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The hardest part about battle is when everyone gets separated in a dragon hunter stronghold and your dragon is nowhere to be seen.
In the heat of the fight, sometimes you’re hit without realizing it, and it really sucks when you finally notice it.
Hiccup leaned against a crate, clutching his ribs- at least two or three must've cracked when a dragon hunter slammed into him, he distinctly remember feeling a sharp crack- but between the adrenaline and needing to stay focused- he couldn't worry about any injury.
He grunted slightly, squinting to focus- his adrenaline had worn off, and now the pain had become unbearable.
It wasn't just the ribs. Bruises and scrapes littered his body as well, and his skin felt burnt and sizzled.
Hiccup’s tunic had holes all over the left side from an explosion he didn't anticipate- and a fire ignited the stronghold.
Hiccup was now a good distance away, so he could check over his injury- treat it before it got bad, and head back to find his dragon and his friends.
But that was easier said than done- the many clasps and parts to his outfit made it hard to just check his ribs, so maybe he would have to wait.
He let out a staggered sigh as he leaned against a stone wall, trying to catch his breath. His satchel dangled at his side, weighed down by the dragon eye inside.
Hiccup was no stranger to broken ribs, the first time had ever broken one was when he was much younger, six in fact. He had gone on a walk with his father when he slipped on mud and landed square on a rock- effectively snapping two of his ribs and knocking the wind out of him.
His father tended to him gently, carried him home, and spoke softly to him for days. Hiccup didn't leave the house for that period, so neither did Stoick- and Spitelout was put on as acting chief.
Hiccup missed his dads in moments like this- missed Berk, missed home, but with battle came time away and discomfort- and with that he understood.
The brown-haired boy staggered slightly as he pushed off the wall, the pain still sharp and new. He pushed forward once more, leaning on whatever he could.
His main goal was locating his dragon now, then his friends. Thankfully, none of them were all that quiet, so it wasn't hard to determine their general location- but through the haze, the stronghold felt like a maze, and getting to them was harder than he thought.
He leaned against a rock pillar, wheezing as his eyes shut tight. Everything was starting to hurt, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep going.
He pushed off the pillar after a moment or two of wheezing, and he slowly moved forward, each movement slow and shaky- he was afraid one wrong step and he would be on the floor in seconds.
Hiccup easily avoided the fallen supports and splintered off pieces of wood, leaning on the bits that weren't on fire to get around them. He climbed through fallen ladders and broken rock towers, and dodged falling embers, before finally making it to a clearing.
"Toothless!" He called out, wincing slightly- his ribs ached, and so did everything else. "Toothless!" He called again, gripping his satchel, and in response, a sharp roar and purple plasma blast erupted in the sky, and Hiccup felt a sense of relief. Toothless was okay, and he was close.
Hiccup sighed shakily before walking forward again.
He had slowly climbed over a log just before an arrow fell in front of him, the tail facing him. He was being ambushed from behind.
He didn’t have much time to react, and an arrow grazed his arm while few others zipped past him, he ignored his pain (reluctantly) and retreated into a cave opening just to the right of him.
Panic set in when he heard footsteps following, he couldn't defend himself, not in this state- and he knew enough about this island to know that this cave was most likely a dead end.
Hiccup regretfully faced his opponent, drawing his dragon blade, and quickly shifting into a fighting stance. He had to try if he was going to survive.
His eyes grew wide as he came face to face with Viggo Grimborn, the other wielding his sword.
Hiccup insinctually pulled his arms up to protect his face and upperbody, holding them steadily despite the pain he was in.
Viggos sword made contact almost instantly, and he fought back a scream that hitched in his throat- instead grunting, and changing his stance to fight back.
He ignited the flaming sword quickly, drawing it just close enough to the other to sizzle the arm on his tunic.
“Close.” Viggo smirked, diving forward once again, his sword high in the air. He brought it down with a quick swing, making contact with hiccups chest- slashing the tunic and the skin, exposing blood that now dripped down the leather Hiccup wore.
He cried out as he fell backward, his back hitting the stone ground harshly. He clutched his satchel tightly, worried about infection if he touched the wound. It gave him something else to clutch.
Viggo held his sword forward, waiting for the other to make a move.
Hiccup was speechless as he held back pained sobs. Tears fell down his face, accompanying the sweat that had accumulated from the heat and the rigorous motion.
"Oh come on now, don't tell me you're done just because of a little scratch?" Viggo sneered, his eyes focused on Hiccup.
