Another Day in the Life

I clawed another line on the cave wall with a sigh. "Another day, another opportunity waiting to be lost" I said out loud. The wall was covered in tiny lines. They represented my 15 years of life, all spent in the exact same cave. Well, until winter, then we migrate. I stretched my wings for the hundredth time today, the same ache that called for me to fly ever present. I heard a squawk at the cave entrance, telling me Stormfly had returned from relieving herself. I jumped up, ready to play some more. She wasn't. "I said no Hiccup, so give it a rest" she told me. I growled playfully and jumped on her back, biting one of the horns that stuck out of her head.

This was Stormfly. She's a light blue and yellow Spine Tail that helps my brother take care of me when he has to go. Where he goes and why, I'll never know. He never tells me. Stormfly won't tell me either. As far as I know, these are the only two dragons to know I exist, but I love them all the same. I just wish my brother didn't have to leave so much during the day. It wasn't that often when I was just a hatchling, but Skies above he leaves me a lot more now. I always felt sad about it. It felt like he was leaving me more and more each day on my own. Sure Stormfly was here, but sometimes she had to leave me too. I never understood why.

Said dragon's head leaned more towards me, my weight pulling her head down. That's when she stood, and me not having enough jaw strength yet, fell. "Hiccup.." she warned. I groaned and left her alone. She seems to stop playing with me more often. With nothing better to do, I climbed up to my ledge, the place I'm supposed to hide in case someone comes here. Apparently I'm not allowed to talk to anyone else either. I swear sometimes I'm some sort of treasure or something. I'm not allowed on my own for very long, not allowed to leave the caves alone, and now I'm growing too old for playing. According to Stormfly I am, anyways.

I shot a blast at one of the walls, something I'm not supposed to do in the cave unless in immediate danger. Stormfly shot up in alert, looking at me. I shrugged "There was a bug". "Hiccup! Knock it off!" Stormfly scolded. I glared and fell to my side. "What else am I supposed to do! I don't know what Toothless expects me to do all day! Just sit here and rot?" Stormfly shuffled her wings. "Look, Hiccup, I don't agree with it either. But you're not my hatchling, and I can't decide how to raise you". I huffed. "Raise me? The only thing Toothless does is leave me. And so do you!"

She shook herself while cleaning under her wing. "You know we don't have a choice Hiccup. Do you think your brother likes leaving you? Do you think I like leaving you?" I looked back at her "Well...no, but it would make me feel better if you told me why. You can't expect me to just sit here and accept it". She looked back at me as I spoke. "I don't. But, it's not in my place to say. If you want to know, ask your brother". I sighed again, knowing this was going nowhere. Until a familiar voice spoke up.

"Ask your brother what?" Toothless spoke. I could've sworn I heard Stormfly grumble "Thank the skies", but I was too excited to care. "Toothless!" I shouted, leaping from my ledge and over to my brother. No matter how annoyed I get at him, he's still my brother and I get excited whenever he's home. I nuzzled into his side while he brought a paw around my back. He rested his chin on my head, a sign I know means 'I missed you too', or 'I'm really glad to see you for some unspoken reason'. He gave my head a lick before guiding me back into the cave in a very subtle manner. I still picked up on it, though. "You're gone too long!" I began to complain.

"What, you miss me too much?" he teased. I noticed from the corner of my eye Stormfly giving us a look. I couldn't place it, it looked similar to concern, to envy, to...I don't even know. I ignored it for later, too busy enjoying my brother's company. "No! Well, I mean, yes. But I mean...oh, forget it!" I replied. He chuckled before giving me a light-hearted shove. "Alright, but seriously. What's with all the fuss?" he asked, heating up the cave floor and gesturing me over. I laid with him like I always did when he was around. "I think I'll head back now. My cave is probably cold already" Stormfly interrupted. I stuck my tongue out at her playfully and she returned the favor. "Ok, thanks again Stormfly. Means a lot"

