000
It had been a couple of days since she saw him standing on the cliff, gazing down at her village. She knew this island well enough. Enough to know that there was no safe path to his vantage point. Unless it was on the backs of those beasts. She didn't understand why he'd ignore her warning. She wouldn't hesitate to cross blades with him if she came across him again. If he was lucky enough to 'stumble' upon her. Despite her fiery temper, she fell in the small collection of Berkians who could be reasoned with. Then again, she'd be the only reasonable one when it came to a Jormung, based on her previous encounters.
What was keeping him on Berk? It couldn't just be because he wants to help, could it?
"Midgard to Astrid, anyone there?"
"Hm, what?" She looked to the rest of her peers who were staring with concerned expressions.
"Jeez A, I didn't know you like your fish extra charred." Tuff gestured to her cod as he took a bite out of his own. You keep that over the fire any longer it won't be regarded as food anymore."
"Shit." Astrid quickly grabbed her stick that had put through the fish to cook over the fire. She grimaced when touching the skin. Tuffnut was right. She never liked anything extra charred. Rather than take another fish, she began removing the burnt skin before she'd put it back over the fire for the other side to cook.
"What's gotten into you?" Snotlout asked. "You've been rather distant lately."
"What do you mean distant? I've been with you guys every single day since I've been back."
"Yeah, you're here with us, but it seems your mind's been someplace else." Fishlegs said.
Curse that Jormung. "It's just taking me a while to adjust after being at sea for nearly three weeks. Nearly being killed, waking up at the crack of dawn to train my siblings, then training the other children and teens, helping the village with repairs..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Snotlout took a swig of his mead. "It's been a tough few weeks shadowing Stoick and leading by example."
"You call lounging under a tree and taking a nap while the group you're supposed to be helping has to do all the work of reattaching those huge barn doors by themselves?" Tuffnut asked.
Snotlout stared at him, shocked. "How did you know I was taking a nap?"
"I was the one who nearly got crushed when the rope hoisting it up snapped!"
"Oh yeah, that was pretty funny."
"Snotlout, you're going to be a horrible Chief if you never lead by example." Astrid said, placing her fish back over the fire with the opposite side facing the heat. She was going to pay attention to her meal this time. No way she was going to burn it again. She didn't need others telling her that she couldn't cook to save a life. She knew that herself all too well. Setting a dislocated limb back into place? No problem. Treating burnt victims? Easy. But cooking? The one opponent she'd always have trouble mastering.
"I'm the perfect leader."
"If it's perfect at failing and embarrassment, then you sir, are hands down the best." Tuffnut broke a piece off his extremely salted cod and popped it into his mouth, much to the dismay of his friends.
"How can you even stomach that?"
"My stomach is an iron tomb, dear Fishlegs." Tuff gave his torso a few hits for emphasis.
"Anyway..." Astrid brought the conversation back to the real matter at hand, "We're concerned about the future of this tribe if you don't start taking your responsibilities seriously from now on."
"So how about you and me officially tie the knot then? Huh?" He waggled his eyebrows. The comment earned laughter from the Twins, exasperation from Fishlegs and a deadpan expression from Astrid. "What? I'm serious!"
"Snotlout, just like my father politely declined Spitelout three times already, I'm going to have to refuse." She held her hands over her heart and pouted. "No matter how much it breaks my own heart that'll I'll never be with a real Viking." Followed up by a chorus of laughter from the others, and an unamused look from Snotlout.
"Astrid, I know you dislike me, for whatever reason I can't understand, but you do know I'm not the only one who would continue paying visits to your dad right?"
"What are you talking about Snotlout?"
He leaned back on his seat, taking a swig of his mead before continuing. "That visiting Chief and his son from, what was it, Helgafell? Some village close to the mainland, well, he's been in constant contact with Stoick." A frown replaced the smirk on her face. "And he's still been sending offers for your hand in marriage. And not only that, but his son's quite the talker too. Your name has made rounds to his friends also. We're getting letters of Chieftains with their male heirs already planning trips to Berk to see for themselves." He watched Astrid drop her head in the palms of her hands, groaning in obvious annoyance and misery at her impending duties. She's worked all her life to be the best warrior on Berk, despite being a woman. She's killed tens of dragons, saved countless of her fellow villagers' lives, is the head trainer of the next generation of warriors, and is on the verge of becoming Berk's first ever woman General. And all the rest of the Viking world thought of her as just another pretty face that they wanted the challenge of bedding.
