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dire-kumori · 7 years

Text

The Long Road: Chapter 10

Scaly Cupids and Play Dates

Rating: T

Pairing(s): hijack

Chapter summary: Hiccup attempts to maintain his friendship with Jack and Toothless helps in his own way. Or tries to, anyway. Until an accident out at sea results in a fight that threatens that friendship.

"Toothless, battle ready."

As Hiccup clenched his hand into a fist and pulled in towards his chest, his nightfury companion immediately jumped from his sitting position. Toothless flared his wings, pupils narrowing into slits and a ferocious snarl slipping past his bared teeth.

The current training exercise being performed by the Riders of Berk had been inspired by an impromptu rescue of the twins performed by Fishlegs and Meatlug. Hiccup had been impressed when Fishlegs had revealed his hand-signals. So impressed, in fact, that he had immediately directed the others back to the academy where he insisted they each begin working on them.

Hiccup smiled, then pointed his finger down at the ground. "Toothless, plasma blast." The moment the command had been said, Hiccup threw his wooden shield - the one currently hanging off of his arm for the sole purpose of this training exercise - into the air and Toothless obeyed, launching a ball of white-hot flame. The shield burst apart in a shower of embers and scorched wood which rained down on the ground of the Dragon Training Academy.

"Good job, bud." Hiccup grinned, then traced his lips with his forefinger. "Smile."

Toothless tilted his head to the side curiously, then his lips twitched and parted in a toothless smile.

"Nice job guys." Jack grinned as he approached the pair, Baby Tooth on one shoulder and Wodensfang on the other. He placed a hand atop Toothless's broad head and gave him a pat. "Especially you, Toothless."

Hiccup nodded, heart rate accelerating and palms going sweaty. Even though it had been a few weeks since he had promised himself that he would not act on his new feelings for Jack, he still had a hard time acting normal around the sprite. He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to look at Toothless and not Jack as he replied, "Thanks."

Nearby, Astrid had become momentarily distracted from her own training. She watched Hiccup and Jack curiously. After the incident with the whispering death Hiccup had seemed to go back to normal, yet Astrid often got the impression that he was putting up walls again, just as he had before defeating the Red Death; he often retreated alone, save for Toothless, to his hut or the woods, he seemed to check his speech a lot, cutting himself off mid-sentence as though fearful of his own voice, and he had jerked away from Jack's friendly touches enough times that the white-haired teen rarely even tried anymore.

The fact that most of his sudden insecurities seemed to revolve around Jack was not lost on Astrid, yet she had heard nothing of a fight between them and Jack seemed just as confused as she was. The whole thing irritated her to no end. Whatever Hiccup was going through, it was clearly hurting him and he was hurting Jack in turn. Both of them were her friends; she wanted to help, but diplomacy and tact were not her forte and all of her attempts to pry the answer from Hiccup directly had yielded no answers.

Stormfly squawked, drawing her attention. "Whoops. Sorry girl." Turning her focus back to the task at hand, Astrid held both of her hands palms-out and thrust them away from her chest. "Stormfly, spine shot."

Reacting to the verbal and visual cue, Stormfly flicked her tail forward, sending a spray of quills into the floor of the training ring. One stray quill sliced through the side of Astrid's boot, pinning her to the spot by the leather. The viking girl smiled as she bent and pulled the quill free.

"Well, that's - grunt - better than last time."

Snotlout's laughter rang obnoxiously in the air. Shooting him a glare, Astrid saw him gesture with both fists towards a wooden training target. "Hookfang, annihilate!"

Maybe she imagined it, but Astrid could have sworn Hookfang smirked.

Rather than blasting the target, Hookfang fired a jet of flame at the ground beneath his partner's feet. Reacting on instinct, Snotlout leaped out of the way and plowed right into the target.

"Bull's-eye," Tuffnut teased while his sister crossed his arms and smirked.

"Meatlug, hug!" Fishlegs cried, wrapping his arms around himself. Instantly the gronkle's wings disappeared into a blur and her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she flew at her rider, slamming into him and sending them both sprawling to the ground. Fishlegs laughed as she started covering his face with big, sloppy kisses.

"Remind me never to ask Meatlug for a hug," Jack joked as he watched the pair. Hiccup shrugged.

"Actually, that could be useful." Turning to the twins and their zippleback, he shouted, "Ruff, Tuff, your turn."

In unison, the twins turned to Barf-and-Belch. Already Hiccup knew this was going to end badly, if not because of the fact that Ruff and Tuff were, well, Ruff and Tuff, then because the pair had instantly pointed in two different directions.

"Barf/Belch," the two of them spoke in unison. "Come/go!"

Each head attempted to obey their corresponding rider, pulling in two different directions. Barf-and-Belch's necks stretched while he struggled to figure out how to direct his feet, only to slump to the ground when his heads snapped back and collided with one another.

The twins growled at one another while Barf-and-Belch recovered.

"Belch/Barf," they cried, evidently not learning their lesson from the first time. Tuffnut pointed at his feet while Ruffnut pointed into the air. "Ground/sky!"

Only one head stretched skyward and only one wing flapped. Barf-and-Belch leaped a few feet off of the ground, but half of his body did not respond. Instantly he went into a spiral before collapsing in a heap on the stone.

Tuffnut grinned. "Ha ha, I win!"

His sister rounded on him furiously. "What do you think you're doing to my dragon!?"

"Your dragon?" Tuffnut snapped. "Puh-lease. You've been breathing in Barf's gas again."

"Yeah, so?" Ruffnut growled, getting in her brother's face.

"Guys, guys!" Hiccup cried, drawing their attention. "Barf-and-Belch is one dragon. You have to use one signal at a time."

"Good idea," Ruffnut said with a smirk as her brother began to stalk off. Spreading her fingers outwards, she gestured towards his back. "Barf, attack Tuffnut."

Instantly the head she rode arched towards Tuffnut. Barf headbutted his other head's rider fiercely, sending Tuffnut flying into Snotlout who had yet to recover from his own training accident.

"How was that?" Ruffnut laughed.

Stepping forward, Fishlegs started, "Um, I don't think it's what Hiccup-"

"Belch, eat Ruffnut," Tuffnut interrupted, pinching his fingers together in imitation of a mouth closing.

Instantly the head he rode leaned down and snapped up Ruffnut's head between his jaws, holding her aloft by her shoulders

"Uh, ow!"

Jack and Baby Tooth winced at the sight.

"Tuff, come on," Hiccup scolded, earning an eye roll from the male twin.

"Whatever," Tuffnut groaned. He opened his fingers. "Belch, drop Ruffnut."

Barf-and-Belch obeyed, dropping his female rider to the ground. Ruffnut landed on her feet and immediately shuddered, wiping the zippleback's drool from the front of her tunic and face.

"Ugh. I can't work like this," she hissed.

Pulling himself to his feet, Tuffnut growled, "Ugh. It's completely unprofessional."

Glaring daggers into her brother's skull, Ruffnut snapped, "I'm taking my dragon and going home."

Tuffnut rounded on her, shooting her a glare of his own. "You touch that dragon, and I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"I..." he hesitated, looking lost. "I don't know. Don't rush me. Just... uh... uh... Tell you tomorrow!"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and then turned her back on her brother. Running to Barf-and-Belch, she took hold of Barf's jaw and began pulling. Following her example, Tuffnut grabbed ahold of Belch and started pulling him in a different direction by his lower lip.

((Sad-sad-confused-what?-Love-you-both-you-why-why-why?))

"Guys come on, leave the dragon out of this," Hiccup started. He took a step towards the twins, unheeding of the mischievous look Jack had on his face. "It's over."

"Oh, it's over," Ruffnut agreed.

