Wow, you never understand why other authors on here have a hard time updating in decent time until you actually are one of them. This story will be completed though, and I'm already feeling a sequel or two coming on with how I'm going to develop these characters. It's getting me excited to be honest. Anyway, this chapter gives you a bit more insight into Hiccup's life, as well as the life of a certain other young viking. We also have the first problem of our story making an appearance here, so I'm hoping it's a good chapter. I hope it gets you waiting on Chapter 3 ;)

Chapter 2

Washed Ashore

Hiccup had a habit of rising before the sun. He wasn't sure why, but he definitely had no reason to complain about it. Being the first person awake in the entire village gave Hiccup the chance to get a head start on whatever his plans for that day were, all the while avoiding the other vikings. Most importantly however, it allowed him to sneak out before his father woke up. It's not that Stoick wasn't a morning person, it's just that Hiccup couldn't imagine how it could be anything other than awkward if they were to bump in to each other. That's how it always was when the two were alone together. They barely talk, and when they do it feels overly formal and fake. Hiccup knew his father tried. Well, tried to try at least. Stoick was very well aware that his son felt like a useless disgrace to the village, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't couldn't bring himself to completely disagree. He wouldn't go so far as to say Hiccup was a 'useless disgrace', because to him he wasn't. However, to the village, his son wasn't exactly a thriving member of the community and tended to cause more trouble than anything else. And Stoick knew Hiccup tried too, though to him it was in all the wrong ways. He thought his son had given up on being a true viking, and instead tried shortcuts like his inventions to just try and pass as one. But there is no shortcut to becoming a viking, and there is no way to just pass off as one either. They both knew the other was trying, but in completely opposite ways. Therefore their encounters were brief and very tense, each dreading the time when the other would push a clashing idea ahead and cause the thin thread holding their relationship to snap. Neither of them wanted it to be this way, but there was much more than a difference in height keeping the two from seeing eye-to-eye. One couldn't find the words to describe how he wanted his son to change, and the other couldn't find the words to describe how he can't change. However, through all the confusion, disappointment, and clouded emotion, they each felt for each other. Hiccup was aware that losing his mom was difficult for his father, and it reflected his treatment of him. The parenting job was never meant for Stoick. He was the Chief of a viking village. However, he had no choice after the night his beloved was snatched up in the claws of a devil. He knows that if she were here, she would be the link that the father and son needed. But fate doesn't always have to play fair, and for the Haddock family, it seemingly never chose to.

Hiccup heard his fathers snoring as he traversed down the stairs from his room. He was always amazed at how quiet his fathers snore was, and if their relationship were normal he'd tease the massive man for snoring like a kitten. He shakes the slightly depressing thought from his head as he grabs his fur vest and heads towards the door. He never bothered with breakfast. In fact, sometimes the only meal he ate was dinner, which could admittedly contribute to his consistently skinny size. He opens the door and walks out in to the early morning air. It was chilly, as always, and the air had a cool moisture to it as apparent by the dew residing on every blade of grass. The Chiefs house was positioned slightly higher than the mead hall, though Hiccup decided it really depended on what angle you were looking at it from, on the Northern-most side of the village atop a hill. The village itself had a near-organized look, even though it was mainly just buildings placed around the bottom of the hill wherever they'll fit. They left room for a village square at the very base of the hill however, mostly to be used as a social gathering place. The forge, which was Hiccups current destination, was the second building on the right when coming down the hill. Hiccup was thankful for the close proximity, as he was able to get there quickly and easily in the morning. Gobber didn't allow Hiccup to light the forge, or do any metal work without himself being there to supervise. He did however, allow him access to the back room of the building whenever he desired. Hiccup had turned this room in to a sort of sanctuary for himself. The doorway was kind of small, which made it difficult for the larger vikings to enter. This caused them to typically stay away and gave Hiccup peace to work alone. Today, he was finally going to assemble the new invention he'd been planning. This device would fire bolas at blazing speeds in to the sky to catch dragons during raids. Hiccup decided it was easier than just throwing them, and it was also more accurate. He was kind of hoping it would be successful and eventually catch on. They could place these 'bola shots' around the village and have vikings shoot down dragons with greater proficiency. That is, of course, if it was successful.

