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Previously on How To Train Your Dragon: A Rider's Beginning
"W-Wait…I-I don't have anymore." I pleaded before hearing some weird sounds from her, almost like she was about…
"BLEH!" Oh my god…this is so disgusting. I blinked in shock upon seeing the piece of fish on my lips, causing me to recoil in disgust while the others watched in shock.
"H-Henry?!" Dusty gasped.
"Wait…does this look familiar to anyone?" Hiccup asked, trying to hide his smile but failed miserably.
"Oh my gods…" Runa snickered, covering her mouth. "Oh no…Henry…"
"What…?" I asked worriedly before seeing the Light Fury sitting on her hind legs and stared at me. The two of us stared at each other for a good while, leaving in awkward silence while the rest of the gang and the Razor-whip either felt confused, hid their laughter, or were just disgusted upon seeing the regurgitated fish on my laps.
Wait…this scenario…Oh god no! Is she…?!
She looks down at the fish and gestures me to swallow it. Yep…just as I feared…Oh god no…I feel like my insides are crying from the inside right now…I really am gonna die, aren't I?
Oh boy….please no.
"I'm sorry Henry, but…it looks like you're gonna need to go through what I've been through." Hiccup grinned, trying to contain his laughter while I moaned in misery.
This can't be happening…Oh well…I guess I have no choice…Ugh. Fine…
I slowly took out the fish and looked at it with a worried look before slowly chewing it. Oh gods…Oh god…it tasted so badly…Bleh.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Runa laughed. "Oh…my…Thor…no…way! He actually ate it! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
And now back to training dragons!
"Excuse me?"
The young red hair boy was sitting on his desk with a frown on his face before noticing a boy student walking towards him.
"You seemed down, dude." The student frowned worriedly, seeing him like this.
"Oh…it's just some problems I'm having." The red hair boy frowned sadly.
"Yeah…you're getting bullied a lot, huh?" The student guessed, which the red hair boy nodded. "Well it's sad to see you act like this, but relax, you have me."
"H-Huh?" The red hair boy stared at the male student in shock.
"Well nobody seems to want to hang out with you, and it's just sad to see you all alone with no one to talk to." The young student explained. "So why not we hang out at lunch and be friends?"
"R-Really? T-Thank you!" The red hair boy grinned happily at that suggestion as the young student began taking his leave, unaware that his smile turned into a frown.
Later during lunchtime, the red hair boy sat with the student at the lunch table as they were about to eat, but the young student didn't seem to brought any lunch with him, much to his chagrin.
The red hair boy looked at the boy in surprise before looking down at his sandwich and handed it to him, much to the male student's surprise.
"Here you go." The red hair boy smiled as he handed his sandwich to the male student.
"B-But wait…what about you?" The red hair boy shook his head before smiling softly at him as he replied "Well…I can eat when I get home. Besides, I don't want to starve yourself."
"Oh…thank you." The young student smiled softly while the red hair boy laughed with a smile. The young student stared at the sandwich the red hair boy gave to him, and couldn't help but frown sadly.
Later at the end of the school day…
The young student was packing some things from his desk till he encountered two older kids.
"Hey there, where you going?" The first older kid asked.
"U-Umm…" The young student frowned worriedly.
"Yeah, why not we hang?" The second older kid suggested, grabbing his arm and tried to drag him away till…
"Hey! Leave him alone!" The red hair boy quickly came and got between the two older kids, glaring hard at them. "Just leave him alone or else…!"
"Please, like we'll listen to the runt of this school." The first older kid laughed. "You're nothing."
The young red hair boy glared coldly at the man, which seemed to give hesitation at the two boys.
"L-Let's just leave…I don't want to deal with this useless idiot…" The second older kid gulped.
"…F-Fine." The first older kid huffed before the two began walking away before muttering "Useless little piece of…"
The red hair boy sighed before turning to his new friend and asked "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah…Thanks for the save." The young student nodded. "But why? You could have gotten killed there."
"So what? My big sis always protected me and her friends from trouble like that." The red hair boy softly smiled. "So don't worry! I promise that I'll protect you!"
"R-Really?" The young student asked in surprise.
"Yeah! Totally!" The red hair boy nodded. "Trust me…I'll protect you!"
The young student stared at him in surprise before smiling softly and nodding.
"So wanna walk home together?" The red hair boy offered.
"Sure thing." The young student nodded as the two chatted up as they walked home, becoming good friends.
For the past few days, the two boys became good friends, and thought they would become best friends forever. That was till that day came. The day where their friendship came to an end…
The red hair boy was heading out of school, looking through his phone and send some messages to his sister before seeing his new friend heading over to the playground area of the school.
"Hm?" The red hair boy followed after his new friend through the playground and hid behind the benches, seeing his new friend talking with a bunch of older kids.
"I still can't believe it dude! You literally done it!"
"Wow, I still can't believe that you did the bet dude!"
"Yeah, ha ha ha! It must've sucked hanging out with that useless brat!"
The red hair boy blinked in shock, hearing what they're saying as his new friend looks down on the ground while his other friends continued to rant on and on.
"Yeah, I'm so glad that I didn't lose the bet and had to do that dare to be friends with a useless idiot like him?"
"Who would even be friends with him? Knowing his reputation here at school, we'll get in trouble too."
"I'll say. I'm surprise that you haven't even got into trouble, dude."
The young male student doesn't respond as he closes his eyes, having a regretful and guilty look on his face.
"Y-Yeah…" He nodded.
"What's wrong man?" The first boy asked.
"What? Don't tell us that you really think of that guy as a friend? Is that why you're acting up?" The second boy asked.
"W-What?! No way! I would never be friends with a guy like him!" The young male student yelled out, unaware the red hair boy widened his eyes in shock upon hearing that.
"Yeah, because if so then we would just left you for him." The third boy stated.
"And why be friends with him? He's…useless, right?" The second boy wondered while the others agreed. The young male student looked down with a regretful look.
"Well right?" The second boy repeated, glaring at the young male student.
"Y-Yeah…he's completely useless." The young male student nodded till a voice called out.
"What…?" The group of boys looked back and saw the red haired boy staring at them in shock and sorrow, more specifically, he was staring at his former friend.
"Uh oh…" The first boy snickered.
"Busted." The second boy chuckled.
"W-Wait…I-I…" The young male student tried to explain, but began seeing the tears forming in the red haired boy as he begins running away.
"No! Please! Don't go!" The young male student cried out while his other friends laughed as the red hair boy continued to run more and more, his tears not stop running down his cheeks.
That day…he felt betrayal, one after another. He lost faith in believing in anyone, and grew up in isolation. He had no one…no one at all…he was all alone…he was just destined to be alone…Not allow to have friends, not allow to have a good life, not allow to do anything…
It's like the whole world was against this small fragile and innocent young boy…it was…heart breaking…
"Henry…Henry…Henry!" H-Huh? I blinked a couple times before looking over to find Runa, who happened to been sitting next to me while some of the others turned to me in confusion.
Wait…was I reminiscing the past? I don't know why…it's no bother to me at all.
"You alright?" Runa asked in worried.
"Y-Yeah, yeah…Never better." I assured while I leaned against my chair, but not too hard because of my back. I didn't need anyone other than my friends to know about my back injury.
