Part 5

Hiccup maneuvered through the thick, still-falling snow, various furs wrapped tightly around him in unadulterated aggravation. It would have been easier to let the irritating Thorston twins go hunting for it, but they couldn't see the bright side of a barn if they were looking at it, not to mention they already thought he was insane and would never listen. His cousin Snotlout wasn't the best choice either, because when it came to brains, Hiccup was positive he had none. Astrid, tough as she was, would have been best, but she had a tendency to hit him whenever she thought he was being stupid. Since she seemed to think that his talk of seeing Jökul Frosti was stupid, the past few weeks had been hell escaping her wrath.

Hiccup could not see anything in the snowcapped trees. Trudging for hours, he gave up a long time ago trying to navigate (his map useless in the falling snow since it was beginning to stick to the pages), and let his feet and senses lead him 'round the island. One might think him lost, but he knew the area so well it didn't matter. All that was on his mind was the fact that he was cold and growing more irritable the longer he did not find the fallen Jotun. After a long time, he finally groaned in defeat. "This is getting me nowhere… Wherever he landed, he's probably escaped by now." He heaved a great sigh and around his neck, Toothless let out a mall yip, as if encouraging him not to give up. "I know buddy, I know."

And it was in that moment that he happened to look. Over the rocky crags of the hillside, he moved along the rim until it descended down into the depths below, something visible just beneath his sight and staining the ice red. "Oh Gods- there's someone down there!" He gasped, getting on his hands and knees, his boots scraping against the ice. "They must have slipped… Or-" He paused and his eyes widened. No. It couldn't be…. Could it…? He moved towards the bag he kept hooked at his side and retrieved a small bit of rope, anchoring it around the trunk of the nearest tree. "Odin, pray I don't slip-" And he used the anchored rope to slide down into the icy ravine. Traveling farther and farther, he definitely tried to be careful, but at the moment Hiccup was mostly concerned with one thing: the person who was bleeding beneath him at the bottom of the glacial ravine. When he landed, his eyes widened in a mix of absolute horror and (though he hated to admit), triumph.

There before him, trapped and bound inside the thick ropes in a position that left his arms stuck and unable to struggle free to move the broken crook which dug into his side, was Jökul Frosti. Up close, he was beautiful: snow white hair that glinted like silver behind an icy pool of blood, and skin a very pale colour, tinted with blue beyond the deep red cuts the rope had dug into his skin. Furs that wrapped his shoulders were now tattered and torn from the struggle he'd had as he'd become entangled in the rope. There were other cuts as well, along his arms, legs and neck, and anywhere else the rope had dug harshly into the skin.

Hiccup paled…. All triumph was lost to his person as he realized that this Jotun, this god of legends, was struggling to even breathe. His pure white hair was tinted pink where not red from having been scraped and cut into bleeding on the way down and it seemed only the sheer cold of the ice was preventing him from bleeding to death. He was unconscious, from what Hiccup could see, gasping in breaths past the entangled rope around his neck. Taking a step back, Hiccup felt the need to run. This was entirely his fault…. "I did this…." He mumbled softly, guilt filling him to his core. He thought about running, about leaving him and not looking back, but he just couldn't…

He quickly knelt by his side and tried to rouse him, intending for him not to move too harshly what with his injuries and the possibility of the crook stabbing into him. He was entangled pretty badly in the straps around his body; one of his arms was anchored behind him at an unnatural angle. It had to be immensely painful. "Hey-" He gently shook the Frost Giant's shoulder, almost afraid to touch him since he was a God, but swiftly ignoring those precautions because the other needed his help. It was then he realized just how young he appeared. He looked maybe in his late teens, lean as Hiccup but much lankier nonetheless. For a wise and powerful god of legends, he looked like an innocent kid.

