☾ nightfury at the gates (open)

[no_eels]

Who: Toothless and you.
Where: Outside the mansion, pretty much anywhere.
When: 6/23
Rating: This is a kid's movie! (G. I'll update if it changes!)
Summary: Toothless arrives back at the mansion without any memory of it. ...'Arrives' is probably oversimplifying it. 'Crashes' is more accurate.

The Story:

It's funny, but Toothless doesn't remember hedges in Berk. He doesn't even know what a hedge is, in fact, but the shape in front of him strikes him as Viking-made. Plants don't actually grow like that, do they? Is he on some weird new island where the plants are different?

All he remembers is flying — and then not flying.

Speaking of which, with a quiet cry of alarm, the Nightfury lurches to his feet. Hiccup! Was he thrown clear? Where is he? The area around him is large, and he can also smell — is that a beach, maybe beyond the treeline? For a moment, he stands unnaturally still, trying to pinpoint the sound of his best friend's voice. But all he hears are unfamiliar voices, and the rustling of wind through trees. It only makes the thrill of horror in his chest greater, and Toothless immediately sets off at a run.

Or he tries to, at least.

His thoughts being as distracted as they are, his mad dash is foiled by the fish pond being in the way. The Nightfury plunges, unintentionally, underneath the surface, and comes up with wide green eyes, scrambling for the shore amidst the frantic movements of fish beneath him. Such is the gravity of the situation that the fish don't even factor into his mind, just yet. He comes back up on land and this time sets off at a much more successful run, soaking wet and wings tucked tight to his body for greater speed.

Every once in a while, he lets out a loud, long, distressed sounding call — sort of the dragon version of Hey! Where are you? With the speed of his movements, hopefully no one will find themselves in his way.

[ooc: Both prose and action spam are fine by me.]

Comments

[no_eels]

Captive?

Toothless' head shoots up in alarm. So far he's been comforted in the fact that they've crash-landed on an island and Hiccup's probably made a few new viking friends, delaying them finding each other. Much in the way Toothless has already made a few friends. But captives?

He well remembers being chained into wood and iron, and he doesn't want to experience that again.

What do you mean? I was flying and I think I fell...

[freewill]

Castiel is left at a loss for a moment. Given that there's something undeniably young about this dragon, maybe it isn't so surprising that he hasn't yet realized the situation that he's in.

He looks around them, as if there might be someone else around who could explain this. But there isn't, and given that he's one of the few here who could properly communicate with Toothless, it's up to him to explain what's going on here.

You don't recognize this place, do you? It's because you've been brought here against your will, as we all have. You can try to leave, to fly home, but you won't find any way out.

Castiel has his own set of wings, even if they're not visible. He's tried to fly out of here plenty of times, but he always comes up against the same wall. Though in Toothless' case, an escape effort could turn out to be much more painful.

[no_eels]

Eyes wide, he considers. No, he certainly doesn't recognize this island. It's... it's... well, he's been warned it's dangerous, and now Toothless has his proof if he and Hiccup are trapped here. Or perhaps it's just him that's trapped here? Hopefully his viking friend is all right...

We can't leave?

[freewill]

Castiel shakes his head, then turns his gaze to the forest behind them and then to the ocean out in the distance.

If you make any attempt to fly out too far and explore the edges of this place, you'll find yourself back where you started. And sometimes in a lot of pain. Castiel's even heard of people losing their lives that way.

It's an idiotic way to waste a death, in his opinion. Wonderland already tries hard enough to kill them without making it worse.

[no_eels]

Toothless turns his head, too, to stare at the horizon. It doesn't make any sense. He almost doesn't believe the angel, in fact, but... everything else he's stated seems true enough. Why would he lie about this? Unless, of course, he's making fun of Toothless...

...but somehow, he just really doesn't seem the type. The set of his face is far too serious. Even Hiccup, while straight-faced and playing a joke on Toothless, will have twinkling eyes.

Is that how we got here? He makes a low, rumbly whine. I can't find Hiccup anywhere...

[freewill]

Were Toothless truly skeptical, he could always investigate for himself, but Castiel wouldn't suggest it. The dragon will no doubt end up doing it anyway, as curiosity isn't something that's so easily smothered.

The exact specifics of how we're all brought here is unclear. It's meant to be sudden and confusing. Castiel himself had washed up from the ocean, but at least he'd had his senses to inform him that this place was outside of Earth.

What does Hiccup look like? There's no guarantee that he was brought here with you, but I can search for him.

Friends were often separated before being brought here, or they came from different times -- whatever it took for Wonderland to make their lives more difficult.

[no_eels]

This is the part Toothless will be less than good at, though he doesn't know it. He and Toothless are from different times. The Hiccup that the dragon knows is short, scrawny. The Hiccup is tall, and proportionate (though still on the light side, compared to most vikings).

