Not Made of Stone Chapter 2 – The next morning
(Narrator following Stone)
Stone awoke in her own bed feeling completely disoriented. The last she remembered, she had left her mentor's office and fallen asleep on the ground alone. How was she in her house? Was that entire day just some crazy, bad-fish induced dream?
She glanced down at herself and decided.
'No, it wasn't a dream. Dreams can't give you actual wounds' she concluded, rubbing at her stitches through the bandages. Stone then turned and looked out her window and groaned. The position of the moon said it was about 2AM. That was the fifth night in a row that she had woken up at 2AM.
Knowing that she wasn't going to be falling asleep again anytime soon, she stood and lit the candle that she had put on her nightstand. Her room was basically furnished, with a simple bed, bookcase, nightstand, and desk. Her desk and its surrounding area were covered in little splats and smears of paint and were littered with blank shields and sails. Aside from her apprenticeship with Ms. Heinrickson (or Mole as Stone was allowed to call her), Stone worked as the village painter. Yes, 16 was a little young to be the village painter, but that didn't stop her. The old village painter had died in the battle of the Green Death so Stone had plenty of work cut out for her, with all the new houses and stables being built and the need for new, unburned shields and sails. Almost every extra moment she had she was painting, weather it was new houses or shields in the little cave she had discovered. But not today. Stone wasn't bursting with new ideas like she usually was.
Instead of sitting around her room, she got dressed in a new pair of brown jeans that had a cut that she had sewn shut in them, and a new, long sleeved, light brown, shirt that covered her hands and had a furry hood. After she was dressed, Stone walked down the stairs and out the door out of her empty house. All of the older generation of men, including her brother who was her only family, had gone out on a hunting mission on one of the father islands. She walked aimlessly though the sleeping village and was thankful that no one was around to bother her.
As she walked she thought about what would happen later that day. Yes she'd get to hang out with Hiccup and get the plant, but he expected her to pick a dragon and to ride Toothless. It was a very big problem seeing as Stone was terrified of dragons. Before dragons were the Vikings' friends, which they had been for about 2 months, a wild dragon had burned her parents alive, killing them right in front of Stone, and burned Stone's hands. Her hands still held marks and signs of the long-past burns but they didn't hurt unless she thought about them. The death of her parents and the temporary handicap she had gone through had her traumatized whenever she was confronted by a dragon.
Suddenly, she heard a muffled scream and realized she was standing in front of Hiccup's house. Without hesitating, Stone opened the door and entered the chief's house. She was momentarily at awe from all the stone in the house but snapped out of it when another muffled scream reached her ears. She scanned the moon lit room until she saw Hiccup squirming in his bed, face pressed into a pillow, screaming. Stone quickly crossed the room to him, lighting a candle on the way there.
Hiccup had one arm holding his pillow in place over his face, the other gripping his stump around his metal leg. Stone sighed and began to wrestle with the straps connected his fake leg to him.
"I knew you were in more pain then you let on. This is what happens when you bottle it up inside," Stone mumbled to Hiccup, even though she knew perfectly well that he couldn't hear her. After she got metal monstrosity off she began to look for something she could use to substitute medical supplies. She looked around her until she found a canteen full of water and a clean sock.
After damping the sock, she sponged his stump off, causing his screams to decrease in volume, but only slightly. Then Stone removed one of the extra bandages encasing her middle and wrapped the stump, causing his screams to decrease more. After she was sure the bandages was secure, Stone picked Hiccup's weak body up and enveloped him in a hug. His pillow had fallen so Hiccup was screaming right in her ear, but Stone didn't care. She rocked back and forth slightly, keeping her arms gentile but tight around him.
After a few minutes his screams stopped entirely and he opened his eyes. Stone released him and carefully pushed him back into his pillows.
"Thanks," he mumbled awkwardly before looking to his other side, "oh hey Toothless, did you come to help me to?"
Stone froze, not daring to look over to the dragon that had no doubt been watching her the entire time.
