Guardians Rising

14: Old Friends

The people of Berk flew most of the night, stopping only to obtain supplies from the outlying islands - wherever there were supplies worth gathering. From what they could see, the other villages and clans had also been ravaged. The inhabitants of these, however, were not so lucky as the Berkians. "Who could have done this?" Astrid murmured. Gobber, flying close by, heard her and said, "I don't know. But if we're going to beat them back, we'll need allies. And I know just who we can go to."

———-

'Hiccup ran through the forest, eager to bring the news to his father. "Dad!" he called as soon as he was in within hearing. His father turned to look at him, the usual disgusted scowl on his face. Hiccup stopped, panting for breath.

"What is it, boy?" Stoick said roughly. Hiccup cleared his throat four or five times, then said,

"I hit it, dad! I hit the night fury!" His father looked at him, disbelief written on his face.

"You did no such thing. Go back to bed Hiccup."

"But dad, I really hit it this time!" Stoick glared at him, anger replacing disbelief. The village around them had disappeared, leaving the two of them alone in a dark emptiness.

"Go back to bed," he hissed. Hiccup was terrified. This was a dream, it had to be! "Dad," he said, pleading. "Please, just give me a chance!"

"You've had your chances, boy," Stoick said with frightening calmness. "You're such a disappointment." '

Hiccup found himself breathing hard, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No," he whispered, turning his face to the ground and laying an arm over it. "No, no, no," he half choked, half coughed. "Only a dream," he said, rocking himself back and forth to dispel the horrors. He lay there for a moment, quietly sobbing. He felt like a child again, cold, hungry, terrified of dream phantoms.

Eventually, he remembered where he was and forced his eyes open. Bright light shone all around him, making him squint and blink rapidly. "Hiccup?" said a voice beside him. At first, he thought it was his mother's, then he recognized it as Merida.

"Hi, Merida," he said drearily. "Up early, aren't you." It wasn't a question. Just friendly sarcasm. He felt like he'd been doing that a lot more often lately. Merida replied with a withering look and silence, sarcastic in her own turn.

"Good morning, you two," Rapunzel said from somewhere behind him. He rolled over.

"Where's Jack?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Rapunzel, "but I think he went-" She was cut off by Jack, who came running through the trees just then. "Hello, Frosty," she said, smiling.

"Hi, Goldilocks," he replied. They all looked at him expectantly. "What?" he asked.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" asked Merida. Jack looked confused.

"What was I looking for?"

"I don't know," said Merida, with more sarcasm evident. "I just thought y' might be lookin' for somethin'. Y'know, sneaking off b'fore dawn, an' all that?" Jack shrugged apologetically, deliberately misunderstanding her.

"No clue what you're talking about, Little Red Riding Hood." Merida glared at him, then said,

"Well, Frosty," she said, "I hope you had a nice morning walk, then."

Jack looked at her for a moment, then threw up his hands and muttered, "Forget it."

Merida couldn't help smirking.

———-

Thick grey clouds hung overhead, seeming to press them in, making all noises seem dead and hollow. "They probably don't know about the dragons," said Gobber, "seeing as we've kept mostly to ourselves, but I'm sure the king will be willing to help old friends."

"Then," replied Astrid, "it's just you, me and Osfrid."

The three of them walked up to the front gates, being sure the villagers were visible behind them, but not the dragons. Gobber knocked loudly on the heavy wooden doors.

A large, red-headed man appeared above the ramparts. "Who goes there?" he called.

It was King Fergus.

* * *

Hello everyone! It's like almost midnight and I just wrote all this in one go. I'm, like, hyper. But I get to sleep in tomorrow! :D Hope you like it, vote, comment, y'know, if you liked it. You guys are great! :D