[Hiccup]

### words

for Takarra

"Hiccup" - "Toothless"

A PERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED ALIBI

Hiccup gave her a long look, considering her question thoroughly before deciding on a half truth and shrugging, "that depends entirely on intent." He smirked at her, "if you're just here seeking change and new horizons, then no." He said it simply, in a matter of fact and light sort of way, but there was still weight to his words, and a warning, he wasn't about to just attack someone on the principle of how they were dressed, after all one of his closest friends had been a trapper at one point, but he was watching, and wanted her to know that.

He chuckled, giving her a nod and glancing over when Toothless started to tear into the leg gratefully, "I wasn't worried, you didn't attack Gustav and you could have, so I was fairly confident that you wouldn't attack me either." He gave her a raised brow when she gave her sort-of answer, and his expression must have said enough, because after a few moments of contemplation she seemed to open up and share at least a little bit more, which was good, his expression softened a little.

"I had a hunch." He gestured to her with a careful expression, "Gustav may not have picked up on it, but I'm more than a little intimate with hunters and their gear." He shrugged, leaning back against the Night Fury's side and gesturing with his hands, "this territory isn't without its share of hunters, you have to be wary of one who calls himself Viggo." His good eye widened a little and he laughed, shaking his head, "Hunter's Bane? Is that what they're calling me out there?" He shared a mischievous glance with Toothless, who seemed just as amused by it, "well I suppose that's a title well earned, I've worried a lot of hunters up west."

He looked between her and her dragon for a long moment before sighing, "look, I'm not here to judge who you were, only to make sure your intent isn't to harm now." He gestured in the direction of Berk, "if you want a place to rest, Berk is a half a day to a day's flight that way, I can lead you back there in the morning even." He glanced to Swiftkill again, "you trust her, and if you can trust her, I can too."

x

[Takarra]

Takarra nodded slowly, appreciating his honesty; though she felt it wasn't complete, but for the life of her she couldn't guess what he was leaving out. She couldn't help but laugh. "I think even if I did come here looking to cause trouble, I'd be an idiot to push forward knowing what I know now." She conceding, shaking her head at the thought. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not stupid." She was beginning to see why he was Chief of his clan; his words were measured and she could see the calculations in his dark eyes. Swiftkill snorted at her to get her attention, only to be treated to an expression that clearly stated the dragon felt otherwise toward the statement of her intelligence. The viking gave the beast a defensive glare. "My methods are extreme, but effective." She scolded lightly and the Nightmare did her best impression of a shrug.

Takarra raised her hands in a mock surrendering fashion and dropped them again. She didn't feel that her gear was that obvious, but to someone as familiar with hunters as he was, it was only a matter of time. It wasn't like she had any other gear to switch out for, plus, she liked her stuff. Her eyes narrowed as he talked about local hunters. "Viggo, huh? I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Whether or not she was interested in avoiding him or joining him would not be easy to discern. She personally was happy to take a break from the trade, her main concern was whether or not Jagg would put a bounty out for her return. This Viggo may not even be interested in it, but in her experience, hunters did many things for enough money. She grinned at Hiccup's amusement over the nickname he didn't know he had. "Yeah, well, it's true, isn't it? We partly called you that cause the head honcho didn't want to hear your name. I didn't even know your name before talking to Gustav." She removed the slab of meat from meat from the fire, cut it in half with her knife and speared it on another before handing it to Hiccup.

She chewed thoughtfully on her own meat for a moment before replying, her words careful and thought out. "I have little intention of picking up my family trade here, even if it's the only way I know to make a living." She raised her eyes to the Berk Chief. "It's a very generous offer. Maybe I can learn a new way." She found it interesting when he addressed Swiftkill. Takarra knew dragons were intelligent and hers had proven she mostly understood the things Takarra said, but was he expecting some kind of avocation from the Nightmare on her behalf? Swiftkill held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded slowly and a low rumbling coming from her chest. "She may have trapped us, but she wasn't cruel and fought against those who were, at her own risk." She didn't expect Hiccup to understand, not really, but at least his dragon would be able to and he seemed to trust the Night Fury's judgement. Takarra cast the Nightmare a side glance. "Did you think about that long enough?" She teased the winged-beast, who flicked the woman's head in response with her tail.

Running a hand through her long hair to fix what the dragon had mussed, Takarra looked back to Hiccup. "It you wouldn't mind leading us back. I would appreciate the opportunity."

Hiccup