AN: So...every time I write a new chapter, I think I'm only writing like 200 words, and then they end up being these long-ass 8,100+ word essay's. Yay me! Aren't I awesome lol. And thanks to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot and keeps me writing! It's been a while since I was this excited over a fic. Enjoy.
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Hiccup
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Settling into the island wasn't the worst thing in the world. However, it did take quite a few days for Hiccup to truly be able to sleep with both eyes closed, per se.
At first, it had been kind of nerve wracking, which he guessed could only be expected. This was his first time off Berk, after all, if you didn't count all the times he'd flown to other islands with Toothless. Imagine his surprise when he'd first woken up within the dark and cozy confines of a glittering cave, which somehow managed to be foreboding and beautiful at once.
The cavern was quite large, and had been almost completely dark, with the exception of a few sunbeams that leaked in from openings near the cave ceiling. The cave actually glittered with white, green and blue crystals, darkening to purple in some places. The beautiful glassy objects grew on the walls and hung from the high ceiling in great, semi-sharp stalagmites. They were amazing in the sunlight, and it wasn't that Hiccup was particularly crazy about the shimmery formations, and thank Thor they weren't everywhere, but they were a nice sight all the same.
The mouth of the cave was somewhat small, and overrun in vines and vegetation, but had opened up into what might've been the most dazzling sight ever to have met Hiccup's eyes. One side of his view held a smooth, sandy beach with waves breaking against the rocky patches littered here and there, and the sea rested just beyond. On the other side, to his right and a bit closer than the beach was a vast forest, with thick, towering trees and mossy boulders. Up in the sky, he could see a green and gray mountain stand tall and proud, as though it had been waiting all along for someone to catch it in exactly this kind of light. The air was cool, fresh and clean, smelling only of nature. The sun was warm on his skin, and the only sounds were those of he and Toothless' feet on the sand, the wind blowing through the trees, and waves crashing against the breakers. All of it was so beautiful, so surreal...he kept expecting himself to wake up from some kind of dream. His shoulder, however, and the many burns and nicks he'd acquired from the kill ring still throbbed and burned insistently as ever, reminding him of hard times past.
And hard times yet to come it seems, Hiccup thought to himself. Although, all this scenery ought to make up for it just a little bit...is this place even real? It's not so hot as to be seeing mirage's, surely...
Toothless was looking very pleased with himself.
Sitting there, with his head held high, sporting a proud posture, Hiccup was both disgusted and entirely thankful for the big, black beast.
"I wouldn't have put it past you to have flown all this way just so you could see the look on my face when I woke up." Hiccup accused, and Toothless looked ever more smug. "How did you even find this place?"
Toothless crooned then, and Hiccup could see the trace of helplessness in the dragon's eyes, as though to say he wished he could tell him. He sighed and placed a hand on Toothless' neck before scratching lightly in the same spot. The boy soon had both hands scratching along his neck as Toothless wriggled and twisted, encouraging Hiccup to scratch in all the right places, closing his eyes when his human reached just the right spot...
And collapsing bonelessly when those nails hit one specific spot just beyond his jaw.
"I can't believe I'm looking at the dreaded devil spawn right now." Hiccup teased, continuing to scratch and rub even as Toothless lie there purring, wriggling contentedly and generally looking like a pacified kitten rather than a ferocious dragon. "A cute little kitten, maybe, but the unholy offspring of lightning and death?"
He found himself grinning at the utterly adorable dragon and thinking of how totally off and at the same time how completely accurate the description of the Night Fury had been. In the Book of Dragons, the information had been vague, and what little it did contain had said quite simply that the only hope you had when meeting the dragon was to hide and pray it didn't find you.
"I'm right here, bud." Hiccup murmured quietly, and taking care to not jolt his injured shoulder, slowly lowered himself down to sit next to the sleepy dragon. Evidently, he wasn't hiding. "You're not going to tear me to pieces, are you?"
Toothless murmured back in that strange way of his, and Hiccup could just tell he was saying something along the lines of 'Not right now' or something equally as coy. Shaking his head, he scooted closer and found himself pressing up against Toothless' warm side. The cave had almost been warm when he'd woken, due to the heat Toothless' scales constantly gave off. He supposed there were more perks to having plasma waiting in your veins than simply having the ability to explode and incinerate things. It made for the dragon to be a great pillow, especially since the year was just crawling toward mid spring and the air was still cold. Frost often froze over the grass and trees during the night in Berk.
