Banished, chapter 4, Encounters
[Autumn, year one]
The wind blew against his face roughly as they flew, his dragon occasionally flapping its wings to gain some altitude, but then stopping to let them glide a bit. Toothless let out a tired warble, trying to signal to Hiccup that he was done with flying.
"I know bud." Hiccup said as he felt his feet start to ache, they had been flying for a good part of the day, and they were both done with it. He didn't feel like one of they could take much longer. "We'll land at the first island we'll see, I promise."
Toothless warbled an approval as he tried to keep his eyes open. The dragon was used to flying long distances, but the past weeks had taken a toll the dragon and the boy. Living on their own had proven to be a lot more difficult than they had expected. Toothless didn't have that much trouble with getting fresh fish daily, or occasionally hunting for something else, like a deer or a boar. But the long days of flying, and the cold and often broken nights didn't help. Hiccup was used to a warm and comfortable bed. And although Toothless' wings gave him enough cover and pretty much sheltered him from all the elements, he still didn't always sleep as well. Toothless himself was used to sleeping at the nest, where he could calmly rest in one of the warm tunnels that were heated by the large volcanic system that was inside the mountain.
Hiccup felt Toothless slowly turn to one side, and he could see how the sun was again setting on the horizon. "Stay awake bud." Hiccup encourage his dragon with a tired voice. Petting him gently on the side of his head. The dragons half lidded eyes shot open again, and he steadied his flight. The Night Fury didn't often have trouble with flying because he was tired, but it the mixture of intense weeks and the change of his regular pattern that caused him to be so tired.
He would usually sleep during the day, he was kind of nocturnal after all. He wouldn't always sleep during the day, sometimes staying up to make a few flights or catch a snack, but not much else. The Night was when he was the most active. Flying around the nest, scouting for ships that could be a threat or schools of fish the he could eat from. Some nights there were the raids of course, but they those didn't matter that much to him. He usually circled the battlefield, never taking back food or anything for the queen. She didn't expect anything from him. He usually watched out for his fellow dragons, aiming for the weapons that could really do a lot of damage to his fellow dragons. The catapult tower was always one of his favourite targets, large, sturdy and stationary. It was easy to hit, but tough to destroy. The Vikings always build it in such a way that it could take quite a beating before it could be taken down. But that was the challenge.
He remembered his last raid, he had just fired the finishing shot at the catapult's base, destroying the large towing into a crumbling piece of rocks. But he hadn't seen Hiccup's attack coming. The dragon had discovered that the young boy was a genius, and he was convinced that he could achieve anything if he'd put his mind to it. He had been wary of the young Viking at first, but the offer of food was impossible to resist when he had brought it up. A nice and steady supply of fish was the base for any friendship. And he had returned the gesture to the boy, sharing his first meal with him. It was strange how the appetite of the boy changed depending on how burnt the fish was.
It was a strange bond they had, but he liked it. And although he had learned that this was the boy that had maimed him and had taken his ability to fly from him, he didn't feel anger to him. Any Viking would do that, it didn't make him special. What made him special was that he gave him a chance, he didn't kill him when he could have. Toothless didn't know if he didn't have the guts or if he really didn't want to do it at first, but he had learned that the boy was sorry when he had brought him fish. He could have easily led him starve in the cove, he literally had to do nothing. But he hadn't. He had brought him fish, daily. And he had eventually granted him with the gift of flight again.
Sure, he didn't like the young Viking on his back at first, and their training sessions had convinced him that Vikings weren't meant to fly. They were meant to stay with both of their little tiny legs on the ground. That idea had been imprinted in his mind after Hiccup showed him some sea stack from way too close.
But then something had sparked between them, and at the best time possible. He had feared that he was going to die, swatted against a sea-stack like a fish against a rock in the stream. But they had cooperated, they had worked together perfectly, and they had safely navigated the maze of sea stacks that were flying through at incredible speed. He had released a fireball in his joy that he was alive.
This was how he learned that Vikings weren't as flame retardant as he thought.
"There!" Hiccup said, breaking Toothless' strain of thought. He looked at the young boy on his back, following his extended arm to look what he was pointing at. In the distance, almost hidden on the horizon, was an island. It looked pretty large, the cliffs occupying a short part of the horizon, but they were still quite a bit away. "An island." Hiccup said softly, and Toothless wasn't sure if he was talking to himself, thanking his gods, or informing him.
