I am so sorry it took so long to publish this chapter. I had actually written the first half of this chapter about 2 months ago but never got back to it. This chapter is a little longer than previous instalments. I hope you enjoy it.
"Higher Toothless, we need to get much higher." Hiccup breathlessly spoke to the black dragon, whose wings were working tirelessly to ascend higher into the azure sky.
Feeling the wind in his face and the wide expanse of sky surrounding him, the boy felt free. Sharing this vast realm with his best friend was a feeling he would not trade for anything in the world. Here he could be himself, here he could do what he wanted without others holding him back.
After a short time Hiccup felt a strong wind tugging on his locks of auburn hair causing the thick strands to blow this way and that in the strong gusts.
"This surely must be the roof of the mortal realm, eh bud?" He looked about once Toothless levelled out. Hiccup peered below, seeing a sea of clouds. There were no rifts to be seen within the cloud bank.
"It's like a vast grey ocean." He mused.
He then craned his neck up, casting forest green eyes towards an endless blue. They were so high up Hiccup noticed that the light blue of the sky has been replaced by a dark cobalt blue, fathomless and eternal.
It was a realm occupied by gods.
Toothless noticed how Hiccup didn't become breathless with the height. It was as if he had dragon lungs. Hiccup on the other hand felt elated, lively. He breathed the gorgeously pure air deeply, drawing it deep into his lungs and almost tasting the very element contained within the air.
He extended his arms out, feeling the air buffet them as they flew. Hiccup closed his eyes. He wanted to only feel for a moment.
He breathed slowly, feeling the air leave and enter his nose. He felt the dimensions of the sky all around him. He was in a vast space, a realm containing only him and his beloved dragon.
The wind could tell him the secrets of the sky. It told him stories of gods and goddesses. How the branches of Yggdrasil touches they blue realm of the sky, a silent watcher, linking the nine realms.
Hiccup felt order.
But then he chose to open his eyes, seeing the look in his dragon's greengage eye. "Ready bud?" He cheerily asked. Toothlesses ears shuddered and he grunted in approval. He too was ready.
"Okay bud, with that tail everything should turn out just fine." Hiccup placed a comforting hand on the shoulder of the black dragon. "I promise."
Toothless purred his consent for the actions they were about to partake in.
"Race to Berk!" Hiccup screamed and then jump clean off the saddle of his dragon, plummeting towards earth once again.
"Where is Hiccup?" Stoick bellowed once he had reached Gobber's blacksmith shop. The man he was searching for was hammering on a sword blade, the sparks of heat jumping away from the surface during each hammer strike.
"Out!" Was the blonde man's curt reply. He carried on hammering away. Once he had ceased the hammering he replaced the hammer prospehtic with the tongs and brought the blade over to the water bath for cooling.
He wiped his sweaty brow with a grimy rag and turned to fully acknowledge his chief and friend, who was still stood on the threshold of the shop, his slightly narrowed and his chest heaving. The red headed man was panting slightly, obviously he had ran there.
Gobber raised his brow at the man, waiting for him to speak.
"I need to find him. All the tribes have gathered and they want to bring the meeting forward to today. I need Hiccup there."
"Oh great. Ya just missed him! He was here, switching the tail designs over on Toothless and garnering his flight gear. That boy doesn't know how ta stop and breath."
Stoick visibly deflated. This was the last place he would find his son, and the fact he wasn't there meant he was flying with Toothless and would be out for hours. Gobber just confirmed his suspicions.
Gobber watched Stoick sigh, making an on the spot decision.
"I will have to ask the other dragon riders to look for him. " Stoick turned on the spot, making his way out. Gobber heard him mutter 'again' before he was out of sight from the plump man again.
"This isn't gonna make the poor boy happy." He muttered to himself.
Meanwhile Stoick walked towards the dragon academy, his feet carrying him quickly over rocky and grassy terrain. He didn't have too long before the clans would want to meet in the great hall and Hiccup was nowhere to be found.
This just wasn't his day at all. He understood the boy had a lot going on, what with his strange tendencies as of late and his need to be alone with his dragon. It wasn't that unusual but he was usually with the other teens.
Lately he didn't even want to do any dragon training with them. Astrid was often at the house, asking Stoick where he was. Not only the blonde girl but other teens, even the oblivious twins, were beginning to suspect something was off with him.
Stoick managed to arrive at the large arena in good time, but when he got there all hell had broken loose.
Dragons were running about everywhere with young Vikings shouting for the dragons to calm down. Stoick entered seeing the only dragon that was behaving was the Stormfly. The gorgeous spiny dragon was stood close to Astrid, who was trying to quell the activity in the arena.
