Hiccup couldn't remember a time when he'd felt anger. He'd felt a heap of other emotions; resentment, angst, and loneliness being the top three, but never anger. Now, as he thought back on his life, when he'd been a runt that no one wanted to acknowledge, he was baffled with himself. Had he truly thought of himself as a useless nobody? Surely he had talked back, replied, complained? Well, if he had, no one bad bothered to listen. The other Vikings had just waved his complaints away, not even pretending to care.

Even his dad had ignored him, like when he came home bruised and beaten from bumping into Snotlout. Why? Because they were Vikings, and Vikings didn't complain about a broken bone, or a chopped of foot. They'd deal with it, because it was in their blood. A Viking that complained about a cut or a bruise- that's not a Viking, that's a wimp! And the Berkians had declared Hiccup the biggest wimp of all, just because he didn't like the feeling of bruised ribs, or the pain of sprained wrists. No, he should just learn to live with it, because that's what it meant to be a true Viking. And he thought of Berk as home?

Why? Berk was anything but a home. Countless times Hiccup had imagined leaving the village and all its inhabitants behind. It would've just been him and the world, all ready for him to explore, to find a place where he could fit in, where he would be accepted for being himself. If such a place even existed…

At least he could hide in the forge. There it was just him and Gobber, who, occasionally treated him like a human being. Out of all people on Berk, Gobber was the one Hiccup felt closest to. How weird was that? He felt closer to his father's best friend than to his father. That wasn't how it was supposed to be. Stoick should be the one to teach Hiccup how to prepare to live his life, how to deal with any obstacles that might get in the way, not Gobber. But, if Hiccup even as much as asked his dad for help, this was his answer:

"Not now, Hiccup, I'm busy. Now, go inside so I don't have to worry about you getting in the way."

And Hiccup was supposed to just accept that? Accept that his own dad couldn't be bothered to help his own son?

Yep, his life sure was one to be envied…

-00-

But that had all changed when Hiccup had found Toothless. Well, not everything changed at once, he was still treated like dirt by the rest of his tribe, but there was one thing that did change. He wasn't alone anymore. He finally had a friend who liked him, who wanted to spend time with him. A friend who comforted him when he was sad, who laughed with him when he was happy. Hiccup couldn't imagine his life without Toothless in it. It felt like he'd started a new life, and left his old one behind, never to be remembered again.

And Hiccup got to see the world from a whole new perspective. He was the first Viking to see the world from a dragon's point of view. And it was amazing! Living life on the ground now felt so… boring. When Hiccup was flying with Toothless, he truly felt like the world was just beyond reach. All they had to do was reach out and grab it. And oh, how Hiccup wanted to. How he wanted to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life with Toothless. He had actually planned it all out, in case life on Berk got worse, if that was even possible. He was sure he and his best friend could do anything they set out to do, as long as they had each other. What else could you possibly need?

But then, it got worse.
Hiccup was chosen to slay the Monstrous Nightmare. This was his worst fears coming to life. He couldn't kill a dragon, he didn't want to kill a dragon! But did anyone listen? Of course not.
He'd decided to leave Berk that very night, he couldn't bear to stay there a minute longer. He'd packed a basked with clothes and food, and headed for the cove, where he knew Toothless waited for him. If only he'd known he was being followed…

Astrid had ruined everything. Jealousy had reared its ugly head; she couldn't bear the thought of someone else being better than her, at anything. And he'd had a crush on her? Just because she was attractive? He'd really been pathetic back then, huh?

She'd seen Toothless. She'd tried to kill Toothless. Hiccup had never been as afraid as in that moment when Astrid raised her axe to his friend. He couldn't live without Toothless. He'd grabbed the axe and thrown it away, far from his dragon. He knew she was going to run back to the village and tell his dad. He knew Stoick would order Toothless to be killed. He knew he couldn't, wouldn't let that happen.

So, it was with this fierce determination, Hiccup grabbed the basket, got up on Toothless, and left.