Through A Dragon's Eye (A Httyd Fanfiction)

Chapter Five: Skaken and a Quaken

I wake up in Hiccup's hut... again. This time, my head is much less fuzzy, but my limbs ache as though I fell from the sky. Well, I mean, technically I did...

I stay in the bed for a while, staring up at the ceiling. Questions drift through my head, probing me, yet I don't try and catch any of them. Instead, I trace the lines on the wood on the ceiling with my eyes, letting my mind relax for a while.

Realizing I can't stay here forever, I reluctantly get up. I climb down the ladder much easier than last time and head out the door. I immediately make a beeline towards the center hut as I feel that's where the riders are. My hunch proves to be correct. All of the riders except Snotlout and the twins are there.

"Well, well. Look who finally woke up," says Astrid, smiling at me warmly. I blink in surprise and smile an uncertain smile back at her. Since when was Astrid nice to me?

Hiccup looks up from whatever he had been looking at. "Good morning, I mean, afternoon Draira!" he greets me. "How are you feeling?"

I sigh. "Fine, well, at least now I am. That arrow really did a number on me."

Fishlegs frowns and looks at Hiccup. "I've never seen a Dragon Root arrow affect someone like it did to her," he says. "I've only ever seen it affect dragons, as is its nature."

"You know I'm standing right here, right?" I ask.

"Oh, sorry. No offense intended," he apologizes.

"You know though," Hiccup says, frowning. "Fishlegs has a point. Draira, have you ever been hit by one of those arrows?"

I shake my head. "No. I've only seen once or twice what they can do to dragons," Remembering the last time I had saw a dragon get hit by a Dragon Root arrow, I give out a gasp.

"What? What is it?" asks Hiccup.

"Grespin. What happened to him?" I ask urgently. Everyone doesn't meet my eyes. "What. Happened. To. Grespin?" I growl.

"They took him," whispers Astrid. I close my eyes, breathing deeply. Tears threaten to burst out at any moment, but I keep them in, not wanting to show the riders my weakness.

"But, it'll be ok. I mean, Hiccup's the best at rescue attempts like this. We can get your dragon back," says Fishlegs quickly.

For some reason, rage fills me. I open my eyes and growl, "He's not my dragon; he's my friend." I storm away, deciding I need a place to myself for a while. I zipline down to the ground and start walking towards the mountains.

A couple of black dragons fly near me. They are smaller than most dragons, but bigger than Terrible Terrors. Their beady eyes look at me in concern, sensing me to be frustrated. I lightly tell them to fly away, since I wish to walk alone. The dragons fly off and I smile slightly. "Night Terrors," I murmur, continuing to walk towards the mountains.

I climb a random tree and stare out at the mountains. It is so peaceful here. If only Grespin could be here too... he would love it. Why did he have to be captured? I think, frustrated. The riders could've saved him instead of me. In fact, they should've. I sigh and lay my head back, closing my eyes. I need to get him back. I sit up again and climb down the tree.

Another Night Terror comes up to me. This one is the rare color of white. He squawks at me urgently and flies off. I quickly follow him, wondering what is wrong. The white Night Terror leads me through the forest, constantly flying back to make sure I am following.

He leads me to the edge of the island. "Uh, what did you bring me here for?" I ask him, scratching his chin affectionately, looking around for the source of his distress. My eyes wander over the ocean and scan the ground. Then, a roar of distress shakes the ground. My hands go over my ears as the sound shatters my eardrums. My eyes squeeze shut as I try and block out the horrible sound. Eventually, it dies down, leaving a thick silence behind. I slowly take my hands away from my ears, which are still ringing from the roar. I crouch down and edge towards where the sound had been coming from behind a hill.

I peak around the rock and pull back quickly, debating on if I had seen right. I gulp and peer around the hill again. The dragon is... colossal. Standing almost as tall as the hill, Its rocky features make it look almost Gronkle like. Its double mouth is unique among dragons, helping me to immediately classify it as a Quaken. A Catastrophic Quaken. Does Hiccup know about this? I ask myself. Because Quakens can be really dangerous. I notice that the dragon's leg is caught in a thorn bush. I sigh. Of course, I had to help him now; I can never leave a hurt dragon, of any kind, by itself.

I sneak around towards the thorns and recall what I know about Quakens. They are usually very kind creatures, but when angered can stay so for a while. Being hurt could cause him to see me as an enemy, so I would have to move quickly. I reach the thorns and glance at the Quaken's entangled foot. Luckily, no thorns are stuck in him. I take out one of my daggers very quietly. My hand shakes slightly as I near the Quaken. I reach out and mentally prepare myself for what I know is going to happen. I quickly slice the thorns near the foot. The Quaken roars as the thorns snap. Agitated, he turns, trying to find the source of the sound. I see with relief that his foot comes easily out of the thorns. But, unfortunately, the Quaken is too focused on the new threat to notice. A.k.a. me.

I back away slowly, putting my dagger away to seem like less of a threat. "Hehe, hey big guy," I say, trying to calm him down. "This is all a big misunderstanding. I would never try and hurt a dragon. I was just freeing you." The Quaken either was not listening or he couldn't hear me because at that moment he charged. "Oh Thor!" I say, leaping out of the way as he curls up and rolls towards me like a deadly, spikey boulder. I try desperately to remember how to calm down a Quaken. But between dodging the rolling Quaken and holding my ears whenever it roars, I'm not having much luck.

I find myself backing into a corner and facepalm. Of course! The dragon just had to corner me! I watch helplessly as the Quaken curls itself into a ball. It spins towards me, its passage making the ground shake. Then, I remember how to calm a Quaken. Wow, couldn't have thought of it sooner, could you? I think sarcastically. I sigh and decide to try it anyway. I look away from the Quaken and hold out my hand, showing him I didn't want to harm him and I want to be his friend. I wait, getting more and more frightened as it sounds like the Quaken isn't slowing down. So, this is the end. A little bit of happiness fills me as I think of all the dragons I had saved. In fact, I am going to die saving a dragon. That isn't the worst way to go.

I wait for death to hit me, closing my eyes. I hear the rumble of the Quaken growing nearer and nearer. But then, it's quiet. I peak open one of my eyes, looking around. Is this Valhalla? I wonder. I feel a rough object touch my still outstretched hand. I slowly turn my head, staring right into the eyes of the great Quaken. He nods his head in respect and I nod my head back. Then, he roars and tumbles away.

"That. Was. Awesome!" a voice yells from above me. "Although, it would've been cooler to see you get smashed by that Quaken." I look up to see the twins riding on their Zippleback.

"What are you two doing here?" I ask as they land next to me.

"We just got back from patrol, but we heard the Quaken and rushed over," explains Ruffnut.

"And you couldn't have helped me why?" I ask.

"You seemed to be doing fine. Besides, we're not very good with Quakens," says Ruffnut.

"Wonderful," I mutter. I sigh and start to walk away from them.

"Where are you going?" Ruffnut yells.

"Back to the Edge," I say, referring to the name of the cluster of huts.

I hear Tuffnut say, "I feel like we should give her a ride or something." as they start lifting into the air.

"Let me sleep on it," I can hear Ruffnut say faintly as they fly off into the distance. I begin walking towards the Edge again my ears filled with the happy sound of a Quaken no longer in pain...