So anyway, what did you miss so far? Oh right…So after our encounter with the Night and Light Furies, including meeting that Razor-whip dragon that seemed to adore Runa, we all returned back to Berk to meet with the others and sat ourselves down eating some dinner but we all split apart.
Me, Hiccup, Runa, Jobber, Dusty and Satsuki sat on one side while Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins sat on the other side. Yep, definitely smell a rivalry between these guys.
I also took notice how Runa and Astrid never looked at each other in the eye and when they do, it's always this glare they each hold like this long time grudge.
How ironic I would sound when Runa was jealous of Astrid due to how well-praised and well respected she is compared to her. I feel Runa's pain…she just wants to be strong too, but I know she is.
But right now, let's move back to what we are. Right now, Jobber and his dad, Gobber, were telling us some stories and one of them involved about the days when Gobber used to fight when he was his son's age.
"…And with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole." Gobber explained, waving his roasted chicken in the air. "And I saw the look on his face: I was delicious."
"Mm-hmm and that dragon must've passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took his leg!" Jobber finished, pointing to his father's peg leg, awing the the twins, Dusty, Fishlegs, Satsuki, and Snotlout while I saw Hiccup rolling his eyes with an amused look on his face.
He must known about it which explains the look on his face.
"You gonna eat that?" Huh? I glanced at Gram, who stared at me curiously while he leaned against the bench I was sitting. "You're nearly roasting away your chicken."
"Huh?" I glanced over and saw that it was almost about to burned up. Oh well…not that hungry anyway. "…Nah, I'm not in the mood to eat."
"You sure?" Oh crap! I forgot that he was in my bag. Apparently, while we took our leave, Sindri reverted to his cat form and decided to stay inside of my bag to make himself feel more comfortable.
Honestly, I was shocked the moment I discovered that he could transform like that. I had to even begrudgingly agree to let him stay in there.
"So…can I have it?" Sindri asked. "I mean…it does look tasty and I do wish to eat it."
"Whatever, just be quiet." I hissed, forcing him to pout before ducking his head back into my bag.
"What?" Snotlout asked, looking up to me with a raised brow. "What did you say?"
"None of your business." I scoffed, turning my head away while ignoring the glare from him.
"Satsuki always like this story! It has good plot!" Satsuki grinned. "That dragon really gave you a 'nightmare', didn't it Gobber?"
"Well, not really." Gobber waved it off. "Though I'm glad you enjoy it Satsuki. It's one of my favorite stories."
"Besides, it's a true story like that one time where I saw Astrid taking a bath wearing nothing at all!" Jobber grinned, earning a death glare look from said shield-maiden.
"Jobber…just please stop." Runa pleaded, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"S-Seriously dude? What is wrong with you?!" Snotlout asked. "I like Astrid and I know she does-"
"No I don't." Astrid interrupted, glaring at Snotlout but he ignored her and continued on.
"But what is up with making these crazy jokes?!"
"What? That's just who I am. I am Jobber The Perverted." Jobber answered with a proud look on his face while his father sighed and gave his son a stern look before he said "I think that's starting to be a bad habit for you."
"Yeah…it's really affecting him to say at least." I sighed.
"Really affecting him." Hiccup agreed.
"But you know, isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon? Like if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by... crushing his heart, or something."
We all turned to Fishlegs, staring blankly or weirdly at the sudden question he asked.
"Uhh…that'll be remotely impossible." Dusty commented.
"FIshlegs…you have a messed-up imagination." I said bluntly, earning a blush from him.
"I swear, I'm so angry right now! I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot!" Snotlout proclaimed with a serious look. "I'll chop off the logs of every dragon I fight! With my face!"
I gave him an amused smirk before saying "Or they could just fly away the moment they see you…Snotass."
"S-S-Snotass?!" Snotlout growled, glaring towards my direction. "Snotass! It's 'Snotlout'!"
"Yeah, I know how to say it 'Snotass'." I joked, earning a scowl from his face while the others either chuckled or smiled at that.
"Oh yeah, what's up with you calling me that?!" Snotlout demanded.
"Oh nothing." I rolled my eyes, leaning on my back before letting out a small moan. Dammit…I adjusted it too roughly.
"But you know, why bother chopping the legs off of the dragon?" Satsuki thought aloud. "Are we gonna make them out of chicken or yak chops?"
"If you want, I'll feed you some chicken in my-"
"Not. Now. Jobber." Runa hissed through gritted teeth, earning a sheepish grin from him.
"Nuh uh." Gobber shook his head, taking a part of his chicken's wing. "It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away."
Wait…if it can't fly, it can't get away. Does that mean…? Oh no…
"A down dragon is a dead dragon."
…..Oh my god, then what did we just do?
That Night Fury is doomed. Sure, he's safe in that cove but what if anyone here other than us find him? Then…what will we really do? Shit shit shit, this is really bad. I'm sure the others are realizing this as well…
Yep, they definitely notice this. Me, Hiccup, and co. looked at each other with horror looking through our faces. Good thing nobody noticed this.
"Alright…I'm off to bed." Gobber stretched his back before getting off from his seat. I noticed Hiccup mouthing to me and his friends, telling us 'Meet me at the Forge'.
He must have a plan. Well…this better be good.
While Gobber was still talking, we slowly got out of our seats and headed down the steps from out of the catapult tower, but not while I stopped and listened to what Gobber and the others were saying.
"You all should be, too. Tomorrow we get to the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who'll win the honor of killing it?"
….Fighting against the Monstrous Nightmare? That'll surely be a problem…I-I mean…No way any of us are gonna do it after learning about the dragon's soft side. S-So…why am I acting so scared?
"It's gonna be me! It's my destiny, see?" I heard Tuffnut shouting with Fishlegs gasping.
"Ah! Your mom let you get a tattoo?" A…tattoo? Jeez, is this guy crazy or not?
"It's not a tattoo! It's a birthmark!"
"Okay, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before." I heard Ruffnut making a snark comment while her twin scoffed at him.
"Yes it was. You've just never seen me on the left side until now." Tuffnut complained, bringing a soft sly smirk on my face.
You know, those guys do tend to crack me up.
…Hm? I turned around and Astrid looking down straight at me, staring at me curiously. I glared at her coldly before walking out of here.
I'm not in the mood with her. I rarely even have time with the crazy girl who punched me straight in the face.
I walked down the steps before meeting up with the others at the Forge with Hiccup talking to his friends.
"Guys, did you hear that?" Hiccup questioned them.
"Yeah…this is seriously bad." Dusty gulped.
"I know…what have we done?" Runa groaned.
"No, you mean what have 'I' done…?" Hiccup frowned, grimacing at that. "This is all my all why he can't fly! And I'm going to help Toothless!"
"Toothless?" I questioned, raising a brow. "You named that legendary and rare dragon that is said to be called the 'unholy offspring of lightning and death' itself 'Toothless'?"
"W-Well…he did have those retractable teeth." Hiccup gulped, scratching the back of his head.
"Anyway, back to the point, we need to do something!" Dusty exclaimed in with a serious look. "You all heard Gobber! A down dragon is a dead dragon! If so…then Toothless…!"
"You're agreeing to that name too?" I asked with a raised brow.
"H-Huh? Oh…" Dusty blushed. "Well…I think it's a cute name."