Her arms were waving everywhere, a trait she started to pick up on from Hiccup when she was angry. Her face was red from shouting and her eyes were wide. She looked slightly psychotic.
"Astrid!" The girl turned to see her chief walking towards her. The large man had to run to evade an incoming Hookfang and an awkward Snotlout trying to catch the large red beast.
Once he reached the girl he was slightly red in the face. Today was just not his day. "What in Thor's name is going on here?"
"I'm sorry sir, but…" The girl didn't finish, she simply pointed her answer.
Stoick raised an inquisitive brow, following the girls arm. What he saw both perplexed and angered him.
There, wrestling the Zippleback Barf and Belch, was Dagur. He had one head pinned under him and an axe in the other hand, raised high with the blade glinting in the autumn sun. He was laughing in triumph with his eyes wild and his grin wide.
Before Stoick could manage to do anything Tuffnut tackled the older boy off his dragon. They rolled a couple of feet away, the axe dropping to the stone ground.
"What in god's name is he doing here?" Stoick bellowed to no one in particular. He turned when he heard something big stamp from behind him.
"He just turned up, saying he wanted to check out the training." Snotlout had finally managed to subdue his dragon, although the back of his pants were clutched within his dragon's jaws. Snotlout looked a little like a puppy being picked up by his mother, his arms and legs hanging down. "Put me down Hookfang!"
The dragon failed to comply. He simply stood there with a smug look in his eyes, which were both cast upon his rider in amusement. He started to let out a deep, guttural chuckle which reverberated through the great wyrm.
"I have no time for this!" Stoick said mostly to himself.
Meanwhile Tuffnut and Dagur were rolling along the ground, trying to punch the living daylights out of each other. Dagur was obviously winning as he had Tuff pinned underneath him with his forearm. He was about to dish out another tooth dislodging blow until Ruffnut grabbed the hand about to deal the punch and wrenched the older boy off her brother.
"Ow ow ow, how dare you do this to me?" Dagur guffawed when he noticed he was wrenched away by a wiry but tall girl.
"Not just any girl, but a girl who must really be a guy." Tuffnut unhelpfully interjected from the ground he lay upon.
Before anyone knew it Ruffnut was running at her twin brother and punching him in the face. Her blows were not fierce like Dagur's, but they drove the point home; never insult a woman by questioning her femininity.
Stoick stomped over towards Dagur, who stood there with a scowl on his face as he watched the brawling twins. The large man ignored the twins as he was used to their fights breaking out around the village all the time. He wanted to know why the Berserker chief was there.
The red haired young man saw the Berk chief poised before him, looking both stern and rather angry. "Ah Stoick, I see you still train your dragons in this arena." He gestured all around him with his arms. "Tell me, is this where you plan for future attacks as well?"
Stoick's brow rose slightly. He was curious about what the young chief was insinuating, but right now he had an objective in mind.
"Any questions you wish to ask will be discussed in the meeting later. I trust you are capable of waiting that long?"
"Hmm." Dagur stalked around the large man. Everyone watched him go with hawk like eyes, watching for any funny business, which they would be hard pressed to miss due to the young man's spontaneous bursts of madness.
Even after his defeat on Outcast Island and the treaty he signed shortly after stating his misdeeds and indiscretions, stating he wouldn't be able to invade again, did not prevent the island of Berk from trusting him. In their heads he was still as wily as a buck in autumn and as sly as a fox flitting amongst the shadows.
"And why do we have to wait?" He walked near Stormfly, who hissed at him lowly when he neared. "Is there someone not here who needs to be here?"
"What are you getting at Dagur?" Stoick asked carefully.
"Well, I haven't seen Hiccup lately. Surely a year after that incident he must have more dragon training technique's up his sleeve. Maybe he is using the methods for a different reason than he is stating."
"I assure you he is simply with Toothless. He will be back soon." Stoick appeared nonchalant when he said it. He didn't like what Dagur was saying. The boy had an uncanny way of getting under your skin.
"He was meant to be here today." Astrid said. "But he never showed up."
"Yeah, he seems out of it lately." Fishlegs offered, stating the obvious. The others agreed with him though.
"I need to start the meeting soon. Can you fetch him for me?"
Astrid noticed that their chief looked extremely tired. He had lines on his temples and wrinkles around his pale green eyes. Never before had he looked so old. Astrid could only guess he was worrying over his son. Like all of them there.
"We will find him sir." She immediately jumped into the saddle on the back of Stormfly, urging her to take to the sky. Snotlout and Fishlegs followed on Hookfang and Meatlug, deciding they would rather be out there looking for the elusive Night Fury and his rider over staying in the arena with Dagur.
