Yay! ANOTHER CHAPTER! This is another very important chapter, and you'll see why. Please remember that there is a bit of a time skip in this chapter, by approximately two weeks.
In the last chapter Hiccup is granted bail and returns to school. While at school, he is attacked by Snotlout, but sneaks off at lunch time to find Toothless. The 'Forbidden Friendship' scene takes place, and well...you know the rest.
A big shout out to Anonymous Heavy on the Anon, EquinoxKnight01, Shadow-pen-artist, Roamerfromaofw, Tawny, Francesva and blazelight790, who reviewed my last chapter. Thanks guys! I do try to respond to you, although sometimes I forget who I have and haven't (anonymous review responses are at the end) :D.
Note: This story is written in British English and is also set in the United Kingdom, which has both a very different education system, and a very different legal system to the United States.
Disclaimer: 'How To Train Your Dragon' is owned by Dreamworks Animation and Cressida Cowell. Kent is a real county, Berkford is not a real town. The cover art was generously made by Francesva.
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The Escaped Wolf: Chapter 7
Tuesday 14th September 1999
The courtroom was quiet, everyone waiting with bated breath, unable to contain themselves at the prospect of me being sent down. Everyone hated me. My father, Gobber, people at school...
'Henry Haddock!' yelled the Judge, my father, who had now stood and was staring at me. The intensity in his eyes burned my core, and I felt humiliated. My own father was going to sentence me. 'I find you guilty, and I sentence you to life in prison: for trying to kill my brother.'
My eyes widened, and I sucked in a deep breath. It all felt too real. 'Dad–'
'No, Henry. You're not my son. You're not my son,' he kept repeating the words as the police dragged me from the courtroom. I was going to prison. Sentenced by my own father, the man that loved me dearly until his wife died. 'You're not my–'
Hiccup woke with a start, his hand reaching up to hold his chest. He was breathing heavily and was covered in thick perspiration. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, then turned to look out of the window. It's still dark, he thought. He let his head fall back onto the pillow, and he sighed sadly. 'It's only a dream Hiccup…' he whispered, 'Your father isn't a judge…'
Despite the reassurances he gave himself, he couldn't get back to sleep. He rubbed his forehead again, and decided to get up. He wasn't sure what he was going to do at 5 in the morning, considering he wasn't allowed outside. I'll feed Toothless! he thought, then remembered that he wasn't allowed out. But who's going to know?
Hiccup pondered long and hard, and before he knew it, he was marching towards the forest; a determined look plastered across his face. Not to mention a packet of ham he had crunched up and stuffed in his dressing gown pocket. He knew he was now breaking the terms of his bail, but it was 5am, no one would ever know.
After stumbling over himself a few times, and narrowly avoiding a picnic with a tree-branch, he made it to where he met Toothless the day before.
'Toothless!' he called out, 'Oh, Toothless!'
Moments later, a black bundle of fur pounced on him, sending him backwards into the ground. Hiccup laughed, for the first time in many months, he genuinely laughed. He stroked the black head that was licking his face, then began to push him off. 'Alright bud...okay...I missed you too!'
Hiccup sat up, still beaming with joy at his friend. 'I've got some food for you, it's not much…' Hiccup pulled out the ham from his pocket, opening the wrapper and presenting it to Toothless.
Toothless' largely enflamed tail wagged painfully, as he quickly swallowed the food that was presented to him. He let out a small whimper, licking Hiccup's face in appreciation. Hiccup grinned, rubbing the wolf's head. 'I'll bring you some more food later...that's all I've got for now, okay boy?'
Toothless gave him a very un-wolf-like grin, matching Hiccup's own. He didn't mind.
Hiccup reached over, wrapping his arms around the wolf and snuggling into his neck. 'I have to go now...Toothless...but I'll be back later, okay?' He pulled back and looked at the wolf, who nodded. How smart is this guy?
Hiccup smiled and stood up, he scratched Toothless' head. He began walking, and Toothless followed him. Hiccup laughed, 'No! You have to stay here...I'll be back…' He looked sadly down at the wolf, scratching his head again. 'I'll see you lat–oh what the hell…'
A little over an hour later, a beaming Hiccup finally emerged from the forest. He had just had more fun today than ever before. Or at least, more fun than he could ever remember.
He glanced up at the sky, noting that it was now light. 'Oh crap...I better get back before anyone sees me,' he muttered, running back to his house. He managed to slip inside through the back, careful to avoid waking his father.
He plonked himself down the sofa, sighing quietly, before turning on the television. He grinned sheepishly at the film that was on, and more particularly, the song.
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Hiccup smiled, his thoughts switching to a particular black wolf. 'Yeah...I do.'
