Hello! Thanks to all for the reviews; and forgive me if I'm not updating my other stories! I'll be busy during the weekend, but I'll cram extra hard! Love to all!
(Btw, my year and one day is tomorrow, for all who knows what that means! Yey me!) I believe a celebration is in order. Write!
~Berk~
Waves crashed on the edge of Berk's rocky shore. It wasn't really a shore, per say. It was more of a rocky wall of a cliff. Still, waves crashed against the hard surface. They sprayed white salty mist on the form of a young girl, hugging herself as she watched the sun set. The sky was freckled with pinks and purples, happy tones that made her want to puke. She scrunched up her usually pretty face in disgust. Lately, she had been in a really bad mood, probably on account of Hiccup leaving.
Astrid's blond hair fluttered in the breeze and she wrapped her thin arms around herself tightly. She spent every afternoon out here, on the cliff. The view was wide, and she could see almost all of the sky. Unless the ones she was waiting for was coming from the other direction, she would see them flying back.
Oh how she wished they would come back. At the same time, she urged them far away. Toothless and Hiccup were the enemy now, and even chief Stoick left with the hunting parties. She smiled a bit at the thought. Of course Hiccup and Toothless were far away by now, off the island. It had been two weeks since they left.
Still, she waited. They wouldn't come back, if they were smart. They would leave, start a new life somewhere off in the world. If they came back, they would be killed. Hiccup would be executed by his own father. Astrid shivered, and not because of the cold. She missed the boy, though she hated to say it. His annoying outline was always there, in the background. But now he was gone, there was nothing there to take his place.
It's true you don't know what you have until it's gone.
She watched the 'Sanctuary' bob, its mast pointing up and then down, and then up…The ship had come in yesterday for repairs, after being attacked by dragons. Gobber was swamped without an apprentice, but the stories the crew brought were cool. The 'Sanctuary' came from the south, down the coast of some far off land. Astrid looked back to the sea in amazement. The Vikings of Berk had never gone further south, and they were the last batch of Vikings to be seen this far. She had heard of stories of their homeland off to the northeast, but everything out there…was a mystery.
It was starting to get dark as Astrid huddled, stars appearing slowly in the night sky. She heard footsteps, but didn't turn her head. She continued to watch the horizon, begging with her heart to see a glimpse of black shadow, but praying with her head they would keep going far away.
"Your mom sent me to get you." Ruffnut's voice echoed from behind the blonde, but she didn't turn. She didn't reply, didn't say a word. The Vikings on this island didn't deserve to hear her words. They would just be shunted aside anyway, like always…Ruffnut scuffled her feet nervously. "Dinner's ready…" Her voice trailed off, and the usually rough and forceful girl fell into feelings of nervousness. Ruffnut sighed and stared at Astrid, the one she had always considered a friend. But after Hiccup left, Astrid had thrown glares at everyone in the village. She tossed aside her axe that day. She used to fight dragons with a fury, and now…Astrid was done.
Ruffnut coughed and opened her mouth to say something. But still, what could she say? Hiccup was a traitor, a dragon friend. He was hiding a Night Fury from the whole village. Nothing she could say would ease the pain radiating from Astrid's still form. Ruffnut couldn't slap some sense into the village, and she couldn't bring Hiccup back. Ruffnut turned and walked away, glancing back at Astrid, her still form seeming to float above the empty air.
The village was almost as silent as Astrid now. Doubt and fear burrowed into everyone's mind, planting seeds of confusion. Their way of life…all of a sudden, with one boy it had all changed. The boy was riding on their worst enemy, being downright friendly towards it. But the part that really got to everyone was that the dragon didn't bite Hiccup's head of as he jumped onto its back. The Night Fury didn't try to kill Hiccup. What were they fighting for anyway?
The Vikings couldn't remember.
~Hiccups~
"Hic." That is what came out of my mouth involuntarily as I jumped with the spasm. I groaned and put my hand to my diaphragm, trying to hush it. Toothless attempted, for the thousandth time, to turn his head and look at me as I rode on his back. We were soaring above another small and uninhabited island, following the coastline south. The sea was huge and the more I saw of it, the more I became just a little bit afraid. After all, it was tons and tons of thousands of gallons of water that could smash you into the size of a rock. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but still it can kill you, and just by going swimming and having a cramp… I began to debate with myself again. It was pretty, granted, the way the sun shone off of it. It had a beautiful blue and green color to it. Then again, the tiny little islands we've been finding have gotten more and more scarce, and the longer we look to the horizon the more ocean we see. What happens when we run out of island? When Toothless needs to sleep and can't fly anymore? I'll tell you what, we'll fall to our deaths and we won't get to explore anymore of the world than the tiny islands. Even thinking about our impending doom, I still can't shake the hiccups.
