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thecapitol2014-08-10 02:30 am
stotte) wrote in thecapitol2014-08-10 02:30 am
Entry tags:
we fell apart, but got back up again
Who| Astrid, Ruffnut, Hiccup
What| A failed jailbreak leads to some broken vikings
Where| Capitol jail cells
When| Post attempted jailbreak
Warnings/Notes| Torture, branding, etc.
It had happened so fast, she barely even recalls it happening. Everything had been planned so carefully. She had followed all of Shepard's instructions into sneaking away and getting inside. She had been so determined, so confident. They were going to rescue Hiccup, and they were going to get out of there.
Except within minutes--maybe even seconds, with how little she recalls--they're surrounded by Peacekeepers, failing the mission before they even truly got started. Hours of reading, hours of memorizing strategy, all gone to waste in an instant in which she and Ruffnut are knocked down to the ground. She had tried to fight back, but they have mysterious devices, more technology that she knows nothing about that somehow paralyzes her from making any attacks, leaving her entirely defenseless, leaving only defeat.
The brutal hit to the floor hazes her memory, but she knows she's being dragged along hallways, shouts and stomping feet echoing from all directions, the sounds of screams of more captured tributes reaching her ears. Hunched over she only sees feet moving along, her own boots dragging almost lifelessly across the floor. Her vision fades in and out, too distorted to keep track of the directions they take her.
She's seated when the visions come through again, mostly darkness surrounding her. But she's sees it, a red mysterious light. She imagines fire and wonders if she might be home, memories of dragon's breath immediately coming to mind. But it nears closer to her, forming shape, nothing like hot breath of a mouth but of heated iron, a familiar sight. For fatal injuries, Vikings often took metal, left in the fire of a forge and placed it against wounds to close them. This was usually a last resort, the aching pain of hot metal being far too drastic for most to bear.
But she sees the lit red nearing her, approaching her face, panic arising in the midst of her vague consciousness. But she's held down with no where to run, and then all she can remember is a sharp screaming coming from her own throat as a blazing heat digs into her cheek.
She continues to feel the burning when she's dragged away again, her mind far too distracted with the pain to even be aware of how to walk. All she recalls is being thrown against a cold floor, rolling hard against a wall where she barely has the energy to sit up. Her vision, still hazy, slowly becomes slightly more clear. Trying to ignore the blistering sensations on her face, she tries to make out what she sees, noticing a form that looks vaguely like Ruffnut across from her. Oh good, she's alive.
Panting as she groans at the pain on her cheek, she turns her head to make out where she is, seeing nothing but walls closing them in--except no, that's not all. There's something else, someone else on the other side. Was that ... ?
"Hiccup ... ?"
What| A failed jailbreak leads to some broken vikings
Where| Capitol jail cells
When| Post attempted jailbreak
Warnings/Notes| Torture, branding, etc.
It had happened so fast, she barely even recalls it happening. Everything had been planned so carefully. She had followed all of Shepard's instructions into sneaking away and getting inside. She had been so determined, so confident. They were going to rescue Hiccup, and they were going to get out of there.
Except within minutes--maybe even seconds, with how little she recalls--they're surrounded by Peacekeepers, failing the mission before they even truly got started. Hours of reading, hours of memorizing strategy, all gone to waste in an instant in which she and Ruffnut are knocked down to the ground. She had tried to fight back, but they have mysterious devices, more technology that she knows nothing about that somehow paralyzes her from making any attacks, leaving her entirely defenseless, leaving only defeat.
The brutal hit to the floor hazes her memory, but she knows she's being dragged along hallways, shouts and stomping feet echoing from all directions, the sounds of screams of more captured tributes reaching her ears. Hunched over she only sees feet moving along, her own boots dragging almost lifelessly across the floor. Her vision fades in and out, too distorted to keep track of the directions they take her.
She's seated when the visions come through again, mostly darkness surrounding her. But she's sees it, a red mysterious light. She imagines fire and wonders if she might be home, memories of dragon's breath immediately coming to mind. But it nears closer to her, forming shape, nothing like hot breath of a mouth but of heated iron, a familiar sight. For fatal injuries, Vikings often took metal, left in the fire of a forge and placed it against wounds to close them. This was usually a last resort, the aching pain of hot metal being far too drastic for most to bear.
