Chapter 9
What Chamberlain Said to Hitler
"Forget not that the Earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair."
-Kahlil Gibran
I was given my second and final warning after my fight with Snotlout. I asked why it was such a big deal, and Stoick told me I didn't understand the island.
I guess that's true. I don't see why two little confrontations are leading me to get all but crucified.
Admittedly, I never acted like this before I got here. If someone said something smart to me, I'd make them angry, not let them get me angry.
"What's happening to me?" I whispered to myself.
I'd ended up closing at around midday today. Word of the fight between Snotlout and I probably got around, which either didn't bode well for my image, or was just more important than a leaky roof.
It's sunny today. I've been here on Berk for about a month now and that's about the third time it has been. Sunny, that is.
I decided to just lay down on a bench somewhere and think for a bit. I had to cover my eyes with my hands because of the sun.
It's interesting. From where we are located, the sun is brilliant; so much so that if you stare at it too long, you'll damage your vision. However, the sun would hardly be visible were you to travel 10 parsecs, or about 33 light years away and look back. Apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude are not the same thing.
My eyes started to burn. When I used to think about things like that, I was always fascinated. Now, however... it just makes me think about days past, and then I think about my family, friends, classes, and my situation... and then I get mad.
I heard erratic footsteps approaching and I knew who it was.
"Hey, Rick. What're you up to?" asked Hiccup. I didn't move.
"This," I said after a few seconds. He tapped my leg a few times to get me to sit up, and I did with a sigh. He sat next to me.
"What do you want, Hiccup?"
"I wanted to see if you wanted to fly with Toothless and I."
He'd never asked me before, because after he fixed the tail fin (Toothless has to use a prosthetic for some reason), I was either busy with a renovation, or just ignoring everybody altogether. I didn't mind. Not being asked, that is.
"Not particularly," I said.
"Hey, c'mon," he persisted. "You've not been on a dragon since you were rescued, right?"
"No."
"Then why don't you want to come?"
"I won't like it."
"Well, how do you know if you've never tried it?" he asked. He was awfully persistent today...
"I just do," I said.
"That's not an answer," he said. "Please, try it."
"No, I won't like it."
"And we're back to my wondering how you could know that..."
I said nothing, and Hiccup stood up. For a moment, I thought he gave up, but he patted my shoulder.
"Let's go. Come fly with me, Rick. I promise you'll have fun."
I stared at him as he held a hand out to me. He slowly withdrew his hand and turned away.
"Okay," he said in a singsong voice. "If you don't want to try to find and prank Snotlout with me..."
I was silent for a few moments, but I relented because it would shut him up. I stood wordlessly, and he smiled.
"There we go, come on. You're going to like this."
Oh, fuck you, Hiccup.
He led me back to his house where Toothless was waiting. It was the first time I'd ever seen the dragon with a saddle on and a false tail fin. It was red, with a white skull on it. The false tail fin, that is. Hiccup saw me eyeing it and reassured me that it was safe to ride him.
He said, "I've been doing this for years. Don't worry, alright?"
I'm pretty sure that's what Hitler said to Chamberlain.
"Yes."
And I'm pretty sure that's what Chamberlain said to Hitler.
Hiccup climbed on Toothless' back and his prosthetic fit into a stirrup with a "click." He beckoned for me to get on behind him, so that's what I did.
"Hold on tight, getting into the air is the rough part."
I put my hands on his shoulders but said nothing. Toothless smiled back at us, and then Hiccup patted his neck.
"Whenever you're ready, bud."
As he said, the takeoff was rough, but quick. I felt myself jerked down and back a little, and I probably could've fallen had I not been holding on to Hiccup, who was holding on to Toothless' saddle, which was holding on to Toothless, who was holding on to nothing in particular.
After the initial takeoff, the flight was smooth. The cold air blowing on my face chilled me, but Hiccup didn't seem to mind it. Maybe he was trying to make me cold so I wasn't always at a seething boil.
"Well? What do you think?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
"It's not bad."
"Do you understand why I like flying so much?"
"I guess."
Don't be so stubborn.
I jolted at the voice and looked at Hiccup. He was focused on flying again, and Toothless gave me a knowing smile for a moment.
I said nothing.
Overhead were a few clouds and below I could see the entirety of Berk. Though when you walk its streets it appears to be large, it is only so then: when you walk its streets. It is not a large island, but it is the largest of those in the archipelago. I counted seven islands total, Berk included. Hiccup glanced at me and saw me eyeing them.
"It's nice, huh? Altogether, the islands are referred to as the Seven Sisters."
"Oh."
"I'm going to speed up, okay?"
"Yes."
That's what he did. He took us all around the island, over the at-the-moment-unclimbable mountain, low enough over the ocean for me to see fish swimming in it, and high enough above the advancing clouds to see the sun again. The sky was a darker shade of blue than normal and the temperatures began to drop further.
"This is as high as we can go, Rick," he said though I didn't ask. "Any higher and it gets too hard to breathe."
I can survive at higher altitudes, but regrettably, you humans cannot.
"Okay."
We stayed above the clouds for a little while, but it quickly got too cold and we headed back to a lower altitude to warm up, though warm is a stretch on Berk.
"Hey, come on. This is better than lounging on an old bench, isn't it?"
"It's alright," I said. I could feel him smile.
"Glad you're not totally bored," he said, which I translated to "I told you so, I told you so, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah..."
We kept flying around like that for about a few hours before Hiccup finally brought us back to Berk (we didn't see Snotlout, unfortunately). Though I wasn't doing anything, the flight made me tired. When we got off Toothless, he turned to face us.
"There we go. Thanks for coming with us, Rick."
My eyes must've been drooping, because Hiccup chuckled at me.
"The first flight always knocks you out. Why don't you go and get some rest?" he asked. I nodded, and wordlessly headed back to the house, choosing to go to bed without a meal.
Revolution! Revolution!
"So in short: one or two word answers, a few short sentences, no questions, and initial heavy resistance to my suggestion..."
I think he enjoyed himself.
"I think so, too. We may have something with flying..."
Hiccup, I thought I taught you this, already: Flying is always the answer.
I chuckled and leaned back against his chest.
"What about swimming?"
Never doubt a Night Fury.
I stared out at the sunset and felt Toothless gently settle his head atop mine.
"Tomorrow we'll try again, if you're alright with it."
We can for as long as it takes. You're right about him: scared boy, not angry man.
"Don't say that to him."
Wasn't even tempted.
"What I don't understand is what is behind these shows of anger."
He's sad. That's why he acts out.
"I figured that, too, but... what is he sad about?"
Maybe his family, maybe he's homesick, maybe something happened in the past that he's hung up on, or maybe he's sad that he doesn't have a good friendship with anyone on the island. We won't know until he tells us.
I smiled up at Toothless.
"Let's try to eliminate that last one."
One flight at a time.
End of Chapter
1,475 words.
Chamberlain was the Yes Man that favored appeasement when it came to foreign conflicts and policies.
Hitler was the Nazi piece of shit that soiled the true meaning of the swastika: peace, prosperity, goodness, and even good luck.
Next chapter covers another flight in an attempt to help Rick overcome his demons.