Before beginning, I just want to say that this chapter will bond Hiccup and Astrid's friendship even closer from the scene you'll read based on the title, but there won't be any kissing/Hiccstrid from those two anytime soon as they've just met, but despite that I hope you guys will like this chapter.
Also a quick thanks to BrawlerGamer, MrsMagnusB, and fs440(Guest) for reviewing on the previous chapter!
Right, with that out of the way, let's begin this chapter!
The Night Fury that stood before them down below eyed them with a curious face, unable to tell whether it was glaring or if it was just wondering about the two. When Hiccup realized they were spotted, he thought that perhaps it would've made a move against them.
Surprisingly, it didn't.
Instead it moved a little closer and just stood there, gazing at both of them with a tilted head.
Astrid leaned in a little bit closer. "It's… not attacking?" she asked. "...Maybe we should strike and take it out while we can. Eventually it will-"
"Wait." interrupted Hiccup, placing his hand on her shoulder as he pulled her back a little. "Maybe it's not hostile to us. It may be a Dragon, but perhaps it's not the same like that Nightmare we saw."
"They're all the same, Hiccup." she replied. "There isn't any difference between the Dragons aside the fact that-"
"Maybe not this one." he said, shaking his head. "Do you find it strange that it hasn't attacked us by now? The book said Dragons are kill on sight for Vikings, and Vikings kill on sight for Dragons. But what if this were not the case?"
Hiccup stood up straight from crouching as he removed his sheathed weapon from around his waist, placing it next to Astrid before he slowly started making his way down the steep rocky hill.
"Wait. What are you doing?" she called out.
Hiccup turned his eyes towards her, giving her a wink. "Just trust me on this one, alright?"
The Night Fury's full attention was diverted on Hiccup, staring at the young Viking as he made his way down. Still it didn't give an aggressive response, but rather it kept eyeing the young man with more wonder. Usually the Vikings approached it's kind armed with weapons and armor, but this one willingly unarmed himself. Why? From this the Dragon grew a little suspicious.
Soon enough Hiccup finally made his way down into the cove, and already he was but mere yards away from the black Dragon. Closer and closer he approached it, but at one point it got into a combat ready stance and slightly growled, giving a warning to the young Viking.
Hiccup raised his hands in front of him. "Hey, it's okay." he calmly said to the Dragon. "I'm not armed. I just want to know why you are here. What is it that brought you here, Dragon?"
Eventually Hiccup was but a few feet away from the Night Fury. He got closer and closer until the Dragon had decided to back off a little bit before it began making its way near the pond in the center of the cove, giving a pointing motion with its right front paw.
He arched a brow at the black Dragon, but nonetheless followed it towards the pond. Upon nearing it and seeing what it was gesturing at, he saw that there were shadows moving in the water, though he didn't know what it was at first. Upon further and closer inspection however, Hiccup could make out the silhouettes of many fish in the water.
The Dragon was hungry.
He turned to face the Night Fury. "Is that what you want? Are you hungry for fish?"
The Dragon made a motion with its tongue, obviously indicating that it was indeed hungry. Hiccup gave a nod at it and turned his eyes back into the water. "Alright, I'll try to get something for you to eat."
He proceeded to unlatched his cloak from his shoulders, allowing it to fall freely to the ground as he made his way into the water with caution, stopping until the water level was at least up to his knees.
Looking down into the pond he could see the fish more clearly. They flowed around the pond like a great swarm of Dragons, and some of them were even swimming around Hiccup's ankles. He knew that if he messed this up once, then the fish would just go swimming away from him at a fast speed.
The young Viking pulled up his sleeves from his brown cloth tunic, ensuring to himself that he would get a firm grip on one of them before the rest of them went off. Fortunately he spotted a few salmon fish that were swimming in front of him, and it almost seemed as if they were looking up at him in interest.
He leaned forward as slowly as he could without alarming them. His eyes set focus on one of them. He then quietly crouched forward with his arms out, and he moved his hands closer as they entered the water. It was then that he rushed forward at the fish as fast he could and then…
He lunged out of the pond as fast as he could - with something in his hands. As he looked down, he saw a fish flapping and flopping around in his hands, though eventually it became limp and lifeless. Quite the luck for him.