"Yeah, it's so over, it's und-"

Tuffnut was cut off mid-sentence as a blue snowball exploded across his face. Belch blinked curiously as Tuffnut let go of the dragon in favor of wiping snow from his eyes and blinking away the blue sparks that were dancing across his vision. His sister burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as she pointed at her brother. A second snowball plowed into her face and took her off of her feet.

The other teens stared in shock while Astrid shot Jack a look and said, "Was that really necessary?"

Jack smirked, offering her a wink. "Wait for it."

Ruffnut sat upright, shaking her head to clear her vision. For a moment she thought she could see blue lights. When she looked up she saw her brother staring at her with a stupefied expression, clumps of snow and droplets of water still clinging to her hair and brows. It was exactly how she imagined she looked at that moment. Suddenly her lips quirked upward in a slight smile. She tried to fight it, tried to remember that she was supposed to be angry at Tuffnut, but as she clapped her hand over her mouth to stop the giggles threatening to burst forth she realized she was not so angry anymore.

"You look like such an idiot!" she howled as she burst out laughing, Tuffnut following her example.

"You're one to talk!" he cried through peals of laughter.

"Whaaaat the heck is going on?" Fishlegs asked, eyes flicking back and forth between Jack and the twins.

"Magic snowballs," Jack replied. "Kinda hard to stay mad when you're too busy having fun."

"It's weird," Snotlout commented, earning a sharp glare from Baby Tooth.

((So's your name,)) she tweeted.

"Well, now that that crisis has been averted," Hiccup said, clapping his hands together and turning to the rest of the teens, "We should probably get back to training."

"Does that mean it's my turn?" Jack grinned, exchanging a glance with Wodensfang. He snatched his hand forward, as though he were plucking a feather from the air. "Fetch."

Immediately Wodensfang launched himself from Jack's shoulder. Snotlout cried out and the twins' howling laughter escalated as the blue terror's claws closed around the horns of his helmet and in one clean stroke he swiped the headpiece, chittering happily as he took to the air overhead.

"Hey, give that back!" Snotlout snarled as he chased after Wodensfang. He leaped into the air, making a grab for the tiny dragon and coming up short.

With a mischievous grin, Jack traced a figure eight in the air. "Wodensfang, dodge."

Wodensfang swooped down low, just within Snotlout's reach. Again the burly teen made a grab for him, but Wodensfang nimbly spun and weaved around his grabbing hands. The twins were in tears as Snotlout spun in circles, trying and failing to snatch his helmet back from the playful dragon.

"You suck so much!"

"All right, all right, that's enough," Astrid scolded, elbowing Jack. She did not try to hide the amused smile on her face. "Give it back."

"Fine." Jack held up one hand in a fist, and then uncurled his fingers. "Wodensfang, drop it."

Wodensfang halted in the air directly over Snotlout. His little claws unlatched and the helmet fell from his grip and struck Snotlout square in the head.

"Ow!"

Training more or less devolved into play time after that, to both Hiccup's exasperation and relief. The twins, once they had mastered the art of taking turns, took malevolent delight in using hand signals to instruct Barf-and-Belch to mess with Snotlout without alerting him. Feeling left out, Hookfang had joined the twin-headed dragon in tormenting his rider. Hiccup tried to get the dragons and their riders back under control, but to no avail; when Toothless had flashed him his signature puppy-dog eyes and wagged his tail Hiccup knew he had lost the battle.

"This is your fault," he deadpanned as he exited the arena on Toothless's back, not looking at Jack as he bounced on balls of his feet beside the pair.

"I know. Race you round the island!"

Hiccup was given no opportunity to refuse - not that he had planned to - before Jack launched himself into the sky and, with a whooping laugh, allowed the Wind to carry him away. Hiccup and Toothless wasted no time in taking off after him.

Flying was good. Flying was safe and fun. It was also about the only thing that was still normal between them; Hiccup never had to come near Jack or touch him, yet they were still undeniably connected in this. Up above the clouds, feeling Toothless's muscles shift beneath him as they spun in a series of acrobatic maneuvers together with the Winter spirit, Hiccup could pretend that nothing at all had changed between them.

By the time dusk had fallen it seemed as though everything had gone back to normal. The twins continued to elbow and jostle one another playfully, reminding Jack a bit of Caleb and Claude. The Riders agreed to meet in the Great Hall later on for dinner and to discuss training. While the others made their way to the top of the winding trail - their dragons and Wodensfang scattering to lounge on the perches or to fish for themselves - Hiccup, with Jack and Toothless ever at his side, returned to his hut to stow away the Book of Dragons before meeting up with the others.

"You can just wait out here a minute," Hiccup said with a shrug. He hoped it was not obvious that he was trying to avoid being alone in his room with the sprite. "I won't be long."

Jack nodded. "You better not; it's freezing out here!"

It was a joke. Hiccup shook his head and chuckled as he slipped indoors, leaving Toothless outside with Jack. Baby Tooth shifted in his purse, poking her head out but not emerging completely.

((Happy-love-good-Small-Tooth-see-you-now-good-good,)) Toothless purred as he sniffed at the purse.

((Shh! Toothless, stop! Someone's gonna see!)) Baby Tooth scolded as she swatted at his nose with her tiny hands, though in actuality she did not mind so much. Her swatting turned into a light pat without any need for intervention.

"There's hardly anyone out here anyway," Jack said as he sat down on the steps outside of Hiccup's hut. "It's probably safe enough."

Somewhat reluctantly, Baby Tooth climbed from the purse, settling on Jack's thigh. She still did not dare take flight, lest the sound of her wings draw unwanted attention.

((Good-yes-you-out-out-free-safe,)) Toothless crooned once she was settled. He pressed his nose to her body, nearly knocking her over.

((Well not for long if you keep that up!)) she snapped, though Jack felt no irritation from her.

"Oh come on, you know you love 'im," Jack teased as he placed a hand atop the nightfury's broad had and offered him a light scratch. Halfheartedly, Baby Tooth gave her larger-half a smack.

The mood was a good one. Flying with Hiccup and Toothless had put the two immortals in high spirits. Though Jack still had no clue what had come over Hiccup of late, whatever it was seemed to simply evaporate once the four of them were in the sky. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Toothless, do you know what's going on with Hic?" he asked, drawing a terse look from the dragon. "I mean, he's been getting better lately, but, I dunno, it seems like something's been bothering him."

Toothless's head-fins lay flat as he stared at the spirit. He knew, to a degree, what had was bothering his other half. His own language used scents and posture as much as it used sound and he could smell Hiccup's sexual arousal, as well as his shame-guilt-self-loathing. It was strange to him, as it rarely, if ever, happened among dragons that one was attracted to their own gender. Even stranger, though, was Hiccup's reaction. As far as Toothless was concerned, strange or not, Hiccup should have been trying to court Icicle, but it seemed to him that his partner was caught in some weird dance between keeping Icicle close and pushing him away.

((Hiccup-beloved-sad-sad-scared-confused-sorry-don't-know-sorry-sorry,)) Toothless whined, tilting his head to the side. Even though he did not agree with Hiccup's course of action, he would not undermine it.

Smiling weakly, Jack gave Toothless a light scratch underneath his jaw. "It's okay."

The clatter of wood as Hiccup's front door swung open had Baby Tooth retreating back into Jack's purse, though it was only Hiccup himself stepping outside, Book of Dragons no longer tucked under his arm. The brunette groaned as he descended down the steps.

"So, guess what we get to do tomorrow?"

Jack clucked his tongue as he stood. "I'm guessing something along the lines of 'training' and 'dragons.'" Hiccup shook his head.

"Close." The two started towards the Great Hall, Hiccup carefully but not so discretely ensuring that Toothless remained between them the entire time. "We're going to be hiding all of the dragons."

Jack and Toothless both stared at Hiccup for an awkward moment, exchanged glances, and then turned back to Hiccup. "Toothless gets the distinct impression you're embarrassed of him."

