a dragon lives forever but not so little boys [open]

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Toothless! Oh, Toooothless! You hungry, bud?"

Hiccup still preferred to feed the dragon, even if Toothless could will up food anytime if he wanted. It was their way of spending time together. Hiccup would feed him, Toothless would happily regurgitate some, Hiccup would politely decline and maybe fry up his own, un-eaten fish, and they'd just spend an hour or two in each other's company.

Toothless wasn't there in his Sensorium, though, but that didn't worry Hiccup at first. The dragon was free to wander where he wanted, and he could've been anywhere.

So he took to the halls.

"Toothless! Where are you, buddy? It's dinnertime! Toooothless!"

Not in his forge. Not in Daja's Forge. Not in the Drunken Dragon. Not near the river, not on Obs, not in the halls, not in any of the other Sensoriums, not there, not there, not there, not there.

Hiccup was in something of a panic towards the end.

"Toothless! Buddy! C'mon, where are you? Toothless! This isn't funny! No hide and seek, okay? Where are you?"

He knew. In his heart of hearts, he knew.

It was in the Spacewalk that he finally stopped, late, very late, when most were sleeping, when Astrid would've been expecting him come to bed, and there, heartbroken, he asked Stacy the question he knew was going to get an answer that he didn't want to hear.

"Stacy, where's Toothless? Where is he?!"

||There is no one named Toothless on the active crew roster.||

Repodded.

Hiccup knew he was safe, he knew he was even safer than if he was outside, he knew he'd see him again, but all the things he knew didn't matter when juxtaposed with one, simple fact. His best friend was gone. His best friend, who'd been by his side near-constantly since they'd taken their first flight together, was gone. His best friend who'd comforted him through the end of his world, through horror and being bed-bound with injuries, who'd kept him sane even when trapped in another form in Fairplay, who loved him all the times he couldn't love himself--he was gone.

Gone gone gone.

If anyone were to come by the Spacewalk, they'd find a teenage boy sitting on the floor, staring out of the clear panels of the tunnel there, at the stars and twisting dimensions going by.

"I'll find you, bud. She can't hide you away forever, and if she tries, I'll find you. I swear."

His knobbly knees were drawn up, with his arms around them, and he was very pointedly, very purposefully, not crying. He wasn't crying at all.

[ooc: Can be a standalone, as he's emo-ing pretty badly, but if anyone's nice to him during it, he'll probably seek them out and try to be friends later.]

Comments

[governorkang]

Kang was worried as soon as he saw the boy's face, and immediately moved over to kneel down next to him. "...Hiccup? What's wrong?"

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Toothless is gone."

That was all he really needed to say.

He rubbed at his nose, which was a bit sniffly, but he was very pointedly not crying, nope.

[governorkang]

The not crying was definitely noticed, but Kang wisely didn't say anything, sitting down and staring out the panels with Hiccup. "Repodded?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"What are you crying about?"

Zuko appears to have gotten even shorter. And as a boy who recently remembers very pointedly, very purposefully not crying himself, he's not fooled at all.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Nothing, because I'm not crying," he said somewhat sharply. His head was just bowed down and he was all curled up looking like he was crying, but no tears, see? His Vikinghood was intact.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

". . . fine."

Zuko gets it. They're men. And men don't cry. Not even when they're extremely sad about something very bad happening, like, say, a loved one leaving you recently.

Since Hiccup hasn't looked up, he feels, rather than sees, Zuko sitting down at an angle to him, pulling his own knees up to his chest with a sigh, his back against the Viking's side.

They can just . . . sit here and not-cry together. It's much better than not crying by yourself. In a manner of speaking.

[ruffntumblenut.livejournal.com]

"So, did Astrid throw your ass out finally?"

This callous and cruel joke brought to you by Ruffnut and the large mug of beer she had in hand. She was wearing some strange clothes she had picked up on the last planet so if it weren't for her braids and helmet you would have never known she was a viking under the long jacket and knee high strappy boots.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

There was the slightest huff that was equal parts amusement and annoyance.

"Toothless got repodded."

Big deal, Ruff. Some of them came back, but some they didn't even know if they'd see again.

[ruffntumblenut.livejournal.com]

"Huh...sucks." She looked funny, it might take a minute for Hiccup to realize that this was a face she made when thinking about something related to emotions. This was a subject she was not terribly well versed in.

She offered her mug. "Drink." She ordered. It wasn't a question.

