Chapter 1

The Viking village of Berk did not know this, but it was being watched.

It was always being watched, in fact, but its inhabitants merely carried on about their simple lives; dreadfully ignorant of the Being that was so interested in their existence. The Being held a valid interest in the little mortals, however, as He was the one who gave these Vikings, as well as every other creature on this still young Earth, Life.

The Creator watched, invested and enthralled, from a place that was neither here nor there as His children went about their daily grind, and He laughed when He saw a small, one-legged human muttering to himself. The boy walked beside another one of the Being's creations, of which He was enormously proud, with one hand on the creature's pitch black flanks. The dragon, for that is what he was, prodded his nose into the crook of the human's arm worriedly; he could tell when his human brother was distressed. Now though, it wasn't so much distress as frustration, as the Creator marked with amusement.

Hearing His child's grumblings again, He laughed merrily and, simultaneously, all the young in the world burbled and giggled in pure, unadulterated joy. Including a hatchling of a certain, feline-eyed dragon species.

The Creator's eyes lit up mischievously as an idea came to him, courtesy of the objective, aptly named (thanks to His human children) 'Night Fury' hatchling. Somewhere, the rumbling of distant thunder echoed the timbre of His more subdued chuckle, signifying the rain that would prevent a decade long drought, as He put His plan into action.

His child thought life to be uninteresting now that the dragon queen had been defeated, did he? Well, He would answer his wishes in the best way He knew. But first, to mould for him a form that was more reflective of the boy's character…

Toothless' head whipped up from where he'd been sleeping on the floor of his old cove. He cocked both ears and carefully swivelled them around, the symphony of the forest surrounding him bursting to life and raising him to his feet. There were no sounds that were out of the ordinary, however, and for a moment the dragon was lost as to why he had awoken so suddenly.

Then he felt it again. He felt what seemed to be a physical tug on his heart, telling him to find his human. He didn't know why, but suddenly, he was desperate to get to Hiccup for fear of the worst. He didn't know what 'the worst' could be in the relatively peaceful state Berk now found itself in, but why else would he feel such an immediate desire to reach the only creature he had ever dared to consider family, arise from nowhere.

Toothless leapt into the air with his old ease and grace, briefly glancing back at the contraption Hiccup had made for his tail that could be controlled by the Night Fury himself (he had clearly had a lot of time on his hands) before soaring off to where the boy and his friends had gone for the day. Now, Toothless had never really believed the saying: 'everything happens for a reason'. In fact, he had never even heard it spoken. But little did he know how central this simple, human phrase was soon going to be, especially considering Hiccup's impeccable timing with this particular invention, to both his and his human brother's lives.

Toothless reached the old 'kill ring' on the outskirts of the village and landed hastily, his head bobbing up and down as he tried to catch a glimpse of his human among the figures of various heights and thicknesses. The ring had once been where the training of the human young took place, to prepare them for a (possibly not too lengthy) adulthood of dragon slaying. Now though, it had an entirely different purpose and served instead to train the dragon hatchlings that, as of late, had been running rampant throughout Berk. Yes, the Vikings' attitude towards their draconic companions had certainly undergone a drastic change.

The ring was full to the brim now with both adult dragons and their hatchlings, but Toothless only had eyes for the single five humans he had just spotted that, at this point in their young lives, fell under neither of the two categories. He hurriedly attempted to make his way to the opposite end of the ring, where Hiccup and his friends were cooing over the baby dragons, but was sent sprawling across the dusty ground when a Nadder mother was shoved backwards into him. Her son had clearly misjudged the force of his fire and, while he had hit one of the targets that had been set up for the hatchlings by their human onlookers, the force of his flames had sent him careening backwards into his unsuspecting mother, who was now fluttering worriedly around a dazed Night Fury. The little hatchling himself walked sheepishly up to Toothless' face and nuzzled at a leathery cheek apologetically. The contact snapped the black dragon out of his shock and, with a quick, forgiving lick to the baby Nadder's forehead, he set off in a panic once again in Hiccup's direction. Seeing that Hiccup was perfectly fine, Toothless had thought the tug in his chest would have dissipated; but it was the opposite that had occurred. It was fiercer than ever and, for a brief moment, the dragon actually believed that he was having a "panic attack". At least, that's what Fishlegs had announced his bouts of fear-induced shortness of breath to have been, before he had developed a friendship with Meatlug. And now, the Gronckle had grown rather fond of the large boy herself, being able to calm him down with a nuzzle before anything escalated too quickly.

