We were greeted by flaming arrows. Apparently, Athens was not fond of dragons.
Toothless and I barrel rolled through the sky, narrowly avoiding blazing projectiles. Soldiers were lining the outside wall, ready to fire again. According to the map, the lens was somewhere in the center of Athens. I wasn't too sure what my plan was heading in — I was hoping it'd figure itself out by the time we got here. But in just three, short days, we arrived at the city.
City was an understatement.
Even a few miles out, we could see the white, marble columns of an enormous temple situated on hills. Several temples actually. To top it off, there was a giant, golden statue of a woman holding a much smaller, but still imposing, winged-woman in her right hand. To her left was her shield, and her spear, which was gripped in her opposite hand. I read in the notebook, and in a couple of books back on Berk, about how dedicated Grecians were to their God. But this was kind of overkill.
Outlining the temples were stone buildings that were tiny compared to the former; Athenian houses, I assumed. Between the houses was a plethora of peaceful and chaotic activity. The city was teeming with life: citizens walking on the roads, worshipping at the temples, or interacting with other people. I even saw a few, strange animals roaming through the narrow roads.
Athens was breath-taking, and if it wasn't currently trying to kill me, I'd probably stop to appreciate it.
"Retreat, Bud!" I screamed.
Toothless made a beeline back towards the direction we came from. We could probably regroup and come up with a better plan in the woods.
Just when I thought we were out of reach, Toothless's screech broke me out of my focus. I looked back and saw that a stray arrow had pierced his tailfin and set it aflame.
Fortunately, it was the fake one I made, and the flames wouldn't harm him. Unfortunately, we only had a minute or two before we crashed.
Trying to steer Toothless towards a nice landing spot was proving difficult; Athen's surrounding lands included mountains, sharp shrubs, and other terrains that would lead to certain death.
"This might be it, Bud," I yelled. Toothless roared in a panic. "It's been an honor!"
Just before I accepted my inevitable doom, Toothless spotted a clearing with a river. He smacked me with his nub to get my attention.
"I love you- oww, what - oh. Oh yeah! Aim for the water, Toothless!"
Spreading his wings to soften the blow, Toothless dove towards the water. The fall was tumultuous, and the river was not as serene as I was hoping. In fact, it was filled with raging and unpredictable currents. The surface was covered in white rapids and rocks.
"Well, shi-" we hit the river and my vision went dark for a few moments. I somehow managed to detach myself from the saddle, which in hindsight, was a bad move. I didn't know where this river was going, and if we got separated, I'm not sure how we could find each other.
Having my head be plunged underwater made hearing impossible; I could barely hear Toothless. But I could've sworn I heard someone calling out behind us. There's no way I could turn around to check.
Plus, I didn't get the chance. A few more meters downstream, I could see an edge. There was mist rising over the top, and the unmistakable sounds of water crashing down reached my ears: a waterfall.
We toppled over the edge, and when I met the surface of the lake, everything went black.
—
My dreams were different this time around.
I was not on Berk for starters, I wasn't sure where I was. It was most certainly an island, the ocean surrounding me was a dead give away, but the geography was unclear —- mostly due to the fact that everything was dark and foggy, and reeked of death.
The only definite fact was that there was a giant mountain that comprised most of the island. It towered over everything, and the peak reached past the dark clouds. However, there was a bright light, shining where I assumed the top was.
Considering the rest of the ensemble, the top looked absolutely delightful. All I needed was my…
I turned around, and looked both ways, but found out I was alone.
"Toothless!"
No response.
"Toothless! Where are you?"
Panic started to set in, and my lungs were hyperventilating. Alone on an ominous island, without Toothless —who hasn't left my side the past few days — was making me lose my mind.
I kept screaming his name until the ocean suddenly started stirring. The water raged and rocked around the island so much, it felt like it was shaking, and the waves were reaching heights that were…not good.
As terrifying as they were, my only concern was my dragon.
"Toothless! Where did you go?" Tears started to cloud my vision; I couldn't help it. "Don't leave, please!"
A vagrant wave rose above the island, almost big enough to immerse the mountain, but still capable of drowning everything else — including me.
