AN- Here's Chapter 14, I hope you enjoy it :)
Thank you everyone who gave their opinions on whether Stoick should find out or not, you'll see what I decided on below.
Thanks again to my beta, GodofGreed.
chapter 14
It was noon and Ruffnut had returned to their base. She thought Hiccup and Toothless would be done by now, but they weren't back.
Looking around she saw the buck in a tree. Figuring they'd be back soon she sat on a rock and got to whittling down the long branch she had found. She'd skin the buck if she could get to it, but a dead dear was heavy and it would be difficult to remove it by herself.
After half an hour, they still weren't back. She started to worry something had happened, so she put down the roughly carved branch and headed in the direction the two had first headed off.
The flooding had reduced by half, but the ground had become muddy and difficult to walk in. her boots kept on catching in the sludge. Because of this, she was looking down most of the time to keep her footing. It was an hour later that she discovered the red hue in the water. She dipped her hand into to discover it was blood!
She quickly scanned for the source, hoping it was just deer blood. It led to the base of a tree, which she promptly knelt down to look inside.
It was dark, but after adjusting her eyes a bit she saw the unmistakable shape of night fury frills. She looked closer to see it was Toothless. He was led down, unconscious. Fearing the worst, she crawled into the space and started shaking him awake. He was still warm which was good but he wouldn't wake. Not until she nicked her knee on his chest wound that is.
His eyes snapped open in slits and struck out in panic, biting deep into her arm. She let out a cry of pain before the dragon returned to his senses and let go.
"Hey, it's okay. It's only me." She soothes as he whined and looked around with worried eyes.
"What happened? Are you all right? Where's Hiccup?"
At the mention of Hiccup, Toothless got more frantic and tried to get up before collapsing in pain.
"Whoa, easy there. There's a lot of blood, where are you injured?" She asked as she searched his visible body for wounds.
He sat up slightly and showed her his chest. Her eyes widened. It was deep and still bleeding! What scared her the most though was it didn't look like it had been done with the teeth, claws or horns of an animal. It was the distinct shape of an axe wound. Growing up in a Viking village made the indentation all too familiar to her. It meant humans were on the island. Hiccup's disappearance could only mean they'd gone after him.
"Come on lets get you out of here and treat that wound. Then we'll look for Hiccup."
Toothless groaned as he forced himself to crawl out of the space. His ribs ached and although they didn't feel broken, he was sure they were cracked.
Ruffnut tried helping him the best she could by pulling him forwards by the neck. When he was out, she took off her jacket to stop the bleeding. She rolled it up a bit before pressing it into the wound, which Toothless gave a screech at.
He grinded his teeth to stop himself from biting her. Then she took off her leggings and wrapped them around his neck and under his arm to hold the fabric in place.
"It'll do for now, but don't exert yourself, you don't look too good. I think you've lost too much blood. "She told him worriedly.
Toothless was shaking on his legs and his eyes looked a bit glassy. She'd prefer him to go back to base to rest, but he was the only one who could sniff out Hiccup. He could be anywhere and if she looked on her own she might not find him until it was too late.
She wrapped her arm in her shredded arm coverings after toothless gave it a lick, before they then set off.
Stoick and his men were resting outside a cavern. The blood trail led inside but he'd been convinced to rest and treat his wounds before they confronted the young Night Fury. He hoped this opening was the only way in and out of it. A shrill cry from inside assured him it was still relatively near and hopefully trapped.
Ruffnut and Toothless had been slowly making their way along the scent trail. Ruffnut had to keep supporting Toothless since he was becoming weaker and weaker.
It was an hour before she caught site of some broken beehives. They were smashed on the ground with footprints of honey leading the rest of the way. The dead, smashed up bees along the rocky walls and floor indicated it had fallen around the time the Vikings had come through. She wondered if Hiccup had something to do with it.
They followed the footprints to a hill that led to a cavern. Outside the cavern however were the Vikings. To Ruff's horror, they weren't just any Vikings, and more importantly, they were Berk Vikings. The chief was with them and he looked badly hurt.
"Stay here Toothless, I'll go confront them, try to lure them away. They shouldn't attack a fellow Viking and you need to rest anyway. You wouldn't last in another fight in your condition." She whispered.