He's this big. Toothless lifts a paw to his friend's short height. Brown fur. He has green eyes.

Like Toothless himself.

[freewill]

Fur can only mean hair color in this context, or so Castiel will have to assume. Height, eye color, and hair color isn't much to work with, but he'll still do what he can to look for a boy that fits that description.

Castiel nods. Understood. If I find him, I'll let him know that you've also been taken by this place.

It would be easier for Toothless to have someone familiar here, of course, but he should also prepare for the possibility that he's on his own. He may not be here, but Wonderland isn't so large. If he is here, you'll find him.

[no_eels]

Thanks.

Toothless lets out a low, appreciative trill, the first real noise in this conversation in a while. Any onlookers are probably puzzled by what's going on, a dragon and an angel having, for all it looks, a staring contest. The dragon isn't bothered. This is a very intriguing form of communication. It's a lot more concise than he can be with Hiccup.

But something the angel says puzzles him.

I can't fly without Hiccup. How would I be here without him?

[freewill]

Castiel doesn't mind either. He's more than used to having staring contests, and he finds the dragon interesting to look at, given that he's in his true form.

Since Toothless doesn't seem bothered by it either, they could probably go on for hours like this if they wanted to.

Though Toothless' question causes Castiel to look skyward for a moment. Can't fly without him? Even if that's true, there are still ways for Wonderland to get around such things.

This place can pluck you from wherever you are, regardless of what you might have been doing. You were alone when you arrived here, weren't you?

[no_eels]

Yes. The dragon pauses, considering, his giant eyes gleaming in worry. But I thought he... fell off.

Sometimes that does happen. Toothless is always around to catch him, and always has been, except... well, he'd been groggy when he'd arrived, and... Now he's worried all over again. What if Hiccup is stranded somewhere alone? Somewhere that isn't this strange kidnapping island?

Does it 'pluck' with magic? I don't have any feathers...

He's heard someone else describing the place's tricks with 'magic', and though he doesn't understand that — it's worth a question. Maybe this place just can't be explained easily, no matter the communication method.

[freewill]

Castiel has never heard of two captives actually arriving together in such a way, and so he doubts that Hiccup fell off. He may still be here, but he wouldn't say that Toothless should count on it.

It's not often that there's someone (or something) that takes a statement more literally than Castiel himself does, so the remark about feathers throws him off for a moment. After a pause, he responds.

There is magic involved, yes. An immense amount of it, if it can keep all of us here.

As much as he might wish he could offer more detail than that, there's still so much they don't know about Wonderland and how it works.

[no_eels]

Oh.

It's a rather lost-sounding reply. Toothless hasn't been without Hiccup in a while — unwillingly. He doesn't like it. Hiccup is a resourceful viking, but this is a strange place and the Nightfury's heard about a lot of dangers. People in the walls, forests and oceans that don't end, something about a tyrannical Queen...

Toothless had made a decision not to leave his friend's side. To depend on him, and to be depended on in return.

Now they're separated.

How long have you been here? he wonders, misery seeping into his tone.

[freewill]

Castiel can tell that each answer he gives only causes Toothless to feel more defeated, and he hesitates for a moment when it comes to that next question. Dragons can be long-lived, which means that a year may not seem like much to Toothless. On the other hand, he's been spending time with humans, so he may have adapted to their perception of it.

In another month, I'll have been here for a year, he eventually admits. Though how long someone is kept here varies wildly.

There are some who are brought only for a few weeks before they're sent home, whereas others have been here for over three years. There's no way to be certain which category Toothless would fall into.

[no_eels]

Three years. Toothless considers. From what he understands, that's three cycles of the seasons. Or what passes for seasons in Berk, which is usually a tiny bit of Summer followed by a lot of Winter. But he knows it's a long time.

So I could be here for a year, too?

[freewill]

It's possible, Castiel admits, but not guaranteed.

He won't lie to Toothless, but he won't completely mire him in this either. Wonderland will be a small cage for such a creature, but Castiel can at least relate there.

For now, we can focus on trying to locate your friend, he suggests. They both have wings, so it shouldn't take very long to conduct a search.

[no_eels]

Toothless shakes his head a little, as of to clear it, and then nods. He has more pressing concerns than how long he might be here. If Hiccup is here, he won't care how long he stays. Just as long as he's by his friend's side. That's all that matters.

Okay. That's a good idea, the dragon agrees, brightening as he stands up a little straighter. Thanks.

[freewill]

It's something of a shame that Toothless can't fly on his own, but he should still be able to get around quickly on foot.

I'll look inside, and you can search the outside. Because the idea of a dragon of this size tearing through the mansion doesn't strike Castiel as the best idea.

He considers mentioning that he hopes they find him, but Castiel doesn't know what he would want to wish this place on anyone, so instead he finishes with, I'll let you know what I find.

With that, he starts back toward the mansion.