Several days had passed and no chance had presented itself to allow an escape. Hiccup had given up on socks now, the holes had gotten so bad there was no point, and went barefoot; he didn't mind so much that the Nightmare insisted on carrying him to and from the river anymore. Kidnapping and licking aside Hiccup didn't mind the being with the dragons, just not day and night. He wanted to go home.
Some evenings Hiccup observed that one of the dragons would go away, but would be back by morning. This routine always alternated, the big one would leave and next time it would be the smaller one. The dragon that stayed behind was always tense. Hiccup initially thought that it would provide him an opportunity to escape but the dragon left behind would guard him more closely. If it was the big one she kept Hiccup smothered with cuddles, the Drake would merely sit next to Hiccup in the cave.
One of Hiccup's biggest grievances with his new life was boredom. He had no one to play with and while the nightmares let him climb all over them they were frustratingly careful about hurting him, worse than even his father. At least Stoick trusted Hiccup to be alone for a little while. The dragons never let Hiccup out of their sight. This of course brought things back to his difficulty of not being able to find an opportunity to escape.
Today was rather warm, by Berk's standards, and both dragons took Hiccup to the river where they lazed about; keeping themselves between Hiccup and the woods. Hiccup sat on a rock with his feet in the chilly water. The river was deep enough to swim, but the nightmares didn't like Hiccup to splash about. They also ensured he kept out of the deeper water which meant he couldn't cool off that way. Hiccup had already rolled his pant legs up and taken his vest and shirt off. He was still too hot and the water looked so inviting. The dragons were lazing about and appeared as if they weren't paying attention, but Hiccup knew better. He kicked his feet as he thought; the sound of the dragons breathing blending with the slight breeze in the tree tops which blended with the sounds of the drifting river. There had to be some way to do something; Hiccup was so bored. There was a tree next to the water by the large dragon. Hiccup studied it; the branches reached out to the middle of the river. He wasn't the best at climbing trees. Well, he was fine at climbing trees. It was climbing down that Hiccup wasn't good at. His dad had gotten so tired of rescuing him that Hiccup had been banned from climbing them altogether. Not that Hiccup stopped his attempts resulting in a constant level of frustration for Stoick. Continuing to study the tree Hiccup planned out how to get up to the branch he wanted. It looked easy enough to climb up and Hiccup didn't exactly plan on climbing down anyway.
Hiccup pulled his feet out of the water, stood up, and stretched. The smaller dragon opened one eye and closed it again. Excellent, they suspected nothing. Hiccup climbed up onto the bigger dragon's back and crawled along her length. Hiccup had observed that the dragons really liked physical contact, more so than Vikings. That was saying something as Vikings didn't believe in personal space. Dragons, however, liked to always be touching, smelling, licking. Hiccup supposed the physical contact had something to do with dragons not being able to talk. This meant that they were fine with Hiccup climbing all over them.
He crawled over onto the Drake and neared the tree. Once he got as close as he dared Hiccup slid down the Drake's large wing and settled into the curve of the dragon's body. Hiccup stayed there for the space of three breaths, then three more for good measure before getting up and fiddling with the rocks at the water's edge. The Drake was watching him drowsily so Hiccup was careful to pretend he was only interested in playing with the stones. He built a little mound before the dragon gave a contented sigh and closed its eyes again.
Hiccup spent a little longer on the stones until he was sure the dragons suspected nothing. Then, he got up and approached the tree. As Hiccup had thought it would be easy enough to climb; lots of good sized branches close enough together to easily get up. With a final glance at the dragons Hiccup pulled himself into the tree.
The Nightmare heard the rustle of leaves and opened her eyes to check on her hatchling. She lifted her head in a moment of panic when she couldn't immediately find him. Another rustle drew her attention to a tree next to the river. The Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief; there he was climbing through the branches. Amused, she settled to watch him. Hatchlings often climbed around to get used to heights and prepare them to fly. Her little drake had no wings but that didn't mean that he should be grounded. At least, she thought as much until she saw her little one fall out of the tree and land in the river with an ungraceful splash.
