Here's chapter two. I hope you enjoy it. Please review and enjoy. :)
A.N: This chapter is graphic. Also, if you think I should upgrade the rating to M, tell me so.
Chapter 2
Toothless bounded along swiftly across the hills of the area outside of the town of Berk, her breath heaving as she dodged trees and boulders in her head long run towards the town, Hiccup holding on tightly to her. He was no novice when it came to riding a dragon, saddle or not, his knees were locked against her, his body and weight expertly shifted with her own movements to make the journey easier. She smiled in spite of the somewhat unnerving situation, pleased to have a rider so capable.
Within moments she came to a halt on top of a large hill overlooking the walls of the town. A few guards patrolled the town, but other than that, all was quite. Toothless looked back over at Hiccup who nodded after scanning the town once more. Toothless carefully made her way down the hill towards the town gate, trying not to alarm the sentries on the walls. They did stiffen upon seeing her, but when Hiccup waved at them, they bowed and called out for the gates to be opened. In short order the gates were pulled open and Toothless strode through the gate surveying the town. It had remained pretty much the same over the years, with the exception of the Dragon Terrarium, a monolithic structure that had been built over the old dragon training arenas, it was easily the biggest building in Berk and the place where most of the dragon's and their riders stayed.
It had taken three years of hard work on the part of both the villagers and the Dragon's to complete but it had been worth it, as the Chief Stoick remarked upon its completion, it was an imposing building to weather any storm and protect the villagers if the village were ever overrun. As if he had been summoned, Stoick came around the corner of a building and ran up to Toothless, leaping up and sweeping Hiccup off of her back and into a bone crunching hug. Hiccup yelped as his father hit the ground, his ribs feeling close to breaking as he was warmly welcomed back. Eventually Stoick released Hiccup and looked him over, a smile crossing his broad face as he said, "You look good boy, the trip did you good."
Hiccup gingerly rubbed his ribs and said, "Yeah, it went quite smooth. I didn't have any problems until I got back to town."
His father's eyebrows knitted together as he eyed his son and asked, "Why? What happened? You didn't lose the horse did you?"
Hiccup froze as he suddenly remembered that he had picketed the horse in a clearing near where Toothless had been.
He mentally berated his stupidity as he said, "Well...I didn't lose the horse, I know where I left it. But that's not what the problem was."
Stoick sighed, mostly at his son's absentminded mistake, he may as well have painted, "Free meal" on the horses side for any wandering dragon or wolf to see. He motioned towards the house that was his, both Hiccup and Toothless followed behind him.
It was a welcome relieve to enter the house, the roaring fire filled the building with radiant heat. Toothless jumped in through the opening in the upper part of the wall that had been built for her and settled down on the floor as Hiccup pulled up a chair beside her, idly stroking her head. Stoick moved over to a large barrel and filled two tankards with a sweet smelling amber drink. He handed one to Hiccup before pulling up his massive arm chair and dropping into it across from Hiccup. After taking a large swig from the tankard Stoick asked,
"Now, tell me, what was this trouble you encountered before you got back."
Hiccup sighed, starring into the amber liquid in his tankard. He took a drink from it to steel himself before recounting the encounter with the strange woman. He told him of her midnight black skin and pointed ears, of her inhuman strength and speed, of how easily she had subdued both He and Toothless, and finally speaking of her cryptic warning of impending disaster. Stoick was silent through all this, listening intently to his son's words. When he finished, Stoick stroked his immense beard idly. What Hiccup had said troubled him. He had never heard of anyone being of midnight black skin, and he had never heard of anyone possessing such abilities. Even though he himself was strong enough to wrestle dragon's, he was in no way fast enough to outstrip one. He took another gulp of his drink and said,
"I doubt that you need to concern yourself with the prattling of some strange wanderer. Its likely that she was some old hag who mixed one ingredient to many."
Hiccup nodded a slightly and took a drink from his tankard. He was sure that what his father said was far from the truth, and more often than not, when Hiccup had a feeling that something wasn't quite right, it turned out to be right. An example of which was when he had first spent time with Toothless. His upbringing told him one thing, but his instincts and feelings told him something different. In following his instincts, he had discovered and learned so much. He was sure that the wriggling feeling of unease that he felt was another similar moment. Hiccup sighed wearily and took another gulp from his tankard, the fatigue of his journey, which had been lost in his happiness of seeing Toothless again and the adrenaline of the run back to town, now weighed heavily upon him. His grip slackened on the mug a little as his head drooped forward.
