If We Had Wings - A Tuffnut Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

7

All eyes remained on Tuffnut and Delta. The other dragons were not only shocked by the sand wraith's kindness, but slightly horrified by Delta's diet. And to make it all the more shocking, there was a slight spark between the two dragons. Still, they didn't say anything about it. Even Snotlout had the decency to respect when a female dragon so obviously had her eyes on another male. And whether it was the start of just a great friendship or something more, they had yet to see.

"So, us land dragons all have one pretty specific ability: fire," Fishlegs began, getting ready to hopefully learn more about Delta's species. "But Tidal Class dragons all have their own unique gifts," the dramillion went on suggestively.

"And that, is why Tidal Class is the best Class," Tuffnut interrupted proudly, "what can a pair of sand wraiths do? No one knows. And suddenly, BAM! Whirlpool, baby!"

Delta flinched a bit at his sudden roar. "Whirlpool..?" She questioned in confusion.

Astrid sighed, "he's talking about his and Ruff's ability." She then went on with an teasing gurgle, "those two are so wired that they can swim in a circle fast enough to make a whirlpool."

"'Wired's got nothing to do with it," Ruffnut bragged, "it's all about strength and speed."

"And the ability to swim in a circle, for a very long time," Tuff added dramatically.

Delta gurgled in laughter, while both Hiccup and Astrid wore amused looks. But Fishlegs pouted, waiting for his turn to continue speaking. "As I was saying," he groaned, then smiled at the tidal fury, "I'm curious to know what talent you have."

"Oh," Delta grunted in surprise, then went on a shyly, "well, sorry to disappoint..but I don't have anything special like that."

"Wait, really?" Snotlout asked, "there's gotta be something."

But Delta only shook her head. "I would've known by now if there was," she rationalized, then shrugged, "I assume it's because of my diverse genes. I mean, it's a miracle that I was ever even born. I'm not surprised I don't have an ability." She didn't see too upset about this, though, as she added with a gurgle of a laugh, "I probably wouldn't be too much help on your dragon-rescue-missions, or whatever you call them."

But the night fury wasn't convinced. He squinted his eyes at Delta with determination and squawked encouragingly, "well, maybe you'll surprise yourself."

Delta gave him a grateful look. Then, Tuffnut suggested excitedly, "hey, how about we do that tomorrow? Ruff and I can help you find your talent, being fellow water dragons."

Hiccup gave the twin a shocked look. "That's...actually not a bad idea," he admitted.

"Well, yeah," the female wraith scoffed, "we can come up with good ideas when we try." She streched her tail over her brother to poke Delta. "Whaddya think?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to experiment," Delta cooed hopefully.

Then, Fishlegs butted in with a snort, "just be careful with those wrappings; tree sap is pretty sticky, but the sea water could wash it away."

"I will," Delta assured, moving her left wing around delicately to see how it felt. It felt stiff where the injuries had scabbed, underneight the leaves and tree sap. Other than that, the pain was still manageable. Delta assumed that whatever herbs the dramillion treated her with were to thank. Then, the dragons began to separate and go back to their dens.

Fishlegs insisted on rewrapping Delta's wounds before she went to sleep. She licked her injury generously as the dramillion prepared a new leaf bandage for her. Then, she was sent back to her den. Delta fell asleep quickly on her new bed of moss.

• • •

"Maybe you're like a thunderdrum and can scream really really loud," Tuffnut suggested to Delta the next day. It was afternoon, and the three Tidal Class dragons had been testing Delta with different water dragon abilities all day, trying to find which one she had.

Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs were gone on a rescue mission. Fishlegs was going to stay behind to look after Delta, but the twins insisted on doing that themselves. So, although Hiccup was a bit nervous to leave the twins basically unsupervised, he trusted that Delta would be able to keep them busy. And sure enough, she was.

The three hardly left the beach in the space between their dens all day. "I don't know about that," Delta answered Tuff from where she sat in about six inches of water.

"Well, you gotta try," Ruff insisted, splashing as she paced in the shallow water.

Delta smiled at her friend and agreed, "alright." She then took a deep breath. Both twins braced themselves. Then, Delta screeched as loud as possible, eyes squeezing shut as she did.

When Delta opened her eyes, both sand wraiths looked discombobulated. "Woah, now that, was powerful," Tuffnut squawked, "maybe not 'thunderdrum' powerful, considered my scales are still on my body...but still."

Delta gave him a weak smile. "Thanks," she groaned a bit sadly then walked deeper into the sea water and laid down. With just her head peeking above the water, she sighed.

The twins exchanged a look before coming in with her. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ruffnut asked.

"I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up," Delta groaned, but still smiled at the female twin, "but it was still fun to try."

"Wait, don't give up yet," Tuffnut insisted, "there're still a few more we can try, right? I mean, have you ever tried to boil water in your belly like a scauldron?"

Delta gurgled in laughter. She nuzzled his shoulder sweetly and answered, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Tuff."

Tuffnut stiffened in the water for a moment, where he sat beside Delta. Feeling the smooth scales of her cheek run along his rough ones was like being touched by a cloud. He thought back to the first time he'd thought Delta was showing him affection, when he'd been wrong. But this was definitely an act of affection. Hope rushed through his blood stream; he was getting somewhere with this tidal fury.