A/N: Sorry about that long period with no updates. School just got out for me, so I'll try and make things up to y'all with more updating. I might have to reread certain stories before continuing them, but until then I'll be updating smaller stories and anything else that's been sitting in my files waiting. Thanks for understanding!

Hiccup slouched in his desk chair as his father, uncle, and mentor stated at him from his bed. The three looked somewhat ridiculous sitting in the cramped room together. However, given the circumstances, Hiccup didn't have it in him to even smile. Instead he grimaced as they informed him of what was expected from him as he was approaching the age of sixteen.

"Son, I know you're a little nervous about this-"

The teen snorted at the word choice. "That's one way of putting it." Stoick chose to ignore this as he continued, though his state had become a little more annoyed.

"-but it is a tradition among heirs and you are almost of age. You may not be a fan of tradition-" this time it was Gobber who interrupted, snorting at the slightly younger man.

"-which you've proven by training dragons."

Stoick was much more aggressive in the glare he shot at his friend, obviously tired of the constant interruptions. "Hiccup, it must be done."

Hiccup's eyes pleaded with the three, though he knew it was a lost cause. "Can't I play the 'I'm technically only going to be four' card?"

None of the Vikings even bothered responding, only throwing the boy excessively pitying glances. Alright, then; time for a different approach.

"Did you even have to do this?" Hiccup directed at his father, eyebrows raised in accusation. Perhaps this was a test of whether he could stand up for himself. But, no- as soon as the words had left his mouth, Stoick was pulling up his tunic to reveal that he had been through the same thing. "Aw, what? Why is the one you're planning for me huge?!"

Stoick and Gobber actually had the decency- or perhaps the audacity- to blush. They didn't meet the heir's eyes, looking downright uncomfortable. Spitelout finally filled him in, voice not bothering to elicit even the slightest sympathy.

"Smaller the boy, bigger the compensation." Great, being a hiccup was going to pay off for him once again. "As you can see, you don't quite take after Stoick all that much."

"Now, we know this is going to hurt a bit. That's why we wanted to give you a heads up. Plus, it'll be a bit of an adjustment." Gobber tried to explain, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"No, no-no-no. Uh-uh. Losing a foot? Adjustment. This whole mess? Yeah, this constitutes as the end of the world." Hiccup grimaced, eyes wide. This wasn't going to end well for him. And what would his friends think when they found out?

"Hiccup, that's enough. We're going to take care of this at sunset; make sure you are ready." Stoick silenced his son, standing up with the others and exiting without another word. Hiccup remained sitting at his desk, looking at the design the three had had him sketch out. At least he'd had a little say- if albeit minuscule- in this whole operation. As he took in every last detail, as well as the vastness of the image, he only had one thought: this was going to be a doozy.

"Alright, lad?" Gobber asked, taking Hiccup's shirt from him and placing it on the workbench beside him. He prepared all his materials, watching the jittery teen with interest and concern.

"I'm about to be branded for life, of course not." He deadpanned, resisting the urge to run away. Not that he really could- his dad and uncle were standing guard nearby, blocking any escape. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Y'know, son, it'll be easy to keep covered if need be." Stoick offered hopefully. This wasn't enough for the boy, though.

"Yeah, but someone's bound to find out. Something of this size isn't exactly subtle." Hiccup groaned, covering his face in his hands as the moment of truth drew nearer. Gobber quickly prepped his torso and arms with a cool ointment, then began his work. Hiccup was surprised he could keep it together; he supposed he'd been through worse, but that didn't make this seem any more like a walk in the park.

"He looks like he's about to be sick..." Spitelout chuckled, earning a grin of agreement from Stoick. Gobber was too busy on his masterpiece to joke around, not wanting his apprentice in any more pain than necessary.

Finally, after a period of time long enough to make Hiccup numb to any feeling, the job was done. Hiccup quickly slipped on his tunic, not interested in the slightest in how his appearance had changed, and walked out mumbling grumpily.

"Think he'll be alright?" The chief asked the others, drumming his fingers on the doorframe.

"Oh, just give him some time. Once he gets used to it, he'll probably love it." Gobber waved off the concern, walking over to get started on a project. With that, they all parted ways for the night.

The next morning n his room, Hiccup observed his frame in the mirror. He held his tunic in his hand, itching to replace it but needing to take in his new image.

"Not as bad as I thought, but not exactly my cup of tea..." Hiccup mumbled to Toothless, who was watching with mild interest from his slab. Hiccup continued to poke and prod, frown wavering only slightly. Admittedly, it looked pretty darn cool; the only problem with that was that Hiccup didn't generally consider himself a cool person.

"Ok. Ok." Hiccup calmed himself, once more replacing his shirt as he tore his eyes from his reflection. "The best way to keep this a secret is to just act natural." Toothless huffed in agreement, following his ride out the door to make their way to go to training.

"You're late." Oh, gods. This would be harder to explain than he was hoping.

"Uh, ye- yeah. Um, sorry about that...problems with my foot." Perfect excuse, she'd undoubtedly feel too awkward to push him any further.

"Oh." She blushed, taking a step closer threateningly. "Are you sure that's it? You seem a little tense." Astrid dismissed the others with a wave of her hand, letting them know this was no longer their concern. The blonde grew closer, causing Hiccup to fight the urge to step backwards. If he did it would most likely reveal his lies.

"Tense? Me? Why- why would I be tense?" There was no way she was backing off, that much was clear. She grabbed his arm, twisting it as though she knew it might be the key to unraveling his secret. He instinctively pulled it back, causing her to smirk in success. Her victorious grin fell however when she caught a glimpse of the skin under the tunic. The rustling had unsettled the fabric, and now she was face-to-face with the problem. Hiccup braced for the explosion as she unceremoniously ripped the shirt off his body.

"Is that- woah-ho-ho!" Tuffnut snickered, walking back into the action with his friends.

"Hiccup..." Astrid's voice was like an icy venom, gearing up to rant. "Is this what I think it is?"

The heir sighed, not bothering to cover the stylized Night Fury that stood out so plainly on his body. "If you think it's a tattoo, then unfortunately yes. I didn't want it, but apparently it's tradition or some dragon dung like that..."

Astrid glared at the ink, before a smile fought its way into her face. "Not going to lie, it's pretty epic..."

"Well, I'm glad someone likes it." The boy mumbled, blushing at the staring he was receiving. It might not have been so bad if they would simply say something; as it was, though, only Astrid had the courage to speak up.

"Hmm. Maybe later we can meet up, and I can get a closer look at it." She seemed positively flustered as she sashayed away, and Hiccup felt his eyes grow wide.

Maybe this tattoo did come with a few perks...

A/N: Okay, so once again sorry about the delay in my other stories. The end of school was killer, but I should be back on track now. I'll post any small stories/chapters I find waiting currently in my file until I reread and write. I hope this is enough to appease you guys for a while...

But seriously, if there's a story you want to see updated sooner than later please PM or review about it. I also take requests, though I only write new things when I'm in a rut or if they're relatively short. I do have one in the works (someone asked for an M rated Dragon Nip, but I'll be honest in saying I'm not doing as well on it as I'd hoped).

Bye!