[IC] How To Train Your Dragon: Spreading Wings

[AHeartlessNobody]

Something was wrong here. It was terribly wrong. She watched from the inside of the caves, her eyes on the backs of the two dragons, and began to notice the change in hers. Her dragon slowly stopped her growling, shaking her head a few ties as if to throw something off of her, making whining sounds, before her wings slumped and her head lowered. Her eyes widened, her heart pounding in her chest with worry f r her friend, though was afraid to move over to her for fear of bringing danger to the babies. She heard Toothless attempt to communicate with his mate, making a few small clicks but Aurora payed them no mind. She stayed in her submissive position before taking off in the air.

Castiel felt so helpless right now, torn between helping her friend and keeping the babies safe, and then she heard something that made her tr to hold onto the babies tighter. The man outside yelled an order. Something about calling the babies out. Then came Aurora's roar. Castiel tried to keep them with her, holding onto the struggling babes trying to get to their mother, but they slipped from her grasp, flying quickly out of the cave, "No! Don't!" She screamed and scrambled to her feet, watching as the Toothless tried to grab the babies as well, only to be shot back by his own mate, "Toothless!" She ran over to him to make sure he was okay as he attempted to call the babies, but it was no use. They all hovered around their mother before the laughing man began to retreat.

She shook her head, feeling tear stream down her face, "No....no....this can't be happening...." She whispered, watching helplessly with one hand on Toothless's side as they left before she called out desperately to make her friend come back, "Aurora! Please! AURORA!" Yet her call were in vain. Before she knew it they were out of sight and Castiel was climbing onto Toothless's back, a desperate look on her face, "We have to do something Toothless. We have to go get Hiccup. Surely he and the other riders can help." She nodded to herself, waiting for Toothless to take off.

[Toothless]

Toothless called again, lowered on his haunches and prepared to take chase but then he felt the hand on his side. His eyes darted towards Castiel and back to the retreating forms, he knew he should go after his family but how could he attack with the hatchlings there? How would he fight that massive beast? He shook his head and snapped at the air, easily frustrated by this turn of events- he clawed the ground and then gradually cooled his inner fire. He lowered himself closer to the dirt so Castiel could climb on though his eyes were clearly bothered, his muscles still tight.

As soon as he felt her against his back he took off, launching them up into the sky and shakily leveling them out. His tail fin clicked into a stable position as their flight was straight and sure- wings beating faster, pushing them further. Hiccup was already hours ahead of them and back at Berk but despite the distance Toothless was a night fury. He was going to get them there. Fast. His mate and their hatchlings depended on it.

Some of the villagers called out his approach but he paid them no mind, a few dragons squawked at his presence- feeling the tension rolling off him. A bothered alpha was a sign for unease among them. His feet touched down with a hard thunk, scattering dirt and his wings collapsed upon themselves as an ache began to rack them. Oh how he had pushed himself, panting and then narrowing his eyes. He folded his wings carefully and then bounded towards Hiccup’s house in great bounding leaps.

Please be there. He called out silently, mind set on reaching his friend. Something horrible has happened.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel was a nervous wreck the whole flight back to Berk with Toothless, wondering what fate would befall her friend and the baby dragons. If anything happened to them she would never forgive herself. And Toothless for sure was just as stressed,if not more so then her. After all, this was his mate and his babies at risk. She could feel the strain tight under his skin as he pushed himself, getting the two of them back to Berk faster than she would have expected. And as soon as they landed, Toothless bolted for a house that Castiel knew had to be Hiccup's home. She didn't even wait for the dragon to completely stop before she slid off of his back and rushed to the door, stumbling the past for steps there.

She banged on the door, worry in her eyes, hoping he was there, Surely he wouldn't have taken a detour and went somewhere else before reaching Berk, right? The door opened, but instead of it being Hiccup, it was an older woman who answered the door. She pushed her confusion aside for now and spoke to her, "Where's Hiccup? I need to speak to him quickly! Please!"

The woman seemed a bit surprised at the girl's hast and worry and called Hiccup's name, moving aside for the girl to come in and seeing Hiccup coming down the stairs, she rushed over to meet hi at the foot of the stairs, "Hiccup! Please! You have to help! S-some man came to the cave! He had some kind of giant dragon with him! Aurora's gone! She..she just attacked Toothless and followed them! It was like she didn't even realize what she was doing! And-and the babies! They went with her!" It was obvious she was in a panic at th possibility of loosing her friend and the baby dragons.

By this time, the older woman, Valka, stepped up, "Drago. Should have known he would try something else. I just didn't think it would be so soon."