Cute?
"But how?!" Satsuki exclaimed. "There's no way we can fly it fly again! Unless we can make Toothless believe that it can fly again!"
Are you guys seriously gonna accept that name?
"No…but I have a better idea." Hiccup grinned.
"I know that smirk. It looks to me that you're already one step ahead of everyone." I stated, drawing confusion from the group as Hiccup gave me a raised brow of suspicion.
"And you know this how?" Hiccup asked.
"Experience." I replied, shrugging nonchalantly.
"But are you sure it's even going to work?" Runa asked, having doubts about this.
"Trust me you guys, it will." Hiccup reassured before turning to his childhood friend. "Jobber, do you think Gobber is gonna come?"
"Nah, he should be heading home and getting some sleep, so we're good." Jobber shrugs.
"But isn't your home literally here?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Don't worry, he'll take the back entrance of the place and even if he does he hear us, he'll think we're making new weapons." I gave Jobber an incredulous look, hearing his explanation.
Goddamn, these Vikings here on Berk are so stupid.
"Well still, I'll try to be careful." Hiccup nodded.
"What are you gonna do?" Dusty asked.
"Are you gonna perform a magic spell to recreate its tail?" Satsuki asked with an awe look. "Is it black magic? Because we're all not in a 'black mood'."
"Uh…something like that." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head before turning to me. "Henry…do you mind if you could help me?"
"Wait, me?" I asked in surprise.
"Well….I need some help." Hiccup sheepishly smiled. "I-I know it may be hard but-"
"Sure thing." I shrugged.
"Well I don't want to hurt you more with the work and…." Hiccup paused at what he said before looking at me with a shock look. "What…?"
"I said sure." I shrugged.
"…Just like that?" What is up with him? Look, I said I would help and that's a promise, is there anything wrong with that?
"Yeah…?" I raised a brow.
"Huh, I would have imagined that you would just refuse and say something rude, but I guess not." Runa blinked in surprise before smiling softly at me. "Heh, I guess maybe you're starting to like being around us."
"Well…I just want to help. It's the least I can do for you all helping me out." I chuckled with a sly grin. "Why? Feeling jealous that a girl can't do stuff like that."
"…You know, I know you're messing with me but you're right." Runa grinned determinedly before cracking her fists. "Hiccup…I'll help too."
"Thanks you guys." Hiccup smiled.
"What about us?" Dusty asked with an awkward smile. "Can we help?"
"W-Well…if you want." Hiccup shrugged.
"And besides, I'll show you ladies how its done." Jobber giggled, patting both Satsuki and Dusty on the butts, causing the two to yelp but the clown didn't seem to mind while Fishlegs's sister blushed.
"Jobber!" Runa grabs her whip and lashed out on him, whipping him several times. "You better stop that little act of yours or else!"
"Fine fine…" Jobber chuckled nervously before making a pervy grin. "But I gotta say Runa, you sure know how to look cute when you use your whip."
"Shut it or else." Runa threatened, giving him a venomous glare.
"Fine." Jobber shrugged.
Goddamn, what's wrong with this guy? Just how long has this guy been doing this crap?
"Alright then everyone, just be ready." Hiccup stated. "So me, Jobber, Henry, and Jobber will work on the project while Dusty and Satsuki will keep an eye out to make sure nobody tries to pry in what we're doing."
"Well…actually, I agree on that one." Dusty sighed. "As long as I don't get groped by Jobber."
"You sure?" Satsuki asked, earning a blank look from her friend before she began dragging her out of the Forge.
"Let's just go please." Dusty pleaded with a small blush on her face before the two were out of the Forge.
"Hey, I'll roam around outside too." Sindri popped out of my bag and leaped out of it and stood onto the table in his cat form. "I'll just keep an eye out for some things out on Berk. But also go to Mikako to get some fish."
…Are you sure you're not actually a cat? Because eating fish seems like one of the traits a cat is suppose to have, Sindri.
"O-Okay…and tell Mikako I said goodnight." Runa smiled softly.
"Sure thing!" Sindri nodded before walking off from the workshop. "Good luck on whatever you guys are building."
"So are we gonna start or is there anymore interruptions?" I asked with a raised brow.
"R-Right, sorry for the d-delay." Hiccup grinned nervously.
"Right!" Everyone nodded while I mockingly saluted and said "Yes sir."
Hiccup rolled his eyes with a smile on his face before he showed us the ropes by starting off at his little workshop.
"You sure you don't want to take your hoodie off? You might get a little hot." Runa teased, nudging me a bit.
"I'll be fine. I'm used to stuff like this." I shrugged before we arrived in front of a small room at the back of the stall or A.K.A. Hiccup's workshop. Hiccup lights a candle and lays his sketchbook out on the desk, opening it to the drawing of Toothless.
With a look of determination, Hiccup picks up a charcoal stick and re-draws the missing tail.
Hmm…I wonder if we can even replicate something like that.
"Alright gang, let's get to work." Hiccup stated with a serious look on his friend.
"Right." We nodded before I walked over and put on an apron, along with Runa, Jobber, and Hiccup. Runa had some difficulty putting it on till Hiccup helped her.
"Here we go…there." Hiccup smiled.
"Oh, thanks Hiccup." Runa thanked with a soft smile while he nodded before we got to work. I already been through blacksmithing once when I first got to this world, so let's see if I can do it again.
At first, Hiccup and I were pumping up the stone forge, burning the metal through it. Runa then picked it up with a metal clipper to not burn her hands when touching it and handed it to Jobber, who began banging it with a hammer before picking it up and blowing on it and dropping it into a bucket filled with water to cool off the steam.
"So you do this everyday?" I asked Hiccup, who shrugs nonchalantly and replies "Yeah…but it's the only thing I'm good at."
"Heh, really? Not excluding drawing and maybe singing?" I asked, making a blush come out of his face.
"O-Oh…well…I, umm…uh…" I rolled my eyes before punching him in the shoulder and smirked at him.
"Jeez, calm down. I was only just joking." I shrugged.
"Ow! R-Right…" Hiccup chuckled.
"Hey Hiccup, we managed to make…this." Runa showed him the metal bar, safely putting it down on the table.
"Thanks. Now let's move on." Hiccup smiled before we continued with me removing the screws off of the shields.
Hiccup and Jobber then showed me and Runa how to form them into shapes. We first preheated them with the stone forge, then began banging on them gently with our hammers. Just perfectly…
Besides, this seems easy stuff. It's like taking art class…Oh, I just had to say it in front of you people, did I?
"Seems pretty easy…" Runa smirked as she began crushing the small nails into small balls.
"You know, you didn't need to help." I rolled my eyes.
"Well from what you said, it made it into a challenge for a girl like me." Runa smirked, nudging me. "So…yeah."
"Mm…good point." I sighed, shaking my head.
With that, after we managed to turn the screws and nails into small metal balls and letting them cool off in the bucket, we weighed them on a small scale and then began fixing them up together.
Hiccup and I hammered out the connecting rods while Jobber screwed them in together with Runa stitching together scraps of leather and oiled sailcloth to make our little science project. Putting the components together, we finally completed it.
"So…is it done?" We looked over to our right to see Dusty and Satsuki coming inside of the Forge.
"Yeah! Satsuki really wants to-OOH!" Satsuki widened her eyes in awe.
