Hey everyone! I'm JustANormalHTTYDFan and welcome to this new fanfic of mine titled "Finding Home", its starts mid-HTTYD 1 and splits off from the timeline we all know. Now, with all that out of the way, let's get right into Chapter One!
Chapter One: Escape
Hiccup and Toothless both sat one on top of the other on top of a huge tree, Astrid dangling from one of the branches and sending deep glares at the two in pure hatred and disgust.
"Just...let me SHOW you...please..." Hiccup asked while holding out a hand to Astrid.
Toothless was growling lightly as his slitted pupils stared at the human girl hanging onto the branch.
Astrid looked down, the ground so far away...if she jumped from this height, she would break her legs on impact with the dirt forest floor.
Astrid was going to give in, let Hiccup take her on his 'friend' if only so she could get to the ground...but then her eyes spotted a branch just below her, she could jump to it and then jump to the ground.
Astrid let go and gripped onto the lower branch with all her strength, her hands slipping for purchase.
Hiccup and Toothless didn't have time to react as Astrid jumped to the ground from the low branch and managed to not break or injure anything.
Astrid smirked and ran off towards the village at the fastest speed a Berkian could manage, all the while making sure to keep an eye out in the air for the Night Fury.
Hiccup's breathing increased alongside Toothless' growls, he quickly opened the tail fin and leaned down to Toothless' ear.
"The cove, bud! If we get there...m-maybe I could run and catch up with her" Hiccup whispered and Toothless growled confused.
"Well, she's caught onto our...well, your trick of 'pick them up and drop 'em in a tree' and I can't chase after her from here because someone might see you, and I'm pretty sure you value the fact that your head is connected to your neck?" Hiccup asked sarcastically and Toothless nodded before taking off with a few wingbeats.
The two flew through the air fast, making it to the cove at about sundown. Hiccup jumped off Toothless and quickly turned to the dragon.
"Ok bud, I'll be back, I promise. Well, either I'll be back with a stubborn Astrid, or back to take off" Hiccup told the obsidian scaled dragon as quick as possible before running to the entrance of the cove.
Hiccup was about halfway through when he heard a roar of pain, and he went back into the cove quickly to find a sight that scared him to his very core.
Toothless, limping with a dagger in his paw, blood pouring out from the wound as the dragon shot small plasma blasts into the treeline above.
"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled and ran back towards the dragon, and he looked up to see the glint of a metal arrowhead in the trees.
"TOOTHLESS! LOOK OUT!" Hiccup yelled and lept, slammed his thin frame into Toothless' side just as the archer let his arrow fly.
The arrow didn't miss Toothless entirely, but it didn't embed itself in Toothless' brain either. The arrow struck Toothless right beneath his wing, but above any vital organs like his lungs or stomach.
Toothless snarled madly and painfully, he was tearing his claws into the dirt beneath him in pain, if he didn't he would have screamed.
Hiccup looked over at the woven basket sitting on the far side of the cove, Hiccup knew that basket contained valuable items that he and Toothless would need to survive.
But, as Vikings charged into the cove while yelling battle cries and raising their axes, Hiccup knew that if he and Toothless tried to grab the basket then the black dragon would not live past sunset.
Hiccup made his choice and jumped onto Toothless' back while slamming his feet into the pedals on the saddle.
"GO!" Hiccup yelled as the Vikings threw their axes at Toothless' neck, the dragon pumped his wings and quickly got into the air.
But he couldn't completely avoid the axes, as one of them made a deep long bleeding gash in his chest before embedding itself in a nearby stone wall.
Toothless roared and faltered in the air, but forced himself to keep flying away from Berk and the countless people wanting him dead.
Hiccup was crying at this point, all of sudden he had to say goodbye to everything he cared about...except for his best friend.
"G-good..bye...Berk" Hiccup choaked out and quickly focused on helping Toothless fly as fast as possible to a nearby landmass so the dragon could heal and rest.
Stoick watched from nearby on a cliff as the black dragon disappeared into the horizon, the huge Chief staring shellshocked at the same spot for hours.
"I cannot...believe...Hiccup betrayed us, for a devil..." Stoick whispered as his mind burned at the words betrayal and Hiccup.
