I'm back for another chapter, thanks to those who have already favourited it.
I plan for this to be a longer fanfiction (150k-200k words) so I'm not gonna skip over points I think are important, like Hiccup leaving berk. Hiccup doesn't get off Berk till the very end of this chapter.
I've seen too many promising fanfics lose steam because they jump to the meat of the story too quickly.
That by no way means that I plan to make mine long, drawn-out, and boring though. just that there'll be a little run-up to Hiccup becoming powerful.
Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.
Hiccup, using the same route he had taken to the house, rushed back to the forest. He needed to speedily re-acquire his travelling supplies and then reach Toothless.
Thankfully the darkness aided his commute, allowing him to move quickly without attracting attention.
He was grateful for that commodity. Hiccup had not yet adjusted to the weight of a sword hanging from his left hip and needed to familiarize himself with the sensation. It wasn't a big change, but it was enough to make him feel as though his capabilities in stealth were being hindered.
It only took a few minutes for Hiccup to reach the line of trees. Upon entering the shadowy forest, he promptly made his way over to the bush which contained his travelling supplies.
He now had to spend a few minutes trying to locate the correct bush. The darkened forest was concealing his hiding spot exceptionally well, both to the pleasure and annoyance of Hiccup.
Hiccup felt immensely relieved when he peered into a short stubby bush that revealed a stuffed leather pack and storage basket.
'Thank the gods!' Hiccup mentally exclaimed.
He quickly reached into the bush and grabbed the basket filled with fish. Once the basket was free of the twigs he hastily strapped it to his back.
He reached back in and grabbed the leather sack. He opted to carry it with his hands instead of adding more weight to his back.
He grunted a little as he reached his full height, some of the muscles in his body were still giving protest to the new weight.
'I'm gonna have to get stronger if I plan on living alone.' Hiccup inwardly groaned.
'I won't get the chance if I can't get off this island.' he also mused.
Hiccup, ignoring his muscles as they whinged in discomfort, started to trudge off to the cove where Toothless was currently residing.
His progress to the cove was slowed by the darkness which blanketed the forest floor. The only light afforded to Hiccup was the occasional beam of moonlight that penetrated the canopy above.
After almost ten minutes of walking through a forest shrouded in shadows, Hiccup finally reached a small clearing that held a familiar sight.
Illuminated by moonlight, he spotted a large skid mark that marred the ground of the clearing. It was the skid mark left by Toothless after being shot out of the sky.
Hiccup sighed, reminded once again that he had crippled his most trusted friend.
'Then again.' Hiccup reasoned. 'We hadn't exactly been friends when I did this.'
Hiccup was snatched away from his thoughts after hearing a rustle emerge from the impenetrable darkness of the forest, it had sounded close.
Without much thought, Hiccup backed out of the clearing and ducked down behind a large bush. After a few minutes of hiding, he finally spotted the source of the rustle as she made her way into the clearing.
'Strange.' Thought Astrid, scanning the sides of the clearing.
'Could've sworn I heard a noise come from over he-' Her thought was cut off as she noticed the large mark that ripped through the ground, scarring the clearing.
She was instantly on alert, moving her axe so that she could readily react to danger, her muscles eagerly anticipating whatever motion she should require.
'Surely nothing but a dragon could have caused this.' Astrid analytically concluded, her attention now re-doubling on the surroundings.
She ran her vigilant eyes over the edges of the clearing once more, looking for anything that might've escaped her gaze the first time. She thought she spotted some movement from a bush to her right.
She slightly crouched and tensely stalked towards the bush, axe in hand ready for whatever might appear.
Astrid was almost upon the bush when she heard another rustle from the same direction, it had come from deeper in the woods.
'Something or someone is running away!' Astrid realized.
Letting her curiosity be a deciding factor in her actions, she gave pursuit. Hoping she would find something that gave some indication of how the ground of the clearing had gotten so damaged.
She bounded off into the forest, listening for any more sounds that her target might give off.
