Chapter 10: Family by Blood
The crowd of Vikings cheered on as the teenagers went to the center of the arena. They stopped in front of a cage, waiting to fight the dragon inside. The locking mechanism released.
"Meet the Terrible Terror!" Gobber announced. The combatants looked down to see dragon the size of a cat.
"Hello," Sharpshot greeted, but only Javelin could understand him.
"Hah," Tuffnut scoffed. "It's like the size of my-"
"You want to finish that?" Sharpshot squeaked as he took down the insulting teen. He was doing his best to tear off Tuffnut's nose. "That's right, di- ooh!" The tiny dragon pounced on a light, allowing Tuffnut to clutch his nose in pain. "Come on, come on. Get back here." Sharpshot unknowingly chased the light back into his cell. "Hey, where'd it- Oh come ON!"
Javelin couldn't help but laugh at what happened.
Twilight and Javelin were flying while Hiccup worked on his foot positions. Toothless' harness was tied to a tree stump outside the forest. The air currents there were perfect for simulating flight.
The soldier couldn't help but smile at the events of previous days. Under Hiccup's guidance, he managed to build his own saddle for Twilight. To help with stealth, it was covered with Night Fury scales, but Javelin kept comfort for his sister in mind. He also planned to put something else on the saddle, but he decided to wait until her birthday.
Fifteen years with Twilight. Where has the time gone, he thought. A dark thought creeped in. This would be her first birthday without her parents.
Memories of death flooded in. Trena falling, Splatter getting caught, Candle...
Candle.
"Oh, Lord," he breathed. His death was one of the commando's worst nightmares.
"Another attack?" Twilight asked comfortingly.
"No, sis. Just... just remembering a promise I made to myself."
"If you say so."
They heard a rope snap. A strong wind current threw Hiccup and Toothless into the trees. Toothless got back up as Twilight landed. "We're fine," he grumbled, not noticing the kid hanging next to him.
Hiccup tugged at his left safety line. The hook had bent inward, locking the ring into place. "Oh, great." He was stuck.
Javelin inspected the damage. "Hmm. I could bend it back, but that'd mean weakening it to where it's useless."
"Don't bother, then. I got tools in the forge. But I'd have to into the village with Toothless."
"I don't mind," Toothless said.
"I could get them right now," Javelin offered.
"No, Gobber would notice."
The soldier sat against a tree, thinking. Then an idea formed in his head.
It was perfect.
He walked up to the edge of one of the cliffs, looking out to sea. He let the memories of his first fallen brother flow into his mind.
Candle had always loved explosions. It didn't matter how small or quiet they were. It was a sign of progress. And since he was also the point-man, the yellow-colored commando could make them to his heart's content.
"Oh, I miss you, ner vod," Javelin mourned, falling to his knees. He only used his culture's tongue on special occasions. Mostly, it was to remember and honor the dead. He began to sing, "Kandosii sa ka'rta, vode an..."
Astrid was still up and about in the village. She heard a foreign voice being carried on the wind. She followed it to Javelin, Gobber's Dragon Training assistant.
He was on his knees, facing the edge of a cliff. Singing. Whatever came out of his mouth wasn't Norse. But it carried a mournful tone to her ears. What is going on?
He stood up while muttering something. "...darasuum, ner vod." was what she caught. "Come on out, Astrid." The Viking was shocked. How did he know she was there?
Astrid stepped out with suspicion. "What was that?"
The warrior turned to face her. It looked as though a burden was taken off his shoulders. "My way of remembering my... my friends. It was seventeen years ago today that the first one was killed."
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you for your sympathy."
Astrid got the question onto her tongue. "Those words you ended with, what did they mean?"
He smiled. "Live eternal, my brother."
"What language was that?" she asked, following him through Berk.
Another smile. "It's the tongue of my culture. Mandalorians are feared for their battle prowess, but family is the central root of our lives. Memory keeps everything alive. Remember that, young Hofferson."
Astrid wanted to ask more, but she shouldn't push the old warrior further. "See you tomorrow, then." She walked off, taking what he had spoken to her mind. 'Memory keeps everything alive.' She would have to think on that.