"No way…is that…?!" Dusty gasped in shock.
"Yep." I grinned as we showed them a tail-fin. An automatic tail-fin, to be precise.
"Ooh, it looks amazing!" Satsuki clapped her hands. "Bravo! Excellent! Woo-hoo!"
"It really paid off." Runa smiled before frowning worriedly. "But…are you sure it's for the best? I mean…we're literally helping a dragon!"
"Yeah, I know that Runa." Hiccup nodded before looking at the tail-fin, opening and closing it. "But this is the way to help him."
"Yeah, just have faith in him lads." Jobber patted Hiccup on the back. "He never made a single flaw in his works at all."
"True, I'll admit. I mean, that Bola Launcher was pretty cool." I grinned. "Including the workings of the 'Mutilator'."
"Hey!" Hiccup yelled with an amused look on his face.
"So what are we gonna use it for again?" Satsuki asked. "Is it gonna help Toothless to reach for the stars again?"
"Well duh." I shrugged.
Have you even pay attention to what we've been doing for those long hours?
"I see! You guys managed to replicate the tail-fin of the Night Fury! Good job!" Dusty grinned in awe. "Hiccup, how did you know that you can make something like this?! Even with you guys!?"
"Ask the teach there, he knows how he done it. We're just his apprentices." I pointed to Hiccup, who blushed.
"O-Oh…it's nothing. I just simply knew." Hiccup scratched the back of his head.
"And we helped." Jobber grinned before glancing at Runa. "And I gotta say Runa, you sure know how to work hard. I saw you sweating so hard with all the work that it made you feel more beautiful."
Runa yelped before seeing Jobber squeezed her butt cheeks, prompting her to kick him between the legs.
"Ow!" Jobber hissed before falling face-flat. "Nice kick…"
"Ugh! Stop that!" Runa yelled out.
"Well anyways, I guess that's it for tonight." I let out a yawn before heading out of the Forge, but not till the moment I was about to step out of the Forge…
"Hey, can I get this sharpened?" Oh shit…her again.
Yep, you all can take a guess and I'll give ya a hint. She has a stone-cold face, punched me in the face, made Runa feel more bitter around her, and…she's a blondie.
…Yep, you all guess right. It's Astrid Hofferson…Ugh, I'm still feeling sore being around her.
"A-Astrid?!" Hiccup walked out of his workshop. Oh boy, this is bad timing. If she sees the Tail-fin, then we all know we're screwed badly.
"Hi Astrid. Hello there. Welcome. What can I do-" Dude, you're already making things worse than it already is.
Before he could stutter even more, Astrid threw her axe down on the table.
"…Ugh, I'm out of here." I sighed, taking my leave.
"Wait, I just want to talk to you." Astrid huffed, standing in my way.
"Oh great…how can I please you, miss Bitchington?" I smirked, earning a death glare of her.
"U-Um…please excuse Henry! You know him, always j-joking around!" Hiccup chuckled nervously before seeing the look of disinterest on her face.
Soon, Astrid glances over to her right and sees Runa and Jobber coming out from the small workshop area. Dusty and Satsuki must still be in there and keeping watch for the automatic tail-fin. I see how it is…
Runa stares at Astrid before looking away, not saying another word.
"Uhh…well Astrid." Jobber chuckled, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "My manly friend here will service all of your needs."
Hiccup stared at his friend with a mortified look, but Jobber kept pushing him towards her.
Astrid merely looked at them with her stone-cold face before glancing at Runa, who was doing her best to not look at her.
"Uh…Hiccup? How about we get to work?" Jobber chuckled. "By the way Astrid, looking lovely as ever."
"Don't push it." Astrid threatened.
"Fine…but-"
"Jobber, don't." I shook my head. "Just don't even try."
"Ha ha, who's trying?" Jobber snickered before seeing the glare coming from both me and Astrid. "…Fine…"
"Uh….Okay, razor-sharp battle axe, coming right up." Hiccup gulped before walking over picking up her axe, only to accidentally dropped it. Astrid looks at him with a stern look, which made Hiccup sigh before half-dragging, half-lifting it to the grindstone.
He headed over to the stone, placing her axe there and sparks flew from the iron as he sharpened her axe.
"Careful! That's my mother's." Astrid warned.
"R-Right…" Hiccup gulped.
Runa remained silent while I sighed and turned to her.
"So…what are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to deal being around us?" I asked, folding my arms.
"I just came to get my axe sharpened. I didn't want to deal with the others." Astrid huffed. "But that's not why I'm here. I want you to be outside right now."
"And why's that?" I asked. "Look, I have no time to deal with your shit, so shut up and go suck a-"
"Henry!" Hiccup hissed.
"What?" I asked, raising a brow before being grabbed by the collar as I was met directly with Astrid's glare.
"Outside. Now!" Astrid hissed.
"Uh…" I glanced over at Hiccup, who shrugged and mouthed 'Just do it'.
Ugh…if I have to.
"Fine…." I rolled my eyes before being dragged out by her as we stepped outside, a distant away from the entrance. Once we were out of the clear, she pushed onto the wall and gives me a glare.
"Now I want answers." Astrid crossed her arms while I folded my arms and asked "And answers to what?"
"Nobody has ever questioned about your appearance, and why you suddenly showed up here, so I'll be the one asking the questions and give them to the chief." Astrid explained, staring daggers at me.
"Yeah, no can do." I shrugged. "I rather not waste time with the girl who punched me into next week."
"Yes you will. I want to know, like…why are you hiding your face?"
…Of course it had to be the first question to come to mind. I let out a sigh before replying "Look, it's none of your business. If you got something better to do, then go find someone else to bother."
"I rather not." Astrid replied, folding her arms with a raised brow. "You know something that I don't."
"And how so?" I asked with a raised brow.
"I want to know who you are, where you come from, and why bothered taking part of dragon training." Astrid demanded before eyeing at Gram right behind me. "…Including that golden sword. I never seen a sword like that before."
"What? You just seeing that from those eyes of yours?" I smirked, earning a death glare from her before she poked my chest harshly and demanded "Shut up! I want answers from you! Now tell me who you are!"
"….Fine, I'll tell you who I am." I sighed, seeing the smirk on her face.
Ha, you call that a smirk? This is a smirk, girl.
"In a little hint." Astrid's smirk dropped into a shocked expression before it slowly turned to anger. However, I continued to smirk at her and began giving her my hint. "I am someone based that you would know all along but have never took your time to see who it is."
"That's not a hint! That's a riddle!" Astrid roared in face, grabbing my sweater collar and glares harsh at me while I held back my fears and gave her a calm look. "And I have no time to waste on stupid riddles! Tell me who you are or else!"
"Or what? You gonna kill me?" I asked irritably, earning a scowl from her. Before long…
"Hey! Leave him away!" Huh? We glanced over and saw Runa walking out of the entrance and standing in between us. "Leave him alone or else…!"
I blinked in surprise, hearing the words she said to me. Deja vu, isn't it?
"Stay out of this!" Astrid glares at her.
"Astrid, please just leave him alone!" Runa demanded. "Right now, I have had it!"
Astrid glares at her before closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Hm? Is that…regret I see in her? Ah…now I see.
