#i'm caught up in this tonight . how berk is never the same . how it gets to the core of all of them . tragedy / 4 the right reasons

[chieftn]

i love you too ,         he said .       and i want you to be free .

[generalhofferson360]

Hi! I saw/read your story with the Twins you posted recently (the Rufflout one) and I was wondering if I could pester you with a request? If not that's okay... but if so, would you be able to write something with Hiccup and Snotlout having to work together (Without the rest of the gang), possibly? I'm a sucker for Hiccup and Snotlout working together, honestly! Thank you, either way!

Hey anon! Sorry it took so long to answer this, but I hope it was worth the wait! Without further adieu, here’s a bit of Hiccup and Snotlout trapped on Snoggletog.

Trapped.

Hiccup breathed out a sigh as he stood at the mouth of the large cave they were currently stealing shelter in. The snow seemed to create a wall between them and the outside world, completely isolating them from the storm that raged beyond the depths of the cavern. He squinted as he gazed out into the distance, barely seeing a few trees scattered what couldn’t be more than a few meters away. “Looks like we’re not getting back to the Edge tonight.” He groaned. There was no way they could risk flying in this weather, they’d freeze before they even got out to open water, not to mention harming the dragons.

He took a step further into the cave, rubbing his arms to warm them, his thin tunic doing little to barricade the cold. He glanced over at Snotlout, who was currently digging through Hookfang’s saddle bag. “Snotlout! Could you maybe do something useful for once?” Hiccup said, the annoyance evident in his voice.

Of all the ways Hiccup had expected this holiday to go, huddled up in cave, practically freezing to death with his muttonheaded cousin was not one of them. They should be back at the Edge with their friends, who were probably laughing around a warm fire right around now, but most of all, he should be with Astrid. They had been making plans for the holiday for months, it being the only time they could relax for a change, any threat from the hunters temporarily on hold. And now he wouldn’t even get to enjoy the time off.

“What do you want me to do, Hiccup? Force it to stop snowing?” Snotlout bit, sarcasm dropping from his voice. He plopped down onto a large rock in the centre of the large cavern, crossing his arms indignantly.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, “Y'know, that’s really helpful Snotlout. May I remind you that this is your fault?” He snapped, resigned to the fact that they were trapped there, and would likely remain so for the next day, at least.

“My fault? You’re the one who wanted to fly all the way back to Berk! We should’ve just gone to the Northen Markets, they’re way closer!” Snotlout retorted, rubbing his hands together from the cold.

“Those are way too dangerous, Snotlout! You know that! The twins almost got killed the last time they went! Besides, we should’ve left Berk by noon, but no! Nothing’s ever easy with you, is it? You just had to stay another three hours messing around in the forge, didn’t you?” Hiccup practically shouted, pacing angrily as he spoke.

If they had just left when Hiccup said, they would’ve beat the storm, and be back in the clubhouse with their friends, instead of trapped on an island in the middle of who knows where for who knows how long. Honestly, of all the selfish, irresponsible…

“Sorry.” Snotlout mumbled, so quietly it was a wonder his voice carried over the howling screams of the harsh arctic wind whipping through the cave.

Hiccup stared at Snotlout as if he had just grown another head, “What?” He asked in disbelief. He had known Snotlout since before they could walk, and he could probably count the times he had apologized for… well, anything on one hand.

“I said sorry, geez. Not like I wanna be stuck with you either.” Snotlout mumbled defeatedly, placing something Hiccup couldn’t see into the front of his tunic.

Hiccup sighed, crossing the large cavern to sit next to Snotlout. He ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, “It was my fault too, we could’ve waited till after Snoggletog to get the metal.” He paused, twirling one of the small iron rods he had gotten from Gobber in between his fingers. The metal was cool against his skin, as if it was absorbing the freezing storm continuously raging around them. “Why were you in the forge all day?”

Snotlout sucked in a sharp breath, “Nothing.” He spat halfheartedly, not seeing the value in creating a convincing lie. “Doesn’t matter anymore.” Snotlout said dejectedly, angrily tossing a pebble towards the ground. It bounced a few times before landing against the wall, unmoving, much like the two riders.

“Does it have something to do with this?” Hiccup asked, poking his chest where the outline of what look like a metal ring was visible through his leather tunic.

