AN: I know, I know. You all are thinking that I am a terrible person for dragging this update out for over a month. I do apologize for the wait. There have been a number of reasons for delay.
First, is that even though we have stayed very busy with work full time, my school has also started back up and that is taking much of my free time at night.
Second, is something that many of you may have noticed. I have released a new story since the last update of this Fic. It is called A Fury's Tribulation. For those of you who haven't seen the new story please give it a read and review. If you like this story then you might like the other as well, as they both are centered around Hiccup and Toothless.
Lastly, the main reason for the delay has been severe writers block. Even though I know where this story is going to end up and how its going to get there, it is just a whole different thing to get it on paper. I really appreciate those of you who have stuck with this form the beginning and I will try my hardest to get these updates out a little more timely.
So, without further ado,
I give you:
Truth and Reconciliation
Curvature
As it turned out, putting the fire out was easier said than done. Hiccup and Toothless scrambled across the field in search for something to carry water in. Without a bucket, carrying water was pretty much impossible. A certain black Night Fury had the brilliant idea of fighting fire, with fire…. For the record, it didn't seem to work very well.
The blast of plasma did manage to spark Hiccup's mind though. He stepped away from the tree that was now fully engulfed in flames. "Hey Toothless; shoot at the ground just before the tree!"
The dragon cocked his head to the side, slightly confused, but complied with his human's request. The result was a wave of dirt plowing across the tree successfully putting out a large amount of the fire. Hiccup gained excitement and instructed the dragon to repeat the action. Another wave of dirt and soil covered the tree, successfully putting out more of the flames.
After a few more blasts of plasma, a large trench was made in front of the charred dead tree, but at least the fire was out. Hiccup chuckled slightly and walked over to the Night Fury's side. "Well, that was invigorating." His voice sounded sarcastic. Toothless rolled his eyes and nudged the boys arm. || I think it's time to try out my new toy. || Hiccup grinned at the dragon and nodded his head. "We will, don't worry. Let's go back over to the campfire and figure out what the rest of this list means."
The two casually sat down next to each other while Hiccup pulled out and read the list once more. He kept returning back to number to on the list. "What does he mean by an ally of electrical energy?" Toothless pawed the ground as he pondered on who or what the ally could be. || The only electrical beings we have come across are me and….Static. That must be who he was talking about when he mentioned electrical energy. Static has the capability to ride lightning bolts and fire off astonishing amounts of electricity. ||
Hiccup thought about it for a few moments as he leaned back against Toothless. "But Emilie isn't ready to leave Hidra yet. We can't risk taking the two of them away from there until she has had some kind of experience with Static."
Toothless gave a gentle purr to his human as he nodded in affirmation. || I'm sure that we will be fine while we go to the next village. We're learning how the villages seem to work around here and I think that we should be fine while we try and gain some new allies, especially with that new sword of yours. ||
Hiccup pulled the sword from his sheath and admired it as the black flame fluttered with the breeze. "I'm not sure how the other Vikings will think about this. There are a lot of them that feel that this kind of weapon is cast from the gods or is some sort of magic. And it is from a god, but I think that maybe we should keep it out of everyone's view just in case."
Toothless rolled his eyes at the overcautious teen. || I'm sure once you whip it out and show them its true power they will straighten themselves up and act obediently. || Hiccup chuckled slightly and put the sword back into its rightful place. "Hopefully, just seeing you will be enough for them to trust us."
Toothless lifted himself up and started walking over towards the new saddle that was lying on the ground. ||It's time to test this baby out. Maybe well finally get some speed of this fin. || Hiccup looked slightly confused up at the Night Fury. "What do you mean? I thought you always went plenty fast."
The Night Fury turned his head back to the boy and smirked. || If this new tail is anything like I think it's going to be, you might need to hang on a little tighter. If you thought we were fast before, you should have seen me before that fin was hacked off. || Hiccup started strapping the new saddle into place and connected the new tailfin so that it mimicked the real one. "Let's see if this works."
