Authors Notes:
I…do not have the words to describe how much trouble this chapter has brought me. Lots…and lots…of rewrites. Anyways, another long one. (and a good 500 words is the authors notes) but hopefully they'll get a little shorter from here on out.
This chapter will also have an accompanying one-shot in a new series in the next week or so, so look out for that. Healer's Chaos - The Stories We Tell
Reviews:
RERTeo: I'm glad you liked it! Why RTTE? Because it's my favorite age range and timeline for Hiccup, and some characters and situations I wish to implement require it. Not to mention I love the idea of a hybrid story taking place during this era. (There's not enough of them). Is this a rewrite? It depends on what exactly your definition on a rewrite is. Is it following each and every episode to the letter? No. I'd lose my mind. Is it adding new scenarios and plot and going through with them? Yes, that is one of the things I plan on doing. I view this story as a cause and effect. A domino effect if you will. Hiccup is slowly changing. Learning more about himself, his heritage, and family. And with new information being revealed plus the addition of more characters and situations, as a result. He may take situations differently. Dragons react different to him. Eventually changing enough that the entire story is somewhat effected.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the edited plot, my OC's, and my original dragon species.
I also do not own this episode. Only my original scenes. If I owned RTTE, then dragons such as Shockjaw and Woolly Howl would get more attention.
Chapter 4 - Dragon Eye of The Beholder: Part 4
Immediately after returning. Hiccup, Astrid, and Langer had flown by dragons to Gothi's, while the rest of the riders climbed up the mountainous stairs to her hut on foot. There simply wasn't enough room for all the dragons on the deck, so only Toothless, Stormfly, and Bloodburst came.
Landing with a thump. Langer remained on Bloodburst's back while Hiccup slid off Toothless's. "Gothi! Fulla! Anyone!"
Astrid was slower to dismount Stormfly, but immediately ran to Hiccup's side. Intending on forcing one of the two main healers on the island to come out and help. Even if it meant with an axe.
The door opened to a short, broad young teen with black hair and green eyes, her hair pulled into a long braid down her back. Carrying a large crate of herbs and jars with one hand. "Yes. What did you- oh Thor! Let me through!"
She dropped the crate on Hiccup's real foot and shoved past him, Hiccup hissed, reaching down to pick the heavy crate off his boot, then cradle his foot. Just what was in that crate? Bricks? Thor, she was strong. And now his foot hurt. Well, that was nice.
Astrid scowled at the girl. She appreciated her speed, but she had surely hadn't had to do that. "Hiccup, you okay?" Astrid grabbed his shoulder with concern, looking down at his foot, she frowned. "Are those bite marks on your boot?"
"Yes. An eel dragged me under, but Toothless saved me." Seeing her concerned eye, he continued. "It didn't pierce the skin, just the boot." He winced. "It does ache a little though."
Astrid nodded, about to speak when the black-haired teen interrupted her.
"What happened to him?!" Fulla snapped. Examining the arrow wound, her fingers danced across his wound much more expertly than Hiccup's had.
Langer rolled his eyes in pain. "Perfectly fine and completely capable of answering all your questions right here, you know."
Hiccup answered the snappy young woman for him. "Arrow wound. We sealed it with Monstrous Nightmare saliva."
"Dragon spit?" She questioned with a raised brow. "You used. Dragon spit?!"
Hiccup swallowed, well when you put it that way. "Pretty much, yes." He fiddled with his hands. Fulla was a huge believer in preventing any and all infections, so this was unlikely to go over with her well.
Gothi thankfully walked out on Fulla's near bout of insanity, her staff hit the ground to signify her presence. "Gothi!" Hiccup cried. "So glad you could make it!"
Gothi frowned, walking forwards to check on Langer's wound who hissed as she poked at it. She squinted as she examined it and raised a questioning brow in Hiccup's direction.
"Dragon spit, Gothi! They put dragon spit on it!" Fulla ranted, throwing her hands into the air. She whipped around to point at Hiccup accusingly. "Do you realize how unsanitary dra- ow!" She rubbed her head and scowled at Gothi. The old woman in question was pounding her staff in her hand scoldingly. "What. It is!" She cried.
Gothi shook her head and shuffled to her sand box to scribble in. Drawing pictures, she gestured for Fulla to come over and read.
Fulla shrugged thoughtfully. "Huh. She's says it's fine, actually. Who knew?" She turned to Hiccup, eager interest now alighting her gaze. "How does it work?"
"Er, I think it seals it, or something. I don't know all the specifics." He rubbed a hand behind his head, another nervous tick of his.
Astrid interrupted, having noticed his discomfort. "But he's okay, right? Not dying and all? No infections?"
Fulla shrugged. "Well, we wouldn't know on the infection bit for a few days or so, but I'd like to do a few tests first to make sure it's completely safe."
Langer's face fell. "Tests?"
"Yup. This is something completely new and could be a breakthrough in healing. I mean, sealing cuts like this could mean we don't have to use stitches anymore!" She grinned. "I can't tell you how many children I've had to wrestle down in the rarity that we do use it!" She laughed.
"Okay?" Langer flinched away in alarm.
Gothi rolled her eyes and grabbed her staff, using said object to hook Hiccup by the ear and drag him over to her hut.
"Ow, ow, ow. Gothi? What are you doing?" Hiccup rubbed his ear as the old woman glared at him, she gestured to her sand box again and pointed the staff at him. "You want me to bring it over?" He questioned.
She nodded, a smile pulling across her wrinkled face.
Hiccup walked over and dragged the large sand box over. It's wooded edges scrapping across her porch all the way in front of her. She nodded again and lowered her stick to scribble pictures. As one of four people in the village who ever bothered to learn her way of communication, he read what she wrote in his head.
'Leave them. My yakbrained apprentice will be at it for hours if you let her. Langer is fine, the dragon saliva seems to have sealed it shut. As it seems too with your gash.'
Hiccup touched the cut self-consciously; the clear sealing was smooth beneath his fingers.
She continued. 'But he is not the only one with issues. Tell me, is your side hurt?'
He nodded. "I got banged up a few times while trying to get past traps on the Reaper. Not to mention nearly getting drowned by eels." She scowled at the mention of eels, then confusion crossed her face. Guessing her confusion was with the Reaper, he elaborated. "A ship in a ship graveyard. And how did you know that I was hurt?"
