Chapter 4
Over the course of the next week the situation in the workshop calmed and leveled out. Hiccup's meeting with Snotlout forced his attention elsewhere, and Jack's talk with Isemaler did the same. It did not mean Hiccup and Jack reached a new accord, but they became less hostile toward one another if not exactly friendly. Jack overheard Hiccup telling Fishlegs the news about Snotlout. Later, Fishlegs recounted for Jack numerous stories about Snotlout, and Jack got the impression the stout Viking did not entirely like his old comrade. In the meanwhile, Jack told no one the details of what he and Isemaler discussed, although he did tell Fishlegs Isemaler did visit. A real surprise arrived at the end of that week.
"Jack?" An unfamiliar voice said his name while he bent over to fit two slats together for another commission.
Jack stood and almost fell backward when he saw who addressed. Snotlout stood inside his workshop. No one else alerted him to the man's presence since the four smiths went to find some lunch. As a result, they met in private.
"Hello, Snotlout," he replied and tried his best to keep the surprise from his voice. He slumped back down onto his stool.
"I, ah, waited 'til everyone was gone before I came in," Snotlout explained part of his presence. Then he held up his hand and revealed a fairly exquisite carving a terror-type dragon. "I wanted to give this to you to say thanks for sending the wood over."
"Wow, that is very kind of you and… wait, did a wing break off?" Jack started to say until he noticed a particular detail.
"She's only got one wing. It's, um, an injured night terror I found a few years ago and helped her recover."
"Oh, that's right. I heard Hiccup tell Fishlegs about… Beau… Boo-boo…"
"Heeboo," Snotlout corrected, grinned, and waggled the figurine. "And I wanted you to see I wasn't just wasting the wood."
Jack accepted the offering, and instantly began to turn it over in his hands while scrutinizing the handiwork. He noted the correct proportions and care with which Snotlout executed the details. It proved a much finer carving than any he tried to extract from wood, and it rivaled some of the ice sculptures he made when wearing a different skin. The piece also immediately brought Nicholas Saint North to mind.
"This is exceptional, Snotlout. Real artistry," Jack complimented the man.
"It keeps me busy when I'm not out hunting or working on the house. I don't do well when I don't have something to keep my hands occupied," Snotlout freely told him. "And that's sort of why I came by."
Jack lifted his head and gazed at the man. He knew Snotlout to be roughly the same age as Hiccup, yet he appeared older. Gray amply streaked his hair, and deep lines etched his face. It made sense given the history of Snotlout.
"If you need more wood, my scrap bin is over there," Jack said and pointed to the corner where he tossed the spare pieces. "I figured you'd probably want more from what Hiccup and Fishlegs said, so help yourself."
"Thanks, but that's not it. I, um, got some furniture that really needs to be fixed and I can't quite figure out how to do it myself. Hiccup said you really know what you're doing, and that you repaired a bunch of stuff for Ruffnut and Tuffnut…"
"Please, don't remind me of that day. I actually caught Tuffnut chewing on a chair leg!"
Snotlout let out with a short laugh and replied: "Not surprised to hear that, and I promise you no one's been chewing on my furniture… that I know of. I don't think anyone would want to. It's kind of old and probably seen better days."
"I got some like that myself," Jack admitted.
"There's really only two pieces I need someone to look at and tell me if it's even worth trying to save 'em. I was thinking I could work out a payment with you by… actually, I'm not sure."
"Let me see…"
Jack rubbed his chin while he thought. He looked at the statue, admiring it's overall quality, and considered what Snotlout could do in payment for any service he performed. Jack learned long ago that Vikings tended deal fairly unless they acquired something on a raid. Few accepted charity or handouts with any grace. Given that Snotlout presented him with the fine carving as payment for wood likely to end up in a fire, it fit right in with the general Viking mentality. He stared at the dragon figure, and then an idea hit him like some slapped the back of his head with a sturdy board.
"Ah, Snotlout… how about something other than an even trade?" he inquired.
"Like what?" The man narrowed his eyes and counter-questioned.