Hiccup entered his small room and took a quick look around to ensure everything was accounted for. The room itself wasn't much. There was a desk against the wall, a chair, and a wooden bench. Scattered on the wall above the desk were various plans for inventions that Hiccup had come up with. These plans either weren't complete yet, or they were just waiting for Hiccup to finally assemble and test them. He walked over to his desk and pulled out his book. He opened the book to a page that was marked by a folded piece of paper, and pulled out his charcoal stick. The book acted as a journal for Hiccup, containing most of his innermost thoughts and feelings. This book was always with him. Always. He made sure that the charcoal was in good condition before he began writing.

'Well, today is the day I finally assemble my latest invention. I call this one the bola shot. Pretty basic name, I know. But it definitely isn't a basic device, did you notice how long it took to design? Turn back the pages covering the last few weeks and you'll see. As I've said before, I already have all of the parts back here in my room. Gobber won't let me use the forge on my own, so I've had to stay later than usual a few times to make all of the metal parts. If I planned everything out correctly (which I hope to the Gods I did), then this should take a few hours to assemble and then it will work perfectly! Sure, I might experience a mild calibration issue or something, but nothing I'll need to make a new part for. I'm really hoping this works. I'll need to sneak out during the next dragon raid, which means I had better take out SOMETHING or I'm going to be in all kinds of trouble. Even just a Gronckle would make people at least start believing in me. And can you imagine what this invention could do for the village? I could go from Hiccup the Useless to Hiccup the Inventor, creating the very best in dragon raid defences! It's all about the next raid. Whether this thing works or not, something big is going to happen...I can just feel it.'

Hiccup put the charcoal down and went straight to work assembling the bola shot device. He was concentrating so hard that he didn't notice Gobber enter the forge. He didn't notice the viking village begin to wake up and go about the day. He didn't notice the loud bangs and the screeching friction as Gobber repaired a double-sided battle axe. And he definitely didn't notice the blonde viking leaning against a table, skeptically observing Hiccup through the slightly open door of the back room.


As soon as the sun tipped on the horizon, Astrid was out of bed and ready to train. Some would say that he trained too much, and devoted too much time to mastering the art of battle. Not to her face of course, as the village learned a while ago not to question Astrids rigorous habits. She was the most promising of all the young vikings, having to spar against the adults due to her skill being too great for the ones her own age. She wasn't actually anything to sing to the Gods about to be honest, she just put in the time. If some of the other teens her age would step it up and train a decent amount then they'd have a group of promising vikings, rather than just her. She'd never let them get better than her though, if that were a possibility. Even with a regular training schedule, one would find it near impossible to keep up with Astrids constant training. When she wasn't training, she was eating or sleeping. Maybe attending some event at the Great Hall, but she was known to have skipped one or two of those even. Astrid had to be the best. She had to outshine every one of her competitors. Some might think this was quite selfish, that Astrid was a sore loser who had to have it all. In reality, Astrid wasn't doing it entirely for herself. She was a Hofferson, and anyone who lived on Berk knew that the family had a larger amount of shame to their name than most. The biggest issue was Astrids father, Gunn Hofferson. Astrid was born only a short time before he was banished from returning to Berk, something about being unfaithful to her mother. Gunn was Berks trader, sailing his ship to and from neighboring islands with orders from Stoick on what to bring and what to get. Apparently, as far as Astrid knew, temptation got the better of him and he met some other women. He was eventually found out, and while that might be tolerated in some places, it was a huge crime in Stoick the Vast's village. If you weren't faithful to your spouse, and didn't realize how lucky you were to have them, then you had no place on Berk. It was out of the control of Astrids mother, but it still impacted how the village viewed the Hofferson family. Broken, betrayed, and abandoned by the man of the family. The village was still friendly to them, but the thought would always be lingering. Astrid made it her goal to change that. She trained hard to be the best so that her family would rise above her father and what he did to them. She kept perfect reputation and would never let it slip, even if it killed her.