She smiled and opened her door. Turning and motioning for Hiccup to follow, she continued until she reached the back and moved through her stashes of herbs. Finding the ones she needed, she put a pot of water over the fire, getting it ready to boil and slipping the herbs into the brew.
Hiccup followed her inside, the small hut seeming all the smaller with himself inside it. The benefits of being smaller than most everyone else was that he could fit inside better than say, his father. Or Gobber.
The walls were lined with herbal stocks and books. Something that had always caught Hiccup's attention when he was younger was books. Not as much as Fishlegs, but he still enjoyed a good book and always loved learning new things. Especially if those books had something to do with dragons or new forging techniques. Which, unfortunately, was unlikely to be included in any of these.
Gothi shuffled back over and brought a different, yet smaller sand box with her. How many of those did she have?
'I could tell by the way you favored your side. Tea will help. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?' She squinted at him.
Hiccup could feel his forehead start to sweat. She was on to him, that was for sure. Had Gobber or Langer mentioned something about his attack yesterday? He still wasn't ready to tell anyone else about his hearing issues. Even if he might've had another attack on the Reaper. Admitting them felt like somehow it would all become real, and he wasn't ready for that. He had to work though it himself for now.
"No, Gothi. I'm fine." He swallowed. "Nothing else to say."
Gothi narrowed her eyes and scribbled again. 'If you are not ready to tell me, then that is fine. Just know that I am a safe space to come and talk too.'
"I'll keep that in mind, Gothi. Thank you." Hiccup looked down to his hands in mild guilt. But in the endgame. He really didn't want to tell anyone right now.
She erased her previous drawings and drew again. 'Is your depression any better?'
Hiccup eased a mental sigh of relief. At least she was going to let the previous conversation drop for now. "It's better, now I've got other things on my mind and now that there's something to do about it."
Gothi nodded and checked on her brew again, stirring it together for the juices to blend. Silence persisted throughout the hut with the sounds of mild arguing outside and the crackling of the fire inside.
Hiccup tapped his foot in boredom and looked around the hut again. Seeing if he missed anything. Looking at the books beside the herbs with interest. They were still what intrigued him the most, likely as reference material for healing stacked against another wall in case it was ever needed.
Walking over, he ran his fingers along the book creases on the wall. Curiosity lighting his gaze as he scanned the walls for a book to perhaps keep himself entertained.
A thump was heard behind him, he turned around to find a book on emergency medical herbs thrown into the table nearest to him. He looked up in confusion, seeing Gothi point at it with her staff and then the floor sand box.
Hiccup leaned over and read what she wrote. 'You're bored. This will both entertain you and keep you out of my more important books.'
Hiccup grinned sheepishly. "You're probably right."
She nodded, going back to her tea mixture as Hiccup opened the book and scanned its pages. It detailed all kinds of ways to dress emergency wounds and herbal remedies to cure common ailments.
Another thought came to him. He had thought he heard someone call his name out in the fire during his last attack, but no one else but himself or Toothless was there. Yet another example of the brief words that occasionally plagued him.
"Gothi?" He asked, sliding his finger along the wooden table next to the book with hesitance. The worn wood grains pressed into his fingers. The woman looked up in interest, perhaps he was finally ready to talk.
"What would you do to say…a viking that was hearing things? Like voices?" He hesitated. He was really taking a leap with even mentioning this at all.
Her face scrunched up in thought, then wrote in the sand with her stick. 'Then I would question their sanity. Perhaps I would wonder if they were hearing the gods speaking to them. Some would want to lock them up for fear of them losing their ability to reason with the natural world. I don't know.' She shrugged. 'I have never been in that situation before, why do you ask?'
"I-ah, I was only wondering. No reason." He cast his eyes down. So, he might be going crazy after all. That was a nice thought. He only ever heard them every once in a while, usually in short words. Not often enough to be a true concern, but enough that he was worried.
A few minutes later he felt a tap at his side. Looking down, he found Gothi holding a steaming hot wooden mug. He grabbed it, the mug hot under his fingers.
'Drink this. It will help relieve pain from your side and foot.' She wrote.
"Thank you." Hiccup said, putting the mug to his lips, he drank some of the contents and coughed. "Still as tasty as ever." He drawled out.
Gothi huffed and turned to the back rooms to sort through more herbs and other random healing ingredients.
Hiccup shook his head and moved to leave. Louder sounds of protest drawing him back outside. He opened the door to find Langer and Fulla engaged in a heated conversation, Astrid appearing as if she was about ready to murder Fulla.
"Do you really need to do this?" Langer whined.
Fulla continued to gently prod at the wound, writing in a journal held open in her hand. "Yes. Very necessary."
Astrid's face was beat red. "I really don't think you should be poking at it like that. I thought you were supposed to be a healer? Not a-a- whatever this is?!"
Fulla ignored her while Langer scowled, then his face lightened up seeing Hiccup exit the old woman's hut. "Hiccup! I don't suppose you could help get your crazy short cousin away from me!"
Fulla choked. "Short! Who are you calling short!"
Langer ignored her. "Come on, please! She's killing me here! She's your cousin, don't you have a responsibility to her? Family code or something?"
Hiccup twitched slightly at the suggestion. Snotlout's sister could be twice as scary as Snotlout ever was with her snappy words alone. Unfortunately, that also meant she was his cousin alongside Snotlout. She and Snotlout's mother was his father's sister, Rose Haddock-Jorgenson. With fiery red hair and Haddock green eyes.
He had one other cousin out there as far as he was aware of who was also on his father's side, but he lived on another island and hence had rarely met him. "Uh. I'd rather not get involved." He stepped away metaphorically.
Langer slumped. His hands brushed against his side, touching his saddle pack and reflected in thought. He opened his pack and dug through it, shuffling through fishing equipment and other things.
"Oh, yeah. I completely forgot I had this. You want it? Dagur threw it at me on the way down and Bloodburst caught it. I stored it in my saddlebag for safe keeping. I don't know if it's relevant or anything." He shrugged and dug further into his saddle bag and pulled out the ornate cylinder that Hiccup was sure they had lost. Hiccup's jaw dropped. "But, here."