Toothless gave a hesitant nod, crooning worriedly.
"Don't worry. If I manage to lure them away, go into the cavern and find Hiccup. Make sure he's okay, then head back to base." She soothed, before creeping over. She didn't want them to notice her until she was away from Toothless.
"Chief!" She yelled in fake relief.
Stoick turned his head to the misplaced feminine voice and couldn't believe his eyes. Ruffnut was just standing there, safe. He got up and walked towards her.
"Ruffnut! Are you okay? Are you hurt? How did you get away?" He questioned.
"I-I'm fine, just a bite. The older one was unconscious when we crash landed here and the little one wasn't too hard to fight off and run away from." She partially lied.
"I'm glad you're safe. Where are you bitten?" He asked worriedly.
He hadn't expected her to turn up alive and was relieved. Her parents and Tuffnut would be so happy when they returned with her. At least it was some good new out of this disastrous trip.
She held up her arm, the wrapping soaked in blood. Hopefully he wouldn't question why it was so fresh.
Luckily he didn't. He'd gone and assumed that was just the fabric's color since it was so badly stained. Her other wrapping had gone red too due to all the bloody water.
"I'm starving. Do you have anything to eat?" she asked, hoping they'd give up their search and take her back to their base. But she already expected that it wasn't a good enough excuse, sure enough they refused to leave.
"We can give you some food later. Some of my men are hunting a stag. Right now we've cornered the younger Night Fury. We can't let this chance pass us."
It dawned on her that no matter what she said at this point, they wouldn't give up. Vikings were stubborn and the chief was beyond determined to kill Hiccup for killing...Hiccup. Maybe she should tell him. But then he may not believe her. She'd also have to explain how she knows which would cause her previous explanation to fall apart. Not to mention she'd been helping the enemy.
She was a traitor.
She had to stay on their good side. For now all she could do was go along with them and find away to let Hiccup escape.
"I'll go with you," She said in a determined voice.
"Not to be rude lass, but you haven't gone through dragon training yet and you don't have a weapon. It would be better if you waited out here." Replied Stoick.
"I got away before didn't I? And this ones only young, I can take it."
Stoick had a think for a minute before giving a sigh and letting her join them.
"Just stay behind us, okay?"
"Yes, chief."
They followed the trail for a short while before it stopped. There was a small puddle of blood at the end of it.
"Damn, while we were resting it had the time to lick its wounds." scorned Stoick.
Since the cavern only went in one clear direction so far though, it was clear which way it had gone. So they pressed on, keeping a cautious eye out for an ambush.
Hiccup was scared.
The cavern had come to a dead end of ice and he didn't have a way of escape. He heard them finally come into the cave and looked around quickly for somewhere, anywhere to hide. Several meters from the block there was a high up ridge that ate into the wall. It didn't look too deep but it would do for now. Hopefully they would pass him and he could make a run for it.
He'd been licking at his shoulder wound for a while and the pain had lessened. He flapped up clumsily to the ridge, panting in pain when he made it. He curled up into a tight ball against the inlay. He wished the walls where darker. The white and light blue tones of the ice only made him stand out more. He could only hope they didn't look up.
He heard them coming closer and he gave a small whimper, trying to mold himself even further into the wall even though it was impossible to get any closer.
"Che, dead end." he heard his dad say. He took a glance to see him looking around, wondering where he could have gone. "He didn't pass us so he has to be somewhere, look around."
"There!" He heard a Viking cry. They'd spotted him. It was too late to run. Looking at the Vikings he was shocked to see Ruffnut behind them. So they had found her. This day had to be the worst of his life so far.
The gods still hated him after all.
One of them threw a dagger towards him causing him to shriek and jump down from the ridge. He tried to glide far enough away from them to get a running start but his shoulder tingled with agonizing pain and he went plummeting down.
"Leave me alone!" he cried as one of them tried to stab him. He dodged between the Vikings, trying to get away.
Ruffnut was panicking, she had to do something or he'd be killed. She saw him fire a badly aimed shot that hit the wall before he dodged a swing from his father.
"DIE!" Stoick cried, desperately swinging his axe back and forth, blinded with rage.
