Thank you for all your fantastic reviews! So many of them! XD So sorry I haven't answered back. I'll do better next time.
As a quick answer for everybody…I'm glad you liked Author Hiccup with his quirky habits. Writers can sometimes get up to strange habits in the process of completing their stories! And Frank will be back.
Why the ten year age gap between Astrid and Hiccup? Because it changed the dynamics of their relationship to create a different story. And why are the twins now cheeky felines? Because I couldn't find an obvious place for human twin siblings. But they had to be in there somewhere creating havoc. I will be keeping their personalities as canon as possible, but obviously they are all a little OC.
This chapter is more of a filler. And twin centered. Anyway, time to move on.
Frank yanked on the cord holding his wrists together, but it was no use. They were tied too tightly behind his back. The blind fold over his eyes prevented him from seeing much, but he could still hear. He sat still on his chair, listening to their breathing. There were three of them. One to the side, and two in front.
"There's no hope for you now, Frank," came a harsh voice. "Why don't you tell us what we want to hear…and we'll let you go."
"Never," growled Frank.
The fresh wound on his arm had been crudely wrapped with a piece of fabric ripped from his own shirt, but it barely mattered under the promise of fresh tortures the Stealth Gang intended to put him through.
The man beside him moved closer, the distinct 'sch-ting' of a knife being unsheathed clearly heard. Frank stiffened, sure his troubles were about to start. His hands quietly groped the chair behind him, searching for anything that might give him a way out. He….
Umm…
Frank's shoulders drooped, and he hung his head to sigh. "Seriously? You're going to keep on doing this?" he asked in exasperation.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm drawing a blank here. Just sit tight for a bit longer while I work this out," said Hiccup, pushing himself away from his desk. "And stop giving me cheek."
Hiccup shook his head in disbelief at his own actions. "I really need to stop talking to Frank...and myself while I'm about it," he decided, reaching down to rub Toothless behind the ears. It was already mid-afternoon and he had been working solidly since Fishlegs had left that morning.
"This is getting a little frustrating bud. I've only got the last few chapters to go and my book will be finished. But I just can't get it right. Something's missing."
He stretched back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. Frowning, he tried to think about what changes he needed to make, but the answers just weren't coming to him.
"Time to clear my mind, I think," he decided.
Getting up, Hiccup walked through to the kitchen and grabbed his jacket from the hook beside the door. Toothless followed him.
"Stay, Toothless. I won't be long," he said, putting out a hand to stop the dog from going any further. Toothless sat on his haunches, his ears flicking backwards in disgust. Picking up a back pack, Hiccup slung it over his shoulders and collected his keys. Looking around, he searched for the cats, but couldn't find them. Which wasn't unusual. They often found tiny hidey-holes to disappear into.
Hiccup found his push bike in the garage, leaning up against the wall. It was an old bike, but he liked it. An ragged looking cane basket was strapped to the handlebars, and a beat up box for carrying stuff was tied to the back.
Wheeling it outside, Hiccup tugged his jacket a little closer and pulled his beanie further over his ears. It was quite cold today, and would likely get a little cooler before long. Although that didn't discourage him from freewheeling down his steep driveway, bouncing along the dirt and rocks till he arrived at the front gate.
He said front gate, but really he owned the land all the way down the hill to the road leading into Berk. Hiccup had left most of the property go wild, not needing to run cattle like his parents used to do years ago for extra money. The royalties from his books kept him fed and watered well enough. He wasn't rich, and he didn't want to be. But he did have enough to live comfortably.
It only took a few minutes to reach the bottom of the hill before Hiccup had to start peddling. He didn't care. He liked the exercise. It brought the blood pumping through his body and through his brain, removing those stale thoughts, and freshening his mind with extra vigour and zest. He liked to call it his 'zing ride'.
Fishlegs and his mum were one of the first homes that Hiccup would go past on his way into town, and he automatically waved over his shoulder towards the house…even though he couldn't see if anyone returned it. He liked to do it anyway…just in case.
Hiccup had only gone a little past the Ingerman's when the lid of the cane basket began to move. Hiccup noticed it straight away and quickly flipped the lid. Just as he suspected, two feline heads popped up and scanned their surroundings.
