Green-eyed shadow
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot.
KEY
'Thoughts/memories'
Emphasis/yelling
*Symbiote speaking*
*Symbiote think-speaking*
(A/N: I'm so pumped right now! the Venom sequel's trailers are so epic that I finished this chapter in no time at all! Ahem, my bad, I got too excited. Hiccup's about to run into some problems.)
Review responses
Umbra Lycan: Thanks, good to be back
AdvancedNSeven: No, this symbiote is an OC, it isn't Venom or any of the related symbiotes. No, it isn't going to bond with a dragon, but it will do something interesting.
Arraia: Thanks, and I'll try. I was planning on Hiccstrid, but now I'm not so sure. The plot will be heavily based on the film and some of the series. Even though it's implied at the end of the first movie, Hiccup and Astrid get together. In the series however, they're more akin to being close friends. So now, I'm going to stick with no parings unless it works with my direction.
Guest #1: Like I said, no parings now, maybe if it works.
Guest #2: I would never do a that kind of paring; I just don't see the reason in it. I've done Heathercup before, so I'm most likely not going to do one here.
Anonymous Noob the 2nd: I know right?
NightHowler0: I thought it might work. Thank you. Hiccup's symbiote has replaced his mind's shadow to his ego, everything he is the symbiote is not. Yep, me too.
Back to the action!
Chapter 6: External conflicts
Nar POV
The next day, Haddock house
Hiccup sat atop his family's house, quietly watching the sun break over the horizon, 'I hope dad makes it back in one piece'.
*I wouldn't worry about him, he's stronger than most of your kind*, his symbiote assured him.
'Bud, you ever want to get a name?', he stood up and slid down the sloped roof.
*We speak to each other just fine as is-*, Hiccup landed with a low grunt, *-but I'd rather find one that suites me myself*. Meeting Mulch and Bucket on his way to the great hall, he waved as they passed each other on their way to the docks, *Kinda like the way your kind earn their titles in your culture*.
'Take all the time you want bud', Hiccup ascended the stairs of the great hall, 'No need to rush that kind of decision'. Since it was after first light and early, few people were seated at the tables. Mrs. Larson and her son Gustav were manning the serving table that morning, the two's demeanors relaxed when he approached.
"Good morning, Hiccup", the mother greeted warmly, she and Gobber were close friends. "We have fried boar slices, toast and eggs, both whipped and normal", she pointed to the freshly prepared food.
"We'll have some of each Mrs. Larson, please", Hiccup held out his plate for her to serve him. After she placed several pieces of meat and eggs of both varieties, he shuffled down to Gustav for her son to give him golden brown slices. The small boy gave Hiccup his two pieces and smiled, the teen repaid him with a grin of his own. Gustav froze when he sees his sharp tooth smile, the tongs in his small hands falling from his grip.
Hiccup realizes his mistake and tightens his lips, quickly walking away towards his table. Mrs. Larson looks to her son when she heard the clatter of his utensils, "Son, is something wrong?".
Gustav blinks a bit and shakes his head, "Oh… n-nothing mom". He looks to Hiccup and sees him eating normally, "I guess I didn't get enough sleep, must be seeing things".
Later, Ingerman house
Knock-knock, Iric opened the door, "Hiccup, I was just about to head over to the shop and put the finishin' touches on your first batch". He stepped out, "Wanna follow me and see for yourself?".
"Lead the way, sir", Hiccup followed the friendly carpenter to the back yard.
The pair stepped inside the workshop, "There we are", Iric pulled the tarp off his table. "I just need to put one more coat of oil and they should be ready to use by tomorrow", the teen ran his hand across the stack of smooth shiny boards. The carpenter beside him pulled out a folded piece of paper, "This much ought to at least get you started on the floor", he circled part of the design drawn by Hiccup.
"We… don't know what to say, Mr. Ingerman", he sighed.
"Well, you did a terrific job helpin' me yesterday", Iric said with a chuckle, "So I was hopin' you'd be up for another run?". He waited for Hiccup to respond, "Gyda's gonna make lunch for us after…", Iric tried to entice the boy.
Hiccup looked back at him, "Well, when you put it that way… sure, we'd be thrilled to help out, sir".
