Marked - An Eret [Son of Eret] Love Story (HTTYD)

9. Wounded Soldiers

"Midnight.." Aria breathed. She stumbled off of Skullcrusher and rushed to the nadder's side. There were a few small arrows sticking out of his chest, and his breathing was heavy. "Oh, Midnight," she pitied, teaes brimming her eyes, "I'm so sorry..." She quickly began to examine the arrows, but Midnight growled. "What is it?"

The titan wing lifted his tail and let it fall. Confused, Aria looked to his tail. At the very end of his tail laid Eret, face down in the dirt. "Eret..!" Aria ran over to make sure he was alive.

"Woah, is that Midnight? He got bigger," Snotlout's voice suddenly came from the tree line.

Aria turned around from where she knelt next to Eret; all of the other riders had found them. "He's been shot," she informed her brother with a shaking voice. Turning back to Eret, she added, "they both have."

"What?" Fishlegs panicked.

"Okay, uh," Hiccup began to think, "Fishlegs, we need bandages, see what you can find. Snotlout, try to keep Midnight calm while I look at these wounds." He turned to his sister. She was kneeling over the unconscious Eret in worry. "Aria..take care of Eret."

Aria was already on it. Placing a hand on his back, she could feel his heart beating. With a sigh of relief, she gently grasped one of the arrows. As carefully as she could, she removed it, then did the same with the second.

Suddenly, Eret gasped and let out a groan. "Eret," Aria breathed, a smile forming on her lips. She quickly helped him to sit up. "Be careful, don't move around too much."

"Aria..?" Eret spoke in surprise, then he smiled and went on weakly, "I..got your dragon."

Aria smiled at him. "I know, thank you," she spoke with gratitude, "now let me fix you up. Can you sit up on your own?" When Eret nodded, she moved behind him and examined his back. With a sigh, she went on, "you're an idiot."

Eret chuckled lightly and leaned his side against a tree trunk. He then heard the sounds of cloth tearing; Aria had ripped open the back of his shirt to get a better look at the wounds. Fishlegs then made his way over with some herbs and a cup of liquid. "I made some quick tea. It's probably not the best, but it should help."

Eret tried to lift his hand and grab the cup, but he simply didn't have the energy. Aria took it instead. "Thank you, Fishlegs," she placed the tea on an even part of the ground and began to mash the herbs with a nearby rock. "No bandages?" She wondered.

"Not enough for both of them," Fishlegs responded gravely.

But Aria wasn't taking that as an answer. She carefully removed the remnants of Eret's shirt and tossed it to Fishlegs, "could you shred that into strips for me?"

Fishlegs immediately got to work ripping the shirt while Aria smeared the herb juices onto Eret's puncture wounds. Thankfully, there wasn't too much bleeding anymore, and it seemed that Eret was able to wash the blood off of himself before passing out earlier. "Here you go," Fishlegs said as he gave Aria the strips of fabric.

She took them and began to gently wrap them around Eret's chest and back. When she was finished, Aria sighed and moved to sit infront of Eret. She was surprised that he was able to smile in such a condition. "Thank you," he told her tiredly.

Aria nodded in response and picked up the cup of tea. "Drink this," she ordered softly, lifting the cup to his lips. Eret gulped it down reluctantly and when it was gone, he made a face, causing Aria to laugh lightly. "What in Thor's name where you thinking?" She questioned him.

Feeling a bit better from the tea, Eret spoke stronger, "I was thinking, that if I could find your dragon and bring him home, it'd make you, very happy."

Aria felt her heart flutter. "..You did all of this, just to make me happy?"

Eret smiled a bit and nodded in response and breathed, "it's all worth it." Looking over to the recovering nadder, he added, "and you won't believe where I found him."

He was about to launch into the story of the island of titan wings he'd discovered, but Aria shushed him. "You need to rest," she insisted, then went on teasingly, "you work yourself too hard."

With a warm smile, Eret accepted her words and stayed silent. He watched her gather up the spar cloths from around them with a grin. She'd come for him. Aria had come after him when he went missing. That fact made it hard not to smile.

• • •

"Alright boy, think you're ready to fly?" Aria asked Midnight while hugging his large chin. Midnight stomped a few times excitedly and squawked. "Alright, alright," Aria laughed, "someone's excited to go home."

"Well, can you blame him?" Hiccup spoke from behind Aria. He smiled from his sister to the dragon and place a hand on his snout. "This moment is long overdue."

So everyone climbed onto their dragons and left the island. Berk was waiting, and Midnight couldn't wait to get there.