So, they did know who this man was. Castiel looked at Hiccup worriedly, her eyes pleading with him, "Please Hiccup....we have to get her back...."

[Toothless]

Hiccup tried to take all this newfound responsibility in a positive light but he’d only just gotten back a little bit ago and if his mother was calling his name it meant one of the Vikings had probably misplaced their stash of dragon nip, or something… (his dad was serious about this whole: no task too ’small’, business). Luckily most of them didn’t bother him with such things but there WAS a select few. He tried not to think about it as he made his way down the stairs, ready to tackle whatever awaited him at the bottom.

Or so he thought. What he found was a hysterical dragon rider (which normally wasn’t too unusual if it was anyone else) and a distraught dragon. As soon as he heard what the nature of this visit was he paled and before his mom even said the man’s name he knew. But he was a chief now and he had to keep calm in turmoil for those that couldn’t. He had to be a leader.

He took a breath and put his hands on Castiel’s shoulders willing his voice to be clear and strong. “We’ll get her back. We’ll get ALL of them back.” Toothless whined and as he turned the night fury bumped into him, pushing his head into his chest until Hiccup reassured him. “We’ll figure this out. Just… give me a moment.” Finally he reached his mother. “Toothless is the strongest dragon, that bewilder beast should have been nothing to him.”

“Oh… Hiccup… you still know so little.” Valka replied sadly, “an alpha dragon can not control their mate.”

Hiccup couldn't pretend to understand but his mother had been living with dragons for twenty years and was probably what one would consider an expert on them. Far more so than him. "Okay." Not that arguing the facts would accomplish anything so he accepted and began to formulate a plan of action. He started up the stairs stopping only to make a gesture for them to wait before disappearing onto the upper floor. Toothless almost immediately took to pacing while Valka stood quietly for a moment before stating she would go get Cloudjumper. Before she could even leave the room though Hiccup reappeared, tightening the straps on his 'armor' and fastening the hilt of his retractable flame sword to his leg.

Before he could exit Valka grabbed him by the arm "it's too dangerous. I will not loose you like this... I will go with Cloudjumper and deal with this as I should have many years ago." She said firmly but Hiccup would not hear it.

He looked at her straight on and replied just as firm: "No. This is mine and Toothless' fight. You need to stay here and take care of things while I'm gone." Feeling the tension he offered a small smile. "I'll be alright mom. We'll be back before you know it." He put his hand on Toothless' side and lead him out and around to the small shed which they had added in recent years. It was here he began strapping on his saddle. "Castiel" he continued what he was doing even as he addressed her. "I need to go borrow a dragon... Skullcrusher is part of the tracking class. We'll head back to the cave and have him get a sniff at the babies' egg shells. Then we'll go after that bewilder beast. I'll need your help for this, can I count you in?"

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel could tell from the look on Hiccup's face that whatever he was expecting, he was not expecting to see her there. She calmed a little when he placed his hands on her shoulders, telling her they would get Aurora and the other dragons back from Drago but it wasn't by much. Hr friend was still at risk of being hurt or worse and that worry would not subside completely until she had her friend by her side again. She watched as Toothless nudged against Hiccup before Hiccup reassured him as well and went upstairs. It was another moment later that the woman who Castiel assumed might be Hiccup's mother, said she was going to go get her dragon, though she didn't even get a chance to leave before Hiccup was coming down the stairs, wearing his armor.

There was a small exchange of words between mother and son, mostly them deciding who would go and who would stay to watch over the village. In the end it was decided that Hiccup would go and his mother would stay to watch over the village in his absence. She walked outside after Hiccup and they came to a small shed, Hiccup getting Toothless ready for the flight as he spoke to her, saying they would go back to the cave with a tracking lass dragon, and that after the dragon had the scent they would go after the Bewilderbeast. By Bewilderbeast, she assumed he meant the giant dragon that had taken control of Aurora. Fighting him worried Castiel, considering it was lightly they would have to fight Aurora before they could even attempt to fight the giant dragon. The thought of fighting her friend was not something she liked, but knew if they wanted to free her then there was no way around it.

She nodded when he asked if he could count her in, "Of course. Aurora is my best friend. I'll do anything to get her back."

