Welcome back! Same things apply. This chapter is written from the point of view of Hiccup Haddock.

Chapter 3: A Dream So Big and Loud

I heard the news coming from the other room, my mom keeping an eye out for the weather. With novel in hand, I wanted to yell over at her to look outside, since it was obvious it was going to rain, when I looked instead. The park was empty save for a girl with dark hair, her bike, and what seemed to be every possession she ever had, including her dog. I'd recognize that spiky black hair anywhere. "Tyra?" I asked, mostly to myself. I called back, "Hey Mom, Tyra's outside! Can she come in? It looks like she got kicked out."

My mother, a lithe and muscular woman, came from the other room, slightly confused, then looked out the window to see Tyra sitting in the rain. I saw concern wash over her. "Go get her inside. She's always welcome here."

I nodded as she walked back to the other room. After placing my book face down on the table with my page open, I went outside, not bothering to put on a jacket. When I got closer, I saw that she had her music in, and the sounds of her music could be heard clearly. The look of her in the rain was beautiful. Her hair clung to her suntanned skin, and her eyes were closed, but one was bruised and swollen. I felt rage fill me, but I didn't do anything yet. Zyalon lifted his head, his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging when he saw me. I watched for a moment, then reached out to touch her. Once my hand touched her shoulder, she seemed scared that it was someone else and elbowed me in the stomach. "Ah!" I collapsed, holding the spot and feeling winded, my lungs screaming for much needed air.

Tyra leapt up from her seat, looking like she was about to slug me. I saw the anger in her eyes dissipate as soon as she understood it was me. "Hiccup?" She lowered her fist, her voice louder than her normal speaking voice. "Don't scare me like that…" her muscles relaxed and the soft sound of her music still played. She removed her earbuds, and her voice returned to normal. "What are you doing here?"

I had recovered a bit more now and stood upright. "I kinda live across the street." I took a deep breath, massaging my probably bruised abdomen. "Who did that to you?" I asked defensively. This wouldn't stand.

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Ennick took the news pretty hard."

I felt my heart lurch with guilt and anger. I knew it was my fault, at least partially. I shouldn't have been so blatant on the phone. I looked away. "Come on, Tyra. Let's go in."

I lead the way, taking her bow and bag while she locked her bike and walked Zyalon. After a few moments, she came up to me, taking the bag and unhooked Zyalon's leash. He bolted into the house. She turned to me, smiling happily. "Thanks Hiccup… I don't know if I can face Uncle Tonraq yet… And Freya and Kristoff are over there and I don't want to scare them."

I smiled slightly, worry filling me. "My Mom loves you and we have an extra room that isn't being used. Besides, I kinda owe you."

We entered the house, and my mother was waiting. "Tyra!" She smiled, greeting her with a giant hug. "How is everything?" Then she noticed her black eye. "Tyra! Oh my goodness! Who did this to you?"

Tyra tensed slightly, then answered. "Oh, yeah... um... These boys were picking on a girl at school, and Hiccup, Korra and I defended her." She lied. I felt angry, but kept my mouth shut. Tyra smiled weakly. "I'm okay. I mean, Ennick kicked me out…" She paused. "Kinda…"

I noticed her smile fade slightly, but then it came back. "You're welcome to stay in the guest bedroom, but make sure there's not too much noise." She winked.

I felt myself blush brightly, but Tyra let out a soft chuckle, then answered, "I may not be staying the night, ma'am. I just need to clear my head a little." She rubbed the back of her neck. "But thank you for the offer, and even if I was staying, it wouldn't be too loud." Tyra smiled.

My mother smiled even more. "Good on ya." After she said this, she headed toward the kitchen and started working on a kind of dinner. From the burning smell, it would probably end up being burgers. I settled back on the couch with my book, starting a page before where I left off. Tyra knew her way around. She had been here so many times, it wasn't a surprise she'd headed in this direction when Ennick kicked her out. She looked at the shelf for a while, her brow furrowed, then pulled down The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams, and sat beside me, starting the book. I glanced over to her, noticing that she seemed to read at a very fast pace.

Soon, my mother called us in for dinner, and, as I expected, it was very well done hamburgers. We all sat at the table, and I noticed Tyra felt awkward. She remained silent, a strange occurrence compared to her usual open nature. It was my mother that broke the silence. "So how are your grades? Both of you?"

Tyra smiled. "I have mostly A's and one B so far this quarter." I noticed her glance to me in concern, then wince when I gave her a desperate look.

My mother looked to me expectantly. "And you, Hiccup?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well… I have a C in one class, but the others are alright."

She narrowed his eyes. "What class?"

I looked to Tyra for help. She glanced between the two of us, trying not to get involved. "It's uh… Literature…"

"Literature? But Hiccup you read all the time!" I could hear the disappointment again.

I merely nodded, avoiding eye contact. Then Tyra jumped to my rescue. "It is a really tough class. I'm only doing okay because I can read fast, and I read the content more than once." She sat up taller once my mom's gaze was on her. "The teacher expects a little too much of us. That class is my B. There's very little about the actual content. It's more about certain objects I would forget about by the time I finished and how they correlate with other parts of the story," she answered.

