[closed]

[thisisamazing]

who: Hiccup and Thor
what: Crocodiles, my guys. Crocodiles.
when: During the flooding.
where: Down by the river
warnings: Crocodiles??


[It's almost funny, how one little change in the environment can throw everything out of balance. Hiccup is curious about it, undeniably, and would probably rather be investigating the source of the flooding, but he's volunteered with the Guard anyway. He and Toothless are useful in these conditions, able to fly and drive back the creatures coming out of the water, or to cart around supplies faster than vehicles on the flooded roads. It's the sort of thing he would be doing if this happened back on Berk, as the heir to the chiefdom.

Toothless touches down on a marshy patch of grass, shaking water off his scales as Hiccup dismounts, flight helmet still pulled over his head to keep some of the worst of the water out of his eyes. They're looking down at the river, watching the surface of the water for shadows.]

Easy, bud. [He murmurs soothingly to an antsy Toothless, whose gaze keeps flicking around them.] We just have to make sure nothing comes out of the water for a little while. They need the area clear.

Comments

[worldsaway]

[The bulk of Thor's day has been spent helping haul people and their possessions out of water. It feels good to throw himself right into some (literal) dirty work, he doesn't care that he has mud up to his waist and elbows and that it's smeared over his face and hair. He feels more fulfilled than he has in a while.

It's when he's rescuing a dog from a lonely rock that he notices the big lizards swimming around the water. When he deposits the dog on dry land, he's quick to notice one of the lizards dragging itself onto the muddy bank. He glances around, checking if anyone else is seeing this remarkable moment, eyes falling on Hiccup and Toothless a small distance away.]

Hiccup! Toothless! [He waves toward them, gesturing them over.] Come look! You should see this!

[Who else would enjoy a great, big lumbering reptile as much as Thor? He should really step aside from it.]

[thisisamazing]

[It's a little strange to see the god of thunder muddy up to his waist and elbows. Strange, but kind of charming; it's been interesting to get to know Loki, and to a lesser extent, Thor, while he's been here. He can only imagine what the others would say if he told him that he was on river duty with Thor himself once.

They come when they're bid, squelching in the wet ground. There is mud caked on his boot and metal leg and he's going to have to oil it later, to make sure it doesn't rust.] Come see what-? [Aaand then they see it.

Toothless immediately drops to a crouch, lips pulled back in a snarl, teeth bared in warning as the dragon puts himself between the two men and the massive, lumbering reptile.]

Oh, Thor. [Was that an 'oh god' or talking to Thor? It's hard to tell.] That's- That's a very big lizard. [At least dragon-sized. Yikes.] Is that a- is it a crocodile?

[worldsaway]

[Thor smiles brightly when his friends approach, but takes a protective stance when Toothless drops to a crouch. Though his body language is soft enough that Toothless doesn't need to worry about Thor bringing the thunder here. He raises his hands in a calming gesture, mouthing: it's fine.

The crocodile lets out a low, bizarre rumble and Thor raises a brow down at it. Is it belching? It sounds like its belching. It's an ominous belch.]

Excuse you.

[He glances around, as if secondhand embarrassed by the crocodile that he has no association with, then looks back up at Hiccup. He cocks his head to the side.]

Is it? I don't think we had them on Asgard. Did you have them on Berk?

[Thor crouches, probably getting a little too close for anyone's comfort. He extends a hand, slowly and carefully, as if hoping the crocodile will sniff him and find comfort in the gesture.]

[thisisamazing]

[It's definitely not Thor Toothless has a problem with right now. He's moving slowly, eyes fixed on the scaly 'friend' lumbering toward them, as if he's going to circle the creature. So far, at least, it hasn't snapped or charged, and Hiccup rests a hand on Toothless' side.] Take it easy, Toothless. Let's not get into a fight if we don't have to.

[And then it rumbles, and Hiccup cringes. Toothless grows a little louder, warning, barking out a short roar.]