"…Fine." She pushes me away and looks at Runa, who was glaring straight at her. Astrid stares at her with eyes filled with hesitation and regret before scoffing and began walking away, not before I heard her muttered something.
"Fine, I didn't want to…but…how can I go through this with seeing you like this…?"
So even she can learn regret, I'm glad that you would learn Astrid.
She heads back inside of the Forge, which made Runa sigh in relief before turning to me with a concern look.
"Are you okay…?" I stared at Runa with a slightly surprised look.
"H-Huh? Y-Yeah…thanks for the save." When I responded back, I widened my eyes upon realizing what I just said. Did I…seriously just say that?
"Hey, what's wrong?" Runa asked in concern. "You look…a little pale."
"H-Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.
"You looked…upset. Astrid didn't do anything to you, right?" Runa asked, looking over me. I flinched with a small blush on my face, looking away from her.
"I-I'm fine…nothing's wrong." I hissed a bit before frowning. "L-Look, I'm sorry…I just…annoyed with her little interrogation."
"Hey, don't worry. It looks like she won't bothered you anymore." Runa reassured with a soft smile. "So…are you sure that you're alright?"
"Yeah, definitely." I nodded before heading back to the Forge. "Let's just head back inside of the Forge."
"Mm…" Runa silently nodded before following me inside and entered the place, seeing Hiccup finishing up on Astrid's axe and handing it back to her.
"Mm…Wait, this feels different." Astrid furrowed her brows, testing out the axe.
"Oh, I-I rebalanced it. Tightened it up. Uh…fitnessed it. We're a full service outfit in here." Hiccup rambled on.
Judging by that look, I say that he done fucked up something and hiding it away. Oh Hiccup, so predictable.
"Thanks." Astrid replied as we noticed her lips slightly turning up into a smile.
"Sure." Hiccup nodded, smiling a little.
Before long, we heard other voices outside as I looked out the windows and saw her friends out there.
"Astrid! Come on! You coming for some late night training or what?!" Snotlout shouted.
"Coming!" Astrid called out before turning to Hiccup. "Thanks again, I guess."
"S-Sure…no problem at all…" Hiccup nodded as Astrid walks by and heads to the door, passing by me and Runa. She gives us a slight glance, but I saw that glint of sorrow in her eyes.
"I'm sorry…" She muttered, causing me and Runa to blink in confusion before watching her regroup with her friends and began talking about some unnecessary things.
"I hope I get some serious scars out of this at tomorrow's training!" Snotlout yelled.
"I know, like a jagged one across your cheek!" Ruffnut butted in.
"Yeah, or right through my eye!" Tuffnut gloated.
"Do those idiots have a death wish or something?" I asked myself, feeling annoyed by how they like violence.
Scars…Heh, what a joke. Once they realized that having scars is nothing to accomplish, they'll see.
I would by experience…it's a painful reminder of what you went through. Something that you can't take back, something…that you regret.
…But that doesn't concern for me at all.
"Trust me, that's what I've been thinking." Hiccup sighed. "Phew, that was a close one."
"What do you mean?" Runa asked in confusion.
"This is what he means." We looked back to see Jobber holding a broken axe. It had a chipped off the mark of it that looked like it was badly scratched and cracked.
…Oh, no he didn't.
"Surprise, huh? Heh heh…" Hiccup smiled nervously while me and Runa widened our eyes in shock.
"…Dude, talk about close call." I commented before turning to him with a smile. "Seriously though, what did you do to get that scratched up? I thought you were the expert on blacksmithing like Jobber and Gobber."
"U-Uh, no, I don't call myself that." Hiccup shook his head. "And it was just an accident."
"Funny…I'm yelled at a lot for making some accidents in my life." I grinned, earning confusion and concern from the group. I looked at them for a while before frowning. "Oh…sorry, I-I didn't mean to. I-I'll just go…"
"No wait, it's okay!" Hiccup assured with a soft grin. "You were just talking, that's all. We don't mind."
"….Okay." I nodded, not gazing at them.
"Henry…" Runa looks at me with a worried look. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"…Not yet. I…don't know to be honest." I sighed.
"Hey you guys, is she gone?" Dusty walks out of the small workshop area along with Satsuki, who was holding onto the tail-fin.
"Yeah, she just left." Hiccup replied. "No need to worry Dusty and Satsuki."
"Good! I thought for sure she had her 'eye on the fin'." Satsuki grinned while some of us groaned at that; I.E. me.
"So anyway…" Jobber turned to me and Runa before patting Hiccup on the back. "You guys managed to have Astrid distracted and not noticed her little axe was messed up."
"Yeah…" Hiccup nodded with a blush. "Though, I just hope that she doesn't see the difference of it."
"She's blind as a bat, of course she wouldn't noticed anything." I shrugged.
"Yeah…hopefully." Runa nodded, frowning a bit before smiling nervously at Hiccup. "But hey, it was pretty neat that Astrid at least came to see you and asked you to help, that's a step ahead of her believing in you."
"Yeah, but we didn't really talked much." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "Well…at least you have a point."
"Well either way, we still got some work left to do." Jobber chuckled. "You can take the night off now Hiccup, I'll man the fort for ya."
"Thanks Jobber." Hiccup smiled before fist-bumping him.
"You two really are close." I spoken, drawing their attention. "Jobber really seems to have your back a lot. You two are like close brother-in-arms or something like that."
"Yeah, we really are like brother-in-arms. Just like my Pa and the chief." Jobber nudged Hiccup, who shook his head in amusement before frowning softly. Jobber seemed to noticed this before placing a hand on his shoulder and said "Hey, don't take it too to heart. At least you're not like your dad. Besides, he's tough on you just like with everyone to make ya be strong."
"But I'm not like everyone." Hiccup stated before sighing to himself. "But, it doesn't matter…the guy is impossible to please."
"Stoick just doesn't want to appear to be playing favorites." Satsuki pouted.
"I know, he always never seemed to even pay to attention to Hiccup. I mean, all those inventions despite their flaws are pretty cool and I should know that I helped him out with the drawings of what it should be like!" Dusty exclaimed.
"Thanks you guys, but he's covered in that department, believe me." Hiccup snorted, putting away his apron and putting his woolly vest back on, dusting himself off. "If I didn't live in the same house with him, I wouldn't even know he was my father."
"Maybe like your mother?" Runa suggested. "I mean, I do resembled a lot like my mom."
"Yeah, and I resembled a little like my dad, but…" Dusty played with her hair a bit, frowning a bit. "But…it doesn't matter Hiccup! I'm sure that you stay positive, you would one day see that proud look on his face!"
"Thanks, but no thanks. We barely even make eye contact." Hiccup retorted.
…So just like me. Heh, I guess even I can't catch a break. It's strange that we're related yet live in places where we are shunned and have to live with fathers who don't seem to respect for who you are and understand how you feel.
"Come on, I'm sure he would." Jobber chuckled. "Just like me and Pa are."
"…But the difference between your father and Hiccup's father is that at least Gobber can listen to how he feels and gives him valuable life lessons unlike that selfish arrogant idiot who Hiccup calls a father." I said, looking down with a slight scowl on my face which the others noticed. "After knowing him for a little while, I know that he's an asshole. He seems to only care about himself. Focusing more of his job rather than his own child, not even helping him with his struggles, not understanding the pain or how you feel, and having high expectations for you to succeed on things that they couldn't do like we're slaves till they realized that we can't, they'll eventually lose faith in us and just throw us away like we're nothing…that's the type of dad he is."
