Four days of heavy rain passed. Stoick spent them overseeing the building of short walls along intervals in the slopes of Berk. To ensure that there were no mud slides in the village. The paths were knee deep troughs of mud, and flooding was an issue between the village and the pastures. No chance of moving the herds. Not that they could have in the rain anyway, simply getting to the pasture would be difficult let alone getting the herds back. They'd have to swim through the mud if it was tried and that was a good way to loose livestock. So, Stoick's time was used to ensure the rain was only an inconvenience, not a disaster, and the village was holding up fine. Stoick's house, however, was not doing so well.

For four whole days Hiccup was stuck inside. Alone and bored he managed to get into all sorts of things. Anything sharp was left alone thanks to the recent spanking but somehow the kid knocked down a shelf of dishes and a whole cabinet. When Stoick opened the door that night he had seen the mess on the floor, the cups and dishes neatly stacked against a wall, and Hiccup standing up straight with his hands behind his back looking scared. It was to the kid's credit that he hadn't hidden when Stoick came home, showed courage. Hiccup apologized over and over, but Stoick ignored that and checked his son for injury before inspecting the damage to the house. Nothing was ruined but there was a new dent in the floor and one of the cabinet doors had to be reattached when Stoick found the time. Stoick set the shelf against the wall to be put up later, picked the cabinet up, and told Hiccup to eat his supper then go to bed. The next day when Stoick came home the shields were all taken down for Thor knows what reason and Hiccup had burned his finger trying to cook something. Even though he wasn't allowed near the fire when he was home alone. With Hiccup's sore gum inflamed, however, Stoick didn't dare let him out for the evening meal at the Great Hall for fear of infection. Instead, he brought dinner home after his failed attempt at cooking.

All Hiccup understood was that he was bored and not allowed out in the rain even to go to supper. Something about gum infections and rain and getting sick. Hiccup hadn't slept well since the frost giant scare and his missing tooth hurt, keeping him up at night. He insisted it was better; he hated when his dad checked it. So, Hiccup was tired and bored and cranky and pretending he wasn't tired and bored and cranky. He figured out how to use the swing by himself but wasn't allowed to go very high. His father's face had gone red when he came home at midday to find Hiccup half way up the rope so the boy knew better than to try climbing it again. He really didn't want another spanking.

He took all the shields down to inspect them; his dad had mentioned that some of them were three hundred years old and Hiccup wanted to see if there had been improvements in their designs. That only took up so much time. His dad had taken all the shields and put them back with instructions to leave them be when he got home that night. For his next project Hiccup lugged his chair, and all the spare chairs, up to his room to build a fort. His father's chair was too big and heavy; Hiccup only managed to drag it across the floor and onto the landing, but left it there, half on the first step. He took the blankets from their beds too. It was a pretty good fort but Stoick refused to let Hiccup sleep in it despite all his whining, pleading, and pouting. Something about not being allowed to sleep in the loft and needing household items before supper.

The Nightmare had had a miserable four days as well. She resigned herself to being wet as she watched her hatchling's nest. Not being able to see him, however, was not something that was tolerable. She went back to the place where the Viking and her hatchling had camped and uprooted several trees in frustration. She then noticed their fire pit. She would need to have one in her nest for the little one. She had been focussing on watching and learning about her hatchling and forgotten about getting her nest ready for him. So she decided to dig a pit in her cave and make other preparations as well as watch and learn. There wasn't much she could do in this weather though and her hatchling hadn't set foot outside his nest since he had been at the wood pile. His sire had been out several times, but not her hatchling. Whenever the Viking left she kept a careful eye on the wooden nest. She couldn't believe how often he left the little one alone. Mostly, though, she missed seeing her hatchling.

Other Vikings were out and about, they moved quickly from place to place, but they were still out. Not hatchlings however. Sometimes at the end of the day the little ones would go to the large cave with their parents. That always made the Nightmare grumble; none of them were left alone. She followed a family one day to check out the large cave. She was limited to smell as she couldn't leave the protection of the trees. It reeked of wet wood, smoke, and food; burned food. So Vikings really did flame their food before they ate it. They ate fish and various other meats based on the smell. A lot of the food she couldn't figure out; it smelt weird. For the most part, though, she knew what to feed the hatchling. She probably shouldn't collect food until she knew when she would take the little one to ensure that it didn't go bad.

The fourth night of rain was a quiet one at the Haddock house. After supper Hiccup sat at the table with paper and charcoal. Resting his head on his right arm he traced over his sketch with his left hand. Stoick had given him a proper pen for his lost tooth, one that used ink, and promised him a jar of ink when he lost the next one. Until then he was using charcoal.

Stoick put the last of the dishes away and glanced outside. It was dark, well darker. Night dark rather than rain cloud dark; bedtime. Stoick hated bedtime; it was a thorn in his side. The fire crackled behind him and he grabbed another log to put on it, noticing Hiccup sitting at the table falling asleep. The boy had charcoal on his hands and must've rubbed his eyes. Sparks flew up when Stoick dropped the log on the fire.

"Hiccup, time for bed." Stoick filled a bowl with water from the water barrel and grabbed a cloth.

"I'm not tired." Hiccup said without looking up. Lifting the charcoal out of Hiccup's hand Stoick took a quiet breath and set it on the table.

"It's still time for bed. I'm not having another fight about this." Stoick rubbed charcoal off his son's cheek. He rinsed the cloth and wiped Hiccup's face again, getting rid of the black smudges. "Give me your hands."

"I can do it mythelf." Hiccup said. Stoick took Hiccup's right hand, wiped it then reached for the left. Hiccup sat up and pulled it away, "I thaid I can do it. And I'm not tired. I don't want to go to bed."

