After The War Ch9
Before you read this chapter, I have a few announcement. First off, I'm sorry for leaving everyone hanging for two months. The coronavirus situation has gotten out of hand. Thank you for being with me and this story so far. Secondly, after I finish writing After The War, I plan to rewrite it. I'm going to be completely honest, this story is ridden with OOC characters, bad plotlines, and numerous plot holes I haven't filled in yet. So after I finish the original After The War, which is the story you're reading right now, I'll be uploading a separate story called After The War (Rewrite). The rewrite will have the roughly the same plot, but the scenes will be very different and deviate from the original a lot. And while I'm writing the rewrite, I'll also be uploading a bunch of one-shots I've got planned. So yeah! That's the plan for right now. I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and again, I sincerely apologize for disappearing for two months.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
He burrowed his head deeper into the pillow.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
He clamped a hand over his exposed ear.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-
Hiccup groaned, lifting his head from the pillow. "Fine!" He mumbled. "Hold on!"
He dragged himself out of his bed, sleepily stumbling to the small porthole window across the room. The porthole was really a choppily carved out circle in the side of the boat (high enough to prevent water from spilling in) with a flap made of fabric stretched over it. He fumbled with the small wooden latch on the small fabric flap to lift the flap away from the porthole, then stepped back as Terror gleefully ricocheted around the room.
He turned back to the window to latch it closed, wincing when the faint sunlight blinded him. The pale sun was just beginning to peek over the reddening horizon, shy about beginning the new day.
Behind him, he heard someone's blankets stir, then heard a voice sleepily mutter, "Hey, no, lemme sleep..." Snotlout was slumped over in his bed, waving an erratic arm in the air to shoo away the Terror which was now circling around his head like a purple-green halo.
The dragon decided to terrorize him a moment more, then abandoned the pursuit and swept back to Hiccup.
Stifling a yawn threatening to come out, he held an arm out to the Terror. "Hey, you got a message for me?" He quietly whispered to the dragon as it swept onto his arm and clutched it's claws tightly on it's perch.
A small roll of parchment was tied onto the Terror's leg by a thin piece of twine. Hiccup quickly unknotted it and opened the scroll.
It was from the Berserkers. Heather had agreed to aid them in battling Orion, though without dragons it would be a while before they could reach the new island of the Defenders of the Wing. At best, they would make it in a day.
He breathed a sigh of relief. With help from the Berserkers, he could expect things to go much better. He stuffed the scroll in one of his many pockets adorning his outfit, then returned his attention to the Terror.
It inquisitively stared at him with green eyes too big for it's head, it's long claws still holding an iron grip on his forearm. He scratched it behind the large, out-of-proportion head, smiling when it purred and leaned against his hand for more.
He unlatched the porthole flap again and moved his arm closer to the open window. "Hey, you're gonna have to go to the island for rest, food, and water. I can't exactly get you some right now."
The Terror chirped in response, nuzzled against his hand once more, then released it's grip on his arm and swiftly flew out the window. He watched it go, a small silhouette against the sun, which had begun to glare as it emerged from the glassy sea.
After shutting the window, he crawled back on top of his bed. The Terror and the message it had brought had effectively woken him up, so he just sat and thought.
He remembered that he had sent the letters to the Berserkers and Wingmaidens after the meeting the day before. While he had expected the Berserkers to respond first because they were closer to this island, he was worried about the Wingmaidens. He dearly hoped their expedition into the Hidden World had proved successful, but a successful mission would mean the Razorwhips would soon be relocated. The Wingmaidens were used to fighting with dragons on their back. It would be significantly harder for them to adjust to fighting on the ground.
He reached into his pocket to consult the letter again. If they arrived tomorrow, they could hopefully begin training their forces together. He assumed that the Berserkers and Defenders wouldn't have too hard of a time learning to work together, though the Berserker's crazy antics might cause some disharmony between the two tribes.
He looked back at his wooden bed and briefly contemplated going back to sleep, but decided against it. He shook out his blankets and smoothed his hair into some form of neatness.
He glanced over at the sleeping figures of Eret, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut. All were still asleep, snoring with arms stretched out and bodies in awkward positions. Hiccup tiptoed to the door and quietly closed it behind him.