"Who would've thought that the runt would betray us? I sure did! I mean, he was so weak that none of you losers would have suspected a spy!" Snotlout yelled with a smirk, even if he was pulling at loose strings Snotlout would yank them out if they made himself look awesome.
"Yeah right, Hiccup being a spy, that'll be the day. That useless twig couldn't lie for his life, if he was a spy we would have found out long ago" Astrid pointed out and Stoick squeezed his fists tight enough that they made a popping sound.
"Hiccup started out as one of our own...and then betrayed us for the ultimate evil, the Night Fury...who knows how long he's been aiding the beasts? Been sabotaging us during the raids?" Stoick remarked in betrayal, anger overriding common sense and logic.
"Stoick, don't you think you're being a little...rash? Maybe you should calm down and think..." Gobber suggested and Stoick snapped.
"I don't think I'm being rash, I think I'm doing what's right for our people. Hiccup the Traitor will never step foot on this island again, and if he or his black devil do...kill them...on sight" Stoick growled while finally breaking his gaze from the horizon.
"Stoick...Hiccup's your son, your family, Valka's son! You can't kill him," Gobber told the Chief of Berk, and the man's knuckles grew whiter.
"Hiccup is not my son, nor family. And by betraying Berk, he has also betrayed...Val..." Stoick whispered the last word and then took in a deep breath.
"My order still stands, Hiccup is to be killed on sight for his betrayal of Berk and Viking culture as a whole" Stoick ordered in his madness, pain from the betrayal eating away at him like a Terrible Terror with a fish.
"What about the black dragon? The Night Fury? Will I get to kill it?" Snotlout asked with a grin, and everyone else yells about wanting to get the 'honor' of slaying the Night Fury in cold blood.
"NO! If Hiccup returns, the black devil will follow...I want that dragon captured..." Stoick growled while walking off, before stopping and turning back to the confused faces of the Berkians.
"...so I can kill it myself, for taking away my son" Stoick declared and walked away, ready to go sort some things out in the village below.
Stoick had let betrayal and pure rage take over, and now any form of common sense or logic were gone when Hiccup or the Night Fury came into the topic of conversation or even battle.
Toothless faltered in the air, his vision blurred and a loud ringing sound in his ears.
"Its ok buddy, just a little bit more, their's a sea-stack up ahead...just a bit more..." Hiccup whispered comforting words into the jet-black dragon's ears.
Toothless went into a dive towards the sea-stack, ready to land and take a deep breath after that near-death experience.
The blood loss combined with the exhaustion burning at the back of Toothless' head caused the dragon to quickly lose consciousness before slamming into the ground with a bang.
Hiccup's tether-line was disconnected from the saddle at the sudden impact, and the young boy went flying across the sea-stack before coming to a stop.
Hiccup jumped up and his eyes darted to Toothless' limp form, the dragon's whimpers and whines causing the young boy's heart to break in two.
"Toothless..." Hiccup moaned and ran over, the dragon regaining a semi-state of awareness and opening his eyes to stare painfully at Hiccup.
"Toothless...bud...roll onto your side please" Hiccup begged weakly and Toothless nodded before forcing himself onto his side with a painful grunt.
Hiccup stared in horror at Toothless' blood covered chest and belly, a huge deep gash in the dragon chest STILL leaking blood, and that's not to mention the arrow in the dragon's side.
"Toothless...buddy...I-I need you to lick your wounds...come on bud, please...for me...just this once...please..." Hiccup begged and helped the dragon move his heavy head.
Hiccup knew Night Fury saliva had healing properties from the time Toothless licked a burn on his hand that came from when he lit a campfire in the cove.
"Toothless, please...don't leave me..." Hiccup moaned and Toothless nodded weakly before licking the wound on his chest.
Hiccup pulled off his fur vest, quickly pressing the fur into Toothless' chest and stopping the bleeding from continuing.
Hiccup held the wound on Toothless' chest until he was sure that the wound was no longer bleeding, which by the time it had stopped it was around midnight and very hard to see.
Hiccup's fur vest was absolutely caked in dry Night Fury blood, which ruined the vest so Hiccup threw it over the side of the sea-stack.
