NOTES (PLEASE READ)
1) Okay, so first of all, I'd like to point out that BOTH Hiccup and Astrid will be narrating the series, so please read the author's notes as I will be placing who is narrating the episode at the beginning of each chapter. It's a transition, I suppose you could call it; Astrid narrates the first movie, both Hiccup and Astrid narrate the series, and Hiccup is going to narrate the second movie whenever I get around to writing it. Yes, to those who have been asking about the second movie, I am going to write it :)
2) It took a long time to get this up because I had been debating on something; at first, I wanted to incorporate some characters from the book into the series, but, after giving it a LOT of thought, I realized that, while I MIGHT be interested in reading something like that, it would be something I would have zero interest in writing. See, it has to do with my stance on OCs; I don't like lots of OCs in the fics I read, and I always, ALWAYS walk away from fics with OCs in them. Even in canon (you will think I'm totally weird for this), I'm not a huge fan of characters like Heather, who kind of just get dropped in as plot devices and feel like mary-sues; which, if you're not in on the whole writing circle, is basically just a flat character without much development (for example, Bella Swan *shudder*). So, adding in the characters from the book, who have zero part in the movieverse, won't be something I'm too interested in. In fact, there's only, like, two fics, plus a sequel, that I like with characters from the book in them, and that's only due to awesome writing skills and a compelling story, so... if it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't like those fics much, either. So, sorry to disappoint anybody I had told the idea to, but the characters from the books will not be making any appearances (I'm leaving this note, as I did tell a couple people about this idea after asking me about my plans for the series).
3) As in the first story, I will be attempting to integrate actual Viking culture into this story, mostly for fun. I may change up a few things, as the httyd universe is very LOOSELY based on actual Viking culture, meaning I may add in my own traditions or slightly change an actual tradition and so on. As with last time, the words will be in italics, so please try not to get those confused with words that are italicized simply for exaggeration.
4) One of the major things that bugged me about the httyd series was the total sucker punch the writers did to the realistic healing process of an amputation. I mean, Hiccup was only asleep for three weeks (four in my verse), after losing a freaking leg, and he's like, "Oh, okay, it's fine, let's go flying." Dude, my aunt's an amputee; that's not how it works. So, I'm going to try and put in some realism into his leg in this story; for example, his leg isn't going to be entirely healed, and, in my head, the only reason he went flying at the end of the movie was because he forgot about his pain in all the excitement, but it DOES return to him by the time his flight with the others is over, so... yeah, I'm going to try and put a little bit of focus on his leg in a more realistic light.
5) I am going to be incorporating some aspects from the second movie into the series. If you haven't seen the movie, don't worry about spoilers as it's nothing major. Just some small things, like Stoick and Gobber's dragons, Hiccup's sword, Hiccup making some additions to Toothless' saddle until it becomes something a little similar to the saddle seen in the second movie, and so on.
6) The episodes are not always going to be in chronological order, especially the stand alone episodes, but they will be in an order that makes sense, as some episodes already have things established, while others don't, so... yeah, just leaving that warning in case anybody gets confused on the order of my chapters. The first three ARE going to be in order, as they are mainly focused on the beginnings on incorporating the dragons into Berk's society.
7) Some episodes may very well be simply switching the characters names until the plot begins to movie along a bit more, so please be patient with that. I will also be adding in my own little scenes, as the total lack of development between Hiccup and Astrid's relationship totally bugged the crap out of me, so that might help with any annoyance you may feel with the simple name switching.
8) I've gotten a lot of confused PMs asking me who the "Dragon Conqueror" is going to be. Well, when you conquer something, you defeat it, you obtain power over it; so, TECHNICALLY speaking, Hiccup would still be the Dragon Conqueror, as he is the one who defeated the Red Death. So, Hiccup would be the Dragon Conqueror, and Astrid would be the Dragon Tamer; Hiccup would be the Dragon Rider, and Astrid would be the Dragon Trainer. I hope that makes sense and clears up any confusion :)
9) I've also gotten PMs asking me about Hiccup and Astrid's interest in dragons, and many have pointed out how my Hiccup had always sneaked off into the forest to watch the dragons, long before the war ended. So, the Hiccup in my verse, like his canon counterpart, both have a very intense interest in dragons; he wants to know EVERYTHING about them, no matter how small the detail. Astrid is more interested in training them and helping them co-exist with humans.
10) Another thing that kind of, sorta bugged me was how dumbed down the twins were; sure, they were a bit dimwitted in the movie, but they were not THAT bad. If anything, from what I gathered from watching the movies, Tuffnut was the dumb one, not Ruffnut, but he still had his moments, and you could see that much more clearly in the second movie. So, I'm going to try and keep Ruffnut's smarts and personality, while making Tuffnut the dumb one, but still give him his moments, so some of their antics might be changed up a bit.
11) I would also like to point out that, after seeing the second movie, I went back over my first story and changed Valka's name back to Valka, instead of Valhallarama. I also changed how Hiccup got that scar on his chin; if you re-read the second chapter, I decided to give him a large scar on his palm instead, and I may make references to it, so... yeah, just wanted to point this out in case anyone gets confused.
12) I am not going to be writing the full episodes, particularly parts not involving the main characters as those scenes don't really change at all, aside from, maybe, a name. If you haven't watched the series, it shouldn't really matter as the scenes skipped should be very obvious, as they normally involve the villains. I'm not writing the full episodes because that's just too much writing for one chapter seeing as I want to do an episode per chapter because it's much neater, so... you have been warned; no complaining about that. And, as I just said, doing an episode per chapter is a lot more writing than just spacing out scenes from a movie, so I might not be able to update as quickly as I did before, so please be patient with that.
Wow, that's a lot of notes...
I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at the amount of PMs I've been getting from people, asking me about this verse and my ideas for it. I didn't think my story would so popular considering it's a just re-write, but I'm glad you all enjoy it :)
Okay, here's the first episode. Thank you for waiting (im)patiently :)
Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the slightly changed plotline.
Episode Narrator: Hiccup
This is Berk.
For generations, it was Viking against dragon. Then one day, everything changed.
Hiccup grinned from his position on Toothless' back, pressing and pulling on the stirrup pedal with his prosthetic, the two performing twists and turns as Astrid and Stormfly calmly followed from behind. Astrid couldn't help but be impressed with the two; Hiccup and Toothless were perfectly in sync, as if they shared a mind, using their instincts to guide each other. Not even Astrid was able to do that with Stormfly; she had to communicate her wants with Stormfly vocally, and she couldn't help but feel envy, hoping she could one day have such a symbiotic relationship with Stormfly in the future.
She also couldn't help but feel annoyed at his carelessness.
His leg was still healing...
I met Toothless, and Astrid met Stormfly, and, together, the four of us showed people that, instead of fighting dragons, we can ride them, live with them, and even train them.
Astrid and Hiccup steered their dragons toward the top of a nearby rock pillar, where four others were waiting for them, the other members of the small team they formed nearly four months ago after the defeat of the monstrous Red Death. Ruffnut and Tuffnut on their Zippleback, BarfBelch, Fishlegs on his Gronkle, Meatlug, and Snotlout on his Nightmare, Hookfang. And then there was, of course, Astrid, their teacher, on her Nadder, Stormfly, and Hiccup, their leader, on his Night Fury, Toothless.
