Chapter 25

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Hiccup rubbed his arm absently as he walked down the hall to his room. Things had been chaotic, almost more than his village. He was ready for some peace and quiet. He quietly slipped inside, shutting the wooden door before looking at the rough pine planks making up the rest of his room, with various weapons and decorations hanging on the walls.

He took down an old sword that had obviously seen its fair share of battle, as it no longer had an edge, just nicks and dulled metal. He unwrapped the cracked leather from the hilt, watching as the tough strips crumbled away at his touch. When he held the metal in his hand, he closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt the same tingle that he had in the office, and when the tingle ended he opened his eyes.

Hiccup then nearly dropped the blade in surprise. The edge of the blade had been sharpened, yes, but the blade had also taken a new shape, lighter and thinner than most Viking swords. "What the..." Hiccup muttered.

When he hefted the sword, he was surprised to find that it seemed almost weightless. He gave the sword a few experimental swings, delighted to find that the sword seemed almost like an extension of his arm, something that his father had been trying to get him to achieve with the normal swords.

He glanced up when Astrid opened the door. "Oh...hey." She said, looking at the sword. "Where'd you get that?"

Hiccup gestured to the spot where the sword had hung. "From there. I just...changed it a little." He explained.

Astrid raised an eyebrow as she crossed over to get a better look. "Looks pretty flimsy to me." She observed skeptically.

Hiccup nodded. "Well, it's still a strong sword, it's just that the center of the sword is of a more malleable metal, with more brittle metal along the edges, from what I can see. It's not like any other sword I've seen before, even if it does look mostly like a normal sword."

Astrid nodded. "Yeah. Wanna test it out?"

Hiccup sighed. "I'd come here for peace and quiet, but I guess I should have known better." He then looked closer at Astrid. "I thought you used axes."

Astrid nodded. "I was thinking you could spar Merida, and I could save your butt if you got in trouble." She told Hiccup cheerfully.

"Your confidence is overwhelming." Hiccup said sarcastically as he found a spare lace to wrap around the hilt of the sword. "How do you know she'll even say yes?"

Astrid shrugged. "Something to do? We could all use extra training, given the fact that every fight you guys have been in has ended up in a draw. We can't do this forever, you know full well that Pitch and Gothel will be getting stronger."

Hiccup sighed and nodded before looking at the sword. "I'll have to talk to North about a scabbard, though." He muttered.

Astrid rolled her eyes and grabbed the wrist not holding a rather sharp weapon. "Later. Come on, day's wasting."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what the saying is." Hiccup pointed out as he followed Astrid to Merida's room.

He stopped talking when Astrid knocked on the door, then opened it and murmured something he couldn't catch with the noise from the Yetis in his ears. He really wasn't used to the constant noise stimulation, even in Berk there would be quiet times.

He then gave a small wave when Merida stuck her head out the door. "Yu really wanting to train?" She asked in disbelief.

Hiccup gave her a look, hefting the sword. "Nah, I'm carrying this for looks."

Merida rolled her eyes, then disappeared for a moment. She then emerged, sword belt in hand as she shut her door. "So, how much experience do yu 'ave?"

Hiccup sighed. "Technically, none, since this isn't a sword I'm used to using."

Merida nodded. "Alright, well, we'll see how yu do. Let's go."

Hiccup gave Astrid a long-suffering look before following Merida to the room she had trained in before. He was slightly amused to see frost still covering the walls in some spaces from when Jack and Merida had duked it out. He jumped slightly when Astrid shut the door firmly. "No intrusions this time." She explained, leaning against the door.

Merida nodded. "Good. Ready, Hiccup?"

Hiccup immediately whirled, sword going up defensively. He blinked when Merida backed up slightly, confusion etched on her face. "You, aren't going to attack?" He asked.

Merida nodded. "Well, yes, but wot was that reaction?"

