Authors Note: :( Sorry guys! You wait forever for another chapter and it is terrible. Ugh. I hate time jumping but I just couldn't get it to flow any other way so I'm sorry this is terrible.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Chapter 6: Astrid's Discovery
(Hiccup POV)
The metal is cold as it's pressed against my throat and for several long painful seconds I'm sure Astrid's going to whack my head off right there without remorse, regret or any other feeling than success.
"I-I, don't know what you're talking about.." I say with the most firm voice I can muster. I am full aware what she's talking about. How could I, help Toothless? How does she know!?
Astrid lets out a laugh and her hand wraps around my shoulder, "You helped that dragon. Your pet." She both snears and spits the last word as if it's fire and will burn her tongue if she doesn't.
"I-I-"I start again but the presses the edge of her axe deeper into my throat.
"Save it. I saw the whole thing." She hisses into my ear. My eyes widen slightly everything making a horrific click in my brain. She was probably throwing her axe around and heard me talking to siemeling nothing went to investigate and watched me and Toothless.
This is bad.
Really bad.
My thoughts skid to a halt the only thing I can think of doing taking action before my thoughts fully register what it is. I stomp down on her foot as hard as humanly possibly and duck left under her axe breaking into a run.
The movement is so quick that I can hear Astrid stand still for a moment before she chases after me. I stumble a few times as I weave through the forest but manage to stay upright. Well on the positive side at least there isn't any-thump-trees. I stand corrected.
I pull back from the back from the bark and here Astrid come to a halt behind me. I twist around trying to figure out where she is. "Astrid," I say and she huffs.
"Come on, I'm sure Stoick will be more than happy at your little stunt." She growls grabbing my wrist and starting to pull me forward. I struggle and lean back from her. I can't let my dad know! I can't let anyone know! Convincing Astrid will be hard enough.
"Astrid," I say and pull back against her hand trying to drag her back towards Toothless. "Just let me show you." I say and she lets out a hollow laugh ripping her hand away.
"I'm not going back there with you, I'm not going anywhere with you. You can't even see!"
I still.
Though the years have been filled with teasing, mocking, disrespect and downright cruelty Astrid throughout it all was never part of it. She never mentioned that I'm blind or made fun of me for it..now?
You can't even see.
I can't.
And the likelihood of my sight returning is extremely slim.
You can't even see.
Astrid gives a snort of disgust before she grabs my wrist and starts to drag me forward again none to gently. It's as if she's trying to be as rough as she possibly can. No. This isn't happening. I am not going back to the village where they'll take Toothless and kill him.
I pull back against Astrid's grip. "No," I defy.
"Coward." She hisses.
I rip away from her grip and her footsteps silent. She's stalking me quietly to the point I don't even know where she is.
A small spark lights in my chest, the same spark I get everytime I'm around Toothless and my eyes widen. He must have heard what was going on and came to deal with the problem himself.
"Astrid," I say quietly, "You need to get out of here before Toothless gets you."
She's silent for a moment and it appears her smart mouth has failed her, "Toothless?" She repeats, "That's what you're going to be if you don't shut up." THe sound comes from behind me and I shake my head.
"No, you don't understand!" I argue, "Please!"
A branch snaps and we both turn our heads left towards the source Astrid gasping.
Oh, well it appears Toothless has arrived.
"Get down!" She yells and her hand smacks against my back pulling us both towards the ground. Toothless roars angrily and I hear his footsteps bound towards us, "Run! Run!" She yells and I feel her hand move. I twist around and leap to my feet running towards Toothless my hand outstretched.
"No! Toothless!" I exclaim and Astrid is quiet. I rest a hand on his forehead. "You scared him." I accuse. Both me and Toothless are fully aware he's enraged to murder.
"I scared him?" Astrid repeats her voice gaining an octave, "Who is "him"?"
I bite my lip for a moment, "Astrid Toothless, Toothless Astrid." I say and Toothless gives a thick snarl at that. There's a small moment of silence before Astrid takes off through the trees.
We are so dead.
"Toothless!" I exclaim hoping he gets the point. There's a small moment before a gust of wind blows past me as Toothless rushes forward. I start to take off after him and there's a moment before I hear Astrid scream.
"Oh! Great Odin's ghost THIS IS IT!"
I reach where the two are and can feel Astrid's murderous glare on me. "Hiccup. Get this thing off of me." She growls.
