Disclaimer: I do not take any credit for How to Train Your Dragon or its characters. This story, however is mine. Grrek is mine. Oh and Starla is mine.
AN: OK... so whos mad at me? Sorry guys... I totally lied... But just so you know, writer's block is a serious disease. Please read my new chapter, over 2,000 words just for you guys ^^
Seeing the human hatchling, smaller than mine, walking towards me and my brethren with no fear was surprising for both me and Grrek. But what surprised us most of all was her voice appearing in our minds. Only briefly; enough for us to see that her intentions were honest, and then she spoke out loud, answering our thoughts. In all my cycles I have never met a human who was able to use their mind voice.
I can tell that Grrek is disturbed by this – not that he would actually think it – but he's kept close by my side since she appeared.
My hatchling didn't seem to realize the uniqueness of the girl. He was a little mystified about her appearance, but that was all.
When the girl hurt him, I lost my trust for her immediately. Had he not stopped me, I would have torn her to pieces. She seemed surprised, at first by my thoughts, and then at my obedience. Something strange revolved in her head at this, something I didn't quite understand, but it centered around the song she had been singing before.
My thoughts are interrupted by another gasp of pain from my human. I wish so bad to be able to do something to comfort him. To protect him. But I can see that he is trying to be strong so as not to worry me.
'Hiccup…'
'…What...?' I feel his surprise, his shock. He goes rigid and flings his head around as if trying to find the source of a sound. Confusion floods through him, and me too and I jerk my own head of his knee. Did he hear my voice? No, that has never happened before. Impossible.
'D-did he hear you?' Grrek asks astoundedly. Anxiety overtakes him at his words and he begins to inch away from the humans and myself.
My eyes widen and I turn my head towards him, 'He never has before, why would he suddenly possess this ability? And how?'
We continue to argue like younglings whether or not my hatchling could have heard my voice. After a few moments, I sense amusement from the human girl, and amazement from Hiccup. I freeze, analyzing his thoughts. Yes, there was me calling his name at the centre of them.
I stare into my hatchling's eyes in wonder at finally being able to understand eachother. Of course, I had always spoken to him, told him about my day, my life, my sorrows, but he could never hear me. I tentatively reach out with my own thoughts '…Hiccup… can you hear me?'
'Yes…' I answer in shock without thinking. I must be crazy. I was hearing a conversation between the two dragons in front of me. That doesn't make any sense at all. Dragons don't talk, and besides Toothless and the Nightmare's mouths didn't even move. How is it possible for me to have heard a conversation about whether or not I could hear them when they didn't even speak?
I must still be in a high fever, if hallucinations have already set in.
Starla chuckles lightly behind me just after this thought passes through my mind. I turn to look at her and she clucks in disproval, 'Don't move, Hiccup. I'm almost done.' I stop moving and ask her why she laughed at me.
A warm, yet cooling sensation runs over my back before she can answer. Although an unusual feeling, it relaxes me and soothes the pain from my wounds immediately. Tingly pinpricks shoot through my limps, strangely not unpleasant. My eyes roll briefly into the back of my head at the release of the pain, before I force myself to focus on the fact that the girl had dodged my question.
While she is packing her satchel and humming to herself, I watch her with curiosity. Starla's scale-like tattoos were mesmerizing to look at. They appeared to move with her skin, instead of simply sitting on the surface of it, catching the sunlight and turning them a glossy ink colour. Like Toothless in the sun.
In fact, exactly like Toothless in the sun.
Who in the gods' name is this girl? Why can I hear the suspected voices of dragons in my head since she arrived? Why does she seem to answer my thoughts? Why did Toothless trust her so easily? What is with the dragon scale tattoos? And last but not least, what was that sensation in my back, and why doesn't it hurt any longer?
Reaching tentatively behind me, I lightly brush my back as nonchalantly as I can. Smooth skin… smooth skin… a-a scar? I've never had a scar on my back, and my wound is gone!
The realization hits me suddenly. My mind flashes back to a lecture my father once gave to all the village children when we were 8 years old. A lecture about magic and its evils, the centre of those evils being dragons.
This girl… this girl has magic!
Does that explain why I just felt Toothless' and the other dragon's surprise as if it were my own, but not? Almost like a limb that was no longer there?
Starla giggles, 'Oops! Looks like you discovered my secret!' Looking slightly abashed, she continues, 'If you really want to know about my magic, then I'll tell you, but you can't hear the dragon you call "Bud" because of it. You can hear him because of this,' Taking her thumb and forefinger, she lifts the amulet – which at first I mistook for a sun, but is in fact a scale on fire cast in silver – as if it was as precious as a babe.
'This is a sacred amulet, passed down from one Dragon Priestess to another. I was the only girl in my homeland to be born that was able to become a Priestess. We carry the amulet everywhere, allying ourselves with the holy dragons and those, obviously like you, who wish to end the hatred between humans and dragons.' She looks into my eyes that seem to stare into my soul before she continues.
'My predecessors have searched long and hard for one such as you. One who could befriend a mighty dragon without the use of their mind-speak. You are a rare person, Hiccup, never before has there been one like you heard of. Well that is… except in the songs.
