A/N- Hey guys. I know that I haven't updated in almost 3 months. I went back to in-person school and because I'm a senior, they kind of threw all the end of the year work and tests at us. I've been so busy and tired, I haven't read fanfic since i last updated whichever story. I'm exhausted and emotionally spent so it's been harder for me to update. But hey, at least I graduated! :')
Andrea8a- I don't even know how to express my gratitude for your comment. I have no idea whether or not people were actually reading and enjoying my story. Truthfully, this story kind of makes me sad so that, combined with the lack of response I was getting, was making it really hard to write with as much effort and emotion as I know I can. But yes, I am not planning on abandoning this story. I already have all the "angsty romance" hiccstrid moments written, it's only a matter of building up to that. Again, thank you again for your review and I hope you continue to enjoy.
Lord Jaric- Thanks for the compliment! I am planning to update more consistently throughout the summer, so your "looking-forward-to-more" feelings will, hopefully, be quenched. About Astrid's hair description-yeah, i was a little paranoid about my description, I wasn't sure if it was detailed enough. I will probably go back and erase the A/N description of it. And as for the dragons…. You gotta read this chapter to find out ;)
A/N- Not going to lie, I also hit a wall. I really wanted to write but each time I went to actually do it, it didn't feel like me. Even though this published chapter has been rewritten and rewritten, I feel like it just isn't that great, at least for me. But I'll let you be the judge of that. Also, this chapter might be smaller than previous ones because, after awhile, I was just like, "eh, its fiiinnnne" so have fun.
Astrid ran harder than she ever thought she could. Granted, there had always been dangerous situations in which she could very easily die yet she remained calm as she could ever be. But at this moment, she felt her legs pushing and straining to their limit. Her lungs felt like rusted iron, grinding and collapsing with every breath. Eret ran ahead, jumping and twisting to avoid fallen trees and boulders embedded in the ground. Beside her, Hiccup ran wildly, desperate to reach their destination- wherever that was. Astrid saw his face fighting to restrain any pain revealing expression. He needed to slow down. Now.
"Hiccup." She began to slow her pace, hinting that he should do the same, "Stop running so fast. You'll hurt yourself."
Hiccup only began to run faster. Astrid huffed in frustration and raced to catch up with him. He showed no effort in slowing down. She could tell his body was overcompensating for his injury. His bandages, covered in dirt and soaked with blood and sweat, were beginning to unravel. Underneath, different shades of dark purple and black bruises peeked through. Previously healed cuts now glistened with fresh blood. Astrid suddenly felt a spout of anger. She quickly sprinted ahead and threw herself in front, trying to block him. She threw out her arms in front of her to get him to stop.
"Hiccup, this doesn't seem right."
Hiccup screeched to a halt, nearly knocking her over, and stared at her, "WHAT?!" he waved his hand"Are-are you serious, Astrid?
"You're hurt! You need to take it slow-"
"Yeah sure" he rolled his eyes and snarked, "That never seemed to stop you."
She couldn't argue with that logic. Ignoring that comment, she opened her mouth to counter with another retort but Hiccup tried getting past her
"They could be coming back!" He tried ducking and going underneath her arm.
She blocked him, pleading, "But Hiccup, they left! This doesn't feel right!"
"No, Astrid." Without another word, Hiccup pushed past her with more force than an injured person should have, and ran away from her, quickly catching up to Eret. Astrid stayed put. She jut out her jaw. Every fiber of her body told her to run with him, to follow him into oblivion. Her head told her that this couldn't be real. This was another stupid nightmare or at the very least, a very sucky dream. She knew she should not be angry or frustrated at Hiccup's eagerness or blind belief. She shouldn't, she couldn't. He was always the dreamer, quick to trust. Always has and he definitely deserved to be after all he had gone through. But she was a realist; logic always won.
A rustling sound came from behind Astrid. A sudden darkness overcame the ground around her. The trees leaned with the wind. Just as soon as it came, it disappeared.
Was that…? Another large shadow washed over the grass. The rustling of wings and faint roars overtook the forest. Astrid's head snapped up. Dozens, no, hundreds of leathery, scaled bellies flew over the trees. Her legs began to run, faster, and faster trying to keep up with the shadows. Bursting out of the tree line, Astrid came to a screeching halt. Eret and Hiccup stood at the edge of a cliff. A flock of every kind of dragon flew over the cliff sides. Deadly Nadders, Monstrous Nightmares, Changewings, every kind of dragon. Astrid couldn't breathe. They were here. Swirls of colors and scales circled around them in a flurry. Their leathery wings slammed against the wind, pushing and pulling the air around them. An icy gust of wind rushed at them, causing all three to stumble and lose their footing. Eret stood in a defensive position, brows furrowed, not sure if this was a danger, a threat, or joyful occasion. Hiccup, however, pushed and gripped his hair back. A teary laugh of disbelief and happiness slipped from his lips. His eyes glowed with a joyful flame that was previously, and suddenly extinguished. Astrid, however, could not match his joy. They- they were here. All around them. Astrid felt her heart soar for a second… but a voice in her head interrupted - Why? Why are they here?
