A Dragon on Earth
By D. O'Shae
Chapter 4 (six days after arrival)
"Hiph nurph aph… Cruph," the yeti named Clyde said and the other two shuddered at the final word.
Jack noticed an involuntary shudder from himself, Bunny, Nick, Sandy, Toothania, and everyone else in attendance at the test. Baby Tooth pressed herself firmly against his neck, and he could feel the small body trembling. Moreover, the yeti word caused a sensation as if something chill and unwanted brushed up against him. For the first time ever Jack did not need a translation of the word: he knew the yeti singled out Creak by name.
"Clyde says nightmares cause fear differently than… Creak," Santa directly translated, and everyone took part in a second shudder.
"Limphur murpha pha-pha nurph suph."
"Nightmares are like boiling water, but his fear is like watching a match strike: it quickly flares."
Everyone knew the yeti took fire very seriously, so it formed an impression whenever they used the allegory. Given the volume of fur covering their bodies, it made sense. The gathering seemed to appreciate the distinction.
Clyde then spoke at length for a yeti. Nicholas Saint North paid close attention and nodded his head on occasion. His eyebrows slowly raised as he listened.
"The world mood sensor now looks for singular instances of intense fear that… unphorph?" Nick began and then asked his own question in yeti-speak.
"Hunphmuph orph… unphorph," the yeti replied.
"Oh, this does mean persistent," Nick said, but everybody knew the comment centered on an internal question. He returned his attention to the gathering. "So the system will now make this sound…"
A terrible squeak issued from the globe like that of a long ignored door with hinges rusted over and being forced open. The assembled winced. It rang in the ears in such a way it felt like a horrible case of tinnitus.
"Could you maybe make that a little softer?"
"Phi," Clyde sounded agreeable to Nick's request.
"What do we do when it makes that sound?" Bunny asked.
"Good that you asked," Nick answered and focused on Bunnymund. "Since we, you and me that is, can make portal to go from one place to another instantly, we need to respond first. Here, this is for you."
Nick tossed a small, gray metal box with small, circular opening on one side covered over by wire mesh. The rounded corners and nearly invisible seams in the metal, along with the general simplistic beauty of the piece, announced it as yeti-made. Jack guessed the purpose of the object. When a horrid squeak issued from it, his guess got confirmed. Bunny made an unpleasant face.
"When you hear this sound, look at the other side. You see numbers there?" Nick asked while trying to take back the box as Bunny attempted to turn it over to view the opposite side. A small tug of war ensued in which Bunny won and gave Nick a long, deadly stare. "Those are the coordinates of where he is."
"So you think I'm just going to thump twice and leap over where Creak is up to no good?" The giant rabbit asked.
Many sets of eyes focused on him, but no one spoke.
"Really? I thought we gave up going it alone when Jack got his staff broken by Pitch?" The Pooka complained. He looked from person to yeti to tooth fairy and back to Nick. "Really?"
"We're the only ones who can respond in time," Nick finally said.
"So you and me are supposed knuckle down and give Creak the bizzo alone… by ourselves… without backup?"
"I can get there in a couple of minutes," Toothania replied, "if you can hold him."
"And me and Sandy can hitch a ride if we're close enough," Jack offered and saw the Sandman bobbing his head in agreement.
The Spirit of Hope eyed his compatriots as though he thought them insane. Bunny began to shake his head. He glanced down at the box. Then he looked up.
"And how are the rest of you so-called cobbers supposed to know where this is going on?" Bunny asked in doubtful tones.
Nick fulfilled his role as Santa Claus early and held up five more boxes exactly like the one in Bunny's paws. One by one they each took a device. Toothania looked worried.
"This is going to cause a problem if we're working and the alarm goes off," she said.
"Looph marphiph naph phonph," one of the other yeti, and Jack believed it to be Emerson, said.
"If it detects the presence of people, it will automatically switch to a silent mode," Nick translated.
Jack often wondered why his magical ability to translate languages did not work with yeti. However, given they used some form of compressed speech, he wondered if the complexity outstripped the ability granted by The Man in the Moon. Seconds later he rejected the notion. Yeti were not children, they were not human, and they were more than capable of fending for themselves. Tales of the sasquatch and abominable snowman spoke of the fear they could inspire. Most humans simply looked at their size and never once gave them a chance. Moreover, yeti tended to by shy and stand-offish. This contrasted with their ability to understand nearly any device one placed in their hands. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the truly amazing nature of the creatures. He cocked his head to one as he pondered the seeming contradictions.