This so called team was formed after the sudden influx of dragons that had decided to land on Berk after their nest and Queen had been destroyed. The six were, currently, the only ones on Berk riding dragonback. A few people were keeping dragons as companions, including Gobber, but they have yet to get used to the idea of actually riding them.
Toothless pulled upward, Hiccup pulling up the stirrup in response, and the two landed next to Snotlout on the rock pillar, Stormfly and Astrid landing next to them on the far end.
Astrid glanced over, finding the others' attention on her. "Okay, guys," She smiled, "Best Trick Competition."
They had been meeting up for these competition for weeks now, one of the highlights of the week for them, especially for Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup, due to his father insistence on chief-training, and Astrid, due to being constantly badgered with questions from the villagers on the dragons and their habits and whatnot.
"Who's first?" She asked.
"Uh," Fishlegs began, only to get cut off.
"Me," Snotlout interrupted, and Fishlegs and Hiccup shot him an irritant look.
"Actually," Fishlegs tried again, "I think it's-"
"Me," Snotlout interrupted again.
Before his cousin and friend get into it, Hiccup interrupted with an irritated grunt. "Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm," He growled, jerking his hand to point forward, "Go!"
"Oh, we'll go," Snotlout smirked, and Astrid glanced down in time to catch Hookfang's irritated eyes, "And when we do, Hookfang and me are gonna set the sky on..." Hookfang snorted, his irritation reaching its peak, and he quickly hopped from the rock formation, dive-bombing downward. "...FIIIRRRRE!"
Astrid glanced over at the sound of Hiccup's snort, catching his smirk as he watched Hookfang torture his cousin, the boy's screaming beginning to turn a bit shrill. Astrid let a small grin form on her face when Hookfang dived underwater, Snotlout, somehow, managing to scream even then, without choking.
He's been having this problem with his dragon for a while now, and, really it's his own fault; trying to assert your dominance over a Monstrous Nightmare, a male one at that, is a very bad idea. Plus, Hookfang seemed to be trying to tone down his rider's impulsive arrogance, and Astrid really, really, hoped it worked.
Admittedly, though, he has gotten a much better attitude since the Red Death. But... he still hits on her, and bugs Hiccup to no end, and it always made Astrid look forward to seeing what kind of torture Hiccup and Hookfang came up with.
"Remind me to host these things more often," Astrid muttered quietly to Hiccup, who snorted.
"Consider it done," He smirked, glancing over at Snotlout as Hookfang landed back on top of the cliff in their previous spot.
"I'm alive?" Snotlout stuttered, patting his hands up and down his chest as if he had to confirm that fact. "I'm alive!" He cheered, raising his hands up excitedly. When he caught Hiccup's raised eyebrow and pointed stare, he immediately tried to cover it up with a grin, and Astrid took notice of Hookfang rolling his eyes. "I mean, of course I am."
"It's our turn," Fishlegs piped up, giving Meatlug a small pat. "Ready, Meatlug?" She gave a happy snort before gently lifting up off the ground, her bee-like wings flapping too rapidly to see.
Everyone watched, their expressions a bit bored, as Fishlegs and Meatlug took off...
...made a circle around the sea stack...
...and landed.
"Yes!" Fishlegs cheered, "New personal best!" He gave Meatlug a hug from atop her, and the Gronkle gave an affection snort, accompanied by a lick across the cheek, and the others cringed in disgust.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes at the too affectionate pair before grinning. "My turn!"
"No," Tuffnut argued, "My turn!"
Ruffnut gave him a stare that was, somehow, both blank and annoyed. "We have the same dragon, idiot."
"Oh, right," Tuffnut grinned, holding up his hand for a fist-bump, and Ruffnut rolled her eyes at him, but gave in anyway as the two took off. BarfBelch flew pretty fast, and pretty neatly, until the twins started their usual routine.
"Go left!" Ruffnut ordered, and Barf immediately pointed his neck in the direction he was told, but...
"Go right!" Tuffnut yelled, and Belch attempted to listen, resulting in a highly confused dragon. In an attempt to rectify the situation, the twins tried to shout their siblings' previous order, only succeeding in making things much worse.
Astrid couldn't help but face-palm, her brows furrowed in irritation as BarfBelch began spinning out of control, and she shot Hiccup a look when she heard him snicker, but he simply gave her a smirk in return.
Annoyed, BarfBelch through his riders off of him, choosing to follow his own path of flight as opposed to his riders', and the twins screamed as they flew past the outcrop.
"Oh, no!" Tuffnut shouted, "Oh, this is awesome and scary!"
Barf and Belch caught their respective riders, the two, amazingly, only suffering some lopsided helmets, and the dragon calmly landed on the cliff, the expressions on the two faces ones of extreme annoyance.
"Oh, man..." Ruffnut exhaled, her face both exhilarated and annoyed, "We almost died."
"I know," Tuffnut muttered before perking up, "Wanna go again?"
Hiccup glared at him. "No," He snapped before calming a little and glancing over at Astrid, "It's Astrid's turn."
"Thank you, Hiccup," She said in a mock pompous tone before grinning at him, "You might wanna take notes."
He gave her a small grin as she nudged Stormfly's flanks with her heels, "Let's go!" Stormfly, the dragon's bright hide, coupled with her speed, causing her to nearly disappear into the bright blue sky. Out of everyone on their little team, Stormfly was the second fastest, just behind Hiccup and Toothless, and Astrid often organized races between the two. Of course, Hiccup always won, but Astrid was competitive, continuously challenging him.
Astrid kept saying that he always won in hand-to-hand combat, so it wasn't fair that he kept winning dragon races. Hiccup's excuse was that she was a healer, and healer's aren't normally taught how to fight, and that it wasn't as if he deliberately went out into the woods to find a Night Fury; it just sort of happened.
Which was a lie. Every time he heard the whirring of the Night Fury, he went running out to see if he could find it.
"Okay, Stormfly, tail dip!" Astrid ordered, the Nadder immediately dipped her tail into the water, causing it to spray around as they sped above the ocean. "Now twirl!" The Nadder immediately obliged. "Upward spiral!"
When Stormfly finished her routine, she stopped in the air, smiling up at Astrid when the girl cheered. "Alright, Stormfly!"
Stormfly and Astrid landed in their original spot, and Hiccup grinned, opening his mouth to speak before Snotlout cut him off, and, without moving his head, he glanced back at him with an irritated gleam.
"Yeah, but can you do that without the dragon?" He asked sarcastically, and Hiccup's face darkened momentarily before he gave Snotlout a harsh punch on the shoulder, nearly sending his cousin off his dragon with an, "Ow!"
He rolled his eyes before his face brightened up again, and he gave Toothless a small pat. "Looks like we got our work cut out for us, don't we?" Toothless huffed happily in response, glancing back up at his rider, and Astrid lowered her head a little to hide her smile. Ever since the Red Death debacle, Hiccup's been smiling a lot more; it seemed as if he was finally able to be a teenager instead of just the son of a chief, and she knew Toothless had a lot to do with it.
