Hiccup
"You've done it Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber bellowed over the cheering crowd, his gruff voice practically bursting my ear drums while his meaty arm draped over my shoulder in a rather rough embrace.
Although their tremendous cheers rang out over the arena, screaming my name and for blood alike, I couldn't bring myself to join them.
The whole world seemed to slow as I tried to chase my restless thoughts. It was like walking through syrup, thick, sticky, suffocating.
Finally, I came to a single conclusion; I have to kill that dragon.
How ironic. Who would've guessed that this was how my worthless life would end up. Shoot a dragon down, fail to kill it, join dragon training, befriend said dragon, excel in training and then, the icing on the cake, win a competition to kill another dragon.
That's betrayal, right?
A chill raced up my spine and I could feel the sweat between the grooves of my palm.
I can't kill a dragon.
First off, I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Enough said.
Secondly, what would Toothless think? Slaughtering one of his brethren like some heinous beast. That would make me the monster. Funny how the roles are reversed so easily.
Not that I would try to kill it anyway, that was a given. I'm not one of them and I'll never be one of them. I figured it out a long time ago, when my hand first touched that scaly nose, I could never be a Viking.
My heart knocked against my chest like a sledgehammer, reverberating through my entire being, it was almost painful. I have to leave. Get my sorry ass out of here and straight to Toothless.
This...All of this. I'm done. This stupid, idiotic façade is worthless, pretending to be something I'm not, like some useless pretender has provided nothing but a fruitless desire to leave.
How I pushed Gobbers arm off me? I'll never know, but I don't care. My legs were numb, taking me out of the arena on their own accord, thumping against the ground, each step shooting me forwards as fast as humanely possible. I may have never been the stereotypical muscled Viking like my Father, but I reaped the benefits when it came to speed.
I didn't try to look back at those curious faces that followed me, ignoring the eyes that bored into my back so deeply.
I didn't stop, not until I reached the cove. I stumbled into the circular sanctuary, sinking to my knees in exhaustion, my chest heaving and breath coming out in short pants as I gulped in the fresh forest air greedily.
The earth was washed with bright colour that danced in front of my eyes like some beautiful light show of vibrant greens and blues. The ground beneath my hands was soft and cold, slightly damp from the late-night dew that settled upon it and ahead, the suns last fleeting rays glimmered over the still surface of the watery pool. Just beyond, overlooking the entire area smooth, grey rockfaces stood tall and confident, blocking the place off from the world.
My safe haven.
After a few minutes it becomes easier to breath and I don't feel so exhausted. My legs are shaky when I rise, but I pay it no mind, forcing them forwards a few trembling steps until they start to come around, using all my concentration just to keep upright.
A distressed warble brought me from my trance and my eyes trained on the black mass shooting towards me. My concentration broken, I felt my legs quiver before they collapsed beneath me.
I braced to hit the ground, only to be caught by a smooth scaly head.
"Thanks, Toothless." It came out breathy and exhausted, mirroring how I felt. I managed to bring my hand up to lightly run my fingers over his head in a gentle pat and he warbled appreciatively.
Finally, after what felt like far too long, I managed to push myself upright, my legs feeling stronger than before and the haziness behind my eyes fading.
"Bud?" I asked and he cooed gently in response, "We have to go okay? I-I did something and I can't..." I tried to stop the tears falling, but to no such luck.
"It's not safe here anymore, we need to disappear." I spluttered like some blubbering fool, but I couldn't bring myself to be strong, the events of the day crashing over me like a broken dam.
"C'mon, let's go"
oOo
Toothless managed to land silently on the window sill and I thanked every god I knew for it. I slipped off his back, landing lightly on my feet and making sure to avoid the creaky floor boards for the fear of alerting any occupants in the house.
My hands moved quickly, my body blending into the shadows perfectly as I bent around furniture, reaching into baskets, cupboards and under my bed. Pulling forth the necessary supplies for a long journey – making sure to snatch up my blueprints and notebook.
"Hiccup!" I didn't even need to hear it again to tell who it was, that horrible gruff voice, demanding and controlling. It seemed to shake the entire house, making my very bones rattle.
"Crap"
oOo
Stoick
"Hiccup!" I called again, the sound echoing through the house.
What a truly arrogant child. Since when had he ever acted such a way? Leaving the arena in such a horrific rush, clearly believing himself too mighty for the praise of his village.
I licked my lips at the thought of the oncoming lecture. Well, at least he was arrogant and not weak, arrogance can be easily stamped out – in most at least.
I could hear the light shuffles from upstairs, he was certainly home, no doubting it. Troublesome boy.
"Hiccup! For Odins sake, come down here. I'm giving you a single chance to explain yourself before you end up at Gobbers for the rest of the week!"
Hiccup
I snorted lightly when his threat made it to my ears. Yeah as if, I practically lived at that forge my entire childhood, like that scares me. He practically handed me over to Gobber on a silver platter.
I quickly strapped my second basket to Toothless, my hands moving swiftly over the buckles. I began to shove as much as I possibly could into it, taking care to make sure they weight was even in order to make the flight as comfortable for Toothless as possible.