Toothless gave a mock whine as though to affirm Jack's statement.

"Hey, I don't want to either," Hiccup replied, throwing up his hands defensively. "It's my dad's idea. Tomorrow's the annual signing of the peace treaty with the Berserker Tribe and my dad thinks that Chief Osvald will see the dragons as a threat."

Jack perked a slender brow. "Osvald?"

"The Agreeable," Hiccup deadpanned, not noticing as Toothless's pace slowed the tiniest bit.

"...The chief of the Berserker Tribe is called Osvald the Agreeable?"

"Yep."

"...Is that name supposed to be ironic or...?"

"Yeah, Gobber says they should change their name. You know they haven't been to war in fifty years?"

"I actually didn't know that, but thanks for telling me." They were climbing the steps of the Great Hall now, Toothless padding quietly behind them. "We're not going to keep the dragons hidden the whole time, right? I mean, Stoick'll break the news gently and then..."

"I'm hoping that's what he's planning. Dad told me he'd already written to some of our other allied tribes and told them, but I guess the Berserkers didn't get the memo."

"In all fairness, how exactly do you tell someone something like that? 'Dear Berserker Tribe: We have pet flying, fire-breathing reptiles.' No offense, Toothless. 'Please don't kill us, signed Hooligan Tribe.'"

"Well, it's a start," Hiccup replied with a shrug. "You forgot: 'P.S. We've also trained the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. His name is Toothless because he's toothless. Don't worry, he's house-trained.'"

Jack burst out laughing and Hiccup felt his heart swell. Gods, he had missed this. Up close, illuminated by the bright light of the nearly full moon, Jack looked so happy and beautiful...

Wait...

Hiccup did a double take, realizing only now that he and Jack were standing right next to one another. Throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder, he found Toothless standing a few feet behind them, a cheeky expression on his face.

'Thank you, you useless reptile...' Hiccup bit his cheek and tried to force his ripening blush down.

"Hey, how do you think your dad's planning to explain the dragon perches?" Jack asked as he pushed open the doors to the Great Hall. The three of them slipped inside, Hiccup thankful for the dim lighting. Hopefully the color of his cheeks would be less noticeable.

"Uh... giant clothes lines?"

The rest of the teens were already seated at a table at the far end of the hall, far away from the adults who were absorbed in their own conversations. Hjordis, Fridenot, and Wulfric were present as well, all clustered around Astrid who was speaking animatedly, moving her arms in motions that Hiccup recognized from their swordsmanship training.

"And once you've got the tip of your blade close to their hilt you want to push down-"

"Hey Jack!" Fridenot interrupted, much to Astrid's irritation, though he seemed to not notice. "Hi Hiccup."

"Hey, kiddos," Jack replied first. "Astrid, are you raising an evil army of midget warriors?"

"Hjordis let it slip that I was giving her sword-fighting lessons," Astrid replied with a shrug as Jack took a seat across from her. Underneath the table Baby Tooth crawled out of his purse, and into the waiting palm of his hand. Discretely he raised her to the table, allowing the fairy to sit with them without being noticed by any of the adults in the building. "And, well, long story short, I'm now teaching a class of my own."

Hiccup was thankful to find that the only empty space was at the opposite end of the bench from Jack. He started for it, only to have Toothless cut him off.

"Toothless, wha-?"

Rather than answering, Toothless turned towards the table. On one side Astrid sat, along with the three children and Fishlegs. On the other sat Jack, Snotlout, and the twins (who were once again arguing over something or other). Before anyone could say anything, Toothless caught the back of Snotlout's bearskin vest between his teeth and yanked the burly teen from his seat.

"Whoa, hey!" Snotlout cried as he landed in a crumpled heap on the ground. "Can you keep your stupid dragon under control!?"

"S-sorry, I don't know what's gotten in to him," Hiccup said. "Toothless, what are you-?"

Toothless ignored him in favor of grabbing Snotlout by his pant leg. He dragged the protesting viking towards the end of the bench, and the unoccupied seat Hiccup had originally planned to take. Leaving Snotlout grumbling angrily on the floor, Toothless bounded over to Hiccup, purring happily.

Everyone stared at the nightfury, bewildered.

"I, uh, g-guess I'm sitting here then," Hiccup mumbled, taking the seat somewhat reluctantly. Snotlout grumbled, but took the position he had been forced into. His face lit up as he realized he was now free to the meat on the plate the others had grabbed for Hiccup.

"Anyway, speaking of classes," Astrid said, drawing the conversation back on track, "Hiccup, any plans for dragon training tomorrow?" Hiccup prodded Snotlout's leftover boiled turnips with his knife.

"Actually, no. The Berserker tribe is coming tomorrow, and Dad's making us hide all of the dragons."

Everyone at the table stiffened, save for Snotlout and the two smallest children, who did not remember the last treaty signing very clearly.

"Is Dagur coming?" Snotlout asked, perking up instantly. "He's so cool."

"Cool?" Hiccup parroted, shooting his cousin an incredulous look. "Last time he was here he used me as a knife throwing target." Jack blinked, looking between the two of them.

"Who's Dagur?"

"He's Osvald the Agreeable's son," Hjordis answered. "He's a total brat, and a monster."

"That guy should be locked up in a cage," Astrid huffed in agreement.

"That's what he did to me!" Fishlegs cried. "He wouldn't let me eat for three days!"

Snotlout burst out laughing. "Then he force-fed you rotten cod heads!" Fishlegs paled.

"Thanks." He pushed his plate away. "I almost erased that from my memory."

"I like cod heads," Tuffnut chimed in, voice more nasally than usual. The twins had sort of paused their argument, though Ruffnut still had a firm hold of her brother's nose and hair, while Tuffnut had his sister by her ear and one of her braids.

"Huh. Reminds me of a spirit I met once," Jack commented with a slight shudder. He glanced at the slab of meat on the untouched plate in front of him, and then at the rejected vegetables Hiccup was currently pushing around his own plate. "You wanna trade?"

"Huh?" Hiccup looked between his plate and Jack's, then shrugged. "Sure." They swapped dishes around on the table.

"You don't talk about other spirits a lot," Astrid commented. "He wasn't a friend of yours, was he?"

"No, he was evil. The first time we met he said something about my face pi- uh, making him angry and tried to kill me." Baby Tooth squeaked in horror; this was the first she had ever heard of this.

"Ha! I think I like this guy!" Snotlout laughed, earning identical glares from Astrid and Baby Tooth.

Behind his back, Hiccup pantomimed snatching a feather from the air. While Snotlout was busy laughing Toothless crept up behind him and then snapped up his helmet between his jaws. Snotlout shouted and made a grab for the helmet, but Hiccup traced a figure eight with his forefinger and Toothless took off running. Hiccup's hand was back in his lap before Snotlout noticed.

"Give that back!" the dark-haired viking roared as he proceeded to chase Toothless across the Great Hall. Their antics drew a few stares, but most of the village knew Snotlout's reputation and proceeded to soundly ignore him, so long as he did not bump into him or their tables. "Stupid dragon! That's not a toy!"

"Sorry Snotlout!" Hiccup called while the rest of the group stifled their snickers. "I don't know what's wrong with him today!"

"Would you knock it off!?"

Hiccup's attention was turned to the siblings sitting next to him at the cry. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were at it again, both fighting to shove the other off of the bench.

"Ah great, I thought they were done with this," Hiccup sighed. Fishlegs raised an eyebrow.

"Um, do you guys always have to fight?"

"Well, tell her that it's my turn to use the plate!" Tuffnut growled. Ruffnut kicked him under the table.

"No, tell her that it's my turn!" she snapped.

"Hey!"

The rest of the table blinked, staring at the single plate shared between the two. Wulfric spoke up first. "Why don't you guys just get another plate?"

