Chapitre 13: chapter 13
After Kala and I got back to the cove, I went back to the village once all the flight gear was hidden away in the cove. I figured that would be the best option since everyone was back from the search. When we were testing out the flight gear over the ocean earlier, Kala and I had spotted the beat up ship sailing slowly back to the island.
When I got back into the village I immediately went to my personal work room. My thoughts were reeling from everything that just went down.
Kala and I kissed. Multiple times in fact. It felt like I was going to burst from all the emotions that flowed between us when we did.
As I sat down at my desk to think things through, I noticed that my desk was covered in sketches of Kala in both human and dragon form and even rough blueprints for different kinds of tailfins and saddles I came up with. It's only been close to a week and I somehow came up with all of these drawings in that amount of time.
When did I even have the time to do so many? I've spent most of my time with Dragon Training and perfecting the flight gear for Kala.
My eyes widened a bit. Did my dad know about what was going on in training? Has Gobber already told him everything? What if he doesn't believe that I've actually been doing well?
I shook my head to clear it.
"Calm down Hiccup. It won't be that bad. Dad will be proud of you for doing so well. Yeah. There's nothing to be worried about. He'll be proud." I said to myself to calm my nerves.
I looked at all the sketches again and started to gather them up. If I knew my dad, he would be coming here to talk to me.
There is no way in the Nine Worlds that I would let him see all of this.
Once all of the sketches were gathered up, I took down the blueprints that I had hung up throughout the days that my dad was gone and put them in the pile of all the sketches.
I found an empty basket and put all of the drawings in it, then covered them up with scraps of leather.
As I was putting the basket back under my desk I heard crashing coming from the main room of the forge. I smiled a bit and shook my head as I left my work room. I already knew who it was. My dad never entered the forge unless really necessary because he always ran into things no matter how careful he was.
When I got into the room, my dad was trying to maneuver around some weapon barrels and some shields. He wasn't doing a very good job at it though.
"Hey Dad." I said as I leaned against the doorframe to my work room with my arms crossed. He jumped a bit and looked in my direction.
"Hiccup! There ya are son! Been lookin' for ya."
I raised a brow. Has he been looking for me since he got back?
"You have? Why?" I asked, already knowing the answer. My dad laughed a bit.
"To talk to ya about Dragon Training of course! Gobber told me how well ya've been doin'. Said you have a way with the beasts."
I nodded a bit. If only he knew how I got so good with dragons. He may not be as happy as he is right now.
"Yeah I guess. It's not a big deal though."
"Not a big deal?" He laughed and patted my shoulder. I stumbled a bit from the force, but straightened myself again. "Oh that's good son. Not a big deal. It most certainly is a big deal! Just wait until you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time! And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear! WHAT A FEELING! You really had me going there, son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen!"
"I-I wouldn't say I'm the worst.." I mumbled, but my dad didn't notice.
"Odin, that was rough! I almost gave up on you! And all the while, you were holding out on me! OH, THOR ALMIGHTY!" My dad laughed again. "Ah. With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about." He said cheerfully, giving me the happiest smile I have seen on him in who knows how long.
I looked down a bit.
'I'm not doing what you think I am Dad. I'm not harming the dragons. I'm befriending them. I'm not the Viking you think I am. I don't even think I could be considered a Viking anymore. My girlfriend is literally the offspring of lightning and death itself.'
"Oh, I...brought you something. To keep you safe in the ring." My dad said. I broke out of my thoughts and looked up at him.
He pulled out a helmet. It looked super simple. Just a plain iron helm with nails keeping it together.
I took it and looked it over more closely. "Wow. Thanks Dad."
He smiled and nodded.
"Your mother would've wanted you to have it. She made both of us a matching set before..before she was carried off." He explained. I looked up at him again and saw tears gather in his eyes. "She made it out of some old armor that was lyin' about the house when you were a babe."
I set the helmet down and hugged him the best I could.
"Thank you..really.."
He hugged me back tightly. "You're welcome son. Wear it with pride."
We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the moment. These kinds of things were rare when it came to my dad. So I try to hold onto them as long as possible.
We pulled apart and he wiped away the tears that threatened to fall.
"Alright! Now that the sappy stuff is over we can really talk."
I raised a brow in confusion as I put the helmet on to see if it actually fit.
"What do you mean Dad?"
"I mean that girl you've got eyes for."
I froze with wide eyes. "W-what?"
"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"
"I-I..w-well uh.." I stammered, starting to get really nervous. How did he know about Kala?!
"Nothing happens on this island without me hearin' about it."
I gulped and fidgeted with my tunic strings.
"I-I was gonna tell you. I-I just didn't know how to--"
My dad laughed and patted me on the shoulder again, sending me to the ground this time.
"Y-you're not upset?" I asked, utterly shocked that he was being so calm. I got up and fixed my helmet as he calmed down from his laughing fit.
"No, I'm not mad. I was hoping this would happen one day!"
"You were??" I choked out.
'He wanted me to get with a dragon?! But he hates dragons! I'm so confused!'
"Of course! Once you become chief, you'll need a strong heir to take your place. This is great news! So tell me, who's the lucky maiden?"
"U-umm..i-it's uh…"
I couldn't get anything else out from how nervous I was. What if I was wrong about him knowing that Kala was on the island? What if he thought I fell for Astrid harder or fell for Ruffnut? I couldn't tell him the truth. He would freak out and exile me for sure!
"Is it that Thorston girl?" My dad guessed. I shook my head in response.
"No. I-it's not Ruffnut. N-not Astrid either."
My dad gave me a confused look.
"Then who is it son? Those are the only girls on the island your age."
