Makes me feel pretty awesome to know that I got away with surprising y'all that Spitelout was the "big" planned death, hehe. Originally it was actually going to be Snotlout... but you'll see why I changed that up in later chapters.
Pewter: Haha, thanks xD I was pretty certain it was Fungus, but seeing it Mungus in other stories threw me off.
EnderMoon: Aw, thanks so much! And I'm glad you think that way of Hella. I was a bit worried about using her at first, I'm not big on OCs, but I needed someone to help Alvin out after that first battle. Hopefully she'll be an epic side-villain (as stated before, I'm not going to let her overshadow Alvin but she will get more run-time than a background character).
Just me: Not sure about the names... Probably because the show has a (for the most part) young audience, so they're sticking to easy names that kids will understand. But I can only guess xD That whole, uh, rant about sides and all just gave me a headache, haha! But I think I get what you're saying. Yeah, I've been thinking about how, eventually, the dragons will probably run into friends/family, but that's part of the reason why I'm trying to not let this story turn into an extremely extended war or anything. And I've limited the outcasts' dragons to smaller numbers so that it's less likely... But maybe I could throw one in for a twist? I'll think about it since I'm not fully done with the outline of the second battle, yet. And maybe I will do a Hiccup and Spitelout story one day 8D As for Fang, I figured that he has a small inkling (it's kind of hard not to see that Snotlout was mad at Hiccup) of what happened, but not completely. However, dogs and cats have a very short grudge-range so I figured Fang could kind of represent that, too. To help show Snotlout it's not all about being angry, but forgiving. And, uhm, wow... I think I covered all your questions/comments... I think xD
Super shout outs of thanks to my other reviewers, KaliAnn, LifeAfterYou21, SonicBeastHedgehog, Anony Mouse, storygirl, and NadderWolf. Also to my Anons and Guest reviewers! (:
As said before, this is a flashback chapter (sort of a double flashback... first one from their teen years and second from when Hiccup was five years old).
Valhallarama is in it, as well as many of the other adults. I don't know exactly what they were like as teens so just keep in mind that this is all my own imagination. I am writing this for FANFICTION after all, haha. The only characters I even somewhat own are Blisteria, Hella, and Blood Cry. And normally I try not to be lazy and I write out full names (Ruffnut as opposed to just Ruff), but Val's name is too complicated... So I'm afraid I might just be writing Val most of the time...
Also, a quick note... Though in the TV show and based off the story in Legend of the Boneknapper, it seems as if Gobber almost didn't come to Berk until he was older (Stoick said the first thing he said to Gobber was, "That's my wife you're talking to" so they were obviously older)... I'm going to ignore that.
Sorry, last thing... I apologize for the length it took to write this. I had two papers to write for classes and they sort of killed my creativity for a bit. This chapter might be messy but I'll be back in the swing of it soon!
Chapter Ten: The Outcasted
"Stop it, Stoick! Ah, let go of my head!"
"What's wrong, Spite? Can't face the fierceness of the head noogie?"
Spitelout flailed his arms, his head locked in the curve of Stoick's left elbow. The elder of the two was rubbing his fist vigorously over the top of Spitelout's head, messing up his dark hair and causing his younger brother to wince in pain. Stoick was only older by four years, being eighteen to Spitelout's fourteen, but Spitelout was still nearly his size as both trained together constantly. Even though they looked evenly matched, Stoick was the stronger of the two, and trapping his poor brother in a noogie was a favorite pastime of his.
Spitelout tried to pull his head free. "I'd rather face a couple Deadly Nightmares!"
Stoick released his brother and Spitelout stumbled back. The younger boy reached up and rubbed the top of his head tenderly, groaning softly. It was sore now, throbbing dully along the top of his skull. He tried to comb some of his short black strands to the side, but now they were caught in a tangled mass.
"Look what you did to my hair, Stoick."
Stoick boomed a laughter, shaking his head at his brother and turning to lead the way out of the house. They had just finished breakfast and had the day off from training. Their father had all ready left for the day to go about his chiefly duties. Their mother was cleaning the plates up. She glanced over at them as they made their way from the house, calling back goodbyes to her as they stepped out into the open.
The sunlight sparkled against the layer of snow that spread out across the land before them. The brilliant white crystals gleamed with such an intensity that it nearly blinded Stoick and Spitelout as they stepped out from the darkness of their house. Spitelout rubbed his eyes, feeling them ache with the sheer beauty of the outside world. Although snow for Berk was as common as Blacksmiths with fires burning, it still gave an ethereal feeling to the village. So long as it wasn't a blizzard. Today was no exception, with rooftops blending in to their surroundings, people treading about, and yet, the sun raining down its light as if attempting to drive away the cold, but failing. The sound of the ocean was even audible through the soft quietness of the village, like it was hushed due to the weight of the frozen landscape.
The soft crunching of feet stepping along the path at the bottom of their front yard made Stoick and Spitelout turn to peer at who it was. Dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A couple loose strands of bangs hung down around the smooth face of Valhallarama, her eyes staring at the path beneath her feet to make sure she wouldn't slip. Though sweet with a smile and lips that seemed they never frowned, the girl was muscular for a female. Despite this display of power from her body, she still had the curves of a woman and truly was stunning to behold. She was also Stoick's girlfriend.
