How To Train Your Dragon - Rise Again

Unexpected meeting

After Heltinne fainted, she tried to walk her way back to the village without fainting again. Well, couldn't blame her, she saw one of the most dangerous creatures in the world right in front of her. So close that she could see herself in his eyes.

"This is not happening, this is not happening, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" She kept telling herself. "Dragons don't exist! This was an illusion!"

"..." The girl stooped walking for a moment and took a deep, deep breath.

"What would uncle Dave do?" She asked herself. Uncle Dave was a role model for her since she was a child, he always told her stories about this kind of creatures. He had a little questionnaire for when someone sees these kind things. So the girl started the questionnaire. "Okay, Okay. First: Are you sure you saw a mystical creature?...Yes. Second: Did you tell anyone? No. Third: Keep it to yourself until you find proof to show everyone."

She started walking again, this time more calmly.

-----

It's night in the village. No one is up. Great! Heltinne walked through the place quietly and quickly. She makes it to her room, no one saw her. I wonder if they suspected that I left... She changed clothes and got downstairs. Nobody. That is... Weird. She got upstairs again and walked towards her parent's room. She knocked. No answer, just snores. Did they sleep while I was gone?! Wow, such responsible parents. She thought sarcastically. Well, I'm not dealing with this now. Going to sleep-sleep! The girl walked towards her room and stopped in the middle. I'm thirsty... I think I saw the kitchen downstairs... Welp, here we go again! She got downstairs again, now to drink something.

In the kitchen, that she finally found after a long, long search, Heltinne was drinking some water.

If I saw a dragon, that means that dragons exist. So that means there are more dragons around here...

"So that means I could have been eaten by more than one?!" The girl said out loud without noticing.

"Eaten by more than one? You mean the wolves or the dragons?" A voice said.

"EEEK!!" Heltinne jumped of fear because of the commentary.

"Hey! Are you crazy?! Low your voice! Everyone's trying to sleep!" The voice whispered then showed itself. It was a girl, a tall girl with black curly hair, brownish skin, and green eyes, dressed in pajamas.

The red-haired stared at the stranger for a moment. "...Who are you?"

"Oh! Where are my manners?" The girl said, with a little bit of sarcasm on her voice. "I'm Astrid, Astrid Hofferson. The granddaughter of the man that you fought with this morning." She looked at Heltinne with rage while she talked the last phrase.

"Oh..." Heltinne let it slip.

"Yeah. " Oh," Astrid replied.

There was an awkward silence in the kitchen. Heltinne decided to break it. " Look, I'm so so--"

"What are you doing here?" The curly haired girl asked.

"Uhh... Getting a drink?"

"No! I mean in here! In Stornoway !" The other teenager said. "What are YOU, an AMERICAN, doing here?... Are you one of the hunters?! Are you trying to take away the dragons?! Didn't we scare you guys enough the last time?!" She was getting closer and closer to Heltinne while she bombarded her with questions until the redhead was cornered on the wall.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Heltinne replied, confused and scared. " Hunters?! Take away the dragons?! Dude, I DIDN'T EVEN KNEW THAT DRAGONS EXISTED!! That's one of the reasons why I fought with your grandfather!"

Astrid was now confused and a bit... Surprised? She noticed that the other girl wasn't lying, her words were true as her fear at that moment. Astrid stepped back, she's still furious, not because of the redhead, but because she ended up telling a stranger about a great secret. "Damn it."

Heltinne looked at Astrid, waiting for the best moment to escape from there.

"Look." The Hofferson said. "You didn't hear a thing from me. If you say to anyone what I just told you, I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands. You understand?" She ended with a threatening tone in her voice.

Heltinne just nodded fast, trembling a bit. When she was about to go away, Astrid stopped her. "One more thing." The girl froze. " What did you saw in the forest, exactly?"

"I... Umm... Saw a dragon?"

"What dragon? Describe him."

"How do you want me to describe him?! I just saw him for, like, 5 seconds!!"

"Then how do you know that it was a dragon?" Astrid asked a bit concerned.

"He was close... Very close."

That's when Heltinne really got Astrid's attention. "Wha-- How close?!" She stepped forwards, again.

"I-I don't know! He was just really close!... I could see myself in his eyes.." Heltinne said remembering the moment.

Astrid stooped for a moment. The silence filled the air.

"The back of my house."

"What?" Heltinne asked with confusion.

"Tomorrow, at the back of my house. I want you there when the sun rises." The tall girl said then left before the other girl could say anything.

...What just happened?

-----

The birds were singing, the sun was rising, a light was entering Heltinne's room as she sleeps. But... Somethings off... She feels a poke on her head, her eyes open slowly. Her vision is still blurry, but her hearing is perfectly good.

"Hey, dear! Wake up!"

That's a familiar voice... Mom?

The girl finally gets to see everything around her, including Iris, her mom.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" The teenager said with a sleepy voice.

"Hi, Heltinne..." Iris said with a sweet voice. " Look, I'm sorry that I was so... Angry with you yesterday. I was so stressed and..."

"It's okay mom," Heltinne replied, still sleepy. "Don't worry, 'kay? I'm good, you're good. Everything's fine."

"Really?" Her mother asked with a bit of worry on her voice.

"Yes, yes. Don't worry!"

"Oh... If you say so!" Iris said, now relieved. " Then I'm going to let you sleep." She got up from Heltinne's bed and left the room.

"Oh!" Iris came back and stood in the entrance. "Me and your dad are going to be out for most of the day, I'm going to make my first painting here!... Promise me that you'll be away from trouble, okay?"

"Mmmkay..." The daughter answered almost falling asleep again. But then she remembered something and got off the bed fast. Her mom got surprised by her action. "Uh, mom? What hour is it?"

"I can't tell exactly, but it's early in the morning since the sun just came out."

The sun just came out.

Oh, God.

"Well, I'll go now. Take care!" Iris left again.