Well then, after the first kinda lame chapter, I had to make it better. So voila, here it is, chapter 2. just a warning, there is quite a bit of swearing in this chapter, but if you dont like that stuff, just keep the rating in mind. but anyway... here we go. the ball starts rolling now.
Two weeks later, Hiccup was feeling more and more anxious. He feared that if something didn't happen, one of his best friends would leave him, and he struggled to comprehend just how big a hole there would be in his heart if she left.
So while he walked down to the docks with Toothless, he felt sullen. The Night Fury tried his best to talk him out of his nervousness, but he couldn't take away the source of his discomfort.
Down by the waters edge, a boat was docked and teaming with people, with happy sounds echoing towards his ears. Trader Johan was here for one of his visits. His boat was flowing with materials, supplies, trinkets and all sorts of things to trade and sell. Shadow had heard the commotion, and caught up to Hiccup as he strolled down. They exchanged a friendly greeting once she caught up to him, and the two of them went down onto the deck of the ship.
"Ah, master Hiccup. It's good to see you again young man. I hope your duties to your dragon academy haven't exhausted you." The overly cheery man said. Hiccup smiled.
"All is well actually, new recruits are joining, dragon training is going off without a hitch. Our new programs have improved in almost all aspects."
"Wonderful my boy. Now, while you are browsing the spoils of my latest trades, is there anything specific that I can help you find?"
Shadow stopped listening after that. She was glad that all was going well in the academy, and that all of Hiccup's hard work was paying off. As long as he had something keeping his mind occupied, he could do a great many things.
Without a word, Shadow moved around to the bow of the ship, inspecting some of the traders goods.
"My last stop had a bit more excitement than usual actually." She overheard. Shadow didn't know why, but she decided to listen in as she felt a pile of fabrics on display.
"A strange fellow appeared while I was there. None of the locals had seen him before, and quite a lot of them completely detested the man. He gave off a dangerous aura, scared off some of my best customers. I cant really complain too much though, after he paid me for a service, I ended up making enough money to compensate for those lost traders. He still scares me though."
Shadow's interest peaked ever so slightly, mainly because there wasn't much else interesting going on. However, as the breeze continued to blow, she got a whiff of something that made her suspicious. It was faint, but she could have sworn she remembered it from somewhere.
"The man asked if I would help him get to the islands further north, and paid quite handsomely for it too. He wont exactly tell me why he wanted to come up north, said he was hunting something actually. As a business man, I know the value of hunting spoils, and I hope that when I drop him off that he remembers me and trades in his spoils of the hunt."
The scent was getting stronger and more defined, and it was setting Shadow on edge. Where had she smelt that before? Burnt meat, charcoal and soot, the sharp scent of steel, and traces of blood. She could swear she knew that scent.
Footsteps echoed all over the deck of the ship, but Shadow's sensitive ears twitched as she detected a new set. Whoever they were, they didn't come from the docks. No, they came from below decks, but didn't trader Johan man the ship himself? It must have been the mysterious hunter he spoke of. Now why did that strike a chord with her?
The heavy footsteps got even closer while Hiccup and Johan talked. Whoever they were, they arrived on deck and walked towards them.
"Johan, just so you know. After I finally track down that monster and kill it, nothing will remain of its carcass." Growled the stranger.
Shadow's head shot up. She knew that voice. She shot around so fast that a normal person would have gotten whiplash. Her eyes instantly locked onto the stranger who spoke. No, not a stranger, she knew exactly who that was.
"YOU!" She screamed. His head snapped to where she was standing, and his eyes narrowed in pure anger.
Faster than any other one else could react, he unsheathed a dagger and ran towards her with a bellow of rage. Shadow roared and galloped towards him with a look of pure hatred, teeth bared and snarling.
Hiccup couldn't move, he could only watch as the two ran towards each other, determined to kill the other. They smashed into each other with massive force and immediately, the onslaught began. The hunter swiped and slashed with his dagger, and Shadow raked her claws over him, and used her tail to thrash him.
Growls and snarls sounded in the vicinity, and blood began to drip from fresh wounds. After what seemed like forever, Hiccup ran towards the roaring gladiators to pull them apart. He bravely wedged himself between the two and pushed the snarling fighters away from each other, forcefully stating that they stop.
Shadow fought against his restraint, and continued to roar at her aggressor, the older man egged her on and dared her to try again.
