thisisamazing | aefenglom ic inbox

[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.

Right?

[He smiles at Hiccup, still a little sheepishly. He does feel a little guilty at how many books he hoarded, how hard it was for him to let go of them, and the lengths he went to to keep people from buying them. He knows selfishness is a sin he indulged in a tad too often.]

What kind of books would you like to read? I could keep an eye out. I must repeat the favor somehow, after all.

[The smile he shoots back says he definitely understands the feeling.] Well, uh. I like- engineering. Inventions and technology. So, anything like that I guess, but I'd honestly love to read anything.

So do I! But in my case, books on prophecies and the like were my favorites, back home. I just found something amazingly interesting in seeing what people thought the future would be. Particularly when they got it right.

[He smiles at Hiccup.] Engineering is not quite my thing, but I will do my best to find books on the subject.

What kind of prophecies? From how long ago? We don't really- have anything like that. Gothi, sometimes, our village healer, but I'm not- you know, convinced that she's really predicting the future. [She's the old viking shaman, basically. All of that and healing are mystical mumbo jumbo to Hiccup.]

Oh, that's alright if you can't. There are still lots of other things I'd love to learn about.

Oh, all kinds! Usually religious in nature since those are the ones that tend to survive the longest but not exclusively. Basically, if someone claimed to know the future and wrote about it... I did my best to procure a copy for my little bookshop.

The little place I choose to live in is quite smile, and that was my own choice, but I won’t hesitate to fill it with books, trust me. i'd say you can visit any time but- [He laughs as he looks at Toothless.] I think this little dear would have a tad too much fun with my books, wouldn't he?

How many would you say were right? [He laughs, not entirely believing in prophecy as a real thing. He never was very religious or spiritual for a viking.

It turns a little sheepish as he looks at Toothless.] Oh, don't worry, he's- you know, he's very well-behaved. But if I do stop by I can leave him at the barracks, at my friend's place.

Oh, it depends. Some were mostly- well, poppycock, if you'll forgive my language. Others were quite accurate. Only one, Agnes Nutter's book of prophecies was precise and exact in its prophecies at all times.

[Aziraphale seems to have found Toothless' favorite spot and he keeps scratching at it with gusto- he loves animals of all kinds, there's a reason he kept talking about them while trying to convince Warlock all creatures were worthy of love.]

I suppose that means I'll have to come visit myself if I want to see him, hm? I'd miss this lovely creature already. You're obviously taking very good care of it.

Really? How- Was it magic? Like, like divination? I tried sitting in on a divination class and it all sounded like yak dung to me, but maybe I'm just not getting it- [Hiccup honestly doesn't excel at the more mental schools of magic. It's much easier for him to grasp things like enchantment, things with physical ties, because his world is very physical.

Toothless is delighted, limp as a ragdoll except for the back leg pedaling aimlessly in the air. He has the time of his life in a place like this. All the attention he could ever want.]

You're welcome any time. But, you know, if you don't want to make the trip, we're at the Coven a lot too- they, uh, they don't mind him roaming the grounds anymore.

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