I wasn't going to be messed with. I crouched at the edge of the forest, watching as people were woken up and scurried to the Great Hall. I watched Stoick run there after being notified by a random clansmen. I watched through narrow eyes, my hands balled into fists. Toothless followed behind me, but far enough back that if I were to be seen, Toothless wouldn't be.
However, I relied on Toothless staying behind me and being aware of if I was in danger or not. When some people were told of the note and the book, they would grab an axe and ask where the "insolent man that would say such a thing" was. Most though- thankfully- gasped in fright or discussed in hushed tones of the danger.
I couldn't help but grin at the fact that I finally was being respected. I didn't care if that respect was made out of fear, I finally was something. I finally was someone. And no one could take that away. It was an amazing feeling really, made out of malice and hatred at those who had harmed me so often. I relished it.
Eventually no more noise came from the houses. The men and women were either holed up inside, terrified, or at the Great Hall, likely yelling at Stoick in an angry fever. I moved slowly, ducking behind houses and creeping closer to the edge of town. I wished, more than anything, that I could take Toothless in there and blow up everything, but Toothless had a shot limit. It would be suicide.
I made it to the edge of the houses after a short time. It was the edge of town, and I doubted anyone here was still home. To double check, I crept into five different houses with Toothless to make sure they were empty. They were. The area was clear.
I smiled. I was alone.
Now for the message.
I turned to Toothless. "Slow burn," I murmured, "And follow my lead."
I guided him along the ground, making letters with his fire. He burnt the message into the ground, charring some parts to black. It was an agonizingly long process, but after a while, I smiled. It clearly wrote:
Make the right choice, or die.
I didn't know why I did it. I didn't know why it was necessary. All I knew was that it gave me a small sense of happiness. The fear that would later reside in people's eyes... It gave me misgivings, but it also lifted me up and made me feel happy. It made me feel powerful. And I loved it.
I climbed onto Toothless slowly. "One last thing, Bud." I let him lift high enough in the air that he rose to the level of the roofs of the houses. It was dawn- I couldn't fly above the houses. Even if people were distracted, it was unlikely they would miss a Night Fury in broad daylight. Measuring myself up so I could make one quick swoop, I crouched down.
"Take them out Bud." He murmured, almost with the same sick satisfaction I was feeling.
We swooped down, and his plasma blast hit each house once. It wasn't enough to make them crumble, but it was hell of enough to destroy a lot of the important elements in a house. Toothless had one shot left.
I whispered, "My dad's house." He crooned in understanding.
In a flash, we rose above the village, and he let out one last plasma blast. It was charged this time, and upon impact with the wooden house, sent the entire thing crumbling in flames. I couldn't even find the strength to smile. I couldn't rest with the hatred burning in my chest. It consumed me as I stared at the prison of my childhood.
It took everything in me to make Toothless fly away, slipping away from Berk as people began emerging from their residences. Some people saw the black dragon slipping away into the distance, but none saw the rider crouched down on his back.
***
Toothless landed in the cove, and I jumped quickly off him. I removed my helmet, tossing it to the ground with a small sigh. My eyes and mind burned with hope of revenge, but I took a few moments to praise him. I forced out a smile, scratching his chin.
"Thank you bud." I murmured. "You mean the world to me." He crooned in response, rubbing his head happily up against my torso. I embraced him in a fleeting moment of happiness.
The happiness was short-lived.
"Why did you do that, Hiccup?" Came a soft and familiar voice.
I whipped around, coming face to face with Heather and her Razorwhip.
"None of your business." I muttered. The anger of a few seconds ago came flooding back.
She crossed her arms. "Actually, it's all of my business."
"How the hell do you reckon that?"
"Well, for one thing, we have common enemies. And, uh, based on that book I think you're targeting Berk to save dragons. And I want to save dragons too, even if that's not how I would go about it."
My gaze sharpened in intensity. I sent her a bone-shattering glare. "You followed me? You read that book?"
"Yeah, it was quite interesting. Good at romanticizing dragons." She said with a small smirk.
"Why do you even care? I'm going to either re-make Berk, or destroy it for good. Again, it has nothing to do with you. There's a whole world out there- go worry about that instead."
"You don't want to know about a lot of the world out there, oh wise one. It's filled with dragon hunters- many smarter than both of us. Many as powerful as Drago. There are good parts, obviously, but they don't come up often." Her voice was laced with irritation.
"This has nothing to do with anything, Heather. It doesn't matter if we both care about dragons. It doesn't matter if we both want to destroy Drago. I have my own, personal, business here. You want no part in it."
She snorted in annoyance. "I want every part of it. I'm not afraid of petty Berkians, and I can be useful."
I took a threatening step towards her, and Toothless growled at her Razorwhip. "I don't trust you. Hell, why should I?" I waved my arms upward in annoyance.
She gave me a measuring glance. "Because I'm the only person you've got."
I curled my lip. "I don't need a person in my life, thank you very much.
Her smirk finally broke and she violently pushed me away. "What if I do, Hiccup? What if I want to help simply because I want to be a good person, because I wasn't before?"
I stumbled backwards, not falling because of Toothless's help. I sent her a chilling glare. "I'm not a good person. I most definitely won't help you become one."
"You're better than I was, at least. Better than Drago. Better than Alvin. Better than all those dragon killers out there." She mumbled under her breath. "Dagur, Ryker, Viggo, Eret." And a few more names I couldn't catch.
I took a deep breath, my anger fading. "Then there's only one problem. Again, I don't trust you." My voice dropped threateningly low, though my eyes showed growing amounts of sympathy.
She looked to the ground, then back to me. "You shouldn't. You're smarter than that."
I had no words as I pushed back every snappy comeback racing through my mind.
She continued after a moment. "I'll... I'll just stay here. In this Cove. Ignore me if you want, but I'll be here if you want me."
My mind again plunged into doubt. She would know everything I was doing. I didn't want it. But a small voice in my mind said- wouldn't it be better to have her as an ally, than as an enemy? I didn't push the thought away. Having an intelligent enemy riding a razorwhip would do me no good.
"Fine." I murmured, sending her a confused glance. As my anger fell away, I was more convoluted than ever. I chose to push it away, focusing on my next steps for the future.
Heather walked away, calling to "Windshear" to follow her to the opposite end of the clearing.
I turned to Toothless. It was still midday. I had nothing to do until night, when I hoped I could sneak into the village to confront one... particular person.
"Let's go on a flight, bud."
A/N: Ok but this entire story is unedited. So please don't judge, haha. I'll go back through and edit it eventually, but I'm way too lazy atm.
Also expect a lot of chapters to be put up as of now. I'm doing Camp Nanowrimo with this as my "project" and I'm shooting for like 25 more chapters by the end of the month. So yeah, see y'all around.