"I-I-I'll s-see you l-later!" she stuttered before bolting out the door and slamming it shut behind her. She ran down the hill his house was on, through the forest, jumped over a skinny river and into a cave at the base of a mountain. It was a small uninhabited cave that held a fire pit, some of Stone's paints and black shields, a pack of food, and some wool blankets that she had arranged as a small bed. Stone quickly used some coal to strike up a fire before she collapsed onto the blankets, panting heavily.
'I can't let Hiccup help me. He and Toothless are a package deal. I'll just avoid him and he'll hopefully just forget about me.' All of her hopes were dashed when she heard wings outside the cave. He had followed her-again!
Stone sat up and turned to face the opening of the cave. Toothless landed with Hiccup on his back and began to walking in; causing Stone to stiffen with each step the Night Fury took.
"Are you a stalker or something?" Stone grumbled quietly.
"Why'd you run away from me?" Hiccup asked. If he'd heard her comment he chose to ignore it. Stone couldn't stand to look in his direction and averted her eyes to the caves ceiling. She remained silent.
"C'mon Stone, please answer me. And god's dang it Look At Me!" His sudden change in tone shocked Stone but she still didn't look over.
"It's not you that I'm not looking at Hiccup," Stone responded honestly.
"That can't be true," he snapped. "The only other creature here is Toothless!" Stone turned away and nodded.
"..You're afraid of Toothless?!" he gasped.
"I'm afraid of all dragons" she napped back at him. "So if you wouldn't mind can you and your huge dragon leave before I have a mental breakdown?!!" Stone didn't hear the sounds of a dragon leaving like she wanted. She heard to soft thump of his boot and the clang of his metal foot of the cave ground as he slid off Toothless.
"Wait outside buddy," he said to Toothless as he hobbled toward her. Stone began to relax as she heard the dragon's footsteps fade away but she still refused to look over, instead she stared down at her scarred hands. Hiccup hobbled across the room and sat next to her on the side she would look in. Before Hiccup could get a word out, Stone cut in.
"Your mom died in her sleep right?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue. A confused look crossed Hiccup's face but he nodded.
"It's a luxury isn't it? To know that she wasn't in any pain as she died," she looked up from her hands to stare into Hiccups face with a pained expression.
"A lot of people don't get that luxury. I certainly didn't. My parents died, screaming in pain, right in front of me. A wild dragon burned them to death in one go. It burned me also and made me a temporary handicap but it was nothing compared to being left alone."
"But don't you have-"
"An older brother?" she finished his sentence. "Yes I have a brother. But when he's not on hunting tips he's exploring the new worlds. All I have are my paints and my best friend Thistle."
"Thistle…That rings a bell. Do I know her?" Stone's pained expression turned into an extremely angry glare. She crossed her arms across her chest and let out an irritated hmph.
"You'd better know her. She's just the best friend you dumped all those years ago." Hiccup flushed slightly. He remembered leaving a friend once when he was little but he couldn't remember her name until now.
"Well if you're going to hang around me you're going to see her at least once. Better get your stories straight." At that moment Hiccup was spared from Stone's lecturing by her stomach growling. She crossed the cave and kneeled down by her pack, yawning.
"Want some fruit?"
"..Sure…" Hiccup mumbled. Stone turned and crossed the room, sitting on the opposite side of Hiccup instead of where she had before. She hadn't sat for more then half a second before she hopped up, pulling an axe out from under the blanket. She liked over at Hiccup, and blushed at his shocked and confused face. She simply shrugged and sat down again, setting the axe beside her on the cave floor. Stone handed Hiccup a banana before peeling her own and taking a bite.
Stone turned toward the entrance of the cave when she heard the thump of a dragons feet landing and an all too familiar squeal. When Toothless appeared in the firelight carrying a struggling Thistle in his mouth Stone lost it. It was too much to see her best friend dangling in the mouth of a huge monster. She released a battle cry and grabbed her axe, charging at the dragon within seconds.
