The Great Endeavor - A Tuffnut Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

14. Outsmarting Loki

"Great, how are we supposed to outsmart a god?" Snotlout asked throwing his hands into the air.

"Especially Loki," Ruffnut added with a frown, "he's the master of outsmarting."

"Then maybe we should try to out-dumb him," Tuffnut suggested proudly.

Snotlout smirked at him and responded, "that shouldn't be too hard for you."

Tuff, however, took this as a compliment and replied, "thank you."

Endeavor grinned crookedly. "Actually, Tuffnut might be on to something," she agreed, "if we can be so simple-minded as to see things exactly how they are, we might find clues in plain sight."

"So play dumb?" Snotlout questioned in an unimpressed voice, "we're going to outsmart LOKI, by playing dumb?"

"You're suggesting we don't already see what exactly is going on?" Hiccup spoke accusatively, "the sun is on the other side of the moon, the trees move when we're not looking, and just about the only thing that doesn't move is the Beneath. What are we not seeing?"

"You've mistaken what I'm saying," Endeavor replied in an annoyed voice, "we're thinking too much. We need to just see, without thinking or trying to make sense of things." She looked into the fire just as the yellow flames randomly turned green. "It's a game," she simplified, smile growing as she continued to put pieces of the puzzle together, "break a rule, and the island punishes you; that's why I've survived here so long...I play by the island's rules."

Hiccup gave in. He was finally beginning to accept Endeavor's help. But he still did not trust her. She was different, and not just because she was a mutation. Even if she couldn't see it, he could tell, something was off about her.

"Maybe the writing in the tunnels could mean something," Astrid suggested, "it sounded like a riddle."

"Maybe," Hiccup agreed, thinking deeply back to the odd words. "'How right the wrong can be'...how can the wrong be right?"

"'When the wrong is strong as thee'," Fishlegs added the second line. "So, being strong is better than being right?"

"I thought were not supposed to think about things anymore," Ruff spoke with a scrunched up face of confusion. She then looked to Tuff with a grin. "Hey, bro, what about a travel guide for this place, huh?"

Tuffnut smiled wide as he replied, "that would be a good idea. Since SOMEone decided that Vanaheim should be a secret." He glared at Hiccup suggestively.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. He knew Endeavor was right, but it was hard not to try and figure things out. "Let's rest for the night," he announced abrupty, "we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

The others nodded, even though sleep would be hard to come by this night. The Isle of Loki. It was terrifying to find out that that was where they were. Even Endeavor was unsettled. All of her time there, she knew it was no mortal land. But with the confirmation of it being Loki's personal island of entertainment made her stomach twist.

Everyone was beginning to lay down, but Endeavor stayed up. She would keep watch, as usual. At least, that was her plan. "Hey, Endeavor?" Tuff's voice rang softly at her side. She looked over to find him laying back, propped up on his elbows as if not quite ready to lay down. "When's the last time you slept?"

Endeavor widened her eyes and laughed lightly. "Woah..it's been a while," she explained, "at least a few months."

"Months?" Tuff repeated in shock, sitting back up. A look of concern and confusion crossed his face, "how?"

"I guess the same way I've survived without eating for years," she shrugged, "the island...well, Loki..doesn't let us die from natural causes. It's purpose is to drive people mad, make them kill each other."

Tuffnut frowned, looking around at the other riders who were aready beginning to fall asleep. "...I'll stay up," he offered, "you should sleep."

"But, you don't know what to look for," Endeavor countered.

A small smile pulled at Tuff's lips as he looked into her beautiful eyes. "I'll wake you up if anything happens," he assured her, "and I mean anything."

At this Endeavor was able to relax. She sighed in defeat and laid back in the sand, still about a foot away from the adorable twin. But before long, she realized something. "..I believe I've quite forgotten how to fall asleep," she admitted quietly, staring up at the unnaturally large moon.

Tuffnut looked down at her and smiled. "Well, it's not so hard," he told her, moving to lean back against a boulder nearby. Endeavor's head rested just before the boulder, and she looked up at Tuffnut. He continued to smile sweetly as he explained, "just close your eyes, let your brain stop thinking."

"How in the world am I supposed to stop thinking?" Endeavor asked in an amused tone.

Tuff chuckled. "Then think of something relaxing," he urged her.

But as Endeavor let her gaze fall back to the sky above, she couldn't find a single relaxing thought. Until she recalled that young man at her side. So full of hope and carefree happiness. She listened to his calming words as he tried to relax her. "Like an ocean, a really big ocean, but really calm," he spoke as if of a memory, painting a lovely picture in Endeavor's mind.