Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Smile. Such a small and seemingly insignificant thing. An expression of joy, sympathy, gratitude… but sometimes scorn as well. Sometimes, a sign of something sinister or of evil lurking within, beneath an often beautiful mask of bone-chilling deceit. Yet, as irrelevant as it may appear to some, a simple smile can carry unspeakable power. Either good or evil. For the fallen Chieftain of the Dragon Hunters, the meaning was usually leaning more towards the latter. Smiles that would grace his face were often a ruse. A show. A tool, at times. They hardly ever were genuine and almost always carried some hidden intent just beyond his quirked lips. It has always been this way ever since he had been chosen to carry the mantle of a leader after his grandfather's passing. Smiles from him always were either a sign of approaching trouble or a way into a trap. A warm expression to lull one into a false sense of security. And sometimes, it plainly served to instill fear and uncertainty. This time, however.. For the first time in forever, none of those things mattered.

For once in his entire career as a dragon killer and a Chieftain, Viggo Grimborn offers a soft and genuine smile that almost falters due to the pain. Offers it to the young man standing in front of him. His former adversary, one he'd waged a vicious war with for almost a year now. A few months ago, he would've scoffed at the mere suggestion of such a possibility. To ally himself with his foe not for his own selfish reasons but from a genuine attempt to do better, that coming from a single bewildering encounter with a Monstrous Nightmare after being once again stabbed in the back. An encounter that was the breaking point for all his doubts awoken by the Dragon Riders. And yet here he was.. Trapped within the traitors' base of operations, gravely wounded and about to sacrifice his life for this young boy and his Night Fury who's been a pain to deal with on a daily basis for so long and with a Skrill faithfully at his side. His fate sure did take a turn.. Looking at the morose boy, clutching a Maces and Talons piece Viggo gave him as a final parting gift, the former Hunter couldn't help a weird feeling arising. In this young Rider, he could somewhat see his younger self. Just as stubborn and spirited. Perhaps that was what pushed him into making the decision to cover him even if the price is his life? Maybe it was the fact he was the one to get them both into this abysmal situation. Them and the dragons. A wish to spend the last moments of his life doing something good and meaningful? Who knows..?

"Now go."

Viggo told the boy with a commanding but soft and slightly hoarse voice, directing the tip of his sword towards the exit from the cavern, trying not to wince when the four arrows embedded in his back shifted with the movement. This was it. Hiccup was going to take his Night Fury and leave him here as he asked to. And the Skrill would likely follow. To die alone.. in a dank cavern full of people he once had under his command. Who respected him and would kill and die for him…But at least he would get to go with a blade in his hand like a true Viking should. As a warrior who hopefully would be welcomed in the halls of Valhalla for his final deed, as faint as this hope might be. For sure, Helheim is the place more suited for someone like him. Ot Niflheim. This is one of the best deaths a cruel and conniving bastard such as himself could have ever asked for. Or so he thought at least, as a shocking realization dawned on him because of a sudden light of defiance pushing a heartbroken look out of Hiccup’s green eyes.

“No, Viggo.”

“Hiccup-...”

“ No. You listen to me! We got into this mess together and we either leave together or face it together. Your call."

Thinking about it, even with his mind semi-clouded by pain, Viggo figured he should've been less surprised. Hiccup Haddock has many character features put together to form his uniquely intriguing personality. And quite a few were already well known to the former Hunter. Headstrong. Daring. Clever. Selfless. But most importantly… way too kind for this merciless world. Sad, on the one hand. But on the other… so inspiring that the flame of hope seemed to be inextinguishable within this boy's soul. No matter what happens, he never lets go of the thought that things will turn out alright in the end. Some could call it naivety and Viggo would dare to say so at this very moment. In that moment, alongside this naivety, his stubbornness began to show. And if there is one thing the fallen Chief learned about his now former foe.. is that once he makes a decision, he shall never back down entirely. He will retreat from a battle lost to protect lives that are at stake but only to return sooner or later with a plan much better than the last and achieve a crushing victory. Even if it would mean risking a lot or tumbling down to recklessness, Hiccup Haddock never gives up. And judging by that look in his eyes, as sharp as steel, Viggo could tell. He was definitely not giving up there and then. In any normal setting, he probably would’ve argued with the boy to convince him otherwise but time was of the essence. And he wouldn't have this brilliant Rider face a fight that might end up in both of them dying. In the final attempt at changing the boy’s mind, Viggo frowns.

"You're going to risk your life for your worst enemy..?"

"No. I am going to do that for you. "

Hiccup replies - a response that feels a lot like a sudden slap in the face - as the Night Fury stands beside him and narrows those green cat-like eyes in determination. If the rider isn't leaving, neither is the dragon. They have to get out of here before they're cornered. But if Hiccup refuses to leave without him… In the last seconds they still have before the inevitable disaster, Viggo turns his eyes to the Skrill.

"I don't suppose you would go either, would you, dragon?"

In response, the electric beast narrows her eyes and roars in defiance as lightning crawls all over her well-muscled form with this frankly surprising declaration of loyalty. Well.. he didn't expect another answer, even if leaving was a sane and reasonable thing to do. Shooting Hiccup and the two dragons before him a weary and amused smile, he shrugs mentally, accepting it as at this point it was too late regardless.

"Suit yourselves…"

He hums, voice rough, as Hiccup takes a few steps forward and stands to his left. This is how Viggo found himself in the most confusing situation he never believed he would be in. Staggering through a cave tunnel, half-dragged by his once mortal enemy telling him something along the lines of "You are neither my Chief nor my father so I take your orders as very loose suggestions at best" when he still gently tried to dissuade him. Foolish child. Viggo wants to chastise but instead grits his teeth and decides to spare his breath only for what really is necessary to be said. Hiccup holds one of the wounded Hunter's arms over his own shoulders as they walk as fast as they are currently able to down the path leading to the entrance of the cavern, flanked by the Night Fury on the left and the Skrill on the right. Even in pain though, blood slowly oozing down his back - courtesy of the arrows still being stuck in place and slowing the flow - Viggo wasn't as vulnerable as one might think. He still has some fight left in him should the need arise, arrows be damned. Thank you, adrenaline rush, he thinks, convinced that at this point it's the only thing keeping him up on his feet aside from the skinny but strong shoulder to lean on. 

The echo of fast footfalls behind him (it always has to be behind him, why won't they just look him in the eye, the bunch of cowards) causes his already hammering heart to hasten even more.

"There they are! Positions! Take aim!"

We won't make it. This single thought invaded his mind in an instant. The next cover is a turn into the right but it felt too far away to escape the arrows that were inevitable to come. No one even was able to really react when a surprised yell echoed through the tunnel and a few arrows were released. In a last ditch effort, Viggo tried to force a stumble and fall more to his left side, with the intention of causing Hiccup to move out of the way in an attempt to hold him up. He did, however, underestimate the young Viking's strength.  So small and lanky, one would never suspect him to have such a powerful grip. Years of blacksmithing and dragon riding do that to people, Viggo supposes.. Failure to get the boy to hide behind his bately taller frame does cause his stomach to sink a bit though… If anyone is to get shot it should be him. After all, what's even the point? He is probably going to die anyway. Better to make sure no one else will. It's your fault after all. A quiet voice, unfamiliar voice whispered venomously. It's… a strange realization to have. Never before had he allowed feelings to get the better of him. Always striving to rule his life with cold logic. But… he supposes, just this once, he will let the emotions go. To one last time experience it before the end. No judgmental opinions will bother him once he's gone, after all. All that matters now-

TINK

The sharp sound of an arrow ricocheting off of his right pauldron makes his body stiffen involuntarily when a new source of pain doesn't appear and any line of thought he had is abruptly snapped in two and discarded. Another projectile flies past him, missing entirely, the third one whizzing out of his limited field of vision, the fourth just barely grazing his thigh, and inwardly, he can't help but scoff at the abysmal aim. A soft gasp escapes the young Rider holding him up when an arrow comes slightly closer than either would've like to and he breathes-

"W- whoa, way too cloaaAAAAAGH!!"

The intended word turns into a scream that runs through Viggo like liquid ice crawling through his veins when Hiccup staggers forward, breathing heavily and shallowly. Astounding, how much fear someone so fearless can have at the brink of death.. In a reflex he didn't think himself capable of, Viggo bites back a pained sound and forces himself to stand firmly on his feet, his arm moving from over Hiccup’s shoulders to encircle his back, the other coming around the front of his chest to prevent the younger man from falling down. Emotions had to choose to assault him now that he has no willpower to resist them all but, he's already made peace with this fact. Devious and twisted he might be but in the end.. he is still just a human. Viggo couldn't help it. He knew what this scream meant. The voice might be different but he's heard the cry of a man wounded by an archer too many times to possibly mistake this sound for anything else. Hiccup was hit. He just had to think that the Hunters have awful aim and spoil their luck. He just had to. The yell brings Viggo as much trepidation as relief. Trepidation, because the younger man was wounded and because of his foolishly kind and naive heart. Relief, because the scream meant the arrow struck something less important or at least a spot that wouldn't cause immediate danger to his life. Immediately, the dragons respond to distress by turning around and baring their teeth at the archers who - much to Viggo’s bewilderment as he glances over his shoulder - seem to be in a standoff among themselves. That is, until Toothless inhales and fires a "plasma", as Hiccup calls it, at the feet of a few, sending them flying back and the Skrill follows suit by spitting a torrent of lightning but not at the Hunters. Instead, the quick-witted beast tilts her head up and aims at the cave roof. Not only did the cascade of falling rocks obscure the two infiltrators but also created a terrain much more difficult to traverse, buying the necessary time they had so little of. Another discharge from multiple spots on her body shocks a few of the men into collapsing altogether.

"Come on, we have to move!"

Hiccup suddenly calls in a slightly strained voice while moving Viggo’s arm back in its previous spot to support him better, despite being wounded himself. A stunned huff escapes the fallen Chieftain when the movement causes him a wave of pain and nausea as his vision shifts but a shaky breath temporarily remedies it. Craning his neck to look at Hiccup semi-hidden in his blind spot however, gives him a pang of worry he's been recently acquainted with more than well. And not without a reason. On the side of his head, his wild hair, just like his entire ear and his neck now too were wet and shiny with the crimson of fresh blood of unknown origins which the boy didn't seem to have noticed at all yet. Just moments ago, there was nothing. But the young Haddock looked unbothered by it. From this angle, Viggo couldn't see the arrow that struck the younger man but he knew it was there somewhere. And on top of it all… the young Viking was taking the undoubtedly excruciating pain like a champion. A grimace on his face, tears in the corners of his eyes but not a complaint while he kept pushing forward. Never before has Viggo seen Hiccup wounded, not really. Bruised and slightly battered? Of course. But never wounded. Yet, determination never leaves him. And his very clearly iron constitution and steel-hard willpower make the older man admire this spirited boy all the more..

Firepower cover from the draconic escort bought them the much needed time they're lacking so severely with a group of men under Krogan's command that used to tail them but even still, despite the adrenaline and the natural Viking stubbornness, Viggo's legs were starting to give out. Every couple steps, he'd stumble and a short, involuntary and quiet yelp would slip past his lips with every misstep. His breath was shallow due to the stabbing of the arrowheads lodged in his back, not allowing his lungs to expand fully, and each new jab caused by any muscle shift would bring beads of sweat to his face which begged to be allowed to scrunch in pain. But he couldn't do that. The most he allowed himself for was a frown and a clenched jaw. He needed to be strong and this time… not just for himself.

Pain was starting to cloud Viggo’s senses the further down the quiet tunnel they moved but not enough to fully take away his analysis skills. To someone who's had half his face scorched off, four arrows don't actually feel that horrible in comparison. And right now, his analysis yielded disconcerting results. This is what he noticed about the place. That it was quiet when it shouldn't be. This is - even if temporary - a base of operations. Aside from the nine Hunters who were significantly slowed down (or straight up stopped) by Toothless and the Skrill, no one else showed up so far. Suspiciously so… His brow descends into a deeper frown as he twists his neck to look at Hiccup. His left eye wasn't completely blind, some vague shapes and changes of light could be recognizable through a dense mist but it wasn't enough to properly see his enemy turned ally under his arm who strategically took this spot to compensate for his damaged vision. He needed to turn his head a bit more to have Hiccup’s face in his field of vision. And when he did, the younger man glanced at him in turn, giving him a clear view of the blood trickling down the side of his jaw and neck as well as finally allowing him to locate the source. One of the arrows merely nicked the Rider's left ear, the wound wasn't wider than a fingernail but the amount of crimson staining the edge of a red shirt a few shades darker and the leather armor over it, matting the tousled auburn hair was… mildly concerning. This was, however, nothing but a tiny graze which by now likely stopped bleeding anyway and the only thing that remained is a ghastly image left by it. Eyes of the Dragon Master and the disgraced Hunter Chieftain meet in silent understanding which is only confirmed by their next exchange of words.

"Do you hear that..?"

"N- no. And that's what worries me. It's.. too quiet.. Where is everyone?"

"Waiting for us outside with.. loaded weapons if I had to-... to guess.."

Viggo voices his opinion hoarsely, to which Hiccup responds with an eye roll followed by a sarcastic yet pained nervous laugh and an equally as ironical comment as well as an uneasy croon of his black-scaled mount.

"Oh joy. Can't wait to meet them. Looks like we gotta send the signal after all…"

"Signal?"

Miserable confusion on the face of the wounded Hunter meets a light smirk of the fellow escapee as Toothless warbles curiously at the mention of a "signal", his ear nubs perking up in attention.

"Remember.. when you asked in that letter that I come alone?"

"This question leads me to believe you failed to comply.."

As condescending as this sentence would've sounded in his regular tone, Viggo could put neither strength nor effort to muster that kind of tone. His statement sounds more defeated and weary. Kind of flat to be honest. He has little power left for sarcasm that is unnecessary. Instead, he even forces a tiny smile of amusement when Hiccup confirms his suspicions in a way that fills his pounding heart with a sliver of what might have been pride.

"A man has to take precautions.. Besides,  they haven't really followed us, they're circling somewhere nearby in case.. Gh.. in case I need 'em."

"Good."

Viggo replies simply but his voice breaks almost as if he was a still growing teenager again and his airways spasm painfully. Onset of a coughing fit that wracks his faltering body and makes his stride break. His knees are weak but he doesn't drop to the ground thanks to the younger man reflexively curling more into him to try and support his weight despite his own fair share of suffering. Oh, now he chooses to comply. Had he done it earlier, maybe he wouldn't have an arrow stuck somewhere in his body. This thought, however, is fleeting and leaves the former Chieftain with only the repetition of his last word.

"... Good…"

This comes as nothing more than a barely audible whisper. And Viggo’s pained albeit amused expression shifts quickly at a faint taste of copper on his tongue. Is this his imagination? Or is it truly there? He can't tell. Not until Hiccup looks at his face and he can see the boy’s eyes widen in resurfacing despair. This kind and compassionate heart begins to beat faster, Viggo can practically feel it in the air and see it as his tired eyes flick to Hiccup’s throat for a moment, noting the rapidly throbbing arteries around his voice box, just beneath the skin.

"Viggo…"

He breathes and the dismay in his voice tells Viggo enough, coupled with the metallic tinge he can now clearly taste. It wasn't imagination.. It's real and tangible. Blood escaping through his mouth means only one thing. An arrow must've hit a vital organ. If he had to guess only by what he's feeling, he'd say the one in the middle of his back, slightly to the right. The tip felt like it penetrated far deeper than the rest. Scraped across one of his ribs and breached them. He couldn't take a full breath as every time he tried the pain intensified and raidated towards his front, rippling through the right side of his chest cavity. All he could muster were shallow, uneven heaves. The arrow likely punctured a lung. Internal bleeding.. His approaching end. Try as he might, there is no salvation now. Especially not without medical attention. Fear has long made way for acceptance now, however. No matter how brave, no matter how stubborn and kind… Hiccup couldn't save him. And yet, the unyielding boy still tried.. It's… touching, to some extent. But oh, so foolish. With how they stand, the scarred Hunter finally sees the arrow which hit the younger Viking. Sticking out from beneath one of his hardened shoulder pads, from the back of the area around his rotator but thankfully far enough from any vital structures for it not to be immediately life-threatening. He shifts and ducks under Viggo’s arm once again, struggling to help him straighten up, a pained grunt on his lips. And to Viggo’s surprise, his right side was given a gentle nudge and support. His Fire Sword was still clutched tightly in his shaking hand but even then, he could feel the brush of warm scales that sent delicate tingling up his arm. A faint smile twists his lips highlighted by a single line of carmine where they met as some of the blood dribbled down his chin, disappearing into his beard. His eyes lock with those of the Skrill. Fierce and dangerous. Sharp. But this was that threatening spark within which made them so beautiful all the same.. Lethality matched proportionally by her gorgeousness. Her gaze is stern and firm. But so comforting and reassuring simultaneously. Viggo’s focus is once more stolen by Hiccup trying to usher him forward.

"Come on, it's not that much further, just hang on.."

"Hiccup-..."

Starts Viggo but is interrupted by another series of coughs that bring more blood to his mouth. Some of it stains his lips with drops of deep crimson and the rest of it he reflexively forces himself to swallow down, as nauseating as it is. It isn't much but the fact it's there is a sign enough.. I'm dying… Hearing him struggle, Hiccup readjusts his hold again and shushes him.

"Don't talk.. save your breath, we're gonna be okay."

"I'm only slowing you down…"

"I said, don't talk. I didn't get shot trying to save you just to leave you here!"

Hiccup finally exclaims with much frustration both at the suggestion and at what feels like a hot stake jammed into his shoulder. Viggo just lowers his gaze and inwardly frowns. Can't argue with that logic. Being hurt in vain sure isn't exactly inviting a feeling of gratification. Nothing can break this young man's stubbornness, it would appear. If so, perhaps he really should be sparing what air he can..? That being said, Viggo gives up on attempts at persuasion altogether and lets Hiccup do what he desires, not failing to notice how the boy would now lean against him more, clearly beginning to lose to his own pain. How did they ever end up like this? Two mortal enemies not so long ago. Now… uncertain allies holding each other up in a time of weakness brought by injury caused by mutual and oddly placed loyalty. A week or so ago, he never would've seen that happening.. A week ago, he would've turned on his nemesis without a shadow of remorse if it would benefit him more than keeping Hiccup's side. But here he is. Staying loyal and paying the price for all his lies and cruelty. Life is unpredictable that way, he supposes. But even if he never believed that such a thing could ever be possible.. he can't say he is entirely opposed to the idea. Who knows? Had they met in different circumstances, he and Hiccup could've actually become friends. Dwelling on "what if"s isn't going to change the reality however. It never brought any benefits to him. Only dark thoughts and misery.. Besides, what the kind Dragon Master is doing is not an act of friendship. It's simply his disdain for causing and witnessing death. Even if it would be his archenemy suffering a fate well deserved. Vaguely, he remembers seeing Hiccup rush towards him as fragile stone gave out from under his feet, fear painted over his features. After everything Viggo did… this man, pure as driven snow, in all his naive kindness tried to save him… He really is too good. So good, he was willing to risk his life to now try once again to save a man who by no means deserved it. This boy needs someone who can teach him that kindness in this merciless land can only get him so far.. Out of everyone, Viggo understands it far too well. Under better circumstances, he wouldn't be opposed to taking that role. But he knows it might just be too late now.. This belief is only reinforced when his knees buckle and a spike of agony cripples his ability to keep moving. Every pathetic noise that slips out of his restraint brings him shame but it still doesn't stop Hiccup from giving his best shot at getting them all out of here.

Viggo’s fading attention is brought back by a croon of a Night Fury. Looking up, he sees Toothless staring at his Rider with big, concerned eyes, crouched in front of them both, as the younger Viking coaxes Viggo forward. The Skrill flanks his other side and moves her head under his arm as an additional crutch for him. Hiccup doesn't even need to say anything for Viggo to understand what the three of them are trying to do.

"Okay, nice and easy.. On three. One, two, three! "

A pained groan is all he can muster once Hiccup helps him into the saddle and lets him transfer the Inferno into his other hand before getting on as well, shooting back to the other man to hold on tight. Every move sends an excruciating ripple through his body that has him grip the closest anchor point which turned out to be Hiccup’s uninjured shoulder. It did elicit a displeased sound telling that he may have squeezed a bit too tightly but not a word of complaint could be heard. Instead, the younger Viking gently heeled his Night Fury who in response broke into a gallop, then leapt up and took off into the air. Viggo’s grip tightens even more when the jostling causes new, fresh pain to shoot through his damaged muscles and skin, and his breath to get caught in his throat only to be released as a miserable cough. But with how far they'd gotten, the gravely wounded Hunter dares to allow a glimmer of hope to worm its way into his quivering heart.

Just a little further.. Fighting to steady his breathing and keep his eyes from closing, Viggo looks up from where he leaned over the one-legged Dragon Rider just in time to see the mouth of the cavern open up ahead. But a soft tickle of relief is immediately taken by a pang of alarm when he realizes that one more thing stands between them and freedom. The mouth of the cave is just ahead and right there, blocking it, was a splayed out, fireproof net. Of course. Of course it couldn't be this easy.

"Hiccup, net-..!"

"I see it!"

Hiccup replies and signs Toothless to stop before careening straight into it. Once it was spotted, bypassing it was going to be a child's play. The female Skrill catches up with them and lets out a growl in the trap's direction. The group of escapees returns to the ground once more and moves under the stretched out net, finally getting out of the dank cavern full of stale air and dust that irritates one's breathing. The next breath - a breath of fresh, chilly night air - fills Viggo with relief that he won't have to die underground, unremembered and hidden from the gaze of the starry sky. At least he can go with the sensation of wind upon his skin.. But once again this relief is cut short. Why? Because the two dragons and two humans come out only to stand face to face with a group of Dragon Hunters holding their crossbows trained on them. Just like Viggo predicted..

"Oh, please.. Did you really think I'd just let you get away?"

Both Vikings scowl when their eyes find the speaker among the armed men. Johann the Traitor himself stands before them with a slightly disappointed expression and his hands on his hips. Toothless sneers and hisses alongside the Skrill shuffling to be closer to the Night Fury, her glare shifting from Hunter to Hunter in agitation. They're outnumbered.. From where the former Chieftain wearily slumped against his young companion, he can feel this benevolent and pure heart racing out of his chest in a frenzied rhythm of anguish. The inner desire to gloat and say "I told you so" would normally be strong in this situation but all that comes to Viggo instead is defeat. Resignation. Acceptance. He tried to save the young Haddock. He truly did.. but in vain. All he can do is desperately grip the boy's arm a little tighter, as though it would somehow save him from plummeting into Hel or Niflheim, as if his brilliant adversary could carry his soul along to the halls of Valhalla.. Because for sure, this is where Hiccup’s brave and honorable spirit belongs. Not even a moment to think or react is given when the used-to-be Trader gives a command to fire..

Only for a blur of obsidian and amethyst to cut through the air as the strings in crossbows propelled the sharp ammunition forward.

It all happens in the span of barely a second. A single blink and he may have missed it. But even if he did blink… he never would miss the pained, soul-rending shriek that rang out a split of a second later. One that felt like claws sinking into his chest to rip his once cold and black heart out when he saw the Skrill, the beautiful electric beast, collapse in front of his eyes. Six, maybe seven Dragon Root-laced arrows stuck in her back… What ice still remained inside his soul exploded with a myriad of sudden, violent emotions he never thought could ever come to be within him when the realization dawns on him. The dragon saved them by taking the arrows meant for them herself.

" NO!! "

An involuntary shout carrying an unexpected amount of power escapes him in unison with Hiccup’s dismayed yell and Toothless’s distressed roar. If someone asked Viggo what came over him when he let go of Hiccup’s arm and dropped heavily out of the saddle with no regard for the pain, he wouldn't be able to answer truthfully. The Fire Sword is lost to him, slides out of his hand and he doesn't make an attempt at retrieval. His vision zeroed on the Skrill shallowly breathing on the dusty ground and warbling in agony and under the bewildered stares of both his enemies and recently acquired allies… Viggo crawls closer and collapses over the she-dragon who trembles all over, completely overwhelmed by an enormous dose of concentrated poison affecting her nervous system. A chorus of "what"s and other exclamations of bewilderment is unheard by his ears.. 

"No…"

He repeats breathlessly, a bit more blood leaking from between his parted lips, as he panted just as heavily as the Skrill who mustered enough strength and willpower to look up at him with her stunning eyes filled with fear, pain and… something else he couldn't identify. The sinking sensation he felt when he saw her chained in that pit comes back. Immediately out of reflex, he wants to examine the extent of the damage, how deep the arrows went. But this haunting combination of feelings in the dragon's eyes… She used her own body to shield them.. He couldn't tear his gaze away as his vision suddenly started to grow misty and blurred. His heart felt like the same chilling claws that got a hold of it began to squeeze mercilessly and burn. Burn like actual fire. What's happening to me? He can't help but ask. The pain that his wounds cause seems to intensify. His unsteady breaths feel like they aren't enough. Dying. He is dying with the mighty beast.. What other explanation could be given? The pain, faltering vision, incessant trembling of his whole body… The end must be nearer than he thought. Just barely, over the feeling of something sitting on his chest in an attempt to crush him, he notices that Hiccup was beside him, looking the Skrill over as well, and Toothless wrapped himself around the two of them, growling before releasing a bolt of violet fire high into the sky in the same moment as a loud, ferocious cry left Hiccup’s throat. This was the signal, most likely. The distant explosion comes back with an echo before a condescending scoff sounds right above the two Vikings kneeling on the ground next to the squirming, wounded Skrill.

"Is that it? Your pathetic plan fails and a frustrated yell will be your final word? I expected more from Hiccup Haddock the Third and the great Viggo Grimborn.. And now look at you. One with not even a witty comeback to offer and the other dying alongside a flying lizard in his arms. The Chief of the Hunters! Pitiful, really."

Rage. Beneath this crushing sensation, Viggo feels pure, unfiltered and raw rage beginning to bubble up to surface over defeat and resignation. And hearing the word "lizard" being directed at the loyal dragon in his hold stokes that flame of fury. Not that it was the first time he heard this directed at a dragon but.. this time it felt different. Personal, in a way. Somehow, he manages to blink the fog away. With his hands still on the shaking Skrill's head, he looks up at Johann tauntingly staring down at them and the somewhat disturbed Hunters beginning to reload their crossbows. He hardly even registers the snarky quip from Hiccup - something about thinking of getting away with an attempt to knife someone in a Sandbuster's cavern - which makes the Trader's scowl deepen. The overwhelming desire to kill the man where he stands fills the deposed Chieftain to the brim. To seize this pitiful neck and either just snap it or choke the life out of him. Looking into his eyes as he goes and light departs out of his gaze. Let them fill him with more arrows, he cares not. Let the weasel stab him with a hidden blade if he so wishes. But Viggo is going to make Johann pay if it's the last thing he does. Even the excruciating pain isn't going to stop him.. But… He holds back and his hard expression falls as his eyes flick to the spot over the colorful tunic on the man's shoulder. The reason for it is two winged shadows in the night sky quickly heading this way. It really was the signal. From this distance and in the dark, he cannot tell which riders are coming but they are definitely there. Instead of any words he may have planned before… a miserable chuckle emerges, making his body quiver with painful amusement that not only disturbs the Hunters further but also brings a fresh new scowl to Johann's face.

"And what seems to be so funny to you, Grimborn?"

A reply is not meant to be given by him as Viggo just continues to interchangeably laugh and cough. Feeling of cold starts to be more noticeable as his sweat-covered skin is exposed to the cool wind. Chills wrack his whole form, his heart is racing almost painfully and he can practically feel himself turning paler and paler by the second, sounds slowly becoming more distant but amplified all the same. Telltale signs of his body steadily going into shock become more clear with every moment that passes.. In his stead, Hiccup responds with a little smirk and a teasing tone.

"Probably the fact that you are gloating even though you just lost this fight because he knows I wasn't yelling in frustration.."

