Author's note:
So, after spending the last two years of my life writing a frozen fanfic, I decided it was really time for a change. So here I am!
Just before I start, I'm going to ask everyone to do their best to review. If you've read my frozen fanfic, you'll know how important it is to me. If you haven't... Well, I'll just tell you: without reviews, my motivation to write quickly dwindles. I have great respect for people who work so hard and only get one or two, but I'm not that sort of person. So, long story short, please review! Even a few words helps tremendously!
Now that that's said, on with the story!
Chapter One
TWO-LEGS were funny creatures to say the least. They considered themselves to be a community yet lived in separate nests; they ate those repulsive green things that sprouted from the ground which no self respecting dragon would ever go near, or even think of without disgust; they draped heavy furs and capes around themselves for surely no other reason but to hinder their own actions, for what other purpose could there be; and, oddly enough, they seemed to think the world of themselves. How they could see their species as being so amazing would, it had once seemed, forever be a mystery to dragon-kind; the things didn't even have any notable abilities—no claws, fangs, fire or speed—other than a dangerous level of stubbornness.
But dragons were a different picture. They were the top of the food chain, the supreme species whose mere shadow caused the strongest of beasts to tremble. And the most elite of the dragons, after the obvious exceptions of the massive kings and queens, was the deadly night fury. With claws as sharp as a timberjack's wings; speed only rivalled by a few specific individuals; strength great enough to allow them to take on foes so much greater in mass; a plasma blast so accurate that no foe ever stood a chance; and a build so perfect that they had no trouble sneaking around, they were undeniably the most terrifying and godlike of all dragons.
Night Furies were, however, incredibly rare. Being incapable of breeding offspring of their own species, their numbers were rarely higher than ten—and that would be in a miraculous generation for the dragons. Instead, they were little more than a perfectly mutated example of what could happen when lightning—only the pure, natural kind—struck a thirty seven hour old dragon egg; for the most part, the dragonet would die immediately, the electric shock too great. But, once in a blue moon—or perhaps once in a thousand—the developing dragon would not succumb, instead absorbing the charge and growing into a midnight black beast capable of bringing down entire swarms of stubborn two-leg soldiers.
Of course, there would always be an exception to the rule.
Such was the case with one young dragon, now one-hundred-and-eighty-two moons old. Though the rest of his nest-mates had died instantaneously, he had survived miraculously, hatching—much to the jubilation of the nest—alive and well. But the Queen, who was naturally bitter towards a potential rival, had taken it upon herself to belittle the hatchling as much as possible without causing outright hatred in her colony; thus, one of the most shame-inducing names in the hive was concepted.
Hiccup.
It was hardly a name felicitous for even a weak dragon, much less a noble night fury, but such was the way of the world; the greater would always rule the lesser and in a community where the Queen decided everything, from a hatchling's name to whether or not they would be allowed to survive the night, it was inevitable that she would have taken measures to lessen his threat.
In truth, however, Hiccup was not quite the mighty warrior that every dragon had expected him to become growing up. He'd always been different, always slighter than most—though that could have been partly blamed on his more slender species—and with a dangerous curiosity that did not mix well with his... Lack of refinement, to put it tenderly. For Hiccup was, in the end, a klutz; barely a day would pass in which there hadn't been some sort of incident revolving around him, whether it be something as minor as a broken artefact—trinkets stolen from those two-legs for their entertainment purposes, namely for the hatchlings—or, thankfully more occasionally, something as catastrophic as the entire food pit burning down to dust.
He had done that numerous times, and the food had since been kept frozen rather than simply being left out to face the night fury's flames—although the frozen fish was actually much more palatable than the ones which had funny green stuff growing on them anyway.
Today, however, was going to be a good, chaos free day, the dragonet had decided. The queen had awoken all of the hive early on, grumbling; now that the sun was beginning to set, she was downright evil, plaguing every dragon's mind with bombarding demands for food. Usually, she'd only shout out to her hive every week or so; for some reason, though she'd eaten two days ago, she was already hungry again.
That could only mean one thing; the last raid had been but a tiny success.
And Hiccup was not about to let that fact go forgotten.
"Oh, come on!" he grumbled, trotting after the massive rumblehorn before him and keeping a sharp eye for anything he could possibly break. Stoick the vast, one of the most renowned hunters in the nest, had taken him on as a hatchling, hoping he'd achieve greatness; by now, though, he simply seemed disappointed. It had been under the Queen's orders that all eggs over a week old had to be deposited into one massive hoard so that they could be more closely monitored; she wanted as many hunters to feed her as possible. As such, the newly hatched had to be bundled off onto any fully grown dragon willing to train them—and the original mothers and fathers could have no idea who were their own sons and daughters. It was quite a good scheme, in actuality; it often ensured that the strongest "If the mother's hungry again then you'll need all the dragons you can get in your next raid!"
"That may be true, but you'd be no more good than the mother herself! And we all know she'll never leave her nest to catch herself a snack."
"You've never given me a chance, though! I'm a night fury and you're my trainer—I could be great!"
Stoick paused, spinning so as to face the young dragon and snarling, his eyes narrowed. "Hiccup, when was the last time you did anything—anything at all—right?"
"I haven't broken anything yet!" Hiccup chirped, leaping forwards and nuzzling the larger dragon's side. "Stoick, just give me a chance! And, uh, if anything happens to me, then I'll be out of your scales as well!"
Stoick ground to a halt, momentarily stunned before he sighed, hanging his head and grunting. "Oh, fine—but if you're gonna screw up, don't you dare come back and shame me. So, go on ahead; you'll find the rest of the party at the main entrance."
"Really!" Hiccup bounced a little way up into the air, his tongue lolling out as his ear-appendixes flicked forwards, happy. Then giving a small bark he spun around and galloped away, his massive wings snapping out with a rush of wind; caught up in the exhilaration of the moment, he did not hear the cries from behind as the older dragon yelled at him to run around. Instead he simply launched himself from the ledge, gliding for a moment before beating his wings and soaring, managing to get halfway across the massive mouth of the den before he realised just what he was doing.
He felt the air become disturbed below him almost immediately; yelping, he twisted his tail fins so that he shot leftwards, barely avoiding the colossal mouth which emerged from the mist down below. Grunting and giving a short roar as one immense tooth scraped across his side, he shot forwards with one powerful flap and then gave another bellow, this time of elation.
He was getting out on a raid for the very first time in his life. And if one thing was for certain, it was that he was going to make the most of it.
Author's note:
So, that's the first chapter. Short, yes, but it was an important chapter in terms of setting the scene and establishing the characters and their home. I hope you liked it nevertheless, and fingers crossed you'll stick around to see what's next!
-Luna