The Lost Boy V - Short stories

Dragon Flower

After the visit of Johann the Trader bringing a bunch of new things on their island, the berkians vikings noticed with horror that their dragons got sick. It had started slowly, without anyone really noticing. Some dragons had started to sneeze, other to get really tired... but they understood something was wrong the day when, during a morning flight, Hiccup and Toothless fell from the sky.

It was worrying everyone, and the dragon riders locked themselves at home to look after their sick dragons. Hiccup was so worried for his best friend, seeing him lying on the ground, half awake and whinning in pain, that broke his heart. He had asked for Gobber's advices, being the viking who had studied the most dragons, but the black-smith had only suggested a doubtful medicine based on yak puke. Toothless didn't have the time to try and drink it he had sneezed and spill the cauldron on Gobber.

Hiccup could have laugh at it if he wasn't so anxious, and that's when the door of the Haddocks' hutt was kicked open by Astrid. She was panting, her eyes wide and she seemed panicked.

''Hiccup ! You have to come, now !''

Of course, it had caught the viking's attention. He knew Stormfly was sick too, but she had to be in a very bad shape to put Astrid in such despair. So he followed his blond friend back to her own house.

When they got there, Hiccup spotted Reekfrid on a stool next to the Deadly Nadder, who has been settled under a courtyard attached to the house. The hutt was a bit small for a large dragon like her, after all. The poor blue and yellow dragon was just as suffering as Toothless, her scales even seemed dull. The blond warrior man seemed worried too, Hiccup didn't know this ex-hunter had grown so much attached to his daughter's dragon.

Hiccup started to walk towards them to take a better look at the Nadder, but Astrid grabbed his arms and dragged him inside the house. It was strangely silent inside, the air was thick and not really reassuring. Hiccup suspected it was Stormfly's health that was downing everyone, ever someone as usually cheerful as Joke. He didn't have the time to say anything Astrid dragged him upstairs and to the end of the corridor, until they reached the door to Joke's bedroom.

Hiccup felt his heart going up his throat as he heard a muffled voice inside... and coughing. When the blond teenage girl opened the door, they found Olgarg sitting on the edge of the bed, a wet piece of fabric she had just dipped into a water basin resting by her feet. Hiccup froze as he saw his boyfriend laying on the bed, seemingly sick.

His skin was paler than usual and dull, still his face was red and sweating with fever, his eyes half closed were visibly struggling to stay open and he was breathing heavily. Joke seemed barely awake, and let out a faint groan when his mother put back the wet fabric on his forehead. Hiccup rushed to the bed and took his boyfriend's hand, which he felt weakily squeeze back.

''Hicc...''

''Hush, it's okay. I'm here.''

The boy closed his eyes and seemed to drift asleep, though his face was still grimacing. Hiccup patted the back of his hand and looked up to Olgarg.

''What happened to him ?''

''We were all so focused on Stormfly we didn't notice he was tired, we didn't know he was sick too...''

''Hiccup,'' Astrid stated. ''he has the same symptoms the dragons have.''

Hiccup hated this. The dragons being sick was already worrying him enough, seeing his best friend suffering was like being stabbed in the chest, but knowing his boyfriend had the same sickness... it was getting too much. The village quickly asked Goathi for advice, the healer was their last hope to understand what was happening to their dragons and, hopefully, cure them.

However her diagnosis was far from good news. If she had been outstanded by her lack of knowledge concerning dragons, it was easier for her to check on Joke. She found out he was sick as if allergic to something, something poisoning him. The fac tthis reaction was new tended to say what had caused it was new too.

A lot of new things had arrived with Johann's visit, so the vikings rummaged through the village to gather all their new acquisitions. Further investigations ended up identifying the blue flowers recently planted all over the village as the poison source. Mildew had been the one to plant them, but he assured he did it to add some colors to the village and make it more beautiful, insisting he didn't know it was poison for dragons.

It was not a secret the old ermit farmer hated dragons from the depth of his heart – if he had one – and couldn't bare the vikings were living in peace with them. So no one was convinced by his pleading of not knowing the flowers were poison. They forced him to uproot the flowers and get the village rid of them, and also to come with the team seeking for Scauldron's venom in order to make a cure.

They forced him to make up for his mistaka, even if no one could prove he did it intentionnaly. Going after their dragons was already something Stoick was not going to forgive, but knowing it had also threatened the life of their miracle child, it almost made him snap.

They never manage to prove Mildew had done it on purpose, still the ermit had lost credibility and the trust of both Haddock and Hofferson family.