Author's Note:
Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one sees the entry of Stoick and we once again join Hiccup and the others on their search. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review and let me know what you thought.
I own nothing.
Answers for Some and Choices for Others
It had been five days since Stoick had last seen Hiccup and Snotlout and four since he'd received a message delivered by a Terrible Terror telling him that the academy members had found Hiccup but not Snotlout. Since then whenever a Terror appeared bearing a message he'd get his hopes up only to have them dashed when it turned out that they'd still found nothing. He'd also sent out and gone with several ships to scour the waters around Berk in case his nephew had somehow managed to make his way that close to home, unfortunately this had also proven fruitless and now some of the more negative members of the tribe were muttering that it was hopeless when they thought Stoick couldn't hear them. The chief had considered going to Dragon Island to get Thornado and fly out himself but the knowledge that it was likely that Toothless was with Snotlout had held him back from doing so. He was still greatly worried but he was certain that the Night Fury would keep a sharp eye on the boy as Snotlout was second to Hiccup when it came to Toothless' protectiveness. Though he continued his duties as chief as he was expected to his thoughts were never far from his nephew.
Even as a young child it was obvious that Snotlout was most definitely a Jorgenson. As the spitting image of his father it was clear he was going to be stocky and strong even if he was most likely going to be shorter than most. His lack of height was from his mother but the rest was certainly from his father though Stoick was unsure if his slightly more open mind was from his mother or from growing up with Hiccup. His stubbornness however was without a doubt inherited. Spitelout had often joked that the only things he and his sister Valka had shared was their dark hair and boar headedness and Stoick had been inclined to agree with his brother-in-law.
It had always been an errant thought in Stoick's mind that the boy who was technically his family and he'd taken in actually didn't have a single drop of blood that was related to his, in fact Hiccup and Snotlout were more blood family than Stoick and Snotlout were due to them both having a bit of Jorgenson in them. Though it never caused any problems for the chief and he wouldn't actually dream of treating his nephew as anything but family, he'd always found it to be odd to say that someone who was only connected to him through his wife, who happened to be the boy's aunt, was his family. Especially when he'd actually felt no real familial connection to Snotlout's actual parents, they'd been good friends and Stoick and Spitelout had often fought side by side as comrades but not family. Now he loved someone who actually had no blood connection to him as if he was his second son.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the rapidly approaching form of Gobber and from his serious expression he knew that he wouldn't like whatever it was his right hand man was going to tell him.
"Stoick! A messenger from Dagur just delivered this!"
He handed over the note in his hand and Stoick read it with a sinking heart. It was a demand from Dagur for him to go to Outcast Island or one of his own would suffer the consequences. Though no name was mentioned Stoick was certain who the message was referring to and his fears were only confirmed as Gobber held something else out to him, "This also came with it."
It was unmistakeably Snotlout's helmet.
Long, exhausting and despairing were good ways to explain the last few days for Hiccup.
They'd continued their search for Snotlout and Toothless and had scoured what felt like every island, sea stack or large rock in the world and had found nothing. Hiccup was fairly certain that the reason for the disappearance of his cousin and friend was the one that he feared and he'd since turned their search direction towards Outcast Island. He hoped that they would find them before they got there but it was now highly likely that the base of their enemy was the only possible place they could be found. Everyone, even the twins, was subdued as they continued their search and worry and sadness for their missing member was almost tangible in the air. Hookfang was now so despondent that no amount of scratches, petting, feeding or kind words would even temporarily cheer him up, the only time he seemed lively was when they were searching when he'd move with a steely determination. The other dragons had also been affected and they spent more time with their mournful friend than their riders whenever they were resting and they'd all sleep curled around the Nightmare through the night.
As they got closer to Outcast Island unease began to join the atmosphere of negative emotions around the group and Hiccup was already beginning to mentally plan a way to both locate and rescue his cousin from the island when Fishlegs suddenly spoke up, "Oh I've just thought of something!"
All the riders looked at the teen in confusion and he just sat there looking pleased until Astrid finally spoke to him, "You've just thought of what?"
Realising he hadn't actually explained his thought to them Fishlegs did so, "I was trying to think of places where Toothless and Snotlout could be when I remembered something my dad told me about this area. There's this island that appears to be nothing more than a blank stone mound but actually contains a huge cavern that is only accessible from the sea."
"How does this help us?" Hiccup asked.
"A water current runs from near the island we started at and winds through the islands until it eventually runs directly into the cavern. The entrance above sea level is too small for most ships to enter but if Snotlout and Toothless somehow found or built a tiny raft or boat they may have unintentionally been caught in the current and then carried into the cavern."
"So they might be stuck there?" Astrid cut in.
"Yes," Fishlegs answered, "Though not as strong as other currents it would still be too powerful for one boy and a dragon to fight against and there's no other way to leave the cavern, where the current runs in is the only exit from the island."
"Why didn't you mention this before now!?"
Fishlegs cringed at Astrid's angry tone and responded defensively, "I only just remembered it now. It was just something my dad mentioned years when telling me about the seas around Berk; I didn't think at the time that I'd actually need that piece of information."
Astrid looked to Hiccup, "Hiccup, if Snotlout and Toothless are there then they might well be in pretty bad shape by now if they didn't have sufficient food and water with them. We need to check this island out as soon as possible."
Hiccup could see Astrid's point but he was now certain that Snotlout and Toothless were on Outcast Island and he feared that by choosing to search this cavern he might be too late to save them. The flip side was that if they went to Outcast Island and they were in the cavern then they would be put in a very dangerous position. With the only other option being to continue their fruitless search of all the islands Hiccup found himself torn between searching Outcast Island or the cavern. Looking around the group he found that all of them, even the dragons, were looking to him to make the decision, not for the first time Hiccup felt a bit of what he was certain his father felt as chief and he wished that he didn't have to make this choice. There were several long moments where he weighed up the two options carefully considering each one until he finally came to a final decision.
"Show us the way to this island Fishlegs."
The other boy nodded before taking the lead and guiding them towards this island with its cavern. As they flew Hiccup desperately hoped that he was making the right choice.
PS-There we go and we'll probably be back with Toothless next chapter. Please tell me what you think of the family connections I've created and I'll hopefully update soon.
