A/N: Wow. I did NOT expect that amount of feedback. Thanks for everyone who reviewed! It seems there is a lot of concern about our favourite feline...so here's the answer...
-o-
Twenty: Close to Home
"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice was concerned enough to break through the fog of absolute panic that swathed him as he stared at Toothless's collar. "What's wrong?"
"Toothless…" he breathed. "No no no no no…she can't have…"
"What…?"
"This person has sent him his cat's collar," Dagur said calmly, handing the sheet to Astrid. "And the letter indicates it wasn't the first letter…"
"I got one yesterday but I didn't have a chance to see you yesterday and I got wrapped up in work and then this scandal nonsense first happened and we had to sort it out and the other one is home and…"
"And calm down," Dagur said evenly, his hand resting reassuringly on the man's tense shoulder. "I'm not blaming you. I just wanted you to let me know as soon as possible…because this sounds like your ex-girlfriend…"
"This is Bella alright…" Hiccup murmured and fumbled in his pocket for his phone, fingers shaking almost too much to unlock it. In fact his fingers were sweating too much for his thumbprint to register so he had to punch in his code…and then he flipped through his favourites and stabbed the number labelled DAD.
"Will someone explain what is happening?" Heather asked, walking forward through the now-empty Press Conference Room as Hiccup frantically redialled.
"Pick up, pick up…" he mumbled but was diverted to Voicemail once more. "Damnation. He's probably in one of those stupid Council Meetings and because it's me, he's letting it go to Voicemail. He doesn't think it's urgent!"
"Someone-who he thinks is Bella-has sent Hiccup a threatening letter and Toothless's collar…"
"And who is Toothless?" the red-haired man asked. Hiccup inspected him: he topped Hiccup by a solid half a head and was powerfully but athletically built. His red hair was cut short and swept off the man's face and his light hazel eyes were thoughtful. His voice was deep and serious.
"Throk Kriger, Astrid's lawyer," Heather explained as Hiccup frowned.
"My cat," Hiccup explained. "My best buddy, my constant companion…Bella threatened him when I moved out…well, she hated him anyway the feeling was definitely mutual. He used to poo on her laundry as a matter of course…meaning I had to do it again… She threatened to kill him and so I moved him back in with Dad…"
"Is he a pedigree? A valuable animal?" Throk asked sternly.
"He's my best friend!" Hiccup protested, his tone angry.
"Apart from the fact I'm your best friend…he's your best feline friend…" Astrid commented, "you cannot put a price on a person's beloved pet, Throk. It's a very personal, very cruel attack."
"I can't get through to Dad to check he's okay," Hiccup told him frantically.
"Wouldn't he have called you if he had gone missing?" Heather asked. "This has come through the normal mail so it had to be posted yesterday…"
"The postmark reads 10:05, yesterday's date, BERK," Dagur commented. "So he would have been missing for over twenty-four hours. I'm certain he would have informed you if he was MIA."
"Except he's a feisty cat and sometimes goes out prowling," Hiccup reported glumly.
"I can put a call through to the Mayor's Office to call you back," Heather offered but Hiccup shook his head reluctantly, his eyes ashamed.
"I can't interrupt vital Council business because my psycho ex may have killed my cat," he murmured.
"Yes, you can," Astrid urged him but he looked up stubbornly.
"No, I can't," he said firmly. "My father is the Mayor of Berk, the man who runs the island…and he can't be ashamed by his pathetic son who is phoning up because he's worried about a cat!" He stood abruptly, his face angry. "So I will have to go and find him myself."
"Wait," Throk said sternly. "I need the letter and the envelope. I can get my investigators to look into this-and find out who sent the threat."
"Threats," Hiccup corrected him sharply. "I got one yesterday. And the sender is Arabella Harsem, my former girlfriend. Prove she sent them."
"If that is the case, my man will find the evidence," Throk reassured him. "And then we can get a restraining order against her-as well as passing the evidence on to the police."
"Arabella is small and blonde and looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth," Hiccup told him bluntly. "She'll blink her big blue eyes and sniff and look tearful and claim it was all a horrible mistake and that I sent the letters to myself to try to get at her because I'm a horrible person."
There was a pause as all the listeners stared at the young man, hearing the echo not of the kind, decent man who stood before them but of the words of a woman who had clearly scarred him deeply. Astrid gently stood and walked to him, pulling him round to face him and resting her hands on his shoulders.
