~H~
A Chance Encounter
Hiccup 5
Act IV
~H~
Dawn found Hiccup awake and refreshed. He'd gone to bed relatively early, and slept like a rock. If he dreamed, he had no recollection of it. Toothless had returned sometime in the night and lay curled on the balcony.
He sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes blearily. He scanned the room, from his sleeping friend and his neatly arranged possessions, to his notebook still waiting on the desk.
He got up, attaching his prosthetic with deft, mindless movements, brain still in the process of waking up. Washing his face brought the clarity and alertness that he sought in order to begin his day. He got dressed in a light blue tunic, tucking his dagger under the red sash around his waist, and considered his next move.
Ernie wouldn't be around for some time yet to take him to breakfast. He could set out on his own, but there wasn't much he had to do that he couldn't do here. The schematics for the Arendellian crossbow were on his desk, waiting for him to copy them and tinker with them. Of course he'd need a forge to bring his ideas beyond the theoretical, but even so.
There was also the notebook. Sitting on the chair, Hiccup considered the worn leather-bound book. Perhaps the crossbow designs could wait. Dragging the notebook and an inkpot closer to him, he set about putting some of his thoughts from last night in writing.
Last night had been progress, Hiccup knew. More importantly, he felt no different in the morning than he had at that time. His newfound clarity and peace, it seemed, were here to stay. He'd finally put one of his greatest issues to date to rest.
He paused in his writing, sending a small prayer to the heavens, before continuing.
Ernie found him around eight in the morning. After exchanging greetings, the two of them set out to the breakfast room.
"You look different this morning, Hiccup."
"Hm?" he wondered, turning to look at the shorter man. Ernie's eyes were looking at him curiously. "How so?"
"You're not frowning."
"I could, if it would set you at ease."
"... no, I rather prefer it like this. I was just curious."
Hiccup shrugged noncommittally. "Slept well, I suppose."
"Uh-huh." Hiccup ignored the evident disbelief in his voice, and Ernie for his part didn't continue that line of questioning.
Breakfast that morning was had solely with the princess and Kristoff. Anna beamed when she saw him, urging him to a seat and inquiring after his injuries. Hiccup humored her, answering her questions until the blond man helpfully diverted her attention, and the food started arriving.
To his surprise, Hiccup had developed quite the appreciation for the black liquid offered around at breakfast. He'd found it disgusting when he first tried it - and he still did - but he just... didn't mind as much anymore. It helped him focus, and it wasn't alcoholic.
He exchanged polite conversation with the two of them, comfortable enough in their presence not to hold back or be particularly careful with his speech, and breakfast passed pleasantly.
When he was done and excused, he went back up to get Toothless. He found his draconid companion polishing off his morning portion of what appeared to be beef, and walked next to him.
"Hey, Toothless," he said, putting a hand on the Night Fury's neck. "Seems I'm not the only one beginning to like the local cuisine."
Toothless ignored him, focused as he was on emptying his platter. When he finished and had thoroughly licked his lips, he turned to Hiccup and crooned.
"I'm good, bud, thanks for asking," Hiccup said with a smile, scratching at just the right point high on the neck that he knew Toothless enjoyed but didn't quite leave him catatonic with bliss. "How're you?"
The happy warble was more than enough answer for Hiccup, who returned it with his own chuckle.
"I figured out some things last night, bud," he said. "Important things. It's all a bit clearer, now. Thank you for being so patient with me."
It didn't matter if Toothless couldn't understand exactly what he told him. The Night Fury was plenty smart, in his own way. He pushed his snout affectionately on Hiccup's chest, leaving no doubt as to his thoughts. Hiccup hugged the dragon's head in return.
Heart to heart over, Hiccup enlisted Ernie's help in procuring the tools necessary for repairing the balcony door.
"I can have the castle carpenter come and-"
"No," Hiccup said, shaking his head at Ernie as they carried the necessary supplies back to the rooms. "I broke it, I'll fix it."
"I don't see your zeal to fix it personally. It's the man's job to do repairs like this."
"Odin's beard, Ernie. It's symbolic. Don't ruin it."
"Symbolic of what?"
"Never you mind. It's something I gotta do, yeah?"
Ernie's shrug was enough of a reply.
Simply replacing the hinges and repositioning the door would have been a simple and quick job, but Hiccup insisted on replacing the knob with a custom made one, one wide enough for Toothless to use by pressing it downwards. This way, they'd avoid breaking the door again.
By the time he was finished, it was almost noon. Hiccup stood in front of the door, which appeared brand new, a smile on his face.
"Do you feel any better?"
Hiccup scowled, aiming his glare at his aide.
"I'm having a deeply impactful personal moment here. Do you mind?"
"Can I take the tools back now?"
Hiccup waved him away. "Take them and begone."
