Chapter 4: Moon's Curse pt. 2
Fishlegs opened his eyes and blinked at the blinding sunlight streaming down on his face. The ground felt hard and rough beneath him. He then felt a cold sensation, trickling down his forehead. He lifted one of his big hands and wiped the wetness on his face. As he sat up, he saw Hiccup holding an empty bucket of water aimed at him.
"Hiccup?" he called out groggily. "I just had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that the dragons were talking…" he trailed off.
"How're you feeling Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked him, a bit of worry etched in his voice.
"What happened?" Fishlegs groaned, his head throbbing.
"You passed out." Hiccup replied, relieved. He put the bucket down and squatted in front of Fishlegs.
"I-I did? I don't remember-" His eyes widened when he recalled what happened earlier. "N-no, that was just- that was just—" He looked at Toothless, who was starring at him square in the face. "I heard Toothless talk to me a while ago." He blurted out.
He was waiting for Hiccup's response to scoff at him or something; anything would be good right now. Hiccup took a deep breath and smiled at Fishlegs, "Yep, he spoke a while ago. In Norse." The burly boy jumped up and cradled his head in his hands, "Oh gods, I am going crazy!" He shut his eyes wanting to disappear out of sheer embarrassment.
A second had passed, Hiccup's words sunk in him. "Wait, what? Toothless spoke? Y-You heard it too?!" You sputtered.
Hiccup nodded and smiled at him, amused. "So that's means, Meatlug? Oh gods this-this is amazing!" Fishlegs laughed. "Phew, for a second there, I thought I was actually losing my mind." The boy breathed in relief.
"Don't worry, Fishlegs. I thought I was losing my mind too when Toothless spoke to me a while ago." Hiccup laughed.
Toothless snorted at his rider, "Yeah, it could've been better if he just fainted like he usually does, instead of running around the room."
The dragon rolled his eyes recalling the exchange. "What's that suppose to mean?" Hiccup retorted. "Nothing." Toothless snickered. "For some reason, you, speaking in Norse… kind of a bad thing." Hiccup shook his head and laughed.
"Hiccup, do you know what this means? We can add more information in the book of dragons! All of their secrets, unlocked! We're going to make history, greater than Bork has ever seen!" Fishlegs hugged him and spun him around in pure ecstasy.
"Hiccup!" Astrid called out from above. She jumped off before Stormfly could touch the ground. Astrid quickly dashed to Hiccup's side. "You may think I'm crazy, but Stormfly, she-" She started to explain.
"Spoke?" Hiccup finished. "Yeah, how did you- so Toothless too, huh?" She cocked her hip at the side and crossed her arms.
"Yup." Hiccup looked at Stormfly who was bounding out to them. "Good morning, Hiccup, Fishlegs. You too Toothless." The Deadly Nadder greeted them cheerfully. "Good morning too, Stormfly." Hiccup scratched her on the chin.
"Morning!" Toothless nudged her lightly, grinning at her. "Crazy morning huh?" she giggled. "Yep." Toothless rolled his eyes.
"So, it seems that our dragons are really talking in Norse." Astrid spoke up observing the scene before her.
"If Dad finds out about this, oh yeah, he'll be so thrilled." Hiccup said sarcastically.
"Speaking of your dad," Astrid averted her gaze to him. "He left a while ago. He said, he was going to the Meatthead tribe with Gobber to settle some matters."Hiccup slapped his forehead, "He what?!" he groaned. "That's just peachy, really." He sighed.
"What about the Walpurgis, then? He didn't even think about that! What am I supposed to do with all of this?" He gestured Berk, desperately. Walpurgis is a festival of darkness, one of the biggest celebrations to be held in Berk. The chief also invited some of the neighboring tribes to feast with them. Unfortunately, Stoick put Hiccup in charge as part of his chief training, but with a promise of helping him.
"Don't worry, he'll be back before the Walpurgis." Astrid assured him."We'll be here if you need help, Hiccup." Fishlegs smiled at him. Hiccup gave a sigh and chuckled. "Yeah it's just planning. I mean, how hard could it be?" As soon those words escaped his lips, one of the houses near him exploded.
