Hey everyone! This is the last episode of the First Season of 'Riders of Berk'
This part will be split into two parts. I hope you all enjoy
…
Brothers
Chapter 23: Heather, Part 1
It's a nice day outside!
Although it's still winter, we have had days where the sun would shine and because of that the afternoons would be warmer. Today is a really good day to fly!
The Dragon Riders had begun the day flying through a short course to see who's the fastest out of the bunch. Spoiler alert: it's definitely Toothless and Hiccup.
By today, however, Fishlegs told Haddock that Astrid and Stormfly were catching up on the leaderboard.
Stormfly IS getting faster, and I couldn't help but rub it in the teen Night Fury's face.
"Oh boy, you're going to lose to Stormfly…I can see it now: the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself…defeated by a parrot."
"Very funny" Toothless grumbled in response, pushing me away with a paw.
Stormfly hops over to us and chirped happily, "no hard feelings, Tooth?" The fifteen-year-old Fury grumbled back to her, "you'll never beat me" he haughtily declared as I playfully covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing.
"Don't be so sure about that, Night Fury" Storm winked at him before rejoining Astrid Hofferson. Toothless just scoffs back, "I'll be damned if I ever let anyone outmatch a Night Fury in speed…"
I raise an eyebrow at him before jumping on him, startling the dragon a bit. I rest on top of his head, snickering loudly as I do, "just wait a thousand years, bud." Suddenly, he tilts his head, causing me to fall off his head. I end up on the floor in a twisted wreck as he grinned mischievously in retaliation, "I guess we got to work on your landings still, Flint."
"Ha-ha-ha!" I shake my head, taping a paw against the ground.
A few moments later, Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare entered the Dragon Academy, with the former seemingly excited over something.
"You all will not believe what I just found!"
"A severed head?" Tuffnut asked genuinely
"Our cousin Lars?" Ruffnut jumped in with similar enthusiasm.
"Our cousin Lars's severed head!?"
Fishlegs jumps into view, quite worryingly, "Lars died?"
"Wait, who said that!?" The male Twin interjected.
The Hideous Zippleback's heads look at one another, both heads rolled their eyes in response.
"These two knuckleheads are a handful…" Barf muttered.
"They're more to deal with than a pack of Terrors, sometimes" Belch added.
"Agreed."
"Do you guys want to see this or not!?" Snot retorted, interrupting the human Vikings. We all decide to follow him, wondering what is so dang important that he wants us to see? I bet it's just a seashell on the beach or another shipwreck…been noticing they are common in areas like Berk...
Who knows…it's probably going to be a waste of time, but Hiccup and the others were already following him out of the arena! I roll my eyes before leaving to join them.
It's close to sunset, the sky turning yellow orange. Our group arrived at a seaside cove where we see a shipwrecked vessel.
Jorgenson leads us to the boat and Tuff scoffs at the sight, "a wrecked boat on Berk? Yea, there's something new…" he sarcastically muttered.
"I wonder what all the fuzz is about?" I turned to the Night Fury known as Toothless: he just shrugged back at me, "beats me, Flint."
Snotlout catches our attention with his usual bravado, "just remember, I saw it first, so it's mine!" The Viking boy crouches and gestures Hiccup and the other Vikings in to check the inside of the shipwreck.
To their shock and surprise, there's a person in there! They appear to be unconscious…it's a girl!
"Whoa…now I like the boat…" Tuff chuckled as his sister and Astrid roll their eyes in response.
"Now remember," Jorgenson whispered proudly, "I get to keep her."
Astrid is disgusted by this, snapping at the teen in retaliation, "Snot, this is a person!"
As if Snotlout couldn't be any more ignorant, he claps back toward Hofferson, "yea! How lucky am I!?"
Hiccup ignores him and crawls toward the unconscious stranger, "h-hey there…"
Sure enough, the mysterious girl begins to stir. Once her eyes meet the group, she jolts back in fright! Hiccup immediately tries calming her down, "it's okay! We're friends here!"
