Chapter 6: On the Spot
The trip back to the village was wreathed in silence. Thistle's earlier reaction of shock had quickly been buried and Stone kept busy trying to sell herself on the fact that she was leading a dragon to her home. Plus, she could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on, and so her footsteps were longer and more anxious, trying to return to Ms. Heinrickson's hut before it hit her full force. No amount of medicine in the world would be able to stop one of these headaches when it hit full strength. Or so Stone knew. Maybe this little miracle plant would tell the difference.
Hiccup, for his part, kept silent as well. Occasionally, however, his eyes would drift to Thistle, walking softly on Toothless's other side. Even now, she seemed to be doing all she could to keep her distance from him, giving Stone the place at his left side. Stone's words hurt him inside with a pain he could almost feel. "You could rip her heart out again." And of course, Astrid's accusation: "Those that follow you around for years..." How long had Thistle been watching him? How long had she stuck to the shadows and wondered where her best friend had gone? And how, how, HOW had he done it? There had to have been some reason, some surefire forbidden action that kept him from going to her. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he just couldn't think of it. It was just too long ago.
He wondered, briefly, if Thistle had become attached to him in more than a friendly way the longer the two of them had been apart. He hoped not, because what he felt for the girl right now was a mix of overwhelming guilt and a deep-seated hope that their friendship could restart. He felt pretty sure that it would be best to apologize and run if romance came into the picture. He didn't want to hurt her anymore.
The upcoming problem was Stone. Dirty-blonde, blue-eyed, hard little Stone. So much like Astrid except making up in the one area Astrid was lacking: connection. Hiccup had connected with Stone upon their first meeting, of that he had no doubt. She was a young woman in just as much pain as he, too tough to confess it, and too fragile to endure it alone. If this flower helped with her headaches, it would be as much a relief to Hiccup as Stone. And...Hiccup couldn't help but wonder...after a little time had passed of course...if maybe Stone would be okay with flying her newfound dragon with him. Kind of like a date. Ish.
Except if that happened, he had to be okay with Thistle. The girls came as a package deal, and he had to be fine with both before even considering anything else.
Still, it was a thought that stuck in his mind as they reentered the village. It was only Astrid's very surprised screech that snapped him out of his thinking.
Astrid couldn't really say anything. She was more staring in complete shock as Stone walked by her, guiding the one-headed Zippleback with a sure hand. Stone, for her part, only faltered once, allowing a tiny smirk to crawl across her face at Astrid's dumbfounded expression. The twins, however, were having a downright party, whooping and hollering around the procession as they crossed through the village center a second time. Their excitement was limited to Stone, however - Hiccup noticed Tuffnut glancing at Thistle every few moments before rejoining his sister's antics. Remembering Thistle pressed into Tuffnut's side that morning, Hiccup found himself feeling just a little better about keeping the relationship between himself and the shy girl platonic. Once he managed to talk to her, that was.
"Watch out, Astrid, she's got a dragon now!" Ruffnut howled.
"One-headed Zipplebacks are just as dangerous!" Tuffnut joined in. "Gas and flame in one go! Tick tick BOOM!" He threw his hands up, and danced back behind Toothless, making the dragon grunt at him. Hiccup patted his best friend's nose and Toothless rolled his eyes very obviously. Get OVER it, he seemed to be saying.
After the encounter with the second Night Fury, Toothless had seemed to loosen up, his earlier grumpy mood fading. Hiccup wondered if he was just lonely, and made some silent promises to himself to a: fly Toothless more often, and b: look for that other Night Fury in an attempt to find his dragon a friend.
"So is that what was so scary? Finding Stone a dragon?"
Hiccup turned his head to see Tuffnut walking alongside Thistle, having materialized from the other side of the dragon. Thistle, for her part, was slowly beginning to flush and lowered her head slightly. "Scary for Stone," she murmured.
"Well she's just as brave as you, and you're really brave," Tuffnut awkwardly muttered. "Her parents got killed by a dragon and now she's training one. That's brave. So...uh...why don't you have a dragon?"
"I..." Thistle paused and started to look at Tuffnut, but then seemed to think better of it. "I am not finished with training."
