The chaos of noise woke Stoick. It was an hour before dawn and the start of the season's first dragon raid. Getting up swiftly, Stoick checked Hiccup's bed; the boy was sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Putting on his helmet Stoick told Hiccup to stay inside. He didn't stay to hear a response he just grabbed his hammer and went out to join the defense. The fear in his gut resurfaced. He hated leaving Hiccup alone during a raid but his duties as chief forced his hand. He had to be on the frontlines. As long as Hiccup remained inside he would be safe. Well, relatively safe; safer than outside anyway.
Things were going well, a group of terrible terrors had been netted and Stoick was leading the attack against a zippleback,
"Mind it's head, no it's other head! Douse it!" Stoick had it all under control; the devils wouldn't get away with much tonight.
"Stoick!" Spitelout yelled. When Stoick turned to see him Spitelout pointed up the hill to his house. Which was on fire. Because a Monstrous Nightmare was breaking into it. Stoick ran. He forgot everything else and ran.
"Hiccup!" He shouted when he neared the house, his voice cracked with his fear but Stoick was too caught up with the fact that his house was on fire and a dragon was breaking in all with his young son possibly in there. There was no sign of Hiccup. That was fine, it should be okay, the boy knew to hide if dragons got too close. Stoick made sure there were hiding places in the house. He knew that. Stoick couldn't panic, he was the chief and he was the rock of the village, he had to ignore his racing heart and push his fear down. His baby was fine. He flinched as the Nightmare ripped through the upstairs wall, but Hiccup knew the rule about being upstairs during a raid and he knew how much trouble he'd be in if he broke it. Stoick swallowed his worry and pushed through the flames in the doorway. Only to find the house burning from the inside too. A second Nightmare had broken through the back wall. It saw him and attempted to fire but was all out. Striding forward Stoick raised his hammer and swung at its head. Instead of backing off as usual it roared and snapped at him. That was fine; Stoick could handle it and get that thing out of his house so he could find his son. It was getting hard to see with all the smoke; the fire was spreading towards the bedroom wall and the stairs. The flames were engulfing the chief but Stoick kept swinging his hammer, forcing the dragon to back out of the house. There was a thumping from upstairs. Thumping made by something large. Glancing behind Stoick saw another nightmare climb down from the loft. His eyes widened, there was a scar along its cheek. The same scar that was on the one from the hunting trip. Stoick would never forget that beast. It ignored him, smelling the air. Looking for something. Or someone.
The Nightmare decided that Vikings were not that clever, including her hatchling's sire; her mate beside her chuffed proving that he thought the same thing. A puff of smoke escaped her mouth in bemusement as she watched the Viking leave the house without her hatchling. Did he really forget that she was after the little one? It bewildered her that a hatchling would be left alone during a raid but it would be to her advantage. Plus it proved that her hatchling's sire deserved to lose him. When the Viking was well away and distracted by the fight she crept out of the woods with her mate and called her hatchling out. Of course, he didn't come. He didn't know her calls yet, but this ensured that her mate knew they were after a hatchling. He knew the little one's scent because of the fur that had been left behind at the cave.
Grunting to her mate to wait behind the nest she walked around to the front. She knew how the Vikings got into their individual nests. She also knew she wouldn't fit through their opening but she had paid careful attention to how they were opened when she had realized she couldn't figure it out before. She grabbed the handle in her mouth after a few tries and pulled it open with some difficulty to see where her hatchling was. She pushed her head in and saw a cluttered space lit by a pit with glowing embers.
"Dad?" Hiccup had heard the door open. The raid was still going on; he could hear the noise of it. So why would his Dad be home? Rubbing his eyes he stepped out into the main room and stopped dead. It wasn't his father, it was a dragon. A Monstrous Nightmare had shoved its large head through his front door. His eyes went wide at the sight of her and she let out a bark to her mate, letting him know the hatchling wasn't at the back. The wall erupted in flames and the burning wood cracked with a loud crunch as her mate pushed through with a chuckle. He liked burning Viking things. The Nightmare rolled her eyes and called for her hatchling. Hiccup looked from the dragon at the front of his house to the one at the back, lit up by the fire that was spreading. Exits blocked Hiccup stepped back into the bedroom and shut the door. His dad had hiding places for him all over the house. Hiccup knew the rules; hide and wait for Dad.
