Secret of Frost and Moon

Ascension

Alaia Skyhawk: Well, THAT got a lot of excited responses, and a few of the expected uncertain ones. For those worried about how the addition of Hiccup and co will affect the story, be at ease. They're in for one arc, and maybe a couple of minor cameos later on. Think of it as like how I've had Sophie as the central theme of the current arc. The Hiccup and Astrid cameo gives me characters you all know well to use while exploring the "Isolated Tribe of Myth learns about the modern world" scenario. I could have done it with OCs, but it's more fun this way. It's basically also my nod to the fandom, so this story won't be going in the crossovers section (also since it's been technically a crossover since FFnet added "Guardians of Childhood" to the Book section about 5 months after I started this fic) Hehehehe.

People were already used to looking for this in the ROTG section, so I decided to just keep it there rather than have people wonder if it had been taken down :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

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Chapter 101: Ascension

"Dang it, Toothless! Stop jumping around like that, or you'll tip me overboard!"

Hiccup clung to the rail as his dragon made a huge fuss about getting settled on the forward deck. The Night Fury was fidgeting around, shuffling about, and just generally being a deliberate nuisance in mock protest at the unsociably early hour. And it was very early, in fact it was still dark. Dark enough that the black dragon was barely visible at all, just out of range of the lantern hanging on the side of the mast. But if they were going to get away without being stopped, they had to go now.

While this was going on, Astrid had finished shoving the boat to send it the last of the way into the waves. Something Hiccup would have struggled at doing, with the false leg that replaced his left from the knee down-over, tending to sink much further into the wet sand than his intact right foot.

As soon as the boat was afloat she then jumped aboard. Elbowing Hiccup to get him to pick up one of the oars.

"Stop whining and start rowing. We've got three hours until sunrise, and if we don't want to be caught by your dad, we need to get to that sea cave two islands south of here."

Hiccup grabbed his oar, starting to haul on it in time with hers.

"I know, I know. I was the one who told you about the cave. Remember? Don't worry, they'll never find us there. With Stormfly deliberately hiding, and Toothless here, Dad will assume we flew north to practice stunts at the Misty Monoliths like we've done in the past. He doesn't even know I have this boat."

Astrid nodded at that, admitting the point.

"He's still going to freak out, when Stormfly returns to the island in four days with our letter."

"Couldn't be worse than the way he acted last day of Dragon Training, back when he hated dragons." Hiccup winced at the memory. "I don't think he could ever be that angry at me ever again. Going off on insane adventures is a perfectly normal pastime for a young Viking like me. He'll get over it when we get back."

Now far enough out into the sea, the two of them put away the oars and hoisted the sail. They were between tides, so there shouldn't be too much trouble. But if there was, they'd brought a hefty rope to use as a tow-line so Toothless could get them moving again.

It wasn't long before they were cruising southwards at a steady pace, with the eastern sky eventually starting to brighten some hours later. They'd passed the first island, and the second came into view as the first glimpse of the morning sun crested the horizon.