"Hiccup-you're a number of things…sassy, incredibly smart, decent, kind, funny, a bit dorky…but horrible isn't one of them," she assured him gently. He shook his head despondently. "And you can't let someone persuade you that you're something you're not."
His eyes flicked up and there was a brief silent accusation there: but that's what we're doing right now.
"I need to go to Berk," he said quietly and she nodded.
"I've got training," she sighed. "The She-Devils are second in the league and only a point behind us. If I miss training…" He swallowed.
"I know-you have to make sure you do your job," he said hollowly. "But I have to do mine. I'm going to Berk."
"And I'll come with you," Dagur assured him as Heather's eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you sure?" she asked her brother in a low voice and Dagur nodded.
"Someone needs to go and he's my brother," he said firmly, his fist clenched tightly. "I'll be okay, sis. He can keep an eye on me."
"Then you'll need this," Heather said trying her attention to Hiccup. She handed him a card. "It's prepaid-you just need to sign it to activate it. It should cover you for any expenses on the trip." Nodding, Hiccup smiled.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'll phone ahead and reserve your tickets and seats," Heather promised. "Dagur-can you drive him to the Airport?" The former soldier grinned and grabbed Hiccup's arm.
"You're with me, brother," he smiled as Hiccup resisted, looking over at Astrid.
"Are you sure…?" he murmured hesitantly and she smiled then reached up and kissed him.
"Go," she told him. "I'll be waiting for you."
And then he turned and sprinted after Dagur towards the car park as the soccer star sighed.
"Find out everything you can about Bella Harsem," she said. "And make her stop. Because if she doesn't, she'll destroy him."
oOo
Once again, passing through the Airport was smooth and painless, everything already arranged by Heather. The two men were Priority Boarded and sat at the front, with Hiccup staring out of the window at the grey tarmac, silently counting down the minutes until they took off. But as he sat there, he became aware that Dagur was tense at his side, his hands clamped on the handsets, his eyes closed and murmuring a simple mantra:
"I am the sea, calm and wide
My sense of calm comes from the inside…"
"Dagur-are you okay?" he asked, pulling his attention back to his travelling companion and the man nodded.
"Of course," he said with a small, forced laugh. "I'm just fine and dandy. Yup. Never been better. Nothing wrong with me at all. Not even slightly. At all. Even a little. I'm just great…" Arching an eyebrow, Hiccup looked cynical.
"Really?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, I have no problem flying whatsoever. I am the sea, calm and wide, my sense of calm comes from the inside…"
"Dagur-it's okay," Hiccup reassured him. "Flying is the safest form of mass transport. The risks of dying in a plane crash are about one in eleven million-compared to one in five thousand for dying in a car crash."
"Or one in five if Astrid is driving," Dagur said in a slightly manic voice.
"I'd say one in three for Astrid," Hiccup acknowledged. "This aircraft is extremely safe-it's one of our best sellers…and has a safety record of less than one event for every nine million flight hours, one of the best in the world…"
"By event, you mean crash," Dagur said tightly.
"But not all of those are fatal…and not all are aircraft related," Hiccup explained calmly, staring into Dagur's eyes, which were definitely panicked. "Lightning strikes can bring an aircraft down like the Thundersnow storm in Devastating Winter 1997-9…and we lost one of ours when Eyjafjallajokull erupted and the engine seized in the ash cloud in 2010. These led to new flight protocols which have made the flight experience even safer. The airline industry-and the aerospace industry-are the business with the best record for learning from events and making sure that every loss, every problem leads to improvements if safety for the people in their care."
"Fasten seatbelts for takeoff," the voice came over the intercom. "Please pay attention to the screens for the safety briefing…"
"Dagur-this aircraft is very safe," Hiccup said as they began to taxi. "it seats fifty four people, cabin crew two and and flight crew two. There are two Rolls Royce turbofan engines, wingspan ninety-seven feet, cruising speed 713 kilometres an hour and a maximum range of 2100 kilometres. I know the current design team and they are very reliable and we produce a great aircraft." Dagur's hand clamped on his as they turned at the end of the taxiway, the cabin crew strapping themselves into their seats as the engine rose to a roar and they accelerated down he runway. Calmly, Hiccup talked them through the take-off, the early part of the flight and reassured Dagur throughout the entire process until they were cruising. And finally Dagur relaxed.
