For a few more moments, Evan rested his forehead on the wooden pillar. Why was he so angry? Was it really just Zephyrs mouthiness? Or was it the memories? Deep down, Evan knew just too well it were the memories. Zephyr was just triggering the emotions he tried so hard to keep inside. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm down.
,,Promise me to never become like your father". ,,Never"! The voice of his mother and his answer rang in his head. He'd promised her to never become like Ivar. But here he was, losing it in front of a girl. She was just asking him about his well being and he yelled at her. Yes, he wanted her to respect and fear him but he didn't want to make her think he was a misogynistic idiot. He had to apologize. Not to befriend her but to make sure she wouldn't think too wrong about him. Well, she probably already did.
Letting out a huge sigh, he turned. As his eyes caught the mess he'd wrought, his head dropped to the side and he lowered his shoulders. This was even worse. In his blind rage, he hadn't realized the chaos he created. And how was he about to apologize even? Would she buy it? Or would she think that he was nuts once and for all? The feeling of embarrassment crept up in him and he wished he didn't have to see her now. After some minutes of thinking, Evan decided to wait until it was time to bring her last meal. It would make things less awkward. So he hoped.
Meanwhile, Zephyr had calmed down as well. The sun was slowly setting. She'd spent the time sitting with Fearless at the stone wall outside of the hut, where Evan had chained them up. She had been drawing Ghost for the last few hours. After all, he was a male Light fury and his design was important for her to take down. Besides that, Zephyr couldn't stop thinking about what made Evan so mad. He had looked not only furious but hurt in some way. The shadows under his eyes gave away that he hadn't gotten much sleep. Maybe it was her fault that he'd snapped. Sometimes she could become mouthy. It was one of the few character traits that she inherited from her mother. Zephyr knew in that little time, that she got to know Evan, that he had short nerves. But there had to be something behind it all. ,,There must be more to it Fearless"! Zephyr spoke her mind and rose her head. ,,I can't believe that Evan's so mad at my dad just because somebody told him he killed Grimmel. There must be more to it" she repeated,,I don't know...maybe I'm just imagining things but I bet he looked hurt somehow". Fearless flicked his ears and purred at her, blinking. Suddenly Ghost lifted his head. Zephyr on that, turned her head as well into the direction he was looking. As she saw Evan coming towards them, her stomach tightened. Getting up on her feet, she put the map back into her bag and waited. To her relief, Evan looked way calmer now. Not as if he would burst out into his next temper tantrum the next moment. Zephyr just hoped it wouldn't end in a fight again. He carried a bowl, some bread and a bottle of water. ,,Dinner already, huh"? Zephyr started the conversation a bit reserved. ,,Yeah..." Evan responded just as reserved ,,Here"! He gave her the food. ,,Uhm.." he looked to the side. Zephyr wondered. He seemed nervous for some reason. Was he about to say something? ,,About earlier.." he started and still didn't look at her. Of course, he would talk about it. Zephyr felt embarrassed. She had to do something before he would get mad again. ,,Yeah I know...I'm sorry"! She suddenly muttered and caught Evan off guard. Widening his eyes, he turned his head to look at her. That was unexpected. ,,It was stupid of me to provoke you. I've seen your dark circles. You didn't look well. You're right. It's not my business. I was just...". ,,No it's ok" Evan interrupted her and surprised her with that. ,,Actually...I'm to one who should apologize. You just asked me about my well being. Like any normal person would..I'm...I guess I'm not used to..errr...kindness anymore...". Zephyr just stared at him, blinking confusedly. What was going on? He was apologizing to her? He was being nice for the first time. Not used to kindness anymore? Zephyr thought again. What was that supposed to mean? It had to mean that he was treated bad in the past, she guessed. ,,Excuse me for asking..but...what do you mean by that"? Zephyr asked. ,,Not used to kindness anymore"? Zephyr thought she saw a sad glimmering in his eyes. He seemed to remember something. ,,I hadn't gotten much sleep indeed" Evan admitted, changing the subject without even reacting to her question. Zephyr closed her mouth and looked to the side. He might tell her eventually. Evan let out a quiet sigh ,,Just so you know, I'm not doing this to sympathize you. I just wanted you to know that even I..err...you get the point"! He quickly ended his sentence and turned. Zephyr blinked again, still dumbfounded. Was it just her or did he act strange? ,,Erm...thank you I guess"? She replied and Evan just nodded slightly and went over to Ghost. What was that all about? Was this actually a hint to something? Zephyr started to smile slightly. Maybe she could try to get something out of him now. Walking up next to him, she waited.
