Soul of the Sky (HTTYD Runaway Fic)

Find Your Wings

I looked down at the island that had been my home for the past fifteen years. From up here, Berk appeared tiny. It wasn't much, but it was home. Now I was leaving forever.

Toothless turned his head to look at me. "It's time. Are you ready?" I took one last look at Berk. Goodbye. I thought silently. No regrets. "Let's go, bud."
Anything I might have said was whipped away by the wind as Toothless dived towards the bay's sentinels, clearing the border. If I could, I'd like to think my last words might have been something else.
I'm sorry, Dad. Maybe you'll be better off without me.

As the island receded into the distance, Toothless warbled in exultation. "It's time to fly free!" As one, we soared away into the horizon. We spun and dipped and twirled, skimming the waves. My sadness at leaving my birthplace was whipped away by the dancing wind as I revelled in the heady feeling of freedom. It would return to haunt me later, but for now it was just Toothless, me and the clouds.

We flew crazy-bold, spinning and diving and looping like only a Night Fury could. For a moment, I could almost pretend that I was a dragon too. Free and unburdened, the earth never pulling me down. Like we were one creature, and together we could be more than apart.
Together, we flew with the soul of the sky.

As night closed in on us, we landed on a seastack miles off the coast of Berk. We would find another island to call home eventually, but for now we would travel alone. I unstrapped the basket from Toothless' saddle and pulled out some dried fish.
Toothless sniffed at it, drawing back in distaste. "I'll find my own, thanks." I laughed at his antics as he attempted to snatch fish from the ocean. Fish after fish evaded his claws, bright scales disappearing into the dark depths of the waves. He eventually snagged a large salmon, gulping it down in two quick bites.
Seeing my look, Toothless made a face at me. "I wasn't really trying to catch one!" he exclaimed defensively.

I curled up against his side, staring at the bright splashes of stars across the sky. Their patterns seemed to swirl in a slow, stately dance. I fell asleep staring at them, and dreaming of the wonders we would discover tomorrow.

                                                           *     *     *     *     *

Astrid

"Hiccup?" I called. "Hiccup!" Still no answer. I sighed, alone in the forest with my thoughts. Hiccup had left after Gothi had chosen him to kill the Nightmare, and no one had seen him since.  He'd been acting weird lately, running off every afternoon into the forest.

I was looking for him to try and find the secret of his success. No one just goes from Hiccup the 'Useless' to topping the class in less than a month. Maybe he'd been training somewhere? Fighting Terrible Terrors to practice for the real dragons in the ring?
I snickered at the mental image. It was practically visible, Hiccup facing off against a puffed-up Terror with that tiny dagger of his gripped in one hand. That face he made when he was concentrating, with eyes determined and tongue stuck out. Adorable...ugh, I'm hopeless.

What had changed him? A few weeks ago, he would have dreamed of just being in Dragon Training. Getting to kill the Nightmare would have been an idea so far-fetched that he himself would have laughed at it. But he was acting like this was the last thing he wanted. He seemed to be avoiding the dragons even though he could take them down easily, almost like he was scared of them. Or for them. I dismissed that idea as soon as it occurred to me. Hiccup had wanted to kill dragons since he was three, and he'd lost his mother to the beasts. Protecting them was the last thing he'd do.

Maybe he'd always been this good, and he'd just never had the chance to try? Chief Stoick had always tried to keep him inside and away from the chaos, although he often got out and caused even more of it by getting underfoot in his attempts to help. But if that was true, why didn't he just take out the Nightmare that had chased him through the village the day he 'shot down' the supposed Night Fury?