I ain't own nothin'! Except for my imagination and original characters. Yohann is from Riders of Berk. Camicazi is from the HTTYD books.
This is self-betaed, so any and all grammar mistakes are mine. MUHAHAHAHA.
It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
Psalm 74:13
"Off with his head! He should be executed for this heinous crime!" A large woman yelled in fury, nostrils flared. This same event had happened multiple times over the last few months.
The young man behind the desk sighed, apparently this was his life now. "I'm sorry, but stealing soup still isn't a capital offense. How about he pays you back the soup's worth in money, and apologizes for stealing it, does that seem fair to you?" Hiccup suggested calmly, making sure to keep his eyes on the frightening Bog Burglar.
She seemed to ponder his proposition over for a while, then nodded her head in agreement. The Chief sighed in relief, glad that this was just one of those times that a Viking didn't think something over, and had reacted brashly.
One thing he was thankful for that came with his new position, was that people usually came to him before they brained each other with an ax. And that has helped to keep the Viking Tribe's fatality rate down. Though sometimes they brought the fight into his house, and at those times he was less than amused.
Luckily, his mother, Valka, was able to help him out with his abundance in tribe members; without her second opinion and wisdom he would probably have had an anxiety attack by now. Or jumped off a cliff. And he'd rather not do something that drastic, so he was very grateful for his mom and girlfriend. He knew that without those two he'd never get anything done.
"Alright, next!" The Chief called out, and he signed a few more papers as the next person came crashing in. When he looked up he saw a disgruntled Snotlout holding a charred jacket in his hand.
Hiccup recognized it as the new fur coat his distant cousin had bought from the Berserker clan. Snotlout had paid near a fortune to buy it, and it had been made with extremely soft alpaca wool. "Something wrong?" Hiccup asked as if he couldn't see the ruined garment. Snotlout shook the coat in front of himself.
"Do you know what your stupid lizard did?! I had to clean out like, twenty dragon stables to earn enough for this!" The man fumed. The Chief just raised an amused brow.
"You mean the stables you cleaned because you were on probation? And next time you run in here blaming Toothless for something, make sure that you have evidence." Hiccup smirked.
"It was not my fault that that dock suddenly exploded! And I did bring evidence, see this?" He held up the coat again while the man behind the desk sighed in exasperation.
"If you had looked closer, you would have noticed that the fire used on that was not from a Night Fury. Night Fury's mostly have explosive blasts, and that's only lightly charred."
"Then what dragon set my coat on fire?" Snotlout said, his eyes scrunched up in confusion.
"Probably a Monstrous Nightmare, from the ash pattern. " Hiccup responded offhandedly; already back to working on his paperwork. It was getting dark outside, and he wanted to get everything finished so he didn't have to use candlelight again. His eyes were already overworked enough as it was, without him straining to see over the dim lighting of wax candles.
"No, Hookfang, why?!" Snotlout cried out in dismay. The door to the office was slammed closed as his cousin ran out with a yell of betrayal. Hiccup rolled his eyes at the dramatic display.
"Good riddance. Now I can finally work in peace." He had barely even spoken the words before Valka walked into his living room with a small smile. Hiccup hid a grimace as she stopped in front of his desk; he knew he wasn't going to enjoy what happened next. "Hi, mom. What are you here for?"
There was no need to ask, they both knew what she came to speak about. Valka gripped his arm as she sat in a chair that was across from the desk.
"It's the anniversary." She said simply; yet her face said everything. Two years ago on this day, his father was killed. His parents had just met again after twenty years and then his father, Stoick, died later that very same day. Even merely thinking about it made Hiccup feel guilty; if only he had done more…
"His death was not your fault. I want you to know that. He chose to save you, and he chose well. You are a great Chief, and an even better man. He would be proud to see you today." He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes to wipe away the few tears that were caused by his mother's words.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry." Hiccup managed to get out even though talking suddenly got harder to do.
"What do you have to apologize for? I'm the one who failed you both, when I left all those years ago..." The middle-aged woman's expression made the young Chief's heart throb painfully. He clenched his fist under the table.
"Don't say that! And you're back now, so let's make the best of the future, and try not to dwell on past mistakes." Valka was caught off guard by Hiccup's exclamation, and she was even more startled when he stood up and hugged her in his slightly shaking arms. "We're family, and we need to stay together."
