Chapter Text
...
'We have to go,' said Hiccup as he burst into the clearing Toothless was in.
'Go?' asked Toothless tilting his head. 'Now?'
There were more questions but Hiccup didn't understand them all yet. Since coming into Hiccup's life, the young human had been working hard to learn the dragon language and he could understand brief sentences and questions. Though if it was more growled or roared then he still struggled. Things still got lost in the translation.
For his part Toothless was laying in the nest he'd made. It was a collection of furs and blankets that Hiccup had brought in preparation for leaving. He'd always known that there was a good chance that he'd need to leave. He'd been preparing for it with smoked meats, smoked fish, as many seeds as he could get, water skins, and his tools he'd need to set up a new forge. Everything they had were packed in bags and tested to ensure Toothless could fly with the extra weight. He could just slower and for shorter periods of time.
"They want me to kill a Monstrous Nightmare in the arena. In the morning," he answered switching back voice was tight, "I won't do it. I won't."
He couldn't. Not after spending so much time with Toothless. Dragons weren't the monsters everyone saw them as. And now, having learnt their language, albeit roughly, they were intelligent creatures. They had families and friends. They were just like everyone else. Everything they'd done to Berk was to survive.
At the same time, he couldn't just leave. Not yet. While it would be in their best interest to take to the sky right then and put as much space between them and Berk, he couldn't leave the dragons. He had to go back to the arena and rescue those who were still trapped inside. If he didn't, someone else would just kill the Monstrous Nightmare when he didn't appear. So no, he would have to go back to the village and rescue them. And hope that no one was awake to see him. Or at least not the warriors.
Toothless didn't say anything, merely climbed to his feet and stretched. Then he approached Hiccup and bumped heads with him. Hiccup smiled and pressed their foreheads together. Toothless had quickly become his closest friend and companion. Without the dragon, he would have felt completely alone. He'd been closeish to Fishlegs but it wasn't the same.
Besides, Fishlegs had always followed the crowd. Gobber had tried to stand up for him but the man had to look out for his own future first and foremost. Hiccup would always be grateful to Gobber for his mentorship. But being in charge of the forge, he had to think about the future of the island too.
Stoick never saw him. Not really. No matter what he did, his father was ashamed of him. Until he'd used the things he learned about dragons from Toothless during training. That had gotten their attention. But the cost wasn't worth it. After all that, this was his reward. Kill a dragon and he couldn't do it. It wasn't a choice anymore. He'd been a disappointment to his people his entire life. Why should that change?
'Night,' said Toothless and Hiccup understood.
Tonight. They would rescue the others tonight and then escape.
...
Dinner at the Great Hall was the most harrowing experience, Hiccup had. No one knew that this was the last time they'd see him. Astrid was the only one who'd noticed something was off. She kept glancing at him as he willing sat away from the others. They'd tried to sit with him but he got up and moved to a different table. They hadn't tried again. Snotlout had been the most offended, Tuffnut and Ruffnut had rolled their eyes and continued to eat. Fishlegs had looked worried but gave him space. Though he kept glancing back to Hicccup.
The next person to sit with him, he couldn't send away. Stoick, his dad, walked over to him. A smile on his face and a plate in his hand. It was filled with a lot of food. Enough to feed two or maybe even three people. And his dad intended to devour it all. His dad sitting across from him should have warmed him. Instead it made Hiccup nervous. There was no way that his dad knew, was there?
"I'm proud of you son," said Stoick, "I've no doubt that tomorrow you will bring pride to the tribe."
"Uh, thanks Dad," replied Hiccup, forcing a smile, "That means a lot to me. Especially since we're talking about a live Monstrous Nightmare. You really think I can do it?"
"Of course," nodded Stoick, taking a bite of his food, "You've shown how strong a fighter you are. Tomorrow, you'll join the ranks of the adults and become a fully-fledged member of the tribe. You have gone from being, well, Hiccup, to an accomplished Viking warrior. I was wrong, you belong here."
