AN: First things first, 1st this is my first fanfic, 2nd english is my second language, critics are welcome, no flames please. It is a mixture of the movie and the books (1-8, at least), I don't know with who Hiccup will end up with in the end. Sorry for any Oocness, I tried to keep loyal to the character personality, within a certain level. Green Death is a giant dragon in the 1st book, same type as the one that Hiccup fought in the in the end of the movie, but the one on the movie it's named Red Death.

Diclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in both medias, movie and books.

Timeline: Passes 1 Year after the movie

Changes and Doubts, Trials and Pain, Girls and Fights

Chapter 1 – The wind of change raises doubts

This is Hiccup here, it's already been a year since the fight with Red Death, and the lost of my left foot, and I am used to my prosthesis now. So much has happened this past year.

Better start after the great showdown, Vikings and dragons now live side by side in the Isle of Berk with the exception of the Rogue dragons (Dragons which are violent towards us and some of our dragons), the Viking world suffered a major change with the discovery that dragons weren't the enemies we thought they were. Two weeks after I woke up, there would be the reunion of most of the tribes that lived in the Barbaric Archipelago, which was called "The Thing", it was basically a bunch of Vikings from different tribes yelling at each others, with the occasional moment of silence were one of the chiefs or someone with something important to say would deliver his message followed by more yelling, talk, some deliberation (rarely much) and perhaps a decision or opinion would rise, accepted by most, but was basically a reunion of tribes trading goods with one another and heated discussions, and fights that commonly occurred, but were soon stopped. It's pretty much, the biggest event involving different tribes, selling and trading goods with other tribes and the chiefs and important members of the villages would discuss Viking politics, if it could be called that…

Last year "The Thing" occurred on the lands of the Peaceable Country. And I insisted in going to show that dragons weren't all bad, but my father, Stoick the Vast, O Hear His Name and Tremble, Ugh, Ugh (AN: That is Stoick's complete title in the books), refused to let me come….

Flashback

"But Dad!"protested Hiccup outraged "If I go I can show that the dragons are our friends, I can change the way they see dragons and then they could even live side by side with them, like they live with us." Said Hiccup angered by the stubbornness of his father.

"That is out of question, you almost died a couple of days ago…" said Stoick with his most authoritative voice, being interrupted by Hiccup in his attempt to change the chief's decision.

"But I am fine now, see." said Hiccup gesturing to himself, "I am all in one pie…. Err… Besides you said it yourself, that we should show them how much we can get along and work together, and what better way to show them that than me and Toothless." Said Hiccup starting to sound more desperate than angry at his father's choice, Toothless who was watching a butterfly by the window, came to his rider at the mention of his name curious to know what was happening.

"You're not the only one who can ride a dragon Hiccup, if we need to show them an example there are other riders who can demonstrate just as well…" again Stoick was interrupted in mid-sentence by his son.

"But none of them are like us, we're…" this time Hiccup was interrupted by Stoick, as he raised his hand as to indicate his son to be quiet, with a stern look in his face and a vein pulsing on his forehead.

"NOT the only dragon riders," boosted Stoick to prove his point, showing a little of the anger that his son's stubbornness was creating in him "and you can't come because you are suppose to be resting and recovering because of your leg, it needs time to heal the wounds and for your prosthesis to adjust to you, just as much as you need time to adjust to it." said Stoick as he regained control over his emotions, and started sympathetically " I know what is like, I saw Gobber after he lost his leg and how hard it was for him, it took him months to walk properly, enough." Said Stoick solemnly, being conscious of his son new disability.

"But I don't need to rest, I am fine, look!" said Hiccup fast, as he forced himself to stand in front of his father, getting up from his bed, and only managing to stay erect for a few seconds before his pain caused him to lost balance and fall to the side, only to be supported by Toothless, 'my best-friend who is always there when I need it' thought Hiccup. Then he added as if he didn't had just failed to prove his point "besides I'll only need to fly on Toothless" said Hiccup trying to sound reassuring while patting Toothless and thanking him for the help and returning to seat on the bed "and that doesn't hurt my leg, much" he added in a low whisper, hopping his father wouldn't hear it, which unfortunately he did.

"And a trip in the sea for someone in your state would only make things worse," started Stoick with concern in his look at the figure of his injured son "perhaps even make you lose your whole leg or your life." stated Stoick grimly "On the sea you won't be able to heal properly, you won't be able to have proper medical care or feed right" said Stoick with a firm voice, but sad for what he said was true and he knew it from experience, he had seen it on others before, it's not a pretty sight. "But if it'll make you calmer about it, you can teach someone about what it has to be said and such." Said Stoick hoping that this would be enough "Why not Astrid? And your friends can even help her. After all, we'll only be leaving in 2 weeks, that's plenty of time isn't?" Asked Stoick with hopes that this would satisfy his son and put him at easy, therefore putting Stoick himself at ease.