Ernie did so, but not before snickering at him once or twice. Hiccup shook his head once the blonde Arendellian was outside. Hearing movement from where Toothless was sitting, he turned to his friend.
"What do you think, Toothless?"
The Night Fury was looking between him and the new door, head angled to the side and ear flaps raised, obviously confused.
Hiccup groaned, raising both hands upwards. "Nobody understands me!"
Toothless' curious growl made him stop the dramatics.
"Never mind, bud. Would you like to visit the gardens, today?"
Toothless did, and so they headed off after Hiccup cleaned himself up. Toothless didn't wear any of his gear and likewise Hiccup carried nothing but his hidden dagger, his notebook and a coal pencil. They settled in the gardens, Hiccup sitting on the soft grass while Toothless sniffed various flowers, badgered the gardeners for treats or watched butterflies with a fascinated look on his face.
Hiccup, under the shade of tree and with the morning breeze to keep him cool, opened his notebook on an empty page and bit the edge of his pencil. He wanted to draw something... something special. He felt on the edge of a good idea, it just needed form.
It took him some time to figure out what he wanted to do, exactly. When he did, the basic outline of the scene playing in his mind began forming on the pages, in tune with the fond smile on his lips.
"And what's this?"
The voice caught Hiccup completely by surprise as he was squinting at the page. The pencil fell out of his mouth and he almost dropped the notebook among his knees, but held onto it at the last moment, and closed it immediately.
He looked up, flustered, at the person that had startled him. Queen Elsa was snickering at his expression, her lips parted in an amused grin. She was wearing an elegant white gown. It was glinting with... ice crystals? Her own personal touch, no doubt.
"Good morning, Hiccup."
He swallowed, a little harder than he perhaps should. What was he supposed to say? Good morning. By the way, I finally managed to deal with some of my issues. I think I've figured out where we stand. I'm still not sure what I think of you or of us, but at least I can say with some degree of confidence that my dead wife doesn't affect my feelings for you.
Yeah... that was probably not the best idea.
Lacking anything better to say, he went with: "Do you enjoy sneaking up on me?"
"Your reactions tend to be quite humorous, I'll admit. I wasn't actively trying to be stealthy, though. You were just engrossed in whatever you were doing."
Hiccup grunted, returning his eyes down to the closed notebook. He patted the spot next to him on the grass, and heard the queen's irritated drawl.
"Why do I always have to wear white dresses when this happens?" she wondered to herself as she gathered her gown and lowered herself delicately to the grass, sitting next to him. "I hope it doesn't stain, or you're dealing with Anisa."
"Anisa being?"
"The woman in charge of my wardrobe."
Hiccup couldn't resist snickering at this. His gaze wandered around the peaceful gardens, still mostly empty but for them and Toothless.
"Laugh if you must," she said. "But she takes her job very seriously."
"As is proper. Gods forbid you dress yourself."
He did catch her smile on his peripheral.
"You mock, but I've noticed a distinct improvement on your overall image since you started delegating your clothing choices."
"It's nice to know you're keeping an appreciative eye on me."
She softly shook her head with a guffaw.
"What were you doing that enabled me to sneak up on you, anyway?"
Hiccup looked down at the notebook again, scratching his cheek with his free hand. He'd have to shave again soon. "Nothing important."
"Oh?" she asked, mischief evident in her tone. "is that why you're evading the question?"
Her hand entered his field of vision, closing the distance between them. She was going for the notebook! He held it up on his left hand, away from her reach as her hand followed his, ineffectually.
"Uh uh uh," he scolded. "No snatching."
She snorted in amusement, but retracted her hand. "You're just making me more curious."
"A fact I can live with."
"Give me a hint, at least?"
"You'll see when it's finished, no sooner."
The queen put a finger on her lips and hmm'd in thought. "You've checked everything of note in the gardens weeks ago. Meaning this must be a piece of inspiration. Is it a gift, or something for yourself?'
Hiccup had to admit to beeing both impressed and surprised, at least a little bit. "Err..."
"A gift, then? Who for, may I ask?"
"Hey now, stay out of my head," he said, shaking his head. He heard her melodic laughter. It seemed surprisingly fitting in this serene environment. "I suppose, yes, it's a gift. For you."
She blinked, raising a perfect eyebrow. It'd been a while since Hiccup had seen her do that, and its effect was amplified because of this. He looked away and licked his lips.
"For me?" she asked.
"Yeah. Well, sort of. It'll make sense when it's done."
"If you say so. Do you expect something in return?"
The question was innocent enough. Playful, even. Still, considering what Hiccup was planning to make, it sounded wrong. He shook his head. "No. Not for this."
She shrugged lightly, accepting his response, even if she seemed a little confused. Hiccup found it quite cute.
She sat with him for another hour and they chatted. She told him of some matter at port that had kept her form coming to breakfast and they had a light conversation about Anna, Toothless, and Ruffnut. He was very careful not to bring up anything... delicate. She was doing the same, no doubt, intentionally keeping the conversation light. Now was not the time to discuss politics, tactics, wars or treason.