Toothless corrected his flight, heading straight for the island, looking closely which part of the cliffs were closest to them. He knew that they'd have to find a sheltered place to sleep, since the nights were getting colder, but he first just wanted to be safely above land, since he felt like he could fall from the sky at any moment.
"You can do it bud." Hiccup encouraged his dragon as he patted him gently, careful to not treat him too much and let him relax, since that could very well cause the dragon to fall asleep mid-flight. Something that he really didn't want to happen when they were high above the ocean.
Toothless was running on fumes, and so was Hiccup, but if any of them fell asleep they would crash. Toothless relied on Hiccup to keep him stable during his flight, and Hiccup relied on Toothless to keep him flying at all. So the two had to look out for each other.
Toothless felt the tailfin shift to a position it wasn't supposed to be in, and he had to compensate by throwing his full body the other way. He quickly jerked his head roughly, using his own ear to hit Hiccup, keeping him from fully falling asleep.
Hiccup quickly sat up straight, noticing that Toothless was all the way sideways to compensate for the tailfin, he quickly turned it back the way it was supposed to be, allowing Toothless to level out again. "Sorry." Hiccup muttered sleepily, yawning as he stretched.
The dragon pushed them into a shallow dive, allowing them to gain speed and reach the island faster. Hiccup squinted his eyes as the wind hit them, which was bad since closing them fully felt so good, so satisfying and so deliciously relaxing. His eyes had burned softly while they were calmly flying, and the wind wasn't helping. He used all his willpower to keep them open, since he was sure that if he closed his eyes that he wouldn't open them until sunrise the next day.
Toothless prepared them to land, sticking his front paws out to catch the ground. They were coming in fast, and he had no intention of slowing down. He had found a nice flat part of grass on the cliffs, where he could perfectly land with a bit of speed and slow down running. He started preparing to run, his paws already moving to accommodate for the quick moving ground they soon had to use to move.
It went as bad as it could, as soon as Toothless' first paw hit the ground he tried to run, but he wasn't able to keep up with the speed that they were going at. They rolled, Toothless quickly wrapping his wings around Hiccup to protect him. They both closed their eyes, coming to a halt after sliding through the grass for a bit.
Hiccup groaned softly, but Toothless could hear that it was more discomfort than anything else. He felt a hand reach up to the saddle, unhooking the rope that connected the two. Toothless wrapped his wings tight around his rider. Happy that he was safe and that he didn't get wounded. His eyes closed slowly, and he quickly arrived in the dream world.
Hiccup could hear how his dragons breathing slowed, and he could feel how the wings tightened around him. He felt a bit bruised from the landing, but it was probably not that bad. He got comfortable, wincing as he felt some parts of him protest. He was definitely going to be bruised the next day. He hissed softly as he closed his eyes, accommodating the pain. But the thing he noticed most that the sting in his eyes slowly disappeared as he closed his eyes. He kept them like that. He tried not to move, he knew he wouldn't be waking Toothless up anytime soon. But he didn't want to feel his bruises until next morning.
The two didn't care for shelter this night, they only cared about sleep. Much needed sleep. The last few weeks had been tough on the two, hunting and gathering food to supply a dragon and a teen had proven to be pretty tough work. That and the two had been flying the entire day for the last couple of days. They both wanted to get as far away as possible. Hiccup had discovered that they were still within range of the Red death a little more than a ago, and had one day woken up to the dragon standing at the edge of a cliff, looking out back the way they had come from. His eyes were turned to slits and it was almost like he was hypnotised.
At first he had just stood there, mindlessly staring out towards the sea, Hiccup had joined him soon, and his pupils had slowly began to dilate. Hiccup had calmly talked to Toothless, and he eventually was able to resist the calling of the Red Death. However, he could still hear it. It was agonizing for Hiccup to see his friend change from mindless and controlled to pawing at his ears to make the sound stop. He didn't want to hear it anymore, he didn't want to listen.
What was the worst for Hiccup that he could do nothing. He could only sit with Toothless, the dragon that he now knew for a full five weeks, and talk with him. He could only sooth him, trying to take his mind of the voices or whatever he was hearing, trying to lure him back.
He hated it. He hated it incredibly, so he had made it his number one priority to get Toothless as far away from the Red Death as he could, at least to the point where the dragon wouldn't be able to hear the calling of his former master.
