Part II: Bear Boy

oOo

The world stretched out below Hiccup, Merida, and Jack, uniformly lit in silver-blue moonlight in a manner that seemed only possible in wild dreamscapes. Hiccup looked up. Merida was right, there were no stars, only a large white moon. The hill on which they stood overlooked a quaint little valley, at the end of which was a lake. And even though it was farther away, the lake seemed to rise in their vision above the valley and the road through it. And beyond the lake was a great chain of mountains, which became like great columns towering into the sky. And farther, beyond that, the ground became so far and so large that a single grain of sand in the desert on the other side of the mountains seemed larger than the highest peak. And so it went on until eternity, until the earth met the almost empty black sky. It must be a dream, Hiccup thought. He turned, looking back at the forest, and saw the same on the other side. The trees grew larger, reaching higher up to the moon the farther away they were.

"This is magic," Merida breathed out.

"This is crazy," Jack muttered, staring up at the moon overhead. Turning back to the valley, Hiccup set his sights on the lake.

"Come on," he said, "There'll be people near the water."

They started out down the road, still marveling at the world around them. Hiccup led the way, followed by Merida, followed by Jack. They walked until the moon was low in the sky behind them. Jack clenched his hands together in the pocket of his hoodie, eyes flicking to either side of the path. Tall grasses rose to their chest on either side, and it made him nervous. Never before had he felt so helpless, without his powers and without his staff. His hands itched to hold the familiar grooves of the wood, to feel its weight balancing him as he rode the updrafts and swirling eddies away from all dangers. But it was back, broken, in the ravine.

For an instant, Jack thought he heard something moving in the grasses. Stopping, he listened very carefully, but could only hear Merida and Hiccup's boots on the dirt road. As he began walking again he heard another rustle of dry plant stalks, first on the right, then the left. He caught up to Merida and Jack as naturally as he could and put his hand on Merida's shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly, hoping Hiccup could hear.

"What?" Merida said loudly. Jack sighed, but answered as quietly as before.

"I think someone's following us." Hiccup and Merida stopped, alarmed. Great, Jack thought, just give us away, won't you?

"Don't stop!" he hissed. As soon as he spoke, a group of black-clad men burst out from the grass. Each had a badge sewn onto his sleeve, a crest with a star and a sword in silver thread. Every man looked unsavory.

"Bandits!" Hiccup yelled. He wheeled around to face the threat behind him. Merida pulled out her knife, eyes narrowing fiercely. Jack turned his back to Merida and Hiccup, feeling useless and clumsy without a weapon. The first man dove at him with a sword. Jack managed to duck under him, tripping him as he passed. The man went sprawling to the ground. Jack jumped on top of him, wrestling a knife from his belt and lurching back to his feet before the man could roll over and pull him to the ground. He kicked the man in the head, and then turned to face the rest of his attackers. Jack wasn't sure how Merida and Hiccup were faring, but he didn't have time to check. The next man to go after him was taller and more sickly, with hollowed cheeks and sunken eyes. He brought a knife down at Jack's head. Jack brought his blade up, catching his enemy's weapon inches before his nose. The man started to push him down towards the ground. Steeling himself, Jack kicked out at the man's legs, catching him in the knee. He went down, blade cutting into Jack's cheek on the way. Jack stepped on the hand that held the knife, and only hesitated for a moment before plunging his own blade into the man's back. Jack winced at the man's pained yell, and pulled his knife out roughly. At that moment, he heard Merida's angry scream. Turning, he saw the man he'd left earlier throw her over his shoulder. The man ran from the road, carving a faint path through the grass as he started to disappear. Hiccup, downing another enemy with a stolen blade, yelled to Jack.

"Jack! Go after Merida!"

"What?" Jack yelled, slicing at a bandit's hand. "Leave you here?"

"GO!" Hiccup shouted. Shaking his head, Jack took off into the grass, following Merida's angry insults as best he could. Leaving Hiccup alone. With at least six bandits. They formed a circle around him, weapons drawn. Hiccup jumped forward, knocking the smallest bandit to the ground and stomping on his neck. Two more grabbed at him. He twisted, managing to stab at one's head. The knife ripped out of his hand. Hiccup and the other bandit went careening to the ground, and he registered pain in his right side. Half on accident, Hiccup threw his elbow back at the bandit's face, and the squirming beneath him stilled.

