Hey, thanks to all of the followers, readers and reviews, I appreciate the support, sorry it took so long again, life is tough. BTW this chapter will focus mostly on Astrid. And about the thing where I put song lyrics at the beginning of the chapter, I'm not gonna do that anymore, it has occurred to me that I can't find a song for every chapter, sorry if anyone liked that but it'll only hold me up, I delayed this chapter for two days before realising this. Anyway enough about me, on with the story.
Chapter Four: Scars
Normal POV
Vikings and dragons have been at war for hundreds of years, Viking slaying dragon and dragon slaying Viking, blood shed across the lands of the Archipelago, none more so than Berk. The Hairy Hooligans of Berk lived closest to Helheim's Gate where it is believed that the dragon's nest resides.
Once the Hooligans saw this as sport as well as defending their home from blood thirsty dragons. But as the years passed the frequency of dragon attacks increased, even to the point where it became tradition as peace treaties signed by chiefs were signed in dragon blood, the dragon attacks became bigger, lasted longer, more violent, more organised and occurred on a regular basis. Collateral damage wasn't minimal but it was rare for even one entire house to burn down, maybe a torch tower or two but never a building.
Now things were getting bad, since summer two years ago the number of dragons attacking in raids has gone up to almost fifty and some even lasted until after sun rise. The damage caused in each raid could barely be repaired in time for the next, the dragons have gotten smarter too, now they would focus on less defended areas and save each other if need be. This is what would be running through a certain Hofferson's head on a regular day on Berk, this was not a regular day.
A young woman with blonde hair was sprinting towards a burning house. Usually her hair was held up by a leather band but it had come slightly loose in the thick of battle and a clump of hair was stuck to the side of her face with sweat. She still wore her signature blue top and spiked leather skirt, she had outgrown her top but it was partial to her, sometimes she regreted this decision because it was beginning to reveal her abdomen beyond the rim, it being too small for her now, it was especially a problem when she passed by onlookers in the village, like a certain Jorgenson.
She came face to face with the culprit of the fire, a nadder was poking around inside the house in search of food or prey, Astrid hacked at one of its legs and drew significant blood, this caught its attention as it pulled its head out of the doorway, and taking some of the flaming structure with it, to strike at her. The nadder shot several of its spines out at Astrid, of whom rolled to the right to avoid injury, she landed two more axe strikes on its face before it tucked tail and run. A tub full of water flew overhead and dispersed its contents over the house, putting the fire out.
Astrid turned to see the chief of Berk standing stoic against all odds, hammer and shield in hand, ready to defend his people.
"Astrid, what've we got?"
"The usual sir: nadders, gronckles, zipplebacks and nightmares." She knew what the aged viking chief would ask next, the same thing he had been asking for the past two years.
"Any night furies?"
"None chief." A lone viking came stumbling over, exhausted and hurt.
"Stoick, a pack of monstrous nightmares are torchin' the store house! We have to do something!" As if things couldn't get any worse for them, a gronckel flew by and blasted a catapult to smithereens. Then Stoick started barking orders over the raging battle around them.
"You lot grab some bolas and protect our catapults, someone get this man to the healer, Astrid, Spitelout, you'll be comin' with me to take back the storehouse!" All vikings went to fulfill their tasks with haste.
The three headed straight for the store house, barging through anything that stood in their path in a triangle formation, Stoick leading at the front and Astrid and Spitelout on the flanks, Stoick even smashed aside a stray cart rolling down a slope. At the top of a hill in the far side of the village was the store house, just like the man said three monstrous nightmares were burning and clawing their way to the goods inside. With a mighty war cry the chief and his companions charged the dragons. All three dragons immediately took notice and scurried towards their new targets.
Astrid was faced with a yellow nightmare, not a very common colour for its kind, its head would make a very nice trophy for her room. Astrid rarely took trophies, only if it was a dragon she had not yet killed or if that kill meant something to her, this dragon will regret threatening her home and it will pay in blood.
The dragon spewed forth fire in an arc to keep Astrid at bay, she had seen this before however and reacted by rolling under the fire and embedding her axe in its lower jaw. The beast recoiled in agony and shook it's head to try and rid itself of the axe, in its rage the dragon lit itself ablaze preventing Astrid from taking advantage of the situation. Astrid had to think fast, this thing would come back to its senses eventually and when it did she would be next on the menu.
"The well." It was only a couple of feet away, she dashed across the field and quickly filled a bucket of water, it was her luck that the nightmare was still frantically flailing about, she only had one shot, she had to make it count. Astrid swung the bucket into the air, dowsing the dragon's head and parting the flames, but this wouldn't last long so she had to be quick. The dragon finally rid itself of the axe by clawing it out and focused its attention on her. Astrid flung herself onto the dragon's head and grabbed a hold of one of its horns, the dragon whipped its head around wildly trying to fling her off.