Hiccup threw his new coat around him and strapped himself onto the Night Fury's back. Within seconds the dragon leapt into the air and beat his powerful wings to help them gain altitude. Hiccup immediately noticed the increase in acceleration as they quickly approached speeds that were incredibly difficult to reach before. "Wow buddy! I had no idea that you used to be able to fly this fast."
Toothless snorted to confirm the boy's suspicion. || You haven't seen nothing yet. || The Night Fury continued to climb higher and higher until they were miles above the clouds. Hiccup was starting to get a little nervous about the drastic height. "Uhhh, Toothless? Should we be flying this high?" The dragon kept beating his wings to propel them further and further. || Just a little bit higher, I know we can make it. || Hiccup looked down below him to see that they had already flown far above their previous record. "Make it to what?"
Toothless continued to beat his wings as long and as hard as he could. The air was getting thinner and thinner as they continued to rise farther and farther above the ground. Toothless couldn't take the time to try and explain as he thrust his wings again and again. || Almost…..There….Just a….little….more. ||
Hiccup was starting to panic from the severe oxygen depletion. "It's ok bud, we don't need to go any higher. Let's just turn back." The Night Fury beat his wings a few more times until they finally leveled off. || Finally. ||
Hiccups eyes went completely dilated as he saw what the dragon was trying to reach. "Wow." They were truly at unreachable heights by any other dragon or animal. The distance in which they could see was unbelievable. Hiccup scanned across the horizon and noticed something that he never thought would have been possible. "The ground…..it's, it's round!" The two were so high that they could see the curvature of the world in which they resided. "I can't believe it! I always thought that the world was flat. I never imagined that it would be round."
Toothless finally had a chance to catch his breath after the dramatic climb. || It's beautiful. The dragons have a name for our world. They always have called it, Earth. || Hiccup looked around in amazement. "It seems so surreal. It doesn't look like anything I ever thought." The Night Fury nudged the boy, getting his attention, and directed his gaze skyward. Hiccup did so and gasped from the sight above him. The world looked like it had a blue haze around it, but when he looked straight up, he could see the stars; the white dots that were surrounded by the black mass of space. "Is this what you always used to see?"
Toothless continued to admire their view as he looked straight into the heavens above. || To be honest, I think we have made it higher this time than I have before, but I have gotten to see the view of the curvature before. It's like nothing else in our world, and I just had to show you it. ||
Hiccup leaned over and rubbed the dragon's neck as a tear began to roll down his face. "Thanks bud. It's gorgeous." Toothless let out a long purr as he started to get ready for the decent. || It's always worth the trip, but now you get to experience the real ride. ||
Hiccup swallowed nervously as he leaned down close to Toothless. "Uh oh…."
Uh oh was right. The two shot downward at an alarming rate. The Night Fury tucked his wings in to greatly increase their speed, producing the infamous whistle as they soured down faster than any dragon before. Hiccup could barely keep his eyes open from the wind rushing past him. Toothless grinned as he angled his dive to only gain more and more speed. Terminal velocity was quickly approaching as they rocketed through the first layer of clouds. The white mass of mist whirled around them as they soared towards the Earth.
Finally the water came into view and Toothless released his wings to slow their decent. The speed that they were carrying was far too fast to abruptly try and stop. The Night Fury had to slowly angle his dive to allow them to level out; creating an inward curvature in the process. Hiccup let out a shriek as he noticed the ground becoming closer and closer. "Uhhh Toothless! It's time to slow down!" The Night Fury snorted in response to his human. || Working on it! ||
The dragon gradually adjusted his wings to continue to level them out. After an incredible drop they finally leveled off just a few feet above the water, creating a massive fissure with the downward forces being pressed on by the Night Fury's wings.
