"Well, we would have thought that the final test to decide who gets to kill the Monstrous Nightmare is between the Hofferson lass and Stoick's boy.", musses Sigrùn. "Aren't you proud of your best friend, Leandra?"
The black-haired girl is with her thoughts else were. She is thinking about Starchaser, Toothless, and worrying about Hiccup.
Like her stepmother said today would decide who would kill the Monstrous Nightmare and since Hiccup and Astrid have been the best recruits it would be decided between them. Since this was Gothi duty, to choose the winner, she gave Leandra today free so she could watch with her parents the final test.
She did so not have a good feeling about this.
She hopes with all her heart that Astrid wins so Hiccup doesn't have to find a way to not kill the Nightmare and at the same time, she doesn't want that Astrid wins, because she would kill the Nightmare without hesitation.
Hiccup and her learnend what wonderful creatures the dragons actually were and non of them deserved to be killed just for sports.
What should they do?
What could they do?
After her father calls her name for the fifth time, she hears him.
The black-haired girl turns blinking to her parents.
Sigrùn holds with a hand her father's arm, while Leandra walks beside them to the Kill Ring.
"What papi?"
"Sigrùn asked you if you are proud of Hiccup."
The familiar anger comes up.
"I was always proud of him.", she nearly growls. "Even before he became a prodigy in Dragon Training. Not my fault no one of you could see or wanted to see it."
Sigrùn gasps and her father says her name in warning.
"Don't make a scene young lady! You know how things are on Berk, accept it."
"I really thought being Gothi's apprentice would help her.", mumbles Sigrùn to her father. "But she still seems to think in your old Spanish way."
"She is a teenager, dear, she just wants to rebel."
Leandra bits her tongue and can taste the cobber of the blood flowing in her mouth.
Oh she wishes she could make a scene, her father and stepmother deserve some cold hard facts, but they are now on the Kill Ring and she also doesn't want to stress out Sigrùn, she is still pregnant.
You don't mess with a pregnant lady.
The little family of three finds a good spot to watch the final test, while Leandra prays under her breath.
She still doesn't know for what exactly, just the best way that no one, human or dragon gets hurt.
Her prayers kinda get answers.
Astrid was ready to kill the Gronkel to prove that she can kill the Nightmare, but Hiccup used before her his scratching technique to calm down the Gronkel.
That Astrid is not amused is an understatement.
Leandra wrinkles her nose at the insults Astrid screams at Hiccup. How can he crush on someone who clearly doesn't think positively in any way of him?
Is he a masochist or what?
But this all gets forgotten when Gothi decides that Hiccup gets to kill the Monstrous Nightmare.
The Spanish girl feels like she is underwater.
She hears the cheers of the crowd muffled.
She sees how Hiccup gets hoisted up in the air misty.
Oh no…
Oh no…
Oh no, no, no, no!
This bad, this is so bad!
Without a word, she runs to Hiccup and embraces him tight before the whole village.
Should they think whatever they wanted, they needed to find a solution and fast.
"Hic.", she hisses in his ear. "What are we going do to? What about Starchaser and Toothless?"
He hugs her back and whispers: "I'm…I'm leaving, that's the only way! I can't kill the dragon."
"I will come with you.", she doesn't hesitate, if he is gone nothing holds her more on Berk. "We can go to my Abuela, she will give us shelter."
She doesn't wait for his response and runs to her home with all her might.
She needs to pack fast.
Leandra enters the secret cove with her fully packed basket. She got in and out of the house without her parents seeing her.
This was good.
"Hic, you here?", she calls out.
She sees a hand behind a rock waving her over.
"I'm here, Lee."
When she reaches him, she sees the annoying look on his face. He also has a fully packed basket and his harness on.
"You don't have to come with me.", he tells her. "I'm the one who has to leave. You should stay here with your family. You are going to be a big sister in a few weeks."
She snorts.
"Hiccup, I don't know if you noted it, but no one cares for me on this miserable rock. Father and Sigrùn are going to have their perfect little Viking family and the village doesn't take note of me. You are the only one who cares for me. Without you here…I will die inside, I swear."
