The Open Sky
The following morning, the six young Vikings gathered at the Dragon Arena for their morning of training. Gobber – the village blacksmith, and their dragon- killing trainer – led them through their drills. More than once, Hiccup was sure someone was about to slip up – Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout... one of them would ruin it all...
But noon came – and with it the end of the days training. – The morning had passed without incident. 'They want to have their own dragons,' Hiccup reflected. 'They know it's all over if anyone finds out, it'll all be over – and they don't want to risk that.'
However, as soon as they were out of earshot of the villagers who'd come to watch – everyone started talking at once. "What's the plan?" "I want the Monstrous Nightmare!" – And so on.
Hiccup had spent most of the previous evening thinking about where to go from here – finally deciding that they couldn't delay. 'If I try to put this off, it'll be that much more likely that someone will slip up... or Snotlout or the twins may try to bust them out themselves. No... The sooner we start the better.'
Aloud, Hiccup said, "For the rest of today, just... Do what you'd normally do. Tonight – when everyone else is asleep, we meet at the arena. – Remember, be careful. If anyone finds out, it'll all be over."
"So we're busting them out?" It was Snotlout – of course.
"No." Hiccup's voice was firm. "Tonight, we'll meet them – maybe even pair you up with one of your own. Also, I'll show you a few things that should help us get through dragon- training without arousing suspicion or hurting the dragons." Hiccup glanced around, than continued, "Look... we can't be standing around like this. We have to act like nothing's changed!"
With that, they went their separate ways. Hiccup made his usual stops to the dock, than home. Then he set off into the woods – bound for the cove, and Toothless.
A half- hour later...
Hiccup found Astrid waiting at the top of the slope – where she'd been practicing her axe- throwing, the day before last.
"What are you doing here?!" Hiccup couldn't believe that Astrid would've thought to come here – of all the wooded areas on Berk! –– She came here!
Astrid only shrugged, "Why not here? Besides, this is what I usually do in the early- afternoons – and I made sure nobody followed me."
Hiccup nodded – grudgingly, and they set out again.
At first, they walked in silence. Then Astrid noticed that the bundle Hiccup was carrying wasn't the same one as yesterday. When she asked, Hiccup explained that he'd needed to make a few changes to the previous design – which had been his third attempt at a final product.
Astrid was silent for a few minutes, then. When she next spoke, she asked, "What's it like? – Flying?"
Hiccup was silent for a few moments, before saying, "It's... like another world. Everything seems to just... open up – and all of this..." He paused, gesturing at the plants and trees around them. "... It all seems... smaller. It's... it's hard to describe. You need to see it for yourself."
Astrid was silent for a moment, then, "What about Toothless? – Could he... Would he... you know?" She let her sentence drift off, gesturing up at the sky.
Hiccup seemed surprised by her question – but he shrugged, "I... don't see why not."
Another half- hour later...
Toothless had eaten, and his new prosthetic tail- fin had been set into place and secured. Finally, Hiccup seated himself in the saddle, and helped Astrid up behind him. Then there was a rush of wind, and they were soaring upwards!
It wasn't long before it became clear that Hiccup's last set of adjustments had done the trick. Time seemed to slow – as Astrid looked first at the clouds around them, and then down. She gasped – finally understanding what Hiccup had told her as they'd walked.
The entire island spread out below them. The island did indeed seem smaller – and the world seemed larger, just as Hiccup had said. Then Hiccup glanced back at her – grinning when he saw her expression. In that moment, Astrid thought back to the previous day – when she'd looked at Hiccup and Toothless, and something about how she saw him – as a person – had shifted... noticeably.
Then – hovering there, Astrid realized what that 'shift' actually was... and what it meant. She wasn't sure what to ... 'do' with this feeling, however. But she knew two things for certain – First: There was much more to Hiccup than met the eye. Second, the boy in front of her was a Viking unlike any the world had seen before.
It was only when they saw how far the sun had traveled that they realized how much time had passed. Reluctantly, Toothless angled back down to the cove – careful to approach from the side of the island where no one lived.
As soon as they touched down, Hiccup gathered the basket from the fish, and unbuckled the prosthetic fin from Toothless's tail – then he and Astrid hurried back to the village.
To be continued...