Chapter 38: One More Second
Arkyn awoke the next morning to find Astrid already looking up at him. A few pregnant seconds passed by as they locked eyes, and both soon came to the realization that the previous evening hadn't only happened inside their heads.
"You're still here?" Arkyn asked quietly, feeling a sense of mild disbelief as he broke the silence.
"You sound surprised. I told you I would be." The girl replied, causing the other teen to squeeze her gently. "How are you feeling?" Astrid piped up again.
"I- I'm not quite sure of that yet…" Arkyn sighed heavily, thinking deeply about everything that had happened to him recently. "I'll let you know later…"
Astrid nodded knowingly before repositioning herself so that both teens now sat beside each other, their fingers fondly intertwined in a handhold.
"I'm not even sure if I want to see anybody other than you today…" The boy added, glancing down towards the girl next to him.
"Well you can't just barricade yourself in here until Snoggletog."
"Oh, but one can dream." Arkyn cracked a weak smile, his sarcastic nature ever present despite his overall mood.
Astrid used her free hand to flick Arkyn's side, and a lengthy silence fell over them once again as they continued to let their bodies wake up. Finally, however, Arkyn broke it.
"Astrid, um…" he started slowly.
"Hmm?"
"Do we absolutely have to fly in the dragon races today? Can't we just spectate or something like that?" The boy almost croaked the words out.
Astrid furrowed her brow and leaned forward slightly to get a better look at Arkyn's face, noticing his discomfort. "What's wrong?" She asked. "If this is about what happened last time…"
"It isn't." He assured her. "I'm just…really not feeling up to it today, that's all. It might be nice to give Stinger a little break too. I've been riding the damn wings off of that poor dragon lately." He used the Triplestryke as a cheap excuse, but it wasn't the real reason he wanted to take a step back.
"Y- you know people are expecting to see us there." Astrid replied softly, a look of concern in her eyes. "Our friends included."
"I understand that, and I wouldn't want to disappoint any of them, but…is there anything wrong with slowing down for a bit? Just this once? What if I caught the next one?" The truth was that the events of the previous day had affected him far more deeply than he was letting on, and what he wanted- no, needed- was only some time to himself. He felt as though he were flat spinning, and rather than adding the stress of a dragon race to his agenda, Arkyn would rather spend the evening stabilizing his thoughts.
"Arkyn, it's only a dragon race. They're supposed to be fun." Astrid tried to reason with him, yet it still sounded awfully close to peer pressure. "We don't even have to be over there for another few hours."
"It sounds like I'm losing this one."
"Look, nobody said you had to try very hard…you just have to show up."
Arkyn glanced at her reluctantly. Being so relied upon to excite the village was such a drag… "You want me to race, don't you?" It was hard to say no to a girl so beautiful. After all…she had done a lot for him.
"Well I'd rather not race the others all by myself…"
"Then I'll be there." He finally gave in. "I suppose it's the least I can do."
"Thank you." Astrid breathed, placing a hand on his chest. "I know you're not big on being an entertainer, but it wouldn't be the same with you on the sidelines."
"I'll cope." Arkyn said with a tiny smile, though his current tiredness didn't give him much confidence in his statement.
"Maybe you'll feel better once you've eaten something." The girl reminded him that their last full meal had been nearly a day ago. "We should probably go to the Great Hall soon…"
Arkyn sighed. "As much as I'd like to just stay in here with you all day, I suppose food is important…" he chuckled. "I'll start getting ready."
The teens took a few more moments to fully wake themselves up and then finally rolled out of bed, re-equipping themselves for the day. For Arkyn, the last step in this process was to grab his helmet, which he was planning on fastening to Stinger's saddle for later use.
"No sword today?" Astrid asked, noticing the weapon was still mounted proudly upon the wall as they prepared to leave the house.
"Extra weight." The Nomanisan answered quickly, at last turning the handle to his back door and leading Astrid out into the wintry air. "Fuck, it's cold out here." The temperature had dropped significantly overnight, and evidence of snow coming just in time for Snoggletog shown in the clouds.
Astrid spoke with a shiver as she mounted her Nadder, who had previously been curled up overtop Stinger in an effort to keep warm. "They better have a fire started in the Great Hall."
"One way to find out." Arkyn said through thin breaths. "Let's get going." He glanced back towards his house one last time, reminiscing on everything he and Astrid had now shared there before taking off after the girl, inexpressibly grateful for her kindness.
—
"Now, I want no trouble from you t'day, son." Stoick called out to Hiccup as he was about to board Toothless that evening, trying to get ahead of any potential incidents surrounding the second round of dragon races.
The younger boy rolled his eyes, facing away from his father so he couldn't see. "Yeah…I get it, dad. I'll stay out of the way…"
"I'm not sayin' ye can't be competitive. Ye know I still think ye can win these things, but injury is out of the question- intentional or not. An' I know what's been goin' on these past few days. Jus' keep calm, Hiccup. Let yourself have a little fun fer once."
"I'll try." He grimaced, pushing his current situation out of his mind. "I'll see you at the arena later."
"I'll be rootin' fer ya." Stoick made an honest attempt to lift his son's spirits as best he could, but the Chief didn't know how much it was working. The man watched the Night Fury leap into the air and fly away, hoping some success would find the pair later that night.