But she sees the lit red nearing her, approaching her face, panic arising in the midst of her vague consciousness. But she's held down with no where to run, and then all she can remember is a sharp screaming coming from her own throat as a blazing heat digs into her cheek.
She continues to feel the burning when she's dragged away again, her mind far too distracted with the pain to even be aware of how to walk. All she recalls is being thrown against a cold floor, rolling hard against a wall where she barely has the energy to sit up. Her vision, still hazy, slowly becomes slightly more clear. Trying to ignore the blistering sensations on her face, she tries to make out what she sees, noticing a form that looks vaguely like Ruffnut across from her. Oh good, she's alive.
Panting as she groans at the pain on her cheek, she turns her head to make out where she is, seeing nothing but walls closing them in--except no, that's not all. There's something else, someone else on the other side. Was that ... ?
"Hiccup ... ?"
no subject
It's a pretty common feeling among Vikings. No one likes to cry but Ruffnut HATES it. She's spent all her life surrounded by boys and men and having to occasional remind the foolish ones (her brother) that girls can do everything boys can do and are not in any way weaker.
But crying makes it really hard to look strong.
She hadn't cried when the loneliness set in from missing her family.
She hadn't even cried when she woke up from her first death and realized what had happened.
Sometimes tears would slip out in the darkness when she had nightmares of that first death, but she could hide those in a pillow when no one was around.
Ruffnut hated herself for that.
As the plan went belly up there was an odd sort of comfort in the moment. After all almost none of their plans worked the first time. Of course usually they were Hiccup's plans so she could easily blame him. It was harder to blame Astrid.
She struggled of course. She wouldn't be a viking if she didn't struggle. The struggle was cut short when something hard caught her in the back of the head. Her eyes crossed and her limbs refused to answer her commands as the daze settled over her.
But a Thorston's head was thick and strong. It would take more then that to knock her out.
As such she saw them taking Astrid away and waved blearily when they did it. "See ya later I hope." Was the last words she thought she said though they may have come out as verbal mush considering how dizzy she was.
Then there was darkness, and shouting. People asking her questions and her answering back in confused and simple answers.
"Who sent you?"
"I sent me?"
"What is your connection with the rebels?"
"Who?"
"Who were you trying to contact?"
"Contact? I was trying to get to Hiccup?"
And so it went for what felt like forever. Eventually they started hitting her and she would laugh, or grunt or groan. The pain actually was what woke up her senses once more. She'd always enjoyed the sharp sting of a punch or the ringing in her ears from a headbutt.
But when the red hot iron came her smile faded.
She screamed of course, it was an automatic response but somehow she imagined her father wouldn't have screamed. The scent of sizzling flesh made her stomach churn and Odin help her tears poured from her eyes. The salty sting met her burnt skin and it stung all the sharper.
Things became blurry after that. Exhaustion caught up with her and by the time they threw her into a cell she could barely lift her head to look around.
Not long after that another body arrived near her and Astrid's familiar voice.
"No I'm Ruffnut." She grunted mistaking Astrid's words. Her arms ached but she forced herself to sit up which just made every bruise and cut hurt all the more.
Her face felt like it was swollen and throbbing, she hoped her eyes weren't too red.
It was one thing to be a defeated Viking. But she still didn't want Hiccup and Astrid to see her cry.
no subject
They'd confiscated his false leg after one of his mad, desperate attempts at escape. He'd escaped a cell by beating someone in the head with it once before, but this time only got him extra abuse for his trouble. He'd stopped trying to fight at that point, recognizing it for the futility it was. Even if there was ever somewhere to run to, it wasn't exactly like he could hobble his way to freedom.
At the moment, his mind was sailing off through a sea of blood and electricity on ship of hallucinogenic drugs, still echoing with the screams of jabberjays that sounded like a dragon's pained and desperate screeching.
His father was angry. His father had been yelling at him in a way he rarely ever had when he was alive, telling him all the things he didn't want to hear, all the things he feared were true.
His father had told him it was all his fault he was dead. That he was a terrible son. That he'd be a terrible chief.
That he was a bad Viking. The worst.
His father had told him he was ashamed of him.
Normally, Hiccup would have recognized it for the nonsense it was, because even if he doubted himself at times, one of the things he could and would always trust was that his father had cared. The last time he'd even looked upon his father's face when he was alive it had been filled with the kind of fear that could only be borne of love.
