Well it is time yet again for the Extras chapter! I know there hasn't been one since Stowaway but that's because there were no deleted scenes for Taming Hearts. There are, however, two deleted scenes for Nothing to Fear.
I have a really important question for my readership and I want everyone to answer so if, for some reason, you don't want to read these extra scenes, would you at least answer my question? Thank you!
Adrianna's Benen Flashback
This scene was going to go during the memorial but it wound up running too long and I kind of lost interest while writing it. There are good ideas in it but it just didn't work out as a canon scene.
It always seemed to happen on Tuesdays.
The girls on Berk liked to gather together with their dragons and go on a flight. Who knew what they talked about while flying, probably gossip, but it was something they tended to do on Tuesday afternoons.
Ordinarily Adrianna wouldn't have bothered to ask. She usually spent Tuesdays with Erick, watching him work with the leather and handing him tools whenever he needed them. But her best friend had gotten sick with the stomach flu a few days previously and the last thing she needed was a week spent nibbling on bland food and only keeping half of it down. But without Erick, she was doing a lot more reading. She had just finished the most wonderful book about a boy and his robot companion and she was still wiping tears out of her eyes when she saw the group of girls and dragons parading past her.
For a moment, she found herself having a mental argument. The lonely part of her brain practically demanded her to try to join them. Her logical side reminded the lonely side that there was absolutely no way she would be allowed to participate. The girls hated her... but maybe...
Adrianna stood up so quickly, she nearly made herself dizzy. As she marched up to the group with a determined expression on her face, she had completely forgotten that Lily wasn't even there. Her dragon had gone to feed Signa and there was no telling how long that would take.
"Can I come?" Adrianna blurted out. "I'll be quiet."
Dana smirked. "Sure you will."
"No, really. I just want to fly with someone." her confident stance turned into a slouch as the girls, all of whom were taller than her, stared down in either disgust or amusement. "You can pretend I'm not there."
"Why pretend when we can make it actually happen?" Morgan crossed her arms and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"Why can't I just come?" Adrianna squeaked, her heart thumping in her ears. "What did I do to you? I just wanted to be friends!"
"Well let's see..." Dana held up a fist. "One," she put up a finger, "you're a freak. You don't even need any friends when you have all those books. Two," she put up another finger, "you're whiny and annoying." Morgan was laughing as Dana put up a third finger. "Three, you dress like an idiot. I mean nice flower." she reached forward and plucked the pink poppy out of the Haddock girl's hair, yanking several strands out in the process. "Where did you get it, your fairytale garden?"
"I made it." Adrianna mumbled.
"Ooh, watch out, we've got a creative genius here." an older girl named Audra giggled.
"Yeah this is pretty. But you know what looks good with pink?" Dana suddenly threw the flower into a mud puddle. "Brown."
"Hey!" Adrianna squealed. "Why would you-"
"Get it through your skull." Morgan poked the Haddock girl's forehead. "Nobody likes you."
"Guys, come on." Taryn said in a very timid voice. "Let's just go."
"In a minute, Taryn. I want to teach Haddock here a lesson." Dana snapped. "How have you not figured out by now that we don't want you around? What's your problem?"
"I'm not-"
"Leave us alone!" Morgan shoved Adrianna so hard she nearly fell.
"Okay, fine!" Adrianna shouted. "Fine, I'll just go. Can't fly without Lily anyway."
"First smart thing you've said today." Morgan smirked and turned on her heel. "Let's go."
Rather than allow herself to react, Adrianna immediately turned to the mud puddle and reached down to pick up her hair flower. Suddenly, she felt her body shoved forward and, with a horrible squelch, her face collided with the thick mud. Uproarious laughter followed this as she slowly got up and wiped the smelly substance out of her eyes. The chilly, wet mud soaked the front of her shirt and her hair and she couldn't even see her hair flower anymore. Not that she could salvage it now.
