The Airship

Up in the sky was where he belonged. Being in the sky made him feel free, it made him feel truly alive. That was what separated him from the rest of the world. Well, that and being 2 kilometers up in the air.

The air was thin and any other man would've passed out after a few minutes but Hiccup was no ordinary man. He was an inventor and a damn good one at that. The mask he wore was made of simple leather and it helped him to breath normally. He was standing on the front deck of his pride and glory, The NightFury. At first looks, it wasn't as scary as the name would imply. It was large and fat and would make most laugh at how it looked but it had its secrets. The bulk of The NightFury was contributed to keeping it in the air. It was essentially a humongous sausage-shaped balloon that held a modest sized cabin in the air. 4 propellers, a rudder and fins were all that was needed to control the thing and they were placed at the rear, or the stern.

The cabin was about 45 meters wide, 56 meters long and 5 meters tall. The control room was located at the front, with glass and steel making it up. The cabin held the engine room, Hiccup's personal study, some storage space and Hiccup's little 'Inventor's Room', as he liked to call it. The front deck was located at the very top of the balloon whilst the cabin was below.

Hiccup took a deep breath, something that would've been impossible without his mask, and took in his surroundings. He was always astonished at the beauty of the sky, even though he had lived in the sky for years. He smiled underneath the mask and clasped his hands behind his back, his body dangerously close to the edge. He had always wanted to install railings but he had neither the time nor will to do so, he had more important and pressing things to consider. Like if his new experimental propellant would work or if his new alloy could stand his vigorous testing. It was cold up here and even though Hiccup was wearing the thickest of all his coats and the warmest of all his pants, he still felt the sting of the cold. His hair was cut short and he enjoyed it that way, he could remember a few times when his short hair had saved his life, like when he was testing a new propeller design. If he had let his hair grow out, it might've been caught in the blades! His eyes were cold and calculating, very rarely did his demeanor shift. He was tall and lean. His muscles weren't enormous but they weren't tiny either, he was somewhere in between. He was a strong man, it was a necessity with his work. His lower left leg was gone; he had to cut it off after an accident with one of his experiments. He was lucky if was below the knee; it made walking a little easier with the prosthetic. His prosthetic was made of simple steel, leather and wood. His new foot was designed to look like the rough outline of an actual foot. The steel foot would adjust its angle every time he put his foot down and he had shock absorbers built into it. It made the fact that he had no lower left leg a little easier to accept but it still pained him to think about it. He could remember having to saw off his own goddamn leg and the curses and swears he cried out as the saw dug into his skin and bone. He had drunk a lot that night. He was about 20 years old, very young for him. He spent 6 years in the sky, 6 years on the NightFury and many things had changed in those 6 years.

He sighed and decided to head back inside the cabin. He took one last look at the sky and clambered down the ladder.

He had never seen the need for a separate room for his bed and personal effects. He spent almost all of his time either in the study or the Inventor's Room. His bed was right next to the desk in his study and at times, when the desk was absolutely covered with notes and weird odds-and-ends he had picked up or made, Hiccup would just clear it all onto the bed and sleep on the desk.

Hiccup flopped onto the hard mattress and rested his head on the small pillow. The bed only had just enough room for him, most nights his arms or even legs would hang limply off the edges of the bed. He had taken off his mask and it was now lying on his desk, the goggles almost staring at him. He turned his head and looked at the mask. For a few seconds he had his eyes locked on the mask, "What the fuck are you looking at?" He said. He swallowed and turned his head so that it faced the ceiling and not the mask. The ceiling of the cabin was made of steel, like the rest of the cabin and was carved with intricate designs. In some places, he had even carved blueprints of some of his favorite designs into the ceiling. He sighed and closed his eyes. He would need to get supplies tomorrow.

Hiccup lowered the airship as far as he felt was safe. He wasn't sure how these… 'commoners' would react if they saw a humongous flying thing suddenly descend from the heavens. He held the wheel in his hands and gently turned it to the right, turning the airship starboard. He had perfected his way of getting on and off of The NightFury a long time ago since he had to trade and get new supplies somehow. It was a simple winch, it would lower a cable with a hook that would attach to Hiccup's belt or to a packet of supplies if Hiccup couldn't just hold it in his arms. There was a hatch in the floor of the control room, just to the right of Hiccup. The winch was right above that hatch. He adjusted his course by a few degrees to the left. He had a rough green tunic on with a brown vest and a heavy leather overcoat on. His pants were always the same brown color. He made sure he had his sword and sheath was strapped to his belt, he checked the knife in the sole of his boot, the packet of flash powder in his coat, the throwing knifes in his sleeve and his trusty pistols. His pistols were a work of art and innovation. There was only two of it's kind in the whole world and Hiccup knew they both belonged to him. He had recently travelled to the East and discovered a mixture the locals had called Fire Medicine. Its properties were spectacular and Hiccup quickly adapted to using it. His pistol had a simple premise. Pour in the primer, which was the Fire Medicine, load in a metal ball, pull back the hammer and pull the trigger. He had figured out himself how to exploit the Fire Medicine's explosive capabilities and created a killing machine. The only drawback was the time it took to reload but he was already hard at work trying to find a way to quicken it. He made sure he had enough primer and ammunition for his pistol and turned off the ship's engines, he didn't need to waste any energy. One pull on the cable to lower the hook, two pulls to raise the hook and three to hold it in place. He attached the hook to his belt, opened the hatch and sat on the edge. He pulled on the cable once and slipped out of the cabin.