It wasn't long before Hiccup descended into the arena, finding the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs already there. Apart from his friends, the stands around the structure had begun to fill up with spectators early. Every villager was eager to get a good seat for the event, and many of them waited patiently as the teens prepared their dragons, admiring the creatures with awe from a distance.
"Glad to see you're ok, Hiccup!" Fishlegs said happily as he tightened the straps on Meatlug's saddle. "That fish must have done a number on you!"
"Oh! Heh Heh, yeah…it sure did." The Haddock kept up appearances, giving his friend an optimistic look back. The prompt from Fishlegs could only mean that (surprisingly enough) Snotlout hadn't blown Hiccup's cover, which was just about the nicest thing his cousin had ever done for him. He shared a quick nod with the Jörgensen before turning to his own dragon, appreciating that the other boy's efforts would at least make the social aspect of the dragon races a little bit easier…or so he thought.
A few minutes later, a surge from the crowd announced the arrivals of Arkyn and Astrid. Hiccup looked up to watch them glide in, assuming they'd just returned from their trip, but what he found strange was that they were coming from the direction of the village, not the ocean. He didn't think much of it at first, but it became increasingly puzzling.
It hurt to see the pair together just as much now as it had 2 days ago, but at that point, Hiccup didn't find himself with anything he could do about it. Confessions never lightened living hearts, so that was obviously out of the question, although simply leaning into the possibility that Astrid would no longer be close to him didn't seem like the right direction to go either. He felt stuck.
Hiccup gazed on sadly as the two spread out, each beginning to individually prep their respective companions for the race start. At present, Astrid was alone…and it didn't take long for the boy to focus on her. He just couldn't let her go…not fully…not yet…and so he decided that being friends for now was better than nothing at all. Nerves filled him as he finally crossed the arena to strike up a conversation.
"Evening, Astrid!" Hiccup approached her with a friendly face, trying not to think about his romantic feelings.
The girl looked up from Stormfly, noticing Hiccup next to her. She studied him intently, giving him a quick scan before reciprocating the greeting. "Hey there." She said rather idly, still annoyed with Hiccup for disappearing on her the past few days.
Hiccup hesitated at her mundane reply and unenthusiastic smile but wanted to push forward, his curiosity eventually getting the better of him. "I, um…I noticed you and Arkyn flew in from the direction of town. Did your trip turn out alright? I figured you'd be coming over the water…"
"Maybe we should start calling you Detective Haddock." Astrid sighed, turning back to her dragon. She was not interested in talking about the events of her trip with Hiccup. That was Arkyn's story to tell. After all, it had concerned his family, not hers.
"Wha- is everything ok?" The boy nearly pleaded with her. It was strange to see her so uptight. She was almost acting like her old, cold self again, all the way back before Toothless had entered the picture.
Astrid considered lying to get him to go away, but she stopped herself. Hiccup had left her when she'd wanted him around, and his timing in doing so was…suspicious…to put it lightly. Now was as good a time as any to get into it. "You tell me." She finally said, glancing over at him once more.
Hiccup was taken aback. This is not what he had envisioned when walking over to say hello. "I- I guess things are ok? Am I missing something?"
"You 'missed' the last 2 days. I want to know where you've been."
"I've been sick…I thought you knew that."
"Very convincing." The girl said flatly. She wasn't entirely sure that she knew where she was going with this, but she had already committed.
"I threw up all over my house, Astrid!" Hiccup said in an exasperated whisper, not wanting anyone else to hear. "Ask my dad. Ask Snotlout for Thor's sake…they'll tell you."
Astrid's expression flashed to one of sympathy for a fraction of a second, though she pushed through the distraction. "Nobody else had a problem with their fish that night, and given our 'history,' I couldn't help but notice that you conveniently left right after Arkyn and I announced our betrothal."
"Th- that's got nothing to do with this." Hiccup faltered, not exactly being very persuasive. "How am I supposed to predict when my food won't agree with me?"
The girl let out another long sigh, still skeptical of how well Hiccup's story could hold up. In his defense, a weak stomach apparently ran in the Haddock family. "I wanted you to be with us…" Astrid finally admitted quietly, stopping with the speculative accusations. "…when we were celebrating."
The boy pursed his lips. That was the last thing he'd wanted to do that night. "I didn't know it meant that much to you."
"Of course it did, Hiccup…we're friends. That was a big night for me, and I wanted to share it with you but you left without saying anything and didn't even bother coming to see us yesterday…"
Hiccup's perspective was beginning to change. In an attempt to hide his own disappointment, he had removed himself from the presence of one of his best friends at a very important time in her life. If he weren't still so jealous of Arkyn, it almost would have felt selfish. "I'm sorry…" He breathed. "I know I should have come to see you two off yesterday. I was just so wiped out from the night before that I couldn't get out of bed."
Astrid paid close attention to his mannerisms as he said this, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. In a way, however, it didn't matter anymore. If she dug any further, the two might not have ever been able to go back to the way things were before they'd started drifting apart, so she reluctantly gave him the benefit of the doubt. "It's ok…" She said at last, finally letting it go. "It's good to see you again…"
"It's good to see you, too. You're sure you're not upset?"
"I'm fine. I suppose I should apologize as well. I should have believed you the first time."
Hiccup swallowed hard. It killed him to lie to her, but he'd be in far more trouble if he had just let the truth spill out. He unfortunately knew it wasn't something Astrid wanted to hear. What would he have said anyway? Oh, actually I left early that night because I'm still madly in love with you and couldn't stand the thought of you loving someone else. Nope…that would not have worked.
