Chapter 4.
Hiccup sighed and looked away from the broken tailfin, wondering how he'd ever fix it without the forge handy. Toothless crooned worriedly, and Hiccup smiled reassuringly before patting the dragon's head.
"Any luck?" Astrid asked, and he shook his head before slumping back down to sit beside her.
"There's no way I can fix that tailfin without a spare." He murmured forelorningly. "In less we find the saddle bags… but they're probably long gone by now."
"What about a stick or something?" Astrid asked, glancing out the cave door and towards the woods beyond.
"Not strong enough."
She bit her lip and put on a thoughtful face, pondering what to do next. Finally she sighed and shifted position, wincing as she did so.
Hiccup instantly turned around, holding out his arms to offer assistance. "You okay?" He asked worriedly, resting a hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged it off, but even that movement made her freeze from pain. "Yes, I'm fine." She said, although it wasn't very convincing. Every time she moved she'd take an overly deep breath, and her face would fix into concentration, like it took a lot to focus on moving merely one limb.
Hiccup relaxed again, but his eyes caught sight of the torn red fabric of Toothless's tail as the dragon stood up and moved closer. He sighed and bit his lip, trying to think.
"Come on, genius." Astrid prompted, lightly tapping his skull. "You'll think of something."
"Thinking hurts." Hiccup frowned and gently rubbed at his temples. He sighed and turned back to Astrid, noticing how the blanket had bunched up in her lap. He froze for a moment, his eyes flitting back to the tailfin before going back to Astrid's blanket.
"Wait." Hiccup stood up, balancing on his good leg as he stumbled over to where he'd slept with Toothless and Astrid the night before. He leaned down and picked up his blanket, fingering the light flimsy fabric in his hands.
He turned back to face Astrid, who had her arms crossed and was smirking at him knowingly.
"Found something didn't you?" She said with a smile. "Will that work?"
"Not for long." He folded the blanket in two and held it up, noticing how it was no longer see through. "If I double it up like this, it should hold up until we reach the Edge."
"What about the Defenders?"
"We'll send a note- and send Snotlout or Fishlegs to help. You're injured, and I'm not going anywhere if you're bedridden." Hiccup stated it all matter a fact way, hoping Astrid wasn't listening to attentively- she definitely wouldn't enjoy being stuck in bed for days on end.
She must've listened. "BEDRIDDEN!?" She exclaimed, jerking into a sitting position with a pained yelp. "I'M ASTRID HOFFERSON, I DON'T GET BEDRIDDEN!"
Hiccup winced at her tone, and nodded weakly. "Sure, sure, we'll see what Fishlegs has to say about that."
Astrid huffed and fell back against Stormfly's flank, her arms crossed over her chest again as she looked away with a pout. "I'm not going to sit in bed." She muttered.
Hiccup rolled his eyes before setting the blanket down nearby Toothless, then he turned and looked for anything that might make a good connecting rod.
Too bad Meatlug wasn't there, if she had been, he would've been able to make a connecting rod easily. Perhaps he could train a Gronkle..?
"Okay." He said, bending down to pick up one of the small saddlebags. "I'm going out to get a Gronkle. You stay here and rest, take it easy."
Astrid glared at him, refusing to answer.
Hiccup laughed and crouched down, pecking her nose with a kiss. "Oh, first fight, huh?"
"Second." She corrected, reminding him of the small squabble they'd had on the way to this Thor forsaken island. He smiled, dazing out for a bit when he realized that they indeed were having "Lovers Quarrel's," although they'd had similar arguments before, it felt strange to argue now. With them being a couple now, it just felt… really really wrong.
"I'll be back soon." He repeated. "Stormfly, guard Astrid and make sure she doesn't try to stand up."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." Astrid stated irritably. "Why don't I come with-"
"Astrid…" Hiccup groaned, spinning around so he was staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and sighed, placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Go back to sleep."
He didn't get a reply first off, which worried him. Knowing Astrid, she'd have a ready snappy comeback any time, so her falling silent…
He spun back around in a panic, his heart plummeting when he noticed Astrid' s pale complexion and her lax features, her eyes fluttering shut and her body slumping more so against Stormfly then before.
He let out a squeak of alarm before falling to his knees, knowing he could move faster crawling then walking. He hurried to her side, grabbing her wrist and feeling for a pulse he feared wouldn't be there.
He pulled away, relieved that the steady, strong throb of her blood pulsing through her veins was still there. He bit his lip and pushed back her hair, letting his hand hover over her forehead.
"Gods, not a fever." He whispered. Toothless whined and licked her face gently, but she made no response. Her face was quickly becoming flushed from the fever she sported, which worried Hiccup to no end.
"What to do, what to do…" He repeated, looking about the cave as though expecting a healer to appear out of thin air. "Please… Astrid."
Stormfly gave a little jolt as she woke from her nap, the dragon giving a large yawn before turning to face the two humans. She began squawking worriedly and in panic when she noticed Astrid's still form lying against her side, and the dragon began to curl about her as though trying to shield her from the world.
"No, Stormfly!" Hiccup pulled Astrid away, cradling her in his arms. "She's hurt I need to-"
Toothless barked and dashed off, grabbing the empty water skin on the way. Hiccup watched the dragon go, wondering what in the archipelago he'd rushed off for. Water?