"Ready?" Toothless grunted, and Hiccup pressed on the pedal, and Toothless shot upward with enough speed to cause the others' hair and clothes to flap. The two suddenly paused in mid-air before Toothless whirled around, dive-bombing downward, his speed creating a familiar high-pitched whistle, stopping just short of the water. The two sped over the ocean, the water flying around them due to their speed, before they lifted upward again.
As they came upon an outcrop, Hiccup pulled the stirrup back before a metal snap was heard, signalling the tail fin was locked in place, and he quickly unhooked his harness and removed his prosthetic from the stirrup, hopping off of Toothless' back, landing on the outcrop as Toothless flew under. Running as if he had two feet instead of one, Hiccup's grin never left him as he leaped off of the outcrop and onto Toothless' back as he came out from under the rocks before snapping his prosthetic into place.
"They're still the best," Astrid smiled softly, though there was a hint of irritation in her tone as she and the others watched Toothless shoot off a couple off shots to create a light show.
"Another win for us, bud," Hiccup grinned, patting Toothless on the head, and the dragon gave a happy grunt.
Slowly, Astrid's smile lowered as she allowed her irritation to take over.
His leg...
Hiccup hissed as he took a seat on a large rock, gripping his bad leg with both hands as he sank down slowly. Toothless moaned beside him, taking a few sniffs at the prosthetic before Hiccup gently shooed him away and reached down to unravel the rope around the pant leg.
"I told you," Astrid muttered irritably as she kneeled in front of him, helping him remove his prosthetic. She removed the two screws on one side of the metal strap, while he removed the two on the other before he unclasped the metal, unhooking it from the wooden portion in the process. [1]
She set the leg aside before examining his stump. It was pinkish and swollen, and she gave him an irritated glance, but he simply returned it with a pursed smile. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed the small pouch hooked to her belt, which held most of her medical supplies, and removed the salve Elder Gothi gave both her and Hiccup to use on his leg whenever it was irritated.
Stormfly sniffed at her hand a little before Astrid shooed her in a manner similar to Hiccup, turning her attention to Hiccup's stump.
"You're not supposed to run around on it like that," She muttered as she spread the salve along the stump, being as gentle as she could, knowing it was still very sensitive, being sure to spread it along his leg as well.
He simply shrugged in response, and she saw him swallow quietly, but hard. It was one thing to see a wooden and metal contraption in place of his leg, but to actually see nothing there was still something he was getting used to.
And there was the pain.
After he woke up from his coma, he had managed to forget the pain in all the excitement, but halfway through his flight with her and the others, he had suddenly twisted around and landed. She had followed him, catching sight of his pained, panting face, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. He couldn't even limp anymore, so Toothless had to carry him back to bed, and Elder Gothi had given him a light tap with her staff out of irritation of his carelessness. When she removed the leg to examine, Hiccup had just seemed to freeze up at the sight of his stump before he began breathing in a way that made the Elder give him sleep medicine to calm him.
After that little fiasco, he kept trying to get used to his new leg much too quickly, which only set him back as it irritated his stump, like now for example, which, in turn, irritated her.
He jerked a little when she moved over the knot in the middle of his stump, the bone.
"Sorry," She murmured, wiping the salve off on her leggings before placing the lid back over the tiny wooden cup and setting it back in her pouch.
"S'fine," He slurred before rearranging his prosthetic and retying the rope. He used Toothless as a prop to slowly stand before testing his weight on his prosthetic, flinching a little as he did. He shook his leg out a little before hopping onto Toothless and hooking his prosthetic into the stirrup.
Astrid followed suit, hopping onto Stormfly, and the two took to the air, flying their way back to the village.
Yep... dragons.
Most people on Berk would say that life here was much better now that we made peace with them.
Unfortunately, dragons are still... well... dragons.
Berk was never a quiet place, but it was easy to see that things were much more hectic than usual as Astrid and Hiccup dismounted their dragons and trekked through the village plaza, catching sight of nearly every dragon there scarfing down anything they could get their claws on. Hiccup shot Astrid a look, and she returned it with a nervous smile as they watched the chaos around them.
"Let go of my food!"
"Get off my roof, you pest!"
Astrid glanced over before burying her face in hands at the sight of a dragon taking off with a woman's washings... as if the Boneknapper incident wasn't enough humiliation involving Vikings and underwear.
"Astrid," She heard Hiccup mutter.
"What?" She asked, her voice muffled.
"It's three o' clock."
Astrid grimaced, her head snapping up and catching sight of the dragons flying over the island. "Oh, no..." She muttered.
"Ew..." She muttered as she and Hiccup dodged the green blobs, backing up quickly to get away, stopping directly under Mulch and Bucket's protective shields on sticks, "Gross, gross, gross... oh, poop... oh, that's disgusting..."
"Hey, Mulch. Hey, Bucket," Hiccup greeted a bit awkwardly. "Sorry about the, uh..." He added, indicating the disgusting shower going on around them.
"Everyday at three," Bucket said cheerfully, "They're regular, at least. A tip of the cap."
"It was better than the days of kill or be killed," Mulch shrugged. "Oh, hey, Hiccup," He added, "We got some fish for that father of yours."
"Yeah?" Hiccup grinned a little.
"It's about time," Astrid muttered, crossing her arms in her irritation, only to yelp when Hiccup smacked his prosthetic into her right foot.
"Bucket, give the boy the cod," Mulch ordered. Bucket turned to a nearby barrel, and Hiccup and Astrid's faces fell when they saw that there was no fish inside. Hiccup heaved an irritated sigh through his nose, sharing a look with Astrid.
"I ate it already?" Bucket blinked in surprise, and Astrid face-palmed; damn his head injury, "Did I enjoy it?"
"Uh, no, Bucket," Hiccup muttered, his lips twitching as he attempted fight his smirk, and Astrid shot him a look before turning her attention back to Bucket.
"I'm afraid that the, uh..." Astrid added, pointing to the small group of Terrible Terrors and Mood Dragons as they took off with the cod. Glancing up, Hiccup caught sight of a few dragons flying over to the other side of the island.
"Oh, no..." He muttered; he did not want to deal with that old wretch.
Most of us here on Berk are willing to take the good with the bad.
But there are those who will never accept dragons, and will do anything to drive them away.
"Store the rest of it in the back; the fishing boats just came in with a big catch," Stoick ordered the Vikings filling the food storage with the latest catch of fish. Hiccup glanced over at the sound of an odd grumble, catching sight of Toothless eyeing the fish; he tapped the dragon's nose, and he snorted quietly, shaking his head a little before giving Hiccup a look.
Winter was fast approaching, and, currently, Stoick was overseeing the stocking of the food supplies; it was the village's top priority during the winter months, especially considering how close it was to the time the sea began to freeze over.
"Stoick!"
Astrid and Hiccup sagged next to each other in annoyance at the sound of Mildew's scratchy voice. If there was one thing on this island Hiccup and Astrid hated more than losing, it was Mildew. Actually, they were pretty sure the whole island hated Mildew.
