Stranded, Chapter 6.
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The two dragons faced each other, flaunting teeth and positioning heads low to the ground in an aggressive stance, neither side wanting to lower their guards.
"Oh gods, the Skrill…" Were the only words Hiccup was able to piece together. There was no way the Skrill could've survived! It took a plunge from high above the clouds and straight into the ocean below! It-
A screech from the Skrill sliced through the air like knife to butter, the sheer volume interrupting Hiccup's thoughts and bringing chills up his spine. Toothless responded to this with a few roars of his own, unable to recall why this dragon was acting so aggressively towards him. The Skrill leapt into the air and pounced onto Toothless in a surprise attack, the Night Fury yelping in surprise. The two dragons wrestled on the ground, Toothless now confirming that the Skrill was no dragon to reason with.
The Skrill managed to free its paw from the fight and swung its razor sharp talons at Toothless, the Night Fury springing away from the tussle and onto the adjacent ground moments before the talons hit scales. The aggressor darted directly into Toothless, tackling the Night Fury onto the dirt, the Skrill landing on top in the advantageous position. The Skrill positioned its talons and paw over the Night Fury's neck, ensuring no escape. The brown dragon readied its maw, gas forming for a final blast to finish off the Night Fury.
"No! Toothless!" Hiccup cried hopelessly, frustrated at how he wasn't able to be more useful.
Thinking quickly, Toothless used his powerful hind legs and launched the attacker off, the Skrill's back slamming into the stone rock behind them. Toothless took this moment of confusion and threw himself at the Skrill with his teeth bearing for a paralyzing strike on its neck. With its long talons, the Skrill swatted the Night Fury aside. A small line of blood oozed from a cut on Toothless's shoulder as he picked himself off the ground, the dragon slightly dazed by the unanticipated move from the Skrill.
The Night Fury quickly returned to its aggressive stance towards to Skrill and snarled in anger, seeking blood for blood. The Skrill returned this with its own stance and set of growls, its nostrils flaring out hot steam. The two dragons paced in a circle, neither side wanting to attack at an inopportune time and giving the other the advantage.
The young Viking watched from across the pond, horrified at the sight of his dragon in a fight. There was no possible way that this would end well; either one dragon will die, or both will. He needed to stop this.
The boy rashly deciding what he needed to do, sprinted until he was in-between the two snarling dragons. Hiccup raised his arms, creating a barrier between the two dragons. The Skrill studied the human before it, its eyes in bewilderment. Who was this random human and why is it here? Its memory jolted, flashing back to the events of the aerial battle; it knew this human, This was the human that the Night Fury harboured on its back that aided him to shoot it down; the same pair that afflicted it with the curse to never experience the joys of flight again! The Skrill eyes changed from surprise to newfound hatred for the boy.
Hiccup immediately regretting what he just did, sharply turned and bolted away from the Skrill, who was now aiming to kill the much more frail human. The Night Fury's expression changed from aggression to confusion; unable to understand what had just happened. Who was this human, and why did it stand in-between two dragons in battle, obviously trying to stop the fight?
"Toothless-! Help!" The human cried.
Who was this "Toothless" the human kept referring to? It wasn't his name, dragons weren't even given names!
Hiccup sharply turned corners and sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, the Skrill trailing closely behind. Hiccup checked back as he was sprinting and realised that… that the Skrill wasn't chasing him! Before he could react, a flash of brown smashed him on the back, his face slamming into the dirt. The teen hastily turned around, spitting out the dirt in his mouth. The boy peeked open an eye and was greeted by the pure hating eyes that was the Skrill. Hiccup desperately crawled back, sliding himself as far from the Skrill as possible, but to his unexpectedness, his back hit a wall of stone. The young Viking now stared eye to eye to the Skrill's two rows of terrifying teeth, who opted to finish him off.
The brown dragon began gathering the explosive green gas in its mouth, knowing that these were the last few moments for this pitiful excuse of a human.
"Toothless!" Hiccup bellowing out in a last ditch effort for his dragon.
Back at the pond, Toothless was in a trance, completely disarrayed by the events that had unfolded. Suddenly, an odd human call wafted through the air. That call the human made; that desperate call, it sounded… almost familiar to the Night Fury.
Instantly, Toothless was blasted with mental pictures and recollections from the past; the nest, the Queen and her control over all the dragons who resided. The small island of "Berk" or as the humans called it. The moment that he was shot in the air by a human contraption that restrained his wings, inevitably resulting in a crash. The hatchling that spared his life. The hatchling named "Hiccup".
Hiccup? Hiccup! The dragon was swept over by a wave of fear. Toothless shot off into the direction of the call, dreading that his human had been killed while he just stood there watching. How could he have forgotten about Hiccup? The human that spared his life when all the others would've killed him without hesitation! The dragon's apperception was cluttered with concern and guilt as he bounded towards his rider.