His eyes are wide, with disbelief, like he can't comprehend that he is so important to her.
That's why she hugs him tight and tries to pour any once of love she has for this boy into it.
"Hic, you are my best and dearest friend, without you on my side, I would feel I lost an arm or a leg.", she whispers to him. "Also I don't think Starchaser would like to be separated from Toothless and Toothless neither from her."
Here she feels how he lets out a little laugh. She can feel how he wants to hug her back, but a voice stops them both in their tracks: "Aren't you two just cute?"
They spring apart and see…
"Astrid?!"
The girl in question is sitting on the rock right in front of them, sharpening her axe.
"Aggh! What the—"
"What are you doing here, Hofferson?!", growls Leandra angrily.
Miss perfect Viking girl doesn't belong in their cove!
...
Where there Night Furries are!
Oh no!
She needs to leave before she sees them!
Astrid hops off the rock and backs them down, spinning her axe threateningly.
"I'm just here to ask your boyfriend some questions, Alvarez."
"I'm not her boyfriend/He is not my boyfriend."
"Whatever.", the blond rolls her eyes. "I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone? With Alvarez?"
"Hofferson, why don't you just accept that someone is better than you? Or do you think you are some kind of Valkyrie who can't be bested? Grow up!", shoots Leandra back.
"Lee!"
"Don't Lee-me, Hic!"
"Your lover quarrel is getting annoying.", tells them Astrid and grabs Hiccup by his odd-looking harness. "And what the heck is this?"
"I know this looks really bad, but you see...this is, uh...", tries Hiccup to find the words.
They hear a rustle coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid drops Hiccup to the ground and sets off to investigate.
Leandra steps before Astrid to stop her in her tracks.
"What's wrong Hofferson, can't accept the truth?"
Astrid just pushes her to the ground like she weighs nothing. Leandra hisses at the stones that trill itself in her back.
"Out of my way, Alvarez."
"You're right! You're right.", now Hiccup tries his luck to stop the blond Viking girl. "I'm through with the lies. I've been making... outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go."
He puts her hand back on his harness, getting her to 'drag him back.' Astrid bends Hiccup's hand backward, driving him down, beside Leandra.
"AAAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?!"
"That's for the lies."
Astrid pounces the hilt of her axe off of Hiccup's and Leandra's laid-out bodies.
"And THAT'S for everything else."
Hiccup's yelp and Leandra's cry are answered with two growls, coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid looks up to see two Night Furries!
Toothless and Starchaser pounces toward them, snarling.
Hiccup and Leandra can stand up, only to get tackled back into the ground by Astrid.
"Get down! Run! Run!", she commands them.
The Viking girl pulls her axe, ready to take on Toothless and Starchaser.
"NO!", scream Hiccup and Leandra together.
While Leandra runs up to the Night Furries, to calm them down, Hiccup knocks Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then he helps Leandra to stop Toothless and Starchaser short of crushing Astrid.
"No. It's okay! It's okay...", reassure Hiccup Toothless.
"Anything is all right. See I don't have a scratch.", tells Leandra Starchaser.
"She's a friend.", say's Hiccup to both Night Furries.
Leandra can't help herself and snorts with the dragons.
"Yeah, right.."
"Lee…"
The boy turns to Astrid and explains: "You scared them."
"I scared them!?"
Hiccup makes a "be quiet" motion.
"Who are they?"
"Astrid, Toothless, and Starchaser. Toothless and Starchaser, Astrid."
"They are so not charmed to meet you!", adds Leandra dry and pets her growling dragon.
Astrid backs away, eyeing Hiccup, Leandra, Toothless, and Starchaser together with pure disgust. She turns and runs for the village.
"We're dead.", deadpans Hiccup.
Satisfied with Astrid's departure, Toothless and Starchaser turn away. Leandra flicks her long black hair and turns to their baskets.
"Where do you think you're going?", asked Hiccup the Night Furries and then turns to Leandra who picked up her basket. "And what are you doing?"
"If I remember right, we wanted to leave stupid Berk. Just getting my stuff."