He wrenched the sword from the man's hand and turned to the remaining enemies. One of the bandits leapt forward at him, and Hiccup threw himself to the ground, then grabbed the man's ankles. Scrambling to his knees, Hiccup struck him in the head with the hilt of the blade. He pushed himself back onto his feet, and faced off the last two bandits.

Except he didn't need to really, because they'd already high-tailed it back off the road to whatever hole they'd crawled out of. Hiccup stood, breathing hard. He pressed his hand to the his side, and winced. There was blood there, and a ragged hole in his shirt.

"Ju-ust great," he muttered. It hurt, but he had more important things to worry about.

Cautiously, Hiccup started rifling through the clothes of the unconscious bandits. He took a few knives, a bow and quiver of arrows, then headed off the road to find Merida and Jack. He travelled as quickly and silently as possible, hoping no other dangerous persons had heard their scuffle.

oOo

Jack ran towards Merida's yelling. The bandit was now shouting back at her, calling her unflattering names and telling her to be quiet if she wanted to keep her tongue. They appeared before him suddenly in the tall grass, Merida beating on the bandit's back with her bare fists, elbowing the back of his head, and kicking his front. He was so large, it didn't seem to make much of an impact.

"Hey!" Jack yelled, gripping his blood-soaked knife nervously. The bandit turned to face him, brandishing his weapon. Steeling himself, Jack jumped forward and threw himself to the side at the last minute. The bandit had already swung his sword, and Merida's beating pulled him out of balance. He stumbled for a moment, which was just enough time for Jack to slash at the arm holding Merida. Yelling in pain, the man dropped Merida roughly to the ground. She let out a muted yelp, then lay on the grass for a moment, dazed. Jack grinned triumphantly, then felt pain as he was hit over the head. The bandit had abandoned the sword, and now readied for another punch. Jack dove towards him, stabbing at the already injured arm as best he could. The bandit evaded the swipe of the knife, and grabbed Jack's head, bringing it down nose-first on his knee. Jack went limp. The bandit dropped him, turning back to the girl. Merida—now recovered—had retrieved the man's sword. He watched her carefully, and she narrowed her eyes, lifting the blade in an experienced defensive stance. Backing away slowly, the man disappeared into the grasses, then turned and ran. When Merida heard his footfalls fade into silence, she ran over to Jack, dropping the sword to the ground.

"Oh no," She said. She knelt down by Jack's head.

"No, no, no..." Merida said. She pressed her ear to his chest, listening for a heartbeat, but heard nothing.

"No!" She grabbed his hoodie and shook him, but he didn't respond. She sat back, dazed, breath uneven.

"I'm sorry Jack," she whispered, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let him grab me."

Merida felt tears come to her eyes, and she took a ragged breath, trying to hold in sobs. She couldn't cry now. Not again.

Jack moaned.

"What happened?" he mumbled, sitting up and opening his eyes. Merida stared at him.

"But you were-you were dead! I checked! How-what-what is this?"

"You must've made a mistake," Jack said, getting slowly to his feet. He stretched out his arms and back with a few cracks and pops, then glanced around.

"Where's Hiccup?"

"Right here," Hiccup called, coming around the bend.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Jack said, spotting the blood on Hiccup's clothing.

"It's not mine," Hiccup lied, "We should get going. The last few bandits ran off, but they'll probably be coming back with friends." He paused, and looked at Merida, who was still sitting on the ground and staring up at Jack with a half-dazed, half-scared expression.

"Merida, are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah...I'm fine," she said. Shaking her head, she stood.

"We need to keep going," she declared.

"Alright," Hiccup said, "Let's get back to the main road."

By the time they were back to the path, Hiccup was swaying precariously back and forth. As they walked down the road his pace slowed, until his feet were dragging along the ground. Every few seconds he would draw himself up and walk with confidence, only to droop forward moments later.

"He's been struggling for awhile," Jack whispered to Merida, "We should stop." Just as he said this, Hiccup stumbled over his own feet, falling to the ground.

