NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Hiccup woke to sunlight against his eyelids. Something seemed wrong somehow. Lifting one eyelid, he saw the reason. The light was being both diffused and reflected off a head of golden hair. He felt a small smile crease his lips. Long blond hair, the color of the sun itself. Wavy, long, and slightly curling. The smell of honeysuckle and lavender filled his nose as he breathed. He'd know that head of hair anywhere…
All of a sudden, he bolted awake. No longer was he bathed in sunlight. What little light there was, slipping through the edges of the wall in front of him, but that wasn't right either. He then remembered where he was. The image he was seeing prior to this was a dream, or maybe a memory. He had awoken many mornings like that, years ago. He felt warm, both inside and out at just the thought of that particular head of hair, and the girl attached to it.
Hiccup sighed silently. He hadn't dreamt of her in a while. He never wanted to forget her, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't hold on to her, now that she was gone. He wanted to honor her memory, but he had to look to the future, and whatever it had in store for him.
He let out a yawn worthy of any dragon, then stretched his legs and back. It was cold, but not the oppressive cold of Berk. Nearly pleasant, he thought to himself. With the light filtering around the dragons' wings, it was past time to get up and get moving. They both needed food to be able to continue their journey.
"Get up, you great, lazy lizard!" He said to him. Toothless let out a deep rumble as if to say 'five more minutes'. "No you don't, five more minutes will turn into hours, and you need to eat." Toothless growled again, and let his wings open slightly for Hiccup to rise, and take in the morning. The sun was indeed up, but not far enough to reach down into the valley floor. They had overslept, but only a little. Hiccup started to fiddle with the saddle, untying the bags to set them on the ground. He then went to look for some firewood. He came back a few minutes later with an armful. Toothless still hadn't stirred. "C'mon Bud, you need to go hunt, or at least get some fish, yeah?" Toothless slitted an eyelid and looked at him with an expression that clearly said, 'did I not just say five more minutes?' Hiccup was not deterred, they needed to get a move on. "Come on, Toothless, you'll feel better once you've eaten". The dragon raised his head, and huffed, then started to growl and rumble, moving his mouth. "Well, someone has to be the responsible one here." To which the dragon responded with a flick of his tail that connected none too softly with Hiccups' head. "OWWW- crap! Could you at least do that when I have the helmet on?" The dragon now responded with a staccato of grunts he recognized as laughter. "Oh sure, laugh it up! FOR NOW YOU SHALL PAY!"
Hiccup immediately leapt onto the dragons' back. Playfully punching his sides, then tried to wrap his arms around his thick, scaly neck. Toothless provided the action while he provided to color commentary. "Ahh! The human's on his back now! It looks like the Night Fury is in trouble!" Toothless then got up on his legs, hopping up and down, trying to throw off his attacker. "The Night Fury is angry! Will he be able to throw the human off?" He started to curl around on himself, flicking his head from side to side, trying to nip at him. "There he goes! Into his signature whirlwind move!" Hiccup was then shouting curses, declaring the war was back on! And he would NEVER be defeated by the scaly beasts! Toothless then settled on his belly, and proceeded to roll over, with Hiccup still attached to his back. He continued his roll, leaving Hiccup plastered to the ground. Toothless then pounced, pinning him with a paw to his chest.
He was trying to catch his breath, when the dragon started to lick him about the face and shoulders. "GAAAHHH! - Toothless, PLEASE! ok, OK! the dragons win!" He lifted his paw, then Hiccup rolled over, and stood. Running his hands over his face to remove the dragon slobber. he then flicked a small amount back at Toothless. "THIS time", he said. Toothless then crouched down, as if to pounce again. Hiccup raised this hands, palms out. "Ok, playtime's over, go get some food." To which he added, "And try to save me something, will ya?"
Toothless bounded off, and Hiccup rummaged through a saddlebag producing his journal. He sat down scribbling notes about their last flight, noting time and distance. They weren't really lost, as Toothless always seemed to know where they were, or where they were going. Hiccup needed references for his charts that he would expand on when they got back. He sighed, back to Berk. Home. It was always there, calling him. Even with his councils' indelicate send-off. He knows he should move on, but he doubted he'd find a suitable replacement. But maybe he was looking at it wrong. He sighed heavily. He should ask the Gods' hep in this matter. They've only been gone a week or so, but this was his time to unwind, maybe do a little exploring on the way. But mostly to unwind, and spend time with his best friend.