Snotlout shoved his hand away, “Do you ever give up?” He breathed, pulling the object out into view. It was a metal ring, a bit larger than the size of Snotlout’s hand. The silver ring had several intricately carved designs intertwining with each other around the smooth metal ring. Snotlout ran his fingers over the carvings, tears glistening in his eyes. He let out a breathy laugh, “It was for Ruffnut.” He said, passing the ring to Hiccup.

He took it carefully into his hands, impressed by the amount of effort his cousin had put into it. There were two dragon heads intertwined dancing across the iron, much like the dragon Ruffnut shared with her twin brother. They ended towards the centre, where a small heart could be seen, the letter R resting just above it. “It’s beautiful.” He said, now understanding why it had taken Snotlout so long to finish.

Snotlout let out a hum of agreement, “Astrid seemed to like the necklace you gave her for your betrothal gift so I just thought…”

“You mean you were gonna…” Hiccup trailed off, passing the ring back to Snotlout. “She’s gonna love it.” He said, his anger long forgotten. It looked like he wasn’t the only one who’d rather be somewhere else.

“Doesn’t really matter, Snoggletog’s practically over and, well…” he said, dejectedly gesturing to the roaring mouth of the cavern.

Hiccup sighed, resting his head in his hands, both riders feeling the isolation, the snow creating a wall between them and the outside world, and the storm keeping them from those they love. “Well this is perfect, of all the days we could’ve gotten trapped in a snow storm, it just had to be on Snoggletog.” He said through and empty laugh. He no longer blamed Snotlout for their situation, heck, he would’ve, and has, done the same for Astrid. No, he was just… trapped.

It wasn’t often Hiccup felt helpless anymore, not since he met Toothless. But in this situation… he hadn’t missed this feeling, that’s the one thing he was sure of.

“Well, if we’re gonna be stuck here all night, we should probably make a fire before we freeze to death.” He said, pulling himself to his feet. He shivered as he did so from the movement of the frozen air, once more proving his point.

Snotlout gestured behind him, “Crazy idea, we could just… I dunno… use our dragons?” He remarked sarcastically, though his eyes were empty, not filled with his usual snarky humour.

“We need wood, Snotlout. Hookfang can’t keep his flame going all night.” He said, crossing the cave towards Toothless. He scratched the black dragon behind his ears before opening his worn leather saddle bag. He pulled out a canteen, opening it to reveal it was, in fact, empty. “I’ll go get…” Hiccup trailed off, coughing as the freezing air scorched his lungs, “The wood.” He finished, tossing the canteen to Snotlout.

“You search the cave for fresh water.” He said, looking towards the depths of the cave, unexplored and forebodingly dark.

Snotlout clumsily caught the canteen, motioning for Hookfang to follow him as he turned deeper into the cavern. “Hiccup… be careful out there.” He said, not turning back as he spoke. He faded from view, the darkness shrouding him like a blanket as he continued onward.

Hiccup smiled slightly, shaking his head. His cousin was loud and obnoxious at, well, almost all times, but he was a good person, it just took some work to see it.

He sighed as he turned towards the jagged mouth of the cave, wincing as the harsh northern air bit at his skin, leaving a red imprint on his cheeks. Toothless nudged worriedly at Hiccup’s arm, as if pleading with him not to go. “I’ll be okay bud, you wait here, okay?” He said, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. He took a deep breath before stepping out into the unforgiving storm.

Snotlout’s footsteps echoed throughout the narrow passage of cave he was currently passing through. The smooth stone walls towered high above him, his fingers tracing the compacted layers of rock and mineral. It was warmer this deep in the cavern, which was a relief, since he had stupidly decided to forgo his winter furs for this trip.

He bit his lip, save for the steady scraping of Hookfang’s claws on the ground behind him, he was entirely alone with his thoughts. Was this whole thing a terrible idea? He pressed a hand against his tunic, where he could feel the shape of the metal armband.

He and Ruff had been… something more than friends, for around three years at this point… but they had never talked about their future. Together, or separate. Even as dragon riders, they never knew what the next battle would bring, where they would travel next, who the twins would prank… but it was that unpredictability that he loved, that they all did, really.

But not this time. He had no clue what she would say when… if, he did ask her to marry him. There was no question in his mind, whatever the future held, he wanted her to be a part of it. And if she rejected him…

Snotlout shook his head, telling Hookfang to flame up. The cave had become almost entirely dark, and he could no longer see even his boots dragging along the rough ground of the cave.

