When she'd stepped inside the village, the night was at its richest - the full moon glistening the isle with silver, the steam of extinguished torches marking her way through the streets, and the robust wind plucking her skin. Initially, she'd thought of heading straight home, although glimpsing the forge, at the very entrance, just off her feet, not having any strength to clamber the hillside, she paced there, much exhausted,
Wiping her face, she'd entered there, the door's crack announcing her entry as she'd pushed them, and then, whilst she looked out for the metal pots, dangling over her head at the ceiling, she delved into the depths of the building. Eventually, much of a sudden, she'd heard the bang upstairs, further the quick steps, before she glanced at the cause - Gobber, wearing the loose, holey cotton, who appeared at the stairs, sprinting through them, until, glimpsing her, stopped.
At the very sight of his, of the skewed axe prosthesis, also of the slightly startled expression, she'd snorted, before saying, "That's only me," her arms hugging herself, continually.
"Dear Thor, Hiccup," Gobber cursed, rather only then realized her presence, and lowered the weaponry, exhaling. "Ye've scared shit out of me."
"I've never known that I'm so intimidatin'," she replied, inflaming the candle, which rested at the nearby counter. "Ye're not very prepared for eventual burglary, are ya?"
"Nah, I'm too old for that," he stated, amusing the woman, whom he'd approached, his expression turning serious. "What ye're doin' here anyway?"
"To be honest, I ain't know either," she responded, ricocheting to the side, into the fissure of the shut window. "The house is very empty."
"Ah, I see," he muttered, afterward threw his arm around her shoulders, firmly. "Alright, then. Come on, I'll walk ya to the room."
"There isn't need to, tho," she opposed, although couldn't resist the muscular arm, pressing her forth through the hall. "I know the way."
"Ye've broken into my home," he pointed out, sticking an eye at her, curving the corner of his mouth into a smirk, withstanding the urge to yawn. "It'd be better to keep an eye on ya."
Thereafter, she'd only reacted by rolling her eyes at him, outside of that, she'd just followed the wishes of his limb, which led her through the building's rooms, getting them lost a couple of times, most assumably because of the owner's weariness. As they'd arrived at the room, after Hiccup had been goggling the outdated planks of footing by the route only, she fell on the mattress instantly, although lifted her head when detecting Gobber, staring at her from the door's frame.
His frowned brows attracted her attention the most, and she didn't even realize it when he asked, "Ye're okay, lad?" scraping the bottom of his jaw.
"Yeah," she answered and sat down, crossing her legs, as Gobber didn't appear any more relieved, afterward. "Why ye're askin'?"
"Well, ye're lookin' pretty bummed to me," he explained, straightening after leaning against the wood. "Is there somethin' wron'?"
"No, just a tough night, nothin' more," she clarified, not much surprised when seeing her tangled hands, which she hid behind her back, thereafter. "Thanks for lettin' me stay here."
"Ain't mention it," Gobber responded, swinging his hand, indiffrently. "Go to sleep, and if anythin', just call me. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she replied, sighing as he closed the door behind himself, hence binding the room with darkness.
Sooner than later, she'd plastered her body to the soft texture of a thin sheet, the warmth swallowing her whole as the world around lost its essence, and she fell into a rather shallow, lucid dream, overflowing with today's memories. Regardless of how firmly she'd tensed her lids, she'd heard her hyperventilation, the rustle of leaves which foreshadowed the failure, and the cracking of the chains, as if just off her ear, as if real.
Hence, the rest wasn't any restful, whereas she'd been squirming, her fingers coiled at the leather fabric, and legs twisted around each other, lacking the security, the warmth, the salt aroma underneath her nose. Unsure whenever she'd slept for an hour, a minute, a damned second even, abruptly and violently, she'd been woken up by the sounds outside, much more disrupting than current - the roars and bellows - the raid.
"Fuck," she muttered underneath her nose, sitting down.
Shortly after, Gobber's voice, which was calling for her, enclosed the space, and so, Hiccup stood up, dashed by the wobbly legs for the apron, hanging just off at the wall, before tangling it around her waist, rushing outdoor. Gazing at the post of the forge, also outside it, she'd stumbled, glimpsing not solely the giant-like stack of destroyed weapons, but dozens of the dragons of the amount she'd never ever seen on her living eyes.
