#(also little did stoick knew valka was alive)

[deathberryhime]

in which i say fuck it i’m gonna write it and then i did

warning: angst, character death - you can pry stoicup from my cold dead fingers

...

He still remembers the first time he held his son. Seven months early and unclean from the birth, Hiccup had come unannounced into his life.

He also remembers the look of the midwife. Too small, he probably won’t survive the night. Those words had put fear into Valka’s heart and made her weep for days. But Stoick had seen the sparkle in his infant eyes and hope bloomed in his breast. He’s gonna be the strongest of them all.

“Dad!”

The wound was deep, his blood was pooling around him, and he could feel himself slipping. Still, Stoick forced his eyes into focus. Above him, his only son was trying to keep him alive.

“Dad, please!”

It had been a while since he had looked at Hiccup’s face; Valka’s cheekbones, their eyes, the traditional Haddock nose, and he could see the few freckles that smarted his own face. Alongside them, dread, fear, and blood was on his only child’s face.

Regret burst in his breast. They had lost too much time because he didn’t listen. Time they could have spent together, create memories, and bridge the gap in their relationship that seemed grander than the size of Yggdrasil.

His anger and hate seemed so insignificant now, when he was dying in the arms of his son.

When he had first lost his son (back when he was only fifteen and he had run away because he had failed him as a parent) something had broken inside of him. When the raids had stopped, his rage had dimmed and he’d curse himself because revenge was all he had left.

Then Hiccup had come back, with a horde of dragons at his beck and call, preaching about peace and coexistence, and it had made Stoick spitting mad. They fought and that night he had lost his son for a second time. It took years, many barrels of mead, and Gobber beating him over the head with his hook to finally consider of a possible alliance.

It was also the fact that every time he saw the families around him, tore a bigger hole in his heart. It took a long while to accept the fact he was perhaps wrong, that his beliefs and pride has costed him his only remaining family. That he was an old man, tired and miserable and despite everything, he wanted his son back.

So he reached out. They made terms in tense tones and agreed on integrating dragons on Berk. Baby steps, I don’t trust you lot not kill them on sight, his Hiccup had said with a scowl while Stoick cursed himself for alienating his child so much he preferred fire-breathing beasts first over his own family.

The months that followed were weary and anxious. The beasts were everywhere and the Berkians still itched to their weapons every time a dragon sneezed.

For Stoick, they were of the best. Hiccup was coming and going, spending time teaching dragon riding to the volunteers and having awkward dinners at the Great Hall. But despite the naysayers, Stoick could see that his fantasy of having his son back was able. The spark that had been lost was coming back in Hiccup’s eyes, and Stoick couldn’t but feel proud.

Now, that spark was almost completely gone.

“Dad, please! Stay with me! Dad!”

Stoick could feel Hiccup’s fingers pressing down, trying to hold back the blood. Futile, Stoick knew this was it for him. But first, he had to make sure…

“It’s not your fault.” Stoick croaked and raised a shaky hand to his son’s cheek. “It’s not. You wanted peace. We all did. It’s not your fault.”

After Berk, there was an idea of reaching out to the other Tribes. They had a plan, it had been risky but they both were willing to take it. It had been going great for a while, until old ghosts rose from Stoick’s past.

The Thing that had been for peace resulted in blood and death.

War had been declared. The Hooligan tribe had been outlawed. Stoick knew what he had to do.

“Take them… and go.”

Dragon fire burst from their left and he saw Berkians and Dragons forming a circle around them, protecting them. Someone screamed something over the chaos -Hold the line! Keep them back! Where’s the healer?!- right as Hiccup’s face broke above him.

“Dad. No. You’re fine, hear me? You’re going to be fine!”

He was so much like Valka. Keeping hope even when the world was against them. But they had no time left. He was slipping away and enemies were baying for his head, his Hiccup’s head.

“I’m sorry, son. I wish we had more time.”

As he talked, he drew a shaky rune on his son’s forehead. Hiccup tried to move away, tell him again he’ll be fine, but hands gripped his shoulders and forced him in place. 

Stoick saw Spitelout trying to keep his face straight, just like his Generals that were now looking over with red-rimmed eyes.

With a nod to his half-brother, he finished the rune and took a shuddering breath.

“Lead them true. Keep them safe.”

“Dad--”

“I love you. I’m proud of you.” Stoick coughed and felt more blood filling his lungs. “I know you’re going to make me proud. I love you, son. Never forget that.”

Stoick let the darkness take him, giving his final blessings to his grieving son and longing to reunite with his wife.

[wickedcriminal]

your httyd half-brothers au is amazing!! i am so in love with the hiccups 😍 i’m also curious about how valka and valhallarama get along in this au and what they think of each other, what do you think?

AAH THANK YOU and I'm glad you asked because I've been wanting to talk about them!! Answering these all together so I can get in depth about the Haddock family.

So to establish the groundwork, the story goes that Stoick fell in love with and married Valka, but after she had Hiccup, she was taken away by dragons and was presumed dead. Over the next five years, Stoick went through a grieving process where he eventually came to terms with and accepted her death, and found it in him to open his heart again.

The person he opened his heart to again was Valhallarama, who was also beginning to open her heart again after the supposed death of her former lover, Humongously Hotshot the hero (or Oswald the Agreeable of you wanted to go with this post!). In this case, Valhallarama's sentiment from the books "you weren't my first love but you are my last" applies to both of them!

The Hiccups with the Moms:

When the Hiccups meet Valka in HTTYD2, Hiccup the Elder's reaction is mostly the same except for him being a little more hesitant to call her 'Mom', because he grew up calling Valhallarama that and he doesn't want to discredit her place in his life. Of course, Valhallarama did spend most of the boys' childhood out questing, meaning the role of mother figure was generally pretty vacant, and Valka does put in more of an effort to spend time with her son(s) when she meets them, which Hiccup the Elder still appreciates despite holding more complex feelings about her being away for 20 years without coming back to him.

Hiccup the Younger, on the other hand, is actually downright ecstatic about Valka. He was nervous at first, and then Valka showed him the dragon sanctuary. And then she showed him she knew dragonese. He was pretty much sold on her after that. Of course he's still understanding of his older brother's more nuanced feelings, but he and Valka would absolutely hit it off so hard. His relationship with Valka has him accepting her as the type of mother figure that Valhallarama isn't, since we know from the books that his relationship with her is slightly strained due to her extended absences and her tougher way of parenting.

(Of course, Stoick himself downright has an aneurysm. He still loves Valka, of course, but it doesn't undermine his love for Valhallarama to see she's alive; after all, Stoick has already had twenty years to accept her death and find happiness elsewhere. Still, he really wants Valka to come home with him, to see what Berk has become and get to be a part of her son's life again.)

After Stoick's death, both Valka and Valhallarama take this as a wake up call to finally make an effort to be a part of their sons' lives again. Valhallarama starts coming and staying home more often, and Valka returns to Berk, bringing their family closer together at last.

The Moms with each other

As for how Valka and Valhallarama think of each other, it takes a bit of time to develop a kinship between them. They don't harbor any bad blood, or even resentment in particular, but it is a little awkward, to say the least. After a few months, though, they start to bond over raising their sons together and find common ground, and become proper friends and establish an excellent partnership.

As for if they get together eventually, maybe they will!! The only thing keeping me from saying for certain was Valhallarama's sentiment to Stoick; 'you aren't my first love, but you are my last'. But then, human hearts are not made of stone; they can break and heal and beat again.

Perhaps these ladies' hearts have room for one more.

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Father’s Worst Nightmare

Summary: Set during RttE. Stoick has imagined it before. After losing Valka, after watching the other Chiefs burn in the inferno that Drago caused, Stoick imagined losing Hiccup to that very same fiery fate. Despite the years spent protecting him, Stoick discover he still wasn't ready for the real deal. NO MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH.

Rating: Teen and Up

Words: 1 912

Prompt: Burn(s)

Author’s Notes: Written for the prompt "Burns" over on the Httyd whump Discord that I'm in. This was a lot of fun to write.

Constructive criticism is highly appreciated!

Enjoy!

AO3

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Stoick has imagined it before.

When he lost Valka and watched her be taken into the dark night sky by a Stormcutter while he and their son were left in the burning house that was once their home. When Drago came down with his dragon army and turned the Great Hall in which all the Chiefs of the Archipelago had gathered into a blazing inferno. During every single dragon attack on Berk, he imagined it.

He imagined losing Hiccup to fire, to the flames of dragons.

In his darkest moments, he heard him scream. At night, in his nightmares, he watched him burn. Every morning he woke up, he prepared himself for the possibility that this day could be his last with his son.

For so long, that was all Stoick could think about. Since the boy's birth, he has thanked the Gods for each and every day Hiccup had not yet been taken from him.

But his wild imagination, the years of detachment and fighting, not even watching his son nearly be engulfed by the fires of the dying Red Death has ever managed to prepare Stoick for the day he watched a Singetail burn Hiccup alive.

It happened on the island that was supposed to become the Jorgenson's Storehouse Island.

As Stoick, Spitelout and Snotlout along with their dragons cornered the Singetail that had come to claim the land as theirs, Hiccup and Toothless flew up from underneath to blast the belly of the beast and chase it away. What was supposed to be any dragon's weakness was a surprise ambush in waiting from a Singetail instead.

As the fires from its belly came down upon them, Toothless tried to back up in time. Stoick had seen him try with a cry of panic, but the flames from the Singetail were too quick to avoid.

Many times Stoick had the displeasure of imagining what his only child's screaming would sound like. One time he had the misfortune of hearing them as an urgent amputation was performed on Hiccup to save his life from a rotting leg. The sounds he heard Hiccup make the day a Singetail burned him, Stoick had the bad luck to discover that they didn't even sound human anymore.

They managed to get him back home. It had been a torture to do so, but Hiccup lied in bed now. He was knocked out cold after all the sedative drugs Gothi managed to stuff his system full with. Painkillers and mind-altering herbs that Hiccup would need if they wanted his recovery to be as painless as they could make it. And if they wanted him to retain as little memory of this ordeal as was possible. It's how they got him through the loss of his leg as well.

Stoick sat by his bedside, Hiccup's bed having been moved to the groundfloor. He was just as lost now as he was last time.

Neck, torso, all of his right arm and his left forearm were bandaged up. His face and hair, though the latter was signed in some places, had been spared in the blast as Hiccup's arms had taken the brunt instead.

There was a mix of burns. Some would take weeks to heal, most would take months. Along the way, they would have to watch out for infections. They would have to fight the pain too. It would be Hiccup's reality his every waking moment, all they could do was help him lighten it and help him sleep through it.

For now, though, he was still. He slept.

Toothless did too, but his slumber was a light one. Stoick could see the Night Fury's ears twitching at the smallest of sounds. Minutes ago, Sharpshot scampered across the wooden floor in search of fish and Toothless was already wide awake to see what the source of those tiny claws were.

Stoick was thankful for that. For both Toothless' watchful eye and that his son slept. At least for now.

It was night, he should be sleeping too, but found that it was nigh impossible. He already needed to abandon his son during the day to perform his duties as Chief, when Gobber helped Toothless watch over him instead, Stoick couldn't bear to be apart from Hiccup at night as well.

He blamed Spitelout. For being too stubborn, for not listening, for not knowing about all of the Singetail's abilities. It went so far that the Chief hadn't even allowed Snotlout to come see his cousin yet.

"Dad-dad, I... I didn't know about the- about the- about the underbelly either. I should've- I should've known!" That is what Hiccup told him days ago, when Gothi tried to clean his burns for the first time and Stoick had mentioned thinking that the Jorgensons were responsible for this.

In between his sobs and his cries, even in agony, his son would defend others.

How had it taken him fifteen whole years to see these sides to him?

Pulled out of his thoughts, Stoick took his gaze off Hiccup's hand, held in both of his own, to look at his face. Hiccup let out small strangled noises of pain and wore a grimace, sure signs that his painkillers had worn off. The hurt was waking him up.

Gently laying the young man's hand down, the Chief stood up to go prepare the medicine Hiccup would need in the kitchen.

Waking up meant the chance to visit the outhouse, have something to drink and eat, a change of bandages, but he wouldn't want to stay awake for long. He would want peace and relief soon. Gothi left plenty of herbs. All Stoick had to do was mix them and add water.

By the time he was finished and returned with both it as well as water and a light meal, he could hear Hiccup groaning in the other room. Toothless was already up and purring by his side.

"Bud... Bud." Stoick noticed his son's eyes were open and focussed on Toothless as the Night Fury cooed comforting sounds to his Rider. He wanted to pet him on the nose.

"You're awake." Stoick's voice was soft as he settled back in his seat. His gaze was as gentle as he sounded as he looked down at his son. Teary eyes were wide as they stared back up to him. Hiccup was already trembling all over.

"Are you in any pain?" The Chief wasn't a fool, he knew Hiccup's every nerve must be on fire now, but at least this way he could provide Hiccup an opportunity to voice what he felt. Perhaps, it was a reminder to Hiccup that he didn't need to hide his hurt from his father.

"Yeah. Hurts." Some of Hiccup's tears slipped. Awake for less than five minutes and already the young man wished he'd never woken up.

Setting the medicine down on a small table next to the bed, Stoick knew Hiccup would need to face half an hour to an hour more of this agony before he could have the sweet, sweet release of sleep to put an end to his suffering.

It made Stoick feel even more guilty than he already did.

For failing to protect his son, for not being able to take away the pain, for not knowing what involving Hiccup in his quest to find Spitelout would lead to.

Stoick wished he could reverse time. Even when the burns would eventually heal, many of them would leave behind ugly scars that would remain sensitive. Berk's cold certainly wouldn't be kind to them. This could very well be an injury, received in just the blink of an eye, that would trouble Hiccup for years to come.

He had yet to forgive himself for the loss of Hiccup's leg too.

"Dad?" Pulled out of his wandering thoughts once more, Stoick noticed Hiccup reaching for the mug of water.

"Water. Please?" He looked almost desperate for it and his father was reminded of the fact that one of Gothi's fears was that Hiccup's burns were internal as well.

They weren't, another something Stoick thanked the Gods for, but the mere possibility had certainly kept him up at night.

"Here, son." Hiccup's throat was only dry, fortunately. He sat up as he accepted the mug his father offered to him. The act of sitting up was not an easy feat and Stoick needed to help him stay up, but resisting the urge to down the entire drink in one gulp was evidently more difficult for Hiccup.