"Don't worry about it." He croaked, catching himself quickly. "Good luck with the races."
The girl finally let herself smile. "Thank you." She replied quietly, hoping they would turn out to be more successful than their last attempt.
"I- I think I might go talk to Arkyn now." Hiccup informed her as he slowly backed away, glancing towards where Stinger waited patiently. "I don't want him to worry about anything."
"I think that would be best." Astrid called after him, but Hiccup didn't hear her. He was lost in thought at what he would say to the other boy. Being friendly with Arkyn had been becoming far more difficult for quite some time now despite their early closeness, and Hiccup knew that if he didn't start trying to correct things as much as he could, then he would never be able to get rid of his resentment. It wouldn't be easy, and it wouldn't happen overnight, but having a friend was always better than having an enemy, even if Hiccup couldn't accept that right away.
As he got closer to where Arkyn and his dragon were, however, the strange feeling that something was off crept over him, but Hiccup couldn't immediately tell why. Earlier it had seemed like Arkyn was busy preparing Stinger and his gear for the race, but at the moment, the Stryerson simply stood like a statue forward the Triplestryke's snout. A stony expression made the teen's features appear heavy as he looked over his companion, although his eyes gave off the peculiar illusion that he was actually staring through the dragon, focusing on some faraway object that no one else could see. He idly held his helmet to his stomach with both hands, as if he were about to present it to someone as a gesture of retirement.
"H- hey there, Arkyn." Hiccup hesitated, taking slower and slower steps.
Arkyn didn't flinch, and spoke without diverting his eyes at all. "Hey yourself." He replied with almost no tone.
"Am I…am I bothering you? Is now a bad time?"
"I don't feel well." Said Arkyn, still not looking in Hiccup's direction.
"Well I've been there before…" the Haddock tried to relate.
His counterpart sounded increasingly tired. "Not like this."
Hiccup didn't know how to respond to such a comment, so instead he disregarded it and got back on topic. "I just came over to wish you good luck before the races started, and to assure you that I won't be so reckless this time around…"
"Oh damn the races, Hiccup." Arkyn shot in a low voice. "They're not even supposed to be for us."
Hiccup was slightly hurt by his apathy towards the event. It was supposed to be good for everyone… "Look, Arkyn, I'm not sure what might have happened to you over the past two days, but you're being a bit of an asshole…"
Arkyn finally tilted his head to look at the other boy, but the moment was brief. "Add it to the list of adjectives, then." He said, quickly turning his back to Hiccup and slowly walking to Stinger's opposite side to mount up for the race, putting on his helmet as he did so. "It's nothing personal, Hiccup…I just don't give a shit anymore."
The Chief's son was left speechless, staring up at the boy in the suit of armor, a myriad of questions running through his head. Had Arkyn and Astrid fought with each other on vacation? He thought as he finally slumped back towards his dragon, confused as to why neither of his conversations had been amicable. If this is what he got when trying his best to be friendly…what was the point?
Unbeknownst to either of the boys, Ruffnut had caught snippets of their exchange from her seat on Barf, and noticing there was still some time left before the riders would have to line up, climbed down from her saddle and made her way towards Astrid, assuring Tuff that she would return as soon as she could.
"Pssst. Astrid!" She got close enough to whisper, attempting to be more covert than her fellow riders had just been.
Astrid noticed Ruff and dismounted Stormfly to talk to her friend, whom she hadn't seen since leaving for vacation. "Ruffnut! Glad you're here, but why are we whispering?"
"I don't know what the hell you and Arkyn talked about on your 'vacation', but he just curb stomped Hiccup during what should have been a friendly interaction, so you better fess up or go reel in your man."
"W- we didn't talk about anything." Astrid got defensive, and she technically wasn't lying. Hiccup's name hadn't come up at all on their trip, but she still looked concerned after hearing that this had happened.
"Well everything has an explanation." Her best friend pressed, but her tone became slightly more forgiving when she noticed how uncomfortable Astrid looked. "What did you do?"
"Ruffnut, you don't understand…"
"That's correct."
"It's not my story to tell!" Astrid pleaded, trying her best to protect Arkyn.
"Then you better make it your story, because I won't let this go unless there's a really good reason to. So…one more time: What? Happened?"
Astrid began to stammer, feeling extremely guilty that she was about to share this information before she knew Arkyn was ready. "We ended up on the remains of Nomanisan Island." She spilled in a timid voice, staring at her feet.
Ruffnut's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "You visited the place he's from? Like- where the attack was?"
Astrid nodded. "It was an accident, and I'm only telling you because you're my best friend, but nobody else can know- not ever."
Luckily Ruff did understand this part. She felt for both of her friends, barely being able to imagine what the last 24 hours must have looked like for them. "…How was he…when you found it?" She asked softly, wondering how much more she could get out of Astrid.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Astrid breathed, her eyes growing damp as she was briefly haunted by her partner's recent anguish. "But he's going to be ok. I've got him…"
"And what about the island?"
"It's a goddamn wreck, Ruff. There's nothingthere…" The two girls shared a moment of silence as her words sank in.
Ruffnut glanced behind her to where Arkyn sat atop Stinger, looking like he was ready to take on Odin himself. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know yet." Astrid answered. "But for now…just don't ask about the trip. I'll talk to him about Hiccup later…"
"Don't even bother, Astrid. Hiccup's a big boy…he'll figure it out."
