Hiccup sits on the outer rim of the chain-link dome as he watches Hadrian escort the Skrill around the arena, the harness and saddle strapped to its neck.
Hadrian and Hiccup snuck out later that night after the initial news of Stock allegedly exchanging letters with Dagur. Hiccup noticed something clicked inside Hadrian's mind. He couldn't tell if it was from anger, determination, or revenge. Anything was possible. Hiccup still didn't know how Hadrian thought. It unnerved him to think what he'd do if the trade were to proceed.
Nevertheless, Hiccup followed Hadrian to the Academy, where he watched as Hadrian nearly effortlessly strapped the saddle to the Skrill's neck and led him out of the cage. Circling the Academy now, the Skrill seems to have grown used to the feeling of the saddle.
Hadrian attached a rope to the saddle to help guide it around the arena. Wearing a leather jacket over his tunic, he barely felt the frigid breeze of the night as it seared his cheeks. He looks to the Skrill who keeps his eyes ahead, but flicks to Hadrian when he notices him staring.
"Stoick says I can't ride you." Hadrian says to him. "But I don't believe him."
The Skrill huffs and nods its head.
Hadrian looks up to Hiccup who's keeping an eye on them in case something were to do wrong. Hadrian sighs. "Well . . . got to find to sometime, right?"
Hadrian stops their walking and flings the rope over the saddle.
"Prove them wrong right, Lightning?"
Hiccup leans forward, dread twisting his stomach as he watches Hadrian mount onto the Skrill. Lightning lets him, and Hiccup's left baffled.
Hadrian exhales. "Thank you."
But then, Lightning rears and runs forward. Hadrian gasps and grips the reigns. Lightning comes to a jerk stop and Hadrian's flung over him and remembering to tuck and roll, he fumbles along the stone floor. Hiccup jumps down and swings through the bars onto the floor.
Lightning it bucking and roaring. Hiccup runs up to Hadrian's side. "Come on!" Hiccup says as he helps him up.
They climb their way out to Toothless while watching Lightning buck and huff as he circles the arena again.
"That was too close." Hiccup says. "What were you thinking?"
"What's it to you?" Hadrian snaps.
"You could get hurt. Besides, he's obviously not ready for a rider yet." Hiccup counters.
"Well from I can recall, you rode Toothless after the second day. And, the Night Fury is the most deadly of dragons."
"Eh, good point." Hiccup submits. "I just don't understand how my father doesn't notice all of those scratches on you."
"Hiccup, just how long are you going to be afraid of your father?" Hadrian mocks.
Hiccup scoffs. "Until I know he's delusional enough that he thinks he's talking to Thor when really it'll just be a sheep."
Hadrian chuckles as Lightning starts to calm down.
"And you, why are you sneaking out here in the middle of the night if you're not scared?" Hiccup interrogates.
Hadrian pauses. "Because I have to."
He looks to Hiccup and Hiccup can see the fierce independence he wears like a second skin.
Hiccup smiles. "Then, don't let anyone, stop you."
Hadrian smiles in return. He thinks back to how Heather said he loved dragons. And as Hadrian thought more about it, Hadrian figured out, that Hiccup wouldn't have done all of this with him if he didn't think Hadrian could tame Lightning.
Hiccup sighs. "Well, I've had enough excitement for one night. I'll see you later."
"Goodnight." Hadrian says as Hiccup mounts Toothless.
As Lightning huffs softly, Hadrian grips his arms as the thought of Dagur getting him reenters his mind.
Hadrian would kill Dagur before he even let him touch a single scale on Lightning. Swinging back down into the arena, Lightning approaches him and Hadrian strokes his snout. As the Skrill stares at him with those soulful red eyes, he feels uneasy. The cruelty of the Beserkers is legendary. Some say they carve off pieces of their victims and feed it to the vultures bit by bit while the person bleeds and begs. Some say they know how to kill their victims with a single, deadly, touch.
"I won't let anyone hurt you." he whispers to the Skrill.
As if in answer, Lightning nuzzles into Hadrian's hand. Then Hadrian does the unexpected, he hugs Lightning. And Lightning allows him. Hadrian scratches underneath its chin and smiles.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
A leather bag filled with dried fruit, two canteens of fresh tea, a slice of sweet blueberry pie and a bow and arrow. These are the things Hadrian packs with him as he escapes to the woods early the next morning.
Unable to successfully clear his mind of the Dagur rumor, Hadrian slipped out of bed and melted silently into the treeline behind the house.
