Wanted: Hiccup Haddock III

Chapter 4

Waking up I groaned, rolling onto my side. I had a slight hangover from the mead last night. I smiled, remembering yesterday's events. Fishing for most of the day (with a good catch), flying with my son, and dinner filled with jokes, mead, and stories. A good birthday altogether.

Throwing off the blankets, I hauled myself out of bed and grabbed my tunic, shoulder pads and pants. A few minutes later, fully dressed, I walked out of my room, planning on taking Skullcrusher for a ride.

"Hey boy." I called, finding Skullcrusher not far from the house. "What do you say we go for a morning ride?" Skullcrusher purred and nuzzled into his hand. "Alright then, let's go."

. . .

Landing smoothly, I slid off Skullcrusher and patted his back. Grabbing 2 baskets of fish from the back of my house, I carried it over to Skullcrusher who immediately started to wolf down the fish.

All my chief duties were done for the moment, so I grabbed some cooked fish and bread for lunch just as Gobber walked in through the door. "Hey Gobber."

"Stoick." Gobber acknowledged, grabbing a plate and piling on roasted yak, sitting beside me. "Have you seen Hiccup at all taeday?" He asked, forking yak into his mouth. "No, I figured he had an early start. Why?"

"Well, I was just talking tae Astrid, who said she hasn't seen him since last night. And I havnae seen Toothless around for awhile either."

My eyes widened, and I stared at Gobber. Whenever Hiccup went exploring, he would usually tell someone, or he'd come back after an hour or two. Astrid usually wakes up around the time he does, so the fact that she hasn't seen him either, was worrisome.

"Should we check his room?" Gobber asked, looking at me nervously. I nodded, stood up and hurried to his room. When I opened the door, I couldn't help but gasp.

Toothless was sleeping, with a dart in his side. Hiccup's bed was untouched, and The Book of Dragons was on the floor. Hiccup never left books, drawings, designs and plans lying around.

"Gobber!" I called. Seconds later, Gobber came hobbling up the stairs, a worried expression on his face. "Hiccup's gone."

. . .

"Are you sure Hiccup didn't say anything about leaving?"

"100% sure, Chief." Astrid reported.

It was 2 hours after discovering Hiccup was gone. We searched the entire village, the cove, the beach, practically the entire island. Toothless was now awake, warbling in a distressed tone.

Fishlegs studied the dart, and confirmed it was a special dart, with an unknown substance on it, that had knocked out Toothless.

"Stoick, I think we can all agree that Hiccup didnae go out." Gobber pointed out. "You're right, Gobber." I agreed, stopping my pacing to face him and the others. The twins looked worried (for once), Snotlout seemed almost shocked, Fishlegs scared, and Astrid----looked livid.

"He must have been kidnapped last night." Astrid stated.

"Alright, here's the plan," I decided. "Fishlegs, Gobber, and Heather will go and check Defenders of the Wing and, just in case, Dragon's Edge. Snotlout, twins, you check the nearby islands, including Dragon Island and Outcast Island. Astrid, you're with me."

"Alright Chief. Let's go, guys!" Tuffnut grinned, his game face on. The twins and Snotlout got on their dragons, and within seconds flew off. Gobber and Fishlegs did the same.

"Ready, Chief?" Astrid asked, looking up at me. I pulled on my stoic face, and nodded. Toothless whined, clearly wanting to go. I sighed. "Come on, Toothless." I climbed onto Toothless, and patted his head.

"Don't worry. We'll find him, boy."