A/N: I'm feeling generous today because I just finished a section of my thesis and my evil combustion homework that's now two weeks overdue and 29 pages long. So, in addition to the first chapter of a new oneshot series, "After It All" (go check it out!), I'm posting the next chapter of We Soar Above the Clouds! A bit of action and drama in this chapter, because we were kind of mellow and lacking for a while there. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but classes end in a few weeks, so hopefully after that I'll have time to start writing some more.

Enjoy, and review! Your feedback is my guide! Tell me what you think of this chapter, or what you'd like to see happen next or maybe further on in the story, I might very well incorporate it! As always, feel free to PM any time. Sorry for the long hiatus, hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner!

Chapter eleven: Stingers

Hiccup sighed, sitting down by the stream and rubbing her tired foot Their day of on-foot exploring had taken its toll in her poor, swollen foot and aching ankle and stump. She removed her boot, sighing in relief as she stuck her abused footinto the cold water of the stream. The cold stung, but it also brought numbness and relief. There wasn't much she could do for her left leg at the moment; she'd made the short walk to the stream by herself, leaving Toothless at their campsite. He'd been oddly quiet and withdrawn since she brought up searching for other Night Furies.

She frowned as she watched light slowly leech out of the sky. The sun had already set, but the horizon was still ablaze with orange and pink light. Hiccup hadn't seen any sign that Toothless was upset with her request, or she would have immediately backed off. But he had agreed, so his distance confused her.

Perhaps he was just lost in thought. She'd inferred that he hadn't seen any other Furies in a very very long time; maybe he was nervous about seeing his own again after such an extended absence. She didn't know much about Night Furies as a species, only Toothless as an individual. Maybe there was a history between Toothless and others of his kind; or maybe it was as simple as being nervous to return to his long-since abandoned home. Either way, she could tell he needed some time to himself, so she lingered by the stream as the light faded further.

There was very little light left in the sky when a sudden sound jolted her from her almost hypnotized gaze at the bubbling stream. It was the sound of a substantially-sized branch breaking – too loud to be caused by any small animals hopping about in the underbrush. No, that was the sound of an animal large enough to be a predator, lurking somewhere out of sight.

The fine hairs on Hiccup's neck rose. Toothless didn't lurk, not like that. If he wanted to hide, his dark hide made him damn near impossible to find, and he was the king of stealth. Something else must be hidden out of sight.

Slowly, Hiccup rose to her feet. Sudden movements could provoke an attack, so she kept her movements controlled and smooth. "Toothless," she called in a soft voice, then at normal speaking volume. "Toothless."

The stream wasn't far from there camp, but was it within his hearing range without her shouting?

Another sound came from her left; either the creature had moved nearly ninety degrees, or there was more than one about.

A pack? Hiccup thought, her blood running cold. She didn't normally feel afraid when encountering unknown creatures, but then again Toothless was usually right by her side during such escapades. Right now she was in unfamiliar territory, followed by an unfamiliar creature (creatures?), alone and with the last light fast disappearing.

She was definitely prey.

Another rustle, this time from her right and off to the side. Another, between the first and last rustles. Definitely a pack.

Screw trying not to provoke these creatures; she was surrounded and outnumbered and totally unarmed.

"Toothless!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Toothless, help!"

Hiccup's heart pounded so heard she thought her chest might burst in fear as she waited for another sound of approaching foes. Nothing, for a few panicked heartbeats.

And then a large shape burst out of the bushes. There was just enough light to see that it had large teeth and red eyes as the creature charged her in a frighteningly fast blur.

"TOOTHLESS!" she screamed.

Toothless paused in the middle of a messy spiral of thoughts about returning to his birthland. Something was wrong; the world had gone too quiet. He tilted his ears about, trying to figure out why that bothered him. This island was quiet in general, such a hush shouldn't be a cause for worry. In fact, it should be a reassurance; quiet islands meant few animals around, which meant less cause to worry about something wild trying to eat his human. He'd had to kill a few bears and fight off a dragon or two over the years in order to keep Hiccup safe; she apparently smelled good to more than just him.