"Hey!" Merida exclaimed. Running forward, she helped Hiccup to his feet, but when she let go he almost fell again. She and Jack grabbed his arms, holding him up.

"I'm fine," he said. They released him momentarily and his knees buckled.

"Okay, maybe not so fine," he admitted.

"We need to make camp," Merida said. They moved back off the road into the grass. Merida stomped some of the stalks down, and Jack helped Hiccup to the ground. Merida sat beside him, scolding.

"You should've told us," she said, helping him out of his vest and shirt to see the cut on his side.

"It's not too deep," Hiccup said. Shaking her head, Merida took one of the knives they'd taken from the bandits and cut at her skirt, taking a good foot off at the bottom. She handed the knife and fabric to Jack.

"Cut that into strips," she said. Jack jumped to do as he was told. He wasn't used to blood and wounds, he never had to deal with them. Merida used another knife and ripped off one of her lower sleeves. With that she wiped gently at the blood, trying to see the wound, but more began welling up as soon as she pulled it away.

"You're lucky this isn't worse," she muttered, pressing the sleeve to the wound. She grabbed Hiccup's hand and put it over the fabric.

"Hold that," she said. Merida took the remnants of her skirt from Jack and told him to help Hiccup sit up. She wound the makeshift bandages around his middle, and tucked the ends in tightly. Then she helped him back into his shirt and vest.

"There. And DON'T move around too much. Just lay down and get some rest," she said.

"Thanks Merida," Hiccup said as she stood. Merida looked around at the little clearing they'd made. It was warm enough that they didn't need a fire, and she wasn't sure she wanted one with bandits still roaming about. But Hiccup needed water, and quickly.

"I'll be back," Merida said.

"Woah, wait, what?" Hiccup said, "You're leaving?"

"You've got Jack to take care of you," Merida said.

"Precisely!" Hiccup said.

"Hey!" Jack interjected, "What's the matter with that?"

"No offense," Hiccup said, "You don't seem very good with this kind of stuff." Jack scowled.

"What kind of stuff?" he snapped. Hiccup shrugged.

"You know, wounds. And...nature," he replied.

"I'm fine with nature-no, I'm great with nature! I AM nature!"

"Merida! Don't leave me!" Hiccup called to Merida, who was already headed out into the dark forest.

"You'll live!" she shouted over her shoulder. Sighing, Hiccup looked to Jack, who was glaring at him.

"For the record, I am awesome with nature," Jack snapped. He flopped to the ground, facing away from Hiccup and crossing his arms angrily.

Merida knelt down, feeling the ground. It was moist. She was close to water. She had remembered the stream in the woods, and figured the water had to go somewhere. As she walked further into the grass, she thought she heard something moving around her. She pulled out the sword the bandits had left her with, expecting more black-clad villains to appear before her. Holding the weapon up, she listened for more noises. All that came to her ears was the sound of her own breath. Slowly, she turned, trying to see what was there despite the moon's poor lighting.

Without warning, Merida was knocked to the ground by a fast-moving creature. She flung the sword around, managing to hit whatever it was with the flat of the blade. The thing made a squealing noise, and jumped off of her, leaving faint claw marks in her shoulders. Scrambling to her feet, Merida held the sword out at her attacker. As she got a good look at it, she frowned, puzzled.

At first she thought it was a small bear, black and furry with large round ears and big brown eyes. But then she saw that it was wearing clothes, and it seemed to sit more like a human child than any animal she'd ever seen. And it was crying. Merida scowled.

"What are you?!" she snapped, feeling slightly foolish for talking to an animal. The bear-child didn't answer, but put its face in its paws and cried a little harder. Merida felt her eyebrows raise against her will. No! she scolded herself, it's a magic beast! But she couldn't stop the pity that crept into her mind. Letting out a sound of frustration, she dropped the sword and knelt down by the creature.

"What are you?" she asked again, softer this time. The bear-child's crying lightened, and it raised its head just enough to show wide, wet eyes. Aw, cute, Merida couldn't help but think.

"I'm Mathe," the creature said. Merida nearly fell backwards as the bear-child—Mathe—actually responded.

