Hi! I'm back with another chapter =) Sorry it's taken so long, but school keeps me pretty busy. It'll probably take me a similar, if not longer, amount of time to get the next chapter out, so I apologize for the cliff-hanger ending -_-' Anywho, I hope you enjoy reading it!
The passing of two weeks brought with it autumn winds and Hiccup's first 'visitor'. It was a chilly Friday afternoon and the brunette was thankful for his added layers as he biked home. The week had been nothing less than exhausting: a math test on Wednesday, his first art project due on Thursday, and earlier that day he had to turn in his catapult in engineering. Most of his class used a modified version of a trebuchet, while Hiccup took more inspiration from a…well…it was sort of like a sling shot, but not quite, the schematics were altered for larger projectiles and….Hiccup was off on another internal tangent. The teen was completely absorbed in his thoughts, riding on autopilot across the familiar sidewalk. He would have appreciated more time for his test runs, to work out any bugs within the machine, but Guy had begged–er, offered–to look over his design before he turned it in. The freckled teen shook his head, still unaccustomed to someone finding interest in his work. Rapunzel was like that too, overly enthusiastic about his menial and often criticized hobbies. It was weird, but nice. Hiccup had recently discovered that his two senior mentors were friends and Rapunzel was still determined to take him and his other friends to "the perrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect place" to grab a bite. She refused to reveal the name of the establishment and Hiccup didn't bother trying to wrestle it from her. Friends. It was still a foreign concept and felt strange upon his tongue. However, at this point Hiccup was pretty sure that the relationship he held with Guy, Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack was what most people considered friendship. It was hard to believe, but then again, he didn't really have anything to compare it to…
So involved was the boy in his musings that he almost failed to notice the elderly woman before him, "Oi boy, be you tha lad the Frosts spoke of?"
"WHAAAA!" Hiccup screamed, jerking the steering wheel of his bike harshly to the right to avoid crashing into the woman.
The small metal bicycle fell to the side, launching its rider head-first into the wooden fence encircling the yard to his right. The boy grunted as he crumpled to the grass, curling into a protective ball. The brunette kept still as he assessed his injuries. Bruising on the right hip and forearm, light scrapes down the entire length of his right side and his left forearm. Possible bruising along his calves and knees. Ringing ears and slightly blurry vision. Nothing serious. Slowly, Hiccup stood up, hissing at the ache and sting of his new injuries and the pain brought about by the jostling of his prosthetic. He grimaced as he turned to see if the elderly woman was unharmed, while gingerly grasping his right arm. At least he didn't injure his favored arm. Now that would've made the coming week a real pain.
"Haha! Either yer the clumsiest lad tha ever did live, or them Frosts were right. Can ye see me child?" a scratchy voice cackled with glee.
Hiccup then realized that the elderly woman was quite small with an abnormally large nose and ears. And she was floating…oh.
"Y-you're a ghost?" he stuttered, flinching as the new cuts on his face stretched with each word.
The woman's amber bug-eyes narrowed in annoyance, "Do yah really need tah ask?"
"Ah, no, sorry, I-I just wasn't expecting you t–and, uh, well, it just really caught me off guard is all…sorry," the brunette mumbled, a light blush painting his cheeks.
She maintained her glare for a moment more before bursting into laughter, "Haha! Donncha worry about it child, yah don't seem too obnoxious tah me. 'specially from wha those two Frosts said–nice people those Frosts–I knew I could come to yah."
Hiccup offered a nervous smile as he bent down to retrieve his bike, oh how his side ached, "Ah yeah, I'll try to help you in any way I can."
"Great, let's get to it laddie!" she grinned gleefully showing a surprising lack of teeth as she tapped her gnarled fingers together.
Hiccup experimentally hoisted one leg over his bike, immediately regretting the decision, and decided to walk the rest of the way home, "Sure, let me just, ah, head back to my house and we'll talk about it there. You know, where people won't be staring at me like I'm crazy."
"Hahaha, don't worry laddie, ye'r no crazier than me!" the woman cackled, head thrown back and white hair falling past her shoulders.
Hiccup quirked an eyebrow before deadpanning and muttering, "Oh, thanks, that makes me feel so much better."
"Ye'r welcome, now come on! You don't keep yer elders waitin'!" she cried flying above him with a crooked smile.
The brunette nodded, but continued limping at his slow pace, doing his best to ignore the aching from his side and leg.
