Hi! So, I wanted to thank you all for reading my story, and for all the lovely reviews, favs and follows I got! So...Thanks!
Now, in this chapter, Hiccup may seem a bit calm after being kidnaped, but trust me when I say it's the clam before the storm ;D
Please review if you have advice, ideas, or just want to tell me is you like the story!
Also, if you have any questions or want more details on the main OC in this story, the chieftain, then feel free to PM me!
Enjoy!
Hiccup stared in alarm at the man that stood before him.
"Wh-what?! What do you mean I can't leave?!"
Toothless, sensing Hiccup's rising levels of fear, growled once more, crouching low to the ground, tail lashing back and forth.
Hiccup quickly turned to his friend, going down onto one knee and rubbing the dragon's snout.
"Woah, easy there, Toothless. Just relax."
A moment of hesitation was given, but then Toothless warbled lowly, pressing his nose into Hiccup's palm. The youth rubbed the dragon's raven scales attentively.
The man began to explain, seeing his confusion.
"There is no need to panic." He said quickly. "We will not kill you, not even harm you as long as you do not harm us first. But you see, my people have seen what happens when others learn how to tame dragons. They use them as weapons, and wage horrific wars. Therefore, if we ever come across an outsider who has the gifts of a dragon tamer, we bring them here, to the Isle."
Hiccup cast the older male a wary glance, standing back up.
"Well sorry to tell you this, but I've taught my whole island how to live with dragons."
The man nodded.
"Yes, and by sheer luck, no war has come of it, it seems. But not all have the gifts us tamers do. They can ride and befriend dragons, of course, but even attempting to teach another such skills? It is impossible for them. Surely you've noticed on your island?"
The young viking was silent. He had seen something along those lines. Once, Astrid had attempted to teach one of the villagers how to befriend a dragon. It...hadn't ended well at all, for the villager. The man had barely survived the nasty gash, and all because Astrid was unable to keep the wild dragon under control. Only Hiccup seemed to have 'the touch', as Hiccup's friends had dubbed it.
Green eyes flashed back up to the white-blonde haired man.
"If no war was started, then I shouldn't have to stay here." Hiccup tried to reason, feeling Toothless ever so slightly lean into him.
The man's face fell, a shadow seeming to pass through his eyes.
"Because there are those outside of your island that would willingly kidnap you and enslave you, forcing you to train dragons as their war machines."
"Toothless would never let that happen!" Hiccup retorted confidently, hand straying to touch the dragon's head.
"While I am sure that your dragon-"
"He isn't my dragon." Hiccup inturrupted. "That make's him sound like a pet or something. Toothless is my friend."
The man paused, brows raising slightly in surprise. But he inclined his head.
"I see. Forgive me if I offended either of you. But as I was saying, while I am sure that...uh...Toothless, would protect you with his life, even a dragon can't always protect you. One dragon cannot fend off a whole army."
Hiccup didn't like where this conversation was going. He turned to Toothless, beginning to fix his saddle.
"Look, thanks for the concern, I mean it's really nice and all, but I really can't stay here."
The man's face became grim.
"I see. I wish this could have gone more smoothly."
Within seconds, the man was standing a breath away from Hiccup. He grabbed the surprised viking's arm, then reached up with the other to Hiccup's neck.
Hiccup felt gloved fingers press into a nerve, and he gasped, struggling. His vision swam and he could hear Toothless roaring and growling.
Soon, he fell forward. The last thing he remembered was being caught by the strange man.
Then...nothing.
Kovu carefully lifted the young male, glancing over to see a few of his fellow villagers dealing with the now enraged Nightfury.
The youth was shockingly light, making Kovu wonder how much he ate, if ever. A sudden clinking brought his attention to the rider's feet.
There, shining in the dim light of the cave, was a makeshift foot of wood and metal.
Kovu felt his heart plummet into his stomach. How had that happened?! Why was the teen dissabled in such a way?!
