(A/N: I'm super excited for this chapter, are you guys? I certainly hope you are. Without going into spoiler-rich detail, all I can tell is that it will be a real shock for the Haddock family. Not just this chapter, but the next one too.
Before I forget, I should mention that there will be an element in this chapter that didn't happen in this story. Rather, it's something that was briefly mentioned in the third chapter of the prequel, "Secrets and Silence".
And that's where I'm going to leave you, nothing more. If you want to make a couple of guesses, you can (I can't stop you), or you can just read the chapter. Now that that's out of the way, I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.)
V-x-I-o-V-o-I-x-V
After searching the entire island, the riders rendezvoused back to the beach after the search came up fruitless. Sunrise would likely be within only a couple of hours, but they couldn't leave the island yet, not without Hiccup and Toothless, who were still somewhere in the forest.
"Hey," Snotlout began, "why don't we-"
"No!" Astrid interjected, glaring at him. "We've been over this, Snotlout. We're not leaving without Hiccup."
He grumbled loudly to himself and leaned back in the saddle of his dragon, covering his face with his helmet. Hookfang grunted and huffed through his nostrils, closing his eyes.
Although Astrid wanted to stay and wait for Hiccup and Toothless, even she had to admit that she was very tired and wanted to leave. She hoped they would arrive soon, otherwise they may have to leave without them.
Then, they all heard a familiar howling roar, it was Toothless. Everyone looked up and saw the Night Fury gliding across the dark, starry sky.
Hiccup landed and they noticed that he looked shaken - afraid, shocked, confused - even though it was very dark. They also saw something on Toothless' back behind him, something that looked human but also not.
"Hiccup, what-" Astrid started to ask before he interjected.
"Mount up, everyone. We're going back to Dragon's Edge, I'll explain on the way," he told them in a monotonous voice.
Everyone exchanged looks with each other but said nothing about his unusual behavior. They mounted their dragons and started their flight back to their island.
The faint orange light of the sun was barely breeching over the horizon and the sky was still slightly darkened with the stars still prevalent as faint white dots. To witness the sun rising was often a majestic sight, but it was unlikely to be witnessed this morning.
All of the Dragon Riders were inside of the clubhouse, with the being Hiccup discovered lying on the floor on top of a lapin blanket with a pillow under his head. The dragons were asleep in the stables, having gone there almost as soon as the moment they had arrived back at the island.
Everyone surrounded him, staring down at him and analyzing every detail. The lights from the fire pit and lanterns provided them with more light to see more detail than before. They all saw the scales, the shape of his head and face, his sharp claws, his short but lethally sharp pointed teeth, and his tail.
"What the hell is it?" Snotlout asked in a rude and slightly disgusted manner.
"Looks like a dragon without wings," Tuffnut remarked.
"Wonder if it can breathe fire like one too," Ruffnut smirked mischievously.
"Could be a whole new species!" Fishlegs grinned excitedly.
"Don't be ridiculous, Fishlegs. Can't be 'brand new'," Astrid retorted, using her fingers to twitch into air quotes when she said "brand new".
Helene stood silently, almost in utter disbelief about what her friends were saying about him. They were calling him "it" and even "dragon", when it was obvious he was a male and not a dragon. He was something, no one knew what, but that made him his own, unique being.
Hiccup, on the other hand, was beside himself in deep thought. The one thing that remained thick in his mind for the past few hours, ever since he encountered him, was what he said to him before he suddenly collapsed.
He spoke with a very weak and gravelly voice, but he was certain he had called him "brother". Why would he call him that? Was he confused because he was tired and it was dark outside? He was hopelessly confused and could feel a headache begin to form.
He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned quietly to himself. He glanced at his friends and saw how Helene seemed rather disturbed and uncomfortable with what everyone was saying about him.
"Guys," he spoke up, "stop. I know he's strange and we've never seen anything like him, but stop talking about him."
"Why?" Snotlout asked with a shrug, "It can't hear us."
"I know," he responded, "but-"
He was cut off by one of the doors to the clubhouse opening, it was Toothless. He crooned and his lips curled upwards into somewhat of a smile.