"I'll get another one later down the gravel path, now..." Hiccup whispered and turned towards Toothless, his eyes locking onto the arrow in the dragon's side.
Hiccup was gonna pull the arrow out, but he knew if he did then Toothless would bleed out, and he wasn't gonna lose the dragon...he wouldn't let Toothless die.
"Come on bud, please...don't leave me..." Hiccup begged and Toothless lifted his head with a whimper and then a croon.
"Come on bud, we need to find a village so we can get you some medical supplies" Hiccup stated while trying to help the black dragon get up, Toothless whining and whimpering as he gestured to the sea-stack they stood on.
"Because! If I don't steal you some medical supplies you're wounds will get infected or WORSE! And...I won't lose you, I won't. You're my friend...my BEST FRIEND. I won't let you die" Hiccup moaned while climbing onto the weakened Toothless' back.
"I'm so sorry bud, but we need to fly to the nearest village and get supplies, as much as I know it hurts to fly it'll help in the long run" Hiccup whispered while tears poured from his eyes at the fear of losing his best friend.
Toothless nodded weakly before taking off into the night sky towards an island with a few buildings and people, one of the buildings containing the medical supplies that would save Toothless' life.
It was midnight in the village of Hvete, which was known for its wheat trade, not a single human was awake, not a mouse was scouring or a Terrible Terror squawking.
Except for Hiccup, who was hiding in the shadows of the treeline behind the villages local healing hut, which was currently unoccupied by any sleeping villager.
Hiccup snuck from the back of the hut to the front, quickly finding a wooden door near a counter, which obviously the healer would stand at and get a quick buck for fixing up small injuries.
Hiccup opened the door slightly, before opening it quicker and quicker with each second before tiptoeing into the hut as light drops of water started falling from the clouds.
That's when Hiccup spotted a figure walking down the gravel path, carrying a torch and a huge double-sided ax.
"Shit" Hiccup muttered as quiet as possible, quickly shutting the door behind him and taking deep breaths as he heard the guard stop right outside the healing hut.
The footsteps got closer, and closer as if the guard was coming to the door. Hiccup quickly moved away from the door and hide behind a nearby barrel just as the door was flung open by the guard.
The guard looked from left to right, casting the warm glow of his torch over every surface.
"Hm, must have just been my imagination" The guard muttered and shut the door, quickly walking off towards the more guarded parts of the village.
Hiccup let out a deep breath that he had no idea he had been holding, he quickly moved from his hiding spot and into the back of the hut when he spotted a big problem.
The village healer was asleep at his desk, his face lying on his book about healing with a quill in his hand.
"Must've fallen asleep writing, better work quick" Hiccup whispered lowly to himself, quickly grabbed a basket nearby and filling it with as many bandages and healing herbs and medicines as he could find.
Hiccup completely filled the basket from bottom to top with the medical supplies that Toothless needed to survive, and the young boy was about to slip out from the hut when he spotted a warm fresh piece of bread, sitting untouched by the healer.
Hiccup's stomach rumbled, and the Viking was gonna pass up the bread when he remembered that Toothless was probably hungry too, the both of them having not eaten in almost eighteen hours.
Hiccup knew that if he tried to steal a basket of fish ALONGSIDE a basket of medical supplies, the chances of him getting caught would go from slight risk to high.
So, Hiccup quickly approached the piece of bread, willing to risk waking up the healer if it meant he and Toothless didn't starve.
Hiccup slowly slipped the piece of bread from out underneath the healer's hand before hiding it in the basket of supplies.
Then the healer moaned a bit and then jumped upright, fully awake. Hiccup lept behind a crate and dragged the basket to him before the healer could notice.
"Hmmm...whats that...mother...I'm tired mother...leave me be" The healer mumbled before falling asleep again at his desk, and Hiccup's breathing quickly went back to normal.
Hiccup quickly got the basket onto his shoulders before running out of the hut and back into the darkness, just missing the guard and a few drunken Vikings.
Hiccup ran through the forests, his entire body shaking from exhaustion but he didn't care and wouldn't care until Toothless was health and alright.
Hiccup found Toothless lying exactly where he left him, under a big tree hidden behind a few bushes. Hiccup dropped the basket down beside Toothless and quickly lifted the Night Fury's head.