Always it'd been merely the battle, but now, it was the war, the bloody symphony of screaming and wailing, shadowed by the luminance of the blazes, sounded by the striking of the metal, smudged by the reddest red. Not wasting any time more, she hurried to the ovens, where Gobber had been working already, producing, repairing, and exercising control over the battlefield by periodically yelling instructions at the rear.
Anyhow, the half-melted spear just materialized in her hand, and she complemented the cleared edge, the fluid metal putting the redness at her palms, the sweat at her neck, the glued hair at her forehead, and it was only the beginning. Before long, she'd barely stayed at her feet, took advantage of walls to keep herself up similar to Gobber, who used his wooden prosthesis for that, and around the third hour of toil almost keeled over.
The moment she'd felt lightheaded, she'd abandoned the stance, hustled out of the building, seeking the chilliness of the night, and breathed in rapidly when shutting the door after herself, soundly. Plastering her back to the cold stone, just off the entrance, she'd gazed up, searching for the stars upward, but hadn't succeeded much, hence exhaled shakily and wiped her face, wishing that would've helped her, anyhow.
Ultimately, it'd done its work, and she'd breathed evenly, however, before she could've loosened, before she could've returned inside, gotten back to her job, happened the worst, what she wouldn't even visualize in the nightmares. All it took was one blow, all it took was the collapse of the large, repeller torch, and the forge's roof dropped down, although it wasn't a matter of the loss of Berk's weapon provider that horrified Hiccup, but the actuality of her mentor being still inside.
She'd run, she'd panted, she'd screamed, however, her voice was merely a whisper, a faint sound, which she'd not registered whilst the hastened heartbeat overtook her hearing, as she circled the entire, demolished building. Eventually, she'd reached the main counter, half-covered by a fallen sign, but that hadn't stopped her, and, gnashing her teeth, she slipped through the gap inside, relieved when landing at the forge's center, having the ceiling descended only.
Calling for the man, unsure if she'd even memorized the name correctly, she searched for him, trying not to bother over the flames, which had been eating the corners alive, and smoke, pinching her lungs and eyes. Finally, she'd been losing hope, mourned even, her reddish eyes flooding with tears as she'd fought her common sense to stay, until she'd glimpsed him at last, scurried to approach him the very second.
The man looked defeated, as if he'd accepted his fate, sprawled underneath the boards that stabbed the left quantity of his body, precisely the broken, hammer prosthesis, the flooding-blood side, and the squeezed-down, wooden leg. As he'd caught sight of her, he'd spoken, however, his voice was drowned out by the whistle inside her ear, and she looked for the solution, the way of getting him out, without much hurting him further.
Immediately, she'd grabbed some axe, saved despite the fire, then chopped the panels down once by once, until finally, after countless collisions, the boards shattered, allowing Gobber to move, stir anyhow. Unhooking his hammer and shoving the wood off his leg, she'd set him free, before she brought him up, maintained the heavy body by herself and the pieces of planks in his side, which withheld the blood loss, as she led them toward the exit.
Very fortunately, the gap over the counter remained, wasn't buried by any debris, only gained in flames around, however, Hiccup hadn't any other choice, any other way, and directed them to it, choking on smoke, in the meantime. Somehow, maybe under the influence of adrenaline, she'd pushed the man through the hole, while she must've gymnastic much, whereas the sign lessened in height, although she succeeded in landing on the heated grass beside Gobber.
Whilst the fresh air hit the man's nose, he appeared to recover his senses, because he gazed at the panting woman and asked "Ye're okay?" his eyes widened, startled.
"I'm fine," she answered, looked back at him, then shouted, "Look out!"
Suddenly, the enormous claws of the Zipperback bolted over them as they'd managed to dodge them, ducking down, and once lifting themselves from the soil, they eyed ahead, the forge, the blazes that devoured it. The sorrow jabbed Hiccup's heart when watching her childhood, her present, her purpose being roasted within the wood, within the building's columns, and at the very thought of Gobber, of his home, she sank only more and uttered.
"I'm so, so sorry, Gobber."
"Nah, 's alright. That's only buildin'," he stated, although inside his eyes she'd glimpsed that pain, that ache. "We should get goin'. Let them steal everythin', for fuckin' sake."