It was then, when the light of the rising sun beamed into the clubhouse, that something on the body of the being was seen that hadn't been noticed before. On his neck and abdomen were bruises, which looked to have been made by hands.
The bruises that were on his neck were in a uniform, linear pattern, eerily shaped similarly to thick human fingers. The bruises on his abdomen, however, were more random yet clustered more in some areas, especially about the ribcage. The marks on his abdomen were darker than the ones on his neck and slightly rounded, as if caused by fists.
Why they were unseen before was a bit of a mystery, although it was likely due the darkness and his scales. Skin is flexible and leaves marks if enough pressure is applied, but scales are very different with their smoothness, coloration, and beaded texture.
Whatever the case, it shocked and disturbed everyone, especially since the darkened marks appeared to be fresh. What had he gone through before he was down on his luck? What had he seen?
Hiccup could hardly bear the sight of the bruises on his body. He shook his head in discomfort and turned around, his back facing everyone else.
"What happened to him?" Astrid held back a shout, her eyes furrowing with disgust. "Looks like he's been through hell and back!"
'Or something close,' Hiccup thought as he shook his head, his forehead in his hand.
"How old do you think they are?" Helene asked Fishlegs, pointing at the bruises.
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Err, it's hard to tell. It would be easier if he had skin, but the scales kind of distort them."
"Maybe we should turn him over," Astrid suggested. "To see if he has any injuries back there."
"That's a good idea," Fishlegs replied. "Hiccup, can you help?"
The brunette's eyes widened slightly when he heard his name, "Uh, yeah, sure."
Together, they turned him onto his stomach in order to look for more injuries on his back. He had dark scales from the nape of the neck down to the middle of his back, making it difficult to see any injuries. There was nothing they could see on his lower back, which consisted of lighter colored scales.
Hiccup did, however, see something unusual on his waistband, protruding slightly from under the shredded cloth around him. He lifted the torn cloth pieces and saw a toy in the shape of a Hideous Zippleback tied to his waist.
His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly gaped, he reached down and grabbed it to look at it. The stitching and features of the toy were identical to his own, a toy his mother made for him as an infant. His father mentioned that his mother made two, one a Deadly Nadder, the one he had, and the other a Hideous Zippleback. The other toy disappeared and was never found, and he may have just found it.
"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Fishlegs asked when he noticed how troubled his friend appeared.
"Are you feeling alright?" Helene asked as well.
Hiccup wrapped his fingers around the toy before he spoke in a soft and low voice, "Hele, do you remember what I said to you the day after we got the chest with the toy my mother made for me?"
"Um, yeah, I do," she replied, her arms loosely crossed over her abdomen. "You said it was only one of two, but only the one was ever found. Why do you ask?"
He held out his arm, his hand opened like a blooming flower, revealing the toy in his palm. His eyebrows furrowed slightly upwards, "I think I just found the second."
A young child no older than three years of age with an appearance reminiscent of a lizard was sitting in a small patch of grass inside of a paradise for dragonkind. His mother was nearby, filling a basket with crops she planted while he played with blades of grass and small flowers he tore out of the ground with his little hands.
By his side was a small stuffed animal modelled after a two-headed dragon known as a Hideous Zippleback. He would occasionally drop the grass blades and flower petals onto the body of his toy.
He turned his body to rip out more grass and flowers, his back to his toy. While he was distracted, a baby Scuttleclaw came up behind him and sniffed the stuffed dragon. It picked it up in its claws and began to leave with it, fluttering its wings as it prepared to fly.
The young boy turned his head just as it was about to fly away and let out a high-pitched shriek in anger. He grabbed onto the baby dragon's leg and his toy and tried to get it back before it left with it.
His weight did slow it slightly, but it was capable of hauling weights tenfold its own, even though it was only an infant. It neared the edge, where there would be no more land, only a long drop down.
"Mommy! Mommy!" the child cried, his feet now suspended off the ground.