Astrid grabbed her double-sided battle axe and walked out of her house. Her relationship with her mother wasn't exactly strained, but they were both always very busy. Her mother was now both household leaders, and did most of the work, but she still managed to have time for Astrid when she had time for her. Astrid loved her mother very much, which made her even more determined to show the village what a perfect viking she could raise. She swung her axe lazily but still well coordinated as she walked in to the forest. She chose a different spot to train nearly everyday, as the change of scenery seemed to slightly lessen the repetitiveness. She would start with her swing, always trying to have full control to switch from quick attacks to heavy blows on a whim. Next would come her dodging techniques. Agility was key in any battle when you were a smaller viking, and Astrid was sure to keep her speed and various tumble rolls at top notch. Lastly, she threw her axe at trees. Normally, you would never throw away your only weapon, but she figured she'd train to be great at it anyway. You never know when a good axe throw could come in handy. When she started this particular exercise, she could barely throw the axe five feet, and if it hit the tree it would never stick in. However, after a few years of doing it, she could now throw the axe from about twenty feet and still have it sometimes stick in the tree. With a weapon as heavy as an axe, a twenty foot throwing distance was jaw dropping for a fourteen year old girl. Astrid threw her axe one more time and managed to lodge it in the tree, though only by a couple inches. She pulled it out of the tree with one hand and inspected it.

"I went really hard on you today, didn't I?" She said, tracing the edge with her ocean blue eyes. "Guess I'd better get you sharpened back up, more training to do later on today." Astrid decided while turning to head to the forge.

She had a habit of talking to her axe sometimes. Not like it was a friend or anything, but she'd make out loud observations to it as if it could hear her. She probably said more words to the weapon than she did to actual people. She interacted with the other teens her age sometimes, though that could mainly be because she was on fire duty with them during dragon raids. They all seemed pretty eager to talk to her, and she'd never ignore them while they were together, but she just didn't think she had the time to spend on hanging out. Plus the Chiefs nephew, Snotlout, would always say something flirtatious to her. She thought she might actually be flattered if he wasn't such an underachieving jerk. Sure he had decent fighting skills, but he thought his talent was natural and that he didn't have to work for it. Astrid didn't have the extra time for someone like that.

She arrived at the forge, axe in hand, and found that Gobber had just finished lighting it all up. He was in later than he usually was, but with the pile of work from the last raid being only just finished yesterday, he deserved the rest. She walked up to him with a small smile on her face, something that was too rare of a sight for someone like her. She had always liked Gobber. He was goofy, but he held a lot of heartfelt wisdom that he would give at the right times. His personality was just so likeable that Astrid always enjoyed seeing him whenever she needed her axe taken care of. Gobber heard her walking up behind him and turned around to face her.

"Ah, Astrid! 'Tis good to see ya this mornin'." He said happily, smile revealing his fake tooth.

Actually, his tooth wasn't the only fake body part he had. Apart from being the blacksmith, Gobber was also known for having the most artificial limbs. He had lost his left arm, and his right leg to dragons, and now had wooden replacements for each. His new left hand was actually interchangeable, and could have things like hammers and axes attacked to it to allow it to still be of use. Astrid thought that was absolutely genius.

"It's always nice to see you too, Gobber." Astrid said, smile still tugging at her lips.

"What can I do ya fer today? You get the honor of being my first customer this mornin'." Gobber announced while turning to his table with all of the attachments for his hand.

Astrid held up her axe to Gobber and he immediately saw what it needed. The blade had been worn out and was on the brink of being too dull to cut yak butter, and the wood handle was starting to splinter in some places. Gobber took the axe and inspected the head. He ran his finger over the chip in the blade that had been there for nearly a year now. He suggested when it happened that she let him make her a new one, but she declined, saying she was too used to this one to bother changing to a new one.

Gobber turned back to the blonde viking girl. "Well, I guess I'll sharpen it up and replace the handle. You know, unless ya want me to make ya a -"

"No." Astrid firmly cut him off. "I told you, unless it's damaged beyond all hope, I'm not replacing this one."

