Ch. 20- Firsts

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"What is it, sweetie?" mom asked.

"I got a date."

"Really? Oh, Starfire," she ran up to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. "This is really big. Does daddy know?"

I shook my head no, "I wanted to tell you first."

She smiled at my response. "I'm glad, but you'll have to tell him soon, okay, dear?" she started to tend to Stoick II again as she spoke.

"I know, mommy. I'm gonna go play with Emerald. See you later," I called as I raced outside.

I faintly heard, "Be back before dinner!"

I raced as fast as I could to Emerald to tell her the news. I wish there were other Night Furies for her.

"Emerald! Emmy!" I cried out, jumping over the ledge and towards the ground a good twenty feet below. The walls of the cove were high. The scream never reached me as Emerald quickly caught me, saving me from the hard dirt below. "Thanks, Emerald," I giggled as I pet her in reward. She made a little annoyed sound, probably upset at the stunt I just pulled.

"Sorry about the stunt," I apologized, "I was just excited."

I watched as she tilted her head to the side, her big green eyes asking me, "Why are you so excited?"

"Ty asked me out on a date!" I squealed, deciding to run around the cove. Emerald watched as I ran around until I was gasping for much needed breath. I walked back to her and laid on the soft grass, the blue sky held a few puffy white clouds.

A perfect day.

"Ty asked me on a date!" I yelled as loud as I could. My scream bounced off the walls of the cove, letting us hear my echoes as the sound returned to us.

Soon Emerald was begging to go flying and I eagerly accepted the offer. Almost nothing pleased me more than flying, especially on a beautiful day like today. I pulled on my flight suit and attached Emerald's gear on her before we took off, Emerald quickly went straight up and past the clouds.

As we got higher it got harder to breathe, but I barely noticed as I closed my eyes and let the wind sweep through my hair after I removed my helmet.

Emerald stopped flapping her wings and just let of free fall. I pushed away and positioned myself so my back was facing the sky and my stomach the ground. The feeling was amazing.

"Ah! I love this feeling!" I shouted over the wind. Emerald looked at me for a moment, agreeing, before going back into her own little world. I spread my arms and legs out, much like a starfish.

For minutes, we let the air rush past us as we zoomed to the ground, neither of us bothering to change our direction.

Emerald nudged me and I opened my eyes. The ocean- we somehow traveled above- was a lot closer then expected. I grabbed onto Emerald's saddle and opened her tail so she could fly when she felt was necessary.

Her tail and wing tips glided on the surface of the water, spraying a bit of it behind us as we flew barely above the water.

I put my arms out like her wings we and closed my eyes in delight. Oh, how I loved this feeling.

"Yoo- hoo!" I shouted into the raging wind.

After a couple hours of flying, the sun started going down while we started slowing down. We took a nice, slow flight while watching the sunset. When it was nearly dark, we headed back to the cove, and I left for home.

Dinner had just been finished when I got home, and dad was kinda worried about me being late but relaxed when he after I explained I watched the sunset with Emerald.

That night I did some doodles, not really paying attention to what I was drawing, when there was a knock on my door.

I quickly put the journal away before running across the room to open the door.

"Hello," I smiled, seeing my parents in the doorway.

"Hey, baby girl," dad smiled back, scoping me up in his arms and carrying me to the bed. "Mommy told me that you have something important to tell me."

"I do?" I asked, looking over his shoulder to see her.

She nodded and mouthed "Tyson." My eyes widened and I quickly shook my head no. She sighed and sat next to me on my bed. "Starfire, you need to tell him."

"Can't I tell him afterwards?" I asked.

"Nope. Sorry, dear. If it helps I'll leave."

"No!" I said, a little loudly, gripping onto her sleeve, as she stood up, and pulled her back down. "Don't leave! I don't want you to leave, mommy. I like you being here."

She chuckled once, humorless, and sat back down with the words, "Okay, dear."

"What are you two keeping from me?" dad sighed loudly, lying on his back.

"I got a date."

He shot up, "What?" He jumped up, "WHAT? WITH WHO?"

"That a secret," I giggled, rocking back and forth.

"TELL ME!"

"Nope," I laughed, pretending not to be fazed by dad's yelling when in reality, I wanted to crawl onto mom's lap and cry my eyes out. He scared me when he was angry.

Dad took a deep breath to calm himself. "Starfire, please tell me," he almost begged, his teeth clenched together. He knew it was serious. Great (note the sarcasm).

"Well, I love you, daddy," I smiled, making myself slightly smaller.

"Star," he warned.