"Jack!" Bunny yelled at him. "Pay attention, lad: this could save your life one day."
"Sorry, just thinking… about something," he mumbled.
"Or someone?" Toothania asked with a grin.
"Funny enough, no. It was, ah, work related, I guess."
"Can you do that Reginald?" Nick asked.
The three yeti consisting of Clyde, Emerson, and Reginald formed into a huddle. Their muffled language rippled through the air at a pace Jack felt certain even Nick could not translate. Everyone stood by. Jack felt something tickle his cheek.
"Cheep?" Baby Tooth inquired.
"Maybe, but, um, I don't know what they're discussion," he wished to his small friend.
"Cheep… cheep cheep cheep."
"No kidding? Isn't that like all Star Trek-y or something and doesn't it violate the laws of physics?"
"Cheep cheep!"
Jack nearly bit through the side of his tongue trying not to laugh out loud. Baby Tooth made an excellent point that he stood among an assemblage of beings who all violated the laws of the physics or the fabric of reality at times, and yet he questioned the small box made by yeti. As he struggled to maintain his composure lest he justifiably receive the ire of his comrades, the yeti turned to face them.
"Omphla phimoph gluph," one of the yeti said, and Jack guessed it to be Clyde.
"This will hurt, huh. How much?" Nick thoughtfully queried.
"Siphorph omphnomph naph," Clyde answered.
"Well that does not seem too bad."
A golden question mark hung over Sandy's head, and he looked a peevish.
"Oh, yes," the ancient, sturdy Russian said with a touch of embarrassment. "They say it will be like traveling through one of Bunny's drop holes… but about a quarter of the size."
"Kind of a tight squeeze," Bunny muttered.
"This is why they say it will hurt a little," Nick rejoined and looked around. "It is like getting pulled thin."
"So they can make small, localized drop holes?" Jack asked in awe of the concept.
"Phimoph… nuph aphophorph… giph," Emerson said, or at least Jack thought it to be Emerson.
"I do not know those words," the man the world called Santa Claus said and shrugged his shoulders.
"What did he say?" Bunny testily asked.
"Something about a little star falling in on itself and a tube…"
"A gravitational completely collapsed star. He's talking about a wormhole," Jack enthusiastically interjected. "I saw this on a television program a kid fell asleep watching while I was standing guard."
The others stared at him with a mix of annoyance and interest.
"Look, when a star dies, if it's big enough and has enough mass, it collapses on itself instead of exploding… going nova or supernova, see?" He answered the looks. "And when it does that, it condenses into something maybe a ten-thousandth of its original size, and that's a lot of matter to compress. Then it acts like a gravity well, and we call it a black hole."
"Wait just one darn second," Bunny piped up. "I thought those things destroy everything that gets near them?"
Now all eyes, including Jack's, stared in wonder at Bunny.
"I pay attention to stuff, too," the enormous Pooka responded.
"Um, yeah, sometimes… depending on the size," Jack confirmed once he accept Bunny understood the concepts. "But sometimes they bend space and time into a tunnels we call wormholes. Some physicists think we could use those to travel unbelievable distances across the universe and even through time. The problem is they're usually pretty unstable."
"But we could arrive at Creak's location before he even got started?" Toothania asked, displaying her rather agile mind.
"Eph… Framph uphalph nomph oomphliph halumph," Clyde appeared to answer.
"He says Jack got it right, but they would only use a very tiny small speck of a… black hole to do this. There is room in the box to make it work, but it would need to connect to either Bunny's or mine box to make the tunnel."
While Nick spoke, Jack eyed the yeti's and managed to pay attention at the same time. He came to a conclusion. When Nick halted, he decided to air his suspicion.
"You guys aren't from around here," he quietly said. "And by here I mean Earth."
The three yeti appeared stunned. They glanced at one another, and then at Nick. Nick nodded, and then eyed the youngest of the Guardians. Jack felt as though he possibly made a mistake.
"This is something we can talk about later, but now we talk about finding Creak and stopping him. What do we think? Do we want the box to make these… tunnels?" Nick carefully answered and smartly navigated back to the original topic.
An exclamation point appeared above the Sandman's head. It seemed he emphatically endorsed the idea. Then Toothania nodded her head. Finally, the assembled looked to Jack.
"I'm used to traveling between worlds and you've never had to fly with the twins, so this seems easy in comparison. Let's do it," he agreed to the idea.
"Who are these twins?" Nick inquired.
"Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They ride a zippleback, a two-headed dragon, and they aren't too bright."
