The Other-worldly Protector

64. Reunion

[A/N: remember me? LOL. See u next year!]

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout sat on the floor, most with their backs against a wall. All of them looked up at Kiara when she came into view but no one recognised her in the black gear. She stared at them, dazed.

I must have walked into a dream... That's what this is.

"BAM!" Tuffnut yelled as he slammed his body against the bars. Kiara and Gem jerked away with a shriek. Gem scuttled back and hid behind her back while Tuffnut cackled.

"You guys are here? Wh-what? How—" she stumbled over her words as her mind whirred with a mix of extreme happiness and utter confusion. "What're you doing in here?!"

"Awaiting trial," Tuffnut said, face pressed against the bars right above the padlock. "Nice changewing you got there by the way." He barked a laugh. "Just kidding. He's a dirty little scaredy-cat!"

Gem poked his head above her shoulder and growled fiercely while Kiara looked between the two, baffled.

"Aa-da-Tuffnut? What are you doing?" Hiccup asked, while his tone warned him to stop. He rose to his feet tried to tug the crazy Viking away.

"Simple," Ruffnut answered, standing up too and shoving Hiccup away. "He's calling out the weakling in the house."

"Yeah, you heard that right, midget!" Tuffnut said, looking directly at Gem.

Horrified, Kiara stepped back and pulled the growling changewing into her arms. "Tuffnut," she said sternly "cut it out."

"That's MISTER NUT to you, missy," Ruffnut sassed while her brother continued to taunt Gem. "I bet I'm more changewing than you!" he jeered. "You should see the acid I spray when barfing out Astrid's cooking."

At the sound of acid, everyone else jumped to their feet.

"Where's your acid, tiny-whiney?" he challenged. "Bet-ya got none! Bet-ya got none!" Gem roared at him, glaring. Tuffnut stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. This was the last straw for the baby changewing.

"Gem, don't!" Kiara shouted, a little too late.

Gem shot acid at the Viking. Tuffnut dodged, colliding with Hiccup so that the spray hit nothing but the bars and padlock. "No acid!" Kiara ordered, giving the hatchling a hard stare. Before she could say another word, the lock dissolved, Tuffnut burst out of the cell, slammed into Kiara and pinned her against the wall with his hand on her mouth. Her shoulder flared with pain.

"Freedom!" Snotlout cheered.

Gem fluttered away in fright while Kiara screamed "let go! It's me, you idiot! Kiara!" But her words were hopelessly muffled. She pinched under his arm, making him yelp and let go. "Let me—" He immediately slapped his other hand over her mouth. She rolled her eyes.

"I'll knock her out," said Ruffnut, a fist raised to punch.

"Stop!" Hiccup halted the group and pulled back Ruffnut's arm. "Whatever happened to earning their trust? They're not the enemy."

"You want us to go back and sit there?" Snotlout asked incredulously.

"No one's forming an alliance after a stunt like that," Astrid quickly said, trying to drag Hiccup to the door. "Come on."

"Let's escape before the other guard comes back!" Fishlegs added.

An invisible force pounced onto Tuffnut, knocking him to the floor. Breathing hard, Kiara slid to the floor while clutching her shoulder.

"Aah! He's got me!" Tuffnut screamed. Obeying Kiara, Gem fought without acid and wrestled the Viking while biting him with his (relatively) blunt baby teeth. He managed to snap his teeth on Tuffnut's nose. "I am hurt! I am VERY MUCH hurt!" Hiccup jumped in and pulled him away, leaving Gem snarling on the floor and blocking the way to Kiara.

"One more thing," Hiccup said, straightening a gasping Tuffnut. He looked directly at Kiara. "Who's the last person you know that trained a changewing?"

With all eyes now on her, Kiara forced herself to let go of her shoulder and pull off her face covering. "Thanks, Hiccup." She grinned.

"KIARA!" the group exclaimed as one, followed by a chorus baffled questions that seemed to blur together to Kiara.

"Y-You're YOU! And I attacked," Tuffnut said, newly panicked. "I hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

Kiara waved him off, still sat on the floor. "I'm fine, no harm done."

"Thank Thor... And Mr Robbie Jr: I did not mean a word!" He fell to his knees before Gem. "You are not a scaredy-cat!" He proclaimed. "You got the might of Hela and, boy, I have the scars to prove it." He rubbed his sore nose. Gem snorted.

Hiccup and Astrid came forwards to help Kiara up but paused when Gem hissed at them. "Easy, Gem. They're friends." She nudged him to step aside and when he did, she was pulled into a three-way hug.

"You're alive," Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief.

"You had us so worried," Astrid said, pulling away. She was pushed back immediately when the twins wrapped their arms—and legs—around the trio.

"Group hug!" Fishlegs cheered and, with a meaty arm, swept Snoutlout into the hug alongside him. They broke apart, laughing.

"Man, I missed you guys too," Kiara giggled.

"We thought you were dead!" Hiccup said, holding her at arm's length.

"I'm so sorry!"

"What the heck are you doing he—?"

"He thought you were dead," Snotlout cut in from behind. "I knew the truth," he said proudly. Hiccup folded his arms, annoyed.

"It was a possibility," he huffed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't contact you." Feeling guilty, Kiara ran a hand through her hair, making her black hood fall away. "I couldn't ride back either because—"

"Your shoulder," Astrid said. "How is it?"

"Getting better, thanks." Kiara gave her a fleeting smile. "But that's not the only reason." She frowned. "The people here..."

The door creaked open and a wedge of daylight fell in.

"...have really bad timing," she muttered, peering at Cnut, who stood frozen in the doorway. The shock on his face switched to disgust when his eyes flicked between her and the acid-dissolved lock. "Cnut, I can explain," she said carefully, hurrying towards him. Stone-faced, he stepped back and slammed the door just as she reached him. Kiara jerked back. The lock clicked.

When her brain fully registered what that sound meant, she cursed and pounded against the wood. "At least hear me out, oh my God!" she yelled in frustration. "They are not hunters! And for the record I didn't free them—that was Gem!"

"Quiet, traitor!" His gruff voice shouted back.

"No, she will not quiet!" Tuffnut yelled, sounding dramatically offended. "And she's not a traitor either so both words out of your mouth are complete yak-dung!"

"Oh yeah, he's full of it," Ruffnut snickered, arms folded.

There was a pause before Cnut bitterly replied, "You're right; she's not a traitor. She was never one of us in the first place."

Kiara's anger melted away and a damp residue of sadness settled in her eyes. She knew she doesn't belong here of course, but it started feeling like she might. And being reminded that she doesn't fit in anywhere felt like reality had caught up after the happy three weeks and pounced on her back.

"You will be held on trial with the others." His receding footsteps told the group that he was getting reinforcements.

A hand on her shoulder make Kiara turn to its owner. Her eyes locked with Tuffnut's. "At least he knows you're one of us," he said.

"Right," she smiled, feeling lighter.