She smiled at her son, and replied softly, "don't worry, I'm not going to leave you again." Valka rubbed his back as he let out the long overdue sobs.
He may be the Chief, but he's still human, and he's gone far too long holding everything in. And nothing could be held back forever.
She knew he'd be back to his normal, easily excited self the next day. But for now he was her baby, and she'd take care of him for as long as he needed. She would always be proud of her extremely bright son, he was a miracle to her, after all.
Fire Lord Zuko was hyperventilating. This situation was not something he could have ever prepared for, and so he was unsure of what he could and should do. He paced in the hall, trying unsuccessfully to distract himself from the feeling of uselessness that gripped at his mind.
Mai was having the baby.
He was disturbed from his despair by Sokka, who gripped his shoulder. "Hey, she's going to be fine, Katara's one of the best healers in the world. Your wife and child are in good hands."
Zuko calmed down a little, but his heart was still beating way too fast. He suddenly realized he wasn't ready for this. The only decent father figure he had was his uncle, and he knew that he would never be as extraordinary as Iroh. But he definitely didn't want to end up like his own father.
"But what if he doesn't like me, what if he hates me so much that he leaves. What if I become… Just what kind of father do you think I would be, Sokka?" The Fire Lord looked down with a pained expression. He really didn't want to let his own child down. That would be worse than anything he had ever experienced, even the time he was exiled.
"Ow!" The Water Tribesman punched the other man in the shoulder when he saw Zuko's depressed expression. "Hey! What was that for?!" The scarred man shouted, rubbing his arm with a glare pointed at the boomerang wielding warrior.
"You're acting too angsty, and you're about to become a father, so stop acting like an idiot and think about your future; not your past, okey-dokey?" Sokka glared at Zuko until the scarred man nodded reluctantly in agreement. He just had been too stressed lately, what with the near completion of the preparations for the upcoming trip to the Viking Tribes and all.
And he still had to tell Aang about how all the information he had on the islands came from the Air temples. That was not a conversation he was looking forward to. Ah well, he'd have plenty of time for that on the trip over. According to his charts, it will take about nine days; a week and a half, by ship to reach their target, and hopefully more dragons.
He felt responsible for his Nation's actions that nearly caused dragons to become extinct. So if there really were more left, then he would do his best to help protect them. Dragon's were the first firebenders after all, and therefore a part of his country's history.
Just as his panic-caused adrenaline rush had cleared, Katara stepped out of the room with a smile. This was it, he was a father and no matter what, he'd be there for his child. He watched, as the last southern waterbender grinned at him.
"Go in and see your wife, Sparky."
He didn't need to be told twice; Zuko rushed inside and as he approached the bed, he spotted his exhausted wife smiling softly while stroking a small bundle lying beside her on the sheets. He stopped a few feet away, not sure what he should do next.
"Come over here, and see your daughter." She chuckled tiredly at his dumbfounded look. Zuko shook his head and knelt on the ground beside the bed. He gazed at his child, his beautiful baby girl. His daughter.
The tiny infant opened her eyes, and Zuko saw gold; the very same color as his own. There was a very good chance that she would be a firebender, and a strong one at that; her eyes were a deep, burnt yellow, like a young fire. "What should her name be? You should choose, but pick something good." Mai continued after giving father and daughter time to meet.
He looked at his daughter's face, she looked a lot like her mother. And he knew that she would be absolutely stunning when she grew older. But she would stay his little princess forever. Names have meanings, so Zuko smiled as he thought of the perfect name for his firstborn. "Mei-Lien." He answered quietly, running two fingers down the child's head.
"Beautiful lotus? I think it fits her perfectly." Mai yawned, and moved her arm over to join hands with her husband; their daughter asleep between them. "When are you planning on leaving?" Zuko sighed, he didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to do this. He had to know if the symbol of the Fire Nation was still thriving out there somewhere.
"Sometime next week, and I still have to tell Aang about where the files were from. There's still so much to do, but I know this is right. Something's telling me to go, but I'll be sure to be as careful as possible so I can make it home in one piece, okay?" He squeezed her hand and looked into Mai's eyes. "I promise I'll do my best to keep everyone safe." His wife blew the hair out of her face with a sigh.
