"Hiccup, we need to talk!" Was the first thing to spill from Asta's mouth as she entered the forge. The loud "Gahh!" followed by a clatter of tools had the redhead striding towards that area, finding the brunette boy hurriedly trying to pick up what he had dropped upon her entry. Asta took a moment to look around, eyes landing in the brown leather that suspiciously looked like a saddle. Almost instantly her mind clicked to what it was for; he was going to try and ride the dragon! "Hiccup!"
The boy jumped slightly and turned around, eyes wide like a child who got caught playing with their parents ax. Mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, Hiccup shot up and clumsily covered the saddle in an attempt to hide it fro her with a nervous laugh. "H-hey, Asta!" He greeted, maneuvering in front of it even more. "What are you doing here?"
Yeah, because that line wasn't at all suspicious.
"Oh, you know, was just walking around and thought "Hey! Maybe my BEST friend who tells me just about EVERYTHING would want to hang out with me." So I came here after stopping by your house and discovered you weren't there," Asta narrowed her eyes as tried to get a better glimpse of the large leather. "What are you doing?"
"... Y-you stopped at my house?" Hiccup paled as his mind raced to everything still scattered around. She was... Oh. Oh, this wasn't good. Please tell him she didn't see...
"Oh yeah," Asta went on while leaning forward with a smile. "Your sister let me in. What is that?"
"Nothing!" He all but squeaked, now panicking. "It's nothing. Nothing to worry about. Hey, it's late, why don't go home? We can talk tomorrow," Hiccup grabbed her by the arms, spun her and around, and began pushing her towards the door. "OK? So we're good. Good night, see you later and-"
"- I don't think so, Forge Boy," Asta stomped her foot into the ground before reaching back and grabbing Hiccup by his arm and judo flipped him over her shoulder. Placing a foot down on his chest and placing her hands on her hips, Asta looked down at him with a small smirk. "What's the rush, Forge? I'm not that terrifying, am I?"
The faint lighting coming from the forge fires accented her eyes and hair in the shadows of the Blacksmith hut. Her eyes sparkled in mischief of a fiery temper, a glint that clearly stated that she knew something - and that made Hiccup nervous. Gulping, he tried to push her foot off but failed to do so as she only pressed down harder while flipping her braid off of her shoulder. Asta always preferred a single loose braid that fell down her back; it was easier to make and takedown, and as she claimed, if she needed to make a quick cut she didn't have to worry about all the different layers of hair that'd be different lengths.
Looking closer, Hiccup realized she had changed her outfit. A cloudy grey short-sleeved top that had some stitching at the collar, black baggy pants tucked into a set of dull red leg warmers that were also covering her grey boots, and on her wrists were black cloth tied with burnt orange ribbon; over all that she wore what looked like a combination of a vest and thin dress - it was a dull red with gold detail at the bottom and top, the straps were thin but not by much a button at the torso held it together. Around her waist, she wore a sash-like belt with a black bag draped over her shoulder;
Studying it, Hiccup couldn't but note how un-Viking it looked. The only thing that screamed Viking about the whole look was the big sword strapped to her back which glinted dangerously in the light.
"Asta, could you remove your foot, please?" Hiccup grunted as he tried to sit up.
"Don't think I will," Asta smirked before narrowing her eyes. "Now, what the hell is it you're making? Looks like... it looks like a saddle."
"Saddle? I-it's not a saddle. Why would you think that?" Hiccup panicked slightly. "Better yet, why would I be making a saddle? There's nothing to use it for, so..."
"Really Hiccup? That's the best you could come up with?" The redhead deadpanned with an eye roll. "I know why you're making it... It's part of the reason why you've ignored me and have been spending so much time in the woods."
Hiccup paled slightly under her woods, feeling a little panicked. The way she was talking, it was as if she knew exactly what he was hiding. This wasn't good. She couldn't know about the dragons! She just couldn't! If there was one thing about Asta that he knew it was that she was horrible at keeping things a secret, one of the reasons why none of the girls of the village didn't really particularly like hanging around her was because any secretive girl talk they had, was always spilled out into the open because Asta was so horrible at keeping them.
He knew that if she knew about the dragons, it'd only be a matter of time before she slipped up and let it spill that there were two dragons hiding in the woods everyone will be out to kill them. And not only that, Hiccup himself would be executed or cast away from the island as a traitor and dragon lover with a 'Kill-on-sight' bounty over his head.