,,How did you do that by the way"? He suddenly asked, still not looking at her. ,,What"? Zephyr asked calmly. ,,Usually, Ghost doesn't let anyone get close to him but me. I'm the only one able to touch him. I've never seen him like that before" Evan explained, touching Ghosts nose. Zephyrs smile went even wider ,,You mean dragon training"? ,,What"? Evan turned to look at her slightly. ,,Dragon training. Or dragon taming. My grandmother used to life among dragons for twenty years. She knows everything about them. My father taught himself everything on his own, when he first found his dragon". Evan wondered. The way Zephyr was talking about Hiccup, didn't match with the way everybody had described him at all. ,,I can show you"! Zephyr suddenly broke off his thoughts. ,,Here"! Without hesitation, she placed her hand on Ghosts jaw. ,,Put your hand here"! She demanded. A bit unsure, Evan put his hand to where Zephyr told him to and waited. ,,And now scratch him here"! she told him and so Evan did. Instantly, Ghosts eyes went wide, his pupils slim and he dropped down with a deep purr. Surprised by the sudden reaction, Evan pulled back. Just like earlier. ,,See? That's the trick"! Zephyr gestured, chuckling at Ghost, who was on the ground again. As Evan watched Zephyr, a weird feeling crept up in him and he turned from her once more. What was he even doing? He had a plan. He couldn't let himself fall for her charms. Maybe that was a trick of hers as well. Sympathizing him so he would let her go. He couldn't become friends with her. It would ruin it all. Besides, he just couldn't forget the past. ,,It's time to put you back into your cell"! he rose his voice again. Now sounding more strict and cold again. Zephyr sighed. She almost expected this. ,,Alright". He didn't need to say anything anymore, she walked back to the hut on her own. Of course, he wouldn't play nice. Still, she was determined to find out what he was hiding. If her family didn't find her first.
Attaching the chains inside of the hut again, Evan turned to leave. ,,Wait"! Zephyr suddenly called after him. Evan stopped in the doorframe, looking to the side slightly. Waiting for what she had to say. ,,Uhm.." Zephyr began, fumbling her fingers and looking down to her hands ,,thank you.."! she murmured a bit shyly. Widening his eyes, Evans face fell a bit. A weird tingle shot through him. ,,Err...yeah..." he rambled quickly and then closed the door.
Outside of the hut, Evan stayed in front of the door a few seconds longer. Still in shock, he starred at at the ground. What was that? Why the heck was she being so nice to him? After all he did? Closing his eyes, he tried to calm himself. As he felt Ghost come next to him, he opened his eyes again. Ghost was looking at him. ,,What"? Evan replied a bit annoyed and monotone. Ghosts eyes went bigger and he opened his mouth a bit. ,,Oh no" Evan dropped his shoulders ,,I know what you're thinking" he wiped over his face. Ghost purred a bit and wiggled and heckled slightly. ,,The answer is no"! Evan started walking away from the hut, Ghost following him. ,,We're not befriending her. Not even for these scratches of hers" he told his Light fury in a serious tone. Ghost still heckled. Maybe, if he begged a bit longer, his rider would give in and give him these good scratches". After a while, Evan got annoyed for real. ,,No"! He hissed and Ghost flinched backward a bit, slimming his pupils. ,,Cut it out"! Evan groaned ,,What are you? A spoiled baby"? He shook his head and went into his house. Ghost lowered his eyebrows into a frown and dropped his ears. Grumbling slightly he mimicked his owner. Spoiled baby, pah. This female gets you way more moody than usual, that's it. Following Evan in his house, Ghost went over to his spot near the fireplace and laid himself down with another grumbling sound. Evan rolled his eyes at him and then bend over his table. He'd placed a bowl of cold water on top and was now washing his face. It was almost a week now. Five days, since he captured Zephyr. Hiccup must be on his way soon. Evan would make sure to revenge himself. Anger boiled up in him again, as he remembered all the pain he had to go through. All the abuse. All those years of misery. Of course, he wasn't used to someone being nice to him anymore. He couldn't understand it. But one thing was for sure, he wasn't going to give up. Not without a fight.
