So, big time skip in this chapter. I think there will be two after this one and than this story is finished too! The next one is already in progress, so there should be no gap between this one and the next!
Enjoy!
Chapter 21 Recovery
'A... Astrid?'
His vision was blurry, but he could clearly see Astrid's blonde hair and blue eyes in front of him. Beside her he could see the big green eyes of Toothless.
'I'm here, just lay still.'
'Wr... Wrenlou?'
'Right here.'
He looked over to his left. Wrenlou sat leaning against the wall.
'Dagur?'
Wrenlou and Astrid exchanged a glance before looking back at Hiccup again.
'Don't think he will ever bother us again.'
'You killed him?'
'What? No! It wasn't me...'
She looked over at Wrenlou, who sighed.
'He fell of a cliff. I don't think he survived that. Hey, I got you a little souvenir.' He pulled Dagur's helmet from under the chair. 'Put it on the wall or something.'
'No thanks. I'd be happy if I never have to see him again.'
'That won't be a problem.'
0-0-0-0-0-0
'Look, Hiccup, I know you want to go outside flying, but Valka will kill me if she found out I let you.'
Hiccup grunted with frustration. It had been two weeks since the battle. Three since he had been stabbed and poisoned. Three weeks since he had last flown with Toothless, and he was getting sick of it. He hated being cooped up inside, while he should be outside, flying with Toothless and helping rebuilt. He glanced at Wrenlou and saw the same frustration. Valka had forbidden both of them to go flying.
'Fine! But I'm not taking the blame if we get caught!'
Hiccup's face split open in a grin. 'I'm not planning on getting caught.'
'No prisoner ever is.'
0-0-0-0-0-0
'WOOOOOHOOOOOOO THIS IS AMAZING!'
'ARE YOU INSANE?'
He was watching Hiccup plummet towards the ocean, falling free, Toothless close behind. The dragon swooped under his rider and caught him well before they would hit the water. Hiccup joined him with a big smile on his face, his hair poking in every direction.
'You must be insane.'
'Yep. But all the best people are, right?'
They had been goofing of in the thick clouds above Berk for hours. Hiccup had performed a lot of these free fall catch tricks as he called them, while Wrenlou was perfectly comfortable on the dragon. They had raced each other around the seastacks, had done a few rounds around Berk, while high enough to not be spotted, and had even flown through the Whispering Death tunnels underneath the village. However, it was time to go back. They could only stay away for so long and it was getting dark.
0-0-0-0-0-0
'Hey Valka, where are Hiccup and Wrenlou?'
'Oh I don't know. I haven't seen them in a while. Maybe they are in the Great Hall.'
'Thanks, I'll check.'
Making her way to the Great Hall, she saw the Night Fury's (how could she possibly have missed that) laying outside, tangled together. The only way to tell them apart was their colour. Because it was rather late, the Hall was mostly empty. A few men sitting here and there, more snoring on the ground. She spotted the two men in a corner, out of the way.
She started making her way to them, but something made her stop and hide behind a column. There was something about their behaviour that seemed off... she couldn't tell at first, until she heard Hiccup giggle into the cup he was holding and suddenly it struck her. They were drunk! Both of them! Her jaw dropped, she had never seen Hiccup so much as touch the ale or the mead, now he was drunk? Wrenlou said something and it must have been funny, because Hiccup spit out the sip he had just taken, bursting out in laughter. Wrenlou said something else and Hiccup stood up abruptly, turning away from the other man, trying to hold in the rest of the liquid. Wrenlou yelled something else she was just able to make out, but it didn't make much sense to her. Hiccup threw his cup at the other man. She sneaked a little closer.
Wrenlou was still laughing, his face suddenly getting serious when he saw Hiccup standing bent over, his hands on his knees.
'Hey, you okay?'
He walked over to the other man but when he was close, Hiccup suddenly stood upright and spit the remaining ale in Wrenlou's face. Astrid didn't think her jaw could get any lower. Wrenlou stood frozen for a moment.
'You did not just do that.'
Hiccup giggled again and nodded. Instead of starting to yell, Wrenlou ran a sleeve over his face, before jumping Hiccup, sending them both down on the floor. They rolled around, play wrestling, until Wrenlou burst into laughter again. Hiccup looked at him.
'Looks like you lost your leg... again!'
Hiccup looked from the prosthetic in Wrenlou's hand to his leg, then back to Wrenlou before he too burst out in laughter. Astrid couldn't help but smile. She had never heard Hiccup laugh like this before. She heard a click as Hiccup reattached his leg and both men went back to their table, Wrenlou retrieving Hiccup's cup in the process.
'Man, I really wish you were my brother.' Hiccup said, refilling the cups.
'We are brothers. Brothers in arms.'
Hiccup thought on that for a moment before nodding. 'I like that. Brothers in arms. Yeah, that sounds good to me.'
Astrid watched them for a while before sneaking back out. She didn't want to interrupt them and she felt Hiccup shouldn't be disturbed. Her question could wait anyway.
She realized that for the first time since his father had died, Hiccup was having fun. Real fun, not the forced smile he put on at official business. Even though his smile was real around her, she had never heard him giggle. Giggle. She smiled while she walked past the Night Fury's, who each cracked an eye open to look at her and went back to her house. Seeing Hiccup happy made her feel happy. She chuckled as he would have to deal with the hangover tomorrow. She knew from experience that the ale packed quite a punch. With the sound of Hiccup's drunken laugh vibrating through her head, she fell asleep. The smile never left her face.