"Whatever, just let me sleep." Zuko's lips twitched at the lazy response from the love of his life. He went back to looking at his baby girl, and realized just how squishy she looked when she slept. Little Mei-Mei already had him twisted around her little finger. Not that he saw anything wrong with that.
The rest of the Gaang walked into the room, and the teen aged Avatar fired a million questions at Zuko about the baby wrapped in a pink blanket; he groaned, Aang could be so frustrating when he was riled up. "Be quiet, Mai's sleeping." This only made the airbender attempt to whisper, which might have been worse than his usual loudness.
"What's her name? Did she smile at you? Is she asleep, can I hold her, does this mean I'm an uncle now? And does that mean-"
"Aang, shut up." Zuko rubbed his face and stared tiredly at the crestfallen Aang. His mood was not helped by Toph's laughter either. Why are his friends all a bunch of weirdos?
"My daughter's name is Mei-Lien, and she didn't smile because she was just born today; of course she's asleep, she went through a very tiring experience. And no, you are not holding her because you'll wake her up; I don't care if you want to be her honorary uncle or not."
"So I can be her uncle too? And can Suki be her aunt, because if I'm her uncle then my wife has to be her aunt; otherwise it'd be pretty weird." Sokka grinned and smacked Zuko on the shoulder; before backing away slightly at the scarred man's glare.
"I wanna be an aunt too! I can show her how to beat up all the boys that try to date her, and be the best role model ever." Toph smiled innocently at Zuko.
"You'd just show her how to sneak out of her house." Katara deadpanned. Toph smirked.
"So, what's up guys? Did I miss anything?" Suki said cheerily as she walked into the room, and Zuko wondered when his home became such the popular hangout.
"Other than Sparky having a baby, nope." Toph picked her nails; seeing Zuko pinch the bridge of his nose through the earth using her feet. Suki and her husband snickered. Aang just laughed.
"Alright you troublesome idiots, let's leave my wife in peace and talk about the boring stuff in my office." The Fire Lord made a shooing gesture at the assembled crowd.
They were all quiet as they walked through the hallways; everyone thinking of a variation of the same topic, of the island Tribes that could contain the dragons Zuko hoped for. The six of them sat down in his office, sipping on tea silently; waiting for him to speak. The golden eyed man sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day.
"As you all know, the paperwork and permits to cross Earth Kingdom waters have finally been filled out and signed. All that's left is to stock up on rations and pack up; the perishable goods should arrive within the week." The young Fire Lord glanced around at his comrades; preparing himself for what he was going to say next.
"But as only Aang and myself know; these dragons we are looking for are not the only ones left." He met everyone's eyes, and continued in a serious tone. "What I'm about to tell you should never be spoken of after we leave this room, understood?" They all nodded, even Aang; though he knew what Zuko was going to say.
"We ended up meeting a civilization that…" He went on to the explain the events over four years ago that led up to him and the Avatar meeting what they thought were the last two dragons alive, and the realization of how his uncle had lied about slaying the last one to keep the ancient creatures safe.
The two beasts had taught them that fire was life, and should be respected; because life could harm as well as heal. "...And since I don't want them to come after me, please don't tell anyone about what I've just told you, alright?" The group agreed again, and Zuko smiled at his teammates; glad for their support. Having friends that you can trust was a good feeling.
Sokka was deep in thought about this, and he wondered just how sentient dragons were; to be able to communicate through flame alone… the entire process must be extremely complex.
These reptiles were not mere animals, and that meant that they needed to be prepared. Accidentally insulting something that can turn you to ash in mere seconds would not be the ideal way to go out. He was going to make sure no one died from being under prepared. They had all learned at least the basics of Norse, but that might not be enough.
"Zuko, what kinds of dragons are there? You've said there are possibly hundreds of different breeds, but what else do you know? Do they all have different abilities, and what can we do if we're faced against one on the ship ride over?" Sokka asked through steepled finger-tips. The tall, scarred man across from southern water Tribesman shook his head in irritation.
"The documents are severely outdated, so there's no telling what new kinds have been found since then. And I think they might have left out details on purpose. All the texts say is that the dragons there were more likely to attack humans than the ones here, but the exact reason wasn't stated. About meeting one while on the ship…" The Fire Nation Royal paused.
