Categories > Original > Fantasy > Forfeit
Disclaimer: WARNING! I do not own the characters of Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, etc.; as well as the setting island of Berk and all other How To Train Your Dragon items. These are owned by Dreamworks, Cressida Cowell, and others; not me. Please keep this in consideration.
The dragon took off into the air, tilting dangerously. I felt myself sliding back in the saddle, yet I could do nothing to stop myself. Before I slid fully off, Hiccup reached around with a little difficulty and grabbed my arm, pulling me upright. As soon as I had my balance again, I latched onto Hiccup, wrapping my arms around his stomach and gripping the front of his shirt. I squeezed my eyes closed. There was no way to describe the pure terror I felt in the sky. I could feel my entire body shaking and the bite of the cold, after-storm wind against my skin.
"Slow down!" I was barely able to voice my complaint. Hiccup slowed the dragon a little, attempting to comply to my demand. I could feel him try to look back at me, a difficult task due to my tight grip around his torso, yet somehow he managed.
"Open your eyes," I couldn't tell if it was a request or a demand, but I shook my head at it either way. "Come on, you want to see this," he assured, nudging me a little.
I slid one eye open to a slight squint, raising my lid a little more at the sight of Berk from above. I felt a little bad that I was normally missing such a view, but I accepted it easily enough because the dragons were the only source to it. At a glance of the ocean underneath us, my eyes slammed shut again and my grip tightened. I buried my head into his back, unable to endure the fear any longer, "Let me down."
"Just a little longer." I dreaded the statement.
"No. Let me down." I repeated my request, unable to move. He sighed a bit before steering the animal down towards Berk. The falling sensation was much worse than the actual flying. I was sure the pressure on his stomach from my arms was almost unbearable.
We landed and I released the breath that I had been holding, yet I was unable to climb down. Hiccup jumped to the ground and then managed to pull me after him. I glanced back at the beast before sprinting around the nearest tree. I leaned against the large trunk, using it's mass to support myself before I slid to the ground, placing my head in my pulled-up knees.
Hiccup ran after me, apologizing the entire way. "Oh, Gods. That was a really bad idea." He knelt beside me. "Are you okay?"
It did surprise me, but I was too shocked to respond appropriately. I nodded and focused on my breathing.
"Ah, man. I am so sorry. I should have known better."
I gave a simple shake of my head, not even sure what exactly it meant, myself. I took a moment to calm my mind. "I-it wasn't too bad. I just... I guess I'm just not used to it," I attempted to excuse my fear, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to fall for it. Either way, he remained silent.
After a few minutes and a lot of deep breaths, I stood. Hiccup did the same yet walked back to his dragon instead of following me. I made my way back to my house, thankfully passing no one. After closing my door lightly, I headed to my bed and laid down. The comfort of the familiar smelling pillow and the normal texture of the dragon pelt blanket felt nice and I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I awoke to a knock the front door. Knowing fully well that no one else would answer, I slid out from the warmth and headed down the stairs. Hiccup was standing on my front step, looking rather mischievous. I left the door open for him and turned into the kitchen for some breakfast.
"What do you want?" I was too tired to deal with him, despite the large amount of sleep I had achieved.
"I want to show you something." His grin widened a bit.
I rolled my eyes, "You really expect me to trust you?"
"There won't be any dragons. I promise." The assurance did help. And I trusted him enough to follow through with a promise like that.
I stared at the roll I had in my hand for a moment before setting it back in the basket. "Alright, fine."
We headed into the forest. The ground was soft and the moss-like grass was fluffy. Not many people spent time within the trees since everyone had their jobs and chores. After a while of walking in mostly silence, we came across an impression in the grass. I knelt down, feeling the semi-circular trail that lead from a large broken tree to the slight cliff. "What is this?"
"It's where Toothless landed." I had heard the story of how Hiccup found Toothless a few times and I was familiar enough with it to know that he was talking about after he had shot the Night Fury out of the sky. I had never believed someone like him could catch a Night Fury and the supposed proof didn't sway my judgment in the slightest.
I stood, heading to the drop-off. "So, he fell off here?"
After I caught Hiccup's slight nod, I headed down, almost loosing my balance part way. I slipped the rest of the incline and caught my self on the large rock sitting at the bottom. I walked around it and noticed the bolas on the ground, weights scattered about and ropes cut to pieces. I was a little amazed that it had been left there.
He started off further down the hill, "Come on, it's this way." He led for a while until he stopped at a small tunnel-like opening. It led down to a beautiful clearing. The high cliffs all around gave it privacy and the waterfall dumping into the clear lake gave small tidal sounds. There were a few birds chirping from a near-by tree.
"This is where I first met Toothless," He explained. "We spent a lot of time here." He climbed down to the ground of the valley, looking at me to follow him. The grass was a different texture. It looked like small green swords poking from the earth.
"It's really pretty, but I don't see why you brought me here." I turned to him.
His pause grew longer and longer, causing me to wonder if he was even going to answer. "I don't know."
"So you brought me here for no reason?" I headed for the way out, turning back when he responded.
"Well, not 'no reason'..." He shrugged his shoulders a little.
"But you can't tell me why." I checked.
"Yeah." He knew he had been led right into a trap, but was unable to get out of it.
