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Dec 1, 2012

Happy Snoggletog! Click "read more" to unwrap!

Snoggletog again. It comes once a year, but you already knew that. So, I’ll skip ahead. To the good part. The meat of the story. The part that doesn’t go into how mind-numbingly cold it is. Or how Tuffnut swears he can feel ice coating his liver. …But I might as well tell you now that I believe him. But let’s not focus on the weather. Let’s focus on the important, deadly, sometimes painful task of finding a gift for the girl you are lucky enough to call your girlfriend. Odin help me.

But as Hiccup woke up two days before Snoggletog it was apparent to him that the gods had no interest in his mortal problems. The boy remained where he was, staring up at the vaulted ceiling. What was he going to do?

Toothless brought him out of his thoughts with a low grunt and a nudge. “Morning,” he mumbled sleepily. The dragon put his forefeet up on the side of his bed and pushed at him more insistently. “Alright! Alright. I’ll get up. I’ll get – I’M LATE!” The Night Fury set back from the bed with an expression that said clearly “I tried to tell you!”

“Oh, gods. Oh no. Astrid is going to kill me!” Of course the others enjoyed Dragon Training, but Astrid was the one who cared the most. She would be annoyed with him for sleeping in. There was a lot of work to be done before the upcoming celebration. Hiccup stripped quickly down to his skivvies, his teeth chattering in the cold, winter air. Dragons or not, this time of year was miserable. He hopped on his prosthetic leg twice to keep his toes off of the wooden floor. It was complicated to keep up for long; he had never had the best balance on his feet.

Hiccup was quick to slip into the same pants and tunic he had worn the day previously. They were stiff with salt and while uncomfortable they did well to keep out some of the chill. “I’m going! I’m going!” He called in response to Toothless’ impatient bleat. Pulling his sock on he jumped once again up onto his opposite foot so that he could stick his boot on. “Saddle! Where is – You’ve got it!” With a grateful sigh he took the saddle from Toothless’ mouth and went about the task of putting it on. “You are a life saver.”

They were out of the door within minutes and shot off into the sky. Hiccup leaned forward in his saddle, making it easier for Toothless to move at a faster pace and keeping his face out of the direct path of the wind. As the dragon swooped low through the arena’s entrance Hiccup could see Astrid with her hands planted firmly on her leather clad hips. Fishlegs was with Meatlug and Hiccup could not hear what he was saying but it was clear to him that they were words of adoration. Meatlug was eating it up…Or at least he thought so. All of Meatlug’s expressions were rather similar to Hiccup. The twins leaned in close to one another from on top of their dragon; plotting, no doubt. Snotlout was at Astrid’s side while his dragon ignored him, leaning back against the wall of the arena with his head in the air.

“Nice of you to join us,” there was no mistaking the frustration in Astrid’s tone.

“Sorry! I know. I was…working on something.” Toothless snorted as Hiccup climbed down.

“This is the second time this week, Hiccup. Is this going to become a normal thing, or—“ Snotlout pushed her aside, a smug smile on his face. “If he’s not going to be here, I could always take over. You could call me the Dragon Master, Astrid.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he turned his back to Hiccup but Astrid set her hand against his face and shoved him out of her way. They ignored the taller boy as always. Astrid snatched Hiccup’s elbow and dragged him away from his cousin and Toothless as well. Hiccup looked back over his shoulder to Toothless for help but the dragon was playing at finding something interesting on the other side of the ring.

“Thanks for the help…”

Astrid jerked the boy back around to face her. “You’ve been acting strange…”

“More so than usual?”

She didn’t look at all amused. “You’re usually the first one here! I thought this was important to you.”

“It is, Astrid! I’ve just…had a lot on my mind.”

“I could tell. You lit your sleeve on fire at dinner last night.”

“No, I did that on purpose. Things were getting dull.”

Astrid narrowed her eyes. “I’m worried about you.” Hiccup’s flat expression softened greatly while hers only darkened. “Astrid, you don’t need to worry. Just…trust me.”

