Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD 1 or 2

A/N: Welcome back, amigos! To the prelude of the second instalment in…I suck at coming up with names for my series. Suggestions are welcome. Here it is; the prologue to 'Dragon Soul'! With a header image courtesy of Chouly-only, permission given, check out their work on Deviantart!

This story is set in the autumn of the year after 'Heart Bound', which takes place in summer. As RTTE supposedly takes place when the riders are 18-19 , I've decided that in HB they are 20 and in this story Hiccup is 21. The story will loosely follow the plot of HTTYD2, but with a few minor (and major) alterations.

The theme song for this story is Alexander Rybak's amazing song 'Into a Fantasy', which as I'm sure you know, is also one of the official songs for HTTYD2.

The song for the prologue is 'Beautiful Creatures' from Rio 2 (recommended PMV, search 'let's celebrate httyd' and click on the NightFuryFan95's video).

Anyway, on with the show: happy reading!

Prologue

This is Berk. The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere. Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock packs more than a few surprises.

A black, grey dappled dragon and his human rider flew towards a reasonable sized, craggy island in seemingly the middle of nowhere. Dragons milled about in the skies and in the village that sprawled haphazardly on the south-western side. The humans that dwelled there had once hated and feared the fire-breathing reptiles…until the very same patrolling duo had taken down the true monster behind three centuries of bloodshed. Now the dragons were welcomed, not merely as pets but as useful allies and loyal friends.

Now, dragons used to be a bit of a problem here, but that was years ago. Now, they've all moved in. And, really, why wouldn't they? We have custom stables... all-you-can-eat feeding stations... a full service dragon wash. Even top-of-the-line fire prevention, if I do say so myself.

As Toothless swooped in towards the village, a Monstrous Nightmare sneezed and accidentally set a house aflame. The young drake uttered a panicked croak and frantically beat his wings, sending a troupe of Terrors fluttering away squawking indignantly. The gusts of air blew the fire but failed to put it out, until a young teen yanked hard on a rope, and opened up a spout on the aqueduct system running overhead. "Good job, Fanghook" smiled Gustav, reaching up to pet his dragon as the drake crawled down from the roof. He climbed into Fanghook's saddle and the two of them flew off to find mischief somewhere else.

It's been a just over a year since Myrkr, and so much has changed. We've all got our different things going on...

Hiccup and Toothless flew over the blacksmiths forge, where Gobber spent his days building saddles, fixing dragon teeth and forging the occassional weapon out of Gronckle iron. They had made an accidental improvement to it not long before Toothless and Hiccup's journey to Myrkr. Whilst helping Gobber whip up a new batch of Gronckle iron, Fishlegs had inadvertently knocked some coals onto the pile of rocks Meatlug was happily chomping up. She kept eating, coals and all, oblivious to the taste of them.

The resulting Gronckle Iron was streaked through with wisps of black. Gobber thought it was no good, but Fishlegs convinced him to at least try it out. It turned out to be their lightest, strongest batch yet. Convinced that it was thanks to the coal, they'd added more to the next batch. The metal was a darker grey, but still just as shiny, strong and durable as before. It turned out a lot of the Gronckles didn't mind the taste of coal...there were drawbacks to this addition to their diet, but if meant being able to make better Gronckle Iron, they'd overlook the odours of burning plants.

Snotlout is Gobber's apprentice now. My father and his decided it would help 'build character'...Whether or not that actually works remains to be seen. Still, he hasn't lost any limbs yet, so that's a plus.

"Careful with that saw! You'll take your own arm off if you're not careful!"

"I'm being care - aargh!" Snotlout reeled away from the saw, clutching his arm and groaning exaggeratedly. Alarmed, Gobber quickly pulled a lever to stop the blade in its tracks. There was no sign of blood on it or any severed limbs...he rolled his eyes and cuffed the younger man around the head, taking care not to use his hook by mistake. "Ow! What was that for?" Snotlout demanded petulantly, rubbing his head with the same hand he'd just pretended to have cut off. Gobber just gave him a pointed glare, and he gulped. The glare intensified, so he quickly went back to work.

