━━ chapter fourteen
whispers of death
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━━"Okay, that hole was not there yesterday."
"Oh, wow, Tuff," Snotlout's sarcasm always made Valkyrie want to kick something, "good job! Your one brain cell actually works sometimes!"
Hiccup walked nervously to the edge of the gaping hole at their feet. He peered down through the rock, his hair tousling in the oncoming wind. Valkyrie didn't know what could have caused a hole like this, but something had━a dragon, maybe ... and a big one at that. Astrid crossed her arms, jutting out her hip and glaring into the darkness.
"Any idea what dragon it might be?" Valkyrie asked him softly, not even looking as she reached out for Mak and Erik's fleece vests to stop them from jumping down. She passed them off to Zephyr behind her, who nudged them back the way they came, grumbling.
"What makes you think it's a dragon?" Snotlout looked her way and she gave him a blank stare. He balked, "What? I was just wondering."
All of the sudden, the ring around the hole outside the Great Hall was broken by Toothless, who shoved his way to the front. He growled, baring his teeth down at the darkness. Snarling, he huffed down into it, and Valkyrie backed away, startled by his behaviour. He sniffed, and in catching a scent, he reared up. Roaring and flailing his wings and legs, Gobber and Stoick had to duck. Hiccup gasped and rushed to his dragon, trying to calm him down. "Whoa! Whoa! Hey ... come on, it's just a hole, bud..."
"It's not just a hole!" cried a voice from down below.
Astrid jumped and stared down. All of them were shocked to see Bucket gazing up at them. When did he get there? "It's like an underground village!"
Mulch raced over, hearing the sound of friends voice. Peering down, he sighed, relieved. "Bucket! Oh, there you are! I've been looking for you all night!"
"Sorry, Mulch!" Bucket held a hand to the metal container on his head to keep it on as he looked up. He had a grin on his face. "But I think I finally found it! My happy place!"
There was a low rumble and out of the hole, Bucket came flying forth in a cluster of dirt and rock. He screamed in alarm, landing back down by the water troughs. The rest of them ran towards him. Stoick leaned down to check whether he was okay. Bucket sat back up, dazed and startled, but otherwise fine.
"Are you all right, Bucket?!"
"Not so happy, anymore," he fixed his bucket properly on his head.
"What happened?" asked the chief.
"Something pushed me out," he got to his feet, suddenly very distressed. "Something's down there━something big."
"Did you see what it could be?"
Before Bucket could answer, Toothless's roar brought them all to his attention. Spinning around, they watched him dive down into the hole. Hiccup ran for the edge. The teens followed with Stoick and Gobber at their heels. The ground beneath them trembled. Valkyrie held her hand back to Zephyr as he growled, nervous on his feet. He sensed something they didn't, which didn't make Valkyrie feel any better.
If one closed their eyes, they could hear something ... something other than the low grumbling and growling that rocketed the earth underfoot. Valkyrie frowned, tilting her head to the left as she tried to make it out. It was almost a whistle ... maybe a whisper ... it was hard to tell. But it sure sent chills down her spine.
"What is that sound?" whispered Astrid, brows furrowed.
"Huh, whatever it is," said Gobber, eyeing the ground cautiously, "it's giving me the willies!" he started to back away, and it wasn't long before the others followed, creating a wide birth between them and the gaping hole. The rumbling and whispers grew louder and louder, until something exploded up and out.
Once the dust fell away, Valkyrie could see what it was.
Her knees trembled.
It was a dragon━a terrifying dragon at that. Long and slender, it held no legs with small wings. But it was menacing on it's own without a giant wingspan. The dragon's tail was armed with spikes━in fact, its entire body was. Razor sharp spikes wrapped around it's scales from head to tail. A crown of thorns circled its forehead, large and pointed. They flared back as it roared, showing rows and rows of teeth━all the way down its throat.
Snotlout let out a whimpering gasp━sounding much like Fishlegs, to everyone's shock. "Whoa━look at the size of that thing!"
"Do I have to?!" cried Fishlegs, hiding his face in his hands.
Astrid shot him a glare, "Dragons!" she told the group of them. "Now! Everyone!"
Zephyr was ready. Valkyrie hoisted herself up onto her saddle and into the air. The others followed and the dragon narrowed its eyes at them all. He seemed to be searching for something, and Valkyrie didn't know how could he even see with eyes milky white and bloodshot.
"Uh ..." Snotlout clung onto Hookfang's horns. "I don't like the way it's eyeballing me!"
"Don't worry," Fishlegs whimpered, "it's not just you."
"Thanks, big relief!"
Not finding what he was looking for, the spiked dragon dived back into the hole with a screech that rattled Valkyrie's ears. The rumbling didn't disappear.
Astrid reared back in Stormfly's saddle, eyes wide. "What ... was ... that?" she let out.
