I don't own 'How to Train Your Dragon' or 'Fairy Tail' and I'm not making any profits from this. Not much else to say. Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Reminiscence ~Awakening Soul~
The frozen sight of Drago's fortress was routine by now. They went wide around the glacier, making sure they weren't spotted or scented by any sentries or guarding dragons. It was early in the morning, not a time that they usually came around, but she got word that the trappers caught something interesting this time. She didn't know if it was a new species of dragon, an unfortunate thing that accidentally stumbled upon cruel men, or more weapons of war. In any case she wanted to scout ahead. Make sure everything was accounted for if they had to intervene.
Her dragon flapped two big wings, quietly and gently, as they climbed around the back of the fort. They swerved and ducked over icicles, taking a wide path that opened in a field of snow. A raised bank flanked the side facing the port and she willed her partner to drop them down. They landed in a frozen spot, her friend taking care not to disturb the light powder too much.
She jumped down, nimbly crawling atop the edge, and careful that her staff remained silent. And then she waited.
It took a while. The fort was silent and empty for the most part. She caught rattling sounds, pained noises and she barely held herself back from acting accordingly. But it was worth it. A ship came to dock. A familiar modified longship with blue and white sails. She watched as the sailors disembarked; some new faces among them, some bearing a crest she never thought she would see again.
And the dragons, oh, the dears! All bound up in chains and leathers that restricted them in any way possible. She just wanted to run there and free them from that pain. Her partner huffed at her back and she loosened her death grip on her weapon. Patience.
She wanted to get closer but the possibility of Drago noticing their presence was too high. He always seemed to have a knack of figuring out when someone unwanted was around. She stayed where she was, her partner stooping low behind her. One of the new faces, a man in an odd dark blue cloak stood to the side with another one wearing green. The trappers didn't payed them much attention and neither did she beyond a passing glance. Especially when the Berkians started a commotion.
She didn't understand much. For a second, her mind blanked when she heard 'Hiccup' but she could have heard wrong with all the echoes going around the giant cavern. And then Drago came. Her blood boiled watching that monster slowly make his way to the small trapper ship and then dismissing the whole altercation with that mystifying aura of his. She felt her friend stiffened for a few seconds as the cold spread in the silence.
She didn't know what it was except some sort of magic. Even so, she would have never guessed Drago Bludvist of all people could be persuaded to learn such an unusual, obscure art. Perhaps it would explain his tendency to find spies and intruders as precisely as he did.
With the crewmates properly terrified and obeying, things settled except the green clad young man was leaving with Drago now. Her eyes narrowed at that but she was quickly distracted when the dragons were dragged to one of the battleships. It took a moment of indecision before she was crawling along the edge for a better vantage point from where she could observe.
She still didn't understand what she was supposed to look for. The trappers found dragons, mostly native to Berk and surroundings, some Vikings and two strangers, one of which Drago showed interest in. Was that what her fellow nest mates were curious about? She honestly didn't really care very much about that. The only thing she wanted to figure out was how to release the captured dragons without too much of a ruckus. Maybe she could sneak aboard the ship and once they were preparing for boarding, she could take them out of those ugly cages. She wasn't very confident with only her partner at her side. Or maybe she could return with a team and attack in the middle of the night. But the dragons were always fidgety when she led an attack to this fort for some reason. They seemed to lose focus and become impatient and agitated.
She breathed exasperated. They couldn't linger anymore. Her dragon was throwing her brief glances and she knew he was uncomfortable with how long they've been around the hunters' base. It was well into the afternoon already. Her hand tightened around the staff before relaxing. She sighed and crept down the bank gracefully. There really was no point in sticking around. Once returned to the nest she would figure out something for tonight. There was no way she'd leave defenseless dragons in Drago's hands. As her friend let her climb on his back, that was when it happened.
A deafening explosion of crackling ice and falling snow shook the glacier. The duo tensed and the dragon skipped away from the ledge as spider cracks formed along the edges. Among the sounds of falling debris and roaring dragons there were undistinguished, panicked yelling.
"Now's our chance, Cloudjumper!"
She urged her partner to take off and he did. Crouched behind his crown, she pulled the mask secure on her face. They circled around the brewing storm, keeping to the shadows as much as they could with everything falling apart.
