So, Games and Antics is a series of one-shots, accuring at random when I feel like it. This is the first, I have no idea how much more there will be, but there will be a few more. For now, there's this one!
Enjoy!
The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou
Games and Antics I: Hide and seek
"... 18... 19... 20!"
Lifting his head from Toothless' neck, Hiccup looked around. He had just been introduced to a whole new version of hide and seek. The dragon version. Which meant it was played in the sky, on dragon back, and the only rule was not to land. Meaning that everyone was hiding in the clouds surrounding him and Toothless.
Wrenlou was the best at this game, but only because Snowflake's white colour blended in with the clouds far better than the black scales of the other Night Furies, and he knew he would most likely find him last.
"Do you see them bud? Do you know where they are?"
Toothless huffed and shook his head, so Hiccup looked around, to try and find the places where the clouds were the thickest, knowing that that's where the other would hide. Pulling the saddle, he steered Toothless up higher to get a better look. He knew that the moment he spotted one of the dragon riders, it would end up in a chase until he had been able to physically touch them or the dragon. So the game was really a mix between hide and seek and tag.
He enjoyed it. He enjoyed it tremendously so far. Since Toothless was the oldest, he was also the fastest despite his missing tailfin, and he knew the dragon loved the chase that followed when they were discovered, holding back just enough to let their chaser think he had them, only to speed away from them again.
He sighed and steered Toothless left, flying over the incredible fluffy looking clouds that surrounded him. He bit his lip in concentration. Since the game was basically without rules it was hard, as it meant that the riders could move freely, as long as they didn't land. When they had started, he had thought that there wasn't a whole lot to it, he figured that there weren't many places to hide up in the sky, but he had been proven wrong. It had been a lot harder then it originally sounded, and the clouds provided plenty of cover for six dragons and their riders.
Toothless hovered in one place, his wings ripping through the clouds and sending bits of fluff spiraling around them. Hiccup sighed and was about to move on, when he spotted a black shadow in the cloud beneath him and he grinned. With one swift motion Toothless folded his wings against his sides and ducked down, Hiccup adjusting the fin as he did so. The black shadow noticed them just in time, and Leila and Sephina burst out of the clouds, the dragon beating her wings furiously to get away from Toothless and Hiccup.
Sephina shot up, forcing Hiccup and Toothless to make a tight U-turn to follow them and by the time they had turned the girl and her dragon had disappeared again. Hiccup grunted and uttered a curse under his breath, but then he saw them flying above him and his smirk returned.
"Come on bud, let's go get them!"
Toothless roared and they sped towards the black speck, that turned around and fled from them as soon as they got close. This time he was determined not to lose them and he leaned forward over Toothless' neck. He changed the position of the tailfin and Toothless sped up, nearing the girl and her dragon.
Leila looked back and screeched when she saw them on her tail, and she urged Sephina to go faster. The Night Fury roared and sped up a little, but she was already pushing the speed to it's limits. Hiccup held Toothless back just a little, so that Leila thought she had the victory, but then he sped up again until he was close to her again.
Hanging at the saddle, he reached out to her, Toothless copying the movements of her dragon easily until Hiccup was able to put his hand on Leila's shoulder. His shout of triumph was her scream of defeat, and she pulled Sephina to a halt.
"Well, you go me," she said with a sigh, "well done Hiccup."
"Thanks," Hiccup grinned, "now let's find the others!"
She smiled at his enthusiasm, and followed him when he steered Toothless back to the cloud formation the dragon riders were hiding in. He simply dove in this time, the water droplets clinging to his clothes, hair and eyelashes, but this tactic paid off as well. It wasn't long before he spotted Sharon. Or was it Susan? After four months, he still didn't know.
The girl fled from him, just as Leila had done, so he chased her, Toothless roaring loudly as he sped up after the dragon. Hiccup determined that it had to be Susan, because Susan's dragon was nearly as fast as Toothless, and the one he was chasing was really matching his own dragons speed.
He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, Toothless understood his silent gesture and sped up, pulling his legs tighter to his stomach. Susan glanced back and her dragon sped up as well, so both dragons were racing through the clouds.
Toothless neared Susan and Skygazer, Toothless pushing the limits of his speed, when Hiccup suddenly pulled the dragon upwards into the clouds. When Susan looked back, she frowned when she couldn't see him anymore. Then, with a deafening roar, Toothless shot out of the clouds in front of her, flying upside down and they shot towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise as Hiccup came came towards her, lightning fast and hanging under the dragon, one hand clenched around the saddle, the other stretched out to her. She was too surprised to dodge and Hiccup hit her shoulder, a little harder then he meant to, screaming a loud: "Gotcha!"
