A Saga Of Ice And Fire

Chapter Thirty-Four - A Forbidden Friendship

Hiccup tried to not think too much about what he was about to do. Every logical bone within him told him that this was a stupid idea and he was most likely to get himself killed. And yet, he could not help but cave in to the curiosity that prodded at him , egging him on to just go through with it. Best case scenario, he lives to tell the tale. Worst case scenario-well, he'd be at Valhalla to welcome his father when the time came, assuming the gods deemed his death worthy enough to let him feast at Odin's glittering halls.

Armed with nothing but a very timid looking dagger that was as scrawny as he was , tucked away underneath his fur vest , the skinny fifteen year old Viking edged his way through the forest wilderness timidly, holding a wooden shield in one hand and a whole trout in the other. The ground beneath his feet crunched rather loudly with every step he took, like a ticking clock that counted down each passing moment to the inevitable, making his chest feel tighter with each step he took. As he neared the cove where he knew the dragon had taken refuge in, his glanced at the doorway between the rocks that he'd taken the last time he'd been down here. It offered him more safety from the beast's reach as the opening was too small for it to stick it's head into and yet, going there would defeat the entire purpose that he was going to the cove anyway.

Taking in a deep breath to steele himself and hoping to Thor he wouldn't regret this later ( assuming he was still alive of course), Hiccup carefully made his way down to the cove along the mossy ground and as he neared the two rocks that stood guard of the cove's entrance like the stone pillars to a hallway , he flung the trout out ahead, half hoping that the dragon would just grab the fish and fly off, not noticing him. He waited for about a minute before accepting the fact that the dragon was not coming and he'd have to try harder.

Hesitating momentarily, Hiccup stepped forward , only realizing a bit too late that the way he moved forward wouldn't work whilst holding a shield and as a result , the wooden shield wedged itself between the two rocks. Hiccup stepped back and tried to yank it but the shield held it's place stubbornly, almost as if glued to the rocks now, shutting out his only path forward. Cursing under his breath, he let go of the shield handle and crouched down to slip underneath it. Letting out a deep breath once he was through, he timidly inched forward into the clearing, away from the safety of the rocks , holding only the trout in his hands now.

The cove was the same as the last time he'd been there. The lake was unnervingly still, it's glassy surface unmoving and the few fishes within the shallow depths seemed to keep away from the surface themselves, as if aware of what else inhabited that cove at the moment. His gaze nervously darted around at every rustle of the wind against a bush, every creak of the leaf devoid dry fig tree on the other side of the lake and every chirp of a nearby bird . Glancing around the cove, he found himself to be alone. Had it flown off or something ?

But last time he'd seen it, the nightfury seemed to be struggling to pick itself off of the ground so it can't have flown away like that-unless it had, of course. It wasn't as if Vikings knew everything there was to know about nightfuries (they in fact knew next to nothing about the species) so he'd be pretty dimwitted if he strutted around thinking he knew how the dragon would behave or act.

His gaze darting anxiously around the vacant cove like a mouse assessing every possible way it could die under a broom or a slipper, Hiccup felt every movement of the wind and chirp of the bird send a tense shiver up his spine as he wandered around in the open, an easy prey for a hungry predator . And yet, there was a part of him that that piqued his curiosity, stringing him along like a little toddler . The dragon had had two easy chances to make him it's gamey , lackluster lunch and yet-there he was, still alive, walking around with his fingers tucked into the gills of a trout who's stench was now getting to him. It was a fool's intrigue that made him even think about doing this and all he had was the hope that he hadn't misread the dragon's actions the last two times he'd encountered it. Then the thought occured to him that he was walking around with a fish in his hand, putting an even larger target on his back. With every passing moment of him walking around, alone in the cove, the realization began to dawn on him how stupid he had been for doing this. And there was a snide frustration building up within him too, seeing as the dragon was nowhere to be found. Maybe it had indeed flown off in the night.