What happens next over the span of barely a few seconds is pure chaos some of which clearly wasn't a part of Hiccup’s plan. And it starts with something that surprises Viggo just as much as Hiccup when Johann suddenly staggers back with a yell, an arrow suddenly lodged in the front of his right shoulder which prompts Viggo’s eyes to widen slightly as Hiccup mouths a "what the" and sowing the seeds of disorientation between the troops. Before the situation can be made sense of, one of the shadows swoops down. By all means, Hiccup had been fully expecting the twins to show up. And they did just that, matching their timing perfectly with the spy’s stumble and a burning… apple(?) falling from the sky and hitting the ground at the feet of one of the rightfully baffled Hunters. Not quite what Hiccup has been anticipating - nor Viggo, seeing how he mustered enough constitution and willpower to actually push himself slightly up, faintly hazy eyes staring at the apple in bemusement - but the following result left no space for complaining as the reaction to the signal arrives soon after in the form of the Thorston twins on their Zippleback who had mouthfuls of fruits set ablaze which they began to drop on the now panicking goons with delighted yells like a meteor shower, scattering the enemy troops effortlessly. What followed though… was a complete shock.

A characteristic warbling cry of a Singetail, which makes Hiccup’s hairs stand on their ends, rings out and several orbs of flame drop out of the sky as a four-winged, yellow-scaled Stoker speeds past, more fire gushing from its underbelly. The flames, however, don't seem to be aimed at Viggo, him or their dragons. And even though he was expecting this, Hiccup’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees an actual Flyer perched on the dragon's back and commanding it. To attack their own allies in an act of blatant betrayal. In this chaos, the Hunters scatter and flee from the onslaught and Johann too retreats - even if it's with the face that screams "sore loser" in the most blatant way - clutching at his wounded shoulder. And just when he thought it couldn't get any more confusing, Toothless’s growl alerts him to a presence behind them.

"Calm down, dragon, I'm not gonna hurt you."

Turning as quickly as possible while trying to cause himself as little pain as possible, Hiccup looks back and sees a masked Hunter coated in dust from the cave-in hurrying their way with hands raised in a placating gesture. It does little to calm Toothless down until Hiccup lays a reassuring hand on his head upon hearing the Hunter speak again, this time with urgency in his tone.

"Don't sit here and leer at me, get up and be off as long as they're distracted!"

Snapping out of his stunned stupor, Hiccup starts scrambling up, his bewilderment increasing when the Hunter rushes towards the downed Skrill and the former Chief hunched over it, now completely disregarding Toothless’s growls as though knowing Hiccup would stop the Night Fury from attacking. And he was right to assume so. Hiccup absolutely did just that with a simple gesture which prompts Toothless to quiet down but not to stop glaring. He was sure of his decision though. This man did just shoot his own superior in the shoulder, the dots weren't hard to connect.

"Viggo, sir!"

The masked man kneels next to the scarred Viking and hauls his arm over his shoulders to prepare to lift him back to his feet, making Viggo give him a puzzled but foggily unconcerned and half-there look.

"Where… What are you-... ?"

He asks an unfinished question quietly and the Hunter replies without a hint of hesitation, saying something that gives Hiccup more riddles to unravel, ones he hopes Viggo himself might clarify for him, once they get to safety and put themselves back in order.

"Repaying my debt, of course. Steady now.. Up we go! "

A miserable groan of the fallen Chieftain plays on the strings of more than just Hiccup’s concerned heart. Being pulled away causes the wounded Skrill to cry out shrilly, kicking out and trying to crawl after him before falling to the ground again, quivering. A few hours it may have been but… this bond has already formed and tied into a tight knot. And Viggo as well, in a very unlike-himself fashion, reached out to the struggling dragon, almost slipping out of the masked man's hold as he picked up both his Chief and his fallen sword. Seeing this, Hiccup calls first to Viggo, then turns to the shape of the Zippleback making a dive to re-engage and sweep over them once more.

"I got this! Ruff, Tuff! Grab that Skrill!!"

Just before the twins fly past, Hiccup can briefly see Tuffnut give him a joking salute in a "got it" sign. As told to, the duo on Barf and Belch scoop the shaky dragon up by signaling their dragon to "fetch" and soon the startled shriek of the electric dragon can be heard as claws lock around the black-and-violet body and the Thorston team continues the attack, not missing a beat. This time - already out of fruity ammunition - Ruffnut signals Barf to release frankly concerning amounts of green flammable gas. The green curtain cloaks the escapees from sight and Hiccup uses that moment to rush to Viggo and the masked Hunter. And what strikes him.. is the strange expression on his former enemy's face as he gazes after the Zippleback carrying fhe Skrill away. One of… mellow joy. Peace… Something Hiccup never imagined he would see on Viggo's face. Over the past couple hours… it seemed like Hiccup was traveling with someone else entirely. Then again, he hasn't been really acting like himself for quite a while now. Especially since he was shot as he seemed to have come to terms with his coming death. Death which Hiccup intended to try his best to ward off.. Pulling the gravely wounded man along, the Hunter turns to Hiccup with a hard stare before heaving out a long-suffering sigh of frustration.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but… get on your beast and get my Chief out of here."

"Wait, what about you? "

The Rider asks in spite of himself. Normally he would've taken offense to Toothless being called a "beast" - he knows the Night Fury did, judging by a sneer and a short hiss coming from the black dragon - but with urgency still in the forefront of his mind, the heir of Berk stores this for another, more appropriate time and focuses on the situation itself. Concern wasn't entirely invalid.. This man did, after all, just help them by quite possibly dooming himself in the process. Hiccup doubts Johann would forgive that transgression. He knows both the pain of betrayal, and of an arrow wound. Especially the arrow wound, right now in fact… The Hunter shakes his head in response and briefly looks into the sky.

"I'll be fine. Go!"

He calls and backs away, allowing Hiccup to move under Viggo’s arm in his stead. And just as he backs away, the Flyer on the yellow Singetail swoops down. Toothless growls at the Stoker but under the orders of the dark-skinned human on its back, the dragon only shoots Toothless a single glare when it lands. The Flyer (with their face concealed by a helmet and a mask) glances at Hiccup very briefly, an indiscernible expression in their almost charcoal eyes before turning to the Hunter and extending a hand to him. Only the slightest hint of hesitation can be seen before the offered hand is taken and the Hunter situates himself behind the Flyer, murmuring something about how he "doesn't like it at all". It appears Viggo still had some allies out there.. Raising an eyebrow, Hiccup sees the Singetail take off and listens to a scream of the Hunter who clearly was not used to flying at all but just for a split of a second. He still has a seriously wounded man on hand after all. Helping Viggo back onto his scaly friend’s back is way harder this time as the hjs knees are weak and soft, and he hangs so much heavier on Hiccup’s shoulders.

“Come on, Viggo.. You can do it.”

"Hiccup-... Guh…”

Comes a breathless unfinished response, signifying the pain is becoming hard to bear, just as Hiccup helps Viggo sit securely, hops on and has Toothless shoot up into the sky with a few flaps of his black wings just after making sure Viggo is holding on and is not about to fall right off. His grasp - one hand on Hiccup’s right upper arm and the other on the leather of the armor on his torso - was desperate to the point of it being uncomfortable and just dancing on the border of being outright painful but the young Rider figures he can handle it, even if he gets out of it with a few additional bruises. It’s a small price to pay. Provided they all come out alive… On the other hand, feeling how much strength he could still muster was encouraging. Shaking off the unpleasant thoughts nagging at the back of his mind, Hiccup joins the twins (and the Flyer, as weird as it is) in the air and doesn’t hold back from voicing his sincere relief and gratitude.

“Glad you guys could make it..”

“Now will you, please, witness our record?!”

Tuffnut calls to his friend and leader, and not waiting for a response, he turns to the massive gas cloud to give Belch a signal to create sparks. And by massive… Hiccup means gargantuan. Oh, this won’t end well for those below. Before the miniature apocalypse is induced, Hiccup can see Johann having enough sense to duck under a nearby cart for some semblance of protection as he had nowhere else to run.

“Fire in. The. HOLE!!!”

The boy twin yells at the top of his lungs just as the characteristic sound of a Zippleback grinding its teeth rings out only to be followed by a deafening booming sound and the green vapors flare up with amber of flames and blackness of the resulting waste product. Terrified screams are drowned out by the sound that almost tears right through everybody's eardrums. Shielding himself from the brightness and a wave of heat, which ruffled his hair, with his arm, Hiccup waits out the explosion which shakes the entire mountain to the point the tremor can be felt even in the air. Here, it seemed like an overkill but if it was done to a fleet of ships? Gods, they would probably get goosebumps just thinking about it. The cloud of black smoke reached all the way to the peak and over. Speaking of which, the leader of the Riders recoiled slightly - Toothless answering with a surprised croon in turn - when Ruffnut and Tuffnut slowly turned on their respective Zippleback heads with their hair sticking at odd angles, faces black with soot (Barf and Belch equally as black on their maws) and eyes wide with destructive wonder. The explosion they made to scare a Skrill out of the clouds back above the waters of Berk a few years prior was a gentle fart compared to this groundbreakingly impressive masterpiece of ruin, after all.

"Ho-lee shit.. "

The masked Hunter murmurs while the Flyer just watches wide-eyed. Very well said.. Hiccup thinks but agreement with the statement doesn't kill the suspicion fully just yet. Not even the small bits of it. Thankfully, the three dragons stay outside of firing range as plumes of smoke still rise slowly to the stars from the explosion, giving him plenty of time to stare distrustfully at the silent Flyer and the Hunter holding onto their waist with a death grip, face pallid with a tint of green, strongly hinting at a very apparent fear of heights and the nausea tagging along with it. But all that feels irrelevant when Hiccup feels a head heavily rest on his shoulder and a weak, shallow and uneven breath tickle the side of his neck. Viggo has turned awfully quiet… His blood runs cold.

"Ey, Hiccup! Where'd you find the cool Flyer guuooohhhh, what have you done to yourself?"

Ruffnut asks with genuine curiosity which quickly morphs into mild concern as she regards the arrow and the drying blood on her leader's ear and neck. She is quickly followed by her brother who pays attention to the passenger on Toothless’s back.

"Scratch that, look at this guy! Looks like death and yak dung warmed over! And he has four of those! Wait… H, is that Viggo? "

"Not now, guys. We're going back to the Edge tight now!   I'm flying ahead, you guys keep an eye on those two in case they try anything and bring the Skrill along safely, got it?"

"Yea, but-!"

Ruffnut starts but a black shadow that is Toothless whizzes past her with that iconic whistle following. The twins are left staring after the quickly departing Night Fury before puzzled sharing glances.

"Why does he always have to be so cryptic?! It's like he can't ever say anything straight or be straightforward!"

Tuffnut laments and gets a pat on the back from his twin sister.

"It's a part of his charm. He wouldn't be the same with a little bit of mysteriousness dropped in the mix."

A loud clearing of the throat get all four heads to turn to see the very disgruntled Flyer with their arms crossed and the Hunter still appearing to be in the middle of an attempt to crush their waist and moments from throwing up. For a second, the two dragons hover and the twins give awkward smiles.

"Hey. How's it going?"

"So, mister Flyer… What brought you over to our side?"

Instead of replying, the person riding the Singetail rolls their dark eyes and points at the shaking and whimpering Skrill dangling in the Zippleback's claws which was currently being glared at by its natural enemy that was the yellow-scaled Stoker growling quietly. And without a single word, the Flyer heels his mount and takes off after Toothless, the Hunter beginning to scream and repeat "put me down" over and over again.

"Extremely rude, mister Flyer."

Tuffnut chastises but Ruffnut elbows him in the ribs.

"Ow!'

"Weren't we supposed to keep an eye on them?"

"What? Oh! Oh, right, yea! Wait up!"

The boy Thorston calls after the disappearing Singetail and its two passengers before the two of them steer Barf and Belch to follow as quickly as they can with additional weight that is the incapacitated Skrill.

Chapter Text

So long… It's been way too long since Hiccup left to meet his father about the Dragon Eye lens Stoick had found. After the first day turned into a night Astrid was already beginning to worry, even though the rest of the group guarding Dragon's Edge for the duration of their leader's absence was assuring her Hiccup would be fine. Of course.. He has Toothless and the unfalteringly loyal Night Fury would sooner die than let anything happen to Hiccup. And in addition, he asked the twins to tag along as well. He wasn't alone. Everything will surely turn out to be okay.. Yet, a crippling sense of dread failed to leave. Worries remained unelevated and a feeling of paranoia gnawed at her, no matter how many times Fishlegs and Snotlout told her there's nothing to worry about. Something was wrong. She could just feel it…

Night receded to allow dawn to creep in. Dawn proceeded into noon, then afternoon, and finally dusk began to lurk around the horizon. And with the approaching darkness, anxiety seized the heart of the future Chieftess. Something was very very wrong and no one could convince her otherwise at this point. Hiccup should've been back by now! Was he ambushed? Had Toothless’s tail fin broken and they crash landed somewhere with no way out? So many dark scenarios flitted through her head that she couldn't sleep at night. Sick with worry which easily passed onto the remaining two Riders. On the lookout for the missing Dragon Master, the whole three hung around Astrid's place. Snotlout was trying to busy himself by stitching his spare tunic back together since it got ripped up somewhere along the way, Fishlegs was idly looking through his dragon cards and Astrid just sat on the edge of the bridge,  staring out at the sky, hoping to see a familiar figure of a Night Fury any moment now. Sitting beside her, Stormfly chirps and nudges her shoulder since her uneasiness was easy to detect. A tired smile dances across her face as she pets the Nadder's snout but never takes her eyes off the horizon, watching with trepidation as dusk became night and Hiccup was still nowhere to be seen. No messages arrive either.. Where are you, Hiccup…?

By now, Snotlout nodded off with his helmet over his eyes, leaning against napping Hookfang, both quietly snoring. Meatlug, too, was asleep next to her Rider who was just about to follow suit but always shot up whenever he'd slip into a few seconds long nap. Stress and weariness were starting to take a toll on Astrid as well. For about five minutes, there was a moment she slumped against Fishlegs's shoulder but snapped out of this short slumber the second she felt him shift his position.

A gust of chilly wind blows, making Astrid shudder. They all should be long in their beds but she would feel guilty and probably wouldn't be able to catch more than just a few winks with how worried she is. Fishlegs stayed in a show of support, constantly assuring her Hiccup would be back any minute, as the good friend he is, and Snotlout was too fast asleep to leave. Hookfang's body warmth not only encouraged a nap but also warded off the cold air. A few times she thought she heard the whistle of an approaching Night Fury but.. every time, it turned out to have been her imagination and the wind playing on the branches of trees and mountain peaks.. A flock of Night Terrors following Smidvarg flutters by but still… no signs of Hiccup, the Twins or even a Mail. Another shudder elicits a worried croak from Stormfly who huddles closer to Astrid and wraps around her in a protective manner, trying to keep her warmer, one wing raised against the cool air blowing over her.

"Thanks, Stormfly.."

Astrid smiles but her grateful expression makes way for worry very quickly, which Fishlegs doesn't miss. A large hand rests on her shoulder as he tries to console her again.

"Hiccup will be back soon. He probably got held up by Stoick or stayed on Berk to help with something.."

"Maybe, but he didn't even send a Terror Mail.. He knows we'd worry if he just disappeared like that, no news for two whole days! It's not like him.."

"He has Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch, and Toothless."

"Yes, but what if-..."

The next "what if" is never voiced when a familiar cry of a certain black dragon tears through the still night, drawing a gasp from Astrid. Oh, by Thor. That had to be Toothless! No other Night Furies have ever been seen in the area, it just had to be! The roar startles Hookfang awake and makes Snotlout yelp when his Monstrous Nightmare perks up, in consequence sending Jorgenson's upper body collapsing on the hard floor.

"Wh- Wha-.. I'm not sleeping, who's attacking us?!"

"Nobody's attacking, Hiccup is finally back!"

Astrid calls, overflowing with joy. But one that is quickly shattered when a characteristic warble makes her face fall in dread.

"I wouldn't be so sure…"

Fishlegs hesitantly speaks, pointing to the shadows approaching Dragon's Edge. Running over to see, Snotlout rights his helmet only to set it askew again when he grabs his head.

"Is he nuts?! He just brought Flyers here?!"

His panic is justified but while Fishlegs runs to now very-much-awake and very uneasy Meatlug in preparation to get in the saddle, Astrid doesn't jump to conclusions even as Stormfly takes on an aggravated stance, spines on her tail standing in agitation. Hiccup would never willingly lead enemies to their home. Especially when he knew exactly how to get rid of the Singetails on Toothless’s heels by just flying higher than the dangerous Stokers can before knocking the Flyers off the dragons which made a break for it the moment they were free of the burden on their backs. Another thing that threw her off was the fact that there was no fire in the air and it's usually there in rather large quantities when Singetails are involved. To take a closer look at the situation, Astrid quickly grabs a spyglass Hiccup had forgotten to take along and raises it to her eye to try and determine what on Midgard is going on. Her sights were naturally on the potential enemy first to decide how big of a threat they posed. A mere glance is enough to baffle her to no end.

"Hold it! A white flag."

As perplexing as it was for the whole three, the Flyer - lonely Flyer on a lonely Singetail and with what appeared to be an aghast Hunter holding onto them - held a piece of white cloth over his head, fabric fluttering on the rush of wind as they waved it in a sign of surrender. Ignoring the exclamations of bewilderment from both Fishlegs and Snotlout, Astrid turns the spyglass towards her betrothed. Even in the dark illuminated only by the silver glow of the moon, her keen blue eyes quickly catch the sight of a human figure slumped against Hiccup’s back. High levels of intelligence were not needed to guess that "meeting Stoick" didn't exactly go as planned. Why, a secret meet-up with one's father usually doesn't result in an unidentified passenger and enemies bearing a white flag following. And that does little to explain why she can't see Ruffnut and Tuffnut anywhere either. I was right. Something went horribly wrong. The only person who could shine some light on the situation at the moment was currently flying towards her with a promise of elevated fears.

A promise which was taken away just as soon as it was given.

Distressed cry slips out of Toothless’s maw as he attempts the gentlest landing on the bridge before the Clubhouse he can muster, panting, eyes wide and an expression of worry on his draconic face. The nimble reptile softly touches the wooden platform and glances back at his Rider who leaps off immediately. That in itself scares the Riders even before their blood runs cold once they watch Hiccup’s passenger slide out of the saddle with next to no muscle tone and be saved from hitting the floor only by Hiccup’s arms and Toothless’s strong tail catching the limp body. Astrid gasps and puts the spyglass away. Seconds later, the Singetail she spotted before lands next to Toothless and the Flyer perched on top jumps off in favor of hurrying to Hiccup’s side. The Hunter who's been with them crawls off the yellow dragon and takes a few seconds to gather his bearings (evidently suffering from severe air-sickness) then follows the Flyer. And for some reason.. the Singetail didn't try to make a run for it the moment nobody was holding the reins. All three gather the fourth person up and hurriedly carry them inside the Clubhouse, Hiccup yelling something with urgency.

"Guys, something's wrong, mount up!"

"Hey, Viggo, hey. Look at me. We're here, it's gonna be okay, just don't fall asleep."

Tired, hazy and absent eyes open with much difficulty and the shallow wheezes continue as Hiccup gently pats Viggo on his undamaged cheek in an attempt to help him regain focus. Chest heaving, the wounded Hunter barely keeps himself in a sitting position, trembling in Hiccup's hold, be it blood loss or fear… he cannot tell. Momentary confusion fills this hollow gaze as he draws a gasp and swallows thickly, looking up at Hiccup with a strange mixture between wonderment, fright and plain perplexity as he stutters-

"... H- here…?"

"Dragon's Edge, remember?"

"... Ah… Dragon's Edge.. R- right…"

Viggo hums and his eyes start to close again, a little bit of blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth and rolling down his cheek when his head lolls back, shooting a spike of panic through Hiccup’s hammering heart as the silent Flyer runs over. This flight, the pain and steady blood loss… All of it combined took almost everything out of Viggo, sapped his strength away, broke his resolve and nearly stole his consciousness.

"Nonononono, eyes open, you hear? Deep breaths for me, come on!"

No, Hiccup doesn't trust his new "allies" yet. Neither the Flyer nor the Hunter who was currently steeling himself, doubled over with hands on his knees in an attempt not to throw up. But right now.. Hiccup knows he needs all the help he can get. And from the looks of it, if those two are on any side, it's Viggo’s. Having a mutual goal does have a way of uniting people. The Dragon Master needs not say a word for the dark-skinned rider to do their best assisting in hefting Viggo up from the floor, causing the Viking in question to inhale through his teeth sharply and his eyes to snap open again, wide in what could only be described as a state of agony. He's running out of time. Not even Hiccup’s own wound matters anymore and he turns his head to call out to the Hunter currently righting himself up, looking a tad better now that his feet are firmly planted on the solid floor.

"Help us out over here!"

"Coming, coming!"

The masked Hunter yells and runs over. With the combined efforts of all three, they manage to lift Viggo’s body up and rush inside the Clubhouse. Under Hiccup’s fingers, muscles tense in pain as they struggle to carry the rather heavy body of the languishing man. Sounds are surely muffled and voices unintelligible in his ears as the trio runs as fast as they can without dropping him, following Hiccup’s shouted instructions.

"Put him on the table, quickly! Toothless, get the fire going!"

A violet plasma bolt flies past everyone and hits the fireplace, cold wood inside going immediately up in flames and illuminating the room as the three men lift the fourth one onto the tabletop, placing him on his front. A strangled moan is all Viggo can muster, his half-opened eyes staring blankly at some spot ahead of him as a nasty cough wracks his form with shivers. The back of his armor is already slick with his blood which Hiccup notices is on his hands now from how he held the older Viking and his own blood runs even colder than it already is. Panic is the last thing they need now so with a shudder, Hiccup tries his best to shrug it off even as its slimy fingers creep up his body to seize control and freeze him in spot.

"I'm going to get others, hold on!"

Hiccup cries to the fallen Chieftain heaving on the table but he barely manages to turn when a warbling roar of the Singetail is followed by a shriek of a Nadder and Hiccup sees a hail of spines hit the floor near it, causing the dragon to leap up to dodge the attack but it doesn't stay in the air for long before dropping back down and scurrying inside to be at the side of the Flyer who glares in the direction of the door when Astrid's voice calls out a "no" in frustration. Undoubtedly, her intention was to startle the dragon away, not have it run into the Clubhouse. The sound of her voice brings Hiccup both immense joy and immense dread. Here it comes… The inevitable confrontation with his friends about what they are soon going to see. Toothless roars up at the sky when the Riders who remained at the base swoop down and land, leaving their dragons out and running through the entrance.

"HICCUP-!"

Astrid cries his name but freezes a second later along with Snotlout and Fishlegs at the sight laid out in front of them. Their leader on his shaky legs. Crusted blood stains mark the entire left side of his neck and jaw as well as fill nearly every curve of his ear, soaking through the front of his tunic and an arrow is stuck in the back of his shoulder, red trickling down the leather of his armor. Their eyes are enormous as they regard him, then the Flyer with a yellow Singetail growling at them from behind its master, the Hunter standing nearby and most importantly… Viggo Grimborn. Splayed out on the table, gasping for air, with four wooden, feather-tipped shafts protruding from his back. Rarely does Astrid curse. She usually relies on glares and more refined words when expressing negative emotions. But right now, as she pulls her axe free from her back with a sharp shing, she doesn't hold back.

"Hiccup, what the fucking Hel?! "

"Took it straight outta my mouth, what the fuck?! "

Snotlout compliments her angry exclamation with his own while Fishlegs just gawks in horror and their dragons all stare through the entrance. Stormfly still bristled, Hookfang in a threat posture and up in flames and Meatlug just looking genuinely confused and uneasy until Toothless lets out a high-pitched shriek that somewhat settles the other three reptiles, glancing bewildered between the Night Fury and the group inside of the Clubhouse. Hiccup couldn't blame his friends for this reaction. He really couldn't. But just as well, he needed to break the inevitable argument and save it for later. Now is not the time for squabbles. Now it's time for action. Fast.

"No time to explain, just bear with me on this one, please, he'll die if we don't do something now! "

"Out of all the horrible ideas, this has to be your worst and the list is longer than from-Edge-to-Berk long!"

Snotlout shouts again, wildly gesturing to the Flyer, two Hunters and an aggravated Singetail spit-hissing at him. Maybe. It may be a horrible idea. But Hiccup was going to see it through regardless. The masked Hunter tries to back him up, taking a breath in preparation to speak but no words come out before Fishlegs, the champion of the night, runs to the table to assess the damage. One glance at Viggo is enough for him. Fishlegs might not be as experienced as Gothi in the profession of a healer, but he knows enough to see how dire the situation is.

"... Oh… Oh Thor…"

He breathes, before looking up at Hiccup with eyes wide and pale face. For a brief moment, Hiccup feared he might need to actually beg but under the astonished looks from just about everyone, Fishlegs turns to the rest of his friends.

"Astrid! Towels and warm water! Quickly!"

"What?! Fishlegs, you can't seriously-!"

She starts almost outraged but the chubby Viking in question fixes her with a very much serious look. And his words make Hiccup deflate slightly, inwardly blessing this man's soul.

"We are better than this, Astrid. We're not letting anyone die if we can help it."

"But what about Hiccup?!"

Here is a reasonable concern, one that Hiccup feels touched by, but he shakes his head, waving his uninjured arm in the door's general direction. Never does he put himself above someone else who needs aid. Even if it would be Viggo. Well… after what happened between them tonight… especially.

"I'll be fine for a while longer! Don't worry about me!"

"Water! Hurry! "

Upon insistence from both her betrothed and the Edge's healer, her shocked expression eventually morphs into stern certainty. Her eyes still hold the same flame of anger but she shoves it down for another time as she gives a curt nod and runs towards her dragon, leaping onto Stormfly's back while Snotlout gawks in disbelief until Fishlegs gives him an instruction too.

"Snotlout, help Astrid!"

"Are we seriously doing this?!"

He yells but whether he was going to do as asked or not, Hookfang decides for him by snagging the back of his shirt and tossing the startled Rider into the saddle strapped to the back of his lean and strong neck, taking off soon after. The amount of relief Hiccup just felt is indescribable. That went far better than he was expecting, truly bless Fishlegs for stepping in.. But he knows better than to think this will be the end of it. This argument isn't over. It's merely delayed for a time when no one is actively bleeding out.

"I need two knives, anyone?"

Fishlegs looks up at everyone present and the mysterious Flyer quickly produces two daggers from their bootlegs, grabbing them by the blades to indicate lack of hostility, and hands them to Fishlegs who only takes one and instructs to get the other heated up in the fire. This individual is… strange. From the moment he showed up until now, this outlander hasn't spoken a single word. Whether mute or simply unwilling to speak remains a mystery. Eerie either way.. As this is happening, Hiccup - now sitting in a chair placed near Viggo’s head resting heavily on the table - winces when he realizes what Fishlegs's instructions mean. And likely, so does Viggo as his eyebrows knit together in a pained frown at the mention of a hot knife, his hands balling into shaky fists, a low groan in the back of his throat. A frown of sympathy warps Hiccup’s expression. He knows well what it's like to be in excruciating pain. What it's like to stare his death in the eyes.. A few times it had been because of the man before him but, honestly, here and now it seems almost irrelevant. Compelled by this sympathy, the young Haddock inches closer and lays his hand on one of Viggo’s trembling fists, causing the man to take a few shuddering breaths and glance up. It would seem that this might be the end. That this is how nefarious Viggo Grimborn faces his death. But Hiccup is determined. As long as this twisted heart on the path to betterment beats.. as long as soul clings to the broken body and as long as those eyes still hold a spark of life within them… he will not give up on Viggo. Not after he had shown that there is capacity for good inside. That there is something worth saving in him. And this touch says it all.

"It's going to be okay.. Fishlegs knows what he's doing. You're in good hands…"

For a brief second, their eyes lock and Hiccup can see something in Viggo’s. An emotion. Barely a faint trace of something fragile that is gone too soon to know what it might have been when the dying Viking drops his gaze and coughs miserably, a few droplets of blood landing on the tabletop next to his face.

