STORY (1/2): READ THIS ONE FIRST
"The line between good and evil is often unclear. Black and white can become gray so easily. What one soul considers evil, another might consider righteous..."
When Viggo's life is saved by a mysterious woman in blac...
Viggo watched Hiccup run away from the hunters that rushed forward, Toothless hot on his tail. With the skrill at his side, Viggo glared at the incoming men and readied his sword. Pain surged through his back where four arrows were firmly bedded; he knew this would be his last stand.
The skrill roared and lightning began to concentrate around her mouth. Viggo watched it grow, anticipating the pain that would come when she released. But before the skrill could set the entire room ablaze with lightning, someone grabbed him. He felt his body being yanked away from the dragon, pulled speedily out of harms way by his left arm. He was then led down a dark hallway.
"I told you to leave me, Hiccup," Viggo growled, assuming the young dragon rider had come back for him, "you cannot save me--"
"Will you shut up?" An unexpectantly unfamiliar voice hissed from his savior, "you'll get us both killed."
Viggo was shocked silent for a moment, then whispered, "who are you?" When the two snuck passed a hallway lit by torches, he caught a glimpse of the woman who'd saved him. Her nose and mouth were covered by a black cloth, and a black hood concealed her head. In fact, everything she wore was black. Even her irises where the color of cold charcoal.
She continued to run in the pitch black corridors of the dragon hunters' base. Viggo wondered how she could see where she was going. He would've asked, too, if it weren't for the intense pain in his back that kept him silent.
Soon, a light came into view; the exit. Outside, the woman stopped running. She whistled once, short and quick, and a devilish dervish swooped down from the sky.
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Her wings were large and powerful, sending the leaves of the surrounding trees shivering. She landed with a defiant thud, hissing quietly to the woman. "Shh..Nightshade," she cooed to the dragon.
Viggo had so many questions. If this woman was a dragon rider, how come he'd never met her before? And how did she know to save him? In fact, why was she even at the hunters' base? But his consciousness was fading. He felt thin arms lift him over the dragon's neck, black scales filling his vision. Then, she climbed on behind him. He felt her fiddling with the arrows in his back as Nightshade took flight, then everything went dark.
• • •
When Viggo woke, the crescent moon was high, stars dotting the sky around it. He wondered if he might've been in Valhalla, but the female voice from before proved otherwise. "You're awake..good," she observed in an uninterested voice.
Viggo sat up, surprised to find minimal pain in his back. He reached over his shoulder; no more arrows. He looked down to find his entire middle wrapped in bandages, along with his right shoulder. To his left laided a pile of broken arrows, and to his right sat his mysterious savoir. By the light of a small campfire, she sharpened her long thin throwing knives with a sharpening stone. Her eyes were glued to her project, avoiding Viggo.
"Thank you.." Viggo spoke in both awe and suspicion. But when she met his eyes, he couldn't hold back his nervousness. The woman's eyes seemed to pierce right through his soul, causing him to feel vulnerable.
"Don't," she replied monotonously, then went back to sharpening her weapons. The cloth over her mouth muffled her voice slightly.
Viggo squinted his eyes, "am I supposed to be a prisoner?"
"No," she told him, still no emotion in her voice.
Viggo hesitated, waiting for her to explain something, anything. But it was clear that she made no intention of doing so. "You're no dragon hunter," Viggo observed, "what were you doing in that base?" No response. So Viggo moved to his next question, "why did you save me?"
The masked woman stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked into the fire. She seemed deep in thought, and for a split second, Viggo caught a glimpse of feeling in her dark eyes. But before anything else could be said, lightning struck a tree right beside where she stood. Viggo was shocked that she didn't even flinch, but simply looked up. "Your ride is here."
Viggo followed her gaze to find the skrill from before flying down towards them. Lightning gathered around her, cutting through the clear sky with remarkable speed. He couldn't help but smile; it felt good to have earned the loyalty of such a fascinating dragon. When she landed, he pet her jaw gently. The skrill purred softly and closed her eyes, relieved that her new friend was safe.
However, the sound of metal jingling softly caused him to turn back to the woman. Viggo frowned when he saw her mount Nightshade and get ready to take off. "Wait, where are you going?" He asked in a rush.
She looked over her shoulder and responded vaguely, "away."
"And what am I to do?" He questioned.
"You will find your own way," she told him, then she was gone.
