Hybrid's Retribution

Chapter 2

*Hiccup's POV*

A loud series of knocks at the door made me bolt upright in my bed. I peered out my window to see that the sun had barely rose over the horizon. The series of knocks repeated.
"Hang on, Ember! I'm coming!" I shouted climbing out of bed, causing Toothless to wake up as well. I rushed down the stairs towards the door.
"Seriously, Ember, I was going to come join you so-" I started to say as I opened the door. But I stopped when I saw it wasn't Ember at the door.
It was Astrid.
"Hey Hiccup, are you busy?" Astrid asked.
"Not really, I just woke up." I answered.
"Can I talk to you for a few minutes? Alone?" Astrid asked, glancing down at Toothless.
"Uh sure, I guess," I stammer. "Toothless, go find Ember."
After that, I followed Astrid in silence, until we finally stopped at the docks.
"So uh... what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"I've been thinking... about us..." Astrid said, her back turned towards me. "About how far we've come... If it wasn't for the flight we took, I don't think I would have ever thought dragons were peaceful, let alone befriend a dragon. All because of you."
"Uh, thanks." I said, honestly shocked by Astrid's kind words. Astrid turned to face me.
"It was also on that night I realized. There was so much more about you that I didn't know."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Let's go to the cove. We can talk more there." Astrid said after a brief moment of silence.
"Okay? Lead the way."
I have never been more confused.
Once again, I followed her in silence until we reached the cove. This place has so many memories. When Toothless and I first met. Astrid meeting Toothless. Teaching Ember how to fly.
This place is amazing.
"It all started here, didn't it?" Astrid finally asked. "Where you first met Toothless?"
"Yeah, it all started in this cove."
Astrid let out a sigh before speaking again.
"Look. What I guess I'm trying to say is... We've come so far together, and I want to continue going through life with you. I want to discover bigger and better things. Help you over come life's challenges," Astrid stops, steps closer to me, and grabs my hand.
"What I'm trying to say is..."
"Are you asking me out?" I interjected, hear rising to my face. She scolded out at me before taking a sudden interest in her shoes.
"Yes."
My life long crush. The girl I loved for so long had finally asked me out. This wasn't a dream! This was a reality!
Oh my gods! Astrid Hofferson asked me out! She liked me! She wanted to date me!
But, what about Ember?
My heart panged at the thought. Why? When did Ember appear into this situation? Ember was just a friend. We got close over the past two years, but there was nothing between us.
Without me realizing, Astrid had put her hand on the side of my face, and was slowly closing the gap between us.
Oh my gods it's happening.  I'm going to have my first kiss.
Our faces were millimeters apart, and I could feel her breath on my face. I was about to meet her lips.
Until I imagined Ember in tears, heartbroken about Astrid and I.
My heart clenched as I backed away from her. Astrid looked up at me in shock, while I gave her a look of embarrassment.
"Hiccup, wha-" Astrid started.
"I'm sorry." I said, before running out of the cove.
Why did that happen?
Why did I care about Ember all of a sudden? I mean, I care about her a lot, but I never thought of her like that.
Could we be like that?
"Stupid!" I screamed in frustration. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" I kicked a nearby tree with my good foot, only to regret the pain caused.
"Ow!" I yelled, grabbing my foot. A nearby groan caused me to stop my actions.
"Oh, uh. Hey, Bud," I said sheepishly. "Wha-what are you doing here?"
Toothless groaned.
Then it dawned on me. I told Toothless to find Ember.
Did she see what happened with Astrid and I?
"Come on, Bud." I said, climbing onto Toothless and rushing through the woods until we got to Ember's house.
Thor, let her be home and mentally okay.
I hopped off Toothless's back and slowly approached the door.
Why? It's just Ember.
I even hesitated at knocking on the door.
I really need to get my act together.
I finally knocked on the door. Nothing happened for a few moments, and debated on knocking on the door again until Ember opened the door.
"Oh... Good morning, Hiccup. How are you?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, I-I've been good. What about- have you been crying?"
"No," she answered, still rubbing her eyes. "Why?"
"Your eyes are pink."
"My eyes are always pink," Ember laughed. I love that laugh. "I'm just a little tired. I woke up not too long ago. When did you get up?"
"Not too long ago. Astrid woke me up actually. She wanted to talk to me."
"This early?"
"Yeah," I chuckled. "Weird, right?"
"No. I think it's cute how she cares about you enough to make sure you wake up on time. You too are a perfect couple. I'm happy for you too." She said with an almost unnoticeable tremble in her voice.
"What? No! It's not what you thin-"
"Can we just do something?" Ember said bluntly.
"Sure, I guess. What do you want to do?" I asked, shocked at her cold tone.
"Want to go on a friendly flight? I'll race you!" She said, sprinting down the steps.
"Hey! No fair!" I shouted, rushing back to Toothless and charging after her. Within a matter of seconds, we were neck and neck. I glanced over at her and our eyes met. But then, Ember snapped her head forward and raced at full speed. We pushed forward as hard as we could before Toothless opened his wings and dove down the cliff side. Toothless finally passed Ember.
We were finally going to win!
That is, until Ember gained some newfound strength and flew beside us as we glided over the water.
"Are we ever going to have a winner?" I asked with a smile.
"It's going to take a lot more than that to beat me. I guess we'll never know who's the better dragon." Ember laughed.
"If these are the qualities of half of a Burning Phoenix, I'm scared to see what a full one can do." I joked with her. Then I saw her expression fall.
"I guess we'll never know." I was about to apologize, but Ember shook her head and looked up with a smile.
"How about this? Let's test how high we can fly. First person to back out loses." Ember challenges.
"Oh you're so on!"
Just like that we were in another challenge.
It's been like this for two years. This was how we got so close. At first, it was all just training and learning more about Ember's abilities. But, we got closer as the months went by. We were each other's comfort. Whenever something happened, or we had to make a big decision, we would talk to each other and we would instantly know what to do.
She made me feel at peace.
Toothless groaned, alerting me that Ember had stayed behind us for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"Slow down, Toothless." I said, seeing that Ember was hovering and looking out at the sea.
"What? You already quit?" I teased. Ember stayed silent. Just staring at the horizon.
"Is it me, or does the skyline look darker?" Ember asked.
I looked out at sea, and saw that the skyline was darker. I pulled out my telescope.
The skyline was darker because ships were heading towards Berk.
A lot of ships.
What shocked me the most was the crest on the sails.
Whispering Death.
Stonehedge.
"We got to get Dad!"