Astrid managed to get good foothold on the base of its skull, she pulled out her dagger and began taking wild swings at it, but the dragon just kept waving its head around, any hits she did land weren't strong enough to penetrate its scales. She felt the dragon's skin getting hotter through her boots and patches of fire were appearing on its head, Astrid didn't have much time left, she had to think of something now.
She had an idea, carefully she steadied her arm as much as she could and aimed her dagger between the scales, she jabbed at them until she wedged the blade in a gap, now she had it, she moved it to an angle that would drive the blade straight through its skull, with all the force she could muster Astrid pushed down on the hilt as well as throwing her own weight onto it and the dagger hit home. The dragon flung its head back in one last pained roar, throwing Astrid onto its back which was still aflame, she fell off and rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill, she patted herself down to check for any burning fabric before picking herself up off the ground. She looked up the hill and saw Stoick finishing off his monstrous nightmare with one last blow to the head from his hammer, the one remaining flew away towards the sun slowly rising over the horizon, then one by one the dragons retreated, back towards Helheim's gate. She looked around, she had ended up at the end of a street with a row of houses on each side, some houses burnt to the ground others only partially damaged.
It was over, they had protected Berk for one more day, they were safe. Then Astrid heard it, that one word that would be burned into her memory forever, that one name.
"TIMBERJACK!"
Astrid turned to where the shout had come from to see a row of houses explode in a shower of debris and splinters, she just barely caught the outline of a dragon before her abdomen ruptured in agony as she was thrown violently across the street.
The pain was so intense she couldn't contain her screams, she looked down to try and find the injury, she saw a massive slash across the right of her ribcage, she was bleeding profusely and blood was starting to pool around her. It was just too much, all she could do was scream, she could barely make out the moistness around her eyes, she was crying, she wasn't ready to die, no, she had to see her parents again, this wasn't how she wanted it to end yet she was powerless to stop it.
Her vision was starting to fade and the noise around her was drifting away, her entire body felt cold and she no longer held the energy to scream, only pained breaths came out. In that moment Astrid truly accepted her fate, her body was numb and her sight was swallowed by the inky blackness. The last thing she heard before she passed on to enter the gates of Valhalla was the Chief's voice.
"Astrid! Can you hear me. SOMEONE GET THE HEALER OVER HERE NOW! Astrid!"
Traders Port
South East Archipelago
Hiccup's POV
This was the first time Hiccup had been among Viking civilization for two years, it was kind of weird seeing all of these normal sized vikings instead of just Khaine's huge frame all the time. They had stopped by a traders port this morning because Hiccup had seen a smithy during a brief fly over last night. They landed in the forest and slept there over night.
Hiccup headed into the port first thing in the morning, he wore a hood on his way through in case he bumped into anyone who knew him, he was heir to one of the greatest Viking tribes in the Archipelago, he was bound to be noticed. Hiccup got lost several times trying to navigating the streets, turns out the port is also a part of a small town further in land. The streets were packed with people and were very narrow, the buildings all looked so similar, they definitely had their own unique designs but the difference between buissines and housing seemed to blur.
When Hiccup finally arrived at the smithy an hour later, he walked in and was surprised with what he saw. Despite how small the building seemed on the outside it was very spacious, weapons of all sorts hung on racks on either side of the room, three weapons in particular were in a display case on a pedestal in the centre of the room.
"See something' ya like boy?" Hiccup had failed to notice a middle aged man behind the counter at the back of the room, he had swept back blonde hair and long bushy beard. "And what's with the hood?"
"Oh um... well you see, I'd rather not be recognised." He had really hoped no one would question the hood, but he didn't have any other disguise.
"Why, did ya do somethin' wrong?" The man raised a questioning eye brow.
"W-what of course not, do I look like someone who did something wrong?"
"Well yer wearing a hood and don't want to be noticed, plus yer a terrible liar." The man listed off. He'd really landed himself in it this time, he would need a very convincing cover story if he wanted to get out of this without any ensuing violence.
"Now if you tell me exactly who you are and why ya don't want to be recognised, I might consider not killing ya." Of course, usual Viking reason, what should he have expected.
"OK fine, just don't rat me out."
"Depends."
Hiccup had to think fast, what would dissuade him from trying to lob his head off, something heroic? Yes, that was it. "Well I kind of have a bounty on my head."
"What for?"
"I attacked boat and freed a bunch of people being sold as slaves, someone wasn't too happy about it and placed a bounty on me, I've been on the run for about a month now."
"So ya freed some slaves? Then why don't ya just tell em what ya did?" This man was not letting him go easily that was for sure.
"I did, but you know there's always those people who would rather some extra gold over the truth." The blacksmith thought to himself for a moment, Hiccup waited anxiously for his response, heart pounding in his ears.
"OK I believe yer story, but I want to see yer face." Damn! Hiccup had no way out of this without, A: getting into a brawl with this guy, or B: running for his life with the town's populace on his arse. Slowly he pulled his hood down and awaited the guys response.
