Dragon Tales

Story 2 - An Overdue Meeting

Part 2 - A Story for a Story

Authors note: back with the next chapter^^ something I forgot to say this story was influenced by guest: mnt dew who requested a hijack chapter- sorry I can't give any confirmation of their relationship but I added several cute fluff moments in this story for you. Anyway hope you enjoy the chapter as I said last time please do review I really want to know who's still reading this but apart from that I will see you tommorow^^

They flew towards the cove. The six dragons- blue, gold, red, green, black and white- slipping past and through each other in companionable flight, as they made their way to the place through the air. The reason they were going to the cove? The great hall still had a dozen adults drinking mead in there, and they didn't want to make a scene- they'd done that already.

The whole time they flew, Hiccup could feel Jack's joy at the Sky Dragons' visit. He really hadn't expected this. But, as they told him, they wanted to see how he was doing- finally settling down in one place. Sky Dragons rarely stayed anywhere more than a day, but Jack said he'd never been happier (Hiccup had to admit that did make him smile a little). He didn't mention that this was a recent development, following his recovery from illness, but he couldn't blame him- he didn't want to ruin the mood.

Still, despite how happy he was at Jack's joy... surrounded by all these Sky Dragons, talking and flying together so comfortably... it made him feel a little, like... he didn't belong- or, not so much that, but, like he was intruding. They all had that easy going air of familiarity about them- whilst he awkwardly flew Toothless at the back, having no idea what to say.

Finally, as they reached the cove, the conversation turned to the scene he'd stumbled across upon finding Jack.
"Seriously- when was the last time you guys visited a village? That was awful." Jack roared to them, as they landed. They all turned into human form- at least now they were a little more approachable, Hiccup thought. He was surrounded by a bunch of strangers, as far as he was concerned- and Jack was no help.

He could hear him disregarding his discomfort with: 'oh, it's just temporary- they'll get on great.' Which was all well and fine for him to say, but he wasn't as self confident as Jack- he wasn't nearly as bad as he used to be, thanks to the Sky Dragon. Normally, he'd be fine talking to strangers (living as a Viking got you used to all kinds of random things), but these were Jack's friends. He wanted to get along with them- for him. He knew Jack wanted them to get along, so he was extra nevous about things going badly- and that just made him nervous to even try.

North looked confused, as though trying to figure out what he was going on about.
"It has been a while." He admitted. "But I thought it went pretty well." He told them.
'That was his version of going well?' He thought to Jack.
'Well, they didn't get forced out, or attacked on sight, did they?' He pointed out. 'We are dragons- and not everywhere is Berk.' He reminded him. 'Still.' He agreed. 'I thought theyd be better than that! That was ridiculous!' Jack shook his head at the Sky Dragons, smirking.

"Well, you didn't do too bad, North, but Tooth? Bringing up his teeth like they're adorable hatchlings?" He looked at her, pointing out her fault. She also looked a little puzzled- and embarrassed now.
"Is that not normal for them?" She asked. Bunny snorted
"It's not normal for us- you're on your own with your that obsession." The two legged Sky Dragon muttered. Tooth glared at him (about to turn dragon and smack him with her tail according to Jack), when he stepped in again.

"You can't speak, Tiny Tail- you looked like you were about to beat the kid up." He grinned. Now Bunny was the one who wanted to smack someone with his tail. He growled slightly, which sounded strange coming from a giant rabbit.
"I was not about to beat him up." He snarled, angrily.
"No, you're right." Jack told him. Hiccup could predict exactly what was going to happen next- let's see, Jack had that dancing light in his eye, he was riling someone up and starting to turn away from him. Next came the clever punch line, and quick escape.
"The kid would've beaten you easily." He said. No sooner had he made the riling remark had he shot off, as suddenly as he did earlier.

Called it, Hiccup thought to himself.

"You little-" A roar finished off the shout, as the dark blue sky dragon took off after (not quite as quickly or elegantly as Jack did) after the swift, shooting blur of white.

North shook his head.
"That took longer than usual." He grinned.
"There they go again." Tooth muttered, but with a slight, amused smile on her face, as she traced their flightpaths. The three remaining Sky Dragons settled down onto the floor- Hiccup followed suite, and Toothless copying his example. The black dragon growled irritably as he settled. Without Jack here, he couldn't get the exact translation, but he didn't need it. He understood he message anyway: stupid jerk, leaving us again. Hiccup understood how he felt.

The bond narrowed as Jack sped further away, but even at that extreme height, he could still feel his distant thrill of escaping his persuer- shooting taunting comments and spikes of ice over his shoulder, as he dodged the strange, 'v' shaped returning rocks he told him about. He was glad he was enjoying himself, but at the same time he felt kind of annoyed at the Sky Dragon for just abandoning him again- this time with a bunch of strangers he had no idea how to talk to.

