Chapter 2
It smelled like sickness- the undertone of decay pungent in the air. Hiccup took a gulp of air and retched, turning to his side and let the watery vile slip from his lips- he shook and strained to sit up, not wanting to lay on the sick and feel filthier than he already did. He felt hot and sticky, Daggur's ejaculation long sense dry stuck to his nether regions. He was parched, but had neither the strength nor the ever to drag himself to the small river near by- the few occasions that he's done, have been followed by the ever constant beatings from Daggur- He felt no will to move, rolling to his side once more, he closed his eyes and wished for darkness to consume him once again.
The rustling of leaves and cracking of branches made his eyes fly open once more, he pushed himself upright and dragged himself to the small stump he often used as a chair, sagging against the rooting wood, he took a deep breath and licked his lips.
"W-who's there?" He hated the way his croaked, it was weak and broken- the rustling seized, only to start again, frantic and rapid, getting closer with each heart beat. Hiccup gulped and called out once more, voice timid almost hushed. "Daggur..?"
From behind the rustling intensified and a great black shadow emerged, tackling him down, he yelled and struggled against the vicious animal, kicking and punching scaly flesh, the beast's tongue running over his face, wiping the tears that fell, his cries of terror turned into giggles and wet smiled, he no longer punched, but rather scratched at the welcoming scales and the rumbling chest and slobber on his face was a welcome touch, one he missed so much, He sobbed loudly, unashamed as he welcomes his Dragon's friend accepting affection, For that moment, Hiccup could not feel any safer than when he was with Jack.
The cottage receded on the edge of the woods, A humble workshop behind it, were many of the men were seen walking in and out, crates full of wood, paint and cloth in their hands, all busy hard at work- making trinkets here and there, dolls and toy trains, crystals and decorations of any type, Always busy- Through it all, Jack would watch mesmerized, The kind man with the strange markings on his arms, and white hair covering his face, joyously showed him about, showering him with toys and affection, keeping him fed and attending to his wounds daily. He offered him clothes, ones that felt so soft, unlike the dragon's hide, nor the deer skin he constantly wore, brown trousers and white jumper, though he refused to wear those constricting shoes.
Jack was confused through it all, though the kindness was appreciated, and very grateful he was, the ever nagging fear to find his Hiccup still lingered on his mind- Though there was not much he could do, he could barely move on his own as it is. His staff as well, has gone missing, No ways to defend himself from any enemy, Jack could do nothing but stay and let time be his healer, though it killed him on the inside, So much so that days came upon where even the slightest taste for food was no welcomed, it sickened him to his stomach knowing that His Hiccup was out there, alone and defenseless, yet here he was, spoiled fed and protected while he was not- Though as many tries he's done to slither back to the forest, one of the men would spot him and bring him right back into the warmth of the cottage- It irritated him to no end.
So there Jack stayed, inside the small room, watching through the window as the men continued on their religious routine, building and delivering, like clockwork. A knock on the door turned his attention from the window, as the white bearded man walked inside once more, hands behind his back, the glint in his eye, prominent of another toy or trinket that he was about to show to Jack.
" Здравствуйте, мой сын " He spoke in that strange language, perhaps unaware that Jack could not understand.
" Я принес вам сюрприз!" He laughed, From behind him, he takes out a small wooden figure.
Small, about the size of this thumb, it was smooth and the paint work glossy, its face craved carefully into the wood, its eyes big and blue, the hair soft and white, some sort of cloth? Its clothes similar to his, incredibly detailed it was, with its sheep's skin jumper and its silk trousers, the small figure had no shoes as well. To say Jack was impressed was an understatement, he turned the toy over and over, marveling at his own reflection carved into wood so carefully.
"Jack" It was the first ever word understandable to come out of the man's mouth- it was slurred with that thick voice, perhaps muffled by the amount of hair on his face?
"Мой сын , я знаю, что ты меня не понимаешь." He began to talk once more in that strange tongue. " Но я надеюсь, вы понимаете , сколько счастья ты дал мне в возвращении."
Though he could not understand him, Jack was not so stupid to understand the sentiment of the gesture. The bearded man had offered his kindness in such a physical form. Touched as he was, Jack could still not understand what the man wanted. His kindness confused him, but grateful none the less, He did the best way he knew how to show his gratitude.
Standing without hesitation, Jack walked forward and embraced the man with all his might. The man, obviously surprised but not displeased, embraced Jack just as tightly.
And for a blissful moment, Jack felt a strange sense of familiarity. The way the man smelled (Of ginger bread and cookies), the way the man's beard felt upon his cheek (Like itchy straw), it all seemed too familiar. As if he's experienced this exact same sensation before. Warm, and protected. It all felt so surreal, And not for the first time sense his encounter with the man, it made him wonder how such a stranger could open up his den to him, non-hesitant nor suspicious, of the mysterious boy wondering upon the woods with its injured stomach and blood covered fingertips, whom the natural language he spoke- He himself could not understand.
