Alright, here's chapter two! This is sort of in the realm of a filler chapter, but I think I did pretty well. XD Hopefully chapter 3 will be up quicker!
Disclaimer- I do not own HTTYD books or movie, I'm just borrowing the idea to create my own fun.
The sun rose slowly over the horizon, birds chirping happily as they flew through the multi-colored sky. Scents of a big breakfast wafted up through the cracks in the flooring, Gobber's voice ringing out as well.
But I barely paid attention to any of it, my eyes glued to the ceiling. Today I was leaving, saying farewell to my homeland for who knew how long, facing something dark in a foreign land. My dreams had become worse; the light never came and I just died in darkness, the tree begged for help, a shadow haunting me.
I jumped when something wet racked across my cheek. I looked over to find Toothless, tongue poking out slightly.
"H-Hey… did you sleep well?" I winced at how weak my voice sounded. I received another lick to my cheek before he nuzzled against me. "Better go downstairs, no doubt dad would like to congratulate us… or something…."
I placed my leg back on, feeling very sluggish as I finished dressed. I had almost no energy, everything was moving slowly, even having Toothless close didn't help. We headed downstairs slowly, greeted by Gobber, my father, and a huge spread on the table.
"Good morning Hiccup." Stoic said, ruffling my hair.
"H-Hey dad." I replied weakly, sitting down and grabbing a hunk of bread and cheese.
"Better be eating more than that Hiccup," Gobber advised as he drained his mug, "We have a big day ahead of us, lot of ocean to cover. You'll need that energy to stay awake."
I didn't reply, content to staring at the table, taking small bites.
"Nervous are we?" Stoic laughed, "I was too my first voyage out, but it will add to the adrenaline soon enough."
"When do we leave?" I asked weakly.
"Soon, you need to get the elders' blessing, then you will depart-"
"I don't want to go!" Gobber and Stoic froze at my outburst as I was gripping my head in pain, "Please, please just listen to me. Something is going to happen and-"
"Enough Hiccup!" Stoic shouted, "The plans have been made and the decision is final!"
"But dad-"
"I don't want your excuses!" Stoic sighed, sitting next to me. "Don't create reasons for the fears you might have. Nothing bad is going to happen, trust me."
I couldn't look at him in the eyes, I only nodded in defeat again. Giving me a comforting shake, Stoic stood, Gobber looking between us nervously.
"Alright Hiccup, lets go see Gothi."
"Right…."
The walk was slow and painful, all the time feeling like I was about to give my life away as I trudged behind my father. We arrived to Gothi's home and I hesitated, staring at the large oak door.
"Go on son, she's waiting for you." Stoic pushed me forward gently.
Swallowing, I knocked no the door gently, waiting for a reply. It opened slowly, Gothi poking her head out before allowing me to enter. I nodded in compliance and entered, getting hit by a wave of powerful incense. She gestured to a pillow placed before a small fire burning in the middle of her hut. I kneeled down and watched her work. Grabbing a small jar off a shelf, she walked over to me, silently telling me to bow my head. I did so, eyes closing, hoping I didn't fall asleep during this.
She started mummbling, smearing something thick and sticky on my forehead and cheeks. Sensing her leave, I straitened out, eyes focusing on the fire. Gothi took her place across from me, tossing a few herbs into the fire and watched them burn. My eyes stared feeling very heavy and before I could stop, they closed.
Deep red eyes suddenly flashed before me, a row of sharp teeth forming a crooked smile.
"There you are…."
My eyes snapped back open, heart hammering in fear. The small fire suddenly blazed up, causing Gothi and I to jump away. A cold, cruel laugh echoed though the small hut, Gothi looking around in fear while I cupped my hands over my ears, trying to block the sound.
"Come, little one, we have much to discuss."
The fire burnt out quickly, leaving the hut dark and calm, embers burning. Lighting a candle, Gothi gathered my up quickly and pulled me towards the back of her hut. She stopped, finger pointed frantically point to a warn drawing of a large and rather grand tree, looking at me expectantly.
