Hi guys!

I told you it would come back and here it is! I'm not sure how frequent the updates will be since I'm also still working on the sequel, Fall of the Dragon Rider, plus there's a new story begging to be released so I'm also trying to get that out of my head (more info will follow, don't worry). My life's a little chaotic at the moment but it should soon calm down, and then I'll write all the chapters for you guys!

I want to thank you for your patience and support. I know it's been a while for this story, or these stories, but now that they're back I intent to finish it, no matter how long that might take. So thank you once again for being so patient with me, and I hope you like the chapter! Tell me what you think!

Enjoy!

The Adventurous Adventures of Hiccup and Wrenlou

A Blacksmith's Apprentice, Part IIX

There was a strange, tingling sensation in his arm, and a tightness in his chest he couldn't explain. His legs felt numb, but when he tried to move, every muscle in his body cried out in protest. There was a familiar weight on his legs, and he knew that Toothless was with him, watching over him. The moment he opened his eyes he realised he was in the hospital, the soft light from a candle to his right dancing on the ceiling. He stayed still for a while, simply listening to the voices and sounds outside the door, the rapid footsteps, or the flap of a dragon's wings outside the window. He wasn't sure what had happened that was severe enough to land him in a hospital bed in the first place.

After a while he dared to move again, and the pain seemed to have faded somewhat and he was able to get into a sitting position. Toothless crooned and he smiled at the dragon, looking around the room he was in. It was a simple room, with just a table and a closet opposite to him, a window the the left with the curtains drawn. A faint golden light could be seen through the fabric, it had to be either sunrise or sunset. Now he noticed that his hand was wrapped in a thick layer of bandages, the white fabric going up his arm where it disappeared under the short sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. When he looked at his legs he saw that his left foot had had the same treatment, leaving only his toes exposed. He frowned, not quite understanding why his limbs needed to be bandaged, they didn't hurt at all, but he decided not to question it for now.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

Wrenlou's voice pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up, seeing the boy enter the room with a bowl of water and a small bag that undoubtedly contained more bandages. He just nodded, watching as he set the bowl and the bag down, pulling a stool next to the bed.

"How do you feel?" his friend asked, watching him with keen eyes.

"Confused," he said truthfully, "what happened? How did I get here? Why... why is my hand bandaged..."

"You don't remember what happened?" Wrenlou asked while he took his bandaged hand and started unwrapping the bandages.

Hiccup just shook his head, looking down a little before glancing back at his hand.

"Hiccup..." Wrenlou started, his hands faltering a little, "you were struck by lightning."

He frowned, not quite comprehending the words. Then he shook his head.

"No, that's not possible," he said, "why would I be struck by lightning?"

"Well, for one you were out in the storm," Wrenlou said, "holding a metal hammer making a mighty big target of yourself. Lightning likes metal, it will always strike metal first. So, since you were out on the square, in the storm, with the metal, you got struck by lightning."

"No I don't believe you," Hiccup said, "I should have died if I had been struck by lightning."

Wrenlou's hands faltered again and he looked down. He shuddered before he looked up again, his eyes meeting Hiccup's.

"You did die," he said softly, "when they brought you in you weren't breathing, there was no heartbeat. Naomi got you back, fortunately, so now you just have to recover from the burns."

"I... I died..." Hiccup said, staring at his friend, "after... I was struck by lightning..."

Wrenlou nodded and finally removed the last layer of the bandages around his hand. Hiccup looked at his palm, now seeing the raw edges of the burn, the skin red and blistering.

"Luckily the burns aren't bad," Wrenlou said as he took a cloth from the bowl to was the wound, "you were lucky."

Hiccup watched him silently, still trying to fully comprehend what had happened. He found it incredibly hard to believe that he had been struck by lightning and survived. He had heard of Vikings being struck by the wrath of Thor, but they had, without fail, died as a result of this. He winced a little when the water stung on the raw skin of his hand, and Wrenlou let go of it.

"It doesn't hurt much..." he said, studying it, "it should, right?"

"I've been applying this," Wrenlou said, showing him a small jar filled with green paste, "it numbs the pain. And we also have this," he showed him a jar with clear liquid, a few pieces of gauze floating in it, "it helps burns heal."

Hiccup nodded a little. He had seen the liquid before. One of the healers had brought it to the Bay after Leila had burned her arm during a training exercise gone awry.

"Why is my arm bandaged?" he asked, "that doesn't hurt at all."

Wrenlou smiled faintly as he set the jars down again. "That might be the coolest part about all this," he said as he started to remove the bandages around Hiccup's arm.

"The coolest?" Hiccup blurted out, "I was struck by lightning! There's nothing cool about that!"

"Except this," Wrenlou said, gesturing to his arm, "we call them lightning scars."

Hiccup frowned and looked at his arm, his jaw dropping as he saw the intricate pattern of fractals on his skin. The red lines ran from his wrist up to his shoulder, branching out over his skin like the roots of a tree. The lines were slightly raised but not painful at all when he touched them.

"It's a shame it isn't permanent," Wrenlou said, "it would make one hell of a story."

"I think I'm glad they won't stay," Hiccup mumbled, "they look cool, but I prefer to not have them."

Wrenlou smiled and took his hand again, rubbing some of the green paste on the burn. Then he took one of the pieces of gauze from the jar with clear liquid and placed that over the paste. After he had done that he bandaged the hand again, but this time he left his arm free.

