-Chapter: XVI-

-Wear Your Heart Upon Your Sleeve-

'I have often written these passages late at night, when the time is right or when I have my book and pen with me. I am writing this passage however in the confines of 'Dragon Gorge', waiting for the sun to rise over the tree-tops so that the day may begin. Today is the day when me and Toothless finally take our first real flight together. The road has been rough. We have both been beaten and bruised from the times when we would fall or tumble. All the times when ropes would snap, or chords would fray, led to this day, where we would put our differences behind us and take to the skies as one.

'I would be lying if I said was not scared, if I was not worried, or anxious, or doubtful of our capacity to work together. There have been times where I would stop and think about what could happen, or what could go wrong. It frightens me, but whenever I feel scared, Toothless always appears beside me to help me carry on. He has helped me so much, in so many ways that I do not deserve. I don't deserve his compassion, his acceptance, his gratitude. He should be furious with me. He should have killed me, but that is what frightens me the most. No one has ever been so compassionate to towards me my whole life, and the first time I understand and accept that compassion, it is from a dragon.

'I would have it no other way...

Toothless is shifting as my pen marks this page. He shifts when he is near to waking. I have noticed that he tends to wake when the sun shines upon his scales. It is true, the shadows are nearly receded now...

"Are you ready?" Hiccup tensed nervously as he sat upon the saddle that held him to his friend. He cast his eyes quickly over Toothless' broad neck to the seas shifting below before quickly moving his gaze back to the head of the dragon. He knew what was coming since he woke up, but nothing, not even Toothless' ever calming and soothing words could keep his composure intact. He was a bundle of nerves since Toothless first flitted his lids open to reveal the yellow orbs that peered across the vast world.

"As always." Toothless took to replying to Hiccups half-questions with his own half-answers. "Remember, the first flight follows the understanding of what is and what isn't. One learns as they live and adapt to that."

"What does that mean?"

"You will understand when you need to understand."

"Well, that's helpful. Here I was, thinking you might give an understandable answer for once."

"Oh quite your yacking and get your foot in place." Hiccup briefly glanced down at the head where the voice emanated from before looking back at the fin connected by a thin rod and series of chords to his small foot in the stirrup. So many things could go wrong, and he would be far far worse for ware than he may dare imagine. Speed may be a problem.

"We're going to take this nice and slow." He took focus on his leather sheet that had six positions marked on it. Each one denoted the required clicking and setting for the various fin movements. First came a gentle, left-side banking maneuver. Followed by a straightening and steadying of the wings and cross-breezes. The coastal winds made steady flight difficult in his new setting as Hiccup glanced back to the fin and tail construction to see everything in order. He had to take the leap. Something to work upon. He looked ahead of their path and saw a great arch resting in the sea. A perfect gate for flying through.

"Okay, here we go. Here we go." He tried steadying himself with his words. His voice catching in his throat as the waves dipped closer and closer when the two pulled into a steep dive, catching on the wind currents while skimming the cresting froth with wing tips after leveling out to a straight path under the great archway. He sensed a wave of glee coming off the dragon beneath him, his mind filling with feelings of happiness and joy. Joy for flying once more. Hiccup was overjoyed with how the dive turned out. The sudden speed and ferocity of the situation made his mind turn into over-drive as he felt the wind whipping past him.

"Yes that worked!"

"Wall!" Toothless called him out of his trance. He nearly missed the sudden spire of rock that appeared in his vision, attempting to glance off it only to impact with a dull thud. "Sorry 'bout that." Hiccup patted the back of Toothless' head before slamming nearly into another rock wall. He slammed back on the stirrup pedal and leveled out to a straight course. He was greeted with a pleasant slap to the head with one of Toothless' ear plates.

"You need to focus. This is different than from the practice sessions."

"Yeah yeah, I'm on it. Position four- uh, three."

Hiccup shifted the pedal into a new place before climbing into steep ascent. The wind buffeted against his cheeks as they soared past the tips of the rock walls and even higher still, over the low-hanging clouds. The entirety of the island lay bare across the vast sea below them as they ruled over the limitless domain of the air. Not a speck of any other beings challenged them as they themselves challenged the law of the world. Not even the constant pull of the world could drag them back down as they cleared the last layer of misty clouds.