"Whatever it was," said Tuffnut, "I want one!"
Valkyrie frowned at him.
Fishlegs stared at the gaping hole, looking very pale. "If ... If I had to take a guess," he began, trembling, "I'd say that was a Whispering Death."
"Whoa ..." murmured Tuffnut, eyes wide and a grin appearing onto his face. "Great name." He covered Belch's ears and whispered to his sister, "So much better than Zippleback."
Barf sent him a look, huffing a breath of gas into his face in his displeasure. Tuffnut gagged.
Bucket backed up to the houses, looking around with wide eyes and shaking legs. "Where'd it go?!" he cried. "Why is it here?! What's it gonna do to us━?!" he stamped his foot to Mulch, "━Why aren't you slapping me to snap me out of this?!"
Mulch quivered on the barrels he stood ontop. "Because I'm scared, too, Bucket!"
The trembling of the ground grew again, as did the whispers. Behind them, the Whispering Death resurfaced through a brand new hole, exploding forth in a mess of debris, rock, clay and dirt. Valkyrie shielded her face, gasping.
From beside Hiccup, Gobber looked like he wanted to run for the hills. "Ah, it looks angry," he leaned in closer to the chief's son. "Why don't you do that thing where you touch its nose and feed it grass?"
Hiccup set him a side glance, annoyed. "Okay━" he turned to the team. Their dragons fluttered their wings, skittish in the air with the Whispering Death. "Uh, Fishlegs, what do we know about the Whispering Death?!"
"Boulder Class," said Fishlegs amongst squeaks. "Razor sharp teeth, incredibly strong, hunts from underground."
"Cool!" exclaimed Tuffnut, not at all worried. Valkyrie didn't think his head could register that far into something. He covered Belch's ears again. "Now I really want one."
Snotlout growled, "So?" he squared his chest. "How do we deal with this thing?!"
"Stand back, everyone!"
Valkyrie hadn't even realised Soick had left. But now he was back, Thornado with him. The Thunderdrum snarled at the Whispering Death. The teens all shot to the ground, ready to hold their hands to their ears as the dragon let out a mighty roar━soundwaves echoing towards the Whispering Death.
It didn't seem to affect him all that much, just make him angrier. The Whispering Death glared at the chief and his dragon. He screeched.
"Uh, I don't think it's got its listening ears on," said Gobber unhelpfully. Hiccup clenched his jaw as if to say, No kidding?
Zephyr roared. He had had enough of this dragon and so had Valkyrie. Readying her posture for flight, she announced, "Okay! let's run this thing out of here!"
Leading the group of teens back into the air, they positioned themselves in a diamond formation behind Stoick. Zephyr reared back his long neck, ready to blast the Whispering Death back into its hole when out of it, returned Toothless. He roared and their dragons all balked.
"Whoa!" Valkyrie tried to regain control of Zephyr, but he refused to move, squawking.
Everyone else seemed to be having the same problem.
"What is Toothelss doing?!" cried Snotlout at the Night Fury who stood his ground in front of the Whispering Death.
"I think he wants us to back off..." muttered Astrid, startled.
"No problem here!" squeaked Fishlegs and pulled Meatlug away.
The spikes of the Whispering Death jutted out in seeing Toothless━his eyes narrowed in recognition. Valkyrie frowned, watching Toothless bare his teeth. She has never seen him this angry━not since that day in the arena where he faced Hookfang to protect Hiccup.
"Toothless━" his rider tried to stop him as he launched towards the mighty dragon, trying to close his jaw at the end of its spiked tail. The Whispering Death took flight, his rotating teeth spinning in defiance at the Night Fury below.
He roared and jumped again. His teeth latched around the Whispering Death's flank this time, and the both of them fell to the ground, rolling across the dirt. Valkyrie felt her chest cave in, worried that one of those spikes would slice Toothless's flesh.
The Whispering Death regain his advantage in the sky and Toothless fired shot after shot, desperately trying to hit the dragon that weaved back and forth. Growling in frustration, he flapped his wings, but couldn't get off the ground━not without Hiccup on his back.
"Toothless can't fly without me!" Hiccup cried, unsure on what to do. His feet shuffled on the ground, deciding whether to run in or wait. "He's a sitting duck!"
Thornado touched ground and his rider grwoled, "Gobber! Man the catapults, and when that thing is clear of Toothless, fire!"
Hiccup shook his head. "Dad, wait!" he said, taking the chance to run to his dragon while the Whispering Death gathered more space in the air. He reached for the saddle, but Toothless growled, shaking him away. "Just let me help you, bud━"
With a nasty shove, Hiccup fell to the ground. Valkyrie rushed over to him, checking whether he was okay. The both of them watched Toothless bound away, not giving him a second glance.