"Val!" Stoick called, waving his right hand up in the air to catch her attention.
Val's head snapped up and she squinted at them from below. She had known who it was from as soon as she heard the voice, but she still looked up at them with a quiet intensity, as if gauging them. Stoick's strong body and thickening beard, which was growing larger by the day and Spitelout's mop of hair and stubble made them seem almost like opposites just by looks. She smiled after only a couple seconds and returned the wave by shaking her fishing rod in the air, signaling them that they were welcome to join her.
Stoick nodded and darted back inside. He returned in a flash, gripping his own rod and Spitelout's. He tossed his brother's at him and Spitelout just managed to catch it. He breathed with relief that he didn't break it in his mad attempt to grasp it, but then noticed that Stoick had all ready made it to the bottom of the hill and was greeting Val once more. Spitelout looked from the spot where Stoick was just standing to where he was then and blinked. Since when could his brother move so fast?
Stumbling down to the two, he wandered up with a goofy grin on his face, watching his older brother converse with his sweetheart always made Spitelout's heart melt because the two were so cute together... in that large Viking sort of way. Val was chuckling lightly at something Stoick had said.
"Laughing? You must be more in love than I thought if you actually think Stoick is funny," Spitelout teased.
Stoick snatched up Spitelout's helmet and scooped snow into it before jamming it back down on his brother's head. Spitelout cried out in alarm, feeling the slush hit the top of his head. He winced from the chill but then laughed. "You know, that makes my head feel better from your noogie!"
Val raised an eyebrow at Stoick. "You still give him noogies?"
"He's my brother," Stoick shrugged. "Anyways, where we off to?"
"Black Heart Bay. I'm meeting Blisteria, Hoark, and Phlegma there, but the more the merrier."
"Really then? Let me go fetch Gobber. I bet he'd like to join us."
Val smiled gently. "I can't believe we didn't think to ask him."
"I can't believe you didn't ask us," Stoick jabbed.
"Maybe I was on my way up to do that."
Spitelout shoved his way in between the two. "Sure didn't look that way."
Val winked. "Guess you'll never know now, will you?"
This response left both Stoick and Spitelout a little frustrated, not that the real answer mattered much, anyways. Even if Val wasn't going to invite them, that didn't suddenly change their whole friendship or anything. No, they'd be friends for years to come, they all knew that. Being enemies would be too much trouble since the island was so small. Plus, they all ready had their enemies. Speaking of which...
"I'm going to go ask Hella if she'd like to join," Spitelout announced.
Val and Stoick groaned, casting each other wary glances. Val gave Stoick a look that seemed to say 'stop your brother' and Stoick was quick to jump on it, turning to Spitelout and demanding why he would ask the she-devil.
Spitelout frowned. "She's my friend."
That was a hard statement to argue. Just because Stoick, Val, and the whole rest of the village didn't like the girl, there wasn't much they could do to stop Spitelout from being her friend. Feeling defeated, Stoick grumbled into the air, his beard quivering with the slight anger at being unable to stop his brother from asking the female to join them. Hopefully, if they were lucky, she would be busy with anything else.
"I'll go get Gobber," Stoick announced, then went off to fetch his friend.
Spitelout went in another direction, heading to Hella's house. As he neared it, he gazed the building over. Recently rebuilt from a dragon attack, it was made of fresh wood and currently held no scorch marks. It seemed almost perfect next to the rest of the houses. He tapped on the door, knowing it didn't take much for anyone to hear when their door's were being knocked on. Most houses only had about three or four rooms, after all.
The door creaked open and Hella's father peered out. His eyes settled on Spitelout, looking almost threatening. He snarled, moving away from the door and pounding into the shadows. Hella appeared a moment later, seeming puzzled before she noticed who it was. Seeing Spitelout, she smiled gently, her normally rigid face relaxing. Spitelout felt a twinge of sorrow for the girl. No one else knew what he did about her. Or, to be more precise, about her father. The man was a cruel brute, merciless. He pushed Hella harder than Spitelout and Stoick's father had ever even considered pushing them... and he pushed them to some pretty harsh limits. He wanted her to become the chief's wife which meant he was constantly screaming at her to get with Stoick and remove Val from the picture. Hella refused. She didn't love Stoick.
Spitelout had come close to wanting to tell his father or Stoick or someone about Hella's predicament. He knew she wouldn't take kindly to that, though. She had told him plenty that she wanted to get through this herself and that she would be fine. She didn't want his pity or anyone's pity. So Spitelout held back, thinking that maybe one day she'd realize what needed to be done.
"We're going fishing. Want to come?" he finally asked.
Hella's hazel eyes trained back inside the house. She seemed to be scoping something out before they stopped, clearly finding what she was looking for. She turned back to him and nodded before slipping into the darkness of the room, leaving Spitelout standing out on the porch in the brightness of day. When she returned, she held up her fishing pole to show him what she had gone to retrieve.
They left, not saying anything more to each other, heading to the trail to meet back up with Val and Stoick.
"Isn't it a bit too cold for fish?" Phlegma asked, staring into the crystal waters of Black Heart Bay like the answer was hiding within the watery depths.
Val laughed. "Fish around here are used to cold. Plus, it's only the start of the worst season of winter, meaning the water hasn't gotten as cold as the air yet."
