Welcome to my story. I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me what you think!
I wake up to a beautiful sunrise, and I know that today is going to be a good day.
It is my birthday, after all.
Opening my eyes further and taking in the scene, I see the sunrise streaking in through the skylight and reflecting from Toothless' scales; they look lustrous. I can see that he is still in a light slumber, but soon he will sense my alert state and wake also.
I only get a small window each morning to see him sleeping like this. His head rests regally on his front paws, tongue slightly lolling out of a toothless mouth. He's curled up tightly to fit onto his podium, his wings curled around him and his red prosthetic poking out from underneath. I can sense his light breathing, and see his eyes fluttering back and forth under the closed lids.
"Come on, bud. I know you're awake," I say. At this, Toothless stays still, pretending to doze.
"You're not fooling anyone. Come on; don't you want to go flying today?"
Still nothing. I sigh, and look down to begin to get out of bed and suddenly a big pink tongue is in my face, trying to lick me to death.
Gotcha! Toothless says triumphantly, continuing to lick my face and torso. I'm now covered in dragon saliva, but it's happened so many times before I don't care anymore.
Besides, it's got healing properties. And it reminds me every day of the bond we share.
Toothless could have killed me a thousand times over in the time we've been together. But he's chosen not to. All the power that he wields, and he chooses not to use it on me.
My trust in him is complete. I would lay down my life for him.
But I think he would die for me long before that.
A nudge and a jab in the ribs brings me back to reality, where Toothless jumps off my bed and prances eagerly around the small room, sending papers fluttering from my desk and onto the floor, and knocking over my chair.
"Okay, okay. I'm coming. Let's go flying." I stretch and get myself up, but then Toothless decides that he doesn't want to let me on his back after all, and I have to chase him down the stairs and outside before admitting defeat.
"You win, Toothless," I yell up to Toothless, who is busy scrabbling for purchase on the roof of my house. My father's going to have to fix that again, I think absentmindedly, as some tiles come loose and fall to the floor, landing in the snow drift trying to run up the wall. It's a fine winter's morning, with the air crisp and clear, but bitterly cold.
I guess that's what I get for having my birthday in the middle of winter. But, it could be worse. Last year, I got snowed in and I was stuck in the house with my father for days. I've never felt more awkward in my life.
This year, I've got Toothless. He more than makes up for the snow.
While I stand, shivering in my thin green woollen shirt and flying gear, Toothless finally decides that he's had enough of destroying our roof, and he wants to fly.
What are you waiting for? A written invitation? he says with a Toothless grin, standing proudly in front of me. I grin right back, and gracefully leap into the saddle and get my feet into the controls.
T
"Ready, bud?" Hiccup asks me, happiness evident in every syllable he speaks.
Always, I reply, spreading my wings and launching us into the cloudless sky.
T
What an upside down life I've had so far. I get shot down by Hiccup, who decides to spare me, helps me to fly again and defeat the Queen. I went from hating humans, to creating a bond stronger than any others I have ever had with one. I guess it was our natures that brought us together; why he took pity on me that day.
We're both outcasts, unwelcome in our respective species. We are intelligent and quick- witted. We are compassionate and caring.
But… there's one thing that doesn't match. Hiccup lacks conviction- sometimes he does not have the strength of body or mind to carry something through to the end. Take the day in the woods as an example. He didn't have the will to carry out the deed.
Of course, I'm glad I wasn't slain by him, but sometimes he needs to have confidence in his own thoughts and actions, and actually put them into practice. Sometimes he doesn't know the size of his genius.
I know being humble, and unwilling to step into the spotlight is usually considered quite selfless, but I know that Hiccup can do better than most people he knows, and yet he chooses not to. He chooses to be the follower to a person with inferior ideas.
Although I claim to know Hiccup inside out and back to front, this is the one part of his psyche that still vexes me. I just… don't understand. Why? Why can't he face up to his own brilliance?
I am, in my opinion, the complete antithesis of this. I will do anything, anything, and I will always give it my all and I will never stop until it is over. I will do anything.