"You're going to have to join me for punch one of these days 'cause I think I might like to hear about these blokes," Bunny quipped.
"Don't even get me started," Jack warned and grinned.
"Phiph?" Reginald, at least Jack thought it to be Reginald, said and it sounded like an inquiry.
"Yes, yes. Make the modifications," urged Santa.
The three yeti collected the boxes from everyone. Emerson seemed to cast a suspicious glance on Jack when he did, but Jack met it calmly. He even smiled, and that appeared to annoy the large being. Nick huddled with them and exchanged plans and words. Bunny, Sandy, and Toothania with her cadre of minions gathered around him. Bunny gave him an askew look.
"You really reckon they're from somewhere else?" The tall rabbit inquired.
"What they're talking about doing is highly advanced physics… hundreds, maybe thousands of years ahead of us," Jack responded.
"Might be magic," Toothania proposed.
"You know what magic does to electronics, and the yeti work with electronics all the time."
Above Sandy's head an array of devices the yeti could construct appeared in the dream sand. Then they all turned to the globe. Jack could not begin to imagine the technical complexity required to build a monitor that focused on children and their status. Nothing about the globe appeared magical to him, but that did not mean the internal working did not use some form of magic. If that proved to be the case, then the yeti found a way to combine electronics with magic. It again argued in favor of Jack's new theory.
"So you don't mind taking a trip through a wormy tunnel?" Bunny asked after a few seconds.
"I've seen worse," Jack quietly said.
"Cheep?" Baby Tooth asked.
"Yes, it… him."
"Oh," Toothania inhaled the word. "You told her about that?"
"She asked. Besides, Baby Tooth stuck by me when we faced Pitch the first time, so she could handle it," Jack told his fellow Guardian.
"Cheep!" Baby Tooth defiantly stated.
Jack and Toothania snickered at her remark.
"So how come you can understand the faeries, but not the yeti?" Bunny questioned him
Sandy also gave him a sly wink.
"Maybe because we faced a real threat together and we needed to be able to communicate. Maybe The Man in the Moon granted the power to me. Maybe because I really, really like and admire Baby Tooth."
"Cheep," the smaller version of the larger Tooth Fairy said, and she seemed to grow rosy in color.
"Well, I do. That was one of the bravest acts I ever saw, Tooth," he spoke sincerely to the tiny creature.
She nuzzled up to his neck.
Bunny rolled his eyes at the display.
In the midst of the camaraderie between Jack and Baby Tooth, a terrible noise issued from the globe. It quickly spun around. Both Sandy and Toothania flew toward it while the alarm faded. Even from where Jack stood next to Bunnymund, they could see a small light suddenly go dark in Mali where it just passed midnight hour. It stayed dark while they waited. Sandy craned his head around. Jack noted the look of deep concern on his face. Jack nodded in understanding.
"This chap has to go down," Bunny growled as he stared at the dark spot, "'cause that's not right."
"He's really old and Nick thinks he's probably very powerful," Jack reminded his friend.
"I don't care about either of those things, Jack: nothing gets to treat children like that and get away with it."
"Creak's been doing it for thousands and thousands of years," Toothania cautioned from above them. "Right, Sandy?"
The Sandman, hovering next to her on a cloud of dream sand, nodded his head. He frowned and appeared angry. Above his head two oblong shapes took form, and the glowed a dull orange. Jack shivered. While he knew it as a sign of Creak, it also brought to mind the flesh hungerers from Halla. One flew threw him once and apparently made a change in him even Thursar H'rim could detect. Jack never understood how the encounter altered his being. However, the flesh hungerers while frightening did not reach the level of menace and terror Creak inspired. Jack looked away.
Nick and one of the yeti, Jack thought it looked like Reginald, trotted up to the group. The two joined in staring at the globe. Toothania silently pointed to the location of the attack.
"So this works, eh?" Nick inquired, yet it did not sound like a question.
"Phi," Reginald seemed to answer.
"This idea of Jack and Sandman's…"
"Mostly Sandy," Jack quickly amended.
"Of mostly Sandman's and a little of Jack's is a good one," the large Russian said in a satisfied if somber tone. "We've not tracked a single per… entity like this since Pitch went underground. It's good we can change with the times."
No one missed the fact that while Nick spoke his hand gripped the hilt of a sword that seemed to suddenly appear at his side. The other Guardians knew the man used a simple form of obscuring magic to hide the blades that hung from either hip. As an expertly trained swordsman and warrior, Nicholas Saint North would never be caught without his weapons. That he would openly expose one of them gave testament to his dislike of Creak. His blue eyes remained fixed on the small empty spot in the African continent on the globe. His nostrils flared a little.