The man looked up to his fellow human friends, who'd managed to put the Nightfury into a deep sleep.
"Take the Nightfury to the dragon stables." He ordered. When one of the men approached to take the teen, Kovu shook his head. "No, I will take the boy. You concern yourselves with the dragon."
The other human hesitated, but then nodded.
"Yes, chieftain."
A small, muffled groan came from the teen, and Kovu's face softened as he looked back down at the one he carried.
"It's alright, young rider." He whispered. "Everything will be alright."
Hiccup groaned as his senses slowly returned to him. His neck was sore on the side, and he felt like his throat wool dry.
What had happened? He remembered flying with Toothless...
Grass green eyes snapped open as Hiccup gasped, sitting up abruptly.
"T-Toothless?!" He called out, looking around. "Toothless?!"
His black scaled friend was no where in sight. Hiccup found himself laying in a bed, a fur blanket covering him. His breath fogged in the chilly, still air. He was in a cave of dark grey stone, a dent in the floor being used as a fire pit that bathed the cave in light. Pain cover the walls in colorful designs, and many pots littered the ground, pressed against the far walls.
The distinct smell of herbs seemed familiar in a way, and Hiccup realized he was in a healer's den of sorts.
Shaking off his shock, the young viking tossed off the blanket, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He was surprised, though, to feel no pressure on his half missing leg. Usually, the prosthetic would press carefully against the delicate stump of his leg the moment it touched the ground, but now he felt...nothing.
Looking down, Hiccup gaped when he saw the prosthetic missing, and linen bandages wrapped around the stumps bottom. He could feel an ointment of sorts coating the inside of the bandages, soothing the usual ache his leg always had when he woke.
But where was his prosthetic?
"Ah, you're awake, I see."
Hiccup jumped, eyes snapping up to the speaker. It was the man from before, the one who'd knocked him out.
The young viking's hand went to his belt in search of his hunting knife, but it was gone. He looked back up from his belt, eyes showing slight fear.
The man held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
"Easy there, young rider. I won't hurt you."
Hiccup scowled in return, edging backwards a bit on the bed.
"Yeah, well, sorry if I don't believe you. But you did, y'know, knock me out and all." He retorted, his natural 'Hiccup charm' shining through.
The man nodded, moving to a high hanging shelf and grabbing Hiccup's prosthetic from it.
"I'm afraid that was nesissary. As I said, no tamer's may leave the island, not only for the safety of others, but for their own as well. You wouldn't listen to me, and I had to resort to...slightly drastic measures. But I assure you, your dragon is safe and unharmed, as are you."
The mention of the Nightfury took Hiccup's attention immediately.
"Where's Toothless?" He demanded, warily watching the man walk closer.
"He's with the other dragons of this village. They all stay in what we call the dragon stables."
The man then offered then kneeled down, taking Hiccup's stumped leg in his free hand. The young viking tried to jerk away, but the stranger simply held his leg harder, giving him a firm, stern look. Hiccup froze under the hard look, and the man carefully set down the prosthetic before beginning to undo the bandages.
"Our healer said that you haven't been taking care of your leg. There was a build-up of grime and old scabs. She cleaned it though, and applied some Shiver Root paste to cleanse out any infection."
He paused, putting the bandages aside before picking up the prosthetic. The man then began to carefully place it onto Hiccup's leg.
"And I took the chance to take this leg of yours to the village blacksmith. He and I cleaned it up. Dirt was clogging it up."
Hiccup didn't reply, watching him suspisciously. Once the leg was in place, the man stood and moved back a couple of steps. Hiccup carefully stood, wobbling for only a moment before gaining his balance. Once able to properly stand he looked at the man before him with narrowed eyes.
He was now clothed in simpler attire. In exchange for his riding gear, the man wore heavy, warm furs and leather breeches with fur-lined boots. His face now had marks along the left side of his jaw in pale blue paint.
