Chapter 314
Hiccups POV:
It's been three weeks since we returned from Gaul, and in that time, there have been quite a few changes, starting with Robyne and Mebh who revealed to me that my adoptive kids had secretly been training them how to fight. They claimed that if the time ever came, they wanted to help defend their home and although they had brought this up to me before, they rarely ever trained under me since they had responsibilities to the wolves. After they came clean, they requested a chance to test their skills in real battle using my training mirror, so I allowed them to do so, and I was not disappointed in how well they handled things when I had them attack an enemy base. Robyne still favored long distance attacks with her crossbow but could still handle herself decently when confronted with the need for close combat while Mebh was the opposite and focused on close combat. By the time they were done, I had seen a lot of room for improvement but still, I was impressed and offered them both a chance to access the Golden dragon Armory which they accepted.
When they came out, Robyne was now equipped with a crossbow while Mebh had leather gloves and like all weapons that came from the golden dragon armory, there was more to them then they seemed. Robyne's crossbow was an impressive piece of work with it being made of silver except for the handle which was made of polished wood and its designs was very different from a regular crossbow. The limb that held the string was backwards with wheels at the ends that held the string that would launch the arrows and at the head of the bow was the snarling head of a wolf with its jaw wide open which is where the arrow would be launched from. The wolfs bottom jaw was split into two, forming long, sharp spikes that would allow Robyne to use it in close combat should the need arise. Along with that, the limbs with the wheels could be pulled into the base of the crossbow while the spikes could be retracted, making it less noticeable and more portable. As for abilities, the bow didn't need to be reloaded or have the string pulled back and it would form thin arrows made of pure iron which could pierce gronkle iron and travel two miles, but they do take five seconds to form. They could also be lethal and non-lethal depending on what Robyne wanted and when it was non-lethal, it could paralyze, knockout or send a victim flying in the direction the arrow flies. As for the spikes, they could easily pierce gronkle iron as if it were nothing and with Robyne's aim, she was a force to be dealt with.
Mebh's gloves weren't anything to laugh at either since their abilities were made for close combat which was fine since that's how she liked it. They were each made of black leather with black leather straps around the upper and lower wrist with wolf teeth on the sides curving up and on top of the hands was a metal wolf shaped plate and fur lining the out. As for abilities, they may be leather they were hard as metal, meaning they gave one mean punch that easily dents gronkle iron as if it were simply made of soft clay so when she hits a person, they're in for some serious pain. Still though, she needed a lot of training if she was going to be able to use them to their full potential so I upped her hand to hand combat training and taught her some moves while also having her do muscle training.
What makes these weapons truly impressive is they would also transfer from their human bodies onto their wolf bodies when they leave their bodies and become wolves. These weapons would then take a form that would make it possible for them to be wielded by wolves in different ways that didn't require what humans needed like arms and hands. In Robyne's case, her crossbows leather straps would wrap around her forelegs, holding the crossbow onto her back which would allow her to easily carry it on her back. From her back she could fire her crossbow by keeping her head down and tensing her muscles which she confessed, took some getting used to and would require a lot of practice to effectively use it. When Mebh turned into her wolf form the gloves would take on a new form which took the form of leather wraps that went around the paws with the wolf's head still resting above the paws, but they now have blade like claws. In this form, they were powerful and could easily slice into gronkle iron and if she slammed her paws down on an enemy, the claws would extend and pierce the enemy either paralyzing or killing them.
Not wanting to be left behind, Bill and Moll came to me with the same request which surprised me until they revealed they'd also been training on their own since they wanted to be able to defend their new home if the need arises. Bill surprised me when he picked up a sword and claimed that in most of his trips, hunting wolves when he was younger, he often had to use one since he lacked his daughter's natural skill with the crossbow so wolves would get close to him and he'd need to deal with them close and personal. Fortunately, his skills with the blade hadn't dulled over time and he was able to impress me a little in the spar we had while Moll, while not as skilled with weapons, was surprisingly good at hand-to-hand combat, especially when it came to doing quick jabs. When they walked out of the dragon armory, the weapons they carried were what you'd expect with Bill carrying a sword and Moll, a dagger.