Hiccup stared off into the distance and noticed an island quickly approaching. "Is that….Is that Hidra?" Toothless chuckled slightly as he confirmed the question. || Yes, that would be Hidra, and in record time might I say. I think it would be only fitting to give them a show. ||
Gunnar, Vilhehn, and all of their respective dragons were waiting patiently by the ocean for Hiccup and Toothless to arrive. He had been late before, but it was already past high noon. Their hopes were fulfilled as a screeching whistle accompanied by a lightning fast dragon came into view. Six quick blasts of plasma exploded just off the coast of the island in midair. A speeding object came flying across the ocean view at an unfathomable pace. The group of Vikings and dragons watched in awe as the beings flew around the island faster than anyone had thought possible.
Eventually the duo slowed their speed enough to come to a halt just off the shore in front of the rapidly growing crowd. Toothless came to a skidding halt just in front of the group of Vikings. Gunnar as well as Vilhehn looked up at the obsidian dragon in confusion. Gunnar leaned to his side as if he were trying to see more of the dragon. "Is that Toothless? Where's Hiccup?"
Hiccup stopped moving as he heard Gunnar's remark. He slowly lifted his hood and slid of the back of the Night Fury to show himself more clearly. "What do you mean-"
He stopped mid-sentence at the sea of shocked faces that greeted him. "Uhhh, is there something wrong?"
Vilhehn stepped forward and started to feel the cloth that the coat Hiccup was wearing was made of. "Wow! Where did you find this Hiccup?" He started walking around the boy, admiring his new outfit. "Whatever that thing is made of turned you to be nearly invisible while on the back of your Night Fury."
Hiccup glanced down at his body then over to Toothless who was also looking over his body. He looked at the saddle which was nearly indistinguishable and back to the tailfin that was seemingly never amputated.
Gunnar walked forward to greet Hiccup and the Night Fury. "You're gone for one day and you come back with a new wardrobe for you and Toothless?"Hiccup slowly looked back to the chief's son grinning wildly. "We had a fortunate run in with an old friend." He didn't want to let on that he was chosen by a go to receive such items. "So you really couldn't see me at all on Toothless' back?"
Gunnar just shook his head as he glanced between the two. The Night Fury's lack of a saddle and regenerated tailfin caught his eye. "What happened to him? His tail's back to normal and his saddle's gone. You didn't go and get yourself into trouble again did you?"
Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "No. Just look a little closer. The saddle just matches his hide and the tailfin mimics his other one. They are both just really hard to notice now."
Gunnar walked over to the dragon's side and Hiccup followed beside him. Hiccup looked over the saddle once more, still stunned at how well it matched the scales on the Night Fury's back. "See the saddle's outline as it sticks up just above his back?"
Vilhehn came up behind the two, but couldn't help but notice the new weapon across Hiccup's back. "Hey Hiccup, what is this?" He reached up and grabbed the sword hilt, but immediately flinched away as a bolt of lightning jetted from the sword. "Whoa!"
Hiccup swung himself around to see Vilhehn rubbing his hand in pain. "What happened?" Vilhehn looked to the boy in shock. "Your weapon, it shocked me." Hiccup looked up quizzically at the chief as he reached up and pulled the sword from the sheath, completely forgetting the outcome of his actions. The sword instantly lit up in black flames as he held the sword in front of him. He admired the sword's ability for a moment until Toothless jarred his thoughts. || Hiccup! Put the sword away! ||
Hiccup shook his head and looked up at the crowd of jaw-hanging individuals. "Whoops!" He quickly placed the sword back into the sheath to extinguish the flames. He cautiously chuckled and gave a small grin to the crowd before him.
Vilhehn backed away slightly as he starred in fear of the boy and his outrageous weapon. "Hiccup, where did you get that sword and why did it just burst into flames?"
Whispering and murmurs started resulting behind the chief. Several of the villagers started backing away while letting words just past their lips, along the lines of 'cursed' and 'black magic'.