"Annnd, I'm dead." He deadpanned.
"Whoooo, that was awesome!" Tuffnut shouted, fist-bumping the air. "Let's do it again!" Ruffnut punched him on the arm. The twins approached the group with Barf and Belch trailing behind them.
"So what did you two muttonheads wrecked now?" Astrid glared at them. "Please don't tell me that was Silent Sven's bakery." Hiccup's eyes pleaded.
"Actually," Tuffnut shrugged his shoulders. Hiccup's lips form into a tight line and rolled his eyes, "Of course."
"We were actually looking for you Hiccup," Ruffnut told him. "Lemme guess, your dragons are speaking in Norse?" Hiccup offered.
The twins' eyes lit up. "Whoa, how'd know you that? Are you like psychic or something? 'Cause I sometimes have those mind tricks, y'know?" Tuffnut babbled, demonstrating his mind control at his sister. He stared at the girl with narrowed eyes, his fingers planted on the sides of his forehead. "Tell me, I'm the greatest living dragon trainer" Tuffnut bellowed.
Ruffnut punched him in the face hard and snickered at him. "Train that," she smirked at the victory. Hiccup face-palmed himself, thinking how in the world did he get into this kind of mess.
"Hey Barf and Belch!" Stormfly squawked at them. "Hey, Stormfly." The Zippleback greeted her and sat next to them.
"This is so cool!" Fishlegs squealed. "I must go and find Meatlug. I almost scared her a while ago!" Fishlegs turned on his heels when the said Gronkle stumbled next to them.
"Meatlug!" Fishlegs hugged her. "You're not scared of me anymore?" she asked the burly boy. "I wasn't scared, I was just, uh- not used to it? But don't worry, Daddy still loves you all the same!" The boy cooed and kissed the dragon on top of her head.
"Ugh," the twins winced at the act, disgusted. Suddenly, a monstrous nightmare swooped down steps away in front of them. The dragon was carrying something on his mouth. Hookfang spat Snotlout out. The boy tumbled out and sat there frozen in his place, dazed.
"Snotlout? Are you okay?" Hiccup strode up to him. Snotlout just stared at him wide-eyed and gulped.
"Did Hookfang speak?" Hiccup asked him. Snotlout nodded then noticed the other dragons looking at him. "Well not to worry, the others are speaking too. But we don't know what caused it yet." Hiccup assured him that he's not going crazy.
"I-I-I knew that!" Snotlout got up and shoved Hiccup away. "I-I was just testing you guys, you know." He turned to them with a smug grin plastered on his face.
"Testing his craziness?" Toothless snickered. Snotlout shot him a glare, a bit embarrassed. "Talking big for a giant-speaking-gecko." The boy muttered under his breath. Toothless heard him and took offense; he shot him a plasma blast and purposely missing him by a centimeter to scare him off. Snotlout shrieked and ran behind behind Hookfang.
"Toothless!" Hiccup chided lightly. Toothless looked unamused and sat on his hind legs.
A terrible terror flew pass them and landed near Barf and Belch. Tuffnut plucked the dragon off the ground, "Caaaaan yooooo speaaak in Nooorse?" He talked to the Terror Terror, mouthing the words very slowly. The Terror just squawked at him in response. He then began checking him over, sideways and upside down.
"Where's the language button on this thing?" He mumbled. The Terror dizzy with all the movement that was brought upon him and bit Tuffnut on the nose. The boy yelped in pain as the Terror scrambled away from the scene.
"Well, that was weird." Ruffnut eyed her brother incredulously. "What, that the Terrible Terror didn't talk?" Tuffnut replied to her sister in a nasally voice.
"No, stupid. That he didn't bite your eyes out." Rufftnut retorted as a matter-of-factly.
"Oh, yeah." Tuffnut agreed as he rubbed his nose.
"Ruffnut's right." Hiccup looked at them and the teens looked at him in shocked. "That the Terrors should've scourged Tuffnut's eyes instead?" Fishlegs offered.
"What? No!" Hiccup threw up his arms in the air exasperated. "The dragons. Not all dragons speak in Norse!" he told them.