"Alright." he sighed, breathing somewhat quickly. "I got what you wanted!" he called out to the Dragon.
The Night Fury's eyes widened as it rushed towards Hiccup at full speed before stopping a couple of feet in front of the young Viking, and then it sat down in front of him.
"Here you go, Dragon." he said, raising the salmon he had in his hands towards the Night Fury.
The black Dragon approached slowly, and as it did its mouth opened widely which Hiccup had immediately found very intriguing, because all he saw in the reptile's mouth were it's gums. Didn't all Dragons have teeth?
"Huh… you're toothless. Didn't you previously have-?"
Suddenly the Dragon's teeth extracted from its gums, and Hiccup nearly jumped back startled. It took the fish from Hiccup's hands and violently it began munching on it like a wolf.
"Teeth." finished Hiccup.
The Night Fury slurped it's lips, turning it's gaze back onto Hiccup. He advanced onto the young Viking, and Hiccup backed up from the Dragon, though he would drop on his rear and fall to the ground, eventually being corned up to boulder.
"What? I- I don't have anymore." he said with a choked voice to the Dragon.
In response, the Dragon unexpectedly started to gag, and from its mouth it barfed out one half of the fish in Hiccup's lap, and the Viking gave a disgusted expression. "Eugh. Eww…"
He stared at the Dragon with disgust, but quickly he tried to hide his expression. He noticed that it's eyes were exchanging it's gaze between him and the half of the salmon it barfed out. At first Hiccup didn't understand what it was trying to say, but then he got the message clearly and he nearly gagged.
It wanted him to eat it.
Hiccup hesitantly picked up the slimy remain and slowly neared it to his mouth, though he didn't bite into it yet. He sniffed it and looked back at the Night Fury, and it gave a motion which to Hiccup was; 'Eat it.' With a strong stomach mustered up he opened his mouth and bit off a part of the fish, particularly from the skin as he wanted to eat as less as he could.
With his mouth full he gestured to the Dragon that he did as it asked him. "Mrph mrrllll." he murmured, but he wasn't done yet. The reptile then gave a gulping motion, which meant that Hiccup had to swallow it. This disgusted him even further, but with the will and strong stomach he had - he swallowed it, but not without nearly gagging.
He splurted from the vomiting taste, but the Dragon still looked at Hiccup with the same look. He then gave a quick smile at the Night Fury, and the reptile squinted it's eyes at Hiccup's grin.
A sudden smile started to show on the black Dragon as it started to get bigger and bigger, and soon enough a wide and cute smile was expressed on its face. Astrid who sat from above the cliff noticed this, and she immediately became amazed. She never saw a Dragon smile.
Hiccup was now intrigued with the creature. He wondered if he could give the Dragon a pat, and slowly he began reaching his hand out closer and closer to the Night Fury's head and then… and then in response it gave a quick growl before it ran off.
Hiccup gave a confused expression. "What the Thor was that?" he asked himself, followed by a gag. "Oh gods… I think I am going to be sick though..."
…
Dusk had fallen over Berk, and it rained lightly upon Hiccup and Astrid as they proceeded to the Great Hall where they expected a lot of food. A large feast had been held for all of Berk, and the villagers from all around were attending it as the day had marked Bork's birthday.
Making their way into the Great Hall, the sound of the doors opening wide caused many eyes to suddenly fall upon Hiccup and Astrid. Sure the two young Vikings were wet from the rain, but the villagers did not recognize Hiccup.
"Hey! Who is he?" one called out.
"I dunno. Never seen 'em before! another replied. "Is he from here?"
Astrid gave a grunted sigh, placing a hand on Hiccup to continue forward. "Just keep walking. Some Vikings around here can be really weird and curious." she whispered. "Also, we'll talk about the Dragon later…"
The two were fortunate to make out their friends sitting at a table near the Chief's throne, and happily Snotlout and the group waved to them.
"Welcome, guys!" he said with a hearty chuckle. "Please, come sit! Eat, drink!"
Hiccup and Astrid had no problem, and happily they went over to sit with the others who were feasting on meat and fish and stew, as well as drinking ale from wooden mugs - though for Hiccup, he had had enough that day with consuming fish and would likely vomit upon taking another bite from one of them.