The narrow path he had been following gave way to large cavern, much bigger than the one he and Hiccup had set up camp in. His eyes traced the room, turning all of his thoughts to the task at hand. To his left, there was a thin trail of water seeping down the rock.

He ran his fingers over the notch its’ steady fall had carved into the rock surrounding it. Determination, maybe that was all it took. He glanced up, another layer of the cavern resting above this one. “Hookfang, can you give me a boost?” He called, urging the ever stubborn dragon to reluctantly cross the room to help him.

He boots landed near the edge of the platform, the surface made slick with water. He steadied himself on one of the walls, before taking the time to gaze around his surroundings. There was a decently sized pool of fresh water sunk not more than a metre into the depths of the cavern. He detached the canteen from his belt, submerging it into the icy water.

Hiccup pushed himself onwards, his frozen limbs weighing heavily as the incessant arctic winds threatened to toss him aside. He tugged his leg out of the snow, it engulfing the wood almost entirely.

The metal was frosted over, and Hiccup could feel the metal becoming more brittle the longer he was out here. His eyes burned, tears clouding what little he could see, urging him to turn his back to the wind.

The snow whirled around him, making each direction indecipherable as his surroundings were cut off by and almost solid white blanket.

He shivered violently, the leather of his tunic retaining almost no body heat. His skin felt as though it were being impaled by needles as the freezing temperatures slowly began to overtake him.

His arms felt as though they were turning to ice themselves, barely able to hold the few bits of wood he had managed to collect. He spared a glance down at his fingers, all of them white and almost unmoving.

He had to get back to the cavern. He would never make it out here. Hiccup grit his teeth as he glanced around again, each direction looking exactly the same. He let out a groan of frustration, what had he been thinking coming out here alone?

He took a step forwards, hoping in vain that he would see something, anything familiar. As he did, the metal of his leg hooked against an invisible piece of ice hidden deep beneath the snow, causing him to slip, landing on his back as the unforgiving storm continued around him.

He found no energy in his body left to get up, his heart rate slowing as he lay there, urging himself to move to no avail. His eyelids became heavier, until the weight of them became too much to resist, the cold around him little more now than an aching numbness.

Snotlout tapped his foot anxiously, the steady thrum of his boot connecting with the stone echoing throughout the cavern.

He took a swig from the recently filled canteen as he stared out into the storm. Though, he thought, it was rather pointless, as his vision was limited to a mere few metres. Shouldn’t Hiccup be back by now? He didn’t know exactly how long it had been, but he guessed around an hour, him having waited for around half that time.

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he continued to peer into the unchanging storm which continued to rave in the distance. Snotlout sighed, unable to bear waiting around listlessly any longer. He tossed the canteen against the ground as he made his way out into the storm.

The wind immediately struck against him, its’ full force seemingly insistent on holding him back. It seemed to bite his skin as it violently burned him over and over. He took a few steps forward, already feeling out of breath, though it had been less than a minute since he left the shelter of the cavern.

How had Hiccup survived out here? Snotlout was undoubtedly the stronger viking, at least physically, and even he felt like he was losing this ongoing battle against the elements. The earlier question seemed to make his heart stop. Could Hiccup have survived out here? And if he did, would he be able to find him in time?

Snotlout frantically called out for his cousin as he pushed forwards, in as close to a run as the endlessly piling up snow would allow. He held a hand in front of his face, it blocking his skin from a mere portion of the icy crystals which slammed against him.

This was useless, he couldn’t see anything out here, and the howling if the winds overtook all of his other senses, the sound building up within his ears. He should give up, return to the cave, just let… no. Giving up would mean resigning Hiccup to a fate of… Snotlout let out something akin to a yell, forcing himself to fight harder, pushing persistently against the elements, despite the protest from his frozen limbs.

Not more than a few minutes later, he spotted a glimpse of red in the vast field of white before him. He felt his heart speed up in relief as he rushed over to where his cousin lay.

The feeling of relief didn’t last long, however, as he saw the sight painted before him. Hiccup’s skin was as cold as ice, and near the colour of it too. Snotlout rested a hand against Hiccup’s chest, feeling a weak, yet persistent best below his tunic.

Snotlout couldn’t help but smile, “You always were a fighter.” Snotlout mumbled, picking him up carefully before heading back towards the cavern.

They would make it through this Snoggletog, make it back to the edge to see their friends, to be with those they cared about, but at least right now, they had each other.

“Happy Snoggletog, cuz.”.