"I guess… But can't I just tag along?" asked Hiccup in one last attempt, which after he looked at his father he already knew the answer, so before Stoick could reply he said "Ok, ok, so I guess I better tell the news to everyone," said Hiccup in defeat "that they're going to 'The Thing' and begin the training as soon as possible" explained Hiccup feeling miserable at his own luck, 'yeah, that all of them are going while I'll be left behind' thought Hiccup angry, and walked away with Toothless's help, who was wandering just what had just been decided.

Stoick couldn't help but feel bad for his son, after all, 'The Thing' was indeed a great event, one of the most expected of the year by the Vikings. But he had to do what he thought was best for his son. He couldn't risk losing him again, not again…

Flashback End

Man, it was difficult to train everybody in what they were suppose to do and teach Astrid what to say wasn't easy too, but she learnt all by the end of the 2 weeks and the others, well enough, I guess. Things really changed after Red Death's defeat, most people of the village knowledge me as one of them, though everyone still have their doubts and scars of my many failures and problems that I caused throughout all these years, things like that don't just disappear in a day or two, but it was enough improvement for me.

Since the union with the dragons Astrid wasn't the only one interested in me through, every now and then Ruffnut would flirt with me, sometimes aggressively, others discretely, every time Astrid caught her doing it, she would angrily punch or chase her, and to me, very much the same but she wasn't going to try to kill me, I hope. Astrid could be very jealous sometimes, but most of the times she looks pretty sure of herself.

There would be times of month where she would be so easy to anger, she almost pushed me out of Toothless once, when I asked why she did it the next day, I'm not going to risk losing my life twice in the same day, she told me it was "girl stuff" and wouldn't explain furthermore, when I pressed on she got pissed and storm off. Girls are more of a mystery than dragons will ever be, if you ask me.

Well, anyway, after they all traveled to the "The Thing", that lasts about a whole month or more if there are many things to be discussed, I had to spent all the time at home, orders of the "chief", ensured by Gobber and somewhat Toothless too, what came as a surprise really, so my first month of recovery was spent either at home or on a chair somewhere outside looking at others having fun, walking on their two feet, lucky bastards.

But I noticed another thing about a week or so after everyone had gone away, while I observed the dragons to learn more about them, I noticed that they seem to have their own language, we all thought they were mindless beasts not too long ago, but they seem to even have their own way of socialize and language. That caught my eye and I thought for a long time before I got to the conclusion….

Flashback

'If they can talk with each other, like we do, could it be possible for someone to learn their language? Could it be possible for us, to be able to talk to each other?' Hiccup thought uncertain as he watched Toothless talking with a Monstrous Nightmare and a Gronckle, which seemed to be laughing at something Toothless said, 'perhaps?' wondered Hiccup. After their conversation ended the Night Fury came to rest by the side of his rider and purred as Hiccup scratched his head, still lost in thoughts about the possibilities of his idea working or not.

"Do you think you could teach me your language Toothless?" asked Hiccup looking Toothless in the eyes and feeling silly, just as the words came out of his mouth, for asking that to a dragon as if he could understand him.

Toothless turned his head sideways, and stared at him, as if he didn't quite understood the question this human was making, until he smiled his toothless smile and nodded a confident yes.

At first, the boy didn't know what quite make of it, did he understood the question? He wasn't sure but thought it was better think it was a yes, and so began Hiccup's journey to learn dragonese, with Toothless as his teacher and guide.

Flashback End

"Aahh…." yawned Hiccup at the memory of the beginning of his journey to learn dragonese.

"It sure was hard learn to speak dragonese, especially without much help" finished Hiccup in a lazy manner, when Toothless interrupted saying with an angry tone.

"Hey I helped you a lot! Who do you think taught you our language, huh?" asked Toothless in dragonese feeling a little angry at Hiccup's statement, stopping watching the clouds to glare at the boy.

"You're right" said Hiccup in dragonese "but you're not the only one who helped me, many dragons helped too. Besides you were reluctant to teach me until I made a deal with fish as payment" said Hiccup in response in an accusing tone, which Toothless dismissed with a shrug.

"It's not easy teach someone so stubborn as you, even someone as good of a teacher as me" said Toothless being full of himself, with the thought that he was the first dragon to ever teach a human their language, even through many of the older dragons were against such act, which he intentionally ignored. Then, returned to watch the clouds for a little while.

We're at the cove in the moment, resting after a long day of work. The Cove is the place where Toothless and I really started our friendship, the place he couldn't get out because of his broken fin, it is a beautiful place with a pond at its center with great illumination and secluded in the middle of the forest surrounded by great rock walls, almost nobody knows about this place, except me, Toothless and Astrid. In the afternoon sunlight this place glows an incredible orange and white that in contrasts with the shadows made by the high walls, rocks and few trees makes this single cove seem to be completely apart from the rest of the world, like it's in a world of its own. It's breathtaking to say the least.