Langer tossed the object to Hiccup who caught it in one hand with ease. "I can't believe you got it! I thought it was lost at sea, or worse, still with Dagur." Hiccup exclaimed. Setting his mug down on a nearby stool for something more interesting. He studied it for a second, running his fingers over the worn wood.
The runes and symbols stood out to him the most. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. A few smaller markings didn't even appear to be runes at all, unlike the rest of the device. Appearing to be more blocky than any writing or decretive symbols he had ever seen.
He tried to open it, perhaps it was like a seal for scrolls. But it wouldn't budge. Toothless sniffed it curiously beside him, his head tilting in wonder and thought. Astrid came up behind him and lied a hand on his shoulder. "You need me to try?" She asked.
"Be my guest." Hiccup handed it over; Astrid took it from his hands and tried to force it open but failed.
"Maybe we should go get Gobber." Hiccup finalized.
"Wait. Are you telling me we have to walk the rest of the way down? When we just got up here?!"
Every rider and healer on the deck turned to meet the sight of an angry Snotlout and a disappointed Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Gustav.
"Sorry." Hiccup said in sympathy.
Fulla raised her hand. "Hold up, now I'm curious. You guys all have dragons, right? Why didn't you just jump from their backs the second they hovered up here. I'm pretty sure they can. Aren't you guys supposed to be dragon riders? The experts and all?"
The rest all groaned.
Hiccup walked across the town's plaza. He had gone to his fathers after the trip to Gothi's and reported what happened with Dagur. Now he was headed for the forge.
The rest of the riders along with Langer and Fulla accompanied him. Langer had only gone because he was insistent on seeing what the object was before he set out on his fishing trip tomorrow.
Fulla followed behind, she was still deeply suspicious of Hiccup's unconventional sealing technique. She had been interrogating Langer and Hiccup almost the entire way. She had been questioning Gustav too, but he managed to escape after claiming his mother was calling for him.
The dragons had run off to get food from the new feeders in the village. The only one who stayed was Toothless, who had refused to leave his side for reasons unknown to Hiccup.
"So, is it waterproof?" Fulla inquired. Jostling down notes in her journal.
Approaching the forge, Hiccup hurriedly called for Gobber. Maybe he could get another conversation going. Literally any other than Fulla's. "Gobber!"
The blacksmith walked out from around the corner. Tossing a strip of leather into a pile by the door. "Alright. That's it. I'm done. No more orders for Yakheart for a week or more." He turned to Hiccup. "That man is crazy. I finish the handle and then he waits a day or so to actually get it, and then when he does come. He says it was the shoddiest workman ship he'd ever seen! Then he went on to call my entire practice terrible! Anyway. Enough about me. Why're you kid's here?"
Langer huffed. "Kid? Who are you calling kid?"
Gobber chuckled. "Everyone's a kid when you get to be my age. So, why are you here?" He eyed the cylinder in Hiccup's hand. "Is it about that shiny thing you got there?"
"That is, exactly why we're here, Gobber. Can you open it?" Hiccup questioned. Handing the cylinder to the blacksmith, Gobber grabbed it and started fiddling with it. Walking into the forge as he messed with the object. "Huh. Seems to be sealed tight." He grunted.
Tuffnut raised a hand as if coming out of deep thought as he and the rest followed the blacksmith inside. "Hey, didn't you want this back, H? I had completely forgotten I still had it again. In my hand. The entire time."
Hiccup glanced away from Gobber to see Tuffnut waving his missing prosthetic in the air. He frowned, "Have-Have you had that this entire time?" Hiccup took the prosthetic from his friends wondering fingers and examined it, checking for cracks or inaccuracies. "And how long have you had this, exactly?"
"Oh, I don't know. Since the fire, I guess." Tuffnut hummed.
"Thanks for saving it. At least I don't need to make a new one now." Hiccup thanked, still examining it.
"Oh, okay. Because if you didn't, then this was going in my collection of oddities of the world." Tuffnut went on and moved his hand out, as if dramatizing a scene that Hiccup had yet to see.
"It's not an oddity, Tuff', it's a prosthetic leg. Half of the village has one. Nothing weird about it." Hiccup raised a brow, the prosthetic hanging from his hand.
Tuffnut denied him, gesturing to Hiccup's prosthetic."But yours is unique! How many can say they have a metal foot! I know I can't. I only have two real feet. Unlike you."
Ruffnut rushed to defend her brother. "Yeah! Well, some people just don't appreciate the finer arts." She poked a finger in Hiccup's direction. "I guarantee you that someday, people will come from all over the world to one location just to see the wildest and weirdest things possible. The owners will even get rich from it! You'll see!"
As Ruffnut argued her brother's defense. Hiccup rolled his eyes and moved to place his metal foot in Toothless's saddle bag. Not wanting to carry it anymore. Opening the bag, his eyes widened in surprise. He had completely forgotten about the journal in the race to help Langer and his interest in finding out about the Dragon Eye. "Huh. I completely forgot about this."
He pulled the journal out; its pages were still soggy from its dip in the ocean.
"What's that, Hiccup?" Fishlegs questioned. Having eagerly eyed the book the second he pulled it out.
"I don't know. I kind of figured it was a commander's log or a diary of some sort." Hiccup answered. He flipped it over to its front. His hands running over the wet logo, a flaming fist adorned the leather cover. Stamped in a faded gold color, it felt as if it could fall apart the longer he held it. He opened its pages and placed it on a table to get a better look.
The ink on the pages was amazingly intact, a surprise for him since he knew that ink wasn't waterproof.
Fishlegs crouched over his shoulder. "It's amazing that the ink is even still intact! I mean, I know it fell in the water with you. Where did you get it from?"
Hiccup gulped, uncomfortable memories coming forth. "Uh, on the Reaper. With a skeleton."
Fishlegs gapped. "A-a a skeleton?"
"I knew we should have gone on that ship!" Ruffnut cried.
"So many things we missed. Ghosts. Skeletons. Dragurs. So many haunted things! And the worst part is. We can't go back!" Tuffnut nearly actually did cry. He and his twin lowered their helmet to morn.
"Yes. An intact skeleton, Fishlegs." He paused. "Well, except for the head. That was on the floor. It was holding both the Dragon Eye and this journal. I managed to snatch both before an axe nearly took my hand off." At Astrid's scowl, he hurriedly continued. "Anyway. There were, several, skeletons actually. Originally, I only saw two. But when Dagur sunk the ship with his boulder, Gustav and I saw more skeletons in the armory."
