59.Crossroads

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The new chief's bold announcement had carried with it a shockwave charging the entire isle of Selardalr for the next few days, locking it in a sphere of frenetic energy. The village had wives gossiping with serpent-quick tongues while children in the streets saw to play-sparring that ended in real conflict too often. Dragons fluttered and swerved all over the Silent Wolf sky roaring and casting their fiery plumes in the air in much the way they did in the old Nest.

Hiccup stood upon a small cliff near the shoreline overlooking it all. His own gaze hardened with every second he saw the scenes so commonplace and flashbacks of those nights lit by battle fire played in his head. His wife stood by him just as unnerved.

Syn turned to him. "Are you gonna be okay with this?"

"Honestly, I'll be happy if I can just get out of there." He spoke in a strained tone. "I just want to get this over with."

"Well now you sound like a Viking chief. Try to keep that up."

The docks were at the core of it all, going dizzy with men scurrying about like bees in a hive. Their efforts fueled by sparse patience were deemed necessary to turn the clock forward on the old longboats, though memories of sailing seemed to need dusting along with the sails when more than a few setbacks occurred.

Deep scowls were on the face of every Viking who had rope or crate in hand, though they shifted at times to more softer grimaces. More than once someone had fumbled their grip, though not entirely by accident, or handed supplies too forcefully to someone atop the deck of the boat. Entire sections of the deck were torn out in trying to replace a single rotted plank, earning the guilty party at least ten verbal jabs. It was an uneven and endless cycle where any one action triggered a plethora of short bursts yet continued.

About the only one who was in high spirits was the old seafarer Johann. He moved about the deck of the ship with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. "That's it, men, raise the sails! Hoist the oars! Bring us your bountiful offerings! The Isle of Berk shall see hope and prosperity for years to come."

"He's in a chipper mood." Syn noted.

"Call it a job well done." Hiccup noted. "That or he's just happy to be getting out of this alive."

"I think we're all hoping we'll be just as lucky..."

"We shouldn't be going there at all." His fist clenched. "I'm only doing this because they're probably planning on ambushing me with the Berk Armada right now, or what's left of it."

"And that is why we're doing this. Yeah, you don't owe them much, but something has to be done."

"It feels like I'm rewarding a bunch of spoiled brats. But..." He exhaled. "Whatever it takes to get those bastards to back off."

"There you are."

His mother came in on her massive Stormcutter, flowing from her stance on his back with her staff to the roof where he landed. In nearly all the time she had been here she'd kept her distance and observed, almost ferally, retreating into shadows and keeping watch from high vantage. It made her difficult to read, even to her own flesh and blood, who preferred the distance in truth.

"Berk... your father has probably had his hands full with everything. I bet nothing's changed at all." She wistfully whispered.

"From the inside looking out, yeah." Syn called. "I'd say resistance to change is a general thing for Vikings."

"True." She huddled into herself with her staff in place. "All the vendors, Gobber's forge, the Great Hall, and our house on the hill overlooking it all. Everything right where it should be." She looked down. "And all the people, all their days more or less the same, maybe better with the raids no more. I wonder how they're all doing..."

"Well they'll certainly be surprised to see you." Hiccup frowned without looking. "Surprisingly alive and not eaten."

She flinched as if whipped and dared not to look. Syn noticed and lashed back at her husband. "Hiccup, come on."

"What?"

"Do you have to snap at everyone you ever knew? I get Berk was a far cry from Valhalla and your dad wasn't showing role model behavior-"

"Yeah, raising me up to be a diplomat then trying to kidnap me in the middle of the night. Thank Thor I didn't go to him for parenting advice."

"What I'm saying is all it takes is talk of one person and it's like you want to bludgeon everybody."

The dragon chief went silent at her statement. His flares in temper didn't escape him, opposed to when he'd only bared himself against the blunt slights Berk had for him daily. He'd learned for himself to stand as firm as a mountain, but he was a volcano in truth, building with pressure and ready to burst.

But a worried warble and warm, concerned eyes from Toothless behind him brought him to his senses. The young man set his hand on his dragon's head and gave a small smile, an honest gesture of the one who had saved two worlds, standing for rights beyond his own. He breathed in and raised his head, standing tall once more.

