Chapter 2: North
It didn't take long for Stoick to have the Great Hall emptied after Nicholas had made his announcement to Hiccup. Currently, only seven people remained in the Hall. Stoick stood before Nicholas, flanked by Spitelout and a large, blonde woman dressed in armor. Gothi stood to the side with Hiccup and Merida, both of them watching Nicholas wearily. Nicholas, for his part seemed to be oblivious to the looks he was getting. Instead, he was focused on Toothless who was observing the reindeer, Donner who was looking back at the Night Fury impassively.
"You should be careful," Spitelout observed, "Looks like Toothless is eyeing your deer for dinner."
"No need for concern," Nicholas replied dismissively, "He ees only looking."
"I'm surprised your deer isn't scared," Hiccup stated.
"Donnor ees being too proud to be scared of anyzing," Nicholas replied with a laugh as he turned and smiled at Hiccup, "Even a Night Fury."
"Nicholas," Stoick began to speak, pausing as the man in question held up his hand.
"Please, be calling me North," he insisted with another smile, his attention turning to the decorations hanging from the rafters.
"Alright," Stoick agreed, looking wearily at the other man, "North. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"
"Certainly!" North stated as he walked around the hall, looking at the decorations, "I am liking zese, vat are zey for?"
"It's for a holiday," Stoick replied, thrown off by North's question, "Snoggletog."
"Snoggletog?" North questioned, making a face as he looked back at Stoick, "Terrible name."
"Can we get back to the point at hand here?" Stoick asked, growing more annoyed by the second.
"Of course," North replied with a chuckle, turning his attention back to the decorations, "You vanted to be asking questions."
"Right," Stoick grumbled, glaring at North, "First, I wanted to know how you got on our island."
"I traveled," North stated with a shrug as he looked over his shoulder at Stoick, "Remember? Ve talk about zees before."
"Enough games!" Spitelout snapped, pointing a finger at North, "You know what we're asking you. Quit jerking us around."
"Alright, alright," North chuckled as he turned to face Stoick fully, holding his hands up in a sign of peace, "I vas only pulling on ze leg."
Walking up to Stoick, North motioned the chieftain closer, prompting him to lean closer to the traveler.
"Can you keep secret?" North whispered conspiratorially.
Stoick nodded his head.
"Vell, between you and me," North stated, indicating to Donner with his eyes, "Ze reindeer…can fly."
A blank look fell over Stoick's features as North smiled at him. The two looked at one another for a moment before Stoick's hands shot out and grabbed North by his jacket, yanking the traveler closer as the two of them stood up straight.
"Enough of your games!" Stoick bellowed in North's face, "You're going to tell me what you're doing on my island and what you want with my son or gods' help me, I'm going to-"
"Dad!" Hiccup shouted, giving Stoick pause as he turned to look at his son, "This isn't helping."
"He's the one spouting nonsense, not me!" Stoick said, pointing an accusatory finger in North's face, poking the other man's nose, causing him to go cross-eyed so he could look at it.
"I know," Hiccup agreed, "But I don't think we're going to get what we want from him by beating it out of him. Let me try talking to him."
"Fine," Stoick grumbled, letting go of North's coat and shoving the other man half a step back. North gave Stoick a distasteful look as he brushed himself off and straightened his coat before turning his attention to Hiccup as the young man approached him.
"Uh, hi," Hiccup greeted the taller man awkwardly.
"Privet," North replied with a nod, "Your father ees being a very…aggressive man."
"Yeah, I know," Hiccup replied with a chuckle before he cleared his throat and continued, "So, uh, you said you needed my help finding someone?"
"Da," North replied with a smile and another nod.
"Why me?" Hiccup asked, arching an eyebrow at North.
"Because you and I have heard ze same message," North answered as he leaned closer to Hiccup.
"Message?" Hiccup asked in confusion, "What message?"
Without warning, North reached down and grabbed Hiccup's right wrist before jerking it up. The other's jumped forward to stop him, but stopped as North eyed them all, holding up his other hand to show that he meant Hiccup no harm. Slowly, he reached over to Hiccup's arm with his other hand and pulled the sleeve down, revealing the burn on the young man's arm.
"One cannot be touched by fire vizout being burnt, Hiccup Dragonrider," North stated as he looked Hiccup right in the eye.
"Loki," Hiccup whispered in understanding, "Loki's talked to you?"
"I talk to ze flames," North said with a shrug as he let go of Hiccup's wrist and stood up straight again, "Sometime zey talk back."