The twins froze, mid-movement. Each of them had the other's collar balled in their fists and their free hands cocked, poised to throw a punch. Ruff and Tuff stared blankly at Wulfric for a few seconds, and then at each other. Then they scrambled up from the table, running off to the serving line.

"Diiiid that really need to be said?" Hjordis asked, not taking her eyes off of the retreating pair. Astrid pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Apparently."

Baby Tooth shook her head. ((Imbeciles.))

Hiccup awoke the next morning to the sound of something pounding on his roof, which was a rather ordinary occurrence to him. Blearily he peeled open his sleep-fogged eyes, finding Toothless's slate unoccupied. For a moment he contemplated pulling the blanket over his head and going back to sleep. Then he remembered what day it was.

"All right, all right. I'm up, I'm up," he groaned as he sat upright, feeling a few soft 'pops' in his back as he yawned and stretched his arms overhead.

He went through the motions automatically as he donned his prosthetic, grabbed Toothless's flying gear out from under his bed, and made his way downstairs. His father, as per usual, was nowhere to be seen. What was not usual was the cobalt thunderdrum still sitting outside when Hiccup emerged from the hut, no saddle and no reigns.

"Oh, Thornado, what're you still doing here?" Hiccup asked, not expecting a response.

"Your dad left him for us," Jack's voice rang out. Head whipping around, Hiccup caught no sign of the Winter sprite. "Up here."

Stepping down from his porch, Hiccup cast his gaze skyward and blanched at the sight of Jack sitting casually on his roof next to Toothless. Wodensfang was wrapped around his shoulders like a scarf and Baby Tooth was floating freely in the air next to him.

"Jack, what are you doing up there!?"

"Sitting. Duh."

"Ha ha, you know that's not what I meant." Glancing around, Hiccup saw no one in the immediate area. He could hear the clang of steel from the smithy and see several adults already at work down on the pier, but nobody close enough to Hiccup's hut to really pay them much mind. "What if somebody sees you?"

"I can climb, Hic. On my own, without agic-may."

Hiccup had no idea what 'agic-may' was, but before he could think to ask, Jack decided to prove his point by standing abruptly and then hopping down from the roof. Hiccup flinched back, nearly dropping Toothless's riding gear, as the spirit landed in front of him, leaning down a few inches so their faces were close.

"So, your dad says we don't have to hide the dragons for a few more hours," Jack said, oblivious to the lanky viking's embarrassment. "Wanna go flying for a bit?"

'Keep it together Hic, don't say anything stupid or weird, and for the love of Thor, stop blushing!'

"Sure." Hiccup nodded. Out of his peripheral he caught sight of Toothless slinking down from the roof. "I was getting ready to go do that anyway."

"Perfect!" the spirit chimed, earning an affirmative chirp from Wodensfang, and suddenly Hiccup was hit by a wave of dread. He and Jack had not flown together on Toothless in a few weeks; what if Jack noticed... something? As it turned out, Hiccup need not have worried. Immediately Jack turned to Thornado, kneeling before the cobalt dragon and placing a friendly hand on his muzzle. "Whaddya say, Thornado? You're always working. Up for having a bit of fun with us?"

((Fun-yes-Icicle-happy-happy-good,)) the large dragon purred as he allowed Jack to mount him. It was a bit strange to see Jack on the thunderdrum's back; the dragon was so large and he so small, on top of which Jack had nothing to help him hold on with. He simply sat comfortably between Thornado's wings with his staff across his lap.

"Let's have a race! Last person around the island is a rotten cod head, threetwoonego!" Jack taunted as he and Thornado took off abruptly, Wodensfang chirping along with him.

"Hey, no fair!" Hiccup cried as he and Toothless took off after them. Maybe today would not be so terrible after all.

Any other person would have been torn from the thunderdrum's back at the speeds they were going, but the Wind did no such thing to Jack. Though Thornado was not capable of the same acrobatic stunts and complex maneuvers as Toothless, he was still a very powerful and very fast dragon. Jack laughed in elation as he stood atop the thunderdrum's flattened body and they skimmed the ocean surface, kicking up walls of foamy white spray in their wake. The spirit took much delight in freezing the water as it rose, creating a cloud of snow and mist behind them.

Overhead Toothless and Hiccup flanked them, swooping and diving and occasionally cutting the ocean surface or the snow-cloud with the tips of the nightfury's wings before weaving around and taking to the air once more. At one point when they came low enough Toothless spun and began flying upside down, directly over Jack's head. Hiccup had a more difficult time controlling his tail-fin with half of his weight hanging by his prosthetic, but even so he was not worried. Toothless crooned in pleasure when Jack reached up and stroked his scales and then he righted himself once more and shot ahead.

Poor Wodensfang squawked in terror as he held on to Jack's tunic for dear life, needle-like claws digging into the soft skin underneath. Baby Tooth fared much better from her seat in Jack's purse. Happily, she poked her head out into the open air, alternating between staring ahead at them at the seemingly endless expanse of ocean and watching the trail of snow behind them.

"All right, Thornado," Jack said, kneeling atop the tidal class. "Why don't we-"

He was cut off by a long, ominous cry from somewhere beneath them. ((You-you-what-you-strange-cousins-wingless-together-flying-you?))

"Jack, look out!"

Casting his gaze to the sea below them, Jack saw a massive shadow rise from its depths. Thornado moved on his own, spreading his wings and leaping into the air as a massive, manta-ray like dragon broke the surface. The dragon was as long as one of the viking's longboats, head to tail, and twice as long at the wingspan. It had two heads that appeared to be a cross between eels and barracudas and spoke in a single voice, just like Barf-and-Belch did. Underneath the water its scales had a silvery-grey sheen, but as it came to a stop just beneath the surface its two rows of spiny dorsal fins broke the water and with each swell of waves sunlight poured over its intense blue scales.

((Curiosity-strange-strange-flying-cousins-caution-worry-wingless-bad?-not-bad?))

"Whoa," Jack breathed as the new dragon called to them. "Hey, Thornado, slow down, I wanna say hi to him."

In the air above them Hiccup and Toothless had also come to a stop, the nightfury's wings beating the air furiously as they hovered overhead. "Wait what? Jack, what are you doing?"

Thornado continued to hover in place as Jack slipped from his perch. Wodensfang remained on the thunderdrum's back and Baby Tooth dug her tiny fingers into the thick material of Jack's purse, eying the new dragon cautiously and feeling worry-curiosity-distrust-Love-protectiveness. Jack lowered himself to the sea surface, where the ray-like dragon tread the water. Both sets of eyes were trained on him and the mouths were parted in what looked like feral grins.

((I think we should go, Jackie,)) Baby Tooth tweeted. ((He could be dangerous.))

"He's just curious," Jack assured her. Held aloft by the Wind, he hovered several feet above the surface of the water. He angled himself so that he was stomach down and held out one hand towards the new arrival.

"Jack!" Hiccup called, heart beating furiously. As much as he liked dragons, he knew how dangerous they could be, especially the wild ones that were not used to people, and he could not put a name to this one. Maybe it would turn out to be friendly, or maybe it would see Jack as a potential meal and try to bite his arm off. "Jack, get up here right now!"

"It's fine," Jack called back, and then to the dragon, "Hi there. I'm Jack."

One of the dragon's eel-like heads rose from beneath the water, blinking curiously as it sniffed his outstretched hand. ((You-Icicle-wingless?-no-no-wingless-you-flying-speaking-you-Icicle-dragon-yes?-yes?))

"Well, no, not really. I'm a spirit," Jack replied. "I used to be human, but not anymore."

The dragon hissed. His head shrank back. ((Bad-bad-wingless-threat-angry-bad-wingless-hunt-stalk-kill-cousins.))

Hiccup and Toothless began to descend, neither of them liking the new dragon's unfriendly tone.