Hiccup was silently freaking out as he watched Astrid take notice of the wounded ground in the clearing.
Her body tensed and she was now scanning the sides of the clearing. Her penetrating gaze worried Hiccup, he had come too far to be caught now.
Hiccup, thinking quickly, reached over and picked up a stone about the diameter of his palm. He let his movement rustle the bush a little, hoping to catch Astrid's attention.
Sure enough, upon peering back into the clearing, he noticed that Astrid's stare was now directed towards his bush. She held her axe in a position that would allow her to use it at a moment's notice. She moved as if she were a cat stalking barn mice, her movement was graceful and held purpose.
When she was about ten feet away from the bush that he was taking refuge in, Hiccup turned his torso as discreetly as possible and threw the stone deep into the forest. As soon as the rock left his hand, he turned back around and concealed as much of his body possible in the bush. A few moments later, he heard the thud of the rock landing somewhere in the forest.
Hiccup sat there in silence, praying to the gods that his trick would work on Astrid.
Hiccup didn't have to wait long for his prayers to be answered. Moments after the rock had landed in the forest, Astrid darted past his hiding spot towards the source of the sound.
She unknowingly came within five feet of Hiccup before being enveloped in the darkness supplied by the forest.
Hiccup released a breath that he hadn't noticed himself holding. He listened for a few more moments, making sure that Astrid didn't suddenly turn around and come back to the clearing. After a few minutes, he decided it was safe enough to continue travelling to the cove.
He only had a short distance left to cover before reaching the cove and Toothless, the thought of the latter brought a smile to Hiccup's face.
Hiccup wiggled his way out of the bush and dragged the leather sack behind him, it having been placed on the ground when he was hiding.
Ignoring his defiant muscles once more, Hiccup stood and started towards the cove.
After about five minutes of walking, he reached the cove and immediately went for the entrance. As soon as he found the space between two rocks, which he regularly used to access the cove, Hiccup squeezed his way through and began his descent.
He had to strap the leather sack to his back, which along with a basket of cod, made Hiccup feel as though someone was pulling on his back. He took a few steps to get used to the sensation and then slowly lowered himself over the edge.
He almost fell twice trying to reach the floor of the cove, the unusual weight was disrupting his precision and made his movements awkward. After a few minutes of struggling down the rocky face, his feet found their way to the ground of the cove. Both the basket and leather sack were still attached to his person.
He looked around the cove, his usual wonder for the beautiful scenery being disregarded. He needed to swiftly locate Toothless.
Suddenly, Hiccup found himself pinned to the ground and being hit by something warm and wet, repeatedly.
"Stop it bud, you know that won't come out," Chuckled Hiccup, only slightly grossed out. "Yes, I'm happy to see you as well! But we need to leave right away,"
The black dragon pulled its head away and tilted it to the side, showing his confusion.
"Both of us are in danger if we stay here, it's not safe," warned Hiccup, rising to his feet while attempting to rub the dragon's odd-smelling spit off his face.
"We'll fly south and then-," Hiccup started his sentence but stopped, a thoughtful expression gripped his facial features. "I'm not actually sure where we'll go or what we'll do when we get there, but it doesn't matter. Any place is better than Berk," concluded Hiccup.
Apparently understanding what Hiccup was saying and sensing his urgency, Toothless bounded over to a nearby bush and came back with a saddle in his mouth. He dropped it in front of Hiccup with an expectant expression.
'Well, at least I don't have to convince him.' Thought Hiccup, grateful for the dragon's trust in him.
Hiccup brought himself back to the present and focused his attention on the task of setting up Toothless's saddle. Before starting that however, Hiccup removed the basket of fish from his back and poured half of its contents onto the ground.
Upon seeing the confused look that Toothless gave him, he explained.
"We're going to travel pretty far after taking off from Berk before we stop. Hopefully, no one can track us if we cover enough distance quickly. You might not get the opportunity to hunt during that time"
Without needing anymore coaxing, Toothless took a few steps forward and brought his triangular head down to indulge in the pile of fish.
