Sorry about the wait. I had a busy week, but I hope you'll enjoy the latest chapter.
The wind howled in the night air, pushing and shoving against the trees as it made its way into the cold sky. The brilliant sparkling of the night stars offset the subtle moaning and groaning of wooden houses being mercilessly attacked by the cruel midnight gusts. A specific Night Fury sat alone in his room, artfully moving one paw in methodical, yet graceful motions. He was accurate in his strokes, but still retained a sense of deviation and individuality. The softly lit room was alive, yet quite all at the same time. While no words were spoken, the air was alive with a song comprised of howling winds, creaking wood, and the soft, rhythmic scribblings of charcoal on paper.
No matter what Hiccup did, he just couldn't sleep. In order to cure this bad case of restlessness, he picked up his usual habit, drawing. He wasn't as good as he used to be, but the Night Fury was improving quickly, almost to his former glory. His strokes were as precise as they once were and his marks weighed heavier under his paw. The dragon picked up a cloth and wiped away a mark best he could before returning to the interesting contraption. Hiccup slowly redrew the previous line, making it much neater and accurate to his internal design. Setting the pencil down, Hiccup looked at his work. A strap looking device that was designed to fit around Hiccup or Toothless' paw and went a small button the side is pressed it, a knife swings out ready for battle. Hiccup was rather proud of himself, knowing he and Toothless would have a way to defend themselves since their claws weren't particularly sharp to begin with. The more he thought about the design, the more Hiccup realized its subtle flaws. What if one of them were to accidentally flip the switch and the blade pops out? On top of that, how was he going to make it less bulky?
Scratching his head lightly with one paw, Hiccup slowly turned the page with the other, looking at a blank page free of any marks. Picking up the pencil, Hiccup set it down lightly against the paper. Hiccup's mind wandered from one idea to the next until he eventually floated to the day's events and the little dragon he met. After a few moments, Hiccup blinked his eyes a few moment, noticing he was drawing little Ryuu. The dragon was adorable and so innocent. Seeing Ryuu spurred something inside Hiccup that he was sure he'd never felt before. No, this feeling was familiar, but with a different tinge to it.
A few minutes ticked by and Hiccup had drawn out a new scene, one that was imprinted in Hiccup's mind. His imagination ran wild with each curving and straight line. There was Toothless, and Hiccup, and a small little dragon in between them. Each dragon looked happy and content, grateful for what they had and ready for a happy life together. A family, something Hiccup had wanted since...well...just about forever. Hiccup slammed he book shut when he felt paws softly wrap around him. Looking down at his paws, Hiccup tried his best not to show any embarrassment.
"Did I interrupt something?" Toothless asked groggily. Hiccup shook his head in response.
"I get the feeling you don't want to talk about it," Toothless said, his head nodding as he struggled to remain awake, "Come back to bed." Hiccup shook his head again this time, pushing the book off to the side quickly.
"I'm not tired," Hiccup said, fiddling with a pencil in his hand. Toothless quickly jerked his hand to the side, grabbing the book and flipping it open. Hiccup let out a small screech of terror and lunged for the book only to fall on the ground as Toothless sidestepped his mate. Flipping to the last entered page, he stared at the page. Hiccup rushed him, only to have Toothless' other paw pressed against his head, keeping him at a distance as Hiccup's paws flailed to get the book back.
"No, stop!" Hiccup half begged. When Toothless' arm weakened for a moment, Hiccup lunged ontop of him, bringing them both down to the ground with a loud thunk. With his arm still outstretched, Toothless kept the book away from the smaller Night Fury.
"Hey, hey!" Toothless said teasingly, "Now what do I get if I give you back this little book of yours?" Hiccup glared at his counterpart, ready to pounce again if he needed but quickly realized it would only result in more struggling before he would inevitably fail against the larger Night Fury.
"You can do anything you want to me," Hiccup said seductively, running a claw up Toothless' chest. The larger dragon blushed and smiled at the remark, quickly bringing his paw closer to Hiccup, letting the dragon snatch away the book.
"So make that one I.O.U.," Hiccup said, getting up off the floor. Toothless let out a small whine of disappointment and flopped back down onto the bed, letting his face fall flat into the soft covers. After a few moments of silence, Toothless spoke up, his smooth voice filling the room quickly.
"Is that what you want?" Toothless asked. Hiccup froze for a moment, feeling his heart beat heavily. Hiccup nodded softly and stared down at his book. The smaller dragon could hear subtle shuffling before the room went quite once again. Glancing back, Hiccup caught sight of Toothless running his paws up and down his head.
"You know we can't," Toothless said softly. Hiccup fully turned around to face Toothless, obviously caught off guard by the sudden denial.
"What do you man we can't?" Hiccup asked with slight conviction. Toothless looked up from the floor and stared into his loves eyes, seeing the despair that flowed through them.
