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They had thought Ryker was still unconscious from the hit he'd taken from Stoick. They got careless. They started to leave, and each of them, every single one, looked away from the man who had just kidnapped and hurt Hiccup.
With their backs turned, no one saw as the large, bald man peaked a rageful eye open, ego bruised more than his skull, lifted his head, pulled out a knife, and threw it with a wild grin.
Hiccup gasped, and jolted suddenly against Astrid. She heard the Chief yell in anger, and Toothless screech in rage. She was almost too scared to look, but she did it anyway, and dread filled her when she saw what had happened. There, in Hiccup's back, a little to the left side, was the hilt of a knife that had most certainly not been there before.
She heard Ryker laugh before it was cut off with a yell of his own, as Stoick the Vast had reached the man whom had harmed his son, his one and only heir, one too many times already that day. There was no more mercy to be had.
Astrid looked away before she saw what became of him. She'd ask someone later. Now, she was much more concerned with Hiccup. He was breathing in tiny gasps, that was bad, but he was still standing against her. That was good. There wasn't too much blood leaking out of the wound, yet, her treacherous mind whispered. That was good. He was grimacing, clearly in pain. That was bad. What could she do?
She gently unwrapped Hiccup's arm from her shoulders, and leaned him against Toothless who had quickly returned to his boy after ensuring Ryker had been dealt with, for sure this time. The dragon was whining and cooing at Hiccup, ear flaps tight against his head in stress. Hiccup laid a hand on Toothless's head but said nothing.
Astrid began removing Hiccup's armor as gently as she could, having to cut through parts of it to reach the wound. Hiccup said nothing, but continued his quick, shallow breaths, leaning against Toothless, who supported the majority of his weight. How could she have allowed this to happen? She should have noticed Ryker wasn't done for, she should have been faster catching up with the bounty hunters, she should have made Hiccup tell his father about the bounty. All of this was her fault. Now, Hiccup was hurt because she didn't act, and who knows what would become of him, all because of her failure.
"Hiccup!" bellowed Stoick, rushing over to his son who was still silent, leaning against Toothless with tiny gasps. "Son, oh by the gods, we must get you to the elder," he gasped, wiping blood off his axe and coming in close to look at his son's injury, the blade deep in his boy's flesh. blood was beading around the hilt, and a line of it had started dripping down his back. It was a dark, dark red, that warned of worse to come.
"He can ride with me," Astrid began, trying to keep herself together, just for now, just a little longer. "We'll ride on Toothless, He's the fastest. I can control his tail instead of Hiccup." the Chief looked like he wanted to protest at that, wanted to take Hiccup himself, but relented. Astrid was lighter, and could fly Toothless more quickly than he could.
"Go."
She nodded, and tried to help get the still silent Hiccup onto Toothless's saddle without jostling him too much. She saw his wince, and watched as a little more blood weaped out of the wound. Toothless whined again, but held as still as possible to make it easier on his hurting rider. Astrid got onto Toothless behind him and slid her foot onto the pedal. The Chief grabbed his son's hand in a gentle grip.
"Son... I... The rest of us will get to Berk as soon as we can, we'll be right behind you. You'll be alright. Gothi has treated worse than this, just..." the typically stoick man trailed off, a waver in his voice. He cleared his throat and looked to Astrid, "Get him to Berk. Keep him alive." She nodded. There was no other option in her mind, either.
Toothless tensed up, before pumping his wings and shooting them into the air. Another wave of blood, and a groan from Hiccup came from the motion. Astrid held her arms around him, holding him tight against her, as if she could protect him from blood loss and pain with just her arms. She didn't look back to see the others following behind them at a slower, non-night fury pace. She knew that they too would be flying as fast as their dragons could carry them, especially the Chief.
Now that it was just the two of them, she was finding it harder to keep her emotions at bay. She was a warrior, gods be damned, but the man in her arms terrified her like nothing else ever had. She couldn't lose him, even to his own stubbornness. She should have told Stoick about the bounty if he wouldn't. She should have stopped him from even going to Berk, such a crowded place, with that bounty on his head. She knew Hiccup could be reckless with his own safety, so it was her responsibility to ensure the heir, the leader of the dragon riders, her friend, her Hiccup, remained safe. And she failed.