Phlegma knelt down and dipped a finger in the water. She pulled it back out like lightning, yelping. "It's freezing!"
Everyone chuckled, Hoark reaching into the fish basket next to him and chucking a fish at her. It smacked her in the back of the head before sliding down her neck, its slime rubbing off into her hair and on her skin. She snatched it off and wheeled around, dropping her fishing rod and tossing the fish back. Hoark, who had been too busy laughing to notice her reaction, was soon wiping the slime of the fish off his face before picking it up from the ground to put it back in the basket. He spat out some of the goo with disgust, shaking his head.
"I suppose I deserved that," he stated.
Phlegma winked before getting back to fishing.
Gobber, Stoick, and Val were sitting off to the side, taking a break. So far they had been the only ones to even catch any fish. Hoark didn't have a fishing rod so he guarded the baskets while Phlegma, Blisteria, Spitelout, and Hella continued to try and reel something in. Nothing. Spitelout groaned in obvious frustration, his eyes hardening as he looked at the water.
"This is dumb," Hella grunted.
For once, she had people agreeing with her.
The bay rippled, water sloshing along the edges of the shore. The land was quiet aside from the plunging of the waterfall. It caused a cool, misty spray to settle over the area, chilling the teens despite them being used to the familiar cold. The sunlight jumped about from all the drops in the air like it was searching for the perfect spot to sit but just couldn't stay still. It made the bay look like it was glowing. The air was moist from the spray, yet dry to the throat because of the frigid temperature. Shivers rippled up and down the spines of the teens who were starting to wrack their brains for a warmer idea.
Footsteps approaching from up the path caught their attention and heads craned to see who was coming. As soon as the figure was in sight, a collective groan rose up from among the teens. They all tried to refocus their attention elsewhere, but the newcomer was determined to not be ignored.
"You are all idiots. Why you're fishing right now I'll never know. You could be doing something more productive. Like training to fight dragons even on our day off. Like me," Alvin smirked, flexing his right arm and grinning stupidly.
No one was impressed.
Alvin was small. He was only a bit bigger than what one might consider a hiccup. He wasn't muscular was his main problem. He was, all in all, just a rather wimpy looking boy. He showed signs of potential but, for now, he just looked average. Hoark, who was the smallest of the men gathered at about one third Stoick's size, looked like he could take the other boy out with his pinky. He hadn't even started showing facial hair and he was sixteen. A late bloomer, some tried to say. Stoick and the others just said he deserved to be pathetic since his attitude was so rotten.
"Go away, Alvin. No one invited you," Gobber groaned, falling onto his back to stair up at the sky.
Val looked over with a look of disinterest, "You don't look like you're training to fight dragons right now."
"Well, I was," Alvin retorted, placing his fists on his hips and trying to peer down smugly at Val.
Blisteria sighed, speaking up for the first time in a while, "Well then go back to it and leave us to do what we want to do."
"Fishing? You've caught, what, one barrel of fish? It's past midday all ready, you're helping no one you idiots."
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped calling us idiots," Spitelout tried to put in.
Alvin sauntered on up to Spitelout, who was still fishing. Putting on a pouty fish, Alvin proceeded to whine, "Aw, did I hurt the little Spitey Witey's feelings?"
"Shut up, Alvin, before I hurt something of yours," Hella threatened, her voice slipping through the air like ice. Her eyes were narrowed and they seemed almost to darken despite the blinding daylight.
Alvin backed away some, throwing up his hands as if in defense. "So you'll all invite the beast but you won't invite me?"
"Thought you were too cool to go fishing?" Hoark challenged.
"Hella isn't a beast," Spitelout snapped, tossing his rod to the side and spinning to face Alvin completely.
Spitelout could see fear ebb in Alvin's eyes. The boy knew full well that he was no match for anyone there and that he was starting to push his luck. He seemed to enjoy annoying everyone to their breaking points, however, and since he still hadn't gotten Phlegma, Gobber, Stoick, Blisteria, and Val riled up enough, he decided to keep going. He moved to a safe distance away from Spitelout before shrugging his shoulders and pretending to be gazing at clouds in the sky that didn't exist. "That's not what everyone else says."
Hella snarled, now tossing her own rod to the side. It clattered along the hard dirt bank of the shore. She started to march towards Alvin but Spitelout reached out and held her firm, trying to keep her from doing something she'd regret. As much as he wanted to turn Alvin inside out, he knew their father wouldn't approve of any of them beating up the weaker boy.
Realizing he had this won, Alvin meandered over to Stoick, Val, and Gobber seated on the ground.
"Hey, Val. You still dating that guy? Why? He's dumber than an ox."
Stoick jumped to his feet, fists tightening. He towered over Alvin, who did his best not to flinch away. Leaning in close to Alvin's face, Stoick chuckled. "If you're the smart one here, why are you making such poor choices? Why, when I'm chief, no puny runt like you will exist in this village, especially not one with a mouth like yours."
"Alvin, just go home," Blisteria suggested calmly, trying to regain a sense of reasonableness among the group.
Alvin seethed. "What if I don't want to? Maybe I want to stay here!"
"Well then I guess we're leaving. Lets go take the fish back," Gobber announced, standing to his feet and stretching out, cracking his knuckles.