Catching himself he sat bolt up right again, his heart hammering a little from the sudden jolt. His fathers eyes twinkled kindly as he eyed his son. Stoick reached over and pulled the tankard from Hiccup's grasp and said with a warm voice,
"Hiccup, now is not the time to be worrying about these strange happenings. Why don't you and Toothless head on home and get some rest. If it'll make you feel any better, I'll post a few extra sentries on the walls of the town."
Hiccup nodded and wearily pulled himself to his feet, Toothless sighing resignedly and getting up from the floor. She had been ready to doze off. Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' back and she leapt up and out through the hole in the wall. She dropped to the ground with thud and walked lazily through the winding paths of the town. It was late at night, and even she felt the weight of tiredness. The Town was quiet and calm, an oddity in of itself, as their was usually one or two revelers tottering out of the tavern even at this time of night. Hiccup found the silence pleasing, as he lay against Toothless, hearing her steady breathing and the sound of her paws as she walked. But there was one thing about this that he loved most, hearing the strong beating of Toothless' heart.
It always caused him to think of his mother, of those times when he had been held in her arms as a child. He'd always press his ear against her chest, listening to the beating of her heart, it always comforted him when he was little. Somehow, Toothless allowed him a similar comfort, and he was grateful for it. He sighed softly and rubbed her sides with his hands. It was then he heard a soft sound from within the depths of his friend. He smiled, it was purring. He had never known dragon's to be able to do that. He thought about saying something to Toothless, but this peaceful moment was to good to break.
After a few minutes of silence, in which the only sound was Toothless' soft purrs as Hiccup rubbed her sides, they arrived at the large double doors of the Dragon Terrarium. Toothless looked up at the imposing structure and suddenly wished that it was smaller, as her and Hiccup's room was at the topmost level. Well, looking at the building wasn't going to get them into bed sooner. Toothless pushed the doors open with her front paws and padded over to the stairs, instead of slowly climbing them, Toothless bounded up the stairs reaching the top floor in a matter of minutes. She looked over her shoulder at Hiccup, glad to see that he was still seated atop her, her sudden burst of speed would have unseated most others. Toothless put her paws against the large doors set in the wall and pushed them open, the doors swinging open soundlessly to reveal the room inside. It was a warm and quite room, lushly furnished by anyone's standards.
The floor was of polished stone that had been mined from a nearby quarry adorned with all manner of rugs and carpets that had either been made by fur's of native animals, or woven by various seamstresses from across the countryside. A large circular bed was set in an alcove at the other end of the room, covered with pillows and blankets. It was usually very disheveled, but it looked like someone had made in his absence. The large fireplace across from the bed, set in the same alcove was alight with fire and his desk, which was underneath a window to the left of the door had been recently organized. Hiccup smiled at the room and slid off of Toothless' back, stretching broadly and yawning.
He had missed being able to sleep comfortably ever since he had gone on his trip. Toothless padded across the room and jumped onto the bed, turning in place a couple of times before dropping to her stomach and laying her head across her legs. She watched Hiccup as he undressed, striping his vest, jacket, and shirt off in one motion, sighing in relieve as the warm air of the room hit his skin. He tossed the clothes into a basket against the wall and bent down to undo his boot laces. Kicking the single shoe off he removed his belt and chucked it to one side before crossing to the bed and sinking down one it with a groan.
He pulled the trouser leg up on his crippled leg and undid a few bolts on the side of the prosthetic limb, pulling it free with one motion and setting it down on the floor beside the bed. He felt Toothless nudge his back softly and he reached around to scratch her behind the ears. He smiled and said, "You know what boy, I'm glad to be home." Toothless rolled her eyes again and rested her head on her forelegs once more while Hiccup slid across the bed and rested his head on her side. He listened to the sound of her heart beating once more, before his mind disengaged and he fell instantly asleep.
A few hours later...
Hiccup was jolted awake by the blaring sound of a horn. He lay there, eyes half open until it sounded again, followed by another long blast.
"What is going on? Why can't they..."