Toothless quickly realise that his own fears were not unfounded when a sudden parting in the crowd gave him another glimpse at the group of human teenagers. What he saw chilled him to his fiery core.

Hiccup, who had only moments before been talking and laughing with his human friends, was now writhing on the floor in what seemed to be intense pain. Toothless let out a worried roar that immediately earned him a clear path to the boy as all the other dragons scrambled to get out of his way. The other humans also looked up in shock when the Night Fury came careening towards them, urgently sniffing the one-legged Viking for any sign of what it was that ailed him.

The group of humans that had surrounded Hiccup, aghast at his unexpected collapse, suddenly gasped collectively and stumbled backwards. Toothless himself, reared up in alarm and crashed into the teenagers at the horrifying scene that was unfolding before him. Hiccup's form was bending and twisting in unnatural ways, clearly through no control of his own. Sickening cracks and grinding of bones could be heard coming from the young man and, instinctively, the draconic mothers present in the vicinity shielded their young with a protective, leathery wing. The Viking's head snapped backwards, and the onlookers were surprised, but relieved, to see that he did not seem to be in pain. In fact, the boy appeared to be unconscious. His shocked grunts had dissolved into laboured breathing, that hitched with each new convulsion, but the boy himself seemed to be in a catatonic state. It was far from peaceful, but the humans present registered in the backs of their horrified minds that it was probably stopping him from experiencing what surely would have been a soul-crushing pain like none other.

Hiccup's frame had been changing while these subconscious thoughts tried to make themselves known, and what now clearly seemed to be the repositioning of his bones was accompanied by their growth and thickening. Shoulder blades also protruded outwards, so much so that the blood began to drain from Snotlout's face for fear that he would see his cousin's spill on the dusty floor if his growing bones were to grow any further. He needn't have worried though, for it seemed that the skin was growing with what they held together. In fact, the visible skin on Hiccup's body was changing dramatically as his ghastly transformation continued. It seemed to be growing thicker and grooves were forming in his exposed dermis.

No one felt capable of doing anything as Hiccup, unaware of the changes coming over his body, morphed into something unrecognisable before their eyes. Well, not quite unrecognisable.

It was clear to all present that their fearless friend was taking on the distinctive shape of nothing other than a species that they had all come to know and love in a short space of time.

Hiccup was turning into a dragon.

The transformation, merciless in its inevitability, continued onwards as the grooves in Hiccup's skin pushed small, hardening plates outwards into what were distinctly scales. The newly formed scales blackened until they became so dark they almost seemed to reflect no light, and settled back on his skin, conforming to Hiccup's changed and now rapidly growing shape. The skin, or rather, scales, on the boy's body now covered him from head to toe, and his mop of unruly auburn hair seemed to have receded into his leathery scalp. His hardy, Viking clothing had all but ripped apart due to his almost fully formed wings as they ripped through the back of his layers, but his rapidly increasing size now forced them to give up their losing battle.

Hiccup's body burst from his clothes, sending yak hair and wool flying in all directions, as his head simultaneously flattened and widened, his nose pushing forward slightly to form a distinct muzzle.

Then, just as abruptly as they had begun, the convulsions stopped and the onlookers were left staring at what was unmistakeably a young Night Fury, lying unconscious, but looking all but dead, on the sandy ground of the once aptly named Kill Ring.

