Ch5: Target Practice

Hiccup took a deep breath while adjusting his clothes once again, for that he especially didn't want to embarrass himself by tripping on his own fur cloak, even though he was wearing it properly from the back. He turned around to face Toothless, and then the Viking could easily tell from the dragon's face that he knew the boy was worrying too much, and he should just sit down and relax with all of the time he had left to himself.

"Bud, I know what you're thinking, but I'm sure that if you were in my position, you wouldn't be feeling so calm the whole time, because what's about to happen for me is such a big deal!" Hiccup said.

Just right after he said that, Hiccup realized that he was actually getting a little too stressed out, and so he took another deep breath, but he still knew this day had a big event that's been planned for many weeks. This event happened to be none other than Hiccup's wedding to Astrid, for which the ceremony would take place at a clearing somewhere in the forest, while the reception would be held in the Great Hall back in the village. The clearing chosen for the ceremony wasn't exactly the same one where Toothless and Hiccup's friendship began, because Hiccup had insisted on the location of that clearing be only known by him, his dragon, and soon-to-be wife.

"On second thought, buddy, you're right," Hiccup said, while walking closer to Toothless. "This is something that Astrid has wanted, and I want it too. I mean, it's not like either of us are going to get cold feet when we're at the altar, right?" He asked.

Toothless only gave a shrug to his friend, before turning his head to the stairs and baring his teeth, as he could hear somebody going up each of the steps, but the dragon soon relaxed right when he saw that it was just Hiccup's father who appeared.

"Uh-huh," Hiccup said in a cocky manner. "So it seems like I'm not the only one who needs to relax around here, but Toothless, you don't have to look out for me whenever I'm at home, although it's still nice of you to do that." Hiccup added.

"Hey, son, I hope that I wasn't interrupting anything, now was I?" Stoick asked, with a slightly worried look on his face, while coming off the stairs, entering into Hiccup's room, but saw Hiccup immediately shaking his head towards him.

"Oh no, Dad, you weren't," Hiccup said, before turning his head to face his friend. "Me and Toothless were just in panic mode about two different things, but it's all over now." He explained, as he rested a hand on top of the dragon's head.

"So anyway, how do I look?" Hiccup asked, as he took a few steps forward and did a full body turn quickly, since his attire wedding was pretty simple, with it being his green tunic and pants, but also wearing a fur cloak instead of a fur vest.

"Like how the son of the chief to this village should be dressed properly when he's getting married." Stoick answered, now having a grin on his bearded face. "Everyone's made it to the clearing you chose, so are you ready to go now?" He asked.

"Yes, I am, and I assume that Astrid will be making her entrance after I've made it down there too, because I'm sure it would be bad luck to see her before the wedding actually happens, right?" Hiccup questioned,

"That's right, son, it would be," Stoick replied. "I remember following that same rule when I married your mother, and I'm sure that if she were still here, she would be very proud of you, just like I am." He added.

"Thanks, dad, that really means a lot to me," Hiccup said, before wrapping his arms halfway around the stomach of his father, who returned the affection by wrapping one arm around his son's back, while also rubbing Hiccup's head with a hand.

"Hey, stop it, dad, you're gonna ruin my hair, not that it looks bad right now, and besides the only way it could be ruined was if it got soaked, or worse, burned." Hiccup mentioned.

"Sorry, son, I guess that I got carried away, so I probably think that it's time for us to go now, because we wouldn't want to keep anyone waiting, right?" Stoick asked.

"Yes, of course, but first, I just need to get the rings I made for me and Astrid to give each other," Hiccup said, before walking over and opening up the drawer that was near his wooden bed.

In the days ahead of the wedding, Hiccup took a trip to the blacksmith, so that he could forge a pair of silver rings, with each of them having an intricate design of the phrase 'Always & Forever' in Viking runes.

"So, dad, what do you think," Hiccup asked, while showing him the message from one of the rings. "You cannot imagine how long it took for me to get it done properly on both of these things, but I just hope that Astrid will like it."

"Like it? With that kind of message, son, I'm pretty sure that she'll love it, and the love you two have for each other will last exactly what it says on those rings you made for one another." Stoick replied, with a grin on his face.

"Wow, dad, you sure are being a lot more sentimental to me than usual, but not I think that's a bad thing or anything, because I really don't mind it at all." Hiccup said.

"It's your wedding day, son, so I suggest that you get used to it, because I'm probably going to be this way right until you and Astrid. . .you know." Stoick responded, while raising both of his eyebrows at Hiccup.