Fishlegs frowned. "Well, that's not right at all."
"A bunch of skeletons? Yeah, that's…weird." Astrid said.
"Do you know what happened?" Fishlegs asked.
"As I said before, I don't know. There were also several dragon skeletons in cages in the ship's hull. They looked as if they died in their sleep. Or were stabbed to death." Hiccup paled. "It was, unsettling to say the least."
A pause filled the blacksmith shop until Fishlegs broke the silence. "Well. Can I look at the journal at my hut once it's dry? I might be able to find something about what happened inside." Fishlegs asked.
"Sure, Fishlegs, have at it." Hiccup agreed. He wasn't sure how much he actually wanted to know about the people behind the Reaper.
Fishlegs grabbed the journal with the utmost care and took off, likely to his hut. Giggling like a madman. He likely wouldn't see Fishlegs for the rest of the day now.
All the riders sat atop Gothi's deck after dark. They had just finished speaking to her and convinced the old woman to come with them to Glacier Island to help find the Snow Wraith for its tooth, as it was the key to unlocking the Dragon Eye. Hiccup himself was beyond excited. Finally, a new island and dragon to explore! What could be better? Well, except for Fulla's complaining.
"There is no way I'm letting Langer go off to Glacier Island with that wound. That sealing isn't even fully tested. We don't even know the strain it can go through yet!" Fulla put her foot down.
"I have the same thing on my face, and it hasn't opened yet." Hiccup raised a brow; he was holding the Dragon Eye and was about ready to head to his hut for the night. He was tired and had a headache. The sooner he went to sleep, the sooner it would leave him.
"Your cut, while deep, isn't as deep as Langer's and isn't a part of the body that gets strained as much. You don't count." She dismissed, waving her hand in denial.
Langer snorted. "Who said I was going, anyway? I still have a fishing trip to go on tomorrow morning. One that Gustav is coming with me, so I'm going to need all the sleep I can get." Langer mounted Bloodburst, ready to head home for the night.
"That's assuming I let you go. Don't even think I didn't catch you limping." Fulla hissed.
Langer rolled his eyes but ignored her.
"Gustav? Really? You're going to take Gustav with you?" Astrid questioned. "Are you sure that it's not going to end in disaster like last time?"
"Hey. He can't improve till he's done it a thousand times, and I'm not one to give up on my apprentices." Langer said.
"Since when is he your apprentice?" Astrid asked incredulously.
Langer looked as if he was going to answer, but Snotlout beat him to it.
"So, we're going after a Snow Wraith while Fulla runs the healer hut with Gobber's help. This outa be interesting." Snotlout grumbled at first, then perked up. "But it could end up failing miserably, and when that happens, I can rub it in her face." He grinned, rubbing his hands together.
"I heard that!" Fulla snapped.
"What! Heard what? I didn't say anything." Snotlout backed off, his hands up in surrender.
Another thought occurred to Hiccup. "Langer, how did the Nadder escape?" He inquired curiously.
Langer groaned. "Entirely Gustav's fault." At Snotlout's frustrated scowl, Langer defended him. "He just needs to work through it. He didn't mean it!"
Snotlout grumbled under his breath. "Amateur." He had long since given up on the younger teen. Then speaking louder, he addressed the others. "But you know what's more interesting? How about why that Nadder didn't grab Hiccup the second it got the chance?!" He laughed. "It has too big a hatred of Hiccup to just ignore him!"
Hiccup frowned. Snotlout had a point. Why had it grabbed Dagur? It hated him, not Dagur. They were right next to each other. Did it get confused?
"Well, considering the fact it got the muzzle off by smacking its head into several sea stacks until the lock fell apart on the way there. It's possible it was disoriented. Maybe that's why it grabbed Dagur." Langer stated dully.
"That would make sense." Fishlegs chipped in. He since had come back from his hut to meet them at Gothi's that night. Having been dragged away from the journal. "With it being disoriented, it could have confused you with Dagur since you two were so close and that was why it chose not to fire at you as it's done previous times."
Langer chuckled morbidly. "Eh. No. That was probably because it was out of shots. It literally shot everything it had at Gustav and I while on the way there. It got more desperate to get rid of us the closer we got."
"Oh, well that explains it." Fishlegs said.
"Maybe it had itchy teeth too, and thats why it went crazy." Tuffnut scratched his teeth again. Still itchy from his ordeal with Gothi.
"That is literally, one of the stupidest things that you have ever said. And you say a lot of stupid stuff." Ruffnut scoffed.
Hiccup changed the subject, talking too much about the Nadder was hurting his brain. "So, Fishlegs? How is the journal?"
Fishlegs jumped into the conversation with eagerness. "Surprisingly, it's still completely intact. Even after that dip in the ocean, I felt for sure that some of the pages would be unsalvageable." He grinned. "It should be ready to look at by the time we get back. I can't help but wonder what kind of mysteries we'll unlock with both the Dragon Eye and the journal."
Hiccup only nodded and patted Toothless neck; the dragon warbled under his hand. Pressing his head into Hiccup's chest. "That's great, Fishlegs. Everyone should get to bed. We have a big day tomorrow." He spoke.
He was glad Fishlegs was excited about it, but he was still unsure of the journal's contents. The ship was still a horror scape in his mind and would likely haunt him for years to come.
Glacier island was cold. And barren. But cold was the understatement of the year. A storm had just hit the island and prohibited any further searches for a Snow Wraith, which had all turned up empty.
Hiccup moved to unpack the collapsible shelter he had tied to Toothless's saddle in case they ended up staying longer than planned. "Everyone should unpack their shelters. Who knows how long this storm is going to last."
"Where's this old bag of bones staying?" Snotlout whined. "Isn't it somebody else's turn to stay with her? Literally anyone?! She's driving me crazy, and her drool is disgusting!"
Gothi scowled and hit his head with her staff. "Ow! Her staff, too!"
"She can stay with me, Snotlout. Just set up your shelter." Hiccup rolled his eyes, setting up the posts in the snow as the wind and snow rolled in. Gothi shuffled over and Hiccup took her hand, bony under his fingers, and led her inside of his shelter. "Toothless, light a small fire outside, will you bud? Astrid has the firewood we took."
