-Chapter: XV-
-Prick us do we not Bleed-
`The story that Toothless recalled to me is breathtaking, even if it is just a simple story. Somehow though, I get the feeling that there is more to it than what he told me. Oh but how I can relive it. I can somehow recall every detail that he spoke to me. Every word clearly, every image with clarity. Somehow the story is ingrained into my mind, a part of me but not at the same time. It keeps me up sometimes, due in part explaining why I am writing furiously in this leather-bound, iron-clasped, parchment filled book.
Even if I can recall every detail, I still want to write it down.
'There was a time long ago...
...All Dragon Kind share likeness of spirit. We are all intertwined.'
`He never did give me the name of it though. I shall call it, the "Rule of Two". A shame I can't put the incredible images into this book. The way they moved with the words was incredible.
As much as I want to know more, I still feel uneasy with him being so able to speak to me. His words were careful, they were true in meaning. He spoke to me.
A dragon.
My mind is swimming with questions. I feel as though I might drown in my own curiosity.
The sky is calm tonight. A drafty window offers a wonderful view of the almost always cloudy sky and the rising sun beyond...
`Dew laden leaves glistened with an shimmering glow in the early morning air. A sharp breeze cracked through a golden red crown atop a proud Oak in a patchy clearing on the peaceful island of 'Berk'.
Peaceful, if it wasn't for the sharp cracks and tumbling of leaves and branches that echoed down an inexistent path through a forest.
Peaceful, if it wasn't for the muffled cries of a young boy being chased by an illusive predator.
'Get to the tree! Get to the tree! Get to the tree!'
Hiccup sang out a mantra to erge him on to victory. His assailant was not far behind, or not far ahead. He didn't really know where he was, only that the Great One, a large dominating Oak tree, not 20 meters ahead, was his goal.
`Toothless, as eager as he was to greet him this morning, had devised a most cunning of plans for poor Hiccup. He couldn't help but feel a tad guilty that his previous words of working together had worked all too well.
The most regal Night Fury, that somehow had the power of speaking through his mind, had lured Hiccup into an unknown area of the southern side of the island. Only a small portion of the forests and cliffs west and east of the village were known in maps and the likes. This left a greater portion of the island, maybe 80 percent, completely untouched by the humans. Just as it so happens to be, Toothless knew the greater portion of Berk quite well. Enough to be able to fill-in any respectable chart or map in the village.
That is not what made Hiccup wish to run to a big tree in the middle of a forest however.
Toothless, the ever present source of wisdom and wonder, vast knowings of a world far beyond the horizon. A veritable 'Fountain-of-Knowledge', had somehow coaxed young Hiccup into a simple game.
A game with no rules. No guidelines. No law.
A simple game of Run, and Hide, and Run-Again. Hiccup didn't know if this was a game meant only for dragons, or if Toothless was just taunting him. Every time he would weave around a tree, he could hear light snickering from a bush nearby, or he would be passed over by a shadow.
"Toothless! What kind of game is this?" Hiccup lauched himself at the forks in a trees roots, shouting over his ragged breathing. A liquid voice flowed over him as he tried to catch his breath.
"Simple. One Runs. One Catches." Hiccup still hasn't gotten used to his method of speech, even if it opened a portal to an entire world of information, information that he naturally craved.
"There has to be more to it than that!" Toothless neglected to tell Hiccup much about what he was supposed to do. Every time he would call out, he would be replied to with the same message.
"You just said. 'Tree, Great One. Run to it.' How is that enough!" Hiccup could see the shimmering leaves of said Oak over his left shoulder. It was just in the center of a large clearing. There were slightly thicker brambles at the edge of the tree-line, but other than that; clear shot.
"It is enough for me." The quick remark was followed by the sound of a light chuckle over Hiccup's head. He didn't dare look up, knowing full well the face that taunted him.