The twins were still brawling, not noticing the departure of the other teens and their dragons. Dagur had a triumphant smile on his face, his teeth showing for all the world to see.
Stoick let out the millionth sigh for the day. This was indeed going to be a long day.
High up near the edge of the realm of the stars a young man dropped from the sky from the back of a great black dragon. This time he made sure to drop with precision. This time when he dropped he would let nothing sway him. He intended to enjoy the rush.
He wanted to live this moment to the fullest extent.
Gobber always used to say 'live and breathe this stuff.'
That was what Hiccup was intending to achieve.
His face was turned towards the ocean below, his locks whipping about in a frenzy as the wind surged past him as gravity pulled him down. He kept his back straight but not stiff and his arms were tucked close to his sides, reducing the drag as he dropped.
He had his eyes closed, wanting to feel the wind on his face and through his hair. It was pure and refreshing. No creatures had breathed this delicious air before. Not even the highest flying dragons made it up here.
As the euphoric boy fell he felt a shift in the air currents next to him. He peered over to see Toothless dropping beside him in perfect sync. He was smiling at the boy, his tongue released from his mouth.
The dragon had his large wings tucked close to his body, reducing the drag of the wind and leaving his progress of dropping to earth unhindered.
Hiccup gingerly extended his hand and began to stroke the dragon's nose. He was glad the action didn't cause him to unbalance himself and begin to flail. Hiccup felt a surge of confidence when he accomplished that small task. It was both exhilarating and comforting. Dropping from the edge of the sky with his best friend in the whole world felt like stepping away from the trouble reality brought and falling into the realms of dreams and aspirations.
He totally forgot about the trouble brewing on his little island nation. Right now he was freedom incarnate. Right now he felt more dragon than human.
His previously closed eyes now opened wide. He peered down towards the sea, his pupils blown wide, witnessing the exhilaration within his soul purging his doubts and worries for a time.
Toothless puffed out a warm breath of air into Hiccups face, alerting him to the time.
"Yes bud," Hiccup shouted to the wind. It was indeed 'time.' His arms hooked onto the straps of his flight suit and then he snapped them out wide, catching the updrafts like a masterful Albatross.
Soon the young explorer found himself soaring through the sky in the same fashion as the mighty Night Fury. The Night Fury, a guardian of Midgard flying, beside him. They soared parallel to the wide blue waters of the ocean and skimmed along the low clouds that covered much of the sky.
"This is Amazing!" Hiccup shouted in ecstasy. He felt so elated right now that he didn't even notice other dragons as they joined along with them.
Stormfly flew above Toothless, communicating to him with a quirk of her head in hello. Toothless replied by grunting and shifting his wings in order to balance himself. The mechanical tail aiding exponentially. He would be able to catch Hiccup with ease if any trouble reared its ugly head.
"Ho Hiccup, you're flying like Toothless!" Astrid shouted above the rush of air with a massive, proud smile on her pretty face. Hiccup wanted to answer but he couldn't turn his head far enough around to regard the blonde girl, otherwise he would find himself losing his balance. Instead he gave her a thumbs up with his left hand.
Hiccup noticed Meatlug and Fishlegs flying below him, able to keep up due to the duo's relaxed gliding.
Fishlegs was looking at Hiccup with awe on his face. Similarly the Brunette heard Snotlout whining about 'show offs' somewhere nearby but paid him no heed.
It seemed that hardly any time had passed before Hiccup noticed that they were nearing the mountains of Berk.
Toothless didn't have to wait for Hiccup to ask for him before he sped up and allowed Hiccup to alight onto his back. Once Hiccup had clipped himself in Toothless did a 180 degree turn by first pointing his body down, turning and thrusting his wings out and flying back towards the village like an arrow.
Hiccup noticed that the others had already landed within the village square by the time Hiccup and Toothless flew in. Many people were watching once they landed.
Hiccup jumped away from the saddle and immediately began to tuck in the leather wings of his flight suit. He seemed to ignore the people around him, but he listened to his dragon humming in amusement.
He couldn't ignore the shout of his father over the gush of voices.
Stoic thundered over looking a little frazzled but relieved to see his son stood there. "Hiccup," once he reached him he grasped his son gently but firmly around the forearm and tugged him towards the direction of the great hall.
Hiccup then realised he indeed had somewhere to go that morning, but the memory of it completely slipped by him.
"Oh Gods dad, I'm so sorry-"
"No excuses son, we have a place to be right now!" His father interjected shortly. He sounded more worried that angry which puzzled Hiccup somewhat. "We have kept the clans waiting long enough. Our presence is needed immediately."