"Ah, and here's Mildew with the complaint of the day," Gobber grunted, giving Grump a hefty pat on the side, making the large dragon grumble happily.
"You picked a bad time, Mildew," Stoick sighed irritably as the old man came storming over to him, "I'm in the middle of storing food; the Freeze is coming."
Hiccup snorted. Yeah, that would make Mildew shut up.
"It's those dragons again," Mildew growled, "They are not fit to live among civilized men."
"Neither are you, Mildew," Gobber huffed.
"Yeah," Hiccup smirked, "Why do you think they built your house so far out of town."
Astrid covered up a snort of laughter with cough, hiding her grin behind her hand when Mildew shot Hiccup a glare. "Ah, very well, make your jokes," He sneered, and Astrid snorted again when Hiccup simply have him a blank stare. "Meanwhile, these dragons are in our cod! Turning people's houses into piles of rubble!" Astrid winced when a small crowd gathered behind him, shouting their agreements.
"Um," Hiccup piped up sarcastically, "Weren't you the ones who freaked out when they flew off during Snoggletog?"
Astrid's snort at his words turned into a light laughter when his father cuffed him on the back of the head. He grumbled, ignoring her and Toothless' laughter as he rubbed at the sore spot.
"They even disturb an old man's rest!" Mildew continued, gesturing to the circles under his eyes. Astrid raised a brow in confusion; he's always looked like that... "Can't you see these bags under my eyes?"
"He's right," Hiccup leaned over, whispering in her ear, making her shudder a little at the odd feeling, "He's hideous."
Astrid snorted continuously in an attempt to hold back her laughter, though her mood was quenched when Mildew shouted again.
"These are wild and unpredictable beasts!"
Astrid glanced around nervously as the small crowd began shouting in agreement, while Hiccup simply glowered at them, patting Toothless in an attempt to calm him when the dragon began to growl lightly at all the negative energy surrounding them.
"They even cracked this poor man's skull open. Like an egg," Mildew added, pointing to Bucket. Hiccup glared at him. Really? He had to go there?
"Eggs? I like eggs!" Bucket smiled, "Scrambled! Over easy! Poached!"
Astrid and Hiccup sagged slightly; at least Bucket didn't mind.
"You need to put those dragons in cages!" Mildew hissed, meeting with many shouts of agreement. Hiccup and Astrid glowered at him, while Stormfly and Toothless growled at the suggestion.
Oh, for the love of the gods...
"They don't mean any harm," Astrid protested, "They're just being... well... dragons." Hiccup and Gobber gave small nods of agreement, fondly petting their respective dragons, and Stormfly nudged Astrid gently.
"If there's a problem, Mildew," Stoick cut in, his tone low, "I'll deal with it."
"Oh, there is a problem, Stoick," Mildew snarled, "I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it."
With that, he and the others dispersed, muttering angrily under there breaths, leaving Astrid and Hiccup glaring after them.
That evening, the Haddocks and the Hoffersons, plus Gobber, were all gathered within the Haddock Hall for dinner. Currently, Gobber was carving a wooden duck for a parent that had made the order for their child, and Thora, Cnut, and Stoick were brainstorming for ideas on what to do with the dragons. Hiccup and Astrid kept quiet for the moment, while Stormfly and Toothless busied themselves with emptying out the fish barrels, three baby Nadders surrounding Stormfly, waiting for their... regurgitated fish.
Grump was outside with his fish, the Hotburple much too big to fit in a house packed with people and two other dragons, plus the babies. Snaptrap was with him as well; the dark blue Nadder seemed to have taken a liking to Astrid, and now she was stuck taking care of two Nadders, plus the three little ones. Though, Astrid felt like it had more to do with Stormfly than with her; the two Nadders got along a little too well for Astrid's tastes... plus, Stormfly did mate with him during Snoggletog, subsequently laying his eggs, the aforementioned little ones, giving Astrid reason to believe that Nadders keep a single mate as opposed to the dragons' usual indiscriminate mating. [2]
The Hoffersons had been staying over for dinner with the Haddocks for a few weeks now, and Astrid had a feeling they were discussing a certain something behind her and Hiccup's backs. Not that she minded, but...
"We can't just let dragons run wild like they own the place," Stoick sighed. He didn't want to admit it, but Mildew did have a point. The dragons were causing a lot of trouble around the village, and, as chief, he needed to do something about it.
"Hey, we could put up signs!" Cnut suggested, and Astrid face-planted against the table, her forehead creating a loud thug when it hit the wood.
"Signs? For dragons?" Gobber quizzed incredulously.
"No," Thora cut in, "For the people."
This time, it was Hiccup's forehead that hit the table.
"Signs? For Vikings?" Gobber asked in the same incredulous tone.
"Or," Stoick cut in, "We can build a huge net and stretch it around the plaza."
Hiccup and Astrid released muffled groans in unison, causing their dragons to nudge their respective riders, warbling at their mood.
"You do know they breath fire, Dad?" Hiccup pointed out, his nasally voice laced with attitude and sarcasm.
"I know very well they breath fire, Hiccup!" Stoick snapped before he sighed resignedly. "Maybe Mildew was right. We have to figure out something..."
"No, no, wait, Stoick!" Astrid immediately cut in, quickly standing, "What if I deal with the dragons?"
"You?" Stoick blinked, and even Hiccup snapped his head up to look at her.
"Who else?" Astrid shrugged, a small smile playing on her face, "If anyone can control them, I can. I'm the best woman for the job."
"You're not a woman yet, Astrid," Thora began, but Astrid cut her off.
"Not if you don't give me the chance to be!" She pointed out. Hiccup grimaced, but, given that he was partially behind Astrid and that his face was only slightly illuminated by the fire, she couldn't see it. He knew his girlfriend (was she his girlfriend? they hadn't established anything yet...) had a point; she was the most qualified at training the dragons (at the moment, he grinned inwardly, he's catching up quite quickly), but she couldn't really round up a whole island of dragons alone, and he had to go see Gramma Gothi for the physical therapy she and his dad literally forced him into for his leg, so he wouldn't be able to help her, and he couldn't help but worry. Even so, the others agreed.
"Fair enough," Cnut muttered.
"You'll have your chance," Stoick said, "Starting tomorrow."
Astrid gave a little grin.
"Okay," Astrid grinned first thing that morning, Stormfly by her side, "There's gonna be some changes around here."
Her attention was instantly caught by a Hobblegrunt attempting to steal some woman's bread. Astrid was able to keep it calm enough to place her hand on its nose, but a Gronkle startled a group of chickens, which, in turn, startled the Hobblegrunt. Before Astrid could do anything, her attention was caught by a pair of fighting dragons, a Raincutter and a Scuttleclaw, a poor sheep getting caught in the crossfire.
"Stormfly, stop that fight!" Astrid ordered as she ran after the sheep, "I'll put out the sheep!" Stormfly squawked before flying up toward the fight as Astrid chased after the sheep before she noticed that things around her were just going from bad to worse.
Meanwhile, on the hill overlooking the plaza, the rest of the riders and their dragons, minus Hiccup and Toothless, observed the happenings below. Unfortunately, Fishlegs was the only one who appeared worried; the others just looked completely bored.