"This is amazing!" Hiccup cried out in elation as he first took in the both literally, and metaphorically, the breath-taking expanse of the upper world currently running through his tunic and leggings. Toothless' tongue was lolling out his mouth as he too took in his first real flight in weeks. A dull rumble emanated from within his expansive throat while he beat his wings more furiously, driven with a wild desire to push the limits of the void and climb to the other realms, to touch Yggradsil and weave among the branches, to see things no other has seen before. It is the Wild Flight, a mad lust driven by the tempest of the freedom of flight. A matter of perspective that ends to drive minds crazy with a sickening desire to fly higher and higher.

"Oh this is amazing, the wind in my hair! The world just a blue dot sphere." Hiccup nearly caught himself as he first realized how truly high they were now flying. He tripped over the last word as he began to take in the curved shape of the world below him, taking on a contrasting darkness at the edge of the sky, where air turned to blackness. Then he realized it.

Below him, as Toothless beat furiously, the world curved away under his feet and disappeared past the rounded horizon. All evidence pointed to it. He heard it before. He still couldn't believe it when he saw it. He called out to his friend beneath him who was still driven mad with flight.

"Toothless? Is the world, round?"

"The world really is round, Hiccup." The dragon paused for only a moment in sentence, "...I told of this before, do you believe now?".

Hiccup pushed himself into the shelter of the dragons neck, sending off the quickening ice that was forming on the edges of his limbs. The air was thinning, his wings were icing over, and a trail of vapour receded from his lungs. He barely had the effort to call out in question, but couldn't come to words. The air he pulled in was not enough to sustain breath, let alone thought-in-words.

It turns out he didn't need to worry, for just as the air began to reach a point of breathless-ness, Toothless lurched in his wings and in but a moment, the two were slowly drifting through the void of the pale sky, but only for a moment.

Hiccup had just enough time to worry about what was going to happen before the wind rushed back in shear ferocity as the two plummeted through the air to the oddly slowly approaching blue. As Hiccup now looked, he could see far into the distance of the Barbarian Archipelago, and off in a more northern section was a tiny dot that signified his destination.

They fell from the sky with incredible speed. A blur made of everything around him as Hiccup's eyes watered in the descent, forcing him to seek shelter in the bump of Toothless' head. He didn't know what Toothless was thinking as they fell far and fast to land. The wind was the least of his concerns as he held onto the saddle with white-knuckles. He narrowed his gaze as he fastened his grip.

This was Toothless' idea of fun and it was. Hiccup never felt more alive when the surface sped into recognition, nor did he feel connected with the ground that birthed him. He felt more alive than in any moment of his silly existence. Here in the moment of flight, he was free and alive with a fiery light matched only by the blazing sun that beat upon his cooled skin. He never knew he had it, but when he flew, he was in control. It was in this moment that he understood what Toothless was speaking of before they took off into the void. He was speaking of living. To breath in the moment and know what must be done.

He was talking of instincts, and he shared those instincts with his brother in heart. It was instinct for living, and he was alive. Truly, alive. He thought he found his place in the forge with Gobber when he started training in smithing and tinckering, but that was a small job. It wasn't his life. This was his life.

He cried out in pure wonder as he snapped his fin back and broke into a glancing but leveling turn over the tree-tops, the sound of their own voices could not be heard as they sped faster than could be heard by anyone*. Faint frost, and dead leaves were ripped from their perches as the incredible amount of force behind their passing enveloped the land with a bubble of explosive concussive force. Birds scattered and took flight in the wake of the passing duo of purity. Heads receded into hiding holes as the wave passed over. Prancing game darted into cover in the eddy of sound. A rippling wave of tumbling noise echoed around the valley and the hills as the two beings weaved their way through their a life newly blazed. No rocks stood in their way as they worked as one to fight whatever challenged them. No churning waves of water broke their ever strong path. The world could fight and bite, but they could bite and fight as two for one. Duality for singular nature was the inevitable outcome of spiritual bonds, and the bond was for one with the two souls that now conquered the sky.

Hiccup released his arms to the air and shouted out in elation, in wonder, and in joy. Pure emotions flowed from the two beings as they shouted in unison, as they expressed their emotions in purity to the world that would listen.

Hiccup with his cry, Toothless' with his flame.

Dragons are fireproof, little humans are not...

"Aw, come on..." Hiccup dropped his arms in defeat as he plowed straight through the burning ball of fire that churned in front of him.

Strange things happen when you are friends with a dragon. Even stranger things happen when you form an unbreakable bond of brotherhood with said dragon. Even stranger yet, is when you find yourself at a loss to the situation and what it entails. It is strange to have no footing in your life. You always feel your toes in the dirt or your hands on a tree, but flying free and having no understanding of the situation leaves one clueless.