"Ohhh," came the teens' reply.
"What if, what if, it's only OUR dragons who speaks in Norse?" Hiccup's eyes brightened, a theory crossed his mind.
"That's actually possible," Astrid gasped. "While I was training at the forest earlier, the Terrors that I came across was just squawking and humming. You know their, usual dragon sounds. Then the Deadly Nadder that passed by was normal a while ago. It wasn't speaking in Norse or anything." She relayed her morning experience to the group.
"If that's the case, then something must have made them talk in Norse!" Hiccup jumped up at the thought, the gears on his mind reeling; "Toothless," Hiccup beckoned the Night Fury who quickly turned his attention on him. "Any ideas what happened? Did you eat something? Inhale something before this happened?" The boy asked him, curiously.
Toothless averted his gaze to the sky, trying to remember what happened. "Well, we went out flying with Stormfly and Astrid… We got stuck in a cave. Hmmm, then we found those weird-smelling flowers… Then we came home, had dinner and slept." Toothless recounted yesterday's plans. "Yep, that's about it. The usual." He gave Hiccup a gummy grin.
"Hiccup, could it be those flowers?" Astrid's eyes were wide. Hiccup shook his head. If it was, then the other dragons shouldn't have gotten "Norse-disease" since only him, Astrid, Toothless and Stormfly got to close to it.
"No," he dismissed the thought. "It is, then the other dragons shouldn't caught it. They weren't with us during that time." He added. Astrid nodded nonchalantly also dismissing the thought.
"Ah!" Stormfly chirped, "We drank this bitter-tasting water last night!" The other dragons nodded remembering the grimy taste. Toothless stuck out his tongue disgusted at the thought of it.
"Water?" Hiccup raised his eyebrow.
"Yeah, it was really bitter so we tipped it over, so that no other dragon could drink from it." Toothless told him and shrugged-or the equivalent way of shrugging in dragon expression. "It tasted like, uhhh, what did Meatlug called it?" Stormfly looked at Toothless for the answer but the dragon just stared at her.
"Cough medicine," Meatlug told them brightly. "Cough medicine? Why would anyone pour cough medicine on a dragon's water basin?" Hiccup mumbled, lost in his own thoughts.
Fishlegs stiffened; he recollected everything that happened last night. The time he fell in a water basin, the time he plucked out the empty bottle from the water. The burly boy entered into a tunnel vision as the scenes moved across his minds. They're going to kill him.
"Fishlegs, didn't you go to Gothi last night to get some medicine?" Hiccup asked, back still turned from him. He started to sweat profusely and began to backpedal.
"Uh, yeah. I-I remembered something, I-I hear-my-mom-calling-me-so-goodbye!" He started to turn to his heels when the twins blocked his way and looked menacingly.
"Fishlegs, what did you do!" Hiccup frowned.
"Uh, I-I-It-wasn't-my-fault-I-fell-in-the-water-basin-when-I-was-feeding-the-dragons-I'm-sorry!" Fishlegs blurted out, trembling.
"If something happened to Stormfly, you will never see the daylights again!" Astrid hissed at him, waving a fist in his face threateningly. Fishlegs cowered hiding behind his large hands. Hiccup sighed and rubbed his temples.
It's not even half of the day and it's starting to be a long, long, long day. "Let's go see Gothi. Maybe she'll know the answer." Hiccup climbed on Toothless and beckoned the others to follow him.
A few minutes later, the teens found themselves cramped inside Gothi's hut. "So, as I was saying, maybe the flower we found might have caused it." Hiccup told the healer. Gothi rubbed her chin thoughtfully and shuffled to her bed.
She pulled out a odd-looking trunk. The wood was purple-ish and there was gold-plating scattered around it, like a patch. Gothi opened it and pulled out a big black leather-bound book. She laid the book on the table and started flipping through, her fingers barely touching the pages. The teens watched her every move intently.
Gothi stopped in a page and signaled for Fishlegs. The boy reluctantly walked over and read the part where Gothi pointed.
"But this doesn't make sense." Fishlegs questioned her. Gothi shook her head and pointed to the passage again.
"What's the matter, Fishlegs?" Hiccup walked over them and took Fishlegs' side.
