A.N. yes i quickest update yet. Also big shout outs to Rosalie Barvik and Sgt Sniper man101 who both reviewed last chapter. Thanks guys
"So what's the plan exactly?" Aliyah asked Rush as she took another bite from her cooked fish. The duo were currently having breakfast in the ceiling of the Great Hall, Rush however was also pressing a warm towel on his head trying to dull the headache he got after a certain someone pounded him. The duo usually had their meals like this, choosing to eat before sunrise and after midnight as to avoid any unwelcome company. Plus if they made any noise, people would assume rats or bats.
"Sing lessons." He responded with sarcasm as he took another bite at his fish, the thing nearly slipped out of his hands but that was to be expected when you ate them raw.
Aliyah swallowed and then looked at him with look that basically said, 'Are you for real?'
"What? Do you have a better idea?" Rush asked jokingly.
"Um. Yeah. You should sing to them." She giggled.
"Mhm, is it because i am so talented, you'd think they would stop troubling the island?" Rush asked not bothering to hide his pride.
"Actually I was thinking they would flee from all the damage done to their own ears and be too traumatized to ever sing again." She said while trying to keep a straight face as she watched Rush.
Rush in particular was not having any of it and threw some of his fish bones right in her face.
"You're funny, really, really funny." Rush grumbled.
"I'll be here all week." The girl responded, "But seriously what's the plan?"
"Scauldrons"
"Excuse me."
"The Smoke breathes will take some time before they can repopulate and while I am sure whatever number of them are still left can provide a smoke cloud, they might still need the extra help to make it thicker." Rush explained.
"What about Zippleback gas, wouldn't that be easier to get?" Aliyah asked.
"Too combustible," Rush answered.
"Right, the last thing you would want is to blown up another island." Aliyah stated
"Hey, I only blew up half the forest and I told the wing maidens I was sorry" Rush defended.
"And yet, you're still banned from the island." Aliyah noted.
"Whatever." Rush responded as he continued to eat. Aliyah was about to follow suit but stopped when she remembered something. Rush noticed she didn't continue eating and judging by the expression on her face he knew something was up.
"Oh shoot!" She said slapping her forehead.
"What?" Rush asked.
"I am supposed to head to a few of the nearby islands to gather some herbs for Gothi."Aliyah responded.
"So?"
"She asked for them for today." Aliyah responded. Rush merely handed her his towel.
"You're going to need this if you show up without those herbs." Rush spoke while remembering how painful a strike from Gothi's staff could be.
Aliyah merely tossed the towel aside as she focuses her attention back on Rush.
"Rush, could you do me a favour?" She asked in a pleading voice.
"Um, okay." Rush responded, "Want me to help you gather some herbs?" Rush asked.
"Actually I have something else in mind." Aliyah answered
Hiccup woke up feeling slightly refreshed, the young lad had waited for his father's return last night but the man never showed up and Hiccup fell asleep while waiting. He looked around noticing the absence of a red eyed girl on his rafters. She wasn't always there for him, but Hiccup always felt his day get better whenever he saw smiling at him during the morning, a warm loving smile he only ever received from Gothi and Gobber and on a very rare occasion his father. He had hoped that one day he would be able get a smile like that from Astrid, but then he realized that Astrid may never go for runt like him. She'd probably go for the more Viking like teens like…..Fishlegs?...or...Tuffnut? It was possible, it could be one of them, Astrid was always pretty annoyed with Snotlout and Hiccup himself.
"I wonder if she doesn't like us because of our family. That is the only thing me and Snotlout have in common so it is a logical explanation as to why she likes neither of us." Hiccup told himself out loud.
"Who doesn't like whose family?" A voice asked above his startling Hiccup. The young Viking looked up to see cloaked figure hiding in the roofs. Judging by the low voice and dark cloak, Hiccup figured it wasn't Aliyah but her dark counterpart Rush.
"Oh hey Rush, I didn't see you there." The young boy stuttered as saw the cloaked figure drop down from the ceiling.
"That was the idea, Hiccup." Rush answered as he walked over to Hiccup.
"So who doesn't like whose family?" Rush inquired.
"Oh it's nothing; I'm just trying to figure out why Astrid doesn't like me and Snotlout."
Hiccup responded.
"And you're assuming it's because of you bloodline?" Rush asked. "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard and that's not an easy feat to accomplish." Rush continued.
"Yeah well it's the best I got." The young boy responded.
"Hiccup, Hiccup, poor naïve Hiccup." Rush muttered loud enough for the boy to easily hear. "Astrid isn't ignoring you because of your family. She's ignoring you because of you, yourself." Rush told him.
Hiccup looked at Rush as if he was trying to tell whether the cloaked fighter was being serious or not. "Um thanks Rush, that pep talk was very helpful." Hiccup deadpanned. Rush merely shrugged as he motioned for the boy to follow him downstairs. Hiccup went into the kitchen and organized himself some breakfast while Rush mere just leaned back on a chair and relaxed.
"So where's Aliyah?" Hiccup asked as he sat down to eat his breakfast.
