Chapter Text
The storm had materialised from thin air, or so Hiccup thought. There was no logical explanation for why there hadn’t been signs, or any talk from the traders about sudden, oncoming storms. It had been a rare, sunny day for Berk. so, what stirred the storm?
“Hiccup! I think most of the dragons were spooked! There’s no way we can count a census if we can barely see anything! We should regroup!”
Astrid called back to him as she flew ahead on Stormfly, she was practically yelling to be heard over the thunder. It wasn’t raining, but snowing? Devastating winter wasn’t for two more months at most.
It was, possibly, the strangest thing Hiccup has seen all year.
“Yeah, I don’t think we’re spotting any strays around here. Let’s regroup, huh, bud?”
Hiccup replied, tugging on Toothless’ reins as he let out an agreeing grumble. As they shifted to turn around and head back, but then Toothless jerked, letting out a restless whine.
“What is it, Toothless? Do you see something?”
The night fury let out a garble of urgency, and dove for the ground. Once they landed, Hiccup got off of him and finally spotted what Toothless had.
There was a boy, barefoot and lying in the snow. He was completely unconscious, holding a tall stick close to his chest. The stick looked vaguely similar to a shepherd's crook, yet it was made entirely of wood.
His tufts of dark brown hair had streaks of complete white in them, and his complexion was deathly pale. What kind of stranger would be barefoot in the snow?
Hiccup crouched down to check if he’s breathing, as Astrid landed with Stormfly.
“What’s someone like him doing all the way on the very east edge of Berk?”
She spoke, wrapping her arms around herself to keep a little warmer.
“Not sure, but he’s definitely not someone trying to ambush us. He has no weapons, he barely has anything. And what are these strange clothes?” Hiccup cast a glance at Toothless, who was rubbing his snout against the stranger’s forearm, trying to wake him.
“He’s alive, just unconscious. But, he won’t be if we just leave him here. We should take him to Gothi. She’ll know how to help him.”
He carefully slid his arms under the young man, supporting him by his knees and back in an almost bridal carry, and then carefully laid him on top of Toothless.
“Let’s be slow flying back, bud. We don’t want to move him too much.”
Hiccup murmured, lifting himself back on to his saddle. He cast a glance at Astrid, already taking off into the sky and flying back towards the village.
She was equally as concerned, but he could tell she didn’t exactly trust taking in a complete stranger that would only be able to get on the island by boat or by dragon. It was certainly suspicious, but Hiccup wasn’t going to leave someone stranded in a storm, unconscious and helpless.
—
“I’ve never seen anything like it, Gothi. He’s not even wearing shoes, and he’s got such a strange cloak on. He was practically in the middle of the sudden storm!”
Upon landing on the top of Gothi’s hut, Hiccup overheard the very verbally one-sided conversation as Astrid stepped out with the village elder. She gestured at the young man on Toothless’ back, and Gothi stepped forward.
“‘What happened’? Yeah, we’re not so sure ourselves, Gothi. We were about to regroup and find shelter from the storm, but Toothless found him on the ground, in the snow. It’s all very strange.”
The village elder, after inspecting the stranger keenly, nodded and waved for them to come in. Hiccup picked him up once more, and found he was surprised by how light he was. He hadn’t noticed the first time he carried him because he’d been too concerned.
Gothi opened the door and entered her hut, tipping the end of her staff and pointing it at the spare, single bed in the room.
—
Hiccup quickly realized that he simply could not pull the stick from this guy’s hands. It was proving near impossible as he gave another, semi-gentle tug on the crook. It was like it was part of his very being, refusing to be moved. The young man’s brows’ furrowed, tightening his hold on his crook and letting out a little huff of breath.
“Fine, fine. Keep it, but that surely can’t be comfortable.” Hiccup grumbled, taking a seat on a stool by the bed.
“Who are you? Where exactly did you come from?”
He asked quietly, his gaze trained on the relaxed, softened features of the peculiar stranger. He was skinnier than what Hiccup was, and he looked around the same age. He was… pretty, for a boy.
“No. Stop that. You don’t want to think that about someone who could potentially bring danger to Berk.” He muttered, placing a hand to his lip in thought.
He sighed, rising from the stool.
“I should really go talk to dad about this. Oh, man.”
