𖣯 ✹ 🌷(úlfheðnar) ꏍ ！┈─❟
╰───►chapter twenty-one; hiccup
❝ where no one goes! ❞
"WOOHOO!"
The sea parted beneath them━an underwater cavern that lit up around them in waves of blue and white. Out in front, the rest of the world was out there to explore; a skyline that was never-ending, fading into the distance. Around them, the sea burst with Thunderdrums of all colours━blue, purple, pink━jumping up into the fresh wind and back underneath into the depths. Toothless weaved in and out around them, bellowing into the vast ocean with a high-pitched cry of joy that Hiccup couldn't help but meet with his own. "Come on, bud!" he laughed with glee, switching up the tail to spin past the leading Thunderdrum of the clan, flying past with a smile and a wave.
Woosh! They shot up into and above the clouds. Even behind his helmet, Hiccup could feel the wind sting at his eyes, but he loved it. He loved the thrill, the feel of his heart pounding out of his chest along to a rhythm only he and Toothless shared in this moment━heading up to where no one else goes but them; only them.
Hiccup grinned and tilted them around. The dragon and rider spun upside down, soaring back towards the water below and then up again, spinning through the clouds that reminded him of seafoam. Hiccup kept close to the saddle as they got faster and faster before stopping. He heard Toothless cry out in delight as they fell backwards. The wind pushed against his wings and Hiccup's attire before they whirled out of it.
He threw his arms out, too. He couldn't help it, stretching out for a wish for wings of his own. They soared along the heavens amongst Timberjacks five times their size. Hiccup grinned and glanced back down━this was a great place to test it out.
Pulling back the lever, he started to lock in Toothless's tail. "So, what do you think, bud?" he asked. "You want to give this another shot?"
The Night Fury's ears perked in realisation, and Hiccup laughed to hear the annoyed grumble in the back of his throat, "Toothless!" he chided, amused. "It'll be fine."
Clicking everything into place━pulling a few levers here and there, switching up a few mechanisms, unlinking himself━Hiccup took a deep breath and said, "Ready?"
Toothless growled.
"I'll take that as a yes."
And with that said, Hiccup slid off his saddle. He plummeted down to the stretch of sea, yelling out defiantly. He enjoyed the feeling of the whole world cascading around him.
Toothless spun in next to him, and they were face to face, falling together. Hiccup grinned, and Toothless gave him a gummy smile in return, sticking his tongue out.
Getting closer to the water, Hiccup got back into action. Reaching up to his boot, he hooked in his leather wings and flung them out. His stomach jolted as he shot back up. Toothless followed, and the dragon and rider soared side-by-side. HIccup always thought being on a dragon's back was the best experience ever, but seeing the world from their point of view, with wings of his own, feeling the wind race around them, against his legs, his chest ... it was something different entirely━something much more thrilling, much more special. And to experience it with Toothless next to him ... Hiccup felt like he was in Valhalla.
He drifted through the clouds, descending diagonally only to jolt back up from the sonic blasts Toothless sent to keep him aloft, "Ah━hah!" he screamed out for the whole world to hear. "Yes! This is amazing!"
Parting through more clouds, Hiccup's thrill disappeared. A set of sea stacks suddenly came into view━he did not see that above ... whoops. "Oh, gods━no longer amazing━Toothless!"
He heard the dragon screech in alarm behind him, desperately trying to reach him. Hiccup grew closer to the rocks, and flapped the wings he had fabricated for himself. "Oh, no━oh, gods━oh, Odin━AAHH!"
Smoke from blue and purple sonic blast caused for him to cover his eyes to shield himself, and soon, black leather wings encased him. Hiccup and Toothless crashed through the sea stack and to the next, landing amongst the trees and grass. Once they stopped tumbling and came to an adrupt stop, Hiccup relaxed in Toothless's wings, sighing out in relief.
After a moment, Toothless unfolded his wings and Hiccup sat up. He leaned forward and swapped around his metal leg back so he could stand. Getting to his feet, he shook off the shock and was soon replaced with a crazed want to do it all over again━fall and all. Behind him, Toothless grunted as he returned to all fours too.
Hiccup laughed, dusting off the grass and debris from his flight-suit. "That really came out of nowhere━" there was a crumble behind them. Both dragon and Viking glanced back, and Hiccup winced to see the sea stack break away and fall into the sea.