"Hm... OK kid, I don't remember yer face from the wanted board so yer fine with me, but I'm watching ya." The man stared at Hiccup sternly, he trusted him but was on his guard, but he was surprised this guy didn't recognise the son of the Stoick the Vast. "So what did ya come he for anyway?"
"I just came here to see if there was a forge I could use, I have gold if I need to pay."
"Of course, but what for, if I could ask?"
"Well back home I was a blacksmith like yourself and I've been away for quite some time, wouldn't want my skills going to waste now would I?" Hiccup explained. The blonde chuckled at his statement.
"Oh yes, I have one in the back, but it will cost you. What do you have to pay me for the time?"
"How's this for now?" Hiccup produced five gold pieces from his pocket and handed them to the man.
"Sure, stall closes in four hours so make sure yer done by then." The man pointed to a door to the left of the counter. Hiccup opened the door and stepped inside, it was quite small, the forge was mainly split into three desks: one with an anvil, one with a hearth, and one that was empty save for a few bolts and a hammer.
This was all just to keep his smithing skills up to date, he should start with something basic like a sword. "One sword coming up." Hiccup mumbled to himself. He walked over to the hearth, the coals weren't hot enough, Hiccup grabbed the top handle of the bellows and pushed down hard, almost too hard, if he put any more force into it he could have broken it. "I don't remember it being that easy." The hearth lit up like a bonfire on Snoggeltog. "There, now were does he keep his molds?" Hiccup searched the room and saw a cupboard above the empty workstation, he opened it and found the molds he was looking for on the bottom shelf, as he took them down he noticed on the top shelf there was a rolled up piece of parchment, curiosity got the best of him and he couldn't help but take a look at what might be inside. He unraveled the paper to gaze upon the most intricately complex design in all of Viking history. "Who in the name of Asgard could have designed this?"
"I see ya found that crack pot of a design." Hiccup jumped at the sound of an intruding voice, he turned to see the blacksmith standing in the doorway, how long had he been there, he hadn't even heard him open the door.
"Did you draw this?"
The man simply shook his head. "I'm afraid not lad, couple of years ago a shady lookin fella came in here and asked if I could make it for him, I said I'd try but after a month I just couldn't figure out how to complete it."
"Complete it? You mean the design isn't finished?" Looking at it now Hiccup could see that there were some parts that were unspecified and it was not clear what materials to use and where.
"Ay' the man never came back though, wonder where he went?"
"Do you think I could give it a try?" A smile turned from one of wonder to one of mischievousness.
"Oh that look on yer face says it all boy, yer welcome to try but don't even know ye would start."
Hiccup took another glance at the drawing. "I'll need some more time in the forge to make this and some more materials too."
"Woah woah, how much 's this costin' me?" The blacksmith interjected into his plans.
"Oh don't worry about that... erm... come to think of it I never got your name."
"The name's Magnus, Magnus Yeygerman."
"OK Magnus, I think I've got all the costs covered with this." Hiccup shoveled around in his pocket to reveal a green jem about the size of an iron stud and gave it to Magnus.
"Holy mother of Thor, where did ya get this lad?" The smith quickly skimmed over the priceless jem now in his possession.
"I've been a few places ya know, across the seas, seen a few people." Hiccup quickly fibbed, he couldn't just say he killed an entire crew of dragon hunters and accidentally stumbled upon it.
"Take as much time as you need boy, I'm off to see that foreign fella down at the market to see how much I could get for this, heheHAHA! Magnus rushed himself out of the smithy and left a sign on the door and merged with the crowd until Hiccup couldn't see him anymore.
Hiccup stared at the drawing intent on finishing this project, Khaine and his training can wait, this was going to be his masterpiece. His brain started conjuring ideas by the second, this wasn't going to be easy but it would be worth it in the end. " Berk if only you could see me now."
Berk
Astrid's POV
It felt like an eternity for Astrid, floating in an endless void, she couldn't see, hear, or feel anything for she didn't even know how long. Then she started hearing voices, ones she recognised as her mother and father's voices.
"Oh Brenda, why wasn't I there to protect her, if I had been there she wouldn't be like... this." Her father sounded heartbroken, but what did he mean 'like this'? Did something happen?
"Its not your fault Haldor, you couldn't have know, no one could have-". She was cut off sharply by her husband.
"WELL I SHOULD HAVE! What kind of father can't protect his only daughter?" What ever had happened, he felt that it was his fault. Astrid tried to cry out to her parents but nothing came out, but why? Why was she in this limbo? Was she dead?
"Maybe we should go somewhere else for a while, that should take your mind off of things." Brenda reasoned.
"Your right Brenda, I shouldn't be in here wallowing in my misery, it won't bring her back any quicker. Gothi said she'd make a full recovery and she will." He sounded a little more hopeful now.
"That's the spirit, let's go get something to eat."