"Oh you know, anything for the little rascal" she taunted. I stood up in a playful manner, ready to fight. Toothless pulled me back into his arms before we could do anything. I said goodbye as she took her leave, watching her fly out the cave. I wish could do the same sometimes, but as far as I know it's a dangerous world out there. Dragons that turn the sky to poison, and creatures with no scales that'll stab fake claws into my chest. I shuttered. I stared out the cave a little while longer when I heard the familiar sounds of my brother bringing up his food. I looked at him as a pile of half-digested fish hit the ground with a splat. "Alright brother, eat up". I groaned. "Aren't I a little too old to be eating from you still?" It was true, hatchlings stopped eating from their family when they're a few years old. I'm a teenager. He sighed "Maybe, but I was too tired to go fishing today. So, eat up".

I began to eat the slime-coated fish. It wasn't as good as fresh fish, but being stuck in a cave all day, I didn't complain. "What do you even do out there?" Toothless stiffened, something he always did when I asked about outside. "Hiccup…" "Come on, you never tell me! Shouldn't I at least know why my brother has to leave me constantly?" I stared at him intently. I wanted an answer. "Hiccup, the world outside is dangerous and unsafe. You know this" A half answer. As usual. "That's not an answer" "Brother, I'm too tired to talk about this tonight". And an excuse. As usual. I looked down and continued to eat my food, dropping the subject. I shook myself when I was done, stretching. Toothless gave me a sniff. "You need a bath". I froze at the statement. As much as I love being clean, I hated baths. When I was old enough to make him work for it, I did. "Oh...uh...l..look at the time! You know, I..I'm feeling kind of tired too! I think I'll get some sleep!" I excused.

Toothless stood with a challenging look. "Over there" I added before running. "Oh no you don't!" My brother roared, chasing after me. Gone was the 'I'm too tired'. I didn't mind though. As much as I wanted to know what goes on outside the cave, I'm sure he has his reasons, right? I suppose if it's that horrible that he can't tell me, I might be better off not knowing then. I dodged him over and over, climbing the walls, and letting out harmless blasts. But as per usual, he overpowered me very quickly because I began to get tired. For real. We both laughed as we rolled to a stop in the middle of the cave.

"Alright" he chuckled. "Go clean yourself, or I will" he threatened, shoving me by my back leg and tail. Although I outgrew the age where he was supposed to do that, he still did it. We were really close. I stuck my tongue out at him and began to lick myself to clean my scales. Toothless began to clean himself as well. When I was finished, I went over to the small crack in the wall that pours out water and removed the rock that kept the water from spilling into our cave. The cold substance poured down my face and into my awaiting mouth. Playing had made me thirsty and really tired, so much I was ready for bed. The day of playing around with Stormfly might've had something to do with it as well, but that could be the wind talking too.

After getting my fill of water, I re-clogged the hole, and made my way over to where the two of us slept. "Tired already I see". I yawned, stretching myself until waves of warmth rushed through me. "Yeah, had a long day of playing with Stormfly. It was pretty funny to see her stop anytime she got a little dirty. I never understand what her problem is with a little dirt, it's not bad for you" I commented. I looked toward my brother "Each dragon is different, Hiccup. Spine Tails especially like to stay clean because of their colorful, sleek scales. Not all dragons have scales like that" I just looked at him confused. Us Death Strikers are completely black, so we don't need to worry so much about getting our scales stained. My guess is that's why he makes me clean myself so often, to make sure I didn't have anything bad on me that none of us could see. Our scales weren't that delicate, but unlike other dragons, we aren't completely covered in scales. The ones we do have are very strong and shiny. "And speaking of dirt, you missed a spot" He continued, ending my thought process.

