Without Saying

Chapter 1 - This is Berk

Identical forest green eyes stared back at me, appearing to be a mere reflection of my own. Both miserable. Both curious. Both terrified. I held a knife high over both our heads, preparing to strike, but...those eyes. I couldn't do it. It wasn't right. My hands trembled as I slowly brought them back down.

"I did this."

I muttered shamefully backing away from the Night Fury who lay tangled in the bola I shot it down with the night before. It wasn't even a fair fight. The creature was completely defenseless. How could I even think of hurting it now? Even when you capture a Night Fury, you're still weak. It was true. Every Viking gains their honor by killing their first dragon in a fight, one on one, but this wasn't like that. The most fighting this dragon did was against the bola on its way to the ground. But even beside that there was something about this dragon that had me intrigued. For once, when I looked into its eyes, I didn't see the mindless killing machine I'd been conditioned to fear. No, what I saw were deep intelligent eyes. Eyes that were working things out...thinking. How could I kill something like that? I shouldn't be here. I turned to leave. People would be looking for me soon. But...I turned once more to the Night Fury. It still lay with its eyes squeezed shut as if it were ready to accept its death. How could a creature like that portray so much emotion? I couldn't leave it like this. It was still completely defenseless. What if someone else found it? Just walking away wasn't any better than killing it. I had to free it. So, without thinking much, I quickly grabbed the first rope I saw and cut it loose with my knife, then another and another. I saw the dragon's eyes snap open the moment I started cutting, but I only planned to cut enough rope to allow the dragon to break free after I was long gone. I never expected it to break free so easily. My head slammed against the ground so hard I thought it might explode, but the adrenaline quickly took control of the pain. My heart was beating like a hummingbird in my chest. I started hyperventilating, and yet all I could do was stare at the dangerous beast pinning me down. His fierce green eyes stared back at me, only this time that miserable, defeated stare had been replaced with one of conflict fused with pure hatred. He was going to kill me; my mind screamed at me. But those eyes...those eyes told a different story. Would he let me go? I couldn't sure. It wasn't till he reared up with a snarl, that I truly thought I met my fate.

GGGGRRRRAAAWWWRRRR!!!

~

The sea stacks flew by so fast that it almost appeared as they were the ones moving, and in turn Toothless and I were the ones being passed. In fact, if it weren't for the wind against my face and the slight movements I made with my foot to adjust Toothless' tail fin, I don't think I could have told the difference. Flying was such a freeing feeling. It felt like I could do anything, and the rush of adrenaline was addicting. But the best part was being with Toothless. I know it's sounds cheesy, but he's the only one I've ever really felt I could be myself around. It's not like I was saying Toothless was the only one I cared about, I loved Berk with all my heart, but right now it was painfully obvious what everyone else thought of me. Hiccup the Fishbone...Hiccup the Useless. If only they could see me now; I wonder what they would think then.

"You ready, Bud?"

"Rrrraaawwwrrarr!!"

Toothless bellowed in agreement.

"Alright, here we go!"

I unhooked my harness from the saddle and gently slipped off Toothless' back, diving at full speed to the ground far below them, Toothless not far behind me. Sky diving was what I liked to call it. It was scarry the first time we tried it, which had been a complete accident; but since then, I found the thrill so addicting, the rush of adrenaline, the complete and total freedom that consumed me even as I plummeted to the ground. Toothless appeared beside me, sticking his tongue out as he gave me an excited grin. Right then all feeling of fear or apprehension I might have felt blew away with the suffocating wind because I knew that no matter what Toothless would have my back. It was a bond that I couldn't explain, especially since it's only been a few weeks that we've known each other; and yet I still felt such a strong connection that neither of us seemed to be able to ignore. The ground below started to close in pretty fast. Without wasting a moment, I grabbed hold of Toothless' saddle and adjusted the tail fin. Just like our first accidental attempt, a cluster of sea stacks were closing in fast, only this time we didn't slow down. Flying at full speed we maneuvered through the rock formations faster than a viking chokes down a cask of ale.