~Ouroboros~

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1st – 24. A Prayer for Prey

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Hiccup left the cove not even an hour after the sun first rose out of the eastern waters. Toothless was slightly uneasy this time around, and Hiccup supposed that it was because the Nightfury knew that Hiccup was going out hunting in the forest – not exactly a safe undertaking to say the least. Still, Toothless didn't put up even a token of resistance, even pushing Hiccup towards the vines leading out of the cove when he stalled at the exit. In a way it made sense he supposed – who better to understand the importance of learning to hunt than a dragon?

It was ironic actually that of the two of them, it was Hiccup that felt more anxiety at not being able to come to the cove every day. Really – he would have been completely against it if he didn't see for himself that the artificial tailfin version two allowed Toothless to easily get in and out of the cove.

His mood brightened considerably when he thought about that – if nothing else, it meant that he would no longer have to steal staggering quantities of fish from the village's store houses. A good thing too, considering that he didn't even remember just what happened to the basket of fish he brought along with him – all he knew was that it was on his back when he ran off from the village, and was gone when he arrived at the cove.

Bad luck that was – the loss of a few fish was easy to pass over as anyone who needed some could take some from the stores, but the fish baskets were quite difficult to make and the disappearance of even a single one would be noticed.

Having walked along the path between the village and the cove enough times that it was almost automatic by now, Hiccup was slightly surprised when the ground beneath him was replaced by creaking wood, signaling that he was already crossing the bridge connecting Berk to the isle upon which his village was situated. Shaking his head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts, he quickened his pace and headed towards Gobber's forge – he was still slightly uneasy about the upcoming expedition, and in a standard Viking fashion wanted to just get it over with already. Besides, he wasn't sure how he would respond if anyone came around congratulating him for killing a dragon again.

Fortune was on his side today, for he made it all the way to the forge without coming across any Vikings – mostly because early mornings had the bulk of them working at the docks. Even so, he didn't even manage to make two steps past the doorway before Gobber barreled down upon him.

"Hiccup! Thor all mighty where have you been! I haven't seen hide nor hair of ye ever since you disappeared into the forest two days ago!"

Having had enough time to think of a reply to such an obvious question, Hiccup opened his mouth to reply and felt all of his air leave his lungs when Gobber grabbed at him with his one remaining hand and pulled him into an embrace.

"Don't you care about the gray hairs in my hair!? I swear the number of them doubled ever since you pulled this stunt! Spending two days in the woods – why I was getting ready to set up a search party for you when you waltzed in!" Gobber cried out in relief and squeezed harder, causing Hiccup's eyes to bulge out. He had never seen his mentor in such a state and as such was completely unprepared for such a greeting.

Getting blue in the face Hiccup managed to croak out a single "Gobber! I can't breathe!", and thanked all the gods he could list (quite an extensive collection, considering his memory) when Gobber's grasp lessened a tad.

"By the gods Gobber, you almost hugged me to death there!" Hiccup cried out in exasperation once he had his breath back. "Be careful – I am a walking fishbone remember?"

"What about me lad eh? I aint as young as I used to be you know – and ye must have taken off another ten years with that stunt you pulled!" Gobber replied, completely releasing his apprentice and absentmindedly swiping off at the non-existent dirt on his shirt.

Hiccup had the decency to look ashamed at that. It wasn't exactly his fault, having been a nervous wreck (and worse) when he fled the village – by Thor, he couldn't even remember how he got to the cove! Still, he could have come back yesterday and spared his mentor at least a bit.

"At least ye'r better than before – come to terms with your first- er… " Gobber stuttered at the end and a slightly awkward pause stretched – both knew exactly what he wanted to say, but neither wanted to come right out and say it. "…Everything that happened before you left?" He finished lamely.

"Er- you could say that. Anyway – about that hunting expedition you were talking about before I… left."

Hiccup highly doubted Gobber didn't notice the obvious change of topic, but it wasn't as if either of them wanted to dwell on it.

