Vikings Don't Go on Fieldtrips

[Crystal]

Dustin Gyllenfalk was not a happy Viking. He sat on a boulder near the top of the walkway that ran down to the docks, watching the activity as bulky Vikings bustled around doing... whatever. He didn't know. He'd gone fishing all of... twice? See, everyone trusted him with a boat about as much as they did with a dragon. He had his arms folded over his chest, his feet up on the wooden fence that prevented unsuspecting people from tumbling over the cliff into the sea. He was curious to see how long it would take Hiccup to find him.

His oh-so-caring cousin had declared the two of them were "going on a trip." For bonding or something. It sounded like a load of dragon dung to Dustin. Maybe Hiccup would leave him on one of those deserted islands he'd mapped out, only the chief wasn't the type to do something like that. Ah, well. He'd told Dustin to get ready, so here he was. Ready in his sturdy boots and fur-lined vest, waiting for Hiccup wonder why Dustin hadn't met him at the Dragon Training arena like he'd been told.

[Dusty the Small]

Hiccup shifted a little to get comfortable. He was leaning his back against Toothless, facing the entrance to the arena. As he had been for almost an hour. "What do you think, bud? You think he stood us up?" Hiccup said with a sigh. "Wouldn't put it past him..." he muttered. Then he picked himself up and steadied himself on his mismatched feet. "Well, come on, Toothless. Let's go find Dustin."

The pair glanced around them as they walked through the village. They returned greetings and Hiccup asked around a bit, but no one really wanted to know where Dustin was. As long as he wasn't bothering them, they'd say. He sighed and Toothless grumbled sympathetically. Finally they found themselves at the docks and Hiccup noticed a familiar figure with his back to them. Toothless sneaked up on him and snatched him up by the collar in his jaws. He was gentle enough, or rather, he was just rough enough to be annoying. All the time, he was making a silly laughing noise. The closest sound a dragon could make to laughing. Hiccup circled around with his arms crossed and smirked at his cousin.

"Did you get the docks mixed up with the arena? And I thought your brother was the dumb one." he remarked.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Crystal]

Dustin let out a rather embarrassing shriek when Toothless grabbed him. He hung from the dragon's mouth, his feet dangling an inch above the ground, and gave Hiccup a bland look. "Oh. I thought you said the docks. I was wondering why you weren't here yet. Sorry, cuz," he said. He craned his neck to look up into one of Toothless's big green eyes. Then he looked back at Hiccup, his typical sulky expression returning. "Now, could you please tell your big scaly lizard to put me down?" Even if you left out the completely mortifying experience of being held like a puppy by its scruff, the collar of his shirt was starting to dig uncomfortably into his neck just below his chin.

[Dusty the Small]

Hiccup didn't say anything for a few seconds, but he looked at Toothless and the dragon dropped Dustin. "Well, at least he didn't try to eat you." Hiccup teased. "Alright, get on." he said when Dustin was steady on the ground. "You've ridden a dragon before, right?" Because there was a distinct difference between riding a dragon and riding Toothless. Especially if Toothless was in the mood to do some spinning and diving. Today looked like one of those days.

Being the chief and all, Hiccup didn't have all the time he used to. Astrid and Valka and Dusty were the ones who usually flew Toothless. But today he had taken a day off and let the village drama be someone else's problem for a while. Toothless hadn't been flown yet, so Hiccup was sure he'd have plenty of energy to spend. Dustin would just have to hold on, and hold on tight.

On second thought, strapping him in to the saddle would probably be his best bet. He didn't want to kill him, after all, no matter what the village thought. He remembered what it was like to be in Dustin's shoes; the viking that didn't fit in, the viking that was always different no matter what he tried. It was awful. And the goal for today was to show him that. It probably wouldn't change anything, not right away, not on the surface. As long as he could plant the seeds, he knew Dustin's attitude would improve.

The first step is always the hardest.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Crystal]

Dustin crossed his arms and gave Hiccup his best death glare. "Of course I have," he said. If only to steal it and fly to a deserted island and try to hide out for a few days. He shot the night fury a dubious glance, though, knowing of Toothless's tendency toward... acrobatic antics. Part of him thought Oh, fun! and part though Oh, crap.

Needless to say, he had mixed feelings about riding Hiccup's crazy dragon.

"Where are we going, anyway?" he asked his cousin. "Better not be Itchy Armpit. I don't like that place. It's boring."

[Dusty the Small]

The viking and the dragon were the complete opposite of intimidated by the younger one's glare. Yes, he was a troublemaker. But he wasn't very scary. Hiccup ushered him into the saddle while Toothless shifted around excitedly. "Good. Get on, strap in, and hold tight, kid." he said. When Dustin was in place - was it just Hiccup or had he needed a little more coaxing than expected? - Hiccup got on behind him. That way, if Toothless decided to be predictable by being unpredictable, Dustin would be less likely to fall right off.

He ignored his cousin's question. "Just hold on." he said simply.

After one last check to make sure Dustin was properly strapped in, Hiccup gave Toothless the okay to take off. Excitedly, the night fury leaped into the air without so much as a running start. They flew straight up. Toothless flapped his wings vigorously making for a bumpy ride at first, but since his tail was locked in place he couldn't do all the acrobatics he wanted to do. Well, not all of them... but he could still spin! He fell into a corkscrew for a few long seconds before he leveled out again and flew straight. He didn't even think about how Dustin was doing. Not that he cared much anyway.

Dusty's Speech	Dusty's Thoughts
Slicediver's Speech	Slicediver's Thoughts
Halvor's Speech	Halvor's Thoughts
Hiccup's Speech	Hiccup's Thoughts
Toothless' Speech	Toothless' Thoughts

[Crystal]

Dustin had his eyes squeezed shut for the first part of it. It had been a long time since he'd ridden a dragon, and he'd never ridden one that flew like Toothless. His stomach lurched when the dragon started to spin, and he was secretly glad he hadn't eaten breakfast. Crazy dragon.

When Toothless levelled out, Dustin cracked open his eyes. The currently still waters spread out before them and below them, endless and vast and powerful. He knew those waters, when they got rough, could sink the mightiest ships. He also knew water dragons dwelled in those depths, the kinds that you didn't really want to cross. Some dragons were just dangerous and didn't take well to humans invading their territory.

The acrobatic show done, Dustin was finally able to simply enjoy the feeling of flying. Of freedom. What would it be like to have this for himself? Not with Hiccup in front of him, not on a dragon that didn't belong to him. To ride his dragon, with him in control. That was true freedom. Only he would probably never have it, because no one trusted him. No one even liked him.