The water in the gulf was splashing and lurching over the docks, much too perturbed to be because of the unnatural occurrence on land. The frigid air was unbearable, a result of magic unlike anything she had ever seen. Whatever power Drago Bludvist possessed it wasn't anything human. The though chilled her worse than the pulsing aura hanging in the air.
They were finally in sight of the battleship where the dragons and the Vikings were taken. The enormous iron monstrosity was shaking and sinking among the rising waves, seemingly the most affected by it. Two pairs of sharp eyes scanned the space. The Berkians were releasing the dragons, troubled by the constant movement of the ship. Nevertheless, they were in the air right after and her grip on her staff almost slackened in shock.
They were Berkians, right? She knew she saw that skull symbol on them. That was the Hooligan's crest… right? What were they doing on dragon back? What was going on? Who were those kids?
Her stunned stupor made Cloudjumper pause and duck behind a pillar hanging from the ceiling. Clinging to the surface with deadly talons, he inched around to still see what was happening. But not before turning his head all around to look at his rider. He hummed softly.
The woman instinctively shifted her position to accommodate him. She patted him on the head gently. "It's quite alright. It caught me off-guard, that's all."
They watched the group of… Vikings fly away from the fort. It didn't take much for her to realize she wanted to follow. Her partner shared the sentiment. They were airborne next, and weaving between clouds a safe distance away from them, making sure they wouldn't lose them.
/\\\
Island of Berk, 3 years ago
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
Astrid rolled her eyes. She had a good plan. So far it was going well, but it would have gone even better if Fishlegs would kindly cooperate with her. "Just trust me. Or I'm just going to drag you by the ears whether you want it or not!"
"What makes you think that'll convince me again?" He shrieked.
Thank Thor they were in a forest. The pair of eighteen-years olds faced each other, one disturbingly scared and the other on the verge of a meltdown. The girl racked her hand over her face irritated.
"Fishlegs, you're the only one who can help me with this. Just shut up and follow me." She turned to walk away and judging from the grumbling and snapping gravel and twigs, the stout boy decided the same.
"Okay, fine. But this better not be another one of your training exercises. I just got done with the rash from the last one."
She rolled her eyes again. "Baby…"
The blonde boy continued to mutter and complain the whole way and Astrid was certain it was intentional and revenge for waking him before dawn and dragging him through the thickness of Berk's forests. It was worth it in the end. Her own heart was heavily conflicted on this matter but her ingrained sense of honor would never let her forget if she would have ignored it instead.
There were there soon. Astrid skidded down the slope in front of a bunch of huge rocks. She waited until Fishlegs caught up with her and noticed her go down between them, following the trail that led even further down to a small hidden cove near Raven Point. She stepped away from the opening, shaking the dust from her clothes and then surveyed the area. It looked empty.
Fishlegs crawled out of the small gap with a bit more effort than her but joined her in her surveillance. "Well, we're here. What did you want from me?"
Astrid took a deep breath. "You can come out, girl. Fishlegs' gonna help you now."
The boy was confused for a second before he heard shuffling sounds. From behind a wide rock, a Nadder pocked its head out. Astrid saw the scream before they even entered the forest, so she moved behind him and grabbed the other's shoulders forcing him still.
"Stop it, she's not gonna do anything."
"YOU WANT TO FEED ME TO A DRAGON?"
"No, you dolt. I want you to heal her!"
With Astrid's unforgiving hands holding him down, Fishlegs was forced to watch as the whole dragon came out from hiding. The Nadder was limping as it ambled in front of them, a big darkened cloth wrapped around her back leg from what he now processed was a gash of some kind. His whimpers slowly died but there was no way to stop shaking just because someone told him to. Astrid let go of him and stepped closer to the dragon, despite Fishlegs' horrified stare.
"Fishlegs, this is Stormfly." She stretched her hand to the Nadder, her eyes never leaving his. His mouth dropped when the dragon limped closer to her and nuzzled her palm, clicking and warbling. "And she saved my life. So please… Save hers!"
/\\\
It was hard for Hiccup to wrap his head around that. The whole story that Astrid and the others told him, Mystogan and Rein was so far beyond anything Berk was capable of; he kept slipping into the mindset that he was being set up. But that didn't make any sense either because his former peers were definitely riding dragons and being friendly and affectionate with them. So there must have been some truth to their words. As weird and unbelievable as it was.
He almost didn't want to return to Berk with them but it was too late for that now. Astrid insisted that he fly with her just to make sure he doesn't do anything. Hiccup didn't know what she thought he could do but there was reason to that. He could do plenty, whether she knew it or not. In the meantime, he had time to rummage through the whole story.