The sword Bill received was a short sword with the handle having a wolf head where the handle met the blade with the blade coming out of the wolves' mouth. It was clearly a simple design which made it suit Bill all the better since he's a guy who has simple tastes and isn't that into all that fancy stuff and prefers the simpler things in life. The swords abilities were also rather simple like how it could easily cut through gronkle iron and if it made contact with a non-magical weapon, then the weapon it hits would shatter. In his wolf form though, the sword forms a harness that keeps the handle in his muzzle while the blade extends from both sides so when he ran, he'd cut through enemies at his sides.
Moll on the other hand received an oddly shaped dagger which took the shape of two crescent moons with one above the other and facing opposite directions. The bottom moon had the leather wrapped handle while the metal that made the blades were dark blue on the outer side while the inside was a lighter blue with gems in the blade. This blade would reflect light but make it so bright and spread out, like my yellow Loki balls but more focused and blind her foes which allows her to quickly cut up her enemies with a blade that could cut through gronkle iron like a hot knife through yak butter. In her wolf form, it forms two separate crescent moon shaped blades that connect to a navy-blue harness with both being held out on sticks with the blades rapidly spinning to cut up any foes she runs passed.
These weren't the only new things to come as Brant's boots had also received an enhancement, as did Egil's coat and Chara's armor with enhancements that would be helpful. Brant's boots had grown taller so they now reached beneath his knees in height and seemed to constantly leak shadowy wisps and ability wise, they could now cover his lower body in the wisp like black smoke making it harder to track the movements of his feet allowing surprise kicks. Egil's coat on the other hand formed snowflake shaped buttons that when pulled off grew palm sized and could then be thrown like a shuriken which can piece easily, a freeze three feet around the spot they hit. Chara's armor though, had gained some impressive new abilities linked to her boots which now had bottoms lined in dark blue and these abilities were impressive. These enhancements doubled her speed and strengthened her kicks to the point that they could send a fully grown man flying and, she was also able to run up walls for a few steps before falling.
Besides that, Orthopedix had sent me the profits of the first month along with a letter telling me how things are going, and I couldn't help but chuckle at how his letter told him that he'd never been happier. Business was booming and he'd made more money in a week than he did in three months with his old inn and word about the place had spread in Lutetia which ended up bringing in even more business. He'd received requests from the blacksmiths for gronkle iron when they saw the weapons and what they were capable of, they immediately wanted the metal to work on their own weapons. They weren't the only ones though; the guards of Lutetia rushed to the shop and bought every weapon there was in the shop which is why I got a request to send more weapons back with the next snake guardians who were taking over next month's shift. The thing that made me laugh though was how he described his brother-in-law's reaction to the massive success his business was having and how his wife finally stopped complaining about not living in Lutetia.
It hadn't all been just about money though, my snake guardians had been able to pick up many conversations being spoken by bandits who'd stopped for drinks and to plan their attack in their rooms. A quick tip off to the guards of Lutetia put an end to their plans and resulted in them being arrested just as they were putting their plan into action resulting in everyone besides the bandits winning. The guards win since it got them bonuses in their pay, the citizens and visitors of Lutetia win as they don't suffer the consequences of the bandits' attacks and both me and Orthopedix win as the guards paid us well for the tip offs. It also didn't hurt that they added to our business since when they came to drop off the reward money, they'd also buy a few drinks with meals while they're at the restaurant. This of course made us a little extra money but to be honest, I didn't really care that much about the money since I already had more than enough to last me the rest of my life and more in my vault so when it came, I just took it down to the vault and dropped it off without counting the amount.