Hiccup smiled as he watched Toothless gorge himself greedily on the Atlantic cod. He only stared for a few seconds before bending down to pick up Toothless's saddle.
He took the saddle and threw it up on the neck of the dragon, Toothless paid it no attention as he continued to devour the pile of fish.
Next, Hiccup straightened the saddle so that it sat properly against Toothless's jet black scales. When that was done, he worked on connecting the various rods which would allow the prosthetic fin on Toothless's tail to work. This task took a few minutes as he wanted to ensure nothing would come loose on the impending flight awaiting them.
He double-checked his work to make sure he didn't make any mistakes, he hadn't.
Hiccup then grabbed his bulging sack and the now half-filled basket of Atlantic cod, that's when he realized a problem.
He wouldn't be able to hold on to both the basket and leather sack while trying to fly, but he certainly couldn't leave them behind.
'Shit!' Hiccup mentally growled, trying to simultaneously think of a way to resolve this issue.
He had little time to think about this, someone could discover his absence at any time.
'Come on Hiccup, think!'
Suddenly Hiccup's head popped up, an idea coming to mind. He placed the basket and leather sack on the ground and started to rifle through the latter. After a minute of searching, he had pulled out the items he desired which were an iron rod, a hammer, a small pair of tongs, and a sheet of leather.
Toothless, who had now finished his pile of fish, eyed his rider with interest. He nudged the boy on the shoulder to get him to explain what he was doing, which he did.
"I can't carry both the sack and basket while flying, so I'll need to add a hook onto the saddle," explained Hiccup, before looking back at his dragon and grinning. "I'll actually need your help with this,"
Hiccup held up the iron rod he had just retrieved from the sack and positioned it so that one side was face level with Toothless.
"I need you to heat this side so I can flatten it and stick it through the saddle, it'll give the hook leverage," explained Hiccup, he then turned the rod so the opposite side was now on face level with Toothless. "Then I'll need you to heat this side so that I may curve it into a hook shape"
Toothless gave a nod and started to gather some fire in his throat.
"STOP!" Hiccup yelled, Toothless gave him an odd look as trails of smoke leaked from the sides of his mouth. "We'll do this by the pond so I can cool down the metal once it's in the shape I want"
'Also for me to jump into, just in case you set me on fire.' Hiccup finished mentally, figuring Toothless wouldn't appreciate the comment.
Toothless made a throaty gurgle noise, which was his draconic version of laughing, before walking over to the pond.
Hiccup placed the hammer and tongs into his belt and followed him, the rod still in hand.
Once they were on the sandy shore of the pond, Hiccup once again held up the iron rod in a position so Toothless could blast it.
He heard as Toothless started to gather more fire in his throat, he couldn't help but look away. He trusted his dragon with every cell of his being, but he'd rather not watch his arm get blown off should an accident occur.
He heard the sound of Toothless firing his shot, then after not even a second, he felt his arm being pushed backwards with a large amount of force. It felt as though his shoulder had almost popped out of its socket.
He groaned and nearly dropped the iron rod in his hand, but in a show of strength for the teen, he didn't. Instead, he looked over to see one half of the rod glowing cherry red and immediately set to work.
He briskly walked over to a section of the shore where a group of larger rocks were clustered together. He fitted the cool end of the rod in between two of the rocks, leaving it stuck up vertically with the heated end pointing towards the sky.
He pulled the hammer out of his belt and started to strike the end of the rod, flattening it. His years of blacksmithing paying him dividend at the moment, all the hammer strikes were precise and measured.
He hammered away for a few minutes and sweat started forming on his brow. Once the end of the iron rod was a roughly circular shape and had a diameter of about 3 inches, Hiccup stopped his hammering.
The task was not complete however and he removed the tongs from his belt.
He gripped the searing metal with his tongs and bent the rod about ninety degrees, the flattened portion of the rod now faced horizontally. The metal bent with surprising ease and Hiccup had almost over-bent the rod.
