Travels to the Island of Burke
The next morning, I awoke. I sat up and stretched my arms, yawning. Karita was already up and about, exploring in the woods or on the beach. Like I said, she's a very curious being.
I got up, put my boots on, and left my cabin. The sky was clear, surprising for this time of year. The cold would soon be upon us, and I wanted to be to Burke by the time it hit. No way were Mindy and I going to be flying in the snow.
"Mindy!" I called, throwing a pack over my shoulder and closing my cabin door for who knew how long. Mindy flew up from the cliff side and came up to me, nuzzling me gently and dropping a fish in my hand. That was another cute thing that Mindy, and possibly other Night Fury's did – she always shared her food with me. I'd long ago gotten used to eating raw fish. And living this high up on the Earth, it was too cold for bugs and parasites to live.
Mindy knew it was time to go, and was more than excited to get going. I knew she hated staying in one place for so long, and, honestly, I did too. I was actually kind of excited to be going on an adventure…
I mounted Mindy and settled into her familiar back. I tilted my head back and took a deep breath.
"Are you ready to go girl?" I asked, bending down and patting her head right below her ears. She answered by shooting 50 feet in the sky at speeds so fast my hair flew back, making me grip her neck for dear life.
"Slow…down!" I cried, tears leaking from my eyes from the speed. She responded, changing to a slower glide. Ah, flying. I never felt more at peace than I did when I was flying with Mindy.
It was a beautiful day as we flew across the sea to the Isle of Burke. My stomach was in nervous knots the whole time. Besides being forced from my home so many years ago, I'd truly left my Isles, always staying up in the cabin on the cliff. It was my safe place, my Haven. I wouldn't admit to anyone but Mindy, but I was actually kind of scared, leaving home like this. So many questions ran through my mind: Will they like me? Will I be welcomed into the village? Will they believe me? What will Hiccup be like? And Toothless? Will he and Mindy get along? And, most of all, will I be accepted by Toothless and Hiccup and allowed to teach him the ways of his legendary dragon?
I was scared of the unknown, but I had a duty to the few remaining Night Fury's to teach this young man the ways of the Night Fury, and no matter my discomfort, I will do it.
It had been dark for a while now when Mindy and I finally landed on a rocky outcrop to camp for the night. I started a fire and cooked a fish while letting Mindy eat from the bag. She did love her fish, it was funny really. Once we were both done eating, Mindy curled up and I put the fire out and laid down, falling asleep under a full sky of stars.
The next morning we woke up at dawn and headed out again. The further we went, the prettier the sights were. Burke was South of Slorvig, so it wasn't as cold here, and the trees and birds were all different. It was truly a beautiful place. I'd never gone this south before, I'd only ever been up North to the icy tundra's. I'm not sure why I'd never thought to travel South. Maybe after this little adventure in Burke we could go to the Tropics…
I allowed my mind to wander endlessly as Mindy continued on our course to Burke.
By the time the moon was at its peak, we entered the first of the islands that marked Burke. We were ahead of schedule, and I decided to take Mindy to the forest right outside the village to camp for the night. We found a secluded valley surrounded by walls with a small pond in the middle and made camp there. I dug in my bag and threw her a fish and she shot a ball of fire at it and cooked it to perfection for me. I smiled and dug another fish out and gave it to her, and she swallowed it happily. I laid down and closed my eyes, sleep quickly finding me.
Mindy woke me up the moment the sun entered the sky.
"I'm up, I'm up!" I squealed as she pawed and nuzzled me, making me stand. I knew Mindy was excited to meet Toothless and Hiccup, possibly more than I was. She'd never seen another Night Fury before, she had every right to be excited.
I got up and stretched, undressed and hopped in the pond to bathe and clean myself off. I'd just resurfaced from the water when a shadow fell over the pond, making me look up. It was a dragon, species unknown as the sun was blocking my vision. It was getting lower, which was when I saw a person atop the dragon's back.
"Hello!" A male's voice reached me, as he and his dragon circled to land in the valley. I jumped out of the water and quickly tried to get dressed. I was still missing my boots and shirt when they landed, and I quickly ducked behind a rock as Mindy came to my rescue and kept me shielded as I put my shirt over my head and my boots on my feet.