[Toothless]

“I knew you would.” Hiccup said with a sincere smile and an edge of fondness. Regardless of how dangerous this was she didn’t turn tail and abandon her dragon but despite this somewhat pleasant realization the expression didn’t hold to his face. His lips slowly drew into a grim line and with a nod to them he stepped out “wait here.” As soon as he left Toothless sat down with a dejected air. He could summon an army of dragons in a heartbeat but his rider seemed to be aiming for small scale. Did he hope to catch that vile man off guard? Berk was always ready for a fight, dragons and Vikings alike, deep down it would always be in their blood.

In a few minutes time Hiccup had returned- a bulky dragon visible beyond the doorway as Hiccup stepped back in. “When we get there. Toothless will distract Aurora and I’ll go after Bludvist, without him that bewilder beast won’t fight.” He determined sternly “I need you to make sure the babies are safe and out of range.” Which would be a difficult job but one he was trusting her to. She was just an extra piece in an evil man’s plan for revenge. He didn’t think she would be targeted unless she made a direct strike against it and because of that she should be able to carry the hatchlings off without complication.

Hiccup lead them out to the tracking dragon, touching his broad forehead. “You’ll ride Skullcrusher. At least for this part.” He got on Toothless’ back. “Let’s hurry.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel nodded at Hiccup's plan. Getting the babies to a safe place was definitely a top priority and something she could do while they distracted Aurora and Drago. Hopefully after Drago was defeated, the bewilderbeast would stop his attack and Aurora would be freed, "I can do that." She could just hope that the babies themselves would cooperate with her. The way they had followed Aurora so willingly before she was sure there would be some type of struggle there. But even if she had to force them, she would go them away from the danger whether they liked it or not. It was what Aurora would want if she was in the right state of mind.

She gently petted the large and bulky dragon, letting him sniff her hand before she mounted him and then they were off. It was a little slower getting to the cave this time since Skullcrusher was slower than toothless, but once they were there she hopped onto his back and led hi mover to where the dragon egg shells still lay, letting him sniff them, "Okay boy, we need you to find out where these baby dragons are, okay? Its very important. Think you can do that?" The dragon gave a sound and Castiel smiled ,"I'll take that as a yes." Hopping onto his back the dragon took off, sniffing the air and heading in the direction of where, Castiel hopped, they would find the babies and their mother.

[Toothless]

While Hiccup had taken the rear of their two person flight pattern he eventually had Toothless drift closer, flying to the right of the bulky dragon and little higher up in the sky. He peered down at Castiel and called her name before reaching back and pulling Toothless’ tail fin out of its current gear- “I need you to switch dragons with me.” He reached down, offering his hand. “That bewilder beast will most likely keep its sights on Toothless, regardless of you or not. While he and Drago are distracted I’m going to fly in on Skullcrusher.”

He was hopeful that this was the element of surprise that would allow him to deal with the man. Once he pulled Castiel up he repositioned, sliding back on the saddle and easing up into a crouch. “Just put your hands around those bars there, at the front of his saddle. Toothless likes to go fast and you don’t want to go flying without a dragon, now do you?” He joked despite the heavy atmosphere and straightened, stepping off one dragon and onto the other.

“Oh,” he stuck his arm up past Toothless neck with a small burlap sack clutched in his palm. “If you have to, use this to keep the hatchlings with you. It’s dragon nip. But try not to rely on it first, I get the inkling that it gives them all these hangover headaches…” He mumbled, comparing the aftermath to a bunch of Vikings after a really wild party.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel looked up when Hiccup stated that he wanted to switch dragons, and was confused as to why he would want to ride Skull Crusher instead of his own dragon, but it became clear once he explained. Despite is size, because the Bewilderbeast wouldn't pay attention to the bulkier dragon, giving Hiccup a chance to go after Drago while Castiel could get the babies. She took his out stretched hand and with his help, climbed up to Toothless's back, sitting in front of Hiccup, positioning herself as he told her, putting hr hands on the bars and watched as he moved back and straightened up, sliding down onto Skull Crusher.

She took the bag of dragon nip ad nodded. She remembered fairly well Aurora reacting to the stuff She had seemed to love it so much, but the next day had been easy to agitate and ill. She wouldn't want the babies to be the same way later. She tied the sack to her hip for same keeping, "I hope I don't have to use it. Maybe the babies will ome with me of their own free will. Hopefully...." She said and sighed because she knew that was a very slim chance. Baby dragons were always so attached to their mother's. They stayed with them until they almost completely grown. And she had a feeling these hatchlings would be the same.

Looking up, Castiel could ee an island coming to very and both dragons they were riding on immediately became more alert. From this, Castiel knew that was where they would find Drago and their dragons. She clutched tighter on the bars, a little tense, though she forced herself to relax a little and looked over at Hiccup who was now flying beside them,"Hiccup...be careful...okay?"