The Nightmare grumbled as she pulled her head out and climbed to the roof of the structure, using her long limbs and sharp claws. She brought her head back and spit her fire to burn a hole in the wall. She could hear her mate setting fire in controlled blasts below, trying to get her hatchling to come out. The sound of the Viking coming in caused some urgency but she remained focussed. Her mate would stall. They weren't here to cause damage or steel food for Her, they were here for their hatchling and dragons fought to the death for their young.
The Viking recognized her when she came down, she could see it in his eyes, but her mate could keep him busy while she got their hatchling. Sure enough he lunged for the Viking and kept him occupied, snapping at him. The Viking tried to keep an eye on her though, and was also glancing around the nest. So he didn't know where the hatchling was, that gave her another advantage. She tried to catch his scent which was harder in his nest; it already smelled strongly of him. She knew he had to be in that little cave though and the walls were burning enough for her to push her way in. only her head and shoulders fit. Through the smoke all she could see was an empty space except for two objects. She could smell him though, or more specifically, his fear. Following the scent she looked around for him when all of a sudden she was knocked into a side wall, the fire-weakened wood snapping and falling on her. With a roar the Nightmare turned to face what had attacked her.
Stoick could see the devil go into the bedroom but was having a hard time keeping the one Nightmare at bay. He knew he couldn't fight them both. The second one was half through the wall into the bedroom, its hindquarters left out and tail lashing about. Stoick had to be careful of that. If the dragon was there Hiccup was probably in there as well.
"Stoick," Spitelout came through the now burning doorway and joined his brother in the attack against the Nightmare. "You were taking a long time, having difficulties?"
"There's two of 'em." Stoick said, "Keep this one busy, I'll get the other." Spitelout nodded. Stoick ran into the bedroom to get at the beast's head and tackled it. Growling, the devil crouched to attack. With the small room however, all the dragon could do was strike out with its jaws. Stoick was unsure why it didn't fire but he pushed that thought back as he tried to get the creature out of his house. It stood its ground. The one in the main room roared and must have left because Spitelout joined the attack on the one Stoick fought. Together they pushed it back out of the house completely till, with a final roar, it took off.
"Weird," Spitelout began but Stoick turned back to the bedroom and pulled up a couple of loose floorboards.
"Hiccup? It's safe now, you can come out."
Hiccup hadn't wasted any time in getting under the floor and crawling away from the loose floorboards just as his father had told him to do. It was dark and dusty as he pushed through the cobwebs. Above him Hiccup could hear the crackling sounds of the fire and the thumping of the dragons. Eventually he heard his father fighting with the dragon and knew he just had to wait until he was told he could come out. It was getting harder to breathe with the dust and the smoke but he really didn't want to go back up there with two Nightmares. Finally the noises of the dragons stopped and the floorboards were moved. Hiccup heard his father's voice and crawled over to the opening in the floor. Stoick lifted the boy out and got him outside where Spitelout was waiting for them.
Kneeling down Stoick checked his son over for any injuries. Brushing some cobwebs out of his hair and wiping dust and ash off his face; there was so much of it Stoick couldn't see a single freckle. So much for the bath last night. A quick check showed no injuries under all the dirt. "You all right?" Stoick asked him. Hiccup nodded as he coughed some dust and smoke out of his lungs. Stoick rubbed the boy's back, thankful the coughing was light. A plus to hiding under the floor was less smoke in a fire. There was a loud crack from the house and all three of them turned to watch the wall to the bedroom collapse in the flames. Stoick tightened his grip on Hiccup's shoulder. Downside to hiding under the floorboards was getting trapped if the fire went too long unchecked. He needed to figure out some new hiding places.
"Raid's over," Spitelout said, "The boy ok?" Stoick looked to the sky and sure enough the devils were leaving. Their take away didn't look too bad.
