Yet another Rift-Raft disclaimer. I Hear Him Scream and Echoed Songs are off somewhere yonder, being the official story and sequel and all that.
"Life's a party, and everyone's invited!"
It seemed like ages had passed when I finally saw Chief Stoick exit the hall. I knew he'd have a lot to talk about with Hiccup, but I didn't think it would take as long as it did. Scratching Stormfly's chin in just the place she likes one last time, I nudged Fishlegs and gestured at the chief. After jumping in surprise and squealing "Astrid!", he caught on quickly, doing the same to Ruffnut and so on until we were all out of our dazes and walking towards the Great Hall.
It's funny. I never used to spend so much time relaxing before I met Stormfly, even though I really really really should have. So of course, now that I don't need to be relaxed and keep a cool head, I learn how helpful it can be to step back and take things slowly. I'm pretty sure the same can be said about Snotlout and Fishlegs. Laziness is kind of the twins' thing though (along with pranking in the name of Loki), so, if anything, taking care of a dragon is more work than they're used to. Well, excluding the time we spent in our other apprenticeships. I think those took more work than any of us were used to. At least it felt that way with how difficult and boring it was.
Shaking myself out of my memories when Hiccup stepped from the hall, I began walking over to him in what was supposed to be a casual stroll, with Stormfly by my side and the others close on my heels. I'm still not very comfortable being the leader after everything that I put them through, but I shrugged it off when I got close to Hiccup, who was covered in ash from head to foot. I would have been surprised a few weeks ago, but lately I've been ignoring Hiccup's dragon-related antics just so that I'd have enough time in the day for other things.
After our dragons had risen from their bows (which, even though I kind-of understand, are still very weird to see, considering how it's Hiccup on their receiving ends), I stepped forward. "So, is the little heir all grown up?" I asked in a weak attempt at humor.
A wide smile on his face, his response was not at all what I was expecting. "Looks like it." He began to chuckle when I just stared at him, mouth half open.
I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, pretending nothing had happened. I tried to make sense of a Hiccup I've never seen before with my next question. "Okay, what happened in there?"
His answer didn't help. "A lot."
Giving him an annoyed glare, I pressed on. "Like?"
He smiled even wider. "Let's just say Dad didn't give me a single disappointed scowl in the longest conversation I've had with him. Ever."
Well that explains it. Ever since his first 'weapons misfire', as he liked to call it, every Viking in Berk has become very familiar with that particular expression.
Still, something about what he said didn't quite make sense. "I don't think I've personally seen one of those on him ever since you, uh, came back. Is it really that big a deal?"
Hiccup shrugged. "Well, it's about the fourth best thing that happened to me today. So yeah, it is."
I raised an eyebrow at the hint. "And what, may I ask, are numbers one through three?"
Hiccup gave a Gods-damn annoying smirk. "You'll see."
That was all the answer he gave me before the others began jumping in.
Ruffnut led the pack, her voice much whinier than it had been in the hall. "You're so lucky! Why do you get to go on this 'important mission' and not us? Even Dad's going!"
Hiccup's eyes widened as he turned to her. "Wait, Gorge is going too?"
"Didn't you hear him in the list?" I asked, surprised that he didn't know information that the chief had to repeat three times before the village could remember. I never took Hiccup as the forgetful type, so clearly something was up. Maybe it has to do with his strange mood. Or the ash.
Hiccup shrugged again. "Well, I kind of came in the hall just as he was finishing up. I didn't even know there was a meeting until it was almost over."
Okay, something is definitely up. Hiccup is always the first to know when something is going on in the village, unless he's with Toothless…
He turned back to the twins before I could put two and two together. "But can't you guys just ask your dad about the trip afterwards?"
This time it was Tuffnut who answered him. "Well yeah, but that doesn't mean we don't want to go! Can you imagine all the things we could pull on the other tribes?"
Hiccup didn't seem surprised by this at all, but Fishlegs cut in before he could answer. "How much do you think you could 'pull' when there'll hardly be anyone there? You guys would get caught right away."
