Battle For The Thundering Twister

The Tonic

Chapter 35:The Tonic

Castaway was lying on the cold stone floor.His wings were limp.His once royal-purple skin with striking-yellow stripes was now faded and dull.His spines had lost their shine."Castaway!"I shrieked in panic,rushing over.Fishlegs and Snotlout were sitting by Castaway's still body with Gothi standing nearby."He went unconscious about ten hours ago,and he's still breathing,but it's rather unstable,"Fishlegs reported,stroking Castaway's head.Falling to my knees,I took Castaway's head into my arms and sobbed.What if he had already died inside?I'd lose my dragon forever!"I gotta make the tonic!I gotta make it right now!"I urged Gothi.She nodded and held her hands out for the ingredients.I gave everything to her.

Gothi began by getting a large black pot.She poured the yak milk into it and added the Scauldron venom before stirring.The mixture turned a dark purple.Then,Gothi took the Eel Beans and mashed them up with a stick.She added the mashed beans to the mixture along with the boiled apple skins.Next came the Snaptrapper saliva that had the petals of the rock blossoms added to it.Gothi then scraped bits off the firecomb and added the gel as well.She crushed the granite-sandstone rocks and added them to the mixture before heating it up with a slow blast from Toothless and stirring the steaming mixture until it turned a disgusting dark green.Gothi then added the sea slug slices and poured in the glowing algae.She made Toothless keep the mixture boiling and bubbling while she cut up the Nightroot plant into half and wrapped each half with a Fogbranch leaf.Finally,she slowly submerged the wrapped Nightroot halves into the mixture and stirred the liquid,which had now become a grayish-green color and smelled strongly of stale cheese.Gothi drained the black pot and emptied the liquid into a bowl.

With trembling hands,I took the bowl and pried open Castaway's mouth."Please drink it,please drink it,"I whispered silently,spooning the tonic into Castaway's mouth.Cassie tilted back his head so the tonic would enter his body.I kept pouring the tonic into Castaway's mouth,hoping and praying he would wake up.After I had finished spooning out the tonic,Gothi came over and dropped three mint leaves into Castaway's throat.Everyone waited with bated breath to see what would happen.I merely held Castaway's head in my lap,biting my lip.

Suddenly,Castaway's breathing stopped completely."He stopped breathing!He's dead!"Nevaeh shrieked in panic.Without a second thought,I began wailing for all I was worth."He's gone!Castaway's gone!"I howled,the tears that I had kept in now running down my face with no end.Castaway's head lay cold and stiff in my lap.A sudden strike on my head made me scream.I looked up to see Gothi shaking her head.She scratched the ground to convey her message."She says it's part of the cure,"Fishlegs read.

Right on cue there and then,Castaway's head shifted a little.His skin suddenly regained its royal,striking colors.Castaway's legs came alive and stood him up.With a weak grunt,Castaway shook his head,opened his eyes and raised his wings steadily."Castaway!"I cried with tears of happiness,throwing my arms round his neck.He nuzzled his head into my shoulder affectionately.My tears rolled down steadily."I swear to Thor,I'll never endanger you ever again,"I promised.Castaway nudged my face."Thank you so much everyone!I...I really can't thank you all enough.Thank you!"I smiled through my tears.Everyone smiled in reply."Go get Castaway and yourself home and get a good rest.Once everyone's all well and good to go,it's time for some fun,"Hiccup's eyes twinkled a little at the mention of 'fun'.I nodded and led Castaway home to my house.My parents were sitting at the table near the fireplace with a pale and anxious face."Yannied!Why did you just leave us without telling us,my dear daughter?"my mother leaped up and ran to hug me."I had to save Castaway.He got really ill,"I explained.Then,my father and mother sat me down and made me tell them what happened to me and the other riders while Castaway laid down beside my chair.So I told them about all the dragons we tackled,all the adventures we had,all the trouble we got into,not missing a single detail."And all my friends were really brave when they handled the dragons.Some were really scary,like the Flightmare,and some were friendly,like the Quaken,but all were highly dangerous.Yet,my friends stood up to them.It's amazing,"I sighed in contentment.

"I must say that was a great tale.But now's time to rest,you've had a hard time,my girl,"my father steered me gently upstairs to my bedroom with Castaway behind.I glanced at the clock.It was already six in the evening!My parents had listened to me for five hours straight!Flopping onto my bed,I watched Castaway curl up to sleep before resting my head on the rough leather pillow.

I wonder what Hiccup meant by 'fun'...