Kratos looked at the black scaled beast warily. There was a higher degree of intelligence that had been lacking in the last dragon. And this one was far more maneuverable.
Atreus, however, did not have his father's reservations in the least.
Mimir blinked as he saw the way the boy reacted to the dragon.
The beast stopped a respectable distance from them, very wary and clearly more inclined to attack from afar if they proved too dangerous. He cleared his throat, and attempted to speak the little dragonic he knew.
Atreus, oddly enough, bit back an obvious laugh.
"Where did you learn that Mimir? Your accent was horrible," he said.
"I'd like to see you do better, little brother," said Mimir.
Atreus grinned and looked to his father briefly for permission. Kratos nodded.
Atreus made the same usual crooning sound he always did, but the dragon's reaction was more startled than anything.
The dragon cautiously crooned back in the same tone, almost inquisitive. It was still incredibly wary, but there was a large degree of curiosity in it's eyes.
"Easy bud... I won't hurt you," said Atreus crooning. He softly made the same sounds he would to Toothless when they were alone. He found Night Furies were very vocal creatures once they had a pack.
The dragon circled the boy, Kratos fully prepared to kill it should it attack.
Then it got a good, strong whiff of his scent...and it's nostrils flared in shock. It got slightly closer, and sniffed again.
Atreus knew exactly how to handle this. He calmly approached the dragon, who was about the same age as he was.
"Boy," warned Kratos.
"It's alright. He won't hurt me," said Atreus confidently. Once he was within arm's reach, the dragon growled in warning. Atreus closed his eyes and turned his head away for a moment while reaching out with his dominant hand palm up.
The dragon looked at him puzzled...before slowly bopping it's nose against his palm, inhaling the boy's scent.
That was about the only warning Atreus had before the dragon dropped most of it's wariness, and promptly tackled him to lick him to death.
"Ugh, really? Dragon spit doesn't wash out you know!" complained Atreus.
"Well I'll be! I hadn't thought you were a natural dragon rider, little brother," said Mimir impressed. "It takes a certain kind of person to win a dragon's trust so easily, especially one of his kind!"
Atreus easily scratched all the best spots, and the dragon was a puddle of goo in his hands.
"Boy, we cannot keep him," said Kratos.
"I wouldn't be so quick to judge, brother. Night Furies are incredibly loyal and useful. They can see in pitch black and are impossible to spot at night. And they're wickedly fast," said Mimir. "If you train it up right, he'll be better than any boat or horse you would ever have."
"He's right," agreed Atreus. "Besides, he could keep a watch for us during the night and help us hunt...there's very few animals that can outrun a Night Fury, so it'll be easier to get supplies."
"If it cannot keep up, we leave it behind," said Kratos. He could see that there was no way to dissuade his son of keeping the beast.
"Okay," said Atreus happily.
Atreus wondered how his father would react to the Night Fury's habit of trying to mimic things. He would never forget Toothless' attempts to draw.
Atreus focused on scratching the unnamed Night Fury while his father cut off Mimir's head.
Atreus easily coaxed the dragon into letting him ride it. Kratos, not so much but he was willing to let his son lead on this. While unfamiliar with the weight, the dragon was still easily able to take off with two people on him.
Though now that he had a Night Fury again, Atreus was very eager to recreate his old wing suit. Flying on his own was a thrill he'd never get tired of.
The Night Fury landed somewhere close to where the Witch's cottage was, but very firmly refused to go inside. Kratos found himself approving of this fact, even if he still was rather dubious on their potential scaly extra.
The look on the witch's face when she saw Mimir's head was priceless. Atreus had to fight the urge to laugh when he saw it. However it was her reaction to the arrows Sindri had gifted him that rang a stirring of memory for him, though he would not recall why until later.
She looked at the arrows with such loathing that it would stick in his mind for a long time.
He still couldn't believe the witch was really Freya, the Vanir goddess.
With Mimir joining them, they could finally make their first real steps towards Jotunhiem, the realm of the giants.
While they walked through the cave to the outside, Atreus thought of a name for the dragon. He didn't want to name it Toothless, as his first Night Fury held a special place in his heart and always would. And considering the fact they kept constantly running into gods of all things lately, and he was somewhat surprised this particular one had yet to make an appearance, he knew the perfect name to give it.
He did have to wonder why his father had such an odd look when Atreus decided to name the dragon Loki, after the Trickster God of the pantheon.
"Who is Loki?" asked Kratos.
"Loki is a trickster god," said Atreus. "He's known for shapeshifting, having a silver tongue, and causing trouble for the gods whenever it suits him."
"I don't recall ever meeting such a god," muses Mimir.
"That's strange," said Atreus. "I would have thought his antics at least would be enough for you to remember him."
Kratos, however was giving Atreus such an odd look that he honestly couldn't identify it.
Mimir seemed openly curious about the 'stories' Atreus knew from his previous life, and what Atreus knew of his legends. He took the knowledge that Atreus had memories of a past life as a dragon tamer well enough.
Some he had to correct and told Atreus the real story as he knew it, and others he confirmed as legitimate...albeit missing a few key details.
