Colonists and Vikings

    "Pa, who's that?"

    A small, brown-haired little boy called out, his Irish-accented voice carrying eerily over the silenced village. The intruders stood frozen, every eye of every resident of the tiny community on them. They were large, much bigger men than the colonists had ever seen before. They were nothing like them, they knew not of who they were or where they had come from. They seemed very intimidating; carrying large swords and weird contraptions made of wood and metal. They wore horned hats upon their heads as well, adding to the frightening image they displayed.

    And yet. . . 

    The child who'd spoken earlier suddenly rushed out from behind his mother who reached out timidly to hold him back. The boy tilted his head, and freed himself from his mother's protective grasp. He walked up to the man at the head of the newcomers, head still to one side as his arms hung loosely at his side. His eyes shifted down from the man's face to a figure, much smaller, who was hiding in the looming shadow the other created.

    The boy smiled.

    "My name's Jackson," the boy said, taking a step into the shadow and pulling the other figure out into the moonlight. It was a boy of the other's age, and just as if not smaller. His hair was brown, longer than the colonial's and redder in color. Freckles mottled his face, and his eyes flickered their vibrant green in the pale light. The boy who'd identified himself as Jackson smiled at the other child.

    "Who are you?"

    The boy cowered slightly, casting his eyes down in fear. Jackson smiled reassuringly again, crouching a little to meet the other's eyes.

    "Hey, it's okay. I told you my name, an' I just wanna know yours. What is it?"

    Slowly, the boy raised his head and looked to the man behind him, bringing his hands together worriedly. The man nodded slightly, his eyes resting on the child before returning to the men standing perpendicular to them.

    The boy looked to Jackson again before parting his lips just enough for him to stutter out,

    "My…My name's Hiccup. I'm…I'm a Viking."

    Jackson giggled softly. "Hiccup? That's a funny name, but I like it. No one else here is named Hiccup, but you're not from here so I guess that's normal. But…what's a Viking?"

    A man in the crowd of colonists cleared his throat loudly before walking up to the two children and the man who stood behind them. The colonist's hair was the same shade of brown as the colonial child in front of him, and his eyes matched the bronze color as well.

    "Jackson, that'll be enough. Go back to your mother."

    The boy turned towards the man, his eyes wide and still full of curiosity. "But Pa, where did they-"

    "Return to your mother and both of you go straight to the house. Now."

    Jackson's shoulders dropped, and he cast his eyes down to the ground. "Yes, Pa." he mumbled, trudging his bare feet along the dirt path. Before he entered the crowd however, he looked back to Hiccup. He smiled again.

    "I hope you can come over some time to play someday, Hiccup. Do Vikings like to play hide n' seek?"