"Oh Thor, this is it…" Hiccup whimpered, acknowledging that death had finally caught him, sending him to Valhalla. The Skrill's mouth sparked with fire and on the brink of firing at the teen, a flash of black hammered the Skrill's side, sending it flying into the stone wall.
"Toothless!" Hiccup rejoiced, expressing gratitude for the dragon that once again, saved his life.
Toothless clung onto the Skrill's side with his stubby claws, drawing blood wherever the claws punctured its scales. The Skrill roared with outrage as it thrashed around the grass. The Skrill used all its strength and smashed its back into the wall with the Night Fury taking the hit, emitting a growl of pain from Toothless. The Night Fury was not going to give up in protecting his rider; he knew that if he released his grip on the Skrill, it would go straight for Hiccup. Ignoring all his pains, he hung on.
Hiccup scrambled to his feet and leapt out the way of the thrashing dragons. He didn't know what he could do; he was a weak human against a creature 6 times his size! The young Viking cursed under his breath at how useless he was at a time like this. He scanned his surroundings, searching for anything that he could use to aid Toothless. As he glanced around, an epiphany struck him; a plan. The plan would be extremely risky, but feasible if executed correctly.
The Night Fury finally released his grip on the Skrill and leapt off, leaving the Skrill in a whole new level of anger. Toothless rushed in front of Hiccup, blocking the Skrill's view of the young Viking. The two dragons returned to their stances, snarling and pawing at the ground to show hostility.
Hiccup ran up to the Night Fury's side and slung his arm around the dragon's neck, embracing as much of the Night Fury as he could. "Toothless! You came back for me! That would mean… your memory is back!" Hiccup exclaimed in relief. Toothless snorted in confirmation, understanding what the young Viking meant. A small trill of guilt escaped the Night Fury's throat, remembering how he treated the boy.
"It's fine Toothless, but now isn't the time for that, I have a plan." The teen whispered as he leaned towards the Night Fury. The dragon contemplated for a second at how this plan would go, although his eyes were still locked on the Skrill. The opposing dragon stood its ground nostrils flaring with steam rising out.
Toothless didn't like this plan at all; it was much too risky for his rider but then again, the dragon couldn't create a better plan anyways. Toothless hesitated for a second, but he and his rider nodded in acknowledgement before Hiccup left the safety of his Night Fury. Hiccup wandered closer to the Skrill, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Hey you overgrown lizard! Come get me!" Hiccup yelled as he waved his arms, further agitating the Skrill. "Or are you too scared?"
Puffs of steam blew out of the Skrill's nostrils as it diverted its attention from Toothless to the young Viking. With a final puff of steam, the Skrill leapt off the ground and towards the pesky human, its common sense overtaken by its anger.
Hiccup dodged the pouncing Skrill and bolted towards the pond, praying to Odin that this plan would work. The Skrill trailed Hiccup from behind, gaining up on the boy as it prepared to use its serrated teeth to kill the human. An unbearable burning sensation travelled throughout his leg as he sprinted, causing him to gradually slow down. The boy took a quick shoulder check and re-sprinted, noticing the Skrill furiously chasing him down.
The Skrill was mere inches away from the boy before Hiccup dived into the Night Fury's cave, the Skrill's spikes around his skull slamming into the walls of the entrance before stepping back, roaring in frustration. The Skrill repeatedly bashed its head into the opening, its spikes preventing it from entering.
Hiccup backed up into the cave, retreating a few meters before hitting the cave wall. He was relieved that the cave entrance was just big enough for a Night Fury, but not for a Skrill with 2 foot spikes jutted out from the sides of its skull. The Skrill pounded away at the entrance, causing flakes of dust to fall from the sides off the cave during impacts. At that moment, Hiccup noticed a putrid smell saturated the air, prompting the teen to glance to his right. Hiccup almost retched at the sight of a rotting deer corpse.
"Uhg, Toothless…" Hiccup remarked in disgust.
With a final smash to the stone walls, the Skrill stepped back in exasperation. The brown dragon opened its maw, visible green gas forming in its mouth behind the rows of teeth it harboured. The Skrill aimed its mouth towards the cave, no doubt killing the only occupant if it was allowed to be successfully fired.
"Now or never Toothless…" Hiccup muttered to himself.
As if on cue, a blue plasma ball shot into the Skrill's mouth, igniting the green gas. The Skrill's nostrils leaked out black smoke as its small eyes opened wide with realization of what was happening. A bright orange fireball burned furiously inside its mouth, causing the Skrill to roar in agony. The brown dragon stumbled back as its body began to turning to dust.
Hiccup winced at the sight of this legendary dragon dying. Although he has already seen the Green Death die in such a fashion, he couldn't help but feel guilty for doing it again to another creature. The Skrill was merely seeking compensation for what Hiccup and Toothless had done to it; cruelly taking away its freedom of flight. Hiccup couldn't imagine what it would be like for them if they weren't able to soar above the clouds again.
