Work Text:
Viggo’s landing is less than graceful as his Monstrous Nightmare friend lands in the open area; he nearly slides off her back when she comes down, stumbling to his feet, but he rights himself before he falls completely, so he supposes that counts for something; he’s just thankful to be alive, truthfully, especially considering it took them a few tries to even fly at all.
(The Monstrous Nightmare clearly was not used to having riders on her back, but she was determined to keep trying to get the hang of it, growling every time Viggo attempted to get off and trying once again. Viggo didn’t count how many times it took for her to get used to the new weight before she wasn’t immediately crashing into the ground, and she had looked quite proud of herself once they were steadily in the air. And then Viggo had to direct her on where to go, which had set about an entirely new challenge, but apparently this dragon was incredibly stubborn to get things done right.
Viggo hasn’t yet figured out if that’s a good thing for his health or not, but they made it in one piece, so maybe he shouldn’t complain… not too much, anyway.)
The dragon looks quite amused at his behaviour now (Viggo thinks so, anyway. How Hiccup understood dragon body language was beyond him) but she doesn’t do anything more than shake her body to relax and look around the island in open curiosity.
Unimpressed, she looks at Viggo and makes a questioning noise, and Viggo chuckles. A nameless island is a perfect location for their rendezvous, but to a mere dragon this small spot of land in the open ocean was probably barely fit for a fully grown dragon, especially one of her size.
“I am to meet a… a friend here soon,” Viggo explains, feeling once again foolish at the notion that this dragon could understand his words, but he hadn’t been able to stop since she had saved Viggo in the cave days earlier. If nothing else, the Nightmare was a patient listener, and it soothed Viggo just a little. It had been quite some time since anyone willingly listened to him…
It was nice.
He immediately discards that thought with a loud scoff, “Who am I? A year ago I wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you and here I am, talking to a dragon and enjoying her company.”
The Nightmare tilts her head at Viggo and chortles, and Viggo finds himself agreeing with the sentiment, whatever it might mean.
He sighs, turning to face the dragon head on, and bows in reverence, “Thank you for bringing me here, dragon, but I believe this is where we should part.”
The Nightmare blinks, and doesn’t move.
Viggo stands up straight again and frowns, “I’ll be going on a dangerous mission now,” He explains. “And it would only be putting you in unwanted danger. The Hunters surely won’t hesitate to kill you.”
It doesn’t skip his mind that he was once that person; he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill this dragon in cold blood had they met when Viggo’s life wasn’t in danger and he hadn’t lost everything.
He wonders if that’s, ultimately, what changed him: nothing to his name except a sword, his wits and a dragon being the only soul on Midgard who likes him. Ironic.
The dragon huffs a hot breath, close enough to breathe her hot smoke onto Viggo’s front, who steps back in surprise. Clearly the Monstrous Nightmare was not, in fact, trying to hurt him like his instincts screamed, but instead staking her claim: she wasn’t going anywhere.
Viggo sighs heavily, shakes his head in mild amusement and pulls out the Maces and Talons piece he’d been carrying.
Incredibly stubborn dragon, it seems.
“I suppose we’ll be having yet another Accomplice with us, hm?” Viggo murmurs, smiling back at the dragon and clutching the piece tightly in his fingers. “Suit yourself, dragon, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Then, he gets to work.
-
He feels the familiar call of a Night Fury’s as the sun is well over the horizon, the sky having darkened with a flash of orange over the sky. The Nightmare perks at the sound but seems intimidated by it slightly, hunching down as if to hide herself a little better. Without thinking, Viggo reaches out and gently rubs under the dragon's chin to calm her down, and is surprised momentarily when it has the desired effect.
“It’s alright, they’re the friends I told you about,” Viggo whispers.
Hopefully they are, anyway.
He doesn’t walk into view until he hears the heavy thumps of Toothless walking, and judging by the lack of Hiccup’s audible prosthetic, he hasn’t dismounted Toothless yet either.
Smart boy.
He sees the shadow of the dragon come into view, and Hiccup says something of caution, before the dragon undoubtedly spots the Maces and Talons piece lying innocently on the stone tablet Viggo had found.
