And here we are with the next chapter! Dale really screwed up this time... didn't he...

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

Consequences, Part III

"Wren, no! You can't go out there! You're still recovering!" Broghan practically yelled at his brother as Wrenlou tried to get past him.

"We can't just abandon him!" Wrenlou protested, "it's not right! He should've been back by now! Something has happened and you know it!"

"I'm sure he's fine," Broghan said while he pushed Wrenlou back down, "I'm sure he'll be back. He just needs some time, that's all."

"He's been gone for two days!" Wrenlou said, "something has happened, I know it!"

"Wrenlou, calm down," Broghan said, determined to keep his younger brother in bed, "if you're really that worried, then I'll go out and look for him, okay? I'll go out and see if I can find him, if you promise me you'll stay here."

"You'd do that?" Wrenlou asked as he seized his struggles to get up.

"Yes I would," Broghan answered, "but only if you promise me you'll stay here, and do not attempt to go out yourself."

Wrenlou stared at the blanket, but didn't answer.

"Promise me Wren," Broghan pushed, "promise me. Please."

"I promise..." Wrenlou mumbled.

"Promise what?" Broghan asked.

"I promise I won't go after Hiccup myself, okay?"

Broghan nodded. "Okay. I'll go find him."

He stood up and walked to the door, where he looked back. Wrenlou was still staring at the blanket, and Broghan sighed.

"Hey," he said softly and Wrenlou looked up, "I'll find him. I promise."

"Okay..." Wrenlou said quietly, wrapping his arms around Snowflake's neck just as his brother left.

Broghan went straight to Dale, who was working to repair the damaged cabins, assisted by the girls. As soon as he saw Broghan approaching he got down from the ladder he was standing on.

"How is he?" he asked, concern clearly in his voice.

"He'll be fine," Broghan answered, "but I promised him I'd go out and look for Hiccup. It's been two days. He should have been back."

Dale sighed. "Very well," he said, "but be careful."

"Absolutely," Broghan said, and he turned away.

As he went to find his dragon, he looked up at the sky. It had finally stopped raining a few hours ago, but the sky was still covered in dark grey clouds. They were the very last remnants of what had been a violent storm. When he found Moonchaser, he wasted no time in gathering some supplies and taking off. He had no idea where he had to look, or where to begin, but he figured that he'd follow the shoreline.

As he followed the beach, he knew he wouldn't find tracks. If Hiccup had been running along the shore, the tracks he would have left would have been washed away by ocean tides and the rain. And if he had flown, he wouldn't leave tracks anyway. It would be a difficult search, but he had a promise to keep.

He flew lower, remembering how Wrenlou had found the boy the first time, hiding in a cave. There were many caves along this part of the beach, much more than could be seen from the sky. But the caves were empty, neither Hiccup or his dragon were there.

Cupping his hand around his mouth he called out, first Hiccup's name, then Toothless'. There was no response. He kept flying along the shore, continuously calling out for Hiccup or his dragon, but he got no response. After a few hours he landed, to stretch his legs and give Moonchaser a little rest, and he sighed, watching the tree line with his hands in his sides.

"Where could they be..." he mumbled to himself, "where could they be..."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he turned back to Moonchaser.

"Come on, let's go," he said as he swung himself onto the saddle, "we have to find them. We just have to."

Moonchaser crooned and jumped into the sky again. As she did so, Broghan called out for Hiccup and Toothless again, but again got no answer. They flew slowly now, still following the shore line, still searching. Hiccup had been gone for two days already, he could have a massive head start.

Suddenly, Moonchaser's ears twitched as if he heard something, and Broghan frowned. He had learned long ago to always trust his dragon, and he did so now. Moonchaser crooned softly, then the dragon shrieked loudly. To his delight an answer came only seconds later, but he tried not to get his hopes up too much. It could be Toothless, but it could also be a wild Night Fury. Never the less it was something he had to check out, and he steered Moonchaser in the direction the sound had come from. The dragon went eagerly, probably knowing something his rider did not, and landed not far from a curled up Night Fury. The moment he slipped onto the sand he knew it was Toothless. The green flap on the dragon's tail gave him away.

"Toothless!" he called while he ran towards the dragon as fast as he could, slipping on the soggy sand of the beach, "Toothless!"

The dragon looked up, his pupils dilating as soon as he saw who was calling his name, but he didn't move from his spot. He stayed still.