When he emerged onto the deck, he could see the sun was proudly beaming down on the island. In the distance, some of Defenders of the Wing were up and going about their business.
He walked down the gangplank and continued on his way to the village. He wasn't even sure what he would do once he was at the village, but he resolved to cross that bridge when he came to it. He'd find something or other to occupy him. He would just begin the day by leisurely listening to his impulses.
He was trudging through the long, tall, brutally sharp grasses of the field in between the dock and the village when he heard a familiar voice call his name. "Hiccup!"
He looked up to see a figure who resembled Throk coming towards him from the village. "Throk?" He called in return. Hiccup sped up and met him where the grassy field ended.
Throk dipped his head in greeting. "Have you received a reply from the Berserkers yet?"
He nodded and tugged the scroll out of his pocket. "I got it just a few minutes ago." He handed it to Throk. "They'll be here in about a day."
"Good. Mala also received one. And you've not heard back from the Wingmaidens?"
"Not yet, but they are farther away."
"Yes, yes they are." He looked distracted. "Hiccup Haddock, Mala would like to arrange a training session between our soldiers and your fighters later today. We thought we could introduce our fighting styles to each other's tribes."
Hiccup mulled over the thought a moment. "That sounds great. And we could plan a battle strategy then, too."
"Then I shall teach our ways to your Berkians, and you shall teach yours to us. We may also-"
Hiccup interrupted him. "Oh, Throk, I actually don't think it's best if I show you our style of fighting. Astrid is actually much better at fighting in the Viking way than I am, and she's been training all her life for battles like these."
Throk was beginning to reply when he spotted Mala walking towards them from the village. He stepped back as she joined them and briskly addressed Hiccup. "Hiccup Haddock, good morning. I hope Throk has told you of the need for a battle plan?"
"He just told me. So what do you guys think the strategy could be?"
Mala exchanged looks with Throk. "There are now ships on constant guard along the entire coast of the Edge. There are always two or more ships around critical entry points. We would need to get through them before we can get to the island. Even then, you know much better than I do that we would have a clear disadvantage fighting them on land. They are higher up, better protected, and our backs would be very close to the edge of the island."
"So you're saying we're going to fight from ships?"
"That's correct. And we will aim to weaken their forces as best as we can until either Orion surrenders or we force her to her surrender."
Hiccup's mouth set in a grim line. "Her forces are powerful. It would take an extreme effort to overpower her in any way, let alone do enough damage that she surrenders."
Throk gripped his axe in one hand. "That is the main problem. Our strategy needs to include a distinct advantage, which we currently do not have."
"I'll keep thinking about it." Hiccup responded. "I have a knack for finding my way out of situations like these. But jokes aside, you can count on me to find a way to defeat her."
"Soldiers!" At the sound of Throk's voice, Astrid noticed the group of Defenders snapping to attention. They shot up from sitting on the ground and leaning against trees to stand uniform straight, their attention firmly fixated on Throk. This was an obviously well practiced and rehearsed formation, and not a toe was stepped out of line.
Astrid began to wonder just how disciplined the Defender's soldiers were, how often they trained, and how strictly they enforced rules. She had been observing the Defender's wary postures and leery glances since they had all gathered together. Then she compared the Defenders to the Hooligans, and winced. Maybe, she thought, Berk's fighters needed to be more disciplined. Hiccup and Valka were standing straight and with attentive eyes, but Tuffnut and Ruffnut were slouched on the ground, watching the soldiers with amused grins.
For the training session with the Defenders, Astrid had been volunteered by Hiccup to represent the 'Viking' way of fighting. With a brief discussion between her, Mala, Throk, Hiccup, and Dagur, it had been decided that she, Throk, and Dagur would lead the training session. Astrid would represent Berk, Throk would represent the Defenders of the Wing, and Dagur would represent the Berserkers until the Berserkers actually arrived.
Now, Astrid, Throk, and Dagur stood in a wide dirt clearing in front of all the fighters and soldiers who had enlisted to battle Orion. Throk surveyered his soldiers with satisfaction and continued. "We are here to prepare for the battle against our foe, Orion. If we are to fight effectively, we must learn to fight together. The Berserkers will also be aiding us, although for now we are only with our allies, the Berkians. To start, Defenders, I want aerobic warm-ups. Ten minutes."