"We know how to track this blighter now, and the furballs will give us a way to meet him head-on, Nick. His time is coming," Bunny menacingly stated and ignored the look thrown at him by Reginald.
"Cheep," Baby Tooth said in Jack's ear.
"Yeah, he's just as furry, but I think we'll remind him of it later," Jack whispered his response.
For the second time in a week the Guardians stood united with a single intent. While united in purpose at all times, seeing the effect of Creak – a quick, horrific effect – galvanized their collective will. Moreover, Jack sensed they all knew this foe tended to be a breed apart from the others they faced. They understood Pitch Black's agenda. They knew why the blue trolls acted. The tupilaqs lived as a twisted form of revenge on the part of humans, so their motivation could be explained. Even the Monkey King's relentless hatred of Toothania and her family made sense in a crazed manner. Creak, however, defied simple explanation. No one knew what really drove him (or it as Jack often reminded himself). In large part Creak remained unknown because he rarely crossed paths with the Guardians. That, however, would change if their plans held and came to fruition.
"I still don't know how we're going to fight him," Jack quipped as he simultaneously thought of many things.
Sandy flew down and hovered in front of the gathering before anyone could answer. He looked expressly from Guardian to Guardian. As he did, images formed above his head. When he gazed at Bunny, grass, flowers, birds, and the sun formed a vista in the golden sand. The world appeared bright and healthy in the projection. Jack felt himself sigh when he suddenly could smell the grass. It gave him a sense that better and brighter days neared. When the Sandman looked at Toothania, the scene changed. It began with an infant lying in a crib playing with a stuffed toy. The child grew before their eyes and, in a few short seconds, they saw a life play out before them. Jack felt comfort in the fractured remains of his own past. It gave him a sense of being grounded and real, as much a belief made him feel solid. Memories, he realized, were like a warm blanket on a chilly, windy night.
"Impressive," Bunny murmured.
When Sandy fixed his eyes on Nick, the group watched with awe as random pieces came together under sure hands and produced an object greater than the individual parts. Toys, while seemingly common and simple, became much more under Nick's hands. The opened the possibility of new paths of thinking as imagination got prodded into action. The mystery of the world called out to each of them, and Jack felt the marvelous pull. When the Sandman turned his eyes to Jack, Sandy smiled. Above him children took form and enjoyed one another in play. Although silent, one could all but hear the laughter and merriment as it unfolded. In that brief instant, Jack saw the fun he inspired in others did something incredibly profound: it formed bonds and tied people together. He shared in the Sandman's smile and saw his compatriots did as well.
Lastly Sandy held up his arms. A picture of a child tucked snugly into bed formed in the dream sand. Above the small head a cloud appeared, and in that all the possibilities of the world took shape. Adventure awaited as answers to puzzles got created. Dreams, Jack knew, paved the way into the future. A dream formed the first brick in a road, no matter how long, that could be shared by all. A dream brought it all together: past, present, and future. Never before did Jack so fully understand the sheer power at Sandy's beck and call. He stood amazed and grateful he could call the little man his friend.
"It's us, isn't it? We can't stop Creak, but we take away the darkness," Toothania quietly summed up the lesson the oldest of Guardians presented.
Sandy nodded.
"We are the light," Nick said and one could hear the spell the Sandman created in his voice.
"It's what we are: hope, memories, wonder, fun, and dreams. It's what makes people fearless and defeats Creak," Jack added as the moment blossomed in his mind.
Many eyes turned to look at him.
"Crikey, but I think the lad's learned a thing or two," Bunny teased, but under the sarcasm rang a note of respect.
"Then we do what we've always done, and we meet him where he tries to work his foul trick. We gave back to the children what he takes from them," the man the world knew as Santa Claus stated, and it sounded so firm that stone took example.
"Umph!" Reginald declared, and no one in the great room needed a translation.
As the sun prepared to crest the horizon half a world away, Hiccup and Toothless pressed themselves into a hollow in the ground and hope the craft chasing them flew past. Hiccup heard the thup-thup sound and light crept under the edge of Toothless' wing that covered him. The noise circled round and round while the light shifted from one spot another. It searched, but did not find. For a small eternity it seemed to hold in the air while the powerful beam of light scanned the ground. Finally the craft moved on. The Viking lay panting next to the trembling dragon.