"Let's get this done."

With Titan and two other Nightmares, the offerings of Selardalr crashed down onto the boat, rocking it in the water. The small group of sailors just regained their footing to ready the sails and oars at Johann's still enthusiastic call. Hiccup and Syn hurried down followed by a small crowd of Silent Wolfs behind them led by the old crew of Selardalr. The teens-turned-adults gathered around the couple, some wore supporting smiles while other let their true emotions show.

"Not sure whether to call this noble or suicidal." Arne joked.

"It might be a little of both, everything considered." Sven noted.

"If any of 'em try something, punch their lights out!" Raoul scowled. "Actually, go ahead and do that anyway."

"And this is why you were never chief material." Syn joked. "Just promise to take care of  the children"

"Which one?" Arne quipped again with an arm between Raoul and Sven. "Just kidding. Your bundle of joys are safe with us. Don't worry.."

"Speaking of bundle of joy.. where is Alvis?"Hiccup suddenly noted. "I figured he'd be here to see us off."

"Haven't seen him." Leif noted.

"Safe to say he feels the same as the rest of us in terms of your old tribe." Juliane crossed her arms. "He probably isn't too keen on seeing his dad rushing to the folks that tried to abduct him."

"Tell him I don't plan on staying long."

With each of their dragons behind them, the three main representatives – Hiccup, Syn, and the elder Valka went aboard. The sails were let loose and burst forward with the wind, triggering an excess of waves from the people even before they began to cast off from the dock. Drifting further from their home as the minutes dragged on, Hiccup could just make out Arne's shape leaping onto a wood pillar.

"Try not to get your head lopped off!"

It was a joking gesture, but Hiccup kept the advice in mind.

Hiccup never had fond memories of boats, looking out at miles of ocean sea with their vessel travelling at speeds that could have put the old Viking regattas to shame. About an hour or so had passed since their departure had given him plenty of the latter and it made him growl in exasperation. A show of diplomacy by adhering to Berk's preferred customs hardly seemed like a viable reason when he could only expect weeks of boredom, cold air, and the sounds of seasickness.

Toothless went to his side and crooned. Hiccup kept his features tight without even looking back. "I'm fine, bud. It's annoying, but we are doing the right thing."

His wife and mother, who were with Johann as the old trader regaled them with more of his detailed epics might have been losing sight of all that looking as braced as they were. Glancing to the side and seeing Cloudjumper and Storm napping, he supposed it had its advantages though. No doubt it would have spared them the spine aches many dragons had from carrying the massive amount of food just to his right beneath the captain's wheel.

Hiccup had made careful note himself of everything that had been collected for their donation to the Hooligans. It had required hearty sacrifices from even the ocean's sizeable bounty for food and from their own stores for medicine and building materials that led to protest from many. He had only based it off what he recalled of Berk's population, without even factoring each person's massive appetite, but even then, he had only half-heartedly spoken back. He walked over to the supplies with Toothless behind him and just hoped as hard as his teeth bit his lip that this gesture of goodwill didn't have to be repetitive.

From the corner of their eyes, both chief and dragon and spied movement. A ruffle from one or two of the smaller bags. Toothless went low to the ground and growled.

"Okay so neither of us imagined that..."

The two inched closer, Toothless baring his teeth and Hiccup drawing Inferno but keeping the blade unlit. They paused for a moment when all the bags remained still but flinched slightly when they moved again. Inching closer, holding their breaths, Hiccup swore he saw hair from between the bags. Toothless's growls grew louder at the sight and the beast could stay no longer. He leapt.

"WAIT!"

In midair the ferocious Night Fury turned docile at a heartbeat. He collided atop the bags with a squish, all his limbs sprawled out and looking up. The intruder popped out as a little boy who sprawled onto the bag to see his attacker looking up innocently and scrambling back to give him a big lick and smile.

"Hi, Toothless! I'm happy to see you too."

Hiccup was not as pleased. "Alvis? What are you doing here!?"

Valka, Syn, and Johann instantly rushed over to see the surprise guest. Cloudjumper and Storm snapped awake and surrounded the little boy with big wings and big eyes.

"Oh, my." Valka nervously chuckled. "A stowaway."

