Wraith
-A Snoggletog Story-
Rated K+, Friendship/Fantasy, 2016/2017 Christmas/New Year's Special, Two-Shot.
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[Part 1- Snoggletog.]
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Our story begins with a boy. No different than the others of his age, what would 'set him apart', was that for every day of Snoggletog, as usual, he would venture out to the snow coated forests to wander, alone, a small and faint smile playing on his lips.
It was, undoubtedly, the only time of the year that Berk would not suffer from the daunting forces of savage, bloodthirsty beasts, the dragons. Hell-spawn demons, they were the only creatures known to dwell in sea, air, earth, and fire.
And so, it was on one of these days, just at the beginning of their happy holiday, that the boy walked to the forest.
He smiled, even laughed a little when he saw two birds start to playfully peck at one another from where they sat together on a branch. He sighed deeply, watching them for a while, chuckling when one swooped over his head, sitting on a nearby twig. Carefully, he lifted his head to speak to the little blue creature. "Why, hello there, little guy. What you doing out here?"
It chirped back, and ruffled its feathers, before flying off again, the two blues soon mere specks in the sky, not far from the larger, shimmery white and dark green bird that soared close by.
And for some odd reason, the boy noticed, the creature was not like a bird at all.
It was large, and he spotted that around its neck were golden bells- and it sported such life and colour.
And he watched, gaping, as the creature dove down towards him, with a hallowed shriek that ensued fear within his heart!
For it was, in fact, a dragon, one no man nor woman had ever seen before…
It is said that the boy tried to run from this vicious creature, but its howls drowned his screams that pierced the chilly morning air, as bloody talons tore this innocent child t-
"Whoa, hold up!"
They groaned and looked at Fishlegs. The chubby boy huffed and kicked the ground with his woolly boot. "A dragon wouldn't just do that…"
He was met with rolled eyes from most of the huddled teenagers, sat around in one of the old cages of the Berk Dragon Training Academy. Their dragon companions lay behind them, snuggled up with their riders. A stocky boy with choppy black hair- Snotlout- spoke up, annoyed from the intrusion of their story. Behind him, his fiery Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, gave an amused rumble.
"Hey, it's a story, Guppylegs. And besides, this was all before the Red Death."
The leader of the Riders, Hiccup, eyed the playful banter with a smile- it was all in good and friendly spirits, he knew, leaning by Toothless' side. The Night Fury watched with pupils as wide as dinner plates, crooning softly.
"Well, Snotlout's right about one thing. It's a story. These sorts of things usually get muddled or exaggerated when they're passed down, often by some random idiot down the line, thanks t-"
"Yeah!" Ruffnut piped up, interrupting him, grinning. "Like Tuffnut!"
The male twin's brown eyes twinkled as his finger raised, using his utmost polite voice. "Why, thank you, dear sister. It is my greatest honour…-"
They watched, rather amused, as the male Zippleback rider continued, until finally Astrid couldn't take the stupidity anymore. She spoke bluntly, although they could tell she was loving every single bit of their blind comedy. "That wasn't a compliment, Tuff."
He stared. "It wasn't?"
"Nope."
"Not in a million years."
Hiccup chuckled and joined in. "I'm afraid not, Tuff."
"Typical…"
They chuckled, as did their dragons. Hiccup waved a hand dismissively. "Okay, okay, that's enough now, gang. So, is that the story of the Snoggletog Wraith, then?"
"Basically," Tuffnut said, kicking back against his dragon's shoulder. Ruffnut had opted to lay against Barf's thick skull, from where the head was lazily laid on top of the stone floor. Belch had his neck lifted, his jaw resting on his rider's shoulder. "I used to pray for that poor child as a kid, every Snoggletog Eve. Every time, I tell you, until my mother said he was dead." He sighed and shook his head.
"And thus, my heart was broken." He dramatically shaped with his hands a heart, and then, as he finished, made a breaking motion with them, before wiping away a fake tear. They laughed, and Astrid stood.
"Well," The shield maiden said, brushing her braid off her shoulder, "I'm off to get refreshments."
Snotlout grinned. "Good idea. I'll have some-"
"Nuh uh," She said enthusiastically. "I've made us something waaaay more traditional and special. Just for us."
They paled.
"Hold on while I grab the yaknog, guys. Let's go, Stormfly!"
She climbed onto the sky blue and yellow Nadder, the dragon soaring out the arena. The resulting reactions from the rest of the riders, was rather comical for the dragons. The Vikings simultaneously turned their horrified expressions to face each other. Snotlout gave a nervous chuckle, his eye twitching, Hiccup found a mass of black scales to hide in, and Fishlegs almost fainted. Even the twins were silent, although they could find some amusement in their friends' reactions.
At long last, Hiccup broke the ice.
"Well…"
And suddenly, Astrid came barging in, on a tray six frothy mugs of 'Snoggletog cheer'. "WE'RE BACK! Stormfly, come see!"