“I do trust you. This has nothing to do with trust. I just know how you act when you get something into your head. You’re doing that now.”

“I’m not. This is completely normal. For me.” She glared down at him but he didn’t realize that she did this only because she cared. He’d gotten himself in trouble many times in the past with his ideas. Astrid still fostered the hope that one day he would let her in completely. He was up to something.

Astrid reached forward to twist the front of his shirt in her fist and pull him up so that they were nose to nose. “Listen Haddock. Whatever you’re doing, I don’t like it. You had better end up with your remaining limbs or Odin help me,I will tear them off myself.”

Hiccup laughed anxiously and leaned away from her. “I wouldn’t expect anything less! If you didn’t threaten me well, then I’d be worried.”

“It’s not a threat, Hiccup. It’s a promise.” With that she released him and stalked reluctantly away. This conversation was not over.

The day’s training session only lasted for one hour. That was all they could take in the blustery wind that pervaded throughout Berk. Thankfully there were only two accidents that day, both of which had been started by the twins. Snotlout, despite the weather, was still seated firmly in a trough of water at the other side of the ring. Astrid stalked towards him, Stormfly following close after her. Hiccup turned to Toothless with a panicked expression. The dragon shuffled his front feet and lifted his shoulders in a dragony sort of shrug as though to say ‘You got yourself into this mess’. His eyes fell upon the one person left in the ring besides himself, Astrid, and Snotlout.

“Fishlegs! Are you coming Fishlegs?”

The corpulent boy waddled clumsily to his side, Meatlug following lazily behind as Hiccup came to meet them half way. Fishlegs’ head was down even as he began speaking.“It’s this book, Hiccup! I’ve got to see how it ends!” He lifted it excitedly so that Hiccup could read the title on the cover.

“…But that’s a history book.”

“I know! But it’s so exciting! It’s about this pirate, Grimbeard the Ghastly! You’ve heard of him, haven’t you? It’s rumored that he hid several treasures throughout the Barbaric Archipelago! I haven’t gotten very far in but it mentioned an axe owned by his wife, Chinhilda! An axe of unmatched craftsmanship and—”

“Hiccup!” Astrid called to him. He did not turn but rather kept his eyes glued on Fishlegs and his book.

Fishlegs continued but his words were lost on Hiccup. The boy now had a singular focus and he clapped Fishlegs gently on the back before climbing into Toothless’ saddle and crouching forward to give Toothless an easier take off. This was it! The perfect gift. Oh, no one on Berk would know what to think when he came riding home with the axe of Grimbeard the Ghastly’s wife held high over head! “Thanks again Fishlegs!” The blonde boy stared after him in confusion. He turned to Astrid as she stopped beside him. “He’s up to something,” Astrid muttered again. Why was he avoiding her?

“Oh, this is it Toothless! This will be a Snoggletog Astrid will never forget!”

It was late that night that Hiccup snuck into Fishleg’s room. The window was easy to unlatch from the outside. He froze as a loud snore came from the room and relaxed with a long breath of relief as he realized that Fishlegs still slept. He wasn’t sure who snored louder: the dragon or her human. Hiccup looked down from the window but it was hard to see the Night Fury in the dark. All he could make out were a pair of yellow eyes staring up at him in concern. He could give no comforting words from there. He set his foot on the floor and tried his hardest to keep quiet. Not that it would make much difference if he did happen to slip up.

Hiccup’s eyes were quick to adjust to the dark. He had lived in it his entire life. His eyes fell to Fishleg’s bedside table but the book was not there. That’s where he would have but a book! Unless…Yes! His friend must have fallen asleep while reading for the leather bound book was cradled in his arms. “Of course…” Hiccup whispered, reaching forward to slip the book from between Fishleg’s light grasp. He hardly moved though Hiccup was sure he had heard him mutter something about Meatlug. “I’m sorry,” the smaller boy said as he turned from the bed and climbed down from the boy’s window. That part turned out to be far more laborious than the act of getting the book.

Toothless and Hiccup disappeared quietly into the night with no one save the gods to witness their skulking. The gods and Astrid. She hurried her pace and turned the corner…but they were gone. Had she simply imagined it?