But not in the cave, where Hiccup and Toothless would soon spend hours relaxing and drawing, and just cleaning it out and patching it up, making it livable. The same cave where they would soon weather storms and sit out the strongest of winds together. The cave had soon become less of a (blessed) wild formation and more of a home or sleeping space for the two- because in truth, the whole island itself would become their home. The rough walls would soon be smoothed down with Toothless' strong flames- although the dragon had to practice quite a bit to make sure the walls didn't just explode and cave in on themselves- and the rocky, grassy floor was soon smoothed over nicely as well and littered with dark bits of coal. The stalagmites were knocked down and used for several purposes. Altogether, it was a complete success, in Hiccup's opinion, and Toothless looked fairly satisfied with himself as well.
The rock formations around the cave were also intriguing. Atop the high rocks, Hiccup found several cave entrances through their ceilings, but seldom few held quite as much space as the one they currently inhabited. One cave, about thirty yards into the forest, located in the side of a large rocky hill, Hiccup found to be rather sturdy and roomy. He quickly decided that if he ever had need of a storage space or if he ever did build a forge as he'd thought, that this would be an ideal place to do it.
The island itself packed more than a few surprises...for one, there was more beautiful things than the teen boy had ever expected to come across in his lifetime, including several freshwater streams and even a few natural hot springs. There were also other caves all across the island, on land in the mountains and along the shore that appeared as camouflaged cracks.
There were caverns inside the water itself, on the very bottom of the island's outline, opened by well-rounded entrances that looked rather intimidating to the teen boy. Dragons he could deal with, loved in fact, but sea dragons gave him the chills like nothing else. It was easy to imagine the beasts living in these caves, so he steered clear of them completely. Luckily, most of them were hidden, and located on the opposite end of the island, where he likely wouldn't stumble upon them. Sometimes they were dry enough for Hiccup to think that he could explore them a little, one day...and some of those underwater caves, he found, tended to have rather fragile structures.
"I've never seen layer formations like this." Hiccup mused, leaning forward over a small, rocky hole in the ground. With the light coming from the ocean's entrance- the water only covered the very bottom of the large hole, allowing for decent sunlight- he could see the orange, yellow and brown layers of the cave wall. "I wonder if they have caves like these on Berk. I don't think anyone would know, even if there were. Vikings aren't curious beings by nature...they wouldn't have bothered to check."
Toothless rolled in the grass nearby, enjoying the feeling of soft, cool grass against his scales. His saddle was off for the time being- as Hiccup had wanted to explore on foot for a bit, and Toothless made no objections. If he had to guess, Hiccup thought that having the saddle off for at least a bit while they weren't flying had to feel good. The dragon garbled contentedly and glanced at Hiccup with a sly look that told the boy that he was most likely having some unpleasant thoughts about said Vikings. The Night Fury snorted and went back to lazing around on his back.
"I wonder what's on the inside?" Hiccup asked, more to himself than Toothless. "I think it would rather be smooth than spiky, but there's no way to be sure, is there?" He made a face.
A minuscule sound erupted from the earth underneath Hiccup, and Toothless' ears perked.
"I wish I could see. If only there wasn't the possibility of stupid sea-dragons-"
The ebony beast's head lifted completely for the first time in at least five minutes as he heard that sound again, a bit stronger then last time. That same grinding, crumbling sound. Some kind of friction, right underneath the slim boy's knees.
"Maybe we could even use this to our advantage. If-" Before Toothless could bark out a warning, Hiccup found the earth giving away below him and only had time to gasp before tumbling into the cavern below. The human flailed ungracefully and gave a scream of surprise as he dropped into the still water. Needless to say, Toothless was just a moment behind Hiccup, and was peering into the cave with those unsettling green eyes of his. The dragon gave a startled croon and gazed at the other with concern.
"I'm okay!" Hiccup squeaked, grasping a large, smooth boulder for leverage. Shaking, he pulled himself up and gave a frantic survey of the cavern around him. The boy gulped. "So this is what it looks like, ha ha..."
Toothless snorted and knocked some dirt from the sinkhole's rim at his human. Hiccup was scanning the murky pool below him, and timidly kicked a chunk of dirt into the water with a soaked boot.
"No sea dragons." Was all he had time to say before he was being hauled up by the scruff of his vest. Toothless appraised him and gave him a look like he couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused before setting off in the direction they came. With an sheepish slump, Hiccup followed, exclaiming in indignation when a tail-fin smacked him lightly over the head.
Other than the caves, there was much to be seen in the forests and plateaus and groves. There was an ever-growing abundance of valuable trees, herbs and vegetables, and even berries if you looked for them. The animals they discovered caused Hiccup to think that maybe humans did reside here, once, but the lack of evidence of any homes or such quickly banished the fear of being found out themselves. If people did live here once, it had been long ago, and the wild animal population had prospered.