"He is an adventurous sort it seems." Johann added. "It reminds me of when I was a wee lad who inadvertently found myself aboard the vessel of a band of cutthroat pirates on their way across the Spanish Channel in search of the Lost-"

"Yeah, yeah, one story at a time" Syn added with her arms crossed. "Alvis, why are you here? How did you sneak onboard the ship?"

"It was easy. With all the big dragons and people, nobody noticed me." Alvis giggled.

"You think this is funny? You shouldn't be here at all!" Hiccup stomped over with teeth bared. "We're going to Berk, where the air is cold, and the people are colder, not to mention dangerous! Didn't you think of that at all?"

Alvis cowered before his father's suddenly flaring form. "B-But... I thought you might need my help..."

"This isn't a game, Alvis!" The chief scolded. "These people nearly killed Toothless and your mother the other night! And I can't be sure all this crap we're giving them is going to keep them from trying again to get to me. The Hooligans have rejected peace and reason more than once; a child isn't going to suddenly change that, and I should know!"

"B-B-But, dad-"

"Don't 'but, dad' me! How am I supposed to keep you safe when you go and do stupid things like this!?"

"HICCUP!" Syn rushed between them. "Enough, already! You've made your point!"

The red fog in his vision cleared as he snapped his eyes wide, and he could suddenly see his teary-eyed child and shocked crew members with disturbing clarity. As his wife rushed to the boy's side for him to bury himself in her embrace, he turned and walked away. He heaved heavily as he gripped the boat.

"There, there. It's alright. It's okay..." He heard his wife call. "You're not in trouble. It's okay..."

He raked his head in his hair and huddled down, hearing her words and knowing he should have been the one to say them. He wiped his brow, pinched his nose, and stared out at the sea again with the salt air stinging his now reddened eyes. Toothless crooned out to him but he was too busy lost in a maelstrom of thoughts to hear his loyal dragon's call.

It was Berk's fault, he thought looking for an anchor in that emotional tempest. Everything he had done to pull himself up and begin anew seemed meaningless now that the storm clouds of his old life came in to darken his clear skies. He slammed his fist on the rim knowing that somehow, he'd returned to catering to the whims of people who would only spit in his face and demand more. His frustrated growls rumbled through his body, becoming unsteady with the stirring of winds that seemed hot on his skin.

But as he opened his eyes again when he received a splash of water, he'd noticed it wasn't just a state of mind.

"Oy, what is this?" A crew member asked.

"Odd, I didn't notice any signs of a storm on the horizon." Johann mumbled. "The hairs on my beard would have stood on end were that the case."

The clouds moved as quickly as they first appeared, encompassing the last bits of clear sky. With the clouds came rougher winds, turning the boat into a toy at the mercy of building waves and its crew fighting to keep their balance. The mast began to creak, and the sails began to rip from the wood nail by nail. The crewmen and Johann rushed to grab ropes that had begun to flail wildly in the breeze.

"Hurry up! Get this ship steady!" One of the crew members cried.

"The wind's too strong! By Thor, where did this storm come from?"

"You wanna ask Thor 'imself? Stop complaining and tie this mast down!"

The Gods were no more fit to explain than to punish them for kindness toward enemies, Hiccup observed. Waves crashed against the hull with the might of Mjolnir, dragging with them many shields and a few oars. Meanwhile those who pulled at the sails almost started to feel themselves lifted off the ground along with the unstable mast. Cloudjumper and Storm took to the skies and grabbed at the wood to keep it from tottering, but the growing winds tested even their strength.

Another wave slapped the side, large enough to crash onto the deck. Syn and Alvis were struck by the surge of water and knocked to the side soaked and reeling. Alvis pulled himself up with his hand on his head and saw one of the supply bags tumbling off the teetering deck into the sea.

"No!"

It was too late to stop it; the bag was gone just as he reached his hand out. Another was soon ready to join the first, but he rushed over and grabbed it by its strings just as it reached the edge. The boy pulled with all the might his little body possessed.

"Dad... needs this!" He strained. "I'm gonna help... my dad!"

"Alvis?" Hiccup called from across the deck. He had been holding onto the wood with Toothless keeping him steady. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm... helping!"

"Alvis, let the bag go! It's not worth it!"