Hiccup felt proud to say that he didn't fear dragons, on their trips he had encountered a couple. Usually the dragons were wild and not a part of the Red Death's nest, which gave Hiccup the idea that there was some sort of limit to what the huge red dragon was able to control. Sometimes these wild dragons were too skittish, fleeing instantly or simply hissing for them to keep their distance, but other times Hiccup and Toothless managed to approach them, and Hiccup managed to safely pet and scratch the dragon. They would sometimes tag along for half a day or so, before turning back and heading to where they came from, or just going their own direction.
Hiccup relaxed his mind, trying to stop thinking about the days gone by. They didn't matter anymore. What truly mattered was what was going to happened next. Hiccup had often spend his evenings thinking about the possibilities. Perhaps they could settle somewhere, create a permanent camp, somewhere where they had plenty of water and food, and they could calmly live in solitude. That was the best guess in Hiccup's opinion.
Even more ideal would be if they were close to a village or settlement, that way they could occasionally trade with them. Hiccup had grand plans already. He could make a forge, perhaps even train a dragon to keep it hot. They were the dreams of a young apprentice, having his own forge. He would have everything mechanised, probably by a water wheel, since it was sturdy and reliable. He could easily mechanise a heavy hammer and anvil to do easy smithing. He could use the water wheel to turn a large cog, with a rod connected to it that would push the large hammer down and release it at its peak, before pushing it down again as it came around the second time.
To bad that he was usually got these ideas when he was tucked in Toothless' wings, since now he couldn't write them down in his notebook. His map had grown with a couple of more island. Each now also marked if he found signs of the large dragon's influence. It seemed as if they were in the clear. He guessed they could stay on this island for a while, it had seemed large, but would explore tomorrow.
He hoped that after the winter things would start to look up. He knew that the weather was only going to worsen, so he wasn't planning for getting off easy on that. But he had hoped that the winter would be mild, and that they wouldn't have too much trouble surviving with the two of them.
He shook his head, clearing it from his worries and his fear, and filling it with his ideas that he had for the world, calm and healthy villages, filled bellies, peace between dragons and Vikings, and automated smithies. And even though he didn't write down all his ideas and plans, he had everything pictured in his mind.
And as sad as it was, it was as clear as ice, they were all dreams.
But that didn't matter, because dreaming wasn't forbidden, and it was healthy to have some unrealistic ideas for an unforeseen future.
The morning was cold, and his legs hurt because they had been exposed to the cold air early. Apparently Toothless had found it to be too warm between his wings, and had allowed a small bit of wind to pass through it. It had cooled the dragon off, and he hadn't minded, but the boy inside the wings now had a soft sting in his leg from the cold.
Hiccup calmly pressed against the wings, trying to push them away from him. Toothless' first response had been to wrap his wings around him tight again. But after Hiccup tried to escape some more the dragon had allowed him to exit his tight embrace. Hiccup stood calmly and stretched, groaning softly. The soft sting in his leg paired perfectly with his bruised body. And he looked at his dragon, and the trail in the dirt that they had left behind him during the landing.
"Rough landing last night." Hiccup said softly to the awaking dragon, who yawned calmly as he stood up, folding his wings along his side. The Night Fury shook itself, not appearing to be bruised or anything. Dragons were a bit more resilient than Vikings after all. "Thanks bud." Hiccup said as he gently patted the dragon on the side of his head. The dragon leaning into the touch in the hopes of it becoming scratching, Hiccup understood and calmly obeyed. "You've kept us safe another night."
Toothless' response was a short lick on Hiccup's chin. The dragon had learned that the Viking didn't always enjoyed being bathed in his saliva, so he decided that he'd only do that when he really couldn't hold himself back. He warbled happily as he showered his rider with affection, before getting excited for the new day on their adventure and starting to run around, jumping against some of the big trees that stood at the edge of the small field of grass they had landed in.
"Calm down bud." Hiccup chuckled as he saw the dragon jump around the place, his tongue hanging from his mouth. While Toothless calmed down a bit, now just walking circles around him impatiently he grabbed his flask, feeling that it was extremely light. He opened the end of it and held it upside down, which was a bad idea if there still was some precious water inside it. But the only thing that fell out of it was one small drip. "We'll have to find a new source of water bud." He said as he put the flask away again. Toothless already a few meters into the forest. "You lead the way."
