Time for more news on Hiccup! Well, I don't have much to say, so I'll let the RRs do the talking for me this time! By the way, hold that thought on the question I asked in the last chapter (most anticipated POV). I'll be reviving that question later on in the story!
Review Replies:
Ferdoos: Thanks. Yes, she is definitely in for a challenge because her leading the Berk Dragon Academy was Hiccup's wish for while he was gone and she wouldn't want to let her wonderful boyfriend down!
WikiSorceror: Parallels between the different POVs in the chapters? Yeah, because they're alternating back and forth between Hiccup and Astrid, the timeline is pretty similar to show Hiccup's journey as well as the situations with Astrid and the rest of Berk.
aaquater: Yep. Astrid's all "I will force you to do what I want" and get no results other than a headache and Hiccup is like "Can we get something done?" and get no results other than the frustration of teaching Snotlout and the twins. Maybe we need a character that combines the two. Haha.
kitty.0: Nope, Astrid thought she could handle it all just fine and pretty much blindly agreed to help out Hiccup while he is away. She'll have fun with that as the days continue!
Next chapter starts…now!
Chapter 11: "You Were Right, Mommy"
After making sure that Toothless had not sustained any serious wounds in the fall, Hiccup determined that he and his dragon should take a walk around and become acquainted and familiar with their surroundings, seeing as they would be spending more time here than originally planned. Once Toothless was ready to go, Hiccup used his prosthetic to draw a line in the sand. He made sure to draw it way back away from the shoreline so it would not be washed away. The only thing that could possibly disturb it would be wind, but, so far, the wind had been calm and the sand on the beach had yet to be displaced. "This line shows where we started," Hiccup explained to Toothless, but he was certain that he did not have to; his dragon was smart, smarter than most breeds. "Let's just keep walking and follow the shoreline, Bud. Once we find out how large this place is, we can start exploring the woods inland." Looking at the sun's current position, Hiccup began to walk and Toothless followed at his side.
As the two continued to walk the shoreline, Hiccup's earlier guess looked more and more accurate. This land appeared to be an island, but they would know soon enough. It was not long until Hiccup saw his starting line scratched out in the dirt up ahead of him. He and Toothless had walked a complete circuit and it was confirmed that the land upon which he found himself was indeed an island. Immediately when his prosthetic touched the drawn line, Hiccup looked up to the sun. According to the sun's position, the walk around the island had not taken longer than an hour. In fact, it looked to be closer to a half an hour. "This island isn't very big," Hiccup told Toothless who seemed to nod in reply. "Not only that, but there are no coastal villages. If anyone lives on this island, they must live further inland. We'll have to explore again tomorrow, Toothless." The sun was dipping lower and Hiccup did not want to risk them getting lost in the woods overnight without knowing what might possibly be living in there.
Darkness would be approaching soon and there was something Hiccup wanted to check while he was still able. Was this island on the map or was it uncharted? If the island was on the map, Hiccup should still be able to chart their course and they could soon carry on their way and continue the mission. Hiccup, skilled with his inventions, felt confident that he could find enough twigs to make a pseudo-prosthetic tailfin outline for Toothless. If two or three twigs were placed together for every piece of metal rod that had been damaged in the fall, they might just be sturdy enough as a make-shift, at least until he could get to his destination. He was certain that the village blacksmith would be more than willing to allow him access to the forge to create a new tailfin. For the make-shift tailfin, then, Hiccup could use leaves instead of fabrics. There sure appeared to be an abundance of twigs and leaves here on this island.
Unrolling the map, Hiccup located Berk and then used his finger to trace out the path he and Toothless had been flying. It was difficult to determine exactly where on the map they would have been when they had encountered the storm. To make matters worse, the storm could have severely thrown them off their intended course. From what he could gather, though, Hiccup realized that this very island did not appear to have been charted. If the island was not charted on the map, then it was one unknown to the Vikings on Berk. If it weren't for his important mission, Hiccup would be pleased that he had managed to find a new island. However, now was not the time for such excitement and pleasure. This situation could turn out very badly if he and Toothless were stuck here for too long. Hiccup had no idea what other living creatures he and Toothless might face while on this island. What if there was something out there that could overpower Toothless? Not just that, but Hiccup had not brought that much extra food with him for himself and Toothless. They would need to eat, but they may also have to ration what they had. Hopefully there is something out there in the woods that we can use for food until we can get off this island. Though Hiccup was not enthusiastic about killing living animals, his and Toothless's survival would have to be a priority.