Astrid could not, nor did she want to, believe her eyes. Hiccup, her Hiccup had been turned into a dragon. Somehow. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hurl her axe at innocent, unsuspecting trees for hours on end. She wanted to kill something, more specifically whatever unseen…thing it was that had just made this happen, out of the blue. With absolutely no warning whatsoever.

Although, for all her inner, seething anger, the blonde girl was rooted to the spot with the same disbelieving expression on her face that all the witnesses to this inconceivable event were sharing, including the dragons.

But then, Hiccup stirred, and she leapt into action. She started to run over to her fallen betrothed's side (the proposal that she had basically wrenched out of Hiccup due to how much reassurance he had needed that she did in fact love him and wasn't simply taking pity on him. Tch – as if Astrid would marry for those reasons) only to be stopped by a warning wing to her abdomen. She was about to protest Toothless' unnecessary protection of Hiccup, but then she saw that, during the change, the already existing Night Fury had moved to position himself in between Hiccup and the rest of the humans.

She gasped a little when she realised that Toothless was not protecting Hiccup, but her instead. Surely that was unnecessary, Hiccup would surely be…well, Hiccup on the inside.

Wouldn't he?

She laid a hand on the leathery wing to acknowledge that she understood what Toothless was doing and stepped back, letting the dragon assume a defensive crouch in front of the human teens. Hiccup opened his eyes groggily, blinking wearily as he wobbled into a standing position on his four limbs. The moment he locked eyes with Toothless though, they became clear and sharp, and he shifted his weight as if to approach.

Well, they were about to find out.

I tried to shake the fuzziness out of my head, but it seemed heavier than usual and the momentum it carried left me feeling dizzy, and worse off than before. I blinked my eyes a few times to encourage the world to stop spinning so fast, and when it did, I took in my surroundings.

I wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but everything was how I remembered it. Hatchling training, Toothless… wait, Toothless?

I thought he'd been sleeping in our cove, the lazy, overgrown lizard. My eyes focused a bit more and I studied my dragon. Why did he look so defensive? He was crouched low to the ground, his wings flared, and pupils somewhat slit. I looked around me but as far as I could see there were only mothers and babies in the direction he was looking so warily at.

I turned back to him, successfully confused, and raised a hand to comfort him and his weird paranoia. Then I fell flat on my face.

Well that was unexpected, I thought as I blinked at the ground my face had decided to greet so politely. I glared at my hand, feeling betrayed by the simple movement that threw me off balance so drastically, and my throat went dry. I swallowed nervously as it registered that I was not looking at a pink, fleshy human hand, but rather at Toothless', who was standing directly opposite me, forepaw. I tried to stand up again, and found myself doing it in a very unconventional way: by getting onto my haunches first and then trying to stand on my hands and feet, all four of my limbs. Well that made no sense. Humans are bipedal. And I was…

I felt my blood run cold, although it felt like it didn't take as much for it to do so, and tried to stand up on my legs, only to fall forward again. My centre of gravity was way off, and I was forced to walk on all fours, with the weird forepaws that looked exactly like Toothless' leading the way to the one of the shield racks we hadn't taken down yet.

Taking a deep breath, I looked back at Toothless, who had relaxed slightly, but was still in his defensive stance, and then turned to the shields to confirm my suspicions. Staring back at me, were two massive eyes with big, curious pupils. Toothless' eyes, that were set in a big, black, feline-esque head. Toothless' head. Reality hit me full force and suddenly I was no longer moving as if in a dream, the round pupils in the reflection snapped into tiny slits as the alarm rose inside me like a tidal wave. I stumbled backwards, only to crash into a thick, tar-black, barrel chest. Before I could hyperventilate, Toothless lowered his head down to me and nuzzled my forehead with his chin. I froze at the action, but then quickly relaxed as he nuzzled at the hollow in between my neck and ears, my draconic anatomy's reaction to that particular area shut off the panicked adrenaline coursing through my veins almost immediately. I felt my body go limp against my will, but my mind was calmed before it had a chance to freak out. He always knew what to do.

