How to Train Your Dragon and all characters associated do not belong to Travis Church.

Act 3

Hiccup eventually arose from his unsettling slumber and according to his clock it was ten in the morning. He looked out his window and saw Toothless outside carrying a plow on his shoulder. It was his first day of work, and it seemed like he was doing fine.

Hiccup decided after eating that he would go talk with Toothless, it wouldn't hurt. As usual, Stoic was gone to the factory and he left a plate for Hiccup. It was cold to the touch and finished in loneness.

He left the house and began to walk carefully around the grounds. His leg was not fully awake and his prosthetic foot has not been cleaned lately. The cool morning air immediately pricked his skin as he began searching for the man.

It was a bit of time before he found Toothless plowing the earth; he made some progress but it did not look like much from afar.

"Good morning," Hiccup called out.

Toothless continued working for a second and replied succinctly with, "Mornin'"

"How well did you sleep?"

"Fine."

"Oh, okay." Hiccup was taken aback by how short he was being. "How long have you been working?"

"An hour."

"Is this all you're going to do?"

"No, there's more work to be done."

"Like what?"

He stopped and turned to the younger, "I'll do what I needs to be done."

"There's a stump by the barn that needs to be pulled out."

"I'll dig it out later," he shortly said.

"Oh, okay."

Hiccup began to walk away before Toothless called out, "Wait!" Hiccup was caught by surprise, "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, I think." There was a silence that existed for the sole purpose of existing. "Can you go into town to get me something?"

"No, not without a natural born citizen." Hiccup noted a twinge of self-loathing.

"Then when you're done, you'll go with me to get something in town. We'll even have lunch."

"Uhh, okay."

Hiccup began to walk away before the man caught his attention again.

"Thank you, for the lunch."

Hiccup resumed walking and had a light smile on his face.

After the work had been finished, Hiccup walked over to Toothless and asked to accompany him to the town.

The first few minutes were observed in silence. Hiccup gave loosely attended to the universe before him and the dirt road that connected his house to the modern world. Toothless on the other hand gave a great deal of focus to the younger's prosthetic. It occasionally appeared as a thin rod when Hiccup walked forward but it then fell back into the fabric of the pants. Like an actor running from the curtain and backstage in a perfect rhythm.

He felt nothing for the boy. But it was a shame that he had to have the thing attached to him.

"Where were you stationed?" Hiccup's question brought his attention back to the younger.

"All over the place," Toothless said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I spent a bit of time in Zimbabwe."

"I was there for a while, did you learn the language?"

"A few phrases here and there. Did you learn Shona?"

"That's what it's called? I thought it was Zimbabwean." They laughed for a moment. "Did you like it over there?"

"It was alright, nothing real exciting though."

"It was warm." Hiccup internally scolded him for saying something so basic and stupid.

"Yes, it was."

Hiccup had to think for a bit before he could find something intelligent to ask. "Do you remember some Shona?"

"Nothing comes to mind though."

Suddenly, Hiccup lost his footing on the earthen road and fell to the ground. Toothless then lifted up the former solider and brought him to his feet.

"Thanks for helping me up," Hiccup said as he dusted off his pants.

"Hiccup, Makasimba ere?" The sudden phrase from Toothless surprised him and it was a few seconds before Hiccup could respond.

"What?"

"Makasimba ere means 'are you strong' in Shona."

Hiccup hummed and then replied slowly, "Ndakasimba kana makasimba-wo. Which should be, 'I am strong if you are strong.'"

Toothless smiled and replied, "Ndakasimba, which is 'then I am strong.'"

"Thanks again."

"You're welcome."

They continued their walk to the town, feeling stronger and closer.

The walk into town was discomforting to say the least. Upon entering the main district, people gave nods of approval to Hiccup and saw clear through Toothless. Many smiled at Hiccup and scowled at Toothless. Some even pulled their children away from the former dragon.

But one disturbed Toothless beyond anything else.

An old man sitting down at a bench spoke to a young child and said, "See that young fellow over there? He's bein' a good master, takin' it for a walk. I want you to remember to take it out for a walk every now an' then. Got it?"

Hiccup did not hear the old man but judging Toothless's expression, it was something that did not should not be repeated.