Everyone stared at me in shock while Hiccup blinked several times before seeing the frustration on my face.
"Henry…I…" Hiccup frowned. "I understand where you're going through, but still…I might have a chance."
"…Maybe you do." I scoffed, looking away. "Sorry…I…know your pain."
"If you want to talk about it, we're here for you lad." Jobber said.
"Squire, please calm down." Gram said, poking his head out of the sheath to look at me with concern.
"…I'm fine. I…just need to cool my thoughts out." I sighed before I began walking out of the Forge. "I-I'll see you guys tomorrow. Early this morning, right?"
"Um…right." Hiccup nodded. "And Henry…be careful at night."
"Sure…" I nodded before walking of the place.
Ugh…I meant what I said. Those types of dads go to unlucky children like me and Hiccup. Hiccup's dad is the chief of Berk while my dad is the police chief of our previous home and our new home at Snogard Falls. They're famous and people loved them due to their reputation and hard work.
Hiccup and I try our best to appease our fathers with showing off the skills that we were born with or attained over the years, using them to our will based on who we are. We put all of our passion through it…and they just disregard or throw it away because they want us to be that we are not. I'm not anyone, not even Ari. Dad loved her and encouraged her and just never seemed to even care about me all because she's stronger than me, both physically and mentally.
I couldn't fight against bullies at a young age and when I told him my bully problems, he just told me that I need to be stronger and I did follow his advice. I know that, but when I do defend myself, he yells at me like what I did was wrong and should have reported it to the principal. Tch…what an idiot. Make up your damn mind, already…
I tried to be like him once, even sometimes copying his serious personality and it just made things awkward, uncomfortable, and…wrong.
Ari…she was everything dad would have imagined to have as a child. She's smart, strong, likes to play a lot of sports, and has a high chance of getting a degree at college and even joined the military, getting that big round of applause from dad. I even believed in her, and I stood by her side to be a hero like her.
But no matter what…I'm no hero. I'm…nothing. So then, why am I still alive to this day? Why was I born? What's…my purpose or reason to keep going? Just…who am I? I'll tell you what, I'm useless. Can't do anything…
"Squire, please calm your anger." I looked up and gazed at Gram, who staring at me with a stern and yet calm look. "Do not let whatever sway thoughts you are thinking right now control you."
"I'm fine." I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth and narrowed my eyes down on the ground.
"…Very well. I will not pry nor press forward on you." Gram sighed before noticing a familiar cat heading our way. "Oh Odin, here he is."
"Hey, I heard that, you know." Sindri glared at the golden sword before turning to me with a smile. "So anyway, what'd I miss? I enjoyed that little meal with both Gothi and Mikako. It was so worth it."
I didn't have the chance to respond and just decided that I'll just ignore him.
"H-Hey…what's up? Where are you going?" Sindri asked, following after me.
Fine, just follow me cat. Not like I can go anywhere…Well actually, that well I came out of is still there, but…do I really want to go back to my old life and just continued my boring meaningless life there? Even so, here on Berk, it's like my world in a way.
…I'm not accepted anywhere, and I have to accept that fact.
Soon enough, I arrived to the cliffside and saw the open seas right in front of me. I walked over and sat down on the ends of the cliff, seeing the starry skies before me and hearing the ocean roaring through my ears.
It helps calm me down, but not that much really. Thinking about everything was a long day. Facing the Deadly Nadders, getting owned by that crazy girl, nearly dying that moment when getting shot to the back, taming a Light Fury…and finally accepting them as my friends, but not out loud. It's crazy…I never had this much crazy since…ever.
Soon, I took out my phone and looked through it before pulling out a photo of Hiccup touching the Night Fury, or Toothless as he calls, touching his snout as they created a bond with each other.
Heh…it's beautiful. Although…I'm not sure if anyone, even his dad, will even care if they saw that moment. They would probably think that he's a traitor, and that's all. His father won't listen to reason, I know that as a fact. Like I said, he's like my dad.
"….Tch…stupid old man." I scoffed, my eyes glinting with resentment. "How long till you actually understand the pain I'm suffering…?"
"Henry…you feeling alright?" Sindri asked in concern. "Want to talk about how you feel?"
"…Maybe…but…I'm just pissed off right now." I scoffed before looking at the stars in the sky. "I just want to forget about much about my problems."
"I see…" Sindri muttered. "Is this about something relating to your family?"
I didn't want to admit it, but I don't want to hide my feelings anymore. I'm trying to talk more about myself…
So I nodded, answering Sindri's question.
"I see…but it's understandable. I mean, I don't know anything about family since I can't remember much about what I was like." Sindri sighed, sitting down on my lap. "All I can remember is that name 'Sindri' and that I'm human…"
"Well I'm sure you'll remember someday…" I sighed, rubbing his back.
"Such a lukewarm response." Sindri purred while I rolled my eyes. Jeez, this is what I get for helping you. "But I hope I do…and when I do, I hope that I can try and make good friends. I guess in a way, I don't belong anywhere but with you guys. We're all different…and that's what makes people believe what they want us to believe."
"Yes, people are blinded by the truths, whether they are aware of them or not." Gram sighed. "I just wondered how did these Vikings forgot much about honoring those? Even the chief has failed the duty of parenthood to Sir Hiccup."
"I'll say…but why does he have to face so much? I mean, why can't his mother help him?" Sindri wondered while I held back on what I was about to say in this conversation.
I'm sure it's obvious what she isn't around, and it's not pretty. But still, Hiccup is strong. Stronger than me, which is ironic since I couldn't handle the pain of losing my sister.
I didn't want anyone to learn about my sister…because I didn't want sympathies nor people making fun of me for crying. I…was scared. Scared of getting hurt and treated like a monster. That's what I was always afraid of…
Ari had always been by my side…she always protected me and I do my best to stand up for her. She was the only one, alongside my little brother, Joey, to ever love me. I…loved her. And now she's….gone…dead.
And now…she can't come back. But still, I still have those guys back there. I even admitted it…
"There you are…" Hm? I turned back along with Gram and Sindri as we saw her walking towards us and sitting down next to us.
"And why are you here?" I asked with a raised brow.
"Because I couldn't leave you behind and let you run off, you know." Yeah yeah, I get it Runa.
"…Were you stalking me?" Runa blushed brightly at that suggestion of mine, causing her to glare at me and exclaimed "I was not stalking you! I was just worried about you, so I followed after you to see what was wrong!"
"Sounds like you were stalking me." I retorted with a knowing grin.
"I-I…don't have a clue what you're talking about." Runa scoffed. "But…anyway, I just thought I could come and check up on you and…thank you."
"Hm? For what?" I asked in confusion.
"I mean, you saved my life and all, I can't help but thank you for that." Runa smiled softly.
"But didn't I thanked you already?"
"I know, but…I can't stop thinking about it." Runa smiled softly. "It was really wonderful of you to do that for me, but…I should have taken the hit. I mean, most shield-maidens take hits from dangerous situations like what we were before I met Silverspike."
"True." I shrugged before smirking at her. "But I couldn't let a beautiful girl like you get hurt."
