So...this is more of a filler chapter. However, it is still very important (the ending especially). Next chapter will be the awesome chapter.
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 8
Thursday 30 September 1999
Hiccup pushed his front door open angrily, slamming it closed behind him. He marched into the living room and sat down with a thump. He scowled at the blank television, folding his arms. 'Damned Astrid,' he muttered.
After the incident in the toilet earlier in the day, Astrid failed to make her expected appearance in the forest. Instead it seemed she had decided to go home with Snotlout instead. Why would she even do– His thoughts where interrupted when something crashed into his front door.
'What the…?' Hiccup frowned, and cautiously made his way over to the front. He opened the door slowly, and jumped back when Astrid charged into his house.
'Oh…uh...hi...Astrid...um–' The door slammed closed.
Astrid let out a huge sigh of relief, and leaned against the front door. 'Phew...Snotlout would never look here.'
Hiccup cocked his head, 'You're running from Snotlout?'
She glared, and Hiccup averted his eyes towards the floor.
Astrid continued glaring at him for a few more seconds, before curiously gazing across the features of Hiccup's hallway. 'Nice place. Can I stay for a bit?' she asked, not really waiting for Hiccup to respond before entering his living room. Like Hiccup would say no.
Hiccup followed her, still rather cautious about Astrid being in his house. After awhile, he finally plucked up the courage to ask her, 'Do you want a drink?'
She turned to him, and nodded. 'Water...please.' Did I just say, 'please'? she asked herself.
Hiccup nodded, and walked into the kitchen. He came back, with a glass of tap water, and smiled at her. Astrid had already made herself comfortable on the sofa, almost slouching all over it. She reached up and took the water from him, and asked, 'What time is it?'
He frowned, and glanced down to his watch. 'About 6, why?'
'Can you turn the news on?' she asked, pointing her head towards the telly.
'Yes, your highness,' Hiccup mumbled, reaching over and pressing the thick on-button. BBC News was already on, but the headline the news reporter was reading out made their mouths drop.
The search for the missing wolf from Berkford is being intensified, hundreds of extra police, volunteers and zoo staff are being called in to search the Berkford area once again. The wolf was reported to be seen near the Berkford Academy, but no traces of the wolf have yet to be found.
Hiccup turned and glared at Astrid. 'You promised me you wouldn't–'
'–I didn't!' Astrid insisted.
'Then how–'
'–I don't know!' Astrid slammed the glass on the table, luckily not breaking it, and moved over to sit in front of him. 'We need to move him.'
'But Astrid we can't! Where are we going to move him–wait a second...are you any good at gardening?'
Astrid raised an inquisitive eyebrow. 'Yes, why?'
Hiccup stood, he had a weird grin on his face, which Astrid wasn't sure whether she liked. 'My mum used to own a large dog when she was younger. The dog used to have a kennel at the back of the garden! We could use that to hide Toothless in!'
Astrid frowned, 'But wouldn't your dad see him?'
Hiccup let out a cute little giggle. Wait, I didn't just think of Hiccup as cute, right? Astrid eyes darted towards the back door, and then back to the child she did not just call cute.
'No, because it's hidden behind the shed! It took dad nearly two years to realise she had it! All we need to do is clear the garden…' Hiccup stared out of the window, it was going to take a long time.
And it did.
In fact, by the time they had finished, it was already 10 o'clock. Hiccup and Astrid fell back into his sofa, both of them incredibly tired. Astrid smiled and turned to him. 'It looked amazing. I'm sure Toothless will like it.'
'I bet he'd like you,' Hiccup replied, causing Astrid to look away nervously. 'What's...what's wrong with that?'
Astrid twiddled her thumbs and looked down. 'I don't want to meet him…'
Hiccup's eyes widened. 'Why not?'
There was a slight pause, before she spoke again, 'I'm...kinda scared?' She wasn't sure of herself, was she scared? Or was she just nervous?
Hiccup scoffed, making Astrid glare. 'You're not scared. You're just nervous. Come on, let's go see him now!' He stood up, only to have Astrid grip his arm.
'No…' she mumbled. 'We'll do it tonight, when we can move him here, okay?'
Hiccup thought for a moment, before looking at her and nodding. 'Fine. Meet me at the school gates at 11? And wear dark clothes...or something…'
Astrid giggled at him, making Hiccup blush and look away. She stood up and patted his shoulder. 'I'll see you then.' She left without another word being spoken.
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That night, Hiccup crept downstairs, careful not to wake his father. Stoick had come home after a long day of work, and had, unfortunately, fallen asleep on the sofa. Which made their situation a lot more difficult.