"When's the first one coming?" She mumbled into her hands.
"You didn't hear it from me, but, they should be here within two weeks." Snotlout gave her a sympathetic look. At least she thought it was sympathy.
"Awesome, more exotic guys to fuck!" Ruff raised her hands in joy.
"Uh, you do know that they're still Vikings, right?"
"Yeah, but it's not often Vikings from near or around the mainland ever visit Berk, now is it?" She shot back at Snotlout.
"Glad to see my misery benefits your sexual escapades." Astrid said as she took her fish off the fire and began to dig in.
"I don't see why you're so glum and gloom about this. If anything, aren't you glad people - forget about Berk, people hundreds of miles away - are finally recognizing you?"
"Not for the reasons I'd want them to. They're not talking about prowess in battle. They're talking about my determination, my skill, my loyalty, my honour. All they're talking about is my looks. That's the only thing they care about. Traveling across seas to get a glimpse of the blue-eyed Valkyrie, and see who'll be the first one to tame her." She ripped a piece of fish from the bone and bit into it with more force than necessary. "And there's no way I can refuse any of them. I'll have to give them my undivided attention while they're failing to woo me."
"Do you think your dad's going to accept one anytime soon?" Fishlegs asked.
"I don't know. I'm honestly surprised he's refused offers for this long."
"He'll really have to start considering these offers. And I also have to warn you that some of them will question your father's loyalty to Berk and his family."
"My father has dedicated his life for Berk and his family!" Her voice was reaching a dangerous tone.
"I know that Astrid. But others, in and outside of Berk, will see his refusal to marry you as a sign of neglect towards his duties as a citizen of Berk and failing the line of his family. And don't pretend you don't see it too." She guessed she never gave Snotlout any credit for being aware of his friends' situations. Turns out he did pay attention to the inter-relationships when it came to tribal politics.
"How about we move off the subject of Astrid's personal life?" She sent Fishlegs a thankful nod and smile. It was becoming more common hearing her name in the daily gossip going around the village. Guess there was nothing more exciting about her unmarried status on Berk for the older generation to talk about.
"Speaking of Astrid's personal life." Tuff turned his body towards her, "You never really told us about the Jormung you captured and let go."
She sighed. "Tuff, for the last time, we didn't let him go because we became best friends."
"What would it be like having a Jormung for a friend? I wonder." He stroked his chin.
"So refresh our memories. What really happened?" Ruff asked.
"We captured the Jormung on Changewing Isle, and as soon as we were on the ship, we started straight for Berk - I thought at first - but Eret then informed me that we'll be making a stop by Berserker Island."
"Nothing good ever comes from seeing that crackpot." Snotlout laughed. "Why in Thor's beard would you stop on their island."
"Because the 'greatest of trapper of his generation'-" Astrid impersonated Eret's voice, "-couldn't keep his mouth shut about the quest and had told Dagur he'd bring the Jormung to him for display once he captured him."
"He really isn't from around here, is he?" Tuff laughed. "Even I wouldn't be that stupid to bring Dagur in." The group rolled their eyes at him.
"Who cares! I wish he stayed longer. I could have certainly helped him relax." Ruff smirked, licking her lips before biting her lower lip.
"Ugh, please no." Snotlout gagged.
"And you can imagine my... displeasure, when Eret told me about his meeting."
Ruffnut gasped, leaning forward in her seat and giving Astrid a serious look. "Please. Tell me you didn't ruin that perfect, god-chiseled face of his. I swear to Odin, Astrid if you-"
"I didn't touch him, Ruff." She wasn't amused by the skeptical stare she was giving her.
"Didn't touch his face or his di-"
"Ew! No Ruffnut! None of those!"
"Come on Astrid! You were with the embodiment of Thor for three weeks and not once did you get on his co-"
"Ruffnut!" It was Fishlegs this time who intervened. "We all know how much you love Eret, but please let Astrid continue with her story."
"Thank you, Fishlegs. Anyway, I didn't want to talk or look at him, and I wanted nothing to do with his crew. Going back to my quarters was an option. I had plenty of rations where I could just sit out our stay on Berserk on the ship. But I didn't. Instead, I made my way down to the ship's hold to see the our prisoner. Being one of the last Jormung in existence, I knew his time was close, especially considering we were going to see Dagur, so I wanted to know about his people; put to bed this mystery surrounding them."