And with that, the pair parted ways and mounted their respective dragons as the lineup of racers was called for the evening. Astrid aimed to move into the leftmost starting position next to Arkyn, but rather than having a smooth trip from one side of the arena to the other, Stormfly's motion was curiously jerky and disconnected whilst getting her there.
"Keep it together, girl!" Astrid whispered, and the dragon soon calmed down again. "We have a race to win!"
Arkyn himself remained impassive. He faced straight ahead, only glancing up at the Chief's throne through the holes in his mask. The sound of his breath within the apparatus had become deafening, and he could feel his heartbeat in the back of his throat. It felt as if an eternity passed him by each time Stoic announced a new name, and he barely noticed when his own had been called, lazily lifting his arm for a small wave in response.
His mind was elsewhere. It felt stuck oceans away on Nomanisan and hadn't really returned to him since his impromptu visit. He wished his parents were with him. As much as the boy had tried to recover, there was no escaping the feeling that they had been taken too soon. It had slowly been eating away at him all this time, but the floodgates were opening. Everyone around him kept telling him that they would be proud, but he could not see them now. If only they knew how far you've come. He'd heard it too many times.
Arkyn spied a handful of children in the stands, parents standing either side of their shoulders. The parents of the other dragon riders were all there too, except for Valka, of course. But who was Arkyn racing for? Hundreds of Vikings he didn't truly know? Why had Astrid made him come that night? Where would he be right now if she'd let him sit this one out? In the crowd among the people? His house? The docks? The cliff? He couldn't decide. Maybe it didn't matter…or perhaps it did? Everything happens for a reason. He thought. Fate was persistent. It never took any days off.
Astrid, too, tuned out Stoick's speech. Stormfly shifted uncomfortably underneath her once more, but she was too distracted by Arkyn's eerily unmoving statue to notice. The way he was behaving had strangely devolved throughout the day, and she worried he was on the brink of something terrible. "Hey." Astrid leaned right in her saddle, hoping she caught her partner's attention. "Are you ready to tell me how you're feeling now? This morning was a long time ago…"
Arkyn either hadn't heard her or had simply chosen not to, but whatever response he would have potentially given would have been drowned out by Stormfly's own chirping or the Chief's overly loud count down anyway. At last Arkyn looked in her direction, but it was really her Nadder who caught his attention. Astrid seemed to be slowly losing control of the creature.
Something didn't feel right.
"10!" The crowd roared, now counting down along with Stoick.
"9!" 4 of the 6 dragons prepared their takeoff stance, unaware of what was happening on the end of the line.
"8!" Stormfly started to buck excessively, completely disregarding Astrid's commands to get into the ready stance.
"7!" Arkyn flipped his visor up, trying to place where he'd seen the behavior before.
"6!" Several people in the front rows of the spectator's benches began to point at the two dragons on the left, wondering why they weren't prepared to race.
"5!" Gobber brought his mouth to the game horn, poised to kick off the evening's main event.
"4!" A faint rumble could be felt on the arena's surface. At first Arkyn thought it was the Vikings in the stands stomping their feet in anticipation, but it soon grew to a level far beyond that explanation.
"3!" Arkyn put both hands into the air, desperately signaling to Stoick and his fellow riders that something was wrong, but their tunnel vision kept them from noticing.
"2!"
"STOP THE COUNT!" The Nomanisan finally screamed, and the arena at last fell silent as all eyes focused on him. One by one, the remaining 5 riders looked down the line of dragons and saw what was happening, a pit opening up in each of their stomachs as they imagined what it could mean. Their fears were realized when the ground began to shake so violently that pebbles in the arena jumped from the ground. Shouts of "earthquake" emanated throughout the crowd of Vikings, but Arkyn held his hands up once again to silence them, looking directly at Stoick as he lowered his visor once again.
"SECURE THE ARENA! NOBODY LEAVES UNTIL WE SAY SO!" Arkyn shouted, and several ushers did what they could to lock down the structure, though their effectiveness was minimal as the stands remained very exposed. He then turned to face his fellow riders. "EVERYONE IN THE AIR! GET READY FOR A FIGHT!"
They quickly obliged, and a battle formation had soon been completed behind Hiccup and Toothless in record time. Even Astrid managed to get her frantic Nadder off the ground, forcing the creature to focus in the heat of the moment. Confused onlookers huddled together in the cold below them, still not understanding the threat that was imminent.
They would know all too soon, however, and with an ear splitting crack, the monstrous outline of a Screaming Death rose from the ocean a few hundred meters off of Berk's shore, breaking through the crust below.
"Gods fucking damn it." Arkyn whispered into his helmet. It was like he was having an out of body experience and he was simply viewing this point in his life from an external perspective. "Blood moons…"
Hiccup took over the leadership role once everyone was in the sky, understanding that time was of the essence. "We need to meet this one head on, guys! Remember what we did last time. Make sure you're covering each other!"
Except that as they got closer, it became quite clear that what had worked last time was not going to work this time. This Screaming Death was easily twice the size of the last one they'd faced, and twice as angry to match it. That also made it twice as fast, twice as tough, and twice as volatile. They'd killed the last one by means of misdirection, eventually forcing it to ram itself into the side of a mountain with its teeth closed, but that had not only destroyed the dragon but also the rock formation it had made contact with. Berk couldn't afford to play host to such destruction, and even if it could have, it didn't have the size of mountain necessary to take down a beast of such magnitude, and there was no time to lead it to somewhere that did before it caught up to someone. They suddenly found themselves in real trouble.