"Is my foot burned too?" Hiccup asked as he wriggled his toes a little.

"It is," Wrenlou said with a nod, "it's where the lightning left your body and went into the earth. Don't worry though, the burns aren't as bad as they could have been."

Hiccup nodded and watched him for a while as his friend repeated all the same steps on his foot under the watchful eye of Toothless.

"Wren?" he eventually asked, "why are you doing this? Shouldn't Naomi or someone be doing it?"

"I didn't tell you?" Wrenlou asked, frowning a little when Hiccup shook his head, "Hiccup, you're my final test. I have to show that I can take care of a patient by myself. So far I seem to be doing alright."

"Final test...?" Hiccup frowned, and then it suddenly came back to him. "Oh no! Wren! I'll never be able to complete mine on time now! I'll fail!"

"Hiccup relax," Wrenlou said as he moved back to the side of the bed, "they have agreed to give you more time. They'll wait until you're healed and then you can continue. You still have as much time left as you had before this happened, okay? No need to panic."

"I... I do?" Hiccup asked, sagging in the pillows, "really? They did that for me?"

"They know it wasn't your fault you got struck by lightning," Wrenlou said, "and they agreed that is was unfair to fail you just because of something you had no control of. You can finish your project when you're healed, no problem. Now, are you hungry at all? You were out for a solid two days..."

"I was...?" Hiccup asked, "and I am... I'm very hungry. I'm just... so hurting I don't know if I can eat. I didn't know I had this much muscles..."

"You got some interesting bruises on your back as well," Wrenlou said as he got up, "that's just the lightning's impact on your body. But you have to eat, or you'll never feel better. I'll go get you some soup, soup is always good. Keep an eye on him, will ya Toothless?"

The dragon crooned and purred happily, moving to Hiccup's chest as soon as the other boy had left the room. Hiccup smiled and scratched behind one of his earplates, earning more purrs and happy croons from the dragon.

"I'm alright bud..." he said softly, "I'll be okay. But that sure was scary, wasn't it? Even if I don't really remember what happened..."

It wasn't long before Wrenlou was back, not only bringing a bowl of soup, but also Naomi. She smiled when se saw him awake, sitting down in the chair Wrenlou had been in before. The boy put the bowl down, watching as the older woman checked his work, nodding with satisfaction.

"This looks good," she said, looking up at him, "nice work Wrenlou."

He nodded curtly, some tension lifting from his shoulders. Naomi looked at Hiccup, placing a hand on his head.

"You don't have a fever so that's good," she said, "Wrenlou said you don't remember anything at all?"

He shook his head. "I don't... I remember working on my project, my final test, and then there was a bright flash of light. Next thing I know, I woke up here and he tells me I was struck by lightning. Crazy stuff..."

"You're right," she said with a soft smile, "it was crazy. We don't get that a lot. Now, eat the soup, rest. The muscle pain will go away with a few days, and as soon as you feel good enough you can finish the test, alright?"

He nodded, watching her leave. Wrenlou shuddered, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as the door closed.

"I always hate that part..." he mumbled, giving Hiccup the bowl, "I'm so afraid to mess up you know? I just... wouldn't know what else to do. Being a healer is all I ever wanted, dragon rider or not."

"Relax," Hiccup said, slurping some of the hot liquid, "you heard her, you did fine. There's no way you'll ever mess this up, you're too good for that! Don't worry about passing okay, I know you'll make it."

"Thanks..." Wrenlou said, then he smiled weakly, "aren't you worried at all?"

"Of course I am..." Hiccup mumbled and he looked down, "I must admit, after completing that first one I got some confidence back, but now... what will Mendo say..."

"He's worried about you," Wrenlou said, "he's been here every day since you were admitted, twice a day without fail, to ask how you were doing. I think that in his heart he's already accepted you as his apprentice. All you have to do is finish that project and make it official."

"Any word on the others?" Hiccup asked, picking a piece of carrot from his soup, "how are they doing?"

"Last I heard they were doing alright," Wrenlou said, "I saw Broghan yesterday, he looked... tired but satisfied. He might just get what he wants. He usually does anyway. I guess that's one f the perks of being the eldest. I'm not too sure about Leila or the twins, you know how these tests take every last bit of attention."

Hiccup nodded a little, finishing the soup. He put the bowl on the nightstand, leaning back against the pillows.

"Something tells me I might see the inside of one of these rooms a lot more," he said with a wry smile, "I've always been prone to accidents... I guess I'm just clumsy."

"Being struck by lightning hardly qualifies as clumsy," Wrenlou said, "stupid maybe, and reckless. And even if you do get hurt again, I'll be here to fix you up. Just don't go losing any limbs okay? Those don't grow back..."

"Don't worry," Hiccup said, closing his eyes while he relaxed, trying to rest his aching muscles, "I don't plan to... I'd like to keep them all if possible, and I'll do everything I can to make that happen."

"Good... that's good," Wrenlou said while he stood up, taking the bowl, "just shout when you need me okay? I'll be close by."

Hiccup nodded a little, stroking Toothless' nose with one hand, already dozing off a little.

"Struck by lightning..." he mumbled as the door closed, "leave it to me to get struck by lightning... Can you believe it Toothless? Lightning..."