"Just… make this end…"

He groans through clenched teeth, making Hiccup's expression fall further. Such a small plea… from someone like him gives him a feeling like he's just been viciously gutted. "It's going to be okay", Hiccup said. But even though he said it with hope, he was far from sure of his words.. Dismay was still clutching at his heart and soul, every look at Viggo made this mounting uncertainty grow. At the pale, almost gray complexion of the Dragon Hunter Chief. At the sheen of sweat on his brow. The hollow gaze in his eyes… and at blood-stained lips. Whether he liked it or not… Viggo’s life was quite literally seeping out of him. Anxiously, Hiccup watched Fishlegs wash his hands in preparation, the Flyer holding the other blade to their Singetail's opened maw bright with fire and the Hunter working on undoing the clasps of Viggo’s shoulder pads and armor, and mumbling under his breath with just as much unease. The pauldrons come off quickly, the belt with the red insignia of the Blazing Fist on the buckle falls to the floor next to them. But the breastplate still stays on. For now.

Astrid and Snotlout were quick to return with water, bringing everything to the healer who thanked them, set things down and got his medical equipment at the ready. Clubhouse was usually where injuries were being tended to, so thankfully all tools, salves and alcohol for wound cleaning were always here. Now… Hiccup realizes… is where the madness begins. Sure enough, once everything is prepped, Fishlegs begins to give more instructions. In the end, the Hunter along with Snotlout were holding Viggo down as Astrid took place above him and regarded the arrows that penetrated his armor and pierced his flesh. Not long after, the Flyer came closer, holding a knife that glowed bright orange in a faintly trembling hand. And Hiccup… Well, seeing he was injured himself, he did the only thing he currently could. Passed their unlikely patient a folded up piece of cloth to bite down on and gave him a hand to hold as reassurance. A gesture of comradery which Viggo had shown him before. The natural thing is to return it when he needs it…

"Oh, man, that's gonna suck. "

Snotlout states as a matter-of-factly with a wince as Astrid gets a hold of the first arrow, the one in Viggo’s lower back. Too close to the spine for comfort, according to Fishlegs. This one needed to come out first to prevent any (or further) damage to important nerves it would cause if the man started to thrash about which is almost a guarantee. At the slightest touch to the piece of ammunition, Viggo begins to squirm and moan into the cloth stuffed between his teeth, his grip on Hiccup’s hand tightening. But the hold of two men on him was firm. Sadly, Viggo's armor was an issue. It couldn't come off with the arrows stuck in place. It was plainly impossible to take it off.. The situation is as bad as it gets, honestly. Once the wounds are open, bleeding will increase tenfold. They need to be fast and decisive.

"Okay, I'm removing it on 'three'. One, two, three! "

One firm yank upwards dislodges an arrow with a sickening squelch which makes Hiccup’s stomach churn. His face twists into a grimace because of Viggo’s fingers suddenly tightening like vice around his hand to the point of pain as his whole body seizes and a muffled, horrible scream tears its way out of him, followed by harsh, uneven panting. As expected, once the arrow was pulled out, blood began to well out of the wound freely. Time is up.. While Fishlegs puts a cloth to the wound in an attempt to slow down the blood loss, Astrid gets a hold of another arrow. Second to go is the one on the right side about halfway down his back. This one went deeper than the remaining three. Judging by the blood on Viggo’s lips… it passed through the barrier of his ribcage and damaged something internally.  Which means he might not make it… It meets the same fate as the first one, another pained howl shredding the silence of the night asunder as Hiccup lets out a grunt of his own, idly wondering if the bones on his hand are about to be broken in the wounded Hunter's grasp. The sound of his pain has Toothless immediately at his side, nuzzling into his side with a croon. The remaining two arrows follow the first and the second, and clatter to the floor soon after, all the while Viggo continues to strain against his Hunter and Snotlout who try their hardest to hold him down, effort evident on their red faces.

Every sharp yell, every cry… was tearing Hiccup's compassionate heart in two. Viggo has never been very vocal from what the Riders knew, in this sense. The only time any of them heard him scream was when the ledge crumbled beneath his feet as he fell into the heart of the Snowcapped Peak. And it was a scream of dismay. Of desperation. What they've been hearing now was so… so much worse. Hiccup felt something inside aching at every, even the smallest noise of pain. It was still bizarre to be feeling like this while he sat by his once mortal enemy, his hand being nearly crushed by the desperate grip of a shaking hand grasping for any consolation or comfort available. And Hiccup gave it to him. With a reassuring hold and compassion in his voice as he kept talking to him.

"Can't you give him some medicine to knock him out or something?!"

The Hunter yells the question out to Fishlegs who shakes his head sadly.

"We don't have time to wait for it to kick in, he might bleed out! Now remove his armor, quickly!"

The chubby Viking cries after explaining and Astrid swiftly does as ordered, exposing the back of the red, dragon scale tabard Viggo wore for additional protection which Fishlegs makes quick work of cutting open. The knife is sufficiently sharp for this task and the premade damage to the garment makes the task easier, leaving only the black tunic beneath which is sliced away all the same. The material is drenched with blood, sticking to Viggo’s skin and causing him to whimper when it comes off. And once the clothing is in pieces around him.. Hiccup feels his blood run cold at the sight of the actual wounds on his back exposed for all gathered to see. Awareness of their presence was horrible enough but seeing them out in the open… It fills him with the same trepidation that makes Fishlegs's face lose what little color it still had. His heart, thumping hard in his chest, suddenly sank into the bottom of his stomach and seemed to fall even further down.

Percentage chances of Viggo's survival started to dwindle into single digits now..

Suffocating darkness which was once again trying to get a hold of his mind as his breathing became rapid and shaky suddenly recedes at another shrill cry from the Hunter Chieftain (which makes Toothless flatten his ear nubs in discomfort evident in his expression), brought on by the process of cleaning the blood off and the wounds themselves with alcohol, done by Astrid with the intention to ward off any possible infection as well as hopefully give their healer a clearer view of the damage. Astrid knows her way around a wound and knows exactly how to clean one. Still, every touch, no matter how cautious and brief, draws more tortured moans from the patient who continues to pant heavily in between the moments a cloth would make contact with his pierced skin.

The worst, however, was yet to come. And it was made apparent by several things. Seeing the silent Flyer - under Fishlegs's instructions - hesitantly put a knife heated to the point of it emitting a fiery glow to Viggo’s back, Hiccup begins to have the urge to be sick. All best effort be damned, he cannot help the sinking feeling in his gut or chills of alarm mixed with a tiniest bit of disgust in a very particular combination he isn't fond of. Hiccup isn't known to be particularly squeamish. Certain things do disturb or gross him out but it's normal. For everyone, there is something out there a specific person might consider revolting. Battle wounds, he could take. But the sight of that hot piece of metal going towards one of Viggo's wounds was a straw that broke the Gronkle's back. Biting his lower lip, Hiccup averts his eyes. He can't watch this…

A sudden sizzle, a horrid, gut wrenching shriek and the stench of burning flesh coupled with the bone-breaking grip on his hand make the young heir tense up and sneer with both sympathy and pain he can both feel and imagine. As a blacksmith's apprentice, Hiccup has had a few accidents with hot iron… He knew all too well. The man in question begins to thrash about with astounding strength, giving Snotlout and the Hunter a difficult time holding him down.

"Keep him still!"

Fishlegs calls, setting down an herbal salve in favor of trying to assist the two by grabbing Viggo’s ankles but even three men had trouble regardless. Astrid springs into action too, struggling to apply the discarded salve to the already cauterized wound while the taciturn Flyer (now with his eyebrows also pinched and his eyes wide) goes for another, only causing the struggle to intensify.

"We're trying! "

"How is this guy still even conscious?!"

Incredulity in Snotlout's voice is completely understandable and fully warranted. Anyone else in Viggo’s spot would've likely long passed out from the sheer magnitude of the pain. Agonized cries only indicate that the wounded Hunter probably wished he passed out sometime soon, preferably right about now. One by one, all wounds are cauterized and the blood loss blessedly stops at long last and finally, near the end of this ordeal, Viggo's body relaxes and slumps on the table, still panting, breath catching in his throat in what Hiccup can now identify as sobs. Here he was, the elusive, stone-cold man himself… on the brink of death and shedding sincere tears in front of everyone. Suffering, just like any other person in his situation would.. More human than he ever appeared to any of them.. As the last wound was closed, some of the omnipresent panic dissipated as Fishlegs was left to finish what Astrid started with the salve on the remaining wounds. Faint, miserable moans still ring out at every contact with abused skin and muscle but everyone involved in the medical emergency can breathe out with relief.

"Ow ow ow, I think I pulled a muscle…"

Snotlout laments, kneading his left bicep once holding down is no longer necessary. Hiccup too allows himself a break but unfortunately, as adrenaline levels begin to drop in his body, he becomes acutely aware of the arrow in his own shoulder. Once Viggo’s wounds are bandaged up, it'll be his turn. While Fishlegs gets to cautiously washing the rest of the blood off, Hiccup tries to slip his sore and undoubtedly bruised hand out of Viggo’s but an attempt proves futile when his fingers tighten again. This time however… it's not an ironclad death grip. It's barely strong enough to be noticed. A wordless message. Don't leave.

"It's okay, the worst is over… You did good."

Berk's future Chief tries the most comforting tone he can muster while trying to keep the painful edge out of his voice and dares to pick up a rag from a basin, wrings it out and with the cool, damp fabric begins to pick sweat and tears from Viggo’s face still scrunched up in pain, a bloodied cloth he has been biting down on rumpled near his head. However, he dares not to go anywhere near the gnarly scar on the wounded man's face. When he tried… Viggo flinched away with a whimper as though it was actually painful as well. Maybe it was… No way to tell. With everyone focused on the barely surviving Grimborn brother, nobody notices how the Flyer, still holding the knife, staggers back a bit. Ashen and breathing heavily until their eyes roll into the back of their skull.

Thud

They disappear behind the table and hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, dagger clattering to the ground next to them.

"Whoa, what the-?!"

Hiccup starts panicked but fails to finish when to everyone's bewilderment the yellow Singetail who has backed into the opposite end of the chamber before, agitated by all the screaming and struggle, suddenly surges forward and steps over the collapsed outlander when Fishlegs tries to come close, hissing at the approach aggressively. Outside, Meatlug gurgles with fear for her Rider but is stopped from rushing in by him raising a hand and telling her it's okay before he backs away from the angry Stoker in a small test. Test which ends in the hot-tempered dragon quieting down but not letting anyone close regardless as the Flyer shifts and sits up slowly, holding their helmeted head in one hand. Several things don't escape the Riders' attention. This here was a show of loyalty. Of a bond. Between a Singetail and a Flyer, as unexpected as it might be. And something Hiccup failed to see before due to chaos and urgency, he realizes that the reins on the Singetail were not made of metal. Not entirely. Most of them were actually leather. It appears there is far more to both the dragon and the Flyer than it meets the eye. The equally as odd Hunter turns his attention to the taciturn individual who has just fainted (that much was obvious) and instead of concern, there's understanding.

"First time seeing wounds this gruesome up close, eh kiddo?"

A shaky nod is the only answer from the Flyer now sitting up against the Singetail settling behind them.

"Been there too. Take your time. Speaking of which, I gotta admit. You are a tough lot, Dragon Riders.."

The Hunter says, referring to the horrifying appearance of Viggo’s injuries and the fact no one else passed out, as he turns to the residents of Dragon's Edge with a spark of appreciation in his gaze. For a moment Astrid shoots him a cool and wary stare and Hiccup is about to say something about flattery when everyone stiffens. A sound of sudden footsteps makes the dragons leap up, started by the noise - as they have been too focused on what's happening inside the Clubhouse - but they settle down quickly, much like the equally spooked Riders when they see the soot-covered Thorston twins barge in. The ordeal of wound care left everyone jittery and on edge.

"Ruff! Tuff!"

Astrid calls with her eyes wide at their disheveled state but is promptly ignored as Tuffnut analyzes the scene and lets out a frustrated groan, looking up at the ceiling.

"Aarghh! We missed the main event! Did he scream a lot? Hiccup, did he?!"

Hiccup doesn't manage to formulate any reasonable response to the tactless inquiry before Ruffnut elbows her brother slightly to bring his focus to the right subject before going.

"By the way, Hiccup, your Skrill in the stables is going spastic."

"His WHAT?!?! "

The last word comes out of Snotlout as a high-pitched scream as he looks between Hiccup and the sooty Thorstons. The young Haddock on the other hand, frowns and shakes his head, saying exactly what Fishlegs's concerned face said as Astrid just stared in bemused disbelief.

"Wh- wait waitwaitwait wait.. What do you mean 'spastic'!?"

All eyes are on the twins now, even Viggo manages to force himself to look in their direction, his breath rapid and still catching in his throat, which doesn't escape Fishlegs's keen eye. And this prompts the two to go on one of their weirdly scientific lectures, Tuffnut starting and Ruffnut following.

"You see, my one-legged friend.. The Skrill we speak of was struck by a large amount of Dragon Root-tipped arrows. Which means a big dose of said poison."

"Many times now, you said how Dragon Root acts by overwhelming a dragon by affecting its nervous system."

"Our hypothesis is that a massive dose of this concentrated substance led to undesirable side effects.."

"And those being severe overexcitation of the nervous system, which in conclusion led to a convulsive seizure."

Ruffnut concludes with fingertips of both her hands touching in front of her while horrified expressions take over the features of other Riders. And once again, Hiccup can feel Viggo’s grip tighten as his breath hastens even more. Concerningly so..

"Oh my gosh, you guys!"

"Ugh.. I'll handle it. Ruffnut, with me. Tuffnut,  you too. The rest of you, finish patching Viggo up and I… just felt incredibly weird saying this."

Astrid mutters the last part of the sentence more to herself than to anyone else as she runs out of the Clubhouse, Ruff and Tuff in tow while Snotlout stares daggers at his cousin before throwing his hands up.

"That's it, I've had it with your shit! First Viggo and those guys and now a Skrill too?! Hiccup, explain! "

"Not now, Snotlout.."

"What do you mean, not now?!"

"I mean, be quiet! "

Hiccup finally snaps, mounting stress and pain in his shoulder overwhelming him, threatening to snap him in two. Snotlout just crosses arms, grumbling, while Fishlegs exchanges a knowing look with the Rider of the Night Fury. The masked Hunter glances between the two of them with fresh concern as Toothless sniffs the fallen Chieftain who once again coughs a ragged cough and wheezes painfully and shallowly. Eyes now closed and his grip faltering. Even the Flyer who had just fainted musters will to look up and appear uneasy.

"What, what is it?"

Just as Hiccup feared… Something is still very wrong.

"Fishlegs..?"

"Yea, I hear it. I don't like his breathing, Hiccup…"

"Yea, me neither."

Snotlout huffs, drawing hard glares from everyone who remained in the room, dragons included. Even Hookfang shot him a skeptical stare when Viggo’s breath hitched and whistled, and his face twisted into a grimace.

"Snotlout can you not? This is a bad time."

"You woke me up for this and refused to give any sort of answers! I have every right to be grumpy about it!"

"But can you like.. not stress Viggo out more than he already is? It's not helping!"

" I'm stressing him out?! Excuse me, I ain't the one dying on his table!"

"Oi, shut up already!"

The frustrated Hunter finally exclaims, earning first a glare, then an unsure look from Snotlout. Difference in height is quite noticeable and if it came to blows, young Jorgenson is definitely at a disadvantage. Right away, Fishlegs frowns.

"... We… need to turn him to his back… I know it sounds like a bad idea but I need to check something."

Skepticism is a natural response but in situations of an injury, healer's word is law and even leaders are supposed to obey. With a scowl still on his face, Snotlout helps the Hunter with gently lifting Viggo up - drawing more sounds of pain from the barely awake man - while Fishlegs shoves the remnants of cut up garments off and laying the last clean towel on the table to separate it from the still very much exposed wounds. Once Viggo is set down, everyone can see his chest rising unevenly with every fast-paced wheeze. Fishlegs's concerned eyes flick to Viggo’s bloodied lips for a moment. Hiccup can practically hear what he's thinking… Two large hands rest on both sides of Viggo’s heaving chest in a short touch inspection before Fishlegs leans down and puts his ear first to the left, then the right side, giving each a few seconds of attention by listening to the labored breath. Please, don't say it. Don't tell me it's what I think it is… An aghast expression and a long gasp from the Ingerman shatter Hiccup’s hope and crack his soul apart before the conclusion is even spoken out loud.

"Hiccup… I think-... I think that arrow hit his right lung after all. It… it collapsed."

Two words. All it took was two words for reality to come crashing down and for a shadow of despair to fall onto the faces of all gathered. Toothless’s disheartened expression is complimented by a sad warble when he nudges his Rider's hand in vain attempt to comfort him. Even Snotlout paused for a moment, glancing down at Viggo with an uncertain frown as the man lurched up coughing dryly. His next words would seem annoyed or snappy were it not for his quiet and unsure tone.

"So what, we go through all of this to keep him alive and he's gonna die anyway..?"

"No! There has to be something we can still do! Fishlegs?!"

Hiccup turns to his friend, attempting to keep the embers of hope warm as the chill of hopelessness tries to stifle the quickly dying fire. The Hunter, too, looks at Fishlegs and the Flyer staggers upwards, holding a hand on their Singetail's neck just in case, silently watching everyone else with a sullen gaze as the Edge's healer rubs his forehead nervously.

"You're.. not planning to just let my Chief die, Rider.. right?"

"Of course not! I just… To make sure it heals, I'd have to open him up but surgeries are a huge risk even on perfectly healthy Vikings. He lost too much blood to survive one.. And if I don't do that, the laceration on the lung might not close on its own and if it doesn't-..."

He will not make it. He will die, either of internal bleeding or of suffocation. This didn't need to be said but it was still hanging in the air like a foul odor. Without another word, Fishlegs turns away and begins to frantically rummage through the medical equipment.

"... H… Hiccup…"

A hoarse whisper makes the boy in question glance down with a jolt of urgency. Partially blinded gaze of Viggo is on him, his glossy eyes half-lidded, chin trembling as his hand lifts off the tabletop just barely. Before it can fall again, Hiccup catches it in both of his. Ice cold, that hand… A croon from Toothless rings in his ears when the black dragon huddles close, a firm and consoling presence behind him..

"It's okay, just hang in there for a little longer…"

The hand in Hiccup's hold shakes. Pallid lips part, gasping for air. But in between wheezes… he speaks. A momentary clearing, spontaneous return of nearly full awareness served him to say words that made Hiccup’s face fall in trepidation the more that was said.

"Hiccup… you… have so much potential that. Is yet to be realized... I-.. I tried to. To teach you all I could. Please... p- promise me... you won't let that potential.. go to waste...."

"No no no, don't you come at me with deathbed confessions, you've come this far, you can't give up now! Just keep breathing, okay..?"

"... Promise me…"

The fallen Chieftain repeats, seemingly ignoring the Dragon Master's statement. Desperation shines in his hazy eyes trying to stay focused on Hiccup’s freckled face which is now overtaken by a heartbroken look. His words come out strained. Barely coming out.

"I… I can't-…"

Saying those two words would be like agreeing with Viggo’s demise. Like accepting that hope has burned out and there is nothing left to save. That allowing him his peace is the only thing that can be done now.. Like… like saying it would be sealing the older man's fate. As though those two words carried the power to silence his heart in a mere snap of fingers.. Hiccup wasn't ready to do it. Not when Viggo showed him he has the ability to change. That this heart is not blackened and rotten through and through, and beyond repair. He can't… At his helpless defiance, a sudden fire lights up in those faded eyes as the older Viking's grip grows tighter again and an edge to the raspy voice raises goosebumps all over Hiccup.

" Promise me! "

Then…

"... Please…"

"I-…"

Tears were difficult to hold back at this point and one slipped out of its confines, soon followed by another on the other side, tracing a clean line in the dust on Hiccup’s face. The two newcomers share a crestfallen look, even Snotlout's expression morphs into something akin to sympathy despite his grouchy attitude at the start. Hiccup's knees turn softer but he refuses to fall down now. Instead, he keeps holding Viggo’s hand, gazing into his near-lifeless eyes, still hearing that voice in the back of his head. He was willing to die for you. He can be better. He earned another chance.. He doesn't deserve to go like this… And yet… Hiccup swallows down the lump in his throat and musters a broken whisper. If only to give the other Viking some peace of mind.

" ... I promise… "

Like a flip of a switch, the hard look on Viggo’s pale face smooths out into something soft and serene. Almost… happy to a degree. A smile plays on his bloodied lips as his eyes close, his breath leaving him in a slightly calmer exhale, coming back still in shallow heaves but ones far less sharp.. It's around that time Fishlegs comes back with a device similar to the one Gobber used to pull sea snake venom out of Snotlout during the whole… Lycanwing chaotic nonsense… His cousin seems to make a connection too as he cringes just at the mere sight of it, paling a little when he sees the size of the needle topping it.

"Look, I acted like I don't care and all but that's a huge ass needle…"

"It is and I hate it."

Agrees the masked Hunter - most disturbed by the looks of it - and the Flyer seems ready to faint again. And Hiccup can't say he likes it any more than any of them… His stomach twists sickeningly and he feels warmth flee his face. The vague idea of where the needle will be going in itself gave him the feeling like he had been stabbed and his imagination supplied him with the rest of the image not meant for the faint of heart. This needs to be done but… still!

"Oh, Gods.."

Hiccup cringes at a shiver crawling up his spine and Toothless grumbles in agreement, narrowing his eyes at the thing Fishlegs is holding. Behind them, Meatlug roars distressed and turns away not to watch while Hookfang watches with morbid curiosity. Quite frankly uncomfortable himself, Fishlegs tells the Hunter and Snotlout to hold Viggo down again just in case he moves. This is a delicate procedure that requires precision and any struggle is undesirable.

"You're fixing me up if I tear that muscle, Fishface."

Snotlout states grumpily but does as asked. Hiccup doesn't let go of Viggo’s hand and Toothless purrs softly, sniffing his unscarred cheek before Fishlegs gently coaxes the Night Fury away. His hand squeezes Viggo’s bare shoulder - tightly enough to draw attention and gently enough to cause no pain - prompting the fallen Chieftain to pry his eyes open to look at the healer when his name is called.

"Viggo, I'm going to try to help you. It's going to hurt but I need you to try and stay still.. Squeeze Hiccup's hand if you understand. Okay?"

A harsh swallow is the only answer at first but a moment later, Hiccup raises his eyebrows when he feels a requested squeeze for about two seconds before it loosens again. A nod from the leader of the Riders tells Fishlegs to proceed. And he does, with a wince. He leans down and putting one finger to Viggo’s side begins counting ribs down from the pit of his arm until he finds the right spot. The space between two ribs which he pointed out is where the sharp tip of the needle is directed after a swipe of alcohol-soaked gauze, which causes the other Hunter's eyes to widen in horror, Snotlout to frown in momentary confusion and the Flyer to avert their eyes just like Meatlug. Once more, Hiccup feels a squeeze, this time not an informative one. Viggo was bracing himself for the foretold pain, clenching his jaw and shutting his eyes.

"What the Thor are you-?!"

-is all the masked Hunter can say before the long, thin metal piece is driven into Viggo’s body. Subtly greenish hue colors Snotlout's face at the sight of it going in and the man helping him hold Viggo down is stunned in mute trepidation. A breathless groan is drawn from the patient whose eyes shoot fully open as though they were about to pop right out of his head. His entire body tenses up, frozen into utter stillness and his breathing stops altogether for a few excruciating seconds… before Fishlegs begins to pull the plunge of the device attached to the needle.

To Viggo, this short moment is a blessing in an ocean of agony he's been drowning in for the past… Thor knows how long. Everything feels like a blur. Could've been minutes or drawn out hours.. The spike of sharp pain that penetrated him seizes him in its crippling clutches. Drawing air appears unachievable but he daren't move as requested, even though it takes all his self restraint. His mouth agape, eyes glued to the distant ceiling, he doesn't stir, doesn't breathe… when suddenly the crushing pressure in his chest begins to elevate. Relief floods all over him despite the continuous suffering - it surfaces on his face too - as he finally draws in a deep, raspy breath. Oh, sweet abatement… Wonderful air escapes him easily and just as easily comes back in. And even though his heart is pounding madly, even though he's in a world of hurt… he finds it just delightful. A few more groans slip past his mouth when the cause of the pain followed by release from tightness stealing his breath away is withdrawn, then amidst murmurs and toneless voices he can hardly differentiate anymore he is lifted enough for large, warm hands to wrap something around his torso, passing it over one shoulder too.. and finally, all hands leave his vulnerable body. All… except for two, still wrapped around his.

"Odin's breath… You-... You did it… You saved his life!"

"Let's not slap each other's backs just yet…"

Fishlegs murmurs at astonished praise from one of the newly acquired unlikely allies while Hiccup heaves out a sigh as he looks at Viggo’s face. Covered in cold sweat again but almost fully relaxed now. He doesn't pay attention to anything happening around - save for Toothless nuzzling under his arm sympathetically - as he lets everything sink in. It's over… All that could've been done was done. Now.. it's up to Viggo whether he pulls through or not. So many things could go wrong.. His lung might not heal. It might collapse again. Wounds can get infected.. Or he might heal just fine. Only time will tell... For a short moment, his eyes open again and a small twinkle of an emotion once more impossible to define precedes him lifting his hand and resting it on Hiccup’s wrapped around his other.

"Hiccup… Take-... take care of her… for me…"

Nothing else needs to be said for Hiccup to understand what "her" the older man is referring to and why he said it like it's the end. Adrenaline was now surely starting to recede and the wounded Viking's exhausted body began to crash. So the dragon is a female.. The Dragon Master musters a broken smile when Viggo weakly pats the knuckles of his hands.

"I will… for as long as you need me to."

He adds a small, hopeful note at the end just as he feels the hand in his hold relax, and the one resting on top of his slides back down and the sweet unconsciousness finally claims its prize..

"...-now needs a comfortable place to rest and recover…"

Words finally get through to Hiccup who immediately perks up and comes with a proposal that is obvious in his head. He's brought Viggo here so sheltering the wounded Viking shall be his responsibility. Addressing the newcomers, Hiccup speaks his mind.

"We can lay him down in my hut. Come, I'll show-"

"Not so fast."

A hand of his friend suddenly grabs his arm as he gets up in preparation to leave. Only one perplexed stare from him was needed to prompt an explanation out of Fishlegs who isn't the only one glaring at him with disapproval. Snotlout and Toothless give him dirty looks too. What did I do?

" Snotlout will show them to your hut. Now is your turn. That arrow isn't gonna remove itself.."

Oh. The arrow.. Caught up in all this chaotic mess, Hiccup had nearly forgotten. But now that he was reminded, the sharp throbbing in the back of his shoulder returns with doubled force and a sardonic smile forces its way onto Hiccup’s face. All he can muster is a sarcastic chuckle and an obviously fake display of eagerness. Tonight.. is about to turn infinitely worse…

"Ohh… Greeeaaaat…"

Thor, give me strength…

Chapter Text

From beyond the distant horizon where the sky meets the sea, the radiance of dawn creeps up the dark sky, slowly turning it into a shade of rosy pink. An illusion of serenity and peace falls over the huts of Dragon's Edge in the first rays of the seemingly calm sunrise. In truth, a restless aura surrounds the island as morning takes its hold. The metal contraption, which is the Thunder Ear, in one of the vantage points remains unused today, no announcement of "good morning" to be made this time. Golden sunlight washes over the base of Dragon Riders, all of the defense formations, bridges and buildings. It creeps into the homes and shyly peeks through the windows like a sheepish child, bathing the interiors in warm hues. Its rays touch a fair-haired, morose Shieldmaiden kneeling in a dragon pen, her hand gently resting on the head of an electric dragon collapsed on the floor unmoving as her thumb moves across the black-and-purple scales in a caressing motion which remains unnoticed. And alongside the young woman, three other people stand nearby, peering into the pen with a mixture of uncertainty, curiosity and concern while the fourth Viking, the healer of Dragon's Edge finally joins them.

