thisisamazing | aefenglom ic inbox

[Hiccup won't hear it. He doesn't take monetary payment, especially from people who haven't been here as long as he has. He's had time and fortune plenty to be in a good position to offer this kind of help.

When Aziraphale arrives, he lets him into the workshop with a smile, looking a bit tired and smudged with soot, but not terrible yet.] I'm glad, actually- It's, it's nice to be appreciated. I'm pretty proud of this design. [It's lying on the heavy wooden workbench, looking rather like just a hilt right now, the handle wrapped in smooth leather for comfort.

He plucks it up and hands it over handle-first.] Here, try the weight. It should be pretty light. When you press your thumb into the raised metal bit there on the side, the blade will extend.

[Ad press his thumb Aziraphale does. It should be rather obvious from his form that he actually does know how to hold a sword and how to use it, but also how... uncomfortable he is with it, like someone who hasn't forgotten how to ride a bike but is still pretty unsure about it.]

Oh... look at it. It's beautiful, Hiccup. You really do have a talent for this.

[Hiccup gets it, honestly. He's not much of a warrior himself, though he knows how to hold a sword. He usually uses his for defense or practical purposes.

When he presses the button, the slender, sectioned blade slides out to full length, each section fitting into the previous one when withdrawn. Runes are etched into one side of the metal in tidy, blocky script.

He smiles wide, proudly.] I've, uh, I've been apprenticed to the blacksmith back home since I was a kid. It's the only thing I was good at. Here, these runes along the edge are the flame enchantment. You'll have to pour magic into it to charge them every so often, and then it'll light up when you press your thumb here. Give it a try!

[Aziraphale blinks in surprise- Hiccup had mentioned being the Chief, back at the wedding. He'd mentioned how that would mean his wedding would be an spectacle. He's pretty sure that wouldn't be so if being a blacksmith apprentice was the only thing he was good at.

But Hiccup quickly changes the subject, and Aziraphale decides to go with that for now. There will be time for curious questions either- he needs to remember he's one of them now, not someone observing their stories from afar.

And so he concentrates on pouring the magic into the sword. He's pretty new at this, but he's been paying attention in class and that part is pretty simple. And then, with a flick of his thumb, the sword lights up.

And Aziraphale's face is filled with a nostalgic kind of happiness.]

Oh, look at that- quite beautiful, isn't it?

[He's humble to a fault. Also the son of the former Chief. It's not exactly a democratic society.

Really he's way more delighted to talk about his magic and his inventions, and he seems pleased when Aziraphale seems pleased with the flames that dance along the blade.] It's convenient, too. You never have to look for a torch. I know other witches just- you know, make fireballs, but... I've had more control like this. As an enchantment on a physical object. I think I'm just better at those.

Anyway, there's, uh, room on the other side of the blade too, if you ever want to put your own enchantments on it as well.

My own enchantments...

[He sounds a little wistful. He's still extremely new at enchantments, he's only just started classes. And he's... honestly lacking in imagination, so it will probably take a while for him to decide on a spell if he ever does. But he appreciates the chance, anyway.]

Is your blade like this, as well? Did you put more than one enchantment on it?

Not yet, just the fire charm, I'm still- [He grabs for his Inferno, and pops what seems to be an empty metal canister out of the handle.] I'm still working on this. Back home, I'd fill this canister with Hideous Zippleback gas, which is, uh, flammable gas from a species of dragon- So anyway, I could release the gas and ignite it to get enemies to back off. [A laugh.] Conjuring Zippleback gas is, uh, a lot harder than just making fire.

[He raises an eyebrow, amused.] For someone who claims you were only a blacksmith apprentice you sure know a lot about weapons.

Did you have to fight often? Against dragons, perhaps, since you mention them a lot?

Well, you know, vikings, we uh, we know weapons. [He's a pacifist but that does not mean his village was always that way.] I'm not an apprentice anymore, either, I'm- I'm way too old for that. [Despite the babyface, he is 21.

