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“ AaaaaAAAAHH !”
Hiccup's face screwed as he braced for the inevitable impact of the crash. Toothless, spinning out of control, roared in pain. From the corner of his eye, Hiccup could still see the arrow still stuck in his side.
They’d been out solo scouting- a mission that normally goes fine. But they hadn’t seen the single dragon hunter ship. And one arrow was enough to send Hiccup and Toothless spiralling out of the sky.
This is just about the worst decision I've ever made , Hiccup thought. If only I-
He didn't have time to finish the thought. Something solid slammed into his chest, sending him flying off his dragon. The wind flew past his face, stinging like a wasp, and it's all he could do to curl into a ball and hope he won't break something.
It didn't help. He rolled down the hill, and hit several ice shards and one ice cap that sent him flying off it, before he came to a dizzying halt. At first, he couldn't tell, because his head swirled like he’d spun around ten times on Toothless. But as he lay there, the ground solidified beneath his aching bones.
He opened his eyes, and the blinding whiteness of the snow and early morning sun made him screw them shut immediately. His head throbbed. Must’ve hit it on the way down .
Panic stabbed through him like a knife. If he hit his head, he could’ve been at risk of a concussion. He remembers medical lessons from his earlier years to prepare them for battle, Gobber firmly telling them all that you should never lose consciousness until someone can help you.
As far as he knew, he was alone. Save for Toothless, but he could’ve been anywhere on the island. It was unfamiliar, and -he realised harrowingly- he went alone.
Stupid, Hiccup, stupid! He cursed himself. Of all the times he was in too much of a rush to consider bringing backup, it had to be the one time he was shot down.
Worst of all, there didn’t seem to be any means of life. He made himself sit up, his ribs on fire with agony, and found a barren expanse of white snow. No trees, no grass, no foliage, nothing edible. Not even any dragons. And if he was stuck by himself, Toothless who knew where, he was - let's face it , he thought- stranded.
No point waiting, he thought glumly, and began the difficult trek up the mountain.
It took little more than a few hundred metres for his injuries, which had faded to the background of his consciousness, to return in full force. He'd bashed his right ankle and knee on the way down, leaving him with no fully functional legs. His shoulder throbbed, which was probably another roll or twist of some kind. Everywhere felt like molten metal, moulded and reshaped at odd angles.
But all of that would be tolerable -he was a dragon rider, after all, he was used to pain- if it weren’t for the snow. Cold, knee deep and unforgiving, it weighed his bruised, damaged legs down until they may as well have been led. It was all he could do not to collapse into the deceptive softness, knowing full well he may never get back up. He had to get back. He had to. For the riders. For Astrid. For-
A faint roar met his ears. Faint, but still there.
“Toothless?” He began to pick up pace, dragging his legs further through the snow. The edge of a dark shape, just behind an ice cap, began to show.
Then, the silhouette of the dragon he loved so much leapt forth from the ice cap, and right on top of him.
“ TOOTHLESS! ” He cried, limping forward as fast as his ankle could carry him. He gratefully threw his arms around his neck, rubbing his cold scales. “Oh, am I glad to see you, bud.”
Toothless warbled happily, licking the side of Hiccup's face. Gross as it was, it warmed his cheek, and Hiccup let him.
“Whaddya say we get out of here?”
Toothless's smile dropped, and he sadly flapped his tail, the fabric torn and frozen.
Hiccup inspected the damaged tail flap. “Hm...”
We might be a while.