The Other-worldly Protector

86. A Distant Connection

RECAP: Kiara convinces Hiccup to embark on a 2-dragon, 2-rider stealth mission to retrieve the dragon-eye. It succeeds, then goes horribly wrong. Their cover gets blown and their dragons get captured, leaving them stranded and hiding on the hunter's base island. Viggo, aware of the enormous threat the riders pose to his empire, decides to permanently end the dragon rider problem. With the odds stacked against them, and the cover of darkness quickly running out, Hiccup and Kiara plan a last-ditch attempt to free their dragons and flee with their lives.

--------

At first glance, there appeared to be nothing bizarre about the bush. It was large, dense and huddled against a tree, like many other bushes around it. Any hunters that walked past barely gave it a glance. But had they inspected it more closely, they would have spotted that the bush was uprooted, or see it breathe subtly with the movements of those crouched within.

The riders were tense as they peeked at the men they could see between the trees. Clusters of them were loosely scattered around the place. For most, rather than their forms, the light given off by their torches gave their positions away. The few close enough to see were having mumbled conversations. One of them yawned, the late (or rather early) hour getting to him. For now, no one looked their way. "We're clear," Hiccup whispered. "Next tree over?"

"Sure," said Kiara. Staying crouched throughout, they padded towards the tree. Kiara gasped as Hiccup's prosthetic dug into her toe. He jerked away with a whispered apology. After more rustling than either of them was comfortable with, they made it.

They had moved a grand distance of three metres.

"I want my Robbie," Kiara whimpered.

"Yeah, a changewing would have been more than handy," Hiccup whispered. An idea hit him. "Get Robbie then."

"I thought we were past giving each other crazy ideas that won't work," she replied. "You know my telepathic range can barely cross 3 miles. Plus, it would be daytime by the time he got here."

"With where we're at, anything's worth a try."

Kiara huffed but listened to him anyway. She closed her eyes and focussed. "Are you there?" She projected the thought as far as her mind would allow. She was met with nothing. "We need you," she tried again, pushing further and further. Stabbing pain appeared behind her eyebrow. She groaned. 

Suddenly, Hiccup's hand was on her mouth. Someone was coming. Kiara peered between the leaves and saw a man striding directly toward them. She went rigid with panic. They couldn't be found now. They were too close and there were too many of them around. If they're seen now, it's over. It's over.

More distressed than ever, she squeezed her eyes shut and sent her desperate thoughts barrelling outward. Her head erupted with pain. "We need you now!" Then she felt it. It was as faint as the touch of a falling petal but it was there. He was there. He was... closer than expected?

"Where on mother earth are you?" Robbie shouted back but it reached Kiara as a quiet breath. Her heart leapt with joy, then dropped like dead weight as the hunter's shadow fell over them. She mentally scrambled for the strength to reply to Robbie but was interrupted by the sound of water. A narrow stream of water. She scrunched her nose as the stench of urine filled the air.

Ewwww!

When the hunter was done with his business, he adjusted his belt, turned and walked away, leaving the riders speechless.

Kiara interrupted the silence with an airy, relieved chuckle, "He just had to pick this bush, huh?"

Hiccup broke out of his stupor and his lips curled down in disgust. "If we get home," he grumbled, attempting to wipe his metal leg on the dirt, "I'm throwing this into the ocean and it's staying there."