Eventually, the duo reached the Haddock household. Hiccup leaned his bike against the large, tarp-covered couch that still lay outside due to his own weakness and his father's busy schedule. The freckled teen rummaged in his pocket and took out his house key. The old woman waited patiently, floating on her back and commenting on the nice weather. Hiccup held open the door and ushered the ghost inside before following her and locking the door.
"Toothless! I'm back and we have a guest, so behave!" Hiccup shouted as he stumbled around some boxes that had yet to be unpacked.
An acidic pair of green eyes peered from the top landing, black for arched in a territorial manner. A low growl emanated from the feline as the ghost followed his human up the steps. Toothless didn't like the dead. Spirits had no right barging into his house and bothering his human.
"Toothless, come on bud, lighten up. She's friendly enough," Hiccup attempted to placate his friend.
The feline narrowed his gaze, leaping onto his shoulder and wrapping his tail around a freckled neck in a gentle, but possessive, manner. The message was clear.
"I's alrigh' little kittih. I mean 'im no harm," the woman spoke seriously before turning her attention back to the boy, "Ye got quite the protectah, lad, ye'r very fortunate."
Hiccup smiled, offering a small scratch between black, furry ears, "Yeah, I'm lucky to have him."
The woman nodded solemnly then released a wild cackle, "Now, let's ge' down tah business!"
Hiccup chuckled lightly, entering his room and dropping his backpack in the corner. Toothless refused to leave his perch as the brunette dug through his drawer and fished out his Book of Spirits. Or, Binder of Spirits, but Hiccup preferred the first title. He plopped on his bed, pencil in hand and flipped through the pages to find some blank paper. The woman decided to sit cross-legged in the air.
"So, um…I'm Hiccup, what's your name?" he began, graphite already running across the page to capture the woman's features.
"Ye can call me Whittler, I died las' year, early June," she responded with a light smile and a shrug of her shoulders.
The brunette jotted down some notes, green orbs flitting between the woman and the paper, "Okay, Ms. Whittler–"
"Nah, just Whittler'll do."
"…Okay, Whittler, do you have any idea why you're still here, or–" he began only to be cut off once more.
She nodded fervently, "I know exactly why Ahm here."
Hiccup waited a moment for her to continue before asking, "Okay, do you want to tell me?"
"I donnae know. Are ye trust worthy?" she questioned, leaning in towards his face.
The freckled teen jerked backwards and cringed as Toothless released a warning hiss, "E-excuse me?"
Whittler trailed her bug eyes over the young boy, one hand scratching her chin in scrutiny, "Alrigh' Ah'll tell yah!"
Hiccup released a breath as the woman retreated, "O-okay."
"Ye see, boy, I didn't have much contact with me family fer many a year and we were nay very close. When I died, they left me pride and glory in shambles. I canno' rest knowin' my poor babies are lyin' abandoned in th' woods, with no' even a monkey to care fer 'em," she cried, pointing towards Hiccup's window.
"Um, did you just say 'babies'?" Hiccup questioned, eyebrow quirked in confusion.
"Yes, me life's work is all alone with nae a soul to apprecia' them," she exclaimed, clearly distressed.
"Um, what is it you did for work?" the freckled teen questioned in a soft tone, hopping not to agitate her further.
"Why, it's in me name! I'm a whillter! A wood carver, lad, and all me works been rottin' in the forest," she finished, arms hanging limp at her sides.
Green eyes widened in understanding, "Okay, so you want me to go retrieve your carvings from the woods?"
She nodded vigorously, "Righ'! An' give 'em tah people who'll treat 'em nice. I can show ye righ' now!"
Whittler jumped up and let her feet settle on the floor. She turned around to face the boy, amber eyes shining in excitement. Hiccup stumbled after her with a wince, nearly dropping his binder in the process.
"W-wait just a minute! My dad should be here real soon and if I'm not here he'll–" the boy was cut off by the sound of the front door opening then slamming shut.
Hiccup froze, listening as heavy thumps hurried up the steps. Hiccup was sure that, despite his hulking mass, Stoick could easily beat any member of Burgess's track team. A moment later and the door shook from the blow of his father's hand.
"Uh, you can come in dad, it's not locked," the brunette called, dropping his binder and kicking it underneath the bed, suppressing a grimace at the movement.
Whittler grumbled as the Mr. Haddock entered his son's room, moving out of the way so as not to be walked through–a rather unpleasant sensation from what Hiccup heard. A pair of forest green eyes watched her movement before snapping back to the giant looming just within the doorway. Stoick's eyes narrowed as he noticed a distinct lack of anything attention-worthy where his son's eyes traveled.