"I- what? What does a tree have to do with anything!" She jabbed her finger near the bottom of the parchment. Frowning, I leaned forward and read: "…Yggdrasil…. The World Tree, from our lore?"
She nodded before pointing at me, while I just stood there in complete confusion. Reaching forward, Gothi gently placed her hand over my eyes, blocking everything from my view.
"…I don't understand…."
Then I heard it, very faint, but it was there.
Help… us….
"The tree! F-From my dream!" I stepped back, startled. I looked at Gothi in shock before I turned back to the hanging parchment. "It's… Yggdrasil… but why is it appearing in my dreams? What does it want, why is it dying? Does it actually exist, what's happening?"
Gothi merely shook her head and pointed towards the closed window. Walking over, I opened it revealing the vast ocean before me. But I wasn't really focusing on it, questions still buzzing through my head.
"How can it be dying…. Doesn't Yggdrasil connect all the worlds together? If it dies, what will happen? Will we all just disappear? You know, you have to know, why else would you show me? You can tell me what's happening, you know something's going on, you have to tell me! You can explain to my dad, tell him, make him change his mind! I can't leave!"
I fell silent when Gothi covered my mouth, shaking her head, looking at me with apologetic eyes. She pointed back to the ocean, calling my attention back to it.
"…I order to find my answers, I have to leave…." I answered slowly, dread washing over me. She only nodded in reply, griping my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.
~**linebreak**~
I lead Toothless to the front of the group, watching as the rest secured their supplies onto their dragons. My stomach churned, remembering my meeting with Gothi, wondering why she wouldn't tell my father, tell me what was happening. She knew what was going on, she knew I was in trouble, she knew the world was slowly fading away, yet she was doing nothing about it! Why?! This was important, we were all in danger, why could she share what was so important!
"Hiccup!" Astrid called out, heading towards me as the other teens followed. I instantly pulled her close and buried into her, trying to find some comfort in her warmth. She wrapped her arms around me gently, smiling. "It's going to be alright…."
"Gothi knows something's going to happen," I said, "Go talk to her, bring the others, please, see if you can't find anything."
Astrid stared at me in surprise. "She… She said…."
"Please, I need to know that this place is being protected and you're the only person I trust."
"I'll try." she said, brushing my bangs back gently.
I jumped slightly as a large hand was placed on my shoulder, looking up at Stoic.
"You ready Hiccup?" He asked.
"As I'll ever be…." I finished my trek to the front, my father and Toothless following close by, Gobber was waiting for us with his dragon. Stoic stopped short, bending down slightly as he gripped my shoulder gently.
"This is a very important moment… and I couldn't be more proud of you."
"T-Thanks dad…." He pulled me close; I smiled in comfort, feeling like I was five again. He pulled away and I took my place next to Gobber as we mounted our dragons. Making sure everything was held in place, I looked up at Gobber, who looked back expectingly.
"Um, ready?"
"That's up to you, you're leading. Take off whenever you're ready."
I needed, taking another look around at the village, knowing I wasn't going to be back for a long time. My eyes connected with Astrid, who smiled softly and gave a confident nod.
"Alright buddy, lets go."
Toothless gave a rumbled of agreement before taking off, Gobber and the other following. The village let out cheers and cries of amazement and encouragement as the skies filled with dragons. The sound began to fall silent as we flew higher into the sky, the wind soon replacing the sounds. I looked back at the ever shrinking island before the clouds stared to gather and Berk was gone.
~**linebreak**~
There was one other time that I had seen Hiccup that scared, and that was when he thought he's never see Toothless or his father again. He was terrified about something and if Gothi was worried…. I looked at the large crowd of dragons and vikings in front of us, waiting for Hiccup's orders to take off into the skies. But he was looking around, face telling me that he was trying to find some comfort before he left. His eyes landed on me; I smiled and gave a quick nod, letting him know I would handle everything here.
