So I'm still trying to figure out exactly what's wrong with this. But! I'm sure I'll have it figured out and fixed by the next chapter.
I'm pretty sure this is how every HiJack fan ever imagined HTTYD with Jack in it.
It was always the same; Jack would find a new island, a new place with humans inhabiting it, get attached to one, and watch them die. They would grow old and leave the world the way every one expected them to, or a tragic accident would happen and leave Jack torn up for years. Sometimes they could see him, most of the time they couldn't. Dragons, the only species as a whole that could see him, tended to shy away from the startling cold his presence brought. He'd been on this earth as an immortal for almost three hundred years now(it didn't help that his body required very little sleep), and it was long enough to know nothing was permanent.
Now was no different. Jack wandered across a small island with a village full of huge intimidating people and vast forests. In his first week wandering idly around the place he chanced upon multiple occurrences that were very new to him. A flurry of dragons had descended upon the humans (vikings, because why not) and all hell broke loose for a small undetermined amount of time. The boisterous activity alone was enough for Jack to feel comfortable venturing in the village up close, though still looming above the rooftops. A small boy (toothpick compared to the rest) catching the attention of a snake-eyed beast and being held responsible for the destruction of a series of ramps and stairs used to access lower parts of the island. Jack had stared bug-eyed and laughed himself silly when he heard that the small, freckled, green-eyed kid was the son of the red-haired giant reprimanding him for going on about capturing a night fury.
Admittedly, when morning dawned he spent the next few days patiently combing through the trees of the forest for the beast, more often than not catching the young brunette doing the same thing from the ground, dragging marks a little book he kept with him for each area he deemed reasonably dragon-less. Jack found the dragon two days before the small viking, deciding to follow him around and uttering useless nonsense at him as he searched ("You're going the wrong waaay," "I think it was this way... wait, hold on a minute," "What exactly are we trying to accomplish here again?") and laughing at his episodes of clumsiness when he wasn't paying attention. After the long wait, Jack had bounced in excitement and anticipation when he got close, speaking words of encouragement that fell on deaf ears when the boy looked just about ready to give up. When he confronted the dragon, even the winter spirit was quiet in the tension, waiting for the strike that never came. "What, what are you doing? Are you kidding me? We've been searching for almost a week and you're just gonna let him-" the night fury's pounce left him in a startled panic, coiling and ready to jump at the dragon poised over the human. After it took off, Jack got closer than he usually did to check on the unconscious brunette that had passed out face-down in the soil.
After he returned home, Jack camped out on his roof for the night, eavesdropping on the forced conversation below him as he gazed up at the stars in the night sky. He spent the next day wandering the forest near the wreckage, chancing upon the small cove where the beast rested. Though resting wasn't exactly the way to describe the frantic scrabbling against the rocks, the frustrated cries that escaped the scaly creature when he fell back to the ground. He was stuck, and somehow he just knew it was the small viking boy's doing. Sure enough, he found the dragon again, and kept coming back. It left the winter spirit in awe at how Hiccup bonded with the night fury, and Jack decided watching the relationship unfold would be how he spent his days.
Hiccup was dragging a huge basket of fish through the forest, yawning and scrubbing his eyes when Jack found him. He'd stayed up late the night before, rotating between working on the invention he'd sketched out for Toothless' tail and rummaging through books on all sorts, even ones with silly legends about trolls and winter spirits. He had no luck with information on night furies, but he couldn't help but be a little curious of things they had no truth existed, pondering over strange occurrences (like things disappearing and greenery randomly frosted over in the forest) until he passed out. Those thoughts lingered in the back of his mind as he trudged between the trees, going over his plan to secure the thing on the night fury's tail in his head.
Delighted laughter broke his train of thought, and he looked around for a moment to find the source before he heard the voice again, from above him. He froze when his eyes found a lithe shape hovering in the air, saying "How you managed to carry that huge thing with such scrawny limbs I'll never know." The words broke his momentary stupor, gasping as he realized what it was and dropping the basket, falling and scrambling back as it drew closer. It... it was a boy! A boy with stark white hair and pale skin and big blue eyes, a huge cane with a hook at the end frosted over in his hand. He didn't look much older than Hiccup, but he definitely wasn't a viking. In fact Hiccup immediately questioned whether he was human at because people did not dance around in the air like it was perfectly normal. Dragons, sure, but not humans.
