Soul Song

The beautiful majestic sunrise warmed the Isle of Berk with its hopeful and invigorating rays of beauty and warmth. The skies above the quaint and small village were painted such beautiful colors that morning. It was as if the earth was singing its soul song. Everything in the world had a song to it. You just had to know how to listen. Not with your ears, but with your heart. If you listen to your heart then for sure you could hear the song of the world and all that was in it. Although a small number of people had this particular talent, and it seemed that the only soul on Berk that could hear this song was currently without his soul.

It had now been a week since Hiccup had last stirred. Despite the fact that every person was still sad and profoundly down in the dumps, that he still hadn't woken up, they're pushing through it and trying to get things done. The harvest was almost complete and no sign of danger had been spotted. Right now all the women and their children were busy baking bread, and the men were busy getting the last of the meat stored away so they'd be ready for the winter. So with the frost on the ground a strong indication that winter was on the way everyone was busy doing anything possible to get things ready for it.

While the women baked, and the men hunted and stored food, and the children did all the little jobs around the village, the three remaining parties were also busy. Gobber himself was busy making certain that their armaments were in first-rate condition, in addition to that, that the armory was well stocked as well. Stoick was keeping himself busy with making sure that the boats and houses were in good condition too. So the Riders were busy overseeing the tasks and duties and making sure their island was safe.

It was good to keep busy because it took their minds off Hiccup. The only one who didn't leave Hiccup's side was of course Toothless. It did seem that the Night Fury was very loyal, though it was also obvious that Toothless was getting restless from lack of flying time. On the morning after week had passed by since Hiccup's soul gone missing Astrid came over to check on her boyfriend.

"Hello, Chief! Good morning to you too, Toothless. It's nice to see you both holding up so well given the circumstances. Well, I've got great news to share! I'd say we're more then ready for whatever hell that the winter brings. We also just got some extra goodies from Trader Johann so I think we're as good as we'll ever be."

"Thanks, Astrid. That all great news. Now that we're ready for winter, I'd think its time we figured out how to help my son."

"We all want that, sir. I thought you said Gothi was trying to use her abilities to find his soul?"

"She is but we've been so busy that she's had other duties to focus on that she hasn't had much time. Right now I give anything to see Hiccup open his eyes."

"So would I. You know I was going to see if I could take Toothless out for a bit of flying. Not a long one, but just a quick sprint around the village. He hasn't flown in a week. He needs to stretch his wings."

"That he does. However, I'm not sure he let you take him for a ride. It seems that giving Gobber his monthly bath is easier to do then get Toothless to go flying with someone else, other then Hiccup. Still we should probably give it a shot. He really needs to go flying."

So the pair walked over to where Toothless was sleeping. The ebony colored dragon eyelids were twitching meaning he was dreaming. It is said that it best to leave sleeping dogs lie, but Toothless did really need to go for a spin. It wasn't healthy for a dragon to stay on the ground for long periods of time. And even if he didn't want to leave Hiccup's side for even a moment, there wasn't much they could do just sitting around.

So the fair-haired teenager crept up to the sleeping dragon. He just kept snoozing and didn't seem to realize that Stoick and Astrid were even there. Astrid scratched Toothless under the chin and then took out some dragon nip. "Hey, Toothless? C'mon, Toothless! Wake up please. We're going for a little ride. Come on please wake up!"

Toothless just swatted them with his tail and kept sleeping. Still determined to wake him Astrid got a bit more forceful, but not too much for she didn't want to be on the receiving end of a plasma blast. She lightly tapped his head with the handle of her ax. And then she did something a bit painful. She dropped the heavy ax on his right tailfin. This had the desired effect for Toothless woke up with start. They had to duck as he did let loose his plasma blast. Luckily for them the blasts actually just stoke the dying fire and were cooking rabbit meat, which was gonna be Toothless's lunch today anyway. The people of Berk had grown a bit tired of their diet of fish. Therefore they're trying to sample a small number of selective pieces of new types of meat before they'd to endure the winter. Consequently today on the fire was a large rabbit. Stoick hoped that the delicious smelling rabbit would take Toothless's mind off Hiccup for awhile and give him some fuel for his fire.

Toothless growled furiously at the two frightened Vikings and narrowed his eyes at them. Astrid held out a peace offering. A gigantic honey glazed piece of yak steak. The Night Fury sniffed it inquisitively and then latched his retractable pearly white teeth on it and gulped it down in one swallow. Licking his lips he gazed back at the Stoick and Astrid curiously. Sensing he wasn't angry anymore Astrid cautiously held her hand out so Toothless would allow her to pet him. He allowed her to touch him.

"It's gonna be alright, Toothless. We'll figure out how to get Hiccup back. For now, please, please, please let me ride you for a quick spin around the island. Please, Toothless?" she asked to the noble beast. She offered him some dragon nip and he purred. For a moment the dragon seemed indecisive then slowly he lowered himself so Astrid could mount him.