At some point, she mentioned having just finished going over the funeral arrangements for the lost soldiers before beginning her rounds and running into him. With pursed lips, Hiccup asked her when the funeral was and if he could attend, but she shook her head and informed him that funerals had been held last night at three different cities outside of Arendelle, the towns of origin of the departed. Hiccup nodded, offering his condolences once more.
The mood felt rather less carefree after that, and they lapsed into a contemplative silence.
Toothless was still keeping himself busy, Elsa was right next to him, and there was nothing official going on right now. Still, Hiccup did not know what to say about the situation between them. Should he say anything, even? Was that the kind of thing one just said? He didn't think so. At least, not like this.
Even so, he couldn't deny the tension between them. He could recognize it easily, now. Elsa was right there, sitting not a few centimeters next to him. All he had to do was turn just so, lean in just a bit, and-
He shook those thoughts out of his head. Yes, he had to figure something out, but now wasn't the time.
Good thing too, because Elsa chose that moment to shift. "I should go," she said. "I need to get back to work. Thank you for your time, Hiccup."
"You needed the break," he said with a shrug as she carefully got to her feet and dusted herself off. "I was more than happy to oblige."
She smiled down at him. "You're right, that was nice. I'll see you later?"
He nodded. She did the same, before turning to walk away. He watched her go.
When she was gone, he opened the the notebook again and continued sketching.
~H~
He had lunch with Ernie, talking to the young man about his early years with his family, before heading off for a flight with Toothless, aiming to be back in time for another session of Court.
He was spinning in lazy circles around the castle, in preparation for his descent, when he noticed a figure down below, in the Courtyard, waving frantically up at him. The blond hair made him think Ernie, so he led Toothless in a downward spiral, eventually landing softly next to the young man.
Hiccup released his prosthetic, jumped down from the saddle and removed his helmet.
Ernie approached him, looking alarmed.
"What's going on?" Hiccup asked. He'd never before tried to signal him when he and Toothless were flying. Something must have happened.
"Court for today is cancelled. The Queen has sent for you. It's urgent."
Hiccup's eyebrows met his hairline. He had expected something, sure, but it still caught him by surprise.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," the young man replied, frustration evident on his posture. "But I'm to lead you to the Queen immediately."
Well, Hiccup was not one of the Queen's underlings and refused to just be fetched like a proper vassal.
"What's this about, now? Shouldn't I get changed or something, first?"
"Please, Hiccup. Just come."
Hiccup let out a sigh, before turning to Toothless and giving him a rub on the snout. "Wait here, bud. I'll see what Elsa wants and then we'll resume, yeah? Be right back."
Toothless crooned in a way Hiccup understood as agreement and rumbled away, curling around himself in a shady corner of the Courtyard.
"Lead the way," Hiccup said, turning to Ernie, even though he knew the way to Elsa's office well enough. The younger man nodded at him and headed inside, Hiccup right behind him as he tucked his helmet under his arm. Might as well see what this was about, rude summoning or no.
No less than five guards were arranged outside Elsa's office. Hiccup didn't outwardly react, but he did straighten his posture, placing the helmet more securely under his arm. He wished he'd taken Smoker on his way out.
He was announced and let inside. To his surprise, Elsa's desk was surrounded by people, most of them obviously part of the armed forces, as well as her inner council, excluding lady Gertrude.
The presence of the Commander General on Elsa's immediate right was not lost on him.
Hiccup looked at them all and they looked at him, as he approached. Elsa finally looked up at him when he came to a stop. The differences between this Elsa and the one from that morning were striking. Her hair were caught in a strict bun on the top of her head, and her expression was grave, calculating.
"You asked for me, Queen Elsa?" Hiccup said, choosing not to express his irritation at being summoned like one of her subjects. He was making concentrated effort to cut back on the political snark.
Not to mention, he was curious. Something had obviously happened, if the top brass of Arendelle all gathered together like this. The question was, what was he doing here?
Elsa nodded at him. "I did, thank you for coming on such short notice."
"Well?"
She pushed a paper across the desk, towards him. "This came a few hours ago. What do you make of it?"
Hiccup eyed the paper suspiciously, yet still reached for it and brought it to eye level with his free hand, ignoring all the stares aimed at him.
It was an after action report, as far as he could tell. His Arendellian was still sketchy, but he managed to catch the gist of the document. His eyes scanned its contents several times. It wasn't too long, but what it described was worrying.
"When did this happen?"
"Two days ago, sometime after noon, as far as we can tell."
"Is what I'm reading here right?"
"it matches reports by other teams sent to the area after the fact, at least."