I was still calling for Toothless when the water smashed against me, and I went under again.
—
"Toothless!" I woke up from the dream in a cold sweat…wait, not sweat. River water. I was just fighting for my life against the currents and fell over the edge of a waterfall. I must've gotten knocked out and washed onto shore.
The island, the mountain; it was just a dream. A soggy, wet dream—wait…nevermind.
My body throbbed as I stood up. We ended up on a little sandy shore bank of the lake. A waterfall cascaded behind me. My dragon…
The unmistakable, familiar roar rang out, along with an unfamiliar battle cry of a human.
Stumbling a little, I ran over the raised bog towards the noise. What I saw made my breath stutter.
Toothless, crouched in a deadly stance with his pupils in slits, was engaged in combat with some…guy. He looked to be about my age, with black hair and green eyes. In his hand was a golden sword; which the design was nothing like I'd seen on Berk. It was a few feet long, double-edged, with a leather-wrapped handle, and along with its color, the shape was strange — almost like a leaf. He had to be a local.
The stranger currently had the weapon raised up and ready to strike, but he was keeping his distance. Was he gonna throw it? Like a spear?
Toothless was idle for some reason, but I didn't know why. Sure, the dude has a cool sword, but we've dealt with overly curious or drunk strangers before. Usually, it ends with a plasma blast or ear-shattering roar, them running away in terror, and us dying of laughter. But Toothless stood still in apprehension.
Suddenly, the stranger pointed his sword at the water, and the river began to rise; not like a wave, but like a serpent. Then he shifted to point at my dragon, and the water crashed down onto him, rendering his plasma blast useless.
Toothless was fighting a…water magician? A water nymph? Is that the right term? I wasn't sure, but Toothless was vulnerable. I raised my own hands, preparing to electrocute the…dude.
My arms were glowing blue and I pointed in the stranger's direction. I practiced this on trees whenever Toothless and I camped out, so I was pretty adept at this point. The sparks funneled down my arm and I summoned a bolt to hit…
Wait. He was wet. And so was the ground. And Toothless. I wasn't sure if he could take the electricity, and I was going to take the risk. Plus, I didn't want to kill the guy, not really.
I ran in between them, shielding Toothless from the stranger.
"Toothless!" I screamed as the stranger began to charge. He stopped when he heard my voice. "Leave him alone, aqua boy."
He looked at me confusingly, "Προσπαθώ να σε προστατεύσω. Ο δράκος επρόκειτο να σας φάνε."
Thors dammit. The lens better kick in soon, I wasn't too confident in my ability to fight the magic-water man. My swimming skills were subpar.
I knew what to do.
Turning to face Toothless, I stuck out my right arm towards his snout. He looked at me flabbergasted, This? Right now?
I nodded assuringly. Trust me.
Placing my palm up, I turned away and faced the stranger as Toothless put his snout in the remaining space; connecting us. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung in awe.
"The beast is your friend," he asked in Greek, but I could perfectly understand. I almost laughed in relief.
"Yes," I responded. The only thing weirder than perfectly understanding a language after hearing it for the first time is speaking it. "He's my best friend. His name is Toothless."
"Toothless?" He looked dumbfounded. "But he's got teeth. A lot of teeth."
"Yeah, it's a long story. Please don't kill him. Or me."
His face remained the same, but he lowered his weapon. Something in the back of my mind told me that I should keep my guard up. Just being near this guy was a little daunting. It almost felt like he was giving off an aura of power. Not to mention, he just commanded a river to drown my dragon like he was some Ægir.
"I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I was trying to save you," he approached me cautiously. "I saw you and…Toothless crash into the river and I caught you."
"Caught me?"
"Yeah," he chuckled. "If you fell down the falls, without my help, you definitely would've been smushed into a pita."
I had no idea what a pita was, but it probably wasn't good.
"Anyways, when I pulled you on shore, the beast was hovering over you like prey. My best guess, he snatched you from the ground, but you put up a fight and crashed him into the river."
"Close," I rubbed Toothless's snout soothingly. He was not liking this guy's story. "I was riding him, and his tail was destroyed."