"Gothi referring to the legend." Fishlegs shrugged. Hiccup picked the booked up and read it.
"Well, let's hear it then, we don't have all time!" Snotlout yelled at them impatiently. But deep down inside, he was really worried for Hookfang.
Fishlegs glared at the boy and took a deep breath, "Gothi was referring to the legend of the Moon's Curse."
"Moon's curse? Isn't that a love story between two rivaling tribes?" Astrid put a hand on her hip. "What's that gotta do with our dragons?" she asked the boy confused.
"It's not just a love story between rivaling tribes, Milady. It's a story about two rivaling species. Mainly, Dragons and Vikings." Hiccup looked up from the book with a grim expression.
"How is that even possible?!" Snotlout eyed them bewildered. He couldn't take much of this anymore and his fuse his going to blow anytime soon.
"It says, Eindride was believed to be a dragon. He fell in love with the princess named Helle. One night, he beseeched the Moon to give him a chance to be with Helle.
The moon granted him his wish and gave him a brooch made of Sapphire, but he can only turn human when it's night and there's a moon in a the sky. Eindride, sought Helle immediately and the two fell in love. They always met at night when the moon is high and bright.
But the time came when Helle was to be wed with another man she didn't love and Eindride could not do anything since he cannot show himself to her in the morning.
The young dragon asked the moon again to grant his wish to become human. He needed his Helle, and he cannot afford to lose her. The moon obliged, but he warned him that he could never turn into a dragon again and he will lose everything that he had as dragon-including his family.
Eindride agreed, his desperation to be with Helle proved to be greater; they would finally be together. After his permanent transformation, he quickly went to Helle to whisk her away. Eindride asked her to come with him and run away.
But Helle was frightened and was easily discouraged. She refused to go with Eindride and gone through with the wedding leaving the poor boy heartbroken and lost. Eindride was in pain and was drowned in despair when he beseeched the moon again.
The dragon-boy did not have the will to live on and refused to survive. The moon took pity on him and on his last breath, a tear trickled down from his cheek to the brooch he was cradling near his face. As Eindride disappeared into mist, the tear enveloped the brooch and tear-like petals started to unfold after one another.
There were five, transparent-crystal looking petals and at the center was a sapphire like stone: Mani's Brooch." Hiccup read.
"So, there's no cure for whatever ails our dragons?" Astrid pushed back her bangs and tucked them in her ear.
"Well, it also doesn't say that's poisonous or anything." Fishlegs took the book from Hiccup and re-read the passage.
"Nope, not a single clue." He gave the book back to Gothi.
"But can't you do anything about this Gothi?" Hiccup asked the old healer. Gothi thought for a while and sribbled on the dirt, Fishlegs peered over translating the message, "Gothi says that it might take her a while to solve this. Give her a few days perhaps. But rest assured, everything will be okay." The old woman patted the boy on his chubby cheeks.
The teens said their thanks and trekked down the hill. "So everything's going to be fine." Hiccup reassured himself.
"That's what Gothi said, and you know Gothi's never wrong. So just relax and let's focus on your Walpurgis dilemma okay?" Astrid smiled at him, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. Hiccup looked at her and sighed a smile.
"Hiccup!" Toothless bounded up to them and nuzzled his rider. "Hey bud!" Hiccup gave him a good scratch under the chin. "Stormfly and I will play Tag and Chase. If that's okay and if we aren't going to do anything." Toothless nonchalantly told him but his eyes were pleading. Hiccup stifled a laugh, "Such a big baby," he thought to himself. He just nodded and the dragon immediately took off with Stormfly following behind.
"Toothless! Ohhh, Toothless!" Stormfly squawked, sniffing the grass beneath her trying to trace the Night Fury's scent.
Toothless was crouching down behind a boulder, his stomach flat on the ground. He wouldn't let Stormfly win this one, not this time. He peered at the side of the boulder watching the Deadly Nadder from afar and immediately retreated his head back when she turned her gaze to his place. Toothless positioned himself and ready to pounce when he heard Stormfly approaching then stopped.