"Well...when you go look for one, you can come with me. Hiccup's not the only brave man in this village." Tuffnut's voice carried a slight challenge in it that Hiccup carefully ignored. He was well-aware that the village itself did not care much for him. Spending all of his time with Toothless did not a social Hiccup make, but he didn't want to start an argument with Tuffnut right now. The air was thick with enough tension streaming from the stressed Stone and the fuming Astrid.
The small group made their way to Ms. Heinrickson's hut, (Ruffnut pulling her brother quietly away from Thistle). The village doctor promptly sat down when Stone came in and told her new dragon to wait for her outside. She looked as though she was about to faint for several seconds before finally taking the plant and beginning to mash it up. Stone took a seat, the headache growing by the minute now. Hiccup sat near her, keeping his hands to himself but wishing he could try and rub her temples. That was supposed to help. Instead, he watched Ms. Heinrickson work, mashing up the bits of the plant, steeping them in water like tea, and heating it over a fire. The whole thing looked like a funny vegetable soup and gave off a slightly spicy scent, but there was no mistaking the genuine hope springing into Stone's eyes as Ms. Heinrickson poured some of the mixture into a bowl and handed it to her. From the other side of the room where she had been staring off into space, Thistle moved forward, her dark green eyes alight with curiosity and hope. Hiccup tried to smile at her, but she didn't look at him, and he turned back to Stone, watching her drink.
When Stone placed the bowl down, she closed her eyes and let a small smile slip over her face. She sat silently for a few seconds, breathing deeply, whereas Hiccup held his breath in anxiety.
And then her eyes opened.
"It worked," she breathed.
Hiccup felt a rush of joy and a smile break out over his face. Next to him, Thistle let out a squeak of approval. Stone reached up to touch her head and repeated, growing more excited with each phrase: "It...worked. It worked. It worked! It worked!"
Hiccup sprang forward and flung his arms around her in a hug of exuberance, but somewhere around the line his intentions got twisted...because suddenly and without warning his lips were on Stone's in a firm, laughing kiss.
He jerked his head back in surprise, realizing with some interest that her neck was stretched forward too, as though she had initiated the kiss. Next to them, Ms. Heinrickson let out a low chuckle that suddenly choked off. But in his arms, Stone stared at him with a mix of laughter, shock, and then - to his amazement - growing embarrassment. She slowly tried to pull away from him and he let her go.
"About time that happened."
The words would have come from Ms. Heinrickson, but they were utterly neutral in tone. Stomach slowly sinking, Hiccup turned to see Thistle watching the two of them. Her entire body had stiffened, her eyes turned to rocks, her words as flat and wooden as the bottom of a ship. The smile she tried to show came out as a grimace.
"Thistle..." Stone began, but Thistle shook her head.
"I have been waiting for it," she said. "I am...happy you found a cure. I...have to go..."
"Thistle, wait," Stone quickly stepped towards her friend, but Thistle slipped out the door.
"Let her go, child," Ms. Heinrickson interjected as Stone tried to follow. "She will be all right."
"But...she likes Hiccup," Stone said, seeing no reason to hide her friend's secret now that it seemed to be more out than she had ever intended it to be.
"That isn't what this is about," Ms. Heinrickson replied. "Trust me. It'll be all right."
"How do you...?"
"Just trust me. She'll tell you in her own time. Now. Step outside for just a moment. I need to have a word with Hiccup."
Hiccup didn't like Ms. Heinrickson's tone. He liked even less how quickly Stone hurried out.
"Like I said before, if you hurt my apprentice, you'll be losing that other leg." Ms. Heinrickson's words were low, but her voice firm. "Especially now that you have that kind of attention from her. You need to grow up a little more, Hiccup, now that you have that effect on women."
"I know. I need to stop spending so much time with Toothless. It's just..."
"You need to take responsibility for how you treat people, too. Having a shouting match with your former girlfriend in the middle of the village is not what the son of a Chief would do."
"What? She started it!" Hiccup wondered where this segue had come from.
"Doesn't matter," Ms. Heinrickson replied. The wise woman stood and walked towards Hiccup, placing her rough hands on his shoulders. "You are the son of the Chief, Hiccup. No one said it was going to be easy. But it is a little harder than what you are used to right now. Just hold your head up. You'll find you're a little taller that way."
