Hello again, back with another installment.
IMPORTANT: I had originally intended to cover about twice as much material then I did in this chapter, but work really bogged me down and I didn't want to keep people waiting, so I split the chapter.
A few hints for what a bond between Toothless and Hiccup will entail are shown in this chapter.
Big thanks again to everyone who has favourited and reviewed this story, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that it is almost up to 40 favourites.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hiccup awoke lying on the sand, he felt more tired than he had before succumbing to sleep and his body ached madly.
Begrudgingly; he opened his eyes and surveyed the cloudy sky for a few seconds, waiting for his brain to start processing the world around him again. That's when he noticed his back was no longer leaning on Toothless like it had been the night before.
He quickly stammered to his feet and looked around for a large black scaled body. The island was small enough that he could see the end of the shore in either direction.
To his dismay, he spotted no dragon on this side of the island. He panicked a little, thinking the worst had happened.
He tried calming himself by rationalizing the situation.
'He's a giant fire breathing dragon, I doubt he's in any physical danger.' Hiccup reasoned to himself.
Though he was unable to shake an uncomfortable feeling that resided in his stomach.
'He wouldn't abandon me either.' he asserted to himself.
"He's probably just hunting or exploring."Hiccup concluded aloud, not entirely confident in his statement.
Hiccup knew that he was overagerrating, but the sudden absence of Toothless made him slightly irrational; he was overly worried for his draconic friend. It was like a natural urge drove him to be with Toothless. When that urge was not fulfilled, then it was like an unscratchable itch plagued his mind with trepidation.
He hadn't felt this for any other person or thing before, it perturbed him.
Hiccup ambled over to the leather sack that laid a short distance away, he needed to distract himself.
He decided to more comprehensively assess his supplies, he had obviously not brought enough.
'Gonna be a lot of cold nights without a blanket or fire.' thought Hiccup, not entirely happy with the prospect.
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
He was travelling with a dragon.
'I'll have all the fire I could ever need, stupid!' Hiccup mentally berated himself, feeling that he should be more observant if survival was going to be an option.
The solution to the fire complication only brought Hiccup a small amount of comfort before his mind drifted to what happened minutes before landing yesterday.
Thoughts of a map just barely escaping his clutches thoroughly vanquished his previously felt comfort.
'So I'll need a blanket and a new map. Plus I guess a compass wouldn't hurt.' sighed Hiccup.
The list sounded short enough, but most of those items were essential to his navigation; he didn't fancy flying around the archipelago blindly.
He had no idea where he could acquire those items either.
A headache threatened to sink its claws into Hiccup's brain. The stress of the last day and a half was starting to take its physical toll on the teen. Bags were present under the boy's eyes and his skin seemed paler than usual. His current attire was covered in dirt and sand, a few small holes could also be spotted on his pants and tunic.
Hiccup unfastened the sword belt wrapped around his waist and pulled his hands away, letting his belt and the sheathed sword attached fall to the sand below. He had forgotten to remove it the night before due to his weariness.
He plopped down beside the sack and began to rummage through it, taking a mental inventory of the contents. He had warmer clothes for the upcoming cold season but didn't have any clothes which would be suitable for hotter climates.
Some of the traders that came to Berk had said the world gets really warm the further south one travels.
'If we're travelling south it may be in my best interest to grab something a little cooler' Hiccup thought.
He suddenly felt a little better about the money he took from his father, at least it would serve a good purpose.
Aside from restocking his food supplies periodically and perhaps picking up a few different tools, Hiccup felt confident that he could brave through the upcoming cold season if he could get all the previously mentioned items.
'Now where the hell am I supposed to find all the stuff I need?' Hiccup thought with a scowl on his face.
Hiccup ran a dirty hand over his face and contemplated the situation.
'May as well keep heading in the direction we've been going and hope that we don't get blown off course.' Hiccup mused before realizing something.
'The map I've been using wasn't that accurate, we might end up going in a whole other direction than south.'
Hiccup sighed.
'For the love of Thor, why can't everything be simple.'