As the laughter faded away, the girl felt tears start to drip from her eyes as she tried to wipe the mud off her face. She didn't want to go home looking like this and have her parents fussing over her. Although at this point, was it even worth being embarrassed at all?
Her desperate attempts to clean herself only succeeded in spreading the mud over more of her body than before. Before even she knew what she was doing, a shriek of frustration tore through her vocal cords and she clutched her filthy, smelly hair, yanking on it to keep herself reigned in as much as possible. She could feel her sobs traveling up her chest and before she could stop herself, she let them out as her tears continued to streak through the mud.
"Anna?"
A soft, gentle voice wafted through her head and she looked in its direction. Benen was sauntering toward her, a look of concern in his sky blue eyes. Adrianna would have wiped her tears and pretended she wasn't crying if her hand wasn't so dirty. Instead she sniffled miserably. She felt a hand on her shoulder, which she almost instinctively shrugged off.
"Hey, it's okay." Benen said in that same gentle tone. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
"You don't have to." Adrianna mumbled.
"Well no, I don't have to." Benen smiled compassionately. "I want to."
Adrianna paused for a moment before finally nodding and walking alongside her family friend. Benen was silent during the stroll, perhaps hoping that she would speak first. But she didn't feel much like talking. A part of her felt like she would be perfectly happy never to open her mouth again. At least then it wouldn't suddenly be filled with disgusting mud.
When they arrived at Benen's house, his Gronckle hopped over and made a funny sort of cooing noise. Adrianna wasn't as familiar with Gronckles as she was with the kinds of dragons she and her family owned but she knew this to be a friendly sound. Benen stepped inside the house for a moment and then emerged with a decent sized bucket of water and a towel draped over one of his arms. Without even the slightest prompting, the Gronckle breathed fire into the water so that it was warm.
"Good girl." Benen said affectionately, scratching her behind the ears. "Stand still, Anna. This'll be over in a second."
Benen slowly poured the warm water over Adrianna's head and she felt instant relief as the mud slid down and puddled at her feet. She took a deep breath, glad that she wasn't breathing in the stench of the moistened dirt anymore. Benen immediately wrapped the towel around her shoulders.
"There. That's much better." Benen brushed her bangs from her forehead. "Good as new. You're lucky it's September, otherwise there would be icicles hanging off you in no time." he gently tugged a strand of hair. "Do you want a cup of tea?"
"I don't want to get your house muddy." Adrianna sighed.
"Leave your shoes outside then." Benen put a hand on the girl's back and led her to the front door, where she promptly took off her boots.
Adrianna hadn't been in Benen's house many times. It seemed like Finn was always hanging around there and she didn't like to get in his way. But now that she had some time to actually take in her surroundings, she stared around at the house with interest. Several carvings Finn had made lined the mantles and... she gasped. There was even one atop a small bookshelf packed with books. Adrianna was just beginning to suddenly panic at the thought of accidentally leaving her book behind when it was suddenly handed to her, a bit damp but otherwise unharmed.
"Y-you saved it!" she exclaimed, taking the book and flipping through the pages.
"Of course. Can't leave a book lying in the mud." Benen smiled and began to wipe a second item down with another towel. "Knowledge is power."
"I didn't know you liked to read." Adrianna said, eyeing the bookshelf again.
"I don't read as much as I'd like but yes, I do." Benen gestured to a table before turning to light the fire pit. "I was just thinking of having a cup of tea. Do you want some?"
"Oh... sure." the girl replied, slowly sitting down at the table.
Benen placed the kettle on the fire and turned back to the Haddock girl, who was staring at him quizzically. "What's on your mind?"
"Oh... nothing. Well maybe something." Adrianna looked down at her book and fixed her eyes on the illustration of the large white robot on the cover.
"Do you feel comfortable sharing?" Benen prodded gently as he leaned back against the wall across from the table.
Adrianna flipped through her book again, this time landing on an illustration of the cast of characters. Close friends, all working together toward the same goal... something about this suddenly made her angry.
