Ch. 18- The Cove Day

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Hiccup and I weren't the last ones to arrive at the cove. We were second to last. Can you guess who was last? If you guessed the twins, Snoutlout, or even Fishlegs, you were wrong. Much to everyone's surprise, Astrid was the last to arrive.

She rode confidently in on Stormfly, who eagerly ran off to play with the other dragons once Astrid hopped off. She walked up to us with a simple top and loose leggings. We stared.

Her smile faltered at our stares. "What?"

Fishlegs recovered first. "Nothing, it's just that, well-"

"Did you do something with your hair? You look different," noted Tuffnut.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'm wearing an old set of clothes my brother wore when he was our age."

Tuffnut scanned her over. "No, that's not it."

"What took so long?" I asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you show up last- anywhere."

"I usually don't, but my parents needed help with something before I could start getting ready," she explained, smiling.

"Cool. So, you up for a swim?" I asked.

"Am I? You bet I am!"

"Last one in is a two hundred year old dragon egg!" Snoutlout declared, jumping into the water fully dressed. I watched as they all cheered, jumping in fully dressed behind him.

"What's wrong, Star?" Hiccup asked.

"You swim in fully dressed- like that?" I asked, apparently loud enough for the entire gang to hear.

"Yeah, why? What do you wear while swimming?" he asked.

"A shirt and shorts," I admitted, uneasy.

"Okay. We don't do that here. Swimming in your clothes is fine, trust me," he encouraged, jumping in behind the rest. Even the dragons had beat me into the water. I sighed, hating the weighed down feeling of swimming fully dressed. But I didn't want to miss out on the fun, so I sucked it up and jumped in, squealing at the sudden coolness of the water.

We spent a couple hours playing around in the water before we got hungry and decided to break for lunch. We laid our blankets together (since everyone brought one), overlapping them at the edges. Then we tossed all our food in the middle and took handfuls of whatever we wanted. Everyone had packed lunch for their dragons, so the dragons munched peacefully nearby as we ate.

We laughed over little things, like the twins goofing off or a memory they shared. I loved learning about what I had missed during my absence, but I also longed to have been there. As I listened on, I wished more and more that I had stumbled upon home just a year or so beforehand, for that was when all the excitement really happened.

"What about you, Star?" Fishlegs asked. "Any cool adventures you care to share?"

I thought it over. "Nope. Nothing I haven't already told you."

"You've only told us a few stories."

"Oh, come on!" Snoutlout complained. "You lived out there in the Great Beyond for ten years! With no one but your fire breathing dragon- a Night Fury, at that- and you're telling us nothing exciting happened?"

"Yup."

"Don't be like that, Star. Surely one more exciting thing happened while you were out there," even Hiccup pushed. He sounded like he truly wanted to know more of my time away from home, and I didn't want to disappoint him.

"Alright. Fine." They cut me off to cheer. "One time, less than a year after, uh, I met Violet, a horrible storm kept Violet and I from traveling to a different island, so we decided to take shelter in a cave we found.  To pass the time, we went exploring, going deeper and deeper into the endless cave. My torch was going out- we had been wondering around for so long- when we stumbled upon a, um, giant opening like thing."

""Giant opening like thing"?" I was asked.

"Like a big room, yeah." They kept snickering. "Do you want me to finish the story or not?" They instantly stopped. "That's what I thought. Anyways, we could see a glow lighting up the entrance after we rounded the final corner. I thought I had somehow found my way back to the exit, and the storm had stopped, allowing the sun to shine through. I was wrong.

"Instead, the entire room glowed by little crystals. Most of the room was part of a huge lake. Crystals in the ground even had the water glowing. It was really cool. The water covered most of the room, going all the way to the wall. I was thirsty after hours of walking around, so I ran to the water, gulping it down. Violet did the same, so I knew it was safe. The water had this funny taste, not as if it was bad, but- I can't explain. Anyways, while we were drinking, a water dragon came up, suddenly lifting its head above the water. It stared at me, probably trying to determine if Violet and I were threats, so I held out my hand and closed my eyes like this." I demonstrated my secret to taming a dragon ((same as Hiccup's)). "Turns out, it really helps with gaining a dragons trust."

Hiccup chuckled, "Yeah, we know."

"So, after that, the water dragon, Gem, wanted to play, so we splashed around a bit and had a bit of fun. We were tired by the time we finished playing, so Violet and I spent the night and played some more in the morning. I was just thinking about leaving to find our way back outside when Gem lifted me up and pulled me into the water. Violet freaked out and dove in after us, but Gem was a faster swimmer. She led us to what I thought was the end of the room, because a wall was there blocking my view while above the water, but she went under the wall. Then she resurfaced and bam! we were outside again."

"Whoa," they gasped, amazed.

I smiled, thinking about Gem and her home. "Yeah, that was by far the coolest thing I found on my, uh, trip. It was so cool, that I brought Bard to it when he joined us. For a while, it was our emergency emergency meet up spot in case something went seriously wrong."

