The Gray Area (1/2) - A Viggo Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

20. Catching Up

Sessa saundered over to the silver dragon and stroked her tough scales. "What a fitting name," she observed.

Just then, she felt something touching her back. Turning around, Sessa found Nightshade nuzzling her lovingly. She hugged the dragon's head and greeted softly, "hello, Nightshade."

Heather smiled in memory. "She gotten so big," she stated, then asked curiously, "where's Grimtalon?"

"I've no idea," Sessa replied simply. She then frowned, turning to look at Heather. "I didn't know, back then," she began, cutting straight to her point, "I didn't know the importance of being there for a friend...frankly, I didn't understand friendship at all."

Heather could tell that Sessa was trying to apologize. She smiled at the older woman and reminded, "you couldn't help it, Sessa. It's okay."

"But I hurt you, didn't I," Sessa countered. Her voice was plain, but her eyes betrayed emotion.

"It doesn't matter now," Heather insisted and shook her head, "we're past that. And it seems like you've learned a lot..we both have."

Sessa nodded, then spoke in a formal tone, "you have a brother now."

Heather couldn't help but smile in amusement at Sessa's unsure statement. It was obvious that she didn't know how to act on the feelings she had. "I do," she confirmed, walking over to pet Nightshade. The devilish dervish sniffed her, eyes widening in remembrance. She purred and nuzzled the younger woman happily. "Hey, there, Nightshade," Heather whispered.

Sessa watched the two reunite, then looked out the entrance of the stables. At the top of the clubhouse, she saw Viggo standing and talking with Hiccup. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "And I have Viggo now."

At this, Heather frowned, a look of hatred flashed in her eyes. She made her way to stand beside Sessa. "You shouldn't put so much trust in him," she warned, "he's done awful things...things not even you could imagine."

Sessa furrowed her eyebrows and argued gently, "I know what he's done. But he is not evil."

Heather hesitated, not wanting to anger Sessa. But she had to make her understand. "Because there is no 'good' or 'bad'?" She asked, refering to something Sessa had told her years ago.

She was about to lauch into why Sessa should listen to her, but she was beat to it with an unexpected response. "No," Sessa countered. She frowned a bit, squinting her eyes up at the two men from afar, "when I save people..it's because I feel them. I feel their existance preparing to end. I felt Viggo's soul in a dream, days before meeting. It wasn't tainted or toxic, like some that I've felt. It was pure." She looked up at Heather by her side and continued, "it might not always have been that way, but it is now. That is why I saved him."

There was no way to argue with that. How could Heather possibly tell Sessa she was wrong now? After all, it was Sessa who knew souls, not her. Although she was nowhere near ready to trust or accept Viggo, Heather decided to let Sessa make her own decisions. She followed her gaze up to the clubhouse, "..pure, huh?"

Sessa nodded. She then said something unintentionally heartwarming. Though she had no idea how much it meant to Heather, she muttered in a dull voice, "pure, like yours."

• • •

"It feels as though the tension is beginning to lift from your shoulders," Viggo observed after Sessa left the clubhouse.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him. Sure he was right, but it was still unsettling how much Viggo picked up on about people. "You could say that," Hiccup replied, "I can't say the same for everyone else, though."

Viggo smiled curtly, "they'll come around, with time."

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Hiccup responded with a frown, "I mean, some of them, sure. But Astrid, and Heather especially.."

"You do have a point," Viggo admitted. He walked out of the clubhouse and stood at the very edge. Looking down, he changed the subject. "You never know when you're life is going to end," he spoke smoothly, "I could die in two seconds if I were pushed just now."

This caught Hiccup's attention. He looked over to find Viggo facing away from him, hands clasped behind his back. "What, you think I'm gonna push you?" He asked in confusion.

"I don't know what you'll do, Hiccup. And that's just it," Viggo replied, not bothering to look back at the younger man, "trust."

Now Hiccup understood. Viggo was proving that he trusted the dragon riders. By standing an inch away from death, he was placing his life in Hiccup's hands. It made him want to trust Viggo even more. Finally, he went to stand on the edge as well, about a foot away from Viggo. He stared out at the horizon, trying to ignore Viggo's sideway glance of approval.

Then, something occured to Hiccup; something that Viggo had told him long ago. "So, Viggo," he began with a sly voice, "how does it feel? To be in love, with your partner in battle?"