"This piece is better than most anything I've ever carved, and I really don't like to admit that."
"It's not that great."
Jack raised his eyebrows and replied: "I'm a pretty good judge of this sort of thing, trust me. This is… well, this is art, Snotlout, and there's no denying it."
Snotlout scrunched up his face, and Jack assumed the man thought he spoke in jest. To dispel any such notion, Jack set the statuette down and got to his feet to face him. He never quite appreciated the fact Snotlout stood broader and taller than him. He looked up into the disbelieving face.
"First, you know what a thunderdrum looks like, right?"
The way Snotlout pursed his lips displayed his irritation at the question.
"That's what I thought," Jack said with a hint of apology. "Look, the Borghildr's want me to decorate their mantelpiece with thunderdrums on both ends, but… I've been putting it off because carving takes me a long, long time to complete. If you'd be willing to finish the carving for me, I'd fix whatever furniture you've got in your place."
"Are you serious? Because of that little thing?" Snotlout exclaimed and pointed to the statue of Heeboo.
"I am definitely serious. And if you like carving and want to do more, there's whole bunch of work I can send your way!"
"Wait. Are you saying you want me to work with you?"
"If that's how you want to look at it, sure: work with me. I'll teach you everything I know about woodworking, and maybe you can help me become better at carving and decorating wood pieces."
Snotlout swung his head around as if looking for someone, and he responded: "You're honestly not pulling my leg or playing a joke on me? This sounds like something Fishlegs would cook up."
"I realize we don't really know each other, but I don't pull those sorts of pranks. I like the ones where everyone has fun and no one feels singled out for abuse," Jack sternly informed him.
"You aren't kidding," the man said as he stared at the woodworker. "Listen, Jack, I only started carving stuff so I wouldn't drink 'cause I'm bored. It's not like I ever did this with any serious thought. It's just… a hobby, I guess you could say."
"Do you enjoy carving?"
"Yeah."
"And wouldn't it be nice to get rewarded for doing something you already like doing? That's why I do this," Jack stated and glanced around his workshop.
"Never thought about that way," Snotlout quietly intoned. Then he brightened. "So… you really, truly think people would pay me to carve stuff for them?"
"I've got four orders I've been putting off for weeks you can take right now. It'd spare me from hearing the complaints all the time. You'll get the full pay on the carving, and I'll take my share for the construction. You win, and I win… and it spares me from having to make more excuses."
Jack watched as the former dragon rider pondered the offer. He gave hints he still thought Jack might be playing a joke on him, so Jack sat in silence and waited. Even if Snotlout could only carve half as good as shown by the figurine, it would be equal to whatever the avowed woodworker could produced.
"I… ah, didn't really come here for a job," Snotlout hesitantly stated. "Did Hiccup put you up to this? 'Cause…"
"Hiccup and I barely speak to one another right now," Jack interjected. "Did you tell him you were coming into today?"
"No."
"Then how can this be a set-up, Snotlout?"
The man blinked at him.
"Don't forgot: I'm not really doing this for you. If you agree, it solves a huge problem for me and lets me get my production back on schedule," he explained again to the silent man.
Eyes narrowed.
"Does it seem really convenient you happened to come in with one of your carvings and presented it to a woodworker who happens to need get rid of some carving obligations? Yes, it does. Does it seem odd, even weird, someone you don't know suddenly up and offers you work? Yes, it does seem strange. Am I engaged in an elaborate prank? No, because do I look like one of the Thorstons? This is a legitimate offer, Snotlout. There're no conditions attached. If you want to carve and get paid for it, then I can funnel work to you. That's it. Plain and simple."
"You just, ah, came up with that off the top of your head?" Snotlout inquired.
"No, I wrote it down some time last year and spent the last several months rehearsing it day-in and day-out on the remote possibility someone with any carving experience might just wander in and show me a sample of his work," Jack blandly rejoined and crossed his arms, and that only served to underscore the sarcasm.
"Now you do sound like Fishlegs," the guest said and smirked. "If you're serious…"
Jack huffed.