Hiccup almost made it out of the swarm before another Viking got in front of him, ready to stab him through the chest.
Hiccup was moving forward too fast on the slippery ice, he wouldn't be able to dodge this one. Everything seemed to move in slow motion and she raced towards him.
"HICCUP!" She screamed before jumping in front of him and getting slashed deeply in the side of her abdomen.
Everyone froze.
She'd just protected the Night fury.
Stoick stared in shock.
"Hiccup?" He muttered out.
He stormed over to her before Hiccup took a guard stance and growled threateningly in front of her.
He paused before a scowl marred his featured. "What did you mean by that! And why did you protect it?!" He shouted. "Don't tell me you named it after my dead son! How could you be so disrespectful and traitorous."
Ruffnut was quivering, the pain hadn't hit her yet as she stared at her chief in fear. She'd mucked up. She'd been so used to talking to Hiccup by name she'd gone and blurted it out.
"I-I" she stammered.
"ANSWER ME!" He boomed.
"I-I, didn't name him after Hiccup. He is Hiccup!" she whimpered.
"What in Thor's name does that mean? My son is dead! these beasts have brainwashed you into believing such nonsense."
"N-no it's the truth. It was witchcraft."
"Witchcraft?!"
"He told me that a witch found him in the woods and cursed him. I didn't believe witchcraft existed before then, but he proved himself to me. He was acting strange for a dragon, he didn't know how to control his wings and tail and he ate raw fish like he'd never had it before. When I questioned him about it he wrote that he was Hiccup and he said about the teasing he'd gone through in Berk. If it wasn't for him, the older one would have killed me." she tried to reason.
"We know nothing about Night furies. For all we know they've learnt to write like us and can get inside your head. He's tricked you."
"No he hasn't. It really is Hiccup! "
Stoick didn't know what to think. He knew witchcraft existed due to the village healer they once had. But to have the power to turn a human into a dragon, that was beyond comprehension.
"Why would they go to the effort of keeping me alive?" She questioned. "What would be the gain in that? I'm their enemy that could kill them as they sleep. So why? Explain that."
Stoick didn't have an answer. She was right; it didn't make sense.
"Even if it was possible for a human to be turned into a Night fury, that can't be Hiccup," He bellowed. "That dragon killed my brother!"
Hiccup froze in shock. His uncle was dead, by his hand? When had that happened? He briefly recalled the blood in his mouth as he tore into flesh.
He felt horrified when he remembered it had been the neck of a Viking. He hadn't even realized what he'd done until now. And that Viking was his uncle?!
His head shook side to side as he back peddled in shock, letting out small warbles and whines. Tears pricked his eyes at the realization. He'd said he wouldn't kill a Viking. Yet he'd gone and killed a member of his family. He felt sick.
Stoick stared at the Night fury as it reacted to the news he'd just said. Was it getting upset? Tears were coming out of its eyes. He'd never seen a dragon cry and didn't even realize they could. It then threw up some fish and sobbed on the ground, completely defenseless.
He saw Ruffnut go up to him, keeping her eye on them in case they attacked.
"Hiccup? Come on it's okay, I'm sure you didn't mean to." He heard her sooth.
Stoick started to wonder if what Ruffnut was saying was the truth after all. Was this Night Fury really Hiccup? Had he really killed his uncle unintentionally?
"What was the name of this witch." He asked.
Ruffnut looked up, she was finally getting through to him.
"I don't know, he didn't say." She replied before turning to Hiccup.
"Come on Hiccup, get up. Write what happened. Do you know what the witches name is?"
Hiccup glanced up trying to snuff out the tears. What was he doing? He couldn't break down here.
He was surrounded by Vikings. He wasn't too worried about his life any more. He deserved to die for what he'd done. But Ruffnut was being seen as a traitor, maybe even an outcast. He didn't want her to die, not because of him.
He pushed out a paw and started writing upside down into the ice. It wasn't too easy to see but Stoick could just make it out.
'I'm sorry dad; I didn't mean to kill uncle Spitelout. The witch who cursed me was called Circe. She said she wanted revenge against you. She's dead now though. The only way to my knowledge to turn back would be to kill me. I don't mind dying for what I've done, just don't hurt Ruffnut.'