"Little.. M-More.. than a scratch, Viggo." Hiccup rasped, his hands gripping the dirt. Blood pooled from his wound, dripped onto the dirt and stained it red. He felt lightheaded now, and he wasn't sure if he could stand.
"Get up." Viggo sounded annoyed now, and Hiccup didn't want to make this worse for himself- so he complied. Getting up was painful and made the bleeding worse, but it seemed to please Viggo's sick needs.
They paced around each other for a moment, making it back out into the clearing of the blazing stronghold.
"Are you going to kill me?" Hiccup stated plainly, wobbling as he losely held his dragon blade.
“Depends. Will you comply?” Viggo responded just a plainly, but a permanent grin stay fixed on his face, sending an uncomfortable chill down Hiccups spine.
Hiccup looked puzzled for a moment. “Comply with what?” He stared at Viggo, dumbfounded. Viggo glared back, and moved to the left slightly, and Hiccup responded by moving to the right. His gaze stayed focused on Viggo, despite the lightheadedness.
“Give me the dragon eye, and this will be over. I know you want to make it out of this alive, and at this point, that will only happen if I have the dragon eye in my hand." Viggo glared at Hiccup, a kind of violence in his eyes that made the other more nauseous than he already was.
"I'll die before I give you the dragon eye." Hiccup snarled, shifting his legs once more to be ready to defend himself.
"Then die you shall." Viggo sighed, and lunged foward, swinging his sword towards Hiccup. It grazed his shoulder, ripping the leather and exposing skin.
Hiccups heart raced as he dodged Viggos attacks to the best of his ability, earning a few more rips and slashes.
He held back pained tears and agonized screams, every movement felt like fire. His ribs felt like knifes and his largest wound bled continuously, soaking his tunic and the ground he stood over.
“I’m suprised you’ve kept up this long.” Viggo spoke, keeping his composure. Hiccup gave him a challenging glare, not saying a word.
“Not chatty today?” Viggo smirked, clearly trying to distract Hiccup. Hiccup continued to give no response, only focusing on his defense, maybe the pain a little bit too.
“Oh well. I’m done with this little quarrel.” Viggo spoke again, quickening his movements, throwing blows more frequently. He wasn’t sloppy, not for a long shot, but he was definitely in a hurry. Maybe Hiccup could use this to his advantage.
“Got.. Somewhere to be?” Hiccup gritted his teeth, barely able to get the words out. Breathing hurt. Talking hurt. He didn’t want to do either.
Viggo gave Hiccup a sour look, clearly not wanting to draw this battle on longer than he needed to.
Hiccup never got a response, instead, Viggo began fighting with more violence, like he truly wanted to kill the other.
It made Hiccup nervous, a uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach.
Viggo used his free hand to land a few harsh blows on Hiccup's face when he got close enough, breaking his nose and giving him a shiny black eye (and plenty of other bruises while he was at it). At some point he stopped for a moment, then slammed his sword flat into Hiccup's side, sending him crashing to the floor. The boy breathed heavily through his tears, all the air had escaped from him.
"Sorry it had to end this way, Hiccup.” Viggo spoke harshly, annoyance in his tone. He leaned down, ripping the satchel off Hiccup. He calmly pulled out what he was looking for.
"See how easy that was?" Viggo smiled, content. He glared down a Hiccup one final time before walking away into the smoke calmly, the dragon eye disappearing with him.
Hiccup stayed still, silent. Pain was everywhere now, he couldn't tell what hurt and what didn't.
Blood soaked his clothes and skin, scratches and cuts littering every inch. The slashes on his arms and chest bled the most, dripping everywhere he stood and laid. It circled around him like sea, staining the dirt and rocks red.
He couldn't move now, he could barely breathe. Bruises covered his body aswell, purple and pink splotches on his face hands and where ever you could see on his legs and arms. Much of the fabric on his outfit had been torn, exposing sensitive skin.
Hiccup thought about Toothless, about the plasma blast he had seen back just before Viggo got to him- he hoped the nightfury and his friends were safe. He hoped everyone was alive.
Hiccup weakly (and rather slowly) flipped onto his back, staring into the smokey sky. He coughed aggressively, his throat scratchy. He coughed up blood that fell onto the dirt, blending in with the stained ground.
A distant roar echoed through the air once more, like it was calling for him. searching for him. He couldn't move though, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to.
Maybe they were searching for him, maybe he could survive this.
He coughed again, inhaling smoke. His eyes started to burn, and he wanted to shut them, to close his eyes and go to bed- but he also wanted to wait. He wanted to wait for his friends, his friends who had to be searching for him.