His sensitive ears caught another faint sound, too quiet to be anything more than the slightest whisper on the wind. He strained, but couldn't tell what it was. Or more specifically, if it was human, if Hiccup was calling for him. Surely not; if she were in real trouble she would shout for him. As long as there was no shouting, all was well.

Barely a second later: "Toothless! Toothless, help!" reached his ears and the Night Fury leaped to his feet in a panic.

Hiccup! I'm coming! He roared in return, bounding toward the direction her cry for help came from. He launched himself into the sky; unoperated, his tailfin made his flight somewhat clumsy but it was faster than trying to forge through the forest on the ground. Oh gods oh gods oh gods what's happened to her?!

"TOOTHLESS!" she screamed, at the same instant a new scent hit him. It was the scent of another type of dragon, a whole pack of them.

Toothless' blood ran cold, and he pumped his wings faster. Amidst the smell of dragons, he'd caught the nauseating whiff of poison.

Faster, faster! Toothless urged himself on, racing over the tree tops as he swooped low, looking for any sign of Hiccup.

There, a clearing! There was a swarm of movement; a pack of small dragons all focused on the same point. Toothless dove, and the wind made its characteristic whistle over his wings. As much as he longed to loose his deadly plasma bolts at these dragons who dared attack his human, Toothless restrained himself. He didn't know precisely where Hiccup was in the throng, and couldn't risk hurting her by accident. Instead he settled for his most fearsome roar as he swooped down. The small dragons scuttled out of his way, and Toothless landed right in the middle of a pack of eight dragons, all roughly the height of Stoick the Vast.

He spun around, roaring once more at the pack.

GIVE ME THE HUMAN!

Seven of the dragons cowered at his cry, but one gave a (pitiful in comparison) roar back at him. Toothless whirled to face the impudent creature, sizing it up. The dragon was a good foot taller than the rest, and judging by the way the other shuffled about restlessly, throwing it anxious glances, it was the leader as well. In addition to the ridiculous spiny fin attached to the head (a feature shared by the entire pack), this creature had swirling red stripes across its body, and a dangerous looking barb on its tail that was common to its brethren. Toothless sniffed warily – the scent of poison was strongest with this creature, he'd have to remember to stay out of range of that tail. Night Furies were less sensitive than most dragon species to poison in terms of fatality, but their flight was so delicately calibrated that even small amounts or weak poisons could ground them for up to a week.

You cannot steal our food, you flying heathen! The leader accused Toothless, puffing out its strange, flightless little wings in a way that would have made Toothless laugh were he not so frantic with worry over Hiccup.

I am no heathen, you worthless grounded lizard. Where is she? Give her to me! Toothless roared furiously.

The leader did not respond, but its eyes traitorously darted towards one of the other dragons.

Despite the fact that it was a terrible battle tactic, Toothless turned his attention away from the leader to face this other dragon. Sure enough, under its claws, Hiccup's prone figure sprawled across the ground.

HICCUP! Toothless cried, all thoughts but 'is she alive?' wiped from his mind. In one lightning-fast move, he lunged at the unfortunate dragon. It skittered away at a shockingly fast pace, and Toothless was momentarily upset that he hadn't had the pleasure of ripping out the simpleton's throat with his mouth full of very much un-retracted sharp teeth. The flash of disappointment was wiped away as he realized in its rush of self-preservation the dragon had abandoned Hiccup, leaving her safe from any immediate harm. He had a feeling all was not over yet, so he quickly stood over her unconscious body; if these foolish creatures were going to attempt to recover their 'dinner', they'd have to go through him first.

He whipped his head back towards the leader, only to find a frighteningly fast blur rushing at him. Startled, Toothless fired one of his plasma bolts, but it was a sloppy job. With so little time to react, his fireball lacked it's lethal explosive nature. Normally, this wouldn't have been much of an issue as Night Fury fireballs were incredibly hot even when underpowered.

However, the leader simply paused momentarily in his attack.