Hiccup smiled, and slowly walked out of the hut.
Outside, he had enough time to gather his wits and wonder what to do next. Rather than wait outside, Stone seemed to have vanished. Part of him really wanted to go after her and ask her what had happened in there - and if she wanted to do it again, (wow, that made a blush cross his face; he scrubbed at his cheeks in an effort to make it go away). The other part wanted very badly to find Thistle and get the apology over in one go. She had been avoiding him now, and now that he was getting enough memory back, it was time to end the period of silence between them. He owed her a lot more than words would do, but he hoped his friendship would be enough in time.
Plus, Ms. Heinrickson's words had struck a chord in him. "Just hold your head up. You'll find you're a little taller that way." Thistle seemed to think herself a coward, unable to hold her own against others even in simple conversation. Some of that, Hiccup suspected, came from her shy nature. Some of it came from her experiences. But almost all of it could be proven wrong. She had ridden a Night Fury's tail down a mountain. She had endured walking through the village center surrounded by people twice. She had been carried by Toothless and not fallen into a ball in terror. Thistle Snapvine had far more courage than she gave herself credit for and Hiccup was determined to prove that to her.
He hadn't really registered that he started walking until he realized he was looking at the dragon training ring. Inside of it, Thistle stood with Gobber, who was handing her a shield and a sword. Hiccup's eyebrows climbed into his hairline. Thistle had never been trained? Hiccup flashed back to her earlier conversation with Tuffnut. No, she just hadn't finished training. Even if they no longer needed to fight dragons, it was still a good idea to know how to use a blade and shield against a foe. But come to think of it - he'd never seen Thistle in armor.
You never really saw Thistle OR Stone until yesterday anyway.
Well, that was true too.
"Hey. Hiccup."
Hiccup jumped, turning around to see Ruff and Tuff standing behind him. Tuffnut's eyes moved past Hiccup to the training ring, and he groaned. "She'll kill her."
Hiccup glanced back to see Astrid facing down Thistle in the ring. "Oh no," he murmured, and began to move for the ring.
"I got this," Tuffnut said loudly, pushing past him. Ruffnut grabbed Hiccup's arm, holding him in place as Tuffnut hurried for the entrance.
"Let go of me. What's your problem?" Hiccup snapped at Ruffnut.
Ruffnut's eyes narrowed. "You."
Hiccup stared. "Me? What'd I do?"
"Astrid had a point this morning. You're never around anymore. Once you became the big hero - the rest of us became nothing."
Hiccup bristled. "Look, I know the village is mad at me, but you're all full-grown Vikings! You can figure out how to train dragons!"
"That's not the point! Look around you once in a while, Hiccup. Now that we've got no one to fight, no one knows what to do anymore. That little fight you and Astrid had this morning was the most action anyone has seen since you killed that big dragon. You may have helped us for now, but in the long run, what's going to happen?"
"You want me to tell the future?"
"No," Ruffnut said, pressing her hands to her head. Her voice was laced with frustration, and from her eyes darting around, Hiccup slowly began to realize that she was trying to say something but didn't know how to say it. "You need to be a part of this village again. There's more out there than dragons, Hiccup, and you need to realize that. You're the Chief's son, and the Chief's son is abandoning his tribe right after taking away the one purpose we had in our lives!"
That, Hiccup couldn't argue with. It felt like Ruffnut had just stuck a knife in his stomach - a knife laced with Uncomfortable Truth.
"You've already lost Astrid, and she was probably one of the ones who believed in you the most," Ruffnut continued, twisting the knife. "Stone's falling for you - anyone can see that - but if you abandon her too she's one you'll never get back. And Thistle...Thistle's tired. She's run herself into the ground caring for her father and watching us ignore her. This whole village owes her an apology for what we did, especially you."
"What did I do to her?" Hiccup exploded. "I've gone over it and over it and over it..."
"Her mother died, Hiccup. Her mother died and Stoick ordered that we all grieve for her and then get over it. He gave her a Viking funeral and then told us to leave the family alone so they could heal themselves. You, like the rest of us, did what he said. You, like the rest of us, left her alone."
