Hello all!
so, I know I said in my last update of TaNL that that would be my last update for 2 weeks because I was going to a cottage. but... a few days were rainy so I cranked this out for all of you.
I doubt I'll get a second chapter out for you during this week, but if I do that would be great for you right? lol.
Also, Thank you to StarDust333, your reviews were actually what inspired me to write up this chapter instead of sitting around watching movies waiting for the rain to pass.
anyway, everyone, enjoy this chapter and have a great summer.
Chapter 43- "America, at long last... it exists!"(1)
(Vicky's perspective)
I rode behind Thuggory, Avery didn't trust me enough to ride with her. Honestly I can't blame her, I would do the same.
Mostly we rode in silence, occasionally Hiccup would direct us slightly more towards the south, but other than that all I heard was the cawing of nearby birds, the flapping of the dragon wings and the waves below us.
"I wonder how far Norbert's gotten?" Heather spoke up all of a sudden.
"Y'know, I don't know, I could make a guess, but honestly I know the world can't be flat, but I'm worried about him just the same." Hiccup said
"I'm more worried about Taryn, she seemed pretty depressed when we left.
"Wait, you guys know Taryn?" I asked.(2)
"Umm yeah? You know her too?" Thuggory asked.
"Yeah, she's a great friend of mine. Or until she moved away on that quest for America that is."
"She was pretty depressed last time we saw her, and that wasn't too long ago." Avery added
"Could… could I go to her?" I asked hesitantly.
they all looked at each other.
Hiccup suddenly nodded.
"We'll head out to Berserk quickly, then we'll send Toothless back, she can take Toothless there. Plus it may give me time to get a headstart on the saddles." he told us.
"Ziggerastica, would you mind going with them, or sending a squadron to accompany them?" Thuggory seemingly asked his shoulder.
Suddenly a small cloud lifted from his back and settled on my shoulders.
Then Toothless put on a burst of speed and shot far ahead of us within just a few seconds.
"You haven't really split up since you guys met have you?" I asked.
"Not really, we only really 'split' when me and Avery entered the Hooligans village because everyone would be recognized." Heather answered.
"But they weren't even hiding that far away." Avery reminded
"Yeah, admittedly we aren't splitting up now for very long, we'll meet them at the island soon." Thuggory said.
The four of us continued flying for a few more minutes till we saw Toothless flying back to us. He had no rider.
The little cloud that sat on my shoulders suddenly picked me up.
"Whoa… Whoa! That's a long way down." I exclaimed as the cloud hovered me over the water between Toothless and Shipwreck.
"It's even further beneath the waves." Thuggory added with a smirk
The cloud gently dropped me onto Toothless and then landed on my shoulders.
"You'll be going to the Hysterics, alone. You should know by now that if anything happens to any of those dragons, you will be held responsible." Avery threatened.
"Kinda expected that. You have my word, nothing will happen to them." I answered.
"Says the one with the slippery tongue." she muttered
"If something happened to any of these dragons, I'm certain the others would hold me just as responsible as you would, and I doubt I could weasel my way out of death by dragon in english." I bit back.
"Go ahead Toothless, before those two get into a hair pulling fight midair." Heather told the jet black dragon beneath me.
He nodded and suddenly we were shooting off towards the west.
(Hiccup's perspective)
We landed and immediately sent Toothless back to Vicky. Wodensfang and Smoulder stayed with us however.
We walked through the village. The dragons hidden beneath our clothing. Smoulder hid atop Cami's shoulders beneath all her hair, Wodensfang hid inside my coat. While Dagur seemed ok with us having dragons, the villagers might not feel the same, or even be aware of the peace with the dragons.
We slowly made our way to the chief's hut, instead of at the top of the hill like the Burglars and Hooligans, it was located on a side street coming from the town square. Almost in the middle of the village.
We found Dagur, outside his house throwing a mace at a group of training dummies. Almost every time the mace would indent the head, Dagur would then pick it up off the ground, and punch the back of the head to make it's front look less deformed.