"So, the Great Hall?" she inquired, standing up.
"The Great Hall," he responded, accepting her help with gathering himself up.
Soon, they'd arrived at the destination, more precisely before the very entrance, where they'd been welcomed by the rather short, though curvy man, who took the man's weight off Hiccup, retaining him currently. Whereas stepping inside, Gobber halted them half-step through the door's frame, perplexed, confused as he'd taken in sight the empty space, then glanced at the secondary man holding his side, his brows knitted.
"Where's everybody, Mulch?" he questioned, boring his eyes into the lessened, blue eyes. "I believed the battlefield is open because they've got shelter."
"Well, at the very first, yes," Mulch started, grinding his hook prosthesis against the back of his light brown hair, "but then, somethin' happened and-,"
"Somethin' happened?!" Gobber yelled, his jaw clenched with fury, which overtook him. "The forge burned down, everybody left their stance, and only because, apparently, somethin' fuckin' happened?!"
"Look, I know I should've alerted ya," Mulch admitted, assisting Gobber, so the man settled down at the bench, with Hiccup close by observing.
"Damn with the alert, ye've left the Village unguarded!" Gobber bellowed, throwing his arms, ignorant about his wound, which thrived. "I'm askin' why, why ye've left?! What happened?!"
"The Night Fury came up," Mulch answered at last, which calmed Gobber down, finally, "It'd blown Mildew's house, less than an hour ago, and we must've stepped in. It was-,"
The conversation kept on going, as the men went over the whole situation, however, Hiccup didn't listen to it any longer, being stunned, stricken dumb, befuddled to the core, but foremostly, betrayed. Toothless attended the raid, destroyed someone's home, violated his pledge, just hours after she'd confessed to him her dreams, her dread, her secrets, and currently, her mind overwhelmed the question - why?
She'd not realized when she'd left the Great Hall, when she'd turned on sprinting across the roads, when she'd avoided an individual people, who endeavored to prevent her from fleeing, repeating why, why, why?! Never had she really stopped, not even when bypassing the mentioned Mildew's house which she'd glanced at, however, wasn't any deceived, as it'd been, just as described, blown out, demolished, outright razed to the ground.
Hence, the hope streamed out of her body, and she used all her strength, all her energy, all her verve into that race, into the run through the forest, through the places she'd known so well, straight finishing at the cove. Panting, she'd stepped inside, not even taking in the sight of that midnight blackness, that flowered poorness, that nothingness, searching for the Night Fury which after not finding, at the top of her lungs, she'd hollered.
When ended, she'd merely stayed still, her head empty, thoughtless, unable to tell what to do next, until suddenly, she was surprised by the jiggling leaves of the trees overhead, then the black dragon, that collapsed on the soil, badly. As Toothless lay motionless, his back raising and lowering evenly with each breath, out of the blue, the rage came back at Hiccup, the fury claimed her senses, and the wrath transformed her face.
"Toothless, ye're fuckin' asshole!" she cursed and approached him, whereas he gazed at her, puzzled and sore. "What ye've done? What ye've fuckin' done?!"
Instantly, he'd recognized the guilt, avoided her sight, quickly peeked at her as he said, "I am sorry," and tensed his eyelids, whilst she continued.
"Ya'll not even try denyin' it, really?! Godsdamnit, ye've promised, ya'd not attack the village, that ya'd not cause any harm at anybody!" she yelled, drilling her eyes into him, and he'd only ground his jaw. "Ye've lied to me! Ye've broken my trust."
"I know, I know. I really am sorry," he admitted and gazed at her when she'd rubbed her eyelids. "I swear it was an accident."
"An accident," she snickered, her brows furrowed, her veins boiling. "Ye're sayin', that ye've, by accident, flown to the Village, by accident while the raid, and, by fuckin' accident, blasted the house, the entire buildin'?!"
"I know how that looks," he started, failed to straighten, and stated, "but I can expl-," although didn't finish, the bitter snarl escaping his mouth.
Subsequently, he'd squirmed on the ground, strained to reach his side with the snout, however, bearing in mind his agonizing grimace, the pain wouldn't let him for that, and he tumbled back down, overpowered. Battling her concern, Hiccup gaped at him, her arms crossed tight on her chest, but eventually, the sense of sympathy won, and she lifted the membrane of his wing abruptly, gasped at the awful view - the puddle of dark blood and the axe, stabbed deep along his side.