Toothless came up alongside of Hiccup and stood in front of him protectively. || Hiccup, these people are getting suspicious of you. It would be better if we left. ||
Hiccup pushed aside the wing that was blocking his way and walked towards the group of people. "It's ok Toothless. These people trust us, they will understand." He stopped just in front of the crowd just as they continued to back away. "It's ok everyone. We're not cursed or using any kind of magic."
One of the Vikings from the back shouted towards Hiccup. "Then how do you explain that sword, and your coat, and the new saddle and tailfin!"
Hiccup shook his head and sighed. "I can't give you the explanation that you're looking for, but I assure you that it's not magic." Toothless eagerly bumped his head into Hiccup trying to get the boy to leave. "It's ok Toothless, these are good people. They will trust us." Hiccup turned back to the crowd to see more cautious looking faces and Vikings that were preparing for an attack. He looked up to Vilhehn who had backed away towards his people. "You really don't believe me? After everything I have shown you and we have done?"
Vilhehn looked warily over the boy in front of him and looked back to his people. "What do you think my fellow Vikings?" His answer was nothing but shaking heads and a few more mumbles about being 'cursed'. None of the people trusted Hiccup anymore. Vilhehn had to agree with the consensus of his tribe. He was a leader by the people, not a leader over the people. He turned back to Hiccup who was still looking desperately up at him. "I'm sorry Hiccup. Here at Hidra, we do not associate with magic nor do we wish to be around it. Could you please give us some sort of reasonable explanation towards these odd new pieces you have come across?"
Hiccup looked back at Toothless. "What do you think bud? Should we tell them the reason we have these gifts?" The Night Fury looked back at him with a firm glare. || Hiccup, you know we can't tell them. It wouldn't be right and I'm sure that god wouldn't allow it. There is no need to test his patience. || Hiccup shook his head and ran his hands through his hair nervously. "But if we don't tell them then they won't trust us anymore!" The dragon shook his head and backed up slowly. || Then we can't help those who aren't willing. ||
Hiccup reluctantly turned back to the vigilant crowd. He looked over each of the faces that just one day before had full trust and faith in him. He couldn't believe how quickly they could change their mind and suddenly want nothing to do with him. "You guys have to believe that these are gifts. These are not cursed items that are using some kind of magic!"
The villagers were not persuaded. One of them spoke up of the still ongoing whispers. "You never even told us how you can talk to the Night Fury. How do you expect us to trust you when you don't even trust us?" There were several nods from Vikings in agreement. Hiccup lowered his head, losing hope. "No." He looked back up to face them. "You need to listen to me. I have done nothing but bring peace and allies to your island. You need to believe me."
Toothless stepped forward next to Hiccup nervously. || Hiccup, we need to go. These people are only getting angrier. We don't want this to get violent. ||Hiccup shook his head again. "No! I know that these people trust me. We just need to show them that we mean well."
Vilhehn stepped forward and withdrew his sword. "Hiccup. We are asking you to leave this island immediately. Please do not make us use unnecessary force." Hiccup looked up at the man baffled. "How could you honestly believe this Vilhehn?! This is crazy! You know that I wouldn't do something like that!"
Vilhehn shook his head at the ignorant boy. "No Hiccup, I don't know if you would do something like this…. Now please, leave immediately."
Several of the villagers started drawing their weapons and advancing on the boy. Hiccup started running for Vilhehn to put some sense into the man. He was abruptly stopped by the body of a Night Fury. "Toothless. Get out of my way! I need to show Vilhehn and Gunnar the truth." Toothless remained in front of the boy, completely unwilling to cooperate. || Hiccup! We need to leave now! ||
Hiccup continued to protest as the villagers started raising their swords to harm the two. Toothless finally had enough of it and took the situation under his control. He swiftly threw his body underneath Hiccup and darted for the cliff side. He knew that if he would jump over the edge, Hiccup would be forced to correct the tailfin.
Hiccup scrambled onto the saddle to try and get off the dragon. Toothless managed to angle his wings to prevent the boy from leaping from his back. "Toothless no! I can convince them! You just need to give me some time." The dragon didn't want anything to do with an island that was uncooperative. He threw himself into the air and over the edge of the cliff, only to start free falling immediately.