Besides that, I'd just been keeping up with training the kids, training myself, training dragons, flying with Toothless, spending time with my family and doing some bounty hunting. It hadn't all been work and family time though, I had also used the acorns I got from Getafix and the herbs I got from Valuaddetax to have a few laughs at the expense of others. I started by preparing a soup with the herbs and offering the Spitelout and Snotlout each a bowl which they both accepted while I thanked the gods for my ninja training since it allowed me to keep a straight face. Once they'd drunken the soup I made a quick retreat while claiming I needed to go do some things and ran before, they could even reply to what I said. I then had a good laugh when my dad called me in for chief training and when we were discussing the possibility of enhancements to the dock, the Jorgenson men came in braying like donkeys confusing my father while dropped down laughing. It wasn't hard for the Jorgensons to figure out I was the one behind their inability to speak nor did it take them long to try and grab me, but I dodged and ran away with them giving chase, but as soon as we were outside, I threw the acorn and grew a tree right beneath them. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the marketplace during the peak of sale time, so it got the attention of a lot of people which lead to a lot of explaining and the uprooting of a tree.
Now though, I was in the training room with Chiaki having a friendly sparing match using a dragon sword against her fox sword and I had to say, I was impressed with her skill as she showed both skill and grace in her form. As expected, I came out on top and smiled down at Chiaki who was now on the ground with my weapon pointed at her before I sheathed the sword and offered her my hand. She took it with a smile and allowed me to help her up before she took my face in her hands and pulled me into a kiss which I was all too happy to return. When she pulled away, she smiled at me as I said.
"Now that's the way to end a sparring match." She giggled as I held her waist.
"And how would you describe how my form was this match." I smirked.
"I couldn't take my eyes off your body for even a minute." She smiled.
"Well I do try to keep it moving so I can-" She paused before she realized what I meant and swatted my shoulder as she giggled. "Very funny, but honestly how was I?"
"You showed skill with the sword and a style that also showed elegance and grace as if you were dancing instead of fighting." She smiled at me.
"My mother always told me that like dancing, fighting requires form and rhythm." I smiled and nodded.
"It was good advice." I then let her go. "Now if you will excuse me, I promised Hunter that I'd help him practice using his axes in the bamboo forest." She nodded.
"I'm going to stay and keep practicing alright." I nodded.
"Enjoy my feisty fox." She blushed making me smile before I walked out, allowing her to train alone.
Chiaki's POV:
I watched the man I loved and was fortunate enough to call my husband walk out of the training room with a smile on my face before he disappeared out the door and it was then I began my training. As I swung my sword and let the blade flow through the air with a smile on my face as I allowed the memories of my past to flow through my mind with the swings. I remembered being raised by my mother, told about who my father once was, the monster he had become, how she raised me to one day be able to defeat him, how the man I call my husband was the one to defeat and eventually free him from the power of the Orochi, how I started as a servant, how we fell in love and married, how life has been since then, how my days are often spent in the nursery letting the babies play in my tails and more. As I let my memories and feelings flow with my blade's swings and bodies movements as I tried to figure out why there was occasionally get an empty feeling from within.
What this feeling was caused by is something I did not understand but it only got worse when Hunter came into our lives even though he was a kind boy who had a rough life which is why I do not understand this feeling. I swung my sword in thought, trying to channel my inner energy towards the feeling of emptiness to try and at least help me understand what it was causing it. Whenever I tried though, I'd get blurred images which confused me until I began focusing harder and heard a baby whimpering mixed with gentle humming. I took a breath and calmed my mind while trying to clear the image and when the image cleared, I gasped in shock seeing what could only be described as a family image of a mother and father trying to soothe a baby wrapped in blankets. I knew right then and there what this image meant as the mother was me while father was Hiccup and at that moment, I knew what the empty feeling I felt was. All of my sister wives had been granted a child fathered by our shared husband while I had yet to sire a child born from him and the reason, I felt this emptiness at the thought of Hunter as he was a child born from a woman that had not been married to Hiccup. I suppose I was just a little jealous of his mother for having done what I had desired, despite not being on of Hiccups wives while I had yet to even discuss the subject of Hiccup fathering my children.
I lowered my blade and sighed knowing that I wouldn't be able to end this emptiness until I at the very least spoke to Hiccup about the possibility of having another child. This would not be an easy thing to discuss with him as the nursery was still home to three babies and to add another would be difficult as one baby alone is a lot to handle. Xiu had become an even bigger handful now since she'd begun running around and forming words while Zephyr had begun crawling around, so a closer eye had to be kept on her, so she didn't hurt herself. I'm not sure if I could convince him to have another until one of the little ones grows up enough to move out of the nursery and move into their own room. I sighed knowing it best I first discuss things with my fellow wives and see what they say but I knew I wished to have a child, fathered by the man I love. For now, though, I focused on my practice while trying to think how I could bring it up to my fellow sister wives and how to talk to Hiccup about it.
