𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘

Chapter-15

"Have you seen Ryder anywhere?" Karina asked walking up besides Aevar, if anyone was to know the man's whereabouts it would be one of his closest friends. "I'm worried about him."

"What could you possibly be worried about?" Aevar questioned her sternly with his finger. "That he's gotten himself in trouble with the village we're protecting again?" He asked sarcastically. This most certainly wasn't their first attempt at saving or seasing a village, and gods did they hope that it wouldn't be the last. "Besides, I saw him training that blonde Viking with a dragon earlier." Aevar was well known for his nonchalance, and this wasn't an exception.

"Wait- blond? You mean that big burly blacksmith?" Karina asked incredulously.

"No!" He quickly defended. "Wrong kind of blonde! That young Shield Maiden, you know, the one he keeps mumbling about when he's in his forge."

It was no secret to the people of Hiccup's island that he had a troubling past. When the topic was ever brought up, he would keep hammering at a poor sword until the metal snapped. There were few he shared his past with, and none that he spoke in details too. Hiccup had unknowingly made a habit of muttering about past events and how things could have ended differently if he had stayed on in Berk.

There were times he felt he had failed everyone by leaving. Not as a Viking, but as someone who could bring the peace, he would never be a Viking. The title of Viking had to be a poison to him, he hated the usage, and he hated that he was the son of one. However, there was one Viking that Hiccup had never felt hatred towards. Astrid Hofferson, he had drawings depicting her as a diety from his younger self, from before his actions at the age of fifteen.

The Hofferson girl was unlike any other Viking on that island. She was an independent thinker and she held an outstanding amount of honor and pride for her heritage. Although, she had promised herself once Hiccup had disappeared that she would be more open-minded and less anger driven. Over the years Astrid had softened and allowed herself an actual friendship, namely, Fishlegs.

"Their catapults will be in range soon." Karina pointed out as she gazed across the massive fleet. "What did the scouters say again?" She questioned Aevar.

"They have at least one catapult per ship--three at most, but most of their weapons seem to be dragon traps."

"So a lot of their equipment won't be useful here?" She asked for confirmation.

"As far as we can tell." Aevar replied. "We know they're not from the Archipelago, but as far as anyone can figure- they don't know this place." His explanation of their lack of knowledge about the Archipelago wasn't the greatest but it had made sense to Karina.

It was always difficult for others to know where Hiccup could be, he did most things on a whim. Toothless, though, had always made his friend wake up at the break of dawn to go for a sunrise flight. Hiccup had felt that it was a mutual bonding experience for him and his dragonic friend. The action and the routine of it kept them in practiced sync, they breathed as one and flew as one.

There were times when the Night Fury had felt particularly lazy and sleepy, it most often occurred during the winter seasons. It did occur mostly randomly as there was one year when the snow had already melted. Hiccup could have chalked up the reason to breeding times with the species, but without other members of the same species it would be difficult to conclude. As an add-on to the reasons he couldn't confirm, his friend seemed to have no sexual desires, at least that he was used to in the dragons' world.