"How is the Skrill doing..?"

"Resting.. Luckily, the arrows didn't go deep."

Astrid's reply is quiet and morose as she keeps stroking the sleeping beast, gently as she is in worry of rousing it from slumber. No way to tell how it would react to waking up in pain, in a strange place, with people it doesn't know surrounding it. But the most probable reaction, which would be electrifying and lashing out at everything in sight plus torching multiple objects, was definitely not what any of the Riders wanted anytime soon. The Skrill's breath is deep and steady, eyes shut and the twin tips of the forked tongue stick out from the loosely closed maw. Never would Astrid admit it out loud but.. seeing this mighty creature, this dangerous and graceful dragon seizing and convulsing from the overdose of Dragon Root extract was… traumatizing. And forcing the antidote down the reptile's throat to remedy it during a short moment the tremors stopped, even more so. Thankfully, it's all over now and the arrows failed to cause major damage thanks to the fact they hit one of the hardest parts of the Skrill's body which was the back. A similar situation with the underbelly would definitely not have ended quite as good.. It probably would be similar to what the group had to witness happen to the Chieftain of the Dragon Hunters. Speaking of which… So many questions still linger. How did this happen? What about that lense? Why did Hiccup bring Viggo and the other two here and why was her lover so determined to save the life of the worst enemy they have faced so far? Why was Viggo in the state that he was in to begin with?! And all those questions could be answered by the only person that isn't here.

"And how's Hiccup..?"

"He's okay.. He had a little nick on his ear but nothing serious. I took care of his shoulder too and told him to get some rest."

"Hey, why does he get to sleep while we're stuck here with a dragon that tried to kill us all more than once?"

Snotlout complains and not without a reason. All of the Riders look positively dreadful due to the lack of proper rest. Everyone has had a rough night and it was evident in their dry eyes and sluggish movements. It was poor Fishlegs who looked the worst though, not that anyone found it strange. Blood still dotted his tunic here and there and he appeared weary beyond words. But he says not a word about it, just comes to look the currently unconscious Skrill over and rebuffs both Snotlout and Tuffnut who backs the other Viking up in his grievances.

"Yea, that's kinda unfair.. I wanna sleep too. Can we get a day off?"

"First of all, Hiccup is wounded. He has every right to rest before we do. Second, we still have things to do. Third, do you really think he's asleep right now?"

As much as Astrid hated to agree, Fishlegs is probably right. Ain't no way Hiccup is sleeping. If bets were to be placed, Astrid would assume the future Chief is now keeping a silent vigil at Viggo’s bedside for the same insane reason the man was brought here in the first place. Deep down, some residual anger stifled somewhat by the horrid experience of last night still simmers.. She still couldn't believe Hiccup thought it would be a good idea but then again, it was probably either this or leaving Viggo to die in some ditch, which she can't honestly see him doing despite everything this conniving bastard had done. One of Hiccup’s very noticeable character traits is just that. A huge heart with a capacity for more kindness than one could consider even possible. One of the many things Astrid loves so much about him… but just a thing that scares her all the same. Because she couldn't help an awful feeling that one day… this big heart is going to get Hiccup killed..

"Oh, right, I forgot he and Viggo are best buddies all of a sudden."

Multiple pairs of eyes look strangely at Snotlout standing with his arms crossed and clearly annoyed by the whole thing. All, in fact, except for Fishlegs who just turns his head down to examine the injured dragon for both the extent of the wounds and for information. Astrid gives the junior Jorgenson a cocked eyebrow. 

"What?"

"I was under the impression that A, Hiccup was just being Hiccup and B, Viggo doesn't exactly do the… 'buddies' thing."

She explains the reasoning behind her expression, making air quotes when saying "buddies". To deny something was going on between the two leaders would be a bold-faced lie but saying that was not exactly what Astrid would describe it as. To her, Viggo seemed like a friend repellent, actually, what with the whole "people are expendable" point of view and remorseless attitude. An outlook of this sort isn't exactly encouraging any bonds or close relationships. The man didn't pity his own brother and she could think of nothing that would change it aside from him suffering a brain injury and major personality alterations after falling into the volcano. And yet, something she can't quite understand must've happened at some point for last night to start making some sense. She isn't blind.. The arrows she pulled out of Viggo with her own hands… Those were Dragon Hunter arrows. Arrows used by his own men. Just like the ones that were pulled out of the Skrill. Eleven in total. And their positioning could mean a few things, the most probable of which were being shot while fleeing from something or an ambush and a sneak attack. An act of betrayal, maybe. Then again, there was the fact that it was him who got turned into a pincushion and not Hiccup, which was making next to no sense. Why prioritize an ally over the leader of the Riders? All of this created a ground for so much speculation but she chooses not to delve into it. After all, Hiccup will have to say something eventually.

"You should've seen what happened just after you left, Astrid. Things got way too emotional way too fast.."

Snotlout counters her explanation with a hint of what could've been pity or even sympathy in his slightly faltering at the end voice. Ruffnut crosses her arms, disgruntled at this revelation and Tuffnut looks no happier than she does.

"Okay, Snotlout, give it to us straight. What did we miss again?"

"Let's see… Discovery of Viggo's lung being all busted, a sappy deathbed confession and Fishface stabbing him with a needle the size of a tent pole! "

His voice changes in pitch and volume at the very end, which makes the twins pull disappointed and disheartened faces that they did miss all of the above while Astrid… feels her heart grow heavy all of a sudden. And she didn't miss the moment it happened. The moment she heard the words "sappy deathbed confession" be spoken. Lung all busted-... Had… assistance in wound care been the last time she'd seen the Hunter Chieftain alive..? Everything seemed to be calm when she was leaving for the stables! As the frankly strange realization dawns on her, Fishlegs shoots Snotlout a stare.

"It wasn't that big, you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"It. Was. Huge! And you just kinda-.."

Here, Hookfang's Rider makes a stabbing motion with his hand and a "krrk" noise, prompting a tired, dead stare from Fishlegs. Potential meanings of this conversation were many and all of them less than pleasant to imagine. Sure, Astrid resented Viggo with passion. He nearly killed every single one of her friends and their dragons, and her. He threatened Berk, drove Hiccup to obsession and paranoia, hurt more people and dragons than she could possibly count.. and yet, what she'd seen last night… The display of absolute vulnerability, of weakness and humanity coming from the same, cold and heartless man was something that awoke conflict inside of her. Distrust, loathing, a small grain of fear she'd never admit to… she felt it all. But something about Hiccup's tone, the desperation in his green eyes as he begged them to help.. and the way he tried to offer the dying man comfort even as small as it would be… Something about it was just so gut wrenching and heartbreaking in a way. To think that he, of all people, could die… Believing it to be impossible was silly but imagining it to be actually possible wasn't easy either. She promptly ignores the rest of the argument and grits her teeth before she asks the question she normally never would've asked but one she felt the need to voice. She needed to know. If only to push the abrupt anxiety at the uncertain fate of their archenemy.

"Speaking of Viggo. How… is he doing..?"

Bickering ceases and all eyes are first on her - bewildered - then on Fishlegs. Before coming to the stables to check on the Skrill, Fishlegs must've gone to Hiccup’s hut to assess the situation one last time, to see if something else can be gleaned or done. And his grim face speaks volumes even before he opens his mouth and sighs.

"He's, well… alive but for how long, I'm not sure. He's in really rough shape.."

"What happened to him anyway? Cause, Hiccup, I can get! There was a lot of Hunters going after him but can someone explain Viggo and the Skrill? Anybody? No?"

Tuffnut asks, arms unfolded and looking about for some clarification. One none of his friends are able to give him.. Shared uncertain glances between all Riders say it loud and clear that they haven't a faintest clue, much to the boy twin's evident disappointment shared by Ruffnut in turn.

"Why not just ask somebody who's actually been there?"

Sudden suggestion coming from a pen on the opposite side of the chamber draws the attention of everyone, prompting five heads to turn to look at the source of the slightly annoyed and slightly morose voice which is the Dragon Hunter who's earlier this morning introduced himself as Armas - now showing his unmasked face shaved clean - leaning lazily on the bars of the locked cell door, peering out at them all. Following his lead, in the pen next to him, the Flyer who has at this point removed his mask and helmet to reveal the features of a quite admittedly handsome and surprisingly young man with sharp features and a crossed with a horizontal scar nose which at some point may have been quite shapely but was now slightly crooked due to an apparent breakage of the cartilage. His hair - shoulder-long, black and windswept - compliments his neatly kept stubble. His overall look doesn't match the sinister dead silence that surrounds him as he looks at his fellow hostage addressing the Riders. Behind him, his yellow Singetail follows the example of all other dragons which settled in their pens for an early morning nap after a whole night of staying up.

Getting up from the floor by the Skrill, Astrid walks out to the main hall and - after locking the pen behind her just in case - approaches Armas staring at her with hardly any interest in his eyes. It had been a group decision to have those two and the dragon under lock and key in the eventuality that they would try something funny, until they prove to be trustworthy or at least that they aren't a threat, and… weirdly enough, both were okay with it but haven't specified why in any words other than "fair enough" accompanied by an accepting nod from the quiet Flyer. A short scrutiny performed by Astrid's keen blue eyes holding a piercing stare surprisingly coaxes no visible reaction as she replies.

"Alright then.. I am asking now. Care to share a little something?"

"I'm not telling you anything-.."

He snaps but before Astrid can form her glare of doom, he continues not missing a beat.

"...-but only because I have no bloody idea. I can tell you what I do know but I think you are going to be disappointed and pissed."

"Well.. Let's hear it then! Go on."

She encourages, trying her best to keep the annoyed tone out of her voice but judging by a raised eyebrow from the Flyer she was less than successful. Lack of sleep, stress and everything in between was getting to her and her attitude was sadly going to be a tad snappy despite her best efforts. Goodness, lying down feels like such a nice perspective.. Whether her tone was noticed (or minded) by the Hunter, the man didn't show a thing, simply shrugged.

"It all started with a recovery mission for a Dragon Eye lens. It turned out to be a ruse though. The true purpose was setting up bait."

"Bait? For who?"

Fishlegs cuts in, a note of curiosity audible in his voice as he does and their prisoner continues, the other listening in as well with a frown on his face. And Riders' faces fall in confusion at the next revelation. Listening and feeling this emotion increase in strength the more sparse information was given.

"Why, for Viggo, of course. You see.. Johann decided that my Chief has… outlived his usefulness. He ordered Krogan and the Flyers to seal the cave while Viggo was still inside. Some time later, someone sicced the damn Skrill on our outpost and as if that wasn't enough, we walked back inside after Johann took the beast down to find Viggo, who's been by all means dead for the past few days, holding Haddock hostage with a knife at his throat."

" Excuse me? "

"Alright, I get it, Hiccup lost his mind! Who would've seen that coming?"

Anger bubbles up to the surface anew as Astrid's hands ball into fists while Snotlout throws his hands up, declaring his cousin's possible insanity, to which Tuffnut and Ruffnut add their own opinion.

"Look, I joked about H coming over to our side with the Dragonfly-jumping-off-the-cliff thingy but…"

"Looks like we were right after all!"

With grins on their faces they butt their heads with a clang of their helmets meeting but Astrid ignores them. All she feels is subtly spiced with disbelief rage. Viggo held Hiccup hostage. With a knife at his throat! And yet Hiccup, after somehow getting out of there (probably thanks to Toothless), still decided to bring this psychopath here and save his pathetic hide. No, there has to be more to it. Either the guy is lying or something very complicated happened. Otherwise, why would Toothless act concerned about Viggo’s wellbeing? She'd seen how the Night Fury looked at the man. How he used his tail to ease Viggo’s body into Hiccup’s arms. Toothless would never do something like that to someone who held Hiccup at knife point just a few hours prior! Some logical explanation must exist and yet, she is angry. Her murderous glare of Ragnarok causes Fishlegs to shrink away, making a noise of distress but Armas wasn't done yet.

"I honestly thought he must've gotten a good one on the head if he thought coming back to the folks, who dropped a mountain on him and didn't even have the dignity to outright admit it was on purpose, would be a good idea. Not long after that, I was on my post when something exploded and the next time I saw Viggo was as he was staggering through the tunnel held up by your leader and with both the Night Fury and the Skrill trudging along.. They were exposed and outnumbered. And at that moment I decided that if there's a good moment to repay the debt I owed him, it would be then."

"What debt? If I may ask?"

Astrid pushes but upon giving it a quick thought gives the question a slightly less insistent nature with another, not to seem too demanding, considering that Armas showed willingness to tell her what he knew, even if it did make her angry, just as he predicted. As much as she felt the need to vent her frustrations, she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to do it on a cooperative prisoner. Sighing, Armas glances in the direction of the exit from the stables for a brief moment.

"Back when Krogan took your base over for a time, we were trying to retrieve the Dragon Eye from the volcano. After a few failed attempts, he forced Viggo and I to go down there. Chief spotted it sitting on a rock in the middle of the lava pool so we started to leap over the gaps. And uhh… some lava erupted too close to my face and I almost fell in. He.. didn't have to but-..."

A sigh breaks the recollection for a second before the Hunter looks Astrid dead in the eye.

"If it weren't for Viggo.. I wouldn't be here."

Silence filled the stables. Astrid's mind went blank. Some part of her didn't believe it, refused to accept what Armas just told her. This can't be true. "Altruistic" is the last thing she'd call Viggo Grimborn and she is fairly certain this isn't just her opinion. Imagining him going out of his way to save someone, especially one of his men he deemed replaceable, made her feel like she just entered some parallel, alternate universe. And judging by the looks on her friends' faces, she wasn't alone in this impression.

"Viggo saved your life??"

"Aye.. And he didn't even acknowledge me owing him one until I was the one to bring it up. Look, don't get me wrong, he's still a prick more often than not. But something changed after the whole Shellfire fiasco. I can't say what."

Armas concludes with a clueless shrug and a shake of his head.

"Yakdung."

Snotlout grumbles behind Astrid, to which the Hunter replies by crossing his arms and shooting him an unimpressed stare.

"You wanted me to talk and I did. Whether you believe it or not, that's your problem, not mine."

That answered… fewer questions than Astrid had hoped. But if the bit about Viggo saving a man is true, it gave her an idea why Hiccup may have considered helping him in the first place. On the other hand though, he can't have known about it, right? And that still doesn't explain the arrows or the Skrill, leaving them at the starting point. Well.. if Armas doesn't know, then maybe-...

"How about you? Can you shine some light on all this?"

She addresses the Flyer listening in on the conversation but the moment she does, his expression turns grim and his eyes flick downwards, avoiding any contact with the Riders.

"Rahim doesn't talk. Besides, he hasn't been on the team in quite a while. Poor bugger had to leg it and I hadn't heard from him until last night."

Armas speaks for the younger man, drawing Astrid's attention back to himself.

"Why? To all three of those in fact."

"Well… I dunno why exactly he deserted but not long after we lost control of the Edge, he and Viggo started to spend a lot of time together. Chatting, playing Maces and Talons.. kinda acting like good pals, which supported my theory that he might have hit his head on the way down to the volcano."

The half-hearted joke and a chuckle at the end fails to decrease the tension, evident by a hard stare from Astrid. The mention of Viggo once again acting friendly with someone gives her a red flag again. The man is a gameplayer. A manipulator in the worst shape possible. No way he was serious about forming a sincere friendship with anyone. Plus, the part about him and the Flyer - Rahim - chatting made her narrow her eyes. Something smells fishy here and it's not their dragons' breakfast.

"But why doesn't he talk?"

Here, Armas raises hands in a defensive manner.

"Hey, lady, that's not really my place to talk. That's a sensitive topic. If you want to know, ask him but I doubt he's gonna tell you anyway."

"No kidding…"

Astrid deadpans and glances over at the Flyer who turns his head away, letting his black hair fall over the side of his face to hide it. Shame. She could clearly see it without anyone pointing it out. The deeper they dig into this mess, the more confusing it becomes. And as much as she'd hate to disturb Hiccup's rest, they might need to prod him for answers and - what irks her to no end - Viggo himself as well, even if she would sooner lick Firefern than trust him. And that's provided he pulls through though, which is… currently uncertain to say the least. This thought still gives her a strange feeling she can't place. It felt… weird to think that Viggo could die as easily as any other man after everything he's put the Riders through and after everything he survived himself. Up until now, since she saw him sitting on the Titan Wing Singetail with Krogan, he seemed indestructible. The man survived a drop thought to be lethal and climbed out of the volcano with half of his face burned off. Surely, nothing would faze him now. To be proved wrong in such a sudden and violent way was jarring, to put it lightly.. And in the end, after everything she heard, she still didn't know what to think.

What she does know, is what she now must do.

"Fishlegs, keep an eye on those three and the Skrill. The rest of you guys, go get some rest. I'll go talk to Hiccup and let you know if I find something out.."

Unless he'd done the sensible thing and went to get some shut-eye. A chorus of enthusiastic "yes" coming from Snotlout and the Thorston twins is expected and they don't take longer than a minute before they are leaving for their huts for some well deserved sleep. Fishlegs watches them go, then sighs heavily.

"I'm sorry, Fishlegs, I know you want to rest too but you remember what happened last time we left those muttonheads in charge of a Skrill."

"I do. No need to remind me.."

The chubby man admits with a chuckle and gives his friend a tired smile.

"Good luck. And.. Do report to me how they're both doing while you're at it, okay?"

"Sure."

She returns the smile and turns to leave, for a moment considering calling Stormfly but.. After she ate her fill, the blue Deadly Nadder was fast asleep in her pen and Astrid didn't have a heart to wake her. The girl deserves that one too. After barely a second of pondering, Astrid decides to take a stroll instead. Won't harm me, so why not? She thinks as she sets out on her way to Hiccup’s abode.

Stuck in the dark on his post, the heir of Berk sits in a chair - rigid and taut like a bowstring - stubbornly watching over the wounded Hunter Chief. Counting seconds between each rise and fall of his chest, on watch for signs of lung recollapsing. Faint light of a single candle on a nightstand plays on each wrinkle and bump of the uneven surface of Viggo’s facial scar created by unforgiving fire. Shadows seem to make the old wound appear even more disturbing, highlighting each crevice and making every dip seem deeper than it truly is. Not a sign of awareness can be spotted.. Not a twitch, nor a groan.

Eyes trained on the man treading a dangerous line between life and death, Hiccup hardly blinks, in worry he might miss something important. Flickering candlelight, one which would usually bring him solace and warm comfort, makes the half-gloomy interior if his hut feel.. lonely and desolate. Every now and then, his attention would shift to the said candle with apprehension, as though it burning out and dousing the place in shadows would invite death in to claim the man so narrowly escaping it. Why is it still so dark..? It's been so long, where is the sun? Why hasn't dawn yet come?

The sound of a weak cough makes Hiccup’s head snap into its previous position, watching the wounded Viking hack and wheeze, crimson once again staining his lips which the Rider of the Night Fury carefully cleaned with a damp cloth a few hours ago. Panic rises again. Literally seconds separate him from leaping up to his feet and running to get Fishlegs when another horrific wheeze rings out before a long, heavy exhale leaves Viggo's body with a quiet moan…

… and he falls utterly still.

With a gasp, Hiccup snaps awake in his chair, a spike of slightly dulled pain shooting through his shoulder as he does. Chills crawling down his spine, the young Haddock directs a swift glance at Viggo - lying almost lifeless beneath the furs, anxiety peaking.. But a movement indicating breath takes almost all of it away. Hours passed since the medical emergency at the Clubhouse. Darkness has long receded from the creeping sunlight on the Eastern horizon and stars faded into the day only to prepare to resurface at night on the firmament, daylight slipping into the room and warming up colors around. The candle standing nearby has been extinguished by the boy himself with the first ray illuminating the dark. And right next to it, stands the game piece Viggo had given to his young adversary as what was meant to be a parting gift. The Accomplice. The final keepsake…

Frustrated with himself, Hiccup rubs his face, his tired eyes with one hand as his other arm is placed on a sling so that he can avoid straining his injury. He nodded off. Again. And once again, his fears were manifested in a short, half-lucid dream. That one would make it four… But still, Hiccup refused to allow sleep to creep in fully. Well, even if he wanted to, those dreams would not allow him to rest. 

Just a dream it may have been but the leading Rider still finds himself leaning in and placing his ear to Viggo’s chest. The sound of his heart racing madly makes Hiccup’s heave out a sigh. Reassured he readjusts himself in the seat next to his bed and looks at its occupant, feeling a sinking sensation in his gut once again. Words of his friend about the dire condition of the Hunter ring true, sadly… Looking at his once-enemy now, he felt.. strange. Even paler than usual because of how rarely he ever goes out, giving the sun few opportunities to leave any trace of color on him, Viggo seemed almost… translucent, with a dark web of veins faintly visible here and there. He'd bled so much… Red stained everything. Hands of the working Riders. Their gear. The towels… Everything. The shadows of weariness beneath Viggo’s eyes are far more apparent in contrast with the sheet-white skin. Past his pallid, parted lips (blood dribbling down his chin is still vivid in his mind..) the discoloration of the tongue was also apparent - more signs of the seriousness of the blood loss that occurred. All of this created a very unpleasant picture. Of a man once so imposing, charming to a fault and powerful both in physique and charisma… now so small and fragile. Vulnerable. Weak… Giving the impression that one uncareful touch could kill him. So.. unnatural. He almost didn't seem like himself anymore in that state. At least… his breathing was now steadier. Bandaged up chest rose and fell at even intervals, even if respective breaths weren't quite as deep as they ideally should be.

This short moment in silence allows Hiccup to finally take it all in. Viggo Grimborn - the same ruthless Dragon Hunter who tried to end him on multiple occasions and who was now collapsed on his bed - was ready to sacrifice himself for his archenemy. And all this after showing Hiccup he can change. That even the blackest and coldest of hearts are not always beyond help. That beneath all this… there is kindness. Kindness and courage. He wasn't a coward like Hiccup’s father Stoick rightfully at the time claimed. No. A coward isn't ready to face his end with his head held high and weapon in hand if only to give a chance to someone, especially someone who has been nothing but a problem to him. Has he finally, for once in his life full of cruelty and wicked schemes… told the truth? Did that Monstrous Nightmare truly change him enough to drive him away from his former beliefs? The way he rushed to the side of the Skrill when she was wounded despite his own pain and grave injuries speaks… a lot about such a possibility.

Sensing the distress and worry, Toothless comes to sit beside Hiccup and puts his head on his best friend's lap, purring softly to comfort him. A clever dragon like him understands the inner turmoil Hiccup is facing. Understands the doubts and the fear. And for that, the young Viking is grateful which he expresses by running his hand across the smooth, black scales on Toothless’s head.

"Thanks, Bud.."

He smiles and prompts the Night Fury to nuzzle a bit more into his side. A real treasure, this dragon. Hiccup would never say otherwise.. Keeping his hand just above Toothless’s eyes and occasionally moving it from side to side, he keeps looking at the wounded Viking slumped on top of several pillows and beneath furs and blankets to help his body temperature stay on correct level as the significant decrease in blood volumes made him more susceptible to cold and potential damage it could cause. Any minute Hiccup hoped to see a sign of life. Of improvement. Anything that would tell him that Viggo will live. He watched the darkened eyelids but they remained shut. Hands resting limp on the coverlets.. The only sign that the fallen Chieftain was in the land of the living at all was the slow movement of his chest as he drew air in and blew it out through his opened mouth. Disappointed young man looks down and rests his eyes on the unmoving hands of the former Dragon Hunter. And in a bout of sympathy brought by this pitiful presentation and a dull ache deep down, Hiccup once again takes one of the cold and still hands into his own, sharing what little warmth he can as a sign of support and (still admittedly surprising) loyalty forged through a mission to harm their mutual foe in what was supposed to be their final moments together before he-.. A sigh slips out at the vivid memory of his heart plummeting when he saw Viggo double over, making reality sink in…

“You’ll get through this… I believe in you. You survived falling into a volcano, no way a few arrows will kill you.”

He offers uselessly and unsurprisingly receives neither a verbal response nor even a slightest twitch of Viggo’s fingers. That’s what he felt. This sense of utter helplessness and inability to do anything. Hiccup hated feeling helpless and useless.. Feeling compelled to do something… but being unable to. Almost like when he was still the mockery of Berk. Despicable… And familiar in a way he resents with his entire being. This was the same feeling he had as he watched his dad pack Toothless onto a ship and sail with the entire village to meet their doom on the shores of Dragon Island… To meet the Red Death. And honestly, there wasn't much conviction in his voice either…

“Hiccup?”

A feminine voice and a knock on the doorframe rips him out of his thoughts. Hiccup glances back to the lower level and sees the owner of the voice who turns out to be Astrid standing in the doorway of the hut, one hand still raised to the wood she tapped her knuckle against and a rightfully concerned look on her face.

"Can I come in?"

"Y- yes, yes, of course! Be my guest."

He replies and waits until Astrid makes her way up a short flight of stairs and stands beside him. He knew why she came. Well.. she had multiple reasons but he'd guessed it right which one she'd be addressing first when one of her hands rests on his healthy shoulder.

"How are you..?"

"I'll survive, I guess…"

Hiccup murmurs grimly, still staring at Viggo as for a moment there he could've sworn his eyelids twitched but that could've been lack of sleep and anxiety getting into his head. Just a trick of light.. Sighing, Astrid gives Toothless a head-rub and gently moves her hand over Hiccup’s shoulder in a motion that takes away some of the tension in his muscles.

"Is the Skrill okay?"

He asks, looking up at his other half who gives him a reassuring smile.

"More or less. It's asleep for now and probably for the best."

"She."

"Hm?"

Astrid raises her eyebrows when Hiccup corrects her absentmindedly.

"The Skrill is a female."

"Okay, my mistake then. She is asleep. She's going to be sore when she wakes but she should be alright."

"That's good news for once…"

A beat of silence disrupted only by Viggo’s still slightly raspy breathing and a trill from Toothless still keeping his head in his human brother's lap falls over the hut. It almost seems to ring in Hiccup's ears for a few unbearable seconds before Astrid sighs and thankfully breaks it.

"And… how is-..?"

The name is not spoken but a vague gesture in the direction of the former Chieftain comatose on Hiccup’s cot as well as the context alone are enough for him to know who Astrid is referring to. So far, he's been trying his best to hold it together but the memory of what Viggo weakly asked of him in the Clubhouse, when he made the young Berkian give a word, along with Astrid's inquiry shattered the barrier he had put up to keep all the emotions at bay. With a huff, Hiccup lowers his head and lets go of Viggo’s hand in favor of running his fingers through his messed up hair, gripping the auburn strands hear the back of his head.

"Oh, Thor, this is such a mess… This is all my fault! I should've known better, I should've known they wouldn't buy it."

"Hiccup-.."

"And now he's dying because I didn't take it into consideration. Astrid, we-... I.. screwed up.. Bad…"

A sorrowful cooing noise comes from Toothless at those words and he noses Hiccup's cheek as though trying to say he is wrong and everything unfolding before his very eyes is not his fault. If only it was so easy to believe… Before he knows it, Astrid's arms are around him, pulling him against her chest in a hug, her chin resting on the crown of his head. One hand smoothing out his unkempt hair. Her warm embrace works like a charm, chasing creeping doubts away, if only for a time. When a sniffle escapes him before he can stop it, Astrid just holds him tighter.

"Don't blame yourself. I'm sure this wasn't really your fault.."

"How can you tell? You don't even know what happened there!"

Hiccup argues, pulling back enough to meet Astrid's eyes as she strokes his cheek, brushing a stray tear away with her thumb and pulling some of his hair away from his face. Words cannot express how grateful Hiccup is that she didn't come to remind him of everything Viggo did to harm them and their home, instead offering a shoulder to lean on and reassurance. And… she did come for answers too, by the looks of it.

"Well… Why don't you tell me then?"