`When Hiccup had stopped near the forest before the race began, Toothless had been acting with a slight giddy feeling. He wouldn't stop smiling ever since Hiccup helped him climb out of the crevice he had been stuck in. Hiccup had been worried at first. Worried that Toothless might make a run for the hills and never come back.
All those worries vanished when Toothless gave an honest thank you to Hiccup, promising him that their friendship won't be neglected.
Despite the resounding atmosphere of happiness, Hiccup still felt uneasy with Toothless being so predominantly excited about the event. He could understand why Toothless would be excited upon leaving his unnatural prison, but as they duo approached closer and closer to a forest, Toothless' goofy grin and excited behaviour only increased. Eventually, Hiccup grew tired of the silence of asked a very important question.
The resulting question ended up with Toothless' grin changing to a mischievous grin and the words of running, catching and finding a 'Great One'. All before launching at a confused boy.
`All poor Hiccup was able to do was recollect on the reason of why he was currently trapped under the paws of a dragon, and why he had allowed his friend to chase him through the woods, only to stop him when he was not a yard away from his goal.
"You're squishing me." Hiccup couldn't even budge from under the precise hold Toothless had over him. He felt compromised, with his lack of movement. He was surprised when he managed a few pitiful words from his withheld lungs.
"I win!" With a start, Toothless jumped off Hiccup and set himself down in the shade of the Oak tree, beaming about his obvious and inevitable victory. Hiccup heaved himself not so startlingly from the leaf covered ground, trailing a few twigs and stems with him as they fell back down.
"I would think so. You're a dragon! You challenged me to a race through a forest! Of course you would win!" Hiccup felt more than defeated. He felt trampled. It was not unlike the taunts he would get from Snotlout every time they would be forced to play together in the annual 'ThawFest' festival. This was a new low.
Toothless eyed the boy carefully, "Then why run through the forest, if the goal will be impossible to get?"
Hiccup sat himself next his friend in a nook between two aged roots, idly tracing the twisting patterns of grains with his index finger. "I don't know. Everything happened so fast, so I just kept running." Hiccup was not in the mood for another one of Toothless special 'talk-times'. Those were reserved for dreams.
"More than once did you question why you were running. So, why did you run?" Hiccup wouldn't be getting out of this one easily.
"I don't know. I was just confused about what I was supposed to do. You just said to run and not get caught, so I ran and...tried to not get caught." Hiccups finger had traced further around the roots.
"Hiccup-" The boy in question flinched slightly when his name was uttered. He has never been called by name without being followed by scolding jabs.
"Hiccup, I place blame on myself." Again, Hiccup flinched slightly, only, with different reasons.
"When I spoke of it as a game, I was only speaking for you." Hiccup's finger stopped its progress of mapping out the intricacies of tree roots.
"In truth, I wanted to play this 'game' because I, wanted to know something. To find out something." He looked over at the boy who was now staring mildly confused at the dragon.
"I wanted to see how you would react."
"React?"Hiccup had finally found his voice again, if only laced with a questioning air.
"Yes. React to unbeatable foes; how you would react when given a goal that you 'knew' you could never reach."
"Are you saying, that this whole incident was a 'test'? For me?" Hiccup didn't know whether to be confused, or simply angry with his friend. Angry seemed only mildly easier to achieve.
Toothless surveyed the question thoughtfully, knowing that the wrong answer might make be taken the wrong way. He could not stall any longer; Hiccup was growing impatient.
"Maybe."
Hiccup of course took it the wrong way. "Oh you..." He dropped his accusing finger in defeat, he couldn't stay mad at that face. He could always look at that face and immediately feel better about whatever situation he was in. "Why do you have to keep making that face. I'm supposed to be angry with you."
Toothless let a small grin crease his jaws.
The young boy pulled himself onto his feet, shaking off the dead leaves that clung to his tunic, Toothless following in pursuit. "We should probably head back, I've got work to do and people to explain an absence towards."
