
"John!" Hiccup hissed after me before following.
"Act like you belong or don't follow," I muttered. They traded glances before stepping in line behind me.
No one but my family would recognize me. My grown out hair and different clothes would throw even them off. We made the long trek down to the bottom. People would greet us with friendly waves, which I returned as if I was a regular visitor.
"What's the plan?" Hiccup asked.
"Find a place to hang out until dark. Take out whoever we need to and get my brother out." He grabbed my shoulder.
"What do you mean, 'take out?'" I didn't answer. "John, we're not…"
"I will do what I have to. I won't let him go through…" I trailed off when someone walked nearby. "…He doesn't deserve the same as me." They once again traded glances.
"We'll follow you, John. But no killing."
"Only if we have no choice." Was as close to an agreement as I would give him.
I lead them to a tavern and settled at a table. When the barmaid came over, I asked for a couple of waters. The tankards were plopped in front of us and I nodded my thanks before taking a drink. The water was room temperature, which actually helped break the slight chill that had started settling in again.
"How did no one ask us what we were doing?"
"Visitors are common. Metal isn't cheap to mine, so this colony has the monopoly on it for a good few weeks' trip inland."
"No one recognized you."
"I didn't see the light of day much." Hiccup flinched and his jaw tightened. Astrid raised an eyebrow, but hid her question behind her tankard. "Orris is going to be in the mine itself. We need the keys for the cages if we're going to get him out."
"We could just fly in, grab the cage and get out," Astrid offered. I shook my head.
"They may not have raids like you did, but they still have defenses against dragons."
"So, we break him out, get up to the top of this place and fly out of here."
"I'm worried about his condition."
"We'll get him out and assess him after," Hiccup said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I nodded. We made small talk for a while, but I finally stood up. Hiccup and Astrid nodded to each other and checking their gear as we walked outside. I led them behind a few buildings.
"Two guards are posted outside the mine. They're the only ones close by. But we passed a few on the way down. Be prepared for a fight from the locals too." They nodded. Sneaking closer, I peaked around the corner of the closest building. It was past dusk, leaving torches to light the way.
"Ready?" They nodded. "Keep up." I rushed around the corner. The two guards perked up at the rapid footsteps. I rushed past the first guard and leaped at the second. A flying knee caught him in the stomach before a fist laid him out. The other guard was unconscious with Astrid standing over him.
I grabbed a torch on the wall. Checking the guards, I snagged some keys. Heading into the cave, Hiccup and Astrid kept pace with me. Memory led my feet as my eyes and ears strained to catch any other people in the area. I turned the corner, only to freeze.
*Crack*
"Ah!" A knee hit the floor.
"You dare fall when I am speaking to you?!" A voice growled. My hand closing over my mouth was the only thing keeping me from gasping out loud. A man stood in the middle of the cave with a whip in hand.
My brother was on a knee, his back exposed.
My vision went red.
"John, what's g-!" Hiccup didn't get to finish as I bolted forward.
"FATHER!" I roared. The man turned, surprise in his eyes. I swung the torch, catching him in the face before ramming him with my shoulder. He dropped the whip as he wiped at the burning face. I kicked the whip out of his reach.
"Get him out of here!" I said.
"Got it!" Hiccup ran forwards and wrapped my brother's arm over his own shoulder. Astrid kept her axe in hand as she got on Orris' other side.
"You." My father hissed as he kept an eye shut. "I never thought you would have survived."
"Surprise!" I snapped.
"Not a pleasant one."
"Because I was wishing to make you happy!" I shot back. I began backing towards the cave entrance. "We're leaving."
"You won't get far."
"I've made it out once. Without help."
"Yes, and since then, we've made some improvements to our guard." He pulled something off his belt and put it to his lips. My eyes widened and I threw the torch, trying to stop him. He smacked it to the side as he blew into the horn. It was loud enough in the small space that I covered my ears.
"Everyone in town now knows you're trying to escape. Give up now and you might stay alive."
"I'll never obey you!" I turned and ran.
"You're nothing! That will never leave you, no matter how far you run!" I gritted my teeth and ran faster. I didn't hear him following.
Outside the cave was chaos. Kids were running inside while adults were trying to figure out what was happening.
"Hey! Isn't that Ford's kid?!" One guard pointed to me. I scowled and took off towards the exit. It was going to kill me getting up to the top, but I could see the others already half way up. There were others chasing them. Astrid noticed and had Hiccup help Orris while she handled the pursuers.