The water dude's eyes widened once again. "Riding him? Like a peg…uh"
"Like what?"
"Nevermind," he gauged me critically. "What's your name?"
"Not sure I should tell you."
"I saved your life."
Toothless growled. "Yeah but then you almost killed my dragon, who was very worried about me."
He lowered his head, and to my utter shock, his face was red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Truly. Look, he looked like…a monster I fought and I thought he was going to kill you."
"Monster?"
"Yes. Monster. We have a lot of those around here." He faced me again. His eyes softened. It took me a minute to realize how intimidating they just were. "But your dragon is not one of them. I'm sorry."
"I'll tell you what, strange, water-magician…"
"Water magician?"
I stepped back from Toothless. "Do what I just did to my dragon, and I'll tell you my name."
He opened and shut his mouth a few times, like fish. How fitting. "What if he — you know —he…"
"Eats you?" He nodded. "You got stop judging things before you get to know them, man." His face froze, and he stared at me like I said something that hit home. "Go on. Stick your arm out, palm up. Let him meet you the rest of the way."
The stranger stared at me a little longer. Something was offsetting about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it until now: he looked just like me. His hair was darker, and his eyes were more sea-greenish, but I could see how people would mistake us for brothers.
And how scary can someone, who looks like me, be?
True to my instruction, he stuck out his arm and turned away. Toothless shot me a look and I nodded at him to go on. He met him the rest of the way.
The stranger looked up in shock to see his hand on Toothless's snout. Then he chuckled in disbelief and delight. "Okay, this is amazing."
He stroked Toothless's head, which he responded with purrs of delight. And in typical Toothless fashion, he demanded scratches, which the stranger obliged. He stuck his tongue out as the stranger increased his affections, which caused him to laugh some more. I couldn't help but smile.
"Hiccup."
He looked up. "Bless you?"
"No, that's my name. Hiccup."
He covered his mouth in shock and jumped a little in the air. "You're Hiccup!"
"That's what I just said…"
"Hiccup Haddock of Berk! The 'Dragon Master!' Trainer and tamer of dragons. I heard about you!"
Okay, now it was my turn to be embarrassed. "From where?"
"Oh sometimes I hang out in local docks and ports and here tales from travelers, fishermen, and traders. You're quite the catch, bro."
My back stiffened. Traders.
"Oh man. This is your dragon? The 'unholy offspring of lightning and death itself?' The 'black blur in the night?' One shot, one kill?"
I looked over at Toothless who was lying belly up, tongue out, still begging for attention from his new found friend. "Yep."
"Dude, you are a legend! I've actually always wanted to visit your island to see if the stories were true, but you guys are pretty far if I'm correct."
I chuckled nervously. If this random Grecian knows about me, who else does? I wasn't sure, but it probably wouldn't bode well for my chances of getting the lens. I had to get to it, and get out of here.
"Well, thanks for saving me-us. But we gotta go, so…" I gestured with my head to Toothless to quit lollygagging.
"Wait," he put his hand on my shoulder. "Come back to my camp."
"I'm not too sure, man. We're kinda on a deadline." I lied. Kinda. We weren't on a deadline, but the quicker we got back to Berk, the better.
"Join the club," he muttered like he forgot I was there. I could tell because his eyes widened a little in shock. "I mean, c'mon! I got some food for you and…what does Toothless eat?"
"Mainly fish."
He shuttered for some reason. "Well, I'm camped out near the beach so you could catch some over there. Plus, his tail is pretty banged up."
Thors dammit. I completely forgot about his tail. The leather and pulleys were completely burned through, and I would need a forge and material to fix it.
"You got a forge?"
"Nah, but I know a guy." He smiled at me. "Trust me."
"Why should I?"
He looked over at Toothless and shrugged, "I thought I passed the test."
Damn. He's good. I was hungry, and I needed to repair Toothless's tail.
"Alright. But what's your name?"
His smile became a little mischevious. It might sound a little ridiculous, but if this guy was a relative to a God, it had to be Loki.
"Percy. And I think we can help each other out, Hiccup."