Stryke Out (HTTYD x Reader)

Chapter 11

"She? Who is she?"

"Someone I used to know." He gestures for you to go on, but you stare at him, silent as the grave.

"Come on, Y/n. I told you about my friends. I'd love to know more about yours." He says encouragingly, not knowing that the truth could shatter your friendship.

You sigh. Valka, please forgive me. "My teacher. She taught me everything I know about dragons. She left a few weeks before..." You stop as grief overwhelms you.

"So she's alive? Maybe I know her. What's her name?"

"Oh... she definitely knew you, though I doubt you remember her. She said you were only a babe when she left."

He stumbles back as the weight of your betrayal slaps him across the face. For a moment, the cell is still as reality sinks in. Then, unexpectedly, he surges forward angrily, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you roughly.

"Valka? My mom? You know my mom? We've been here for a week and you didn't think to tell me! Where is she? How is she?" He stops for a few seconds and looks you up and down twice, your red-brown curls and green eyes reflecting his own, before asking, "Are we...?"

You shake your head violently. "I didn't meet her until I was almost seven. My parents knew her a lot longer than that, but there's no way that we... Is there?" You shake your head again, refusing to believe that you could possibly be related to the boy you were falling for. "No! Not possible!"

"But you know her! She's alive? How?" Hiccup asks adamantly as he shakes you again.

You shrug. "I don't know, she just is." You pause, trying to figure out how to explain. "The last time I saw her I promised that I would let her find you when she was ready. Then..." You trail off, still having trouble talking about that day. Then you gather an ounce of courage and continue, "And I've been searching the Archipelago ever since, trying to find her. We made it halfway through the known islands until we crashed on that Gods-forsaken beach. We hadn't slept in days cause the stupid hunters were trying to finish us off. We should've stopped sooner, I should've stopped us sooner. Zyphur was almost unconscious when we hit that beach. But I was afraid that if we stopped, I'd have to face... And the hunters were more cunning than I thought because it's near impossible for a dragon to resist the scent of sea slugs - especially sharp class dragons - and then you and this and... Ah, it's all so messed up! Why did we have to land on that island? Why did I have to meet you?"

His hands suddenly fall away and he looks down as all his pent-up emotion evaporates. "I guess Loki has it out for us." He says, giving you a sad smile as an olive branch. "Still friends?"

You hug him fiercely, shaking with soundless sobs as your emotions become too overwhelming. You feel his warm arms slide around your waist, softly embracing you. You stand there for a while, trying to compose yourself and let go of your grief, rage, and shame. Gods, why does he have to be so good?

Forcing yourself to calm down, knowing that there isn't much time left before they come for Toothless, you pull away from his embrace. You kiss his cheek, whisper "still friends", then slide down to the floor as you pick the long spike out of your pocket. Without a second to lose, you start to fiddle with the lock on the shackle.

Awed realization still painted across his face, Hiccup returns to Toothless's side. You hear Toothless's friendly, chirpy chortle as the boys watch you carefully. Your deft fingers prod and twist the spike skillfully, the many near escapes from the hunters finally paying off.

"Do you think Toothless stands a chance against the Triple Stryke?" You ask loudly to cover the hard clicking sound of the spike scraping against the metal.

"Yes, but I'm worried. That last fight really messed with him." Hiccup replies anxiously.

"And that was just Z playing around."

"Is that right?" He says sarcastically, giving you a knowing wink. You see the gears start to churn in his head as his eyes light up. "Can her tail really cut through anything?"

"As far as I know, there are some rocks that I haven't tried yet... Why? What are you thinking?"

"I may have a plan."

"Good cause I'm running out of ideas." You grunt and twist the spike sharply. With a loud clunk, the shackle falls away.

Hiccup stares at you, his mouth agape in amazement as you pull the spike out of the small keyhole and toss it towards him. He nods, understanding dawning on his face then it draws into a determined frown as he shoves the spike into the lock on his own shackle.

Leaving Hiccup to pick his own lock, having full faith that he could do it since he had mentioned working in a forge on your first night together, you turn to Zyphur and hold up the crucible. She gives a low moan, knowing what you intend on doing and hating the fact that it has to be done for her to fly properly without risking further injury. You give her a small smile, shrug apologetically, then get to work.

Calmly coaxing her to spread her injured wing, you ghost your fingers over the hurriedly patched spot. Swiftly, you yank the ripped and stained piece of cloth away from the wound. The edges are healing nicely with no signs of bruising or infection, but there was still a gap in the scales that, if not mended, could tear and leave Zyphur grounded.

Thank Thor, this isn't as bad as I feared. Just a few drops and she should be good as new. You pray before you start to pull on Zyphur's wing scales. She lets out a yelp, but you silence her with a concerned look. I'm sorry. I know this hurts, but I've got to try.

Pinching the thin scales around the hole together, you apply a few drops of the acidic tears, being careful not to burn your fingertips. The one time you saw Valka do this she was wearing dragon hide gloves. Please work. Please, please, work. You beg silently as you wait for something, anything, to happen. Slowly, the scales fuse together, leaving a furiously-discolored raised bump, as Zyphur whimpers quietly.

"I'm sorry, girl, but it should be better now. We don't want to risk it tearing while you're flying." You whisper as you soothingly rub the raised spot until it smooths out. The discoloration would fade given time, you hope. Zyphur flaps her wing a few times, testing it out, then croons graciously as the scales hold securely in place.

You smile triumphantly at her, proud of her bravery. But, only a few moments later, your face falls as you hear a metallic snap and Hiccup's subsequent curse. You spin around to find the spike in broken pieces on the floor. You curse in solidarity, the corners of your mouth curling. I wasn't expecting that.

You cross the cell in half a dozen long strides and lean over to examine the mess he made. Loki really does have it out for him. The spike is broken in five pieces, four lay scattered on the floor, the fifth still stuck in the lock but so small that even your thin fingers can't get a proper grasp on it. You hand the still smoking crucible to Hiccup, it still holds a few drops of the useful acid, before you start to pry at the broken spike. You grunt and strain to move the spike even an inch, but it doesn't take long for you to give up.

Gesturing for him to use the rest of Zyphur's tears, he tilts the crucible over the lock, allowing the acid to seep into the metal. The sound of gruff male voices filters through the door. They're coming. We're out of time.
You think as you swiftly feed the broken metal to the Gronckle. Edging closer to the door, you keep an impatient eye on the melting metal shackle. The metal has turned from a bright green to a faded red-brown, almost the same color as your hair, as it slowly rusts away. Loud thumping feet outside the door echoes the pounding of your heart.

The door flings open and the world goes dark...