"Toothless I'm so glad to see you!" Broghan exclaimed while he kneeled next to the dragon's head, "where's Hiccup? Is he alright? Did something happen?"

Toothless whined and lifted his wing, revealing his rider laying against his side. The boy seemed unconscious or asleep, shivering despite the rising temperature. His clothes were still damp and his hair was plastered on his forehead, and when Broghan touched his shoulder, he could feel the heat radiate off the boy. So why was he shivering?

"Hiccup," he said softly, "Hiccup, wake up."

Hiccup didn't wake up, not for a while. And when he did, his eyes were bloodshot, his cheek red. He was hardly even awake, mumbling to himself.

"Hey..." Broghan whispered, "come on... we have to go back."

"N...no..." Hiccup mumbled, weakly swatting at Broghan's hand, "d...don't want to go back... 'm never going back..."

"Why would you say that?" Broghan asked, not moving his hand from Hiccup's shoulder.

"Don't want to..." Hiccup mumbled, "don't want... 'm useless..."

"Who says you're useless?" Broghan asked, "you're not useless."

"Useless..." Hiccup muttered, not hearing Broghan, "dad says so..."

"Your father?" Broghan frowned, "he isn't here Hiccup. Your father isn't here."

"Dale..." Hiccup mumbled as he turned away from Broghan, "Dale says so..."

Broghan sighed. "Dale didn't mean it Hiccup, really. You're not useless. Think of all the things you've done. You helped a dragon fly again. You've saved dozens of people. You trained a poisonous dragon and got it to help you. That doesn't sound like someone who's useless to me."

"Useless..." Hiccup rambled on, "dad says so... 'm useless... m... mess everything up..."

"Well," Broghan said while he stood up, "I don't think you're useless, I think you're sick. And I'm taking you back to the bay."

He lifted the boy in his arms and carried him to his dragon. Toothless followed closely and watched how Broghan set Hiccup on Moonchaser's back, then climbed onto the saddle behind him.

"I'm sorry Toothless," Broghan said while putting an arm around Hiccup to keep him on the dragon, "you're gonna have to run back yourself. I don't know how to use the prosthetic."

Toothless whined a little, but took off in the direction of the bay. Broghan nudged Moonchaser and the dragon spread his wings, then took to the sky. They passed over Toothless, who sped up, running back as fast as he could.

He had expected Dale to be inside the Hall, but the man was actually on the plaza, pacing up and down, and the moment he landed, Dale came running over.

"Broghan!" he yelled, "what happened!?"

"Not sure," Broghan answered while he let the man take Hiccup before sliding down to the ground, "I found him like this. He's sick, he needs a healer."

"Leila!" Dale shouted, carrying Hiccup to Wrenlou's cabin where he would be staying since his own was still damaged, "get a healer from the city! Now!"

Leila, hearing the urgency in Dale's voice, nodded, called for her dragon and was in the air withing seconds. Broghan followed Dale, looking around for Toothless, but it could be a while before the dragon showed up. When they entered the cabin, Wrenlou was still asleep. Dale put Hiccup down on the other bed and left again, Broghan stayed behind. He sat next to Hiccup, worried about the boy.

It seemed hours before Leila came back with a healer at her side, and the woman waisted no time in starting her examination on Hiccup. She had kicked both Broghan and Dale out of the cabin, only allowing Wrenlou to stay because he was still asleep, and in need of his rest.

As she sat down next to her patient, she immediately noticed the redness of his cheeks, the sweat beading of his forehead. And despite the raging fever, he wouldn't stop shivering. His clothes were damp from the rain, and she started by pulling off his boots. After that she pulled the wet tunic off of him, soon followed by his pants. She wrapped his legs in the blanket as tightly as she could in an effort to get his body temperature up, and examined his chest. The boy showed no signs of injury other than the healing cuts on his arm, but they showed no sign of infection. It wasn't until she heard his ragged breathing and the raw coughing that she realized what was wrong. Before she was able to do any further testing to confirm her concerns, she was startled by a voice from the other side of the cabin.

"What's going on...?" Wrenlou asked, his voice still carrying the traces of his sleep.

"Wrenlou..." she started, but the boy had already seen Hiccup on the bed.

"Hiccup..." he whispered, clearly shocked by his friends feverish face, "what happened... what's wrong with him..."

"I'm not sure yet," she answered, "look, why don't you just rest, and let me do my job, okay?"