"Ah Brother! And Sister too!" he exclaimed upon seeing us.
"Sorry, Heather will arrive soon. She's not here just yet." Cami explained.
"Oh, no I was referring to you." he clarified.
The two of us bore similar confused expressions.
"Look at it this way, Heather is my sister, right?"
"Yes."
"And you've accepted her into that little family of yours, right?"
"Yes"
"So any family of my sister's is also part of my family. And cousin sounds too removed, and parents, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews sound too close. So you are my brothers and sisters!" he finished.
"Umm… ok." I agreed, thinking it best not to argue.
"Now, do you have nnneeewwwwwwwwssssssss?" Dagur asked.
"I think it'd be best to wait till the others arrive." Cami suggested.
"But I want to know right now!" he groaned as he swung his head back exaggeratedly.
"Also, why are you here without the others, my sister and brute boy?"
"One of our newer members wanted to go visit the hysterics, so we flew further ahead on Toothless and then sent him back to take her to the Hysterics."
"Ah. wait new members, how many new members and who are they?" he questioned.
"We have two, possibly three. First is Avery from the Peaceable tribe…"
"Ugg the Peaceables, those neutral, war avoiding, cowards." he grumbled.
"...and Vicky, from the Outcasts."
"Oh she'll stab ya in the back, either literally or figuratively, they're even lower and more double handed than I am!"
"Yes, the whole reason she is 'your sister' is because she weasled her way in." Cami grumbled.
"Yeah… never trust an Outcast, especially when they're younger, of the weaker gender,(3) and… Well just don't ever trust an Outcast." he finished.
He placed the dummy back into the hole in the dirt that held it up, then turned clapped a hand on our shoulders and led us to the town square.
"So, you sent Toothless back to the rest of your family, wheres the 'forge failure'?" he asked.
"YOOOWWWWW!" he yelped.
Cami brushed her hair back to reveal the little bristling dragon.
"Ohohohoho, feisty aren't ya." he exclaimed rubbing his hand.
"He's still so tiny, will he always stay that tiny?"
"There are smaller species of Dragon." Wodensfang corrected.
"There's another tiny one?" Dagur exclaimed as Wodensfang poked his head out of my vest.
"As he said, Terrible terrors aren't the only tiny dragons." Cami explained.
"Also, on the subject of dragons, do the tribe know not to harm dragons anymore?" I asked cautiously.
"Yeah, they know. But we kept experiencing raids, the last one was last week, and I won't let my tribe be massacred, I'm not that deranged." he answered.
"That's good to hear." Cami replied.
Smoulder and Wodensfang quickly crawled up onto our shoulders, basking in the fresh air.
"Has Heather made any draconic friends?" Dagur asked excitedly.
"Two… kind of. She first met a Timberjack, but the Timberjack decided to stay behind at a Dragons nest, at the same nest however she met a Stormcutter." Hiccup explained.
"Huh, that means you, Thuggory, and Heather made 2 dragon friends already. You're not the special dragon tamer now." Cami teased light heartedly.
"Well, in a thing called fanfiction Hiccup has tamed armies of dragons… so, I dont know if you can tease him about that." Dagur rambled.(4)
"I swear, you have some of the most random theories bouncing around your head." Cami said to Dagur after the both of us stared at him in confusion for about a full minute.
"Anyway, let us go check if my sister has arrived just yet!" Dagur exclaimed, before running off to the docks.
(Heather's perspective)
"So… he's dead, like fully confirmed?" Dagur asked sadly.
"I… we never saw a body, but Cami spoke to a man who stood by as he'd been killed." I answered.
"Do we at least know where he disappeared to, and how?" he asked sullenly
"It seems he escaped on dragon back." Hiccup answered.
"Well before any of us learned to work with the dragons." Avery added.
"So he's the first dragon rider?"
"Probably more like third." Cami answered.
"Who were the other two?"