"Why am I not surprised you two would sneak a nap in my basket," said Hiccup, shaking his head. Stroking each of the small heads in turn, he grinned and continued peddling. The two Siamese cats had often travelled in his basket, and they liked it in there. To the point where they often napped in it. Normally, he would find them and turf them out before he came to town…they often created havoc when they arrived…but today it hadn't even crossed his mind to check.
"Must be a bit mustier than I realised," Hiccup decided. "You'll have to stay there till I'm ready to come back. I'm not going to be long…just need a few extra supplies for our guest," he told the twin pair of blinking blue eyes.
Berk wasn't far away, so it was only about ten minutes before he arrived. Hiccup rode straight for the small grocery store run by Mrs Jones. Pulling up outside, he leaned his bike against a pole, making sure it was stable before letting go.
"You two can stay right here," he told the cats, flipping the lid of the cane basket over their heads and pushing them down. He slipped the rope latch over the knob to keep it closed, and walked away.
A second after he had turned his back, a lithe paw poked out between the gap between the lid and the basket. Twitching sideways, it found the latch and after a few tries, deftly flicked it up. Two furry heads nudged the lid out of the way as they stood up, turning their faces in each direction.
Hiccup walked into the store to find Mrs Jones, a plump, beaming older lady behind the counter.
"Hiccup! How wonderful to see you again! How's it going with Frank?" she asked cheerfully.
Hiccup grinned. "Frank's a bit stuck at the moment. I'm not sure how he's going to escape from the Stealth gang," he told her.
She leaned forward eagerly. "Oh, do tell! I love it when you tell me snippets! Then I can annoy Grace on Bingo nights. She hates it when I give her spoilers."
Hiccup laughed, "Another time perhaps. I have to be quick today before the twins cause any trouble."
Mrs Jones smirked knowingly. "Snuck aboard again, did they?"
Hiccup screwed up his face. "Yes. I was too distracted to notice they were in the basket." He handed over his short list of items. Mrs Jones perched her glasses on her nose and scanned through it.
"This won't take long. There's a little more here than your usual order. Has Mrs Ingerman given you a chance to cook?" she asked him, efficiently locating the items from her shelves and piling them up on the counter as she spoke. Talking while she worked was one of her specialities. It was a well-practised routine born of the desire to gossip, and the need to keep the shop flowing smoothly.
Hiccup shook his head. "No, Fishlegs brought up a new casserole last night that will last me for days," he complained light-heartedly.
Mrs Jones laughed. "That woman is on a mission to fatten you up, Hiccup. She thinks you'll 'grow up' one day, and fill out like your father."
Hiccup's smile faltered for just a fraction. "Unfortunately for her, I take after my mum," he said.
Mrs Jones patted Hiccup on the arm. "And a beautiful woman she was…just like you," she teased.
He pretended to sulk.
Mrs Jones put the last of the items on the counter, and started to add them up on the till. "So, what's the extra food for, if you're already stocked?" she asked again, doggedly determined to find out.
Hiccup blushed, "Um…I'm getting a house guest tomorrow."
Mrs Jones immediately perked up. "Oh? A house guest? A real live person you have to talk to?"
Hiccup frowned and grumbled. "I do talk to real people….way too often in my view. Why does everyone treat me like some eccentric hermit?"
Mrs Jones laughed, and finished totalling his order. "That's because you are. Our own Berk celebrity perched high on the hill overlooking us all like some mysterious recluse. Everyone wants to talk about you. It's your own fault, you know."
Hiccup pulled out his wallet. "How is that my fault?" he grumpily wanted to know.
"Well, Berk's not that big of a town. There's only so much gossip to go around. If we saw you every day, than you would become old news fast, and we'd be looking for something else to talk about. But because we rarely see you, any news becomes instant juicy gossip…and the rest gets made up as we go along. By the way, last week when you come down with that old brown beanie of yours instead of your usual grey one, it was decided that you had ambushed some lonely soul on your hill, hid the body and took their beanie instead," she told an astonished Hiccup.
"Seriously?" he asked, pausing with his money in his hand. "I'm now a murdering madman because I wore my old beanie while this one was in the wash?" He was completely stumped on how he became gossip target Number One.
