Learning To Fly Away

Chapter 8

Hiccup and Eira were laying on the island cooking fish while Toothless and Brighteyes ate their fish.

"You know I totally beat you." Eira said.

"I let you win." Hiccup said as Eira playfully punched him in the arm. "Ah, what?"

Eira just laughed. Then, Toothless regurgitated half of his fish.

"Nah bud, I'm good thanks." Hiccup said politely.

"Guess you two are best buds now." Eira said as Brighteyes curled up next to her.

"Yeah, guess I could say the same for you as well." Hiccup replied.

Eira smiled as some Terrible Terrors took Toothless's Fish head. Then, one was cheeky enough to take his fish. Toothless growled, tugged at the fish and ate it. The Terror went to blast him, but Toothless shot him in the mouth.
Hiccup and Eira laughed.

"Here you go little one." Eira says as she tosses a fish to the Terror.

The Terror takes the fish, then goes up to Eira and curls up beside her. Eira scratches his head.

"Everything we know about them... Is wrong." Hiccup says.

"Yeah, they're not ferocious creatures, they're smart and caring." Eira started. "You know, I have never felt as happy as I do right now. I mean, I've always wondered, what am I meant to be? I'm not like Dad, and I don't know Mom, so, who am I? But, when I'm with Brighteyes, or Toothless, or any dragon, I just feel nothing but.... Happiness."

"I feel the same about Toothless. C'mon, let's go home. I can start work on Brighteyes's saddle. Race you!" Hiccup cried.

"Prepare to lose!" Eira yelled as she hoped on Brighteyes.
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The two twins were in Hiccup's closet at the blacksmiths. They were working on design ideas for Brighteyes's saddle.

"It needs to be more curved at the edges to fit the body." Eira said.

Suddenly, Stoick burst through the door.

"Dad! You're back!" Hiccup said, quickly hiding all his drawings. "Gobber's not here, so..." He trailed off.

"I know. I came here looking for you and your sister." He said.

"Y-you did?" Eira stuttered.

"You two have been keeping secrets." Stoick continued.

"We... Have?" Hiccup asked.

"How long did you think you could hide it from me?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're on about..." Eira started.

"Nothing happens on Berk without me hearing about it."

"Oh." Hiccup said.

"So, let's talk about the dragons." Stoick begins.

Colour drains from the teens faces.

"Oh gods. Dad we're so so sorry. We were going to tell you, we just didn't know how to-" Eira rambles as Stoick starts to laugh.

"You're not mad?" Hiccup asks.

"What? I was hoping for this! Believe me, it only gets better! Just wait 'till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time!" Stoick booms.

The twins faces drop and Eira face turns a slight shade of green, imagining the image.

"And mount your first Gronkle head on a spear! Oh what a feeling!" Stoick continued.

Eira had now turned green.

"Excuse me." She said as she ran out of the room to be sick.

"Is she okay?" Stoick asked.

"Bad fish." Hiccup replied quickly.

"Look son, I thought you would be a useless Viking, but you proved me wrong, and so did your sister. In short, I'm proud of you both. Now we finally have something to talk about!" Stoick continued.

"Yeah..." Hiccup said softly.

Stoick reaches out and gives Hiccup a helmet.

"Here, to keep you safe in the ring. Your mother would want you to have it." Stoick continued.

"Well, see you in the morning!" Hiccup says.

"Yes, see you tomorrow." Stoick says leaving.

After he leaves, Hiccup searches for his sister. He eventually finds her behind the blacksmith.

"Hey, you okay?" He asks.

Without warning, Eira lunges at him and wraps him in a tight imbrace, tears streaming down her face.

"It's horrible Hiccup. Horrible." She whispered.

Hiccup quieted his sister. "I know, shhh. C'mon let's go home." He says as the two walk home.
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The next day was the final day of dragon training. Hiccup, Eira and Astrid were in the ring as a Gronkle charged after them.

"This is mine." Astrid said to the other teens, annoyed at them (but mostly Hiccup) for out shining her.

"Please, be our guest." Hiccup said.

Astrid rolled out of the way to sneak up on the dragon.

Suddenly, the Gronkle charged at Eira . Astrid lunged and the creature, but before she could attack, Eira scratched the dragon under the chin, making it collapse.

The crowd went wild. Stoick looked on proudly at his daughter.

Astrid looked madly at Eira , but didn't lash out.

"Sorry, I know that was yours. I was just protecting myself." Eira explained.

Astrid took a deep breath in.

"It's okay. At least Hiccup didn't win." Astrid sighed.

Then, Gothi tapped her stick on the ground. Everyone went silent. Goober grabbed the three teens. He puts his hand over Hiccup, and the elder shakes her head. He does the same to Astrid, and she still shakes her head. He places his hand over Eira , and Gothi nods.

"Eira is the winner!" Gobber cried.

The crowd goes wild.

"That's my daughter! That's my girl!" Eira heard her father yell.

"Yay! Heh, I'm so.... Excited. I am so...." Eira said feigning excitement.

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"Leaving. We are so leaving. C'mon, we're packing up and leaving girl." Eira said to Brighteyes.

Neither her or Toothless were in sight.

"Eira , come back!" She heard her brother yell.

Eira just sat on a rock by the pool in the cove. Hiccup just went over to her, not really knowing what to do, wrapped her in an embrace. It wasn't until he was hugging her that he saw the silent tears trickling down her face.

"I can't do it. I just can't." Eira said softly.

"I know, we'll figure something out." Said Hiccup.

Suddenly, there was a crack. The two teens saw Astrid standing in the cove. Eira quickly wiped her tears away.

"Hey." She says holding her axe.

"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.