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

The Chancellor's daughters used to not-cry sometimes.

"Are you all right, young man?"

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Hiccup said immediately.

Then, "No."

He blurted out, "My best friend got put back in podsleep."

[ternaui.livejournal.com]

"I am sorry to hear that. I can understand how frustrating that must be."

...Particularly because, when it came right down to it, the Chancellor disliked how much he'd had to say 'I' of late, instead of 'We.'

[coldhardfisting.livejournal.com]

Snow knew an emo kid when he saw one. It was late, it was quiet, so why else would somebody be sitting out here all alone ... and on the floor, even?

He stepped toward him, not bothering trying to keep quiet so the boy knew somebody was there. When he was close enough, he leaned forward to get a look at Hiccup's face, hands on his hips.

"Hey there."

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

Hey, at least he had good reason? Beyond his world Ragnoraking it up, the kid had been through a helluva lot on the ship, but it'd taken this to finally get him down.

Even then, though, he wasn't so down that he wouldn't be able to drag himself back up again.

"Hey," he said back, after pressing his lips together. "Sorry, am I in the way?"

He scooted closer to the window.

"I'm just sitting. You know, enjoying the view. Getting my angst on."

[coldhardfisting.livejournal.com]

"Nope, not in the way at all." He stood back up straight, and then shook his head with a small smile.

"Angst is never fun. What's the matter?"

Maybe a dumb question, considering the whole my-home-is-destroyed thing, but hey, Snow figured it might help if he talked about it.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She supposed there was no way of avoiding it: she had not gone to be with Zhin, and the space dog was punishing her by staying by her side the next few days, even when she had to go to medical. She was lucky enough that she wasn't allergenic to people, and right now was forced to run the whole ship with Zhin by her side.

But on this run, she noticed a figure with his knees to his chest, seemingly stressed. Kaya paused, then slowed, walking over to him.

"Hiccup?" She hadn't seen him since the whole alien through his chest thing, but he was obviously upset about something new. "What's the matter?"

Zhin sniffed the boy questionably.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Toothless got repodded. My best friend--you know, the dragon? I'm just..."

Hiccup trailed off and held out his hand to the pup, his movements slow and gentle.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Kay had never heard of Toothless before, well, a mention maybe, but her ears most definitely perked up at the mention of a dragon. Even Zhin could see the visible start in her.

"Was he a black dragon, very friendly, tended to stick to the Sensoriums?"

Zhin, by her master's side, affectionately licked her hand, knowing full well the answer the boy would give.

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

It had been a long time since Zouichi was young and trying not to cry, but he still remembered what it was like to feel small and alone. At least when it had been him, someone had always been at his side.

He approached the boy from behind, shushing the colorful bird perched on his shoulder when it whistled brightly in greeting.

"Are you okay?"

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"I'm fine. Really."

He flashed a tentative smile.

"I had a friend repodded. I'm just...dealing."

[zouichi.livejournal.com]

He nodded, looking back out at the stars flowing past outside. "I'm sorry. I had a friend repodded recently as well." He shrugged, slightly. "No warning, of course; one day he was there, perfectly normal, puttering around in Engineering, and the next -- he was just gone."

"I guess knowing where they are helps a little... but not much."

[astridhofferson.livejournal.com]

It was unusual for him to stay gone this long when he only made plans to spend some time with his dragon companion. It's not like she imposed a curfew or anything like that, but when she stirred and woke to find him still absent, now a little concerned, she naturally decided she should just search and drag him to their quarters.

And after a bit of drowsy prowling, she found him, though at first she was unaware something was wrong.

Astrid cupped a quiet yawn, before she rubbed an eye and announced her presence. "Hiccup?"

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

Boy, there were a lot of people passing through this time of night was what Hiccup thought at first when he heard someone else approaching, but then it turned out to be one of the people he most wanted to see, the person that he planned on going and cuddling up next to after getting his sulk on.

"Toothless got put back in the pods."

That was all he had to say, really. That was all. She'd understand.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Hey, there you are!" Oh lawd, it's Sokka. He strolls up, apparently rather at ease.

"I know Zuko is all kiddy-fied and all but I figured we could still do some stuff, footwork and blade exercises and that kind of thin--" He cut himself off, looking down at the boy for a moment, then squats down to look closer.

"Hey, you okay?"

Any thread this point onward is timed BEFORE the Astrid thread.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Hiccup admitted.