"So, where's Hiccup?" Tuffnut asked distractedly, his mouth opened in a somewhat dimwitted manner as he watched Astrid scramble around below.
"He's over at Elder Gothi's," Snotlout answered, his tone also distracted, the same expression on his face, watching Astrid as well, "She makes him take physical therapy."
"Makes sense," Ruffnut added, grinning in amusement as she watched Astrid, wincing with a widened grin when the girl was knocked over by a panicking sheep.
Hearing the flapping of wings, the teens glanced over in time the see Toothless land on the hill with them, Hiccup unhooking his prosthetic from the stirrup. Snotlout, knowing how sore his leg got after his sessions with Elder Gothi, immediately walked over, letting Hiccup use his shoulder as a prop as the boy limped over with his cousin to the ledge of the hill, catching sight of Astrid's debacle down below.
"What's she doing?" He muttered when they reached their destination, leaning heavily against Toothless as he watched her run around frantically.
"I think she's helping the dragons break stuff," Tuffnut grinned, making Ruffnut snort a little, "Cool."
"Wow, she could really use our help," Fishlegs winced when she was batted to the side by a wayward Snafflefang.
"We'll get to it," Ruffnut smirked, "In a minute."
Hiccup glanced up, seeing that the sun was just past its highest point in the sky, and tilted his head back in exasperation. "And, it's three o' clock."
Down below, Astrid glanced up when she caught sight of several shadows flying above her, and let out a moan of despair.
"Oh, no..."
"Ow..." Astrid moaned, sprawled across her bed, and Stormfly, sitting on her rock slab, and Snaptrap, his head poking in through her opened window, allowing Astrid to hear the excited chirping of the small ones that slept out there with him, squawked sympathetically at her, "Everything hurts..." [3]
Stormfly squawked again before shooting a weak blast of fire to heat a pan of coal to warm up her bed in an attempt to sooth the girls aching muscles before nuzzling Snaptrap, her rock slab close enough to the window to easily reach him.
"Astrid?" A familiar nasal voice resounded through her hall, followed by the sound of a closing door, "You home?"
"Hiccup?" She sputtered, quickly scrambling up and straightening out her clothes before looking over at Stormfly nervously as she heard Hiccup's footsteps walking up her steps, "I don't look too beat up, do I?"
Stormfly gurgled, her pupils expanding to the point that made it difficult to see the yellow of her eyes, while Snaptrap simply snorted at her.
"Great," Astrid huffed just as the door opened up, "Dragon pity."
She quickly twirled around, plastering a grin on her face, "Hiccup, hi! Did you, uh... did you have a good day?"
"It was decent," He shrugged as Toothless attempted to push his way in behind him; the room was a bit too small for two dragons to fit in, the reason Snaptrap slept with the babies outside (actually, the babies took turns, sleeping with Stormfly one night and sleeping with Snaptrap the other) in a large nest of hay and rock; it was okay, though, as Hiccup was working on making a small shelter for them at her request, right next to the window so he could still poke his head in. "Physical therapy, then a flight with Toothless." Toothless let out a coo at the sound of his name, gently nudging Hiccup's side.
"Right," Astrid laughed nervously, "Hope that went well."
"So how was your day?" Hiccup asked, a smirk in his tone as he crossed his arms.
"Oh, uneventful," Astrid attempted to shrug. She hated that she still got so flustered around Hiccup, especially when she was lying; which was terribly, as usual. "Hung around the plaza, as usual... you know..."
Hiccup raised a brow. "Yeah, I do know." Astrid's nervous grin was replaced with an embarrassed face. "We saw you out there," Hiccup added, picking at what appeared to be lint on her shirt, "I'm surprised you're still standing."
At that, Astrid gave up on the pretense entirely and let out a massive groan, falling back on her bed. "I'm gonna be seeing flaming sheep in my nightmares for months..."
Hiccup snorted, taking a seat next to her in an attempt to take pressure off his left leg before lying back so that they were side by side. They lied there in a silence that was somehow both comfortable and awkward before Hiccup hesitantly and slowly moved his arm so that it was around her shoulders, and she shifted to accommodate, sliding her head over so that it rested in a spot on his shoulder that was directly between his arm and his collar bone, and he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb up and down the part of her arm his hand was resting on.
The two didn't even look at each other, letting their eyes stay on the ceiling, and, had they looked over, they would've seen their dragons share a teasing look with each other, as well as a laughing grumble.
The moment was ruined, however, by a shout from downstairs, followed by footsteps.
"Astrid!" Stoick yelled, and the girl let out a yelp, she and Hiccup scrambling to their feet. Hiccup winced when he put too much weight on his left leg, but, thankfully, Toothless caught him before he could face-plant the floor, nudging him upright just as the door opened.
Stoick entered the room, Thora and Cnut standing in the doorway, the room too crowded for them to enter.
"Astrid, what in Thor's name in goin' on out there?" Stoick demanded, "The plaza looks like a war zone!"
"I know it looks bad..." Astrid stammered, but Hiccup cut her off before she could continue.
"Really bad," He muttered quietly, and Astrid winced, not confident enough to even shove the boy, let alone smack him like she wanted; she was afraid he'd topple over because of his leg.
And he hits back.
Always.
Very hard.
"Yeah," She huffed before continuing in stutters, "But this is only phase one of my master plan, which, Hiccup is helping with."
Hiccup sent her a glower, not too pleased that she dragged him into this.
"Oh?" Cnut blinked, "So you do have a plan?"
"We do," Hiccup smiled irritantly, "Of course we do. It's very complex. Lots of drawings. Several moving parts... yep, it's pretty wild."
"Uh huh," Thora muttered skeptically, "Well, this better work because Mildew's stirred up the whole island."
"Great," Hiccup muttered, "Just what we need."
"I know it's bad, son," Stoick sighed. "Listen, you two, if you don't get those dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads," He warned before he, Thora, and Cnut turned and headed back downstairs, with Cnut giving Hiccup a suspicious glance, ever the protective father.
Toothless grumbled worriedly, nuzzling his head under Hiccup's arm. Hiccup sighed, scratching him behind the ear. "Relax, bud, your head's not going anywhere."
"Okay, so..." Astrid mumbled, "There are, like, a bazillion dragons and only two of us..."
"Correction," Hiccup said, "There are, like, a bazillion dragons and only one of you."
She shot him a look, but he simply smirked in return. Rolling her eyes, she mumbled again, "We really do need a plan..."
Hiccup's mind whirred for a moment before he came up with something.
"I have an idea."
"Train dragons?" Ruffnut muttered incredulously the next morning, "That's your plan?"
"Here?" Tuffnut added, "Where we used to kill them?"
The riders and their dragons, plus Snaptrap, were currently within the training arena, previously known as the Kill Ring. The dragons, minus Stormfly and Toothless, were fidgeting and glancing around quite nervously. The babies, meaning Stormfly's, were at home in their little nest (the others had allowed their baby dragons to be adopted, as they, with the exception of Snotlout, who gave his babies away as Nightmares grew too large for any one house even with a built in shelter, didn't have the luxury of a large house like Astrid and Hiccup. Especially the twins, who shared a room... and everything else). [4]
Hiccup decided to make the term 'Dragon Training' a bit a more literal.