"That's so unlike you, Astrid. Out of all of us, you hate dragons the most, and with good reason. Why did you want to talk to the Jormung?" Fishlegs asked. She glanced down at her palms. Thinking about it now, she didn't know why she took the stairs down to the hold. What was she expecting to get out of her conversation with him? Did she feel sorry for capturing him? Being the sole reason behind his demise? She couldn't quite answer that. Was she tired of all the men around her talking non-stop about the sea, ports, women and adventures? Yes, she was. Perhaps that was the reason she sought out the Jormung's company. But she had gained more than she bargained for.
"I don't know Fishlegs." She shrugged. "Maybe because he was different. But also because I figured this was my one chance to learn more about the race. And we did talk for Odin knows how long. That came to an end when Dagur and his small fleet intercepted us on the way to Berserk. We showed him the Jormung, and as one can always expect with Dagur, he threatened to kill us if we didn't turn over the Jormung to him. That was when the second Jormung arrived." She saw her friends sit up straighter in their seats. Everyone knew that there were two Jormung left. And they knew that one of them left no survivors. "When I saw him, I was thankful I ran into the Jormung we captured. He didn't prove a challenge for me. But this one, standing on that deck with a Whispering Death behind him, his cold, cruel eyes staring holes into our souls; it was in that moment that I knew we were in danger."
"But it was you, Eret and his men, and an entire Berserker fleet. If anything he's the one who should be scared." Tuffnut said.
"You'd think that. But he flew right to us on the back of a Night Fury; the dragon of the Jormung we captured. He threatened to start killing if we didn't release the Jormung, and he held up his end of the threat. And I'm telling you, it was with a dragon that none of us have ever seen."
"What was it?"
"He called it a Screaming Death. Same family as a Whispering Death, but much, much bigger. It was about thirty times the size of the full grown Whispering Death he had - blood red eyes and a mouth filled to the brim of sword like teeth. It tore Dagur's fleet to shreds, leaving no survivors. And that was even after we released the Jormung."
"I don't think there's any dragon like that in the Book of Dragons." Fishlegs said.
"Because Berk has had the luck of never dealing with such a beast." Snotlout said. He didn't show it, but he was also unsettled about this news of a deadly new dragon.
"And the two Jormung left after that. Sparing us on the only surviving ship." She left out her conversations with the Jormung on the ship and on Berk with good reason. She didn't want her peers to think she was going soft; especially on a dragon-loving people. Or the fact that hopefully the Jormung listened to her and is long gone. The Gods know she'd probably regret her decision for not killing him-
Her thoughts were interrupted when they heard the sound of an all too familiar horn ring out across the village.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Snotlout yelled as he grabbed his hammer and ran down the stairs."
"Another dragon raid! Everyone, to your stations!" Astrid yelled, grabbing her ax and racing down the tower, with Fishlegs and the Twins close behind. She could already see the rest of the village getting into action. Archers were taking up their positions on the roofs of the huts, catapults were hauled into place along the cliffs edges and the outskirts of the village, mainly defending the food storage buildings and barns where the animals were kept. Traps and nets were placed in strategic locations; either in locations where some predicted the dragons would land, and where they would be corralled to. Most of the commotion was centered around the forge where men and women were grabbing weapons to be ready for the incoming attack.
She also saw her siblings, Asta and Bjorn, getting buckets of water ready. She smiled at the memory of when she was part of the fire control team. Running around the village with buckets filled to the brim to put out fires. If they were here, that meant Brenna had been taken to the Great Hall for safety. The younger children, elderly and sick were housed in the Hall until things died down. Standard dragon raid procedure.
"Ruff, Tuff, I need you with the rest of the main force on the east side of the village." The twins might drive her insane every other day of the week, but their expertise with the spear and javelin made them excellent ranged combatants."Fishlegs, be ready with your medical supplies at the forge!" Fishlegs' knowledge when it came to medicine and herbs was nearly unparalleled in the village. The only one who knew more was the Gothi, whom Fishlegs learned his craft from. The two were usually based in a makeshift tent near the forge to deal with the inevitable injuries her people will sustain in every raid.
