And yet another incredibly long wait for the next chapter. Sorry you guys, I never mean to take so long with the updates, it often just slips my mind... Thanks for all the reviews encouraging me to continue updating! It's what motivated me to write this chapter. The next one's being written as we speak. Read on, and enjoy!
Merida POV
"Just...wait here for a second." Hiccup instructed us. He took a few steps forward, then disappeared, quite literally.
"Hiccup?" Punzie asked, looking around her.
"Where'd he go?" Jack mumbled.
I focused more intently on the spot where I had last seen Hiccup disappear. There. A small waver in the air. I reached a hand forward, as though the disruptance I had seen was an actual, physical thing I could have grab hold of. My hand passed through nothing, and I felt a little dumb for thinking there was something there.
The air shimmered all around us, and I heard Punzie gasp. Suddenly, the cove appeared in front of us, as did Hiccup.
"Woah." Jack said.
I nodded in agreement. I stepped forwards reluctantly.
"What was that?" I asked Hiccup.
"Protection barrier." He explained simply.
"Where's Toothless?" Punzie asked.
"Behind you." Hiccup grinned.
I turned around and smiled. Toothless was sitting in the sunlight, with eyes the size of saucers. He padded forwards, but stopped when he caught sight of Jack. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he struck up a faint growl.
"Hello, beastie." I said. I walked up to him and began scratching him behind the ear. He instantly relaxed and leaned into my hand, enjoying the pampering.
"Aw." I heard Punzie say. "He's adorable."
"And deadly." Jack muttered from behind me. I turned and shot him a glare.
Hiccup approached Toothless and gave him a quick pat. Toothless acknoledged him with a croon, and nudged him with his head, pushing Hiccup back a step.
"Give me your hand." He prompted Punzie.
Punzie looked slightly confused before extending her hand towards him. He took her wrist and pulled it gently towards Toothless. With only slight hesitation, Toothless leant forwards, pressing his nose into her hand.
Hiccup stepped away and gestured for Jack to come forwards.
"I'm not holding your hand." Jack said, crossing his arms.
Hiccup scoffed. "Just come here."
Jack approached hesitantly, and Toothless began growling quietly.
"Toothless... easy." Hiccup said as a warning. He grabbed Jack's arm and directed it towards Toothless. The dragon narrowed his eyes at the white-haired boy. "Close your eyes, Jack." Hiccup ordered softly.
Jack looked slightly panicked at the thought, but nodded and did as he was told. Punzie and I had already distanced ourselves from the trio, a little wary of the outcome. The forest had gone awfully silent, with only the sound of the wind ruffling through the trees filling the silence.
"We can trust him, bud." Hiccup said, casting a small look towards Jack.
I couldn't tell what Hiccup ws thinking, but I could tell he was weighing his words, trying to determine if what he had just said were true. Finally, I saw him set his jaw and look back to Toothless, assuredness in his gaze.
With great reluctance and a large amount of urging from Hiccup, Toothless finally leaned forwards and placed his nose in Jack's palm. Jack gasped and opened his eyes, before Toothless pulled his head back, shaking it slightly.
"Wow." Jack breathed.
Toothless snorted then walked away from Jack. He leaped over to Hiccup, nudging him with his head and giving him a quick lick. Hiccup looked disgusted, though based on the easy way he took it, I was going to guess this wasn't the first time it had happened.
"Ugh. Toothless, really?" Hiccup asked wiping the dragon saliva off of his school robes.
"Can we go flying?" Punzie asked. Hiccup looked over to Toothless, who crooned and wagged his tail around excitedly.
"He can only carry two people at a time." Hiccup informed us.
"We could go one at a time." Punzie suggested brightly.
"It's alright, Punz." Jack said. "No offense, but I don't really trust the dragon to catch me if I fall."
Toothless snorted, like he was agreeing with what Jack had said. Hiccup cast both of them a disapproving look but didn't say anything on the matter. I saw him checking over the riding equipment as he spoke.
"Alright." Hiccup announced, shedding his large cloak, revealing his uniform underneath. "Who's first?" He asked.
I grinned. "Go ahead Punzie." I told her.
Punzie gave a small nod and walked over to Hiccup, who now sat atop Toothless, extending a hand to help her climb up onto the back of the magnificent dragon.
"Hold on tight." Hiccup told her as she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Toothless. Gentle." Hiccup ordered. Toothless snorted and launched into the air, Punzie letting out a shriek at the sudden ascent.
Jack POV
I sat with my legs dangling over the edge of a thick tree limb, located at the edge of the cove. I swung my staff about me, bored. Hiccup and Rapunzel had taken off nearly ten minutes ago, and had left Merida and I to sit around and wait.
"They're taking forever." I groaned. "Do you think we should go find them?"