Poised in a treestand ten feet above ground level, he finishes his dry fruit and the first flask of tea. He hasn't made any attempt at hunting yet, more wanting to organize his thoughts and think of a plan to persuade Stoick to keep Lightning.
Hadrian hadn't seen Stoick for quite some time. In fact, Hadrian hadn't seen him since he imprisoned Lightning in the cage. Is it possible that he's been in contact since the very beginning? Does he already know about Hadrian's intrusions and in turn decided on the trade already? Is there any point in even trying?
Banishing that unwelcome thought before it can take root, Hadrian chucks the flask with all his anger and hears it crash against the trunk of an oak. The shards rain down to the base of the tree sprinkling around its roots.
Hadrian climbs down, lugging the sack over his back. He arms his bow and prowls through the woods, keeping steady on a bed of pine needles. The forest comes alive with early morning birds and the sound of awakening squirrels. After two hours, Hadrian's already shot two rabbits, of which he keeps tied to his belt.
He slacks off and makes the route to the Cove, though he never actually goes to it. Vaulting over a fallen tree, he catches movement out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively he drops and hides behind a tree trunk. He draws in a slow, deep breath, rehearses each step in his mind, and then whips the bow up, squints one eye to sight down the center, and release the arrow.
It flies true, striking the side of the animal, and Hadrian sprints as his quarry jerks around and starts to run with faltering steps. Crossing the distance between them in seconds, Hadrian yanks his knife free, leaps on the animal's back, and swings his arm beneath its neck to slice open its throat.
It dies instantly, and he wipes his knife clean on the grass beside it. Retrieving his arrow, he cleans it as well and packs his weapons away. Flipping the animal over, he's caught another boar. In no time has the thing skinned, gutted and packed away in his burlap sack. Leaving the entrails under a gathering of leaves, the sky is bleeding from red to blue as the moon surrenders to the sun.
Hadrian hasn't thought much about his plan, and he really feels relief. He didn't realize how much he wanted to get his mind off of the rumor until he had just passed through the treeline leading to an alleyway between two houses. The village was still relatively quiet, but a handful of shopkeepers have emerged from their homes to open up for business.
On the way back to the house, he swings by the butcher and trades the rabbits for some freshly scaled fish. As he passes Gobber's shop, he spots an old dog breathing fairly heavy. Cautiously, he steps near the dog, and when it catches sight of him, it wags its tail.
"Hey buddy." He rubs it behind the ears and feeds it spar scraps of the boar meat. Pulling up an old bucket, he fills it with the flask of tea he never finished. It's cold by now and has probably lost most of its flavor. It early gulps the entire thing down, and after a final scratch of the ear, Hadrian continues.
He then continues on to the apothecary shop and exchanges some boar meat for medicinal herbs and freshly picked chamomile. It's Heather's favorite tea.
It wasn't until then did he realize he's desperate to talk to her about the whole Stoick thing. He could go to Hiccup, but seeming he's already doing so much to try and help Hadrian, he doesn't want to burden him more with the problems and feelings Hadrian has. Besides that, he's still a boy. Heather seems more understanding and with their unnamable bond they share, Hadrian just needed a softer person to help extinguish the ongoing anger.
Stopping at home to bathe away all the sweat and dirt from the morning's haul, Hadrian pulls on a tunic, pants and keeps his hunting boots. With the entire village now awake and bustling with people, Hadrian slinks to the side of the road as he nears Heather's home. Trudging up the steps, he does a triple knock on the door. After a moment, it opens and Heather's mother is standing in front of him.
"Oh, hello Hadrian." She greets with a smile.
"Ma'am." He says with a bow of his head. "Is Heather home?"
"Heather!" her mother calls.
Soon after she materializes, and when she notices Hadrian, despite her appearance, she smiles broadly. Her hair was loose and wavy from her usual braid and she wore a long-sleeved night tunic.
"Hadrian . . . !" she nearly squeals. "what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see you. Would you mind if we took a walk?" he asks to both her and her mother.
"Oh, I'm sure Heather won't mind, would you dear?" She turns to look at her daughter.
"Oh no. Just give me a few minutes to get ready." Heather says before barreling up the stairs.
"Of course." Hadrian mumbles.
"Would you like to come inside, Hadrian?" Her mother asks.
"Oh no, thank you ma'am." Hadrian denies.