The sun was slowly setting in front of the huge island of new Berk. A soft wind blew on top of the cliffs. Like always. The grass tilted itself in the breeze swiftly, while the trees behind rustled quietly. Some birds were chirping. Nuffink had sat himself down on a rock near the cliffs. Resting his head on his palms, he looked out to the ocean. The wide horizon, the setting sun that reflected itself on the huge mass of water. Making it look like liquid gold. The few, little clouds turned into a soft shade of pink and orange. It was a peaceful and harmonic view that Nuffink used to enjoy a lot. However, this time, he didn't. He couldn't. His mind was far off. By his sister. He worried. He was afraid. He was torn. Was she ok? Was she hurt? How afraid must she be? Nuffink didn't know Grimmel personally but the stories he'd heard about him were more than enough. Why did he have to capture his sister? Though he knew it wouldn't make much sense, he wished he would be the captured one instead of his sister. If Grimmel was so out to revenge his father, why didn't he just come to new Berk directly like he did last time? Nuffink hoped, that Grimmel wouldn't hurt Zephyr. Cloud sat next to him, purring at him softly. He as well was worried. After all, his brother was gone too. However, Fearless was the bravest of the siblings and earned his name with all rights. He wouldn't go down that easily. Cloud knew he would do anything to protect Zephyr. Cloud knew because that's what he would to for Nuffink. Dragons and their owners weren't just rider and dragon. They were best friends, family, soul bounded. Nuffink was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't even hear the soft flapping sounds behind him. Cloud turned his head. He spotted Angela on Amethi and Aris with Clover. The boys weren't with them. They were needed to prepare armors.
As Angela and Aris hopped down from their dragons, they shared worried looks. Both girls had needed a break but mostly, they wanted to check on Nuffink. He just disappeared a few hours ago. Flew off to clear his mind. Angela and Aris knew right away where to find him. The upper cliffs were his sister's favorite spot. The last days had been very hard on him. The situation wasn't easy for everybody but it was the hardest for Nuffink and his family.
Carefully, Angela made her way up to Nuffink, traced her hand over Clouds nose and then rested it on Nuffinks shoulder. ,,You ok Nuff"? She asked him softly. The blonde sighed ,,Not really". The black haired frowned sadly. ,,I know how you must be feeling. Zephyr is our best friend too. We all worry but you're her brother" she sat down next to him. ,,Yeah" Aris nodded ,,If something would happen to my brothers, I would go insane as well. Even though they're annoying". ,,But it will be ok"! Angela calmly added. ,,Your dad will make it. Zephyr is though". ,,And feisty"! Aris added. ,,But it's Grimmel we're talking about"! Nuffink replied, still worried. ,,Yeah but it wouldn't make sense for him to hurt Zephyr. He uses her to lure your father to him. He just uses her as a hostage" Angela gestured. ,,But what if Grimmel counts on us coming as an army? What if he's playing us and something even worse happens"? Nuffink felt panic coming up in him. ,,Don't think that"! Aris sat down next to Nuffink as well. ,,You know what your father said. We're more experienced now. We've got our dragons back and we now have an antiserum". ,,Yeah right, I forgot" Nuffink lifted his head ,,Did it work"? Aris and Angela smiled big ,,Yes it worked. Me, your grandma and Gothi sat two days on it but we finally got it"! Aris explained. ,,But are you sure it works"? Nuffink asked. ,,We've tried it on plants and the chickens. The effect of the poison becomes ineffective once you inject the antiserum. It was actually a pretty clever idea. We also found that if you have the antiserum, a higher dosage won't harm you either". Nuffink smiled at Aris ,,That's good news"! ,,Thanks to your idea"! Aris grinned back at him. ,,But what if Grimmel's expecting that"? Nuffink countered. ,,Then it's still protecting us" Angela replied ,,Whatever happens, we're gonna stick together. We all will not give up until Zephyr's back home safe and sound". ,,Ana is right" Aris declared. ,,We have us and we have our dragons". Cloud, Clover and Amethi came closer and looked at them encouraging. ,,You don't have to endure this alone Nuff"! Angela looked back at them. ,,You have us"! Aris added. ,,Thank you guys"! Nuffink smiled slightly ,,You really are the best friends". On that, both girls hugged Nuffink from both sides.