"If Loki sent you that means the person who you're looking for…" Hiccup paused as he looked North in the eye, "You're looking for the spirit. The one he told me about. The young god."
"Da," North confirmed.
"How can I help you?" Hiccup questioned uncertainly, "I don't know anything about spirits and gods."
"You are knowing more zan most," North reassured him, "But I am not needing you for vhat you know, I am needing you for vhat you are."
"And what's that exactly?" Hiccup pressed.
"A good man," North answered with a smile only adding to Hiccup's confusion.
"Okay, so you need me," Hiccup stated with a helpless shrug, "Where would we even look? Plus, it's the middle of winter, not the best time to be traveling."
"He's nae gaein' anywhere withoot me," Merida spoke up defiantly as she walked up next to Hiccup and took his hand, looking up at North and daring him to challenge her, Varis cawing loudly from her shoulder.
"Relax, Printsessa," North assured her, "Ve are not going anyvhere."
"We're not?" Hiccup asked in confusion.
"Net," North replied before pointing at the ground, "Because he ees being here on Berk."
"Are you telling me there is…a god…here on Berk?" Stoick asked, a look of shock on his face.
"Da," North affirmed with another nod.
"How do you know?" Gothi questioned, speaking up for the first time.
"Because I am knowing him," North explained as he looked over at Gothi.
"Ye know him?" Merida asked incredulously, "Ye know him?"
"Da, of course!" North answered with another laugh, "I have been knowing heem hees whole life!"
"His whole life?" Hiccup asked, surprised.
"Da, he ees not being very old," North explained, "Only twenty, twenty one years."
"Whit's he like?" Merida questioned, tilting her head inquisitively, Varis mirroring the motion from his perch on her shoulder, "Whit kind o' spirit is he?"
"He ees ze wind and he's ees ze cold," North stated, "He ees joy…and he ees loneliness."
North looked around at the others, who he held in rapt attention, before chuckling.
"Mostly, I just call heem Jack," North stated with a smile.
"Jack?" Spitelout questioned, crooking an eyebrow at North.
"Jack Frost," North replied with a shrug, "It is being ze name he prefers."
"What is he doing here?" Gothi asked.
"I am not knowing," North answered with a shrug.
"You don't know?" Stoick questioned in confusion, "I thought you've been traveling with him for twenty years."
"I have been knowing him for twenty years," North corrected, "I do not alvays travel vith heem. He is ze wind. He comes and he goes. It is being hees way."
"So, do you have any idea about why he's here?" Hiccup asked.
"I am believing he ees looking for someone," North answered.
"So, we're trying to find someone…who's trying to find someone?" Spitelout questioned, an incredulous look on his face.
"Da, exactly," North agreed, pointing at Spitelout and nodding.
"Who is he lookin' fer?" Merida asked.
"I am not knowing," North answered with a helpless shrug, "Ve veell be needing to ask heem when we find heem."
Merida and Hiccup shared a dissatisfied look as Varis ruffled his feathers.
"That's not a lot to go on, uh, North," Hiccup pointed out.
"Da," North agreed, scratching the back of his neck as he offered Hiccup an apologetic smile, "But I am knowing zat if ve vork together, ve veell find him. Is small island, after all. Not many places vhere he could be hiding."
"Ye'd be surprised," Merida commented knowingly as Varis cawed in agreement on her shoulder.
As Merida and Hiccup talked with North, Stoick motioned for his lieutenants and Gothi to come speak with him.
"What are we going to do with this man, Stoick?" the woman questioned, crossing her arms as she glanced back at North.
"I have to admit, spirits and gods are not my forte, Bertha," Stoick admitted before turning his attention to Gothi, "What do you think, Elder?"
"He speaks with a certain authority," Gothi admitted, turning her gaze towards North and gave him an appraising look, "And he has a feel of the spirit world around him. A stronger one than I've ever come across."
"What do you mean by a 'feel'?" Spitelout questioned with another raised eyebrow.
"It is hard to explain," Gothi said as she waved her hand through the air, "The best way I can explain it is that if you know what to look for, you can tell who has a touch of the spirits in them and who does not."
"So, you think this man was sent by Loki?" Stoick questioned.
"I do," Gothi replied with a nod.
"Do you think this has to do with the spirits and shadows Hiccup's been talking about since he woke?" Bertha questioned.
"It would seem so," Stoick answered as Gothi nodded.