"Enough!" Hiccup roared above them. Shadow snarled once more and then silenced her excessive growls, but she was in no way done with him however. The hunter, impressed with the sheer volume and power of the young mans lungs, halted his curses.
"Now I don't know whats going on between you two, but here is not the place to deal with it. Both of you, off the boat. Now!" he commanded.
The hunter moved first, while Shadow waited. After a few tense moments, the three of them were on more solid ground, Toothless was watching them both closely.
"Now, will one of you tell me how it is exactly that you know each other." Said Hiccup in a calm voice. Shadow spoke before the hunter could. "I'll tell you how I know him. This is the bastard that tried to bury me alive!" She spat. "Locked in a box, ten feet under, meant to be a slow and torturous death, limited air supply. For five days!" she yelled.
"And you deserved it too, after that rescue stunt you pulled. You deserved everything we did to you, because of what you did a lot of innocent people died."
"Innocent my ass! How many of those people had you killed before I even showed up? By comparison, I had barely scratched the surface of your cults number of kills. I did those people a favour."
"I knew I should have killed you myself when I had the chance, you disgusting excuse for a skink. You slithering, traitorous snake! I should kill you now for what you did."
"Hold it assface, you still got hell to pay before you can keep cashing in. You deserve to die for torturing me and burying me alive. No, you deserve way more than that. Do you know what I had to do to survive for those five days? I had to resort to eating myself! I had to wait it out until I could escape, but I would have died from hunger before that thanks to you!" Shadow spat with pure fury. Every single muscle in her body was tense like a wound up spring. She was mere seconds away from snapping by the looks of it.
"You know what I'm going to do to make you pay for that?" She growled lowly. "I might just eat you!" She snarled. Shadow opened her jaws to their fullest extent, her fangs protruding like daggers from her mouth.
Hiccup threw himself in front of her, never having seen her so angry at one person before. She was terrifying. "Hey, woah. No one is killing or eating anybody ok?"
Hiccup knew that Shadow had some seriously messed up things happen in her past, and this one had to go in the top ten. Suspiciously, he rounded on the stranger that caused the scuffle in the first place.
"Who are you and where do you come from, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
For the first time in twenty or so minutes, he actually got a good look at who he was talking to. The first thing he noticed, he was old. Like, in his fifties. But he was muscular and strong, maybe not as buff as some Vikings, but muscular enough to be considered a person that you shouldn't mess with. His head was still full of hair, however it was a very neutral grey colour. He wore a sort of light armour, but with flannel and fleece clothing underneath for the cold. Everything about him was set in the same colour pallet. Deep, dark, brooding grey.
The grey man was armed with a large number of knives around his belt, as well as a massive two handed sword and a sickeningly powerful crossbow. Everything about him screamed at Hiccup that he was a seasoned killer, and possibly a damn good hunter.
"Forgive my rudeness. I am Grey. I come from a castle of Knights in the land of Romania. And I have been hunting my quarry for some time." He answered with a shit-eating grin.
"If you have come for Shadow, I'm afraid you will have to get through the entirety of Berk to get to her. She is a part of our Clan, and we will protect her as such." Stated Hiccup firmly. "No one touches my Shadow." He whisper growled. Grey started laughing.
"Don't wet your trousers boy, I wasn't out rightly seeking her. Although she still is on my hit list. I'm hunting another one of her kind. So you don't have to worry about me putting down your little pet. At least not right now." He sneered.
There were two things that struck a chord within her, and that comment about her being a pet angered her to no end. Hiccup couldn't do anything to stop her right hook. Her closed fist made solid contact with his face with a loud smack. His head snapped to one side.
"Don't you ever claim that I am someone's pet. I belong to no one. People belong to me." She stated. Grey jut grinned. "Oh, my bad. So what is he to you then, your paramour?" Shadow socked him in the face again.
"You have no idea who you just insulted did you. Hows this for a title, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, heir to the throne of Berk, and future chief… I dare you, call him a man whore again." She spat with fury.
Grey spat at her feet, his thick saliva mixed with blood. Shadow snarled at him. "Now tell me, who is it that you are hunting?" she demanded. Grey chuckled to himself as he replayed a few past memories.
"Can't remember what he's called, and I don't care either. But his calling card had something to do with ghosts. As soon as i get a hold of him, he's going to be one."
Shadow glared at him for a long while, struggling to keep herself in check. Her self-control was winning, but she detested seeing that filth of a man in front of her.
"Hiccup, give an order. I want him off this island and as far away from here as possible. Now."