"Right, about that. Since ye came back early in the morning, we can set off just as soon as ye get something to eat. I had all the equipment prepared when you er- ran out on me, so a quick check is all that's needed." Gobber replied, stroking at his long beard in concentration.

Eager to just get things over with, Hiccup ran off to see if there was anything to fill his empty (for two days – as it grumblingly reminded him) stomach while Gobber hobbled off to make sure he had everything they would need.

Finishing first, Hiccup walked over to the forge proper to find Gobber in the final stages of packing away all the equipment. Feeling a bit ill at the bulky backpack that was obviously meant for him (the second one was almost three times the size, and he doubted he could even lift it, not to mention actually carry it), he nonetheless made his way to pick a bow and a set of hunting knifes for himself from the vast array of them along the wall. He had never actually been on a hunting expedition, but working with Gobber in the forge to supply countless of them had instilled upon him at least a rudimentary knowledge of what weapons he needed.

Besides, he wasn't too shabby with the bow – that and throwing knifes were the only weapons light enough for him to use whenever he wanted to let off some of his pent up anger in the fenced off area behind the forge.

Gobber must have seen his selection, as his mentor grunted in satisfaction before picking up a set for himself – the bow visibly thicker and longer than the one Hiccup selected.

"Well lad, good to see I don't have to hold yer hand for this part." Lugging his backpack onto his back, Gobber waved the sharpened half spear, half sword attached to the stump of his left arm. "Get your backpack on and we can leave the village. If we do not tarry we can make it to Norns' falls and set up camp on the rock formations there. Not that I expect any visitors – it being summer and all – but still, the rock formations there will allow us to see if anyone approaches."

Hiccup nodded and hefted up his backpack, staggering at its weight which was easily twice the weight of the fish baskets he brought with him to visit Toothless. Having re-drawn the map for main island of Berk from the one hanging in the Meade hall, he knew exactly where Gobber wanted to stop for the night.

The six sided rock formations that appeared in several places along the coast have long been looked at as proof of the importance of threes, as 'even the ground itself joins together along three lines'. Of these places, Norns' falls was perhaps the largest, and definitely the most mesmerizing. Lying roughly two thirds of a day's walk from the village, it spanned almost half a mile and contained within it a shallow river that carried spring water from three distinct points along the rocky outcroppings further inland, and into the ocean surrounding Berk.

Apt to its name, the most beautiful part of that particular place was where the three streams met (being themselves named Wyrd, Veroandi and Skuld), falling down in distinct waterfalls to pool together at the bottom into one river. Completing the set, the pool where the three waterfalls met was named the Well of Wyrd, and it was from this pool that the village elder brought the water used during the naming ceremony that every newborn Viking went through.

Hiccup was… leery of the place – if not because his supposed fate of never becoming a Viking came in part because of its waters, then because the summer after his mother entered Valhala, he came there to ask the three goddesses why they decided for his mother's life to end so abruptly. They didn't answer of course, much the same way they didn't when he came by a few winters later to ask what they had in store for him if they didn't want him to be a Viking.

All of that of course had nothing to do with why Gobber wanted to stop there for the night. The three waterfalls that joined the so called streams of destiny together were positioned in such a way that there was only one path that led to the Well of Wyrd where they joined – making it ideal for setting up camp. Generations of Viking hunters had used the place as the first (and typically, last) step on their expeditions further into the Berk forests, so much so that a burnt out campfire with several rocks positioned around it was now a permanent part of the scenery there.

Hiccup always found it ironic that the expeditions always started and ended at the well of fate – almost as if the hunters were praying for safety before their journeys… and thanking the goddesses for the return of those that came back.

Still, on the positive side Norn's falls was located almost opposite to the cove, so the chances of them stumbling across Toothless when the Nightfury went out hunting were almost negligible.

"Well lad, don't keep me waiting!" Gobber's voice boomed across the forge, startling Hiccup out of his musings and sending him scrambling out the door.