Hiccup reached back into the leather sack beside him and fished out a few dried meat sticks, he chewed the lightly salted meat in silence, only one thought occupied his mind.
'Where was Toothless?'
Hiccup had been lounging on the beach for around thirty minutes before a large amount of water erupted from the ocean a short way down the shore.
Hiccup jumped up onto his feet, startled by the eruption of water but immediately calmed down upon seeing its source.
Toothless's slick frame snaked its way out of the ocean and onto the shore. The dragon shook himself in an almost dog-like fashion attempting to dry off, it was only partially successful. Then Toothless started to bound up the shore towards his rider.
Hiccup felt uncomparable relief when his eyes landed on Toothless, it felt like a vice had been removed from his heart. The feeling of tears started to well up in his eyes but he stopped them from falling.
'What's gotten into me!?' Hiccup thought incredulously, he had only been without Toothless for maybe an hour. The pair had gone much longer periods of time being separated in the last few weeks and he never once felt the need to cry.
He pushed his thoughts away and tensed his body in preparation for what would happen next.
Two seconds later, Hiccup was on his back as Toothless playfully pounced on him. Hiccup noticed he wasn't licking him like normal.
'Maybe he's finally learned.' Hiccup wondered, satisfied that he wasn't covered in dragon spit.
That thought came a little too soon because his devious dragon opened its mouth and let a small pile of slimy fish fall all over his face and upper torso.
Hiccup gagged and desperately tried to pull his trapped hands up to his face, Toothless didn't budge.
While attempting to free his hands and wipe the fish away he heard Toothless's draconic laugh.
Hiccup didn't dare open his mouth and scorn the dragon, fearing to let the dragon spit mixed with fish slime enter his mouth. After a minute of struggling, he felt Toothless's weight lift itself from his small frame.
The black dragon still chortled when he pulled his body away, amused by the look on his rider's face.
Hiccup hopped onto his feet the instant he felt the weight lifted, he sent a few fish flying as he stood. One of the fish had been sent flying in Toothless's direction, the dragon snapped his head out and caught it when it came close enough.
Once Hiccup had wiped away enough slime to open his eyes and mouth, he fixed Toothless with a heated glare.
Toothless lazily winked and continued to chew on the fish he had plucked from the air.
Hiccup sighed and laughed a little to himself, his anger at Toothless dissipated as quickly as it came.
He was irritated at being covered in a bunch of fishy-smelling gunk, but his relief from being in Toothless's presence vastly outweighed the irritation.
Hiccup padded up to Toothless and wrapped his arms around the black scaled neck, he felt as his dragon swallowed the fish and purred contently.
"I didn't appreciate the fish, but I'm happy to see you bud," Hiccup spoke, voice slightly muffled as his face was pressed against Toothless's scales.
Toothless purred louder when he heard that, sending vibrations through Hiccup's cheek.
Hiccup pulled away and looked back at the pile of fish that his dragon had caught.
"Was there even a point in bringing the basket of fish?" Hiccup laughed.
He knew that there was, they may not always get a chance to look for food.
Toothless gave a draconic version of a shrug and walked over to the fish, he started to gorge once he reached the pile. Hiccup smiled at his friend's personality.
'How am I gonna get this guck off me?' Hiccup wondered while watching Toothless eat.
He had only brought one water skin and didn't want to waste it cleaning himself. He also didn't want to use the ocean because it was saltwater, it would leave an irritating layer of salt stuck to his skin once he dried off.
After a minute of deliberation, he hesitantly decided that the ocean would be the better option.
'Better to feel uncomfortable than die of dehydration' Hiccup figured.
Strolling past the gorging dragon towards the ocean, he eyed the water unenthusiastically.
The temperature outside was surprisingly warm, but he was sure that the water was an entirely different story. He decided he should get a fire going before entering the water so that he might warm himself when he's done.
He searched the immediate shoreline around him and started picking up driftwood, an armful was collected after a few minutes.
He went back over to Toothless and dropped the wood onto the sand, he then took a few steps and reached into the leather sack. He pulled out a grey tunic and then closed the sack again, the tunic had two layers of fabric sewn together which made it thicker than his current tunic.
