Hiccup scuffed at a pebble with his prosthetic foot and watched as it tumbled out of the stable and across the floor of the ring. He'd gone there to seek refuge from his troubles and he figured it would do him well to get an early start at cleaning the cages. He had the bale of hay, he had the cart and a spade. All he had to do was nick a torch from somewhere in town- He'd gotten some sleepy Nadder to light it for him. Why not?
After all, there was no way he'd be able to sleep and he couldn't go home right now. He hoped that his father was in bed, but it would be just his luck that he'd decided to wait for Hiccup.
He didn't have the energy to deal with any I-told-you-sos or to explain what had happened without really explaining what had really happened. Stoick hadn't been fond of the fact that he had been so close with her family. He was afraid his father would fail to understand the emotional weight that came with seeing Bengt and Bodil again.
And then there was the Great Hall. He knew dinner with the rest of Berk would have been just as difficult and he didn't have the strength to fake sleep, either. He'd already eaten, so it didn't matter if he showed up or not.
Cleaning Stormfly's cage was gross, but simple. Shovel out the old dragon dung and hay into a cart (which they had on hand for this express purpose) and dump it off the side of the cliff and into the ocean. Take a breather, give his leg a break and clean the shit out of his prosthetic with a stick, rinse and repeat. Then pull in some new hay and mount his torch in the next stable. Barf and Belch's, however, stank. He got about a fourth of it done before he had to move on.
There was a bit of commotion that he could hear all the way out from the Great Hall. People cheered merrily, and dragons stood up on the rooftops, calling to each other, sharing in a bit of their own celebration. He watched the Hall with mixed emotions for a while, the light pouring out from the doors as they were opened and closed, occasionally, painting the dull gray-blue of the night's landscaping.
He allowed the chill from the air to seep into his bones as hid away from the occasional drunk, before going back to his work.
It was times like this he'd found himself thankful for Toothless instead of any other dragon. The Night Fury, much like the human population of Berk, had the dignity to do his business in private, meaning he did it in the woods and didn't often go mid-air.
Hiccup had very few apologies to make and very little cleanup to do, if ever. He knew Fishlegs wasn't as lucky. Meatlug loved sharing things with her rider. Food, hugs, her children, toilets. He'd come into the Academy late on more than one occasion on account of his mother yelling at him for it.
But at least he knew who had led the Rider's retreat from Berk now.
What the hel, Snotlout. Hiccup wanted to pull his hair out. He'd ripped another small hole into one of his sleeves trying to scrape off some charred… something from the wall with his knife. He felt quite miserable about it, and wished he'd had the foresight to wear something else.
Hookfang's cage was horrible. The dragon was molting again and since this time he wasn't evicted from the village, he'd gone through it here. There were scales stuck in the walls and piles of half-burned hay and dragon dung stuck to the sides of the cell. Everything was greasy with Nightmare slime. He couldn't tell where the new burn marks started and where the old scratch marks ended.
At least he hadn't seen any sparkling lights yet. Ha-ha.
Hiccup bent down to pick his spade off the floor. He flinched. His leg was sore from carrying him around all day, and now all the heavy lifting he'd done had irritated it. It didn't help that he'd been wearing around a new model. With all his growing, he'd been having to change around his prosthetic a lot. His leg hadn't had enough time to adjust before it was put to work.
He checked his prosthetic and groaned. Hiccup's hand reached around for the stick he'd been using to pick at his foot. It should be… Son of a- He was overcome with vertigo, the room seemed to shift around him for a moment, zooming in and out and becoming distorted. Maybe Hiccup had been pushing himself too much. Or maybe he'd inhaled too much Zippleback gas. Gods… I wish I had Toothless with me right about now. He was not excited for the walk home.
He sat there for a long while, wondering if his dragon had crawled into his slab already and if he would find him just before he slipped into his own bed or large, soft furs. That would be nice. And also a change of clothes. Hiccup's eyes grew heavier. "Alright…" Maybe it's time to go to bed.
Using his hand to prop himself up against the wall, Hiccup rose to his feet. He limped forward, then paused to give his leg time to acclimate to holding his weight. Oh, great. It started raining. Really, Hiccup had half a mind to just spend the whole night in the stables. He wasn't sure how he didn't notice. On Berk, when it rained, it poured. I must really be out of- Hiccup yawned.
Tired and irritated, he almost missed it. It took him a moment to process. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw light. Not the same kind of warm light that came from the torch he'd hung along the right wall- absently, he told himself that he'd have to put that out before he left- but something cooler. More along the lines of Toothless' plasma blasts.
Was it a dragon? Of course, he did search the area earlier, but it wasn't the first time a dragon had evaded his notice. He thought about the smokebreaths that had been planted on Berk's shores just a few years ago. Really, he shouldn't do any more investigating without Toothless, but he was too curious to just leave the matter alone.