They continued onwards to the town diner and Hiccup could still feel some apprehension.

"Toothless? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I am very fine. Never better."

"Alright."

Toothless's answers were short, abrupt, pointed, staccato, and almost sharp. He did not waste words, he saved them. For himself? For another occasion? "For what could he be saving them for?" Hiccup asked himself these questions until he realized that his companion stopped walking.

He turned around and saw Toothless looking at a wooden sign. Hastly pasted upon was a map of Berk.

Toothless was examining it carefully, tracing his fingers on the roadways and avenues. He guided a finger northwards and into a small square implanted on the fringe of the woods.

The square was shaded a grayish color. Hiccup looked at the key and next to a sample of the color were the words, "Restricted to natural born citizens."

Hiccup was born in the small clinic that aided many patients here in town. He was a native. He was natural born. He was not allowed there.

But Toothless was.

"Come on," Hiccup's hand on the former dragon's shoulder slammed Toothless back to the natural born world. "Let's go."

Toothless obeyed, he did not agree to go with him, he obeyed the command.

The two moved along and Hiccup could feel something growing in the space that separated him from Toothless.

It was cold, it was sticky, it was rough, it was metallic, it was dark, it was moaning. It was an indescribable feeling that grew upon him like a malicious ivy vine. Growing, expanding, unrelenting; it was a persistent devil.

To the beat of their footsteps, the thing marched onwards to its own cadence.

When the sun blared upon them, its leaves jutted outwards giving shade to Toothless in its grotesque and malformed leaves. Colors hung showing its allegiance to the nation of Hell .

Hiccup was afraid to get any closer because its thorns were both large and poisonous. He was afraid they would cut him apart like the Devil's tongue.

In observance, he saw this weed wrap around Toothless's head like a crown of thorns and grip his mind with fanatic devotion.

"Toothless?"

The ivy leaves paused to listen to the feeble attempt at salvation.

"Where are you from?"

Toothless's sigh rustled the leaves causing them to make an almost laughing sound, "Why would you like to know?"

"No reason, I'd just like to know more about you. I'm curious about who you are."

A glowing radiance bubbled out of him, like a headlight emerging from the fog. "South of Berk."

"How south?"

"Umm," the weed shook desperately to distract Toothless from his train of thought. "Do you know that place where they make the best wines in France?"

"Yes."

"I came from there."

"It's a beautiful place. I'd like to be by the beach."

"The ocean is beautiful too. But I love sitting under a tree when there's still dew on the grass and mist in the air. And when the sun rises, I watch the light bounce around and make little rainbows on the ground and make the fruits all look like gems and diamonds."

The monstrous ivy was burned away by the light that poured out of Toothless. The joy, the energy, the individual inside burst out of the forest of darkness.

Hiccup watched this new Toothless radiate around him, encapsulating the two with a warm silky heat.

He then closed the gap and heard the heartbeat of hope.

They finally approached the diner and the smells of cooked meat and roast wafted out of the small building.

Upon entering, Hiccup noticed something odd about the décor of the room. There were pro-military decorations everywhere, a chalkboard that counted the lost battles and cities, a map that was colored with the newly acquired territories, and even a wall of Berkian men sent out to the field. Hiccup could pick out a few people who he personally knew, but many of them were unfamiliar to him.

Then he saw something that made him worried: a sign that read, "Dragons served in the back."

Hiccup was about to pull Toothless out of the diner but then a violent scene unfolded.

A cook and a random person were both arguing before about something.

"Hey, Drake!" Toothless winced at the word. "Get outta that seat!"

"But I'm already here and I've been waiting for half an hour for my lunch!"

"Then you can wait some more in the corner for you people."

"Why? I've been patient and reasonable and-"

"It doesn't matter; just get out of that seat."

"But why does he," pointing to a random person standing by the entrance, "Get to sit in my seat and I have to get up?"

"Because, he wasn't a murderer, a rapist, or a loser."

"I didn't do any of that!" The man defended.

"You're a Dragon, you lost, and now you live in our town." The cook said the last part with extreme zeal. "You either play by our rules or you can leave with a military escort."