"For one, we're both guys," Toothless started off, stating the obvious, "Two, you aren't, we aren't ready for a family. We're both still young, and we've only been mates for a few months." Hiccup stared at Toothless with confusion.
"There are plenty of vikings younger than us both that are married and have children, and I'm sure there are dragons who had children only a few months after becoming mates," Hiccup said in his defense. Toothless shook his head, getting up from his position.
"Hiccup, I know you want this, and I really do too, but we are not ready for something like this. We've still got our youth and we should enjoy it while we can," Toothless insisted, "Even if we wanted a family, it would be next to impossible to have one."
"What do you mean by that?" Hiccup asked, sounded slightly offended, "I know I'm not a female, but there are options available for us Tooth!" Toothless groaned a little bit, shaking his head some more.
"Hiccup we can't, not right now, not for a while," Toothless said.
"Why can't we Toothless? Is it because I'm not ready? Am I not capable of being a good father?" Hiccup asked with more and more urgency. With each exchange of words, Hiccup got more and more bent out of shape.
"Hiccup you know that isn't what I'm saying," Toothless said, raising his voice out of frustration, "It's not like we can just walk into the words and find an orphaned or abandoned baby dragon!" The wind pushed harder against the wooden house, making it creak with greater intensity than before.
"Who says we have to go find one? Ryuu is all on his own! There are viking children without parents!" Hiccup retaliated.
"No, we cannot adopt a human child!" Toothless persisted tirelessly.
"Why? You think his life would be too difficult with dragon parents?" Hiccup asked angrily.
"Thats not what I'm saying Hiccup," Toothless said, trying to calm himself down.
"You think we couldn't care for him properly?" Hiccup asked again, with greater annoyance.
"No Hiccup!" Toothless said, raising his voice again.
"What! What about us makes it so impossible to have a family!" Hiccup nearly yelled into the air. The Night Fury's voice reverberated around the room, creating a very faint echo in Toothless' ears as the words weighed heavy on the line maintaining his cool.
"Because our how long we live Hiccup!" Toothless finally barked out, "We'll long outlive that kid!" Hiccup's snapped shut quickly, his face turning to one of pure terror.
"We...we what?" Hiccup asked again. The color drained from Toothless' face when he realized what he let slip. Hiccup, with the book held tightly against his chest, slowly began to back out of the room, tears welling up in the dragons eyes.
"Nothing! I didn't say anything at all!" Toothless insisted with a bit of fear in his voice, "Just...just come over here and we'll talk about it okay?" Hiccup slowly shook his head, pushing the door open as his tail pushed against it.
"You...you never told me," Hiccup squeaked out, "Why didn't you tell me Tooth?" Toothless felt his own eyes water for a few moments, seeing his love take the book in his mouth and rush out of the room and down the stairs. Chasing after him, Toothless only caught a glimpse of his love's tail as it slinked around the door and out into the cold night.
"Why does he always have to wear his prosthetics," Toothless cursed to himself. By the time the dragon fumbled getting his own fin on, Hiccup was long gone. Looking into the night sky, Toothless saw nothing but the stars and the moon and no sign of his beloved Night Fury.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Toothless yelled, his voice getting louder with each curse he said, "You just had to open you stupid damn mouth!" The Night Fury didn't know what to do next, but each passing moment brought the dragon closer and closer to tears. He just told his love he was immortal compared to his loved ones. He was doomed to live several human lifetimes before his own time would come. Everyone he knew would be gone, everyone he loved would die in front of him, no one but Toothless and a few dragons would remain with him. Toothless could only begin to grasp the feelings of immense despair and sadness his love was experiencing. Its one thing to outlive a friend or two, but Hiccup had to go through that with everyone. Generation after generation would come and go, and the two Night Furies would remain, unchanged, hardly aged, and disconnected from the tribe they once helped thrive.
Hiccup sat alone, his sketchbook still held firmly against his chest. He was curled into himself, silent tears falling out of his eyes. They made no sound as they rolled off the dragon's cheeks and landed wherever they were destined to go.
The Night Fury's chest felt heavy, yet hollow at the same time. He hadn't felt like this in quite a while and he hoped it would've stayed that way. He felt he should've been angry at Toothless for not telling him, but his mind and heart were more full of grief and sorrow than anything else.
"I don't know if I can do this," Hiccup whispered into the air, "I don't know if I can watch them grow old and die right in front of me..." The wind seemed to disappear hearing the sorrowful words of the solitary dragon. Stars twinkling in the moonlight danced overhead as if trying to cheer up the dragon whose life was just flipped yet again.
"At least I won't have to worry about wrinkles for a while," Hiccup whispered to himself in a desperate attempt to cheer himself up. The smile that briefly illuminated his face died and was replaced with a dark face of indifference. It was one thing to completely transform into a dragon, but Hiccup didn't realize that his whole life would be changed. He couldn't walk the same path as his friends and family anymore. In the great and fantastic story of Hiccup, they would only be there for the first act.