N-no, not really, but- It, it kind of looks like a dragon, so maybe it's similar? [Even he sounds skeptical of that. And Toothless rolls his eyes in an almost human like gesture as Thor creeps closer to the crocodile.] I uh, I don't know if it's going to be friendly. You, you might want to- [Please don't say the God of Thunder is going to lose his hand on Hiccup's watch.]

[worldsaway]

[Rarely the sort to heed a warning, Thor keeps his hand where it is. For now, the crocodile remains perfectly still. It's almost eerie how still it is, Thor can't remember if he's seen it blink so far.]

Might want to what? [Thor asks, turning his head to look away from the crocodile. His hand is still out, but his attention is entirely focused on Hiccup.]

We don't know that he's not friendly. If he didn't like us he'd just run away, right? Not that he'd run very fast, he's got stumpy, little legs. [Since he hasn't lost a hand yet, Thor shuffles ever closer, hand extending closer as if he means to run it up the snout of the crocodile.]

No offence. [He says, because he suddenly feels like he might have insulted everyone around him with that one. The crocodile is surprisingly impassive, but Thor has just laid a hand on it and everything could go down hill fast from here.]

How did you figure out that Toothless was friendly when you met him?

[thisisamazing]

To, uh, not put your hand so close to its teeth yet...? [Well, this is happening. This is definitely happening. Thor is already missing an eye, he's praying that he doesn't come out of this missing a hand too. The crocodile is almost frozen in place, and it's eerie; it gives him a bad feeling. But... it's still a reptile, he knows what to do with giant, toothy reptiles, maybe this will turn out okay?]

Uh. None taken. [Spoken as the one with an actual stumpy leg.] Weeeell, he might just see us as easy prey since we're not, you know, running away or... shooting at him... [Toothless goes tense as Thor reaches his hand out toward the beast again, eyes narrowing as he stares it down, tail swishing. It's definitely a warning position.

He snorts quietly, going to his saddlebag for a whole salmon, which he holds out to Thor.] He didn't kill me. That doesn't mean he was all that friendly at first. Here, try offering it food.

[worldsaway]

We don't even know if it has teeth. [Thor points out, and it's unclear if he's being obtuse, because it clearly has teeth that stick around the sides of its jaws.

Thor keeps the hand firmly on the head of the beast and he's sure he sees it blink. He smiles, with all the warmth someone would generally save for a puppy or a kitten. He looks absolutely smitten with it.]

Food. Brilliant. [Thor stands, a little too quickly. The crocodile flinches but it doesn't attack. Thor reaches for the fish eagerly, too excited to dangle it over the crocodile's head. He expects that it will jump for the fish, he doesn't expect that it will jump high enough to engulf both his arm and the fish. He also fails to anticipate the strength in its jaws when it twists his arm and sends them both rolling in the mud.]

Ouch. [Thor snaps, like he's stubbed his toe or stepped on a thumb tack.] Stop it, you greedy bastard.

[He kicks at it, repeatedly, glancing toward Hiccup as he does.]

Did he do this too?

[thisisamazing]

It definitely has teeth. [He remarks dryly, watching the thing for a moment, gaze falling on those teeth that do indeed stick out a little bit. Those are very big teeth. But it doesn't seem to be biting Thor (yet), so that's okay. That's good. He's slowly growing more optimistic about this encounter; if they can train one of the crocodiles, then they can give this knowledge to the Perimeter Guard, and nobody will have to kill them! They can just send them on their way back into the water and no one has to get hurt.

Hiccup is what we call a naive fool.

The crocodile does, indeed, seem to want to eat, and- Hiccup stumbles back with a shriek as it jumps up high enough to practically swallow Thor's entire arm. Better an Asgardian than him, at least, he's reached his quota for lost limbs, but still.] Oh gods. Oh gods, your arm is- Doesn't that hurt?! [Asgardians are going to be the death of him.] Toothless definitely did not do that!

