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The sound of rain splattering against the wooden exterior of Hiccups’ hut was deafening in an otherwise silent night. Toothless laid curled up on his stone platform, the edges cut perfectly to comfortably frame his body. His rider sat at his desk, fiddling with yet another tail attachment for Toothless. Hiccup had been trying to perfect it for the past two days, but to no avail. He just couldn’t quite get the weight balanced..
He sighed, tossing two metal parts ontop of the blueprints covering his desk. The flame of the candles surrounding him flickered from the movement. He lifted his head upwards and leaned back fully in his chair, his lean arms limp beside him as his gaze found the ceiling.
Guess I’ll try again tomorrow.. too late for the forge now.
He ran a hand through his wild hair, which had grown quite a bit, and stood up. The legs of his chair creaked against the floor of his hut. The brunet blew out all but one of the candles on his desk, looping a finger through the handle of the remaining lit candlestick and lazily walking up the stairs to the top deck of his hut.
Hiccup placed the flickering candle on his bedside table and let his body fall back onto his bed. He was exhausted. Heather had been trying to convince him to focus on resting his body, saying he had “earned it”. Whatever that meant. He begged to differ. Krogan and Drago were only getting bolder, and what was Hiccup doing? Laying in his bed like a fool.
The last mission was only somewhat successful, they hadn’t managed to free all of the dragons that Krogan had captured. Only around half, actually. Heather had been hit with an arrow in the thigh, and Eret, given that he was still getting used to flying, failed to dodge a boulder and was sent flying into Heather and Windshear. It was sloppy, and the enemy was only growing stronger.
Hiccup rubbed a hand over his face, and glanced up to his headboard where his knitted dragon was perched. He reached an arm up and carefully took it into his hands. It was grey in colour, with large, brown buttons for the eyes. He traced his finger along his name which was embroidered into each side of the dragon, just under the wings. His mother had made it for him as a child, and it was the only thing he kept from Berk that wasn’t stuffed away inside a box.
Valka is someone Hiccup thinks about often. He wonders what she would’ve been like as a mother. Would she have been strict, or more free-spirited? He figured he takes after her appearance wise, but what would she have really looked like? Maybe if she hadn’t died, things would’ve been different. Maybe he wouldn’t have left Berk, and he might’ve been supported.
As a frown began to tug at his brows, he shook his head and placed the toy back in it’s place atop the wooden headboard. Sparing a quick glance at Toothless sleeping soundly, he blew out his candle and let his head hit the pillow for the night.
“Hiccup? You busy?” Heather questioned as she popped her head into his hut. The door has been wide open, allowing light to spread across the deck.
“Not really. What’s up?” Hiccup kept his back to her. He stood at his desk, looking down at blueprints with a stick of charcoal in his left hand.
“Please tell me you haven’t been working all night. How are you supposed to plan if you’re tired all the time?” She walked over, standing by his side and scanning the papers scattered along the table.
“I slept. Now, did you actually need something or did you just come to interrogate me?” His gaze never left the papers.
Heather took a second to study his face for any trace of a lie. He looked slightly less exhausted than yesterday, so she figured he did get some sleep, but the dark circles under his emerald eyes were still as striking as ever. They were practically ingrained into his face, just like the freckles that dotted his face from his left cheek, and across his nose to meet his right cheek. The brunet frowned down at the papers, his tongue peaking out to run along the scar that ran through his lip and left a dent in the skin, a habit he had picked up, before marking something on the page.
She sighed.
“Viggo and Eret were talking about our next mission. Eret seems to think that Krogan will likely be heading to their West port to drop off the load of dragons they still have from the last mission. Viggo thinks we should attack tomorrow-”
“Tomorrow?” Hiccup cut her off, finally tearing his attention from his cluttered desk and staring at her. “Why wait ‘till tomorrow?”
“Because we need to prepare, my dear.”
Both Heather and Hiccup turned towards the entrance as Viggo walked in. The older man approached the table and looked down at Hiccup’s notes, studying them.
“Heather, Eret was wanting to spar with you. He’s in the arena,” Viggo didn’t even spare her a glance. Heather took the hint that he wanted to speak with Hiccup alone, and nodded silently before leaving.