At first, Hiccup didn't understand what his father was referring to exactly, and then he quickly thought about what happens for a newly married couple, when after both the ceremony and celebrations were over. . .

"Ohh, right, dad, now I know what you mean, but there's no need for you to give me 'the talk', because I think that we've already had it like last week." Hiccup reminded.

"I agree, and you're a smart kid, so I'm sure that you remember everything I've told you, so I don't think that I'll have to go over any part of it again." Stoick said, as he let Hiccup go first in walking down the stairs.

"That's such a relief," Hiccup said, but stopped, and turned to face his father." Wait, isn't there supposed to be like a sword exchange for me and Astrid to do during the ceremony?" He asked.

"Yes, son, that's right, and if you take a look over at the dinner table, you'll see the sword that belonged to your great grandfather, the one that you will entrust Astrid with yout life." Stoick answered.

Just when he came off the last step of the stairway, Hiccup turned and walked toward the dinner table, to find his ancestor's sword looking all shiny and polished, as if it had came from the forge.

"Wow, so this sword was used by my great grand uncle," Hiccup said, as he slowly picked it up by from the hilt and carried it over to his father. "Dad, maybe it's better if you hold this until we're at the clearing." He suggested.

"I understand, son, because you wouldn't want to give me, or even yourself a cut by accident," Stoick advised, as he took the sword from his son's hands. "Now then, let's head down to your wedding, shall we?" The chief asked.

Hiccup simply replied to that by giving a nod of his head, and so with the rings still in his hand, and Toothless ready to follow, the three of them all walked out of the house, with Stoick closing the front door of the house behind him.

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The Viking had been resting peacefully against his dragon's stomach, while dreaming of a moment with his father on his possible wedding day, when he could smell fresh fish, but he still didn't move, until he felt something hit him on the face.

"Oww, what the-" Hiccup began, as his eyes shot open, but quickly stopped himself from saying anything more when he saw that his face was in close contact with an arrow.

"Rise and shine', sleepyhead," Merida said, before moving the bow and arrow away from Hiccup's face. "It's time for ye to have yer first archery lesson!" She announced.

"First of all, would you please watch where you're aiming that thing," Hiccup replied, as he got himself up. "I mean, you could have poked my eye out!" He added.

"Well, I didn't, and then it would've been pointless for ye to even take up archery, but first, could ye wake up yer dragon, because I caught some fish for him." Merida mentioned.

"Hey, Toothless, can you please wake up," Hiccup said, while softly touching the Night Fury's nose. "Our friend has brought us fish to have this morning." Hiccup added.

"Actually, Hiccup, I caught fish for ye dragon, and for him only, because if ye want some too, then ye'll have to catch it on yer own after the lesson." Merida requested.

"Seriously," Hiccup was totally prepared to argue with the redhead, but decided that doing so wouldn't change her mind. "Alright, then let's get this lesson over with."

Right after he said that, Hiccup did a quick look around to see that Toothless was awake and had already eaten the fish that Merida was kind enough to catch for him.

"Come with us, bud, because you'll get to watch me learn how to use a bow and arrow, and if I get good enough, then I'll be able to catch a fish for you." Hiccup explained.

From hearing all of that, Toothless quickly ran up to his best friend's side, and so the two of them, along with Merida and her horse walked to an area in the forest with a lot of space for Hiccup to practice. Merida took a look around until she spotted a straw-stuffed target hanging in one of the trees, and luckily the target wasn't that far or high from them, nor did it have any of Merida's arrows still left on it.

"Hey, Hiccup, I've found a spot that's perfect for ye to work on yer archery," Merida said, just as she took off her bow from her back, and then placed an arrow into her bow.

"Now, which hand do ye use often, yer left or right, because that will be the hand needed to hold the bow, and ye'll have to use yer other hand to pull the bowstring back." Merida explained, while showing Hiccup with her bow.

"I'm left-handed, Merida, but is there anything else that I need to know first before I use it?" Hiccup asked, because he didn't want to shoot an arrow without knowing all the important things.

"Oh, that reminds me! Since this is going to be yer first time doin' archery, then ye'll need to wear this," Merida answered, before putting one of her hands into the left sleeve of her dark-blue dress.

Hiccup saw the girl pull out some kind of brace looking object that he's never seen before in Berk, but if it always helped Merida with a bow and arrow, then it should manage to be a big help for him too.

"This is called an arm guard, and ye have to put it on the arm that's goin' to hold the bow, because if ye don't, then yer arm will keep gettin' slapped by the bowstring, and it'll end up bein' awfully skinned." Merida clarified.