Finally, after agonizing seconds, the pale, injured boy stirred with a groan and a gasp, still terribly dizzy and disoriented. "Nnng-!" Hiccup watched as he began to process what was happening, the Jotun 'staggering back' (more like jerked back) suddenly as best he could in frantic, bound wiggling. He grimaced and tried to curl his legs up to cradle his side and slid against the back wall of ice as best he was able. His face betrayed the pain through such a harsh expression as he felt a jolt of electric agony practically rip through his entire body. He was disoriented, by his sluggish movements and completely incapable of defending himself. "Who are you…!? What do you want with me?! Ahh!" He muttered softly, slurring his words, but it hurt to talk and another pinprick of fire shot through his side and straight into his hammering head.

Hiccup struggled to understand what he was saying, recognizing some of the words, but it made little sense to him as the Jotun language was foreign "I don't understand…" He said softly, reaching out a gentle, guilty hand. "Please, I'm a friend; I only want to help…." The other looked up and squinted, trying to understand as well, past glassy eyes the colour of crystal blue surrounded in midnight black.

"'Help?'" He asked, recognizing the word. "Please help me…" Though most of the words were still not getting through, Hiccup understood enough to comprehend and nodded his head, reaching for his knife. Jökul backed up again, squirming and shaking his head slightly, panic in his blackened eyes. Yet the exertion and loss of blood made him weak and he slumped against the ground, panting again and closing his eyes tight from the squeezing pain. OH how he wished he could be out of these bonds….

"Hold still, I'm going to get you out of there." Hiccup assured, and he made to hook his knife around the Frost Giant's bonds.

Yet this time, Jökul did not understand enough of the words to allow Hiccup to take hold and resisted, shying away when he tried to take hold. He shook his head and, curling his legs up, made a soft noise of discontentment and pleading sounds. "Um…. Okay, uh… Let me help you-" He said slowly, and gestured to himself, then to the other's injuries, then to the rope and hen to his knife. He looked at him in earnest. "Please…."

The Jotun with hair like snow didn't need to understand the words to comprehend the soft, pleading tone, and relaxed in a heap. Even if he was going to die, he couldn't protest any more. His energy was gone and he was so very tired…. All he wanted to do was get back into his icy room on Jotunheim and sleep beneath thick furs where Vikings, even small ones, did not threaten his life.

Hiccup wasted no time in freeing his captive, sawing the rope off quickly, until he could be free enough to get out, but making the rope still useable. He then tied the rope around Jökul's hips (just about the only place Hiccup was sure it was not going to harm or bruise) then handed the opposing end to the dragon who had been watching curiously through the whole ordeal. "Toothless, please fly this up and attach it to something that won't break with force." He pleaded. The dragon, understanding his master's request, flew up out of the ravine and secured it around a tree and back around itself with the huge rock keeping it secured.

With a sharp tug, Hiccup groaned- he was not strong enough for this, but he HAD to get Jökul Frosti to safety, or at least somewhere where his father would not find him… Wow this was going to be tough, but compared to hiding the Frost Giant in a village of people who wanted them dead or used for warfare, climbing out of there would be no problem! Toothless flew closer and tried to tug at the rope, and it was a nice effort so Hiccup encouraged him as he forced himself to heave both he and Jökul up and out of the ravine.

By the time he had finished, his arms felt like lead and he was exhausted, but Jökul was limply watching, half paying attention since he was drifting in and out of his delirious, blood-deprived state.

"I hate to say it, but I have to get you back to the village…." Hiccup muttered, seeing the ice-boy's head lolling to the side and his eyes fluttering like they would close any second. "It is too cold for you to last, winter god or not…." He decided, and lay him down. "Okay, how to transport you…." He groaned, the snow still falling, but he turned Jökul over to make sure the cloak was strong enough- yes, Jökul's fur cloak was large enough and thick enough to drag through the snow fairly quickly. So he took hold of his shoulders and began to drag him. Thank ODIN he knew every shortcut on the island, because had he not, and the Jotun would probably be dead….