"Toothless," I say quietly. Toothless pushes his hand against my curled fist for a moment silently letting me know he's next to me. Astrid gets to her feet and I can feel the utter defiance and disbelief radiating off of her.
Toothless remains at my side, being my eyes.
"Astrid, you can't tell anyone about Toothless." I say after about a minute of silence. "He can't fly without me and I can't see without him. We, are one."
The air is void of sound like the forest is holding it's breath. "Okay," Astrid says her voice soft and calm. I release a breath I wasn't aware I was holding. "What do you want me to do?" She asks.
I rest a hand on Toothless's neck, "Wait...you agree with me?" I ask and Astrid is quiet for a moment, grouping her thoughts as I am.
"It doesn't take a genius to see you two are connected." Astrid quips. She moves forward and lightly punches me on the arm despite Toothless small growl of protest. "I don't agree with you; not yet." She says firmly. "But you aren't a usual Viking, Hiccup. What can I do to help?"
000o000
(Two Weeks Later)
Toothless glides through the air, as I try not to hyperventilate. My hands shake and my breathing is hitched. Toothless's demeanor however is radiating confidence. Well at least one of us knows what we're doing. The last few weeks have been a blur, after spending that night with Toothless and Astrid the three of us just staying up Astrid has suddenly become a friend. The tailfin and saddle rigs wouldn't have worked half as well if she hadn't been there to guide my hands despite her laughter at a large majority of everything I messed up because I couldn't see.
I run a hand through my hair for a moment before I pat the side of Toothless's neck softly, "Okay, let's take this nice and slow." I say. Toothless growls and I feel around on the petal for a moment trying to figure out what position it needs to be in for a moment. "Position, three no four." I open the tail and Toothless soars forward, wind carrying him with ease. Everything is holding. We most likely aren't going to fall to our deaths.
"Okay, let's do this."I murmur the first part to myself but Toothless hears it anyway and his eyes narrow with determination. The wind is biting and frigid and makes me wish I'd grabbed gloves. I take in a deep breath of the cold air releasing it slowly.
Toothless smashes into something, sea stack most likley and I jerk back into focus, my thoughts flying away from me. Toothless pulls away from the sea stack and I open the tail,"Sorry!" I call. We turn and run into another sea stack that has graciously, placed itself before us."That was my fault." I say. Toothless smacks me in the face with his ear and I bite my lip, "Yeah, yeah I'm on it." I say with a soft roll of my eyes.
"Alright, position three." I mumble to myself. I push on the stirrup and the tail opens Toothless flying straight up.
A smile finds its way onto my lips and I release a breath. Flying is both terrifying and exhilarating. "Ah! This is amazing! The wind in my-AH!" I yelp as the leather straps keeping me to the saddle slip out of place and I go tumbling backwards. Toothless stops and there's a moment where we just sit still for a moment before gravity remembers it's a thing.
My chest leaps into my throat, terror pulsing through me. If we reach the ground, the impact will kill us.
I can't find Toothless!
Trying to swallow the pulsing terror building up, I turn my attention to Toothless. "Toothless!" I call and a responding growl answers me. I try to see through my nonexistent eyes straining the dead muscles to work before I squeeze them shut.
Trust the pull.
I focus inwardly on myself and manage to reconnect myself with the inward pull to my dragon. I lean forward and throw my hand out towards the saddle somehow knowing where it is.
I miss the first time but my fingers grasp it the second. I pull myself onto the saddle and shove my feet into place, I click back the tailfin and then I tug up with all my strength. Toothless wings snap open and wind whistles past us, Toothless roaring in pain or fear.
This is going to end badly.
My fingers fiddle for a moment before I shove down on the pedal letting instinct take control much like the pull did. Toothless glides forward through the vast valley of sea stacks that surround the island from every corner except the front.
Toothless enters the valley of sea stacks and as he flaps his wings, I can feel the rhythm. I don't just feel like his rider, I feel apart of him. I click the tailfin and Toothless picks up speed, I push down again just knowing what the right one is, like Toothless himself is whispering it in my ear. We entered the sea stacks as rider and dragon, we leave them as one.
I throw my arms up in victory as we break free from the rocks. I throw both my arms up, "YEAH!" I cry. Toothless picking up on the excitement fires a plasma blast in front of us. My hands fall slowly, "Come on!" I groan.
