Soul of Furies (Book Three)

Chapter 15: Fishlegs

Thora's POV

I don't think anything could have prepared me for the sight of Fishlegs. He was bulky, strong, and completely nurturing towards any living creature once, especially when it came to dragons. This thin, shaggy-haired Viking with cold eyes is not the Fishlegs I know, but then again I don't know what I expected.

Seated in his home, a cave that smells of fish and other unpleasant things, I recount my fake story to Fishlegs while Nightstar bats around a fish skull between her paws. Astrid remains silent.

"...and in return for your help, I'll bring back Meatlug. I'll transform her back into a real dragon," I finish.

I exhale, waiting for his reaction. He looks less skeptical and more amazed by the story, which gives me a bit of relief for what he could say. He glances between Nightstar and I as his eyes fill to the brim with hidden pain and sorrow.

"You...you could bring her back?" he asks in a tiny voice. I nod in response.

"Thankfully, she was only transformed. If she had been killed..." Astrid starts.

"Like Toothless?" Fishlegs asks.

Nightstar whimpers, burying her face in her paws. "I don't want to think about it."

"I know, girl," I whisper, scratching her head.

My brown eyes flicker back to Fishlegs, who's scratching his beard in thought. "So, I help you with this mission of yours and you bring Meatlug back?" he asks. "That's it?"

"Yes, and I'll kill Alrek too," I promise, sticking my hand out.

Fishlegs gives Astrid a side glance. The blonde shrugs and gestures in my general direction, as if telling him to go ahead. He returns his attention to me, nods, and grasps my outstretched hand.

"Alright, Thora. I'm in," he says. "But...we should wait to start this until tomorrow. It's late."

"Thank Odin you said that," Astrid breathes. A second later, she yawns as she stretches her arms. "Thora's kinda panicked about all this for some reason."

I choose not to respond to that for certain mitigating reasons, mainly worry that I'll slip up and reveal something.

"I've got some extra furs you could sleep on," Fishlegs offers. "Hang tight while I go get them."

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I can't sleep.

I lay on my back, staring up at the stone ceiling and entertaining myself with watching the flames dance across the shadows, twisting and turning as though they're dancers made of light.

Nightstar is curled up next to me, her head resting on top of my legs and one of her wings acting as a blanket. I can hear her voice, just whispers of words as she sleeps, and that makes me smile. I never thought my dragon was a sleep-talker.

"Hey Thora."

I turn my head towards the voice, finding that Fishlegs is already looking at me. His "bed" is across the fire from me, the flame illuminating his tired face and making him look almost scary.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Um...I was just thinking about your story," he says. "I hope you don't get hurt by this, but Hiccup never really mentioned you back on Berk."

"I didn't really expect him to," I respond, my voice hardly more than a whisper as I turn my face back to the ceiling. I shift as I fold my arms under my head like a pillow. "We only saw each other a few times, after all."

Fishlegs doesn't respond for a moment. I force myself to breathe steadily, running the story over and over in my head so it becomes more like reality. Every time I have to tell someone that Hiccup and I weren't close, I feel my heart break a little more. It's not like I can tell them the truth anyways. Who would believe something as crazy as me being from an alternate reality, sent on a mission from the gods?

"It's just...are you sure it was Hiccup who told you about Alrek?" Fishlegs asks. "Are you absolutely sure it was him?"

I'm about to answer right away, but I hesitate. "Why? Don't you believe me?" I ask.

"Well, yeah...but..." He bites his lip for a second. "As far as I know, Hiccup never met Alrek before that first battle, and Hiccup..." He clears his throat, his face sinking with sorrow. "You know."

I want to smack myself. How could I have missed a detail like that? My mind races for an excuse, anything that could change the story enough for it to make sense. I find one so fast that I almost feel guilty.

"Wait...Hiccup died the day he met Alrek?" I ask, feigning confusion. "But..." I sit up slowly and press my fingers to my temples. "That doesn't..." I cut myself off and shake my head. "Oh, well...I guess you're right then."

"Why? What?"

I release my head and meet his gaze. "It's just...Hiccup showed up in the woods near where I was staying one day with Toothless. He was all tired, his clothes were bloody and some of it was broken. He told me that there was trouble over at Berk, that there was a man who was coming to attack, and he asked for my help. I agreed, of course, but I asked him to wait the night and rest up. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone. I never saw him again." I take a deep breath, shaking my head back and forth slowly. "I couldn't find Berk. I had no clue where it was and Nightstar couldn't find any of their scent left behind."

Fishlegs gasps and claps his hands over his mouth. "Do...do you think it was..." He looks around, shifting his gaze. "A ghost?"

I shrug, laying back down and shutting my eyes. "Maybe the gods let him send me a message before he went for good," I murmur. "Ghost or not, I made a promise to him. I'm going to help you regain your home."

My friend smiles a tiny bit, a glimmer of his old self returning for a second. "You care a lot about us for someone who doesn't know us," he comments. I act like his words are harmless. "Well...goodnight."

I wait, listening as he lays back down and goes still. Soon enough, his gentle snores add to the ambience of the night. I sigh softly.

"Yeah, goodnight," I whisper.