The group of Defenders immediately spread out and began doing jumping jacks and various stretches.
Throk beckoned for Dagur and Astrid to come closer. "As they are getting ready, I will inform you on the strategy I have created to prepare them for fighting."
"Strategy?" Dagur scoffed. "Why can't we just charge?"
Throk sighed, and Astrid realized he had probably been dealing with Dagur's Berserker methods ever since he became King. She hated to think of how badly the two must have clashed. "If we do not have a plan, Orion will easily overtake us. She demonstrated this last time. Furthermore, we will not be able to charge, as we will not be on land."
Astrid interjected, "We're fighting from the sea?"
Throk nodded. "There are now ships on constant guard around the island. We must take them out first to attack the island. And as you used to live on the Edge, you know as well as I do how much space there is to fight on the Edge's cliffs. Fighting from land is far too dangerous. So we shall attack from boats next to some of the lower cliffs and the docks."
"Then if we're coming from the sea..." Astrid thought aloud. "We'll need to practice using long distance weapons, swimming, and take inventory of ships and weapons."
Throk nodded in approval. "We will be able to practice swimming later, and I shall check on the inventory as well. As for long-distance weapons, that would include axes, throwing knives and daggers, and bow and arrows."
Astrid had a thought. "Maybe our first priority should be archery. With axes and knives, we have a disadvantage. If we throw them, not only do we lose it, we give it to the enemy."
"You speak wisely. We shall begin training now." He turned back to the fighters. "Attention!"
The Defenders stopped their warm-ups and breathlessly faced back towards Throk. "Our current battle plan is to attack from the sea. We will practice using long-distance weaponry and swimming. Those of you who currently have a bow and arrows may spread out to practice. If you do not have a bow and arrows, practice with axes or knives until you can obtain a bow and a quiver. As always, ensure you are far away from any others, and for now, your only targets will be trees." He quickly glanced back towards Astrid and Dagur and lowered his voice. "You may inform your fighters and begin training them. We'll exchange practices and demonstrate after we have grown comfortable?"
Astrid responded, "Sounds good." She and Dagur headed back towards their group.
She could hear Dagur faintly snorting. " Need a plan to survive! Oh, no, charging is illegal now!" He was waving his arms in exasperation.
Once back with their group, Astrid briefly explained the plan. "We'll be attacking the Edge by sea. The whole time, we'll be on boats, so we're going to be practicing using long-distance weapons, and brush up on your swimming skills."
She divided them into groups based on their skill level. Only a few of them had come prepared and had a bow and arrows on them, so for the rest she prioritized throwing axes. Snotlout, she had to admit, wasn't too bad with an axe. Eret definitely wasn't too shabby either. She set all of them targets, either the wide trunk of a tree, or a branch waving in the slight wind for more of a challenge.
She took a quick glance over at the Defenders. Biting her lip, she noticed that they weren't as familiar with long-distance weapons. It was barely noticeable, but Astrid had a good eye and could see they were better suited for short-distance weapons, such as the sword or dagger.
Still, even with their slight disadvantage, they excelled at throwing axes and knives. She thought the remarkable thing was that they were all at the same level. They must have all been trained together, and at the same pace.
She noticed Throk moving among his soldiers, giving out corrections and helping some throw straighter. She turned her attention back to her fighters and resolved to do the same.
In all honesty, she thought, Tuff and Ruff weren't bad. They had both borrowed axes from the Defenders, and most of their throws were close to the middle of the target, if not on it. All of their throws stuck on the target. She corrected Tuffnut's posture, then watched Ruffnut and noticed a slight error in her grip. She corrected that, too, and moved on.
She had barely helped Eret, he was fine. Fishlegs had been one of the lucky few to borrow a bow and arrows from the Defenders. She was thankful the Defenders were so well stocked.
Fishlegs would be fine. His center of balance would mean he was better suited for archery than throwing axes anyway. Then she got to Hiccup.
"Hiccup?" She shook his shoudler. He was staring off into the forest.
"Oh, sorry. Lost in thought."
"I can tell. Can I see your axe throw?"
Hiccup sighed and ignored her question. "Astrid, you know how our current battle plan is to just attack the Edge until she surrenders? There are so many problems with that. Orion is insanely powerful. It's going to take a lot to overpower her."
"And?"
