Exodus and Return-us

Chapter 7

Stoick's POV

For what felt like the first time in forever, I woke up without a blasted headache. After the party the night before last, I let everyone take a day off (not something to be taken lightly around here) mainly to get rid of all the noise. Noise was my enemy all day yesterday, having drank so much mead.

I just can't believe it though! Hiccup leading his class? What are the odds of that? I thought as I grabbed a small loaf of bread for breakfast. Now this is how good days should be started. No hangover, great news, and breakfast to munch on-wait a minute; why is there a note posted to the inside of the door?

I walked over to the note, still chewing on the last of my breakfast. It was addressed to me, and apparently it was from Hiccup.

After finishing the note, I wasn't sure what to think. Surely Hiccup would not run away now. He is doing so well, practically a celebrity if Gobber is anything to go by. Talking about being a strain on the village, but he's never even once actually been sorry for all of those inventions. And part about making Snotlout the heir? That's an absolutely dreadful idea. That would burn this village down quicker than the dragons. No, something is off here. He isn't telling the whole story…HA HA HA, I bet this is some sort of juvenile prank. He probably just wants to make a grand entrance at the Choosing tonight! Boy is just like his mother with that little "dramatic flair" he always works towards.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Gobber looking distraught. That little devil, pulled Gobber into this too. I decided I would play along; no harm really comes from messing with Gobber (except that day the twins got a hold of his prosthetics…).

"STOIC! We have a problem!"

"What is it, Gobber? Have you seen Hiccup this morning?" Oh, this has been long overdue since he fought a raid in his undies. There are still people around town who shiver when they see Gobber.

"Tha's what I came to tell you! Hiccup's gone!"

"He's WHAT? Step inside, we need to talk…"

Gobber stepped in through the door, and I shut it behind him.

"Now Gobber, I don't want any rumors flying around. What happened?"

"He left me a note sayin' he up and left! He's out there somewhere alone right now Stoic! We gotta go get him!"

To really sell it, I put on a "shocked with a good dose of overwhelmed" look on my face and backed up a few paces, hands fumbling around until they grasped a chair.

"…m-my son is gone?" I stood there, looking lost, before I bent over and pushed my head into my hands (against the chair-back) to give myself a look of encompassing grief. I am not really sure why he bought it…

"What are ye' standing there for, Stoic? WE. NEED. TO. GET. HIM. BACK. He can't have gone too far away, even with a day's head star-" Gobber trailed off as I started to laugh, at first quietly but growing steadily in volume.

"What in the bloody Hel is wrong with you, Stoic?!"

"You didn't get it? It's a prank, Gobber! Hiccup will be back tonight to make a grand entrance to his fight! There's nothing to worry about…" I thought the situation was quite funny, but Gobber was not put to ease. [A.N.: I am using the American version of "quite" which means a lot, not the British version which means somewhat. Yes, there are different versions.]

"Stoic', I don't think that he would do something like this just fer a prank."

"It will be fine, Gobber. It's not like Hiccup would actually run away. All of Midgard knows he wouldn't last a week."

Gobber didn't seem to buy it, but I insisted that we let Hiccup think he fooled us.

"If he isn't back, we will just go get him from the woods. The lad doesn't have anywhere to go anyhow."

SCENE BREAK (SAME POV)

I sat at the heart in my home, deep in thought. Gobber was right, Hiccup wasn't kidding with those letters, or he was playing a very cruel trick. But this being the little boy that took after Valka in every way possible, I doubt he would ever play a trick like this.

I had sent Gobber out to organize a small search party and lead them into the forest. I gave him instructions to only take those who can be trusted to keep their mouths shut until I found a good time to announce the news, should Hiccup not be found.

When Hiccup hadn't shown at his final training session, the Choosing day no less, I began to realize my mistake. That letter could have been over a day old, and I convinced Gobber to wait another half day, so it was unlikely that we would be able to catch Hiccup. That's why I hadn't hurried; it would have been pointless. Now I just wanted answers, and I knew where to start.