Hiccup shrunk in on himself as he handed the wooden mug back and whimpered, the first sign of desperation already showing through. He wanted to fall asleep again, but he also knew his bandages and his body's needs needed tending to first.

He didn't look forward to the next hour or two. He didn't look forward to tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or the ones following afterwards.

"What do you think, son? Something to eat? Or do you want your bandages changed first?" It took Stoick every little bit of his willpower to keep his composure.

Hiccup was suffering. He could see it in the way his son shivered, in how he was using every ounce of his own strength to not break out into a crying fit right in front of his Chief because of the hurt tearing his nerves apart, in the way his one somewhat uninjured hand grabbed a fistful of the covers. Stoick knew very little to measure up to what Hiccup was feeling, but it pained the man to see him this way.

He tried to stay strong and yet he was about to break.

When Hiccup's face inevitably contorted into a pained grimace, he lied down and small noises of pain left his vocals. Hiccup's strength failed him as he lost his battle and he began to cry.

Hiccup almost curled up on his side, but that move just brought him even more pain. Everything he did brought nothing more than pain. And there wouldn't be any relief, not for another hour or so.

Stoick could lay a hand on Hiccup's one mostly unscathed shoulder and let him know he was here, but there was little else he could do to help him. There wasn't anything else Toothless could do besides giving him reassuring rumbles and his nearest thigh a nudge either. The Night Fury was too scared to even settle on the bed like he usually would, afraid that his dry scales would accidentally brush up against his Rider's burnt skin.

All Stoick could really do was sigh deeply and cast his gaze downward in sorrow. Hiccup's mug was still in his hand as he sat there and listened to his son cry, knowing those tears and his pitiful sobbing wouldn't stop until Gothi's mixture would knock him out again.

They all needed to get through these coming months. Hiccup would need to heal, would need to take care of himself and live with the kind of pain able to tear one's sanity apart. Stoick would need to live with his guilt, with the knowledge that he couldn't save his son's mother, his leg and now most of his upper body.

These would be trying times and all the while Hiccup still worried about the Dragon Hunters, but they would need to get through them.

Someway, somehow, they would need to live to see the day they could be okay again.

[howtodrawyourdragon]

Red Snow: Chapter 2 - A Loss Too Great

Summary:  HICCUP WHUMP. HTTYD 2 AU. Stoick doesn't die. Hiccup saw him coming, saw the tragedy that was about to unfold before him and ran away. Toothless would follow. All Hiccup had to do was outlast him. Outlast him and maybe everything would be okay.

Author’s Note: And here it is! Part 2! Please enjoy! Constructive criticism is appreciated.

"HICCUP!" Stoick the Vast had bellowed his son's name many times in his life. Sometimes in anger and other times in joy, but none could measure to the sheer volume he conjured up that day.

He had finally caught up to his runaway offspring, only to bear witness to the final strike that may have taken his life.

Staggering backwards at first as fear wrapped its paralyzing embrace around his beating heart and caused his large body to feel even heavier than ever before, the Chief pushed onwards. He had never run as fast as he had done then to reach Hiccup in time.

Valka followed, but briefly hesitated behind him too. Her eyes wide and her mouth agape in disbelieve at what she had just seen happen right in front of her.

"Hiccup." She spoke. A worry so suffocating she might aswell die on the spot welled up inside, but she continued running. She had to know. She had to be there. Her son needed her and she would no longer stand by idly.

Gobber, meanwhile, had come to a full stop.

It was difficult to keep up with two perfectly able people with a simple wooden peg leg, but he had stubbornly given chase aswell. If just to make sure his apprentice would be okay.

Hiccup had survived much in his life. Even the boy's own birth hadn't gone without complications. He was a fighter when needed and a lucky one at that. The blacksmith never expected this to happen to him and then not get back up.

The young man just lied there in the cold snow, unmoving. Gobber felt every little bit of warmth from within himself be drained. He remained motionless. "Oh no." His voice broke and his devastation painted his face as he shook his head.

It couldn't be true. This couldn't have possibly happened. This had to be a dream, a nightmare. How could the Gods be cruel enough to let this battle take that boy away from them?

Gobber had to tell himself to move. Hiccup, his apprentice, his son, needed him.

"Hiccup!" Stoick was the first to reach the quiet figure lying on the frigid ground. Hiccup hadn't moved the entire time it took his father to reach him and he had crossed quite a distance. He stayed where he lied, limp on his side. The ground below him tainted with the deep red colour of blood.

Stoick let his being fall to his knees. He didn't even notice the pain as all attention was focussed on the one thing that mattered right now. His son, his poor boy.

"Hiccup." It was all he could say, his child's name. Every other word was lost to him. Nothing else would roll of his tongue. It was as if he had forgotten how to properly speak altogether.

He found himself pausing as he stared, his hands hovering over the person in front of him, but not daring to touch. He couldn't find the strength to do this to him in this state. Not with hands so large and rough. He worried he might only make it worse.

Hiccup's eyes were closed, his expression unnervingly peaceful and his skin was a ghostly pale from the blood he had lost. His freckles barely stood out anymore.

The skin that still remained intact, that is.

Once able to push past his distress, as gently as he could, Stoick softly placed his hands on his son and moved him onto his back.

Eyes widened and tears welled up, a sensation he had only made himself familiar with on a few other dire occasions in his life. One of them the supposed death of his wife, the woman sprinting towards them now.

This was different from back when the Red Death had just been defeated. Toothless had kept him mostly safe from the blazing inferno that had once been the mountainous dragon. It was so much easier to lay his hands on him then, when he wasn't so obviously torn and broken. Today, he feared a simple touch would hurt him even more.

As Stoick gazed down on Hiccup, stunned, overwhelmed, his breath momentarily coming to a halt, he noticed a terrible burn damaging part of his face. Raw, wet and blackened. That were his right cheek, his chin, his jaw, his temple, his ear. Some of his wild hair had been singed away and Stoick noticed his neck was burned aswell. All around. His freckles there were gone for good.

The chest piece he wore had been lost with the explosion aswell as the pauldrons on his right side and Stoick wasn't about to go search for their remains. The entire right side of Hiccup's torso had been badly burned aswell as some of his thigh. It was obvious which part of him had ended up takeing the brunt of the plasma blast.

But it couldn't compare to other wounds. It couldn't possibly compare to his arm.

Or lack thereof.

A strangled sob left the mountainous man at the wretched sight. Though not usually one to cry, seeing this broke him.

Once again something had been cruelly taken from his son. When all the boy really wanted was peace, that which he loved to be safe and happy, he had to lose something again. He couldn't bear to see Berk caught in another war. That was the only reason why they were here now. Why Hiccup lied here before him.

Stoick wondered if someone ruthless played with his son as if his life were some kind of game.

And yet...His fault. This was his fault. If he had just reached him in time. If he could have just stopped Hiccup from approaching Drago, stopped him from still wanting to try reasoning with the madman now that they had lost the Bewilderbeast of the Sanctuary... Stoick could only blame himself.

Vikings had lost limbs during the Dragon Scourge. Some had met the horrible fate of burning to death. Others were scarred for life and could no longer even look at the reassuring light of a campfire.

For years Stoick had prevented this fate from befalling his son. Now that the war with the dragons was finally over, that fate had mockingly taken his son anyway.

For a second time.

"Hiccup!" Stoick had continued to stare at Hiccup, at a complete loss on what to do despite years of experience, and barely even registered Valka's arrival as she sank down to the blood soaked snow aswell. Her knees becoming stained.

She, too, hesitated for a moment and felt her every inch tremble at the state her estranged son had ended up in before daring to lay a hand on the young man. She did what Stoick did not have the power or mind to do. She placed her ear on Hiccup's injured chest to listen for a heartbeat.

No matter how small. No matter how fragile. She hoped to hear a single beat.

Valka released a shaky gasp and tears sprung free as she looked up to her husband. Stoick feared the worst.

"He's alive." They were tears of relief.

"Alive?" It was the most softest, smallest voice Valka had ever heard the intimidating Chief of Berk speak in.

"He's alive!" She repeated and a sob broke through. The widest and most saddest smile present on her face. There was still a pulse to be found in their son. Though soft and shallow, he was still breathing.

Which also meant he might wake up to a world of pain soon.

"What're you two doing then?! Bind that arm!" Came Gobber's shaky voice, moving his hand to dry his eyes. Neither man or woman had noticed his presence, but both shot into action the moment he spoke.

They had to come down from the high their son's miraculous survival had given them. He wasn't in the clear yet.

Stoick ripped the green leather straps holding the fur of his armbrace in place and used it as a tourniquet while Valka held the injured limb tenderly in place. Wrapping it as tightly as he could around the remains of that right arm, Stoick managed to stop the bleeding for now. Hopefully on time. They would need to cauterize it soon.

Gobber released a breath and wiped at his face again. He found a nearby chunk of ice to sit his trembling self on.

That last corridor Hiccup had attempted to clear had been blown to smithereens. It was a miracle he was still breathing. It was extraordinairy how there was still so much of the boy left.

All three of them were rattled to their cores and there were tears in their eyes that they could not stop. Relief eased their burdens. They wanted to revel in the knowledge that their Hiccup lived. Anticipation for what's next could wait another second.

But none of their fear, or their relief, could compare to the sheer terror Toothless felt when Drago's Bewilderbeast finally let go of his mind and forced him to come face to face with what he had done.

Toothless had been confused at first, dizzy. It felt like waking up from a really long nightmare.

Simply sitting down and shutting his eyes, he collected himself and let his senses come back to him. As if all of them had been muffled and distorted for some strange reason. He did not even seem to recall that a battle was supposed to be taking place.

Toothless found himself wondering what day it was. Where he was. Where Hiccup might be. Those questions floated around in his mind and he knew no answers.

He didn't feel threatened or like he had just been fighting. Just strangely tired and calm. Like nothing was quite wrong.

Then he blinked and noticed poeple up ahead, people he knew.

Three of them surrounding a fourth one.

That lean figure he could recognize from anywhere. And to see it covered in blood, Toothless' heart stopped as it all came back to him.

Mapping the world with Hiccup, Astrid's arrival, the trappers, Hiccup's mother, Drago Bludvist, the battle, the Good Bewilderbeast's death, ...

Losing himself to Drago's will...

Red.

Vision.

Purple.

Fire.

Pleading.

Hiccup.

Hunting.

Hiccup.

Blood.

Hiccup!

The returning images brought pain to his mind, but Toothless pushed it all away in favour of concentrating on just the one person that mattered to him.

Spurred into action by his concern for his Rider, Toothless came racing as fast as he could. It took him a mere second or two. Pushing past Gobber and being allowed a look by Valka, he now remembered her name being, the always protective and loving dragon could finally assess Hiccup's state.

Everything stopped then. His heart, his breathing, his mind.

Toothless stared at the multitude of severe injuries, the torn and blackened armour, at the absence of most of one right arm, at the eerie peacefulness of his Rider.

Was he... Dead?

He stared, but it didn't quite register. His brain malfunctioned. He didn't seem to understand that this was Hiccup, although the proof was undeniable.

Valka and Gobber watched with pain in their hearts as Toothless flew into a denial and tried to wake his Viking up. Purring, crooning, he pushed his snout against Hiccup's unscathed cheek so he could get Hiccup to open the eyes he loved so much and give him that lopsided smile so typically him.

Who could do this to him? To Hiccup of all people?

Toothless knew the answer, but he didn't want it to be true.

But Denial was not wanted here.

Just short of hitting the dragon on the snout did a heavy war hammer drop between him and Hiccup. Toothless moved his gaze upwards and faced the most hateful glare he had ever witnessed in Stoick the Vast's darkened eyes.

Suddenly five years of peace meant nothing anymore and he felt like a 'devil' all over again.

But this was it.

Hiccup's father would only ever glare this way at people who hurt him.

Alvin, Ryker, Viggo, Krogan, Johan...

And now him.

Denying it was no longer possible. The truth had been made cruelly bare to him.

No one here had hurt Hiccup, except for his most loyal and trusting friend.

"Leave, Devil." Stoick whispered with a fire so toxic and out of control that Toothless shrunk in on himself.

He glanced at Hiccup.

"Leave!" The roar released by the enraged man got him to move. Valka watched him go in sympathy, with a want to comfort both man and dragon. Gobber had his eyes downcast.

Toothless was now alone.

And the full gravity of his actions came crashing down on him.

Stoick's thundering roar is what caught Astrid's attention.

She and the other Dragon Riders had been fighting a losing battle ever since the death of the Bewilderbeast of the Sanctuary.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of men hoping to capture the wild dragons of this Northern nest and for every trap destroyed there were still five more to take their place. For every trapper, there were at least a dozen more. Drago had come with an entire fleet, filled to the brim with loyal pawns, weapons and armoured dragons at his disposal.

But the warriors of Berk were just that. Warriors. No matter how hopeless the fight, they wouldn't back down until their leader told them too and even then it was usually to regroup and think of a better strategy. They were stubborn that way.

Yet at the same time their strength was waning and they had not a clue where Hiccup and Toothless were. Despite that, they had been hoping the former could come up with a last minute plan just in time. Wherever he was and whatever he was doing out there, they knew they could always count on him and his brilliance.

Not one of the nine Riders had any idea he faced Drago Bludvist alone, hoping to still end the war without any more bloodshed now that they had lost the great alpha of this nest. There was very little else they could lose now, so he believed. The risk was worth it.

The Dragon Riders never saw a mind controlled Toothless made to hunt Hiccup down and failed to notice that one last shot that had felled him away from the battlefield. So busy on keeping each other and the dragons safe, the brutal attack on their own lead Rider remained unknown to them all.

Until the moment Stoick the Vast commanded that Toothless leave his son be and Astrid heard him through the rush of the wind and the sounds of war in her ears.

Leaving Eret to work together with Stormfly, she looked over to where her chief's booming voice came from and she saw just a little dot of what she guessed were people. Far, far away.

Confused and bewildered to see those figures there, she already knew something just had to be wrong and she called to the others.

"Guys!" Grabbing their attention as they remained closeby to watch each other's backs, she directed them all over to where their elders were standing. Hotburple, Rumblehorn and Stormcutter not in sight.

There was no Night Fury to be seen either. Anywhere. Though that didn't necessarily mean a bad thing. Hiccup and Toothless could still be fighting. Somewhere.

The Dragon Riders expected something as they veered away from the battlefield to land near the small group of familiars.

A new plan, a turn of events, something, but never this.