The same year he left, after the ice thawed and spring set in, his father organized another raid to the Nest.
"He looked haunted. We searched the whole island until the blizzards fell upon us and no door could be opened anymore. I've heard from my father when he would occasionally meet up with the other men for drinks and catching up. Apparently, the Chief isolated himself in his house for the whole winter and only the Jorgensens and Gobber were allowed in."
Hiccup didn't dare breach that surface. He went for seven years without thinking about his father in depth, but everything wanted to overwhelm him all of a sudden. There was resentment in Astrid's voice as she accentuated the fragile state of Stoick the Vast in that first year. She wanted to make him feel guilty, he knew that. Well, joke was on her, Hiccup was beating himself up all on his own already.
When they sailed there, to Helheim's Gate, the mist was gone so the fleet was able to navigate through the sea stacks easily. And when they got there…
"It was like something out of legends. Everyone said there was a colossal corpse rotting on the beach, bones the size of Berks' cliffs, putrid water splashing over decaying scales – "
"I think I get it, thanks, Tuffnut!"
The dragons stopped. They noticed it during winter but since it was a naturally damp and harsh time of the year, everyone just counted their blessings. But for the summer and the following autumn, there were no more attacks. That was when they all realized that the war was over. So Berk started to flourish.
"It was so weird at first. My dad taught me since I was a kid how to kill dragons and stuff and then there were none."
"Don't kid yourself, Snotlout. At most, he taught you how to gloat about killing dragons."
"Shut up, Astrid!"
Berk finally opened trade routes with the other tribes after that. The Chief came back to them but there was clearly something different about him. He put all his time, all of his energy into the tribe, he listened and helped the people who asked for a moment from him but nothing more than that. He just stopped socializing outside duty. He was the perfect public figure.
Hiccup felt like she just squeezed his heart.
It wasn't until years later, when Astrid was sailing with a crew to the Northern Markets, that Berk would finally be reintroduced to the dragons. It was their first time traveling there at the insistence of Traveler Johann. Therefore, even if he informed them in his flowery way about the dangers they were still caught by surprise by the pirates.
It was a big ship, not native to the Archipelago, bearing a crest of three connected spirals and commanded by a man called Harald Forkbeard. From the way everyone frowned or rolled their eyes Hiccup assumed they got very familiar with the guy. After a fight Astrid was captured, their boat left adrift after being stripped of goods and most of the crew either abandoned there or killed.
She was taken to Auction Island, a place where all kinds of scoundrels meet to trade and profit. While there, she met Stormfly and long story short, they agreed to help each other escape. While doing that, the Nadder got hurt by a dragon hunter, but even so she was capable of flying them both to Berk before collapsing.
"It was then I realized that Stormfly was the same Nadder from dragon training back when we were younger. She knew exactly who I was, so she was quick to trust me, and she remembered where Berk was located and managed to bring us both there safely. I couldn't repay her by letting her die."
Even if he didn't say it, Hiccup appreciated that. Along with that, an annoying warmth blossomed in his chest at her sincere words.
A few months passed while Stormfly was healing with Fishlegs' help. Somewhere along the way, Ruffnut was called in since she was learning healing from Gothi. It took longer than necessary for Hiccup to sort through that. As a result, Tuffnut found out and he ended up spilling the beans to Snotlout and that's how the whole gang got in the know. Stormfly brought Meatlug and she and Fishlegs hit it off immediately but they had to return to Auction Island to rescue Hookfang and Barf and Belch since the people there were harvesting their gel and gas to sell. That was their first mission together and it was completely behind Berk's back but they managed to pull it off somehow.
A little over a year passed during which, the group was learning to fly and get along with their dragons. It was at that point when they started wondering what to do next.
"We were thinking about maybe slowly dropping hints to the Chief and the other villagers about accepting dragons. I mean, we couldn't hide them away forever."
Fishlegs' dilemma reminded Hiccup of his exact situation seven years ago.
"Fortunately, a chance for the honey and the hatchet soon came up."
Astrid told them how, despite the booming state of the village, the Outcasts were becoming problematic. A while back they started attacking their fishing boats, those who went further into the ocean where they couldn't go before due to the pending threat of dragon raids. Alvin and his band of criminals were picking a fight with Berk, now that everyone's priorities had shifted.