They watched with forced smiles as the nervous dragoness and her rider stepped back in. Poor Stormy, Hiccup thought, noting how the Nadder probably knew firsthand what was in her yaknog.
She handed out the mugs. They all shared a single look- we're doing it for Astrid.
Hiccup stared into the cup, staring at the pale brown-yellow froth, the bubbling liquid. He could even see some green specks floating on the liquid surface.
"Well… Here goes nothing…"
Snotlout leaned over to mutter in his ear. "You mean our stomachs, cuz?"
"Pretty much."
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Six friends and their dragons made their way up the hill to the Great Hall, their path lit by coloured lights.
Despite having aching, churning stomachs, they were laughing and grinning merrily.
So, to say in the least, Astrid had realised she couldn't cook.
At all.
"What you guys gonna do tonight? Eat, drink and party?" Snotlout walked in front of them, walking backwards casually as they continued on their jolly way. Hookfang looked rather entertained by the way his rider moved, and decided it'd be fun to nudge his side repeatedly, earning a few chuckles.
Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "Well, what else? Might ask Milady for a dance, though."
They chuckled as he winked at Astrid, who blushed and punched the heir's shoulder lightly, their respective dragons chirping and squawking.
Maurrooo…
Hiccup frowned. He tilted his head to the right, searching for the source of the sound. His lips parted as he looked to his friends, but not one of them seemed to have heard what he had.
"Hiccup?" Snotlout's voice snapped him back to attention.
The Rider looked at his cousin, and smiled, waving a hand dismissively. They nodded and walked on.
Despite this, the heir couldn't take away the nagging voice in the back of his head…
What was that sound?
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Laughter came booming from within the Great Hall. A young man and his Night Fury slipped out with soft laughter between them, almost certain no one would notice in drunken stupors.
"C'mon Bud, just you and me. Let's go for some home exploration."
Toothless barked happily and offered his back. In the mood of Snoggletog, Hiccup had set the Fury up in a costume with all sorts of Hiccup-home-made gadgets and trinkets; antlers on his head, bells here and there and sticks covering his wings and back. He jumped into the saddle, chuckling at the dark green leaves that tickled his hands.
The festive dragon took flight, jingling all the way, dashing through the snow like a one horse open sleigh.
Hiccup smiled, taking a deep intake of cool night air.
Beneath him, Toothless scanned the land below, the golden bells adorning his equipment making soft noise in the dark.
It wasn't snowing, like most Snoggletog nights, meaning they could fly with ease together. The lights of the village signalled a beacon towards home.
A sudden cry, the same as the one Hiccup had heard earlier that night, tore the air. Rider and dragon jolted a bit, each taking opposite sides of observation. Toothless leaned to the left and descended towards Raven's Point. A milestone in their bond's history, and a good place as any to start their search.
They looked around once the duo had landed. They saw nothing out the ordinary- the tree still bent over the trench Toothless had made years ago, the light from the stars and the bright moon glowing down on them.
Following Toothless, Hiccup walked along the edge of the cove, aptly named 'Toothless' Cove' after the Heir had met and bonded with his cherished Night Fury.
"Bud?" The dragon looked at him in silent question. "Do you think…"
Hiccup trailed off, hearing a gentle sound, like humming. He looked down into the cove, his instinct driving him towards it- beckoning his partner with a hand, he started to make his way to the place he had forged many memories. His interest had risen, his eyes searching for the source of a hidden voice.
And then, he saw it.
Stood across from him on the other side of the lake, was an unfamiliar dragon. Its coat looked like fur, the large, snowy white triangular scales overlapping across its lithe body. For a dragon of its majesty, it was rather small, about the size of his Night Fury. The gold of its claws, sank into the light layer of snow, shimmered as it met the colour of the bells adorning the red garment around its neck, akin to the scarlet bands of fabric wrapped around its long tail.
Hiccup's mind reeled with shock, and then realisation, as he whispered.
"The Snoggletog Wraith…"
The dragon lifted its head from drinking out the lake, its pale, bright icy blue eyes meeting his own. Beside him, Toothless quivered, with what he guessed was awe and respect.
It all happened rather quickly. The frosty, gentle dragon bowed its graceful head, the ornaments jingling, before it spread its glossy green wings, bounding into the crisp night air, soaring into the twinkling starry skies above- promising an undoubtedly festive holiday in its chilly wake.
"Happy Snoggletog to you too…" Hiccup whispered, as a smile crept onto his face.
[Part 1- Snoggletog.]
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A/N: I do apologise for the wait, for any readers who anticipated this, or are just so interested in this late gift… But hey. Two chappies on New Year…. Close enough? XD Okay, so I'm sorry… Now, part two is right there. It's short and crappy like this, but it does tie in to this, and, of course, dragons. XP
Dragonites Unite! Happy (late…) Snoggletog!
-Snowstallion12 ;)