He folded the tunic and placed it on the sand, he then turned his attention back to the driftwood.
He bent down and arranged the wood in roughly a triangular shape so that the pieces would each burn evenly. He looked down at his filthy green tunic and fur vest.
'No way I'm going to be able to get them properly cleaned while we're travelling, I also don't need them taking up my limited storage space.' Hiccup pondered.
Hiccup shrugged and took off his fur vest and pulled the green tunic over his head, leaving the upper half of his body bare. It was a warmer day so he didn't shiver when the air made contact with his skin.
He balled the tunic and vest up then placed it at the bottom of the triangular wood structure that would soon be his fire. Now all he needed was a flame.
"Hey bud, think you could shoot a small amount of fire onto this," Hiccup asked Toothless, motioning towards the driftwood and fabric.
Toothless raised his head away from the now smaller pile of fish and gathered a little fire in his mouth.
The fire Toothless sent towards the driftwood structure almost looked like a flaming glob of spit, it was still hot enough to ignite whatever it came in contact with though.
"Thanks, Toothless," said Hiccup as Toothless turned his head back towards the fish.
The fire was starting to grow larger and Hiccup decided he should quickly bathe so he could warm up beside the fire when it reached its hottest.
He pulled off his brown boots that were made of both animal skin and fur and then removed his socks right after them. After that he pulled down his grey pants and the underwear with them, leaving him completely bare. He placed it all beside the folded grey tunic.
He felt a little embarrassed being naked in front of Toothless but then figured that the dragon wouldn't care. There was also no one else on the island besides the two so he felt that it should be fine.
Hiccup hurriedly made his way to the ocean, pausing once he reached the edge of the water which lapped at the shore.
'By Thor's hammer please don't let the water be freezing.' prayed Hiccup.
He dipped his toe in and sighed, the water was very cold.
Deciding to get it over with so that he could re-cloth and lay by the fire, he charged into the frosty ocean.
The water almost shocked him still at first, coldness penetrated him. He stood chest-high in the water and waited a few moments for his body to acclimate.
His body was slow to adjust to the temperature, but his mind felt very awake at the moment; coldness seemed to sharpen his senses. Once his body had adjusted as best it could, Hiccup dunked his head and shoulders under the water. He scrubbed at his face as he did so, attempting to rub off any residue left from Toothless's earlier little stunt.
He only spent a few minutes bathing in the water before the cold became too much to handle. Once he was sure that dragon spit and fish slime no longer clung to his face, Hiccup speedily made his way out of the water.
Hiccup sprinted back towards the fire, he pleasantly noted that it was roaring at this point. He ran right up beside the fire waiting for it to warm him up.
He noticed that Toothless had finished his meal and was watching him.
He once again felt odd about being nude in the dragon's presence but shrugged it off, Toothless looked as though he couldn't care less.
Hiccup stood by the fire for a few minutes, letting the warmth from the flames seep into his bones and dry his skin. Soon he was dry enough to put clothes back on.
Walking over to his clothes he first put on his underwear and pants, then picked up the folded grey tunic and pulled it down over his head. He finished dressing by putting his socks and boots back on.
He turned and walked over to Toothless, laying a hand on his neck when reaching the dragon.
"We should start flying again soon," Hiccup voiced aloud.
Toothless merely shrugged his head a little.
The pair stood gazing at the fire for a couple of minutes, happy to be in each other's presence. Hiccup was the one to break the peace when he trotted over to their supplies.
Reaching the leather sack, Hiccup quickly rummaged through it, making sure everything was accounted for. When that was done he bent over and picked up the sword belt he took off earlier, attaching it the same way as before, with the sheathed sword sitting on his left hip.
"Okay bud, I think we can reattach your saddle now," Hiccup called out to Toothless.
The black dragon padded over to him and lowered his neck, waiting for the saddle to put on him. Hiccup bent down and picked up the saddle then hoisted it up onto the back of Toothless neck, he reached up and re-adjusted the saddle so it sat properly against the black scales. With that done he went through the practised routine of connecting the saddle with the prosthetic tail fin, the process took him a few minutes.
