Hiccup's Point of View
She tilted her head again, just slightly. But it was enough.
That small, subtle motion—ears twitching, eyes sharp—was a question in itself. Unspoken, but loud enough for me to hear it clearly.
Who are you?
I smirked.
"Cute," I murmured, and couldn't stop the small laugh that slipped from my throat.
Luna blinked.
Without warning, I leaned up and blew a soft puff of air directly into her face.
It was childish, maybe. But I liked to play with fire.
And she was very much fire.
She reared back slightly, clearly caught off guard. A low, flustered trill escaped her throat—a noise I'd heard from other dragons, but never from a Night Fury.
Definitely flustered.
That made me laugh—an honest, amused sound. Until her tail whipped around and smacked me right in the back of the head.
"Ow—!" I barked, rubbing the spot, but I was still laughing. "Okay, yeah. I deserved that."
Luna huffed, snorting softly, but didn't walk away.
She just looked at me again.
Still curious.
Still waiting.
The humor in me faded into something calmer. Something... real.
"Alright," I said, leaning forward and sitting up properly. "You want to know more."
She didn't move, but I saw it—her posture shifted, her weight shifting onto her haunches. She sat.
She was listening.
"I guess I never really introduced myself," I said quietly. "I'm Hiccup."
Her ears twitched.
"I know. It's a dumb name. Trust me, it fits how I used to be. But I'm not that kid anymore."
A long breath slid out of me as I let my gaze fall to the grass between us.
"You've got questions," I continued. "For why I shot you down. For why I broke you free from the Queen's control. And for why... I am the way I am."
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
But her gaze never left me.
And that was all the permission I needed.
"For years, I've shown the villagers, the teens, even my own father, a version of me that isn't real," I began, my voice low and steady. "They see a weakling. A disappointment. Someone too incompetent to matter. That's what they think of me because that's what I wanted them to see."
A bitter smile touched my lips.
"It wasn't hard. People believe what they want to believe. Especially when it makes them feel superior."
I looked up again, meeting her eyes.
"But you weren't there today. You didn't see what happened in the arena."
My voice cooled, sharpened.
"I let the mask slip. Just a bit. Enough to remind them that I'm not weak. That I'm not what they made me out to be."
A dark satisfaction coiled in my chest at the memory.
"You should've seen them, Luna. Their faces when they realized what I've become. All that time they spent mocking me... and now, they're afraid. And I loved it."
Her tail twitched, but she didn't flinch.
I continued.
"But that wasn't the beginning. That wasn't the root."
I leaned forward slightly, elbows on my knees.
"My mother? She left when I was just a baby. She thought it was for the greater good—protecting dragons, building a future. But she left me behind. She never came back. Never looked back. And she left you, too. You and others like you. Chained under that Queen's control."
I shook my head, bitterness laced through my tone.
"And Stoick? The great Chief of Berk. He stayed. But he abandoned me all the same. He buried himself in the village and forgot about the son who didn't fit his idea of what a Viking should be."
I clenched my fists in the grass.
"They all did. The villagers. The teens. Treated me like a mistake. Something to laugh at. To beat. To ignore."
And then, slowly, I raised my head again, my voice quieter. More controlled.
"But I let them."
I met Luna's gaze again.
"I let them underestimate me. Because if they ever knew what I was capable of... they'd try to use me. Or worse, fear me too early."
Her eyes flicked—curious.
So I pressed on.
"But not anymore. Today, I showed them a glimpse of what they made. The monster they carved out of a boy with nothing left to lose."
Her gaze didn't waver.
"And then there's you," I said, softening. "You weren't chained when we met. But you were under her control. The Queen. I saw it in your eyes. I know what it feels like—to be used. To have your will twisted."
I gave her a slow, quiet nod.
"That's why I shot you down."
She blinked.
Not from confusion.
From... understanding.
"I didn't do it to hurt you. I did it to free you."
The breeze brushed past us like a whisper. She didn't move. Her entire body was still, but alert.
"You're free now, Luna. You can choose."
I paused.
"But freedom's not easy. It comes with scars. With pain. And you know that better than anyone."
I stood slowly, walking a few steps toward the water before glancing over my shoulder.
"I want to burn the old world down. The Queen. The hunters. Berk's broken traditions. All of it."
I looked at her over my shoulder, my voice firm, unshaking.
"I'll do it alone if I have to. I can do it alone."
I turned fully again.
"But I don't want to."
I looked her in the eyes.
"I want a partner. An equal. Someone strong. Someone who understands what it means to fight. To be hated. To survive."
I stepped closer again, crouching to meet her at eye level.
"You could be that someone."
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then I smiled—just slightly.
"I know. Big ask, right? I don't expect an answer now."
I sat back in the grass again, arms draped over my knees.
"But just think about it. If we're going to reshape this world... we'll need each other."
The silence that followed was deep and long—but not uncomfortable.
Luna remained where she was, her sharp eyes gleaming in the moonlight, her breath steady.
But she stayed.
And she listened.
And that was enough—for now.