His mother turned from her crops and gasped when she saw her son. She wouldn't be able to do anything to save him herself, she knew how strong a dragon could be even at such a young age. She put her fingers in her mouth and whistled for her faithful companion, her Stormcutter.
The red dragon lifted his head and saw what she did. He leapt down from his raised perch and ran to his rider's son and the young dragon. Just as they were about to fly over the edge, he grabbed onto the back of his tunic with his teeth and began to pull.
The infant Scuttleclaw couldn't handle the additional weight of the larger dragon and released its grip on the toy, the child let go of its leg in glee. He hugged the stuffed dragon, holding it tightly against him.
The Stormcutter grumbled and took the child to his mother, his tunic still in his teeth. She took her son into her arms once her dragon companion came back to her.
She held her son up on one arm as she placed her free hand on her dragon's snout, "Thank you, Cloudjumper." She shifted him in her arms to hold him up higher, one arm was at his back and the other under his legs. "What do you say?"
He looked at the large red dragon, "Thank you, Cloudy." Cloudjumper huffed. He then looked up at his mother and buried his face into her chest as he cried, "I'm sorry, Mommy! I won't do it again!"
She smiled softly as she glanced down at her son and held him close; she could feel his toy against her stomach. She rubbed the back of his head soothingly, her fingers caressed the small stubs for horns that were just beginning to grow.
"Don't you worry, sweetheart, I'm just glad you're safe," she spoke softly into his ear as she carried him back to the home she built for them.
He cuddled against her body, resting his head on her chest. He held his toy close to himself, he would never let it go.
Ladok groaned slightly as he felt himself fading out of unconsciousness, unsure of how long he had been asleep. Instinctively, he found himself reaching for something at his side, only to find that there was nothing.
His eyes immediately opened, bright and dilated with panic and anxiety. He sat up and turned slightly to his side to look for the missing item, but it truly was gone.
He could almost feel his eyes welling up with tears and started to rub them, although he was not crying. He couldn't believe the most precious item in his life - something he had his entire life - was gone.
He felt something soft under his hands, that was when he saw the blanket under him. It was not the sand or ground of the island he remembered being on the last time he was conscious. He was somewhere else, someone brought him to a place he was unfamiliar with.
He looked around, noting that the shape of the room he was in was somewhat circular in shape. He turned his head and at the center he saw chairs surrounding a round table with a fire pit in the middle. He noticed a number of baskets, barrels, and crates scattered throughout.
Suddenly, sunlight flooded inside when a door opened upwards. He shielded his eyes with his arm, but he wasn't sure if it was due to being blinded by the light or an attempt to hide his face.
"Hey, he's awake," a young male's voice pointed out. He sounded very intelligent and kind, and his voice was slightly high-pitched to his ears.
"Yeah, we can see that. So what?" another male's voice retorted. His voice also sounded slightly high-pitched and thick with arrogance.
The beaming sunlight faded inside, the door was shut and the people that brought him to wherever he was were inside with him. He still shielded his face, he could hear the caution and uncertainty in their steps as they walked inside.
It was completely silent for a long time, or what felt like a long time. He knew what they were waiting for, for him to remove his hand so that they could see his face. They already knew what he looked like, showing them something they already saw seemed tedious to him.
He opened one of his eyes ever so slightly and saw something in the hand of one of them. It made his heart drop, it was the item he had lost, his toy!
He removed his arm and reached for it, trying to get it back. The hand pulled away from him instinctually, preventing him from retrieving his toy. He shrieked in frustration, causing them to flinch in reaction to the loud sound.
Hiccup was perplexed by this bizarre behavior, he didn't know what to expect from him, but he certainly didn't think to expect him to shriek the way he did. And he only did so when he inadvertently wouldn't allow him to have the toy in his hand.
He took a step forward toward him, Fishlegs quickly put a hand on his shoulder and whispered loudly into his ear, "Careful, Hiccup, he might lash out!"
"No, he won't," he replied calmly.
He stepped forward again until he was standing next to him. He looked up at him, bright golden eyes met forest green orbs, then down at his hand and back to his eyes. He knew what he wanted, he wanted his toy returned to him, he complied and handed it to him. He took it cautiously, wary of this sudden act of compassion.