We had a breakthrough recently; we convinced the twins that if they're going to cause chaos wherever they go, they can at least channel that destructive energy into something useful. Amazingly, they listened. To a point, I suppose. Now they're helping to carve out new nests for dragons, and they've even improved on our defences...

A Zippleback and a purple Deadly Nadder were hovering in front of the mountain overlooking the village. Their dragon stuck both his heads into a hollow in the rock. Barf sprayed gas into the hole, Belch ignited it, and the resulting explosion made the hollow even bigger. The twins gleefully kept blasting the rock until they'd made a hollow large enough for the Nadder drakaina to start building a nest in. "Presenting your new home, madam!" Tuffnut declared grandiosely. The Spike-tail drakaina made a happy squawking, chirping sound and settled down in her new nest.

*Thank you very much!* she told the Zippleback, who replied in tandem.

*You're-

-Welcome!*

To make up for 'accidentally on purpose' spilling the Big News to the village, they came up with the idea to make 'dragon bombs' - hollow balls filled with Fire-scale saliva or Twin-head gas, and a lighter that gets triggered when they're thrown or stepped on. Unfortunately, it's been so peaceful they haven't had a chance to use them in battle...so they've been using them for pranks instead. I suppose it's nice to know some things never change.

Toothless made one last sweep around the mountain, dropping lower as he spiralled round. Down in the training arena, Astrid was busy drilling hopefuls in the art of dragon riding. It seemed to actually be going well; apart from the fact that a few of the dragons had fallen asleep, and were refusing to rise no matter how much they were pleaded with, shouted at and shoved. She taught her class the trick of carefully pinching the back of a dragon's neck - they would wake up instantly and on alert, but they also thought they were under attack, so you had to make sure you weren't in their line of fire.

I passed the title of 'Head of the Dragon Academy' to Astrid; after all, she's the next most talented rider we have. True, she can be a little tough on them...but that just means they'll improve faster...right?

Toothless glided down towards the great hall. They did a trick or two for the benefit of the children gathered on the steps, who clapped and cheered, delighted. The kids, as well as a few dragons, were there listening to Fishlegs teaching them about dragons. He was actually the Deputy Head of the Academy, on top of being apprenticed to the village officiator. Whilst Astrid would teach the adults and older teens how to ride, Fishlegs taught the younger generation about proper care of dragons."Now, what's the most important thing we need to remember about dragons?" he asked his small charges.

"If you give dragons patience, respect and trust, they'll give it back to you" the youngsters chanted dutifully.

"Well done, everyone! Okay, I think that's enough for today, you guys go and play" he said. The kids scurried off, dragons in tow. "Hi Toothless, Hiccup. Your dad's inside, waiting for you" Fishlegs told his friend, as the black dragon landed outside the great hall.

Hiccup dismounted and thanked him, before pushing the door to the hall open and striding inside. The village council was already gathered within; Stoick, standing at the head of the table, visibly cheered when his son entered. "Hiccup! You're just in time, have a seat" he declared, pulling one out with a horrible grating sound against the stone floor. Everyone flinched, including Toothless. The young man walked over and sat down on his father's right hand side. His dragon lay down nearby and dozed, not particularly interested in what they were talking about, but wanting to be close to Hiccup.

I've changed the most, of course. I'm heart bound to my best friend, I'm training to be chief in a few years, and soon, I'm going to get married to the girl of my dreams. If this first year alone has been so eventful, I can't imagine what the next two hundred or so are going to be like.

That afternoon, the village appeared to be deserted but for the sound of raucous cheering, whipping wind and nervous bleating. A small cluster of sheep galloped through the streets unchecked, hiding from their pursuing shadows and pausing to nibble grass. Other sheep were scattered all over the island, in milling clusters or on their own, instinctively trying to avoid the large predators that sped about in search of them.

Life here on Berk is amazing...just not for the faint of heart. You see, where most folk enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer...

One sheep wandered out of an alley, drawn by the scent of fresher grass on the far side of the open space. No sooner had it trotted out than it was snatched from the ground and lifted bodily into the air.

...A little something we like to call...