"And Mala and Throk need me to find a distinct advantage over her. And I just can't really focus right now."
"Hiccup." She made him look at her. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to do everything by yourself? I'll help you come up with something after training, I promise. We're a team and we work better together."
He smiled at her, his vibrant green eyes lighting up. "How do you manage to make everything better?"
She almost blushed. "It's a gift. So, your axe throw?"
"And then, I hit him on the head with my mace!"
The Defenders roared in laughter. The entirety of their attention was focused on Tuffnut as he enacted his dramatic retelling of the whole twintuition/Macey/Shell Fire incident. He was standing on top of a meal table, erratically acting out the scenes.
Fishlegs watched him in amusement. "Is anyone going to remind him that in the middle of all this Macey happened to be broken?"
Snotlout snorted. "Or the fact that he did not fight off a hundred dragon hunters?"
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Tuffnut. "Or that we were the ones who helped rescue him and Ruffnut?"
Astrid gestured towards Ruffnut. "Ruffnut's eating it up, too." Ruffnut was playing the role of the hunters, with both twins acting up for the audience.
The Defenders were grouped around the twins's table, laughing their heads off at the re-enactment. Astrid guessed they didn't get entertainment opportunities like this often.
The training session went fairly well. When she went over to see how the Defenders were doing, she discovered they didn't need much help at all, save for a few who had grown rather rusty with long-distance. The ones who were practicing archery were skilled, and Astrid even had the chance to show Throk and the rest of the Defenders her axe-throwing skills. She made five bullseyes in a row.
Afterwards, they rested appropriately before eating lunch, careful not to eat too soon. Lunch consisted of wild vegetables and fish some of the villagers had supplied.
Hiccup was still rather perplexed as to how to find an advantage over Orion, but he had agreed to thoroughly talk it over with Astrid later. She sat next to him on the bench while they ate lunch, and Hiccup's hand crept up to hold hers under the table.
Eret was staring at the twins. "I honestly hope they're not telling the truth. A random chicken just made it's way into the story."
Snotlout snorted. "That's pretty normal for them."
Astrid was just finishing eating when she noticed a blur in the sky. She looked closer, and the blur turned into a small dragon that was heading for Hiccup.
She nudged him. "I think that Terror's for you."
He looked up just in time for the Terror to skid to a stop on the table. It held out it's leg to Hiccup, and after he removed the small scroll from it, began to snap up pieces of fish from their plates.
Snotlout waved the Terror away, pulling his plate back possessively toward him. The Terror then hopped towards Valka's plate, and she gave him a fish and rubbed his back. Snotlout resumed eating, though he looked a little sheepish.
"What does it say?" Astrid leaned over Hiccup's shoulder.
"It's from the Wingmaidens." Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. "In the Hidden World they found a nest full of Razorwhips, and a breeding ground far from most of the other species and males that was safe for the babies."
Fishlegs looked up eagerly from his plate. "They separated themselves from the males and other species on their instinct? Oh, that's so cool! It's amazing that even in the Hidden World there's a place for them."
"They're coming with as many as they can spare. Atali wrote that they'd like to defeat Orion, too." Hiccup continued reading. "Well, that makes sense. Thy were the ones who told us about Orion in the first place."
Valka asked, "When will they arrive?"
Hiccup handed her the letter so she could see for herself. "They said about a day. Maybe a little longer." He scooped up the last bite of fish from his plate and stood up, tugging Astrid with him. "You're done, right?"
"Yeah, I've finished."
"C'mon, I need to go tell Throk we heard back from the Wingmaidens." He pulled her up by her hand, and she glanced back to say, "See you later, guys."
As they started across the grassy field back toward the village, hand in hand, she distinctly heard Snotlout wolf-whistle. She rolled her eyes, though she probably blushed a little.
They were fighting their way through the tall, prickly grass when Hiccup said, "So, about the advantage we need? What could we do?"
"Well, for starters, we know the island better than they do. I don't think they've had enough time to discover the Night Terrors, or Darkvarg's cave."
"Yeah, but how could we use the hidden places we know about? It wouldn't really help unless we're on the island in the first place."
"True. I'll keep thinking up ideas."
They wandered around the village a bit before they could find Throk. Most of the houses were still in-progress, but they counted two more finished houses since yesterday.