Especially for Hiccup. I would fly until after my wings were so weary I could feel the muscles and tendons screaming with the effort, and every rasping breath I took would feel like it was my last, my pounding heart ready to explode at any moment. If that's what he wanted, I would do it. If that's what it takes to keep him out of harm's way, then I will do it.
I'd die for him.
If he got lost or injured one way or another, I'd go to the ends of the earth to find him or the cure that he needed. There is no other entity in the universe that matters more to me than that small, puny, brilliant boy.
In a situation where most other humans would have chosen death, he chose life. And that's why I saved him from the inferno after the defeat of the Queen. I had to make that choice too, and I chose life.
We both chose life.
As we're flying through the sky right now, I can feel our inner flames connecting and surging upwards as they feed off one another, completely engulfing our souls and filling me with the utmost happiness and joy.
What do you want to do today? I ask Hiccup, playfully diving down into the ice cold waters surrounding Berk as I do so.
Hiccup gives a yell each time he gets soaked, coughing and spluttering as he swallows mouthful after mouthful of icy sea water.
"Today? What do I want to do today? Well, I certainly didn't want to get soaked, that's for sure." His tone tells me that he's only being half serious.
But I would have known that he was joking anyway. I can get away with basically anything.
"I think I want to try some more tricks. But first… can I dry off?" he asks.
Aw! Can't you just let the wind dry you off? I reply cheekily, once again dipping my wingtip into the waves and flicking some spray at his face.
"Toothless!" he scolds softly. I take no heed of this, instead sending a plasma blast out ahead. I can hear Hiccup's muffled oh, great as we near it.
Well, you wanted to dry off, I say as we exit the other side of the fireball. And that's the fastest way I know to do it. Can we do tricks now? There's a hint of impatience creeping into my tone.
Above me, Hiccup is now fairly dry, but also a bit scorched. His previously green shirt is now slightly blackened in places, and his hair and eyebrows have a definite sense of singed. I can see his lopsided smile in the reflection from the water, and I laugh throatily.
You look funny, I chuckle. I should do that more often. At this point I am not, admittedly, concentrating particularly hard on our general direction, but neither of us notice nor care.
"Glad you think so. How am I meant to explain this to my father? 'Oh, Toothless was trying to be helpful?' Somehow I don't think that will be a good justification for this ruined shirt." His silly high voice he uses to make fun of himself is piercing, and I find it irritating.
I wish he could realise how he really brings himself down with all the sarcastic comments. I wish he could just show the same person he shows to me to everybody else around him.
H
"Okay, Toothless. Time to disappear," I say, pushing my foot down and urging him upwards towards the sun, reminiscent of the time we fought the Red Death. The bright light is blinding, but the light warms my face slightly. There aren't any clouds to conceal our ascent, but with the glare of the sun I figure that nobody will be able to see us anyway. If there was actually anyone around to see us, that is.
Right now, I don't really know where we are, other than a really, really, long way from Berk. This is the best place for us. Isolated and free from any civilization. The perfect getaway.
As we soar towards the stars we both let out a yell simultaneously. The wind is battering my torso, and I can barely see due to the sun overhead, but life can't get better than this.
Some people say that family are the most important things in the world. I disagree. Family members have to associate with you because they have no choice. You can't choose your relations.
But you can choose your friends. And the time I've spent with Toothless contains some of the most precious and valued memories I have. He's never given up on me, never given up trying to save me. I owe him my life many times over.
My care for him is everlasting and unconditional. There can be no greater friend to me, now or in the future, than him.
Without him, I would still be mocked and made fun of. Without him, I would still be the shame of my father and the humiliation of my tribe.
Without him, I would not be who I am now.
T
We're surging up, higher and higher. At last Hiccup gives the signal to level off, and as I do so, an incredible vista surrounds me. The cloudless sky is a brilliant blue, almost luminescent in its brightness. The sea is the deepest blue, mottled with greens and purples in an amazing mosaic of colour. Every now and then a tiny white splash on the surface of the waves tells me that Scauldrons are frolicking in the waters. Up ahead, where the sea meets the sky, an island has pushed its way up, just peeking above the horizon. With my sharp eyes, I can see the evergreen colouring of the vast forest that covers what I can see of the island.
