Bond Between

Prologue

Nina was walking down the street, on her way home from playing in the woods. She spotted Hiccup, who looked unbelievably sad. Pausing in her journey, she decided to go over to him. So she did, skipping happily over. 

"Hi, Hiccup," she said cheerfully.

He looked up briefly. "Oh," he said sullenly. "Hi, Nina."

"You okay? You look sad."

"Yeah, I'm okay." She stared at him, knowing he wasn't. He felt her eyes on him and sighed. "Dad's not happy with me. I'm thinking it might be best if I leave."

"Is this because of last night's raid?" He turned even further from her. "Everyone makes mistakes, Hiccup. Besides, we're only five. We can only get better, right?" His shoulders were trembling. "C'mon, let's go play in the woods for a little." He nodded, his back still turned to her. She waited for him to walk beside her. He did, his face down, looking very much like a dejected puppy.

She put an arm around him and squeezed. Hiccup began crying in earnest when they were a few feet into the woods. She gave him a sad smile and guided him to a fallen log that was big enough to  hold them, but short enough for them to be able to just hop up. She let him cry for a while, rubbing his back comfortingly, like how her Mom and Dad did when she was upset over something that was legitimately upsetting.

"I'm sorry," he said after he calmed down a bit. "I'm not much of a Viking, I guess..."

"It's okay to cry, Hiccup. Everyone does it at some point. It doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you've been strong for too long." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes, looking up at her tearfully. "Do you want a hug?"

"Yeah," he said. They embraced, her letting him cry on her shoulder. Eventually he cried himself out. They walked down to a nearby stream and he splashed his face with the icy water, washing away the tear marks. He sniffed again, wiping his nose on his sleeve. They both looked West and saw the fading glow of sunset. "C'mon; we should be getting back. Your Mom and Dad will be worried."

"Okay," she said. They both walked back home, feeling better about themselves and the world in general. "Wanna hang out again tomorrow?"

"Sure!" he said as he turned into his home. She waved as she began skipping back to her house.