[Toothless]

This was the man that had ruined so many lives: humans and dragons alike.
Sure Hiccup had tried to reason with him in the past but he was just as ruthless as both his parents had claimed and part of him STILL wished he had just... listened. He swore he wouldn't make the same mistake again, he couldn't let what happen to his father befall anyone else. Not like that. Not for him when it was his own foolish mistake that caused it. His gaze was steely and his focus was tight like a vice. He had to do this.

But then Castiel's voice cut through it and his thoughts faltered. He looked at her and nodded before looking at Toothless and instantly the dragon seemed to understand, swooping ahead to round the bend first, instantly catching the bewilder beast's attention before landing behind an outcropping of rocks. He shook himself off in a sign for Castiel to dismount and in that moment Aurora came down from overhead, landing at the top of the rocks with two of the babies visibly in view. Toothless screeched at Aurora and as soon as the girl was off his back launched himself at her, bringing them crashing down in the sands of the beach as the babies squawked their confusion from a distance.

Hiccup came the long way around on Skullcrusher, making sure he wasn't seen before dropping down on the bewilderbeast's head only the moment he did Drago seemed to know, turning with an awful smile stretching his mouth. "I was hoping to see you again Dragonmaster." Hiccup did not allow himself to be distracted by conversation, drawing his sword with a small spark that lit it up as he tipped it at his side. "What, no words of sentiment?"

"Only wished I could have brought myself to do this sooner." Hiccup lifted the blade to bring it down in a destructive strike but froze instead just short of making contact because from under his cloak the man had taken out the third hatchling and held it directly in the path of the weapon. The very moment he hesitated the man kicked him him in the gut and launched him off the bewiderbeast's head. Drago cackled but obviously had forgotten a little detail. Hiccup righted himself as he plummeted towards the sea and spread his false wings, soaring over the waves and towards the beach.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Once Toothless had hidden behind those rocks and shook for her to get off, she quickly slid off of his back and watched as both Toothless and Aurora began to fight, the two baby dragons screeching in fright and confusion at their parents fighting. Wait. Two? Only two? But, then where was the other? Charcoal and Dusk where flitting about, trying to figure out what was going on. Where was Blizzard though? She looked around, a worried look on her face as what had befallen the feisty baby, when she of course noticed the small commotion on the Bewilderbeast's head. She looked up to see Hiccup running toward Drago with his sword, only to stop as Drago lifted Blizzard up as a hatchling shield. She gasped, her hand going to her mouth and was thankful that Hccup stopped last minute, not harming the baby, but then to her worry again was knocked from the Bewilderbeast's head.

But, just like he always seemed to, Hiccup was prepared because Hiccup spread a pair of what looked like false dragon wings. This made Castiel mile in relief and turn her attention back to trying to get the hatchlings to safety. She would have to get Dusk and Charcoal out of the way before trying to get Blizzard. Climbing up onto one of the rocks, she whistled, trying to get the two hatclings' attention and it worked for Dusk, as she flew a little closer to her. When she did, Castiel, smiled and held her hand out, "Come on, Dusk. I'll get you somewhere nice and safe, okay? Come on, just a little closer." And when the little one was close enough, she took her into her arms and smiled, "There." Though, when she looked back up, Charcoal, didn't seem interested in coming to her at all, which made her frown, "Okay....time for the nip." With her free hand she went to her side and grabbed the bag of dragon nip, shaking it, "Come on boy, look what I have." This made him perk up and instantly fly over a the smell of her and he too was grabbed by Castiel.

Hopping down from the rock, she ran quickly down the beach, searching for somewhere safe she could leave the two while she could go try to get Blizzard from Drago. And finally a little ways down she found a small opening in the rocks just big enough for the two hatclings, but small enough to where no adult dragons, or larger humans like Drago for that matter, could disturb them. Sliding the bag of dragon nip into the opening, she watched the two crawl in as well and she smiled at them, "Okay Dusk and Charcoal, you two stay here. Someone will be back for you soon." Then, getting up and turning, she rushed back down the beach, and even from thi distance she could see Drago Dismounting the Bewilderbeast to face Hiccup.

[Toothless]

Hiccup immediately tied up the extra flaps (which were his ’wings’) and straightened the moment he noticed the man approaching- feet crunching in the grainy sand. He extended his sword again, the warning clear but Drago wasn’t compelled to stop. He continued to approach while drawing the hatchling out before him. Hiccup’s gaze was hot with hatred. He wished he was in disbelief but these were acts of cruelty that the man in front of him was fully capable of without any regret. With that inhuman smile of his- Drago flung the hatchling away across the beach and successfully distracted Hiccup who only barely managed to block a strike when Drago brought out his own weapon. Steel clashed and his arms shuddered, he had to pull back.