He stopped mid complain as the realization of what those horn blasts had meant. His body, though tired sprang into action, rolling out of the comfortable bed and onto the floor with a thud. Toothless wasn't far behind as she jumped out of the bed and skidded across the floor, turning back to face Hiccup. Hiccup was busy tightening the bolts of his prosthetic limb all while he scrambled to grab his boot from the floor a few feet away. After grabbing it, he jammed his good foot into it and hastily did up the laces as another horn blast sounded. He cursed under his breath and pulled himself to his feet making a dash for the door, stopping suddenly mid step to grab a shirt off a hook on the wall and pull it over his head. Once reasonably dressed he pulled the door open with a heave and ran through it,Toothless shouldering it open more and following after him.
Halfway down the stairs Hiccup jumped into the air and grabbed a second wing and saddle that he had stored in the rafters in case of a quick emergency in which he couldn't get the one from his room. Toothless ran ahead of him and Hiccup landed square on her back. He stood on her shoulder blades and dropped the saddle onto her back before turning and crawling across her spine to fix the tail in place. Toothless kept her tail as still as possible while he worked and finally it was on. She skidded across the landing of the next set of stairs while Hiccup climbed back into place. Their movements were seamless and coordinated, both of them working to each others movements seamlessly, as though they were one. After seating himself in the saddle he waited until Toothless reached the next landing and then angled her down the hall towards a open entry way.
She ran towards it at full speed and jumped through it her wings snapping open in an instant. Hiccup's heart fell in dismay as he looked down at the town of Berk. The walls were being besieged by an unknown assailant, His gut had been right after all. By the looks of it, whoever it was hadn't reach breached the walls, but they had managed to throw a few projectiles into the town that had set a few buildings alight. Hiccup angled Toothless towards the wall, he intended to end this with a few blasts of Toothless' flame. As he neared the wall, he heard a familiar hissing and acting on instinct rolled Toothless, an arrow shaft grazed his cheek as it flew by. Toothless had managed to escape injury and her anger was evident she opened her mouth and fired a blast of energy into the midst of the attackers, the explosion knocked a number of them flying through the air.
Her aim however could have been better. The explosion had killed a few of the attackers, certainly, but it had also knocked one of the gates loose. It was an advantage Hiccup had not intended to give the enemy and cursed as another volley of arrows flew up at him. He tried rolling again but he misjudged the angle and was deafened when Toothless let out a screech of pain.
Hiccup twisted in the saddle to see three arrows pierced through Toothless' right wing, blood oozing from the wounds and running down her wing. Hiccup angled her downward, intending to land inside the town so he could remove the arrows. It wasn't long before she thudded into the ground, whining softly as she held her wing away from her. Hiccup jumped from the saddle and rushed over to the wing. The arrow's were made of black wood that he didn't recognize, the shaft of the arrow was over thirty inches long and the tip was a serrated arrow point.
Hiccup grabbed Toothless' wing gently and pulled it close enough for him to grab the arrows. With a sharp snap he broke each of the arrows in half before pulling them free from the wing. Toothless let out an audible growl as the wood slid free but it was replaced by relieve when the intruding object came loose. She brought he wing close to her body and turned back to Hiccup, her eyes sparkling in the light of the burning houses. Hiccup smiled at her and motioned for her to follow him. By the sounds that were issuing from the front gate, a battle was in full swing. They dashed along the street until they reached the main gate and what they saw was frightening.
The mighty viking warriors of the village were holding the attackers at bay but these attackers were no ordinary men. Their features were angular and slim, but their skin was a greyish green and many of these creatures were covered in scars. Their hair was jet black and hung from their heads in various degree's of disheveled. Their eyes were almond shaped and slitted like a snakes, the irises were black and soulless. They wielded long slightly curved blades and powerful recurve bows. They shrieked and screeched as they pressed in on the vikings, their black blood spilling onto the ground as the axes of the viking cleaved into them, but for each that was killed two more replaced it. Hiccup saw his father standing at forefront of the defenders swinging his battleax in long arcs, killing twice as many of these monsters as the others were.
The casualties were not limited to the enemy however, more that one viking had to fall back with injuries dealt upon him by these beasts and at least eight others lay motionless upon the ground. Hiccup ran forward with Toothless and stooped to grab one of the dropped blades of the enemy and a viking shield off the ground. He nodded to Toothless who rose onto her back legs and let out a powerful roar that echoed into the valley.
