Irregular breaths filled the small space between them; it was unusual how empty the room felt despite the clutter of bowls, herbs and dirty dishes. The bright orange light of roaring fire made the shadows darker and provided little illumination despite its size. Perhaps it was the state of her mind.

Ruffnut ignored the ache on her back as she leaned over the bed and checked the cool forehead once again. The venom must have been left his body by now and his colour was going back to normal, albeit slowly. She knew better than to panic; Elder's training had been rewarding and her skills had advanced in the past years enough to let her know that the worst was behind them now. Tuffnut would make it. Yet the strain in her chest did not leave her even though she tried to let it out with a harsh and loud sigh, which sounded like wind in the trees in the privacy of the chamber.

For a moment she let her lids fall and cover her stinging eyes; she'd been awake for far too long and she was starting to feel it. Narrow shoulders bore the tension of earlier by sending pulsing cramps through her neck; her fingers were sore from powdering seeds, chopping herbs and crushing various ingredients to produce antidote and medicine for the bites. Her face looked sallow and tired although she did not think of it. How she appeared to others was no concern of hers; not when she had other priorities.

Loud stumping coming from the door distracted her from the tangled train of thoughts and she straightened her back to see the intruder. The cold look in her face was needless; Snotlout walked in without invitation and collapsed into the chair next to hers without greeting.

"How's he doing?"

"Fine. He will wake up soon… I guess."

"He will."

"How do you know?"

She did not mean her words to come out hostile but the past couple days have been far from gentle on her nerves. She had little patience left for anything other than basic communication. Snotlout seemed untroubled by her question; his exhaustion was related to different duties but she knew his mind had been in this room, by her, by his friend. He stretched his neck as he fought a yawn rather unsuccessfully.

"He has Thorston blood. You guys are more predators than prey."

It shouldn't have been comforting; she shouldn't have been relieved ever so slightly, yet she was. She didn't resist the weak smile creeping up on her thin lips.

"You should know."

His approval was only a shrug and even though their eyes did not meet, Ruffnut felt the weight of his thoughts close by. In a sea of repetitive assurances and encouragements; his words were the soothing ones. For the first time in many hours, her breathing felt easier on her chest.

A/N: Greetings! It has been a long break; apologies if you've been waiting for the new chapter sooner. After a raging writer's block, I went on a holiday and my mind appears to be functioning again. (Crossing fingers.) I've missed these idiots. Hope you've enjoyed the new chapter, let me know what you think? It's been a while and I'd like to hear if there is anything to be improved - grammatically or character-wise.

Special thanks to anhedral for the reviews, for the conversations and for the criticism. I appreciate every bit of it.

*** I've received a message about the stories and the fact that they are a bit vague; so I thought I'd answer it publicly. I know a lot these chapters include little obvious romantic interaction and even less sexual tension/smut. The reason is because writing these little moments comes more naturally to me than a mushy Rufflout. (Granted, Snotlout is capable of it.)

I find the base of their mutual admiration lying in these details and therefore enjoy experimenting with them. Even though I have many scenes in my head where Ruffnut is openly affectionate and Snotlout is much more lovey-dovey, forcing those to fit in a given prompt feels awkward. (I have a longer story in mind that revolves around Ruffnut and I'll be writing more freely about their relationship and how it evolved, I guess.)

Until then, if there is anything you'd particularly like me to try, I always accept requests/recommendations. See you! ***