She felt blood from the wound leak onto her chest and mentally begged for Toothless to go faster. This was not good. All of the jostling from flying was making things worse, Hiccup was clearly in more pain than before, yet he was still quiet. It was odd, he hadn't said anything at all since the knife had entered his body.
"How are you doing?" she cringed at the impulsive question, he was doing badly, she knew that, but she still hoped for a good answer.
"F-" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, "Fine." He could feel her glaring daggers at his head from behind, "Well, not- not fine, exactly, but, uh..." He trailed off. Truthfully, he felt awful. The pain he felt had only grown worse, and each powerful flap of Toothless's wings sent shocks of pain up and down his back. He was growing more and more nauseous, but didn't want to aggravate his injury further by retching into the sea beneath them, nor did he wish to worry Astrid even further.
He especially did not want to mention that it was getting harder and harder to breathe, that each small gasping breath felt like a hot brand being jammed into his chest. He knew, however, that the warrior behind him knew something was up, as she would glance worryingly at him whenever she heard a particularly raspy gasp for air. Toothless was clearly concerned as well, rumbling unhappily at the scent of blood in the air, and hearing, much better than either of them, the pained breaths Hiccup was making.
He felt cold, high in the air as they were. Even with a dragon beneath him, and Astrid holding him against her. He shivered, and felt a new gush of blood run down his back. He felt Astrid tighten her grip around him, she must be able to feel the blood against her, he mused to himself. He was starting to get lightheaded and dizzy, he was glad he wasn't in control of Toothless's tail fin right now. He groaned as the world spun around him, all of his efforts on not loosing his last meal. He shivered again, which only made everything worse.
He felt, more than saw, as Toothless finally started to descend after what felt like an eternity up there, in the clouds. His vision was blurry, and the world still spun around him, but he thought he could see the peaks of Berk in the distance, finally. His fingers and toes were numb, every breath was like agony now, and he could barely control his shivering no matter how close Astrid held him against her. His back felt wet, and he had felt as blood started dripping off his foot awhile ago. He had decided to not mention it to Astrid. She couldn't do anything about it until they reached Berk, anyway. No need to worry her further, he thought blearily.
There were cheers as they flew overhead the village, but they quickly changed into gasps as they saw the frantic look on Toothless, and the steady dripping of blood off the foot of one of the vikings atop his back. The helpless townsfolk watched as the dragon shot towards the elders home, landing on the deck of the home as gentle as a dragon with a fourty eight foot wingspan could.
The sudden stop jarred Hiccup's wound enough to bring him out of the dazed state he had slowly sunken into, and he couldn't stop the cry that came from his lips. Toothless whined apologetically, while Astrid began frantically calling out for the elder, still supporting his weight in the saddle.
The old woman exited the home after just a moment, and inhaled sharply when she saw the state of the heir on her doorstep. She rushed over, surprisingly quickly, to examine the wound. Her eyes grew dark as she saw the hilt of the knife sticking out of Hiccup's back, and she gestured for Astrid to begin the painful process of getting Hiccup off the dragon, and into the elders home. Gothi went ahead of her, off to start preparing her herbs, her needles and leather thread, and the bed where she treats such injuries, as quickly as she could.
Astrid felt numb as she lifted Hiccup into her arms and off of Toothless. Her shirt and pants felt wet with blood, sticking against her skin. The scent of copper was heavy in the air, and the sound of Hiccup's pained breaths felt as though it rattled through her bones. Hiccup moaned as she aggravated his wound, Toothless making a heartbreaking cry at the sound. She looked to where they had just been seated on the dragon beside them, and saw red coating the saddle, blood smeared across black scales and dripping down the night furies legs onto the wood beneath their feet.
She walked into the hut in front of her, trying to ignore the miserable, terrified whines from the dragon she was leaving behind her, and her own terror drilling a pit into her stomach, like a knife was hilt deep in her, instead of Hiccup.
The movement had made Hiccup's breathing worse. He was clearly struggling to catch each breath. Watching him struggle to breathe was like torture, especially when there was nothing she could do to fix it. She laid him down on the bed where Gothi gestured to, and helped remove the rest of his armor so the elder could properly access his wounds. Astrid got up to start a pot of boiling water when the old woman wrote for her to, glad to have something to do other than watch helplessly as Hiccup struggle to breathe. She returned in time to watch the elder shove a clump of some of her herbs into Hiccup's mouth, and gestured for him to swallow. He did so, though clearly with great effort, and shuttered at the bitter taste.
