And here goes Chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially to the core of justice. Enjoy!
"Bud, will you just calm down? Yea, take it easy, big guy. I haven't even eaten yet."
Toothless let out a low warble.
"All right bud, I'm coming." Hiccup groaned, rolling out of bed and wiping Night Fury saliva off his face. "But you're right, I guess we should go for one last pleasure flight before the trip, what do you say, bud?"
Toothless pawed the floor enthusiastically as Hiccup got dressed.
"Hold on there, bud." Hiccup pulled on his boot and then paused. He still wasn't quite used to the lack of his leg, but he had adjusted nicely. After a month or two of banging around and falling, he had become accustomed to the metal prosthetic and began to be able to use it as if it were his real limb. Now, a full year later, he could walk perfectly fine. However, there were days like today when he felt like something was missing.
Groaning, Hiccup rose, and walked to the front door as Toothless leapt up through the hole in the roof, excited for a morning of flying. Toothless' enthusiasm cheered Hiccup. He pulled on his flying coat and took up his mask, strapping it to his belt. Going to the larder, he removed several sticks of dried meat to keep him fed while he was in the sky. With a final sigh, he left the house – and ran right into his father.
"Oh! Uhh, hi dad. I'm just, uhh—"
Stoick the Vast clapped Hiccup on the shoulder with much more force than was necessary. Hiccup winced in pain and rubbed the spot.
"Morning, son!" Stoick boomed. "Where are you headed?"
"Actually, I was, uhh, about to go flying with Toothless-"
"Come on, son! You're the son of the chief and you're leaving tomorrow for the Bog Burglars' island. You need to prepare and say your goodbyes, not run off into the sky!"
"Oh yeah, that's right, I'm going somewhere tomorrow. Why exactly do I need to go, again?"
Stoick placed his hands on his hips.
"Hiccup, we've discussed this. The Boggies have only recently heard about our peace with the dragons. Chief Big-Boobied Bertha wants to see for herself that the dragons can be peaceful, and you're the one who can best demonstrate the relationship we have with them. And you'll be going alone; I'm not sending any more of the squad to get their pockets picked while they're over there."
"Chief Big Boobied Bertha probably just wants to see me on a dragon so she can be justified in chopping off my head," Hiccup replied with a twisted grin. "I've been able to convince these, uhh, normal chiefs like Mogadon and that guy from Bashem Island, but Bog Burglars? In order to teach these people the benefits of having dragons, I must first understand them, how they, uhh, think and operate." Hiccup gestured towards the sea helplessly. "These are women, dad! Women. No one can understand what goes on in their heads." He threw up his arms in despair. "Talking to them will be impossible!"
"If anyone can achieve the impossible, it's you, son," Stoick replied seriously, placing his hand on the skinny boys shoulder. "You took down the Red Death and saved our entire village. I'm sure you can somehow convince Bertha that the dragons are valuable assets."
Hiccup kicked at a rock in the dirt. "I suppose," he reflected. "The Bog Burglars – they, they steal – stuff, right? If dragons can help them do that-" He snapped his fingers. "I've got it, dad! Yes! With this plan, I'll even convince Bertha's crazy daughter Camicazi that dragons are a good thing. Ha!"
"Good to hear, son!" Stoick boomed. "Now go start saying farewell to the tribe! You can start with your girlfriend!"
"Aww, come on, dad! Toothless has been nagging me to go flying all night, and-"
"No buts, son!" Stoick said firmly. "Go into the village! You'll be flying plenty tomorrow. And that dragon of yours is getting spoiled with the amount of time you spend with him. Quit letting that reptile monopolize all your time and go talk to the villagers!"
Stoick clapped Hiccup on the shoulder again, causing him to yelp in pain. Then he opened the door to the house.
"Dad, would you stop slapping my shoulder like that-"
The door banged.
"Oh, man." Hiccup rubbed his arm, standing still in the warm summer morning. Toothless leapt off the house and landed next to his rider, his eyes looking up inquiringly at Hiccup.
"Nope, bud. Not going flying today. Chief's orders."
He started to walk away from the house into the village. Toothless warbled in protest, nudging Hiccup with his snout.
"No! No, Toothless. Stop it! I said no flying!" He kept walking, but Toothless was persistent. He kept jostling and nudging Hiccup all the way down the hill until he reached the streets of the village. He would nag Hiccup all day if a compromise wasn't reached.
"Ok, bud. No flying, but I'll get you a basket of fish instead. Deal?"
At the word fish, Toothless leapt up like a mad puppy and started hopping around Hiccup, crooning excitedly.
"All right bud, I take that as a yes. But stay out here. I don't want you wrecking the entire marketplace with your antics. Wait until I get back."
Putting his flight mask in the saddlebags, Hiccup turned and entered the village. He was very used to the smell of fresh baked bread, the grinding of whetstones, and the reek of gutted fish, but what he had still not yet become accustomed to was the attention he got.
"Morning, Hiccup!"
"Good to see you, Hiccup!"
"Hey, the hero is here!"
"Are you excited for the trip?"
"Yeah, yeah, good to see you guys," Hiccup answered each call in turn. "Great to see you, Ingmar – how's the baby, Galia? Yeah, I'm totally excited – who wouldn't want to go meet a whole bunch of crazy, fighting, thieving ladies?"