"I wonder if these guys'll actually stay, even if I built a fence." Hiccup narrowed his eyes against the sun, moving to stand where Toothless was sunning himself. "Then again, why bother building a fence? It's not like they can go anywhere, and I don't particularly want them to be caged in..." Hiccup smiled softly down at the big reptile. "I know what it feels like to be caged in."
The yaks were grazing peacefully in the grassy grove, kept well manicured by all the animals passing through. Five were in his sight, but from all the flying Toothless and Hiccup had been doing, he knew that there were about six more of them, all across the island. In addition to the great, shaggy creatures, there were about a dozen and a half sheep and two dozen chicken. Of course, those were only the "farm" animals that Hiccup had seen. He'd caught glimpses of mountain cats and other wild animals as well that he hadn't gotten the chance to experience on Berk.
Hiccup was entirely, almost overwhelmingly thankful to the dragon he'd come to see as his best friend. He was beyond amazed that everything had turned out so well, knowing full well that it could have turned out totally different, and that they could've had to search widely for a suitable place to live- although he knew that Toothless had probably not just happened upon the island by mistake. He was almost completely sure that the dragon had been here before, and had sought it out specifically for them to escape to. And Toothless, who had every reason to NOT help Hiccup, had stuck by him so willingly. Everywhere the boy went, if only to walk along the beach, there was Toothless, right beside him.
All of this was nice and well...and don't get him wrong, Hiccup felt truly blessed. However, not everything was easy.
The most prominent predicament that persisted during the days was the fact that Hiccup wasn't a particularly strong or burly boy, and that in itself would likely cause most of his problems while living on his new home. He'll admit it-he was a toothpick. He had been a poor excuse for a Viking. He had some muscle from working in the forge, but not great, bulging muscles and awesome body mass like so many of the other men he'd seen. However, what Hiccup lacked in physical means, he made up for with intelligence, and tried to put it to as much use as possible. Still, the hatchet and sword would be murder on his muscles for at least the first few months, if not longer.
"A Timberjack would come in useful right about now." Hiccup grunted, trying to knock the slim tree over by shoving both hands against the bark. The chopping he'd done should be helping more. He'd cut nearly all the way through. He huffed an decided to rest for a moment. "You ever been friends with one of those, bud?"
Toothless shrugged, and Hiccup winced from the high-pitched screeching his claws made as he sharpened them on a nearby rock. The dragon murmured something and narrowed his eyes at the tree. His tail lashed out, and with a crack, the tree was falling to the ground, opposite of where Hiccup was sitting.
"That's one way to do it." Hiccup panted, still worn from all the chopping he'd just done...and this had only been his second tree! "I never realized how out of shape I am until I actually tried using a weapon...tool...whatever it is, and it's just a hatchet! Vikings use big, heavy axes and those huge saws to cut down trees!"
Before he knew it, Toothless was licking him right up the side of his sweaty face, making his hair stick up. While Hiccup gave the usual 'Eww! Toothless!' the dragon was making himself busy surveying the trees that surrounded them. Setting his sights on one close by, he unsheathed his teeth and clamped them around the trunk, cracking the tree off close to the ground and throwing the object to the side. He made a garbling, complaining-like noise and shot Hiccup a playful look before he continued clearing out the area.
Nearby, Hiccup smiled at his best friend while the dragon effortlessly finished the hardest project of the day. Even as he complained that the dragon's saliva wouldn't wash out, he had a warm feeling in his chest, because he knew that Toothless only did it to make him smile.
Those were the types of evenings that Hiccup loved, because even though he was certainly the smallest and most non-threatening of the Vikings and Toothless was likely the fastest and fiercest of all dragons, they made for more than a compatible pair. He never once felt out of place, and even as they teased and taunted each other in that way of theirs, never once did Hiccup feel that Toothless was looking down on him. The Night Fury didn't seem to see him as useless or disappointing, but simply as a friend. It was probably the first time in his life that he didn't feel like he had to strive to be more than who he was. It was such a relief...he was so at EASE, that he constantly wondered when it would all disappear in a puff of smoke.
Hiccup voiced this worry one night, whilst enjoying a cod dinner on the beach with the stars just beginning to twinkle overhead. He was lounging on the sand, idly twirling the impaled fish over the small fire, and as soon as the words had left his mouth, Toothless had turned to look at the human from where he lie next to him. He gave a soft croon and looked on with wide, imploring eyes, closing them when Hiccup rested a small hand on his warm snout. The human sighed.