"Maybe in other places, but on Berk humans and dragons get along," Jack replied, withdrawing his hand. He tossed a look over his shoulder and continued, "See? Just look at Hiccup and Toothless; they're best friends!"

The dragon seemed to consider his words for several moments. When he said nothing, Jack extended his hand once more.

((Jackie...)) Baby Tooth urged once more. He ignored her.

((Unsure-caution-Icicle-strange-maybe-good-maybe...)) Again the dragon raised one of its heads, this time bringing its muzzle closer and closer to Jack's outstretched fingers.

((STOOOOP!)) Thornado roared, too late.

The moment Jack's skin made contact with the new dragon's he was stuck. He felt his muscles clench and tighten painfully as his nerves seemed to erupt in flames.

"Jack!" Hiccup screamed. Thornado and Toothless snarled in unison, launching a sonic boom and a plasma blast simultaneously at the manta-ray dragon. With a feral hissed it jerked back and dove back into the depths, narrowly avoiding their attacks.

With his connection to the dragon broken, Jack felt his body go slack. Dark spots appeared at the edges of his vision and he plunged into the ocean beneath him.

Toothless swooped downwards, snatching up Jack by his forearms. The Wind screamed around them as they rocketed towards the nearest land, Thornado following closely behind with Jack's staff in his claws.

Jack awoke to an eerily familiar scene; the world was dark and he was being held protectively by thin arms close against another person's body. It was an alien sensation to him, and a blissful one. His arms and legs felt heavy and his lungs hurt and he just wanted to curl up against the other person and go back to sleep.

They would have none of that, however.

"Jack, please wake up. Please, oh gods, don't be dead, you can't be dead..."

Dead? Who was dead? He was immortal. He just wanted to go back to sleep...

((Jackie, please, Love, wake up, wake up...))

Baby Tooth? Why was she crying? Jack tried to peel open his eyes, but they were glued shut. He let out a weak groan.

"Jack!" Hiccup's relieved laugh came out almost as a sob. "Jack, you're okay. Stay with me, bud."

((Sad-scared-Icicle-hurt-scared-sa-a-a-a-ad,)) Toothless's voice whined.

"Mhm... H-Hic? Wha...?"

Finally Jack's eyelids parted. Above him he saw a blurry silhouette of a person leaning in close, their form wavering and dancing like a reflection on choppy water. With each passing second his vision swam a little less and the figure became more and more discernible; the sea of freckles, the mop of messy brown hair, the small, barely noticeable scar on the chin, and clear, intelligent green eyes...

Suddenly Jack was wide awake.

He bolted upright, head nearly colliding with Hiccup's as he broke out into an abrupt coughing fit.

Hiccup and Toothless had brought them to a set of sea stacks, dropping Jack atop the flat surface of one before touching down themselves. Now Toothless and Thornado sat a few feet away, watching the two boys with Baby Tooth and Wodensfang perched atop each of their backs respectively. For once, Hiccup had abandoned his aversion to touching in Jack in favor of clinging to the spirit as though he might vanish any second.

"Jack, relax, breathe," Hiccup urged as he rubbed slow, soothing circles on the spirit's back. Jack shuddered as he struggled to bring his breathing back under control. Baby Tooth and the three dragons crooned happily as he came to.

"I am breathing," he groused. Taking two more gasping breaths, he asked, "What happened?"

"What happened?" Disbelief saturated his tone. Suddenly his expression hardened. "What happened is I told you to get away from that dragon and you didn't listen! The dragon did something and it paralyzed you!"

"Oh." Jack stared at Hiccup dumbly for a moment before he began to pull himself up. His legs still felt like jelly and his clothes were weighed down by seawater, forcing him to rely on Hiccup to stand. "Actually, I think he electrocuted me."

"Is that really important right now?" Hiccup snapped, his grip on Jack's arms tightening. "Why didn't you listen to me!? You could have been killed!"

Jack frowned and pulled away from Hiccup. Baby Tooth settled on his shoulder. "I'm immortal, remember? I can't die."

"Do you actually know that? Like, do you actually know without a doubt that absolutely nothing can kill you? What if that dragon had dragged you underwater? What if it had eaten you?" The viking's voice was getting frantic.

"But he didn't," Jack retorted, turning his back on Hiccup. "Where's my staff?"

"That's it?" Hiccup scoffed as Jack bent and collected his staff from where Thornado had dropped it on the ground. "That's all you're going to say?"

Scowling, Jack turned on Hiccup. "What else is there to say?"

"Well, you could try apologizing, for one!"

The two teens were oblivious to their audience. Baby Tooth, Wodensfang, Toothless and Thornado said nothing, but watched awkwardly, gazes shifting between the two as their voices steadily rose.

"Apologize for what?" Jack snapped. "I didn't do anything wrong!" For once.

"You didn't listen!" Hiccup's arms were moving seemingly on his own. "I told you to get away from it!"

"Well, gee, sorry Dad, for not following your every order!"

"What!? Order!? I c- I-I-I can't believe you even think that's what this is about!"

"You might be the leader of your academy, but you are not the boss of me!" Jack snarled as he turned his back on Hiccup. "You know what? Forget it. Come on Baby Tooth."

Baby Tooth tweeted and then immediately zipped to his side. She hid in his purse, trembling as she felt his hurt-confusion-anger-frustration while he in turn felt her sadness-worry-confusion-fear. Sucking in a deep breath and doing what he had been for centuries, Jack bit back his emotions and took off, the Wind carrying him far away from Hiccup and the sea stacks.

"Jack wait!" Hiccup called, but the Winter sprite was already a speck in the distance. With a frustrated groan, Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. Curling his fingers into a fist he tugged at his scalp in a vain attempt to relieve some tension. "Come on Toothless," he said, rushing to the nightfury's side and throwing himself into the saddle. "We should go after him."

Toothless crooned pitifully as Hiccup mounted him. The moment he heard Hiccup's prosthetic click into place and felt his tail fin balance out he unfurled his wings and leaped into the air, Thornado following closely behind with Wodensfang still perched on his back.

Jack managed to lose Hiccup long before either of them arrived in Berk. As he flew over the village Hiccup was able to see that the village itself had been cleared of dragons. The other riders must have been hard at work while he and Jack were busy playing, Hiccup realized with a pang of guilt. Looking at the fall of shadows, he knew that he had little over an hour before the Berserkers were due to arrive, and with the fair wind it was likely they would arrive sooner than that. With a reluctant sigh he and Toothless descended before the smithy. Toothless crooned in sympathy as Hiccup unlatched his leg from the prosthetic and climbed out of the saddle.

"You go on to the cove, bud," he said, placing his hands on the underside of the nightfury's jaw and giving a gentle shake. "I'll come get you when it's safe, all right?"

Toothless chirped and nuzzled Hiccup's cheek lovingly before pulling away. He bounded off quickly, disappearing between rows of wooden huts as he raced towards his favorite place on the island. Hiccup waved after him, and then sighed.

"Rough day, Hiccup?"

Whirling around, Hiccup found himself face to face with, "Gobber!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't notice you there."

"Ah was lookin' fer mah panpipes," Gobber explained through the stall window. He bent, ducking out of sight as he began rummaging through miscellaneous items stowed haphazardly on the shelves. "Thought ah'd give the good chief a bit o' a show when 'e pulled in."

Laughing nervously, Hiccup deigned not to tell the blacksmith that Stoick had actually thrown his panpipes into the ocean several nights ago. "Uh, have you seen Jack anywhere?"

"Eh, yeah, actually." Placing his remaining hand on top of the shelf, Gobber hoisted himself to his feet, giving a pained grunt as something in his back cricked loudly. "Stopped by 'ere a while ago an' asked where the rest o' yer friends were. I sent 'im to the forest where all yer dragons are hidin' out."

"Ah." Well that was a relief. At least Jack had come back to the island. Heaving a sigh, Hiccup leaned against one of the wooden columns holding the smithy roof up. Gobber raised an eyebrow.