She thought for a moment, then nodded. I felt myself relax, but then her voice made it all come back. "But at least you have a good grade in the class."

"But he has a passing grade. If he didn't read as much as he did, he'd probably have a much worse grade." Tyra defended further. I felt myself flush when I saw the slight anger in her eyes.

"But it should be better." She answered, giving us both a stern look. I glanced to Tyra, thanking her for trying silently. She looked guilty, but she shouldn't. This wasn't a "my mom loving her more than me" thing, this was a "my mom doesn't approve" kind of thing.

After dinner, Tyra and I were alone. Mom had to go to work, and left us to ourselves. Tyra started helping to clean the dishes, scrubbing them, then handing them to me to dry. I noticed Toothless sitting on the table and Zyalon sitting behind us, staring up at us as if we would give them food. Toothless, my solid black cat, was missing half of his tail, and despite their species difference Zyalon and Toothless were great friends. The large grey malamute that lay on the floor, sleeping peacefully, was Cloudjumper, my mother's dog.

I glanced at her eye again. "You lied to my mom about how you go that." I stated. She nodded, solemnly. "Why would you do that?" I tried to stay calm, but the anger showed through in my voice.

Tyra was silent for a moment, using the scrubber to get out a particularly nasty piece of grime on one of the plates. "Because I love him, and he's never done this before." She kept her gaze down. "I provoked him." She winced. "Kind of..."

I let out a forced breath that she noticed. She seemed smaller and weaker now that she had the shiner. "That still doesn't give him the right."

Tyra slammed her hands down on the counter. "I know that, Hiccup!" I jumped when she yelled, and she looked at me with regret. "Sorry... I just... I don't want to lose my brother because of one, albeit terrible, mistake." She looked down. "I've already lost too many people."

I waited, trying to understand, to no avail. "I... don't understand... but okay." We were silent for a few moments, just continuing with the job that needed to be done.

I noticed her eyes move to Toothless' tail, then back to the dishes. "How's your leg, Hic?" The concern in her voice was palpable and thick enough to cut it with a knife.

I glanced, keeping a steady circular motion on the dish I was drying. "It's alright. It doesn't really hurt yet." I finished drying the one I was working on, and went to the kitchen table to sit and pull up my leg. My prosthetic was like any other, the tone of my skin with some of the machinery showing through the ankle joint. Whenever I looked at it, I thought of the accident that caused it.

"Only in Winter or when you stress yourself too much, right?" She answered.

I nodded. "It aches sometimes on rainy days too."

She kept her eyes on the dishes. "My father was an amputee too." I felt my head shoot up at the sound. Tyra never talked about her father. She continued slowly. "His name was Henrick John Bjorgman ... But everybody called him Silver."

I felt as if I had just been run over and stood shakily, going back to her side. "Wait, your father was Silver? Captain Silver?" I waited for her answer, and she let out a sigh.

"Yes, Hiccup. My father was Captain Silver. That doesn't mean I want anyone else to know or that I am like him in any way." She was very adamant.

I smiled broadly. "You are a lot like him. At least from what I've heard. I know Jim loved him."

She stiffened. "He was like a dad to Jim... He was never that for me..." She shook her head, rubbed her hand over one of her eyes and answered, "I don't want to talk about my father... or Jim..."

"Okay," I nodded, then glanced to Tyra once again, feeling that warmth again. I thought about her broken home and how I may have had it better, but my mind wandered to my mother, and I, finally, said what was on my mind: "Why does she always like you better, no matter what?"

I could feel Tyra's stare boring into my back. "Hiccup, she loves you. You know that."

"Yeah well, you're everything she wants me to be!" I snarled, then thought things through. "I mean… I don't think she wanted me to be bisexual, I mean…" I blushed again, feeling like an idiot.

"I know what you mean, Hiccup." She was always so understanding and gentle. I looked over to her, and she kept her eye on the dishes, but occasionally glanced up at me, her eyes slightly red. "It's because she wants you to end up better than she did. That's what my Mom used to say." Tears built up in her eyes. "If she was here, I may not even be here right now."

I nodded, putting my hands on the counter. "I know I complain about my Mom… It hurts huh?"

She nodded. "A little. But I'm sure if my Mom were alive, I'd be doing the same thing." She smiled. "You know that she'll love you no matter what you become as long as you love her back." She turned around, drying her hands on one of the towels. "Go with her to movies or baseball games sometime. I know she loves them. Try out for the archery team or something. Honestly, you could be a good archer. I know Merida is still looking for teammates. It's just me, her, Kristoff and Fitzherbert right now. If we get a couple more members we could go to the state tournament..."

"Ty, you're rambling," I answered, letting out a sigh when she looked up at me again.

"Right. Sorry. My point is try to give her a little love and she'll give you some back." She kept her hands behind her head. "And if she doesn't then we'll move out and get an apartment, right, bud?" She nudged me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah Tyra." I paused for a moment. "You say you're all masculine and then you pull emotional stuff like this."

"Hey, just 'cause I like girls and boys doesn't mean I can't be deep." She laughed, and I couldn't help but laugh in reply.