A surge of pain shot through his body, and he jolted violently, crying out in pain. This caused a chain reaction of agony, and suddenly everything hurt so much worse than before.
He shut his eyes tightly and sobbed, he felt like his body was on fire and in ice, and every wound felt like it was being cauterized, but no one was around.
He was back in the fetal position again, pain often caused his reflexes to protect his whole body or cradle it, but this time it just hurt worse.
Hiccup sprawled out onto his stomach, getting dirt in almost all of his fresh wounds, granting more pain, but at this point, he couldn't cry anymore, he couldn't scream out in pain any louder, he couldn't fight any harder.
He coughed up blood that soaked into the already bloodstained dirt, tears pooling where his chin was.
His head fell limply, and he stared at nothing. His breath was unsteady and raspy, his throat burned from the smoke and blood.
He barely heard the roar that was closer than ever, barely even saw the last plasma blast that shot into the air. His mind was foggy, and all he wanted was sleep.
Hiccup thought about Toothless, about the plasma blasts and roars that echoed and exploded in thr air, and he hoped the nightfury and his friends were safe. He hoped everyone was alive.
He didn't notice tears were falling more now, joining the blood in the dirt, washing away the blood that dripped from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
His face looked worse than everything else, bruises and blood covered every inch. His left eye was completely shut and his right was clearly developing a black eye as well. His nose sat at a crooked angle and blood continued to drip out. The corner of his mouth had blood stains as well, from the internal bleeding he most definitely had. Cuts and scrapes filled his cheeks, one deep slash on his right, blood no longer flowing. It was grossly scabbed and most likely infected.
His body wasn’t much better, though. His tunic was torn and ripped and the gash on his chest was red and bloody, his forearms in the same state. His arms had smaller cuts and scratches, and some parts just had torn, exposing dirt covered skin. His pants were scrapped, his knees exposed, and a deep slash soaked his left thigh.
Hiccup let out a choked cry.
He missed his friends, his dragon, his dad. He really missed his dad.
He thought about how his dad would care for injuries like this. He would clean up the blood and stitch the deeper wounds, help set his nose back in place and bandage his ribs so they’d heal well enough, but his dad wasn’t here. He was back at berk, giving commands and fulfilling the needs of the village.
That thought eased him- at least he knew his dad was safe. He begged the gods that his friends were as well.
The sounds of fighting had died out a while ago, he wasn’t sure when.
He thought of his dragon and how much he loved him, and what they’d be doing if they weren’t in this situation.
They’d probably be flying, soaring above and below the clouds- embracing the elements that surrounded them. They’d dive and glide and they would fly high, shadowing the sun with the silhouette of two best friends. They’d pick up dinner and they’d enjoy each other’s company.
Hiccup stared at the smoke ahead of him. His lungs burned and so did his nose. The air was thick and hard to breathe in, and he couldn’t evade it.
“Tooth..Toothless..” Hiccup rasped, trying to call for his dragon.
He coughed up blood once again, shaking and crying.
Hiccup let his body go limp, not willing to push against the pain anymore. He felt the tears slow, and his eyes shut tight.
The sound of distant footsteps drew closer, louder, and suddenly stopped. Hiccup heard another blast, and a panicked roar- Toothless. That was Toothless and he was close- or maybe he was already here?
He felt something prod him, shove him slightly. It hurt when his back made contact with the floor as Toothless nudged him over, but he couldn’t do anything to protest. No sound came out, no movement happened.
Hiccup felt Toothless lick him, lick his wounds and lick his face, and he wanted to hold him, to accept the dragon’s way of showing affection, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t open his eyes. He was so tired.
The dragon roared, a sad roar, a knowing roar. He knew Hiccup wasn’t going to get up again before Hiccup knew.
Hiccup felt the ground shake slightly as Toothless’s heavy tail laid gently over his legs, and the dragons head was just above Hiccup’s. Hiccup wanted to pet Toothless, to snuggle into his warm scales.
Toothless whined and whimpered, licking Hiccup’s hair every now and then. The dragon only moved when the sound of loud footsteps drew close once more, stopping just as Toothless did.
He heard his friends cry out, he heard Astrids cry and the way Snotlout said his name, he heard the twins gasp and how Fishlegs went completely silent, he heard their footsteps become lighter, he heard Toothless snarl, protective of his rider.
Hiccup wanted to tell Toothless no, to not snarl at them, but he never could, he never did.