Hiccup had experienced many things and met many people in his life, but a man with a hand the size of his face wasn't one.
Hiccup calmly turned around, took one look at the man and turned back around. The giant reminded Hiccup of Drago, not in appearance, but expression. The same sadistic brown eyes were set upon Hiccup hungrily. He wore a blood-red cloak and a warrior's outfit. His slightly stubbled face was more cube-like than Drago's and his hair was short, spiky and what looked like naturally blond. But what really set him apart from anyone Hiccup had ever seen was the difference between his height and weight. He stood at least 8 feet tall, with a strong, very wide body.
This is fine. Everything's fine. Hiccup thought, panicking. He could feel the pressure of this man's hand increasing on his shoulder, and was a little worried that he was going to crush it.
But Hiccup was saved by a questionable sound.
Calypso popped up from the mud, with no reside. Hiccup felt a stab of annoyance at how clean she was, but pushed it to the back of his mind. He dared not speak, trying not to offend this goliath.
But Calypso just laughed at the image. "Stop messing with him, Drake." She snorted loudly. His name is DRAKE? Hiccup thought, trying not to think about the similarities.
The man released his hand with a hearty guffaw and slapped his hand on Hiccup's back. Hiccup narrowed his eyes, subtly wiping his shoulder off. He stood awkwardly as nobody spoke.
"Why don't you show Hiccup around the camp, Drake?" Calypso seemed more at ease here. Drake waved her off with a swipe of his massive hand. "I've got to check the barrier, I'll get you if anything exciting happens. Tell Shade to show him around." Drake rolled his eyes, then looked expectantly at Calypso.
"Oh yeah, sorry," Calypso said with a wave of her hand. She turned around, and Hiccup saw Drake disappear in the mud. Hiccup half staggered up to her and let out a breath. "Is he-" He began but was shushed. "Drake's antisocial. He's nice, though. To us. I hope he finds a few meatheads to scare so we can go watch." Calypso spoke fast, trying to hide her confusion from the day's earlier events.
"Oh, no. I was going to ask why he was so HUGE?" Hiccup said in a (mostly) calm voice. Calypso laughed, but didn't answer. Hiccup tried to make small talk, but failed. So, they just walked in comfortable silence for a few seconds before they arrived at the lake. "Why-" Hiccup began, but Calypso stopped him by stomping on the ground loudly. Almost immediately, a large amount of dirt sprayed everywhere as something emerged from the ground.
Hiccup immediately recognised it as a smaller than usual Whispering Death and instinctively stepped back into a defensive position. Embarrassed, he stepped forward, going back to Calypso as the dragon switched to a teenager midair. "Yo, Squid!" Calypso smiled, grabbing his hand in a friendly gesture as he landed. Hiccup noticed her absentmindedly rearranging the dirt until it looked like before. He frowned.
"I said, don't call me that. My name is Shade now." He said, disgruntled. The boy looked young, in his early teens. His curly brown hair seemed to fade into blue, then red at the tips. He wore pretty standard clothes, Hiccup remembered seeing a few young kids wearing that style of shirt and pants. But the most shocking thing was his eyes. Completely white and bloodshot, eerily similar to the Whispering Death Hiccup had seen a few seconds ago.
"Who's this punk with you?" The teen spoke, startling Hiccup. He wasn't sure if this kid was blind or not, but Shade still hadn't paid Hiccup any attention. "Watch it, Squid," Squid grumbled. "He's a Night Fury." Calypso said offhandedly. Hiccup expected the boy to have some kind of reaction, but he just angled his head in Hiccup's direction. Hiccup glanced at Calypso and widened his eyes, trying to ask her a question without speaking.
"I can tell if you're looking at each other. I still know you're there!" He said accusingly, and Hiccup decided that he didn't like this kid. "Squid, show Hiccup around the camp. Don't be mean." Calypso smiled and stepped out of reach as he swiped at her. She got far enough to shift, give Hiccup a teasing growl and flew over to the deeper part of the lake.
Squid sighed, looking in Hiccup's general direction. "Are you from New Berk?" He uptalked. Hiccup nodded, then realised that was stupid and he spoke. "Yeah, I was the chief there." Squid crossed his arms. "So why aren't you now?" Hiccup scowled. "Are you going to show me around or not?" Hiccup felt uncomfortable, but this kid was slowly getting on his nerves.
"Oh, I'm sorry, m'lord. Shall I fetch you a cup of mead while I carry you upon my back?" Squid smirked and started walking towards the lake. "This is, surprisingly, a lake. I know this because I've fallen in it." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "It's way deeper than you think. I tunnelled into it once, it blocked them for a few months." Squid seemed to be talking about something he didn't completely despise, so Hiccup let him keep doing it. "When Calypso's not around, they're the only ways to get in or out. It's great being the only blind, teenage, Whispering Death."
Hiccup absorbed that information, and waited for him to continue. "You going to talk or something?" Squid asked, immediately killing Hiccup's vibe. "Yeah, ok. Where to next?" It was hard to tell, but it seemed like Squid was rolling his eyes. But, he started walking over to the arena-like section. Hiccup heard his counting something under his breath.
"So, how do you get around?" Hiccup asked while walking alongside him. Squid didn't answer, so Hiccup didn't push it. It was only when they arrived exactly two footsteps away from the hole that he spoke. "I count the steps, or use the tunnels underground. I'm blind, but can still kind of see light." This seemed like a sore subject, but Hiccup was curious. "Were you always blind?" Hiccup asked as he peered into the hole. The Changewing and the teenage fighter he'd seen before were still going. Surprisingly, it looked like they were equally matched. "No. It's not even from some stupid medical stuff or whatever." Squid scowled and kicked a mace into the arena. Hiccup hadn't made the connection yet, so he asked another question, not recognising the temper rising in Squid's voice. "What's it from then?"
"You really want to know that badly? C'mon man, it's not that hard to figure out!" Squid spat, venom in his voice. "Whispering Deaths are blind. They're naturally blind. So what happens when Whispering Death DNA or whatever crap restarts my blood? I go blind!" Squid yelled, causing Hiccup to step back. "I'm done with this stupid tour. Go find someone else." Squid said, then promptly shifted back, and disappeared into the ground.
Hiccup blinked, then the wave of guilt hit him. A thought crossed his mind about how maybe he could use silencing powers to momentarily heal the teen but it was interrupted by Calypso landing in front of him. She shifted back with an excited but cautious look. "Hiccup! Drake told me something's attacking us. It's a fleet of ships, from… Berk." Hiccup was shocked. This quickly? "We have to go and fight them. A few other shifters are coming too, but don't worry, we try not to hurt the people on the ships. I understand if you don't want to come, but follow me if you do. They must have put a tracker on us or something, but I think it picked up the scent from when I helped you fly. They've circled around or something." Without another word, Calypso shifted and sped of