I gently pushed Toothless' snout away from me with a hand – sorry, paw – and sat up again, deep in thought.

Okay, so I'm a dragon. A Night Fury, to be precise. There are worse things that could have happened to me. And besides, it's not like this is going to last long. Right?

With that last thought, I looked up into Toothless' concerned face and he gave my nose a prompt lick, as if he had had those exact same thoughts as well. Well, maybe now I'd get a chance to figure out if he had. I got up to my feet again, Toothless hovering worriedly behind me, extremely self-conscious of the fact that I was walking on all fours, and took a couple of steps forward.

Huh. Everything comes so naturally. I don't have to focus on trying to learn how to walk again at least.

I chuckled and then shrank back at the decidedly inhuman huffing sound, before shaking my head and puffing my chest out. If I was going to be a human in a dragon's body, I would be the best damn human in a dragon's body I could be. And that meant that I couldn't be thrown off by the sounds I now made.

Just when I thought that I was going to be able to control my new body though, my tail thumped against the shield rack, sending the metal circles to the floor with a great crash. I couldn't help myself, I was spooked, so I…screeched. It was such an absurd sound coming out of a fearsome dragon's mouth that Toothless huffed that weird Night Fury laughter. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, until I heard other, human voices join in the mirth.

Suddenly remembering the presence I mentally kicked myself for forgetting, I felt my gaze slowly land on my friends. My friends who I have no doubt watched me turn into a dragon with their own eyes.

"Well," Ruffnut said through unattractive snorts, "at least we know that he's still Hiccup." This comment brought about an increase in the raucous laughter the teens were letting loose with, relieved that Hiccup was still alive and himself. Astrid wiped away tears from her eyes happily and looked over in her boyfriend's direction again. She sobered up quickly when she saw him looking at the group with an unreadable expression in his big, pine green eyes and punched the people closest to her in their arms to get their attention as well. She felt her back stiffen when Hiccup lowered himself to the ground and began stalking towards the group, who began collectively sweating anxiously at the sight. She looked over at Toothless angrily. Why wasn't he providing much needed protection now? But then she saw him roll his eyes, prompting her to look at Hiccup again. His pupils were round with mischief and had that glint that she knew all too well in them, not slit like a mindless snake.

So you thought you could fool me, Hiccup? Not a chance, weirdo.

She hid her smirk and lifted her chin as if to challenge Hiccup to try anything, before pouncing towards him just as he leapt for their small huddle. They collided mid-air and Hiccup, although surprised, let his newfound instincts take over and did and impressive barrel roll before landing on his hind legs. Astrid found herself clinging to his thick, black neck and shrieked when he suddenly tossed her into the air again, only to roll over onto the ground and catch her on his lighter underbelly, both forepaws curled over her small frame.

She looked at him, smiling breathlessly, before an urgent thought crossed her mind. He frowned slightly as her expression changed to one of solemnity so quickly.

"Hiccup, can – can you understand me?" She struggled to get the words out for fear of the wrong answer, but to her relief he nodded his great big head without hesitation. She breathed a deep sigh before proceeding to punch him with all her strength on one of his paws, only prompting him to raise what would have been an eyebrow.

"That, is for scaring the living daylights out of me," Hiccup rolled his eyes as if to say it's not like he could have helped it, but had the decency to wince in spite of himself. Astrid then grabbed his head with both of her hands and, staring him straight in his big, gorgeous eyes, planted a kiss on his snout. He scrunched it up in surprise, but she continued speaking.

"And that's for everything else."

If Hiccup could have blushed in the moment, he would have been as red as his dad's beard, but scales thankfully proved to be good for something. He and Astrid both turned and glowered at their friends and the retching sounds they were making at their odd display of affection.

"Get a room you two! Or better yet get a stable!" Snotlout yelled this at the not-so-happy couple, and snickered with laughter for the second time in their bizarre situation.