Nightfall
Hiccups POV:
Night had fallen over the island and after a nice dinner with my family in which we all discussed how our day had been and what we'd all gotten up to. I did chuckle when Chara teased Brant a bit when he brought up how he'd been spending a bit of time training with Robyne and claimed they hadn't just been training and we all smiled at the blush that came to his face. After that, we all spent our remaining time doing what we could to pass the time with my wives going to tuck the babies in the nursery before going to bath a bit while the kids went to relax in their own rooms. As for me I changed into my nightwear of pants, a shirt, socks and an alpaca fur nightgown before I retreated to my private study and lit the fire before settling down with a good book. Before I did though, I did a quick look around the house and island to make sure everything was in order, but I did keep my eye on the image of my wives in the bath for a few extra minutes since I couldn't help admiring them and as their husband it was my right. Still as I sat there, I couldn't help but remember my roots as a simple dragon rider who got lucky to find a cave to call home and gather more dragons. I sighed since it had been a while since it was just me and Toothless, going out for a flight to explore new places, find new dragons, stop criminals and find treasures.
Heck, it had been years since it was just the two of us going on a flight since we both got so wrapped up in our responsibilities with me being a champion of the gods, chief in training, husband to my wives and father to my kids. Toothless on the other hand, had his wings full being one of the king dragons who kept the nests in order, being a father to Twilight, helping keep the night fury's under control, being my main riding dragon and possibly being a good mate to the female realm furies and Starlight. In other words, our lives were filled with various responsibilities, so it'd be nice to just take a day off for ourselves and have a bit of fun, free flying and doing crazy stunts like we used to. I sighed knowing there wasn't anything I could do until tomorrow so for now, I'd just settle down with a good book and enjoy some quiet time and plan to talk to my father tomorrow.
Bathroom
Nobodies POV:
Steam filled the room as the women who all shared the title of Hiccups wife enjoyed soaking in the hot waters and scrubbing their bodies clean of the sweat that came from their days work. As they each bathed, they enjoyed some light conversation about how their day was, their plans for tomorrow and other things that they found interesting. Still despite the steam and relaxed atmosphere provided by the smell of the bath salts that mixed with the hot water which would relax anyone, all the girls could tell Chiaki wanted to talk about something but didn't know how to bring it up. Eventually, Astrid got tired of waiting for her to just try and talk to them about what it is she wanted to talk about and turned to Chiaki who was soaking in the tub before saying.
"Alright Chiaki, what is the thing you want to talk about but keeping to yourself." All eyes turned to the kitsune who knew she couldn't avoid it and sighed.
"Well recently, while I've been on duty in the nursery I've been thinking of some things." She placed a hand on her stomach. "You've each given Hiccup a blood child and I do love the little ones just as much as you all but recently I've been wishing for children born from my own blood and that of the man we all love." Blanca swam up to her.
"Then why do you not speak with Hiccup about your desire?"
"It's just the nursery is already so full, we have so many adopted kids, found Hiccup has a son he never knew about, and Hiccups already got so many responsibilities on his shoulders that adding another child to the nursery may just add to his burdens." Hadasa rolled her eyes at this from her spot, seated on the side of the bathtub.
"Please, Hiccup has never considered the children a burden, whenever he sees them, he always smiles so warmly and believes them to be a blessing and anytime he spends with them he considers precious." The others nodded knowing it was true and that their husband truly did cherish the time he had with his children, both blood and adopted.
"He does love spending time with the children." Astrid then said.
"I'm guessing it's because he had to go through a childhood being weaker than everyone else and having a chief for a father." All eyes turned to her, but she shrugged. "He was weaker, so he was often bullied by everyone else, and Stoick was always too busy being chief to be a father to Hiccup and let's face it, Stoick isn't exactly the kind and nurturing type of parent so the time he did spend trying to train Hiccup never went well." She sighed and sat up a little in the water. "I'm guessing he's trying to be the father that he never had whenever he's not travelling the world or training to be chief." All the girls nodded.
