"We should have been there hours ago! All I see is water and ice." Hiccup complained to his two animal companions. The three were a good way out at sea, and was—according to the map—extremely close to the northern Watertribe. The only problem was that they couldn't find the place. "I think we might've taken a wrong turn." He thought out loud. But he was so sure, and it shouldn't be possible! They were literally out at sea with water all around them. It was even filled with big cubes of ice! The stupid place should've been right around the nonexistent corner! Hiccup groaned for what probably was about the hundredth time that hour. How could he get lost like that? It was downright humiliating.
Sharpshot climbed up to sit on his shoulder, laying down almost as is he was a scarf. Hiccup wasn't sure if he was trying to cheer him up or just wanted to sleep but it worked for both nonetheless.
Still, he had no idea where to go. Maybe they should just turn back. They hadn't been flying for too long, so it shouldn't be a real problem. They could ask for directions and try again. There was a tiny error in his plan however. He wasn't sure what way was back.
Hiccup, being very busy with his map, didn't notice the strange boat that came sailing towards him, but his bison friend did. The sudden stop made Hiccup fall on his face. He sat up, trying to figure out why they weren't flying anymore. The bison lowered herself into the water, which made Hiccup even more confused. "Hey, girl, why did we stop?" He asked while turning around. "Oh..." he said when he saw the boat.
"Who dares enter Watertribe waters?" An older looking man with lots of furs came up to the tip of the boat. He had a spear with him.
Their boats always fascinated Hiccup. They were very long and had no mast. 'Basically just a lot of wood driven by Waterbenders' Hiccup thought to himself with a smile.
"My name is Hiccup. I, uh, come in peace?" He answered awkwardly. "I actually just wanted to visit, I guess. I've been here before." He told them honestly. No use in lying, right? Might as well be on good terms with them.
The men started talking, but it wasn't directed to Hiccup. They were whispering amongst themselves. Hiccup didn't mind, he knew they just wanted to make sure he wasn't lying or something.
And that's when he got confused once again on that fine day. There were no women on the boat only men. It not only confused him, but it was also frustrating to him. Were females still not allowed to fight? If not, why? That was a rule Hiccup never understood. It was dumb and very much old school.
In the end, it seemed one of the men recognized him. It took them some time too, and even though Hiccup was a patient guy normally, he got a little bored in the end.
The older man, the same who first talked to him, turned his head to look at him. "We will lead you. Come." He commanded, and the Waterbender started bending the boat through the water. Hiccup and his two animal friends followed.
The Waterbenders never said anything on the way back to their tribe. Not to Hiccup, at least. He wasn't sure if they were talking to each other at some point.
-0-
When the big walls finally came into view, Hiccup was in awe. Everything looked much bigger than he remembered, and he was younger the last time he was there. The carvings in the ice looked beautiful and very well made. People were standing all around them, looking at Hiccup like they'd never seen an Airbender before. It could of course just be the bison they were looking at, but Hiccup was still speechless.
The men on the boat all moved to the very tip. Hiccup took notice of their movements as the wall opened to let them inside.
And oh boy, if Hiccup thought the outside was amazing the inside was beyond words. Even more people were looking at them, heads sticking out from behind buildings and children pointing in their direction, their parents telling them to behave. Hiccup smiled. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live there.
People kept coming, wanting to see what all the noise was about. Hiccup felt a little uncomfortable. All eyes were on him, and he couldn't see any face he remembered. He was almost afraid of doing something terribly wrong.
Hiccup waved back to some kids who waved to him. It was kinda funny to see the different reactions. The younger kids seemed to want to jump over to him and talk with him. The grown ups seemed to not know what to think. Hiccup could totally understand that. It wasn't every day some boy came riding into the tribe on a bison, since the Airbenders didn't visit the Watertribes often anymore. Or he didn't think it happened that often, at least.
He looked around trying to spot the chief. It wasn't easy, but he did find him. "Chief Oswald!" Hiccup yelled.
The chief looked him over for a second before smiling in recognition . "If it isn't little Hiccup. How have you been?" Oswald asked.
"I've been pretty good, what about you?" Hiccup said. With a bit of air, he jumped the 10 meters from the bison and over to chief Oswald, better known as Oswald the agreeable. The crowd gasped at the strange display of bending. So they hadn't seen an Airbender in action before? Huh.