Neither moved or made a noise for a quarter or an hour.
"I think we're okay for now, bud," Hiccup said and could not stop the tremble in his voice.
Toothless lifted his wing and the young man crawled out from under it. The night sky did not look as dark as it did during their hurried flight. Hiccup undid the fasteners on his jacket so as to let his body cool. Toothless remained motionless on the ground sucking in lungful after lungful of air. Given the duration and speed at which he flew, his rider did not blame him one bit. He squatted down and patted the leathery head. The large yellow-green eye gazed up at him, and Hiccup saw the unfamiliar look of fear in the dragon's visage.
"I know, Toothless: it was so fast," he commiserated with his best friend. "But you dodged it. You're a night fury, and nothing beats a night fury!"
Toothless grunted, but it carried unmistakable pleased tone. Hiccup stood and took stock of the area, amazed they managed to find decent cover while on the run. The surrounding trees and various hummocks saved them for full discovery. His injured arm nearly proved their undoing since it meant Toothless could not use his full range of tactics. The break throbbed in renewed pain due to being torqued and twisted during the chase, and Hiccup cradled his arm as he thought over the events.
The night started off in an uneventful manner as they attempted to fly around the southern portion of the mountain range. The Viking learned long ago that trying to fly over mountains could be disastrous, but then he realized neither he nor his dragon would have to fight other wild dragons. However, Earth presented a series of challenges that continuously exceeded the limits of his imagination. The machine, and Hiccup knew it to be a machine since he saw people sitting inside of it, that spotted them as they flew through the night proved agile and extremely fast. Armed with devices that could aim a powerful beam of light, the Hallans did not expect it when they came across it zipping through the sky. Somehow it saw their outline, and those lights got shone directly on them. Even from a distance Hiccup could see the surprised expressions on the people.
"They know about us now," Hiccup murmured as he walked around in a small circle.
The dragon sat up and furled his wings and seemed to relax. The large eyes followed his rider while the Viking ambled about the hiding spot. The sharp ears of Toothless caught a sound, and his head spun in the direction. Panic shot through the human, and Hiccup dropped to a crouch. He intently watched toothless. After a few seconds he realized his companion did not react to danger. Hiccup strained his ears.
"We really got lucky. Hang on while I take off your saddle and harness. It's been getting wet too much and I'm worried about the leather," Hiccup told Toothless when he also heard the sound of a nearby river.
In truth, all of their equipment took a beating from the unexpected situation. They flew through rain. They flew through freezing temperatures as they tried to survey their route. They flew heavy clouds that got trapped by the mountains. They got baked in the sun in the lowlands as they sought refuge in forests along the way. Only the fact Hiccup made most of the equipment kept him from serious concern. He knew every piece. Even the saddle, the newest addition, he trusted since he over saw the construction. Thinking of it made him miss Jack all the more and wish his mate would find them. It drove him into the recent past.
"I'm telling you he can carry both of us with no problem. It's the seating that's the issue," Hiccup told Jack not long after Jack decided he needed a dragon.
"He's got a long enough back," Jack mumbled as he studied the dragon.
Toothless also studied the Guardian and wore a particular expression. The few who knew about the exploits of Hiccup, Jack, and Toothless would immediately recognize the dragon seemed hopeful for a particular outcome. Jack, however and following Hiccup's advice, did not even mention he possibility of magically-induced incorporeal flight. Instead, the brown-haired young man continued to measure and examine the creature. Jack privately considered Toothless to be an incredibly handsome beast.
"Since you're going to be making this for a lot of people, might as well make one for us," Hiccup continued to prod his now human companion.
Dressed in a light blue woolen shirt and sturdy leather pants since he worked in a smithy, Jack felt comfortable in the clothing since it bore a passing resemblance to his Guardian attire. He acknowledged his subconscious preferences. Over the shirt he wore a canvas apron with several pockets. In the pockets he kept small tools and writing implements. The design came from the inventive mind of Fishlegs.
"But his old saddle was just hardened leather, so why use a wooden frame now?" Jack questioned while trying to envision a new design.
"Because it'll be carrying two people and needs to be sturdy," the young Viking man repeated for the third time. "Besides, then we can add hooks and eyelets so we can strap stuff to it. Anyway, it's not like I'm asking you to build a cart."
Jack waggled his head back and forth as he considered the words and considered the needs at hand. One thought remained in his head and he narrowed his eyes. Hiccup caught the look and rolled his eyes in response.
"And if we're going out looking for a dragon for you, this will help."