While she leaves the door open, Hadrian leans against the post supporting her front porch and gazes out at the village. What was he going to say to her? Would she even understand where he was coming from? Will she think he's crazy, or side with Stoick? As he soon starts losing proper reasoning as to why he even came here, Heather appears in the door wearing her usual tunic and pants, her hair braided.
"All set!" she smiles. "Bye mom!"
"Bye honey, be careful." Her mother replies as she watches them then shuts the door behind her.
"You're mother seems nice." Hadrian says.
"It's because you're cute." Heather answers. And when he turns to look at her she adds. "To her, you're cute."
Hadrian looks away, but takes notice of the pink on her cheeks. He suppresses a grin as he takes her hand and leads her through the crowd in the Square
"So, where are we going?" Heather asks as she triples her steps to match Hadrian's.
"Just follow me." Hadrian says as he leads her through the treeline to the woods. Behind him, he could hear the murmurs and snickers of villagers behind them.
He leads her to a weeping willow with wan-looking branches and a lush green curtain of vines to block the outside world. For this discussion, Hadrian wanted to make sure he had the absolute comfort of privacy. From here, their secrets and feelings will be entombed within its layered veil and seeped into the roots, never to be heard of again. Heather doesn't say anything as Hadrian grasps a handful of vines and tugs at them to test their sturdiness.
"Grab on." He says, holding out his hand.
Heather takes it, and is surprised when Hadrian spins her into his arms and starts to climb. He carries the both of them nearly effortlessly until they reach a fork in the tree with a wooden plank nailed into it. It's about six feet across and four feet wide. The tree itself rests together with a clump of them offering concealment in the long flowing tresses, and yet it opens out to a gorgeous view of the Meridian of Misery.
As Heather settles on the plank, she hears a rustling and notices Hadrian pulling out his sack. Her face feels warm as she watches him pull out two canteens, the scent of chamomile wafting to her nose.
While unpacking the food, she finally speaks. "Well, if this is you way of taking me on a date, bravo." She smiles.
Hadrian finishes unpacking and smiles. "Not really, it's just, we're going to be here a while. How much time you got?" he asks.
Heather scoots near him. "As much as you need."
Hadrian decides to begin with when he captured Lightning and brought him to the Academy. He explains how Hiccup has been convincing him to get one, and now that he's found one, it seems he's a little weary about his choices. He tells her about how he's been sneaking out nearly every night to visit him, the progress they've made together, the concerning questions and theories he has surrounding Dagur, and how Stoick is probably signing a contract with Dagur for the trade right now.
Heather never interrupts. And while Hadrian talks, she silently sips on her tea while he simultaneously turns the food be brought into a meal for them. Coring apples, slicing a loaf of bread and smearing it with the juice of some strawberries he collected. Heather watches his hands, his beautiful, capable fingers. He pauses to take a sip of tea from the flask before he finishes.
Heather has given him her full attention. Pulling herself closer to him, she brushes the hair back behind his ears with her fingers. He's stopped talking because there's really nothing left to say, and there's a piercing sort of pain where his heart is. He even thinks he's having an anxiety attack.
"Hadrian, I can't promise you that Stoick hasn't at least debated about selling Lightning. I can't promise you he won't sell him." she says.
"I know," Hadrian interjects, he looks to her. "you're smarter than that."
"But this is, definitely worth trying." She finishes. "I mean, all this work can't be for nothing."
"I hope not." He mumbles.
They finish the food and spend the afternoon up in their treestand. They imitate bird calls, Hadrian an expert at a loon call, and Heather's a near-perfect imitation of a black-bird. They climb down and Hadrian teaches her the basics of hunting to pass time. While she may not every use it, he just wants to spend time with her before he revisits the arena later tonight. They come near an outcropping of rocks and near a creek grows some water lilies. Heather collects a few before she wanders to a field of flowers in the pale and bright colors of yellow, purple, white and pink.
Retreating to their treestand, Heather occupies herself with making a flower crown while Hadrian climbs higher and props himself in another fork, resting his head against the trunk. The sunlight breaks through the shroud of vines and paints red swirls against his closed eyelids. He feels something flick his leg and looks down to see Heather motioning him down. Climbing down she shows him the flower crown.
"Pretty." He says.
"Try it on." Heather smiles.
"What?! No!"
"Come on! It's a gift and I need to make sure it's the proper size!" Heather whines.
"And she's the same size head as me?"
"Come on. It's just for adjustments." She says.
