Chapter Seventy-Fife: It's not a good day -Part 1-
"Kate have you seen my knife?" "Which one?" "The small one with my initials." "The blunt one?" "It's not blunt. Just not as sharp as it should be." "Didn't you put it in the side-pocket?" "I've checked it." "But you always put it there." "But it's not there." "Check again." "I checked it three times." "With the other knifes?" "No." "Then I don't know where it could be." "Did you take it?" "Why should I take your blunt knife?" "Oh, forget it." "Gladly."
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Conners 'home' was a spacious and comfortable underground burrow/cave. They entered through a gap in the ground and found themselves in a wide tunnel with fresh air flowing towards them. Though with the dragons it was lightly crowded and sometimes the tunnel wasn't wide enough. If that was the case Namhera made it quick and ate his way through it. This terrified Conner but he tried not to show it.
He led them along that tunnel until the sound of running water reached them.
Soon they walked parallel to a small fresh-water stream that grew bigger the father they went.
Rounding a corner the space in front opened to a wide cave.
The water fell down next to them, at least three meters deep into a small lake that seemed to continue underground. From up here they could see a fire-place near the shores of the small lake with tree-trunks as benches; on a wide flat boulder at the other side someone had made a comfortable bed out of feathers, furs, leaves and some blankets.
It was warm and humid in the cave.
Plants covered the walls and as Hiccup wondered where the light came from, he looked up and saw a small opening about ten meters above him form where daylight floated into the underground cave.
"This is absolutely amazing." Hope said.
Conner shrugged. "It does the job."
He led them down the side of the waterfall where a natural staircase descended down to the lower floor.
"It's secluded and bigger animals don't get in. And the smaller ones don't bother me. And if they do I make them my dinner."
It sounded harsh but the logic behind that was unmistaken.
He pointed to the far side of the lake. "There you can sleep. If you want to freshen up, behind the waterfall is a secluded area where no one can see you. If you go one by one you can have your privacy."
"Thank you." Hiccup said.
Conner shrugged.
"It'll be the last time you will find hospitality if you're heading for the city."
"Why?" Josh asked concerned.
Conner shrugged again. He seemed to do that a lot.
"They may look nice on the outside but believe me, they're all slave-traders and people waiting to make your life miserable."
The others exchanged glances but Conner clearly had ended the conversation.
He was dragging his catch over to the fireplace.
From somewhere he produced new fire-wood and started making a fire, ignoring that they still stood there where he'd left them.
Hiccup turned around. The dragons had eaten the rest of the shot beasts back at the ravine and now rolled together in a big pile of wings, tails and scales and fell asleep. One problem solved. Four more to go.
"Okay, who wants to go first?"
The girl's hands shot up. "We will!" they said.
The boys raised their eyebrows.
"Together?" Josh asked and wriggled with his eyebrows.
Kate slapped him just as Hope kicked his chin.
"Not like that you pervert. But we are girls. There's nothing we haven't seen already. It's okay for us. As it should be for you boys!"
The three of them looked at each other, paled and shook their heads.
"Absolutely not!" Josh said.
"Why, do you have a little secret to hide?" Hope asked with a fats gaze down.
Josh turned red.
"No! Of course not! But it's against a man's honor and dignity!" he spluttered.
The girls laughed, grabbed their stuff and disappeared behind the waterfall.
George looked at Josh.
"Smooth man. Really smooth." Before he walked head shaking away.
Hiccup suppressed a grin.
"I have to agree with him on that one." He told Josh before grabbing his stuff and starting to make a bed for himself.
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Once they had all changed into clean cloth and washed the dirty ones they joined Conner by the fireplace.
He looked up as they approached.
He was plucking the beast he'd shot. There was already a big pile of feathers next to him.
Hiccup realized that they were the same feathers he'd seen in the bed and in blankets.
"Can we help you?" Kate asked and pushed away a strand of still wet hair as she sat down on one of the benches.
Conner stopped his work and looked around.
"Maybe you could get…some fresh water. The mug is over there and…I don't know. DO you have plates? Because I only have two."
"We have plates. We can lay the table." Hope said. Then with a look to the floor she said: "Well, the ground." and smiled at Conner.
He smiled back but it was faint.
For a few minutes there was silence.
Then Hiccup asked, to break it: "What were these things again?" with a gesture at the beast Conner was plucking.