That... didn't make a lot of sense. The report described finding a small village, apparently near the north-eastern border, up in flames, and failing to rescue any of the locals or the buildings from the inferno. Such a fire could not be natural or simply an accident, they said, but the scout writing the report noted that there were no signs of an army nearby, or anything to show organized enemy activity in that area. No tracks had been found beyond a few leading to and from the nearby forest, which in all probability the locals had made.
It was as if the fire that destroyed the village of Frant had just... sprung up, all by itself, or as if the villagers themselves had set it, both of which were equally unlikely.
"How can this be?"
"We don't know," Elsa said, lips pursed and fingers clasped around each other. The whitening of her knuckles betrayed the tension that her words didn't. "That's why I asked for you. Perhaps we should approach this from an angle you know better than we do."
Hiccup frowned, thinking on her words. There was only one thing he obviously knew better than all of them did. His eyes widened.
"You mean dragons?"
She nodded after a beat of hesitation. Hiccup directed his frown at the Commander General. The bald man was staring unflinchingly at him, and did not shy away from the viking's look. Hiccup fought hard to stop his expression from morphing into an outright glare. Instead, he directed his furious look back at the Queen. Did she really think so little of him, still? Was this all it took to break her trust in him?
"After all that's happened," he began, "Are you seriously accusing me of-"
"No, Chief Hiccup, that's not what I'm saying," she cut him off, before his tirade well and truly started. Hiccup forced himself to relax, before he said something else that he might regret later. He should give her the opportunity to explain.
Seeing him quieten, Elsa continued. "Of course, none of us believe that you had anything to do with this."
Hiccup did not miss the hardening of the General's expression. Obviously Elsa was lying on at least that account.
"The fact remains, however, that dragons is the least unlikely cause for this disaster. We simply do not know how else a fire so extensive and quick could break out. People literally did not have time to get out of their homes, and an arson of this caliber would have surely left evidence behind."
Hiccup absorbed that. "I know nothing of this," he said. "None of my people are even in the region, not since Ruff left, and I can guarantee that it wasn't her."
"I know," she said. She hesitated for a moment, wetting her lips. "I'm asking you for help."
Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her. True, he had offered his help to her. He had admitted that this was the only reason he stayed. But he had said this to her, personally. Not to... all these people. He trusted Elsa, he didn't trust her administration.
"And whose idea was this request?" he asked her, knowing very well she would understand his meaning.
He could see the muscles of her jaw tense. She chose to ignore his question. "As the only person we know experienced in the affairs of dragons, we'd like you to fly over to the site and look for signs that might indicate dragon presence."
Hiccup said nothing. They stared at each other for a few tense seconds, before Elsa blinked and rubbed her eyes with her left hand, letting out a soft sigh.
"Leave us," she ordered. Her voice cut through the silence of her packed office, yet no one moved. She raised her head again, glaring at the people around her. "Out," she ordered again. "All of you, out."
Finally people started to move, walking around desk, passing Hiccup and exiting the office, throwing wary glances behind them. Hiccup locked eyes with the frowning Commander General as the older man passed by him, but he did not turn to follow him with his eyes.
A minute later, they were alone. Elsa remained seated in her chair, looking down on the papers at her desk. She brought both hands to cover her face, rubbing at her eyes with the inside of her palms.
She looked... vulnerable. A part of Hiccup whispered at him that she could be faking it... but he doubted it.
"Elsa?"
She brought both hands over her hair, making sure nothing was out of place and sniffing once, before turning suddenly tired eyes at him.
"You told me you stayed for me," she told him suddenly, faster than he expected, making him blink. "You said you wanted to help me. Did you mean it?"
His mind whirled, but he felt as if he was trying to walk through mud. All he could see was her.
"I did."
"Then help me. No one knows dragons like you do. Help me explains this," she said, waving at the paper he still held.
"The General-"
"Damn the General!" she cut him off with a shout, her right hand lashing out at a poor inkpot. it flew until it met the wall, where it broke in hundreds of tiny, frozen pieces.
Elsa was glaring at him now. "This isn't about him, or about you, or about which one of you is right. Don't you see, Hiccup? This-" she waved at the papers on her desk. "This is bigger than me. Almost three dozen people were lost. The whole village burned to death. The only reason we know of it is because the smoke drew the border patrols. Innocent people, Hiccup," she said, only now did he see how much this whole thing haunted her. Her eyes, her expression, the slight shaking of her fingers, they spoke of a person barely holding back from just screaming.
"Not soldiers," she continued. "Civilians. The situation was dire before, but now it has escalated to an unprecedented level. A war with Grandland is almost unavoidable, now, unless we manage to properly explain this fire."
She slowed down, controlling her breathing better and lowering the volume of her voice. "I'm well aware of your misgivings regarding my General," she said, giving him a sharp look, one he returned with equal force. "That's why I fully expect you to pull out the moment you feel threatened. You and Toothless are fast, faster than anything I've ever seen. There shouldn't be anything out there in the mountains that could get the drop on you. Go to the site, see if any wild dragons were involved, then return. That's all I'm asking."