He smiled softly before he patted Toothless' side and they took off, the rest taking off after him. Those staying behind cheered them on until they disappeared into the clouds.
"Can't believe they're gone…." Fishlegs said behind me, sounding worried.
"Don't worry Fishlegs," Stoic said calmly, "With Hiccup and Toothless leading them, they'll return unharmed."
"We know they will, we're all just a little worried." I commented at the villagers started to leave.
"As am I… if you would excuse me…." I watched as Stoic walked off, heading for his now empty hut.
"It feels so weird knowing Hiccup and Toothless aren't here," Tuff said, "What do we do now?"
"I'm going to talk to Gothi." I said simply, turning towards the elder's house.
"Why?" Snotlout asked, the group following me as I trekked my way up.
"Hiccup told me to talk to her about what's happening, even she thinks that something's wrong."
"So they both ate something bad, big deal."
"It's more than that! I've been worried about Hiccup since was talked to him about his dreams and now Gothi thinks something's going to happen. I need to understand, we all do, for Hiccup's sake…."
We arrived soon and I knocked softly on the door, hoping she wasn't doing anything to important. I was relieved when the door opened, Gothi peering at me with curiosity.
"I- we, need to talk to you about something…." Gothi huffed and started to shut the door. "No, wait, Hiccup told us to come talk to you! Please, we want to help."
She paused, the door barely open. With a silent sigh, she opened the door further and allowed us to enter.
"Thank you." I bowed low and entered, the others following. We took a seat around the small fire, nervous as Gothi fully closed the door and walked further into her house. "I don't mean to be pushy, but I'm worried-"
She placed a hand over my mouth before walking past, already knowing my panic. We watched with slightly curiosity as she plucked Fishlegs up and dragged him over to a pile of fallen ash. She began to write, finishing with a point to it for Fishlegs to read.
"Um… She says that she admires our dedication, but this doesn't involve us."
"Glad we walked all the way up to just get rejected." Snotlout muttered to himself.
"This does involve us, Hiccup is our friend and he's asked us to help. If he is in danger, we should have a right to know what is happening." Gothi faltered slightly at that, picking up her stick and writing again.
"Ok, now she's saying that we can ask her again, but we have to wait until tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow, why?" I stood, panicking. Fishlegs read the next line, frowning.
"She said… that everything's not in place yet…."
"What does that mean?" Tuff asked, confused as the rest of us.
"I don't know," Fishlegs stepped back as Gothi headed for her door. She opened the door and looked at us expectingly. "And I'm guessing she wants us to leave."
"Fine… But we will be back tomorrow night." I said, leading the way out. As I passed, she patted my shoulder, giving me a look of apology. "I'm just worried…."
**~linebreak~**
"You call that a fire, come on, we have dragons! Build that thing up! Where are those hunters, they were suppose to be back hours ago! We don't need tents, it's not going to rain, take those down!"
I laughed softly as I watched Gobber shout orders, turning to Toothless. "Glad to see him yelling at someone other than me."
Toothless purred in agreement, watching the slight mayhem with glee. We had landed on the nearest island, something that would normally take at least three days to reach, under twelve hours. Setting up camp began as soon as we landed, having to clear away a portion of the surrounding forest to have a level ground to rest on. Now, as night slowly began to fall, I was resting against Toothless while Gobber watched over everything being set up.
Writing a note in my sketchbook, I looked up hearing Gobber walk over, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.
"Need me to take over?" I offered, placing my book down and standing.
"Naw, I just forgot how tiring this is. Still doing alright?"
"I'm feeling better, more so then I did back on Berk."
"Glad to hear it," Gobber said ruffling my hair, "Now, we should-"
A long deep wolf call broke through the camp, all falling silent at the morbid sound. Another joined soon, the air becoming colder, everyone looking at that surrounding forest.
"Wolves?" I looked at Gobber.