"Ha-ha, that's what I like to hear!", Iric boomed, "Let's get started". He passed the rucksack and toolbox to Hiccup, then closed the door behind him. Iric snagged the handle of his hand wagon loaded with supplies beside his shop and lead his assistant back towards the village. unbeknownst to the craftsman and teen, Fishlegs watched their exchange from his bedroom's window on the second floor.
Later, Hofferson house
Knock-knock, Astrid's father opened the door, "Mornin' Gunther".
"Iric, you're here earlier than expected", the hunter was pleasantly surprised.
"Yep, we're here to handle your urgent request", the Ingerman's reply confused him.
"We?", Gunther then sees Hiccup step out from behind Iric, "Stoick's boy?".
"Aye, the lad's helpin' me with my work", the blonde said with a hint of pride.
"Hiccup, I thought he was Gobber's apprentice?", the Hofferson patriarch's confusion grew.
"We still are, Mr. Hofferson", Hiccup picked up on his bewilderment, "We're assisting Mr. Ingerman as well".
"Two jobs?", Gunther shrugged, "You're definitely a Haddock, I'd seen Stoick pull several all-nighters no problems". He stepped aside and let the two enter, "Upstairs is where the leak is", then closed his door. "It drenched me and Brenna early this morning", Iric and Hiccup followed him up the steps, "Not the best way we'd like to get up". Gunther opened his bedroom's door, then pointed up to his roof, "There, I patched it up with some old tar till you came".
Iric examined the patch job, "Hiccup, bucket", the teen ran down the steps and came back with a pail. The carpenter scraped off the tar and caught the murky water, "Yep, this doesn't seem too bad". Iric set down the bucket on the Hofferson couple's bed, "Maybe twenty minutes to a half hour tops".
"Ah good", sighed Gunther.
"Alright, my boy", Iric called over Hiccup, "Normal leak, you know what we'll need?".
"Yes, sir", he recalled his lessons and nodded, "We'll get it".
"Pardon me, a quick word?", the Ingerman descended his step ladder, "If you don't mind, one of my windows shudders has been acting up. I was hoping you'd look at it, been giving my family a bit of a nuisance".
"Shudder problem", Iric turned to his assistant, "Can you handle it, Hiccup?".
"Of course, sir", he gathered a few tools, "Lead the way Mr. Hofferson".
Gunther and Hiccup left Iric to fix the leak, while he showed the teen where his other problem was. "Here we are", he opened the door to a smaller bedroom, "There, that one".
The hunter ushered Hiccup in, *Hmm, this scent feels… familiar*.
"Mr. Hofferson?", Gunther look over to him, "Whose room is this?".
"Hmm, oh it's my daughter's", he shrugged, the room's 'decorations' started to make sense to him. Axes, swords and shields hung on the walls along with framed pictures of dragons being slain in various manners. The wall to their right, opposite the window, was a wooden target painted with a strange depiction of a ghostly bluish dragon. A few knives were still left stuck into the pseudo dartboard.
*What species is that one?*, his other asked.
'The flightmare', Hiccup thought back, 'The dragon responsible for tarnishing Astrid's family name'.
"Well, I'll leave you to get working", Gunther stepped out but turned back, "Try not to rummage through her drawers".
Hiccup became flustered, his face beet red, "S-sir, we w-wouldn't d-dare!".
"Ho-ho, I'm just messing with you, Hiccup", Gunther chuckled at his reaction, "You're far too honorable of a boy to do that". He left the teen to pout as he walked down the hall, his chuckling fading as he descended the stairs.
Elsewhere
Astrid POV
Snotlout whimpered as he slinked away, hopefully that broken wrist will keep him away for a few days. Ugh, I'm better at hurting people than dragons because of that sleazy braggart. A few people congratulated me as they passed, hearing about my performance in dragon training. 'If only they knew', I silently told myself. If Snotlout and his little clique or Gobber hasn't told anyone, then no one would know about Hiccup.
'Hiccup', just thinking about… Him, fills me with anger. 'How, how can he send dragons running with nothing but his bare hands?!, I see my house in the distance. 'It's not fair!', I stop a little ways from my home, 'Fair? Life isn't fair, if it was, I won't have been born a girl!'. My dad doesn't think I notice, but I do. I know it doesn't mean he doesn't love me… but he wanted a son.