"This is yours, isn't it?" he asked softly.
He looked at him with wide eyes and tilted his head slightly. Why was he so kind to him after what he had done to him previously?
"Why even bother asking, Hiccup?" Snotlout retorted. "It's not like he can understand us."
He scowled at him, at the arrogant raven-haired moron. He put his hand firmly on the floor to steady himself as he stood up, he grunted as he straightened his back. He took only one step towards the short male, but it was enough to make him whimper, he stood easily a head taller than him.
He made no more advances and turned around, whipping his tail behind him. The tail hit him in his ankle, and he fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"I think he understands us perfectly," Astrid smirked.
"Hiccup, can we keep him?" Tuffnut excitedly asked.
"Please! Please!" Ruffnut begged, her hands flatly together.
Ladok could hardly believe what he was hearing, the identical male and female were begging for him to stay with them like he was a pet! He whipped his tail again, they both fell to the floor.
"Oh, yeah! We are so keeping him!" Tuffnut grinned.
"Hell yeah!" Ruffnut agreed.
They both smirked mischievously and snickered at their wicked ideas. He huffed and shook his head, he pulled up a stool from under the table and sat in it. He rested his elbow on the flat wooden surface and leaned his head onto his knuckle.
He felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and looked down at it, he saw the bruise and the size of it. He hissed silently and put his hand on it, rubbing it slightly.
"Hey! Are you hungry?" Fishlegs asked. He picked up a crate full of food and put it on the table, rummaging through it. "'Cause I can make you-" He stopped when he saw him shake his head. He put the crate back as he muttered to himself, "Okay, okay. That's fine, I guess."
He actually was very hungry, he wasn't sure when the last time he felt so starved was. And every time his stomach growled he felt another painful surge travel through him.
Suddenly, a pale hand rested on top of his, causing him to stop rubbing his stomach. He turned his head and his eyes met with the blue ones of the dark-haired female he observed earlier looking at the footprints he had left in the sand on the other island.
Now that she was close to him, he was stunned by her. Her dark brown hair contrasted with her fair skin, making her hair seem darker and her skin lighter, almost giving her a slight ghostly appearance. That contrast seemed to enhance the blue color of her eyes, he thought he was staring directly into the sky.
"Are you alright?" she asked him with a calm, soft voice.
She handed him a wooden cup with a fluid inside, but he couldn't tell what it was due to the wood. All he knew was that it wasn't water, there was an odor that water didn't have. It smelled fresh, like herbs, and slightly aromatic, but not pungent.
He thought it was most likely something to help the pain he felt, he figured they must have seen his injuries, so he drank it. He wasn't worried that it might be a poison, if they wanted him dead they would have killed him on the island they found him on.
It tasted herbal and as fresh as it smelled, but he wasn't sure how else to describe it. He thought it was a little sweet like lavender, but his mind drew a blank about any other flavors.
Once he was done with it, he gave the cup back to her. He thought his stomach might start to hurt again after swallowing the fluid, but he was surprised to feel a pleasant warm feeling instead. He was glad to not feel any pain and even more so that it really did seem to help him rather than make him worse.
"Is there anything else you need?" she asked him again. He shook his head.
He suddenly perked when he heard steps toward his direction. He saw the obese male walking up to him and he immediately became tense. He gripped the side of the table and sat on the edge of the stool, a foot on the floor ready to run.
Fishlegs stopped and frowned when he noticed how tense he suddenly became. He stepped back and he instantly began to calm down, although he still sat close to the edge of his seat, as if prepared to run if needed.
It wasn't that he disliked him, or any of them, he was simply very suspicious of any possible motivations. He had never been around so many humans without the need to fight and escape from them. He wasn't comfortable around them or any number of people, only one person, his mother.
Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows questionably, having noted that he was slightly hostile towards Fishlegs yet calm with Helene. He thought it was strange, until he remembered how everyone was treating him. They treated him like a pet, like an animal, and even somewhat like a child, she was the only one who did nothing like that, instead treating him like a person, like a human.
