The Other-worldly Protector

88. Back from the wizards

"Cheer up, Kiara," Tuffnut said, nudging her with his elbow, which only made her frown deepen while her eyes remained closed. "It's not like the mission was a complete bust," he continued encouragingly. "You got the crystal's secret message, remember?"

"That we did," said Hiccup. She blinked her eyes open and caught him walking in with Astrid. He held up the paper with the sentence he'd copied down from the Dragon-Eye projection.

"Woah ho ho!" Snotlout laughed, ignoring the paper and pointing at Hiccup's jaw instead.

"At least I didn't lose two molars," Hiccup responded casually as he dragged a chair over. Snotlout snatched back his arm and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Once they were settled, Fishlegs poured over the note and Hiccup helped despite how his hand trembled from exhaustion when he held the charcoal pen. In less than 10 minutes, they said, as one, "We've got it!" Kiara was quite literally at the edge of her seat. "So..?" she probed. Fishlegs cleared his throat before reading the translated version, 

"Summon the gateway with a fragment of lightning. Reduce it to rubble with the might of a storm."

"Well, I wasn't planning to fly the crystal into a storm on account of... not having a death wish," Kiara said, her voice bordering on sleep-deprived giddiness. "But good to know that there are other reasons that that's a bad idea." She grabbed the crystal from her pocket, held it up and assessed it with narrowed eyes. "Looks like you can't handle too much electricity either." 

"How do you get a fragment of lightning?" Snotlout asked.

"An electric spark," Kiara mused. "Maybe static electricity might..." she tried and failed to suppress a yawn, "work. Actually no, that's too weak." The spark she'd seen when she first grabbed the crystal had cut through centimetres of air. That may not be lightning streaking the sky but it was high voltage stuff.

Her tired eyes closed as she mulled it over. The rider's voices became irrelevant, her mind lost to the ideas they threw back and forth. The sunlight and warmth faded in and out as she felt her body dib into the cool night air of some hours ago and several miles away. Her hands clutched the Dragon-Eye tightly, making its ends dig into her palms, and her vision swam with the hunters surrounding them. Hiccup was rooted before her, face alight with the orange glow from his sword. And together, they were going to end it all. "Here's to saving the king." As he brought down the sword, Kiara felt a towering presence behind her. A pressure drove through her and Ryker's blade erupted from her chest and clanged against Inferno.

Kiara gasped as her hands flew to her chest. Daylight was back, but the sun-lit surroundings teetered with her sudden movement. "Woah, there," Tuffnut exclaimed, "Almost dropped you." He lowered her onto her feet but her knees failed her and she sank onto the wooden platform, hand still clutching her chest. Her heart was fighting against her ribs to escape and her breaths came in shallow uneven gasps as if air wanted as little to do with the inner struggle as possible. Ryker's sinister laugh was echoing in her ears like he was still there, still behind— "Kiara, look at me." Tuffnut was crouched before her. "Breathe with me."

He took a deep breath and she followed. In... then out.

"That's it, again."

In... Out...

Slowly, her heart grew steady and she made sense of her surroundings. She was in a lower part of Dragon's Edge, near her hut, and with a friend kind enough to carry her to bed. Smiling faintly, she watched as Tuffnut's expression shifted from focussed to relieved.

"Holy yak-butter, that actually works," he whispered, awed.

"Don't sound so surprised," she retorted. "I taught you that trick."

"I dunno, Missy. Your trick for frying fish was a big flop," he joked. She gave him a shove.

Her smile fell as she looked down. The image of a sword sticking out of her chest was still freshly branded into her mind. That had almost happened, hadn't it? She'd almost sentenced herself and Hiccup to that fate, and left their dragons to a life of captivity. She scrunched her eyes shut at the thought.

Tuffnut watched her. Curled up with that troubled frown, she looked battered and helpless, and so unlike the fiery girl he knew she was. She deserved better than this, and yet...

"I think I get it," he said quietly. Kiara gave him an odd look. Hearing a contemplative tone from him was rare. "This world had been so unkind to you... made you face the worst of days since you got here," he continued. A short humourless laugh escaped him. "Heh, you can't catch a break here, so... it's no wonder you want to leave."

Kiara was alarmed at the way sadness filled his eyes. "Tuff, that's not—"

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to deny it for me." He got up and offered her a hand. Unspoken words crowded her mind as she clasped it and was pulled to her feet. When he didn't let go, she saw that Tuffnut was struggling with the same predicament, except the words crowding his mind soon tumbled from his mouth. "I wish—no, I...it's just... I want—stinking boar pits!" He pulled on her hand in his frustration. "I want what's best for you!" She stared on with a look that urged him to elaborate, but instead, he deflated, his grip on her hand loosening, and settled on easier words. "So, get some sleep. It's, er, best for you." He patted her hand awkwardly, then let go and walked away. 

As Kiara watched him go, a sinking feeling pulled at her heart. He thought she hated it here.

He couldn't be further from the truth.

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Hey Dragon Lovers,

What's that you say? A ship? *I squint into the fog cloaking the docks and spot a tall grand shape bobbing up and down.* Nah, I don't see it.

Any thoughts on the aftermath of Kiara and Hiccup's escapade? I gotta say, writing AA (angry Astrid) was a blast. And you may have noticed already, but I freaking love writing dream sequences. I definitely overdo them lol but they're so...versatile and interesting to write. warped reality is really fun to play with. Also, what better way to show the impact of a traumatic experience than BOOM nightmare! It's like secondary tremors of the main event! Ok, I feel evil now (sorry Kiara.. I'll lay off the nightmare fuel from now)

I hope I've brought you some joy with this otherwise light chapter :)

Till next time,

Tan