My ears shot up, "What, where?" I asked, looking down at myself, smelling all over. "Right here" he said, licking my neck. I jumped at the tickling sensation it made. "And here" he licked my cheek. "And here, and here, and here!" he continued licking my face in different place, resulting in me laughing again. Giggling, I shoved him off. I rubbed up against him, enjoying the comfort I always get when I'm around my family. He returned the favor, giving me a brotherly lick to my forehead this time. "Come on brother, let's go to bed" I nodded and hopped over to the pile of ashes we always sleep in.

He always hated sleeping in ashes. I never understood why, they kept us warmer than the stone would if we heated it up. If heated up enough, stone would keep us warmer than ashes, but it would be a waste of fire. My brother paused for a split second, looking at the ashes, but continued anyways with a head shake. We both heated up our own spots and laid down, him pulling me in close again. "Can you tell me another story?" I asked, giving him my biggest eyes possible. "What is it with you and stories?" "Well since I can't leave the cave, I can at least use my imagination to entertain myself". He gave me a weird look. "Pleeeeaaaasse?" I begged. He pawed my face lightly with an "Alright, alright! Any requests?"

"Umm.." I thought. Which one did I like the best? "Oh, can you tell me the story of how the Sun was Hatched?" He rolled his eyes. I couldn't blame him, I loved hearing this story. I always asked for it at bedtime when I was a fledgling. "Ok let me see...back when the Rock Dragons ate plants…" I whacked his nose. "That's not how it goes!" he laughed knowingly. Like seriously! Rock Dragons wouldn't eat plants if their lives depended on it. "Ok, Ok. When time was new and all things living ceased to exist, the world was void and abandoned. Not a single thing lived in this dead world. Volcanoes turned the world hot, and space turned it cold. There was no color except the black of space, grey of rock, and the orange of lava that volcanoes spewed. Darkness ruled the world with her cruel heart.

Until one day, A volcano grew from the barren ground, off the east space. This volcano was The Volcano of the East Horizon. It's depth reached the center of the world, and it's height reached the space of the sky. One day it erupted, sending it's hot lava into the void sky, casting light. It's lava was sent far into space, creating a ball of light. The First Sun. His light shone down on all of the world, changing black space into the blue Skies we fly. The First Sun was the brightest sun in the history of our world. It's magic out flew Darkness in our world, growing plants and creating animals to live in this heaven.

But not all was safe, for Darkness could not be kept at bay for long. Darkness challenged The First Sun by breaking the land down into parts, leaving only continents for the plants to grow, and animals to live. It created water that reflected the blue sky, mocking what The First Sun had first created in it's Hatch. In both their rage, The First Sun and Darkness, they battled. It was an atrocious battle. Storms plagued the world, lightning from The First Sun burnt plants, creating fire, and clouds casting water rained down onto the world, filling lakes and creating rivers. They fought until The First Sun had won against Darkness, banishing it from the skies and into Hell, below the ground. But, by that time, the First Sun was dying from it's battle. It would not survive the day. As for Darkness, it was too weakened to take over when The First Sun died. It would last through the day, but not through the night after.

Their world would be doomed into oblivion. But, as the First Sun crossed the Sky for the first and last time, it saw how beautiful Darkness was through the bottom of the oceans. And looking up, Darkness saw how hansom The First Son was crossing it's waters. Despite their differences, The First Sun and Darkness joined for one last time, meeting in love, and not in hate. Darkness grew a volcano in the west, one as large and as tall as The Volcano of the East Horizon. This was The Volcano of the West Horizon. The First Son met Darkness half way and they mated. Darkness and Light came together in harmony this time, creating wind and a color changing sky. Soon after, The First Sun had vanquished, leaving Darkness to rule what was left of the night.

But in her heartbreak, Darkness could not bear to kill what her beloved had created. She watched over her world while dying, but felt something off before her death. She was carrying two eggs. At her dying breath, she laid one egg where her beloved had been born, and the other where he had died. The first egg was golden, and set on the Volcano of the East Horizon, where it would hatch, and the second egg was silver, set on the Volcano of the West Horizon. No sooner did Darkness place her second egg did she die. But, it was not dark in the world forever. Not long after their Mother's death did both eggs hatch. On The Volcano of the East Horizon, a new sun was hatched, casting the same light you would see now back into the sky. On the Volcano of the West Horizon, the Moon had hatched.