Astrid heard a slight shuffle next to her. "You keep fighting my little warrior, you'll be with us soon, I know it, we'll be right here waiting for you." She felt her father plant a kiss on her forehead, then footsteps that quickly faded.
Then she heard her mother's voice again. "Stoick, you can't possibly think that she's... she's."
"I'm sorry, but Gothi's done everythin' she can for her, we can keep giving her baths to somewhat keep her hydrated but until she wakes up she can't eat or drink, if she doesn't wake up then she'll die of starvation, the only thing we can do now is wait."
"No. No! There has to be something we can do, something we can just give her to make her better, there has to be a way!" Her father was defiant to the end, she couldn't imagine what he would if she didn't pull through. "Dear Odin, please don't take my little girl away from me." Haldor dissolved into tears, crying as Astrid felt him hold her head against his chest. Why couldn't she wake up, she didn't understand. Then the noises stopped and her father's arms disappeared, she didn't feel him pull away, he just vanished.
Then it all turned to chaos, Astrid heard the shouts and screams of fellow berkians, the roars and screeches of dragons, she could smell the burning of her home. She desperately tried to move and open her eyes but they wouldn't open and she couldn't feel her body, or anything.
Her parents were out there fighting, they could be hurt or worse, yet she was stuck here unable to help her people. She was furious, she was frightened, but most importantly, she was alone. Then everything faded again. Why? Why was this happening, was she really dead, was this the gods way of punishing people for their past sins, if it was she knew why she was here, because she bullied Hiccup, she made him run away and they had no idea if he was even alive or not.
Astrid didn't know how long it had been before her vision began to brighten, the feeling in her face came back, then the neck, then the arms and all the way down to her feet. She began to hear things, footsteps to her left, she started to open her eyes, it was a task but she eventually pried them open with all the strength she had.
Astrid was in a small hut with potions and chemicals lining the shelves, she knew this place, Gothi's hut. She looked slightly to her left and saw a very small old woman with a wooden staff almost twice her height.
"Gothi? Arrgh!" As Astrid tried to sit up a stabbing pain made itself known on the right of her abdomen. Gothi motioned for her to lay back down and handed her a piece of bread, as soon as Astrid laid eyes upon it she felt so hungry she almost pulled a muscle trying to snatch it out of the old woman's hand. Gothi pulled it out of her reach before she could take it.
"Gothi please, I'm so hungry." Astrid's voice was hoarse, she needed water too. Gothi broke off a small chunk of the bread and gave it to Astrid who gobbled it down as fast as she could, Gothi tapped her on the shoulder and made a weird hand motion where she held her flat palm out and slowly pressed it forward, it took Astrid a moment to figure out what she meant but she got it in the end.
"Oh, eat it slowly, OK." Gothi nodded and handed the bread back to her, after a few bites Astrid had to ask. "Do you have any water, my throats a little dry." The elderly woman took a cup off the table behind her and handed it to Astrid. After chugging half the glass she pulled away gasping, finally relived of her thirst. "Thank you Gothi." Astrid now took the time to think about other things, the first one that came to mind was-
"Wait! Gothi what about the dragon raid, are my parents OK?!" Gothi nodded once again. "Oh thank Thor." Now Gothi started walking towards the door.
"Wait Gothi, where are you going?" She simply pointed at her then at the bed she was laying on. Astrid slumped back onto the pillow as the elder left the hut. Astrid sat in silence for a while thinking about what could be going on in the village. "Wonder how the rest of the gang is getting on without me."
The Great Hall
Stoick's POV
"What're we going to do Gobber?" Stoick asked his old childhood friend. Last nights raid had been a brutal one, many houses were destroyed so their residents would have to sleep in the great hall tonight, there were three casualties of who's funeral pyres were sent adrift this morning. The Armory and Gobber's workshop had been blown to pieces, the two were in close proximity, always have been, then a pack of zipplebacks blew the place sky high, now they had no weapons to defend themselves.
"I don't know Stoick, I could get the forge fixed with a little help but I'll only be able to get a handful of weapons made in time for the next raid."
"Ah, why didn't I see what they were doing from the start, damn beasts 're getting smarter by the day." The chief slammed his fist into the table they were sat at.
"Don't blame yourself Stoick, the dragon's 're unpredictable, ye couldn't have know."
"If only Astrid were here, she would've been able to hold tha' bastards off. She's one of Berk's finest, can't imagine what would happen if we lost her, the Hoffersons 're one of the best clans on the island when it comes to fighting. Hal and Brenda are too old to have another child, if she doesn't make it... it could mean the end for the Hofferson clan." Those words weighed heavily on both men's minds.
"Hey everyone! Trader Johan just sailed into port, he's probably got some awesome stuff for us!" Everyone turned to hear Fishlegs' announcement and left their seats to meet the afore mentioned man at the docks.
"Hey, maybe i could buy a new mace from Johan, what do you think sis?" Tuffnut lost his mace in last nights raid after a nadder incinerated half of the metal end of it.
