Chapter Twelve
'What are you doing?' Snowfire was at my side as I looked through my stuff. Or what was left of it. Most of the things in my sleeping bag had been taken away by dragons. Or I was hoping that was the case. But a few things had stayed, such as my iPod (which miraculously still had a full battery) and my journal. I was more surprised to see some clothing I had taken with me just in case.
"How is it that my iPod has a full charge?" I asked after checking to see if it was okay. Amazingly it hadn't been damaged at all. In fact I noticed that it had downloaded a few new songs, despite the fact that there was no Wi-Fi these days.
'Perhaps it is made of magic,' Snowfire suggested for me. I had to laugh at that as I sifted through old pictures. Some were pictures of my house and school. I was lucky enough to have a few pictures of my mom and I together. Last and certainly not least were pictures of my friends.
"I miss them," I couldn't help but murmur. Snowfire crooned softly and nudged my arm. "They probably moved on already." It's what people did when they lost someone they cared about. Or at least they tried to move on. I wished I knew what my mom was up to.
'Then they are obviously not your friends.' I looked at Snowfire in disbelief. How could anyone say that? I looked down at the pictures one last time. Somehow this iPod was connected with me coming to this world. It was a bit of a random thought given the circumstances, but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
My hands clenched around the iPod before I made a risky decision. Snowfire eyed the device curiously as I suddenly tossed it into the ocean. She looked at me in surprise when it made a loud clunking noise shortly after.
'Why would you do that?' she asked.
"Because I don't need it," I replied. "I only just realized how lucky I am to be here." A smile played across my lips as Snowfire hummed in amusement.
'You are such a strange hatchling,' she crooned. I was about to argue when an image played across my mind. My heart nearly skipped a beat as I saw my mom standing in what used to be my kitchen. She was sitting at the table, with her face buried in her hands. I didn't miss the fact that our kitchen was a mess, with pots and pans piled in the sink and the table covered in a thin layer of dust. 'Alex.' Mom looked in my direction and whispered the words.
I just stood there in shock and stared at her. My mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. Mom's face was stained with dried tears. I'd never seen her in such a state. Even when dad left us she didn't look this bad. But seeing her now made me wonder if I had made a mistake. Finally Snowfire nudged me to make sure that I was alright.
"I'm fine," I murmured halfheartedly. I was still staring off at the ocean, unable to pick apart what I saw. Was that supposed to be this world's idea of a joke? If so than it was the worst idea they've ever thrown at me. Seeing my mom again only made me realize how far apart we were now.
'Of course you are,' Snowfire said in an accusing tone. 'You should go back to the village, they will be searching for you.' I let out a sigh when I realized that she was right. Hiccup's dad had been kind enough to let me gather what was left of my things. Now it was time to head back.
I grabbed my journal and sleeping bag before letting Spikes climb on to my shoulder. He didn't really belong to anyone, but he did enjoy being with people. Snowfire made another crooning noise before taking off. She was quick to return to Berk before the sun went down.
Snowfire made landfall in a matter of seconds. Like Stormfly and Toothless she was built for speed. But she also had the strength of a Monstrous Nightmare like Hookfang. It always amazed me that she had never been caught before by any human. Or the fact that she had chosen me as her rider.
"Alex, glad to see you're back." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Snotlout flew close to me, trying to keep Hookfang steady. The Monstrous Nightmare was still giving him trouble even though he'd been riding for a week now.
"Still having trouble with Hookfang are we?" I couldn't resist asking. Snotlout only scowled and pulled Hookfang aside, causing the Monstrous Nightmare to roar in protest. Clearly Hookfang had other thoughts in mind.
"He's just being stubborn, like me!" Snotlout replied with a grin. Hookfang rolled his eyes and suddenly ducked, sending Snotlout flying into the ground. I had to laugh at the sight. Hookfang landed clumsily nearby, growling at his rider as Snotlout jumped to his feet. "Hey you big fiery lizard, what's your problem?" he demanded.
'Foolish hatchling,' Snowfire chided after stepping between them. Hookfang stopped his approach when Snowfire locked eyes with him. All the while Snowfire was making a deep rumbling noise in her chest that reminded me of laughter. 'Learn your place,' she snapped when Hookfang roared in defiance.
"Hey, take it easy you two," I muttered after getting off. Hookfang only growled in response before lowering his head. Snotlout's jaw dropped in amazement when Hookfang brushed my hand with his muzzle. "There's a good dragon. Best thing to do is stay calm when they get like this," I explained as Snotlout stood up.
"Heh, I can see why Hiccup keeps you around," he said. To which I glared and folded my arms. And I could see why Astrid punches this guy so often.
Snowfire followed me over to what would be my new house. I'd been working on it for the last few days, with some help of course. Thankfully Stoick had offered to help build a small hut for a house after much arguing with both him and Hiccup. It was bad enough I'd moved in, the last thing I needed was the entire village building the biggest house they could think of.
It's not like I'll be staying that long anyways, I reminded myself. I'd already promised myself that I wouldn't stay for too long. There was still so much to see and so little time. With Snowfire I could do that all and more.
"Thanks again for the help," I said when the last of the roof was put on. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. The hut was closer to Hiccup's house, but far enough away that I could get the privacy I needed.
"You coulda had a bigger house," Gobber replied with a smirk. "But e'ryone has their taste."
"Right." Snowfire let out a crooning sound as Gobber led us inside.
"It isn't much, but it's better than nothing," he explained. "Just your typical bed and perch for good ol' Snowfire." He patted Snowfire on the shoulder as she sniffed him warily. For some reason Snowfire wasn't afraid of him.
"You didn't have to do all of this." I was amazed by the detail in the woodwork. Little images of birds and leaves could be made out in the bed frame. And on Snowfire's perch she had a snowflake carved in the center.
"Actually that was all Hiccup's idea," Gobber replied. "He thought you might like the carvings."
Gobber said his goodbyes and left me to settle in. I couldn't believe Hiccup had done this. I never even thought he had such artistic skills. True I had seen his drawings but that was about it. Snowfire jumped onto the perch almost immediately once she was sure it was safe. I glanced up to see that Spikes had already climbed through the nearest window as well.
'This is home,' Snowfire sighed in contentment. I wasted no time in falling on the bed, trying to relax as much as I could. That vision of my mom had left me feeling uneasy all morning. Now I just wanted to forget it all.
"Yeah, I could live here for a while," I sighed in relief. "Any chances we might actually make a difference here?" I rolled over so that I was staring at the perch. The house was tall enough that the perch didn't make too much of an impact. Snowfire's head barely touched the roof. And the window was big enough for a dragon her size to get through.
'If these humans are smart, they will listen,' she replied. 'Dragons will make a difference in their lives, whether they want it or not.'
I nodded in agreement. Snowfire was right about that. Dragons had already made a difference in my life. Before this whole mess had started I would have never even thought of flying on a plane. But Snowfire had changed that all. She trusted me with her life, and I trusted her with mine.
AN: This chapter could have been added to the last one, but I wanted to cut it off for some reason. And that's why it is so much shorter. I also wanted to thank everyone for favoriting and reviewing, you guys are amazing :) And don't worry, this story is far from over. I'm planning on making this a long story if it can be helped.
Mimzy94 - Don't worry, I do plan on writing for the second movie :) I'm definitely looking forward to it!
silverwolvesarecool - Me too. I can't imagine my life without my family. And thanks! :D
69579 - Hehe, it's okay. Good luck writing your chapter, writer's block is a pain in the butt. I've been trying to write the next chapters for my other two stories, but nothing comes up :(