"On it!" The three of them yelled, heading their separate ways. Her friends may have been known to goof around most of the time during their chores and downtime, but when it came to dragon/tribal raids, they were more than dependent. Snotlout was most likely with the Chief, getting ready in the area where they expected the largest concentration of dragons to be. Her task was to usually deal with the dragons that broke through and attacked the center of the village. Normally, she'd be in the heat of battle with Stoick, Snotlout and her parents, but this week she was tasked to be the last line of defense. And during all raids, there were always stragglers who ended up tearing apart and destroying huts in the village.
She could already see the dragons flying fast towards them, their light underbellies outlining their silhouettes in the night sky. And it wasn't long until they began raining fire and along the edge of the village; attempting to destroy the catapults and nets and scatter the Viking warriors gathered. The roars of both beast and Viking echoed in the night sky as both sides clashed in the distance.
She gripped her ax tighter, eyes scanning the sky over and over, ready for whatever dragon had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting her. At the same time, she hoped that wouldn't be the case; the more dragons that got past the main force meant the greater the damage done to the village. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a group of Vikings, led by Gustav, heading towards her. "Get ready Astrid! We've got a whole of dragons incoming!" He yelled, turning around to face the beasts. She got in her stance just as a Monstrous Nightmare landed in front of them, entire body aflame and teeth bared. She raised her ax and with a battle cry, charged forwards. She didn't care about the Deadly Nadders and Gronckles that landed beside the Nightmare. Gustav and the other Vikings would be able to take care of them. She was the only one who's had experience taking down a Nightmare.
The Nightmare lunged towards her. Her knees made contact with the ground as she ducked and skidded underneath the beast; not nearly in enough control to try and slice open its soft underbelly. It came after again, this time firing a blast directly at her. She easily rolled to the side and continued towards the dragon. With a yell, she raised her ax and brought it down, cursing as the dragon pulled back, narrowly missing the ax that was about to embedded in its snout. However, she had brought herself in striking distance for the Nightmare. Just as she anticipated, the dragon opened its massive jaws and attempted to bite her in half. She side stepped the jaws and connected with a roundhouse kick, surprising the dragon. She raised her ax and was about to throw it at the exposed neck when she heard, as of recently, an all too familiar sound.
"Night Fury!" Surrounding Vikings yelled.
"Get down!" She yelled. She should have heeded her own advice. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was knocked back by a purple blast that landed between her and the Nightmare. She landed hard on her ass, briefly rolling a few times before coming to a stop face down in the dirt, ax a few yards away from her. She looked in the direction of the Nightmare, seeing it monitor the sky before glancing at her, and then taking off, flying away from the village.
"Astrid, are you alright!?" Was that her father? She looked around, seeing Gustav and her fellow villagers preoccupying the remaining dragons.
"I'm fine!" She glanced up to see her father running towards her, dodging the isolated battles taking place around him; his sweat and bloodstained face, tightly clutching his left arm tightly would have been a worrisome sight, but that was her father. Whoever his opponent was, be it Viking or dragon, usually looked worse. He held out his right hand which she gladly accepted.
"That was a-"
"A Night Fury. He's here dad." She said, glancing down at his arm, which had a massive gash across the outside of his upper arm. "Dad you need medical attention now!"
"Oh come now, daughter. I've had worse!" He smiled as he handed her her ax. She couldn't help but to return the smile.
"I know that, but are you willing to get another yelling from mom?"
Her father laughed. "I suppose you're right. I'd rather face down a Whispering Death than listen to your mother's lectures!" He said as he jogged off towards the medical tent. She didn't waste any further time, running to join Gustav and the others in chasing off the rest of the dragons.
"Don't let them get away! Let's show them what happens when they attack our home!" She threw her ax at a Nadder, striking it right on its leg, taking pleasure in the beast's cry as it fell down. Unfortunately, its cries for help drew the attention of different dragons around them, all rushing to its aid. The dragon grabbed the ax in its jaws and pulled it off, tossing it away into the streets of the village. Astrid didn't care. Gustav tossed her his sword which caught in mid-stride and kept charging the Nadder, along with her fellow Vikings. Gronckles appeared, firing their heavy lava blasts at them. One hit could easily kill a Viking, not before subjecting them to excruciating pain as their skin and insides charred away.