A blacksmith struggling to keep himself composed as he sat on a chunk of ice. He had his one hand covered his face, breathing deeply. A recently reunited couple huddled together, kneeling on snow soaked in blood that wasn't theirs. And then their best friend and leader, bloodied and gravely injured, clutched to his father's chest.

"Oh no..." None of the Riders or the Dragons really registered Eret's words of doom while Astrid slid off her Nadder. Numb, her gaze stuck on a much too quiet Hiccup, she came over. The closer she got, the worse it was.

All of her strength left her the second she reached her betrothed and fell down next to him. The freezing chill of the arctic could never compare to the cold within. Her hands moved, ghosting over his cheeks as she wanted to cup them and feel his warmth, but she didn't dare.

What happened to him? There were so many burns. Way too many. Blood covered him, soaked Stoick's tunic and the ground below them. Chunks of Hiccup's armour and flightsuit were missing. There were messy cuts all over his body and she couldn't imagine the hidden bruises. His skin was simply too pale.

"Hiccup?" Her voice was soft, high, a mere whisper as she looked up to her Chief and his lost wife.

She realized they were sorrowful, but not mourning.

"He's alive. Just barely, but holding on." The woman who Hiccup had earlier introduced as his mother spoke up, spend tears drying on her cheeks. Momentarily a hand of hers hovered over Astrid's shoulder, but she withdrew it.

"Alive? Are you sure?" Fishlegs' voice was a whimper, his person a quaking mess. Of all the Riders who had approached, he was the farthest away. Afraid of the possible truth.

The woman nodded with but the smallest hint of a forced smile and Gobber looked over, but there was still no response from Stoick, who held his son to his chest as if letting go would cause him to turn to dust before their very eyes.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had a hold of each other, a show of comfort reserved only for moments as severe as these. Snotlout's eyes were wide in disbelieve, Astrid could see him trying to understand what he saw and failing at doing so. They were wet too, though he didn't seem to notice. All of them shaken, they had a hard time figuring out why or even how this happened.

Hiccup 'impervious to any and all injuries except for the loss of one leg' Haddock. How could he be the one cradled in his father's arms, just an inch away from death? This couldn't be real.

Eret dismounting Stormfly is what drew Astrid's attention to the Dragons and she noticed that they, too, stood there as if petrified.

Hiccup was their original trainer, the first Viking to use affectionate scratches and harmless dragon nip to incapacitate them as opposed to brutal violence. If not for the kindness they loved receiving from him, the years spend by his and Toothless' sides had helped them love him as much as he did them.

None was brave enough to move closer. It almost seemed like they would rather shy away from the sight. All except Hookfang, who nudged Snotlout, but got no response.

However, Stormfly was missing.

Fingers entangled within Hiccup's matted hair, Astrid turned away further to scan the beach for her Nadder, only to find both her and the Night Fury.

Stormfly circled Toothless worriedly, chirping around the black figure who had hid himself away, his back facing them.

Why was he there instead of here with Hiccup? Other times he was hurt, the dragon barely even let him go to the bathroom on his own.

"Toothless-"

"Don't."

The young woman wanted to jump up and run over, see if Toothless was okay, but her Chief stopped her.

Finally looking up, there was a look of pure rage in his eyes that he didn't care to cover up.

"He's the reason my son is like this." The way he spoke, so cold and vengeful, send shivers down their spines.

The Riders all looked to each other and the Dragons grew restless. They weren't sure what to think. Toothless would be the last person to ever harm the Viking he adored, much like said Viking would never harm him.

This was it. Astrid wanted some clear answers.

"What do you mean? How could Toothless ever hurt-"

But her questions would have to wait as Stoick lowered his son from the protective confines of his embrace, but didn't let go. His action didn't only reveal the true extent of Hiccup's injuries, but also the horrific state of his arm.

They all gasped. Eret muttered something under his breath, the woman looked away as did Gobber and Astrid drew back.

His arm. Where was Hiccup's right arm?!

It looked like it was blown right off.

But how could Toothless possibly have done this? Was it an accident?

"But how... How- how could... Toothless." Astrid was torn between staring at the torn stump and looking away. She could hardly finish her question.

"Because that Night Fury couldn't fight off Drago's control. Because he hunted down his Rider relentlessly and-"

"Stoick, please." The fair woman tried to intervene in the Chief's accusations, but it was fruitless.

"You've seen it too, Valka, you were there! Six times that devil-"

"It's not Toothless' fault! You know that!" Her eyes were brimming with fresh tears. The state her son was in broke her heart, but so did her broken husband's words.

"Val!"

"A good dragon under the control of bad people will do bad things! It's not his fault!" Valka defended Toothless and she would do so until the very end. She did it with every little remaining energy in her being.

The Night Fury was a victim here too. His mind violated, his body taken, used as a means to kill his soulmate... They could not place the blame on him.

Astrid realized then she was crying aswell.

She looked behind her again, past the Riders who had gravitated closer to each other as they attempted to process the fact that their friend had lost another limb, past the Dragons who dealt with this in their own way, and saw Toothless and Stormfly. But unlike her future father-in-law, couldn't bring herself to hate him like he did.

There was only one monster deserving of her hate here.

And he was crying out his battlecry and swinging his hook.

The defeated warriors watched as the enemy Bewilderbeast let out a mighty roar and suddenly their dragons left them.

"Hookfang!"

"Meatlug, wait, where are you going?!"

"Barf-"

"Belch?! What're you guys doing?!"

"Stormfly!"

Their pupils mindless narrowed slits now, they were no longer in control of themselves as they took off and joined Drago's growing army of living machines of war.

They were helpless. All of them.

"Gather the dragons, gather the men. Our next target is Berk." Bludvist's cruel voice rang loud and clear across the entire frozen beach as he commanded the Trappers to retreat with their spoils.

There was amusement in his tone, glee, and he gazed down upon them from the back of a Stormcutter.

"Cloudjumper." Valka whispered in devastation.

"Leave the Night Fury here. A creature as weak and pathetic as that has no place in my army. Let it die at the hands of Stoick the Vast." It was mocking, but it explained why all the dragons except for Toothless left. After taking a total of six shots before 'killing' Berk's heir, Drago had no use for him.

The Riders, the former Trapper, the Chief, the Dragon Thief and the blacksmith all watched the army of terror leave with their fleet and their dragons. The Bewilderbeast sinking into the ocean once more. They were headed towards Berk, towards their home, and they were powerless to stop it.

Deafening silence settled upon the Sanctuary afterwards. The kind King of Dragons was dead and Hiccup might follow soon. The inhabitents of the island they had all sought to protect were gone. Their home was to be the next target.

The Dragon Riders had been defeated.

[thorongil82]

Curse of the Dragonheart - Prologue

There was a time – long, long, long ago, when the world was ruled by the kingdoms of the Vikings spread far and wide across many islands. These kingdoms were in an eternal contest with one another; a rivalry between all over the wealth and treasures hidden across the world, the richness of their culture, the vastness of their armies and the fierceness of their warriors. And, above all, their determination to be the greatest dragon slayers and win their eternal war with the demons of death.

In the period that this tale takes place, eight Viking kingdoms still ruled the world. The Berserkers, under the rule of King Oswald the Agreeable, had spread across several islands spread far amongst the west with great seas separating them. Their mighty armada ruled those waters, keeping all pirates crossing their regions under control, while their soldiers were known for their wild ferocity in battle. The Uglithugs, ruled by King Ug the Ugly, were, true to their name, not the best looking of people. As a collective they were greedy, lusting for anything they believed truly belonged to them. They had plenty of warriors and at one stage had the largest army of all. The Meatheads, led by King Mogadon the Rash, took great interests into the conquests of the other nations, always willing to challenge them at any moment. While physically they were quite capable, they were known to be a little slow intellectually. The Bog-Burglars, presided by Queen Bertha the Well-Endowed, is a queendom where the women rule. The only men living in their territory are those that have been captured or selected by a Bog warrior as a mate, made to live underneath the women as their servants. They are fierce rivals of several of the Viking kingdoms who are famous for their excellent burglary skills, though, as they rightfully claim, they are as good at burglary as everything else.

The Frostwalkers, ruled by King Ormand the Serious and Queen Helen the Patient, occupied the frozen tundra and treacherous ice sheets of the northern waters. They were strong survivors who hunted the dangerous beasts believed to live on the northern edge of the world, seeking out the glacial dragon nests and slaughtering whatever beset them. The Skullreapers were a mysterious kingdom heard of only when a delegation bearing their banner sailed in from the southern seas. Their king was not known by any outside of their territory but was referred to by their travelling dignitaries as King Gorad the Mighty. The reason they were so mysterious led to them holding the few islands close to the fog banks of Helheim’s Gate, serving as the first line of defence from the beasts that leapt forth from the veil. The fact that they were still alive led to the belief that their warriors must be great indeed. The Outcasts have recently been united under the rule of now King Alvin the Grim, formerly Treacherous. Once they were a vast empire until their greed and lust for power tore their kingdom apart, sundering them into several smaller territories. Alvin managed to bring the regions back together by reigniting their fires and hatred for the other kingdoms, bringing together a large army ready for a bloody war until peace was established.

But the largest and greatest of all the Viking kingdoms was Berk, ruled by King Stoick the Vast. Living amongst the central archipelago, Berk’s status was unparalleled compared to the other kingdoms. Their riches were untold, their ships swift and deadly, and their warriors powerful and vicious dragon killers. Sitting atop a mountainous island, Berk’s fortress capital had never fallen in battle to both Vikings and dragons. The great walls of white stood up high near the sheer cliff-face, with large catapults and ballistae lining the watchtowers. The town was filled with many buildings of thick oak logs and marble blocks that constantly needed repairing and rebuilding through the numerous dragon raids. The castle stood tall above the surrounding structures, built up against and into the great mountain of Raven’s Peak, while winding down the hill from the town gates lay the large wooden docks, the greatest trading hub in the world.

Under the rule of Stoick and his father before him Berk had been in the grips of a golden age. One that seemed to near its end with the disappearance and presumed death of Queen Valka the Fair, snatched in the claws of a four-winged dragon from their son’s room during a bloody dragon raid. Stoick was struck by grief and madness, unleashing his fury against every dragon that dared to fly near the citadel. He also sent assault after assault into Helheim’s Gate, searching for the dragon’s nest and the devil that stole Valka in particular. But with each foray into the southern fog bank, fewer ships would return home and the dragon’s nest remained undiscovered. Berk’s vast resources were declining the longer these searches carried on. However, there was one thing that managed to break through the depression of the king, bringing him back to his senses; his son and heir, Prince Hiccup Haddock III. With the support of his council of advisors, he was able to shift his focus from his bloodthirsty desire for revenge towards raising his son. The attacks into Helheim’s Gate persisted still, just nowhere near as frequent, though with the Berkian lust for the blood of dragons there were few complaints for the reduction.

And so, Berk returned to glory with the prospect of greater prestige to come. At first glance, Prince Hiccup did not appear to be like his forefathers. He was scrawny, thin, short and lacked the initial strength his father did. He also took a greater interest in books, stories and exploration rather than training and dragon slaying. The prince was a fast learner and quickly took to inventing, creating many weapons that helped finetune the defences of Berk and developing systems that eased the lives of the people, such as a water dispensary unit held above the houses that, with the pull of a cord, would shower the building from the top down with water when it had been set ablaze. But what really set him above all the others was that, at the age of 10, he managed to tame the unholy offspring of night and death itself, a Night Fury. Not just that, but he was also able to convince the rest of Berk that dragons weren’t all bad; some could be good, loyal and trustworthy. In fact, just about every dragon was innocent and trustworthy, so long as you proved you could be trusted too. It was a hard couple of months for the prince trying to convince his people, especially his father after what happened with Valka. But eventually, they came around after an ambush on the walls. With the Berk Guard caught off guard and unprepared, and the strike of the unknown forces swift and impacting, Hiccup managed to force them back with the aid of the Night Fury, Toothless. It even saved Stoick after he had tried several times to bring it down, which helped open the king’s eyes to the truth. No one ever knew who led and organised the attack on the capital, only that it seemed a mismatch of warriors banished from their respectful kingdoms.

Within a few months Hiccup had developed an unusually powerful bond not just with Toothless, but with all the dragons. He was quick to learn their ways and mannerisms, easily helping others forge relationships with new dragons. Berk flourished once more with their newly acquired allies, prospering far more than any period in Berk’s detailed history. But the young prince did not want to keep the power for himself, instead proposing to his father that the joys of union with dragons should be shared with the other kingdoms. Though wary, his father travelled with the prince as they visited each of the Viking kingdoms to try and persuade them that the war with the dragons did not need to continue, if they were willing to change. Naturally, the leaders and their heirs were all sceptical that such a change was possible, especially after how long they had been fighting against the fire-breathing creatures. But, one by one, they all eventually came around, even if it was just from the allure for greater power. However, it was a talent that was given only to the royals, lords and the elite guards to begin with in the other kingdoms, as a precaution. Dragon killing still happened throughout the world, though over time it became reduced throughout the kingdoms. Slaying a dragon was an option given only when a dragon went rogue and the lives of citizens were in danger. In Berk, that option was never needed as their prince could always be counted on to calm the situation.

In the years that followed, Berk’s acceptance of dragons had grown to the point that just about everyone in the kingdom had a dragon, if not more. Under the order of the king an academy had been built where the dragon slaying arena had once stood with the prince in charge, due to his connection with the dragons, where anyone from anywhere in the world could come to learn more about dragons and train with them. Such was his understanding of the scaled beasts and the way he had with them that everyone was willing to believe he somehow managed to have the heart and soul of a dragon within him. It was even rumoured that he could understand and speak their language, a skill he taught himself. As such, he had become known as the Dragonheart. At the time, it appeared the world would be moving forward together to a bright future, with Berk’s power and culture growing by the day.

But that all changed.

A week before Prince Hiccup’s 15th birthday, Grand Elder Gothi sought an audience with King Stoick. Having been an advisor to the Berk kings for a long time, the best healer in the archipelago and an incredible ability to be able to foretell events soon to come, Stoick the Vast was eager to hear what tidings she brought. Shortly afterwards, an emergency meeting was called to which everyone in the council, the king and the prince were to attend. Gothi’s message was simple: a curse was coming to Berk. One that would put every Viking in the region into a slumber that could last eternal. It would strike Berk on the day of Hiccup’s birthday and haunt the region until a kiss is placed onto the prince from his true love. Darkness would shroud the island, with creatures of shadow and cursed defences encompassing the fortress to ward against any who would try to break the curse. The dragons would not be put to sleep; a different scourge befalling them. She also warned that the curse would also affect any Berkian not in the region, though they would not be put into a deep slumber with the rest of them.