Both the twins recoiled at this, but it was Tuffnut who responded, using his mock-formal voice. "I am insulted that you think so little of us, good sir! Do you think us incapable of stealth, of deceit, or of all the qualities our esteemed Loki holds dear?" He had his left hand on his sister's shoulder while he held his right hand in the air, reminding me of a picture of a hand-shaped island I once saw a drawing of, balling it into an upturned fist as he finished.
His sister joined in, eyes narrowing and finger pointing at the large Viking's nose. "Yeah, what do you take us for?"
Fishlegs wasn't deterred. "You'd still be the first one the Chief would blame if something went wrong. Even if you didn't do it." His eyes narrowed as he spoke, no trace of nervousness in his gaze.
It was still super weird seeing him so confident; ever since summer ended, I've hardly even seen him tapping his fingers together. He's said more than once that he feels like he's "in his element" around all the dragons on Berk, and he's always more relaxed with Meatlug by his side. Even I get more confident when Stormfly's around, so I can hardly imagine the effect it would have on Berk's self-proclaimed 'dragon expert'.
The expert finished his 'analysis on the difficulties of pranking' (which I shortened for you, thank you very much) with a question. "What do you think Stoick the Vast would do if such an important and historic peace gathering were ruined and he thought you two were responsible?"
The twins exchanged a horror-filled glance before Tuffnut said what they just now silently agreed upon. "You, sir, make an excellent point." He then spoke louder, as if delivering some verdict. "My sister and I have decided to execute our brilliant plans in a different way, I'm sorry to say. Please forgive us, Loki, but we must live if we wish to prank another day!"
Snotlout rolled his eyes at the now-prostrate Tuffnut. "Yeah. Brilliant. That's what they are."
Ruffnut was quick to reply. "Wait and see, my good man. Wait and see."
Snotlout huffed. "Whatever. I still don't understand why the chief's taking Gobber and Hiccup over Dad and me. It makes no sense!"
I felt the urge to knock Snotlout down a peg, but Fishlegs answered before I could. "He would only bring you if Hiccup were still, um, incapacitated. If you remember, he only took you on those trading missions because he thought you were the only heir left on Berk. Plus, do you really want the responsibility of becoming chief one day?"
Snotlout's eyes widened when he remembered the whole point of being an heir in the first place. "It'd still be pretty cool to go…" he grumbled out, looking down and kicking his feet.
Interrupting with a now-cleared throat, Hiccup decided to test our memory skills with his next question. "So, who all is my father taking on this trip?"
While the twins began stammering to pretend like they knew, Fishlegs spoke up, counting on is fingers as he listed them off. "There's the Chief, Stoick the Vast, his heir, you, his closest advisor, Gobber, who actually isn't his closest advisor because his brother Spitelout has to run the Village while-"
"Fishlegs," Hiccup warned, giving a small glare to stop the ramble.
Fishlegs gave a sheepish smile before finishing the list on his pinky and thumb. "And his two helmsmen, Gorge and Bucket."
"Wait a minute, he's taking Bucket?!" Hiccup was as surprised as the rest of the village had been when the Chief announced that in the hall.
Fishlegs quickly rattled off the Chief's reasoning as well. "W-well, he is a good helmsman, and he wouldn't harm a fly, so he's not bound to get into a fight at the gather. He's also a night owl, so he'll pilot the ship when Gorge is asleep. The Chief also said his, uh, head injury keeps him from remembering things. Stoick asked him about you before the entire village and all he could get out of him was 'Who's Hiccup?', so there's no chance that he'll be spilling the beans about… you know… it."
Hiccup had adopted a thoughtful expression during the explanation. "That… makes sense." Releasing a sigh and shaking his head, he turned to the rest of us. "Did he say anything else?"
We all turned to Fishlegs, and he tapped his fingers together at all the attention. "Umm, he told the town to do whatever they can to keep the other tribes in the dark about what really happened last year until he finds a way to deal with it, but I think that's about it." Fishlegs jumped. "Oh! He said that if anyone outside of the tribe asks about you, then we should only say that you're alive, you just woke up, and you were really hurt, so nobody really knows what you went through yet."