Toothless warbled and snuck outside to Astrid. Spying the wood tied up on Stormfly's back. He reared up and snapped the straps with his talons, and dragged the bag of wood over to the middle of the shelter encirclement and lit the entire contents on fire.
Hiccup peeked his head outside of his shelter, having heard the sounds of the raging fire and now seeing a grinning Night Fury. "That isn't what I meant, but okay."
The twins jumped away from their tangled shelters and raced to the fire. Sticking their hands over it to get warm. "Ohh, warm." Tuffnut grinned next to his sister who grinned back.
The winds howled harder, and the fire rushed in the direction of the wind, sputtering out. Once the flames were gone, Ruffnut pouted. "Ah, man. Now we have to sit here in the cold again."
"Yeah, cold." Tuffnut groused, crossing his hands and rubbing them against his arms, shivering.
The winds only pushed harder. Hiccup and Gothi walked back out into the storm to meet Toothless and the others with their dragons, since the wind was flowing into the shelters, making them void against the weather.
"Use your dragons as extra protection against the wind!" Hiccup called, cupping his hands around his mouth. Gothi stood beside him, grabbing Toothless for balance.
A smash behind him alerted Hiccup to the crash of his shelter. Fishlegs shivered. "It's the Snow Wraith!" He dove for his own shelter, which was quickly decimated shortly afterwards.
"Hold your ground. And fire back!" Hiccup shouted above the gale force winds.
"Fire back where?" Astrid called back. "We can't see it."
Hiccup squinted in Astrid's direction. He could barely make her anymore, the snow pounding against his face too hard. Another smash sounded from very close by. "Actually, you know what? Take cover!"
Running through the snow with a prosthetic was difficult. Falling behind the others, he almost got caught up in an explosive blast that sent Snotlout flying with a scream.
He ducked next to Toothless, Gothi thankfully had managed to keep up and was next to the black dragon. Suddenly something cold and soft was dumped on his head, the wet material getting into his clothes and burying him.
He shook his head to rid it of the snow. The flakes melting above his eyes. Thankfully he wasn't completely buried, he could see out into the storm. And what he saw caught his throat up with an excitement he hadn't felt for a few years.
"Whoa." He breathed. A large white dragon. With only two legs, long spines, a box like head with bearded like whisker spines, its wings folded at its side as it roared. The siren like wail cutting through the storm and piercing Hiccup's ears. He winced; the shriek was quite loud. He hoped this wasn't going to set of another attack. But then again, he didn't know what caused them, so maybe not.
As the dragon slinked off towards Snotlout. Hiccup dug himself out of the snow mound as quietly as he could. His head burst the mounds confines; he shook it to rid himself further of snow. Toothless helped Gothi up from the dragon's other side.
Since she was so short, only the top of her staff, helmet, and hair popped out of the mound compared to Hiccup and Toothless's heads. She had to use her hands to dig out a hole to fit her face in to breathe.
Seeing the the Snow Wraith shrieking in Snotlout's face, Hiccup called for Toothless. "Toothless. Warning shot."
Toothless complied and set a purple bolt at the white dragon's feet. The dragon shook its head, roaring and stretching its wingspan. Preparing a shot of its own at Toothless, its mouth glowing a dull blue color. Not a color Hiccup had ever seen in another dragon's fire.
Another stream of fire hit near the Snow Wraith's feet, and it stuttered with a roar. More blasts hit nearby, causing the white dragon to take off and deal with the problem.
One of the blasts hit the back of the snow pile that Hiccup, Gothi, and Toothless were in. The heat brushing against the back of his neck, and more snow was dumped on Gothi's face. "Cease fire! Cease fire!" He shouted. The fires were getting too close to himself and Snotlout's snow piles now. If a blast misfired, they could end up with their heads blown off. Not to mention if any more snow covered Gothi's face, he feared for her safety.
"Stormfly!"
Hiccup scrambled to get out of the snowbank after he heard Astrid's shout of fear. Rolling out of the snow. He looked back in Astrid's direction to search visually for her. His heart raced as he couldn't find any sign of her, but Stormfly was leaning over a ledge. Perhaps she was helping her.
"Hey! Hiccup! A little help over here!"
Hiccup turned towards Snotlout shouting from the snow and ran to help him, seeing Toothless handling Gothi in the corner of his eye. "Coming, Snotlout!"
Tugging the viking from the snow with a plop, Snotlout tumbled out and fell into the snow face first. Now that Snotlout was out, he turned to his main concern. Dealing with the Snow Wraith and making sure everyone was okay.
Running towards Toothless, he stopped by the dragon's side. "Alright, I've had about enough of this dragon, bud. Do your thing."
Toothless roared into the sky, sending sound waves in the direction he assumed the Snow Wraith was in. When the sound hit the dragon, it wailed. The sound grinding against Hiccup's ears and causing a small headache. Gritting his teeth through it, he called. "Toothless, now! Multiple blasts!"
As Toothless shot at the dragon, Hiccup closed his eyes and held his ears. Sound was once again amplified with a minor ring, but not as bad as last time. He could hear the dragon's wingbeats now and Toothless's charge of plasma was somehow more vivid.
As quickly as the sensations came though, they left just as fast along with the headache. Which was a huge weight off his shoulders.
Looking up for the dragon, Hiccup nearly exhaled in relief. "I think it's gone. Everybody okay?" He paused. "Everybody here?"
"What do you mean by here?" Ruffnut scorned. Coming out from behind a snowdrift with Tuffnut.
Snotlout waltzed up with Gothi trailing behind. Rubbing the snow from his helmet. "I have a question, Hiccup? What exactly is your plan to get a Snow Wraith tooth? Take it out of one of our dead bodies?" He smiled sarcastically, but scowled as Tuffnut interrupted his monologue.
"If all goes well, it'll be Ruffnut's dead body. And the Wraith tooth." He grinned while Ruffnut scowled at him.
Gothi walked forwards to the middle of the group, Hiccup noticed. "Hold on, quiet. Gothi wants to tell us something."
Writing in the snow told Hiccup what he needed to know, but Fishlegs chose to translate for everyone else's benefit. "She says we should've left when we had the chance." He stated grimly.
