Previously in HTTYD: The Terrible Duo
We entered the village parted ways while waving to each other good bye. Hiccup ran back to his house and I to mine. There was only one thing left in mind...
'I just hoped that Swift wouldn't get angry at me...'
Marcus's House, ? POV
The first thing my mouth let out was a yawn.
My eyes flutter open as I yawned again. I looked around and knew that I'm still where I was. Home. Or rather, Marcus's Home. I jumped out of the makeshift bed Marcus made for me and ran around the house, both searching for Marcus and stretching my legs. Jumping from place to place, carefully as to not break anything and attract attention from the outside. Once I realized Marcus wasn't home, I let out a low growl and searched for food.
You must be wondering who I am. I am Swift. Swift the Speed Stinger(Yes, I am a dragon).
Anyway, Introduction aside, I searched the kitchen for some fish. Luckily, I found some in Marcus's storage cabinet. I let out a shriek of joy and dove my head right in the cabinet.
After eating what must've been almost half of the contents(mainly fish) and feeling satisfied, I ran back into Marcus's bedroom and waited for him to come back.
To pass the time, Let me give you a short story as to why I am here.
I was the alpha speed stinger of my pack. We live in a separate island from berk but, of course, this Island was inhabited by humans too. My leadership was unquestionable... Until one dared to challenge me.
He was the alpha stinger of another pack. Named Ruth claw. I have heard and seen this speed stinger in a fight. Dirty, Dishonourable and a downright manipulator. The only reason he was alpha because he was the Hatchling of the previous Alpha. And also he cheats his way out of fights.
I won the battle, as expected. But Ruth claw had another trick up his tail. He used the momentum to strike and injured me... Badly.
Even if it was a cheat, The rules state that the victor will become leader of the pack. And for Ruth claw's case, Leader of both packs. And the defeated will be stripped of his rank and honor and will be banished from the pack. Never to return. That was why I had a scar on my left eye. To remind of my failure...
A couple of weeks later, I spied a human ship coming to the island. I thought about sneaking to the boat and leave the island. But it seemed the gods decided to mock me for my failure.
A trap from the humans that lived on this island managed to ensnare me. And unfortunately, It injured my left leg. Disabling me from running. Panic ran rampant in my mind. The blood will surely attract other predators. Or even other dragons and speed stingers to my location. I thought I was gonna die...
Until, He came... Marcus... Of course, I didn't know that was his name at that time.
A human hatchling spotted me. By the looks of it, He must be... no older than six. Just enough for a hatchling to talk. It was also a few inches smaller than me. Four. Maybe five? The human stared at me... I must've looked pitiful. Shameful even. I had first thought it was going to kill me. But then... He did something unexpected from what I known from humans.
The human muttered something. It's voice was smooth and... caring? I stared, baffled, at the human before me. It took out some sort of... brew from It's carrying pack and used it on my injured leg. It was stingy, to say at least, but the pain lasted for merely seconds. I, yet again, stared at the human in front of me. It muttered something again and carried me. I have to admit, It(Or rather he) is quite strong for a human with a scrawny body, compare to the other Humans. Has he been not eating a lot?
The human managed to fit me inside the carrying pack seemingly made out of straws and such. What was he going to do to me? I could only hear other humans mutter something using that strange language of theirs.
A couple of hours later, I heard and smelled the sea from the outside. I must be on a boat. The human took me with him? I knew I will never again see my pack. Hopefully, The humans will take care of Ruth claw.
Days later, The human would eventually open the pack where I was and feed me food. This human is different from the others...
We then arrived into another Island. That Island was berk. The human took me into his home and managed to keep me away from the others. Who knew some Humans can be sneaky as a snake sometimes?
(Bold letters mean dragonese)
A couple of years later and Here I am... I managed to understand their language and now lived in this house with Marcus.
The door opened and I raced downstairs to see my friend, who looked rather troubled in his mind.
I gave out a growl to make him aware of my presence. Sure enough, Marcus turned his head to my direction and smiled. "You're late, human. You didn't give me food." I growled to him. What? Can't a dragon complain?