Alvin was about to scream. His face heated to such a point that he looked like lava would come spewing out of his eats. As far as anyone was concerned he had always been a jerk. It was probably because he felt the need to prove himself, being smaller, but his way of proving himself was more annoying to everyone else than it was to helping his cause. In fact, most of the time, it just made people look even lower upon him. His personality was what got him hated in the town as opposed to Hella, who was just known to have a rather bestial temper. While no one necessarily wanted to put up with her, they could. Alvin? No one ever wanted to.
Hoark lugged the basket up. Stoick started to lead the way back towards the village, Val and Gobber falling into step alongside him. Hoark and Phlegma filed behind them while Spitelout, Blisteria, and Hella took the rear. Alvin stood fuming for a couple minutes before charging after them. He came up along behind them and started cursing hotly at them all. No one paid him any mind, delving into their own conversations.
Hella couldn't seem to take it. Her anger kicked in at one point and she suddenly halted, spinning around, kicking up dirt. Her blond hair whipped around, nearly smacking Spitelout in the face as he turned to see what was happening. Before he could register anything, he saw Hella's fist hit Alvin in the stomach. The boy gasped from the loss of breath and pain before toppling backwards. He clutched his abdomen, wincing wildly as he sucked back in oxygen.
"Hella!" Stoick roared, wheeling about and charging to her. He stepped in front of her, green eyes blazing with a fury. "You shouldn't have done that!"
"So?" Hella asked snidely.
Stoick growled lowly. "You will never hurt a fellow villager without good reason. Not in my father's tribe and certainly not in mine!"
"I think him being annoying was good enough reason."
"Yes, he is annoying, but that isn't how you handle those kinds of situations."
"You don't control me, Stoick," Hella muttered darkly.
Stoick shifted and when he spoke, his words dripped of a venom that made Spitelout's heart sink. "Not yet."
Stoick shouldered his way back to the lead.
"Stoick, wait," Spitelout tried to talk to his brother, but the older boy refused and just went on.
The others followed diligently. Blisteria cast Spitelout a sorrowed glanced before she hurried to keep up. Spitelout turned to Hella, his stomach clenching as he looked at his friend. He then glanced at Alvin, who was still writing about on the ground. After a couple moments, the boy regained himself and he stumbled to his feet before taking off in a sprint to avoid anything else Hella might have for him.
Spitelout and Hella then walked on together, Spitelout searching for the words to try and ease Hella. He had done it once before. That was how he got her to admit to him about everything that happened with her father. It was how they had become relatively stable friends. He couldn't seek anything out, however, and so he just trudged alongside her in quietness. The sun was sinking and, as evening approached, the light of the snow began to dim and shadows began to crawl their way around. By the time they reached the village, the sky was pale, the light just below the horizon, and stars dotted the night expanse.
Then a roar laced its way through the buildings. People stopped what they were doing and the teens all froze in their tracks, huddling together as they looked up into the air in search of the source. Eyes narrowed and bodies tensed, hair standing on end. Spitelout felt a ripple of fear pass through Blisteria, who was next to him since he and Hella had caught up. The girl was a year younger and the newest in the dragon fighting class with Hoark. She shuffled closer to Spitelout and he glanced at her face, which seemed nervous.
"Children! Get to your posts, its a raid!" a sudden cry emitted.
A shriek burst through the air and fire exploded around them.
Stoick grabbed his brother and Blisteria. He dashed across the land, pulling them along behind him. He pulled them into the Blacksmith's workshop. Gobber joined them only a moment after with Hoark. They all ducked under a table as fire came raining down in streams. The chaos broke out in those moments and the teens found it easier to wait until something was organized before they were supposed to go about trying to put out fires.
"Where's Val, Phlegma, Alvin, and Hella?" Blisteria asked.
Stoick didn't even look at her as he spoke, his eyes unmoving from the sky. "They went to get our buckets."
Vikings charged back and forth, screeching battle cries and waving weapons in the air. Dragons cried out into the air, the world burning with noise from all around. Fire spread along the land, igniting anything that stood in its path.
The teens peered through the rising smoke and fiery glaze to try and find the other teens. Soon, four forms came bumbling on over, carrying empty pails. One of Alvin's toppled to the ground but Val, who had been ushering them all along from behind, scooped down and hoisted it under her left arm with surprising grace.
Stoick, Spitelout, Blisteria, Gobber, and Hoark crawled out and raced out to meet their friends, accepting their tools. They moved as a mass to the giant barrel that was filled with water and began to fill their buckets one at a time. At some point during the chaos, Hella hid her bucket and then slipped into the madness. Only Stoick noticed and he watched her vanish with narrowed eyes, suspicion whispering softly to him to follow her. So he did.
"Spite, I'll be right back," Stoick informed his brother, knowing that Spitelout would be the one to not question him.
He was right and Spitelout said nothing, just nodded and began to lug his water off to the nearest fire.
Stoick struggled to find Hella again. By the time he did, he would regret having not found her sooner. He watched as she ran up to a child who was trying to get home. The kid, caught off guard, didn't even have time to protest as Hella scooped him up, pretending to be taking him to safety. At first, Stoick thought this was what she was doing, but he was proven wrong. She was pounding on over to a house that a Hideous Zippleback was crawling over. The two headed creature had one head sticking inside a window, obviously searching for anything of interest. Hella yanked open the front door and then slung the kid inside with a mighty force. Stoick could hear the kid's scream of distress from where he stood and his heart jumped to his throat.