They had discovered that, although it was slower, exploring forests by foot was a better way, because you often saw more and it was also more fun. He calmly walked through the forest, they were smart enough to head more south, where it could be a bit warmer and where the trees slowly changed from tall pines to sturdy oaks. He walked, leaves crunching underneath his feet. Autumn has also visited this part of the archipelago, and it had turned the forest that would once be green into a pattern of different brown and yellow colours.
It was beautiful, Hiccup thought as he walked through it. The fallen leaves had covered the ground with their different colours, and it was extremely amusing to see Toothless run around the crunchy leaves. It was good to see the dragon enjoy himself, even though his life had been changed forever.
He watched with joy as the dragon jumped against the trees, running ahead and then returning to him. He would usually do this, scouting ahead in every direction. This way they did cover more ground, and if he found something of interest he would drag Hiccup towards it. He had found a small creek once, and he had made sure that Hiccup knew it. The dragon had almost shoved his face into the cold water, where plenty of fish were swimming. They had spent a night there, eating some of the fish that Toothless' could catch form the creek while Hiccup made a simple shelter. In the end Toothless had accidently knocked it down, and the two were forced to sleep under the cover of the trees and stars.
Toothless ran by him again, his tongue hanging from his mouth. It was amazing to see how glad he was that he was free, at least that was what Hiccup thought. He himself was overjoyed with his new freedom, although it was tougher than he had expected.
He ran after his dragon, the cold in his leg would soon disappear as he moved the muscles, they would heat themselves up. He chased his dragon through the forest, eventually stopping as he saw his dragon running towards him with a large smile, running behind him and pushing him with his head. Hiccup walked slowly as Toothless pushed him gently. He had probably found something, so it was bound to be good.
He pushed Hiccup toward a rock wall, where a small puddle of water was caught in a hole. Hiccup couldn't see if it was rainwater of if there was a spring or something, but it looked clear enough to assume that it was clean. He quickly grabbed his flask and removed the cork. Pushing it underneath the water.
Bubbles escaped from the opening as water flowed in. It was a satisfying thing to see, new fresh water, one of the most important things for their survival. Once he was content with the amount of water he corked the flask again, placing it back. He stepped back, allowing Toothless to also enjoy the water, the dragon lapped up a lot of it, enjoying the cold water to hydrate his mouth.
Hiccup calmly watched as Toothless licked the basin empty. He smiled as the dragon turned to him pressing his wet and now cold nose against him. Hiccup shivered a bit but hugged the dragon back. It was these small moments that they really enjoyed each other's company.
The rest of the day was calm, Hiccup had gathered a few berries, letting Toothless sniff them to indicate if they were poisonous or not. He had a pretty good idea of which ones he could eat and which ones he couldn't but it never hurts to check.
Toothless had also eaten some of the berries, the flights of the last few days had left his wings sore, so he couldn't fly comfortably, and he didn't feel like going fishing. Luckily the dragon could take a bigger punishment, even in terms of food, so the berried that Hiccup knew weren't too good for him were often accepted by Toothless, who would eat them with glee.
They had explored the woods some more, and were surprised with the size of the island, although it seemed to be lacking quite some resources. There was plenty of wood, that was for sure, but that was pretty much everything. They hadn't discovered any creeks or large reserves of fresh water, or places where they could easily shelter. But Hiccup guessed they had only seen a small part of the island.
One of the things they had found was a cave. The cave was lying near a clearing, and didn't look too big, but Hiccup wasn't sure it was safe. Toothless had roared into it and seemed confident that there was nothing, he had walked in without hesitation, leaving Hiccup outside.
It only took a few second for him to see the green eyes come from the darkness again, and Toothless walked out of it completely unharmed. He looked content with the cave, and Hiccup felt confident that it was safe.
Finally, a proper shelter, they wouldn't be sleeping under the stars that evening. Hiccup looked up at the clouds, they were thick and grey, and he expected rain soon.
"We better get some firewood." Hiccup said as he looked at Toothless, they could really use a fire, since it would keep them just a bit warmer at night. And it would also fend off any other animals who hoped to find shelter in the cave. He walked towards the forest, Toothless following him.
Their teamwork was impressive, Hiccup would grab smaller twigs and branches, while Toothless could drag large branches, and sometimes small trees, back from the forest. Hiccup ran down a small incline with wigs in his hands. Tripping over a log that lay at the bottom of it. It felt like just a few weeks back, rolling a bit and hitting another tree, but this time he didn't keep lying on the ground for a second, he heard the soft sound of thunder in the distance, and one the famous autumn storms could very well soon be upon them.