`The trampled path made light work of the duo's return trip through the forest. It was quiet, even in the dead of Autumn did the world slow to a crawl. Toothless had taken to a form of silence for the trip, until they rimmed the cove. Hiccup settled into Toothless' saddle as he glided in for a bumpy landing. Sliding off, Hiccup un-strapped the saddle and began making his way to the fin, only to be stopped by a swift tail moving away.
"Toothless? I need to take off the fin. Stay still." Hiccup spoke out in question.
Toothless finally obliged and sat still, shuffling under his hide as Hiccup worked hastily on the buckles. With a soft *tink* of metal dropping, the fin flopped onto the ground, free from the now swaying appendage. "See, not so hard now is it. Useless reptile..." Hiccup teased as Toothless torched a patch of grass, turning green to grey before settling down.
Hiccup cast his eyes skyward before frowning sadly.
"I need to go Toothless."
"Must you though?"
"Well, if I get back before sundown, I can gather the materials I need and see to getting this saddle and fin situation down. To that, I need the cover of darkness."
"Well, I expect a basket of fish upon your return when the Great Flame rises again." Hiccup looked over with intrigue at the dragons terms.
"Great Flame? Rises again? I think we have a term for that. We call it Dawn."
"Dawn?"
"Yes, when the sun, the 'Great Flame'-" Hiccup gestured with his fingers at the fiery ball in the sky, "-when the Great Flame rises out of the sea, or land." Toothless looked equally intrigued in the terminology being shared.
"Sun..." The word seemed to be tested by the dragon, perhaps in thoughtful interest, "Seems far simpler than 'Great Flame', in its own way."
"Well don't let me switch your own special terms and phrases. I'll see you..."
"When the 'Sun' rises again." Toothless finished with his mixed tongue, eliciting a smirk from the boy.
`Hiccup thanked his father for having brought so many of the hunters and gatherers with him for his latest hunting trip. It really emptied the village, enough so to make Hiccups work in the night that much easier. Why Gobber was not busy with the blades and cutting tools that needed tempering and annealing, he would not know. Normally, the burly man would work later in the night with the pieces that needed a specific heat but lately he seemed to be missing. Hiccup wouldn't bother to question why, after all, that meant more seclusion for himself.
He found that sitting on top the saddle would not give him access to the fin to control it. That meant needing to make a connection with the fin and saddle so that he was able to control it. He poured over his drawings and sketches looking for something that might work. Nothing popped out at him in his stupor unfortunately. This meant for taking a blind leap.
`The night churned on as the bellows turning out frothing blasts of air. The yellow chunks of burning coke mixed with the rhythmic beating of a hammer gave a unique glaze of pure workmanship in the forge. The stitched leather wrappings and riveted cables looked otherworldly in comparison to the usual in the to-do list.
With a time an issue, Hiccup could only work on so much at the time. He knew what he had to make, the issue was making it. He had never attempted something like this in all his years as an apprentice with Gobber. Despite his unique skill in understanding the mechanics behind something, this was still beyond anything conceived.
How else would he behave when trying to make a saddle, harness, cable connection and hook strap for a flying, fire-breathing reptilian companion? Some could say he was taking it in stride.
Near enough to twilight, Hiccup finally trudged up the hill to home with his baggage in tow. He pilfered a basket of fish form the storehouse, making sure to check for eel, before turning in for the night.
He never felt more tired in his whole life. Despite the pact of meeting at Dragon Gorge at dawn, Hiccup knew he wouldn't make the trip through the forest without collapsing first. Toothless would understand, even if the other never does.
He never felt happier to let sleep take him.
The sun had already broken past the horizon long before Hiccup shifted in his sleep, easing into waking up despite the now rising sounds of a Village life echoing from outside.
He groggily shook his head to clear himself of drowsiness, afterwards; making his gear in order and trudging off into the woods. He couldn't care less that he was skipping Dragon Training. They knew nothing, nor were they learning anything with the time in that damned Ring.
