Ch:18 Pokerface

I don't own HTTYD franchise. I do own what happens here and only here in my story, OOC and all.

Toothless was waiting for Hiccup to return form the village so they can leave. He took some more of my scales to the village. I wonder what he planned to do with them. I feel a little strange thinking someone was using my discarded scales for something. It felt like someone was using one of my advantages as their own. In human terms it's like taking another's warmer clothe as their own to block out the weather.

Well it not like I really care. In fact it's something fun to imagine. Like thinking of Hiccup sewing my old scales to create dragon mimicry clothe. Actually that wouldn't be such a bad idea. The scales would offer a certain level of fire proofing for Hiccup in case we are separated and under attack by dragons. It also would add to his stealth ability wouldn't it? Maybe I can get him to work on it in the future.

I really don't want to imagine how we'd do separated from each other facing dragons. We're not complete without the other. I can't fly and he can't fight. Hiccup mentioned something about a disguise to enter a human village without detection. I wonder if I could really do such a thing? It would allow me to stay close to him when he enters any human villages.

Being separated like we are now makes me nervous, regardless of my confidence in him.

Another thing that keeps bothering me other than Hiccup being away is what he plans to do? He has said several times that he wants to finish a few things here in this territory but I keep thinking that it's too dangerous. Even with the advantage of flying, human hunters can be very clever when facing us, and that means that he's still in danger. Uverworld hunters always attack in hoards meaning that running will be our only option. And then there will be the personal attackers coming for Hiccup, like Astrid and Hiccups father And I know from experience that the more personal the reason the more dangerous the hunter becomes.

Like me and that groundflyer.

Aww geez, theirs one guy I want to kill and never see again.

Seriously, out of all the dragons and humans that hunt me that guy always stood above the rest. He's like a bad rash, once he's on you he's like really stuck on you. I really don't think I've ever met another more determined dragon that wasn't a queen or just plain stupid. And I'm almost sure it's not for the bounty. To be that determined it has to be personal for him. If I have met him before then I defiantly don't remember what I could have done to piss him off so bad. Not like I would know, that guy has never said a word in any of our encounters.

Before I met Hiccup I would meet that guy at least three times a week. It would always be the same thing. He finds and stalks me, then he corners me, we fight like hell and after a few hours of hunting each other, I finally end him. Then I later find out he's still up and flying. It's been this way for as long as I've been in this territory. That guy has been on my tail since day one of my arrival here.

I couldn't count how many times I thought he was coming for me back in the cove. It always felt like he was their watching me even if I never saw him.

Since I've was shot down and injured by Hiccup I haven't once seen him. I sure he didn't meet his end after our last encounter. I never got rid of him before, so I doubt he's gone. The only theory that makes sense is that after I was shot down he lost my trail. I just know he would have attacked already if he knew where I was. And now that I'm back in the air, it only a matter of time before he finds me again.

If he hasn't already found me and is stalking Hiccup and me now.

Just who is that Groundflyer!?

No matter what my conflict with him is, I won't let it put Hiccup in danger. If I come across him again then I'll need to distance Hiccup from our fight. It's the one fight that he can't help me with no matter what, for his sake.

Most importantly I have to make sure the next time is the last.

My rivalry thoughts are pushed from my mind when I hear a scream from the village. "HICCUPPPPPPPPPPP!"

Someone in pain was yelling my brother's name in rage.

"Hey uncle Spitlout. Heard you were around. Good to see you up and threatening."

Johan was roughly shoved to the side and now it was just me facing Spitlout. He looked pale recovering from swimming in the frozen water but he defiantly wasn't unconscious anymore. And he's armed with a huge hacking sword.

When I say hacking, I mean hacking! The sword is so thick that the blade side is dull so being hit by that would be more like being hit by a sharpened dull rock rather than a razor sharp blade.

"It's the fortune of Odin himself that I find you here as I came to personally thank Johan for saving me. So dear nephew, how does it feel now to face justice alone without that devil brother of yours?"

"First of all he's not a devil, he's just funny looking. Seriously you should see him smile. Secondly using justice before you do anything does nothing but make you sound arrogant and stupid. Only someone who has won should say it, and as I recall our last encounter left you a bit burned."

From the moment we caught sight of each other this became a fight. Unfortunately the rules, advantages and the very methods of winning are all tipped in his favor.

He is naturally stronger, faster and he's even armed. Right now the moment he charges or even tries to attack me I'm finished. Even if I were in top condition, which I'm not, I have almost no combat ability. At most I could have dodged and run away, but I can't even do that because I'm too injured and I'm trapped on the narrow docks.

So now I'm left with only my words of logic, cunning, scheming, and defamation as my only weapons, and when put together I create strategies and tactics. And to supplement my words are a handful of item. Gibbers knife, the cart, my cane, and a bag of scales

Hopefully that's enough to face him.

I wanted to prove that I can stand on my own two feet, let's see how well I can really do it.

"So you came here to spread the word of your enemy and instead come face to face with him. I already know what you will do, you are a Viking after all, but I wonder what could have possessed you to come here despite the storm. You must have seen the signs but you came anyways despite the danger of the ice."