"He's fine, just a little shaken up." Stoick said as he stood, wiping his hands on his tunic. "Should head to the town square, see the damage." He felt a tug on his arm and looked down into Hiccup's frightened eyes.
"Dad it wath the thame dragon, it looked like the thame dragon." Stoick ran his hand over the boy's head, smoothing his hair.
"I saw." He said. Spitelout gave him a look but Stoick ignored it. He headed to the town square to get the damage report, his hand on Hiccup's back guiding him along. No point in trying to save the house, they'd just rebuild it again. Without the loose floorboards.
Her mate had to leave, the raid was ending and he needed to bring something back for Her or else there would be no point in stealing the hatchling. The Nightmare couldn't fight off both Vikings so she retreated to the woods and waited for another chance.
She saw one of the Vikings, the smaller of the two, outside the burning nest and then the large one came out with her hatchling in one arm. Once he made it to the other Viking he set the hatchling down and knelt to look the little one over. There was a crack and the Nightmare turned to the Viking's nest as it began to crumble in the flames. The Vikings watched it then started to leave but her hatchling pulled his sire's arm for attention. The Nightmare was too far away to hear them but she could see the tenderness the large Viking used when he ran his hand over the little one's head. The moment didn't last long, not long enough to calm the hatchling at least; he looked around with wide eyes as his sire guided him away.
Creeping through the shadows she kept them in sight and followed as best as she could. Given her size, the growing light of dawn, and all the fires yet to be put out it was not an easy task. But she was a very determined mother dragon and she would get her hatchling back to her nest. The Vikings stopped in a large empty space where her hatchling's sire talked with many others. He kept her hatchling by his side with his arm around the little one's shoulders. She could see the way her hatchling leaned into his sire. She couldn't see his face but she was certain he was looking for her. She hissed quietly, there were too many of them, and the large one kept her hatchling close. Luck was on her side though, because another Viking, who had a strange arm and leg, came up to the little one's sire from the side and knelt to talk to the hatchling. This lured the little one out of his sire's shadow and more into the open. The Nightmare kept her eyes on the alpha and her hatchling so she noticed that the large one was not completely secure with having his offspring out from under him. Rightly so, another was after the little one. A dragon would have kept their hatchling close and hidden from view. Lucky for the Nightmare these were not dragons. She crouched down, shook her shoulders, and spread her wings; ready to take off.
Hiccup looked around, watching the sky as his father listened to the other adults tell him about what been destroyed and what was taken. That dragon would come back, it had showed up again and Hiccup was sure it would come back. He clutched his father's mail tunic a little tighter as he thought about it; shrinking into his dad more to let the heavy cloak shield him from view. He was glad his dad had his arm around him; it made Hiccup feel safer. There was nothing his dad couldn't do, no dragon he couldn't defeat. Hiccup was sure he would be just like his dad one day, even if he was small now; he could have a growth spurt and then get really big.
"What'cha looking for, sparrow?" Hiccup gave a start. He hadn't seen Gobber kneel down next to him. The big man gave a great laugh and ruffled Hiccup's hair, "Awful jumpy tonight, aren't ya? What's got ye so spooked?" Hiccup felt his dad stiffen a bit, but the chief ignored Gobber and kept his arm around Hiccup. "Actually, what's got yer Dad so spooked?" Gobber said with a pointed look up at Stoick that was ignored.
"Our houthe burned down." Hiccup said. He didn't know why he didn't mention the dragon.