“We should strike today. I don’t know what you’re thinking by waiting until tomorrow, Viggo. You’re only giving Krogan more time to prepare his men and reinforce his defences!” Hiccup exclaimed, clearly frustrated by Viggo’s plan. Or lack thereof.
“The recoil on these springs are different. Did you notice that?”
The younger man froze for a second. Is he serious?
“The left side has more force than the right. You messed up in the calibration.” Viggo continued, turning to face Hiccup.
“That’s not important right now, Viggo. Those dragons are being enslaved and you’re telling me to wait?” He scoffed, “You can’t be serious.”
The elder shut his eyes, his shoulders slouching as he let out a long breath.
“Hiccup, the last time you attacked right away, you failed. Heather was injured. You’re wanted by half of the Archipelago, and Eret has only been riding for three months. You’re lucky I’m even suggesting attacking tomorrow, you should be laying low,” Viggo ranted, leaning back against the table and crossing his arms. His dark eyes fixated on Hiccup’s lowered gaze.
“These things take time, my dear. I understand you want to help those dragons, but you need more patience. Eret says the West port is the most convenient option for Krogan. You know what else is West?” Viggo raised a brow.
Of course he knew. South-West of their home, was Berk. The last time he was on that Gods-forsaken island was three years ago when he made his deal with Gobber; in return for Hiccup leaving Berk alone, Gobber would see to it that no dragon was harmed by the Berkians. The brunet trusted Gobber, he was the only one who showed some sort of care for him. He also promised to keep Hiccup’s identity a secret, Thor knows what would happen if his fath-.. If Stoick found out that his son was the “Great Dragon Master”.
Hiccup met Viggo’s gaze.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about Berk, I care about the dragons that are being enslaved and tortured as we speak!” Hiccup gestured wildly with his arms as he spoke, “We need to act now, Viggo.”
“Tomorrow. We will act tomorrow. According to Eret, the island is relatively small. Majority of the cages should be kept on the beach, there aren’t many hills or cliffs for catapults, therefore they’ll likely be relying on their Flyers. Heather and Eret will attack from the rear of the island, you and I shall attack head-on,” Viggo pushed up from the desk, and stopped to be side by side with Hiccup.
He placed his left hand on the younger man’s right shoulder.
“Prepare yourself, my dear.”
Hiccup was silent as Viggo departed. ‘Prepare yourself’. Pfft, as if he was some child. He could handle flying past Berk, it wasn’t a big deal. That island was irrelevant to him now, he had his deal with Gobber and that was that. He trusted that Gobber would be true to his word, and Hiccup hadn’t heard of any dragon related problems that Berk was facing.
He couldn’t help but let his gaze drift towards a locked chest at the back of his hut. It was filled with memories of Berk, of his past life.
No. Block it out, Hiccup.
He shook his head, and returned to his desk, fiddling with what Viggo had pointed out. He just needed to be patient. He could do that.
The cool breeze wisping through Hiccup’s hair was a welcomed distraction from the chatter of Heather and Eret who were flying alongside him and Viggo. They had departed early from their island, hoping to catch Krogan and his men off guard. The Riders had been flying for roughly an hour now, they were getting closer to flying over Berkian waters.
Hiccup faced forward, his grip on Toothless’s saddle tightening slightly as the island came into view. Toothless made a faint noise, checking on his rider which drew the attention of Viggo. Hiccup could feel his gaze burning into his back, but both men stayed silent as they left the area.
Krogan is the priority. Stop thinking about them. Focus, Hiccup.
It didn’t take long until they spotted the island they were actually after. Eret had called out when he saw it, and then split off with Heather in tow. There were at least twenty Flyers down there, but Krogan and his Singetail didn’t seem to be around. Better strike now.
Hiccup pulled his helmet down over his face, and bent his body forward, getting as close to Toothless as he could as they soared down towards the island. Some of the men below called out, and mounted their Singetails. Toothless powered up a plasma blast and shot one of the Flyers straight off of his dragon and into the sea. Viggo covered the duo from behind on his Skrill, shocking two approaching Flyers and sending them crashing into each other.
