Hiccup eased open the door. Carrying a large doggie bowl with a slab of steak perched precariously on top, he hit the light to the spacious basement – which was more of a 2-storey workshop than a basement.
A single incandescent bulb lit up a small circle of floor a little ways from the base of the steps, but Hiccup already knew what the basement had. Two axle grinders and a scroll saw were mounted on a table to his right (looking from the bottom of the steps), a miter saw and electric planer were somewhere to the left, and a large metalworking furnace, currently not in use, was the centerpiece. A large pile of rejected wood scraps lay on the floor near a set of double-high, double-wide doors, and a smaller pile of rejected metal scraps lay beside that. Hiccup's science project for spring lay somewhere beyond the furnace, though it wouldn't be worked on till tomorrow, at the earliest.
However, he wasn't lonely. No, he actually had made a friend. A stray, if you will. At least, that was what he told his dad. So his dad had got a leash and a bowl, and Hiccup was in charge of getting the food. An easy task, considering his dad was mayor of the town, the county, and captain of the military airbase, of Berk. Money was never an issue, hence the multi-level freaking mansion that they lived in and the huge workspace Jared had provided for his otherwise 'failure' of a son.
"Hey bud," Hiccup called out to his newfound friend. Poor thing enjoyed the dark far too much. Hiccup respected that, though, and with winter on the way –probably a few weeks till first frost – there was no way he was letting an injured anything stay out in the cold to starve and die. Winter came far too early in the mountains, anyway.
"Here, I got you a slab of horsemeat." Placing the doggie dish on the ground, Hiccup shoved it out of the ring of light, to where it clunked against a wall by the far side of the room. A dark, indistinct shape padded over to the bowl and began to eat; from the sounds of it, fairly messily. Hiccup grinned. "I see you haven't lost your appetite." The bowl slid back to Hiccup. Still grinning, he picked up the slobbery bowl. "Nothing for me?" A buzzing in his pocked distracted him. 7:24 am. It was Fishlegs. Probably at his morning class. He connected the call. "Yeah? … Oh, yeah. Yup. … No, nothing recently. Why?... Yeah, as if. Ha!" He laughed loud and long at that. "No, no, the only way Astrid would even look at me was if she was drunk - …" His face paled. "…wait. Mrs. R. said what? You're serious? … Well crap. … That was why I said it. … I don't care if it was a 0% chance, how am I going to survive being Astrid's lab partner for three months? … Thanks, man. Okay. Yep. … Uh-huh. Bye." Hiccup sighed. "Well, bud… I have to go… Apparently the girl of my dreams is stuck with a awkward daydreaming nerd for a lab partner." Turning to go up the stairs, he left with a parting, "Please don't break anything."
The light shut off, turning the room to complete shadow. Hiccup's steps receded.
A weak flame, slowly strengthening, lit up a small patch on the cement floor, black scales smothering the flame before it could spread.
The room was once again thrown into darkness.
This is a one-shot, yes, but it's also a bit of a preview for a story. I should have mentioned that earlier.
Every one-shot is going to be a preview for a potential story.