Chapter 6

When Hiccup was startled out of his dreamless sleep by a loud crash, there was a moment in which his heart started racing in panic. Johann has finally decided to sink the ship, he thought as sweat beaded on his forehead and he stared wide-eyed at the wooden ceiling above him. Then he blinked, realising that the wood he was staring at was a construction of logs, not the planks that he had practically memorised because of the time spent in his cell. He blurrily looked around him as he once again reminded himself that he was free, that he had escaped from the constant threat of torture and pain and was now living in a house belonging to Viggo. He was safe. At that thought, he allowed himself a deep sigh of relief.

And as he now sat up on the bed he'd slept on, he remembered now said Grimborn had instructed him to use his bed. While Hiccup may be stubborn, the older man had been insistent and eventually, the Rider had been too tired to argue. Viggo had slept on a rug next to the fireplace.

Hiccup was about to stand up when he remembered his leg, how he'd had to limp around or travel on Freedom's back yesterday because his stump was still too tender to have a prosthetic strapped to it. He inspected it and grimaced. While it seemed to be healing quickly, he had silently hoped that he would be able to have two feet on the ground today – even if one was metal. But since the gods didn't seem to want to meet his hopes, he used the wall to balance as he hopped down the stairs.

As he reached the ground floor and looked around the empty hut, another crash resounded that seemed to make the ground beneath his foot shake. He furrowed his forehead in confusion, making his way to the door. As he opened it he could hear Viggo frantically whispering.

"Can't you do that any quieter, Stormchaser?" he said and as Hiccup looked outside he saw said Skrill innocently looking on as Viggo reprimanded him. Freedom was there too, apparently having spectated as two trees were brought down. When the Monstrous Nightmare spotted Hiccup using the wall of the hut as a support, he hurried over and helped him limp towards where the Grimborn stood, now looking at him with a slightly guilty look. "I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"I think those crashes would have woken up a Foreverwing," Hiccup replied, a lopsided smile on his face. Viggo turned to give a meaningful look to Stormchaser, who simply rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Apologies," he said. "While dragons are, of course, magnificent creatures, they do seem to lack discreetness, sometimes." Hiccup smiled, trying not to dwell on how Krogan had said a similar thing months ago after sneaking onto the Edge to ambush him. Instead, he focused on the fact that Viggo and Stormchaser had just cut down two trees.

"So what's that lumber for?" he asked. Viggo shrugged and Hiccup could tell he was trying to act nonchalant.

"I just thought that if you were staying we might be needing some more furniture," he said. "Plus, you might be wanting a crutch while your stump heals," Hiccup glanced down at his leg, then up at Freedom.

"Good idea. I don't think you want to be my personal crutch forever, do you buddy?" He smiled again, then felt struck by how strange the word 'buddy' felt on his tongue. He instantly decided never to use the nickname for a dragon other than Toothless ever again.

"Right then," Viggo held one hand behind his back, one raised to his chin, giving Hiccup another opportunity to muse on how different yet similar the man in front of him was to the Hunter that had been his enemy. But he didn't have time to dwell much on those thoughts as they got to work. Viggo fetched axes and files and soon they were both kneeling on the grass – since Hiccup could manage that without support – cutting and whittling. It soon became clear that Viggo was a lot more used to woodwork than he was, as while Hiccup's arms were aching after half an hour, the Grimborn seemed to continue tirelessly until after a few hours, he had made a crutch.

"Wow," Hiccup marvelled as he tried it out while Viggo watched, looking proud. It was odd to see the man showing pride that didn't involve conquest over dragons, but he found with pleasant surprise that the look didn't throw him off. "I didn't think you could do it that quickly," Viggo laughed.

"I assure you, the table didn't go this quickly," he said lightly. "If you'd like, you can go for a walk, take a break from the work. I'll continue for a bit longer." The side of Hiccup that felt morally obligated to help protested, but Hiccup would be lying if he said a walk on his own didn't sound nice.

"Thanks," he said, another smile on his face. Viggo nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to his woodwork, leaving Hiccup to limp off into the forest, following the path he thought would lead him to the cliffs. He felt that would be a good place to sit and think.

He still had several things in his head that he hadn't quite fully processed. He had made up his mind about staying on this island with Viggo for a while. He had nowhere else to go. At least, that's what he told himself. He had no clue what state Berk or the Edge was in, whether there may be some remnant of his people somewhere in the archipelago. Some part of him that he had yet to properly acknowledge was telling him that it was his responsibility as heir to seek out what remained of those he would have been chief over. That part of him told him he was being selfish for wanting to stay away from civilisation, on a secluded island in peace. Away from confrontation with the war he'd lost. But he found himself welcoming the opposing voice – the one that told him that he was entitled, after everything he'd been through, to shy away from any responsibility he still had for a little longer.

Besides, he told himself, it wasn't like he wouldn't be productive here. There was a lot he could learn from a man like Viggo, one who was once chief over his own tribe and had ruled the seas for a time with his cunningness and sharp mind. In the months since Johann had betrayed him, he had managed to build a relationship with the Skrill, teach himself enough skills to build a homestead and become self-sufficient apart from the visits he had paid to merchants. Hiccup realised he had forgotten to ask how he had gone about showing his face in a public market. There was a lot he still didn't know about the Grimborn's life.