"Any archers in the area, take care of the Gronckles!" She yelled. Her order was followed by a volley of arrows, aimed at the unprotected underbellies of the dragons, causing them to scatter. She was just about to close in on her target when she saw Zippleback gas flood the street. "Everyone out!" She yelled in panic, ducking into the nearest path between the huts that was clear of the volatile gas. No sooner she did, the gas ignited, setting all the surrounding buildings along the street ablaze. She quickly peeked around the huts' corner, watching her kill fly away and the remaining dragons set fire to more homes in the area. Luckily they were all empty. In the events of dragon raids or tribal attacks, everyone was either on the battlefield, or in the Hall. However, it didn't do her any consolation after seeing the figurehead, banner, and the rest of her home on fire.
"Dammit!" She yelled as she leaned against the wall.
"Well, that could have turned out worse." She looked to see Ruffnut coming towards her, cuts and scrapes littering her arms. Her leggings and tunic had some tears to them, but otherwise, she looked alright.
"What are you doing here? I thought I sent you to the east-"
"The Chief sent me back here. After seeing the amount of dragons that got passed us, he sent some of us to strengthen the rear."
"Well I'm glad you did because-"
Scream
Astrid felt like all the air in her lungs had been drained. She looked back towards her house. There was no chance, was there? Brenna couldn't still be-
Scream
"Brenna!" She yelled and bolted for her house. This couldn't be happening.
This couldn't be happening. She was supposed to be with the other young children in the Great Hall. She wasn't supposed to be in the house. She wasn't supposed to be in the house that was on fire. Her heart was racing in her chest. All she had to do was get inside before- "Ahh!" She raised her hands up as the entrance to her house caved in, sending wood and embers in her direction, causing her to fall back down the steps to her house. "Brenna!" She screamed. "Where are the water buckets!? Where's the fire team!?" She got to her feet looking around, hoping someone with any water was coming in her direction. "Go get some water buckets!" Gustav and a few others did just that, immediately bolting off to the nearest water trough and in the search for buckets.
"Most of them were sent to the south side! They're trying to put out fires that were set to some of the food storage barns!" Ruff yelled. She was also panicking. Her best friend's baby sister was in the burning house in front of her. And there was nothing they could do. "Check the sides! Search for any entrance!" Ruff yelled to the few Vikings remaining. They nodded, doing a quick round on both sides, along the narrow path between the burning houses. Only returning with their heads held low, and shaking their heads. That was all the answer the two needed.
"Help!" They heard another scream from within the blazing house. Astrid couldn't wait. If she burnt her arms so be it. She took the sword in her hands and began the steps; she was prepared to hack the logs in front of her, regardless if the embers and flames and heat burned her hands. Her sister was in their. However, she didn't have a chance to find out as she felt long arms encircle her and pull her back. Away from her house.
Away from her sister.
"Ruffnut! Let go of me!" She thrashed around in her friends' arms. How was she this strong!? "My baby sister's in there! She'll die!" Despite the tremendous heat coming from a few feet in front of them, she could feel the tears running down her cheeks. No she couldn't just leave Brenna in there. And yet all the thrashing and cursing she aimed at Ruffnut did nothing to loosen her hold.
"I'm sorry, Astrid." She heard Ruffnut choke. "I'm sorry." She gripped her even tighter.
How would she be able to look her parents in the eye. How would she tell Asta and Bjorn that they lost their baby sister. No, not they. She. It was her Uncle Finn all over again. She could only watch as her house burned down around her sister. And when the rest of the wooden planks caved in over the entrance, she knew she failed.
"No! No! Brenna! Brenna!" As another section of the roof caved in.
000
Why was he doing this? He didn't owe them anything. He didn't owe her anything. After all, she was the one who captured him. She was the reason he was chained up in the belly of a ship, scared for his life against the Berserkers, and the fact that he had to face Ripper again. She was the reason behind all that. But she was also the reason he came to Berk, in search of a new home, a teacher to show him how to fight. And maybe. Just maybe, a soul who was willing to see what dragons are underneath their scales and fire.
That last bit might be a bit of a stretch considering it was those very same dragons that set her house on fire and endangered her baby sister.
He had heard the screams of a child as he was preparing for another go-around to drive off the dragons. Not long after did he hear Astrid's scream, and that got his full attention. Circling back over the burning houses, he saw her struggling in her friend's arms and wailing about someone called Brenna. He didn't need to put two and two together to understand the situation.
Her baby sister was trapped inside the burning house, and even if the others managed to reach the house with ample buckets of water, it would be too late.
He had to do something.