This was a lot to take in. Hiccup pursed his lips as he processed all that he had heard. Truly, dragon interference would have been his first guess, too, and he supposed that he couldn't blame her for turning to the only dragon expert she knew of. What would he have done if he found one of Berk's villages destroyed, down to the last man?
The thought alone made him clench his fists. Such... senseless loss of life. He could not let this go and not interfere. If he could help somehow, he would.
"I'll go," he decided, giving her a nod.
She visibly relaxed, slumping ever so slightly and releasing the breath she'd been holding. Hiccup could tell that she was teetering on the balance. She reminded him a lot of himself, near the beginning of his reign. Situations such as this truly tested a leader's mettle. And stomach.
"When?"
No time like the present. "Now." Besides, if a dragon was really responsible for this, he'd have to hurry if he hoped to catch their trail up in the mountains. A day or two had already passed.
"Thank you," she breathed.
"Don't mention it. I did promise. And I would go, regardless."
"Again, thank you. And keep your eyes peeled. I'm well aware of the leaks in my castle. At the first sign of an ambush, fly straight out of there."
"Right," he left the paper at her desk. She still wasn't looking up at him. Hiccup wasn't very good with people, but he felt like he really shouldn't just go, without a word of comfort. Whatever good it did, coming from him.
He leaned forward on the desk, taking her left hand in his right. She tensed and he thought she'd pull away, but her fingers curled around his like a lifeline.
"Keep it together, Elsa," he said. "We'll get to the bottom of this, you'll see. You can do this."
"I wish I believed that," she whispered.
"I'm a good judge of character," he said. "I know how you feel right now so I'll spare you the platitudes. You need to keep it together, though. For your people. Yeah?"
"I know. Okay."
"I'm going now. I'll come straight to you when I'm back."
"Be safe."
He walked around the desk and put a hand on each of her shoulders. She was still hunched over her desk, so he had to lean quite a ways down to place a soft kis to the top of her head.
Nothing else was left to be said. He grabbed the map indicating Frant's location and left the office with crisp, hurried steps, pausing only for a moment outside the door, addressing the people who were waiting outside.
"She said to take a ten minute break," he told them. "No one is to enter before then."
His piece said, Hiccup left down the corridor, hoping they'd take his advice and give Elsa some space to collect herself.
Ernie fell into step next to him, though he had to almost run to keep up with his long strides. Hiccup was thankful for the young man's presence.
"I'm going to the border," he said. "I need supplies enough for two days. Can you catch me at the Courtyard with them?"
"Of course." With a nod, Ernie broke from his side, heading deeper into the castle, towards the storerooms and the kitchens.
Hiccup continued toward the Courtyard. He met Anna along the way, furiously ascending the stairs on the opposite direction than him. The princess was breathing hard, obviously having run the many staircases until this floor.
"Hiccup? Is Elsa okay?"
"Got to her," he said. "She needs you right now."
"Truly?" she asked, the worry in her eyes intensifying. "In that case, perhaps you should also..." She trailed off as Hiccup shook his head. No, he had no right, not to mention the ability.
"This isn't the time, Anna. I need to go. Elsa will explain. Help her."
She looked confused, but obviously not willing and sit and talk about it. "Right." And she continued past him, her hurried steps echoing down the marble hallway where the carpets didn't cover.
He continued down, eventually reaching the ground floor and heading outside to the Courtyard.
He called out to Toothless, whose ears perked before he raised his head to look at him. At Hiccup's wave, the Night Fury bounded over to him, being at his side within seconds.
"We have something important to do, bud. You'll need to go fast, okay?"
Toothless' growl was comforting, in a way. The dragon was ready, willing and able.
Hiccup spent the five minutes until Ernie showed up double-checking their equipment. Hearing steps behind him, he turned.
He had expected the leather pack containing the supplies he asked for. He hadn't expected the young aide to hand him the sheathed Smoker, as well.
Ernie's expression was grave. Afraid, even. "Just in case," he said.
Hiccup nodded, tying the sword to his side. "Thanks."
He climbed on Toothless and they shot up the moment he connected his prosthetic, without preamble. There was no need for a show, and they were in a hurry. Toothless beat his wings and shot straight upwards, gaining altitude quickly. They levelled and headed northeast in their fastest maintainable speed, which had the fjord and the castle quickly vanishing from sight.
They covered in minutes distances that normally took people days, maybe even weeks, to cross. They passed mountains and valleys beneath them, but Hiccup only had eyes on the horizon.
At the speed with which they were going, it took them no more than three hours to reach the border, forty minutes of which were spent resting halfway.
They saw Frant well before they reached it. Rather, they saw the smoke coming from Frant. It was visible from miles and miles, forming its own dark cloud of ashes and cinder above the area.
Soon they could smell it, too.