But Wrenlou wasn't having it. He slipped out of bed and walked towards Hiccup. He stumbled a little because he had just woken up, but he made it to the other side of the cabin, and sat down next to Hiccup's head.

"What happened?" he asked again.

"You tell me," the healer said, "Broghan said he found him hiding under Toothless' wing. Why was he even out in the first place? Did you send him away?"

"No!" Wrenlou said shocked, "never! But Dale was mad at him because he risked his life when he went to find the dragon that had attacked us. He said a few things and then... Hiccup just left. Dale said he'd be back and he wasn't and Broghan wouldn't let me go find him and I was worried and I just wanted him to be okay and..."

"Hey... calm down," she said softly, "you're rambling. I agree with your brother, for not letting you go. But I do think I need to have a word with Dale later on..."

Wrenlou didn't answer. He just looked down at Hiccup, and the heaving of his chest.

"It's bad," isn't it," he whispered.

"I'm afraid it is," the healer said solemnly, "there's a build-up of fluid in his lungs, and if it doesn't go away he could die. And he's severely hypothermic because of the cold rain. You know what, I think you can help after all."

"How?" Wrenlou asked, eager to do anything to help save his friend.

"Hold him," she answered, "hold him against your chest. Get him warm again. His body temperature needs to be normal if he has any chance of surviving."

"But... he's running a fever," Wrenlou said.

"Yes, but his core temperature is too low. Come here, sit right here."

She told him what he had to do, and when he looked down on Hiccup, he knew it was urgent. His auburn hair was damp from sweat, his cheeks red, and he was shivering despite the hotness of his skin. He slipped out of his own shirt, which he threw across the room onto his own bed. Then he pulled Hiccup against his bare chest and wrapped a second blanket about them both. He knew he was probably going to get extremely hot, but he figured he would wash off in the ocean sometime later. The healer nodded, and left the room.

"You'll be okay," Wrenlou whispered, "you can't die, you just can't... I won't let you die."

The moment she closed the door behind her, she was greeted by Dale and the other students. Moonchaser and Snowflake were trying to hold Toothless away from the cabin, the dragon whining and struggling, desperate to get to his sick rider.

"A word please," she said to Dale, "in private?"

Dale nodded, and led her to his own cabin, instructing the teens to stay where they were.

"Tell me what happened," she asked the moment the door closed behind them.

Dale sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and started recounting the events that led up to Hiccup running off. He told her everything, including the fact that he had lost his temper, and had yelled at the boy. When he was done, she shook her head.

"You're a fool," she said, "this boy saved so many lives, and you scold him because of that. He's been traumatized by his past and the things that happened to him, and you yell at him like that? I'm not surprised he ran off."

"I am sorry," Dale said, "I now know that what I did was wrong. I will apologize to him when he gets better. How is he?"

"I hope you get that chance," the healer said, "he's very very sick. There's a build up of fluid in his lungs, he's severely hypothermic and running a high fever. To be honest, it looks like the onset of pneumonia, and that can be deadly in his case."

Dale looked shocked. "Deadly?" he asked, "how can it be deadly? I had pneumonia!"

"Yes," she answered, "and I remember that. But the difference between you then and Hiccup now is that he was already weakened and his body's immune system had already been compromised by the poison of that dragon. That and the hypothermia he's suffering from, combined with his fever caused a very dangerous set of circumstances. Besides, pneumonia is often deadly in individuals under twenty, because their body is still growing."

"W...what can we do...?" Dale asked.

"Right now I told Wrenlou to try and get his temperature up," she said, "and I will go back to Dragoncity to get some medication. I think it's best I I stay in the Bay for a while, until he gets better, or until he dies."

Dale bit his lip. The idea that Hiccup could die, and the idea that it was his fault was simply too much to process. He felt a brief hand on his shoulder, then the healer left him, on her way back to Dragoncity to get the medicine Hiccup needed so badly. Dale stayed behind, guilt stricken and not sure what to do. He was still reeling with the healer's words. That Hiccup might die. And that it would be his fault.

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Alright guys! Another riddle, another winner! Are you still enjoying this? I know I am!

So this weeks winner is Fungame2, who correctly guessed that it was a Shadow. So PM me with an address, and I can give you the prize you've earned!

And now onto the next riddle... here it is! It's an easy one... everyone can know this...

If you say my name, I disappear.
What am I?

Good luck!