"I don't know...it's just that everything's going so great." Hiccup explained. "I know it wouldn't seem like it, but...I've never felt better." He gave a small smile. "If someone had told me three months ago that I'd be exiled to live on an uninhabited island with a Night Fury, I would've just about keeled over with fright."
Toothless gazed at him with contented, gentle eyes that were just a bit mischievous and shifted closer so that Hiccup could reach up and scratch his great, scaly neck. Shivering a bit, he gave a happy purr.
"But the thing is, I'm not scared." Hiccup went on, smiling pleasantly at his friend who now had his eyes closed. He could feel the strong vibrations under his fingertips that he knew came from the workings of awesome vocal chords. "I feel safe."
Toothless gave an answering murmur that made Hiccup smile, because it was exactly as though the dragon had just said 'as you should'. Hiccup sat up then, and scooted closer to the dragon so that he was situated right behind the beast, and Toothless shifted in turn to lie his head across Hiccup's lap. His tail without the mechanical replacement lazily wagged back and forth, the one shiny fin slapping happily against the sand.
Not for the first time, the boy wondered at the fact that this cuddly, purring dragon could be the cause of so much terror and destruction. Sure, he might've carried liquid lightning in his veins, but...really? The unholy offspring of lightning and death? He was well aware of the damage that Toothless could cause, but one look in his happy, gentle eyes and he couldn't find it in him to be afraid. Instead, he felt a fierce protectiveness for the dragon, and again cursed himself for not being bigger. He would be useless in a fight.
"I don't understand how they can't see it." The boy continued, smoothing a hand over the scales of Toothless' back where his saddle usually went. "I was scared once, but even when I was..." He shook his head, at a loss for words. "I don't understand how they could kill so mindlessly. The more I think about it, the more we seem like the monsters."
Toothless eyed him and snorted softly, nudging his head against Hiccup's chest in what the human took as a gesture of comfort.
"I've never been more at ease." Hiccup admitted. "Here, it's like there's no pressure to get out and put on a show. No bloodthirsty villagers breathing over my shoulder, waiting for me to make a mistake. No need to be like everyone else." He paused and eventually sighed. "So, that's all I've ever known...and it just feels like one day I'm going to wake up and be right back in my old room."
The fear was creeping up on him, chilling him despite the fire and heat radiating from the scales under his touch. "I've found paradise, but it doesn't seem real, Toothless. That's what scares me."
He sighed when Toothless looked up at him, feeling a bit embarrassed from his confession, but at the same time trusting the beast not to laugh at him. It turned out that he had nothing to worry about; the ebony dragon simply cuddled up to his chest for a moment. However, when he pulled away, he had the strangest serious look of confusion and stubbornness on his reptilian face. He gave a coo that sounded more insistent than anything else, and sat up a little, looking into the boys eyes as though he was trying to get some complicated message across. Toothless leaned up until his eyes were level with his human's and butted Hiccup's cheek softly with his nose.
The dragon let out a noise that was a strange mix between growling and crooning that he'd never heard the dragon make before, and Hiccup jumped. The sounds had sent a chill up his spine.
"What was that?" Hiccup asked, not afraid- of course he wasn't afraid, but curious. Toothless looked at him with that same strange, serious gaze. The dragon repeated himself, softer, and somewhere beyond his voice, Hiccup thought he could hear something else. Something muffled, as though two dragons were growling at once, and he jumped again, looking behind Toothless to make sure no other animal was in the area.
"Did you hear that?!" Hiccup asked, a little nervously this time. But Toothless didn't seem on edge...in fact, he seemed to perk right up, and he smiled that goofy, dragon smile of his and his tail wagged a little faster. Hiccup laughed before he could stop himself and found his person suddenly in close proximity with the dragon's throat as the beast wrapped around him.
"Whatcha doing, bud?" The boy asked, and heard that same sound again. Figuring that since this was the third time now and that the dragon wanted him to REALLY listen, he pressed himself closer until his ear met scaly skin. Just at the end of Toothless' growling, he heard another series of sounds- magnified now that he was so close to him. The vocalizations made him shiver despite himself...they were like nothing he'd heard before, and a bit unsettling to say the least. Previously, he'd mistaken the sounds for another dragon lurking close by, but now that he was here...it was Toothless. It was as though he had TWO voices, one that was growling and one that was making a string of noises from low hums to cooing and hissing, to a weird clicking noise all coming from the back of his throat.
"What is that?" Hiccup asked, scratching Toothless' neck idly. "That's...really strange. It's like you have two voices."