000o000
"I think this is a stupid idea." Astrid declares. I roll my eyes and laugh softly swinging onto Toothless's back. Over the last week Toothless and I have been working on flying, Astrid helped us perfect the tailfin and the saddle and gears but has still refused to take her feet of the ground.
"Trust me." I assure and pat Toothless's neck slipping my feet into the pedals and releasing a breath. I don't need to see to fly and Toothless and I are more than happy to be the missing limbs of each other.
Astrid sighs but climbs on behind me gripping my shoulders tightly her breaths coming out as shaky. "Lets just get this over with." She mutters darkly her grip tightening.
I smirk and pat Toothless's neck a silent wording for ready. Toothless leans into the ground before throwing himself towards the air. Other than a sharp intake of breath Astrid doesn't do anything else to indicate she's afraid.
I click back the tailfin letting the wind take control and releasing a long breath letting Toothless take us where he wants to go. Toothless goes upwards in a steep arc before pulling into a soft glide forward. Astrid releases one of my shoulders and a happy laugh escapes her lip. "Hiccup," She exclaims and grabs my arm pulling it up.
A soft wispy almost waterlike feeling runs through my fingers and I pause for a moment my hand frozen in surprise. "Clouds." I murmur and Astrid's hand releases mine.
"Don't they feel amazing?" She breathes. I nod.
"It does." I agree pulling my hand back and fingering my palm for a moment before grabbing the saddle handle. Toothless pumps his wings again and Astrid wraps her arms around me in a happy bliss as the three of us sail through the air.
She pulls back and lets out a long sigh, "Hiccup, I won dragon training." She says. I'm not even surprised slightly.
"Astrid that's amazing!" I exclaim and she punches my arm softly.
"No, it's not." She argues. "I've been chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare but because of you, Toothless...I can't. What do I do?" She asks.
Oh. Yeah, that doesn't sound pretty.
"I'm not sure." I admit and purse my lips for a moment. What should she do? Her final exam if I'm right is tomorrow. Toothless's calm relaxed posture changes to a panicked suddenly and I turn my attention to him. Toothless takes a hard right suddenly and my eyes widen with surprise,"Toothless what's happening?" I ask. He doesn't even seem to notice my voice as he flies forward.
"Get down!" Astrid hisses and lean down as far as I can on the saddle. Astrid leans down over me and I tense listening for a moment and hear dozens of other wing beats. "Dragons." Astrid breathes and I tense. That's great.
Toothless growls and his entire posture is even more tense and panicked than earlier.
"What's going on?" I hiss towards Astrid and she shakes her head slightly.
"I don't know." She whispers. What is going on!? There's a small pause then Astrid says, "It looks like their hauling in their kill."
"Oh, great." I groan silently.
Astrid tenses, "Uh, what does that make us?" She asks.
Dead.
"Toothless you got to get us out of here, bud." I whisper, putting a hand on his head. Toothless shakes my hand off and I look up around me in fear. I felt terror laying on the ground after I lost my sight unable to focus on anything but compared to this, that was a big ball of bright cheery happiness.
My heart beats quicker and I force myself to remain calm. I know Toothless wouldn't let anything happen to us. I have to trust him like I have so many times before.
Something gives me and Astrid a cold stare and I assume it's one of the dozen dragons around us. Toothless dives suddenly and I let out a cry of surprise, Astrid echoing me. I duck my head into Toothless's neck and I close my eyes tightly and don't move until Astrid shakes my shoulder softly. "Hiccup, it's the nest."
I pull my head up, my breath hitching. Toothless dives narrowing and any light is torn away from us. He must have just entered a cave. He lands on some sort of edge and Astrid's hands don't loosen in grip.
"They're dumping everything into a giant hole." She explains."They're not eating any of it." Astrid adds. A hovering sound I match to a Gronckle sounds and Astrid takes in a sharp breath as a gust of air dives past us.
"What is it?" I demand quietly and Astrid's voice seems to fail her.
"It's a monster." She breathes. "Hiccup we have to get out of here."
Trusting her I rest a hand on Toothless's neck. "Toothless, we need to leave." I say. Toothless nods his head and takes off into the air, wings flapping powerfully. I click back the tailfin and squeeze my eyes shut as the dragon's screams echo behind us.
000o000
(Heather POV)
"Come on Heather! You don't have to be a baby!"
"You're fifteen you should be able to deal with losing."
"Yeah, whatcha gonna do, go cry to your parents, oh, that's right you can't."