"We had been forewarned by both the village elder and Bucket that the weather was turning foul soon, but we were told that we had a month, then it became three days, and then it came in hours. When we heard of the dropping time-limit we set sail immediately with the bravest volunteers to come and warn others as soon as possible. The other tribes needed to be told of your betrayal and the possible rewards for your capture or demise. "

"Wait volunteers? I heard Mildew was with you. Sorry, but I can't imagine him volunteering for anything like that."

"But he did. Hearing of your betrayal spurned the whole village to go after you, but when word of the snow came it forced us to prepare for the freeze instead of hunt you."

"So everyone wants a piece of me huh? Can't say I'm surprised. The only thing I didn't expect was that someone was actually reckless enough to sail in the storm."

"You killed people boy. You've betrayed everyone and even got one of our own to turn their back on us. You will be judged for your actions. We will redeem ourselves of the shame that you have brought to us."

He's talking but I don't care what he says. Fact is everything he is saying is just so predictable that I don't even have to hear him to know what he says. But keeping him talking is allowing me to shift our positions so that the cart I brought back is between us. It'll offer no protection but it will give me at least a second delay from his attack for me to either counter or avoid. If I can at least.

"If by 'killed' you mean Gobber and the guys you brought with you, than you should know I've never killed anyone. That crew you brought died because you thought you could beat the weather, and as for Gobber, don't forget that your son and brother were the ones that stabbed him to death."

"You were the one that forced us to act. All those deaths are on your head. Once I take that, it will all be forgotten and forgiven."

"Death is never forgotten, and I don't need forgiveness from any of you. And this is really the most important thing above everything else; my head and more specifically my death has already been reserved by someone else. Someone NOT you."

"Your point?"

Alright, I got an idea. If it works then it should allow me to both escape and incapacitate him. If it works of course. But it will require him to attack me, and so far I only have the split second the cart will give me to pull it off.

All or nothing. And I've got his start signal tucked in my belt. Once I draw, I'll either die or run.

But first, let's piss him off. For good measure. I mean it's not like this is payback towards his son and all the horrible tormenting things he's done to me all my life. No, that's not what this is about at all.

Butttt, if I do manage to do just that, well then that's just a bonus! A small one. Really small. Really, it means nothing.

Yet the sharp smirk on my face, that I couldn't even remember adopting, might betray that thought.

"My point is that you just might be directing your animosity at the wrong direction for all the wrong reasons."

"You are the enemy. The most fearsome enemy that Berk has ever seen. Even the actions of Alvin the Treacherous and when he stabbed Berk in the back pales in comparison to your actions. You betrayed us for the enemy of all Vikings and the scourge of humanity. That level of treachery can only be paid for in blood, yours that will rain here today. And as I bring your head back to my brother it will be my greatest triumph and bring glory back to my family as well as clear the shame of knowing we have the same blood."

My smirk turns into a confident toothy grin. 'Got cha!'

"Would that include the shame of knowing your sons a coward who can only stab people in the back?" Let's turn his Viking pride against him.

His anger at hearing that blows from his mouth. "My son is NO COWARD! HE is the bravest and strongest in Berk. He is a Jorgensen and he is MY son! The only shame he has is not being the one to finish YOU!"

"Is that why he snuck around the smoke back in the Kill Ring? Or didn't face one of the dragons? Or why he had to stab his enemy in the back instead of facing him face to face like a real man and Viking? If that is Jorgensen bravery then I defiantly don't share your blood."

"Don't you dare compare yourself to him! He is a Viking of Berk and you are nothing! Nothing compared to HIM!"

"Even if he can't kill someone face to face? I always thought that killing from behind was only for the weak?"

"He ISN'T weak!"

"He didn't even try to fight by his dear old dads side, or go after me even when I couldn't even move right. And he defiantly didn't even try to even face a dragon. If he was a real Viking he would have fought one of those other dragons no matter how out matched he was. He would have at least died with all that Viking honor and ascended to Valhalla, but instead he ran around the battlefield with his tail between his legs and only attacked someone already preoccupied. He turned a fair and just one on one fight into a two on one interruption. "

"SHUT IT! You have no right to speak of honor in a fight! You who have never fought before! You who have never won anything in life! You are the loser!"

"You're mostly right. I am a loser, and proud of it since it's better than being like one of you. I have never won anything, I earned whatever I have. I earned my one friend with my actions and my trust in him. But what you were wrong about was that I have fought before. I fought Berk, I fought all the humiliation and pain it threw at me all my life, and every day I never gave in was my small victory. Victory I call life, my life. I don't intend to throw that away, at least not yet. Too busy you see."

I'm ready. I move my left hand that doesn't have the cane to my belt and slowly pull out Goober lockpicking knife. The very knife that would just snap if ever used to fight and could probably never even pierce human skin. This is the signal for do or die. I continue talking, my fingers gripping the hilt.