It soon turned into open war. The Outcasts managed to sneak on the island later on and they would have overrun the village if it wasn't for the dragons sniffing them out. The dragons recognized the danger to their riders and flew to stop them from advancing. In order to prevent Stoick and the others from turning on them, the kids joined their dragons and together, as a team, drove away the invaders. Their actions impressed the villagers, but many were still very wary about them.
"It took an entire year for the people to accept them. Stoick advocated fiercely for their deaths and after that, he was Hel bent on ignoring their existence. It was scary. He still is very indifferent but went along with everyone once they voted to have them stay."
The Vikings of Berk have been living with dragons for nearly a year. There were more now, but not by much. Stoick was very hard to convince about anything dragon related so he just delegated that all matters concerning the beasts would be taken care of by Astrid and Fishlegs. That was how the teens got front row seats to the war with the Outcasts, which was over by now after Stoick killed Alvin and Savage agreed to reenact the truce. After that, the only things they had to deal with was random interactions with Harald's Tempest Pirates and some dragon hunters that frequented Auction Island and the Markets.
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief that his world view was not entirely shattered. As he told Mystogan back at Drago's camp, there was no way his father would agree to let dragons live with them so easily. At the same time, he felt a bit disappointed.
He then asked them about Drago. Nobody knew who he was, or where he and his army came from. Fishlegs theorized that he could be the big boss of the dragon hunters since they haven't actually met anyone very high in their hierarchy. The reason they got caught was because they discovered a fort that was blown up and frozen over and that's when they met with Eret's crew. Eret had accused them of attacking them and stealing their dragons but they haven't done any of that.
His confusion grew at that. The way Eret talked to them was as if they have been fighting for a very long time. Hiccup saw no reason that he would lie, especially since Drago was his employer and failing meant consequences. So that meant that there was someone else that was fighting back against Drago's forces and the gang just happened to stumble across one of their results.
Guilt washed over him at the thought of the charismatic trapper. Maybe they should have grabbed Eret when they left. He was a nice guy, just doing a job. Hiccup wasn't sure how long he would be doing it after Drago Bludvist was done with him though. His fingers twitched from their position on Astrid's waist. He made a conscious effort to not move a muscle the whole way but his body was getting stiff with the straining tension.
Why had Astrid wanted for him to ride with her again? Oh, yeah, to make sure he doesn't run off somewhere… to where? They were in the clouds for Gods' sake, it wasn't like anything could hide from them.
He tried to take his mind away from the fact that he was basically hugging her. However, his mind was done dealing with the tale of how Berk became a dragon paradise – sort of – and was now bothering him with ideas of how soft the hair blowing in his face was. Or how small her body felt beneath his palms. Or how pleasant her scent was. His mind was a creep and Hiccup tried not to jostle her much when he turned his head away –
– to see a horned helmet fade beneath the clouds.
He choked on words, not even sure what exactly to say. He looked at the others but none seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. For a second he pondered whether he had just imagined it but no. He had a weird feeling, the kind that said something was about to happen. He couldn't smell anything because the wind was too wild so high up but he knew that they had to get in the open.
"Astrid, we should get out of the clouds."
The blonde blinked at him. "Why? Don't tell me you're getting cold feet, Hiccup. We're not stopping until Berk."
"That's not what I meant. I think we're not the only ones here."
Astrid visibly fought to keep her frustration in check.
"Yes, Hiccup, we're not. There are birds, and maybe other dragons taking a stroll in the sky. Nothing unusual."
Hiccup shared in that frustration, though it was more urgent as his instincts flared.
"Plus the person that's been stalking us."
"What person?"
A swoosh dispersed the air all around them. The dragons halted, flapping their wings in agitation as more dragons begun to circle them, drawing the mist into a cyclone. The Vikings yelled, everyone talking over the others and wondering what was happening. Before Astrid could give them orders, the attacking dragons pounced.
"SPLIT UP!"
Hiccup lost sight of the rest after that. The dragons lunged between them, forcing them to break formation and then started chasing them. Stormfly and Astrid listened to Hiccup and tried to go beneath the blanket of clouds but every time, they were distracted and corralled by stray shots. There were no vital areas targeted and their fires were meant to stun more than hurt, so Hiccup concluded that they were not with Drago and at most they wanted to separate them from each other.