"Totally- wait, we don't have any gold." Ruffnut answered and was answered back by her brother's anguished cries, he was partial to his mace.
The Thornstons words spun the gears in the aging chief's head and he came up with a solution. "That's it!"
"Uh, what's it?"
"We could buy weapons to replace the ones we lost, there's a trading port a few days southeast of here, I could take our gold supply, buy the weapons and be back before the next raid."
"And yer sure they'll have that many weapons for sale?"
"No, but its the best shot we've got, I'll go prepare a ship for departure." The chief was halted by his friend with an outstretched hook.
"You're needed here chief, I'll go get tha weapons, tha village needs their chief in dark times such as these."
"Very well Gobber, take whoever you need with ya, the whole village is depending on ya now."
"Aye chief." Gobber got up from his seat and headed for the docks. Stoick thought he might as well follow him as he needed to see Johan anyway.
The Docks
After a long talk about how many weapons were to be brought, how much gold to take and which direction to go they reached the docks where trader Johan was. He was having trouble holding back the crowd of berkians that threatened to flood the deck.
"Be patient now, I know your all excited but I can't sell anything until the chief arrives!" As if on cue, Stoick worked his way to the front of the crowd to meet Johan. "Stoick! What a pleasure to meet you."
"Pleasure to meet you as well Johan you'll always be welcome on our shores. People please file in ten at a time, you'll all get to see Johan's wares when its yer turn!" Vikings came and went, buying all sorts of odd things from Johan. Then came along the teens.
Snotlout was looking at swords and insisted he try to lift an axe that was almost the size of him, Ruff and Tuff were eyeing the stuffed yak on display even though they knew they couldn't afford it, Fishlegs was freaking out because he couldn't decide which book to buy.
"Oh. My. Thor. This is it, the perfect mace! Tuffnut held a mace with a headpiece made of silver, an oak wood handle and a spiked pommel. "If I had this I could kill any dragon, even the mighty night fury!"
"Psh, yeah right, if anyone here could kill a night fury, it would be me!" Snotlout scoffed
"Like hell!"
"Wanna prove me wrong Tuff, let's see if you can actually use that thing!"
"ENOUGH! The both of ya!" Stoick was tired of these two and their antics, he would not see a fight break out on Johan's ship, that and of that mace was damaged in any way then someone would have to pay for it and Tuffnut clearly didn't have any gold on him. "Neither of ya will be killing a night fury, there hasn't been a sighting of one in two years and there hopeful never will."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but..." Johan interrupted.
"Johan, don't tell me you've actually seen one." If the night furies were coming back then Stoick feared for the safety of his people, the raids were bad enough without them.
"Not myself but almost a year ago I met a man who says he was attacked by one. It was a nice summers morning, the wind at my back-"
"Johan, the night fury." Stoick reminded.
"Oh yes, well while I was sailing I found a ship that seemed to be abandoned, but as I drew closer that was not the case. The whole crew had been butchered!" Gasps and shouts were heard all around.
"OK but what about this man you met, the one that saw the night fury." Stoick inquired.
"I boarded the vessel to look for survivors, I really wanted to just turn the other way and leave but I had to know. I found one alive below deck, he was missing an arm but he managed to patch himself up pretty well."
"And what did he say about the night fury?" Stoick pressed on, he had to know if it was really out there or not.
"I took him back to my ship to help with his wounds and he went on about this crazy story, but I think he exaggerated some of the details."
"Why would you think that Johan?"
"Well... he said there was someone riding the damn thing. If I recall his words exactly he said it was a teenage boy who couldn't have been any older than sixteen, he had brown hair and green eyes and a bit on the skinny side." Stoick thought for a moment, he just described his son who had been missing for two years now, could it be.
"But he also said that he wielded some sort of spear, like he was born to use it, killed a couple of his men too." Never mind, Stoick knew his son, he didn't have the heart to kill someone.
"But that wasn't the strangest part about it, he said he and his crew caught the boy and his dragon, he and his crew were dragon hunters apparently. The captain was about to take the dragons head when a daemon from the depths of the underworld came out of nowhere, I personally don't want to believe it but..."
"Johan, what do you mean you don't want to believe him."
"He told me the daemon had two enormous swords that could cut a man clean in half. Stoick I saw the bodies, some of them were cut clean in half, not torn, cut."
"Other things could have done that, like a timberjack." Fishlegs jabbed into the conversation.
"Master Fishlegs I'm no dragon expert but I've heard that timberjacks are very big dragons correct?" Fishlegs nodded. "Well the ship was very much intact, not a scratch on it, I don't see how it could have killed the crew with its razor sharp wings without damaging the ship. Not only that, the burn marks on the bodies were more like they were hit with a projectile like fire, there were no scorch marks on the ship, only on the bodies and I've heard that the night fury never misses."
"Well where is this man now?"