The Night Fury really could write, and in perfect Norse. Stoick re-read it a few times.
Circe?
The healer's daughter he realized. She'd fled the village soon after he'd sentenced her mother to death, swearing revenge. He'd sent out search parties to look for her and calm her down, but he never found a trace of her. She'd only been ten when she left so he figured she'd died.
Such a young girl shouldn't have been able to survive on her own out in the dangerous world. He'd been careless and stupid. Now his son was paying for his crimes. He didn't have any doubt that the dragon before him was Hiccup now. But when had she found out? Why didn't she say anything back in Berk?
"Why didn't you tell me it was my son back in Berk?" He questioned.
"I didn't know then. He told me here."
"So you befriended him before knowing he used to be human? That's a traitorous crime."
"I didn't have a weapon on me when I found him, he was upset and was only a little hatchling. He didn't harm me."
"Why didn't you have a weapon?"
"I fell down into the cove. I must have lost it on the tumble down."
"The cove?! Are you telling me he really was in that cave after all. You lied to me?"
"I'm sorry. I'd grown attached to him, and I didn't want you to kill him. And it's a good thing too since then that witch would have gotten what she wanted. "
Stoick sighed. She was right. He could only imagine how badly he would have taken it, to see his son transform back into a human, dead by his blade.
"Get out of here." He said, loosening his grip on his axe.
"I'll let you go this time. But make no mistake. Ruffnut, you're a traitor for befriending a dragon. And Hiccup because he is a dragon. Even if you didn't realize you killed your uncle you still did it and you also attacked me. All I saw was a viscous dragon back there with no human emotion. I fear this curse is eating up whatever human you have left in you and will eventually you will become a mindless bloodthirsty dragon like the rest. Ruffnut, I suggest you go your separate ways before that happens, leave him with the older one. "
"The older one won't attack me either though." She protested.
"You said it yourself, Hiccup is holding him off. What happens when he no longer feels comfortable with human company?"
"I don't care. I'll stay with him whether that happens or not. If I die so be it, I'm not leaving him."
Stoick gave a sigh, "So be it, but don't say I didn't warn you. Don't let me see you again, I don't want to resort to killing my son."
With that, Hiccup got up and limped away with Ruffnut by his side. He wrote a quick thank you into the ice before heading to the entrance.
Toothless was ecstatic when they emerged. He started rubbing and licking them both to show how relieved he was that they were okay. He'd been waiting by the entrance when the Viking party was no longer visible.
"I'm happy to see you too Toothless," laughed Hiccup.
Unbeknownst to them, the Vikings were watching them. It was a rather amusing display.
Hiccup looked down at Toothless' chest to see the blood soaked wrappings. They hadn't helped much in stopping the blood. He tore them off.
"I'm gonna cauterize it for you before we go back. You've already lost too much blood." Said Hiccup.
"What does cauterize mean?" He asked.
"It means I'm going to burn the wound shut. It hurts a lot, I did it to myself a while ago, see." He said as he gestured to his shoulder.
Toothless didn't look to happy about the idea.
"I'm sure it'll heal fine without that," He protested.
"Don't be such a baby, it's been a long time now and you are still bleeding."
"Fine," He groaned.
"Lie on your back."
Hiccup crawled onto him and held down his front paws the best he could. He gestured for Ruffnut to hold down his head.
The Vikings wondered what an earth they were doing until they saw Hiccup blow fire onto the older Night Fury's chest wound and it shrieked in pain, trying to claw and bite at the source of it.
There was no doubt in the other Vikings' mind after that that the young Night Fury used to be human. A dragon wouldn't have known about cauterization. The proof was in the fact it hadn't done it to itself already.
After the burning was over, Toothless had ended up passing out from the pain. Now Ruffnut and Hiccup were stuck with a heavy unconscious dragon.
Ruffnut then noticed the watching Vikings, jumping slightly in surprise. Of course they'd have to come out eventually, but did it have to be at this moment?
They had to get Toothless towards some water. She wished they'd pushed Toothless a bit more to get into a safer watery area before they'd tried sealing the wound. But it was too late now.
Even together they wouldn't lift the heavy dragon out of harms way and he wasn't waking despite Hiccups efforts of shaking and nipping.