He pulled Toothless into a tight arc and turned back to the girl, smiling widely. Susan nodded as she petted Skygazer's head.
"Nice move!" she said and she gave him a thumbs up, "Dale will kill you if he finds out."
Hiccup shrugged, smiling sheepishly now. "Well... I think it's fair to say I'm at a higher level when it comes to flying. Toothless and I started flying before you, and we had a lot of time to try things. When it comes to sword fighting however..."
"You've improved greatly the last few months," Leila said, pulling her dragon to a stop, "now, are we gonna stay here all day, or are we going to find the others?"
"Let's find the others," Hiccup said, moving to change the tailfin.
"You'll never find Wrenlou," Susan said, "seriously, that boy has the greatest advantage ever in this game. It's almost unfair! We should make it new game. Whoever finds the White Fury, wins!"
"Let's just focus on the current game, shall we?" Leila said, "alright Hiccup, where do we go?"
Hiccup pointed to a dense cloud formation above them. "Right there. That looks like it can house a few dragon riders."
Leila smiled. "Well, let's go them!"
it wasn't long before they found Sharon in the clouds Hiccup had pointed to, and after a short chase, he was also able to catch her. She sighed, but joined the other two girls in the search for Broghan and Wrenlou. Because he knew he wouldn't find Wrenlou that easily, Hiccup focused on finding Broghan first, and after what seemed to be an hour long search they finally spotted him flying into a cloud. Hiccup steered Toothless after the boy as silently as he could and hovered above him, watching Broghan look around, then sit back in the saddle, thinking he was safe. That's when he attacked.
Toothless folded his wings to his sides, almost falling out of the sky and towards Broghan and Moonchaser. Toothless screeched at the last moment, and thats when Broghan finally noticed them. His eyes widened and he tried to run, but Hiccup was too close. His hand hit Broghan's knee when they plummeted past him towards the ground. Just above the water Toothless stopped the fall by opening his wings and making a tight turn back to the sky, water spraying up behind them.
"You enjoy this, don't you?" Broghan asked smiling as soon as Hiccup joined him and the girls.
Hiccup nodded, his auburn hair flying around his head and his smile grew bigger. "Yes! It's amazing!"
"And you're good at it," Leila said, "now let's get Wrenlou..."
"We should make a plan," Broghan said.
Hiccup frowned. "Am I not supposed to get him myself?"
"Weeeelll," Susan said, stretching the word, "you'll never find him on your own. We always team up against him. He never likes it though."
Hiccup smiled a little. "It just doesn't seem fair," he said hesitantly, "I mean, it's not his fault that Snowflake is white, is it?"
"Secretly he enjoys it," Leila said, putting her hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "I'm sure of it. Every one loves a good chase. Now, what is your plan?"
"I... I don't know," Hiccup stuttered, "I never thought about that."
"We'll just follow our old plan," Broghan said, "alright, here's how it goes..."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Hiccup bit his lip as he scanned the clouds below. He still didn't like the idea of teaming up against his best friend, going five against one, but Broghan had assured him that that was what they always did, and that Wrenlou would be expecting it. But they still couldn't find him, and they had been looking for what felt like hours. He yelped when something shot past him, and his heart leapt in his throat when he saw Snowflake diving towards the ocean, Leila hot on her tail.
"Come on bud, let's get him!"
He dove after Leila, catching up with her quickly and he exchanged a glance with her. She nodded and held her dragon back, Sephina slowing to a near halt, then she turned and shot up in the sky. Hiccup watched her a moment, then he turned his full focus on Wrenlou.
Toothless may be faster, but Snowflake was smaller, therefor more agile and therefor able to make tighter turns, an ability she used to her advantage and they had to turn a lot. Just when he thought he was getting close, Snowflake suddenly came to a stop, dropping to the ocean and they shot over her. By the time they had turned she was climbing again, aiming for the fluffiest, whitest cloud around.
"Come on bud, can't let him get away!"
Hiccup urged Toothless faster and the dragon growled softly. Only now did Hiccup realize that the game was much more then a game. It was training. Training in chasing, in finding hidden enemies, training in how to avoid them, and how to work together to find them. He smiled at this realization and bent down over Toothless' neck.
Just before Wrenlou reached the cloud, Broghan burst down from it, nearly knocking Wrenlou off the dragon. When he turned, he found Leila, Sharon, Susan and Hiccup all approaching him at high speed.
"Oh come on!" he yelled and Hiccup felt a little guilty for agreeing with the plan.