“I’ll bring it back as soon as I’m done…He’ll never even know!” He felt guilty for taking it from his friend, but he had to know. Besides, it was more of borrowing anyway! The boy sat on the ground now, his back pressed against the scales of Toothless’ side. The first two pages of the book had given him nothing of any interest and so he flipped through quickly with his thumb. Had he slowed down he might have seen the name Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second written there but he had not time to read. “There’s got to be something!” He groaned, his fingers moving quickly over the pages but sat up when he came to an unattached page that looked to be far older than the book was. “What’s this?” Toothless grunted in answer as Hiccup slid the folded parchment from where it had sat and opened it slowly.

His eyes widened, as he spread it out on the floor before him and flattened out the creases. The flame of his candle flickered as though in warning but he did not take heed. “Toothless…it’s a map. I – I think it’s a treasure map!” He exclaimed, his head jerking towards the dragon. Toothless looked back at him with a raised brow. Hiccup directed his gaze downward once again and leaned forward onto his belly so that he could read the tiny, cramped script. “Property of Grimbeard… the Ghastly! And look Toothless! Right here. There’s a marking. I think that must be where we’ll find this axe. Don’t give me that look.” The dragon could easily recall the last time Hiccup had gone after a treasure. They had come out alive but the dragon knew it could have turned out badly.

The pair of them slept fitfully that night but they stayed together, curled in a little half circle on the floor. Hiccup’s blankets were twisted, half on and half off of him, but it made no difference. Toolthess’ body heat kept them both warm. The dragon put his wing around the boy and it might have been for that reason that Hiccup woke late. He was exhausted, they both were and the darkness of the dragon’s wing made him think it was much earlier than it was. “Late again…” He mumbled, yawning softly against the dragon’s shoulder. At least there would be no training today. Snoggletog was a time for celebration.

It was easy for him to go about and collect the necessary supplies for his journey. As people were busy preparing for the holiday they hardly paid him any heed. He packed only a small bag – water, some food, a small knife, Fishleg’s book, his own spyglass, and journal – as he didn’t intend to be gone long and he didn’t want to weigh Toothless down. Hiccup attached the bag to his saddle through an attachment he made for such occasions. It hooked to either side of the saddle so that it did not bump annoyingly against the dragon’s flanks. “We’ll be back soon, bud…Tonight probably.” Toothless was eager to be off. He loved flying but there was something that made him uneasy about the whole thing.

They made their way across the open sea, following the map Hiccup had found. Twice it had started to rain and it was cold enough to become a light snow. The sky was dark with clouds and the sea below them looked just as unwelcoming. Hiccup was glad that he had decided to play it smart and wrap himself in his vest and a cloak. It would have been seen as weak to his people but they would not see him, for one, and he would rather go out heroically than be found frozen in some iceberg. That’s what had happened to the Vikings Gobber had told stories of, wasn’t it?

“We should be there soon…The island didn’t seem far on the map. Nothing ever does though. How are you hanging in there, bud?” He ran his hand over the dragon’s neck. Even with the warmth of the dragon and his cloak he felt as though he had been frozen to the saddle. Toothless looked back to him; he was tiring, Hiccup thought. The boy smiled at him encouragingly. “Just a bit longer Toothless…We’ve just got – Toothless! Look out!”

Out of the darkness of the afternoon loomed a mountain and even more surprising was the ball of flame that came straight towards them.

Toothless’ head swung forward and Hiccup’s instinct fought against his own for a moment before the Viking gave him his way. He trusted Toothless – they trusted one another. However, it was hard to go against what your mind told you to do. “Oh, Sweet Skadi’s Slippery Skis!”

Hiccup leaned forward in the saddle, his eyebrows were set low on his forehead as he glared in concentration; his cloak billowed out behind him and Toothless went into a dive. Several more shots were fired out of the murk but Toothless avoided them all with Hiccup allowing the dragon to go where he would. The Night Fury could hear the whirring flame before Hiccup even became aware of it. Dragon Fire.