Hiccup thought about the fact that Berk was also in it's rebuilding stage. Dragons being recalled to the Hidden World had triggered so many events. He guessed that he hadn't realized just how much of an impact dragons had had.
He also winced internally thinking of New Berk. He had abandoned New Berk in a time when it was critical for the Chief to be overseeing everything. He resolved to formally apologize to the people of New Berk when he returned. He couldn't afford to keep making mistakes like this. Not when it was mistake after mistake after mistake.
He was shaken out of his depressing reverie when Astrid called out to someone far in front of them, "Mala!"
Mala was standing with Oswald in her arms, quietly conversing with Throk. She looked up at the sound of Astrid's voice, and beckoned then over with a wave of her free hand.
"Did you receive a message back from the Wingmaidens?"
"Yes, actually, we were looking all over for you so we could tell you."
Throk questioned, "You convinced them to release the Razorwhips?"
"It was necessary." He solemnly told them.
Mala shook her head. "Hiccup Haddock, you have a way of changing life as we know it. How did the training session go, Astrid? Throk was just about to tell me about it."
"Really well." Astrid responded. "But we're going to need a lot more time and practice, especially when the Berserkers and Wingmaidens get here. And we might not get that time if Orion decides to attack before us."
"What if we slowed her down?" Hiccup asked. "We can try to significantly weaken her forces, giving us more time."
"And how, exactly, would we weaken her?" Mala studied him, expectantly watching him.
He pondered her question. Perhaps the courses of action he had thought were the only possible options he had could actually be merged together. The battle was one thing. But before the battle actually happened, they could use their extensive knowledge of the Edge to give them to advantage.
"We know the Edge much better than she does. We could try to infiltrate the Edge and ruin their stores of supplies."
Mala nodded absently, her sharp green eyes lost in thought. "It's a start. We'll meet again once the Berserkers arrive and our forces converge. Excuse me, I need to tend to matters in the village." She nodded her farewell and left for the center of the village with Throk authoritatively striding behind her.
Astrid turned back to face Hiccup directly. "Infiltrate the Edge? How would we manage to do that?"
An idea struck him. "What if we tried to get on the Edge at night?"
"They might be patrolling at night." Astrid pointed out.
"I'll ask Throk later. But I guess it's an idea."
They meandered around the village in comfortable silence as Hiccup turned their predicament over and over in his mind. He blankly stared past the smelly yaks being led to their pen, a mother running after her child, and a group of teenagers in black clothing rambunctiously laughing and joking. He registered them with a slight pang. I used to be like that.
He caught Astrid's eye as she stared at the teens, similar to what he had been doing. "We all grew up."
He clasped her hand. "Yeah."
They stood in silent remembrance of their teenage days for a second more before continuing on their thought-filled stroll.
They had almost looped around the village when Hiccup asked her, out of the blue, "What if... a few of us could get onto the Edge unnoticed, and then slow Orion down?"
Astrid stopped walking to lean against a nearby tree and think. "Are you saying that if few of us get onto the Edge, and... we use our knowledge to hide somewhere in the Edge, we... could slow her down? Take out some soldiers, ruin some supplies? That kind of slowing her down?"
He leaned against the tree and answered, "It's our best option. We somehow get onto the Edge, and slow her down."
"Then after that what would we do? We need a stronger advantage. Maybe... one that applies directly to us? Something that's helped us before?"
He groaned. "We do need a better advantage." He racked his brain. "What's one advantage we've always had, and could always depend on?"
He sank against the tree, his back moving down the tree to rest against it's trunk as he sat on the ground and rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes.
What advantage did they always have? What was the special thing about Hiccup and the gang that had led them to win their past battles and wars?
He mentally re-visited past fights, against Alvin, Dagur, Viggo, Ryker, and even the fights of the dragon raids from just this year. What could the dragon riders do that others couldn't?
And all at once, the answer came to him.
He jerked up straight, staring wide-eyed. Astrid looked down at the sharp movement. "What? What is it?"
He pushed himself off the tree. "I found our advantage."
Astrid faced him, suddenly as wide-eyed as he was. "What is it?"
He grinned. "We can train dragons."
Thank you for bearing with me through all this. Chapter ten is next! I can't believe we're on double digits. Thanks for reading! ~ScribeOfTheLegends