The newly dubbed Loki seemed wary of the water, and it became clear why when they summoned the World Serpent...who apparently was in the lake at the time.
The World Serpent looked at the dragon, then at Atreus. Then, instead of the rather cryptic and apparently dead language from before, he began to hiss in a familiar way.
"Well this is surprising. Didn't know the old snake knew dragonic," commented Mimir.
Atreus grinned, and began replying in kind. The snake was very pleasantly surprised at this. Kratos, however, was beginning to get a headache from it all.
"He wants to know if you're here to sacrifice the ax," said Atreus after a moment.
"No. Tell him we need to get to Jotunhiem," said Kratos firmly.
Atreus looked back at the Serpent and relayed their mission. The snake blinked, before replying.
"He knows the pain of our loss, and he'll help us...mostly because it'll really piss off Odin," said Atreus.
"Sounds about right," chirped Mimir. "The World Serpent absolutely hates Thor and he's always been the apple of Odin's eye. They're doomed to kill each other when the end comes."
"Kinda surprised we haven't run into Fenrir yet," commented Atreus.
"Fenrir?" repeated Kratos.
"He's another of Loki's children," said Atreus. "He fathered Hati and Skoll, and it's said he'll be the one to kill Odin, though in turn he'll be killed by Odin's son. From what I remember he also took Tyr's hand because the god's tricked him into being tied up, and he would only allow it if one of them was willing to show a sign of trust. Tyr put his hand in Fenrir's mouth and when he realized the trick, the wolf bit it off."
Mimir looked thoughtful.
"It's possible that the wolf hasn't been born yet, though you could always ask the Serpent if he knows of this wolf," said Mimir. "After all, last I checked Tyr had both arms."
Atreus resolved to do that once the Serpent was done pushing the bridge.
The World Serpent blinked at the question, but his response was infuriatingly cryptic.
With the serpent now out of the water, Loki gleefully dove into the lake and started fishing.
Atreus, being rather quick witted and knowing how efficient dragons were at scaring up fish, promptly took out the net he bought from Brok and held it out. It took a few tries, but their supply situation was neatly resolved within a few minutes...to the grudging approval of Kratos.
"That's a neat trick, little brother," said Mimir cheerfully.
"It made feeding a village of dragons and hungry vikings a lot easier," commented Atreus blithely.
Once fed, Loki more of less scouted ahead of them, as he wasn't in the mood for a proper swim.
Thanks to him, they were able to prepare for an attack once they reached the shore.
"Why is everything frozen over?" asked Atreus.
"Well the stonemason was a frost giant. When he died his last breath froze the entire village."
"And the survivors?" said Atreus. Mimir remained silent.
"Where is the chisel?" demanded Kratos.
"You'll see it soon enough," said Mimir. And it became obvious as the giant's head was frozen under the ice...with the chisel firmly planted in it.
"How are we going to get it out?" said Atreus.
"I have a plan," announced Kratos.
Atreus followed his father's line of sight. Then he looked at the ice.
"Oh, I see what you're getting at. But how are we going to direct it to where we need to go?"
"We don't. We make it fall and follow it down," said Kratos.
"And hope for the best," Atreus added. He could see the reasoning, and honestly it was their only chance to get the chisel.
Since it was still day, and it was safer to climb up the massive hammer than fly up there, Atreus sent Loki on ahead.
However his hackles were raised when he heard the same voices from the peak. Mimir identifies them as Thor's sons.
Atreus was just grateful that he didn't need to warn Loki about the two. He had vanished entirely and not even Atreus could spot him, despite the fact the dragon had been staying close to them.
Kratos lead them to the chisel. Atreus hoped they had gotten past the two thugs, but no such luck.
Atreus drew his bow...there was no way he would match either of the demi-gods in terms of strength.
Whatever misgivings Kratos had about the dragons were promptly dispelled when, instead of fleeing the fight, Loki and the smaller dragon that had been hiding in Atreus' pack (Atreus was still trying to come up with a good name for him) started making potshots at the two attackers. Loki's plasma blasts in particular were of great help, as every time Magni went to attack the bothersome lizard, Kratos would use the opening to attack viciously. Meanwhile the Terror and Atreus kept Modi rather busy with their shots, so he couldn't make his own attack against Kratos or Loki.
Mimir would admit later, once they had the chisel tip, that it was some of the most seamless fighting he had seen despite the fact they had only recently befriended the overgrown lizard.
Loki flew down once the surviving demi-god had left as Kratos had killed the older one, and looked to Atreus expectantly. Atreus, remembering how much Toothless had loved cod, happily shared that with the dragon and crooned at him in a language the dragon very much loved.
The problem was that the whole fight had taken a major toll on his body. He could feel the sickness that had plagued him his entire childhood returning, with a vengeance no less.
Atreus could feel it occurring to the alarm of his father and the others.
Loki made a point to try and keep him as warm as possible with his wings until they reached the boat. Mimir did his best to keep him awake and conscious, but his body was beginning to shut down. He blacked out half way to the temple, and would remember little more.