The battlefield fell silent as both viking and monster looked at them. Hiccup counted five seconds time before another roar sounded from the Dragon Terrarium. He smiled and let out his own shout as he charged with Toothless into the fray.
Hiccup was no were near as strong as the other men of the village but that he didn't mean he was incapable, he had practiced with the sword ever since he'd united the dragon's and humans. He brought the sword down onto the necks of one these creatures and blocked an oncoming blow from another one with his shield. The blow jarred his entire arm and cleaved a sizable chunk of wood from the top of it. He brought the sword up and deflected a blow with it before slicing upward and taking the attackers head off. It didn't take long for Toothless to enter the fray.
She leapt in and swiped at the creatures with her claws and snapped at them with her teeth. Her ferocious attacks were as devastating as Stoick's, many of the creatures were felled by her. Hiccup smiled at her, but his distraction caught him as one of the creatures stabbed at him. He just barely managed to catch the blow on the shield, the point of the sword burying itself into the wood. The creature forced the shield to the ground and back fisted Hiccup across the face. Little white lights appeared in his vision as the mailed gauntlet collided with the side of his head, knocking him backwards into the ground. He struggled to get up to his feet while the creature bore down on him.
It brought the sword up to strike at Hiccup when a horrendous crunch filled the air as an ax buried itself in the monsters head. It slumped to the ground and Hiccup picked its weapon up along with his shield, seeing his father turning back to the fight as he got to his feet. He shook his head and turned towards a small group of the creatures. His pain was erased in a flash of anger as he saw them menacing Toothless, who was trying to bat at them while trying to avoid further injury. Several arrows were protruding from her shoulders and legs, and a number of gashes had been made across her breast and neck. The nearest creature died with a spurt of blood as Hiccup drove the blade of his sword through its head before pulling it free to lop of the next creatures hand with a swift stroke, causing the primed bow to snap into its owners face as the tension was released.
Hiccup continued to hack and cleave at these beasts until they screeched and fell back into the main group. A volley of arrows fired from the creatures and Hiccup ducked behind the shield, the arrow's thudding into it with brutal force. One of the shafts pierced right through it and stopped, quivering, in front of Hiccup's left eye. He used the sword he wielded to break the hafts of the arrows off when a ball of red flame smashed into the group of monsters. Hiccup looked up to see Astrid and her dragon descending into the battle, her dragon's mouth was wreathed in flame as it flew in to attack. Another fireball was loosed from its mouth shortly before it landed with a thud on the ground. The female viking leapt from the dragons back and brought her ax down onto the nearest beast with a scream of blood lust. Hiccup smiled a little as he turned back to Toothless, who was licking her many cuts behind him.
He moved over towards her and she growled, jerking her head from side to side before nodding towards the battle. He nodded, understanding what the dragon meant. He turned away from Toothless and charged back into the pitched battle. His sword flashed through the air as he descended upon these beasts, hacking and slashing at them with speed and skill. He eventually began to feel the pain of the battle, after only a few minutes when one of the beasts managed to feint around his shield and slash him across the chest. He had back stepped enough that the blade didn't slice him in half, but the wound still hurt and bled freely. He kicked the attacker back with his mechanical foot and swung at the creature's arm separating it from its owner before spinning and ending the enemy with another swift strike.
He did a half turn to avoid being run through and bashed his shield against the attackers face, crushing its nose with the blow before bringing the sword he wielded down upon its head. Astrid was fighting beside him, her ax was a blur as it moved from one target to the next, her teeth bared as she fought, her face occasionally lit but gout's of flame from her dragon as it attacked the enemy alongside her. He heard a shriek behind him and turned sharply to see another of the monsters bearing down on him blade held high. He barely had time to register the threat when a wall of flame passed in front of him, so hot that it scorched his skin and singed his hair. He threw up his arms to shield himself and upon lowering them, saw a charred skeleton standing where the beast had been seconds before, its jaw hanging slack from the body.
It crumbled into dust as another dragon landed feet from it and Snotlout jumped of, a smug look on his face as he said,
"Looks like I just saved the Arc Rider, does this mean I can replace him?"
Hiccup smiled and said, "No, but it doesn't mean I'm not grateful, were are the others?"