Hiccup was thinking of all the things that changed since he and Toothless had become friends, now the Vikings worked with the dragons in their daily lives, and to Hiccup the war that had lasted centuries between the dragons and the Vikings seemed something of such an ancient past, that sometimes it didn't even seemed to be real to him. He thought of the months of recovery necessary for him to get used to his new "foot", which now he could even run with it without much trouble but still hurt in cold days (which means almost all year in Berk) and when he forced it too much. How his relationship with all the villagers changed, Astrid was still his girlfriend but he sensed that perhaps she had doubts and with Stoick, his father, where before there was a look of shame and disappointment, it was now replaced with a look of proud and concern for his son's leg and he even listened to Hiccup now, sometimes (but more than before at least, thought Hiccup), and the other Viking teenagers passed to accept him as one of them, of course Tuffnut and Snotlout still made fun of him sometimes but it was in a more friendly way now, and Ruffnut insisted in flirt with Hiccup when she could and Astrid wasn't in too bad mood(Ruffnut isn't crazy enough to test her luck with an angry Astrid, thought Hiccup with a small smile), when asked why she insisted in flirt with Hiccup by Fishlegs she said it was because Hiccup was the best man of all of the teenagers but it seemed to Hiccup that there was more to it but she didn't want to say in front of them but he reasoned that he was just being full of himself for thinking that. Because of his discovery involving the dragons and his actions, Hiccup gained some fame among the Hairy Hooligans (his village and people) and even among the other tribes, not that he cared much about that, for he had a humble nature, and they didn't even knew he could speak dragonese now, only Gobber, Stoick and his young group of friends knew about it and some still were unsure of how they felt about it.

Hiccup remembered when he first told them about what he had been doing while they were absent, at "The Thing" that had lasted for 2 months, when they returned Hiccup had gone to the harbor to welcome them…

Flashback

"Hey, how was 'The Thing'?" asked Hiccup when he first saw his friends arriving at the harbor curious to know how everything went at the event, while he sat at a box.

"You don't know what you lost, man, there were some beautiful chicks from the Bog-Burglars that were totally at my feet, of course" said Snotlout bragging with his usual cocky attitude, 'like you're telling the truth' thought Hiccup rolling his eyes at the boy.

"Yeah, right, I saw just how much they were interested in you, after you got your ass handed to you by the daughter of Big-Boobied Bertha when you tried to hit on her" laughed Tuffnut and Ruffnut at the memory, making Snotlout shut up and glare at them, as Fishlegs approached them trying to hold back a laughter.

"Big-Boobied Bertha is the chief of the Bog-Burglars," started Fishlegs once he saw the confused expression of Hiccup "and her daughter is Camicazi, after the initial display you trained with us Hiccup, Snotlout tried to hit on her and she didn't liked that" finished Fishlegs laughing a little himself joined by Hiccup, understanding the situation.

"Not one bit." Added Ruffnut, laughing so much she couldn't breathe while embracing her chest with her arms holding her sides.

"Even Fishlegs did better than you Snotlout" said Astrid joining the young group with a smug smile, stopping close to her boyfriend.

"Ah come on, that had nothing to do with anything!" yelled Snotlout desperately wanting for someone to believe him.

"So you manage to fail all by yourself?" asked Astrid in a joking manner trying to conceal a smile and sound serious.

"Yes! No, I mean… I-I..." Snotlout tried to amend what he said but everybody was already laughing their asses off, so he tried to change the subject "Well not all of us can make such success as you Astrid" that gained the attention of all of them and a confused and worried look from Hiccup, and also a meaningful look from Astrid which Snotlout ignored "You made such hit with the boys, especially with the son of the Meathead's chief, what was his name again?" asked Snotlout acting as if he didn't remember holding back a smirk when Fishlegs answered the question.

"Thuggory" Said Fishlegs, automatically, trying to be helpful but regretted after seeing the look Astrid gave him.

"Anyway," started Astrid glaring at a smug Snotlout "you should know that everything went very well and I think they now believe that dragons can be our friends, maybe not all of them but most, probably" said Astrid trying to change subject and tell Hiccup the good news, hoping he would forget what Snotlout had said.

Hiccup noticed her intentions but let it aside "And how did they react when you first show them the truth about the dragons?" asked Hiccup feeling anxious to know how well they accepted this new idea, looking expectantly at the blonde girl at his side.

"You should have seem the look on their faces" Laughed Ruffnut loudly joined by Tuffnut and Snolout "They were so surprised when they saw the dragons and that we were riding them, that they didn't know whether they attacked the dragons or not or what to do," laughed Ruffnut while telling the story "but then Astrid and Stoick started to explain all about the dragons and everything else, about the fight with Red Death and about you too, Stoick looked so proud as he told the story with the help of Astrid" she said the other girl's name with certain discomfort, like she had to admit something bad, while putting emphasis about Stoick's proud about his son's adventure and courage, once the brown haired boy heard what she told about his father being proud of him and telling Hiccup's story like he was a hero, he looked at Astrid looking for confirmation, which she responded with a little nod and a small smile.

As his friends continued to talk to each other and laugh at the things they saw at "The Thing", Hiccup paid attention to their dragons talking to Toothless, curious to know what their opinion was.

"Humph, Hero, you Toothless is the real hero not the human" said Fireworm, Snotlout's dragon, in a snob fashion.

"No they both are, they are a team just like us and our humans" said Horrorcow, Fishlegs's dragon, in a matter-of-fact voice at Fireworm looking at Toothless expecting him to agree with her.

