10

"Dad, what do dragons do in the winter? Do they hibernate? Why don't we hibernate?" Hiccup was flitting through the trees easily, breaking twigs as he went. The snapping sound of the twigs was lost in the crunching snow and Hiccup's voice. Stoick didn't bother answering as he followed Hiccup through the trees. He knew the boy would keep speaking regardless of an answer, "I think that would be better than waiting for it to warm up, don't you? Cause then it would be less boring, you can't be bored when you're asleep. Can you?"

Finally there was a break in the chatter. Hiccup had managed to get a tree branch caught in his vest; through the back collar down through the arm hole. Hiccup struggled to get his vest uncaught from the branch. Reaching back he tried to grab the branch and pull it free but it was stuck in the arm hole. Stoick shook his head. He hadn't wanted him to wear it; the vest was far too big for the boy. It was made from a good hide; the same Stoick's cloak was made of and so the intention was for Hiccup to grow into it. The boy was losing his fight with the branch. Noticing this, Stoick sighed inwardly and silently reached down to free the lad. Unfazed Hiccup picked up where he had left off,

"At least, you wouldn't know you were bored because you would be sleeping right? I think it would be more exciting if dragons didn't hibernate and the raids continued. At least something would happen right?" Hiccup kept up his constant chattering as he bounded ahead of his father, happy to finally be outside and away from the village after being cooped up all winter. Stoick followed along quietly, keeping an eye on his son while looking for tracks in the snow. It was the first warm day since winter had started. While it was not officially thaw Stoick couldn't wait any longer to get the kid out of the house. It had been a long winter and being shut up with a hyper, bored eight-year-old only made it worse. When Stoick came home a few days ago to discover Hiccup hanging from the loft by a rope around his waist the Chief had reached his limit. Hiccup claimed he was trying to find out what flying was like; Stoick just needed the boy out of the house before the entire structure was destroyed. Or Hiccup seriously injured himself. For his own sanity, Stoick had decided to take Hiccup on an overnight hunting trip; it would be easier to teach him how to track in the snow with visible prints. Plus, it would help get rid of some of Hiccup's pent up energy. Stoick found the boy easier to put up with outside. The snow was deep in some places; Hiccup had to hop through it. But the sun was out for the first time in months and the breeze was pleasant; not biting like it had been. It was still cold enough to redden Hiccup's nose and cheeks but he had taken his mittens off. The top layer of snow had crystalized in the warmer weather.

When Stoick found a good sized clearing with relatively little snow for a camp site. Hiccup hopped around the clearing stomping on the snow to soften it enough to be swept out of the way while Stoick cut up some large branches for fire wood. Then, Stoick showed his son how to use an evergreen branch to sweep the snow out of the camp site. Hiccup got bored with that chore, though. Stoick found himself doing it as Hiccup explored the area, trailing the branch Stoick had cut for him.

"Stay in the clearing, Hiccup." Of course, the kid was already beyond the trees. "Hiccup."

"What?" Hiccup asked without coming back into view. Stoick rolled his eyes,

"I said to stay in the clearing." By now the snow was swept away. Hiccup came back dragging his feet with sticks and pine needles in his hair.

"Come over here, we need to dig a fire pit." Stoick said. That got Hiccup's interest again.

"Why?" he asked coming over to where Stoick sat, kneeling down himself.

"So we don't have to do it later when it's cold and we're tired. Having a pit keeps the fire contained; the wind can't carry the flames to the trees." He said as he picked some sticks out of his son's hair. Stoick proceeded to show Hiccup how to use stones to break up the frozen earth enough to get a small pit dug. Then they gathered kindling and fire wood. Surprisingly Hiccup completed that task, partly because it allowed him to wander and explore. Stoick made sure to keep an eye on the boy's whereabouts and call him back when he wandered too far, ignoring the excuse of "I saw an elf behind that ridge, I know I did!" Once the wood was gathered Stoick checked the sun and suggested they get some tracking practise in before nightfall.

Hiccup bounded off ahead but the snow was deep enough to keep him from getting too far as he hopped through it from one foot to the other keeping his arms out for balance. Stoick had made him put the mittens back on.

"Dad, do you think we'll get anything tonight? Like a boar or a stag? Is that what we'll have for supper? What if we don't get anything? What will we eat then?" Hiccup said. The snow was easier for him to walk in here and he had seen a drop off to his right that he was now wandering towards.