"Okay, so you're serious. I believe you, I believe you," Snotlout said in a mildly defensive manner. "What's the trade with the Borghildr's on the carving?"
"Two dozen eggs – one dozen a week for two weeks I should say – and a half a bushel of winter stored yams," Jack told him.
"Those are good fried."
"I know! They get all sweet and crunchy in a hot pan from sitting a cold dark place all winter."
The look of food lust crossed over the broad but lined face, and Jack knew exactly what prompted the expression.
"Ever take some yak butter and mix in some of the sugar cane tar they bring up from the southern islands and melt it over fried yams?" Snotlout asked and his speech slurred a little.
"Stop talking! You're killing me," Jack said with a laugh. "So you'll take the work?"
"Yeah, I think I will. Do I need to carve it there, here… or I can I take it back to my place?"
"Well, I only dry fitted the mantel it to the fireplace 'cause I couldn't think of how I'd carve it while it's still attached, so you could bring it here or to your house. Your choice."
Snotlout glanced around the workshop. They could find space for him and the piece if he wanted. However, Jack saw him glance over at the smith side of the workshop, and a look of concern flickered on his face.
"Snotlout, if you're uncomfortable being around people after being on your own for so long, work at home to start. Maybe after a while you can finish a few smaller pieces here if you feel like it," Jack suggested.
"Thanks," the man said in a tight voice, and then coughed a little. "Ah, what about tools? I don't think the knife I use at home is going to be enough."
Jack sat and spun around on his seat, ran his hands across his ordered display of tools until he came to a piece of rolled leather, and deftly extracted it from the cubbyhole. He then laid it out on his bench, and unrolled it. A set of nine wooden-handled steel tools lay inside.
"Hiccup and the guys made these for me four or five years ago when some people asked me to do scene cuttings. Don't ask me what each one is called or how to correctly use it because carving is not my strong suit," Jack explained to the man. "If you experiment on a piece of scrap, I'm sure you can figure out what each tool does."
"I can't afford these," Snotlout stated while staring at the assemblage.
It renewed the notion Vikings did not like charity.
"Well, how about we say you give me a percentage of what you take in trade for maybe three or four jobs and we'll call it done?" The Guardian hiding in Hallan skin offered.
"What'd you pay Hiccup, Fartbritches, and Mouldy?"
"I fixed two doors for Fartbritches, Mouldy got a new footstool, and I gave Hiccup a really fun night in bed."
The Viking's face slowly turned red.
"That's what I did," Jack mumbled, "and he thought it was fair payment."
"I don't know if I need to know that," Snotlout rumbled. With his cheeks retaining their apple color, he changed topics. "So, should I just go over to the Borghildr place and let 'em know I'll be doing the work?"
Once again a certain hesitance edged his words.
"I need to run home and get some lunch, and their house isn't too far from mine," Jack began. "We could stop over there and both explain the new arrangement."
"That might be better. Might seem kind of – I don't know – weird for them if I just show up and say 'Hi, I'm here to go after your mantel with a knife,'" Snotlout told him in a knowing fashion.
"Good point. Alright, then, let's head out."
Jack rolled up the tools, handed them to Snotlout, extinguished the one lamp he used to shed light on his work area, and then got up from the bench. He and Snotlout exited the workshop. Snotlout began to ask him about the other jobs, and Jack asked the man where he found the dragon. A few people watched them pass, but most went about their own business. Clouds built overhead and the threat of rain took shape. It did not matter, Jack felt pleased with all the solutions that fortuitously appeared in his workshop. His life would become a little easier.
The next morning Jack found Hiccup sitting at the woodworking bench just as the sun peaked over the horizon in the west. It made Jack suspicious, but he kept a neutral expression planted on his face. Hiccup watched him walk over. Hiccup, for his part, wondered at the strange look on Jack's face. He arrived early so he could talk privately with the Guardian about a single issue. At times his journeymen smiths would idly gossip with customers and people who stopped in to exchange odd bits of news. Hiccup wanted to avoid that from happening.