Mrs Jones glanced past him, towards the front of her shop. "What's serious is that Trouble times two has just walked past my door," she told him with a grin.
Hiccup groaned, "No, not again!" He hastily shoved the money into her hand, and threw his items into his backpack before making a beeline for the pavement outside.
"Good luck!" Mrs Jones called out loudly after him. "You'll need it!"
She laughed as Hiccup rushed out the door. He paused on the sidewalk, not seeing any cats. But he already knew where they had gone…the same place they always went. He hoped he wasn't too late, but that hope was quickly dashed when he spotted the culprits. They were in the doorway of Mr Allan's Menswear store, tugging on an item of clothing.
Hiccup had long since discovered, that the pair of slinky felines had a strange fetish for clothes, especially the ones in Mr Allan's Menswear store. And here they were again, caught in the act. He tried to make a grab for them, but they bolted and left him with an oversized pair of jeans in his hands…and an irate Mr Allan glaring at him through his thick spectacles.
"Mr Haddock! What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded furiously, his thin face steaming red.
"Uh…I'm sorry, Mr Allan, truly. But my cats have an er…thing…for your trousers," he lamely told the man.
"How shameful of you, Mr Haddock! Your father was an upright pillar of this community. He would be turning in his grave if he could see you now, stealing menswear," fumed Mr Allan, shaking a finger at a bewildered Hiccup.
The younger man unfurled the obviously too large pair of pants and held them up against himself. "Mr Allan, believe me. It was my cats. Why would I take pants that don't even fit?" he asked. "They do it every time. Didn't you see them?"
"The only thing I see is a guilty man holding the evidence," Mr Allan huffed, snatching back his pants and storming inside the shop.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Seriously? How does he not see them?" he muttered, spying the culprits peering around the corner of the building at him. "You two," he said loudly, pointing a finger at them. "No fish for you tonight."
Mrs Jones emerged from her shop to chuckle at Hiccup. She bent down and placed a plate of tinned tuna on the ground. The two cats raced each other to get to it first.
Hiccup threw his hands in the air. "Mrs Jones…you're not supposed to reward them for being naughty," he told her.
"Oh hush. They're not naughty, are you my little dears," she cooed to the two purring cats feasting on tuna and then rubbing themselves against her. "Don't fuss over Mr Allan. He's just a wet blanket…and blind as a bat."
Hiccup sighed, "Mrs Jones…you know you're spoiling them." But he had to chuckle when the cats blinked up at him with a smug expression. "They've got you wrapped right around their furry little tails," he told her.
"And who says I'm not here voluntarily?" she asked, glancing up at him while she stroked Ruff…or maybe Tuff. It was a little hard to tell.
Hiccup had to laugh. "Yeah…you say that now. But wait until they steal your trousers," he told her with a grin. A thought crossed his mind, and his smile dropped faster than a hot potato from burned fingers. "If they do…the whole town will probably accuse me of having an affair with you. Then I'll seriously be in trouble."
Mrs Jones laughed and stood up with her empty dish. She gave Hiccup a coy smile and waggled her brows. "I've always wanted to have a toy boy to play with," she told him in a mock suggestive tone. When Hiccup stared at the married matronly lady in utter horror, she laughed herself silly. Hiccup gave her a disgruntled frown. Mrs Jones tried to control her laughing, and waved her hands to cool herself down.
"Oh Hiccup. You should have seen your face! It was precious!" she choked out over her laughter. "My Johnny is more than enough man for me," she told him. "But I couldn't resist." And she burst out laughing all over again, tears beginning to stream down her face.
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. Gathering up his cats and his groceries, he headed back to his bike. Stuffing the twins in the cane basket, and placing his bag in the box, he swung his leg over the seat. He was still frowning and Mrs Jones was still laughing.
"Hiccup…please come back soon!" she begged between gasps. "You are so much fun," she told him, beginning to wheeze from laughing so hard.
Hiccup merely tipped his fingers to his head. "Glad to be of service for Berk's grapevine," he told her wryly. Deciding to leave now while he had some resemblance of dignity, he peddled off for home. But Mrs Jones laughter continued to ring in his ears for quite some time.