His dragon was caught up in avoiding the fire and didn’t see the rocks below them until Hiccup cried out in surprise. Too late.

There was an impact against the rock side that was made even louder as the loose rock fell down around them. Hiccup was propelled forward and out of the saddle. He could hear Toothless behind him bellowing in pain. “Toothless! Oof!”

The side of Hiccup’s face contacted hard with a large rock, jarring him. For a moment he forgot where he was; his stomach felt as though it were turning circles inside of him. His face was scratched, his elbow skinned and he could feel the dust on him as he coughed. Where was Toothless? Hiccup was dizzy but he could make out the dragon lying just behind him. “I’m here, bud. I’m here Toothless,” he told him in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. The rocks hurt beneath his knees and hands but he crawled as quickly as he could to his dragon’s side. “It’s alright…It’s okay,” he soothed, putting his hands over the dragon’s warm scales.

“We’re alive. For the most part. That’s what matters, right?”

Who had seen them coming?

His hand was wet and he pulled it away from Toothless’ shoulder to find it covered in sticky, hot blood. “Gods…” It was a superficial wound, just like his own, but it had been his own fault. It was a stupid, foolish mission but he could not give up now. They had come this far! “Are you alright?” Hiccup asked, wiping at the drying blood with his soggy cloak. Toothless shivered against the pain. “I’m sorry. It’s going to be okay. You’ve had worse,” he smiled as he tried to downplay how he felt; he was apprehensive all the same. We both have had worse. The dragon nuzzled against his chest with a concerned groan. “I’m okay too.” He wondered if the dragon was feeling as queasy as he was.

Toothless stood with a grunt and Hiccup followed after him slowly, his eyes casting around to make sure that his friend had not been hurt elsewhere.

“We found the island…” Hiccup said with a sheepish look to Toothless. The dragon snorted, favoring his shoulder as he stretched. “Come on…let’s see if we can find a safe place to rest.” Both boy and dragon were sore as they made their way downwards, zigzagging through the outcropping of stones. They came upon the entrance to what looked like a shallow cave and Hiccup was emboldened by the sight of cobwebs across it.

“I think we’ll be safe here…For now.” He looked up to the sky but he could see nothing save grey sky and mist. Toothless pushed into the cave first, his face then covered with cobwebs. Hiccup followed quickly after him, wondering what sort of dragons had attacked them…and why.

It was dark in the cave but a spark from Toothless revealed a set of old torches lining the wall. Hiccup’s eyebrows shot up in amazement at what he had thought he had seen. “Toothless, do that again.”

As the dragon followed his request Hiccup stumbled towards the wall and grabbed hold of a torch for himself. “Would you light this for me?” Toothless snuffed a small flame for him and lit the rotten head of the wood. Hiccup held it before them and they could then see that the cave was far deeper than Hiccup had anticipated.

With a shared look and a silent agreement they moved farther down the tunnel. Across the floor lay strewn bones – human – and rat droppings. Here and there a rusted blade sat, the only legacy of the man or woman lost to the horrors of this cave. “Keep on your guard…”

But as they walked the met with no trap, only scattered arrows, weapons, stones, and human parts. Hiccup even saw a shield lying against the side of the cave. At the end of the tunnel there was a chest; heavy steel with golden plates. Could it really be this simple?

It has to be a trap.

“I guess…we have to try. At least,” he braced himself and took a deep breath. Toothless made a deep noise of warning in the back of his throat. “It’s okay…” But Hiccup was not sure. It took all the strength he possessed to lift the lid while balancing his torch. It opened with a loud creeeeak and fell against the back wall of the cave. Hiccup fell back and Toothless caught him before he could flop onto his back with his snout. “Thanks…” But no demons leapt from out of the chest, no fire worm dragons crawled over the edge to burn him, and most importantly…nothing happened. This had to be part of the trap! Hiccup leaned slowly forward to peer in to the near empty chest. There was no axe, but on the bottom of the chest there was a small piece of parchment.

He pulled it out slowly. Perhaps it was a clue.