Astrid snorted. "When a Viking asks if you're ready, it's because your back is turned and they're about to attack you. In a sparring match, of course, we don't warn in real life."

Merida giggled. "Well, then, let's go scaredy cat." She taunted.

Hiccup sighed. "It was a perfectly normal reaction, thank you." He muttered, holding his sword in a more relaxed position.

Merida smirked. "First move's up to me, then?" She asked nobody in particular, taking a tentative half step forwards before launching herself forwards, sword dropping to waist level before she slammed all her weight onto her front foot and swung upwards with the force of her body weight behind the blow.

Hiccup scampered backwards, nudging her blade upwards so that he changed the trajectory without actually taking the force of the blow. He then slid his sword down, aiming at her hand.

Merida quickly twisted her wrist, blocking with the hilt guard before pivoting to make a hilt smash at Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup flicked his blade up, forcing Merida to move backwards. He then ran at her, raising his sword for an overhead strike. He blinked when Merida simply gripped her hilt with both hands and took his attack full-on.

"Yu're used to heavier swords doing all the work." Merida guessed. "With a blade like yurs, it's smarter to use it's speed, not try to create strength that isn't there."

She demonstrated by locking Hiccup's blade with her hilt and twisting down sharply, causing Hiccup to yelp and drop his blade, wringing his wrist. "How did you..."

Merida shrugged. "It's a simple technique, you just trap the opponent's blade with yur hilt and then twist hard so that they have to drop the sword or risk hurting something."

"Well, that's useful against a sword." Hiccup mused, retrieving his sword. "But none of our enemies uses one."

Merida frowned. "Aye, and that's the problem. It's nearly impossible to block arrohs, and I don't know how to fight against a scythe like Pitch has got."

Hiccup sighed. "So, basically, I'm still useless in a fight."

Merida rolled her eyes. "Let's not forget the cranky, evil old witch."

"Witch." Hiccup stressed. "Swords can't block magic, not normal ones."

Merida threw up her hands. "Then yu've got Toothless, where a sword is a perfect weapon because it's long enough to do damage without endangering yur own mount!"

Hiccup nodded. "Not much I can do to practice with that, though."

"You could ask Sandy for help." Astrid suggested. "They won't be Nightmares, but close enough."

Hiccup sighed. "Can we just focus on one thing at a time?"

Merida raised an eyebrow. "Yu're the one that's complainin' constantly."

Hiccup nodded, swinging his sword irritably. "Yeah...but I still don't feel that this is going to help me be of any more help."

Merida shrugged. "It'll make yu stronger and faster, for one."

Hiccup shrugged. "I've always been more of a strategist. Hence why I'm not that great of a fighter even though I'm a Viking."

Merida smacked a fist into her palm, eyes brightening. "That's it!" She exclaimed. "We just need a way for you to learn how to analyze yur opponent while fightin', and then cook up a plan on the spot!"

Hiccup frowned. "So...you're basically saying that I should learn to watch the subtle gestures my opponent makes so that I can start clueing in to the hints that they drop and react beforehand?"

Merida nodded while shrugging. "More or less."

Hiccup sighed. "Right. Well, seeing as I only lasted a few seconds the first go 'round, that hasn't worked so well."

"Yu were reckless and forgot the weapon yu had." Merida told him dismissively.

"A sword..." Hiccup muttered.

"But one that's shaped and weighted differently from the ones you're used to." Astrid interjected. "You have to change your fighting style to depend on mobility and speed rather than your nonexistent strength."

"Gee thanks." Hiccup muttered.

"Well, for feedback, yur first move was good." Merida told him. "Yu have to fight like that, capitalizing on the fact that while yur weaker, that means that they're slower."

Hiccup nodded slowly, before sighing and raising his sword into a defensive position. "Well, might as well get this over with." He muttered.

