renegades, httyd

xxvi. Heavy Is the Head

renegades
chapter twenty-six

    The others arrived tomorrow in the late afternoon. I spent the entire day helping to put out fires and scavenging what we could find left of the houses destroyed. I kept a wide birth from my house. Being away from it made it easier to keep going. I know I was avoiding it, but right now, it was the only thing that I could do to stay on task. Wartihog and Clueless helped me out, the group of us with the Academy Riders dousing any fire we could find. Speedifist, to absolutely no surprise, was nowhere to be found. He was supposed to be on the watch for Dagur, to prevent something like this from happening. The warning horns hadn't been sounded, which meant no one had been watching, which meant Speedifist━for some reason━hadn't been around. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he was taken out, and if he was, that made me worried.

    I thought about going out to find him, but then in the distance, I saw Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Revna, Snotlout and the Twins make their way over in quick formation, and the part of me I had been trying to force away returned. It hit me in the stomach and I dropped the bucket, breaking out into a run.

    Winglash followed me, squawking with her concern as we made our way back to the one place I had avoided this whole day. I saw Astrid land down with Stormfly, her eyes wide and her face place to see what was left of the home we grew up in.

    In seeing her, something in me rushed out━tears streamed down my face and I cried, "Astrid!" 

    She looked over, and some colour returned to her cheeks in her relief. "Es━"

    Throwing my arms around her, I broke down. She clung on, burying her face into my hair. I heard her cry, too. I heard the others land, but I paid them no attention, just holding on tight as I sobbed, "I didn't━I'm sorry━"

    "Mum, Dad?" her breath was hitched with terror. "Are they━?"

     I shook my head, "They're okay! They're okay━they were at the yak races, but I━I should have━"

    "━You're not hurt━?"

    "━No, Winglash got me out━but━"

    Astrid shut me up by just clinging on tighter. We stayed there for a little. I didn't see Hiccup usher the others away, glancing back, unsure on what to do or say. Instead, he left us to figure out the next move. It wasn't long until our parents heard Astrid arrived and met up with us. Mum wrapped her arms around me and kept me close to her chest as I continued to cry. Astrid leaned against her shoulder; we stayed for a while in our cousin's home since we had nowhere else to go.

    Winglash was very worried for me. I could tell in the way she lied down and stared up at me with her wings folded. After a whole day of avoiding it, it seemed almost ... overwhelming to be around everyone right now. My whole family━all of the Hoffersons who had come together with their breads and their stews in their ways to help us out. It was too much when all I could think of was how I could let it happen. I allowed myself to rest for a bit and give responsibility to Speedifist, hoping this would excite him to keep him on task and occupied ...