Toothless prepared a blast of flames in his mouth to start a small fire to light the moonlit cove a little more. But, before he could, North... well, Hiccup wasn't quite sure what he did, but there was suddenly a large, roaring campfire at the centre of their somewhat circle. Toothless closed his mouth disappointed, and started making his pouty face. Starting the fire was usually his job.

Hiccup reached out and gave him a pat to cheer him up- but he wasn't the only one who'd noticed the dragon's crestfallen expression. Sandy frowned at the dragon's unhappiness, and soon some kind of golden- well... it looked like a squirrel, but he wasn't sure- made of (dirt?sand, maybe?) came to life, and started skittering about the cove. Toothless head shot up, and he latched onto and dived straight at it immediately. It was like the first time he chased the reflection off his shield. He was going mad trying to catch it! Not having any success- but having great fun trying!

Hiccup smiled at his joyous warbles and excited grunts. He looked at Sandy, and nodded gratefully at small man, who grinned back. North watched the Night Fury, spinning in a dozen, tight circles before collapsing in a tangled heap of scales, eyes spinning with dizziness. He was back up and chasing it after a quick shake of the head.
"Did I do something wrong?" North asked. Hiccup blinked- he didn't think any of the dragons were paying attention to him or Toothless, but North had noticed the Night Fury's pouty face too?
"It's, er, normally his job to light the fire." He explained.
"Ahh." North said, smiling understandingly- then he suddenly lurched forwards. What the?

North's eyes were suddenly bright with mirth, as he hurriedly coughed, to hide what he assumed would be a laugh. He glanced at Tooth to make sure she hadn't seen, but at the exact same moment he'd lurched forwards, her head snapped furiously up to the sky.
"What did you say?!" She yelled. Sandy's face switched from 'oh no' to sort of wincing, but still smiling, North burst with laughter- and distantly he could hear hysterical laughs through the bond, matching those he could hear from the older Sky Dragon's. Hiccup blinked in confusion, and looked round at the dragons again- wait...where was-?
"ASTE-!" The shout dwindled to silence before he could catch the full word. Wow- Tooth took off even faster than Jack. It took him a while to even realise she was gone.

Finally deciding to get some answers, he reached towards Jack with a questioning thought. His distant laughter grew slightly louder as the connection got stronger. He received several images of an approaching green blur and Bunny's face, clearly displaying some kind of curse word.
'Get comfy, Hic, there's gonna be a show!' He shouted down to him, though it was quietened by distance. But that still didn't tell him what had happened, and Jack was too busy 'finding a good spot and making frost cream' to enjoy the drama unfolding before him.

But the way the others (North and Sandy) reacted, it looked like they knew what had happened.
"Erm- what just happened?" He asked, confused. North stopped his laughter long enough to answer.
"Bunny just called Jack..." He paused abruptly for a moment (doing what, Hiccup wasn't sure), then finished. "Dovehead." He chuckled. Oh- now he got it. It made sense now- Tooth's furious face and Bunny's cursing one- because, if he remembered right (and apparently he did) Tooth took personal offense to any bird insults. Still, a dove? Hardly the most foul of fowl- why not call him a seagull, those were awful.
"How is dove an insult?" He wondered. "They're supposed to be elegant, and represent peace and stuff." He told them. Sandy made a slender female figure above his head. North grinned at small man.
"Exactly." He agreed, turning to Hiccup. "It's a very feminine bird." He chuckled, eyes shining (possibly with tears of laughter). Oh- so basically Bunny just called him a girl (or near enough). How had Tooth heard it, though? They were miles away. Hold on, there was an explanation.

He didn't know why he didn't think of it sooner. It made sense now. The way North paused before he told him the insult. He was the same pause he did when altering or responding to the trustbond. He must've been blocking Tooth out, so she didn't hear him. So they must have a trustbond- but, wait, did that mean they were all linked?
"So, are you guys bonded, then?" He asked, curiously. The dragon nerd in him suddenly realising this was his opportunity to find out more about Sky Dragons (they still enthralled and fascinated him to this day- even after knowing Jack goodness knows how long). And also, this was his chance to find out more about Jack, before he crash landed on Berk.

North nodded.
"Ya." He confirmed. "We've been bonded a good few centuries now." Centuries?! He knew the Sky Dragons could live for over a thousand years, but still! He quietly wondered how old that meant they were, but knew better than to ask. "It's not as strong as a pair bond- we can't hear each other's thoughts, exactly, but we can read each other to a certain degree." He told him. He wrote that down in his mental book of dragons: Sky Dragons can form trustbonds with multiple others, but a pair bonding is the strongest (presumably, the bond grows weaker with every additional link that is formed). Wait, bonded to more than one... Oh.