"Iiiiis there somethin' ya need to get off yer chest, lad?"

"No... Well, yes... maybe." Hiccup sighed. Again. Pushing himself off of the wall, he turned to face Gobber. "So, I woke up this morning to Toothless bouncing up and down on the roof like he normally does. I go outside, and there's Jack waiting for me with Thornado. He says we don't need to hide the dragons for a little while longer and do I want to go flying and I think, 'sure, why not?' We go out, sun is shining, seas are calm, all is right with the world, and then out of nowhere this dragon, this... incredibly huge dragon that I've never seen before comes up out of the water." By this point Hiccup had begun pacing in circles, waving his arms wildly with the telling of his story.

"Mm-hmm, right." Gobber had gone back to shuffling under the counter searching for his panpipes. "Go on."

"I want to get out of there. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love new dragons, but this thing is freaking enormous and on top of that it's hissing and giving us the stink eye. I tell Jack to get away from it, and you know what that idiot does?"

"'E listens to ye an' ye both fly off into the sunset?"

Hiccup threw up his arms in exasperation. "He reaches out and pets it!"

"You did what!?"

Jack shrugged a bit sheepishly in response to Astrid's question. With the dragons all sequestered in Berk's pine forest and its snowy peak, the teens had taken it upon themselves to watch over them and make sure that they did not try to reenter the village until Stoick was ready to break the news to Chief Osvald. It was fairly easy, as Jack's Gift of Tongues made explaining the circumstances doable. The rest of the teens were off patrolling the borders of what they dubbed the 'dragon protection zone' while Jack and Astrid lounged in the same place where the Riders of Berk had been hiding out from their parents on the day that he had fallen through the portal and met them.

"Well, he didn't seem dangerous," Jack replied with a shrug. He was currently sitting behind Astrid, atop a fallen log while she sat on the grass in front of him. As they spoke he was weaving a thin, delicate braid into her golden hair, his staff leaning within arm's reach against the log. "I'm pretty sure he was just curious about us. Worst case scenario I would have just frozen him and flown away."

"And is that what it came to?" Astrid gave Baby Tooth's silver feather a gentle stroke. The frost fairy was sitting in the palm of the viking girl's hand while Jack was busy working on her hair.

"Well, no. He, uh... He kind of electrocuted me."

"He did what!?"

"I don't think it was on purpose!" Jack added quickly. "He might not have realized that touching me would do that. He really did seem like he was just curious."

"Well, what happened after that?"

"I'm not really sure. My body went stiff and everything felt like it was on fire. Next thing I know I'm waking up in Hiccup's arms."

Astrid blinked. She and Baby Tooth shared a look, and the frost fairy shrugged.

"He seemed scared at first, but when I got up and started walking around he got angry out of nowhere and started saying I should be apologizing!" He tied off the end of the small braid and began working on a second, larger one.

"So, what did you say?" Astrid asked, though she could already venture a guess.

"What do you think I said? I told him-"

"-that he didn't do anything wrong! Like giving me a heart attack wasn't 'doing something wrong!'"

"An' ah'm guessin' it all went downhill from there," Gobber sighed. Having finally given up on his panpipes, he leaned his elbow on the counter-top, resting his chin in his hand as he listened to Hiccup's account.

"I mean, what was he thinking!? That I would laugh it off? That I wouldn't care? He nearly died!"

"But 'e didn'," Gobber pointed out, no differently than Jack had. "Mebbe ye're lookin' at this the wrong way."

"What other way is there to look at it?" Hiccup growled. "He was reckless, even when I warned him, and he didn't even care that he scared me half to death."

"Ah, but did 'e know that? From wot ah've seen, the lad's pretty independent."

Hiccup slowed to a stop. Jack had been alone for a long time...

'I'm over three-hundred years old. Believe me, I can take care of myself.'

"But... But he doesn't have to be anymore," Hiccup argued. "He has us now."

"Hiccup, people don' jes stop doin' things the way they've been doin' 'em for years. Unless it's fightin' dragons. Ah like to think we got all tha' outta our systems." When Hiccup scoffed and rolled his eyes, Gobber placed his real hand on the teen's shoulder and continued, "Listen, ah know ye were jes worried about 'im."

"He... He was worried about me?"

"Well, yeah, duh." Astrid admired her reflection in the small hand-mirror crafted of ice that Jack had given her. He had finished her braids now, winding one small braid through an even larger one on the side of her head. She smiled; it looked good. "I mean, I would have been if I was there. Think about it; wouldn't you have been worried if Hiccup was the one who got hurt?"

Jack flinched. "Well, yeah... B-but that's different! He doesn't have to worry about me; I can take care of myself just fine!"

"You sure about that?" Astrid shook her head as she handed the mirror back to Jack. "Friends don't worry about each other because they have to, idiot; they do it because they care. Hiccup couldn't stop worrying if he wanted to. Believe me."

Pinching his brows, Jack tossed the ice mirror aside. It shattered the moment it hit the ground.

'Wow, Hiccup's really protective of you, isn't he?'

'Stop! ...You'll get yourself killed.'

'Jack, please wake up. Please, oh gods, don't be dead, you can't be dead...'

A small part of Jack felt guilty. Another part was indignant. Okay, so he was far from a huge, muscle-bound axe-swinging viking, but he also was by no means weak! He could take care of himself just fine!

But...

He looked to Baby Tooth. He could feel her worry-Love-anger-relief as though it were his own, and he did not even need to think about apologizing to her because she could also feel his guilt-regret-Love, but he and Hiccup did not have an empathetic bond like that. If Hiccup's fear or worry were anywhere close to Baby Tooth's, how would he have felt it?

Swallowing thickly, Jack said, "I... I guess I do owe him an apology, huh?"

Astrid shrugged noncommittally.

"All right, all right already, I'm going!" Astrid shook her head and chuckled as Jack grabbed up his staff. A trilling sound filled the air as Baby Tooth zipped to his side. "Hey, Astrid... thanks."

"Of course!" The blonde pulled herself to her feet, interlocking her fingers and stretching her arms overhead. "You do realize, though, if I ever hear about you petting strange dragons again I will beat you senseless?"

"Aaaaaaand that would be my cue to run like Hel."

"Stoick's going to want Hiccup to come with him to greet the Berserker chief!" Astrid called as the two immortals leaped into the air. Jack hung back just long enough for her to finish speaking. "In case you were wondering where he was."

Jack nodded before spinning in the air and taking off for the village, Baby Tooth trailing not far behind.

It seemed as though the entire village had come out to greet the Berserker fleet, though Hiccup knew this was not the case; the Riders, for example, were hidden safely away in the woods with the dragons, and Jack's troupe of children was nowhere to be seen.

Neither was the frost spirit, for that matter.

It was hardly surprising, Hiccup supposed, that Jack had made himself absent. Even if they had not had an argument, Jack would probably prefer to retreat to the woods to play with the dragons or the kids or both rather than stick around for the Viking politics. With the rest of the teens on dragon-sitting duty, that meant Hiccup would likely be stuck with Dagur while the two chiefs worked out the details of the treaty.

Hiccup suppressed a shudder.

The Berserker fleet was still a cloud of tiny specks on the horizon, but the wind was good and they would be pulling in very soon. Standing behind his father on the pier, Hiccup resigned himself to a lonely day of being tormented, assaulted, and possibly maimed by Osvald the Agreeable's son. Again.

"Hey."

Nearly jumping out of his freckled skin, Hiccup whirled to find himself face to face with none other than Jack. The spirit was staring at him with an apologetic expression on his face... Was it apologetic? Maybe that was just Hiccup's wishful thinking. He was still angry at Jack for not listening to him and being reckless, but Gobber's statement was weighing heavily on his mind. It stung to realize that Jack probably thought of his concern as little more than an annoyance.

