Bond of Two Lands

7. Close, Yet Far Away

"When I catch that boy..." Stoik muttered.
"But ya'll have to give him some credit, Stoik, for he did after all manage to trick us all for days."
"Do you really think that that's what I want to hear right now, Gobber? Focus on keeping the Terror in sight instead."
"Ay, Chief, but don't ya find this a wee bit strange? Hiccup's require to go to a land in the south gets declined, he disappears, and then we get a note saying that he's flown south."
Stoik's sigh made his big, gray stained beard shiver. "I know very well what he's up to, but there is nothing I can do from here. Fergus' clan won't hurt him. I just hope that he isn't naive enough to bring the dragons to their front door."
The men rode on their dragons like warriors heading out for war, wearing their finest axes and all, but was significantly slowed down by the group of dragons flying behind them. The Chief through a glance over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that none of them got lost. He sighed deeply each time.
"Hookfang did not light up that oak! It was probably your flying gas-and-fire bag who did it!" Snotlout glared at Barf and Belch. "Don't you see it? They look really suspicious to me."
"Snotlout, let's not argue about something of such small importance as..."
"Shut it, Fishface! We're solving something here!" Ruffnut shouted. "And you, mister, have no evidence whatsoever that we did it. We keep our dragon under the strictest control. Right, brother?"
"Right, sister. We limit their everyday to eating, training, letting us ride them, bedtime stories and some occasional boar-pitting, but that's it!"
The twins seemed so pleased with themselves that it was hard to find an argument to defeat them with (even though theirs had been more than worthy of doubt) but, headstrong as he was, Snotlout gave it a go anyway.
"Your dragon smells like a yak!"
"Be quiet!" Stoik rumbled. The adolescents' eyes reflexively flew to him. "You're gonna frighten the Terror unless you stop with your juddering and keep your eyes on the route."
That successfully stopped the conversation for a while, but it would continue in a more silent manner for a lot longer than the Chief would've wished to know. They all studied the venues thrown upon them as they flew further south.
A cool breeze snook in between some of the islands and followed them for the rest of the day, making them shiver despite the dragons' warmth. The riders barely noticed it.
All they could see was the new environment around them. South was further away than any of the young riders had ever been before, including all their journeys around the Archipelago. It just wasn't a direction one usually flew in.
The islands went increasingly fewer in the chilly waters, and so did the villages they spotted.
"We're soon out in the wild", Stoik mumbled for himself.
"Eh, Chief?" Fishlegs timidly said. "We're several days of boat journey away from Berk already. Isn't that wild enough?"
"We're still on our waters. What I count as wild, is lain outside the Archipelago."
The boy flickered. "But... how far...?"
"The Terror has stopped!"
In one single action, the entire caravan of dragons retired in a tidy line. On a distance before them was one of the largest islands they'd seen in hours, decorated with pine trees as well as mighty cliffs. They beheld it for a second.
"Thank Thor!" Tuff gasped. "Pine nut trees! Hey, Chief, I'm starving to death over here, so can we please just get going?"
"No one move!" Stoik commanded. "Tuffnut, keep in line! We don't know what this island holds for us."
"But Hiccup and Astrid were there, right? If they managed whatever's one there, then so will we. Besides, the Buffalord may need our immediate help", Fishlegs said.
"We'll approach it horizontally", Gobber said, waving his prosthetic hand at the island. "That way, any potential Whispering Death will be confused, since they strike from underground."
The group flew closer much slower. Axes were rose, while Tuff had Macy in a secure grip. The only sounds around them were the quiet growling of the dragons' and Snotlout's voice who mockingly said:
"They're not called pine nut trees. Even I know that."

~~~~~

Meanwhile, many thousands of metres away, Hiccup and Astrid rushed their dragons to fly faster and faster again. The climate around them had grown dryer than it was in the Archipelago, and the fresh air hit them like fists. Astrid couldn't recall ever having seen such a beautiful landscape as the enormous bits of land beneath them. Large, open venues with nothing but grass at times, and then - suddenly - compact forests with treetops almost reaching the skies. She was torn between her will to explore the country and her urge to be discreet and alert.
Especially the areas they currently passed appealed to her. It was less crowded than the previous ones, more spacious.
"You're ready?" Hiccup mumbled to Toothless, who growled positively. The rider turned around in the saddle to face his wingman. "Do you see this land just down there? I recognised it as soon as I saw it. Their harbour is around the next set of cliffs."
"Meaning we have to turn back?"
"Just a few hundred metres. At least there we can be sure that they won't find us."
"Your dad or the king?"
"Both."

It became clear that Hiccup's memory had been genuine. Despite hiding out in a cave far behind bushes from the shore, the Berkians could see images of mighty ships passing by them from the direction they'd left. They both sent Odin thankful prayers that none of these had occurred while the dragons had been in the air.
"You know, I could get use to this", Hiccup said, swinging the leg of a chicken around his fingers.
Astrid, who stood by the fire, came over to him with a grin. She sat down in the well-practised way she and her dragon were use to, stomach to back. "Me cooking for you? No thank you."
"Not that. Heather's the best cook among us, anyway. I meant the silence. Does it ever get this quiet on the Edge?"
The blonde took a moment to answer, viewing the sunken sun that coloured the ocean through the branches and inhaling the smell of salty, fresh water. "No, it doesn't."
"It doesn't. Sometimes I feel like I'm... like I'm the shepherd of a drunken yak pack."
"Or a parent", Astrid silently said.
The one-legged boy glanced at her in the duskiness. "Are you suggesting something?"
"No. Maybe. I mean, Hiccup... you haven't exactly been giving your father an easy time during the years. And now this mission in secrecy... what's it all really about? Do not say that it's just about the Edge, because I won't believe you."
The dragons began playing around in the background, causing Astrid to lose her back support. She wrapped her arms around her legs instead. Not for a second did she let her sight leave Hiccup's face.
He hesitated. "I guess... it's just a little much. Ryker, Viggo, Dad, Heather leaving us again and all that."
"I'm sorry she left too." Astrid softly said. "She probably needed to mourn Dagur by herself. But what's that part about your dad?"
"I know you won't tell Snotlout or the twins, but can you keep something from Fishlegs too?"
"Of course I can, if you want me to."
"Okay, then..." Hiccup threw his finished chicken leg towards Toothless, who caught it with childish joy. "He's been giving me hints ever since I turned nineteen. Dad, I mean. Trying to convince me to return home."
"That's why he won't let us search for resources for the Edge? Because he wants you to stay home? I don't get it, it's..."
"He want me to become Chief."
Astrid stayed up for an eternity second, her hands frozen in engaged gestures. "You said what?"

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