"Wait...so it is my fault, but it isn't my fault?" Hiccup felt his head beginning to hurt from trying to understand.
"Hiccup, she was your best friend. And you never spoke to her again. It's not just one of those 'you left her for a week so she could get over it' things. You completely stopped talking to her. And then her father started keeping her inside because all she would do was stare at you and cry. She wouldn't talk to anyone, and so we all stopped trying."
Hiccup was finding it hard to breathe. He couldn't even imagine himself doing that to someone. "I can't...I don't...know why I did it."
"You were a kid, Hiccup, and your dad was...your dad. You did what he said a long time ago." Ruff started to grin. "A long time ago."
Hiccup wasn't in the mood for lightheartedness right now. "How do you know all of this?"
"Because my brother is also a weak-minded Gronckle, as Astrid said this morning." Ruffnut's voice softened a little, as though letting out a secret. Not that it mattered. Hiccup didn't get it.
"What?"
"Thistle's watched you for all these years, waiting for you to apologize. And my brother's watched her, trying to get up the courage to talk to her. You know my brother. All talk. Useless in action."
"When did Berk become a village of stalkers?" Hiccup groaned.
"We're teenagers," came the rather intuitive reply. "But back to my original point. You need to realize you have a responsibility to us. If you don't want to be with us, then fine. But you cannot abandon the tribe. Stoick doesn't have any more sons and Odin help us if Snotlout becomes Chief next."
That wasn't much better. "I'm trying, Ruff. I really am."
"Try harder. And talk to Thistle later. Tuff's going to have a hard enough time keeping her alive in the ring with Astrid out for blood."
Hiccup gulped and turned back. Tuffnut was standing next to Thistle now, glaring at Astrid.
"Don't watch," Ruffnut advised and gave Hiccup a small push away from the ring. "Go find Stone. I saw her heading back to the hospital hut a few moments after you left."
Hiccup reluctantly headed that way.
(Stone)
Stone hadn't gone far from the hospital hut, and upon seeing Hiccup walk aimlessly towards the training ring, she ran back inside to find a very satisfied Ms. Heinrickson. "Um...what did you say to him?" she asked.
"Just warned him of the consequences of hurting you. Now help me out."
Stone was only too happy to, fighting but failing to overcome the blush that spread from her ears to her neck.
Stone hung around the hospital hut for another hour to help out since she had been shirking her apprentice duties. Her mind, however, seemed glued to their kiss. And Thistle's reaction. Stone felt horrified at what she and Hiccup had probably done to her, she wasn't the only one who leaned in for the kiss, but she couldn't help but be happy that it had happened. After the hour of treating patients and cleaning the shop, Mole shooed her out of the hut to get the sail from the cloth makers. She ran into Hiccup on the way to her house.
"Gods give me strength," she whispered, staring awkwardly at Hiccup who stared back. Stone could feel her cheeks flushing and fought the urge to look away. "Um, hi Hiccup, I'm just, uh, picking up the sail I have to paint," Stone gestured to the package resting on her dragon's back.
"Oh, uh, cool. What do you think you're going to paint on it?"
"I'm not sure yet. Maybe fire," Stone had an idea, but she wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, if he knew how emotionally painful it would probably be, he'd want to come with her.
"Well, I'm sure it will turn out great," he gave her a small smile and stepped closer. Close enough to...to...
At the same time Hiccup and Stone stepped forward, lips connected again. Stone's cheeks practically burst into flames but she easily melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around Hiccup's neck. Hiccup then placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, squishing her into him. All that mattered at that moment was each other and their fiery embrace.
When they finally ran out of air, they pulled apart gasping but stayed hugged together. They stared into each other's eyes, oblivious to anyone around them, which thankfully no one was. After nearly ten minutes of just staring, Stone's Zippleback nudged her with the package held carefully in his mouth, reminding her of what she had to do. She sighed softly before releasing Hiccup. He also released her, watching her with sad eyes.
"Do you really have to go?" he asked softly. Stone giggled and tapped his nose.
"Yes, its my job. You should get to yours too ya know."