Suddenly, she coughs loudly, startling the teens a bit, "d-do you have any water?" She opened. Upon closer inspection, Astrid and Hiccup figure that the girl is dehydrated. Of course, all the guys, except for Haddock, rush in to offer the stranger their drinks.
"Allow me…" Snot offers his drink as she takes it, thanking him. After she's done, she looks around: still in a confused and vulnerable state, "w-where am I?"
"This is Berk" Hiccup smiled.
Having been impatient, Toothless now moves the boy out of the way to meet the "visitor."
"Let me see them!" He warbled. I had the urge to check too, having heard them from outside. For some reason, the girl's voice is drawing me in. I hopped on the Night Fury's back and saw the girl for the first time. Our sudden appearance sends the female backward again. To quell her panicked state, Hiccup AGAIN tries to calm her. Toothless has no choice but to yield but I meanwhile…
I had focused my green dragon eyes on this stranger, examining her form. The earfins on the sides of my head spread outward as the two ears on my head rise fully. Something deep in the back of my mind sent me into a state of confusion and surprise. My mouth gapes. With widely opened eyes I soon let out a gasp in total shock. She looks straight at me; her familiar green eyes strike mine as if a momentary connection between us is formed.
I shake my head…as if this all is just another dream or nightmare I am having…th-this can't be happening! What on earth am I seeing right now!?
My paws tremble, my breathing thickens, and my jaw hits the floor at the sudden revelation.
All I could say in draconic tongue is: "Sophia!?"
Hiccup quickly made me get out of the capsized boat to give the stranger space.
By this point, I am hyperventilating as Toothless looks down at me and noticed my panicked state. He turns me away from the group and whispers in my dragon ear, "Flint…what's wrong?"
I am literally shaking everywhere…I suffered something similar to a breakdown. I panted heavily like a canine. Before long, I look up at him and stuttered, "I-I-I…know her!"
The adolescent Night Fury pulled back, deathly surprised by this, "h-how!?"
"Don't you see it! You've seen her before too! She's Sophia! She looks exactly the same…"
"Flint…it can't be" he tilted his head at me, "…she's too young…this girl is the same age as Hiccup and the others…wasn't Sophia a young adult?"
"You do realize that I was de-aged when I was brought here, right? M-maybe she was too!"
He scoffed, squinting an eye at this, "you think this girl is somehow the Sophia you know from your time? You think that somehow…she's here now with us?"
That moment, Toothless thought about the similarities, looking back at this stranger in the boat and Sophia from seeing her in my memories. There was no mistaking it…aside from the age difference it COULD be her, the dragon thought. Ultimately, the Night Fury decided to take a "stealthier" approach to things, "we shouldn't jump to conclusions…Flint."
"M-maybe I am overthinking it…or maybe I'm FINALLY going crazy!" I shouted before Toothless silenced me with a paw, "calm down, Flint, your outburst ISN'T helping!"
Not long after the dragon said that, Hiccup leads "Sophia" out of the dwelling on the beach.
"How did you do that?" She asked, noticing how Hiccup communicated with us. Her voice…it's VERY similar to the Sophia I know…what on earth is going on here!?
Snotlout, in his usual manner, tries to impress her with HIS dragon but it fails miserably once we see Hookfang fly away. To deflect the embarrassing act off him, Jorgenson puts a first to his chest and bellows a greeting to her, "I'm Snotlout, the one who rescued you."
"Annnd I'm Hiccup" Haddock said, butting in.
Softly and still nervously, the girl introduces herself, "I'm Heather."
Heather? That's the name she's going with…it can't be! She must be lying! What if…somehow: Sophia ended up in this world too…as stated prior? What if…she took on a different name to hide herself?
"See, it can't be her, Flint…" Toothless tried to comfort me with that thought.
"I don't…know…this is all just so strange!" I shook my head, looking away.
Astrid, ignoring my breakdown a moment, raises an eyebrow and inquired more, "so…Heather…what happened to you?"
Yes, I MUST hear what she says…what kind of EXCUSE does Sophia have prepared to hide her true origins as I had?
"My family and I were on our way home to our island…when our boat was attacked by pirates…"
Tuffnut moves in but everyone gives him the stink eye once he says he wants to be a pirate.
