White the Cursed

13 - A new beginning

A new routine had started for Jack as he was now traveling with the wandering circus of the Hairy Hooligans. He was still recovering from his throat, Valka was very attentionated for him, giving him medicine and making sure he was getting plenty of rest. Still he wanted to help. He wasn't strong enough to carry a lot of equipment during the travel nore help to put it all in and out the carts, mounting or dismounting the camp, so he was making up to it by cheering the others up and cooking.

Usually the members of the troup were taking turns, each day it was someone different preparing the meals, ending up in pretty much different results. Gobber liked to cook hot, fat brews and stews. Each time Valka or Astrid wanted to cook, the others would find excuses to stop them. Hiccup warned Jack to avoid a drink made by Astrid, something she had called Yaknog and that she liked to do as tradition by the end of the year during the winter celebrations. Apparently, Valka's fish skewers were just as deadly, promissing indigestion and a sour stomach to whomever was risking a bite. Excepts dragons, strangely. Dragons were fond of her cooking.

Dagur used to cook rosted chicken or any kind of grilled food but was only caring about meat, always 'forgetting' about vegetables or sides. Snotlout even more though he was a good cooker. Eret used to cook meals with raw fish and not-enough cooked vegetables. Fishlegs was only cooking vegetarian meals but it was healthy and always perfectly well cooked. As to the twins, they had the nasty tendancy to use too much salt, making their meals difficult to eat – if it wasn't disgusting.

The meals Jack prefered were those made by Mala, Heather and Hiccup. Mala was offering various and very healthy food, Heather was a champion when it came to chicken and yak steaks, and Hiccup was really good with grilled fish and bread.

As for Jack, once he had introduced to them some old recipes he used to cook with his mother, as long as spices and aromatic herbs, everyone agreed that his cooking was the best. To the extend they decided to make him the main cook.

The wandering circus had left Burgess to travel eastward and down south. After five days of traveling, using the dragons to carry their luggages and carts, they had stopped for three days in the port town of the Howling Reef, no doubt the largest and most impressive place Jack had ever seen. Granted, he had not seen much before, always stuck in his village.

This stop allowed him to discover the backstage of the show he had seen two times. It was quite the sight to witness everyone working alongside to mount up the tent, place the seatlogs, and see Tuffnut – who seemed so careless – be in charge of something as important as lighting during the whole show. Jack had not watched the performance, instead he had kept company to Ruffnut at the entrance and helped her collective entry prices before the two of them had joined Gobber and Mala patroling around the main tent to make sure noone was sneaking in during the show.

The troup was really patient and kind with Jack. Although they had offered him to join them because they wanted him to make a magic show, they were not pressuring him to do it. Actually, they had not even came to the subject with him, nore between themselve. When Jack was happening to eavedrop conversations about him, the Hairy Hooligans were only talking about their concern for him, if he was healing from his wounds and coping the events that had torn him off his home. None of them was pressuring him to talk about it, but they kept on wondering about it while they thought the boy wasn't hearing them.

The night after the last show, they went to bed early because they were exhausted. It was always the case after a representation. Still Fishlegs took some time during the meal to count down the money they had earned. While he didn't have his own tent, Jack was sharing the twins'. They had insisted on it, and Sharpshot had decided to tag along. Since Jack had joined the troup, the small dragon was never leaving his side.