"Go low, Toothless," Hiccup instructed, and they both adjusted to lose some altitude.
Frant was located at the foot of a mountain, right next to edge of the forest. It was a relatively small village, sustaining itself from organized hunting and trading lumber. It's position next to the border gave it just enough significance to not die out.
Hiccup had seen scenes like this several times before. That knowledge didn't abate the feeling of nausea in his gut any more than it had the previous times.
"By Thor..." he whispered as they got their first clear view of the village. Frant was still on fire. Even three days later, it had not died out. The area was heavily laid on with snow, yet the small, slightly spread out village was still burning like it was kindling. Most of the still active sites were just piles of ashes, coal and burning hardwood that used to be sturdy buildings, but it was still impressive. Hiccup could clearly discern the village's layout from above, even through the smoke. It was like a miniature town.
"Get us down, Toothless."
They landed on the village's main road, where the distance between the burning buildings was enough to safely come down.
Hiccup unlatched his prosthetic and jumped down, looking around at the dead community. He removed his helmet so as to see better, tying it to Toothless' saddle.
It looked more devastating from ground level, even if he could only see a portion of the actual destruction. The buildings around were collapsed in on themselves, any still solid piece slowly sizzling away with small fires. Very few buildings still had any structure to them left, but it was amazing that any of them still stood. This wasn't normal.
The smell of burning flesh was very faint, old, but Hiccup could still make it out.
He bent down to examine the tracks in the snowy road. "Toothless," he instructed his friends. "See if you can catch the scent of any dragons."
Toothless sniffed, then snorted, before growling.
"I know it's hard with all this smoke, bud. Give it your best, yeah?"
Toothless grumbled but nevertheless walked forward, nostrils flaring and tongue lolling outside his mouth as he tasted the air for signs of dragon presence.
Hiccup examined the frantic tracks. He recognized the Arendellian boots easily. The most recent tracks were from the patrols that had been here before him, no doubt. They split off, heading to various destroyed houses, no doubt having been in search of survivors.
The older, almost faded out prints were of the actual villagers. Those were over three days old, and the snow had almost covered them. He saw nothing that he didn't expect. No dragon paws had been through the snow as far as he could see in the several hours he spent scouring the roads of Frant.
On the edge of the village, he spotted a group of tracks, not of the distinctive Arendellian leather boot, go to and from the forest in front of him. A group of lumberjacks, perhaps? The tracks weren't deep enough for him to positive of this reading, but then again, they were three days old. He couldn't be sure about their validity.
He headed back towards the center of the village, spotting Toothless in the distance, sniffing at a burnt wooden post.
"Anything?" he shouted. Toothless barked in a rather irritated fashion, which Hiccup took for a negative and sighed.
"No trace of dragon gas in the air," he murmured, looking around at the carnage. "No paw or claw prints. Was it really dragons?"
He noticed one of the few remaining buildings. It was still on fire on several sports, and some corners had collapsed, but it still stood. He approached it, looking around for anything interesting.
The door, though burning slowly, remained closed. Hiccup looked to the side and noticed that the windows had been broken already, she opening the door shouldn't blast him.
Just to be on the safe side though, he stayed back, squared his foot, and kicked the door under the lock with all his might using his prosthetic. The half-burned wood easily gave way with a mournful creak, collapsing under the doorframe into little flaming pieces. Hiccup covered his face with his hand to protect it from the soot and any potential surge of air, though thankfully none of the latter came.
Morbid curiocity more than anything led him to carefully step foot inside the destroyed house. It wouldn't take much to fully collapse it if he weren't careful.
The one thing that became evident when he stepped inside was that the smell of burnt humans was much worse inside than outside.
Hiccup slowly navigated the burning building, looking for... he didn't quite know. He counted no less than four blackened skeletons on the bottom floor, and did not dare try the stairs. He frowned at one particular skeleton, slumped against the frame of a door, long since burned down. Across the door's ashes, two more skeletons lay, curled together. Those two were much smaller. Judging by the pelvic bone of the adult, she was a woman.
Hiccup deduced that the mother must have died trying to free her children from the locked room. What could have happened to bring such a situation about?
It took a lot of effort to keep his lunch in. What was he doing here, anyway? There was no sign of dragon presence. No signs of struggle, no damages that could be attributed to dragons, not a whif of dragon gas on the air or excrement around the area.
He turned around, intent on leaving the precarious building, when something curious made him stop.
He stood, staring at a tongue of flame rising from the remains of the stairway. Was it... that's not how flame normally moved, was it? Hiccup took a few steps closer to it. The flame, as if in response, bent out of its way even more.
Was it a trick of the air, that made the flame move this way? Perhaps. Hiccup extended a single digit and approached it to the burning stairway. To his fascination, the flame extended, as if trying to reach him. What peculiar bylaw of physic was making this interaction occur, he wondered.
