-Chapter: VII-

-Curious-

`Gobber had sent me off. He thought my current state would make me useless in the shop, so he sent me off to do what I wanted. I couldn't keep my mind off the events past Raven Point. I had to go back. I had to see what I thought I did. Nothing else at that point mattered as much as that dragon. One would say I had a serious case of curiosity...

The sun was casting fleeting rays down the shaking leaves of a forest as a small boy trudged along. It was Noontide, the sun was high in the sky and birds were singing along the wind. Hiccup couldn't keep his mind off it. His thoughts continued to plague his every moment. Constant reminders of what happened here pushed into his skull like a dagger. He had returned to the very spot where he had freed the trapped Night Fury. The very spot where his life took a new direction.

"This is it." He bent down to pick up one of the stones that had pieces of rope attached to it. Those ropes once held firm, his future with his village, with his father; but he let it all go. He let his best chance to be redeemed for all his misfortunes. His best chance at being the son his father always wanted. So why did he let it all go? Why did he let it go? His thoughts traced back to those eyes. Constantly, those eyes. Then he remembered the words Gobber kept repeating.

'...always, always, go for the kill...'

"So why didn't you?" He asked both himself, and the dragon. Why be sparred? Why let the being live? He had so many questions and so little answers.

Hiccup continued to walk forward, in the direction the dragon moved when he last saw it. He didn't know what would happen if he found it again. Would it kill him this time? Would he even find it again? The only time anyone saw a Night Fury was because it was tangled in ropes. His own work, and he couldn't pull a bola-launcher out of his vest just like that.

Hiccup was moving along a winding series of mossy stones when a terrible roar rolled over him. He froze in place not daring to move in fear of being attacked. 'What was that?' His thoughts traced back to the dragon that was here, in these trees, before. Was it here? Another screech broke the silence. This was a screech of agony, not of stalking ones prey. Hiccup dared to look around the forest. No sign of movement broke the trees. No sign of a great big, black dragon rumbling through. Where was it coming from? Another roar rolled past. He started in the direction it came from.

Great. His path was blocked by a wall of boulders and trees. The roars were coming from the other side, and they were close. Hiccup searched the surrounding area for any way past, when he came across a narrow gap between two large boulders. A tree root was breaking through, spanning the gap.

He looked around. The wall of trees and boulders sheltered a rather pristine gorge in the ground. A massive tree was growing against the far side, with a large pond expanding across the far right side, fed by a waterfall. A small section of dry land was on the left side, with a few rocks and trees laid loose. He looked down at his feet for any way down when his gaze came across a few small, black stones. He picked on up in his fingers. They were smooth, and thinner than any shale or slate he's known. They also had a deep black shade to them. Blacker than pitch*. They also didn't seem to reflect the sunlight, like they just absorbed all light that hit them. Then it hit him.

Night Fury scales...

His heart started to race as his mind and body caught up to each other. It was then that another terrible screech sounded from within the gorge. His eyes scanned the surrounding area for what caused it, when suddenly, a massive shape swooped past him and started clawing at the cliff to his right.

Hiccup only had a second to take in the large head that was desperately trying to get up. 'It's trying to get me!' Then his technical mind kicked in. He saw the true desperation. It was trying to escape. Then, as soon as it appeared, the dragon left the cliff and glided down to the dirt below, evidently tired from it's failed escape attempt. Hiccup couldn't help but admire the great beast before him. He felt his breath getting faster as he moved down to a more open rock ledge.

He pulled out his notebook. He didn't go anywhere without it. It was a rough sketch, but Hiccup managed to produce a reasonable picture of the dragons shape. It was oddly smooth, unlike many other species before. The Night Fury was clearly built for flying with speed and ferocity. To be unmatched in the air. It had a set of bat-like wings that spanned over 12 meters. It had two extra sets of wings, one small pair, set at the rear-base of it's large wings. Another pair of fins were tipping it's tail. The body itself was shaped with resemblance to an Otter. Long and streamlined, but still strong and muscular. It's entire body and tail length was tipped with spines that stood up on it's back. They weren't long and menacing like a 'Nightmares but were more stubby and short. Everything about this creature spoke of being powerful, and meant to being feared.

Yet, even here, in a situation of complete, unmatched vulnerability, Hiccup didn't feel fear. For once in his life, when starring at a dragon, he didn't feel fear. Yes, he could quickly move out of the crevice he was in and get back to town, but what if the dragon escaped if it spotted him? The dragon could easily outmaneuver him in a foot race. If this dragon wanted him dead, he would be dead. He continued to watch the dragon as it prepared to fly out. He watched as it flopped uselessly in the air as it reached for the cliff ledge on the far side. That's when he noticed it, the dragon was missing a tail fin. Hiccup back to his sketch to see that he had drawn two tail fins when the dragon before him had only one. One on his right. Not one on his left. 'Thats why it couldn't fly away. It couldn't fly at all. It's stuck here. In this gorge.' He noted that, while the dragon lacked flight, it could still glide relatively short distances.

He hadn't noticed however as the stick he was using to draw with, slipped from his grasp and bounced off the rocks below, before landing in the grass, with a soft clink.

He did notice, however, the dragon stare back from the pond to the noise. The dragon lifted it's head and took in the sight of the small boy, sitting on the rocks, high up. Hiccup didn't know why, but he didn't actually feel any fear when the dragon took notice of him. He actually was more curious than he was before. That same curiosity, he could see reflected back when the dragon tilted it's head to get a better look at the foreign observer.

Two sets of eyes, locked on each other. Both in wonder as to the other.

The two just stared at each other. The dragon sat back, knowing the boy was in no position to be of a threat. The boy sat back, knowing the dragon wasn't going to attack him outright. He didn't have another stick to continue drawing with, so he just took to taking in the sight before him with his eyes.

The air was starting to cool down. The sun was past it's highest point as it was crossing down across the sky, rays of light barely breaking past the crowns of the trees surrounding the two beings. Hiccup was the first to break from the trance that had occurred. He noted the height of the sun and how it was starting to descend. He had to get back to the village soon. He heard a slight rumbling come from beyond the mountains. It wasn't like a dragons roar.

Thunder. Hiccup actually like thunderstorms, but that didn't stop the fact that walking through the forest when it was raining was not the best idea. In addition, he didn't have on any thicker clothes. He just had his normal green tunic with fur vest, and trousers.

He was the first to move. He lifted himself from his rear with a slight pain. 'How long was I sitting here?' His feet were asleep, so that made the effort even more unbearable. What was even more astounding was that the dragon that was still staring at him, started to move as well. It had lifted itself from the ground and was padding over to a collection of boulders that stood near the edge of the far cliff. It wasn't going any closer for sure. He watched as it disappeared past the rocks after it cast one more look back at the boy on the cliff.

"I ought to be starting back now, Gobber wants the class to be at the 'Hall by Nighttide." He reminded himself of why he had to leave. He actually enjoyed the company the dragon gave him. Even if it was limited to just being in the relative presence of the beast, it was still unlike anything he had felt before. He felt connected with it somehow. He could not quite explain it. Then he remembered the rest of the class. The rest of the class that would not think once about sharing in this feeling. The rest of the class that would actually enjoy killing that dragon. It made scowl in anger at their position. He set his mind to leaving, casting off any feelings he had towards the others. He needed to hurry back.

*pitch* = A sticky substance used in the sealing of wooden boat hulls. Extremely dark, and black objects are often referred to as being 'pitch-black' or 'black as pitch'