Her heart won for another moment, skipping a beat when her eyes landed on a blue and gold Nadder. No. No, Astrid. It's not her, it can't be her. Astrid peeled her line of view from the Nadder and quickly skimmed the sky, looking for answers as to what was happening. She turned around to try to see where they could be coming from. Appearing from an endless sky, a Monstrous Nightmare looked down at her, suddenly stopped flying with the herd and hovering in place. It's eyes dilated and it tilted her head, roaring happily and readied itself to fly towards them. Before it could, a Zippleback cut it off, roaring at the Nightmare. The Nightmare roared back, huffing angrily. In an instant, both dragons' heads reeled back, shaking with pain and confusion. The Nightmare's head jut up, pupils now contracted. IT stared at her, but there was no emotion behind it's eyes. It roared at the sky and quickly flew behind the Zippleback, joining the rest of the herd. In realization, Astrid's stomach fell.
She turned back towards Eret and Hiccup. Head down, she gently touched Hiccup's arm. "Hiccup."
Hiccup's eyes remained overhead, on the dragons. His face was still lit up and his mouth began to spill out an excited jumble of words."They- they're back, Astri- I need to- we need to- wake them up- the village. We- we- we need to tell them that they're back!"
Astrid sighed, and held his arm tighter "Hiccup."
"If this many are-are coming, who knows how many more will come. That might mean he- he will come back too!"
"Hiccup."
"Don't you see, Astrid. We can- can go back to normal! It's like- like nothing even happened. It'll be just like before! We will all be happy agai-"
"HICCUP!"
Hiccup's head spun towards her, snapping out his euphoric state. "Wh-what?"
"They're not stopping"
"What?" His smile wavered, "What are you talking about-"
"The dragons- they aren't stopping."
She was right. Not one claw touched the grass. Not one looked back at them. The herd only flew further and further into the skyline, disappearing into the rising, bright sun. The Nightmare that attempted to reach her now vanished into the blurry horizon.
"No." Hiccup whispered next to her. He ripped his arm away from her and almost fell forward as he ran towards the cliff edge.
Hiccup couldn't breathe. This couldn't be it. He skidded to a halt, barely skimming the cliff edge. His chest rose and fell rapidly, panicked, as he ran along the cliffside, desperate to reach the creatures. Overhead, many still flew but the numbers were dwindling down. The end of the herd was approaching. Hiccup sharply and shakily inhaled. No, no, no, no, no. No. Turning back to the ocean's horizon, he skimmed the sky with one last ounce of desperate hope.
He suddenly felt claws on his shoulder. A green Terrible Terror was on his shoulder, pupils constricting and dilating. It's eyes fully dilated for a moment and gently made clicking noises at him, cuddling his neck. Before Hiccup could react, the Terror eyes constricted once more. It flew off of him, not before kicking its claw, dropping something. Hiccup's hand shot out, panicked, and grabbed a rolled piece of paper. He quickly looked back up to the Terror. Eyes still constricted, it roared at him and flew up towards the now vanishing herd.
"No! Wait!" Hiccup frantically reached up, failing to grab it, "Please wait!"
It was no use. The Terrible Terror didn't stop or turn around, it quickly rose higher and higher and caught up to the herd.
Breathing heavily, Hiccup quickly and desperately opened the wrinkled piece of paper. Haphazardly written words in a familiar style stared back at him.
Hiccup
We managed to get ahold of the Terrible Terror you gave us before it flew away to Thor knows where.
All our dragons are leaving. We don't know why or where. The Wing Maidens, Defenders of the Wing, and other tribes are with us. Their dragons are gone too.
The leaders and I have all come to the agreement that if anyone knows what to do, its you. We will be sailing to Berk soon.
Heather
Hiccup's vision blurred with hot tears. His hands clenched around the paper, ripping it in half. His fist shook. His face snapped up to the sky to see the Terrible Terror disappear into the clouds, the last of the dragons flying away. All of them flew away. Just as quickly they came, they were gone.
Rage bubbled inside of his chest and tears grew heavier and hotter in his could not be the end. This was his entire life. Angrily, he ripped the paper further and threw the scraps into the wind. An overwhelming wave of sorrow, anger, and pain filled his mouth.
"AHHHHHHHHHH" His broad voice deafening against the wind. Heavy tears streamed down his pain-contoured face. Hiccup fell to his knees, gasping and sobbing.
A sudden pang of pain overcame his body at that moment. He looked down at his torso; his bandages had unraveled and his wound was seeping blood. His vision began to blur. In the corner of his eye, he saw Astrid and Eret run towards him. Their movements were slow and sluggish. They're voices muffled like they were underwater. His line of sight remained on the silhouettes of the last dragons he would ever see again. He closed his eyes and gave himself into the silent darkness, away from the fading sounds of dragon roars
I hope you liked this chapter. As you can tell… things are starting to pick up, WE ARE GETTING MORE INTO THE DRAGON/HTTYD-VERSE, PEOPLE! IT'S HAPPENING! SOUND THE ALARMS!
….anyways, leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this
For Yet To Be Determined, I don't know when I'll update it. So just stay tuned if you are also keeping up with that story. Thank you for your patience!