He knew Asta didn't do it unpurpose, cause he could often see the instant looks of regret and horror on her face when she accidentally let something slip, it's just... something like this; he didn't want anyone to know about it.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hiccup looked away for a second before glancing back up at her. At the deadpanned look, he sighed. "... Okay. Alright. You got me... I'm... I'm learning how to sled down a mountain and I decided to make a leather saddle-like-sled for extra protection," With a press of his lips, he patted her foot. "Mind getting off now?"
"You..." She inhaled. She didn't know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she let out a deep sigh. "... That was the dumbest lie ever. Okay, you know what? This is going nowhere-"
"Thank you for noticing that," Hiccup stated sarcastically though happy when she removed her foot. He quickly got up and dusted off his vest. "Alright, now that that's settled, you can-"
"- I know about the dragons, Hiccup."
What?! She knew?! This was not good! Not good at all! Spinning around to face the girl, Hiccup nearly tripped as he sputtered in shock. His hazel-green eyes seemed to widen even more once they landed upon the red gleaming scale in her hands that confirmed her knowing. Opening and closing his mouth a couple of times, Hiccup felt the claw-like grips of anxiety clutching at his being; his heart raced, hands numb, and the feeling of immense heat and the need to pass out overcame him like a hammer to a nail.
This was terrible! She was going to let it slip to everyone, or-or tell everyone because that seemed like the logical thing anyone that was a Viking would do. He'd be killed or banished, the dragons would be killed. Asta would probably get the same treatment!
No one would believe him if he said his redheaded friend had no part in his hiding of the dragons, and he didn't want to ruin her life because of his keeping the two Furies. Her life was already screwed up with controlling parents who were disappointed with the fact she wanted to explore instead of slaying dragons, become one of Berk's top warriors, marry, have kids, and maintain a Viking lifestyle. He... he needed to convince her that there was nothing there, or at least do something that would chase her away so she won't continue to question him.
"That explains everything about your weird behavior the last week or so," Asta exclaimed while waving her arms. "The reason you always disappear the same time each day, why you're so curious about Night Furies, why you've suddenly become so good with the beasts. It all makes sense now ...Hiccup?" Asta leaned towards the boy in worry once she noticed him paling to a color that would put snow to shame, his expression a little blank
"I..." His eye twitched slightly as he took in a deep breath before looking her in the eyes. "Look, Asta. There's nothing in the woods, okay? That scale is just something I found on the ground and the drawings are of what I think the Night Fury would look like," Walking forward he started ushering her towards the door. "Just drop it, alright?"
"Hiccup!" Asta stomped down. "Why are you lying?!"
The brunette boy was beginning a little aggravated, his eyes flickering to the saddle he was working on. "I'm not lying. There are no dragons! Have you ever thought the reason why I'm so good is that I understand how they feel? Trapped in a dark cage and brought out so they can be yelled at and pushed around? Maybe it's because I'm not trying to kill them like everyone else! Or maybe it's because I've got a skill that no one else has, and that is taming the dragons!"
"Hiccup..."
Hiccup just shook his head and looked away from her, not bothering to take note of the flash of hurt the flickered across her face. Turning his back towards her, he continued on with the saddle. "Just please go, Asta. I-I need some time to myself."
"..." The redhead just stared at him for a moment. Reaching out her hand, she opened her mouth to apologize but decided against it; her green eyes watching his tense form as he began working once again, the guilt that was filling her quickly switched to her own anger. 'Fine! He wants to be a jerk and continue to push me away, let him!'
Yanking her hand back, she spun around and stormed out the door, not bothering to look back to see that her friend paused in his work to glance at her retreating form. The boy feeling guilty for how he treated her.
Asta marched down the path that led through the village with an air of stubbornness around her. Her green eyes glittering in anger as she mentally seethed to herself as she went, villagers, passing her immediately jumping out of her way in hopes of not getting trampled.
She knew Hiccup was lying.
The look on his face when she said she knew about the dragons was one of complete horror and fear - fear at her knowing - told her the truth. Now it's not like she was going to kill them, not if they weren't a threat to her or anyone else, but that didn't stop her from being wary. They were dragons! Beasts of great strength and powers! They were intelligent, from what she's seen and read, and had attitudes only depended on their mood for the day.
But she didn't understand why he didn't tell her about the secret he kept in the woods. Was he afraid she'd try and kill them? Or that she would tell his father or someone?
Well, she wasn't going to lie, the first thought that had crossed her mind upon her recent discovery was to go to Gobber since her parents had left with the Chief and the majority of the adults a few days ago, but Asta knew Hiccup well enough to know he usually had a good reason for hiding something like this from the adults so she went and confronted him first.
But his reaction...
