Hello all, welcome to the final chapter of The World Above. Its been a decently long journey, and I'm glad I have been able to share it with all of you.
Important news: I am more than willing to write a sequel as some had suggested, but will not do so without your support and ideas. I have been suggested to write the next story in Astren's POV or first person Hiccup and Toothless. I would like to hear your feedback on this in the reviews. Either way, the sequel will be based on the second movie of HTTYD. I will release another chapter after this explaining when the sequel will come out and a basic summary for all of you as a teaser. :D
Thats all for now, do enjoy and remember to favourite, follow and review.
Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD.
Chapter Fourteen: Two of the Same
The first thing Hiccup felt when she woke up was an aching pain. Everywhere. Her face hurt when she winced, her fingers cracked when she clenched them, her body just felt weak.
As she lay there she pondered how long she had been asleep for now. A day? A week? Maybe she was still on the boats to Berk? Guess there was only one way to find out.
Hiccup opened her heavy eyelids and groaned. What came first was a blinding light her eyes weren't used to. Then slowly it faded away and she was looking up at the rafters of her homes main room. She supposed her bed was moved down here to keep watch of her? She slowly reached up with sore arms and rubbed her eyes. With a sore sigh she looked to the side after and yawned.
"Oh hey Toothless... TOOTHLESS?" She gasped and pushed herself up on her elbows. Above her, perched on a rafter was her best friend. He looked at her with a tongue hanging out of his mouth and a bewildered look on his face. "What are you doing here!?" She hissed. "Toothless you have to get out of here before dad sees you!"
Despite her words the hyper dragon jumped across the exposed beams and down to the ground, jumping about wildly and knocking things over loudly. Hiccup flailed her arms and tried to shush him but he bounded up to her and licked up the side of her face, causing the hair to stand straight up on that side of her head. Hiccup was going to yell more but the look on his face was too adorable. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck and for a moment she just let it be her and her best friend.
She pressed her freckled cheek against his smooth scaly one and smiled softly. The one thing drifting between life and death sorely needed was Toothless. Despite her inner quarrelling with whether to stay with the living or go party with the dead, she had always had a large space taken up by what would happen to her best bud.
Hiccup stayed this way for a few more moments before Toothless pulled back and shook out his ears. The dragon hopped up and down expectantly and looked at her. Hiccup sighed and nodded. "Time to get you back to the cove, huh?" She sighed and slowly sat up, her back popping and cracking as she did. Her body just felt off for some reason. The reason became evident when she pulled the covers off of her.
Her eyes bore down to where there used to be a bony, skinny, chicken-like leg... Which was now occupied by dead space and a metal contraption from her knee down. Her face broke from a smile as she stared down in shock. How had she not known? She had felt her leg there... Phantom leg syndrome?
Hiccup reached down and tenderly touched it. She must have lost it in the fall. The one... The one Toothless saved her from. She looked over at Toothless's face. It was a mix of sorrow and yet pride. He was proud of her for trying to take this so calmly. Hiccup realized that a few weeks ago, had this happened, she wouldn't have been so calm. She would have been a mess of tears and strings of words that made no sense. Now though, she just kept herself together. Maybe, just maybe, she had done some growing up along the way...
Hiccup let out a big sigh, ridding her body of the panic in one swoop. "Okay..." She murmured to herself and slowly moved her body so she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Toothless came forward and swung his tail around so that his tail rested on her feet. Her one foot was covered by a tail fin, but where her new prosthetic was, a tail fin was absent. Hiccup looked up at those green eyes and nodded. "I guess we are even now, hm!?" She murmured and surprisingly a smile slid onto her face. Toothless gave her that gummy grin and nodded.
Hiccup nodded back and then focused back down on her legs. She stood slowly and tried to balance herself on the new leg. It had a bit of a spring to it so she could walk more fluidly.
The redhead steeled herself and clenched her fists. She moved her prosthetic forward, only to lose balance as soon as she put it down and ended up tumbling forward. Hiccup yelped in pain but was quickly caught on Toothless's shoulder.
"Thanks bud." She murmured, righting herself on his shoulder so she could walk with his aid. "Okay... We can do this."
They slowly made it towards the door. Hiccup stared at her feet and then up again towards the exit but froze when something caught her eye. Across the way was a mirror. One that showed her just how much she had changed.
Where her redish brown hair had once grazed her shoulders, it now fell to the top of her chest in tangly waves. Her face was skinnier, as was the rest of her body if that was possible. Plus she was now covered in more scars. There was a long healing gash across the left side of her forehead, diagonal to her eye. Another peeked our from the collar of her shirt. She wondered just how many there could be hidden beneath her clothing. Now, hiccup had never prided herself on being particularity pretty... And she didn't really mind all that much either. But before where she had been gangly and thin and awkward looking, she was now ten times that. It made her wince and advert her eyes back to the door.
Toothless purred to her and licked her hand. Hiccup felt herself laughing quietly. "I know Toothless. Looks don't matter. Yet your still handsome to me boy." She scratched his ear before he began moving on.