"Hiccup, stay away from that edge." Stoick said, but Hiccup kept going.

"Why? I just wanna take a look."

"Stubborn child could put a mule to shame." Stoick grumbled as he trudged over to pull his son away from the edge. He knew that the snow gathered and stuck further out than the actual edge of the drop off and it was unstable. Before he could do anything about it, though, Hiccup and the snowy edge disappeared.

"Hiccup!"

The Monstrous Nightmare sighed again and turned her body to face the cave's entrance. She was on Berk; she didn't want to be at the nest anymore, she didn't want to do anything anymore. The sun was out for the first time in months and the cheery light added to her misery. A commotion outside got her attention as a pile of snow fell from the ledge above accompanied by a yell that sounded like a Viking. Growling she crept out of her cave to investigate. She was half thinking a violent Viking wouldn't be unwelcome now that her hatchlings were gone. Another, smaller, pile of snow landed on her head. Shaking off the snow, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the new pile of snow in front of her.

There was something struggling in the snow grumbling to itself. The Nightmare slowly approached. She watched half annoyed, half amused as a little Viking tried to extract himself from the snow. Twice. With an annoyed huff she drew herself up over him. Her wings on either side of him caused the boy to freeze and tilt his head slowly upward to see her glaring down. "Dad?" Hiccup called in a scared voice. The Nightmare dipped her head to blast him and he lifted his hands to cover his head, still stuck in the snow. He was shaking slightly and she breathed in his scent; there was fear and the usual Viking smells, but also something else. Something that relayed to her how young he was; he was only a hatchling. With that realization something clicked in the Nightmare. She so desperately missed her own hatchlings, taken from her so abruptly. They had been so young and so scared, and here was a little one just as young and scared before her.

The Nightmare crooned and nuzzled him from behind and he crouched further down in the snow. The little Viking hatchling was trembling fully now but the smell of fear coming from him no longer gave her a sense of victory. Instead, it drew out her comforting nature as she drew closer about him. she crooned and nuzzled the back of his neck. Hiccup, though, had never been more scared. He had seen dragons plenty of times before. He had seen the raids and the destruction dragons brought, but he had never been this close to one before. The warm breath smelled like smoke as the dragon breathed down his neck. It pushed him forward. Most likely it was getting a good smell before it ate him. He wanted his dad. The dragon was making soft growling noises and Hiccup desperately hoped his dad would come before he was eaten. The Nightmare nuzzled him again. Her hatchlings were gone and she could not protect them but this one was here and now he was hers. No harm would come to him.

Stoick went as close as he dared to the drop off to make sure Hiccup was okay. There was a lot of snow and Hiccup was on top of it so he should be okay. Sure enough,Stoick spotted Hiccup in a large pile of snow trying to dig himself out. Stoick let out the breath he had unknowingly been holding. With a sigh and a shake of his head Stoick moved away from the edge to look for a way down to retrieve his son.

While moving through the trees Stoick heard Hiccup call for him. The fear in the boy's voice made Stoick's heart beat a little faster but he told himself that Hiccup was fine. The boy was probably freaking out because he was stuck in the snow alone. Still, Stoick picked up his pace. He was completely unprepared for the sight of a Monstrous Nightmare crouched over his cowering eight-year-old.

"Hiccup!"

When the boy looked up Stoick could see the fear in his eyes. "Okay, it's okay." Stoick said as calmly as he could with a massive dragon dwarfing his tiny son. It rumbled and bumped its head into Hiccup from behind, the sound sent vibrations through Stoick's chest. He could swear his heart jumped into his throat. There was too much deep snow for him to get to Hiccup quickly. By some miracle the beast hadn't noticed him yet. It was completely concentrated on Hiccup who was trying so very hard not to cry. The Chief felt utterly helpless as his mind raced to find some way for him to get his son away from the dragon.

Cautiously, Stoick started to creep forward through the snow, flinching at the crunching noise it made. He moved around so that he could come in from the side; hopefully taking the devil by surprise and knocking the thing away from Hiccup. The beast was now rubbing its snout on the side of Hiccup's head. Stoick couldn't understand why it hadn't fired yet or lit itself. He had no idea why Hiccup was still alive but right at this moment he wasn't going to question it. He would simply be grateful. The Monstrous Nightmare had a large snout, longer than Hiccup was tall. It had an under bite that caused almost all its teeth to show on the outside. When it bumped Hiccup from the side its mouth full of teeth rubbed against him. It was finally too much for the boy.