"There aren't suppose to be any here…. We've never found any on our previous visits." Gobber said, frowning deeply. I jumped when Toothless stood with a loud roar, blocking me from the forest.
"Bud, what are you doing?" I frowned as Toothless circled around me, pupils reduced to small slits. "T-Toothless…." I turned towards the camps, hearing the other dragons starting to act strange, glaring and growling at the forest as well. Their riders stood at their sides in an attempt to calm them down.
"Hiccup, what's happening?" Gobber asked.
"I don't know, they're spooked about something," I winced as the wolves became louder, "What is happening!?"
And suddenly, it stopped, all falling quiet. Toothless turned to me, looking very worried, nuzzling against me. "What was that all about?"
"You think we were about to be attacked with the way they were acting." Gobber said rubbing under his chin. We both jumped when a twig snapped, relaxing when the hunting party emerged, carrying three boars.
"We're back," the parties leader paused seeing everyone still, "What did we miss? Someone see a ghost?"
"Where have you been!" Gobber barked.
"Hunting, were else?"
"Did you happen to see any wolves when you came back?" I asked.
"What, no, there are no wolves here. What have you been eating boy?"
"He's not joking, we just heard them," Gobber intervened, "So did you see any or not." The party shook their heads, Gobber sigh in frustration. "Alright, just get those boars outer the fire, I'm starving."
I watched as they set everything up, very confused. Bending down, I rubbed under Toothless' chin. "What we heard… was that what you sensed back in Berk?" Toothless nodded, whining softly. He pressed his head against my chest.
We all ate quickly and quietly, my mind was racing with questions as I picked at my food. Something was following us, but who and what for? I snapped back to reality when Gobber sat next to me, carrying maps and opening a few.
"Right, we need a plan…. Do we know of any other islands near by?" I asked, grabbing an open map and looking it over.
"From what information we've gotten from Trader Johan, we have two options. One's towards the east, about a day flight, the others continuing south."
"How far away is that one?"
"About a day and half."
I sighed, thinking. "If we head east first…. That'll add on…."
"Another half day to reach the south."
"A two day flight, I don't know if the dragons could handle it. Especially after another day long flight. They would need to rest awhile."
"The east island is rather large, unknown to us. We could explore while the dragons rest." Gobber suggested.
"That could work…." I looked back at Toothless, " Think you could fly two days strait?" He gave a nod, showing his gummy smile. "Alright, we head east, gather as much information as we can and let them rest. Then we head south."
"Excellent idea…." I jumped when Gobber ruffled my hair.
"W-What was that for?" I asked
"You're father's proud of what you're doing Hiccup."
I looked down, feeling my face heat up. "I know…."
"We should turn in, get an early start in the morning."
"Right…." Gobber gave a nod and stood, shouting the order to turn in for the night. Yawning widely, I pulled my sheet out from my pack, wrapping it around me tightly. Toothless nuzzled me to lay down, my head resting on his front leg, a wing tenting over me. "Thanks bud…."
I yawed once more before I drifted off.
**~linebreak~**
"Help us…."
My eyes snapped open, the dying tree towering over me. Standing up cautiously, I looked up, frowning as the ashes fell away rapidly.
"What do you need me to do? I can't help if you don't explain to me what I need to do."
"Find… us…."
"But where are you!" I let out a frustrated cry, "Please, I know something is happening and that you are the World Tree. But I don't know what I'm suppose to do to help you…."
"Nothing, little seed, you don't need to find this place…." I gasped in pain a sheer cold washed over me, eyes covered by shadows. Burning red eyes piercing me, causing me to freeze in fear.
"I'll… find… you…."
**~linebreak~**
"Hiccup!"
I let out a gasp as I was pulled out of my dream, trembling and breathing hard. Gobber and Toothless were looking at me, both worried, the sound of the other villagers murmuring behind them.
"G-Gobber?" I winced, feeling absolutely sick to my stomach. "What happened?"
