Hiccup watched the furies from the window, dancing in place. His face hurt from an ear splitting grin. "I can't believe it! He's not the only one! This is amazing!" He said all giddy.
Astrid hummed in acknowledgment. As she placed the basket next to the hearth. Strong arms wrap around her suddenly, picking her up. Hiccup spun them around laughing.
"H-Hey! I know you're excited but PUT ME DOWN!" Astrid yelled, still smiling. They slowed to a stop and Astrid steadied herself when her feet touched solid earth. Hiccup pulled her close. Resting his chin on her shoulder, he sighed happily, then he murmured something against her neck.
"Speak up lad! Can't hear ye through the lass," Gobber piped up, as he stoked the hearth.
"Oh sorry," Hiccup said, lifting his face clear, "I said: we found another night fury! A female one at that! Toothless may be a dad this Snoggletog. Think of what we could learn from her, the kids, her pack, and-"
Astrid pulled way and turned to face him. She held her hands up.
"Woa, woa, Hiccup! Look, I get you're excited, but-"
"But what? Aren't you happy?"
"Of course I am, but let's be realistic. They might not become mates," she cupped his face as his jaw dropped, "not cause Tooth isn't amazing, he is, but they might not pair up. Or she has a mate already. She coupld be alone too, we just don't know. I just don't- don't want you to get your hopes too high..."
Silence.
Brows furrowed together, Hiccup pulled away. "How can you even say that, Astrid? We found another after so long. If there's even one, there's a chance! And besides, look at all we've done," he made a sweeping gesture towards Berk, "In five years dragons and vikings are living side by side. We stopped a madman for Thor's sake."
"Hiccup, I know that! We don't know anything bout her. She could be the only one."
"We thought the same for Toothless. It's unknown, yes, but that just means we gotta keep pushing forward! That's how we found her. There could be more and even something greater than that. Anything is possible...Right?" His voice dropped to a whisper.
Astrid stared up at him quietly. Crossing her arms tight, she sighed deeply before plastering a smile on her face, "you're right. If we found her after pushing forward, anything can happen!"
Joy flashed across Hiccup's face at this, until a loud chirp came from behind. Stormfly had poked her head through the window, chirping once more. Then squeakier chirps followed. Smaller Nadder heads peeked above the windowsill, and Astrid bit back a laugh.
"That's my cue," Astrid said. A quick kiss to Hiccup's cheek before she walked over shoving the Nadder's head out the window muttering to herself. She looked over her shoulder grinning, "They wanna train now. Just like their mother. See ya later!" Astrid vaulted herself out the window and disappeared.
"Hmph!"
Hiccup spun around at the noise. From his spot at the hearth Gobber had scrunched up his nose, and not at the fire. The smith wasn't facing it. "Does that always happen?" He asked.
Another grunt came from him when he saw Hiccup eyes widened in confusion. Hiccup blinked owlishly at his mentor. Before he can speak, Gobber asked, "Does the lass always agree wit' ya?"
His hands flexed, then clenched at his sides as Hiccup gritted his teeth at the accusation. He sucked in a deep breath and lets it out slow. Finally he says, "don't like what you're insinuating, Gobber. This is Astrid, she doesn't agree with just anyone. She trusts me. Besides, she wouldn't just bend to make me happy."
Gobber sighed, setting the bellows down. He shifted to face Hiccup and as he opened his mouth, a difference voice called out.
"You're too used to how Stoick and I were, Gobber. They're not the same." They both turned to see Valka walking in.
Gobber said, "right, of course..." he then rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "ye...easy te forget when ya vanish for twenty years..."
"What was that, dear?" Valka asked.
"Nothin'." Gobber muttered, poking the hearth again. Hiccup shot a warning look at Gobber. He was given a grunt. Hiccup sighed then smiled upon seeing his mother. Valka made her way over, eyes roaming the house.
"I came over te see how our new resident was doing. Didn' see her outside. I thought she might be in here." Valka said.
Shaking his head, Hiccup said, "nah, she left with Toothless. Think he's showing her around."