Arkyn's mind was racing, and the faster it seemed to go, the slower time got. He took note of his position in the formation, once again staring at the thing that killed his parents. The fact that he would never know exactly which Screaming Death was responsible for the destruction of his home was maddening, but as far as Arkyn was concerned, they were all the same to him: demons on earth. His sanity dissolved within him as he glanced at the arena below, viewing the entire population of Berk inside it. People were going to die- parents were going to die- unless he did something to prevent it.
Arkyn wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to a single one of them, no matter how few of them he knew personally. It was as simple as that. In an instant he saw his worst tragedy materialize before him once again, except this time things could be different. This time things had to be different. He snapped his head back towards the white snake in the sky, hating its very existence for what its species had done to him. Arkyn was tired of seeing them, not only face to face but also in his nightmares. Arkyn was tired of fighting them and the toll that doing so took on his soul. But most of all…Arkyn was just tired. Tired of waking up. Tired of searching for peace that he worried he may never find. Tired of having to put on a face that everyone seemed to be more happy with than he was. The pressures of the new life he'd been living had overwhelmed him to the point of exhaustion, and he just couldn't handle it any longer. Not for one…more…second…
And so he pressed a plan into action- one that would free himself and everybody else of this terrible creature forever.
Hiccup dished out more orders in front of Arkyn as he pieced together his strategy. "We need to keep it distracted and AWAY FROM THE ARENA! I don't think we can outrun this one, so our best bet is to tire it out until it goes away. Everybody spread out! Start dividing its attention!"
Arkyn could barely hear his counterpart over the sound of his own panic, but he knew right from the beginning that no matter how hard they tried, they would never have the endurance to 'tire out' or outlast such a violent creature, but now was no time to argue. Now was the time to act.
"I need to go home." He whispered quietly, almost as if to convince himself of what he was doing. "I need to go home!" Arkyn finally yelled it loud enough for the group to hear, and he could feel several glances get thrown in his direction as his friends internalized his words.
"What the fuck, dude?! We kinda need all hands on deck right now!" Snotlout shouted at him, causing Arkyn to whip his head around and stare daggers at the other boy through his mask.
"I'll be back as soon as I can!" He replied, exasperated. "I promise!" And without waiting for further resistance, he leaned into Stinger's ear and directed the dragon towards their house, leaving the other riders behind to deal with the threat at hand.
Astrid looked over her shoulder and watched him go, a pained look on her face as she realized that for the first time in a long time, she had no idea how to be there for Arkyn. For the first time in a long time, they didn't feel like a team anymore.
Stinger screeched to a halt in front of Arkyn's house, leaving a skid mark 20 feet long in the path behind them as his talons dug into the soft earth in order to slow down. The boy dismounted without hesitation, looking back at his dragon as he rushed towards the door.
"Go help the others!" He shouted. "They need you now! I'll find my own way back!"
Stinger spread his wings but whimpered in response, not wanting to abandon his rider. The creature stared at his companion inquisitively, a sixth sense telling it that things weren't as they should be.
"Come on, boy!" Arkyn pleaded, desperation in his voice. "Fly strong for me just a little bit longer. I'll let you rest for a week after this is over and I'll make sure you're so well fed that you won't want another fish from me for the rest of your life!"
But the dragon didn't want fish…he wanted his rider. And although he'd never been in a fight without Arkyn before, Stinger could do nothing but reluctantly lift himself back into the air, departing in the direction of the ocean towards the white snake in the sky.
Arkyn watched him go for only a second, both regretful and relieved that his Triplestryke had the strength to follow orders at such a time, but he couldn't spare another moment. There was a very specific set of things he needed to do, and speed was imperative to his success.
Arkyn came back to focus and flung his front door open so quickly that it slammed into the wall. Dashing inside, he wrenched his helmet off and placed it on his desk as silent tears streamed down his face, though he didn't care enough to stop them anymore. Next he stepped towards his bedside and dropped to his knees, carefully lifting up floorboards under which he had hidden the journal of Eobard Ishman, eventually tossing the book into the bottom drawer of his nightstand, paying no attention to what else he may have stashed in the receptacle before that day.
Carefully shutting the drawer and lowering the floorboards, Arkyn crossed his home once again to where his sword was mounted on the wall and was about to lift it into its sheath when he was stopped by the image of his own reflection in the weapon's polished steel blade. The teen didn't spend much time studying his own appearance, but even so the eyes that stared back at him now were barely recognizable compared to the ones he thought he knew. Buried beneath the hurt and the loss and the grief was a deep longing for something Arkyn knew he could never achieve and the crushing but ever present acceptance of that reality- but it was this acceptance that had caught his attention.
He was ok with it. Everything he'd done up to that point and everything he was going to do to fight off this monster Arkyn was perfectly ok with. Everything from meeting his new friends to training Stinger as his own companion to betrothing Astrid he was finally, finally at peace with. Arkyn only now wished it had all been done under different circumstances, for maybe then all of those things would have been enough to save him, but unfortunately fate didn't afford him the luxury of happy times. It was too late for him to dwell on that now, however, and after only allowing a fleeting moment for self reflection, he grabbed his sword from the wall, took one last look at the house he'd made some of his most cherished memories in, and ran off into the sunset, heading in the direction of the fight without even bothering to close his door behind him.