He stepped forward and he perked slightly for a moment before he relaxed when he saw it was only him. That told him he was comfortable enough with him to allow him to get closer to him.
"Can I ask you any questions? Are you up for that?" he asked. He shook his head and pointed at his throat. He thought he understood what he was trying to say, "Oh, you can't talk now, can you?" He shook his head again. "Give me a minute."
He left the clubhouse and came back a few minutes later with paper, a well of ink, and a feather. He set them down on the table in front of him. He gave him a slightly questioning look and tilted his head slightly to the side.
Snotlout snickered, "Let me guess, you can't write!"
Dipping the feather into the ink a couple of times, he angrily wrote on the paper, "Yes, I can, you stupid shit-head!"
Hiccup's eyes were wide at his use of strong, foul language in his writing, meanwhile everyone else was either laughing or just as shocked as he was. Evidently, his patience could be worn thin very easily.
He cleared his throat and tried to get back on topic, "Okay, are you ready?"
His rage quickly subsided and he wrote a response, "Yes."
He began with his questions, "How did you get to that island?"
"By boat," he answered. "I heard some people would be there. Bad people. People who hurt dragons."
"And it was those people who hurt you, right?" Astrid questioned.
He nodded and wrote, "Yes."
"Who hurt you? Did you see who did it?" Helene inquired.
"Yes, it was dark, but I saw enough. It was a muscular, bald man with a mustache. He wore a singlet made of dragon scales," he wrote his description.
Nearly everyone flinched when he mentioned that the man who attacked him was wearing clothing made of scales from a dragon. Imagining the torture a dragon must have gone before getting killed and skinned was unthinkable.
In an effort to help everyone forget about it, Fishlegs diverted the topic by asking, "Can you tell us where you're from?"
He wrote a simple response, "North."
"You mean further north than here?" Hiccup inquired for more of an elaboration.
"Yes," he replied. "It's actually not too far further north than your island."
"Could you ever take us there?" he questioned.
His eyes suddenly went wide and he wrote in wide, scratchy letters, "No!" He quickly calmed himself and wrote in smoother letters, "I can't take you there. I made a promise not to."
"A promise?" he repeated. "To whom?"
His eyes were wide and his heart was racing as he quickly responded, "I can't tell you."
"Well, what can you tell us?" he asked.
"Anything," he answered. "As long as it's something I can tell you."
"Ooh! How about telling us what you are!" Tuffnut eagerly proposed. "Are you some kind of dragon-human? Ooh! No. Human-dragon!"
"Demon!" Ruffnut exclaimed excitedly. "Are you some kind of demon?"
Overwhelmed, he looked at Hiccup with wide eyes, as if asking him for help. "Uh, g- guys, maybe ask less ridiculous questions?"
"Well, uh, in that case, you have any questions, Sister Nut?" Tuffnut asked.
Ruffnut shrugged, "Eh. None that I can think of, Brother Nut."
Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Okay." He turned back to him and cleared his throat, "So, um, I think we've done enough questions for one day. But, I'd like to ask one more, is that alright?"
"Sure," he replied, shrugging slightly. "I don't mind."
"Okay," he sighed. "What- what's your name?"
He didn't write his response immediately, he paused and contemplated whether or not to tell them. He did not know if to trust them enough for them to know his name. Even if he believed one of them to be his brother.
Finally, he began to write letters, "L… A… D… O… K."
Hiccup repeated the letters he wrote out loud, "L-A-D-O-K. Your name is Ladok?" He nodded.
Strangely, he thought he vaguely recognized his name. In one of his earliest memories, one of the few he could remember, he thought he heard his father mention his name.
He didn't know what to say, he wanted to ask if he knew his father or knew of him or his name. He decided against it, in case he was done with all the questions for the time. The last thing he wanted to do was overwhelm him when he had only just awakened.
"Uh, why don't you wash up?" he suggested. "Clean up. Fishlegs, do you mind if he uses your hot tub?"
"Uh, sure, sure," he answered, feeling caught off-guard and slightly awkward.