He separated from the man once more and took a prolonged breath, He gestured to himself and licked his lips before speaking once more.
"My name is Ja-"
In the distant shadows of the forest that surround the old man's cabin, the blood curling echo of a man was heard.
Hiccup may have been beaten and bruised. His head could do without a little less beating, and the small hysterics he felt every once in a while could also as well be gone. But he wasn't stupid. He knew that his stump was far away from grace as it could be. Its angry red flesh covered with bits of white oozing puss dripping of its end. It was disgusting and smelled like death-But he knew if he were to survive any longer-for the infection not to spread, He had to cut off a great chunk of his leg.
Now the idea might have sounded too cheery- A quick trip to the local sick house, have his let mutilated once more, and la-di-da he would be on his way home for supper. But this was reality. Hiccup was stranded in the middle of the forest, being dragged gods knows where on the back of an equally crippled dragon, and a maniac running wild in the forest. Hiccup felt light headed, but numb to the pain. His throat was horse and his lips chapped and dry from lack of water. He watched as the tress never ending scenery continued to blur together into a green blob of nothing in his eyes, He let Toothless take him wherever he thought was the safest place from Daggur.
Not soon after they stopped at a small clearing. The sound of a small creek reached his ears. For a moment happy and satisfied that his big dragon friend found water, but yet he felt too exhausted, not an smidge of energy left in him to lift his head-much less crawl his way to the creek.
Carefully, Toothless lowered its injured rider onto the ground, licking his face and smelled his infected stump, recoiling and gagging as he did so, Hiccup chuckled.
"Yeah I know bud…" He managed to croak out.
Toothless left his side for a moment, coming back on its hind legs and a mouth full of water, Before he could say anything, Toothless opened his mouth and dumped a bucket worth of cold water, mixed in with a little dragon spit. He spluttered and coughed, but was grateful for his dragon's friend intention. He lifted his arm carefully and laid a gentle hand upon the creature snout.
Toothless purred and closed his eyes, Happy to have sent a small relief to his brother's mate-Though even in the afterlife, Toothless was sure his brother approved of him watching over his Hiccup. Toothless opened his eyes once more, at the agonizing groan Hiccup had let out, with a violent flinch, Hiccup brought back his arm and wrapped both hands at his thigh, squeezing tight at the flesh, Toothless saw a big glob of white and yellow bubble up and pop in a second. Hiccup groaned once more, sweat dripping down his face, he turned to his side and heaved, watery mucus running down his nose.
Toothless wined and licked the sweat away from the boy's fringe.
"Toothless" Hiccup croaked. "Toothless, you have to take me to a doctor" Hiccup pushed himself onto weak arms, lifting his head to stare eye to eye to the dragon. "Do you understand? Toothless, my stump needs to be cut off" He heaved once more and collapsed on his own sick.
Toothless was not a stupid dragon. Though some Human words were ever foreign to him, he understood the simplest ones. He understood that Hiccup was in pain. He knew the reason for his pain was the bleeding dead flesh that clung to him, and he understood what 'cut off' meant. He heard the hunters scream and rave about it too long for him to learn its meaning. He didn't like what he was doing, but Hiccup needed for the stump to go.
Toothless reared back, Hiccup, as tiered and weary as felt, watched as Toothless circles around him and burned the grass and sand in a wide circle around him.
"Toothless? What are you doing?"
Toothless kept on his diligent work until finally satisfied. He dug a small hole nearby the charred remains of the circle. He came back around and sniffed at the dead flesh from Hiccup's stump. He gagged but kept a steady look upon its oozing puss and blood.
"T-toothless?" He ignored the young man's anxious smell.
He licked his lips and looked at Hiccup once more, clear understanding dawn on his terrified face.
"Toothless NO!, nonononononono" He cried and begged, Holding on his stump and wiggling from side to side. "NONONONONONONO" Toothless laid a massive paw on his stomach to keep him still and opened wide.
"TOOTHLESS DON'T KNOW! NONONONO! TOOTHLESS!"
A loud crunch. And the agonizing screams would forever be remembered around Berk. As the wind carried his screamed and the echoes forever haunt the forest.
Deep in the woods, and on the edges of the tress, all heads turned as of in sync, all heard the billows and with guns ready, and daggers appoint, all ran into the forest in search for the being that hopefully had not breathed his final breath.
1. Hello, My son
2. I have brought you a surprise
3. My son, I know you do not understand me
4. But I hope you understand of how much happiness you have given me in your return
A/N: Eeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, how ya' like me now? I'm really sorry for thee hella late update but at least here it is! LOL, So yeah what do you guys think? Life has been hard but I think I might have gotten a kick ass job, and will most likely have more time to continue on writing this! As always, any questions or concerns please PM me, or write on the comments, as well as leaving a message on my tumblr: sofiababypowerlove-23.