I stop outside our front door, 'Finn', my uncle Finn didn't care I was girl. All he saw was a Hofferson, one of his blood born for battle. I tighten my grip on my axe, 'I promise you uncle, I'll slay that flightmare… I'll skin it and show the tribe they were wrong about you, about our family!'. My father's chuckling came from around the corner, I walk around and see him talking with Fishlegs' dad, 'I guess the leak might've been fixed already'.
I shrug and walk back out front, then step inside. I hear something moving upstairs, 'Huh, my mother isn't home, and my dad is talking with Iric?'. I unhooked my prized axe and carefully made my way upstairs. The sounds seem to be coming from my room, 'Oh, it better not be Snotlout or Ruff'. Ruff maybe the only other girl my age in the tribe, but that doesn't mean we're close. I take being a viking seriously, she on the other hand wastes time pulling pranks with her brother or hanging out with the crew.
I throw open my door and scan my room, quickly noticing a slender figure near my window. The person's auburn hair makes it easy to identify my intruder, "Hiccup?!".
Nar POV
"Hiccup?!", the familiar voice makes him spin around.
"A-Astrid?", he remembers whose room he was currently working in, "T-this isn't w-what it l-looks like, just l-let us explain". Astrid's earlier dealing with Snotlout mashed into her growing jealously of his skills during dragon training. Both culminated into anger at someone breaching her privacy of her room, her haven from the outside world.
"You're in my room", she growled, "NO ONE'S ALLOWED IN MY ROOM!".
Astrid charged at the stunned teen, *Hiccup, move now!*. He dropped his measuring tool, *Duck and roll*, then rolled under her horizontal slash. He hopped to his feet and ran to the door, it was locked.
"Hyyyaaagh", Astrid came storming back at him, her axe raised above her head. He squeezed his hand, realizing he held onto the hand chisel he was using to work on her shudders. Adrenalin surged through Hiccup's veins, his fight-or-flight response placing him into a fighting trance. He sees her preparing for a slightly angled downward chop, then maneuvers his body to dodge it. Astrid misses, letting him backpaddle behind her.
For him, Astrid was moving slower than normal, "Astrid, please!".
She on the other hand, saw him dash faster than she thought possible, 'How?!'. Astrid's temper exploded, she roared and began slashing and chopping at him with her axe. "Stay-", she threw a straight slash at him. "Still-", Astrid let the momentum carry her. "Had-", she spun and chopped upward. "-dock!", Hiccup veered away again.
"We like ourselves to stay in one piece", he back rolled and hopped up.
"You broke into my room!", Astrid spun her axe in her hands before leveling it at him, "You're dead meat!".
*Hiccup, you must fight back*, his symbiote warned.
'If I do, we might get found out!', he sees her charge again, 'Oh hel!'. He flips his chisel reverse and meets her chop, Ping, defecting it away by holding it flushed to his forearm. Her axe slams into the floor, splintering the floorboards. Her eyes widen, before narrowing at his calm demeanor.
"Raaagh!", Hiccup kept ducking and sidestepping her attacks, defecting ones he couldn't with his improvised parrying dagger. After a few more failed strikes, he sees an opening and jumps up. Hiccup kicks Astrid's axe out of her hands, sending it spinning to the wall. He lands crouched then luges at her.
He tackles her to the floor and straddles her, "Astrid , please lis-!", she cuts him off with a hard headbutt. "Agh!", the enraged blonde elbows him off and scrambles to her axe.
Hiccup holds his head, *That's it, now I'm mad!*, his other channeled power into his host's muscles.
Astrid grabs her axe and spins back to face him, his pained breathing calms. Hiccup looks back up to her with a deathly calm stare. She shakes off her shock and growls, rushing right at him. She goes for an angled chop, only for Hiccup to parry it aside. He followed his response with a spinning back kick, sending Astrid backpedaling. She groaned and looked back to him, his expression unchanging. Astrid felt her blood rush, having found a decent foe after a long time of waiting. Both teens eyed their opponent, then charged at each other.
Meanwhile
"Hey Gunther", the Hofferson turned to him, "Do you hear somethin'?". The two men listen, both hear the faint sounds of a struggle nearby, "You don't suppose your daughter came back early?".
"No… unless someone might've set her off", Gunther replied.
"Right… wait", Iric's eyes widen, "You did tell her about me comin' by?".
The hunter took a sip from his mug, "Aye, I did".
"What about Hiccup?", Iric questioned.