"You were saying?" Astrid looks back at the misplaced girl.
"Our boat was attacked…and took us back to our island…laying siege to it…" 'Heather' explained as Hiccup and the others listened intently, "I was able to escape…but my mother and father…they…weren't so lucky…"
Haddock walks up to her, placing a palm on her shoulder, "I…listen…everything's going to be okay. My dad's the Chief. We'll figure something out" Hiccup comforted her before leading them to us.
I shake my head slowly, letting it all sink in, "this makes NO sense…" I mutter softly in despair, my wings drooping as my ears also do the same.
"F-Flint…what if…it's not REALLY her…what if…what if this "Heather" is Sophia's ancestor?" Toothless had suggested before I placed a claw on my chin to think it over, "I…m…maybe…maybe…"
Maybe the Night Fury is right: maybe this "Heather" is the distant relative of Sophia from modern times. I wish I could ask her…it would have to wait, however, for we are taking her back to Berk.
The blond-haired Viking girl known as Astrid investigates the wrecked boat before we leave. Something within her made Hofferson slightly suspicious of the girl's story.
…
Later in the night, Hiccup leads the mysterious girl into our dwelling and upstairs to the second floor: our bedroom.
"Welp, here we are!" Horrendous spreads his arms out as a show of hospitality as Tooth and I rest right behind him on our respected beds.
"I can't thank you enough for letting me stay for the night" Heather/Sophia spoke softly, very similar to the modern variant I know. I had to stop myself from jumping toward her in a tearful reunion, for I still didn't know what exactly is happening…
For all I know…this could be part of my imagination, however unlikely that may seem. Toothless had to quell my anxiety…my emotions…doing the best he could to calm me and hold me down if need be. Can the dragon blame me, though? I told him/showed him everything about Sophia and me and to have a doppelganger suddenly appear out of thin air helped justify my reactions a bit.
Hiccup, meanwhile, smiled at the teenage girl across from him, "until we find a safe place for you, you might as well stay here on Berk for the time being."
The visitor suddenly rushed toward the boy's desk and examined the drawings and sketches: including the recent designs on an improved version of the red tail fin for his Night Fury. Her extraordinary interest in the drawings sent me into a deeper hole…reminding me of Sophia's paintings…her artistic abilities and her great interest in the field. Toothless across from me felt my despair and quickly ran over to lick the top of my head to calm me down.
I-I swear…the similarities are TOO MUCH to bear! This is a SICK, cruel, joke, I thought solemnly.
"Flint…please, calm down… breathe!" He tried blocking the girl from my line of sight with his larger body. 'Heather' noticed this and raised an eyebrow, "a-are they okay?"
"Them?" Hiccup gave his signature awkward grin to her, "yea…I'm guessing they've taken a lot of interest in you. Dragons LOVE the attention."
"I see…"
"Welp, if there is anything you need…please, let us know!"
She gave a smile at the boy, reminiscent of Sophia's smile, "no, I should be fine, thank you."
I managed to move my head away from Toothless despite his best attempts to make me yield. I couldn't take it anymore!
"Sophia! It's me, Flint Callahan!" I attempted to leap for her; however, the large Night Fury had stopped me: wrapping an arm around my small body.
At first, the girl is frightened, but Haddock steps in and reassures her with a calm hand, "it's fine, WildWing can get pretty excitable from time to time, heh!"
"No! Sophia! It's me!"
"Flint, stop!" Toothless gets a hold of my neck with his jaws and picks me up. Amidst my clamoring, wishing for her attention, the older Fury takes me away from the humans as I squirm hopelessly, "Toothless, stop!"
Hiccup is left behind with her. He puts a hand behind his head and laughs nervously, "I'm sure everything is fine."
She crossed her arms with a playful brow running down her face.
Meanwhile, Toothless took me outside next to the house, holding me firmly in place. I squirmed violently, but suddenly he sets me down…his eyes turning slit as he gave a warning growl to me, "Stop!" He roared as I went dead silent, tears falling down my scales, "Flint…listen to me! Please…" The dragon softened his stance, pupils turning square-oval…he has the back of his paw against my small face, "even if it IS her, you've got to keep it together, bud!"