Runa couldn't help but chuckled at that little joke before punching me in the shoulder.
"That sounds like something Jobber would say, but the difference is that you aren't him." Runa grinned.
"Yeah and you really know how to punch a guy." I smirked.
"So…what are you doing here Runa? You didn't hear much from us, did you?" Sindri asked curiously, earning a blush in response from her.
I'll take that as a yes.
"S-Sorry…I didn't mean to." Runa apologized before looking at me. "But…I saw how upset you were when you were talking about Hiccup's dad."
"Oh…sorry." I sighed before looking down. "It's just that…his dad reminds me a lot about my dad…"
"Oh…is it because he never pays attention to you?" Runa asked. "You know, the part where you told us how he focuses more on work and 'disciplines' you whenever you got in trouble, along with not spending much time with you as the father as you imagined."
"Yeah…" I scoffed, looking away from her as I was too upset to even talk about it.
"But you know, it's a mess." Runa smiled softly. "You must feel horrible. You've lost your sister, ran away from home, came upon here, gotten some bruises here and there-"
"Thank you for summing that up to little old me." I deadpanned before turning away from her. "Why was I even born to a man like him if he never was gonna accept me for who I am and where I belong? I should have just ran away when I had the chance. That way, it would been better for everyone…"
"Yeah, if what you said is true about how your life was, you had plenty of opportunities to run away…" Runa turned to me with a solemn look. "So…why didn't you?"
I shake my head, unable to come up with an answer while I saw the glint in Runa's eyes like she wanted me to say something.
"I-I don't know…I couldn't…" I frowned.
"That really isn't an answer, you know?" Oh for the love of! What the hell does she want!?
"Oh for god's sake! I was a weakling! A coward! A useless human being with nothing to live for!" I exclaimed, glaring at her. "And it took me fifteen years of my life to actually decide to run away from my boring cruel life and I just so happen to stumble upon your world in the past!"
Runa, Gram, and Sindri stares at me as I continued to rant on and on.
"I'm the first human being to actually time-travel to your world and I wouldn't run away from my home!"
"You said 'wouldn't' that time." Runa pointed out.
"Ugh, look…why is this so important to you all of a sudden? What about Hiccup?" I asked irritably.
"I know, I like Hiccup as a friend. Besides, he and Astrid are meant for each other and I know that. She never dare hurt him except maybe a few cold insults, but it was her way to care." Runa explained.
"Oh really? Says the girl who wouldn't say a word to her at all!" I retorted.
"I know…" Runa sighed before turning to me with a serious look. "I…didn't want to. You aren't the only coward you know. When she insulted my dad, I…felt lost and hopeless. That till you showed up and helped me. You defended me…I never knew why but I saw that underneath that hoodie of a great big jerk, you actually have a heart."
"I don't…but still, why? Why is this important for you all of a sudden to a guy like me?" I asked grimly.
"Because I want to remember what you say right now. Right in front of me so I can see the real you through that hoodie." Runa stated. "Please Henry…let me hear you. I want to see the real you out of there."
"Nobody would even care for me…nobody likes the real me." I frowned sadly before gazing at the seas.
"Is that really true?" Sindri asked. "Didn't…Ari love the real you?"
….Ari…Every time I hear that name of my dead sister, I…I can't help but stop thinking about how she…
"Yeah, I'm done for. I won't…be able to help you. I'm…sorry. I'm doing this because I love you and everyone…I don't want to die…I…I still have things I want to do. I wanted…to stay with my family and with my friends, even you…One…One more time…I wanted…to be with you…little bro…if you stay who you are and help those with those skills you love, you can…do…anything…"
Those words…those words that I would never forget. But…can I really do it?
….No, I don't want to think about it.
"…Of course she did." I sighed, darkening my face. "She loved seeing me. The real me. The one you all don't see today, but that me is dead…the old me, the one that nobody ever loved or liked at all, is gone."
"Well I wouldn't mind meeting the old Henry." Runa grinned softly, causing me to roll my eyes and sarcastically stated "Yeah, sure you would and get disgusted with it."
"But I will help and understand his issues." Runa nudged me on the shoulder, causing me to look away, but held a small blush on my face. "And besides, you are special in many ways like I said. I mean, you're practically the first human to ever come to the past. To Vikings time, no less."
"Yeah, I guess you can say that." I scratched my cheek, trying my best to hide away my embarrassment. "I just…I just didn't run away…because I didn't want to abandon Joey and Ari, but…I still did."
"But even so, you're learning your mistakes." Gram pointed out. "I think it is a start that you can do, squire."
"He's right." Sindri nodded. "Despite what that rusty sword says about you, I still think you have a chance. You can't let your sister die in vain."
"Heh…like I haven't heard that before." I rolled my eyes while Runa stared at me with a soft smile. "What?"
"Nothing, just happy to see that smile back on your face." Runa pointed out, causing me to feel surprise as I blushed ab it while she laughed and punched me on the shoulder. "Hey! Don't feel embarrassed! Even women can't hold back on stuff like this!"
In what way exactly?
"So…" I looked down at Sindri, who was looking at me curiously. "Why? Why couldn't you run away?"
"…Because I had my sister and brother by my side." I stated, furrowing my brows as I began reminiscing the times where we spent time together. "I couldn't leave their side ever because we had so much fun and how we support one another."
"And there you go." Gram smiled.
"I'm glad to hear." Runa smiled before turning to the dark sky. "Huh…it sure is beautiful out here."
"Yeah, I'll say." I nodded before smiling softly. "Hey…sorry for storming out of there. I seriously need to learn how to calm down…"
"You sure do." Runa nodded. "As well as your promises."
"That too." I shrugged. Soon, it slowly turned awkward between each other as we stood silent till she scooted over next to me and leaned against my shoulder, which made the two of us blush. Ugh…I'm not used to a girl…being this close.
Oh gods…I just hope I didn't 'Jobber-itis' or something like that. Heh heh, now that'll make things more awkward than it already is.
So, to avoid those awkward moments, I took out my necklace, examining it before forming a grin on my face. "Mm…"
"Oh hey, is that your necklace? The one where you gave it to Ari as a present?" Runa asked, noticing my necklace.
"Yeah, it managed to survive the fire that day…and I managed to fix it up." I explained, staring at the necklace. "It plays a good melody that my mom would sing to us when we were little."
"Well it sure was a beautiful melody…" Runa softly smiled. "I mean, the moment I heard it, I couldn't stop humming that melody in my head."
"Yeah…it's pretty catchy." I chuckled. "…Do you…wanna hear it?"
"Huh? Really?" Runa looks at me in surprise. "But…are you sure? You seemed to treasure it a lot."
"Indeed squire, and that belonged to Lady Ari, correct? Wouldn't hearing it bring back painful memoriess?" Gram questioned.
"Just let them do it. Besides, you're ruining the moment here." Sindri glared at Gram, which made the Sword of Odin glares angrily at him.
"Excuse me?!" Gram exclaimed.
"Alright, take your fighting somewhere else please." I rolled my eyes with a grin on my face before slowly cranking it. "It's nothing much, but…it's a really beautiful song…and sometimes…I would sing to it."
"Makes sense for you to have a beautiful song." Runa smirked. "Can you dance too?"