"Why don't I have very many friends?" she blurted out so suddenly, Benen started. "I'm nice to everyone and I don't try to be weird but I can't help it! Why doesn't anybody like me?"
Most people would have reacted with an emotionally charged but empty response. Benen didn't do this. He stayed still for a few seconds longer, fixing Adrianna with a gaze that made her feel like he could see through her.
"I assume you're talking about those other girls." he finally said in a very calm voice.
"Yes." Adrianna averted her eyes again. "They never let me do anything with them."
"Pardon me for saying so, Anna, but why would you want to?" Benen asked in the same calm voice.
"Because..." Adrianna began but suddenly stopped. Why did she want to spend time with those girls in the first place. It wasn't an easy answer.
As her mind whirred, Benen gently interrupted her thoughts. "Because they're normal."
Adrianna's head whipped up so fast, she felt lightheaded for a second. "What?"
"Well, when I say normal, I mean they act the way everyone expects them to act." Benen backtracked. "And you don't."
"Maybe..." Adrianna sighed.
"I suppose what I don't understand is why you'd want to be part of a group of people who aren't nearly as special as you are." Benen pressed.
Adrianna huffed. "I'm not special."
"No?" Benen let out a small chuckle. "You know, I've met a lot of people, Anna, but never anyone quiet like you." when the girl remained in a somewhat stunned silence, he continued. "So many bad things have happened to you. Don't worry, no one's told me any of your secrets. I can see it in your eyes. It takes a lot of pain to give you that look. A lot of suffering." Benen's smile widened. "But you still try. You still pick yourself up and keep going. And you still open yourself up to people. You still trust them not to let you down." the elderly man shook his head. "You're one of the most courageous people I've ever met."
"Courageous?" Adrianna blinked several times. "I'm... I'm not..."
"Courage is a lot more than not being afraid." Benen continued in the same smooth voice. "It's about facing your fears and still fighting for what's right. And I see you do that every single day. Oh, you'll make mistakes and get hurt plenty more times but I'm not worried about you the way I'm worried about Finn."
Benen's Death (First Draft)
Way back when I went up to visit EmmerzK,we wrote Benen's death scene because we were in the same place and it was an important scene. As it turns out, we write comedy and dialogue a heck of a lot better than drama in person. It was a good effort and a halfway decent first draft but it didn't have the impact we were looking for. There are a lot of issues with it but actually, the scene in the story from when Finn wakes up to about this part was part of this draft. We wound up cutting the actual death itself. Also note that Benen dies of a heart attack here rather than heroically. It was my idea to change that and make the failing heart thing a sort of red herring and warning of an impending death scene and it took a long time to get EmmerzK on board. However, outsourcing that scene to the Queen of Angst herself, Miss Pookamonga, wound up being a really good decision. But you guys definitely deserve to read the first draft.
Benen stood in the doorway, about to follow the boy outside. But he turned back to the Haddocks with a warm smile. "Hey… don't beat yourselves up. You did the best you could."
Hiccup shrugged. "You do what you can, right?"
"Right. Finn and Adrianna… they've gone through a lot, but they're good, strong kids. The best way for them to learn is to experience troubles. At the end of the day, it's good for them. For all of you. And…" Benen paused, trying to put his thoughts to words. "No matter what happens or how rough the road gets, don't ever give up on them. They need you more than they'd lead you to believe."
"Benen…" Hiccup began, pausing when his voice caught in his throat. Astrid looked at him curiously but he quietly continued, "Thank you. For everything."
The cherished family friend opened his mouth to respond but the voice of an impatient teenager interrupted. "Benen, while we're still young!"
Benen and the Haddocks laughed with rolled eyes at the irony. It was as if Finn had forgotten they nearly had a sixty year age difference. Benen waved and closed the door behind him before trudging after Finn in the snow.