"Gods," she mumbled, kneeling down, the worry clouding her features when further scanning the injury. "Why ye've not said anythin'?"
"I was busier with being scowled at, to be honest," he ironized, the weak smirk appearing at his mouth.
"To be honest, I ain't feel like listenin' to any jokes, right now," she grumbled, not bestowing him with even a brief glance, hence erasing the smile off his face, at once.
Hereafter, her eyes and attention were fixated on the wound mainly, barely flickering towards the male, who wouldn't say that about himself either, constantly glanced at her, his stare hardly ever leaving her, as if absorbed, hypnotized. Ultimately, she'd managed to pull out the weapon, much to Toothless's pang, and whereas the black scales withstood the outpour, refrained from the eventual blood loss, she examined the bloodstained axe itself.
Surveying the flawless handle, the firm metal, and the perfectly sharpened edges, she asked, "Who did this?" the outrage welcomed back at her expression.
"I think you know that, already," he acknowledged, narrowing his eyes, ashamed, "She has caught me off guard, hurled it as if she had been preparing for that her whole life. I have barely escaped."
"It's not the end, yet," she asserted, gazing at him, dead serious. "She'll not give up so easily, will search even the whole isle, if needed."
As if satirically, at that point, Toothless's ear raised, and he groaned as he swore, "Fuck," gritting his teeth afterward.
"C'mon, we've gotta hide ya," she urged, jumped to her feet, and assisted him into standing up, tiring over the weight. "Why do I always have to rescue the fatsos?!"
"Hey, I am not fat, just muscled," he pointed out, consoled himself with her mere, short smile, then glimpsing how she'd sweated, her forehead's veins popping when upholding the burden of his front, worried. "You do not have to help me. I will manage with that Akrid, somehow."
"It's Astrid, and ye're really believin' that when ye're hardly standin' on yer own?" she remarked, with last strength thrusting him forward, before transforming herself, resuming the job as her dragon self. "Go on, we are almost there."
Afterward, they'd stepped inside the bushes by the cove's wall, Hiccup being crushed by the heaviness up her back - half of Toothess's body - whereas he stretched to off-load her, roaming on his three legs, crookedly. Eventually, reaching the farthest junction of the overgrowth, the female allowed the male to slide down from her, and as they settled there down, their bodies near the footing, they waited for the worst.
"Hiccup, I was being serious now," Toothless reflected, breathing heavily whilst laying still, "You do not have to risk for me."
"Toothless, I know I am a fucking joke to you, assume that I cannot do it, but please-," Hiccup droned, her eyes slit at the cove's entrance, persisting focus.
"You have never been a joke to me. I always rather looked up to you, no matter how poorly I showed that," he admitted, staring at her seriously, whilst she'd gazed at him, shocked. "I merely do not want you to be included in nor harmed by something that is my fault only."
They'd not uttered any word further, stared at each other intensively, openly, gratefully, having almost missed it when the stones at the very entry of the leafy cave-in rolled out, and soon, the blond, fierce-looking woman stepped inside. Immediately Hiccup then shifted closer to Toothless, whose mouth's corners lifted, having been witness to her grave, threatening posture, and growled, stopping once realizing how dangerous of her that was.
Thereafter, as the male's reaction, he'd only shook his head and instructed her to lower her muzzle tighter to the ground, before allowing her to surround his body, her wing over his, whereas she'd stood in front. Hence, Hiccup exhaled shakily, not with startle nor anxiety, but with proud, self-assurance that he'd bestowed her with, and so, she stood straight, circled her tail underneath his stomach, readied to tear Astrid's skin off, if anything.
Eventually, their eyes were nowhere else but at the Viking, who, taking in the sight of the cove, her dark, blue eyes narrowed, her stance braced, having the pointed mace in her grasp, detected her bloodied axe within grinning. Instantly, Hiccup cursed herself in thought, scowled at the omission of the weaponry, abandoned on the soil, the very trace of them being here, although forgotten the shame, receiving the male's glance, which spoken words - focus.
