She had learned from last time to properly hold her hatchling in her claws so he couldn't slip away. Knowing the Vikings had some ability to attack flying dragons she ascended quickly, trusting that they wouldn't want the hatchling to fall too far. She didn't count on the little one struggling so much; he was so small he slipped through her claws once. She caught him again, more securely. The hatchling's sire has begun to pursue on foot and the little one kept calling for him, even when they were far away from his nest and had lost his sire in the woods.
Her cave came up and she angled down through the trees before opening her wings wide to hover just long enough to put her hatchling safely down then land herself. The hatchling quickly stood and attempted to bolt but she easily prevented escape by blocking him with her wing. He whipped around only to come face to face with the Nightmare. She crooned and bumped him with her snout, knocking him down gently. With a yelp he scrambled backwards, away from her. The Nightmare shook her head and brought her wing closer to stop him and scooped him back to her. She tented herself around the boy and he began babbling at her, she could smell his fear strongly,
"You don't want to eat me," He said, "Gobber thayth I'm too thmall for you to even get a tathte. Thee?" He held up an arm to show her, "No meat."
She shook her head again and chuckled, of course she didn't want to eat him; he was her hatchling. Bending her head the Nightmare rubbed against him, rumbling for him to calm down. The sound vibrated through his chest and his breathing picked up, becoming more unsteady. He stopped talking to bend his head down and covered it with his arms. Concerned the Nightmare sniffed at him, gauging how scared he was. It was normal for stolen hatchlings to want their mothers and sires back, once cared for, though, they would settle with the switch. The Nightmare assumed it would be the same with her little drake. Taking a deep breath she took in his familiar scent; it was mixed with a fair bit of fear as well as salt and a musty, dirty smell. With a questioning croon she nudged his arms out of the way and smelt his hair; there was dirt and cobwebs in it. With an amused rumble she started washing him with her tongue, hoping that the action would soothe him. Instead, he started shaking and sobbing, the salty smell got stronger as his shoulders shook and he curled into himself as much as he could. He was terrified, she could smell it. She stopped washing him and used her chin on his back to pull him closer to her chest and her warmth. She crooned and rumbled to calm him; trying to let him know that it was all right, he was safe. Remembering how his sire calmed him that first night she moved her cheek against his back in circles. She felt him relax slightly after a while and the sobbing slowed till it was quiet whimpering and little hiccups. Pulling back she crooned at him and he slowly lifted his head to look at her with big, frightened eyes. Cupping her wing behind him the Nightmare gently pushed her hatchling into it nuzzling his chest, careful of her teeth. Her little one sniffed and wiped his nose,
"You- you're not going to eat me?" He asked in a quiet voice. The Nightmare gave a dragon chuckle and nuzzled him again, happy he was calming down. "Dad thayth dragonth are evil; that you're dangerouth." The Nightmare snorted, of course she was dangerous. That didn't make her evil. Vikings are dangerous; did that make them evil? Well, she supposed dragons made sure their hatchlings thought Vikings were evil to keep them safe. Even if the savages were merely nuisances in the way of feeding Her, they still killed enough dragons for them to be considered dangerous when it came to hatchlings. Of course her hatchling's sire would tell him that dragons were evil; the Viking wanted to ensure he would stay away from them the same way dragons kept their young away from Vikings. She looked down at her hatchling; his eyes were still wide and he was trying to sit up in her wing. The smell of fear had lessened a bit as well as the salty smell. Pushing him back into her wing the Nightmare sniffed at his face. She could smell dirt and salt so she opened her other wing enough to let in some early morning light to better see her hatchling. Wet streaks trailed down his cheeks; they had washed away some of the dirt covering his face. A rough, wet tongue was dragged from his chin to his forehead as she began washing him again, stopping to nuzzle him when he whimpered. She washed him, rumbling the whole time. A deep sound, a soothing sound, used to calm hatchlings and put them to sleep. When he was clean the Nightmare nuzzled into him again but the hatchling pushed her away,
"Eww, why did you do that?" He said wiping her saliva off his face. The Nightmare chortled; she washed him because he was dirty. Did his sire never wash him? A thump in the clearing caught her attention and she lifted her head, pulling her hatchling in closer, tense and ready to fight. She relaxed when she saw it was her mate shaking himself off before greeting her. They bumped noses and rubbed each other and the Nightmare opened her wings a bit to call her hatchling out.
