Disclaimer: All characters (Grrek Knot is MINE!) belong to the creator of How To Train Your Dragon.
AN: Thursday has come to pass once again, and another thing that has happened again, is my laziness. I only just started this chapter today :S I hope it satisfies my wonderful readers :P Read on!
Grrek inches closer to me and my human, the ancient fear that is practically bred into our race alive and running riot in his mind. He is clearly fighting the urge to take off and leave the both of us behind. But this Catch is also strong of heart and pride and he stands just behind my shoulder, peering at the sick human at my feet with an air of horrified curiosity.
'What is wrong with it?' He asks out of respect for me rather than really caring either way. Not that I could blame my new kin. Most dragons will wish a human dead in the best of circumstances; the mindset of the lot of them assuming that a dead human was a good human. After sharing this mentality for all of my life, it had truthfully been hard to accept that they could be kind and not brutal.
Worry still churning in my stomach, I glance back at the red dragon. 'He's hurt… sick.' There being nothing else I could sayin my panic-stricken state, I continue to stare down at my hatchling helplessly.
Grrek's voice goes blank and unemotional immediately, 'If your pet is sick, then you should put it down.'
Anger shoots through me and I turn violently on the Catch. Despite my smaller size, the element of surprise and my longer experience works in my favour so I soon have him pinned on his back. With my paws on either side of his head, I snarl in his face and call upon my fire-breath once again. Feeling it race up my throat, I flick my tongue to the top of my mouth and hold the flame in my mouth, while keeping a steady stream of gas rising up from my second stomach. The gas naturally lights when it comes in contact with the air and as long as there is constant gas from me to sustain it, I can keep it lit for almost an hour.
Terror flashes through the younglings mind while he races to find how he offended me. All Grrek's muscles tense and instinctively he tries to grapple with me to get me under him. A dragon – especially a male dragon – on its back is in a very vulnerable position and he is almost painfully aware of it. Fortunately for me, he is unable too; my fury enough to give me the edge I need to remain in control.
I keep both my growl and my fire-flow continuing as I roar into his mind, 'He is NOT my pet! He is of my clan, under my protection. Remember this well. You lay a claw on him and you will suffer for many cycles to come, debt or no debt.' Shock flashes through his thoughts along with a rise in his terror. To throw away a life debt could only mean the importance of this human to me was immense. No dragon would lightly discard such a debt.
Bewilderment, however, quickly took over. 'Your clan? He is human! He cannot fly with you.' I just caught the thought that he is under the impression that he was dealing with a maddened dragon before he smothered it.
I smirked and brought my tail around by our muzzles so he could see the contraption my hatchling had fashioned on my tail so that I could take to the skies once more. 'Wrong. He gave me back my flight. Without him, this wooden thing will not function and I cannot fly. He flies with me.' Seeing the understanding go across his face when he sees my missing tailfin, I lazily get off him. My anger has evaporated and exhaustion from my worry sets in.
As I stumble back to my hatchling's side, Grrek gets to his paws again. Pity and remorse fill him and overflow, flooding me with his emotions. Flinching, I block the unwanted emotions from my own mind and focus on the small figure beside me.
He is now tossing and turning, restlessly moving his limbs. A fevered sheen of sweat is glistening on all of his visible skin, despite the cool night air. Desperate to help, I curl up beside him and begin to purr to let him know that he is not alone. After a few more moments of his aimless thrashing, he settles down into murmurs and a good deal of head-turning. Re-curling himself into a ball he huddles closer to me, absorbing my warmth.
The Catch approaches cautiously, both eyes riveted on me in case I threaten him to keep his distance. When I make no move to make him back off, he sniffs at the human's back which is facing away from me. Curling his lips back from his teeth, he whispers at me in my head, 'It smells funny. Perhaps his wound must be cleansed?'
Knowing that the dragon is trying to get back in my good graces by offering his assistance, I grunt in agreement and start to rise to my paws when Grrek shakes his head, 'No, stay with your human. I will get some leaves and clean water from a spring that I drink from. I will return shortly.' And he spreads his massive wings and takes off into the open air and accelerates so that soon, he is just a small red dot in the night sky before he disappears behind a column of rock.
My anxiety follows him. Having just met this young dragon, how do I know that I can trust him? Waiting as patiently for him to return, I send a prayer to the gods above for his loyalty, as well as the survival of the little human hatchling.
Fevered thoughts and images floated around pointlessly in my head. Every so often one would jump urgently to the for-front and then just as quickly evaporate back in to the fog of the others before I can identify their importance.
Shivering and flashes of hot and cold were all the sensations my body felt that my mind could process.
Of the world outside of myself, the only thing that I am able to register is an odd purring sound. Like a cat, but amplified and deeper. It is right next to me and neverending. The sound is comforting and it winds its way through my sick body and eases my muscles into calm. Dancing along with the current of my thoughts, it somehow calms the fervour in them as well.
'Toothless,' I mumble almost silently, half-remembering that there is something important that I need to know about him. Before I can grasp it, it escapes. A soft rustling sound fills my ears and all of a sudden a steady warmness is all around me.
AN: Poor Hiccup! As always, what did you guys think? Let me know in a review if you dislike reviewing, show me your love by favouriting or story alerting! Hopefully, there will be some exciting twist and turns in the next few chapters; I have ideas:P Stay tuned, and keep reading :P 3