I heard a curt three knocks on my door, and got up check it. Gobber stood there, and gave me a status report in a somewhat hushed voice. The sun had just set, and everything seemed to feel drab in the dusky light. Absolutely perfect for the mood. Odin never was one to let suffering go unnoticed…

"I gathered a small party, abou' ten men, put Spitelout in charge. They've started combing the woods…. Can I come in? We need to talk."

I silently nodded and moved aside. Before I closed the door, I saw Snotlout walking past the house, looking as clueless as ever. I yelled at him to fetch Astrid, and only Astrid. He seemed happy enough to do it.

I closed the door and took my seat back near the hearth. Gobber waited a few seconds before speaking, and never took a seat.

"Alright, Stoic. What's this about?"

I stood there, gaze fixed on the fire for a long pause, until I looked up to meet Gobber's eyes.

"I haven't the slightest clue, Gobber."

(Switch to Astrid POV)

Does he think that he is too good to show up to the Choosing? I thought angrily as a hurled my axe at a nearby tree. I chose take out my frustration near the Chief's house, on the chance that I caught Hiccup come by. And I was prepared to ring his neck.

Everything he has done recently has made things worse for me. When he wasn't doing decently in training, everyone took him for what he was worth: nothing. Now, every just overlooks the glaringly obvious fact that he ISN'T actually fighting and yet he keeps winning. It's not even that he has a new form, or a specific style, it's that he apparently doesn't need to fight to win. I don't know how that works, but if I ever get the opportunity to expose him, I will. I have to take every chance I can to open people's eyes to the fact that Hiccup Haddock is a fake.

I heard the door to Hiccup's house open, and I snuck around to investigate. I doubt that I would be able to catch Hiccup before anyone spotted him if he was standing on his front porch, but I was ready to try nonetheless. Instead, I caught Stoic telling Snotlout to come fine me.

Me? What is this about?... Could Hiccup have forfeited, meaning I automatically win training? Or did he try to pin something on me?! That last thought stuck in my mind. I never really knew Hiccup, but he didn't seem like the malicious type. Then again, he didn't seem like the type to lead dragon training…

I snuck around behind the home of the Chief, and put my ear to the wall. I caught the middle of a conversation, and it appeared to be between the Chief and Gobber.

"…but why leave Gobber? What sort of Viking would abandon his post, especially in a good time for himself?"

"…I dunno. But it doesn't sound like he was having a good time, from the looks of it…"

"What more could be asked for? Head of class, admiration of his peers (not to mention his "new fans" as you put it)? He was on a massive climb up, yet he just exiles himself? There has to be more to this…"

So Hiccup left? For where? When? Why? Is he so much of a coward that he fled from a challenge? It never registered that he always had a crush on me, and that I wasn't the least bit kind these last few days.

"I agree there, Stoic. I don't think that we have the whole picture. If the boy was miserable, then we need to find out why and fer how long before we can convince him to come back."

"Convince him? What for? We find him and drag him back!"

"If he left once, then he is likely to feel a little hostile. This is Hiccup we are talking about; he wouldn't just snap for no reason."
"Then why do you suppose he did 'snap'?"

Because he wasn't good enough. Obviously.

"Well, I suspec' that we don't know everything, but it's not been too much a secret that he has been miserable fer years. I mean, his father is the model for practically every Viking, and he isn't big enough to carry your dinner plate!"

"Every Viking has a place, no matter the size, Gobber. That shouldn't have mattered."

"But it did. He never was one for fitting in. All those inventions that just backfired, did ya think they were disasters on purpose? He was trying to be different but help in his own way."

"…and we just rejected it…but we didn't have a choice. They always caused more pain then good."

"Always? The boy has helped me renovate half me shop! That fancy spout on yer mead there? The one that lets you control the flow rate and extends? That would be Hiccup!"