"Even if all this talk of gods and spirits is real," Spitelout stated, a doubtful look on his face, "Are we going to trust the word of Loki, the God of Lies?"
"Loki is something much greater than a simple liar," Gothi argued, glaring up at Spitelout, "You would do well to remember that, Spitelout Jorgeson."
"Liar or not, Loki is very much real," Stoick stated, trying to diffuse the rising tension, "He has marked my son for some reason, and if this man's arrival is part of that purpose, then I want to see where it leads."
"So, we're going to let him stay here?" Bertha questioned.
"Yes," Stoick confirmed, "I'd rather keep him close so that I can better keep an eye on him. I might believe this North character, but that doesn't mean I trust him."
The other's agreed with nods prompting Stoick to turn his attention back towards North.
"North," Stoick spoke up, grabbing the other man's attention, "The hour grows late and it seems as though you will be staying with us for a time. I hope one of our guest houses will suffice for your stay."
"Da," North agreed with a smile and a nod, "I am sure zat it veell suit me well."
"If you'd like, I can show you to them now," Stoick offered, before he paused as Hiccup stepped forward.
"Actually Dad, me and Merida would like to bring him over," Hiccup said, looking slightly nervous as he spoke, "If you don't mind."
"Go right ahead, son," Stoick stated after a moment with a smirk and a nod, "I'll see you and Merida back at the house."
"Thanks, Dad," Hiccup replied with a small smile of his own, before turning his attention back to North and Merida, the later of who was already throwing on her cloak.
"Here," Merida said as she handed Hiccup his cloak, "Daenae want this Jack fellow tae freeze ye solid afore ye've had a chance tae introduce yerself."
"No need to be worrying about zat," North said with a laugh before pausing, "He only deed zat once."
Hiccup and Merida shared a worried look as North turned away from the two of them and began making his way toward the door, signaling Donner to follow him as he did. The deer trotted over to North as Hiccup and Merida followed suit, Toothless falling in step with them. As they reached the door, North pushed it open, pausing as a blast of cold wind struck him in the face before he gestured to the others to step outside, Hiccup grabbing a torch from a nearby scone on the wall before exiting the Hall.
As the small group made their way towards the edge of the village where one of the small guest houses was located, Hiccup glanced at North, wanting to ask something but unable to find the right way to.
"I see you are vanting to ask me a question, Hiccup Dragonrider," North observed, a knowing smile on his face as Hiccup whipped his head around to look up at the taller man, "Vhat ees eet you are vanting to know?"
"I guess the one question I wanted to ask you is where are you from?" Hiccup asked as they trudged through the snow, "I've never heard someone speak with an accent like yours before."
"Understandable," North said with another laugh, "My people do not enjoy traveling from zeir home. I am a Rus of ze Frozen Steppes far to ze east of ze Norselands."
"Ah've heard o' th' Rus afore," Merida observed, giving North a quizzical look, "Ye daenae exactly act like Ah imagined a Rus wud act like."
"I suspect not," North replied with an even louder laugh that the howling wind carried over the village, "I am not being as grim and dower as people like to zeenk ze Rus are, zough I weell admit zat some of my countrymen fit zat description perfectly."
"Why did you leave the Frozen Steppes?" Hiccup questioned as they approached the guest house.
"Trust me, if you ever go to ze Steppes, you veell vant to be leaving too," North said in a way that sounded like he wasn't joking at all.
"Seriously though, why did you leave?" Hiccup pressed as he opened the door and moving out of the way to allow North, Toothless and Merida to enter. He paused for a moment to allow Donner inside as well, but the reindeer merely snorted at him before wandering off around the house, apparently oblivious to the cold. Hiccup quirked an eyebrow as he watched Donner leave before shrugging and entering the house, closing the door behind him.
"I followed my calling," North replied to Hiccup's question with a shrug as he took off his hat and set in on a nearby table. Hiccup walked over to the fireplace, grabbed a log that was sitting nearby in before throwing the torch in as well to light them. The lower level of the house was sparsely furnished, with only a single chair near the fireplace along with another by kitchen table. A set of stair sat near the back of the room, leading to the second floor.
"Yer calling?" Merida pressed as she pulled her hood back and took off her hat, shaking her curly red hair out. As Merida shook her head, Varis let out a caw and flew over to the mantle of the fireplace, ruffling his feathers as he settled onto his new perch.
"I have alvays had a certain…sense for zings," North answered, turning to study Merida as he undid his swordbelt, stepping out of the way of Toothless as the dragon sniffed around the room.