"What?" breathed Hiccup, shocked. "T━Toothless ... what's ... what's wrong?"
Hearing his voice, his dragon faltered. Glancing back, there was a flicker of apology in his eyes before they returned to a scowl. He sent Hiccup an angry roar━back off! He seemed to say and followed after the Whispering Death.
Valkyrie helped Hiccup to his feet, clutching his fleece vest worridly. "What was that all about?" she asked.
"I have no idea," he replied, reaching back to squeeze her hand to tell her, I'm okay.
Much like a Deadly Nadder, the Whispering Death flicked his tail and out shot armed spikes. A volley of them rained down onto Toothless. He darted away from most, but one lodged itself into his leg. Hiccup blanched, "Toothless!" he cried.
"Gobber!" shouted the chief and the blacksmith ran to the catapult. With a yank of the lever, the boulder leapt forth from the casing, knocking the creature in the jaw. He turned to them, baring his arm-length razor sharp teeth. He looked ready to fire, but something stopped him. It was too quick for Valkyrie to see what it was before another boulder hit him in the snout and with a screech, the Whispering Death shovelled back away into the ground.
They could see him travel; making the dirt upturn in his spikes as he burrowed away from the village. Toothless rushed to it, glaring down the path. Hiccup ran to his best friend, hands shaking at the spike embedded into his thigh.
"Oh, no," he said, concered, "you're hurt━" he wrapped his hands around the spike. Toothless glanced back, eyes going gentle. He nodded, and Hiccup took a deep breath. With a tug, the spike was pulled away.
Not wasting any time, Toothless jumped up the steps to the Great Hall. Reaching the edge of the hill, he scowled off into the distance and the thundering sound of the Whispering Death as it grew further and further away.
"Toothless, wait━" Hiccup tried to run after him but was too slow. The others caught up, if not more confused. Usually, Hiccup and Toothless were a team for the gods, but right now, they seemed a chasm apart.
"Where's he going?" asked Astrid.
"Probably running away to lick his wounds," Snotlout jeered and Valkyrie shot him a vicious glare.
"It's not funny!" snapped Hiccup, spinning on his heel to march up to Snotlout. "He could've been killed. He can't fly, remember?"
Snotlout just crossed his arms. "And whose fault is that?"
Valkyrie stormed over, "Seriously?" she exploded, livid. "Did you just go there?"
"Hey━" he was not bothered at all from her fuming figure. "I call it like I see it."
She grumbled, fists clenching. She would have punched him if Fishlegs didn't raise a nervous figer and ask, "Um, does anyone what to talk about what in the name of Thor just happened?"
"Uh," Tuffnut tapped him on the shoulder casually, "dragon fight? Just another day on Berk."
"Uh, not really," replied Fishlegs. "It seemed like there was way more to it than that."
"He's right," Hiccup muttured, off in thought as he gazed at the spike he still held in his hand. "The Whispering Death singled Toothless out."
"And Toothless wanted that dragon all to himself," went on Astrid.
"Yeah, he certainly did. But why?"
There was silence. Tuffnut and Ruffnut shared a glance. The former scratched his head. "Uh ... are we going to be tested on this? Because I'm completely confused."
"Well, don't look at me," his sister said.
Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
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━━Morning came, and Toothless was gone. He had gone after the Whispering Death and Hiccup was beyond worried. He paced the floor of the arena, his metal leg clinking on the stone. The others watched him, eyes travelling back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ...
"Maybe Toothless just went for a morning flight?" Snotlout suggested before backtracking and snickering. "Oh, that's right ... he can't!"
Hiccup stopped and sent him a mean glare. Astrid crossed her arms, shaking her head with a scoff at Snotlout while Valkyrie stepped forward, ready for a fight. "Really?!" she seethed. "You're going there again? Now?!"
Hiccup had to pull her back, taking her arm. Valkyrie reluctantly let him guide her behind him. He was thankful, for sure, for her standing up for him, but the last thing they needed right now was for her to start a fight with Snotlout over his pride. "Toothless must be looking for the Whispering Death," he instead said. "We find it, we find Toothless."
"What do we do if we find the Whispering Death first?" Fishlegs asked nervously, clutching the Book of Dragons to his chest.
"Well," the chief's son thought about it, and shrugged, "we train him."
Tuffnut frowned. "You know he's got death in his name, right?"
Hiccup ignored him, "Fishlegs," he approached the pudgy Viking, "is there anything about the Whispering Death in the Book of Dragons that can help us?"
Fishlegs flicked back through the pages, already sweating. Finding the page, he read aloud, "It can shoot razor sharp spines from any part of its body!"
Astrid jutted out her hip, "And how's that gonna help us?"
"Uh, well, it would help if we stayed away from those."