"H-how can I!?" I snapped back suddenly, sniffing every now and then in despair, "she must be SO scared! If this 'Heather' really is Sophia, I can't imagine what she's been through!"
"Stop thinking about it for now" Toothless sighed afterward, eyeing me carefully, "come on, let's go for a walk" he suggested. I look back towards the house before he nudges me to follow.
After our walk inside the forest that lasted a few minutes, we returned to the Haddock Residence where Hiccup is waiting for us. He is confused about what had occurred earlier but is relieved that everything is calm now. Because of Heather/Sophia, the three of us will be sleeping in the living room downstairs.
The next morning Toothless and I accompanied the Viking boy to the forge where he attempted to improve Tooth's gear to get an edge over Astrid.
As he works on the equipment, she shows up, catching my attention immediately. The teen Night Fury is curled beside me when he too notices the girl walking in. He taps me with his squishy paw, "take it easy, Flint, please."
I decided to lay back down especially when Tooth started kneading my neck to comfort me. I couldn't help but purr contently in response as he does it…darn you Toothless!
Heather walks up to Hiccup and suggested a few tweaks to his design to make the dragon faster, much to the boy's delight. He turns over to the Night Fury and the reptile wags his tail, whilst still petting me. The Fury almost hadn't heard a word Haddock had said, for he was mostly focused on me. Nevertheless, Haddock has the dragon follow him for a test flight.
"Come on buds, let's try this out" he exclaimed excitedly, showing us a device that he just made. Toothless uncurls himself and sniffs it as the girl next to Hiccup looks down at me in a curious manner. It takes everything in me not to try and do anything…but in a few seconds of contact: her eyes and mine (both green) glued onto one another.
Sure enough, though, she breaks away and I am left in my thoughts…I sighed…
When will this torture end? Please…someone…God…Thor…whomever…tell me…when will this end?
…
A few minutes passed and I watched the teenage Night Fury, with Hiccup and the girl on his back, fly past some rock formations. I rested on one of them…watching them pass by who knows how many times now. Across from me are Astrid and Stormfly, both of whom can't believe just how fast Toothless is going. I scanned the trio making another run around me again as I hear Heather/Sophia exclaim in excitement. I put my paws in front of me so I can lay my head on top of them. At least she's having a good time…maybe I've been selfish…I've been pushing myself on her too much. Toothless may be right…I ought to take it easy…maybe my answers will come soon enough.
Not long after Haddock and the girl's test flight we met up with the other Dragon Riders at the Academy.
The two humans dismounted from Toothless before they approached the Viking teens. I, meanwhile, hopped on Tooth's head and rested against him.
"You must be feeling better…" he grunted, half of his mouth baring teeth in amusement.
"I…took your advice. I decided to take a step back from all this."
He smiled, looking up at me, "you're doing the right thing" he nodded.
Hiccup waved at the teens across from him with Heather by his side, "top of the morning class! How's everyone doing today?"
Astrid scoffs in fierce retaliation, "oh, nice of you to show up!" She growled sarcastically. She was just about angry enough to be growling like a dragon…heh. Her arms were folded and the Deadly Nadder's expression almost mirrored her rider. Hiccup, however, is confused, "what?" Suddenly it hit him like a train, "oh…we were supposed to meet up…" the boy facepalmed, cursing himself. The next thing he does is try to apologize but Stormfly squawks at the kid in irritation. Astrid directs everyone's attention to the girl beside Haddock, "so, Heather…sleep well?"
Heather/Sophia smiled back in response, "very well. Thank you, Astrid."
I look over to the blond Viking who's giving a suspicious-like stare at our visitor, to which Heather looks away sheepishly. I roll my head to the side, still on Toothless…what is up with Astrid all of a sudden? Why is she suddenly so suspicious of Heather/Sophia? I mean…I get it: she's the cautious one from the group, being wary around newcomers ought to be something they ALL should feel. Yet, I think her attitude could also stem from the jealousy she's obviously feeling toward them? Even so, Heather deflects the mental attack by complimenting the arena, "so, this is your Dragon Training Academy?"