(Narrator following Thistle)
The chilly night wafted around the fragile form slipping from the wooden home closest to the edge of the cliffs of Berk. The huge, round moon loomed against the blue-black sky dotted with pinpricks of light, and the faint smell of freezing water blending with salt and grass ribboned through the air. The open, vivid scene reminded the tiny Thistle of a dragon, spreading its darkened wings over the rolling seas and hard, cold ground. Its great white eye closed and opened slowly over the month, keeping a close watch on the humans beneath its wings, and the sun often caught its brilliant scales, only revealing them at night – thousands of little lights providing illumination even when the eye had closed.
Tonight, the dragon slept peacefully. He didn't flap his giant wings to stir up clouds and boil the waters and bring down the heavens upon them. Thistle was thankful for that – because tonight was another night where she couldn't sleep for pure excitement. There was a chance that tonight, she would see Touch.
Even though dragons no longer attacked the shores of Berk, the occasional one would fly by to terrorize the village. This was either a dragon who hadn't gotten the message that the Vikings were now peaceful friends, or it was one of the few dragons who hadn't acquiesced to being a 'pet' and insisted on keeping their independence. They did attack the sheep, but never any of the humans, and never let anyone near them in an effort to train them. But they certainly kept Berk from completely letting its guard down when it came to dragons.
One particular dragon – another Night Fury – had caught Thistle Snapvine's attention. While Deadly Nadders were funny and brave and Hideous Zipplebacks were resourceful and cunning, it was the secretive, shadowy Night Fury that held her eyes. She felt a kinship with the dragon – a loner, a shadow, never seen or noticed, and often dismissed out of sight. Hiccup had once described the Night Fury as a dragon that never showed itself or never missed a target. Of course, at the time he had been describing what would become his dragon: Toothless. After Toothless, however, came another Night Fury that sometimes – and most definitely – missed the target. And sometimes the somewhat clumsy dragon would even let itself appear against its own flames as a menacing silhouette.
She wanted that dragon. Every Viking in Berk had turned their attentions towards finding and taming their own dragon, learning to work together with the species they had formerly hunted. Most of them settled with the dragons that had fluttered in after the defeat of the Green Death. But Thistle had never been one to go with the flow. She had seen the somewhat gangly Night Fury on one of the last attacks, and he'd been 'hers' ever since.
The name she had given him would probably seem odd to many. No odder than Hiccup naming his very toothy dragon 'Toothless', but Thistle wasn't afraid of appearing different. The word 'touch' had so many meanings to her, far more than anyone would really understand. In the end, she could not have named the stealthy dragon anything less.
This evening, she slipped out the back of her wooden home and walked bravely to the edge of the cliffs. The stiff breeze pulled at her bunned hair, working loose a few teasing strands that caressed the edges of her face and flipped the hem of her skirt. She sat down, looking at the slight ripples on the silvery water below, and then trained her eyes to the sky, hoping for a wisp of black.
She sat there for nearly an hour, the chill slowly eating its way through the protective layers of her clothing. Unconsciously she huddled up more and more until she had made herself into a tight little ball of seized muscle – never taking her eyes from the sky.
When he came, it was silent. Only a small blast of warm wind that relieved the worst of her pain even warned her that a dragon was nearby. She turned her head, her heart pounding In hope, and saw him standing poised on the edge of the cliff several feet away, catlike green eyes focused on her.
Touch stood a little shorter than Toothless, with feelers in different places on his head, and a slightly more elongated snout. He did share Toothless' initially jumpy nature, which was why she almost never tried to approach him. But she didn't know that much else about his personality because he didn't come by very often socially.
Today, however, she learned a little more. He tilted his young head, looking at the small human curled up in a ball. Then, very gently, he stretched his head forward and spat a ball of fire at her feet. A small clump of grass caught fire and crackled merrily away, easing more of Thistle's cramped arms and legs. Touch withdrew his head and snorted very lightly – Thistle had a feeling he was laughing at her for staying outside for so long. She craned her neck in an effort to look into his eyes and smile in gratitude. He looked back, snorted again, and dropped into a sitting position, aiming his eyes out at the sea.