"How could I, didn't know the lad was working with-", Gunther trailed off as his realization set in, "Ohhh no". The two men dropped their mugs and rushed inside the Hofferson house, the sounds of struggling became clearer. He reaches the door, finding it locked, "Oh gods!".
He fumbles in his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, "Hurry Gunther, Hiccup might get killed".
"How are you so sure my daughter's not in danger?", Iric gave him a deadpan look, "Right, stupid idea".
A body hits the door, "Hurry man, he might be almost dead!".
"I'm trying!", Gunther finds another key and tries it, cli-clack, "There, got it!". they throw open the door, "Astrid, stop!". They look around and see Hiccup slightly out of breath, a faint bruise forming on his forehead.
"Dad", they follow Astrid's voice and see her holding her axe, cuts and scratches dot her arms and face. Her tunic had boot prints from someone landing hits, her leggings were scuffed from her being thrown around. "I caught Hiccup breaking into my room!".
"Breakin' in?", Iric walked over to his aide, "My assistant was fixin' your shudders for you!".
"What, how is he your assistant?", the Ingerman's declaration left her shocked, "He's Gobber's apprentice!".
"We're helping Mr. Ingerman in our spare time", Hiccup handed over the damaged chisel to Iric, "We work for both".
Astrid looked to her father, "Aye, it was news to me too".
"There, you see!", Iric rested his hand on the teen's shoulder, "I think you owe an apology to Hiccup".
"What, no way!", Astrid's pride kicked in, "Why should I?".
"Astrid dear, you did try to hurt him over a misunderstanding", Gunther pleaded with his daughter.
"But-bu-b", she couldn't believe that she was in the wrong.
"No need, Mr. Hofferson", Hiccup interjected before turning to Iric, "The shudders' all fixed, if that's all, we'd like to leave to the next job".
"Of course, my boy", he let his assistant walk out of the room. After a few moments, Iric sighed and looked to Gunther.
"Here", the Hofferson patriarch handed him his payment, "Sorry about my daughter".
"It was a simple misunderstandin'", Iric pocketed the fee, "Hopefully it won't happen again". The craftsman stepped out, "Goodbye Gunther… Astrid", then made his way down the stairs.
"Oh, Odin give me mercy", Gunther began.
"Dad, please-", Astrid tried to plead to her father.
"You're lucky you went easy on him", he sighed, "I might have to talk to Stoick if his son tells him about this".
"Dad, I-", Gunther hummed to cut her off.
"Maybe I can talk to him outta it", he murmured.
"DAD, LISTEN TO ME! Hiccup, he's… there's something off about him", her reaction left him bewildered.
"Astrid, are you alright?", he asked, worried that she hit her head. He led her down the stairs and into their living room, making her sit next to him on their couch.
"Dad, I'm serious", she snapped back, "He's… something's different about him". Astrid set down her axe, "Like in dragon training, when the dragons tried attacking him, he'd do… something and make them run to their cages scared".
"I thought he was helping Gobber train you and the other teens?", Gunther raised an eyebrow.
"He does, but during the first class, I managed to break away from the gronckle", she recalled that day, "It saw Hiccup and tried to attack, but when it got close to him it… it just whined and flew back to its cage to hide". Gunther went into their kitchen and came back with a damp rag, he gave it to her to clean her wounds, "Same thing with the nadder, something he does strikes fear into them".
"Hmm, sounds like the Haddock's blood", Gunther clarified.
"'Haddock's blood?'", she wondered.
"Yep, sounds a lot like what Stoick used to do during the tribal wars years back", Gunther closed his eyes to remember, "Before the treaty with the berserkers, our tribe and theirs would clash very often. Many years ago, Me, Stoick and a few other warriors were ambushed during a hunting trip". "We were outnumbered over three to one, and it didn't look good", Astrid's eyes widen in horror, "Just when things looked bleak… it happened".
"What happened, Dad?", she asked, very interested how her father survived.
"We were surrounded on all sides, our backs to a sheer rock wall. The crazed berserkers raised their weapons and charged. Then I heard it… a roar that still shakes me to my core", Gunther took a deep breath, "Stoick bellowed out an almost beastlike howl, making a few berserkers wet their trousers. He fought like a man possessed, cutting down two to three lunatics with each strike. The chief cut a bloody swath through the enemy, leaving a trail of bodies in our escape. When we reached our boat and sailed away, I found out about his bloodline".