"Still want a dragon, huh?" Fartbritches asked from the doorway of the small workshop. Sweat trickled down his face from the effort of trying to bend a hot piece of metal.
"It seems to be the thing here, and… I really like flying," Jack said, uncertain of how much he should say.
"Don't know why you do. They're a pain to take care of."
"Not if you do it right, Farb," Hiccup testily retorted.
Everyone on the island knew Hiccup hated the way the Hooligans named their children. As a result, he began to nickname those whose names he found vile. As a result, Fartbritches became Farb, and the man did not seem to mind. Moreover, a number of other people used the new appellation. Some members of the community complained he did not have the right to rename people, and several heated arguments took place. However and ever the Viking, Hiccup stood his ground refusing to give up the practice.
"They're too picky," the junior of the two apprentices to Gobber replied.
"It wanted fish, and you kept trying to give it mutton!"
"What's the difference?" Fartbritches complained.
"Taste for one… and it was a shockjaw, Farb, so of course it wanted fish," Hiccup grumbled out the words.
Jack detected this argument predated him, so he wisely remained uninvolved.
"It stung me, too!" The apprentice smith added to his complaints. "And it wouldn't listen."
"I'm not going through this again, Farb. You just didn't have the patience to train a dragon. Not everyone does."
"And he's not going to have work if he doesn't finish bending that rod!" Gobber yelled from deeper within the workshop.
Fartbritches looked panicked and promptly disappeared from the doorway. Hiccup turned around and appeared frustrated. Jack smirked.
"It's not funny, Jack. That shockjaw could've killed him even if it was just a baby," the Viking harrumphed.
"I know. I've read the book, but that's not why I was smiling," Jack replied.
Hiccup frowned.
"You can't help it, Hiccup. How long ago was it that Farb tried to train a dragon?"
"Um, let's see… three years ago, and he failed. Miserably!"
Jack walked up to his mate after setting down his measuring tape and patting Toothless on the neck. When he reached Hiccup, he rose on his toes and kissed the Viking on the cheek. It turned a light pink in response.
"You're a leader and a teacher, Hiccup. You love dragons and you want others to love them just as much. It frustrates you when someone else just doesn't see it the same way as you," the Guardian told him.
"Have you been hanging around Gothi 'cause you sound an awful lot like her right now?" Hiccup protested, and yet not a trace of acrimony could be heard.
"You know I've been around and seen a few things here and there."
Hiccup leaned his head back, staring down the length of his nose at Jack. Over the past several months the two learned how to read one another's expressions. Jack could tell Hiccup took measure of him in some form.
"Three hundred years, huh?" The Viking whispered.
"Give or take a decade," Jack corrected.
"You don't look a day over twenty," Hiccup teased him.
"I was preserved in the cold, don't forget."
Hiccup shook his head, rolled his eyes, and then encircled the slender young man with his long arms. Jack instinctively returned the gesture. Whether up close or at a distance no one could miss the tenderness in the embrace. Most everyone who knew the two understood each sought to protect the other, yet few understood how those feelings came about. In that moment in the workshop, Hiccup and Jack felt safe and free to let down their guard. The hug became an expression of love.
"You're still worried about me being on a dragon, huh?" The Guardian inquired.
"You're human now, Jack," was all Hiccup needed to say to express a wide range of concerns.
"I know, and everything that can happen to you can happen to me, but you've got to trust I can take care of myself."
"But you've been the other way for so long, I… maybe… you're not…" the taller of the two stumbled through his statement.
"I'm not out of practice at looking for danger. We both know I'm not completely safe in my… other clothes. Things can happen, so I've got to be careful," Jack completed for him and pondered for a moment. Then he said: "You know that making me wait too long could make me impatient. I really want to get back into the sky."
"I know! I know! Trust me: I've thought a lot about what it would be like if I couldn't hop on Toothless' back and take off into the air. I figure it's got to be ten times worse for you since it was pretty much built into you."
"I'm not going to lie and say it isn't hard to live without it, but the trade-off… it's worth it."
Jack then squeezed Hiccup with all his might, and felt a small bit of satisfaction when he heard wind rush out of the Viking's mouth. Then Hiccup did the same. The wiry frame belied the real strength in Hiccup's entire body. Hard muscle overlay the lanky form. While other young men possessed bulk: Hiccup's sinew stretched over bone gave him incredible leverage. Simply watching the young man wrestle the night fury, something Hiccup did on a regular basis, showed more resided under the surface than could be guessed. At the moment, Jack started to regret engaging him in a squeezing contest.
