Post-Lightning Hiccup: A 'View to a Skrill' Rewrite

Chapter 1: Skrilled

AN: I'm back with a new, up to date fanfiction. Most of what I have on my Wattpad account are pieces from the past... old stuff. I started writing this just a little while ago when a friend requested it. It's still in progress I hope you enjoy it! I am having a lot of fun writing it. Here we go!    June 2018 EDIT:  So, editing this so it's a little less cruddy. Thank you, Eragon, for improving my description skills.

Skrilled

A flash of lightning crashed overhead, and the cold air tingled with energy. Each of the Dragon Riders glanced warily at the grey clouds around them, watching for one of the fiercest dragons known to man: the Skrill. So far there was only the storm, which teased them with the cold threat of rain and tangled streams of wind.

Hiccup felt every hair along his spine stand up. The Skrill had to be near. His brows knit together as he scowled at each crevice in the clouds. A flash of lightning crashed in the distance.

"Hold up everybody!" Hiccup ordered, raising one hand and drawing Toothless to a halt. He scanned the dark clouds for what he was looking for.

Two more flashes of lightning revealed a foggy silhouette in the clouds ahead of them. Toothless growled with slit eyes and looked back at Hiccup. The two made eye contact before facing the approaching Skill, eyes narrowed with determination. Hiccup clenched his jaw, watching each beat of the Skrill's wings.

"Okay, now what?" Astrid asked in a terse voice, eyeing the dragon before turning to Hiccup.

"Everybody stay back!" Hiccup spun to face them with his hand held out before anyone could do something rash. They were in a tight enough spot as it was. This had to be done slowly. "If the Skrill sees just one dragon, maybe it won't attack."

Leaving the others behind, Hiccup and Toothless flew forward to meet the Skrill. They'd only gone a few paces when lightning burst right in front of them. Toothless roared and drew up sharply. The Skrill swooped out of a thicket of clouds.

Hiccup and his Night Fury made eye contact again, and Hiccup readied himself for what was ahead.

Ok, we can do this.

They forged onward.

The Skrill pulled itself higher, lightning crackling on either side of it. Toothless growled, his lip curling up as he dove toward it. The space between them decreased, and the Night Fury's eyes narrowed even more. A thick mist shifted in the dragons' paths, blocking their view of each other, before the Skrill burst out of the clouds and tore past them at an unnatural speed. Hiccup's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened as he twisted in the saddle to follow the Skrill.

It vanished into the clouds. A second later it darted across the other riders' path, cutting them off without seeing them. Then the Skrill's hectic flying smoothed out, and it glided over a natural stream of air.

Hiccup took his chance, and approached from the side on Toothless. As they positioned themselves to its right in the same stream of air, it looked at them and snarled, its bloodshot eyes glittering with malace.

"There there, fella," Hiccup said, his gut twisting. He held his hand out to the dragon. "You've been asleep a long time, huh?" The Skrill's spines sparked with electricity, and Hiccup flinched. He inched his hand close again while the Skrill continued to warn him with sparks across its body. "I'm guessing you're pretty cranky, and hungry too."

Hiccup's hand got too close and the voltage shocked his fingers. He yanked his hand back, and the Skrill raced off into the clouds again. Well, that didn't go as planned.

Where is it? Hiccup searched back and forth. There was a pause in the lightning, in which the tension didn't diminish. The Skrill lurked close, but where?

It reared up in front of them seemingly out of nowhere, crest and spines flared, breathing hard, lightning coating its wings. It screamed at them with a super charged roar. The storm channeled its way to the Skrill, and lightning flashed and flickered, shooting from the dragon's body into the surrounding sky.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted.

The Skrill opened its glowing blue mouth to fire. Hiccup looked back over his shoulder to see his friends flying to his rescue. Thinking fast, Hiccup steered Toothless past the Skrill, pulling its attention with him.

At the wrong second, the Skrill glanced back and spotted the other Dragon Riders. Furious, it shot a thick torrent of lightning from its mouth. Stormfly dropped from the sky.

"Astrid!" Hiccup called. The Skrill turned to him and fired. Hiccup ducked just in time. The lightning snapped overhead, causing every hair on his body and clothes to stand on end. Toothless rolled, his dark scales flashing in the storm. The Skrill fired again.

Hiccup jolted, his body going rigid. Hot pain seared his skin, and lightning danced across his body. He opened his mouth to scream, but his jaw stuck, white flashed across his vision, and his muscles trembled. He could faintly make out someone screaming his name. Beneath him, Toothless shrieked in fear and pain.

The electricity exited his body, and he went limp, slumping over the saddle. His skin burned, everything started rolling, and he realised he and Toothless were falling from the sky.

"Hiccup, wake up!" Astrid pleaded, and he caught a glimpse of her beside him. "You're on fire!"

Hiccup gasped. He regained control of Toothless' tail fin, pulled up, and shook his head. As the world stopped turning he looked up at the orange flames that flickered and spread through his brown hair.

With a horrified shout, Hiccup steered Toothless for the sea. Toothless squawked, and folded his wings for a faster dive. Hiccup's skin sizzled from the burns, and the fire heated his scalp. He grit his teeth, eyes watering.

They hit the water with a splash and a hiss.

Their heads broke the surface, salt water flying from Hiccup's hair, droplets clinging to his eyes. Panting, Hiccup signaled for Toothless to take to the air again. Toothless floundered on the water, churning it up and flinging drops from his wings, and finally became airborne again.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Astrid demanded, pulling Stormfly up beside them. Hiccup still gasped for breath. The other teens came up beside them, brows drawn with concern.

"Hiccup, can you hear us?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup turned to him, caught his breath, and spoke.

"Blug."

Please review! If you enjoyed this first chapter, I'd love to know, and if there is something you disliked, point it out.  I won't cry.  :)