“The Accomplice. One of the most important pieces in all of Maces & Talons, allowing a player to use an opponent's piece for their own ends.”
Both Toothless and Hiccup turn sharply towards him and, unsurprisingly, don’t look all too happy to see him. Toothless growls and Viggo shudders to himself; he hopes this works.
“You can certainly win without it, but with it, you can attain total victory.”
He would know; it’s rare he uses this piece, and often enough it’s to toss it away for his own gains.
Tonight though, that wouldn’t be happening.
As soon as Viggo spots the telling purple glow emanating from Toothless throat, preparing to blast him to pieces no doubt, he steps aside to reveal the Monstrous Nightmare behind him, hoping it’ll be enough to dispel Toothless from firing.
Thankfully, it does, although the Night Fury seems to be in a small amount of pain from having to swallow his own fire. The Nightmare hisses behind him and Viggo holds up a hand to stop her from attacking, who does as asked, before he looks back to Hiccup hesitantly, “Stand down. I don't want to fight.”
Hiccup doesn’t look pleased, “Yeah, I figured it was you.”
Smart, smart boy.
-
“Have you named her?”
“Hm?” Viggo perks, looking up from the fire to Hiccup. The Berkian still looks hesitant to be there, but he was preoccupying himself with the Nightmare presence, and that seemed to relax the heir.
“Oh… no, I hadn’t considered,” Viggo admits. “I thought she would leave me here to handle you myself; I assumed she wouldn’t want to stay.”
“Well… a name is a good place to start on establishing a bond. Although, you two clearly have that already… if she wanted to stay with you,” Hiccup admits with a sceptical smile.
The thought gives Viggo pause, because he hadn’t considered that either. The Monstrous Nightmare had saved him, sure, but she wanted to stay… for him? Why- Because she liked him? If she wanted to eat him surely he would be gone already, and he provided no other purpose; in fact, he’d only weighed her down and caused her grief, if anything.
This dragon stayed… because she liked him?
“...Everything I’ve known about dragons… has been wrong.” He says, voice dangerously soft with the admission.
At the words, the Nightmare decides she’s done with her head in Hiccup’s lap and ambles over to Viggo, creeping closer with her head to the ground, eyes solely on the fish he’s cooking up. Viggo can’t help but laugh, startling him out of his thoughts, “You wait your turn, you. It’s rude to eat before guests.”
The Nightmare doesn’t seem happy but doesn’t push further, getting herself comfortable on the ground and instead entertains herself by watching the fire, eye flicking back and forth between Viggo and to the fish he’s cooking.
“I never knew Monstrous Nightmares had a taste for cooked fish,” Viggo admits, hoping to break the awkward silence even slightly.
Hiccup offers an encouraging smile, seemingly suddenly more relaxed now, “They tend to burn their fish if they try to cook it with their fire, so she probably likes yours since you cook it just right.”
Viggo hums in consideration. He catches Toothless’ eye, and then throws the fish to him, who catches it effortlessly, licking his chops happily after eating.
The Nightmare moans.
Viggo smiles, reaching for another raw fish from the basket. “I haven’t forgotten about you, my friend: you’re next.”
The Nightmare perks up at the words in utter excitement, and Hiccup laughs, “Oh yeah, she definitely likes your fish.”
“Have you heard of Romaborg?”
Hiccup gives him a look. “It rings a bell.”
Viggo hums, unsurprised; Hiccup was a Heir to Chiefdom after all. “The people there believe in different Gods than we do… as a child my grandfather used to tell me about them. Admittedly I do not remember much of what he tried to teach me, I was never as interested as he was. But… I remember a story of Sol, who was known as the personification of the Sun.”
“Like… Sól?”
“Precisely. I was absolutely fascinated about how similar yet entirely different the stories could be.”
Viggo looks to the Nightmare now, and takes her horn gently in hand, rubbing along the grooves with his thumb. The Nightmare coos in delight, getting another smile from Viggo; his cheeks were beginning to hurt, an unfamiliar feeling.
He never imagined a dragon would bring him such peace, such… happiness.
…Maybe he can get used to this.
“Yes, I think Sól fits you quite well.”