WhiteIceWolf: Go to my profile. There is a list there.
Here you go peoples, another chapter about Snotlout. He may get a little OOC, but all for the good of the story. And I think we've pretty much established that he's a broken soul in need of a hero, so...
Enjoy!
Chapter 52 Snotlout
Hiccup took a deep breath before he pushed the door open. Wrenlou was sitting next to one of the beds, looking up when he entered. He closed the door, leaning against it. Wrenlou came towards him and Hiccup glanced at the bed. Snotlout seemed to be fast asleep, the blanket pulled up to his chin.
'How is he?'
'As well as can be expected. Hiccup, I... I did what I could, but I can only take care of his body. I have no experience with broken souls.'
Hiccup nodded and looked at Snotlout again. Wrenlou followed his gaze.
'He asked for you.'
'Did he say why?'
Wrenlou shook his head. 'My guess is that he wants to talk to you about everything that happened between you two. He was pretty shaken that you would forgive him like that. Should I wake him?'
'Yes please.'
Wrenlou turned around, but then turned back. 'Did it work out? With the dragons?'
Hiccup smiled. 'Yes it did. I left them in the Arena, Broghan is watching them.'
'I knew you could do it.'
With that, Wrenlou turned around. Hiccup stayed at the door, watching them as Wrenlou softly woke Snotlout. As soon as the man was awake and settled with some pillows in his back, Hiccup approached them.
He sat down on the chair, his leg stretched out to him. Wrenlou left without a word, walking towards the door. Before he could open it, Hiccup called to him, waving him over. He frowned, going back to the two men.
'Something wrong?'
Snotlout shook his head, cringing a bit. 'I... I want to talk to both of you...'
Wrenlou pulled another chair next to Hiccup and sat down. They both waited for Snotlout to say something. Hiccup was eyeing his cousin. He looked pale, almost fragile. The signs of abuse were clearly visible now, and Hiccup felt a shudder run down his spine.
'I... I'm sorry...'
'For what?'
'Everything! For beating you up so often, calling you names. I'm sorry I hurt you. I was jealous...'
'What? Of me? Why would you be jealous of me?'
'Because... because of your relationship with your father...'
'Snotlout, my relationship with my father didn't exist. He pretended like I wasn't even there. And when he did, he would tell me everything I did wrong and how he had to clean up my mess again.'
'But he didn't hit you! He would leave you alone. You could burn half the village, and he still wouldn't hit you. And that one time you got burned he did take you to see the healer. My father never let me see a healer...'
Hiccup took a deep breath. Wrenlou's suspicion had been right after all. And he did remember the day that he had gotten burned because he left the house during a dragon raid. His father had been angry, yelling at him for ignoring orders, but his mood had softened when he had seen the burn. He had taken him to the healer immediately, demanding that she looked after the wound.
'He would do his best to keep you away from the dragons, away from danger. My father would always threaten to throw me for the dragons. He would push me out of the house, forcing me to fight every raid. He would lock me out of the house when he thought I hadn't fought enough, or trained enough. He would beat me every single day. He would...'
He stopped, inhaling sharply. Angrily, he wiped his hands over his face, obviously fighting back the tears. Hiccup didn't say anything. Snotlout's words had hit him hard. He never thought to look behind the mask of anger and resentment. He never thought that there could be another that was just as broken as he had been all those years ago.
He looked at his cousin again. His entire behaviour had made a 360 degrees turn. It seemed like he was finally showing who he really was.
'I guess I would beat you to make myself feel better. I wanted someone to feel the way I did, and you were the one standing between me and chiefdom... my father would always be on about that, although he never said it to Stoick's face. I though... if something were to happen to you... and I would be next in line... he would finally leave me alone. That's why I did what I did. I think I secretly hoped you would die.'
Hiccup's eyes widened at this statement. Snotlout had wished him dead?
'That's why I was happy at first when you disappeared. I thought it would be over. But it only got worse. He would always be going on how I needed to be the strongest, fastest, the best...'
He stopped again. Hiccup still hadn't said anything. Snotlout buried his face in his hands, his body shaking, and something inside Hiccup snapped. He wasn't angry anymore, he couldn't be. If he had been still harboring a grudge against his cousin, it had died right there. He reached out, gently placing a hand on Snotlout's shoulder, squeezing it softly. Snotlout looked up, his eyes shimmering with tears.
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry I would hurt you. I'm sorry I challenged you, I'm sorry I tried to kill you. I'm sorry about everything.'
'It's okay. I accept your apology. Don't worry about it. Consider it forgotten.'
'Why are you so damn forgiving? I don't deserve that.'
'Of course you do. Every one deserves a second chance, even you. Especially you. Look, Snotlout, it's not in my nature to hold grudges. And besides, I don't see the point in harboring hatred. It's a useless emotion that destroys only yourself.'
Snotlout took a shuddering breath. 'I never hated you...'