"Well, then there's no point in me being here. I have some fishing to do." And with that, I climbed back up and found my way to the docks.
The dragon took off into the air, tilting dangerously. I felt myself sliding back in the saddle, yet I could do nothing to stop myself. Before I slid fully off, Hiccup reached around with a little difficulty and grabbed my arm, pulling me upright. As soon as I had my balance again, I latched onto Hiccup, wrapping my arms around his stomach and gripping the front of his shirt. I squeezed my eyes closed. There was no way to describe the pure terror I felt in the sky. I could feel my entire body shaking and the bite of the cold, after-storm wind against my skin.
"Slow down!" I was barely able to voice my complaint. Hiccup slowed the dragon a little, attempting to comply to my demand. I could feel him try to look back at me, a difficult task due to my tight grip around his torso, yet somehow he managed.
"Open your eyes," I couldn't tell if it was a request or a demand, but I shook my head at it either way. "Come on, you want to see this," he assured, nudging me a little.
I slid one eye open to a slight squint, raising my lid a little more at the sight of Berk from above. I felt a little bad that I was normally missing such a view, but I accepted it easily enough because the dragons were the only source to it. At a glance of the ocean underneath us, my eyes slammed shut again and my grip tightened. I buried my head into his back, unable to endure the fear any longer, "Let me down."
"Just a little longer." I dreaded the statement.
"No. Let me down." I repeated my request, unable to move. He sighed a bit before steering the animal down towards Berk. The falling sensation was much worse than the actual flying. I was sure the pressure on his stomach from my arms was almost unbearable.
We landed and I released the breath that I had been holding, yet I was unable to climb down. Hiccup jumped to the ground and then managed to pull me after him. I glanced back at the beast before sprinting around the nearest tree. I leaned against the large trunk, using it's mass to support myself before I slid to the ground, placing my head in my pulled-up knees.
Hiccup ran after me, apologizing the entire way. "Oh, Gods. That was a really bad idea." He knelt beside me. "Are you okay?"
It did surprise me, but I was too shocked to respond appropriately. I nodded and focused on my breathing.
"Ah, man. I am so sorry. I should have known better."
I gave a simple shake of my head, not even sure what exactly it meant, myself. I took a moment to calm my mind. "I-it wasn't too bad. I just... I guess I'm just not used to it," I attempted to excuse my fear, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to fall for it. Either way, he remained silent.
After a few minutes and a lot of deep breaths, I stood. Hiccup did the same yet walked back to his dragon instead of following me. I made my way back to my house, thankfully passing no one. After closing my door lightly, I headed to my bed and laid down. The comfort of the familiar smelling pillow and the normal texture of the dragon pelt blanket felt nice and I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I awoke to a knock the front door. Knowing fully well that no one else would answer, I slid out from the warmth and headed down the stairs. Hiccup was standing on my front step, looking rather mischievous. I left the door open for him and turned into the kitchen for some breakfast.
"What do you want?" I was too tired to deal with him, despite the large amount of sleep I had achieved.
"I want to show you something." His grin widened a bit.
I rolled my eyes, "You really expect me to trust you?"
"There won't be any dragons. I promise." The assurance did help. And I trusted him enough to follow through with a promise like that.
I stared at the roll I had in my hand for a moment before setting it back in the basket. "Alright, fine."
We headed into the forest. The ground was soft and the moss-like grass was fluffy. Not many people spent time within the trees since everyone had their jobs and chores. After a while of walking in mostly silence, we came across an impression in the grass. I knelt down, feeling the semi-circular trail that lead from a large broken tree to the slight cliff. "What is this?"
"It's where Toothless landed." I had heard the story of how Hiccup found Toothless a few times and I was familiar enough with it to know that he was talking about after he had shot the Night Fury out of the sky. I had never believed someone like him could catch a Night Fury and the supposed proof didn't sway my judgment in the slightest.
I stood, heading to the drop-off. "So, he fell off here?"
After I caught Hiccup's slight nod, I headed down, almost loosing my balance part way. I slipped the rest of the incline and caught my self on the large rock sitting at the bottom. I walked around it and noticed the bolas on the ground, weights scattered about and ropes cut to pieces. I was a little amazed that it had been left there.
He started off further down the hill, "Come on, it's this way." He led for a while until he stopped at a small tunnel-like opening. It led down to a beautiful clearing. The high cliffs all around gave it privacy and the waterfall dumping into the clear lake gave small tidal sounds. There were a few birds chirping from a near-by tree.
"This is where I first met Toothless," He explained. "We spent a lot of time here." He climbed down to the ground of the valley, looking at me to follow him. The grass was a different texture. It looked like small green swords poking from the earth.
"It's really pretty, but I don't see why you brought me here." I turned to him.
His pause grew longer and longer, causing me to wonder if he was even going to answer. "I don't know."
"So you brought me here for no reason?" I headed for the way out, turning back when he responded.
"Well, not 'no reason'..." He shrugged his shoulders a little.
"But you can't tell me why." I checked.
"Yeah." He knew he had been led right into a trap, but was unable to get out of it.
"Well, then there's no point in me being here. I have some fishing to do." And with that, I climbed back up and found my way to the docks.
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