In a hurry the advisors tried to spout out ways to attempt to avert the curse. They suggested that they should try to find out who Hiccup’s love would be before the curse hits, so that the curse could be broken quickly. However, Stoick was quick to point out that it would be next to impossible in a week, not to mention that his true love might not even be in the world yet. Love is a very complicated emotion, after all. They proposed that maybe Gothi could create wards for everyone to protect them from the curse, but Gothi explained she could only protect so many people if she had the resources and the prince would not be one of them as he appeared to be the focus of the curse. On him it would be bound far too powerfully to protect against. Not only that, right now she didn’t have enough resources to save even one person from the plight and getting enough would take too long. The council then moved for transferring everyone bar the prince from the island, so that they could not be put to sleep. Stoick turned down this option as well, noting that it would not be wise to lead everyone to a fate they did not know about instead of the one they did.

In the end, they ruled that they would try to get every Berkian back to the capital before the curse befell them all, thus saving them from a dark unknown fate. Messages would be sent to all the other kingdoms informing them of the blight coming to Berk and to keep their people away until the day had passed. Stoick would also offer his son’s hand in marriage to the person who could break the curse, much to the chagrin of the prince. And so, sailors and dragon riders were sent out to deliver the messages and track down any citizens of Berk that were outside their territory. Inside the kingdom, everyone hurried to prepare themselves for their slumber, long as it could be. For no one knew how long they would have to wait for the curse to be broken, should they ever wake again. The prince spent his last waking days flying around with Toothless, searching for different places he had yet to explore and locations he would want to visit again. Everything he saw in the last days he had he would make a note of, filing up his books quickly with everything he wished to experience when he did wake up. But despite these preparations, he still looked for a way to keep the curse at bay. All through the day he would traverse the world, leaving people to see him less and less, while through the night he would search for any way that could prevent their fate. But nothing he devised would be able to work …

Continue reading on AO3 and FFN. Link to AO3 version on a post on my blog, as well as links to AO3 and FFN accounts.

[p-artsypants]

The North Tower (11)- New Search

Previous 

AO3 | FF.net 

“I can’t find my body.” After ageless centuries, everyone else was now where they were supposed to be. And yet, poor Hiccup was left behind. That was plenty of a good reason to be upset.

His mother, Valka, was immediately present. “It’s alright, baby. We’ll find it.”

Mrs. Hofferson, also being motherly, asked the question out of habit. “Where was the last place you saw it?”

Hiccup gave her a look, and answered. “I was wearing it.”

Phillis shrank a little.

“Let’s go get some flashlights,” suggested Astrid. “The crypt was really dark.”

Hiccup nodded, optimistically. “Okay, yeah.”

So Astrid had her phone, and Eret went to get some other lights and extension cords. Then the group all headed back down the tower into the crypt.

With the new light, Astrid had a new chance to look into the room. First, the stone floor stretched out in front of her, before a column met her lights. Another column was not that far away. The tops ended with an arch, which repeated on and one several times into the back of the room. A very thin layer of water covered the floor, reflecting the columns and arches and creating an odd illusion of space.

Astrid frowned. “Where are the others? There was a bunch of…long dead bodies down here…wasn’t there?”

Stoick answered. “When the souls rejoined their bodies, they dissolved into dust. Time just caught up to them.”

“So in theory,” said Axel. “Any bones or remnants should be Hiccup.”

Hiccup shuttered. He hoped there was more than just a few bones left of his body. He was really rather hoping that he would be alive.

Axel and Phillis also turned on their cellphones and the group split as light spread out over the cave.

“Bring the light over here,” Astrid heard someone call.

“Did you find it?” Hiccup asked anxiously.

“…no, false alarm. It’s just a rock.”

Hiccup deflated.

“Well, it can’t just be gone!” Boomed Stoick. “Everyone else’s was here! Even if someone took it by accident, there would still be something here!”

Suddenly, the cavern filled with much brighter light from the door. Nearly everyone flinched heavily.

“Sorry,” stated Eret, standing behind a flood light. “I should have prepared you for that.”    

With the crypt illuminated, the group spread out and scanned every inch of the floor.

After about an hour, almost everyone had given up. And yet Hiccup tried to feel along the floor for anything.

Astrid spoke from where she was leaning against a column. “Um, you said those who had left early…their bodies were decaying. Right?”

“Aye, it appears that way. Hamish, who was the first to leave after…oh, 200 years, he was just bone.”

Hiccup seemed to not notice the exchange as he sifted through the water on his hands and knees. “Hiccup?”

He paused.

“Didn’t you say…you were the first one to leave?”

Valka gasped, her hands flying to her lips. “Oh Odin, I forgot about that!”

Hiccup didn’t move from his spot on the floor, but asked in a very quiet voice. “How long was I gone, back then?”

“Nearly a hundred years,” Answered Stoick. “It was startling when you came back.”

“So if Hamish was just bone…” He began. But he didn’t finish. His fingers curled into fists, his knuckles pressing against the floor. “Is there nothing left of me?” His voice was just a whisper, full of only sorrow.

“Hiccup…” Astrid reached for him, but he leapt to his feet and turned on her.

“I don’t need your pity!” He screamed, his body shaking with anger and frustration. “I don’t need anything! Not…not a thing…” his anger was quickly spent, and his nearly tangible form began to fade. “I don’t even exist anymore…so why should I care?” He hurried from the room, and disappeared into his cell.

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

“That can’t be right,” said Phillis, “there’s mummies that are buried in graves like this, that are older. If this room was magically sealed, like Astrid thinks, then nothing should have gotten in to harm the body.”

Eret chimed in. “Even if Hamish’s body was a hundred years older, in these conditions, his would be here, too.”

As the adults discussed plans to search the rest of the castle inside and out, Astrid snuck back into the main tower, and knocked on Hiccup’s cell.

“Hiccup? It’s me, Astrid. Can I come in?”

When he didn’t answer, Astrid pushed the door open on her own and wandered in. The door closed behind her, leaving darkness in it’s wake. She felt around with her hands until she felt a slab of wood, a bed, and then finally a warm wall of air.

“Hiccup…”

“Don’t talk to me like that.” He reprimanded.

“Like what?”

“Softly. Tenderly…It’s more than I can handle.”

She reached her hand up to where she assumed his head was, and felt his hair. It wasn’t hair exactly, more like the seaweed at the bottom of a clean lake. Too soft to feel like anything at all.

“I just…don’t know what to say. I want to help, but I don’t know what to say.” She sighed. “Your dad and the others are going to split up and check the rest of the castle.”

“If it was anywhere else, we would have found it by now.”

“You never know! The Druids hid this room away, what if there’s another hidden room? Hmmm?”

He didn’t respond more than a grunt, and she only continued to play with his hair.

“Astrid?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For everything. But I need to be alone right now.”

Astrid sighed, and pulled her hand away. “Okay. I get it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Hiccup.” She smiled in comfort. “I understand. I’ll see you later, okay? Whenever you need to talk, you know where to find me.” She rose, and moved to the door.

She’d wondered if he’d be alright.

Days passed, and they were spent trying to get the vikings acclimated to the new world as well as getting the castle ready to host guests. The vikings happily continued their jobs as hired hands within the castle for room and board, with the only condition that they could come and go as they pleased. Most were just satisfied being able to go outside and work in the garden or build things (every day a new piece of furniture entered the castle). Others jumped at the chance to ride with Eret into town, amazed by how things had changed in world. And finally, a group went on a two week hiking trip through the national park to the South. Of course, they came home early with tickets for shooting and trapping wild life, but Astrid didn’t mind paying those off.

The Vikings discovered the internet, and branched out to learn new recipes to cook for the guests. Others wrote songs and practiced dances for entertainment, anything they could do to make the castle a retreat.

This was all done in motivation to thank their new boss.

However, at night, when things calmed down, everyone put in an hour or two to look for Hiccup’s body.

Days turned to weeks, with no sign of even a hair from Hiccup.  Many Vikings gave up the search, thinking it was a fruitless endeavor. Yet, Stoick, Valka, Gobber and Astrid faithfully spent the evenings checking the crawl spaces, attics, and wine cellar for any sign of human remains. And as diligent as they were, still there was nothing. Hiccup himself, had resigned to never regaining his body. He had sighed one day and said, “I’ve been a ghost this long. It’s what I’m best at,” and then picked himself back up by his bootstraps. “I want everyone to stop wasting their time looking for something that doesn’t exist and instead live your lives. This is when you have the chance to do all the things you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t let me hold you back.”

Valka was quick to rush to him and cup his face. “We search because we love you. We want you to live too.”

He smiled at her. “Well…I’m not going to stop looking. I have 8 hours a day where everyone is sleeping. I’ll have to occupy myself somehow.”

So, everyone left him to it, and he showed no outward signs of the melancholy that gripped him so fiercely earlier.

Halloween came and went. Hiccup being the main source of entertainment and using his skills to wow and amaze their guests. The North Tower was decorated like a haunted house with fake skeletons that jumped out and scared people. The entrance was guarded by Toothless, who had remained in his gargoyle form, since Hiccup was still cursed. Those that made it to the end got candy. It was all very fun and quaint.

Revenue came pouring in after that. Folks from all over the UK started taking holidays to come stay at Hofferson castle for the weekend. The idea of staying at a haunted castle was too fun of an opportunity to pass it seemed, as more and more reservations came calling in. Everything seemed fine…

Until one day.

“Excuse me,” Astrid overheard a guest say to Stoick. “Are you the owner of the Castle?”

“No lass, that would be Ms. Hofferson.” He beckoned to her.

Astrid, putting on her customer service face, smiled at the woman. “Hello, what can I help you with?”

The guest furrowed her brow. “My sons really wanted to stay here for the weekend, and of course I jumped at the chance of a fun filled family weekend…but there was an incident last night. The castle isn’t really haunted…is it?”

Astrid crossed her arms. “What kind of incident?”

“My son Jacob heard weeping and moaning coming from our tower. It got louder and louder until…this thing came into our room. It was…hideous and gruesome.”

“What did it look like?”

“I think it was a man, but it was emaciated and the skin was just hanging on it. My older son Harry said it was just a hologram, but it responded to him.”

“What did it say?”

“It asked if it could have his body.”

Astrid winced and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was a busy Sunday, plenty of guests were checking in, while many more were checking out. She hadn’t even thought to check on Hiccup.

Stoick seemed to have the same idea. “I haven’t seen Hiccup all day. I’ll go see if I can find him.”

“Alright,” Astrid agreed. Then she returned to the woman, “How can I best make this up to you?”

“I would like a refund, please. My husband has a heart condition and that…thing didn’t bode well for him. We weren’t expecting to be scared in our own room.”

“I understand.” Astrid said with a disarming smile. “I can refund you, no problem.”

After that was taken care of, Stoick returned, not looking optimistic.

“Well, what is it?”

“No one has seen him. I checked his room, but nothing. I have the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs searching for him now.”

“It’s weird. He was fine not too long ago. I wonder what changed?”

“Maybe he didn’t want to act anymore.”

That was a heartbreaking thought.

Astrid had a thought, “what about Viggo?”

Stoick sneered. “What about him?”

“Is it possible that he did something with Hiccup’s body?”

Stoick grew silent and thoughtful. “I haven’t the slightest. But there is a way to find out.”

The next day, Astrid called the prison that Viggo had been sentenced too, while Stoick and Gobber listened over the speaker.

A woman answered, “Berwyn Men’s Prison.”

“Hello, my name is Astrid Hofferson. Is there a way to get in contact with a Prisoner just to ask them a question? We need his help locating something.”

“We offer a voicemail service. You can leave a message on a private line and the inmate will return your call.”

“That would be amazing!”

“Do you have the inmate ID number?”

Astrid blanched. “No, actually, I don’t.”

“Then the name?”

“Viggo Ryker.”

“Alright, may I put you on hold as I look that up?”

“Of course.”

Soothing music came over the speaker.

“What if Viggo doesn’t answer us back?” Asked Gobber, with good reason.

“Well, he did want the curse to be lifted. He might be more cooperative now.” Said Astrid.

“And if he puts up a fight, I’ll go down to the prison and knock some sense into him!” Threatened Stoick.

“Let’s not do that one.”

The line picked up and a man was on the line. “Are you still there Miss Hofferson?”

“Uh, yes!”

“My name is Dr. Jeffery Van Ravensway. I’m the director of this facility. Can I ask what your relationship with Viggo Ryker was?”

“Uh, acquaintance, I guess?”

“Do you know if he had any living relatives? Next of kin? Spouse?”

She glanced to Stoick, who shrugged. “Uh, not that we know of. Why?”

“Well, Mr. Ryker died last week. He listed no emergency contact information, so we didn’t know who to tell.”

“He died?” Astrid asked, surprised. “How? If you don’t mind me asking…” “It’s…very odd. We didn’t even get the chance to get an autopsy before the body dissolved.”

“What…?”

“He just….aged rapidly all of a sudden. We had him for mere months, but he went from looking in his late 20’s to ancient!”

“Did he say anything? Before he…?”

“Once he started aging, he started being really nice to everyone. When his psychiatrists asked him what was going on, he just said that someone had lifted his curse.” The man cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I believe in magic and curses, but that…I might just have to change my mind.” The man laughed a little over the line. “I’m sorry, this is incredibly unprofessional. Normally we don’t disclose this sort of information like this, but like I said, we have no contact for him. At least someone knows now.”

“Alright, if I find any family, I’ll be sure to pass on the information.”

“Thank you, Miss Hofferson. If they would like to call us here, we can explain everything.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Good day.”

After she hung up, the small group sat in silence for a few minutes before Gobber declared, “well, that was a bust!”

Stoick scrunched up his mouth in thought. “Ya know, I don’t think Viggo did have anything to do with it. There wasn’t any time for him to get all the way down in the tower past all the guards…and for what? Just to steal one body? It doesn’t make sense anymore.”

“Yeah, now that you say it.” Astrid shrugged.

“It was a good thought.” Gobber offered, “a better lead then anyone else had.”  

Yet, Astrid felt like it was a waste of time and hope.    

As time passed, Hiccup remained missing, no matter how much begging and pleading his family did. Even in the middle of the night, when his moans echoed through the halls, Astrid would awake and call out to him. He would not respond.

