This... is Berk.

Hiccup shut the door behind him, breathing heavily.

That was close. He heard a crackling noise and saw his house catching fire.

Most people have mice, or fire-ants, but not us.

He took a deep breath and ran outside, roughly managing to get away from the different Vikings who decided to yell in his ear. He heard an ear-splitting roar and looked up.

We have... dragons.

Finally, he made it to the forge. "There you are! I thought you'd been snatched up!" The large blacksmith exclaimed, in a thick Viking accent.

"Nah, me? They don't want me, they wouldn't know what to do with all... this." Hiccup stated, whilst striking a muscular pose, which, due to his... generous lack of muscle, looked nothing short of comical. "They need toothpicks, don't they?" The burly blacksmith deadpanned. Hiccup responded with mock hurt and went to sharpening swords.

The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber.

Hiccup looked outside, seeing different Vikings from around the village attacking dragons. He paused for a second when he saw Astrid.

Astrid...

She had just thrown a bucket of water onto a flaming house, saving it's two inhabitants. The rest of the teens walked next to her as she moved on.

Their job is so much cooler.

But he was jolted from his admiration when Gobber announced that he was needed on the battlefield. Promptly ignoring his warning not to go anywhere, he grabbed his invention and wheeled it to a cliffside, where he did it. I shot down a Night Fury! His excitement was short-lived however, when a Monstrous Nightmare appeared behind him, almost killing him before it was beaten by Hiccup's father, followed up by a humiliating public scorning by said man.

Stoic the Vast, chief of the tribe.

The next day, Hiccup found the downed Night Fury. He also found that he couldn't convince himself to kill it. So he set it free, and was pleasantly surprised when he wasn't immediately killed.

That night, his father announced to him that he would be participating in Dragon Training. Unsurprisingly, the results of the first class the next day where terrible, as was the result of him looking up Night Furies in the Book Of Dragons.

Over the next few days, he went to a hidden cove, where he had found out the dragon had became trapped. On each visit, he learned something about the dragons, which he would then apply to Dragon Training lessons. Over time, he became more and more friendly with the dragon.

Which brings us to today, during the latest dragon raid.

HICCUP POV:

I'm not sure what to do. None of the tricks I've learned about dragons will work when they're so riled up. I've got to get to the cove. I wonder if I can just wait it out with Toothless. The cove is probably the safest place to be right now anyway.

I run out of the forge, taking care to stay out of sight. I don't want anyone to know I'm gone. As I pass the line of the woods, I slow to a walk. I'm at the cove now, in the little cave where Toothless sleeps. He's moved a boulder that was in the cave to the entrance, blocking us from the sight of any dragons that may fly by here.

And then we hear it, an ear-splitting screech coming from the village, and then all is silent. We wait for a few minutes, before I gesture to Toothless. He quickly complies, living the boulder so that I can exit the cave.

When I reach the village, my heart stops in my chest. All of the villagers are lying on the ground, and none of them are moving.

-this is a tEm skip-

THIRD PERSON POV:

The Vikings had been fighting of dragons as usual when an crystalline dragon blasted the village, killing a few Vikings and putting the rest in an effective coma.

Hiccup ran back into the village shortly after, followed by Toothless, who seemed uneasy about the situation. Hiccup cried when he saw his father lying unmoving, but his features changed into that of a hardened determination when he realized that most of the Vikings were still alive.

HICCUP POV:

They weren't moving. I was frozen in fear as I stared at the destruction. I ran through the village, trying to find anybody awake. I froze as I saw Astrid, clutching a empty bucket, sprawled on the ground. I quickly ran to her, and briefly panicked before seeing her cheat rise and fall. She's alive, thank Thor. I then ran to where I saw my father, and he was still breathing as well.

I ran around and checked everyone, to make sure they were alive. I froze when I saw that Astrid's dad wasn't breathing. I checked his pulse to make sure. He's dead. I froze in shock, unsure what to do. I asked Toothless to sniff him, hoping I was wrong.

Toothless sniffed him, then looked at me with an apologetic expression evident on his face. I wept silently for a few minutes. Oh gods... poor Astrid. I worried for Astrid. I knew how terrible it was to lose a parent, but I was different. I wasn't old enough to remember mom. She's had her dad her whole life.

I stood up, hardened determination clear on my face. I counted all the dead, and carved their names into a plack.

John Hofferson, Gothi the Wise, Phlegma the Fierce, Furgop the Forgetful, Remog the Revered, Bucket the Brainless.

With my mind set to one day avenge my dead neighbors, I prepared a boat with sticks and coal, ready to send them to Valhalla.

THIRD PERSON POV:

Quickly, Hiccup had Toothless gather the dead onto the boat, which he sent away burning. He took the plack that he made of all their names, and affixed onto one of the walls of the cove. Toothless then helped him carry the rest into the cave, where they laid them on beds Hiccup had taken from their houses.

Hiccup had to take care of all of them now, and he wouldn't give up until every single Viking had woken up. And besides, he had Toothless beside him to help.

A/N: so this is a little 'what-if' one shot I cooked up for no apparent reason. Tell me if you want more, guys.