His gaze turned to the window where he stared long and hard. His lips twitched at the corners. Eyes twinkling, he spun on his heel and ran up the steps to his bedroom, grinning as he made a beeline for his desk. There, a notepad. He snatched it up before running back down, taking two steps at a time. Grinning ear to ear, he rushed by his mother and Gobber. The latter stared at him, gobsmacked. Hiccup gave a wave as he walked out the door. Gobber and Valka exchanged a single look.
Valka sighed and said, "I figured, knowing my son."
She got up to follow her son.
Gobber sighed heavy and deep before his head rolled back groaning. He forced himself to his feet, dusting the hearth and killing the fire, then he fumbled after them, all the while muttering under his breath, "my son, she says. If he's anyone's son he's MY son..."
Pushing himself through the crowd of vikings and dragons after the sound of Hiccup's voice, Gobber found himself near the feeder station. The smith scratched his head. Gobber barely looked to his left when something pulled him down to the ground. A curse bubbled in his throat until he saw who did it.
"Hiccup..." Gobber whispered.
Knelt below the rim of the station, Hiccup's head peeking over it and Valka copied his stance. He shot a glance at his friend. He grinned, then pointing ahead. Gobber grumbled as he reposition himself to mirror him and Valka. Across the way they saw Toothless and the female fury walking by, mouths moving with wings and tails twitched. A prance was in Toothless' steps, and the female held her head a bit higher.
A loud screech echoed through the area then, and a swarm of Hideous Zippleback came soaring down across the rooftops. Several Terrible Terrors scattered from Gothi's roof, dropping to the ground where they scampered past Toothless and the Fury. The female dropped to the ground, eyes the size of dinner plates before they disappeared behind her wings.
Hiccup braced his hands on the feeder, ready to vault himself over, but Valka yanked him back by his shirt. He looked at his mother, stunned. She shook her head before pointing, "you'll scare her worse. And Toothless is already handling it, see?"
When they looked back, they saw Toothless knelt down and his mouth moving. Slowly inch by inch the Fury uncovered herself, blinking owlishly around her. Toothless warbled something at the Zipplebacks. As one, the group tilted their heads before bowing deeply them. The heads exchanged a small look before barreling over to the two Furies, and their forms were swallowed by the larger dragons. A roar broke up it all up and the group scattered into different directions. Toothless emered snorting in annoyance, then he looked down to see...the Fury hadn't moved.
Brow raised, Hiccup scratched his chin while tapping his fingers. He tried to push himself to his feet, but his mother, yet again, pulled him down. She gently whispered something in his ear, and his shoulders slump as he nodded. She then slipped away from them, off to who knows where. Gobber shuffled closer to Hiccup. The sparkle in the boy's eyes had faded as had his smile turned upside down.
"What did she say, lad?" Gobber asked.
Quietly, Hiccup said, "she'll handle it...she's the expert..."
Gobber opened his mouth, venom on the tip of his tongue. A shadow fell over them, and they both looked up to see Cloudjumper and Valka walking by. Gobber internally rolled his eyes. The big grump would be of no help in Gobber's honest opinion. He looked over to Hiccup, ready to say this, but forced it down the second he saw Hiccup beaming at his mother.
So they watched from their spot as Cloudjumper made his way to Toothless and the other Fury, the latter staring up at Toothless, too focused on him to even notice the new dragon approaching. Toothless' expression changed into a gummy smile and the Fury cocked her head, then followed his line of sight. Her jaw dropped as her head tilted upwards to Cloudjumper's face.
She screamed.
Then she ran.
Cloudjumper stumbled and fell backwards, wings flailing, and Valka jumped out of the way of his tail. Terrors flew off in droves from rooftops, and vikings nearby slammed their hands over the ears and any dragons that could did the same. Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin. Gobber facepalmed. Toothless followed in pursuit, crying out for her.
The Fury ran through the splitting crowd, not even looking with her eyes squeezed shut. She slammed hard into someone and bounced off like rubber, landing flat on her back. Head spinning, she looked up to see Hookfang and his rider glaring down at her. The Nightmare's nostrils flared.
She gasped hard, a scream building in her throat. Toothless slapped a paw over her mouth. Toothless squinted his eyes at his friend, a growl rumbled from within. Hookfang rolled his eyes, but wandered away from them, Snotlout looking back only once with a sneer. When out of sight, Toothless sighed before he led the Fury away with one wing shielding her from the stares and whispers echoing through the village square.