Despite his baggage, the walk was quite soothing for young Hiccup. His feet carried him without needing to check the surroundings and in what seemed to be no time at all he was already plopping a basket of slimy fish on the ground for a hungry dragon to land upon.
"We really need to start gathering our own food. I can't keep taking baskets of fish from the storehouse." Toothless was too busy to reply to the boy's self-reflection. The fish was good, and it was there.
For the rest of the day, the boy and dragon spent the time talking about how the saddle and steering system would work. They eventually fell upon a rhythm of sorts. Hiccup would take out his journal and leave as many notes as possible, while Toothless would speak of what went and what stayed.
`With a significant lack of resources to continue work on flying situation, and with Hiccup feeling satisfied with what he has accomplished, the two sat down next to fresh campfire and began telling stories of their lives. Hiccup couldn't believe that Toothless was telling of a world that was round. A round world! A sphere! Apparently Night Fury's live a nomads life, traveling the world and finding new places. Isolation being key. He seemed to leave out any mention of his life as a young dragon though. He wouldn't pry, he was glad enough to be able to simply sit down and enjoy the evening with some one who cares for him. Toothless neglected to share any stories of other dragon kind however, much like he did with the 'Rule of Two'.
Hiccup couldn't nearly share as many fascinating stories as Toothless, though. Despite the boy's protest, Toothless somehow got Hiccup into sharing one of the stories of how one day he set his dads beard on fire, causing the man to knock half the house down in a fit to get to water. Of course Toothless believed it to have been on purpose, even if Hiccup told other wise.
`With the last of the fish supply gone, and the sun setting down, an air of comfort descended upon the two. Elongated treetops enveloped the gorge with a protective embrace just as Toothless draped a leathery wing over the boys frail form. Hiccup made to move out of the embrace but was forced to move closer to the dragon.
The silence was broken not with tongue but by only the crackle of a red pit of flame, and the echos of the breeze shuffling the tree tops.
Peace, on an island occupied by monsters.
"Toothless?" Said dragon shifted to face the boy. Hiccup twiddled his thumbs in wonder of how he would ask his best friend a serious question. No one said dragons were patient as Toothless nudged the boy to get on with it. "I don't know how to ask this."
"Then ask anyway." Of course he would be so simple about it.
"All right, what was it like for you? When you were young?" Hiccup blurted out the question in a half-stutter. The question had been on his mind recently.
"When we were sharing our stories together, you never mentioned your life when you were young. I don't know if it's a touchy subject or something. That's why I didn't know how to ask you."
Hiccup felt far more tense now than he did before. When he had raised the question of youth, Toothless had shifted his gaze back to the crackling flames.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" His voice was interrupted by the dragons cutting in.
"You should not apologize. I have been shutting myself off from the past for far too long. It is my fault that I have been avoiding the topic. It is not something I like to relive." Hiccup shifted uneasily, feeling somewhat responsible for the change in mood.
"Do you want to talk about it? I'm right here." Toothless pawed at the ground with idle focus. He was avoiding it again. "Toothless. If it's troubling you that much, then you need to let it out."
Toothless looked back at the boy with a slight smirk.
"Look at you, giving the dragon a sentimental speech.."
"Yeah? Well, it rubs off from time to time." Toothless kept his smirk. "Now, let's talk about your youth."
Toothless' head hit the ground with a groan, much to Hiccups' dissatisfaction.
"Come on, you're not getting off that easily."
"Fine. Come here." Hiccup moved closer, glad that he had won out over the dragons stubbornness. He positioned himself facing Toothless with the fire to the boys left. His legs were crossed in his universal 'listening' posture. Toothless let out a long-held breath and visibly relaxed under the fire-light. His gaze fell upon Hiccups own as the boy felt compelled to do the same. He himself relaxed and let the images and feelings wash over him as Toothless regaled his story of his hatchling life.
-Two Night Fury's took graceful pose at a cliff ledge. Both stared safely into the horizon that consumed a burning sun.-
"Those who protect and care for the ones they give to the world. My loving Guardians."