It was one week after that, Fishlegs had a sudden realization. Everyone seemed to notice, as he let out a loud ‘oh!’ and banged the table as he stood suddenly.

“What is it Fishlegs?”

“I just had an idea where Hiccup’s body might be!”

Stoick stood suddenly as well. “What?! Where?!”

“The boat!”

It seemed like no one else followed. “What boat?”

“The boat! Our boat! The one we came on!”

Stoick frowned. “That boat probably sunk centuries ago. Who knows if there’s anything even left of it.”

“But what if that’s where Hiccup’s body is?!”

Stoick sighed, “Well, it is worth a dive, I suppose.”

“At this time of year?” Gobber finally spoke up. He stood and went to the window, pulling up the curtain and gesturing to the lake that surrounded the back half of the castle. Ice formed around the edges while chunks floated in the center. “Because I certainly don’t want to swim in that.”

Astrid thought a moment. “I might have an idea. Give me a minute.” And she took out her phone and flipped through her contacts.

The phone rang a few times before it connected.

“Hey Dale! How are you?”

The voice on the other line was unintelligible to the others siting in the library.

“Great! I’m calling because I remembered during dinner when you visited you spoke of a new hobby in scuba diving…would you be willing to get some practice over here at the castle lake? We’re looking for something…I mean, I suppose we could wait until summer, but we were hoping for as soon as possible…Oh I wouldn’t mind compensating you for it then. It looks kind of frigid out there. You have a wet suit, right?…Awesome! When are you free?…Friday afternoon. Awesome, we’ll see you then! Thanks so much!”

Friday afternoon rolled around, and Astrid waited anxiously for her cousin. She wandered over to the North Tower, pausing in the stairwell to stare at the statue.

“You’ve been here all this time. Watching. What do you know that we don’t?”

But being a statue, the man said nothing.

The heavy doorbell rang, and Astrid hurried from the tower.

In the lobby, Eret opened the door and let Dale in.

“Hey Astrid,” he greeted casually.

“Hey! Thanks for coming.”

“No problem,” he smiled, “as long as you got your ghost problem solved.”

Astrid laughed sheepishly. “That’s the thing. It’s almost solved.”

Dale raised a single eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘almost’?”

“Well…there’s one we’re working on. That’s why I asked you here, actually.”

Dale crossed his arms, listening.

“In order for the ghost to move on, he has to get his body back. We’ve looked everywhere for it. The only place left is the lake. Specifically the wreckage of a viking ship right outside the North Tower.”

“Are you certain it’ll be there?”

Astrid could only shrug. “If it’s not, then…we have no idea where else it could be. This is literally our last resort.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility to put on a new character.”

“Yeah, I know, but we needed someone to go down there, and I don’t really want to trust a stranger with this…delicate situation.”

He nodded. “Ah, gotcha. Well, I brought up my fishing boat, too. Didn’t know if you had one. You’re welcome to come sit on the boat if you want. Don’t know how much fun it’ll be.”

“I was hoping I could sit on the boat. I’m kinda anxious.”

“Anxious it’ll be there? Or anxious that it won’t?”

Dale always had a way of pointing out things she hadn’t wanted to think about. “I…I don’t know.”

He simply nodded in understanding.

She shook her head. “Well, are you ready now then?”

“Yeah, I just need to get my suit on, and we can go out. You might want to get a jacket, it’s a bit chilly.”

And so the two motored out to the North Tower, where the wall showed where the castle had been breached. The bricks were patchy and mismatched the rest of the Tower.

“This should be the spot.” Astrid announced, peering in the water. “I have no idea how deep it is. Just be careful.”

Dale grinned, preparing his mask. “Oh, it’ll be fine. I’m just stoked to dive by a Viking shipwreck.” He checked his watch. “Alright. It’s 2 now. I have about enough air for an hour, but I like to come up at the 45 minute mark. I have this mesh bag to put any bones or treasure I might find.”

“I don’t think you’ll find any treasure after all these years.”

“Let me live a little,” He scolded. Carefully, he positioned himself on the edge of the boat. “Wish me luck.” And he dove in with a splash.

Once he disappeared, it became eerily silent. Only a faint rolling of waves on shore could be heard. A gust cold air rushed at her, chilling her right down to the bone, even with the coat, boats, hat, and gloves.

This was going to be a long hour.

Some 10 minutes later, Dale returned briefly. He said nothing, only heaved a ancient viking shield over the edge of the boat, and then dove right back down into the water.

The shield was rusty, and some of the wood had rotted, but most of it was still intact. Whatever it had been painted had faded with the salt.

Again, he returned long enough to surface and drop a sword on deck, then he disappeared. It was obvious he had found the wreck, now it was just a matter of him finding Hiccup’s remains.

Another 10 minutes passed, and then another. Then the 45 minute mark came, but he didn’t surface. Then close to an hour went by. Astrid swallowed nervously. What was taking him? Did he get stuck? Should she try to go in after him?

But only a minute later, Dale surfaced and grabbed onto the edge of the boat. He dropped his bag onto the deck, and then frantically tried to pull himself up, kicking and shaking the whole time.

Astrid acted immediately and yanked him up into the boat, while Dale removed his mask and goggles. He panted heavily and coughed.

“You okay?” Astrid asked.

He didn’t answer for a while, just threw his head back and sucked in several deep breaths. “I’m…I’m fine.” His tone conveyed otherwise. “Here, this is all I found.” He gestured to the mesh bag on the floor.

Carefully, Astrid opened it, only to reveal a skull.

“It’s all I could find.”

Astrid nodded. “But it is what we’re looking for. I think this will be enough. Thank you.” She smiled.

“Promise me…you won’t go down there by yourself.” He replied.

This confused Astrid. Didn’t he say it was going to be fine? “What?”

“I found the ship fine. It’s right down there. After I found the sword and shield, I travelled out a bit, and found a bunch of…statues.”

“Statues? What did they look like?”

He furrowed his brow. “It was kind of hard to tell, since they were worn, but they looked like…hooded people?”

Astrid’s eyes widened.

“They were really big. And…” He shivered as he reached for the towel. “Look, let’s go back to the castle, I don’t want to be anywhere near that…thing.”

“The statues?”

“No…those are the least of my concerns.” He crawled over and started the engine, then sped away from the Tower as soon as possible.

Not a word was spoken when they returned. Dale took off his wet suit and donated the sword and shield to the castle, and then prepared to leave.

“Wait? That’s it?” She asked. “You don’t want to stay for a bit? Gobber’s making a nice big dinner, and it’s at least an hour back to Manchester.”

Dale was quiet, then replied. “I’ll come again some day, when this ghost problem is solved.” And he headed to toward the door.

“Wait!” She begged. “Before you go…will you come look at something?”

He was skeptical, but followed her to the North Tower.

“Isn’t this the forbidden tower?” He asked, before daring to step foot into the hall.

“It was, but the curse is…mostly lifted.” At the other end of the hall, Astrid opened the door, showing the statue in all it’s splendor. “So…did the statues look like this?”

Dale nodded. “Yeah, for the most part. Maybe a little smaller. There was several, and they were laid out in a grid.” He glanced down to see that she had brought the skull with her down here. “You gonna see if that works?”

“Yeah,” she stated, setting the bone on the ground. She took several steps back, and then called out. “Hiccup! Hiccup, we think we found your remains! Come out!”

It was quiet for a moment, before Stoick, Valka, and Gobber came rushing down the hall. “We heard ya shouting lass! Did ya really find es bones?!”

“A skull, at least. But it should be enough.”

A glowing vapor appeared, rolling in like a cloud, until it took a visible form of a boy. Of Hiccup. He said nothing.

“Look,” Astrid pointed. “Is that your skull? Is that you?”

Hiccup reached down and grasped the skull in his wispy hands. He stared into the sockets, like he was trying to remember an old friend. Then, he dropped it, letting it crack upon the cement.

“I don’t know those eyes.” He said, before disappearing.

Dale huffed, and turned on his heel. “Well, I got nothing. And I’m not going back in that Bay. Good luck Astrid.” And he hurriedly left before she could stop him.

Astrid just continued to stare at the skull with a shattered dome. Of course it seemed too good to be true. She shook her head and retreated herself.

Who was she kidding? It was hopeless.

That night, Astrid laid awake in bed, staring at the fire. It was back to day one, with more questions without answers. And this time, her Hiccup was suffering alone.

Her Hiccup? Where had that come from?

She rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

Her feelings for Hiccup had been in a delicate state. She knew what the answer was, ever since he told her that he loved her, they had only ground stronger, even though she tried to stomp them into the dust. Hiccup was just too good of a match for her. It seemed that she was destined to fall in love with him, but never be with him.

Talk about Star-crossed lovers.

She didn’t matter anymore. The wasn’t about getting her happily ever after. This was about Hiccup being about to move on. And once he did, she would too.

So putting her fickle heart to the side, she contemplated what had happened this afternoon with Dale. Especially those damn hooded statues.

Why have so many in the Bay, and only one in the tower?

At this rate, she wouldn’t get any sleep, and so she kicked off her covers and wandered down to the Library. Her phone read 4am, which was a good thing if she wanted to think alone.

But she wasn’t alone, because shortly after she arrived, a wisp billowed in through the wall.

“Oh! Hiccup! Sorry, you startled me.”

The vapor just floated around the room, lacking the strength or focus to take a more finite form.

“I’m sorry about this afternoon, I really thought we had found your body.”

The wisp came closer, circling her.

“Won’t you say something? I haven’t gotten to speak with you for so long…I really miss you, you know?” She reached her hands out, feeling the warmth he left in her skin as he passed by. She let out a sigh, and then made a risky move. “If you want…you can use my body.” Then she immediately blushed after it was said.

Hiccup disappeared from her sight, and convulsion racked her body. Her toes curled as a pleasant heat settled in her chest. Her arms raised, not on her own command, and wrapped around her in a hug. She collapsed onto the settee feeling weak and confused.

Then overwhelming pain took her. A pain of loss and heartbreak, of hopelessness and despair. She knew they were from Hiccup, and she gladly shouldered them, if only to ease his mind.

“You’re safe with me.” She whispered. “I promise, I’ll set you free.”

Then all of a sudden, all the foreign feelings within her disappeared. As she opened her eyes, she found Hiccup, in a more recognizable form, looking at her with something akin to adoration.

“Thank you…I think I can last a little bit longer now.”

Astrid answered breathlessly. “What…did you do?”

“You let me use your body, just for a moment. And that was all I needed to ground myself. It was like…waking up, and now I’ve gone back to sleep again. I was able to breathe and I felt your heart beat. And there’s no one I would have rather shared that moment with….than you.” He leaned and left a whisper of a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you.”

Astrid smiled at him, embarrassed and flattered. “Of course, I’m glad it helped…In all honesty, I’m really glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking…”

“Is that why you’re up so late?”

“Yeah, I can’t sleep. See, earlier, my cousin Dale dove in the bay to see if he could find your body. He found that skull, and along with it, there were a bunch of statues, like the one in the North Tower.”

“Oh really?”

“He said they’re laid out in a grid. What do you think it means?”

He settled on the settee next to her, crossing his legs. “Well…it kind of sounds like a cemetery. But it was a bay when we came here. So there’s no way to know.”

“I thought about it being a cemetery too. Maybe those statues are grave markers.”

“Makes sense.” He nodded. “There were a lot of dead bodies in the Tower. Maybe the druids were just showing respect.”

“To intruders?”

Hiccup shrugged. “Why else?”

Astrid was quiet for a moment, before she jerked upright suddenly. “We’re all idiots!”

Hiccup stared at her, “umm?”

“How do you show where a body has been put away?”

“By…a…grave…marker?” He answered carefully.

Astrid leapt to her feet, and ran from the room. Hiccup, curious and concerned was hot on her tail. She threw open the door to the hall, then to the Tower.

The statue stood before her. Taunting her.

Hiccup caught up to her. “Was I right?”

Astrid studied the highly detailed stone man in front of her. There had to be a trick to it. A handle or a switch…something. “Come on, where is it?”

“What?”

Astrid didn’t answer. She only walked quick steps down to the armory.

“Astrid, what are you doing?”

“It was right in front of us the whole time!” She pulled open the door and scanned the shelves. The axe she used that night trapped in the tower laid on the floor, a thin layer of dust taking root. She took it, not even slowing down, and turned back to the stairs.

“Wait!” Hiccup called. “Don’t do anything brash!”

But Astrid ignored him, as she hurried to the back of the hall. “I’m ending this now! Stay out of my way!” Then she bolted into a sprint, running full speed at the rusty bars.

“Astrid!”

She leapt, pushing off of the railing with one foot, and became airborne. A shout ripped from her throat as her stomach fell to the bottom of the Tower. The face of the statue rapidly approached her, and she buried her axe in the stone.

Immediately, the stone started to crumble under her blade. She began to slip, and found purchase with her feet in the arms. Once she was stable, she ripped the axe out of it’s place and hacked at it again. A chunk of stone fell and she halted.

A new face, one of flesh and bone, laid before her. A familiar, handsome face, that she often fell asleep looking at above her mantle.

Astrid turned and looked over her shoulder where Hiccup’s ghost stood, frozen. She smiled at him and turned back around. Careful not to fall, she touched his cold, solid skin carefully.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” she whispered. “But I finally found you. And I know now…” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his frozen lips, savoring the feeling.

Before she even pulled away, there was a long cracking sound and the pillar began to quake. Unable to do anything else, Astrid clung to Hiccup.

“Hiccup!” She screamed for help, but his spirit was no where to be found.

The pillar shook violently as the foundation crumbled and together they fell.

“I’ve got you!”

But when they hit the ground, it was a lot less painful than she had expected. The ruble of the statue had returned to what it once was, gold, silver, and precious gems. The treasure the vikings were after when they raided. But she didn’t care much about it, as Hiccup’s motionless body laid within her arms, just barely breathing. “Hiccup? Are you still…?”

He opened his eyes faintly. “Astrid…?”

“Yes! Yes Hiccup! I’m here!” She hugged him fiercely. “I’m with you…”

His hands wrapped around her, and hugged her as well. “I’m sorry, I’m really weak…”

She kissed his forehead, “I don’t care…I thought I’d have to say goodbye…” She absently wiped her wet cheek. “Or maybe I wouldn’t even get the chance to do that.”

“I would have said goodbye, don’t worry.” He brushed her hair away from her cheek. “But I don’t have to. I’d love to stay with you, if you’ll let me.”