Hiccup was quite impressed by how hot the iron was. It had maintained its red glowing radiance despite being exposed to the cool night air, for nigh on ten minutes!
'The forge would've burnt down before we could get metal this hot!' Hiccup remarked to himself.
Hiccup carefully grabbed the bottom of the iron rod with his hand and unwedged it. He quickly transferred the glowing metal into the pound beside him.
The water around the rod boiled and released steam when it made contact with the water, it was accompanied by a persistent sizzling sound. The metal did not stop boiling the surrounding water for close to thirty seconds, it also slowly lost its glow over this period of time.
With the first part of the hook finished Hiccup removed it from the water. He tentatively touched the metal to make sure it had cooled enough to handle. After ensuring the metal wouldn't melt his skin, Hiccup looked over his shoulder at Toothless.
"Think you can spare another blast bud?" Hiccup rhetorically asked, knowing Toothless has plenty left to spare. Hiccup remembered what happened the first time and started to rub his sore shoulder.
"Any chances it can be a smaller blast, my shoulder didn't take kindly to the last one," Hiccup added in a pleading tone.
Toothless responded by giving Hiccup a gumless smile.
Hiccup moved away from the cluster of rocks and stood directly beside the body of water. With the half-completed hook in hand, he held it up again so that Toothless could shoot it. His right shoulder ached madly as he did this.
Hiccup ignored the pain as best he could and nodded at Toothless, bracing himself as he did this. He opted to watch the shot being fired this time.
When Toothless saw Hiccup's signal he let loose a single flame ball.
Hiccup again felt the pressure, but it paled in comparison to the power behind the first shot. He noticed that the ball of fire Toothless shot wasn't very big, roughly the size of a cannonball.
He looked over to the metal in his hand, the fireball's course had been true and one side of the rod was red hot. He turned and took a few steps back to the rock cluster, intending on wedging it.
He found a place to wedge the rod but it wasn't the greatest. The odd shape of the side that had already been flattened and bent prevented Hiccup from placing it between most of the rocks.
After finding a place and wedging the rod in the rocks, Hiccup used his tongs and once again bent the metal around ninety degrees. This time he had bent a lot more of the rod and started to form it into a rough hook shape.
'Doesn't have to be anything pretty, just good enough to work.' Hiccup reminded himself, his eyes starting to take notice of imperfections and his impulses compelling him to fix it.
He finished creating his makeshift hook and dipped the red hot side into the water. Its reaction to the water was less violent and the metal cooled quicker than the first time, Toothless must've understood his request for a less powerful fireball.
He looked it over once and decided he was mildly satisfied, which was enough for him in this situation. He gathered his tools and motioned for Toothless to follow him back to the leather sack and basket.
Upon reaching the supplies, he bent down and picked up the leather sheet he had removed from the sack earlier. He also reached into the leather sack and fished out a couple of nails and placed them in his pocket.
Hiccup put the completed hook on his belt and then drew his sword, the motion felt awkward to him.
He noticed the blade was razor-sharp, his father must've gotten bored one day and sharpened all the weapons in the house. He used this razor-sharp edge to slice a small portion of leather away from the sheet. The piece was only about as long and wide as his palm, it'd be more than enough though.
Hiccup then approached Toothless, leather in one hand and sword in the other. Hiccup noticed happily that Toothless didn't seem to visibly tense when he approached him with a weapon in hand, it showed a deep-seated trust.
When he reached Toothless, Hiccup raised his sword to the saddle and stuck the tip through, making a small hole. He sheathed his sword and pulled the hook from his belt.
He brought the flattened part of the hook up to the hole and maneuvered it through the saddle. The flattened end now hung from the inside of the saddle, below its hook-shaped bottom rested against Toothless's scales.
He now focused his attention on the inside of the saddle, the flattened portion of metal would press against his hip if he were to sit in it. He knew the upcoming flights were going to be long and the metal would likely become an annoyance; that's where the leather came in.