Hiccup stood when the dragon's head left. It didn't seem to want to eat him but he had no idea of what it did want. He wanted to go home. The wings parted and he could see trees for a second before he heard the dragon make a chucking sound. He ran. The dragon was big; maybe he could make it to the trees and hide then find his way home. He stopped short causing dirt to fly up. There was another Nightmare between him and the trees. This one might want to eat him so he turned back to the first and hid behind her wing, breathing heavily.
The Nightmare looked down at her hatchling; this was an improvement, he saw her as being safe now. The Nightmare's mate crooned at the hatchling and sniffed him. Her mate looked at her then backed up a few steps and brought up several fish. He had known she would not be able to go hunting with a new hatchling in the nest. The Nightmare could feel small hands on her wing as the little one peeked around at her mate and the pile of fish now on the ground. For a moment nothing happened so the Nightmare nudged a fish out of the pile and let out a gentle flame to toast it. She then pushed it toward her hatchling with her chin. He just stared at it and then up at her so the Nightmare gestured at the fish then at him with her snout. Hesitantly he picked the fish up and the Nightmare rumbled in approval before eating her own breakfast. She allowed Hiccup to stay under her wing to eat his.
Hiccup knelt down with the fish behind the wing. He kept his eyes on the other dragon. It was bigger than the one he hid under, it was licking and nipping itself under its wing. The fish the dragon had given him was somewhat charred but mostly under cooked. He picked the charred pieces off it without taking his eyes off the dragon. The big dragon would leave sometime right? Then he might be able to get to the trees and back home. His dad would be looking for him, maybe he would find him. Only the best Vikings went after Monstrous Nightmares, Stoick the Vast had fought them one on one but could he fight two? The boy turned the fish over in his hands, they were shaking. He sniffed, he wanted to go home, he could hear the Nightmare above him eating the rest of the fish and the other one had laid down making growling sounds. What if Hiccup was dessert? He sniffed again, leaning against the dragon's wing with pieces of fish on his lap and the ground. If he couldn't get away his dad would find him. If the dragon wanted to eat him it would have done so by now.
The Nightmare checked on her hatchling when she finished eating and found he had only picked at the fish. He was leaning on her wing, away from her body, but a least he wasn't afraid to touch her completely. The Nightmare could tell by the weight on her wing and the way his eyes drooped that he was tired. It had been a stressful day; up early, his nest burned, stolen from his sire, new nest, and new parents. He was only a little hatchling. She lay down and pulled the wing he leaned against towards her, cupping her hatchling in it. Tired eyes looked up at her. There was considerably less fear in them. Crooning, the Nightmare butted the top of her head on his little chest and rubbed circles, hoping to lull his to sleep. A nap wouldn't be amiss even if it was midmorning.
It was a chilly day but pleasantly warm wrapped in a dragon's wing. The crooning was soothing and the circles being rubbed on his chest were familiar enough to lull him to sleep. The Nightmare purred when her hatchling's eyes closed and his breathing evened out. She looked up at her mate who she knew wanted to see their new hatchling but the little one was sleeping now so her mate would have to wait.
When Stoick and Spitelout got back to Berk the warriors had been standing around unsure of what to do. Others had come out and given their sympathetic looks they had obviously heard about what had happened.
"Get going!" Stoick barked, "We've the devils' mess ta clean up. Don't stand around gawking!" They hurried to busy themselves. Gobber, however, ignored Stoick and limped up,
"Is he," It was left there, hanging. Anyone else and Stoick would have shot them a glare and moved on but Gobber loved the boy, cared for him when Stoick was too busy to.
"He's alive. The beast took him inland not over the sea. I think I know where to start looking."
Gobber nodded, "Need a search party then? To go back to the woods?"
Stoick nodded, "We need to move quickly, Gobber." He placed his hand on Gobber's shoulder. Gobber would slow them down going through the woods.
"I know. I can still help ya get it together and ready to go." Gobber said in his chipper tone. Stoick chose to not hear the falter in Gobber's voice as his friend hobbled away.
Getting a search party together took surprisingly little time. For Stoick, however, no one seemed to moving quickly enough. Finally Ack, Hoark, Spitelout, and Stoick headed outinto the woods. The small clearing Stoick and Hiccup had camped in was a charred mess. The Nightmare had obviously found it and all that was left was ash. A chill passed down Stoick's spine. What was the devil doing with Hiccup? Why seek him out? Was it possible that they were smart enough to target his son on purpose? No. No, they were just dumb beasts. This was all a coincidence.