Hiccup laughs, awkwardly, and rubs at the back of his head.] Weeeell, that's a funny story, actually...

[Here is where Toothless pokes his head around through the open door, ear fins standing up curiously, sniffing the air.]

Aziraphale, this is, uh. This is Toothless. My dragon. We, um, used to fight dragons, but not anymore.

Oh.

[And then, a little louder, and obviously rather excited at the prospect:] Oh! Oh, that's quite lovely! Hello, Toothless!

[Aziraphale all but rushes towards the black dragon after putting the sword away, stopping himself sort of reaching out to pet him. Reptiles don't usually like that, he knows that from fraternizing with a certain snake for thousands of years.]

You don't fight them anymore, then?

Edited (wording) 2019-09-29 20:01 (UTC)

[Toothless gets a look on his face that almost resembles 'Oh no what are you doing', head shifting back as he gives Aziraphale rushing toward him a 'look'. Where are your manners, funny human, you must present hand for nose boops!

Hiccup stifles a laugh as Toothless' gaze flicks from one of them to the other, nodding subtly that this guy is cool, man.] Not for the last six years. Berk is a certified dragon-viking utopia. He, uh, he likes being scratched under the chin. Put your hand out first, let him come to you.

[Toothless just lets out a gutteral purr, leaning in a little now, sniffing curiously.]

[And offer his hand he does, grinning and wiggling a little bit in excitement. He'd have kept his hands to himself if Hiccup had told him he didn't like being petted, but he's definitely not going to say no to the chance to pet a dragon.]

So you went from hunting them to an 'utopia'? That's quite a switch. Do you mind if I ask what changed?

[After a moment more silent communication, Toothless leans forward, bumps his nose against Aziraphale's hand. Hiccup beams a little wider, stroking the dragon's smooth scales.]

Toothless showed us we were wrong. Most importantly, he changed my father's mind about- about everything. About dragons, about our ancestors' war with them, about me. Everything got better after we took out the queen that had been making them raid us for food to take back to her nest. Lost my leg, but I got a date! [The last part is a joke, accompanied with a wide spread of his hands.]

Edited 2019-10-07 17:11 (UTC)

[He's petting a dragon! An actual dragon is letting him pet him and look at all those scales... this is a dream come true. He wishes he were better with his watch thing so he could take a picture to share with-

Well. Crowley isn't here, but still.]

Animals are wonderful creatures. I'm glad you managed to find the reason they were raiding you for food, it sounds like becoming friends was pretty beneficial for both of you. Does everyone in your village have a dragon now?

[Hiccup motions with one hand that Aziraphale should scratch beneath Toothless' chin, grinning. A person's first dragon encounter is always magical to watch, somehow. He'll never get tired of this, showing the world how amazing dragons really are.]

Well, Berk is more dragon than viking nowadays, but- it's good. It's good. [His expression falls, a little.] We're rescuing a lot of dragons from trappers these days. People who use dragons as tools of war, and lock them in cages, and abuse them. That's- That's why I carry a sword at all. Why I built Inferno. The flames can calm down a scared dragon, and setting fires is- well, it's big and flashy, and damages the trappers' equipment without hurting them too badly. It's usually on ships, so they just jump overboard.

[Aziraphale nods, rather impressed. Hiccup speaks like a warrior who's had years- generations, even to plan the kind of peaceful attacks he's talking about, instead of the few years he's talking about ever since they adopted the dragons as their pets instead of enemies to fight.

It looks like his 'apprenticeship' actually helped make him a better warrior.

Also currently in Aziraphale's mind as he follows Hiccup's advice on where to scratch:: Who's a good dragon? Who's a good dragon?]

I'm sorry to hear that other people don't take such good care of their dragons. And I'm also glad that Toothless here also appeared here with you, you would probably have missed him terribly if he weren't.

I never had a pet, myself.