His dad's words made him feel sick. His father didn't really see him and he hated it. But he forced himself to keep smiling. He needed to make his dad believe him. So he grinned and joked. For once, Stoick looked at him in pride and not in disappointment. He was happy and it was all lies. Every second of it and the longer it went, the sicker he felt. As soon as he could he bolted to vomit where no one would see him. He went to wait out the time until everyone had gone to bed.
...
Sneaking into the arena, was almost too easy. The locks were meant to keep things in, not out. It was late at night, the moon was mostly hidden behind clouds but there was just enough light for him to see by. Before coming to the Arena, Hiccup left a note for Gobber. He was the only one Hiccup felt he had to explain himself about leaving. Toothless had stayed at their clearing. If everything went south, which was very likely, then he could come in and get them. Thankfully the keys were hanging from a hook near the doors. Quickly but quietly he unlocked the doors and opened them.
The Gronkle was first. She eyed him with suspicion. Her wounds had healed and she was ready to fight him. She growled and bared her teeth at him. Hiccup held his hands in front of him, trying to convey that he wasn't a threat. Upon seeing that he wasn't carrying a weapon she stopped growling at him. But she was still wary of him. Which was fair.
Behind her was the Deadly Nadder. Unlike the Gronkle, her wounds had yet to heal. If she would let him, Hiccup would treat the injuries. He wasn't going to make her stay. Then came the Monstrous Nightmare and Hiccup's heart stopped. There were more dragons coming out but Hiccup knew if he was going to die it would be at the hands of the Monstrous Nightmare. Who looked angry and Hiccup turned his head away so that he wasn't looking right at the dragon. One hand was held up to the dragons waiting for them to make a decision. He couldn't and wouldn't force any of the to trust him. What he was offering was a choice.
He could hear the dragons speaking. They had a quick discussion, voices hissing and growling at each other. At least one wanted to kill him and escape. Another was arguing against that. Their argument grew louder and the noise was becoming worrying. Someone could easily overhear and that would ruin the whole thing. Finally, the Monstrous Nightmare let out a huff and they stopped.
Then a warm muzzle pushed against the palm of his hand. Acceptance of his help. Acceptance of him that he'd never found with his people and instead found it with the dragons. Slowly, Hiccup opened his eyes and lowered his hand. His breath caught as the Monstrous Nightmares' golden gaze was fixed onto his. It was he who pressed his muzzle into Hiccup's hand and for a moment they just stared. Both sides were unsure what to do from here.
Then the Monstrous Nightmare did something that surprised him. It licked him. The action named him as something akin to family. It was an acceptance and a declaration. From now on, this human was under his protection and anyone wanting to hurt the boy would have to deal with him. The others seemed to accept this and two of the Terrible Terrors decided to climb his pants legs till they sat on his shoulders. They were chittering at him and he couldn't understand the sounds.
Looking at the sky, he recognized if they wanted a clean getaway they had to leave. Now. Staying any longer was asking for trouble. All of the dragons escaping would draw attention if they weren't careful.
'Leave,' he ordered in Dragonese and they blinked in surprise.
They were clearly confused but the urgency in his voice and posture had them listening to him. The dragons took off as soon as they were clear of the arena. Hiccup ran as fast as he could back to the forest following the familiar path to where Toothless would be waiting. Time to find a place to be their home.
...
Stoick woke up before sunrise as he usually did when there wasn't a dragon attack. He got dressed and climbed the stairs to see if Hiccup was awake yet. Before the training he'd still be asleep but according to Gobber, he was generally one of the first up and the last to bed. He'd been so excited to have a proper conversation about the day and his son's upcoming triumph. To show him that he was proud of his boy and to finally welcome him into the clan.