Hiccup could see those bulky shoulders tensing in preparation to reprimand, "So, uh, dad, what did you want?"
The distraction proved successful as large shoulders relaxed and Stoick's face brightened ever so slightly, "Ah, I wanted tah tell you tha' I got a call from me old friend Oswald!"
uh oh
"I forgo' tah tell ye he lives around here. Anyway he just got back from a business trip and wanted tah stop by and say hello. So he and his son–ye remembah Dagur, don't cha boy?–will be commin' tomorrow. Dagur even offered tah help us finish unpackin', isn't tha considerate of the lad? He seems tah have matured since las' we saw 'im," Stoick broke off with a nod of approval.
nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononooooooooooooooooooooooooooo–
"Hiccup, lad, did ya hear meh?" the man grumbled, resisting the urge to shake the fragile boy.
The freckled teen snapped his head up, meeting his father's gaze, "Uh, yeah dad, yeah, I…I heard you. Um, that's uh, definitely something. You–you see, funny thing really, I maybe, actually, already, kind of have plans with my friends tomorrow so–"
A thick, bushy eyebrow raised above the man's hairline, "You 'ave plans?"
Pushing down a pang of indignation at his father's disbelief–Hiccup still couldn't quite believe it himself–the teen straightened and gave a curt nod before blowing the bangs out of his face, "Yes, actually. You see, Rapunzel has been wanting to give me a tour of Burgess since my first day here and Merida and Jack agreed to come so, yeah. I already have plans."
Stoick, though normally true to his name, seemed a little shocked by the news, "You really 'ave plans."
"Yeah, that's what I just said," Hiccup grabbed his arm and began rubbing it nervously, berating himself for snarking at his father.
The older man either didn't care or didn't notice, "You got friends?"
A strange mixture of skepticism and elation filled the deep voice as normally squinted eyes opened wide to reveal hopeful aventurine orbs. Hiccup flinched minutely. He tried to remind himself that he would have been just as shocked had someone told him the same news a month ago. Really, who could have foreseen Hiccup the Useless making friends? Apparently not his father.
"Yes dad, friends. Rapunzel said she would pick me up tomorrow. I would've told you earlier, but we only just finalized our plans today," Hiccup did his best to keep the strain of hurt out of his voice, pausing and biting his lip when his father failed to respond, "Dad?"
The older man seemed to snap out of some sort of trance, before running up to his boy and lifting him by the shoulders. Hiccup released a startled shriek as his foot left the floor and the room blurred together as Stoick swung him around. Toothless jumped back with his hackles raised.
"This is wonderful Hiccup! Ye finally found some friends! Aftahr all these years!" the man released a chuckle, setting down his sore, disheveled son.
The freckled teen waited a moment to regain his balance before turning back to the chortling giant, "So, I can still go?"
"O' course!" he bellowed, but after a moment his face fell, "Bu' Dagur seemed so excited abou' seein' ye again. Oh well, I'll jus' let 'im know ye got plans. I'm sure the lad'll understand!"
Hiccup nodded vigorously, greatly relieved by his father's reaction.
Stoick nodded in return, a grin plastered to his face, "Alri'ghy then. I brough' pizza home fer dinner, it's on the countahr in the kitchen."
A small smile tugged at the brunette's lips as he shifted nervously and gestured vaguely about his room, "Okay, I'll be down in a minute. I have to–er–clean up some stuff first."
The giant red-head nodded once more, turning swiftly and making his way out the door. As he left the room a small whispered "friends" escaped his lips, thick head shaking back and forth in delighted disbelief. Hiccup's tensed shoulders sagged as the door slammed shut. He turned around and flopped onto his bed, releasing a large lungful of air. He did it. He escaped a run-in with Dagur…so why was there a small ache in his chest? Hiccup lifted his face from the comforter as a small weight silently padded up to his head. A soft meow escaped Toothless to gain his boy's attention.
Chapped lips pulled back to reveal crooked teeth in a lopsided grin, "Hey Bud, guess we're off the hook, huh?"
A light purr blossomed from the feline's chest. Acid green eyes narrowed in agreement as Toothless rubbed his head against Hiccup's.
"I guess we won' be leavin' anah time soon," Whittler sighed, floating over to the bed.
Hiccup bobbed his head apologetically, lifting himself up to a sitting position, "Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe you can show me your work tomorrow night? After I come back and Dagur is gone?"
The woman nodded with only slight irritation, "I've waited ovah a year, one more day won't harm me none. Now, run along dearie, ye could use some meat on those bones o' yer's."
