Ch13: The Best Is Yet To Come
Warning I don't own HTTYD or it characters from any media source. I can however tweek any and all OOC.
We found a small island. No one seemed to live there so it gave us the peace and quiet that Toothless and I needed to rest.
We landed in a cave, more like a shallow depression in the wall really. Laying their I was able to look out to the ocean.
I was wrecked, physically after the torture they gave me and mentally because of the thing that everyone said, every hurtful and scaring word.
Toothless was at least doing better than I was. Right now he's running up and down the beach with a large branch drawing a bunch or random and erratic lines. He kept looking back at me to like I might disappear at any moment.
"You don't have to worry bud. I'm not going anywhere. Doubt I could if I wanted to."
He gives me a depressed growl. I figure he means something like 'That fine. Just take your time to get your strength back.' And goes back to what he was doing.
Now that I'm not focused on anything urgent. My mind begins to wonder over anything it can. Unfortunately it keeps swinging back to Berk and the people there.
After hearing Stoic's declaration as we left, one phrase seemed to stick out to me. 'All in the Archipelago we hunt you!' In other word an official decree for the capture or kill of a traitor will be sent out. A bounty, only the second that would have ever been sent out from Berk. The other being Alvin the Treacherous.
Not that he's an easy mark to get, he's a tribe leader so he's got both protection and immunity so long as he is the leader of the Outcasts. No one can just go after him without starting a war with the whole Outcast tribe.
Me? I got no such thing. Just my legendary best friend in the world watching my back. I not complaining. After all I'll always want to be with him rather than any tribe given the choice.
The hunt for me will become a huge uproar once word gets out. If it hasn't already. It's only been half a day so it shouldn't have made it to the closest island, but you never know with mister 'I can tame seas'.
Soon everyone will come after us. Not just Berk but any and all the tribes and just about anybody else will want a piece of me. Either for the reward that will be issued, or for a bargaining chip to enhance relations with Berk as their ally.
Something else that occurs to me is that I left my stuff back at the cove.
Whenever I go flying with Toothless I always bring an away bag with some essentials that I may need in case of emergency. Nothing fancy, just some spare clothe, my main journal plus a blank extra, a few maps, and some tools to work on Toothless' tail mechanisms.
"Yep we forgot all our stuff back there." Most of that stuff is not anything I need to worry about since I could just replace them. But the tool kit for the artificial tailfin, I do need those. If not the ones back at the cove then I need to get them from another village. "We'll have to get some replacements for that gear."
And their lies a problem. Once word for my head gets out I won't be able to just calmly come and go into villages as I'd like. Not without putting us at risk.
Thinking back to Berk I can't help but feel the guilt over what happened. "Oh Gobber I got you killed. I swore I'd pay you back and all I did was kill you with all my selfishness in running away. You helped me to the bitter end and all I did was get you involved and get you killed. By Snotlout and Stoic no less. You deserved better. I wonder if you still reached Valhalla? They called you a traitor for helping me but I hope you still made it their alright. Hope you can see mom again. You always did say that you missed her. And what about Ruffnutt? Did they do anything to her just for helping me? Hopefully they don't figure out that she did anything. If she just keeps her head down then everyone will eventually forget that she had anything to do with me, even Astrid. Oh I hope Astrid didn't rat her out, But I have no idea what she'll do anymore. All I know about Astrid anymore is one day she'll kill me. That's not a guess it was a promise, a promise from her. She won't fail. Not if she goes at it as the Perfect Viking that everyone knows she is. She'll definitely be my personal death, I'm certain. Or maybe she'll catch me and give me to Stoic. He'll do to me as he did to Gobber, but not before torturing me again. Punishment, that's what he'll call it. Well I say it's just his damaged pride. He just can't deal with any kinda shame, and I'm just his biggest humiliation, always have been. He'll be happy to do anything to make that shame go away." My thoughts about everyone spill out to Toothless.
He came over to me and let me lean on him as he patiently listened as all my ideas and thoughts go from my mind to my mouth with no filter. Everything I have comes out as if trying to make room for all the events that have happened.
His eyes look at me full of concern. 'Try not to think about anymore brother. We just need to fly so far away that they can never reach us, right brother. Aww no, I sound like that freaking twinneck!'
"I know your worried bud but don't be. We're not dead yet. That's what's important, that's what matters now. The rest we can worry about later. Let's just deal with the now. So let's see what we can do about some food, huh?" He gives me a nod while I try to give him a rub on the head, but I can't lift my arms to do so. He seems to understand and didn't want me straining myself anymore. After setting a camp fire like he's seen me do before, he goes off to finds some food.
The fire feels good as it warms me a bit. I know I don't have to worry about crying in front of Toothless but watching him go just makes me feel all that loneliness I had for so many years and that horrible feeling I haven't felt in the last two weeks hit me hard. Tears slowly roll down my face and sobs slip out shattering the silence that was natural to the island. My crying magnifies the all the regret over everything that has happened recently because of me. Someone's dead because of me, all cause they wanted to help. Makes me think that the only reward I'll ever get for my choices will be pain and dead bodies.
My outburst saps the rest of my strength and drops me to sleep. I didn't have much energy left since I've been screaming and crying ever since I've was captured and nearly chopped to pieces by Stoic.
For the last 24 hours since Astrid and the others found me I've done nothing but scream. So now I rest.
