Hellooooo everyone! I know it's been about, uhh...more than a year since I've posted. Has anyone even been counting? At any rate, I'm back with a thing that I've been meaning to do since forever. Multichapter, pre-sequel, and featuring Hiccup in the hot chair where I like him best.

HTTYD (c) Dreamworks, who I'm suing for emotional abuse because of the sequel.

The air by the sea was gloriously balmy. I stared into the distant blue-grey waves, letting my fingers run absently over the time-worn wood of my boat. Soon I would be locked in an epic battle with not only the water, but also the small watercraft.

Toothless nudged me out of my reverie. I cracked a smile and scratched him in his favorite spot. "At least I'll always have you, huh, bud?"

Astrid hauled her boat to the shore next to me. "You ready, Hiccup?" she asked excitedly.

"Not in the slightest."

"Come on, don't be a spoil sport."

"Astrid, I have proven year after year that I am incapable of performing the simplest of viking-like tasks. What makes you think I would be any sort of ready for a boat race when I can hardly carry a sheep?"

Astrid shook her head, smiling. "You really need to lift something heavier than a hammer."

I didn't tell her that I was quite content with lifting hammers. Between that and the academy, I had a satisfyingly full schedule. I mused gloomily on all the things I could be doing instead of participating in the boat race traditionally held to celebrate the thaw of the water.

A horn sounded down the coast, signaling five minutes until we cast off. I heaved a sigh and drug my boat into place. Toothless followed. "No, sorry, bud, you gotta stay here," I said. "Believe me, this won't take long."

All I wanted was to make a decent start. I put all my focus and what little upper body strength I possessed into working the oars hard enough to keep up with the others. I would relax once we were out of view of the shore. To distract from the building burn in my arms, I weighed what chance each of my friends had of winning the race.

"Come on, Hiccup! Pick it up!" Astrid called from in front of me; I had begun to slow down.

I rolled my eyes and waved her off. She may have thought she was being encouraging, but her exhortation did just the opposite. It would surely be between her and Snotlout, unless the twins could cooperate for once.

I rowed at a somewhat leisurely pace. The taunting and shouting lost out to the waves lapping against the boat. The water sparkled hypnotically in the new spring sun. It was so warm that I almost fancied a nap.

A series of powerful splashes and a concussive, resonating tone startled me out my peaceful stupor. I instinctively grabbed an oar to use as protection against the source of that chest-rattling sound that was extremely familiar -

Close ahead the water frothed violently as scaled bodies thrashed near the surface and dove in and out. The Thunderdrums were either playing or fighting; it was hard to tell with dragons. Either way, the current was sucking me right into their destructive path.

Suddenly, and conveniently, I was full of energy. I was just about to start rowing for my life when a thin human scream rose above the din. My heart sank. Of course my friends were right in the middle of that. Of course I had to follow. I sighed and directed the boat closer to the roiling spot.

Debris from shattered boats floated past. I shouted into the chaos and received and answer from an unexpected source.

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs waved at me from a boat a few yards away. "Over here!"

"No, in there!" Tuffnut was in the boat with him. He pointed to the mess. "They're still in there!"

A tiny stream of bubbles announced a surfacing organism. Ruffnut's blonde head popped up over the foam. I quickly held out an oar and guided her into my boat.

"They're still in there," she echoed her brother, coughing up water. "Snotlout and Astrid. The other boats are - "

"Gone, yeah. Are you okay?"

"What's it look like?!"

"Okay, sorry!" I gave her my vest in some attempt to warm her; though the ocean had thawed, it wasn't exactly bath water. "Stay here. Tuffnut and Fishlegs will come get you."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Oh, something stupid."

The water was much colder than expected, something I quickly realized when I dove in. The best way into the frantic dance was under.

There were so many more Thunderdrums beneath the waves. I dodged them to the best of my ability but still got tossed about. I was running out of air when I saw two pairs of legs kicking above me.

Snotlout screamed when I popped up in the chamber of the capsized boat. Astrid almost punched me. I cowered and exclaimed, "Calm down, it's me!"

"Calm down?" Snotlout shrieked. "There is a whole nest of Thunderdrums trying to kill us!"

Astrid demanded, "Is Ruffnut - ?"

"Fine," I confirmed. "Well, she's out, anyway. There's still two boats left, but we have to swim to them. You ready?"

Snotlout was not pleased with the plan, but I took Astrid's assent as the general consensus."

"Okay. Get ready. Big breath, and - !"

We took the plunge. I pointed out a path that was still relatively clear and made sure they were on it before following. Despite being in and incredibly dangerous situation, I had the mental space to reflect that I should listen to my poor upper body strength when it told me something was a bad idea.

A bright blue tail blocked my progress. I panicked when an entire Thunderdrum followed. My lungs burned for air. I scrabbled over the smooth, slippery scales only to be yanked back by the swimming dragon. My left leg was caught on one of its spines and darkness was beginning to creep in on my vision. Astrid and Snotlout were nowhere in sight. I paddled uselessly in a last ditch effort to make it to the surface. The light grew more distant as I was dragged deeper into the frigid depths.