"Revatoren." Conner said darkly. "They are pests. Have been bothering this side of Durgonheim since forever. Every try to extinguish them was fruitless. They always come back. They feast on anything they can get their teeth on. Usually it's the other wild-life but they have nothing against human flesh. That's why no one's hunting here anymore. It's their home territory. You've seen how stealthy they are. If I hadn't come in time you would be mincemeat."
"Cheerful thought." Kate mumbled.
"So why are you here then?" George asked.
"Beg your pardon?" Conner asked.
"You said no one would hunt here anymore because it's their territory. So why are you still here? And why are you living here alone?" George asked.
Hiccup shoved his elbow into his side.
"George that's rude." He whispered.
Conner had visibly paled.
"It's not important." He said and again started plucking the Revatoren.
"See" Hiccup whispered "No you offended him." "I want to know if you could pose a threat!" George hissed back under his breath. "But not by interrogating him like a prisoner." "Excuse me but I'm not so good with all this small-talk stuff." "Apparently not." "Oh what did you want me to say?" "I don't know, maybe something with a little more tact?"
George was about to respond when there was the loud sound of someone clearing his throat.
It was Kate.
She looked at them and shook her head.
"You do know we can hear everything you are saying, right?"
Both of them looked around into the amused faces of the others, even Conners.
Both of them blushed.
"His fault." George said and started rummaging through his backpack, pretending to be busy.
Kate rolled with her eyes, picked up one of her shirts that needed mending. She tapped Hiccup with her foot and mumbled: "Move it, I want to sit down too." "Why don't you sit over there where you just sat?" "This is closer to the fire."
Hiccup rolled with his eyes but scooted over.
Imminently Kate sat down and leaned against him.
"Hey, I'm no cushion." He protested. "Now you are. And now keep still. Otherwise I will hurt myself with the needle."
He laughed. "Because that would be a fatal injury." She stuck out her tongue. "Very mature Kate." "You try mending your cloth. It's not easy." "I know. I have to mend my stuff to, you know? My dad could handle nothing smaller than a knife. Who do you think repaired cloth back on Berk for me? Myself." He said amused.
Kate grinned wickedly.
"Then you don't mind helping me, do you?" "In fact I do." Pretty please." "Shut up." Kate poked him with the needle. Hiccup yelped.
"What the hell Lady?!"
She laughed.
"Either you help or I will poke you until you do!"
With a fast movement he took the needle from her.
"And what will you do now?" he asked smugly. Kate just smiled sweetly and unsheathed her sword. "Well, I have another bigger and thicker needle here." He too took out his sword and smiled.
"I challenge you. Whoever loses will have to mend all cloths for a month!" Kate laughed. "I accept!"
With a mighty leap she closed the gap between them but Hiccup had sidestepped and met her blade calm and confident.
Kate swirled around and brought the blade down in a deadly arch which Hiccup parried easily and countered with quick stabs and low-blows.
Kate met them and countered with more force. All the while they were grinning madly.
"Not bad Hiccup but what will you do now?" she panted and tried to sweep his legs away. He jumped at least three feet into the air and crashed into her as he came down. Their swords went flying and Kate pinned Hiccup to the ground, a knife at his throat. "Gotcha!" she said triumphantly.
"Look down." Hiccup said.
They all did. There was a dagger in his hand and he had pressed it against her abdomen.
"Call it a tie?" Kate asked.
Hiccup nodded.
"And who will do the mending?" "You. But I will help you." Hiccup answered. She grinned, nodded, got up and helped him up.
They sat down again. The others rolled with their eyes.
Conner looked shocked.
"Do you always do that?" he asked. "Sometimes." Hiccup said. "Actually they do it whenever they get on each other's nerve, which is every two hours." Josh smiled.
"Not true." Kate grumbled.
Conner shook his head.
HE began gutting the animal.
"Do you need help with that?" Josh asked. Conner nodded. "Could could cut of the feet and talons?" "Sure mate."
When he had done that Josh took one of the feet and looked at it closely.
"Urgh…look at these claws!" he said and tipped against one.
"I have the feeling no matter where we go; there is always something that wants to kill us." he grumbled. "That's because it is so." Hiccup muttered.
Conner looked up interested. "Really? Where have you been?" "It would be easier to say where we haven't been." Hiccup chuckled. Conner smiled. "Sounds like fun." he said wistfully. "More like horror. Really, you never know where your next meal comes from, where you'll be sleeping the next night, you get confronted with death every few seconds and you are rewarded with nothing!" George growled.
