Chapter 3
A/N: I can't help but find it ironic that when comparing this and my RotG story, they have the same number of chapters, but this story has twice the views and less than half the reviews.
Just a random observation.
Also, I have permission to use Jafndaegur's name for the Red Death, Avara. Shout out to you, thanks!
I decided to add dragon thoughts and conversation. Hope you enjoy!
'Dragon thoughts'
"Dragons speaking"
Disclaimer: IDOHTTYD.
In the Great Hall that day, a noisy din of protesting voices leads to Stoick, glowering in the firelight, and he is surrounded by his men.
STOICK: Either we finish them or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home.
Hiccup said, "They can't finish us."
Gobber completed his thought for him. "Like you said, other Vikings, not me, have stubbornness issues." Most of the Vikings grumbled at that, but some less dim-witted chuckled at Gobber's denial of being stubborn.
He sinks his blade into a large nautical map, spread out on the table...the blade pierces the middle of an uncharted corner, painted with sea monsters and dragons.
STOICK (DECIDEDLY): One more search. Before the ice sets in.
VIKING: Those ships never come back.
"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard," said the heir.
STOICK: We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard. Now who's with me?
Gobber thought, For once, the lad is like his father. A little disturbing, if you ask me though.
Stoick throws up his fist. No one follows. The crowd shifts in restless silence. Head scratches. Eyes averted.
VIKING (FEEBLE): Today's not good for me.
VIKING (EQUALLY FEEBLE): I've gotta do my axe returns.
Up in her room, Jacqueline chuckled. "Axe returns"...what, like tax returns?
STOICK: Alright. Those who stay will look after Hiccup.
Hands jut into the air, volunteers galore. Enthusiastic murmurs of prep and packing fill the room.
PHLEGMA THE FIERCE: To the ships!
SPITELOUT: I'm with you Stoick!
STOICK: That's more like it.
The room was dead silent. Stoick was guilty, and Gobber was trying to hide it. Hiccup's eyes widened, and Astrid's narrowed. Hiccup thought, That's how he gets so many volunteers. I feel so loved right now.
The Vikings rush for the door, leaving Gobber and Stock alone. Gobber gulps back the contents of his tankard attachment and scrapes back the bench.
GOBBER: I'll pack my undies.
Astrid wrinkled her nose. "Gobber, that really didn't need to be said."
STOICK: No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits.
GOBBER: Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself...what could possibly go wrong?
Snotlout shivered dramatically. "Nothing besides maybe killing himself and the rest of the village with his in-fail-tions."
Astrid shook her head. He never learns. She said, "Oh just shut up, Snotlout. Hiccup, don't listen to him."
Hiccup said, "I learned that a long time ago."
Snotlout was frustrated. "What did you say, Useless?"
He was ignored.
Stoick sinks onto the bench beside Gobber, his brow burdened.
STOICK: What am I going to do with him, Gobber?
GOBBER: Put him in training with the others.
STOICK: No, I'm serious.
GOBBER: So am I.
Stoick turns to him.
STOICK: He'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage.
"Oh, wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad."
GOBBER: Oh, you don't know that.
STOICK: I do know that, actually.
GOBBER: No, you don't.
STOICK: No, actually I do.
GOBBER: No you don't!
Gobber grinned. "Runs in the family." He got a glare from Stoick.
STOICK: Listen! You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl he's been...different. He doesn't listen.
"Neither do you."
STOICK: Has the attention span of a sparrow. I take him fishing and he goes hunting for... for trolls.
Toothless chortled. 'If only he knew.' Toothless had explored the world before he had met and been taken over by Avara, and he had met some trolls. Only they were far away, and he didn't know if Hiccup would want to meet them, considering their less-than-cordial personalities.
GOBBER: Trolls exist! They steal your socks. (DARKLY) But only the left ones. What's with that?
Toothless let out a dragon laugh, and the other dragons looked at him. "Humans and their tales about faraway creatures...I actually did meet some trolls once. Let's just say that they were more accommodating with their words than their weapons. I wasn't well received." The dragons nodded, understanding. Hiccup, looking over at them, thought, I wish I could understand them. They look like they're having a conversation; they probably are.
STOICK: When I was a boy...
GOBBER: Oh here we go.
STOICK: My father told me to bang my head against a rock and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?
Tuffnut said, "You got Loki'd!"
GOBBER: You got a headache.
STOICK: That rock split in two.
"Oh, come on, that's it? He didn't get Loki'd?"
Stoick chuckled. "No Ruffnut, Tuffnut, I did not." The twins were disappointed. Stoick then said, "But one time, I did."
They immediately got interested. Even Hiccup, who said, "Oh, you have to tell us now, Dad." The teens chimed in, "Yeah!"
Stoick said, "Perhaps another time. We would not want to bore Jacqueline."
Hiccup thought, Which means, "Don't make me embarrass myself by telling you how I got tricked". Tuffnut was about to object, but Hiccup shot them a conspiratorial look as he said, "Yeah guys, we wouldn't. Do we?" He turned to Stoick and his expression told Stoick that he wasn't going to drop it; not permanently, anyway.