"Unfortunately he passed that night, his injuries got the better of him, I made him a funeral pyre myself and sent him on his way to Valhalla. But he did give me something when he was telling his story, I'll go get it now." Johan disappeared below deck to find whatever it was he was talking about.
"Chief what are we goin' to do, if that night fury comes here we're finished, the raids 're bad enough as it is." This was starting to cause panic amongst the crowd, Stoick needed to stop this before it got out of had.
"Do not worry everyone, Johan has yet to show any solid proof that this is actually a night fury, you all know how he is about his stories." Then Johan came back up from below deck and produced a single black scale. Stoick took it in his own hand, it looked like any other dragon scale he'd seen before, except this one was black as night, just like the night fury.
"Fishlegs, can ye tell me if this scale is the real deal?" Fishlegs' knowledge of dragons was unparalleled by anyone on Berk, if anyone could tell, he could.
Fishlegs gave it a look over. "Looks like a dragon scale." He tried biting down on it. "Very resilient, not metallic either." Then he tried scraping the surface of it with a knife. "It definitely not paint. Now for the final test, does anyone have have a source of fire?"
"I have a match." Stoick piped up. He pulled a match out of his pocket and handed it to Fishlegs.
"It'll have to be bigger, Johan can I use that sconce on the side of the mast, oh and those tongs?"
"Of course master Fishlegs." The teenager used the match to light the sconce and used the tongs to place the scale inside the fire. After several moments of waiting, the scale showed no signs of burning or melting. Fishlegs picked it out of the fire and looked over it again.
"No signs of burning or melting, completely fireproof. I hate to say it chief but this is a dragon scale." Just what Stoick was dreading, there was proof that the night fury was still out there somewhere.
"By Thor's hammer, what'll we do?" They were never able to take down the night fury in the raids years ago, what chance did they stand now?
"Well Johan, yer story checks out, but I don't believe anything about this daemon nonsense. This boy controlling a dragon business seems a bit far fetched as well." Stoick cocked an eyebrow at Johan.
"No no, I swear that's just what I was told-"
"Johan I don't want you riling up the village folk any more than you already have with this tall tale of yer's, get back to sellin' yer wares before I kick ye out of port!"
'Y-yes of course chief." Johan cowered in the mans gigantic presence, there was more than one reason why he was called Stoick the Vast. He walked back across the boarding plank and towards the village to resume his chiefly duties.
Stoick sighed. "When did things get so out of hand, the raids are picking up, we can barely keep up with the repairs and now Johan's off telling stories about daemons and dragon riders? When did it all get so bad?" He knew when, it all started around the time his son, Hiccup, had run off on some perilous adventure, vowing to one day return. Then the raids started getting worse and everything went downhill.
He remembered when he first found out about his son's disappearing act, he was furious about it, the only reason he didn't denounce him heir back then was that the laws forbid denouncing an heir unless for an act of direct treason. He hated his son back then, until he realised why he ran away, it was because he never listened to him, never heard him out on any of his ideas, because the entire village looked down on him. Stoick wish he could go back and give his son all the support he needed, all the love and care a father should have given his child, but that was never going to happen, his son would likely never return. Stoick was long passed being mad at his son, now he just wanted him to come home, he would give anything, anything in the world for that.
"Hiccup, son. Where are you? The chief quietly murmured to himself.
Traders Port
It had been six days since Hiccup found that design, since he started forging again... since he'd last had a shower. But Hiccup couldn't focus on such trivial things such as showers when his masterpiece was almost complete, just a few last minute tweaks and it would be finished.
"Ye got ten minutes left back there lad!" Magnus bellowed from his counter in the main shop. Hiccup was still using the forge during open hours, it seemed to fit with Magnus' schedule, the blacksmith would sell wares in his shop eight hours a day then he would make weapons then he would spend the rest making or fixing things or do whatever he wanted to do.
"Don't worry yourself Magnus, I'm almost done." All he needed to do was screw one more bolt down and... done. "OK, let's try this again." Hiccup was praying this would be the time that it worked. He brought his invention out from the backroom and into the front of the store. "Alright Magnus, prepare the target board."
"Whatever you say, Jack." He'd given Magnus a fake name to call him by, he didn't want to lie to the guy, sure he seemed like a decent man and would probably keep it a secret if he told him but he couldn't risk leaving a trace, not if Berk was still looking for him.
Hiccup carried his new creation to the left side of the room and Magnus put the target board, which was just a wooden circle with a target painted on it, on the right side of the room up against the wall. Hiccup held a new kind of crossbow, but this wasn't just something new, this would be revolutionary. It was a crossbow that could fire multiple shots before having to be reloaded with another lot of bolts. Hiccup took aim and pulled the trigger, the contraption make a loud *click, clack* sound after firing. Hiccup pulled the trigger again almost instantly as the first bolt struck the target and fired a second bolt that landed right next to the other. Hiccup fired many more bolts into the target until ten bolts stuck out of the target like thorns.
"Odin's ghost. That thing can fire ten bolts without restocking? How did ye manage that!?"