"I'm going to find out what he's hiding," She muttered quietly to herself as she glanced at the scale she still held. Lips pressing into a thin line, she clenched the fist.
"Toothless!" Sunflower jumped on the male who was laying with his back facing her. The Night Fury let out a grunt from the sudden weight impact, cracking an eye open the male rolled over and trapped her between the ground and his own form. Grinning as she let out a squeak. "Eek!"
Sunflower glared as she tried to wiggle out, her wings flapping. Stupid male and thinking he was funny. The dragoness let out a growl of annoyance as she tried to crawl free once more. What a fat lug! What did that bag fish do earlier? Add on eighty thousand pounds?! Sure as heck felt like it. While her struggle continued, she tried to ignore the small purr of her consciousness that was elected at the comforting warmth his body offered up against the cool breeze that had settled in for the night.
She never was fond of the cold.
Another grunt left her which was soon followed by a strangled growl as Toothless pressed down even more. "Gah! Toothless! You're crushing me!" The black dragon found great amusement in watching the female struggle to break free. Smirking, he tucked his wings in around them caging the smaller female as she let out a growl. "Oi! What do you think you're doing?"
"Sleeping," He purred with a smug grin. "What do you think you're doing?"
Ear antennas flattening back, she turned her head to glare up at lighter green eyes that were twinkling down at her in amusement. Huffing, she tried to sit up, grinning once she felt a budge on the weight above her. "You're heavy, you know that? Dear Moon! I think you're breaking my bones." Toothless glared down at her. "I'm not that heavy!"
"My breaking body says otherwise you bumbling baboon!"
"Why you-!"
"-Brainless idiot, yeah, I know," Toothless growled with an eye roll. "You're not very original with your names you know that, right? It's almost predictable on what you're going to call me... I expected you to put up more of a struggle."
"... Grrr..." Letting out a long drawn huff Sunflower dropped to the ground, feeling a bit winded from her small struggle. She hadn't realized how strong male dragons were. Either that or she was really lacking in strength... or Orion was just a really weak male. She hadn't really had to wrestle with any males other than Orion, having relied upon on her speed as she - and most Fury females - was faster than the males. She was always able to outfly them before anything too serious happened; it also helped with who her caretaker was.
She just didn't want to admit that she wasn't that strong, it was a little pride damaging.
"Just you wait. Once my wing is healed, I'll be able to take you done with no problem," She muttered with a death glare towards the darkening sky. "I'm just tired from all those many test flights, that's all!"
Toothless just merely gazed at her in amusement knowing full well she was lying. She had been running around like a hyper dragonet most of the day after Hiccup left. To be honest, he preferred her acting like a youngling as she wasn't as snarky as she was for the first week of knowing her. Actually... since she left to stay with the human for that night she hasn't been that mean. She still had her moments, but Toothless wondered if she had been hit on the head or was being controlled by some unknown source and that's why she has had a sudden attitude change.
It could be possible.
A nip at his wing had Toothless rearing up in shock, giving Sunflower the perfect opportunity to dart out and flap over to a rock where she sat triumphantly with a smirk and proud, "HA-HA!"
"Why you..." Toothless spun towards her with a glare. Luckily she hadn't done any left any damage as all she had done was a slight nip. "Did— Wha— You bit me!"
Sunflower smirked as she straightened up, tail curling over her front talons in what her friends at home liked to call her 'proper dragoness' pose. Her green eyes glowing in amusement as she gazed down at the dark male. Toothless, quite annoyed by her smirk, lunged forward and let out his own chuckle at the startled squawk that had left the Sun Fury. Sadly, due having raised to her hind legs in the attempt to flee, Sunflower had lost her balance as soon as Toothless had collided with her and went flying back and into the watery surface of the small pond with a giant splash. Sunflower had no time to react as her warm body hit the icy waters, the feeling of millions of tiny little numbing pricks spreading all over her like fire in the forest.
"Gah! I'm drowning! Help!" She resurfaced with a loud gasp, flailing and flapping her wings as she splashed around in a panic. It wasn't until her feet touched the ground that she came to a halt once she realized that she could touch the ground. "... Oh." If she could turn red in the face as the humans did - or at least she assumed it was a human thing since Hiccup did it - she was positive her face would've lit itself on fire from the heat of embarrassment that rushed into it. Toothless, who had broke surface a few seconds after her, sniggered to himself at the sheepish look that had befallen the female's features. Sunflower shot him a glare with a tiny growl. "... You jerk!"