Things were not good when he returned to the scene.
Meatlug had evidently taken a hit from the Screaming Death's tail, and although the injury was luckily non-lethal, the dragon and her rider were down for the count with the twins also coming in for a landing to check on the pair. They were all safely out of harm's way, tending to one another just on the exterior of the arena where the structure gave way to the cliffs over the shore and the large field in which Arkyn had had his crash during the last stint of the dragon races. This left Hiccup, Snotlout, Astrid, and a lonely Stinger as the only ones in the air, and all things considered, they were doing a decent job of making sure nobody else got hurt for the time being, but Arkyn knew they couldn't stall forever.
The boy was positively exhausted from having run there on foot all the way from the village, but since all of the wild dragons had scattered at the first sign of danger, there were unfortunately no creatures left for him to hitch a ride on when he needed one. He trudged through the field towards the cliffs edge, catching the gaze of Fishlegs and the twins from afar as he came into view of the arena. Arkyn flashed the group a quick thumbs up, nonverbally asking them if they were ok, and quickly nodded back with a grimace when the three returned the gesture. Emotions were beyond him now, gone to some far away place where they couldn't cloud his thoughts anymore. The only thing that mattered was that nobody was dead yet.
At last he came to a stop roughly 20 feet from where the edge of the field dropped off and forced himself to look to the sky once more, spying the sharp, contrasting outline of the Screaming Death against the orange hues of the setting sun in the background. Arkyn found it strangely comforting to realize that he was now standing high above the same shoreline he'd first landed on all those months ago. It was the first thing that had felt right all day, but the distraction was quickly pushed aside when Astrid suddenly had a close call with one of the aggressor's fireballs. The time to act had arrived.
"Did he say what exactly his plan was…?" Fishlegs asked the twins hesitantly as they watched the boy from the sidelines, but his friends shook their heads.
Arkyn's moment finally came when Toothless rocked the side of the Screaming Death's head with an especially thunderous plasma blast, which knocked the creature towards the ground with a bright flash and sent it below the edge of the cliff towards the shore. With split second thinking, Arkyn remembered how the last Screaming Death had reacted to the glint on his belt buckle, and so as the monster stumbled from the sky he held the shiny blade of his sword up to the sunset and captured the final rays of dying light, catching the dragon's attention just before it briefly dipped out of sight.
While most expected to hear the crash of the dragon hitting the beach, an eerie silence came instead as the Screaming Death snapped into focus and caught itself ahead of the impact, using its wings to rise upwards once more. Arkyn's world slowed as the face of his nemesis slowly appeared from below the edge of the field, the dragon's gaze now fixated directly on where he was standing. It was so large that it blocked out the sun entirely and eclipsed his body as a shadow fell over him, chilling the Nomanisan to his core. "Hello, friend." Arkyn whispered sarcastically to himself, the cold filling his lungs only to exit his lips as vapor.
Astrid gasped from the air as she realized what the Screaming Death was looking at, just now noticing that Arkyn had returned to the fight. It was terrifying to witness. Her betrothed was now staring down the creature that had destroyed his entire life with nothing but a sword in his right hand. The moment felt so unbelievably raw that the girl could barely comprehend it. The one thing she did know, however, was that it could only produce one outcome…and that outcome was bad.
"Arkyn?!" She screamed, calling out for him from atop Stormfly's saddle. "Arkyn, what are you doing?!"
The boy didn't break his eye contact with the creature across from him, but rather started to back away slowly, trying to buy himself time as he spoke. "The only thing that can be done, Astrid!" He said in monotone, accepting that he would never find the right words to say in order to explain it the way he wanted to. "We were never going to make it out of this one without losing somebody and you know it…"
"Wha-?" The girl was utterly distraught hearing these words leave his mouth. They just couldn't be true… "Arkyn, stop it! Just stop it! Get on Stinger and start figuring something else out!"
"I'm so sorry, Astrid…" The words were barely loud enough for others to hear. "You're just going to have to trust me when I say that everything will be ok!" He raised his sword to the beast, cocking his right arm back as if he were holding a lance.
"Gods damn it, Arkyn! Listen to me! What if this doesn't work?" Tears began welling up in Astrid's eyes as she pleaded desperately to him, hindering her vision from taking in the dark scene. The warrior in her didn't want to admit it, but Arkyn was right…they'd all figured out a long time ago that this Screaming Death was just too strong…though that didn't mean she was prepared to lose Arkyn over it. She had to do something to save him.
Facing her Nadder towards Arkyn, Astrid put the dragon in a dive, going the fastest she'd ever pushed her companion to try and lift him out of harm's way…to try and take his place…to try and do anything at all before it was too late… Talons extended, she was almost there…she was so close…
Hiccup, who had been watching the situation unfold with Toothless from nearby, didn't approve of this one bit. After all this time, a window of opportunity had suddenly been opened for him- seemingly by direct order of the gods themselves. If Arkyn wanted to make this sacrifice, that was his choice- and it was a noble one. Hiccup would never be able to continue with his life if Astrid got herself killed right in front of him, however, but as it seemed, that was what she was trying to do. No. Not today. In one move, Hiccup could both save the girl of his dreams and let Arkyn Stryerson walk willingly into Valhalla, and that's exactly what he prepared to do.