Toothless lifted his head and looked behind the boulder; Stormfly was nowhere in sight. "She must've flew to the other direction…" Toothless mumbled.
"Think again!" Stormfly announced and pawed Toothless on the head. "I win. Again." She chirped triumphantly. Toothless stumbled back surprised at the sudden appearance.
"How did you?" He asked her confused.
"Stealth? Astrid's dragon?" She let the words rolled out of her mouth, as if it's something he should know. And he knows.
"Of course." He rolled his eyes at her. "This-This is a stupid game anyway." Toothless sulked unable to accept defeat. "
You're just saying that because I've won three times in a row." Stormly told him as a matter-of-factly.
"No, I could take you down any day!" Toothless snorted "Besides, I was going easy on you. 'Cause you know, you're a lady." He grinned smugly at her.
The Nadder narrowed her eyes at him, irked at the comment. She would not tolerate anyone who looks down on her because she's a girl. "Oh would you grow up!" She hissed at him. "I took you down three times a row and that's no coincidence. Surely, you didn't actually let me win three times now, wouldn't you?" she screeched.
"Yeah, but I still beat you since I won six times two days ago." Toothless lay flat on his back, exposing his belly to the warm sunlight.
"How is that even possible? That was two days ago! It does not count." Stormfly squawked irritated.
"It does, if I say so!" Toothless yawned.
"You're impossible!" cried Stormfly incredulously. "Just admit that you lost this game to me. And I'll let you off." She poked at him.
"Never!" Toothless retorted indignantly. "I'm a Night Fury and I shall not bow down to anyone," he huffed. Stormfly rolled her eyes at her friend's stubbornness. The Nadder curled up on the other side of the boulder. A few minutes of silence passed and two dragons did not even exchange glances.
Toothless sighed and pawed his face, "Alright, you win. I lost today… but I'm still the best." He mumbled under his breath.
Stormfly's head poked up and a smirk stretched across her face. "What was that?" she asked him again, teasingly.
"I didn't say anything. Nothing." Toothless shrugged nonchalantly. The Nadder shook her and laughed. This guy is so hopeless.
"Want to play Tag and Chase again?" She offered and nudged Toothless on the shoulder with her wing. Toothless' eyes lit up and gave her a grin. Stormfly took this as cue and started hopping away
"This time, I won't go easy on you!" Toothless called after her, chasing the Nadder across the clearing.
It was already around noon when the two dragons returned to the village. Hiccup was barking up orders, while Astrid was talking to some of the villagers.
"Hey girl," Astrid greeted Stormfly, who nuzzled her affectionately. "How did it go?" she asked the Nadder, stroking her on the head.
"I won." She chirped happily.
"That's my girl!" Astrid beamed then winked at her. This means she going to get more chicken later!
Toothless snorted and nudged Hiccup on his waist. "Hey bud, rough day?" Hiccup patted Toothless on the nose.
"I let her win." The Night Fury grumbled.
"You'll get her next time," Hiccup comforted the Night Fury with a scratch.
"It's okay, it was fun." Toothless gave him a gummy grin and eyes bright.
The day went by as usual, except for the talking dragons. The village didn't seem to mind it since they were too focused on the preparation of the Walpurgisnacht, which is in a week's time. During dinner, the teens gathered at Mead Hall, with their dragons curled up on their feet.
"Talking dragons is the best thing ever!" Fishlegs took a big bite on his mutton leg and gulped it down. "Oh Thor, Meatlug? She's amazing!" the boy beamed at the Gronkle on his feet and cuddled her face.
"Cause I have an amazing dad!" Meatlug chirped. Fishlegs flattered at the comment, cooed at her more. He's extremely proud of his dragon. Stormfly stood up and nudged her rider on the arm. She took this chance to express her gratitude to the girl.
"Astrid, I want you to know that I'm very grateful for everything you did to me. Being your partner was the best thing that ever happened. I could never thank you enough." Stormfly bowed a bit, shyly.
Astrid's heart almost melted; instead she pulled Stormfly's head into a tight hug. "And you're the best dragon ever." The girl whispered to her.
Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's hand and looked at him in the eyes, "You always tell me that I'm your best bud. And now I have a chance to tell you, that…you are my best bud too."
