A/N: The whump is less gratuitous if you cut it with humor. This also as far as I'm willing to go with the fluff.
000
Astrid swiped her wet bangs out of her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time. Though her wool-lined oilskin jacket shunted most of the water away from her head and body, it didn't stop the wind from blowing pelting raindrops into her face. She wished she had taken Hiccup's advice when he had suggested she construct a masked helmet like his. He had made it to protect his face from the wind and sun while dragondiving, but it sure would come in handy at times like this as well.
She and Stormfly were huddled next to each other under some trees on an uninhabited island east of Berk. The dragon's tracking abilities had gotten them this far, but the continuing rain was confusing the scent. They had hopped from island to island in this area for a solid hour and had yet to find any trace of the Night Fury or his rider. It was getting darker and darker, and Astrid was beginning to despair of the possibility of finding them before being forced to take shelter for the night. Stormfly was getting cranky, and increasingly reluctant to take off every time they searched an island without finding anything.
"You've been such a good girl," Astrid crooned. "Just one more. Okay? We haven't searched Itchy Armpit yet, and I know it's just three miles further east." The dragon shook out her wings in irritation and gave Astrid the stinkeye.
She sighed. Time to pull out the big guns. She reached deep into her pack and pulled out the stash of chicken she'd stowed in case of dire need. Holding it up in front of the Nadder's eye, she said, "One more island. Then we'll find a place to sleep. I promise."
Stormfly hesitated and looked hopeful.
"Fine. Chicken, now; you get some more and two strands of dragon nip when we get there."
Silence. The reptile drove a hard bargain.
"Ten strands if we find Hiccup. Final offer."
The dragon croaked assent. Astrid tossed a drumstick into her eager, open maw and climbed back into the saddle, praying to every god she could think of that their search would soon be over.
000000
There it was. Through the rain and fog, Astrid could make out the irregular curves of the land mass with the ridiculous name. It was here that she and Hiccup had enjoyed their last, carefree moments together before they were nearly captured by Eret, before the discovery that would change their lives forever. Why Hiccup might land here, she had no idea. Nostalgia, perhaps. Her husband (the word still felt odd and new, even just hearing it in her head) had a bit of a gloomy, sentimental side that surfaced when he was under a lot of stress. Astrid destroyed things; he brooded.
It had been a sunny, beautiful day, their first time here. In the grayness of the storm, though, with latent panic gnawing at her insides, the island looked a lot less appealing: the sort of place where mothers would set stories about children getting eaten by trolls, to scare away early-developing Viking wanderlust.
"Here's hoping," she said to Stormfly, and they circled lower and lower, the dragon's nostrils opening wide to get the best scent. She recognized the spit where she had found her fiancé the first time— "Anything?" she asked, patting her friend's neck. There was a negative honk in return and Astrid snorted in frustration and distress. Her hands were getting numb and her posterior ached from sitting in the saddle for so long.
Come on.
"Ok. Other side, then. We're almost done. I want a rest, too."
They sailed around the outer coast, the wind buffeting them hard and shoving Astrid's hood down her back, away from her head. She cursed but didn't dare risk letting go of the saddle, even with one hand, to pull it back up.
"Down there," she yelled, and shifted her weight forward to direct them down to the spit of open ground on the opposite side of the island from the area she knew.
As they came in to land, a strong draft of air shoved them from below and they went sprawling into the ground. Astrid was thrown hard against Stormfly's neck, but there was no time for her to feel winded. She jumped off as quickly as she could and led the dragon into the trees. The rain still fell on them, but it was less widespread and they were at least somewhat sheltered from the storm gusts.
The air smelled of mist and moss and rotting vegetation. Astrid looked around, searching for a place to hide at least temporarily while they collected their wits.
Stormfly dashed forward suddenly, squawking in excitement.
"Did you smell them, girl? Go!" She ran after the dragon, stumbling over the soft, damp earth—she tripped and fell, soaking the front of her leggings and her arm bracers in mud. Wrenching her head up, she saw what the dragon had dashed toward: a familiar black dragon-shaped lump.
"Toothless!" she shouted. "Hiccup!" She pushed to her feet and lurched onward. Toothless's head came up, and he greeted them with a deep growl-bark, his ears perked straight up, eyes round. Astrid knelt down before the dragon and touched his nose. "I'm so glad to see you, big fella," she said, "I thought we'd never find you before dark." Her brows twitched downward as she noticed the dragon hadn't moved; he was vibrating a little, perhaps from anxiety,but didn't rise.
She reached for his slightly extended, draped wing and lifted it gently to peer below.
"Hiccup." There was no response. The wing lifted higher and she crawled underneath. Hiccup was curled on his side, his flight suit looking worse for wear, and beneath his bangs Astrid glimpsed the swollen evidence of a blow to the head. She debated whether to try waking him. Obviously he was unconscious for a reason, either fatigue or injury, but based on the answers he could (or couldn't) give her, she could figure out if she needed to send Stormfly back with a message, and if so, how long she could wait until making the request. She certainly didn't want to send her off now, not in this weather, without any rest.
She ran a tentative hand down his arm and squeezed his limp fingers. They twitched, but he didn't move. She shook his shoulder.
"Hiccup. Hey. Wake up." His eyes opened slowly. He winced at her, confused, then his face cleared as he recognized her under the heavy jacket.
"Hey yourself," he rasped. "Does my wife know you're here? She might get jealous."