Hiccup gasped as soon as he felt the weightlessness surround him. He quickly threw himself around to be able to sit upright on the Night Fury's back. He slammed his foot into the stirrups and pushed the left one down as far as it would go, trying to force the pair to fly back to the island. Toothless yelped in pain, but spread his wings just above the surface of the sea, leaving just inches between him and the water. He coasted above the water and slowly ascended away from the island.
Hiccup looked down at the stirrup and jerked his foot downward once again to force Toothless to retreat to the island. Toothless let out a roar in pain as Hiccup forced his foot down. || Take it easy would you? |They continued to fly away from the Island of Hidra. Hiccup glanced down at the contraption that allowed him to control the fin, then he looked back to see it was working flawlessly with the opposing tailfin. "What's going on?! We should be turning around. Toothless go back!"
The Night Fury flew on as if he never heard the boy. He couldn't help but move around his tail as if something was wrong with it, or…. Right. He flapped his tailfin that he knew was intact, but then he moved the fin that was supposedly fake. The Night Fury started making slow dives followed by quick climbs through the air. He started making quick turns to test his new found ability.
Hiccup finally caught on to what the dragon was doing. He was controlling the tailfin. "Toothless, how are you doing this?" The Night Fury finished with a barrel roll and leveled off. || You have no idea how long I've wanted to be able to do that. || Hiccup looked back at the tailfin noticing that it was moving in perfect sync with the other. "But how?"
Toothless fanned the fins in and out to his liking as he enjoyed being able to feel what he had lost. || I don't know. It happened when you slammed your foot down in the stirrup. || Hiccup looked back down at his foot and saw that his foot went down a little further than normal when he pushed the pedal down. "It doesn't make any sense though; bottom position usually makes us come to halt and force you to turn back." He picked up on the pedal and the dragon below him wavered slightly.
He shifted through the normal positions to see if they all worked properly. Each position seemed to work fine. Everything from climbing to descending and even sharp hairpin turns was executed flawlessly. Hiccup couldn't figure out what was making it possible for Toothless to control the fin. He forced his foot down one more time into the place where he saw it before. Toothless turned his head immediately and growled at the pain in his side. || That! Whenever you do that it clamps onto my side and pinches one of my nerves. ||
Toothless stopped growling once he noticed the feeling of the tailfin was back. || And that must be how I am controlling the fin. It pinches the nerve that would normally go to the real tailfin and it lets me control it. || Hiccup starred in awe of the system that was working through what he thought was just ropes and cords. "I guess these aren't normal ropes after all…. It looks like we have a new position to work with. It's your position; one that will let you control the fin without me."
Toothless took a moment to think about the new ability. He thought about what it meant that he could fly without Hiccup if his tail was in this position. || Take it out. ||
Hiccup leaned back perplexed by the dragon's request. "What? Why? Does it still hurt?" Toothless shook his head and sighed. || No, it doesn't hurt anymore. Just take it out. I don't want to ever fly without you again Hiccup. Just because this tail gives me the opportunity, doesn't mean I want to use it. If I ever want to go flying, I'm nearly positive that you would go as well, so take it out of the position. ||
Hiccup reluctantly picked up on the pedal with his heel to return the control to himself. "But Toothless, this could be useful. If we were to ever get separated then you could still fly and save me-"
||No! I don't want to even think about that. Hiccup, you will never leave my sight. I will not make the mistake of letting you get in harm's way. ||
The two flew in silence from then on. Hiccup was both confused by both the Night Fury's actions and the village of Hidra. He couldn't believe that they would turn on him so quickly over what seemed like nothing to him. They flew on into the sunset until the last little bit of the curved sun dipped down past the horizon.
They eventually touched down at their secluded island to figure out their next course of action and to prepare for the night. Hiccup slid off the dragon's back and immediately started inspecting the mechanism that made it possible for Toothless to control the tailfin. He quickly noticed the sharp object that was concealed within the pedal. It seemed to work perfectly; as he moved the pedal down, it would pierce into the dragon's side.
