A/N: Hey guys! Glad to be back to submit this next chapter. Told ya'll that it was gonna take a little longer than the last one as this one was built from scratch. Hope ya like it. (p.s I may or may not come back to this and clean it up, because, frankly, it feels like I did a poo poo kaa kaa job on this one)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, this is purely out of fun, and all OCs belong to moi.
p.p.s: This takes place during where we left Astrid in the last chapter. *finger guns* cya at the end!
Chapter 2 - Things Have Changed
It had been nearly a month since Hiccup had packed up and left the White City behind, albeit with trepidation.
Honestly, he really didn't want to, and everyone knew it. His squadron had offered to come with him, but he had declined, at least for the moment, telling them to follow after a couple weeks. His trail wouldn't have gone cold by then, and by the time they arrived, he would have likely pinned down where the Titan Wing was located.
He had spent the entire trip praying to any god he had learned about that the dragon wouldn't be attracted to civilization. But of course, it was. It needed food and it had amassed an army in the brief time it had made its home in the Archipelago to get it.
And the best places to get food were where there were people.
He had spent two weeks tracking the movements of one particular horde, which mimicked the actions of dragons stealing food under duress or mind control. He had learned enough to know that dragons didn't steal for the fun of it, or for food. They mainly only ate fish, and were proficient sea hunters. That they would raid villages for food suggested that what food would normally suffice for them, no longer did so. Even then, the dragons would have simply moved on and found other feeding grounds or waters. However, a nest with a demanding Queen, using her abilities to control them, would prevent them from leaving even after food ran out, prompting them to raid villages to get the proper nourishment to feed the queen and their young.
He'd seen it happen before, and even came to the conclusion that that was the problem on Berk. Dragons had been manipulated to attack the village and steal the livestock and other stores.
And, in his time of tracking, he had discovered something both odd and annoying. The dragons were beginning to favor raiding Berk again as the other islands had less and less to offer. When there were no longer any easy catches to be found in some villages, the dragons would leave and allow them to grow once more before returning when the pickings were good.
They would favor one island for weeks, then move on to another once they had sucked it dry.
It was under these grim systematic circumstances that Hiccup was forced to land on the hated island against his better judgement.
He had tried again and again to find his way around having to do so, circling the archipelago and hoping that the dragons would begin to move on so he could track them from an environment less disagreeable. The thought of returning to the place he had once called home had repulsed him so much, it physically felt like sandpaper grating against his skin.
His dragon had growled and grumbled his thoughts most of the way as, though they needed a place to land and make camp, he too had no strong desire to return to a place that had caused his closest friend so much pain over the years.
However, they couldn't keep sleeping out in the open every night on sea stacks or take refuge in caves that were beginning to become inhabited by villagers and vikings who had been burned out of their own homes.
So, in the end, they had little choice as to where they were supposed to go.
It was nearing midnight when he aimed Toothless for the Cove and they landed on the shore of the lake. He slid out of the saddle and stretched his arms and legs, joints cracking as he did so, and then moved over the edge of the water and dropped to his knees, leaning down to splash the liquid onto his tired face and scooped more into his hand to drink.
It went down his dry throat easily and he repeated the process a few more times before wiping his mouth off on his sleeve and getting back to his feet. He looked over to Toothless who had also been taking a long drink, their latest flight having worn him out. The large Night Fury shook his head and snorted, sending droplets of water flying through the air.
Hiccup trudged over to the large nearly-dead tree that had grown so large, its leaves extended out above the rim of the Cove. He assessed it as a whole, looking to see if it would make an optimal camping spot.
A growl from behind him caused him to turn to see Toothless sitting back on his haunches and waiting with tired eyes for Hiccup to remove the several packs attached to the saddle and harness. Obligingly, Hiccup moved over to his side and undid each of the many packs with sleepy hands. When they were all off, Hiccup simply removed a woolen blanket and dragged himself back over to the tree and ducked into the gash of a hole in the trunk.
Toothless entered behind him and settled himself so that Hiccup leaned against his side. It took a while for his overtired mind to finally give in and allow him to rest. He wanted to sleep, but his mind was racing with possibilities of the Berkians discovering them.
Finally, a soft muzzle whuffing his side caused him to look down to see that his agitation had affected his dragon. The large green-gage eyes stared up at him empathetically for a moment before blinking shut as the nose nudged him again.
Smiling weakly, Hiccup finally let sleep claim him for the first time in three days.
Unfortunately, it was not to last.