Cracking overhead alerted Hiccup that the cave they were hiding in was collapsing. They had hidden in it after his idea to use the shelters for distraction dummies against the Snow Wraith. Setting them on fire as heat signals to confuse the dragon.
Toothless grabbed him in his wing and darted out. Rolling in the snow, he opened his wing for Hiccup to exit.
Hiccup smiled. "Thanks, bud." But spotting the Snow Wraith charging towards them, he wasn't sure which was better. The cave-in? or the Snow Wraith? "Toothless, look out!"
Toothless shrieked and ducked down with Hiccup under his wing. As the Snow Wraith streaked overhead. Claws grazed against Toothless's back, causing the dragon to wince.
A few seconds past before Toothless let Hiccup out of his wing. "If it can see our body heat, then we are way, too easy a target out here." Hiccup stated.
Toothless garbled his agreement. Hiccup used Toothless as a support to climb up to his feet. With that, the pair walked swiftly as they could across the white expanse of snow. Both keeping an eye and ear out for the Snow Wraith as they rapidly approached the flaming dummies.
"Now this should even the odds a little." Hiccup stood in the middle of the targets. Toothless smelling the air from his place nearby. "It won't be able to make us out from within the heat of these fires. Do your thing, bud."
Toothless nodded and did more shrieking in random directions.
Hiccup winced as his ears acted up again. Screwing his eyes shut, he tried to ignore it, but the sounds of shrieking only got louder, more than it had a minute ago. "Toothless! Can you please stop?!" He rubbed his ears as the ringing returned.
Toothless stopped his echolocation and stared inquisitively at him.
Hiccup grunted as the ringing finally quit, he exhaled in relief. At least it wasn't a full attack. Toothless only stared in concern.
Hiccup noticed his worry. "It was just more hearing issues." At Toothless's narrowing of eyes, he continued hurriedly. "Okay! So, maybe you've been right all along, and I do have something wrong with me. But I think it's gone now, thankfully." He paused. "I think." He really didn't know much about these issues, they just popped up with little warning and no timeline.
Toothless hissed at him in annoyance when footsteps alerted the pair that something was behind them, they both slowly turned around to face the Snow Wraith stalking closer. It's breath stuttering with quick intakes of smell.
Toothless charged a plasma blast but paused when the dragon's stance shifted.
Hiccup stared, unsettled as the Snow Wraith tilted its head inquisitively at him. The dragon stalked closer, but not with the malice it held before. Now there was a mild curiosity lighting beneath the dragon's electric blue gaze.
It came to a halt just outside of the circle of fire and chuffed in his direction. Hiccup swallowed; this was weird. "I, uh. Toothless?" He turned to his friend for help.
When Hiccup didn't show any response of any kind, the Snow Wraith turned to Toothless and chuffed again. Toothless warbled in response. The Snow Wraith snorted and shook its head, staring once again at Hiccup with intrigue.
This was all very weird. Was the Snow Wraith friendly after all? Maybe he could get that tooth now, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to approach it or not. The Nadder already had him wary of unusual dragon behavior, and this was peaking with all the unusual he could handle. Snow Wraith were supposed to be aggressive. Not docile.
The Snow Wraith peeked at something behind him. With a narrowing of the eyes, it quickly hissed something at Toothless, who growled warningly in return.
Abruptly, his feet weren't on the ground anymore. White claws snagged at his shoulders and quickly carried him off. Hiccup shrieked in surprise. "What the- hey, put me down!" The wind rushing over the back of his hair, blowing it in his eyes. The dragon's wings swiftly bringing him farther and farther away from Toothless, and the ground.
"Toothless!" He called. Toothless had screeched after him. Chasing him on foot until Hiccup couldn't see the Night Fury anymore.
The dragon above him simply grunted in response as it suddenly descended. Dropping Hiccup roughly to his feet on a snowed over ice peak.
Hiccup skidded slightly but maintained his balance and turned to face the dragon warily. "What do you want with me? Seriously, what is with you dragons lately?" He gestured absurdly.
The Snow Wraith growled lowly in response and began to circle him. The white dragon nearly blending in with the landscape perfectly with its bumpy hide, like iced over rocks. It's feet crunching softly in the snow.
Hiccup turned with the dragon's predatory motion. Always maintaining eye contact with the Snow Wraith's piercing gaze. Never letting it leave his sight. Was this how the other Vikings had their lives ended? Snatched by the Snow Wraith only to have this happen?
Except, the more he held its gaze, the more it didn't really seem predatory at all. More like examining a new object of interest. In which case didn't really help because he was the object of interest.
The Snow Wraith stopped its circling and cocked its head at him, seemingly in thought. Hiccup gulped, taking a step backwards. He'd make a run for it, but the Snow Wraith would catch him again the second he could make a sprint away.
Another wail cut through the fog, both Hiccup and the Snow Wraith spun to face a second Snow Wraith charging towards them from the sky. The dragon next to Hiccup growled and moved in front of him defensively, much to Hiccup's surprise. Flaring its wings and charging a blue blast.
Hiccup backed away, but to where, he didn't know. He could see the encampment in the distance, but it could take all day to get there on foot.
The second Snow Wraith bowled into the first one at high velocity, slamming into its side and clawing its hide. Causing the firsts blast to misfire in Hiccup's direction. He jumped aside to land on his stomach in the soft snow as more clumps of snow landed on his back. Snow getting into his eyes again.
Looking behind him, he saw red blood had spurted out of the claw and teeth marks that the second Snow Wraith caused on the first. The first screaming in pain as the second rammed it again.
Hiccup, at this point, had already gotten up and ran off to somewhere safer than the middle of a dragon fight. He hid behind a nearby pillar of ice. Watching the fight from around the corner and searching for an opportunity to escape.
The first Snow Wraith wailed again from where it lay on the ground, blood coming from its mouth and hide. The second Snow Wraith rammed it once more before turning its attention to the pillar Hiccup hid behind.
Hiccup ducked to the side as the Snow Wraith rushed around the side at high speed and rammed claw first into the pillar. Right where his head just was. His eyes widened in horror. This dragon was trying to kill him.
He scrambled to his feet and took of across the peak away from the second Snow Wraith. The dragon wailed after him and took off, flying low to the ground after the running viking.