"It's true, we fly as one, me and my human" said Toothless with proud "but tell me more about this 'Thing'" asked Toothless curious and then their conversations became so lively that it was difficult to discern one voice from another and Hiccup's dragonese wasn't very good at the time so he could understand only part of what was being said before and nothing at all at what was being said now.

"So how were things around here while we were out?" asked Astrid towards Hiccup trying to make him join the conversation, when she noticed him dozing off.

"oh, nothing much just the same, rain, cold, flying a little, learning to speak dragonese, doing blacksmith things and..." replied Hiccup without really concentrating in what he was talking, when he realized what he had said he put both hands over his mouth wide eyed, hoping they hadn't heard him, and slowly looked at each one of them.

"Learning to speak what?"Asked Astrid at the same time with Ruffnut, who were the only ones really paying attention to the boy, then glared at each other but that question got the attention of the other boys who asked, "what it is dragonese?" "Did you invent it?" asked Tuffnut and Snotlout looking at the form of Hiccup still covering his mouth with his hands and trying to make himself look smaller. Seeing no other choice, he decided to tell the truth and hope for the best.

"No I didn't invent it, it's the language the dragons talk," timidly explained Hiccup, not daring to look any of them in the eyes, fearing how they would react "I noticed they talk to each other so I thought maybe I could learn, you know," Hiccup started to worry that they would think he was crazy so he started to talk more fast, as if he was ashamed "like you could learn Latin or French, I don't know…." He finished, shifting his weight uneasily observing the young Vikings in front of him, uncertain of the reactions his friends would have to his secret.

They didn't knew how to react to such news at first Snolout,Tuffnut and Fishlegs thought he was crazy for even thinking that, Astrid thought that maybe even for Hiccup that may be a little on the crazy side too and Ruffnut didn't gave much thought to it, sure she was surprised at his statement and thought it was a crazy idea, but it had came from Hiccup, if it had came from anyone else she would thought the person was completely crazy but Hiccup had crazy ideas and they worked, sometimes, and it was one of the things she liked about him and if it could be done he certainly would be the one to do it, she thought and Astrid and Fishlegs also came to the same conclusion, Tuffnut and Snotlout still had doubts but decided it was ok by them.

"So, huh, did you manage to learn to speak that language?" asked Fishlegs first, breaking the silence that had been lingering between them, not knowing what else to say.

"Not much, I am far from being fluent or being able to have a long talk" said Hiccup a little uncomfortable about being questioned on the subject "but I am managing to learn the basics, I guess..." he said trying to sound more confident and tried a reassuring smile, that came out more of a crooked one.

"You are definitely crazy Hiccup," started Ruffnut "and I like it" she whispered in his ear making her breath brush his ear and sent a little shiver down his spine. 'Déjà-vu' thought Hiccup blushing.

"Does anyone else knows about it?" asked Astrid pushing Ruffnut aside in a moment of controlled jealously.

"No, and I would like for it to stay that way, could you guys keep it a secret for awhile, please?" asked Hiccup with pleading eyes towards his friends.

"Sure""Whatever""Ok" was heard from Snotlout, Tuffnut and Fishlegs, "Sure we can" said Astrid in a confident manner, reassuring Hiccup with a little smile.

"Yeah sure we can" said Ruffnut approaching Hiccup closer "but will cost ya, ok?"She whispered so only Hiccup could hear the last part, which he nodded in response, surprised at her response and fearing what that would cost.

"And what about your father?" asked Astrid bothered by how close Ruffnut was "Will you keep it a secret from him too?" asked Astrid concerned for Hiccup's relationship with his father.

"For now at least, I don't want to give him more things to worry about, who knows the things he will imagine if I told him this, he's been worried enough because of my leg" said Hiccup in a flat tone almost neutral, almost managing to hide the fact he couldn't quite trust his father to keep his secrets at least not yet, not yet…

Then Hiccup saw his father coming up the harbor to greet him and Hiccup reminded them to keep it a secret.

"Hello son how was everything while I was away?" asked Stoick while greeting his son, coming closer to the young group "Did you do anything I should know about? Like destroying the Meade Hall?" said Stoick with a little laughter, his tone sounded playful even, as if he was joking, but there was something underneath it. And that made Hiccup wonder if his father was really joking.

"No, everything was uneventful" said Hiccup a little nervous, which after looking at his father's confused face he quickly added "nothing happened and nothing got destroyed by anyone" said Hiccup, with a crooked smile looking at his father's face trying to see if that was enough for him.

"Good! And how have been your recovery?" asked Stoick full of concern that had been piling up the last 2 months at "The Thing".

"Pretty well actually" he said happy to not being asked anymore about his actions "I think that in a few weeks it may be completely healed" said Hiccup with hope in his voice, and a sympathy look from his father knowing it would take more than a few weeks, but said nothing about it, not wanting to crush the boy's hopes so soon.

"Still don't force yourself okay?" asked Stoick still unable to pass his concerns about his son's leg, Hiccup responded with a nod and Stoick marched home to prepare for the meeting that would happen at the Meade Hall later, to explain how things had gone at "The Thing" and the decisions that had been made to the villagers (One of the decisions made were that "The Thing" would held at Berk next year).