Hadrian would refuse, but given she listened to him blubber on about his problems, this is the least he could do for her. So he submits and sits cross-legged while Heather kneels behind him and places the crown on his head. Over his shoulder, he can hear her giggling.
"You look so pretty." She teases.
"I'm surprised there aren't that many thorns on this thing." he says as he feels her fidget with it.
"I picked them all off. Or like, cut them off with your knife." She rephrases.
Hadrian chuckles, and a stem brushes against his scalp. He sits back on his hands, letting Heather braid flowers into the crown while the sun warms his skin. He closes his eyes again and keeps his head steady.
Heather can't help but look at him. His face relaxed and a faint smile on his lips. He was just, so gorgeous. It was easy to understand why the women of the village were so easily attracted to him. His features were soft, angular around the jawline. His hair was soft and reflected a mud brown in the sunlight. The flower crown making him appear, cutesy. His eyes closed in relaxation, he looked younger, more innocent. Heather is tempted to brush her knuckles against his cheek, but she stops herself short as he leans back on his elbows.
His arms straddle her legs and his head nearly hovers above her lap. Her face flushes pink, but his eyes still remain closed.
"Hey listen," he speaks up. And Heather flinches. "Thanks for listening. I just, really needed to talk to someone."
His eyes flutter open and they glow a spectacular beryl green with the multiple darts of sunlight piercing through the vines. He gives her such an award-winning smile and Heather can't suppress a fluttering of butterflies in her stomach. She giggles and takes off the crown. Hadrian shakes his head and arcs it back, looking at her. Heather smiles and diverts her attention outside. The sky was a spectacular purple and pink and blue haze as the orange sun settled on the horizon.
"Hey look at that." She says.
Hadrian looks up and shifts up. "Oh yeah." He crawls over near the edge of the stand and sits, propping one elbow on one knee. "I nearly forgot."
"Never knew you like sunsets so much." Heather says as she nears him.
"Well, I've had a difficult life, as you know too well." He nearly whispers. "That's when you start to appreciate the little things in life."
Heather settles across from him, keeping a certain amount of space between them and hugs her knees to her chest.
As they return to the village, Hadrian's in a fairly good mood. He walks Heather home, the flower crown still in her hands. Getting a good look at it, she incorporated lilies, tulips, petunias, lilacs. After she makes it into the house safely, he continues on to head home. A breeze stirs something in his hair. Reaching back and fiddling with it, he pulls out an iris flowerhead. Hadrian stops and studies it. The Iris flower symbolizes hope. The coincidence of it seems too, convenient. Hadrian smiles as he walks up the steps to Hiccup's home.
Walking in, he finds Stoick and Hiccup setting up for dinner. Hiccup looks to him and smiles. "Oh, hey Hadrian. You made it just in time."
"I was just telling Hiccup how you seem to walk in on the perfect cue." Stoick says. "It's like you have this sense for food or something.
Hadrian shrugs, the smile still playing on his face.
"What are you seem so happy about?" Stoick asks as he sets down a plate.
"Just am." Hadrian laughs as he heads for the stairs.
"Well, you know, I did hear around the village he spent nearly the entire day with, Heather." Hiccup says with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"Okay," Hadrian dismisses smiling as he bounds the steps.
Behind he can hear. "Oh hey he's smiling!" Hiccup says.
"Shut up!" Hadrian calls down the steps.
He shuts the door, muffling the laughter. He drops the Iris on his nightstand and sits on his bed. He feels strangely at peace for the time being. He plans on visiting Lightning again, knowing that he's managed to tame him, even if he's the only one who can see it.
He needed to find a way to show everyone, he needed proof. And these night visits isn't enough.
Hadrian keeps to himself for most of the dinner. He catches Stoick giving him glances a few times between chews. Finally he watches as Stoick shifts to propping his elbows on the table.
"So listen," Stoick starts. "I've been thinking about that Skrill."
The tension instantly fills the entire home. The clattering of utensils stops instantly and everyone goes rigid.
"Yeah?" Hadrian shrugs off.
"I think it would be better if the Beserkers took it."
Hadrian coldly chuckles and shakes his head. "You're so stupid." He mumbles.
"Excuse me?"
"What makes you think they won't use it against us? You've always hated Dagur, why do you want to ally with him?!" Hadrian's voice rises.
"I'm just thinking of my people, Hadrian." Stoick sternly counters.
"Oh, so I can't have it for trying to capture it, but you'll give it to some crazy piece of shit after her tried to kill your son more than once?!"