"Oh this baby has a lot of moving parts, its a bit bulky too, I'll have to work on the design a bit more but for now..." Hiccup trailed off. Now he would be leaving and this time he wouldn't be coming back the next day, he had grown used to Magnus' presence while he worked.
"Well it was nice having ya here lad, good luck with the whole outlaw business, hope it turns out well for ya."
"I can draw you a copy of the design if you want."
"Nah boy, stuff like that is too complicated for the likes of me, I can't make any so I can't turn a profit. You keep it, it was just an idea until ye came along and made it a reality, its yer's now."
"Wow thanks. I guess I'll see you again someday?"
"Come by anytime kiddo, yer always safe with me." Hiccup packed his new toy into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, he turned back one last time to regard the blacksmith.
"Goodbye Magnus."
"See ya Jack."
Hiccup concealed his face with his hood before stepping out into the afternoon sun. Hiccup had his fun, now it was back to training, Khaine had been on his case all week about how he should be training, sometimes he wished he could kick his ass just to shut him up. Hiccup was so lost in thought that he didn't even see someone walking directly in front of him, he collided with the mans beefy shoulder and was almost knocked over because of how large he was, he was about yell at him when a hook was waved about in front of him.
"Watch it ya lousy bugger, can't ye see I'm walkin' here!" Gobber's yelling was drawing attention, he needed to get out off here before he could figure out who he was.
"Oh, uh s-so sorry sir." Hiccup lowered his head and walked away as quickly as he could to escape Gobber. He headed for an alley, if he could just round the corner at the end of the alley he could run the rest of the way to the woods and be out of here before Gobber could catch him, not that Gobber could catch him with that peg leg of his.
"Hey! Come back here, I'm not done talking to ye! GET BACK HERE YEW BLOODY SCOUNDREL!" Finally he rounded the corner, Hiccup broke into a full sprint, he followed the back alleys until he found the one that led to the woods. Despite already outrunning Gobber ten fold at this point he kept running, if they were searching for him then they were bound to comb the woods to find him, Khaine would be alright if he was discovered, it was Toothless he was worried about, if they found him they would take him back to Berk and put him on trial for abandoning his village-to-be and would no doubt kill Toothless the first chance they got.
As soon as he breached the clearing both dragon and revenant noticed his panic.
"Hiccup what's the rush? Did you finally finish your new toy-"
*Hiccup, are you OK?*
"Now is really not the time Khaine!" Hiccup cut him off sharply. "People from Berk are here and they're looking for me, we need to leave now." Hiccup was frantically packing things in Toothless' side pack.
"Say no more Hiccup, you and Toothless go, we'll talk later." Khaine tossed Hiccup his sword spear, he caught it in his left hand as he climbed onto the saddle.
"Come on Toothless, let's get out of here bud." With a single mighty flap of Toothless' wings the duo bolted into the sky, quickly soaring away from the port and out into the vast ocean. "That was too close, Gobber nearly busted be."
*Khaine did warn you not to stray too close to Berk, but did you listen nooooooo.*
Hiccup might not have been able to understand him but he'd spent enough time around his dragon to know what he meant. "Don't you throw the blame on me Toothless, all I wanted was to relax a little, do something different for a change, I thought the forge would be a nicer for me, ya know for once I just wanted a little break. Besides after two years I thought they would have given up the search by now, I mean I did ask them not to look for me in the first place, but they're vikings, why did I even think they'd listen to me?" Hiccup facepalmed, but he knew he had to at least leave them a note, although he will definitely get one hell of a talking to from his father and that was if he hadn't been branded a traitor.
"We're going to have to be more careful in the future bud." Toothless growled in response.
*You think?*
Berk
Astrid was hobbling her way past tables and other vikings twice her size, carrying a plate of mutton and potatoes in one hand and a crutch in the other. Her mother Brenda saw her struggling and came over to help.
"Oh dear let me take that for you, come sit with us, we'll have a talk." Brenda took her plate for her and led her to their table.
"Thanks mom, but I could've done it myself."
"Honey, me and your father know how independent you are but you don't have to go through this on your own, its OK to ask for help."
"OK mom." It didn't matter how many times her mother said it, she wouldn't let them baby her, she knew they just wanted to help and they weren't wrong for trying, but she still valued her independence. Upon arriving at the table, her father enveloped her in a bear hug, of course being very careful not to aggrivate her injury.
"How's my daughter doing today?"
"I'm OK dad." Astrid answered very glumly.
"Astrid, we know ye want to be out there fighting the dragons, but yer not fit ta fight a boar, much less a dragon." Haldor tried to sooth, but his daughters foul mood remained.
"I know dad, but you heard what happened in the last raid, people died. This village depends on me, they need me, I have to be out there next time or Thor knows what will happen!" Astrid was determined, now more than ever, to defend her home from those monsters, this was the place she grew up in, the people she had known for years, she was not going to give that up. She would give the ultimate sacrifice for them if it came to it. She would die to protect her village.