Then she thought of something. It was a crazy idea but she might as well give it a shot.
"Hey! Could we have one last favor before you go back to killing us?" She called out to the Vikings.
They'd only just settled the deal so Stoick was in a more humble mood. It helped that he now knew his son was alive, now a dragon, but still alive. It lightened the weighty depression that had overtaken him after losing his brother as well.
"What do you want?" He asked, although he pretty much knew the answer.
"Can you carry him to the flooding? We need the burn to cool but he's unconscious and too heavy to lift." She replied.
Stoick sighed as he started walking forward, gesturing for his men to follow.
"Okay, but this is the last time I won't be hostile." He warned.
"Thank you."
They all lifted up the dragon, surprised at how weighty he actually was for his size. Night Furies had quite a bit of muscle on them after all.
They heaved him into the forest where the flooding still settled and set him down.
They then walked off without another word, back to base.
The sun was setting by the time Toothless had woken up and they'd made it back to base. The flooding had all but gone now, leaving just the goopy mud behind. Since they were both too injured to fly, Hiccup scorched the mud into hard soil for them to rest on where they then all cuddled up and went to sleep, exhausted from the long frightening day.
The next few days were spent healing and making the saddle. Hiccup had regained his flight and had hunted down some deer for food and additional fabric. They all worked together to speed up the process.
Toothless helped stretch the hides by holding pebbles in his paws and rubbing them against it on a newly build stretching frame. Ruffnut came over now and then to re-tighten the rope. She herself made weapons during the wait for the fabric to be finished. She finished whittling her bow and had made some sinew cord for the bowstring. Hiccup filed down deer bones into a knife and arrowheads for her and helped her make the arrows and attach the handle to the knife.
Hiccup also worked on the pedal mechanism that would attach to the saddle.
The next day when the fabric was done and ruff was now on the lengthy process of sowing it together, Hiccup decided to go catch some fish and practice his fire control. He really wanted to try out the night fury special of diving at a high speed before firing. He no longer burnt his mouth, but he still had trouble with the intensity and concentration of the flames. He'd taken to flying like a natural and he'd learnt hunting pretty easily, but fire seemed to be the hardest thing for him to learn.
He flew off towards an edge of the island to look for some schools of fish. He'd blast his fire at them to stun them and catch them in a basket Ruffnut had made. It would make catching fish far more efficient than carrying a few for Ruffnut and eating the rest to share with toothless. He didn't enjoy gagging up the meals all the time.
He flew around the island for a bit before spotting one. He left the basket on top of a tree for now so it wouldn't catch fire. Then he climbed high into the sky, ready for his dive. He hovered for a bit, finally learning how to do so, and tucked in his wings for the plunge. He loved the feel of the air as he sored against it, making his eyes water from the intensity.
Midway down he started to gather his gas for ignition. It caused him to make the classic Night fury whistling sound as the air got trapped in his mouth, mixing with the gas at high speed. He retracted his teeth and shot. Unfortunately he hadn't put enough power into it as instead of hitting the water, it exploded several meters above in the air. He ended up flying straight into it. He tried swerving up and away from it, but he was going too fast and spun out of control as the air hit his wings too suddenly. He crashed into the ocean, scaring the school of fish off.
He treaded the water at the surface, trying to stay afloat within the waves; he knew he should have learnt how to launch from the water. The land wasn't too far off so he just swam back to shore clumsily.
Night Furies may be the best fliers but they were also the worst swimmers. His big wings just kept catching the water and making it hard to stay afloat. He also couldn't tuck them in once they had opened in the water.
Once on land, he shook off the water and went to attempt it again. Practice made perfect after all. And what sort of Night Fury was he if he couldn't get to grips with their special move?
The place he'd picked to practice though, happened to be next to the Vikings base. They were hanging out in the cover of the trees, watching Hiccup practice his move.
They'd all ended up crying in laughter after each failed attempt, the swimming to shore was even more hilarious than the muck up of the blast.
"Even as a dragon, he's a hiccup huh Stoick," One of them said.
"Sure is," he said with a smile. He couldn't help but look at him in admiration though as he flew with such skill. It was like he'd been born a dragon.