"Stoick?" Spitelout was watching him with raised eyebrows.
"We camped here." Stoick said, "First saw the beast not far from here. We'll find a place to set up camp then head down that way."
It wasn't far to the spot where they had first found the devil. When they got to the drop off Stoick motioned for the others to stay back while he crept forward. He hadn't seen where the beast had come from on that day and Stoick wasn't expecting to find much, but this was where he would start. Slowly Stoick came up to the edge and peered over. His heart stopped. Down in the clearing were not one but two Monstrous Nightmares curled in a circle. It took him a moment or two to see his son next to the smaller of the beasts; his red shirt helped him blend into its red scales. The boy was stuck inside the circle the two dragons made. He seemed fine; he sat with his knees drawn up and his arms around them. Stoick could see that he was scared, though. He watched for a while, forgetting about everything else. How was he going to do this with two Monstrous Nightmares?
There was a movement behind him and Spitelout came up to look. He whistled silently. Tapping Stoick's arm Spitelout gestured to the others. They fell back to them.
"There are two." Spitelout said, "Two."
Stoick nodded.
"Two? Nightmares?" Ack said, "Is the boy?"
Stoick and Spitelout nodded, "He's fine, doesn't appear to be hurt."
"Well, there's four of us," Hoark said, "Three can go after the dragons while the fourth grabs the boy."
"Won't work," Spitelout said shaking his head, "That beast wants him. Stayed after the raid was over to snatch him. First sign of us it'll take the boy away while the other fights. They might leave Berk." It was a good point. The dragon and Hiccup would be gone before they got close. Best to stay hidden and wait for an opportunity.
"You want us to do nothin'?" Ack said, "We wait too long and it could be too late for the boy." Another good point.
"Stoick, you remember that time we came across those two nadders with their young?" Spitelout asked. Stoick nodded, he did. They had circled the young in with their bodies. It was typical behaviour dragons showed to defend their young. Stoick paled upon realizing exactly what Spitelout was saying.
"No. There's no way,"
"Sure 'bout that? Remember that ol' goat I had? The one whose kid died in that storm? She adopted a yak calf. Thought it was hers." Spitelout said. Hoark and Ack stared at Spitelout dumbfounded.
"You think that a dragon lost her young and has now decided that she's adopting my son? All because they stalked him, stole him, and are currently guarding him like some nadders guarded their young?"
Spitelout calmly nodded, "Why else would they come for him? He was clearly targeted. If they were goin' to kill him they'd've done it by now."
Stoick shook his head. A dragon stole his son to replace its own young? The beast actually thought a human boy would make a good substitute? It didn't matter. What mattered was getting Hiccup home safe and sound. "We'll set up a watch, camp nearby. They'll let their guard down at some point. Once Hiccup is safe we can dispatch of the dragons."
Well, this was- boring. Once Hiccup got over the fear that was the only word for it. He just sat there. Oh, he was still scared, especially of the big one, but he wasn't as scared as he had been. They hadn't hurt him, hadn't made a move to. Hiccup was fairly certain that they weren't going to eat him. Besides, Hiccup was a Viking and Vikings weren't afraid of dragons. The one behind him shifted a little but he didn't flinch. He did not flinch. Or hug his knees tighter. He did not wish his dad was here because Hiccup was a Viking and he did not need his dad. He could escape on his own. Not that he would complain if his dad showed up to help. The big dragon let out a long sigh and Hiccup ducked his head down and squeezed his knees tight. He wanted his dad.
The Nightmare rumbled to her hatchling, wanting to soothe him, but she smelt the Vikings nearby. She looked at her mate and he gestured at the hatchling then the cave. They'd be safe in there while he stayed out here to ward off any danger. She reached around and caught the back of her hatchling's covering with her teeth to pick him up. He gasped when she lifted him off the ground but didn't protest; he drew his feet up and curled into a ball instead. She brought her little one into the cave and placed him on the ground, then laid down blocking the entrance. Stolen hatchlings will try to go back to their parents at first. She shot a flame at the hole with wood in it that she had prepared. It didn't catch. Ignoring her hatchling who huddled next to the wall she tried again. It lit this time and she laid her head down.
A/N: It's back and on schedule too. Yay me!