"Or," said Tuffnut, "we can get near them and use Ruffnut as a human shield!" His sister kicked him. He doubled over. "OW! MY KNEE CAP! That's new ..." he stopped, then soon grinned, "I like it."
"This dragon must have a weakness..." Hiccup was growing frustrated, and it didn't help when Fishlegs shook his head with a shrug.
"Actually, no," he said. "Yeah, it says right here━" he pointed to the line in the Book of Dragons, "━'no known weaknesses'."
Tuffnut stood back up, completely forgetting about his kneecap. "Huh," he laughed, appearing at Fishlegs's side. He ran a finger fondly down the page. "I really love this thing."
"Okay, great," Hiccup clenched his fists, "uh, can we go now, please?" he turned to Zephyr and jumped onto his saddle. Valkyrie quickly followed. "We don't know how much time we have━" he pulled her up in front of him.
Glancing back, she met his gaze with a soft one of her own. "Don't worry," she told him gently. "We'll find him."
He frowned. Hiccup didn't say anything, but when he slipped her arms around her waist to hold on she felt him sigh against her back, she knew he listened. With a nod to herself, Valkyrie led the team out towards the forest. The wind beat against her braid, but she just urged Zephyr to go faster, diving down to gain speed before shooting back up. They soared around to the trail the Whispering Death left and started to follow it.
They took the wide birth around the Old Forest, flying overhead so they could all have a view of down below. Valkyrie kept her gaze peeled for any shot of black in the trees or meadows━perhaps by the rocks to see whether Toothless was around. (She would much rather find him than the Whispering Death). But then Hiccup pulled his arms away and pointing. "There━down below!"
Following his gaze, Valkyrie saw a patch of holes on the earth's surface, much like the ones the Whispering Death had created back in the village.
Valkyrie guided Zephyr down towards them.
Even before she landed, Hiccup and slipped off, hitting the ground running. Dirt skidded under his feet as he neared the edge of the hole. The others landed, their dragons growling in the close presence of danger. Valkyrie hopped off Zephyr as well, already feeling the growth of an idiotic idea in the set of HIccup's jaw.
"Toothless?!" he called down in through the darkness. "Toothless!"
The others planted their feet on the ground as well. Snotlout crouched by the edge, peering over with a smug look upon his face. "How do we even if the Whispering Death made these holes?"
"Oh?" Astrid arched a brow. "So, you think it might be the other twenty-five-hundred-pound rock-eating dragon we're following?"
Snotlout faltered, trying to comprehend her sarcasm. He went red at all of their eyes that watched him, waiting for an answer. "Uh━I know what you're━" he frowned, "━don't try to confuse me, Astrid!"
Valkyrie rolled her eyes and made it to Hiccup's side. "Look at this," he murmured to her as he crouched down and picked up something from the ground. He spun a large tooth in his fingers, holding it up to the sunlight. Val peered at it, curious. "He must have lost a tooth."
"Oooh! Is it sharp?" asked Tuff eagerly. "If it is, I want it. I like sharp!"
"Yeah!" his sister clapped her hands, agreeing. "Sharp is good!"
"Think about this ..." Fishlegs shuffled up to them, still quivering in his yak-skinned boots. "Hundreds of those━" he nodded at the tooth, "━spinning together, ripping through dirt and tree roots. Discarding rock like it's not even there!"
Their dragons grew restless. Zephyr squawked for Valkyrie to come away from the hole and she glanced over her shoulder. Stormfly stamped her feet, flapping her wings.
"Stormfly," chided Astrid. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong, dragon?" Tuff crossed his arms while his sister held out her hands, "Barf━settle down!"
"Stop!" Hiccup told them all, and the teens fell silent. "Listen..."
Valkyrie perked her ears, trying to hear what he was talking about ... and there it was ... the whispers of earth moving together, rumbling below.
"Listen for what?" Tuffnut then said, and her hearing was obstructed. She sighed, shooting him a glare.
His sister shrugged, the both of them completely oblivious. "I don't hear anything." She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "What are we listening for?!"
"Be quiet!" Astrid snapped at them.
Tuffnut rolled his eyes, "How are we supposed to hear anything over her yelling?!"
"Shhhh!"
Under Valkyrie's feet, the ground shook. She gasped, stepping back. Hiccup kept his ground, glaring down the hole. Fishlegs whimpered, holding his hands to his cheeks, "It's the whisper," he breathed, horrified.
Snotlout huddled close to Astrid and Valkyrie. "Looks like we beat Toothless," he muttered.
"Yeah," Astrid managed to say sarcastically, "we win."
From behind Fishlegs, the Whispering Death emerged, screeching. Fishlegs froze, gazing up at him with quivering legs. "I'm not feeling like a winner!" he squeaked. Hunching up his figure, he had no time to run as the Whispering Death leered in front of him curiously. So close his breath made Fishlegs's hair blow. "Uh ... hi, sir!" said the pudgy Viking. The Dragon opened up his mouth, snarling. "Uh ... I ... um ... I like the teeth!"
