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Snotlout hasn’t said he hates a specific type of dragon simply for being that kind of dragon in a very long time. But he thinks he’s going to have to make an exception for Speed Stingers. He wakes up from a nightmare of being stuck paralyzed again, heart pounding stupidly fast.
He sits up and slides out of bed to move around his room just to remind himself that he can. And it’s stupid that he’s having nightmares. He’s supposed to be a warrior. Real warriors don’t get shaken up by things and certainly not something as stupid as that, something that didn’t even actually hurt him.
His dad certainly wouldn’t be. Maybe he was initially a bit taken aback by the attack but he’s back to normal and pointed out that Snotlout was the only one of the riders to manage to get stung.
And twice, on top of that.
Which is pathetic.
The chief was stung too of course but well, he didn’t go down from one sting like Snotlout did. Twice over.
And he can’t stop thinking about being trapped there and unable to move and how at first, he couldn’t even breathe, like his brain was trying to shut that down too until he finally just kept breathing automatically. He’d thought he was going to die. Or at least, that he’d never be able to move again. He had no idea it was going to wear off at all until it started to and he doesn’t think he’s been that terrified since…
Well, since weeks ago when he’d also thought he was going to die, no thanks to the twins pranking him.
And it hadn’t seemed like anyone really… cared. They would miss him if he was gone, right? Right? He doesn’t think he could really blame them if they didn’t. He knows what he is. That he’s exhausting and irritating and awful, and never really who anyone wants. It still hurts, anyway.
The twins thought beating him up when he was paralyzed, unable to move and hardly breathe was funny. Yeah, well at least they were having fun. It’s not like he doesn’t deserve to get hit anyway and it’s not he can’t handle being hit – he’s a warrior – but he still can’t forget the sheer helplessness of it.
He tries going back to sleep, after a little while. He still keeps waking up from dreams about the Speed Stingers and is altogether very very cranky by the time morning finally comes.
He’s going outside to take Hookfang on an early morning flight, mostly just an excuse to dodge anything his dad might have to say and so he doesn’t have to try to keep sleeping when Hiccup flies up on Toothless, landing outside.
“Hiccup?” he asks, a little confused because his cousin very rarely comes anywhere near the Jogerson house.
“Hey, Snotlout,” Hiccup offers, cheerful but also squirming a little, in a way that makes Snotlout pretty sure he’s uncomfortable.
“Why are you here?”
“Um, I just… are you okay?” Hiccup asks,
“Obviously. Why wouldn’t I be?” Snotlout retaliates. It’s not like he’s going to say that he’s not. Espeically when he certainly ought to be. He rather doubts Hiccup would be getting so hung up on something like this. Hiccup wouldn’t even manage to get himself stung in the first place. And why does he always have to be so nice? What is he even supposed to do when someone’s being nice?
“You did get paralyzed twice yesterday,” his cousin offers.
“And?” Snotlout throws back, “I still got rid of those speed stingers even while I was paralyzed.”
Technically, no, Hiccup did all the work just like he always does while Snotlout was being completely useless.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Hiccup shifts a little, on Toothless’ back. “It’s just… I know everyone was making a joke about it, but I… know it really wasn’t.”
“Whatever,” Snotlout grumbles, because he doesn’t even know what to say to this. He wishes his cousin would just drop it already, even if that he isn’t still means more than Snotlout wishes it did because no one else had even acted worried. Yeah, this is why he deserves getting hit. He’s always mean and he knows it.
“So uhh… want to go out flying?” Hiccup suggests finally, patting Toothless’ head. His dragon yips eagerly, head lifting.
“Sure,” Snotlout agrees because he doesn’t really have a reason to refuse that.
Hookfang snorts fire at him when he goes over to get on his back, knocking his helmet off. “Come on, doesn’t that ever get tiring for you?” he gripes, going to recollect it and climbing onto his back.
At least Hookfang’s back to being normally about everything, even if he was being abnormally hovery and weird the night before. Snotlout ignores the tiny part of him that sparks with jealously over how Hiccup and Toothless never fight with each other. It doesn’t seem fair.
But he doesn’t know what he’d do if Hookfang was being all hovery and weird like Hiccup either, so maybe it’s not always a bad thing.
They fly out together, and Snotlout just tries to be grateful that he can even move, not to mention breathe, right now. And at least this way, he can avoid anymore stupid nightmares.