"Drago, the man who killed Oswald, and…" I glanced at Hiccup, he seemed tight lipped.
"And… who?" Dagur asked.
"And his enemy."
Hiccup sighed, quietly.
"So… to avenge my father, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"
"I guess." Thuggory answered.
Hiccup then led the rest of the gang outside of Dagur's house. Only myself and Dagur remained.
That was the first night I'd ever seen tears fall from his eyes.
(Vicky's perspective)
I was getting somewhat bored staring at nothing but birds, clouds, water, sky, and sun… there really wasn't much to see.
Well… I mean it was great at first, the feel of the wind in my hair. But as I was far too excited to see Taryn, and I had no control over where I was going, it didn't feel as amazing as it probably should have.
I sighed loudly and leaned back and stretched out over Toothless back.
Toothless ignored my boredom-filled-sigh.
"Hey, Toothless?"
He grumbled a bit but slightly turned his head to regard me.
"Wanna I don't know, like do some flips and twirls or something?"
He groaned, legit rolled his eyes then turned and focused on flying seemingly as straight and boring as possible.
"Not even one loop?"
He once again ignored me.
"Ziggy, you wanna… I don't know how to play 20 questions?"
I received a nip to my ear.
"Ow, what was that for, this is the first time I've asked you!"
"My name is Ziggerastica, and my purpose for coming is not to entertain you."
"Fine… someone of nobility as yourself would at least honor me with a friendly debate right?"
"At the moment we are technically debating the pros and cons of keeping you pacified, and I've also just ended that debate."
I sat in silence seeing as none of the dragons were willing to do anything.
I sighed several times more over the course of the next few minutes.
"Dragon! I could sleep, that's how smooth this flight is!" I exclaimed as I stared up at the clouds above.
He shook his back, seeming like he was gonna pick up the pace and like I'd convinced him to do a trick, but then I felt a bunch of much more noticeable spines under my back, making it even less comfortable.
"You meany." I complained as I sat up.
He turned to me, smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, I've got a much bigger vocabulary, I just refrained because I assumed you wouldn't even be able to tell if they were insults or not."
Toothless snorted, then flicked his eyes back to focusing on flying, but finally he at least picked up the pace.
We broke through a very thick cloud cover, we had been in it for so long I didn't know where we were, how far we were from Berserk island or the Hystericks ship or how long we'd been flying in the cloud. But finally right below us, there it was.
The American Dream… 3? 4? I actually don't remember… I haven't seen Taryn in forever, and when I did used to see her… well the name of her fathers boat wasn't my biggest concern.
Toothless hovered over the boat, waiting for someone on board to recognize him.
The person who did recognize him was Arnold, the... daft guard.
"Ahoy Arnold!" I called down with a salute.
I saw a blurr shoot out of the room under the stairs.
"Vicky?!" Taryn exclaimed from far below.
"You know me girl!" I replied.
"And here I thought you were the formal one of the group." Ziggerastica mumbled.
I turned to my shoulder, "One thing to know about me, is I talk however I feel like."
Toothless stubbornly sat hovering in the air, he turned to me and smirked.
"Toothless, let me down!"
He rolled his eyes, having bothered me enough and descended.
It happened so fast, I don't even know who tackled who in the hug.
"Welcome Vicky." Hilda chuckled from above us. As the cloud of Nanodragons landed on Toothless as opposed to being crushed between my and Taryn's hug.
Taryn and I let each other up, still gripping each other's arms.
"I thought I'd fall off the edge of the world and never see you again!" Taryn exclaimed excitedly.
"Don't let your father hear you say that Tara." Hilda admonished.
"I never thought I'd have a Dragon, a Night fury, nay, a tamed Night fury to thank for allowing me to see you again." I answered her.
Then Toothless stepped up and nudged me, looking very expectant.
"Oh fine, Thank you Toothless." I complied as I rubbed his head a bit.
Then the Nanodragons on his back bristled in a wave.
"Oh, ok fine, and Thank you Nanodragons."