Hiccup did not want to apologize - not for getting angry and definitely not for being worried - but he realized at this point he might have to. Jack obviously did not think he was in the wrong; it was not childish stubbornness, but a genuine lack of understanding.

"Jack, I-"

"Look, Hic-"

Both boys stopped, mid-sentence, and exchanged a slightly awkward look.

"Y-you should go first," Jack said, gripping his staff so tightly that his already pale knuckles turned snow-white.

"No, n-no. Uh, you go first."

"Okay..." Jack's gaze was everywhere but Hiccup's face; on the pier, on the chief's back, on the fleet of Berserker ships now close enough that the skrill insignia on their flags was readily visible. "Look, I'm sorry I worried you," he started, fighting the urge to twist his staff nervously in his hands. "But you really didn't have anything to be worried about. I'm... Well, I can't die. Even if I could, I can take care of myself just fine."

"I know, I just..." Hiccup curled a fist in his hair and then sighed. Could Jack really? If he were less durable would he still have touched that strange dragon? "Look, Jack, I-I'm sorry I yelled, I shouldn't have... I was just scared. You know?"

"Yeah. I do now." Finally Jack met Hiccup's eyes and... gods no! Hiccup felt his heart rate accelerate as he took in the warm, reluctantly touched expression on his friend's face. "Thanks, Hic."

"Ah... for what?"

"For caring enough to be worried."

"Oh... You don't have to thank me for that. We're friends, of course I'd worry."

Jack did not reply right away. Pressing his lips into a fine line, he turned his gaze back out to the ocean. A low hum rose from the crowd of vikings as the first longboat approached the pier. Hiccup had said that so easily, it made him feel guilty all over again. He liked Hiccup; he enjoyed the brunette's cleverness, and his dry wit, and his dare-devilish streak. Aside from Baby Tooth, Jack was fairly certain Hiccup counted as his closest friend.

Except that Jack had been unintentionally keeping Hiccup at arm's length.

Three hundred years of solitude had conditioned Jack to behave a certain way. He looked out for himself, healed his own hurts, and never, never, asked anyone for help with anything, large or trivial. At first it was because there was no one around to ask, and then it was because he had just gotten used to being self-sufficient. For three hundred years this way of thinking had served him well. It had made him strong, given him the tools he needed to take care of himself and others. It had also made him reluctant at best to accept any form of concern or goodwill.

Hiccup, meanwhile, shifted in place, his prosthetic giving a slight squeak as he ground it into the wooden planks.

"Erm... Jack-"

The clattering of wood against wood as the brow of a Berserker longboat was lowered cut Hiccup off.

"Presenting, the High Chief of the Berserker tribe!"

Hiccup's and Jack's eyes snapped up in unison, towards the large, burly man in studded leather armor standing before the brow of the only moored longboat. The whole of the Hooligan tribe was standing at attention, eyes raised to the man with the booming voice as he held aloft a wicked, two pronged spear.

"Cracker of skulls!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Slayer of beasts!"

Jack hoped he was not referring to dragons.

"The great and fearsome-!"

"Osvald the Agreeable?" Gobber interjected, eyebrow perked as he gave voice to what everyone present was currently thinking.

"Dagur the Deranged!"

Hiccup's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach as the Berserker stood aside, revealing the son of Osvald the Agreeable. Dagur scowled at him. Well, at them, expression oozing distaste for the more or less peaceful residents of Berk. Though Dagur was not as burly as many of the other Berserkers, and stood half a head shorter than Stoick, he was still powerful, muscular, and Hiccup had seen first-hand how agile and flexible he was. Like his men, Dagur was dressed in studded leathers. His belt buckle - the same gold, ceremonial one Osvald wore every year prior to the signing of the treaty - bore the Berserkers' trademark skrill insignia. His braided, copper-colored hair was tucked beneath an iron helmet with two long, lopsided horns curling up into the air and his left eye was decorated with three blue, painted slashes.

Terror mingled with dread dulled into resigned acceptance as the Berserker chieftain hocked a loogie into the ocean swell and flashed Hiccup his signature manic grin.

Stoick stared in disbelief. "Dagur?"

Gobber's eyes widened in horror. "Deranged?"

Hiccup groaned. "Oh no."

Dagur's hand became a blur as he snatched a knife from his belt and, without pausing to aim, hurled it at the two teenagers standing on the pier. Hiccup and Jack each hopped to the side moments before the dagger buried itself to the hilt in the wooden bit behind where they had been standing.

"Oh, perfect," Hiccup sighed.

Jack said nothing. Were his skin not already abnormally pale, someone might have noticed the blood rushing from his face. His eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated with shock and horror as he stared at the man these people called Dagur, hands clenching so tightly around his staff that he nearly broke skin. His muscles bunched, ready either to spring and take off in any direction that would take him away from this place and these people or to swing his staff and send a rain of icicles hurtling towards the Berserker chief.

While he would not argue that the name 'Dagur the Deranged' was well suited, it was not the name Jack knew this man by. Jack also recalled his skin having a grayish, sickly pallor and his eyes glowing malevolent amber, the air around him cackling with static as he swung his axe around like a toy.

Finally Jack spoke, his voice coming out as a barely audible whisper, soft enough that even he hardly heard it. "Perun."

Perun, the Slavic god of warriors, of fire and lightning, and of violent acts of nature.

#fanfiction #my writing #The Long Road #hijack #frostcup #jaccup

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coneygoil · 5 years

Text

The Home We Built Together, part 22

Two young Vikings. An arranged marriage. Hiccup always wanted to win the girl of his dreams, but not like this. Now he and Astrid must learn to live together and maybe one day, learn to love…

It was strange how an unexpected turn of events could bring two people closer together. When Hiccup imagined Astrid discovering he’d sided with the enemy, he hoped she’d understand and hear him out. He could hope all he wanted, but in all honesty, he expected her to be a ball full of rage and come slicing with her axe. Thankfully, the former happened and somehow, this crazy friendship with a dragon had brought him and his wife closer than ever.

Maybe it was the comradery of keeping an earthshaking secret between them. Maybe Astrid changing her attitude towards dragons had opened a door inside her to let Hiccup walk in further than he’d ever been. Whatever it was that had changed, Hiccup was enjoying every second of it.

He glanced at Astrid from the corner of his eye as they strolled through the village hand-in-hand. She insisted on walked him to the forge every morning instead of saying goodbye at the front door of their home. There were still traces of awkwardness between, unsure moments of bridled affections. Those moments were becoming less.

“Are you asking him today?” Astrid inquired as they approached the forge.

“Yeah.” They stopped at entrance their hands still intertwined. Hiccup sucked in a deep breath. “Are you ready for this if Gobber says yes?”

Astrid pressed her lips into a thin line, her gaze wandering before bringing it back to Hiccup’s face. “I’ve seen what you’ve accomplished, Hiccup. I know you can do this.” Her free hand cupped his shoulder, reassuringly. “We can do this.”

Hiccup beamed at her. Toothless trusted him. Astrid trusted him. Someone finally had faith in him.

Astrid tugged him to her, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Now, go to work!” She laughed, pushing him into the forge and jogged off.

Hiccup knew he’d never tire of the lightness rising in his chest as he watched her leave.

“Lookit ye two lovebirds.”

Hiccup jumped. “Ahh! Gobber! What’re you doing watching on us?”

“Ah, don’t get your knickers tied in a knot, lad. It’s not like you two were trying to hide your affections. It’s good to see you two falling in love.”

Hiccup’s eyes bugged and he nearly choked on his own saliva. Love? He’d been in love with Astrid long before this whole marriage ever existed. At least, he thought he was in love, but he’d come to realize his affection during that season of his life was projected onto an idea of who he thought Astrid was. Strong. Level-headed. An aspiring warrior. Well-renowned for what she was doing right. It also helped that she was incredibly attractive.

