Savage walked in the streets of Berk, searching for Hiccup. Stoick said he hadn't come back for the night and suggested he was in the forge, but upon reaching the forge, Hiccup was nowhere to be seen. Though he could tell he didn't leave too long ago by the warmth.
He sighed in frustration, kicking the dirt angrily. He had important matters to tell him about and not to mention his eavesdropping the night before. Savage was a little unsure if telling him would work, because who would believe that someone dead was back to life. It was insane, yes, but also a chance he would take. He knew what consequences waited for him if he didn't warn someone.
The night before, when he had warned Stoick about the Berserkers, he also warned him about Mildew. He told him everything. From the time Mildew allied with Alvin to get Hiccup back to their island and back to the day Hiccup made peace with them.
Savage traveled the streets in hurry, asking every Viking he passed for their acting chief. He was nowhere to be found, and neither were the teens.
"You ready bud?" Toothless growled in acknowledgement. They were closing in on the sea stacks as Hiccup pulled the lever, unattached his leg and laid flat on the saddle with his hand holding onto the handles of the saddle. They sped up towards the sea stacks, Hiccup pulling from left to right as small ones blocked their path, and flew up and down a couple of times to get used to the method. As they were a couple of meters away from the sea stacks, Hiccup sat up and flicked the tail with his right boot while attaching his prosthetic back into the stirrup along with changing the handle to a more appropriate one. He yelled out in joy as the two steered left and right past the sea stacks and up in the air as their bath was blocked.
"IT WORKED!" Hiccup yelled, smiling widely as Toothless stopped flying, letting the two fall backwards happily. He turned them back around as the water came in sight, and the two made their way towards their friends. "Man, why didn't I make this earlier," Hiccup grinned, patting Toothless's head as they closed up on their friends. They slowed down and flew next to each other, enjoying the cold morning.
"You better me a saddle like that!" Snotlout pointed out, flying closer to him. Hiccup face palmed.
"Snotlout, your dragon doesn't need an extra tail," He stated, gesturing to Hookfang's tail.
"Then you better make me a better one," Hiccup rolled his eyes at him, but couldn't keep his grin from showing. Hiccup was about to open his mouth but Fishlegs came beside him and asked. "Can you show me how it works?" Hiccup nodded and motioned for them to follow him towards the woods. They landed in raven point a couple of seconds later where Hiccup sat on the saddle as the others dismounted theirs and crowded around him.
"Okay so this," Hiccup pointed down at his right strap where he pressed his boot back and forth. He looked behind him to see the tail reacting a little. "This is my reserve controller of the tail. If something happens with my prosthetic-
"When did you get a new boot?" Tuffnut butted in. Everyone turned to look at him. "What? Just curious,"
"The old one was too small so I got myself a new one and added a few things to it," Hiccup told him.
"Told you he had changed," Tuffnut smirked, nudging his sister's shoulder. Hiccup looked at him confused.
"Changed?" Hiccup asked confused. Astrid mentally groaned. She wanted to tell him what Tuffnut meant by that, but found out it would only sound so cheesy and un-Astrid like. Tuffnut opened his mouth to comment back but Fishlegs nervously pushed some grass in his face.
"Never mind him," Fishlegs smiled nervously. "You were saying?" He gestured to his right leg.
"Right," Hiccup snapped out of the previously subject and moved back to the one he was interrupted with. "If something happens with my prosthetic, like it breaks or-
"Yeah, it breaks because of the new body weight of yours," Tuffnut smirked. Hiccup groaned, seeing Fishlegs get ready to push some more grass in his mouth.
"Okay, what do you mean?" Hiccup asked, getting tired of his friends not telling him something. He knew it was about him and that was what bugged him the most. He got irritated that his friends kept something from him when it was about him, personally too. Astrid butted in before Tuffnut could say something stupid.
"What he means is that you've changed from the three years you were gone," She explained quickly. Hiccup's tensed body relaxed as he sighed. It wasn't anything bad.
"He's still a fishbone though," Snotlout chuckled, crossing his arms. Hiccup rolled his eyes. He had always been called a fishbone by him in his younger teens, but it wasn't insulting anymore because he had gotten so used to it. Though, he was still a little uncomfortable by the insults. Astrid noticed him stiffen and walked over to Snotlout with her arms crossed.
"He's my fishbone so back off," She growled, pointing a finger at him. Snotlout brought his hands up in defense, backing away a little. "Go on," She said, gesturing to the saddle. Hiccup nodded, silently thanking her.