He wasn't certain how long he had been asleep, but it was still dark in the predawn hours of the morning. The sounds of shrieking dragons, Viking war cries, metal clashing against bone, and the smell of smoke from dragonfire roused him from his sleep.
He sat bolt upright out of a dream when it all reached him deep in his subconscious. Toothless likewise had awoken, ear flaps perked up on high alert. The dragon made an agitated noise caught somewhere between a growl and a roar and got to his feet, running out of their shelter. Hiccup quickly followed suit, having had enough training to be able to achieve full alertness on very little sleep and short notice.
He looked up to the sky, scrutinizing the view for signs of a dragon attack. Sure enough, they were present. Streaks of smoke covering the stars, more smoke billowing above the treeline, and of course a cacophony of sounds raging in the direction of the village. Sighing in exasperation, he looked to Toothless who appeared ready to investigate if he was.
Just as long as we don't get too close, he thought before darting off towards the entrance of the Cove that he had discovered ten years earlier. Without thinking, he pivoted on the heel of his hand over a the rotting wood and rusted metal frame of the shield he had left there so long ago.
It took the pair under five minutes to charge relatively silently through the brush, Hiccup having grown strong and fast enough to match Toothless in speed on foot. It took some maneuvering, but he managed.
Breathing hard, they reached a cliff at the edge of the village and crouched, melding with the shadows cast by trees and the early morning light. He scanned the village, taking numbers and wracking his brain for names. He recognized a few faces, some conjuring more ire than others.
He glimpsed Fishlegs, the boy's bulk and squared figure unmistakable as he charged around, screaming and waving his stone hammer above his head, bashing it into every reptile that crossed his path.
He saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut, tag teaming to bring down dragons with nets and their spears, but often failing and nearly getting themselves killed.
When they did, Snotlout, his despised cousin, was often the one to get them out of trouble. It didn't really surprise Hiccup, they had always been friends. It appeared his cousin's ego had not shrunk. Rather, it seemed to have grown even larger. He now wore a fur cape, much like his father had, and had grown some scraggly facial hair. He was even more repulsive to Hiccup than he had been when they were younger.
He caught sight of Gobber, waving his axe prosthetic and hobbling down the streets as well as he could. However, he didn't seem to have slowed down at all as he was still very capable of cutting down several dragons.
Finally, he spotted his father, still standing tall; though the years had worn on him. He was running through the heat of the battle, directing the defensive and leading some brief attacks himself. Hiccup found many emotions swirling through his mind. Hate, nostalgia, righteous rage, but also indifference. He was indifferent when a dragon would get close enough for a killing strike to his father. It no longer bothered him whether his father lived or died. And maybe it never had but he'd never noticed it before.
As he was beginning to crawl backwards toward the treeline to make an escape to the Cove, he heard another familiar war cry that he didn't think he would ever be able to forget. His head shot up and his eyes widened to see Astrid Hofferson run across a sloped roof and take a flying leap into the air onto the back of a Deadly Nadder.
She had changed her looks as well. Gone was the 14 year old girl who had neither bullied nor stood up for him, and in her place was a young woman ten years older. Her outfit was different, too. Instead of the light blue shirt, she wore red, and more fur in the form of her hood and bracers. Her skirt remained the same, looking dangerously spiky and impossible to sit in, and her war axe was strapped to her back. He found its placement odd, as in old times, it would be hoisted high above her head to strike the dragon. Rather, she wrestled the great blue beast to the ground, rolling away from it and finally lifting her axe into a ready position after the creature shook itself out and bristled to face her. Interested, he ignored Toothless's naggings to return to their camp and watched her, just to see what she would do.
Had anything on Berk changed for the better?
He felt perhaps a small spark of hope ignite inside of him, until the the dragon charged her and she met it halfway. However, instead of lodging her axe into its skull as he thought she would, she instead simply slammed the flat side of the iron into its head, discombobulating it.
She ducked to avoid the tail and then moved away from it, letting the beast recover. When it did, she didn't bother to pursue it, seeing that her point was made, and the dragon flew off with a squawk and a shake of its spines.
He watched her survey the battle and sigh as the last of the horde began to relent and leave, scrambling to gather what they could before they were driven off entirely. Then she began to trudge up the path, presumably to her home or the Great Hall.
Hiccup in turn snuck back with Toothless to the Cove, the Night Fury grumbling and telling him off in his own way that staying until dawn was reckless.
The morning sun had already begun to slice its way through the fog by the time they returned to their little hideout and Hiccup was dead tired, all adrenaline having purged itself from his veins. Sighing, he settled down again, in the shadow of the tree and closed his eyes. He would wake that night and return in case there was another attack. The dragons had not made off with much in the end; they would be back.