Above me, I hear Hiccup gasp. This is nothing. I've seen better than this, I warble. At my words, Hiccup hits me gently on the side.
"Seriously? Well, then maybe you should show me," he says, a note of disbelief and challenge in his voice.
If you don't believe me, fine. I'll show you one right now.
"You're on," Hiccup replies with a grin. I'm content to stay at this altitude and enjoy the view, but I adjust my course slightly so I can show him something even better, and flap my wings to gain some more speed.
The locations of every place I've visited are locked into my brain using a process I can't even begin to comprehend. In my mind, I see a sort of... sphere. And I don't even need to think about the directions to places- it's almost like I've got a muscle memory for each place, and I don't even need to consciously correct my course.
It doesn't get much better than this really.
Well, not until I get us to somewhere with a better view.
H
We've been flying for a fair while now. We had to dive down to the water to catch our lunch because we didn't expect to be staying out this long, but now we're back up in the solitary sky, the only beings in our own universe.
So many times I've wanted to be able to just capture the moment, take a picture and store it somewhere forever. Because memories can fade and become tarnished, paper can rot and be destroyed, and eventually I will die and take all that I know with me.
When I die, I want others to be able to share in my memories.
Forever.
I know that a lot of the memories I value most are shared with Toothless, because he is the most important thing in my life so far and I've shared so much with him. So many unforgettable memories.
I've got so many memories already, and I know there are years more to come.
But how many more years? How many more years do I have before I die? How many more years until I can't ride Toothless anymore? Life is so full of numbers, mostly insignificant, but I know that, as time goes by, the number that reveals how many summers I have lived through will become larger and more important, and more of an impediment to my life with Toothless. Because eventually my bones will be too frail, and my muscles too weak to ride, or to really do too much at all anymore. Unless I don't even make it to that point.
So many times I've considered what will happen if Toothless doesn't catch me when I fall. If he's not there when I'm in danger and I need help. What will happen if a bit of fun goes wrong. I've thought about how much Toothless protects me, and I never give him anything in return. I'm too puny to protect him from anything. I know he'd sacrifice himself for me, but if he did I would be lost without him, and my soul would most probably follow his fairly quickly into the afterlife. Because I don't think I could survive without him.
But... eventually, Toothless is going to have to survive without me.
T
The sun is now starting its inevitable slide towards the horizon once again, signalling the end of another day. Our final destination is just coming into view now.
Almost there, I say to Hiccup, pushing forward to try and gain some extra speed and make it before nightfall. Hiccup eagerly begins to look around; trying to find this mysterious paradise I have promised him.
He won't see it from up here.
I live for the moments when I see Hiccup happy like this. Occupied with searching for my beautiful landscape, his keen eyes searching the skies for anything resembling an incredible view. I just want us to be like this forever. I dream about how we're both going to grow old together, how one day we'll just live on a remote island, the two of us and nature at peace with one another. We'll help each other to get through the day, finding enough food to survive, and lighting a fire every night to stave off the cold that would set in fast to our ageing bones.
I imagine Hiccup, his hands bony and his fingers gnarled and calloused, and I see his faltering steps as his legs, thinner than they are even now, support his weight. His prosthetic is old, rusting badly and in desperate need of repair. Every step he takes on it can be heard; a squeaking spring sees to that. He carries a staff, worn smooth with his hands and their constant grasp upon its surface. His once nut brown hair is now straggly and grey, and an unkempt beard sprouts from his chin. He has lost all care about his personal appearance. His clothes are loose and shapeless; what little definition he had during his prime has long since disappeared, but he has not bothered with new clothes. Maybe he thinks his life will be over so soon that it isn't worth the money.
But where we are in my dreams, money doesn't matter anymore. There aren't any societies, no people. No judgements, no pressure. We can just be who we want to be. And it won't matter that we can't fly any more, either. We can just take solace in the thought that we're still there for each other, and we made the most of the time we had together to make all the memories for us to look fondly back on now. And one day, when our times come for us to leave this world, we will part from it together, as equals, and go hand in hand into the white darkness that will become our home for the rest of eternity.
Together, past the end.
It's our destiny.
A/N I will hopefully be writing more for this, but as to when... I have no idea.