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THE MONSTER
(Day 3 - Midday)
She only meant to sit down for a quick rest. Not to fall asleep in the open. Not to wake with a gasp, looking into the hard green eyes of the boy from District Four. Stars burst behind Astrid's eyes, as she claws at the fingers squeezing her throat. Her attacker is much heavier than her, and her axe is out of reach, knocked away along with his sword.
If only she'd gotten more sleep. If only she hadn't tried to tough it out alone…!
"You know," the Career says, almost conversationally, "this is actually something of a disappointment. Not that I'm complaining, of course, but I expected more of a - "
"Hey! Get away from her!" Footsteps, running. Astrid's vision blurs, circles itself. She knows that voice…!
The grip on her throat loosens, and air floods Astrid's lungs at the same moment that realization floods her mind. No.
"Hiccup, no!" she screams, hoarsely.
It's too late - the Career rolls off her with a dancer's grace. He sweeps his leg out, catching Hiccup across the shins, and the smaller boy tumbles into the dirt and lands hard, with a strangled gasp.
"Oh, how romantic. You're making me wish I had time to play around." Laughing, the Career picks up his sword and raises it high.
A ululating roar tears the air asunder, and something huge streaks out of the trees, all pounding glossy-black limbs and lashing tail and teeth.
The Career boy screams, a sound of sheer terror; and then the - thing - slams into him, dragging him off of Hiccup and onward out of sight. There is a wild thrashing in the bushes, a hiss and a snarl, and then a dreadful crunch. The screaming abruptly stops.
Into the sudden silence, the cannon fires.
Astrid scrambles back to her feet, lungs burning. Ready to run for it. And then she sees Hiccup, edging cautiously toward the shrubbery.
"Toothless?" he whispers. He's gone very pale.
Astrid struggles to focus her blurring vision in the direction that the Mutt…
Oh.
That…that's a lot of blood. Wow.
"Hiccup!" she cries. His name comes out of her aching throat as a croak. "Hiccup, w-what are you doing? We have to get out of here…!"
Hiccup's outstretched hands are visibly trembling, but he keeps walking. Is he crazy? The Mutt is growling low in its throat and shaking what's left of the Career boy, the way a dog might shake a rat.
"That's enough, Toothless," Hiccup says. It's the same steady, encouraging voice she's heard him use to calm a skittish horse. "H-he can't hurt us anymore. You…you can let him go now."
The Mutt's earflaps prick up. It lifts its head to peer at the boy. Astrid gulps, and wonders if she has time to grab Hiccup before she runs.
"Put. Him. Down," Hiccup says, stern as steel.
And just like that, the Mutt drops the body, and sits up on its haunches. Watching Hiccup, expectantly.
Hiccup lets out a long, shuddery sigh of relief. "C'mere, bud," he says, and reaches out to pat the thing's muzzle. Astrid flinches instinctively, but instead of snapping his hand off at the wrist, the creature rubs its wet snout against his fingers…and begins to purr, a weird but unmistakable clicking rumble.
"Good boy, Toothless," Hiccup murmurs. "Good job, bud. You…you saved us." Still muttering gently under his breath, he leads the Mutt away from what's left of its prey, and it follows him obediently.
"You…tamed a Mutt?" Astrid whispers, stunned. "You tamed a Mutt! That's…that's not possible!"
Her whisper has risen to a shout. Hiccup frowns at her, still stroking the creature's scales. "Actually, clearly it is - " he starts to point out.
"Hiccup, those things are designed to kill tributes!" Astrid interrupts, horrified. "They're bred for it! That…that thing's going to murder you as soon as it gets the chance!"
Something hardens in Hiccup's face. "Well, he can join the club," he says, grimly.
One of the Mutt's eyes is still half open, a slit of green pinned warily on her. Astrid swallows. She should leave. She knows she should leave.
"How did you do it?" she asks, instead.
"I, uh…" Hiccup looks surprised to be asked. "Well, I set this trap, and…he fell into it. I knew I ought to kill him, but…I just couldn't do it. He was so…helpless." He shrugs. Fresh blood is smeared across his fingers. "So, I fed him. Aaand he's kinda been following me ever since."
"'Him'?" Staring at his hands, Astrid takes a step back. "What, exactly, did you feed 'him'?"
"God, Astrid!" Hiccup blurts, horrified. "Fish! I fed him fish, what - what do you take me for?!"
Without saying a word, Astrid glances at the trampled patch of bushes.
Hiccup sighs and presses a hand over his eyes. His thumb leaves a wet red streak across his freckled cheek. "Look," he says, wearily. "He saved our lives, all right? I know he's a Mutt, but he's…he's not a monster. And neither am I, so you can stop…looking at me like that, okay?"
Astrid bites her lip, and glances toward her pack. Her abandoned axe lies across it, shining in the sun. She cleaned the blade herself, after the bloodbath. To tell the truth, she isn't sure what counts as a monster anymore.
"Sorry," she says. "I…guess I owe you one."
Hiccup takes a deep breath. "Listen, Astrid," he says. "I know you've got, uh, pretty much no reason to trust me, but…I've got this plan. It'll probably sound crazy…"
What doesn't, these days?
Astrid raises an eyebrow. "I'm listening," she says.