He grabbed his bunch of twigs, sticks and branches. Carrying them towards the cave. He felt his ankle ache, it was probably from the fall, or from the rough landing of yesterday. And he guessed it would wear off in a while. He arrived at the cave just in time to see Toothless drag a large branch into it. He stumbled inside, having trouble properly seeing, anything. He tried to follow the sound of the branches being dragged across the stone, wondering where Toothless was exactly.
He found him, accidently by bumping into him. "Sorry bud." He apologised. "I can't see very well." He dropped his wood to his right, Toothless calmly shoved a bit of it aside and shot a small flame onto it, the fire burned through the wood, and at first there were just a few embers, but after a few seconds the wood started to light fire.
Hiccup could now see a little bit of the cave, but his vision in the dark was ruined even further as the light of the fire reached his eyes. He looked at Toothless, and walked over to him. Toothless wined with worry as he saw him limp a bit. "Don't worry bud." Hiccup reassured him. "I just misplaced my foot back there." He said as he scratched the dragon. A bit of light had poured into the cave, but the dimmed clouds filled the sky. And Hiccup could hear the crack of thunder in the distance.
The cave went downwards ever so slightly, but they had found a small part which was just a bit higher than the rest, that way they wouldn't be awoken by a bit of water streaming into here. He leaned against Toothless, still not fully rested after the previous day. It was a mixture of exhaust and hunger, perhaps the next day they could manage to get some food.
He hoped so, he didn't want to go without food for too long, but with a bit of luck Toothless was able to fly properly tomorrow, so they would be able to fish.
When he woke up it wasn't raining anymore, and the fire had died down, only a few embers were lying in the pit. He slowly pushed Toothless' wing away, the temperature in the cave was cold, but it wasn't as cold as the previous morning, probably because of the rain, a clouded sky meant warmer nights.
Hiccup gently stepped out of Toothless' embrace, wincing as he felt his foot from yesterday. He walked to the smouldering embers to put a bundle of twigs on them, hoping they would catch fire again. He looked around the cave, his eyes more used to the darkness than yesterday. He could now clearly see the shape, it was curved, and they had placed the fire at the end of it, that way the smoke couldn't trap them. They had lied down in front of the fire, and from there the cave continued a few meters before turning off and heading to the left, from where a faint light shone, it was probably still early in the morning, so the sun would be shining into the cave. Hiccup calmly sat down, careful to rest his leg, grabbing his flask for a drink. The large flask was probably half filled from what he guessed. He removed the cork that kept the water from spilling out, and calmly took a few swigs to hydrate his dry mouth.
The cork fitted neatly back into the end of the flask, and he calmly put it back. He stretched and checked the amount of wood they had left, probably enough for two days. That meant that they could sleep in the cave for a couple of night before they had to find new, so they only had to worry about food today. He still had some water, so that could also wait until tomorrow. So they only needed food, beside that they could just explore the island.
He stood up carefully, using a few rocks for support, he limped a bit before he was able to look outside the cave, using his hand to shield his eyes form the soft but blinding sun. It hung low on the horizon, and it shone right into the cave. He looked outside the cave, a small clearing of pebbles and grass in front of them. The forest looked as beautiful as ever, the sun was a perfect addition to the palette of colours that the leaves carried, whether they were still hanging from the trees or not. His eyes adjusted to the brighter light of the outside world, and he could see that the clearing wasn't as empty as he had expected, inside the clearing there was a deer. It probably wasn't an adult, since it looked smaller than a full grown one, but it was still pretty big.
Hiccup looked at it from the cave, the deer would solve the problem of food for a while, at least for a few days. But he had nothing to take it down with. He heard his stomach rumble, he hadn't eaten that well the last few days. Sure, Toothless could easily get fish from the sea, but it had been difficult with the amount of flying they had already been doing, and Hiccup had discovered that if the dragon was active he would eat a lot more fish than he had expected. Hiccup had granted the dragon this, he was after all the one who carried him and their belongings from island to island, so he needed his strength.
Hiccup felt if he had anything he could use against the animal. He could take a stick and try to sharpen it on the rocks, but he would never be able to get close enough to the dear to attack it, let alone kill it. He would never be able to chase it down, especially with his leg aching like it was.