"T-Toothless...?" Hiccup asked weakly and Toothless sleepily opened his eyes with a look that said: "Why did you wake me up?"
"Its ok bud, I got the supplies and even a little treat for you and me" Hiccup commented and pulled the warm piece of bread out from the basket.
Hiccup snapped the bread into two pieces with a little effort required, but it wasn't to equal in size pieces as the one he gave Toothless was a bit bigger than his on purpose.
"Alright bud, eat this, it should settle your stomach for a while" Hiccup commented and gave Toothless the second bigger piece of bread.
The dragon easily swallowed the tiny thing with ease, feeling it settle down into his belly easily. Toothless was used to much bigger meals, at least since Hiccup had started feeding him, but he could last with the tiny piece of bread.
Hiccup then took off the saddle and tail fin prosthetic, quickly pulling the much needed medical supplies out from the basket and starting to bandage up the injured Night Fury.
He started with the easiest one first, Toothless' paw. He quickly wrapped up the wound where the knife had embedded itself into the dragon's paw, but he only wrapped it up after cleaning it with a bottle of fresh cleaning water.
Hiccup then did the same with Toothless' chest, which was much hard considering that Hiccup had to make Toothless roll onto his back, which meant the young Viking had to step over the black dragon's wings and tails to avoid stepping on them.
But, in the end, Toothless' chest was quickly cleaned up with multiple medical supplies. But then came the hardest one, save the best for last they say.
The arrow in Toothless' side, blood was no longer dripping from the wound but it was still very painful and if left in could cause infection or worse, death.
"Bud, I'm gonna give you something to chew on so you don't focus on the pain as I remove the arrow. Please don't swallow this" Hiccup asked as he gave Toothless his green shirt, leaving the young Viking shirtless.
Toothless made sure to retract his teeth and keep his tongue away from the pristine green shirt, while also resisting the urge to swallow it.
Hiccup gripped both hands onto the arrow and took a deep breath before placing his foot on Toothless' stomach and yanking, hard.
The arrow came out instantly, but Toothless' near roars of anguish and pure agony would never leave Hiccup's nightmares for the rest of his life.
Hiccup took many deep breaths to keep himself from panicking as he cleaned off the wound and bandaged it up as best he could.
Hiccup then wiped his hands off, as well as taking his shirt back from Toothless and slipping it on over his bare torso.
That's when Hiccup remembered that he forgot to eat his piece of bread, which was now slightly cold and still sitting in the basket where he left it.
Hiccup picked it up and was tempted to bite into it before he sighed and shoved it right into Toothless' mouth.
"To be fair, I probably was gonna end up giving it to you anyway, considering that you're probably starving while I'm just a bit peckish" Hiccup comforted the worried dragon, who reluctantly swallowed the last piece of bread.
Hiccup quickly helped Toothless onto his feet, the dragon still slightly limping from his injured paw.
Hiccup quickly worked the saddle and tail fin back on, as well as attaching the basket to the saddle.
Hiccup climbed onto Toothless back, the dragon letting out a grunt as his entire frame was sore from the seemingly endless day.
"Come on, bud, one more flight and then we can get some sleep on an island not populated with dragon killers" Hiccup comforted and Toothless nodded weakly before pumping his wings and taking off into the cold night sky.
It was around an hour later and frost was hanging of Toothless' chest and ear plates while Hiccup shivered from atop him.
"W-we s-s-should land s-somewhere" Hiccup mumbled out as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to desperately stop himself from shivering.
Toothless nodded and started looking out for habitable but yet not inhabited islands, and eventually, he spotted a good sized island just a few miles to the west.
The island had a huge snow-capped peak, with forests covering most of the island except for a big clearing at the bottom of the mountain.
Toothless sniffed a few times, trying to see if he could pick up any scent Human or Dragon coming from that island, but he found nothing so he quickly moved his left wing a bit to aim himself towards the island.
They flew towards the island at a slow but barely steady speed, Toothless trying his best to keep from crashing into the freezing cold waters below.
That's when Toothless felt something wet on his nose, and then something wet on his tail fin and then on his wingtip, he looked up to spot dark ominous clouds right above them.