The writing was small, almost illegible but it was not at all like the writing of Grimbeard the Ghastly. “The treasure is mine. You’ve come too late. It’s been given to one you will call the Great,” Hiccup read slowly. “…The one true heir, your future king. The end to all…you are suffering. It’s signed with an ‘E’. That’s all.” His shoulders sank in grave disappointment. “It’s gone.”

Gone.

Hiccup’s voice echoed, pressing upon him the failure of their mission. “We were too late.”

Toothless pressed his snout to the boy’s shoulder and Hiccup leaned against him, lifting his hand so that he could pet the dragon’s snout. “I’m sorry Toothless.”

He had risked their lives for nothing; for a nothing as stupid as a present to impress a girl that he liked.

Toothless nosed against him with more force and a soft sound of concern. He wasn’t blaming him. Hiccup put his free hand on the dragon’s shoulder. “Let’s get this cleaned up…” The boy went to the dragon’s back and unhooked the bag he had packed from his saddle. “Are you hungry?” Toothless hummed in agreement, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed at the bag Hiccup had. The Viking wedged the torch into a crack in the rocks.

“Hold on!” He smiled softly at Toothless; an apology and request for forgiveness. He had it. Toothless was not upset with him but rather concerned and positively starving. “Here, I didn’t bring much but you can have this,” he held his hand out, a small, dried fish sat on his palm. The dragon ate it gratefully, snatching it with his tongue and gulping it back while Hiccup took a drink from his water skin. He held the top of it above Toothless’ shoulder and let a small amount fall over his injured shoulder. Toothless shuddered and licked his lips. “It’s alright…” He didn’t want dirt to get into the wound. A dragon in the wild would be just fine, but things were different when the dragon was your best friend.

He cupped his hand and poured some of the water into it so that the dragon could drink. He repeated this action several times until the skin was significantly lighter. Hiccup closed the water and brought out another fish for Toothless and one for himself. He found that he was more tired than hungry and it wasn’t long before he had fallen asleep against the dragon, his water skin under one arm and his leftover fish held tightly in his fingers.

Toothless slept with him, curling carefully around the boy to keep them both warm and safe.

Nothing came to bother them through the rest of the day or even that night save their own thoughts and dreams filled with a cruel and distant laughter.

They did not wake until midday and both, at that time, were extremely hungry and thirsty but thankfully warm. Hiccup did his best to split everything up with the dragon but was mostly unsuccessful and as they made their way towards the exit of the cave their bellies grumbled plaintively.

Hiccup felt sore and no doubt Toothless did as well as the boy clambered up onto his back with none of his usual grace. “We’d better get back before that start missing us.” He sighed heavily as he wrapped his cloak around him and positioned his feet in the stirrups. It was Snoggletog he realized suddenly; he hadn’t meant to stay away so long.

Toothless lifted off into the air with a large, downward thrust. The air was full of moisture and Hiccup was glad for his position on Toothless. But as they soared up and away from the mountain they soon found that they were not alone. Just to their left a ball of fire rushed and melted into the fog. Hiccup turned with an exclamation of surprise. “We’ve got company.”

The dragon swerved to dodge a well aimed flame. Hiccup held on with his knees, squinting as he tried to see who or what was in pursuit of them. The sun shone through the cloud cover; blinding in the fog and Hiccup could see three dragons of monstrous size, the likes of which he had never seen before. His head jerked back around and he lowered himself against Toothless’ neck just in time to feel only a brilliant heat at his back.

The three monsters were in quick pursuit and they were gaining. “Go bud!” Hiccup shouted. He could feel Toothless’ muscles tense beneath him as he narrowed to resemble something like a large arrow. Toothless shot forward but the others were not giving up. He pushed himself harder and went into a spiraling dive that made Hiccup happy that he had not eaten a very big breakfast.