My dreams just are reputations of the last two days focusing and enhancing the worst of the worst. Seeing Gobbers death so slow that it seems like it lasts years for that one slow stab to reach his heart. Watching Toothless in chains being impaled by swords, and spears by Snotlout, Ruffnutt, Tuffnutt and Fishlegs. And then they're all torn to shreds by the same dragons who just escaped with us. Stoic standing triumphantly over a mountain of dead dragons leaving none to fly anymore before diving down to swim in their blood like a giant pool. Images of Astrid kissing and hugging my decapitated head before mounting it over her bed as she lies to sleep.
Their just dreams but there's a part of me that can't help think more about them then I should. Their dreams, they shouldn't mean anything but no matter what they still haunt me. To me they seem more like predictions of things to come rather than my just imagination.
My sleeping body is also pained like my mind. It's rough and radiating thru my body with every breath. Then it's numb. Cold like bathing in ice water but tight and sticky like being wrapped in leather covered in bile. From a distance I feel a light that offers little warmth, like the sun beaming just enough heat not to completely freeze.
Another dream hits me. One that's more relaxing then the death I kept seeing. An old memory of a regular day in the forge with Gobber.
"Hiccup dija kno how me an ja old man survived dat great freezein storm one year whe we were lef stranded on a near iland?"
"Let me guess, you two stripe naked and your tough Viking bodies scared the cold away."
"Haha. No wha we did was fin dat largest beres we coud, killed dem an usd der bodies and insides fer warmth til da storm pased."
"You slept inside bears? That sounds disgusting. And it worked?"
"Ai. Wii survived. When we returnd ta da village we told everyone of r new survival trick. We called it da tauntaun bed!"
"Tauntaun? What kinda name is that?"
"Duna. It jus sorta kame ta us. Lik a name ferm de gods. Like Snoggletog."
"Is that where that came from! What god told you that?!"
Remembering Gobber in my dream seems to cheer me up. Whenever we talked it always seemed like we were always half joking the entire time. It was like our conversations took us to somewhere else we wanted to be at. I know I'd rather be anywhere else but where would he have gone?
My playful thinking is disrupted by a really sticky feeling on my body.
Slowly opening my eyes reveals nothing but darkness. My nose picks up a rather foul smell that reenergizes me immediately. "Gha! What the? What happened?"
My answer came as Toothless slowly removed his wing off of me to reveal my body's current status. I was tucked inside the body of a giant bear like it was a composite soft and slimy bed and blanket.
I look at toothless who was happy to see me awake.
"What are you smiling at? You Tauntauned me!" He looks at me then looked at the mouth of the shallow cave we were cramped close together in.
"Don't look away from me! Toothless, Why did you do this to me?" I yell at him. He just kept looking at the opening. 'You really shouldn't talk in your sleep, too many weird idea. But this one was a good one thou. Anyways just look over their that'll explain it all.'
I decide to humor him over what he was pointing at.
I had to squint my eyes to focus on the scene outside. Once my eyes adjust I see that it was snowing. No the more accurate term would be blizzard.
"Great it's freezing and here I am without my sweater. Not to worry thou I'm stuck inside a bear, of course that's just better than nice warm clothe." My sarcasm then makes it obvious. Toothless Tauntauned me to keep me as warm as possible. Now that he moved his wing I can feel the awful freezing wind hit my exposed skin.
When it snows it blizzards.
Looking out to the newly bleached scene fully cements the idea that I no longer have a house. Just left out in the cold. But ironically I'm warmer now then I've ever been in my house. Sure there was a fireplace that gave heat and walls that held the temperature to livable, but it never felt warm. Laying here with Toothless the cold doesn't seem that bad. In fact if he hadn't moved I probably would have never noticed it was snowing or that it was cold. Being close to his body comforts me with his own warmth as he tried to share as much of his own heat with me as he could.
The thought of my friend warming me gave me some strength to smile at him which he returns with his own signature smile. "Thanks buddy."
'Hey, you would have done the same. That our brotherhood remember. For each other.'
Looking back out at the snow storm now makes me come to a different conclusion. "A new start. Like a painted canvas being completely whited out. Soon it'll be ready to be repainted. And we can paint it with our story now, can't we. I wonder how we'll paint it?" I say out loud.
'I don't know about painting, but some food will do you good. You still haven't eaten remember.'
"Wow, it even froze the sea, didn't it."
'Sure did.'
"It even froze the sea."
'Yep. Kinda obvious.'
"It froze the sea."
'I know, I'm looking at it right now."
"Froze the sea."
'You sure you're alright?'
"Frozen sea."
'Ok, now you got me worried.'
"It hasn't been a full day and the sea is frozen Bud!"
'Never figured you as the ice type.'
"We just got an extension!"
'A what?'
"I can't believe it! Years of bad luck, then these past few days were like just record breaking! But now!"
'No offence to your ice happy thoughts, but frozen water has never been a good thing to me. Just makes it harder to fish.'
"They can't spread word of my being berks most wanted now."
Hearing that Toothless's eyes widen in surprise, 'Seriously? Why not?!'
It was like he couldn't believe what I just said. I just keep explaining.
"Toothless, with the sea frozen they can't sail very far, if at all. Their stuck on Berk. If they have any messages to get out to other tribes, like say a certain someone's bounty, then they have to wait till most of the ice thaws. And who knows how long that will take. We don't have to wait! We can fly!"
The two of us just stare at each other then back at the snow and ice just feet away.
"Bud, I think we have just enough freedom left from the hunters that will eventually come to get ready for the long haul."
'That sounds good. Like really good! Any ideas what our first step should be?' Is what I figure his growl is trying to say.
"First thing to do is go winter shopping. I am not tauntauning every time it snows!"