A Storm from the East (A Viggo Lovestory)

Chapter 14

Eurus soared through the clouds high above the earth. The Silver Phantom was way faster than the Skrill could ever be and Viggo had to learn that the hard way. He had challanged Eos and her dragon to a race to the next sea stack, and they were already half way there when him and Leiptr had barly flown a third of the way. Now, alone with Leiptr, Viggo allowed himself to let a look of admiration slip onto his face. It wasn't like anyone could see.
Noticing that Eos had now landed on the sea stack, he stopped pushing Leiptr. No point in tiring him out when they had already lost. As they did finally arrive, Eos was sitting on the ground, leaning against her dragon.

"Finally made it?", she asked sarcastically. Viggo chuckled.

"I have to say my dear, Eurus speed is quite impressive. How long have you two been training?", he asked, sitting down a good two meters away from her, Leiptr behind him.

"Since I was five. But that doesn't have anything to do with her speed. Silver Phantoms are just incredibly fast. I'd dare to say they are one of the fastest, if not the fastest dragon species."

"I belive you might be correct.", Viggo said quietly, a soft smile on his face. For the first time in forever, he finally felt like he could relax. He looked at the girl, that was smiling back at him.
Viggo found himself admiring her beauty. Her piercing green eyes, the soft freckles on her cheecks, her shining brown hair and her pretty lips. He never noticed how stunning she actually was. She'd make someone really happy one day.
Noticing that he was just staring at her, he cleared his throat and looked past her. The wind pick up and the air started to get a bit chilly. It would soon be winter. Eos started to shiver lightly, so Eurus laid her wing over the girl, who was leaning back and admiring the night sky. The light of the stars and the moon were glistening in her eyes. Viggo started to feel cold too.
Suddenly, Leiptr started pushing his snout against Viggo's back, softly nudging him forward. Viggo almost fell over and got up, about to ask his dragon what that was for, when Eurus lifed her massive wing back up and Leiptr pushed Viggo down, him landing roughtly next to Eos. She just giggled and helped him sit up next to her, Eurus bringing her wing back down, pushing them closer together.
Eos, not thinking anything of it, just stared at the ocean, which was eluminated with the light of the moon. She saw dragons edge a bit further away in the distance, the light in the clubhouse still on, just like the lights in a few of the huts. The others must still be awake. Suddenly, she felt an arm around her shoulders. Viggo was pulling her close, but when she turned to look at him, he was absent-mindedly looking at the ocean and the island in front of him, just like Eos had a few moments ago. But the slight blush on his cheek didn't go unnoticed. The girl just smiled softly and laid her head on his shoulder. This seemed to startle Viggo, because he jumped a little. He hadn't expected Eos to allow this much phisical contact. They both knew that they were falling for the other, but they just weren't ready to admit it to themselves or the other person.

"Looks peaceful, doesn't it?", Eos asked.

"Yes. It really does.", Viggo started. "But as you know, my dear, peace can be such a fragile thing."

"Hey, don't think like that. We will defeat Johann and Krogan.", Eos said, freeing herself from his arm and turning to him.

"I never said that we wouldn't. But at what cost, my dear? I've lost so many things through this war. My tribe, my brother, my home. Half of my face.", he said the last scentence bitterer than Eos had ever heard him speak.

"I'm sorry, Viggo. I truly am, so, so sorry."

It felt like Eos words pierced right through his heart. She was the first person to ever show him empathy, the first person to truly care what this war was doing to him, the first person to not tell him to 'thoughen up' when he was hurting but instead showed him that he, as a person, had a value. She was the first to show him that he wasn't just an important piece in the game of life, that wasn't allowed to show weakness, that had to present his tribe properly, not like the whimp, like the runt he was, or used to be at least. She was the first to show him, that he was irreplacable.
If Viggo hadn't stopped himself there, he probably would've started to cry. What a pathetic sight that would've been. Then again, he was pretty pathetic already. No family, no tribe, no home, a scarred and mangled and ugly face and to top it all off he was at the complete mercy of his former advisaries and was even starting to fall for one of them. And in this very moment, he relized just what he used to be and what he had become. He'd never allowed his mind to take him this far, simply out of fear of realization, but Eos had unlocked that place in his mind. He almost started to grow angry at her for it. Now he had to actually deal with it. He was about to snap at her, but Eos apparently had noticed his change in energy and laid her hands on both sides on his face, one on his normal and one on his scarred jaw and forced him to look at her.

"Hey, Viggo listen, I get it. I get the feeling of loosing something, loosing someone..." how dare she mention Ryker "but you have to look at the full picture." This startled him out of his anger. Full picture? "You may have had to endure loss and pain, but it made you so much stronger and wiser. Even more than before. And you may have lost a lot but you also gained a lot. You have Leiptr, you have a friend in Hiccup and in me and trust me, the others will follow. And if you want it, you could even have a home with us. A safe one, for a change."

Viggo looked at the ground, Eos hands slowly letting go of his face. He placed a hand on her arm and slowly looked back up at her, his soft smile of admiration returning.

"You really are quite something, aren't you, my dear Eos?", Viggo smiled softly.

"I try.", she said. Viggo gave a small laugh. It almost seemed out of character for him. Then again, all of this was quite out of character. Before Viggo could reply, Eos had pulled him into a hug. The first real hug he's had since he had last seen his mother. He slowly wrapped his hands around Eos' waist, unsure if he was doing it correctly. They stayed like that for a good minute, but then Viggo started to grow uncomfortable. He just wasn't used to showing emotion yet, but at the same time he didn't quite want it to end yet. Eos slowly started to let go though and when she did, their eyes locked.

"Should we head back?", she asked shyly, changing the topic

"Yes, yes, of course, it is starting to get rather late."
Both got up hurriedly and jumped on their dragons. The flight back was short and silent and when they got back to the edge, Eos walked away quickly, with a hushed 'Good night.', leaving Viggo alone with very mixed emotions. Yet, somehow, he felt more comfortable and at peace than ever before.