"You know, if you would train your own dragon you could fly home." Hiccup said innocently. George groaned. "Not again! Haddock, I told you, nothing in the seven seas will ever get me to train a beast myself. Why would I?" "Admit it, you like them by now!" Kate grinned. George tried to glare at her but he failed when she smiled sweetly.
Conner watched them with interest and…longing?
"You are all really good friends, aren't you?" he asked.
Hiccup laughed.
"It kinda happens along the way. I mean there is no one else so you take what you get." He said. "Hey, I resent that! You're not much better." Kate said and shoved him with her shoulder. He grinned. "Yeah, you see how it is." He said. "Don't listen to him. He's an idiot." Kate interrupted.
George shook his head. "I'm not their friend. I'm their prisoner."
As Conner raised his eyebrows the other four shouted desperate: "YOU ARE NO PRISONER!"
"Whatever." George huffed.
It took a few hours but slowly Conner warmed up to them. He was funny once he opened a bit and he could cook.
He cut the flesh from the bones with skilled movements, using as much of the animal as possible.
Some of the bones he kept.
"For new arrows." He explained when they asked.
Still once big question hung above all their heads.
"But really, why do you live alone in the middle of the forest? Don't tell me you belong to a gang that likes robbing people like Josh used too." Hiccup asked laughing. Josh huffed but grinned.
Conner paled and looked down. "Ahm…no…I…I'm…I don't." "Then what are you doing here?" Kate asked. "Better answer of they will keep pestering you about it." Hope said. "Believe me. They are all stubborn and rarely take no as an answer."
Conner blushed a deep red and muttered something. "What was that?" Josh asked." "I…had problems with my father. We…disagreed on certain matters in my life and he…banished me." He muttered and wouldn't meet their eyes. "Banished? A bit harsh, don't you think?" Hope asked concerned. "Maybe. But my father was always one for traditions and he's very one side minded." Conner said and started impaling the flesh on sticks and hung them over the fire.
"You must have disagreed on something really bad if he banished you." Kate said. Conner shrugged. "Just a simple disagreement that got out of control."
"What were you arguing about?" George asked. "Some personal stuff." Conner was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Still no one wanted to stop now that the boy finally had started to talk.
"Come one, there has to be a reason. And if it helps, we are all banished." Kate said jokingly. Conner looked up. "Really?" "Yes. Well, okay, I'm a runaway but Hiccup here could count as a banished one because he went against the rules and befriended a dragon. But it was never discovered so I guess he's not banished in that sense. But he is a runaway. That is nearly the same." "Hiccup wanted to disagree with her on that but she just continued. "And…Josh here…" "I'm an orphan but also a thief so I'm banished from my home." Josh quickly explained. Conner looked at George. "I was abducted by theses goons." He grumbled. Conner raised an eyebrow. "It was that or be imprisoned." Hiccup said shrugging.
"I'm banished. My tribe hates me." Hope said quietly. Hiccup patted her shoulder lightly.
"So, why were you banished?" he asked Conner and raised an eyebrow. Conner looked into his eyes, then quickly averted his gaze and blushed. "You don't want to know."
"Did you kill someone?" Josh asked. "NO! What gave you that idea?" Conner said loudly and irritated. "Sorry. Just guessing."
"Went after a girl that wasn't yours?" George asked grinning.
Conner paled and bit his lip.
"Ah, here we go." Kate said and shoved the boy playfully in the side. He choked on his water and started coughing badly. Kate patted his back until he regained his breath.
"Was she pretty?" Hope asked. "Why couldn't you be together? Was it your father?"
"It doesn't matter." Conner repeated.
"You're living by your own in a scary forest with deranged wild-life, yes I think it matters." Hiccup said sarcastically.
Conner again glanced at him.
"It's…its stupid." "Nothing is stupid." Hiccup argued. "Come on, tell us."
Conner stayed quiet. Then he said: "You won't like it. You will leave once I told you." "We only know that if you tell us." Hope said.
"If you insist. But I beg you, please don't tell anyone. I saved your lives after all!" Conner pleaded. "This bad?" Josh asked with raised eyebrows. "Promise!" "Okay okay, we promise." Hope said. They all nodded.
He took a deep breath.
"I'm…I'm gay. I'm…I was… in love with a boy. And when my dad found out…he sort of…disowned me. I'm a disgrace to the family. If others found out they'd kill me or imprison me. So please, please don't tell anyone." Conner begged and tears swam in his eyes. There was silence.
Hiccup thought about that.