"That will help with the pain, and sedate him," the elder wrote in charcoal on a notebook she kept just for writing indoors. "He needs a surgery. Soon. He will suffocate or bleed out if we do not act quickly."
Even though Astrid already knew that, to some extent, she felt the anxiety and dread in her gut grow ever heavier as she read the elder's writings. She moved to Hiccup's head without thinking about it, and kneeled down so she could be at eye level with him. His each and every breath still sounded terrifying, and his back was coated in blood. His skin was pale, with green eyes glazed over with pain. And yet, he smiled at her.
"It- It's okay, Astrid. I'll be- I'll be okay."
That muttonhead was trying to comfort her with a knife in his back. She hated him, and she loved him. He scared her so much, she felt like she was the same dumb teenager that had stalked him in the woods just to find out how he had suddenly gotten so skilled at dragon classes.
She said nothing, but laid a hand on his cheek, and watched as he became drowsy from the herbs. She leaned in, laid a gentle kiss on Hiccup's forehead, and held his hand in hers as he slowly drifted away into a medicated slumber.
Moments later, she heard, and felt, as several more dragons landed on the deck of the home she was in. Looking up to Gothi, she knew she was being kicked out of the home for now. The elder needed a sanitary place to preform the surgery, and Astrid was still covered in blood. Gothi moved her hands in a way that Astrid knew meant "bring," and "Fishlegs," so she nodded. Astrid got up, shaky on her feet, and numbly walked out to the newly arrived dragon riders waiting anxiously for news about their leader, and son, in the case of Stoick.
She was met with gasps of shock as she exited the hut. She looked down for the first time, and noticed how absolutely soaked her clothes were in Hiccup's blood. Her tunic would never be the same.
"He's alive," she heard her own voice say, "Gothi says, she says- he needs a surgery. She needs you, Fishlegs." the man in question inhaled sharply, then quickly went into the home. He had been studying under her for a few years now, and had experience treating less severe wounds for the riders. He could help Gothi, and Hiccup, much more than any of they could.
Stoick looked distraught, and angry, but said nothing. He simply got off of his dragon, walked up the the hut, and stood there at the door. He knew Gothi would not want him in there right now, but his son was hurt, his boy had bleed so much he had practically covered Astrid, and Toothless, with his blood. How could he not be at his side right now, when he was so hurt? When it was his fault his son was hurt like this in the first place?
Astrid just stood there, shaking, staring at nothing. Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at one another, before gently grabbing one of her hands each and leading her off somewhere to wash the blood off of her. Snotlout just stood there for a moment, struggling to even comprehend how everything had gone so very wrong that day, before walking up to Toothless and starting to lightly wipe the blood off of his scales. The dragon ignored him, just stared ahead at the door of the home, focused entirely on his boy inside those walls, but Snotlout didn't mind. He just quietly washed the dragon's ebony scales, hoping and praying Hiccup would be fine.
When Hiccup first began to wake up, the first sense he was met with was pain. Something deep in his back was burning, each breath sending jolts of pain through his body. Though, it was less painful than before, and he blearily realized it was much easier to breathe now. He tried to open his eyes, but it was much more difficult than he anticipated. His head was pounding, and his dizziness hadn't gone away. He groaned, throat dry and aching.
"Hiccup!"
Suddenly, there was a large hand upon his forehead, feeling his temperature.
"Dad...?" Hiccup whispered, finally having the strength to crack his eyes open.
"That's right, son. I'm here," Hiccup's father softly spoke back to him, eyes glossy with unshed tears. "Are you thirsty, son?" Hiccup nodded and his father brought a small cup of water to his lips for him to drink at hungrily.
"You lost a lot of blood. We need to get you hydrated again. When you're done, I have some more herbs for you, alright?"