"Whit sort o' sense?" Merida asked further.
"I zeenk you know vhat sense I am talking about," North answered with a chuckle as he set the swordbelt to the side as well.
"Whit dae ye mean by 'at?" Merida questioned, looking up at North in confusion.
"Maybe you are not knowing as much as I zought," North observed as he began to pull his coat off, revealing the simple white shirt he wore underneath, "Tell me, Printessa, have you ever felt somezing. Somezing you could not explain, but it told you somezing you could not have known othervise?"
Merida looked up at him for a few quite moments with a surprised and pensive look on her face before she slowly nodded.
"You are feeling it right now, are you not?" North questioned, grinning as he leaned in closer to Merida. Merida nodded again as Varis let out a caw from his perch.
"Vhat do you feel?" North asked, standing back up as he began to shrug his coat off.
"Ah feel…saemethin' in ye," Merida replied, struggling to find the words to describe what she was feeling, "Saemethin' wondrous…"
North took his jacket off as Merida continued talking, revealing numerous black tattoos covering both his arms.
"..And dangerous," Merida finish, looking at North's tattoos with wide eyes as the Rus chuckled, throwing his coat onto a nearby chair.
"Whoa," Hiccup said in amazement as he looked at North's tattoos as well. North looked at Hiccup in confusion for a moment before he realized what the young man was looking at and chuckled again.
"I am always forgetting how uncommon zeengs such as zis are outside ze Steppes," North commented as he looked at the tattoos as well.
"Can we see them?" Merida questioned as she took a hesitant step towards North.
"Da, of course," North answered as he stepped closer to the fire where there was more light and held his arms out for them to see.
Walking up, Merida and Hiccup looked closely at the tattoos that covered North's arms. The entirety of his skin was covered in ink, though the tattoos were segmented into small squares surrounding a single rectangle on each forearm. Each of the smaller squares contained various pictures, depicting things from swords, to snowflakes, to horses, to ships, to compasses pointing north. Each of the rectangles contained a single word, though they were written with symbols that neither Hiccup nor Merida could read.
"What do these say?" Hiccup asked, indicating toward the words, "I've never seen writing like this before."
"Eet ees ze writing of my people," North explained before holding up his right arm, "Zis one says "neposlushnyy" or "naughty" to you. Ze other ees "khoroshiy" or "nice"."
"Why dae ye hae th' words naughty an' nice marked on yer arms?" Merida questioned, quirking an eyebrow at North.
"To remind me vhich sword goes in vhich hand, of course!" North replied with a laugh.
"Come again?" Hiccup questioned in confusion.
"Here, let me be showing you," North stated as he walked over to where his sword belt lay and picked it up. He quickly drew the two swords, holding one in each hand before walking back to Hiccup and Merida. Hiccup quickly noticed the two swords were sabers, both slightly longer than his own. One sword was made of finely polished metal, its keen edge gleaming in the fire. The sword was so polished it had a mirror finish, just like Bemuhen's, catching Hiccup's attention immediately. The other sword was much uglier in comparison. The blade was made out of dull grey metal, and here and there Hiccup could see dots of rust and what could only be dried blood. Instead of a single keen edge, the blade was serrated, making it look like North was holding some sort of metal jawbone than a true sword.
"Zis ees Naughty," North explained, holding the serrated blade up for Hiccup and Merida to see before holding up the other one, "And zis ees Nice."
"Wow," Merida stated as she looked at the swords, "These look like they've seen some use."
"More zan you know," North replied ominously.
"Okay, seriously now, what the Hel are you?" Hiccup snapped, his frustration evident as he looked up at North.
"Vhat do you mean?" North questioned in confusion.
"You show up out of nowhere, saying you flew in on a reindeer of all things, saying you're looking for a spirit because another spirit told you too, you apparently have some weird spirit sense that you share with my girlfriend, and now you have a sword that's made out of the same weird metal as mine!" Hiccup ranted, as he pointed a finger at North, "So, I ask again, what the Hel are you!?"
"You have sword like mine?" North questioned innocently.
"Don't change the subject!" Hiccup shouted in aggravation.
"Sorry," North apologized, holding his hands up in an effort to calm Hiccup down, "Eet ees hard to explain, but I veell do my best."
Placing his swords back on the table, North turned to address Hiccup and Merida and took a deep breath.
"I am being vhat you might call a magi," North stated.
"A magi?" Hiccup questioned in confusion, "What's a magi?"
