If you've been keeping up with my story Try To Be Brave, you may have heard about this story. This is my take on a popular story idea. Something that I'm going to be doing to make this a little more unique is actually something that I do not often do. The story will be told in alternating POVs. Pretty nifty, isn't it? Hopefully I can pull it off. I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Summoned

It was another peaceful day on Berk. Even the weather, surprisingly, was calm. Usually at this time of the year, as the Snoggletog holiday crept up on the horizon, it was common for the archipelago to experience some pretty extreme storms, but, today, the sun was bright and the air was warm. Hiccup and his friends used this rare weather to hold another race. Ever since Berk made peace with the dragons, racing them high above the ground had become a thrilling sport for all the young Vikings on the island.

"Okay, let's go over the rules one more time," Hiccup, the leader and race organizer, announced again.

Snotlout, making a big spectacle as always, sighed loudly. "Can't we just start the race already? We've 'gone over the rules one more time' three times already!"

Automatically, Hiccup's left hand went to his forehead and began to soothingly pinch the skin between his eyes. In his mind, he counted down until the tension and potential outburst of anger had passed. Why do I always volunteer to organize these races? I have a headache already and we haven't even started yet! "I just wanted to make sure that you and the twins are absolutely certain with the flight plan of the race because I do not want to hear any complaining from you or them should you take a wrong turn," Hiccup explained as calmly as he could. To spice up the race, Hiccup had chosen a new route this time and it was much more complicated than the ones they usually took.

"We've got it, Hiccup!" His voice was sarcastic and Hiccup suspected that his cousin was putting on an act again. "Don't we?" The last question was one that he directed to the twins who were, as usual, arguing while sitting on the heads of their zippleback. Barf and Belch looked to be just a little perturbed to be stuck in the middle of yet an argument between their riders.

"Yeah, sure…wait…what are we talking about again?" Tuffnut spoke up, causing both Snotlout and Hiccup to facepalm.

Exhaling, Hiccup walked over and mounted Toothless, clicking his prosthetic leg into its specialized stirrup. "Fine. Fine. We're ready to start," he told them, slightly exasperated. As the others moved their own dragons to the starting line, Hiccup glanced sideways to Astrid who had been patiently waiting at the starting line for everyone else. She gave him a small smile as if to say "You're doing the best you can." He smiled back, thankful for her silent encouragement.

It was still amazing that they had become such good friends. Less than a year ago, he, Hiccup, once the worst Viking Berk had ever seen, had risen to the top of their dragon training class, surprising everyone in the village and infuriating Astrid. There were only a couple things he had wanted back then: for everyone in the village to just stop crowding him and for Astrid to just hear him out. However, neither had come easily for him. The crowds plagued him until he had finally showed them his secret and Astrid had threatened to kill him until he'd also shown her the very same secret.

Something had changed that night. Where there had once been no connection, now there was a spark. They had become friends and he had even, eventually, introduced her to and helped her bond with her own dragon, now known as Stormfly.

The five dragons were lined up at the starting line and ready to go. "Remember, first one back here to this line," Hiccup told the group while pointing to the line he had drawn into the dirt with his prosthetic, "wins. Ready…set…GO!"

Everyone took off, flying out toward the ocean. The path Hiccup had created wound around the smokestacks, over Raven Point, and, basically, just gave the riders a nice (fast-paced) aerial tour of Berk. As usual, Hiccup took the early lead. Of course, he had a slight advantage because he knew the entire course that was planned, but, as always, Astrid was quick to catch up to him, leaving the twins and Snotlout to vie for third place.

"You really think you have a chance?" Astrid called out to Hiccup over the rushing wind, taunting him.

Hiccup was not phased. Astrid's competitive nature was just one of the many things he loved about her. "I could ask you the same question!" he yelled back with a smirk.

The two best friends were so close, neither backing down. Hiccup stared straight in front of him, not letting Astrid distract him. He could not let her beat him! He knew just the way to beat her! Lowering himself down so that he was practically laying on Toothless, he stealthily and slightly flicked his prosthetic, creating a small alteration to Toothless's tailfin. Though small, this adjustment made a major impact on their maneuvering and speed which completely threw off Astrid and Stormfly. "Just proves that you don't need to eat chicken to win these races, huh, bud?" Hiccup whispered to his friend, patting the dragon in encouragement.