Stoic pulled Hiccup into the great hall and then stopped in front of Toothless who had followed faithfully behind.
"I'm sorry Toothless but can you wait outside?" Stoic asked the black dragon. Toothless paused mid step, looking at the man with a confused expression. Stoic brought Hiccup round to face his dragon.
"Sorry bud, he is right." He stroked the worried beast's nose in an apologetic manner. Toothless seemed more upset by this short parting than normal and Hiccup really didn't want to part from him. "Can you wait for me here? I promise that nothing will happen, and then we can go flying again when our business is done."
Toothless regarded the small Viking, who stood there with a confident smile on his face. Toothless knew it was a mask; the boy really felt nervous and apprehensive about the meeting that was about to take place. The boy was surely growing. He had put on a little more muscle over the couple of years since they met and he had gained height. His hair was slightly longer and his bearing was more confident. Toothless was proud that his rider was rising above his previous shortcomings.
Toothless hummed in admission, nuzzling his boy cheek to cheek. Hiccup giggled with happiness and relief.
"Come now Hiccup, we have Vikings waiting." Hiccup was pulled inside by his father. The doors slammed shut, dividing the pair from each other.
Hiccup sat in the semi darkness feeling many eyes lingering on his now rather drowsy form. These stuffy meetings did nothing for him. He would rather be out there exploring and spending every waking hour with Toothless and his friends. Anything but here, coping with the hard stares of the other clans.
The ambassadors of each clan consisted of each chief and their heir, along with a couple of trusted friends and advisors. They seated in a circular arrangement around the massive fire pit, shouting at each other over the flickering flames. Most of the shouting was directed at the Ambassadors of Berk, mainly Stoic, Gobber, Spitelout and Hiccup.
Hiccup was barely paying attention. He felt rather hungry and was craving a nice juicy slab of Yak with a side helping of smoky mackerel. For most of the meeting he Kept fingering the scale necklace he created a few days ago, feeling the comfort it brought him. It was a piece of toothlesses' protection keeping him in check. His thoughts where jostled suddenly when the shouting became even more fierce.
"…Can't even keep the heir engaged in these important matters. Howe do you deal with this, Stoic, if you can't even keep your son in line?"
Hiccup rose up, meeting the fierce stare of Norbert the Nutjob. His eyes twitched, his black irises merging cleanly with his pupils. 'Hah, that's the pot calling the kettle black! What is this nutter even doing here?' Hiccup thought with irritation. It was well known that Norbert rarely engaged in matters of politics; rather shower the room in axes and swords, spilling blood for amusement rather than actually sort anything out peacefully. He wasn't one to keep engaged in anything but violence himself.
"It may appear he isn't listening," Stoic looked at Hiccup with anger evident on his face. His mouth turned down in a deep frown, "but I assure you he is." His eyes narrowed slightly, "Aren't you, son?" He added quietly so that only the russet haired youth could hear.
"Of course I am father," he replied in a bored manner. He was listening, he just didn't show it. Many of the tribes found themselves under attack suddenly by hordes of dragons who seemed crazed and bloodthirsty. Each tribe had lost a number of their clansmen and the problem was escalating.
Even though the attacks seemed spontaneous, they seem ordered, as if they were following a certain routine. Like they were being ordered by someone.
"Keep your boy in line Stoic, we have pressing matters to attend to!" Stated the leader of the bog burglar tribe. She was a large, blonde woman who was well endowed and showed off her bust proudly for all to see. Often the eyes of most of the males in the room would linger on it, but the woman didn't seem to care.
"Right, about these attacks. What do you have to say about yourself? Can Berk honestly say they had nothing to do with the attacks on our island nations? Are you not currently training dragons for this very reason?" Mogadon the meathead pointed his accusatory fingers towards Hiccup and his father. His son, Thuggory simply nodded his head.
"That's right!"
'Oh God,' thought Hiccup with a groan, his hand joining his face. Dagur had jumped up onto the table, his axe swinging about everywhere. The collected Vikings watched him with gathering interest.
"We all know about their little dragon academy, and the fact that the son of Stoic has trained the mighty Night Fury to do his bidding. I say we kill their little pets in order to stop the chaos."
There were murmurs of agreement all around the room and Hiccup found his nerves stirring within his stomach like a witch's broth. He felt sick when he heard the uttering of the angry chiefs wanting the dragons dead.
"And that we should imprison the son of Stoic to prevent him from carrying out his evil deeds." Dagur continued.
