THE TRANSLATOR, httyd.

the translator, fifteen.

hiccup knew why the voice was so familiar. because it was hers.

and when he turned to look at the girl behind him, he was hauntingly reminded of the ginger-haired girl with brown eyes that had kissed him. he was reminded of the girl who'd fallen to her death in the black waters near that cavern. he was reminded of the strong-willed, reckless, clever, beautiful girl that was his first ever friend.

but she was dead.

"get — get away from me!" hiccup yelled angrily. it was probably a joke from snotlout or the twins, but hiccup wasn't in the mood for pranks. he didn't want to get his hopes up, either. he was probably hallucinating, because elina looked so real under the sunlight.

honey brown eyes that softened. her cheeks were flushed, and freckles spread across her face like the constellations across valhalla. ginger hair spread like a waterfall cascading over her shoulders, and she wore a white top with black markings and a light blue skirt that fluttered in the wind.

"hiccup..." her voice trailed off, and she closed her eyes. "i'm here. i'm finally here."

her voice was a sunkissed gold rush that melted his very soul. his heart ached at the tears in her eyes. the world seemed to pause again as she stepped towards him, and placed her hands into his. she was real.

then, it was like the dam had finally been broken. all his bottled emotions flew to the surface. her muscles tensed up as they looked at each other, not just as friends, but long-lost lovers that had been finally reunited. he took one step closer, and that was when he realized they were so close to each other that their noses were touching. elina breathed shakily.

"ellie. you're... back." hiccup whispered, and elina nodded. "you came back."

he heard a small laugh coming from elina (and although it was slightly teary, the laugh still made him feel like he was on top of the world. for the first time in months). "i did promise you that i wouldn't die, didn't i?"

hiccup crushed elina in a tight embrace, and she hugged him back, their eyes closed. "but how? i watched you... i watched you fall into the waters. how did you... what...?"

"it's a long story, hiccup." 

"well, it's good that the way back to berk is a long hike, isn't it?"

and so elina told hiccup everything. hiccup laughed a bit at the part where chameleon donated her blood to elina, and elina told hiccup that she was now technically half-dragon. hiccup, in turn, told her things that the dragons didn't tell her, like how everyone had coped with her death.

"so uhm, there was me, you know, who became really, really depressed over your death." elina frowned, and she looked at hiccup. 

"look, hiccup, if i ever die, i don't want you to mourn over me, okay? i want you to go have fun, enjoy the world, whatever."

"i'm hoping you never die so that never happens."

elina shrugged. "i mean, i've pretty much mastered the art of nearly dying."

hiccup looked at elina, exasperated but there was an affectionate smile on his face. "how many jokes do you have on dying? anyways, astrid was guilty over your death since she thought that she didn't save you in time. after she broke the record of most trees cut in an hour, she decided to replant them, so those flowers are a combination of my planting and hers. well, mostly astrid's."

elina smiled at the thought of the blond-haired girl. "glad she doesn't hate me anymore."

hiccup laughed and shook his head. "no, she'll probably murder you once she realizes you were alive all this time." 

elina sighed. "i'm not surprised if she is." all of a sudden, she turned to hiccup in a fit of panic.

"oh no, what about your father?"

"my father's... not a problem. you can talk to him when you go back." hiccup told elina calmly, making elina nod hesitantly.

"uh, okay?" elina muttered, running her fingers through her hair. "oh, and speak of the devil."

stoick was waiting for hiccup in front of berk, and his gaze widened and the hammer in his hands clattered from the floor. "gertrude?"

elina laughed awkwardly, reaching her hand out for a handshake. "hello, stoick — nice to meet you. uh..."

the two looked at each other like strangers. all of a sudden, stoick's expression turned happy. before elina could protest, stoick yelled, "elina gertrude is alive!"

hiccup looked at elina, who looked visibly tense and uncomfortable as all the berkians turned to look at elina. the vikings swarmed towards elina, and hiccup stood protectively in front of his friend.

but the crowd quickly dispersed when astrid hofferson ran towards the direction of elina, and elina was tackled to the ground. "hey, astrid — oomph!"

elina found a dagger to her throat. a sense of deja vu swept across elina as they were in the same position as six months ago. 

astrid's eyes were as cold as chips of ice. "tell me something only elina gertrude would know."

"hey, astrid, what?" hiccup tried to argue with astrid, but elina only smirked. 

"i'll show you something only elina gertrude would know." then, she gently kneed astrid in the stomach and flipped her over, and this time, hiccup knew that astrid was hit with a sense of deja vu. hiccup had a faint smile on his face at the memory.

both girls laughed as elina helped astrid up. just then, snotlout, tuffnut, ruffnut and fishlegs all ran towards the three teens, and they all hugged elina. hiccup found himself squeezed against elina, and hiccup's face grew warm at the close proximity.

"wait, didn't you die?" fishlegs asked.

"do i look like i'm dead?" elina responded (hiccup's mind flew back to the arena) as tuffnut and ruffnut held her up in the air. 

"we knew you didn't die, lina."

"might lose a leg."

"or an arm."

"but pack it all in together? never!"

hiccup found himself laughing as stoick looked at him in surprise. it was clear that no one had heard him laugh ever since elina had come back, and the twins dropped elina back on the ground. snotlout slung an arm across elina's shoulder. 

"hey, gorgeous," he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. hiccup felt something burning in his gut that made him instantly despise snotlout. he wanted to walk towards elina and pull her towards him, taking snotlout's hand off, but elina shrugged his arm off already and laughed it off.

"hey, princess," elina responded, patting him on the arm. hiccup tried to contain his smile as ruffnut and tuffnut burst out into obnoxious laughter, and astrid high-fived elina. snotlout's jaw dropped in offense.

fishlegs walked towards elina. "hey, elina? i want to apologize for not trusting you earlier, and i didn't get to have a chance to say i was —"

"it's okay, fishlegs. besides, no harm done! i'm still in, thankfully, one piece!" she cheered happily as if 'not dying' was her highest standard.

hiccup heard someone clear his throat from behind him. tuffnut and ruffnut quickly stood behind him as a shield as stoick looked at the seven of them with a, well, stoic look on his face.

"elina," his father said, "i need to talk to you."