STOLEN - REWRITE [httyd]

[seven]

"I- I don't.." Hiccup stuttered at the figure of Astrid in front of him. With an honest opinion, Hiccup was scared of her, already knowing what she is capable of doing with the dull edge of her axe blade.

"Spit it out Freak, were. you. planning. to. attack. us? Yes or no?" She was getting restless. Either he was just pretending to not know how to speak norse to mess with her short temper, or he was actually the freakish creature in front of her. She had been questioning him for the past half hour, and it didn't take a genius to see that she was already flustered. His leathery wings fluttered against his armoured chestplate, his green eyes glowing in the darkness of his cell in the arena. Astrid tried to hate him, she wanted to hate him, but his eyes beckoned something from her, something more than freedom. They shimmered in the morning light, the horned flaps above his hairline flicking this way and that.

"No, I needed- ah whats the word.. plants? Herbs? The Bewilderbeast is sick and needs to be healed." He paused, shifting his tail to the other side of his body, the scaly limb sliding against the stone floor, "We never wanted to cause any, auh- trouble."

"Bewilderwhat?"

"Bewilderbeast. One of the oldest dragon species and our king; he controls the dragons."

Astrid's eyes lit up like the sun rising over the horizon, "Wait.. does that mean that your king is causing our island shit?"

"What? Nonononono, I- I uh, Im still trying to figure that one out. But they're not under the influence of our king, thats for sure."

Even Astrid could admit, his norse had become a lot better than before. But being trapped in a cage only to watch a group of hardy teenagers who spoke solely norse, was enough to revive his knowledge of the language to some extent.

"How can you be sure?"

"Your friends here told me."

"Friends? The gang spoke to you?" Astrid scowled.

"Oh not them, the dragons- your tribe caught them two years ago during one of the raiding parties and stuck them here?"

"The-" Astrid's words caught in her throat, "You can talk to the dragons?"

"That's why my norse isn't so good, I haven't spoken it in over two years." Hiccup said in a matter-of-fact way.

"So you live with dragons, friend is a dragon, you speak dragon, and uh, you're a dragon.. ish, thing."

"Well thanks, for summing that up." The boy retorted sarcastically.

"So uh, about the dragons raiding our island.. they're under the control of another? What does that even mean?"

"One dragon must be their Alpha, a mother, ruler, uhh, queen. All other dragons bow down to it, serving it for either good or bad purposes, in your case, uh, probably bad. Some Alphas use their power for the greater of the species, as in taking others under its wing and keeping order, while others may use dragons as, er, slaves, and make them gather food and other resources to keep it from having to defend for itself."

"So you're saying that the dragons raiding our island are being controlled by some freak dragon who wants them to steal our food."

"Like I said, it may use them to gather food for itself."

"Fantastic."

"How bad are they around here? I've, ah- dealt of other islands with similar issues." His wings drooped, a sign of his guard letting out, he was now honestly curious of the island of Berk's state.

"Our winter store house is bare. They've taken everything for their fatass ruler if what you're telling me is true."

"Thats bad, right?"

"Our village will potentially starve over the winter season."

"Right."

"So why the big fuss about it? If you think I am going to be fooled into a way of letting you out with this fib of a story, then you're not going anywhere."

"No; I was actually debating helping you guys out.. you know- with your dragon problem."

"For what reason?"

"First of all, it doesn't take an idiot to realize I want to be granted my freedom. I want to see my dragon again, and I've wanted to bring peace to tribes with dragons ever since I was exposed to the harsh reality that the viking-verses-dragon war is."

"And how do you suppose you're going to help us." Astrid twirled her axe, was this kid insane?

"I thought about talking to it, and last resort is killing it, if need be, with a little help of course." The freak gave Astrid a grin, his wings perking up and fluttering, "And I think I have a group of people willing to, if they're up for it."

Astrid's jaw dropped and her eyes bulged. Was he serious?!