It was at that moment Toothless had shrieked but whether it was for the close call on his part or his hatchling being mistreated- he could not be sure. He was sure that if Aurora had seen she would not have attacked again and instead probably would be pushed to attack the man despite the trance she was in. That was her baby BUT she had been facing the wrong way to see and kept on blocking Toothless even as he reared up, showing all his teeth. They continued to struggle on the beach but even as sand was kicked up every which way- claws groping and teeth tearing at scales as wings thrashed- Hiccup had his own fight to focus on.

“I had always intended to kill you boy,” Drago pressed his point with another strike and Hiccup retreated a step as he blocked it. “But Stoick got in the way.” The man was ruthless, his strikes without reason. Hiccup kept guarding- waiting for an opening to return a blow. “I should have killed him a LONG time ago!” But this was not just a physical assualt and his teeth gashed together, pain of a lost love one still too fresh as it was torn open again. And Drago laughed as he never had any right to. "and now..."

Once more Hiccup blocked but he misplaced his footing and his metal prosthetic got caught up in a few of the rocks and unable to retreat he was thrust down by a hard kick. "He can't save you this time." He hit the ground with a grunt, sword jarred from his grip. He tried to recover from this but Drago stepped down on his leg and rose his own sword and even as Hiccup groped backwards for his weapon and Toothless howled out for him- he didn’t think he’d make it.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel watched wide eyed as the evil man that was Drago flung poor Blizzard across the beach and immediately she ran over to the little hatchling to see if he was okay. He was shaking and seemed to have a hurt wing, but he was alive and now that she had him, he was safe. She scooped him up in her arms and ran over to where the other hatclings were hidden. Bending down, she placed him with his siblings, then turned to see the two fights that were going on before her. The fight between Aurora and Toothless was brutal, teeth gashing and claws cutting. She could only hope Hiccup took care of Drago soon before things got even uglier and one of their dragon's got hurt.

That thought made her turn to look at Hiccup and the man, only to see Drago kick Hiccup hard, knocking him to the ground. Something inside her told her this was too much. Hiccup wasn't going to make it if things continued the way they were. Something had to happen. Something to distract Drago so Hiccup could have the chance he needed to rid the world of this villain. She didn't even have to think anymore because in the next moment she was running full speed toward the two and when she saw Hiccup laying there helpless while Drago raised his sword, Castiel rushed forward more and with all her might rammed into the man, knocking him off of Hiccup, but not knocking Drago down like she had hoped. Still at least now Hiccup could regain his bearings and get his weapon.

As Castiel straightened, she took a good kick to the side, making her gasp in pain, hearing the crack of a broken rib, an though it pained her she struggled to her feet, grabbing her own dagger from her side, just not quick enough because before she could even pull it full out of its holster Drago hit her hard in the throat, the action causing her to be thrust back, her head smacking with a painful crack against one of the beach's cliff sides and her body seemed to give way, sliding down to lay motionless on the ground, Drago standing over her with his sword, ready to finish off the foolish girl that had attempted an attack on him.

[Toothless]

“Castiel!” Hiccup managed to close his fingers around the hilt once more, twisting and desperately yanking his foot free from the rocks but it was too late. Already Drago followed through with his first strike and though she reached for a weapon it was no good as a hard blow threw her back against the rocks with a sickening thud. A word tore raw from his throat as he rushed to intervene: “NO!” His plea was not answered by the man but a dragon. The hard shell of a large skull thrusting forward and flinging Drago across the sands. Hiccup slowed finding the bane of so much suffering at his feet and though the man struggled to rise Hiccup put a halt to that. Lowering his sword’s tip to his throat- so close that the heat traced angry blisters across the skin but Drago Bludvist didn’t dare move because looking up into Hiccup’s eyes he realized this young man was one he should have never trifled with. The realization came to late though.

Even after everything Drago had done Hiccup delivered a quick and merciful death- though the man probably didn’t deserve it. He rose the blade high and struck straight and true, piercing the heart. For one sheer moment the man’s body convulsed but then he was still and it was over. The bewilder beast shifted its unwavering gaze towards the scene of death and Toothless rolled free of the fight to snarl and then bellow a terrifying roar at the massive dragon. For a moment it just stared back at the night fury but then it slunk down towards the water, bowing its massive head as it sunk backwards into the surf and retreated. Toothless went on screaming though- blasting the air with plasma with anger not yet subdued. Several of his dark charcoal scales had been torn from his hide to reveal raw flesh and though he was the stronger dragon in the scuffle he had held back against Aurora and clearly got worse off for it.

