Happy aproaching end of summer. I hope everyone has had nice summer/vacations. Here is you August chapter, not quite so clifhangy as the literal hanging from a cliff two chapters ago. The story itself (Another Nightmare 2) has transitioned to second act.

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Comments:

suomalainen Guest: I hope the things you described also work in my original writing. Also, it's not "all the hate" it's one guy who talks about Astrid for 3-5 reviews per chapter. I explained my position/interpretation for Astrid months ago, but this person thinks all fanfiction should have the same positive interpretation. It's not that relevant anymore as Astrid hasn't appeared for 9 chapters so I hope this guest commentor can still learn to enjoy the story like that. At least he is stil coming back.

Pitäisiköhän tässä tilanteessa mennä torille?

TheChanceyColborn: Umm... what reference?

.9279 : I'm aiming for the once a month schedule I've sustained for the spring/summer. Even autumn workload seems to be bit more balanced than I though so maybe I get september chapter out too, maybe.

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Beta read/edited By 3DPhantom

The guards escorted Hiccup and Fishlegs outside the arena and pointed them in the right direction. The duo started walking back downhill. Hiccup's eyes were mostly focused on the ground as he was thinking. Shortclaw was safe, for now, but what mess had he gotten them into this time? This chief was definitely more receptive than Stoick, but he too was stuck in old beliefs, including those concerning what Vikings should be. Hiccup still hadn't faced Fishlegs after the chief had dismissed Toothless, well, dragons in general, just animals, including Toothless.

"Are you okay?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah, it just seems like I can't take much of people's stupidity and even so this still feels too easy. What if the chief isn't as reliable as he seems? With dragons, I can at least tell if they're lying."

"That is something people have always had to consider. Maybe we should talk about this later."

Fishlegs' voice lowered and there was worry in it. Hiccup lifted his eyes from the path only to see that they were surrounded. The crowd was thickening around them, and many were pointing at Hiccup. He had been recognised. Now that he paid attention to it, the tone of the people around them as they spoke to each other was mixed. Many were visibly angry and muttering to each other. Others seemed genuinely curious and fell silent when Hiccup turned to face them. That didn't last long as curiosity claimed victory.

"How… What did you do to that dragon?"

"I couldn't believe my eyes when the dragon returned to its cage! How did you do that?"

"How dare you interfere with the fight?!"

The questions kept coming, good and bad. Hiccup couldn't keep up with it.

"How did you control the dragon like that? You could hunt so many dragons with that kind of skills!"

"I didn't!" Hiccup shouted before he could control himself. "The fact that that is the first thing you could think about is part of the reason why more people don't understand a single thing about dragons."

He crowd had been mostly quiet since Hiccup's outburst. There was a ruckus behind him and Fishlegs. The crowd split in two in front of Hakon. The chief's son was quite a brutal sight. Some bandages had appeared on his leg, but most of his injuries were still untreated and visible for all to see. With his size and muscles the sight was actually quite scary, especially since he didn't seem to let the injuries slow him. Hiccup had flashbacks of his suffering at the hands of Snotlout and the twins less than two weeks earlier. Snotlout had been thrown to a wall... How much had Hakon's suffering infuriated him?

Hiccup wished he could have had Toothless by his side right then, but forced himself to stay calm. Having Toothless blast through the village and rip apart the chief's son wasn't what they needed now. Hiccup had to rely on the feeling of strength he got through their stretched bond to help him stand up to the half-burnt man in front of him.

Hakon stopped in front of Hiccup and Fishlegs, towering over both of them.

"And you claim to understand more than us? What makes you think you can simply march into my village, disturb my fight, and then act all superior after leaving a dragon alive?"

"Your father has already welcomed us to the village, and last time I checked, he was still the chief. As for the fight: You would be dead if I didn't interfere with that mess."

Hakon moved too quickly to avoid him and grabbed Hiccup's new tunic. Hiccup had to focus on calming down Toothless through their bond, even as Hakon pulled him closer until Hiccup could feel hot breath on his face.

"You stained my honour, and I don't like the way you are acting. My father may be too soft to get rid of miserable hiccups like you, but be very careful what you do while you are on Fjoll. Small things get stepped on easily."

Hakon threw Hiccup away to be caught by Fishlegs. He had already turned away to leave when Hiccup got back to his feet. He was grinding his teeth, sharing feelings with Toothless that he had tried to control.

"Also, when it comes to dragons," Hiccup started, "I know a lot more than you have ever even thought you knew, perhaps more than anyone else in the world. To a dragon you are just a small thing to step on, and that is not going to change no matter how much you train your body. Not if your head is empty."

The last part was more Toothless than Hiccup speaking. Hakon didn't move, except for opening and closing his fists several times.

"You should be careful with what you do. Wouldn't want anything to happen before you have a change to witness me kill that dragon."

Hakon walked away through the crowd that was now completely silent. As the chief's son grew more distant, eyes started turning back to Hiccup and Fishlegs. Hiccup had closed his own eyes and was breathing in deeply, trying to calm both himself and Toothless.

'I'm fine. He didn't do anything. No need to worry anymore. Just stay hidden.'

"Hiccup?"

Fishlegs' voice brought Hiccup's attention back to the situation at hand and he opened his eyes.

"I… I think if you want to show people, how dragons really are, this might be our best chance to let them know about it…"

"You are right," Hiccup answered and stepped forward. "Everyone! The chief's son is still too arr-uh… focused on his fight with the dragon to open his mind for new knowledge, but if you want to learn things almost no one knows, then come to the arena tomorrow after lunchtime. It may save your life someday, or the life of someone else." Hiccup paused for a few seconds. "And don't bring any weapons."

