Hiccup was going to have a lot more difficulty with the device than he had originally thought.

He had enough metal for the connecter rod and some of the larger pieces, but he would need to pick up another shield for the smaller ones. He could easily find the small piece of wood he needed (they were in a forest for god's sake), but the real trouble lied in the saddle.

He didn't have enough leather left, and the extra coat he had was too flimsy. Toothless' scales would tear through it in a heartbeat. And even if he did find something strong enough, he didn't have anything to keep it together. He supposed he could find some vines, but those would eventually tear apart, where thread could stay intact.

"Are you sure there's nothing in the Cornucopia?" Jack had finally asked when the trio was out scouting the surrounding woods by the cove. They had spent the rest of the day at the cove, Toothless bounding about while Hiccup set about patching Jack up. The older teen had never gotten the chance to, and a lot of his cuts weren't looking all that great. "People tend to leave some pretty valuable stuff behind."

Hiccup shook his head, wrinkling his nose as a stray leaf flew by. "It's all just weapons." He then looked up, a scowl on his lips. "Now would be a really good time to send me something, you freaking useless sponsors!"

"I don't really think that's going to work Hic." Jack chuckled, ignoring Hiccup's glare at the use of the nick name. Jack wasn't entirely sure how it happened; it just sorta slipped out this morning, and now he's been using it ever since.

Hiccup looked like he wanted to argue, but with the smug look on the white haired teen's face he decided against it. He had other things to focus on, and entertaining one Jackson Overland was not one of them. He only bothered to look back when Jack mumbled something that sounded a lot like the Careers under his breath.

"Yeah, what about them?" Hiccup asked, batting a branch out of the way. The branch had different ideas, and snapped back as whapped him on his cheek. "Gah! Son of a-"

"Just come with me." Jack cut him off, then taking hold of his wrist, yanked him in the opposite direction. Hiccup yelped in surprise, but he didn't bother to yank his wrist free. Jack genuinely seemed like he wanted to help, and at his point Hiccup would take all the help he could get.

Toothless blinked, and then bounded after the two.

oOo

"You found their camp!" Hiccup peered out from the brush they were hiding in, watching the scene below them with slight surprise.

"Well it's not exactly in the most concealed spot." Jack grumbled, sneezing as Toothless' tail knocked some leaves off the pile and onto his nose. He glared, but the ebony dragon didn't seem to notice.

The food and backpacks were hanging from the trees circling the clearing, and all the weapons they didn't have on them were scattered about haphazardly, and the two tributes hiding in the brush were a little surprised one hadn't been stepped on yet. Hiccup could see a cluster of sleeping bag's gathered around a small fire, as well as most of the Careers. Eating, probably, which, Hiccup thought dully, didn't sound like a bad idea. Despite having an abundance of fish, he hadn't eaten a whole lot these past few days.

"Look over there." Hiccup followed Jack's gaze, blinking in mild surprise at the perfectly square piece of leather hanging from one of the tree branches. "They've just been using in for a pillow of sorts, but you can put it to better use than that."

Hiccup wasn't going to question how Jack knew that.

"How are we supposed to get it?" He asked quietly. Even though he was ecstatic at finding the leather, he didn't want to get his hopes up, because at this point, it doesn't look like they have that high of a chance of getting it.

"I haven't really-" Jack was cut off by rustling sounds coming from behind them.

Both Hiccup and Jack drew their swords partway as they whipped around. No one was there. Not even Toothless was there.

"Toothless?" Hiccup called the dragon's name, cocking his head ever so slightly. "I don't-he was right there."

Jack could only offer a shrug.

"I-oh for the love of Thor." Jack and Hiccup had turned back towards the camp and Hiccup had slapped a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes as he let out a loud groan. A black dragon head was poking out of the trees, eyes darting around as he inched closer to the prized leather.

"He really is something else." Jack let out a low whistle as Toothless snagged the leather off the tree branch with a quite hiss before disappearing back into the trees. He reappeared just as quickly, bounding up to the two tributes, tail wagging happily.

"Thanks bud." Hiccup gently took Toothless' prize from his mouth, and after shoving it in his backpack a scream he recognized all too well ripped through the trees.

"And that would be our cue." Hiccup then hopped onto Toothless' back, holding out his hand to Jack. This alliance was permanent now, whether he wanted it or not.

"Are you sure its…safe?" Jack looked at Toothless with uncertainty, and Hiccup couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"I'm not dead yet, am I?" Without waiting for an answer Hiccup yanked Jack onto Toothless and once he was sure he was secure behind him he spurred Toothless on. Just as the dragon's tail disappeared into the brush, Dagur burst through the trees. Toothless himself ran through the trees with amazing speed, dodging and leaping over everything that crossed their path. However, instead of going back to the cove, Toothless brought them to the Cornucopia.

"What are we doing here?" Jack looked at Hiccup, reluctantly loosening his death grip on him as he jumped of Toothless (what? That dragon moved fast). In response the younger teen held up a shield.

oOo

As soon as they got back to camp, Hiccup wasted no time in getting to work.

Jack had to settle with playing around with Toothless, since Hiccup refused to pay attention to both human and dragon. Surprisingly, Toothless ran out of energy first after a few hours of goofing off, and as Jack couldn't move or wake the dragon, he ventured back over to Hiccup with food and water, who was now working on the saddle.

Dusk had fallen, and the firelight flickered around Hiccup as he silently cut up and laid out the leather. Jack sat on a log he had rolled over a couple days ago, and Hiccup didn't acknowledge the older teen until he spoke. "Don't you think you should eat?"

Hiccup had completely forgotten about his earlier hunger, and now that he had broken his concentration it all came rushing back rather quickly. His stomach growled rather loudly, answering the question for him.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Here." He threw the package of dried fruit and the water at Hiccup, who easily caught them. Hiccup wasted no time in ripping open the package, and one half the bag was gone and he drank most of the water did he finally speak.

"So, I guess this alliance is permanent now, huh?" he gave Jack a small smile.

Jack scoffed. "I was never going away even if you dragged me kicking and screaming."

Hiccup couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "I figured."

Jack grinned, jumping as a clang rang out in the cove. Both Jack and Hiccup jumped to their feet, but when the noticed a silver capsule nestled in the rocks and the snoring of Toothless didn't stop, they relaxed.

"Guess those sponsors aren't that useless, now are they?" Jack teased as Hiccup ventured over to retrieve the capsule. Hiccup paid him no mind, letting out a sigh of relief as he opened the little container.

"Whad'cha get?" Jack asked, blinking when Hiccup held up a needle and a spool of thread. "For the saddle?"

"For the saddle." Hiccup confirmed, heading back over to finish his work. Jack followed, and Hiccup couldn't help but smile. It may have only been a few days, but Jack was starting to grow on him.

He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

A/N:

Alrighty, this is the last of the edits!

Yay!