"That's good to know, because I'm definitely gonna wear it for this," Hiccup said, and as soon as the redhead held out the arm guard, he kindly took it from out of her hand, and placed it onto his left arm.

"There are a few other things that could help ye out, like a finger tab, bowlin', and a quiver, but I left them back at the castle, and I don't really think that ye'll need them as much as the arm guard." Merida mentioned.

"Alright, so tell me, what's the next thing that I do?" Hiccup asked, while he began to think shortly of maybe telling the people in Berk all about archery when he got back, and how it could be able to help them out around the village.

Merida handed the bow over to him before speaking again. "What ye need to do next is hold the bow with yer left hand, point yer left shoulder to the target, and handle the arrow that ye'll be using with yer right hand." She instructed.

From hearing all of that, Hiccup did each step that he heard from the girl, and even though the steps weren't quite too hard, Hiccup was impressed that he got them right so quickly, but didn't think it was necessary to say any cocky comments.

"So far, so good, and the next step is for ye to point the bow towards the ground, then place the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest, but since ye've never done this before, I'll show ye what to do." Merida said, before coming in front of Hiccup.

The Viking suddenly felt his heart beat a little faster, with also his skin flushing and heating up at the same time, when he saw the redhead come down to the level of his crotch. Even though Merida was only helping him out with the arrow, Hiccup couldn't help but feel flustered at the position she was in with him, especially since they had just met last night.

Despite the fact that he wasn't officially engaged, he still had a girlfriend, who happened to be waiting back at his home many miles away, and she was also the reason why he went on this trip. Before he goes back to Berk, Hiccup still had to decide if whether him and Astrid should take the next step in their relationship and become husband and wife, so he couldn't ever forget about that.

"Hello, Hiccup, can ye hear me, or did yer mind wander off into another world, or somethin'?" Merida asked, hoping that the boy would come out of his trance right away.

When it didn't happen after five seconds of time had passed, Merida came up to bring her face to Hiccup's face, and then she made a very big clap, using both of her hands. Luckily, the clap had managed to be loud enough to snap Hiccup out of it, as he blinked his eyes for a few times, while shaking his head to forget about what he was thinking.

"Oh, Merida, I'm sorry, but I was just thinking about something in my head again, and it's not really important, so we can get back to the lesson right now." Hiccup said.

"Well, there's something that I wanted to show ye first before we continue the lesson, and if you come down and look closely, then you can see it." Merida mentioned.

Hiccup soon got himself down on one knee, while the redhead went down on both of hers, and she put a finger to the area of the bow that she wanted Hiccup to look at.

"Ye see, Hiccup, this part right here is where ye must place down the arrow, because if it's not there, then ye won't be able to shoot yer arrow properly." Merida said.

"Okay, I got it." Hiccup replied, and just when he was about to get back up on his feet, he moved his eyes over from the arrow rest to his female instructor's face.

Hiccup's eyes lingered long enough to see that she had fair, beautiful skin, with light freckles on her round face, and both of her cheeks having a rosy color to them. When Merida went back to standing, Hiccup got rid of his thoughts on her face quickly before rising up to her level, and returning to the position he had with the bow.

"The next step is to have three of yer fingers to lightly hold the arrow on the bow string." Merida said, before using one of her hands to show Hiccup which fingers to use.

Hiccup could see that the only fingers she didn't have raised were both her thumb and pinky, and so he brought his index finger to hold the arrow, with his middle and ring fingers below.

"So, is this good, Merida, like am I holdng the arrow the way that I'm supposed to?" Hiccup asked, while making an attempt to look over at her without letting go of the arrow.

"Yeah, but ye should know that it's important to fully put yer concentration on the target, and never get yerself distracted, not even by yer tiredness." Merida mentioned.

After giving that advice, she walked over to Hiccup from behind, and slowly brought her left hand up to his own that was pulling the arrow back, while bringing her right hand over to his hand that was gripping the bow. Once again, Hiccup had become very uneasy with the closeness between the two of them, and he began hoping that it was only like that so Merida could help him out a little bit more with the lesson.

"If ye want a successful shot, Hiccup, then ye must have the bow held in a way that's relaxed as possible, so think of somethin' that does fit that description." Merida said, before stepping away.

Fortunately, it didn't take a long time for Hiccup to do just that, and he already had his mind focused on the feelings that he got while being up in the air with Toothless, and having the wind go through his hair.

"Good news, Merida, I've managed to think of something and I really do feel much more relaxed, so what is it that I do now?" Hiccup asked, then calmly waited for the next step of the princess' instructions.