The way he viewed her had changed. He knew he loved her still, though it wasn’t as clear and to the point anymore. But the real question was, did she love him?

It was obvious she’d developed a fondness for him. She wouldn’t subject her lips to touch his or allow him to hold her in their bed if she didn’t share the same affection. She enjoyed his company. He’d never heard the ring of her laughter until they’d grown close, and he wished to hear it for the rest of his (most likely, short) life. She seemed content, but was Astrid really falling in love with him? Entertaining the very thought sent Hiccup’s mind reeling.

Hiccup pushed aside the massive revelation and focused on the task at hand. “Hey Gobber, who takes care of feeding the training dragons?”

Tinking tap noises filled the forge as Gobber flattened out a door hinge. “You’re looking at him.”

Hiccup nodded, scanning through the inventory pile of the day. “Me and Astrid were discussing taking on more responsibilities and thought maybe…feeding the training dragons could be one of them.” He pulled out a shield that needed some bolts replaced. When he turned around, he nearly jumped out his skin at the sight of Gobber right behind him, smiling widely.

“Exceeding at dragon training, taking on responsibilities, proving that you could be Chief material.” Gobber wiped a single tear from his eye. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Uh…thanks—” this was turning out to be the most awkward conversation he’d ever had with Gobber, and that was saying a lot. Hiccup diverted off this unexpected (and uncomfortable) ride to get back to the point. “So, where do you get the food for the dragons?”

“I mostly use the rejected fish from the daily catches. They’re put in a barrel on the docks.”

“Wait, that’s all you feed them? Rejected fish?”

“Basically.”

“Why aren’t you feeding them the food they need?”

“What’s the point, lad? They’re going te die anyway sooner or later.”

A chill crept down Hiccup’s spine at Gobber’s haunting words. He knew the training dragons would be killed one day, whether during a training lesson or euthanized, but that known knowledge didn’t make it any less horrifying. His thoughts zeroed in on Toothless and how he’d taken care of him the last few weeks. Hiccup made sure the Night Fury had everything he needed, not only food but affection and companionship. Those poor dragons locked away in the cages were underfed, lonely, and afraid. Hiccup was determined to change that. He would save those dragons from their ultimate fate.

***

Toothless grumbled as he dived down to scoop up another mouthful of fish. Hiccup patted his friend’s neck. “Oh, come one, bud. You’re doing some extra fishing for a good cause.”

The next morning before the sun had awoken, Hiccup and Astrid left for the arena to begin training the dragons without the prying eyes of the other villagers. It was a risky move, training the dragons with a chance of others catching them. But the arena was a fair distance from the early morning activities of the village. Maybe they had a shot at this without getting caught.

Hiccup stood in the middle of the arena floor sweeping his gaze back and forth, lost in thought. He had to choose wisely which dragon to earn trust from first. The Gronkle was smaller than the rest of the dragons (besides the Terrible Terror), and maybe it could be easily won over by a pile of tasty rocks.

Something kept pulling Hiccup to the Monstrous Nightmare. If he could earn the trust of the most dangerous dragon then the other dragons would likely follow. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup squared his shoulders in determination and strode to the Nightmare’s cage.

“You’re starting with the Monstrous Nightmare?” the voice of reason floated from the back of him. He glanced over his shoulder to find Astrid looking positively aghast. “Do you have a death wish?”

“You trusted me this far, Astrid,” Hiccup pointed out.

Astrid stepped up to him and poked him in the chest. “You’re right, but don’t make me have to bring you back from the dead just so I can kill you for making me a widow.”

He snatched her finger and pushed it back towards her with a grin. “Have I told you I enjoy your heartwarming encouragement?”

Astrid’s eyes flew skywards. “Just go already.”

The playful banter had eased the nerves that were building in his stomach. Hiccup wondered if Astrid sassed him on purpose to help with that. He turned back to the present task: training the Monstrous Nightmare.

On the cage door was a smaller door that swung out. Hiccup unlatched the door and immediately ducked as a flaming stream shot through the opening.

“Hiccup!” Astrid yelled, ready to run to his aid.

“I’m okay!” He got back to his feet and grabbed a fish from the basket nearby. “Hey, big guy,” he greeted with an air of friendliness, “I’m not here to hurt you. I want to be your friend.”

Hiccup stuck the fish in view of the opening. When no more fiery blasts flew through, he peeked his head up. The Monstrous Nightmare stood several feet away, watching him with sharp, cautious eyes. His nostrils flared causing a dusty cloud to stir up at his front feet.

“Are you hungry?” Hiccup kept his tone light. He stuck the fish further into the opening. “Do you like cod? It’s much tastier than those sad little herrings you were being fed.”

The Nightmare snarled and shifted closer.

“There you go,” Hiccup encouraged, emphasizing the fish with a shake to draw the dragon nearer.

When the Nightmare had drawn close enough, Hiccup tossed the fish his way. The clamp of the dragon’s jaws echoed off the stone walls. Hiccup smiled when the Nightmare looked at him expectantly for more.

“Astrid, go raise the lever.”

Raising the lever meant releasing the dragon. Releasing the dragon meant risking being flame broiled.

The playful exchange from a few minutes earlier had completely fled as a tinge of worry shaded Astrid’s words. “Are you sure?”

He’d faced certain death at the mercy of a dragon who should have taken his life with the snap of the jaws. But he was still alive and whole and that dragon was considered his friend. Hiccup couldn’t guarantee that the Monstrous Nightmare would take the same path, but he had to try.

He met Astrid’s concerned gaze. “If this goes wrong, promise me you’ll take care of Toothless.”

“That’s not comforting, Hiccup.” The edge in her voice was evident, but Astrid wasn’t making an attempt to stop him. “Of course, I’ll take care of Toothless.” Squeezing his shoulder, she added, “But promise me, I won’t have to.”

He couldn’t. No simple promise could keep a fierce and angry dragon at bay. No promise could shield him from the fiery blasts Nightmares were known for. Hiccup offered a tight-lipped smile that couldn’t convince a fish it lived in water. Astrid moved to fulfil his request and in a minute’s time she was on the rocky ledge hovering over the lever.

Hiccup backed up at what he prayed was a safe distance. Filling his lungs with a calming breath, he nodded at Astrid. The massive wooden peg lifted, and the cage doors swung open to reveal the frightening dragon that was adequately named for haunting nightmares.

The Monstrous Nightmare loomed ominously, puffing smoke, the orange eerie glow of its eyes staring right through Hiccup. Hiccup expected more of a reaction, for the dragon to rampage out on fire. But it remained calm as it glared sharply at him.

Hiccup had planned to take the affable approach; to show the Nightmare that he wanted to be his friend, throw in some lighthearted conversation like he had a minute ago when he offered the fish.

That planned changed the moment the cage door opened.

The Nightmare approached, it’s terrifying claws scraping the ground and head dipped into a strike position. Hiccup stayed planted in his spot a few feet away from the creature that could be his demise. The Nightmare’s hot breath blew over him.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Hiccup reassured, and with every fiber in his being, he spoke the words that he had resolved to in his mind for weeks, “I’m not one of them.”

The Nightmare gurgled curiously, blinking its orange eyes.

Hiccup held his palm out in front of him and with one decisive step, his skin made contact with dragon scales. He hadn’t realized how fast his heart had been pumping. His face split into a relieved and overjoyed smile as the dragon’s nose pressed firmer against his palm.

His gaze flicked up to find Astrid. Both hands covered her mouth, her eyes round in shock and awe. He nodded at her in silent agreement and she returned the gesture.

Their crazy plan to train dragons may work after all.

tags: @martabm90 @chiefhiccstrid @lauracalabresi @drchee5e @celtictreemuffin

#httyd fanfiction #hiccstrid #arranged marriage au #the home we built together

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