"W-What? No…I never learned to dance…" I admitted sheepishly before being grabbed by the arm and lifted up from the ground, putting down Gram in the process.
"Well…how about I teach you? My mom would teach me how to dance sometimes, so I got the basics right." Runa smiled softly. "Trust me, you might need it."
"…Alright then, show me how you do it then." I raised a brow with a cocky look on my face.
"Alright then, but you better pay attention." Runa furrowed her brows, forming it into a stern look. "I won't go easy on you."
"Yes madam." I mockingly nodded, which made her roll her eyes before the two of us slowly began dancing.
Okay, it's simple. One step, two step, three step. Simple as that.
…Ow!
"Be careful…!" Runa warned, accidentally stepping on my toe. "You need to be…calm and follow the beat."
"Calm and follow the beat?" I asked in confusion.
"Well yeah…just let the music help you through." Runa nodded before the two of us began slowly dancing. I was getting a bit of a hang of it as the music coming out of my necklace slowly began playing the tune.
"You know…it's pretty much a nice tune…does it have any lyrics?" Runa asked curiously.
"Heh, only if you know them." I smirked, which made her smirked back at me.
"Alright then Mr. Music expert. Sing the lyrics so that I can come up with them?" Ha, challenge accepted and I do not call myself a music expert. Though…Ah never mind. Let's begin…
Changing Me
(Henry):
I wasn't able to draw my very own map
Because I couldn't blame anyone else for it
Runa grew surprised to hear my singing voice before slowly smiling and nodding, following the song as she made up her own lyrics.
(Runa):
I could never find the right answers
All I'm good at is making excuses
Huh…not bad. Now let's see if you gotten the rest of the song to follow the beat…in my way.
(Henry):
If I'm going to get hurt otherwise, I'd rather stay as I am
(Runa):
But because I met you
(Henry & Runa):
I found myself
(Henry & Runa):
Your voice, your weakness, your gaze
Even the bold front you put up, and that smile of yours - those will become my wings
Let's set flight from this never ending night, shaking ourselves free from the border of cowardice
for changing by me Let us seek the light of tomorrow
"Not bad on the first try." I commented with a soft smile as the two of us held hands and began slow dancing around the cliffside.
"Same goes for you in what we're doing." Runa smiled softly. "And you said that you never done dancing before."
"W-Well…" I looked away with a slight smirk on my face. "Whatever…so…how about you take the next verse?"
"Huh? Me?" Runa asked, blinking in surprise.
"Mm-hmm…go on. I won't stop you." I nodded, earning a smirk and blush on her face before she muttered "You dork…"
Yet I'm a lovable dork, am I not?
(Runa):
I thought I was stuck in a dead end
Trapped, unable to go anywhere
(Henry):
But you told me the path was always open
(Runa):
Once I stepped forward on my own I feel the gentle
(Henry):
breeze on my cheeks
(Henry & Runa):
carrying me forward
(Henry & Runa):
I'll share these wings engraved upon my back
With you, struggling amongst sadness and suffering
I hope that you'll soar to even greater heights in these endless days
for changing 'bout you And so I pray
This feeling…I never felt this strange feeling beating in my heart. Despite her feminist prideful behavior, she's really a kind and nice girl that I can relate to…
We both lost someone important in our lives and we're fighting for our lives to always remember them…
(Henry):
Though there were
(Runa):
lonely nights when I cried
(Henry & Runa):
I know that, in the ongoing future, there is someone waiting for me
(Henry):
In this long journey where everyone falters
(Runa):
I'll take a step forward with thoughts of you in my heart
(Henry & Runa):
and my faith in dawn
(Henry & Runa):
Hey, I want to tell you something
To the fact that you were born the fact that we met
And this world with you
thank you
And at the end of the song, I gently held out my hand to her. Runa looks at me in surprise with a blush on her face before she slowly touches it as the two of us looked at each other.
"…Awkward?" Runa chuckled nervously.
"Awkward…" I shrugged before having a playful smirk on my face. "But wow, who knew you could dance?"
Runa glares at me before letting go of my hand and lashing out on me.
"OW! OW!" I hissed, rubbing my arms as she glared at me with the whip in her hands.
"Would you just stop doing that to me?! It's embarrassing enough for you to get me like this!" Runa yelled out, glaring at me. "Jeez, you just love to mess around with others, do ya?"
"It's what I do best." I chuckled before putting my necklace underneath my sweater. "But…that was beautiful. It's been a while since I sang a song like that."
"Well I'm glad that I could help you." Runa smiled.
"Wow…you two were so stellar right there." Hm? Oh right, we forgot that we had an audience there.
"Indeed, you two were 'dazzling' as one were to say." Gram smiled.
"W-Who us? Nah, we just sang and dance, that's all." I waved it off.
"Y-Yeah…" Runa nodded before nudging me in the gut. "Besides, this guy is just still working on the basic steps of dancing."
Yeah, say what you will Ms. Feminist, but you gotta admit, not bad on my first try, eh?
"Yeah…I did awesome." I nodded before smiling at her. "Thanks for keeping a good old eye on me, stalker."
"Mm…!" Runa pouted before whipping me on the shoulder, causing me to wince. "That's for calling me a 'stalker'."
She then punched me in the shoulder and smugly stated "And that's for teasing me about my dancing."
I glanced over at Gram and Sindri, who looked at me with shaking heads. Jeez, even they're confused by this girl's personality.
And when you think she was done with me…she grabbed me and kissed me…on the cheek.
"And…that's for…everything else…" Runa coughed sheepishly. "I-I'll see you tomorrow…bye."
Runa begins taking her leave while I was left speechless from that whole encounter.
"Squire, are you feeling alright?" Gram asked, floating over towards me to see my face all red. "And…why is thou's face all red like a tomato or even the color of a dragons' fire breath?"
"You stupid golden sword! He's blushing obviously!" Sindri exclaimed, glaring at the sword. "But wow, who would've thought you of all people would get kissed. I'm surprisingly jealous of you, dude."
"Mm…" Oh my god…kissed by a girl…does that mean…Ohh…
"Uh…" I slowly feel on my butt before looking at the night sky with my blushed face.
"Um…squire? You feeling alright?" Gram asked in concern.
"Let him be. I think he's starting to feel what it feels like to get kissed by a gorgeous Valkyrie like her." Sindri chuckled.
"Shut it you two." I glared at them with a blush on my face before staring at the night sky.
Well what do you know? Getting kissed by a girl, huh?
"My day just keeps getting better and better here on Berk." I commented bluntly as I continued to stare at the night sky with a soft smile.
Well…I guess I gotta keep my promises to them. Heh, god…my life here seems to become a little more exciting…
Meanwhile
While Henry watches the star, Mikako watches him from afar of the cliff as she smiles to herself.
"I see you now…finally…accepting them…and found someone…to stand by too…Henry…" Mikako softly smiled before she took her leave, disappearing from the shadows.
To Be Continued
I split the previous chapter and this chapter into two because I wasn't feeling up to it. Though, it worth it in the end. I used 'Changing Me' from Persona Q since it does relate between Runa and Henry losing important people in their lives and how they have to deal with it. Though, other than that...do you all feel it? A new ship has been born. Henry and Runa are definitely more than friends if it wasn't that obvious enough. So anyway, until then, sayonara!