"Ye aim the bow at the target, pull the arrow back to yer right cheek, and take a deep breath before releasing the arrow, and just keep yer eyes on the arrow until it hits the target." Merida tutored.

Hiccup went right ahead with doing each of those steps, and soon, a grin had grown on the boy's face, when he saw that he'd managed to actually make a good shot, although it wasn't a bulls-eye, but it was pretty darn close. The shot must have also left Merida, as well as Toothless and Angus very impressed too, since Hiccup could hear the girl clapping her hands closeby, while their friends did their own cheers, which consisted of neighing and growling.

"Thank you," Hiccup said, as he turned around to give a bow of gratitude and gratefulness for his small 'audience', then walked over to the target so that he could take the arrow from out of it, before going back with a wide smile.

"Seems like my lesson didn't take as long as I thought it would," Hiccup added, while he carefully handed over both the bow and the arrow that he shot with it to Merida.

"I guess not, but maybe ye could be a lot better if ye took a few more shots, because one near bullseye doesn't just make ye a master in archery." Merida suggested.

"Yeah, I agree, Merida, and besides, I didn't just become friends with Toothless only after I gave him a smile, it took quite a while for us to get to this place." Hiccup said.

Right after he said that, Hiccup used a hand to gently nuzzle a spot on the dragon's nose, which resulted in the Night Fury standing up to lick his friend on the boy's face.

"C'mon, bud, I love you too, but we have friends watching us, and I still have to get some breakfast for myself, so I need to practice a few more times, okay?" Hiccup asked.

Merida couldn't help but feel her face flush a little from not just watching the affection between Hiccup and Toothless, but also hearing the three words the Viking had said. That's when she realized that the bond they had was so much more than just a friendship, it was one being full of love, respect, acceptance, and trust towards one another.

However, the princess was sure that dragons and Vikings didn't always get along so well, which meant that they must have been at war with each other for a very long time. She also remembered that Hiccup didn't really give to her the story of how the war finally came to an end, but Merida hoped that he wouldn't mind in telling her all about it. Maybe after he's done the rest of his archery lesson and eaten something, she could ask to hear it because he might not be able to give a big story on an empty stomach.

"Hey, Merida." The redhead's train of thoughts came to a sudden stop when she heard Hiccup call her name and come closer, as if he had something that he wanted to say.

"You don't mind if I use a few more of your arrows, because I think that it would get tiring for me to go back and forth if I kept using one again and again." Hiccup requested.

"No, Hiccup, I don't mind at all, and later today, perhaps ye could tell me the story of how ye and Toothless managed to become friends, if that's alright." Merida mentioned.

"Of course, and the good part is that you won't have to wait too long for me to tell the story, but maybe it can wait until after I've finally eaten breakfast." Hiccup responded.

"That's exactly what I was thinkin, Hiccup, and when ye've done that story, perhaps we could get our friends movin' with a fun ride through the forest." Merida suggested.

"Speaking of a ride, I'm sure that Toothless has gotten enough energy to go for one later," Hiccup said, before looking down to face his best friend. "Don't you agree, bud?"

Toothless happily growled while nodding to Hiccup, and Merida took off her arrow carrying case from her shoulder, then handed it over to Hiccup, who slowly took it from her.

"Thanks, Merida, and I promise that you'll get all of your arrows back when I'm done," Hiccup pledged, before turning around to have himself in front of the target's direction.

With that being said, Hiccup remembered that he was still holding the arrow that he shot at the target, since Merida never did take it from him, so he decided to use it again. One by one, the Viking thought back on each step of the instructions that Merida had given to him in the lesson, and soon enough, Hiccup was aiming the arrow at the target. He shot the arrow, and although it wasn't a bullseye, it was pretty close, so Hiccup continued with shooting the arrows until there weren't any of them left in the carrying case.

"Wow, I must be a fast learner," Hiccup said, as he bent down to bring the bow on the ground, and went over to the target so that he could pull out each of the arrows from it.

"Yeah, it looks that way," Merida replied, before picking up her bow from off the grass, and waited until Hiccup returned so that she put all the arrows into the carrying case.

"Hiccup, I told ye earlier that if ye want some breakfast, then ye catch it yerself, so let's head over to the river and ye can show those fish what ye're made of." Merida added.

She put the bow back in one of Hiccup's hands, before taking a single arrow out from the carrying case, handing it over to him, and started walking with Angus to the stream.

"Hey, wait for us!" Hiccup called out, while running up to the girl, with Toothless following close behind, and it didn't take long until they caught up with Merida and her horse.