Hiccup turned back to the unconscious Astrid, careful not to hurt her as he gently sprawled her back on the blanket, pulling the other over her still body.
"Please be okay." He murmured, kissing the back of her hand.
"Oh… stop being so dramatic…" She whispered. His face lit up in a smile and he laughed shakily.
"You're evil!"
"Sorry…" The whisper was weak, but held sarcasm and teasing. "You panic so easily…"
Hiccup laughed, failing when he tried to pull a frustrated face. "For that scare, young lady, you're most definitely bedridden for at least a week."
"I hate you."
"Oh, I know." He laughed and kissed her hand again. "Now take it easy, it can't be healthy passing out like that at the drop of a hat."
"Hmm… I am sleepy…" She murmured drowsily, sounding very un-Astrid-like. "But it's so hot…"
Hiccup frowned and pressed his hand on her forehead again, hating how warm she was. "You have a fever…"
She bunched up her brows, creating a crease in her forehead. "Oh… I suppose that would make sense…"
Hiccup sighed and leaned back against his good heal, rubbing his hands over his knees. "I'm sorry, Astrid. This is my fault- I should've-"
"Not this again…" She groaned. "Shut up, Hiccup. It was my fault, so get over it."
"No it wasn't." Hiccup insisted. "If I had just-"
"I said shut up." Astrid interrupted, lifting her unbandaged hand and setting it on his good knee. "We've gone over this. Besides, I'm too tired to argue with you right now. So please, just let me catch some sleep and when I wake up we can argue about this."
Hiccup sighed again, wringing his hands together. "But we shouldn't argue! That's not we do!"
"Since when?"
"Since… forever!"
"Forever being the last twelve hours?"
Hiccup glared at her, "Since when did you get my sarcasm?"
"Well… I have apparently known you for forever…" She teased quietly, her voice growing softer and weaker as her eyelids fluttered.
He let his hand drop onto her cheek, slightly rubbing his thumb over her soft skin. "Go to sleep, Astrid."
"Thought… you'd never…" her voice trailed off, and her eyes slid shut, her breathing evening out as she fell into slumber.
Hiccup sat there, just staring at her for a time, then he stood and balanced on his right foot, trying to put as little pressure on his prosthetic as possible. He turned around, letting out a surprised yelp when he noticed that Toothless had returned, now holding a dripping but full water skin in his toothless mouth. The dragon dropped the skin on the ground, smiling gummily and wagging his tail.
"Thanks Toothless." Hiccup grinned and rubbed Toothless's head playfully. He then stumbled closer to Toothless, all but collapsing onto the saddle before scooting to throw his leg over and into the pedal.
"Okay, Gronkle's bud." Hiccup patted Toothless's side. "Just need to find one Gronkle."
Toothless barked and took off running, Hiccup hanging on tightly with both hands since his legs weren't doing the job right. His left leg was rubbing painfully against the saddle, causing daggers of pain to run up the limb and into his spine. It was becoming excruciatingly hard to bear by the time Toothless skidded to a stop, much to Hiccup's relief.
"Gr-gronkles…" Hiccup grunted, sliding off his dragon. He looked up blearily, smiling when he noticed a very frightened looking male Gronkle backed against the cliff face.
Hiccup stood up as straight as he could, fumbling for any weapons he might have. He settled on a small dagger, and he hurried to pull it out of its holster and hold it away from him. The Gronkle growled, and Hiccup instantly dropped the dagger to the ground.
The Gronkle's eyes widened, and he looked at Toothless hesitantly. Toothless smiled gummily and crooned, holding up a paw as if offering his peace.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." Hiccup reassured, taking slow and choppy steps towards the calming Gronkle. "I-I just need your help."
The Gronkle- whom Hiccup decided to call Cobalt given to his blue color- eyed him curiously, edging away from the wall slightly so he was no longer pancaked against it.
Hiccup slowly extended his hand, pausing about three feet away mainly because he was to weak and in pain to take another step. But Cobalt didn't seem bothered by it, for he tottled forward and pressed his dry bump nose against Hiccup's outstretched palm.
"The-there…" Hiccup stuttered, bringing up his other hand to rub Cobalt's chin. "There we go…"
Toothless trotted forward and crooned, giving the Gronkle a little lick to show he meant no harm. Cobalt growled happily, wagging his heavy tail constantly in his joy.
"Let's get back." Hiccup stated, crawling back onto Toothless's back after retrieving his small dagger. "Cobalt… could you come with us..? Just for a few minutes."
Cobalt barked and flapped his small wings, hovering in the air and willingly following Toothless and Hiccup back to the cave.
…
Sniff, snuffle.
He stepped forward out of the shade, letting out a little screech as the sunlight touched his scales.
The others were asleep, he should be too.
He curled up, eyeing the cave in the distance. The cave where the two weak humans and grounded dragons resided.
Easy pickings.
He narrowed his red eyes and let out a sharp hiss.
Night was coming…
*whistles*
So, hello there, I'm just going to drop this off here, act like I haven't been gone for almost two weeks… *cough* *cough*
BUT FANFICTION WASN'T WORKING. IT WASN'T MY FAULT.
Anyways, I'm back, but updates over the next week or so are going to be slow, because of school testing *blegh*
Love you all, see you next chapter!