"Fine! A boy asked me out on a date, and I said yes!" I exhaled loudly, plopping onto my back.

"A date? A boy? Who? WHO ASKED YOU?!"

"You know who, Hiccup," mom sighed. "Now calm down and take deep breaths."

"You're okay with this, Astrid?" dad asked mom.

"Yes, I am, and you should be, too."

"But- but she's our little girl," he whispered, head down, holding mom's hands in his.

"That's what you're worried about?" I asked, standing on my bed so I was almost their height. "Daddy, I'll always be your baby girl. And mommy's too."

He showed a small smile, "Thank you, baby girl, but one day- I had hoped was not anytime soon, though I guess I was wrong- you're gonna grow up, fall in love, get married, and have kids, like everyone else."

"But I will always be your baby girl, right?"

He chuckled once, "Yes, you will."

"Good. I'm tired," I said with a yawn.

Mom and dad chuckled. "Get some sleep, sweetheart," mom said, laying me down and placing the blanket over me. She planted a kiss upon my forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little angel."

"Goodnight, baby girl," dad said, kissing the top of my head. "Do me a favor and stop growing, please?"

"I try, daddy. I try."

"I love you. Goodnight. Sweet dreams, my dear." He whispered, softly shutting the door.

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"Aw! My little girl is all grown up!" mom cried, wiping a single tear from her eye.

Dad frowned. "Yeah. Joy," he said sarcastically.

"I'm only ten. I'm still little, mommy," I told her, my childlike voice was soft but audible.

"I know, dear."

A knock ended our conversation.

"I'll get it," dad said.

"Nope. I do." I ran past him and threw the door open. There stood Tyson, dressed in nice clothing. We had agreed to not dress up and keep it simple, since we were both ten. We would take a walk through the forest, eat on the cliff, then come home. Simple enough.

"Hi, Star," Ty said.

"Hi, Ty."

"Tyson," dad greeted.

"Hello, chief."

"Bye, daddy. Bye, mommy. Let's go, Ty," I said, pulling him away.

We chatted softly as we walked through the forest, holding hands. On the way to the cliff, he reached behind a bush and pulled out a basket full of food. Creative, I smiled at the thought.

The picnic was nice. The full moon overhead, lighting our surroundings. The slightly cloudy, star filled sky was beautiful. The soft sound of the waves below was like background music as we talked about anything and everything. Ty, apparently, was good at cooking, a skill some Vikings lacked. We laid on the blanket he brought, our hands intertwined as we looked at the sky, spotting the figures we saw. After an hour or so, he walked me home.

"Goodnight, Star," he said.

"Goodnight, Ty. Thanks for the wonderful evening," I returned.

"This evening was nothing compared to your beautiful smile." I blushed. "Ah, see? That's the smile." We chuckled.

Dad must've heard us because he came outside then, but in a less grumpy mood. "Hey, Star. Hello, Tyson."

"Hi, dad," I said like a question, confused.

"Hello, chief," Ty responded in the same way.

"Well, it's late. Star, come inside. Ty, I'll give you a ride. Toothless!" he called. He just called Tyson Ty.

"But, sir. I live right there," Ty said, pointing at the house about 15- 20 yards away as Toothless came to dad's side.

"Oh, right. Never mind then. Goodnight, Ty- son. Come along, Stary."

"Stary? Dad, are you alright?" I asked, shutting the door behind us.

"Fine, fine. Now off to bed with you."

"Your father is a bit off, tonight," mom explained. "He'll be fine in the morning. He hit his head pretty hard and is still- Hiccup, don't you dare!" mom shouted, running towards their room. "Go to bed, sweetie. We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay, mom," I rushed, racing to my room.

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The morning came quicker than expected, and though dad had a bump on his head and was still a bit off, as mom said it, he was- seemingly- okay.

Mom and I talked about the date, and she seemed glad it turned out well, before she left to care to dad, Blade, and Stoick II while I went to see Emerald.

"Emerald!" I called out. "Emmy, girl, let's go flying!" She eagerly came bouncing to me and pinned me down before she covered me in her saliva. "Ew! Emerald!" I rolled out from under her and tried to get some saliva off. "You know that doesn't wash out!" I teased.

We flew around most of the day, going far out. As we headed back, we were able to watch the sunset, which was lovely, before landing in the cove just before dark. I barely made it home on time.

The schedule repeated itself for the next week: wake up, breakfast, hang out with Ty in the late mornings, eat lunch, go play with Emerald.

Two days before Dragon Day, dad was excited as could be. He really wanted me to have a dragon. I hoped he would be proud of me. I really did.

Until then, I could only hope.

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