I whirl around at the last taunt and rip my double bladed axe of my back snapping the weapon forward and grabbing the front of Nigra's shirt pressing the end of the weapon into her throat.
"Say that again." I hiss.
It's true though, I failed miserably at dragon training because I couldn't bring myself to hurt the dragons even accidently letting the Razorwhip free yesterday.
Nigra seems unfazed by the threat but Opel and Morose back up a little. Nigra rips away from my grasp and shoves the axe down, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a family Heather? You don't have one and I can see why, who would want an abnormal freak for a daughter?"
I don't feel the rage that sweeps through me.
I don't feel the unbearable hopelessness that follows.
I don't feel as the hold on my axe falters.
I don't feel as my face twists into a scowl so dark it would've sent a Berserker running.
The only thing I really feel is as my fist collides with Nigra's face and the horrible cracking noise as her nose breaks. The older teen is thrown backwards smacking into the ground her hands flying over her now bleeding nose.
"NI!" Opel shouts and rushes towards her side as Nigra sits up her movements shakey.
Her nose is so badly broken it probably won't ever heal right. I stare at my hand for a moment the small tinge of satisfaction that was racing through me immediately put out by cold fear.
I just broke Nigra's nose.
I am so dead!
I lower my hand slowly and look upwards for a moment at the other tribe members who have stopped the usual bustling and careless talking to stare. Usually I'm a relatively calm person but Nigra had hit deep.
I'm terrified that she's right.
"HEATHER!" A voice roars and I have maybe half a second to register my step mother coming towards me before her tall frame towers over me. I lift up my axe towards her causing her to stop.
"No." I say my voice coming out weak and small.
"No, what, daughter?" She snears the last word.
I narrow my eyes the expressionless mask I was wearing finally falling. "No." I repeat and back up, "I never have and never will be your daughter."
Using the side of the blade I shove her to the side and click back the axe swinging it over my shoulder and racing through the village past Opel, Nigra and Morose. Past the chief.
"What are you doing?" He roars at the villagers. "She cannot leave this island!"
Why!? I am not a prisoner of war.
A few hands reach out to stop me but I'm a blur one destination in mind and there only. The docks. I am leaving this stupid island. I don't care what happens after that but I am leaving.
I swing onto the docks and race towards the nearest boat I can find. Winter is nearing so there's little to no one on the boats anyone who is on them is fishing. I jump up the gangplank and shove it off the boat with the edge of my foot as I slide onto the boat and snap down with my axe on any rope keeping it to the isle.
Panting I turn to look back at the island as several people come to a skidding halt at the edge of the docks. Nigra included blood dripping from her badly broken nose her eyes narrowed angrily. My stepmother stands at her side looking just as murderous.
The chief shove between the two and stares at me with hatred. The man had never liked me anyway and I'm fine with that. I take in several deep breaths as the boat moves out snapping my axe back into the single bladed position and swinging it onto my back.
I hug myself around the arms for a moment leaning against the mast and falling onto my knees. Now what? I have nowhere to go, I don't even know how to sail and I can't swim one bad streak of weather and this is the end.
Better than putting up with that tribe.
As if summoned by my thoughts a single drop of rain hits my head. I look up towards the thick black storm clouds hugging my knees to my chest and pulling up my hood.
I curl in on myself as the rain starts to pour harder rain pelting down on me mixed with heavy hail. 'But I can see why. Who would want an abnormal freak for a daughter?'
(Dagur POV)
"Berk is within sighting distance." A voice commands and I nod smirking slightly. Torunn is supposed to bring the runt to us tonight and I'm in charge of getting him to Berserk. I can work with it, this attack is going to be the first one in over fifteen years and my how we've grown in strength.
"Good." I say smirking slightly and can't help the small chuckle that escapes my lips.
My father rests a hand on my shoulder, "I trust you'll be in and out with our captive?" He asks and I huff looking back at him.
"You know, we really should just burn Berk to the ground." I note and my father gives a small chuckle.
"Well the sight would be fun to watch, I think it's best we save that for later." He says and I give a small shrug. I trust is judgment and if he says not to burn it to the ground we won't even with how much fun it would be.
A small rain starts to fall and I look up at the sky taking my axe from off my back and swinging it back and forth for a moment. Well with this rain we wouldn't be able to burn it anyway. After nearly another hour or so the boat rocks and my father grins turning to where Viggo is standing behind him.
"We're here."
A/N: Again, I am sorry this was terrible. :(
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