Hello fellas! How are you all doing? Here is another shortish chapter, I'm trying to make them longer, I swear, but my brain isn't cooperating at the moment. As soon as it does, chapters will be longer again.

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

Consequences, Part VI

He was poking his food, resting his hand on his head. Dale had told him to get something to eat, but he wasn't hungry at all. He had tried to eat, but his stomach had protested the presence of food, and he had quickly given up. Now all he could think about was Hiccup, how he was sick, maybe dying, and how that was all Dale's fault. The man was supposed to protect them, take care of them, not chase them into a raging storm so they could get sick. Without realizing it he had stabbed the food on his plate harder and harder, until he drove his knife through the wooden plate into the table.

"Wrenlou, everything alright?" Broghan asked, "you haven't eaten a thing."

"I'm not hungry..." Wrenlou mumbled, pulling the knife from the table and dropping it next to the plate, "I need some fresh air."

He stood up and headed for the door. Snowflake, seeing her rider leave, jumped up, stretched, yawned, then trotted after the boy.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Broghan said, going after Wrenlou and stopping him just before he left the Hall, "you need to eat first! You're still recovering, you need to eat."

"I said I'm not hungry!" Wrenlou yelled shoving his brother aside, "leave me alone!"

He slammed the door as hard as he could, leaving Broghan and the other baffled.

"What was that about?" Leila asked as soon as Broghan sat down again.

"I don't know," he answered, "but I bet it has something to do with Hiccup. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

Wrenlou took a deep breath of the cool air. It was dark already, only the stars in the sky. It was a new moon, so it was darker than normal, but the torches that were lit illuminated the dark path, creating small pools of light, like stepping stones in a stream. The Bay was quiet, the only sounds were the waves breaking on the shore, an occasional owl or other bird that called into the night, and the wind that rustled through the palm trees. It was peaceful, a stark contrast to the anger he felt. He was angry with Dale, for being so stupid, for yelling at Hiccup, for not going looking for him, not even after two whole days. Dale was supposed to the be responsible adult, so why did he leave Hiccup on his own, out in the rain and cold, for two days, after he had already been injured and weakened by the dragon.

He looked at the sky, the stars sparkling like a thousand tiny diamonds, the adverted his gaze to the path, illuminated by pools of light, breaking off into different directions, leading towards the different cabins, the toolshed, the armory and the garden. He followed the lights, until he reached his cabin, where he knew Hiccup and Dale still were. He took another deep breath, trying to control his anger, and opened the door.

"Dale?" he called, "I want to talk to you."

The cabin was dark, the only light coming from a small candle that didn't illuminate much, but he knew they were there. He heard a sigh, and then shuffling, and he stepped back when Dale stepped into the light. The man closed the door and crossed his arms.

"What," he said brusquely, "I thought I told you to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Wrenlou said, feeling his anger boil, "and you know why? Because I can't stop thinking about Hiccup."

"Hiccup will be fine," Dale said, turning back to the door.

"You can't know that!" Wrenlou yelled, stopping the man in his tracks, "what, because the healer said so he will be fine? She doesn't know any more than we do! It's your fault you know! It's your fault he's sick!"

"How dare you use that tone with me," Dale said, turning back to the boy.

"Don't even start that! You were supposed to protect us! How does Hiccup not deserve that!"

"I do protect him!" Dale yelled back, letting go of the control he had, "I protect all of you, Hiccup is no different!"

"You left him, out in a storm, for two days!" Wrenlou yelled, "I had to beg Broghan to go find him! If he hadn't gone, he would still be out there! He would be dead! Because you said he'd be back! How could you believe that, after two days! Would you have waited two days if it had been me? Or Broghan? Leila perhaps? Would you?"

Dale opened his mouth to give a response, but closed it again. Wrenlou was right. He hadn't gone looking for Hiccup when he should have.

"If he had told me about his past, I wouldn't even have called him useless," he said darkly.

"So what, now it's Hiccup's fault? It's his fault that he was abused and ignored by his own people? You sound just like them!"

"I'm not saying it's his fault!" Dale yelled, coming closer to Wrenlou, "I'm just saying that if I had known, I would have reacted differently!"

"What's that supposed to mean! You are bla..."

"P...please don't fight..." a voice whispered from behind, "please..."