"Still, he's got so much to do and adding another child to the nursery would take up even more of what little free time he has." Blanca replied.
"I know Hiccup, well enough to know he will make time for his family, and we will all pitch in to help him with his duties like we normally so he may have more time with all of us." Hadasa then said.
"Along with that, Xiu and Zephyr are getting older and may be leaving the nursery and getting their own rooms soon." The girls nodded.
"But how would I bring this up to Hiccup."
"The same way we all convinced him with the other little ones." All eyes turned to Hadasa who just smiled. "We have some fun with him in the evening with Chiaki being the one to finish things up." All faces turned red, but it was true since that's how each of them ended up with child, so it was Chiaki's best chance of having a child of her own before Astrid said.
"Well, it's decided, so let's finish cleaning ourselves and we can prepare for Hiccup tonight." Everyone nodded and got back to bathing.
Morning
Hiccups POV:
The sun had risen over the village of New Berk and so far, things had been pretty good with me waking up surrounded by my wives who like me had not a shred of clothing after last night and I had to say, it'd been a while since they showed that much energy in bed. Following that, I woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by all my wives who wanted me ready to face the day and I couldn't blame them since today my father wanted me to spend the day with him, chiefing and preparing for the coming winter in the form of inventorying supplies, preparing damages accidentally done by dragons, going over new building plans and more. Fortunately, I'd have Toothless with me who would be helping to keep some of the more rambunctious dragons under control and help us get to different parts of New Berk faster.
Now my dad and I were on the backs of our dragons, chasing some wild boars towards a large crate we'd use to transport them to the village barn where they'd be kept as a preserved food for when we're unable to hunt them. I smiled when Toothless let out a plasma blast at the back of them, scaring them right into the crate right before two of my serving automatons shut the doors and dropped the lock, trapping the boars inside. Toothless and Skullcrusher came to land in front of the crate as we smiled from the backs of them before I turned to my dad and said.
"That's another group of boars captured and ready for shipping dad." He smiled.
"And another round of food for the long winter ahead of us." I nodded and dismounted Toothless but winced in pain from an ache in my back. "You alright there, son?" I nodded as my dad dismounted Skullcrusher and walked up to.
"Yeah, just a bit of back pain, so nothing I haven't experienced before after a long night." He stared at me for a moment before he laughed and slapped my back.
"Well, that's what you get for being such a ladies' man." I blushed and looked away.
"Let's just get Dozer down here so he can take these boars back to the village." He nodded but gave me a teasing smile before I turned to Toothless. "Alright bud, send out Dozer the message to come and pick up the crate." Toothless growled and nodded before raising his head and sending out a large plasma blast into the air that exploded when it went above the trees. "Dozer should be here soon." I rubbed Toothless' head. "Great job bud." He crooned and leaned into my touch as I turned back to my dad. "After this load, I think we'll have enough boars."
"I think you're right since we can't over hunt them." I nodded.
"So, after this what other chiefly duties do we have to get done today?"
"Mainly more preparations for winter."
"So, gathering wood and repairing any damaged buildings." He nodded and I smiled. "Well, that won't take long with our dragons." I turned to Toothless and scratched his head and chin. "Isn't that right bud?" He growled and leaned into my fingers.
"I won't deny, the dragons do make things easier, but we still have a lot of work to do to prepare for the coming winter." I nodded before a loud roar came from above and we looked up to see Dozer fast approaching.
"Don't worry dad." I signaled Dozer to pick up the crate. "If there's one thing my travels have taught me, it's fortune favors the prepared and this winter, I'm going to make sure we're more prepared than ever before." Dozer took hold of the crate as we mounted our dragons. "Now let's get these boars back to the village so we can get to work on the next chiefly duty." He nodded and we got to work.