"Right," Astrid confirmed, placing a hand on her hip as Hiccup set down a basket of bread next to Stormfly, "Because we don't do that anymore."
"Actually," Hiccup muttered as he walked over to Snaptrap, trying to calm the dragon down by smoothing down his tail spines and grooming his scales, "The dragons do seem a little nervous."
"That's because they're very sensitive," Fishlegs said sadly, hugging a rather terrified looking Meatlug, "Meatlug especially. She lost a cousin here. We try not to talk about it."
Hiccup and Astrid gave him an odd look, wondering just how he knew of Meatlug's cousin.
Hiccup shook it off, rolling his eyes a little as Stormfly gave Snaptrap an affectionate nuzzle in an attempt to help her mate calm down. He didn't think Astrid would actually go for the plan, figuring that the dragons would react in such a way. But, she had come into his home that morning, shaking him awake, telling him that they were going with his idea, happy that she wouldn't have to deal with things alone.
"It's amazing your dad just gave us the arena," Astrid smiled at him, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yup..." He muttered, "It would be... you know, if he did, yeah... But he didn't, so... that's another thing we should try not to talk about."
"Wait," Astrid furrowed her brows, "We're going behind your father's back? I thought you told him about the idea."
"Nope," Hiccup said flippantly, "And there you go. Talking about it."
Astrid stared at him for a moment longer before she rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the others. "Alright," She said, "The dragons are out of control. We want them to be able to live in our world without destroying it, but they can't without our help. They've been trashing things in the village... we need to do something about that."
"Got it," Tuffnut grinned, "Help the dragons break stuff. We can totally do that."
"Um, no," Astrid tried, "I said..."
"Okay, so first, we should make them really, really angry..." Tuffnut continued, and Ruffnut gave him an amused smirk.
"No problem," She said, "You anger everybody."
"Correction," Tuffnut added, "We anger everybody."
"True," Ruffnut shrugged, and Astrid sighed irritably.
"Guys!" Hiccup snapped, "This is serious. Mildew wants our dragons caged. And I don't know about you, but that's not okay with me."
"You're right," Tuffnut muttered. "She's sorry," He added, jerking his shoulder at his sister, who promptly punched his arm.
"Okay then," Astrid sighed, "Next problem." She grabbed a loaf of bread from the basket Hiccup carried in. "The dragons are eating everything in sight. Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have," She tossed Stormfly the bread, "You can get it back by just giving them a little scratch below the chin." She demonstrated by giving Stormfly a small scratch, careful to avoid her dead spot, not wanting a Nadder squashing her, and Stormfly immediately let go of the bread, arching into her touch.
"Blah, blah, blah, blah!" Snotlout snorted, snatching the bread out of her hand, "Maybe that works for you and Stormfly, but Hookfang and me... we do things a little bit differently."
Astrid crossed her arms in irritation as she watched Snotlout toss the bread to Hookfang, who caught it, bobbing his head happily, looking quite serene at the moment.
At the moment.
"When I want this big boy to drop something, I just get right in his face, and..." Snotlout suddenly hopped forward, jerking his hand to point at the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs, and Hookfang lowered his head so that it was parallel with the ground, giving Snotlout a look of surprise, "DROP THAT RIGHT NOW! YOU HEAR ME!?"
Hookfang snorted, his eyes narrowing in irritation, and tossed the bread away before snatching Snotlout into his jaws, hoisting him in the air and giving him a good shake before holding still.
"See?" Snotlout said, his voice muffled and slightly shaky, but still sounding a bit smug, "He dropped it." Okay, Hookfang did drop the bread, but...
Hiccup snorted, crossing his arms putting most of his weight on his right leg.
"Heh, heh," Tuffnut grinned, "Should we help him?"
"Yeah," Hiccup smirked, "In a minute." Ruffnut snickered at his mimicked words, and the two shared a small fist bump.
Astrid rolled her eyes before giving a smile. "Alright," She said, "We've still got lots of training to do, but together, we can get these dragons under control."
With that, Hiccup signaled for the team to leave the arena, everyone heading out into the village, the dragons running on ahead of them.
Well... almost everyone.
"Hello?" Snotlout's muffled voice was barely heard over Hookfang's annoyed growls, "Can somebody do that chin scratchy thing? Hey! You guys still there?"
Hookfang snorted before he began shaking him again.
"Huh," Fishlegs grunted in surprise as the group of six walked through the village, searching for the dragons, "No dragons."
Not even a Terrible Terror...
"That was easy," Tuffnut grinned.
"Lunch?" Snotlout added with a satisfied, smug grin, the now freed boy covered in dragon saliva. Good luck getting that out, Hiccup thought with a snort.
"That's weird," Astrid muttered, glancing around the any sign of dragons, "If the dragons aren't here, where are they?"
Just as the words left her mouth, and explosion and a few screams were heard from the plaza.
"My guess?" Hiccup muttered in irritation, pointing toward the large cloud of smoke, "That way."
On cue, everyone sprinted (or, Hiccup tried to sprint, at least) toward the food storage, finding a group of familiar dragons helping themselves to the many barrels.
"Snaptrap?" Astrid exclaimed in horror, and the dark blue Nadder lifted his head from the barrel of cod to give her his attention, the three little Nadders surrounding him and munching on the cod.
"Hookfang..." Snotlout muttered in a similar tone, and the dragon reacted just the same, turning his attention to his rider. Astrid was frozen in place, her attention on the Nadders as Hiccup ran inside the storage just in time to see Stoick toss a broken support beam aside in anger.
"They've eaten everything!" He shouted, "We've got nothing left for the Freeze!"
"I warned you, Stoick," Mildew hissed. Oh, he had to be there. "But did you listen? No! Instead you put a bunch of children in charge!" Astrid bristled almost visibly at the comment, while Hiccup didn't even bother to hide his anger. "Now look at what those dragons have done! Caging is too good for those beasts!"
Astrid cut in before any more could be said, afraid that there was little she could do to help the situation. "Stoick, I can fix this! We, we were just starting to-"
"Enough, Astrid!" Stoick bellowed loudly, making Hiccup cringe; the boy wasn't entirely over the disowning episode, though he and his father were trying. "How can I trust you to control the dragons, when you couldn't even control your own?"
Astrid and Hiccup turned their attention to a cart of meat, slumping in despair at the sight of Toothless and Stormfly sharing the ham. Toothless glanced up innocently, giving his rider a wide eyed look.
"Oh, Toothless..." Hiccup mumbled, and Toothless grumbled in confusion before dropping the ham back into the cart.
"Bucket, Mulch, man the boats!" Stoick ordered.
"It's too late, Stoick," Mulch said regrettably, "It took us six months to catch all that fish."
"Don't tell me it's too late," Stoick growled, "We've got to try."
"Of course we do," Mulch nodded before turning to Bucket, "Don't tell the chief it's too late. You're always so negative."
"I don't know what's wrong with me..." Bucket muttered before following the man to the docks.