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Every morning, every break time, every lunch time and every evening Hiccup would escape to the forest with food. He would spend as long as possible, and he noted, with great satisfaction, that Toothless' shape was returning. His tail had also been healing well, thanks to the antibiotics he had managed to buy for 'a very large dog'.
Due to his father's huge wealth, Hiccup was able to buy large amounts of meat and deliver them to Toothless in the mornings and evenings, and would buy even more meat (albeit minimal and cooked) from school. Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly. Thuggory had been visiting from his home in Wales, giving Hiccup updates on his legal case. Oh, and there's school…that's not going so well.
Sure, nothing much had changed, but now he was being shunned by everybody. Even some teachers had begun to avoid contact with him. It was as if he had been convicted of murder. Even the dinner ladies stopped questioning him, and just gave him as much food as he wanted (good news for Toothless), scared that he would try to harm them. He was on grateful that nobody appeared to question is sudden disappearances at break and lunch times.
There was one girl, though, that had notices his disappearances. Not that she was concerned, she just thought of it as being a bit weird. Okay, she had began to obsess over it.
Astrid Hofferson watched as Hiccup ate the vegetables and potatoes that were on his plate, before covering the meat with a tissue and stuffing it in his bag. She had watched him do it for precisely two weeks. 'Why is he doing that…' she whispered quietly. Frowning at the boy, who was now making his way out of the canteen.
With Snotlout visiting his father, the twins fighting and Fishlegs most likely doing homework, Astrid decided that she had nothing better to do than to follow him. She smirked, standing up and heading towards the exit.
One of the twins stopped fighting, 'Astrid, where are you going?' Tuffnut called.
Astrid frowned for a moment, then answered carefully, 'I need to see someone.' Without further do, the fight resumed, and Astrid resumed her quest.
She followed him outside, around the building, and towards an unlocked gate that led to the field. Unlike most other schools, Berk Academy thought it would be a good idea to leave gates unlocked, mainly so that teachers can go and have a cigarette at break time. Not that any of them went through the hassle of leaving the school to do that.
She remained quiet, waiting some time before reopening the gate to follow Hiccup onto the school field. Her curiosity intensified when he quickly slipped behind the tree line. Why would he be going into the forest? It was now she began to feel worried. What if he's just coming here to get away from everyone else? Astrid shook the thoughts from her head. There has to be another reason…
She stayed low, almost crawling along the ground, following the sounds of Hiccup's footsteps. She thought she heard him paused every so often, searching for another person. After a few more seconds, she heard Hiccup laugh.
'Hey bud! I've got you some more food. It's chicken...your least favourite!'
Astrid frowned, hearing a light growl that seemed to respond to Hiccup's voice. What the…? Astrid raised her body slightly, peering over a bush.
Okay, so there's Hiccup. He's feeding a… She dropped down and held her breath. He was feeding the wolf? Astrid's eyes had widened and her breathing had become panicked. She had to tell the school, he was plotting to use the wolf against people. He was an attempted murderer!
She was about to get up and run, expose Hiccup for what he really was, a lying murderer. Someone out to kill more than just his uncle, and willing to use an innocent creature to it. Yet, that didn't sound like Hiccup, he just wasn't like that. Moments later, she heard something that startled her. Is Hiccup laughing? She peered over the bush again, and her eyes confirmed what she had heard.
Hiccup's back was pressed against a tree, with Toothless on top of him, pinning him down while he licked his face. Hiccup looked like he was having the time of his life. He just looked so happy. In fact, they both looked positively delighted.
Astrid smiled, but faltered when she noticed the wolf's tail. She wondered how such a magnificent creature had gotten such an injury. Did Hiccup do it? she wondered, staring more intently at the wolf's tail. She could see dent marks, deep red rectangles that could only have ever come from a trap. She looked downwards, a feeling of guilt coming over her. Poor thing…
She continued to watch them for another 15 minutes, before deciding that she had seen enough. Hiccup and the wolf, who he appeared to call Toothless, were like best friends. No, they were best friends. She didn't have the heart to rat out his best friend. Especially after all that Hiccup had gone through (including stuff that she had let him go through), and all that he was going through now, she would have to confront him privately.
Astrid turned, and crawled away from the pair. That night, she laid in bed thinking about what she had seen that day. 'I'll speak to him tomorrow…' she whispered to herself, hugging her pillow and slipping into a dreamy sleep.
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Wednesday 29th September 1999
Hiccup returned from feeding Toothless early the next day, not for any real reason other than he needed the loo. Although it probably would have been more hygienic to do it in the forest. The school's toilets were more like a bath of urine, toilet paper, crap and not surprisingly, blood.
