Chapter Ninety-Four: Back on the road

Kate was sure Hiccup was in shock.

He just stood there, mouth wide open and stared.

Sure, she too was staring but not like that.

The man in front of them was tall.

No, tall didn't quite cover it.

He was gigantic.

And ugly.

And dirty.

And drunk judging by the smell that he emitted.

He stood there with his arms crossed and raised eyebrows.

But he was also grinning.

His cloths were salt-crusted and bleached from the sun but also very dirty, torn and worn.

Kate looked back at Hiccup who was doing his best 'fish-out-of-water'-impression by constantly opening and closing his mouth.

If the man was unfamiliar to her, Kate doubted any of the others knew who he was.

It just reminded her that Hiccup had be traveling alone for quite a time before he'd met her.

When Hiccup finally managed to say something it was silent and disbelieving.

"You're dead! I…I saw you die."

She wasn't the only one that frowned.

But the man just shrugged.

"You saw me go down and how I went under. But you didn't see me die."

He spoke with a strange accent Kate couldn't place anywhere.

Hiccup laughed hysterically.

"You went under and didn't resurface. You were positively gone! You weren't even near your boat when I returned there. For all I knew, you were dead!"

"But I'm not. And be glad for that dwarf."

Hiccup looked at him annoyed. "Could you cut out the name? I'm not a dwarf anymore."

"Everyone's a dwarf to me."

"Because not everyone is freaking nine feet tall." Josh muttered.

For the first time the man turned to look at them.

"What's with the side-kicks?" he asked and spit into the sand.

Hope made a disgusted face.

Hiccup rubbed his eyes and pulled at his skin slightly before saying:

"These are Kate, Josh, Hope, Conner und Illiona." Turning to face them he made a wide sweep with his arm and pointed at the tall ugly drunk man and said: "Everyone, this is Will. He was supposed to take me to Derandolia from Durgonheim but we were attacked by Alvin and his goons. I thought Will had died. Haven't seen him since."

Realization dawned on Kate.

Hiccup had told her the story of course.

But somehow she had imagined Will more…heroic. The way he had taken Hiccup in and fought with him and had accepted him and Toothless…

This was not what she had expected.

"So…I see you need a ride. I've got the boat just over there."

He pointed to where the beach made a sharp turn. Kate saw the heck of a boat.

.

.

.

It was a strange moment of clam.

They just sat on deck, their feet dangling in the water.

Even though the last boat they had been on had sunk, it still felt good. The gentle rocking made Kate drowsy.

She hadn't slept much last night.

Nightlight swam up next to her and gently nudged her food.

The dragons swam around the boat, guarding it and staying hidden at the same time.

Hiccup had told her that dragons had gills as well as lungs. When they swam or dived the lungs would shut close and the gills would activate.

She patted the dragons with her foot and she purred.

They were sailing through the Archipelago now.

Many islands where crowded together, making it a maze of water-paths, not unlike the 'Fire-Wall-Lands'.

But unlike that dreadful place these islands didn't spill molten fire but were lush and green and full of wildlife they could hunt and eat.

The water glittered and it was strangely peaceful.

Through the lazy atmosphere Hiccups silent voice reached her ears after a while.

"What happened after you went down and went overboard? How did you find us?"

He was peaking silently and softly but Kate heard it none-the less.

Hiccup sat next to Will.

The two of them had immediately fallen into some kind of routine on the oat so that Conners skills weren't even needed.

Will shrugged and steered to the right, avoiding a rock that lay just slightly under the surface. "I admit that the asshole got me pretty bad in the side and for a long time I just drifted. When I finally pulled myself together, the 'VENDETTA' was burning, you where gone and my boat was drifting off to one side. I'm just glad they didn't see it. I managed to get back to my boat but you, your beast and your stuff were gone. So I patched myself up and since I knew where you were headed I set course to follow you. But I was always a few days behind you. But following you was easy. You left quite the trail of destruction behind you. I caught up with you once. In Port East. I posed as a fisherman that had gotten lost at sea and needed new supplies and maps to get home. But before I could do anything to help you munchkins, you handled it yourself, leaving me behind again."

Kate saw how Hiccups face turned dark at the mentioning of Port East. That had been a bad experience for all of them.

"I lost you again when you decided to cross through the desert and I missed you when you left Kinkal. Luckily I could guess that Durgonheim would be the next place for you to go. I went to sleep that night thinking I would be able to find you the next day. But then I woke up only to find out that one of the best ships was stolen the last night by a bunch of teens."

He glared at Hiccup who grinned.

"I went to follow you but I had no clue where you'd gone. I sailed around the misty outskirts of the 'fire-Wall-Lands' but dared not to enter. I was sure that you would be lost and that I just as well could get give up. But I didn't. I sailed around the 'Fire-Wall-Lands in circles until suddenly a lot of ships leave from the cloudy banks in front of me. I ask them what happened. One of them told me a fantastic story about a young lad freeing them with their friends from slavery. He had no clue what you where up to and what you had planned but since I knew you had a ship I decided to stay around and wait for you. But then I spotted the Outcast and retreated. In doing so I missed you again and was to late when they got to you. I found only debris floating together with some corpses. But I knew that land was close and I guessed you'd be here. And right I was."

Will finished and steered the boat into a narrow pathway.

"Wow." Hiccup mumbled. "I didn't think you'd be so clever."

Will laughed slightly. "Oh, I'm clever. Just not book-clever. My cleverness will get me through life easily. But many don't see that as 'cleverness'."

"But that leaves me with one question."Hiccup said. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you bother to come after me and keep looking? You said it yourself, you lost us so often. What kept you going? You don't owe me."

Will snorted.

"Oh, I wanted to leave, many times. But every time I turned the boat a dreadful feeling would fill me and make me turn back around. I knew you would need me eventually again. And…I don't know. It was just the right thing to do. I don't need ulterior motives."

"Thanks." Hiccup muttered.

"Don't mention it."