I took a brief break from this story in hopes that I could veer it back onto the track I had planned. I still feel that it's kinda…off, but I can work with that. Next arc, I'll get it back to where I wanted it to go.
Review Replies:
lorde (anonymous): That dream will be explained.
SkySorrow (anonymous): Thanks.
guest (anonymous): Astrid's been a bit busy with everything that's been going on, but she will take more of an initiative in Arc 3.
kitty.0: Yes, this dream will be similar to the others, but it will also be different too.
WikiSorceror: Yeah…these two arcs are introductory. I don't know why I set it up that way, but that's how it is in my notes. The next arc will have more action and plot advancement.
The Plasma Blast: Not quite…you'll see next chapter how she reacts to that dream. IC was to stand for "In Character". I didn't feel like typing those words out. Thank you very much!
Guest (anonymous): It only seems like Heather is "the bad guy" because the dream was described as Astrid was seeing it. Heather is not going to play such a role in this story. I actually do like her as a character. That's a pretty good guess, but I won't say anything more on that until Arc 3 (as this is the final Hiccup chapter of Arc 2). Thanks for the kind words, my friend. It's always great to hear such positive feedback from readers.
UnbreakableWarrior: Thank you very much!
Anonymous (anonymous): Good questions. If Berk sees Hiccup again, it would mean the story is ending as that is the main conflict here. This storyline will span several years, so, yes, Hiccup will grow older. He won't find a different village or Valka. Not on this island, anyway.
Teehee4869: Yeah, it is slow…even by my standards. Next time, I am definitely not writing in two introductory arcs for any of my stories. Haha.
Next chapter starts…now!
Chapter 27: Keeps Me Yearning
Wheel in the Sky
The storms lately had been harsh and the temperatures bitter. Hiccup could have expected this, though. Those were both typical for days and nights during the season of harsh snows. Somehow, he made it through each and every bitter cold day and night. When the air temperatures would drop, Hiccup would try to think of warmer days, though this could prove difficult as it was usually quite cold on Berk.
A new day was dawning over Hiccup's island. As the boy woke, shivering slightly, his first thought was that he should really name this island because he planned to create a map of the areas surrounding Berk if he ever returned home. What could he possibly name this place, though? Maybe he'd ask Toothless later. Perhaps the dragon could help. Not now, though; Toothless was still sleeping. Lucky dragon, Hiccup thought with a small sad smile. At least he can keep warm. Dragons are made to withstand these harsh seasons on Berk.
Nearby, within a couple arms' reach was the discarded and half-complete fishing net. As the days had grown colder, Hiccup had pushed the work-in-progress aside. It was one that demanded accuracy and, with the fierce shaking that racked his body, the young Viking heir had worried that his hands would unintentionally make a crucial error. Looking back at the net, though, Hiccup sighed softly so as not to worry his sleeping dragon. If he could just finish this net, they could potentially expand their meal options. Frozen nuts and berries were both getting old and Hiccup knew that Toothless would appreciate the reentrance of fish into his diet. Was it worth taking the chance? Yes, Hiccup ultimately decided, it's worth it. He refused to allow Death such an easy victory. Besides, with no Vikings anywhere in the vicinity, there was no one to create a ship to Valhalla for him and Hiccup did not want to be stuck in the limbo realm between here and there.
Crawling over slowly, Hiccup extended his left arm and grabbed onto the net, pulling it over to where he sat near Toothless. As carefully as he possibly could, Hiccup set to work with the materials he had, weaving vine after vine into the intricate patterns needed to create a sturdy net. He had watched Berkian fisherman create nets back when he was younger. The precise work had always intrigued him, but, unfortunately, when he would tell his father about it, the Chief would scoff and quickly change the topic…that is, if there was any conversation at all. Sometimes, Stoick would simply walk away, leaving young Hiccup to entertain himself.
There was actually sun today. For most of the recent days, it had been stormy. Some days there were snow. On other days, there was that rain that would fall as if it were half-frozen. Hiccup preferred snow over that rain. That rain was as bad as ice…and it didn't help that he walked with a peg leg that always seemed to slide on the slippery-coated surfaces. It was a relief that the day smiled down on Hiccup and his dragon. The boy knew that days like this one did not often happen, so he concentrated deeply on the netting project in hopes that he could finish it before the weather turned bad once again (because it surely would).
The boy concentrated for what had to be hours on his work. Though his hands still shook slightly, Hiccup did not feel that his work suffered and he was certain that his net, when finished, could be used practically. Up in the sky, though Hiccup was not watching, the sun continued its daily course, moving surely from horizon to horizon, like a bright and glowing ball on the spoke of the invisible wheel in the sky.