He double-checked all the rods looking for any mistakes, upon seeing there weren't any, he nodded to himself and walked over to the leather sack. He picked up the sack and lifted it onto the hook attached to Toothless's saddle, his muscles slightly aching as he did so. He went and strapped the fish basket to his back once the leather sack was on the hook.
He looked around the shore for anything he might have forgotten and saw nothing besides the still-burning fire, he'd let the flame burn itself out.
He turned back to Toothless and awkwardly climbed up into the saddle and then attached his feet in the proper spots.
"Alright bud, we're good to go," Hiccup said while stroking some scales on the dragon's neck.
Toothless crouched and then shot himself into the air, his wings beat madly to propel them higher. Hiccup changed the position of the tail fin and accelerated their ascent.
"Just keep flying in the same direction as yesterday," Hiccup said, he almost yelled to overcome the sound of the wind.
Toothless turned his body in the same direction they had been travelling yesterday and shot off at a high speed.
'Please let the winds be kind to us!' Hiccup mentally pleaded, he desperately wished to stay on course.
The pair had been flying for roughly five hours based on the position of the sun and Hiccup was miserable.
As expected, the water he had bathed in earlier left a layer of salt coating his entire body, the feeling was incredibly annoying. Also, the meat strips he had eaten didn't exactly leave him feeling filled so there was a gnawing sensation in his belly. To top it all off, winds have been exceptionally strong during their flight so far.
Hiccup could only hope they were heading south.
Hiccup was currently leaned forward in the saddle, his face resting on the back of Toothless's neck. The dragon's cold scales weren't the best pillow, but he didn't care.
He had been quite vigilant for the first few hours of their flight but quickly grew bored of looking at the open ocean and gave into the desire to rest. Hiccup had not changed the tail fin position for a couple of hours now, they had maintained their altitude for most of the flight.
He could feel the vibration of Toothless's every wing beat with his cheek pressed against the scales, It was rhythmic and surprisingly soothing. That was until he felt, and heard Toothless growl.
Sitting up straight in his saddle; he focused his gaze on what had caused the dragon to growl; a large body of land.
He strained his eyes in an attempt to pick out more details about the land, he was unable to distinguish much at this distance.
"Keep flying towards it bud, but be careful," Hiccup advised his dragon.
Toothless responded by ascending a few hundred feet, Hiccup corrected the tail fin position once he noticed the ascent. It was only early evening so they would be visible should they get too close. Their current altitude would make them appear as nothing more than an overly large bird.
Hopefully.
It took a while before they crept up on the foreign land, they had spotted the land from far off.
Once they were finishing their approach towards the shore Hiccup peered down from his saddle, he noticed a very small trading port with a few boats docked. He couldn't make out any details about the little trading port.
It frustrated him that he couldn't make out anything about the port or the few people seen moving around it, it might give him some indication of where they were in the archipelago. Hiccup locked his eyes on the trading port and focused solely on a single flag that was flying on one of the docked ships.
If he could just make out that flag, it would likely enlighten him to who occupied this land.
While he was attempting this, his vision became sort of blurry, as though he was transferring his sight to an external set of eyes. Simultaneously he felt an alien presence entering his mind. Or perhaps his mind was entering this unusual presence.
Hiccup was unsure which of the two was happening but he was certain that his mind was being intermingled with another being.
After a few moments, the odd sensation became more familiar and Hiccup's vision cleared, but he was greeted with something unexpected, a vividly clear flag swaying in the wind, appearing to be no more than a couple meters away.
'That's a Bog-burglar's flag!' Hiccup realized.
The thought echoed in his mind as though he was in a large room, that's when he became concerned as to how he could see the flag.
He tried looking around and found that he couldn't, it felt as though he was physically moving his head but his line of sight never changed. Then his sight moved without him even trying to move his head.
Hiccup freaked out and tried with all his mental might to separate himself from the odd feeling sensation, thinking it to be the cause for the disruption in his eyesight.