Hiccup and Fishlegs led Ladok out of the clubhouse and down to Fishlegs' hut. His hut was the lowest of all of them and getting there took some time, they travelled down virtually every ladder and platform.
Once they made it there, Fishlegs whistled for his dragon, Meatlug. The Gronckle yawned and flew over to the hut from the stables with her small wings.
"Meatlug, lava blast if you please," he politely requested from her, gesturing down at the pool of water at their feet.
She spit a ball of lava into the water, causing the water to boil and steam. The lava soldified and cooled as soon as it reached the bottom of the pool.
"Okay, just wait a couple of minutes before you get into the water," Fishlegs advised. "We'll give you some privacy and go back to the clubhouse." He nodded.
"I'll bring you some new clothes later," Hiccup told him. He nodded again.
They left him there to go back to their friends in the clubhouse, leaving him alone. He stood stiff and watched as they climbed up the ladders and platforms. Once they were no longer in sight, he began to remove his clothes.
The remaining Dragon Riders waited in the clubhouse with Toothless for Hiccup and Fishlegs to return. Sunlight beamed inside when the door opened, they walked inside after having been gone for nearly half an hour.
"So, what now?" Astrid questioned, her arms were crossed.
He rested his arm on a window sill and looked out of it. He glanced at Fishlegs' hut and saw Ladok submerged in the warm water.
He couldn't get the toy dragon and the vague memory where he thought he heard his name out of his mind. He needed answers and he knew where to get them.
"We're going to fly out to Berk," he finally responded.
"Uh, are you sure we- we should?" Helene voiced her thoughts, the same one she thought was likely on everyone's mind.
"Honestly, I don't know," he admitted.
Snotlout scoffed, "Oh, great, great, great-" Astrid covered his mouth before he could say anything else.
"Will you shut up for once?" she remarked as she removed her hand in disgust.
Hiccup paid no mind to them, he was still preoccupied with the indecisiveness plaguing him. He wasn't sure if his father would know anything about Ladok, the memory he had could have been false, a dream, or he could have miss heard what he said.
Still, if there was even a slim chance he might have known something, he wanted to know. The odds may not have been in his favor - this was entirely based on a vague childhood memory - but he was willing to gamble for a simple answer.
Ladok stayed the night in Hiccup's hut with his dragon, Toothless. When he awoke in the morning, he saw Hiccup packing his satchel with food and water. He told him that they were all flying to the island of Berk that day.
When he heard that, his heart was soaring with nervousness and excitement. He became even more so when he said that he would be given the chance to meet his father, the chief.
He jumped to his feet and quickly got ready for the long trip, changing into the clothes he gave him. His new clothes were nothing more than an off-white tunic that partially exposed his chest and grey trousers.
They were on their way to Berk before the sun was halfway to its highest point in the sky. He rode with Hiccup and Toothless, he did not yet feel comfortable with anyone else.
He did not know what to expect upon arrival to the island, but he had the comfort that the villagers likely wouldn't attack and kill him because of his association with not only the Dragon Riders, but the son of the chief. He couldn't ask for more protection than the sole heir of the chieftain position.
They landed in the middle of the village and everyone seemed to flock to them. He hoped they were only there for the riders, but he knew why they were really there.
His heart was in his throat and vibrating throughout his body, he had never had so many eyes on him. He heard their whispers and comments about him.
"What is that?"
"Looks like a child of Loki."
"Why would it be with Stoick's boy?"
He shut his eyes tightly and covering his face, his tail instinctively became rigid and slightly curled with the tip pointing upwards. He pressed his head against Hiccup's back, as if begging him to make them leave.
Hiccup could feel the tips of his horns in his back, even through the leather of his dragon scale vest. He couldn't help but to sympathize with him and his behavior, he could tell he was scared. He almost began to regret his decision to bring him to Berk.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out in the crowd, "Alright, alright, move aside, move aside!" It was Gobber, and he was never more glad to see him.
He smiled in relief, "Gobber, it's nice to see you."