If ever Hiccup was torn between rushing to the nightfury or the girl he got past it quickly. A limp body taking all of his focus as he hurried to Castiel’s side, dropping to his knees to grasp at her body- arms coiling around her slender frame. Already he was dreading the worse but her breaths were coming short and pained, rattling and alive beneath broken ribs. He took a breath of his own and squeezing his eyes momentarily shut, lowered her carefully back to the sand to readjust his hold of her: folding her legs over one arm and resting her shoulders against the other. He cradled her to his chest as he straightened. Injuries were pretty common place around Vikings but even so she would need a healer. He had to get her back to Berk. He moved towards Toothless who had gradually began to calm, moving to comfort Aurora as she stirred from her daze.

“Toothless.” The main line that controlled his tailfin had snapped, flight would be impossible with it in that state. Even so he pressed on “Castiel needs a healer.” The night fury slowly turned- nudging the girl in Hiccup’s arms to poke his tongue at the back of her skull and lick the wound until it stopped bleeding. Hiccup knew Toothless couldn’t take them and the Skullcrusher wouldn’t get them back fast enough. “Aurora…” He’d reach a hand for her but had none to spare. He knew she must be confused in a fair deal of mental distress after all that had happened and that he shouldn’t ask anything of her so soon. “I… know this must be hard… I won’t ask you to come to terms with all that happened.” There was a slight tremble to his voice, worry for his friends. “But I will tell you that none of this is your fault.” He swallowed hard, knowing he should have come better prepared- not thinking he could do this all alone. “Castiel is hurt and we need to get her to Berk.” He stepped closer to the white dragon hoping that she understood that he needed her in order to get there and usually he wouldn’t be so cautious if not for everything that had happened. “Your babies are alright, she protected them but now we need to help her.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Aurora didn't remember at all what had happened. All she knew was that one minute she had been in the cave with Toothless and her little hatchlings and the next she was standing there on a strange beach, her mate having scales torn off and scratches on his hide, wounded by what she could only guess was another dragon. Immediately she was alert and looking around, trying to find the dragon that had dared to hurt her mate. Only when she looked around the only other dragon in sight was a dragon much too large to have made such the sized bites on Toothless. She grew extremely confused and as she moved she could feel her own wounds, not many, but noticeable. She sniffed at her own wounds and was surprised to find that the wounds on er smelt like Toothless. When approached by Toothless she curiously sniffed at his wounds as well and found his smelt like her. So, they had fought each other? Had she attacked him? Was that why she didn't remember anything? Whining softly her ear flaps flattened against her head and she nuzzled herself against him as if to ask forgiveness for anything she had done, when she heard Hiccup say her name.

She looked over and her eyes widened when she saw Castiel, the back of her head with blood on it and limp in the boy's arms. She quickly approached and began sniffing and nudging worriedly, and was relieved to see the girl breathing. So many worried thoughts ran through her mind. What all had she done? How had Catiel gotten hurt Where were her babies. At the thought of her babies, she perked up with worry until Hiccup stated they were fine. That Castiel had protected them and now it was her turn to help her. She looked at Hiccup and nodded bending down to allow them access to her back. Once Hiccup was settled on with Castiel, she nuzzled her head against Toothless, as if giving a promise she would bring back Hiccup as soon as she could so that they could bring him home as well.

After that she was off, flying full speed toward Berk, determined to get there as soon as she could and in no time at all, she was landing in the middle of Berk. Not too long after, Castiel was taken to be taken care of by one of the healers and while Aurora wanted to go with her, she knew they had to get back to the island to retrieve Toothless. So, once Hiccup had his other tailfin she allowed him to get on her back and took off, going back to retrieve her mate and babies.

...two days later...

Castiel was so confused when she began to stir awake. Her eyes blinked up and at first everything was blurry. When her eyes began to focus though she was met by a pair of rainbow eyes that make her sit up, only to be happily attacked by Aurora licking her face and two of the hatchlings flew onto the bed, while Blizzard remained on the floor, attempting to jump onto the bed, but was too short and unlike the other two, currently couldn't fly due to his hurt wing. Castiel smiled brightly at the sight of Aurora back to her usual self and went to say her name excitedly, only to have just air pass out form her mouth. She frowned and attempted to speak again only for the same thing to happen. She couldn't speak. Not a sound other than air was heard.