Either way, he was bursting, and he didn't like the colder weather that late September had brought. He avoided the puddles of urine, and eventually just stood in the puddle that may have formed many days ago.
Astrid watched him from a distance. She saw him enter the toilet, it was about 8 o'clock in the morning, so no one else should be around. She smirked, taking out her hoody. She zipped it up and threw the hood over her head, before slipping outside of the library and into the nausea-inducing toilet.
Hiccup heard someone enter silently, and immediately began trying to pee faster. He even began to panic when the figure behind him just stood there. Seven seconds later, he was finished. He was about to pull up his zip, when a female voice spoke.
'Hiccup,' Hiccup's face paled. It was Astrid.
He turned quickly, forgetting about everything else. He looked fearfully at her, and spoke nervously, 'Oh...hi...uh...Astrid...um...what are you doing here?'
Astrid threw back her hood to glare at him. 'I wanna know what's going on.' She began approaching him, and he took a step back. 'No one just takes pile of food from the canteen and leaves for the forest. Especially you. Start talking!' she demanded.
'I...uh...have no idea what you're talking about…' Hiccup replied nervously.
Astrid gripped his shirt and pulls him close. 'You're playing a dangerous game, with that wolf. You know that?'
Hiccup sucked in a deep breath, and looked away. 'I don't know–'
'I've seen you,' she interrupted harshly. 'Toothless, is it?'
Hiccup looked back at her, and nodded. 'He's my friend…' he whispered quietly. 'He doesn't want to hurt anyone.'
Astrid let go of his shirt. 'I know he doesn't. But what about you? Do you want to hurt anyone?' she growled, getting right in his face. 'Like your uncle perhaps?'
Hiccup moved to the side, letting out a frustrated sigh. 'I didn't do anything to him!'
Astrid folded her arms and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. She didn't look so convinced. 'Then what about the blood, and CCTV? And the knife that they found?'
Hiccup sighed again, looking down at the floor. 'The blood...the blood was Toothless',' he revealed. He looked back up at her. 'When I found him, one of the traps had snapped at his tail. After I released him, his tail sprayed out a lot of blood. The CCTV wasn't time-stamped, so they don't know exactly when I walked past. All I know is that when Spitelout was stabbed, I was in bed sleeping.'
Astrid's face had softened slightly. 'And what about the knife?'
Hiccup looked down at the pee-ridden floor again. 'I...I went out to the forest that day...to kill Toothless.' His eyes closed, he looked absolutely ashamed of himself. 'I thought that if I were to kill a wolf, maybe some people would respect me…' He looked up at her. 'Please don't tell anyone about him! I can't lose the only friend I've got…'
There was a tense silence, with Astrid staring intently at Hiccup's face, which was once again pointed towards the ground. After a good minute, Astrid finally broke the silence, 'I believe you.'
Hiccup's eyes widened, and his head snapped up to look at her. 'You...what?'
Astrid smiled softly at him. 'I believe you, Hiccup. You and Toothless, I...I get it.'
Hiccup smiled sheepishly back, and blushed when Astrid hugged him comfortingly. She stood back and looked him up and–oh dear.
Astrid's face went bright red, and she looked him in the eye. 'Hiccup...you...you're…flying low.'
Hiccup frowned, looking down and gasping in surprise. 'Oh shit…' he muttered, turning his back to her. He stuffed his rather hard friend back into his trousers, and zipped himself up. When he turned back, neither of them could look each other in the eye.
'I'll see you after school, to see Toothless…' Astrid muttered. She gave him a slip of paper with a number on it, and pulled over her hood to make her way hastily out of the toilet. Hiccup stared after her, and waited a few minutes before he exited the revolting room, making his way to the library.
Neither of them made eye contact for the rest of the day, and Astrid didn't show up to meet Toothless that night either.
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Anonymous review responses:
Tawny: Thanks a lot! And also thanks for pointing that out, I have edited it :D
Notes and such: Unfortunately, school is starting very soon. Which means there will be a much greater time distance between chapter updates. I have the story planned up to chapter 11, which will be the final chapter (an epilogue will follow, which will reveal the link to 1997 (the year of the prologue)). In fact, although I haven't written most of it, I have already written out the last few paragraphs of the prologue. I'm also beginning to plan a series of short canon fanfictions to go with this story (for release post-epilogue, but set pre-epilogue). If there are any sticky situations you'd like to see these characters get involved in, then please do say.
I hope you can find the time to review, even a small message is appreciated. It really helps to keep me motivated. Mistakes, no matter how small, are also (honestly, I wrote most of this when I was tired, so please correct anything you see). Ideas are also helpful – I may not implement them, but I will certainly consider them.
-CGJ