"I've been great." The chief answered. "What are you doing out here?" He questioned.
Hiccup shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, you know, just visiting."
"In that case, WELCOME, to the northern Watertribe!"
-0-
The big throne room was deadly silent despite the many people in there. Every single person in there were waiting, and none knew why. It was unnerving.
The guards and servants were bowing. They did not want to get on the bad side of their ruler, their queen.
However, one person wasn't doing anything. He was standing with a straight back, hands behind him. He had his lowered a bit, but his eyes never left the person sitting on the throne.
"You've disappointed me, Dagur. I thought you were better than this." Even though the voice belonged to a woman, it wasn't feminine at all. It was deep and raspy, almost enough to sound like it was a male talking. The flames around her made her look intimidating, her large shape but a shadow. Her face was disguised.
Dagur, prince of the Fire Nation, said nothing. He wanted to scream and yell, but he was not allowed. It would without a doubt bring him a lot of pain, something he would rather not have happen.
The woman on the throne chuckled sarcastically. "This was not what I imagined when I took you in. Your actions are a disgrace, and I cannot have that kind of actions in my Nation, can I?" She asked, not because she wanted an answer, but because she wanted to prove a point.
Dagur starred at her, trying to find her eyes. It was impossible, and he knew she probably wasn't even looking at him. With her every word his face consorted into and angry scowled. He wanted to kick or punch something or someone, maybe ruin their face with a bit of Firebending.
The woman hummed. "My army is getting ready to sail to the Air Temples. My shaman had a vision. She says the Avatar isn't there at the moment." She told Dagur darkly, not pleased with the situation. "When my men get back, I want you out there. You will find the Avatar and bring him to me. This is your chance to prove yourself, Dagur. Do not test me."
Dagur nodded shortly.
"Good." She said. "Dismissed."
Dagur nodded again and turned around to walk out of the ridiculously big read doors. Two guards were standing there, waiting for him to get a bit closer. They opened for him and bowed while he walked out, not saying anything in fear.
He walked a couple of steps down the long hall before stopping. He looked up at the celling, clenched his fists and screamed. Oh, he would prove himself alright. His 'mother' would be ashamed of ever looking down at him. He grinned a started walking again, not looking back once.
-0-
"It was a surprise to find you riding in on your bison in the middle of the day, I'll tell you that." Oswald laughed heartily while eating a bit of seal jerky. He invited Hiccup to join him for supper, and Hiccup couldn't resist. "People came running in, telling me about an intruder and his monster."
Oswald's daughter, Heather, was also eating with them. She was listening to her father, laughing along and smiling.
Hiccup shook his head. "Well, I weren't expecting that many people either, so we're even." He told Oswald with a smile. Hiccup could see Heather looking at him through the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything about it.
"It is nice to have you here again, boy." Oswald said, also smiling. "Do you have anywhere to stay? If not I want you to know that you're welcome to stay with me." The man looked at Hiccup.
Hiccup's smiled even bigger. Oswald was always a very thoughtful man. "That would be lovely, sir."
Oswald snorted and looked almost offended at the last comment. "Sir? Sir!" He said with mock offense and wide eyes. "I don't know why you suddenly feel the need to call me sir. My name is fine, thank you very much."
"Okay." Hiccup smirked but didn't say anything else for a while. Just before Oswald took another bite of his food, Hiccup decided to strike. "Sir." He said. Oswald food ended up on the floor.
-0-
I'm debating if the Fire Nation should attack later on( while Hiccup is still in the Watertribe ).
Or be attacking when Hiccup gets back there( like in The Book Of Bending ). If so, it'd probably be after he accidentally Waterbends. Because, you know, he don't want to... Have I said too much? Nah.
Anyone noticed how I switched the roles between Heather and Dagur? Let's have a little history lesson, shall we?
Their parents were different kinds of benders. Their mother was a Firebender and father a Waterbender. Dagur can Firebender, Heather can't bend. I'm not sure she'll be a big part of this story either to be honest. Probably won't even join the gang. In book one. *wink wink* if you've wondered why I changed the name, now you know.
Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this story so far.