"Okay, he improved the mead dispensers. Aside from appeasing thirsty Vikings, what have his inventions done for this village?"

"That's not the point! It's the fact that he has always been trying to help, and all it's ever done is cause him grief."

"Is that all, though? Unsuccessful efforts? There are good men here who haven't landed a lady for even an hour despite years of trying, yet they show up for duty every morning."

"Stoic, I don't think Hiccup's type of lady could be won over by drunken pick-up lines. Astrid would break him in half backwards. She probably broke his heart with all that I've heard has been going on lately…"

What, are they blaming me for his disappearance?! Over my dead body!

While trying to process what I had heard, I failed to realize that Gobber's voice had slowly grown louder until he threw the backdoor open and hooked me by my shirt.

"An' I suspect that we can learn a good deal more here. Now Astrid, sit."

I did as I was told, seeing as I was just caught eavesdropping on the Chief.

"Now Astrid, why don't you tell me and Stoic what's been going on with you and Hiccup recently. I suspec' that you know that he has exiled himself, so I expect your full cooperation here…"

This was the only chance I would have to uncover what Hiccup has been hiding, even if I only plant a small seed of doubt.

"It's been what he's been doing in the ring that's causing tension, sir. He's not fighting the dragons, but he wins the fights anyways. Somehow he is cheating against them! I finally confronted him in the woods, but I couldn't get a straight answer out of him. I let him know exactly what I thought of his cheating and let him know what he was for it..." as I said this, Gobber arched an eyebrow, as if to ask why I would be so bold in front of the Chief, but he let me continue. "He challenged me to a one on one against a Nadder, and he stopped it from killing me. But instead of helping me get free of the Nadder spikes that pinned me, he just made some dramatic statement and walked off…"

"What did he say, Astrid?" Gobber asked in a manner that let me know that it was obviously important.

"Something about him being done chasing me. I don't really know what that signified. But when he said it, there was a fire in his eyes that I've never seen in anyone. Like something had snapped, and he was resolved to do something drastic-…" I trailed off, the significance of what I was saying having just hit me. I was his breaking point. I pushed him over the edge.

Now, Stoic began to speak, and he must have been furious because his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Are you saying that you drove him off?"

I didn't answer, and Gobber kept any comments to himself, though he looked prepared to intervene. I was freaking terrified. I had only heard legends of what happens when the Chief gets angry, and I can only assume that it is much worse that being fed to a dragon's nest while butt naked and unarmed (that is still the worst fear I have, but Stoic was creeping up on that title).

Suddenly, Stoic snapped. His war hammer flew down, and split the table (fortunately for me) between us clear in half with a terrifying mix of a thud and a crack.

"YOU RAN OFF MY SON?! THE HEIR TO YOUR TRIBE! YOU MADE HIM RENOUNCE HIS BIRTHPLACE?!"

"Stoic, calm down! There's a lot more here than meets the eye, it's definitely not just her fault. You need to calm down before people think that you are murdering someone in here… you aren't planning on murdering someone, are you?"

Odin's ghost, if ever there was a question that chilled me to the bone, it was that one. Worse still was his answer. While Stoic did calm back down, there was no lack of disgust in his eyes as he spat out his reply.

"Not here at least…"

Then a though hit me. It was risky to say aloud, because it would draw more attention to me. However, it had the possibility of changing the subject, and for my sake that needed to happen.

"So, what do we do about this?"

Silence. Stoic looked stumped, and Gobber seemed to be pondering something.

"Astrid" Gobber started, "I don' have a clue."

(Return to present; Cami POV)

"Are you sure you can't come?" I asked Thug. I mean, after the confrontation with Hiccup's old tribe, there's no telling what Hiccup is gonna be like. He's gonna need more than one friend if something in him snapped again. Besides, Hookfang and I are gonna have to follow Thug's dragon anyways.