Marcus, seeming to understand, only replied "Sorry, Swift. But we were in a dragon raid. I still can't believe you can sleep that long. And me and hiccup were... searching for a certain dragon." He said. Ah... Hiccup. The village runt and pathetic excuse for a Viking. Though I'm not one to judge. For a runt, He's quite intelligent. Hiccup figured out Marcus had a dragon in his house when they were seven. Needless to say, It took quite a lot of convincing to make Hiccup not tell on him.
"Anyway... I don't need to feed you because you raided my storage closet didn't you?" He asked with an accusing tone. I merely chirped in response "I was hungry.". He sighed and went to take a seat. Hmmm... Something's troubling him. I can tell.
"What troubles you, friend?" I asked him. Though to him, It sounded like a growl. He seemed to understand. "Nothing's troubling me, Swift. Just... been an eventful morning is all." He answered. Eventful huh? You're not exactly of a perfect liar, Marcus. Already, I can smell the scent of dragon on him. It's a scent that I almost recognize... But I can't seem to remember... Oh well.
Before I could question further, Marcus climbed the stairs and fell on the bed while saying "If you need me, and not the kind of "Feed me" need me, wake me up.". With that, He fell asleep.
I grumbled and left the house, while also not attracting attention from the other humans. I ran to the forest to prepare my usual run. I'm a speed stinger. And a former alpha as well. It's my nature to stay fit.
Still, I wonder what's going on with the runt? Probably being scolded by his father... Again.
With Hiccup...
Hiccup, after reaching his home, opened the door and closed it quietly, careful not to alert his father. 'Hopefully, He's in a meeting or out of the house doing his chief business as usual.' He thought. For the first time, He actually wanted his father to not notice him.
But, as if the gods still wanted to laugh at him, instead saw his father sitting in front of the fire. Hiccup mentally cursed. The one time... This one time that he wanted his father to ignore him, and he's right there! 'Gods, damn it! In the far future, I would like to meet the God who sets these pranks on me and strangle him to death!' He thought angrily.
Hiccup tried sneaking upstairs, hoping his father wouldn't hear him. But it seemed today... was not his lucky day(Not like he ever had one. Days like those were very rare for him).
"Hiccup." His father called out. Crud... Busted again... And to think he was going to make it...
"Dad..." Hiccup called back. He stopped climbing and mustered all his courage to face his father. "I have to... talk to you, dad." He said. "I need to speak with you too, son." Stoick replied.
'What could he possibly want to talk about? I haven't done anything wrong... Well, besides going against Viking traditions and releasing a dragon... But he doesn't need to know that.' Hiccup thought.
They both inhaled deeply and let out their own sentences.
"I decided I don't want to fight dragons."
"I think It's time you learn how to fight dragons."
"... What?" They said in unison.
'That can't be right... Did I just hear my dad tell me to learn how to fight dragons?' Hiccup thought.
"Uhhh... You go first." Offered Stoick. Hiccup, not wanting to sound rude, offered back "No No, You go first.". Stoick looked away for a moment before saying "Alright... You get your wish. Dragon Training. You start in the morning.".
'... Curse me and my big mouth...'
"Oh man, I should've gone first." Hiccup panicked, regretting his decision. "Cause I was thinking, You know, We have a surplus in Dragon fighting Vikings, but... Do we have enough..." Hiccup paused for a second. "Bread Making Vikings! Or small Home repair Vikings?" Hiccup suggested in an almost desperate tone. Lucky his father didn't notice.
'Oh come on! Is the world out to get me?! For years, I tried convincing my father to let me fight dragons but when I don't want to fight dragons anymore, He wants me to.'
"You'll need this."
He then dropped a large axe into Hiccup's arms. I yelped at sudden weight. "I don't wanna fight dragons..." Hiccup stammered. Stoick laughed at that. "Oh, come on. Yes you do."
"Rephrase. Dad, I can't kill dragons." Hiccup said.
"But you will kill dragons." Stoick said, thinking what he said was another one of his remarks. Hiccup mentally sighed at his father's stubbornness.