"I'm Merida," she said, shaken. Mathe dropped his hands into his lap, grinning toothily.

"Hi," he said. Merida watched him mistrustfully.

"What are you?" she asked fro the third time.

"I told you," Mathe said, "I'm Mathe." Merida shook her head.

"Yes but what are you?" she pressed. Realization flashed over the bear's face.

"Oh!" he said, then shook his head roughly. Merida jumped back, watching in amazement as the black fur disappeared and his features shifted into that of a wide-faced young boy with black hair and large brown eyes. He grinned.

"I'm sorry!" he said, "I got scared." Merida nodded slowly, wide-eyed.

"Wh-Where are your parents?" she stuttered. Mathe shook his head.

"In the village," he said.

"Village? Where?" Merida asked, thinking immediately of better bandages and maybe even a needle and thread to stitch Hiccup's wound. And water. And food. Oh yes, definitely food. Mathe narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, looking up at Merida shrewdly.

"You aren't a bad guy, are you?" he asked. Merida shook her head emphatically.

"No! No I'm not! But I have a friend who was hurt by a bad guy. He's back by the road, and he needs water and bandages. Does your village have those?" Mathe examined her critically for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes. Go get your friends and come back here. I'll take you to the village," he said. Merida hesitated. What if he disappeared the minute she turned her back?

"Well?" Mathe said, making a shooing motion with his hands, "I'm waiting." Merida turned and started running back towards the boys.

oOo

Jack jumped to his feet as Merida burst back into their little clearing.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Hiccup tried to sit up, but failed miserably and flopped back onto the flattened grass. Merida walked over to him and helped him to his feet, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"There's a village nearby," she said, "Follow me." She led Hiccup into the grass. Jack followed them, hesitant.

"Hold on," he said, "You just found a village in the middle of this field?"

"No," Merida called over her shoulder, "I ran into a young boy. He says there's one nearby. He's going to take us there." Jack sped up, walking alongside them.

"You're going to trust a random kid you met in the middle of a field? What if he's with the bandits?" Merida stopped suddenly, throwing Hiccup off-balance.

"Ow, ow, ow," he protested.

"Sorry," she said quickly, then looked at Jack, "Hiccup needs help. Real help." Jack glanced between the two of them. Merida was scowling at him, daring him to say no. Hiccup was just staring at him with this desperate, pained look in his eyes.

"Ugh, fine!" Jack said, "But if this kid turns us over to the bandits, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough," Merida said under her breath, and continued towards where she had left Mathe.

oOo

"Mathe? Bear boy?" Merida called when they reached the spot (near as she could tell). The boy didn't appear. Hiccup, sweating profusely, hung off her shoulder. Jack supported Hiccup's other side, and was growing impatient.

"Merida, he's not here," Jack said. Merida shot him a glare and called a little louder.

"Mathe? Come out! I've come back with my friends, we need your help," she said. She waited for a moment, staring at the moonlight field around her. The grasses swayed back and forth, undisturbed by any small potential saviors coming her way. Hiccup seemed to grow heavier and heavier on her shoulder, now that her hope was slowly fading.

Jack yelped, jumping away from Hiccup and leaving Merida to support him completely.

"Jack!" Merida snapped.

"Ow..." Hiccup groaned.

"Something touched me!" Jack said, then realized how high-pitched his voice was and cleared his throat, embarrassed.

"Hello!" another high-pitched voice said from in front of Merida. She looked down, and found Mathe standing there. He was half-bear, half-child, staring up at her with glassy eyes.

"What is THAT!?" Jack yelled.

"Oh, hush up! It's Mathe," Merida scolded.

"It's a bear," Jack said.

"What did you think 'bear boy' meant?" Merida asked.

"I don't know, not this!" Hiccup raised his head from Merida's shoulder.

"Okay!" he moaned, "Can we please just follow the little bear to his village? Please?"

"Alright," Merida said.

"Sure, whatever," said Jack. Mathe blinked twice, then scratched his ear with a half-formed claw.

"If you're all done now, the village is this way," he said. He turned and started off through the grass. Jack pulled Hiccup's arm back over his shoulder, and they followed.