Dragons barrelled through the village, weaving around obstacles and attempting, along with their riders, to distract and knock each other off course. They whooshed overhead to the sound of thunderous applause and cheering, as the villagers gathered in stands to watch their new favourite sport...

DRAGON RACING!

"Whoo!" Fishlegs yelled, waving a fist in the air as Meatlug flew grasping a sheep in her claws, her wings beating like a bumblebees and tongue lolling happily. Both their good moods were abruptly and rudely interrupted, when a certain monstrous nightmare and his immature rider jolted the sheep out of Meatlug's grasp and snatched it up themselves.

"Ho, ho! Aw, I'm sorry, Fishlegs, did you want that?" Snotlout asked mockingly. The huskier man glared at him and Meatlug growled, annoyed, at Hookfang. *You could have hurt us!* she protested, more concerned for her rider than herself. Her Fishlegs was sensitive...

Hookfang rolled his yellow eyes and retorted *Lighten up, Luggy, I didn't break any rules. Not my fault you can't dodge*.

"Snotlout, that was mine!"

Hookfang flung his wings out and braked, falling back towards B&B. For reasons that had thus far escaped him, his rider had chosen Barf's female rider to be his desired...he supposed because Stormfly's rider was taken, but he didn't really know what Snotlout saw in Ruffnut. Then again, they were humans. He flew just underneath B&B, close enough for Snotlout to toss Ruffnut the sheep.

"Here ya go, babe" he said with a grin that was meant to be chivalrous, but instead looked slimy. Ruffnut sneered at him, a mockery of a smile. Normally she would have loved the idea of a man fighting for her affections…just not this man. *How often do you think she'll have to reject him before he gets the hint?* Barf asked Hookfang, who merely rolled his eyes and gave a non-committal grunt. How was he supposed to know?

"Did I tell you, you look amazing today? Cause you do".

"Ugh, let's go Barf, it's starting to stink around here" Ruffnut grumbled. Barf&Belch got the hint at once – they were as mischievous as their riders in many ways - and breathed out a trail of noxious green gas.

*Don't you even dare-!* Hookfang exclaimed, but it was too late.

"Nope, still hates you!" Tuffnut told Snotlout cheerfully, "Let's blow this place, Belch!"

*If you insist!* The left head lived up to his name and burped a flurry of sparks, that ignited the gas and triggered a glorious explosion. Luckily for Snotlout, his dragon had the sense to veer away before his rider could get too scorched. Hookfang preferred it when he could actually see the results of an explosion; that was far more entertaining. He couldn't see Snotlout getting scorched when the man was riding him, now could he?

The Zippleback flew over the stands, and Ruff dropped the sheep into a hatch with a backboard bearing B&B's image. Bleating, it fell into a rope net – on top of five other sheep. Stoick, who was presiding over the game, announced loudly "Ha, ha! That's six for the twins, four for Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout trail with none, and Hiccup is"-

Just at that moment, a Night Fury zoomed around the course, eliciting even more cheers as another sheep was dropped off…into Astrid's basket. "Okay, now Ruffnut and Astrid are tied, because the boys apparently don't understand how this game works!" Stoick declared, and everyone laughed. Toothless, who had made a lap of the stands, slowed to a hover so that Hiccup could call to his father, "I'm being a gentleman!" Fresh, good natured laughter greeted this remark as the red streaked pair rushed off again.

Stormfly swooped in and twirled over Hookfang, showing off. "Nice try, Snotlout" Astrid smirked at him, "But I'm still gonna win!"

"Only because your stupid fiancé keeps cheating for you!"

"Hey, if Hiccup wants me to win, I'm not gonna stop him. Besides, you're not even trying to win; you gave your sheep to Ruffnut!"

"She's my princess! Whatever she wants, she gets!"

"Ruffnut?" Astrid repeated incredulously, "Didn't she try to bury you alive?"

"Only for a few hours!" he insisted, as if it were no big deal. Hookfang and Stormfly banked and glided through a hangar and some of the nests built into the caves below the island. The Whispering Death and Screaming Death tunnels from a while back had turned out to be really useful for storing supplies and digging out places for dragons to call their own. Hiccup had to mediate quite a lot, but after he gained the ability to understand and speak to dragons directly, it was much easier to settle disputes.