Hiccup watched his father go and wondered whether he should have told his dad about the dragonese language or not, while he turned his attention towards his friends who where in a heated conversation and full of laughter, putting his concerns on the back of his mind for now.

Flashback End

"Do you think I did the right thing not telling dad about the dragonese language that time at the harbor, Toothless?" asked Hiccup to his best-friend who was just laying on the floor beside him, resting.

"Don't know but doesn't make any difference now, does it?" answered in a matter-of-fact tone, Toothless who now could understand the human language well enough to talk to Hiccup without the human talking in dragonese to answer him, most of the times.

"I guess you're right, besides it's already too late anyway," said Hiccup with a sigh "I just wished I was the one to tell him about it, you saw how hurt he seemed when he found out" he said with a sad and hurt look in the eyes, to Toothless expecting some response that could make him feel better, unconsciously wanting something to diminish his guilt.

"But he seem okay now" said Toothless trying to reassure his friend but failing at it miserably.

"He looks at me with disappointment again and I don't know what I can do to make things better" said Hiccup feeling defeated, 'I, the Dragon Tamer, can't even speak with my own father properly' thought Hiccup with dark humor, and then remembered when his father learned about his secret….

Flashback

"Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?" asked Stoick full of outrage at his son.

"Because I thought you would think I was crazy and I tried to tell you this before!" replied the chief's son, feeling angry at being yelled at, when he thought that it was the chief's fault for not listen to him.

"Oh Really, when? I don't remember you ever telling me about it!" they were now in a heated discussion which could only end badly and Toothless knew that, so he stayed in a corner far from their view but close enough for him to hear and act if necessary.

It had been almost 10 months after Stoick came back from "The Thing", and it was becoming hard for Hiccup and the other teens to keep Hiccup's secret a secret, especially since after their dragons learned the fact that the boy could understand them, they asked him to deliver messages to their masters for them, and they can be pretty annoying about it if you try to ignore them.

Gobber was the first to notice this stranger new behavior of the dragons towards the boy and the strange reactions of the other teens when Gobber questioned them about it, so he decided to ask Hiccup directly about it, and kind of "forced" the answer out of him (in Hiccup's opinion), and after he learned the truth, he thought it was crazy but then he remembered that this was Hiccup and accept it without much resistance, being used to the boys antics. Later the same day Gobber talked to Stoick about it (thinking that the chief knew of his son's actions) and asked if he was as shocked as Gobber when he first heard the secret, which in response Stoick dashed out of the Meade Hall with a infuriated look, feeling humiliated and angry at the actions of his son, and stormed inside his house, to find his son on the living room roasting a fish in the fire, then confronted Hiccup as to why Gobber knew about it when he didn't, why he had hided that from him.

"Well, I didn't exactly told you with all the words," admitted Hiccup looking away for a second, before turning to look at his father in the eyes with a fierce look of anger, anger that was slowly growing inside him at the moment "but I asked what you thought about the idea of someone learning to speak the dragon's language and you just laughed at it!" yelled Hiccup more loud then he thought it was possible for him, so loud that even Stoick was caught off guard " and when I insisted that I thought it was possible, after you laughed, you looked me in the eyes and said to don't think about crazy things like that, you said even for me that was crazy!" Hiccup's explosion of anger was mixing itself with a new flame of self-pity that started to rise "So then I realized, that you still think I am just a crazy boy isn't? After all that has happened you still have doubts about what I'm capable of." Continued Hiccup, his voice getting more and more filled with hate, shame and sadness, with his own line of thoughts becoming more and more grim "You saw I was right about the dragons, and you still think I am just your crazy, screw up son… Isn't?" demanded Hiccup with a look of sheer despair and rage, wanting answers and letting out the most grave and dark thoughts that lived in the darkest corners of his mind, thoughts unknown even by himself "JUST YOUR CRAZY SCREW UP CRIPPLED SON ISN'T?" tears were falling down Hiccups face while he screamed his fears and doubts, he didn't even realized he was crying, only when his vision had become blur did he realize the flow of tears escaping his eyes and heart.

Toothless saw Hiccup's face and listened to his words, then rushed silently to Hiccup's side and purred trying to cheer his best-friend and rider, not knowing what else he could say, what else he could do… And that hurt him so much he wanted to cry himself, to show that he would always be there for this boy, he would do anything to help and protect him, just as he knew the boy would the same. And yet he couldn't comfort this boy like Astrid could in this situation, couldn't pat him to calm him like Hiccup did with the dragon, he couldn't even stop the boy from continuing injuring himself, and that hurt the dragon more than his rider would ever know…