"Another Night Fury?" The voice said, amazement in his voice. Mindy was on guard, she always was when new people came around me. She was extremely protective, thanks to the bond of sharing her Gift with me and our own personal bond from raising her from an egg.
"Yeah, her name is Mindy, and if you back off a little and let me come to you she may not attack you." I said, appearing from behind my beautiful Night Fury's wings.
"I thought I'd seen someone from the sky." The boy said. He was a teenager, about my age, with brownish red hair. He was lanky, missing a leg from the knee down. And he had a Night Fury behind him.
"You must be Hiccup." I said, crossing the space between us and walking right up to him, staring into his eyes. His dragon, Toothless, hadn't given him his Gift yet, his eyes were still brown. It was then that I took my attention away from the average boy in front of me and focused on his Dragon.
Toothless was a beautiful Night Fury. He looked much like Mindy, but she definitely had a more female type figure. I pushed past Hiccup, ignoring him and his protests. He tried to stop me but I grabbed his hand and forced him to the ground. I caught Toothless' eyes and he stopped his protests and let me approach him. I stared into his eyes and put a hand on his muzzle and we both closed our eyes and he opened his mind to me. He wanted me to spare Hiccup, they had a special bond just as Mindy and I. I assured him Mindy and I were not of harm to him or anyone in the village, and that we had heard of them and wanted to introduce ourselves, get to know them, maybe even become friends…
Finally, we separated, and the outside world came back to me. That's when I noticed Hiccup again.
"Sorry, when I talk to the dragons I get kind of… sucked in." I apologized, facing the confused teen.
"What are you talking about?" He asked exasperated. I was acting rather odd, any person would be confused by this.
"My name is Karita, and that's Mindy, my Night Fury. We heard that another had been discovered and about the small Isle of Burke that had trained dragons. And of you, Hiccup." I walked over to him and extended my hand to shake his. I had high respect for this young man, it was an honor to meet him. He took it, staring me in the eyes.
"You have the same color eyes as Toothless." He said, amazed.
"There are many secrets I have to share with you." I replied, smiling. I broke my eyes from his and looked over at Mindy and Toothless, who were playing together already. I was surprised she took to him so fast, she hasn't ever liked other dragons.
I turned back to Hiccup to see he was still staring at me. "What?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip. Even if I were technically 47 years old, I still acted like my 17 year old self.
"I've just… I've never seen anyone like you." He said, unashamedly staring me up and down.
"You wouldn't believe what I looked like 30 years ago." I replied, the age issue forgotten years ago.
"30 years? But, you only look like a teenager." Hiccup said, his eyes widening.
"Like I said, I have lots to tell you." I replied.
"So, what did you use to look like?" He asked, putting his behind his head, turning away, and sort of blushing.
"I use to have bright red, curly hair, freckles covering my entire body, and ocean blue eyes. My family and me were the first to arrive at our village from the Motherland, Scotland. I was just barely over five feet tall, 5'1, 5'2 maybe? I forget, it was awhile ago." I said, babbling.
"And now you look like," and he motioned to all of me.
"Yeah… Like I said, secrets and such." I said, trailing off awkwardly. I turned and watched Mindy and Toothless interacted. I could tell by Mindy's body language that they were communicating, just as Hiccup and I were.
"Well, I guess we should go to the village and introduce you two to everybody." Hiccup said. I nodded and he ran to his dragon, hopping on his back and settling himself into a saddle. He'd actually put a saddle on his dragon. I wasn't sure how I felt about that…
I went to Mindy and she knelt down so I could sit on her back and Toothless and Hiccup took off as Mindy and I followed. My stomach was in knots, I felt like I was going to throw up. I was so nervous… Mindy looked back at me and smacked me in the head with her ear, making me smile and assuring me there was nothing to be nervous or scared about, she was there to protect me. I smiled and buried my head in her neck, hugging my dragon and appreciating her. She knew me inside and out it seemed, and she understood me. I was beyond lucky to have a best friend like her.
A/N: Okay, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm falling more in love with Karita and Mindy the more I write and understand their characters. 3 I hope you love them as much as I do!
Will there be a romance between Karita and Hiccup? What's Astrid going to think of her? Will there be drama? WILL THE VILLAGE ACCEPT HER! Whelp, you gotta stay tuned for the next chapter! ^_^ Reviews are love people!
Xoxox I love chu!