"Alright, bud. Let's take this nice and slow."
Today was the day Toothless felt true flight again. The Night Fury and Hiccup were currently gliding above the shores of Berk. Twilight and Javelin were alongside them, ready to give any aid. The rider was wearing his armor.
The Crimson Rider. Hiccup had to admit it: Javelin was intimidating with his gear on. The bright red helmet could startle most anyone, if his legend already hadn't. Night Fury scales lined his maroon visor, giving the impression of a calculating scowl.
"Okay, position three, no four!" He lowered his foot, extending the tailfin all the way. Toothless looked back to make sure it was working.
"Let's do this," he warbled.
Hiccup took a deep breath. "It's go time, it's go time." He and Toothless dived to the ocean. They leveled out several feet above the waves.
Javelin grinned at the sight. Twilight had that glint in her eye again. Leaning down, he said, "Go for it, Little One."
At those five words, the dragoness followed her crush's flight path. Since this was his first actual flight after being shot down, Twilight caught up easily. He climbed as she did the same.
"Oh, this is amazing! The wind in my-" Hiccup shouted with joy until his "CHEAT SHEET!" flew out from its clip. "Stop!"
Toothless did so, but the boy's inertia sent him upwards. His safety hooks disconnected. The look on their faces went from surprise to terror in an instant. They fell, and Twilight dived after them.
"Hiccup!" Javelin watched as Hiccup did his best to tell Toothless what to do. He managed to get back to his saddle before passing the point of safe recovery. As soon as his safety hooks were fastened, Toothless spread his wings to slow their descent.
But he was going too fast. Twilight pulled up to avoid the trees. She watched Toothless and Hiccup drop into the fog surrounding a maze of sea stacks. "Toothless!" she yelled out from above the rocks. Please don't b-
A black blur shot out into the open. They had gotten through unscathed. Brother and sister sighed in relief while Hiccup released a victory cheer.
Toothless launched a fireball with the same joy as his rider. It exploded in the distance... straight ahead.
"Come on," Hiccup moaned. Javelin chuckled at the mood swing.
The four landed on the westernmost part of the island. Except for Hiccup, of course, they all caught a large amount of fish. Twilight dropped her catch next to Toothless'. She smiled when the dragon asked, "What did you do that for?"
"To share, silly." She couldn't help but laugh as he drew his head away from her advance.
Javelin ran a hand along his sister's side, looking at Toothless. "She likes you, Toothless. Don't back awa-Ow!" Twilight's tail smacked his face. "Okay, I'll drop it."
She went back to her fish. "Didn't know I'd be an uncle that soon," he breathed. Another slap, harder this time, with an angry glare to go with it.
"I'll never get why you say you're going to be an uncle," Hiccup said.
"Hiccup, I've told you before. Twilight's my sister and she has a crush on Toothless. Ow! Toothless likes her too," Said dragon gulped in fear and embarrassment of having been found out, "but doesn't know what to do. You don't have to blind to see the obvious connection here."
Twilight groaned in exasperation. "Okay, that's it!" She turned her belly towards her brother. Before he could do anything, she grabbed him with her legs. He was catapulted a second later onto the edge of the cliff. Hiccup stood up in time to see his only human friend roll off the side.
"Javelin!" the boy yelled, running to the edge. He looked over, expecting to the old warrior falling.
Instead, Javelin brought his right hand onto the surface, claws extended. He brought his head up... to take a flying fish in the face. Twilight smirked before returning to her dinner. Hiccup stood over him. "I'm alright, Hiccup," he said, pulling himself up.
His stomach growled. "Come on, man. Can't let the Furies have all that fish to themselves." Javelin picked up the food that hit his head and snatched another one while Hiccup set up the campfire. Before the boy could ask Toothless, Javelin launched a small burst of flame from one of his guantlets.
"How did you do that?" Hiccup asked.
Javelin smiled as he brought a wrist up, showing his guantlet. "I can do quite a few things with these. I've got knives, a grappling hook, my claws, and the flamethrower, of course." While he was talking, he handed one of the fish to Hiccup, and prepared his own meal.
"Do you have your own tribe?"