Snotlout raised and eyebrow and said, "Are you kidding? It was just me and Astrid who volunteered to come. We were two minutes behind you but we stopped to try and rouse the others."
He shrugged and leaned on his ax idly examining his fingernails and said, "Though honestly I don't know why I even bothered, they don't look that tough."
Hiccup wasn't paying any attention, mostly because before Snotlout had decided to go on about how great he was, an attacker had charged forward and grappled with him. The creature was stronger than Hiccup was and was wrestling him backward, trying to get him to drop his sword. When Hiccup heard what Snotlout had said he shifted his weight sideways and rolled away from his attacker, causing the creature to stumble towards Snotlout, who promptly freaked out at being attacked. Hiccup smirked and shouted, "Welcome to the party! Now make yourself useful!"
Snotlout back stepped several feet before swinging his ax up into the chin of the creature and splitting its head open. He seemed to turn slightly green as he looked at what he'd done but had no time to reflect on it when three more charged at him. The battle seemed to rage on for hours, many injuries were received on all sides. Toothless eventually reentered the battle, her wounds had scabbed over and looked healed enough to continue with the battle. She rushed to Hiccup's side and stayed with him through the remainder of the battle, never leaving his side for anything. Eventually, the enemy numbers thinned down to only a handful, rounded up into a tight group by Stoick and the other vikings. Hiccup let out a sigh of relieve as he doubled over to grab his knee's, breathing hard from the hard battle, the numerous cuts on his body stinging painfully as he moved.
He heard footsteps in front of him and looked up to see Astrid standing there, looking out of breath as well. She had a hand pressed on her forehead, which sported a long gash above her eyebrows. She smiled wearily at him and said, "Well Hiccup, you certainly proved your skill today."
That's all she said before moving over to her dragon who was licking a long cut across his leg. She stopped just short of him and examined the wound until he proffered his leg to her, upon which she set her ax down and looked it over more closely. Hiccup sighed and looked over to the group of captured creature's all of whom still brandished their weapons as if they could win. When Stoick approached closer one of them made a run for it. It didn't get very far before Toothless blasted it with her fire, the creature exploding spectacularly in mid step.
The rest of the beasts seemed to get the idea that they weren't going to win and cautiously laid their blades down. Stoick smiled and boastfully said, "Smart, in fact the first smart thing you've done all night demons."
He lifted his ax above his head and let out a bellowed shout of victory that everyone, including Toothless, echoed. When he lowered the ax, he motioned to a few of the men behind him, who took the creatures away, binding their arms with rope as they went. Hiccup took a few steps toward his father but froze as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw the familiar shape of a horse through the smoke of the burned out buildings. It wasn't long before the figure came through the haze, revealing the horse that Hiccup had left in the forest, with a brown cloaked figure astride it. He instantly knew who it was, the same woman he'd encountered in the forest earlier that evening. Her head turned as she examined the aftermath of the battle, stopping occasionally to inspect a ruined building for signs of life.
Hiccup hear his father's hands tighten upon his ax as he yelled, "I don't know who you are, but if you wish to continue breathing, announce yourself!" The woman's head snapped in his direction from the building she was looking at. After a moment or two she guided the horse over to the muscular viking and slid of the horse. Stoick half lifted his ax, showing her that he meant business, he didn't know who this new person was, and after tonight he wasn't going to risk any more surprises. She reached up and pulled her hood down, revealing her face to the light of the still flickering fires. In this better light, Hiccup could better make out her features. She was slim and lithe, her body possessed of an unnatural beauty, Her hair was white as snow and now free of her collar, it stretched down to her back. She had a single gold earring in her right ear and almond shaped eyes, somewhat reminisce of the creatures they had been fight. However her irises were normal in shape, and a bright amber in color.
Her armor, which Hiccup could now clearly see was made from banded leather, reinforced with metal plates that covered her torso. But the most distinguishing feature about her was her ebony black skin and pointed ears. She smiled at the stunned look on Stoick's face and said, "My name is Illaea, I am a member of the species of elves known as the Drow. I travel the realm of Faerûn, seeking to help those who are lost among its wilds."
Stoick just stared at her for a few second before Hiccup stepped in and asked, "Illaea, do you know what these creatures are? Do you know anything about whats happening?" The elf stared at him for a moment before saying, "These beasts you have fought this night are called Orcs, they are vicious and brutal enemies who kill for sport. As for whats happening, I have suspicions, but I have not much more than that."
