A Saga Of Ice And Fire

Chapter Thirty - The Nightfury

The raid was over almost as suddenly as it'd begun . Most of the village lay a dismantled , uprooted mess ; wooden debris and remains of buildings strewn everywhere, the last licks of dragon flame refusing to go out and one of the torch beams that sat on it's massive pillar had broken off in two as a result of dragon fire and had rolled down the slope of the jagged hillside that the village was perched on, mercilessly destroying anything in it's path down to the ocean bed.

Hiccup watched grimly as the monstrous nightmare flew off, joining the rest of the horde as they retreated back into the pale pinkish sky with livestock in tow. The dragons had gotten what they came for but it was not the dragon that Hiccup was worried about. He could feel a fiery gaze on the back of his head. Edging around to face his growling father, Hiccup attempted a brave grimace.

"Okay but I caught a Nightfury. "

He'd barely uttered those words before he was hauled up off his feet by the collar of his weathered tunic and was being dragged off for the entire village to see. Some of the older kids , whom Hiccup did not know the names of, were snickering unabashedly . But he didn't care.

"Dad, please, it's not like the last few times ! I mean I really did hit it!" Hiccup cried in vain, struggling against his father's grip.

He'd give anything at the moment to just be able to take off like the monstrous nightmare that his father had saved him from moments earlier with nothing but a dull war hammer and his bare hands. But unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards at the moment. " You guys were all busy and I had a very clear shot! It went down just off raven point ! If we just get a search party out there you'd-"

"STOAHP!" bellowed Stoick and at once, Hiccup forgot how to let any noise come out past his lips. Stoick glared at his son momentarily before letting out a weary sigh , simmering himself down. "Just. Stop."

The others had gathered around the scene. "Everyteim yeh step outsaide , disahster follows. Can yeu not see ah have bigger problems heer? Winter es almost heer and I have an entire village teh feed!"

Hiccup glanced around. His voice was a low whisper. "The village could do with a little less feeding , if I'm being honest. "

He thought he'd been quiet enough that only he'd hear what he said. That apparently wasn't the case . His father looked livid.

" THES ESENT AH JOKE, HICCUP!" Stoick bellowed , scowling. " Why can't yeh follow the simplest ordehrs?"

"I-I can't stop myself!" retorted Hiccup defensively. " I see a dragon and I have to just kill it, y'know ? It's who I am, dad. "

Even he knew that sounded pathetic. There was some laughter from among the crowd gathered. Stoick took off his helmet and ran a hand along his face, a disappointed look in his eyes. "Yeur many things Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one o'them."

Stoick looked done. He looked up over his son's head, "Make suure he gets back teh th'castle. Ah have his mess teh clean up."

Hiccup felt a swat on the back of his head and a second later, Gobber was leading him back up the village to the castle as the crowd dissipated.

"That was quite the performance." jeered Tuffnut, his twin sniggering with him as Hiccup and Gobber passed by them on their way.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped a lot!" added Snotlout , trying to block the way until Gobber shoved him aside.

"Thank you. Thanks . I was trying. " mumbled Hiccup weakly, trying to make something out of it in vain. He didn't even want to look at Astrid, who he saw sitting on a ledge behind the others out of the corner of his eye.