Hello Ladies and Gents! I know its been a while but I had some family issues to deal with and I really didn't have enough time to get any work done but, here we go! I've done something!
For those wondering or interested, my other story, Op. 263, will not be updated for at least a week. My apologies. I've found writing it a little hard and I don't know what to do next. Suggestions? Please? Anything? Anyways, you're here for the chapter, go ahead! Read to your heart's content (or at least until the chapter ends).
Hiccup left his little island within 10 minutes, having used said 10 minutes to get changed, take a piss, write a note and plant a sweet little kiss of Astrid's forehead. He unloads some of the food he has on the Airship onto the island, placing them on the counters near his shelves of liquor, in plain view in case Astrid ever got hungry. He clears the fog in less than 20 minutes.
Astrid woke an hour later, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she smacked her lips. She turned in the bed, hoping to find Hiccup's body next to hers. He's gone. She snaps right up, sitting straight up in bed. Her head swivels around, searching for any clue of his whereabouts. She finds some semblance of an answer in the form of a neatly folded piece of paper on Hiccup's desk. She almost groans. Reading. She spins around, scooting to the edge of the bed before planting her feet on the cold stone. She shivers. 'Its cold in here', she thinks silently to herself. She stands up, letting the sheets slip and leave her body, dropping silently to the floor. She walked naked towards the desk, breasts and bum lagging slightly behind. Up and down, up and down. Hiccup would've enjoyed the sight of that. She took a deep breath and picked up the note, unfolding it delicately. Her eyes were treated to a nicely written note. She started to read it, slowly, but surely:
Dear Astrid,
I've just popped out for a quick supply run. I'll be back in half a day. Maybe a little more. I've left you some food upstairs. I hope it's enough.
Be back soon,
Hiccup
P.S. Do not enter the stone building; it's for your own safety. You'll know what it is when you see it.
It took Astrid a few minutes to read the whole note, seeing as how horrendous her reading skills were. She sighed heavily and set the note down on the desk. She glanced at the note and then walked back towards the bed, flopping limp onto it. She fell asleep in a few moments.
Hiccup stood at the wheel once again, this time, on the front deck. He wanted to feel some fresh air. He wanted to feel like he was flying again. But it still wasn't the same. Flying on the Airship wasn't the same as flying for real. Wings strapped to his arms, the wind gushing through his hair, the cool of the air, the moisture of the clouds, everything. That heavy pack was an annoyance though but he was sure he could make it smaller, if anything, he could integrate the propulsion system into his boots. The pack was just some quick experimentation on the Airship. He had access to much better materials, tools and a lot more time on the Island. He couldn't wait to get back. For once in a long time, he was anxious to get back to that island. A wonderful girl and the possibility for real flight! It would be his best piece of work yet! Then, another issue popped into his head. What would the armor be made out of? He couldn't use the conventional leather obviously but iron and steel might be too heavy. He did have some of his 'special' alloys lying about but he didn't know if he had enough to craft a complete suit of armor with it. He reached into one of his pockets, fingers finding the piece of paper he had brought along. Pulling it out with a firm grip, he held it up to his face, trying desperately to keep it steady in the wind. It read:
List
-Enough food for 2 months (however much that was)
-1 pallet of steel
-1 pallet of leather
-String (quantity to be decided upon arrival)
-Crushed mirnroot
-Powdered crystals
He read it quickly and stuffed it back into his pocket without another thought. He wasn't exactly sure where he could go where he could get all of these things in one go. The closest island was possibly Berk but… Oh, he couldn't go back there. He had ditched the island and killed a man there. He could sneak in. That seemed like the best idea but would he steal the supplies under the cover of darkness? Or purchase them as a faceless merchant? He shrugged and decided he would choose when he got there. Suddenly, another thought hit him. Crushed mirnroot and the powdered crystals were for the powder covering his tattoos. Why would he even need to cover them up any more? Astrid had already seen them and she barely pried into it. Maybe she wouldn't mind? He had a quick mental debate, whether or not he should cover up his tattoos anymore. It wasn't like they were putting in any harm's way. But it he covered them up... He would look nicer... Decisions, decisions. What to do, what to do?
He grumbled and stuffed the piece of paper back into his pocket. He would decide upon arrival.
