This idea was given to me by Meiniv. The story of Galatea and Acis is a Greek tragedy, but since I'm not too fond of tragic endings, I've edited a few of the plot points and added a little HTTYD flare :) This is a Guy/Guy Dagurcup story, Enjoy :)

Running Rivers

Chapter 01: Meeting

A long time ago, there was a beautiful and pristine forest.

It stretched all the way from the mountains to the beach, and it was said to be protected by spirits and monsters.

Humans would often venture onto this land, but they would never stay long. If the stories didn't keep them away, then the spirits themselves would soon frighten away anyone who sullied their home.

Such was the case when a group of travellers decided to set up camp in the dense forest near the river. They had heard the tales, just as everyone else had, but they dismissed them as nothing but bedtime stories for little children. At their campsite, they cared little for the surrounding terrain, going so far as to throw their rubbish in the waters and even relieve themselves there as well, not once considering the wildlife they were disturbing.

As Hiccup watched from the river, he witnessed the humans violate the river that he protected, and it infuriated him.

So, he planned on giving them a little fright as a warning.

From under the water's surface, he watched the travellers drink and chatter loudly amongst themselves, waiting for the right moment.

"Ready Toothless?" He whispered to the large entity behind him. The large figure gurgled behind him, "Okay... NOW!"

The travellers were obviously surprised when an explosion sounded from the river, water rocketed high into the sky, and thousands of droplets rained down on them. But what really terrified them, was when a creature jumped out of the water.

The creature was a dragon, large with scales that looked like they were made from the midnight sky.

The monster spread its wings wide and gave a mighty roar, baring its teeth and glaring at the humans with toxic green eyes. Needless to say, the humans didn't stick around much longer. They ran screaming far away from the river, out of the forest, and all the way back to civilisation. Hopefully they would tell the rest of their kind the 'horrors' they'd seen, then maybe the humans would be a little more wary about harming the wilderness.

A young boy poked his head out of the water, "Good job, Toothless."

The large dragon dropped the terrifying act, his teeth retracted and his pupils dilated, making him look much less threatening. He shook the water from his ebony scales, and turned back to his companion.

The boy's skin was a light with freckles across his cheeks and shoulders, he had brunet hair and green eyes with tints of blue in both, and he wore a simple blue tunic with no sleeves and silver trim, with a silver sash around his waist. He also had blue scales across his cheeks, forearms and shins, and webbing between his toes and fingers

The boy in the water looked almost like a human male around the age of 14, but he was actually a 200 year old water sprite. His name was Hiccup, and his dragon was a Night Fury named Toothless, and they'd been friends for many years now.

Hiccup's river used to run alongside the mountain, but due to a landslide, he'd been redirected. The only path he could take was through the forest, so Hiccup got to work, slowly eroding away the terrain and carving a new route for his river. It had taken years, even decades, and it was dangerous work. Needless to say some of the occupants of the forest didn't like the new water feature, and Hiccup, being the small spirit he was, must have looked like an easy target. At night, the rock golems came for him.

But Toothless had been watching over him.

The midnight dragon had been watching the boy curiously for months, admiring the small spirit's creativity and determination. That night, when the sprite finally took the chance to rest after all his hard work so far, the dragon saw the golems creeping forward. The dragon didn't like the look of them, so he did what came naturally, and protected the young spirit.

Hiccup awoke to find the large dragon watching over him from the edge of the river.

Hiccup wasn't sure why the dragon had protected him, he'd only ever heard stories of dragons being terrifying monsters, and Night Fury's were supposed to be the most monstrous and mysteries of them all. But this one... standing in the bright sunlight beside his river, it was an amazing sight to say the least.

When Hiccup had seen the dragon's retractable teeth, he'd named him Toothless, and the two had been friends ever since.

The dragon made from midnight sky had the power to merge with the elements, so alongside Hiccup, he'd become part water dragon. He'd been able to help Hiccup finish his river, all the way down to a small cove at the edge of the forest, that's where the two made their home.

Toothless became Hiccup's first friend, but he also gave the spirit something he never thought was possible. Being a river spirit, Hiccup was unable to walk on dry land, but by coating his scales in water, Hiccup was able to ride Toothless high into the sky.

He would never be able to set foot on land, or leave his river permanently, but on Toothless's back he could soar through the air and finally see the world beyond his waters, and the dragon would always bring him home safe to their cove. When he wasn't flying, Hiccup was protecting his river, making sure it was kept clean and flowing freely. Toothless was Hiccup's only friend, but the sprite was happy with the life he lived.

But one day, someone fell out of the sky.

/LINE BREAK/

Toothless and Hiccup had been playing in the cove, using sticks, or a log in Toothless's case, to draw in the dirt, Hiccup may not have been able to set foot on dry land, but he was at least able to lean his upper body onto the ledge of the lake.

Then a loud crack sounded behind and above him, the sound of a tree branch breaking , followed by a loud splash. Hiccup and Toothless turned to see a large gush of water coming from their pond, something big had fallen in.

Without really thinking about it, Hiccup dived beneath the surface and swam after the sinking mass.

