Happy memorial day!
Hiccup pushed past Toothless and walked down the stairs. The dragon growled slightly offended as he trotted down the stairs. 'Hiccup's father had acted the same way.' Reflected Toothless. The man had pushed Toothless roughly out of the way as he made his way out of the house.
The dragon was hungry and he wasn't going to let this one little Viking let him starve. Toothless jumped down the last few stairs and ran past Hiccup blocking his way to the door. "Let me by dragon." Snarled Hiccup. Toothless's eyes widened surprised that Hiccup hadn't used his name.
"Okay I'm sorry bud but I'm not in the mood today." Sighed Hiccup. Okay now Toothless was worried about his rider. He nuzzled his hand and purred warmly. The young dragon rider snatched his hand away tried to push the dragon away from the door. When said dragon didn't move he screamed agitated and turned on his heel and started walking towards the stairs.
Toothless stopped him there too. He was going to get answers sometime.
'SLAP!'
Hiccup hit him! He had slapped him on the muzzle hard and Toothless jumped back confused and hurt. "Leave me alone!" Screamed the boy and before Toothless had time to understand he ran out of the house and into the forest. The dragon walked out of the house head down and to the academy.
"Hi Toothless…Where's Hiccup?"Asked Fishlegs as the black dragon sulked in. Said dragon growled as he heard Hiccup's name, because right now he was mad at him.
"He's in one of his mood swings again isn't he?" Asked Astrid. Toothless nodded and growled pitifully.
"Can't really blame him can we?" Stated Snotlout. Toothless's head tilted sideways confused. "Today was when his mother was supposed to come back all those years ago. Got lost on one of her quest never returned did she? He was only three when it happened. Heard it still hurts him." Snotlout's voice was sympathetic but his facial expression was bored.
"Of course it still hurts him only thing he has of her is that stuffed dragon…and he was scared of it when he was small." Stated Ruffnut. Tuffnut nodded in agreement and the others looked at each other's stared at each other saddened by the news.
Toothless's ears perked up a bit as he was struck by a brilliant idea then his muzzle throbbed as the place where Hiccup hit him started to bruise. Not by much but still enough to make Toothless moan in pain. "Toothless what happened to your nose?"Asked Fishlegs walking up to him and looking the mark over with his skilled eyes. "Hiccup hit you didn't he?"Asked Fishlegs quietly everyone looked at Toothless hoping that it wasn't true. The dragon nodded solemnly.
"No." Spoke Astrid her voice breaking. "He wouldn't hit you unless he was really hurting."
"Then he must be really hurting." Said Snotlout now looking worried.
"Let's go see if we can help him." Said Astrid. While everyone got on their dragons Astrid jumped onto Toothless and struggled to figure out the foot petal. "Toothless can you help me by not going as fast as you usually do?"Asked Astrid. The dragon nodded and as everyone else took off, he spread his wings and took off with force just not enough to be flying at top speeds.
/
Hiccup had run for a long time not knowing where he was going. He had run until he tripped over his own feet and fell face first into a rose bush. "AAAHHHH!" Screamed Hiccup in pain as the thorns cut through his soft cotton fabric and cut him as he turned onto his back.
Tears threatened to spill out as he struggled to get up out of the painful thorns. "Why now!" Screamed Hiccup angrily. He looked up and spotted the group of teens looking for him. Apparently they spotted him and started their decent. He struggled harder trying to get out of the rose bush but all he did was get more tangled up in it instead.
His right arm was now trapped under a pile of thorns and his prosthetic was caught in the stems of the roses. The thorns had wrapped around his middle keeping him stuck on the ground. As the others landed he burst into tears.
"Here Hiccup." Whispered Astrid as she jumped off of Toothless and helped get the boy out of the thorns, leaving pieces of clothing and drops blood on the pointy stems. Hiccup sat on the ground crying for a long while and when he finally realized everybody was staring at him he screamed in frustration. He stood up and started to stomp away but Toothless jumped in front of him and growled.
Hiccup raised his hand and bared his teeth about to strike until he saw the bruise he caused earlier. It was now darker than the rest of Toothless's scales, and he brought his hand down and gently touched the bruise with his index finger.
Toothless moaned and winced away from the young boy causing Hiccup's eyes to water. "I did this?" Asked Hiccup to Toothless. The dragon nodded and Hiccup stared at him for a second before he fell to his knees sobs racking his young cut body. Everyone looked at each other than back at Hiccup who wrapped his lanky arms around his dragon's neck.