As for Arkyn himself, time had finally come to a full stop. He was only vaguely aware of Astrid's attempt to retrieve him, but from his perspective, the girl and her dragon were suspended completely still as they hung in the sky, only visible from his peripheral vision. Instead his focus had landed on his parents, but specifically something his dad had once said to him when he'd been given 'the talk' about becoming a warrior.
We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things, because that shadow will always follow. So choose a place where you won't do much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth- facing the sunshine.
The last sentence rang loudly in his head as he held his memories close. Here he was- standing in the sunset for everything he was worth- prepared to protect the ones he cared about the most without an ounce of fear left in his tired soul, for now it was only his shell that remained on the cliff while the rest of him began to take the first steps down the path that led between worlds. Let go. He told himself. It's time to let go.
He took one more glance at Astrid, wondering if he'd ever get to see her again. There was too much he hadn't gotten a chance to tell her and it made him resent having to leave her so soon, though he told himself that if fate were truly looking out for him, he'd have his moment someday. When or if that day would come, Arkyn didn't know, but until then he at least owed the girl one last parting sentiment- something he had wanted her to know since the night of his party but had never been courageous enough to say. It was now or never.
"Come and find me in the next life, Astrid." He said at last, praying to every god he could name that this wouldn't be the end of them. A final tear rolled slowly down his cheek as he choked delivering his next words. "Stay strong and remember that I love you, Hoff. You deserved to hear that sooner…" It was at that moment that he deeply regretted never actually saying the phrase out loud before then. Damn his cowardice…
"No! Don't you dare lose yourself for me!" Astrid cried out in protest, determined to get to Arkyn in time, but she would never make it.
With a heavy thud, Toothless swooped underneath Stormfly's dive and rammed the other dragon's armored underbelly at full speed, sending both pairs of teens and their companions sprawling uncontrollably through the air.
At the same instant, the angered Screaming Death finally made its fateful lunge towards Arkyn. "Take me to my parents, Devil." He whispered, knowing full well it was over as soon as the creature started darting over the grass. Just before the beast reached him, however, Arkyn used the last bit of strength he had left to throw his sword as deep as he possibly could into the throat of the approaching monster, crossing his fingers that it wouldn't all be for nothing. His face contorted into inhuman shapes as he let it fly, and he could feel every drop of pent up rage, grief, and despair leave his body along with the weapon as he set it free with a terrible scream.
But then the jaws closed around his body, and just like that…Arkyn was gone.
The crowd sat and stared, overtaken by shock and disbelief. Astrid let out a blood curdling wail as she was forced to watch her betrothed die whilst tumbling towards the ground, just barely hanging onto her saddle. Fishlegs and the twins sprang up from where they had settled and stood frozen in horror, but even so, there was nothing anybody could do anymore.
At first it alarmingly looked as though Arkyn's last stand had been entirely ineffective. The Screaming Death rested on the grassy field where it had engulfed the rider and began to stretch its wings in preparation to lift itself skyward once more. However, just as it left the ground, the beast's muscles went limp and it let out one final, ear splitting, agonizing roar before the weight of its tail dragged it backwards and off the edge of the cliff where it landed in a coiled heap on the beach with a deafening crash.
At last, Stormfly fell back to earth and slid on her right wing to an eventual stop, immediately after which Astrid dismounted and stumbled upright, a pain in her leg causing her to limp as she approached the upturned grass where the monster had been just moments before. The girl choked on her tears the whole way there, collapsing to her knees as she peered over the edge of the cliff to see the Screaming Death lying dead on the shore below.
"NO ARKYN, GODS DAMN IT! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO? W- WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Astrid was positively inconsolable and continued to rip up her vocal cords even after burying her face in her hands.
That was it. The last Nomanisan Soldier had fallen. It was fitting that it was a Screaming Death who came back to finish the job after killing so many others. The tribe was now extinct. Erased. Lost to history. Only the decimated island in the middle of nowhere that Astrid had seen the day prior remained as its legacy. It was a crushing loss, especially considering that the only person the Nomanisans could still offer the world had just given everything to ensure Berk didn't meet the same end. If there was truly honor in blood, Arkyn had just earned himself a seat at the table of kings.
Landing moments later, Hiccup rushed to the girl's side and tried his best to help her away from the cliff's edge before she damn near fell over the side, but she was having none of it. Sadness turned to anger at the sight of him, and with one swift movement of her arm Astrid rotated her elbow to meet Hiccup's face, putting enough power behind it to effortlessly break his nose and send him sprawling to the ground as blood poured from his nostrils. "Get the FUCK off of me!" The girl yelled sharply in full view of the arena, disgusted that he'd dared to touch her after the stunt he pulled.
"I could have saved him! I was going to save him…" Astrid sobbed, turning around to grab the downed teen by the collar of his tunic. "Why the hell did you stop me?" She demanded.
Hiccup lay on his back wearing a stunned expression as he looked up towards the rage that plastered Astrid's features. He thought she would understand… "Astrid, you were going to get yourself killed! I- I saved you!"
"Yeah? Well I didn't fucking ask you to, did I?!"
"Let him go, Astrid." Ruffnut had arrived on the scene, with Tuff and Fishlegs running up behind her. "He can explain himself later, but he needs to fuck off now!" The Thorsten knew that her best friend wasn't in the mood to talk, so for the sake of Hiccup's own safety, the least she could do for him was get him as far away from Astrid as possible.
