Soul of the Sky (HTTYD Runaway Fic)

Hiccup Unmasked

Astrid
"And we're screwed." I muttered as they dragged us through darkened hallways, unknowingly echoing the Dragon Master's previous statement. He had told us a lot about Viggo Grimborn. Those things floated through my head now, making me more worried. He's a strategist, he's smart, he's ruthless, Ryker is his older brother, he fights like he's playing Maces and Talons. None of that information seemed to be helpful.
"Got 'em." Ryker announced, shoving us through a doorway. He closed it behind us, standing near 'Magnus' with his sword at the ready. He didn't seem to be worried about us escaping. Just the Dragon Master.

Viggo was the polar opposite of his brother. He reminded me of Hiccup, average height but skinny. Looking at him, you'd never think he was an evil genius. Actually...you probably would. He was pale as a ghost and had black hair, but the vampire look wasn't what gave me the shivers. His eyes did. They seemed to pierce into your soul, like that cold, calculating gaze could see your every move before you made it.

I was used to enemies like Alvin and Dagur. They were loud and blustery, and looked like warriors. Viggo resembled the average guy at the market. That is, until he stared at you and you ran away screaming.

"Ah, Dragon Master. I see you've come to visit again. And who are your friends?" 'Magnus' leant back casually in his chair, seemingly unfazed by this development. I envied him his confidence. "Just some kids. They're tagging along with me because they wanted to find their missing friend." Viggo looked over at us. "Interesting. I thought you didn't like people." Was that a wince? It's hard to tell with the armour on.

Viggo had evidently had the same thought. He signalled to Ryker. "I don't trust you not to have surprises hidden in that armour of yours." The other Hunter pulled off the Dragon Master's helmet. He cursed in Dragonese, glaring at Viggo. "What's the matter, Dragon Master?" Viggo asked sarcastically. "We know what you look like. Or are you hiding from them?"

I'd often wondered what he looked like under the mask, especially since I'd only ever seen his eyes. The way he'd referred to us as kids, I'd expected someone Stoick's age. Maybe even older. But 'Magnus' looked about twenty-two. His long auburn hair was haphazardly braided with dragon scales of all kinds, which clinked against each other as he moved. He'd shaken it across his face in a feeble attempt to hide his identity. Under the armour, which he hadn't taken off in the few weeks we'd known him, he wore a black shirt and pants.
He didn't answer Viggo's question, instead glaring at the Dragon Hunter through his braids. Viggo smiled coldly in victory. "Who are they, that it matters so much that they don't see you?"

The Hunter had hit a nerve, setting 'Magnus' shifting uncomfortably in his seat. We all wanted to know the same thing, and this Viggo Grimborn had read us like open books and asked the one question he knew would give him the upper hand. It would have been epic to watch if we weren't currently on the wrong end of that diamond-hard gaze.

"How am I supposed to be cool and mysterious if they know I'm their age?" 'Magnus' responded, but it was weak and we all knew it. "Well," Viggo said calmly. "We can talk about that later." He motioned to Ryker. "Put them in a cell. Oh, and muzzle the Night Fury while you're at it." 'Magnus' hissed. "Leave Toothless alone!" The Dragon Hunter just laughed.

*    *    *    *    *

Ryker had taken us to a tiny cage below the main room. We all sat around the edges in various states of depression, except 'Magnus'. He was lying on the floor, covering his face with his hands. "We're doomed." he muttered in bleak despair. "It could be worse." Fishlegs said, attempting to cheer us up.
'Magnus' sat up, glaring at him. "No, it couldn't! We're stuck here, none of us have weapons, the others are in cages. For all we know, they could be dead! Viggo could be making handbags out of Barf and Belch's skin right now!" The hopeless look in his eyes reminded me of Hiccup's expression when he'd started Dragon Training. The look that said things could not possibly be worse.

In fact, their eyes were the same colour, the sparkling emerald green that matched Toothless. 'Magnus' actually looked a lot like him, except a few years older and with long hair.
For a minute, I brushed it off. What were the odds? I mean, he did look about the age that Hiccup would have been. But the missing Viking was small and endearingly clumsy, nothing like the tall and graceful dragonrider. And he'd always worn oversized clothing, and had been solidly human. 'Magnus' could be unnervingly dragonish at times, the small gestures and the growling and the way his shoulder muscles flexed as if he'd been so long around the creatures that he'd grown wings himself and was trying to spread them.

But then I saw it. The tiny scar under his lip. The same one that Hiccup had borne, left by a dragon during the raid when Valka was killed.

I gasped in sudden shock, staring at the Dragon Master. All this time we'd searched for the lost heir, and he'd been right next to us. 'Magnus' looked like Hiccup...

Because he was.