"Dad, please, you've got to listen to me!" Hiccup begged, his voice becoming more and more desperate, "I know the dragons better than-"
"Not now, Hiccup!" Stoick snapped, ignoring the pleading looks coming from, not only his son, but the other teenagers as well, "I have a village to feed!"
Astrid glowered; as always, the village came first. Honest to the gods, Astrid thought, He's a father, as well, not just the chief!
"The dragons have done enough damage," Stoick huffed, "By tonight, I want every one of them caged. Understand?" The others shared a look of simultaneous shock and despair, not expecting Stoick to actually take Mildew's advice.
"Bah!" Mildew huffed, "You can't just cage these dragons! You need to send them away now!" The despair grew when the villagers began roaring in agreement, a few villagers who had dragon companions of their own sharing a worried look behind the roaring crowd.
"You're right, Mildew," Stoick nodded stiffly, "We'll cage them tonight, and, in the morning, Astrid and Hiccup will send them off the island."
"What?" Astrid exclaimed, a hand flying to her mouth in her shock.
"Dad, please!" Hiccup begged as the man past him by. Stoick placed a stiff hand on his shoulder, a forced gesture, "I'm sorry, son."
Astrid stared at him as he walked off, not even bothering the stop the tears from welling up.
Astrid sighed in exhaustion as she and Stormfly slowly wandered through the village that night. She and the others had spent the rest of the day hording all the dragons on the island into the arena to stay there for the night, saving their own dragons for last, putting it off for as long as possible. They were allowing the same luxury to those who had dragon companions as well, including Gobber and Elder Gothi, so the imprinted dragons were still with their imprintee Vikings at the moment.
Gobber and Spitelout had taken to giving Stoick the silent treatment due to his decision. Hel, even Elder Gothi was giving the man the cold shoulder.
Astrid released a hefty, shaky sigh before her head snapped up in alarm when she heard a shout and a thud. She and Stormfly quickly sprinted around the corner, catching sight of Hiccup as he slowly and painfully rolled over onto his back, Toothless cooing worriedly as he helped nudge his rider over.
"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed, kneeling next to him, helping him sit up, "What happened?"
"Nothing," He grunted.
His shoulder hurt.
"Did your leg lock up?" Astrid asked, turning her attention to the incomplete appendage.
His leg hurt.
"I'm fine," He growled, jerking his leg away from her touch.
His pride hurt.
"Here, I'll help you up," She insisted, but he jerked away again.
"I don't need help," He muttered, not looking at her.
"Okay," She said calmly, but only leaned away a little, to his annoyance, and he slid upward a little before slowly pulling himself into a sitting position.
"I'm not handicapped," He muttered.
"I know."
"I'm not helpless."
"I know."
The two sat in silence for a moment, Astrid listening as Hiccup tried to catch his breath. Toothless crooned, nudging Hiccup a little, and he sighed, giving the dragon a light pat on the head.
"Sorry," He muttered, and Astrid scooted a bit closer to him before lightly resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't want her sympathy, or anybody's sympathy, really, not even his fellow amputees, so she decided to simply change the subject.
"What're we gonna do about our dragons?" She asked quietly, her head moving with Hiccup's shrug.
"I don't know what we can do..." He murmured, letting his head fall to the side to rest against hers.
"It's gonna be weird without Stormfly or Snaptrap around... and what about the babies? What's gonna happen to them?" Astrid mumbled, "I dunno, maybe I was wrong... maybe dragons can't be trained. A dragon's gonna do what a dragon's gonna do..."
"Wait," Hiccup said, lifting his head, "You know, you're right, Astrid. A dragon's gonna do what dragon's gonna do."
Astrid lifted her head to look at him as he continued, a grin slowly forming on his face. "It's in their nature," He said, "We just need to work with it."
"Learn to use it..." Astrid muttered before glancing up at Stormfly and Toothless, who cocked their heads at her curiously.
"I got it!" Astrid exclaimed, grinning excitedly. She gave Hiccup a quick peck on the corner of the mouth before speedily hopping up and mounting Stormfly. "Let's go get the others!"
Hiccup stared at her for a minute, looking slightly dazed, unused to Astrid taking the initiative, before he used Toothless as a prop to stand and mounted him, following Astrid and Stormfly into the sky.
The next morning found Mulch and Bucket still attempting to round up another load of fish. Pulling up the net for what felt like the thousandth time, Mulch sagged when saw them.
"Empty again," He muttered.
"Did I eat them already?" Bucket asked innocently, "Did I enjoy it? Oops, am I being too negative...?"
A familiar call resounded in the air, and the two turned their attention to the pair of dragon riders rapidly approaching them; Astrid and Stormfly, followed closely by Snotlout and Hookfang.
"Snotlout, scare us up some dinner!" Astrid ordered, a large grin plastered on her face; a truly rare sight to see when she was paired up alone with Hiccup's lovely, lovely cousin.
"Dragon attack!" Bucket yelped, ducking for cover as Hookfang flew over the boat before diving into the water, scaring a large school of cod straight into the net. When Mulch pulled the net up, it was as full as it had been just yesterday, and he shouted his thanks to the pair.
"That's right!" Snotlout crowed, "That just happened!"
Back on Berk, Hiccup and Toothless, accompanied by the twins and Fishlegs on their respective dragons, dive-bombed straight toward a certain grump's home.
"Afternoon, Mildew!" Hiccup smirked, greeting the confused old man quite cheerfully, glancing up to see that the sun was just past its highest point in the sky.
"Three o' clock!" Ruffnut cackled as she and the others called in the dragons to fly over the cabbage fields, "Time for the fertilizer!"
"Okay, Meatlug, let 'er rip!" Fishlegs gently instructed as the green rain began to fall, straight onto the opened cabbage field, much to Mildew's horror.
Well, he's not going to make much of a living now... but it was for a good cause.
Besides, nobody bought his cabbage even before the end of the war, so it shouldn't matter too much.
"Smile, Mildew!" Hiccup smirked as he and Toothless flew past him, "We just saved you three months of work!"
After their respective jobs were completed, the six riders met back up with each other back at the village, dismounting their dragons with glee.
"That was awesome!" Tuffnut grinned, "Did you see the look on his face?"
"How'd you know that would work?" Ruffnut added.
"Because they're dragons," Astrid smiled, giving Stormfly a nice scratch, "And they're gonna do what dragons do. We just have to work with them, not against them like we've been doing."
And, of course, the moment was ruined.
"There they are, Stoick!" Mildew shouted, and Hiccup winced at the dark look on his father's face, "Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me."
"No," Stoick confirmed, glaring at Astrid and Hiccup, "They don't. This is not what I asked for."
Literally minuted later, they had been separated from their dragons and gathered into the arena. The entirety of the village had filled up the spectator stands, and Mildew had taken a front row seat with his creepy pet sheep, Fungus. Stoick entered the arena with Gobber, Cnut, and Thora, marching straight toward the nervous group.
"What's Stoick gonna do to us?" Fishlegs whimpered.
"I'm too pretty for jail..." Ruffnut moaned, and Tuffnut gave a snort of disagreement.
"Heh, who told you that?" He was answered with a fist to the jaw, nearly sending him to the ground, but he managed to regain his composure quite quickly.