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The journey to the Norns' falls wasn't in any way spectacular or exciting, and Hiccup could only be thankful for that. Halfway along their path he finally got used to the weight he was lugging along and was able to focus a bit more on keeping himself from stumbling – a lucky break considering that the footing became much more perilous for the last third of their way. Dropping off his backpack a few paces away from the charred circle that would serve as the location for their campfire (as it had for countless others before them), Hiccup held back a groan and made to follow Gobber to find some dry wood for the fire.

Gobber must have noticed how tired his apprentice was, as he motioned for Hiccup to stay, saying that one of them need to keep watch over their equipment. Hiccup was only too happy to comply – even with the runs Gobber forced upon all the trainees in dragon training, walking across Berk's perilous landscape for the greater part of the day with what felt like over a hundred pound weight on his shoulders wasn't exactly easy.

Sitting there and trying to rub some feeling into his over-exerted legs, Hiccup once more thanked whatever gods led him to forming a bond with Toothless – if for no other reason than the nearly three weeks of hauling baskets of fish between the village and the cove. If not for that, he was sure he would have collapsed before they made it to Well.

Either Gobber had forgotten that I cannot carry as much as the other trainees… or he is paying me back for worrying him. Somehow, Hiccup doubted it was the first one.

The sun was setting by the time Gobber returned, its last rays of light dying out by the time they set up and lit the fire. Sitting there with only the flickering light of the flames lighting up their camp and the hexagonal rocks around them, Hiccup wondered just what it said about him that he was missing Toothless' presence.

When he got back from this trip (and had enough time in between training to get away for a day or so), he was going to come here with Toothless and enjoy the sounds of the three waterfalls together.

Gobber didn't say anything, and the rest of their time passed on in silence as the two of them cooked a few salmon he brought from the village. From what Hiccup could see, there was enough for breakfast tomorrow, after which they would need to rely on catching their own food.

They went to sleep soon after, leaving the campfire to burn itself out. In a larger group they would have set up someone to keep watch, but Gobber had long since noticed that he was awakened whenever danger approached even before whoever was looking out for them noticed it.

Besides, the lad was tired enough as it was.

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The next morning found the two hunters safe and sound, most wildlife having long since learned to stay away whenever the humans came by – life was just a tad bit too much to pay for a chance at an easy meal.

"This is where the real hunt begins" uttered Gobber, and Hiccup felt a shiver run up his spine. In part he was worried about how things would go, and yet another part of him was excited to finally be here – his father had always held him back from joining in, even though children half his age were sometimes to be seen being dragged along. Hunting and fishing were in some ways even more vital than fighting dragons, and all Vikings had to know how to survive in the wilds alone.

Of course this being the inner forests of Berk, only the foolhardy went in alone (and few of those returned). The outer forest – the part within roughly a day's walk from their village – was relatively tame, so few remarked whenever Hiccup blundered through them. The elder forest further in though, was much more perilous to traverse.

It was five hours after the sun rose that Gobber and Hiccup finished packing up their camp, having slept through four of them – the sun having been gone for only four hours, what with it being the summer and all.

Putting out the fire upon which they had fried up their breakfast, they hefted their equipment and strode away. Climbing up one of the steep sides outlining the river they made it to the basaltic outcropping upon which the three streams converged. Seemingly at random Gobber picked one to follow, and Hiccup continued onwards, keeping just a few steps behind his mentor as they walked upwards along the hexagonal rocks.

At noon they reached as far as they could by following Wyrd's weaving path, the water stream originating from somewhere underneath the rock structure they were looking up at – or at least Hiccup was, Gobber having almost negligibly disregarded the stunning size of the cliff to their left in order to continue moving forward. Hiccup broke his gaze away just in time to spot his mentor disappearing into the dense bushes, and hurried up himself so as not to be left behind.

"Don't wander off too far – we're in the elder forest now." He heard his mentor mutter up front and paused for a moment to glance around in disappointment. Somehow he had expected the forest to be much more intimidating than this – why he could hardly tell the difference between this and the forest close to Berk that he knew like the back of his hand.

Gobber chuckled, having heard the footsteps behind him cease. "It's not what you can see that makes this forest dangerous – it's what ye cant ye have to worry about. Oh, and don't go too far left – there's several drop holes into the caves below that ye can easily fall into… difficult to spot even now, without a foot of snow covering them."

