Yay I'm back suckas! Camping trip was fun, although a little rough at times.
Thank you to all of you who review and follow my stories! You guys are the best! Now I'm ready to continue on with more of the Legacy of Jarik Shan! :D
Ahch-To, Unknown Regions; 3rd person POV...
A hammer and chisel held in Hiccup's hands banged on a piece of leather, creating small precise holes in the material. He had been working on his project all night after Mara's family had left, crafting and threading it all together. Laying it down on the floor, he kneeled down beside it with a smile on his face, brushing off some stray dirt that had gotten on it, then holding it off to get a good look at it. He had high hopes for this saddle to work for Toothless.
The next morning, he traveled down to the cove, holding the saddle up before Toothless with an eager smile on his face. Unfortunately for Hiccup, the Night Fury didn't share the same enthusiasm, and upon seeing the saddle he took off.
"Hey!" Hiccup cried out.
He chased Toothless around desperately, the saddle held high above his head, but no matter how fast he ran Toothless always seemed to stay just out of his reach. In fact, Toothless even had his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he ran, glancing back constantly, and Hiccup had the feeling that this was some sort of game to the Night Fury. Eventually, he managed to get the saddle on, and mounted Toothless, holding a long string of leather attached to the prosthetic fin to help him control it. The pair flew over the pond, and with a confident look on his face, Hiccup pulled the string in an attempt to shift the position of the tail.
This move resulted in Toothless being yanked to the side with a startled roar, and Hiccup was sent flying off of his back with a yelp into the water.
Later that night he did some tinkering in his workshop back in Gobber's forge, testing out a hook system he came up with. A string of leather attached to a leather belt he created would hook on to the saddle, keeping him mounted on Toothless as they flew. It kind of reminded him a little bit of Mara, Ahsoka and Jarik, how they constantly carried their lightsabers on their own belts.
He later tested this attachment with Toothless, the pair gliding around the cove once again, although this time the rope for the prosthetic fin was tied around Hiccup's foot. He attempted to shift the tail, grunting and making sounds of annoyance and frustration, the tail fin responding poorly. Without proper control over the fin, the two friends went tumbling to the ground, thankfully falling into a small field of rather soft grass, Hiccup stumbling through it after being dislodged from the saddle. Hearing Toothless make some strange purring sounds, he turned back around, only to gape in bewilderment at the sight of Toothless rolling around the grass in absolute bliss, his eyes closed as he continued to purr.
He held up a few strands of the strange grass in his hands, staring thoughtfully at it and wondering if it had the same effect on other dragons...
ooo00ooo
Back in Gobber's dragon training arena, the recruits were having trouble dealing with the enraged Gronckle. Hiccup had managed to smuggle in some of the grass, and was holding it in his hands. He lowered his hand as the Gronckle slammed into Tuffnut, knocking him away with a surprised and pained cry. Taking notice of him, the Gronckle growled and sped towards him with the intent of doing the same. Terrified, Hiccup gasped and closed his eyes, holding out the grass in front of him, prepared for the worst. Instead, when the Gronckle was about to ram Hiccup, it stopped, sniffing something delightful. It's pupils went wide in bliss s it continued to sniff the grass. Hiccup looked up, and upon seeing the dragon's reaction, rubbed its snout with the grass, causing it to roll onto its side in bliss.
Up in the stands, the spectators watched the scene in disbelief and awe, while Gothi frowned thoughtfully in confusion at the sight. From what she could see, Hiccup was controlling the Gronckle with only his hand, sending it near unconscious. The move was very similar to what Jarik or Ahsoka would do whenever they were sending dragons away. Could Hiccup have some power of the Force like them? Or is this something different...
After training the recruits were all walking across the bridge back to the village, and everyone except Astrid was bombarding him with questions. Astrid surprisingly, was actually in the back without attention on her for once. Hiccup was wide-eyed and nervous at all the attention, having never been in the spotlight before.
"Hey Hiccup, I've never seen a Gronckle do that before!" Fishlegs exclaims.
"How'd you do that?" Tuffnut asks, before being shoved by Ruffnut. "That was really cool," she says.
Hiccup fumbles for an excuse, backing away nervously. "I- I uh, left my axe, back in the ring. You go on ahead! I'll catch up with you!"