"You win," Jack wheezed when his mate did not desist.
Hiccup chuckled and relieved the pressure. However, the Viking did not release him. They looked at one another for a moment.
"I'm going to ask you a question that might upset you," Hiccup warned.
The Guardian nodded.
"Are you going to be angry if you can't find a dragon that'll accept you?"
The thought never occurred to Jack. It took a few seconds, but it came as a shock to him in the end. Jack assumed anyone could become a rider if he or she simply put the effort into it. Fartbritches appeared to provide an example of the principle in action.
"Has, um… has that ever happened to anyone?" Jack finally counter-questions.
"Many times. Farb's not the only one who didn't succeed, and some of them really tried."
"So, ah, why did they… you know, fail at it?"
Hiccup glanced down at him with a serious expression and said: "I never really figured out why. But I think it comes down to finding the right one that fits perfectly into somebody's life. It's like the rider and the dragon are reflections of one another. Does that make sense?"
Jack nodded his head.
"Can I say something that's going to make you mad at me?"
"You can always risk it," the young man from a drastically different place agreed.
"I don't think there's a dragon that can equal you, Jack."
Jack's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"The Guardian part of you is still in there," Hiccup quietly said and tapped Jack's chest with a finger after disentangling his left arm. "No dragon can match that. They might realize they're not really worthy of you."
"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard," Jack snapped at him while trying to control the reaction. "Why would my… other clothes make any difference to a dragon?"
"Toothless sees it, and he reacts to it. Snaggletail leans away from you whenever you go near her, and I think Barf's afraid of you as well. Just because it's isn't in the open anymore doesn't mean dragons can't… sense it. Any dragon you approach is going to sense it as well, so I think you need to be prepared for that."
Hiccup watched as the angry reaction settled across Jack's face. Despite the honest earnestness of the Guardian, no one could guarantee he would succeed. The Viking did not lie in his assessment. Since Jack took up permanent residence on Berk, he began to see the pattern emerge in dragons. The creatures seemed to know something more hid within Jack than the human eye could detect. Whatever Noro the Sky Dancer did to make Jack human on a more or less full-time basis, it could not completely mask the true nature of the young man. Dragons appeared to inherently sense the reality.
"And that's why I'm asking you to make this saddle," Hiccup returned to the original reason for his visit to the workshop.
"Why? In case I fail at… impressing a dragon?" Jack said and the words grated through his teeth.
"It's the other way around, pal: it's the dragons that'll be afraid of not impressing you," the Viking rejoined in a controlled voice. "We need this saddle so Toothless can carry both of us when we go looking for one who'll – I don't know – understand what you are and not shy away from you."
Green eyes met brown eyes. The two locked their gaze. Hiccup saw something unfamiliar in Jack's visage: uncertainty. Thus, he started to understand the source of his companion's anger. Privately, Hiccup thought it good he faced this challenge both internally and externally since much of a human life rested in the realm of uncertainty. Jack needed to get used to dealing with issues and situations when he could not call upon his extraordinary powers.
On Earth Hiccup turned and looked at the saddle Jack ultimately made. Despite not utilizing his skills for over three hundred years, the woodwork he produced proved excellent in quality. Jack did not work fast since he struggled to remember what got taught to him during his first stint as a mortal, yet the end result could not be questioned. Others took note of what he did, including fixing the wobbling table at the house and building the set of stairs, and began to bring work orders to him. Hiccup reached out and gently caressed the saddle. He missed Jack in ways that defied description.
"He doesn't even know where here, bud," Hiccup told the resting dragon as he looked around vale in which they landed.
The growing dawn made the tree trunks appear like shadowy ghosts and the young leaves like small gray hands. He looked upward and saw the dismal prospect for more rain. Even the last of the dark sky could not hide the veneer of clouds. Since he worried about the condition of everything, Hiccup stood, cradled his arm, and began to inspect the equipment. More worrisome news greeted his eyes. Toothless' skin began to show abrasions from where the harness and tack rubbed against him. The dragon seldom, if ever, wore the gear for so long in a single stretch. Although it caused pain, Hiccup went to work removing the gear from the dragon. Toothless looked on, and sighed in relief when the saddle gracelessly slid from his back. In short order, Toothless stood naked.
"Okay, Toothless, go for a swim and get something to eat… and make it fast. Day is almost here," he said and slapped the beast on the rump.