I managed to push a rather ratted blanket into it, before darting over to my desk where my dagger lay. The only weapon I've ever called mine. I've got to say; a simple dagger never fails.
I grinned to myself thinking of all the times I've used it. What a relic.
I was drawn from my reminiscing by the thump of heavy feet on the stairs, my keen ears managing to hear the wood groan and creak under the weight.
"Oh C'mon, why does he have to have the worst timing possible?" I asked the heavens, not expecting an answer.
"Hiccup. Door. Open. Now" He practically growled it, sounding like some rabid beast and I could almost picture the steam coming from his nostrils. I choked back a laugh at the image, doing a wonderful impression of a dying pig in the process.
I reached for the dagger when a fist slammed against my wooden door. "Hiccup!"
My hand slipped with the fright and instead of grabbing at the leather handle, I snagged myself on the bladed end, the cold metal slicing into the skin of my palm easily, like a knife through butter, drawing blood from the wound. Of all the times to regret sharpening a blade.
I dropped the weapon distractedly, clutching my wounded hand with a hiss. But there was no time for moaning, so I quickly reached down to pick up the dagger again, by the leather hilt this time, my hand leaving behind a blood stain on the wood.
"Hiccup Haddock!" The door nearly fell off its hinges when he slammed his fist against it this time and I stumbled backwards when the floor shook from the blow, reaching out frantically to grab at the closet.
The whole thing teetered for a good few seconds and my eyes widened as it tipped forward. I quickly darted out from underneath it, throwing myself against the floor and skidding over to hit the wall below the window, while the whole thing toppled over, hitting the floor with a mighty bang and blocking off the door.
Heh, talk about convenience. Just bought myself an extra few seconds.
Toothless looked down at me with a patronising look in his green eyes to which I gave him a sheepish smile, while I dragged myself to my feet, shaking out my sore shoulder that I'd landed on in my dramatic tumble.
"Hiccup? Are you okay? What going on son!?"
I frowned, he actually sounded concerned, was this just some ploy? A fake? Was he trying to coax me out with fake sincerity? Since when was he trying to act like an actual Father.
Finally, pulling myself from my confusion, I chose to ignore his words in favour of shutting the basket and adjusting the straps on toothless, a few of his scales disturbed from their place and falling to the floor in the process.
He shoved against the door once more, and it cracked open just a slither, pushing the downed wardrobe aside slightly.
"Okay Toothless. Time to go!" I whispered frantically, jumping onto his back and shooting out the window into the night sky. From the distance as we ascended, I watched the door fly open finally pushing the closet aside and the large form of my Father stumble into the room looking somewhat dazed.
My heart clenched painfully for a moment at his obvious confusion and tears pricked at my waterline, but I didn't let the fall.
"Later...Dad."
Stoick
I slammed my shoulder into the door, letting out a breath of relief when it gave. It was unpredictably hard to force open.
I stumbled into the room, vision spinning from having hit the door so many times and I took a moment to adjust.
I caught sight of the downed closet, laying skewed on its side. No wonder the door was so heavy, it must have fallen against it, but why?
My gaze scanned the room, it was in shambles, paper strewn about the room, items missing and furniture overturned. What on earth was he doing in here?
That was when I glimpsed it. A dark patch on the floor. Slowly I wandered over to it, crouching over and pressing my index finger to it. It was hard to tell in the early night, but there was no mistaking the red that was visible on the pad of my finger when I pulled it back.
"What happened." I whispered, disbelief lacing my tone.
At my back the familiar clunk of wood on wood sounded, and not long after, Gobber appeared at my side. His eyes were wide and his bushy brows furrowed as he examined the room.
"Err Stoick?"
I looked up at him from where I was still examining the blood and he passed me slim object.
I took it from him. It was slick, black and smooth to the touch, arrowy in shape and glinting slightly under the moon silvery glow. "This is..." I couldn't finish the sentence.
"I'm afraid so" Gobbers voice shook when he spoke.
"He can't be." I tried to convince myself that it wasn't true. He couldn't be gone.
He had defeated dragons before, for we had witnessed it in the arena ourselves. He wouldn't have just given up would he...unless.
"This...this is a Night Fury scale." It wasn't hard to deduce, there were only few dragons who had such a unique scale.
I heard Gobbers breath hitch behind me.
I stood, rising to my full height and looking out into the starry sky. A humourless chuckle escaped in my disbelief and I croaked out my revelation.
"My son, was killed by a Night Fury."
--
Well, I'm sure no one expected this, but then again why would you?
Finally went back onto Wattpad, had a little look through what I wrote like 4/5 years ago, cried, cringed and then decided that none of you should have been subjected to that impulsive mess. So, here's a little re-write. Cleaner, more descriptive and much easier to read. Nowhere near anything amazing, just a better job lol.
Enjoy and feel free to critique. If you've got any ideas as to the direction of the story let me know, (probably via DM cause I only read comments once in a blue moon) because I may or may not add to where I left off last time, but we shall see.
- Toothless_soph