A/N: The notes at the end will give an explanation to my portrayal of Henry
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon
Chapter 1: Henry
"Henry, what brings you to our island?" Stoick inquired.
Henry looked around at the crowd, as if expecting them to suddenly attack him and his friends. The Berkian chief noticed the discomfort and turned to the rest of the villagers. "Alright, everyone! Clear out! Come on, let's give them some space."
The crowd reluctantly dispersed, leaving just Stoick, the Dragon Riders and their dragons.
"Like I said, it was unintentional." The new-comer, Henry, answered, feeling a bit relaxed now that there wasn't that much of an audience. "One of my dragons over here has trouble flying. The other dragons then tried to carry both of us instead, but that didn't really work out too well."
Hicca took a look at the dragon Henry was talking about and noticed the problem. "Her wings are broken." She started to approach the dragon for a better look when the other four dragons came in front of her and started growling once again. Midnight immediately came to her humans side and growled back at the dragons.
'You better not come any closer!' One of the dragons growled in its' dragonish language.
'Right back at you!' Midnight growled back.
"I wouldn't get closer if I was you. These guys are not really a fan of meeting new people." Henry explained.
To his surprise, the girl just gave him a kind smile. "Noted." She said to him.
Hicca put a hand on her dragons' head to calm her down. "It's okay girl. There's no danger here."
Midnight calmed down, but still kept her guard up.
Hicca then took a step forward, looking at the four dragons in front of her. One dragon has a green body with brown scales and a long snake like neck, similar to a Zippleback only with one head and a longer jaw. Two dragons of the same specie with one having a brown body with black accents and the other also brown but with yellow accents. The last dragon has an orange-colored body with its front limbs shorter than the back limbs and horns on its head and its snout.
"I mean it. There's no danger on Berk. None of us mean any harm. We're a dragon friendly island. I can help your friend if you let me." Hicca said, looking at all four dragons in the eyes as she spoke.
The four dragons exchanged glances at one another, as if having a mental debate. The dragon they were protecting then stepped forward to get a better look at the human. This dragon has a blend of yellow green colored scales, a rounded horn top with a green colored star spot on it and a ledge under its' chin.
Hicca, much to Henrys' confusion, extended out her hand upwards to the dragons' snout and looked away, waiting for the dragon to make a decision. The dragon looked the outstretched hand and sniffed it. It then moved its' snout into her palm, purring at her touch, showing its friends that it does trust her.
Henrys' eyes widened in shock, betraying his stoic expression, at what he was seeing as the girl patted his friends snout before moving to the injured dragon with the other four dragons giving her room. "How-"
"Just like my sister said, we are a dragon friendly island. We've learned to befriend dragons and earned in their trust and in turn, we give them our trust." Hiccup explained to the newcomer. "My name is Hiccup, by the way, and that is my twin sister Hicca who's checking up on your friend there."
Henry said nothing in response as he took the information in. Still resolved to keep a sharp eye on the girl who was inspecting his injured friend, just in case. He knows better than to let his guard down.
"Does this dragon have a name?" Hicca asked, looking up at Henry.
Once again, Henry was caught off-guard, though he tried not to show it. He thought he was the only one in the Archipelago who would think of naming dragons. Apparently not. "Her name is Wildstar."
"Wildstar?" Hicca tested that name out, before smiling at her new patient. "I like that name a lot. And what about the other dragons?"
"And what species are they? We've never seen these kinds of dragons before." Fishlegs said, his excitement never wavering.
Henry looked between Wildstar and her apparent new friend and then towards his other dragons who seemed to be more calmer since Wildstar accepted Hicca. He then decided to introduce the other four dragons to the people of Berk. "Her name is Scout." He gestured to the dragon with the green body and brown scales. "The male here is Sandtrapper and the female is Sandstorm." He first gestured to the dragon with black accents and then to the one with yellow accents. "And his name is Lockjaw." He gestured to the last dragon with the orange-colored body.
"And their species?" Fishlegs pressed.
"For you guys to find out." Henry simply said. He had to be careful on what information to give them. Especially on his dragons
Fishlegs was disappointed at the response but decided that it was probably better if he didn't push any further.
"Well, I've got good news and bad news for you, girl." Hicca said to Wildstar, getting the others attention. "Good news is that your injuries can be fixed. Bad news is, is that it could take a few weeks for you to fly again. Your wings are going to need some stitches and slings." She then turned to Henry. "It would be best to stay here on Berk until she fully recovers."
Henry looked a little conflicted by this decision.
"It's no trouble for us." Stoick reassured. "As long as you mean no harm to our island, you and your dragons are welcome to stay as long as you want."
"Now we don't have a spare house for you and your dragons, but we do have a place for all five of your dragons and you can stay at our place-"
"Uh, no offense, but I would actually prefer it if I could stay with my dragons." Henry interrupted.
Hiccup was surprised at that. "Um, well you could, but the thing is, the place to keep them doesn't have a bed for humans."
"It's fine I've slept on the ground multiple times." Henry replied, without offering any further explanations.
"Well…" Hiccup looked to his twin, who just shrugged. "Okay, then. This way."
It has been several hours since they crash-landed on Berk. Sandtrapper and Sandstorm were play-fighting each other while Scout and Lock-jaw were playing tug-of-war with a barrel and Wildstar was resting after getting treated by Hicca. Henry was looking around their new temporary home.
"Berk Dragon Academy.' Henry mused as he looked around the place he and his dragons were temporarily staying at.