Taking their seats, the two ate calmly and lightly at whatever was sitting on their plates, mostly chicken and yak. Though Hiccup drank somewhat heavily on the ale, at least not to the point where he would go tipsy and his mug going empty on the first shot.
"So…" began Snotlout. "Any luck finding that Night Fury? Fishlegs and the Twins told me everything about it."
Hiccup and Astrid's eyes widened. They looked at each other for a quick moment and then glanced back at Snotlout, shaking their heads in a 'no' before turning back to their plates.
"Huh. Shame." the Heir replied, but he shrugged it off and continued eating at his food.
Silence followed at the table, though the distant chatter from around the Great Hall filled in that silence - so, Hiccup gave a shrug to himself and started a discussion.
"So, any news?" he asked. "Does Stoick still believe Ivar is out there?"
"Not a bit." Snotlout sighed. "I even had Gobber back me up yesterday in convincing him of hearing the truth on Ivar's existence. His arrogance hasn't been on a scale like this before. He confuses wisdom and common sense in saying which is which… I sure hope his arrogance doesn't cost us."
"Did anything else happen after that?" asked Astrid.
"No, all he kept saying after he finished was; 'There is no Ivar the Boneless.' It's almost as if there's nothing that I can do."
"Hmm… what if I tried to convince him?" asked Hiccup.
Snotlout shook his head, refusing him to do so. "Don't. He'd probably smack you or throw you into a cell for days. I doubt there's much you can do by this point. Unless he had physical proof shown, he'd probably then believe it. Hel, if his son or wife were still alive then he would not deny their words."
"Maybe so." nodded Hiccup. "But there has to be at least some way we can prepare. If the Chief won't believe us, somebody has to. Otherwise, we'll stand no chance against Ivar."
"Not unless we have something to say about that." Tuffnut replied dramatically. "I'll make his arms boneless if he tries to take Berk, and I'll-!"
Snotlout slammed his hand against the table. "Tuffnut!"
"Oh. Uhh… woops." he said, clearing his throat before he went off topic with Ruffnut.
"Is he… always like that?" asked Hiccup, and in response Snotlout nodded.
"I'm afraid so. The Twins are pretty weird among our village, but Tuffnut is the… weirdest. The two also like to headbutt their helmets together, and I will say - it seems pretty weird on its own as well-"
Suddenly a voice would interrupt Snotlout as well as everyone in the Great Hall as a man shouted; "Hey everybody! The minstrels are coming in to play! Haha!"
A large cheer immediately filled the Great Hall as a band of Viking minstrels came rushing into the center of the Hall. They had a lute, a fiddle with strings of horsehair, a drum, and a lyre. To Hiccup, he never imagined seeing such jolly attitude from Vikings.
Soon enough, the minstrels in the center began playing their instruments, and the villagers all around began clapping to the rhythm and beat of the tune that they were playing. Then, one of the minstrels started to sing.
"There was a tavern down the hill,
And from it Vikings drank their fill,
They laughed and danced and cheered with ale,
Until they sang about folktales.
One night the Chief came down to drink,
And when he entered he gave a blink,
He looked around and smelled the scent,
And from there he threw a big event,
For they drank and drank and to their likings,
The Chief yelled loudly; 'To Berk my Vikings!'
And then they went again!"
Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins cheered from the tune, and they themselves joined in the crowd as they started to dance in a drunken-like manner. Snotlout was in the center of the crowd earning cheers from the Villagers, Fishlegs was dancing in a funny way as if he were a Dwarf, getting laughs from the patrons, and the Twins danced on a long-table which got many people's attentions.
Hiccup and Astrid sat there, watching awkwardly as the four danced in the crowd as if they were drunk patrons themselves. At first, Hiccup wanted to leave the Great Hall and get some rest in his room back at Astrid's hut, though technically it was but a guest room. However, an arm then grabbed him and a smile spread on Astrid's face.
"Hiccup." she began. "Do you want to dance with me?"
"Uhh- Erm, I…" Hiccup's face began to slightly blush. He wasn't sure how to handle this situation since he didn't think himself as the lady's man. Though at the same time he didn't want to upset, so he said to her in a clear tone with a smile:
"Uh, sure I guess."
