Fire and the Thud [Hiccup x Reader]

If You Found This, It's Probably Too Late

"What is that?"

My eyes swept over the view in front of us, struggling to come up with some sort of explanation. All I could think of was fire, or more specifically, the smoke of a particularly large bout of flames. The only problem was that there weren't any actual flames to be seen, just a seemingly endless out pour of smoke from something in the far distance.

"I guess I'll find out," Hiccup said with a shrug before making his way over to Toothless. I watched him climb up, quietly considering my options. 'Attempt to convince him to not fly over to possible danger', which was an obvious no, seeing as Hiccup was quite possibly the most stubborn person to exist. 'Stay behind and hope for the best' was also a definite no. I sighed, rubbing my palm against my cheek before shaking my head and hopping onto Frostbite's back. She turned her head to survey the other pair of dragon and rider before huffing through her nose.

"I guess we both will," I finally said, voicing my intent to follow him. He looked for a moment as if he was going to protest but the expression was quickly replaced with satisfied smirk.

"Alright then, come on," he insisted before taking off. I wrapped my fingers around the handle of Frostbite's saddle just as she leapt out to follow behind.

Knowing she would keep her gaze locked on Toothless and in turn allow me to observe our surroundings, I let myself scan the trees beneath us. They were seemingly dead, though I was unsure if it was due to the weather or if something more grave had happened here.

I was so busy observing the trees that it wasn't until Hiccup spoke up that I noticed the source of the smoke.

A very odd, very destroyed mass with impossibly large shards of ice sticking out from wherever you looked was the destination we were heading for. My mouth fell open a bit but I couldn't think of anything that would accurately convey the awe.

"What happened here?" Hiccup had murmured, beginning to circle the ice. I shook my head gently, noticing what seemed to be remains of some form of wooden shelter embedded in the upper ice pieces.

The sound of a catapult caught my attention, but it was the net released that caught Frostbite in its tangle. I released my hold on Frostbite with a shout as she began to fall, snarling and thrashing in an attempt to escape. But without a dragon beneath me, it wasn't a simple feat to stay air bound. In fact, it was entirely impossible and I felt my stomach drop as I went racing towards the ocean, eyes scanning the sky in panic.

I felt something grasp my upper arms and I looked above to confirm that Toothless had managed to catch me. I exhaled shakily, turning my head to search for Frostbite. She lay below, wriggling before a group of men eyeing us intently. Hiccup steered us to them and Toothless released my arms as I felt my feet touch the ground before he landed beside me.

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, even as Hiccup began trying to talk and reason with the attackers. I tried to ignore the urge to bury an axe in the leader's face as he made snide remarks about our Night Furies and remained silent, waiting for Hiccup to figure out whatever plan he was coming up with.

"How do you suppose we explain this mess to Drago Bludvist?" the leader spat, gesturing to the surrounding area.

"Drago-- what fist? Does anything you say make sense?" Hiccup said in utter disbelief. His quip went largely unnoticed as the leader continued his cryptic explanation of what had happened. As if we had any idea of who had done this, or why.

The leader, revealing himself to be Eret and proceeding to use the phrase 'dragon trapper', pulled out his sword and pointed it at Toothless. He earned a sharp snarl from the Night Fury before the others sprang forward to attack. I exhaled the breath I hadn't known was being held before Hiccup ran for Frostbite, pulling out his fire sword and slashing her free while Toothless distracted. I ran over, dropping to my knees to pull the net further apart.