"I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry T-T-Toothless." Bawled Hiccup. The dragon wrapped one of his paws around the boy and brought him closer to his chest, silently telling him that he was forgiven.
"I hate this damn Island!" Screamed Hiccup as his left hand found its way to his heart. Toothless's nose nuzzled the boy's hair and he earned a mad groan from his rider. "I hate my damn life." Growled Hiccup. Toothless lifted him up and set him down on his feet and Hiccup looked down at his prosthetic and snarled "I hate every damn thing about me."
"Why?" asked Fishlegs. Hiccup turned towards him and everyone gasped shocked as his bloodshot eyes showed more emotion than he had ever shown.
"Because everything I touch turns to dust. The ones I love seem to disappear every time I blink. I'm worthless and useless at everything, I mean even you guys one time or another has told me so." Growled Hiccup. Everyone looked at him and even Snotlout felt tears well up in his eyes.
"Hiccup let us help." Begged Astrid. "We don't know what you're going through but we can help."
"Your right about one thing." Whispered Hiccup. "You don't know what I'm going through." He turned back around and started walking away. Toothless didn't stop him this time just watched him go by.
"Then tell us what you're going through." Replied Snotlout surprising everyone with the tears flowing down his face. Hiccup turned around but didn't talk he just stared at them through sad bloodshot eyes looking hopeless.
"Please Hiccup." Begged Fishlegs quietly.
"It's this same old empty feeling in my heart!" Yelled Hiccup suddenly. "Like love comes slow but goes so fast."
"That's heart break Hiccup." Replied Ruffnut speaking for the first time and her brother who had also been usually quiet said "Ya."
"I see her when I fall asleep but never to touch her and never to keep." Continued Hiccup. "I loved her too much and I dived to deep."
"Hiccup…" Began Astrid walking up to him. "You can never love someone too much." She grasped his hands in her and gently caressed his scarred skin. "You only need the light when it's burning low."
"Only miss the sun when it starts to snow." Added Fishlegs.
"Only now you've been high when you're feeling low." Said Ruffnut.
"Only hate the road when you're missing home." added Tuffnut helpfully.
"Only know you loved her when you let her go." Stated Snotlout.
"And I'll let her go." Whispered Hiccup smiling at all of his friends before he felt a warm snout on his hand.
/
Hiccup stood on a beach staring out over the ocean with his father standing right behind him. The gang and their dragons stood behind the two Vikings as they watched the sun set on that day and the moon rise on that night.
"You ready son?"Asked Stoick in a low whisper. Hiccup nodded and walked closer to the water, in his hands he held a paper lantern. It was a beautiful green with red outlines. And painted on it by Hiccup himself was a picture of Stoick, Toothless, and himself staring out at whoever was looking at it. Right before he let it go Hiccup lit the candle inside and set a note in it then he set it out to sea.
"If it comes back it means she's gone. If it never returns it means she is still alive." Whispered Hiccup to himself. A single tear rolled down his cheek as the lantern instantly floated away as if trying to find the owner quickly.
"What did you write on the note son?"Asked Stoick.
"I'm hoping you'll never have to know." Spoke Hiccup quietly and Stoick didn't push him.
"Oh! Come on Toothless I forgot to feed you this morning didn't I?"
…
The woman landed Cloud Jumper on the beach and ran to the shoreline. And sure enough there on the sand was a lit paper lantern. She picked it up and looked at the picture closely before gasping. That had to be them but what was that dragon doing?
The bottom of the lantern started to come apart and the woman struggled to keep it attached. She set it on the ground and fell to her knees. She picked up a note and read it carefully.
I miss you with all my heart
And even though we live so far away
I know we will never be apart
Nothing can keep you out of my heart nether night nor day.
From a son and husband who loves you enough to let you go,
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third & Stoick the Vast
Valka clutched the note to her chest and cried silently wishing she could hold her baby again. One day…one day she'll see him again and she's sure of that. On the back of the piece paper she wrote.
I'll see you my child one day
Nothing will keep me away
And nothing will keep me at bay.
From a mother and wife who misses her baby and lover,
Valka
And Valka was about to replace the candle until she noticed the original candle was still burning. "But…how?" Asked Valka to herself. Then it hit her.
Love kept the candle burning.
She changed the candle and lit it before setting the note inside and she drew herself and Cloud Jumper on the lantern then she set it back out to sea. "I know your hoping this doesn't come back but I'm not going to let you suffer anymore." Whispered Valka before she took the still burning candle with her to her cave.
The lantern never returned btw...