Both eggs exploded in the darkness, one end of the world Light, the other Dark. The siblings went across the sky to meet, The Moon covered the New Sun's light, casting the world into grey. Envious of her brother's light, the Moon cast a spell on the New Sun. He would only live through the course of a day, flying across the sky before she would rule the sky. Saddened, they moved their separate ways. The Moon soon felt guilty for what she did, and promised to undo it. But it was too late for the Moon to undo her mistake. And in her guilt, she granted his last wish, unknowingly copying their parents before them. They mated before the New Sun's time was up. But unlike their parents, the Moon laid thousands of eggs in the sky that night, creating the stars we see today, each one holding a part of their father and his curse.

And so each night, the Moon sets a new egg on the Volcano of the East Horizon to hatch by morning before the Moon goes to sleep. Each one of her children takes the place of their father before the spell kills them off, leaving us with a New Sun every day. This also kept the balance of life as well. Too much light burns the plants and overheats the animals, killing them. Too much dark caused the plants to go cold and shrivel up, and freezes the animals. This is the balance of life and our world. Just as every new sun, everything is hatched and lives it's life, but there also comes a time where things must die" He finished. I was curled up snug in my brother's arms as he finished, seconds from sleep. Before I succumbed to the peace of sleep, I could've sworn I heard my brother say "Even if everything has a time to die, I'll keep you in the sky as long as I can, my little Sun". I drifted off before I had time to question it.

By the next night, I awoke to my brother and Stormfly arguing. "You can't keep him in here forever Toothless. You know you can't".

"I can't let him go out there either. She'll use him like the rest of us, and he'll be in even more danger".

"Toothless! What happens when I'm not around and he gets attacked? He can barely fight either of us separately, what happens when he's on his own?"

"You'll always be around for him! Won't you? Or are you asking to leave?"

"What? Of course I'm not asking to leave, you two knuckleheads are my family! All I'm asking is how long you plan on treating him like this. Like a defenseless hatchling. It's a big world out there Toothless, and neither of us will always be around to protect him"

"No, I will always be around to protect him! I swore him that the first day of his life"

"But that's another thing! He's as curious and friendly as it gets, plus a pile of cod! One of these days, be it now or three years from now, he's going to have enough of the same three walls, and he's going to fly out of here as fast as he can. And when that day comes, neither of us will be able to stop him". I was becoming confused. Are they talking about me? I shifted and opened my eyes. The mood in the cave changed instantly. "Oh sorry Hiccup, did we wake you?" Toothless crooned. I sat up and yawned, shaking my head. "No" I lied. I leaned back on him, mind still cloudy from sleep. "Guess you weren't kidding when you said he was tired yesterday" Stormfly spoke. I closed my eyes, but didn't fall back asleep.

"Yeah, he was pretty wiped. Maybe he's getting another growth spurt?" I hummed, liking the idea, but not caring enough to really respond. "Huh, growing up I always jumped at the idea of another growth spurt. Either you don't care, or you're really that tired" Toothless commented. I just snuggled closer to him, his scales feeling really warm to me. I heard them both share collective chuckles. I must have dozed off because I woke up again to Toothless moving. I blinked awake again, leaning up to look at my brother. "You're leaving already?". He gave me a heart-stricken look, like he didn't like it any more than me. He hopped back over, nuzzling me goodbye. "I know, I'm sorry".