When he finally reached the cliffs and sat with his legs swinging over the edge and crutch beside him, the sun was a welcome warmth on his skin. His clothes were still in tatters and any gust of breeze in the shaded forest raised the hairs on his skin but out here, with the view of the ocean and the seemingly endless blue sky, he could almost forget everything that had happened. He could imagine himself sitting beside Astrid, their fingers intertwined, his heart warm with affection as she put her head on his shoulder. Her hair would glimmer like gold in the sun and her beautiful smile would tempt his gaze off the view and onto her face. She would catch him looking at her and blush, leaning in as her eyes slid shut. Hiccup's heart would flutter as their mouths met.

But all Hiccup's heart did was ache. It pulsed with pain as if every beat caused blood to leak out of his chest. He thought of all the moments over the past two days when he'd ignored the twinges in his chest at a thought or a word. The flashes of pain as he thought of Toothless, Astrid, his friends or his dad. The tribe that was meant to be his. The tribe he called home. This was one wound he didn't think could be fixed with just time and a bit of Viggo's help. There was no crutch to help him through as it healed. There were just these moments, on his own as he sat in this puddle of grief. He reached his hand into his pocket where Astrid's betrothal necklace was safely stashed, tracing his fingers over the engravings.

He wasn't sure exactly when he had started crying, but he blinked in surprise when he felt a tear fall onto his thigh. He brushed the liquid on his face away with what remained of his left sleeve and tried to focus on the rhythm with which the waves bobbed up and down below him. He was grateful for Viggo's help. He couldn't deny that. He didn't know what he would have done if he and Freedom had crashed on a different island, one uninhabited or with other people he knew from his life before captivity. He wondered what Viggo could have thought when a Monstrous Nightmare and wounded teenager crashed on his island. A smirk crept onto his face at the idea of what the Grimborn's face might have looked like. It would have been entertaining to see that.

Unfortunately, what he could see from here made his heart sink. He had been gazing out absentmindedly when some movement in the corner of his eye had caught his attention. It was a ship. A relatively small one at that, but the markings on the sails were familiar enough to make the thoughts that had ruled his head only seconds ago fade. He had seen that crest before. Hunters had almost branded him with it, Krogan wore it proudly on his belt buckle and pin, yet Hiccup hadn't seen it in a while. Until now.

The ship was approaching from behind a cliff to his right and Hiccup scrambled to get down, lying flat on his stomach. They were docking on a beach, but no one seemed to be disembarking. Yet.

He reached for his weapons, fingers brushing over the handle of his sword to reassure himself. He would gut every man on board if he could, but that would be overly ambitious considering his current state – especially if he was outnumbered. He scowled. What if they were here for him? In his state of panic and exhaustion, maybe he hadn't noticed that he had been followed. He groaned at the thought. It was all well and good being clever and ruthless until carelessness ruined everything.

As discreetly as possible, he got to his feet and limped with his crutch back into the forest. He couldn't bear the idea that the Hunters would attack Viggo in his absence, even if he wasn't in a good shape for fighting himself.

But when he had hobbled all the way back to the hut, sweating and out of breath, Viggo was contently hammering away at what looked like a bed that was missing three legs. The sound of Hiccup panting, however, was enough to draw his attention away from his creation.

"Are you alright?" he asked, standing up with a look of concern on his face.

"Hunters," Hiccup managed to say between gulps of air. "A ship, I saw it from the cliff," Viggo frowned.

"Did they see you?" he asked, but when Hiccup shook his head, Viggo seemed to immediately dismiss the idea of there being any danger.

"Then there's no need to worry," he said with conviction. "Those men regularly stop at this island to collect water from the spring and as yet I have had no interactions with that at all. Leave them be, they won't attack us," Hiccup frowned.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked as Viggo put down his hammer, brushing his hands off each other. The Grimborn looked up at him, a slight smile on his face.

"Johann wouldn't dare," he said, but that only caused Hiccup more confusion. He found it hard to believe that an army of trained Hunters and Flyers would doubt their odds against two men alone in a forest. The trader had the King of Dragons in his grasp. He pretty much had free reign of the archipelago. But just when he was about to open his mouth to question Viggo's statement, the man turned and walked into the hut, reemerging after a moment wearing a hooded cloak over his usual armour. If he didn't know better, Hiccup would have said that he was deliberately avoiding the conversation.

"I'm going to the Northern Markets to acquire some clothes for you. I'd invite you to accompany me but I fear that your missing leg would make you too recognisable. Walking around with a hood makes me conspicuous enough as it is. Would you like a similar red tunic? I can also purchase some leather for your armour," Hiccup blinked, realising he hadn't even considered getting new armour despite the tattered state of his current clothing. But he nodded in agreement anyway.

"Good, that shouldn't be a challenge," Viggo said, then whistled for Stormchaser

Hiccup stared at the shape of the Skrill and rider flying off into the distance and frowned. Viggo had appeared adamant that the Hunters on the coast were of no danger, yet his behaviour after he had brought the topic up was... odd. But Hiccup couldn't possibly think what the issue would be. He didn't imagine Viggo would leave him and Freedom alone if there was a real threat, but something had changed. He just didn't know what.

It's probably nothing, said a voice in the back of his head. Viggo hasn't seen you for months, no one has. Your face may have changed. He probably wasn't able to read your confusion. He shrugged to himself as he knelt beside the bed that was half-constructed, picking up the hammer. If it came up again, he'd ask.

But as he continued the work that Viggo had started, Hiccup realised that if Viggo was avoiding certain topics, he wasn't the only one. And who was the pot to call the kettle black?

A/N: There we are, chapter 6. Let me know what you think in the reviews, I love reading your thoughts. :) And I hope to see you on the next chapter!

~httydfangirl123