"You stopped breathing…. How are you feeling?"
"Horrible…." I sat up slowly, Toothless helped prop me up. I let out a soft moan, stomach churning painfully.
"Take it easy Hiccup, don't push yourself." Gobber placed a hand on my back, easing my up to stand strait. "Alright everyone, show's over, start packing up! We leave as soon as we can!"
Once the crowd dispersed, Gobber face me again, frowning deeply. "You had a 'dream' again, didn't you."
I didn't look up, closing my eyes, trying to stop the world from spinning. "Y-Yeah…."
"Think you'll be able to fly? You look a little green."
"Y-Yeah… lets just see if I can keep anything down." I accepted a small bit of bread, eating slowly as Gobber packed our stuff away. "What do I need to do today?"
"Just focus on flying and not falling to your death. I'll lead, you just follow," he gripped my shoulder tightly, "You're going to be ok Hiccup."
"I know Gobber, thanks…." I smiled weakly.
We mounted our dragons soon, taking to the skies and heading east for our next destination. Taking deep breaths, I smiled weakly, feeling slightly better as we passed over the vast waters. Looking up at the skies, I frowned watching the clouds above us created two perfect line, each keeping up with us.
"Hey Gobber, do you have any idea what that is?" I pointed up to the strange formations, Gobber frowning as well.
"Don't know… think they're being created by us?"
"We're to far down for us to be…." I let out a yell of surprise when Toothless suddenly dove down, skimming over the oceans surface.
"Hiccup, what are you doing!?" Gobber shouted.
"It's not me, it's Toothless! Keep everyone up there, stay in formation!" Gobber nodded and flew back up to relay the orders. I patted Toothless' neck to get his attention. "You almost made me lose my breakfast bud, what's wrong?"
He looked up at the sky before facing forward again, looking determined.
"Alright, don't answer me." I frowned, focusing on the remaining trip. Hours passed before the island appeared on the horizon; I let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally, we're almost there buddy and you can sleep all you want." I laughed as I felt a small rumbling underneath me, knowing Toothless was purring. "We're so close-"
I winced when I felt something quickly pass me, landing in the water hard. Toothless let out a whine of panic and picked up speed, looking around frantically.
"W-What the heck was-" I let out a cry of surprise as it happened again, "Toothless, we need to get back to the others!" We shot up instantly, spooking Gobber when we stopped next to him.
"Hiccup?"
"Something attacked us, I think, I-I couldn't see what thought."
"Probably a fish, nothing more."
"An invisible fish?"
"…It could happened…."
I shook my head, looking down to find the sea replaced by a dense forest. "Guess I won't have to worry about fish…."
Something swiped at my face, blood pouring from my left cheek, mind swimming in pain. I heard Gobber shout my name, but i was gone, blackness slowly swallowing me as I felt myself slip from the saddle. Toothless roared in fear, trying to turn in my direction, but kept falling forward. Gobber and the remaining villagers attempted to catch me, but something kept hindering their progress, the dragons getting scared.
The sky soon disappeared as the forest below surrounded me, everything becoming a blur of green and brown. I winced as I hit a branch, sliding off it and continuing towards the ground. My head collided with a thick root, I passed out, and fell limp.
**~linebreak~**
Hiccup moaned softly, left cheek bleeding from deep scratches, forehead bruised and bleeding from the hit. Two wolves emerged from the foliage, eyes narrowing onto the fallen teen.
"You just had to attack him, didn't you."
"We had to get him away from that beast and it worked. Stop complaining."
"Clean him up. If we bring him like that, it'll be our heads."
"…Can I let it fester first? It tastes so much better that way."
"Now Skoll!'
Letting out a growl of annoyance, one walked forward, tongue running over the damaged areas. Squirming slightly, Hiccup winced as the wounds healed, leaving only the dried blood on his skin.
"His blood is sweet, very delicious…."
"You're not eating him! Bigger things are planned for him…."