'Come again?'
'I never hated you. It was just my dad...' He shuddered. 'Where is he now?'
Hiccup shrugged. 'I don't know. I handed him over to my father and left it up to him. I have no idea what he will do.'
'I don't think I would mind if he killed him. I secretly wished he would die every time there was a raid. At least then I would be free of him.'
'It's over now. He can't hurt you anymore. Never again.'
Snotlout smiled weakly. 'Did you really see what he did last night?'
'Why do you think I was there?' Wrenlou spoke up for the first time.
'I...' Snotlout trailed off, staring from Hiccup to Wrenlou, then back to Hiccup. 'I guess I didn't really connect the dots at the time. I'm curious though, what would you have done if you hadn't found out?'
'Send you to Dragoncity on the back of a Monstrous Nightmare.'
'But... really?' Hiccup nodded. 'But why?'
'Why? I told you. Dragoncity has a lot to offer. Hell, it gave me a brother. It gave me a family, a real family. It gave me friends, a home. But most important, it taught me some life lessons that helped me a lot when times were difficult. Like family above everything else. Like it or not, you are family. That alone got you a second chance.'
'Do you think I could find all that?'
'All that and more. Who knows. There's a lot to learn. And it will give you time to heal. You could come back one day, if you want.'
'You came back didn't you? After everything we did to you.'
'Well... it took me ten years to do so. And I dragged my brother along, who promptly got injured.'
'Shut up Hiccup, or I will hit you.'
'You wouldn't. You're a healer.'
'And a warrior. See the conflict?'
Hiccup sighed, turning back to Snotlout. 'Point is, you need to get off Berk. Not for us, but for yourself.'
'I thought about leaving before... I guess I never had the balls to do it for real. You did.'
'Only because I had a set of wings to carry me.'
'I think you're just braver than I am.'
'I doubt it. I think...'
The rest of the sentence was lost when he started coughing, each breath suddenly burning in his chest.
'Hiccup? Hiccup! What's wrong!'
Snotlout stared in shock as Hiccup struggled to breath, coughing violently. He had staggered back against the wall. Wrenlou was in front of him, guiding him down.
'Hiccup... what's wrong?'
'I think I breathed in too much Zippleback gas.' Hiccup breathed in between coughs.
'Hold on a minute.'
Wrenlou stood up, walking towards the cabinet. He searched around it for a bit, then pulled something out. He filled a cup with water and mixed it with whatever he had taken from the cabinet, then went back to Hiccup. Hiccup drank the liquid, still coughing, but the coughs subsides quickly after he had emptied the cup.
'I thought we had agreed upon the fact that it's never a good idea to breath in Zippleback gas.'
'It's not like I did it on purpose. That dragon suddenly sprayed at my face. And the entire Arena was covered with it.'
'Yeah yeah I get it. Can you get back up?'
Hiccup nodded, coughing again. Wrenlou pulled him up and deposited him back on the chair before he went to get more water. Hiccup looked up at Snotlout.
'Sorry about that...'
Snotlout didn't answer, but looked up surprised when Wrenlou came back and offered him a cup with water. He gave Hiccup the other one and sat down again.
'So... you trained the other dragons?'
Hiccup nodded. 'And you best do your best to heal quickly. We can't leave Hookfang in that cage for too long.'
Snotlout smiled. 'I still can't believe you did that. For me. After everything.'
'Can we please get over that? I understand, really I do. And I know what it's like to be trapped and beaten.'
'No you don't...'
'You think so? Wrenlou and I have both seen our fair share of torture. And endured it. We survived because we had each other. I survived because I knew I could count on him. You have me now. I will do my best to get you in flying shape as soon as possible so that you can leave. Leave all the painful memories.'
Snotlout looked up at him. A sparkle had returned to his eyes, hope could be found within them now.
'I would like that. A lot.'
'No matter how much I hate to cut this short, Hiccup, he needs to rest.'
'Sure. I should get back to the Arena anyway. See if the twins burned down the place yet with that two-headed monster.'
he stood up, grabbing the crutch again. He was almost at the door when Wrenlou's voice made him turn around.
'Hiccup? Don't breath in the gas...'
He laughed and promptly started coughing again. He quickly found his breath again and waved at Wrenlou, signaling he was alright. The last thing he saw was Wrenlou pushing Snotlout back down, tucking him in.
As soon as the door closed behind him, he took a deep breath. He didn't dare to admit it in front of his cousin, but everything he had said had shaken him to the core. Who would have thought that Snotlout, big mean Snotlout, was just a gentle soul hiding away in fear of being hurt.
He decided to go find his father, to talk about Spitelout. For the first time he didn't care if the man was family or not, he did something far worse than just trying to kill his son. He felt a strange kind of burning in his heart, a burning he had previously only known when Wrenlou had been in mortal danger.
He knew what it was.
And he feared it.