Hiccup, the heir of Berk, explained how they used this place to help in lessons in training dragons. 'Training dragons' Henry noted, was the word Hiccup used. Not 'controlling dragons' or 'keeping dragons in line' or 'imprisoning dragons', the terms he was more familiar with. Looking at the Berkian dragons, they all seem happy here. They roamed around freely, none of them had any visible scars nor did they have a look of fear in their eyes. It would seemed that the Haddock boy was right, this place was definitely dragon friendly.
But Henry knew better than to trust just that. He knew not to get drawn to anyone or anything just because they seemed good on the surface. He can't take that risk. Especially with his dragons with him and with Wildstar in the condition she is. He looked at Sandstorm, Sandtrapper, Lock-jaw and Scout, all of whom received scars from the Hunters. Scars that, no doubt, these Berkians have definitely noticed. He should leave with his dragons while they still can, but again with Wildstar injured it would be more of a risk to leave than to stay. So Henry and his dragons just decided to stay and play by ear until they can leave.
"Hey Henry." A voice that is starting to get familiar to him, called out bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked and saw the Haddock girl, Hicca walk in the Academy with her a dragon, a Night Fury. Before this, Henry thought Night Furies were extinct and now he found not one but two Night Furies. What his father would give to have his hands on one, let alone two.
"I noticed you weren't at the Great Hall for dinner and then I realised, silly me, you don't know where the Great Hall is because none of us showed you around anywhere on Berk except to here. Anyways, Midnight and I brought you guys some dinner." Hicca explained.
The five dragons stopped what they were doing, with Wildstar waking up from her slumber and immediately went to the source of food. That was when Henry noticed that the girl and her dragon had five baskets filled with fish while Hicca had a covered tray in her hands.
"I hope this is enough for you. If not I can get more. Also Midnight and I can show you around Berk since you guys will be staying here for a while." Hicca offered.
Henry looked at the girl as she talked. She definitely stood out from her little group, considering that her friends just watched from a safe distance, while her brother was also accommodating, probably as protocol for next in line as chief, but Hicca seems to go the extra mile for him. Is she always this caring to strangers? Maybe that comes with her wanting to be a healer as she has mentioned before.
It does kind of unnerves Henry a little bit. No one can be that nice, can they?
"So… the tour?" Hicca asked, shaking Henry out of his thoughts once again.
"Oh, um, no thanks. I'll mostly be staying with Wildstar until she gets better." Henry said
Hicca looked a little disappointed at that, but then smiled. "Oh okay then. If you prefer that. But here." She opened her satchel and took out a parchment and charcoal. She opened the parchment, revealing a map of Berk. "Here's the Dragon Academy where you guys are staying. That's my house. If you need anything from me, my brother or our dad, you can come by our place. If we're not there, you can leave a note or you can go to the forge which is here or the art shop which is next door to it. My best friend runs that place. And here is the Great Hall." Hicca explained, handing the map to Henry.
She noticed Henry slowly taking the map, looking a little perplexed. "Look, I'm not blind. The wounds on Wildstar and the scars on the other dragons are not the kinds that come accidently and the way the you guys have your guards up, there's a reason behind that. It's not my place to know what that story is, but I just want you to know that you're safe here. All of you are. And you're welcome to stay as long as you want.
Wildstar, who was finished with her meal, went to Hicca and nuzzled her hand. Hicca responded by giving her a few pats. Henry still can't believe how quick his best friend is to trust a person she just met. That never happened before, especially with the company they've been with previously.
"I hope you feel better, girl." Hicca said, smiling to the dragons. "Hope you guys like it here." She said to the other dragons who were still eating their food. She then turned to Henry. "See you later then, maybe?" With that she left the Academy, with Midnight behind her.
"So you think she can be trusted?" Henry asked Wildstar. The dragon nodded without hesitation. She definitely liked the female human. "Well, I guess that's fine. For now anyways."
He then sat down and removed the cloth covering the tray to reveal warm, delicious food. More than he's had in a long while.
'She actually got all this for me?' Henry wondered before shaking his head. 'No, focus. Remember, if someone's being this nice to you they probably want something in return. And that 'something' is never good. Just need to keep a sharp eye on these people.'
A/N: So this story is basically laying a foundation for Henry being in Berk before Race to the Edge. And I wrote Henry as a closed off guy because when I thought his character over based on what you guys suggested, I saw a guy who has suffered at the hands of people who were supposed to care about him, that's why it's difficult for him to trust strangers. I don't really see Henry being part of the dragon riders just yet, maybe more of a recurring character. First he needs to learn he can trust them, and then with the trust will come friendship and with the friendship will be more for Hicca. He's got a long way to go for that, and luckily Race to the Edge doesn't end at one season.
As far as how much he suffered, I haven't really decided. I know some readers suggested he got whipped by Ryker but I remembered the episode 'Maces and Talons II' where Ryker mentions that he does feel tempted to beat up his younger brother and he could easily but doesn't simply because of the fact that he is his brother. Similarly in 'Night of the Hunters' (was that the episode title?) Dagur called Lars II expendable, Ryker was quick to defend because he was his cousin, even though he deserted them. So I guess most of the suffer will come from Viggo, since he doesn't really care much of others.
I'm still trying to figure out Marcus' character. I want him to also have some character development within the show, but I'm not sure how exactly. And I will introduce him in the same episode the defenders of the wing get introduced.
Thoughts and comments are appreciated here. :)