—
The room was hazy, and blurry when Jack awoke. He was warm in a way he hadn’t felt in decades, centuries even.
He sat up, running a hand through his hair with a groan. Why was he in a room? When was the last time he was in a room made up entirely of wooden planks?
His head pounded behind his eyes, making it hard to focus on his own thoughts.
A flash of blue and green appeared in front of him, and he squinted to force his eyes into focusing.
“Baby Tooth!” Jack exclaimed, holding his palms out so she could land. She chirped excitedly in response, speaking too fast for him to coherently pick up.
“I am so glad you’re alright! But… where are we? Last I remember, we were fighting somebody.”
It was too blurry to remember what happened last in detail. He remembered being cornered, alongside the guardians. As a last ditch effort, he released a bunch of power into the form of a storm, and then everything went fuzzy.
Baby Tooth squeaked, her reply slower this time.
“In the past? But, how far in the past? That thing had the ability to send people back in time?”
The little tooth fairy nodded and was about to formulate another response when suddenly the door opened, and in walked two very strange looking people. It was an elderly woman and a younger man, about Jack’s age. The first thing he noticed was the bright pools of green that were his eyes. He's only seen one other person with such bright eyes and that was Bunny. The next thing he noticed was the wooden and metal prosthetic. It was shoppy work, but if he and Baby Tooth were truly sent to the past, perhaps it was fitting for the time period.
The old lady next to him was short and held a long staff for support. She was wearing a strange, metal helmet with horns that vaguely resembled the old stories told about Vikings.
They were speaking in a language Jack hadn’t heard before, and before he could register what exactly it was, Baby Tooth slapped her tiny hands over his mouth and chirped something he didn’t pick up. In a sudden moment, their language was clear, and it was coming through to him as English.
“Yes, Gothi, I am aware that the village may worry about someone new on the island, and so soon after the Johann business - oh, hey, stranger! You’re finally awake!”
The young man said to him, gesturing at him awkwardly with his hands. Jack summed it up to weird fairy things, and nodded.
“Yes. I, uh… How long was I out for?” He asked, in the language the little tooth fairy had just given him the ability to speak.
The man smiled kindly, and replied, “Just a day. You bounced back better than what we thought you would’ve. Could I… get your name?”
Jack glanced away. It was weird being seen. His eyes caught the blurry, mirror-like thing hung up on the wall opposite the bed and caught his own reflection. Hazel eyes, brown hair with white steaks all through it. He was human again, or at least, mostly human. That’s why he felt so warm.
“Hello?”
The stranger called softly, seeing his silent freak out. Jack shook his head, and managed a friendly smile.
“Sorry. I’m… Jackson Overland. But I prefer being called Jack.” He replied, stretching out a hand. “And, you are?”
The man walked forward, and instead of grabbing his hand, he grabbed his forearm. “Hiccup Haddock. It’s nice to meet you, Jack.”
Jack must’ve made a face at the sound of his name, because Hiccup raised a brow at him questionably.
“I… I’ve never heard a name like that before. It’s quite strange.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of the name Jackson before, either. So, I’d say you’re quite a strange one, too.”
They’ve never heard the name Jack before? And they have weird names? How far in the past is he?
“I’ve got to be really far from home, then.” He muttered to himself, staring ahead at his feet. He wiggled his toes absentmindedly while he held his staff a little closer to his chest.
“Do you know how you got here, Jack? It’s weird to find someone on the very east side of our island, and in the middle of a storm, too.”
Jack met Hiccup’s gaze, and shook his head. He didn’t remember much from before he was sent to the past, but he wasn’t about to tell him that he was sent back in time with no idea how he got here.
“No, I don’t remember. It’s all fuzzy.”
Hiccup frowned in response and let out a soft sigh, running a hand through his hair. “This is all so confusing… unless you were dropped off with an intent to leave you to dragons, I don’t know how you would’ve arrived here.”
Jack managed a look of disbelief. “.... dragons? Like, the ones from the stories?”
The young man nodded, his expression was one of confusion. “Yes… You really must be far from home-”
As he spoke, there was a loud crashing from outside and the door burst open. A black mass, scaly and huge, was trying to get in.
“Toothless! Where are your manners?” Hiccup groaned, trying to push the dragon back out, but to no avail.
“Jack, this is my bud, Toothless. He’s my dragon.”
