How to Train Your Dragon Rider

(3.4) Safe Haven

"This is Berk son. It's our home. It always has and always will, it was the home of our grandparents, and their grandparents before them. And it is my job as chief to protect us Hiccup. And one day when your all grown up, that job will be passed onto you."

I was staring off into the sunset, standing on the edge of Berk. My father was with me, talking to me. It was a memory version of him. I was five, maybe six when he first told me this story. He told it while holding me in his elbow.

"Out there, beyond the sunset, is the home of the dragons. Legends tell of ships that sailed to close to it, only to drop off the edge of the world. Never to be seen again. But the sailors, the sailors that turned back were the lucky ones. They would tell tales of a great waterfall, and dragons guarding the entrance to a hidden world."

Sometimes I thought I could see the waterfall on the edge. Dragons diving down into the water, and appearing without any care in the world.

"Not just a nest Hiccup, but a land where all dragons come from."

I asked him about Night Furies.

"Especially Night Furies. But don't you worry. One day, I'll find the Hidden World, and seal it up tight. That way Vikings and dragons will fight no more."

I smile at the memory. When I was younger, my father was a kinder man. As I got older, he did too. His worry turned into fear, he did everything he could to protect me, but sometimes it came off in the wrong way. But I know that he loved me, that he always loved me.

Toothless was with me, on the cliff. An odd idea given how terrified I was of him all those years ago. But now we are the best of friends, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Toothless bumps me lightly with his head, cooing at me with bright eyes. I nudge him back with my hip, shifting weight from my left leg to my staff. Toothless nudges me again.

"What bud." I look at him, and notice his staring. He looks from my face to my leg, then back to my face. "Oh all right. You know it's not a chew toy, don't you?"

I bend over, nearly falling on my ass, as I detach my prosthetic.

"Is this what you want? Oh do you want this?" I use my staff to move around, teasing Toothless with my leg. "Go get it!"

I chuck it off the side of the cliff, spinning a bit as Toothless comes running by diving after it. "Street smarts." I mutter, watching Toothless chase after the leg. I plop onto the ground, pulling my map out and laying it on the ground. I use a couple stones to flatten it out, and top it off with my staff laying across the top part of the map.

I look over it for a few minutes, and grimace when Toothless drops my slobber covered prosthetic on top of the map. I grab it, tossing it a couple feet away from me. I watch out of the corner of my eyes as Toothless hops into the air and glides on his own.

"You've gotten pretty good at that bud." I lean back on my hands and look up at him. He attempts to look down at me, but the instant he looses concentration he falls out of the air. Hitting the ground pretty hard, causing me to laugh. I look back to my map with a smile still on my face, running my finger across all the islands we discovered.

The map was put on hold for a while, especially after I became chief, and had to go through all the recovery and rebuild of myself and the village. But now that I had time I wanted to fill the entire map. I wanted to discover everything, every island, every dragon. Maybe find another Night Fury, another, well maybe another me?

Toothless nudges my leg back to me, and I toss it haphazardly off the side of the cliff watching as he takes off after it. I look at the map, tapping the biggest empty spot on the map. It's probably a couple hundred miles to the North of us, but I can't be sure.

"Oh, so this is where you go to get away from Gobber?" Astrid's voice startles me slightly. I look over my shoulder and watch her walk closer to me.

"I have no idea what you're talking." I put emphasis on the no, and turn back to my map.

Astrid wipes a slobbery hand on me, before taking a seat next to me. "He is right you know?"

"What? Wait you think we should-"

"Gods no. We are nowhere near ready for that. But he is right about all this." She motions to all around us. "The more dragons we bring back, the more of a target we become."

I sigh heavily, looking at her before pushing my self to me feet. Well, foot. Toothless and Stormfly are still playing tug-a-war with my leg, so I am relying solely on my right leg and staff. I move slowly away from Astrid, looking back at the horizon.

"I know. I know. But I can't just, not, help them. You don't understand it Astrid. I can hear them Astrid." I look at her, feeling the sadness of the dragons in the air. "They're always there Astrid. Right on the edge of my head, calling for me. I can't just not help them."

Astrid gets up, and walks towards me. She takes some of the weight off of my leg, and looks off of the cliff with me. "I just wish that there was some way that they could just leave us alone."

"My dad use to tell me this old fisherman's tail when I was younger. It was the story of a secret land on the edge of the world. A safe haven where dragons could be at peace." I look at her. "What if it's true? It could be the answer to all of our problems."

I pull away from her, walking towards Toothless and grabbing my prosthetic from his mouth. I attach it to my stump, giving Astrid the chance to process. 

"How? By moving all the dragons there?" She actually laughs at the idea.

"No no no." I stand tall on my own two feet, struggling to point at the horizon. "All of us."

"Ha! That's funny. And abandon our home of seven generations? The place your father died to protect. We need a real solution Hiccup."

"We could get married?"