Reaching her hand to her throat, fingers brushing against it, she slowly was coming to terms with what had happened. When Drago hit her there.....it had done this. She was mute. Never again would she speak. After her shock had worn off a bit she looked down and picked Blizzard up so that he was in cuddled up in her lap. As she sat there now, she took in her surroundings. She was sitting on the edge of a bed in someone's house. The last thing she remembered was being with Hiccup, trying to free Aurora and taken down Drago. Only Drago had almost killed Hiccup. She couldn't remember after that though. She had tried to stop him, right? Had she succeeded? Or was Hiccup.....

Thinking this, she went to stand up and winced at the pain in her side. Broken ribs. Great. She pushed passed the pain, and wanting to see if Hiccup was okay. She got a few steps and halfway there had to sit on the floor for a moment to rest before she attempted again and got to the top of the stairs, frowning more. This was going o be hard, but she still attempted it, holding tightly onto the wooden railing as she went down the stairs, starting to get more worried the longer she went without seeing if Hiccup was okay. She finally made it to the door and walked outside, looking about, the village bustling like normal and those who noticed seemed to stop and look at her a moment before going on with what they were doing, not seeming at all as hostile as they had been when she had first landed in Berk to seek Hiccup's help.

Aurora walked along beside the human, the two flying hatchlings following close behind and Blizzard sitting atop her head. She knew what, or more specifically, who her human was looking for. Her human seemed to be very fond of the male human, which made Aurora happy. It was good to see Castiel friendly with another human. Maybe things would turn out okay between them. She hoped anyway. She nuzzled her head against the human and then hopped happily ahead of her, looking for Hiccup and after sniffing the air, followed his scent to the great hall and pushed open the door with her snout, going quickly over to Hiccup and Toothless, making happy chirping sounds, letting the boy and his dragon know that Castiel was up and heading their way.

[Toothless]

During the long flight there had been nothing but the biting wind and breathing- a strain of which was not his own. Hiccup had never held onto anything tighter in his life than that moment he was clutching smooth scales and further more the young woman that he hunched over upon Aurora’s back, holding her steady as they flew for Berk.

That was two days ago and her recovery was slow.

He’d spent enough time sitting near the bed that it became a concern and his mother had asked Astrid of all people to talk to him- not able to find the words to comfort him herself (it’d been such a long time since they were last family). Hiccup was rightfully surprised to see her as her hands grasped his and she lowered herself eyelevel with the chair. “Hiccup, I understand your upset but you can’t spend every moment of your free time waiting for her to wake up.” While she was being gentle he could tell by the way she nipped at the corner of her lip that she wanted to say ’if she does’ and they were both thinking it so no secret there. No one was really sure if she would simply because she hadn’t yet.

“Someone should.” He had reason to be upset with her but he wasn’t. “When she wakes up.”

Eventually Astrid convinced him to come down to the Great Hall for dinner because Aurora was watching the girl and she’d be fine in the meantime. Astrid assured him of this and the protesting rumbles within his gut decided things for him. At that point, he wouldn’t have been allowed to say no. So now he was sitting at one of the tables with only the minimum crowd, consisting of all the similarly aged Vikings along with Toothless. The sum of which stopped speaking when Aurora came bouncing up aside from a rude comment on one of the twin’s parts and a whack from the other- he couldn’t be bothered to sort that out. He immediately got to his feet, scooting around the table to touch Aurora’s forehead with an uncertain smile before starting towards the massive doors. With all her excitement it could only mean Castiel had woken up.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Aurora happily nuzzled her head against Hiccup' hand when he touched her forehead and nudged him forward toward the doors even though she knew he was already heading there anyway. She was just so happy her rider had woken up that she couldn't help but be this pushy. That, and in her condition it came to her thoughts that maybe Castiel shouldn't be outside just yet. She was still recovering and the fact that they hadn't even been sue if she would wake up, or if she did wake up whether or not she would have some kind of brain damage from the hit on the head. It would be best to get Hiccup to her so he could make her go back to the house to rest for now.

She went through the doors and sniffed the air, walking toward where she smelt her rider and very soon saw hr a little ways away, leaning against one of the buildings, taking a rest for a moment while at the same time clutching her side where her ribs were broken. Though, when she saw Hiccup and Aurora heading her way, she gave a small smile and forced herself to straighten up and seem less strained. She was glad to see Hiccup was safe and that at least, while she was hurt, her getting between Drago and Hiccup had in turn very well saved Hiccup's life. Seeing him standing there safe and sound was enough to make her smile more.