Hiccup turned around, a bit more awake. There was nothing there but him and the crackling fire. He looked towards the spade, now leaned against the wall, and shook his head slightly. He didn't want to startle whatever was hiding in the piles.
Hiccup walked along the walls of the cell, moving counterclockwise. Most of the hay was in the middle due to the sheer amount of wall-scraping he'd had to do. There was just one clear spot he could get access to around the back, though he was hesitant to venture there.
Sure, he wanted to know more about what was lurking in the academy, but experience taught him that he didn't want to be caught off guard out in the open on the off-chance whatever was out there was aggressive. But dragons were almost never aggressive if you didn't attack them first. And what else could make a light like that? Well, besides Thor, of course. But he was more of a 'who' than a what.
Shaking away thoughts of his village's patron god, Hiccup wondered if he was just seeing things. He tried to listen for any snuffling or scratching against stone. What he got instead was a low buzzing, reminiscent of a swarm of bees. He wouldn't have even noticed it if he hadn't been listening for it. He tried to close in on the noise. It led him all the way to the corner on the opposite side, where… What…?
"Odin…" It looked as if the walls themselves had distorted, bending inwards and out around empty space. Occasionally, small bolts of lightning would shoot outwards and wildly feel at the air. It was mesmerizing, both horrifying him and drawing Hiccup in. A faint breeze blew in towards the space and ruffled his hair.
Cautiously, he separated from the wall and crept around the space. At certain angles, it looked as if the wall was being ripped open. The inside was completely black. A dreadful chill crept up his spine; Hiccup felt like he'd been flipped upside down. Maybe the ring really is cursed.
Hiccup jumped back. I have to tell my father.
He turned towards the exit and made to sprint, leg be damned, before he heard a roar. Toothless? From the hole, because it was a hole right now, rang out the telltale whistling of Night Fury's wings, paired with a wild whoop of joy. Who was that?
Hiccup paused, back still turned away from the hole. Through crackling and short periods of silence, Hiccup could make out many voices and clangs of metal. Dagur…? Hiccup looked towards the space again. He was an idiot; A fool for this, he knew. Astrid, his father, even Gobber would be screaming at him to run for the hills and to not look back. You didn't just play with Magic.
Well, I've never been known for making smart decisions.
Hiccup edged closer to the corner and picked up a fistful of (semi) clean straw. He weighed it in his hand. It probably wouldn't gain much distance, but if he was right, the winds around the hole should be enough to pull it in. He threw it at the space in the corner. The hay separated in the air. Some of it fell to the floor, and some got caught and drifted towards its target. Once it made contact with the rip, it was ejected right back into his face.
He shut his eyes and hurriedly brushed as much of the hay off as he could. Some clung to the wool of his tunic. Once he was sure nothing was near his eyes, he picked a frond off his shirt and inspected it. It wasn't burned, or ripped, or anything else. He hoped that meant the lightning was harmless to the touch.
So is it… is it safe? Hiccup debated tossing something heavier at it but decided it wasn't worth the bruises. Instead, his half-asleep brain decided to step closer and reach out with his hand. Not the left one, he needed that one. But it was probably fine anyways.
He knew he made contact with the edge of the space when the air started rippling. It was like dipping his fingers into a pool of water. The places that made contact with his skin glew a light, gentle blue. His lips parted slightly.
"Woah…" He pushed his hand farther through. His voice echoed slightly throughout the cell, and caused more tiny waves in the air. His arm was now mostly immersed in the light, surrounded by a crackling ring of blue. He felt around at the other end, his fingertips coming into contact with something solid. It felt hot.
A quick zap brought him out of his reverie. He tried to yank his arm back, but the space wouldn't give. Dragon dung- Son of a w- Hiccup felt the rip start sucking him in. He struggled hard against it, using his good leg to push off the wall of the stable.
"HELP! Anyone! Dad! Astrid!" Hiccup cried desperately, voice cracking. His arm was stretched to its limit. His leg hurt tenfold with the amount of pressure he was putting on it trying to escape the rip. Was he going to die here? With no witness, cried for help drowned out by the rain? Would he wake next in hel, cursed to wonder and yearn for his friends and family in Valhalla until the end of times? He was stuck up to his shoulder, now.
"HELP! I-" Hiccup gave one last jerk before the rip pulled him completely through to the other side.
-Who are you?
They walked along a path, one of the many wooded ones which lined the streets of berk. It was getting dimmer, of course. It was expected, after a long day of adventuring out around the village and the surrounding shrubbery.
"Do you not like me?" Hiccup asked the girl, waving his stick in the air. His father had said people didn't like it when he talked too often or fast. Maybe that was why she wouldn't talk back.
She shook her head no. Which meant… She didn't not like him? His head spun.