Hiccup itched a bit to the right, and sped up so as to stay closer to Gobber. Perhaps the old veteran was right – it could have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn that something big (and quite possibly deadly) had darted through the bushes when he tried to spot any of the drop holes Gobber was talking about.

"Come on, we can stop for a breather once we reach a clearing nearby."

Gobber must have known exactly where they were going, because not even an hour after entering into the elder forest they stumbled out into a clearing, the center of which was black with the remains of a long extinguished fire. "Tie your equipment to one of the trees and come over – I will show you what you need to bring with ya when we go hunting. We'll leave most of our stuff here and come back before sundown. Better learn fast – if we are lucky we will catch ourselves something we can eat. If not… well – going hungry for a day or two will only provide incentive to be better eh?"

Hiccup did as instructed, and with his quiver and bow hanging securely from his back walked over to Gobber. Perhaps it was his mentor's warnings, but he could not stop himself from glancing about in unease – there wasn't a shortage of leaves rustling in the soft wind and even a few chirping birds hidden somewhere in the canopy above them; the apparent tranquility a sharp contrast to the number of Vikings who have disappeared here over the years.

Noticing his apprentice approaching, Gobber looked him over and gave a short grunt of approval upon noticing the bow slung across his shoulder. "We've only got half a day left lad, and knowing how you treat the forest just east of Berk as your personal playground, I think we can skip right over the basics and go straight to hunting."

And so they did – Hiccup was surprised to find that the forest around them was teeming with wildlife, and under the encouragement and guidance of his mentor he managed to catch a pair of hares which, as Gobber explained, were perfect prey to start from. Strangely enough he didn't feel all that much aversion to killing them – something he put down as a result of the combined efforts of Gobber and Toothless.

They were right in a way – to live each day meant that he had to cut short the life of another. Still – that didn't mean he had to like it.

Taking two steps forward, Hiccup paused and slowly looked around for any signs – a twitch of an ear within the bushes or perhaps a flash of grey in the otherwise green and brown coloring of the woods. The day was slowly grinding to an end, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to spot any.

His breath caught as a rustle alerted him to something close by, and making sure not to make any sudden movements he glanced over and slowly raised his bow. As the bowstring hummed once more and the arrow flew true to bring down the third hare of the day, Hiccup silently asked forgiveness for taking another life. It was something he decided upon after he watched his arrow pierce through the heart of the first one – no matter what happened, no matter where his life took him; he was never going to take another life without reason.

Releasing the air he had been holding within his lungs, Hiccup hooked his bow back across his shoulder and yelled out for Gobber to come around. It was time to return back to camp.

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Gobber had initially wanted to skin and gut the hares himself – if only to keep Hiccup from having to do it, but Hiccup insisted on doing his part. He killed them after all – it wasn't as if shying away from preparing them would change that. Besides, he had an obligation of sorts to make sure their lives didn't go to waste.

An obligation he wasn't going to push off to someone else.

Under Gobber's instructions the process did not take too long, though Hiccup managed to nick his left hand when his hands shook gutting the first one. Neither of them mentioned it (though Hiccup was positive Gobber noticed him wincing at it), and it stopped bleeding by the time the hares were cooking over the campfire, their pelts hanging from a branch nearby.

"You did well lad." Gobber congratulated in between bites, "bagging three hares in yer first day isn't too shabby. Knew you would of course – ye'v always been good with bows, judging from the perforated targets behind by forge."

"Thanks Gobber." Hiccup mumbled off in reply, his mind not completely on the conversation (if it could even be counted as such). Staring at the leg bone that he had already stripped all the meat from, he couldn't help but wonder if this was really all that life was about – kill or be killed. Today I cut short the life of three hares, and with the dangerous life we live it isn't all that far-fetched to think that someday someone would cut short my own life. His mind flashed back to the numerous times he had already stared death in the face. Is that all life is? Just a struggle to survive?