"Lee, you can't be serious. Astrid is going to tell everybody about Toothless and Starchaser!"
"And? It's not like we stay here. Let her blab about it all she wants. No one is seeing us again."
From Hiccup comes only silence.
Frowning Leandra turns to her best friend and sees the fight in him.
"Hic, Hiccup, please no! Let us just go! What has Berk ever done to us besides making us feel miserable? We will be much happier in Spain with my Abuela or we can even see the whole world! Think about it, we will be free finally!"
The boy looks at the ground and makes a fist. He needs to make a decision now.
"I can't believe he wants to change Astrid mind!", shouts Leandra to Starchaser.
Both females stayed behind, while Hiccup would try his crazy plan.
Leandra doesn't get it.
They were so close to true freedom.
To find a place where they both and their dragons could be accepted.
But no, Hiccup's stupid crush got in the way and makes him actually think he can change the mind of Miss perfect Viking-Girl!
Frustrated Leandra kicks a stone into the pool and then cuddles up to Starchaser.
Her dragon coos and nuzzles her softly, trying to ease the pain in her heart.
The black-haired girl sniffles, tears streaming down her face.
How could she ever think that Hiccup would choose her over Astrid?
No one would choose her over Astrid.
Not here on Berk.
But…but she had hoped her best friend would be different. That if it really would be one day her or Astrid, he would choose their bond.
Their bond of outcastes, of people who understood each other, who shared anything with each other, who accepted the other with all their being.
Hah, figures, he wouldn't think with his heart but with something else.
"Stupid Astrid, stupid Berk, stupid Hiccup!", she cries into Starchaser's shoulder.
Her Night Furry crooned at her, hugging her with one of her wings. How the dragon wished she could take the pain away from her human heart. Sadly she couldn't, she could only hold her, and be there for her.
The sun had already sunk, when Toothless and Hiccup with Astrid returned to the cove.
Leandra feels kind of void after she cried so much. All seems so senseless, yet she registers that Hiccup did somehow convince Astrid not to blab about Starchaser and Toothless if she rides with him Toothless.
Seeing them so close together makes the black-haired girl feel so sick. She never experienced this before. What's up with that?
It's like they talked about it, Leandra and Starchaser stay cuddled up and watch what is going to happen before them.
Toothless lands in the cove and they can finally hear what Astrid is talking about: "No, no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers... and that's their queen. It controls them."
She leaps off of Toothless and runs toward the village.
The Viking girl wants to go straight to Stoick, but Hiccup halts her. Saying they have to think this through because Toothless and Starchaser could get killed. Astrid is just shocked telling him they found the Nest, the Dragon Nest, what the Viking searched for since for sailed there and he wants to be still about it because of his pet dragon.
Hiccup's firm yes amazes Astrid.
She gives in and asks him what they should do, Hiccup wants time till tomorrow.
Then Astrid punches Hiccup in the arm.
"That's for kidnapping me."
Hiccup looks to Toothless for support. Toothless, who is drinking some water from the pool, snorts, dismissive.
Astrid grabs him. He braces for another hit.
She kisses Hiccup on the cheek.
It likes in slow motion for Leandra. She sits up from her cuddle position with Starchaser. A lonely tear falls down her cheek, her heart feels like someone pierced it with a rusty iron pole.
Why is she feeling like this?
"That's for, everything else."
In the awkward wake of the moment, Astrid hurries off leaving Hiccup rubbing his cheek, stunned. Toothless hobbles up, eyeing him.
"What are you looking at?", Hiccup grumbles to his dragon and turns away.
That's when he sees Starchaser and Leandra.
Starchaser…she is actually looking at him like she wants to bite his head off. Her eyes are slits and she is showing him his teeth.
Leandra…are eyes are red and puffy. Tear streaks are clearly on her cheeks. His best friend seems defeated.
A bad feeling creeps up on the Viking boy. What happened to make his friend and her dragon look like this?
He wants to ask, yet Leandra is faster.
She walks over to him, now her red teary eyes are full of anger, her trusted Night Furry behind her, giving her silhouette wings like she is some kind of avenging angel.