Soft footsteps attracted Hiccups attention. A boy came into view, staring down at his feet as he walked, not really paying attention to where he was going. The boy stopped and looked up, staring directly at Hiccup. It was one of the newcomers, the boy who had Ryuu with him. Looking over his body, Hiccup noticed the little dragon wasn't with him. The dragon turned his attention away from the boy and towards the night sky. The footsteps returned with a softer touch and a tinge of hesitation.
"Do you...mind if I sit with you?" the boy asked with a rough voice. Hiccup glanced up, caught off guard by his coarse voice. The dragon nodded and turned back to the skies. He wasn't too comfortable with having a stranger so close to him, but he really wasn't in the mood to fight with anything. Right now, he just wanted to be with his thoughts and as long as the boy didn't disturb him, he really didn't care. Shuffling sounds moved through the air as the boy sat down near Hiccup. Glancing over, Hiccup noticed the extended stare the boy was giving him. This continued for a few more moments before Hiccup became increasingly annoyed.
"Do you need something?" Hiccup said, coming off a bit more rude than he had wished. The boy blinked a few times then shook his head. His stare continued for a few more moments before he looked towards the sky. Hiccup shrugged lightly and stared at the ground, trying to regain his train of thought.
"You said your name was Hiccup?" the boys said with strange accent. Hiccup breathed out lightly and closed his eyes. Nodding his head, Hiccup opened his eyes and looked towards the sky again, staring into the endless expanses of dancing and parading stars.
"Why are you the only dragon around here that talks?" the boy asked again. The questions annoyed Hiccup to no end.
"I should've said no," Hiccup thought to himself, regretting every decision he's made that led up to this point.
"I'm sorry," Hiccup said, trying to avoid answering any questions, "I didn't catch your name." The boy looked at Hiccup with an indifferent face, one that was genuinely static. Did this kid even show emotion?
"Tatsuo," the boy said sharply as if annoyed by his own name, "Why don't the dragons talk?" The boy was persistent alright.
"I don't know what its like in Japan," Hiccup said, getting more annoyed as time went by, "but dragons don't talk here." Tatsuo looked at Hiccup with sharp, almost dangerous eyes.
"Then why do you talk? Why do the people here act like they can hear the dragons? Why do they have conversations with them?" Tatsuo prodded even more, turning to face Hiccup. Hiccup groaned slightly, just wanting to be left alone.
"Drop it," Hiccup said, getting up from his position, "I'm leaving." Tatsuo stood up quickly, making it clear he wasn't happy.
"Answer my questions," Tatsuo said, taking a few steps towards Hiccup.
"Work on your manners and I might just consider it," Hiccup said, turning his head towards Tatsuo. The boy took another step towards Hiccup, standing right in front of him. Hiccup turned towards him, sitting on his tail to face him. Tatsuo was taller than Hiccup an originally thought, but still stood a few inches below Hiccup. Without warning, the boy grabbed Hiccup's face and kissed him. The dragon froze in complete shock for a moment before shoving Tatsuo away. The boy tumbled backwards and fell onto the ground.
"The hell do you think you're doing?" Hiccup said angrily, wiping his mouth in disgust. Tatsuo looked confused.
"Did I misread the situation?" the boy said almost innocently. Hiccup couldn't believe this kid.
"I'd say so," the Night Fury said with slight disgust, "Why the hell would you kiss a dragon?" Tatsuo looked confused again as if Hiccup was questioning something basic and routine.
"Are human and dragon relationships not a custom here?" Tatsuo asked, standing back up. Hiccup ran a paw over his face in frustration.
"No," Hiccup said after a few moments of silence, "Whatever you think is normal, don't. Berk is a world away from Japan and we do things differently here. I'm not saying you should abandon your culture, but you could get hurt going around like you are now." Tatsuo cocked his head to the side, but nodded creating a weird paradox. Hiccup didn't know if he caught any of that.
"Please, just leave me alone," Hiccup said, sitting back down. Tatsuo stood there for a few moments, watching the dragon as he curled back into himself. The boy turned and walked back the way he came, keeping his head straight, never glancing back at the dragon he was leaving behind. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hiccup returned to his thoughts, for once, happy to be alone again.
"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered into the wind, wishing Toothless would hear it, "I should've stayed, I should've listened." The dragon slowly rose to his feet, angry with himself yet again. Going home and talking to Toothless was the only thing Hiccup wanted to do. Holding onto his book tightly, Hiccup spread his wings slowly, stretching them out and flexing them a few times. Pushing them downwards and back up, Hiccup felt himself getting higher into the air. Turning in the direction of the village, it only took a few feet for the houses and hall to come into view over the small hill.
A bright flash of light caught Hiccup off guard as he shielded his eyes. A loud boom followed, sending a shockwave into Hiccup causing him to crash into the ground. Looking up quickly, Hiccup saw fire spreading quickly. The entire village was completely engulfed by the flames. Berk was burning away.