"The chief saved you?", she whispered.
"Yep, he explained that legend has it, since the days of his ancestors, all who were born into his line were blessed with a small shard of Thor's rage. With it, one could become untouchable", he took the dirty cloth from her hands, "Sounds like Hiccup's begun to use it". Gunther stood up and left, leaving Astrid alone with her thoughts.
Later, Ingerman house
Iric and Hiccup finished the rest of his jobs in silence and were now walking back to the carpenter's house. Iric kept glancing beside him at Hiccup, then cleared his throat, "Ahem, So Hiccup, when did you learn how to fight?".
"We didn't", he sighed, "We just got tired of being the victim".
*That and you got me*, his symbiote added.
"I see, well we should find Gothi and have her take a look at that bump of yours", the pair arrived at Iric's house, Gyda opened the door just as her husband was about to do the same.
"Welcome back boys, lunch is almo-!", the Ingerman matriarch spots the fading bruise on the teen, "Oh Hiccup dear, what happened?!". She pulled him close and looked over his wound, "Did Iric have something to do with this?", she growled at the terrified man.
"Oh, no-no-no-no-no", Iric frantically waved his raised hands, "I swear it wasn't me!".
"Astrid was the one who hit us", he shrugged, "There was a misunderstanding between her and us".
"For Thor's sake, Brenna's little girl needs to control that temper of hers!", she grabbed his hand and dragged him inside, "Have a seat dear, I'll fetch some salve to treat that mark". Hiccup followed Iric into the dining room, he sat at one end and the teen took a seat to his left.
Iric got up and left to the kitchen, then came back with a small cask of mead, "Do you want me to have a word with Gunther?".
Hiccup waited for him to pour himself a mug of mead, "No need Mr. Ingerman".
"Right, the thrashin' you gave her was well enough deserved", Gyda came into the room a few moments later.
"Here we are", she set the small box on the table then pulled out a small jar and a roll of gauze. "Hold still dear", Gyda rubbed the balm and wrapped the bandage around his head, "There, that should help you get better".
"Thank you, Mrs. Ingerman", He smiled at the mother.
"It's alright, dear", Gyda gently hugged him, "I'll go get lunch, we're having potato stew, fried fish and fresh bread from the Larson's bakery".
"That sounds wonderful, love", Iric said before taking a large drink from his mug. His wife came back with the feast, the three began eating just as the front door opened.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home", Fishlegs walked in. "Gobber's going to hold the next class in a few days, so I was…", he trails off after stepping into the dining room and noticing Hiccup.
"Well look who decided graced us with his presence", Iric stated with a hint sarcasm.
"Iric, hush now", Gyda chastised him, "Welcome home son, we're having lunch".
"I see", she handed him a plate and Fishlegs sat next to her.
The Ingerman family and Hiccup ate in silence until Iric washed down his food, "Burp, So Hiccup". The teen turned to him, "When should I expect you tomorrow to give you your payment?".
"Hmm, how about an hour after sunrise?", Hiccup offered.
"Bright and early, sounds good", Iric grabbed a loaf slice, "Do you want to borrow my cart? All that wood weights quite a bit".
"That would greatly help us, thank you sir", Hiccup replied before biting into his fish.
"Wood?", Fishlegs interrupted, "What are you building?".
"It's for an umm… personal project", the large teen turned to his father, hoping for Iric to tell him. The father took a swig and returned to eating, ignoring his son's gaze. Hiccup rose from his seat, "Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Ingerman". He slid his chair back in, "We'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Ingerman", then turned to Fishlegs but left to the door without a word.
"Mom?", Gyda look to her son, "Why did Hiccup have a bandage around his head?".
"Oh, he and Astrid had a quarrel", she replied.
"A quarrel?", Iric set his mug down, "Ha-ha, more like a fight, my boy had her on the ropes!". His declaration left his wife and son stunned, "She was lucky Gunther and I intervened, I had no doubt he would've won".
"Hiccup… almost beat Astrid?!", Fishlegs couldn't believe his father.
"Hiccup is a nice boy, he wouldn't hurt her that bad", Gyda countered.
"Haaah, I can't wait to tell Gobber his apprentice is a hella fighter!", Iric cheered after finishing his mead.
The next morning
*Wake up, Hiccup*, the teen groaned and ignored his other, *C'mon, it's time to pick up our pay!*. Something squirmed under his covers, a white tentacle slithered out and tickled his nose, *Wakey-wakey*.
