Hiccup and Merida spent a few hours with her parents before they set out into the woods. Fergus made sure they had enough fire wood, and Elinor made sure they had a cart to carry their things. They hooked the cart to Angus and made their way deep into the woods. Merida smiled at the familiar sounds and smells that she was surrounded in. She was eager to show Hiccup her neck of the woods. It was going to be a trip to remember.
They kept walking, Merida leading Angus and Hiccup trailing behind with Toothless. The dragon heard something snap in the bushes besides him and jumped into the air, letting out a yowl of a roar. Merida turned and gave the dragon a strange look and giggled when she saw Toothless. His back was arched and he was standing on his claws. Smoke rolled out of his mouth as he growled at the shadows. Hiccup rubbed Toothless' head and calmed him down. When Toothless was finished with his episode, they continued their journey into the woods.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they made it to the circle of stones. Merida took a deep breath and stepped into the circle. A jolt of electricity went through Merida, but she ignored it and continued to the center of the circle. Hiccup eyed the stones, unsure of what he was going to do. Toothless bobbed his head and jumped past the stones into the center with Merida and Hiccup let out a sigh and fallowed his dragon. They unhitched the wagon from Angus set up their tent. Hiccup unpacked the wagon as Merida started a fire. It got dark fast, and Merida and Hiccup sat on the ground slowly turning fish on a spoke. Toothless sat, half a fish sticking out of his mouth. He looked at Hiccup and Merida, cocked his head to the side and slurped down the rest of the fish. Hiccup shook his head as Merida chortled and leaned back on her elbows.
"So, what do you want to do in the morning?"
"Mmmm… A have no clue."
"Sooo… we're winging it?"
"Yep!" Hiccup shook his head and pulled the fish off the fire. He split the stick in half once it cooled down and handed it to Merida. The two ate in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. Merida let out a long yawn and stretched her arms over her head.
"Am ur going ta bed Hiccup." Merida rose to her feet, and brushed herself off. Hiccup looked at her and smiled.
"I'll go to bed in a little bit."
"Alright. See you soon…" Merida bit her lip, nervous about sleeping in the same tent with her "fiancé". Hiccup nodded and watched Merida disappear into the tent. Hiccup let out a deep sigh and fell onto his back. Toothless walked up to him and wined, cocking his head to the side.
"I know I shouldn't be this nervous bud. It's just different." Toothless gave him a, "I really don't believe you, you'll be fine", look and huffed a puff of smoke in Hiccup's face. Hiccup coughed, waving the smoke from his face. Toothless let out a throat noise that sounded like a laugh and Hiccup couldn't help but smile.
When the smoke cleared, floating inches above Toothless' head was a little blue light.
"What is that?" Hiccup stood up, and leaned forward. It seemed to be whispering to him. Hiccup reached up to touch the little light.
"Hiccup!" Merida was at his side, gripping his arm. Her hair was in a long braid, she was wearing a wool nightgown and leather slippers. "Come with me." The wisp above Toothless' head disappeared and another one was on the ground behind him. Toothless turned around and hissed at it. Merida darted into the forest, as wisp after wisp appeared in front of them.
"What are those?" Hiccup yelled to Merida.
"They're Will-o-the-Wisps. They lead yah to yer fate!" And with that Merida's pace quickened and Hiccup found himself being dragged over logs, through bushes, and under tree branches. Merida's grip on his hand never loosened. The little blue lights led them to a large cave. A single wisp floated by the entrance to the cave, and Merida looked at Hiccup.
"Wha' dae ya think is in there?"
"I don't know… But we're going to find out." Hiccup straightened his back and took Merida's hand, leading her to the entrance. Hiccup walked into the cave and looked around. He slowly made his way into the depths, being careful not to make a noise. The rounded a corner, and that's when they saw it. Sleeping in a burning red bed of coals sat the most beautiful dragon Merida had ever seen. It was sleek, with a long, dark grey body. A few whiskers hung from its speckled chin. On the back of each claw the speckling continued. The dragon rolled over, and showed the sky blue underbelly, and neck. Hiccup took a step toward the dragon.
The dragon woke startled from a crackling of a misplaced foot. Hiccup grimaced and tried to duck for cover, but it was too late, the dragon already saw him. It stood up, feathers standing erect on the base of its head. Brilliant blue eyes scanned the cave, looking for the intruder. A roar erupted from its mouth that sent a shiver down Merida's spine. Hiccup darted to the middle of the cave with Merida. He drew his sword from its place and light it on fire. He waved it in front of the dragon's face, enticing it to calm down. When the dragon was calmed, and swaying with the sword from side to side, Hiccup clicked a button, releasing a gas around them in a circle on the floor. He sparked his sword and the gas ignited. The dragon was startled, but complacent. Hiccup placed his hand palm out in front of him, and the dragon slowly placed its snout on his hand. Slowly Hiccup replaced his hand with Merida's. The dragon seemed a bit troubled, but soon relaxed under her warm touch. Merida smiled at the dragon, and slowly with her other hand found a spot behind its small ear. She scratched, and the dragon fell to its side and let out a groan. Hiccup looked at Merida, who was staring at the dragon in awe and amazement.
"How'd you do that?"
"Angus likes to be scratched there. A just guessed." Merida breathed out, still looking at the dragon in front of her. "Have you seen anything like it?"
"No… It's amazing though. It's beautiful."
"She."
"What?"
"It's a she. She is beautiful."
"How do you know?"
"A just dae." Merida eyed the dragon, who looked up to the redhead in confinement as to why she stopped scratching. Merida smiled and began scratching the dragon's head and Hiccup watched in amazement at how accepting this dragon was. The feathers flattened on her head and the dragon purred as Merida scratched under her chin. Merida pulled away and placed her forehead on the dragons, looking into her eyes.
"Bonnie."
"What?"
"Bonnie. Beautiful. That's her name." Merida turned to Hiccup and grinned. Hiccups heart melted a little and he nodded his head. Merida walked around the large cave, seeing if Bonnie would follow. Of course she did, and soon enough they were leading Bonnie back to camp. They broke through the brush and Toothless bowed down, growling. Bonnie's feathers perked up and a plume of smoke rose up. They circled each other, one sizing the other up. Suddenly both dragons bobbed their heads at each other, and ran around, bounding through bushes, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Merida yawned and smacked her lips.
"Tha' was fun." Hiccup chuckled and nodded his head.
"We found what we were looking for. Maybe she can take us to the nest…" Hiccup said hopefully. Merida nodded slowly.
"Am A going ta learn how ta ride her?"
"Yes. We can work on all that tomorrow. We'll get you a proper saddle when we get back to Berk."
"Okay Hiccup." Merida grabbed his hand and led him into the tent. "It's time ta go ta bed." Hiccup swallowed hard and nodded his head. Merida stepped behind a curtain so Hiccup could change. When he was done, Merida peeked her head through.
"Good." She crawled under the blankets and laid down. Hiccup slowly crawled in beside her and lay there, staring at the ceiling listening to Merida's breathing even out. He rolled onto his side and looked at the red-head sleeping next to him. He smiled and lightly brushed a hair from Merida's face, drawing a moan from her sleeping form. Hiccup sighed as his smile widened.
"If this is going to be how I sleep for the rest of my life, I'll die a happy man…" Hiccup whispered to the empty air. He closed his eyes, and drifted into a dragon filled slumber.