It did not take long for Astrid to catch up and, when she did, Hiccup could see her frustration. Astrid never was good at hiding frustration and anger. "What was that? That wasn't fair, Hiccup!"

Hiccup laughed at her red face, although he was not sure if it had been caused by his little trick or the rushing air around them. "Who ever said anything about fair?"

As always the race came down to a contest between Astrid and Hiccup. The finish line was approaching and neither was letting up, each speeding up. They were both so focused that neither noticed that they had crossed over the line until they realized that they had been in the process of restarting the race's course. Dropping to the ground, all four breathed heavily. It had been quite a race this time!

Before they could catch their breaths, the teens were interrupted by the sound of uneven footsteps on the village's cobblestone roads. Hiccup was very familiar with this sound; his own prosthetic made similar sounds when he walked through the village.

"Truly amazing, kids! It's crazy to think how much Berk has changed in less than a year. Who would have ever thought? Holding dragon races here on Berk!"

It was Gobber. Clearly he had seen the outcome of the latest dragon race. Maybe he could enlighten them on the winner. "Gobber…did you see…who won that race?" Hiccup asked, still gasping slightly.

"Well, it was indeed very close, but I think Toothless edged Stormfly just by the snout."

Both teens were speechless as they processed this answer. Hiccup broke it by pumping both of his fists up into the air above his head. "Yes! Another victory! Way to go, bud!" he congratulated. Then he turned to Astrid with a small smirk. "No hard feelings, right, Astrid?"

Astrid scowled. "Don't get cocky. I will beat you. It may not be next time or the time after, but I will win against you."

"Anyway, Hiccup, I was looking for you," Gobber spoke up again, ending the friendly brawl between Hiccup and Astrid. Before he could continue, though, he was interrupted by the arrival of the twins, closely followed by Snotlout. The two heads of Ruffnut's and Tuffnut's zippleback were hopelessly tangled.

Sighing, Hiccup walked up to them as they landed past the finish line. "What did you two do now? How did this happen?" Each twin pointed to the other and started babbling about who knows what. "Nevermind," Hiccup stopped them, holding up his hands in emphasis. Turning to Gobber, he asked his former teacher, "Can you fix this, Gobber?"

Gobber walked over to the zippleback to inspect. "I don't know, but I will try. Take it to my shop."

Hiccup turned back to the tangled twins. "You heard him. Go…and try not to make things any worse, please," he instructed, pleading.

Surprisingly, the twins and their zippleback did as Hiccup had asked. They must really want to get themselves untangled. They were out of sight before Fishlegs and Meatlug came to the finish line. This was no surprise; Meatlug was not a fast dragon and she was always outdone by the others. The duo landed and Fishlegs patted Meatlug to soothe her for their last place finish.

The remaining teens made to leave and find something new to occupy their time, but, on the way out, Hiccup looked back and noticed that Gobber had not yet returned to his shop to untangle Barf's and Belch's heads. "Gobber? You are going to help the twins, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I need to talk to you first, Hiccup."

"Me?" Hiccup asked, hoping that he had heard wrong. He hated when Gobber said that they needed to talk. Actually, Hiccup hated when anyone said that they "needed to talk" with him. It was a throwback feeling to when Berk still considered him "Hiccup the Useless". Back then, he heard those hated words very often, especially after he had done something detrimental to the prosperity of the village.

By now, Astrid and the others had noticed the absence of their leader and they had come over see what was up. Silently, they stood by and waited.

"So..." Hiccup began nervously. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

Gobber must've sensed Hiccup's nervousness because he amended his prior statement. "I guess I don't really need to talk to you. I just have a message to deliver to you really quick. Your father is the one who wants to talk with you. He told me that you are to go see him immediately."

Well, this is chapter 1. I'm thinking that this is going to be a very interesting story. The writing style (with the two POVs is something that I'm really looking forward to (since I don't do that very often).

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and opt to stick around for a bit. Thank you for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: December 14, 2013