People I am so sorry I didn't update last week! Here I am saying that I'm on a roll with weekly updates and BAM, I miss one. But between writers blocks and little kittens (yes, we have a kitten) writing was nearly impossible. Try writing a story with a kitten nibbling on your toes and chasing your fingers across the keyboard. I can tell you, the sentences can get very... creative.

Anyway, there will most likely be one more chapter after this, and then it's on to the next story, which I have all planned out too. So that should be a breeze to write.

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

A Storm Blows Through It, Part XI

His cheek was laying on something hard and sharp, and for a moment he was confused. He was sure his pillow wasn't made out of rocks. When he opened his eyes and was greeted by only darkness, cold all around him, he remembered what had happened, and where he was. He rubbed his eyes. The cave around him was pitch black, the torch must have gone out while he was asleep. He tried to sit up, but when he leaned on his hands, a sharp pain shot through his right arm, and he froze. He hadn't been asleep. He had been attacked by the dragon that kept Wrenlou and so many others in a coma. He had been infected with the same kind of venom. He had passed out, due to that venom. So why was he awake now?

He grabbed his arm, finding it covered in some sticky, slightly warm substance, that seemed to cover his arm from his elbow to his wrist. He looked around again, for any sign of the dragon, and when he saw nothing, not even a trace of the ice blue eyes, he tried to stand. The moment he was on his feet he was overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. He had to seek support against the wall, or he would have fallen.

With one hand against the wall, he rubbed his other on his tunic, trying to get some of the sticky substance off. He wasn't sure what it was, but he was sure it wasn't blood. It felt too thick for blood, too sticky. He took a few steps, but stumbled and fell to his knees. Knowing he would most likely not be able to stay on his feet anyway, he crawled on his hands and knees. He had no idea what direction the exit was, but he hoped the dragon didn't discover his attempts to escape. He still had no idea why he was awake now, for all he knew he had been down here for months and the poison had worn off on it's own.

His hand touched something and he recoiled before he realized it was the torch that he had dropped earlier. He knew he still had the flint in his pocket somewhere, so he grabbed it, and after a few shaking attempts he managed to light the torch. As he looked around he noticed that the eggs hadn't hatched yet, so unless the dragon's eggs took years to hatch, like a night fury's eggs, he hadn't been down here for years. The one thing that scared him was that he didn't see the mother dragon anywhere.

Another wave of dizziness washed over him and he leaned against the cave wall. It seemed as if the pain in his arm intensified as well, and he grit his teeth to keep from crying out. He closed his eyes for just a moment, and the next thing he knew he felt two little claws grab his injured arm. His eyes hot open to see the mother dragon next to him. She was holding his arm in the claws of her first front legs, standing on the other four. He stared at her, his eyes wide, and she looked back, her ice blue eyes calm. As he looked at her, she pulled his arm closer to her, and started licking the wounds. With a shriek he tried to pull away, but the dragon hissed, baring her teeth and he froze. She continued licking his arm, covering it in the same sticky substance he had rubbed off earlier. When she was done, she let go of his arm, and stepped back. He stared at his arm, and went to wipe it clean again, but stopped when he felt the pain subside, and the nausea and dizziness faded. He kept staring at his arm for what seemed forever, then he looked up at the dragon, that hadn't moved at all.

"Y...your saliva..." he mumbled, "it's... it's the antidote... isn't it?"

The dragon dipped her head, then looked up at him again. Hiccup smiled, feeling the pain fade completely.

"I have to tell the others!" he said excitedly, "this is the answer we've been looking for! I have to go tell the others!"

But when he tried to stand, the cave spun, and he sunk back down against the wall. The dragon crooned softly and moved little closer.

"I... I suppose I could wait a little longer," Hiccup said, smiling shyly, "until I feel better."

The dragon dipped her head again and moved closer, walking on all six of her legs, but when she stood, she would stand on four, holding the other two up as if they were arms. Carefully, Hiccup reached out to her, his hand shaking slightly as he had not yet forgotten what had happened the last time he had tried this. But this time no sharp teeth sank into his hand, no claws ripped his skin. The dragon pressed her nose against his palm, then she clambered onto his lap, where she curled up. Hiccup smiled, stroking her a little.