However the bed was empty. It wasn't just that though. Most of the personal items that Hiccup collected over the years were gone. It was the one's he'd been most proud of. A few of the drawings, his charcoal pencils, and his notebook. While Stoick had been disappointed that his son had not followed in his footsteps, his artistic skills had been impressive. His tools were also gone.
What in the world?
He searched the room, and the rest of the house, hoping that there would be some clue. There was nothing but his home seemed more empty than it ever felt before. His son's boots were gone as was his knife. Everything pointed to his son having left for the day. He didn't want to admit it, but this seemed more permanent than just a day trip.
Outside he found Gobber rushing towards the house. Even from the distance, Stoick could see the concern on his friends' face and in one hand was a piece of parchment. And his chest tightened. What had his friend concerned?
"Is Hiccup here?" asked Gobber, his eyes darting everywhere, "Have you seen him?"
"No," said Stoick, shaking his head, "I was about to ask you."
"Then he left in the night," sighed Gobber tiredly as he held out the parchment, "You should read this."
With dread filling his stomach, Stoick grabbed the paper and immediately recognized the handwriting. It was from his son. The letter was addressed to Gobber. Not to him, but to his mentor. That hurt more than Stoick could put into words.
Gobber,
By the time you're reading this, I will have already left. Don't look for me. I'll be long gone before you can get the ships ready to search. I can't do it. I can't kill the dragon. It's wrong and I can't be a part of that. I'm not a true viking and I'll never fit in. Maybe someday, the people of Berk will see the truth, that dragons aren't the monsters they think they are. But that will not happen while the war is going. I'm sorry I can't be the person my dad wants. Please don't look for me. I'll be okay.Take care of the forge, okay? Good bye Gobber.
Hiccup
No... no... his son couldn't have run away. No, no, no. Stoick's hands trembled. This couldn't be happening. He was a good parent. Wasn't he? Surely his son would have told him. After all the excitement of the previous night, his son wouldn't have chosen to leave then. Why did he choose last night to flee the island?
He couldn't accept this!
"Gather the search parties," ordered Stoick, "Now! We need to find him!"
"There's no point," said Gobber, his voice was filled with sadness, "If he doesn't wanna be found, we won't find him. We have tried when he first started disappearing after training. He's gone, Stoick."
"He's not lost," snarled Stoick, grabbing his best friend's shirt in his hands, "We just have to find him. We have to bring him back!"
But Gobber was unmoved by his declaration. Instead, there was a pitying expression on his face. It infuriated the Chief, to see his best friend, and the man who'd practically helped him raise his son. To know that someone had that kind of impact on his child and to see that same man give up on Hiccup. Because that was what was happening. Gobber was giving up.
Stoick released him and headed into the village. It didn't take long to find Spitelout, Snotlout, the Twins and Fishlegs. They were all staring into the Arena with shock and horror clear on their faces. When Stoick looked he felt the same. The holdings for the dragons were all open and empty. All of the dragons were missing.
Immediately he began barking orders to figure out what happened. He sent them to the Great Hall to speak to the Elder and to decide the next step. Then his gaze drifted to the horizon where the sun had just begun to rise. Hiccup would have been killing a Monstrous Nightmare today. The very dragon that was free and had disappeared from their prisons. Did the two have something to do with each other? It was impossible. His boy wouldn't have freed a monster.
It would take several hours to learn the truth. The doors and locks weren't damaged. Someone had opened them with the keys. And the only prints in the dirt were too small to belong to an adult. Small and belonging to a teenage boy. While the tracks had been covered, the rain hadn't washed everything away. They went towards the forest.
Hiccup had not only runaway but he'd released the dragons when he did. Stoick couldn't understand why. Why would his son do such a thing? What was going through his boy's mind to have done this? How could Hiccup have betrayed his own tribe like that? He'd been so sure that the teen was finally finding his way. So why?
He didn't have an answer. And he didn't think he was going to get one anytime soon. So the focus was on how to protect the village. The dragons would be back and he still had to find the Nest. Hiccup made his choice.