And he would be ready to follow them.
Meanwhile, that afternoon…
Astrid walked up the steps of the Great Hall feeling well rested and able to face the remainder of the day. She pushed the huge stone doors aside and stepped into the dimly lit space, noting that Stoick and the War Council were in the middle of a meeting.
Deciding not to intrude on the council while it was busy, she quietly made her way over to a table laden with plates of smoked fish and a boar as well as mead. She filled up her plate with fish, as that wasn't as precious a commodity as boar, and picked up a flagon of the drink before moving to another table where she wouldn't appear to be suspicious of eavesdropping.
Picking at the fish with a utensil, she listened to what she could of the debate going on not fifty meters from her seat.
"-have to try to find the nest again! It's a wonder they haven't found where the fleet is hidden and burned it out yet! I say we should take advantage of that and make another go!"
"I agree with Spitelout. If we don't act now, we'll likely be burned out of our homes just like all the other settlements have been and starve!"
"Ya need ta' calm down, the lot of ya! The dragons haven't bothered us this much in ages. If we wait 'em out a bit longer, they'll likely leave again, jus' like before."
"Gobber, I don't know if we can wait that long. And what if they never stop coming? I know you only have yourself to worry about, and Phil of course, but I have a child. I don't want them to die because we all sat on our hands and said we couldn't do anything when we could."
"I agree with Helga. No matter what we think, we can't just sit back and hope for the best. We have to act now."
It was at this point that Astrid heard Stoick sigh.
"Alright. As soon as the repairs have been made and defenses have been set up, we'll organize another raid. If we can catch a dragon," he said, his weariness evident in his voice. Astrid was certain that if she looked at him now she would see dark circles under his eyes.
A moment of silence later, the doors of the Hall banged open, slamming into the walls and one of the lookouts charged in.
"CHIEF! OUTCASTS!" He shouted, causing Astrid, and probably everyone else, to jump out of their seats. Stoick's head jerked up and a series of emotions passed over his face. Not among the least of them was something caught between dread and resignation. The normally indomitable Chief paled as the out-of-breath viking ran up, joined by everyone else in the Hall and those who had followed him in.
Astrid joined her group of friends, who were panting from chasing after the man.
"Do any of you have any clue as to what is happening?" She inquired, looking from one reddened face to another. Each of them shook their heads. She grimaced. Besides herself and Fishlegs, none of them really retained information very well.
Except for him, she thought, tightening her jaw at the thought of Hiccup. She turned her attention back to the man and listened to what the conversation going on between him and the Chief.
"When did you first see them, Ulric?"
"Just moments ago, sir. They're on the horizon. I reckon they'll be here before dawn tomorrow."
Just great. Another sleepless night. Astrid sighed.
"That's not good at all. Do you know what their intentions could be?'
"I doubt anything good. They were in their warships."
"It's likely they heard our fleet is nowhere to be seen. Probably think it was sunk by the dragons."
Spitelout chimed in. "What do we do, Stoick? Do we fight 'em on the sea? They won't be expecting a water attack."
Stoick thought about it for a moment. "No. We need to save our armada for the raid. Right now, we need to prepare for an attack. Ulric, go back to your post and have Fishlegs go with you, I want regular reports. If they change course, I want to know about it.
"The rest of you, get ready to set up blockades at the docks," he ordered, everyone present nodding and then exiting the Hall they way they came. Astrid sighed again, blowing her bangs out of her eyes and making her way down to the docks with Snotlout and the twins.
When they reached the docks, most of the village behind them, everyone immediately set to work. Some were patching the wooden walls and others were setting them up.
Astrid lingered for a minute, but then found herself being saddled with a job to collect lumber from the forest as there was not enough wood to build new blockades that would withstand the attack.
With a quick nod, she darted back up the docks and headed off toward the deep forest.
A/N: Shorter than I'd have liked, but hopefully it'll do until next time. Now, I have a forest meeting scene to write. Hiccup goes all mysterious on Astrid and stuff like that. Yeah.
Also, I reeeeaaaaaallly wanna thank everyone who has reviewed and faved and followed this story. The e-mails I get letting me know really make my day, and I love the messages that I get from you guys.
You know who you guys are, hopefully, but yes in response to two reviews here are my answers:
1.) Yes, Hiccup will kick the crap out of most of the people in the village.
2.) I, uh, I meant to say Core...*coughs nervously*...um, yeah...*not really*...eheheheh...
*more finger guns* IMSP, out! Cya when the next chapter is finished!
