Just going to get this out there: I HAVE NOT SEEN BIG HERO 6 yet, so there are NO references to that movie so far in ANY of my fanfictions. :) Just so there's no question about it. :D Shout-outs:
Night Fury15: He too! Love Hiccstrid! I want there to be an episode in the new season of Dragons when Hiccup gets hurt really badly and Astrid is the only one around to take care of him. That would be awesome. :D
Silver Electricity: I LIKE ALFRED AND COFFEE! HAVE COFFEE! LATTE! YADDA YADDA YADDA WHEEEEEE! *bounces off walls*
xFaerieValkyriex: Ahaha! That is a brilliant idea! No shout-outs until they answer the riddle! Maybe...seems a little forced. Oh well. *shrugs* Every now and then, I'll have to do that, though, just for fun. HAHAHA! :D
AnimeAngel: I laughed so hard when you said *throws egg at Alvin* I know, I'm weird. *throws another one at Alvin*
silverwolvesarecool: I'm glad you approve! :D
"Hiccup?" asked Astrid. Her voice was shaky, and uncertain. "A-are you still with me?"
I managed to nod, despite the mounting pain and fogginess of my mind. I was glad she and Snotlout had come back for me and Toothless, with the Spiritflash, Stormfly, and Hookfang, but I still had tons of questions. I had guessed that by "supplies" Astrid had meant stuff in the medical department, since I knew for a fact that Snotlout hardly ever carried stuff such as that long with him.
However, I still wondered what Astrid had meant by "others." What "others" were finishing the Outcasts off? By the way it had looked, they appeared to have been dragons. Maybe Astrid and Snotlout left the prison, trained dragons, and then came back to use them against the Outcasts.
"You'll be okay," said Astrid. "You're strong, Hiccup, you know. You won't let something like this drag you down."
"I've...seen worse," I said, trying to smile, although I was quite certain it came out looking more like a grimace.
"Don't remind me," said Astrid, shaking her head. "Snotlout, do you see somewhere we could land and take shelter? Somewhere the Outcasts won't look for us?"
"A cave!" Snotlout shouted so loudly I actually winced. I shut my eyes again and squeezed Astrid's hand. She wasn't pressing against my abdomen anymore, her hand now resting on the side of my head as she tried to offer me comfort and keep me relaxed. I figured, since she wasn't working on my wound anymore, that she had stopped the bleeding, and probably wrapped it as well.
"Quiet down, Snotlout," Astrid hissed at my cousin. "He's disoriented. You're being too loud."
"I found a cave, right there!" said Snotlout, the second time quieter, yet still as frantic and excited sounding as ever. I didn't look where he was pointing; moving hurt, breathing hurt, and turning my head hurt. Astrid still held my hand in one hand, holding my head gently in the other, keeping me from moving anything too much at all.
"Lead the way, Snotlout," said Astrid. She didn't even look at him. Snotlout headed downwards, followed quickly by Stormfly and Spiritflash. I felt the wind stop; the dragons must have landed. I opened my eyes as Snotlout dismounted Hookfang, walking towards us and taking me from Astrid carefully.
He turned and began walking inside the cave, Astrid dismounting and running after him after grabbing Stormfly's saddlebag. Toothless caught up with us and followed us inside. Spiritflash and Stormfly stayed inside the cave, yet right at the front, guarding in case any Outcasts came along.
Astrid pulled a thin blanket out of the saddlebag and then laid it on the ground in front of her. Shortly afterwards, Snotlout was laying me down on top of it with gentleness I didn't know he possessed. I still couldn't keep from moaning in pain, my eyes squeezing shut again.
Astrid took my hand in hers for support, resting her other hand on my forehead. At that moment, I just wanted to sleep. I didn't want to do anything else. But then I knew I couldn't, because of what Astrid had said:
If you fall asleep, you might never wake up again.
Toothless took his place right beside me, nudging me before curling up next to me, slipping his head underneath my arm. It was the one that was dislocated, but I ignored the pain Toothless' action caused. He was trying to help me, and maybe, that was all that mattered.
"What's the first thing we do?" Snotlout asked.
"Well, I stopped the bleeding…" said Astrid. "I guess that was the most important thing...but now comes the hard part."
HARD PART!? WHAT WAS THE HARD PART!?
"H...Hard part…" I mumbled. "No hard part…" My mind was scrambled; I couldn't think straight. I knew exactly what had happened while, at the same time, having no clue at all on what was going on.
"How do you feel, Hiccup?" asked Astrid. "In general."
At first, I thought about brushing her off, telling her that I was okay, but what was the point of that? She was trying to help me, along with Snotlout and the other dragons. They were my friends, and it was clear they were worrying about me. I couldn't lie to them, and besides, it was quite obvious already that I wasn't alright.
"Terrible," I managed.
"Does it hurt?" Snotlout asked. "Wait...that was a stupid question…"
"Yeah, it kind of was," said Astrid. "Is there anything specific, Hiccup?"
Specific? Not exactly. I shook my head. "Everything hurts," I said.
"Uh-huh," said Astrid. "How much energy do you have on a one to five scale, one being you just ran around Berk thirty seven times without a break?"
"Um...two," I said. "Two and...a half...maybe? I dunno..."
"Okay," said Astrid. "Okay, Hiccup, I need to clean the wound."
Hard part. Okay, that explained it.
"It'll hurt, but I have to do it," said Astrid. "Okay?"
I nodded. I knew one thing for certain, and that was we didn't want the wound to get infected. It was already bad enough, losing so much blood...an infection could have well killed me if the wound didn't do it first.
She let go of my hand and started unraveling the bandages. I winced and groaned, swallowing hard, and Astrid apologized. At that moment, I really wished I could just sleep, but I couldn't. I had to keep myself awake, at least until Astrid finished cleaning my wound.
I felt the cold air hit my open stab wound, and I gulped down a scream. It hurt worse than I could have expected. Astrid dug through Stormfly's saddlebag while Snotlout sat across from her, looking helpless.
I watched Astrid take out a small vital. It was a disinfectant medicine, I realized. I knew it would help, but I also knew by experience that it would hurt just as much, if not quite possibly more.
She uncorked the bottle while turning her head away against the smell that emanated from it. She set some cloths aside for when she would need them, and then grabbed my hand again. Despite the pain, I was glad for her support, even if it was something as simple as holding my hand.
"Ready?" she asked. I wanted to shake my head, but instead, I found myself nodding. Then, Astrid poured some of the liquid over my wound, and this time, I couldn't hold back a scream.