'Crap! What do I do?! I can't tell him the truth! Come on Hiccup, think!!'
"U-um..s-she's from another island. Yeah. Her parents travel a lot and they stopped here for supplies when you were gone." I lied.
'Really?! That's the best you could come up with?! He's not gonna buy that!'
My dad raised a brow with a skeptical look on his face.
"That so?"
"Yep! Definitely!"
He looked at me for a while in his chief asserting way. I slowly shrank back a bit from it. That look always makes me skittish no matter what the situation is.
After a few minutes he stopped.
"Alright then. Guess I'll just have ta wait until the next time they come to the island to meet her. I'm off to bed. Don't stay up working on your inventions all night. Goodnight son." He said as he left the forge.
"Y-yeah. Goodnight."
I waited a few seconds, then sighed.
"Oh what have I gotten myself into..?"
I sighed again, then left the forge. I contemplated on going straight to the cove, but then decided against it since my dad would question why I never came home.
'I guess I could sneak out once he's asleep..but then he would question where I went so early in the morning..Maybe I could tell him I was training..yeah that could work..'
So with that in mind, I went home to wait.
~~~HTLANF~~~
After a couple hours of waiting for my dad to fall asleep, I was finally able to sneak out. I made sure I was extra careful about it since there were way more people patrolling now that everyone was back from the search.
It took me longer to get out of the village than usual, but once I was at the tree line I bolted. I didn't care if anyone saw me. I just wanted to get away from the village as fast as I could.
I ran all the way to the cove, not stopping once. When I got there I leaned against the boulders at the entrance to catch my breath. I looked around the cove for Kala once I was able to breathe again.
"Kala? You here?" I asked, trying to see where she would be.
I heard some rustling from the tree that Kala usually slept in and I looked in that direction. She was hanging upside down by her tail like always. It was hard to see her, but with her bright green eyes open it wasn't too bad.
I smiled and went over to her. "Hey. Sorry if I woke you."
She nuzzled me purring then she unraveled her tail and transformed as she stood up.
"It's alright.. What are you doing here so late..?" She asked as she yawned.
I smiled a bit.
"Didn't feel like sleeping in my room tonight. Plus my dad's home and well...he sorta found out about us."
Kala's eyes widened and she started to sweat.
"W-what..?!"
"Whoa! It's okay! He didn't actually find out. He just knows I've got eyes on someone. I told him I met a girl when her and her family stopped here for supplies while most of the village was gone. He bought it, but I don't know how long it'll last."
Kala sighed in relief and hugged me. I hugged her back to help calm her nerves.
"Thank Akatosh.. I thought for sure he would have cast you out then come to kill me.."
"I know. I thought so too." I said as I rubbed her back. She started purring and nuzzled me sleepily.
"I'm guessing that helmet you're wearing was his gift for doing so well in training..?"
I chuckled a bit and nodded.
"Yeah it was. Forgot that I had it on. Apparently my mother made it for me before she was carried off by a dragon when I was a baby."
Kala pulled back a bit to make eye contact.
"Really..? That must have been hard for your dad.."
"It was. He doesn't really like talking about her. I don't blame him. If you were taken away by an enemy I wouldn't wanna talk about it either."
"Well I'm right here, so you won't have to for a very long time.." She said and she kissed my cheek.
I blushed a bit and smiled holding her close.
We stayed like that in a comfortable silence for a while, but that ended when Kala gained a worried look.
"You're bleeding.." She said worriedly.
I raised a brow in confusion. "I am?"
Kala nodded as she got out of my hold and looked around the cove for something. "Your nose is bleeding like the day you found me here.."
I touched under my nose and looked at my fingers, my eyes growing wide when I saw blood coating them.
"How in Odin's name..?" I whispered as I looked at the blood confused but also worried.
Kala came back over with soft moss in hand and wiped away the blood on my face, then the blood on my fingers. "Did you fall on the way here..?"
I shook my head. "No. I have no idea why I got a nosebleed this time."
She tossed the moss away once she was satisfied and sighed. "Well it wasn't that much, so maybe it's nothing.."
I nodded as I sat down near the lake, patting the spot next to me. Kala obliged and rested her head on my shoulder as I wrapped my arm around her waist.
We fell into a comfortable silence again as we watched the moon's reflection dance across the water's surface. But after a while, I broke the silence after I thought over the situation we found ourselves in now that everyone was back from the search.
"Um..I actually wanted to ask you something. Now that everyone else is back and it's more risky..I was wondering if we could come up with a way for people to not know about your human form?" I asked, a bit nervous.
Kala looked at me as she tilted her head and nodded. "Okay.. What did you have in mind..?"
"Well..since I'm sure they'll find out about me befriending dragons and such soon..maybe we could have them think you are a male dragon? They'll find out I've been hiding a Night Fury at some point..knowing my luck..and if they think you're male they won't question anything."
Kala nodded again.
"Alright.. We can do that.. What are you wanting to call me if this ever happens..?" She asked.
"I was thinking..T-Toothless..just to throw them off ya know?"
I waited to see what her response would be, but what I got was not what I was expecting. She laughed. She laughed the most beautiful and angelic laugh I have ever heard. It was music to my ears.
"Toothless..? Really..? That's the best you could come up with..?" She said between her gorgeous laughing fits.
"Well yeah..it'll keep them from thinking that we're more than just friends..hopefully.." I stated, looking down a bit.
Kala smiled and lifted my chin so that I was looking right at her again.
"I didn't say I was against being called Toothless, Hiccup.. I think it's really cute.."
I blushed and smiled at her.
"Toothless it is then."
~~~HTLANF~~~
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone