Fire and the Thud [Hiccup x Reader]

Dangerous Animals

The rest of my birthday went much like any other day. Well, save for the fact that it was my last day on this island for the foreseeable future. Knowing this made me feel entitled to being extra nice to everyone so that I didn't leave as 'that one teenager who wouldn't shut up about birthdays and Berk'. It was surprising how many of them had already known that my mother and I were leaving, and I wasn't sure if my mom had told everyone except me beforehand or word had spread incredibly fast. I was leaning towards the former option, though.

I spent way too long lying in my bed that night. My thought process generally went back and forth from "If you sleep now, we'll be on the boat to Berk in no time" to "Stay awake or it'll come too quickly". I wasn't sure when I managed to fall asleep. I was so nervous about everything that I didn't even recall having a dream when I awoke the next morning. It was just there, with the familiar rhythm of raindrops thudding on the roof and vague light peeking in through all the little cracks and gaps in the walls. I took a deep breath, pulling my covers up over my head and trying to disappear from it all. Of course, it didn't work, and I could hear my mother shuffling about the house, gathering the things we'd need and tidying what we didn't. I had tried to explain to her last night that we should have just taken everything, but she insisted that there was always a chance of us coming back. I personally didn't think so, but my mother was every bit as stubborn as I was.

"Flower, are you awake?" I heard her ask gently.

"No," I grumbled, turning on my side. She laughed, walking over and tugging softly on the covers. I let her pull them down a bit and glanced at her through narrowed eyelids. She only smiled.

"Come on, (Y/N). The quicker you get up, the quicker this is all done with," she said. I watched her walk back over to the table, fiddling with bags and tying some shut with thick strings. I sighed, letting my eyes fall shut for a couple seconds before gathering the energy to get up.

"There we go." My mother glanced at me before tying up her last bag, looking at it proudly. I looked around the house, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"Where'd you put my bag?" I asked.

"Right here." She tapped the bag she'd just finished tying up. I raised my eyebrow, crossing my arms.

"So where are the clothes I'm meant to wear?" I said, staring at her. She glanced around, then down at the bag before her lips parted in surprise.

"Oh! Whoops," she laughed, starting to undo her knot. I shook my head, smiling. For a moment it felt like I wasn't going to end up living on a different island by tomorrow. Unfortunately, she reminded me of this by pulling out my day outfit and tossing it over to me. I just managed to catch it as she turned to start picking up our belongings.

"You dress, I'll start putting these on the ship," she said.

"Wait, you mean it's ready now?" I asked quickly, eyes widening. I hadn't expected us to be leaving so soon.

"Of course. Just because I let you sleep in a bit doesn't mean the rest of the world did." She smiled at me before leaving our house, stepping into the rainfall as if it wasn't even there. I started to change once she pushed the door shut, trying to hurry myself. Even if I wasn't the most excited person ever, I still wasn't stubborn enough to purposefully delay a ship. At least, not right this second.

--

"I was worried you might've been trying to delay the ship!" my mother called as I stepped onto the boat with the remaining bags. I made a face at her but she only mocked me, taking the luggage from my grip. There was a handful of other villagers on the ship as well, though I didn't know if they were just here for the free trip or planning on visiting. Regardless, it was time for us to leave and I felt myself growing more and more anxious as the distance between us and land grew.