Right now, though, the whole world had shifted. He was away from everything he knew and pain had sidled up to him and decided it was his new best friend. It was a very loud friend, the worst kind of friend, and it sounded like the crackles and zaps of lightning. This was nothing like the time he'd been hit by it. No no, this had been far more judiciously applied. He was still wringing his hands piteously as he sat there, as if he could still feel it jangling around in his finger tips.
That and the drugs had made him lose touch enough to believe it was real. That his father had visited and made his shame known.
The only thing he couldn't believe was real were the screams of the jabberjays that perfectly mirrored the anguished screeches of his dragon. That was something his mind wouldn't hold onto as reality; it was a bed of hot coals it simply wouldn't touch. Toothless was safe somewhere that was not here and that was cast in iron, and that meant a little sliver of his soul could never be hurt, never be touched.
Those thoughts were the ones he took refuge in. His mind tried to go flying, in between visions of boiling seas and ants crawling out of the tips of his finger. In burning fields, he played with dragons instead of paying attention to the sight of his village on fire, burning like the district that was no more.
"Sssh. Sssh, it's okay," he said in a quiet voice, one that was slurred and quavering. He was going through his usual dragon training litany that he used when he made contact with a new species. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. Not gonna hurt you. G'boy. Who's a g'boy?"
He was a little too lost to notice he wasn't alone, even after Astrid called his name.
no subject
And Hiccup? No. She can see him clearly as clearly as Ruffnut. He isn't an illusion. He's alive. Hiccup's alive. They couldn't save him, but there he was.
"H-Hiccup!" Her body's weak but she forces it to lift away from the wall. It had been days, perhaps a week since they had see him. She needed to reach him, to know that he was truly real, not some hopeful mirage formed in her mind.
She hears him muttering--all nonsense it seems. Something is wrong, something is very wrong. Something had happened while he was here for so long and she needs to get to him as soon as she can.
But as she nears closer to the center, reaching out a hand to him, she hits something solid, a large jolting pain racing through her arm forcing her to roll back. With loss of control in her state, she cries out, muttering swears as she holds onto her arm. When she looks again, she sees a distorted glare where she touched as if some invisible wall had been placed there. Were they blocked away from one another?
Her eyes switch between Ruffnut and Hiccup, realizing they had purposely been thrown to their corners--a jail within a jail. Her body shakes upon realizing this further torture, the prevention of getting to either of them despite being so close. She had promised to protect them and yet she was broken and useless now, trapped away.
"Hiccup ... ? Hiccup, can you hear me? It's me. Tell me you can hear me, please."
no subject
Things happened very quickly then with Astrid hurting herself on the nearly invisible wall. Ruffnut's eyes went wide at the reaction and cautiously inched towards the nearest wall to her.
A poke which sent a jolt of pain through her arm and shocked her senses sharp again. She hissed and stuck a burnt finger in her mouth. Somehow that made the brand under her bandages hurt even worse.
"Who's a good boy?" She asked turning her attention back to their leader.
no subject
When he saw the that they were there and that they had bandages on their heads too, he let out a miserable little cry and crawled towards them both.
"No no nonononono," he moaned, slamming both hands into the shield as he lunged for them, but the shield rippled and he bounced off, his body stiffening into a full body cringe, expression twisted into a pained one. He didn't cry out, as if he'd learned to stifle any cries.
He simply fell back, tightening his hands into fists and hunching over them, as if they'd already been hurt and he was trying to protect them.
"Why are you here?!" he said, voice hysterical. "You shouldn't be here! You shouldn't be here!"
He looked back and forth at them both, at the worms crawling all over them and dropping into the sand. Then he fell back on his back on the floor, rolling around as if in pain, weeping and looking as if he was as far from rational as possible.
"I'm supposed to protect you, I'm supposed to -"
A chief protected his own. They'd come for him and now they were burned, too, and possibly going to die, and he couldn't do anything about it.
"All hail the chief. The Dragon Warrior." His voice was filled with disgust and self-loathing. "Great big hero."
no subject
She wouldn't stand to see any of them hurt even further.
Then she hears the high cry from the other side of the cell, turning quickly to see Hiccup rush forward towards them, despite her warnings, slamming into the wall that throws him back. "Hiccupppp!"