Ladok moved out slightly from behind him, just enough to look at him. He was a large, slightly obese male with a long, braided mustache, a hook for a hand, and a wooden peg-leg. He wasn't sure what to expect from him, he looked intimidating with his missing limbs, yet Hiccup seemed to trust him and the others were calm in his presence.
"Well, it's always great to have all of you back," he replied with a bit of a smile, exposing the disproportionately large metal tooth in his mouth.
"Yeah, well, we've been busy with the Edge," he still smiled.
He eyed the lizard-like humanoid being behind him and lowered his unibrow slightly, "I can see that's not the only thing you've been busy with."
"Uh, Gobber, this is Ladok," Hiccup introduced, gesturing to him by pointing his thumb back. He hid further behind him, yet still kept one eye on Gobber. "He's, he's a little wary around people."
"I see. Well," he stepped towards them and held out his hand, "nice to meet ya, lad."
He lifted his head, his chin hovered only slightly above his shoulder. He stared at him with wide and nervous yet curious eyes. He was curious because he wondered why he seemed so… accepting of him, especially with all of the other reactions he had received.
He held onto Hiccup's shoulder to steady himself as he leaned outward with his outstretched hand. Gobber gripped it with his rough, calloused one and gave it a light shake. He returned back to the position he was in before once it was done.
"Not much of a talker, are you?" he asked in a slightly playful manner, his hand and hook at his hips.
"He can't talk right now," Hiccup told him. "He has an injury that makes talking difficult."
"Maybe Gothi can take a look?" he suggested.
"Gothi's our healer," he explained to Ladok. "That'd be great, I'm sure she can help him." He then decided to get to the real reason why he wanted to come back to Berk, "Anyway, uh, do you know where my Dad is? I'd like to talk to him."
"Having lunch in his house," he answered. "Say, why don't we get a bite up in the Great Hall?"
Ladok's stomach grumbled at the mention of food, he was starving, he could feel the saliva building up in his mouth. He still hadn't eaten anything and it showed on his abdomen.
Despite that, he still couldn't bring himself to emerge from behind Hiccup. Not with so many people still surrounding him.
Gobber seemed to notice his discomfort as he announced to the crowd, "Nothing to see here! Nothing to see here! Go about your lives." The villagers dispersed and left to do their own things.
With all of them gone and less eyes on him, it gave Ladok the bravery to step out from behind him. He looked around the village, seemingly taking in all of his surroundings, he had never actually been in a village, he wasn't sure what to expect, if there was anything.
"Alright then, shall we?" he asked, his hand gesturing at the steps that led up to the Great Hall.
"I hear a salmon calling my name!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"Ooh! Crab cakes!" Fishlegs enthusiastically grinned.
"You guys go on ahead, I'm going to talk to my Dad," Hiccup told them. They started to walk towards the stairs and Ladok looked at him, as if beckoning him to go with them due to his lingering nervousness. "It's okay, go ahead. I'll be there soon."
While he had no doubts about Gobber and his new friends, he still felt the most comfortable with Hiccup than anyone else. He stomach growled again and he felt like he was in pain, he severely needed something to eat. With that, and with some hesitance, he followed the others.
Hiccup watched for a moment as they left before he and Toothless went to his father's house. He let himself inside as soon as he was at the door, he knew he would be inside, he liked to eat large lunches.
Stoick looked up from his one-man feast and smiled at his son, "Hiccup, what a nice surprise. What brings you back to Berk? Homesick already?"
He chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, not quite, Dad. Actually, I have some questions to ask you."
"Alright then, what is it?" he asked, sipping from his pint.
He inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled to calm himself and his nerves, "Does the name Ladok mean anything to you?"
V-x-I-o-V-o-I-x-V
(A/N: So? How did you like the new chapter? I hope everyone liked it even though Stoick wasn't really in this until the end. I think I have a bad habit of updating at midnight and, believe me, I did not want to.
I really wanted there to be more of Stoick, but I just got really tired. I promise there will be more of him in the next chapter and, hopefully, it won't be a long wait. Until then, see you next time and stay safe.)