"Daddy!"

Stoick wasn't sure if it was the complete terror in Hiccup's voice, the choked sob that followed, or the deep rumbling that came from the nightmare that had his son surrounded, but he forgot all attempts of silence and rushed at the beast. The dragon saw him.

She had been trying to calm her hatchling; let him know that everything was alright. There was a muffled crunching sound to her right. She turned her head as a Viking, a very large Viking, rushed at her. Quickly arching herself around her little one to shield him, she roared. A rush of fire swiftly engulfed her. She was careful to avoid burning her hatchling but the little one cried out nonetheless. The Viking skidded to a stop; the snow spraying everywhere. Good; he should fear her.

"Hiccup?" Stoick called. The Nightmare could hear fear in his tone and smell it coming off of him. Hiccup tried to make himself even smaller than he already was. There was fire surrounding him. The flames licked at him, not close enough to touch, but he could feel the heat and it was unbearable. The snow beneath him was melting and he was pretty sure he wasn't stuck anymore. His clothes were soaked though. If he could just get away from the dragon and back to his dad everything would be alright. Hiccup thought he heard his dad beyond the fire but it was hard to hear over the sound of the flames and the dragon roaring.

The Nightmare wanted to stay lit and pull her hatchling closer but she knew her fire would cause him pain. She could smell his fear. She let her fire die out but kept her flame ready in her mouth and growled a warning at the Viking.

"Hiccup?" The large one called again, she smelled more fear from the Viking. Her hatchling answered with a shaky voice, "Dad?" Even when the fire died the heat remained and Hiccup was closed in, the stuffy air was hard to breathe. He wanted his dad. The dragon growled above him again.

It was then that the Nightmare noticed another scent from the Viking. One that was similar to her hatchling's. The large Viking was connected to her little one. She growled again and drew her wings closer about Hiccup, ignoring his whimper for now. The Viking wanted to take her hatchling! She was not about to lose another one.

Stoick had never felt more relieved than he did when he heard Hiccup's voice. Never had Stoick the Vast been more terrified than when he saw that beast light itself on fire with his son in its clutches. Hiccup may be okay but the Nightmare still had him.

"Dad," Hiccup's small voice called out again, "Dad, I'm scared." He said it so quietly that Stoick could barely hear him. He didn't know what to do, how to fix it. The dragon still had fire power and Stoick couldn't risk making it use that up. He couldn't risk angering the beast further. All he could do was try to calm Hiccup down and keep the Nightmare's attention off of his son.

"It's ok Hiccup, everything will be ok. I need you to stay quiet now, alright? Can you do that?" Stoick still couldn't see the boy because of that cursed wing but he heard the quiet "Yes."

The Nightmare kept growling at Stoick as he started moving forward. Stoick hoped the beast would attack him and leave Hiccup. Instead he watched as his worst nightmare came true: it ignored the Viking and dipped its head between its wings where Hiccup was. Then the Nightmare spread its wings and Stoick could see his son again; the Nightmare had caught the back of Hiccup's vest in its mouth. In one smooth motion she had lifted off the ground pulling Hiccup free of the snow and Stoick had to brace himself against the wind from her wings. The Chief paled, not again. Not Hiccup. Losing Valka had been terrible, but to lose Hiccup. Stoick couldn't even consider what he would do.

Before the dragon got far from the ground, however, Hiccup wiggled free of his too big vest and fell back to the snow with a slight plop. He scrambled to his father's open arms. Stoick knew he should keep an eye on the dragon; that he should fall back to the trees and get away from the beast. But for a moment, just a moment he simply held his trembling son tight and thanked every god he knew that Hiccup was alright. Then, and much too soon, he let go of Hiccup. Stoick steered him through the trees before the Nightmare could attack. Stoick didn't let them stop walking till they were back in their camp. Kneeling in front of his son, Stoick ran his fingers through Hiccup's auburn hair to check for head wounds; dislodging pine needles from earlier and noticing some singed ends. Then he took Hiccup's face in his hands and looked the boy in the eyes, but other than fear and some remnants of tears Stoick saw nothing of concern. He wiped the tear tracks from the boy's round cheeks with his thumbs.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked as he ran his hands down Hiccup's arms then felt the boy's ribs to make sure they were not bruised or broken. Hiccup shook his head. Next thing Stoick knew Hiccup had his little arms round Stoick's neck and was whimpering into his father's shoulder in little gasps. Hesitantly Stoick put his arms around his son and the quiet whimpering turned into sobbing.