"Oh, gods," said Astrid. She didn't know whether to shout at him, laugh wildly, or cry. He had finally been found—on an island miles away from Berk, in the rain, obviously hurt, and he was making jokes.
"You must have whacked your head pretty hard," she finally responded in kind, her voice sounding strange and flat in her ears. "You don't even recognize your own wife."
"Oh," Hiccup said, smiling faintly. "It is you. About time you showed up." He gave a dry cough and his face contorted in pain. "Did you bring the welcome ship? 'Cause I'd love a hot bath, maybe some mead even, my senses are a little too raw right now—"
"Save your breath," Astrid interjected, to put a stop to his concussed rambling. "It's just me, I'm afraid. Wanted to find you as quick as possible, once that storm hit Berk. When you said you'd be back later, you didn't say 'later, after I fly two hours east and crash land in the middle of nowhere.'"
"Sorry," said Hiccup. He swallowed heavily and closed his eyes again. "I'm sorry for some other things, too."
"Don't talk like that," said Astrid, frightened. "Just tell me how hurt you are so I can decide whether to send Stormfly back right now, or give her the chance to rest until morning."
"Ok…"
"All right. Are you dying? Please say no."
"…No."
"I'm serious, Hiccup." Astrid slid a hand under his bangs to look at the bump on his head. "How bad is that?"
"Dunno. I was out for awhile after I crashed, I think, but I stayed awake for hours after waking up. Pretty sure it was hours. Felt like hours."
"That's good…I guess. What else? What happened, anyway?"
"A lot of things. Didn't know what I was doing. Bad timing with the wind. Spring coil wasn't attached. Back fin didn't open after I jumped."
Astrid's heart skipped a beat.
"Oh, no, this is all my fault. You always told me I was going to break the thing, punching you in the chest all the time…"
"No," said Hiccup, shaking his head slightly. "It wasn't you, I forgot to reattach it last week in the workshop. Too…many things to keep track of."
Astrid gazed up and down his prone body, trying to see if there was anything else visibly awry. He wasn't missing any more limbs, good, she didn't see lots of blood anywhere, he was awake and he wasn't screaming in pain. She hoped he was just tired from what appeared to be a mild concussion and exposure. With any luck, after a night's rest and some food they could make it back to Berk before the next midday.
Still, she wanted to examine him more thoroughly before it was completely dark. She pushed his top shoulder, expecting to roll him onto his back so she could check his abdomen.
She pulled away quickly when he let out a strangled cry.
"Don't—do that," he gritted. Toothless made a low gurgling sound and turned his head to glare at her like she'd done something horrible.
"I'm sorry! What's the matter?"
"I…must have hit something wrong as I fell. Hurt my back." Even in the dimming light under Toothless's wing, Astrid could tell his face had turned an odd greenish color. No no no no. This makes everything more complicated. Why couldn't you have just broken an arm or something? Then again, for all she knew, he had, and just couldn't feel it.
"Can I pat you down? To make sure all your nerves are still attached?"
"Oh, they are, trust me—"
"I mean it." She ran her hand over whatever she could reach of his arms and legs without trying to change his position, poking gently, making him close his eyes and tell her where. His lower arm was somewhat numb, but he insisted it was from lying on it for hours and she believed him.
"You're sure you're not bleeding inside? Because we can't get your suit off easily to check for swelling or bruising. I could hack through it with my knife but even that will jostle you."
"Not that I know of. Only thing wrong in there is that stupid rib I broke before, fixing the Mead Hall."
Astrid sat back on her heels and combed her cold fingers through her bangs again. She was still on the fence with regard to the situation at hand, and the adrenaline of the trip was wearing off, leaving her tired and shaky.
"Damn it to Hel, Hiccup, when are you going to stop attracting mayhem and disaster?"
"When I'm dead," replied Hiccup, and coughed again. "Hopefully not soon. Did you bring water? Please tell me you brought water."
"I brought water," said Astrid. "For real." She pulled a water skin out of her pack, uncorked it and tipped it carefully to his lips. "We have enough provisions for two days. If you're sure we'll last through the night, I'll send Stormfly for help in the morning. We'll be back on Berk before you can say 'Snotlout stinks.'"
Hiccup started to laugh, but something inside him twinged that Astrid couldn't see, and he hissed in pain.
"No more jokes," he said. "I beg you."
"You started it," said Astrid, feeling slightly hysterical. Hiccup just glared at her for a second, then sighed heavily through his nose.
"I'm cold," he said. Astrid pulled both blankets from her pack and draped them over him; first the woolen one, then the oilskin one. She wished there was a way to get him off the ground without risking further damage, but this would have to do. She dug out a hunk of bread, tore off a bite-sized piece, and stuck it in his mouth. He needed food as well as water. "Don't choke," she warned. Out next came the promised chicken for Stormfly, then the dragon nip. A fish for Toothless, and more dragon nip. She figured he deserved it.
At her coaxing, her dragon came near to Toothless and draped a wing next to his, to give them a slightly broader shelter from the rain. Astrid inched under the blankets, facing away from Hiccup so they could spoon for warmth. Though he'd said he was cold, his breath was hot on her neck. She pulled her hood up over her head and tucked her arms up into her sleeves.
They lay there for awhile, listening to the sounds of the rain falling through the trees and the soft guttural warbling of their dragons as they got reacquainted with each other. Her eyes closed.
His voice reached her ears in the darkness, slightly muted through her hood.
"I love you, Astrid."
"I know. Go to sleep."
000
A/N: Yep. Star Wars fan. ESB reference right there.