“Of course!” she choked. “I love you.”

Hiccup smiled warmly in adoration. “You do? Really?”

She kissed him again, letting her lips linger against his just because she could. “I do. And nothing in 18 lifetimes could make me stop.”

[shipmistress9]

What it means to be Chief - Chapter 7: Visitors

Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5;

Chapter 6

(A few weeks later)

"Astrid?"

Astrid heard the anxiety in his voice and felt how his arm found its way around her but she wasn't able to react. Her mind was completely focused on her breathing. Deep breaths, inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. And again. And again. Slowly, the pain subsided and Astrid began to register the world around her again. And the concerned faces.

Everyone was looking at her!

"I'm fine!" she mumbled in annoyance and turned to hide her face against Hiccup's shoulder.

They stood at the harbor and it felt like half the village was assembled along with about two dozen dragons, waiting for that dreaded ship to land. They had spotted the Redthorn's ship around noon and now, they would appear between the sea stacks at any moment.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked anxiously and Astrid wasn't sure whether to smile or to roll her eyes at him.

"For the last time, yes I am! I'll let you know if that changes, okay?" She settled for a reassuring smile which Hiccup returned apprehensively. He definitely needed to stop worrying about her or Chief Magnus of the Redthorn tribe would eat him alive…

"Look!" Tuff suddenly shouted and all their heads whipped around. There they came and with more speed than Astrid would have thought practical. She heard how Hiccup inhaled sharply, then turned and leaned in to give her a quick and hard kiss. Then he retreated again, his expression tight and carefully nudged her backward.

"Please!" He said. Just that one word and Astrid's lips tightened. She knew what he wanted her to do but didn't agree. This was Berk! There should be no need for her to hide amidst the crowd, this was their home, the Redthorns wouldn't dare to break their laws. But she saw the desperation in her husband's eyes and, reluctantly, she complied.

Astrid stepped back to stand between Ruff and Lia, behind Valka and surrounded by a tight wall of Berkians. She didn't like to hide but even worse than that was leaving Hiccup to stand at the front on his own. But he wasn't alone, not really. Toothless lay behind him, curled up as if asleep but Astrid knew better. He was supposed to appear harmless until needed. But he was there.

A couple of minutes later, the ship landed and through a small gap, Astrid got her first tolerably good look at the delegation from the Redthorn tribe. Chief Magnus was an impressive man. His size didn't quite reach that of Stoick but surely it would have been close. He sported a similar beard as well, but where Stoick's had been impressive on its own, Magnus had braided countless beads and foreign coins into the blond tresses which made him glint and clink with every movement. His gaze wandered appraisingly over the crowd and he made no secret of his disapproval.

"Hiccup!" He boomed a moment later and threw his arms around the younger Chief in greeting. "Still not fully grown, I see. A shame, but you can't help it, eh?"

"Magnus!" Hiccup replied with a tight smile. "Welcome on Berk. How was your journey? Pleasant, I hope?" Astrid secretly saluted Hiccup for his levelheadedness. She wanted to punch the Redthorn Chief already.

"Fine, fine. We sent the girls back this morning so the last few hours had been a little… hard but that's how it is, eh?" The big man's booming laughter echoed through the harbor and over the crowd and he didn't even seem to notice how nobody chimed in. Hiccup had barred him from bringing any girls just for their amusement and bringing any wifes seemed not to have been an option. Well, if a few hours were already hard, Astrid was looking forward to seeing them squirm after a week!

Hiccup didn't reply and had turned his attention to the other men standing behind their Chief. Astrid saw that two of them were wearing the same practical armor, uniforms apparently, and seemed to be guards or something the like. They stayed in the background though and Astrid's eyes wandered further toward another man who obviously was Magnus' son. Similarly broadly built and with equally blond hair looked this man like a younger copy of his father. His beard was not as impressive but neither was he bald and all in all, he looked better groomed. His piercing blue eyes wandered over the crowd in front of him and for a moment, they seemed to rest on Astrid, even though she should be barely visible to him. Astrid flinched and despite her former bravado ducked down behind Valka's back. Those eyes were cold as ice and had a menacing gleam in them and she would die a happy woman if she never had to feel them on her again.

"Geir!" Hiccup greeted the man and tore his attention away from the crowd. "Good to see you. Welcome to Berk to you, too." Astrid knew Hiccup, knew him well. She heard what it cost him to say these words and now she understood why he'd been so anxious all these months. This Geir was dangerous!

"Hiccup, old fishbone!" Geir answered in a low and too calm voice. "Nice to see you, too. And your friends as well though not all of them. Where's the fat one? And the crazy one is missing, too. We can't have fun without them now, can we?"

"Chief Dagur and Fishlegs will be here in a few days," Hiccup replied tersely and Astrid heard the other man grunt.

"I see. Well, that's a shame but you have enough people here to keep us company, I see. And where is she, the divine beauty the whole Archipelago is swooning about? Where is your wife? You wouldn't deny us a view of such legendary beauty now, would you?"

Astrid froze and noticed Hiccup did as well. She'd never been shy about her looks, knew that she was reasonably attractive but hearing this man saying it like that made cold shivers run down her spine. Someone tugged at her arm, Valka, and she gave Astrid an imploring look before she let her pass her to the front of the crowd. Hiccup was at her side in an instant and placed a protective arm around her shoulders. Normally, she would have glared at him for such behavior, would have shrugged his arm off and maybe punch him for being too overprotective but not today. Today she was glad to know that he would do everything within his power to keep this man away from her and from any other female Berkian as well.

"This is my wife, Astrid Haddock née Hofferson. Astrid, these are Chief Magnus and his son and heir Geir from the Redthorn tribe." Hiccup introduced them formally and Astrid suppressed a shiver as the men's hungry gazes wandered over her body. She would not show any weakness, not in front of these men!

"Chief Magnus, Geir, welcome to Berk!" She said dutifully but neither of them reacted in any way to her words.

"Well done, my boy!" Magnus laughed raucously. "Well done indeed! You fucked her well I see. Let's just hope your child gets a bit bigger than you!" The broad man kept laughing and Astrid fisted her hand into Hiccup's tunic, at his back where it would be hidden from view by his coat. She felt him shaking with rage but even though she still wanted to ax this man she knew she couldn't. They had welcomed him to their island, he was a guest. And the Gods were adamant about the rules of hospitality, killing a guest in cold blood was one of the biggest crimes there was.

Behind them, Toothless had lifted his head and his low growling vibrated through the ground and the air alike. He, too, seemed not to like these visitors. Without looking, Hiccup stretched his arm and placed his hand on the dragon's head, calming him without saying a word. For a moment, it was eerily silent. Chief Magnus' gaze rested on Hiccup's hand on Toothless' scaly head and for just a moment, Astrid thought she saw a flicker of fear in the broad man's eyes but it was gone before she could be sure. She hoped it was true though. If he feared their dragons, it would be so much easier to keep them in check.

The moment passed and Chief Magnus turned to wave at one of his men. Without holding her attention for the moment, Astrid remembered that it hadn't been the father who'd made her blood run cold. Geir hadn't said anything since she'd stepped forward but even though she tried not to acknowledge it, she felt his cold eyes on her, raking her. Stepping a bit closer to Hiccup, she chanced a glance at the blonde man but looked away again instantly. She felt Hiccup's arm around her tighten and she guessed, he'd seen it too, that expression on Geir's face. His lips had been drawn back to reveal his gritted teeth in a cold sneer and the look in his eyes... Astrid was a warrior, always had been and was not easily frightened. But she wasn't stupid either, knew that these days she was more vulnerable than she wanted to openly admit. And the look in those cold blue eyes made her heart beat faster and not in a good way. Because those eyes had been filled with a mixture of greed, lust, cruelty and blatant desire.

"Laif!" Magnus' loud voice drew their all attention and blessedly distracted Astrid momentarily. "Laif, come here my boy." Hesitantly, the last member of the Redthorn delegation stepped forward and Astrid blinked. It was a boy of 16 or maybe 17 years, also blond but by far not as broad as Magnus and Geir. "This is Laif, my younger son. I think you haven't met yet" the broad Chief introduced the boy with a devious grin.

This was another son of Magnus, Geir's brother? This boy, who stepped uncomfortably from one foot to the other and who was barely able to raise his eyes to meet theirs as he greeted them? Astrid could hardly believe it. And Hiccup seemed equally surprised.

"Your younger son? I didn't know you had any other children" Hiccup admitted perplexedly but Magnus just laughed again.

"Oh, I have many sons and daughters, I guess," He winked at Hiccup. "But only with these two, I'm sure they're mine. Got their mothers as virgins and fucked them until they died giving birth to my sons" Astrid dug her fingernails deep into her palms, hoping the pain would distract her and help her stay calm. How dare this man say such things? How dare he keep breathing and even laughing? She wanted him dead, wanted him to die a very, very painful death!

While she fought to stay in control, she noticed something else though. She noticed that Laif's posture wasn't unlike her own. He stood there, between his father and his half-brother, not looking at anyone, just staring at the ground in front of him. But his hands, too, were clenched into tight fists and his body, too, was shaking with rage.

. o O o .

A/N: So, things start to become serious...

Next chapter

[epag88]

Dragon Treasure Chapter: 20

Summary:  Hiccup is just a little seven year old boy running away from his father’s disappointment and meets a new friend hiding in the woods. Stoic is about to learn that one man’s burden is another man’s treasure. 

Kelda walked through the village enjoying the rare warmth that had come with the morning and couldn't help but smile as she made her way to the great hall. She remembered before the dragons came, her job was to help school the young girls of the village on how to be a proper wife. It seemed funny now that she should be teaching such things when she had bashed her own husband over the head with a mace little over a month ago and had him exiled. According to the village her actions to save her child from her husband gave them all the more reason to respect her teachings not only as a Viking but as a mother. After her husband was exiled Kelda had changed her teachings a bit with the approval of Stoick the Vast since it was something near and dear to his heart as well. Her class now not only taught both boys and girls of the village how to be proper partners to each other and how to take care of babies but also taught the children how to run a home as a single parent.

'Would you be proud Valka?' Kelda wondered as she continued her walk.

The Viking new very well that her friend was alive and well but her presence almost seemed like torture since she remembered nothing of them. She was the one that had encouraged Kelda to become a teacher in the first place and was her rock after she found out about her arranged marriage. It still ate at her that she could not save her friend during the dragon attack since she was pregnant with Astrid at the time but Valka would have been furious with her if she tried.

Humming distracted her from her thoughts. She looked down smiling at her daughter as the little girl continued to hum and focus on kicking the rock on the ground like a ball. She could not get over how much she loved this child. The only reason she had stayed with her husband was that she was under the impression it somehow was in her daughter's benefit. Thankfully those dark days were behind them and now brighter ones laid ahead for the pair. For the first time in their home there was laughter, warmth, and safety for the little girl that always felt so afraid of her father.

Neither of them noticed the rock Astrid was kicking had rolled into the heel of someone's foot until the person turned around to pick up the round stone.

"Excuse me," the voice of the person called.

Both Kelda and Astrid turned around to see Valka holding the rock out with a smile on her face. When she had their attention, she walked over to return the rock to its owner.

"I believe this is yours, child," she said gently as she knelt in front of Astrid a place the rock in her hand.

"Thank you," Astrid replied smiling back.

The little girl felt strangely comfortable around this stranger and immediately took a liking to the new woman. Kelda watched the interaction and felt her heart ache in that moment for her friend that had been very much like a sister to her.

"You are quite welcome. You seemed very determined to kick that rock all over the island," Valka said the little girl with a chuckle.

"Not the whole island," Astrid said giggling at the idea of someone kicking a rock around the entire island of Berk.

"Just to the great hall. Mama has a class," the little girl explained proudly.

"My, that is impressive," Valka said.

"Would you like to walk with us?" Kelda asked suddenly surprising herself.

Valka seemed just as surprised by the question but it quickly disappeared and her expression suddenly turned into a happy smile.

"I would love to," she replied and the trio began walking towards the great hall.

The two women walked in a comfortable silence as Astrid continued to contently kick her rock just a little ways up ahead.

"You have a beautiful daughter," Valka said suddenly.

"Thank you, Valka is it?" Kelda replied hoping she still went by her name before she was taken.

"Yes, and my apologies I didn't catch your name," the other woman said smiling.

"Kelda, and this is my daughter Astrid," she explained.

Valka seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment as the name seemed to ring a bell somewhere in her memories. Her heart seemed to leap at the sight of this woman and felt a bit guilty knowing that this woman had clearly meant something to her a long time ago but she had forgotten her.

…

Stoick stood in front of the doors of the great hall waiting for Kelda to arrive for her class. The students already inside having their breakfast with the other Vikings. Everyone in the village knew that they had to be out of the hall by the time Kelda got there to teach the class or they had to stay to participate. Needless to say, most of the men were finishing up their breakfast quickly before they had to start learning how to sew clothes. A lot of the women and some men stayed for the class however interested in her class on running a home as a single parent. It was a realization a lot of them were ready to face being Vikings.

The chief tried to encourage more of the older Vikings to attend and even took them himself feeling it would benefit the tribe to know how to care for themselves and their children should they lose their partner.

A smile crept onto Stoick's face when he saw Astrid run up ahead smiling at him before she picked up her rock and walked over to him.

"Morning Chief," she greeted politely.

"Morning Astrid, where is your mother?" he asked the little girl.

"Oh Mama made a new friend this morning and she walked with us to see her class," Astrid explained before she looked over her shoulder to see the two women approaching.

In the short walk the pair had suddenly started to act as if they had never left each other's side. The pair had their arms loosely intertwined as they laughed and smiled about whatever they were talking about. Stoick thought that for a moment he had travelled to the past to when they were much younger when this was a constant sight that warmed his heart.

"Oh, good morning Stoick. We were just talking about you," Kelda said wiping a tear from her eye.

"Two she-devils laughing away, tell me that they are talking about me. Oh, that's comforting," he joked at pair.

"Oh, come now Stoick. It was only the story of how you and Gobber lost some kind of bet…"

'Oh Thor not that story' he thought.

"…and you and Gobber had to dress like a couple of maidens…"

'Please stop talking.'

"…then Kelda's brother truly thought in his drunken stupor that you pair were the pretest Vikings he'd ever seen," Valka explained laughing hysterically.

Stoick glared at her before turning his sights on Kelda who was looking quite proud of herself at the moment before she excused herself, taking Astrid inside with her.