"No! I'm gonna help! I'm gonna be... like you!"

The wave that came next was half the length of the ship. The boy could only stare at the ravenous deluge before it swallowed him whole as it crashed down. When the water finally cleared, the bag was nowhere to be found, and neither was the child holding it.

"ALVIS!"

The dragon chief screamed out and rushed to the edge, his eyes nearly ripped from their sockets gazing out at the unforgiving ocean. The waters had become so erratic, there was no sign of the boy who played hero anywhere. Alvis stood as little chance against the currents as his pet Fafnir before the Red Death. He heaved in the air Alvis was no doubt losing as he plummeted further down into the depths.

"Alvis! I'm coming, Alvis!" Hiccup leapt atop the rim grabbing at the end. But a hand grabbed his wrist as he made ready to leap.

"Hiccup, no!"

He jerked his wrist from his mother's grip. "Don't stop me!"

"The waves are too strong! You'll be swept away!"

"So what? I'm supposed to just let Alvis drown!?" He spun and stared back for the first time since she came. "No way I am losing him like this!"

"Hiccup, please! You'll drown out there!" Syn made her way over while just barely keeping her balance.

"You too!?"

"We will find another way, Hiccup. I fear for Alvis too but there is no point in losing both of you like this!" She reached for him once again. "Hiccup, just come down..."

The dragon chief almost sliced the wind swatting her away and glared, every fiber in his body flaring. His mother, old and wise, became timid prey as her grandchild was earlier before the dragon chief's stature and nearly fell back if it were not for her staff. Everyone present had noticed and some had thought with the slight lapse in the wind that his state had commanded even the attention of the Gods.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to go to Berk!" Hiccup screamed. "Something bad ALWAYS happens whenever Berk is involved! I lost my childhood and almost lost my family! I am NOT going to lose my son to Berk too!"

And he dove in.

Hiccup swam deep into the waters, combing down through that murky darkness with as much might as his arms could carry. The salt water stung at his eyes until all he saw was dark blue, while cold seeped through his armor instilling numbness into his sweeping limbs. His lungs reaching their limit, he turned up to the dim light above.

He rose with a spluttering cough. "Alvis! Alvis!"

The dragon chief felt his strength had drained in an instant, his racing heart demanding more from a stiff body left to be tossed about. Even his mind shut down in a scramble without any conceivable strategy against the waters. His own metal leg had never seemed to drag him down more when waves pummeled him as ruthlessly as his old tormentors and its weight only dragged him down. By then, every attempt to swim down was met with a push back and a heavy splash in punishment for trying.

But through the fatigue and the whole of nature against him, he still found his son. The boy was barely conscious atop the bag he had salvaged bobbing above the surface. Having already lost the battle, he slipped from the bag and sunk down.

"Alvis! I'm coming!"

Hiccup made a final desperate burst and swam over and down with another large breath. The small boy's shape was barely made out fading into the deepest blue without a trace of movement. He flailed down and reached his child by a fair distance down. The climb back up was agonizing with only one stiff arm, but he just made it back up clinging to the last hint of air in him.

"I got you. H-Hang on..." He breathed, but his voice was enough clue. The boat was nowhere in sight and he had only made it an inch in the direction he recalled before being knocked back.

All the sounds of nature's fury soon faded in his ears next to the sound of his heart beat. He clenched his fingers, kicked out his legs, and blinked past the sprays of the tides clinging to consciousness as everything dimmed. His face tightened in focus, trying to keep fading thoughts aloft along with their heads that started to sink. No sign of their ship and no hope to reach it, he finally sank.

So, he thought, this was how it ended.

As he once again peered into the blackness, it seemed to rise beneath him. The mute tone turned to scales as a large dragon head breached the water and scooped him up with claws and wings. He felt a hill of motion and soon sensed himself aloft on something firm and warm from within.

"Toothless..."

At the sound of beating wings, he looked up and saw Cloudjumper grabbing at the Night Fury's sides. Atop him he caught a glimpse of his mother's face just poking from behind her own dragon's large shoulder. She dared not show herself fully, and he would have wished he could pass out there just to avoid seeing it all. It was too much to bear given all that happened.

"Thanks...... mom." He muttered before finally doing so.