Hunger began to set in as Hiccup tied the final knot. Toothless had woken a while ago and had quietly sat staring, watching his Rider as the boy's eyebrows flexed in concentration and his fingers weaved strand after strand of vine. Throwing the completed net down in triumph, Hiccup stood to stretch out his tensed muscles, tight from hunching over his work. "Well, what d'ya think, Bud?" he asked the dragon, holding the net out for Toothless to sniff. The Night Fury gave a small nod in approval and Hiccup smiled at his friend. "Well, let's go try it out!"
Hiccup was not a fisherman. He had never fished before…even when his father had tried to teach him the skill one afternoon. Having been born into the lineage of Berk's Chief, the young heir was used to having the fish delivered to his home or served at the Great Hall. He had never tried to actually catch the fish and the thought made Hiccup a little nervous. What if he did it wrong? Would all of his hard work end up being for nothing?
Looking out to the water surrounding the island, Hiccup sighed as he tried to figure out a way to put his new fishing net to practical use. He had no boat; that was normally how Berk Vikings used their fishing nets. Yes, he would have to cast out the net from the shore and hope that there was no ice on the waters that might snag through the weaved vines.
"Well, here goes, huh, Bud?" Hiccup told Toothless as he walked to the shoreline and threw the net out as far as he could manage. The net settled into the water and Hiccup waited. So far so good, he told himself, laughing silently as he remembered throwing out his letter to Berk in much the same way he had just thrown out the net. Berk will probably never see that letter, he thought sadly. How long do we keep the net out there before we reel it back in? Hiccup wondered. I suppose that I just have to guess.
In his head, Hiccup tried to mentally judge the length of time that had passed since he had thrown out the net. He waited just another several minutes or so before he walked backwards, further up the beach, dragging the net to the shore. Even before he had fully pulled the net onto the shore, Hiccup knew that he had not gained a substantial catch, but he had almost expected that. This was not fishing season and he'd had to stick pretty close to the inland shores (as he had no fishing boat to take him further out into the waters). As he walked closer to the net, though, Hiccup was pleased to see a couple small fish caught in the weaved vines. Smiling to himself, Hiccup pulled the fish out of the net and set them on top of the vines, waiting for them to stop flopping so that he could cleanse the beach sand from their scales.
Hiccup sat by the net, waiting. As so often would happen when he found some free moments, his thoughts turned back to Berk and Astrid. I should've tried harder to convince my dad to let Astrid and Stormfly come along too. If they were here, we'd have a better chance of returning to Berk. She could've gone back to get help, if nothing else. Yet, Hiccup hadn't tried harder. He had gone along with what his father had told him…and look where that had gotten him.
Sometime while Hiccup had been lost among his thoughts and regrets, the fish had ceased their movements. Now he could clean them off without worrying about them slipping from his grasp and swimming back out into the deeper waters. With inexperienced hands, Hiccup dipped the fish, one at a time, into the water and ran his fingers along the scales, wiping any beach sand from them. When finished, Hiccup again laid the clean fish on top of the makeshift net.
It was not long before all the caught fish had been cleansed. As he stood staring over the fish, Hiccup smiled a small smile of pride. He'd done it. He'd managed to not only create a makeshift net, but also catch fish from the less-sturdy contraption. "Look at that, Bud," he told Toothless who stood next to him. "We have fish to eat now." Toothless roared happily in reply and Hiccup knew that his dragon was glad to have something more substantial to eat. It was as Hiccup stood there staring over his catch that he realized he had not fully thought out this plan. "So…how are we going to cook these now?"
A step forward and two steps back for Hiccup (as always). At least he has fish, though. Finally, this arc is almost over! One more chapter! I'm actually really looking forward to Arc 3. Much will happen!
Oh, I added some "Viking culture" in here with the ship and Valhalla. I will say right now that I am not fully versed in "Viking culture" so if I'm wrong, I apologize. I didn't do any research.
Also, I apologize for the late. As I said, I took a brief break from Wheel…and Fanfiction in general, really. It's been a busy last couple of weeks.
Coming Up Next: Astrid can't seem to stop thinking about that dream. What did it mean? Did it mean anything at all? Decisions will need to be made and risks will have to be taken, but Astrid won't give up. No matter what. This dream has renewed her vigor. Until she finds solid proof, Astrid will keep searching.
Next Chapter: I'm going to tentatively give a week deadline for the next update (making that next Wednesday after 10 PM US East Coast time), but that just depends on how inspired I feel and how busy life is. I do think this final "Astrid' chapter will be pretty fun, though, so we'll see. Until next time!
Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!
Posted: July 30, 2014