Hella called out to someone, her father. She pointed into the house and stepped back as the man jogged over and looked inside. He must have seen the kid because he ducked inside in a hurry. Hella glanced around, eyes scanning the world about her with a dark glow, then took that moment to get away. Stoick, fear running through his body, tried to kick himself into motion, thinking maybe there was something he could do. In the back of his mind, he knew quite well that there was nothing. He watched green smoke come shooting out the door and windows, the head that sprayed the gas yanking out. The other head sparked, flames dancing from between its teeth and around its tongue.
Just one spark, and the house shattered.
"Hella," the chief bellowed as the village gathered around.
Stoick stood before his father, downcast from what he had witnessed. He had to tell his father. He couldn't let Hella get away with what she did. So as soon as the battle was over, he had found his father and spilled everything he had seen. He had been scared to do it. He was accusing Hella of treason and he didn't have much proof outside of his word. If she continually denied it and no one else had noticed then Stoick would be shamed upon and Hella would probably try to exact her revenge on him for trying to get her in trouble.
Hella approached. Her face was ashen from the battle. It hadn't lasted long and so the night sky still hung over the village like an umbrella. The people gathered around looked eerie as torches were the only things shedding light now in the dead of the night. Grim faces smeared with black, wounds and cuts dripping crimson blood, and the quietness of the people created an atmosphere of cold reality. Hella stood before the chief.
Stoick's father was breathing heavily, clearly enraged. While Hella had always been brutal and mean, no one, not even the chief, had ever expected to hear her doing of such a thing. She had always at least seemed trustworthy and loyal to the village. The man glanced at Stoick and then found Spitelout, who was standing a ways off, surrounded by Gobber, Val, Phlegma, Hoark, Alvin, and Bisteria. The face of Stoick's brother looked concerned and upset, wondering why Hella was being called forth in front of the entirety of the village. Stoick almost felt bad to be doing this only because his brother trusted her.
"Hella, did you throw a child into a home being attacked by a Zippleback?"
No response. Hella didn't even flinch.
"Did you then call your dad over to go in and retrieve the child?"
Still nothing. The village was now murmuring softly, surprise at the accusations clear in the reactions of the people.
"Hella, if you don't have anything to say I can't do anything but charge you for treason," the chief muttered.
Hella's eyes widened with a sudden fear as she seemed to finally recognize the situation she was in. The fear vanished in a split second, however, only to be replaced with a pure hatred. An anger so clear that it baffled Stoick upon seeing it. She stepped forward, stomping heavily on the ground with one foot before finally giving her say, "He deserved it!"
"Who deserved it?" the chief asked.
Hella laughed in despair like it should have been obvious. "My father! That damn man had it coming to him! Do you know what he did to me?"
Now the chief remained silent.
"He beat me. He wanted me to marry your son, Stoick. When I refused he beat me some more. He pushed me to do things I doubt even you have tried. I should be dead. If it wasn't for that wretched man deciding to spare my life at the last second, I would be nothing but a body buried in the earth right now."
"Your father was one of my best men," the chief reminded her.
Hella wheeled around to face Spitelout. "Tell your father. Tell him!"
Spitelout looked at her with an expression of flabbergasted. He seemed to pale and he took a step back like he was finally seeing a monster for the first time. He glanced at the people beside him and then turned to his father. Spitelout nodded slightly in agreement to Hella's words, but his feelings didn't seem genuine.
"Spite, what are you doing?" Hella questioned, voice seeming to crack with a sudden new feeling- betrayed.
Spitelout looked at her. His eyes cut deep with hurt and he seemed to deflate as he spoke to her. "Your father was a horrible man, Hella. But that doesn't justify murder... especially not to an innocent child."
That was the deal breaker. No one could argue. Especially once that parents of the child were found. Their cries sounded hollow in the empty air as they grieved over the loss of their son. They screeched at Hella in agony, demanding to know why she would do such a thing to get rid of her father. The chief frowned at her and shook his head. He informed her quietly that she should have approached him and not have kept it a secret. They could have solved it. It was too late now. The deed was done.
Hella was banished from the island.
Spitelout stood at the docks, watching the tiny boat she was allowed to take drifting away. They had forced her to leave almost immediately, but it had taken the rest of the night to gather food and what was left of her belongings so that she wasn't just sent straight to her death. Stoick came up alongside him, watching the form vanishing through the fog of morning rolling over the sweeping sea. He apologized softly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, but knew it wouldn't help.
Spitelout hadn't loved Hella. But he had cared for her as a friend. He had only wished she would have seen others that same way.
"Stoick."
Stoick stood, turning to see who had addressed him. It was a bland day. The clouds were drawn over the sky like a curtain, hiding the sun from view and giving the world a grey look. Everything seemed to hold an essence of shadow to it, seeming much darker than it normally was. It spoke forebodingly of a raid. Stoick couldn't help but believe that the sinking feeling in the back of his stomach about it was true. He felt the need to get prepared. He'd been commanding orders all morning left and right. He could tell many of the others were getting annoyed, but he continued to persist. Val had sought him out and tried to soothe him, but he was too antsy. He hadn't been a chief for long and the first couple raids under his rule hadn't gone as well as he hoped. His tactics weren't turning out quite like he planned, but now he felt he finally had it down.