Along the way, he nearly bumps into Astrid, who yelps in surprise, quickly getting out of his way before he rushes off. As Hiccup leaves, Astrid watches him go with a scowl on her face, frustrated and annoyed, while Snotlout is more confused. The rest are all smiling in awe.
ooo00ooo
Mara ducks a swipe from Ahsoka's glowing white blade, before leaping to the side, stumbling across the dirt. She looks up as Ahsoka towers over her.
"Come on Mara, I know you've got more in you," she says, before stabbing downwards. Mara yelps, rolling out of the way and quickly getting to her feet, stretching out her senses with the Force. This was a surprise training session, and Ahsoka just happened to take Mara's crystal out of her lightsaber and then chuck it away before she could react, effectively making it disappear. So now she wanted Mara to find the crystal while at the same time combating against Ahsoka, which she found bewildering and slightly terrifying. Her adopted mother was a force to be reckoned with during a battle, and Mara doubted she was barely going full out right now.
She raised a hand, weaving around Ahsoka after another strike and shove her away with the Force. Ahsoka stumbled slightly, whipping back around in time to avoid a kick to the face from Mara, who went flying by. Mara used her momentum of the failed attack to run away as fast as possible, stretching out desperately through the Force for her crystal, Ahsoka giving chase. She came upon a short rock wall several feet high, jumping up towards it before kicking off the side of it with her feet, reaching another ledge. Mara then fell down behind Ahsoka, blasting her again with the Force before the Togruta could react, stunning her against the wall.
Ahsoka then retaliated faster than Mara could react, leaping forwards and using the Force to send Mara skidding across the dirt. A sudden spike in the Force got her attention, and Mara glanced over, seeing a small glitter of purple shining in the grass. Grinning to herself, she rolled out of the way of Ahsoka's lightsaber strike, using the Force to pull her crystal across the field towards her. Catching it, she quickly inserted it into her lightsaber hilt before whipping around, catching Ahsoka's white blade just in time.
Ahsoka grinned in approval. "Not bad Mara. You're improving," she complimented.
Elsewhere on the island, Jarik was walking through the kyber crystal caves, gazing at the different crystals that glowed dimly in the dark. As he passed by one section of the wall, he suddenly did a double take and moved back, staring intently at a small pure white colored crystal with a smile on his face.
"That's the one," he said eagerly to himself.
ooo00ooo
Back on Berk, Hiccup was in the cove with Toothless, scratching the dragon after an intense flight training session. Toothless was enjoying it heavily, shivering in delight and purring at the scratching Hiccup was giving to his neck. The dragon arched his back with lidded eyes, and as he continued on, Hiccup reached down underneath Toothless' chin, giving a quick scratch there. Without warning, Toothless suddenly yelped lightly and collapsed on the ground, falling asleep instantly with a bliss-filled smile on his face. Hiccup looked at his hands in surprise, a smile slowly stretching across his face as he considered this new discovery.
During the next training session, the recruits were having a tough time dealing with the enraged Deadly Nadder dragon while Viking spectators watched. Astrid threw her axe directly at the dragon with a fierce yell. However the Nadder simply used its thick front horn to knock the axe away, charging at Astrid unhindered. She yelped to the side in surprise, leaving the Nadder to charge directly at Hiccup instead. Startled, Hiccup dropped his mace in fright and left himself in a nervous but defenseless pose, confusing the dragon. The Nadder stopped inches away from him, sniffing and staring at Hiccup in confusion, wondering why this human was not running away or trying to attack and kill it.
Both Hiccup and the Nadder's attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere as Astrid came charging at the dragon, her axe raised as a war cry left her mouth. Thinking quickly, Hiccup reached up and began scratching the Nadder's neck, which caused it to squawk pleasurably, and then collapse in bliss as Hiccup scratched its chin. Astrid stopped a foot away from the two, bewildered and speechless at how the Nadder collapsed without any apparent reason.
Later that night, most of the village was in the Great Hall to eat dinner, the teens all sitting at one table. As soon as Hiccup walked over at sat down at an empty table to eat however, all of the recruits minus Astrid, and even a few adults quickly joined him, much to his surprise.
"Hey Hiccup!" Fishlegs exclaims happily.