The Skrill disintegrated until nothing was left, and with the last gust of the autumn wind, the Skrill was no more, its dust scattering along with the breeze. Hiccup slowly got up off the cave floor, his leg disagreeing as he inched closer to the mouth of the cave. The teen cautiously peered outside, and was suddenly greeted by two green eyes with pupils as round as the moon.
"Toothless!" Hiccup expressed with rejoice. Suddenly, a wet tongue from the Night Fury layered his face in slime, prompting the boy to bring up the sleeve of his jacket. As he wiped the wet saliva, he noticed the gash on the side of Toothless's head, the one that he presumed, was the source of his amnesia.
"I did this didn't I?" Hiccup asked, placing his hand around the gash. The boy felt extremely guilty that his own recklessness caused them to land in this situation. "I'm so sorry…"
A soft croon from Toothless assured the young Viking that he forgave him. Toothless's ears perked up as he heard a strange rumbling sound emitting from his rider. Hiccup sheepishly placed his hands on his stomach, slightly embarrassed. The Night Fury turned around trotted back into his cave, leaving Hiccup wondering what could his dragon be possibly bringing out now.
"Wait, the only thing in the cave was the- Ugh! Toothless!" Hiccup recoiled to the stench of the dead carcass putrefying the air as the Night Fury dropped it in front of him.
The Night Fury noticed the grimaced expression of his rider and dropped to the ground laughing hysterically, or for a dragon, rolling around on the ground aimlessly while snorting and waving his paws.
"Useless reptile." Hiccup muttered playfully, a weak smile sneaking onto his face as he moved over to the cave, sitting down and leaning against the stone wall, messaging his extremely sore leg.
After the bout of silliness, the Night Fury picked himself off the ground and dragged the carcass away from the area with his mouth, assured that his rider didn't like it. A loud thud sounded in the distance as the Night Fury quickly bounded back to Hiccup with a white furry object hanging from his mouth. Hiccup stared at the white object suspiciously, hoping it wasn't another half-eaten forest animal.
The Night Fury smiled slightly at his rider's reaction and treaded up to Hiccup, depositing the object onto his lap. Hiccup examined it to be a rabbit, and uneaten as well.
"How'd you hunt a rabbit that quickly?" Hiccup asked his dragon, who just snorted as though telling him to think nothing of it.
With a happy smile, the young Viking prepared stand up to search for materials for a fire when he realized that he was in a grassland area, with few trees and no discarded branches for him to create a fire.
His smiled disappeared as Toothless wandered beside him, lying down to give Hiccup something to lean against. The boy shifted over to the Night Fury, sighing with content as he laid his back against the warm Night Fury's side. An idea popped into his head; Hiccup grabbed his hiking stick and punctured it through the rabbit.
"Hey bud, you think you could try to… cook this?" Hiccup inquired. Toothless would probably char it, but it was still worth a try, especially when he hasn't eaten anything today other than a few berries. The dragon nodded as Hiccup brought over the rabbit in front of Toothless's mouth. The dragon gathered the ignitable gas in his mouth and blew a stream of bright orange flames, cooking the rabbit while careful to not burn it.
The smell of cooked meat permeated the air when Hiccup brought out of the flames, his stomach rumbling in anticipation. With his knife, he slit open the charred rabbit skin to reveal perfectly cooked meat, his eyes widening at the sight of it.
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In no time at all, Hiccup had vivaciously devoured the whole rabbit, leaving him with a satisfied stomach, and a sleepy constitution. Hiccup yawned in contentment as he laid down on the cold dirt, resting his head on his upper arm. The sky was an orangey hue and the air was turning bitterly cold, causing the young Viking to shiver and pull his jacket closer to his head from the frosty fall breeze that swept over the island.
Toothless felt his rider shivering beside him and positioned his tail over the young Viking, pulling him in closer in concern that Hiccup might fall ill to the weather.
"T-t-toothless, what are you d-doing…" Hiccup asked sleepily and shivering from the frosty breeze that swept over him. He felt a warm body next to his as he was pulled closer to his dragon, who purred in content. The Night Fury draped his wings to shield the boy, Hiccup happily accepting his offer by snuggling up to his dragon in the warm enclosure that was created. A soft purring came from the Night Fury as Hiccup fell asleep, in a world of bliss from the new, much warmer environment Toothless had graciously provided.
Sorry for the unusually long update time; I had HUGE, HUGE writers' block when doing this chapter. I didn't know what to do with the Skrill, or in other words, how do I kill it without it looking too bloody and gory with Hiccup having a part as well. The dust part was how I imagined it in the movie; after Toothless shot his fireball into the Green Death, there was no body, no carcass to say that it had died, so I assumed that it turned to dust. A little bit unlikely but hey, it's a movie and that how I interpreted it.
There was also quite a bit of variety in this chapter from action, angst, friendship and in the end, a bit of fluff.
Tell me what you think of how I wrote the fluff and the angst so I can improve for next chapter! In fact, as you are reading this, do it. Do it nao.