Oops?
He returned to taking off the wings, and heard Toothless growl, annoyed. Hiccup rolled his eyes, tucking the wings back into his leather suit. "We━we got to work on your solo gliding there, bud," he said as he did. "That━uh━locked-up tail makes for some pretty slippy rescue manouvers, hey?"
Hiccup took off his helmet and let the breeze sift through his auburn hair. He shook it out and turned to the view out ahead of them. He breathed a smile. Walking up to the edge, he gazed into the cloud-covered island; a maze of cliffs, rocks and tall orange-tipped trees. Far out after that, were snow-capped mountains, leading further beyond the eye could see.
"Looks like we found another one, bud," he muttered.
Something small and sharp hit the side of Hiccup's head. He jumped and spun around to stare at Toothless who huffed, shuffling his wings and tilting his snout up and away. Hiccup propped his hands on his ships, "Oh, what, do you want an apology?" Toothless sniffed and shuffled on his feet, showing his back to Hiccup. "Is that why you're pounting?" the son of the chief walked up to his best friend, tilting his head tauntingly with a grin plastered across his youthful face. "Big baby boo?"
Toothless mocked him, and Hiccup threw away his helmet. Squaring up his shoulders, he declared, "Well, try this on━!" and launched himself at the dragon's neck. He tried to tackle him over, but Toothless didn't move an inch. "Oh, you feeling it yet? Huh?" his feet skidded on the grass in his attempt to make his dragon budge. "Picking up on all my heartfelt remorse?" like a tree animal, Hiccup threw his legs up and clung onto Toothless's underbelly. He heard him let out a guttural noise in surprise. "Yeah, take that━whoa━!"
He stood up on his hind legs, and Hiccup's own dangled. Toothless hobbled over to the edge, "Oh, come on━come on━come on, you wouldn't hurt a one-legged━" HIccup glanced down, and screamed to see himself suspended over the cliff━he held onto Toothless tighter, and felt the vibrations of his laugh. "Ah━you're right! You're right! You win. You win━agh!"
Toothless fell back and the two of them rolled back down the slope along the grass. Hiccup laughed, "He's down!" he played dramatics, pinned under Toothless's claws. "And it's ugly! Dragons and Vikings━" Hiccup lightly punched his best friend, and receieved taps from Toothless's paws, playfighting like brothers by the hearth of a home, "━enemies again! Locked in combat to the bitter━oof!" Toothless slumped down against Hiccup's body, eyes staring at him as he acted out his melodramatic death as loud as he could.
Once he was done, Toothless blinked, then brought his tongue right up along Hiccup's face. "Oh━eurgh!" he tried to push him away, squinting his eyes shut as dragon slobber got all over him. "Argh! You know that doesn't wash out!"
Rolling back and up onto his feet, Hiccup flicked the remaning slobber back at Toothless who laughed once again at his misery. "Oh, ha, ha, go and laugh about it you big baby..."
Hiccup reached into his vest and pulled out his map. Kneeling down on the grass, he stretched it out to its full length━a mess of squares of parchment in every direction that came together to form every place he had been to outside the home they had thought was so secluded━Melody Island, the Edge, the Defenders of the Wing and their mighty volcano, Dark Deep ... and so many others. Homes of so many dragons that none thought to even exist, or still be alive.
And here was another branch just waiting to be explored. Ripping off a fresh square of parchment from his set under his gauntlets, Hiccup held it out to Toothless who swiped his tongue right across it. Hiccup pasted it down with the others in the right location. Grabbing his knife, he sharpened away at his charcoal pencil, careful not to break away the wood. Placing it between his teeth, he positioned his compass and peered out into the unknown.
"So," he asked Toothless, "what should we name it?" looking over at his best friend, Hiccup chuckled at him scratching away under his arm. "Itchy Armpit it is." And so he started to draw it. "What do you reckon, bud? Think we might find a few Timberjacks in those woods? The odd Whispering Death or two in the rocks? Who knows, maybe we'll finally track down another Night Fury." He glanced at his dragon who cooed at the thought. Hiccup sighed, sitting back on his knees as he gazed out into the distance. "Wouldn't that be something... So," he tilted his head, arching a brow at Toothess, "what do you say? Just keep going?"
Toothless perched next to him, warbling out into the distance━a call for family. Hiccup's heart fell at the sound. No matter what he did, wherever they went, whatever they went through, Hiccup wasn't his real family. He wasn't his kind. Toothless will always be alone, even if everyone told him he was fine, just sitting there with Hiccup, and part of him worried that he'll never be able to fix it for him. He'll never be able to give his best-bud something he longed for: kin.
The familiar screech of a dragon made Hiccup glance back, and a smile made its way on his lips to see a Devilish Dervish appear in the distance. A beauty of shimmering black and purple scales. Helrose landed amongst the grass of the sea stack Hiccup had found himself on, ruffling her wings and holding her head up high. Immediately, Toothless grinned a gummy grin, excited to see both the dragon and her rider.
A pair of boots slipped off the saddle and onto the ground. Fingers tugged back a rabbit fur hood, showing a beautiful young woman with skin that glowed bronze in the sun. In seeing Toothless, she gasped out a bright smile and held her hands out.
Toothless bounded towards Yrsa and Helrose, attacking them with hugs and nudges.
Hiccup shook his head, amused at his best friend. "Afternoon, Milady!" he called to his betrothed who ducked down to give Toothless a scratch under his chin. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, you know..." Yrsa let Toothless turn to Helrose who purred and bobbed her head in greeting to the Night Fury. He replied back with a bob of his own, standing up onto his hind legs, the grin not leaving his face. "Making Astrid believe she's winning the race before pulling the rug underneath her," the smile on her face turned mischevious as she approached Hiccup, fingers already reaching out to his touch.
He arched a brow at her, "She's going to get back at you."
She giggled, hands flying straight to Hiccup's hair and giving it a small brush. "Oh, I know," she said, like this was exactly how she planned it. Hiccup has long stopped questioning the inner workings of Yrsa and Astrid's friendship.
He turned back to his drawing as she kissed him softly on his temple before sitting down beside him. Hiccup felt relaxed with her at his side, just setting her chin on his shoulder to watch him draw away at the island before them. Hiccup concentrated on getting the lines right of the mountains as she swung her legs out and over the edge of the cliff. Her boots dangled. He remembered that day in the Cove, where he had drawn in the dirt and she sat next to him; it was perhaps the first time Hiccup let himself see Yrsa Olofsdotter more than a girl with severe anger issues and a snobby tongue. In the five years since, she's gotten more and more comfotable; she's opened up, smiled more, joked and pulled pranks with the Twins━she turned into a loving, caring (and still quite elegant) young woman who Hiccup fell in love with more and more every day.
"However," she piped up again, leaning back a little, "the real question is, where have you been?"
Hiccup briefly glanced at her, "Avoiding my dad."
"Oh," her brows lifted, the mischevious tone falling away as she leaned forward again, watching his face rather than his drawing. "What did you say? What did he say?"
His lips twitched as she got straight to it; she knew him too well. He stopped drawing to sit back, shuffling closer to her, "Oh, you're gonna ... you're gonna absolutely love this," Hiccup tapped her arm affectionately, and she quirked a brow. Behind them, their dragons were playing in the grass and trees, finding a fallen log and tugging it back and forth. "I wake up, the sun's shining━" Yrsa's fingers reached forward for his pencil, and he passed it over to her, not even stopping his story, "━Terrible Terrors are singing on the rooftop," she began to continue his drawing, and he gazed down, watching her line-work. Hiccup felt a little impressed in what he's taught her. "I saunter down to breakfast thinking all is right with the world, and I get━"
He stood up, puffing out his chest as he began the best impersonation of his father he could manage. He began to march around Yrsa and she looked up, an amused grin tugging at her lips, "'Son'," he started in a rough accent, "'we need to talk'."
He held up a finger to continue his dramatic retelling, but his betrothed had other ideas.
"'Not, now, Dad!'" she sat back, shaking her shoulders up and down as she spoke in a very nazally voice. Hiccup faltered, staring at her in shock━was that supposed to be him? "'I need to start my daily goofball schedule!'"
Hiccup couldn't help but laugh, his heart fluttering with light wings. The weight he had felt on his shoulders before he ran from Berk to fly lifted at her jokes. "O━okay, first of all━" he pointed at her cackling figure, "━I━I don't sound like that━" she gave him a look that said, you sure? "What is this character? A━and second, what is that thing you're doing with my shoulders?" she started up again, wobbling her shoulders and arms. Hiccup shook his head, chuckling, "Yeah, that's━that's a really flattering impersonation, hon, really." She perked up, taking the compliment with a stride. He rolled his eyes, smiling. "Anyway," he fixed up his posture to continue his story, "he goes ...
"'You're the pride of Berk, son, and I couldn't be prouder━'"
"'Awe, thanks, Dad!'" giggled Yrsa, back at it again. She waved her arms this time, gesturing to gods' knows what. Hiccup stopped once more, staring at her in disbelief. "'I'm pretty impressed with myself, too. I love it when you make my ego bigger!'"
Hiccup walked up to her, unable to stop his laughter. She was a fluster of giggles at his reaction, trying to keep it in but failing miserably. "When have I ever done that with my hands━?" he motioned to her and she gasped, cackling in her delight and pointing back at him.
"You just did!"
"Oh, for the love of━!" he gave up. Crouching down, he tried to stop her shaking arms and shoulders, wrapping his hands gently around her. Yrsa bit her lip, stifling her laughter. Hiccup shook her lightly, narrowing his eyes to say, "hold still."
Her eyes glittered like embers in a forge fire, and it was beautiful. He leaned in close, and she went cross-eyed meeting his gaze before she laughed. "This is very serious," he pouted his lips, playing along and she nodded, humming. Hiccup scoffed lightly, giving her a gentle shove before standing back up again.
She leaned back, watching him with an elegant flirtatious bat of her eyelashes. Hiccup went on with his story, "'You're all grown up,'" he acted, "'and since no chief could ask for a better successor, I've decided━'"
Realisation hit Yrsa with a gasp. She hurried to her feet, eyes wide with delight, "━To make you chief!" she cried, turning to him. Hiccup arched a brow. "Hiccup, that's wonderful━!" she landed a punch right against the springcoil of his flight suit and he let out an━
"Ow!"
She broke out into laughter again and Hiccup angrily spun in the fin on the back of his suit. He couldn't be mad at her, not when she was cackling like she was━it had become a recent joke for her, to keep on making his back fin pop out. He watched her double over in her laughter, "Y━You're gonna wear out the spring coil," he told her, but it was useless. She just watched him, dancing back and forth on the balls of her feet. "The calibration is very sensitive."
Yrsa nodded, still giggling. She shuffled in closer to him, eyeing his lips. Hiccup shook his head with light heart-felt disbelief. She will be the death of him, that was for sure━
A large body slammed into them and they both spun off their feet. Their dragons raced past them, not caring for barging into them as Helrose screeched after Toothless who had taken her tree branch.
Yrsa landed right on top of Hiccup, groaning. He grumbled a mutter to Toothless, but he wouldn't have heard him. His betrothed pushed herself back up to her feet, dusting off her furs and skirt. Holding out a hand to him, he took it and she pulled him up, too. Her fingers brushed up to his hair and his face, picking out grass and wiping off dirt.
"Yeah, so," he mumbled as she did, "that's what I'm dealing with."
Yrsa pursed her lips, recognising his tone. Her fingers lingered on his hair, tucking some of it behind his ear. "What did you tell him?"
"That's the thing," said Hiccup, fixing the straps of his leather gauntlets. She let her hand fall, tilting her head absent-mindedly as she listened. "I━I didn't. By the time he turned around, I was gone."
"Hiccup..." she chided him, but didn't mean it. He knew she knew how troubling this was for him, it was just something that flowed out naturally. She was always there to be blunt with him.
"Well, I didn't know what to tell him," Hiccup said. "I needed to ... I don't know ..." he hung his head, gaze casting down.
She crouched down and picked up his map, carefully folding it up. As she did, her eyes flickered around with thought. "Well ..." she murmured, "it's a lot of responsibily. You've lead before, you're a natural at it, Hiccup. But ..." she passed back his book of scattered parchment, "... the map is going to have to wait, for sure. And I'll have to fly Toothless, since you'll be too busy, but ..." she faltered, it all finally hitting her.
As she glanced back at him, Hiccup sent her a sad smile to tell her, it's all right. Most of his life, he never thought he'd end up in this situation, considering most of it, his father somtimes refused to even recognise his fish-bone of a son. Now, his father was actually proud of him, and thought him capable, and Hiccup wasn't sure whether he could ever live up to him, or whether he even wanted to. The thought of being grounded, or having to accept that one day, his father will pass, and being chief was Hiccup's future, made him want to hop onto Toothless's back and fly far away where no one could ever find him. It wasn't him. He could never be what his father wanted him to be, or saw him to be. How could a lanky boy like him ever succeed Stoick the Vast? He didn't want to.
"I━It's not me, Yrs..." he said, and her shoulders slumped. "All those speeches and planning and running the village, that's his thing."
She pursed her lips and walked up to him again. "It could be your thing, too. Hiccup, you're a great leader━look at the last five years. You've lead us through so much and we've gotten out of the better end every time. A━and think about it, Hiccup━Chief, what an honour. I━I'd be pretty excited━"
"I━I'm not like you," said Hiccup sadly, slipping his map-book back into his armour. "You━you have always been strong and regal and━and all of that stuff. You'd fit in perfectly. But me?" He sat back down near his helmet, fiddling with the leather straps. He sighed out into the distance. "I don't even know who I am ... I mean, I'm not my father, I know that, and ... and I've never met my mother, so ..." he slumped. "What does that make me?"
He picked up his charcoal pencil from the grass, twirling it in his fingers. It felt wrong to wish for his mother to still be here, considering she was dead and gone. But he couldn't help it. What if she had been like him? Would Hiccup understand himself better that way? Feel like he belonged?
Hiccup felt Yrsa sit back down beside him. Her fingers went back to his hair, tucking it out of his eyes and brushing the worry lines from his brows. He naturally leant towards her touch, aching for it. Stopping by his neck, Yrsa started to weave back and forth the strands of his hair into another braid. He hated those braids ... but for her, he always made an exception. His shoulders started to relax without him meaning for them to.
"Well, I know you're stubborn," he scoffed at her words. Always. It made him smile despite it all and she smirked, a little smug she got the reaction she wanted. "And you don't listen. You're also lovely and brave and possibly my favourite person in this world."
"Possibly?"
"I don't know, honestly, Astrid's getting a bit higher recently."
His eyes widened, gaping at her. "What?"
Yrsa finished off the braid, holding it together with her fingers, "She gave me new twine for my axe." Turning back to the conversation at hand, she said, "But ... the thing is, that is how you'll figure this out." His smile faded, sighing again. He turned his attention back to his pencil. "By being all of those things. Not by searching for end to end out there," she motioned towards the horizon. "Everything you want, everything your searching for, everything that makes you you ..." she set her hand tenderly on his chest by his heart; he gave her a weak smile, "is in here."
"And, maybe you just don't see it yet," she reached up to tap his chin fondly so he'd meet her gaze. "But you will, you always do."
Leaning in, she pressed her lips against his cheek. Feeling the dragon slobber, she pulled away and her face contorted in disgust. Wiping it away, she let out, "Eurgh! Toothless!" the Night Fury looked up from where he played tug-a-war with the tree he and Helrose had found, ears quivering at his name. Seeing her spitting out the wet slobber, her chortled in the back of his throat. "It's not funny!" she went to have a go at him. "Stop being so possessive! I want to kiss his pretty face, too!"
Hiccup would have allowed his mood to lighten at the interaction, but something in the corner of his eye caught his attention━a trail of smoke that billowed out behind one of the cliffs in the distance. He took Yrsa's arm and tugged her back as he leaned forward, frowning. "There is something out there..."
Hearing this, Yrsa glanced back and frowned, "Hiccup━"
He stopped her, grabbing her chin gently and tilting it up to the smoke. Yrsa narrowed her eyes, leaning forward with him. "What the ...?" she stood up. "Helrose━let's go!"
𖣯 ✹ 🌷(úlfheðnar) ꏍ ！┈─❟
a/n: the braids.
this scene is so pure like—
anyway, before I sob.
Hope you liked the chapter!!!! Listen to a slowed version of where no one goes. You'll thank me later.