"What was that? Some kind of trick? What'd you do?! Did Mara teach you something or what?!" Snotlout demands, causing Hiccup to squirm nervously, knowing that wasn't false, yet having no clue how to explain otherwise.
"Hiccup, you're totally going to come in first, there's no question." Tuffnut said.
Astrid watched from her table in bewilderment, all alone, then slammed her cup down on the table in frustration.
The next day, Hiccup had brought down his work tools in order to better make changes as soon as possible to the prosthetic fin and saddle. As he was fiddling with his hammer, he suddenly notices Toothless start to chase a small pointed light caused by the sun reflecting off of the hammer's metal surface. Grinning to himself, he stopped his work and started pointing the light around, watching as Toothless desperately tried to chase it like a cat, clawing and grabbing at it.
ooo00ooo
He decides to use this new trick during the next training session. Once they were all gathered in the ring, Gobber raises the large wooden lock of the gate, and the recruits prepare for the worst.
"Meet the Terrible Terror!" Gobber announces joyously.
Instead of a large and frightening dragon, a tiny winged reptile the size of a chicken crawls through a small door to its pen, staring up at the teens dumbly and licking its eye. Tuffnut scoffs at the sight, the rest of the teens except for Hiccup snickering. He'd heard from Mara how much of a menace the Terrible Terror actually was back on her island.
"Ha! It's like the size of my-"
Whatever Tuffnut was about to say was interrupted as the Terror suddenly leaped at his face, swiftly taking him down, causing the recruits to all scatter in shock. The adults cheer and laugh at the sight, while Tuffnut screams in surprise and pain.
"OHH! GET IT OFF!" he cries out, the Terror gnawing on his nose like a chew toy. When the Terror opens its eyes however, its spots something on the ground and forgets Tuffnut entirely. Said Viking rolls around on the ground, grabbing his nose. "OH I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" he yells.
Instead of focusing on Tuffnut, the Terror was following a patch of light that Hiccup was creating using the centerpiece of his shield. He lead the Terror back to its pen while the recruits watched on. Tuffnut put his helmet back one, watching the scene while rubbing his nose.
"Wow. He's better than you ever were," he says, causing Astrid to glance angrily at him, the rest of the teens watching in awe. The Terror scrambles through the little door for the light, and Hiccup puts his foot on the door once it crawls through, looking back at everyone rather sheepishly.
Later in the afternoon, Astrid was furiously throwing her axe repeatedly at trees in the forest, venting out her frustrations through training. This whole situation with Hiccup baffled and absolutely infuriated her. Her whole life she had been training to be the best warrior of her age on Berk, in order to restore her family's honor after the death of her uncle 'Fearless' Finn Hofferson. Yet now when she has the chance to prove herself, the village runt and embarrassment Hiccup, suddenly begins to outclass her and make her skills look like nothing! She never cared to much about Hiccup, not bothering to waste her time bullying him like the others did, only knowing that he was close friends with Mara surprisingly, who she did respect as a warrior, enough to admit that the Jedi-in-training was a better fighter than she was.
During her training session, she yanked her axe of the tree and vaulted over a log quickly, raising her axe in preparation for another throw. To her complete surprise, she forces herself to stop just before throwing when realizing that Hiccup was standing in front of her, a bundle of something carried in his arms. The two stare in surprise, just as surprised to find the other there, before Hiccup quickly strides away into the forest. Suspicious, she follows him as quietly possible, watching him move behind a rock. She climbed on top of the rock and looked over it for any sign of him, but to her confusion, he wasn't anywhere to be found. Irritated, she hit the rock with her fist.
ooo00ooo
Back on Temple Island, Jarik was sitting inside one of the stone huts, seated at a table with various tools and pieces of small equipment. In his metal hand he was holding up some sort of small piece of circular metal, using a blow torch held in his right to melt and bend it into shape. Dipping it in water to cool off the metal and harden it, he then went to work with the next part. Using some small screws and a drop of sealing liquid, he picks up the small, completely spherical white kyber crystal and delicately places it into the a small engraving laid out for it. He then sets a small intricate frame around the crystal, sealing it down with some unnoticeable screws, the liquid in the engraved spot quickly hardening for the crystal, setting it forever in place.
Finished, he sets his project down on the table and wipes his brow, sighing in relief. Jarik takes a good look at the object he had created, smiling to himself before pulling out a small container, carefully placing the object inside of the box.
