The Dragon Boy - Part 25 - A Waiting Game
Frostcup fanfic
Authors note: hey guys^^ next update is tommorow as always I hope you enjoy please review... Bye (runs)
They got to Berk in barely any time at all, but it didnt seem quick enough. The seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity.
They flew straight to their house, but as the passed Gobber's house, Hiccup yelled down.
"Gobber! Come to the chiefs house, quick!"
As they reached the house, Hiccup dragged Jack inside, laying him on the dining table with a horrible sense of déja vu. It's ok, he's strong. He'll pull though it. He kept repeating to himself. He muttered to himself.
"Alright, first things first, we need to-" Toothless snuffed out the fire. "Yes, good! That'll help. They'll need some.. clean cloths, to bandage him.. and, and- some water to clean them, and- wait, does his dad have any more of those medicinal herbs left in the cupboard?" He ran round the house, gathering all the items as he said them. There wasn't many herbs, hopefully Gobber would bring more.
Toothless called his attention. He was nudging some snow into a toppled bucket.
"Yes! The snow helps heal him!" He scooped a great armful of the stuff into the bucket, and took it in, he spread it all over his still friend. Jack gave no indication that it was helping- there wasn't anything to say whether he was doing right or not- the snow worked really well last time, but this time there was no response.
The door swung open and, with great relief, Hiccup helped Gobber into the house.
"Hiccup! What in Thor's name is going on? Your father is worried sick, I-" He stopped, noticing the boy he had only recently finished treating, lying on the table, again. He immediately switched to serious mode.
"He's even worse than last time." He commented, scraping a little of the dried salt off his skin, he examined it. "That's not good." He muttered. "Alright, get rid of the snow." He instructed Hiccup.
"But- it helps!" The young Viking protested. "We need to get rid of that salt, and we can't do that if he's covered in snow." Gobber explained. Hiccup understood, and slid the freezing layer off.
As Hiccup did that, Gobber got a clean rag, and dunked it in bucket of water Hiccup had brought in earlier, he dabbed at the many red slits that covered the young boy's body.
As Gobber worked, Hiccup watched, looking for some sort of reaction, a wince, a shudder, a blink, even a twitch- anything other than that awful lack of movement. .
Now that he wasn't in full blown panic, he could take in the full horror of Jack's wounds. Last times injuries seemed shallow by comparison. He tried to decide which was worse- the long runs down his chest and stomach? The deep, messy bright red choke and claw marks around his neck? Or the dense web of cuts on his upper back. He realised now that every injury he recieved on his wings condensed onto his back when he was human- and the wings were a pretty popular target. Add that to the many deep bites and scratches nearly everywhere on his body from the close quarter combat and bolts of darkness... It didn't look good. It looked truly terrible.
It was sickening how red the edges of the wounds were next to his pale skin from the salt... and how open the wounds were from struggling against the net. It all left him tense and weak with worry. He was going to be fine though, right? He was going to make it. That had become somewhat of a mantra to him as he tried not to get overwhelmed by panic.
Eventually, the salt was gone- that had to have helped, but still nothing. No response.
Next, Gobber spread a layer of mulched up herbs over the wounds. He explained that it was one of Goathi's special mixes, but Hiccup was only half listening, too lost in worry to pay full attention to his words.
When Gobber had finished applying the paste, he bound them in the cloths, then stood back.
"You can add the snow now, if you think it'll help. But... he's taken a hard beating there, son." Hiccup knew what he was saying, he might want to prepare himself that he might not survive.
"He'll make it." Hiccup said, determinedly, dearly hoping it was true. Gobber nodded, clearly thinking the opposite outcome was more likely, and left.
Hiccup reapplied the snow, then stood, looking at the still body of his once full of life friend. He reached for his hand, as he had done all those days ago, and felt it. That gentle life beat, pulsing on. Hiccup sighed. He would make it. He just had to have faith in him.
The rest of the day passed. Hiccup explained the events of the previous day to a small group of Vikings, who spread the word until, soon everyone knew what had occurred that day.