"No."
We look over to the twins, "our Dragon Training Academy. Remember, I called you the pretty one" Tuffnut complimented, much to his sister's disgust. Hiccup sighs but then catches the girl's attention with a hand gesture, "we've been training the dragons to become part of our everyday lives."
Suddenly, Fishlegs, while displaying a book, adds, "and it all goes in here!"
I focus my dragon eyes on it: it's the Book of Dragons, I remember Hiccup talking about it in the Great Hall not too long ago.
"Really…everything…" Heather smiled, quite excitedly. Fishlegs took that as a compliment, "yup, I'm…kind of the log keeper, log master…actually."
I don't think I've ever seen him so smug before in my life! The boy, like the rest of the boy Vikings in this arena, is totally infatuated with the girl across from him. Well, I got BAD NEWS for them…I got to her FIRST! I gave a smug grin at that, oh well…I guess I'm trying to de-stress…but seriously…seeing all the guys fall for her is really getting to me now.
Of course, Snotlout had to one-up the other teen, chiming in quite brutally with a snarky remark, "he writes down what Hiccup tells him to!"
Fishlegs, instead of yielding, attacks back, "I give it my own spin, in fact!"
"Can I see it?" The black-haired girl, having the same ponytail as Sophia, asked, reaching toward the book; however, Astrid suddenly moves in and takes it away, "give it here, thank you!"
As if to add salt to the wound, Hofferson grabs Hiccup and drags him away. Toothless looks up at me and notices my sheepish grin, "you don't think…"
"No, it can't be…" I muttered softly, "Maybe Astrid is overreacting."
"Or maybe…she loves Hiccup THAT much!" He chuckled.
I gave him a mischievous grin, "you finally caught on, eh?"
"Even a Terror could see it coming."
"She is totally jealous" I added as we both giggled softly, "I've lived long enough to see these things" I smirk at the dragon with a toothy grin.
As the day progressed and Hiccup and the others were occupied with Heather, Toothless decided to finally teach me how to withdraw my teeth as he does (I figured he did this to distract me from Sophia and it worked). Needless to say, it proved harder than I thought! The Fury sat on his hind legs, inspecting my smaller mouth with a paw, "try again, Flint."
I squeeze my eyes shut as I focus my thoughts on withdrawing my teeth. Unfortunately, it takes a few attempts but eventually, I start to feel them shake!
I got too excited though and stopped, turning excitedly toward the larger Night Fury, "I-I felt something!" My eyes shine as I give a child-like grin.
"Good, you almost had it!" He nodded happily, "keep trying!"
And so, more time goes by, and I continue my attempts until finally…
"Keep focusing on your teeth, like you want to take your jaws away" the teen dragon instructed.
That's when it finally happened. I heard something similar to a warrior sheathing their blade: I felt my teeth vanish under my gums! Toothless tilts his head to me and gives an adorable, toothy, smile back.
"You did it, Flint!"
I run my forked tongue along my gums…it's such a weird feeling! It's like I lost all my teeth!
"Agh, uh aher" I tried to say, but my gum mouth could not produce speech without my jaws, and Tooth couldn't help but chuckle. I tried to bring back my razor-sharp teeth, but I wasn't able to and as a result, I started to panic!
"Egh…Toh…Ehsss…Eh…Anhht!"
He can sense my frustration and finally tries his best to help, "Flint, do the opposite now…think about pushing the teeth down like you're going to take a bite out of something!"
Sure enough, I make several attempts and finally my jaws show up again, much to my surprise! Their sudden appearance actually made me jump back a bit. I can feel them too and I take a slight step back, "whoa! That's nuts!" I can talk again and I start running my tongue against each tooth again.
"You got it, good job!"
I nodded to him in understanding, my child/dragon side is greatly enjoying this…and my human side is taking part in the excitement as well, "I want to do it again!"
"Go ahead" he smiled wholeheartedly.