Berk was a quiet island. Home to roughly 200 people, give or take. It was a cold place in autumn, freezing in the winter, warm in the spring and hot as hell in the summer. The Vikings that lived there were like all the other Vikings, used to a simple and Spartan way of life. Raiding, training, drinking, eating and sleeping. The residents were all accustomed to the Viking way of life. But little did they know, a mysterious inventor was going to pay a visit.

The teenagers of Berk were a rowdy bunch, just ask anyone one of the villagers. There were the always-fighting twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, the smart Fishlegs, the boastful Snotlout and the fiery Astrid. They decided to meet in the market for no apparent reason and walked through town, with no other purpose in mind but to talk and gossip.

Hiccup touched down lightly on the ground, the grass giving way underfoot. It was a hot day on Berk and Hiccup had made the mistake of wearing triple layers. But he would have to bear through the heat, if he took off his overcoat, his weapons would be shown to the world, not to mention his pistol. He couldn't risk it. He rolled his neck and shoulders and took a good look around. He was in a cove, with a small pool of water in one part. He detached the hook from his belt and anchored it on a sturdy looking (thick) tree root. He didn't want his NightFury to just float away. He tugged three times on the cable and made sure there was as little slack in the line as possible, that way, The NightFury wouldn't move around as much (he hoped). He spotted a path up and took it. He needed to reach higher ground. He was exactly sure if this was a populated island, it could just be an island of untamed wilderness and untold danger. Nonetheless, he set off trying to find civilization; he needed more supplies for his experiments.

He hiked only an hour until he stumbled onto the village of Berk. He had emerged from the forest and ended up on the north side of the village. It was a modest village; there was a dock, a full-fledged market and, exactly what he was looking for, a blacksmith. He spotted it at the other end of town, he knew it was the blacksmith as he could see smoke rising from a chimney. It had to be a blacksmith. Either that or it was a bakery or something. He walked calmly past the rows and rows of houses. As he walked he could feel eyes locked onto the stranger that had appeared from the forest, dressed in clothes fit for the coldest of winters with a missing left leg. His path would take him past the market, the one place where he didn't want to be. The market would be were he would get the most stares and the most attention. He silently cursed and continued on his path.

The residents of Berk were treated to a strange sight. A tall and slim man, wearing an overcoat in the middle of summer! His metal leg gave a quiet clank every time he put it down. They stared at him as he stalked by, his eyes not diverting or straying. This man had also walked from the forest no less. To them, he was alien, strange and mysterious. Where had this figure come from? Why was he here? Why did he look like he would burst into a murderous frenzy and kill half the village? They just didn't know. They didn't do anything when they saw the stranger; they just froze in their spots and gave him a wide berth. They knew he was dangerous.

The teens of Berk were in a heated argument as to whom in their little group held their liquor the best. Right now, Astrid seemed like she might be winning, "No way! I once drank an entire keg!" She called out.

"Yeah, then you barfed it out an hour later." Snotlout retorted, he was currently in last place, "I bet you I can totally do better than all of you."

"Guys. Come on. You know it's me." Tuffnut said nonchalantly, "Drinking is like my thing guys. Come on. Just look at me." Tuffnut gestured at his body.

"Oh shut up." His twin sister but in, giving Tuffnut a rough punch to the arm, "You gotta be kidding me! The first time you even sniffed mead you threw up! It's me!" But their argument died down as they noticed the tall stranger in their village. He walked right by them, not even giving them a second glance, or a first glance at that. The second Ruffnut thought he was out of range of their conversation she spoke, "Damn, that guy is hot!"

"Really? That guy?" Snotlout snorted, "You think that's hot? What about this?" He started to flex his muscles.

"Quit it man." Astrid gave Snotlout a light punch to the arm. That stopped him instantly, "I wonder who he is." Astrid thought aloud. He looked dangerous, that she knew for sure. She could see the bulge of a sword in his overcoat and his demeanor gave off an atmosphere of death. She felt like he could kill half the village if he wanted to. Then she noticed his prosthetic, "I mean, he looks dangerous."

"Come on? You really think that guy is... He's a cripple!" Snotlout said.

"So? He seems pretty dangerous either way man." Tuffnut spoke up, still rubbing his arm from his sister's punch; "He looks like he could wipe the floor with you Snot."

"Oh piss off."

"He looks so dreamy. I can just imagine his strong, muscular arms wrapping around me." Ruffnut was in a trance. She couldn't tear her eyes off of him.

"What do you mean around you?" Astrid turned to Ruffnut.

"Astrid, every man needs a beautiful woman, I just happened to be that woman."

"Huh, as if." Astrid snorted.

"Are you challenging me?"

"Yes, there's no way he going for you Ruff."

"You're on! We'll see about that tomorrow morning." And with that Ruffnut stormed off. Astrid gave a light chuckle and continued to watch the stranger.

Hiccup could hear the argument. His ears were very attentive. He could hear everything the teenagers had said about him. He was flattered somewhat, the other teenagers he had come across in his travels were either too interested in themselves or in whatever else it was they were doing than to pay attention to me. He heard that girl's final comment and he had smiled at that, only slightly though. He would need to look out for that one. He soon reached the blacksmith.