STOICK: It taught me what a Viking could do, Gobber. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. Hiccup is not that boy.
GOBBER: You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him. Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect him. He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now.
Gobber's words hit their mark.
Tuffnut said, "You didn't even realize how right you were!" Ruffnut said, "That's creepy, awesome!"
In the woods, Hiccup has a notebook open to a drawn map of the island, covered in X's. Hiccup closes his eyes, then opens them, looking into a gorge, but he sees nothing. He adds another 'X' to the page, then scraps the whole page in frustration. He snaps the book closed and shoves it in his vest.
HICCUP: Uggh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon.
Hiccup smacks a low-hanging branch. It snaps back at him, hitting him square in the face. He looks up to see a snapped tree trunk.
Hiccup said, "That tree has some problems. What did I ever do to it?"
Fishlegs said, "Uhh, you smacked it?"
Hiccup groaned. "I forgot about that." Astrid smiled, and had to grab her braid to cover it.
His eyes follow it to a long path of scorched dirt. He follows it to a downed, black dragon, its body and tail tangled in a bola; it looks dead. Hiccup comes towards it, grinning.
Hiccup broke into a grin, before he remembered why he was there and how Toothless got there in the first place. He lowered his head in guilt. Astrid noticed. She murmured, "Hey, just remember what we talked about earlier. You can't change this."
HICCUP (IN SHOCK): Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes!
He strikes a victory pose, planting his foot on the fallen Night Fury.
HICCUP: I have brought down this mighty beast!
It suddenly shifts.
HICCUP: Whoa!
Hiccup springs back, terrified. He brings out his dagger and creeps along the length of the weak, wounded dragon. As he reaches the head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring at him. Hiccup tries to look away, but he's drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare. With the dragon safely tangled in the ropes, Hiccup puffs himself up with false bravado.
HICCUP: I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking.
Hiccup whispered, "No, I'm not."
HICCUP: I am a VIKING!
Hiccup raises the dagger, determined to prove his Viking-ness.
"Alright, movie break!" Jacqueline said, appearing again. She looked at them and had to stifle a smile. I so have to do that some more, the looks on their faces are priceless.
Regaining her composure, she said, "There are drinks and snacks right over there; don't worry, I didn't poison them." This time she did crack a smile. The Berkians just sat and looked at her.
Astrid got up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, guys!" That started everyone moving. They crowded toward the long tables, stretching their muscles and talking and shoving food in their faces, all at the same time. Hiccup hung back to talk to Jacqueline, who was carefully walking around. I've got to remember not to show them my powers until the right time. She jerked involuntarily when Hiccup said, "Jacqueline?"
He stammered, "I-I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you-"
She interjected. "No, no, you're fine, I was just thinking."
He said, "Yeah, okay. Well, I was going to say that you don't have to stand up for me like you've been doing; its not necessary. I've been dealing with it for quite a few years."
She said, "Which is exactly why you shouldn't have to. Nobody should ever have to go through what you have. Now, you can go spend some time with Toothless; just go through there," and she pointed to a recently-appeared door in the wall. Another door, Toothless-sized, was just closing as the selfsame dragon went through it. Hiccup smiled at her and left.
After Hiccup had gone, Astrid came to Jacqueline. "Where's Hiccup?"
"Oh, he went to go spend some time with Toothless. Sorry you couldn't join, but I thought he needed some time alone." Astrid agreed reluctantly. Then she brightened.
"So you said this was the story of how the War ends. If we're at peace with the dragons, and Hiccup has a dragon..." She paused, mildly uncertain.
"I probably can't answer it yet, whatever it is, but it's fine to ask anything," Jacqueline said. This seemed to give her a boost. She said, "Do I get a dragon too?"
Jacqueline smiled. "Now that one I can answer. Yes, you do. Would you like to meet your dragon?"
Astrid's face lit up. "Really? Of course!"
Jacqueline answered, "Someone's excited. Well, considering Stoick has yet to see Hiccup bond with Toothless, I don't think that it would be wise to suddenly have you, the Shield Maiden, dragon killer no less, being friends with a dragon. It would raise way too many questions; that's also part of why Hiccup and Toothless are out in the garden together instead of in here."
Astrid nodded. "I understand. Will it be soon, though?"
Jacqueline said, "We should start the movie up in a few minutes; after that it won't be too long. It was nice talking to you, Astrid, now I have to go check on the boys; can't have them be late." She winked, then disappeared the same way as she had before.
A/N: Is Hiccup a little OoC? I'm trying to keep him IC, please tell me if you think otherwise. Warning you though, my take on Hiccup is not going to be dark. It's just that I've read so many of "watching the movie" fics where Hiccup is bitter and hard and I decided to do a more lighthearted fic of it. Thanks!
Reviews are a writer's lifeline! Thank you reviewers for supporting my defense from WB O_O