He could get Toothless to attack it, but then again, he didn't think there would be much left of the dear. The only reason that they could catch fish easily was that the shock of the plasma bolt hitting the water stunned them, making them float to the surface and easy to grab. But he had already discovered that hunting for other animals wasn't as effective as he thought. Toothless didn't like hunting boars and dears, they required him to either pounce on them and somehow kill them, which would usually involve him biting down on their head or keep them pinned until Hiccup could kill them, which proved to be quite difficult since the animals often struggled a lot, trying to break free.
He thought about it, it was almost too good of a chance to let go. The deer was such an easy target, probably separated form it's herd. They could easily take it, they wouldn't be see so quickly from the darkness.
He heard a soft stirring behind him, and he quickly turned to Toothless who was slowly waking up. "Shhh," she shushed the dragon, the Night Fury's eyes opening wide from surprise. He silently got up and looked at his rider, who gently motioned for him to come towards him so that he could also see into the clearing. "Come." He said softly.
The dragon also took a second to adjust his eyes to the bright light, but once he had he could also see the dear clearly, standing in the sun, eating some of the grass that grew in the clearing. Toothless looked at his rider, expecting an order or an idea. Hiccup merely looked, not telling him to do something, but leaving the choice with him.
"Should we take it?" He asked as he looked at the dragon, before looking back at the deer. "It would give us food for a while." Toothless turned his head to Hiccup and huffed softly. "I know you don't like deer, but that would mean more fish for you." Hiccup pleaded, a supply of fresh meat would give them plenty of food for a week or so, and it would allow Toothless to only catch fish for himself, and not have to worry about Hiccup.
The idea of extra fish did help with getting the dragon to favour the idea of attacking the deer, but he was still sceptical. Hiccup sighed, they both didn't like killing animals, but they had also learned that it was sometimes necessary for survival. "Look, you just pin it down." He said softly as he pointed at the deer, the dragon looking at him with a questioning look. "I'll finish it off." Toothless looked at Hiccup questioningly. "It doesn't even have antlers." Hiccup added. "There's no danger."
They both looked at the deer again, it looked like it would be the best choice to attack it. Toothless looked at it with interest, his large eyes fixated on the small game. He crouched a bit, preparing to pounce on the deer.
A soft but faint whistle was all that Hiccup needed to know that something was wrong, he quickly stepped in front of Toothless, blocking his way and preventing him from pouncing on the deer. Toothless tensed up, having to suddenly prevent himself from jumping. They could both see how the deer had raised it head, only for an arrow the pierce it's neck. The deer quickly tried to run, but the arrow had probably hit something important, since it tripped and fell to the ground, its legs kicking, trying to get up again.
Toothless eyes turned to slits as he felt his rider's heartbeat rise. Hiccup wasn't shocked because he just saw the deer get killed, so was the way of nature. He had already seen Vikings hunt often enough, and he had also been able to see the occasional rabbit been grabbed by a fox. But what scared him was the way that the deer was struck.
An arrow had hit him, and he could see the blood covered tip sticking out from the side of the twitching deer's neck. Killing a deer with a single arrow was tough, usually the animals took two or three to properly take them down, or you just had to track the wounded animal, hoping it would bleed out and that it hadn't been found by other hunters like dragons or wolves.
Hiccup looked at Toothless, noticing that the large dragon was still ready to pounce, now waiting for whoever came to claim the kill. "Calm down bud." Hiccup said, slowly trying to push the dragon back further in the cave, back into the shadows. Toothless relaxed, and calmly stepped back, but didn't let his eyes wander away from the deer, waiting for a threat to show itself.
"Get back." Hiccup said, trying to get the dragon far enough past the bend that his eyes wouldn't be seen in the dark. He had discovered that a part of the reason that Toothless had such excellent night vision was because their eyes absorbed a lot of light, even where there was just a little bit. The only downside to this was that in a dark location his eyes almost seemed to shine. Something that had given him quite a scare the first time he woke up like that, but now it worked reassuring for him.
He had safely managed to get Toothless around the corner. And he himself had found a safe place at the back of the cave, hiding in the shadows. This way he could get a good view at what was happening without exposing himself. Luckily the sun had moved a bit, no longer lighting the complete cave anymore. He could watch the clearing perfectly, but he could also watch Toothless, who was lying next to the few embers, his eyes just a bit illuminated for Hiccup to see.