"Well, Hiccup, let's see if that lesson truly wasn't all for nothin'." Merida said, even though she didn't think that was actually true, especially with all of the great shots he did.

The boy carefully placed the arrow on the arrow rest before aiming his friend's bow at the water, but just when he was about to let the arrow go, something came in front of him. It's more like someone, as Merida now stood facing Hiccup's direction, which caused him to bring down the bow, and look at the girl for a short moment before speaking up.

"Merida, is there something wrong?" Hiccup asked, and he instantly gave himself a mental facepalm for asking that question, because why else would she not let him take the shot?

"What's wrong is that ye're not holdin' my bow the right way, because ye're not doin' just archery, but a special kind of fishing which is called 'bowfishing'." Merida answered.

"So if ye take a look at the arrow, ye'll see that it's a barbed arrow that's attached with a special line to a reel mounted on the bow." She continued, sounding very firm.

"Where's the reel, Merida, because I don't see it, and the only other way that could be possible was if I happened to be blind." Hiccup said, while being quite sarcastic.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hiccup, I forgot to mount the reel on the bow," Merida replied, before going forward to take her bow from his hands. "Don't worry, it won't take long."

After saying that, the redhead took something out of the carrying case for her arrows, and only less than thirty seconds had passed until Merida gave the bow back.

"Now this way, even if ye don't catch a fish, ye won't manage to lose the arrow either, and there's one more thing, ye have to hold the bow like this." Merida explained.

Once again, she took the bow from Hiccup's hands, and for about ten seconds, Merida held it in the position that she wanted him to be holding it in order to catch a fish.

"Alright, I got it now," Hiccup said, as he brought both of his hands out for Merida's bow, which she lended over to him, and then he turned around to face the stream.

Hiccup took a moment to look closely for any fish in the water, until he spotted one that wasn't far away and it had been swimming at a very slow pace for a while now. The Viking pulled the arrow back and held it for about a few seconds before letting it go, but he lost his hope to see that the arrow didn't manage to catch the fish at all.

"So I missed the shot," Hiccup said in his head, as he used the bow's reel to bring the arrow from out of the stream. "It's not the end of the world, I can just try again.'

When he got the arrow back in his hands, Hiccup placed it into the bow and had it aim at the water another time, but he made sure to have the arrow held back again. Just like the first time, Hiccup moved his eyes around to catch sight of a fish, and right when he saw one, that's when the boy let go of the arrow towards the stream. Unfortunately, it was another miss for Hiccup, who let out a mildly deep groan in displeasure, and went back to using the reel to get the same arrow out of the water.

Before placing it in the bow for the third time, Hiccup let all of the water drip off from the arrow by giving it a shake first, and he now aimed the bow at the stream. Instead of pulling back the arrow and holding it still right away, Hiccup waited to do that until he spotted a fish, and that's when he shot the arrow in the fish's direction. Hiccup took a closer look to the flowing water, and his eyes widened to see that he'd finally managed to have a fish caught, and so he pulled it out with one of his hands. Even with the arrow stuck through its body, the fish had been constantly flapping as if it was trying to escape, and a grin came on Hiccup's face, since the fish was big.

"So, Hiccup, are ye goin' to eat the fish now, or will ye just keep starin' at it for the rest of the day?" Merida asked, and saying that had gotten Hiccup out of his trance.

"Oh, Merida, I'm sorry," Hiccup answered, while turning his head to face the girl. "It's just I actually thought that catching a fish would take up the rest of our day."

"Well, it looks like ye're wrong about that," Merida said, while pointing at the fish that Hiccup was holding. "Now that ye've caught a fish, can I get my bow back?"

"Your bow?" Hiccup questioned, and then he realized that he'd still been grasping it with his other hand. "Yes, that's right, and thanks a lot for letting me use it."

"That's because ye needed to use it, but I'm sure that you don't need my help with makin' a fire, because ye have yer dragon for that?" Merida asked, assumingly.

"Yeah, I definitely know that Toothless will be happy to lend a hand for me," Hiccup replied, as he gave back Merida's bow to her. ". .or in this case, his mouth."

After saying that, Hiccup turned to face Toothless, and just when he was about to ask his friend to start a fire, the dragon had already shot a fireball to the ground.

"Thanks, bud." The Viking said, as he rubbed the Night Fury's nose, then crouched down to the fire and carefully, he held the fish that he caught over the flames.

It took a while, but Hiccup managed to have the fish cooked well enough for him to eat it, and he sat down on the grass, with Toothless being right next to him.

"So you still want to hear the story of how me and Toothless became friends?" Hiccup asked, then waited patiently for Merida to give any sort of response back.