Hiccup took a moment to digest this, chin held by his left thumb and index finger as he looked down. He had been pacing slowly, favoring his (metal?) leg until he suddenly stopped and shrugged. "I guess that's kind of true," he said, turning to look at the rest of us. His expression brightened as he asked his next question. "So, how are you all enjoying your new friends?"
Everybody exploded into excited exclamations about how their own dragon is the greatest thing that's ever happened to them, that they don't know how they could live without them, and that they never knew they were missing out on so much.
Our dragons seemed to realize that they were now the subject of our conversation after Meatlug grumbled something to the rest, and some began releasing a series of grunts to Hiccup while others (Stormfly included) released happy chirps and nuzzled their riders. It looks like one of the Zippleback heads did the former while the other did the latter.
Hiccup chuckled as the loose chaos began to settle down. "Well I'm glad everyone's happy with how it turned out. Have any of you gone flying yet?"
The answer was an almost unanimous "YES!" accompanied by croons and chirps that I'm starting to think mean the same thing, again after Meatlug finished grunting at the others.
Flying is way better than anything I could ever dream of! Gods, there's just something about it that I can't live without anymore. I don't even know how I did it before, but it's like I wasn't really living until Stormfly took me up into the sky for the first time. There's so much freedom up there that every time I leave the ground it's like I've died and gone to Valhalla! And did I mention how Stormfly is so smooth and fast in the air that I sometimes even forget I'm on her back?
His mood improved even more after our enthusiastic responses, and he asked his final question with a mischievous grin. "So who's fastest?"
Snotlout was the first to begin bragging. Predictable. "Me and Hookfang are the fastest things in the sky! Nobody can beat us!"
I scoffed at that. "Please. Stormfly and I could fly circles around that monstrosity."
Hookfang growled at this, sharing his rider's opinion, which he soon deadpanned for all to hear. "If that was supposed to be a joke, it wasn't funny."
"Care to prove me wrong?" I challenged, casually studying my nails, fully confident that I could wipe the floor with him after all my practice.
"Uh, I don't have to. I saw you flying the other day, and I have to say, I don't think there's a single dragon on Berk slower than that napper! You could never beat us on a dragon as lazy as yours." He pointed at Stormfly when he finished, arrogance dripping from every word.
Hmm. So he saw us during our trust flights, did he? Well I think it's about time I did knock him down a few pegs. "Then I guess a race to the other side of the island and back should be easy for you?" I taunted, making sure to stroke his ego as much as I could so it would be all the sweeter when he comes crashing down. "Fishlegs! You be the judge!"
Caught off guard, Fishlegs stammered out some form of acceptance before Snotlout hopped on the back of his Nightmare.
"You're on!" he shouted, giving Hookfang a quick pat. They both leapt in the air, Snotlout shouting "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!" as he milked his head-start.
I quickly followed suit, and in no time at all, Stormfly and I were gaining on him. "Cheater!"
Watching the two most hotheaded Vikings I know speed away, I chuckled and turned to face the town square.
Fishlegs looked at me with an accusatory glare. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
I felt the grin that hadn't left my face since I got this perfect idea widen. "Maybe."
The twins burst into laughter so hard that they couldn't even stay on their feet.
Cupping my hands around my mouth and ignoring them, I called out to where I had last seen my best friend. It didn't take more than a few short seconds for the smiling black dragon to land in front of me. I could tell how ready he was for another flight, and he only got more excited when I brought up a subject we were both very familiar with. "Want to win a race?"
Snotlout was so full of himself that he hadn't even bothered looking behind him, already confident that he'd cheated his way to a large enough lead for an easy win.
Rolling my eyes, I turned to Stormfly and made a sound barely louder than the wind. "Shh."
Of the many practice flights we've had, the stealth ones were easily the most fun. It only took a bit of charades to get Stormfly to understand what I had wanted us to do the first time around, but after a while it almost became like she could read my thoughts. One night I could have sworn she disappeared from right below me, as invisible as a Night Fury at that hour.