Toothless was nodding, widening his eyes and crooning insistently. He made an odd face then, as though he was concentrating very hard on something. He made similar noises, although this time was quite a bit different. Another string of noises was emitted, and this time the growling from before was much less. The noises were odd...repeating themselves in different arrangements, if you could imagine.
Hiccup's own eyes widened to their full extent, and he couldn't keep himself from gasping. It almost sounded like...
Toothless gave a true snarl then, his whole demeanor changing as he snapped his head up to the skies and wrapped himself more protectively around the small boy. Only when Hiccup was fully snapped out of his thoughts and under a strong black wing did Toothless let out an earth-shaking roar. Abruptly, there was a purple ball of light streaking through the darkening sky, and that was when Hiccup finally noticed the approaching figures. There appeared to be four dragons in all, in varying sizes and shapes, but they were unmistakably heading for the island.
"Toothless, the saddle!" Hiccup hissed anxiously. "Can you handle them on the ground?"
Toothless have him a sideways look that clearly stated 'have some faith in me' and turned back to bare his teeth at the dragons who were getting rather close to the shore. Now, it wasn't that Hiccup hated dragons. That would be ridiculous- he'd been disowned because he couldn't find it in himself to hurt them. Just the same, however, he knew the nature of the beasts, had spent hours whenever he could just observing their habits and reading about them. They weren't impulsive killers, but they weren't necessarily tame or cuddly either. Hiccup's best guess was that hundreds of years of conflict and war between their kind and human kind would set any dragon on edge by sheer instinct when they sensed a human present. It didn't mean that they would attack, but still...how would they react to him? He knew that if he stayed peaceful and compliant, then he could probably make fast friends, probably, but Toothless?
Not bloody likely. There was no way the Night Fury would lie down and play nice, and teenager could only hope that this didn't end in a blood-bath. Hiccup felt Toothless tense up even more and fought the urge to cover his eyes.
The group of dragons landed. Just at the edge of the shore, they stood in the water, and Hiccup could now see that there were five in total, the fifth having been too small to be seen from a distance. With a shock, Hiccup recognized the group of dragons, and shrank a little closer to Toothless, wondering if they'd be mad at him. Wondering if their association of him with Berk and the arena in which they were trapped for months would drive them to want to hurt him. He couldn't say he blamed them...
Toothless growled menacingly, and quickly Hiccup pressed himself closer to the dragon, listening to the odd arrangement of noise coming from his throat. To his shock, he heard several other voices raise to answer him, and the sound again sent chills down his spine. It took all he had not to shake in his boots. It was so...unnatural sounding.
His ever-active mind, however, refused to let him simply shake in discomfort. Instead, he was listening to the quiet, guttural voices rising over the crashing of the waves. Now that he knew, he couldn't just ignore it...gods, it was hypnotic. How could he have not noticed before? The voices were very low in pitch, sometimes overlapping with growls and Hiccup supposed that that was part of the reason why he or probably anyone hadn't took mind of it before. After all, when dragons are raiding your village and your house is burning, it's not high on the list of worries to be listening to how they communicate. Intrigued, he kept his ear pressed to Toothless' neck and listened to the vocal arrangements.
It seemed as though Toothless was arguing with the others. After a long while and a lot of snarling on Toothless' part, the Deadly Nadder took a step forward and shook out her wings. She gave Hiccup an odd look, and took two more small steps forward, her large feet leaving great tracks in the wet sand. Since Toothless hadn't lunged for the kill yet, Hiccup supposed that the Nadder didn't mean to kill him...in fact, she seemed kind of happy.
It gave a low cooing sound that Hiccup had only ever heard Toothless make, and took the tiniest of steps until it was no less than two meters away from the pair. The others hung back, but the Nadder approached with a poise of curiosity, looking at him sideways. Ever so slowly, the dragon came forward until it was a mere three feet away. Hiccup could feel that Toothless was still tense, but took a step forward himself, reassured when Toothless didn't immediately move to stop him. Mindful that this was still a dragon whom was previously caged and tormented by his kind, Hiccup gave the appropriate amount of hesitation before slowly raising a hand.
Still under Toothless' protective wing, the teen tried his very best not to jump when his hand met the warm beak of the Nadder. The Nadder itself looked like it was trying it's best to overcome any instinct telling it to defend itself. Slowly, the beast's eyes closed and it even began to garble gently, the spikes on its tail relaxing until they were smoothly pressed into a long, colored ivory whip.