Snowflake screeched and ducked down, nearly causing Sharon and Susan to run into each other. They were able to avoid each other at the last moment, then they all chased after Wrenlou. The boy glanced back once, and his face grew grim.
"Fine..." he muttered and Hiccup, who was closest to him was the only one that heard him, "if that's how you want it..."
Snowflake folded her wings to her side and dove towards the ocean. Toothless followed suit, the other riders stayed up in the air. As they came closer and closer to the ocean, Hiccup felt a slight panic crawl into his heart. Wrenlou seemed determined to dive into the ocean! But the white dragon leveled out just above the water, the mist of salty droplets spraying Hiccup's face. Instead of shooting back up again, Snowflake stayed above the water, the tips of her wings grazing the surface with every beat. They chased him like that for a while, Snowflake twisting and turning, Toothless not quite pushing the limits of his speed, and Hiccup started giggling. Wrenlou was toying with him, and he enjoyed it.
The game came to an abrupt stop when Wrenlou had shot up again, and Leila had tried to cut him off. Snowflake shrieked, trying to dodge the girl and her dragon, but somehow she got tangled in her own wings and tail, and lost all control. She fell towards the ocean, writhing to get free and open her wings again. Wrenlou clung to her back, screaming when he saw the water getting closer.
"Wrenlou!" Broghan yelled, diving after his brother.
The other dragon riders soon followed, Leila with tears in her eyes as she watched the white dragons struggle. Snowflake was able to open her wings just above the water and she flew in a straight line towards the island, landing on the beach. Wrenlou stumbled from her back, taking a few paces before he collapsed, falling to the sand.
"Wrenlou!"
Broghan jumped off Moonchaser's back before she even touched the sand and ran towards Wrenlou, who was already trying to get up again. Hiccup landed next to Snowflake, the white dragon visibly shaking as she smoothed her wings and tail.
"I'm okay..." Wrenlou mumbled, but he was shaking as he leaned against Broghan for support.
"I'm so sorry!" Leila shouted as she came running, "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay," Wrenlou said, brushing the sand off his clothes with shaking hands, "I'm alive..."
"Yes," Broghan said and he hugged his brother, holding him close, "and you almost weren't."
"Thanks... for that image... just what I needed." Wrenlou's voice was dripping whit sarcasm, and Hiccup smiled a little.
"I guess the game is over?" he asked, a little sad that it had ended like this.
Broghan nodded. "But don't be sad. There's another day tomorrow. We can always play again."
"No thanks," Wrenlou said while he straightened his back, "I'm not playing if you try to kill me, thank you very much."
"I told you I was sorry!"
"And I forgive you. This time."
Leila crossed her arms, pouting as she watched Wrenlou walk over to Snowflake. He hugged the dragon, wrapping his arms around her neck and for a while no one said anything. Then Broghan cleared his throat.
"Come on. Let's go to the Hall, get something to eat."
They nodded and started making their way down the beach. Hiccup walked next to Wrenlou, sometimes shooting a worried glance at his friend. He was still shaking, paler than he had ever seen him, but he was almost afraid to ask how he was doing.
"You had fun, right?"
The sound of Wrenlou's voice startled him and he looked up. Wrenlou was looking at him, his eyes sparkling, and Hiccup nodded.
"I did!" he exclaimed happily, "that was the best game I played in years! Of course, the majority of the games off Berk involve snow... so I guess we can't play them here. Unless you want to have a... sandball fight? That doesn't sound like fun..."
Wrenlou started laughing despite the fact that he was still shaking. "A sandball fight? The tropical version of a snowball fight? Yeah... I don't think so."
Hiccup chuckled slightly and looked up when the twins joined them.
"So Wrenlou," Sharon started, "we've been thinking. We should make a new game, called Catch the White Fury..."
"Let me guess," Wrenlou said, crossing his arms, "every one chases me and Snowflake in an attempt to catch us first."
"Yeah," Sharon nodded, "it will be fun!"
"It will result in another chase like that, and I'll end up dead one day," Wrenlou said, a slight condescending tone in his voice, "so no thank you. One near crash was enough. I don't need the next one to be real. I really don't want to die, okay?"
"Oh come on!" Susan chimed in, "we'll be careful! It will be fun, promise!"
"No!" Wrenlou said, his voice firm, "as long as I live, there will be no Catch the White Fury! Ever!"
Hiccup smiled while he eyed Wrenlou. His face was determined, he had his arms crossed, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that showed that he was considering the idea. Maybe, one day, they would play Catch the White Fury. One day, when they were better dragon riders.