Merida grinned. "Might as well." She agreed, before lunging forwards, thrusting her sword forwards. Hiccup rotated to the opposite side, deflected the attack, and then twirled his sword into position for a short stab. Merida jumped backwards, lashing out as she did so, forcing Hiccup to retreat as well.

"Better!" Astrid praised from the door, but Hiccup ignored her for the moment, even as he filed the fact that she had complimented his fighting away until he needed it.

Hiccup let out a small breath as he waited for Merida's next move. From what he had seen, she prefered to have space for larger movements, though if that wasn't available then she had a large arsenal of tricks to get that space back. She was a primarily aggressive fighter, not giving much thought to defense, instead preferring to go straight to the counter. As such, she'd probably be susceptible to combination attacks, though with the rapid counter it was highly risky to do so.

He was snapped out his thoughts as Merida rushed forwards again. This time, however, as she went for an overhead strike like he had done, Hiccup ducked down under the blow as he flicked it upwards before reversing his grip quickly to deliver his own strike.

His blow has jarred to a halt as Astrid grabbed him by the back of the collar, her ax stopping Merida's sword. "While this is all well and good, it's a good idea to remember the differences in level here and take it down a notch." She advised calmly.

Merida shrugged as she backed up. "He was doin' fine." She muttered rebelliously.

"Perhaps." Astrid conceded. "But I told him I would step in, and things were getting a little intense for someone with little experience."

Merida sighed. "Fine." She then looked at Hiccup. "Yu're learnin' quickly, I'm sure that yu'll be able to adjust to that weapon quickly. Now, go find something to store it in."

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, that was the plan." He agreed, wincing as his muscles let him know that they were sore as the adrenaline rush wore off. "And then, a nap."

"I wouldn't." Astrid cautioned as they left the room. "If you don't keep moving for a while, your muscles will stiffen into a huge cramped ball of pain."

Hiccup winced at the thought. "I'll...put off the nap." He decided.

Astrid grinned. "Good, now, let's go find North."

After a few minutes of searching, Astrid got impatient, much to Hiccup's amusement, and yelled at a Yeti until they reached an equal level of exasperation and were able to communicate what they wanted.

"He's in his office." Astrid muttered, striding back to Hiccup.

"I must say, that was impressive to watch." Hiccup admitted as he led the way to North's office. "I don't think I've ever seen you have that much trouble communicating."

"Shut up." Astrid muttered, before looking up. "Oh, almost there!" She exclaimed, using a rather obvious change of subject.

"Yes, and you are wanting scabbard?" North asked, opening the door. He laughed when he watched the two teens' jaws drop. "Eh, is talent, and good information system."

Hiccup shrugged. "Fair enough." He sighed, walking into North's workshop and laying his sword on the table. "I've never seen a sword like this, what is it?"

North stroked his beard for a few moments. "Is most similar to small broadsword." He decided. "Built differently, but similar shape." He opened a door, muttering to himself as he dug through various bins. "Ah!" He proclaimed in satisfaction, picking up what looked to be a large block of wax.

He placed it on the table, and then pressed the sword down firmly into the wax, and when he lifted the sword up, there was still an impression in the wax. "Not bad, yes?"

Hiccup nodded slowly. "So...basically you'll use that as a mould for shaping the scabbard?" He asked. "I've never heard of using a method like that."

North laughed. "Is no matter!" He chuckled. "In meantime," he continued as he located a small scabbard, "this one should work."

Hiccup slid his sword into the scabbard experimentally. "It's by no means a great fit, but yeah, shouldn't break the sword." He agreed. "How long wi-"

"Bah, you have by tomorrow!" North interrupted. "No problem."

Hiccup smiled as North shooed them out. "Well, that was productive than I'm going to admit." He told Astrid. "But aches and pains aside, I'm going to go take that nap now."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

XXXXXX

Because why not. I've always enjoyed writing technical stuff like this, even if it's not totally plausible. And not to worry, big showdowns will be happening soon, I won't keep you guys waiting much longer!