"Oh, come on!" Toothless chirped as he bounced over to her with a goofy toothless grin. "You were complaining earlier about the dirt stuck on your scales, consider that your bath." He playfully head-butted her, ignoring the purr that came from his consciousness at the close contact. Sunflower let out a growl with narrowed eyes. "Yes, I wanted a bath, but I didn't want one in ice-cold water!"
Toothless pulled back to stare. "What did you expect? It to be warm?"
"..." Sunflower turned away, feeling her stubbornness settle in. "It's not that I expected it, it's just that I'm not used to cold water." At his blank look, she continued. "My home, or at least the part where the light, nature, and fire kinds live, has naturally warm water all year around. Only the dark and winter area has the colder temperature of water, but the ones of heat rarely venture there so..."
Toothless tried to imagine everything in his mind. He wondered what her home was like, to him it sounded like a paradise that was hidden away from the human world. It was strange though... He's been alive for fifteen years and never had he heard of such a thing. He's never come across anything that indicated the existence of another Fury that wasn't Night Fury. Wouldn't the other dragons have known about Sunflower as well? Surely she's been outside of her island and been spotted by other dragons. It was strange that none of the other dragons he knew, elders and younger, knew about her. Heck! Apparently, her breed was so secret that the humans didn't even know what she was!
He had to admit to being a little, more than a little, disheartened when she claimed to not be his exact kind, but he was also extremely happy to have met another Fury, he wasn't also going to deny the pride and joy he felt upon learning that she was a Fury. Nor was he going to deny the feeling of attraction he felt towards her upon first seeing her to now.
Yes, there have been many appealing females he's come across of the years but none came in comparison to the red beauty. He supposed that it had to do with her being a Fury, her being one of his own, that was why it made her so alluring. He also came to the conclusion that it might've been because she was the first and only female he's seen of his kind (again, a part of him wished she were a Night Fury) and the need to claim the species that was near identical to his own arouse hence part of the reason he took immediate chase after her during the raid.
"-ey! You alright there, Brainless?"
The thunk on his head had Toothless jumping out of his thoughts with a small hiss. His green eyes finding the lighter green set that were twinkling in amusement as the dragoness now sat atop her rock once more, tail curled over her front talons and wings tucked in so they looked almost to be in the shape of a heart. The small like scales on her body glowed like stars, Sunflower having told him that the sudden acted like a power giver which gave them their glow; the hotter the brighter, the colder the duller they looked - it depended on how much sunlight she had or something like that.
"Ow," He stated rather bluntly which caused the red female to smirk ever larger. "Why'd you do that?"
"Hey, at least I didn't strangle you this time. And you weren't listening that's why. Honestly, do you do this while raiding a village? No wonder we got shot down," She rolled her eyes whilst shaking her wings to get the remainder of the water droplets off. "And you wonder why I call you 'Brainless.'"
"I told you that that was an accident! And if anything it's your fault. You just popped up and distracted me from the task at hand, not to mention the whole nearly killing me bit. You could've waited until the raid was over to show yourself," The Night Fury marched out of the water shaking as he went.
Sunflower rolled her eyes once more as she hopped down from her perch. "Not really my fault. You didn't have to chase after me."
"You still could have waited," Toothless insisted.
"Whatever, Brainless," Sunflower walked over to him with a small grin, bumping his shoulder playfully. She let out a friendly purr as she butted her head under his chin. She had seen multiple female dragons at home do this with some of the males they were close with, so she assumed it was some kind of friendly gesture. Or at least she assumed it was, she had only very few female friends back home. And she assumed that Toothless had none from the way he was stiffening up. "Hey, when do yo-"
The sound of a branch cracking from above had the two dragons stiffening; ears flattening and pupils slitting as their heads snapped in the direction of the sound. Toothless let his teeth pop out, moving forward slightly so he was a little way in front of the female. Another branch snapped and Sunflower felt her eyes narrow as she focused upon the area that Hiccup normally appeared in. Nose raising to the air, she inhaled three times before letting out a growl. The scent of something of Nightshade Flowers and seawater with a hint of fire and metal hit her senses like Orion hitting a boulder head-on.
"Someone's here, and it's not Hiccup..." She whispered to Toothless who merely nodded. 'I know,' He thought. 'They aren't exactly quiet.' As if to prove his point, the sound of a human cursing loudly followed by a thump could be heard. The sound had them crouching down with the intent to attack if the human did appear with their own intent to kill them.
"Ouch! Dang it!"