Looks were exchanged, then all eyes turned towards Hiccup. The chief rose to stand and stated aloud, "she's new and got scared. Let's just let it be, return to what you were doing. Please."
The crowd slowly began to disperse. Hiccup sighed, rubbing the back of his head, and looked over at his mother who was tending to Cloudjumper. She looked over, simply nodding.
"Never thought a'hd see the day. A Night Fury, being a coward!" Gobber blurted out as he got to his feet. Hiccup shot him a look. Gobber tossed his hands up and said, "oh come on! Ye saw it wit ye own eyes! And no, let Tooth handle it. You and me, we're gonna do some work!"
Hiccup's protests died on his lips as Gobber dragged him away by the collar. The quiet walk to the forge was filled with Hiccup talking a mile a minute bout what happened and Gobber nodding his head. Grump's snores bellowed out from the forge as they grew closer, and once there, Gobber handed Hiccup a saddle and hammer. Hiccup sighed, shaking his head. Gobber moved towards the back to gather more materials and check his dentistry schedule, and they settled into a steady rhythm. Three hammers on rivets into leather melded with the three taps of a dragon tooth being reset.
A familiar warble over the noise caught Hiccup's attention. He poked his head out to see Toothless walking over...with the Fury by his side! Hiccup grinned, and watched with glee as the two "talked". The Fury's head hung low, yet her eyes sparkled like the sea as she took in the forge. At the doorway, he met up with Toothless.
Toothless bumped his head gently into Hiccup who patted his friend's neck. The Fury sat behind them, and curiosity flashed across her face. Toothless turned around to face her. Bobbing his head at Hiccup, he curled a wing around his friend. The Fury blinked once. Twice. Hiccup felt his breath hitch in his throat as she took a step towards them, him.
"I told ya to keep the kilns goin', Grump! Ya lazy beast!"
Loud grunts proceeded a sudden blast, and a burst of fire explodes behind the duo. Hiccup and Toothless spun around to see Gobber waddling out covered in soot. The smith grinned awkwardly.
Shrieks erupted from behind, and they spun around to see the Fury hissing and flapping her wings at them. Hiccup went to take a step towards her till light caught his eye, and the blood drained from his face.
"Toothless...YOUR TAIL!" he yelped.
The dragon snapped to attention, and found his fin ablaze. He slammed his tail several times on the ground to try and put it out and Hiccup bolted from his spot. He stomped on the fin (with his proper boot) before ripping it off with his bare hands. He quickly tossed it to the center of the road and the fire fizzled out as the flame hit the dirt.
Panting heavily, Hiccup looked at Toothless who looked back at him. The friends shared a sigh of relief.
A scream of rage filled the air. The Fury tackled Hiccup to the ground, her paws pressed against his throat. She opened her mouth, bulding up fire and Hiccup gulped.
Toothless let out a deafening roar. The Fury began to shake as her neck twisted to face the sound. Hiccup caught a glimpse of her muscles in her neck twitch and flex, her eyes bulging wide while her pupils turned to slits. He swore he heard her heart skip a beat.
With his wings flared open, his teeth bared, and an ethereal blue aura glowing along the length of his spikes, Toothless growled. The fury never looked away as her body moved on its own.
Hiccup jumped up, rushing to Toothless. He wrapped Toothless' head in a gentle hug, stroking his head soothingly, and only then did Toothless begin to relax. The blue aura disappeared a moment later. He said softly, "it's ok, bud, it's ok. Thanks bud, I'm ok really. Don't gotta go alpha, she didn't know. She wanted to protect you, right little la-" Hiccup stopped mid sentence when he looked at her.
The Fury stared without blinking, her body frozen. Her knees buckled. She dropped to the cold earth with a thud.
ophiliaflowers/art/Legacy-Starcrossed-Chapter-11-887808430
Been a hot minute since last update. Some drama happened in life, which put me in a rut and sense of dread. Am working on it tho!
I'm still working on the story; got an outline to work with. Though next update may come out much later. Decided to write out the entirety of Starcrossed then do the art for it. Can post it consecutively rather than randomly. So stay tuned for that owo
Thank y'all who read the story. Please leave your thoughts on it!
I appreciate constructive criticism too.
HTTYD belongs to Dreamworks while Legacy & Midnight belong to me.