"Can I have a drink?" the former soldier asked, his voice more normal as they were asked if they wanted refreshments. The air stewardess smiled and went to fetch him a whiskey and peanuts as Hiccup just accepted a cola and a lox and dill mayo ciabatta. And then the former soldier stared at his friend. "You know you were awesome, right?" he checked and Hiccup's eyes widened.
"I was just trying to reassure you…" he began but Dagur drained his whiskey and smiled, asking for another.
"Hiccup-I am scared of flying because our transport was shot down and we crashed in Afghanistan," he revealed. "And I associate flying with ending up in a firefight or losing friends…but you calmed me."
"This was why Heather was concerned…" Hiccup realised and sighed. "You should've said. I could have come on my own…"
"And stewed on your own doubts and worries?" Dagur challenged him. "You are my friend and I'm prepared to face my fears to be here for you…and you have already been there for me when I needed you." His voice turned emotional. "You're a true friend…" And he flung his arms around Hiccup in a huge hug.
"Dagur!" Hiccup yelped and then gave up. The man was tactile and affectionate, as he had explained…and though they were fresh from a press conference where they had claimed there was nothing between them, he knew they were chancing it with the hug…though at 28000 feet, the chances of a paparazzi picture were relatively small. Though I wouldn't put it past Bella to train an evil seagull to take pictures of us in a compromising hug… Hiccup thought sourly, though he returned the hug because it was easier than upsetting Dagur. Sensing his discomfort, Dagur quickly released him but there was gratitude in his eyes and his scarred face was lit by a huge grin as he relaxed and spent the rest of the flight much more calm.
As they travelled between the islands-even through a little turbulence-Dagur kept up a cheerful conversation about some of his missions, recalling his old friends and their antics. And as he listened, Hiccup recalled that all these people that his friend spoke of with real affection and nostalgia were dead. And the only outward sign was the slight hesitation in his voice when he recalled Sparky, his closest friend whose death had been the hardest. But it was clear the stories helped distract Dagur and he kept up the chat all the way through the descent, landing and taxi all the way to the Terminal…though assisted by several more whiskies. And so, when they finally disembarked, Dagur was cheerful, slurred and quite clingy.
The moment they landed, he tried his phone again but Stoick's was still going direct to voicemail…but now he was home on Berk and calmed by being at home and having to deal with Dagur, he could think more clearly. So he stared at the screen and thumbed in another number. This time it was answered.
"Gobber's Garage and Autoshop," a heavily accented voice growled, the broad Scottish accent mangling the words in an achingly familiar way. Hiccup felt a little of the tension ease from his shoulders.
"Gobber! It's me…"
"Hiccup? Where are you, laddie? Is that Astrid lass treating you well?" The man's voice was warm with genuine concern, causing Hiccup's mouth to stretch in a smile.
"I'm at the airport," he said. "Astrid is great…but Bella has been causing some problems. Look-is Dad okay? I've been phoning him and I can't get through…"
"I'm not surprised," Gobber said with a sigh. "He's on his way to Bog for that annual Mayors' Meeting. He welcomed six other Mayors here before they set out a couple of hours ago and they have two more stops to collect more attendees before they make it to Bugla. His phone will be off all day. Why?"
"Is Toothless okay?" he asked worriedly. "I guess you're feeding him?"
"Well…yes…but he hasn't touched his food from yesterday and I wonder if he is out hunting…" Gobber said as Hiccup feel his heart clench in worry.
"Bella sent me his collar, Gobber," he said tonelessly and there was an audible intake of breath.
"I'll meet you at the house," Gobber said seriously. "Drive safe, laddie. You dinna want tae let that Bella rattle yer and crash on the way. That helps no one."
"I'll be careful," Hiccup promised as Gobber rang off. Then he sighed as Dagur emerged from the bathroom, grinning.
"Okay, brother-let's go and find your cat," he said cheerfully.
To Hiccup's relief, Heather had hired him a car and once he had signed the papers, presented his new license and the card, eyes widening as he realised it was loaded with three thousand dollars and hiring the car barely made a dent in the balance. So they piled into the modest car Heather had ordered and Hiccup drove out of the airport and put his foot down, heading towards town. Dagur was still chatting and waving at the locals as Hiccup wove his way through the town and sped up the hill towards the upper town and Night Fury Rise, where his family had lived for generations.
