Hiccup was acting weird. Very weird in Ruffnut's opinion. The girl had been avoiding people for a while now, and while that wasn't anything new, Hiccup had been avoiding her too. Ruffnut was concerned for her friend. So here she was, following her friend through the forest. Ruffnut was doing her best to be stealthy, but considering Hiccup was rambling to herself, the stealth was an unnecessary addition.
"They are bound to find out!" Ruffnut hear her exclaim.
Find out about what? Now Ruffnut was really curious. Hiccup was someone who didn't have many secrets, because the girl mostly didn't care about what others thought about her. If Hiccup was hiding something, it would be something good.
Ruffnut his behind a tree when Hiccup stopped in place. She waited a few moments before sneaking a quick look and cursed when Hiccup was nowhere to be found, still Ruffnut knew where the girl had stopped. She went to that place and looked around to where the shorter girl could have gone, it seemed like she had disappeared, but after looking closer Ruffnut saw a disturbed bush farther away. Ruffnut smiled to herself and headed that way.
Without Hiccup in front, Ruffnut had a harder time knowing where to go, but she managed well enough. Eventually, when she was about to give up and try again another day, Ruffnut stumbled upon a cove. While the place was beautiful, it appeared vacant at first glance.
"Aww, you like that bud?"
Those words made Ruffnut pause, it was unmistakably Hiccup's voice. The female twin looked down at the cove again, still not seeing anything, until she looked directly down. There was Hiccup, scratching something. Ruffnut leaned to get a closer look, unintentionally shoving some pebbles down. She gasped and hid, pressing her bod down on the ground, hoping Hiccup hadn't seen her.
Ruffnut couldn't really believe what she had seen. Hiccup was down there, playing with a dragon, their main enemy. Ruffnut tried to wrap her head around the fact that Hiccup had betrayed their tribe, their way of life, to get friendly with the enemy.
The female twin let out a shaky exhale and raised herself up, cautiously taking another look into the cove. Ruffnut held in a gasp, Hiccup was gone and so was the dragon. Ruffnut frantically looked around the cove, it was empty. She didn't know what to do, getting back to the village appeared to be the best choice to her. Ruffnut got up from the ground and before she could take a step, she was grabbed and taken down into the cove.
"No no no no no," Ruffnut yelled as she reached the ground, immediately crawling back from the dragon who she knew had taken her here.
"Stop," Hiccup's stern voice reached her.
Ruffnut stopped in her tracks, breathing deeply. She watched as the smaller girl got down from the back of the dragon, the dragon itself was softly growling at her.
"Wha-what is this?" Ruffnut stuttered out, her eyes not leaving the strange dragon.
"This – " Hiccup said, her voice calm despite the situation, " – is Toothless."
"Why?" Ruffnut asked after Hiccup volunteered no further information.
"The better question is: why did you follow me?"
"Because you were acting weird!" Ruffnut shouted, Toothless growl grew louder, successfully pacifying the anger she had felt, replacing it with panic.
"Toothless," Hiccup finally said, the dragon gave her a look and stopped growling, huffed and sat down. Hiccup then turned to Ruffnut, "You could've asked me."
"Would you have told me?" she questioned and got up from the ground slowly, keeping an eye on the dragon who was also watching her every move.
"Probably," Hiccup shrugged and crossed her arms, "You're my best friend."
The dragon growled, startling Ruffnut. Hiccup only rolled her eyes, a small smile creeping onto her lips.
"Best human friend," the girl specified, that seemed to please the dragon as he snorted and laid down, not taking his eyes off of Ruffnut,
"Why?" Ruffnut asked again.
"Why what?"
"Why did you betray everything we stand for?"
Hiccup thought for a moment, she hadn't really expected Ruffnut to give her a question she hadn't considered. Hiccup sighed and looked directly at Ruffnut.
"Why does everything we stand for have to be hate?" she questioned back, "Why does a simple act of kindness make me weak in your eyes? Why does Toothless treat me better than almost all of the tribe?"
"That is our enemy – "Ruffnut said as she pointed at the dragon.
"That is my friend!" Hiccup interrupted her, "Yes, I betrayed everything you stand for! Because I can't keep pretending I fit into that life!"
Hiccup finished yelling, letting her arms fall by her side. Her face was pulled into a frown, eyes full of unshed tears. Ruffnut looked at her friend, thinking about everything she had just said.
"You fit in perfectly," Ruffnut tried to argue, Hiccup shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Don't lie," she said, "I'm the most unviking like viking in existence. I'm tired of pretending I want to kill dragons, I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not."
"And this is how you do it?" Ruffnut asked as she gestured to Toothless, Hiccup bit her bottom lip and shrugged.
"Yes."
They stood in silence for a while. Toothless got up and went to the pond, not seeing a reason to stay now that Ruffnut had calmed down. Ruffnut was lost deep in thought, the fact that she was still alive after expended contact with a dragon hitting her. The girl knew that Hiccup was different and that she suffered for it, considering everything, befriending a dragon was completely a 'Hiccup' thing to do.
"What kind of dragon is he?" Ruffnut finally asked breaking the silence.
"Night Fury," Hiccup answered, her gaze suspicious.
"So that raid – "
"Yes, I did shoot him down," Hiccup nodded, guilt clear on her face.
"Okay," Ruffnut finally shrugged, Hiccup stared at her in shock, "What? You're my best friend."
"Thank you," Hiccup whimpered and threw herself onto the twin, enveloping her in a hug.
Ruffnut laughed and hugged the shorter girl back. She pulled herself away from her and looked at Toothless again.
"Tell me about him," Ruffnut urged, Hiccup's face lit up.
As Hiccup talked about everything, Ruffnut couldn't help but think. Ruffnut could get behind this, after all, what could make life more interesting than some treason?