Hiccup grew up learning many things. Don't steal food from dragons, stay away from the beach at sundown, and never, ever, leave the surrounding islands.
Of course, over his thirteen odd years, he was never known to actually listen to those rules. It showed in the way that he chose to fly off, even though he had been told not to, out and away from his island.
"Alright bud, come on, we can go faster!" Hiccup called out, crouching down on the black scales of his best friend. He gazed ahead into the mist as they climbed higher into the air. They had been grazing across the water for miles now, but as they neared the edge of the stretch of islands surrounding his home, they began to go higher.
"Alright Toothless, just a little higher." He whispered and gazed ahead through his mask, watching as the mist collected into droplets and slide down the scales covering his sleeve. They continued to slip down the scales as the wind rushed across his body, and as they gained speed, a sort of thrill pushed through him. He let out a breath of awe as they finally got high enough to see the stretch of mist covering his home.
For as long as he had been able to remember, this had been his home. The island of dragons, a place of wonder and also of terror. Still, he wouldn't trade it for the world. It was where he lived, and also where his mother lived. They had been together, though still alone, with the dragons in their hidden kingdom.
Still, Hiccup wondered. His mother, Valka, had regaled him with tales of his home, of Berk. She had never been able to tell him much though, before she became lost in her own thoughts. This only worsened whenever the topic of his father came up.
Hiccup let out a soft sigh as he rose to stand, staring out at the sky.
Below him, Toothless warbled and looked up. His lobes flapped against the sides of his head as he peered up at Hiccup with his bright green eyes.
"Yeah, I'm alright boy, I hope we are able to make it this time." Hiccup replied. He knew he was worrying Toothless, but it had become common as of late.
"Okay, lets go." He said after wrangling his thoughts. He dropped down so his legs cradled the dragon's neck. Leaning down against the scales and set his head on Toothless'. His arm reached up and flipped the hood of his mask over, so it now formed with a more pointed top, allowing the wind to go right over it.
Getting the drift, Toothless readjusted himself before shooting off further into the sky. A whistling, trademark to Toothless, sounded as the wind went over his wings. A grin spread across Hiccup's lips as they went faster and faster. His heart pounded as they continued, and he held his breath in anticipation. He needed to see beyond the borders, he needed to know.
He had spent years wondering who he was, who his people were and where he had come from.
You see, he wasn't born here, on this island or even in the Hidden Kingdom. In fact, he had been born on Berk with all the other Vikings. It was only when he got older, around four years past his birth, that he had joined his mother in her solitude.
"And where, do you think you are going?"
He heard her before he saw her. Without warning beige scales with red tinge fell over Toothless, and four wings appeared in his view. He slowed down out of habit before he slammed into the body flying before him.
Toothless let out a warble as they halted without warning, and Hiccup looked up to see a figure dressed in a painted wooden armor standing on top of a large four-winged dragon.
He felt a sad smile go across his face as he felt the disappointment radiating off of his mother from where she stood on her dragon Cloudjumper.
Hiccup swallowed as she held out her hooked staff to him, gesturing for him to grab on.
Toothless let out a groan, which was silenced by a sharp look from the Stormcutter. Toothless looked to the side as his rider stepped up and took the hook, guided up and onto Cloudjumper.
Toothless fell into flight beside Cloudjumper and they started flying back to the island they had been leaving.
Silence greeted them on their journey back. It started to pick at Hiccup, and looking up, he saw that his mother was facing away from him and toward the island.
"U-Uh…I'm sorry?" He spoke up, quiet at first but still loud enough that his mother could hear him. She said nothing, but he knew she heard him by the way she shifted.
"I know I wasn't supposed to go…" He started, looking down toward the ocean.
"Yes. So why did you, Hiccup?" Vulka spoke up, and Hiccup froze, looking up.
"I-I want to know more. Y-you told me…You told me a lot, but I want to know more, I want to know what is out there, and I want to know more about myself and my people?" Hiccup couldn't start once she began, continuing as he looked at his hands before peering up at his mother.
He flipped the hood back again as he noticed it was down. It fell back down as his mother looked down at him. She let out a soft laugh as his helmet fell back down before crouching in front of Hiccup. She took his chin in her hand, gently lifting his helmet off his head. She gazed down at him as she trailed his cheek with her hand.
"I know, that I haven't…I know I haven't been very open with you Hiccup, but I have my reasons." She spoke softly as she gazed at him through her mask.
Hiccup sighed and reached up, taking off her mask as well. It gave way easier than his because of the looser fit, and as he looked into her eyes, Hiccup saw the stress building on her. She was getting up in her years, and her hair was beginning to grey. It still held quite well in its braid but he knew that she wouldn't be able to do this forever.
"I know mom, but…I will need to know." He told her gently.
Her eyes closed and she glanced to the side, where Toothless flew moodily beside Cloudjumper. The Nightfury was a sight to behold. He was a beautiful specimen, but also loyal and one of a kind. In all her years she had never seen another like him.
She could trust him to take care of her boy.
"Okay." Vulka said, and she looked back to Hiccup.
"Go, go explore, go find yourself." Vulka told him.
Hiccup froze up for a moment, before his eyes widened and a smile spread across his lips. He bounced up quickly, only his years of riding on Toothless and Cloudjumper keeping him from falling off.
Toothless perked up from beside them, and he shook his body with a smile.
"After you eat something. You've been out all morning!" Vulka scolded, grabbing onto his ear and pulling as she scolded him. He let out a laugh and groaned as his mother smiled down at him happily.
He would just have to deal with this and then head out on his own.
I~~~~I
"We finally get to go bud." Hiccup spoke, grinning as he painted across his armor. Toothless wiggled and pranced around behind him.
They had ended up staying for the rest of that day to finish up some things around their home, which had settled Vulka's nerves quite a bit. She had told him he could explore past the borders of the island, but only if he packed accordingly and let her know before he took off.
Hiccup felt the anticipation flow through him as he held up his completed armor, looking over to Toothless. The dragon gave him his signature toothless grin, before nudging his hand so he could see the piece of armor Hiccup had finished.
It was a leather piece with wooden accents and black scales that Toothless had shed. He had painted over the rest of it with smashed of scales mixed with Toothless' saliva, creating a fireproof paint that worked wonders.
He had adjusted his armor again, making it so it would work a bit better for his trip. He also adjusted his staff so that he could catch himself on Toothless better than he normally did.
Using a hooked staff was harder with Toothless than most dragons because he didn't have the sharp barbs or spikes most did. Because of that his staff was better at being grabbed or giving Toothless something to hold onto. It also functioned like his mothers, but that was expected.
He slipped the armor over its stand and settled back down in his seat. Over the years he had become somewhat of an inventor. He had come across many raiders and their ransacked ships, taking from them what he needed to complete his inventions. Among them were his boots with the same barbs some dragons had, giving him extra grip, and some other gadgets.
He had even created his own weapons that used elements of the dragons he had around the Kingdom. He had a blade made of Zippleback gas, which when a click sounded, could ignite into a blade of fire. He also had a dragon whistle that he had painstakingly crafted and tested over and over.
"We finally can do it boy…We can go out into the great beyond, find Berk…We can see where I was born." Hiccup told Toothless as he scratched the dragon's chin. He couldn't wait.
He peered up at the wall and his drawings of the islands. He was excited beyond measure.
It was time that he explored past the island, past the Hidden Kingdom. It was time he saw his home.
I~~~~I
Well that's a wrap. I wasn't too sure how to start this, but I figured that this would be good. We'll just have to see where it goes. Thanks for reading, and please let me know if I can improve it in any way!