"No, I'm really extra sure that I won't."
"It's time, Hiccup."
"Can you not hear me?!" Hiccup said, raising his voice a little. 'Oh why, Oh why did dad have to pick now to grant my "wish"?' Hiccup thought, both furious and albeit frightened at his father's sudden change of heart.
"This is serious, son!" Stoick said, fed up with his son's negativity. "When you carry this axe, You carry all of us with you. Which means you WALK like us, You TALK like us and... THINK like us." Stoick emphasized. "No more... This." He gestured at Hiccup. "You just gestured to all of me." Hiccup said, bluntly.
"Deal?"
"This conversation is feeling very one sided."
"Deal?!" Stoick said, raising his voice. Hiccup sighed in defeat. "Deal..."
Stoick nodded. He turned to pick up his large sack and his helmet. "Good. Train hard. Got a few things to do before dawn. Go get some sleep. And before I forget, Tell Marcus he's coming with you."
"Okay dad... Good ni-." Before hiccup could finish, Stoick has already left and slammed the door closed, leaving hiccup to his own thoughts. 'Oh great... Wait, Why is Marcus involved?'
With Swift... (Swift's POV)
You know what's my favourite thing about this forest? Everything. It's just like the forest where I once lived. It's large, massive, the animals are a fair game to hunt and running around it never gets old. The feeling of being free is quite exhilarating.
I spotted three wolves and thought for a moment. 'Should I?' I thought momentarily before snorting. 'Why not?!'
I charge towards the wolves as they noticed my presence. They growled at me and I growled at them. Lucky this wasn't a full pack. Just some scouts.
They lunged at me and I zipped past them. I raised my stinger and took a swipe, Paralyzing the first wolf. The second one growled and charged at me. I jumped and landed on is back and used my body to slam it to the ground before hitting it with my stinger. The third one, however, managed to surprise me and tackled me. I roared at it's face and shook him off. The wolf yelped and was unbalanced. Perfect. I raised my tail and with one swipe, the wolf fell to the ground, paralyzed. I roared in victory and left the wolves behind.
(TIME SKIP) A few hours later...
I felt satisfied with my run and decided to head back. Only for me to pick up a scent of a dragon. No... Not just any dragon. The smell is similar to the one that Marcus had. Deciding to investigate, I ran to the source of the scent. I was then led in a cove.
Imagine my surprise when I found, not just a dragon, But a Night Fury! I have heard that particular dragon from Marcus. A dragon that is the unholy offspring of lightning and death... I was fascinated with the tale. But seeing it in person... Strange. I thought It was bigger.
The Night fury was asleep. Thank the gods. I have heard from the terrors that the Night Fury wasn't really a social one. I snuck upon the sleeping dragon and examined it. Most of what Marcus had told me was true... It's scales, black as the night sky. It's wings massive enough wrap a Viking adult. Claws were sharp. But something was off about It's tailfin... I can smell the faint scent of dried blood...
SNAP
Oh... damn it. Must've stepped on a twig. My eyes widened as the dragon shifted. As fast as I could, I left the cove just in time before the Night Fury awoke. I let out a sigh and thanked the gods for my luck... I ran back to the path where I came from and followed the scent of the village with one thought In mind.
'Marcus has a lot of explaining to do...'
Sometime later... (Marcus's POV)
Waking up early even before the sun shone was not really on my list of things to do...
After that, I decided to pay hiccup a little visit.
Reaching Hiccup's house, I opened the door and noticed Hiccup by the fire. Hiccup has that look on his face when his father and him had an argument. I gave out a low cough to make him aware of me. Hiccup's head turned to me. "Oh... Hey, Marcus."
"Alright. What happened between you and your father again?" I asked. Hiccup only sighed. That is not a good sign... "You remember a few years back when I begged my father to go out and fight dragons?" He asked. I nodded. "Well... Today, He told me I'm going to dragon training. And you're coming with me." He continued. I gasped. I don't know whether I should feel happy or terrified with the idea. Well... Happy because hiccup can finally find a way to prove himself to the village. Terrified because that means He'll be killing dragons... Like the rest of them. And also because Hiccup might die. At least I'm there to get hiccup out of harm's way...