Hiccup's face broke into wide smile and hugged the dragon. "Thanks bud. You don't know how much that means to me." He nuzzled Toothless, his heart and mind filled with amazement for the Night Fury.
"We're also honoured to be part of your family." Barf and Belch nuzzled their respective riders.
"I don't think that your butt is big," Barf cooed at Ruffnut.
"Y-Y-You don't?" Ruffnut cried out happily and hugged the dragon.
"I love tipping yaks with you," Belched nuzzled Tuffnut. The boy wiped a tear from his eyes patted the dragon, "You're definitely better than my sister!"
Snotlout waited for Hookfang to deliver his tear-jerking speech but the dragon just stared at him with a bored expression.
"Well? Any minute now!" Snotlout hissed, assuming that the dragon was taking his time to list all of the things he was grateful for. Why wouldn't he be? He should be grateful enough that he's riding him. The Great Snotlout Jorgenson! Hookfang just rolled his eys at him.
"Hookster? Snotlout called him through gritted teeth, faking a smile "I'm waiiiiting-"
"You're an idiot," the monstrous nightmare spat and trotted out of the hall leaving a shocked Snotlout.
The others stifled their laugh. "I guess, Hookfang does know you best!" Astrid snorted, with mirth in her eyes.
Snotlout face reddened, "Stupid dragon…" he muttered under his breath. "You won't get any dinner! You hear me!" and yelled at Hookfang's retreating figure.
The night was calm and the moon shone brighter than before.
Everything was clear like the flower's petal that begun to wilt.
A/N:
Hi dearies! I promise at the next chapter there'll be more Stormless/Toothfly moments! I hope you liked this chapter as I had a lot of fun writing it.
To UltraSpaceVoid, I was actually thinking of the same thing! Hiccup is a good base for Toothless' Human form, his lanky figure and everything. But I wouldn't say that he'll look exactly like him. Maybe a bit more attractive than Hiccup, I guess? Let the dragons be more attractive than their riders! Huehuehue.
Anyways, I re-watched HTTYD 1, RoB and DoB for the personality references and this is what I came up with:
Toothless- His personality is a lot like Hiccup, sweet, sarcastic and witty. But I see him more as cockier version of Hiccup. Toothless displayed a "Eff you, I'm the boss so bow down to me" attitude several times from the movies and tv series (including HTTYD 2). But on the upside he's really playful and naive.
Stormfly- At first I thought she has Astrid's personality but when I observed her closely, she's the exact reverse of Astrid. She's sweet, friendly and really cheerful (Like the sunshine type of personality). The only thing that she shared with her rider is that she hates being stared down and results to violence to make a point. I imagined Stormfly to be a cute girl and happy girl who's extremely concerned of how she looks. (If you know Starfire from Teen Titans, that kind of personality but cancel out the extreme naivety.)
Hookfang- I had a hard time deciphering Hookfang's personality. Most of the time he acts like an aloof dragon, not giving an eff what's happening. I also can't help but think that Hookfang and Toothless shared the same cocky attitude. "Like I'm too cool for this shit." Considering that Monstrous Nightmare was once thought to be lethal and y'know all around scariest and fiercest dragon ever. But unlike Snotlout though, he thinks before he speaks. So what do you think of a aloof Hookfang? Or if it's better if he's a bit chatty?
Meatlug- I think this dragon has the "Happy-go-lucky" attitude in contrast to Fishlegs' worrisome one. She's warm, friendly and a bit chatty. She's like the girl bestfriend you ever had.
Barf and Belch- These two dragons are more mature compared to the twins. But like the twins, they enjoy causing some trouble so hence the title The "Silent Pranksters." I think they're the type that observes from the distance and let the twins do their thing or they'll let the twins do the dirty work. I pictured them that they don't talk much, just observe type. But they're friendly too with others. They don't fight as much as Ruff and Tuff but they have their moments.
Heh, I've noticed that dragons are like the contrast of their riders. It's a good thing though since they really balance each other out.
Let me know what you guys think. Btw, if the characters seems OOC, don't hesitate to let me know! :)