"Do you… like me?" He asked, just to be sure.
She nodded, grabbing his hand to lead him further upwards, past many closed doors and dim fires.
"Do you want to go looking for trolls?" he asked, "Why don't you talk?"
In lieu of a response, the little girl broke off suddenly. She scrambled up a nearly set of steps and Hiccup jumped back, parting from her skittishly.
The girl hid behind a tall set of legs as they emerged from a swinging door. It seemed as if their previous spell of companionship had been broken.
There was a tall man with dark hair, intimidating for a smallish boy of his size. He had a soft demeanor, though that did nothing to stopper Hiccup's nervousness as the man looked down at Hiccup with creased eyebrows, stance wrought with caution.
Occasionally, the girl peeked out to sneak a look at him, a tad shyer than she had been before.
Was it because he'd followed her home? Was this her home? It was hard to tell with the lack of words spent between them.
He had half-hidden behind a few barrels, dark brown and old. His hands clutched at the flat surface, trying for a grip where there was none. There were grooves in the wood, the type that would damage the waterproofed craftsmanship of the barrel. Of course, these barrels were probably not used for that sort of storage, not now,
Hiccup cocked his head, peering up at the new person curiously. Was he trustworthy? Was he good?
His face was familiar to Hiccup, so he must have seen the man before, though he couldn't place from where. The man must have known him, though. He got that impression. Hiccup found that that was the way around here.
The girl tugged at the man's shirtsleeves, prompting him to look down at her.
"Who are you?" Hiccup asked, looking up at the man.
"Hello," Her father said instead. He spoke in soft, encouraging tones. He turned around slightly to his daughter and patted her gently, mindful of the awkward angle.
"Is this a new friend?" Her father spoke to her instead and she tugged at his sleeves once again, more insistently this time. Was he her friend? He hadn't had many of those before, besides his dad and, more recently, Gobber. But his dad was a busy man, so maybe just Gobber.
He looked back up towards the tall man. Hiccup supposed that as a much older man, his repertoire of knowledge was much greater than Hiccup's. He probably knew better than he did.
Hiccup wrinkled his nose in consideration. He and the girl had played, and he had talked to her, and wasn't that what friends do? Though she didn't do much talking back. He'd like to know her name. Did the man know her name? And so he'd said so.
The man broke out into benign laughter.
"I'm sorry," The man said to the little boy, "I've been impolite. This is my daughter, and I am her father. I am Bengt."
Okay. Hiccup nodded slowly.
"I'm Hiccup."
The man gave him an indulgent, soft smile. The girl looked at him with big, shiny eyes.
"Do you like trolls?" Hiccup asked. Good men didn't like trolls. Like his father.
The man looked confused.
"Tro-?"
-The boy shifted slightly. Estrid eep-ed and jumped back. She watched as he pushed himself up weakly with one arm into a sitting position. Her eyes stayed trained on his head, which was facing down, almost the whole time. He scrubbed at his eyes with both hands. She wondered if he'd noticed her yet, in his confused state.
She wasn't sure if she could speak without her voice wavering. What do you even say in a situation like this? 'Oh, hey, who are you, why did you just fall out of my TV?' Any sort of instruction would be nice right about now. Having her phone in hand would have been real nice, too.
The DVD player in the background ran still. She hoped it would stop smoking soon and that the apartment's ventilation would be strong enough to handle it. She wasn't sure she could deal with this stranger and a fire.
The boy, muttering to himself, finally looked up. He stared at her for a very long moment, his eyes gradually getting wider. Peachy cheeks were lightly dusted with freckles, which framed a pair of round eyes and some pretty heavy-duty eyebags. His mouth opened and closed sporadically, like a fish.
He looked kind of awestruck. Surprised. Why wouldn't he? Had she seen him somewhere before? He looked awfully familiar.
"Hi," Estrid said, awkwardly, "You can leave, if you want. The door's right over there." She nodded her head towards the exit.
The boy moved to a crouching position, one hand lightly touching the floor, the other propping itself on the couch. His hand left a light muddy imprint on the cushion. She grimaced slightly. He seemed to follow her line of sight, and pulled off the offending limb and gave her a sheepish grin.
"...Do you need me to call someone for you?" Estrid offered politely. "What's your name?"
She paused, "Are you going to kidnap me?" Hey, it didn't hurt to ask.
The boy looked confused. As he stood, he began to speak. At least, she thinks he did. Vowels ran together in ways that were unfamiliar to her. His voice had a light nasal quality that mixed in with enunciated /s/s and /th/s. Does this guy not speak english?
"Can you understand me?" He stared at her blankly. Great. "I guess… I guess that's a no, then. That's fine. That's so fine. Everything. Yeah," Estrid felt pretty stupid, talking out loud, when she realized he didn't understand her. At least she wasn't the only one, though. Up until a moment ago he'd been speaking as well, at odd intervals.