He smiled at the dragon, and Toothless smiled back. He could sense that Toothless was nervous too, probably because he feared that Hiccup was in danger. The smile calmed him a bit, but not a lot. Hiccup turned back to the clearing, hearing a faint but heavy voice.
He listened closely, it was clearly some kind of Viking, since most of them talked with the same accent. Toothless also flicked his ears around, he could also hear the people talking, but he couldn't understand it.
Hiccup could see someone appearing, coming from the direction the arrow had originated from. It was a tall and probably strong Viking, he looked like he was also fast, but looked underfed. He had a bow in his hand, and a quiver with a few arrows hanging from his belt. He wore simple clothes and didn't seem to carry any heavy weapons or armour, so he was probably just a hunter. He had a typical large beard, and his ears were clear to see, so they must've been pretty big too. The man kneeled down next to the deer, grabbing a knife from his belt and quickly and efficiently ending the suffering of the animal.
Hiccup watched closely, but then he saw someone else approaching from the side. A young girl, tall and lean, she looked about his age. She walked over to the Viking with a quick pace, hugging the man as he cleaned his knife on his pants.
"Good shot dad." The raven-haired girl said as she looked at the deer. She also wore simple clothes, some parts cloth, some parts leather. They each looked at the deer, the father cleaning the knife from blood on his pants.
"Thanks darling." The man said with a kind and sweet tone, and Hiccup felt like he shouldn't be disturbing these people. He still really wanted that deer though, but he had seen the man's skill with the bow and arrow, and he really feared that if they ran out and just grabbed the deer that the man would surely react by shooting an arrow at him.
He thought deeply, perhaps he could talk with them, approach them innocently, trying to act like a helpless little lost boy. Although it didn't feel right, he could beg for some food, and since the man was a father himself he probably had some compassion towards children.
Hiccup thought about the perfect timing, he didn't want to startle them, since he didn't know how quick the reflexes of the man were. But as he thought about the best timing he heard a soft crackle next to him, from the end of the cave. The bundle of twigs that he had put on the burning embers had chosen the worst possible time to light on fire. And he motioned for Toothless to put it out.
The Night Fury looked at the small fire, which was rapidly consuming more and more sticks. What could he do? He first tried to blow it out, but the air only fuelled the flames. After a few second of trying to blow the fire out the dragon realised that it wouldn't work, and had diverted his strategy to swatting the fire with his paw, which effectively spread it out and doused the flames.
Hiccup looked back at the cave, the fire had apparently been bright enough for the man to hear, and he had turned to the cave, seeing the light flicker. "Who's there?" He asked as he held his dagger towards the entrance of the cave, gently guiding the girl behind him.
Hiccup cursed softly, looked like it was now or never, he motioned for Toothless to stay put, and the dragon obeyed, knowing that Vikings weren't fond of dragons.
Hiccup emerged from the darkness of the cave, wincing as he limped and as the sun hit his eyes again, he could see how the man's gaze softened as he noticed that he was a young boy, but he still held the dagger out.
"Who are you?" he asked as he shielded the girl, who peeked out curiously. The man stood tall and strong, but Hiccup could see that he was not planning to attack, he wasn't even defending his catch, he was only protecting his girl.
"I, I'm Hiccup." Hiccup spoke softly, trying to act as innocent as possible. He slowly stepped forward, but stopped and raised his arms as the main raised his dagger, pointing it at him.
"What are you doing here?" The man asked. "How long have you been here?"
"I've spent the night here." Hiccup explained, feeling nervous and defenceless.
The man looked at him, Hiccup's clothes were filled with cuts, and they were pretty dirty, covered with dirt and other mess. A twig was sticking from his hair. "Where are your parents?" The man asked a bit calmer now, realising that Hiccup meant no harm.
"Not here." He said calmly, he knew he couldn't lie well so he decided to just tell the truth. "I ran away."
"Where are you from?" The man asked as he lowered the knife, he kneeled down, getting himself on eye level with Hiccup, trying to make the nervous young boy feel more comfortable.
Hiccup really didn't want to answer that question, but before he could think of anything to say the man quickly stood up, his knuckles growing white as he held his dagger tightly and his face turning grave. "Heather, stay back." He said to the young girl, gently handing her the dagger. Hiccup tensed as he the man slowly grabbed his bow, his hand resting on his quiver. "Listen closely kid." The man said calmly. "Come to me, very slowly."
