TAW Tales: How to Train Your Shifters (#1)

~ Epilogue ~

"Hiccup! Hiccup!"

Toothless landed in the middle of Berk's village and a crowd rushed out around him.

As he slid off of Toothless' back, something - or, someone - slammed into him, almost knocking the air out of him.

"You're back!" Astrid's voice was slightly muffled as she nuzzled into his shirt.

"Oof! Yes, yes, I'm back." He drew her into a tight hug.

"Can I be the first to ask where you were?" Snotlout demanded as he, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut pushed through the crowd.

Toothless' ears perked up as Stormfly squwarked over the heads of the crowd. With a purr of delight, he bounded through to greet her in a series of affectionate head-bobs.

"Hiccup, you should've seen it," Fishlegs said breathlessly. "There were these teenagers and they could turn into animals and they even managed to defeat Alvin, the Screaming Death, AND stop a fleet of Outcasts from attacking Ber-"

He was cut off as the twins, who had snuck up behind him, shoved a sack over his head.

"Done and done," Ruffnut said proudly, hi-fiving her brother, as Fishlegs made muffled noises and struggled to remove the sack.

"Look, I have loads to tell you guys too," Hiccup said, "But..." 

"But what?" Astrid prompted, stepping away curiously as he hesitated.

"But... I don't think this was meant to happen," he finished.

Fishlegs frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hiccup bent down and picked up a leaf that had fallen off of his boot; it was lush and green adn had come from the Animals' rainforest. He straightened up, looking down at it.

He thought about the streets that came alive in the night; the city with it's sparkling charm; the animals and their bizzzare powers. A world that he - and not even the next ten generations - would see.

"I don't think our world's ready for theirs'," Hiccup said with a small smile.

He dropped the leaf and it fluttered peacefully to the ground.

~ ~ ~

Night had fallen.

The landscape with it's rolling green hills was flooded in darkness. 

Nestled within two of the hills, crouched low and hidden against the bustling city aorund the island, was a summer camp. 

Cabins with the most entricate designs and colours stood in a respectful ring around a large, peacfully-flickering fire. In a stable nearby, large winged horses snorted and stamped their hooves, muscles rippling. A cape of golden wool, shining brightly, hung over a tree and a small dragon was curled at the trunk, smoke curling from it's nostrils as it slept.

Strange, dangerous noises echoed up from a forest swathed in shadows that seemed to move and shift.

A small cabin, ocean-themed with the colours of blue and white, stood quietly with the others. 

Inside, a single boy with messy black hair slept in his bed, his mouth gaping open and a small dribble of spit hanging from the corner by a thread. Everything around him was still and silent and nothing stirred.

Then a soft, white ball of light bloomed into existance beside his bed, illuminating his skin and the strand of saliva that hung from his mouth.

The light faded and a she-wolf, her pelt brilliant, shining silver, stood where the light had once been. Her azure-blue eyes watched the boy as he slept, radiating a cold, silent emotion. She stepped delicately over to him and leaned, eyes shining, over him.

Her cold, hard nose touched his forehead.

There is a great quest waiting for you, she whispered silently to him, her breath hardly stirring the hair beside his ear. But not yet. Now, you must rest longer, for they are coming.

In another bloom of white light, both the wolf and the boy disappeared from the dark cabin.

{: ~ * ~ :}