"Well, the ship is metal, so we don't have to worry about sinking from a fire. But we'll just get to that if it actually happens, because I'm not entirely sure what those kinds of dragons can do." Zuko scratched his small goatee as he finished. He sincerely hoped that they would not run into anything dangerous on the way.
"So we're really not sure about what we'll find, are we?" Sokka said with a raised eyebrow.
"No, we are not. But it'll be nice to do something together again; just us, against whatever the world throws at us… no duties or paperwork or council meetings or…" Zuko trailed off with a cough at spotting the other's amused smirks.
"Anyways," he continued speaking. "It'd be nice to actually get out and do something. And I've already told the Fire Nation elders that I'm just checking up on the borders; it's actually somewhat true, but this way we don't have anyone trying to claim the dragons for other purposes."
"Good job. When do we leave on our quest of glory?" The blind teenager asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.
"Very soon… a week most likely. I only hope that my uncle and Mai will have no trouble with the council while I'm gone. And then there's…" Zuko shook his head, "never mind, it'll be fine." Zuko answered Toph. He was lost in thought for a moment, and he missed the concerned glances passed around by the group. Finally, Sokka seemed to put some things together.
"Hey, don't worry about Mei-Lien too much, she'll be here when you get back, and it's not like you aren't going to be sending messenger-hawks every few days." The water tribesman said wryly. Zuko exhaled wearily.
"Yes, I'm sure she'll be fine… but what about the rest of us? We're about to travel to unknown lands, and who knows what we might find. Do you really think this will be the same as our previous adventures? Back then we had maps, and firsthand accounts on what we were up against. This is completely different, because all the data we have now is from several decades ago. We are basically going in blind." The Fire Lord gave his friends a grim look; Aang grinned at him. Toph gave him an unamused stare.
"We're awesome! What could possibly go wrong?" The teenager grinned at the serious man, and Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What have I told you about taunting the universe, Aang?! Now anything could happen!"
"That's the spirit! Yes, we can do anything!" The airbender snickered as he patted Zuko on the head in a 'there, there' motion.
"Why is my life so strange…?" The man with the phoenix tail headpiece groaned into his hands. But he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't have it any other way; normal isn't for him, so why would this trip be any different?
"Agh! Not again! Seriously, what is wrong with those two? It's like they get into trouble every time I turn around." Hiccup grumbled to himself as he ran towards the roaring fire. The Thorston twins had -unsurprisingly- set off a large container of Zippleback gas right on the docks… where incidentally, trader Yohann had been about to cast off in his ship after making a rewarding -money wise- stop on Berk.
The young Chief paused in his mad dash and panted; he was out of breath, but just then Toothless showed up beside him nudging his arm. "Thanks, bud." He rasped out and pulled himself into the saddle. Together, they flew off in the direction of the flames.
Hiccup reached the docks seconds later to receive grateful looks from the trader. Yohann was a thin, old man, but he had a wry sense of humor that could make someone smile despite any situation. The man had started trade with Berk years earlier, and was very loyal to the Vikings in the area; he would never even think of betraying them to outsiders. He was known to tell innumerable tall tales about his home country, and he always had the most unique wares for sale.
Steam rose from the dock as the young Chief put out the fires with a large barrel held between Toothless' front paws. The barrel was designed especially for circumstances like this, and worked quickly to prevent any damage to the ships in the harbor. A quick switch of the mechanism by the opening of the container released the water, and effectively doused any flames; one of Hiccup's own designs. Extremely useful in a village that contained fire-breathing dragons. Fires were quite common, and commonly started on a daily basis.
"Hiccup! How nice to see you, it's so early I had thought we weren't going to meet before my departure." Yohann's eyelids crinkled with his warm smile.
"Well, I've been a bit busy as of late." Hiccup shrugged his shoulders casually after he dismounted Toothless; the black dragon then ran off to sniff at the smoking ashes around the dock.
The aged trader smiled ruefully at the young man standing in front of him. "I'm sure you have been busy. What with being the first Grand Chief in living memory and all."
"Yeah… that's only because no one wants to be the Chief of their own clans. They'd all rather have me in charge for some unfathomable reason." Hiccup said in irritation.
