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As much as he hated to really admit it, Jake was settling in aboard the ship. There was a strange sense of normalcy that followed him around - he was at war, he was trying to avoid getting people killed, he was thinking about strategies, thinking about the future - and that all seemed perfectly normal to him. He had slipped back into the patterns and the habits he'd formed over the War very easily and that bothered him, in some little corner of his mind. But the rest of him? The rest of him was happy he had something to do that he was good at.

He was wary, paranoid again, watching everyone who said they were a friend with a trained suspicion. And sometimes at night, it made him sick to realize that he accepted that as a normal part of everyday life. It was 'late'. Late being relative when there was no way to really gauge what time it was or how much time had passed, so he went wandering to settle his mind. He found his way to a large hall, filled with strange and surreal sculptures and images. It was like a twisted sort of art gallery.

That was exactly what it was, he realized as he slowly drifted through the various pieces of art, staring at pieces that caught his attention. He finally paused to stare at a strange, shifting piece that stood underneath a sculpture of a head. It didn't really look like anything, though. Just inky blackness that seemed to shimmer strangely in the dim lighting.

He was about to turn away, when it finally coalesced into something he recognized. A scene he remembered very well. Probably too well. The bridge of the Pool Ship on that last, horrible day of the war. He was staring at the viewscreen, free hork-bajir and the other Animorphs standing around him. A defeated and weary-looking Visser Three. And on the view-screen, Tom.

That moment when he had condemned his brother and his cousin to death.

But that had all changed here. They were both alive, his brother was free - but that didn't stop the memories. Or the guilt. Or the second-guessing. What if he'd been a bit faster? Or a bit more careful? Or tried a different way?

The scene changed. Now it was the Animorphs locked in combat with Hork-Bajir. And then a Howler. It changed again - the auxiliaries being shot down one after the other by the Pool Ship's dracon beams. Sharks, swimming in an alien sea. Rachel's funeral. The smoking remains of the Yeerk Pool after they'd blown it to smithereens-

He tore himself away.

He shouldn't dwell. He had the present to think about. He flexed his hands and for a moment, he stared down at them. Was this all he was going to be good at for the rest of his life? Planning for war? Fighting war?

Jake shook himself off and turned to walk deeper into the strange gallery. He didn't want to spend anymore time next to this particular piece of artwork.

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"Aliens," Jake shrugged and left it at that. Hiccup didn't need to hear about the whole war.

"First time I've ever met a dragon-trainer, though." He kept the talk light, casual. Nothing too deep or serious. People probably knew about the Animorphs by now, but that didn't mean he was going to get much closer than "polite acquaintance" with most people.

Good going, Jake, you got him started on dragons. Now he was never going to shut up.

"It's all about the fish. Well, that and listening and watching and letting them tell you how to deal with them. That's what makes them easier than people. They have tells. They almost want to be understood, if you're patient enough to do it."

"We don't really have dragons where I'm from," Jake replied, "So you definitely know more than I do."

He paused and then added, "They sound a bit like giant dogs."

"No fur and the slobber comes in greater quantities, but some of the general principles are the same. Or so I've heard. We didn't keep many animals on Berk that weren't for eating."

He leaned in almost conspiratorially.

"I'm from a time period some people would call 'technologically-challenged.'"

Hiccup plopped himself down on a bench.

"I mean, they would call it that provided those same people weren't being condescending about it. That happens on rare occasion."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's going to be someone, somewhere who thinks you're 'technologically-challenged' no matter how high-tech you get," Jake snorted. He drifted over to the bench, but remained standing, carefully situating himself so he could keep an eye on the entrances - and Hiccup.

"I know all about condescending aliens...."

"Oh no, it's mostly been condescending humans." Hiccup shrugged, though he was watching Jake with a careful eye. "To be fair, I was thrilled to discover the concept of indoor plumbing. TV and movies are really great, too."

"Honestly? I think indoor plumbing is one of the greatest inventions known to man," Jake glanced down at Hiccup, "...how low-tech were you, anyway?"

"I don't know if this'll mean anything to you unless you're from a version of the same world, but I'm a Viking."

And it was obvious that he didn't mean he was a football player.

"A viking? Like raid, pillage and plunder viking?" Jake's eyebrows shot up, "We had vikings on my planet, but they never had dragons."

"Hey hey now, the raiding and pillaging, that's not how every tribe works. At my village, Berk, we were more the exploring/settler kind of Vikings. We still considered ourselves Vikings, though, 'cause being a Viking's just as much how you think as what you do." A pause. "And apparently, a lot of worlds don't have dragons. It's weird. It's like whole worlds existing without horses or cats or lizards. Without big, scaly, firebreathing lizards."

Edited 2011-09-26 05:52 (UTC)

"Well, if there's an infinite number of universes, eventually you're going to get one that doesn't have dragons. Or does have them, I guess..." Jake tapped his fingers against his leg absent-mindedly. As long as the conversation stayed away from anything serious, he could deal with it. Then again, Hiccup was a Councillor. Maybe he could find something out.

"What's your world like? It's the future of mine I guess, isn't it? If you know what a Viking is. Other than not having dragons."

A pause.

"The parts you want to talk about, at least. You have this whole guarded vibe going on so I don't really want to pry anymore than you're comfortable with."

Jake, to his credit, didn't start or look surprised. He just glanced over at Hiccup. "I guess it's a version of your future. Vikings were a big power in Europe for a while and then they sort of faded."

Jake shrugged, "That's about all there is to it, I guess."

He carefully didn't talk about how guarded he was or what he might be guarding.

"Do you have cars yet?" Ooh, even better. "Do the cars fly yet?"

"Yeah, we've had cars for about a hundred years. No flying cars, but we do have planes," Jake tried to smile a bit. "Although since we're trading with the Andalites, we might have flying cars sooner than later."

"The Andalites are Ax's people, right? He helped me work on--somewhat appropriately--an axe I was making for my girlfriend. I wanted it to have a laser edge."

Hiccup paused, recalling what he remembered of meeting the blue alien.

"I think he didn't like me for some reason, though. I'm not really sure why."

It hadn't occurred to him at all that it was because his disability made Ax uncomfortable.

"That's them. Blue centaur's with no mouths, four eyes and a scorpion tail," Jake chuckled. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he'd first ever seen an Andalite, let alone knew what one was. Elfangor.

He glanced over at Hiccup with a shrug, "Ax can be a bit skittish sometimes."

"Oh yes, because I can be so fearsome," was the amused reply.

"Hey, vikings are pretty fierce," Jake replied, "Probably that look in your eyes."

It was a joke. Really.

"Actually, they are pretty fierce. Especially in my village. I've seen my dad punch a dragon out before. I'm kind of the exception to the rule."

"Punching out dragons is pretty cool," Jake pointed out, "Can't say I'd want to fight your dad."