I got the impression Toothless heard that last part. Because suddenly, the world was upside down and turning very, very fast. I bit my lip and didn't, for once, scream. I'd gotten better at trusting Toothless not to throw me off, though I still didn't like it. Thankfully, my latch holding me down began to pull at my hip. I struggled to keep my one eye open and not puke, while Toothless twisted and turned and tried to kill me. I don't know how in the world he had managed to hear that anyway, but it wasn't really an issue right now. I was more worried about puking into my own esophagus.
"Toothless!" I yelled as we twirled in the sky, the wind rushing by my ears like a hurricane. "You can't…actually….shake…hiccups away!" Suddenly, Toothless jerked and we were flying straight again, soaring smoothly. I could already tell my hair was standing straight up.
I took a deep breath and gazed at the water sparkling below up. The sun was barely touching the horizon, but still. We should probably land on that island and get something to eat…Wait, why was I thinking about that? My dragon had suddenly reacted to what I said in my mind! What the hell was that about? We had been touching on and off with that…'thing' the past few weeks since we left, though I don't know what to call it! It's like, I'm fishing and I get a flash of Toothless catching a deer and not too much later, he drags a bloody carcass into camp! Or I swear I hear him talking to me! Who else would call me, and I quote, "square-toothed hatchling"? But when I ask, he just cocks his head and I can't hear anything! It's random and frustrating and I can't get a good read. The first week, I downright denied it. But as it kept getting more and more frequent, I had to accept it. But how exactly was it possible? Just thinking about it made my head spin. Oh wait, that must have been the twirling in the air in a sad attempt to get rid of my hiccups.
'It seems to have worked.' It felt like Toothless said. I waited for a moment, thinking and breathing deeply. Did it really work? Wow! I've been trying to get rid of those for ho-
"Hic." I growled as my body jerked. "Toothless you jinxed me!"
Toothless and I soared across the blue sky, arguing in feelings and pictures now, our own crude way of communication. We were probably like a black dot, an eagle or a bird dancing amid the clouds. We had no need to hide anymore; we could fly in the bright light with no fear. I laughed as Toothless sent me an image of him eating my head. Absolutely no one knows me better than the black reptile I was currently sitting on, and vice versa. I sent him an image of scratching his chin, making him fall through the air. He retaliated with me falling as well, helpless against the air. Then I thought of him catching me. Because of course he would, even if we were arguing. He wouldn't let me die! Toothless conjured an image of me on the ground, a pile of mush and blood, though I detected a hint of a smile in it.
This was the way it was now. Toothless and I, wandering amid the islands and the sea, arguing with imagination. And…I was happy. I didn't have to prove myself to anybody; I didn't have to hide my best friend. This freedom was elating. Still, I thought of Astrid late at night, gazing at the stars. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlut…I wondered how they thought of me. Did they hate me too; think I was the enemy along with the rest of the villagers?
Toothless snapped me out my thoughts by dropping a few feet suddenly. I cursed and slapped him half heartedly as we evened out. Then, a smile spread across my face.
"Ready?" Toothless tensed, excited. I could feel his happiness bubbling into mine. This was the place he felt most at home, in the sky, soaring like the amazing animal he was. And he was damn proud of it to. "Ego-filled reptile." I muttered. He whipped around and tried to glare at me. Suddenly, I shifted my left foot into the third position, and Toothless caught on quickly.
We were diving towards the ground, the wind roaring through my ears. I laughed out loud as tears filled my eye, and Toothless let out a ground-shaking roar. It still echoed in my ears as we tilted up at the last moment, skimming the water below. I twisted my foot and at the same time, Toothless turned. We were flying as one, not two separate beings, but as one whole. He couldn't fly without me, and I without him. We were free when we were together.
And no one would ever take that away from us again.
~Stoick~
A dark shadow occupied the dim room. It shifted its weight for a moment before falling back into its stoic silence. A candle flickered near the door, the only thing casting a glow on the room. No one came to knock on the door, no one barged in. No one was in the back room, no one making noises or dropping things clumsily. There was an eerie silence as the Chief of the village sat, waiting. He was waiting for an answer, a sign from the gods. He tried not to tear up as he thought of his son, his bloody eye. The wound he had caused. The questions he had were vast, much like himself. He remembered his son running forward, displaying a bravery he would have never thought possible from the boy. Hiccup put himself before the axe, letting it fall on him instead of that…
A few weeks ago, he would have called it a beast. And now...he wasn't sure. Stoick the vast was always sure; he always knew what to do. And now, he wasn't. The man was at a lost. He had lost his son, and for what? What was more important than his own blood? That dragon….Stoick growled to himself, breaking the deafening silence across the room. That dragon, somehow he had taken control of his boy's mind! It had to be it, right? Hiccup would never betray them for an animal.
But was that all? Was the answer really that simple? Was the dragon an animal? He scolded himself, of course it was! How could it not be? How could generations of Vikings just be…wrong? That was the same thoughts that plagued his village, the same thing that was tearing his people apart. It had been almost a month now, and Stoick could not gain control of his village, his home. They argued, they panicked, Vikings hurting Vikings. There was a hurricane of questions no one had an answer to.