Stoick was out of words, to say the least, he didn't know what to do, at first he was mad at his son for not trusting him, his own father, about what he was doing and after this outburst he realized that he caused this to himself, he made his son not being able to trust him, not because of the conversation that Hiccup was talking but because he could see the scars of all the years he had show disapproval and shame about everything that his son did and sometimes just said, for what he was… He saw he had scarred and hurt his son more than he thought and understood why he kept his action hidden from the other villagers too, then he really looked at the boy who was standing in front of, he was taller then he remembered, of course had been 1 year since Red Death's death, his hair still bright brown even in the dimly lit room they were, he didn't limped anymore, he could walk straight and tall now, a true example of a man, his shoulder were more broad too, he was still skinny but gained more muscles, his hazel eyes now blurry from the tears of anger and sadness made hard to Stoick to look at them, but he forced himself to do so, he didn't knew what he could answer to his son, sure to him most of Hiccup's ideas still sounded crazy but he was more used to them now, and to him he wasn't a screw up, 'at least he isn't anymore than before' thought Stoick and felt guilty and shame about thinking such thing, Hiccup still looked at him with anger and sadness and a growing despair that hid behind everything else and seemed to grow the more the silence extended and Toothless, his dragon, looked at him with slit cat-like eyes and a narrow look of rage at his master's father, ready to pounce him for what he did, 'and perhaps I deserve that' thought Stoick grimly to himself.

The more the silence lasted, more Hiccup thought that in his sudden outburst perhaps he had been right and his father really did think he was a crazy screw up, a weak cripple, a shame as a son, a worthless heir and a source of suffering, something better not even being born, 'could it be that's what my father thinks' Hiccup asked himself… More and more his despair grew as he looked at his father in the eyes still burning with rage and sadness and hate at his own words, expecting his father to say anything, that he wasn't crazy, that he wasn't just a screw up in his eyes, a poor bastard who didn't had one of his legs, he prayed internally for his father to yell at him about how absurd were his words, how crazy these words were, anything to prove him wrong, anything at all, 'please, anything' thought Hiccup closing his eyes for a moment wishing for something to break this silence, but nothing could be heard except them breathing, the angry growl of Toothless and a thunder in somewhere that seemed to be far away, so far away, in the trance Hiccup was.

When the silence became unbearable, Hiccup started walking towards the door with Toothless right on his heels turning his glare between Hiccup and Stoick, from concerned to angry to concerned again, as he walked the shadows of the room seemed to be attracted to the boy's figure covering his whole face in darkness hiding his expression from Stoick's eyes. As he reached for the doorknob Stoick tried to say anything at all, 'just say something before is too late' thought Stoick in his own despair.

"I love you son, that won't change no matter what anyone else say or think" said Stoick fast without thinking, but meaning it and praying it would be enough.

"Even if the one who thinks such horrible things about me is yourself?" asked Hiccup in a cold, emotionless voice, the hand still in the doorknob, that voice frightened Stoick , he never heard it coming from his son before.

Toothless stared at his riders face with such sadness that even Stoick could see what the dragon was feeling, and that weighted in his heart even more.

"I-I…" 'don't think you're crazy or a screw up or a cripple, son' it was what Stoick wanted to say but he wasn't sure if really didn't thought any of that himself, so he said the only thing he was sure enough "I believe you're different but not a total screw up" he said with a sad look on his face and a great weight on his heart.

Toothless could hear the plead in the voice of the enormous man, known for his incredible strength and determination and total lack of doubts, hoping his son would believe him, but as soon he finished talking Hiccup opened the door and mounted Toothless without any destination and it was starting to rain, Hiccup's tears soon became part of the rain and Toothless didn't knew whether the boy was still crying or not, while they dived into the stormy night.

Stoick stood staring at the open door and at the rain that was now beginning to fall, and gazed where he last saw his son's figure before being engulfed by the darkness.

Flashback End

'That happened about 2-3 weeks ago and we still can't seem to talk to each other more than a few seconds' thought Hiccup feeling sad and ashamed by his inability to change the situation so far. He brought most of his belongings to the Cove where he found Toothless, he had been living there in the last few weeks in a cavern he found in there, he even made a bed of fur, no one knows he had been sleeping there except Astrid who knew the place and found him after he didn't come home the night after the fight and Stoick got worried. Hiccup still visited the village, worked on the dragon fishing with Toothless and with Gobber at the blacksmith shop, at the first week Hiccup ignored his father's attempt of conversation out of anger, but by the second week his anger had subsided and what replaced it was a sense of shame for his behavior and he felt uncomfortable in the presence of Stoick now.

Neither of them knew how to solve this situation, they could partially talk now without too much tension in the air thanks to Gobber, Astrid and Toothless efforts, 'but things can't just go back to how they were before, not after all I said to him' thought Hiccup. He didn't mean to hurt his father so much but he really felt like that in some corner of his mind, that much he knew.

While Hiccup was reflecting about all that happened between him and his father and reflected about what he could do about it, he didn't notice a shadow coming closer and closer, with a stealth and precision that even Toothless, who was drinking almost didn't notice their new visitor, until Hiccup was suddenly tackled from behind, making him gasp in surprise, with enough force to throw him to the ground if it wasn't because his attacker was holding him firmly, but not painfully which made him even more surprised at first then he began to turn around, still in his unknown assailant hold, to find beautiful blue orbs looking directly at his green ones.

The visitor planted a light kiss on his lips, gentle but forceful in some way he couldn't quite put his finger on, then he knew for sure who it was and a smile crept into his features.