"Good boy! Very good boy! Okay let's go fly now! Up, up, and away, Toothless!" she commanded as he took off even faster then the first time she'd flown with Hiccup. Toothless, though still worried like everyone else was about Hiccup's fate at the moment, it couldn't be denied that he'd been missing flying. As a result they rapidly began to fly far above the ground into the pale blue heavens.

Once they'd reached the highest point in the sky however things changed dramatically. Astrid had been hoping for a nice easy ride like she usually had with her own dragon. Nevertheless Toothless wasn't Stormfly and he proved that point really quickly. With a toothy grin he started his terrifying airborne acrobatics, which consisted of doing an assortment of spectacular spins and barrel rolls. The dragon was flying so fast and it was like a wild rollercoaster ride. Going high up then spinning downwards and zigzag and it was enough that he was scaring Astrid to death.

"Toothless! Toothless!" she screamed in a terrified tone as he did a high-speed figure eight and went into a fast pace dive. "Toothless! Calm down! Stop!" she pleaded as she screamed and vomited at the same time. He was either blowing off steam or trying to show just how much he missed Hiccup. But in reality all he was doing at the moment was scaring her to death. It was only when Astrid started to cry that he stopped and smoothed out his flight.

"Thank the Gods!" she whispered as they now glided peacefully over the landscape. Taking a deep breath she quickly wiped the remaining greenish yellow vomit off her pale lips. She sighed as she gazed at what was all around her. The Isle of Berk was in actuality gorgeous. Furthermore one just had to take the time to appreciate it. The woodlands underneath her were a sea of magnificent color and the crisp autumn breeze gently blew her blond hair. "Toothless, consider yourself lucky to live to see such beauty. After all Berk's had to go through for so many years, it's amazing there is any beauty left. Wish Hiccup was here. He would draw a pretty painting to capture this beauty. I hope wherever he is he is safe."

Toothless let out a heavy sigh and then did something weird and wonderful. At first Astrid didn't understand what she was hearing. It seemed like Toothless was trying to say something, but it wasn't exactly words, nor was it exactly talking. It was like he was singing or humming, it was something in-between the two. As she took a deep breath she could feel her own heart beating in tune with whatever Toothless was doing. As she placed her hand over her heart she suddenly felt something amazing, it was like a world of hidden music and delights was open to her for the first time. It was like she was hearing, really hearing for the first time. Closing her bright blue eyes she abandoned the sense of sight and listened not with her ears but her heart. A flood of images danced within her mind's eye. It started out as dim as an ember in a dying fire. Then as if someone had thrown a log or two on it, the imagery became clearer and far more vibrant and detailed.

Scared to open her eyes fearing it would end the enchantment that she had discovered, she quickly adjusted her left foot so Toothless's tail could ascend even higher into the sky. The magical song increased and the images danced even faster. One image was coming through extremely clearly. She saw herself and Hiccup dancing during the twilight and just as it was ending she kissed him.

"Oh, Hiccup, how I miss you. I love you so much! I wish you could give me a sign that you're okay," she murmured dreamily. Toothless paused for a moment in his singing and let out a plasma blast to make a firework. As they'd both been flying blindly they didn't realize at first that they're near the place where they'd found Hiccup's soulless body.

They'd just flown over the concealed cavern and suddenly as if to make the dream dancing across Astrid's mind she felt like she was being kissed. She could feel the sweet and tender touch of a breath on her lips and like someone was touching her fingertips. She felt it so powerfully she almost fell off Toothless's back. She slowly opened her eyes and taking a deep breath she gazed at the landscape around her. And she could feel the magic still in the air. Something magical was happening. "What in Thor's name just happened? Did you feel that too, Toothless?"

The ebony colored dragon's song became even more pronounced and it felt like the whole island was now singing this strange song. They'd flown over the cavern by now and seem to be heading towards sunset. Astrid hadn't realized how much time had passed from the time when she started to perceive sound of this weird and wonderful melody. She just gazed at the setting orb of sky fire and touched her lips. She clearly was confused and yet she didn't feel so depressed anymore. She felt somewhat more joyful she'd for a week.

"Hiccup? Did you just give me a kiss? Are you nearby? Are you watching this enchanting sunset? Can you hear this song?" Each and every one these questions flooded her mind and as the pair flew higher till they'd leapt over the sun, she still didn't have the answers she sought. The shiny diamond stars were coming out now for their nightly frolic and even the full moon seem to be singing. The Viking teen was about to head back to the village when she finally felt something. It was as if an invisible person was hugging her and whispered into her ear.

