Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III stared down at the copy of the dragon manual. Not the new copy he was helping create, the old one. The KOS, Kill on Sight, version. In his mind, he knew that the little information in this manual wouldn't do for his new version. The KOS version detailed the best way to kill dragons, only listing the bare minimum of facts. And it was so that his plan had formed.
It had begun simply enough…the dragons were their friends now, and the old manual was greatly outdated. Of course, who better than the first Viking to ride a dragon to fix it? And so, Hiccup had been commissioned to make the new manual. So, for a few months he'd studied the habits and rituals of the local dragons. Zipplebacks, Nadders, Nightmares, Terrible Terrors, and even the Night Furies were now detailed in the new version of the manual. But what about the other dragons? And so, the plan had formed in his mind. It was time for him to go abroad, to find the exotic species of dragon.
And so, it was in his room, at his desk that he sat, staring at the old manual, wondering if he should bring it with him. He was in the middle of packing for his trip. He had no clue how long it would last or the supplies he would need on the journey.
'The old manual had plenty of flaws, but it should be worth it in the end,' he decided, and swept it into his pack. He tied the bag shut and set it by the door.
'Still midday…' Hiccup thought. He was to leave tomorrow morning, assuming nothing delayed him. He decided to go for a walk through Berk, seeing as how it would be unlikely he'd see it again for sometime. As he left his home on the hill, he paused to marvel at the changes that had come about in the last six months.
Dragons and life with Dragons had changed the village, in most cases for the better. The bright scales brought colors to Berk, and had given the village a more festive air to it. Dragons now fed from the large torches, eating copious amounts of fish. Nowhere seemed to be safe from the touches of the Dragons. 'But there are some disadvantages…' Hiccup thought as he felt a squish under his foot. The dragons didn't seem to have a designated bathroom area.
Hiccup's musings had occupied him while he'd walked down from the hill, his prosthetic no longer bothering him. In the center of the village, a relatively new building stood. The Dragon Keepers Headquarters, a organization Hiccup had helped create. The Dragon Keepers were a group of people Hiccup had hand selected to help him care for the new influx of dragons. Fishlegs was among the first, and now, with Hiccup soon to leave, had taken over managing the organization, much to his delight.
"Fishlegs, I think you're going to have to do something about this waste problem!" Hiccup said, walking into the building and finding Fishlegs at his desk, paperwork strewn everywhere.
"Tell me about it!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "I'm already swamped trying to get more watering troughs built in the higher parts of the village, not to mention trying to find people that are willing to carry water up to them to be refilled, and-"
"Whoa, Fishlegs calm down!" Hiccup cut in. "Why don't you assign one of the Keepers to it? Get Gobber to modify a barrel or two so a dragon can carry it, and assign it to some of the larger dragons? I'm sure Spitelout wouldn't mind."
"That's…that's…well, that might actually work." Fishlegs sighed, head collapsing on the desk in front of him. "Why do you have to leave me with all this Hiccup? You're way better at it than me. And then you're taking Astrid with you…now who am I going to get to run air patrols?"
Hiccup grimaced slightly. It wasn't his idea to get Astrid to come along, but she had insisted, and in private, she had told him she couldn't be away from him for some large, unknown length of time, and that it wasn't fair for just him and Toothless to be going on the adventure of a lifetime.
Suddenly, one of Fishlegs assistants, one of the younger Vikings ran up and began to inform Fishlegs of a fire a surprised Nightmare had accidentally set in one of the new stables down by the docks. As Fishlegs rushed to get aid to the blaze, Hiccup made his exit, going to find Toothless.
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Toothless was exactly where Hiccup had expected, sunning himself in the little bottom that they had first met in, resting up for the big day tomorrow. 'Or so', Hiccup told himself, 'that would be his excuse'.
Hiccup sat down and leaned against the Night Fury's scaly back. There would be no moving him until he decided to get up, even though Hiccup needed to make the final, last minute, nit-picky tweaks to Toothless's new long distance saddle. It was one he had designed with comfort in mind, the padding on the seat doubled, with slots for a removable back rest that Hiccup had made after realizing he'd get tired of leaning forward all the time. The saddle had also been extended slightly to allow for more comfortable two person travel, though Astrid would be riding her Nadder, Bluebell. The straps that held the saddle on to Toothless had also been adjusted with more padding in areas that might irritate Toothless during long flights.
Along with Toothless's new saddle, Hiccup had also created a two set of pouches that slung over the sides of the saddle, giving more storage area than just Hiccup's pockets. A duplicate set and saddle had also been made for Bluebell. All this gear now sat inside the office at the forge. 'THE FORGE!'
"Toothless, get up buddy, we have to go meet Gobber! He told me he had something for us!"
The Dragon opened one eyelid, staring at Hiccup, closed his eye, then shook his head slightly.
"Toothless, if you don't get up, I'm going to start bathing in smoked eel." Hiccup threatened. The dragon opened both eyes and looked up at him, a hurt expression on his scaly face.
"Ruuurr," Toothless rumbled, standing up and stretching before allowing Hiccup to climb onto his back. They soared into the air, and in moments had landed outside the forge. Inside, Hiccup heard Gobber banging away.