Toothless, startled by this unexpected failure of his fireballs, floundered for a moments as the eight stingers closed in around him, with their leader heading the charge. They were unbelievably fast runners, he thought frantically. He wasn't sure he could get off the ground in time to escape them, and as Hiccup was unconscious he'd have to carry her with his forepaws which would leave her close to the ground and vulnerable during takeoff. It was time to fight.

More prepared this time, although still without enough time to form a truly powerful blast, Toothless fired on the leader. It had enough of a punch to knock the stinger back, but not for long. Even as the leader got thrown, the rest of the pack closed in around him. Toothless hunkered down, curling around Hiccup and shielding her from the stinging dragons. The hide on his back and outside of his limbs was thick enough to protect him from the poisoned stingers for a little while, but he'd have to end this quickly. With enough time, the stingers would penetrate his scales and poison his blood.

End a fight quickly? Take off your opponents head, Toothless thought darkly as the leader stood up once more. He inhaled, and felt the plasma build up within his throat. The leader charged, once again at a speed that nearly made Toothless dizzy.

"Hold...hold," Hiccup's words from three years ago echoed faintly in his head. "hold."

The leader drew closer, poisoned barb raised and ready to stab right at his eye.

"NOW!"

Toothless fired, and this time the plasma bolt launched at full power. It hit the leader and exploded, throwing the dragon back into a tree so hard that Toothless heard a crunch. Suddenly, the other dragons ceased their assault on Toothless, instead staring at their fallen brother. The mass of blue and red scales remained motionless, and the rest of the pack broke out in chaos, scattering in all directions as they abandoned the fight and disappeared into the forest.

Toothless remained motionless save for the quick, heavy draw of breath for a few moments, waiting until all sounds of threat were gone before he exposed even an inch of Hiccup. When he finally deemed it safe, he spun around as fast as he could to check her for injuries. He sniffed over the length of her body, searching for the scent of blood or poison.

He pulled back sharply when he sniffed her left side. Poison!

Toothless didn't dare scoop her up and try to carry her back to the campsite for fear of hurting her worse, but he had to see what had happened with the poison. Gently, so gently, he nudged her tunic with his snout until her ribs were exposed. There! A thin, shallow scratch crossed a few inches of Hiccup's skin, and it was this scratch that was the source of the poison. The Stingers had gotten her.

Toothless felt his limbs go weak with fear and desperation: he hadn't been able to get to her in time. Those insolent creatures had gotten to her, poisoned her, possibly killed her. He let out a long, horrible warble of fear and grief.

Hiccup, I failed you, he screamed at the skies above him. Skies above, let her not die!

He quieted eventually, glancing back down at his rider's unresponsive form. Her chest rose and fell still; she was not dead, not yet. He leaned closer, laying an ear over her heart. It beat slowly, but never faltered or stuttered. In fact, it sounded much like her heartbeat while Hiccup slept. Hope rose in his throat.

Perhaps, the Stingers' poison was not meant to kill, but to incapacitate or paralyze their target so that it couldn't fight back. They were small dragons after all, paralyzing opponents would make it easier to eat, and easier to escape predators.

Toothless sniffed again at the small wound on Hiccup's side. The scent of poison made his stomach churn, but the skin around the wound didn't look as if it was dying. Surely, if the poison was lethal, it would start its destruction at the entry point?

He didn't know; without any poison of his own he lacked motivation to learn about effects of varying poisons, merely focused how to avoid getting struck with one. It didn't matter; he couldn't leave Hiccup alone and unprotected to seek out help, and even if he did there was no one around to help. He'd have to wait it out with her, protect her while she was vulnerable. Toothless settled on the ground, curling around his human protectively. He nuzzled the top of her head with his snout, the scent and tickle of her wild hair soothing his anxious mind, and draped a wing over Hiccup to shelter her from the cold.

He would lay here by her side until she recovered. If she did not recover, he would never again rise from this spot. There was simply no life without Hiccup.

A/N : nothing quite like a good cliff-hanger to end on after such a long haitus, amiright?

Sorry, please don't be too angry. I have lots of plans in store for these two! Review, submit suggestions via PM, whatever you like. Feedback is my favorite thing!