[The dragon barks a flat, unamused noise - of course he didn't do that, how dare - and rolls his eyes mightily. This human at least seems durable. So he fires off a low-power plasma blast at the crocodile's tail to "encourage" it to let go.]

[worldsaway]

[Were tensions not so high, Thor would absolutely take the time to delight in Hiccups shriek. As it is, it's something he'll have to hope he remembers in the future.]

It definitely hurts. [Thor grunts. It's not the distress one would expect from a man with a crocodile on his arm, but it's a small concession from him. He might have maybe fucked up a bit here.

Thor tenses when the plasma blast passes him by, almost statuesque as he lets it pass. His kicks, coupled with the blast, are more than enough to have the crocodile widening its jaws and sliding off his arm.]

That was very bad. [He chides at the beady eyes, still watching him from the shallows of the water.

He pushes himself up, peering around at his arm. There are dents in his arms and some scratches, but he's just barely bleeding from it.]

Obviously he'll need some training.

[thisisamazing]

[If he keeps this thing, no doubt he will have plenty of time to enjoy Hiccup's distress. The boy faces down dragons on the daily back home and yet a crocodile is a little more nerve-wracking. Maybe because he doesn't know what to do to earn its trust. At least with dragons, he can usually make an educated guess.

He watches skeptically as the reptile finally lets go of Thor's arm, but he manages to relax a little when he sees he's only superficially worse for the wear. Asgardians are really durable. He's going to file that away.] To say the least. [He agrees dryly, rubbing over Toothless' scales in silent praise.]

It's... probably not impossible, though. Uh, my friend's dragon is always- you know, beating on him a little bit. They fight with love, or something. [Snotlout and Hookfang have a very special relationship that defies all words. Maybe this is just a situation like that?]

Food probably wasn't a good idea right now. What else do crocodiles like? I know dragons like dragon-nip...

[worldsaway]

[By some stroke of luck for Hiccup, Thor decides to let the crocodile sink back into the water without attempting to drag him back out. Somehow, he's realised it doesn't want for his company at the moment.]

Sounds a little like my relationship with Loki. [Thor observes, thinking nothing of the fact that his obsession with cold-blooded animals that like to bite him might come from some deep, unexplored feelings.]

I don't know. If I'm honest, I don't know the first thing about crocodiles. [Who knew.] What is dragon-nip?

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup glances warily between the crocodile and Thor for a moment, and then quirks a brow.] You guys beat on each other a lot? I mean I guess I can see it. Is that a sibling thing? The twins are like that too. [He's glad to be an only child sometimes.]

Uh, dragon-nip is a kind of grass, it makes dragons really happy and relaxed. I haven't been able to find it here yet, but if I could, maybe it would work on crocodiles too? They're both reptiles...

[worldsaway]

Oh, yes. It’s very much a sibling thing, though I’ve heard we’re exceptionally good at it. [He’s not going to explain why that is, of course. He’s more interested in the crocodile right now.]

If you of all people haven’t been able to find some sort of equivalent, we might be out of luck. [He considers.] But we could always go on an expedition together, observe the local reptiles.

[thisisamazing]

I've decided I'm glad I'm an only child. [Hiccup mumbles, more distracted by the massive scaled creature in the water than anything else. He watches the surface of the water with a hand on his hip, wondering what might win over the beast.

Thor has his attention when he mentions an expedition, though, perking up a little.] Yeah? That would be great. It's kind of my job anyway! Maybe we could figure out where these things live when the river isn't so high, and figure out how to win over your friend there.

[worldsaway]

[Thor chuckles at Hiccup's declaration. Siblings do make things difficult, it's true. But he's glad to have Loki all the same.]

It's your job? [Thor asks, curiously. Although he's not terribly surprised.]

Maybe we should look for where they congregate.

[thisisamazing]

I work part time with the Surveyors. It's- well, it's really kind of a solo thing. Me and Toothless do our own aerial surveying, and I just kind of started studying creatures here. [Of course he did.]

Yeah, they probably have a nest or a den somewhere.