On any other occasion, this would be fine. Only problem was that the back gate was locked. And boy, it really did make a noise if you tried to unlock it. Hiccup had realised that the only way to get Toothless outside was to take him through the house. Which made Stoick sitting in the living room a bit of a problem.
Nevertheless, Hiccup was determined. He had to do this. Nothing would get in his way.
He grabbed his shoes from beside the sofa, and tiptoed to the door. Before he stepped out, he grabbed his coat and keys, and made sure his father hadn't set the alarm. He opened the door slowly, and slid out. He looked left and right, like he was about to cross the road, to check the coast was clear. Seeing that it was, he made his way to the forest.
Less than 15 minutes later, Hiccup and Toothless were at their spot. The 'cove' as Hiccup had begun to call it, waiting for Astrid to arrive. It was a long wait, as expected. Especially since Hiccup had arrived earlier than planned. He wasn't usually this punctual, but this was Astrid he was dealing with.
Sure enough, Astrid arrived right on time. She pushed passed tree after tree, the occasional branch slapping her in the face. She let out a feral growl, searching, in the dark, for the boy and his wolf. She pressed forwards, determined not to let her complete lack of knowledge on the forest area hinder her efforts. Her eyes squinted and she began to run, panicking at the thought of being lost in an area with a wild (although tamed) wolf running around. Just as the worry began to set in her, she stumbled out into the clearing, releasing a huge sigh of relief.
And then she was on the floor.
Her eyes widened and she froze, staring up at the magnificent beast before her. Well, on top of her. The creature had managed to pounce on her, and bring her down, in almost a split second. Not even she could stop that. She continued to stare at the animal, its eyes were slitted and his teeth bared, almost daring her to make the slightest move.
Hiccup let out a gasp as Toothless bolted from beside him. He turned to see Astrid had arrived, and that Toothless wasn't happy to see her. 'Toothless!' he called out, scrambling to his feet. He stepped forward to run, but managed to get his legs tangled in some undergrowth. His face hit the floor, and he let out a pained cry.
Toothless snarled at the human girl in front of him. She had no weapons on her, but his male human had indicated that something was looking for him. And that something wanted to take him back to that prison. A bit of saliva pooled along his bottom lip, and slowly fell onto her chin. He opened his maw, but turned when he heard his friend's cry.
Astrid tried to shrink into the ground, her eyes bulging at the sight of his saliva splashing against her shin. She let out a scared whimper, and heard Hiccup's voice. She smiled, Hiccup would save her. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she passed out underneath the wolf. The last thing she remembered was a heavy weight being lifted from her shoulders. Quite literally.
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I was in a trance. My eyes were tightly sealed as I heard a boy talking to his associate. He was blaming him for some form of attack, or something. I didn't really care. The stars looked pretty. Not that I was looking at any stars, I was staring at my eyelids. All the dancing colours, they're so fascinating. As is that voice. Who's voice was that? It sounded soft...but insecure. Like a panicked child. I just wanted to snuggle whoever it was coming...wait...that sounds like–
'Hiccup!' Hiccup and Toothless jumped backwards as Astrid bolted upright, panting heavily.
'Wow, Astrid, are you okay?' Hiccup asked worriedly, gulping loudly when she glared at him.
'Do I look okay?' she snapped, 'I was unconscious!'
Toothless snorted, which made Astrid flinch. 'Get him away from me…' she said in a hushed tone, 'I don't like him being so–no!' She put her hands up to block him, but Toothless had already managed to lick her face.
Hiccup laughed quietly, pushing his canine friend off of his human one. 'Hey, cut it out, you're grossing her out.' Toothless looked at him with a blank expression, before sitting down and staring inquisitively at Astrid.
Astrid still looked afraid, but with a little encouragement from the boy next to her, she slowly extended her hand towards the wolf. She avoided either of the boys' gaze, but looked up when she felt a cold nose press against her palm. She smiled, and turned to face Hiccup.
'So what games do you guys play?' Astrid asked with a grin, one which Hiccup mirrored and Toothless seemed to mock.
'Well…' he began.
For the next hour or so, Astrid, Hiccup and Toothless played a series of games. Varying from tag to play-wrestling (giving Hiccup the opportunity to touch certain places of Astrid's anatomy). It felt like their utopia would never end, that they would play like this for the rest of their lives and nothing would ever stop that.
Except, perhaps, for a voice shouting, 'I hear something!' less than 30 metres away.