He looked around the blackened hall. Perhaps he was just paranoid, but it wasn't just the flame on the stairwell... all fires seemed to be edging towards him, as if reaching for him.
... okay, now he was officially paranoid. And also completely spooked. He made a beeline towards the exit, stepping very carefully and making sure not to approach any of the flames more than he had to.
Finally stepping outside, he stretched his hands and let out a long exhale.
"Man," he drawled, feeling oddly uncomfortable. "That was freaky, and I have seen some shit."
Before he could placate himself any further, he heard a crack in the distance. He barely heard it but it sounded far away, so it must have been loud.
He looked to the left, trying to spot something between the burning buildings, smoke and snow.
"Toothless?" he wondered. He waited for a few seconds, but received no reply. He started taking a few steps down the road. Where was the reptile, anyway? He brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled, a long, drawn-out sound that should have notified Toothless if he was anywhere near the area - which he damn well should be.
"Toothless?" he repeated, louder. He squinted, trying to make something out, and cast his eyes about as he walked.
Then he heard it again - louder this time. A thunderous, wooden crash, not unlike a longship crashing against rocks, but fueled by the crackling of fiery sparks. It sounded much closer.
Hiccup narrowed his gaze on the direction from which the sound came.
"Now would be a good time to come out, bud," he said loudly, hoping the Night Fury could hear him.
Another sound, more cracking! It was coming from the building Hiccup had watched. It was half-collapsed and not all of it was on fire, some six houses away from his position. He stilled, not taking another step, as he traced the repeated cracking sounds with his senses.
Suddenly he heard a massive crack again - as Toothless burst through the wall of the building in a mess of limbs, broken wood and ash. The Night Fury spotted him, locked eyes with him for a single moment and then started running towards him at full speed, crooning in seeming panic.
"What's going on, Toothles?" Hiccup asked, getting well and truly alarmed now as Toothless sprinted toward him as if the fires of hel were right behind his tail-...
The hole Toothless had burst out of exploded, spewing fire and wooden shrapnel everywhere as a wave of flame expanded from the small explosion. Toothless had cleared half the distance between the building and Hiccup and so was safe from the explosion, but it wasn't the explosion itself that made Hiccup's eyes widen and his jaw fall open.
The infernal wave of fire that decided to chase after Toothless rather than disperse as it should, was.
"By the Gods..." Hiccup murmured, frozen in shock as Toothless sprinted away from the massive fireball hurtling after him on all fours, barking madly.
Hiccup was shaken out of his stupor by Toothless' roar when the Night Fury was only a building's length away.
Just in time, too, because Toothless didn't stop when he reached him - instead he kept on running. Hiccup had expected it though. As the dragon passed, his right hand shot out and grasped onto a leather strap with snake-like precision, propelling himself over his friend's neck by using Toothless' own momentum. In one smooth, well-practised move, Hiccup landed directly on the saddle, his left leg already clicking the prosthetic in place and activating the mechanical tailfin.
"Go!"
Hiccup chanced a single look behind them as Toothless spread his wings and took flight - the wall of fire was still behind them. No, it was almost upon them!
"Faster!" he yelled, willing the Night Fury with all of himself to move. Toothless beat his wings like a demon of the night, and the buildings around them began to blur. They would surely leave the limits fo the village before long-
A building in front of them exploded, unleashing another fireball, this time in front of them.
"Left!"
They turned, weaving among the burning buildings as the two massive fireballs collided - and yet still somehow seemed to follow their path. Hiccup unclasped his helmet with deft fingers and slipped it on, hoping it would shield at least his face against part of the searing heat. The flame was trailing a few meters behind them, but he could still feel its sting on his back.
The fire had gone higher than they had, and had overtaken them from above. Escape to the skies was impossible, now.
"Look out!" Hiccup yelled as a stream of white-hot fire was expelled from within a burning building to their left. Toothless flattened his wings against his sides and dropped, passing right under the flaming stream and spreading them again the second they had cleared it.
They swerved to the right to dodge another sudden gout of flame, weaving around buildings to stay one step ahead of the conflagration following them. Hiccup looked behind him once again, and almost instantly wished he didn't. He'd only ever seen something like this when the Red Death's fire was about to engulf him. What sort of creature could be doing this? What had they stumbled upon?
A sharp bark from Toothless forced him to return his eyes in front of them, and just in time to adjust the tailfin so they could avoid what appeared to be the burning remains of what must, at one point, have been a church.
They were finally running out of buildings to weave around. Hiccup eyed the expanse of white among the buildings at the end of the road with hope. Perhaps in open air they could lose the helfire.
Their reflexes were fast enough that the sudden gouts of flame coming from the buildings or piles of flaming rubbled didn't hurt them, but they forced Toothless' flexibility and Hiccup's heat resistance to their limits, as well as limiting them from unleashing their top speed to escape the slower wave of flame.