The humor in his young face fell immediately when he found Hiccup's eyes staring back at him, slowly falling until his feet touched the ground. It was silent for a few thundering heartbeats as the brunette scrambled through the thoughts in his head, trying to recall the words on the pages from his exploring the night before, words blurring together, only certain key ones standing out in his mind. But his concentration stayed on the other male, hyper-aware when more words spilled out in the open. "You can.. can you- see me?" he started, unsure, posture hunched cautiously and hands spread apart in a placating gesture. A name came to mind as Hiccup struggled to calm himself.
"...Jokul?" It wasn't exactly what he'd planned to say, the name had sort of just thrown itself out there, and Hiccup's teeth clicked together when he shut his mouth to keep any other unintentional words from spilling out. A surprised laugh answered him, and the other stumbled back a little. "Yeah," he breathed. "I mean, I prefer Jack, but-wait. How... I've been following you around for days and you couldn't see me. Why all of a sudden..."
Reflexively, Hiccup opened his mouth to answer; to explain that he'd been up reading about it (and maybe even dreamed a little of Norse gods and blizzards and things of the like). What came out was, "You've been following me?" Immediately Jack looked away, turning eyes to the sky and ambling casually with an innocent "Did I say that? I didn't say that," side-eying Hiccup.
Shaking himself out of the stunned state,"Uh, I mean, I was up reading really late last night so. I kinda found some stories about winter spirits and gods and... yup that's what happened." Kneeling down to pick up the fish that had spilled all over the ground, Hiccup had a hard time keeping his eyes off Jack, questioning himself and very seriously considering the fact that he was hallucinating. He wasn't quite sure what would convince him he wasn't because come on, they were just stories and how much sleep had he gotten? It was very possible the exhaustion had gotten to him. "A-anyway, I should probably get going, I have, uh-"
"A hungry dragon to feed?" Jack finished, righting the wicker basket and how in the hell had he gotten so close without Hiccup noticing. There were so many things about that statement that made Hiccup want to just stop and question the guy's whole existence, but he left it alone with a pinch to the bridge of his nose. He was too tired for this, he'd leave it alone for now, he'd probably find out later and too many questions would probably set them off on the wrong foot and Hiccup just did not have time for this. So he sighed and mentally threw his hands up in surrender, picking up the rest of the fish with Jack's help. Amazingly enough, Jack slung the thing over his shoulder and walked between the trees, his first words echoing in the viking's head as he stared at the retreating back. Hiccup grimaced and scrambled to catch up, responding to Jack's grin with a glare. The whole situation was weird but whatever, he could ignore the insanity of it until it didn't feel like a big deal anymore, or if Jack disappeared because he wasn't real.
They walked the rest of the way to the cove in silence, and from then on Jack continued to be mocking and unhelpful from the sidelines. "Really, how could you not know they hate eel," to which Hiccup rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah okay, mister expert." Catching the tail was like a one sided tug of war. Jack, where he had been relaxing perched on a rock, grew wary when Toothless' wings began to open, sitting up and eying the dragon. "Hiccup..." he tried to alert the other to what was up, when the dragon suddenly took off, the viking boy still latched onto his tail. "Hiccup!" Jack jumped to his feet, watching in alarm as they went careening off to the side before straightening out suddenly, realizing that Hiccup was fiddling with the makeshift tail attachment. A slight smile lifted his face, and he jumped into action, catching Hiccup on the downfall by his upper arms when Toothless shook him off. "Whoo!" he cheered weakly as Jack gently lowered him to the ground, chuckling quietly. They watched has Toothless splashed through the water with a shriek, and Jack could see the gears turning in the young viking's head as he considered the device he'd constructed, forgetting the oddity of the situation as he thought.