I try once again and it's a lot easier to withdraw my teeth than before. The Night Fury seemed very pleased by my excitement and discovery, "go ahead…on."
Once he said that I brought in my teeth again.
"Off"
I do as he instructed, removing them soon after.
"You got it down for sure, Flint!" He patted me on the back. I couldn't help but pant while the teen dragon next to me squeals in glee…seeing another Night Fury doing the same smile he does! Sure enough, he removes his own set of teeth to join in, and now it's just the two of us with our gums showing. I couldn't help but feel extreme happiness from this. I guess I AM going to be called "Toothless Jr" from now on…heh.
…
Some time goes by as I rest outside of the Haddock residence. Hiccup, Toothless, and I are inspecting some new upgrades that the teen Viking had placed on the Fury.
As his inspections go on, one of my ears flinches before I look behind to see the door to the house close. I raise an eyebrow…no one's home…it couldn't be Stoick…the scent…it's…
Slowly and silently, I pull away from the group to investigate. I fly up and end up in the window of Hiccup's room. There, I catch sight of Heather/Sophia looking for something. My head rolls to the side as my nose tingles…what is she doing? Once she looks under the bed, I decide to drop down to confront her.
She hears a thud and moves out of the bed in a panic, "ah!" Her sudden movement sends me back as well.
"W-what are y-you doing here" she exclaimed, quickly hiding something behind her. I quickly recover and move closer, sniffing her to a great degree. Why is she doing this…ma-maybe she's…looking for something…maybe something very important but what…just being in the same room as her is starting to make me feel overwhelmed.
"L-little guy…I…what are you…" she moved her hand away as I pulled back momentarily. My pupils are oval-shaped, and my heart is racing, "please…I have to know…is it really you…" I warbled at her pathetically. She obviously couldn't understand me, but I soon found another way.
I rushed to Hiccup's desk as "Heather" opened what turned out to be the Book of Dragons to glance over it. I got a blank sheet of paper with my mouth and threw it down beside her. I then went to get a pencil with my mouth (since the writing prosthetic was in the forge at the moment for upgrades) and went back to her. She figured I didn't know what was going on, so she kept the book on her lap. I look up to scan her green human eyes as she stares into mine…
I begin writing my sentences in English down for her. Unfortunately for me…all she did was give a blank stare. Having learned some Norse from Hiccup, I wrote some sentences in Norse as well…though I'm still learning, and I didn't know a lot about it still. Either way, she sits there, deeply still at what's happening in front of her. She looks back up at me as I finally drop the pencil. I expected her to hug me, tell me that she had finally found somebody else from her world…and it was none other than me…Flint Callahan. I expected the girl to mutter my name under her breath…be able to read my English unlike everyone else in this strange realm; however, much to my dismay…she simply said, "Hiccup taught you how to do that, WildWing?"
I shake my head back, desperately pounding my paw on my English sentences, "you understand what this says…don't you…you MUST…please…please tell me…"
She reads my body language, knowing somehow that I was trying to communicate the language to her, "I'm sorry, little guy, but I can't read that…it's very interesting though…I've never seen this kind of writing before. It's a neat trick, though."
I turn and look away…I'm hit hard by this response…a tear trails down my black muzzle. She doesn't know…if she did know she would have reacted a totally different way…
My Norse was still below even the basic conversational and some letters were probably misspelled or misplaced as well. All in all, I failed to communicate with her…and it hurt me inside. My ears and wings droop as she faintly notices, yet she says nothing. I left in silence toward the exit just as Astrid, unbeknownst to me, walks in the door. She confronts the other girl, "what are you doing?"
Heather looks at her anxiously, knowing that Hofferson is suspicious of her. Sure enough, the blonde Viking gets Haddock in the house, trying to convince him that "Heather" is up to no good but Hiccup refuses to believe that the stranger has ill intentions hiding behind her persona.
Toothless saw me walking to him outside not long before Astrid brought Hiccup inside with her. The Night Fury could see a deep depression that had now shrouded my form. He KNEW by this time that she was inside with me and could tell things didn't work out. He stood up and hugged me as I cried into his black scales, "it's okay…Flint…it's alright."
