Spilling Snow

Eyes of the Hunter

"There's a witch in the woods, Hiccup," said Gobber, his voice somber, eyes staring off towards the fire.

" A witch who talks to the trees and dances for the stars. A witch who howls on the full moon with blood as white as a screaming death's scales." Hiccup held his breath, his chest burning with an unknown feeling.

The fire casts Gobber's face into shadow, making his voice sound solemn and serious, and it surprises little Hiccup to see Stoick nod along to what his right hand was saying. He shifts slightly in his seat on Stoick's lap, eyes wide.

"It's said,' Gobber continued, 'that she uses her wings as armor, dark scales shiny and sharp, as deadly as Nadder thorns. She heals dragons, fly's with them too." Gobber paused, letting his words trail off and disappear like wisps of smoke in the crisp morning air.

Hiccup listened in rapture, his heart feeling like it might burst from curiosity.

"Is she really dangerous, or is she like the trolls who steal your left socks?" he asked, voice high pitched and skeptical.

"Aye, son, she is. She's like the harsh winter storm that leaves destroyed villages in its wake, like dragons that lurk deep in the ocean waters, waiting for unsuspecting ships to cross their path.' Stoick said, 'She's the only one of Gobber's ridiculous tales that I believe in. That I know is real." His voice was deep with gravity in a way that Hiccup had never seen before.

"Listen to your father Hiccup. She's danger. Best if you never meet her. You'd never know what curse she'd put upon you."

A melancholy pit sunk in Hiccups chest, gently, like a leaf floating towards the snow covered ground.

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It wasn't until years later that Hiccup remembered this "Witch of the Woods" and it was only out of desperation.

It had started a few weeks ago when his hearing had started to become sharper, when spirals of scales started down his arms, when he began to hear voices and conversations in dragon growls.

He had really gotten worried when growing stubs had caused his back to bleed and tear, when he had constant headaches because of small furry ones that seemed to grow taller and larger every day.

He knew he couldn't ask Gobber or Gothi. It had only been a few years since dragons were welcomed to Berk and he didn't want to risk destroying that blissful peace with his developing freakishness. Then he remembered the old tale of the "Witch in the Woods". With her rumored wings and dragon talking abilities, she could help him. He didn't know why but his Heart and head told him that the ONLY one who could help him was her. The changes were becoming noticeable, harder to hide. With only a mild feeling of dread he realized that the only one who could help him was her.

He didn't want to dwell on why his heart seemed less heavy as he stood at the edge of the woods, a hand resting on Toothless's head scratching lightly. He took in a shuddering breath, and squared his shoulders. He couldn't help but feel as though he was about to step into a new era of his life. He just didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Letting go of the breath, he suddenly felt his anxiety and nerves leave his body fleeing alongside the setting sun. Feeling ten times lighter and not knowing the reason why, he spoke in quiet words that colored the air like blood on fresh snow.

"Let's go, bud".

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Hiccup pushed away a few thick branches and caught a glimpse of the setting sun. The sunlight that peeked through the spindly brambles was the only thing illuminating the shadowed forest. Branches bare of any evergreen leaves, reached for him akin to the burned, bony fingers of death reaching for wailing souls. Hundreds of these branches on either side of him hid any indication of a path; not that there was going to be one. No one ever travelled this far into the witch's woods, no one even came near it. Hiccup was presumably going to be the first, again.

As he watched the bronze sunset he reflected on his choices. He had been searching in this forest since daybreak and he had not found even a hint of the witch who supposedly lived here.

"What the fuck are we doing?" He asked, slapping a nearby branch out of frustration, yelping out in pain as he clutched his hand to his chest.

"We've been here for hours, since the sun first came up, and we've still not found this witch!" He exclaimed, 'Look! We've looked everywhere! It's like trying to find night fury scales in the night!" He brandished his map with crossed out areas like it was proof that they were failing.

"We should just go home. I'll figure out something to tell dad and Gobber if they ask and ..." His resigned statement was interrupted by a tug on his pants and a gruff growl from Toothless.

"What now! Last three times you saw something, they were rabbits!" he groused Frustration coloring his face pink, his hair fell over his eyes, covering them.

Hiccup followed Toothless's gaze to see a singular grey column of smoke rising against the amber sky, like a butcher's knife cutting clean across the chicken.

"Yes! Bud, I'm never doubting you again!" He vowed gleefully, relief clouding his thoughts. Throwing his arms around Toothless, Hiccup gave him lots of pets and scratches, expressing his joy.

As they moved closer to the pillar of smoke, Hiccup started to notice how the woods were changing around him. No longer did the woods look creepy, they now sent waves of dread down Hiccup's spine. He could see specks of white in the moss covered floor, some were long slashes while others were barely visible, but they all looked like bones. Worn bones as if the forest had taken everything they had to offer and left the reminder to rot away. Some were even hanging from the higher branches of the trees, hanging on strings as red as the dripping blood would have been. The earlier relief and elation melted, replaced by an uneasy gnawing in his stomach and a faint agitation in his movements.

"Its ok bud, they're just bones," Hiccup whispered to Toothless when he growled low in his throat. His voice wavered as though he was doubting his own assurances.

Then came the strings, hundreds of threads hung from branch to branch, making a dark canopy over Hiccup's head. In the dim lighting of the setting sun, all the threads looked to be in shades of red, but Hiccup could have sworn that they glistened crimson, like they were still dripping the blood of their fabled victims.

He was treading carefully now, feet barely making any sound as he continued to walk towards the pillar of smoke. He stopped when he heard a sudden shuffling in the trees, Trees with no leaves aren't supposed to rustle But before he could draw his sword, before he could warn Toothless, he glimpsed a fast moving shadow out of the corner of his eye

A ball of shiny black scales dropped from the sky, taking Hiccup completely by surprise. And although the sun had completely set, plunging the forest into darkness that was rarely pierced by translucent blades of silvery luminescence, he could still make out the shape of the object before him. He chalked this up to another dragonic characteristic that he had acquired due to his recent developments. But he could see and what he saw sent a shiver of fear up his back, unconsciously, he took a single step back.

With wings brought up till her nose and surrounded by black scales that blended into the night like they belonged, were a pair of eyes. Eyes that glowed with power he couldn't name, with power that seemed as old as time itself. One eye reptilian green, Toothless green, and the other a jet back, he found himself staring into the eyes of the Witch of the Woods. 

"Fuck!" Hiccup yelped as he stumbled back in surprise.