Stoick glowered at them. "You all disobeyed my orders," He growled to the cowering group, "And there will be consequences."
"Dad, look, I'm the one who came up with-"
"No," Stoick cut Hiccup off, "You all had a hand in this. You took over this place without asking." They all lowered there eyes in shame. "You released the dragons without my wishes. Things are going to change around here." The teens shrunk, waiting for the punishment. "That's why I-"
"You're getting a dragon training academy!" Gobber cut in cheerfully, unable to hold in his excitement.
"Gobber!" Stoick huffed, and Hiccup felt like it was safe to say that his father was actually whining, "I wanted to tell them that!"
Hiccup caught Astrid's eyes, grinning at the impossibly excited gleam in them.
"Well, you can tell Hiccup the part about how proud you are of him!" Thora cut in, grinning in way that showed she only made her statement to purposely annoy Stoick, who huffed at her.
"Hiccup, that's, well... What she said," Stoick chuckled, a little awkwardly. Hey, at least they were trying. He turned his attention to Astrid, "The dragon training academy is all for you."
There was applauds from the crowds as the bars were lifted from the cages, allowing the dragons to reunite with their riders and companions.
"Hookfang! My buddy!" Snotlout cheered, hugging the Nightmare around the snout, and the dragon purred loudly, nuzzling him.
"Aw, c'mere," Ruffnut cooed, giving Barf a hug, and the dragon head trilled, happily nuzzling against her. Belch trilled as well, attempting to nuzzle her from behind before she shoved him away in annoyance. "Not you," She muttered before turning her attention back to Barf, and Belch snorted in annoyance before his mood was quenched by Tuffnut.
"Oh, Grump!" Gobber crowed loudly as the large dragon lazily hovered toward him, "Oh, give me a cuddle!" The dragon snorted happily, a lazy smile on his face as he landed directly on top of Gobber, who let out a shout.
"Stormfly!" Astrid cheered, greeting her Nadder before Snaptrap nuzzled her as well, the the three babies hopping excitedly around her.
"Hey, Toothless," Hiccup mumbled happily when the black dragon bounded over to him, the boy unable to run on his irritated leg, leaning heavily on his right one. "Good to see you out," He mumbled again, wrapping his arms around the dragon's thick neck, leaning heavily against him in an attempt to take pressure off his leg, and Toothless purred quietly.
"How's it going?" Astrid asked quietly as she made her way across Hiccup's room, looking over his shoulder at the drawing he was working on, the new symbol for the arena.
"I don't know what it should be," He murmured, glancing up at her when she found a small, carved up tree stump to use as an extra chair.
"Use Toothless," She suggested, looking down at the incomplete insignia on the parchment.
Toothless cooed from his perch on Hiccup's window before bounding into the room, his flight gear completely removed, and hopping up onto the rafters before sliding off, hanging upside down by his tail and curling his wings around himself.
Astrid's lips twitched a the sight, shaking her head a little. "He's like a mix of dog, cat, and bat."
Hiccup snorted. "You're tellin' me."
Toothless huffed, shooting the two a look.
"Oh, get over, Boo," Hiccup said teasingly, and the dragon huffed again before closing his eyes.
A small pause.
"Why Toothless?" Hiccup asked, "I mean, it's a training academy, and Stormfly was the first trained dragon."
"But Toothless was the first dragon to be ridden, and that's a bit more of an accomplishment..." Astrid trailed off, "You're the only one who had to pay a price for this."
"Astrid-"
"Just use Toothless," She insisted, and Hiccup sighed through his nose before grabbing his charcoal to begin outlining the design.
"Do you want to be a part of the lessons?" Astrid asked.
"You're the teacher, I'm the leader," Hiccup muttered, "You teach."
"Well, I know... but, I figured, with your interest in them, you would want to help teach."
"I'm still learning, too."
"But you're catching up," Astrid continued insisting, "Really fast. You're gonna be a lot better than me at bonding with them, real soon. You have a way with them that even I'm envious of."
"Okay, look," Hiccup sighed, "You plan out the lessons," she opened her mouth to interrupt, but he cut her off, "You plan out the training lessons, and I'll help out with demonstrations and combat lessons and whatnot, alright? And, if there's a lesson you want me to help you with, I'll help you with it. Does that work?"
"Okay," Astrid agreed quietly, her attention back on his drawing. It was beginning to look more and more like the Strike Class insignia in the Book of Dragons, but with a resemblance to Toothless, especially the left tail fin.
"Berk Dragon Academy," Hiccup grinned, giving her one of his 'love taps' on the shoulder, making her grab it with a wince and a pout, "I like the sound of that."
Astrid grinned as well before she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his in a gentle kiss.
Dragons can't change who they are. And who would want them to?
Dragons are powerful, amazing creatures. And, as long as it takes, I am going to learn everything there is to know about them.
Wouldn't you?
Wow, this chapter has a much higher word count than expected, but that's probably due to the notes.
Yeah, so I stole some stuff from the second movie, but I thought it was too hilarious to pass up.
Also, is it bad that I love reading fluffy scenes, but hate writing them?
1) So, I'm trying to make more sense on how Hiccup's prosthetic stayed in place, so I added onto it a little. It's the same exact leg as in canon, but I added two, wide metal clasps that have curved out points on the insides, which hook into some indents on the wooden portion. The clasps hook into the indents, and are attached to each other by two screws on each side. The clasps are directly in the middle, going halfway down the wood and halfway up the leg. The metal clasps are hidden from view by his pant leg, and are given some extra support with the rope he ties around it.
2) For those who may not remember, Grump was introduced in the final chapter of my first story, and is Grobber's dragon from the second movie. Snaptrap is a dark blue, male Deadly Nadder that was kept in the Kill Ring, as opposed to Stormfly; please keep in mind when trying to picture him, that male Nadders are noticeably larger than the females, and they have underbites as opposed to the females overbites, something I discovered from the httyd website on dragons. I got the idea for Snaptrap after watching 'Gift of the Night Fury'; when Hiccup is on the nesting grounds, a Nadder that was a very similar appearance to Stormfly was sitting next to a much larger, dark, dark blue Nadder with an underbite, so, if you want any references, just watch GOTNF and look out for that underbite Nadder.
3) So, I am completely in love with the way Toothless sleeps upside down. I just think it's the coolest thing ever, so I decided to take away his rock slab and give it to Stormfly, and have my 'verse's Toothless sleep upside down from the rafters in Hiccup's room.
4) There was no such thing as privacy in Viking villages; that was a luxury. It was very normal for three or four or more siblings to share a room, it was normal to see your grown brothers walk around naked during Wash Day or laundry day, and so on. Hiccup, being the heir, is going to have the luxury of a larger house with a separate bedroom, and so is Snotlout, being his cousin, making him a member of the chief's family. As was mentioned in the first story, Astrid's father is the second highest ranking general of the chief's, right below Spitelout, which gives her family enough status in the village to have the luxury of a large house and privacy as well. The twins, who share a room, and Fishlegs, do not have that luxury.
Okay, so it's super late, as I was determined to get this chapter up at all costs, so I am going to post this and go to bed.
I hope you enjoyed the first episode :)