Instead of listening, Hiccup stepped back, and saw the man's face grow fearful as he did. "I'm not going to hurt you." He said calmly, slowly drawing an arrow from the quiver. "And I need you to not panic." He continued. "But there is something in that cave with you."
Hiccup quickly turned around, seeing Toothless' eyes illuminated in the dark, his green eyes narrow slits, seeing the man with the bow as a threat to his rider. Hiccup quickly turned back to the man, raising his arms in defence, and stepping between Toothless and the man.
"Wait." He yelled. "Don't!" He tried to make himself as tall as possible, trying to make sure the man couldn't possibly hit Toothless. "I, I can explain this."
The man's gaze was a mixture of disbelieve, fear, and confusion. He heard a soft growl from inside the cave, and he slowly lifted the arrow to nock it in the bow. He looked at the young boy, who was basically throwing himself in between a dragon and a weapon. "Come here kid."
"No, he won't do anything." Hiccup said as he slowly walked back into the cave, wincing every time he put pressure on his leg. "He doesn't hurt people."
The man drew his bow. Hearing another growl from inside the cave. "Please don't the weapons scares him." Hiccup pleaded as he kept stepping in his line of sight. The man looked conflicted, he looked behind him, where Heather stood, not looking at the cave with fear, but looking at it with curiosity.
The man seemed to forget about his arrow as he saw the boy leave into the cave again, expecting screams and the sounds of someone getting ripped apart, but nothing came. Instead he heard soft talking from inside the cave, and it make him feel uncomfortable.
"Come out, Hiccup!" The man yelled, remembering the name the boy had told him at the start of this strange encounter. "It's safer here."
"Promise you won't hurt him." Hiccup demanded from inside the darkness of the cave, he did his best to shield Toothless, making sure that his eyes couldn't be seen from outside. "Give him a chance."
The man looked at his daughter, he didn't want to bring her in danger, but he wanted to get the other kid out of that cave. The boy looked like a mess, and he might need care. He sighed deeply, readying himself. "Alright." He said as he lowered his bow, slowly letting it relax, but keeping the arrow nocked.
Hiccup had his hand on Toothless' head. "Do you trust me bud?" He asked as he looked the dragon, his eyes growing large again. He crooned softly, he was scared for them. He could take and arrow, but he feared that Hiccup wasn't as resilient as he was. "Let's go." He said, trying to muster all his courage as he walked out of the cave.
The Viking could now see the young slowly appearing from the darkness of the cave. Behind him he could see the eyes that had seen before. The green eyes stared straight at him, but they looked a bit kinder. The full dragon slowly came into view, and the man felt himself tremble on his feet, he had thought this kid to be so innocent and harmless. But with the dragon, he could kill him and his daughter in a second.
The was frozen, looking in awe and horror as the young boy calmly guided the dragon out of the cave, he now noticed how badly he was limping. It was such a conflicting picture, the large and dangerous dragon calmly walking behind the weakened and limping boy, who kept focussed on it. He kept it calm with soft words of encouragement and compliments. He stopped a few feet in front of him, turning around, he stood beside the head of the beast, leaning on it for support.
"Let's start again." Hiccup said as he calmly cleared his throat, his voice dry and raspy. "I'm Hiccup, and this," He began, gesturing calmly at Toothless. "is my, well, dragon; Toothless."
AN:
Yes! Another chapter done. This was originally going to be the second chapter. But I decided that some Toothless Hiccup bonding time would be fun. This'll be from where the story starts to really get some speed. But I'll probably be mentioning that in a couple other chapters too. Yaaaaay.
For the people who asked questions, if you have an account I'll probably respond to them via Personal messages, If I forget, then don't sky away from sending me a message.
Then, some asked about Hiccup, Astrid and possible relationships. I can confirm that this story will have Hiccstrid, but it'll take a while to really get going. Since Berk won't have ready access to dragons and they aren't sure if Hiccup's dead or missing he's not that easy for them to track down.
I am planning to put in a lot of awkward, fluffy, and joyful Hiccstrid though. Definitely coming in here.
As for now, since this story will be pretty big and will be the crown jewel of my story liberary for a while I'll try to upload as frequent as possible. I got a few more chapters that I have starts for. So next chapters should take a week tops. I'll try to really put some work in and try to see if I'll be able to update weekly.
Anyway, that's enough not important rambling from me.
Take care!
R4y