I sighed, feeling sad. But right now, he felt really warm for some reason, and with how cold I felt, I didn't get mad. "Hey" he got my attention. "How about I bring home some fresh fish, how does that sound?" My tail began wagging and I smiled at him. Stormfly grumbled something, which caused him to glare back at her. "Alright, I'll bring home some fresh fish for you" I gave him my own nuzzle. "Cool. I love you" "I love you more. I'll be back later" He answered. "And I'll be here. Always" I replied kind of half-hearted. He walked away, glancing at Stormfly before flying out of the cave. I blinked, sleep still calling me. Kind of strange, I'm normally a lot more energetic. Maybe it is growth spurt? I hadn't had one in a few years. I stood and reheated the bed of ashes around me, turning them a glowing red and orange.

I curled back into myself and it wasn't too long before I fell right back asleep. I woke up some time later to Stormfly. "Hiccup. Come on, I need you to wake up" She spoke softly. 'Softly? Since when did Stormfly speak softly?' I peaked an eye open with a hum. "You feel pretty warm, are you feeling alright?". I curled more into myself, the air suddenly biting my scales. "M' ok. Just tired" I mumbled. "That's what I'm afraid of" she whispered. And back to sleep I went.

I wasn't sure how much more I slept, but when I woke up again, my brother wasn't back yet. I didn't feel well. My stomach churned and I swear I would throw up if I moved. "Mmmmm" I moaned, curling more into myself. "Hiccup?" I heard someone say. Stormfly was the only one to be in the cave, so I figured it was her. I moaned again, this time causing my head to pound harshly. I grit my teeth and covered my head, trying to will it to stop hurting me. I trembled as it felt cold, but I faintly heard the hiss of fire. I felt a warm patch circle me, reheating the area around me. This time, it didn't fade. I wished heat made the pain in my head and stomach disappear though.

"Come on Toothless, hurry up! I don't know how to help him" I heard someone, most likely Stormfly, say. I felt a nudge on my side and flinched. Another one, and I needed to throw up. My eyes shot open, light flooding my already aching head, and I stood on shaky paws. My throat convulsed, and out came whatever bile and fish remains that were in my stomach. I threw up two more times before, taking a few steps back, almost passing out. My head swam with pain, and my body with fire. I felt like the sun was roasting me alive! What I imagined it to feel like, at least.

My brother was asleep, curled around me when I woke up for the utmost time. Well, if you could call it that. It was like I was already awake, eyes open and not feeling tired, only you didn't realize it until that moment. My mind wasn't tired, but my body felt exhausted. I blinked a few times, but didn't move. I felt really warm and extremely comfortable. Not only was Toothless curled around me, but his wing was laid over my body, cocooning me in a blanket of sorts. If my head didn't feel so well rested, I didn't think I'd ever want to leave. But sadly, the call of nature hit me, and I realized quickly how badly I needed to relieve myself. I groaned, not ready to get up so soon.

'I gotta pee'

'But I'm so comfortable'

'But I gotta pee!'

'But I'm soo comfortable!'

'...curse it to hell' I thought.

I moved onto my stomach, feeling it twist into a knot. I winced, waiting to adjust to the pain, before moving to stand. Toothless, being the incredibly light sleeper he was, noticed the lack-of-brother instantly. His eyes shot open. "Hiccup?" I swayed a little on the spot. "I need to pee" I said quietly, rubbing my thumping head. He didn't hesitate to get up, letting me lean on his side. We walked out of the cave and down the path a little, until we reached a clean spot. With the air being dark and foggy, I couldn't make out anything but the few feet in front of me. The stone was black, and the outside world reminded me of how Toothless said our world was like before The First Sun was born. Black, and ruled by Darkness. I went behind a rock, then we went straight back to the cave.

"How do you feel Hiccup". Dead on my feet. Cold. Tired. Sleepy. "M'ok. Just wanna sleep" He gave a worried nod and we laid back down. Aside from getting sick, this was a pretty typical day for me. You know, trapped in a cave, fearing for my life every day, fearing for my family's lives all day, wondering why in the world we live where we do. You know, the usual stuff. I'm just glad I have Toothless and Stormfly with me. Who knows what would happen if I didn't.