Heart of a Dragon Whisper (An RTTE Fanfic)

Chapter 30

Hookfang lunged for Gruffnut, his eyes filled with distrust and anger. I quickly pushed away from the beam I was leaning on and jumped in front of Gruff, stopping Hookfang in his tracks. 

"Melia? What are you doing? That's not the male twin." 

"It's okay. I know. Gruffnut's an idiot for thinking he could fool a magnificent beast with an incredible sense of smell." I said soothingly, walking forward to put a hand on Hookfang's snout. Hookfang growled, muttering something about wanting Snotlout to appreciate him as much as I did. I chuckled, petting his snout a little before turning towards Gruffnut, holding my hand out for the fish in his hand. He handed it to me and I held it up for Hookfang. He sniffed it before sending a small puff of flame at it, gobbling it up only a minute after. Gruffnut got closer to us, holding another fish, but Chicken screeched behind Gruffnut, startling Hookfang who pushed me into the wall while burning Gruff with fire. Gruff screamed, running out of the stables to avoid any more casualties. Hookfang glanced over at me. "Good job, Fang." I praised, scratching him under the chin. He purred in appreciation. I stood and ran after Gruff, wanting to catch up to him before he did anything else stupid. Minutes later, Gruff was sitting in front of Meatlug, a bucket of rocks next to him while I watched from where I sat on top of a boulder. 

"Well, I guess I'll settle for a Gronckle." Gruff remarked, tossing Meatlug a rock. 

"More please!" she exclaimed, shaking in excitement. 

"Hopefully, they'll pay me by the pound." Gruffnut commented, actually succeeding in getting on top of Meatlug. Suddenly, Chicken came out of no where again, clucking at Gruff as she pecked his foot. "Get outta here. No, stop it. Stop!" Gruff ordered Chicken. 

"Wait a minute. You're not Tuffnut!" Meatlug realized, attempting to buck Gruff out of her saddle. She succeeded. 

"Filthy-beaked bird." Gruff insulted Chicken. I shook my head at him, laughing when Meatlug sent some lava spews at him, making him run. 

"Nice work, Meatlug." I complimented. She gave me a prideful look before moving to gobble up the remaining rocks in the bucket. I laughed, thinking Gruffnut's attempts at trying to steal a dragon were, however bad they were, hilarious. I ran after Gruffnut, following him around until we met the team in the arena. 

"Melia!" Lilac exclaimed, bounding over to me, Starflight following close behind. 

"Hey, you two." I greeted, petting their snouts, glancing up when Storm joined us. 

"Hey, Melia. Where've you been?" 

"Doing whatever around the base." I answered. 

"Excuse me? Has someone been feeding Meatlug feldspar again? You know how it bloats her." Fishlegs remarked. I looked over at Meatlug, noticing immediately how she was on her side, her tongue lolling out. 

"Looks like we need someone to your patrol shift. Any vol-" 

"Uh. We'll do it, we'll do it." Gruff immediately raises his hand, cutting Hiccup off. 

"We what?" Ruff asked, staring at her 'brother', baffled. 

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Tuffnut?" Snotlout asked. 

"What... What's that supposed to mean?" 

"No offense. You just don't volunteer very- Well, ever." Snotlout explained. 

"I hate to agree with my brother, but he's right, Tuff. You don't usually do this sort of thing." Storm agreed. 

"Oh, come on guys. Tuffnut's just trying something new. It's not like he doesn't do that every once in a while." I remarked, leaning against Lilac. 

"Yeah, but usually trying new things with the Twins consists of explosions and wreaking havoc." Snotlout countered. 

"Yeah, but now that that Gruffnut jerk is gone, I think Ruff and I could use a little us time. Right, sis? I missed ya." 

"You had me at 'that Gruffnut jerk'. And, hey, what if Macey comes along, too?" Ruffnut suggested. 

"Oh no." I muttered under my breath, facepalming. 

"Uh... No, thanks." 

"Huh?" 

"I mean, maybe you should get to carry Macey for a change. Right?" Gruffnut walked off, Ruffnut following after him, a suspicious look on her face. 

"Is it just me or is Tuffnut acting weirder than usual?" Storm asked, glancing at me. 

"How so?" 

"Tuff never lets anybody hold Macey." 

"Yeah, that is pretty strange. Anyway, I have stuff to do in my hut. C'mon Lilac, let's go." I walked out of the arena, Lilac behind me. 

"Melia, did you know that Tuffnut kind of smells like Gruffnut right now?" 

"That's because Gruffnut's pretending to be Tuff in order to bring a dragon to a group of dragon hunters he owes money to." I explain to Lilac. 

"What?!" she snarled, looking up at me. "You're just going to let him do that?!" 

"Of course not. I'm going to follow him, Ruff, and Barf and Belch, so I can stop him from doing the worst thing he could do." I explained. Lilac stopped walking, deep in thought. 

"Huh... That's smart." 

"Thanks. Now, let's go."