"The hatred of paperwork must have outweighed the instinct Viking's seem to have to want more power." Yohann chuckled as he clapped a hand on the slim man's back; making him stumble forward slightly before catching himself.
Hiccup shook his head with a sigh, but at the same time a small smile curved his lips. "One of these days I'll be found drowned by files in my own office. With my luck, no one would notice my body for days."
Yohann laughed loudly at the heavy humor in the Chief's words. It was nice to find someone in a powerful position that not just understood, but frequently used sarcasm. "So Yohann, how's trade going? Anything new come up recently that I should know about?"
"Not particularly, but I have to thank you for the idea of employing those who used to be dragon trappers as muscle for trading ships. Made my job easier, and safer too. Hardly anyone tries to boss me around anymore with a burly watchman on board my ship. Not that they did so before, I've got a mean swing, I do." The gray haired man flexed his arm for emphasis; which caused Hiccup to stifle his snicker with a loud cough.
"I'm sure. But what I really want to know, is if you've heard anything from… out there." Hiccup gestured to the sky.
"Like what?" Yohann raised an eyebrow at the young man.
"You've told a lot of stories. I want to know what is true, and what you know of the countries outside of these islands."
The old trader was about to claim that they were only silly tall tales, but the wonder in Hiccup's eyes made him think. Here was a man who wanted to learn, and genuinely was searching for new life. Hope was what was in Hiccup's gaze, and Yohann knew what the dragon war had taken from the the young Chief. Who was he to deny information from someone that only wished peace for his people?
The gray-bearded trader smiled happily at the one legged man in front of him. "What if it's all true? Even though I'm not a bender myself, I came from the Earth Kingdom, and I know what I've seen."
Hiccup's eyes widened, this changed everything. There really were people who could move elements with their bare hands; this was amazing. But…
"Why haven't we met anyone like that?" Hiccup asked, his face scrunched up in thought. He knew that they would have ran into someone at some point; especially with his luck.
"Probably because the waters are very dangerous past a certain point in these island waters. The winds change easily, so sailing would be made very difficult." Yohann ran a calloused hand through his beard.
"Then how did you get here? If you came from the outer countries, how'd you find the islands?" Hiccup questioned.
Yohann took a deep breath, and gazed out into the sky. After a few more moments contemplating, he started his response; Toothless nudging the man's arm to comfort him. "I was very young, and I was on the crew of a simple merchant's cargo ship. The captain was a good man; always fair. Anyways, he took us through waters not far from where the Bog Burglar clan lived, and we… the ship was attacked and sunk."
The man sighed sadly, "I managed to grab some broken pieces of wooden railing, and made my way to the closest land. Which was, coincidentally, where the Bog Burglars were living."
Old eyes crinkled in mischief as Yohann continued. "They taught me a lot about where the safest paths through these waters were, and a lot are very hard to spot, yet they are there. If you only look closely. I didn't just visit there, no, this was a whole 'nother civilization to me!"
The aged man grinned at Hiccup's nearly transfixed gaze; it was nice to have the attention of a youngin' these days. "I traveled around, always making sure to stay out of the way of any dragons, and I visited many of the islands here. Not all, but pretty darn close."
The young Chief nodded his head in thought; thinking about how much he still had to learn about the Viking clans. He had never known that there was a way through the treacherous currents surrounding the islands, and always thought they were basically impenetrable from the outside; unless you had a Bewilderbeast pulling your ship through the currents like Drago Bludvist had.
"But there is another thing you might want to know about, Hiccup." Yohann's eyes were as unbreakable as stone when he gathered the young Chief's attention. "Bending may not be found only outside these waters, and sometimes; generations later, someone will pop up with the ability to shift an element with their will."
Then tired eyes lit up with happiness as Yohann grinned at Hiccup. "Now, just think on that for a bit. Since I really have to be setting off, and good talk, good talk!" Yohann then added in a mutter, "where are those two? There were supposed to be at the dock already, Vikings are so unreliable sometimes."
"Who do you have as a guard on your ship? I can go find them if you want." Hiccup asked Yohann with a smile. Being the Chief meant that he needed to know his people, and so he would know better than anybody else where someone was on Berk.