She still didn't even know who this guy was or where he came from. She decided to put some more distance between the two. Should she introduce herself? She wasn't sure she wanted some random guy knowing her name, but he was already in her house. And he seemed to know just as much about what was going on as she did. The guy actually seemed pretty shaken. I mean, who wouldn't be, after getting flung through someone's TV?
Estrid studied his face once more. He seemed unassuming enough, but she held off. He probably wouldn't get it anyways, what with the language barrier and all. Or maybe it was some kind of concussion. She saw that happen in a movie, once. She did think about getting him a blanket, though. That's what you did for people who went into shock, right? He seemed pretty close. Maybe. Estrid wasn't completely sure what someone in shock looked like.
He had probably had a similar sort of realization as she did. He brought up one hand to point at his chest and said slowly, "Ek heiti Hiksti." Was he trying to introduce himself?
He spoke a few more words, which, of course, she couldn't understand before gesturing at himself again, "Ek heiti Hiksti."
"Eck hei…?" Estrid tried to follow his example. The boy shook his head 'no.'
"Hiksti," He said, more firmly now. "Heek-stee." Oh. Estrid's ears burned.
"I'm-eh, well. Nice to meet you?" She pointed at herself with the remote, "...My name's Estrid," Wow, she didn't think the guy's face could grow any whiter. Was there something wrong with her name? Did she accidentally say something offensive to him? "I am Estrid."
Hiksti lurched forward and she startled, "... Estrid?"
"Woah, woah woah- Hey, personal space!" Estrid scrambled away from the side of the couch, eyeing the kitchen from where she stood. I should have grabbed a knife while he was down. The way he said her name sounded foreign to her, with the E and I sounding short, the middle of her name rolling off his tongue smoothly. It made a tiny part of her, the dreamer, feel right. She pushed that tiny part down. Stranger danger! Now was not the time for any of that crazy.
Hiksti threw his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture, palms towards her. He was speaking fast. The DVD player's buzzing got more and more intense. It was practically jumping on the cabinet, now.
"I may not have called the cops yet, but-but- I have a weapon? I have a weapon!" Once again she pointed the remote towards the stranger. The room stank of smoke. She scrambled to get- well, somewhere. Knife or phone, knife or phone?
Her indecision led her behind the couch. Her back hit the door. Her ticket out. Hiksti followed her slowly, like he was trying to approach a scared animal, but he still looked pretty freaked out too, so much of the effect was lost on her.
Estrid's eyes were pulled away from Hiccup for a split second. The screen of the TV had started sparking again, except the arcs of lightning looked much more violent than they had before, shooting out fast and receding in time with the buzzing of the DVD player. The DVD player itself had started swelling. An ugly scratching noise emitted from its insides. She hoped that wasn't the disc.
"Oh fuck," She shuddered. If she threw the remote hard enough at his head, would that give her enough time to unlock the front door and run? But… Could she really leave this stranger-not-stranger in her living room looking five seconds away from a complete meltdown? Shit.
Estrid rushed towards Hiksti, grabbing at one of his hands with her own free one. He stiffened, caught off guard. She held her remote higher, but also tugged at his hand, motioning towards the TV stand with her head, hoping to dear god that he'd get the message soon.
"Jesus. Just- I'm sorry for threatening you! Still threatening you! Just. Move!"
A button shot off the front of the DVD player, missing Hiksti's head by only a hair. It ricocheted off the kitchen cabinets.
Estrid shoved at him, "Get down!"
He finally seemed to notice what was happening, mouth dropping and body shifting towards the screen. Electricity arced behind the DVD player. The Disc tray shook. Estrid threw her whole body at Hiksti, causing them to both crumple to the floor behind the couch. Just in the nick of time, too.
Shards of plastic exploded wildly throughout the room. Projectiles stuck themselves into the walls. A broken piece of DVD embedded itself into the kitchen cabinet, right above their heads. Estrid could see how Hiksti's face went stark white from where she was sprawled beside him. His hand was warped around the one she'd grabbed him with. They were both clutching at each other tightly. That was when the Fire Alarm went off. Just in time, she thought sarcastically. There had to be some case she could make there to sue.
Slowly, the worst of the buzzing and crackling stopped. They lay there together for about a minute still. Both of them were trembling. Estrid fell completely onto her back from where she was, half sitting, and stared up detachedly at the ceiling. Hiksti spoke, but her ears were ringing and she could only make out vague garbling noises.
Estrid decided to ignore him for the moment to focus on the short wisps of smoke above her, which curled around the fire alarm. A red LED flashed on-and-off in time with the beeping. I'm going to have to deal with that before the whole building goes off. Estrid blinked slowly. And… and the TV. I'm going to have to go and unplug the TV.