Gobber sighed and gave a small shrug before turning to get to work on the axe. Astrid knew this repair would take a little longer than usual, but decided to wait in the forge anyway, mostly for lack of anywhere better to go. She walked along the wall of completed weapons, only paying half-attention to what she was looking at. Her mind was already skipping ahead to plan her next training session. She leaned back against a table near the back of the forge and let her mind wander. She was only there for half a minute at most before something caught her eye. She looked to her right, where the movement came from. She saw that a door in the back of the forge was slightly open, and through the crack between it and the wall, she saw him.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was in the back room, fiddling with some pile of wood and metal. Upon closer inspection, Astrid noticed it looked like some wooden box on wheels, with a curved wood covering that would open and close to reveal or conceal some sort of metal contraption. Astrid rolled her eyes as she realized Hiccup was working on a new invention of his, not looking forward to its reveal when it would probably destroy something or hurt someone. She wasn't exactly fond of the young viking, who seemed to always mess something up whenever he tried to lend a hand. She wished he would stop putting so much reliance on his inventions, and would just put in the time and effort to train like everyone else. Building complex mechanisms wasn't going to help the heir of Berk better himself in the areas where he was lacking. Astrid knew he was small, and she knew he was weak. She also knew that there was still time for him grow, and that weakness can be overcome by training to be strong. Hiccup didn't seem to see things this way though, leaving the two teens as total opposites who couldn't understand each other to save their lives. Astrid would admit one thing about the boy however...he was definitely smart. Most of the contraptions he'd construct were so thought out that she never even bothered to try and figure out how they worked. But in Berk, just being smart wasn't enough. A great mind can control a battle from the sidelines, but a great viking could control one from the front line. That was what Berk needed, and luckily enough, it was what they currently had in Stoick. She'd never say it out loud, and didn't even like thinking it too much, but Hiccup had a greater mind than his father. If only he'd try and change the rest of himself.

Astrid was pulled from her thoughts as she noticed Gobber had set down the axe and was now at the front of the forge. She went to take one last glance at Hiccup, but he wasn't in sight anymore. She shook her head and walked over beside Gobber. Just before she reached him, she noticed what captured his attention. There was a group of vikings standing outside the forge, crowded around two men who had something laid in front of them. Chief Stoick was standing opposite them, and Astrid concentrated on what he was saying.

"- in Thor's name is going on? You two, what is this?" The Chief demanded, pointing to the pile of wet cloth they had placed in front of them. The viking on the left reached down and pulled aside some of the cloth, and what was revealed made the bystanders gasp in shock.

Wrapped in the cloth, was the body of a young man. He looked to be only slightly older than Astrid herself. He was soaked through, and displayed a crescent-shaped cut above his left eyebrow.

"We found him drifting towards Berk sir. He was floating on what seemed to be, uh, a part of a ship I guess...as if it had been destroyed." The viking who moved the cloth explained to the Chief, who was currently staring at the body. The viking continued, "he's still alive sir...what should we do with him?"

The Chief thought for a brief moment before responding. "You saw nobody else? No sign of the ones who could have destroyed this ones ship?" He asked, still eyeing the boy carefully.

This time it was the other viking who responded. "There were no signs of anyone else sir. We can't even tell how long he had been drifting, let alone how far. There's a chance it was a safe distance from us. They may not even know Berk is here."

Stoick thought for another moment before telling the two vikings to bring the boy to the Great Hall. He explained that they would treat his injuries there, and wait for him to wake up. Once he was awake, he was to go no where until Stoick himself had questioned him about what had happened. The two vikings nodded in understanding and picked up the boy wrapped in cloth. They started up the steps to the Great Hall as the crowd that witnessed the short discussion slowly dispersed. Thoughts about the possibility of an attack filled their minds as they went back to their business, each eager to hear how this boy ended up here and why his ship was attacked.

Astrid watched with interest as the boy was carried up to the Great Hall. The possibility of a war had always been a threat, as it usually was for vikings, but it had never been this seemingly real before. All of a sudden, everything Astrid had trained herself to be seemed inadequate. She felt that even though she trained more than anyone, she still wasn't ready for a war. She had never even been in a real fight to be honest, and it was a lot different than training exercises. She shook the thought from her head as quickly as it came and turned back towards Gobber, who had continued working on her axe. If a war was to come to Berk, she would make sure she was ready.

So, that's chapter 2. The boy is now on Berk, and he's going to be face to face with Stoick as soon as he wakes up. What a way to wake up, huh? The village is rightfully worried about a war, as a ship was just destroyed somewhere of Berk's coast. Maybe they thought it was one of Berk's ships? Maybe they actually don't know Berk is there? But one thing is for sure, this chapter didn't tell you any of that...which means you need to wait until chapter 3 to even get an idea of what's to come, and probably an even later chapter to find out what actually is going to happen. Lucky you, eh? Anyway, once again feel free to let me know what you think, good or bad. Chapter 3 will be up soon enough. Thanks guys!