Cloud's Journey: Home

Home

"Come on, Baby! It's been so long." He begged.

I sighed. If only it had been Hiccup saying that.

"Not today, Snotlout. I'm busy."

"You always say that, Cloud." He did a pout.

Over the two weeks I had lived on Berk, Snotlout had taken me for five flights and had talked to me as the dragon riders helped me build a house of my own. Now that I knew him better, I could see why the others didn't always like him. I personally didn't dislike him as much as the others, but I had someone else I wanted to love.

"I know I always say the same thing," I told him, setting a potted fern beside my doorway. "But it's true."

It wasn't actually true. I just preferred Hiccup taking me for flights. He was more romantic.

"When will I see you again?" Snotlout asked, looking sad. Guilt curled in my belly. I had led him too far into believing that I liked him.

"I'm not leaving anytime soon." I smiled sympathetically. "I'll see you later today."

Snotlout forced a sad smile onto his face. "Ok then." He said. He mounted Hookfang, his Monstrous Nightmare, and took off into the sky.

Ah, dragons. I smiled at the reptile filled sky. I was allowed to love them here, unlike my first home. Despite being constantly asked out by an unattractive Viking, I had never been happier.

I dusted my hands off. My house was finished. I had the dragon riders to thank for my new home, which was the classic boat sticking out of the ground that you saw on Berk. Of course, I had added the personal touches, the potted ferns being just one addition.

I walked inside with content, the guilt for hurting Snotlout's feelings floating away. My window sills were decorated inside and out with sea shells I had gathered. More ferns sat in each corner. In the center of the room was a fire pit, smaller than most, and behind that was a dining table with two chair. I walked over and gathered the wooden dishes from breakfast, putting them in the cupboard I had decorated with sea treasures such as shells, stones, and even glass.

Also like most of the houses, mine had a loft which I used as a bedroom. I climbed the stairs to it, gazing at my wall ornaments as I passed. Each was special. Amongst my vast netting of shells, there was a captured scene of me and Toothless that Hiccup had drawn for me, a carved fish and a gold necklace, both from Snotlout, a spyglass that Hiccup had given me and that I had wrapped in a string tied with one of Hookfang's teeth, then there was an incomplete dragon guide from Fishlegs, a horn and a fish skeleton smoothed by water from Ruff and Tuff, and last but not least was Astrid's gift: a beautiful sword broken in half from the time she'd beaten me in an unfair sword match.

The smile had only grown on my face by the time I reached my lofty room. It was unfinished, but there was my bed in the corner across from the stairs and a shelf beside that.

Standing up onto my bed, which I planned to make covers of sheep's wool for but for now had only a thin sheet, I reached up to the ceiling. Grasping the handle that was there, I pulled back, allowing light to flood in. This was my favourite thing about my room: a secret window above my bed so I could watch the sky where I so felt I belonged. My name WAS Cloud after all.

A head appeared against the blue sky and looked down at me, blinking.

"Hello, Bluewing." I greeted the blue and purple Terrible Terror who spent his days on my roof. Bluewing hissed at me and ducked away from my overhead window.

"Jerk." I muttered, stepping back onto the floor. The reptile could be annoying and did just about nothing helpful on his best days.

My room was the only spot in my house without shells. I wanted it to be sky themed. I wasn't much of a painter, but somehow I would get clouds and stars on my wall. I stood in front of my shell empty shelf, which held clothes I had received from Astrid two weeks ago, a message in a bottle that had turned out useless but looked nice, and the papers I need now, which I took down, squaring them up neatly.

As I turned to leave I spotted the last thing. It was the dagger with the white bone handle carved with a Night Fury curling around it... the dagger reminding me of what I did when I arrived.

I shook my head free of the memory. It was in the past, Hiccup had forgiven me for which I was truly grateful. I left the room.

Back outside, I was greeted by sunshine and distant shouts from the dragon riders. A shadow flew over me. The silhouette of dragon and Viking blocked part of the sun. I beamed.

The Night Fury landed and it's rider dismounted.

"Hey, Cloud." Hiccup smiled as he walked up with Toothless.

"Hi Hiccup!" I grinned, walking faster to reach him. "Hi, Toothless." I added, touching the clean but deep hole in his shoulder. "Here are your papers back." I handed them to Hiccup.

"Thanks. Fishlegs will be glad to examine these." He said as he took them.

The papers were notes on a rare sea snail from far away used to make indigo coloured dye. The snail was called Hexaplex trunculus and I had borrowed the papers after a shell of the snail had been found in my collection. Fishlegs, I knew, was purely fascinated by new, rare things.

Right now, Fishlegs' whereabouts were unknown, but the others were all in the sky. We watched Astrid, the twins, and Snotlout perform aerial maneuvers, each one harder than before, while they shouted to each other that they were the better flyer. I thought Astrid was the best, but Snotlout had some impressive skills, too.

I thought of the times I had been up there. Free, no worries, the clouds around me. It was a secret land only accessible by wing. My chest swelled.

"Hiccup," I said, still watching the show.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I want a dragon."