He reared back up, shaking his head and gazing at the other dragons. Valkyrie took this chance to reach forward and drag Fishlegs back and away, breath hitched as the Whispering Death dived back down into the ground. The debris made Valkyrie cough and cover her face.
"Oh, I hate it when he does that!" said Snotlout when the dust settled. "Can you at least tell me why he does it?!"
The Whispering Death wasn't finished. Valkyrie could tell. The ground still rumbled beneath them, and the whisper slithered in her ears. The group of teams huddled together, glancing all around them for the dragon to make it's entrance again.
"Maybe to hunt...?" mumbled Fishlegs. "Maybe because it's cooler ...? Maybe to look for water ...?" At their expectant gazes, he scrunched his eyes closed and exploded, "AND MAYBE BECAUSE HE CAN"T STAND THE PRESSURE OF EVERYBODY ALWAYS EXPECTING HIM TO HAVE THE ANSWERS!"
Valkyrie leaned back, startled by his outburst.
Tuffnut whispered to his sister, eyeing Fishlegs warily. "He's losing it..."
Ruff grinned. "I know," she whispered back. "It's awesome."
The Whispering Death chose then to reappear. Fishlegs shrieked and ran away, hands up in the air. Tuffnut jumped, and eargly stepped forward. "Somebody hold it still! I wanna pet it━!" Ruffnut tugged him back.
Valkyrie saw Hiccup scowl at the dragon, and she sighed. Stupid idea, coming right up. "Hiccup━do you actually have a plan, or are you just trying to get yourself killed?"
He approached the dragon as it barrelled through the surface rock, breaking it apart around him. Hiccup glanced back as he grew nearer. "If I can train it, it'll leave Toothless alone..."
"Right," said Snotlout, "so you are trying to get yourself killed?"
The Whispering Death charged Hiccup, and the chief's son gasped. Throwing his head into the nook of his shoulder he held out his palm━amazingly, the Whispering Death stopped right before it. Valkyrie reached for Astrid's hand beside her, holding it tight as the dragon sniffed at Hiccup's outstretched hand, curious.
For a second, Valkyrie was sure he was going to accept the affection, but then he just spun around and back into his hole with a flick of his tail. Hiccup ran after it. The others followed, skidding to a stop by the egde.
Val knew that look on his face. "Um, I know what you're thinking━" he glanced back at her, brow arched. "And the answer is no, Hiccup."
He just jumped down straight after it.
Val's shoulders slumped. "Why does he always do that?"
"You tell me," muttered Astrid. "He's your boyfriend."
"Oh, man..." Fishlegs peered down nervously, feet shuffling and sending loose dirt down into the darkness. "I am so glad I'm not down there with him right now━wahhh!" Snotlout shoved him, and Fishlegs fell, screaming.
There was a thud from below as he landed. Astrid and Valkyrie crossed their arms, disapproving at Snotlout who just threw his arms up innocently, "Oops?"
They waited for the two of them to return. Valkyrie tried to keep her nerves down, pacing and glancing back and forth from the hole and her feet to check whether they would show up. She wondered whether she should go in after them━it had been a while. She returned to the edge, gazing down with her stomach heavy with worry.
"They've been down there forever," she said, on her hands and knees. "Hiccup!" she shouted down into the dark. "Fishlegs!"
They appeared in the beam of sunlight, and Valkyrie sighed, relieved. "Yep!" Hiccup called up to her. "Right here."
Tuff shoved Valkyrie to the side to peer in next to her. "Did you see the Whispering Death?" he asked, rushed. "Was it cool?"
Ruff dropped down next to him and Valkyrie was pushed further away. She grumbled, annoyed. "Did you touch it?!"
Tuffnut hit her, "I wanna touch it!"
"Can we talk about this later?" Fishlegs whimpered. "We really need to get out of this hole!"
The ground shook. Valkyrie looked up and a ways ahead, the earth upturned in a trail of death━the Whispering Death heading straight for the boys trapped beneath. Astrid paled, "Uh, yeah, you do!"
Valkyrie pushed forward and held down her hand as far as she could. Hiccup rushed for Fishlegs to be hoisted up first, and Val needed help from the entire group to pull Fishlegs up and out of the hole. They dragged him along the grass before leaving him dry and Valkyrie shoved her hand back down for Hiccup to take. The Whispering Death was getting closer and closer, and hear heart was in her throat. Hiccup jumped to try and reach her hand, but he was too short. She gritted her teeth, leaning in as far as she could. Dust billowed behind him.