"I'd rather be allies with a maniac than have two fleets attack my village!"
"You make it sound like your village can't win!" Hadrian responds with a cold smile.
"I have children here, Hadrian!"
"Well they've managed to get by with the dragons attacking! What difference does it make with people?!" Hadrian drops his utensils, they clang loudly against the table.
"Guys!" Hiccup barges in.
"In what way do you not think, that they will use that dragon against you?" Hadrian growls. "You'd just be adding another weapon to the two fleets, under the influence of a psychotic teen boy! You'd be putting your villagers – women and children – in only more danger."
"I'm willing to bet, that dragon will destroy them before they even get the slightest chance to tame it." Stoick says.
"So you're hoping it'll cause collateral damage?" Hadrian interrogates.
"That's not what you said when you told me about your father's father, Dad."
"Hiccup," his father warns.
"What? I'm just as involved in this as you and Hadrian." Hiccup opposes.
"I can train him." Hadrian suddenly says to Stoick.
"Well you couldn't have planned a better way to get yourself killed."
"Dad, don't." Hiccup says.
"Don't what? Be a father? You're not protecting him, Hiccup. You're crippling him; and he'll end up being as useless as that damn dragon."
"Lightning isn't useless!" Hadrian retaliates, springing from his seat. "He wants to learn!"
"No he doesn't. You want something that doesn't exist." Stoick argues. "It's time you see him for what he is."
"I know what he is!"
"How do you know a damn thing about that creature?"
By now everyone's up from their spots at the table.
"Because we're the same!"
The room falls silent and the crackling of the fire quickly turns to a ringing in Hadrian's ears. Stoick and Hiccup stare at him, and Hadrian can feel the tears welling in his eyes.
His voice drops an octave and he nearly whispers. "You just don't get it."
Hadrian spins on his heels and stomps up the stairs to his room. As soon as they hear the door slam shut, they seem to surrender their bodies to the diminishing tension. Stoick sighs and scratches his beard, placing one hand on his hip in thought. Hiccup only scratches Toothless as the Night Fury coos and strokes against Hiccup.
"He's not just a dragon, you know." Hiccup speaks.
Stoick turns to him, but Hiccup keeps his focus on Toothless, knowing he'd lose all confidence if he made eye contact with his dad.
"You didn't think Toothless could be trained. What makes Lightning so different?" Hiccup asks. "The Night Fury is more deadly than the Skrill. Would you rather let Hadrian have it, or Dagur?"
Hiccup doesn't wait for Stoick to answer, instead, turns and walks past Stoick, not even sparing him a glance as he follows up the steps.
Leaving Stoick alone with nothing but the continuously crackling of the fire.
Hadrian had locked the door to his room, so it didn't surprise him when he hears a triple knock.
"Hadrian?" Hiccup calls. Hadrian lies facing the ceiling on his bed. "Hadrian, come on. Please."
There's no verbal response, but Hiccup soon hears the click of the latch. The door swings open. Hadrian stares at him, and Hiccup steps through, shutting the door behind him. They don't say anything, but Hiccup's taken by surprise when Hadrian walks up and pulls him into an embrace.
Hiccup doesn't say anything, instead he simply responds by comfortably rubbing Hadrian's back.
"We can't let him do this." Hadrian muffles into his tunic, his voice unsteady.
"I won't." Hiccup replies.
Hadrian steps back and Hiccup's shocked to see tears sliding down his face, chasing a trail of heat along his cheeks.
Hiccup had never seen him cry before. Not when he was being sucked into the book of spells Grandmamma had given him. Not when was a demon missing half his face and forced to work at the hands of a ruthless succubus. Not even when it became clear that he was alive when resurrected.
Stoick had done more than anger Hadrian. He damaged him.
Hiccup caresses Hadrian's cheek and wipes a tear with his thumb. Hadrian takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.
"I just don't get it." He whispers.
"I know." Hiccup coos. "But I'll figure something out."
"Hiccup," Hadrian says. Hiccup keep his eyes locked to him. "Please, don't make promises you can't keep."
Hurt cracks across Hiccup's face; spreading its fissures along his features until his the skin of his eyebrows crinkles in a misunderstanding.
"My father is stubborn, but he can be persuaded." Hiccup says.
Hadrian says nothing, he only bites the inside of his lip.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Hiccup says, then he steps back and crosses the threshold of Hadrian's bedroom shutting the door behind him.
He didn't promise.