"Hope she likes this ring when I show it off," he mutters to himself.
He closes the box over the beautifully crafted ring with the kyber gem emplacement. It wasn't particularly fancy or anything, with a rather simple design since Jarik knew Ahsoka wouldn't like anything if she could rely on it to survive a battle. Yet it's simple and small design didn't make it any less beautiful, the white kyber crystal almost glowing dimly in the dark.
ooo00ooo
While Toothless continued to eat his meal of fish which Hiccup smuggled to him, Hiccup set to work, updating the harness and lining a thread along his tail and body towards a pedal that he had crafted for use. After Toothless finished with the fish, Hiccup lead him towards a tall cliff which had constant winds blowing against it. Using a shattered tree trunk there, he tied Toothless to the trunk with a rope to keep him in place, and then mounted the dragon. Toothless took flight, gliding as the wind kept him afloat in place while Hiccup familiarized himself with the tail fin. Changing the position of the pedal, the tail extended outwards against the wind, the the pair landed on the ground. Toothless looked up happily at Hiccup while he wrote down the positioning of fin on a cheat sheet clipped into the saddle.
After doing so, Toothless extended his wings and leaped into the air, gliding once more. However a sudden powerful surge of the wind whipped by, blowing against Toothless' wings and causing the rope to snap. Toothless and Hiccup flew back through the trees with startled cries of surprise, landed heavily on the ground. Toothless landed on his back, rolling over and sit on his front paws. However in doing so Hiccup suddenly yelped in surprise as he was dragged up by Toothless, and quickly checks the connection of his harness, his face falling. The metal was bent, making it impossible to remove from the saddle.
"Oh great," he groans.
ooo00ooo
Later that night, a Viking strides through the village with a torch in hand, doing a nightly check of the area for any dangers. he sees Hiccup leaning against one of the houses and nods to him.
"Hiccup," he greets.
Hiccup waves back with a nervous smile in an attempt to look casual, and then walks out with Toothless once the coast was clear. the Night Fury attempted to follow the Viking curiously, but Hiccup pulled on the harness, bringing him to Gobber's forge, which was closed down, as Gobber was already asleep back in his house. The pair cautiously enter the forge, well, Hiccup mostly. As soon as they were inside Toothless sticks his nose into a bucket, expecting fish. Upon finding none, he tosses the bucket away, which makes a clattering noise heard by Astrid, who quickly whirls around and makes a beeline for the forge
"Hiccup? Are you in there?" she calls out.
Toothless and Hiccup raise their heads in response, the latter with a look of alarm as he desperately tries to pry the ring off of the hook. When it doesn't budge, he quickly throws on an apron and jumps out of the window and closes the shutters behind him before Astrid could see inside.
"Astrid, hey!" he exclaims, stammering nervously. "Hi Astrid! Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid," he rambles.
"I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird." Astrid says with an accusatory finger.
While this was going on, Toothless peeked his head outside of the doorway, spotting a sheep which takes notice, stopping with a petrified look. toothless makes a move towards it curiously, causing Hiccup to stumble. He shakes it off with an uneasy laugh, and Astrid eyes him warily.
"Well, weirder," she corrects.
To her complete shock and disbelief, Hiccup suddenly rises off of the ground, pulled against the shutters. He glances at the shutters and back at Astrid in bewilderment, giving a nervous chuckle, before yelping as he was quickly pulled through. The moment he was inside, he quickly grabs some of his tools and leaps onto Toothless, who runs out as Astrid yanks the shutters open, only to find nothing. Across the street, Toothless runs and then takes flight, disappearing into the night as Hiccup breathes out a sigh of relief.
It's never really clarified how much time takes place during the montage scene, but the amount of time most people who watch HTTYD agree on is that it speeds through several weeks or a month, which is what I'm going with. It makes sense considering Hiccup has to go through a lot of trial and error with Toothless, and Stoick and the other Vikings take time on their boat voyage back from Dragon Island, especially in a damaged boat.
To those of you who are all about the Jarisoka romance, you must all be screaming inside at seeing Jarik create that Kyber Crystal ring haha. He won't propose immediately, he's gonna do it when it seems right. So you have to wait more! :)