"She's out and about running some errands." Rush responded, "I offered to help but she insisted I spend some time with you. She said something about wanting you to wake up and have a friendly face to help jump start your day." Rush continued.
"Oh, well that was nice of her but you didn't need to go through all that trouble Rush." Hiccup spoke.
"Actually I kind did need to do this." Rush responded. "I am going on a trip later to an island far, far away." Rush told him
"Oh that's nice. How long will you be gone?" Hiccup asked Rush. Rush looked at the smaller boy as thought about how long it would take to handle five carnivorous dragons.
"Probably a day or two depends on how easy the job is." Rush responded.
"And what exactly do you have to do?" Hiccup continued to ask.
"A friend of mine has a dragon problem on the island and he asked if I could help." Rush responded.
"Are you going to kill dragon?" Hiccup asked innocently. At this Rush stopped and turned to the boy.
"If there isn't any alternative then yeah, I'll probably have to kill them." Rush responded.
"You must be really good at killing dragons. Can you show me how to do it?" Hiccup asked, surprising Rush. Rush immediately masked his emotions which was easy considering the hood always kept his face hidden and responded as best as he could.
"Listen Hiccup dragon fighting is not something that should be taken lightly, it's dangerous and you can get hurt. You can lose an arm or leg or worse." Rush told the boy.
"I can handle it, Rush trust me. I am a Viking. It's an occupational hazard." Hiccup responded confidently.
"Listen Hiccup, I don't know who told you that but you're tribe is full of dragon fighting Vikings, maybe you should focus on something else like baking or working in the forge or even trying to just help repair houses in the village."
"But Dad said I have to learn to do, so that I can look after the village when I get older and I become chief." Hiccup continued to try and persuade Rush. Rush at this point was getting slightly fed up with the young boy.
"Hiccup!" Rush said with a loud and stern voice, silencing the younger boy. It was at that moment Hiccup actually remembered why he had always prefer Aliyah to Rush, Aliyah was never as intimidating as Rush was and Rush was only slightly annoyed at this point. "Hiccup, I don't exactly care what you father thinks and the way I see it you would be better off not caring as well. As far as dragon training goes, the answer is no, I won't teacher and Aliyah most certainly won't teach you either. Dragon fighting just isn't for you and it never will be." Rush said very firmly, getting as close to Hiccup's face as possible and staring him straight down. "Do you understand?" Rush asked.
Hiccup merely nodded but Rush didn't miss it when Hiccup looked down disappointedly but Rush knew better. This question had initially caught Rush off guard but then the cloaked boy thought back to how the people of Berk were mainly the older Vikings. Rush knew better than to think Hiccup was asking him to train to kill just for the fun of it. Hiccup was a pacifist at heart not really willing to rely on violence. However pacifists aren't exactly the most respected people in a Viking tribe, especially one like the Hairy Hooligan. Rush knew all too well what the boy wanted, because at a time Rush wanted it too. Hiccup wanted to gain the approval of his father, the kind of approval that could only be earned if you could kill dragon.
Killing dragons was seen as an honorable thing to many Viking tribes and while it was mostly done for self-defense in the cases of tribes that lived close to dragon nests and breeding spots, there were a few tribes that were actually starting to take pride in the bloodshed and kill for sport. The Berserker tribe was one of such tribe. The island used to have frequent raids a long time ago and had encountered some of the deadliest dragons known to Vikings, the Skrill. Originally the lightning dragon was seen a threat that had always plagued the Berserkers. However that all changed a long time ago; when they learnt to use metal to distract the dragon. This discovery proved to be the turning point as the Berserkers where then able to fight back and in time the number of Skrills began to dwindle till they became one of the rarest dragons in the archipelago. It was this fight against the dragons that made the Skrill the apart of Berserker's emblem as it showed the tribe's power in beating a dragon who could command forces only known to the Gods. However even if the dragon population dwindled on Berserker island: it was already too late. The nature of the people itself had come to enjoy the taste of power given to them by the idea of eradicating a dragon species and within time it became less about survival and more about personal enjoyment in the slaughtering.
Rush could already see the Hairy Hooligan tribe following the same path if not worse than the Berserkers. The chief of the island was vengeful to dragons for taking his wife from him and likewise there were many others who had experienced similar losses and shared the same sentiments towards the flying reptiles. However they were all unaware of the true mastermind behind all this death destruction for the past few centuries, but even if they did learn would they change their ways, probably not these were the most stubborn set of Vikings Rush had ever encountered.
Looking back at the boy Rush couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but he wasn't going to let his own sentiments cloud his judgement. Hiccup shouldn't make the same mistake Rush did when he was younger and if it meant hindering the boy from receiving his father's love then so be it. If Stoic was such a fool as to not realize how good a son Hiccup actually was then he was the biggest fool on the island and that's saying something considering the Thorstons also lived on this island as well as the Jorgensons.
A.N. Well i hope i helped develop Rush a little more with this one. As always fav and follow and review(this one helps make the story better by the way.) constructive criticism only please.