Sunflower, being the bold and idiot warrior of her home, slowly crept away from Toothless who was beginning his own mini crouch-creep to get a better advantage of attack. Quickly zipping over to the rocky wall, she began to scale it in a clumsy manner but never the less silent. Sunflower perched herself above the opening, eyes practically glowing in the moonlight as she stared down. Toothless caught sight of her and let out a hiss of her name but as the seconds ticked and the sound of the loud human drew closer, he stiffened again and turned his eyes back to the entrance of the cove.
Sunflower mentally braced herself as the sound got closer. Her breath coming to a momentary halt as a strange rush of thrill and adrenaline coursed through her. Her inner wild side silently leaping for joy at a possible kill but she suppressed it as best as she could. She wasn't going to become a killer no matter how much her wild side wanted it, not unless this human attacked them first. She wasn't going to become the monster all the two-leggeds believed her kind to be. Plus... she didn't want to get on Hiccup's bad side.
Her eyes locked onto the slight shadow that stumbled into the opening with the rays of the moon illuminating her figure.
'A female human,' Sunflower realized. This human's features different from the human boy's. The female human had a smoother and much more delicate face and build, slightly curvier with... were those bumps on her chest? Yeah, Hiccup definitely did not have those. The fur on her head was long and the color of fire. Her eyes, from what Sunflower's keen eyes could see, were a vibrant shade of green and the color of her fleshy-ness was close to that of Hiccup's. She stood rather stiffly with her eyes flickering about wildly as if she were searching for something and expecting an attack, the red dragoness had a very good idea as to who she was expecting. Her eyes flickered down to Toothless, only barely seeing him do to her sharp eyes, and saw that he was just down below and perfectly hidden by the shadow of the night. She took a moment to find the irony and amusement in the direction of her thoughts before turning her attention back to the human.
Sunflower cocked her head to the side, staring down at the little human in curiosity and a sort of amusement. The girl reeked of anxiety despite the 'I'm-Ready-To-Fight' facade she had going on. The girl took a step forward, bringing herself more into the light, letting out a wonder-struck gasp with widening eyes.
The moon shone down upon the small cove, lighting up various areas in a silver glow. The pound, calm and smooth as paper, glittered like a silver mirror that reflected the moon and stars and the Rocky walls and looming trees that swayed in the small cool breeze. The shadows that the moon's rays didn't reach made everything seem like it came from one of those mythical books Fishlegs often went on about. In a mysterious kind of way, the scene before her was almost enchanting.
Moving to get a closer look at everything she froze as the sound of pebbles hitting the ground behind her echoed through the night. She suddenly felt very aware of the eyes that were piercing through her skull; the gaze of something not human. A shiver ran through her body and she swore to the gods that she didn't feel any fear, but she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't. Hand slowly drifting down to the sword she swallowed the rapidly forming lump in her throat. The growl that sounded behind her indicating that she just made the wrong move as she slowly began to pull up her blade - the silver metal glinting dangerously - had her freezing in her spot.
Dear gods! Please tell her that that was her overworking imagination? Please tell her there wasn't an actual dragon behind her. Asta mentally kicked herself for feeling scared but she justified that with the reasoning of the fact that unlike the arena where she was facing dragons she knew how to fight, what was currently behind her was more than likely one, or both, or the unknown dragon species that her dearly beloved friend has been hiding. But refusing to admit thoroughly or give in to any fear do to her stubborn pride, Asta inhaled sharply as the sound of another growl rang out and with a small mental berating, she slowly spun around.
Green eyes slowly turning up to where a glowing set of angry slitted eyes and flashing sharp white teeth peered down at her. Gulping, she felt her jaw fall. "Oh... My... Gods!" She whispered as the dragon moved closer which allowed her to get a better view. "... It–it's a bloody red Night Fury!"
Stumbling back was her first mistake. Pulling out her sword and pointing it up at the creature was her second mistake. The dragon growled even lowered and with one quick movement, blasted the metal away with a fireball.
Asta jumped with wide eyes as her weapon fell into the darkness before she turned back to the red dragon who was snarling. She could only let out shuttered breaths as she noticed how much more closer the creature had gotten and the glow that was building up in the back of its throat. Before she knew it, the dragon was lunging at her with a roar and Asta went tumbling back with a loud, horrified, scream that echoed through the night.
Author's Note: Yep! Asta finally meets Sunflower through not as were probably picturing. I apologize for such a late update, I had a terrible writer's block on what to do... I hope it's alright.
Please do tell me what you all think, I'd like to know your thoughts. If anyone has any suggestions for things you'd like to see added or changed comment below or message me. Same goes for any questions you all might have! I look forward to hearing from you all! :)