"I…I wish I could talk…I wish…"
He closed his eyes, feeling my pain, and tries getting my attention by moving away so we can look at each other, "listen, maybe things will turn around soon enough…"
"T-Toothless…" I quivered, "I don't…think it will…"
"Come on, let's go into town…" the native dragon suggested but I shook my head, wiping tears off with my black arm, "no…let's not…"
"Flint…" he shook back, "don't make me carry you like a cub again" he chuckled, trying his best to lighten the air, though somewhere in his tone he was being serious.
And so, I yielded, figuring it could take my mind off what happened…at least for a while…
Later that night, as Hiccup, Toothless, and I sleep on the first floor of the house, Astrid Hofferson comes bursting down the door! Toothless's instincts kick in and he snarls at the intruder as I jump in the air like a scared feline! Hiccup wasn't awakened by this at all, much to our surprise. Astrid, quite coldly, kicks him to finally wake him. We all look up to meet her intense glare.
"A-Astrid, what!? Why WOULD you do that!?"
"I'm saving our hides! Listen to me, I just saw Heather with the Outcasts…talking to Savage!"
Tooth and I lift our heads quickly at this. Haddock, however, has none of it, "What!? What do you mean, she's sleeping upstairs..."
Astrid grins in response, placing her hands on her hips, "oh yea, let's go find out then!"
We waste no time; we follow the female Viking upstairs…only to find the black-haired girl in bed…
I look up to Astrid with anger in my eyes, what exactly is this girl insinuating!? I growl at Hofferson, letting my feelings be known. She looks down with a stink eye in retaliation. Toothless grabs me, carrying me away before things could escalate.
He drops me by the middle of the stairs, leering down at me, "Flint…"
"You saw what happened…Astrid has been jealous…and it's REALLY starting to piss me off!"
Suddenly, the bigger Fury lets out a low growl at me, unfurling his wings in frustration to make himself bigger, "stop…right…now!"
"No!" I clapped back "I've had it, I've had enough of all this!"
Toothless softened his stance once he saw 'Hiccstrid' leaving the house to argue. For some reason, he felt the suspicion that Hofferson has had these past few days now may be warranted. What if Astrid is right…what if this…Heather person is not who we think she is…Flint…he'd be hurt if he found out, Toothless thought silently to himself, "Flint, maybe you must realize…" the dragon stopped himself, but was about to make a VERY bold statement, "that's not Sophia…"
I take a step back, immediately disgusted by what he stated, "who are you to say such a thing!?" I yelled forcefully at him, eyes slit, teeth bared.
"It's NOT her…please…accept that…the Sophia you know is NOT here!"
"A-are you actually suggesting that right now, you idiot!" I bark back.
"Listen!" He had enough, spreading his wings so far that I could swear they would ensnare me, "I think Astrid is on to something…"
I laugh hysterically at this, but the teen Fury remains adamant, "Flint…maybe Heather IS working for the Outcasts…"
I nod to him sarcastically, "wow…look at you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" Suddenly he grabs the side of my body with his large paw, "Callahan, we've got to look after our tribe!"
I snarl back at him with similar intensity, and I decide to walk off, not wanting to hear any more of this.
"Flint, be reasonable!" He yelled back, standing there in shock. Toothless's ears droop…he didn't want me going down this path…
Unfortunately, things would get worse…before the truth finally came to us both.
…
After sunrise, Astrid came rushing to Hiccup, "Stormfly is gone!"
"Wha-how!?"
"Who do you think did it!?" Astrid claps back.
I managed to catch this in time as Toothless braced for my reaction…
I shook my head, spreading my wings at Astrid and aggressively yelling, "liar!"
She looks down, quite annoyed by my reaction, "what is wrong with WildWing!?" She asked genuinely.
Hiccup stopped her, "look, let's go get the others…come on, Astrid."
Haddock and Hofferson rallied the Dragon Riders outside the Academy to prepare for their rescue. As the teens' chatter, something in me makes me want to leave them behind: go looking for her…maybe this is all just one big misunderstanding…it must be!