They both turned to the door of the cabin. Hiccup was standing in the doorway, leaning heavily on the wooden doorframe. He was looking at them pleadingly, swaying like a tree in the wind.

"Hiccup!" Dale exclaimed, "you should be in bed!"

"I... I heard you..." Hiccup whispered, "a...and I don't want you to fight..."

He started coughing and slipped forward. He would have fallen if Wrenlou hadn't caught him, pulling him up again.

"I don't want you to fight..." he whispered, just before coughing again.

Wrenlou looked at Dale, who sighed deeply. "We're sorry for fighting Hiccup," he said, "but you need to stay in bed. You can't be out here in the cold. Come on, let's get you back in bed, shall we?"

Dale held the door open while Wrenlou helped Hiccup back inside. Toothless crooned worriedly, watching as they tucked Hiccup in again. When they had done that, Dale took Wrenlou outside again, after promising Hiccup they wouldn't fight again.

"You're right," Dale said after he closed the door, "there are a million things I should have done differently. I should have gone looking for him. I should have remembered his past, that he's not like you, that he may take things differently. But I didn't, and it's done. I can't change what I said yesterday, or a week ago, or last year. I can change how I do things, and I will change that. I promised myself I would never hurt that boy again, and I intend to keep that promise."

Wrenlou looked down. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled, "for... yelling and... losing my temper... and..."

Dale lifted his chin with a finger. "Don't be sorry," he said, "I deserved every word of what you said. But if you talk to me like that again, you can be sure I'll have you scrubbing the saddles for two weeks. And if it makes you feel any better, Hiccup and I already discussed it. We made up."

Wrenlou smiled weakly. "Fair enough," he said, then he yawned, "I... I need some rest..."

"Yes you do," Dale said, stepping aside and opening the door to the cabin, "take care of Hiccup for me, alright? And don't give up hope."

Wrenlou nodded and slipped into the cabin, closing the door softly. When he was inside, he looked at Hiccup, seeing the boy look back with feverish eyes, and he sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled, "I let my anger take control of me. Dale told me you talked about it, that you made up... I didn't know that."

Hiccup didn't answer, instead he just coughed a little. Wrenlou sighed and stood up to go to his own bed, when Hiccup grabbed his wrist.

"Stay..." he whispered.

"Hiccup, my bed is over there," Wrenlou said, pointing at the other side of the cabin, "I'm not going anywhere."

"N...no..." Hiccup whispered, coughing again, "s...stay... here..."

Wrenlou frowned. "I'm not going anywhere, I just told you. My bed is right there." He looked from Hiccup's bed to his own, then back. "About eight feet away from you."

Hiccup tried to sit up, only coughing harder. Wrenlou sat down next to him, offering him some water, and after Hiccup emptied the cup, he leaned against Wrenlou, shivering a little.

"I'm not going anywhere," Wrenlou mumbled, "I promise."

Dale sighed and looked at the now closed door. He knew that his actions had led to Hiccup's illness. Why hadn't he gone looking sooner, why hadn't he tried to stop the boy when he ran off. Why had he even called him useless. With Wrenlou's words at the back of his head, he went to the Hall, to send the rest of the kids to bed.

"Everything alright?" Broghan asked when he saw the frown on Dale's face.

"I'm fine," Dale said, "go to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"How's Hiccup?" Leila asked.

"Asleep," Dale said with a sigh, "at least, I hope he is. He should be."

"And Wrenlou?" Broghan asked, "he seemed pretty pissed when he left here. And... we heard the yelling..."

Dale sighed again. "He came to me, yes. And we had an argument. But it's resolved. Everything is fine. Go to sleep. All of you."

They nodded, and left the Hall, leaving him alone. He sighed and went to get something to eat himself. He hadn't had any food since lunch, and he was starving. While he ate, he played Wrenlou's words back again. The boy had been right. He shouldn't have waited two days before searching for Hiccup.

0-0-0-0-0

Hello my friends! Here we are again! There are, what, three more riddles to come? And then the year is over... done... fini... can you believe that? Anyway, the answer to the last riddle was a River, and the right answer has been given by tons of people, but the first one, and therefor the winner, was a Guest who used the name Destiny.

And then for the next riddle! Here it is!

If you throw me from the window,
I will leave a grieving wife.
Bring me back, but in the door,
And you'll see someone giving life.
What am I?