A quick check confirmed his worst fears - the tailfin was smoking! He'd made it from special fire-resistant leather, but it probably couldn't take much longer of having the flame so close behind it.
"Go for the open air!" he instructed, spurring Toothless on as they dashed towards the edge of the village. They dove beneath a falling column of burning hardwood, only to be faced with a building collapsing in front of their path. Toothless brought his wings in on himself and spun. They broke through the destroyed window of the building and came out the other side, where the Night Fury unfurled his wings again. The fireball on their tail swallowed the collapsing building and only grew, catching up to them that much faster.
Hiccup nervously looked behind them, at the edges of the flame almost licking the end of Toothless' tail, almost reaching for it-
They broke through the edge of the village, shooting past the burning buildings and away from the flame. A spirraling torrent of flame detached itself from the inferno and surged after the two of them, in what appeared as a last ditch effort to draw them in. It gave up after four spirrals, having just missed the edge of Toothless' wing, before withdrawing back inside the massive conflagration that had now overtaken the entire village.
Hiccup edged Toothless higher and rose, going above the treeline of the forest at the foot of the mountain.
Worn out from his mad dash, Toothless floated for a few seconds, catching his breath, while Hiccup looked around. He had seen such incredible volumes of fire spewed before, and he had seen dragons with precise, almost miraculous control over their flames, but never both.
Goosebumps and a feeling of dread made him look towards the forest, below. There, among the trees some distance ahead of them, he saw something. A red glow, a spark, something. Then, a massive fireball - at least the size of anything the Red Death had ever thrown at them - was burning through the treetops on it's way to them.
"Go!" Hiccup yelled, spurring Toothless into motion, who complied, beating his tired wings with as much fervor as he had before, putting distance between them and the inferno.
Toothless saw it before he did and changed directions, an act that Hiccup supporting through sheer instinct and a perfect synchronization. The reason for the sudden shift became evident when he noticed that the wall of fire following them was expanding to the sides, trying to close in on them.
The fires from the destroyed Frant village rose up, as well, blocking out most of their avenues of escape. Toothless and Hiccup were forced to swerve and roll around tongues of flame that shot out at them from the main body that was still lumbering just around them.
This was hopeless, Hiccup could tell. While the smaller, more agile tongues kept them busy, the massive walls of flame closed around them. Soon they'd be completely enclosed within the flames, and from that point on it was a matter of time before they burned, not to mention run out of oxygen.
Coming out of another roll, Hiccup cast his eyes about for a way out of this death trap. He spotted it - a piece of blue sky, rapidly growing smaller and smaller as the flames surged to close around them.
Hiccup turned Toothless' attention to the small hole and together they surged, putting in as much speed as they could.
He knew they wouldn't make it in time. The rift was about to close completely, and they still had several seconds to go before they reached it, not counting the time it took them to dodge the fires shooting out at them.
The dome of fire was now completely closed around them and, by Hiccup's calculations, was also beginning to turn inward.
"Faster!" Hiccup shouted, urging Toothless to put his all into it. The Night Fury, trusting blindly, poured on the speed, beating his wings as fast as he could and rushing to meet the now solid wall of crackling fire in front of them.
The heat was getting unbearable, but he had to endure. He squinted, watching from the slits of his helmet.
"Wait for it," he instructed as they rolled above another gout of fire.
"Wait!" he shouted again, feeling Toothless anxiety and fear from the way his muscles coiled. To his credit, the Night Fury didn't budge an inch out of his given path or drop a single knot of speed.
Hiccup waited with bated breath for the right moment, assisted by the fact that there was no more air for him to draw in.
They were almost upon the wall of flame now. It leaned in to meet them.
"Now! Blast it!"
Toothless released a blue-white ball of plasma with a challenging roar, shouting his defiance to the heavens as his fire travelled the small distance between them and the inferno and was lost inside it.
For a second -a terrible, heartbreaking second - nothing happened.
Then the plasma exploded, pushing away the wall's orange flames and any oxygen in its immediate vicinity, snuffing out the fire and creating a tiny window, a hole just big enough for them.
Toothless needed no urging and redoubled his efforts, flattening his wings against his side at the last possible second and beginning a mad spin, hoping to stave off the fire's crushing heat for just enough-
They burst out of the gigantic dome of flame singed, out of breath, but alive. If Hiccup had any breath left in him besides smoke, he would have whooped.
Toothless didn't let up, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the inferno they just escaped, and Hiccup finally managed to get some air in his lungs.
He looked behind them. The fires were mobilising. Slowly, but they were moving, the steady stream from the forest floor still producing more and more flames that were rushing at him and Toothless.
He had see enough. "Get us out of here!"
They leveled, took a second to catch a breath, then blasted off in what must have been a new personal top speed for Toothless, breaking the barrier of sound within seconds.
The chief of Berk and his Night Fury turned tail and ran, as fast as they could.
~H~