"A wise man," Merida provided, "Like a shaman or a druid or a prophet."
"Or a witch," Hiccup picked up.
"Da," North agreed with a nod of his head.
"So, what does that mean?" Hiccup pressed.
"It means he can speak with spirits, like he said," Merida answered.
"Eet ees being a leettle more zan zat," North interjected, "Not only do I hear ze spirits, but I listen to vhat zey say. You are knowing zat ze great spirits can have only little effect on ze vorld, da?"
Hiccup and Merida nodded in unison.
"Vell, because of zat, they are needing to vork through mortals," North explained, "Mortals like me."
"That's why you've been traveling with Jack Frost," Hiccup surmised, a look of understanding on his face, "That's why Loki sent you here."
North nodded his head in affirmation.
"Are there many magi?" Merida questioned.
"Net, I am not believing so," North answered, shaking his head, "It is rare gift and rarer steell to have someone to train you. I have only ever known a few people like me, one being ze man who taught me, a man by the name of Ombric Shalazar."
"Where is he?" Hiccup asked.
"He is dead," North answered simply.
"Oh...I-I'm sorry," Hiccup apologized softly.
"It is alright," North replied with a shrug, "It vas long time ago."
"So, if you're working with Loki, that means you're working against the shadow that he mentioned, right?" Hiccup questioned.
"Da," North affirmed with a grim nod.
"Can you tell me about him?" Hiccup asked, "Not even Gothi seemed to know a lot about him. She's only heard old legend of a great darkness that covered the world in the time before time."
"Eet ees long story," North warned, "And eet ees not a happy one."
"If we're supposed tae dae saemethin' aboot this guy, we hae tae know aboot him," Merida insisted.
"Very well," North said with a sigh as he settled into a wooden chair near the fire, the furniture piece creaking under his bulk, "I suggest you get settled zen."
Hiccup and Merida glanced at one another before they took off their coats, gloves and cloaks before setting them aside. They sat down next to each other on the floor before North, leaning against Toothless as he curled behind them. For a few moments, North said nothing as he stared into fire, his hands clasped and resting on his stomach. Varis shifted on his perch above the fireplace and cawed, snapping North back to reality.
"Have you ever heard of ze Boogeyman?" North questioned, his voice low.
"Yes," Hiccup and Merida said together before looking at each other in surprise, causing North to chuckle.
"Tell me vhat you know about ze Boogeyman," North prompted.
"He's a story," Merida said hesitantly, glancing at Hiccup uncertainly, "Told tae scare little kids."
"If you stay up too late," Hiccup continued, a confused look on his face, "Or if you disobey your parents…"
"He'll come an' take ye," Merida finished, an equally puzzled look on her face.
"Did you ever believe eet?" North pressed.
"When Ah was a wee lass, Ah was scared he was hidin' under ma bed," Merida stated, a pensive look on her face, "Ah thought 'at if Ah ever got oot o' bed in th' middle o' th' night he'd grab ma legs an' pull me into the shadows."
"When I was a kid, I thought he lived in the woods behind my house," Hiccup said after Merida was done, "Sometimes I thought I could see him moving amongst the trees and I swear I could hear him scratching at the walls of my room at night."
Hiccup and Merida looked at each other again as they pondered each other's stories.
"I am seeing eet working in your minds," North commented, leaning forward in his chair, "How ees eet zat, despite being raised in two different cultures, you vere taught such a markedly similar story? And I promise you zat eet ees not just ze Norselands and ze Highlands zat share zis tale. Go to Corona, Arendelle, Duloc, ze Steppes, ze Moorishlands, ze Southern Isles, and anywhere beyond or in between, ze tale vill be ze same."
"Sae, this shadow we've been warned aboot…it's the Boogeyman?" Merida questioned as she raised her eyebrow.
"Zat and so much more," North answered as he leaned back into his chair, "He ees ze dark and fear zat lurks in ze hearts of all men and women. He ees ze nightmare zat haunts our dreams and the anxiety zat weighs down our days. He is ze reason children are taught to fear ze night."
"Why?" Hiccup questioned as the flames in the fireplace cast dancing shadows on the walls. North paused as he looked Hiccup dead in the eye, his blue eyes having lost their previous twinkle.
"Because ze night ees dark and full of terrors."
A/N: So, lots of exposition in this one, tried to spice it up, hope you guys enjoyed it all the same because I really enjoy world building. Also, North is a lot of fun to write. As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!