"As I said, if anything was to happen and I wouldn't be able to use my left leg, then I'd be able to steer Toothless with my right. Usually it would just make the tailfin change position as my prosthetic keeps it in place. Basically I can use both my legs to steer the saddle," The five nodded. Hiccup unattached his leg from the saddle so he could move better. He decided not to show them as he laid on his stomach after having seen how Ruffnut stared at him. It was sort of creeping him out.
"To get more speed, I lie back in the saddle to prevent the wind from pushing me back in the saddle and slow us down. While I do that, I have to change the handle," Hiccup showed them the handle he used as he would when he flew normal, and moved over to the one in the center of it. "It makes everything much easier," The teens thought he was finished, but he quickly added," it's also to prevent any pain in the back," They muttered agreements, holding their backs a little as they winced at the thought of when they rode their dragons with bent backs. Hiccup looked at them and secretly smiled. At least now he knew what he could make for their saddles.
Hiccup jumped off of Toothless to stretch his legs, and yawned a little. He hadn't slept in a while and it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get a nap. But he had chiefing to do.
"Hey, where's Heather?" Hiccup asked out of the blue. Not really having noticed before since she was always riding behind Astrid and never really spoke that much. They looked around themselves confused and ended up looking at Astrid.
"Don't look at me, I was helping Hiccup all night," She took her hands up defensively. "She's probably back in the village resting. It's still pretty early."
"Yeah, well I should get back to the village," Hiccup said, taking a hold of the handle to the saddle.
"Wait!" Snotlout yelled, walking over to him. "When will you start training us again in the academy?" Hiccup honestly forgot about his role in the academy, that he was the leader.
"When I'm released from being chief," Snotlout nodded, stepping away to give room for them to lift off the ground.
All of a sudden something wrapped itself around the five teens, sending them against the ground a couple of meters away. A bola had trapped them. Someone had fired a bola. Hiccup pulled out his dagger and ran over to them, only to have the dragons getting trapped in bola's one by one. He was the only left standing. A sickening laugh came from behind the trees. Hiccup squinted his eyes, seeing a shadow by the trees. He had a feeling something of this had to do with him, so he carefully dropped his dagger and pushed it back to the others with his boot.
Hiccup could hear the growls of the dragons grow as the shadow approached the daylight, but he also heard something else. He heard a muffled scream and someone kicking and trashing, making more twigs break. Slowly he made his way towards the shadow, a little unsure.
"I wouldn't get any closer if you want your dear friend here to live," Hiccup's eyes widened. He'd recognize that voice from anywhere. No one else, but one man, had that horrifying voice that scraped in someone-s ears and sent chills down their spines. No one, but Mildew the Cantankerous, but who was he talking about? All of his friends were tied up behind him, safer than he was. Did he have allies that would ambush them if he made a move? Maybe the Outcasts tricked them. No, they wouldn't, Hiccup's mind screamed at him.
The sounds of muffled screams and calls for almost inaudible helps got louder and as soon as Mildew stepped out of his hiding spot, he felt his throat tighten.
"Heather," He breathed out, his face full of shock. Her hands were tied behind her back, wrist grabbed roughly by Mildew, and her mouth covered by a cloth. Visible tears rolled down her cheeks, reflecting the sunlight. "Let her go Mildew," Hiccup warned, standing in his spot even though he didn't want to do anything else than throw Mildew away from her. Mildew pulled out a dagger, pressing it dangerously hard against her throat. Hiccup fought the urge of screaming out at him, in fear for his friend, but he had to stay strong since he was their only hope of getting safely out of the situation.
Mildew let go of her wrist but held the dagger on her throat. He kept his eyes locked with Hiccup's, not daring to break the eye contact, and took out a bottle from his cloak. Hiccup broke eye contact and looked down at the purple bottle in his hand.
"I'll let her go on one condition," Mildew smiled, holding the bottle higher up. "Drink this and I'll let her go," He tossed the bottle to Hiccup who caught it in his right hand, staring at it unsure. Hiccup looked up at Mildew with gritted teeth but softened as he changed his focus onto Heather. She has someone back on her island that loves her. Someone who was waiting there for her. She hadn't asked for any of this.
Hiccup sighed, looking down at the bottle before removing the plug. He ignored the calls from his friends, the muffled screams of Heather, the sick laughter of Mildew and the desperate growls of the dragons. He brought the bottle up to his mouth and drank it all.