"Aye, that would be helpful. You should know Eret and Camicazi, right?"
"Camicazi! You have her as a guard? Why?" Hiccup knew who she was. Camicazi was a wild-haired Bog Burglar, and the daughter of Bertha; who was the one in charge of that clan. The blond was an insane teenager with an insatiable thirst for adventure, and was constantly demanding to duel with him. Hiccup could already feel a headache coming on right then, and he hoped to get out of there before she showed up.
"Why not, she's strong, and can scare most anyone with her energetic attitude and morbid humor. Well, morbid for non-vikings. But she's a good kid. I'm sure she'll do great on her first guarding trip, and just in case, I'm bringing Eret as well. So I'm sure we'll be just fine."
Even with Yohann's words Hiccup wasn't so sure; things just went… wrong, when Camicazi was around. But he nodded anyway; no need to worry about things that would happen anyway, and at least with Camicazi, he could be sure of Yohann's safety.
"Alright, if you're sure then. I'll be going since I don't really think me meeting Camicazi would be beneficial to you leaving on time. And look- there's Eret, so I'm sure that she's not far behind him, see you later!" Hiccup waved to an amused Yohann as he quickly mounted Toothless and took off; just in time to see a flash of a wild mane of blond hair, and hear maniacal laughter. Hiccup shuddered, "that was close, she's scary." Toothless just rumbled in exasperation at his human friend.
They landed in the street in front of his house, just in time to spot the twins finishing up painting his roof bright orange. After exchanging a glance with Toothless; they both walked forward until they were right behind the two unknowing tricksters.
"I can't wait to see Hiccup's face when he sees this." Ruffnut's paintbrush jerked as she stifled her laughter.
"Yeah, he'll be so furious." Tuffnut said, also snickering.
"Haha! Good one Tuff, furious, 'cause of his Night Fury." They continued their gleeful vandalism until they heard someone clearing their throat from behind them. The two siblings turned slowly, and it felt as if time stopped when they gazed at an unimpressed Hiccup. Toothless, beside the young Chief, had a similar expression.
"Uh... Buh..." Tuffnut said eloquently.
"Hey, we can explain this, um…" Ruffnut looked panicked as she turned to her twin for a way out of the situation.
"The orange paint is because… dragons like bright colors! Yeah, and you want them to like your house, don't you? So you should really be thanking us for helping you out, yup." Tuffnut grinned smugly, and rested his hands on his hips.
Hiccup smiled widely, "oh, is that why? Well, sure, I'll thank you."
"Really? That'd be great!" Ruffnut grinned the same grin as Tuffnut, and they butted heads in excitement.
"What's our reward? Is it gold, jewels, ooh! Are we going to be... on the council?!" Tuffnut gasped; he had always tried to listen in on those meetings, but he'd never accomplished it, yet.
Hiccup grinned and gripped both of their shoulders; then the grin abruptly dropped. "You get the joyful job of mucking out the dragon stables." The twins faces fell. "But since you love being thanked so much, you can do clean them out for a whole week."
"Wait, hey! We were just joking around, no need to be hasty!" Ruffnut pleaded; mucking out dragon dung was one of the worst things to do, and always used as a punishment because no one wanted to do it otherwise.
"Fine." The twins sighed in relief. "You get to muck it out for a month." And before they could protest against this, he added, "and if you don't get started right now I'll add even more." The sound of their scurrying feet was music to his ears.
Hiccup sighed tiredly, "I swear, one of these days they'll get into something serious. But I'm just glad they're on our side, we'd be in real trouble if they weren't. They may be idiots, but they're our idiots." The Night Fury nodded his head swiftly in agreement.
They walked inside the house, and Hiccup bit back a curse. A few of the older Viking men were inside; including Spitelout -Snotlout's father- and Gobber. The group was often referred to as the council, even though Hiccup was Chief, and held the power to make any and all actions regarding the village; the council was there to help make decisions for warfare, and what was best for Berk. They were gathered around the rather large table in the living room, apparently waiting for Hiccup to arrive. They stopped their argument when they noticed him in the doorway, and Gobber motioned Hiccup over.
"Ah, just the young man we were discussing. Come in, come in!" Gobber smiled at him, and Hiccup hesitantly walked inside his house and sat in the empty chair at the head of the table; where the highest in rank belonged. He knew those looks on their faces, they were serious about this meeting.