"Shhh, Hiccup, it's okay. The dragon's gone. You're safe, shhhh." Stoick rocked slightly where he knelt trying to calm the child, rubbing circles on Hiccup's back. Shivering a bit Hiccup pressed in closer, rubbing his face into Stoick's shoulder. The lad was wet through. Certain that there was nothing physically wrong with Hiccup other than being cold Stoick gave him one more light squeeze before gently pulling the boy off of him. "We need to start a fire, Hiccup. Get you dried off and warm, okay?" Hiccup sniffled and nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Stoick ran his fingers through Hiccup's hair again as he stood. Hiccup followed, kneeding the edge of his father's cloak with both hands, as Stoick started the fire and put some fish he had brought on a stick that he hung over the flames.

His scent was still in the air, faint but there. She could smell his trail; find him as easily as she had been able to find her own hatchlings. The Nightmare lifted her head and filled her lungs with his scent. She got up to follow it. Already she had replaced her lost hatchlings with this one.

Night had fallen as she pushed through the trees. She was agile despite her size and made little noise. The Nightmare heard crackling and smelled a fire; she turned in that direction. There was a flickering light through the trees in a small clearing, Cautiously she moved forward till she could see without being seen.

The snow had all been swept away; she could see the small banks at the edges of the clearing. The large Viking was putting some fish into the fire and the dragon watched curiously until she noticed her hatchling close behind him. Her little one was peeking out from behind the Viking, looking into the trees with big green eyes but the Nightmare knew he couldn't see her. She watched carefully as the Viking took the fish out of the fire and put it aside to cool for a bit before giving one to her hatchling. He then took another one and ate a few pieces; the dragon cocked her head as realization hit: They didn't eat fish raw but put it in fire first. If she wanted to care for her hatchling she would need to know more about how Vikings lived. She realized too that the Viking was a parent; her hatchling's parent. A bit of guilt crept through her at the thought of steeling the hatchling from his parents but she pushed it down. The Nightmare had known mothers who lost their young to steal other hatchlings before; in fact, she hadn't seen any hatchlings since she lost hers. Well, there was one she saw but he belonged to no one and everyone. He had started to avoid her when she began mothering him more and would even call for other adults to make her leave him alone.

Her new hatchling didn't eat, she noticed. Instead he put his fish aside, crawled into his sire's lap, and snuggled in. They were quiet, the Nightmare noted. She had always thought Vikings to be vocal, they were when she saw them in the raids, but these two were quiet. The large Viking held her hatchling steady as he leaned over to pick up the untouched fish.

"Did you even try to eat?" Stoick asked. Hiccup shook his head; Stoick sighed and put the fish into Hiccup's hands, "Eat. At least three bites." The boy started picking at the fish. Stoick had him pulled up close against his chest with his chin resting on Hiccup's head so he could feel each breath his son took. He could also tell that the boy still hadn't taken a single bite.

"Hiccup."

Hiccup started eating. Stoick relaxed against the rock behind him. This had been too much excitement. Dragon raids he could handle, even searching for the nest was tame compared to today. It had been too close. Stoick bent his head to bury his nose in Hiccup's hair. The familiar smell was comforting but the traces of smoke and burned hair prevented Stoick from pretending it hadn't happened; made it too real. He had come so close to losing him. Hiccup put the fish aside again after eating the mandatory three bites. Stoick took a deep breath through his nose and let it out as a sigh, but he held Hiccup a little closer.

The Nightmare watched as her hatchling's sire moved the little one around so he was sitting sideways in his sire's lap and could lean on the Viking's shoulder. The Nightmare cocked her head as she watched the large Viking gently rub circles on her little one's chest. This seemed to calm him, both of them really. Her little one relaxed into his sire and his eyes started to close until he finally fell asleep, his sire still rubbing soothing circles on his chest. Yes, she needed to watch for a while so she could learn to care for her hatchling properly before taking him to her nest.