The only thing that made it clear he was his failed attempts at the Night Fury's dive-bombing. The fact he kept on trying though made him proud. He was determined and stubborn, just like a Viking should be.
It was rather ironic that he'd only start showing Viking traits when he was no longer a Viking though. He wouldn't tell his men, but he wouldn't kill Hiccup if they did cross paths again.
He looked so happy, souring up in the sky, and the love the older one had shown for him made him realize it was a better father than he ever was to Hiccup. Their ships were almost ready to go. It would take just a few more days now.
Hunting hadn't gone so well for him and his fellow Vikings. The stag they'd gone after had gotten away. Any other deer they found would be does with fawns, which they couldn't kill since wildlife needed to procreate to be a future food source. Fishing also wasn't an option.
The fish near them didn't come close enough to the shore to spear and they didn't know how to make nets. That was the women's job. The food they had managed to scavenge where some strange yellow fruit that was deliciously sweet. But Vikings couldn't survive off of fruit alone, they needed meat.
He watched as his son tried yet again, performing some twirls on the way up. As the whistling ensued, some of his men shouted 'night fury, get down' in a mocking tone. To his amazement though, he finally did it. He hit the water with his blast and gracefully swerved back into the air in an arch.
"That's my boy!" He yelled, clapping his hands. The other Vikings joined in the celebration. Hiccup's practicing was pretty much the only entertainment they had on this island and they were thoroughly enjoying the show. They cheered as though a goal had just been scored in bashyball.
Hiccup had noticed them after their cries of course. He was shocked at first; he hadn't noticed they were there. But hearing the cheering and his fathers proud yelling, he smiled and let out a victory shriek.
He flew over to the basket and took it over to the stunned fish, which he proceeded to scoop up. There were still plenty left over and he felt he needed to thank his dad for sparing his life and carrying toothless to water.
The Vikings were surprised when they saw him flying over with a basket full of fish. Hiccup hovered in the air near the clearing and tipped it upside down, dropping the fish onto the shingle.
He then flew back to the stunned school. He ate some floating on the surface before scooping up some for Toothless and Ruffnut.
Just as he was flying back over the clearing of trees he heard his father yell a thank you to him.
He was very happy the rest of the day. He even went back the next couple to show off his flying to them and give them some more of his catch.
The saddle and pedal mechanism was finally done. Ruffnut also now had her bow and arrows finished with a quiver on her back. She held her knife in a holder on her hip and also sported a new jacket of deer hide with the fur still on. It had been cooling down and she figured her smaller one wasn't enough any more.
This one still cut off at the shoulders but now came down to her lower back. When it was time to put the saddle on though, toothless ended up making a game of chase out of it. Ruff was running after him with the saddle above her head. It was quite the show for Hiccup who also joined in after a while, trying to pin him down.
Eventually they got it on. Hiccup was going to get them to try out the different foot positions first, but before they had the chance, Ruffnut opened the fin and toothless leapt into the air.
She barely hung on as the climbed high into the sky.
"Yahoo, this is amazing." she yelled.
Once up, the struggle became clear. They should have practiced closer to the ground. Ruffnut and Toothless didn't work too well together which was evident as she tried a different position only for him to either start spinning out of control or just fall from the sky until she went back to default position. She was finding it very fun though.
There came some near misses with tall trees as they tried to turn and toothless ended up having to bounce away from them. He slapped her with a frill for her lack of control over his prosthetic.
"Sorry, my fault." she said as she tried to go into a turning position. It was an hour in when she was getting the hang of the controls. Understanding which positions did what, when to use them, how to click the pedals into those positions.
They ended up flying to the beech Hiccup had been showing off at. To say the Vikings were surprised at the site would be an understatement.
Ruffnut was riding a dragon!
The Night Fury was flying rather clumsy which was odd since it was a natural dragon. Hiccup was flying more gracefully than it.
Surely it wasn't just because Ruffnut was on it. They'd seen plenty of dragons fly off fine with sheep wriggling in their clutches. Another question in Stoick's mind was why wasn't it flying before now. If it could fly before it would have surely flown off by now.
"Hey Toothless watch this." yelled Hiccup as he climbed into the sky.
Toothless hovered to see what he was up to. He was surprised when he saw Hiccup come diving down and perform the diving blast and successfully at that.