"It will look odd if we both disappeared for the night, even if we do tell your mother our intentions. Besides, as a Chief I need to be there to see the Hooligans off in the morning. Hiccup said that Skullcrusher's breed have good tracking abilities, so it won't be hard to follow him. He is probably back at his island anyways."

"Fine. But just know that I'm not so good with the whole 'feelings' thing. You're girly-er that I am, you know."

Things must have been grimmer than I thought, because he didn't rise up at my insult.

"Yea, I would rather send that yak, but you will have to work. Good luck."

I told him thanks and we were off. Within a minute, Skullcrusher started to home in on a scent, and it was in the same direction as Hiccup's fort. Or man-cave, dragon-nest, whatever you call his sweet little hideout. That thing just needs some basic supplies and it could withstand any army in existence. A large outer island stops ships from being able to attack the sanctuary, while catapults would be too slow to do any damage when you can set them on fire with dragons. And the lagoon in surrounding the sanctuary stops any rushing infantry. The only thing that stands a chance to attack the place is dragons…

After about half an hour of night flying, we arrived at Hiccup's home. We flew to the top of the sanctuary (which is totally becoming the name for this part) where we were greeted by Hiccup, in a surprisingly chipper mood.

"So, what did you think? Did I come off too forcefully, or not enough?"

"What?"

"What did you think of 'The Rider' tonight? Think he established himself as someone not to be messed with?"

"You aren't upset?"

"Ah, I am a little peeved that I didn't get to show off any other dragons, but the mystery may help me anyways."

"I flew all the way out here just so you could ask how you performed?!"

"…pretty much."

Oh. Well, now that I think about it…

"Well, I suppose I can have it discussed in the morning, but I think that you set yourself up as someone with authority. The type of guy that you would rather capture than kill because he would have something up his sleeve."
"The type of guy you wouldn't mess with?"

"Yes, the kind of guy who controls dragons and takes orders from no one."

Hiccup pondered this, and something warbled from behind me. I swear on my life that I didn't squeal, but I am ashamed to admit that I may have peed a little…

"Cami, did you just…squeal? Like a girl?"

"NO! You're stupid pitch black, perfect camouflaged demon there just snuck up behind me!"

"You landed in front of him. He's been sleeping there since before you arrived…"

"Oh. Speaking of sleeping, do you have any beds around here? I can kick you out of yours if there is only one."

"Gee, how considerate. I'd suggest snuggling against Hookfang, most of the inside is still cooling off."

"Cooling off?"

"Yea. I'll show you in the morning…" Hiccup walked behind me and lay down against the ground. And the bump grumbled and shifted a little, and Hiccup disappeared from sight.

"What in Thor's chest hairs?!" I loudly whispered, realizing that I probably don't want to wake Toothless up.

"Can you not see him?" was Hiccup's reply.

"See who? Toothless? All I see is darkness…"

"Huh… Odd. I can see his outline pretty clearly in the moonlight…"

Moonlight? There isn't any moon.

"Hiccup, there IS no moon..."

"Oh. Huh. Strange, isn't it? Oh well, I am going to sleep. Go over there or something."

"Fine, I will. You'd be lucky to have me sleeping nearby, for your information."

Both Hiccup and Toothless groaned in unison; the message was clear: let us sleep.

I still felt as if I had just been left out of some important realization. It matched the times that I could swear that Hiccup was talking with Toothless, and Toothless was talking back somehow.

"Yea, maybe they are rubbing off on each other…" I said softly, chuckling at the idea.

No, that just outrageous to think…

Author's Note: Hey guys. It's been a while, Thanksgiving has made writing hard since we have 12 family members at our house at most times. The fact that I fell a little behind on my research paper meant my writing time mainly went to that. This chapter is a little short, but I feel it ends on an important part. Next chapter, I will explore renovations to the Sanctuary and I will do Hiccup's training montage. Soon a confrontation with the Red Death…