"How have you been doing?" asked Astrid partially automatically "I didn't saw you in the village today, is everything okay?" she now asked with more concern but not too much to maintain her cool look, unlocking her hold of her boyfriend and looking in his beautiful green eyes.

"Yeah, just wanted to relax after the work and think some things through" replied Hiccup in relaxed way, contrary to what he felt inside "I'm trying to find a way to tell everyone about the dragonese language, the best option I can think of is that I should do it in front of everyone, maybe," he felt nervous at the thought of the consequences "but if anything goes wrong then I'll be shipped it off to the sea tied to a post, like a crazy person" said Hiccup starting to feel annoyed by remembering his earlier problem and of the conversation with his father at the mention of the word crazy.

"Do you think I would let that happen?" said Toothless with a smug look "I would like to see them try and fight me" showing an amused feral grin.

Hiccup laughed quietly and Astrid asked what he said, Hiccup answered "Toothless said that if anyone tried to do that to me, he wouldn't let without a fight" said Hiccup looking at his best friend with a small smile on his face.

Then Astrid added "He's not the only one, with the 2 of us together it would be necessary an army of Vikings to defeat us, right boy?" asked Astrid looking at Toothless who responded with a great roar, Astrid knew he was agreeing with her and smiled at him, turning to look the boy in the eyes.

"You're too important to us" she said with an ache in the heart and happiness at her ability to be honest without having to hit him, a habit she was trying to let go and it was proving to be hard.

"She is right, even through you're obviously more important to me than to her" Toothless said in a matter-of-fact voice and with playful eyes.

Hiccup smiled happy for having people who cared so much about him, and tackled Astrid to the ground laying on top of her "Payback for the surprise attack" he said in a playful tone smiling, looking at her beautiful face and the loose strands of hair in her face, pushing them aside with the back of his hand, caressing her skin, as she laughed at his comment enjoying the pressure of the boy on top of her, feeling his heat, his breath.

When she opened her eyes they immediately locked with Hiccup's and they stayed a few moments there, just looking and losing themselves in the gaze of each other, moments that seemed to last an eternity to them, as Hiccup, unconsciously, inched closer and closer to Astrid while he still gazed at the beautiful warrior goddess of his dreams, the kiss started slow and gentle like a light flame at the beginning of its life, but grew hunger with the lust of the teenagers, before they parted to breath they were already in full make out session, that lasted a few minutes before Astrid could master enough strength to part their lips, when Hiccup showed a confused and hurt look at her action she started "I came here to give you an important message from the Chief, and if we continue I might end up forgetting it" she said looking away while pulling a loose strand of hair behind her left ear with a light blush on her cheeks, Hiccup didn't know whether it was because of what they were doing or if it was because of the comment she just said that she was blushing, but he knew she looked real cute when she blushed "he said that he wants you there in the harbor by his side when the other tribes come for 'The Thing' tomorrow, and I think you and him should have a real talk about what happened between you guys, it's just stupid things staying this way." she said in her most kind yet stern way, like a mother scolding a child, Hiccup didn't tell her everything with all the details about his conversation with Stoick, just the highlight.

He thought he didn't need to make himself look even weaker then he already appeared to be to her.

"It's not that simple Astrid" started Hiccup settling himself in a sitting position in front of her.

"And why not?" asked Astrid outraged "How hard can it be to say hi to each other or held a conversation that last more than 10 seconds? Aren't we doing this right now?" exclaimed Astrid in voice that was almost a scream "Don't you agreed Toothless?" asked Astrid looking for support from the dragon, hoping his opinion would help change Hiccup's mind.

"I agreed, you're just being stubborn, both of you are!" hissed the dragon "All you need to do is have a real long talk then you will both realize how stupid this problem between you two was." Toothless said, confident this idea could very well be the solution for the human's problem. He hoped…

Hiccup seemed to consider what they said to him, sitting between Astrid and Toothless, until he could feel both of their stares waiting for his response, he sighed and said "Alright, alright, I'll give it a try. You can say to my dad that I'll be there and that I want to talk to him tomorrow while we're at the harbor" Hiccup said trying to sound calm about it to Astrid, but resolute.

"But tomorrow is when they arrive! Wouldn't be better to talk to him today?" asked Astrid annoyed by the choice of her boyfriend regarding such important thing, both the event and the value of the talk she wished he would have with his father.

"Take it or leave it" Hiccup said in a firm voice, trying to sound confident about his own choice but he had doubts about his own reasons, with an aggravated 'Fine!' Astrid agreed to deliver this message to the chief of The Hairy Hooligans, and then he relaxed now that the matter was over, for now.

When she suddenly got up after their agreement, Hiccup was caught by surprised and asked where she was going, and she answered "Now that this is all set I have to let the Chief know" in flat voice, she was clearly angered by Hiccup's decision and walked off the Cove saying under her breath how Hiccup was being childish and stubborn and stupid but at a distance that only Toothless could hear her.

"Why tomorrow? Why not today?" asked Toothless not quite understanding the human's motive either, after the girl had gone away.