"Hi." Hiccup breathe, and Toothless' wing retracted back to his body a bit, although he never stopped the intense staring match between the other four dragons and himself. Absently, Hiccup took note of all the grumbling going on between the dragons, and not for the first time, hadn't a clue of what they could be talking about. The Nadder, however, seemed to have gone silent to the conversation and was now purring under his touch. It's scales...his? Her? They were so different from Toothless' own hide; bright and vivid with color even in the dim light. Icy blue blended with yellow in some places, especially the wings. Altogether, the dragon managed to give the impression of a bird much less fierce than the east actually was...all the same, he or she kept cooing under Hiccup's careful touches, even leaning in to nuzzle him a bit.
Under the careful eye of Toothless, who never let more than one dragon get close at once, the other dragons came forward to say hello. The Gronkle was especially calm, and gave no hesitations whatsoever in approaching Hiccup, seeming to almost cuddle him before resting at his feet and dozing off. The Zippleback and Terrible Terror of the group were friendly and excitable, once it had been established that the boy was more than (or less than, depending on how you looked at it) a savage Viking who wanted them all dead. It was the Monstrous Nightmare that sat in the water still, even after the sun had set and the whole lot of them were gathered around the small fire.
Toothless seemed to pay no mind to him, opting instead to make quiet dragon-conversation with the Nadder and occasionally the Zippleback. It was around the time that the other dragons began to doze off that Hiccup slowly stood and began to pad quietly over to where the Nightmare lie in the gentle waves. He didn't need to look or listen to know that Toothless had gotten up to follow him, and reached out beside him to affectionately rub the Night Fury's head and ears. Since Hiccup had taken to going barefoot in his downtime, he walked carelessly through the waves that lapped at his ankles and then calves, not needing to worry about soaking his boots or sandals. He could see that the Nightmare's eyes were closed, but the rhythm of it's breathing told him that it wasn't asleep, but rather restless and very much awake. In fact, if he didn't know better, he'd say the dragon was sulking.
Grumbling lightly, Hiccup's personal bodyguard followed him almost silently, but the Nightmare's eyes opened as soon as he had gotten almost within touching distance. It's great yellow eyes were neither slitted nor dilated, which told the boy that the dragon was equal opportunity for either being docile or aggressive. However, the dragon made no move for him- just stared at him for a long while before glancing away and blowing smoke from it's nostrils. It gave a low guttural sound as Hiccup hesitated.
Then, with a hint of hesitation itself, the dragon glanced back at him and moved it's head a bit closer to where Hiccup stood. It closed it's eyes and lowered it's face a bit, and if the human wasn't imagining things, the Nightmare may have even looked a bit sheepish. It gave a long, dragged out sigh when the boy's soft hand met it's warm, rough snout, and the look it gave him was unmistakably an apology of sorts. It even seemed to smile a bit when Hiccup gestured for the dragon to join the others, but only got half way to the fire before settling down to sleep.
"I wonder how long it took these guys to get here?" Hiccup asked Toothless absently, studying the dragons through the curtain of thick vines that covered the cave's entrance. The pair sat just inside the cave, Hiccup watching the dragons out of curiosity and Toothless most likely keeping a suspicious green eye on them. "They seem exhausted."
The human glanced at his dragon, and then gave a double-take when he saw the beast giving him a look of curiosity and vague affection. He smiled then, remembering that it had taken the dragon the better part of an entire night to get them to this island, flying none-stop. It was no simple feat, and he was suddenly reminded not for the first time of how lucky he was to have such a loyal friend at his side.
"I promise, I'll never take you for granted, Toothless." Hiccup swore, wrapping his slim arms around the sleek Night Fury, who cooed and garbled in answer, nuzzling his chest. He meant it- he had been lucky enough to find one great friend in his life, for which he was grateful beyond belief. For the first time ever, it seemed as though the gods had thought that he was worth something, was meant for something different than the life he had left behind.
"My whole life I've felt like an outcast in my own tribe." Hiccup sighed, trying not to lament on it too much. Instead, he smiled and rubbed Toothless' snout affectionately. "Now, being so far away, I think..." He shook his head. "I think I really was meant to be an outcast...like, the entire time that I was there, this was waiting to happen. Or maybe it just means I'm a little crazy- collaborating with the enemy and all."
Toothless gave a snort and a very dragon-like laugh before tackling Hiccup to the ground, where he lie under his warm, heavy dragon and protested against all the licking and playful growling. When he was done with the show, and Hiccup had been thoroughly lathered in thick dragon saliva, they just lied there, and Toothless gave him a very goofy smile. Hiccup laughed in response and shoved playfully at the dragons head before leaning up to place his forehead against Toothless' neck, where he could feel a pulse beating strong and sure. A pulse like the constant beating of heavy war-drums, but also very much like his own heart, which was lighter than it had ever been in his life.
