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Envision, if you will, a summer so hot that the ice on Glacier Island starts to melt and the lakes on Grimora Island start to boil. A summer so hot that the Scauldrons and Thunderdrums dive deep into the ocean to escape the suns rays, and even the Fireworms begin to find the heat uncomfortable. It was this kind of heat that was enveloping the Barbaric Archipelago and beyond, except it wasn't even summer, and this somehow made it all even worse. The sudden spike in temperature had caught everyone quite off guard and given them little time to adjust to the heat.
Nevertheless, the war between Riders and Hunters continued. Today a large assembly of Hunters, including Ryker and Viggo themselves, had been spotted trapping a large number of dragons on Sleipnir Island. The Riders had been too hot and bothered to think of much of a plan other than shooting first and asking questions later. It seemed that the Hunters, too, didn't have much of a fallback other than trying to shoot them out of the sky. There were no well thought out plans or elaborate schemes from Viggo's end, it seemed. When Hiccup laid eyes on Viggo, he understood why.
Viggo clearly didn't handle the heat very well. He handled cold temperatures excellently; he'd gone sleeveless for the entirety of winter; but hot temperatures were another question entirely. He'd ditched his armour and his tunic, and beads of sweat ran down his well-defined chest (Hiccup had to force himself not to stare at the mans shining skin). He was flushed, uncoordinated and his eyes refused to focus. Even his fighting ability was noticeably off. Hiccup had heard mentions of Viggo being an excellent fighter and a master swordsman. If this was the case, then Viggo must've been burning alive in the heat, because he was struggling to land a single blow and couldn't parry for the life of him. Hiccup had bruised Viggo's skin blue with how many times he'd connected his blade with his body. Of course, Hiccup would never actually attempt to make a killing blow. It wasn't like him. Toothless refused to fire for the same reason.
"What, no secret plans? No unpredictable moves?" Hiccup taunted.
Viggo growled in response and lunged at Hiccup with his sword.
"No? Whaaat? I thought you loved that kind of thing, I thought your whole shtick was always being two steps ahead?" Hiccup smirked.
Viggo seemed too hot to reply. He stumbled and caught himself by plunging his sword into the ground. His face was flushed; he was panting heavily and his whole body began to quiver from stress.
"I take it you won't be up for a game of Maces and Talons then," Hiccup offered.
Viggo looked Hiccup dead in the eyes and collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"O-Oh," Hiccup said.
He hurried over to where Viggo had fallen and pressed the back of his hand against Viggo's brow. He snatched his hand away immediately. Gods, Viggo was hot. He was practically on fire. Hiccup gave Toothless a concerned glance and listened to Viggo's laboured breathing for a moment, trying to decide what to do. There were no other Hunters or Riders around, so Hiccup was on his own (say for Toothless, though that was obvious). He couldn't just leave Viggo like this. He could die. Hiccup may have been at war with the man, but he wasn't going to let that happen. That would be stooping to levels of cruelty that Hiccup dare not even think about.
Another sound caught Hiccup's attention: water. Hiccup looked around and saw the shimmer of a lake just beyond the bushes. If Hiccup were to submerge Viggo in the water then his temperature would go down and he might wake up.
"Toothless," Hiccup said softly, "I need a favour."
Toothless cocked his head.
"I need you to carry Viggo to the lake on your back," Hiccup asked, "Can you do that?"
Toothless considered the request for a moment, staring at Viggo with aversion written all over his face. But then his expression softened, and he nodded, warbling softly. He knelt down, sniffed Viggo, and then Hiccup carefully lifted Viggo's unconscious body onto his back. Then they made their way towards the lake as fast as they could, which wasn't as fast as Hiccup would have liked, as he and Toothless had to move slowly so that Viggo wouldn't fall off.
The lake was cool, but not too cold, Hiccup found as he slid Viggo into the water. The exposure would definitely bring Viggo's temperature down. He'd chosen a spot under a willow tree to provide Viggo with some extra shade. The water was shallow here. All that was left to do now was wait until Viggo woke up. Toothless curled up in the shade of the willow tree, quite exhausted from such a simple task. He'd planned on using his wings to fan Hiccup and Viggo, but he was far too tired for that now.
The air still felt hot and awful under the willow tree. Hiccup felt uncomfortable. His shirt was sticking to his skin and his hair was damp with sweat. It was beginning to become too much. Thinking of nothing except cooling down, he set about removing his armour and his tunic. Once his chest was bare, he slipped into the water next to Viggo. The cool water rushing over his skin felt amazing and he sighed in bliss as he felt his temperature begin to drop.
Viggo still hadn't woken up. Hiccup ran a hand over his chest and watched it rise and fall as Viggo took it rise and fall as Viggo took shallow breath after shallow breath. He was still burning, probably from having so much skin exposed to the hot air. Hiccup mulled over what to do for a moment before the solution finally came to him; the heat was hindering his ability to think. He took his tunic and soaked it in the lake until it was sopping wet, then draped it over Viggo's skin in an attempt to soothe him further. Hopefully that would help.
Hiccup wasn't sure how long it was before Viggo woke up again. He heard a murmur, then watched as Viggo slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the light. He waited as Viggo began to take in his surroundings.
"...Hiccup?" Viggo finally groaned, "...What?"
"Shh, shh," Hiccup comforted, "You're alright, you overheated and passed out."
Viggo took a moment to register what Hiccup had said.
"You helped me," he pointed out in a quiet voice.
"Of course," Hiccup nodded, calling Toothless over so he could get a flask of water out of his saddlebag.
"Here," Hiccup handed the flask to Viggo, who sat up out of the water in order to drink. He groaned again and squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing and holding his head.
"Headrush?" Hiccup asked.
"Yeah," Viggo mumbled, taking a sip of water. He swallowed, coughed a little, then sighed.
"Feeling a little better now?" Hiccup asked.
"You shouldn't have helped me," Viggo muttered, "Not when we're on opposite sides of a war."
"Oh, come on Viggo, you know me better than that," Hiccup chuckled, rolling his eyes, "I'm not gonna leave someone to die, even if they are my enemy."
"Precisely," Viggo replied, "You're too naïve, too idealistic. Not everyone responds to kindness with kindness. Your compassion is going to get you killed."
"Maybe," Hiccup shrugged, "But I'd rather die helping than live harming."
Viggo couldn't help but smile.
"You are an enigma, Hiccup Haddock," he said.
Hiccup smirked.
"What do you care anyway?" Hiccup asked, "Whether I live or die? Aren't I on the opposite side in our little war? Someone you're not supposed to care about? You're not being a hypocrite, are you?"
"Perhaps I am," Viggo replied, "And perhaps someday that hypocrisy will get me killed too."
He sighed.
"But I've accepted that as a possibility," he finished, "I have more important priorities to worry about."
"So we're even then?" Hiccup asked.
"I suppose we are," Viggo replied, "Two naïve souls who don't know what's good for them, chasing ingenuous little dreams instead of playing to the rules of reality."
"That sounds like us," Hiccup smiled softly.