It was cold that day, as it was every day in Berk. But that day, he remembered, made the edges of the cove freeze and the grass glint with frost. The trees' dipped tired and old, following the seasonal routine. The cold was never really welcome there, tolerated maybe, but no-one was happy for it. Especially not Hiccup. The cold made the dragons tedious and agitated. They wanted to curl up in a fiery nest and sleep until it was warm once more. And, this made the riders anxious. Their control on the dragons loosened and it became difficult to fly. And so the chain went on, bothersome dragons made miffed riders, made troubled villagers, made a troubled chief, which made one very, very tormented Hiccup.
He just needed quiet, that's all. When the day was done and the sun grazed the horizon he took Toothless out, flying around the island. But as he had forgotten, Toothless was a dragon all the same and their flight was a struggle. After a short period in the sky, Toothless had gotten restless and they flew back to the village. Hiccup set out on his own, heading towards the cove.
Quiet. Just quiet. No-one nagging him about how his dragon training wasn't working, or how he was to face Alvin with untrained dragons. Just the silence of the secluded little hollow in the forest, where the water rippled and leaves fell about him. Hiccup sat between two rocks and watched the water as it lapped on the earth and pebbles. Thoughts flew through his head about his life, he had no regrets really. Little things, like feeding Toothless the wrong kind of fish, letting the twins get away with their pranks. But one though stopped him. What if he wasn't there? What if, he hadn't been there to save the people and take down the Green Death? What would they have done? His eye lids felt heavy and he, briefly, felt a weight lift from his shoulders before slipping into a light slumber.
Hiccup awoke to a loud roar. It was dark when he looked around; the moon shone on the pond and glistened in the starlight. He paced himself and he got up, and climbed out of the cove, back to the little village he called home. However, what he came home to was not what he expected. A Monstrous Nightmare tore through Berk, lighting everything on fire. The people ran about frantically throwing water on building and the beast, other went after it knives and axes. Hiccup ran through the town towards his home, where his Father burst through the door, mace in hand, charging towards the dragon. "Dad, no!" Hiccup screamed, but the man charged towards the creature anyway, jumping on its' face and hitting it with the small weapon. The creature eventually tired and shook off Stoick, fleeing from the village empty handed. As quick as the dragon had left Hiccup was by his side. "Dad! Why didn't you get Thornado, or me and Toothless. We could have led it away or… or something!" Hiccup ranted and raved to his father, but it fell on deaf ears. He quickly silenced when he understood his Father wasn't listening and followed him back to their home. A woman stood in front of the house, clothes lightly scotched and a tired smile on her face. "D'ya get em, hun?" "Aye, Val, aye." The man ran an oversized hand down his face, smearing black down his cheeks. Val. Valhallarama. A name he'd heard few but enough times, and a face he could only picture from the drunken stories his Father had told him as a boy. His mother stood in front of him before closing the door to his, their, home.
Hiccup left the hut, confused and disorientated. He stumbled around the sleepy village until his feet unwillingly led him to Gobber's shop. A dull light came from the furnace as the man hammered metal in the night. "Gobber. I need to talk to you." Hiccup called to the man he felt he could call his friend, but once more his voice was ignored. "Gobber? This isn't funny, I need to talk to you." He walked right up to the man and shouted his name once more. "Gobber!... GOBBER!" The boy lifted a fist to throw it against the man arms, only for him to fall straight through. Wide-eyed, he stared at the man he had grown up with, who was like a second father to him, like he was death himself, come to collect the boy. But, oh how much Hiccup wished it was that, Death would be less lonely than being a ghost. He stared at his hands, and then to Gobber, who had turned to collect more metal and was now whistling a jolly tune, before bolting out of the shack and out into the forest.
Hiccups legs took him fast and far into the trees. He stopped for no man or dragon, if they could even see him. He didn't understand what was going on, why his mother was alive, why he couldn't be heard, couldn't be seen. And where was Toothless? His adrenaline pushed him to Berk's coast, where he collapsed on the beach, trembling for dear un-life. He tried desperately to wrap his mind around what was happening but he just couldn't. He thought long and hard until he tired himself and he fell asleep on the sandy shore.
Bright light and a smack to the head awoke him the next day. His vision blurred and the morning sun blinded him. After his eyes adjusted he looked around to see half a dozen Terrible Terrors had encircled him. They stared with big, confused eyes at the boy passed out on the beach. The water was coming in close to where he lay and it was soaking his clothes, distracting him from the dragons. He let out an exasperated sigh and got up to move away from the water. His body felt heavy and he lifted himself with a groan, before settling down further up the shore against a rock. The small dragons followed him settling around him. "Atleast someone sees me." He remarked with a bitter smile. He reached out his hand slowly, resting it on the dragon's head. He was glad for their company, it grounded him and when his existence was being put into question, that's what he needed. One of the dragons had decided to curl up on the boy's lap and promptly fell asleep. Hiccup chuckled at the small dragon's affections, his bond with the creatures came in handy sometimes, and he found himself reminiscing over his meeting with Toothless and how he had helped him bring peace between the Vikings and beasts.
Hiccup sat on the beach for a long while, clearing his head and petting the dragons. He decided he would confront the questions he had and stood to make his way back to the village. The dragon that sat on his lap awoke and quickly scurried up to the boys shoulders where it clung as he stood. "I guess you're coming too." He chuckled as they made their way back to Berk.