The others could not keep up with him at this speed but they followed all the same. Toothless leveled out just before crashing into the angry waves beneath him; Hiccup could feel the salty spray on his face. There was light up ahead, strange and unexpected but they had no time to stop. They sailed out into it to find that here the fog died away as though it had been cut. They kept up the gruesome pace until some minutes later it was obvious that their followers had fallen away. Hiccup turned to stare at the island in the fog. Had it looked that foreboding the day before? His hair prickled at the back of his neck; Fate, Fear, and the paralyzing feeling that something that hadn’t added up just yet soon would.

When they got back to Berk – thank the Gods! – the sun was sinking in the sky. Toothless landed with a thud and Hiccup’s dismounting was nearly as clumsy. “We’ll get you cleaned up in just a second…Let’s just make sure everyone knows we’re alive.” For now. With Toothless’ help he was able to open the doors to the great hall with ease. His arm ached; the blood had dried long ago and had left a vibrant red mark and bruise. His cheek had a long scratch running down it and he was coated in dirt. Toothless was not much better off but his bruises were hidden against his dark scales. Hiccup dropped his cloak onto a bench; it was stiff with salt and mud.

“Hiccup?”

He froze in his steps and slowly turned to face Astrid. “Hiccup, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day! I thought you might have – What happened to your face?” Her brows furrowed as she narrowed her eyes at him. She looked to the dragon who stood over his shoulder and saw the marks there on his shoulder and snout.

“It’s nothing! Just a little scra – OW! Ow!” Astrid grasped his chin roughly in her hands.

“When I said ‘ow’ I meant it!”

“What happened?” She demanded of him. How dare he make her worry?

“Nothing happened! We just –“

“This doesn’t look like nothing!”

“Astrid, we –“

“Don’t lie to me, Hiccup. Out with it!” The boy looked back to Toothless with a sheepish expression before turning once again to face Astrid.

“It was stupid.” Why did their conversations always start out this way? “I found this…map—“

“A map?” Astrid interrupted, her hands placed firmly on her natural waist.

“A map. It was supposed to lead to this great treasure — an axe of unrivalled craftsmanship! Something worthy of well…you.” Astrid’s expression softened visibly but her hands did not move. Hiccup took a large swallow. “Only when we got there…it was gone. I know you’re mad! I just wanted this Snoggletog to be special for you and now I’ve gone and –“

“You did that for me?” She asked in a surprised voice.

He nodded. “Toothless and I…That’s where we’ve been. Look, I’m really – OW! Hey!“ She punched him hard in the arm and Hiccup recoiled from her only to be pulled back into a strong embrace. Her arms slid quickly around him as she leaned down to press a rough kiss to his lips. Toothless snorted in a dragony form of amusement and rolled his great eyes. Astrid pulled away with a small smile, her own eyes rolling as she came to see Hiccup’s goofy, dizzy grin. Even now he could not help the feeling of tiny, fluttering dragon wings within his stomach.

“I—I’m sorry Astrid…That I don’t have a gift for you and –“ For the umpteenth time that evening she interrupted him.

“I don’t need any gift Hiccup.” She turned to look at Stormfly and the other teens as they roamed around the party. Fishlegs looked particularly panicked. At last she faced him again. “You’ve given me enough as it is.” He followed her gaze to the dragon, to their friends, and the people that were gathered there. All of this – the dragons, the change in their way of life – he had given her.

“I wanted you to have something special this year…”

“I have you, don’t I?”

The bruises and scars we earned that Snoggletog healed quickly. Well, almost all of them. My left arm, I’m sure, will never heal after all of the abuse it’s received at Astrid’s hands. I returned Fishleg’s book to him that night in his helmet. He still believes that Odin borrowed it. That might have been my fault.You’ll never know. But I learned something that Snoggletog. Something more than ‘don’t steal’, ‘don’t travel alone’, or ‘don’t forget to pack extra underpants.’ I learned that the best gift you can give is to be a friend. The attempt is what matters and if you go after it with your whole heart you’ve done something right. Of course, if that something involves swimming in Sharkworm infested waters you might want to rethink some things. More often than not the things you need and want most are those that are right in front of you.

Or, if you’re lucky enough, always at your side.

#notsospecialk #secret odin

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