Laughing, Hiccup pushed through the crowds in the village and strolled over to the smithy, where Gobber was busy hammering the blade of a shovel into shape.
"Good morning, Gobber. How's work?" Hiccup asked, pulling out one of the sticks of dried meat and chewing it as he surveyed the shop. "Are you managing without me?"
"Weell, I could use some help, but I'm not askin'," Gobber said, straightening up. "Not much work right now, I'm afraid. Apparently everybody knows that you're not workin' until ye git back, and they're not trustin' me with any of the good stuff."
Hiccup chuckled. "You should be happy about that, Gobber. Less work means less people coming to nag you about what a bad job you do – OW!"
Someone landed on Hiccup's back, pushing him forward against the counter and causing him to drop his food.
"Surprise!" Astrid cried, dropping off his back and throwing her arms around his shoulders.
"Surprise," Hiccup muttered sarcastically. "Seriously, Astrid, you should stop jumping on people like that. I was just about to, uhh, get Gobber really irritated, and you made me drop my – my food on the ground! Why would you do that?"
Astrid laughed, laying her head on Hiccup's shoulder. "Come on, Hiccup, I just wanted to give you a proper goodbye."
"Uhh, Astrid, I'm not leaving until tomorrow, and if that is your version of a proper goodbye, then I think I might have to seriously reconsider being around you before a trip."
"Aw, stop being such a big baby," Astrid chided, punching him lightly in the arm. "The Bog Burglars don't like wimpy Vikings, and if you gripe like that in front of Big Boobied Bertha she'll chop your head right off." She emphasized her point by running her fingers through Hiccup's wavy hair.
"Oh really, Milady?" Hiccup asked cheekily, laying both hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "Can I ask you if you have ever met Big Boobied Bertha before?"
"No," Astrid said, smiling up into Hiccup's eyes. Her hand traced a loop down the back of his hair and onto the nape of his neck.
"Well, then, how do know anything about whether or not she decides to behead me? This is suspicious. I believe that you are, in fact, not a Hooligan, but a Bog Burglar in disguise. That is why you jump on people like a maniac."
"Interesting theory," Astrid replied, pulling Hiccup closer to her. "If you would care to have some reassurance -"
"Ahem." Gobber cleared his throat. The pair broke apart and reddened.
"Ahh, I would appreciate it if you could do this elsewhere." Gobber said slyly.
"I've got to go, Hiccup," Astrid said. "I'll be at my house if you want to stop by on your way out."
"Right," Hiccup said. "I think I'll just walk back with you. There's nothing cool going on in here anyways, now that I'm no longer working."
"Hiccup, you watch your smart mouth!" Gobber shouted at Hiccup as he ran away. "When you git back to work you're on coal cleanup for a week!"
Laughing, Hiccup and Astrid ducked through the crowd and away from Gobber.
"Teasing him is the funniest thing to do around here," Hiccup laughed. "And he'll probably forget about the coal duty by the time I get back." He draped his arm around Astrid's shoulders.
"When do you expect that to be?" Astrid asked, looking up at him.
"According to you, never," Hiccup laughed. "Because my head will apparently be mounted on a pike as soon as I set foot in Bog Burglar territory."
Astrid grinned. "I was being half serious there. You cannot show weakness among the Bog Burglars, or they will disdain you immediately. Not to the point of execution, but maybe enough to alter opinions."
"Won't they just mock me anyway for being so skinny?" Hiccup replied jokingly. "All the other tribes did. But maybe the Bog Burglars are looking for someone different, a sexier, more awesome Viking like myself."
"If they do, I won't tolerate any flirting while you're over there," Astrid warned him.
"No danger of that, Milady," Hiccup quipped, pulling her closer to him. "I'm happy with what I've got."
The duo reached the front porch of Astrid's house, and Hiccup walked to the door with her. As they reached the stoop, Astrid turned to face Hiccup.
"Hiccup, I need to talk to you," she said.
"Talk to me? Ok, just keep doing what you're doing."
"That's not what I mean, Hiccup," she snapped. "I dreamed about you last night."
"That is very flattering, Milady," Hiccup grinned.
"I'm serious, Hiccup!" Astrid stopped him in exasperation. "This dream – it was so real. I thought it was really happening."
"What was it?"
"We were older, a lot older. We were fighting a battle, trying to take a fortress with an army of dragons. Fishlegs was there too, with Meatlug. The castle had strange weapons that were fired like bolas but instead they sliced up the dragons with blades."
Hiccup frowned. "I don't like that. Go on."
"Well, there was a giant bottomless pit in the ground behind the walls. We went to attack the wall, and they shot – they shot a bunch of those blade things at us. We tried to dodge, but one hit Toothless. It chopped him up like a vegetable, and you fell off and lost an arm. Stormfly and I tried to catch you, and we fell down near that abyss. We caught you, but you were flung over the edge, and -"
Astrid closed her eyes and paused, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I woke up and for a second I thought I had lost you."
Hiccup stepped forward and hugged Astrid. She buried her head in his shoulder and held him tightly.
"It's all right, Astrid." Hiccup said reassuringly, patting her back. "Toothless and I don't plan on dying just yet, and I will promise you that I will never go near any bottomless pits without letting you know in advance."
There's Chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed! Please review and let me know what you think.
NatBlake