"I did. Had to leave when I killed the man who was responsible for my friends' deaths." He exhaled slowly, keeping those nightmares away. "Got evidence on his crimes and I was forgiven by most. Still have a few rivals, but hey, what can they do?"
"They still around?"
Javelin nodded his head. "Yes, but I don't know where." His mind drifted. He stared off towards the setting sun. "Hiccup, are you familiar with the concept of blood brothers?"
"Can't say that I am."
"Hmm. In some cultures, close friends can choose to become family by mixing their blood. They usually cut their palm with a knife, then press them together. After they do so, they're considered blood brothers, siblings."
Hiccup took the information in. After digesting it for a while, he finally asked, "Why are you saying this?"
Javelin cracked a smile. "My friends were brothers. Not a day goes by that I don't miss them, my family. Now, I'm forging new bonds," he said, stroking Twilight. "Will you become my blood brother?"
The boy shrugged. "Well, I've never had a sibling before," his voice full of sarcasm. "Yes, I will."
Javelin took out a knife strapped to his leg. After taking off his left glove, he ran the blade along his palm. Blood flowed out. He held the weapon by the blade, the handle pointing towards Hiccup.
Hiccup grasped it with his right hand and followed his friend's example. His blood flowed faster than Javelin's, but not by much.
They brought their hands up in a handshake. Both pressed their palms together and held it taught for a few seconds. Javelin spoke, "Vi cuyir vode de tal. Aliit de tal. Vode akay kyr'am."
They released their handshake. "What do those words mean?" Hiccup asked as his new brother gave him some cloth for a bandage.
"We are brothers by blood. Family by blood. Brothers until death." The soldier didn't bother putting his glove back on. "Know this, Hiccup: when I speak the tongue of my culture, I mean what I say."
Twilight took what happened in a different light. She cut her front left paw with one of her claws. Suddenly, she pressed the wound against her adopted brother's hand. No longer adopted, the dragoness thought.
Javelin looked down to see Twilight's paw, bleeding, nudging towards his own cut. "Twi, what are you doing?"
"Will you be my blood brother?"
Those words, rumblings really, brought his mind to a halt. He had asked Hiccup those same six words a minute ago. Now Twilight was asking him. Tears welled up in joy.
He grasped her paw. "Vi cuyir vod bal vod de tal. Aliit de tal. Vod bal vod akay kyr'am."
"We are brother and sister by blood. Family by blood. Brother and sister until death," she translated in Dragonese, ending with a toothless smile.
The moment stayed locked in time until a trio of Terrors came flying by. Noticing the small pile of fish, they flocked over to the human-dragon family. Toothless pulled the pile closer to him. "My fish," he growled. He was slapped in the face by Twilight's tail.
"OUR fish," she scolded. She turned to get her first real looks at the cat-sized dragons. Just like children, the dragoness thought, remembering how she behaved many years ago.
Somehow, a Terror snuck into the fish pile. Toothless noticed the unnatural movement and grabbed hold of the fish's head when the thief revealed himself. After a few seconds of tug-of-war, the Night Fury pulled the food into his mouth, ripping the tail out of the Terror's mouth. "Better luck next time, rodent," he laughed.
The smaller dragon spat the scrap of meat out of his mouth. "Why you little-" he growled, preparing to fire. Toothless gave a deadpan expression, then spat a tiny plasma bolt into the other's throat. "Ow!" the dragon squeaked as he puffed up into the air and smacked his head on the ground.
"Who are you calling little?" Toothless huffed. Twilight helped the Terror back on his feet with her snout.
Hiccup tossed him his fish in sympathy. The tiny dragon swallowed it whole, then curled up next to the boy. He looked at his brother to see a Terrible Terror in his lap, the third one being nuzzled by Twilight.
"Everything we know about you guys... is wrong."
(AN) - Hey everybody. I hope you liked this chapter (I mean, seriously, you can't help but laugh at the Terrors' antics).
Now, with Javelin's mourning of Candle, he saw his actions as a coincidence, not a way to desecrate his memories. I apologize for any Mando'a grammar errors.
Have a good rest of the day/night, guys. See you next chapter.