"That was a decent thing you did yesterday for Snotlout," Hiccup said and wasted no time getting to the point. Dressed in his heavy canvas pants and thick, sleeveless shirt meant he would spend a day hammering hot metal into useful items.
"I didn't do him any favors, Hiccup. The man's got some real carving skills, and… he's better than me at it. It's a business arrangement. That's all," Jack replied. He likewise dressed for a day cutting and gluing wood together into new, functional shapes.
"No, Jack, not on Berk it isn't. None of us knew he quit drinking 'til I went over there, and I sure as hell wasn't ready to see a dragon sitting in his house. Snotlout changed, and you know how we Vikings deal with change."
Jack got the impression the term Viking did not entirely include him and replied: "It can get messy."
"To say the least. The fact you acted as an intermediary with the Borghildrs legitimated what he was doing, and that's really the most important part of it all: you put your reputation on the line for him."
After walking around the Viking sitting at his bench, he went and lit the lamp above it. The yellow light spread, mixing with the new dawn, and he could more clearly see Hiccup's face. The man appeared a little tense. Hiccup noted the fact the conversation made Jack uncomfortable, and he could not understand why. Modesty did not always play a huge role in the Guardian's life. He regularly liked to take credit where he thought it due.
"I don't care what the rest of the village thinks. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, and you know it. He can use the work and I need to get those orders finished. The customers will be happy, Snotlout will be happy, and I'll be happy. That's it," Jack expanded on his original statement.
"Really?" Hiccup queried in the manner he saved when he knew something another person did not. "So what are you going to do when Spitlout finds out? And you know he will. It's only a matter of time… and I'd say hours if he doesn't already know."
"He finds out his son quit drinking and managed to find work. End of story."
"Not end of story. Spitlout already knew Snotlout quit drinking. He never gave up on his son and would visit him at least once a week ever since the civil war. It's probably why Snotlout didn't die of starvation or in a house fire."
"And your point?" Jack pushed the central issue with the question.
"The point is I know the Jorgensons a whole lot better than you, and you don't have any idea what barrel of fish you opened," and Hiccup could not stop the small, somewhat nasty, grin that spread on his lips. "I am willing to bet your favorite chair against my flame sword that by the end of the day Spitlout will claim you're the lost Jorgenson son he never knew about and his wife never had. He'll make you a brother to Snotlout whether you want it or not. They will try – and by try I mean force – you to become part of their clan, Jack. You think I get pushy about things, wait 'til you see what the Jorgensons can do. You'll wish you could turn invisible!"
Jack thought for a moment, dug into his inner Spirit of Fun, smiled, and then said: "It'll be fun. I get to have the Hallan family I never had and never knew I needed. They get an addition to their ranks. Wait 'til they meet Isemaler and find out he's real. Then just imagine what it will be like the first time they see me when I transition to Earth, and it's coming up in a couple of days! That will be the talk of the town, and I can pretty much guess who they're going to turn to explain it all."
Hiccup felt his grin fade as Jack spoke. The barest notion the Jorgensons would discover the truth about Jack set off a klaxon in Hiccup's head even a full-throated dragon bugle could not drown out. A nightmare of epic proportions began to develop in his brain, and Jack stood there grinning at him like an dunderheaded fool. It caused him to rethink his position of allowing the Jorgensons have their way with the man.
"Um, hadn't quite thought about that," Hiccup finally admitted, and picked up a piece of wood curl to twirl between his fingers.
"I didn't think so," Jack said with a hefty dollop of smugness. "Speaking of which, can you do me a favor. Actually, both of us."
"What's that?"
"Can you watch over me during the transition. IceSpike can keep people away, but she can't explain why I'm not answering the door… in case anyone – oh, let's say the Jorgensons – decide to stop by," he requested and gave a fairly convincing reason.
"What about Fishlegs?" Hiccup tried to dodge.
"If it's not raining, he's taking Groanhilde out on Meatlug for a moonlight flight. Apparently this is something they like to do during the summer, and it puts them in the mood for love," Jack replied and crooned the last word into one long, salacious syllable.
"Oh, gods, get that image out of my head!"