"Say," he said, careful to avoid the sharp tail, "will you help me save my friends? You can give them the antidote too. All you have to do is lick their wounds and they should be fine, right."

The dragon looked up, looking into his eyes. Then she turned to look at the nest, and the eggs that were in it. It took a while, but then Hiccup understood her.

"I promise you, no one will ever bother you again," he said softly, "I'll make sure of that. I'll have Ezra seal this corridor, so you can raise your babies in peace, if you help me wake my friends."

The dragon crooned softly and slipped off his lap. She walked to the exit of the cave where she turned back to look at him.

"I don't understand..." Hiccup mumbled, "what do you want me to do?"

She came back and pulled his boot. He stood up and she tried to pull him along with her.

"Oh... right... you want me to follow you," Hiccup nodded and he grabbed the torch, "I can do that."

The dragon ran into the tunnel, quickly disappearing from sight. A few moments later she was back, looking at him like she was telling him to hurry up.

"I'm coming, really," Hiccup said, "I'm still a little dizzy"

This time the dragon walked slowly, stopping every few pases to make sure he was still following. She led him to a smaller room, and when he went in, the light hit three bodies laying on the floor. Two women and a man. He didn't know the women, but he recognized the man.

"Rico!" he exclaimed, almost dropping the torch.

At first glance the three riders appeared to be dead, but upon closer inspection he discovered that they were still alive. They were breathing shallow, probably in a deep coma, but they were alive. They all had a single cut on their arm, the wound close to completely healed already. The dragon pushed passed him, and gave their arms the same treatment as Hiccup's. She licked them until they were covered in a layer of sticky saliva.

"How long will it take before they wake up?" Hiccup asked, watching the three people with concern.

The dragon didn't answer. She simply looked at him, her expression blank.

"You don't know, do you," Hiccup asked, and the dragon shook her head. Hiccup sighed and looked at the three adults. "Well, there's no way I can get the out myself. I'm going to need help. Do you want to help me? I promise they will just get these people out. They will leave your eggs alone. And then we have to find a way to get you to the hospital, so you can help the ones that are still unconscious there."

The dragon tilted her head, as if she was thinking his proposal over in her head. After a while she looked up at him and dipped her head.

"Great!" Hiccup said, "now, I assume that you can't get out in sunlight, right? That's why you live here in these caves?" When the dragon nodded, he sighed. "So... we have to get you to the hospital... maybe at night? Can you come out at night? I bet you can... Alright, then here's the plan..."

0-0-0-0-0

"Anything yet?" Ezra asked.

"No sir, nothing yet. No sign of him," Bruce answered, "sir... maybe we should start considering the possibility that he's dead?"

"No!" Ezra said harshly, "I will do no such thing. He has to make it, he has to.. let me know when he's here."

"Yes sir," Bruce mumbled as Ezra walked away, "but I doubt if we'll ever see that kid again. Well, I certainly won't miss him. Annoying little..."

Right at that moment the door flung open, nearly hitting him in his face, and Hiccup stumbled out into the rain. The boy looked disoriented and stumbled on his feet. He was gasping for air, like he had just run for his life.

"Ez... Ezra..." Hiccup gasped, "I... I found it. Ezra, I found it..."

Bruce jumped forward to catch the boy as he was swaying on his feet, seemingly barely able to stay conscious.

"Ezra!" he yelled, his voice carrying much farther than Hiccup's soft whispers, "Ezra he's here!"

Immediately the man came running, kneeling next to Bruce who was holding Hiccup in his arms.

"Hiccup! Are you okay?" Ezra asked, concern clearly in his voice, "my gods... your arm... we have to get him to the hospital, quickly. He's slipping into a coma too..."

"N..no..." Hiccup mumbled, finally catching his breath, "I... I already did that... I found the antidote... I...it's her saliva..."

"Her saliva!?" both Bruce and Ezra yelled at the same time.

Hiccup nodded. "Y...yes... It's really easy. We just have to bring her over to the injured riders and she can wake them."