The Nightmare barked at her mate and swatted him with her tail to get his attention. Both dragons were up in a scrambling of limbs, wings, and river stones. They made an awful ruckus as they thoroughly dowsed their inner flames. The water where the little one fell was too deep for the hatchling. What if he had been hurt by the fall? What if they didn't find him in time? The Nightmare couldn't lose another one.
There was a quiet splash; barely discernable amid all the noise the two dragons were making but the Drake heard it and let out an annoyed snort. The Nightmare whipped around, rather slowly as the water against her wings created drag, and saw her hatchling bobbing in the water laughing at them. Apparently Vikings float. Or swim. The Nightmare narrowed her eyes as she watched her hatchling swim towards her.
"I didn't know you could move that fast on the ground." He said still laughing. What cheek. What was he thinking? The branch he had jumped from was too high and there were rocks here he could have hit. The Nightmare growled and snatched the hatchling by his arm. She was careful of her teeth but if the hatchling was scratched it would be part of his punishment.
His punishment. He clearly needed to be punished; he had disobeyed her rules about the water and done something stupid and reckless. She would have pinned and breathed on her past hatchlings to smarten them up, but this hatchling was too fragile for such a punishment. Fuming, the Nightmare dragged her hatchling to shore, ignoring his cries of protest. She dropped him on the ground; she made sure it was grassy and not rocky. Then she pinned him down with her claw before roaring in his face. That would have to suffice. Still angry the Nightmare stormed off a little ways to cool down.
Hiccup didn't move. His heart was racing and his arm hurt but he was afraid to move. The Nightmare was clearly furious; all Hiccup knew was that it had something to do with the water. The smaller dragon came over and Hiccup sat up and tried to scoot away. The dragon rumbled and curled around him before Hiccup could get very far. It nuzzled Hiccup and licked the cuts on his arm gently, never stopping the rumbling. Hiccup was too scared to move or speak; afraid of angering the dragons further. The Drake sighed as it held Hiccup at its side with its wing. When the wing was moved the dragon gave Hiccup his shirt. With shaky hands Hiccup put it on. He didn't protest when he was picked up by the shirt collar; it was better than being grabbed by the arm.
Instead of carrying Hiccup the dragon twisted around and set Hiccup on its shoulders and barked the signal to return home at its mate. Hiccup held on to the dragon's neck and crouched low to avoid being hit by branches. When they got back to the clearing the dragon settled down and took Hiccup off its back. Hiccup stayed still and quiet, other than sniffing and wiping his nose on his sleeve. He would really like new clothes. He would really, really like to go home and he really, really, really wanted his dad. No matter how badly he'd messed up or disobeyed his dad had never hurt or scared him. Stoick had always told Hiccup what he did wrong and waited before punishing him. Now, Hiccup had no idea what had made the large dragon so angry. It could have been sneaking away, or climbing the tree, or jumping out of the tree, or swimming. The dragons couldn't tell him. His best bet was to simply stay still and quiet.
"They're back?" Edith asked. She crept up closer to Bur and the edge. Bur nodded. "Where's the boy?" She asked. Bur pointed to the side of the smaller dragon.
"Something's wrong." He said, "The bigger one has left him alone. The small dragon's the one that brought him back. Kid's stayed put since."
Edith raised her brows but didn't say anything. What could they do about it? "Think they're getting bored of him? Or finally figurin' out that the lad's not a dragon?"
Bur shrugged. The Drake suddenly lifted its head and watched the sky for a moment. Bur and Edith stayed quiet as it woofed at the other dragon, lifted Hiccup by his shirt, and put the boy at the other one's side. The dragons bumped noses and the small one flew off. About three breaths passed before the Nightmare acknowledged Hiccup. It rumbled quietly and sniffed at him. The boy stiffened and endured it all without a sound, causing the Nightmare to whine and nudge him. It was sniffing at his left arm and licking it. But Hiccup gave no reaction and the Nightmare gave up, curling its body around him.
"Yer right," Edith said, "Somethin' happened. I'll watch now, you head on back to camp."