"That was amazing Hiccup," he praised. "When did you master it?"
"A couple days ago. I wanted it to be a surprise once you got in the air." He panted.
"Let's take a breather, we've been in the air for quite a while." Toothless suggested.
They landed on the shore. Ruffnut and Toothless were oblivious to the Vikings until she got off and caught site of them.
"Shit, get back in the air," she cried as she went to mount toothless again, despite how sore she was from riding him for the first time.
She stopped though as Hiccup started jogging up to said Vikings.
"Hiccup! What are you doing? Get back here." she yelled as she ran after him.
Toothless tried to overtake him, but Hiccup just flew over him.
The Vikings readied their weapons expecting an attack. They'd enjoyed watching Hiccup in the air but a dragon was dragon and Vikings killed dragons. They'd made it pretty clear that the next time they crossed paths they were enemies again.
But they halted when the Stoick raised his hand to stop them. He dropped his axe and walked over to meet Hiccup. He knew his son wouldn't hurt him unless he was a threat. He could take a dragon on with his bare fists if he had to, but he wouldn't kill his son.
Toothless and Ruffnut stood several meters back as the two stopped in front of each other. Stoick bent down and hugged him.
"I'm sorry son. I won't attack you any more."
Hiccup smiled as he wrapped his front paws around his father and gave a warble, "I know you won't dad."
"I'm proud of you son. Those flying skills of yours are amazing."
Hiccup teared up at that. His father was proud of him. It's all he ever wanted from his father and he finally got it. After so many years of trying to impress his father, he finally did it.
He gave him a lick on the cheek as they parted.
Ruffnut and Toothless hesitantly approached, now it didn't seem like he would harm them.
"So you're riding him now huh?"
"Yeah, it's amazing up there. The view is breath taking."
"What was wrong with him before? He didn't seem like he could fly." He asked.
"He lost his tail fin when we crashed. Hiccup's been helping me make him a prosthetic. We finally finished it today." she replied.
Stoick glanced around at Toothless' tail. He was impressed by the complexity of it.
"Hiccup designed this?"
"Yeah, he's a really good blacksmith and inventor."
Stoick hadn't paid much attention to his sons skills at all. He didn't realize how good he was at his craft in the forge. He doubted even Gobber could make something like this.
He went to take a closer look but toothless growled at him. Hiccup gave him a swat on the nose.
"He only wants a closer look Mr. hostile." Hiccup teased.
"I'm not letting him get any closer to me. Take down my guard one bit and he'll try and break my neck, I'm sure of it."
Ruffnut took over and started giving Toothless a scratch in his sweet spot.
He tried to resist it at first, but he couldn't help purring and leaning into her touch.
"I-is it purring?" Stammered Stoick. He'd never heard of a dragon doing that.
"They enjoy scratches. Turns them into big softies." Replied Ruffnut.
Toothless soon managed to snap out of it though, giving an annoyed glance at Ruffnut, he then went over to Hiccup and grabbed him by the scruff.
Hiccup went floppy like a rag doll.
"Hey no fair, let me go." He whined
"No, we're leaving. I've had enough of being so close to a huge smelly Viking."
Hiccup sighed before giving a wave to his chuckling father. This was so embarrassing.
"Bye chief. We'll most likely be leaving soon, once I get the controls down. Say goodbye to Tuff for me."
"Will do. Take care Ruff."
They then split ways, Ruffnut getting back on toothless and Stoick going back to his confused men.
It was that night they decided to leave. They packed up their supplies and flew off into the darkness, yelling and screeching out goodbyes to the Vikings as they flew by.
AN - So there we go, Stoick now knows and he won't kill Hiccup. I hope I wrote the confrontation okay.
Now they have left the island, we may find out what's happening back in Berk next chapter. It depends how much room the next part of my plan takes up. The story writes itself a lot of the time. It may be chapter 16 instead.
Next chapter in 3-4 days.
Reviews
MoonlightAngel131 – Thanks for worrying about me, it means a lot. I've had a migraine for over three weeks now that's been getting in the way of my writing sometimes, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It'll leave me alone...eventually.
Thank you everyone else who reviewed, followed and faved. Every alert I get is like a happiness pill. :)