"Ahhh," said Gobber. He pulled a strand of a cobweb from Hiccup's hair, "You were still inside I take it?" Hiccup nodded. "Well, that'd make anyone a bit jumpy I guess." He scratched his chin, "But ya think I could get a bit a' help? Need to check 'round and make sure none o' them beasties is still lurkin." Hiccup leaned into his father and clutched his tunic tighter. A sly little grin followed the twinkle in Gobber's eye, "Ah, don't tell me ye're too scared lad! Naw, ye can't be. Ah well, guess I'll jus' find me one o' the other kids." He started to get up but Hiccup let go of his dad's tunic and stepped out from under his arm,
"I'm not too thcared." But he glanced back up at his father. Gobber laughed and slapped Hiccup on the shoulder, almost making the boy collapse,
"Good lad, knew ye were brave enough." Gobber glanced up at Stoick again, taking in something about the man that made him add, "Jus stay in the square though, where there's people, alright?" Hiccup nodded and moved off a little nervously but his courage grew as he went. He was still near his dad, and he was not scared of some dragon. In fact, one day he'd be killing dragons just like the ones that burnt his house. He could be just as brave as his dad; he wouldn't let some dragon make him hide behind his dad forever.
Stoick was paying attention to all of the reports, but part of his mind was keeping track of Hiccup. He wasn't truly okay with having the boy out of reach and a piece of him wanted to throttle Gobber for convincing the kid to wander. That seemed silly and overprotective though. The boy was fine. The raid was over, the dragons gone. Besides, there were many warriors right here, Hiccup was perfectly safe. It was good that the lad wasn't clinging to him; it showed courage. Much better than fear. Hiccup wandered out of Stoick's line of sight and he interrupted Hoark mid-sentence,
"Hiccup. Stay here." The boy let out a long, dramatic sigh, but came back into sight. Just in time for Stoick to see the same bloody Nightmare swoop down and grab him in her talons.
"Dad!" It was all chaos as everyone leapt into action but didn't really know what to do. The devil ascended too quickly, knocking it out of the sky would be a nasty fall for Hiccup, provided he wasn't hit by whatever was thrown. Hiccup himself didn't know what to do, surrounded by huge claws, caging him in. All thoughts of being brave fled as he watched the ground, and his dad, get further and further away.
"Hiccup!" Stoick ran after them, trying to keep up. He bumped into people, houses, and other things in his way as he kept his eyes on the dragon in the sky. He followed the sound of Hiccup screaming for him when they got out of sight. Not stopping until his brother forced him to. Spitelout grabbed Stoick, held him back,
"He's gone Stoick. You can't find him this way."
The Chief of Berk felt his knees give out as he fell to the ground; his brother went down with him. Stoick was vaguely aware that they were in the woods as the tears came. So much worse than Valka. He loved her truly and deeply but he had had their little son in his arms as he watched her be taken away. He had had Hiccup, his little boy, who was supposed to be safe in Stoick's care. He felt like his heart had been ripped out. To lose his spouse had been awful. To lose his child. Unbearable. He could still hear Hiccup's terrified screams.
"Stoick," Spitelout was shaking him, "Stoick! Think, brother. This isn't the way they usually go!" Stoick realized he was right. They went over the water; they had taken Valka over the water. This one had gone further in. It was still on Berk. Hiccup was still on Berk. "He might be alive," Spitelout said when he was sure Stoick had calmed down.
"He is." Stoick said. He had to be. "We'll find him. That thing looked for him, we saw it before. Came across it on that hunting trip couple weeks back, we'll start in that area."
Spitelout nodded and they both got up and headed back to Berk to set up a search party. Stoick was going to get his son back. And kill the monster that took him.
A/N: And now the story takes a break until January 21, 2015. Mostly so I can start posting another story I've been working on, but also to get the next part of this story organized. It's all over the place in my head and being really difficult to get on paper.
To make it up to you lovely readers you can suggest some events for Hiccup with his new "parents" and if I can get them to fit in I'll add them. Keep them in the late Spring - Summer and Hiccup aged eight for now.
I will be posting the prologue to a new story next week at this time to tide you over.
Thank you for all the reviews, I'm glad you enjoy kid Hiccup. I certainly enjoy writing him and all his antics :) Sadly I'm not going to answer those asking if Hiccup will be raised by the Nightmares because the story's a little more complicated than that. You can't believe Stoick would just let Hiccup go without a fight do you? But no further spoilers for you :)
As always thank you to CB for the edit and in the case of this chapter, reworking of some sentences that simply weren't good enough even though it's essay time and you're swamped. You are an awesome person!