"Gobber, good to see you," Stoick breathed, a rush of relief escaping his lips to see his friend. "The weapons are ready?"
Gobber nodded, the blacksmith smiling, his fake tooth flashing at Stoick. "Everything's good to go."
"The torches?"
"Ready to be lit."
Stoick grinned with pleasure. "Excellent. I needed some good news."
"What's the bad news?"
"Our houses will still burn down if fire hits them, Alvin's being his typical horrible self, and people are sick of me telling them things to do."
Gobber blinked, "What all could you possibly be having them do?"
"Setting up traps, getting supplies, fishing, making sure kids are prepared..."
Gobber shook his head at his friend. His eyes rolled though Stoick didn't see, the man turning and pacing about. He stopped suddenly, looking up and snapping his head around. "Where's Spite?"
"I think he went to check up on Blisteria, Val, and the children," Gobber mused.
Stoick stalked past Gobber brusquely. The wind of the chief moving by Gobber made his mustache sway and he reached up to steady the tendrils before sighing. Stoick was more uptight than he had ever seen the man. Everyone trusted him as a leader, he had proven himself, but he was determined that nothing he had done was good enough so far. If only the man would see that everything would be all right. Even his son... hopefully.
"Val!" Stoick called when he saw his wife, marching over to her.
The woman turned, tilting her head just enough to see Stoick approaching. She sighed warily, hearing the agitation in his voice but confused as to why. She turned to fully face him, clutching their son close to her. The boy pouted and then grumbled something under his breath as the man approached. Val knew instantly that her son was worried that Stoick was coming to yell at him. It seemed a tradition and Hiccup had grown used to the tone of voice Stoick would have when he was agitated with him. Only five years old and he all ready understood his father's anger more than his love. It made Val's heart break.
Setting Hiccup down, Val looked over to her husband. "What is it, Stoick?"
"Where's Spite?"
Val was relieved. So Stoick wasn't mad at Hiccup. She couldn't determine why he could have possibly been mad at the boy when he hadn't even tried anything today. So far...
"I don't know, Stoick. He was here a couple of minutes ago but he took Blisteria and Snotlout off. Maybe they went home."
"He's supposed to be gathering the men," Stoick grunted.
Val folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the chief. "Stoick, raids aren't until night, you know that. We've had only two in all of Berk's history happen during the day. There's still a couple hours before the sun even touches the horizon. You need to relax."
"I can't, Val, I feel it in my gut. Something is going to happen."
"Maybe you just need to sneeze."
Stoick didn't seem too fond of the joke. His attention snapped to her, looking aggravated. His fingers curled as he tried to search for words to say as opposed to smashing his fist on the nearest object. He reached up and grabbed at his massive beard, feeling the strands slip under his fingernails as he clenched at it to rid himself of some of the anger. After a couple deep breaths, he centered himself and released his beard. "I'm serious, Val..."
Val's face fell. She had been trying to convince herself for a majority of the day that Stoick was just seeming paranoid, but perhaps he was on to something. She had never seen him quite as fidgety as he was right now and it was starting to get to her, she didn't want him to feel the way he was right now. If what he was feeling was correct, though, then maybe they all needed to be a bit more serious right now. So she sucked down a breath and nodded, turning and bending down to Hiccup.
"Hiccup, why don't you head on home now," she suggested softly, trying on a sweet smile.
Hiccup seemed confused. The small boy cocked his head, squinting his eyes at his mother. They were a bright green, like his father's. His mussy hair was red tinged, but would grow more brown as he got older, she could tell. He was scrawny, though. Nothing like her and Stoick. It pained to admit to herself but she was even smaller than even Alvin had been at this age. That didn't bode well. In fact, Alvin was on top of making sure Stoick understood this. Though the man was no longer the little wimp he once was. Over the years, something must have happened or his training finally kicked in for him because now he was only a little bit smaller than Stoick. He couldn't take on the man, yet, but he had become powerful. Val couldn't help but feel, looking at her son, that he wouldn't be able to become strong like Alvin somehow had managed. He pursed his lips, then asked, "Why?"
Val chuckled softly as if he had said something funny, only causing him to look even more puzzled. She reached out, turning him around with her hands and pushing him in the direction of the house. "Just go, son. Wait there and don't you leave. Do. Not. Leave. Do you understand me?"
Hiccup looked over his shoulder, sucking his upper lip in as he fought to keep the protests from coming out. Instead, he finally nodded, "Yes, mom."
As the little boy started towards the house, Val stood back up straight and looked over at Stoick with a firm gaze. He smiled a thanks, making her feel a little bit lighter knowing she had made him even the slightest bit happier. She motioned for him to follow her and they started to head to Spitelout's house. As they moved through the village, she watched people rushing this way and that. Spitelout lived in a house not far off from their's, in the center of the village. Stoick was chief, so he kept the chief house on the hill, but his brother was nearby just in case anything was needed. Gobber, too.
Stoick rapped on the door, then waited. After a couple seconds, the door swung open and Spitelout stood in the doorway, blinking. When he saw his brother and Val, he grinned, welcoming them inside.
Stoick waved a hand.
"No, Spite, I thought I told you to get the men ready. What are you doing here?" Stoick demanded.
