Thousand Miles, Ch. 2

'Early mornings are a pain.' Hiccup's brain battled the last holds sleep had over him. It had been one of those nights, filled with anticipation that makes your gut squirm and your body not want to sleep, wondering and worrying over what it will be like, this mighty upcoming event. It was the early hours of the new day that Hiccup had found himself in when sleep had finally taken him. And it was the early hours of that day's morning that his father had awoken him too.

"Rough night, ay?" Stoick the Vast rumbled as Hiccup struggled to keep his eyes open. Hiccup just nodded, basic motor skills like talking still beyond him. Stoick chuckled as Hiccup stumbled around, beginning to get dressed, before he exited the room.

Toothless entered not long after, again rousing Hiccup from his refuge under the covers.

"Fine…I'll get up!" Hiccup gasped, as Toothless mercilessly licked at him. This time, Hiccup dressed under the watchful eye of Toothless, then began to make final checks on the things he was bringing with him. He conveniently 'forgot' the breast-hat under one of his pillows, appreciating but not wanting to bring the token of his Viking-ness.

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The dew was still fresh on the grass as Hiccup made his way down to the port. The sun hadn't been out but for maybe an hour, and yet the entire village already seemed to be stirring. There were quite a few men holding their head after the feast last night, and Hiccup couldn't suppress a evil chuckle when he saw Snotlout massaging his temples.

Toothless let out a short grumble and nosed Hiccup, looking up. Above them, Astrid and her Nadder, Bluebell were circling. The pair glided to a landing at the docks, where a small crowd was beginning to gather. When Hiccup arrived there a few minutes later, Gobber walked up to him, beaming.

"The set is finished. Stayed up 'alf the night working on it, but I did get 'em finished." Gobber said, handing Hiccup a small bundle wrapped in cloth and bound together with a leather cord that was wrapped many times around it. Hiccup unwound the cord and unwrapped the cloth.

There were two of the dagger Hiccup had seen yesterday. About eight inches in blade length, and razor sharp, the weapons were a deadly. The cross guard was plain, except for the horned skull imprinted into it, while the hilt was something to marvel at. The grip of the blades were etched like individual scales that seemed to give more traction, while the pommel was a dragon head bearing a striking resemblance to the Night Fury standing beside him.

"This is…way more than what I expected. You did a lot of work since yesterday." Hiccup marveled.

"Weelll…what I showed you yesterday was more or less a prototype." Gobber said, thumping him on the back. "Oh yeah, here are the sheaths for them."

Gobber produced two leather cases, custom fitted to the daggers from his pockets. Hiccup slid them by their loops onto his belt, on either side of him, then sheathed the daggers, before securing the leather strap around the cross guard.

"Well, now if I lose a fight, it won't be because I didn't have the proper…er…tools." Hiccup said, poking fun at his own inability to swing anything without hitting someone or something, including himself. Toothless nosed him with a growling sound, as if to remind Hiccup that he would be there.

"Say…where's your helm-"

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup looked towards the crowd that had gone from small to huge in a matter of minutes. Gobber chuckled, shaking his head.

"You best be goin' if you want to keep the rest of your limbs." Gobber said, patting him on the back and steering him on towards the waiting crowd.

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As the ocean breeze blew through his hair, Hiccup recollected just how…abrupt the goodbyes had been. He'd clasped arms Fishlegs, telling him to do a good job, then moved on to his dad. It was one of the few times he'd hugged him in public. It was a quick, but brief motion, and then he'd handed Hiccup the map he had forgotten, the one detailing the entire known coastlines and islands. The one that was quite important to the journey Hiccup was about to leave on. He'd sighed, then added it to one of Toothless's saddlebags, where he could easily reach it later.

Hiccup had then moved on to Gobber, thanking him again for the daggers, and clasping arms. He moved through a lot of his friends and acquaintances that way, until Astrid had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him over to Toothless. Not long after that, Stoick gave a speech and his blessing, and they were off. Heading out into the unknown to gather information about some of the world's most deadly creatures.

"Hiccup," Astrid called over. He looked to his left, in her direction. "Shouldn't you check the map and the compass?"

Hiccup blushed, murmured something, and then turned around and got the map and his compass out of the saddlebags. The map had pre-marked destinations on it that Hiccup was hoping to go to. The first was not far from Berk, about a hundred miles south. An easy day's flight for the dragons.

"We need to angle a bit more to the east, I think." Hiccup called over.

"You think, or you know?" Astrid yelled.

"Um, both!" Hiccup yelled back. Astrid just shook her head. No matter how hard he planned anything, Hiccup would always be…Hiccup.

Not long after their yelled conversation, land came into view in the form of a large rocky coast, dotted by trees. Hiccup had Toothless land there so they could stretch and relieve themselves.

When Astrid returned from her visit to the leafy lavatory, Hiccup suggested they ride together. Much to his delight, Astrid agreed. He got bored fast with nothing but the wind to entertain him.

After they were in the air again for a while, Astrid leaned against Hiccup and began to speak into his ear. "So…did you want to talk, or did you just want me closer to you?"

Hiccup turned red and flustered, only able to stutter over his words. "Well I er…um, was gonna-"

"What's your favorite color?" Astrid asked, after a laugh at his fumbling.

"Blue." Hiccup answered.

"Why?"

"Reminds me of-"

"If you say my eyes, I think I might push you off, because it will be the corniest thing you've ever said."

"Of blueberries." Hiccup finished, worried she might really push him off.

"Blueberries? I have to give you credit for the attempted save, but you could have done better." Astrid said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Hiccup turned red, glad she couldn't see his face. "Your turning red. Your ears are a tell."

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About the time the sun was setting, according to the map, they were not far from a spot Hiccup had learned from some old writings, was popular with Timberjacks. He wanted to maintain a safe distance until they could assure any of the large dragons that they weren't a threat. It shouldn't be hard to do, with a Night Fury on their side.

In a small clearing not far from the jagged coastline, Astrid had built a small fire. Hiccup was finishing unstrapping the last of the saddle bags from Toothless and Bluebell. When he finished, he dug around in the pouches until he found what he was looking for. The KOS Dragon Manual. He flipped through until he found the pages on Timberjacks.

"Razor sharp wings, large, extremely dangerous, kill on-"

"Hiccup, I need you to go fill up the water skins while I set up the tents." Astrid said, tossing three leather pouches at Hiccup.

"Okay. In a sec, let me finish-"

"Now, Hiccup! It'll be dark soon, and you never know what might be out there." Astrid commanded. She was right, he should do it while he still had daylight. Hiccup looked over at Toothless, but discovered that he was already curled up by the fire. Hiccup sighed, then trudged out of the camp with his slight limp.

It wasn't long before Hiccup came to a small stream that flowed with clear, icy water. He quickly filled the skins in the chilling water, and stood up. He backed up into a heavy, thick wall of fur that definitely hadn't been there before. The wall of fur released a deep, low growl. Hiccup dropped the skins, and proceeded to run as fast as he could, sure that he was running for his life.

"TOOTHLESS!!!!" He screamed out into the night. Not far away, Astrid, Toothless, and Bluebell all jumped as they heard Hiccup yell out, and a monstrous roar not seconds after. Toothless was already on the move before the sound ended.