Meanwhile, the others were getting close to finishing the armors. Hiccup just finished the last armor piece for Toothless. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he held it up. ,,What do you say bud"? Toothless, who had stood next to his best friend, watching, eyed the last armor piece curiously. Then he purred approvingly. He too was still mad about what Grimmel did. Looking over to Astrid, Hiccup found, that she too was done with Stormfly's armor. ,,Hiccup"! It was Valka calling him. ,,How's the antiserum going"? He asked her. ,,We're finished" Valka smiled proudly and held a small purple liquid up to him. ,,Is it safe"? Hiccup took the small bottle and looked at it. ,,It is"! Valka replied. ,,We've tested it on plants and chickens. It makes the poison loose its effect". ,,Good" Hiccup nodded. ,,The antiserum"? Astrid had walked over to them. ,,Yes" Valka turned to her. ,,We finally managed to create it". ,,Where's Aris? Wasn't she helping you and Gothi"? Astrid blinked. ,,She and Angela went off for a break" Valka explained. ,,They probably went after Nuffink" Leifur added from the other side of the smithery. ,,Really"? Hiccup turned his head to Tuffnuts son. ,,Yeah.." he came closer ,,Nuffink had left earlier, he didn't look well. Strained. It affected him deeply". Hiccup lowered his gaze. ,,I understand. We feel the same. Zephyr and Nuffink had always been very close. Of course it's hard for him". Leifur blinked sadly ,,I don't even want to think what I would do if something happened to my little sister". Kalani Thorston was the youngest daughter of Tuffnut. Twelve years old at the time and ready to attend her first dragon training soon. A shy girl. Different than her father and brother, she inherited the dark copper red hair from her mother. Her eyes, however, had the same blue than Tuffnut. And she had freckles around her nose. Though Leifur was calm, he could also be funny sometimes.
,,When do you think we'll be good to leave"? Valka asked Hiccup. ,,If everything goes well, in two days". Valka nodded. The smile faded from her lips. ,,I just hope everything will work out the way we've planned it Hiccup. Last time we underestimated Grimmel, didn't go well". ,,This time is different"! Hiccup insisted. ,,I was twenty-one years back then. I was young and inexperienced. Like I said. Now I know who we're dealing with. I am not going to leave new Berk with the feeling that anything wasn't prepared right. Our dragons got armors, we got armors and we got the antiserum. Whatever Grimmel wants, he wants it from me. From the beginning, it was me he had a problem with. I am sorry I'd pulled you in all of this. Now I know what to do. I will get Zephyr back and I will stop Grimmel"! Astrid closed her eyes and rested her head on her husband's shoulder. ,,We trust you Hiccup"! She placed a kiss on his cheek ,,It will be ok". Valka nodded to them. ,,I'll go back to Gothi. We'll make the antiserum ready". ,,Do that" Hiccup nodded back at her. A few moments passed in which Astrid just rested herself in her husband's arms. Hiccup placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. ,,I know you've worked hard the last days but you should rest a bit as well. We need you strong and fit for this mission" Astrid looked up at her husband. ,,I know" Hiccup glanced to the side, looking at Toothless. ,,It'll be fine". He traced his hand over the black dragons head. ,,Thank you too bud, for everything"! Toothless blinked at Hiccup, nudged his head into his best friends side and purred at him. ,,I just hope Zephyr is well" he lifted his head to look at the sky. Dusk was approaching.
This night, Zephyr dreamed...
.
.
Gently, Toothless landed on the upper cliffs. It was early noon. Hiccup had taken his daughter with him. He still loved to take flights and he still loved to explore. Zephyr took after him so much, they barely fought about anything. They were similar in character traits, loved the same things and of course, they shared the same hobbies. Zephyr loved to go with her father and Toothless. She would see so much and her father would tell her stories. Hiccup hopped down first and then held his hands out so he could lift Zephyr down. She was seven years old by now. Placing her down in the grass, he smiled at her. Toothless turned his head to Zephyr with an open smile. ,,Thank you Toothless"! Zephyr cuddled his face and he purred happily, licking her cheek softly. Zephyr giggled and jumped to her father's side. ,,Eek Toothless"! The black dragon blinked and purred amused and then followed Hiccup and Zephyr to the edge of the cliffs.
,,Why are we here daddy"? Zephyr asked him. ,,I want to tell you a story"! He began. ,,Oh yes, a story"! Zephyr cheered. ,,What story"? she added. Hiccup chuckled. ,,You'll see. When I was your age, well maybe a bit older, I always tried to impress my father. I tried so hard to be something I simply wasn't". Zephyr went next to her father with a curious face. ,,When I was young, Vikings and dragons were enemies". ,,Enemies"? Zephyr gasped ,,Why"? Hiccup once again smiled at his daughter. ,,Because we misunderstood each other. Vikings used to think dragons were vicious beasts, evil beings. That's why Vikings fought them, aiming to kill them. Back then, there were only dragon hunters". ,,But dragons aren't evil Daddy. They're nice and kind" Zephyr protested. ,,I know sweetheart"! He lifted her up in his arms and placed her on his hip. Two years had passed since the dragons had returned.