A sharp crack from the fire startled him out of his musings, and looking into the flickering flames Hiccup smiled wryly. Or perhaps we struggle on so as not to sadden others with our deaths – living for the sake of others. He thought so before didn't he? Before Toothless so abruptly fell into his life, Hiccup wasn't even sure he was living so much as existing. What with all the perilous situations he put himself into – almost daily escapades into the forest, rushing out to find dragons during the raids… perhaps in a way he was just seeking a way to end it all, to escape from this world where no one cared if he lived or died.

Even now, besides Toothless and perhaps Gobber no one really cared what happened to him – if anyone else disappeared into the forest for two days straight, Hiccup did not doubt in the least that there would be search parties out.

That said, as long as Toothless was there, he didn't really care. It was enough…

"Hey Gobber, you think anyone would care if I was killed during dragon training?" The words slipped through his mouth before he could stop them, and he could hear Gobber choking in surprise.

"Wha- What in nine worlds are you talking about!? Ye better not be thinking about givin up 'n getting yerself killed!" Gobber stumbled over his own words, never having expected Hiccup (of all people!) to be asking something like that. "Ive always considered ye stronger than that!"

"No, no! It's not like that! I- " Hiccup waved his hands in denial, but couldn't get anything else out as Gobber overrode him.

"Better not be! As for yer original question – of course there are, and don't you dare think otherwise! If you were gone then who would take over the forge after me? Or do you think I wasn't serious when I said you were like a son to me?"

Hiccup couldn't get a word in edgewise if he wanted to, but it was a moot point in any case – the last point drove away anything he wanted to say. In the wake of everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten Gobber calling him a subordinate son (of sorts).

"What about the other younglings? Sure, your relationship with them is distant at best, but I have no doubt all of them would be sad if you died. By Thor, yer father would be nothing but a wreck if you ever left him – he may not show it much, but I know he cares about you and if anything happened to you I doubt he could go on!

"So don't ever think about dying again, ye hear me? Yer a Viking Hiccup, no matter what the others think, and Vikings don't stop fighting until their last breath is wretched out of them." Gobber's tirade died down, the last few words being said with so much conviction that Hiccup could almost believe them.

"Thanks Gobber – you don't have to worry though, I haven't broken under the combined ire of the village when one after another my inventions failed, and I won't break now," he said.

"Good – you wouldn't be my apprentice otherwise." Gobber grumbled out before returning his attention to finishing off his second hare. Hiccup just stared into the fire for a moment before following suit.

The last remnants of the sun's light disappeared, and the two of them were in the midst of unrolling some furs to sleep in when distant howls pierced the air. "Wolves," Gobber said, not even breaking stride to look around. "Don't worry too much about them – it being summer there are countless less dangerous pray for them to stalk than come after us. It's only during winter that you have to watch out for them."

Hiccup nodded uneasily. Wolves rarely came close to the village, a pair of lynxes being the most dangerous thing he encountered until now. Not counting Toothless of course; he amended.

Even with Gobber's reassurance he couldn't quite fall asleep – under the pale glow of the moon the forest seemed much more foreboding; much more deserving of its name. He could swear he saw something big circle around their camp, just outside the remaining light of the campfire.

Then again, it could have simply been my imagination, he reflected. There hasn't even been a single sound of ruffling leaves nearby, and something that big would have made some noise at least… right?

Rolling over to the side, he lay still and tried not to twitch whenever another distant wolf howl pierced the air.

Sleep was indeed long coming.

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The next morning (at least what constituted as morning, with the summer's four hour nights morning started roughly four hours after first light) greeted Hiccup with Gobber roughly shaking him awake. From the crackling sounds of the campfire and the appetizing smell around him, Hiccup knew that his mentor had been up for at least an hour already.

Blinking away the last remains of sleep from his eyes, Hiccup walked over to sit near their merrily sizzling breakfast, wondering just when Gobber had time to catch anything to eat.

"Yesterday's catch lad," Gobber answered his apprentice's unspoken question. "You didn't think I just stood by and waited for you to catch something eh? Now eat up, today we go after the big guys – Odin willing we will bring down a deer or two and can set off back to the village."

