Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon.
Author's note: This idea has been tormenting my mind recently and I figured I should just write it. Note: I only intend this to be five or six chapters. My main concern is getting To Tame a Land finished (a process which is going wonderfully!)
As for the content of this story, I know it may sound similar to my To Tame a Land, but I assure you it's different!
A Dragon's Prey
He was taking a huge risk coming out here, but he did it anyway. The potential reward was so enticing and necessary that if he actually had listened and obeyed his orders to remain inside, he'd have eternally loathed himself.
He set his catapult into place on the lonely precipice, opened it, engaged it.
He waited…
His eyes frantically searched the starlit sky, just waiting for a dragon to rear its ugly head. "C'mon," he breathed. "Hurry up, hurry up!"
He could hear the shouting of villagers nearby, tightened his grip on the catapult. If my father happens to wander up here and finds me… The thought seemed to bring him even more stress and panic. This could be the only chance he'd ever have to prove himself worthy of being a Viking, and to say he felt stressed over it…
A burning red figure suddenly caught his eye. He watched the Monstrous Nightmare fly across the dark sky and set down on a cliff close-by. He aimed the catapult at it, biting his lip in anxiety.
Just stay where you are… that's it… I've got you!
His hand tightened, ready to release the net.
"Hiccu-u-u-up!" a voice behind him angrily bellowed.
Hiccup jumped like a startled feline, jerking and firing the catapult. The recoil of the device kicked him in the abdomen, sending him onto his back. He wasted no time getting to his feet, eyes falling on the furious, red-bearded Viking chief charging his way.
His eyes went wide. He was in deep trouble… He's going to banish me... make me an outcast for betraying orders.
He quivered at the thought, just futilely praying that that wasn't the case. But when he looked at his father, storming up the hillside he noticed that something was off. For some strange reason his father's eyes reflected not anger and irritation, but terror and hurry as he stormed his way toward him.
He felt guilty. "Dad—"
"Hiccup!" his father cried in… fear?
"Wait, dad! Let me just show you—" Hiccup stopped short as he turned back to his catapult only to see the Nightmare he'd attempted to net, zooming for him. The dragon must've noticed him trying to net him and was now out for revenge.
The revelation came all too late as the dragon snapped his long black talons around his shoulder and began carrying him off the lovely green earth.
Hiccup shouted in terror as the dragon carried him higher, above the rooftops. "Dad!" he helplessly pleaded.
"Son!" he cried, hurling his ax at the beast in a final effort to bring it down. The double-sided weapon embedded itself deep into the Nightmare's left thigh, earning an agonized shriek from the beast. But it wasn't enough to stop the dragon.
The Nightmare just flew higher, becoming one with the blackened night sky and was gone.
Stoick steamed like an enraged dragon, shoving Vikings to the ground as he ran, faster than it seemed possible for a man of his size, in pursuit of the beast until he reached a cliff. He would have dove the massive distance to the water below and swam after his son, had it not been for a one-armed, one-legged man, jolting in his path and putting forth all his strength to stop him.
"Stoick!" Gobber cried, restraining him to the best of his abilities. There was sadness in his tone that he desperately tried to conceal.
"That's my son in that demon's hands!" he yelled.
"I…I know." Was all the Blacksmith could manage to say, a lump in his throat obstructing anything else.
Stoick huffed, composing himself somewhat. "Ready the ships! We're going after him!"
Gobber stared at him in disbelief. "Stoick..." he never wanted this moment to occur again. Stoick reacted the same way the night Valka... He fought back a sudden wall of sadness. He knew Hiccup well, and sadly knew that this moment was a possibility. Considering that frail boy's ambitions.
He glanced back at the Chief. The red bearded Viking was struggling to veil his emotions, staring off in the direction his son was taken. he knew just by the look what the man was thinking: Hiccup would survive somehow—he's survived many a harsh trial!
And with a grim smile, Gobber recalled that Stoick had had the same thoughts about his wife...
Hiccup wailed desperately, beating at the dragon's paw to release him. His efforts were useless though, just earning a tighter grip on his shoulder. The sharp talons biting into his skin hurt, despite his adrenaline, and he let it known by the endless stream of "Ows!" and "Ahs!"