Spitelout wasn't phased at all by the soft dripping of anger in Stoick's voice. He snorted softly, leaning against the doorframe and shaking his head. "I told them all to be prepared, but most of them went off laughing. Raids don't happen until night, Stoick."
Stoick's gaze found its way to the clouds as a low rumble skidded over them. He narrowed his eyes, face tightening. Val and Spitelout trained their eyes the same way, knowing that it couldn't have possibly been thunder. Stoick stepped off from the porch, still looking up. Val and Spitelout joined him and the three stood at the base of the steps leading to Spitelout's house, staring up in confusion. Another rumble, louder, but seeming to echo. Like multiple growls at once.
"That's not thunder," Val muttered.
Spitelout's face paled and Stoick turned to face him with a half look of triumph while the other half was grim.
"Dragons!" Spitelout breathed, turning and running up into the house. "Blisteria, get Snotlout to safety! We're having a day raid!"
He didn't wait to hear Blisteria's response, turning and fleeing towards the village to gather the men while Stoick pounded after him. Val took a couple steps in the other direction, then turned and peered up towards her own home. "Hiccup!"
She fled up the hill and threw open the door. She gazed around, but the house was empty. Only the shriek of a dragon responded to her cry. She turned and bolted back down the steps, heading for the Blacksmith's shop, which just so happen to be run by Gobber. Hiccup had grown a liking to the place and was constantly there messing around with tools and whatnot. Hopefully, since he had clearly disobeyed her orders, he had decided to go and see Gobber. She approached the shop as the man was pulling out a large wagon of weapons. People were beginning to gush around the village, seeking out axes and swords. She shoved through a couple, then met eyes with Gobber. Her heart clenched with worry, but he nodded and motioned his head towards the building just as the first dragon came swooping down from the clouds, eyes blazing.
Inside, Val found Hiccup sitting near the fireplace, fitting a stone into a band.
"Hiccup! How dare you disobey me! Come now, lets get back to the house. The center of the village is no place for you right now," she commanded, bending down to try and pick him up.
Hiccup rolled from her grasp and stood, holding up his possession like a prize. He was grinning, his funny little grin so cheery on his face despite the battle breaking out just outside.
"Look! I made a weapon I can use against the dragons! I can help you fight, mom! See! I don't need to be big and strong!"
Val looked at the little slingshot in his hands. That thing only had enough firepower to probably crush a couple bugs. A dragon would barely feel it. She almost laughed at his cute attempt to join the fight, but held it back. She needed to show him this was serious. Bending down, she shook her head, grabbing his shoulders with her hands. "No, Hiccup. Even if you were as big as Snotlout, you're still too young to fight. Not even he can, yet, okay. One day but not today."
The five year old seemed to grow older in those moments. "You don't think I'll even be able to fight dragons."
"Hiccup, I strongly believe you have the power to change lives. But the day for you to use that power is not today. One day, sweetie, please."
Hiccup resigned himself and let Val lift him up. She burst out of the Blacksmith shop and began to dodge her way through the fire and people to get Hiccup to a safer place. The dragons hardly ever went for their house on the hill and, even if they did, Hiccup knew the escape route to take so she felt more comfortable with him there. She didn't count on him still planning on defeating a dragon before the day was done.
She held him in a way that allowed him freedom to move his arms. He crawled up, able to lean his body over her shoulder, holding himself by pressing his torso close. He held up the slingshot, squinting his eyes, tongue sticking out slightly as he shifted his aim around. Upon spotting a Gronckle about to zip nearby, he released the tension of the band he was holding back. The thing snapped and the rock went sailing. Only it wasn't near powerful enough to reach the Gronckle.
Instead, it ended up smacking a Viking male who was getting ready to throw a bola. Caught off guard, he slung it in the wrong direction. Hiccup watched it sail overhead and Val came to stop, letting out a groan when she realized what just happened. She let Hiccup twist in her arms to watch the weapon head straight for one of the catapults just at the edge of the village center. Val couldn't even have her eyes open as he weapon made a collision. It wasn't big enough to knock out the catapult or anything, but it knocked the current projectile's direction off course. The large boulder took to the air, blending in with the grey sky before drilling down into a house, splintering it before it burst through to hit another house and then settled.
Hiccup sat in his mother's arms, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, unable to figure out what had just gone wrong with his plan. Val, meanwhile, didn't need to have her eyes open to hear Stoick.
"Hiccup!"
The little boy ducked down, burying his face in his mother's shoulder. That wasn't even the end. The whole ordeal seemed to have grabbed the attention of most of the villagers. In that moment, the dragons took their chance, sweeping up sheep and cattle before bursting into the air, crying out triumphantly and vanishing into the thick smoke of the clouds.
Stoick was charging towards them, face red and ears nearly releasing streams of steam. His nostrils flared as he approached, trying to contain his anger, but it wasn't working. He stopped a couple feet away, pacing back and forth for a moment before stopping and glaring down at his son, who feebly looked up from his mother's shoulder.
"Stoick," Val said softly, eyes opening and begging for her husband to relax.
Stoick seemed to find some sort of solace in Val's creamy eyes and the tension in his body seemed to melt away. "Hiccup, what did you do?"
"I was just trying to help-"
"That was not the way to help, Hiccup."