Finn's babbling soon filled the dead air as they descended the hill into the village square. Benen nodded to villagers as they passed by. Finn was oblivious to their surroundings as they entered the crowd of people going about their everyday activities. Benen smiled at Finn's random suggestions of activities to do in the next few weeks and in the coming spring. He knew Finn was definitely on the mend if his endless chattering had anything to do with it. He truly was like his father in more ways than he realized.
"-and we haven't been fishing in forever, Benen, do you want to go sometime?" Finn continued unabashedly in a much louder voice than necessary.
"Well," Benen said carefully, "judging by your family's last fishing trip, we might want to wait until the ice melts."
"Oh please. You take two klutzes on a fishing trip, what do you expect?" Finn rolled his eyes. "Next time we'll take mom. And leave Anna at home."
"Well that's not very nice."
"She wouldn't mind. She'd rather read about the theories behind fishing rather than actually go out and do it."
"Well yes, given her last fishing experiences. Besides, you could learn a thing or two from her, I think." Benen said with a smile.
"Thanks but I can read, you know. And write my name. I think I'm set for life." Finn quipped.
Benen chuckled lightly. He began to respond when, suddenly, a sharp pain erupted though his chest. Gripping his chest with a hand, he gasped in agony. Reaching a hand out to a nearby barrel and leaning over, he steadied himself. Finn spun around in alarm to Benen's gasp, his smile instantly fading.
"You okay?" he asked frightened. When Benen didn't answer, he approached his prized companion. "Benen?"
Benen gave a shaky smile and tried to continue walking. After two steps, however, a stronger stab of pain tore through him and his knees buckled. Finn lunged forward and caught his friend's upper body as he collapsed to the ground.
"Benen?" he cried frantically. "Benen! What's wrong?!" The elderly man face contorted in anguish. "BENEN!"
Hearing the frenetic cries outside his shop, Horst sprinted outside and slid to a stop beside the Haddock boy. "Benen, are you all right?" Benen groaned fiercely, still clutching his upper chest with a clenching, white-knuckled hand.
Finn panted deliriously, "Something happened! I-I don't know, he just grabbed his chest and fell, I don't know what's going on-"
"Finn, stay calm." Horst encouraged. "I'll find your father."
"No, get a healer!" Finn shouted as Horst took off. More adults began to run into the street toward the scene. "Someone get a healer, now!" He turned back to his elderly friend, wheezing in his arms. "You're going to be okay, Benen. Just hang in there. We'll get you to Mara."
"No time." Benen whispered almost inaudibly.
"No time for what?" Finn asked desperately. "Mara! MARA!" He searched the encompassing villagers frantically.
"Finn…" Benen whispered. He gently laid a soft, warm hand on the boy's arm, grabbing his attention.
Finn finally looked down at his friend, his eyes focusing in on Benen's short, labored breathing and paling face. Suddenly everything seemed to be crashing down around him. The concerned cries from the adults surrounding them, all too familiar over the last week and a half, went silent; out of focus. All the young man could hear was the shaky, shallow final breaths of his beloved friend. "Benen…" Finn rested a hand on his chest and shook his head. "Don't… please don't-" His soft blue eyes began to water.
"Shh…" Benen smiled gently, tenderly cupping the young Haddock's chin with his other hand.
"Move it, everybody move!" The crowd began to part for their chief as he shoved his way through, Mara on his heels. Mara slid onto her knees beside Benen and instantly began checking his vital signs. Hiccup stood behind Finn, horrified. He placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder. The teen didn't flinch. Mara began to murmur encouraging things to Benen, but she knew the truth by the look in his eye. She carefully turned to look up at Hiccup.
Hiccup clenched his jaw to keep in the emotion for his son. He hadn't had a chance to tell Finn… and now he was paying for it. He subtly waved the crowd away, some people leaving immediately, others gradually. Those with children in the area quickly grabbed them and left. It was important for Finn and Benen to have some sense of closure.
Mara stood. Finn suddenly noticed people backing away, Mara included, and growled at up her. "What are you doing?! Do something!"
"Finn…" Hiccup whispered, sliding to his knees beside his son.
