Of the Northmost Winds and Skies

Chapter 14: Jack spends a large portion of the chapter unconscious

Jamie had had a long day.

It started with Jack and Baby Tooth saying goodbye early in the morning. Jamie understood why he couldn't come with them – both for his own safety and because Hiccup would definitely refuse to let Jamie tag along – but that didn't mean he didn't feel bitter and nervous about being left behind.

Jack knew that. He was visibly upset, even though he tried to act optimistic. Not only did he feel bad because Jamie was unhappy, he was also worried about leaving him alone in the first place, especially since Baby Tooth was joining Jack on this little quest instead of watching over Jamie. But he promised they wouldn't be long, and that Jamie would be just fine on his own – as long as he didn't take any more night walks in the woods.

And Jamie put on a brave face too, because Jack had a mission ahead of him that needed all his focus. Jamie had been the center of his attention long enough. So he hugged Jack goodbye and let Baby Tooth gently press her cheek against his forehead, before they both hurried out of the hut to catch up with Hiccup and the others before they left.

And then Jamie was alone.

Gobber had asked him where Jack was when he got to the forge, and Jamie had replied stiffly that he didn't know. He got the feeling Gobber knew he was lying, but he didn't press the subject. Instead, he'd offered Jamie a piece of his breakfast – bread as hard as rocks and some dry meat – which Jamie had learned to accept gratefully, because there was no such thing as gourmet on Berk.

He got to work, and the day slowly went by. Gobber took care of the customers, and Jamie even got to watch him fix some Deadly Nadder's tooth. He also studied some of Hiccup's old designs, but it was hard to understand since he couldn't read runes. Baby Tooth's magic didn't cover written language, apparently.

As the day went on, Gobber got too busy to pay Jamie any attention, and Jamie got too tired to do any proper work. Instead, he found a nearly empty table, some coal and a piece of paper, and started doodling.

While the day sagged on painfully slow, dinner somehow still approached at an alarming speed. Without Jack or Astrid or any of the others, Jamie didn't know if he had the guts to go in there. Any other time, he'd just stick with Jack and his friends, and if the other kids came by, he could just pretend to be in deep conversation with Jack.

Jack, of course, saw right through Jamie and knew exactly what he was doing, but he always entertained him anyway. If the same had happened with Jamie's mom, she would've forced him to go play with the other kids, so he was really grateful that Jack didn't. But now...

"Stupid," he mumbled to himself, absently sketching out the outline of the Easter Bunny. "We defeat the Nightmare King but this is too scary? Though I guess Vikings were supposedly pretty terrifying. But not these Vikings. Or..." He scratched his cheek. The wounds from his fall were almost completely faded now. He shook his head. "No. Dinner versus Pitch? No contest. Right, Baby..."

He looked up, only to remember that his nearly ever-present company was no longer present. His heart sank.

"Right," he mumbled, looking back down at the drawing. "I'm talking to myself."

"You do that a lot."

Jamie broke the coal piece in half. He whipped around to find Brant standing beside him, and when their eyes met, Brant took a surprised step back.

"Sorry," he quickly said. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Jamie's heart was pounding – he hadn't noticed he'd spoken in Norse – but he forced his expression into a neutral one. "You didn't. I mean, it's alright," he said with a slightly nervous laugh. He rolled one half of the coal piece idly back and forth on the table. "What's... up?"