"Come on, come on, come on━" Val stretched her arm as far as it could go. Hiccup set his jaw and jumped up. His fingers brushed hers and she snatched. With a grunt, she tried to pull him up, only for her grip to slip. "No!"
He hit the ground. The dust was getting closer. They had less than a few seconds. "Hiccup!" Valkyrie cried, reaching her hand back down. He glanced back, and shook his head.
"No!" He told her. "EVERYONE STAND BACK━!"
Snotlout pulled Valkyrie away from the hole as it exploded.
Hiccup screamed as he shot up into the air in the explosion of dust and rock. Amongst it was the Whispering Death, extending his teeth out to capture the small Viking who started to fall back━
On her knees, Valkyrie shouted, "Zephyr━!"
He knew what she wanted. With a burst of speed, he leapt up into the air and swooped forward. He grabbed Hiccup in his claws just before the Whispering Death could close his jaw. With a squawk, Zephyr dived back down and dropped Hiccup onto his feet. Valkyrie rushed forward, grabbing his shoulders to steady him as she checked him for any injuries.
"Thanks, Val," he breathed. "I'm fine."
Looking over his shoulder, his jaw set stubbornly back at the Whispering Death who shrieked at him. Tuff tilted his head, gazing at it. "I don't think he likes you in his hole..."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Yeah," he replied back sarcastically, "I got that."
"Can we get out of here?!" snapped Snotlout, before his knees knocked together and he trembled out an added, "Please?"
"No," the chief's son shook his head, determined. "I know I can train this thing. Anybody got some Dragon Nip?" Before he could even blink, his arms were filled to the brim of Dragon Nip from the others. He stood there, startled for a second. "Okay..." he mumbled slowly. Hesitantly, he stepped towards the angry Whispering Death. "Don't be afraid ..." he began gently, "I'm a friend. Here━" he held the Dragon Nip out, the dragon reared his head, giving him a warning growl. "You'll love this. All the dragons love this..."
The Whispering Death sniffed at the grass, and Valkyrie could see he was quite the curious personality. His eyes widened, and his spikes started to gently fall back down━
Until he sneezed.
The Dragon Nip shot from Hiccup's hands, flying past their dragons. Immediately, they all swooned, falling to the ground with blissful purrs. Hiccup winced. Snotlout stared at Hookfang by his feet, huffing out a pleasant ring of smoke from his nostrils. He shot Hiccup a glare. "Oh, great! Now we're defenseless!"
Hiccup backed away, joining the others with his shoulders hunched. He was just as scared as the rest of them. The Whispering Death was not happy with him at all. "Uh ... any ideas?" he asked the group. "I'm throwing it wide-open to the group!"
"I got an idea," said Snotlout, "RUN!"
The Whispering Death shrieked.
And they ran.
Valkyrie's feet pounded against the dirt, her heart raced. She could hear the dragon behind them, gaining on their heels. The grass and dirt upturned from his spikes that coated all of his body, and Valkyrie wondered whether it would collapse underneath them. When━all of the sudden━Toothless came flying over from the side.
Wham! He and the Whispering Death went spiralling to the side. The teens all stopped, spinning around to see him clutching onto the spiked tail, claws dug into the scales. With immense strength, Toothless swung the Whispering Death and let go━the dragon rolled down the slope.
Growls from over Valkyrie's shoulder told her the rest of their dragons had returned from their Dragon Nip nap. As the Whispering Death returned to the sky, he was meant with the roars of all of their dragons combined, and he realised he couldn't win this fight for now━and so he retreated.
Hiccup raced to Toothless, grabbing for the saddle but the Night Fury growled. Pushing him away, it took him a second to realise it was Hiccup, and his snarl fell away. "Hey, bud..." Hiccup said gently, holding out his hands. "It's me ... I know what's going on with you and that other dragon. Let me help you..." his palm etched closer to his snout, but Toothless huffed, turning away. "Toothless, come back━" Hiccup tried to catch up to him, but his best friend shot a blast right at his feet, stopping him in his tracks.
Valkyrie quickly ran up to Hiccup, placing a hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't continue. It was obvious Toothless didn't want him to follow. They would have to wait for a little bit before going after him.
Tuffnut appeared behind the two, whistling out a low, "Awkward..."
The two of them glared at him.
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━━"So Toothless has an arch enemy ..."
They were back in the air, soaring their dragons over the tops of the forest to see where Toothless and the Whispering Death could have gone. Zephyr's wings gently warped in the wind, the patterns shining in the afternoon sun. Valkyrie arched a brow at Snotlout, wondering where his words were heading.
He flew Hookfang beside them, leaning back in his saddle to announce to Hiccup, "Kind of like you and me!"
Hiccup frowned. "Snotlout, you're not my arch enemy."
"Well, you're mine!" He gestured two fingers from his eyes to Hiccup, a simple notion of, I'm watching you. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
"He's just trying to protect you," she assured the boy behind her, gently meeting his gaze.
