1. The literal worst Avvar "This is fine, great even," Hiccup complained loudly, to himself, as he scrambled up a narrow ledge and flattened back against it. Were he any more stout than a filleted cod, he might not have fit on the impossibly thin outcropping of rock. Fortunately, (sort of) Hiccup was not a striking figure; he was rail thin, pale as winter snow, and appeared to be comprised almost entirely out of knees and elbows. It wasn't a look that endeared him to the ladies but, thankfully, it did enable him to scurry up near vertical surfaces with the agility of a mountain goat or giant spider.
And scurry up that sheer rock-face he had.
"You won't need a sword in the lowlands, they said, it's much less dangerous there, they said," he added, a thick affected accent drenching his words in sarcasm. Below him but not, frankly, "below" enough for his tastes, a great bear roared at the rockface. Its huge claws, each bigger around than any one of his limbs, scraped violently at the granite and Hiccup tried to flatten himself into the rock. The rock was not being particularly accommodating. Above him, by a ledge or two, a pair of rams stared at him, dead-eyed and unsympathetic.
One bleated, perhaps mocking his terrible predicament. The lowlands were great.
"At least the weather's nice," he added, his voice a touch manic. To his credit, he managed not to actually scream when the great bear tried jumping to reach him, but it was a near thing. Okay so he screamed a little--but only a little.
Okay it was a lot.
4. And now with the sinking-- Hiccup felt that he was a reasonable sort of person and even though they'd laughed when he offered to man one of the boats, he'd still agreed to do it. Sure, it was the fastest way to the lowlands and, sure, he really didn't want to walk, but that wasn't why he agreed. He wasn't the strongest or the most impressive looking person, and he'd probably seen Dalish elves who looked more like Avvar than he did, but he was still a highlander and, Korth's Wrath, he wasn't just going to let some Ferelden drown trying to take an icy highland river alone.
At least they looked Ferelden, but that assessment was worth about as much as him in a fistfight.
"So, the key here is trying not to die," Hiccup announced in a tone that was shooting for "firm" and ended up somewhere near "laughable" as his voice cracked in the middle. He swung his arms to compensate but the whole motion just made him look a lot like the paddle he was about to pick up. "Right, I'll take the front and you can...uh, take the back? Or whatever you want to do."
"The not dying is the important part."
5. You can't contain all of this--this--Raw Avvar Power He was soaking wet.
This is what he got for rafting with Lowlanders. Really, it served him right, and even he couldn't find it in himself to complain...well...not more than a little bit. He'd kept it to angry muttering, at least, even as the snow and damp started freezing his furs to his skin. The tavern was a welcome sight and, once he'd spotted the little hanging animal sign that lowlanders liked to mark taverns with, he basically made a wyrmline for the hearth. Well, he tried. Unfortunately, getting from the door to the fire was proving to be a much more trying task than rafting down from the highlands in winter.
"Excuse me--yes, I need to--no, no--nice doggy--can I just--"
Hiccup was not good at confrontation. So, almost immediately, his wyrmline became a sort of terrified-nug-shuffle as he was jostled, bodily, back and forth across the room. His vague zig-zag course, though ridiculously inefficient, was actually making progress toward the fire. If he was shuffled around the room for another quarter-hour or so, well, he might be at the hearth.
Hiccup Stoicson | Native AU
"This is fine, great even," Hiccup complained loudly, to himself, as he scrambled up a narrow ledge and flattened back against it. Were he any more stout than a filleted cod, he might not have fit on the impossibly thin outcropping of rock. Fortunately, (sort of) Hiccup was not a striking figure; he was rail thin, pale as winter snow, and appeared to be comprised almost entirely out of knees and elbows. It wasn't a look that endeared him to the ladies but, thankfully, it did enable him to scurry up near vertical surfaces with the agility of a mountain goat or giant spider.
And scurry up that sheer rock-face he had.
"You won't need a sword in the lowlands, they said, it's much less dangerous there, they said," he added, a thick affected accent drenching his words in sarcasm. Below him but not, frankly, "below" enough for his tastes, a great bear roared at the rockface. Its huge claws, each bigger around than any one of his limbs, scraped violently at the granite and Hiccup tried to flatten himself into the rock. The rock was not being particularly accommodating. Above him, by a ledge or two, a pair of rams stared at him, dead-eyed and unsympathetic.
One bleated, perhaps mocking his terrible predicament. The lowlands were great.
"At least the weather's nice," he added, his voice a touch manic. To his credit, he managed not to actually scream when the great bear tried jumping to reach him, but it was a near thing. Okay so he screamed a little--but only a little.
Okay it was a lot.
4. And now with the sinking--
Hiccup felt that he was a reasonable sort of person and even though they'd laughed when he offered to man one of the boats, he'd still agreed to do it. Sure, it was the fastest way to the lowlands and, sure, he really didn't want to walk, but that wasn't why he agreed. He wasn't the strongest or the most impressive looking person, and he'd probably seen Dalish elves who looked more like Avvar than he did, but he was still a highlander and, Korth's Wrath, he wasn't just going to let some Ferelden drown trying to take an icy highland river alone.
At least they looked Ferelden, but that assessment was worth about as much as him in a fistfight.
"So, the key here is trying not to die," Hiccup announced in a tone that was shooting for "firm" and ended up somewhere near "laughable" as his voice cracked in the middle. He swung his arms to compensate but the whole motion just made him look a lot like the paddle he was about to pick up. "Right, I'll take the front and you can...uh, take the back? Or whatever you want to do."
"The not dying is the important part."
5. You can't contain all of this--this--Raw Avvar Power
He was soaking wet.
This is what he got for rafting with Lowlanders. Really, it served him right, and even he couldn't find it in himself to complain...well...not more than a little bit. He'd kept it to angry muttering, at least, even as the snow and damp started freezing his furs to his skin. The tavern was a welcome sight and, once he'd spotted the little hanging animal sign that lowlanders liked to mark taverns with, he basically made a wyrmline for the hearth. Well, he tried. Unfortunately, getting from the door to the fire was proving to be a much more trying task than rafting down from the highlands in winter.
"Excuse me--yes, I need to--no, no--nice doggy--can I just--"
Hiccup was not good at confrontation. So, almost immediately, his wyrmline became a sort of terrified-nug-shuffle as he was jostled, bodily, back and forth across the room. His vague zig-zag course, though ridiculously inefficient, was actually making progress toward the fire. If he was shuffled around the room for another quarter-hour or so, well, he might be at the hearth.
So, that was something.
6. Wildcard! Have at.