Heather Together Chapter 1
A/N What would it take to get Hiccup away from Astrid and into the arms of someone else? Well, if that someone-else washed ashore in the middle of the movie, instead of much later during the CN series... things might have turned out very differently.
I wrote this story because multiple people requested it. Rated T for a bit of lime flavor at the end. The language is all K. Heathercup.
o
Hiccup was pretty sure he'd have trouble falling asleep tonight.
He'd taken his first untethered ride with Toothless today, and nearly got them both killed. Together, they'd survived a mile-long free-fall and a full-speed ride through a maze of rocks that should have been the death of them. In the process, they'd shown one another that they could trust each other with their lives, even if his dragon did force him to fly through his own fireball. Then he'd learned that the Book of Dragons was full of terrible errors about Terrible Terrors, which forced him to wonder what other mistakes were in that book that supposedly contained "everything we know about every dragon we know of."
Now they were flying back to the cove, slowly and easily. He would leave Toothless there, where he'd be safe, and walk back to town. There, he would continue to watch his life spiral out of control. Everyone in town thought he was a great dragon fighter, even though killing the great creatures was the last thing he ever wanted to do. Their adulation would turn to hatred if they ever knew he was riding and befriending a dragon! And Astrid, whom he'd been crazy about ever since he realized girls were different from boys, was one step away from hating his guts. He'd committed the unpardonable sin of outdoing her in Dragon Training, mostly due to the things he'd learned about dragons from the Night Fury. Yes, it was wonderful to have a friend like Toothless, but he was paying a steep price for that friendship. All this stress would keep him tossing and turning for hours.
As they flew home, he glanced down. On the beach below them, there was a small overturned boat. Berk lived from the sea and the fish they caught from it; they took very good care of their boats. An abandoned boat was something unusual. He directed Toothless to land near it, walked over, and looked underneath it.
He found a very scared-looking girl.
"Uhh, hey," he stammered. "Hey, there!" She started away, frightened.
"It's okay! We're friends!" he tried to explain.
"Do you have any water?" she asked through parched lips.
"No, but we can take you to where there's plenty," he said.
"We?" she asked. Toothless chose that moment to stick his head under the boat, and the girl pulled back in terror.
"It's okay! He's a friend, too."
"That's a dragon!" she gasped.
"Yeah, I'm glad you noticed that. This is Toothless, I'm Hiccup, and you are...?"
"Heather."
"Okay. Toothless, this is Heather." The dragon sniffed and backed away, his eyes narrowing to slits.
"He's not real good with strangers, but he won't hurt you," Hiccup went on.
She shook her head in disbelief. "W-where am I?"
"This is Berk," he answered. "How did you wind up here?"
"My family and I were on our way home to our island when our boat was attacked by pirates," she said. "They attacked our boat and took us back to our island, laying siege to it. I was able to escape, but my mother and father – they weren't so lucky."
He extended his hand to her; she took it hesitantly. "Let me take you back to the village. You can get food and water there, and a place to stay. My dad's the chief; he'll get you whatever help he can give. Of course, he's not here today; he's out hunting dragons."
She stood slowly. "Your dad is hunting dragons... and you're friends with a dragon?"
"Yeah, it's complicated," he nodded. "And the part about me being friends with a dragon... that isn't exactly public knowledge. I'd really, really appreciate it if it stayed that way."
"Got it," she nodded. He climbed into Toothless' saddle and held out his hand to her. She took it even more hesitantly this time, but allowed herself to get seated on the black dragon's back.
"Take us back to the cove, Toothless, nice and easy." The dragon grunted, but flew straight and low to the place he called 'home.' As soon as they dismounted, Heather ran for the water and took a long, deep drink. She didn't even care that her thick black braid got soaked.
"Oh, that is so much better! Thank you," she sighed. "Now, where's this town we're going to?"
"It's a bit of a walk," he said. "Almost an hour, more if you're tired."
"I think I qualify," she nodded. "While we walk, can you tell me more about this dragon you're riding?"
"Toothless is... kind of a secret," he began. "But since you already know about him, I can't see any harm." As they walked, he explained how he'd brought the Night Fury down in battle, set him free, won his trust, and built the saddle and artificial tail so he could fly again.
"I never heard of someone being a friend to dragons before," she said. "Most Vikings just want to kill them."
"I think they all do, except for me," he said ruefully. "I'm doing well in Dragon Training, but I've never landed a blow on a dragon in my life. If I'm not careful, I could win it all, and – oh, joy! – would Astrid ever love me for that!"
"Who's Astrid?"
"Oh, she's... she's this girl," he shrugged. "She's a great fighter. She was winning in Dragon Training until I started doing better."
"Is she your girlfriend?"
He chuckled sadly. "I wish. She's mad at me because I'm beating her in Dragon Training. Even if she wins, I don't think that will do me any good. She never even knew I existed until I got in her way."
They walked on in silence until they got to the village. Hiccup explained that he would probably be mobbed when he got there, but he'd try to introduce her to as many people as possible. She nodded dubiously; it didn't seem possible that someone as thin and un-Viking-like as Hiccup would be the subject of public adulation.
Nevertheless, that was exactly what happened. As he walked down the street, men and women dropped what they were doing to greet him and ask how he was doing. He introduced Heather to all of them; the teen-age boys were especially eager to make her acquaintance. When she stopped following Hiccup because she felt crowded, the ones named Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut followed her instead. That was no problem; she knew how to handle boys.
One girl stood off at a distance, scowling. "Would that be Astrid?" Heather asked her little flock of admirers.
"Yes, that would be Astrid," Snotlout nodded. "She's mine; she just doesn't know it yet. But there's plenty of me to go around. I'm not selfish."
"That's good to know," she smiled.
As the sun went down, Hiccup arranged for Heather to sleep in his room until they could make other arrangements. "I have to spend a little time in the forge," he said. "I'll be back later."
She stretched out on the bed in Hiccup's room. For the first time since she'd landed on Berk, she had some time to think.
My project is off to a good start, she thought. This Hiccup is good at fighting dragons, he rides his own pet dragon, and he's very trusting. Savage will be happy to hear about him.
Another part of her thought, He's trusting and kind, and he isn't full of himself like most boys. Do I really want to hand him over to them?
You have to, said the first part of her mind. It's the only way you'll ever see your parents again.
