The Soul of a Dragon

Chapter 10

Vara

Astrid's hut is almost completely empty except for larger furniture such as her bed and some trunks and tables. Without saying a word to me, she points to a mattress laying on the ground in front of a dim fire. I nod – more to myself than to her – and awkwardly shift out of my vest, skirt, trousers, and shoes. Now standing in my undershirt, I lie down on the rather small mattress. It's more a sheet than something to sleep on, I think as I feel the stubborn wooden floor hard against my back. But I don't show any signs of complaint whilst Astrid gets ready for bed as well. Of course, she has a normal bed.

I close my eyes and try to think of the cave, a familiar place which has come the closest to what I can call home. At least, Aria is lying next to me. Her slow and constant breathing calms my nerves as I slowly drift off to sleep, dreaming about the gang and a tall man with messy dark hair.

Warm sunrays tickle my nose and the smell of fresh bread fills my lungs. I flutter my eyes open and immediately notice that both Aria and Astrid are gone. I couldn't have slept this long, could I?

After stretching and standing up, I see a pile of fresh clothes on a chair right in front of me. The pile consists of new brown trousers, a short black skirt, a soft woollen green shirt and a brown leather vest. There are also some dark brown boots. My own clothes seem to have disappeared so there's no other choice for me but to put these on. The new clothes smell like freshly cut pine wood, which is kind of pleasant.

I step outside and am greeted by a bright sun towering high above the many trees. It must be noon already. "So, I did sleep in", I mutter to myself in shame. I never sleep in at unknown places.

All of a sudden, I am tackled by something big and thrown to the ground. Under the large weight, I wiggle myself onto my back and am showered in kisses by a certain light fury.

"Aria, stop", I say giggling, "I am happy to see you, too, girl." She lets me get back on my feet and I fondly scratch her under her chin.

"There you are!", Fishlegs is making his way to us with his happy Gronckle right behind him. I gather he's not talking to me because his eyes are trained upon Aria, who's nervously looking for a way out of this. I pet her reassuringly and stand protectively in front of her.

"Oh, hello there. Uh..", Fishlegs smiles awkwardly and fiddles with his fingers. It takes me a few moments to understand what he's implying.

"My name is Vara", I state.

"Hello, Vara! I didn't mean to scare your dragon. But I can't seem to help my excitement when it comes to new dragon species", he explains and folds his arms behind his back. "This is my Meatlug", he turns towards the Gronckle who is searching his hands for something to eat. "Stop that, that tickles", Fishlegs giggles and then continues to cradle his dragon with love. It's cute but I agree with Aria and want to go explore the island. After all, I did plan on visiting Berk and this is my chance.

"No problem, Fishlegs. But if you'll excuse us", I mount Aria and need to readjust my position due to the new clothes, "we have some...things to do."

"Yes, yes. Of course", is all I can hear from him because Aria and I are already in the air.

"Way up high, girl", I tell my dragon and she chirps happily. With her powerful and elegant wings, we quickly gain height. There are no clouds in the sky today, granting us a beautiful view of Berk and its reflection in the ocean's water. Aria stops beating her shiny wings and we exchange a knowing look. I push myself off her back with my legs and we let ourselves fall down the sky in complete freedom. Aria spins and twirls around, and I laugh like a little child.

Right on time before making a very uncomfortable landing in the ice-cold water, Aria catches me on her back and we glide across the ocean's surface. We've done this thousands of times but I never tire of the exhilarating feeling.