He nodded then turned and went to curl up at the front of the ship.
"C'mon!" Taryn exclaimed as she dragged me off to the little alcove under the stairs where she'd come from
Taryn had just finished showing me her crossbow, the blueprints for the switchblade, the halberd, and the katars, and many other items, many of them quite a bit more mechanical than just simple weaponry. I'd seen Heather and Avery with the Halberd and Katars, and Tara claims Cami has the switchblade, though I've never seen it… and my father may or may not have stolen the halberd Hiccup had.
Just as Taryn was showing me how she planned to make a collapsible Glaive… that's when I had to make my move.
"Hey Taryn, would you want to come back with me?"
"Come back where?" she asked guardedly, but I'm sure she knew the answer already.
"Back with me and Toothless, to our friends, the dragon riders."
"I… I can't."
"And why can't you?"
"Because I'm betraying everyone else."
"Would they ever know? Like me they believe you've gone over the edge of the world by now… or soon at least."
"I would know." she complained guiltily.
… well that didn't work, but it helped me pinpoint what it is that's stopping her.
"Would you not also be refusing their second invitation now, and wouldn't that be considered a bit rude?"
"I have to be here for my father." she excused.
"He's doing fine!" I gestured at him standing at the front of the ship, gently scratching Toothless' back lightly with his axe prosthetic. Even Toothless was perfectly comfortable with an axe with probably the highest kill count in the archipelago languidly running up and down his back.
"I've got to be here for my tribe members, and my family. What if they really do sail over the edge of the world, I wouldn't be here to save them."
"Do you think you could?"
"Well… no… but I'd at least be here with them."
"Do you think they'd want you to die with them? That if they could save any one person on this boat from that fate, that it wouldn't be you? Even if they have to throw you onto a random passing wild dragon if it means you might survive?"
"But, then I'd never see them again…"
Now… I would say they aren't going anywhere… except they are.
"You'd be on dragon-back! There isn't anything limiting where you can, or can't go!"
"...I… I don't know how to find America, even on Dragon-back."
"What if… you took the map, I bet your dad's memorized it anyway, that way you could find America, then find him since your dragon could track his scent from it."
"I… I guess…" she shrugged.-
"HAHAHA you agree! You can't back out now!" I cheered.
"She's got a point you know." Hilda said from behind the curtain.
"What?" Tara asked.
"If your dragon can take you to America and find your father and I, it could also find your friends."
"Yeah!" I exclaimed.
"You guys are talking like I already have a dragon." she said as I dragged her out from behind the curtains.
"Well, let's go back to the gang and find you one!"
"Seeing as you came with Toothless, Hiccup's dragon, you don't even have one yet." she noted.
"Unless the swarm is yours?" she realized.
"No, the swarm is Thug's, we'll find ours together!"
"LAND AHOOOO!" Arnold shouted from the crow's nest.
Everyone on deck turned to see the land that caught his attention.
It was massive, with plenty of forests and mountains.
"Is that…?" I asked.
"America… at long last, it exists!" Taryn finished for me.
(1) this is in fact the end of the 'Oswald arc' so no more time wasted struggling to name chapters after an island or tribe or location.
(2) you fight have caught it, but Vicky has been mentioned before. way back in chapter 36, her name is barely mentioned, but I did leave that there so it wont be random that they're such good friends.
(3) *Disclaimer* im not being sexist or ageist, but remember this is Dagur, during Viking times.
(4) ahh... I just couldnt contain myself, I love breaking the fourth wall, really random characters like Dagur, Tuffnut and Ruffnut are my go to characters to break the 4th wall, other characters I use to do that are 'Omniscient' characters like Merciful/Merciless, Ali, the G-man/Xen man.
and... random question:
what would it look like to exist inside a perfectly spherical mirror? and as an added question, what if you couldn't see yourself in the mirrored surface so all you would see was mirror's reflecting mirrors reflecting mirrors reflecting mirrors and so on infinitely?