That was it, Hiccup stood up, his face thunderous and heat glowing at the back of his throat. "Are you accusing me of attacking every single clan within the archipelago? It was you who decided to engage in unscrupulous takeover attempts on Berk; endangering myself, my friends and my father and joining forces with the Outcasts even after you signed the peace treaty." Hiccup was livid. He knew this was a desperate attempt to exempt revenge on him for Hiccup putting a stop to his plans.
"That's all in the past," Dagur exclaimed calmly. "I moved on. However this isn't about me. Where have you been Hiccup? I have heard rumours that you have been acting strangely lately, as if you were seeking the company of dragons over people."
Hiccup started. His eyes blown wide and his breath coming in quick. This wasn't good. What if the clans thought he was communicating with the dragons and forging alliances against the Vikings?
"I was simply spending time with Toothless. I invented this," he snapped out his flight suit to show it to the leering eyes, "I have simply been testing out my new inventions. That's all."
"I can vouch for him." Said Gobber. "When he isn't working on orders in the forge he is working on his personal projects, usually involving his dragon."
"How can we believe you though," Mogadon muttered angrily. "You could all be against us."
"That's ridiculous," boomed Stoic, "Berk against every clan of the archipelago? That's folly."
"He's right,'" said big boobied Bertha. "Even I can see the inconsistencies in this story. We all know Hiccup rides a Night Fury," there were nods all around, "no Night Fury has entered the air around my island. Many of the attacks come from dragons that live within the sea. Thunderdrums, Seashocker dragons, Skulldrons and the odd Sharkworms. I understand that no Viking on Berk has trained any of the species listed here."
"Father, that bodes true for the attacks on the Meathead islands. No Night Fury has been spotted during the raids." Thuggory put in helpfully. His father nodded to his son.
"Aye, we need more evidence before we condemn Berk."
Hiccup was glad that the tides on their situation seemed to be changing for the better. That was until he felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.
Everyone jumped when they heard great thundering bangs on the doors of the great hall. Loud roars sounded from the other side and Hiccup knew it was Toothless wanting to enter. Sure enough the black dragon managed to open the heavily locked doors with great strength. He ran towards Hiccup, but before he could get there Hiccup felt a presence sat beside him.
"This is cosy, having everyone here for a nice chat about dubious events." The voice was silky and easily recognisable to Hiccup.
He took a few steps back, away from the black and green clad figure seated comfily on a wooden chair, his legs resting up on the stone edge of the fire pit. The man was clean shaven with bright silver eyes and jet black hair that was streaked with silver and was well groomed silky smooth to look at. His face was ridiculously handsome but he looked frightening. It was something about the aura that surrounded him. He exuded danger.
"Who are you," Dagur foolishly spoke out without a thought of the consequences.
The man ignored him; instead he looked at the quivering form of the russet haired boy who was still making tiny steps away from him.
"You're him, the voice!" Hiccup said in a small, slow voice.
"Oh so you do recognise me!" The man laughed happily. "But do you know who I am?" His piercing silver eyes remained trained on the small boy, grounding him to the spot. Hiccup forgot about Toothless who was also rooted to the spot a few yards away.
Hiccup shook his head, 'no.'
"I'm rather sad to hear that."
Hiccup noted that no one was moving, only watching. No one seemed to breathe. Even Dagur who was usually rambunctious and rash kept to where he stood.
Suddenly the figure stood and walked over to Hiccup. Hiccup began to panic as the man neared. He didn't like this person, he was scary and mysterious. There was something evil about him.
"Come now Hiccup, I am a fellow God, surely you can talk to me civilly?" He stood close to Hiccup, his face inches from the frightened boy. The figure was hunched over as he stood about a head and a half taller.
"What do you mean, fellow God?" Hiccup asked. His heart was beating like a hunted rabbit but he wouldn't allow his nerves to overcome his innate ability to talk and ask questions.
"Well, I say God but it's more like you are becoming one. You are still mortal after all." He picked Hiccup up under his armpits and hoisted him up high, much to the shock of the boy in question. "A new God is a rare and exciting thing. I simply could not stop myself from playing with you and your little Viking friends."
"Put me down will you." Hiccup shrieked. He clutched the strange man's wrists in an attempt to wrench himself free but the man's grip was tight and beginning to hurt. Toothless roared, seeing his friend in distress, however the black dragon could not move to save him.
"I am Loki, God of Mischief!" The man, Loki, laughed a terrible, eerie cackle that sent nervous shards to pierce the skin of every mortal creature in the room. Hiccup was shuddering like a baby lamb facing a wolf.
"I have come to collect you, Dragon God!"
Is this what you expected? Please tell me your thoughts and feelings as I love to hear from you guys.