Chapter Four
A/N: In case you don't remember, in the movie dragons have a weak spot on their lower neck that causes them to collapse for a few moments. That is used in this chapter sooo...just a friendly reminder XD
"A battleship...?" Stoick's face is unreadable, his eyes hard. "No...if it were meant for a full-scale attack, there would be more than one ship." He explains. "And you said it was unmarked?"
Hiccup nods, eager to help his father figure out who has been stalking their waters. "There were no insignias on the sails or anything."
Astrid steps forward. "And the men were all dressed in pretty standard armor. I couldn't tell who they belonged to."
Stoick's brow wrinkles in thought. "You were close enough to see their armor?"
She nods, unsure of why that's important.
"And they didn't see you?" He says, folding his arms.
"Um, they might have but they didn't react in any way. They didn't try to shoot us down or anything..." She tells him, glancing at Hiccup. He looks deep in thought as well, his emerald eyes seeming distant.
"A group of armed men see two dragons flying around with kids on their backs and they don't think that's strange...?" Hiccup mutters, shifting his weight. "That must mean..."
"Whoever they are, they know about our dragons."
Toothless is curled up on the ground outside the Great Hall. The dragon's eyes are closed, his tail wrapped around himself in a relaxed fashion. He lets out a long yawn and stretches his paws out, his ears twitching. He doesn't want to sleep, even though he is tired. Hiccup is inside right now and Toothless wants to stand guard.
"Aw, who's a cute little Night Fury?" Someone chuckles as they approach.
Toothless cracks open an eye, curious who is talking to him. They sound and smell familiar... Before he can react in any way, the person lunges forward. Reaching out with a powerful hand, they grip the dragon's neck. Toothless opens his jaws to roar but stops. His fury burns out when his attacker's hand finds a certain spot on his neck. The Night Fury's eyes rolls back in his head and falls to the ground, silently cursing that weak spot.
Dagur stands up, grinning wickedly at the fallen beast at his feet. He turns to the Great Hall and chuckles, shaking his head. "Poor little Toothless...trying so hard to protect his Rider...too bad it just wasn't enough." He pulls the book out of his belt and opens it to one, particular page. "All dragons have a weak spot on their lower neck. If it is necessary to subdue the dragon in order to escape or train it, gently pinch down on that spot." He pretends to be sorry when he says, "Oops, I guess I forgot the 'gentle' part. You might be out for a while..."
Toothless struggles with his numb body, trying to pry himself off the ground. But it's no use. His body won't listen to him. He growls, quietly, unable to produce more than a little sound from his deadened throat.
Dagur flashes him a sadistic smile. "Oh, don't worry. I'll deal with you soon enough. But, right now, I need to have a little...talk with Hiccup." He shoves the Book of Dragons-which he'd stolen from Hiccup's room the previous night-back into his waist band. Lifting his hands, he cups his mouth and draws a breath, ready to release the sound he'd spent the past few weeks perfecting.
"What do you think they're going to do?" Astrid whispers to Hiccup. The two teenagers are sitting on a bench at one of the many tables, watching Stoick as talks in low voices with Gobber and some of the other men of the village.
Hiccup shakes his head. "I don't know...maybe-" But his words are interrupted by a familiar sound. The Night Fury's roar echos through the hall, sending a shiver down Hiccup's spine. Toothless sound upset. He quickly turns to Astrid. "I'll be right back, sounds like Toothless needs me."
She stands up as well. "Maybe I should go with you."
"No, stay here in case my dad wants to tell us something." He offers her a smile. "I'll be right back. He's probably just hungry again." With that, he runs out of the room and toward the massive, double doors.
Throwing them open, he steps outside and gazes around the empty town square. It's bitter cold outside and still pretty early. Everyone must still be in their homes.
"Toothless...!" He calls. "Where are you, bud?" He hears a small roar from the other side of the Hall and smirks, shaking his head. "What are you doing, Toothless? I thought you wanted to stay out front and play guard-dog or something-" Hiccup freezes mid-step, horror registering on his face. "Toothless!" He cries out, sprinting toward his fallen dragon.
