I'm baaaack! With another chapter with our beloved characters from HTTYD!
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon. However, Alani and Spitfire are mine to corrupt as I please! *Mwahahaha!*
Enjoy!
~o0O0o~
Vikings drank and sang, completely oblivious to their lack of pitch or tempo. The men who'd had a tad bit too much to drink were discussing who could hang from the ceiling candle fixtures the longest and timing each other.
Hiccup and Astrid found an open table and motioned everyone over as a barmaid brought large legs of meat and kegs of ale over for the Viking Heroes and the new addition to the Village of Berk. The healer rushed up to Alani's side surprising the red-head who squeaked and jumped, nearly knocking the table and the food over. She wasn't allowed to have any of the alcohol offered to her as it would thin out her blood and cause her wounds to reopen. The healer also ordered a healthy serving of vegetables; Snotlout and the twins visibly flinched at the word. The old lady said something about speeding up the healing process with the necessary food groups but her feebly old voice was drowned out as Stoick and Gobber began singing about Ancient Viking Heroes.
Despite the strange looks Snotlout and the twins were giving her, Alani ate the vegetables and meat and drank the water the old lady had given her. The healer had mixed up a batch of herbs and powders into the water and no one else was allowed to drink it. It was Alani's medicine.
"How can you eat that stuff?!" Snotlout yelled over the raucous singing that filled the Hall. She tilted her head to the side confused. He pointed to her vegetables. She laughed and shook her head.
"We actually eat this all the time at my village!" she called over the noise. Snotlout cringed and said something; probably insulting her village's diet, but the words faded into the background before she could hear.
Several other Vikings came up and introduced themselves to Alani. She smiled and thanked them and each man went off with a smile on their face. One Viking even had the nerve to give the poor girl a 'pat' on the back in a friendly greeting. The Viking's large rough hand scraped at the new stitches and Alani cried out as she felt the healing skin on her back tear again.
Hiccup and the gang stared in shock as blood began seeping through Alani's bandages and staining the back of her shirt. The Viking who had slapped her had wandered off, drunk as a doornail to who knows where; completely unaware of the pain he had caused, not to mention the death glares the twins were giving him.
"Hey are you ok?" Fishlegs gently laid his hand on the shaking girl's shoulder only to pull back with it covered in blood. His face paled and he started squeaking like a strangled mouse at the sight.
Astrid reacted first, jumping from the bench and ordered Snotlout, the strongest of the group besides her, to carry Alani to the healer's hut. The group half-walked half-carried the girl to the door of the Great Hall. As soon as they opened it, Spitfire rushed to her rider. She'd smelt the blood the minute the door had opened. Snarling at Snotlout, the dragon nuzzled the pale girl. Alani stood; swaying a little from the blood loss that was seeping down her back staining her clothes. Astrid and Snotlout stood at the ready to catch her in case she fell.
"It's ok girl," she murmured to her dragon. Slowly she hoisted herself into the saddle with the help of Spitfire nuzzling her along the way. Turning to the teen Vikings, she smiled weakly and tried apologizing for ruining the night when Spitfire bounded off into the night for the old lady's hut. Hiccup watched, a twinge of guilt pulled at his gut. She had been in that condition when they went flying? And then instead of just taking her to the healer's hut to eat and rest, he'd taken her to a rowdy Viking feast! He should have known better. The Vikings of Berk, among other tribes, weren't the gentlest of people, even when saying a friendly 'hello'.
"C'mon guys. Let's go make sure she'd ok," Astrid voiced Hiccup's thoughts. He smiled at her and the group made their way through the dark to the Healer's.
When they finally reached the town healer's hut they found to their surprise, Spitfire sitting outside grumbling, tail sweeping the ground irritably. The dragon cooed at the sight of the smart toothpick boy and nuzzled his hand and gestured to the hut behind her with her head. The toothpick boy smiled and nodded before knocking on the door.
"Come in!" the old woman called, voice muffled slightly by the wooden door but Hiccup heard it clear enough. He opened the door and his eyes were met with a rather large expanse of Alani's creamy white skin. She was lying on her stomach, bloody and scarred back exposed for the healer to work on. She lifted her head to him and blinked, almost willing her sight into focus on the figure in the doorway. The healer must have given her something for the pain because the poor girl grinned stupidly and collapsed back onto the table in a dead faint.
"Crap, I almost forgot!" Astrid growled, angry at herself, before she shoved everyone, including the gawking Snotlout and Tuffnut, out the door and back into the night.
"Astrid, wha-" Hiccup began but Astrid interrupted him.
"The healer has absolutely no sense of modesty for her patients," Astrid explained, "You could be as naked as the day you were born and she'd invite someone in with hesitation. Luckily Alani was lying down," she ran a hand through her hair growling at her blunder.
"Did any of you guys see what happened to her back or was that just me?" Tuffnut asked incredulously. The group turned to him, Hiccup and Astrid slightly confused. Tuffnut scowled.
"C'mon! I could not have been the only one who saw those gaping holes in her back!" he exclaimed, horror and sarcasm dripping from his words.
Hiccup glanced at Astrid. They were the only ones who knew about the severity of Alani's injuries beforehand. So it was no surprise that the rest of the gang were both shocked and surprised to find out that their new friend was injured, let alone the severity of those wounds. She had acted fine throughout the day and had showed no signs of pain during the activities.