,,But how could we've known that? We had been fighting them, not once considering the other side" Hiccup explained. ,,How did you meet Toothless again"? Zephyr asked. ,,Well" Hiccup began with a smile towards Toothless. ,,One night, I was so consumed, wanting to finally impress my father, I tried shooting a dragon down. I did". Zephyr gasped ,,And you shot Toothy right"? Hiccup nodded. ,,In the morning, I went to look for him. I found him not far away from our village. He was downed. Tied up by the rope net I had shot him down with. I wanted to kill him right then". ,,No"! Zephyr yelped ,,But you couldn't"! ,,Right"! Hiccup agreed. Toothless listened as well. He was proud of that story. He himself had told it to his kids numerous times. He never regretted one bit of it all. In fact, Toothless was thankful even, that Hiccup had shot him down in the end. If he hadn't, they wouldn't have met at all, they wouldn't have become the best of friends, Hiccup would have never found the truth, his mother. And Vikings and dragons would still be enemies to this day.
,,As I looked into Toothless eyes, I could see myself in them. I realized, that this creature wasn't an evil monster. Not a vicious beast. An intelligent being with a soul. I knew I would never be like them. I was different. I so I cut him free". ,,And he yelled at you" Zephyr chuckled. Toothless lifted his head proudly. ,,Yes he did" Hiccup as well gave it a light chuckle. ,,From that day on, I started to visit him. I studied him. After a while, I found he couldn't fly on his own anymore because I tore his right tail fin off". ,,So you made him one"! Zephyr added. She knew the story by heart but she got never tired of hearing it.
,,So I did" Hiccup repeated. ,,We slowly got closer. We became friends even before we knew it. We became a team. One by one, I discovered, that everything we knew about dragons, was wrong. Now I only had to show that to the others". Zephyr smiled and blurted out ,,And then you and mommy fell in love"! ,,We..wah..Zephyr"! Hiccup turned his head and gave her a tickle. Squealing Zephyr kicked her legs a bit but calmed down once her father stopped. ,,Well, I used to love your mother for a long time. But yes, this night, was special. Even though Toothless here wasn't playing along at first" Hiccup rose his eyebrows and looked at his best friend again. Toothless let out a grumbling snort. Because she was being a jerk back then. I only helped her let go of her pride. Toothless murmured. ,,Yeah I know" Hiccup laughed at him. And who made your first date super duper romantic? Me of course. Toothless shook his head ,,Hrnff". ,,Ok, you win"! Hiccup smiled and rolled his eyes at his friend. ,,How do you understand him Daddy"? Zephyr asked him curiously. ,,Well, we share a deep bond. We understand each other without words. I just know what he is saying even though he doesn't speak the same language. He understands what I say but doesn't speak human either. It doesn't matter though. If you love someone, you understand each other without words". Zephyrs eyes went big and she gasped again. ,,Wow". She looked out to the ocean. ,,How did you always win everything Daddy"? Hiccup closed his eyes and then looked to the ocean as well. ,,I did not always win Zephyr. Sometimes you lose. But that's ok. It's part of life. But always be clever and always be gentle"!. ,,Gentle"? Zephyr blinked ,,But what if someone is really mean to you"? Hiccup sighed at her and then smiled. ,,I know. Sometimes you need to fight but listen to me Zephyr. Remember this. You can never fight evil with evil". ,,What does that mean"? Zephyr blinked. ,,It means, you can not put a fire out with fire. Yes, sometimes we need to be though and sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. But being gentle and loving inside is the key to everything. Love is! There is no greater gift than love"! Hiccup told his daughter. For a moment, he was taken off by the memories of his father. He hadn't realized that he just did what his own father did when he was a child. Zephyr blinked. ,,So if somebody is mean to me, I just need to love them"? Hiccup let out a chuckle. ,,No. That's not what I meant. Of course you need to defend yourself sometimes, but gentleness and love are what wins in the end. Always. No matter how bad things may look. Sometimes bad things happen and you think all the good is lost. You may feel broken, hurt, sad. Like the world ends. Like you're down at the ground and will never get up again" he looked at his daughter. ,,But every storm ends sometime. The sun will always return. Even after a thunderstorm. No matter how bad it was". Zephyr looked at her father with a huge adoration. Such wise words. How do you become someone that wise? That great? ,,Do you understand that Zephyr"? Hiccup watched her. ,,Yes, Daddy" she replied after a while. She would never forget those words.
Soundtracks used :)
Nuffink on the cliffs - Relaxing Celtic Music: Harp Music, Peaceful Music, Soothing Music, Calming Music 85
Hiccup and little Zephyr - Httyd 2 – Stoiks ship 0:00-0:45 then skip to 1:36-3:48