The water sprite quickly caught up to it, and saw it was a person. Hiccup grabbed their arms, and pulled them back up to the surface of the water, Toothless then helped pull the stranger onto dry land.

The stranger looked a little like an 18 year old male human, but when Hiccup took a better look, he could see the new comer was actually forest spirit.

He had long brown hair tied in a tight braid, and he was tall and well built, dressed in a thick sleeveless green tunic that looked like it was made of moss. There was a thick leather belt around his waist, and leather ties around his forearms and shins, there were wooden pads on his shoulders and large wooden horns protruding from the sides of his head.

He was looked a little shabby, but also... kind of handsome.

Hiccup shook his head and turned back to the now coughing spirit, now was not the time to be having weird thoughts like that.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked

The forest spirit groaned and sat up, trying to clear his head and shaking himself free of water, Hiccup could see his eyes were a deep green with hints of brown.

"Mostly, I'm surprised my horns didn't break off."

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, "that's good, it sounded like you hit the water really hard."

Hiccup looked behind him, his eyes travelling up the rocky walls to the top, where a large tree with over hanging branches stood. But one of the thicker branches was broken, and now floating in the middle of Hiccup's lake.

"Were you sitting on that branch up there?" Hiccup asked.

The green spirits eyes snapped open, he suddenly looked very guilty, "Um... yeah... I was just... you know... sitting."

Hiccup just watched him for a little while as the spirit stuttered, then he just gave a slight laugh, "Well, I'm glad you're alright at least."

The other spirit looked surprised, he'd honestly never seen a smile with bright before, "Y-Yeah, well... thanks for saving me."

Hiccup gave another smile, "It's fine. So... what's your name?"

"It's Dagur, what about you?"

"My name's Hiccup."

Dagur was about to say something else, when he suddenly felt hot breath on the back of his neck. He certainly wasn't expecting to see a large black dragon inches from his face, and needless to say, he was... a little surprised.

Dagur screamed and leapt back, almost falling into the lake once more. "What the hell is that!?" he roared.

Toothless and Hiccup both stared at him with surprise and amusement, "Oh, this is Toothless, he's my dragon."

Dagur just stared wide eyed for a long time, "He's... He's your... dragon?"

"He's also my best friend," Hiccup watched Dagur with a concerned look. "Don't worry, he's just protective of me, he won't hurt you."

"Are you sure?" Dagur's eyes were wide, and he looked ready to either run or attack.

Hiccup was about to answer, but Toothless grew impatient and made the first move. He quickly lumbered up to Dagur and shoved him onto his front, Dagur was about to get up, until Toothless promptly sat on him. Dagur let out a squeak and tried to claw his way out from under the dragon, but Toothless just gurgled smugly, all the while Hiccup just laughed at the scene.

"Hiccup! Help! Get him off me!" Dagur gasped.

Hiccup kept laughing for a little while before finally calming down, "I told you he's friendly. Toothless, come here."

The large beast did as he was asked and trudged over to Hiccup, and Dagur was finally able to get to his feet. He was still surprised by the whole ordeal, the only thing he could think to say was...

"He's really heavy."

Toothless looked a little insulted, while Hiccup gave another laugh, "What did you expect? He is a big dragon."

Toothless's head snapped to Hiccup, a surprised and very insulted look on his face, he whipped his tail round and gave Hiccup a gentle slap to the back of the head. Dagur and Hiccup both gave a laugh, it was strange, neither of them had ever laughed like this before. Hiccup calmed and listened to Dagur's laugh, it was a little strange but unique, and it was deep like his voice, almost like it was echoing through wood.

Dagur then noticed the sun getting low in the sky.

"Sorry, I have to go, I need to make sure the trees get enough light while the sun's still up."

"Oh, sure," Hiccup sounded slightly sad.

Dagur paused and thought for a moment, "Could I... I mean... Can I see you tomorrow?"

Hiccup's head shot up, then a big grin took over his face "Yeah... I'd like that."

For some reason, watching Hiccup smile made Dagur's cheeks grow red, he quickly turned away. Hiccup doubted Dagur even realised the small pink flowers blooming on his horns, it looked almost... cute, a definite difference to his tough looking exterior.

Dagur gave Hiccup and Toothless one last nod, then started climbing back up the cliff and through a small gap in the rocks, manipulating the branches and using them to support his feet.

Once he was out of sight, Hiccup eased back into the water, the large smile still refusing to leave his face. He'd made a new friend, and he really hoped Dagur came back tomorrow. Toothless watched Hiccup float there for a second, he studying the smaller spirit as he smiled to himself and a blue colouring rose to his cheeks, he was blushing.

Toothless gave a smirk and gurgled to himself, catching Hiccup's attention, the dragon gave a smug look, "W-What are you looking at?" Hiccup dived under the water to hide from the dragons stares, causing Toothless to give a deep chuckle.

This is going to be kind of short in comparison to my other stories, but as soon as this is finished, I'll get started on the story you all voted for. At the moment, it looks like it'll be Berserk Hooligan, if you want to vote, check out my Story Vote and leave a comment :)