It was ultimately hard to listen to Hiccup as the dragon practically trampled over him, finally able to fit into the room. He comes right up to Jack’s bedside, snorting and making little noises.
Jack couldn’t help it, he let out a loud laugh. “He isn’t what I expected…” he murmured, tilting his head as he observed Toothless keenly.
Toothless, in turn, tilted his head with him, making Jack giggle a little more. “Can I..?”
Hiccup nodded as he wobbled back into standing, adjusting his prosthetic leg subtly. “Sure. Just close your eyes, hold your hand out and let him come to you.”
Jack watched him come over, and flinched when he took his hand and lifted it up towards the dragon’s snout. He looked away, squeezing his eyes shut.
Moments later, he felt the warm scales against his palm. He held his breath, meeting the gaze of the dragon nuzzling against his hand.
“You’re like a big, scaly cat.” He smiled, running gentle fingers along the scales on his face. Toothless let out a contented purring sound, his wide green eyes open and accepting. He was intelligent, Jack could tell just by looking into his eyes.
“Wow, he really likes you. Toothless doesn’t necessarily easily trust strangers. But, he’s really warming up to you.”
Hiccup grinned, just watching as his night fury demanded attention from the other boy. It was really cute.
“So, dragons are good judges of character? That’s interesting.”
Jack hummed, taking his hand away from the big dragon.
The other boy chuckled, and nodded. “Yes, they’re very intelligent creatures. Anyways, this is Gothi. She’s our village elder and our best healer. She’s been taking care of you whilst you’ve been unconscious.”
Jack met Gothi’s gaze and waved politely, she nodded in response and walked forward. As she hobbled over, he noticed the bowl in one of her hands. It certainly looked like a taste of misery soup. But then again, appearances can be deceiving.
He took the soup from her, giving it a cautious once-over and a sniff. It didn’t smell like anything. Jack shrugged, and downed it in one go as Gothi left the room.
As soon as the horrible flavour and texture hit his tongue, Jack reeled over and fought trying to swallow it. He held a fist to his mouth, his eyes watering as he forced it down his throat. Did she make this stuff? Was she making it using ingredients found in the underworld?
He caught Hiccup’s expression, a grimace of complete empathy and pity was practically all over his face.
“Let me guess,” choked Jack, holding back a gag. “All her… great remedies, taste like that?”
His sarcastic tone made Hiccup laugh a little, as he nodded. “Unfortunately. But they do work wonders for our people. She knows what’s best for the sick and injured, so I trust her. We all do.”
The spirit nodded with a quiet hum, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. His bare feet met the cold wooden planks on the floor and he pushed himself to stand up. Putting full pressure on his legs to hold himself up certainly was a challenge, his body felt so weak.
Luckily, Toothless stepped forward and allowed Jack to lean on him as they stepped towards the door. Hiccup took the initiative to open the door for them, as they squeezed through it.
“Thanks, buddy.” He whispered to the dragon, giving him an affectionate pat on his neck. Toothless let out a comforting warble, and gestured with his head to look forward.
His gaze found the village, and his breath was easily taken away from him at the sight. Big, wooden houses with dragon heads, paths and people covering a good portion of the island, trading boats coming in and docking. Yet, the most beautiful aspect of it all, was the various shapes, sizes and colours of all the dragons. Most of them were minding their own business, whether it was eating, sleeping or flying about. Some of them were giving their riders a flight.
The sight of them in the air… it made Jack’s skin tingle with the need to be up there, the need to let the wind sprites take him where they want him to go. To feel the coolness of it brushing his skin, whipping his hair and jumper about.
He knew he still had his powers. He could feel them brewing in the depths of his very being, like a brewing storm just waiting to release all the pressure. He wondered if the wind would listen to him, or if they’d ignore him because they don’t know him.
“Welcome to Berk. It snows nine months of the year, and the rest of it is still cold and miserable. The locals are… friendly - or, friendlier than what they used to be. We normally use axes and maces as ways of greeting. That is how the Vikings do it, I suppose.”
Jack paused, sending him a look of disbelief.
“Vikings?”
Hiccup returned his expression with one of curiosity. “Yeah. Vikings. We’re the Hairy Hooligan tribe. You... must be really far from home, huh?”
Great. Hiccup was right. He was really far from home.