Hiccup and Toothless smoothly manoeuvred and weaved out of the way of blasts from the Flyers. They were perfectly in sync, together as one. Eret and Heather caught some Hunters off guard, and focused on getting the captured dragons out of their cells while Viggo and Hiccup kept the Flyers busy. Everything was going smoothly, and soon enough, Heather called out that all the dragons had been freed. Hiccup felt the tension in his body easy a little.
Until he was blasted from behind, almost thrown off of the saddle. Toothless made a pained sound, and Hiccup whipped his head around to see Krogan on his Singetail. And worse, Toothless’s tailfin had caught on fire.
Shit.
Heather took action, firing straight back at Krogan while Viggo grabbed Toothless to keep them from plummeting into the ocean. Krogan had come with reinforcements. Too many reinforcements for Hiccup’s liking. Where was he getting all of these men?
“Fall back!” Viggo called for them to retreat.
They had managed to free the dragons, but that wasn’t enough for Hiccup. The Singetails were still prisoners. The Flyers hadn’t been dealt with, he wanted them to burn. He wanted to hear their screams as he sent them plummeting to their deaths. But, Toothless was his priority. Always. He needed to land and get that tail checked out.
Unfortunately, Krogan didn’t let up that easily. He and his men persisted to chase the Riders, and while Heather and Eret were doing their best to fight back, it wasn’t enough. A shot was aimed at Viggo’s Skrill, causing him to drop Hiccup and Toothless. The Night Fury struggled to get his wings open, trying to glide as his tailfin was steadily incinerating. The dragon pushed to make it to the nearest island, and he and his Rider crashed through the trees and into a pool of water.
Hiccup splashed to the surface and swam to the grassy land. He pulled his helmet off and ran a hand through his soaked hair as Toothless came to his side.
“Nice landing, bud,” Hiccup joked. Toothless retorted by shaking his head and splashing Hiccup with water like a wet dog.
Hiccup groaned, and looked up at the sound of flapping wings. The others had found him, and there was no sight of Krogan or his Flyers.
“Krogan?” Hiccup asked as they all dismounted.
“Dealt with. For now, anyway,” Heather responded tiredly, pulling her hood and scarf down from covering her face.
Hiccup nodded and searched in his saddlebag for a spare tailfin for his dragon, only to groan once more when he realised he had forgotten to pack a spare.
“Let me guess, you forgot to pack another tailfin,” Heather smirked.
“It’s fine. I can make another. I should have fabric in here somewhere..” Hiccup trailed off as he rummaged through his bag.
“Cheer up, H. We won. We got the dragons out,” Eret playfully nudged him on the shoulder, sitting down next to him. The other two Riders joined them as their dragons relaxed.
“We didn’t win. Krogan is still alive,” Hiccup grumbled while he grabbed a roll of red fabric from the saddlebag and pulled Toothless’s tail onto his lap.
The brunet unhooked the tailfin from around his dragons tail and yanked it off. He took a small hammer from his bag and straightened out the wires on the tail. Thankfully, they weren’t too bent out of shape. His slender fingers focused on carefully weaving the fabric onto the wires, though he still ended up accidentally pricking himself a handful of times.
“We should stay here for a while. It’s relaxing,” Heather lay back, tucking her arms behind her head and crossing one leg over the other. Viggo hummed in agreement.
Hiccup glanced up to scan his surroundings, his hands still mindlessly working on the tail. They were in a cove, with a large pond in the middle of it, so clear you could see straight to the bottom. The land surrounding it was covered in patches of short, and practically dead grass. Honestly, it was more dry dirt than grass. There were a couple of large stones scattered around the area.
Hiccup froze.
This wasn’t just a cove. It was the cove. The one where he found Toothless after shooting him down. The one where he would meet Toothless everyday. He glanced up, staring at where a trail of rocks led a scattered pathway down to the cove. That was where he tried to draw Toothless, and realised he had lost his tail. He turned to stare at a different stone to the right. That was where he sat while Toothless drew around him. Right before he befriended him.
Shit.
He was on Berk.