The first had lifted its head and charged another blast at the second. Firing, it hit its mark on the second's shoulder with an explosion of blue light. The second screeching in its own bout of agony and fell to the ground. Shaking its head in pain.
After firing at the second, the first Snow Wraith jumped on top of the other one, holding its neck in its mouth, pushing it down to the ground. The second one roared in pain, snapping its jaws at the former, but couldn't reach the first from its position under the firsts jaw.
Hiccup stood frozen in the snow, having stopped to watch the fight in sheer surprise. He caught the eye of the defending Snow Wraith. The Snow Wraith discreetly jerked its head towards the encampment with a swift move of its head. Its jaws still clamped around the others neck.
Hiccup, bewildered, snapped out of his daze and took off to the encampment. Turning back, he spied a bloody tooth on the ground. He paused. The tooth was close to the battling dragons, but far enough so that he could still get away easily. Swiftly turning directions, he swiped it from the ground, then turned back to sprint towards the encampment.
The Snow Wraiths had since gotten up and were circling each other, roaring aggressively in the others face.
But he didn't get far before he collapsed as a new wave of pain invaded his senses. "Gahh!" He clutched his ears and fell to his knees as the world was zoomed in yet again. Shouting behind him caught his attention somewhat. This one wasn't as bad as others, but enough that he felt like he couldn't move. He felt completely paralyzed.
"No! Leave him alo-. He is a child of- Elderbloo-! The ancients entrusted-"
"The anci- a plagu- on our society! It's bett- if he- dead!"
"That is because- cannot see, you imbecile! They are- gift and can hel- us relate! They- bridge betw- worlds! Just liste-"
Great. More voices. He panted, he was about done with these. He just wished they would go. Away. Hiccup groaned and clutched the snow under his hands as he painstakingly sat up. He tried something he had never done before. Mostly because he worried that the moment he did it, he was officially losing it. "SHUT UP! Please!" He bellowed.
His voice echoed across the peak as the voices suddenly stopped. The world closing in around him. He nearly gasped in relief. Finally, the voices were gone. He couldn't believe that worked! He whirled around to face the Snow Wraiths. Worried that perhaps they would have taken advantage of his bout of weakness.
The two dragons instead stared at him, dumbfounded. The seconds jaw slightly hanging open.
"What? Was it something I said?" Hiccup joked nervously. Rubbing his hands to his pants. He really didn't want these dragons to attack him again, but he couldn't help himself. He was too nervous.
The first warbled at first, then outright seemed to laugh. Honking its laughter loud and clear at the other Snow Wraith who still stared.
Hiccup stared incredulously. Was the Snow Wraith…laughing?
Shouting from a distance had both Hiccup and the Snow Wraiths rounding to see Snotlout and Astrid closing in with Hookfang and Stormfly.
"Hiccup!"
"Is that two Snow Wraith's! Are you kidding me?!"
The second Snow Wraith hissed and turned to fire. Hiccup's eyes widened. He had to stop it. And if the first was reasonable after all, maybe it would back him up. "Wait! Hold your fire!"
The second dragon jerked its head back around and hissed, leaning closer. Hiccup held up his hands in surrender. He didn't want to tempt the dragon any further to attack him. It already didn't seem to like him.
The first wailed at second warningly. The second dragon glared at its companion, then tilted to stare at him for a long moment. The electric blue gaze examining his entire posture. Finally, it barked with annoyance and quickly darted up to the sky. The first Snow Wraith took off seconds after the second. Disappearing into the whiteness of the mountains.
Stormfly and Hookfang landed seconds later.
"Hiccup, what happened?!" Astrid shouted.
"Yeah, I just saw the Snow Wraith kidnap you, and then there were two?! And yet you seem fine? Why do I even bother again?" Snotlout threw his hands in the air in exasperation.
Hiccup got to his feet and rubbed his hand behind his neck. "Well, I prefer it if you come after me and…well. I got the tooth." He stated. Holding up the bloody tooth for all to see.
His eyes widened discreetly, taking a shuddery intake of breath as he did so. He realized something. Yes, he had occasionally heard the occasional whispered word, enough to ignore apart from being concerned. But now the voices were speaking in complicated, but garbled, sentences. Whatever what was wrong with him was getting worse, and now he was willing to admit it.
And he was still confused over the Snow Wraiths reaction. Had they just been confused that he shouted at all? And what was with the laughing?
But what was the voices talking about this time? Usually it was mundane things, like his name or fish. But this time it was more serious. Like death. And…child? What child? Nothing about this made any sense.
Astrid noticed his expression. "Hiccup? What's wrong? You got the tooth; I thought you would have been more excited? This was your mission after all."
Hiccup shuttered. He wished he could tell her. Tell anyone now really, since the voices were definitely a thing now. But if he did and she told his dad, then he would confine him to Berk for as long as it takes to "fix" him. And he didn't want that. He clenched his fist slightly by his side. "Uh, nothing. I hope anyway. Just a thought that crossed my mind that I didn't like." He smiled weakly.
Astrid looked like she was about to say something more, but Snotlout got to it first. "Great! That means I can get off this Thor forsaken island. It's too cold here for the Snotman."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Well, at least you're fine. Let's get you and that tooth back to Berk and Toothless. He about lost his mind the second the Snow Wraith took you."
Hiccup walked along the path to his hut shortly after dark, Toothless with him. He had frantically checked him over the second Stormfly took him back to the camp. It had taken Hiccup a while to finally reassure the dragon that he was fine. A little bruised and shaken, but fine.
Hiccup yawned and rubbed his eyes, the Dragon Eye still in his grasp from after taking it to the forge. He still wasn't sure what it was, but it had to be worth it.
Running footsteps had himself and Toothless turning their heads to see that of a hurrying Fishlegs up the worn path to their hut. "Fishlegs, what are you doing out here this late?" He greeted.
"Hiccup." Fishlegs wheezed. "I had to talk to you about this." He straightened up and held up the journal from the Reaper. "So, as I'm sure you know. I was looking through the journal and I think I found something. It's…rather disturbing actually."
"Really? Would you like to talk about it in my hut?" Hiccup gestured. "I was heading there anyway and it's kind of hard to see out here at this time of night."
Fishlegs exhaled. "That sounds good, because you really need to hear this."