"If you agree, I'll scare you with something else that will make what Fishlegs and Groanhilde get up to after a long flight and a couple of flagons of ale seem like nothing."
"What could be possibly be worse than that?"
"How about the fact Isemaler's been following you around."
Hiccup instantly agreed that to be worse than visualizing the Ingermans in the throes of passion. His countenance turned to a glare and he focused it on Jack. It seemed the cause of so much of his recent strife did not vanish as he hoped.
"Don't worry, Hiccup: he won't show himself to you," Jack stated with less than full certainty. "He's knows you're angry with him, and he thinks if he follows you around long enough he'll find out what he can do to get back on your good side."
"That explains why the dragons keep looking at me all the time," Hiccup growled the words. "Tell him to stop."
"When are you going to realize I have little to no control over what Isemaler does? I can make suggestions… at best… and ones he feels completely free to disregard!"
Hiccup frowned.
"And get off of my stool," Jack demanded as he felt the ire build between them.
Hiccup stood and move to the side. Jack sat down and pulled out his planning schedule. He flipped it open to the current day, and sighed when he saw the extensive list.
"Is he at least staying out of my room?" Hiccup roughly asked.
"He can't go in where you live unless you invite him. That's the deal you made with Noro, so it doesn't include anywhere else," the Guardian in human flesh told him and assumed the next question the Viking would ask.
It appeared he asked to narrow an accommodation from the powerful entity. Hiccup frowned again. He initially hoped he could pay Jack a compliment for helping Snotlout as well engaging in a bit of fun. Jack, ever the clever one, turned it around on him, and then it took on a sour note. Hiccup hated constantly being in contention with Jack. Even if they could not be together as a couple, he wanted them at the least to be friends. Jack, however, did not seem ready to take that step. It also appeared Jack did not think about what got said on the final night in the house. However, the thought someone could stumble across Jack while he spent eight or nine hours in a ghostly state presented even greater problems.
"Sure, I'll sit guard over you in… what, two nights?" Hiccup agreed and tried to sound gracious
"Yes, see this moon symbol I wrote here?" Jack replied and turned to the page in his schedule book to the day when he would cross over to Earth. "Been doing this since the time you accidentally went with me."
Neither of them mentioned the cause of the incident.
"Jack, that last night in the house, have you thought…"
"Oh, non-stop," Jack interjected. "And I keep coming back to the one question I never got to ask you."
Hiccup kept his mouth shut and nodded to the sitting man.
"Can you, right now, go and send Toothless away for good, wait for a couple of weeks, and tell me you're not a dragon rider?"
The Viking said nothing.
"Ever since you went to go see Snotlout, I started thinking again about what you said, and I don't think you ever put yourself in my position," Jack continued. "Snotlout hasn't had Hookfang for over ten years. and he still thinks about his dragon every day… he still thinks of himself as a dragon rider. Being a dragon rider became part of who he is, and the death of the Hookfang didn't stop him from feeling that way. Look at what it did to him when Hookfang died. Now take into account I've been a Guardian for over forty years and been Jack Frost for over three hundred? How in himmel do you think I can just turn that off?"
"But I thought you wanted a mortal life?" Hiccup countered.
"When did you ever hear me say that back then?"
Once again the Viking said nothing as he riffled through of his memories of that fateful night when Jack died and he got transported to a meeting of the gods concerning the demise of Jack Frost. Try as he might, he could not recall Jack ever uttering the wish to be mortal. He stared at the man sitting before him.
"I agreed because I love you, Hiccup. I wanted to know that love, know it with you, and the only way I could was to agree to become mortal here on Halla," Jack said in a distant voice. "If you ever wanted to know what I truly feel about you, think of this: I love being Jack Frost with every particle of my being. I love the cold and the snow and the ice and the joy it can bring to children. I love protecting the children and making them laugh because it gives meaning and purpose to my existence. I love to fly, Hiccup. Oh, gods, I love to fly. But I love you, too, Hiccup Haddock, and I was willing to give all that up to have that love with you. It never meant I would stop feeling and remembering who and what I am."
