And after a long break which saw me move to Montana for the Summer I'm back with the next part. Not much else to say other than I'll get back on schedule now as I've settled into work and such. As always, only the plot is mine.
All afternoon long Hiccup and Toothless waited. At first they kept to their self dubbed observation post on top of the area but as the snow fall increased and the winds grew stronger even they were driven indoors. As storms went, this was as bad as it got. Huddled in one corner of the vast Dining Hall with Toothless, Hiccup overheard a group of elderly women talking in low tones. "Bad, very bad storm." The others all nodded to each other before another spoke up. "I feel it in my bones. This won't last long. Be sunny by tomorrow afternoon." More nodding, and slowly the women moved closer to the roaring fire in the hearth, talking quieter.
Boy and dragon looked at each other. Was it true? Odin he hoped so, as soon as it was flying weather he planned to be up in the sky searching for Astrid. By now it was clear that she wasn't going to return tonight. The weather was too bad, and flying was dangerously stupid now, up from crazily stupid that had been his judgment earlier in the afternoon. No, if she was smart, and he knew Astrid had a brain even if she did like the physical method of dealing with things far more, she'd hole up with her dragon somewhere out of the wind and fly in as soon as was prudent. Knowing that was most likely her course of action he tried to make himself relax but couldn't. Scenarios kept coming to his mind: She'd hurt herself somehow and was unable to fly, her dragon had sprained a wing and they were stranded, the Green Death's cousin had invaded and- No, that last one wasn't worth thinking about. No dragon like the one they had killed could have a sibling of any sort. He hoped.
Correction, he really, really hoped. If he had to lose a limb every time something like that came along, he'd hang up the hero mantra as fast as was possible and go find somewhere nice and warm to settle down and life out his life with Toothless. Astrid could visit the two of them, and everything would be peaceful. Provided that she got back ok. Sighing he rearranged his limb and a half into a more comfortable position, and shifted slightly so that he was leaning into Toothless more. The sleeping dragon didn't stir and as the wind took the opportunity to rattle the tightly shuttered windows for the umpteenth time that night, Hiccup gave up on sleep all together. Between the noise, the hard floor, his worries, and his aching stump; sleep was out of the question.
Deciding he might as well alleviate the last problem, he leaned forward again and with deft fingers quickly unfastened his fake leg. The ache faded marginally and he gently rubbed the stump, annoyed at how every time the weather changed it had to hurt, like the old women earlier had complained about their joints. Sighing softly again he placed the stump beside him and settled back against his dragon. It was going to be a very long night.
As long nights went, his was relatively mild compared to another's out in forsaken dark, miles from anyone or anything friendly. In the desolate cold Astrid Hofferson lay still protected from the wind by a small cave that was part of a modest cliff face. The cliff and its cave had been both a blessing and a curse since earlier that day when the Nadder had bucked her off its back. Surprisingly clear headed at the moment, she remembered the squawk, being thrown, the riding straps that held her secure breaking, and then falling for a few seconds. During the fall she'd taken a split second guess at which way ground was in the driving snow and twisting her body to take the fall equally, discovered she'd guessed wrong another second later when the right side of her body had met snow covered rock. The impact had been excruciatingly painful, the thud accompanied by a loud snap and a sudden sharp pain on the right side of her hip. She'd broken things before, once or twice, but this was far worse. She might have screamed, she couldn't quite remember. The noise of the storm had overpowered everything else so it would remain an unanswered question. Broken whatever aside, she'd been on solid ground and that was a tentatively good thing. At least, it had been until she rolled off the rock that had broken the bone only to discover that she had landed on the edge of a cliff.
It hadn't been a long fall, but she'd twisted again somehow and again landed on her right side. Something else had popped or snapped, she wasn't quite sure which. Either way, the pain finally overwhelmed her and she had fainted. Waking up some time later, she had laid there in the snow for a long while as the pain had throbbed gently. Though the cold had its own risks, at least it took the edge off of the agony that was- well her body. The right side in particular, but it felt like everywhere had some bruise or scrape.
All alone, scared witless, Astrid had mustered the courage to sit up, and on the first attempt was halted by the blinding pain that was her hipbone. Another few moments lying there and she tried again, slower. Using her left arm to push herself up, a sitting position was obtained. Tentatively she moved her right arm and stopped when her shoulder seared white hot pain in protest. Marking that down as damaged, the young Viking looked around a moment, trying to see through the blizzard. The cliff was visible, a mere three paces away, but the entire remainder of the landscape was hidden by the sheets of snow continuing to pummel the ground.
Shelter, she needed shelter above all else right now, and the cliff was it. She didn't dare try and stand, but after a bit of shifting she had discovered amidst the pain and cold that a shuffling movement was possible using the mostly undamaged side of her body. Slowly Astrid pulled herself to the side of the cliff and felt the wind die down as she came under its protection. Taking a moment to rest after her exertions, she examined the rock face and chanced upon what appeared to be a cave opening some distance away. A cave meant real shelter, and a slight bit more warmth and so she set off again with that awkward half crawl. Every movement she made seemed to hurt now, but she knew if she stopped now death would be a scant step behind her. And so she pushed herself every inch of the way to that cave, the deepening snow providing both a cushion to her body and an obstruction when she failed to find a sturdy footing for her next crawl movement.
Finally, after what seemed like ages of agonizingly slow progress she found herself in front of the cave. Deciding that it was better to go inside and risk being eaten than staying out and face the certainty of freezing to death, she slowly dragged her way inside, making it in just far enough to be protected from the wind and blowing snow before her strength gave out all together. There she lay, taking stock of her injuries for the longest time as her mind began working past everything that had happened. She couldn't be completely sure what had happened due to the speed of events, but she'd never been thrown before, only something grabbing her Nadder would have made her leave the saddle like that. Something very big, that was still very much out there, probably looking for more food.
She tried to accept the fact that her friend was gone for good, but it didn't work, and so she switched thoughts, trying to ignore her body shivering in the cold. The cave did provide a little bit of warmth by getting her out of the wind, but she still was out in the cold, with no gear, and no fire. The storm was picking up too, by the sound of the wind and she knew that no search party would be coming until it blew out at the very earliest. By then, she could very well be dead by elements or beast. Hiccup would come though; he was probably worrying even now. The thought cut through some of the pain and cold and she smiled weakly. Yeah, he'd search under every rock until he found her. She just hoped he'd get lucky and try her rock first, because it was a race against time, and they were both losing. For now she could only wait and hope.
And that's all for now. Comments make me write faster, constructive critiques double the writing speed. Look for part for not this weekend but the next.