"I know but...This just happened so fast."
"Would you rather we had waited a month before either of us made a move?" Stone asked quietly.
"No!" he cried grasping her hands. "I'm glad we shared our feelings, even if this is the longest time we've spent together since we met several years ago.," he joked even though it was true. Who knew feelings could crop up so fast? It certainly wasn't love yet, but it was a relationship.
Twenty minutes later, after setting the sail up on the floor of her house, Stone sat beside it, scribbling in her sketchbook. The elders had said they wanted something tough looking, but still in Stone's free-flowing style. She had decided on a close up of a Ferocious Nightmare breathing fire in a way that looks like it could hit you if you were standing in front of it. She hated Ferocious Nightmares to no end, but it would be the best for this particular painting. The fire would be several colors, swirly, like the marks on Stone's hands.
After sketching her rough-draft of the picture in the book, Stone gathered her paints and supplies and drew the general outline in coal on the crisp white sail. Reds, yellows, oranges, blues, purples, they all swirled and blended together with the guidance of her brush. After the fire was to Stone's acceptance she painted the Ferocious Nightmare. When it was done its large eyes seemed to stare right through her and the fire did look like it was coming right at her. With a chocked sob Stone realized it must look like the last thing her parents saw before they died.
She moved away from the sail so her tears wouldn't drip on it and stain it. Curling into a ball, Stone desperately wished she had told Hiccup her idea so he could be with her to comfort her when she heard her door creak open. With tear filled eyes she looked up to see her Zippleback squeezing through the door. It approached her and wrapped its neck around her tenderly. Stone sobbed harder into its body but was, indeed, comforted by the warmth of its scales.
When the last of her tears disappeared she hugged the dragon's head tightly to the crook of her neck. He purred and licked her cheek with a long lizard-like tongue. Stone giggled and released the dragon who had brought her so much happiness and courage in one day when she used to be terrified of it. Courage...courage...
"You really need a name you know that?" she whispered to the sweet Zippleback.
"My name is Stone by the way. But what should I call you?" He roared softly, matching her tone. "How about Courage? You fill me with it all the time and it's only been a few hours!" The dragon bobbed its head up and down in approval. Stone giggled and hugged his head again.
"Alright, Courage it is."
(Lexus)
She plunged through the woods with the other slaves and centurions. Her Master sat, bold and waiting, back on the tender that had come to shore. But the muscular, black-haired Lexus operated as his eyes and ears on this disastrously cold piece of rock. They hadn't encountered any dragons yet, or noticed much more in the way of animal life. The cries of "Dragon!" could have been forged, but Jupiter help the poor soul who had faked a sighting just to get some land time.
"Pretty useless wasteland, isn't it?" the centurion in front cackled out loud.
"I'm all for fewer people to enslave," the other centurion replied. "Less trouble."
"But then it's not as much fun."
They burst through some trees and nearly fell into the gaping ravine before them. With a surprised yelp, one of the slaves slipped and caught himself on a rock, hanging over the edge. Neither of the centurions moved to help him, but Lexus stepped over and pulled him up. As she did so, she noticed something odd sprinkled on the ground below. Without hesitating, she began to climb down the rocks. She couldn't help but be a little taken aback by the beauty of the little ravine. A sparkling blue lake of water rippled in the center of it, surrounded by rich brown soil. Smatterings of green grass near the water's edge hinted at fertility, and the grey-white rocks provided many opportunities for shade and places to climb. Her feet impacted the ground, and she quickly knelt, ignoring the shouts of: "Get back here, slave!" They wouldn't dare kill her, not here. And once they saw what she picked up, they would stop yelling anyway.
She turned around and lifted her hands to them, holding the glittering black scales. "Scales," she said simply. "Dragons do exist here. And one of them comes here often."
A few kilometres away, two black dragons huddled in the shade of some trees. Normally argumentative and unable to be near each other for any period of time, Toothless and Dava now shared a frightened look as the metal-smelling humans invaded Toothless' former prison-turned-sanctuary. Underneath them, another set of five metal-smelling humans hacked their way through the brush. And far away, from the ship, more of them came in groups, slowly but surely making their way towards the unsuspecting village of Berk.