'I'm glad I left.' Hiccup thought, and it felt a little strange and a bit dangerous to admit it, but it felt right. Whether he'd been exiled or whether he'd made the choice himself to leave, he was fine with it. Happy, even.
"I didn't belong with them...not really." Hiccup thought out loud, sighing as he scooted back until his back was touching the smooth wall of the cave. Toothless sat next to him and watched with concerned eyes, which were lost on the young teen, who was still staring out the curtain of vines. "I mean...I would've never met the criteria for a Viking. I was born to be a chief, but there was no one who knew better than I did that..." He let out a shaky breath. "It was never going to work."
Oh Thor, the boy thought as he felt tears burn behind his eyes, and tuned his eyes to the stony floor.
The physical challenges he'd faced hadn't been the only ones. In the past few weeks, he'd learned a few things about himself...for one thing, he learned that he was a pretty persistent person. With the much appreciated help of Toothless, he'd managed to map out nearly every part of the island and account for almost every animal in just a few short weeks. Also, he had to be at least a little bit brave or a lot insane, because come on, who runs away with the most fierce and feared dragon on earth? Another thing he'd learned was that he was a night person- something he hadn't had the chance to discover back on Berk.
No, the only challenges certainly hadn't been the physical ones. In comparison, his lack of physical strength had seemed only a minor setback. It was the night's he was worried about. The nights that he both looked forward to and dreaded.
The sky was beautiful at night- the stars twinkled above, closer than ever, like millions of diamonds in a summer sun, stark against the inky blackness of the shaded heavens. The moon shined bright and beautiful like a most amazing ivory statue, placed there by the gods, reflecting off of the dark seas. He'd never knew what beauty really was until he'd gone on that first amazing flight with Toothless under a clear evening sky. That was when he discovered that he loved the night.
However, as usual...Hiccup knew he would never get off that easy, that quickly. He paid for every beautiful moment spent under the night sky with anguish and tears and the most realistic nightmares that haunted him even after he's woken. He may have been free of Berk physically, but it seemed as though the universe didn't want him to settle in quite so easily...as if to show him that what had gone so right for him could turn so wrong in a heartbeat. Nightmares of his father's angry gaze left him feeling much more tormented when he'd woken than when the ordeal had actually happened. Then, he'd been absolutely set on his task with determination and a sick numbness, but now, his emotions were beginning to come to surface...moments he's dreaded since he'd fallen asleep on Toothless' saddle that first night. He always knew it was coming.
That didn't make it any easier.
"The other kids used to bully me when I was younger." He remembered telling Toothless one of those first nights, after he'd woken from a dream of nearly drowning. How many times had he been pushed into the ocean or river? By how many people?
"They used to call me really unclever but hurtful names and laugh and push me to the ground...beat me a few times. Left me in the woods alone." He had shrugged and blinked his green eyes hard as the tears came faster than he could wipe them away. "Everyone used to say that it was just a part of growing up. They thought the other kids were just playing and that I would get tough and learn to fend for myself. I never did." He gave a bitter laugh and almost flinched at the look of unequal concern and rage in the dragon's eyes. "I could've died a couple of times, before I learned how to swim. They used to push me in the water, and even when I did know how to keep my head out of the current, they held me down. I was even used for dagger-throwing practice a few times!"
Suddenly he was angry, and wiped away the offending drops of salty liquid falling from his red, puffy eyes. Gods, he'd been ashamed of himself. He might not have been a Viking, but by any standards he was still a weakling.
"My dad was a huge help." He'd said, trying to make himself get mad, even as Toothless crooned in a mix of sympathy and malice at the mention of his father. "I was going to be the chief, and a chief doesn't get lost. A chief feels no fear. A chief feels no...pain." It was about then that he couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer, and they came rushing forth with renewed vigor. Hiccup couldn't decide if he was surprised or not when Toothless leant forward and began lapping the tears from his face in an attempt at comforting him, because while he knew the dragon was intelligent and loyal, he'd also been told his entire life that dragons were heartless and cold. It had been then that he knew...the Vikings had been talking about themselves all along.
Now, he was fast approaching the same state he'd been in, and couldn't hate himself more for it. Looking at Toothless, however, gave him a bit of hope. Maybe he wouldn't be this unstable forever...maybe there would come a time when he would be free of his past. When the nightmares stopped coming to drag him back to those dark times on Berk.