-The images shifted and mixed with that of a group of what appeared to be baby Night Fury's, each one scampering on the wet stone floor of a sea cave. Ocean spray made the walls sparkle in the gathering moonlight.-
"Ones of Family and Kin. Those who would come into this world with me together."
-A feeling of love descended upon the scene as a Night Fury mother caressed her young.-
"Love and care are so easily found, and just so easily lost."
-A flurry of images retaining a sense of care passed by as images of hunting, and teaching fell into place.-
"Knowledge stays with those who keep it. Knowledge flows with those who pass it on."
-As the sky darkened, so did the mood. A great trembling echoed through the vision.-
"Peace is only a part of what makes life what it is."
-Just as quickly the rumbling came, so did the Guardian Night Fury's to protect their young.-
"So young, so little, so weak. Defencless, but with so great a help, they are safe."
-Mounds of dirt and grass began appearing and reappearing. The very earth was pulsing.-
"Some do not believe in the peace. Some see only what is and isn't."
-A vicious pack of tunneling dragons converged on the sea cave. Intent to kill clear in their smoky eyes.-
"A Family with love is the most dangerous Family to face."
-Waves crashed against a silent shore. Mist parted to reveal a dark entrance to a sea cave.-
"Night was always supposed to be a time of joy for us."
-A single baby Night Fury wandered in the dark, yellow iris' darted back and forth from the walls with worry.-
"Darkness was supposed to be my ally. It was supposed to protect me, hide me."
-A large Night Fury rested against the side wall. Streaks of tacky, crimson blood hid the life-sucking wounds that cross her flank.-
"Dragons inevitably leave the nest at some point in their lives. I couldn't even say goodbye as my home was ripped from my claws. My Guardians."
-The baby dragon nuzzled his mother, hoping to wake her from her slumber. To ask her to help him rid the nightmare from his mind.-
"My Mother. My Father. My Brothers. My Sisters."
-The baby turned and fled from the scene, leaving dark shapes to sleep in the misty tomb.-
"My Kin."
-The lone Night Fury hatchling took off into the darkness of the forest, leaving a quiet, wave-crashed cliff face to howl with the silent winds in the dead of night. No wolves howled to the moons teary form. Only the wind. A steady and deathly chill that sliced through the crimson blades of grass.-
`Hiccup regained his feelings of his surroundings, only to feel a dampness on his cheeks. He brushed his wrist across his face to feel a wet droplet of water cling to his hand. He looked up at Toothless in question. The dragon was turned away, not wishing the boy to see his face. Dragons do not cry. They are monsters. They burn and kill. The weep not for death, but entice it. They are demons leaked from Muspelheim. They have no feelings. They don't cry. Crying is for the weak. It can only show pain. Pain was something dragons did not possess. They could never possess it. They could never be a being that felt pain.
...but words and beliefs can never tell away what the salt in the watery eyes do tell to every soul. No words can right the wrongs done to any living being. No assumptions can hide something as strong as a tear from those who recognize the curtain it represents. As curtains are drawn, as all the world is a stage to the players of all the acts, as life pulls the marionettes strings and pluck the chords that bind the living together, all the world is the play of life to the audience that lives it. Life is but a shadow, a form of smoke and daggers that pulls and pushes with ferocity only matched by the moon. Life is a cycle of the living and the dying. Life dances with Death...
Hiccup took his brother in his hands, and placed his forehead upon the other. No words could describe what he was feeling, nor would he try to. Toothless needed a friend to sit with him and help carry the burdens of a death-ridden past on the shoulders.
Suffering became beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. Death was something that separated people, but it can also bring new heat to the embers of life. All it takes is to recognize the point where the ashes of a smoldering pine lay bare across the plain, and plant the seed that grows to the greatest of trees.
That night, as the moon crested it's peak, as the wolves called out and the winds howled on; two brothers shouldered each others pain and carried on...
Where one tree falls, an even greater one will take its place...