The two teenagers exchanged worried looks, before quietly ushering Toothless away from where the voice had sounded. The two decided to split up: One would lead Toothless towards Hiccup's house, while the other would tag behind Toothless. This meant that if one of them were to be caught, the other could still take Toothless to Hiccup's.
Much to his annoyance, Hiccup discovered that he was the one tagging behind. Obviously Astrid realised he was the clumsy one most likely to get caught. Hiccup pouted as he followed the other two through the forest. As they neared the road, Astrid and Toothless broke into a run. Hiccup was about to run after them, but felt a large hand clasp his shoulder.
He gasped and turned, quite a large burly man stood before him. It was Ashley Thorston, father of the annoying twins. The man had large blue eyes and dirty-blonde hair, much like his children, and had stubble covering most of his chin. He wore a thick faux coat, with a 'Find the wolf!' badge placed the wrong-side up, near where his heart would be.
Ashley, better known as Tuffnut Senior to people at school, spoke in a harsh tone. 'What are you doing out here?'
Hiccup nervously glanced in the direction of Astrid and Toothless, but didn't utter a word.
'I see...you were having some fun with that girl, weren't you?'
Hiccup stared up at him in shock, and blushed slightly. He realised he may as well go along with what he was saying, so that Tuffnut Sr wouldn't get suspicious.
'I know what it's like, Hiccup. But could you have not waited for your not guilty verdict?'
Hiccup stared at up at him, confused, before he finally asked, 'How do you know it's going to be a not guilty verdict?'
The man smiled, patting his shoulder. 'Spitelout woke up an hour ago, from what the nurse said, it looks like he saw the figures of those who stabbed him. But he isn't quite sure.'
Hiccup frowned, 'So then I could still go down?'
Tuffnut Sr chuckled and shook his head. 'No, he's a loyal man, Spitelout. He wouldn't let his own family go to prison for something he's not sure they've done. He will testify in favour of you, kid. Count yourself lucky.'
Hiccup nodded, and lowered his gaze to the ground. Did Spitelout really consider him family? Related, yes. But family? He smiled, and looked up at him. 'Thanks, Sir.'
The man nodded curtly, before patting him on the pack a final time. 'You need to get back before anyone sees and reports you, but make sure you give your bird a kiss goodnight.'
Hiccup blushed again, and quickly scurried off. He moved as fast as he could to his house, where he knew Toothless and Astrid would be waiting for him. I wonder if he knew it was Astrid, or just thought it was some random girl, he thought quickly, as the two of them came into view.
Hiccup quietly opened his front gate, before approaching the door. He turned to Astrid, 'We have to be silent...okay?' She nodded.
The door slipped open, and the three of them crept inside. Astrid closed the door with care, making sure it didn't slam. The hallway and living room were dark, and the only sounds were their breathing, and Stoick's snoring. Astrid smirked, she wondered if Hiccup snored like that.
Hiccup led them into the living room, and they tiptoed passed his father. For a moment, it looked like Toothless was going to pounce on the man and lick him, but the two teenagers quickly dissuaded him from doing so. They crept into the dining room, then into the kitchen, before they finally made it to the back door.
Hiccup pulled it open, and allowed Astrid and Toothless into the garden. Quickly, she nudged him along to his dog house, before running back towards the house.
Just before she got to the door, it slammed closed. She frowned, until she heard Hiccup speak.
'Oh, I just went out for some fresh air…' he replied nervously to his father. She heard a grunting sound, before the door opened again.
She stepped backwards, thinking Stoick was about to walk outside, but it was only Hiccup.
'Climb over the back,' he whispered. 'We can't get passed him.'
Astrid nodded. She was about to run off when Hiccup grabbed her arm. 'Oh, and by the way, Spitelout woke up...and he's going to testify for me.'
Astrid's face seemed to light up, she leant forward and kissed his cheek. 'That's great!' she whispered ecstatically, looking genuinely delighted, before turning and bounding off to the back of the garden.
Leaving Hiccup in a rather...blissful state.
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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: As I've said, I'm doing my A Levels now, so that means less time for the story! I didn't really like this chapter much, even though the ending was important, it won't be an overly crucial moment. However, the next chapter will be the chapter of all chapters. At least I hope so, anyway...
I hope you can find the time to review, even a small message is appreciated. It really helps to keep me motivated. Mistakes, pray tell. Missed/wrongly used apostrophes? Used the wrong homophone? Spelt something wrong? A sentence doesn't make sense? You know I like it when you guys tell me.
-CGJ