"So glad my misery brings you such delight," he joked with the hint of a smile on his face which he tried to cover up with a glare.

"I'm so sorry but it was funny," Valka replied wiping the last of her tears away from laughing so hard at the image of Stoick in a dress.

"Uh huh," Stoick said.

Valka smiled as she walked over and tapped the man on his face. Her expression suddenly changed which did not go unnoticed by the Viking chief.

"You look like you have something to say," he said encouraging to say what was on her mind.

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked and smiled when he nodded.

"I actually, remember her. Kelda I mean," she explained surprising the chief.

"It was from a long time ago, we must have been children then but we were walking through the forest and found some boys swimming. We stole their clothes and we ran away with them back to the village," Valka thought fondly with a chuckle.

"That was you chuckleheads," Stoick said not realizing he had used the nickname he had given the pair from when they were children.

"Sorry," she replied with a smile.

Stoick couldn't stay angry, how could he? His beloved was slowly having her memories return to her and soon she might remember him as well and how much he adored her.

"I asked her about the baby," she said suddenly.

"What did she say?" Stoick replied slightly scared of the answer.

"What you said, to give it time before I crossed that bridge," she explained slightly frustrated that perhaps the one person who could lead her to her child wouldn't tell her.

Stoick nodded his head as a plan began to form in his head that he hoped would give him an opportunity to tell both her and Hiccup of what happened that night.

"She did tell me one thing though," Valka said sounding hopeful.

"Kelda told me the child lives in the village and is one of the most beautiful, kind hearted and smartest children she had ever laid eyes on," she explained feeling proud of this child she had yet to meet.

She stared at Stoick with a smile looking determined to learn as much as she could about herself so she could meet her child. She wanted to hold it close and never let go again. Even in the time she had spent among the dragons Valka had always felt she had left something very important behind the day she was taken.

"Kelda speaks truth to you. It will happen in time," Stoick said trying to sound supportive.

"Come let us go see this class. Perhaps afterwards you would do me the honor of having lunch with my son and I," Stoick said leading them inside the great hall.

"I would like that," Valka said feeling her heart flutter at the invitation.

…

It was later in the afternoon that Valka had come into the healer's hut to check on Eldrid and Hàkon to make sure they were comfortable. The dragon immediately noticed the smile on the woman's face and the way she hummed to herself as she busied herself with the tray of food.

"You seem happy here Valka," Eldrid said quietly surprising the other woman.

"M'lady you are awake, how wonderful. Shall I fetch your daughter?" Valka replied excited to see the dragon with her eyes open.

"In a while, I wish to speak with you a bit. Come sit," the dragon queen said inviting the woman to sit in the chair by her bed.

"Tell me what brings you such joy. This happiness in your eyes pleases me," the dragon said genuinely happy to see Valka happy.

"M'lady, I believe some of my memory is returning to me. My heart is remembering a woman that was dear to me as a sister. I also believe there may be a child that is mine in this village, St-the chief has been kind and wants to help me," Valka explained happily.

Eldrid smiled fondly catching the way she almost referred to the human by his first name and said, "You very much like human ruler, don't you?"

The dragon queen already knew of Valka's connection to these people from her mate. As she gazed at the human woman she had come to love she could see the affection Valka held for the one known as Stoick, even if she couldn't remember why.

"He is a good man-"

"With a handsome face and a soft spot for you lass," Eldrid said interrupting her.

"His heart is with his wife m'lady and their child. Any affection he could have for me is platonic," Valka explained glaring at the dragon.

"Yet something he's done is exciting you I can feel it," the dragon said.

Valka was quite for a few minutes as a small smile grew on her face and she said, "He has invited me to have lunch with him and his son."

Eldrid's smile grew back at the woman as she reached over and squeezed the human's hand affectionately. She still remembered the young woman her dragons had brought to her ship injured and frightened. It had taken no time to earn her trust which the dragon queen found remarkable but it was something she cherished dearly for she had also quickly found herself caring for this woman as a member of her clan. She rewarded that trust by offering her own to the human by entrusting her with the care of her only hatchling. Valka would come to her for hours about anything and everything that was on her mind. Knowing that her dear friend had finally found home in this place and possibly even the human family she yearned for made her feel like she wasn't abandoning the human after she passed away.

"Tell me child. Are you happy in this place with that human?" Eldrid asked needing to know for sure.

"Yes m'lady," she replied.

"Then I leave you in their care my precious friend. Embrace the opportunities that have come before you and find peace in them," Eldrid explained with a smile.

The dragon queen's face suddenly became scared and her hand went to her chest when she felt she could no longer breathe. Eldrid quickly turned to her mate and realized he begun to make chocking sounds and suddenly sat up coughing up blood.

Eldrid turned back toa  frightened Valka with her own blood running down her mouth and wheezed, "Find my daughter and please make haste."

"I will m'lady. Please both of you stay strong for her," Valka begged.

With that the woman bolted and ran out of the hut yelling to the Vikings to fetch the healer before she quickly ran to find Tyra, Stoick, and Spitelout.

[howtodrawyourdragon]

A Bite

Summary: A Httyd zombie AU. An unknown kind of illness has been spreading. At the ages of fifteen, Hiccup and Toothless are all alone. All they have is just each other and for a long time that was more than enough. However, all good things eventually come to an end.

Author’s Notes: Oops, I wrote a zombie apocalypse fic. And it’s whump. It also doesn’t take place in a modern AU, this still takes place in the Viking Age.

And I feel like I should mention again that this is a zombie AU. And you know gnarly things happen in apocalypses.

There was only the sea, there was only the sky and then there was only them. Hiccup and Toothless, the boy and the Night Fury, the Viking and the dragon. Always on the move, never staying at one place for longer than a week, never yearning for a home to call their own.

They had each other. That was their home. They needed no one else. In fact, they had no one else.

Leaving Berk had been hard on both of them. It was the island on which they had both been born. Hiccup to Stoick the Vast and Valka Haddock, the Chief of the Hooligan tribe and his wife. Toothless, an orphaned egg found by Valka herself during one of her last missions to raid Dragon Hunter ports that hatched in the nursery.

Boy and dragon had been brought together from an early age when their shared mother had quickly noticed their mutual bond whenever she took one to the nursery and vice versa.

They had shared a crib, toys, food, a room. They grew up together, were even closer than a Rider and dragon had ever been in Berk's long and eventful history.

Life on their home island had been happy and neither had wanted to leave. Yet, they had and it wasn't entirely by choice. If they could stay, if their father hadn't send them away, they would've. Leaving everything they knew and loved behind had been the hardest thing either of them ever had to do.

It's been almost a year since they left. Though Toothless was an excellent hunter, despites being raised by humans for the first fourteen years of his life, Hiccup was often surprised he had made it this far at all.

"I think we need to set down somewhere, Bud." The boy spoke up for the first time in hours, the ability of speaking  out loud no longer as much of a habit as it once was with two wordless dragons as his sole companions.

Toothless wasn't the only flying reptile in their little group. Their duo was a trio as a Terrible Terror by the name of Sharpshot was lazily resting in one of the saddlebags. He would rather hitch a ride than spend hours flying himself.

His wings weren't all that adapted to long distance flying either way. A Night Fury's, wide and strong, were.

Toothless send his rider a warble in response, taking a brief glance at the boy in the saddle as he checked the satchel in which he usually kept herbs and dressings.

Though not exactly qualified to call himself a medical specialist, he knew at least enough to keep himself alive when sick or injured. Though the latter had been few and far in between with an overprotective dragon to defend him, though clumsy as he was.

They were low on medicinal herbs, Hiccup noticed, and that meant they either needed to find an island where they were plentiful or find a village to ransack. Whichever was closest.

The latter send a chill down his spine. Though running into a dragon wouldn't exactly be good either.

Once a more trusting lad, Hiccup had learned to be hesitant and vigilant around humans and dragons alike. Didn't matter if they were still alive... or dead.

Life had changed drastically in the Barbaric Archipelago.

Toothless heard a map being unfolded next and knew Hiccup must be looking for the island nearest to them. A deep sigh left him out of relief and the Night Fury knew what it meant.

It was only a little over half an hour later when Hiccup and Toothless spotted the island they had set course for up ahead. It was relatively flat with mainly forest as far as the eye could see. Hills and rivers were all that kept the land from being a completely even surface. Yet it's woods were big enough to rival even Berk's size and for a moment Hiccup had to swallow the bittersweet memories of years exploring them with his draconic nestmate.

He looked back way too often. Toothless had already scolded him with a tailfin smack to the back of his head for that once before. Ever since then he had tried to resist, but it was hard.

It made him feel like he was trying to forget his loved ones, his family and friends, and that send another new kind of aching to burn in his chest. It was a very vicious cycle.

Toothless seemed to notice as he grumbled disapprovingly. Though they were born and hatched only days apart, he still felt like he was much older than Hiccup sometimes.

"I know... Sorry, Bud." He apologized and turned his attention back to the island again.

Or to be more specific, the small settlement near the beach that caught his attention. His eyes squinted as he tried to get a better look. That was not on the map.

Even for a Viking village it didn't seem all that big. And though most of Berk's homes were built out of wood, it made rebuilding houses lost due to raids from enemy tribes or the occasional dragon fire faster, even these were very sorry looking. As if they were build in a rush.

A tribe fled their island and had settled here. That was the only conclusion Hiccup could come to and it was backed up by the longboat moored not too far away.

One longboat.

Big as they were, Hiccup wondered just how many of them had managed to get off their island before it was too late.

It made him wonder just how many people had managed to get off Berk. If his father had decided to evacuate the island, that is. He didn't give up so easily.

Before long did Toothless touch down for a landing in the very center of the small settlement when he didn't spot a single Viking or dragon in their immediate area.

It was quiet. Everywhere they went, the silence followed them like a resentful spirit. Birds, the wind and the ocean rushing behind them were their constant companions. It was often unnerving and even after a year Hiccup had yet to get used to that.

The Viking teen didn't immediately dismount and Toothless wouldn't have wanted him too. They needed to be on their guard. Should it be necessary, they could still take of in the blink of an eye and race for the safety of the sky.

Even Sharpshot, still in his own personal saddlebag, had peeked his head out and joined the two in their tense scanning of their surroundings. The suspense seemed almost tangible enough to cut it with a blade.

It was only when Toothless relaxed that Hiccup released a breath he hadn't even realized he held and Sharpshot decided to crawl out of his bag.

Hiccup got up from the saddle and once his boots touched the grassy ground did the Terrible Terror leave his little nest in favour of his human. Instead attaching himself to the boy's furred vest as he walked and clawing his way up to settle on Hiccup's shoulder.

Small as he was, even Sharpshot deemed the Viking in need of his protection. And he wasn't a fool. He knew in what state of decay the Archipelago now found itself in, he knew it was safer to keep an eye on each other. It was the only reason why Sharpshot didn't fly off to hunt for little old him.

Toothless send his rider a croon and Hiccup turned to face him again.

"I know, Bud, I know. 'Be careful', got it. Just gotta see if any of these huts still have some herbs or gauzes, 'cause I really need them." It was with a worried heart that he decided to let the fragile human fledgling go, but not before Hiccup send him a reassuring smile.

He attracted trouble wherever he went, but he just had to check the huts. And that was pretty much what they were. Not strong, proud Viking homes, but mere weak huts not build to last.

Hiccup felt a sense of discomfort flutter in his chest as he gazed at the ones in front of him and his grip on the satchel he had brought along grew tigther. Sharpshot chirped worryingly.

"It's gonna be just fine. Right, Shot?" He asked the dragon on his shoulder, who gave another chirp.

These shacks definitely were not made to last. If anything, the tribe that had decided to settle here had meant for these to be temporary homes. Yet, they were still standing here and so was their longboat.

If they never left, just where did the residents go?

It took every ounce of strength and courage Hiccup possessed to keep on going after such a worrying thought and he approached the first of the hastily contrusted houses.

From what he could see through the open windows, it looked clear. A little dusty, but no immediate threats. In fact, this place seemed to be pretty empty. Just bedding for a small family and some clothes. Nothing more. Deciding that there must be little of worth to find here, Hiccup moved on to the next shack.

It was like that for the following two huts aswell. Barely anything to be found besides bedding, clothes and food that was already either moldy or picked clean. It wasn't until he arrived at candidate number three that he found something promising.

"Yes!" Hiccup whispered under his breath as he took one peek through the open door and noticed what looked to be herbs hanging on the walls.

Entering the place, he realized the person who once lived here must have been like Gothi. A healer, an elder. If he wanted to find anything useful, this was just the place he'd need.

Hiccup viewed the several different spices and herbs with his satchel already open, hoping to find something he'd recognize. But it was dark and light was scarce even with the tiny windows up front. He had to squint in an attempt to read the labels or see what exactly he was looking at.

Sharpshot had his head lazily resting on his human's shoulder, not at all interested despites the many curious scents. All that could nab his interest now would be a big juicy fish. He was starving.

Or that was one of the only two things.

The other was the silhouette of a skeletal figure dooming up behind them. Rising up slowly and quieter than its clumsy physique should be able to, blocking what little light there was, and Sharpshot was quick to spot it. He tensed on top of the human's shoulder, digging his claws into the vest.

It didn't speak, for it couldn't. Its mind was but a blank slate. All memories, including of who it used to be, were gone. All that remained was emptiness. All that remained was pain. All that remained... was the hunger.

Within a grey thinning mess of hair, two sickly white eyes opened to peer at the boy much too invested in the several different kind of dried plants. He liked the sound of his own voice too much as he named them and spoke excitedly to the Terrible Terror about the treasure trove of herbs they'd found.

A putrid smell filled their nostrils when it opened its salivating mouth and Sharpshot had enough.

With the highpitched battle cry only a Terror could make, the dragon stayed true to his name as he jumped from the teenaged boy's back to lunge for the corpse.

"Sharpshot?!" Turning on his heels, Hiccup watched Shot bite and claw into its sunken in face with no mercy, giving the smallish Viking the chance to get away. It didn't even have the sense to cry out in pain anymore.

Hiccup fled the shack, knowing that dragons could not get infected with the human version of the illness that had taken the man's life and that he would only get in Sharpshot's way if he tried anything.

But upon leaving, came to face an even worse problem.

"Oh my Thor!"

Out of nowhere had several of them popped up, all at several different stages of decay, telling a tale of the suffering the remains of this Viking tribe suffered before they all eventuall succumbed to the same plague.