"Hiccup, you really should think about this; every Chief needs an heir. And you especially since the other clans look to you for support and leadership." Spitelout said slowly. Hiccup scrutinized his somewhat distant relative, and Spitelout looked away as he scratched the side of his head uncomfortably. This was not a topic that the Jorgenson family head wanted to broach, but it needed to be done.
"I know what you're saying, but don't you think it could wait a while? I mean, do I really need to get married so soon?" Hiccup tried to deflect the conversation, and picked at the splinters in the table's surface distractedly.
"You can't just put this off forever, you need to think this through! Your parents were a few years younger than you are now when they became engaged; put this off any longer, and the Viking clans on the other islands might try to marry one of their own women to have an advantage with their Grand Chief! Have you thought about that at all? And what would you and Astrid do if that does happen?" Spitelout continued with heat, and then sighed sadly at the young Chief's pained expression.
"Just think about this, alright? No need to make a commitment right this second." Spitelout smacked him on the shoulder and walked out of the house.
Hiccup sat there in silence as the rest of the council left, and he had lost track of the time as he thought about the decision that needed to be made. He loved Astrid, and he would marry her in a heartbeat… but he wasn't sure if she would say yes. He wanted her to be happy, but this would be something that'd make her a target for his enemies. The outcasts were still a problem, and now that he knew the bending countries existed; the world seemed a whole lot bigger. I don't know if I can keep you safe, Astrid.
Toothless nudged him and Hiccup looked down at his best friend. "Yeah, I know what I should do, but I'm not sure I'll have the courage to ask her, Bud." He needed a distraction, something to keep his attention until he could think of a game plan.
The door opened and Astrid came in with an armful of files, "did you know that your roof is orange. I mean, nothing against going against the grain, but that's just weird and- what's going on?" She set the paperwork down on the side of the table closest to the door, and walked to the other side to study his stressed form.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Hiccup said; not looking at her.
"You're not fine, something happened, what is it? Is Toothless okay? And your mom?" Astrid asked worriedly, her boyfriend was acting strange. Well, stranger.
Hiccup sighed. "Everything's fine, really. Now what do you have there?" He gestured to the files, and Astrid narrowed her eyes; usually Hiccup would do anything to get out of working, but right then he was deliberately getting started on paperwork.
Something was up, and Astrid would find out what. Just not right now; Hiccup obviously needed some time to think over what was bothering him. But she would find out whatever was bothering him, or her name wasn't Astrid Hofferson.
"This is all just the normal stuff; reports of arson, stolen soup… you know, the usual. The only remarkable thing is a request from the Berserker clan for someone to help with an ice problem, or something." Astrid watched as he nodded absentmindedly until the part about the ice; his eyes widened with some connection only he had made.
"Ice, you said?" Hiccup asked calmly, but Astrid could see the wheels turning inside his head a mile a minute.
"Yeah, lots of ice, but I'm not sure why that'd be…" She trailed off as she also made the connection.
"The Bewilderbeast that Drago enslaved was never found after it fled into the ocean." Hiccup said simply, and stretched as he stood up.
"Where are you going? You're not planning on going over there, are you?" Astrid questioned.
"They asked for help, and Berserkers rarely ask for help if they don't actually need some. I'm the Chief; it's my duty to help my people." He continued at her glare, "I won't do anything stupid, just take a look around to see what's going on." Toothless' tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he ran around the room in excitement, and his human packed a few small bags to take with them.
"I should go with you, and-"
"No. Stay here and help my mother with Berk, okay? You and her I trust the most, so I need you to do this; besides, I've survived way more dangerous situations, so don't worry too much." He kissed her as he made his way to the door; documents from the Berserkers in hand. Grinning, he said, "this'll be good for me, Astrid. Things have been too quiet and I need some action."
"Just make sure to let people know where you're off to; because I don't want to explain yet another one of your disappearances-"
Astrid groaned as Hiccup took off into the sky, "you'll owe me for this, you got that, Hiccup!" She yelled after his fast retreating form, and was that… laughter? Oh, he was going to get it as soon as he got back.