A spot of dried blood was still stained on the sharp object. Hiccup followed the trail of blood down the Night Fury's side and he was shocked to see blood dripping down from the side of his chest. "Toothless! You're hurt!" The Night Fury brought his head around to witness the damage to his side. || I thought that was a little more painful than something just clamping on my side. I guess that would explain why I was feeling light-headed towards the end of the flight…. All the more reason not to use it. ||
Hiccup shook his head and got up to walk over to his belongings. "Toothless, you need to tell me when you think you're hurt. I can't help you if you don't let me know something's wrong." He pulled some cloths out of his bag along with a bottle of liquid. "I know that you always want to be the one to protect me and that you probably always will be the one to, but you need to let me know when I can help you."
Hiccup walked back over to the dragon's side and poured some of the clear liquid on one of the strips of fabric. He looked up to Toothless and saw the Night Fury's wariness. "I'm sorry bud, but this is going to sting a bit. This should help clean the cut and prevent anything from infecting this gash."
Toothless nodded to the boy and gestured for him to proceed with what he wanted to do. Hiccup took the cloth and placed it on the side of the dragon that immediately jumped from the sudden biting pain. Hiccup sighed and looked back to Toothless' face. "You have to let me do this bud. We can't risk letting you get infected." The dragon took a deep breath and stilled himself to let Hiccup proceed.
Once again, Hiccup brought the cloth to the cut and he started cleaning all around the deep gash. The Night Fury flinched a few times, but otherwise stayed fairly still. Once Hiccup was satisfied the gash was clean he took the rest of the cloths and packed them in between the saddle harness and the cut to keep pressure on it. "Alright bud, that should do it. You just need to take it easy for the- Whoa!"
Toothless leapt onto him and showered his face in Night Fury saliva. Hiccup struggled to gasp for air in between the strokes of the dragon's tongue. "Ok, ok. You're welcome bud. You can let me back up now." The Night Fury slowly backed away to allow the boy to stand. He sat back on his hind legs and crooned to the boy as Hiccup dusted himself off. Hiccup chuckled at the affectionate dragon. "You're definitely not what people think of as 'the deadly Night Fury'.
Toothless rolled his eyes and blew a stream of plasma on to the ground before him so he could curl up for the night. He then gestured for Hiccup to come to his side. || But you're not what the Vikings all think of as a useless runt. || Hiccup beamed a smile at the dragon and settled down next to him for the night.
Hiccup shivered slightly as Toothless closed his wing around him. || Winter is coming. We are going need to find somewhere that we can settle for the cold season. We can't stay out in the open like this much longer. Even I wouldn't be able to stay healthy in the cold weather that plagues this area during winter. || Hiccup curled into a ball and laid his head down at the dragon's side. "Well at least you are able to keep me warm with your incredible body heat.
Toothless looked out across the land and then placed his head down next to Hiccup's. || It's a benefit of having fire inside. || Hiccup smiled to the dragon and closed his eyes to rest. "I'm sure there is a long list of benefits to being a dragon…. I'm just glad that I have gotten to know one so well."
Hiccup finally fell asleep to the resonating purrs from the Night Fury and Toothless eventually fell into a state of slumber along with him. What they didn't know was that just over the horizon awaited a village that had just received the news of Alvin's death.
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AN: So, What did you think? I know it probably wasn't worth the wait, but at least there is another chapter out for your viewing pleasure.I tried to let you know that there is still more around the corner with this fic and we are only a little over half way through.
Just to let you know, I have started to leave an update status about all my stories on my profile page. If you are ever curious when the next update may arrive, please take a look at my page and it should give you the information you are searching for.
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Also, please take a look at A Fury's Tribulation if you haven't done so. I am fairly confident you won't be disappointed.
Thank you for viewing and reading this far in!
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