Snotlout scoffed, laughing obnoxiously. Valkyrie's gaze returned with a glare. "That's not what it is," he said. "Toothless doesn't want you around because this is between him and the other guy." He puffed out his chest. "He's a fighter," he said proudly, "like me! Not..." Snotlout turned up his nose at Hiccup, "... whatever you are."
Hiccup arched a brow, thinking about his words. Then, to everyone's surprise, he agreed, "You know ... I've never thought I'd say this, Snotlout━but I think you're right!"
Snotlout was ready to throw an insult, expecting him to say 'no'. He opened his mouth, only to blink and realise what he actually said, "Wait━huh?" Even Hookfang looked surprised. "You━" he glanced back at the others, "━you guys heard that, right?"
"It's not a fair fight," said Hiccup. Valkyrie glanced back, trusting Zephyr to look out for her. "If Toothless is gonna win, he has to fly. And he can't fly without me."
"So, what are you saying?" asked Astrid from their other side, hovering with Stormfly.
Hiccup gave her a brief glance, "I'm saying we need to find him, and soon."
Valkyrie didn't need to be told twice. Leaning forward on Zephyr, he shot down with a burst of speed. With narrowed eyes, the group of teens looked for Toothless in the forest. Checking each hole in the ground, they hoped he would be there, only to fall short. Finally, they found themselves at the canyon by the final Whispering Death hole before the drop.
It was here, at last, Hiccup spotted his best friend. "There he is!" he pointed to the left, where a black dragon bounded out of the cover of the trees. "Get me down there," he told Valkyrie and she nodded. She guided Zephyr to the canyon egde.
Touching the ground, Hiccup hit the grass. Instead of running to his dragon like before, he took hesitant steps, cautious of the growl Toothless was making. He heard the clink of his metal leg and snapped his head back, but his gaze softened as he realised who it was. Valkyrie held the edge of her saddle, hoping that it'll work this time. Stretching out his hand, Hiccup heaved with relief as his dragon met it with the tip of his snout and he launched forward, wrapping his arms around his neck. Toothless purred, his eyes flickering closed.
"Hey, bud!" smiled Hiccup. "You had me so worried there, for a while ..." Valkyrie smiled at the two of them. "You haven't been yourself lately. Good to see you're still you..."
Zephyr grew skittish. Valkyrie held on, wondering whether it was just her that could feel the ground shaking. There was a thundering in front of them, Toothless and Hiccup turned around. The Night Fury growled.
The Whispering Death had returned.
(Valkyrie was seriously getting annoyed with this dragon's temper).
"You can just walk away from this, bud!" Hiccup was quick to try and persuade his dragon to stay, already feeling the tension of his legs. The Whispering Death roared (with probably a very insulting dragon insult, because Toothless was not pleased). Hiccup gasped and tried to take this chance to mount the saddle, but he was too late, again━Toothless just threw him off.
Valkyrie was off her dragon, running to Hiccup with Fishlegs and Astrid in tow.
"You were so close!" cried Fishlegs. "I thought you had him."
The scene before them was merely an unfair fight. Toothless did his best━he shot plasma blasts, launched up with his teeth ready, but with his tail, he couldn't get anywhere. The Whispering Death had the higher advantage the entire time, and it's rings of fire seared Valkyrie's arms even from this distance.
Val gritted her teeth. Grabbing Hiccup's arm, she tugged him back to Zephyr and pulled him up onto the saddle. She hopped in front of him. "He needs our help," she told him, and Hiccup nodded, grateful.
The teens, armed with their dragons, advanced. But Toothless snapped a roar that stopped the creatures right in their tracks.
"Dammit!" Valkyrie let out, trying to push Zephyr forward, but he wouldn't let her.
"Come on, girl!" Astrid edged on Stormfly, she threw back her head.
"Hookfang won't budge!"
"I think ours is broken," Tuffnut raised a hand.
"They know this isn't their fight, guys," whimpered Fishlegs.
The Whispering Death backed Toothless into the canyon. Valkyrie could feel Hiccup's worry in the grip he held on her shoulders. She expected the jump from the saddle, and the rest of them followed, stomach's churning as the long, spiked dragon barrelled through the stone and left the Night Fury standing ... broken away from escape.
"Toothless!" cried Hiccup as his dragon barely dodged the Whispering Death's fire, rocks breaking down into the canyon below as his claws scrambled by the edge. He whimpered out towards Hiccup, scared. Valkyrie didn't think she could watch.
Hiccup clenched his jaw. Looking down at the canyon below, an idea crossed his mind. Valkyrie's heart jumped.
"Hiccup━" she pushed forward to stop him, but he just held out his arms, and stepped off the edge. "Hiccup!"
