The Lost Boy V - Short stories

Haze AU 3

When the guards had accompagnied his sister to the doors of his appartments, he instantly knew the guests had arrived. Obviously he was aware his mother had requested help from the dragon riders of Berk, she had also mentioned they would be joining the hunt for Kosmozis and his henchmen, but also help with the personal guard of the heirs. Knowing it didn't mean he was fond of the idea. Even if he could understand his mother's worry for their safety, being followed and watched after permanently irritated him. Though it was not like he could actually go against his mother's will so, despite him not liking it, he went along.

His sister came to see if he was well enough to come and greet their guests. Flee Wind was sensitive and, as his older brother, he was always trying his best to make her happy and soothe her worries. The attack he had suffered had really shaken her, and this was the main reason he was trying to put on a good showing and ignore the pain temporarily incapaciting his left shoulder, along with his arm.

However he would have lied saying that just going from his appartments to the dining room didn't turn out to be close to torture for him. Not wanting to worry Flee Wind, he still needed a few minutes to catch up his breath in front of the imposing doors. The guards started to fuss around him, forcing him to repeat several times that he was fine, just needed a short moment. Only when he finally straightened did the guards calmed down, then they announced their arrival by knocking at the doors.

The prince didn't know if he was really expecting a quiet morning to recover from his difficult night, still he was proven wrong once they entered the room. His mother, though brilliantly hiding it, was concerned about his health, and Flee Wind, not even minding the guests, started to say her brother shouldn't have been called in. Once again, Jokul Frosti had to assure her he was fine, even if he himself had troubles believing it was not a lie. Being stabbed in the shoulder by a sword was not the kind of wound that could heal in just a few days. He was really lucky the general's aim had failed, and the healers were constantly repeating he had to take seriously his recovery. He was aware of that, but he couldn't help it : he just couldn't stay still, despite all the royal manners and rules he was supposed to follow. He had always been rebelious, after all.

The slightly nauseous prince came back to reality when his mother started the introductions. Just like usual, she started with the royals, and only then did she introduced their guests. Jokul Frosti had to strain his tired brain in try and focus. He suspected the riders' titles to have been added by his mother to give them more poise, he wasn't foolish about this.

He also had troubles memorizing the names right away, they sounded way different from what he was used to hear. Haze had always been an isolated city, protecting itself from outside by hiding and keeping its whole existence a secret, so when the clan had heard about other dragon riders, it had sounded like a miracle. Still the miracle was real, and the prince was even more frustrated to be that ill because it prevented him from really enjoying this meeting.

If their names were stranger and different, their look was even more. Despite their armors, not all of them seemed to be built up like warriors. One of them was half a head shorter, another seemed more chubby than muscled, two of them couldn't look more distracted – gaping at the cutlery on the table more than the people talking – and another one looked a bit slim for fight (even though he was clearly larger than himself, but hey, the prince was not even supposed to be a warrior so he didn't have to fill the title).

Jokul Frosti froze as his eyes landed on this man. Or rather, his hair. The prince had always though his own was unruly and windswept, but it was nothing compared to this. This hair was shaggy. The color was surprising too. It wasn't ginger, but it was not chestnut either, it looked more like burning autumn leaf swirling in the breeze. The prince also noticed the man's face was dotted with freckles, with was the opposite from the pristine skin of his family.

Yet nothing caught his attention like the viking's eyes. He felt almost hypnotized by them. Not because of the color – though this forest green was nothing like the icy blue eyes he was used to see – but because of the gaze they held. A determined, yet sensible gaze. Attentive, kind. Never before did the prince had seen such a gaze on a warrior. This man was different, for sure, and not just because he was wearing dragon scales as armor.

So the prince suddenly thought that, if this was this man joining his personal guard, maybe the whole idea was not that bad. He had to admit he was intrigued, and wouldn't mind getting to know this man more.

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Hey guys, happy new year ! Best wishes to you and your family / friends / significant ones, I wish you all chance and serenity for this new year.

I know this chapter is kind of short but it's actually where Haze AU ends. I meant this AU to be short because I wanted to explore a bit of what Haze look like, but mostly what would have been Hiccup and Joke's first impression on the other if they had to meet as adults.

Next week I'll start another short story. A few of you had requested I make a story for Homecoming, at first I was reluctant about it because this show focus on the kids having forgotten about dragons and Hiccup trying to explain to them what was the vikings' relationship with them. Well, it really didn't fit into The Lost Boy because I made the dragons stay, so there was just no reason the next generation of vikings would forget about them, because they would have grown up surrounded by dragons.

But I finally found a plot idea ! No spoilers, you'll see next week. In the mean while, take care of you guys !

Love and scales !