HICCUP

No. He knew if the other boy had been in his position, he probably would’ve found a grown up. Probably. Maybe he would’ve had a rush of courage, but he was by no means brave — not like the boy who had chosen to rescue him. He’d have to make it up to him once they were on the ground. He’d figure out how later.

Thankfully, they were nearly there — or so the boy said. The crimson-colored youth, in his relief, cracked open an eye to look down to see exactly how far they had to go. That was when he saw the truth: they weren’t even close! They were still way up in the tree! His anxious heart jumping in his throat, the startled child yelped a shrill sound of panic and scrambled back rather suddenly, instinctively — and desperately — trying to push himself closer to his rescuer.

Hopefully he had a good grip on the tree …

coded by flea

It was the size difference that did him in, unfortunately. Even though Nero was older, @Hiccup was roughly the same size -- if not larger. He watched it happen in slow motion, unfortunately. Hiccup began quickly rushing towards him, the fact Nero knew he was about to bite the dust. He even had a moment to resign himself to dying before impact was finally made and Nero was sent crashing down to the ground with a loud thud -- and a snap. The albino boy groaned, dazed, and slowly began trying to put two and two together. What he didn't anticipate was the awkward angle his left hind leg was now sprawled in, adjacent and not in a normal way. Nero said nothing, only stared, wondering when it would pay to be nice for a change.

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HICCUP

The boy could only focus on himself. It was understandable — he was somewhat panicked, and could only think as far as what was happening to him. He could feel himself bumping into something, but it never occurred to him what — or who — he had backed into until the branch shook beneath him. Instinctively, he hugged the branch tighter as it swayed from the sudden shift in weight, his eyes squeezed tightly shut in his fear. It took a second before they opened again. That was when he saw the pale boy on the ground below.

Oh no.

Eyes widening, heart sinking, he cried down at his fallen hero, “Are you— hic!— okay?!” He had yet to notice how weirdly angled his leg was. His first concern was making sure the poor boy was still alive after such a terrible fall.

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Nero just sort of.. stared at his leg for a while. The adrenaline kept the pain at bay for quite some time, but eventually it began to sink in. He winced, but the cub was still stuck up the tree and not making any progress. He gritted his teeth as the boy called out and nodded, "yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it. Let's just get you down." It took every fiber of his being not to shriek in pain, but the teenager began to gradually work his way back up the tree sans one leg. It dangled below him and Nero wasn't sure he could handle another smash to the noggin today. "You are almost there this time, promise." He grunted, ears falling against his head. "C-c'mon, one step at a time."

@Hiccup

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HICCUP

The child’s widened eyes shimmered as tears, induced by the wave of guilt that crashed over him, trickled along his eyelashes. His vision swirled, becoming a soup of swamp green and muddy brown, with a white streak dashed through the muck. He blinked and sniffled, stammering, “I’m ss- sorry, I’m— hic!— so sorry!” The other boy had told him not to worry about it, but he very much DID worry about it. He knew he really needed to get down now — if not for himself, than for the other child. He needed to be brave.

Sniffling harder, the cherry-red boy nodded at the encouragement — which he didn’t feel he deserved — and carefully shimmied his way back. The branch gradually dipped, thickening as he crawled his way closer to the injured youth, still hiccuping. One step at a time, he’d said, and that was what he did: one careful step, then another.

When he looked next, the ground was close. Really close. He could actually jump from there, so he did. “I— I think I can make it,” he hiccuped and angled himself on the branch, ears swirling back on his head in his indecision. But after a moment of hesitation, he sprang.

His landing would need a little improvement: the boy hit the ground and rolled over. Nothing was broken though, just sore. “Ow,” he complained under his breath, making himself get up onto his paws. “Hey, thanks, you really didn’t have to— YOUR LEG!”