Jack followed Hiccup home that day, no longer hesitant to step foot in the village. He even went to dragon training with him, collapsing on the ground in hysterics when Hiccup pulled the eel out on the double headed dragon, face beat red from the winter spirit's amusement as he rushed out the door. When he finally caught up, the brunette shoved him for his mockery( "And the looks on their faces too!" ). After training they relaxed for a bit in Hiccup's room, the boy exchanging small talk and responding to Jack's teasing with sass as he sketched a design for the saddle to go with the industrial tail fin. Toothless couldn't control it himself so after debating it to himself and inquiring the other male's opinion, Hiccup had ultimately decided he would learn how to ride the night fury. Jack watched from the far corner in fascination while the brunette worked to bring the sketch to life, enthralled by his concentration and effort. It was well into the night when he was done, and Jack ended up having to carry him back to his house over one shoulder, saddle in hand and careful not to be seen as he crept inside the house and lay Hiccup down. Since Jack didn't need to sleep very often, he spent the remaining hours of darkness going through Hiccup's books and watching the boy sleep.
This was how they spent most days. Jack would answer Hiccup's questions about him and show him what he could do on their way to see Toothless, and then sit and watch from the sidelines as the viking learned as much as he could from the night fury (Jack laughed in delight when the dragon ran at the prospect of a saddle, teasing Hiccup about his lack of stamina and athleticism). From then on they would go to dragon training and Hiccup would put his new knowledge to the test where he could. They would hang out, Hiccup usually falling asleep anywhere that wasn't his bed, like his desk or the forge, or the grand hall, sometimes even on the roof when Jack took him up there, and the winter spirit usually took him down to bed, and he never questioned how he ended up there when he woke up in the morning.
It became their usual routine until the ships that had sailed came back, broken edges and ripped sails. But since half the village's return, Jack began falling back into the shadows sometimes, giving Hiccup space to interact with his dad or friends from the training, or when Gobber had work for him. Hiccup didn't mention it, but if the way he looked at him when he found him already waiting with Toothless was anything to go by, he definitely noticed.
But Jack still went to training with him, and he definitely didn't miss the way Hiccup's face fell when he was chosen to slay a dragon. The viking was quiet for a long while after that, Jack quietly trailing behind him because upon trying to bring it up, "How am I supposed to choose between disappointing my dad and killing a dragon? I couldn't even do it the first time!" He didn't bring it up again because really, how was he supposed to answer that? That night Hiccup blew his candle out early and climbed into bed on his side, leaving enough space on one side in a silent invitation to Jack, after a minute's hesitation. They laid in silence for a while, before Hiccup finally spoke. "I'll leave. I'll find a place for me and Toothless." It left the winter spirit unsettled, but he let it go so the brunette could sleep. But he would definitely bring it up tomorrow.
The confrontation didn't go well. They were walking through the forest to see Toothless, when he took a deep breath and started. "I don't think you should leave," he started. At Hiccup's inquisitive look, he continued, "I mean, it's one dragon. You're really going to leave your dad and your village over one dragon?" Jack, who had ultimately been alone most of his immortal life, couldn't fully grasp it. Stoick was Hiccup's only family, Berk was where he grew up. And he was willing to throw it all way, just like that? For what?
Hiccup shook his head. "You don't get it. It's not just one dragon, Jack. If I do this they'll expect me to do it every time dragon's invade the village. How could I live with myself, how could I do something like that and still look Toothless in the eye? It's not right."
"But your dad, Hiccup! You're used to living without special treatment. Even if you don't kill it, is it really worth abandoning your only family member, your home?"
The viking whirled on him then. "Look, I can't make you understand. I used to be nothing before this. Everyone laughed at me, I made a mess everywhere, I shamed my father! When I caught Toothless, I really, really wanted to do it. To kill him and prove to my dad that I was something he could be proud of, that I wasn't worthless." Hiccup's voice had been escalating to higher volumes, but he sighed and his shoulders dropped, voice quieting. "I just... wouldn't," he sounded defeated, tired.
Jack was quiet a moment, hesitating, before he asked, "..What stopped you?"