Finn jerked away as footsteps registered behind him. "No, why aren't you doing anything! There's still… still…" Time. No time. Finn looked down at Benen with horror as he coughed weakly. Tears filled his eyes and he again shook his head. "Benen… there's always time. You always say never to give up and I'm not giving up on you."
Benen smiled weakly and whispered, "There's a time… for… everything."
"Benen…" Finn swallowed a wave of frustration and turned to his father to tell him to… do something. But the tears brimming in his father's eyes stopped him. Small hands rested on his shoulders and he jerked back to see his mother looming over him, tears running down her face as well. "Mom… Mom, don't just sit there, DO something!" Finn's voice cracked, his tears finally streaming down his face.
A shaky hand rested on his shoulder and he faced Benen once more. Benen looked pale and tired and weak, but he had a small smile on his face. "I am… s-so p-proud of you."
"Benen…" Finn gasped through his tears.
His best friend pointed a shaky finger onto the center of his chest and whispered a final word: "Fortis."
Finn grabbed Benen's frail wrist and held it at his chest, his hand trembling. "No… no, Benen…" Benen's eyes slipped closed and his body limped in Finn's arms. Toothless crooned sadly and rested his head against Benen's shoulder.
Finn felt a chill slither down his spine. His best friend of six and a half years just closed his eyes for a final time. Suddenly everything they'd done with their time together came to mind. The first time they made eye contact in Ratri's house, him bleeding and crying like the small, wounded child he was at the time, and Benen pulling him to a standing position and hugging him. A single word from the old man gave him the strength to press on when he needed it most. Bringing Benen home and the thankful tears that streaked down his face at having a proper meal all to himself. The second tearful encounter he had when they gave him a vacant home to call his own; the first house he ever owned since he'd been captured and enslaved. Bringing presents to both him and Adrianna on their birthdays and Snoggletogs, and sometimes for no reason at all. Offering wise council and sometimes the much needed lecture. Giving people a hug when he knew they needed one.
That was his Benen. His best friend, the man he loved and cherished more than his own life. Because that's what Benen gave him back in Maero. A reason to keep going, to keep living and to not fall into a pit of despair. To not let the bullies get him down.
He stared down at the quiescent body before him. This couldn't be happening. Surely this was a bad dream! Yeah, just a bad dream, he'd had bad nightmares before. He'd wake up any second now and run as fast as he could to Benen's house, and never let him go. This couldn't be real. It wasn't real.
Finn choked on a gasp. "Dad, slap me."
Hiccup blinked in confusion, tears streaking down his face. "What?"
The young man faced his father. "Slap me. This isn't real, wake me up. I don't care what you do, chop off my right hand if you have to, but this nightmare has to end-"
"Finn-" Hiccup tried to stop him but Finn didn't wait for the inevitable words that hope was lost.
"Dad, please! Mom! Mara, please do something! He's not- there's still time, it's not real-" Finn suddenly jerked away from them and shoved Toothless' nose away as he pulled Benen closer to his chest, in hug. "Benen, wake up. This isn't funny…Stop torturing me like this, now wake up! I can't do this without you."
"Finn…" Hiccup whispered, resting a hand on the burly shoulder and another burying his face, at a complete loss of what to do. Toothless cooed sadly, wanting so badly to help his Finn feel better. But at another glare from the boy, he silently stepped backwards with his chin resting on his paws.
"Finn, please stop…" Astrid wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him against her chest. "Finn, he's gone."
Finn finally let out a choking sob. He curled the lifeless body tighter into himself. He leaned into the body and bowed his head to rest against Benen's.
Astrid buried her face into Finn's broad shoulder, feeling her tears soak into the back of his shirt. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."
A quiet gasp sounded from behind the group, barely noticeable through Finn's sobs. Hiccup lifted his tear-stained face to see Adrianna standing a few feet away, watching the scene with an ashen face. "Benen?" One look at her father and she knew. Her hands flew to her face and she backed away until her hip rammed into Toothless' head, nearly tripping over his big black body.