"But Hiccup," Ezra said while he helped the boy to his feet, "she attacks all who come near."

"No she won't," Hiccup said, "really. She will help us, and then we must close off the corridor that leads to her nest, so she can raise her family in peace. It will be safer for us and for them. And I also found Rico and... eh... the others..."

"You did?" Ezra asked, "Hiccup that is great! Alright. What do we have to do. Where can we find them?"

"I'll lead you and a few healers there," Hiccup said, and then we must wait till nightfall to get the dragon over to the hospital. She'll die in the sunlight."

"Sunlight?" Ezra asked while he looked up at the sky, where the thick grey clouds were still pouring rain over them, "I don't see much sunlight."

"Well... okay true," Hiccup said, "but it's safer to wait till it's dark. Just to be sure."

"That won't be long," Ezra said, "alright, come on. Let's fetch some healers and bring those people out. They have been in there for long enough."

Hiccup nodded and followed Ezra to the hospital. The situation was explained quickly to the healers, and although some resented the fact of having a dragon lick their patients, most of the agreed when Hiccup showed them his arm, and that he had been affected by the poison, but cured with the dragon's saliva. After his arm was bandaged, Ezra, six healers, three gurneys and himself went back into the shelter. Finding Rico and the others was easy, and not an hour later all three riders had been transfered to the hospital, and the sun had begun to set. Hiccup stayed with Wrenlou and Broghan until midnight, then he would go get the dragon.

"You must be crazy," Broghan said, "to go in like that. All alone, no weapon..."

"But I did find the answer," Hiccup said, "and in just a few hours it will all be okay."

"You do know that if Dale hears about this, he's going to be furious, right?"

"Yeah..." Hiccup mumbled, "I suppose there's no way we can keep this from him?"

"I doubt it!" Broghan laughed, "you saved half of dragon city, including Wrenlou. There's no way we can keep this from Dale. Hey, he won't be too angry. I mean sure, you got injured, but you saved so many others. And even if it was stupid and irresponsible and you shouldn't have done it, I'm sure he can understand why you did it."

"You think?" Hiccup asked.

"Absolutely," Broghan said, "I know Dale. And I know he may seem strict at times, be he cares about us. All of us. That includes you, Hiccup. If he gets angry, just remember that he's angry because he cares."

"Yeah..." Hiccup mumbled, "I should go... it's almost midnight."

"We'll be here..." Broghan said, "good luck Hiccup, I know you can do it."

"Thanks..." Hiccup mumbled while he stood up, and quickly left the room.

Retrieving the dragon was easy. She was waiting for him just behind the door, as he had asked of her. She allowed him to take her under his cloak, and into the hospital, where the healers had darkened the rooms, the only light being a single torch.

"Alright," Daisy said, "Hiccup, you have the dragon? Good... alright. Let's go to Wrenlou first. After that you can take her to the other rooms, and when she's done, you can take her back."

Hiccup nodded and followed the woman to Wrenlou's room. Snowflake growled a little as soon as he came in, she was probably smelling the other dragon.

"It's okay girl," Broghan said softly, "she will make Wren better."

Although she quieted down, Snowflake kept a watchful eye as the healer undid the bandages from Wrenlou's side. She stayed close to her rider as Hiccup set the small dragon next to him, and she watched how the dragon licked the wound, covering it with her thick saliva. The the healer bandaged it again, and Hiccup picked the dragon up again.

"Now we wait," he said.

"Yes," Broghan agreed, "now we wait. Go help the others. I'll be here."

Hiccup nodded and followed Daisy to the other riders. Broghan sighed and sat down next to his brother.

"Now we wait..." he mumbled, "I just hope we won't be waiting too long..."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Hello again my dear readers! Are you all ready for the next riddle? No? Too bad! Because I'm gonna give you one anyway. Of course I will also tell you the answer to the last one, if you all remember what that was.

The answer was Pride, and the winner is Midnight the black fox, so, if you can tell me your address over PM, I would be delighted...

And then we have a new riddle! Here it is!

What flies when they're on and floats when they're off.

Good guessing every one!