Gentle suggestion at first makes Hiccup look away and at Viggo again - still not moving… - pondering. His friends deserve to know what happened. They need to know what happened. Not just to find out what part of their plan Krogan and Johann have reached but to see what Hiccup had seen. Of course, this would be nothing like witnessing it in person but.. it's not like they can go for another option. Asking Toothless to move for a moment, Hiccup shuffles on the chair to make some room. And Astrid - having picked up on the invitation - settles herself on the edge of the seat near him, putting a gentle arm around him, mindful of his injury as he sighs and begins to talk in a low, defeated tone, allowing her to chime in every now and then.

"... You probably already figured out that letter was from Viggo, not from my dad.."

"Yeah, I can't say it surprises me.."

"He wanted me to come alone because he knew that he wouldn't be able to reason with all of us when he was outnumbered. I… won't lie, he thrashed me a little when I refused to listen but that's beside the point."

Hiccup couldn't help a bitter chuckle at the still present ache in his side, trying not to pay attention to Astrid's raised eyebrow.

"He told me he was betrayed and wanted revenge on Krogan and Johann. He wanted my help in stealing the Dragon Eye and the lenses to make the two of them turn against each other. I wasn't going to agree, to be fair but he tossed a fish to Toothless and then made me think he'd poisoned him."

"What?!"

Shocked and violent reaction wasn't unexpected but Hiccup was ready to calm his lover. Though, he didn't do it exactly the way he planned it as he started to wave his free hand irritatedly.

"But apparently, knowing my Oleanders would've been helpful because I didn't know the red one isn't poisonous to dragons!"

A note of frustration in his voice makes Astrid relax a bit, especially when Toothless (much to his Rider's annoyance) lets out a quiet giggle, even though he was the main victim of this rather depraved "joke".

"Oh, no, don't laugh at me, Toothless! I was scared to death for you!"

The laugh is quickly followed by an apologetic warble and a small lick to Hiccup’s cheek which he rewards with a chin scratch and by pressing his forehead against Toothless’s.

"Yeah, it's okay, Bud.. He fooled us both, didn't he..?"

"Alright… so I know why you helped him. But that doesn't explain how you trained the Skrill and why Viggo is… well…"

Hiccup is thankful she didn't outright say it. He really is.. But she is right. That doesn't explain everything. Now… came time for dropping one of the heaviest parts of this story..

"... I know.. But the thing is, I didn't tame her."

"You didn't-.. Then-..."

Astrid loses her track and stumbles over her words, glancing between her future husband and Viggo lying still and oblivious to this conversation in the state of unconsciousness. She knows. But she understandably doesn't believe it.

" He did."

" Viggo tamed her? No no, Hiccup, you've gotta be kidding. Viggo? Viggo Grimborn trained a dragon? And not just any dragon, a Skrill?! "

"Trust me, I could hardly believe it and I was there, Astrid.."

"But how? The frozen Skrill was too aggressive to even be in his sights!"

Hiccup would lie if he said he wasn't stunned to see it. It's only fair Astrid would be stunned to hear it.

"We needed the Skrill to effectively fight off the Singetails as apparently it's their natural predator. At first I thought Viggo wanted me to help him capture and subjugate her but then… He held up his dagger and slowly moved it from left to right, explaining Skrills are drawn to metal. She seemed… almost hypnotized. He managed to lure her to himself and… Astrid, I was never more surprised until that point! He calmed her down and touched her. He did the hand-thing, Astrid. The hand-thing! "

Hiccup stresses, shaking his own hand in front of himself to strengthen the message and judging by the shocked look on Astrid's face, he succeeded. Sighing, he hangs his head, his gaze growing distant when he recalls what he'd heard right after this bewildering scene.

"... 'There is no way I would torture this dragon'... That's what he said. And the way he looked at her… I never imagined him looking at anyone, much less at a dragon with such a soft gaze!"

"And… you're sure it was not a trick to get you to trust him?"

A short ironic laugh comes up, surprising Astrid a little.

"Funny you should say that. This was a part of his plan. The Skrill was supposed to cause a panic while we sneak into the cave. And in case we got caught, Viggo was going to pretend to double-cross me and take me hostage to lull Johann into a false sense of security."

Some understanding dawned on Astrid's face but still, apprehension shone in her eyes, indicating she didn't like the idea at all. And here.. was where it started to go downhill.

"While they locked me up, Viggo slipped me the key to the cage and shackles. Please don't ask me how, I have no idea how he keeps doing that.. But then… Johann ordered Krogan to kill me."

A frown on her face, her fists clenching.

"And.. for a moment there I thought it was over. But Viggo stopped him. Then left with them to discuss their next move. I won't lie, Astrid… I thought if he was going to turn on me, it would be then. But he didn't.. He followed the plan to the letter, providing a distraction while I followed his tips to find the Dragon Eye.."

The hard look softened a little and a warm hand rested on the front of Hiccup’s tunic, just over his heart which was now beating fast as he approached the inevitable.. The hopeful note in her voice only makes it worse for the future Chief…

"Did… did you find it?"

"... No… Johann figured us out at the very start. I was sure Viggo tricked me again but… He came back to me with the Skrill following him almost like Toothless always follows me.. I…"

Inwardly, Hiccup curses his voice for breaking as his composure slips with what he says next.

"... accused him of betrayal… but he then told me the truth about the Red Oleander. And.. he said something, I'll never forget…"

Voice of his imagination, Viggo's voice softly intones those words that puzzled both Hiccup and Toothless to no end. And now… it makes his heart ache anew when that image once again appears in front of him even as he turns his gaze to Viggo’s closed eyes as though to lock eyes with him. Hoping beyond hope… that any second now, he would awaken and look up. Give a sign. Anything…

"He looked at Toothless almost with reverence and he said… 'I would never harm such a magnificent creature'..."

In agreement with him, Toothless croons sadly and his dilated pupils flick over to Viggo too. The face Astrid pulls is ironically similar to what Hiccup imagined was on his own face when those words were spoken. Her lips part in desire to ask something but she cannot seem to find words to form the question, absolutely flabbergasted.

"And that's still not all… He told me that he survived Johann's betrayal thanks to a Monstrous Nightmare.. I knew there was something off about him as he was saying it. His voice sounded rough and… he was more honest than I think I've ever seen. He claimed I taught him to respect dragons as equals even though he spent his whole life hunting them. And that's when-... He stumbled-..."

"Hiccup…"

"It was then that Johann's men located us. And Viggo-... He-... He said he'll… stop them. To give me a chance to escape. Astrid, he tried to sacrifice himself. For me! I couldn't leave him there. I just couldn't…"

No longer could Hiccup hold his emotions in check. With the first harsh sob that escaped him, he found himself burying his face into Astrid's chest, Toothless pushing his head under his arm and purring to comfort him. Coherent speech begins to elude him completely now as he lets his bottled up emotions loose.

"I- I had to! I… I couldn't-... And he kept trying to shield me and-... Astrid-… I had known Johann my whole life.. I should've-... I should've-..!"

A soft kiss to his forehead and a delicate caress on his head fail to help him regain his composure but both gestures of affection are much welcome nonetheless.. As much as the words Astrid whispers into his hair.

"Shh… The man you had known was a lie, Hiccup. He was nothing like who he is now… You can't have known."

"Astrid if-.. If he dies-..."

"He can make it, Hiccup. He's been too big a thorn in our side to just quit like that.."

The attempt at humor sadly doesn't have the desired result as the leader of the Riders only leans more into her hold. Unknown to Hiccup, as Astrid holds him, her gaze drifts to his bed and to the man collapsed in it. Unconsciousness and pale complexion create an illusion which makes him appear so much smaller. So much more vulnerable. Trust is not something Astrid is quite ready to give. Trust, once so viciously broken, needs time to be rebuilt.. But all she'd just heard from Hiccup solves just a fragment of the inner conflict. In her blue eyes, a spark ignites. A spark of new respect.. The chances of it all being a charade are slimming significantly. No one would risk such a close brush with death just to trick someone. Of course, pursuing an alliance with the Dragon Riders could still be just to further his own agenda and the sustained injuries could've been a complete accident. Time will show, should his body win this fight and take the lead in this dance with death. As Astrid stares at the comatose Hunter, she dares to invite the tiniest of smiles when for just a split of a second, she sees his eyebrows twitch and his head just barely moves to the right, gently stoking the cinders of fading hope. In her mind, two short words formulate. Words she isn't ready to say out loud just yet. But ones she might one day voice if fate allows her an opportunity. Not opening her mouth, she says it just with her grateful eyes. For his uncharacteristic loyalty to her beloved… she has to give him at least that much.

Thank you…

Chapter Text

Seconds tick by. Seconds turn into minutes and minutes into hours as morning progresses painstakingly slowly into noon and then early afternoon. Sun crawls across the sky with the passage of time and Dragon's Edge gradually begins to return to life when its residents rise from their respective beds after their short but much welcome nap. Throughout this whole time Hiccup would continue to nod off and jerk right back awake when anxious thoughts would creep in again, depriving him of much needed rest. Astrid's attempts at persuading him to go get some sleep turned out to be futile, even when she offered to lend him her bed and keep watch in his stead. Hiccup refused to leave his hut because should something happen, if Viggo - Gods forbid - were to pass and he was just… sleeping somewhere… he isn't sure if he would be able to live with the guilt. His own attempts at getting Astrid to go and sleep were also less than successful. In the end, she ended up dozing off, leaned against him and Hiccup didn't move not only in worry of waking her but also that movement would cause her to fall off the chair. So instead,  he held her against his side, grateful for her being there, even if currently dreaming.. Near his real foot, Toothless curled up and also shut his eyes to rest but his ears would twitch at the most subtle of sounds. Always on high alert.

Weariness has swept a handful of sand underneath Hiccup's eyelids, causing him to reach up to try and rub it away. Not that it helped at all.. The stinging sensation was actually getting worse and his vision blurry if he rubbed too much, instead. A torture, to be so tired and yet unable to sleep… Feels almost like during Midnight Sun. Before she slipped into the comfy hold of sleep, Astrid made a comment that he's starting to look like Viggo with those dark eye bags forming, in a final attempt to convince him to sleep. Which not only was an unfortunate failure on her part but also made Hiccup wonder. Over the course of the two days he's been with Viggo on a revenge mission, the only time this man's eyes were closed was when he'd blink. In his wariness of the Hunter and concern for Toothless, Hiccup didn't really allow himself to rest either so he would know well. And considering he always had those shadows framing his eyes… some part of Hiccup started to wonder if Viggo ever sleeps. It's silly, of course, everyone needs to sleep. But that question still hovered nevertheless. Because he sure never looked like it. A small voice in the back of his head dares to joke that at least the man is asleep now but it's quickly silenced. It's not exactly the good, restful kind of sleep he needs.. Hiccup thinks to himself bitterly as he once again glances up at Viggo. And a short gasp escapes him when he does.

Because Viggo’s eyes are open.

Half-lidded and blankly staring up at the ceiling. Pupils dilated like those of a dragon high on Nip, his mouth still slightly ajar. At first, Hiccup is too stunned, almost inclined to believe shadows are playing tricks on him as he watches the former Hunter gawk at nothing in particular. But when the wounded man swallows thickly and takes a deeper breath, he snaps out of it. As much as he hoped to see some sign of improvement, he just… wasn't expecting Viggo to be awake so soon after all the blood he lost over the course of last night. His sudden movement startles both Toothless and Astrid awake. The Night Fury perks up and first sleepily looks at him, then at the gravely wounded Viking and upon making the same discovery as his Rider, his ear nubs take on a vertical position and a surprised coo rings out. Astrid's reaction comes much slower as she comes to suddenly but from slightly deeper sleep than the black dragon, blinking with confusion and mild annoyance at having her nap interrupted.

"Mmm… Hiccup, what-…?"

She mumbles, while rubbing her eye with the base of her palm and yawning but Hiccup doesn't answer. Not that he doesn't intend to, no. But an answer comes by itself before he can deliver it.

"... Nnn… Ghh… Cold…"

For the first time in long hours, the first coherent word spills from Viggo’s pale lips and floats into the ether, making Astrid snap instantly awake in just as much shock as Hiccup felt. Both Riders are up on their feet in a tick and the young Haddock is immediately at Viggo’s side, in disbelief and with elation beginning to brew inside of him. But one which quickly simmers down when Viggo’s cold fingers dig into the furs and grip so tightly his hands shake and knuckles turn white as his clammy face scrunches up in agony, only a fraction of which is expressed by a miserable whimper, uncharacteristic of the great mastermind that was the Chieftain of the Dragon Hunters.

"Burns… It burns-..! But I… f- feel so cold…"

"What's happening..?"

"Viggo, calm down, hey… It's okay. Look at me.."

Hiccup tries, gently laying a hand on Viggo’s bandaged shoulder so as to neither aggravate him nor disturb any of the wounds by an uncareful touch. But he never expected the man to shudder as he continued to ramble on - clearly delirious - with a sheen of cold sweat upon his brow furrowed in apparent pain, his fearful, glossy eyes looking at something no one else can perceive, breath speeding up all over again. His words are half-muttered and mixing up, failing to create a comprehensible whole.

"R- run… Fire… So cold. I have to-... I- I can't see!"

Viggo all but cries at the end, one hand releasing the coverlets in favor of going up to his face. Both Vikings and the Night Fury flinch when Viggo’s fingers start to scrape and claw against the scar on his face as if trying to peel it off as he continues to weakly moan. If his fingernails were longer, he would hurt himself in doing so.

"I can't… see! Off, get it off, AGHHHHH, it burns-..! "

"W- whoa, hey, calm down, Viggo,  just… calm down!"

Hiccup tries again, this time getting a hold of Viggo’s wrist whilst the man coughs and whimpers. Accomplishing his goal is not overly hard, there is barely any resistance as he manages to gently ease the scratching hand away from the pink, warped flesh. The same hand which held his. The same hand covered in aged burns too but not nearly half as severe as the ones on his face which he seemed to try and scrub off as irrational as it might sound. Fishlegs warned that something of the sort might happen - that in Viggo’s condition a state of half-awareness and delirium is likely to occur - but the warning did not prepare him for that. Thankfully, his friend left something just for an occasion like this.

"Astrid, get me that cup from the shelf over there."

With a nod, his betrothed rushes towards the pinpointed shelf while he tries to think of a way to calm the wounded Hunter who continues to squirm and sob, tears now appearing in the corners of his eyes and trickling down his temples when he tilts his head back. The Rider of the Night Fury - uncertain what to really say or do - bends down to a bucket of clean water that was left at the side of the bed and picks a piece of cloth from it, deciding to roll with the motion. The delirious man flinches at first when Hiccup gently dabs at his forehead, picking the sweat from his skin in a futile attempt at giving himself a feeling that he isn't completely useless and that he is doing something to help Viggo, as little as it might be. Toothless, meanwhile, rounds the bed and noses the other hand still gripping onto the furs, letting out a subtle purr.

"... Cold… Ghh… P- Pain.. "

"Don't talk. Just breathe…"

Hiccup says while continuing to touch Viggo’s forehead with the wet rag and thankfully, under the soft brushes, the wounded Viking gradually relaxes and for the first time since he semi-woke up, his unfocused eyes land on Hiccup. The look in them, however, is distant and not-all-there as he huffs in what appears to be incredulity. Not able to do much more, Hiccup offers him a broken smile as Astrid comes up with the cup in her hands.

"Hi-... Hiccup..?"

"See? I'm here, you're gonna be okay.."

"Wh-... Whather…"

Viggo eventually slurs and for a moment closes his eyes again, bringing Hiccup’s attention to his dry lips. It wasn't very hard to figure out what he meant even if the word is muttered out and on the verge of being unintelligible. All things considered, he must be unbearably thirsty. Accepting the cup from Astrid, he asks her to give him a hand as he can't really do this with one arm in a sling. Careful not to cause unnecessary pain, Astrid slips her hand under Viggo’s head to lift him up a bit, frowning at how it falls back without any strength as a weak groan flees his restraint. It will never fail to bring a twinge into Hiccup’s chest to see Viggo this powerless and in grave need to rely on others to survive. It's almost like handling a ragdoll… When Astrid holds his head in a safe position which decreases the risk of him choking, Hiccup brings the edge of the wooden cup to his lower lip, eliciting an immediate response of him opening his mouth in an almost frantic manner at the first touch. This desperate eagerness only makes Hiccup cringe with guilt at the realization. Viggo most likely expects just the requested water. Oh, he is not going to be happy.

As predicted, the moment the liquid touches his tongue, Viggo gags and sputters, his eyebrows pulling together into a displeased frown. Hiccup sighs sympathetically but doesn't let up. This needs to be done.

"I know, I know, it's terrible, I'm sorry, but it's for your own good."

Few medicines have a barely acceptable taste and even fewer are savory. This one is no exception. Hiccup remembers all too well the odd brews Gothi would give him for the post-amputation pains while he recovered. Absolutely revolting but worked like a charm. It takes a little bit of faint struggle to get the rest of the concoction down his throat but once it's done, Astrid lowers him back into the pillows where he proceeds to shiver, the quiver audible in his shaky breath, turning his head away with a disgusted grimace, eyes clenched shut.

"What was in it? "

Astrid asks almost awed when Hiccup hands her the cup back and she inspects it for a moment by sniffing it (which makes her scrunch up her nose in distaste) before putting it away on the nightstand.

"Fishlegs mixed it up for the pain. Said it would help him go back to sleep if he was hurting too bad.."

"I don't know what he put in there but I'm glad I wasn't the one drinking it."

She comments with her arms crossed, regarding Viggo who suddenly startled them both by almost shooting upright in a fit of cough, his eyes opening briefly, and then falling right back with a strained moan. Toothless whines sadly and Hiccup can immediately tell why. All it took was one look at red droplets shining upon Viggo’s lip like rubies the man seems to be so fond of. Even though Fishlegs said it might still happen without anything life-threatening behind it considering there was an internal injury, instructing Hiccup to be on watch for the recurrence of the lung collapse, concern still wormed its way into the younger Viking's stomach. Breathing was fast but regular and he didn't show the disconcerting symptoms that manifested the night before, at least so far. Yet, by now, Hiccup was feeling positively sick from all the stress.. Either way, he picks up the damp cloth again and cleans the blood off just like he had before. But even as he's done and pulls the furs higher up Viggo’s bandaged chest to try and remedy the chills, Hiccup hovers. Still unable to shake the feeling that somehow… this is his fault. As though reading his thoughts, Astrid places a comforting hand on his shoulder, the other finding its way to the spot below his clavicle as she offers him a reassuring smile.

"He'll pull through. He's too stubborn not to."

"To be honest.. I was expecting a lecture when you came here. Not… this."

Hiccup musters a tiny bit of humor, to which Astrid shoots him a half-serious stare.

"And you sure deserve one. Just… not right now."

"Yeah.. It really is a bad time, isn't it?"

"Terrible."

She agrees as Hiccup turns away to go back to his chair when a sudden shaky grip around his wrist stops him.

"... Don't leave…"

A weak, broken whisper feels like another arrow hitting him in the middle of his sternum. The desperation, the fear and worry.. Even if it's just because of the blood loss, this is still so wrong and so not like Viggo that it hurts him on a whole new level. Turning back to look down, he sees those eyes empty of the familiar confident spark, staring up at him. Almost… begging.

"Viggo, I'm not gonna-..."

"Please, I'm… so- sorry…"

As if all recent surprises weren't enough, another one drops and leaves both humans and the dragon in the room absolutely stumped. Never, not in a thousand years did Hiccup expect to hear any sort of apology coming from Viggo and especially not one that sounded so… genuine. It's the blood loss and pain talking. He reminds himself and frowns, once more grimly regarding the hand clamped around his wrist. He had no intention to go anywhere. How could he, after all? But very quickly, he realizes the coming of surprises is yet to end when Viggo winces in pain for a moment and breathes-...

"... I don't-… want to. To die here… Alone…"

This felt like getting a log dropped on the head and it left Hiccup floored. As Viggo spoke those words, this exclamation of fear of death, his already weak voice cracked like a piece of damaged clay pottery. Briefly, Hiccup exchanges glances with Toothless on the other side of the bed. They don't speak the same language but they don't need words or any noises to understand each other. This wordless exchange conveying bewilderment and pity has the Night Fury gently lower his head to the cot right next to Viggo’s hand, taking care not to shift the bedding and cause the man pain. And Hiccup sighs, taking a seat across from his best friend, never making an attempt to free his wrist from the however weak grasp.

"I'm not gonna leave, Viggo… I'm right here."

He says quietly, instead moving his hand in a way that allows him to offer a reassuring squeeze in return. Those words and his firm hold take away some of the fear of the former Hunter. And Hiccup stays like this until the medicine starts working and Viggo gradually drifts off, then - with a slightly calmer exhale - he falls back asleep the moment pain lets him out of its clutches. For a short, frightening moment, he is completely still but only for a moment before his chest rises, and then falls. Rises… and falls… He's breathing, still a bit quicker than a sleeping man should but steadily. Thank Thor…

"It's… weird…"

Astrid's hesitant voice makes Hiccup’s head turn to face her. Her confusion confuses him and so he inquires.

"What is?"

"Seeing Viggo like this. I mean.. after all we've been through with him it's almost like-… It just doesn't feel right.."

Hiccup understands. He knows exactly what she means.. Just a few days ago, he didn't believe it was possible to down Viggo Grimborn. That there was not a thing that could truly harm him, minus the lava burn. The fact he survived it at all was astounding and only solidifying the belief nothing can break this man. And here he is now.. Delirious, in pain and plainly afraid as impossible as it seemed.

"Yeah, tell me about it…"

"... I'm guessing your answer about going to rest is still no."

Her guess was correct. Even under Toothless’s begging and sharp stare which screamed "go rest" at him, Hiccup collapses back into his previous seat with a deep and heavy sigh.

"I can't leave him, Astrid. Not yet. You've seen what just happened.. A- And if he starts getting worse when I'm gone-... I just can't. I owe him that much."

Nothing will change his mind, he can safely say it. The thought of leaving and then coming back to the hut only to find Viggo cold, dead and gone… It was petrifying. A few months ago, he would've been relieved to hear of Viggo's death. It would mean an end to so many problems. And even though he was disheartened when Viggo fell presumably to his death.. Hiccup still felt an odd weight lift off his shoulders at the thought that the war might have just ended before his very eyes. Now though… Now it's a whole nother story. No need to look at Astrid for Hiccup to know she bears an expression which is a mixture between grimness and exasperation. The kind of face she always has when she is both worried for her betrothed and annoyed at his shenanigans. As she has the right to, considering her future husband is one of the most boar-headed Vikings out there while being way too kind for his own good. And it once again made him think. Perhaps.. Viggo was right to say what he said back at this campfire? To say he is too good.. But then again, how can Hiccup change that? This is just how he is, his nature. To change it, would be to erase one of the major parts that make him… well… him. At the same time though..

You're more ruthless than you realize.

Is he though? If he can help it, Hiccup is an individual who never goes for the kill. Well… maybe except for that one time he thought Dagur made him poison and kill Toothless but blind rage and despair that great can turn anyone into a violent mockery of themselves. But does he really have it in him? This ruthlessness? Back then when he attacked Viggo.. he wasn't quite sure what he was aiming to achieve. Was he going to actually kill the man? Probably not.. Some part of him is proud that he was able to make Viggo - a man both taller and more powerful in physique - slide back under his push. But now that he thinks about it… it was weird. Because as much as he is pleased with all the muscle he'd gained from working and flying, this shouldn't have happened. He would never think it would be possible. But regardless of it, even if given a chance and a reason (of which he had plenty) he may have tried but in the end… he doubts he would have the stomach to drive the blade through Viggo's heart.. A hand rests on his shoulder and he trails along the slender but well muscled arm with bindings to his beloved whose expression now shifted to sympathy.

"I'll get you something to eat and go talk to Fishlegs for a bit. Sounds good?"

A gurgling sound in his still knotted stomach gave him the impression that Astrid had the right idea. He hasn't eaten much in the last two days and only now he realized how hungry he really is. Lunch would be amazing.

"More than good. Thanks, Astrid.."

He smiles up at her, placing his hand on the one upon his shoulder. What follows is a gentle touch on his cheek and a kiss on the temple.

"Anytime, babe. But seriously, Hiccup."

She sighs when she pulls away, eyeing him with her still tired gaze. Those few hours of a nap in a questionably spine-friendly position were definitely too little.

"You need to sleep eventually. It won't be good if you collapse right next to him."

"Yeah… Yeah, I know."

Hiccup sighs in response but makes no promise to do as suggested, which earns disapproving looks both from her and from Toothless staring at him over the blankets. But nothing more comes from his betrothed who walks away, her hand lingering on his shoulder until her arm cannot reach it anymore. Her footsteps head towards the staircase slowly… until they stop.

"For all our sakes', Hiccup… I hope you haven't misjudged him this time…"

In a pit that formed in his chest, a cold feeling of worry curls up at the words that Astrid leaves him with before walking downstairs. Not long after, the sound of her footsteps dies down when she leaves the hut and strides towards wherever Fishlegs currently might be. The quiet hope Astrid voiced isn't a hurtful one. Hiccup cannot deny her worry is valid and he honestly feels it as well. Because even despite everything he'd witnessed during the infiltration mission, the past experiences he's had with Viggo still sit at the back of his head, burned deeply into his memory. Months of hurt and cruelty cannot be erased by two days of showing hints of a change for the better. He believes the former Chieftain can change and tried to do so back then. He was willing to give another chance. But at the same, he understands perfectly well why he is currently the only one and why silent doubt still creeped inside of his mind. Wounds of betrayal heal long and leave horrible scars that can remain for years or for a lifetime. That one hope… left him with more conflicted feelings than when he saw Viggo calm a Skrill down with soft voice and a gentle hand. With another sigh, Hiccup looks at the now relaxed but still sickly face of the man who almost sacrificed his life for him.

"I do hope so too, Astrid …"

He hums to himself under Toothless’s puzzled glance. No. He doesn't hope. He believes. What he does hope.. is that it won't be his downfall. But deep down… somehow he knows it won't be. To be proved right or wrong in this assumption, however, he must now arm himself with patience…

… and wait.

"He tamed a Skrill?! Astrid, this is incredible, I thought they're too aggressive to train!"

"I know, right? This was basically my reaction, except less geeking out, more disbelief."

"So, let me get this straight.."

Snotlout interrupts the exchange between Astrid and Fishlegs - regarding the previously denied story due to the severe lack of time caused by Viggo literally bleeding out on their table - with a hint of doubt on his face but one almost completely overshadowed by astonishment.

"Viggo convinced Hiccup that Toothless was dying to get his help, then found a Skrill to fight the Flyers and allow the two of them an opportunity to sneak in but the plan went horribly because Johann was onto Viggo from the moment they stepped inside."

"That's more or less what he told me.."

Astrid confirms, to Snotlout's growing bewilderment, while Ruff and Tuff keep fawning over the Skrill that currently was still lying on the floor in the pen where Fishlegs has just been checking the arrow wounds again. Previous inspections told him it is an otherwise healthy mature female. Her beautiful black and violet scales have a proper sheen to them and they don't seem to have any prominent scars other than an occasional claw or bite mark if he looked closely enough so she probably rarely came into contact with humans if at all. She appears to be well fed and well built. The discoveries he made regarding the most recent wounds though, were a little less pleasing. Seven punctures on her back and one on her thigh. Arrow wounds. From what Armas told them before, one would make sense. But eight of those? That seems excessive, even for a Skrill.

There are few things that make Fishlegs mad but the scuff marks from what appeared to be chains on the back of this beautiful dragon's neck have done it. Any mistreatment to any dragon always infuriated him to no end. Hopefully she never has to go through something like this ever again. Well… at least she is safe now, which sadly can't be said about anyone in the vicinity once she wakes up and sees all those strangers around her. Considering how skittish and easily aggravated Skrills are, this is more than likely to end in disaster. Whole Edge could benefit from someone familiar being around when she comes round but Hiccup - from what he's seen himself and then heard from Astrid - stubbornly refuses to leave Viggo’s side as long as his fate remains uncertain. Ideally, it should actually be the Hunter Chief handling this dragon. If he tamed her, he'd know what to do and she likely would be more willing to settle down and not lash out. But alas.. As the healer is working on gently repeating the cleaning process for the arrow wounds - cringing when the muscles beneath his touches would shiver and spasm in an unconscious response to a questionably pleasant sensation of it, Tuffnut speaks his mind about what Astrid just told them.

