𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 | hiccup haddock

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗

Vincent looked down.

"On the shore, we found a dagger, which happened to be Vincent's that Freya recognized. The dagger wasn't there before, so we put two and two together and..."

The twins and Snotlout were still confused.

Vincent made an exasperated noise. "I'm the Lycanwing, okay?"

The three gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

Vincent leaned back in his chair, muttering 'Idiots'

"Don't call them idiots, they're just on the dimmer side." Freya defended her friends hotly.

"Anyways, we need to talk to Gothi. See if she knows anything"

"That's what idiot means." Vincent grumbled. He then sighed, raising his voice a bit. "Who's Gothi?"

"She's a healer from Berk," Freya responded. "She might be able to help."

He looked considerate. "And Berk is where you all come from?"

"Yup." Freya nodded, popping the p.

"Wait, you were bitten by a Lycanwing and survived? How does it feel? Can you fly? Does the moon become rainbow coloured for you? Can you talk to Chicken?" Tuffnut asks.

Hiccup mumbles 'called it.'

Freya nudged Hiccup playfully. "You know Tuffnut too well." She chuckled.

Vincent looked at Tuffnut weirdly. "Uhm, yes I survived. Temple got me away from it quickly. We had no idea what it was before today. And it feels..." A dark look glinted in his eyes. "Horrible. Yes, I can fly. Yes, the moon becomes slightly rainbow coloured. I haven't met Chicken on a full moon, so I don't know."

Tuffnut nods as if everything makes perfect sense.

Snotlout grimaced. "And you're sure you weren't bitten by a wolf"

Vincent scowled at that. "Oh, no, I probably was, I just randomly tear my skin off to grow scales and murder a bunch every full moon for the thrill of it."

Freya let out a snort.

Hiccup sent a concerned glance at Vincent. "Murder a bunch? You said you had consciousness while you were transformed, so... "

"Have you not been paying attention, Hiccup? He can't control his actions. Honestly." Freya scoffed, shaking her head.

Vincent didn't meet anyone's eyes. "Yeah." He rasped.

Hiccup looked offended. "Of course I know that! I was just thinking, it can't be nice experiencing murdering while not being able to control it. Have you ev-" He cut himself off.

That probably wasn't the smartest thing to ask.

Vincent glared at them all, but it was mostly directed at himself.

"Do you not have any emotional intelligence?" Freya remarked dryly, an eyebrow raised.

She flashed a glance at Vincent, her green eyes full of sympathy, but she didn't want him to think she was pitying him.

Hiccup grumbled, but Vincent cut him off, a distant look in his eye. "To answer the question no one wants to ask, yes, I've... I've killed Vikings. Innocents. Friends. He almost whispered the last part before shaking his head.

"I didn't know of the Lycanwing, so I was not warned the first time I transformed. I had settled in a village."

He didn't look as if he would continue the story.

"I'm sorry," Freya broke the silence. "That you have to deal with this."

He smiled softly at her. "'s not your fault. I deal with it. I've dealt with it the last nine years. But I won't be staying here long. I would like to see this dragon knowledge artefact, though."

"You heard the man, get the Dragon Eye!" The brunette cracked her knuckles.

Fishlegs instantly hurried outside, towards Hiccups hut.

Temple rested his head on Vincent's lap, and he scratched at his snout.

"How did you meet Temple?" Freya asked, making conversation while Fishlegs fetched the Dragon Eye.

"I grew up at the Traders Market. Switched from family to family. They all knew me, and helped me find food sometimes. When I was eight, I wanted to get out of there. I nabbed a boat, set to sea. I had never sailed before though, and after some time, a large wave overtook me. " He looked down at Temple lovingly.

"This guy came along to save me before I drowned. He picked me up, took me to some island, and has been following me since. When I realised this Lycanwing thing was a forever thing, I tried to tell him to go, to keep him safe. But he always just helps me, then comes back after."

"Awww that's so swe-" Freya was about to respond until Snotlout broke in. "cough, boring, cough."

She shot a glare at him, before looking back at Vincent. "I hope the Dragon Eye can help."

"Yeah." Vincent murmured, sending a glare at Snotlout. "So, what's you guys's story?"

"It's kinda complicated."

Freya put on an old lady voice. "Back in the day, when humans and dragons were enemies, there was a boy."

"A skinny, twig-like boy, who was scared of his own shadow."

She flashed a meaningful glance at Hiccup, then continued the story in her usual voice.

"He decided that he was too special to follow rules, so he shot down a dragon. Then became friends with it. Then started a rebellion."

"Then it got caught, he rescued it, fought a massive dragon, lost his leg, almost died, made Vikings and dragons friends, and yeah."

She stretched her back. "Any questions?"

Vincent raised both brows. "I'm guessing said boy is twig-annoying-dragon-lover boy over here?"

"Yup. How did you know?" Freya fake gasped.

He smirked. "Lucky guess." A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I always kept away from the dragon war. I had no problems with them, and seeing as one saved me long before the war ended, I always avoided fights and raids."

"Smart decision." She commented.

"How'd you meet your dragons? I'm guessing Toothless is the special boy here, but what about the rest of you?"

"Well, I met Thor recently. I found him on an island thing, and he was really injured because of Dragon Hunters. Everyone thought he wasn't going to make it, but I saved him." Her eyes glazed over, memories washing over her.

Vincent smiled. "I'm glad." was all he said.

She blinked for a moment, tears threatening to spill out, then shook her head. "How long does it take for Fishlegs to get the Dragon Eye? Honestly." Freya smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Vincent helped change the subject, he knew that look. With a soft smile, he said "I can hear him, he's right around the corner."

The others looked confused, but soon enough, Fishlegs was running into the hut, a weird contraption in his hand.

"How'd you know that?" Ruffnut asked.

Vincent looked at them suspiciously. "You couldn't?"

"Most of them have rubbish hearing, so I wouldn't stress about it." Freya shrugged, her eyes still showing sadness.

"Hmm." Hiccup said, narrowing his eyes while subconsciously laying a reassuring hand on her knee.

A tinge of pink rose on Freya's face, but she quickly turned her head away, hiding it.

Vincent saw that. He raised a brow, a knowing look in his eyes.