To be honest the topic of love had never been a big one to him and he never thought about the fact that there were different kinds of love among people.
True the thought of a man and a man or a girl and a girl together was new to him but…
"So what?" he asked, not really understanding where the problem was.
"So what? You ask so what?" George asked laughing hysterically. "He's a freaking fag, that's what." He said and sneered at Conner. The boy blushed and looked down.
"Fag?" Hiccup asked.
"It's an insult Hiccup." Kate explained. She too seemed a bit uncomfortable. "For people like…him."
"People like him? What's that suppose to mean? He's a normal human being! You're talking about him as if he's…some kind of freak." He argued.
"Because he is." George sneered.
"Yes, but Hiccup, that's because…it's not…" "Not what Kate?" he demanded. "Not normal." She said. "It's not meant to be."
Hiccup frown deepened and he leaned backwards.
"Excuse me?" he asked. "But what is that suppose to mean? Not normal? Kate, what is normal then?"
"Not this." George hissed and folded his arms demonstrably.
Kate looked uncomfortable.
"It's…it's just that…they can't for example get children." She said and blushed.
Hiccup frowned.
"So what, there are always people who don't want their children. They could adopt them." Kate shifted nervously.
Hiccup turned to Conner. "And why should someone kill you for it? Or imprison you? You love someone, so what? It's not like you murdered someone." addressing him.
Then he added, honestly confused: "I really don't see where the problem here is."
"I take it Berk has no homosexually orientated people then?" Hope said silently. "Homo-what?" Hiccup asked.
"It's…the friendly term for…people like me." Conner explained. "People that like the same gender. Heterosexual are people like you, who like the other sex."
"Yes, the right people." George sneered. "The straight. Not queers like you."
"Could you shut up for a moment?" Hiccup asked annoyed. "You're not helping."
"It's alright, I'm used to it form my father."
"You can't tell me it doesn't hurt when your father insults you!" Hiccup argued and looked around, searching for support.
All his friend's gazes were directed to the floor.
"What is it with you guys?" he asked silently.
"Hiccup…" Kate started "It's…it's just not meant to be."
That made Hiccup snort. "A lot of things are not meant to be. Like murders, abuse, war; yet the world is full of them. And now you want to forbid love?"
"Not love itself but…that kind of love." Josh tried diplomatic.
"I told you, you wouldn't like it." Conner said silently and made himself as small as possible, tending to the meat.
"What's wrong with this kind of love?" Hiccup asked. "Everything." George growled
"Who says that?" "Everyone." George sneered. "Fags are a mistake of nature and are not needed."
Hiccup opened his mouth but Conner interrupted him.
"It's alright. Thanks for trying to defend me but it has no use. Things will never change. Because people stop looking at you once they know what you are. You can be the best hunter, the friendliest person or the richest of them all and you still would be nothing more than the dirt beneath their feet." And then he added: "And their probably right."
Hiccup looked at him stunned.
"How can you think so little of yourself? And besides, who says these things is an idiot." Conner shrugged and turned away.
"And because of that your father banished you and now you have to life her on your own without any company?" Hiccup asked.
"That's about it." Conner sighed.
"If you want I can show you the way out."
Hiccup shook his head.
"We stay, if that's okay for you."
Conner hesitated.
"I would like that. It does…get lonely."
Hiccup turned around to his friends.
"And you?"
Kate smiled slightly at Conner. "Sure. Why…not." She said.
The others nodded but George muttered: "I'm out of here once he tries anything funny."
Hiccup resisted the urge to knock some of his teeth out.
He turned back to Conner who was looking at him with huge unbelieving eyes.
"May I ask what happened to your boyfriend?"
Conner paled.
"They castrated and blinded him and sent him to a far-away abbey." He whispered with pain visible in his eyes.
They all paled, even George.
"I'm…sorry."
"We're both lucky to get away alive."
After that dinner was served and no one talked for the rest of the evening. It seemed the happy atmosphere was gone.
But the real mood-killer came when a god dropped through the opening in the ceiling.
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AN: So, Conner is gay. I have nothing against homosexuals. I have a gay friend and see no problem with them. I think it's stupid and unfair that these people are hunted in some countries or are underprivileged, even though they are normal human beings. And also rules like they can only in some cases adopt a child are stupid rules or that they have to pay different taxes and stuff.
But be assured there will be no explicit slash in this story. But George will be a dick. But eventually even he will overcome it.
Equality is important for me. I hope for you guys too.
Love Kate