"Hiccup Horrendous you watch your tone. You are going to bed and I don't want to hear another word about it." Stoick took Hiccup's left hand and washed the charcoal smudges off, making sure to get between his fingers. "Now let me see your mouth."

Hiccup sat back in his chair, crossed his arms, and pouted. "No."

What had gotten into this kid? "Do you want to repeat that?"

"Not really." Hiccup mumbled.

Stoick would let that slide. "Let me see your mouth." Hiccup shook his head, but his lip was trembling. "Hiccup."

"It hurth when you look at it." Hiccup said looking at his hands. Ah. Stoick decided to take a gentler approach.

"I know Hiccup, but I need to make sure it isn't infected. Have you been leaving it alone?"

Hiccup sniffed, "It feelth weird and eating hurth."

Stoick sighed, "You need to leave it alone."

"You look at it."

"Only to make sure it isn't infected. It came out before it was ready. You need to let me see it, then leave it alone."

There was a moment of silence but Hiccup finally opened his mouth. Stoick tried to be gentle but Hiccup winced and leaned back anyway. It was still inflamed but it seemed to have gone down a bit. "Alright, you go on to bed and I'll be in in a moment."

"I told you, I'm not tired." Hiccup said, but he sounded tired. Stoick stood up and pulled Hiccup out of the chair and to his feet.

"Just get in bed and lay down for a little while. If you can't sleep you can come back out."

Hiccup nodded and went off to bed while Stoick poured a bit of ale in a mug. He opened the ice box and chipped some pieces off to wrap in a rag. There was a thud from the bedroom. Stoick put the rag in the ale to soak as he heard another thud. Something had hit the wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. The white sheet of paper on the table caught his eye. A Monstrous Nightmare all aflame with massive fangs was messily depicted. All the annoyance and anger left. He went to the bedroom.

"Hiccup?" Stoick kicked something and looked down. Hiccup's boots were on the floor next to the wall, obviously thrown. Hiccup himself was curled up in a ball with his blanket pulled up over his head. "Hiccup?" The blanket was pulled tighter. Stoick put the cup down on the night table and sat on the side of the bed.

"I'm not tired." The defiance was back. Stoick pulled the blanket off his son.

"This will help your tooth." Stoick said. He pulled the rag out of the ale and pinched the excess liquid back into the cup. He offered the rag to Hiccup.

"I don't want it." Hiccup said curling into a smaller ball, "I don't like ale. It's gross."

"I didn't ask if you wanted it or liked it. Take it Hiccup." Stoick said sternly. Hiccup uncurled a little, took it, and turned it in his hands.

"It'th cold." He said.

"There's ice in there. Put it in your mouth." Finally Hiccup gave in. Pleased with Hiccup's obedience Stoick pulled the blanket back up and tucked the boy in. He didn't leave right away. He had no meetings tonight and so he could stay. It was the first night since the weather turned that he was able to.

"Don' you have da go?" Hiccup asked.

"Not tonight." Stoick said combing Hiccup's hair with his fingers. He subtly checked for a fever. The inflammation had him worried and Hiccup seemed a bit flushed. There was no fever, though; the boy was probably just cranky from boredom and lack of sleep. Hiccup didn't say anything else; just shifted so he was closer to Stoick. Taking his hand from his son's head Stoick started rubbing slow circles on the boy's chest, watching Hiccup's eyes drift closed. Stoick missed this; this simplicity. Why did children have to grow up? Was it supposed to be so fast? He stayed for a while after Hiccup fell asleep still rubbing circles on the lad's chest.

The Nightmare had a pit dug in her cave, and pulled in some trees, but she knew that wet things didn't light. It was best to let those ones dry and wait for the rain to let up before she collected any more. He was very confused when he saw the hole and the trees but let her be. Her hatchling's fur covering was carefully placed to the side; he was used to the smell now so she didn't think there would be any issues when the little one was brought home. There was not much else she could do in the rain. When it stopped and things dried she would get moss and leaves to make a bed for the hatchling, like the one she had made for her lost hatchlings.

There was also the matter of how she was going to take the hatchling to consider. Daylight was out; the Vikings would drive her away, possibly before she could get him. There was a chance that the hatchling would be outside again where she could snatch him but without a distraction she would be noticeable and hunted; the alpha would ensure that she was. Unless his nest was in distress. As alpha he had to take care of all the Vikings in the nest and she might have time to get the little one away if his attention was divided. The weather was turning; when the rain ceased the raids for the Queen would start. If the Nightmare timed it right the Viking might not even notice that his hatchling was gone until nightfall, and he wouldn't know what had happened. He would possibly assume the hatchling got lost in the raid and never bother looking; dragons had taken Vikings from time to time. It would serve him right for leaving the hatchling alone so much. He didn't deserve a young one. The Nightmare had never been so careless with her hatchlings; she hadn't deserved to lose them. This was fair turn around. The hatchling deserved better care from a good parent, she deserved a hatchling, and the Viking deserved nothing. She could do this guilt free.

A/N: Vikings really did pay their children for their baby teeth. They believed milk teeth gave protection and would wear them around their necks. As Berk has never mentioned money I went with the old fashioned trade system: the first teeth to be lost, the front four would be worth the most. Hiccup's already lost his bottom two, they're usually the first to go, and got the fur vest for them both.

Thank you for the reviews, they encourage me to keep going.

Hopelessromatinc4life: Your welcome, I love mythology too and am currently learning more Norse Mythology. You might be interested in the story Hiccup was talking about in chapter two. It is a story from the Volsung Saga. Hiccup mixes stuff up, leaves things out, and such but that's because it's an eight-year-old's retelling. The real story, not Hiccup's jumbled one, is really good and kinda messed up; it's similar to classical myths but with a different feel.

As always, special thanks to CB for editing :)