Chapter 7:
I would like to thank those who left me a review, and for those of you who guessed who the Vikings from Mortem's dream are, I can say that they were good guesses. You'll be getting the answer to the question later in the story.
Nobody noticed, but Mortem was growing. It wasn't a huge growth spurt; he was only growing little by little-so far anyway. As Mortem grew, he started to become smarter. Smarter than his real mother had been. When he was fishing, he would use his huge size to his advantage by casting a shadow over the water. He somehow knew that fish usually retreated to darker areas, where they could hide. And when they hid in his shadow, he would dart his head forward, and catch them in his mouth. As for the wild pigs, Mortem would dig a hole and lure the pigs into the trap, ready to be gobbled down.
And it wasn't just meat that Mortem craved. He was beginning to have an interest in plants as well, especially Dragon Nip. The Nip was mostly just an afternoon snack, Mortem would usually only eat a mouthful a day. As well as Dragon Nip, he began to eat the roots of old, dead trees. He had begun to eat them out of curiosity, and he discovered that they tasted a lot better than tree bark. He also ate any berries, or other kinds of wild fruit he could find. He stood clear of anything that smelled funny, because according to him, anything that smelled bad, tasted bad.
Again, nobody noticed, but Mortem was becoming an omnivore. He was eating both plants and meat.
But the biggest thing that no one noticed was that Mortem was secretly practicing his flying skills. His wings grew stronger with each passing day, and he went from hovering above the ground to flapping his wings powerfully, to gain altitude. His goal: to follow his 'mother' back home. Little did he know, the Vikings that lived there had all had the same bad experience with his real mother, and would fight him if they saw him. But for Mortem, his only thoughts and worries were on finding his 'mother'.
One day, Mortem was able to fly without much trouble. While his 'mother' was away, he tried once again to escape the confinement that was the cove. This time, he flew high enough to reach the ledge that was the one and only way in and out of the cove. He dug his claws into the rocks and dirt, desperately holding on as he pulled himself out of the cove. He was free at last! He quickly headed off in the direction of the village, following his 'mother's' scent.
Meanwhile, Hiccup didn't know that Mortem had escaped. He didn't know that Mortem had trained himself to fly. What he did know, however, was that something had caused him to have a strange feeling, as if something wasn't right. The moment he felt this feeling, he called Toothless, and the two of them flew off to the cove.
Hiccup usually came to check on Mortem before going to bed, but this time when he checked, Mortem wasn't there. He called Mortem's name a few times, but the dragonet was too far away to respond. Hiccup quickly got back on Toothless and headed back to the village. Before he could look for Mortem however, he had to tell Astrid what had happened, so she could help him look.
"He did what?" Astrid asked when Hiccup told her that Mortem wasn't at the cove.
"He escaped," Hiccup said, surprisingly calm. "He must have come here looking for me. We have to find him before someone else does!"
The two of them split up, each of them cautiously calling Mortem's name. As Hiccup came to the docks, he called Mortem's name more urgently. "I told him to stay in the cove," he said to himself. "How in Thor's name did he escape?" That's when he noticed something that caught his eye.
It was Mortem. He was down by the shore of Thor's Beach, fishing.
Hiccup quickly ran down to Thor's Beach, calling for Mortem. Strangely, Mortem was too focused on fishing to hear his 'mother' calling him.
Hiccup called for Mortem again when he reached Thor's Beach. "Mortem, what are you doing?" he asked, "You shouldn't be here, someone could see you!" Mortem turned his attention to Hiccup, a sad look in his eyes. "You can't be here," Hiccup said again, "Get back to the cove!" Mortem glanced at the fish, and then back at Hiccup. "Mortem, please," Hiccup pleaded. "I don't want to lose you!" Mortem glanced at the fish one last time before giving Hiccup a sort of smile and bounding over to meet his 'mother'.
Mortem nuzzled Hiccup, who breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't run off like that again, do you hear me?" Hiccup asked, firmly. Mortem pulled back and gave Hiccup a guilty look. Hiccup sighed again, and wrapped his arms around Mortem. Mortem purred softly, as if he were trying to apologize. "Oh well," Hiccup muttered to himself as he hugged his 'son'.
It was at that moment that Astrid arrived. "So, you found him," she said as she watched Hiccup embrace Mortem.
Hiccup pulled away from Mortem and turned to face her. "How did you know where to find us?" he asked.
"I heard you yelling for Mortem," Astrid said, matter-of-factly. "And I came to see if something was wrong." She walked over to the two of them.
Hiccup shrugged. "Well, everything's all right now, right Mortem?" The giant dragonet nodded.
There was a long silence before Hiccup asked, "Do you want to pet him?"
Astrid was a bit surprised at what Hiccup had said, but she didn't hesitate. She slowly reached her hand out, toward Mortem. She slowly advanced on the dragonet, who eyed her curiously.
When Astrid's hand came in contact with Mortem's skin, Mortem suddenly realized why Hiccup seemed to like her. Despite that she was a tough Viking warrior, she had a soft spot. She showed this as she gently rubbed Mortem's nose, careful not to frighten him. He suddenly realized what he was thinking, and turned his attention back to Astrid.
Astrid.
That's what his 'mother' called her. And she called him 'Hiccup'. The gears in his brain kept turning until he realized that the human he called his mother was actually a male. That meant that his 'mother' would in fact be his 'father'. But what about a mother? Was that how he should be viewing Astrid? He wasn't sure, and at the moment, he didn't really care that much.
Seeing the two 'people' that he loved the most slowly bond, Hiccup advanced over to them and put his hand on Mortem's nose as well. He looked at Astrid, whose attention was on Mortem. Smiling, Hiccup moved his hand so that it rested on hers. Feeling their skin make contact, Astrid turned to Hiccup. His smile widened. She smiled back, and took his other hand in her own. They moved their hands off of Mortem's nose, and their fingers intertwined. They stood that way for a while, gazing into each other's eyes.
Mortem watched as the two of them seemed to show affection towards one another. This confirmed his thoughts from earlier. Hiccup represented his father, and this girl would indeed represent his mother. Seeing the two of them together, and confirming his thoughts about the two of them brought a smile to the dragonet's face.
Hiccup and Astrid took little notice of this as they continued to be hypnotized by each other's eyes. They didn't notice that they were leaning in until their lips were mere inches apart. Blushing, the pair pulled apart, each stuttering awkwardly.
Mortem watched in amazement. He wasn't sure exactly what they'd planned on doing, but, if he had to guess, it was bound to be a way of showing affection. They really do love each other, he thought to himself. I wonder if they love me just the same.
"I better take Mortem back," Hiccup said, quickly. "You know, before anyone else finds him here."
Astrid nodded wordlessly. Hiccup smiled at her before walking over to Mortem, grabbing the chain leash, and leading him back to the cove.
Astrid's eyes followed the two as they headed back to the cove. She couldn't help but think how much she had helped him with Mortem. Does Mortem view me as one of his parents? she thought to herself. She shrugged before heading back to her house, seeing as how she didn't have anything else to do.
For those of you who don't know, a dragonet is a baby dragon. And it looks like Mortem is viewing both Hiccup and Astrid as his 'parents', and in the correct way. Review and I'll get back to you ASAP!