Bur nodded and crept away. One more day and they could go home to Berk. Spitelout was up next for rotation, Bur didn't know who was coming with him and didn't care so long as he got to go home. He hung the kettle over the fire when he got to the little camp. Poor kid probably wants to go home too, Bur thought. At least Bur only had to put up with three days and didn't live with the dragons. Hiccup had been out here now for around two and a half weeks Bur thought, though it could have been longer. Stoick knew the amount of days down to the hour. The Chief wasn't dealing with the whole situation well. As far as Bur knew the Chief hadn't been in is house since this ordeal had begun. The poor man worked constantly to ensure his duties were finished so he could come out here for an hour or two and see for himself that Hiccup was alive and well. Bur shook his head in sympathy and poured the now boiling water for his tea.
Dusk had settled and her mate had gone off to join in the raid after bringing the Nightmare and her hatchling supper. The hatchling had barely eaten. Her little one had barely moved despite her crooning and reassuring rumbling. She wasn't mad anymore. There were dark patches on his sleeve that smelt of blood though and the Nightmare thought she may have gone too far. The hatchling huddled against her and again smelt of fear. Well, he shouldn't have been so reckless. He could have killed himself with that little stunt. Plus, he knew he wasn't allowed in the water. A warm breeze stirred the air as the Nightmare tensely watched the stars come out one by one. She would feel more settled once her mate returned. The hatchling's full weight was against her side letting her know that he had fallen asleep.
The stars were all out. The raid would be fully underway by now. Yet she could hear the sound of approaching wings. She lifted her head and tried to catch the scent but the wind was wrong. Putting her wing over her hatchling the Nightmare curled around him and growled a warning. A blue nadder squawked in answer as it landed. The nadder shook itself and scratched under its wing before greeting the Nightmare. She turned her head away, but the nadder began to approach the Nightmare anyway before freezing. The blue dragon cocked its head at the cliff before giving the warning sound for nearby Vikings. Then the nadder hopped back into the air. The Nightmare rolled her eyes and chuffed in irritation. Of course she knew the Vikings were on the cliff; they were always on the cliff.
That settled the nadder and it landed once more, chucking a question when she heard Hiccup make a slight noise in his sleep. The Nightmare growled; other dragons wouldn't understand and she wanted them to stay away from her hatchling. The nadder was undeterred though and came closer, not even flinching when the Nightmare snapped at it. The blue dragon sniffed and chirped a Viking sound as a question; it could smell her hatchling and knew he wasn't a dragon despite the Nightmare's best efforts to make him smell like one. The Nightmare growled in frustration. There was no denying or hiding it, not while she was without her mate to back her up. Most likely She had sent the nadder to inquire about the hatchling and the Nightmare couldn't keep him safe and hidden as well as scare the nadder off. If She really had sent the nadder then more dragons would come if the nadder failed. Reluctantly, the Nightmare lifted her wing enough for the other dragon to see. The nadder sniffed at the sleeping hatchling then backed up a few steps and flew off toward the nest.
This wasn't good. There was no telling what this encounter meant, but it wasn't good. The rain clouds rolling in weren't good either. They would have to move inside. Perhaps she should teach the youngling how to make fire so he had some way of defending himself.
A/N: Thank you all for waiting so patiently, I'm sorry the break was a week longer than anticipated. Good news is after a week of doing nothing (really, nothing) I'm back into a story writing mode. The rest of part two for this story is done, part three is completely planned and I'm getting ahead on Imprint. I started a new job last week in addition to my first one but it's mostly stress free and it's an ADULT job! Not the field I spent years in school for but still a real adult job! It has more regular hours which makes planning writing time easier on the days I work there.
KaliAnn: It is going to be a bit up and down. The nightmares are trying but they just aren't equipped to deal with a human child.
Moleking: Thank you
Hopelessromantic4life: Oh that would be amusing. Astrid would be furious and Hiccup would bear the brunt of that anger. It doesn't fit the plot unfortunately. For one the Nightmare wants Hiccup to be a dragon so wouldn't want another human child, plus, if the dragons started stealing other children from the village the Vikings would go after them for sure which would cause the dragons to fly away with Hiccup at least, possibly Astrid too. Which goes back to not fitting the plot, possibly could be an offshoot though… But no promises, I still have Imprint, the rest of this story, and another unnamed story that I'm working on.
TheWoofster: Thank you