𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘈 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯; 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘐

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙣𝙚; 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙠

The morning was peaceful; the sun rose over the sea, casting a golden light over the village of Berk. It woke many of its inhabitants as light peeked through their windows and cast a beam on their faces. The silence of dawn was broken with ruckus as Vikings arose from their slumber and prepared for the tireless day ahead.

A young girl let out a yelp of alarm as a bright light shone down onto her face, and she twisted, pulling her blanket over her.. "Wake up! You promised we'd go fishing this morning!" Squeaked a voice tinged with impatience.

It was her younger brother, back from the depths of his room to disturb her. The girl let out a groan of annoyance, blinking rapidly and rubbing her eyes sleepily. She grumbled internally and peeked out from under her thick blanket. The girl winced and her pupils dilated as a sharp pain flooded her eyes. In front of her face was a blinding orange light, and she squealed in annoyance and shot her hands over her eyes, recognizing the dancing flame of the torch before her.

"Hey!" the girl shrieked, kicking her cover off and rolling out of bed. She landed on the floor deftly, and whipped her tousled caramel hair out of her face with a threatening glint in her eyes. She wrenched the source of light out of her brother's clutches, and held it above her head, out of reach of the mischievous boy. The lantern was flickering slightly, illuminating the otherwise dim room with a warm orange glow.

The young boy's hands covered his mouth in an attempt to silence his giggles, but he failed quite considerably. The girl suddenly pounced, hooking her foot around his leg and pulling it up. She quickly snatched the torch of fire out of his grasp as the boy was thrown off balance. He stumbled and swung his arms around for balance, before fleeing as his sister chased him around her room. The flames sent long shadows around the room, making the atmosphere look oddly threatening. The girl paused for a moment to place the torch in a stand on the wall, before continuing her mad dash after the boy. After wrestling and racing after one another, the elder sister won the battle, tackling the smaller boy to the ground as she tickled him, and they both broke out into joyful laughter.

Suddenly a young feminine voice giggled by the door. It was a slim girl, she had a pretty, freckled complexion and a soft smile settled across her features. Her smile broke out into a wide grin as they laughed together. "You looked like you were going to kill Silas, Erin," she giggled, making Erin roll her eyes. This young girl was the two siblings' adopted sister, Auryn. They had convinced their parents to take her in after her own had gone missing on a mysterious scouting mission many years ago.

Erin and Silas remained collapsed on the panelled floor, overwhelmed by laughter before they pulled themselves together. "You have to admit, that was really funny!" Silas exclaimed.

Auryn nodded enthusiastically while Erin huffed and rolled her eyes, grumbling something about how 'no one has personal space in this house.' "C'mon, we gotta go fishing now!" Silas reminded Erin, and she gave him a wry smile and playfully shoved his shoulder as she leapt to her feet. "Ok, so what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Later that day ...

As the trio returned from their fishing trip, they found everyone rushing about. The three looked at each other, confusion etched on their brows.. Erin approached one of the Vikings timidly, and opened her mouth to say something. But before she could speak, the man gave her a dirty look and shoved past her, a barrel hoisted over his shoulder. Erin stumbled back out of his way, and looked at the man in surprise, anger and annoyance slowly filling her face. She returned to her siblings, fuming and spitting curses at the man. The two younger siblings quickly gave her reassurance, and Erin felt a small prick at the corner of her eyes. As a matter of fact, the siblings were used to this aggression; It was a regular occurrence, being pushed and ignored - The three were often shunned in their village for reasons unknown.

Erin shook her head in defeat. "We'll never be accepted, will we?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Auryn bowed her head, "I don't know," she replied softly, "but we have each other and that's all that matters."

Silas nodded enthusiastically, After eavesdropping on a few conversations, they pieced together the full story - An hour or so ago, a couple of the fishermen out at sea had noticed a change in the water current and spotted a storm, predicting it would hit Berk in at least four hours.

Erin and Auryn looked at each other with worry as they walked to their house, shoving past a thick, overgrown bush which tendrils had crept onto the path. "What are we going to do?" Erin muttered, worry lacing her voice. Auryn sighed, looking at her feet. "I guess we'll just have to wait for the storm to pass at home."

Silas trailed behind them, his gaze fixated on the various scorch marks from the recent fight with their mortal enemy - dragons. The creatures that terrorised Vikings, monstrous and petrifying beasts.

About halfway along their path they crossed routes with some teenagers, a group of six rowdy dragon hunters in training. Auryn noticed that one of the boys hung back a little. It was the chief's son, Hiccup, a small and scrawny brunette with large green eyes. He seemed on edge, his gaze flickering around nervously.

As the group strolled around a corner, chatting about killing dragons, Hiccup seized the opportunity to scurry away in the opposite direction. He quickly scanned his surroundings to see if anyone was watching him, looking nervous. Auryn stopped walking, pretending to be interested in an intricate fern that flourished on the edge of the well worn path, and shifted her gaze away from him. She immediately felt his emerald gaze burn into her, and she flinched. Lowering her head down as she looked back at the boy nervously, only for her vivid icey gaze to meet his forest green. The girl paused for a moment, her and Hiccup's eyes locked in each other's. Auryn tilted her head and raised an eyebrow skeptically, giving him a confused stare. This action made Hiccup evidently uneasy, and he averted his gaze and carried on walking. Auryn giggled internally, before looking at her sister.

Erin gave her a puzzled look, wondering why she had stopped so abruptly. The younger girl jerked her head in the direction of where Hiccup had been - only to see him nearing scrambling away towards the towering and shadowy depths of the woods that bordered the village, keeping up his quick pace. She frowned, and Erin sighed in confusion.

"Mesmerized by a fishbone?" Erin asked innocently, a smirk growing on her lips. Auryn shoved her, shaking her head and laughing with her sister. Silas looked up at the two girls, confusion evident on his face, he didn't understand this older talk. The blue-eyed girl ruffled his dirty blonde hair. "Don't worry about it, Silas," She said, smiling at the younger boy. He tilted his head, but did as she said anyway.

The trio continued to make their way home, and Auryn nudged Erin's arm suddenly. "Where's he going when there's a storm coming? That's stupid," Auryn remarked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Erin followed her gaze as they watched the Hiccup melt into the trees. "Well, what did you expect from him? He's always been a bit...different." Erin exclaimed, chuckling.

As they entered their house, Auryn's gaze flickered back to the forest one last time. "We should follow him," she murmured, and Erin's brow furrowed with concern. "Why would he go into the forest when there is a literal storm coming, it doesn't make sense," she said, "he must be doing something, something he doesn't want anyone to know about." Erin hesitated.

"Well obviously - but it's dangerous, who knows what could be lurking in there? All kinds of dragons. Normally it would be fine, but with the storm on the way, it's not the smartest idea," she replied, leaning casually on the doorframe of the kitchen while shaking her head. Auryn snickered at her sister's newfound 'mature' tone, before giving the other girl a mischievous grin. "Oh come on Erin, since when did you care about possible hazards?"

Erin let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking her head in mock disapproval. "Since now, duh," she retorted snarkily, making Auryn roll her eyes. "Well, I'm going to investigate, take care of Silas," the girl stated, swiping her bag from its hook on the wall and striding toward the door. She only got to the front steps before she heard an agitated sigh and then a sharp retort from behind her, "Hey! You're not leaving us!" Erin yelled, running up beside Auryn and linking their arms together, a worn leather bag slung over her shoulder, Silas eagerly following from behind, his small rabbit made from a scrap of fur in hand. Auryn smirked, she had known her siblings would never miss out on an adventure.