Defeated, the Dragon got out of his seat and waited in the special section of the diner. He rushed past the taunting crowds and entered the dimly lit part of the diner and dropped himself into a rusted barstool that moaned with his weight.

Hiccup turned to his side, absolutely hypnotized by the carnage, and realized that Toothless was gone.

He was outside of the diner, standing there defeated like the man exiled to the corner of the diner. They must be so lonely, on the fringes of the world. No one to carry their burdens with them, like a lonesome laborer in the fields.

Hiccup exited the diner and walked over to the older man.

When he realized that the younger was standing there, eyes wide with concern, he took deep breaths to calm himself and to make his tiny voice heard.

"I'm sorry Hiccup," Toothless began, "I just needed…some fresh air."

There was a slight pause from Hiccup, "Are you okay?"

"Not really. I just…couldn't stay there."

"Do you want to go back?"

"Inside? No."

"Is there anywhere you want to go before we head back?"

"I'd like to see my people."

"Let's go then."

A look of shock exploded throughout Toothless's face. "Are you sure? You may not be…comfortable."

"I'll be fine. C'mon, lets go."

They walked north, they felt the road devolve from pavement to earth, they watched the cultivated grasses and flowers grow unruly, and they sensed the gasoline laced air drift away.

Then they saw a large monolithic structure amongst the trees. It looked disparate, hastily built, and looked like an eyesore. Slowly it became clear on what it was. A gate. A large ugly, rickety gate that hid the camp from the outside world.

Toothless pushed open the tinfoil gate and a rush of scents hit them. Sweat, blood, urine, excrement, dirt, and burned things.

Upon entering, the image of poorly made shacks cropped around the main dirt road of this place. Every small dwelling was formed out of tin, large pieces of wood, and whatever they could find to provide protection or heat. Berk got cold, frequently, and despite whatever measures the residents could do, it would not be nearly effective enough to withstand the temperatures. These people would freeze every day, every night, forever.

He looked at each house, searching the small portholes for life, listening for the murmur of socializing, waiting for the smell of home cuisine. Then it hit Hiccup, there were no people here. Not a single soul roamed these streets. No children, no parents to watch them, not even an idle vagrant to be seen.

It was a ghost town. Or at the very least a town that no one, not even their inhabitants, wanted to be in.

Toothless wandered the street, causing a small cloud of dust to trail behind him.

Hiccup could feel the eyes upon him. These eyes were like the eyes of starved dogs, hollow, fearful, desperate. There was no safety alone in this place.

But he had Toothless and the eyes were not upon him. He was like a shield or a curtain of protection. So he went closer to the older and made it clear to whoever was watching that they were together.

Until death do they part.

Hiccup and Toothless continued through the slums until they reached an unnoticeable shack that looked like many of the others.

"I am going in." Toothless said.

"I'll stay outside."

"Okay," Toothless then pushed back the unsound wooden door and descended into the place.

Hiccup felt colder the moment he left his side. The world seemed so much lonelier, so much emptier, and so much quieter. But the oppression of those eyes that followed his every move, the cold air wracked his bones, the silence crushed his soul.

There was nothing here, in more ways than one.

Then there was a sound of breaking glass that jolted throughout the tiny slum house. Hiccup went quickly into the hovel and found Toothless standing underneath a doorway.

"Toothless?" There was no response. "What is it?"

As Hiccup walked to the man, he made sure not to step upon the glass shards that were scattered around his feet, edges gleaming with pride and sharpness. Approaching the doorway, he noticed a thin white sheet was draped over something that stained it with a deep mahogany. He peered to the farthest end of the sheet and felt absolute fear as the burgundy soiled sheet sunk down on the object to create the silhouette of a face.

"Toothless," Hiccup with a fear trembling in his voice, "What is this?"

"Home," he ominously replied.

The place stank of rotting and death. Hiccup anxiously asked, "Can we leave?"

"You can leave. I can leave. But can we ever leave this behind us?"

"I'm not sure what you're saying," Hiccup half asked.

Toothless then began to walk out of the room and Hiccup followed him immediately.

They then began to leave one home for another.

It was late, they needed rest.

And so sets the sun upon the heart of darkness.