He gripped Astrid's sides as they bobbed and flipped over the numerous flock. He had no idea where they were anymore, everything was puffy and white and except from brief glances of the ocean he couldn't have told up from down. He had to admire the shield maiden's skill at directing Stormfly though. With the Nadder's instincts and Astrid's fast reflexes, they were capable of dodging all attacks and slip by whenever one of the dragons tried to catch them in their talons.
But like everything, it didn't last. A loud beat of wings was Hiccup's only warning before he saw it dive. Fast. The dragon was rust colored with an intimidating red crown around his head and four wings. And on his back was the masked person.
"Do you really expect me to believe there is one dragon rider that no one knows about when there is an entire village right in my face?"
"ASTRID!"
The big dragon was upon them in an instant. Stormfly wailed as both humans on her back were ripped away. At the same time, she was hit from different directions by weak breath attacks and could only watch as her best friend was taken further and further.
"STORMFLY!"
The Nadder furiously pumped herself up to catch them but each time she was knocked away, diverted from properly chasing after the four winged dragon. She howled.
/\\\
"NO!" Astrid struggled in the claws holding her.
They flew away quickly, and with the dragons that continued to batter Stormfly there was no chance for her to get closer to them anymore. Hiccup was certain they left everyone behind long ago which meant that the whole point of the attack was to divide and distract them.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He tried to pry open the claws tightened across his chest with minimal results. "Who even are you?"
Astrid snarled. "Let go of me! I swear to Odin, you'll pay for hurting my girl!" They didn't get an answer but that didn't stop the blonde from thrashing the rest of the way. Or until she got tired.
Hiccup decided to settle in and wait for the ride to end. This was the dragon rider that gave Eret and Drago so much trouble. The one that he mistook for the Berkians. He led an attack against them but the dragons pulled back a lot, mainly resorting to creating chaos and not letting them regroup with a strategy. Hiccup got the feeling that they weren't in danger and that there was so much more going on with Drago than he initially believed.
Who was this mysterious rider? What was his connection to Drago Bludvist? How could he command an entire flock so effortlessly? One way or another, he and Astrid were going to find out. But not when they were flying above frozen ocean.
/\\\
The air was cold. Storm clouds rolled in during the night over the small cove. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Hiccup, now sixteen years old, was sitting on a boulder on the darkened beach. Alone. That was the norm as of two weeks ago.
Toothless was… gone.
He watched the rolling waves flounder over the sky. Everything was gray. No matter how much he searched there was nothing. No trace, no trail, not even a lost scale. With each passing day, the numbness grew more and more until Hiccup felt nothing. The night was cold, but he couldn't bother himself with going anywhere anymore.
He said he would never leave, that they would be together, they would be brothers, just the two of them against the world. That was everything Hiccup needed and wanted. But like every happy thing in his life the Gods had to take it away. And he was left wallowing in the hurt and absolutely crushing despair that become so familiar and expected in his life.
Mother gone. Father emotionally absent. Respect nonexistent. Tribe who couldn't care less. What was his life even?
Toothless.
Toothless was his life. And now, he was gone like everything else.
Was he that much of a burden? Was his fate to always be discarded and left behind? Was there any point in going on?
"A bit too quiet around here, isn't it?"
Right. Gildarts was supposed to come. The red head started checking up on them every few weeks, bringing food and clothes and other things that they wanted. Hiccup felt a bit guilty at first but the cheery man was quick to point out that Hiccup could just pay him back when he would start working as a wizard anyway.
His throat seized up. The color and liveliness his presence brought was too much for him. When he didn't answer, the man approached.
"Hey, what's wrong kid?"
Hiccup shook his head. He was afraid that if he talked he would start crying. And it worsened his mood that he didn't know if he wanted Gildarts to stay or leave forever.
"Where's Toothless?"
A sob broke out. More thunder stirred the heavens, closer this time. A big hand fell on his head, pulling him into a strong, naked chest. Gildarts' cloak fell over his shoulder and the thought that it wasn't a dark, heavy wing was enough to shatter the dam. He didn't know what he said, his words must have melded together into incoherent babble interrupted by whimpers and howls of grief. But Gildarts got the gist of it because that was the kind of guy he was. He held him the whole night, even through the storm that ravished the shore and pummeled the beach with thick rain.
The one thing that Hiccup was reminded of was when his father used to carry him through the village when he was young, hauling his small five-year-old body in his powerful arms and telling him stories of Vikings and sea legends of old.