Beautiful and deathly.
Toothless croons confused at his mate and Starchaser barks at him! Hiccup is shocked, normal the two Night Furries are a heart and a soul, they never seemed to fight, yet Starchaser barked at Toothless.
The male dragon croons confused back and looks between the two humans. Starchaser nods and then growls at Hiccup.
The boy is reminded of the day he and Leandra set Toothless free, only Starchaser looks like she is ready to plasma blast him.
But why?
He can't think more, since Leandra stands now before him: "Well, well, look who is back? Romeo here seemed to have changed the mind of Viking-Juliette and even got a kiss. You must feel so great right now!"
"Lee what-"
"I wonder what you did.", musses Leandra crossing her arms and cocking a hip out. "One magical dragon ride and suddenly she likes you! Wow, Hiccup, how great! And here I thought she thought you were a cheater, for taking her glory in dragon training and a Son of Halftroll rat eating something and other things the likes she yelled at you at the Kill Ring today. But I guess she must have liked you always because no one changes their mind that fast just because you flew with them on a dragon!"
"Lee why are you saying these things?!", wonders Hiccup.
Leandra never was like this to him!
He sees how new tears spring in her eyes and the urge to hug her and to ask her what is really wrong is so strong.
"Oh just thinking at loud Hiccup. I'm so happy for you! You will have your perfect Viking bride and have with her two wonderful children, a girl, and a boy.", she snaps her fingers. "I think Zephyr and Nuffink have a nice ring!"
"Leandra, stop!", he shouts at her and grips her by her arms. "What's up with you? This isn't you! Why do you care so much that Astrid k-kissed me? You know I like her. You should be happy for me!"
"You choose HER over ME!", she screams loud, no she wails it with tears that flow down her cheeks.
Hiccup is speechless and the grip on Leandra's arms lose. She steps back from him to Starchaser, who is purring in comfort.
She hugs the neck of her dragon and repeats it: "You choose Astrid over me. Me, your best friend in the world. Me, who was always by your side. Me, who always liked you the way you were. Me, who didn't need to change her mind about you, because there is nothing about you that's wrong."
The brunette stares at his best friend with wide eyes. Is he hearing right?
"I thought you were different from them.", she hisses. "That you would choose me over them as I would, but you didn't. You ARE a Viking. I always saw you, but you didn't see me."
For a moment it was completely still between them. In Hiccup brain and heart is chaos, and he doesn't know how to handle the situation.
"Lee I-"
"Save your words, they mean nothing anymore. You took your choice, I will take me."
With that, she swings herself on Starchaser's back. The dragon seems to coo apologetically to her mate, who coos back at her.
Then the girls are off into the sky, flying towards the full moon.
Hiccup and Toothless just look helpless as they fly away.
Well, Toothless nudges Hiccup in a way that says let's go get them, yet Hiccup can't move.
His hands turn into fists.
A single tear falls down his cheek.
Did…did he make the wrong choice?
No…no Astrid saw reason, he doesn't get where this hatred for his crush comes from Leandra, she never had liked her, yes, but this was new.
"They will be back Toothless.", he says to his dragon friend, petting his snout. "Let's give them time to cool down."
With a last pat, Hiccup makes his way home.
Never seeing how Toothless looks in the direction of the two baskets.
One is missing.
The dragon looks sad up into the sky, but he can't blame his mate.
Leandra was like her hatchling.
They had tried having babies, but it just never worked out.
So no wonder Starchaser was so affectionate with Leandra.
And would follow her where ever she would go.
Toothless croons sad and defeated.
He wonders if he will see Starchaser and Leandra ever again.
I'm not crying you are crying T.T
This hurt to write, but it needed to be written.
For all of you, who like me, always thought Hiccup should just leave Berk with Toothless, I made a brand new fanfiction with it.
Of course, Leandra and Starchaser are with them.
It's called: Together, we map the world.
Our quartet will journey the world, meet new people, see new places, find new dragons and fight against new bad guys.
It will also crossover with different franchisees, so be prepared.
It's going to be a wild ride. :D