"Jack…" Hiccup whispered the name.
"Would you be willing to give up Toothless for me… and would it be fair of me to ask you to stop thinking of yourself as a dragon rider?"
The question slammed into Hiccup as though he got in the path of a runaway gronkle. The simple idea of Toothless missing from his life sent a shock wave of horror from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. Hiccup actually physically shuddered at the thought. He stared at Jack as if seeing him anew. He recalled once when the Guardian spoke of his ability to fly how snow materialized around him as his powers responded to the strong emotional reaction. His mother called it a wondrous sight and it proved to her what lay within Jack's heart. The memory coupled with the notion of losing Toothless and the effect it would cause made Hiccup admit something he never considered.
"I… don't think I could," he said and looked down.
"And yet you expect me to forgot everything I am?" Jack whispered. "Would you even ever love me if I never was the Jack Frost you first met and got to know?"
"I don't know," Hiccup barely breathed out the words.
"You think it unfair they asked me to guide Isemaler in learning how to live with his duties… his powers and responsibilities, but they never asked me to forgot who I am. Only one other person ever asked me to do that, and he nearly destroyed the Guardians so he could blanket the world in darkness and nightmares."
Hearing Jack compare him to the Nightmare King, Pitch Black, a being Jack only spoke about with utter contempt, stung Hiccup to the core. He wanted to say something, anything, to Jack, but words failed him as the totality of what Jack said began to wash over him. Part of Hiccup still felt aggrieved over the conditions placed on his relationship with Jack, but he started to see the enormity of the limitations Jack accepted without complaint at the same time. It all seemed unworkable to Hiccup because he could find a no way to make the two desires compatible and equal.
"I'm sorry," the Viking whispered.
He quickly turned on a heel and walked away. Hiccup feared anything more Jack might add could crush him. His mind became consumed with trying to suss out where he, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III ended and the dragon rider, the companion of Toothless, began. It became an impossible task. His entire self-concept took on the shape of a dragon in his mind, and one in particular. The barest hint of loosing Toothless almost robbed him of thought. Hiccup hardly realized the hours slipped by as he mindlessly worked, often making repeated mistakes, while he struggled with choices and concepts Jack planted in his head. Fartbritches and Mouldy, accustomed to the mercurial moods of Hiccup at times, gave the man a wide berth.
The conversation with Jack continued to plague him for the next two days. He came to envy the manner in which Jack hid his emotions and interacted with others as though nothing went amiss. Yet he could see in the brown eyes troubling thoughts. Others did not, or perhaps they simply ignore what stood right before them. Then again, only two other people and one spirit knew what lay inside Jack. Hiccup pondered again and again what life must be like for Earthling living on Halla denied his essential being. He kept hearing Jack say over and over how he never forgot his role as Guardian. It kept Hiccup awake at night. It made him simultaneously restless and tired. Even time spent with Toothless did not ease his discontent.
Very early on the morning when he promised to watch over Jack, Hiccup left the dragons caves before the beasts or the sun rose. He walked to the hill overlooking Berk where Jack said he saw Aita, Death, sitting and collecting the essence of those who got killed during the civil war. For years Hiccup avoided going to that particular location because of the memories it stirred. That day, because of the memories, he went to the hill. He stood in inky darkness of the pre-dawn day and glanced at the dim outline of a peacefully sleeping Berk.
"Isemaler?" Hiccup clearly said the name.
He got no response.
"I know you're nearby. I saw the watch dragon look at you."
Ten feet away a glimmering outline of the Spirit of Winter Joy came into being. Isemaler then took on a translucent version of himself when not around Jack. The Viking faced the immortal.
"Isemaler, do you ever think… ever want to go back to your life as Grimtooth?" He asked as bluntly as the spirit ever asked a question.
"No," Isemaler answered without waiting. "This is who I am now, Hiccup. This is who I want to be."
"Do you miss being mortal?"
"No."
"What about your family and friends who survived the Mangler attack? What about them?" Hiccup asked and dove headlong into the painful past of Isemaler.