She moved her hands towards Hiccup's chest and he took a step back, readying himself. She stopped moving and said, "I merely wished to tend to your wounds, if you would allow it." Puzzled, Hiccup nodded and allowed her to approach, She pulled his torn shirt open and examined the gash on his chest. After another second or so she said something in a language alien to him. A soft white glow encircled her hand and he gasped as the sensation of warmth moved through him, the skin and muscle of every wound in his body tingled with warmth. When it faded he looked down and almost shouted by what he saw; all of the wounds on his body had mended, not a single scar or scab remained.
Stoick leapt forward and pulled Illaea away from Hiccup, bring his ax up to eye level as he said, "Demon! I will not have you ensorcel anyone! Look away from her, she'll curse you if you stare into her eyes!"
Illaea gave him an annoyed look and said, "Oh shut up human, I have no ill intentions. I have healed his body, nothing more, and as for cursing you, I haven't that kind of power, unless you get enough liqueur in me, then I'll curse all you want."
She chortled at this and her eyes noticed the black dragon standing a few feet away from Hiccup. She frowned a little and walked over to her, flat out ignoring Stoick who was busy praying to Odin for protection from evil magics. She stopped in front of Toothless who eyed her imperiously, as if daring her to speak. Illaea placed her hands together and bowed to Toothless before speaking in another tongue different to the one she'd used before. It seemed to resonate with power and strength. Toothless cocked her head sideways and stared at the woman for a long moment. She seemed to be thinking before she nodded and laid down, allowing Illaea near.
The elf stepped toward Toothless and began to heal her wounds in the same way that she had healed Hiccup's own injuries. Moments passed while she worked, finally culminating in the group of assembled vikings and dragons dispersing in different directions. Before Stoick left however he took Hiccup's arm and whispered into his ear, "If this proves to be a trap or a demon who tries to kill us, I'll hold this to you, I promise you."
With that Stoick walked away towards the town, behind a procession of others, who carried the fallen between them. Hiccup gave a heavy sigh at the sight and moved on over to Toothless who lay there, as if asleep. When hiccup drew near the elf looked over her shoulder at him and released the magic she'd been using to mend Toothless' hide. She sat back upon the ground and closed her eyes in a ponderous manner. Hiccup dropped down beside her and rubbed Toothless' belly, smiling at his dragon in a mixture of relieve and happiness, he scratched her scales a little and said,
"I'm glad your okay boy, you had me worried there."
Toothless rolled her eyes again and purred softly under his touch. It was a few moments before Illaea opened her eyes and said,
"I believe the word your looking for is girl. This dragon is not male."
Hiccup gave her an incredulous look and said, "I think I would know the gender of my best friend of almost five years. Isn't that right boy?"
Toothless sighed and rolled her head up, staring into Hiccup's eyes. She gave a vigorous shake of her head and let it drop back to the ground leaving Hiccup to stare at her. He'd been so sure for all those years that Toothless had been male, but her shake of the head and what Illaea had just said to him told him otherwise.
He looked back at Illaea and asked, "How did you know?"
She closed her eyes again and said, "A number of things, the way she carried herself, her scent, the way she stared at you while you were injured, all of these signs I've trained myself to notice."
She reached into a small pouch at her waist and produced a small wrapped package. She held it in her hand for a moment before placing down on her thigh. Hiccup looked at it for a moment before asking, "Can you speak to dragons?"
Illaea smiled wryly and nodded, offering no more explanation than that. Hiccup sighed and stood up, saying as he did so, "My father may not trust you, but I can't seem to do anything but trust you. I can offer you lodging for the night, my way of thanking you for your help."
Illaea smiled and placed the item she held back into the pouch at her waist, taking Hiccup by the hand and rising to her feet. She nodded to Hiccup and said, "I thank you for your hospitality, by the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his head and said, "My name is Hiccup, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third. This is Toothless. He...she is my friend and companion."
The woman raised an eyebrow, mostly due to his odd name, but said nothing. She shook his hand firmly and hiccup motioned for her to follow him. As they moved into the town, Hiccup couldn't help but feel that this whole situation was about to get a whole lot stranger as time went along.
Well, there you go, chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed it. The third chapter is coming.
