Chapter 30: Mentor And Apprentice

Thank you for your patience.

The forge was a rather familiar place for Hiccup. He had spent a huge amount of his childhood in a similar building. The heat of the furnace, smell of burning coal and wood, the familiar clang of metal hitting metal, the warmth coming from the orange hot piece of metal he was working on… it was all too familiar to him. In a way, the forge was like a comfort zone for Hiccup.

Hiccup brought down his hammer a few more times on the piece of metal before putting it back into the furnace to heat it up. Hiccup went over to a table and picked up a piece of cloth to wipe away the sweat forming on his body.

"This is a nice place ya got here." Hiccup spun around, grabbing whatever he had in his reach to use it as a weapon, as he heard someone speaking behind him. But when he saw who the person was, Hiccup was left stunned.

"Gobber!?" Hiccup exclaimed as his eyes fell on his former mentor.

"Hello laddy." Gobber said, a small smile could be seen on his face.

Hiccup dropped the metal rod he was holding and walked over to Gobber. The once mentor and apprentice stared at each other. For the first time in a long time they were able to have a proper moment between them. Hiccup went forward and hugged Gobber. The old blacksmith's smile widened at this and he wrapped his arms around the auburn haired man.

"Gobber, I can't explain how happy I am to see you right now. But how did you get here? The Dragons would have seriously injured you if they saw you." Hiccup said as he pulled away from the embrace.

"Mah, I've managed ta hide from a Boneknapper. And ya don't make it to Mah age without picking up a thin' or two." Gobber replied.

Suddenly a thought went through Hiccup's mind. If Gobber could evade his Dragons, does that mean….

"Don't worry lad, no one else dares to step towards this place after your threat. And no one's here with me either. I came alone. No one even knows I'm here." Gobber said.

Hiccup relaxed as he listened to what Gobber said. "I, uh, I just came here to see ya lad. It's been a while since I last saw ma apprentice." Gobber said.

"A really long while Gobber." Hiccup added, but then his smile flattered,"I wish we met in better circumstances."

"Aigh lad. Me too."

"So,... How have you been? I always thought you would have retired by now." Hiccup said.

"Mah. It's hard ta retire when ya are the only blacksmith in a whole village. Got a new apprentice. But that lad can barely keep up with the work."

"Uh huh. I'm feeling sorry for this new apprentice of yours. I can't even imagine what he's going through, working with a meathead like you."

"Oi! Whom do ya think ya are calling a Meathead? Ya two bit shrimp." Gobber snarked back.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a one legged, one armed rotten cabbage." Hiccup sassed back.

Both of them stared at each other for a few moments before they started to laugh at each other's remarks.

"Nice to see ya haven't lost yar sass." Gobber commented.

"Me? losing my sass? Never. Not in a million years." Hiccup replied.

The two shared another laugh. Gobber suddenly said,"Ya have grown up Hiccup. Ya have become so much more than I ever imagined."

Hiccup looked down and smiled slightly at the comment. The words coming from his mentor had flattered him.

"It would have been nice to have you back at home." Gobber added.

Hiccup's smile fell at that statement. The auburn haired boy turned away from Gobber and walked a few steps away from Gobber.

"Berk isn't my home. It hasn't been for a while." Hiccup said. Gobber stared at his godson with concern as he continued "Back at Berk, no one ever wanted me unless I could be of any use to them. You were one of the very few people who were kind to me. Even my own father hated me."

"Hiccup, Stoick doesn't hate you…" Gobber tried to defend his friend, but Hiccup cut him off.

"Even if he may not have hated me, he never showed that he cared for me either." Hiccup harshly replied as he looked back at his mentor.

Gobber shut up at that and Hiccup took this opportunity to continue. "You know, I was willing to go back." He said "Wanted to make amends with everyone. Wanted to help you guys. But after what Stoick did, I don't think I can trust them again."

Gobber just looked down in sadness. He had hoped that things wouldn't be this bad, but as it appears he was wrong. He smiled a bittersweet smile. "That Dragon means a lot to ya, Aigh?" Gobber asked.

"That Nightfury is the reason why I haven't given up yet." Hiccup replied.

Gobber nodded at that, understanding Hiccup's reasoning. "I understand lad. I know it's probably impossible, but I would have been glad if ya decided ta come back. There are people who would have been really happy if ya did." Gobber sadly said.

"I also wish I could go back, Gobber. But I don't think I can bring myself to go back after all this that happened." Hiccup replied. He sounded somewhat sad as he spoke the words.

Gobber nodded at that. "I should be heading back now." The blacksmith said. He then looked back at Hiccup and said,"Take care of ya self laddy."

"I will." Hiccup replied.

Gobber flashed Hiccup one last smile and then left. Hiccup watched his mentor and Godfather leave as the man walked further into the distance.

AUTHOR'S NOTE :- Hey guys,

I am really sorry for the delays in updating my stories.

I recently got into a college and my new schedule has left me with very little time to spend on writing. I'm trying to get my stories done, but it's harder now.

Please bear with me guys.