Without warning I take off, catching the others off-guard.
"WildWing!?" Both Astrid and Hiccup exclaimed.
"Flint!?" Toothless gave a look of shock.
"Come on!"
They got on their dragons to follow.
As the sun sets, I hastily make my way to Heather/Sophia, who's riding Stormfly. I end up beside her, chirping madly. Storm and the girl look over at me, the human grunts in frustration, "you are one strange dragon! I don't have time for this, please go away…"
"No!" I roared in dragon tongue, "you've got to listen, stop whatever you're doing!"
Before I can finish, I sense Toothless ending up on the opposite side with Hiccup and Astrid.
I heard the teenage Night Fury exclaim worryingly over to me, "Flint, get away from her!"
As we bark at one another, the girl feeds the Nadder. All of a sudden, Stormfly changes course as I head straight down with them. Tooth follows behind, but I decide to interfere. I change directions and fly straight at him, "leave her alone!" I tackled the bigger Fury in the air, much to his shock; however, he soon retaliates by grabbing a hold of me.
"WildWing, what has gotten into you!?"
"He's gone berserk for some reason, and it has something to do with that girl!" Astrid explained.
"Flint! Get off!" Toothless roared. I start squirming, shouting back as we approach Outcast Island.
"We've got to get closer now or else she'll get away!" Fishlegs yelled from behind us.
Hiccup narrows his brow, turning to Hookfang and Snotlout nearby, "Snot, get a hold of WildWing, hurry!"
"A-alright!" Jorgenson nods his head.
As all of this is going on, the island's inhabitants begin firing at us all, including Heather/Sophia! Toothless quickly passes me on to the Monstrous Nightmare, much to my dismay. The reddish dragon closes his talons on me to hold me in place.
Now without any further delays, Haddock instructs his Night Fury to speed up and Astrid hops on Stormfly, catching the other girl off guard. Consequently, the Book of Dragons the latter was holding is knocked away and falls toward the ocean below. The black-haired girl panics, trying to reach for it, but ends up falling off the Deadly Nadder!
"No!" I cried out.
"Hurry!" I hear.
"I'll get the book!" Haddock shouts, not wasting any time.
"I'll save her then" Astrid mutters, much to her displeasure.
I, meanwhile, without thinking…move my head up to release a shot into Hookfang to release me. As a result of the shock and pain the dragon gets, I am released and I rush in for the falling girl.
"Little Toothless just messed your dragon up, Snot" Tuffnut shouted.
"Not helping!" Snotlout retorted.
Before the blonde-haired Viking and her dragon Stormfly can reach Sophia, I swoop in and grab the falling girl. Unfortunately, I see a fireball heading straight for me! I turn and use my small back, staring at the girl I saved before she gives a muted scream.
I'm hit and I start falling from the sky.
Hiccup is successful in retrieving the Book of Dragons but he and Toothless can only witness my descent toward Outcast Island with the girl they were after. She and I crashed into the sand below before Astrid shouts to the group's leader, "Hiccup, come on…we can't stay!"
As the Dragon Riders evade the fireballs, Haddock curses silently under his breath, motioning Toothless and the others to retreat.
"N-no! What about Flint!?" His dragon cried out in vain.
"Toothless, come on!"
The black dragon looks back, face full of dread…the same face he made when he saw me get captured by the Queen of Dragons back on Dragon Island, "oh Flint…"
We'll come back for you…
He thought solemnly before he and the others fly away…back to Berk.
Heather/Sophia and I, now on the island, are soon surrounded by Savage and his men…
Still recovering from the shock…all I can do is see us get restrained by them…and we're taken deep into their lair…things just got REALLY bad…
As we were carried up the desolate rocks to the camp, all I could think of in my head was:
What have I done?
…
I hope you readers like the twist that Heather and Sophia are somehow connected…them being somehow related. You probably weren't expecting that at all, hehe. I hope that was a good twist. Yes, Sophia looks exactly like Heather does in Flint's time though older of course…she's possibly a reincarnation of Heather in modern times…who knows, stay tuned in Part 2!