Sitting down in the sand, Hiccup looked out to the endless ocean, reflecting the rippling image of the setting sun. Toothless joined him, also staring out in the same direction as his rider. "I…just don't know what to do, Bud," he told his friend without taking his gaze from the ocean. The dragon made a soft noise and Hiccup took that to mean he should continue. "I don't know where we are or in which direction lies Berk. My father always said that it's not easy to be a leader. There would be tough situations and difficult decisions. He says this mission is one worthy of an adult, of a Berk Viking, but…" he stopped, choking slightly on his words. "I thought my days of being 'Hiccup the Useless' ended with the war, but…here I am, just as useless now as I was then." He looked down to the sand, shifting it slightly with his hands. "I guess I'm just not ready to lead…to be Berk's chief," he finished in a whisper, but Toothless's heightened hearing easily picked up on every soft word.
Laying back and squeezing his eyes shut, Hiccup tried not to let ten years of frustrations and struggles get to him, but it was a losing battle. The tears began to flow even before he could stop them. A conversation from years back surfaced from the depths of Hiccup's memories and it comforted him.
888
The smallest boy in the village ran through town, dodging the other larger Vikings. This boy, though very much unlike the others who resided here, had a big smile on his face and a genuine laugh as he ran. From a good distance back, he could hear a woman call for him, but this was his game, his race, and he was winning.
"Hiccup! For Odin's sake, Hiccup slow down!" his mother called, but looking back quickly, he could see the small smile playing on her face.
Unfortunately, for the clumsy and accident-prone boy, this distraction caused him to slip up and he tripped, his knee scrapping across the village's gravel road on his way to the ground. This gave Hiccup's mother a chance to catch up to her fallen four-year-old son and scoop him up in her surprisingly strong arms.
Taking Hiccup home, she gently placed him on the floor of their house. The boy's face was very red and his chest was heaving. Hiccup's knees hurt badly, the pain overwhelming for the young boy, but still he tried his best to appear strong and not cry. His father, the mighty chief of the tribe, had once told him that crying was for the weak. It would make him less of a man to appear scared or pained.
Hiccup's mother, always intuitive about her son, kneeled down so she could look directly into her son's eyes. She knew that he was trying not to cry about the pain and she had a pretty good guess as to why he was trying to conceal how he felt. "Hiccup," she spoke to him softly to get his attention. "It's okay to cry. You know that, right?"
"But Daddy said…"
"Your father means well, Hiccup, but in this case, he's not correct. He measures strength physically, by how powerful Vikings are as people, but, sometimes, being strong means acknowledging that you are hurting. Regardless of what he says, Hiccup, it does not make you any less a man to show your tears, your weaknesses. In fact, a real man is not afraid to admit his faults and wrongs; he's not afraid to show that he is conflicted or pained. Please, Hiccup, do not ever just hold those feelings inside because you can't possibly hope to suppress them."
Her voice was so soft, calm, and soothing. Hiccup felt safe within his mother's words and, slowly at first, the tears unleashed and, for one of the first times since his birth, Hiccup allowed himself to cry. As Hiccup cried, his mother tied some fabric tightly around her son's wounded knee, but the boy did not take notice.
A little while later, when Hiccup finally felt all cried out, he wiped lingering tears from his eyes and looked up to his mom. A small smile began to form on his face. "You were right, Mommy. I feel much better now."
888
Hiccup opened his eyes from the memory and found himself staring at the dark sky above him; the last lights of the day had already faded below the horizon. He wiped lingering tears from his eyes and gave a small smile at the fleeting memory. "You were right, Mommy. I feel much better now," he murmured, so soft and garbled that not even Toothless could hear.
He sighed, missing his mother more than he had in a long time. His mother had passed on not long after this day when she had reminded him that it was okay to cry. She had been everything he'd always wished to be; she was fierce and tough, an excellent Viking, yet caring and compassionate and loved by her family and friends.
Strangely comforted, Hiccup turned to his dragon who had also lain down, facing out at the dark ocean waters with his head resting on his paws. As a Night Fury, Toothless blended perfectly in with the black surroundings, but Hiccup could make out his outline. "I guess we should just get some rest and then we can explore those woods inland tomorrow. Okay, Bud?"
Toothless, stealthy and silent, shifted to encircle Hiccup. In one final move, Toothless spread one of his wings overtop Hiccup. This would keep the boy warm and safe. Hiccup, taking these movements to be Toothless's way of agreeing with his suggestion, shut his eyes once again and drifted into a peaceful sleep filled with memories and visions of his mother and childhood days.
Longer chapter for you all, but as I was writing, I saw that flashback forming and just had to add it. I dunno about you all, but moments between Young!Hiccup and his mother really make me happy. I'm kinda hoping that we see some little Hiccup in the second movie or TV series. I want to see what he looked like!
But…um…yeah, let's see…oh, right… Coming Up Next: Astrid's continued frustrations of daily academy training and…
Next Chapter: I'll probably aim for next Sunday after 10 PM US East Coast time. Have a great week in the meantime!
As always, thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!
Posted: March 2, 2014