Whether a tantrum or game, the work of Thor vanished completely an hour later, the sky as clear as before and the ocean as tame. In fact, the only difference was the once well-preserved Viking longboat now ready to be marooned and left to gather barnacles in favor of a newly crafted one. The mast was unstable, only a few shields remained, the sail torn and soaked, and much of their cargo had by now sunk to the ocean floor.

The crew muttered looking at their dwindled offerings. The medicine and building materials were still in well enough supply, but the food had been depleted. Only two bags had survived the storm, enough to feed Berk for a week if they were lucky. All around the gathered circle their looks ranged from stern glares to sweaty brows and stricken eyes.

"This is a catastrophe! A calamity! A-a-a very bad day!" Johann was practically bouncing around the ship. "Berk will be displeased with such a meager offering! What will the Council say? What will Stoick say!?"

"Didn't we realize that we were outright catering to 'em." One of the crewmates said.

Valka stepped toward Johann but kept her distance. "Johann, my husband is an understanding man. Stubborn, but understanding." Hiccup fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm sure he will accept anything we give him."

"And at the same time, we're talking about feeding an entire village, and he doesn't take failure well." Hiccup pointed out.

"Welp, that's it, then..." One of the men cried.

"Aye, might as well pack up an' head home."

Johann squeaked. "W-what? Now, hold for a moment. Ah... w-when I said 'catastrophe,' I do believe I might have stretched things a little far. Come now, lads, best we think of this as a slight bump in the road. A miscalculation really... Truthfully, I faced similar hardship when I scaled the great Kunlun Mountains in the great region of-"

"Johann... We appreciate the gesture. But... going back might be for the best." Syn spoke.

"What?" Hiccup turned to her. "You, of all people, are giving up?"

"Hiccup, you know I am nowhere close to being on good terms with him, but I understand his need to look out for others." Syn spoke, next to him. "It's conflicting, yes, but I have to make a decision based on what is best for our family and our people. And you have to as well."

Hiccup turned away. "So you want me to call it quits... Heh, if he were here. Probably one more thing for him to be disappointed in me about."

"That makes it sound like you care what he thinks."

"Master Hiccup." Johann butted in. "I understand the need to consider limits and boundaries, but it is not as though all is lost. There is still much we can offer, and the people of Berk will be in need of whatever can be offered. There is an old saying, that 'beggars cannot be choosers.' I believe it originated somewhere around the coast of-"

"Johann, please. No one is in the mood." Syn said with a hand to her forehead.

"Ah, yes. The point is, Master Hiccup, why not continue on?" He pointed out a bit too forcefully. "A leader shows strength and determination in times like these, and now is your chance to do the same."

"Hiccup..." His mother chimed in. "It's your decision."

Hiccup stared down at the lines in the wood, and for the first time in a while, his own thoughts had become just as clear. He didn't need to look up hearing the slight winces his crew had been trying to hide that no one aboard was in any shape for a diplomatic appearance. A war of words would no doubt erupt on Berk, conflict being a pastime as it came to be with them, so challenges were expected. But if that was the case...

"...Dad?" Alvis asked. Toothless walked up to him as well and nuzzled his hand.

The dragon chief breathed heavily. "There isn't a point in going back now."

He hopped on the back of his loyal Night Fury and brought him to the edge of the boat. He turned back to the other two dragon riders present. "Mind giving me a hand?"

The two understood and hopped atop their own dragons, the three shooting into the sky at once. They followed Toothless as he circled through the air searching for an open target on a plain field of blue. Hiccup pointed down and the Night Fury fired into the water, releasing a massive load of fish into the air. The crewmates quickly loaded their spare nets and caught as many as they could, cheering for their chief's brilliance.

Cloudjumper and Storm followed suit as the ship sailed closer to them. Their flames veiled the surface in clouds of steam and fish to cook in the air. In no time at all the bags were loaded and their stock practically replenished. The crew and Alvis cheered as the three dragons landed mightily atop the deck. Even Johann could not suppress his awe.

"You dragons are quite the magnificent creatures, Master Hiccup." He clapped.

"This is about cooperation, so we might as well make an effort." He turned to the sailors. "Get those sails working. We heading for Berk."

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~~TO BE CONTINUED~~