Entering his room, Hiccup shut the door behind him and went to sit on his bed, he motioned Fishlegs to the only stool in the room which he gladly took. "Okay, Fishlegs. What is so important that I need to know now?"
A smile took up much of the bulkier boy's face. Fishlegs grabbed the journal and gently swiped through the pages. "Well, some things here are really fascinating. For starters, this was the commander's log. A commander by the name of Harvard Grimborn. He was the former head of his tribe called, and I'm sure you won't like this. The Dragon Hunters."
Hiccup frowned. Fishlegs was right, he didn't like that. "What else?" He inquired.
Fishlegs took the cue to ramble on. "Apparently, he caught a Polar Fury at some point."
Hiccup's eyes lit up in interest. "A Polar Fury? What's a Polar Fury? Does he say?" He came over behind Fishlegs to look at the open pages of the journal with enthrall.
"All he says is that it's a northern species that lives in incredibly cold habitats and doesn't usually ever come into the Outer Archipelago, which is where he said both himself and the ship was from. And it's not just that, he said it's one of many Fury species."
"So, there's not just more Furies, but more out there?" Hiccup grinned. This journal seemed to make the trip worth it. Especially if he couldn't figure out how to open the Dragon Eye. Now they knew Toothless wasn't the last one out there! Even if he was the last Night Fury, he wasn't the last Fury. And not just that, there was proof that there was more out there.
"The Outer Archipelago must be beyond the fog bank on the edge of the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup pondered aloud.
"I know, right? Fishlegs giggled. "And it's not just that. It details a new dragon called the Bonecreeper. Only it gets dark from there. Actually, the whole thing is dark." A grimace crossed his features.
"Well, what is it?" Hiccup questioned. He had a feeling he wouldn't like where this would go.
"Well-" Fishlegs shifted uncomfortably. "It turns out the reason they wreaked in the first place was because a man attacked them and tried to free the dragons."
"But wouldn't that be a good thing?" Hiccup asked with a frown.
"Not necessarily. The man first threatened them to comply, if they didn't, then there would be consequences."
"And I suppose, they didn't listen?" Hiccup cut in.
"Exactly. They denied him at first. In response the journal states that the man apparently lit himself on fire."
"Fire?" Hiccup was baffled, how could one light themselves on fire? Toothless perked his head up from the corner at the mention of the fire man. Following the conversation with interest now. Hiccup continued, baffled. "They lit themselves, on fire?"
"Yeah. Only the arms, legs, and back though." Fishlegs stated, he himself seemed confused. "I would question if he was delusional, but it seemed pretty genuine."
"That's weird." Hiccup said.
"Yeah, no kidding. But it gets darker. After Harvard managed to stab the man, the fire person escaped because a dragon pulled him out and he never came back. Meanwhile, the crew apparently tried to escape, but all their methods failed. They ran out of food and had to, kill." Fishlegs paled. "The captive dragons and had to eat them to stay alive."
Hiccup blanched while Fishlegs continued. "They eventually had to kill the Bonecreeper. Which is apparently one of the most venomous dragons on Midgard. Harvard was hesitant to kill it, because it was so venomous, he was also afraid its flesh was poisonous."
Hiccup gulped. "And I suppose it was?"
"Yep. It poisoned the remaining crew. Harvard seemed to have been the last to die as he said he was the last one alive. In fact, I think he died while writing. The last log is incomplete and very jerky." Fishlegs winced.
Hiccup blenched. "Anything else?"
"Just that he had a family. He seemed especially fond of his grandkid, Viggo. Whoever that was." Fishlegs shrugged. "It sounded like he was the most likely candidate to lead his tribe though."
"Stuff we'll have to keep an eye out for when we get out there. If my dad lets us anyway." Hiccup said.
Fishlegs laughed. "I figured you'd say that. He'll let us go if you come up with a good enough reason, you'll see." He stood up and smiled comfortingly.
Hiccup's lips turned up. "Thanks, Fishlegs."
"No problem." Fishlegs said. "Just let me know when you figure out that Dragon Eye. I'm very curious to see what mysteries it holds. We saw how many this held, who knows what more we'll find in that?"
"I'll do that, Fishlegs. Goodnight."
Fishlegs placed the journal on Hiccup's desk. "I'll leave this here for you to go through yourself." He headed out the door but paused and turned back. "And that reminds me. Harvard apparently called the Dragon Eye; the Light Gander."
Hiccup grimaced. "Now that, is a terrible name."
"Yeah." Fishlegs chuckled. "Goodnight, Hiccup."
"Night." Hiccup shut his door as Fishlegs left the room. Exhaling in exhaustion, both tired and very confused from the conversation. More Furies was amazing news. On top of that, the prospect of exploring both new lands and new dragons got his heart beating with excitement. But on the other hand, this journal gave him new responsibilities with the information that came with it.
People had died on that ship. People that were from a tribe of dragon hunting Vikings. That in itself disturbed him to his core.
He would have to be very careful if he was able to go. And it wasn't just that. The thoughts of a person able to set themselves aflame was a disturbing thought. Was it an invention? If it was, then Hiccup had to applaud their ingenuity. It really was both quite clever and intimidating. The question of how though remained. He would have to read the log himself to get a better read on the situation.
He looked to the Dragon Eye in his hand again, intrigued at the thought of trying to figure it out again before he went to sleep. But was it the Dragon Eye? Or was it Light Gander? Yeah, he was sticking with Dragon Eye.
Authors Notes 2:
Yes, Light Gander is a stupid name. But then again, since when do most Vikings name something reasonable? At least in the books anyway from what little I remember and sometimes the movies. Itchy armpit anyone?
Light Gander is supposed to translate too: Light - it emits light, and Gander - to look or view. Yes, I'm also aware that gander is also a male goose or a stupid person. But I think it adds more charm to the name :) Don't worry though. I don't think Viggo likes the name either.
Dragon Key -
Polar Fury - Light Fury (I was going to call it Light Fury, but then again. Astrid was the one who originally named it. There's a good chance that if someone was aware of it before the Berkian's, and they happened to learn it from them first, then the species would have a different name altogether. Hence, Polar Fury. Describing the icy environment they live in in this story.)
Bonecreeper - Original species. Highly venomous with poisonous flesh, with the interest of hunting any living being within its territory alongside the usual fish. These dragons are not to be trifled with. You do that and you risk a high death factor.