Astrid woke barely 5 minutes later, finding her dreams too boring and dull to go through. She sat up and quickly retrieved her clothes, wondering how they ended up being scattered all across the room. As she slipped on her tunic and pulled up her boots, she decided to further examine the room she was in. She looked up at the ceiling, examining the intricate carvings embedded into the stone. She tried to follow one line throughout the numerous patterns but she would continuously keep getting lost and end up losing her line in the loops and curls of others. Some lines ended abruptly and others simply split and others intersected and connected. And, oddly enough, some parts were erased, chiseled away to make room for… His sketches. Some were of machines she had never even heard of or even knew how they worked. Others were just simple doodles. Doodles! Carved into solid stone! 'Hiccup was one odd duck', she thought to herself. She gave up within minutes.
She walked around the walls, slowly, carefully, her index finger trailing along the wall. He had even carved schematics and designs into the walls. All of them seemed to be of his Airship and other variations of the Airship. Some were larger, others smaller, others with differently laid out rooms and others fitted with all sorts of weaponry and contraptions she didn't even understand. She bit her lower lip as she walked along. Despite the medium of Hiccup's drawings, they were still extremely detailed and even were marked out with precise measurements and numbers.
She moved on from the wall carvings onto the various weapon racks. Again she learnt something new. Hiccup wasn't just a blacksmith, he was an amazing blacksmith. The swords weren't like any she had seen before. Instead of being their normal color of steel and iron, they were all sorts of amazing colors and shapes! No straight swords or daggers or knives here. They all had a curve or an angle to them. A small dagger, looking like it was carved out of some stone (for the blade wasn't smooth but rugged) was colored in a faded jade green. Another sword, large and in the shape of a long thin flame was colored a deep crimson in the center and slowly faded into mellower shades of orange and yellow as it approached the edges. There was a hammer that looked as if the head was made out of lightning, a man-made Mjölnir. She reached her hand out to touch it, half expecting to be electrocuted or somehow struck by a bolt of lightning but was relieved to find out that nothing happened to her when she touched it. She wondered if Hiccup ever used these weapons, or if they were just for decoration, Hiccup's most prized pieces, left to show his forging prowess.
However, in the corner of her eye, she spotted two other swords, the both of them honored with having an entire rack to themselves. They were both both curved blades, each with little prongs and outgoing edges that added to the danger of the blades. They were colored in faded jade, just like the stone dagger she had seen before. Power seemed to emanate from them. She walked up to them and, carved into the base of their blades were the words, 'Death' and 'Mercy', respectively. She reached out a finger to touch them and jumped back in pain as she somehow cut herself. Her finger had barely touched the blade! She sucked on her cut finger and decided to leave those blades alone. They must be Hiccup's prized swords. No doubt he duel-wielded them.
She quickly examined the rest of the room and then decided to walk up the stairs. The stone stairs made a fast transition from cold to warm. Her hand hung on the bannister, the rough stone coarse underneath her fingers. It seemed Hiccup carved everything. The sides of the staircase were covered in amazing carved vistas, high mountains and wide fjords, all of which were made with astonishing detail.
As she entered the upper room she suddenly felt hot. The heat wasn't like anything she had felt before; especially considering Berk only had two seasons, cold and damn cold. The sudden warmth and the fact that she was wearing clothes thick enough to make you sweat in winter caused her great discomfort. She quickly shed her clothes, opting for straight-up nudity to beat the heat. Feeling much more comfortable, her eyes left the ground and swept across the room, taking in every detail, drinking in her surroundings. Then, she noticed the beach. Golden sands, blue water and the burning sun! Warm, amazing, beautiful beach and a great bay that stretched on and on and on! She had never seen anything like it! How could she? There weren't such beaches anywhere near Berk and if there were, the sun wouldn't be shining and she wouldn't be buck-nude. She gasped and ran straight out, not even bothering to take in the rest of the room. She dug her feet into the sand, wriggling her toes about in the warm granules, she positively giggled in glee. She kicked up loose sand and hooted in delight as the sun caught every single little particle in air. She started running again, trailing alongside the water, laughing and shouting every time the warm water would touch her foot. She completely let go of her normally hard and mature exterior and let out her inner child, something her friends back on Berk would never see. But her excitement turned into curiosity as she spotted a low, squat stone bricked building next to the porch. The creases between the stone were a burnt black. The door was made of thick metal, also burnt black. She stopped running and slowly approached the building, mild curiosity growing and growing and growing. Why would this be off limits? She finally reached the door and, without a second's hesitation, she flung open the door.
The light from the outside cut a swathe through the darkness. Sunlight caught dust particles as they floated through the air. The stone floor was covered in scratches and pawmarks. She poked her head through the threshold, squinting to catch any sort glance into the darkness. She leant back and, just when she decided that there was nothing inside, 2 bright green eyes appeared in the darkness.
A growl rippled through the air, and a scream tore through the peace.