WAAAAAAAAAH!" Ruffnut yelped as she lost her balance and gripped on before pulling herself back up. Once back up, she glared at the apple, just out of her reach, "If I go down you go with me!"
Without hesitation, she leapt to the next branch and grabbed the taunting fruit, chuckling in satisfaction. Suddenly, the branch snapped and she screamed as she fell, only to be caught by Tuffnut.
"Ah, seriously?" Tuff grunted. "Ruffnuts grow on trees too? Wait... That means there's a Tuffnut Tree out there!
"Don't be an idiot!" Ruff smacked him, "Only fruits and Snotlout grow in trees."
"What's in your hands?" Tuff questioned.
"Breakfast, dunderhead," She held the apple to his face. "And herbs for Hiccup."
"Are they the ones that will heal him?" Tuff asked another question.
"No, just ones to help him sleep." She stood up, and walked back to the cave, "Which is why I gotta go. There's only one island close enough where the herb we need grows"
"Which island?" Tuff walked alongside her into the cave.
"Cresent Island," She sighed.
"No!" Tuff shouted. "We just escaped that Thor-Forsaken Island. Dagur's still camped there. I'm coming too."
"No, Tuff." Ruff ordered him. "Hiccup can't defend himself. He's too injured to even move. I'm sending Barf and Belch to deliver an SOS to the Edge, but it will be a few days. I need you to hold down the fort here until I can get back. Okay?"
"Fine." Tuff said, picking up his spear and smiling before looking at Toothless, "What about him?"
"I need to fly someone. Now get ready, I'm gonna check on Hiccup."
Ruff slowly dug into her bag, grabbing the fruit she collected and knelt by Hiccup.
"You feeling any better, Hiccup?" She asked as she continued to dig in her back.
"A bit better," he replied, barely over a whisper.
"You need to retain your strength," she helped him to sit up and offered him one of the apples, "Eat. It might make you feel better. Fruit is best for injuries and illness."
"Isn't that soup?" Hiccup questioned. "I'm certain it's soup."
"Yeah," Ruff confirmed, "but Tuff refused to let me brew his chicken down for broth."
Hiccup chuckled, but held his side in pain with his good arm. Ruffnut hugged him gently and helped rub the sore spot, helping him get comfortable before feeding him the apple. Once finished, she took out her kettle and lit a new fire to boil the herbs for the tea.
"If you need the tea," she gave him a pack of matches her mother made, "light one of these and heat the tea up. With luck, I'll be back by tomorrow."
"Thank you, Ruff," Hiccup hugged her with his one good arm, "And please... Please be careful.
"Hiccup," Ruff smiled at him, "You know I can't promise you that."
With that, she jumped on Toothless and took off in the direction of Cresent Island.
Within the hour she had re-set her feet on Cresent Island. She unrolled the map and looked at her surroundings. By her calculations, she remembered there were three Berserker camps. One on the North beach, one on the South beach and the command centre in the middle of the island. With both of the beach camps being too much to outrun, she surmised the best course of action was to cut through the forest and do her best to avoid the command centre.
"Well, let's go Toothless," she slipped into the brush, followed quickly by the Night Fury.
Inside the canopy, Ruff followed the rough pathway she'd set out for herself, passing the landmarks and trails until she was able to see the Beserker's in the distance.
"There's the camp, Toothless," Ruff glared as she spotted Dagur raging out at some of the guards, one of them she remembered as the guard she snuck the key from. It brought a smile to her face as she watched him get hit over the head with a hammer.
When she'd had her chuckle, Ruff continued on her way, being careful to make as little noise as possible. Once clear of the camp, she, sighed in relief and continued on her way. Toothless did the same, following her and keeping an ear out for the sounds of the Berserker's. By lunch, they'd come about half way to their destination. Toothless nudged Ruff and flapped his wings to tell her they should fly the rest of the way.
"No, Toothless," Ruff warned. "We can't take the chance. Remember, Dagur could have his armada ready to take us out of the air. This is for ours and Hiccup's welfare."
Toothless groaned, but agreed and the two continued into the forest.
Hiccup woke up a few hours later after having a nap and looked about, only to meet Tuffnut face to face!
"Aaah!" He yelped as he sat up and grunted in pain, "What are you doing?"
"Watching you." Tuff smiled, "Ruff told me to."
"I somehow doubt she meant it like that," Hiccup sighed.
As Hiccup sat up, he noticed that Tuff's face was covered in his riding face paint, with varying shades of green instead of the usual yellow and black. What's more, his clothes were covered in leaves and even a fake pigeon.
"Uh, why are you dressed like that?" Hiccup questioned.
"Tis my sacred duty to defend Berk's heir," Tuff said, "Berk's weak, twiggy, constantly getting into trouble, always getting hurt in some way..."
"Okay, Tuff," Hiccup rolled his eyes, "I think we get..."
"Pathetic, scrawny heir." Tuffnut continued.
"You done?" Hiccup sighed.
"Wait," Tuff thought of a long word to use, "Malnourished. Okay, I'm good.
"Thank you." Hiccup looked about for his sketchbook and grabbed it, trying to take his mind off the pain coursing through his veins. As he grabbed his charcoal pencil, it slipped from his grip and landed with a clatter on the floor. At this, Tuffnut jumped up, screaming.
"Ah! Attack!" Tuff squealed, jumping on Hiccup and causing him to cry in pain, "Save me, Dragon Warrior!"
Hiccup mentally sighed and thought to himself, "This would have been a long day alone, but with Tuff? 'Protecting' me? Oh, Thor Almighty, please help me."
End of Chapter two.