A few minutes later, the scream broke through the air.
Touch was gone before Thistle even registered the movement, the whip of his wings taking out the fire. She barely had any time to feel sad that the night's visit was ended so soon before her ears recognized the screaming. She would know the voice anywhere and hearing the agony within it brought tears to her eyes. Frantic, she jumped to her feet and ran in the direction of Hiccup's home.
Toothless had beaten her to the door, and the thoughtful dragon regarded her with curious eyes. Why aren't you in there, he seemed to be asking. Thistle just shook her head and cocked her ears, trying to listen.
Her heart stopped as she recognized the voices inside, and she instantly flattened herself to the side of the hut. She felt a strange pang in her chest, an odd clenching as though something had grabbed her heart and squeezed. Swallowing hard, she was forced to suck in a large breath as the running figure of her best friend bolted past Toothless and into the night. A few seconds later, Hiccup emerged, sleep-tousled and limping. As it always did, her heart gave a little leap and then sank into her stomach. Twelve years. He swung up on Toothless. I haven't spoken to you in twelve years. Toothless took off, following the path left by the fleeing Stone.
Thistle felt tears leak from her eyes as she began to run too. Helplessly. The two people she really cared for in Berk were both in trouble now, and they had each other for comfort – but like a moth to light she was drawn after them. If Stone had struck up a friendship with Hiccup, then it might be only a matter of time before the tough girl mentioned her. And then – would Hiccup even remember her? Would she be able to handle it if he didn't? Twelve years was a long time and she hadn't really tried to get his attention after the first few weeks of silence.
By the time she reached Stone's cave, she was out of breath and nearly exhausted from running. She slunk to the side, dragging her body up a tree and failing to notice the dark shadow that passed overhead, the curious green eyes that glanced down to make sure she was all right before returning to the tree line ahead.
Down below, Toothless huffed out, sitting himself down in a small fit. Thistle nodded slowly – Stone wouldn't have been able to handle a dragon in her cave. On the upside, Toothless had been blocking sound from the cave, but now words drifted out. Stone, frankly informing Hiccup of her parents' deaths. The burns on her hands. The presence of her older brother, who was pretty much never around – much like Thistle's own father. And then…Thistle herself.
"Do I know her?" Hiccup asked.
Toothless, sitting outside, twitched in surprise as Thistle failed to suppress a gasp. She quickly covered her hands with her mouth, drawing Toothless's emerald eyes. She tried frantically to get him to not move, to stay put while she got a grip on her emotions. Despite her preparations for Hiccup's answer, it still came as a blow to hear that he wasn't even sure she existed.
Stone sounded fairly frustrated too. "If you're going to hang out with me, you're going to see her at least once. Better get your stories straight." Thistle had completely missed the last part of the conversation, but she didn't think she wanted to know it anyway.
She began to try and climb down from the tree, shaking. Toothless came over and stretched himself up, offering a slide to the ground. Thistle smiled at him and shook her head, continuing to make her way down. She couldn't touch Hiccup's dragon. It was too...personal.
Toothless, however, seemed to have other plans. Once Thistle hit eye level with his hands, the dragon plucked her from the tree as easily as a piece of fruit, his teeth gripping the back of her shirt with remarkable gentility. She squeaked aloud in surprise as he swung around and headed back for the cave. Oh no. This is not good. This is not good!
A cacophony of sound reverberated around her eardrums - Toothless was purring as he carried the helpless girl into the cave. Thistle tried only once to squirm away, letting out a fearful yelp - but the effect it had on the two in the cave was far worse than she imagined.
Hiccup, who had been eating a banana, leaped to his feet. "Toothless!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"
Of course, Thistle didn't really hear Hiccup over the roar coming from Stone. The girl had taken one look at Toothless holding her friend in his mouth and had leaped to her feet, rushing the dragon with her axe, eyes wild.