"Astrid is the most beautiful and bravest soul I know, Una. She's as brave as she is beautiful. I hope she's knows that I've got nothing but respect for her. Sometimes I feel like she the only person besides my father who loves me for who I am now. I know the rest of village and my friends still like to laugh at the past."

"If she was here, big brother, what would you say?"

"That I love her more then the air I breathe! That she could enjoy this magical sunset with us, and I kiss her till morning came. Right now I just want to hug and kiss her! I love her that much!"

"Sunrise and sunset are the most beautiful parts of the day. I wish I could meet Astrid and tell her how wonderful you're being to me. You're a beautiful person, Hiccup. Don't forget that. She sounds like she's an amazing person!"

"I know that, Una. I think I didn't believe it till Astrid said it though. I just wish that people knew how much love and courage I feel when I'm defending those I love. And that they know how much I care for them, even if they don't care that much for me in return."

"I love you, big brother, Hiccup! I'm sure that Astrid would wait forever to see your beaming face!"

Hiccup laughed and giggled then his voice faded into darkness. Astrid couldn't believe what she just heard! She then shockingly realized that she didn't hear that short conversation with her ears. She felt the words come from inside her! Inside her heart! As the shock of this realization waned from her mind she realized that what she'd been 'hearing' and 'seeing' this whole time was coming from the very land around her. It was like she could hear the island singing its heart and soul out to her! Perhaps Toothless could feel the magic of the soul in view of the fact that he had such a pure heart just like Hiccup!

Astrid looked back into the distance to where she'd first felt this soul song's power resonate from. It was hard to tell with the darkness around her, yet she did realize when she saw the outline of the intertwined trees that the song had been most intense, near the area where they'd found Hiccup's soulless body. She really wanted to fly back there but knew it would have to wait. Stoick must already be more out of his mind with no word on his son's condition. Yet at least Astrid felt that she could offer him some comfort. If she could hear the words of Hiccup's soul he must be alright for at least the moment. So that was good. So she headed home with Toothless to inform the grief-striking chief the good news. Though it wasn't till she had landed that she recalled a small detail she'd overlooked. She felt for sure that whatever she had heard and her feelings that Hiccup's soul was at least alright for now were comforting. But as she ran to Hiccup's home that she had heard a child's voice too. And the name 'Una'. But who could that be? What was going on?

Shaking her head to clear her mind she dashed quickly into the huge house. "Stoick! Stoick! You've got to listen to me! I've got some good news! It's about Hiccup!"

The long haired bushy man looked up quickly from his seat. His eyes were red as Toothless's tailfin. "Astrid? Why are you back so late? You've been gone all day! We're starting to get worried that you'd disappeared or were hurt! What's going on? What do you mean? You've got news on my son? How? What are you yakking about?"

She was very parched and couldn't really speak or breathe from her excitement. Therefore Stoick remedy this by giving her a flask of crisp and cold water. She downed the whole thing in about a few minutes. Wiping her now refreshed lips she looked at her chief with a mile wide grin. "Stoick, I've got some good news, it's kinda hard to explain however I'll make an effort to do my very best to explain it."

"Any news would be welcomed, dear child. Now tell me what you know!"

Subsequently Astrid began to sing a story. She sang her story as if it was a beautiful aria with how detailed and enchanting it was. It took what felt like hours to tell the whole tale, yet it really wasn't that long. Still she made sure not leave a single detail overlooked. She needed some more water when she was done.

For a few moments neither Viking spoke. Their breath still and only the crackling of the golden orange fire were heard. After the shock wore off Stoick spoke. "So let me see if I got this straight. You took Toothless out for a joyride. Then you suddenly experienced hearing some type of weird song. Then you swear you could feel Hiccup touching you and kissing you? And you also swear you heard his voice and he was talking to a child?"

She nodded and said excitedly, "Yes! I swear on the name of Odin that I could hear his voice! It may've been a week since he's spoken, yet I know what I heard! I think Hiccup's soul is with another lost soul. A child I think. I think the child's name is Una. That the one thing I do remember hearing. I cannot recall anything else but I'm sure that what I heard!"

"Well, we can ask Gothi about it in the morning. Yet if Hiccup's soul is doing some good then for now that gives me some peace of mind. So thanks. For now I think we both should get some sleep and hopefully in the morning we can make some more sense out of this soul song as you called it. Thank you so much though, Astrid. It's really important to me that you felt this. I don't doubt you, I believe you full heartily that you felt this and heard what you felt and heard. So thanks."

Astrid nodded and then with a fleeting look at Hiccup's body she rushed over to him. She kissed and hugged him and whispered, "I'll be waiting for you to come home. I promise." With that done she left and Stoick looked at his son. Words seem to fail him and yet he hugged his son's body and whispered too him. "I love you, my son. Please come home soon."

While the whole island was still mourning the loss of Hiccup's soul, for the first time in a week both Viking and Dragons alike felt a silver of hope.