The moment he killed the engine, he was out, fumbling at his keys and opening the front door. There was no such thing as a burglar alarm on Berk because Viking tradition dictated you could go out looking for your burglar with an axe and reclaim your goods any way you wanted. Only outsiders tried house break-ins on Berk and then only once before they were usually handed into the police, terrified for their lives and swearing a life of lawfulness on pain of being axed to death.
"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup's voice echoed through the empty house, the doors closed and curtains drawn. "Toothless!"
There was no answering mew and Hiccup knew his cat would always come if he could. He sped along the hall and into the kitchen, his steps echoing on the tiled floor, green gaze falling on an overflowing bowl of cat food, the top dried and showing it had been untouched for a decent while. The bowl was partly empty and Hiccup crouched down, glancing over at the empty litter tray and the cat flap in the back door. Dagur walked in after him.
"Any sign of the fuzzball?" he asked cheerfully as Hiccup shook his head.
"He hasn't touched this food for over twenty-four hours," he sighed, getting to his feet. "I need to check in the garden." And he unlocked the back door and walked out. Dagur followed him-and gaped.
There was a wide patio in cream stone, beautifully laid with an extendable canopy and a built in barbecue, large pots with hardy plants perched on the far corners-but beyond was a huge lawn with large bushes and beyond, a copse that merged into tangled brambles and the first fingers of the forest that swept back from he town. It was a perfect place for a small cat to go prowling…but Hiccup knew Toothless always came home. Unless he couldn't
Head up and eyes scanning the space, Hiccup headed for the forest, yelling as he went. "TOOTHLESS? TOOTHLESS! TOOTHLESS!" Every few steps, he paused and listened, knowing his cat would come for him, would call him if he had any strength left in his body. Silently, Dagur walked up behind him.
"What colour is he?" he asked Hiccup and the auburn-haired man sighed.
"All black and really fluffy," he explained. "He has the most bright green eyes and he's got cattitude in spades." Dagur nodded, his keen eyes scanning the undergrowth's they spread out, walking slowly into the edge of the forest…and then a little deeper in. Hiccup kept calling until his throat was hoarse and the sun went in. Gobber's voice could be heard, yelling as well and Hiccup paused, going over to hug his Godfather before resuming his determined search. Something in his heart told him Toothless was alive…but for how long in the cold and wet? He could be poisoned, hurt, unable to move…anything. It was growing colder and starting to drizzle when Hiccup felt his spirits plummet. The anxiety that had been bubbling in his stomach grew and he stopped, wondering if he would ever see his cat again.
"Please, bud…don't leave me," he murmured quietly. "Toothless…just give me a sign bud. Toothless…"
There was the faintest of meows, drifting uncertainly from deeper in the forest. But for Hiccup, it was enough. His head snapped up and he stared in the direction of the noise.
"Toothless?"
It was repeated, faint and uncertain.
"This way!" Dagur said, heading rapidly in the direction with Hiccup running after him. His suit was stained with mud on the trousers and his boots were soaking but he ran forward, jumping through the brambles and hearing the meow a little louder. And then they emerged into a small damp clearing and found a cage, heavy and locked-with a limp black shape inside.
"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted and dived forward, landing on his knees, his fingers clamped around the bars. The limp, damp shape managed a faint meow, his chest rising and falling with effort. "Oh bud…what happened…?"
"Someone trapped him," Dagur said gravely, his expert eyes reading the truth. "He was lured here…and then left to die. There's no food or water in that cage…" Hiccup's eyes narrowed as he saw the earth round the door was scratched and there was mud and blood on Toothless's small paws. The little cat had been trying to get out of the cage desperately. Dexterous fingers unlatched the locks and the door swung up, allowing the man to reach in and tenderly grasp the little cat, seeing sunken eyes and a wound across his shoulder. There was fur ripped out around his neck where someone had snatched off his collar-and the young engineer realised the cat would have wounded the person who trapped him and stole his collar. But he was more concerned-because Toothless's ears and paws felt very cold and his mouth looked dry.
"Let's get you home, bud," he murmured, tucking the cat protectively inside his coat. "We'll get you back to the house and make sure you get food and water. And then you're coming with me." Toothless looked up with his big green eyes and it was hard not to imagine there was relief in the gaze. "I'm not leaving you here for Bella to try again. I promised to protect you and one day, I have a horrible suspicion you're gonna get a crack at her once more." He nuzzled the little cat. "I can't imagine losing you, bud. But today, I'm just glad you're okay."