"Addie..." Hiccup scrambled up off the ground when she turned to run away. "Addie!" A hand on his shoulder stopped him and he knew who it was without looking.
"Let her go, Hiccup." Gobber said quietly. "Finn needs you."
Hiccup nodded dumbly and closed his eyes, trying to figure out how things rapidly took a turn for the worse. He listened sounds of his son's muffled sobbing and his wife's whispered reassurances. He watched as his daughter fled through village back to their home, to the quiet refuge of her bedroom so she could mourn alone, as she had for so long. He felt some relief when Toothless bounded away from the village and followed her up the hill toward the house. She wouldn't be quite alone.
"What do I do, Gobber?" Hiccup whispered.
Gobber squeezed his shoulder after a few moments of silence. "Be there for your family. Give Benen a funeral worthy of a king. He deserves it."
"He never deserved this. Finn doesn't deserve this. Why… why can't my kids just…" Hiccup covered his eyes with a hand when his voice cracked.
Gobber turned him around so they could see eye to eye. "Benen knew better than anyone else that bad things happen to good people all the time. And he always said the best way to learn is to struggle. Now that this has happened… we'd best not forget all the wisdom he left us with."
"And what about Finn? This is his best friend, someone he cares about deeply. We can't just… give Benen a funeral and expect things to be okay after this."
"I know-"
"No Gobber, you don't know! This was the person that my son has gone to for the past six, almost seven years of his life! He's probably taught Finn more about life than I have! How is he supposed to cope with this?"
"Love." Gobber firmly and quietly replied. "That's the only thing you can give him now." Hiccup sighed, rubbing his eyes with a hand. "He's going to feel lost, confused and alone. The only thing you can do is be there for him. He'll have good days now and then, but he's going to have worse days. You both need to be there for all of it."
"And Addie? She already hates me. What am I… She doesn't even have a friend to go to anymore. Nobody to talk to."
"You know the answer to that. Don't ignore her pain out of fear for what she might say." Gobber paused briefly, "Do you know what Benen would say?"
Hiccup sighed sadly. "What?"
"Don't even give up on them. No matter how rough the road gets."
Hiccup stared up at him with wide eyes and ground his teeth together. Gobber wondered if he said something wrong when his friend and chief closed his eyes, tears beginning to fall again. "Ahhh Hiccup, it's all right…" Gobber embraced his friend, glancing over to see Finn and Astrid still hunched over Benen. He frowned sadly, wondering how in the world they were going to separate Finn from the body of his best friend.
Hope you liked it! While you're waiting for the next story, be sure to check out our tumblr (growinguphaddock) for any updates. And since the next story is rated M, it means you'll have to follow me, either here or on tumblr, to know when it goes up since it won't show up in search results. I'll try to post all over when it's up but just a heads up, keep an eye out for it sometime around the beginning of February.
All right, fun stuff now! I've got an important question for you all. Both this coming story and Hiccups (the 8th story) will be continuing the romantic pursuits of Finn and Adrianna. You've met the contenders! Finn and Helga's ship name is Felga, Finn and Inga's is Finnga, Erick and Adrianna's is Ericanna, and Brandyn and Adrianna's is Branna. So my question is this: which ship do you support and why? I really want to know! This probably won't change my decision regarding who ends up with whom but knowing where my readership stands will help me figure out what to focus on and how to write each relationship as it all goes on. And yes, one of these lovely ladies will become Mrs. Finn Haddock while Adrianna will either take on the surname of Anderson or Larson. I have no plans to spring a third person on you all. It's more fun to keep you guessing! So please let me know!
~KateMarie999
P.S. If anyone interested in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I'd love to know your types and what types you think the characters are, canon ones included, because I am low on people to talk about this with and even fewer people are willing to talk about How to Train Your Dragon in relation to it. For anyone who is wondering, both Emily and I are ENFPs.