After two more cup-fulls, Hiccup was done. His father gave him another dose of those gross, bitter herbs that reminded his exhausted and disoriented mind of burning, pain, fire, pain, hurts, my leg? hurts, toothless, pain from long before. It wasn't long, though, before he was feeling numb again, and his eyes were slowly closing against his will. He wanted to be awake just a little while longer, be there with his father, say how sorry he was for not telling him about the bounty, but the herbs in his system had other plans. His eyes closed, and he drifted away to the feeling of his father holding Hiccup's smaller, lanky hands in his much larger, stronger ones. He felt safe, knowing his father would protect him while he rested. There would be no more bounty hunters, or Viggo, for now.
The next time Hiccup awoke, it was much easier for him to open his eyes. When he did, he was pleasantly rewarded with the sight of Astrid before him. She was in a chair by his bed, (he realizes now that he must be downstairs in his childhood home, he wondered when he might have been moved, had he already been here last time he woke up?) sleepily petting Sharpshot who was purring contently in her lap. Beside her, Toothless was curled up, without his saddle. It looked like he was sound asleep.
Hiccup's attention returned to Astrid just in time for her to glance at him, look back to Sharpshot, then jump and look back to Hiccup.
"Hiccup!"
He smiled, even though her volume kind of hurt.
"Hi-" he was cut off as a large black shape suddenly cut into his view. "Toothless! Hey bud!" he laughed out weakly, but enthusiastically. The dragon purred and cooed happily, his entire body shaking in excitement. His boy had woken up! Hiccup was okay! He couldn't contain himself fully and let out a couple quick licks to his riders face, chittering happily at the resulting playful exasperation.
"I missed you too, bud." more than you know Hiccup thought to himself. He felt a hand on his, and turned back to Astrid. He felt... embarrassed that he had been so prideful as to not tell his father about the bounty until it was much too late, and ashamed that he had worried Astrid, his father, and all of the others so much.
"I-" he started, "...sorry."
"Don't apologize."
He looked away. But this is all my fault, he thought self depricatingly. How could I have been so stupid?
"Hiccup."
He looked back at her.
"This... This was Viggo's fault, and Ryker's. And those bounty hunters," she made eye contact as she spoke, "Not yours. Or-" she cleared her throat suddenly, "Or any of ours. Okay?"
"...Okay."
A few more cups of water, some broth, and some more of the herbs Gothi had left behind later, Hiccup was beginning to drift away again to the sound of Toothless's purrs, and the warmth of Sharpshot against his side.
"Just rest for now, Hiccup. One of us will be here with you next time you wake up." Maybe she kept speaking, maybe she didn't. Hiccup had lost his battle with consciousness once more.
Hours, or maybe days for all Hiccup knew, later, consciousness began to slowly return to him once again. He lethargically blinked his eyes open, and turned his head to the side. There, in the chair Astrid had been in before, was Snotlout. Hiccup's cousin looked tired, and looked half asleep in his chair.
"Snot...Lout?" Hiccup rasped. Snotlout jumped at the sound, instantly awake, eyes shooting to Hiccup's face.
"Hiccup! Um, Chief, eveyone, Hiccup, He's awake! He's awake!" Snotlout shouted, which hurt Hiccup's head, but Snotlout didn't seem to really notice. There was the sudden sound of footsteps, and then his father was there in his view.
"Hiccup!" cried a voice that was definitely not his fathers.
"...Fishlegs...?"
"Yes, yes Hiccup, I'm here. How's your pain? Does your incision feel okay? How about your breathing? There was a wound to your diaphragm, how does it feel when-" Fishlegs cut off when a hand slapped over his mouth.
"Let him breathe, man," laughed Ruffnut.
"Yeah Fishleggs, He can't answer four questions at once. That would be cool, though," Tuffnut mused beside her.
Suddenly, Astrid shoved her way past Fishlegs and the twins. She didn't say a thing at first, but she was beaming. For a moment they just looked at eachother, while the others in the room exchanged knowing looks.
"You're okay," she whispered.
"I said I would be, didn't I?" He smiled softly. He knew it had been a close one, he knew he had terrified her. Terrified all of them. He tried to remember, though, it wasn't his fault Viggo had set a bounty on his head, and it wasn't his fault Ryker had thrown that blade. He should have been truthful about the bounty, but it wasn't his fault he had been injured.
His fathers hand rested on his shoulder. They would need to talk, later, but for now, everything was okay. Hiccup was safe and recovering with his family by his side.
Toothless cooed, nuzzled at his hand, and licked it. All, of his family.