Astrid was about to lunge for him as usual, but was surprised when Hiccup apparently did it for her. For once. He gently pushed her off of his chest, before flipping over and crouching low faster than she thought would have been possible for a dragon that size, baring his teeth at his cousin and giving him a low, warning growl. It was a terrifying sight. Astrid looked down at Hiccup's slit eyes and large teeth, shocked, but he seemed to remember himself at the sight of Snotlout cowering behind Fishlegs and gave a satisfied snort before giving her a sly smile and trotting over to where Toothless was sitting, still rolling his big eyes.

Astrid just looked after him in awe, in all her years of knowing Hiccup, and in the wonderful three of their relationship, she had always been the one to stand up for their views. Hiccup was content to let her take the lead and support her from behind. He may be the next heir of Berk, and would without a doubt make an excellent chief, but he certainly did not wear the pants in their relationship. Although, Astrid blushed slightly, she had to admit that it was not all that bad having him stand up for her as well. She made a mental note to never tell him that ever. She strode over to where Hiccup was sitting next to Toothless, trying his best not to think about his situation, while Toothless gave him a bath with his tongue. He had been rolling around in the dirt after all, and was incredibly dusty. The other dragons in the arena had all gone back to their hatchling training, and the rest of the humans started to make their way towards the two Night Furies as well. Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other with a similar mildly disgusted expression as Toothless went to work, but Hiccup gave a dragonish shrug and added it to his list of things not to think about. He didn't view Toothless as a pet, not at all. But he knew that he was guilty of treating him like one sometimes, and he vowed that he would use this opportunity that Odin, or more likely Loki, had given him to try to understand his friend and his way of thinking better.

Still though, Hiccup was a dragon. The concept was unfathomable and yet, here they all were.

When the rest of the teenagers had reached their mismatched little group, Ruffnut immediately rushed over to Hiccup and grabbed the sides of his mouth eagerly. Hiccup was almost taken aback by the feeling of his teeth quickly receding into his gums and licked his toothless maw awkwardly.

When the deranged girl managed to pry open his jaws, she looked into his mouth, frustrated.

"What?! You had teeth a moment ago, I swear!"

Toothless and Hiccup gave each other a wry look and the former human tried to recall the muscles he'd felt working when his teeth had slid into his gums. He found them and hastily spat Ruffnut's hand, which was prodding at his gums still trying to find any sign of his teeth, out before he used them.

With a sleek schink! Sound, his sharp teeth slid out of his gums so quickly, it seemed as if they had simply appeared out of nowhere. Ruffnut and Fishlegs, who had joined the former's curious inspection of Hiccup's maw both jumped backwards, while Hiccup grinned smugly and Tuffnut and Snotlout roared with laughter. Hiccup huffed though, After all this time with Toothless, you'd think they'd have learnt something by now.

Toothless huffed in agreement, much to Hiccup's surprise, but the born dragon simply gave him a half-lidded smile and refused to say anything more on the subject.

Great. Now he was trying to play the enigma.

Astrid, after roughly pulling the twins out of their spat by their ears, looked seriously at the pair of dragons in front of her.

"Hiccup," he swivelled his ears towards her, though she was sure he had no idea he was doing it, before giving her his full attention, "you do realise we have to tell a certain someone about this."

Oh boy, he whined, though not from fear. More from embarrassment.

"Stop complaining, he has the right to know," Astrid manoeuvred her way through the dragons towards the Ring's exit speaking over her shoulder to Hiccup, "he is the chief after all."

Hiccup gave a loud, dramatic groan and covered his head with his forepaws, an action at which Toothless chortled again before nudging at him with his shoulder and gesturing to the exit.

Hiccup snorted, Yeah, yeah. I'm going, I'm going. He got up and slunk towards Astrid, who was waiting for the group, looking an awful lot like a cat that had just been caught scratching the furniture.