Hiccup nodded and pulled out one of the short spears surrounding the campfire, biting into the meat skewered on it. Gobber followed suit, finishing and discarding his before Hiccup was even halfway done.

"This time we'll be doing things a bit differently." Gobber said, and Hiccup turned around to listen while he continued eating. "I'll be hunting whilst you just follow me, see what I do, and remember. Big prey is harder to find around here, but if we get lucky and I get one before noon I'll let you have a go at it."

And that's what they did – Gobber proceeding in front while Hiccup followed and listened to the whispered explanations. There was quite a lot more to it than he had expected; what with finding tracks, marking signs on trees, small streams that deer liked to frequent, and keeping quiet and constantly on alert. An hour or so after noon Gobber stumbled upon some fresh deer tracks and followed them, Hiccup not too far behind.

They came to a pause along the border of a clearing, Hiccup's breath hitching when he spied the deer that must have led Gobber here grazing within it. In a single fluid motion Gobber strung his bow and let the arrow loose, the deer having just enough time to bring its head up upon hearing the flying arrow before it pierced its side. Even as it tried to get away, its legs buckled under it when the second arrow punctured its neck just above the shoulders.

"And that's how it's done." Gobber's satisfied voice rang through the clearing as he ran through the bushes towards his prey. "Come along lad – this is why I brought you here after all."

The knot in his chest tightened as Hiccup looked at the prone deer, its chest still rising and falling even though it was obviously incapable of moving – not paralyzed as it was with the arrow through its spine.

"Don't just stand there, get out one of yer knives and come over!" Gobber shouted, and snapping his attention towards his mentor Hiccup noticed that Gobber had moved behind the deer and was lifting the deer's head up by one of its antlers. "Now all you need to do is slice its neck and we can drag it off back to camp."

The mess in his chest constricted even further, and Hiccup swallowed the bile rising up his throat. Gobber told him before they set out that this would be his job, but there is a difference in knowing and having the situation staring right at you through the fear filled eyes of a paralyzed (and soon to be dead) deer.

Reaching for his dagger he twitched away from it at the last second and took out one of his throwing knives instead. Gobber lifted an eyebrow, but didn't comment, and Hiccup was thankful for that. He didn't think his mentor would understand that he didn't want the blade that had tasted Toothless' blood to be used for this.

Licking his all too dry lips, he positioned the blade in his hand over the deer's neck and sliced inwards.

I'm sorry.

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A/N

This turned out to be a bit more serious than I originally envisioned it… When I wrote down the summary for it I wanted to just have a light chapter where Toothless followed Gobber and Hiccup around, always keeping them from noticing him. When the time came for Hiccup (not Gobber) to hunt down a deer, I wanted Toothless to bring a downed deer to Hiccup, with an entire section where Hiccup is afraid that a wolf is stalking him and nearly has a panic attack when Toothless jumps out of the bushes at him. It was going to continue with Hiccup trying to hide the obviously draconic bite/claw marks on the deer from the approaching Gobber, cutting into the wounds with his knife.

… Not exactly completely light, but all of you can probably see how it would have had its funny moments.

How all of that turned into this thesis on the obligation between hunter and prey, I do not know. Still, kudos to anyone who spots the anime/light novels from which the entire 'obligation to the rabbit (ahem- hare)' comes from.

If anyone wants to know where I drew the descriptions for Norn's falls from, here it is: partially I referenced the section in the movie with all the hexagonal rocks (which I didn't really think were realistic until I googled them). The actual scene is from (.com), 2012,07,07 (icelands-ring-road-day-three), third and final waterfall. It is actually quite stunning, and I suggest searching for it. The other scene can be found by googling "kottke hexagonal rocks", and is quite stunning as well.

Finally, this being the first completely original content of my story, I would like to remark that the next few chapters will (more or less) get back on track with the original movie. There will of course be minor and major differences, but nothing as big as this (or the last few) chapter(s).

Read and review people! It's the lifeblood that keeps me going! (or at least the coffee that awakes me enough to get a couple thousand more words into my computer)

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Saienai