Astrid dropped Hiccup's collar and let him scurry away, her eyes shooting up to meet her best friend's gaze as she tried to process her shock. "Ruffnut I- I don't know how to fix this."
Ruff embraced the other girl with both arms, a rare move for the Thorstens. "You're ok, Astrid. There's nothing to fix. Everything's going to be alright."
"What about Stinger?" Astrid asked. "What's to become of him?"
Snotlout, Ruff, Tuff, and Fishlegs all looked towards the sky, spotting the Triplestryke still circling above. The helpless dragon squawked frantically, searching for a rider that would never saddle him again. The dragon's final order had been given, and he had followed it loyally, but no more were coming…not from Arkyn, anyway. It was a heavy sight, and the remaining teens all took a second to imagine their own dragons in the same position. This tragedy, however terrible, could have happened to any of them…
"You know we are all willing to take care of him." Fishlegs spoke up next, trying to reassure his friend that they wouldn't lose the creature in the absence of its owner. "His safety is what's important now. We can discuss the rest some other time, when you're ready."
The arena had since begun to empty out and villagers spilled across the field in somber relief. A large group of them formed a circle around the teens, keeping a respectful distance from the grieving riders while also showing their support in the aftermath of Arkyn's sacrifice. Astrid's parents, the Chief, and Gobber all managed to make their way to the front thanks to Stoick's booming decrees to step aside, and for just a fractional moment, the young and the old simply stared at each other, quiet misery falling over every single one of their faces as unspoken sympathies jumped from one heart to the next.
Freya was the first to step forward, and she cupped her daughter's face in her hands, wiping the girl's tears away with her thumb while some fell down her own cheeks. Riftan stood behind his wife as the rest of the teens found solace with Stoick and Gobber, and the mood was soon dampened further when the last of the sunset disappeared behind the sea, dressing the island in a blanket of shadows.
"Darling…" Freya began slowly, but the words were difficult to get out. "You have no idea how grateful your father and I will forever be that Arkyn kept you safe. He kept all of us safe."
"And where is he now, mom? Because I know he's not here to accept your gratitude face to face." Astrid replied accusingly.
"He's in Valhalla, dear, with his parents." The woman said softly. "Right where he should be." There was a short pause. "People don't sacrifice themselves like that unless it's for someone really special, and Arkyn really loved you, Astrid. I never want you to forget that."
Astrid buried her face in her mother's neck, her sobs nearly becoming hysterical in nature as she felt her father's hand come to rest on her shoulder. "I never said it back, mom." She cried. "He died and I never told him that I loved him too…"
"He knew." Freya tightened her grip around her only child. "Trust me, Astrid, a mother can tell. Arkyn already knew."
It was then that a few quick murmurs were shared amongst the adults and a general agreement was reached that the teens probably shouldn't be hanging around the site of Arkyn's death longer than they needed to be at the present time. "I suggest ye all go home an' thank yer lucky stars tha' ye still can." Stoick spoke to the crowd of villagers. "It goes without sayin' tha' the loss we've just witnessed was a tragedy beyond measure. I'm ordering the markets be closed tomorrow, and with that, a town meeting will be held in the mornin' to address exactly wha's happened here tonight, but until then make sure ye remember the name Arkyn Stryerson. Our village owes him an eternal debt."
The extra faces cleared out at once, offering their condolences as they left, and soon the only ones still on the cliff were the riders, their families, and Gobber. Hiccup was left standing awkwardly to the side as he held his tunic over his bloody nose, and the normally green garment was now stained red with the liquid. His father paid no attention to him at the moment, and instead Stoick knelt down before Astrid to try and meet her eye level, offering one last word before everybody eventually parted ways for the evening.
"I know wha' it is like te lose someone ye love, Astrid, but if I'm any example, I know you will be ok one day. This whole village has seen it…you are one tough lass." He winked, but the young girl remained expressionless. "Yer parents are goin' te take you home now. Rest up, feel better, and I'll be in touch if yer family needs anythin' at all."
Astrid nodded and turned to hug each of her friends before leaving (excluding Hiccup, of course). After collecting Stormfly, she began the long, lonely walk to her home, which was unfortunately completed in total silence as her parents failed to muster the right words needed to fill the hole that had been left by Arkyn's absence. At the very least, the silence gave Astrid time to think.
But time to think was dangerous…
She thought about everything she and Arkyn had done together, playing back each and every memory in her head from start to finish. His first day, the fight with Stinger, their first kiss, training the Triplestryke together, the first Screaming Death, the injury, the party, the beginning of their relationship, the suit, the dragon races, the Flightmare, their betrothal, the vacation…all of it washed out. The memories she had of him now were the only ones she would ever get. No more would be made. The source of her comfort was finite.
It didn't feel real.
The person Astrid usually went to with her problems was gone, and on that particular night, no one was an adequate replacement, not that she wanted to replace him anyway. What Astrid wanted was to feel Arkyn's arms around her just one more time. She wanted to fall asleep beside him again, knowing he would be there when she woke up the next morning. She wanted to hear him spout off one more stupid, unhelpful, sarcastic remark. She wanted one more flight, one more look at his brown eyes, one more kiss goodbye…
All Astrid really wanted was just one…more…second…