[Less a warrior and more someone who just stumbled into this life blindly. He wouldn't trade it for anything, even though he's struggled in the past.

Toothless is just enjoying the scritches. Eventually he flops over onto his back, one back leg kicking the air idly, tongue lolling out of his gummy mouth.]

Yeah, he's- he's my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without him. [Besides probably go back to being Hiccup the Useless.] Never? What kind of place do you come from? If- you know, you don't mind answering. It's- it's interesting, how different the other worlds past the mirrors are from mine.

[Hiccup and Aziraphale could form the self-esteem issues club, apparently, but at least now they've got something else to focus on. Because Toothless rolling over with its tongue lolling out is probably the cutest thing he's seen in this place. And so, in the face of such adversity what is Aziraphale to do but give him even more scritches?]

Oh, no- pets existed in my world. I lived in a city called London, perhaps you've heard of it? I've found it seems to be in a few different worlds.

But I just... well. I owned a bookshop, you see? And even when I was tempted I was always afraid a pet would ruin my books.

I haven't, but nobody here has heard of Berk or the Barbaric Archipelago either. I might just be the odd one out. [Hiccup laughs quietly.] But we've got dragons, and not many other people I've spoken to can say that about their worlds.

You owned a bookshop? That sounds amazing! [He is truly a nerd.] How big was it? Did you have a lot of books? I've only seen some of the ones here, in Aefenglom, since we don't, uh, have those back home. Everyone just kind of shares what books we have.

Not that big! [He assures him, a dismissing movement with his hand. It was... just as big as it was supposed to be, as big as it needed to be to fit all the books Aziraphale kept on buying and never run out of space.]

Everyone just sharing what books they have sounds like a dream if you ask me. But I specialized in old, collector books so I was a little reluctant to share the books I had.

I do really miss my bookstore... [Talking about his books is probably the closest he sounds to homesick.]

Well, we uh, we didn't have a lot of books, so. [He laughs sheepishly, waving a hand vaguely.] The Book of Dragons, a couple of histories about Berk... That's about it. [There are a couple more now, but they're mostly about dragons and written by himself and Fishlegs.

He catches that hint of homesickness, though, and offers a sympathetic smile.] It must be hard to be away from it. It sounds really incredible, I wish I could see it.

Oh, dear.

[He doesn't judge, every world is its own world and books do not make a society more advanced just by virtue of having them. He's seen enough cultures come and go to know that much. But he spends most of his time taking care of books, finding new books, reading about books- and yes, indeed, reading the books themselves, so he'd definitely miss them if he were to end up in a world like Hiccup's.

On the other hand: Dragons! Dragons that you can scratch under their chin if they let you. He wonders if they are all as fantastically adorable as Toothless or if Hiccup just got lucky.]

I wish you could see it, too. Certainly nothing as wonderful as our little friend here, but still, I thought it was something to behold. People kept trying to buy them, though. It was most annoying.

[Unfortunately, Toothless is one of a kind, in a lot of ways Hiccup is pretty sure. Even if there were other Night Furies, none of them would be quite like his friend here.]

Hey, dragons and books can both be amazing! They're- you know, they're my favorite things. [He laughs.] If it was a book shop, wasn't the point to sell books? Or was it- more like the, uh, the libraries here? Where you just go to read them?

[He could lie and say yes to the latter. He could pretend that was the plan all along. But he's never been good at lying and he's aware of it, so he decides it's probably better not to try. Hiccup has been nothing but nice to him so far, so:]

I was supposed to sell them, indeed. And I was read to, when I first opened the bookshop! I was excited about it, even. But then...

Well. I got a tad too attached to the books themselves.

[The laughter that Hiccup bursts into isn't mocking at all, or ill-spirited in any way. If anything, it's sympathetic, understanding. He gets it. He does. He loves books too, if not as much as he loves dragons and dragon-riding.]

Well, I can't say I blame you. If I had that many books, I'd- you know, I'd be pretty reluctant to let them go too.

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