Toothless appeared to sense the need for secrecy. Instead of launching himself into the sky and diving in as he normally did on Halla, the dragon slipped quietly into the water. Hiccup altered his thinking as he realized the dragon went hunting fish and did not want to scare them; hence the need for the sublime entrance. Since the sun rose behind the mountains, Toothless remained invisible in the water. It never failed to amaze the Viking at how long some non-water species of dragon could remain under the water. Toothless could stay submerged for nearly a quarter of an hour. By the time the Toothless emerged from the water with his mouth overflowing with brown and silver fish, Hiccup only just began to grow concerned.
"Good fishing, huh?" He asked as the dragon waddled up to him.
Toothless let the haul fall form his mouth, and then began to eat the wriggling catch. Although it drew a displeased look from his flying friend, Hiccup snagged what appeared to be a trout for himself. He sharpened his knife on the whetstone stashed in one of the many pockets in his jacket, and set about cleaning and scaling the fish. Growing up on an island in the middle of a rather brutal sea meant Hiccup learned to like fish before he could even remember. Moreover, raw fish could be palatable depending on the species. Hiccup found the fish pulled for the cold, deep waters of these mountains to be rather sweet and almost without taste. Thus, he satisfied himself with a meal brought to him by his best friend. Next to him the dragon happily crunched on the heads of the fish as he ate. The sense of panic that forced their landing receded.
"It's gonna rain, bud, so move over," Hiccup demanded as they settled in next to a clump of trees.
Without needing to be asked, Toothless raised a wing and the Viking crawled under it. The vast, leathery mainsail of the wing would protect him if it rained. Since it could grow uncomfortably hot lying next to the dragon, Hiccup stripped off his leather riding clothes, and wrapped them together with a the saddle and packs in the large square of oil cloth he always carried in one of the packs. Too many times the duo found themselves out-of-doors in inclement weather to fail to learn from the experiences. Excepting the reasons why they camped, overall they fared well to that point.
"Night, bud," the young man said to the dragon as he curled into a ball under the wing.
Toothless gurgled his response, and both soon fell into a deep slumber.
"Kaj so te oznake? Skladbe?" Hiccup heard just as the dragon roused and then froze.
The voices sounded a way off. Hiccup fought down the sense of renewed panic in his gut. He always tried hard to find places away from populated areas, but the cause of the sudden landing in the early morning hours negated those efforts. As he calmed his rattled nerves, he both felt and heard Toothless begin to grumble.
"No, Toothless. Quiet!" He hissed in a whisper.
The dragon stilled. Hiccup shifted until he faced outward, and the slowly lifted the edge of the wing. By his quick estimation, he figured they slept deep into the afternoon. A drizzle, more a mist, drifted out of the sky. He wondered why people would be tramping around the woods in such weather when he heard the sound of feet snapping twigs and rustling leaves in the distance. Part of Hiccup wanted to go out and confront the people before they could find Toothless, yet another part told him to stay put in case they did stumbled across them. Strange words carried through the thin bole of trees offering them cover. Toothless began to tense, and it told Hiccup the people drew nearer.
"Poglej! Več skladb!" An older and distinctly male voice called out somewhere left of north.
Hiccup organized his thoughts and tried to construct a map of the area in his head. He knew a body of water lay close by since he specifically looked for it in their hurried flight. Water meant life for both of them, and it became a central focus of any area they needed to find. From the quality of the voices, they sounded as if they walked along the edge of the shore. Hiccup stuck he head out further from under the wing. The small thicket they found to nestle against obscured his view, yet the Viking understood innate curiosity when he heard it. The crackling of leaves drew closer. Toothless began to vibrate in response.
"Easy, buddy. Stay calm," he quietly told his beloved friend.
He guessed whoever walked near the water found Toothless' tracks, and Hiccup damned himself for failing to obscure those that morning. However, they never needed to do so in the past since they kept far from other humans. Thus, he tried to forgive his lapse in precautions. It became harder to alleviate his sense of guilt as the footfalls grew increasingly near. Hiccup scanned the area hoping to see the people first.
"Moj bog, hudić!" A voice yelled from behind Hiccup.
As one Hiccup and Toothless jumped up and spun around. A terrified older looking man gaped at them. From behind him a small girl came running up. She screamed when she saw Toothless. Hiccup jumped in front of Toothless to keep the dragon from letting loose with a plasma blast. Setting the people or woods ablaze did not seem like either a good idea or a viable option at the moment. In an odd form of mimicry, the older man's arms curled around his back and kept the girl safely behind him. Hiccup recognized this as a protective instinct and measure.
Time felt as though it came to a halt.