"Ugh, it's too ear-yawn-ly, bud", Hiccup smacked away the limb rolled over.
*Hmm, fine then*, the tentacle 'looked' around and spots a cup some water still inside. It snakes over to the end table and wraps around it. *Hmph, you forced me to do this-*, the appendage holds it over his head, *My lazy host!*.
It dumps the chilled water on Hiccup, who shoots up out of shock, "THOR ALMIGHTY!". He furiously tries to wipe off the moisture, then sees the tentacle sprouting from his shoulder holding an empty cup and groans, "Really bud, we were having a great dream".
*Yes, I know*, his symbiote tosses aside the cup, *You and that Astrid girl were 'fighting' again, although with a surprising lack of clot-*.
"Ah-ah-ah, alright!", Hiccup interrupted his other, "We're up". He blew out a disappointed breath and slid out of bed, "Man, what a day yesterday".
White ooze seeped out and formed his clothes as he walks to his door, *Indeed, not only did you survive your female's assault but showed dominance over her*.
"Really bud, you couldn't worded that better?", he sighed while descending the stairs.
*Too much effort*, Hiccup stepped outside and headed to the great hall, *Also, I don't care*.
Later, Ingerman house
Hiccup was about to knock on the door, when he heard the clattering coming from Iric's workshop. He walked around and sees his other mentor stacking planks onto his cart, "Ah, Hiccup, there you are", Iric grunted after setting the last of the planks down.
"Good morning, Mr. Ingerman", Hiccup greeted the carpenter.
"Well, here you go, your payment for a job well done", Iric sighed, "I take it you'll be keepin' to the forge after this?".
"Only when Gobber has need of us", the teen runs his hand down the bound wood, "Until our project is completed, we'd like to continue working for you". Hiccup turned to the surprised craftsman, "That is if you'll have us?".
"Ho-ho, absolutely my boy!", Iric wrapped his arm around him. "There aren't any youths like you around!". "I mean no disrespect but-", the blonde looked around and whispered, "-the rest of your batch ain't nothin' but glory hounds". Iric became sadden, "My son included", he sighed.
"You have our condolences, Mr. Ingerman", Hiccup said blandly.
Iric caught his sarcasm, "Ha-ha, that's a good one", cheering up the father.
He handed him the cart's handle, "Are you sure you won't need this, sir?".
"No worries, Hiccup", Iric assured him, "I'll takin' the day off, spending time with Gyda and catchin' up with a couple of my friends".
"If you say so, sir", Hiccup took hold of the grip, "So, we'll see you tomorrow?".
"Aye, I'll swing by the forge and meet you there", Iric waved him off, "I got a few jobs lined up for us". Hiccup waved back and set off towards the forest entrance near his home, both were unaware of a certain large blonde waiting in the shadows.
Moments later, near the eastern forest entrance
Hiccup casually walked through berk after getting a few things from his back room in the forge. A few villagers gave him passing greetings, they were some who Iric and him had done some work for. "Mornin' Hiccup, where are you off to?", asked Shamus.
"We're going to the forest", the teen replied.
"Oh, well you best be careful, word around the villages says there's some kinda' beast out there", Shamus hunched down and whispered, "A couple of the hunters found a whole bunch of deer torn to shreds".
*Oops, I forgot about them*, Hiccup shared his symbiote's embarrassment.
"Y-yeah, w-we'll be sure to stay away from that part of the woods", he nervously said while twitching his eyebrow. Shamus excused himself and walked off towards the docks, but not before noticing Fishlegs peering around the corner of a hut. He shifted his eyes between Hiccup walking to the forest entrance and Fishlegs 'darting' from corner to corner, at least attempting to do so despite being someone of his size.
Closing in on the entrance, Hiccup stopped and whipped his head around behind him. He hummed when seeing no one and shrugged. Fishlegs pressed his back against the wall, 'He almost saw me!'. He waited a few moments while breathing heavily, then peered around the corner's edge. Hiccup resumed his stroll towards the forest, his pursuer restarted his inadequate tailing.
A few buildings from the edge of the village, Hiccup quickly ducked into the alley between huts. Fishlegs noticed and rushed to keep his eyes on where his target was going. He runs around the same corner, Wham, and gets shoved up against the wall, "Why are you following us?!".