Astrid crawls closer to him, making sure to steer clear of the wall, knowing it wouldn't do anyone any good to keep trying to fight against it, not in their current condition. But when he shouts, it does more damage to her heart than any jolt of electricity from the wall could do.
And he--he looks so broken, so unlike the Hiccup she knows, bruised and bleeding, a burning on his forehead that she imagines must be the same as on her cheek, the same behind Ruffnut's own bandages. Somehow or another, they had all messed up along the way, somehow ended up in this disaster that none of them had asked for.
"I'm sorry." It's spoken quietly, as if she had lost her voice, her lip quivering as she attempts to speak, fighting a wetness that that threatens her eyes. She can't break, not like this. She keeps her eyes on her, despite the sight of him laying there so torn, tugging harshly at her. "We messed up somehow. We didn't plan well enough ahead. But ... but we were always going to come for you, no matter what. We were never going to leave you in here."
But we failed.
It was difficult to say out loud, but it was the truth. They had been in a harsh, rough situation and they had only buried themselves further into it. If she could change anything, it would be to try and have Ruffnut stay behind. That way, she wouldn't have had to face this same torture. She couldn't been saved, a younger, more hopeful Ruffnut could have been spared this. But she knows Ruff. She never would've stayed behind, even if she had asked her to.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup." Not for coming to save you. "I'm so sorry." For not coming to save you before it was too late.
no subject
Bzzzt.
"Ow."
Bzzzt
"Hahaow!"
Spoiling this tender and tragic moment was the aforementioned younger and more hopeful Ruffnut who was still poking at the wall despite her finger turning an unfortunate black color. She stuck it back in her mouth with a foolish smile on her face looking back at her partners in crime before realizing this was a very serious moment.
"Oh right uh...sorry for ya know...screwing up. We didn't have our dragons."
As if that needed to be said.
"Cool scar!" She added hopefully tapping her forehead to indicate where Hiccup's was. It seemed defeat wasn't weighing as heavily on Ruffnut as it was Astrid.
no subject
It was a good sign, at least, that some things could still make him facepalm. In fact, he almost went to do it but remembered last minute it was probably a good idea not to touch his forehead.
"Oh, gods, this could not get any worse except I shouldn't say that because it can. Oh gods."
The terror that was in his voice was something rarely ever there, and it had a strange quality to it, like he felt like he was spinning out of control.
He looked like he couldn't even move from where he was laying on the floor, as if he'd be motion sick and throw up if he budged an inch.
"Stop the flight, I wanna get off." He threaded a hand through his hair. "They did something to me. There was some kind of yellowish liquid in this needle thing and they put it in my arm and now everything's spinning and I'm seeing things that I know aren't real and feeling things I know aren't real and I don't even know if you're really here or if I'm still talking to myself."
He made a few strange gulping sounds as if he was fighting uncontrollable fear - unnatural fear foisted on him by the chemicals - and trying to get enough air.
"Like right now, the ceiling's on fire. It's not really on fire, right?"
no subject
Hiccup, on the other hand, seemed to be having it rougher than she was, much rougher. If only she could somehow offer a comforting shoulder, to shake him out of whatever illusion he was stuck in. These walls were making her insides delve in much more pain than they really were.
"The ceiling's not on fire. But we're here. Ruffnut and I, we're here with you. You're not alone, okay?" Even if she can't touch or hold him as she normally would. "Hiccup, look at me. You're gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of here, alright? Trust me. Please trust me."
Even if she has no idea how.
no subject
"Yeah come on Chief, if the roof were on fire Astrid would probably be screaming and is be laughing...because that would be so cool."
Ruffnut, helpful as always.
wanna cap off here?
"Yeah," he sucked in a few breaths and let them out. "We're tribe."
They were tribe and they needed each other and they needed him to set the tone. It was what he always did. It was what a chief would do, try to get his tribesman looking at a situation as one they could take on. Even with his brain swimming around out of control, he could do that.
"You're right. We're not alone and despite the fact my head's trying to detach and float off - and I really mean that, it feels like it's going to detach and actually float off - we're together at least, right?"
Whatever happened next, they'd deal with it together.
"So I'm gonna just...pretend the ceiling doesn't look like some baby dragons had an accident all over it and we'll just have to wait and be - and be ready. For whatever's next."
He was trying. By gods, he was trying.