"Calm down love, Gothi says you'll be ready for action by next week-"
"When next week!?" Astrid harshly interrupted her mother.
"We don't know Astrid-"
"There's gonna be another raid next week mom, whether or not I'm fully rested I am going out there, the raids are getting worse and they need me out there, can't you see that!" Astrid was almost shouting now, frustrated that see couldn't help the people who needed her now more than ever. Why couldn't her parents understand.
"Listen Astrid." It was Haldor's turn to join the conversation. "Ye know yer our only child right?"
"Uh yeah?" Astrid replied rather confusedly
"And that we have no living family other than each other, right?"
"Yeah?" Where was he going with this and why did she feel it wasn't going to be somewhere good?
"Astrid, yer mother and I are too old to have anymore children and yer our only child, if you die, it'll be the end of the Hofferson bloodline." Those words bore a strange weight to them, Astrid's shoulders visibly slumped as the reality of the situation set in.
"Oh." Astrid's voice was barely heard by her parents, she hadn't even stopped to consider herself, running out into raids and risking her life without concern of her own safety or how it would affect others if anything happened to her. "I... guess I never looked at it that way, sorry for yelling mom."
"Its OK darling, you were frustrated, that's all."
"Now Astrid, we're not saying ye can't go out in raids, infact we want ye to, ya still need to play yer part in keeping the village safe, just don't let yer pride get the best of ya, remember what happened to yer uncle."
Astrid remembered that night all too well, one night a Flightmare attacked the village and Astrid, being only ten years old, planned to kill the dragon. Her uncle told her to find shelter while he handled the beast, it was a foolish mistake. The book of dragons said that the Flightmare froze its victims with fear, the Hofferson clan was also known as the Fearless Hoffersons back then and her uncle thought he could slay the Flightmare because of it, he was wrong. That night Astrid had heard his screams, heard him die, that night was one of the few times Astrid had ever cried, even at a young age she was considered strong, tough, fearless. That night had ripped that title from them, left a stain on their family honour.
"Yeah, I remember."
"Good, now eat up, after this you and yer mother are going home to change yer bandages and you lass are going to get some rest, if ya want to be in next week's raid that is."
"But its not even sundown yet." Her father gave her a look that said 'do not argue with me Missy.' "Fine." Astrid huffed, she got back to her food as she thought.
If Astrid was the last Hofferson capable of producing a child, meaning she would have to get married which was something she originally never wanted, but if she didn't then the Hofferson clan would be brought to an end and it would be her fault. She didn't want to marry just any old viking, she wanted to marry a man who would respect her, love her, care for her, fight for her, not just demote her to the family baby maker.
At that moment she thought of Hiccup, he looked up to her for years so he had the respect part. She knew he felt for her, he'd even confessed. He would've been the chief if he'd stayed so he could provide for her. But he lacked one quality, he couldn't fight, sure he used to make swords and axes and other various weapons but he could never use them, ironic really.
He did have other qualities though, he always liked inventing things and from time to time she even found it kind if adorable, he could be funny with his sarcasm and witty comebacks, and his determination, even when everyone doubted him he would still try, no matter how many times he was pushed down, yelled at or bullied he would keep on trying, it was admirable really.
But he was gone now, they hadn't heard from him in two years so he could very well be dead, even if he came back he would be considered a traitor for abandoning his own people. But if he did come back she would welcome him with open arms, after all it was the villages fault for looking down on him for most of his life, but it was her fault for driving him to the point that he felt he had to leave. If Hiccup ever came back she would beg for his forgiveness, she didn't care what would become of her fearless reputation, she just wanted to give him what he should have had the whole time, a friend.
Astrid made a mistake and now she had to live with what she had done, he'd finally earned the respect of his people and what does she do, she goes and breaks his heart because she was jealous and didn't want to share the spotlight.
Then she realised this had been because a moment of weakness, the very thing she hated him for and she covered it up with anger and accusations of cheating, she was weak and she paid the price in a way she never could have imagined. Then the night she was almost killed by that Timberjack, she froze because she panicked, because she was weak. Her uncle died because he was paralyzed in fear of the Flightmare, he had a single moment of weakness and he died for it.
All of her suffering had been caused by her weakness, her's. If she continued down this path of weakness then she would share his fate, if she was weak then she would die and the Hofferson would be no more. Her father's words echoed in her mind, 'if you die, it'll be the end of the Hofferson bloodline.'
Now Astrid would have to make a choice, to save herself and to secure her family's future then she couldn't be weak anymore, she would stomp out any weaknesses she could find in herself until she was no longer weak.
'No more weakness.' Astrid thought to herself while she tore away a chunk of mutton from the bone.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, next chapter something interesting is going to happen MWAHAHAHA. Anyway you can leave a review and if you give me an idea for the story I might use it, but I'll give credit where credit is due of course. Goodbye for now.