Hiccup climbed up the side of Toothless so he could get in a better position to work on the inside of the saddle.
Toothless turned his head to look at the boy from the corner of his eye, watching as he positioned himself in a weird position on his back.
Once he was on Toothless and found his balance, Hiccup removed the hammer from his belt and fished the nails from his pocket. He positioned the piece of leather over the circular bit of metal, then hammered two nails through it. One was placed above the metal and the other below it.
The leather was now held securely by the nails and would hopefully prevent the flattened part of the rod from causing him discomfort while flying. The pointed end of the nails faced away from the saddle and would need to be heated bent at a later time, he had spent far too much time in the cove.
He rushed off Toothless and ran back to the sack and basket. He placed the basket on his back first, planning to leave it there for the duration of the flight. He then removed the old rolled-up map from the sack and placed the tools from his belt back into it.
Once the sack was properly closed he picked it up and walked back over to Toothless.
The black-scaled dragon seemed excited, assuming that it was finally time to leave. He had grown bored watching his rider work on the hook which currently hung from his saddle.
Hiccup placed the map on the ground as he hoisted the heavy sack onto the hook. He waited a few moments after hanging the sack to ensure the hook could hold the weight. Once he was confident that the sack would not fall, he picked the map up off the ground and climbed atop Toothless.
Hiccup was a little awkward climbing up Toothless, the half-filled basket of fish tampering with his perception of space slightly. Once seated in the saddle, he was happy to feel that the leather piece had nicely cushioned the hard metal on the inside of the saddle.
His foot clicked into the contraption which allowed him to change the position of Toothless's fin.
He looked around the desolate cove, thinking of all the time he had spent there over the past couple of weeks. It saddened him to leave this haven, but he was simultaneously thrilled about it.
'We no longer have to hide from people.' that thought supplied Hiccup with some much-needed motivation.
"Alright bud, we should be good to leave now," Hiccup voiced aloud.
Toothless responded with an oddly feline purr and tensed his muscles in preparation for flight. Then with a large jump, they were airborne, Toothless's wings flapped and propelled them even higher.
In mere seconds the pair were several hundred feet in the air, it provided them with an eagle's eye view of the island.
Hiccup looked at the map and determined which direction was south of their position. But before directing Toothless that way, Hiccup wanted to do one last thing.
"Hey bud, Think you could circle over Berk once?" Hiccup nearly shouted, trying to overcome the sound of the wind.
He felt Toothless angle his body towards his former village, Hiccup responded by shifting his foot to correct the positioning of his dragon's prosthetic tail fin. Then with a powerful downwards flap from Toothless, they shot off towards Berk at high speed.
The flight to Berk had taken a small fraction of the time it usually took for Hiccup to reach the cove coming from the other direction. Toothless had ascended several hundred more feet during the flight, hoping to remain undetected by the Vikings inhabiting the village.
Hiccup felt as they slowed down a little when they reached the village, he looked down at what would now be his former home.
'I didn't belong here anyway.' Hiccup sighed, his mood slightly soured.
He steeled himself from the emotions that had arisen from within him and started to direct Toothless south.
What lay in that direction was a complete mystery to the pair.
Toothless was more or less indifferent in his feeling for what was to come.
Hiccup on the other hand was feeling an array of emotions about the future. He felt both frightened and enticed for what the adventure would have to offer. He was sure that it would be an improvement over Berk, however.
Life with a dragon would undoubtedly be interesting, Hiccup grinned at the prospect of it. After a few more moments of looking at Berk, Hiccup ripped his gaze from the village. He straightened his stare out towards the land and sea that laid before him.
He felt ready to embrace the life ahead of him.
there we are, that's the end of chapter two. hope you found it enjoyable.
I plan of keeping my chapters between 4k-5k words in length, though some may fall above and below that margin.
Also, I promise that more will happen in the next chapter, so stay tuned for that.