"That… is awesome! Who knew he had that in him? I sure didn't!"

Ruffnut nods eagerly with an affirmative sound to express her agreement as well as she is leaning on the side of the pen, watching the sleeping Skrill with adoration.

"Me neither! You know… She's honestly kinda cute in a rough and terrifying way.. Can we keep her?"

"What, no! "

Exclamation of surprise and denial from the Astrid has the opposite result and only makes the twins even more excited over the new potential addition to the populace of Dragon's Edge. Any new dragon was an ocean of childlike joy. The more dangerous and the bigger potential for destruction, the better in their opinion. And boy, if the Skrill didn't have that potential. They have all seen it firsthand multiple times.

"Come oooon! We're gonna take good care of her, don't be a killjoy!

"Oh, Hel no! I'm not sharing a base with a lightning-breathing, sociopath murder machine! Especially when you two are in charge of it!"

Snotlout protests, evidently not thrilled about keeping a Skrill around and for good reasons.

"No! It's not my decision to make, Ruff! That's technically Viggo’s dragon, not mine, weird as it may be."

"But if he dies, we're keeping her, right?"

"Tuffnut!"

Astrid snaps at the insensitivity. Many things could be said about the twins and one of the aforementioned many things was certainly that they lack tact and subtlety. One does not talk like this about a man who's on the brink just a few huts away and fighting for his life, especially considering what happened the night before, as hard to believe as it still was. Fishlegs backs Astrid up without dallying, equally as outraged but concealing it far better with a calmer tone.

"First of all, what is wrong with you? Second, if Viggo dies, that is going to be the Skrill's choice and I doubt that she would consider staying when nothing would be keeping her here."

"If he trained her, we can do it too, right? Can't be that hard if she's already tamed."

"Besides, you did say Singetails have a hard time fighting Skrills so we now have a secret super weapon!"

"Not so secret if everyone knows about it, Ruff."

Astrid deadpans at the girl twin, giving her brother a side eye, clearly skeptical about his overconfidence and Fishlegs has to agree. A dragon tamed by one person does not necessarily have to like anyone else. That's how Toothless was when the only human he's ever had contact with was Hiccup (Astrid and Stoick can most definitely confirm it). The whole argument is halted for a brief moment when another person joins the conversation, that being a rather stunned Armas.

"Viggo tamed a dragon.. That's a sentence I never thought I'd hear in my life. "

"You're not the only one, believe me."

Fishlegs sighs and receives a wistful nod in response, followed by a more contemplative reply as he scratched beneath his spiked helmet.

"You know… A few months ago I probably would've scorned that kind of thing but…"

A small spark of curiosity lights up in the chubby blonde's eyes when the caged Hunter says that. Could it be a sign of another man beginning to understand? Leaving the slumbering female's side for a moment, he decides to explore it more.

"But-..?"

"Two 'but's, actually. First, the fact that he did that to a Skrill is honestly kinda impressive. They are vicious jerks, those dragons."

"Yeah, we know that. No need to tell us."

Snotlout cuts in, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his head. And it's not a lie. Skrills are vicious and even though Fishlegs wouldn't ever call them that out loud, they can most definitely be ornery jerks. And when an ornery jerk can also spit lightning, it's inevitably going to turn really ugly really quick.

"And two… Look, dragon hunting's been my entire life. But I'm not blind. I've seen what that dragon did for him of its own free will. It makes one think, you know?"

"Is that so, mister Hunter?"

Ruffnut inquires while sauntering over to the pen with her brother under a confused (and mildly unnerved) stare from Armas when his pen door is flanked by the twins.

"Could it be… you are considering giving it a shot yourself?"

"If so, you are in luck, my good sir! You've come to the right place!"

"What, no, what the Thor?"

The Hunter pulls back a bit, flabbergasted, and causing the Thorstons to pout a bit when he explains the reason behind his quick and negative response.

"I am not getting on another flying lizard if you paid me for it. I've a bad fear of heights and I get air sick very easily. Rahim and his bruised waist are my witnesses."

The Flyer in question looks up from where he was sitting on the floor near his Singetail splayed out on its back, rumbling and lolling its tongue out lazily as he rapped its underbelly, and shoots Armas a disapproving scowl. The sight was admittedly endearing. Seeing a fierce and dangerous dragon that is a Singetail just enjoying pets from Rahim. It appeared no different than a relationship of any of the Riders with their dragons (maybe save for Hookfang and Snotlout, those two wrestle and annoy each other on a daily basis) which was bizarre to an extent. The twins insist a little more, even as the Hunter gives them both a hard stare.

"First time can be scary but you get used to it."

"You can work this out, I'm sure of it."

"No, you knobheads!"

He snaps annoyedly.

"This ain't something I can 'work out'! I have a fear of heights. Had it for my whole life and it only got worse after nearly falling into the damn lava! I am not sitting on another flying dragon. Period. "

While this argument goes on and Astrid regards it tired and mildly amused, Fishlegs turns to regard Rahim for a few more moments as his dragon finally turns over and stretches before settling back down but keeping its head up, mimicking a head tilt when its rider does it. A growl rings out when the chubby Viking comes closer but it quiets down after Rahim pats the Singetail's neck lightly and puts a finger up to his lips. A wary stare doesn't go away but that's understandable.

"You know… I can't help but wonder how you ended up with the Flyers in the first place. Unlike the rest of them, you seem to have a very good relationship with your dragon."

A smile was an expected reaction but not eyebrows raised in surprise and a shake of Rahim's head. This made Fishlegs give him a puzzled look before the outlander pointed to the yellow-scaled Stoker, then to himself and once again shook his head while the reptile in question followed the movement of his finger.

"That's not… your dragon?"

A nod. But if it's not Rahim's dragon, then why does it seem to be so well bonded with him? He obviously didn't steal it.. Maybe it belonged to a friend of his? Fishlegs really doesn't know..

"... Whose, then?"

For a few seconds, Rahim lowers his eyes and rubs his chin with his thumb and index finger, wondering how to express it without words. The reason for him being mute still intrigues Fishlegs, seeing how it's a "sensitive topic". Was it a problem since birth? Probably not from what's been said. An illness? An injury? His pondering is interrupted when Rahim lays a hand on his left cheek and over his eye. Not… exactly informative and the face Fishlegs pulls says it. Perhaps he should go and get some writing tools and parchment.. A sigh, then Rahim performs a different gesture by slowly dragging his pointer, middle and ring fingers across the left side of his neck in a clawing motion while tilting his head in a way that exposes that side, then stands up and puts his hands behind his back in a very familiar posture and smirks. Momentary confusion clears suddenly when Fishlegs realizes what Rahim tries to say. And he couldn't lie, the impression was quite on point.

"Are you saying this Singetail is Viggo’s? "

An enthusiastic nod and an instant drop of the act, making it apparent the dark-skinned man is glad the message was understood. That just got far more complex, mysterious and flummoxing.

"I… feel like this is a long story… Would you be willing to explain if I got you something to write?"

Another, slightly slower and just a bit hesitant nod and Rahim sits back down, putting his hand on the Singetail's head when the dragon nudges him and warbles for attention. This promised story is probably going to be very long and very interesting, and most likely will shine more light on why the Flyer is here in the first place since what Armas told about him wasn't an exhausting answer. It's something Fishlegs finds himself looking forward to. With all that in mind, he turns to leave for the parchment and charcoal when suddenly-

"Uhhh… guys?"

Snotlout calls hesitantly while backing away from the pen where the Skrill lies. When the Riders turn to look in this direction, they see the electric dragon shifting, a soft, pained groan at the back of her throat as her tongue retreats deeper into her maws. Her stunning, intelligent eyes slowly open and her rounded pupils regard the surroundings and people staring at her, frozen into inaction. Everyone halts - both Riders and their hostages - all hearts beating madly almost in unison and in the same unison they leap in panic when those piercing eyes fly fully open and the black ovals suddenly shrink into sharp, dangerous slits.

" Oh no. "

The sound of a sudden explosion, one very close at that, startles Hiccup into jumping in his seat and nearly falling off it when he is snapped out of another minute-long nap he's slipped into again after a warm meal Astrid brought a bit earlier beckoned him into its embrace.

" WHA-.. What the Thor?!"

Is someone attacking? Did the Flyers come after them?! Toothless has a very similar reaction, followed by a snarl in the direction of the entrance below. The loud noise somehow managed to make Viggo shudder as if startled and open his eyes wide, take a deeper breath, quietly rasping out something unintelligible in his fuzzy state brought by blood loss and pain medication before slipping back into unconsciousness while Hiccup jumps up and frantically runs downstairs as fast as he can without tripping, considering how wobbly his knees still feel. He still trips on the last step and ends up falling face first, letting out a short scream when the meeting with the floor aggravates his shoulder and sets half of the nerves surrounding the wound alight with pain. A concerned yelp sounds from above before his faithful Night Fury glides smoothly and silently to the lower floor, landing next to him and scanning him all over with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, Bud!"

Hiccup says with his voice slightly strained before he musters the will to lift himself off the floor. Toothless doesn't wait before moving his head under his scaleless brother's chest and helping him upright himself, which Hiccup much appreciates, expressing it by a short head rub and a smile before bolting towards the front door - Toothless at his hip. Search for the possible source of the explosion isn't long as a faint plume of smoke is still draining through the opened stable doors. No attackers in sight, no wild dragons running rampant. Though, the sight of clearly agitated Stormfly flying towards his hut tells him this might be serious.

"What on earth was that?!"

"What do you think it was?! Hiccup, we have a very upset, very electrically charged problem on our hands!"

Astrid replies from her spot on Stormfly's saddle and the disheveled appearance of her visibly electrified hair makes the point clearer even before a shriek of an angered Skrill startles what few animals which haven't taken off from the initial explosion. Roars of other Riders's dragons follow quickly before the black-and-purple reptile suddenly flies out of the stables only to fall back down on the landing platform where she continues to squirm and shriek in a frantic attempt to get back up. Either in too much pain or still too dazed and uncoordinated to fly properly. Hiccup feared it might happen.. In fact, it was more than certain it would happen once the Skrill woke up with unfamiliar people around and in a place she's never been to before when the last memory she had was probably pain, confusion and the man she's bonded with being taken away from her after she saved his life. He doesn't want to leave his hut, especially when Viggo was showing first signs of trying to come back to the land of the living, but if anyone has a chance at resolving this, it would be him.

"We need to calm her down before she does more damage or hurts someone. Astrid, stay here, I'm going in. Toothless!"

The Night Fury runs to be in front of him and allows him to climb into the saddle. The metal foot clicks into place and the red tailfin flares in preparation to fly.

"Be careful, Hiccup."

She still quickly offers before he's off and Hiccup smiles back with a nod.

"I will do my best."

Toothless’s vast black wings beat the air as he takes off and Hiccup gasps, gripping the reins at the saddle when the movement jars his injury. Noticing it, Toothless croons apologetically and glides as much as he can to avoid any unnecessary jostling. Holding on with only one hand is harder than he suspected but it's too late to quit now. As the Rider and the Fury soar towards the stables, the Skrill - now back to her feet, crouched and bristled, lightning crawling all over her scales and spines while other Riders peek out through the door only to retreat back inside when a beam of lightning flies towards them, sparking flames somewhere inside if the shouting of "fire" from Armas are anything to go by. Hiccup instructs Toothless to land isn a safe distance not to agitate the Skrill more while Hookfang coated in flames suddenly flies out of the stables, Snotlout in the saddle.

"Hey, Sparky! Over here, COME AT ME!!!"

Snotlout yells at the screeching reptile. As expected, a torrent of lightning flies towards him, Hiccup’s scream of his cousin's name dying in the crackle of electricity which Snotlout barely dodges by flattening himself in the saddle while Hookfang takes a sudden dive. What turns out to be a distraction works flawlessly when the twins on Barf and Belch fly right after Hookfang but in different direction, carrying a large container to get water for putting the fire out. Oh this is going to be hard… As the Skrill roars after Hookfang and his Rider, Hiccup runs up to make sure his reckless cousin doesn't get zapped again (lightning hates this man after all). A short cry from Toothless alerts the she-dragon and makes her whip around with this terrifying, iconic glare that sends chills down Hiccup’s spine.

"HICCUP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!"

Snotlout screams when Hookfang steadies in the air and he notices his one-legged cousin approaching the riled up dragon now fully focused on the future Chief while he gestures Toothless to stay where he is.

"She knows me, I can calm her down!"

Hiccup yells back, still slowly inching closer with his hand raised in a (hopefully) placating manner.

"If you get fried, I'm telling everyone you died an idiot!"

"Sure! By all means, don't hold back."

Hiccup snarks a little before continuing his approach to the Skrill. She lifts herself to stand tall and proud - even if pain is evident in how she keeps her right wing lower than the left as she spreads them - letting out a soul-rending cry. Sparks of electricity dance across her hide as her head is thrown back in apparent agitation. One possibly caused by the absence of the fallen Hunter. Incredible.. It's like Dagur and Shattermaster all over again. In an attempt to defuse the situation, Hiccup takes a few more steps towards the anxious dragon and extends his hand slowly, soothing words falling from his lips.

"Hey, hey, hey… Easy.. It's me, just me. Remember? It's okay.. It's okay…"

He speaks calmly to the Skrill which still regards him with that electrifying glare, lightning flicking out from between her fearsome fangs. He can already feel his hair going up from how much the air around her is charged. Toothless is ready to jump in and intervene, Hiccup knows. He just hopes it won't be necessary. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Fishlegs peek with eyes blown wide, Armas and Rahim behind him while the Singetail is fanning the flames inside away with all four wings. Those three must've been released by one of the Riders due to the initial fire. The intense staring contest has everyone hold their breaths and both Hiccup and the Skrill barely notice the Zippleback boming back with water and returning to the stables to extingush the flames. When the electric dragon shrieks again, Hiccup takes the risk and turns his head away, extending his hand further, already feeling the pins and needles on his skin.

A heavy pause. A standstill… Until the prickly feeling lessens a little and a whiff of air washes over the inside of Hiccup’s palm. She's sniffing. A sudden hiss - this time not an aggressive one - rings out and the crackling dies down when the warm scales meet the waiting palm. This incredible moment never fails to bring an addictive twinge into his heart. One of sympathy and a feeling of trust. A wave of calmness embalming his entire being. Actually… this is his first time ever touching a Skrill. The hard and smooth scales in his hand feel so… amazing. And the slight tingle in his fingertips from the power of lightning stored within the dragon… Fascinating. Just fascinating. Smiling, Hiccup faces the dragon who now stares st him with way milder but still anxious eyes.

"Hey, big girl… See? It's all good."

A curious warble comes from Toothless as he comes closer now as well now that things somewhat calmed down. The Skrill shoots him a narrow-eyed stare for a moment but then lowers her head and in what dragons interpret as a polite greeting or making acquaintance without hostility, both dragons' noses brush against one another, nostrils flaring and taking in each other's scents. The young Haddock can't help but smile at the complete lack of threatening body language and the empty space reserved for it being filled with innocent curiosity. This pair has done it before, in that cavern moments before reality came crashing down on Hiccup’s head.. When the she-dragon tilts her head and chirps, Toothless gives her a gummy grin and bounds all the way over to her, happily nuzzling into her throat. And Hiccup is overjoyed to see her return the sentiment by leaning into the nuzzle more.

"Is.. is it safe now?"

Fishlegs hesitantly asks from the safe distance and as much as Hiccup wants to nod, he doesn't want to risk it yet. The Skrill might trust him and Toothless but just moments ago she has been lashing out at other Riders. No. He won't test this dragon yet.

"Don't come closer yet. You might scare her again."

He explains and clicks his tongue to get her attention. The keen eyes shift to him at the sound as he extends his hand once more and - as if reassuring herself - the Skrill sniffs his palm insistently before nosing it. Some smell on it must be either enticing or very intriguing to her and Hiccup has a suspicion what it might be. Just as he has a suspicion how to put her mind at ease. After gently stroking the side of her face, Hiccup takes a few steps back and beckons her.

"Come along.. I'll take you to your friend."

And when the electric dragon perks up and actually does follow him without any complaints or grumbling, slightly dragging her sore wing across the floor, he can only hope his suspicions are correct. Under bewildered stares of everyone involved in the incident, Hiccup leads the skittish dragon flanked by Toothless back to his hut to meet her Hunter. Having his best friend at his side when healing made it so much more bearable. Hopefully, this reunion benefits Viggo as well. And the dragon too...

Chapter Text

Hope is often an uncertain route to take in many situations. Sometimes it turns out well and sometimes sadly only makes the situation more difficult when it's crushed by the outcome. Thankfully, this time hope has left Hiccup with a more positive note. Getting the Skrill back to his hut wasn't a problem, as surprising as it may have been. She obediently followed him like a puppy and awkwardly climbed all the way up his stairs too. Perhaps he judged the poor thing a bit hastily. His past Skrill experience was… rather unpleasant to say the least but this one seemed far more approachable, though he isn't sure why. He'd dare even say… mild. Not that he finds this change unlikable, quite the opposite. The more well behaved the dragon is, the easier it will be to socialize with the rest of the dragons on the Edge and with humans. And this is imperative if she is to stay here for an extended period of time. Her interaction with Stromfly upon arriving at Hiccup’s place again left something to be desired. But thankfully, a bit of screeching and persuasion later the two female dragons begrudgingly settled and Astrid relaxed a bit when she saw the Skrill calm down under Hiccup’s touch.

Upon entering, the ever observant Skrill turned her attention to the bed in the far end below the wall. Her head tilted in either confusion or inquisitiveness at the sight. Enormous wing claws tapped quietly on the wooden floor as the black-and-violet reptile slowly came closer to see the man collapsed on the cot. At first, her snout inched towards Viggo’s pallid face to inspect him. A quiet hiss and a blow of air accompanying it ruffled his short dark hair a little but drew no response from him. Obviously… A mournful warble she released stabbed Hiccup square in the heart when the electric dragon then nudged one of the former Hunter's hands, pushing her nose into the motionless palm. Searching for signs of life, just like Hiccup before had been. But the hand slipped off the scaly snout and back down onto the furs, which drew another concerned noise from the Skrill's throat. Once again, Viggo fell into a much deeper, medicine-induced sleep. Seeing not even the slightest move or even a sound other than the weak and raspy breathing, however, the dragon lowered her body to the floor and put her head on the side of the bed. Watching and waiting. Toothless crooned and sat nearby, trying to get the Skrill's attention but in vain. Her eyes remained fixed on Viggo.

Back at Johann's base, Hiccup didn't know what happened between Viggo and this dragon. But whatever it was, the loyalty of the Skrill was astounding. She risked her life for him by staying behind with him, took arrows for him (for all three of them) and now remained faithfully at his side, a silent presence and a familiar mug to look at when his eyes open again.

From what his dad told Hiccup, Toothless stayed with him the entire time he remained comatose after the battle with the Red Death. And his presence afterwards helped him heal. While the speed of his physical progression remained the same, he definitely felt much better mentally with his beloved Night Fury near. If it worked for him, it should work for Viggo too. Though, even if the Skrill's presence won't affect his recovery, it's not like she shows any signs of willingness to leave anytime soon. Getting her to eat something was a hassle in itself. Smell of fresh fish wasn't enticing to her and she lacked appetite. The small success was achieved when near the evening Fishlegs came to monitor Viggo’s condition and brought a slab of mutton from the supplies to placate the antsy dragon. This was the only moment she was willing to remove her head from the bed to take care of the meat while the healer checked on her Hunter.

Not much has really changed. In between the arrival of the Skrill and Fishlegs visiting, Viggo remained out cold most of the time. He woke up once, for just a little bit, but his words were so garbled he wasn't making a lot of sense before he returned to his previous, numb and unresponsive state but thankfully not before Hiccup and Astrid managed to get a cup of water into him, this time without any unpleasant surprises, since he still appeared to be thirsty. Though.. just as Hiccup feared, the shallow, uneven wheezing returned eventually and the whole procedure with the huge needle had to be repeated to restore the proper breath. Afterwards, with assistance from both of his friends, Fishlegs replaced the bandages with fresh ones once wounds were cleaned again (giving all three of them a nice view of quite a few scars the Hunter carries) before asking the two to give him and Viggo a little privacy while he checks on the cut on his thigh to make sure it's healing well too. The last thing the deposed Chieftain needed right now was an infection when he still was not quite out of the woods.

Once Viggo had been tended to, Fishlegs changed dressing on Hiccup’s wound as well, his eyes lingering for a moment on the areas covered in bruises, like the first time he did it. His right upper arm (as expected) was marked by faint bluish finger-pad shaped dots, where Viggo gripped, and there was also a bruise over the left side of his ribcage. The bones didn't feel or appear cracked but the spot was undeniably very sore.. Fishlegs didn't ask questions beyond the amount of pain the bruises caused Hiccup. Either he figured the origin of those was none of his business or Astrid mentioned the short duel between the leader of the Riders and the fallen Dragon Hunter Chief and he drew his own conclusions. And the bruising which appeared all over various spots on his hand spoke for itself..

Warm glow of sunset eventually began to fade and the skies set ablaze by the receding rays gradually turned into first soft lilac, then indigo as stars emerged and shimmered in the firmament like pieces of shattered quartz. Coming of night only made things worse for everyone. All Riders were understandably weary but Hiccup even more so, having had barely any sleep in the last three days. All residents of Dragon's Edge are exhausted.. Both humans and dragons. Still, someone had to remain up to keep an eye on the fallen Hunter Chief. And while Hiccup was mentally ready to keep watch all night if needed, his body was not. Disappearance of sunlight made his drowsiness ten times worse. No way he would be able to keep himself awake, even given his best intentions. The gang settled for taking shifts throughout the night. Astrid volunteered for the first to let everyone else sleep, especially Fishlegs and Hiccup. Odin knows those two need rest the most. But Hiccup still had qualms about leaving, even though he struggled to keep his eyes open and his friends insisted that he call it a night. After much persuasion, he decided he will try to sleep but he'll remain here. And in the end, he was wrapped in a blanket and curled up against napping Toothless, the sound of his steady and powerful heartbeat - so different from human heartbeat and yet still so similar - lulling him to sleep at long last.

In the half-gloom of the hut illuminated by a candle in a sconce, Astrid regards the wounded Hunter slumped in Hiccup's bed in a slightly changed position. “To avoid him getting bedsores”, Fishlegs said. To the best of her ability, Astrid suppresses a heavy sigh, fearing to wake her betrothed with the smallest noise as he is an extremely light sleeper when anxious but thankfully he doesn't open his eyes, even if he stirs and mutters something before curling more into Toothless’s side, prompting the dragon to pry one eye open and move his tail a bit as if to shield his lithe human friend from any harm that might come their way. Thick as thieves,  those two… Her weary eyes then shift back to the bed and flick for a moment to the Skrill beginning to nod off with her head propped on it. Almost like Toothless when Hiccup first lost a leg, then was struck by lightning some time later. It's still so bizarre to think about. A bond. Between a dragon and Viggo Grimborn. She'd sooner expect to see Snotlout wearing a flower crown and female clothing which is a slightly cursed image she would rather not have in her head. And yet, here the ruthless Viking is, a Skrill watching over him. A living testimony to this claim. Mad world..

A hoarse cough snaps her out of her thoughts. It lasts for a few seconds before the wounded Hunter settles back down, drawing a wheeze but then returning to steadier breathing. This wasn't harsh enough to once more bring blood to his mouth, fortunately, and Astrid was not so secretly glad she spotted no evident signs of yet another recurrent lung collapse. That needle really was kind of big.. And the way his body unconsciously protested rubbed her the wrong way too. The sound, though, makes Hiccup lift his head, glancing about worriedly.

“Wha- What, what..?”

“Everything is okay, babe, go back to sleep.”

Her hasty reassurance makes the half-awake Rider nod and lie back down against his dragon. In seconds he was asleep again, thank Thor. Good.. But Astrid can't help a frown. The feeling of having just lied to him burns right through her heart with guilt. She dares to gently brush her fingers along the back of the Skrill's neck when the she-dragon responds similarly as Hiccup did just now. Though… no expected reaction comes. The only sign that this touch was noticed and acknowledged was a single pointed glance from the electric beast. The next second a sudden sharp jolt stabbed through her arm, making Astrid jump in her seat and reflexively snatch her hand back, gives a clear message but that's really it before the dilated pupils returned to the unconscious Hunter on his deathbed. That's… some progress, she supposes as she returns to her watch duty, her eyes resting on the odd, hollow sword propped against the bed frame which Hiccup said to be a Dragon Blade Viggo built himself with a few tweaks and improvements, inspired by Hiccup’s prototype of the weapon. Normally she'd be mad he stole the idea but it's.. frankly impressive he managed to pull that off. Deciding not to focus on it, she looks at Viggo who shifts and shudders again.

The guilt forms a heavy rock in her stomach as she wrings out a rag, folds it and lays it over Viggo’s sweaty forehead. She said everything is okay. But it's not. Brief awakenings into a state of delirium weren't as good a sign as one would hope. So far, in the moments he'd regained consciousness, he seemed to recognize (and see) no one, not even Hiccup when before he at least acknowledged the presence of Berk's heir. Painkillers could be at fault and hopefully are. What's worse, with the coming of dusk, Viggo started to run a fever, even though his wounds appeared to be clean. He is getting worse. Not getting better… And if he is, there isn't any clearly visible improvement. They could send for Gothi but Astrid honestly doubted the Elder would willingly treat the man who tried to starve their village and kill its heir. Thor-Bonecrusher-spiced-yak-bladder treatment was probably the only thing she'd be willing to provide. Another issue was that she might not arrive on time anyway or that she wouldn't be able to do much more. What could've been done, had been and now all that was left was waiting and uncertainty.

This is still so ridiculous…

Their mortal enemy. Their archnemesis who's done so much wrong to those around him. Cold hearted and merciless man, now with the flame of his life barely flickering and so close to leaving this world behind. And here Astrid sits, watching over him alongside a Skrill. Caring for him with her friends while he is at his weakest. A memory of the icy kiss of steel on her throat still lingers and at times resurfaces too. Some part of her wonders how the events would've unfolded had she not fallen for deception. A lot of different scenarios pass before her eyes and she can't help but shudder as she looks at the old burn on Viggo’s face and remembers how he tried to scratch it off, crying out in pain and helplessly attempting to escape it. She couldn't imagine what it felt like. To almost literally lose half one's face in a volcanic vent. But just trying to comprehend gives her a sick feeling in her stomach. And one that surprises her. She'd felt pity before, that's true, but this cold, nauseating lump in her belly… It couldn't possibly be sympathy, could it? Too soon. Definitely too soon.. The first bud of it, maybe but not yet. For now, she lets this feeling stay deep inside and figures she will decide what to do with it some other time after Viggo is either recovered or… out… of the picture… But for the sake of Hiccup and his kind heart which grows attached way too easily, she hopes for the former. If the Hunter Chieftain died now, after they'd done so much to keep him alive and reignite hope, she is sure her beloved would take it beyond unwell… A mumble interrupts Astrid's grim musings. Another new development she'd discovered recently.

Viggo Grimborn apparently talks in his sleep.

At least, he does when drugged with painkillers. Most of it unsurprisingly makes little to no sense or is unintelligible altogether. At this point, she doesn't even try to understand it, instead choosing to take the cloth from Viggo’s head, soak it in cold water and replace it when it warms up from touching him. While the fever wasn't high enough to be life-threatening or to spur major concern, the fact it was present to begin with was not a good sign.. Whenever Viggo would speak, he never said anything worth attention, most of it was senseless babbling and pure nonsense. Which in itself was unnerving when considering every word he said in the past used to always be well thought out and carrying some intent. Unlike in twins’ case, pointless blabbering was never his style.