Toothless growled lightly as the rate of which the rain dropped increased ever so slightly every minute.
Suddenly, flashes started appearing in the sky and the rain kicked up in intensity until it was all but pouring down on the two best friends.
Toothless felt a chill go down his spine and Hiccup jumped as a loud echoing boom range out from the sky and a bolt of lightning struck the mountain's peak.
"Bud, w-we should land, n-now" Hiccup whispered and Toothless nodded before angling himself down towards the island, raining hitting the both of them as they entered the worst part of the storm.
Suddenly, a lightning bolt came out from the sky with a loud crack of thunder, and the lightning bolt just nearly hit Toothless' tail fin.
"Woah! That was close!" Hiccup yelled in panic, his heart rate picking back up again for the seventh time that night.
And as if things couldn't get worse, another lightning bolt came from the sky and hit Toothless' tail fin prosthetic dead on.
The cloth was set aflame, the metal was bent in an unusual position and the main rope allowing Hiccup to angle the tail fin was snapped.
Both of them screamed in panic and fear as they unwillingly went into a constant barrel roll straight for the island.
Toothless knew Hiccup wouldn't survive the impact but that he himself would, dragons could take a lot more damage and pain then humans and if Hiccup was to hit the ground at this speed like this he would snap his neck.
So, Toothless quickly used his claw to cut the tether keeping Hiccup on his back, the boy almost went flying but Toothless wrapped his paws and wings around the shocked Hiccup just before they landed in the clearing on the island, creating a hole in the ground.
Toothless' head hurt as if someone had just dropped an anvil on it, and his back and wings were sore but not hurting that much.
Toothless blinked open his green eyes, rain pouring down on his entire body and causing the dirt below him to become slightly muddy.
Toothless stuck his head between his wings, quickly finding Hiccup awake and alight but a bit disorientated.
Lightning struck a tree nearby, and the both of them jumped before quickly calming down.
"B-bud? C-can you let me up?" Hiccup asked and Toothless nodded while unfurling his wings from atop Hiccup, the young boy quickly climbing out from against Toothless' side.
They both quickly climbed out from the hole and they looked around, Toothless spotted a cave nearby that only went a little bit into the side of the mountain.
"Good job, bud, let's get some firewood and get some sleep" Hiccup told the dragon, who purred in response.
Hiccup and Toothless looked around for the driest pieces of wood that they could find, they quickly made it into the cave and Hiccup arranged all the pieces of wood into a small pile.
"Alright, bud, light it up" Hiccup mumbled and Toothless shot a tiny plasma blast into the pile of sticks, setting it aflame and casting a warm orange glow over the entire cave.
Hiccup laid down against the side of the cave, Toothless collapsing right on top of his legs and his back being within perfect itching distance of Hiccup's fingers.
"Alright, you selfish needy reptile" Hiccup remarked with a chuckle and a smirk, quickly starting to scratch Toothless' back and sides, making the dragon purr as he quickly fell asleep.
Hiccup rubbed the base of Toothless' wings, which were extremely tense and tight. Eventually, over the next twenty minutes, Toothless' muscles lose all their tension and the dragon's purrs increased in volume.
Hiccup then moved until Toothless' head was on his lap, and he laid his own head on top of Toothless' while scratching the dragon's chin absentmindedly.
That's when the full reality of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours finally set into Hiccup's mind, cause the young boy to cry silently for a few minutes before closing his eyes and laying his entire chest and head on Toothless' head.
"G-goodnight, bud..." Hiccup whispered and quickly fell asleep from exhaustion, all the adrenaline of the past few hours finally having worn off.
Toothless' eyes slid open and the dragon locked eyes with Hiccup, quickly working the sleeping boy into a position against his chest and belly, holding him in place with his paws.
Hiccup curled up against Toothless' chest, the dragon took in a few deep breaths before purring and wrapped his wings around the boy.
Toothless quickly fell back asleep, both he and Hiccup having dreams of the future as it rained and thundered outside their cave.
Alright! That's it for Chapter One, Chapter Two should be ready sometime in the near future and will pick up where this Chapter is leaving off.
So, with nothing else really left to say, this is JustANormalHTTYDFan, over and out.