"Could you take us there? Please? Please? Please!" Tuff begged, literally on his knees.

"Do you know what type of dragon it was?" Fishlegs asked.

I ignored Tuff for the moment. "No, Fishlegs. I know Gem isn't a Scauldron, Thunderdrum, or Sea Shocker, though. I don't think it's very common, either. The only dragon like Gem I've seen is, well, Gem."

"Can you take us to her?" asked Hiccup. "We'd love to see her."

"Uh, maybe, but she doesn't like newcomers very well. It took a while for her to get used to Amber and Bard."

"Amber?"

"Bard's Changewing."

"Oh."

"So can you take us? Please, Star. Please!" Tuff begged, getting in my face.

I looked to the others for help, but they all put on begging faces, too. I sighed. "Maybe, someday."

"Yes! Let's go now!" Tuff cheered, running to Belch, his dragon. Ruff followed, climbing onto her half of the Dragon, Barf.

"Whoa, wait! Not today! And I said maybe, and someday, as in not now," I called.

"Tomorrow then?"

"No, not tomorrow, either. I don't think it'll be a good idea, either, guys," I persisted.

"Come on, please, Star? It would make a really cool adventure," Astrid tried to persuade.

They were all going to hate me if I kept saying no, and I slumped my shoulders as I realized this. It was a choice, keep my promise to Gem to not introduce her to anyone other than my brother or make everyone happy. I'm a person of my word.

"No. It's not a good idea. I already told y'all, Gem doesn't like new people. I'm sorry, but I won't show you where she is. Ever." I stood up and went for the only opening in the entire cove. "I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me." Violet bounded forward to come with me. "Sorry, girl, but I just want to be alone for a while."

"Star, wait," Hiccup called. "We didn't mean-" I didn't listen to the rest of what he had to say. I just ran off before I was stopped.

I ran until my breathing increased significantly, but I wasn't quite panting nor out of breath. I walked around, enjoying the forest I hadn't explored in ten years. It didn't look the same, but I guess that's what ten years did to a place. I know home had changed a lot, too. Not just the village, but even our house. I mean, I remember how the inside of our home was before I got lost. It looks similar but it wasn't the same.

I enjoyed the sun that seeped through the trees, the birds and insects singing, and the occasional passing dragon whom would barely pay me any mind. I loved that about this place, the dragons were seen with nature, not running at the sound of a viking.

"Starfire!" Hiccup called, panting. He stopped beside me, leaning his palms on his knees to catch his breath. "Mighty Thor, you can run fast! I've been following you since the cove, and whoa!" I started to walk away as he tried to catch his breath. "Star, wait!" he stopped. He grabbed my arm to prevent me from running off again. Although it annoyed me, he was smart to do so.

"What?"

"We're sorry. We didn't mean to push you like that. We just want to learn about Gem and know what your life was like in the Great Beyond and all that. We didn't mean to pressure you or make you uncomfortable, I promise. And if you don't want to talk about your journeys anymore, then we'll won't ask."

"It's not that, Hiccup. Well, it kinda is, but it also isn't." I looked up at the trees, knowing what he was going to ask and thinking of how to answer it.

"Then what is it? You can tell me anything, Star. Anything," he insisted, stepping in front of me.

"I- I don't know. I've always known you and dad would want to know of my time away. I even wrote a series of journals just so you would know everything. But-"

"Series of journals? I thought you only carried one with you."

"Exactly. The rest are in a create with Gem, safe. After bringing Bard and Amber, I knew she didn't like meeting new people, so I promised you would be the only other person I introduced her to."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so, Star? Everyone would have understood."

"No! That's not all, Hiccup!" I exclaimed, pushing him away.

"Then what is it, Star? Please, tell me." He walked back to me, waiting as I figured out a way to put my twisted emotions into words. I almost yelled out in frustration, it was that difficult.

"I- I don't know how," I admitted, looking away.

"Then don't think. Just let whatever comes out come," he helped.

I took a deep breath, ready to put his advice to use. "Okay. I wrote those journals for you and dad to read, that way it would be like you hadn't missed a day of my life. As time went by, they became like actual journals to me, and I wrote my darkest thoughts down. I thought I would be okay with you reading them, but-" I stopped.

"But now you want to keep some things to yourself," he filled. "Starfire, that's completely understandable. You don't have to show us the journals if you don't want to. You don't even have to tell us what happened while you were away. All that matters to me is that you're here now." He pulled me into a hug, which I suddenly realized I really wanted.

I hugged him back, tightly, and whispered, "I don't know what to do, big brother. I really want you to know everything, like you did when we were kids, but I'm also worried about you'll think of me afterwards."

"Starfire," he said, pulling back just enough to look my in the eyes. "I will always love you, if that's what you're worried about. So will dad. Nothing you could tell us would ever change that."

I pulled him into another hug, relieved. "I needed that, thanks."

"Anything for you, baby sister," he promised.

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