He circled Toothless to a safe height above the house; not too high for the jump and high enough where the Night Fury still blended in with the night sky. Despite his best friend's strong reservations for what he was about to do, he jumped, falling through the weakened roof structure, and landing in what was the living room of the house, surrounded by flames. Fortunately he had the hindsight to wear his dragon-skin armour this night. Night Fury scales, merged and sown into his tunic and leggings, made him almost invisible in the night, along making him fire-resistant. And thanks to his dragon blood, his body had a greater resistance to heat than a normal Viking would. Which meant he had to hurry. That little girl didn't have much time.
Through the flames and the smoke, Hiccup caught the scent of a human in the house. It was faint, but it appeared to be coming from the floor above. Through his helmet's eye sockets, he saw the stairs leading up to the second floor. He vaulted over burning furniture and ran up the stairs that collapsed as soon as he reached the top floor.
"Can't go that way again." He continued following the scent. The blaze wasn't as severe as it was downstairs, but the upper floor was filled with smoke. His dragon blood would only allow him to survive a little bit longer, but he had to find the girl fast. He could already hear more voices growing around the house. "Hello! - cough - anyone there?!"
"Here!" He made his way to a large room, filled with three beds and a tiny human huddled in a few blankets in the corner, clutching a doll close to her heart, staring with unsure eyes at him, except the more he got closer, the more fear he saw in them.
"Hey there. It's okay." He crouched down to her level and smiled underneath his helmet. "I'm here to get you out." He reached his hands towards her but she retreated further into a ball.
"No! Go away! You're a dragon!" Yeah, she could see his eyes. He glanced back the way he came. The flames had reached the top floor and had engulfed the entrance to the room. He was running out of time.
"No, no! I'm not a dragon! See?" He removed his helmet, brushing a hand through his hair and smiling at her. "I'm human like you." He tucked his helmet in the crook of his arm, and removed a glove, showing his hand to her. "See? No scales." He chuckled. The smoke was quickly filling the room.
"Your eyes...t-they're-Ahh!" Part of the roof collapsed, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the house. She clearly wasn't going to trust him. Unless...
"I'm a friend of your sister, Astrid." That got her attention.
"Astrid's friend?"
"Yeah." Slowly, he reached his hand toward her. When she made no move to pull away from him, he cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. "My name is, Hiccup, little one. What's yours?"
"Brenna." She pulled the blankets closer.
"Brenna, that's a beautiful name. And you're really pretty, just like your big sister, Astrid." He said, looking into her eyes. And with each passing second, she seemed to grow more accustomed to him. "Listen Brenna, I'm here to get you out. Do you want to come with me!" He crouched in front of her, arms at the ready to lift her. She nodded slowly, and he wasted no time; quickly putting his helmet back on and gathering her in his arms, wrapping the blankets tightly around her frame. Once secured in his arms, he looked back at the entrance. The flames were closing in and the smoke was getting thicker. She heard him whimper and bury her head into his chest. He looked back at the wall she was pressed up against a few moments ago. He could see the embers in them, which meant.
He closed the gap and gave a kick. It budged. He gave another kick. It cracked this time. The only issue was that the remaining roof above him was also cracking, and about to fall on them. He took a deep breath, walked back a few steps and warned Brenna, "Hold on little one!" He held her tightly as he charged at the wall, leading with his shoulder and breaking through, just as the roof collapsed behind them. He rotated in mid air, landing on his back with Brenna against his chest, sliding a few yards before coming to a stop.
He could hear Astrid's wails in the distance. It was time for him to go. He slowly pulled Brenna from his chest, still wrapped in her blankets, and placed her on the ground, "Listen Brenna, Astrid's right over there. Just call out to her and she'll come, okay?" He wiped a few tears from her cheek.
"What about you?"
"I have to go, okay? But don't worry. I'll see you again." He smiled, a little gleam in his eyes as he took off into the night, staying a few seconds longer to hear Brenna call out for Astrid. Turning around the corner he was hiding behind, he smiled when he saw Astrid bring Brenna into a bear hug. She didn't deserve to be put through the same misery he experienced.
000
"Brenna! By the Gods, you're safe!" Astrid yelled as she fell to her knees and hugged her baby sister. Brenna was all too happy to see her sister, throwing her arms around her neck and crying into her shoulder. Around her, the rest of the fire control team showed up and began putting out the fire, which was going to take a while.
"How did you get out!?" She asked, pulling back and brushing a few strands of hair away from her sister's soot covered face.
"Your friend." She said.
"What friend?"
"The one with lizard eyes saved me."