Still, I managed to weakly say "T-That's great, Hiccup.". Hiccup shook his head. I was confused. "Look. I don't want to fight dragons! And I can't kill dragons!" Hiccup shouted. I was even more confused. Must be talking about his experience with the Night Fury.
Hiccup sighed and looked at the fire, sadly. Sensing my friend's distress, I sat right next to him. "I just want my father to accept me for who I am... Is that too much to ask? Before, I wanted to kill a dragon but now...? I don't know anymore..." Hiccup said sadly.
Frowning, I laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. How is Hiccup even related to that man? The only thing that both of them share is their stubborn attitude.
This has gone for so long, I can't even remember the first time Stoick smiled proudly at his son... In fact, I don't think there's any. I remembered a long time ago I found out that Hiccup didn't even knew his mother. Said she was eaten by dragons before she could even watch Hiccup grow up. One time, at the day when she was supposedly killed, Hiccup was being bullied by Snotlout(As usual) and then I helped him out. We became sort of friends after that, seeing as I was the only one who seemed to not dislike him for who he is. But then... My parents lost their lives in a hunt for the nest... This was what I meant when I have experiences with that(When I was talking about Stoick's nest hunt). Hiccup tried to give me comfort... Long story short, that was when we became the best of friends. The memory almost brought a tear to my eye.
We stayed like that for a couple of seconds before I said, "Hey isn't your father at the docks? You should go say good bye to him and... wish him luck?" I suggested. Hiccup looked at me. What? Just trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere. Luckily, Hiccup didn't even seem offended. "Right... Let's go." He said before standing up, grabbing an axe(which I thought that belonged to him) and walked out of the door, with me following him.
By the docks...
When we arrived, Vikings were getting the ships ready. Once we made it to the harbor, We saw Astrid, Snotlout and others hugging their parents. I couldn't help but feel envious towards them. Stoick spotted us and walked calmly towards us. Well, towards Hiccup that is.
Both of them didn't even look at each other directly. Stoick just stared at the blue and Hiccup on the floor.
"I'll be back... Probably." Stoick said.
"And I'll be here... Maybe." Hiccup said.
I noticed Gobber tossing a sack at a random Viking and walked towards us. We looked at each other and then to Hiccup and Stoick. We sighed and did the talking for both of them. Me for Hiccup and Gobber for Stoick.
"Hiccup would like to say that he'll miss you. And he wishes that you'll finally find that Thor-forsaken nest. And that He'll do his best to try and become the man you always wanted him to be." I stated while looking at hiccup for confirmation. He nodded. Now for your turn, Gobber.
Gobber looked at Stoick before face palming. "Stoick wants to tell you that he'll be thinking of you the whole time. So train hard, Don't throw a house party..." I weakly chuckled at that. "...and He'll do his best not to be eaten by a sea serpent or dragon. But if he does, Well... That's that." Gobber stated. Wow. Cold much, Gobber. I mean, this is Stoick the Vast!
"We're Vikings. It's an Occupational Hazard." Stoick said, walking towards a boat.
"We're Vikings! It's an Occupational Hazard." Repeated Gobber. Stoick gave Gobber an Irritated glare. "I said that part already."
"Oh, Sorry for helping." Gobber said sarcastically.
Stoick got on a boat and looked at us. "I want my son back. With all Limbs attached." Demanded/Threatened Stoick before yelling "Set sail!".
And just like that, All of the ships left... I sighed. "Come on, Hiccup. Better prepare for training." I said. Hiccup nodded and followed me. Gobber then went to his own business. Probably preparing to teach in training... Curse our bad luck... Gobber's gonna be all "I believe in learning on the job." on us... I hope we can still live to see the light of day again.
A/n: Yay! Fourth Chapter! Never thought I make it this far. Anyway, As always, I would like to thank all of the readers, Followers and Reviewers! Please tell me if you would want me to make a flashback chapter on how Hiccup and Marcus's friendship! If you think there is something wrong, Please tell me!