"Thanks Whittler, I guess we'll see you tomorrow," the boy waved as the ghost nodded and phased through his window.
The freckled teen stood and stretched. Toothless followed him, jumping off the mattress and pawing at the floor beneath it.
Forest green eyes wandered to the cat's antics, widening in realization, "Oh, yeah. Thanks Toothless. I don't want to leave that laying around."
Stick-like arms reached under the bed and retrieved the ever-growing binder. After this treasure was stowed away, the brunette made his way downstairs, Toothless at his feet. After feeding the feline, Hiccup grabbed a couple slices of pizza, completed some of his homework, horsed around with his furry friend, and then went to bed a little early, hopping to have plenty of extra time to prepare the nextday. He couldn't wait to see what the morning light would bring.
Or the almost afternoon light. Hiccup scrambled out of his covers, earning a small hiss from Toothless as the feline was thrown from the comforts of the warm sheets. The lime green numbers of his alarm clock read 11:52 am, which meant Rapunzel should arrive in a little over half an hour. The bubbly blonde was very excited for the long-awaited outing and wanted to have plenty of time to show Hiccup around Burgess before retrieving Jack and heading to dinner. The brunette ran through the day's schedule in his brain as he stumbled into the bathroom, knowing he wouldn't have enough time for a bath if he wanted to eat anything before his friends arrived. Rapunzel, Guy, and the notorious Flynn would arrive at the Haddock household somtime around 12:30 pm. From there they would travel to the Dunbroch residence and borrow Merida. Jack had work until 3:00 pm, so they would traverse the streets of Burgess until then. Rapunzel planned to take the odd group to an as-of-yet-unknown restaurant, after which they would continue around the small town or head into the surrounding woods. Hiccup just hoped that Dagur and Oswald would be gone before he returned home. After a small breakfast of toast and jam, the freckled teen hurried back to his room, spending fifteen minutes trying to figure out what to wear. He settled for a large, green and brown stripped long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He was loading his pockets with his cell phone and wallet when he heard the doorbell. Hiccup beamed as he raced down the steps, almost acquainting himself with the floor a few times in his haste, before skidding to a halt in the hallway leading to the front door. His father blocked the small entryway, opening the door for their guests.
"Oswald! It's good tah see ye! How've ye been?" Hiccup's heart sank as a man his height, but more than three times his width entered their home.
The black beard matched Stoick's in volume, but his face was much rounder, giving him an almost jolly appearance, "Oh, Stoick. It's been too long! I'm righ' as rain I am. How're ye an' yer boy?"
It was then that the cogs in Hiccup's brain began to turn once more, snapping the young teen out of his paralysis. He paid no attention as his father ushered the Oswald into their living room, instead starting to turn on his heels to retreat out the back door. Just as the brunette was about to bolt, a rush of air passed his cheek, followed by a dull thunk next his ears. Hiccup whirled about face in another attempt for freedom when a second object flew his way, a brief flash of silver, before the knife imbedded itself into the wall just above his left shoulder. Hiccup barely had time to register that the knife had snagged his shirt and therefore pinning him to the wall when shadow appeared before him. The freckled teen gulped, his throat suddenly dry, as he lifted his gaze to stare into dark jade orbs. Instinctively, Hiccup flattened himself against the wall, trying to appear as small and invisible as possible. Those eyes were lit with that same deranged light as well as that other thing from before. The thing Hiccup had no name for, but made his paling skin crawl. The older teen loomed over him, a dark smile twisting across the long face. Hiccup couldn't contain his squeak of alarm as the other's face lowered far too close for comfort. The brunette wrinkled his nose in displeasure when the elder teen released a breathy chuckle. It smelled rancid and metallic.
Dagur's nose was but a few centimeters from his prey, delighting in the delicious fear and sheer panic rolling off of the younger boy as he slapped one hand against the wall beside that freckled face.
"Hello Hiccup."
Thanks for reading! That's it for now. Again, sorry to break it off here, but hey, we got our first active ghost case and the return of Dagur all in one chapter, so I hope that makes up for it a bit. If you have any questions, comments, critiques, etc., just leave a review and I'll respond in the next chapter. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed thus far! I read over them while I type to keep me focused/motivated =) Quick side note about Merida's, Whittler's, and Stoick's accents, I find it a little hard to differentiate between them, so any help with that would be greatly appreciated. I seem to have rambled a bit, so I'll leave off with a thank you and see you next chapter!