Hiccup stared at the ground, green eyes not leaving the ice patterns Jack had swirled on the ground with his staff and feet. "I wouldn't kill him because he looked just as frightened as I was. I looked at him and I saw... myself," he admitted sullenly, finally looking up at the winter spirit. He must not have liked what he found staring back at him, because he tensed, raising his chin. "Look, I get it, you don't like it. I'm going to go see Toothless and try and figure things out; maybe you should too."
With that, the young viking turned and kept walking, leaving Jack standing there feeling lost, chest tight with an anger he didn't really understand. He flexed his hands, jaw clenching, before turning in the opposite direction and taking off. Both boys were unaware that Astrid found Hiccup after they turned separate ways, surprising him with her presence in the cove. This day was just not going well for Hiccup.
The viking didn't make it back home until late in the night, finding Jack curled above the doorway on the roof waiting for him; it had been a small thread of hope that the brunette hadn't already left. Hiccup waved him inside without a word, waiting until they had both settled down in the bed before mentioning it. "Astrid found out, about Toothless," he said. Then, quieter, he added, "we found the dragon's nest." The gears turned in Jack's head, and he felt the weight of that one statement, bearing heavy on his heart as he thought about what that meant to his companion.
Hiccup sighed, and Jack felt the urge to close the distance between them, to wrap himself around the smaller boy until everything fixed itself inside his head. He didn't move, falling asleep to forest green eyes gazing back at him. He woke up to find his pale fingers intertwined with small warm hands between them. He stayed that way until Hiccup woke up, and even then neither of them said anything. Words hadn't hashed out well for them recently, so Hiccup settled on a different form of comfort as Jack watched the stress overrun him.
Today was it; all or nothing. Hiccup stood on the other side of the gate with Astrid and Gobber, looking around for a familiar winter spirit and finding none. He sighed, making a brief exchange of reassurances with Astrid before hesitantly stepping out into the arena.
Jack sat with Toothless in the cove, thoughts filled with nothing but Hiccup as he waited. He didn't know if he would go to the fight, if he would kill the dragon, or if he'd wake up, pack and leave to meet Toothless here. Fight or no fight, win or lose, Jack knew the viking would find his way back here eventually, where Jack would be waiting for him. While the winter spirit delved in his thoughts, he snapped out of the stupor he'd fallen into when the night fury perked his head and ears up, before throwing himself into action at the wall, scrabbling at the rocks in a desperate attempt to escape. It had been so sudden that the winter spirit immediately knew something was wrong, using his powers to gust the wind underneath the dragon and give him a boost over the edge, following him above the treetops as fast as he could.
Hiccup was sure he was done for, trapped under the claws of the Monstrous Nightmare when an all too familiar high pitched sounded started up, and the cage exploded in a blinding blue light from above. The claws about him disappeared, and the smoke from the blast cleared to reveal Toothless and the red dragon clawing at each other, Toothless lurching back and snapping at it's attempts to attack. Everything moved too fast then, vikings flooding the arena and the dragons being surrounded. Jack made it in time to see Toothless poised over Stoick like he had done to Hiccup that first day in the woods, and Hiccup's scream was the only thing that stopped him from blowing the viking to smithereens. Like the calm before the storm, everything was quiet and still for a moment, before something connected with the dragon's face and all the vikings surged around him, pinning him down and restraining him. Jack flew down to help the Astrid hold Hiccup back, fingers clenching on his shoulder as the brunette begged them not to hurt the dragon.
He stayed in the shadow when his father shoved him to the ground, doing his best to be a silent reassurance at his back while he watched the ships sail away. Astrid's pep talk made Jack's chest ache when he saw it's effectiveness on Hiccup, but he smiled approvingly when they brought the young vikings and the caged dragons together. The winter spirit was in a panic the entire time they were on the dragon's island, sure that his heart would explode every moment he couldn't find Hiccup, chaos breaking loose under the Red Death's feet. The winter spirit was helpless to watch Toothless burst into the sky with Hiccup on his back, saving Astrid as the others scurried to get out of the way. His own heartbeat sounded as thunderous as the night fury's strikes in the clouds, screaming out the viking's name as he disappeared into the explosion of fire.
The next chapter will probably be more than a little bit heart breaking, but it'll get better. [Please R&R]