I ducked under one man's grasping hands and kicked another's shin. I made it to the ramp and began the long trek, being directly across the way from the others. I caught up to one of the slower guards and wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, twisting myself and throwing him back down the path. A few other men had to move out of the way as he cried out in pain.
I kept going, able to catch most of the men unaware as their attention was on the others. I grabbed a sword from one man's belt as I passed him. Another man spun around and I barely blocked his swing. Grunting, I let the adrenaline guide my movements as I brought my sword over my head and spun. The man behind me fell back as his hand was cut open.
I spun back just in time to duck under a swing that would have taken my head off. Leaping under his arm as he went for a cut in the opposite direction, I continued running. There were only two other men between me and Orris, but Astrid was dealing with them. How her skinny arms were swings that axe around with such control, I'd never know. She planted the axe in the ground and kicked off of it, only to plant her foot in the face of the final man right as I got to her.
"Go!" I panted. We caught up with Hiccup and I took Orris from him. "Come on Orris, stay with me!"
"…J-John?"
"I'm here, I'm here! We're leaving!"
"So cold…"
"I know!" Hiccup moved behind us with Astrid. I didn't have time to question a flaming blade that came out of nowhere. We continued trekking through the snow as the Berkians fought off any pursuers.
"Hiccup!" I called over my shoulder. "He's not going to make it! Can you call the dragons?!"
"Yeah!" He knocked one sword away from his face before blocking a second. Astrid took over as he backed up and let out a shrill whistle. He rejoined the fight quickly, as even Astrid could only handle so much.
"John…" Orris groaned.
"Hold on, just a little more!"
"I can't…Too tired…" He nearly fell as his leg failed to hold his weight.
"No, no no no!" I dropped the sword and picked him up off the ground. "Don't you dare pass out on me! We're almost there, we're almost free!" I grimaced at how light he was, even for me. I heard flapping of wings and fire rained down from the sky.
Stormfly hit the ground next to Astrid and spun, her tail spines launching at the men that were shouting for our heads. Toothless landed next to Hiccup and lit off three blasts. The Wooly Howl landed next to me and cooed in concern.
"Help me get him on your back!" She crouched down and I slung him over the saddle.
"John!" Hiccup called out. I looked over to see more men coming up the path.
"Go go go!" I hopped on the saddle nearly in sync with the others and we took to the skies. "Stay low! Be ready for catapults!" I shouted. I adjusted Orris so he was sitting in front of me and wrapped my arms around him.
"It's okay. We're okay. We're alive. We're safe," I said, more to myself than to him. We soon hit open water and took to a higher altitude.
"How is he?" Hiccup asked.
"We need to get him some clothing! It's too cold up here!" Astrid called out. In our time rescuing him, the skies had cleared for the most part.
"We'll land at the next island!" Hiccup pointed at one on the horizon. The Woolly Howl looked back at me with concern.
"Go, as fast as you can!" I told her, gripping the saddle tightly. She shot forward like a bullet. I pressed Orris' body between mine and hers, hoping to share our heat and stave off the cold. Orris stirred a little and turned his head towards me, those his eyes stayed shut.
"Are…a-are we sailing?" I grimaced at the question.
"Sure, yeah Orris, we're sailing."
"This must be a weird boat, it's not rocking like normal."
"Save your strength, kid."
"Okay…" I felt my heart twist as we neared the island. The Woolly Howl landed quickly and wrapped him in her wings as soon as she could. I slumped to the ground as she looked him over inside her leathery cocoon.
"He's…" I hid my face in my hands as my whole body shook. "He's alive. He's okay." Hiccup placed a hand on my shoulder, holding out a blanket. I nodded my thanks before wrapping it over myself.
"Well, you did it." He sat next to me as Toothless curled up behind us. We both welcomed the warmth. I looked over at the Woolly Howl.
"How is he?" I asked. She glanced under her wing, lifting it for only a second, before nodding. I felt myself relax a little. I turned to Hiccup. "What do we do? It's a long flight back to your island. I'm afraid he'll get too cold."
"Wrap him with the blanket. It's our best option. It's not going to get any warmer." I nodded once before crawling over and tapping the wing that covered my brother. She opened her wings and I picked up Orris, who was sleeping by that point. With Hiccup's help, I wrapped him in the blanket and got him back on the saddle. I got on and nodded to Hiccup, who saddled up with ease.
We were back on track as I laid against my brother's back once more. The wind was biting against my face as I put the mask on Orris, but if it meant him being safe, I could handle a little cold.