The Nightmare carrying him ignored his discomfort, glancing at the companion Nightmare that, at some point, had swooped in to his right through the thick fog they were in.
"You captured a live human?" the cool-colored dragon asked in disbelief.
The Nightmare carrying the human, nodded proudly, "And a whiny one too! It'll be enjoyable to see him suffer under the Queen."
"Do you think 'Green-Eyes' will like this?"
"Ah, who cares what that Night Fury thinks? He's not the Queen!"
"He could tear you apart in mere seconds." He said pointedly.
"He isn't going to do anything! Why would he? He hates humans just as much as we do."
"Yeah, well just watch your tongue. If he so much as suspects you're challenging him…"
"He can go cry to the Queen about it all he wants. She'll be too pleased by my gift that she might even kill him out of pure annoyance of his complaining!"
"I don't know about that…"
"Trust me." he said, tightening his grasp around the human, earning a painful squeal. "See? He's so weak! Can't even deal with a little pain."
"Humans," the other dragon scoffed in disdain.
To Hiccup, the conversation was mere growls. But the periodical glances they made at him, told that he was the subject of their conversation.
He winced—his shoulder hurt so badly! And the fear! He may have had a young heart, but he sincerely thought it was going to give out under all this stress.
The thick fog suddenly burned off, defining a single massive black mountain.
Hiccup knew it was the Nest, but didn't care in the least. He wasn't exactly an invited guest here…
He felt a sudden jolt of panic surge through him, wildly scratched at the dragon's leg. The pathetic human claws had no affect on the dragon. In fact, Hiccup swore he heard the beast laugh… if dragons could even do that anyway.
Defeated, he just watched in terror as the mountain approached. His fear was so great that all thoughts were unintelligible. He couldn't even remember where he was from, he was so scared and focused on what was about to happen to him!
They disappeared into a brief darkness, appearing a moment later in a glowing red chamber of choking heat. It was a small room of rock that looked like an enlarged beehive; tunnels everywhere, all (presumably) leading to a room of even greater immensity.
A wave of relief washed over him as he felt those stabbing talons release their hold on him. He fell to his knees from the combination of exhaustion and oppressing heat, taking a brief moment to observe his shoulder.
His green tunic had torn in three places on the front, most likely more on the back. Blood stained the immediate vicinity of the tears and he instinctively covered it with a hand.
He felt a wing forcefully bat him, knocked him flat on his back. The Nightmare was in his face, growling viciously—those menacing teeth inches away from tearing out his throat.
Hiccup stiffened in terror, helpless to do anything else. He was staring face-to-face with a snarling Monstrous Nightmare! On Berk, they weren't even allowed to battle one with capable weapons unless they were deemed strong enough. And there was another Nightmare, staring at him not too far away!
"Smell his fear?" the Nightmare over the human asked his companion. "There's nothing more exciting than the smell of human fear!"
The other Nightmare huffed in agreement, "It is a pleasing smell. Especially when it's coming from the thing you hate most."
They're going to eat me! Hiccup thought, hearing their growls.
"I think we should break his limbs," the Nightmare to his left said. "He could try to escape if we don't."
"Like he'd be able to escape a dragon!" the Nightmare snorted, causing Hiccup to flinch.
"He's small though. He can fit into small spaces."
"Fine," The Nightmare agreed. "It'll be fun to torment him, anyway."
Hiccup saw the dragon draw away from him, felt himself able to release his breath… Until he noticed the dragon's mouth open around his right leg.
Instincts kicking in, he snapped the leg from the dragon's mouth, knowing the beast's intentions were anything but good.
The dragon howled in annoyance as Hiccup quickly got to his feet, prepared to pounce… but stopped. Instead his eyes just glistened in fear.
This filled Hiccup with disquiet, but he took it as an opportunity to escape. He turned to sprint away from the dragons, only to halt in the presence of a mid-sized black scaled dragon. It's green eyes radiating anger and confusion as it stared at him.
His lip quivered in fearful recognition of the beast. A Night Fury…
The dragon looked positively outraged and disgusted to be in this living human's presence. He bared his teeth in a deadly snarl at the boy, prepared to kill.
Hiccup took one more step backward and finally succumbed to his stress and passed out.
So, what do you guys think? If you all actually like it, I'll continue it.