Hiccup finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"Take me to Toothless. I want to see him."
The man sighed.
"Very well. I will take you to the Nightfury if you tell me your name."
The young viking didn't even hesitate for a moment.
"Hiccup. Hiccup Horendous Hadock the third."
Surprise flashed thorugh the man's eyes. He had expected at least a little wariness from the teen. But he nodded all the same.
"Kovu."
Hiccup waved off the introduction.
"Yeah, nice to meet you, now please just show me where Toothless is." He pleaded.
Kovu made a motion for the teen to follow, and slowly began to lead the way. He watched with interest as Hiccup followed, walking almost as well as he could've with two normal feet. Hiccup, used to the stares his leg brought, simply ignored him as they left the cavern.
The sight that revealed itself was shocking.
A valley, right in the center of the mountain, met a narrow pass that led to the outside of the mountain. Among the frost and snow, tree's grew tall, branches reaching for the sky. Paths wound up the valley's mountain walls. People, dressed in heavy clothing, went about daily work. Some glided on dragons, and bellow, in a wide open space, Hiccup could see several people training with dragons.
"Woah..."
Kovu smiled slightly at the youth's awe.
"We have inhabited this island for many years, and have cultivated the land to what it is now."
A sudden, shrieking roar shook the air, and Hiccup recognized it instantly.
"Toothless!"
Kovu jumped slightly in surprise when the young viking ran off, going down the slope that led out of the healers home.
"Hiccup!" Kovu exclaimed, quickly chasing after the teen.
Hiccup didn't acknowledge him, instead following the anguished roars he knew belonged to Toothless.
"Toothless!" He called out, peering into caverns, searching desperately. "Toothless!"
Finally, Hiccup found a large cave, well lit with torches, and dragons milling about. In the corner, Hiccup saw several people trying (and failing) to get close to Toothless. They were crouched low, like a dragon when hunting, and holding out hands as though to let the Nightfury sniff them. But Toothless simply snapped at them with sharp fangs, roaring angrily and fearfully.
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out in relief, smiling.
The acid colored eyes of the Nightfury widened, and Toothless perked up at the sound of Hiccup's voice. Seeing the auburn haired human, Toothless gave a happy, shrill cry and leapt over the humans before him. Toothless ran to Hiccup, sniffing him and nuzzling him, searching for any injuries his little human may have gotten.
"Hey buddy! Hey, h-hey!" Hiccup laughed, pushing away the dragon's snout. "I'm fine, Toothless! I'm okay!"
The other humans around watched in awe as Hiccup continued to laugh, rubbing and scratching the Nightfury's dark scales. A paticular scratch behind the head made the dragon all but melt, rolling over to expose his belly.
Kovu, having caught up, watch with interest just as the others did. This young rider hadn't even let the dragon sniff him, or even crouch low to show no harm.
Finally, the young rider and dragon calmed down, but Hiccup gave Toothless a hug around the neck before finally pushing the Nightfury back, making him sit.
One of the villagers approached Kovu.
"The Nightfury would not let us close, we were barely able to remove the saddle, and he will not eat." The woman explained softly, a lilting accent touching her voice. Kovu's brow furrowed.
"Did you allow him to smell your hands?"
"We tried. He will not let us within five feet of him! We have tried everything."
Hiccup, hearing this, sighed.
"Yeah, Toothless isn't too keen on taking food from strangers. The last person Toothless didn't know nearly lost a hand." He explained casually, not seeming to notice the horrified looks the others in the 'dragon stabes' exchanged. "C'mon bud."
Hiccup walked over to where an untouched pile of fish lay, picking one up. He held it out to Toothless, letting the Nightfury sniff it to see if it was poisoned, then the teen tossed it in the air where Toothless caught it.
Kovu crossed his arms, a thoughtful look coming to his face. It seemed that Hiccup used...unconventional methods with dragons.
No matter. He'd show the teen the villages way.