"Hiccup, that you?" Gobber asked, turning as Hiccup entered the door. "Ah, yes it is. Not a moment to soon, aye?"
"Sorry about that, I had to convince Toothless to move." Hiccup said, and he heard an indignant snort from outside. Like it was his fault Hiccup was late.
"Well spirited he is." Gobber nodded to himself. He then set his massive had on Hiccups head, placing a helmet on him. Hiccup blinked in surprise. "It's your old helmet, I just made a few tweaks."
Hiccup removed the breast-hat from his head, and studied it. On the four sections the helmet was divided into had been painted red with the white skull, like Toothless's new tailfin. The remaining three were black.
"I guess this is some sort of symbol for me now?" Hiccup asked, never really understanding where it came from.
"It was something your Dad gave me. He said your mother drew it, and he thought you might like it." Gobber said, walking to the wall and unpinning a paper. There, in his hand, he held the spiked skull, tinged by red in the background. Hiccup took the page and admired it, before replacing it on the wall.
"I never knew. It certainly is interesting." Hiccup said.
"Indeed. But I have one more gift for ya." Gobber reached back to what he was working on. A long dagger with a dragon's head for the hilt was in his hand. "Only weapon you ever were decent with. It's going to be a matching set, but the other one will be ready tomorrow. I got a late start."
Hiccup admired the single dagger Gobber had forged. It was incredible. It seemed to be made for his hand. Then, his brain reminded him of something. Toothless might not like him carrying a weapon. He felt a sniff behind him.
"Raaagggghhh." Toothless gave a bellow of approval.
"Really?" Hiccup asked. The dragon gently nosed the dagger in his hand. "Alright."
"See, even your beastie knows you need some protection. If you don't stab yourself with it." Gobber laughed, a bellowing sound. "Now, go on, find that girl of yours. You've got a trip to go on tomorrow, and I don't need you in my way."
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Hiccup did just that. He sought out Astrid at her house. She was in the middle of stuffing clothes in her pack when Hiccup entered, carrying her saddle bags.
"Hi Astrid." He said. 'What a lame greeting…'
"Rrr…fit! Hi Hiccup." Astrid said, trying now to stuff a leather bound book into the swollen pack.
"You could use these, you know?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the saddle bags he had custom made for Bluebell. "That's what I made them for."
"What are they?" Astrid asked, puzzled by yet another of his strange creations.
"Storage bags that hang over the sides of dragons."
"Like saddle bags on horses?"
"Exactly. I custom made these for Bluebell."
Astrid walked over to Hiccup and punched him on the arm. "That was for messing with Bluebell without telling me. And this is for the thoughtfulness." Astrid stepped forward and kissed him.
After a few seconds, she broke away, taking the saddlebags from Hiccups hands as he reveled in the afterglow of their lips meeting, utterly, blissfully happy. Astrid had to suppress the urge to giggle when she saw that face.
"Your welcome." Hiccup said, dreamy tone still in his voice. "So I suppose you're resolute about coming with me?"
"You know I'm not going to let you go out there by yourself. You'd get yourself killed. Besides, I doubt I could stop myself from following you after I got lonely."
"And how long would that take?" Hiccup asked, slyly, as he eased himself down on the bed.
"Oh…it depends on how fast I'd get asked out after you left." Astrid joked. Hiccup grimaced. He didn't like that idea. "Oh, don't give me that look. You know I'm joking."
"Oh sure. It's easy for you, oh Goddess of the sky." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. Astrid silenced his sarcasm with a glare, then grabbed him by the shirt, kissed him, and threw him back down on the bed. He had the glazed look in his eyes again. She smiled.
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The rest of the day flew by, and turned into night. Hiccup and Astrid were in the Great Hall, getting read to enjoy the feast prepared for them and their departure.
"A toast!" Stoick bellowed. "A toast to my son, rider of dragons, and writer of instruction manuals!"
The gathered crowd laughed, and the feast began in earnest. Soon, a few musical Viking began to play a lively tune, and people began to dance. As the night wore on, and more alcohol was consumed, the mood became more and more boisterous.
Hiccup found himself pulled aside by Snotlout, who had clearly drank to much. He seemed to be sad, almost depressed.
"Hishcup…Hischup…lisshen." Snotlout slurred loudly in Hiccups ear. "While yur outsh there…give 'er a good one fer me, 'kay?"
"What…?" Hiccup asked, brows knitting together. The stench of Alcohol on his breath was overwhelming.
"Ya knowsh. Giv' Assshtrid a good ol' jurmpin' fer me. The old bumpy-OOF!" Snotlout doubled over as Astrid's fist struck him in the gut. Hiccup had flushed a bright shade of red, and it only worsened as he saw Astrid's pissed expression.
"Some people…" she said, locked her arm around Hiccups, and strutted off with Hiccup in tow, now utterly confused.
The celebration lasted well into the dark hours, but not for Hiccup and Astrid. They said goodnights outside the feasting hall (a long, passionate kiss) and headed off to their respective homes, Hiccup with the glazed look, still slightly red as he remembered Snotlout's comments, and Astrid with a happy, almost beaming look.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Alright, so here's the first chapter of a long epic adventure story...So, read and review, and enjoy!
All uses of the name Bluebell are credit to: Vrenna Vrien or Enchantable on