Hearing the distress to his name, Toothless's glanced over. His eyes widened, his teeth laxening back into his gums in horror as his friend free fell right to the jagged rocks below.
Toothless didn't even waste a second.
He dived right after his human friend, missing the fire of the Whispering Death by inches. Nose straight for the ground, he flapped his wings desperately to gain speed. Hiccup watched him, infuriatingly calm over the whole ordeal.
Valkyrie was kneeling over the edge, eyes wide. The others were at her side, all of them waiting with bated breaths━what if he didn't get to him in time━? No, Valkyrie couldn't even begin to think of that possibility.
Hiccup reached his arms up, and he found the leather of Toothless's saddle. In the dust, Valkyrie couldn't see. They had disappeared. Valkyrie heard his yell. Astrid's hands flew to her mouth━
Then, out of the debris, shot forth a rider and his dragon━perfectly fine.
"Yes!" shouted Valkyrie.
They rocketed up to the sky, spinning together and back to the Whispering Death. The sky was alight in blue and purple blasts that knocked the dragon away from the cavern. Hiccup and Toothless were back to working as one, sweeping through the sky faster than an arrow. Sun broke through the clouds, and the Whispering Death shrieked, disappearing back below.
Hiccup frowned after it, but returned to the gang, hovering by the canyon's edge.
"Hiccup!" exclaimed Fishlegs, eyes wide at what he had seen. "It's the sun! The sun is it's weakness!"
The chief's son's eyes widened as he realised what he had to do. With a hand to his dragon's snout, he said, "All right, bud! We gotta keep him above ground!"
And like that, they were back into the air. Valkyrie had a grin on her face, watching the two of them swoop down to the Whispering Death holes and shoot a blast of purple into the darkness. Explosions rocked the ground, and the underground tunnels burst into the light in debris and clouds of purple and blue. Toothless and Hiccup flew in between them, weaving in and out after the Whispering Death who shot to the sky with them, shrieking with fury. Hiccup clicked back Toothless's tail and they zoomed to the dragon. The Night Fury latched onto the Whispering Death's snout and they fell to the ground. Valkyrie and the others raced to the woods to see the end of the fight, their hearts racing in their ears.
Val heard a mighty roar that echoed through the woods, but when she arrived, the Whispering Death wasn't dead. Instead, Toothless let him go, and he whipped back up and down into the earth. Hiccup nodded after it, and with a grim gaze, spun back to the rest of them.
Snotlout was beside himself, "What?"
"That━was━amazing!" Ruffnut threw her arms up, cheering.
Tuffnut agreed. He cupped Belch's head and told him, "We have to find you an arch nemesis."
"Toothless could have finished him off!" shouted Snotlout, holding an angry hand out towards the dragon. The Night Fury huffed, annoyed at him.
Hiccup smiled. He scratched his best friend fondly behind the ears. "I guess all dragon grudges aren't to the death."
Fishlegs sighed, releived. "I guess I'll have to change that in the book!" he left, him and Meatlug buzzing back to towards the village. The others followed, but Valkyrie stayed behind.
Slipping off Zephyr, she walked up to Hiccup, proud. He smiled at her, swinging his leg off Toothless's saddle to meet her in the middle. His smile fell off, however, when she narrowed her eyes and punched him across the shoulder.
"Ow!" he let out.
"That's for being an idiot and almost getting yourself killed," she said. "Twice."
Toothless purred at them, sharing a glance with Zephyr behind Valkyrie's shoulder, the two dragons having a silent, curious conversation about their humans.
Hiccup hunched up, rubbing his shoulder with a flat look upon his face. "Oh, really? What? So are you just going to hit me everytime I do something or━?"
Valkyrie cut him off. Shaking her head, she pulled him in for a kiss. Hiccup's sentence fell away, and his eyes fluttered close. When she pulled away, she smiled at the dazed look upon his face, like he still couldn't believe she kissed him. It mader her chuckle.
"That's for everything else," she added, "you dumbass."
She left him after that. Shooting a smile over her shoulder and hoisting herself back up onto Zephyr's saddle. They took to the air, and Hiccup stood, frozen for a few seconds, still reminiscing the feel of her lips against his.
Toothless nudged him, breaking his daze. He frowned at his dragon, "What?"
He purred, chortling in the back of his throat. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hopping back onto the saddle, he said, "How about we head home, bud?"
And they followed, leaving the forest, the Whispering Death, and Toothless's grudge behind them.
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a/n: i hateee this chapter. but, oh well, what else is new?
(valkyrie and hiccup make me feel things in my heart).
also! if you didn't know (don't mind me just annoyingly promoting), i published a new httyd fic. Separate to this one, and kinda au-ish, but if you're interested, pls check it out! thx, love you all:
finally, we have our drawing ... ahh, the cuties ...