Astrid gave out a laugh of joy as she grabbed his hands with hers and they both ran to where the drunken patrons were dancing like Dwarves and jolly Vikings. They both stood somewhere in the crowd where there was space for them, and then they started to dance.
The two held on to each other, and Hiccup kept his eyes gazed upon Astrid's face as she kept her eyes on his face as well. The two were having a good old time as they danced, with their feet stomping on the ground, their hands holding on to each others waists, and their hands clapping on occasion as they jumped up into the air.
"Haha!" Astrid laughed again. "You're quite a dancer and patron, Hiccup!"
Eventually this began to draw attention. The patrons all around watched as Astrid and Hiccup danced to the minstrels' music, with the beat getting slightly faster. Even the four young Vikings stopped dancing to see the two dancing and having a fun time, and soon it all stopped.
The tune ended with the fiddle playing it's last note, and the drum making its final bang followed by the villagers cheering. Hiccup noticed that he was holding Astrid up in the air and that she held onto his shoulders, and then she willingly fell to the ground on her feet. He was having so much entertainment that he didn't entirely notice the actions he was doing, but nonetheless he felt proud.
"Haha! That lad did well!" one man called out.
"Who is he? I've never seen anyone dance like that before! Hah, he's truly a Viking, and a lady's man!" another Viking joked.
The two breathed intensely, catching their breaths as they both looked around. To Hiccup, he knew that already Berk was not bad of a place at all. It seemed he earned some respect from the villagers.
He gave himself a nod. "I'm going to like it here." he said, but not before he was met with an unexpected hug from Astrid...
…
Magnus looked down at the map that laid on a barrel as he steered the ship. Ever since they killed the guards and threw them overboard, he and Eira sailed Northwest from where they were, and Magnus had used the daylight sun to guide his direction. The map which he had was stolen by Eira from one of the guards, so both of them were fortunate.
"How far are we from Berk?" asked Eira.
Magnus looked down at the map, theorizing in his mind where they were, though he knew exactly where Berk was.
"If the winds are in our favor, then we'll reach Berk in a couple of days. That's two days at the very least, otherwise we might need to aim for five days."
Eira sighed. "Well, let's hope we can stay ahead of Ivar and his Great Heathen Army. Who knows how long it will take until they're all rallied."
Magnus immediately froze from her words. His face lit up. Did he just hear what he just heard, or was he going crazy? "The Great Heathen Army?" he asked. "But... I overheard him saying when I was imprisoned by him that he was just sending the Völsung's army to the Archipelago. He didn't-"
"That's not what I read when I snatched this off a rider who was ready to depart." she replied to him.
Magnus released the steering rod and walked hastily over to Eira who held a note in her hands. He quickly grabbed it and unrolled to read its contents. As he read it, a chill went down his spine.
...
"Horse Rider,
If you are reading this, then here is what you need to know;
A new archipelago has been discovered located North of England, which is also Northwest of Scandinavia.
It holds many inferior Tribes of Vikings, as well as the flying winged beasts that we never thought existed.
The Dragons.
With these new islands opened for the taking - it is clear that we need more than the Völsung's army to conquer these lands.
Thus, you and your fellow messenger's objectives are simple:
Ride throughout Norway and gather the Clans, then ride to Sweden and Denmark and call on our allies from there as well.
Once you've done all of that, know that you won't be finished from there.
You will then ride out to Germania beyond the Mediterranean and gather the fierce and mighty Barbarians of the Germanic Tribes in their great numbers. I am certain Odin would like to see them fight and die gloriously for him.
After that, ride Northeast to Kiev where the advanced and ingenious Slavic Tribes of the Rus' reside, and tell them that their Norse Viking brothers call for their need once more.
When you return, riches will await you for your long travels. For time has come for the Great Viking Army's return, BIGGER THAN EVER!"
-Ivar the Boneless, King of Norway and Chieftain of the Völsung Clan.
...
Magnus crumpled up the letter in his hands and threw it to the floor of the deck. He sat on a nearby barrel and covered his face in his palms, consuming his mind with thoughts.
"We need to find Hiccup soon." he said. "Otherwise all is lost…"