Merida scoffed, opening her eyes from where she tried to sleep, under a weeping willow tree. The leaves flowed gently through the wind, creating a beautiful scene if not for the disgruntled red-haired teen sitting beneath it.
"Relax, snowflake. The beastie's not going to eat your precious Punzie." She mocked, a look of twisted glee on her face.
I felt my cheeks go slightly warm. "I wasn't- I meant that they're taking forever to get back." I covered, almost wincing at how pathetic it sounded.
"Oh, poor Frosty, having to wait a couple of minutes." She mocked.
Was that a challenge I smelled? I smiled and jumped from the tree, landing agily on the ground. I was bored, and was looking for something to do, and a vivid argument with Merida seemed like a great way to pass time.
"You wanna go, Princess?" I asked, provoking her into the same bored frenzy I had already reached.
Merida stood. "I thought I told you to quit calling me Princess."
"Sorry, your highness." I teased, striding closer to her, a playful smile plastered on my face.
"Oh, it's on." She muttered. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, crossing her arms in a defiant position.
My guess was she was looking for a way to pass time as well, and she enjoyed a little battle just as much as I did, at least until I pushed a little too far. Then it turned violent, and compared to her hard-packed punches and well-aimed kicks, I wasn't much of a match. I straightened up and attempted at my very best Scottish accent.
"Mah name is Merida DoonBroch, and Ah'm a wee little princess. Ah love too shoot arrows off into tha soonset and let ma hair flow in tha wind." I mocked. It was a weak impression, but it did as it was intended to do; anger Merida.
"I'm Jack Frost, and I'm a precious little winter sprite who loves to spread cheer and dainty little snowflakes using my decorative stick. I like to prance around without shoes, and cause mischief." She mocked.
I let out a short laugh.
"Hairbrushes doonae make any sense ta me." I teased, running a hand through my imaginary hair.
"Ooh, you're done for, Frosty." She said. I leapt away, and before Merida could lunge forwards, a large beast landed abruptly onto the ground, seperating us before Merida could throw the first punch.
"You guys weren't fighting, were you?" Hiccup droned, already knowing the answer.
"Course not." I said, swinging my staff up to rest comfortably on my shoulder.
"We weren't fighting." Merida said. "We were having a nice little chat. Right, Snowflake?"
"Sure, Princess." I grinned. "Whatever you say."
Hiccup sighed and jumped down from the saddle. Rapunzel remained sitting, staring at Toothless's head, looking a little shocked.
"Hey, Punz?" I asked. I walked closer to her, careful of the dragon who eyed me warily. She looked a little confused, like she wasn't sure how to react. She suddenly gave a huge smile and climbed down from Toothless.
"That was amazing! The sun was so bright, and the clouds were beautiful and fluffy." She said it all in one breath. "But it was also so high up, and we could have fallen, or gotten hurt. I want to go again, but I really shouldn't."
I frowned slightly. "I can't help but notice you seem a little at war with yourself."
She sighed wistfully and scratched Toothless under his chin. Both of them looked relaxed and happy.
"Thank you, Toothless, that was amazing." She told him. Toothless purred in happiness.
I still thought that a dragon purring was an absurd concept, but apparently no one else thought it a little weird. I looked to Rapunzel, who absolutely beamed with beauty. The sun hit her face in gentle waves, and her eyes sparkled with awe. I tore my gaze away rom her before it was too late, and squinted up at the sky, noticing how it was almost the afternoon.
"When does midday meal start?" I asked.
"Midday." Hiccup quipped sarcastically.
"Thanks, Horrendous." I rolled my eyes.
Hiccup tried to look serious, but cracked a smile anyways.
"I'm trying to gage how much time we have until classes start." I explained, dreading the moment when we had to return back to the stuffy classroms to work on boring assingments.
"Classes aren't that bad, Jack." Rapunzel said, looking pointedly at me.
"It would help if he'd actually study, or do actual work." Hiccup said, his tone unimpressed.
I scoffed. "Actual works no fun."
Merida grinned. "Have to agree with Frosty for once."
I gasped dramatically, putting on a show. "Merida agrees? With me?"
Merida rolled her eyes.
"The only time. Ever." She told me.
"I'll take what I can get." I shrugged, grinning.
We grew silent for a moment, and only the sound of Hiccup timkering with Toothless's equipment could be heard.
"We really should head back." Punzie said timidly.
"Punzie's right." Merida said. "Besides, I'm hungry."
"Let's go then." I announced, turning around, searching for an exit. I spotted the trail we had taken and set off towards the castle. Slowly, everyone began to follow me, and we left the cove.
"See you later, bud." Hiccup told Toothless, who warbled in response. "We'll go flying tonight. Promise."