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The winter storms have never not been in Hiccup's life. Ever since he was young, and before that, solid blankets of white would swallow Berk whole like some chilly dragon's jaws. Even since Toothless had come into his life, the snow had always been something that made him the tiniest bit uneasy, as if the white landscape was hiding something that he wasn't to see. Sometimes, when bitter cold drips of ice pooled at his collar and froze over the villagers’ candle stubs, Hiccup swore he could hear laughter, a boy’s, something low with age yet light with whimsy. He only mentioned it once--to his father, of all people--only to be sighed and tutted at. No surprise there. But the next time the winter brought a hail of pranks along with the snow, Hiccup kept his mouth shut.
That, surprisingly, didn't influence the tiny seaside village--from the young, more adventurous children, rumors were circling--a young man hid in the trees, teasing anyone who was within his range and snowballing anyone who got too close. "He laughs a lot!" One tiny girl chimed in, bouncing on her narrow heels as she rambled on about the strange cold boy. "He's nice." That was it, then. Either he was spreading his crazy around or there really was something out there every cold season. He had to find out. The next night, Hiccup wasted 20 minutes trying to coax Toothless outside in the chilly wet twilight, and although the dragon huffed and complained against the boy, he eventually followed along, golden eyes tracing curious paths through the dark. Trying his best to keep the snow from squeaking under his booted foot and from wedging itself into his mechanical one, he stumbled along in the dark, more than once bumping into Toothless' snout and nearly tripping. "Forget it," he mumbled under his breath, sweeping snow off his knees as he fell for the umpteenth time in the greedy dark. Even the dragons' eyes were against the night. Bitterly, he tugged a fringe of ice from his hair, the now howling-wind making his eyes water and Toothless flinch.
"You win. I'll never find you, all right? Hope you're happy." Embarrassed at the futility of the search, he briefly stroked the ink-black dragon beside him before miserably stumbling back towards Berk, shivering. "Stupid." Stomp. "Imaginary." Stomp stomp "Pest!" stompstompstomp. Suddenly, with all the grace and smoothness of cruel irony, Hiccup's toes wedged themselves under a twisted, unearthed tree root and sent him tumbling, cold snow invading his nose and mouth like water. Toothless snuffled along his side, concerned, as he untangled his limbs before sitting up. Spitting the dirt-and-ice combo out of his mouth as quickly as he could, Hiccup nearly yelped when that same laugh from last season echoed behind him. The voice gave a second laugh, this one louder and more amused, as if the sight of him choking up dirt-infused snow was even funnier the second time around. Spinning around as fast as his sore knees could manage, trying to see every angle to the trees at once. "Who're you?" He snapped into the wintery forest, rubbing his hands together to keep from freezing. Standing beside him, Toothless gave a confused snort and tilted his black head towards the ground, studying the iced-over grass with intent curiosity. In the thick crust of snow at his feet, Hiccup read the still-forming words with a sense of confusion, shock, and growing awe. At his feet, two simple words lay-
K e e p t r y i n g!
- with a brief signature.
-J a c k