"U-uh-h?", Fishlegs couldn't form a concise reply, feeling Hiccup holding him up against the wall. His shock heightened when he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet, "U-um-m?". Fishlegs' mind raced to understand how someone of his size could physically be held up by a person less than half of his mass.
"ANSWER US!", Hiccup growled, taking his random blathering as a form of defiance. He kept his forearm under Fishlegs' chin and reached into his belt, the glint of polished metal made the larger teen's eyes widen in fear. "Start talking… now", Hiccup ferally growled, flipping his knife into a reverse grip and bringing it close to Fishlegs' pudgy face.
"I-I J-just wanted t-to know w-what you w-were working on", he sputtered out. Hiccup retracted his blade and tucked it back into its horizonal sheath fastened to his belt. He dropped the heavyset teen before he made him wet himself, only because he didn't want to bring the friendly Ingermans shame.
"Why would we tell you?", Hiccup rumbled.
"B-because… I-I mean we're friends, aren't w-!", Thunk, a thrown knife pieced into the wall beside Fishlegs head.
"Friends?", he spoke, barely controlling his growing anger. "We are not friends!", Hiccup roared, making Fishlegs jump back. "You were never our friend!", he bellowed.
"W-what? Yes, I wa-!", the large teen started.
"SHUT-UP!", Hiccup interrupted, "You… you're just like them, just like Snotlout… like Ruffnut and Tuffnut!". He started heavily huffing before calming down, "You… you threw in your lot with them, you're not our friend… you'll never be our friend", he stated coldly.
Hiccup marched towards Fishlegs, darting his hand at him. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain of his strike, but in never came. Fishlegs only heard the knife being pulled from the wall, "We're only going to warn you once, stay out of our business". The pudgy teen was about to speak up, "Or next time, we'll rip out some of your teeth… got it?". Hiccup didn't even wait for a reply before sheathing his knife and walking out of the alley, leaving Fishlegs to hang his head in shamed fear.
Berk forest, near raven point
Hiccup sat down on an old log after walking for nearly an hour, "You think we went a little too far back there, Bud?".
*Nope, serves that traitor right for trying to weasel his way into our affairs*, his other reassured him, *He was undeniably acting under the order of that worm*.
"Yeah, he was probably going to tell Snotlout where our haven would be", Hiccup felt his regret fade. He rose and dusted his pants, "Hey bud, can you sense anyone close by?".
Small tentacles emerged from random places on his body and wriggled around, *Hmm, I sense no sentient lifeforms within the surrounding area*.
"Good", Hiccup's pants were enveloped in white ooze, reforming into a larger lower half. His back seeped out more symbiotic flesh, then sprouted out a pair of thick tentacles. They wrapped around the hand wagon carrying planks, a canvas sheet and his bag. The limbs coiled around the load and hefted onto his upper back, "Oof, can we count this as strength training for the day?".
*Sure, I'm not unreasonable, Hiccup*, His symbiote agreed.
"Thanks Bud", Hiccup groaned, "Let's see if we can remember where that certain place is".
A few minutes later, the Cove
Breaking through the thick underbrush, Hiccup was blinded by the sunlight cascading into a gorgeous cove. He took a deep breath, "Ahh, Found it". The cove was beyond beautiful, peaceful and serene. A stream fell inside, its waterfall feeding a small lake in the center of the chasm. Hiccup looked around and finally spots what he was searching for, the towering ancient oak.
The massive tree grew on the edge of the cove, its roots descended the rock wall. Under the tangled mess was the remains of his camp, Hiccup's home when he was searching for a way back to the village. He walked along the edge towards the titanic oak, looking for a place to hide his supplies from the elements. Hiccup reformed his clawed forearms, then descended into the cove using the interwoven roots, *Hopefully there's a place where we can stockpile the supplies while you work on our hideaway*.
"You mean like that cave there?", the teen pointed out a shallow cavity hidden under a curtain of hanging vines.
He pushed aside the vegetation and sees the size of the hollow, *Hmm, its deep enough to keep your stuff out of the rain*. Hiccup turned around and the tentacles set down the cart, then they wrapped around the planks and his other materials. The limbs carefully dropped their load and receded into his back.
He walked back out into the cove and looked up to the oak, "This is where our haven will be, a place just for us, Bud".
(A/N: And there's the cove and the huge tree attached to it.)