His heart sank. Jack... Did that mean he was... also bonded to them... He guessed it did...

His heart felt like a lump of solid cement in his chest... Everything he'd shared with Jack- just the two of them... The way he'd made him feel like the only one who understood him, and could cheer him up when he was down. He'd reassure him he meant the world to him- he wasn't just one, little Viking; he was one, little Viking who meant everything to him... and he wouldn't change him for anyone. He'd made him feel unique- that noone had what they had... It felt like all that had been a lie. He guessed it was only him who felt like that. He wasn't the one person who he cared for above all else- that place was shared with, not just one but, four, others.

He guessed he should've expected it. The way he talked about them, and how happy he was when they came to visit... He thought they were just good friends, but now it seems they were more... He guessed, he just wasn't all that special.

Still, he didn't let any of that show- he just looked like he was lost in thought, mulling over what they'd said.
"So that's how he knew you were here." He realised. He remembered the way he paused, tilting his head, just before he flew off to meet them. Obviously, he must've felt them arrive through their bond.
"Hm?" North mumbled, looking puzzled- then, he realised what he meant. "Oh, Jack never bonded to us." He told him. Wait... what? He didn't... He wasn't... So, then, he just caught their scent, or heard them arrive? Relief lifted him from the bog of depression hed been stuck in.

He wasn't bonded to them. He really was the only one who meant everything to him. His other half of his soul. He realised that he was smiling, in spite of himself, but he couldn't stop. He was the only one Jack cared that much about. The most important person in that Sky Dragon's life. Only him. No one else. Just them. Like it was meant to be.

He didn't know why he felt so relieved by that, but he was. He should've known, really. Their bond was obviously stronger than a shared group's- North had just said that. That was kind of stupid of him to jump to conclusions like that. He could almost hear Jack's voice 'you idiot...you really think I'd choose to share my soul with anyone else?' A part of him wondered if he'd actually heard that... but then decided he didn't care.

"We offered, once or twice, but he always refused... We still don't know why. I suppose he just didn't trust people easily back then." North muttered, looking at him in a way that said 'you've helped him out more than you know'. They'd helped each other out, he thought. They'd both definitely gotten stronger because of each other. Sandy showed a-. Wait- what was he trying to say?! What did he mean by that?!
"Mm." North agreed. Mm?! Mm what?! "It takes someone special to get through to his heart."... Oh. That's what that meant. The little sand heart faded from view. Wait- hold up- did they just call him special? They were- he could see it. They were saying: earning he trust from someone as lonely and interesting as Jack is not something just anyone can do- looking straight at him.

He awkwardly looked away from their praise, watching Toothless continue to chase the sand squirrel (which Sandy was still somehow controlling without paying attention)- he wasn't that great.
"I'm not that special- really." He responded. They obviously disagreed, but let him be. "I just saw someone injured in the snow, and went to help." He told them. The two looked at him in new interest.
"Injured?" North repeated, frowning.
"Yeah. After the second time he got attacked by the Nightmare Dragon- erm... evil, black-dragon-things." He clarified, remembering they wouldn't know them as Nightmare Dragons (he'd created that name for them).

North went silent, but Hiccup could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain.
"Oh, that is what you call them." He muttered, absentmindedly. Then he went silent again. "So, this is how he came to be on Bek?" He asked. What? Hiccup thought.
"You didn't know?" He said, puzzled. He'd have thought surely, in the half a year he spent with them before he decided to stay, he would've told them, but North shook his head.
"He does not like to talk of it. He spoke about Berk a great deal- and also about you- but when we ask how he got there... he just avoids the question." He explained. A part of him wondered what Jack had been telling them about him, but he ignored it.

He could understand him not wanting to talk about that... the manner in which he found himself on Berk wasn't the kind of thing that was enjoyable to remember. He felt as though- as his friends- they should know what happened. But if Jack didn't want to tell them- should he? He almost felt like he should be asking permission first, but that was weird. It didn't seem right talking about this kind of thing behind his back, though. North seemed to see what he was thinking.
"I don't think it's that he doesn't want us to know- he just doesn't want to have to recall it." He said, a silent request in his words: 'please tell us what happened'. He completely agreed with him- it would almost be doing him a favour- but he still felt unsure.

"How about this?" North suggested. "You tell us how Jack ended up on Berk, and we'll tell you something you want to know about him. A story for a story." He offered. Hiccup considered it... should he? He was curious to know about several things- but, then, he pretty much knew what Jack had been like back then- wait! One thing suddenly sprung to mind. Something he'd been puzzled about ever since he found out the Sky Dragons survived. He made his decision.

"Tell me what happened with the battle with the nightmare dragons, five years ago, and I'll tell you what happened afterwards." He told them.