He no longer had any doubt that dragons had compassion in their hearts, and they did have hearts. His dragon had shown him more care in the past month and a half then his father had in probably twelve years. Every time Toothless garbled in sympathy and concern for him reassured him a little more. What he wouldn't give to know what he was saying...
He shook himself out of it, swiping an already wet wrist across his eyes before putting on the best grin he could manage. "C'mon bud. Let's go flying."
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One Year Later
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"Best crafts in the Peaceful Country, huh?" A lean figure in an unusual dark gray cloak asked. Slim, callused hands ran across nicked and scratched wood until they met the surface of an obsidian globe. His own silhouette reflected back at him in the morning light.
"A seer's seeing ball." A middle-aged man commented from behind the makeshift counter. "Made from solid obsidian, mined in the Mazy Multitude Islands." The man shrugged. "We sell and trade merchandise from all over the great, flat world, lad." He gestured to the wall behind him, beyond which was a small forge of sorts. "Big Burglar military scrolls, Meathead weapons, Berkian defense ammunition, even Roman armor."
"Impressive." The figure answered in a decidedly calm voice. "You accept exotic people as well?"
"You're rather dark for the Peaceful Country, don't ya think, lad?" The older man studied him, although the glint in his eyes behind the round spectacles held a certain warmth the younger man had seen in seldom few others.
"I've gotta look the part to trade in the other isles." The figure shrugged, before pulling the hood from over his head. The wind would've eventually done it for him anyway. "Some tribes aren't half as lenient as the ones I've met here. It seems almost..."
"Peaceful?" The other man guessed. "We don't get our title from our ruthless nature, boy. I've seen you around the village a few times earlier in the week. What's your business here?"
"I've got a few things to trade. Been looking for the right place." Finely crafted daggers with sheathes and glinting crystal statuettes were pulled from somewhere inside the cloak and set on the worn wood. "What do you think?"
"You don't seem like the flashy type. What could I have to offer you, son?" The tradesman stroked his beard as he again took in the sight of the boy in front of him. More a boy than anything else. It wasn't until the figure stepped into the wooden floors of his trading center that he heard the clacking.
"Use of the forge would do fine." The young man responded. His face was kept carefully mutual, but his green eyes seemed to hold the gentlest of smiles. A wooden leg came into view, coming to a standstill alongside his one heavy-looking boot. "Some scrap metal, if you have it. I need a new leg."
"A strange request from a most strange traveller." The tradesman smiled, with his mouth and with his eyes. "But I think I'll vouch for you, young man. My name is Gilden, but most people know me as Old Wrinkly."
"Glad to have met you." The young man smiled then, and nodded whilst holding out a hand. "Now, I've ditched my old name as far as the tribes know...so you can call me Halen."
"An odd choice of a name." The older man commented mildly.
"It's still processing." The youngster shrugged, untying his cloak and hanging it on a book nearby. "I'm thinking something along the lines of...Halen Hijack..Hyme. The third. Reminds me of home."
The word home was said with quite a bit of bitterness, but his gentle demeanor held in place, and the tradesman thought it must've been genuine. After all, not all who came to the Peaceful Country wanting to trade were sincere, and he'd learned to tell the difference. He stuck by his decision to allow the lad into his trading post, and had the odd thought that the boy might've been a bigger risk to himself than the village. The traveler was just a boy, for Odin's sake. He had a peg leg.
"It would suit one much stranger than you."
"Thanks. It'll keep me grounded, that much's for sure." A scroll was laid on the wood of a table and spread out with slim but steady boy-hands, revealing plans for a revolving metal contraption that Old Wrinkly eventually recognized as a metal leg. "When can I get started?"
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AN: So, how was it? A couple surprises... Tell me what you think. I tried very hard to pack a lot of time into one chapter so I wouldn't have to drag it on in the other chapters. I realize the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless might be a little...fluffy? But it's developing! And I like their relationship as it is. It's not that bad, is it? I trust you can all guess who Halen Hijack Hyme is...not to sure about the name, but I gave a lot of thought to it! Viking names are hard to think of lol. Plus, I was setting up a bit of a plot for future chapters with that name, seeing as...who else do we know with the initials HHHIII? xD
I hope it was satisfactory until...next week? Maybe? Again, thanks to all who reviewed! I love reviews! The more detailed the better, don't even worry about length! xP I'd like to hear anything you have to say: flames, suggestions, thoughts, confusions...anyway, until next time!
OMG, I cannot believe I messed up the title, and I cant believe no one mentioned it! Dx Jeez. How can that happen? lol What if that happened if I actually published my own book? Wouldn't put it past myself...sorry for any other errors.
-Updated 6.10.15 3:05am on a summer-camp night xP