Do You Mind? Chapter 3

Hiccup looked around him. The air was moist, warm, and still. Huge, unfamiliar trees rose out of the ground and vanished into the fog; the ground was covered by ferns, horsetails, mosses, and other plants he didn't recognize. A few large insects buzzed here and there. Ruff was looking all around in wonder. Neither of them had ever seen a place remotely like this before.

"The first thing I need to do is look at Toothless' wing," Hiccup announced.

"Can you spread your wing for me, bud?"

"Be careful how you touch it!"

"I'll do that."

Hiccup probed gently, using just his fingertips. He didn't bother asking "Does this hurt?" with each touch. He knew Toothless would let him know. There were a few places where it definitely hurt.

"I don't think it's broken," he said out loud for Ruff's benefit. "It's just a bone bruise." He said it again in his mind so Toothless could understand him.

"If that's true, then I need to rest the wing for a day or two. Then I should be able to fly normally. I must have hit a tree." Hiccup passed that on to Ruffnut. She didn't reply; she just kept looking upward.

"Ruff, are you okay?"

"My brother is up there somewhere," she replied absently.

"The last time I saw him, he was firmly seated on your dragon. I'm sure he's fine."

Ruff suddenly grabbed his shirt with both hands. "Hiccup, you don't understand! We've been side by side since the day we were born! We do everything together! No matter what crazy stuff we try, we always come through okay, as long as we're together. We're like good-luck charms for each other.

"Now I'm lost down here, wherever 'here' is, and Tuff isn't here. I feel like I'm lost on the inside, too. I feel like..." She leaned close to him, as though she was afraid someone might overhear. "Don't you dare tell this to anyone, but I feel a little... scared."

"It's okay," he reassured her. "We're both unhurt, we've got Toothless, and we've been in worse situations than this."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "We've got a wounded dragon, we lost the rest of the group, we've got no food or water, we don't know where we are or how to get out again, and I've lost my twin brother! How much worse does it have to get before you start worrying?"

"I never said I wasn't worrying, Ruff! I'm just not going to panic until I have a good reason."

A moment later, an extraordinary-looking monster crawled out of the undergrowth and roared at them.

"Is that a good enough reason?" Ruff quavered.

"Toothless! Plasma blast! Scare it away!"

"I don't shoot my relatives unless they deserve it. Do you?"

The creature was like nothing Hiccup had ever seen or heard of. It was slightly shorter than Toothless and much bulkier. Its head was small and somewhat dragon-like. It walked on two short forelegs and two massive hind legs, and had four spikes on its tail. Rising from its back was a double row of vestigial wings, or sails, or ... Hiccup didn't know what to make of them. It roared at them again.

"A relative? Toothless, can you tell me what it's saying?"

"Of course I can. It said, 'RAAAARH!' "

"You're a big help."

"Is it going to eat us?" Ruff whispered.

"I don't think so," Hiccup answered as he stared at it. "Look at its teeth! They aren't sharp or pointy. I think it's a plant-eater. So why is it threatening us?"

"Maybe it has babies nearby," Ruff suggested.

"Of course! We're too close to its nest! That has to be it, Ruff! Let's all back away and see if that helps." Boy, girl, and dragon took a few steps backwards. The creature hissed at them. They backed off a few more steps, and it turned and stomped back into the brush.

Ruff let out a deep breath. "I don't like this place."

"Toothless, you said that thing was a relative of dragons?"

"A distant relative. It can't fly."

"Toothless said that thing was a distant relative of dragons," Hiccup repeated for Ruff's benefit.

"Great! It just gets better! Now we're surrounded by dragons who don't like us!"

Hiccup grabbed her by the shoulders. "Ruffnut, get a hold of yourself! We train dragons, remember? If those... those land-dragons are anything like our dragons, then we can handle them!"

"Sure! Handle them!" she mocked. "So, how many fish have you got on you? Got any dragon-nip? Got any ideas for rubbing their chins when their chins are already rubbing on the ground? What's it going to take before you realize we could die here?" She turned away, wringing her hands furiously.

"Oh, gods, I hate to do this," he said quietly. He made a fist and slammed it down on the top of her helmet with all his strength.

"All his strength" wasn't much, of course. It was enough to hurt his hand, and it was enough to startle Ruffnut. She turned back to him, and saw him clutching his hand.

"You just hit me," she said, amazed.

"I know. I'm sorry," he winced. "I couldn't think of –"

"That's exactly what Tuff would have done to snap me out of it," she said, with a touch of admiration.

"Well, I guessed right," he said as he slowly unclenched his throbbing fist. "But guessing isn't going to get us far. We need to get organized. We need, uhh, we need... why can't I think?"

"Water to drink?" she suggested.

"Yes! We need water! And food, and some kind of shelter, and food for Toothless. Man, I wish Legs and Astrid were here! I didn't realize how much I count on them to help me think."

"They aren't here," Ruff said quietly. "You've got nobody except one of the stupid twins."

"I never called you that!" Hiccup retorted.

"But I know you were thinking it, or you wouldn't be wishing for those other two to help you think!" she answered bitterly. "When you're in trouble, who do you want? Pretty, strong, brave Astrid! And Fishlegs, the walking book who knows everything! They solve the small problems for you, and then you put it all together and solve the big problem. Well, we've got a big problem now, and all the help you're going to get is ugly, skinny, stupid Ruffnut. One of a matched set of idiots, and now I'm even more useless because I can't find the other idiot!" She turned away again.

"Ruff... I'm sorry." He rested a hand on her shoulder; she ignored it. "I really am sorry, because you're right. I don't expect much from you, and that's wrong. You just proved it when you figured out that the land-dragon was protecting its nest. I'm going to need your help to get us out of here, because you really do have something to contribute. I don't think you're stupid."

"What about the skinny, ugly parts?" she murmured sadly.

"I don't think that, either. Ruff, I'll make you a deal. If I try to be lucky and be Tuffnut for you, will you help me think and be Fishlegs for me?"

She gazed at him in surprise for a moment, then spat in her hand and held it out. "Deal," she said. He stared at her hand with distaste, and reluctantly shook it.

"Okay, let's get started." He glanced at Toothless, whose ear flaps were pricked straight up.

"Do you hear something, bud?"

"Flowing water. I'm very thirsty."

"Lead the way. We all need water to drink."

"Toothless says he hears water flowing. We'll follow him, and that will take care of our first need." The dragon set out through the thick undergrowth, trampling a path that Hiccup and Ruffnut had no trouble following. Hiccup hoped that the water in this strange place didn't have any strange properties. The last thing they needed now was more surprises.