Hadrian paces around his bedroom, his mind occupied with ideas until it's nightfall. He browses through his collection of weapons and reads through the Book of Dragons until he knows the house is silent.
Stalking down the stairs with sock-feet, he quietly opens the door and steps outside. He settles his feet into his hunting boots. Lacing them up, he jogs to the Academy.
The metal door of Lightning's cage wind open and Lightning raises his head. Hadrian steps close.
"Hey bud." He whispers.
Then Lightning stands up and walks towards him; nuzzling his head in Hadrian's cautiously outstretched hand. Hadrian gasps and laughs.
"You came to me." He smiles. He scratches and strokes Lighting's head and the dragon purrs.
Hadrian pauses and pulls out the saddle. Lightning sniffs if and huffs.
"What do you say, bud?" Hadrian murmurs. "Let's fly."
Strapping the saddle on, Hadrian mounts and settles on Lightning's neck. He waits, but Lightning doesn't buck.
Hadrian sighs in relief. "Good boy. Good boy." He tugs at the reins of the saddle. "Okay, slowly walk."
They spend the next hours circling the Academy, Hadrian growing used to the locomotion of the Skrill's walk, and trot. Lightning adjusts his neck to Hadrian's weight and stands on his hind legs, flapping his wings as a preparation for takeoff. Hadrian accommodates himself to the positions and keeps note on how taut he keeps the reins.
Then Hadrian encourages Lightning as he flaps his wings.
"Come on, Lightning." He says.
They manage to hover at the center of the arena, fly in small circles.
"Alright Lightning!" Hadrian praises. "I knew we could do it! Let's go out. What do you say?"
Hadrian dismounts and pulls the lever opening the gates. Lightning runs and takes to the sky without hesitation. Hadrian works to regain his balance, but still Lightning doesn't buck him off. They rock to the sides, but soon fly straight.
They circle the village, keeping at a high altitude to avoid being spotted by villagers. The lights of the houses dots across the island. Hadrian gazes in awe as they swerve around a mountain. They fly over the forest and the darkness consumes the trees. The wind whistled in his ears as Lightning's wings flapped.
"This is incredible." Hadrian says. He looks to Lightning. "You're incredible."
Lightning coos in response and even cracks a smile from what Hadrian could tell.
"There's no way Stoick could deny this." Hadrian says.
He steers Lightning back to the Academy, where he takes the foot walk home. He stops at the blacksmith shop to simply avoid going back to the prison of a home. There was just too much going on, and being at Gobber's shop after hours, it provided the little sense of piece he had.
As he tosses another log onto the fire, he catches the faint sound of footsteps. He gets up from his seat, and walks out to the front. He finds a cloaked figure near the front window. "Can I help you?"
The figure jumps, but turns immediately. Her green eyes stuck out in the surrounding darkness. She removes her hood, her hair for once down in gentles waves about her shoulders.
"Now I really think you are stalking me." Hadrian smiles.
Heather smiles in return. A troubled look on her face.
"So, I'm guessing you, might've heard." He asks, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It was kind of hard to not listen. I'm sure the entire village could hear." Heather say.
Hadrian turns away, nervously shuffling his feet.
"And since I'm far too scared to wander the woods alone, even attempting to look for our spot, I thought this would be the next best place." She explains.
Hadrian chuckles.
"So, are you okay?" she asks. Timidly stepping closer.
"Just trying so hard not to dangle Stoick off the roof." Hadrian says as he disappears into the back.
Heather follows. She keeps her cloak on, assuming she shouldn't be here that long.
"What are you going to do?"
"I have an idea, but it'll only make things worse." Hadrian says as he stands in front of the hearth.
"It's better than nothing." She walks over and stands close to him. She tentatively reaches out her hand, and after a moment of hesitation, she strokes his bicep. "What ever happened to trying?"
Hadrian doesn't shrug her hand off, but he gives an indiscriminant shake of his head. "It seems he's already made his decision. As if it won't matter if I can ride him."
Heather moves to place on hand on his, rubbing it gently as the fire reflects gold off his features. She hooks her hand on his arm and draws closer.
"It all boils down to one thing. You showing everyone you can ride him. If Hiccup could ride a Night Fury, this should be a snap. You've already succeeded, I know you have. It's just a matter of proving it."
She steps close and wraps her arms around Hadrian. He returns it and rests his chin on her head. "Listen, I've got a surprise for you."
She looks to him in curiosity.
"Tomorrow morning, in the Square." He whispers.