Toothless whimpers, still fighting to stand up. The spot on his neck aches where Dagur practically punched him. His vision swims in front of his eyes. But none of that matters now. His suspicions are confirmed. Hiccup is in danger!
Said viking kneels down beside him, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. "What happened, bud?!" He gasps. "Are you hurt?" He spins around, trying to figure out what could have happened. But there's nothing around, no one in sight that could have done anything to hurt him. So what happened? "Hang on, Toothless. I'm going to get my-AH!" Hiccup nearly jumps out of his skin when something smacks him on the back of the head. Reaching up, he finds his hair is wet and cold. Snow? He looks up at the roof above him. A few more clumps of snow slide off, making it look very slippery and unstable...even for a dragon. Hiccup sighs and gets to his feet. "Well, I guess I know what happened now..." He mutters. "You fell of the roof, huh bud?"
Toothless snarls in response. No! That's not what happened! Where is Dagur?! Where did he run off to?!
"Hey, watch that attitude! I'm trying to help you." Hiccup says, thinking the growl was meant for him. He hurries back inside to get help for his dragon. "Sit tight, Toothless. I'll be right back."
"There you go, Toothless. Good as new!" Gobber cheers as he and Stoick finally manage to help the dragon to his feet. Toothless wobbles a bit, still slightly unsteady, but stays standing. Immediately, the Night Fury makes a bee-line for Hiccup.
The young viking cries out in shock as the dragon plows into him, knocking him off his feet. Toothless licks his cheek, purring like mad, and nuzzles his face with his own. He seems relieved. Hiccup chuckles. "Uh, you're welcome." He says, wiggling out from under the Night Fury's huge body. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He says, smiling.
Toothless backs off, looking around the town square with suspicious eyes. Why would Dagur simply knock him out then run away? What's he up to...?
"Oh, hey!" Hiccup's voice sounds slightly irritated as he jumps to his feet and goes around behind Toothless. "Buddy, what happened to your tail?"
Confused, Toothless lifts his tail and looks to see what he means. A spark of shock goes through him. The tail fin has been torn in half, the metal wires shredded and twisted. When did that happen?
"Looks like you broke it when you fell." Hiccup mutters, picking up some of the discarded bits that are stuck in the snow. "Oh well, we'll have to go to the Forge later and fix it. No big deal." He says, flashing his dragon a reassuring smile.
Toothless stares at the tail fin in awe. How had it broken? Surely, him just collapsing from a standing position couldn't have- His face darkens in understanding. Dagur. He must have broken it while Toothless was only half-conscious. But...why? Maybe so they couldn't fly away and escape...? But what's the point of that if he isn't even going to attack them right away? At this rate, the tail will be fixed before Dagur can make his move.
"Come on, bud." Hiccup says, motioning for Toothless to follow him. "Let's go there right away and get it fixed so we can go to training later." He turns around and asks Gobber, "Did you leave the fires going?"
"No, I haven't been there since last night. I was busy taking care of Ambereyes and Scorch this morning. You wouldn't believe the amount of fish those dragons will eat..."
Hiccup laughs, hearing that. "Well, frankly Gobber, I'd feed them as much as they want. You wouldn't want them to get upset and bite you..."
Gobber chuckles, nervously. "No I would not."
Hiccup snickers and looks at Astrid. "See you later."
"See you." She agrees. "And make sure Toothless doesn't fall off anymore roofs." She smirks. "He's almost as clumsy as you, Hiccup."
The boy rolls his eyes and says, "He's not clumsy! It was slippery!"
Toothless only growls in frustration, wishing he could tell his friends it was neither of those things. He hadn't fallen off a roof. He'd been attack by Dagur the Deranged! Who, for some reason, is bent on hurting Hiccup! But...where did he disappear to?