(Tuffnut)
Tuffnut often made fun of Snotlout for his continuous pathetic attempts at asking out the lovely, dangerous Astrid. The two boys sometimes got into serious fistfights over usages of words like 'pansy', 'weak', 'girly' to describe Snotlout's actions and faces whenever Astrid walked by. But Tuffnut had his own secrets to keep, and he just happened to be better at it than Snotlout. Only his ever-present twin sister, with her creepy magic mind abilities to know what he was thinking at all times, even picked up on Tuffnut's sideways glances and far-off stares. And oddly – she chose never to make fun of him for it. In fact, she encouraged him to talk to her about it. It was a remarkable change of character for her – and one he welcomed. After all, it would be quite hypocritical for him to make fun of Snotlout when he himself acted the same way around Thistle Snapvine.
He, like the rest of the village, had mourned the death of Freya Snapvine, but he'd never really paid attention to the daughter she'd left behind. He'd been four, far more interested in cracking rocks and making faces out of his window at the attacking dragons. Five years later, he'd heard the village painter - Stone Magnus - mention a quiet girl named Thistle Snapvine and sheer curiosity had taken him from door to door, looking for this mysterious girl. He'd caught a glimpse of someone fitting her description through a window. Unsure, he'd tossed a rock at her door, and hidden, waiting for her to come out.
When she had, Tuffnut's fate had pretty much been sealed. The girl who had walked out to pick up the rock had a slender – almost underweight - build with a softly rounded face, not square and hard like Astrid's. Her hair had fallen in straight strands of black, and she'd actually reached up and tried to put it back into a bun against the windy cliffs of Berk. Her small nose poked over a small mouth with full lips, and the wide, liquid eyes that skimmed the grass glimmered dark green. Her skin had been pale against the sky to the point that she'd nearly faded into it. She had to be the skinniest and tiniest Viking woman Tuffnut had ever laid eyes on, and he'd silently made a promise to himself that he would be the one to keep her from ever getting broken.
Except as time had gone on, he'd realized she already was broken. So, he had slowly made the change from defense to damage control. Unfortunately, Tuffnut was nowhere near as brave as he buffed himself out to be. He'd been forced to stand and watch her, unable to speak to her and unsure of even what to say. He'd managed a couple 'hi's and even an 'are you all right?', but she had never answered him. In fact, the first real sentence he had gotten out to her was the one he'd dropped that morning - that she wasn't a weak-minded Gronckle.
He chalked it up to trying to outdo Hiccup. After seven years of watching Thistle and talking to Ruffnut and then watching Hiccup do all of that stuff with the Big Dragon, Tuffnut had decided to finally just go for it. And Thistle had replied to him.
He pretty much got braver by the minute now. Which was why he was standing beside her now, facing down a very furious and very battle-hungry Astrid.
He didn't blame Astrid for being mad. She'd really gotten the short end of the stick, what with Hiccup picking his dragon over her. And Snotlout was a good guy, but a little too stupid in the head. He was determined to be the best at everything, but wasn't willing to do the work to do it. Astrid would probably dump him soon unless he shaped up. Plus, there was the whole fight between Stone and Astrid that morning - and the fact that Astrid just didn't like weak people in general.
However, Thistle was far braver than Tuffnut had given her credit for. She was standing in trainee armor, holding a battered wooden shield and a bent sword, and looking directly at...well Astrid's weapons. Tuffnut had a feeling Thistle was incapable of looking anyone in the eye. Or she was paying attention to the weapons because she was waiting to see what they would do.
"The fight isn't two on one, Tuff," Astrid snapped.
"You know Thistle isn't very good," Tuffnut flung back. "You're using this as an excuse to beat up on her."
"She needs to grow a spine on her own, and having you try to build her one won't do her any good. Especially when you insult her like that."
"Insult?" Tuffnut turned to see Thistle looking at the ground and reddening. Her lips parted and she spoke very softly.
"I'm not very good, I know."
"Oh, for the love of Thor," Tuffnut swore. "That's not what I meant, Thistle..."
He didn't finish the sentence. Astrid's hand came out of nowhere and shoved him hard as her axe swung down towards Thistle.