"I don't know if I could meet him today" Hiccup said truthfully "I just think that if we talk in a public place like that and knowing we're going to see each other beforehand maybe we can prepare ourselves better, I don't know" and he was telling the truth, he didn't knew why he still wanted to delay what he knew it would have to happen eventually, but knowing it wouldn't happen today made him feel calmer.

"Do you want me to be by your side when you talk to him?" the dragon asked concerned for thehuman's welfare, wanting to know if he wanted some support from him.

"No, thanks, but don't be too far okay?" he asked being able to feel his own weakness in his voice, but relieved to say it.

Toothless showed his famous toothless grin and said "of course not. I'll never be too far away" he said, in a calm and gentle voice, reassuring his rider, who seemed to have some imaginary weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Thanks bud" said Hiccup with a true smile hugging the Night Fury, feeling calmer and more confident now, he started to prepare to light a fire then said "we better start making dinner, is already getting dark. Could you get the fish bag for me?" asked Hiccup as he began to work on the campfire.

As Toothless went to get the bag full of fishes in the cavern, result of the morning fishing with the other dragons and their young Vikings riders, he stopped to look at the bed made entirely of pieces of fur and wondered whether it would be their last night in the improvised bed, with a certain feeling of sadness in his heart. Then he took the bag to Hiccup, who was looking intensely at the fire, as if it would tell him something that could solve all of his problems.

"Thanks" he said when he realized Toothless standing by his side staring at the fire as if to see what had the boy so hypnotized " how many tribes do you think will come to 'The Thing' this year?" 'The Thing' would be held at Berk this year and even Hiccup was anxious to meet the other Vikings from different tribes, especially this girl called Camicazi, heir to the Bog-Burglars, and Thuggory, heir to the Meatheads, whom he heard so much about their tribes from his father.

"I don't know, who usually come?" asked Toothless not taking his eyes of the fire yet but curious about the subject, he didn't knew exactly what this 'Thing' was but seemed to be when many humans joined together to something, the dragons that had gone the previous year said that it seemed to be the humans mating season because a lot of the males seemed to court the females and fight a lot too. Probably to show their strength in front of the females and show dominance over other males, reasoned Horrorcow, Fishlegs's dragon.

"Well the Meatheads will certainly come, being so close to Berk, the Hysterics and the Bog-Burglars always come too, and the rest I don't know, perhaps the Lava-Louts will come too…" said Hiccup unsure, realizing he didn't knew who would come, when he was suppose to, being son of the chief and all.

"Meatheads and Bog-Burglar, hummm…. I think I heard those names before…" said Toothless trying to remember where he had heard of them before.

"It must have been from dad, the Meathead are our swear rivals and enemies, maybe? I'm not sure which one, and the Bog-Burglars have a treat with us, so we're at peace with them for now, they are also a tribe of female warriors, known for being the strongest women at sea and also known for their beauty." Said Hiccup, wondering if the rumors about the beauty of the Bog-Burglars had some truth in it, while he picked up a fish for him and put it on the fire to cook and another one to Toothless still lost in his own thoughts, putting it in front of him.

"Tomorrow will certainly be a day to remember" said Hiccup without realizing, Toothless heard it and asked what he meant "because it will be the first time that I'll be at 'The Thing' and I have the feeling that something is about to happen and we're part of it" said Hiccup with thoughtful eyes looking at the fire, without really seeing it, hoping the feeling was a good sign.

"I hope that it's in something good" thought Toothless with the same expression and gaze, now realizing he had the same feeling and that worried him even more…

At the same time Stoick was looking at the fire, located at the center of the room, wondering about what tomorrow would bring for him and his son. When the fish was ready he forced himself to eat it, for he knew he would need the energy for tomorrow.

In a ship not far from Berk, a tall figure loomed on the deck gazing at the horizon "Do you think he is all that they say? About this Hiccup boy?" from the shadows behind the tall figure appeared a smaller one accompanied by a dragon not far behind, their footsteps making almost no noise at the sound of the crashing waves hitting the ship.

"I don't know, but if even half of what they say about him is true, I definitely want to know him" said the voice of the smaller figure smiling at the deck, the taller figure just shrugged and went inside the ship. The smaller figure stayed on the deck gazing where the taller figure was gazing before, after a moment or two of silence the figure said "What do you think of his dragon, Toothless?" asked curiously the figure, still gazing the horizon.

"If this 'Toothless' dragon did really fought the Red Death and won. I think he may be worth seeing, but with the name 'Toothless' I wouldn't have much expectations" said the dragon figure coming closer to the human figure, feeling a little anxious to know the famous toothless dragon.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III" said the figure with a hint of admiration and curiosity for the boy known by that name, the dragon hissed " Toothless" with a similar mixture of feelings, 'we'll meet soon enough' thought both figures, human and dragon with a smirk.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III" said another figure in another ship, with a hint of disgust in his voice "soon you will see which one of us is worth the title of heir" said the figure with a crazy smile and a laughter that could send chills through the spine, and soon was joined by the hiss/laugh of a big dragon who was beside the figure, with its own evil thoughts.

''''Very soon…'''' thought the four mysterious figures looking at the island that started to appear on the horizon…