At walking speed they made a beeline straight for the boy. Though they should appear non-threatening with their slow speed, their sheer number had always been their greatest weapon.

And for a moment too long, Hiccup found himself frozen as he let his eyes search for Toothless.

A hand that was still surprisingly strong took hold of his fur and Hiccup found his head spinning to see one of them towering over him with it's foul breath warming his freckled face.

Hiccup acted quickly and swiped the dagger from his belt to sink it into the dead man's temple with a swiftness that could only be achieved with months of practice, killing it before it could sink its teeth into his young flesh.

The short blade pulled back and Hiccup held it in a deathgrip as he looked at the many former Viking men and women, some of them children, as they creeped ever closer, quickly trapping him despites their average speed.

"We need to get out of here!" Hiccup yelped when a bloodied Sharpshot landed on his shoulder and stained the brown of his vest to create a darker colour.

"Find Toothless!" He ordered and the Terror was off again, this time to search for the considerably more powerful Night Fury.

At least for a moment Hiccup had to fend for himself and he could only hope to last long enough for Toothless to return.

There were too many to escape from on his own, yet he had to try.

Their teeth snapped and their hands clawed. Though the teen attempted to avoid them as best as he could on his way out of the crowd, he'd needed to slay another three. The hand holding a firm grip on the dagger was slippery with blood and some of it had spattered on his face and clothes already.

He counted himself lucky, for a brief moment, that only their bite really spread whatever it was that swept through the Archipelago and turned once proud Vikings into these soulless things. There were a lot of things Hiccup could still count himself lucky for even now.

But only for a fleeting moment. Because suddenly one of the corpses, one poor legless soul who lived its undead life crawling in the dirt who he had failed to notice, grabbed hold of his left leg and Hiccup was sure it was over for him as it pulled with all its might, trying to down the boy.

Though he kicked and kicked, a second one grabbed him from behind and dragged him down on the grass with them. It looked like it was a she once upon a time.

Though he couldn't stay up on his feet, Hiccup did not go down without a fight.

"Toothless!" He shouted his dragon's name as he sunk the dagger into the undead's eye socket, killing it instantly. But the moment it slumped down on top of his torso, another took its place and it grabbed the hand holding his one way of defending himself. He grabbed its hair in an attempt to keep its hazardous jaws away from him.

All three of them, both dead and undead, were heavy and he couldn't get them off. Though they didn't yet look as bad as some others he'd seen, as some others here in this very tribe, their revolting smell filled his nose and made him want to throw up right then and there. Tears sprung to his eyes from just the stench alone.

If Hiccup wasn't panicking already, he was now.

"Toothless! Tooth, where are you?! Tooth-ARGH!" A scream of pain left him when teeth broke through the thick layer of his boot and bit down on his left leg.

It was the worst pain he had ever experienced. The kind that burned and left him breathless. And like a Terror, the creature trapping him did not let go no matter how many times he kicked it. All that did was make the torment worse.

"TOOTHLESS!" He was full on sobbing by now as he cried out at the top of his lungs. Though something he didn't do easily, he feared for his life and found himself in a world of agony. And more of them were about to be upon him. The stink that clung to them was enough to suffocate him.

With a mighty roar the Night Fury was finally able to reach his Rider and he tore each of them away from the boy in a rage, his strong teeth breaking their bones in his hold.

Free from the fallen and ignoring the pain, Hiccup was quick to get back to his feet and used his newfound freedom to hurry with a painful limp to Toothless, who fired plasma blasts at any that dared to come closer. He climbed into the saddle of his dragon with his every inch trembling from head to toe, Sharpshot diving into his bag with haste. And off they were, speeding off into the sky to seek safer havens.

With no home to speak off, Toothless had not decided on any particular way to go. All he wanted was to get off that island as fast as his wings could carry them. Or get away from the remains of that small community at the very least. That had been his main concern.

He hadn't taken the time to check his rider out. He hadn't even had the time to. When it became clear something was wrong, a part of Toothless wished he'd done so before they left.

Sharpshot seemed to make a noise of alarm at the same time the intrusive reek of blood reached his sensitive nose. It was after the Night Fury had stopped speeding, when he leveled off and went into a relaxed glide high in the sky.

"Tooth? Toothless? I don't..." Hiccup didn't need to finish his sentence and the dragon looked over his shoulder as best as he could to see the boy's face drained of the little colour it had to turn into a ghostly pale. His small form was quaking in the chill of the wind as he sat there and folded in on himself.

Toothless couldn't see exactly where their boy was injured in their current position, but he did know what this meant.

Hiccup was losing blood somehow. They needed to set down somewhere and stop it before it was too late.

As if reading the Night Fury's expression, Hiccup pulled out the map again to see where they could possibly go, though his vision was already swimming.

Luckily, there was an island not too far away from here. One that wasn't supposed to be inhabited by Vikings either.

Amidst a dense forest, the traveling trio landed in what looked to be a clearing. A seemingly safe cove with a calm enough river running through. It was almost similar to their favourite spot near Ravenpoint on Berk and they would've appreciated the bittersweet feeling of home it gave them had there not been more pressing matters to fret over.

The moment Toothless touched down Hiccup tried to dismount, but ended up weakly falling to his knees instead. Even the mere act of sitting up seemed to be a chore now as he swayed.

With a concerned croon did Toothless want to urge him to lie down, but Hiccup ended up passing out before he could, falling onto his side in the grass and didn't move again. His skin looked dangerously white.

Sharpshot, back in his saddlebag, wasn't sure what to think or do. As a panicked Toothless whined and nudged his Viking's face, he crawled out of the bag to circle them for a bit, but remained mostly quiet as he didn't dare approach them. He hoped the much larger and cleverer Night Fury knew what needed to be done.

Toothless absolutely did not know what to do.

Hiccup just stayed unmoving on the ground. He wasn't responding, he was a deathly pale, he trembled, even his breathing was too slow and deep for comfort.

The dragon knew, if they didn't do something soon, that they would be losing him today.

And they just had their fifteenth birthday too.

Calming down enough to let his scared, narrow pupils glide over his boy's thin body, Toothless' gaze came to settle on some very hurriedly wrapped bandages around his left ankle, which were soaked in blood and were doing only so much to stop Hiccup from bleeding out completely. They must've been applied with haste mid-flight.

Less than gracefully did the dark reptile tear them away, he needed to look at that wound and see just how bad it was.

After removing the furred boot, he almost wished he hadn't.

There was no mistaking it now. One of the undead had bitten into his leg near his foot. An entire chunk was missing at the very bottom of his shin and it made even his stomach churn at the sight. Hiccup's legs were never all that meaty to begin with. It was a miracle he hadn't bled out already.

The second most concerning thing was the paleness of his skin halfway down his lower leg. It wasn't the ashen kind of pale Hiccup was now, but rather a grey sickly one. His veins had become more prominent.

It was the infection. The same one that started taking and turning people on Berk before their father had send them packing. Now that same condition was about to take his best friend and other half too.

Toothless whined and nudged Hiccup's face again, who groaned wordlessly this time.

He couldn't lose him. He simply couldn't. The very reason he had gotten this far was because his Rider had kept him going this entire time. Without him, if the dragon were to lose him today, there was hardly a reason to continue on living.

Unless... the disease never got that far.

Moving his gaze to meet with Hiccup's, he found the boy staring back at him through half-lidded eyes. Though he hadn't moved an inch and his gaze was unfocused, Toothless wondered just how lucid he was, he had woken up at the worst possible moment as a decision had been reached.

The dragon, just as young as the boy who rode him, gave him an apologetic croon, pressing his snout against Hiccup's brow once more and closing his large eyes briefly. A trembling hand came to scratch his scaly chin this time and Hiccup released a shaky breath in horrible anticipation.

"I know, Bud. I know." A soft whisper rolled off his tongue as he desperately tried to keep control of himself. He understood what needed to be done. Preferably before the illness spread too far and his death ultimately became unavoidable.

He didn't look forward to it, by the Gods, he didn't, but it was necessary. It was necessary and they both knew it. The limb was already beyond saving. Though there was a dull pounding, he could no longer move even his toes and his foot was just freezing cold.

Hiccup closed his eyes when Toothless drew away from him solemnly, moving him to lie on his back. He hoped to pass out again before his numb, dead leg was taken by the powerful teeth of a dragon.

But he didn't, not in time.

And with every little ounce of strength his weak body still retained did he scream.

It had been difficult. Toothless absolutely despised hurting his boy, but it was the only way of giving him a chance to live, the only way of keeping him from turning into one of the same mindless creatures that had bitten him and torn Berk apart.

It was torture for both of them. For all three of them even.

A lot of blood had been lost, screams had filled the air and scared Sharpshot into hiding, in the end it had even seemed all the Night Fury had done was bring Hiccup closer to death.

But once the bleeding had stopped after cauterizing the wound to the best of his limited ability, despites his incredible and lethal firepower, it seemed like Hiccup eventually slept more soundly. No longer as bothered by the liquid fire spreading gradually, but rapidly, throughout his body.

Toothless had chosen a cove with a cave and that is where he had brought Hiccup after severing his leg. Should it start to rain, as it often did here in the North if it wasn't already snowing, they'd be dry at least.

Curling up around him, Toothless had him rest his head on one of his forelegs just so Hiccup would still have some part of him resting on something that wasn't cold, hard stone. It seemed like there was a reason why Vikings slept in wooden nests with furs and blankets.

He was still as white as snow and incredibly cold too. Even after removing the source of the infection, Hiccup actually surviving the ordeal would be a long shot. Halfway down his lower left leg there was nothing now. It could very well be a fatal injury even despites all of the measurements Toothless could possibly take.

He was painfully aware of that and it was why he refused to take his eyes off of him for a single second. Even as day turned to night. He feared that Hiccup would pass on if he so much as looked away. As if not keeping a watchful eye on him would cause the boy to turn anyway, though the sick kind of grey didn't appear again.

They were dreadful hours spend in suspenseful silence. Occasionally Toothless would warble something and sniff the human's hair, but he'd get no response. Hiccup might aswell have been dead to the world. The dragon only knew otherwise because his sharp hearing allowed him to hear the weak, even breaths. And if he brought his head close enough, he could still hear the faint beating of his heart.

Time passed much too slowly for their liking. And even Sharpshot, though yearning for fish, not once left Hiccup's side, which he was snuggled up against.

Even as morning eventually came and the Viking still had not moved to even slightly change his position did they leave. They simply couldn't.

The days passed with Hiccup not really growing any weaker, but not much stronger either. A slight fever did pop up and it had persisted for a good day or two, but it eventually left the boy alone and he had gone back to lying completely still, wrapped up and kept warm by the Night Fury.

Toothless would sometimes move him, had somehow gotten the rolled up fur off of his back to cover Hiccup with as it became chilly at night, licked the burned stump as only Hiccup's nimble fingers could finish the job and care for it properly by dressing it.

Until then all that protected it were the tattered remains of the pants he wore and the Night Fury's slightly healing saliva. It kept the wound clean at least.

There were those brief moments of relief when a weak Hiccup would wake up for a precious little amount of time, just long enough to get a sip of lukewarm water in his system. But no matter how much he tried, he could not stay awake. Toothless doubted he would even remember any of it later.

It rained as day five arrived and the very fact that the teen was still breathing was nothing short of a miracle.

Both dragons were starving and thirsty, the saddle on Toothless' back hadn't been removed in days and it was bothering him, but still they refused to leave until they caught one single positive sign that Hiccup would live and so far there had been none.

None, until that very day.

Toothless had not slept at all those past few days as they waited and it had tired him out. All of his energy was spend worrying over his Rider. But as the light of the rising morning sun came creeping into their cave and hit the small nest of two dragons and one human boy, he caught sight of something wonderful.

Some colour had returned to Hiccup's complexion.

A soft croon came from the dragon's dry throat as he sniffed him, snout moving as he drew closer. A scaly nose touched warmer skin.

Was this it? Would this be the day his Rider would finally wake up?

Toothless felt a hope rise along with the sun, though dark clouds seemed to tell a different story. With warbles and rumbles did he attempt to urge him to wake up, to open his eyes and reassure them that he was okay.

Sharpshot had heard Toothless, but only ever lifted his head once before laying it back down again, losing interest.

The Night Fury did not let up. Nudging Hiccup's cheek once, twice, three times, he finally got an answer.

The Viking's relaxed expression grew tense for a brief second as his lips pursed, his eyes squeezed shut, his brows furrowed, it was the most they had seen from him ever since yesterday afternoon.

Hiccup swallowed and his eyes opened.

The first thing he saw was Toothless' large head as he gazed back at him with caution.

"Hey Toothless." The dragon jumped up to his feet upon hearing his Rider's voice for the first time this week. Unable to contain his excitement, he found he had a hard time standing still. Though usually fierce, mighty and lethal, Toothless wiggled and spaced around the boy he pushed his nose into to sniff every inch of him, crooning about the worrying he had done the entire time Hiccup had slept.

"Tooth-Toothless. Toothless, please! Let me breathe!" The boy was still much too weak, but much livelier then hours earlier as he brought his hands up to the other's snout to cease his wiggling.

Hiccup still had a long way to go, that was clear, but his green gaze was once again as bright as it should be and no longer a dull shadow of its former self. That was all that counted to Toothless.

"I'm happy to see you too, Bud." He stated, his voice cracking and his throat begging for water or something to relief it.

Toothless crooned once more, pupils large and kind and filled with emotion only his Rider could read, and Hiccup smiled. He couldn't help his thumb running over the oversized lizard's scales.

A sudden surprised chirp interrupted their moment and Sharpshot jumped on the chance to greet the Viking aswell, bumping his smaller head against Hiccup's, who let out a breathy laugh at the affection.

"Sharpshot, your horns!" The scratches they caused were nothing compared to the throbbing in his leg.

Hiccup rememebered what had happened and tried his best to remain motionless, afraid of the fire that would course through his body if he didn't. He didn't dare take a look, fearing the mess he'd come to find if he did. Toothless was no healer, after all.

Something was telling him that it would be wise to seek one out once he could get back in the saddle, though that would have to be a concern for later.

For now, as he let the dragons shower him with attention, Hiccup was just glad to still be breathing and silently thanked the Gods for this miracle. There was no other explanation as to how he survived for this long.

It had been a solid year since they left Berk and at the young age of fifteen had he lost a leg, but he was still alive and both Toothless and Sharpshot were still with him. That was all that mattered.