Chapter 6: Push Through

Despite the initial wonder he had first felt at the sensation of this new world, Hiccup was no longer amused. Unlike his own world, the world where he grew up in, he could not anticipate quite a few things. The day times were one of these things. It marked day three when he realized that in order to keep up with the Dwarves, he would more than likely have to keep vigil on them well before the dawn. However the clockwork of time revolved differently here in what the elves had told him was Middle Earth. The Viking chief could not tell if the days were slower or faster, but his internal clock had been practically skewed through. So when he awoke from a fitful and light sleep against Toothless' side, not maybe more than what he figured was an hour since they'd settled down for the night, he realized that he should have been staying up to watch his wards. Bemoaning the fact that he more than likely would not be resting for quite some time, Hiccup gathered up the blankets from the elven bed and trudged over to the window. He knew that the Dwarves would sneak away. He knew they would more than likely be subtle. So he knew he had to keep a careful eye on places that would shadow away their figures.

A light snore from Toothless caught the human's attention, and he smiled lightly.

Hiccup almost wanted to wake his draconic companion. However, with the heavier air, and the amount of land they would have to cover without landing, he knew the reptile needed rest. He couldn't afford to tire the dragon out.

Tilting his head back against the cool marble of the window sill, Hiccup wondered how life on Berk faired. The brief image of Astrid panicking crossed his mind, and it took all of his will-power to quickly dismiss the notion. She did not need him to remain level-headed. More than likely his wife would be unsettled, and concerned beyond all belief. But she would not lose her cool, for the sake of the village, she wouldn't.

She is so strong, Hiccup marveled to himself briefly.

In absence of him, he could not have wanted anyone more headstrong or reliable than Astrid to lead his people.

His gut clenched. He left them. Without warning. Without word. Gone in an instant, he left his people without proper leadership. Now he was not so self-confident as to declare that his people would be a complete wreck without him. In fact he had high standards for his villagers. The Berkians more than like did not notice that he had been gone for so long. They may have chalked up the lack of his presence to him exploring new lands for them to expand outwards to. No, probably only his closest and most trusted companions suspected his sudden and unexplained departure. But even then they could not acknowledge it.

No one outside of Berk could know that he had left his lands unprotected.

His head sunk into his hands.

This was all such a huge mess.

His nose caught the faint scent of gentle plants on his skin. Begrudgingly, he realized they were unfamiliar to him. It was the herbal remedy that the Lord Elrond had insisted be put in the waters of his bath earlier that day. The elf ruler had attested to the herbs potential to be quite relaxing and perhaps necessary for the stressful situation that the human man now found himself in. Yet Hiccup found no comfort or calming effect in the smell of the herbs. Instead he felt disoriented. This was not the smell of forge fire or dragon sweat. Currently, the scent that matted his skin was something foreign and alien to him.

He'd never felt so far away from Berk.

The brief flicking of a light in darkness caught his attention. The elves did not live in complete darkness, and the city of Rivendell was well lit. But among the edges, where the nighttime darkness seemed to creep in over the alabaster floors and pillars supporting the flying buttresses, there was a brief flare of firelight-and then it disappeared. For a few seconds, the light would bob in and out of existence as it put distance between itself and the main hub of the elvish city.

That's got to be them.

Hiccup dropped the blankets and donned his armor, slipping out of the loaned silk clothes that Lord Elrond had allowed him to borrow. He took out a small sheet of paper from one of the various crevices in his leather, and he wrote a quick note of thanks. By then Toothless had already awoken, his big green eyes lethargically blinking as he gained and strengthened his focus.

"Hiccup, is there something wrong?" The dragon's voice was heavy and groggy.

The man nodded, keeping an eye on the window and his attention to the pinprick of a flame outside. "They're leaving. It's time to get moving."

The Night Fury gave a stern nod and made his way to the door as Hiccup grabbed their saddle. He hoisted it onto his shoulder and pushed the door open, allowing his dragon to go through first and them himself. They hurried quickly, and in no time, the two of them were in the air.

Toothless gave a few hesitant circles above their tower, testing the air and calculating how much he would have to adjust his breathing cycle in order to compensate for the denser air. When he was ready, Hiccup was already nervous about losing sight of the company. They followed as close to the buildings as they could, using the relative darkness as an advantage in their pursuit. However, with Rivendell being so bright, it was harder to fly low.

"Just don't lose sight of them, bud." Hiccup pulled out his telescope from one of the saddle bags, and rested it on his knee. "Fly higher if you got to to remain unseen."

"This is a complicated mission, Hiccup," Toothless hummed, angling himself upward.

"We're in a complicated situation," the man snorted.

"Fair enough."

They rose fairly well into the air. Winds gently brushed along them, the streamline current easy and careful as it pushed them along. The dragon hummed in appreciation while the man sighed in relief. There would be good flying today. The currents were in their favor and not a cloud in the near twilight sky. It was almost beautiful, the city of Rivendell in the still murky purple hues that just blushed with the slightest hints of rose. And the way that the mountains in the distance began to tower, their great sides sloping upwards in steep and treacherous paths...Hiccup couldn't see their full height, it was still too dark for that, but with how the great bodies seemed to disappear into the sky, he could only hope the dawn would reveal them to be far less dangerous than they seemed. As it was, mountains on their own could be dangerous to cross, but great, steep mountains would be near impossible. Although Dwarves he knew were renowned for their knowledge on anything and everything stone, he still couldn't help but worry. A group traveling on narrow paths were tricky, and especially given that one of them wasn't a Dwarf, he felt a slight twinge of apprehension.

"We've caught up to them," Toothless announced, his ears and feelers flaring out for a second as he sent out a silent echo. He didn't want to alert the company that they were tailing them, but he had to make sure they were reasonably close to them before they could relax.

"Good job, Toothless," Hiccup praised, his hand patting the flat of the Night Fury's head. "Now all we have to do is keep up with them."

The dragon huffed. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"For now at least." The Viking chief gave another wary glance ahead. "From what I can glance, those mountains might be a problem."

"Not for us," Toothless eased, his wings gliding neatly through the air. "There will be plenty of places for us to land above their sight and keep a close eye on them from the ground."

Still, the man could not quite displace the uneasiness in his stomach.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

I set out on a narrow way many years ago

Hoping I would find true love along the broken road

But I got lost a time or two

Wiped my brow and kept pushing through

Rascal Flatts ~ Bless the Broken Road

a/n: Well...guys...long time no see, haha. I have been genuinely terrified to update any of my old stories. Everytime I've sat down at the computer to update these old piece, I would seize up and find I couldn't even begin to try and put words to what I wanted. I've been so scared to update these but...

I've learned a lot about writing in the years that have gone by since the last updates, and I've learned a lot about being a storyteller as well.

So here's to courage. And here's to these old stories.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your time. Look forward to the next update:)