Picking the favorite toy up, Astrid drilled her eyes everywhere, into each corner, into each shadow, each sound, as if sensing their presence there, as if confident of their presence, as if knowing of their presence. Finally, she'd walked in their direction, her steps unhurried, thoughtful, whereas they'd been prepared - Hiccup having her mouth slightly opened, recalling the previous lessons, and Toothless pushing himself to the limit, to appear untouched by pain.
The very moment the woman's feet enclosed the overgrowth, and she was merely at a distance, the female's mind overtaken thoughts, ideas of what might happen, of what will happen, the brief panic, which vanished at the sight of the glimmering, calling-for-revenge, bloody axe. One more of Astrid's steps and the battle would've taken place if it wasn't for the screams, the bursts of embers, that took place nearby, over the tallest of forest's spruces, and that centered the entire attention at itself.
Only once more had Astrid gazed around, before rumbling, then bolting toward the exit, toward the ruckus, the probable combat, which could've used the help of anyone, including absent, passive Hiccup herself. Thus, shame crossed the female's face, however, she didn't do anything further, just loosened and glanced at the male behind, who had his worried, exhausted stare at her and asked when she gazed at the sky, stone-like.
"Hiccup?"
"Let the gods be adored, for so we have been blessed by their protection," she prayed, having her chin lifted, her eyes at the sheer stars, "and may they grant the care, the mercy for the warriors from both sides."
"So let it be," he finished, his expression lacking any mockery, just pure honesty whilst gaping at her eyes, taken aback.
Upon passage of time, whereas the flare extinguished and bellows subsided, they'd nestled by the dim pond, the female staring at the entrance continually, with her back turned to the male, who was laying just off behind. Since leaving the bushes neither had uttered any word, yet Hiccup stayed around, her posture suggesting the doubt over the fierce woman's return, and so, Toothless hadn't commented on her presence, even cherished it.
Licking his wound, shamefully remembering its origin, he'd cleaned his scales off the blood's stains, before gazing at his company, much aware of her wrath, the grudge that returned after the stressful crisis. No matter how he'd wished to avoid the conversation, he'd sighed and raised himself up, before approaching her, not turning back even when she inched away, sitting down just by her, whereas she looked away.
"Just because I have helped you, does not mean I have forgotten," she pointed out, her eyes, for whatever reason, fixed on the gravel wall. "That does not mean I have forgiven."
"I know," he responded, drawing nigher, desiring to appear in her sight range. "Let me explain myself, at last."
"Is there anything to be explained, really?" she disputed, gazing at him, her brows knitted, her jaw grounded. "You have flown to the village, blasted someone, and so, lied to me! The question is why, why would you do that, just after the evening we have spent? Why?!"
"Because you have not come!" he burst, unable to glance at her eyes after, Hiccup's expression being transformed by puzzlement. "Last time there was a raid, you had come here to keep an eye on me, or any fuck."
"Maybe, but that was when I had not trusted you," she remarked, capturing his eye contact. "I do not have to do that anymore, or so I thought."
"Look, I know I fucked, I really do. I just-, I-," he hesitated, then sighed as he glanced at the cloudless sky. "There were many dragons today, were there not?"
"There were," she agreed and followed his stare, confused. "What that has to do with-,"
"It was loud, it was unsettling, and recalling your fright, your panic, the exhaustion with which you left, I merely wanted to peek, see if everything is okay," he confessed, dazed after they'd glanced at one another with ideal synchronization. "When I got there, witnessed the burning, detonated forge I-," he paused, lessening his eyes. "You may assume the rest."
"The anxiety, the battle - your instinct must have gone wild," she noted, her expression not in the slightest angry.
"My instinct took control of me, all the more in circumstances of getting targeted by axes," he illustrated, the quick smirk painted on his face. "That house, it just-, was there at the wrong time, nothing more."
"I see," she replied, her pursed lips betraying her embarrassment. "If so, I should actually apologize, for those accusations of mine."
"There is no need. Your reaction was rather understandable," he stated, quickly wrapping her with his wing. "Heck, I would probably react worse than that."
"You would not," she disagreed, resting her head on the soil, grinning. "You are better than that."
"I would not say so. Not for vain my title of the asshole, after all," he joked, following her movements, thus she giggled, the sound being his favorite from now on.