"And you know what else, since I'm now a traitor and Snotlout is going to be the chief's heir. I can't wait to just watch Snotlout turn Berk into a village of cowards and shameless weaklings. That does seem to be his nature after all."

I raise the knife in whatever threatening manner I can, cutting the wrappings fixing the cane to my arm as I lift it up.

I'm not much of a threat. My hands are shaking, my palms are sweaty. One good look and you can see I'm scared out of my mind. I defiantly don't pose any threat. Even my knife is a joke of a weapon, being the smallest knife anyone has ever seen. It's nothing that would give any Viking pause.

That doesn't matter. The confidence and strength that is in the grin I shoot at him are my real weapons, along with the word I've said to dishevel and blindly anger him. Even if I'm faking my advantage or pretending to be strong and brave, I'm doing this my way against his Viking way.

So I point the tip of my worthless knife to him and wait till he attacks with his sword.

"You Brat! Because of you because you existed he can never be chief! He can never take his true destiny in his hands because of you! Because you lived!"

"What!?" But it's too late, I have three moves to make and he's attacking now!

The first move is the cart which I moved between us. Since it was in the way he smashes thru it. With a heavy swing of his sword the cart is demolished to splinters. And his sword arm is crossed across his body.

Perfect

My next move is tossing my cane at him. It looks weak and pathetic but I don't care just so long as he reacts like I need him to.

Which he does. With a wide swing of his sword, he knocks it out of his path to me like it was nothing. And his arm is high over his head, just like I need it to be. It means that he'll try for a downward strike, but for me it means his arm's out of my way. His other hand goes over his head to grabs the sword to reinforce his strike with all his strength. Even better, both his arms are out of my way.

My third move. With my right hand free, I grab and lift the bag of scales, and with whatever running jump I can manage I leap at him while he's rushing towards me. I level the bag full of scales to his face and let his own charging attack do the rest.

His face slams right into my bag. Once he makes contact I give it an extra shove with my hands to be sure the scales do damage. My hands feel wet with something warm and sticky, my fingers feel like their digging into mushy holes and the rest of my body feels like it's being hit by a tree which causes me to grunt in pain. "Gha!" but I clench my teeth tight to distract from the pain and keep gripping my hands where they are as hard as I can manage.

"GHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?" He slaps me aside before holding his face which is now flooded with blood and tears. "HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Spitlout staggers around trying to gain some stability while screaming in pain.

I look at my hands which are now red and wet with his blood.

"HICCUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" He screams out loudly as he tries to find me by flailing his arms around in his desperate attempts to hit me. But as he comes closer he trips over his own dropped sword and tumbles to the iced sea with a loud crack of the ice and splash.

I look over to see that he fell thru the ice into the water and is now trying to keep afloat. "HICCUPPPP! CURSE YOUUUUU! YOU DEVILLLLLLL!"

"Yeah yeah you already said that." I answer his pained scream.

The water clears up his face so that I see it riddled with black scales. I see several buried in his eye sockets.

I slowly pick myself up but am wobbly without the cane. I'm about to fall when an arm catches me. I look to see it was Johan.

"Geez! Are you alright? And him, should we fish him out? Seriously I can't believe you just did that! To Spitlout Jorgensen of all people! And your scales! You just wasted them like that!" He talks in an excited and anxious rush.

"Yeah I'm fine. As for him, I doubt we could lift him up, let alone out of the water. Go call for some help to pull him out."

"R-right I'll go do that."

"And call for a healer too. He's gonna need them again."

"I'm on it." And he begins to run towards the village. Before he can go anywhere the sounds of shouting and screams of fear draw our attention to the village where we see "DRAGON!"

Toothless was bounding fast towards us. He must have heard Spitlout screaming and got worried about me. "Haa. Overprotective brother. Causing a panic like that. Defiantly his style. Too bad their not calling out 'Night Fury!'."

"Wha what?" Johan was scared and confused as he watched Toothless jump over to me.

"Well Johan, this is my friend that I risked everything to protect. Toothless say hi to Trader Johan." He gives a soft bark then looks over to the fallen Spitlout in the water. Seeing him makes him do a dragon like laugh. He sounded like he was saying 'Serves you right.'

"So this is the friend that you got tormented to save and ran away with? A dragon?!"

"Yep, got tortured and ran away with him. Which I'm gonna have to do again right now. I don't think the weapons the villagers are gathering are for saying a 'hi'. At least not in a good way." So I climbed on to Toothless's back but then I remembered one quick thing I had to ask.

"I almost forgot. Johan what were the names of those countries we were talking about yesterday?"

"Uhh?"

"Hey!"

"Ah! Right, that deeply religious country with the hit out on you is called Dessidia."

"And the other?" The one I really want to know.

"Kalonna."

"Alright thanks. Come on let's go!" And following my command Toothless launches into the sky.

I look back and watch the village disappear in the distance and expanse of ice. "Damn, I never learned what that Island was called, did I? Oh well, I got everything else I need at least. Let's go buddy. Let's finish up here in the Meridian of Misery and leave as fast as we can!"

'Fast as we can!' With a proud roar we fly off towards the Southeast.