The days trudged by and soon, a week had passed. It seemed that every person in the village went to visit their hero at some point, he had saved them, and for that everyone went to give their thanks. Some left flowers or messages, Hiccup couldnt shake the feeling that it felt like they were paying their respects, such was the mood of some of the visitors. He's not dead, Hiccup felt like shouting after a particularly morbid visitor, who had acted more like a funeral director. Although, he couldn't help but notice how his pulse was slowly getting weaker.
Hiccup rarely left his best friends side, staying with him, until, eventually, his duties as the leader of the academy, forced him away. He had to continue the academy's work, besides, Hiccup thought, Jack would have wanted them to carry on. But it wasn't as lively without the white haired trickster around.
Even Snotlout seemed more subdued, Jack had saved his life, even though he'd led the beast straight to him. He felt something new in that tiny brain of his- guilt, and he didn't like it.
Nobody could get the motivation to do much that first day, so Hiccup added a new page to the Book of Dragons, adding all the new information he learnt about the Sky Dragons.
When he'd finished, he paused at the old Sky Dragons page, and renamed it. "Jokul Frosti". Beside the drawing of the large majestic dragon, he added the image of a small, lively white haired boy, smirking mischievously at the reader.
Hiccup sighed, as he completed the drawing, if only Jack was up and smiling at him right now. He missed his playful friend, his stupid tricks, his unexpected mishaps, even the way he stole his leg on occasion. He missed him.
As the riders had broke up for the day, and Hiccup had walked home, he passed the house where Jack had heroically revealed himself, to save the village. No, Hiccup remembered, to save his family. His foot- his real one- hit something, large and flat in the snow. He bent down, and picked it up. It was a pure white dragon scale, the outer edge still covered in frost.
The next day Hiccup came back from the academy, he told Jack what he'd been doing, a habit he'd fallen into. He had no idea if Jack could hear him or not, but he wasn't the only one who did it.
Freya spoke to him when she came to visit, thanking him for rescuing her again, and telling him about how she'd picked the flowers she'd brought for him. Even Astrid, when Hiccup wasn't there, spoke him about how worried her friend was.
As Hiccup finished his story, he looked over, Jack was just as still as ever. Hiccup reached out to feel his pulse, as he always did. Was it him, or was his skin colder than usual- stone cold rather than slightly cold? Hiccup ignored this, and felt for that faint little life beat. His heart stopped. There wasn't one.
He started shaking slightly, in panic.
"Dad. Dad!" He shouted, desperate for anyone, anything, that could save his friend. The big chief entered quickly, at his sons terrified calls. "Dad, you gotta help. There's no pulse! What do I do? There's no..." Hiccup searched his dads face for any sign of hope, that he might pull out some kind of magical trick, and bring him back, but all he saw, was a look of sad understanding.
"No." Hiccup whispered. He couldn't accept it- he refused to accept it. He squeezed the hand tighter, desperate to feel a throb beneath his fingers. Nothing. They'd tried everything, the herbs, the snow- but it just wasn't enough. He'd saved them. They just couldn't return the favour.
Jack had always been willing to die for him, and now he'd actually done it. No, he hadn't, he couldnt be! He just couldn't!
Hiccup sank to the floor, still cradling the lifeless arm. A soft crackling sound made him look up.
A patch of frost had appeared. Slowly spreading out from his brother's heart, across his chest, along his shoulders, slowly encasing the body in a shell of ice.
Hiccup slowly raised the arm, and lay it across the still chest, as the frost spread along it.
The frost spread across his entire body, and thickened to ice. Until Jack Frost was now surrounded by a glistening, frozen casket, and with the ice came a sad kind of acceptance. He really was gone. The ice reclaiming it's master.
Hiccup slowly bowed his head in sorrow. His friend- his brother... was dead.
Stoick gently lay a hand on his son's shoulder. His aubern hair hid a single crystal tear, that slowly, silently, slid down his face.