Splitter- English Version

7. Once you've tested flight

Hiccup stretched the next morning and scowled at the bread at his feet. His mind was clearer now than it had been for the past few days. But even water would not replace the energy he would get from a piece of bread. So he reluctantly broke off part of the loaf, chewed slowly and swallowed the porridge with difficulty.As the hours dragged on like a boat trip in a light swell, Hiccup became increasingly bored.He listened to the conversations of the werters, but it was useless. All they talked about was the next dragon battles and who had won the card game yesterday and why.So he approached them directly and asked for a charcoal pencil and some parchment. Grumbling and cursing, they left. After a short time, they returned with the yellowed pages and threw them on the floor in front of him.A note appeared between the scrolls: "Your team sees you, Toothless sees you, the gods Thor and Odin see you, your enemies see you. But no one sees you like I do, Hiccup" was signed with VIGGO.Hiccup sighed. He didn't want to know what Viggo meant by that, and he wasn't going to find out. After all, Viggo loved riddles and liked to play on other people's ignorance. So all the better if he wasn't interested. He would do his damnedest to stand up to him now.

He sat down and pressed himself against the bars to catch as much light as possible and began to draw.

The charcoal scratched across the paper. It was a little damp, so he had to go over the scribble three or four times for the drawing to take shape. As always, when he was in absolutely exceptional situations, he drew the first sketch of Toothless, as well as the first devices for his tail construction. This helped him to concentrate and think clearly. After a while, his shoulders became increasingly sore. He tried to sit down more comfortably, but the struts did the rest to prevent him from getting into a reasonably comfortable position. He sighed loudly. The sun was slowly slanting towards the horizon, leaving him behind in the darkness minute by minute. Viggo stepped silently through the door and crept to Hicks' cell. He looked at him intently, running his eyes along his striking slender body, still covered by Hiccup's supple leather armor. His hair fell in thick, sweaty strands across his face. Viggo suppressed the impulse to brush it out of Hiccup's face and waited for him to notice him. But Hiccup seemed far too engrossed in his drawings. He bent down a little and looked at Hiccup's drawings. He was amazed. They were amazingly accurate, even though the charcoal and parchment were anything but high quality. The pencil was scratching the parchment when he suddenly stopped. His shoulders slumped a little and Hiccup spoke in a cool voice without looking at him: "What do you want, Viggo?""What are you drawing?" Viggo asked, puzzled by Hicks' cold reply. "You're standing in the light," he said, ignoring his question. And was about to continue when Viggo interrupted him: "You've hardly touched your food, why...?" Hiccup dropped the coal and clenched his fists. "That? THIS is the only thing you care about right now?" he hissed between clenched teeth. "What do you want from me, Viggo?" Hiccup had jumped up and was now gripping the bars angrily. "Tell me by Thor!" He rattled the iron bars and his cheeks turned bright red with anger. He was furious with Viggo, with the situation, with the balance of power and with himself. Especially at himself. He let out a frustrated sound and shook Streben even harder. Viggo took a step back, but then caught himself again and said in a calm, unconcerned voice. "You must be hungry." Hiccup glared at him angrily. "You should keep your strength up." He continued. "Why do you care?" He spat back at him. Viggo looked him firmly in the eye. Hiccup froze for a moment. He was convinced he recognized a worried flutter in Viggo's expression that made him pause. The moment was over. Viggo's face tightened and his expression returned to its impenetrable, emotionless mask. "When I'm dead, your pathetic game is over!" Hiccup said defiantly, his face contorted into an arrogant grimace. "Mhm, Viggo thought, maybe. But then I would have won.""But that's exactly what you want!" Hiccup ruffled his hair."Yes, of course, but I don't want to win just to have won. You're a real contender, Hiccup the Giant." He paused, folded his hands and rested his chin on his fingertips. Hesitantly, he continued, "If I win, the Dragoncatchers will never be defeated and you, the Dragonriders would never be able to assert yourselves and your advanced thinking. That's definitely not what you want and we both know it. But I'm not here to encourage you to fight either." Viggo eyed Hicks insistently. A tense silence fell over the ensemble. Viggo took another look at the drawing that Hiccup had carelessly left on the floor. Hesitantly and almost indifferently, he asked in a manly business voice: "So the Nightshade, Toothless. How did you meet and developed your relationship?"Hiccup swallowed hardly. Images flashed like lightning through his head. The shot, the drag mark, the broken tree stumps, the injured animal, the first meal together, the first drawing that Toothless had made for him, the first flight. By Thor, that was a feeling. Boundless freedom. All of this gave him a hot sting that bored a hole in his heart. A single tear ran silently down his cheek. He turned away. And wiped his nose furtively. "You miss him, right?" Viggo asked cautiously. "I'm asking you to leave now, Viggo. Because I don't see why that should concern you." He added briskly. Wordlessly, Viggo left Hiccup and the wooden prison in which he was trapped. He looked after him and then sank powerlessly to the ground. He looked wistfully at his drawing and stroked the rough parchment lovingly. He looked in the direction of the bull's eye and watched as the last rays of sunlight disappeared until his cell was shrouded in boundless darkness.