Hey all

So begins another story that I am working on in collaboration with fellow fanfictioner Zyonzillia. In this story it will be another Hiccup leaving tale.

Updates will be sporadic as I have to balance it off with my other fictions so updates will about once a fortnight. Chapters will shorter than my other fics and things may change depending on what ideas myself and Zyon come up with so there will be a nice slow burn for things to come.

It basically starts after Hiccup has defeated the Nadder and has been chosen to fight the Monstrous Nightmare and begins later that day.

I will

Hope you like.

Part 1 – Childish Games

It was day normal like any other on Berk. Vikings went about their daily routines, happily living a life that rolled forward under its own momentum. The sun was out and birds were singing. The village hummed and heaved to the sounds of the forge, houses being rebuilt or repaired and the laughter of children, freed from the boredom of their chores, playing in the street.

However one little girl was not having as much fun as the others as she chased a boy through the streets because he had taken something of hers, as teasing young boys of that age are want to do.

"Gustav! Gustav! Come on! Give her back! Please!" Vali Larson begged

"Nuh uh! Not until you say Gustav is the best Viking in the world ever!" the older brother smirked.

"Noooo!" his young sister whined, having been forced into this humiliating exchange too many times before.

"Say it! Gustav is the best!" the young Larson boy crooned as he held the girl's stuffed lamb high above his head far away from Vali's much shorter grasping hands.

"But I don't wanna!" she whined.

Gustav jumped back a few paces, his eyes grew narrow and he smiled evilly as he stared down the girl now frightened by his demeanour.

"Then I'm going to have to take little 'lamby' here to the shearers for a haircut and then I think we'll have some dinner, maybe a nice...lamb...stew!"

"Nooooo!" Vali yelled, scared witless at the prospect of her favourite toy being skinned and then eaten for dinner. True part of her knew her 'lamby' was just a toy, but at that age it didn't make a difference. Her favourite stuffed animal was just as alive as she was, with all the relevant thoughts and feelings that came with it. Vali couldn't face the world if her precious 'lamby' was gone.

"hah ha ha ha!" Gustav taunted as he revelled in getting the distraught reaction he had hoped for from his young sister who was being such a 'girl'. He took off running even faster, knowing there was still more fun to be had with this game.

"Come on Gustav! pleeeeaaaaaase! Don't make her into lamb stew! Come back!" Vali begged, nearly on the verge of tears.

"You're gonna have to catch me first!" Gustav shouted back over his shoulder, not showing any sign of slowing his pace

"I'm gonna tell on you! Come back!" the girl protested as she picked up her feet to a running pace determined to catch up with her arrogant brother.

"ha ha ha..." Gustav roared as he raced round a corner. He had planned to get to the edge of the forest and stick the stuffed toy up a tree and then spend an hour or so watching his tiny sister's futile attempts to get it down. Truly this was going to be a good day.

That all stopped as, in his eagerness, he didn't look where he was going and slammed right in to someone coming the other way. The boy stopped dead against the solid body and fell on his back side, the toy lamb flying out his grip. Wincing and looking up he couldn't see who he had run into as they were hidden by the sun behind them.

Still he was a Larson, he wasn't about to apologise. He puffed out his chest and shook his fist at the spoiler of his fun

"Hey! Watch where you're..."

Gustav's reproach died in his throat as he saw his hand was covered with something. It was a thick sticky liquid that had a vaguely metallic aroma to it. Turning his hand over he realised his hand was covered in blood. Real blood. The kind that adults bleed.

But it was not his blood. It was the stranger's. The stranger was covered in blood and now it was on his hands. Every muscle in Gustav's body froze and his sense of the world faded to nothing as he was entranced by the horrifying, lumbering, rasping figure that stood before him. He didn't even notice the subject of his teasing catch up to him and notice the dark figure herself.

While the cocky young boy was stock still, Vali in her fear snatched her lamb from where it had been dropped and let out a terrified high pitched scream that carried across Berk and possibly to the realm of the gods itself. Many Vikings dropped what they were doing and raced to their side fearing the worst only to have those fears dashed and replaced by new ones upon witnessing the cause of the disturbance.

When some arrived they gasped as they had never seen anything like it.

Immediately someone ran off to fetch the chief.

There you are guys

I hope you like it.

As always, reviews PM's and feedback are always welcome.

Until next time, take of yourselves and each other.