This was why Stoick was waiting. He had to find an answer, not only for himself but for the villagers as well. He prayed for the gods to send a sign, something he could use! The gods answered his silent prayers as a loud crack was heard behind him. Stoick whirled around, searching the dark room with wide eyes. Slowly, and delicately, he went and retrieved the candle from the door. Creeping back to the wall, he shed the light on the lump on the ground.
His ship, a tiny replica of it sat on its side, having been knocked over by who-knows-what. He picked it up gingerly, thinking desperately. What did it mean? What would he have to do? What did this have to do with the dragons? The Vikings were nothing without an enemy, nothing without a heading…He examined the tiny boat. They would travel somewhere? Explore new lands maybe? That might work…Stoick rubbed his huge, red beard. A pursuit of something might just be a good enough distraction to pull people together!
The man rose with a deep breath and stormed out of the house. He walked hastily out the door, leaving it wide open. The light from the moon shone inside, dancing along the hardwood floors. It touched on a small figure beneath a chair. Stoick's figurine of a dead dragon had fallen, knocking off the ship as it did so. The dragon, laying on its back and eyes closed, had been grazed on the corner of the tiny ship.
The dragon had a scratch on its right eye. It lay there beneath the chair, forgotten and alone.
~Hiccup~
"Tooth, stop struggling!" I pulled his leg over more, and he pulled back harshly in revenge, sending me sprawling across the ground. I stood slowly, eyeing him. Toothless was refusing to let me touch his gauze! The black dragon hunched over, watching me. I moved closer, he stepped back. I tried to circle around, but he followed me. I began to hunch over too, eyeing the bandage that was my aim. This was going to hurt. I leapt forward and Toothless roared, dancing away.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have a past time of wrestling dragons. But it has been three weeks, almost a month! And he still wouldn't let me see it? What if it was infected? I'm sure it's fine by now, and I thought he would be grateful to have it off! What a stubborn reptile!
We did end up wrestling though. We rolled over on the ground, not caring about mud or grass or rocks. I did end up pinning him for a few seconds, until he flapped his wings and clipped me on the chin. Toothless was strong, and he had an unfair advantage! He was a giant, flying, flame-spitting reptile for Odin's sake! My clothes were torn, I could tell already. And after living in the wilderness for three weeks, it's no wonder. Not surprisingly, me wrestling with Toothless did not help that fact. I finally managed to grab the gauze and fumble with the knot while trying to fend off Toothless with one hand. Thankfully, he wouldn't ever really hurt me. After all, whenever I got hurt, he did too. I learned this after I noticed Toothless one day squinting in his right eye. He said it hurt, like a burning pain. Like my right eye.
I pulled the knot, untying the gauze, and yanked the wrap off. Toothless leapt off me as soon as I finished my goal, sighing. I set the wrap on the ground and walked towards him. He didn't back up to much, in fact he finally just plopped down and began to lick the wound. Finally, I sat down next to him, folding my legs beneath me.
He growled whenever I got close, so I waited. The sun beat down on my back and my legs started to go numb. My thighs pressed together, almost completely healed. Although my eye only seems to have gotten worse. It was painful too, and I still couldn't open it. Every time I looked at it, it was a new color! It was swollen a lot now, and a shiny red. There was a bright white to it now, the lighter parts being the actually wound. It was leaking now to, more than just blood. At first, it was white liquid. Then it was white puss.
Even I could tell that wasn't a good sign.
Finally, when my back was starting to sweat, Toothless stopped licking his leg. He gazed up at me, and then let out a huff of air. I smiled, needing no images to understand that one. I inched closer, putting my hands on either side of his scaled leg and staring at the big gash. It was healing a bit; I could see the sinews pulling themselves together. Though it was still painful, I could feel the throbbing in my leg as well. The gash was pinkish, and not as bad off as my eye. Still, it would be helpful to have an expert eye take a look. Then again, who in the world would look at a dragon leg and think "Oh that gash looks like it needs-"? I leaned behind me, felt around on the grass for a moment before coming up with the dirty gauze. I tried to scrub it best I could, and then began to wrap it around Toothless' leg wound.
"You'll be okay." I whispered, almost as if I was saying it to myself. I felt Toothless' confusion as he noted my eye was worse than his leg. "Yeah yeah." I tied it off at the side and then stood slowly. Toothless followed suit, gazing at me curiously. I smiled and brushed my growing hair out of my eyes. "Time to find a village. I need new clothes." I laughed as he stretched forward his head and grabbed my shirt delicately between his teeth. He agreed, thinking it smelled bad and had holes in it. I frowned for a moment and went to grab the saddle and basket. Why could I only hear his specific words only rarely? I strapped the leather to his back and began to belt it in. Oh well, I'm sure we'll grow closer in time. Like we have been these past weeks together.
After all, we had all the time in the world, right?