A certain consistency doesn't escape Astrid's gaze - sharp despite the still present weariness. Aversion would still flare up at the sole idea of any physical contact with him, especially skin to skin, but she still decides to do it. Her hand rests on top of Viggo’s wrist and, almost immediately, he settles and his mutterings cease. Every time he starts talking in his sleep, his uneasiness is more than apparent but, just as well, every time he is assured by a simple touch that someone is near and he isn't alone, he relaxes rather quickly. Who would've thought something so simple would bring comfort to someone like him? Some time ago, she would doubt he even needed or wanted comfort to begin with. Until his slumber becomes deeper, Astrid keeps her hand where it is, feeling a tingly sensation in the air when the Skrill watches her warily, likely for any signs of a threat. But when she takes her hand away, the electric dragon relaxes once more, leaving Astrid to ponder an old bite mark on Viggo’s forearm. Not that it surprises her. His profession warrants all kinds of scars - from claw marks and bites to burns and many more. Not sure what kind of dragon left this particular one but it looks nasty to say the least.

Slowly and uneventfully, Astrid's shift passes and when a sandy feeling begins to settle beneath her eyelids she finally gets up to wake another Rider up for the next two hours or so. Once standing, she stretches a bit with a barely concealed yawn under Skrill's cautious scrutiny. Before she leaves, Astrid offers her knuckles for a sniff and the dragon warily inhales her scent, analyzing and getting used to it. Hopefully, she will soon learn to associate this smell with a friend. Or at least someone not to be too snappy with in the future. A minute-long inspection finally has the she-dragon glance up with less caginess before turning away and settling her head back down on the bed. That's a decent start.. Somewhat satisfied with the outcome, Astrid turns to the staircase with the intention to leave. But not before once again addressing the Skrill.

“I'm going to bed.. I'll send someone here in my stead. Try not to kill them, okay?”

A snort and a huff are not difficult to read.

No promises.

I'll try to be concise.

The first time Viggo and I exchanged words was when we lost control of the Edge. I won't go into details but since I was new to the squad and the whole flying business, I screwed up kinda badly and ended up losing my dragon. I was probably seconds away from getting executed for my failure when he stepped in. He convinced Krogan it's “a waste to throw away a young man with so much potential just because of a rookie mistake”. I still got my ass kicked but I at least I lived. I don't know why he did it, maybe he had some plans for me, but don't ask me what. Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, since that day Viggo sort of took me under his wing, taught me a thing or two which he thought could be useful to a Flyer and to be honest, he seemed a lot less terrifying when talking to you on even ground.

It started oddly and took an even odder turn afterwards. I often found myself actively seeking out his company and vice versa. When he wasn't busy and I wasn't currently on patrols or missions, we often chatted our free time away over a match of Maces and Talons. Can't say I'm complaining. I don't think I need to tell you that having Viggo as a friend rather than an enemy is incomparably better. Though, everything kind of went to Hel when I questioned the orders of Johann and the fact our leader so readily agreed. And let's just say that I shouldn't have done that.

I was punished rather severely for insubordination. Johann made sure I never questioned him again. This time Viggo wasn't there to give me a hand as he was working on something in private. They knew well when to take care of this. Johann gave the order and Krogan just carried it out. As always. Then again, I used to be the same. Following orders without question. Viggo taught me to give a thought to situations I find myself in and analyze them, and opened my mind. It was a welcome development, even if it backfired horribly in the end. From then on, everything changed. I won't lie, I felt kind of betrayed by my superiors. And the final snap came when I broke out of formation to help a friend out and things went downhill real quick. To be frank, I was sure I was done for when I was thrown in a cell. All I could do was wait for all the Flyers to return from respective patrols. Johann wanted to make an example out of me. One of the Hunters brought me what was supposed to be my “last meal” which was just a piece of bread and a mug of water. Considerate, isn't it?

Though, when I picked the bread up from the tray, I saw a note from Viggo with cryptic hints on what to do. I had no idea what to make of this until a key wrapped in a scrap of Changewing hide hidden in the mug hit my lip as I was drinking. All he said in the note helped me get away. His advice directed me to his suspiciously well-behaved Singetail and once the dragon let me mount up, I was off with a huge debt to repay. During my time on the run, I learned that having a loyal dragon is far more beneficial than one who serves you because it has to. Spitfire and I developed something similar to what you folks have with your dragons.

A couple days ago Viggo and I crossed paths again by pure coincidence and he asked me to stay on watch near one of our outposts. To have his back should the need arise. And the need did arise. Your friends on the Zippleback were easy to reason with. All I needed was to vaguely suggest partaking in some destruction and they readily agreed. The rest, you already know. For now, that's all. Only once Viggo is no longer on death's door will I speak more.

A grim frown decorated Fishlegs's face as he stared at the piece of parchment in his hand. A few hours ago Rahim returned it to him, marked by letters scribbled out with charcoal. And those letters created an unnerving whole currently sitting in his lap. All of this… It's more than unsettling and disturbing. Certain questions have indeed been answered, even though Rahim didn't say everything clearly. And frankly, Fishlegs feels he can't blame the guy for it. It wasn't said what the “punishment” for insubordination was but considering the part about “making sure Rahim never questions orders”, he had a pretty solid guess as to what happened. The thought alone made him shudder with disgust and trepidation. To confirm his theory, he'd have to watch Rahim more closely though or at least earn more trust to make him open up more. Though, the most certain way to do so would be waiting for Viggo to recover. However long that might take..

Glancing down at the man in question - for now resting almost motionless on the bunk - Fishlegs reaches for his hand and turns it palm up to put two fingers on the underside of his wrist. Every now and then, he would check Viggo’s vital signs to make sure he doesn't overlook anything. The pulse is quick and faint but still there, breathing rapid as well but not as labored as before he had to stick him again and drain the air from his chest cavity. Since then, nothing concerning seemed to be happening. Well… nothing out of the ordinary, that is. Body temperature remained raised but at a safe level. No signs of infection could be seen in the wounds and Fishlegs suspected the fever could be caused by Viggo having an issue maintaining proper temperature as an aftereffect of losing that much blood. Chills eased up a little but the paleness of his skin could make a Snow Wraith insecure about the color of its scales. From what he's seen, Viggo's body has shut down any unnecessary functions to focus fully on healing and brief awakenings into minimal awareness might have been his attempts at going against it. Good, because it means he has a will to keep fighting.. And at least, the internal bleeding had stopped or at the very least lessened enough for the wounded Hunter to stop coughing up blood..

Just like during the process of dressing wounds, Fishlegs's attention is drawn by a bite mark on Viggo’s arm. He had quite a few scars.. Most, if not all of them, are from various species of dragons. Unsurprising but still quite interesting. A small part of Fishlegs hoped that, when Viggo is well enough to walk and talk, the former Hunter would indulge him and shine a bit of light on the origins of those old wounds. What can he say? This piqued his curiosity and until he hears a definitive “no”, he will hope to one day find out. Especially about the clawmarks on the neck. Not only were they near a vital spot but he is pretty sure he's never seen traces like those before. But.. that's for another time…

The musing about Viggo’s scars and the possibility of the two of them having a casual conversation about the topic brings forth a realization. All of this is still so strange. Never, not in millions of years had Fishlegs expected to do what he had done last night and for someone who by all means was their and dragons’ mortal foe. It feels even crazier than when Hiccup revealed Dagur's change of allegiance because… well… it's Viggo Grimborn this is about. The coldest Viking any of the Riders have ever met. A man who spared not an ounce of sympathy for his brother whom he'd indirectly killed. A manipulator who saw people as nothing more than pawns in a game of life of which he deemed himself to be the master. To think he had the capacity for any sort of kindness or even moral decency in that ice cold heart of his was strange enough. But to hear he was prepared to die for Hiccup despite having all rights to hold a grudge against each and every single Dragon Rider till the very end? Now this is insanity… Trying to find a trace of deception is astoundingly difficult. It usually was with this man involved but this time feels different. According to Hiccup’s story, the only lies he told recently were about poison and to make Johann think they're still on the same team. The rest of what he'd done… If he was lying about any of it, he was doing it horrifyingly well. Convincingly enough to fool more than one dragon. Which leads Fishlegs to another point. According to Mala's beliefs, judgment of a dragon is not something to be taken lightly. And - incredibly - Viggo was judged to be worthy of trust and loyalty. And while conflicted emotions still swirl around in a chaotic storm in the Rider's head, this is nothing to turn a blind eye to.. 

From Viggo, Fishlegs shifts his gaze to the Skrill napping lightly next to him. Seeing this naturally vicious predatory dragon (which tried to fry them not even a few hours ago) so faithfully keeping a Hunter company in a time of weakness is still mind boggling. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Fishlegs would never believe someone managed to earn a Skrill's trust and successfully tame it. But here he had a proof of it, right there in front of him. From what Astrid said… Maybe Hiccup is onto something and maybe, somehow, someway, Viggo really had a change of heart? As inconceivable as it sounds, the evidence is hard to disregard. Though, confirmation is yet to come as it needs to come from the Hunter Chieftain himself.

A yawn forces its way out of Fishlegs as he tries to blink the weariness away. It's been a crazy time lately, for all of them.. Sleeping sounds incredibly nice but he'd rather forgo some rest and watch over Viggo himself than let the twins do it. Trusting them not to seize the opportunity to pull off something stupid or orchestrate another prank is like sticking an arm into a Changewing's nest and expecting the adult dragons won't take offense. Unwise, to put it shortly. And Snotlout might nod off on watch, hence why he got the last shift, to lessen the likelihood of him doing so. Though, as exhausting as it is, at least it allows Hiccup to finally sleep, snuggled against his dragon brother, shifting uneasily every now and then. It will surely take more than one night of restless sleep to catch up on his rest but he has to start somewhere..

Looking at the Skrill again as she shuffles in her place, stretching a little since she must've gone numb from sitting in the same position for so long, Fishlegs idly regards the punctures littering her spined back. The wounds have closed and scabbed over nicely, probably won't cause much of an issue anymore. Like their small lizard cousins, dragons regenerate quicker than a human does for instance. She will soon start itching like Hel though, and because of that he hoped she would allow him to tend to the healing wounds and remedy some of the unpleasant sensation once it occurs. Better not to have her reopen those with unnecessary scratching. His staring is noticed by the she-dragon and her sharp gaze lands on him. Cautious and studying. But not… quite as hostile as he expected.

“Uhm.. Hello.”

He offers with a nervous smile. Being around a Skrill, which he had no idea what to expect of, is still mildly stressful. Though… something in those eyes struck him as oddly unexpected. It was faint but noticeable nonetheless as she tilted her head at him. Eyeing him with intensity that in itself felt like being electrocuted without her actually doing anything to use her natural ability to harness lightning. Slowly, her gaze moves from him to the sleeping body of Viggo before she leans in to sniff at the bandages around his chest.. only to look at Fishlegs again, her nostrils flaring as her snout hesitantly comes near one of his hands resting on his knees. For the entire time he doesn't move not to accidentally startle her, allowing her to take in his scent. Until her clever amber eyes flick up to meet his own blue ones. Following this intense moment of eye contact is a bow of the Skrill's head. A gesture of respect and gratitude he's seen once before, when Hiccup offered freedom to the member of the same species instead of returning him to the icy prison in the glacier. For a few seconds, the chubby Viking isn't sure how to react or interpret it. Though, the most logical conclusion is that the Skrill knows and understands Fishlegs has helped the wounded Hunter. And that this is her way of saying thank you.

“That's.. not a big deal. It's what I do.”

He offers with a smile. Only the latter part of it is true because saving Viggo’s life was in fact a big deal. The process itself was exhausting and stressful. As grim as it is, every healer comes to a point in their life when someone passes away on their hands. Fishlegs had accepted it when he started to learn the craft but he truly hoped that, if it has to happen, it won't be anytime soon and most definitely, he didn't want yesterday to be his first, regardless of the patient's identity. Moreover, Viggo's survival alone was a miracle. It's a wonder he made it through the rest of the first night to begin with. A small victory but a victory nonetheless.. And one that hopefully will amount to something less depressing than the current state of things. The additional boost to Fishlegs's confidence about his skills is also much welcome.

A soft hiss is released by the female Skrill before a yawn has her part her jaws wide open, giving Fishlegs a nice display of her razor-sharp teeth and prompting another yawn from him as well. This is seriously contagious and apparently transmittable between humans and dragons too. Leaning back in his chair, Fishlegs resumes his watch while the Skrill stands up, shifts her position a bit to restore circulation and settles back down. Eyes closed but still listening attentively. Curiosity and reverence urges Fishlegs to reach out and touch her warm scales again but he refrains. It's a relief she accepted him enough to relax around him but he didn't want to cross any indivisible borders or break unspoken rules. With a Skrill, it's better not to push his luck and rush anything. When she's ready, she will come to him herself. With nothing more to do, Fishlegs focuses his eyes on Viggo when the fallen Chieftain winces as he unconsciously tries to shift his position. And as the shift comes slowly to an end, the healer gently assists him in doing so before getting up with a yawn. Time to resume a well deserved nap.. And hopefully, no one will have to interrupt it until morning for any emergency.

“This is so stupid..”

Half-whispered grumbles don't make the Skrill even look up anymore as Snotlout sits on a chair near Hiccup’s bed with his arms crossed. Once again, he was woken up but this time not even to help with anything, just to sit here and stare. It's not like Viggo is going anywhere anytime soon and Fishlegs fixed him up so there's literally nothing to do here other than gawk at him like those two nerds at a new dragon species. And do so in the company of a volatile, moody jerk of a dragon who set the stables on fire. Wonderful. Just smashing. She might be calm now but Hel take him if he trusts her enough to relax anywhere near her. The only type of dragon he feels more antipathy for is probably a Speed Stinger and only because it can paralyze things. But when it comes to this particular Skrill, one thing about her infuriates him still.

“Why do you even care? He's trapped, tormented and killed more dragons than you can imagine! Why do you insist on staying by him, you're making no sense.”

Most of the time, the electric beast deliberately ignored him but when he addressed her directly she graced him with an uninterested stare which lasted less than two seconds before she focused on Viggo again. Right.. How would a dragon answer that? She probably can't understand what he's asking or even talk, for that matter so how on earth could he possibly expect a reply? Whatever the answer is though, he refuses to believe Viggo bonded with a dragon just by waving a piece of metal in her face. That would be too easy. What happened though, he cannot tell or even imagine. He'd have to ask Viggo but not only is the Hunter incapable of providing him any sort of information, he just doesn't want to ask. Let someone else do it, he is not getting into a conversation with this guy. Not in the foreseeable future.

Huffing with annoyance, Snotlout glances up at his cousin asleep propped on the side of his Night Fury and shakes his head. Good. If he kept going like he did for the last night and day, he'd probably either collapse or go nuts. Maybe a combination of both. All of those scenarios are undesirable. No need to have him crazier than he already is. Like, seriously. Had he already forgotten how easily Viggo double-crossed them? Then again, they did put in quite a lot of effort into making sure the Hunter Chieftain lives but still! Back then, Hiccup saved his life too after all and yet there was no issue with unquestionably messed up decisions like holding Astrid hostage whatsoever. And if Viggo was the one to have Hiccup at his mercy like this, Snotlout had no doubts his cousin wouldn't make it out of that predicament alive. The thought of doing the same thing would've crossed his mind too - he fantasized about blasting the Hunter into oblivion more than once and probably more than it's considered healthy - but in the end… Too much wrong with slaying a wounded man on his deathbed and not only morality-wise. This fact though, doesn't alleviate his frustrations. This looks, sounds and smells like a horrible idea. Awful. And they say he is the muttonhead here. Unbelievable.. He thinks as he replaces the damp cloth on Viggo’s head. As horrible idea as nursing this psycho back to health is, Snotlout has to admit that him dying now would not only likely give Hiccup a breakdown about his new pal kicking a bucket and make the Skrill go batshit again, but it also would be a waste of time, effort and resources. And while Snotlout both despises Viggo and is intimidated by him, he can't deny that looking at him now - unconscious and pallid - was giving him a weird feeling inside. It wasn't sympathy, surely not, but it didn't exactly feel good either. It was the same thing he felt when they were almost sure Viggo wasn't going to make it and when he heard him speak to Hiccup before Fishlegs brought that damn needle (still gives him the creeps to think about).. And this conflict he shouldn't by any means be experiencing was even more frustrating than the situation itself. Inarguably, this is one of the biggest messes they'd ever been in. Just imagine Heather hearing about it! Or better, Stoick! Oh, Hel will break loose sooner or later and he will not be partaking in it, no way. That's not his mess to clean up after all. Let Hiccup and any volunteers deal with it on their own, he is out. Though, if he learned anything so far, it's that he will be forced to partake in cleaning duty anyway because someone will end up dragging him into it headfirst anyway.. Gods damn it all. The same thought is repeated in his mind when he sees Viggo stir and hears him groan quietly in his sleep which makes his body involuntarily jump. Biting back another grumble, Snotlout kicks himself inwardly for something so small giving him the willies and nearly putting him in a fight-or-flight mode. Viggo is weak, unconscious and practically helpless, what the crap was that about? Angry with himself for that reaction, Snotlout furiously rubs his hands up and down his face in an attempt to stave off tiredness while the Skrill trills, disappointed by lack of more signs from the wounded Viking.

“I hate it here..”

As the shift passed Snotlout had to twice persuade Hiccup to go back to sleep after he startled awake for whatever reason, until sunrise was just beginning to paint the sky in warm, pink hues. The longer into the watch, the more bored Snotlout was getting. Nothing was happening, his task was monotonous, and weariness was creeping in with every minute. After stretching out in the chair and yawning, his gaze drifts to the Inferno resting against the bed. Never would he admit it out loud but Hiccup’s Fire Sword project looked fun. And Viggo’s variant looked even more so. Especially since apparently it was “improved”. How, though, no one was told. Curiosity takes the reins and Snotlout gets up, his stiff legs being infinitely grateful, and comes closer to the weapon with a hollow blade to take a look. His hand hovers inches away from the hilt adorned with a gaping dragon maw as a pommel when a growl makes his hairs stand on ends. A glance over his shoulder tells him the maker of the noise, that being the Skrill shooting him a pointed, narrow-eyed glare as her teeth are bared in a sneer. This expression is ever so slightly terrifying, honestly, but Snotlout stands his ground and unfolds his arms.

“What? I'm not doing anything to you. Or him.”

The glare doesn't soften and when he goes for the sword again, it's accompanied by a crackle of electricity flashing momentarily over her body. Slightly intimidated he might be but Snotlout returns the hard stare.

“Attitude, Sparky. What is your problem? Aside from anger management issues.”

Still with that sneer, she tilts her head to direct her gaze at the Dragon Blade, then back at him. Seriously???

“Gods, I'm not stealing it! I just wanna take a peek, I'm curious.”

Unfortunately, this appeared to be the wrong thing to say and do because the moment he tried to lay a single finger on the weapon, the Skrill's scowl deepened. And the next second she lunged with her jaws opened wide, drawing a surprised and terrified scream that was soon muffled. Before Snotlout knew it, he was in a very familiar predicament, stuck up a dragon's maw with his arms and legs free and his body trapped by awfully sharp teeth. The second he realized he wasn't about to get killed, he semi-relaxed and growled annoyedly at being covered in dragon slobber. He couldn't see much aside from the pink pallet but he did hear Hiccup and Toothless jerk awake, soon followed by the Night Fury's yelp and Hiccup’s-

“Whoawhoawhoa whoa, no, stop, spit him out!”

Sadly, the Skrill gives the response in the form of a rumble and a little shake of her head to trash Snotlout about a bit as if to make a point. Of course. Why would she listen? She isn't trained so she does what she wants and not what she is ordered. The interchangeable noises of tapping and metal clicking tell the trapped Jorgenson that his cousin is getting closer. Residue of sleep is still audible in his hoarse, morning voice.

“Snotlout, are you okay?”

“Yeesh, ‘m good. The Shkrill ish jusht being an ash.”

He mumbles half-coherently from inside the dragon's mouth when she retreats from Hiccup, clearly unwilling to relinquish her “catch”, much to Snotlout's frustration.

“Hookfang! Gech yur butt ova here!”

He tries to yell at his dragon who's been napping at the front door this whole time, while flailing one arm around for attention. If they surround the Skrill, she might just yield. A croak of a waking Monstrous Nightmare is heard, a pause.. and then the sound of wings flapping and a roar growing more distant. Typical.. His waving arm falls slack as he mutters with defeat, words dripping with sarcasm just as much as he is with dragon spit.

“ Thanksh, Hookfang. Real nishe of you.”

Something was telling him once the ice between them thaws and no grudges remain, Hookfang and the Skrill will be great pals, united in a quest of testing his patience and being a pair of annoying idiots. How lovely.

“So uh… Snotlout. What- What did you do to make her try and swallow you?”

“Nuffin. I wash jusht tryin to look at the shword and she went nutsh.”

“... Did she give you any warning or-...?”

“... Maybe?”

“Snotlout!”

Hiccup exclaims at the end with exasperation (and most likely throws his hands up in his usual manner too) and starts a game of cat and mouse with the Skrill continuing to retreat with the stubborn Viking in her mouth. Toothless - still sleepy and annoyed at being woken up so suddenly and by Snotlout being his usual self no less - rolls his eyes at his human brother giving chase after their new friend scurrying away on foot since her wing muscle was still bothering her a bit because of the positioning of one of the punctures. The black dragon had no intentions of taking a part in this, they can figure it out on their own. He would've joined the happy chase but he has to let his brain fully wake up first, before he fancies such silliness. Besides, someone has to keep watch, no? Instead of following, he sits on his hunches and listens to Hiccup’s distant attempts at convincing the electric dragon to let go of his muttonheaded cousin, giggling to himself quietly in his dragon way. By the sound of it, they are already halfway down the bridge and Hiccup’s no more successful than in the beginning. It almost feels like any other morning on Dragon's Edge. Instinct was telling him that the Skrill will fit in just fine if given enough time to adjust. Why, she already has the basics covered, after all. With a yawn, Toothless allows his fangs to slide out before he runs his tongue over them and retracts them again. It's rather early, still quite a bit before breakfast time but he was already starting to get hungry.

One stretch where he arches his back upwards restores some of the circulation slowed by the receding drowsiness and blinking chases away the mist in his vision before he licks his paw and rubs at his face to remove the crusts from the corners of his eyes.. when one of his ear nubs perks up. He glances in the direction of the soft sound he picked up, just in the range of hearing. He didn't quite catch what exactly it was, having been focused on something else entirely, but his other ear joins the first when he hears a subtle groan coming from the bed. For a time, Toothless watches cautiously as Viggo stirs just the tiniest bit. The dilated eyes widen in curiosity and anticipation as he regards the wounded human. At first, nothing more happens. But when the first rays of rising sun creep into the hut and their warm light tickles the ashen face of the Dragon Hunter… his eyelids twitch. And under the warm caress of dawn…

… they slowly pry themselves open.

Chapter Text

Pain.

Agony in its most refined form.. This was the last thing registered before consciousness faltered and the mind set out to sail across the endless abyss of unawareness. Will to fight, to keep drawing air in, was fading with each excruciating moment. Yet, against all odds, Viggo kept breathing. Breathing… breathing… Even if stopping felt so easy and tempting, he kept taking wheezy inhales and letting out raspy exhales. Then, there was nothing. A numb void occasionally lighting up with more pain and voices talking nearby. In his subconscious, he knew what they were saying. He knew (most of the time) who was saying what. But when he tried to focus on anything else other than pain or the disorder inside of his head, he couldn't tell any of this if his life depended on it… Occasionally, unexplainable panic would flare up. In suffering, a cold feeling of loneliness would fall over him with a wave of irrational fear. Then, something warm, a silent presence would appear, very close and almost tangible… and all of it would go away like a fleeting zephyr. Though, eventually, through a haze and a chaotic jumble of once coherent thoughts and half-remembered memories, a faint ray of consciousness begins to shine through. Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup. Oleanders… With eyebrows pulling up in a miserable expression complimented by a weak sneer, Viggo finally musters enough willpower to force his eyelids to crack open, even if just barely.

Warmth…

A gentle beam of what he idly assumes to be light of a beautiful, sunny morning brushes against his face and the light itself is fractured into a myriad of mesmerizing colors by the prism of tears gathered in his eyes still heavy from long sleep. How long…? No way to tell. All he knows is the overwhelming feeling of cold and the dull ache, the source of which he couldn't identify just yet. Everything was sore. Not a single part of his body seemed to not be in pain. So that means I am alive.. He deduces, genuinely surprised by this realization. Chills wrack his body, limbs feel weak and hollow but he is indeed alive. Painfully so, but alive. Slowly, first his fingers and toes and then arms and legs respond to his commands but he can feel them tremble with each move. Inside his ribcage, his heart is hammering fast as though he just ran a mile but there doesn't seem to be much power in each painful thump. Where am I..? Dazed and confused, Viggo tries to glance about his surroundings but his vision is still too blurry to make any details out. A deep, hoarse breath is taken and his chest protests at the movement, so does his entire back. Air leaves him with a strained groan that follows the large inhale and this single breath by itself feels like a strenuous task that saps his already dwindled strength away. For a few minutes that feel like forever, all he knows is pain. Burning, stabbing and overwhelming… It’s an equally as great effort to control and even out the next breaths but once it’s done.. it becomes natural again, smooth and steady. In.. out… In-...

A large, black shape invades the periphery of his foggy vision from the right all of a sudden, sending another shudder through his body and his quivering heart skips in something that could’ve been fright but he couldn’t tell that for sure either. He wasn’t certain of anything other than the fact he feels awful. Tried, helpless and in pain… A truly horrid feeling. Among many other things, Viggo wholeheartedly loved having a grasp on any situation he finds himself in. He took pride in being able to come out as the individual in control of his setting and the people around him. To have this feeling of certainty gone after the Shellfire incident had knocked him down hard enough that getting back on his feet felt nearly impossible. But he did, in the end, and even though he was no longer in charge, though he became a pawn instead of the Chief, in small few aspects he still felt in control. Unlike now… At this time and place, he had no control. Not an ounce. All he could do was lay there and stare. Helplessness… sows seeds which sprout into crippling anxiety sinking its roots deep into his heart and soul.

Making a questioning sound - the only thing he could muster at first - Viggo squints at the shape closing in, trying to figure out what he's looking at when he feels a few whiffs of warm air washing over his uninjured cheek, that being followed by a soft croon. His half-conscious mind slips him the thought he is being inspected most likely by a dragon. Instinct suggests fear. Barely able to move, he stands no chance against a winged, fire-spitting beast should it mean harm but… something about that noise… Familiarity is undeniable and even though it sends another jolt of icy panic down his chest, something in it sounded peaceful. Peaceful and.. happy?

After a few moments, Viggo forces himself to open his eyes a tad wider to try and determine what exactly is staring at him. And as the shape becomes slightly clearer, a pair of big, emerald eyes situated in a black, blunted head comes into view, enlarged pupils fixed on him. Another coo rings out as Viggo's partially-awake brain finally identifies the black dragon looking at him with what appeared to be hope and anticipation. Oh…

“Gah… hahhh… To- Toothless…?”

The sound that is produced by Viggo’s vocal cords is the most pathetic noise he's ever heard or made. His weak, shaky voice - barely a miserable rasp - reflects all kinds of hurt and is hardly audible and comprehensible to human ears, his included. But the Night Fury leaning over him heard it thanks to the superior sense of hearing. And he was absolutely correct about the dragon's identity. At the sound of his name, Toothless warbles lowly and begins to delicately nudge Viggo’s cheek with his scaly nose, ridiculously happy to see the scarred man awake by the looks of it. A small relief, bewildering as it might be. Moving his head a bit away from this harmless assault of gentle pokes and joyful nudges, Viggo speaks again, even though every word seems to take away a piece of his very soul upon flowing from his dry lips.

“T- Toothless-.. Yes, I'm… Ugh… I'm glad to see you too-...”