`A morning spent waking, an afternoon spent flying and bonding, and an evening spent theorizing why a blazing fireball dealt no harm to a young human.

As Hiccup blinked his eyes for the uncountable time since the incident, Toothless lurched up a single, half-eaten fish from his stomach for the still dazed boy to eat. He looked hungry, and the now charring fish held over the small campfire did nothing to sate his growing appetite for knowledge.

Hiccup looked quite the sight to prying eyes. His clothes were charred and sizzled on the frayed edges and linings, his hair was blasted back like he had taken to using a dragons breath as a means to dry his hair, and his face was covered in soot from his singed clothes. A question was most clearly plastered on his face for the duration of the fishing flight and the fire lighting and the sitting and the eating. He hadn't taken a single bite from his meal and his brother may have been getting worried enough to shout in his face, for the third time, for him to look somewhat alive.

A blink may be all he was going to get for the time being. It certainly got the attention of a pack of tiny 'Terrors that had been flying low near the strange setting of beings. Their quick bickering slowly came to ear as Hiccup looked strangely in their direction. The quiet chatter slowed as they realized the human was indeed alive in the Night Fury's presence. This in itself presented an even stranger note for the tiny dragons and their curiosity.

As they landed, the quintet of flying reptiles took to staying a fair distance from the boy, with one sneaking near the 'Fury. Hiccup watched with intrigue as the two dragons, with the 'Fury being the obvious dominator, fought over a shiny trout. He gave a quiet laugh as Toothless spat a tiny flame into the angered 'Terrors throat, puffing the dragon up and launching into the air with a dull squeak of defeat.

His sensibility kicked in as he handed over a half-eaten fish for the hungry dragon to eat, which was eagerly consumed with gusto, before curious eyes laid onto the boy.

"Friend?" The quiet, almost whisper like voice echoed from around the dragon's head just as it did with Toothless. It was almost like the voice emanated from the dragons head, but sounded only in his mind. He still was not so used to it, but the quiet voice from his new friend shook any worries and he gladly accepted the title of Friend from the little dragon.

"Yes, Friend." He spoke the word softly, to show honesty and clear understanding. Looks like he had a new friend after all. If only it were so easy for humans.

The little dragon immediately took to curling himself up beside Hiccup, making to be away from the big mean dragon that didn't share. Unlike some people, Hiccup would share, and that made him all the friends he would need. "Do you have a name, my little friend?" The dragon in question perked up, and shook his round head. Hiccup looked over at Toothless who was eyeing him flatly.

"What? You never gave me your name. I had to give you one."

"Could have asked..." The voice trailed off in what could have been trailing off for voices of the mind. The regal Night Fury took to continuing on the pile of fish so eagerly waiting for his attention, ignoring the look on Hiccup's face.

Hiccup turned his attention back the tiny 'Terror on his side before looking into the sunset with determination. He was good with names, after all, he had one of the most fearsome and terrifying names anyone could have. He had to be a natural at, that is why, when he looked back at the wondering dragon by his side, he gave him a mighty name.

"...'Puff. That can be your name. Puff." He popped the name, blowing out the end with dignity that could only be birthed from understanding what names mean.

The dragon however, took, no matter the name, with gusto and happily chirped his delight in having a name at all.

"Puph...Pu-ff...Puff." He sounded out the various portions and looked up at the human with glee.

Hiccup looked between Toothless, who had nearly choked on a cod when he spoke out, and 'Puff, before looking back over the sunset and happily closed his eyes, letting the gentle crash of waves sooth his churning soul. He could lay here, and question things that happen, as he usually does, or he could simply let himself be free and tackle life as it occurs. He doesn't need to dwell on the past as the past has already happened. What happens in the moment is what drives his need to understand and to realize things.

He can make new friends, he can discover whole new plains of knowledge and wisdom. He can be free and become a true brother to someone who needed it. He could do so much and he would aspire to find out who he is and what he wants.

Right now, he wants to enjoy life and all its glories. One of those glories is a nice and gentle sleep on the sand of a distance beach, away from prying eyes and questioning suspicions. Sleep could never be more amazing...

The title "Wear Your Heart Upon Your Sleeve", meaning to display ones emotions openly, is a term often thought to derive from age-old jousting matches, where the competitors would where the colours and ribbons of the women the supported on their sleeves.

It was first recorded openly in Shakespeare's play, Othello, in 1604.

*as they sped faster than could be heard by anyone* : Clarification being that I am trying to convey the point where they traveled faster than sound, and created a sonic boom/shockwave. I don't want to use more 'modern' words for things like this.