'This amulet was shaped by use of normal fire, then heated repeatedly by over 40 different species of dragon, and finally quenched in the holy pools from which the first dragons emerged from, after being created by the goddess Freya as guardians of the world of humans. The blood of the goddess runs strongly in all dragons and is said to be laced in the pools. When those of strong mind comes in proximity to the Priestess in possession of the amulet, their already present ability awakens and so communication is possible between our two races that were once so close.'
My mind spins with the amount of information I had just received. All Viking children are told the ancient folklore of how life was created by Oden and Freya. Except that the story of the origin of the dragons was viewed differently than Starla was describing. The so called "sacred" pools that she mentioned were one of the most sought after places of the dragons next to the legendary dragon nest; so they could be destroyed, to prevent future dragons from coming into being. It was said that dragons went to these pools to hatch their eggs and raise their young until they could fly. Vikings who hunted dragons believed that if they get rid of the pools, that dragons would no longer be able to procreate and therefore they would become extinct.
'We are essentially at war. My people and our dragon kin battle every day with the Vikings to prevent them from taking the ancient pool. There is a particular chief, on a small island not too far from here by boat, who has unknowingly gotten close to these pools. Ordinarily, we would stage raids to distract this village from what we wish to protect. However it appears that someone has taken that task away from us. Multitudes of dragons raid this village, and many others in the surrounding areas almost daily.
'We don't know who, or what is doing this, but we have attempted to contact these dragons. There was no success. The dragon's minds appeared to be addled, or blocked in some way. We have reason to believe that there is someone with the ability to control the minds of dragons out there. This cannot be allowed to continue, it destroys the pride and nobility of our kin.
'This is the second threat presented to us. We are too few, too far outnumbered.'
Starla takes a deep breath and looks away from my eyes.
'One such as you... who can have a dragon as loyal as this Night Fury by your side... if a miracle to me, and will be to my people and our kin once they find out.' She pauses, hesitating. 'Hiccup... will you come with me? My people need a T – miracle right now, Hiccup. Please... come with me to my home.'
Starla looks back at my eyes pleadingly, almost desperatly.
My thoughts are spiraling out of control. Should I go? Could I really be of help to this girl and her people?... But I suppose it is no longer just my descision.
I look at Toothless and tentatively ask: 'T-Toothless... What do you think...?' feeling like a complete idiot for doing so. Even understanding that I could speak with him now, my cheeks still flush with embarrassment at what must look ridiculous to an outsider.
Toothless cocks his head to one side, and at first I don't expect him to answer me. But then after a moment, 'I do not really know... this hatchling appears trustworthy enough... she has an honest mind voice. I believe she has no ill intentions. If you wish to go, I shall carry you.' His voice resonnates through my head, the force of it astonishing. Emotions and images accompany his words. From the brief contact before, I hadn't experienced or noticed the strangness of having another in my mind.
In fact, I realize, I had felt a pressence there during mine and Starla's conversation. A slight... pressure that feels every bit Toothless. I try concentrating on that pressure and get a distinct that reminds me of flying and sunshine. Pushing farther, I gasp. I feel the barriers of my mind slip away and suddenly I'm in a completely alien world, with strange thoughts, words, feelings, and images flashing into my own mind. I feel exposed and naked and terrified of losing myself. Panicked, I mentally wrench myself back and struggle catch hold of the walls that had fallen from my mind. Finding them, I slam them home. For a moment, I mentally hold them there, afraid that they would fall down.
Starla bursts out laughing. Holding her sides, she doubles over. Realizing that she somehow knows what had just happened, my cheeks flame red and I quickly glance over at Toothless to see if he found it funny too.
He appears to be purposfully looking in the other direction, but the Nightmare has his lips pulled back into a gruesome smile, hissing in a way that I could only interperate as laughing.
'Don't worry,' Starla assures me, after finally catching her breath, 'You just need to get used to communicating like that. Dragons have vast, ancient minds. They can be overwhelming, even for people who speak with them everyday. Although, I have never witnessed such a hilarious reaction,' she giggles. 'Normally, people already know what to expect the first time they leave there own minds.' She starts packing her satchel, giggling to herslef all the while.
Still blushing furiously, I get to my feet and stretch hesitantly. The muscles on my back and ribs flex easily and without pain. I shake my head in amazment and stare for a moment at the little girl kneeling a little ways away. It was hard to remember that she was so young, when the words that came out mouth were wise and filed with knowledge.
She feels my gaze and looks at me with her dark eyes. A moment passes in silence and the same tingle I'd felt when I first saw her, runs through my body again.
'Well? Are you coming with me or not?' Starla demands as she gets to her shoeless feet.
I grin at her, the first smile in days, 'Sure, why not?'
AN: Once again, I apologize. Anyone who wishes to retaliate, may send hate-reviews at my terribleness. But please! Don't take it out on Toothless and Hiccup! You know you want to find out how the story is going to end :) Lol, anyway tell me what you think of this chapter. Keep reading 3