Mimicking my practice rhythm, I made sure to silence even my breathing as we passed underneath Snotlout. Sneaking a peak behind to see if he'd noticed, I nearly lost it when I saw him smiling with his eyes closed. Really, that boy's arrogance is something else. Of course, no amount of arrogance could keep the dragon below him from spotting us.
"Time to go!" I whispered to Stormfly, urging her to focus on speed now that we were in the lead.
This time, I did laugh when I heard the "Hey!" followed by a whoosh of air behind us. Giving one last glance behind to see how much of a lead I had gotten, I nearly lost my grip on my rope when I saw a black blur zoom right past Hookfang. It was so fast that it only took a few more seconds to pass me and Stormfly next. And we were a good thirty feet ahead too, flying at top speed! Both our dragons were so startled that they slowed to a hover as they stared at what had passed them. It had almost reached the other end of the island before I spotted the auburn hair atop the silhouette of the only grounded dragon in Berk. It was already half-way back to us before I put two and two together, and only a few yards away when all doubt in my mind was erased. It slowed down to a gentle glide as it passed us.
"I'll see you back at the village!" Hiccup casually remarked, more in amusement than anything else. His dragon, on the other hand, was giving us a look that clearly said 'I dare you'. At that, they sped off once again, maintaining the speed they had used to pass us the first time.
"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK III, YOU GET BACK HERE!" I shouted, nudging Stormfly to chase after him.
Snotlout must have had the same idea, since he followed and began shouting some very colorful curses right along with me.
I sped back to the village, the race completely forgotten, determined to learn how in Odin's name he was in the air, and how he managed to beat the two fastest riders on Berk without even breaking a sweat.
The square was pretty packed when we came in for a landing. It looks like we weren't the only ones Hiccup had kept his secret from. Judging by the size of the crowd, I'd be willing to bet all my dinners for a week that this was going to be his grand debut.
As Snotlout and I touched down, Fishlegs' voice rose above the many murmurs and confused whispers coming from half the town. "And Hiccup wins, followed not-so-quickly by Astrid and Snotlout."
The crowd gave a big cheer at the declaration.
The twins, who seemed to have been laughing their heads off at something before we landed and were just now picking themselves up, fell down and started rolling on the ground, their laughter getting even louder as I threw Fishlegs a quick glare.
Giving me his best innocent look and shrugging, Fishlegs' eyes met mine only long enough to weasel his way out of future retribution. "What? You told me to judge, so I judged."
Groaning, I turned my glare over to Hiccup, only to have my attention drawn to a very proud-looking Toothless. He was up on his haunches (which I had forgotten he could do) and smiling in triumph.
I sighed as I turned back to Hiccup. "And what was that all about?"
Hiccup patted Toothless' side. "Just reminding everyone who's the fastest dragon on Berk."
Toothless roared his agreement before settling back down on his front paws. The dragons cheered even louder, and were even joined by a few Vikings.
"So this was your plan from the start?" I asked, thinking back to why Snotlout and I had even started racing in the first place.
His grin grew a bit wider. "Pretty much. Well, ever since you all said you like flying, anyway."
Tuffnut, finally catching his breath, put one hand on Hiccup's shoulder while wiping a tear away with the other. "You, my friend, might just be a descendant of Loki himself."
Toothless hissed at the mention of the Prankster God (I guess he thought it was an insult?), but Hiccup didn't even seem like he had heard what Tuffnut had said. He was too busy recoiling and pulling up a hand to cover his nose. Toothless took a noticeable step away too.
"Ugh, do you ever bathe?" Hiccup asked, now trying to keep from gagging.
Ruffnut, who had almost recovered at this point, fell into another fit of laughter, while her brother looked almost as disgusted as Hiccup by the notion. "Bathe?! NO! I stay as far away from that part of town as possible! At all times! How am I supposed to make stink bombs if I smell nice?"
Hiccup actually did gag at this, while Toothless took another step away.
He turned to face the Zippleback. "How does your Two-Head even stand you?"
With a shrug, Tuffnut walked over to his half of the Zippleback. "Belch doesn't mind. Actually, I think he likes it."
As if to prove this, said head pushed his nose into Tuffnut's chest in a show of affection.