Despite it requiring no physical movement, the effort still tired Hiccup. He managed to disengage from the foreign sensation after a minute of mental exertion. His vision was blurry at first but quickly returned to normal.
He patted his body up and down to ensure that he alone occupied the body. Then he slumped in his saddle with a humph and contemplated what just occurred.
'What in Thor's good name just happened to me!' Hiccup wondered, satisfied that his thoughts no longer echoed.
'It felt like I had forged minds with something and it enhanced my sight.' Hiccup thought before frowning.
'No, It was more like I was peering through someone else's eyes!' He gasped, realizing the only other pair of eyes up here belonged to Toothless. That's when he noticed said aforementioned dragon had turned his head to look at him.
"Did you do that?" Hiccup asked toothless aloud.
The dragon simply gave Hiccup a knowing look before turning his gaze forwards.
'Good talk.' Hiccup thought sarcastically. However, his thoughts quickly turned to the previously spotted flag.
'The three islands of Bog-Burglars are southwest of Berk, we must have been blown a little off course.' Hiccup theorized.
Hiccup had only visited the main island once as a child, he had been accompanied by his father. The main island is where Big-Boobied Bertha, the chieftess, resided.
The village lay near the center of the northeast island if Hiccup remembered correctly. Spurred on by his curiosity, Hiccup directed Toothless to fly further inland.
When he had visited as a child, the trek to the village from where they had landed was about a day's travel by foot. It only took fifteen minutes from the back of a dragon before the village came into view.
From the sky, he saw the settlement was filled with commotion. People filed in and out of the dining hall located at the center of town like ants.
'I could get supplies here.' Hiccup thought, 'Surely the word of my departure has not reached this far yet.'
'Though once they find out, they'll surely inform my father and that would leave a trail.' Hiccup frowned.
'Maybe a disguise would work.' Hiccup thought half-seriously.
He didn't know how he wanted to approach this situation, he needed to think about his options.
"Can you land a few kilometres outside of town and we'll make camp for tonight," Hiccup asked Toothless.
The dragon stopped circling and switched his direction to the north of the village. He flew for a minute before starting his descent.
Upon noticing their descent Hiccup changed tail fin positions, he had gotten pretty comfortable with the practice now.
Toothless flew them towards a small clearing, nothing occupied it besides a few boulders. A few minutes after approaching the clearing, Toothless touched down onto the overgrown grass.
Hiccup carefully hopped out of the saddle when they were grounded, the grass in the clearing nearly reached his knees.
He removed the basket of fish from his back and began the process of relieving Toothless of his saddle and tail fin components; he wouldn't bother with the tail fin itself just in case a quick escape was required.
Once that whole process was complete and the supplies were piled in a semi-organized manner Hiccup sat against Toothless, the dragon had laid down once he was no longer burdened by the supplies or the boy's contraptions.
'How do I buy supplies without getting noticed?' Was the thought that currently plagued Hiccup's mind.
Thinking of no solution, he decided to take a walk and stretch his tense muscles, they had become rather tight after today's flight. He stood and stretched with his arms reaching to the air, then he grabbed the fish basket and poured its contents before taking his leave, figuring Toothless was hungry.
He heard Toothless greedily devouring the fish behind him as he strolled into the forest.
Once in the forest he walked around aimlessly, merely just wishing to move his body while pondering the circumstances. He was unsure how smart it was to reveal himself to a tribe in the archipelago, but he also desperately needed navigation supplies.
His walk came to an abrupt halt when a harsh feminine voice was heard.
"Stop! Who are you and what are you doing here!" the voice demanded.
He turned around and spotted the source of the voice, a short blond girl who had a sword drawn.
The girl's face turned to a look of surprise and she lowered her sword when he made eye contact with her, they knew each other.
"Hi Cami," Hiccup greeted meekly.
"Long time no see," he finished with one hand rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward fashion.
That's the end of chapter 4, hope you found it enjoyable.
I had originally planned to cover all of the material related to Bog-Burglars in this chapter but couldn't. Most of the next chapter will take place there.
The next chapter will be up within a week, so stay tuned.