And to his own surprise.. he means it. He truly is glad to see this dragon, even as he lay vulnerable and half-alive. Calmness of the winged reptile is a sign of safety. A good news the former Hunter longed to receive.. All the while the Night Fury keeps nosing him happily. Viggo tries to lift a hand to move the scaly snout away - to regain some personal space - but the tremors are too much to be able to lift it, bend it and then use it as defense against the attack consisting of weirdly placed affections. Instead, the deposed Chieftain settles for something simpler to accomplish, which is lightly blowing into the nostrils of the invading snout. With a surprised snort, Toothless draws back a little and gawks at Viggo in what could be seen as amusing bewilderment as the weakened Viking reflexively tries to chuckle at the expression.. and quickly realizes his mistake when pain shoots through his back with each lurch. Fragmented memories of the last night begin to resurface gradually. The arrows, Hiccup… Fire.. blazing agony… By all means, Viggo is convinced he shouldn't have made it. His injuries were grievous, blood flowing… breath faltering… This belief is reinforced with every sharp pulse of pain in his wounds, in tandem with his fluttering heartbeat. For a moment, he thinks the arrows are still embedded in his body but he knows that not to be true, considering the position he is laid in. Somehow though, this thought brings little to no comfort. Oh, the misery…

As the pain briefly subsides and Toothless backs down a little (still sniffing him though), Viggo takes a moment to analyze his surroundings. He appears… to be in a hut of sorts. Wooden ceiling. Some pieces of furniture here and there.. But a few distinct details give him some insight about the place he currently resides in. The closest thing that his misty vision focuses on, is the bed he was tucked into. A simple cot, minimalistic but comfortable. Two blankets to keep him warm with more or less success.. Some of his belongings lie folded up in a neat pile at his feet. As though patiently waiting for him. And in a dip of the board of the bed is… a toy? A small, stuffed dragon, a blue Nadder if he had to guess. An old, ratty thing it is. Fabric is stained in many spots, likely too difficult to wash out without damaging the aged material. But despite the sorry state of the plushie, it looks well cared for.. Possibly carrying some sentimental value to whoever this bed belongs to. His eyes linger on the toy a little longer than he intended, he isn't quite sure why. Eventually, he turns his head to the right where Toothless sits on his hunches. And behind the black dragon, under a wall, he spots a simple desk with a large, square wooden box resting on top. It looks… familiar, somewhat. Is that… a Maces and Talons set? It sure looks like it. He cannot say for certain, not from where he is laid. Above the desk, on the wall, are multiple sketches stuck to it. Parchments and pages marked with ink and charcoal. Pictures of bizarre projects, among which he recognized designs for Toothless’s prosthetic fins and a prototype of the Fire Sword. All blueprints are arranged chaotically in a slight mess but in this chaos, there is order as well. Those projects and the fact that Toothless is here, standing vigil by his bedside… It's Dragon's Edge. Suddenly, he remembers. This has to be Hiccup’s hut.. Incredibly, even though Viggo was supposed to be dead, he wasn't. Pain and whistling of air in his lungs tell that clearly. He remembers-... He was brought here by the Dragon Master upon their escape from an outpost after the Skrill-

The Skrill.

A gasp plays despicably in his dry throat as Viggo tries to sit up out of reflex but his body lifts off the cot barely an inch before he collapses again, moaning. Tremendous pain flares up once more and brings cold sweat to the surface of his skin, and tears into his eyes. Toothless croons sadly and leans in closer, gently nuzzling into the side of his jaw. Almost like a parent dragon trying to comfort a distressed hatchling.. In any other situation, this might have been successful but not this time. The Skrill was shot while protecting Hiccup, Toothless and himself. She was shot, wounded and dying, just like Viggo. So many poisoned arrows-... This can't have ended well for her. Through the fog of pain and blood loss, he faintly recalls some dragon whisking her away and a subtle feeling of relief that came from seeing it happen but… Where is she now? Is she well, is she even alive? So many questions he has and yet he is stuck, barely able to move and the only other living creature in the room is Hiccup’s Night Fury which.. likely won't be able to provide definitive answers. Still… Viggo tries. He has to know if the electric dragon-...

“Toothless-... Where-... Is- is the Skrill-... Is she-...?”

Another croon, a calm and peaceful one, comes from the dragon in question who glances past the bed and at something beyond. Being able to see only so far to his left, Viggo turns his head to the side to try and see what the Night Fury is looking at. There, one floor below, is an opened doorway. Beyond, a beautiful view of the island of the Riders unfolds in its full splendor. Magnificent green hills, snowed mountain peaks and beautiful valleys. A safe haven for Riders and their dragons. This is where Toothless directed his gaze. Hardly informative.. but at least the Fury doesn't look morose, concerned or anything of the sort. That's probably a good sign but even though it puts Viggo somewhat at ease, worry won't depart fully until he knows for sure. Worry for a dragon… the world has gone mad… Or maybe just him. Probably just him. Drawing another hoarse breath, Viggo lolls his head into its previous position to look at the Night Fury who stares back. Big curious, emerald eyes blink down at him slowly as he groans, cursing his uncooperative and sore body.

Many times in the past, Viggo sustained plentiful injuries. Many of them even left more or less visible permanent scars. A few were more serious than he'd like to admit, the one that lingered in the form of three deep claw marks on his neck being one of them. Regardless though, he always got back up. No matter how grave of an injury, no matter how lengthy the recovery, he always got back up. Every single time. And although he was always proud of this consistency and the fact that nothing could keep him down for long… here, today… he feels so utterly helpless and weak. Like he'd gotten back up for the final time. Today, being able to get out of bed would be a victory.. But considering how debilitated he is, Viggo knows he has to take it slow, even if he despises it.

“Toothless…?”

He addresses the Night Fury with a quiet, pitiful voice, causing the dragon to shuffle a little closer and regard him with a questioning look, waiting. He didn't know how much Toothless exactly understands when it comes to human speech but he doesn't really care at the moment. He will find out soon enough, no? Taking a moment to breathe as though speaking was a strenuous exercise (to him it is), the scarred Viking voices his request.

“...Help me sit up…”

Initially, Toothless cocks his huge head with a coo, making a face similar to what a skeptical human would pull. Asking the dragon for assistance feels… odd, to put it lightly but it's not like Viggo can pick and choose at the moment. He is alone with the winged reptile. When Toothless doesn't move from his spot, the injured Hunter lifts his shaky hand off the blankets as far as he is able and tries again, rasping even quieter this time.

“Please…?”

Toothless’s ear nubs slowly fall and he warbles a little with a sullen look to his eyes which could almost be described as sympathetic as well. It will never fail to surprise him how expressive dragons can be. For a few seconds, Toothless seems to ponder over the request before leaning in again and nosing his chin. Waiting. Unsure what this means but suspecting the right answer, Viggo experimentally lifts both of his shaky hands and runs them up the sides of Toothless’s warm, broad neck before finally settling near the back of his head and getting a loose grip on the largest nubs. The moment he does, Toothless begins to slowly and cautiously pull back. The fallen Chieftain gasps and tenses as even this little bit of movement causes him suffering but eventually he is sitting upright. Somewhat. Mildly out of breath even after such a simple task which was performed mostly by the Night Fury, Viggo slumps forward, on top of the scaly head, to which Toothless rumbles deeply but doesn't try to wriggle free, even as a rumpled, slightly damp rag slides off the man's forehead. He is patient and has a pretty good understanding of Viggo’s situation,. Probably has been around more than one either ailing or injured human in the past.

Taking a breath after deep and heavy breath, Viggo rests on Toothless’s head, delightfully warm against his heat-deprived body, and shuts his eyes for a moment when his vision falters briefly. He focuses solely on breathing, listening to his racing heartbeat. To the fast-paced rhythm of his own, narrowly preserved life… Inconceivable as it might still be, he was alive even though he was certain that would've been his last night on Midgard. But here he was, resting upon the head of his former adversary's faithful, flying beast, as ill and powerless as he may feel. Any complex thoughts and musings fail to form a coherent whole as he exhales heavily, finding his anchor point on reality in the Night Fury's ears resting in his weak hold. Instead of delving deeper into logic or spending his energy on pondering, Viggo decides to drink all the sensations in. A cool breeze on his naked and exposed shoulders. A subtle touch of slightly coarse bandages that swathe nearly his entire torso. A warm kiss of early morning sunlight on his face and a tad disheveled hair. Even the sharp pokes of agony being driven into him… and the soft purr rumbling beneath his aching chest. But he doesn't get to enjoy this for long.

Although not moving much at all, Viggo was starting to get drowsy and lightheaded again, just from assuming this upright position. Suddenly feeling like he wasn't getting enough air even though the ache wasn't hindering him as much as the night before. To compensate for this abrupt lack of much needed oxygen, he breathes deeper and a little faster but that doesn't help a whole lot… When he pries his eyes open, he sees shadows swirling about as his heart hastens even more. His entire world went black, white and various shades of gray. Sitting up appears to have been a really bad idea… It's becoming more and more apparent with every moment and regret regarding his decision gradually mounts the more dark spots gather in his vision.

“On.. Mmm… on second thought… Lay me back down…”

As gently as a dragon can, Toothless complies and lowers Viggo back onto the bed again. For a minute or two, the wounded Viking lies still, panting heavily, shivering and staring up at nothing in particular, but eventually his heartbeat evens out to an acceptable pace and his breathing returns to what it was soon after he woke up. Darkness bleeds from his vision and everything more or less clears, and once again he sees the Night Fury gazing at him from the spot next to his bed. The look he receives is mellow and serene. Pupils dilated as a sign of what he came to learn was acceptance and conviviality. Never before had he expected Toothless to ever look at him like this. Nor had he expected to feel as safe as he currently does on Dragon's Edge,  next to this fearsome creature. Why hasn't any of the Riders finished him off while he is vulnerable, he isn't sure. But he cannot say he isn't relieved it isn't the case.. Then again, this theoretically could be considered a mercy if someone did… Heavy eyelids close on their own again as the deposed Chieftain exhales with a groan. He might be safe. He might have been rescued from the cold clutches of Hel. The pain, however, continues to rip and throb, rippling through his back and chest… Draining him of strength to remain focused and aware. What little energy that remains, his body commits to the necessary vital functions and what's left of this already small amount, Viggo strengthens with willpower to remain awake and not slide into the abyss again. A touch of a scaly nose on the underside of one of his hands as well as a strong but shaky grip he has on the sheets with his other help him stay grounded and not fading back into the void of unconsciousness. Unfortunately, as ferociously as he fights, he starts nodding off eventually…

… until a sound of a conversation and footsteps snap him back into reality. Whis his face still scrunched in pain, he pries his good eye open and listens to two voices slowly getting closer and multiple sets of feet doing the same. Among the footfalls though, he hears something that doesn't sound like human feet. Too heavy and accompanied by quiet tapping of claws on wood. At first he isn't sure what exactly he's hearing but eventually, the voices become clearer and familiar to his ears.

“...-have to admit he kind of asked for it. If she was giving him warning signals, he shouldn't have tried to touch the sword to begin with.”

That's the Ingerman lad, no doubt… And the other voice-...

“I never said he didn't, he did have it coming. I'm just saying this shows us we will need to work with her a lot. I mean… Come on! She's practically still a semi-wild dragon! And unless Johann and Krogan come in here swinging a white flag, I don't think we'll have enough time to train her properly.”

That was Hiccup’s voice for sure. But the meaning of the words doesn't really get to him at the moment. Hearing this voice alone is enough. He knew… but this was still a relief to hear from the young man. To be given reassurance that he is alive and well. At the sound of his Rider's voice, Toothless lifts his head out of Viggo’s reach as he perks up and calls out for the one-legged Viking. The conversation quiets down in a beat and the guttural sound that follows is coming from some kind of dragon.. a Gronkle, maybe..? That would add up. If Ingerman is here, so is his dragon, most likely.

“Toothless?”

Hiccup’s voice calls and soon there is the distinct tap click of his steps as his metal prosthetic and real foot repeatedly and steadily hit the floor. If one listens carefully enough, a faint squeak of the spring can be caught too. Some anxiety - or perhaps anticipation - settle in Viggo’s throat as he rolls his head in the entrance's direction and listens. Waits in bizarre tension until a head of a tad wild auburn hair comes up at the end of the short staircase.

“What is it, Bud?”

The question barely flows out when Hiccup with his left arm on a sling halts on the stairs. His asking expression warps and then freezes in a blankness of astonishment. Their eyes lock for a couple of long moments in a profound, silent exchange, even as Toothless bounds over to his master and wiggles his hind quarters like an excited pet, only to do something Viggo had never seen any dragon do. The corners of the Night Fury's mouth pull up as it opens in what the wounded Hunter can describe only as a silly, joyous grin of fangless gums. Dragons… can smile? Or is it just Toothless? Hard to say without observing more of the flying reptiles. And now isn't the time to wonder about it either. One thing's for sure. He's never seen any dragon smile like a human would. Not until now.

“...Viggo?”

He doesn't reply to Hiccup’s hesitant and questioning voice. No strength in him remains to do so. All Viggo musters is a weak, faltering smile with a quiver to the both corners of his dry lips. No words are exchanged between the two of them. No words need to be said for them to reach an understanding. This smile says more than a thousand flowery words or any elaborate speech. It becomes obvious when shock morphs into a mixture of disbelief and pure euphoria. Not in a thousand years would he ever expect the young Dragon Master to show any kind of joy when looking at him, much less that great of an amount.. Perhaps he is still sleeping?

“Viggo!”

Unfiltered ecstasy echoes through that somewhat tearful call as Hiccup suddenly breaks into a run and is at the bedside in two heartbeats. Warm fingers wrap around one of Viggo’s starkly cold hands - another anchor to hold him in the realm of awareness - and prompt the weakened man to look at the young Rider of the Night Fury whose hopeful look manages to chase some of the penetrating cold away.. Warmth of life, staving off the icy embrace of death. Such a simple gesture.. but so comforting nonetheless. The words that follow… even more, as mind boggling as they are.

“Oh, thank Thor.. For a moment I thought-... We were doing everything we could but we still almost lost you there.. Don't ever scare me like that again!”

“Hiccup? Is he awake?”

Fishlegs abruptly joins the conversation, climbing stairs and gasping when Viggo’s still slightly foggy gaze shifts from Hiccup to him. Seeing the two younger men close, the wounded Hunter takes a breath and swallows dryly before attempting to speak. And speak, he does.

“You tell me… I… wonder to myself..”

“Ooohhhh, Odin's Ghost, Hiccup, he finally responded! We did it!”

The chubby Viking cheers, for a moment there looking like an overexcited toddler. Viggo isn't quite sure what this is about but he cannot help another faint smile at this admittedly endearing display, despite the pain. He'd only ever seen the Dragon Riders at their most serious. He'd always seen their warriors’ masks. But he's never been shown the true faces that lie beneath and which are exposed in the peaceful environment of their home. In a way, he was privileged to witness thjs. To watch them interacting with one another like-… The smile falters slightly at the thought. Like…

A family…?

Something about this forms a heavy stone in the pit of his stomach. But a reason for it remains out of his grasp or comprehension, even though he knows it's right there. That he knows that reason, when he feels llike he does not. Why does it bother him so..? His shift in mood is noticed by Hiccup, whose smile also drops but for barely two seconds before he offers another. A reassuring and sympathetic one while his grip on Viggo’s hand tightens.

“It's going to be okay.. I know you're in pain but I promise, from now it's only going to get better. You'll see! You're gonna be back up in no time!”

“That's… optimistic of you…”

Viggo tries to jest to cover up his abrupt despondency, the source of which isn't quite as clear as he would've wanted it to be. Unfortunately, his weakness, miserable expression and a pained edge to his voice makes it sound so much more serious than he intended it to be. Even Toothless - who at this point returned to his previous spot - made a sad noise and pulled a disheartened face. Oh, for the love of-...

“Don't talk like that, Viggo, you got through the worst. You made it. ”

He did.. That was undeniable. He did make it. It's torture but he made it. And… maybe… Hiccup is right? He survived up to this point, so he can probably make it just a little further as well. But what about the Skrill? He still didn't get his answers.. His face twists in a grimace of pain when he tries to lift his head and look around one more time but seeing this, Hiccup puts his hand to Viggo’s unbandaged shoulder to push him back down into bed. And what's worse, he doesn't even have to push hard. All it takes is a gentle pressure with little to no actual force behind it to keep Viggo down, much to his chagrin.

“Don't. You've been in and out of it for quite a while. Take it easy.. You might hurt yourself more if you move too much too quickly”

“H-… How long…?”

“Almost two days in total.”

It is Fishlegs making this statement. A statement that makes Viggo feel suddenly even weaker and heavier than a rock. Almost two days… Two days of lying here, out of it and completely unaware of passage of time. When was the last time he's been unconscious for this long? Had he ever been unconscious this long? He honestly can't remember now.. Logically, he should probably inquire about the true severity of his injuries while he still has breath to spare. He knew the arrow wounds were serious. He knew at least one hit something important. But he had no idea how much blood he lost and he was clueless when it came to predictions regarding the time of his recovery. Though, he assumes it must've been truly severe indeed, if it kept him drifting in and out of consciousness with hardly any recollection of those two days that passed him by in a flash. Two days… when he was inert and at the mercy of the Riders and the Gods. And so was the Skrill. Provided, she would've been taken care of by the residents of Dragon's Edge for sure, but who could guarantee him that their efforts came to fruition? Worry for the loyal, electric dragon grows even more, his heart beginning to go faster again and forcing him to breathe faster and deeper once more, his eyes slipping closed even though he tries his hardest to keep them open. This change brings concerned looks to the two Riders’ faces and he feels Hiccup's hand rest on his clammy forehead.

“Viggo? H- hey, what's going on? No no, stay with us.. Fishlegs, what's happening?”

His tone appears calm but the uneasy note in it betrays his true emotions. Fishlegs takes Viggo’s wrist to check his pulse while leaning down to listen to his breathing. Such a personal inspection was… slightly awkward. At least it would be if the patient in question wasn't about two steps away from drifting off again.

“That doesn't sound like the lung issue this time. I think it's because he's severely anemic due to blood loss. Anything that would cause his heart rate to go up, causes him to breathe faster to compensate for the low blood volumes circulating. Be it physical activity, stress-...”

“He's not moving currently..”

Hiccup’s worried look doesn't depart yet as he grips Viggo by the shoulder to hopefully get the older man to focus on him. Feeling that squeeze, the panting Viking's eyes loll open and look at the leading Rider who tries to determine what is the cause of this sudden rapid breathing and faltering consciousness. And right after the inquiry, the fallen Chieftain gives his own reply in form of a question he already asked Toothless before.

“Viggo, can you tell me what's wrong? Can we do anything?”

“Hi- Hiccup-... The Skrill… is she-... alive…?”

Not a single beat of silence falls before - as if waiting for a cue - a familiar, quiet murmur makes the injured Hunter's eyes shoot wide open. Right there, clambering up the short flight of stairs on two hind legs and huge wing claws was her. In beautiful scales of black and violet, with amber eyes focused solely on him. Viggo could've sworn his heart skipped a beat or two at the sight of the Skrill standing there and staring at him. That moment could've lasted a whole minute or maybe just a few seconds, he couldn't tell. As it passed, though, the she-dragon climbed all the way up and insistently pushed past both humans standing semi in her way, no matter their protests. Closer and closer until she is right next to him. Viggo blinks, questioning whether he is seeing things and - absentmindedly - he lifts one hand, keeping it in the air even though it trembles and his sore muscles complain about the unnecessary movement. He reaches out, as much as he can, to touch the dragon but at the same time… he halts. If he is hallucinating, she might disappear if he does try to touch her. An irrationally frightening perspective.. He doesn't dare. He wouldn't-.. The Skrill stops for a moment, regarding his extended hand, her pupils rounded into ovals… and suddenly she is resting her horned snout against Viggo’s palm on her own accord, letting out a rumbling hiss. This touch is… electrifying. Literally. Pins and needles gently run through his arm and along with this sensation.. there is something else. An odd feeling somewhere in his chest, around his pounding heart. Something he can't quite name or explain at this given time but something he can only call absolutely fascinating and plainly incredible. And along with this feeling… comes a wave of relief.

A heavy sigh leaves him as he relaxes back into the pillows and lets his arm rest, allowing the Skrill to hold it up with her nose. She doesn't vanish, doesn't leave. The warmth of her scales, air flowing in and out of her nostrils, washing over his bare skin… She's okay. All this lets him know that this isn't his imagination. This is not a fever dream. She is here, tangible and real. Trustfully leaning into his touch. And to his bewilderment.. her gaze spoke to him as he held it and whispered to her with a serene smile.

“You… survived…”

We both did…

Her usually stern eyes said softly. He understood her somehow. Maybe it's the exhaustion and the blood loss… but he swears he did. It was as though she actually spoke to him. With a real, audible voice like a human would.

“Oh. My. Thor…”

Awestruck Fishlegs breathes, hands up and covering his mouth as he watches this transpire. As one of the most skittish dragons the Riders have ever encountered nuzzles into the hand of a Dragon Hunter. Hiccup just smiles and enthusiastically (but quietly) says something to his friend which the fallen Chieftain doesn't really pay attention to. His full focus is reserved for the magnificent dragon willingly leaning into his palm. Allowing his eyes to close again - breathing calmer now - Viggo settles as the Skrill moves a little more under his arm, laying just the tip of her chin on his chest.

“She never left, you know?”

Hiccup says after touching Viggo’s shoulder for attention, which the boy gets when the wounded Viking opens his eyes and looks at him again.

“Once she found out where you were, she refused to move from this spot right here. At least until Snotlout got her angry and she ran off with him halfway up her mouth.. Imagine being mad because an angry dragon covered you in slobber for pissing it off.”

The sheer hilarity and absurdity of the image forming in his head makes Viggo chuckle, even though he knows he shouldn't do it. It is only proven by jolts of pain caused by this, which quickly induce a nasty coughing fit. And this only makes everything worse as it sends Viggo collapsing on the bed with a miserable moan, his eyebrows knitting together in an expression of suffering. Beads of cold sweat that surface on his face are gently picked by a cloth held by either of the Riders, he can't say who with eyes now clenched shut. Though, he can tell a moment later when Hiccup’s voice rings out from very close proximity while the Skrill trills with worry.

“Shh, relax.. You've had a rough few days, you need all the rest you can get…”

“Would you like something for the pain? I can mix it up for you real quick..”

The generous offer coming from Fishlegs is unbelievably tempting. In the base of an enemy, he would never take drugs for pain, they have potential for making one vulnerable and defenseless, but at this point… Precautions be damned, he needs something to make this stop.. Besides, he is already at his most vulnerable, he can barely lift his head on his own, never mind defending himself. And even if some of the Riders still hold a gruge and enough to try and harm him against their leader's wishes, he has a Skrill as a self-appointed bodyguard.. She wouldn't let a single hair on his head be touched with ill intent. He knows she won't. He…

… He trusted her.

That's a big realization in Viggo’s mind. Throughout the course of his whole life, he could count the people he really, truly trusted on the fingers of his single hand. And one of those fingers was reserved for himself. But this time, he was positive that the Skrill had joined this small, selected group and stood on the lead. Smiling to himself and her, he drags his weak arm closer and settles his hand on her head, gently rubbing up and down in slow and short motions which draw a pleased murmur from the dragon who closes her eyes and enjoys his gentle caresses. And his ministrations appear to soothe her, just as much as her low purrs resulting from them soothe him…

“Viggo.”

A large hand on his shoulder snaps him back into the present from the haze he was beginning to drift back to. Blinking that haze away, he looks up at the Ingerman boy trying for his fleeting attention, momentarily confused before the previous question is repeated.

“Should I get you some painkillers?”

“Please, do…”

“What about food, are you hungry?”

Hiccup chimes in and Viggo’s focus is immediately brought to a sickening sensation in his stomach which is knotted up like twine. And at this point, it doesn't even rumble. It's just… tightly folded in on itself. Twisting and pulling. Only adding to his misery. Thinking about it now.. he doesn't remember when was the last time he had a proper full meal. Probably before the betrayal. At least a week ago… A week plus two days, apparently. The thought by itself makes the twisting feeling even worse. It's high time to remedy it. If he is being offered something, he has no complaints. No objections whatsoever as long as it's edible.

“Famished, actually…”

“I can't say I'm surprised. There's leftover broth from yesterday evening, I'll heat it up and come back with some and the painkillers.”

Bless all their hearts. Truly. Food and pain relief sound splendid. A dream come true right about now. Since talking was starting to get tiring and more energy-consuming than it should be, Viggo settles for a nod of appreciation as an answer as he tries to focus on something other than his suffering. And he finds some of the distraction he needs in the warm scales underneath his palm, the subtle tingling coming from the touch and the murmurs of the dangerous beauty that is the Skrill at his side. Yet, the stabs being constantly delivered into his back into the rhythm of his pulse, make him realize this might not be enough. As Fishlegs gets up and leaves, Hiccup watching his friend go, the wounded Hunter tries to say something to the leading Rider but instead coughs weakly. It still works to get Hiccup to turn and look at him with worry when Viggo’s brow falls in frustration. Oh, he hates this. This feeling of being so exposed and powerless.. 

“Easy, Viggo.. You had a really close call. Just breathe, okay?”

He nods absentmindedly in weary compliance but tries again regardless.

“Talk to me..?”

“... Talk to you?”

“Mhm…”

“What about?”

“Anything… Dragons. Projects… Just-...”

He halts for a beat to catch his breath and avoid another torturous series of dry coughs.

“Distract me… W- Would you…?”

The pause that follows is very short as Hiccup seems to ponder over this simple request. And when Viggo forces his eyes to open again to look at the younger Viking to study his reaction, he is pleasantly surprised to see a sympathetic smile and a nod. The Rider of the Night Fury sits down on a nearby chair and his black dragon is quick to settle next to him, putting his head under the young man's arm in a similar manner the Skrill just did to Viggo moments ago. Purring just as well while Hiccup rubs his hand on the smooth scales.

“Of course. Others are going to complain if I do any work anyway, so I might as well tell you a story or two. Kill time for the both of us. How about the story about how Alvin snuck Whispering Death eggs to the caverns under Berk and accidentally unleashed an angry, island-consuming monster on the Archipelago? Does that sound good?”

Hearing of this, makes Toothless snort and growl annoyedly, nose wrinkled and brow lowered. A bad memory from bygone days, probably. The short description of the coming tale alone is enough to intrigue Viggo. He knows well how vicious Whispering Deaths are, especially as youths, ironically enough. Those dragons are ferocious, aggressive and absolutely brutal. Why, there was a reason why his tribe often used them in a particularly bloody method of execution, after all. Having a whole group of them burrowing under one's home does not exactly sound like a pleasant scenario to deal with. And this mention of an angry monster? He's never heard Hiccup refer to any dragon as such. This boy loves them all equally, no matter how aggressive and dangerous. Of course, there must be some he dislikes for various reasons but given an opportunity to save a member of the said disliked species, he would absolutely risk life and limb to do so. Of that, Viggo has no doubt. To hear the term “monster” come from Hiccup’s mouth while referring to a dragon was.. quite a big deal. Likely, there is a very good reason he made an exception this one time. A reason he couldn't wait to hear of, especially if listening to the story could help him cope with the pain and provide a much needed distraction. His interest can be considered very much piqued. Viggo answers with another nod as talking really was wearing him out quite severely.

Gently, Hiccup readjusts the pillows under Viggo’s head to make sure the injured man is as comfortable as he can be in this given, very unpleasant situation. Then, the Dragon Master pulls the blankets a little higher up the fallen Chieftain's chest to keep the chills at bay before he sits back in his chair, prepared to tell the promised story. And as it goes, Viggo finds his sore and broken body relaxing slightly, tension and anxiety dissipating, while curiosity simultaneously keeps rising with every word…

“The whole thing happened about three.. maybe four years ago we were still at war with Outcasts. Due to a couple past events, Alvin and his people learned how to tame dragons, even ones as aggressive as Whispering Deaths. They had a plan to destroy us from below by slipping dragon eggs into the caves. To have them tear Berk apart while nobody expected a thing. We discovered something was off when our well suddenly dried out. I went down with Toothless to investigate. We found the crates with Outcasts’ symbols painted on them and the egg shells. And among them, there was one which stood out-...”