"In this form I can care for them like I never could before… and I get to keep watch over the whole world, Hiccup. Isn't that as important as them… more important?" Isemaler countered.
"But what about you? Where is Grimtooth in all of this? Did you forgot who you were?"
Isemaler floated closer to him, and Hiccup saw the look of confusion on the barely opaque face. The eyes the color of a clear winter sky bore into his. As he drew nearer, the temperature around Hiccup dropped. It served as a subtle reminder of the immense power contained within the spirit.
"Forget? How could I forget? It's because I was… I am Grimtooth Skovaks that I got granted this. I will never lose that part of myself, Hiccup. Why do you ask me these questions?" Isemaler sternly questioned him.
"Because… 'cause I'm not sure I ever understood who Jack is."
The ghostly face studied him for a moment and queried: "How can you love a man you don't know?"
"I know him, Isemaler, but that's not the same as understanding him. Do you actually understand him? What he is? How he is?" Hiccup countered.
He got rewarded with an expression of deeper confusion on the spirit's visage. However, several expressions rippled across the face. Isemaler came within a foot of the Viking.
"I understand he is like me. Noro told me the night she raised me from the ocean that I earned this, Hiccup," he said in a fierce voice. "I didn't die for myself: I saved my sisters… my brothers… the children of my people. I would do it again and again and again without any promise I would be granted this form and life. It's not me who was important that day. I will never be as important as them!"
"My gods," Hiccup whispered as he watched the light gleam and glint around the spirit.
"I thought you knew this, Hiccup. Understood it. Isn't that why you fly your dragon and protect your people like you do?"
Hiccup nodded his head.
"Then that's all you need to know about me… and that's all I need to know about Jack."
Isemaler vanished without a sound and left a stunned Viking standing alone in a world turning from dark to light. Long ago Jack told him a story about people who lived in a cave and never knew they caused the flickering shadows on the wall as the sunlight streamed through the doorway. They did not know better to turn and face the sun. Those who did, Jack told him, represented learning because they saw the light. Hiccup never fully appreciated the tale until that moment. He stood and watched the sun rise. In the light he felt guilt and shame over his assumptions concerning those closest too him. In that moment he realized another lesson from his father's life and death.
Despite being physically tired, Hiccup felt mentally alert. His mind continued to churn over all the nuances in what Isemaler told him. It began to fit together with what he knew about Jack's past on Earth, a planet he got to see for himself and understand the perils the Spirit of Fun faced. Yet he also heard Jack telling him about the great beauty and kindness to be found on Earth in spite of half the nature of the people. Hiccup always knew the same applied for Halla, and he got a shining example of that in Isemaler. He walked to the edge of town and heard the people rousing. Some, like him, rose before the sun so the fishing ships could set sail on the morning tide. Others began the daily chores of caring for their families. Still more set about the tasks they undertook, whether the liked it or not, to help provide for themselves and the village. Hiccup saw people. In their faces he saw reflections of two remarkable beings.
He stopped by a cart and got a bag of early apples for everyone in the shop. He munched on one as he walked along to the smithy and woodshop. Most people greeted or nodded to him as he passed. Hiccup returned the gestures. It impressed him how much Berk simply felt like Berk on a normal day. He loved his village and the people within it no matter how much they tended to get on his nerves. Overhead he saw a dark shape in the sky, and recognized the wing configuration. Hiccup grinned at Toothless who circled downward to meet him at the forge. He grabbed a large fish before he started up the path to his shop. When he got there, he tossed the sea sturgeon to a suddenly very eager dragon. When he went in to the smithy, he noticed the way air hung still. He put the bag of apples down where Fartbritches and Mouldy could easily find them, but not before he grabbed two.
"Here, kind of like breakfast," he said to Jack who sat as his desk.
"Ah, thanks," Jack said and accepted it while his eyes narrowed.
"I'll be there tonight to watch over you," he promised. "And you know what else?"
Jack shook his head.
"I saw the sun this morning… and I think I might know what makes the shadows."
Jack gaped at him.