What had started as an expression of his gratitude turned into a sharp, shrill squeal. Whatever relief he’d felt over being back on the ground evaporated in a flash when the boy finally saw his hero’s broken leg. “OH NO. YOUR LEG. HIC! IS IT BROKE?! HIC! I’M SO SORRY!” he wailed, tearing eyes bulging in his panic. Oh, geez. This was BAD. This was sososososo BAD, and it was his FAULT— !

coded by flea

Nero was torn.. figuratively, but it wouldn't surprise him if some muscles had been torn in the process of his leg breaking. He wanted to help the kid get down as much as he wanted to just drop to the ground and roll around in pain, but @Hiccup was his main priority. Nero liked helping people, especially kids who didn't have an adult around to help. He wasn't much more than a baby himself, but he was older and larger and capable of doing.. some stuff, at least.

Finally, he braved the jump and landed on the ground, so Nero gracelessly flopped back himself. He grunted and dropped onto his stomach immediately, ears drawn forward as the kid began to yell about his leg. "It's okay, it's okay, calm down," Nero said, doing his best to remain calm despite the panic rising in his chest. "It's okay! Seriously! It doesn't hurt." Nero hadn't meant to make a habit out of lying, but he did what he needed to do to soothe the young cub. "What's your name? I'm Nero."

Maybe conversation would distract him?

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HICCUP

The panic surged in him, leaving him gasping harshly for air in between his sobbing and hiccuping. He was the reason the boy had been in that tree. He was the reason the boy had fallen from that tree. He was responsible for that broken leg.

Huge, miserable tears poured from his silver eyes and down his cheeks, dampening the fur there. He hiccuped again and sniffled, plopping onto his behind when a sudden dizzy wave crashed through him. Beneath his fur, the boy flushed, his temperature spiking as his heart spiraled out of control. He’d hurt him. He’d HURT him!

A voice reached him in between his open-mouthed gasping, making him look to the poor kid he’d broken. The flattened ears on his head briefly swirled forward, but quickly turned back again as his emotions frothed inside him. “NN- Nero?” he parroted, wheezing quietly. “Hic— Hiccup,” he managed. “I’m Hiccup.”

Blinking, he gazed at his leg again with a sniffle. “You nn- need help,” he sobbed a little. “We gotta ff- find you help.”

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It wasn't much, but it was.. it was something. He stopped sobbing quite so hard and that was really all he could ask for, but as far as getting help? "N.. no, I'm okay, really. I don't trust adults, that's why I didn't go get one." Nero shrugged a bit and pushed into his paws, holding his injured one in the air. "Hiccup, huh?" That was kinda shitty, if you asked him. His parents had named him after the hiccups he seemed prone to having? See! Another reason why parents were so god awful. Nero wanted to explain he could pick his own name, but it seemed better suited for another time. "It's alright, my friends are nearby so I can just go to them. Really, no big deal." Although he desperately needed to wrap things up so he could go dunk his head into water and screaming.

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HICCUP

Hiccup’s mind immediately went to Faevyre. She could help, if he could make it back to the Hollow and—

His thoughts trailed as Nero’s words reached him. He blinked at him, not understanding. Nero … didn’t trust adults? That didn’t make any sense. Sure, some grown ups were probably scary, but there were good ones — like Faevyre. And Úlla. They were both nice, and he knew they’d help Nero. But Nero said he had friends nearby, which did make Hiccup feel a little better …

“Are you sure?” he breathed, his nose stuffy. Hiccup wasn’t entirely convinced. He didn’t want to keep badgering Nero though. He’d already broken his leg, that seemed awful enough without a helping of Hiccup’s annoying blubbering.

coded by flea

Phew, the crying was stopping even more. He seemed like a nice kid (look at Nero acting like he was all adulty and mature) and he was glad to have helped out, but uh, yeah. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about his leg, but someone in the group would know, he hoped. The teenager nodded as Hiccup pressed. "Yep, I'm good. All good here. Are you good? You alright? You need help getting somewhere?" Not that Nero was in a position to escort him, but maybe Bhaskar would be able to help a bit more. Hopefully.

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