"Oh yeah you weren't there when I told Hiccup," Astrid spoke, drawing the teens in around her. She told them about what she'd seen when Alani first came to the village and how many stitches she'd needed. Hiccup took over after she was finished and told them what Alani had told him and his dad. All about the Sky Serpents, her village being destroyed, the Thunder Drum (realization dawned on Fishlegs as he remembered Hiccup asking him about that in a rushed manor) and when he finished, everyone stared at him in disbelief. Ruffnut broke the silence first by reaching out and decking Hiccup in the face, knocking him flat on his behind.
"Ow! What in Thor's name is your problem?!" Hiccup exclaimed massaging his bruising cheek. Astrid had jumped to her feet to defend her boyfriend when Ruff's words froze her in place.
"You knew she was this injured and you took her out flying?!" the girl screeched, face red in the low light coming from the healer's windows, "I'm no healer but even I know that was a stupid, idiotic move on your part Hiccup!"
Tuffnut stood next to his sister who was positively steaming from the ears. He had a solemn look on his face, something that didn't happen very often. Which meant this was pretty bad.
"For once I agree with Bug-Breath here," he motioned to his sister who didn't even react to the insult, "I mean c'mon Hiccup, you're supposed to be the smart one out of all of us here."
No one moved, both in shock and surprise, at the twin's behavior. Not only were they agreeing with each other, but what they said was true. He should have known better. He felt that guilt from earlier make itself at home in his gut, wrenching and scratching at the sides, bouncing and hopping around madly. He felt sick.
The healer's door swung open smacking Tuffnut's side. The healer stood crouched over her old staff smiling.
"She'll be ok now," the old lady's smile grew some, "Now who'd like to tell meh how in Odin's name, her wounds opened up again?"
Everyone started blabbering about whose fault it was, pointing fingers and yelling at each other. In the end, everyone got a nice lump on their head from the healer's staff.
"Now I don't care whose fault it is. But from now on till I say so, she won't be doin' anymore strenuous activities or exercises. Flying included. We all clear?"
Everyone murmured their agreements and the healer allowed the teenagers into the hut if their promised to keep it down. They all trudged in and took seats on surrounding chairs, beds and tables; wherever there was room. Fishlegs took up a bed all by himself and Ruffnut took a seat next to Alani's sleeping form, her brother leaning up against the wall behind her. Snotlout, Hiccup and Astrid sat near the table watching the healer go about her business. She left for a balm for Hiccup's bruising cheek and he saw Ruffnut out of the corner of his eye, beam proudly at her handiwork. He sighed. He had deserved that though, no matter how much it hurt.
There was a frantic scratching at the door and Snotlout went to check it out. He'd just barely nudged the door open when Spitfire bound in, knocking him flat on his behind and rushed to Alani's bedside. She nuzzled the girl's cheek and prodded her lightly with her nose when she didn't get a reaction. Meanwhile Snotlout picked himself up from the floor grumbling about how everyone was getting knocked over today. Everyone ignored him and they went back to watching the female dragon fuss over her rider.
The door slammed open with a bang that shook the whole house as Stoick trudged in.
"What's going on here?" he yelled. Hiccup cringed at the volume.
'Old Viking fall-back. When confused, yell very loud. He doesn't know any better,' Hiccup chastised his dad in his head.
The old healer came out from her back room, hissing and spitting like a viper, swinging her staff around madly, hitting the Village Chief several times in the face, arms and shoulders.
"Out! Out withcha, you imbecilic, red TURD!" she brandished her staff once more before Stoick glanced at Alani's bed where the girl slumbered peacefully on her stomach. She'd received another set of stitches and her bandages had been replaced with clean, white ones. The Chief blushed, grumbled something that might have sounded like an apology, and slumped into a nearby bed.
After a moment of silence, Stoick spoke up.
"So…her wounds reopened?" he asked his son and the healer. The old woman smiled and nodded.
"Yeah I figured," he spoke softly. Hiccup opened his mouth to ask something when Stoick continued.
"I saw you six rush outta the Great Hall like you had a demon on yer tails while carrying Alani," he explained without lifting his head.
Silence fell again with the exception of Spitfire who was still purring sadly at the lack of movement from her rider.
Alright, so while Spitfire had never actually laid Alani's egg, the girl was just as good as her own young. They'd been through everything together and Spitfire had taken care of Alani since she had found her wandering around in the woods at the tender age of six years old. The dragoness had been a major part of raising the little hatchling without scales to grow up to be big and strong. True, learning to care of such a fragile thing was taxing in the beginning but in the end, hadn't Alani turned out to be a wonderful hatchling? So, again, while the dragon wasn't her mother mother, Spitfire still loved her little red hatchling without qualms. As if she were her own. And seeing her this way; hurt and bandaged tore at her still-beating heart.
The gang and Stoick stayed where they were, scattered all over the healer's house till the old lady finally kicked them out, telling them to go home and sleep. They could come back tomorrow. Hiccup threw one last glance at Alani lying pale-faced and helpless on her bed before following his father home. Tomorrow would be different. Hiccup felt a weight in his stomach as he replayed Tuffnut's words from earlier.
'…you're supposed to be the smart one out of all of us here.'
Tuffnut was right. He really should have known better.