Aurora came right over to her and purred as Castiel reached up to scratch her scales before looking at Hiccup and opening her mouth to speak, for a moment forgetting her problem. The moment air came out of her mouth instead of sound she frowned deeply and averted her gaze in an almost ashamed way.

[Toothless]

Hiccup had no reason to think Castiel would be out of bed- the fact that she was awake was more than most would be expecting but Aurora kept nudging him to pick up the pace. It was likely that she was just REALLY excited about the improvement in her rider's condition and wanted him to see to her- he agreed, she'd probably be pretty shaken if the healer's assumptions proved to be correct. He had wanted to be there would she came to... Hiccup glanced ahead when Aurora hurried in that direction and immediately noticed why she did.There was Castiel and whether or not she agreed, she was a viking as she put on a brave face despite the pain she must be in. He made his way closer as she opened her mouth to speak and refused to falter when no sound came out. When she turned her head away he gently tugged her forward into a hug, being mindful of her ribs and he just held on both for her comfort and his own. He'd be worried she'd never wake. It was just her voice- she was still here. There was a strain to his own voice as he spoke near her shoulder, a slight waver rocking the words: "I'm so glad... you're okay." It was more than he could express.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castiel couldn't help but be surprised when she felt Hiccup tug her gently to him and hug her. Still, after a moment she wrapped her arms around him as well, hugging him back and burying her face against his shoulder in relief that he was here and alright, and at the same time that he wasn't at all deterred by the fact she now had no voice. When he sad he was happy she was okay, there was something in his voice that she hadn't heard from him before. Some worry. Had he been worried about her? Pulling back, slightly, she looked up at him for a moment before nodding and giving him a soft smile and pointed to herself before pointing to him, as if to say she was glad he was okay as well. She had been worried about it just the same. Worried that even though she had stepped in it hadn't been enough. It was a miracle to her that they were both here now, with their dragons safe as well for that matter.

Aurora by now had moved back over to Castiel and bending down slightly, helped the girl onto her back before she turned to carry the girl on her back back to the house. Castiel looked back at Hiccup to see if he was going to come with him and sled back seeing that he was walking back with him. Once Aurora made it in the door she bent down to let her slide gently down and helped her over to one of the chairs at the table. Sighing she at down and brushed her blonde hair from her face. She looked at Hiccup ad thinking for a moment she got an idea and motioned to hip, looking at Aurora and after a few more motions the white dragoness seemed to get what Castiel was asking for. Going up the stairs and to the room that Castiel had been in, a few moments passed before she came back down, holding the bag that Castiel always carried with her.

Castiel nodded a thank you to the dragon before going through it and pulling out one of the few notebooks and charcoal sticks from it, she opened it up to one of the empty pages and began to write, figuring this would be her best way of communicating for now. Turning around for Hiccup to read, the words read, "Are you okay? Did Drago hurt you?"

[Toothless]

Hiccup traced the charcoal characters with his gaze and for a moment he was silent. Around them three enthused hatchlings sprung about feeling the excitement of Castiel waking. They were still too young to understand beyond their mother’s joy but they reflected that in their movements and sounds they emitted. It was when one of them scrambled over his shoulder and fluttered onto the table, smearing the writing, that Hiccup snapped out of his brief daze. He grabbed for the hatchling “you little rascal!” and playfully snorted into her soft neck causing the baby to squeal with delight. When the others ran past under the table she squirmed until he let her free to spring after. Toothless bounded their way, gently batting them his paws as they tumbled and rolled with clicking that sounded all too much like laughter. Hiccup looked back at Castile a small smile still gracing his face. “I’m fine. Nothing but a few bruises. Certainly nothing a strong Viking like me can’t handle.” He puffed up impressively though Toothless thought of him like a canary for it- at least it had some weight now that he was no longer a literal toothpick. Not to say he was being serious about the show though. Hiccup KNEW he wasn’t built like the other Vikings in his village.

He got to his feet. “You must be hungry.” Toothless perked up at that and his eyes rolled partially back before Hiccup thrust out a hand “NO! Toothless. Uh… we’re good.” He insisted, causing the night fury to grumble though he could clearly see the pot over a slow churning fire. Hiccup poured Castile a hot bowl of stew and carefully brought it over to the table, nearly falling over himself as the hatchlings sped around his ankles. Stepping over them- he put the food on the table before sitting down once more. “You’ve been asleep for two days now.”