"But I can help you guys fight dragons," Hiccup whined.
Stoick seethed, "Hiccup, you're five, you're not old enough."
"Well if I don't prove it to you now I'll never get to help! I hear you and Uncle talking. You don't think I will ever be a Viking."
Val's heart broke. She couldn't believe her five year old son would feel and know such things. She bit her lip, feeling as if a chill was lacing through the air. Did the clouds grow darker?
Stoick seemed just as taken aback. His heavy breathing echoed through the air as villagers began to peek over. Gobber slowly approached, worried he was interfering in something. But he was suddenly shoved out of the way as a new figure appeared. A bulky man with a growing black beard and dark, hatred filled eyes. Alvin sneered and came up to Stoick, laughing.
"Not going to let a bunch of puny runts grow up in your village, are you?" Alvin laughed. "What do you call your son, Stoick?"
"Shut up, Alvin," Stoick commanded, poison dripping in his tone.
Alvin refused, "You have made the biggest mistake of your life, Stoick. You're nothing but a hypocrite. You curse me for years when I was a weakling, wanting me gone, and now you won't do it when you actually have the power to get rid of the little spit!"
"Alvin," Val growled, surprised the man would suggest such a thing. Hiccup shivered in her arms.
"Alvin, he is my son," Stoick hissed.
Alvin stomped the ground, "So just because he's your son he gets special rights? That doesn't seem fair, Stoick."
Stoick didn't have anything to respond, though his mouth hung open with the urge to say something.
Alvin began to laugh. "There's only one way to fix this, Stoick. You need to hold true to your word. Your son's a puny wimp. He needs to die."
Gobber stepped forward now and Stoick moved in front of Val and Hiccup. The air seemed to freeze. No breeze stirred and silence enveloped the world as the last of the fires were put out. It seemed the clouds even shaded more, the shadows deepening on the faces of the people gathered in the center village.
Alvin threw the first punch. Stoick just managed to hold up an arm to take the brute of the force. He launched his own swipe back at the man. It collided with Alvin's jaw and forced his head to snap to one side. The man's lip split and he launched a glob of red at Stoick's chest. The chief looked at it in disgust before rushing Alvin, attempting to slam the man down onto his back. Alvin slid onto his knees at the last second, slipping under Stoick's arms before Alvin spun away and managed to get around the larger man and stood back up to charge Val.
Hiccup squirmed, kicking and groping to get away, fear clenching him as he tried to escape Val's arms. Val turned to set him down behind her so she could defend them. As she dropped him to the ground, though, he bolted, taking off in the first direction his feet could kick him. She hardly had time to register what happened before Alvin sprinted past her to chase down her son. Her instincts burst into full gear and she pounded after the man, Stoick and Gobber on her heels.
Alvin, sensing the three behind him, didn't even try to grab Hiccup. He swung a fist the first chance he got. His attack barely struck, just nicking Hiccup enough in the back to send the fragile boy sprawling forward, face colliding with the ground, not having the chance to catch himself. As Alvin was about to finish the job, Hoark and Phlegma charged him from the other direction, colliding with him stomach and knocking him back, pinning him to the ground. He flailed about in the dirt, screaming curses and crying out. Spitelout came up a moment later with rope and between him, Stoick, Phlegma, and Hoark, they got the madman tied down easily. Alvin sat on the ground, huffing and bleeding at the lip.
Val had gone straight to Hiccup. She pulled her boy up and examined him. A small scratch on his chin and his forehead had a bruise. She stroked it tenderly, feeling herself wrench.
"Alvin... we were not friends, but I didn't not expect this treachery from you. I banish you from Berk. Do not ever show your face here on my island again. Ever," Stoick snapped, eyes burning down on the man.
Spitelout and Gobber forced Alvin to his feet and began to lead him towards the docks.
"This isn't over, Stoick. I'll be back. You'll regret this day. You've made a grave mistake," Alvin fired into the air before he was dragged too far to be heard.
Stoick ignored him and settled down by Val. His face was creased with worry and he seemed to regret having yelled at Hiccup earlier. He looked at Val, who frowned softly before turning back to Hiccup.
The boy stirred, eyes fluttering open.
"Mom? Dad? Why does my head hurt? What happened?" the boy moaned.
Val choked a sob, just glad to know that he didn't remember what had just happened. Stoick pulled her and Hiccup close, apologizing over and over. Hiccup remained squished between the two, unsure what exactly was going on and wishing his head would stop pounding. He glanced between the two and heard his father promise them he would not let any harm come to him or his mother. Hiccup cocked his head, thinking this a sudden and strange promise.
Too bad the next dragon fight would claim the life of his mother. She died a warrior. And Hiccup couldn't remember much of his life with her. But Stoick's resolve, despite this, never faded. He would protect Hiccup.
Especially from Alvin.
Mrrr? Sorry if it was written rather crummy compared to normal. Like I said... Was just braindead for a while. I also wrote a lot of this with only one contact in... so I may have missed some stupid typos, haha.
Hope everyone enjoyed the Heather episode! I did, and Tumblr has been so much fun ^^
Uhm... Hope the next update will be a bit quicker. If not, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving (unless you live outside the US... in which just have a wonderful couple weeks)!
Please review (though not flames, but constructive criticism is allowed).
Love,
Deyoxis