Toothless returned a few hours later, carrying a whole haunch of what could have been a deer, or an elk. Hiccup was very thankful, sometimes there would be almost nothing left. He went about preparing a portion for eating now, and some for drying so he had some reserves. Toothless settled near the fire for a nap to digest his food, content. Maybe his human was right, he DID feel better. He wanted to continue their journey, but for now, he was happy to rest while his best friend ate.
Hiccup put the meat to the fire, and settled back down to his journal. Scribbling notes, he let his mind wander to random thoughts of the village. Things that needed done once they returned. Repairs from the winters' onslaught, preparations for planting the crops. Always something going on. He had his friends to help with the tasks, assesing what needed to be done, and gathering any materials that were needed. His job would be to prioritize, and allocate the resources, and assign the tasks. Life was a cycle back on Berk. Everyone knew the natural flow of it. He knew things would be taken care of while he was gone.
Then there was the talk. The backhanded comments. The rumors. After the defeat of Drago, and the war with the Beserkers, there was talk of unifying the tribes under one banner. There was no mistaking who they wanted as their 'King'. They hadn't come out and said it, but it wasn't that hard to figure out. He didn't want all that. He would probably accept, if they chose him. He just wanted to take care of the dragons, like his mother. Running one tribe was hard enough. Running a, -kingdom, seemed near impossible! Sure, a lot of the other Chiefs were with him, but others were -not. He didn't want a repeat of the -incident with the Beserkers. But he was dealing with Vikings. Change came slowly, if at all. Yes, he thought, there would probably be more bloodshed before it was all said and done…
Hiccup rose to check on his breakfast. Not quite done yet He thought. He walked through the trees encircling their small clearing to the treeline of the next. He was just stretching his legs a bit. As he looked around, he noticed it was quite the grand sight. Mountains rose on either side of this little valley. He imagined they were several hundred feet high. There was still snow upon the sides, but only about halfway up. There was snow in spots on the valley floor, mostly where the shadows stayed. Winter was coming to a close. With it came warmer temperatures, and a promise of new beginnings…
He brightened up a little at that concept. He suddenly became awash with a warm feeling. Maybe it was his time to realize one for himself. Maybe this trip would afford him one…"New beginnings…" He murmured. He chuckled to himself, reassured. If the Gods would just send one his way, he would grab onto it with both hands and not let go. While his heart wasn't completely whole again, he knew this 'new beginning' would pull him the rest of the way out of this darkness he had been in for so long.
He had left before. Shortly after… it, -happened. There was physical pain. Not to mention mental anguish. He needed to kill it. He wandered the archipelago for a while, but everywhere was a reminder. Everywhere he turned, there was a memory. He'd let Toothless have his head. But he always seemed to lead him to the old places. Uncharted islands, tiny spits of land, the lone sea-stack in the middle of nowhere. Places he would go to escape, to find solitude. Places They used to go to unwind, to discuss new plans or ideas, which sometimes led to passionate kisses, and gentle touches. He went as far as the Mainland, and even to the Anglish Isles for a while, where he took to drowning his memories in drink. But every morning after brought a searing headache, along with the harshness of reality. After a few close calls involving Toothless, he decided to head back, giving up drinking altogether.
He didn't go straight back though. He stopped on Dragon Island and spent time there too. Being with the dragons always brought him a little peace to his soul. Not judgmental, not aware of his duties and responsibilities, they just, -were. It was during an evening of particularly rough wrestling with his thoughts, that he realized two things. First, it was the dragons. He needed to be there for them. A voice for them, when no other human would listen, or could understand. Second, it was time and only time that would cause the ache to go away. The fresh memories would fade eventually, leaving behind fond memories of their short time together. A curiously well-timed visit from his mother solidified the decision. After a terse and sometimes heated exchange, she had convinced him to go back.