Nightfall
I sunk into the hot water of my bath and smiled at the feeling of the hot water surrounding my body and allowing my mind to drift to how my day had been. The morning became pretty busy after I had breakfast with my family since after that, Toothless and I took off to meet up with my dad and Skullcrusher so we could begin chiefing duties in the form of preparing for the coming winter. After gathering the boars, we got to work on collecting the wood which I called in some of my sharp class dragons to help with along with Ruble to help do some heavy lifting. After having Dozer take the wood to the wood workers who'd help cut the wood up into smaller pieces so they could be turned into firewood before me and my dad went to help do some work on the village houses that had been damaged in some way, mainly done by the twins and their love of destruction. Fortunately, with the help of the dragons and the people, the damages took only two hours to repair and after that, there were no other chiefly duties to do but my dad made it clear we had to help the village and our people in any way we could, so I needed to be prepared.
Still though, there weren't a lot of people who needed help with something since most people were just doing their own thing to help their families prepare for the coming winter and with their own dragons, things were going well and fast. I am happy to say that this left me able to enjoy some down time and just enjoy a flight with Toothless with us flying away from New Berk just to enjoy some time together and have some fun, flying over the ocean and in the sky. We did twists, turns, dives, free falls and so much more just for the fun of it and I could not have been happier since it reminded me so much of when I was younger and first met Toothless. The days we'd fly around and just have fun before we ended up getting multiple responsibilities which needed our attention, and we couldn't avoid them without running the risk of creating more problems that'd need to be solved.
We ended up losing track of time and spent three hours out on the ocean before we returned to New Berk where I'm happy to say, nothing big had happened. After we landed on the island, Gobber walked up saying he needed some help in the forge, sharpening weapons along with designing and making a few saddles for the newest batch of riders. This was something I was happy to do since Brant had been helping him sharpen the weapons which gave me time to spend a little bonding time with him while we tended to the weapons. Following that we both worked together on some new saddle designs since different riders had different dragons and different jobs which required different attachments for the saddles. We spent three hours helping Gobber before I headed back to my own island to see how things were going with everyone else and enjoy some time with them.
The little ones were all taking a nap under the watchful eyes of Chiaki, Blanca was helping train the snake guardians, Astrid was practicing her acrobatics in the jungle and Hadasa was tending to the crops. As for the older kids, Brant was spending time with Robyne, Chara was in the training room practicing he close range fighting with kunai, Egil was out in the arctic section of the island skating and Hunter was in the coliseum, training under my ninja to improve his fighting style with his axes which incorporated keeping one axe in hand while the other was swung by the chain. I admit, he was coming along well with his training, and I was looking forward to seeing how far he'd go with his axes in future battles that may come against foes. Seeing everyone was alright, I went to the forge to get back to my roots as a blacksmith and spent the remainder of my day, creating new weapons that went into the golden dragon armory. It's true that many of them may never find wielders in my lifetime but who knows, maybe in the future my descendants will find a way to enter and equip their own allies with the equipment that's held within.
Now though, I was in bed with my wives who had all fallen asleep in their favorite spots while I lay there and stared up at the roof of our bedroom as I thought about my day. As my thoughts revolved around the events of my day, they soon moved onto thoughts of my future here on New Berk with my family, dragons and animals. I honestly had so many ideas to improve New Berk, ways to help my people, ways to make New Berk more dragon friendly, ways for the dragons to help out and so much more but these things would take resources, designs and planning. These would take a lot of time to design, plan and create, not including the time it would take to harvest and prepare the materials used to make them. Time is not something that I had a lot of between chief training, my family, Toothless and of course keeping up with my regular training since I'd worked hard to gain my skills and I was not going to let my skills fade, but fortunately I got plenty of training dealing with angry dragons and bounty hunting. I sighed and knew that with my family, I could do anything and face any challenge that comes my way since I knew they and Toothless would have my back.
AN: And that's another filler chapter done, I hope you have all enjoyed it and will review kindly to it as I'm running on fumes with these chapters. It's not that I don't have ideas as I do have more ideas than I know what to do with, but the problem is it's either too early to use them or not the right time for a various reason. Anyway, I'll try to come up with something more exciting for the next chapter. Anyway, review kindly and have a nice day.
