A/N: Alright, dear readers. This is my first attempt ever at a story. I don't expect it to be perfect, but I hope it is at least good. Please critique it at your will and tell me where to improve!

I don't own anything from any of the works or movies mentioned (How to Train Your Dragon, eventually Rise of the Guardians), but I do own my story.

Here goes...

A colorful hand brushes back a stray lock of hair with practiced ease. This movement, completely unconscious, does nothing to impede the young artist's focus on his current piece. A highly detailed oil portrait lay before him. A young woman stands in the center wielding a battle-axe, long blonde hair snakes down her back in a tight braid, somehow holding the essence of movement, as if she had just spun around to face a new foe. She faces a blast of fire, both at ease and poised to pounce, radiating the aura of a seasoned warrior.

Hiccup leans back and takes a deep breath, slowly releasing it while tilting his head towards the ceiling, stretching his stiff back. A smirk slowly creeps across his lips. There. Now I can finally give this to Astrid, he thinks and looks back at the painting, admiring his work. She always wanted to be a Viking… Hiccup stands and stretches, glowing in the happiness of finishing a piece well. Popping in some earbuds Hiccup began to clean up his workstation and brushes, methodically cleaning everything perfectly. He took his time and danced a bit, knowing nobody else would be there to see him. That tends to happen when you're in the campus art studio at 11pm on a Saturday. And there was the fact that he was the only student with access to the studio after hours.

His art professor, who goes by Anna due to her "formal name and title being too stuffy for her practice," simply adores him. Hiccup first took a course of Anna's two semesters ago and they hit it off right away. Anna enjoyed how devoted Hiccup was to every piece he worked on, even if it wasn't something he was interested in. They ended up talking after class quite often, making Hiccup late more than a few times, and quickly became friends. Towards the end of last semester Anna pulled Hiccup aside after class and slipped him a key to the art room.

Hiccup immediately questioned her if him having a key was even allowed and if he could, you know, get arrested or fined or something if he were caught. Anna just smiled and said, "You know, there are some perks to being head of the department. I just had to sign a few forms, jump through a few hoops, and claim you will be assisting me on future projects and art shows. Easy stuff. And we both know how much this extra time will help you with your work and everything."

Hiccup knew that Anna hadn't said 'and everything' to just fill space. He had told her how much painting and drawing helped him de-stress and relieve his anxiety. Gods, she's a great woman.

"And also," Anna continued, "I completely trust you Hiccup. I know you won't abuse this nor do anything to hurt this space. You're a great kid," she smirked in a motherly sort of way.

Hiccup smiled at the memory. He thought about it often, for there weren't many times in his life where people complemented him like that. And you weren't wrong, Anna. This definitely does help. With his Engineering major, Hiccup was often completely bogged down with homework. Calculus, physics, and logic were just a few of the heavy types of courses he was taking. I probably would have cracked from the stress if Anna hadn't done this for me, Hiccup thought for the thousandth time, smiling in a bittersweet way. Thank the gods for art. And for Anna.

Painting and drawing had always come easily to Hiccup. It just flowed from him in a way that was, and is still, hard to describe. When he worked his mind was absolutely focused. No intruding thoughts could distract him, nothing short of a shout in his ear or shove could break his concentration. It was so peaceful compared to his otherwise always-busy mind where unpleasant thoughts were all too common.

His cleaning finished, Hiccup dried off his now mostly clean hands, grabbed his book-bag, hit the lights, locked the room, and nearly fell down the stairs on his way out. "Damn this leg!" He half shouted in reaction. Although he was completely used to his prosthetic by now, it still, literally, tripped him up from time to time. Hiccup took a deep breath and sighed, shrugging to himself before shoving his way out of the final door of the building.

Soft fluorescent lights illuminated the mist coming from his mouth and nose, forming indiscernible shapes before fading to nothing. Well, of course they don't become nothing, Hiccup thought, Matter can never be created or destroyed and it's just the water condensing and freezing in the low energy environment outside, eventually dispersing enough that it is no longer observable without instruments, otherwise known as: It's cold out and I can see my breath then it goes away. Hiccup once again smirked, batting away the passing thought that he was weird. He enjoyed these little rants he went on in his mind. It keeps me busy and it's fun. So no, self, I will not stop.

15 minutes later and Hiccup was unlocking his door and kicking off his shoe in his unit. Flopping into bed ungracefully was all that was on his mind. That, and one other thing.

"Hey bud! Where are you at, cat?" He called out to the darkness.

A soft padding was the answer he was looking for as a sleek black cat slid out of the darkness. A few feet away from his human he stretched with a huge yawn and then sat and stared. Hiccup stepped forward, knelt, and scratched his cat behind the ears. The cat leaned into his touch and purred lightly. "You miss me bud?" The cat pulled back, gave his human a quick look, and padded towards the bedroom. Hiccup dropped his bag, locked the door, and made his way to the bathroom to get ready for bed.