No one said a word so Hiccup continued walking. The crowd gave him and Fishlegs some space to get through. They already saw the smoke coming from the forge. It was by the same market that they had traded on before. A two-storied building appeared in front of them which had multiple new weapons and tools placed in front of it, around a counter that opened to the marketplace. The old Torbjorn was nowhere to be seen, but it was easy to hear what he was doing. The sound of a hammer hitting metal made Hiccup think of Gobber.

"Mister Torbjorn! Can you hear me?" Hiccup shouted, but there was no answer. "Mister Torbjorn!"

"Yes, just a moment."

A large man walked to the counter from behind a corner. Scars around his arms were enough to tell Hiccup that they had found who they were looking for. He'd had his own share of mishaps at the forge, despite Gobber's best efforts. The chief had been justified in calling the man old. Wrinkles on the blacksmith's forehead were only hidden by the grey hair that was already thinning on the top. The only person Hiccup could think of who was definitely older than the man was Gothi, the village elder and healer back on Berk.

"Do any of my items seem interesting?"

"They all look like quality work," Hiccup answered completely honestly, "but we didn't actually come to buy anything. We came to search for a job. The chief mentioned that you could use another pair of hands or two."

The man leaned on the counter, looking at the pair more closely.

"He wasn't wrong, but I wonder if you are up to the task. Do you have any experience? I'm too old to start teaching another apprentice from the beginning."

"I have already been a blacksmith's apprentice for years," Hiccup answered and gave a glance to Fishlegs who stayed silent. "Fishlegs hasn't worked in a forge but he is stronger than me and it looks like you could also use someone serving customers while you are working in the back."

"You aren't wrong in that," the man admitted, stroking his chin. "Maybe I could afford some help."

"We aren't expensive, especially if you have an extra room that we could stay in while we are in Fjoll."

"I do have one, but let's not rush things yet. You haven't yet convinced me that you are worth hiring. Come in if you think that you are up for it. Oh, and you can call me Haldor, but don't you dare add 'old' in front of it!"

Hiccup walked in with Fishlegs in tow. That same evening Haldor opened a door to a small room in the second floor, right next to the stairs. The room had a table, chair, and a single bed. A closed hatch separated the room from the outside air. Hiccup almost kicked a bucket of water by the door. The water didn't look like it had stayed there for long and the space was completely clean. An extra mattress had been placed on the floor by the table.

"Unfortunately, the room wasn't meant for two, my former apprentice used to live here alone."

"It seems fine, especially concerning our working time," Hiccup answered.

"I would prefer if you could work full days, but if you work like you did today, you more than earn the room in half a day. Anyway, if the chief has approved what you are going to do at the arena; I shouldn't interfere with it."

"And the private projects I mentioned?"

"After I finish working for the day, and if you pay for the materials yourself before using them, then I have no objections."

"Seems fair."

"If that is all, work starts when the sun is fully above the horizon. Start with heating the forge and put the products outside."

Haldor stepped aside to allow Fishlegs to enter the room and then left. Hiccup sat on the bed and fell backwards. He stretched and shook his arms, but didn't feel like doing much more. Two aching arms on top of everything else was a small price for having secured a job and a place to stay in Fjoll. Fishlegs sat next to him.

"I didn't know that you have a trader in you," Hiccup said.

"I just asked people what they actually need. It was your blacksmithing that convinced him to hire us. I guess, working on knives and nails isn't that hard after fixing a dragon."

"Yeah, and now I can make sure Toothless' fin stays good and make backups," Hiccup said. He couldn't help but smile as he did so. "Speaking of which."

Hiccup pushed himself back up and tried to stand up, but the sudden movement made him lose balance. A wave of nausea that he had fought against for hours finally struck with full strength. He staggered towards the table to get some support. Fishlegs was up and by Hiccup before he got there.

"Are you okay?"

"No, I've been in the village for too long. We are too far away."

"From Toothless?" Fishlegs whispered.

"Obliviously. You can have the bed. I can't stay for the night."

"Hiccup, I'm really starting to get worried. You…"

"Don't say it," Hiccup said and turned to head to the door with careful steps. "I'll tell Meatlug that you are okay, but one of us should stay here to avoid suspicion."

"Okay, I see that I can't change your mind, and I guess you are right about the later part."

Hiccup gave Fishlegs one more glance and nodded reassuringly before stepping out of the door. He looked around to make sure that Haldor wasn't around and walked down the stairs, trying to not make noise. The sun was already down, but there were still quite a few people walking around the village. Dominant sounds were music and singing from a handful of taverns around the village. Hiccup ignored them as he walked back towards the arena and past it. The back of the village was much quieter and Hiccup was mostly alone, choosing to avoid the few people who he noticed.

Finally, the village ended and after crossing a large opening, the trees surrounded Hiccup. He kept walking through the pitch-black forest, mostly worrying about where he was stepping. The trees were thick and so were their roots. At least he was already feeling much better. The headache hadn't disappeared, but it wasn't pulsating anymore like someone was hitting his brains with a hammer.

Thankfully he wouldn't have to worry about that much longer. Hiccup stopped and turned his head up, to face a pair of green eyes. He placed his arm on Toothless' snout, and focused on reinforcing their stretched bond. The remaining headache and nausea disappeared in seconds. Even his arms were less sore. Toothless felt similarly better and dropped down from the tree, sniffing around Hiccup's body to make sure that he wasn't injured, as if the dragon wouldn't have already known that if he was.

'Let's go bud. We still need to get you dinner, and I don't want to be anywhere near the village while we sleep.'