The door was just how she remembered it. Standing there... Being a door... But now it caused her grief. The thought of the world behind the door caused her anxiety beyond compare. Who was still alive? What had happened to those sweet dragons who helped them? She supposed there was only one way to answer that.
Hiccup grabbed the door and shoved it open, only to shove it closed as fast as she could and press her back to it.
"Dragons!" She squeaked and looked at Toothless who wore a smug look on his face. "Oooh, this is not good. Toothless, what did you do!?" She yelled and tried to calm her breathing. Toothless chortled at her and nudged her off the door and bumped the handle with his nose.
Hiccup winced but opened it again and let her eyes adjust. Dragons flew about everywhere, and to her surprise, there were people riding them! She slowly limped out of the house with Toothless, wincing her eyes at the light. Hiccup was at a loss for words. All that came out of her mouth were incoherent mumbles. "I uh… this is… who… and what? I'm dead right? This can't be real."
Stoic, who had been close by, laughed at his daughter and slid his arm around the girls tiny and fragile frame. They would have to get more meat on her bones. "No, but you gave it your best shot."
Hiccup looked up and sighed in relief, "Dad…"
Stoic squeezed her lightly, knowing too much would most likely break the little thing. "So, what do you think?" He asked. Hiccup was at a loss for words.
"Look its Hiccup!" Snotlout screamed from below, grabbing everyones attention. Almost instantly everyone was grouping together at the bottom of the hill to meet her. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she had a crowd waiting for her; her friends, her father, Gobber, Gothi, a bunch of villagers and a slew of dragons.
"Looks like all we needed was a little more of this…" Stoic motioned at Hiccup.
"You just pointed at all of me." Hiccup mumbled and furrowed her brows. Stoic smiled and nodded.
"Well, almost all of you!" Gobber intruded, hobbling forward. They matched now, both had missing limbs. Gobber gave her a toothy grin and gestured to the prosthetic, "That bit is my doing lass. With a little Hiccup flare thrown in. You think it'll do?"
For show Hiccup balanced on her good leg and took a look at her prosthetic in the air. "Eh, I may make a few adjustments." This got a good laugh from the crowd.
From behind her she was shoved forward by a fist to her shoulder. "Ow." She winced and turned to see Astren. Gods did it feel nice to see him again, despite the aching shoulder. "Thats for making me worry." He said.
Hiccup groaned. "Are you always going to be like this? I mean, I go and save the town and then-"
Hiccup was cut off when Astren's lips met hers and the crowd let out hollers. She felt tingles run up and down her spine. The boys hands were rough and calloused, but they felt warm against her cold cheeks as he cupped her face. He tasted like honey and some kind of meat, maybe lamb? He smelt of dirt and the sea and of dragon; Hiccup had never smelt anything so perfect.
When Astren leaned back, their foreheads pressed together for a moment and they just stared into each others eyes. Blue like the ocean and green like the grass. In those few seconds, Hiccup felt like an eternity had passed, but yet it was too fleeting. When they parted, her freckled face was red with a blush.
"Ah-hem."
The couple looked back to see Stoic staring them down.
"Now listen, you're lucky I know Astren is a good boy. Astren, you treat my daughter right or you won't be living 'till spring." He crossed his arms and looked away. Thats as close to a congratulations they were going to get, and it made Hiccup as happy as could be.
Gobber laughed and patted the man on the back. He was taking it fairly well. The blonde haired man hobbled forward with a package in his arms. A new bright red tail fin prosthetic for Toothless that had a white skull painted on it. "Welcome home." He grinned.
"Night fury! Get down!" Someone yelled.
Hiccup turned to see Toothless bounding forward, jumping over people and jumping onto of people if they were in his way. His pupils were huge and playful and his tongue hung from his mouth. He looked at her expectantly. Hiccup grinned and nodded, "You got it bud."
She moved to his tail and hooked up the new fin and then slid the new saddle over his back and connected the pulley system that moved the fin before jumping up onto the saddle and curiously clicked her new prosthetic into the stirrup made for it. Hiccup looked over to see Astren on his dragon too. A crooked grin broke out on Hiccups face and she patted Toothless' neck.
"You ready?" She asked.
Always ready. He chortled back.
"Then lets go." Hiccup smirked.
This is Berk.
It snows nine months of the year and hails the other three.
Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so.
The only upsides are the pets. While other places have ponies or parrots, we have dragons.
This is Berk.
The place I once believed no good would ever come from.
It snows and hails; the weather almost as rough and strong as the people who live here. Humans, an awful breed out to seek the death and vengeance on my kind; dragons. I had always thought that I would despise this kind more than any other… But I had never planned on meeting her.
Hiccup.
She changed my life more in a few short months than any other dragon or human ever could. She taught me friendship, compassion, loyalty. She shared her food and culture with me, and took care of me when I was ill. Never had I thought I would love another as much as I do her. She is me, and I am her; two of a kind sharing the same soul.
I owe my life to that girl. One I wish to repay by her side for the rest of eternity.
I have much to teach her about my world now, and that is what I plan to do. What world, may you ask? Well of course…
The World Above.