Hiccup and Toothless both looked at the dragon as if it had grown a second head (well, third).
I finally tried to get some answers now that I had a moment to cut in. "So how exactly did you get airborne? I thought the little kitty couldn't fly anymore."
I think the Night Fury might be getting used to this insult, because all he did was scoff. Hiccup, on the other hand, smiled and nudged his dragon. When it just stared back at him with deadpan eyes, clearly not interested in showing off, Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Well, I can't show them."
Giving a groan before complying, Toothless brought his tail in front of himself in an obviously reluctant motion.
Everyone in the crowd that wasn't behind Toothless gasped when a leather and metal tail fin was put on display.
Gobber, who must have been watching this whole time, shoved his way to the front. "So this is what you've been workin' on!" He adopted a very thoughtful expression, "hmm"-ing while looking the contraption with a keen eye. "I have to say, it's more practical than all those other contraptions you've come up with."
"Even the Miniature Mobile Kill-Ring?" Hiccup's eyes narrowed when he asked this.
A few of the Vikings who understood what he meant looked down or away; I didn't recognize the (unnecessarily long) name, so I wasn't one of them.
Gobber, however, pressed on unfazed, taking it as another joke. "Of course it is!" he said earnestly, inspecting the side of the saddle with all the ropes and gadgets while Toothless looked like he was having a hard time letting Gobber get close to him (probably from the smell). As Hiccup put a hand on the Night Fury's side, Gobber continued jovially. "I've never seen somethin' like this before!" he exclaimed before proceeding to describe it like a work of art. Just as he finished, he added on as an afterthought, "Plus those dragon wagons-"
"Dragon wagons?" Hiccup interrupted, his mood slightly improving at hearing the name.
Oh. So that's what he was talking about. No wonder the others got so uncomfortable.
While the rest of us joined them, Gobber chuckled and continued, still unfazed. "Well, that's what I call 'em, anyway. Oh! And I guess that's what all the other tribes call 'em too." Gobber rubbed the back of his neck with his hook-hand as his chuckling became less amused and more nervous. "Anyway, those things kept breakin' and burnin' whenever we tried to use 'em."
Hiccup sighed in a mix what looked to be a lot of emotions (probably mostly acceptance) at his mentor's carefree explanation. "That's because you didn't stick to the design."
Gobber shrugged. "Well you don't see that much metal just lyin' around, do you? Speakin' of which, where did you get all the metal and leather for your newest contraption?" he asked, raising half of his unibrow.
Hiccup's accusing glare melted into an embarrassed grin as he brought his own hand behind his neck. "Oh, well I kind of borrowed a few extra materials that nobody was using."
Gobber wasn't buying it. "Uh-huh. That's a perfectly good reason to keep your poor ol' master of inventory in the dark. Words. Explain. Now."
"W-well, I also wanted it to be a surprise. For Toothless more than anyone."
This time Gobber did buy it, chuckling as he adopted his usual smile. "Well, it sure was! And a good one at that!" He patted Hiccup on the back while most of the village (and Toothless) expressed their agreement. Once the noise had settled slightly, Gobber cut them off with a warning. "But no more surprises, Hiccup. If you want to make somethin' else for one of your dragons, you have to stop all… this." He gestured around him in a wide arc, as if that would explain what he meant.
Hiccup looked around him with a raised eyebrow. "What? The theatrics?"
"Yes! That's it! You can't go makin' a big show of your new inventions each time you come up with one! You remember what happened the last time you showed off with that bola machine of yours. I don't think Berk can handle any more of your particular distractions. Most of us have work we're supposed to be doin'!" As he finished the explanation, it looked like he was trying to see how many bystanders he could give a good glare at once.
All of the Vikings hastily cleared out after remembering the meeting they'd just left.
"I best be goin' too. Don't want Stoick on my behind. Make sure you get some shut-eye, Hiccup! We've got a long week ahead of us."
Hiccup sighed and nodded before climbing on Toothless.
"Where are you going?" I asked, from the looks of it just as confused as the Night Fury he had mounted.
"Away from collateral damage."
Taking to the skies, they sped off to the forest before any of us could follow.