Stormfly butted her head into Astrid's back to gain her attention, and the young woman ran her hand down her dragon's head. She sighed in exasperation, looking into Stormfly's calm, large eyes. "That idiot would never have become this amazing without me by his side, right girl?" Stormfly snorted in agreement.
Zuko was enjoying the breeze on the deck of The Lotus Dragon, and listened to the wind whistling by as the steam-powered ship moved forwards. He really was hoping that they would find what they were looking for, because it would be somewhat embarrassing and sad if he went through all this trouble to be greeted with nothing but long-dead rumors.
The young Fire Lord thought back to his conversation with his uncle, and he closed his eyes as he remembered the words Iroh had told him.
He held Mei-Lien in his arms, and smiled at his infant daughter. Iroh walked up and laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "She looks very similar to you. But let's hope that doesn't mean she will have to go through what you did. Despite how you turned out in the end, I wouldn't wish anyone take on the same challenges you had, nephew."
The scarred man shook his head with a small smile. "Don't worry, she's my little princess, she won't be getting into anything anytime soon."
"You shouldn't be too sure of that. Once she becomes a toddler, nothing will be off limits." General Iroh responded wryly.
Zuko sighed. "I only wish that I will come back; hopefully in one piece, to see her grow older."
Iroh nodded. "Your choice in not informing the Fire Nation Council of the true nature of your trip, was a very good idea indeed. There will be no need to cause undue panic if you are wrong about this."
"I am pretty certain that I'm right. The scrolls were very specific about certain things. And Air Nomads -excluding Aang- had not seemed to be have been the kind of people to make things like this up." Zuko's lips twitched as little Mei-Mei's hand gripped his finger. So cute.
"I never said I doubted you, but it's always best to have a backup plan." Iroh's expression hardened, and showed the experience that he had gained as a commander in the war, years ago.
"There are some who would do anything to gain a dragon's power, and so we must do what we can to hide that you're not merely 'checking the borders'. Just… stay safe, nephew. I'll keep an eye on my grand-niece and Mai, so you only have to worry about yourself, and your comrades. I don't want to bury another son."
Zuko looked away. "Thanks for the tip, I'll keep it in mind. And don't worry, dragons were the first firebenders, and I've already met two." He grinned at his uncle, "what's a few more?"
Looking back, Zuko was not too sure anymore. They had been traveling for six days, and everything was calm. Serene, even. The only eventful thing that had been happening was the occasional current that disrupted the ship's momentum, which was expected, from the writings about the waters near the islands. Katara had used waterbending to fix those without any issues.
But the silence was too eerie. Zuko didn't trust it, and he knew that soon; something would go wrong.
That wasn't even what was bothering him the most right now. No, that was how he was going to break it to the Avatar that all of the information Zuko had on dragons... originally came from the Air temples. This will definitely be a tad bit awkward.
Zuko looked around the deck to where Aang was playing with Momo by blowing streams of air at the flying-lemur's wings; which made the chattering animal's flight go in all directions. The scarred man shook his head at the cackling teenager.
"Aang, come over here, there's something you need to know." Zuko said, loud enough for the Avatar to hear him over the lemur-monkey's noise.
Aang turned around and grinned at his friend. "No prob!" The tattooed teen whooshed over to Zuko. "What's up?"
"Well, it's about where I got the files that had information about dragons. Aang-" The Fire Lord stopped speaking and nearly fell from the jarring impact; Aang fell down and slid a few meters away, taken off guard.
Something had hit the side of the ship. Hard.
"Everyone on deck!" Zuko yelled, before he stalled in his tracks; staring wide eyed at the sight in front of him.
There was an immense, tusked dragon -what else could it be- in the water at the front of his ship. And this thing was larger than any dragon be had ever heard of, ever. One tusk was broken off halfway, and the monster's eyes were full of deep hatred. The giant beast looked directly at the young Fire Lord…
And breathed out ice.
A.N.: Yeah, sorry about the cliff hanger, but I thought it was a great place to end. :) Thank you so much for reading this story, even though some nice, juicy reviews would definitely make me update much, much faster.
This is the longest chapter I have ever written, so I hope you(anyone who reads this) will prove to me that this is something that you enjoy. ;)
Drago is dead, and he will not be showing up. :) Much stuff, so ice.
Ciao!