With six sheep in one basket, and five in the other, it all came down to the final lap. "It's time, Gobber" Stoick prompted the blacksmith, who nodded.

"Righty-ho! LAST LAP!" Gobber bellowed to the crowd, hurrying out of the stands to make sure everything was in position. A loud horn sounded and all the dragons turned and raced back towards the stands.

"The black sheep!" cried Astrid, "Come on, Stormfly, we can win this thing!"

*Definitely!* Stormfly roared excitedly.

"Come on, Barf!"

"Let's go!"

"Go, Meatlug!"

*We could win this easily, you know* Toothless reminded Hiccup, who laughed and replied, "Nah, let Astrid have this one. We'll beat her in the next game".

Gobber loaded the twelfth, black sheep onto a catapult. The black sheep was worth ten points, instead of one, so whoever caught it would have an instant win…assuming they actually bothered to put it into their own basket. "This is your big moment" he told the thoroughly alarmed sheep cheerfully, "Have a nice flight!"

With that, he pulled the trigger, flinging the poor sheep high into the air. Astrid gripped her saddle's handlebars tightly as Stormfly climbed up to catch it, talons outstretched. "You got it, you got it, you got it-!"

Out of nowhere, Meatlug barrelled past and nabbed the sheep, forcing Stormfly to jinx to avoid a mid-air collision. *Sorry, Stormfly!* the Gronckle called back in her deep, croaky voice.

"NO!" Astrid yelled in dismay, unable to believe it. They'd been so close!

"YES! Good job, Meatlug!" Fishlegs praised; but before they could reach their net, they flew past B&B, and Ruffnut rammed them with Barf's head. Startled, Meatlug was knocked aside and flew right into Hookfang; the two of them tumbled over each other, snarling in annoyance and rumbling in apology. The crowd were going wild.

"Yeah! The black sheep!" Ruffnut yelled gleefully, "I'm totally winning! Whoo-hoo! No one can stop me now!"

"Except for me – we're attached, genius!" Tuffnut shouted, ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be in it together. He made a grab at the sheep, inciting a tug of war. "Quit trying"-

"Hey!"

"To steal all my glory!" he finished. Stormfly raced in behind B&B – briefly, she wondered where Toothless-Hiccup had gone. Astrid couldn't care less where they were so long as they didn't snatch her victory away at the last moment (Hiccup had gotten into a sweet but irritating habit of letting her win one day, and then beating her without even trying the next. Said he was keeping her on her toes. She'd show him keeping someone on their toes…)

She stood up on Stormfly's back, keeping her balance easily. Stoick stood up in his seat. He could see his sons circling the stands like vultures high above – obviously Hiccup was still being chivalrous – and yelled "Get 'em, Astrid!"

"It's my glory!"

"You're always ruining everything!"

"No sheep, no glory!"

Astrid leapt off Stormfly, ran up Belch's spindly neck, and snatched the black sheep deftly from the bickering twin's hands. "Ha! Gotcha!" she cheered, leaping back onto Stormfly.

"Well played!" Stoick cheered loudly, "That's my future daughter in law!"

True, Hiccup had not proposed yet...but it was only a matter of time.

Stormfly raced towards the finish line, her and Astrid's eyes on the prize…but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Meatlug flying straight for her - *It's nothing personal, Storm!* - and had to veer away to avoid getting hit, putting her right in the path of Hookfang. Snotlout was already aiming his war hammer at Astrid, intending to force her to drop the sheep so that he…could put it in his own basket, because wooing Ruffnut was one thing, but he wanted to win!

He hurled the hammer, giving them little time to react – but Toothless and Hiccup had seen everything from above the stands, they'd figured out Snotlout's plan before he'd even gotten into position. The crowd roared as loud as a dragon when the night fury dove in between Hookfang and Stormfly, firing a plasma blast and stopping the hammer throw in its tracks. Hiccup hurriedly opened the tail fin. Toothless flung his wings out and reared back, but they were too close to the water; his tail and hind legs splashed into the cold sea, eliciting a yelp. *You owe me a ton of cod for that!*

Stormfly easily dodged Hookfang's stream of fire (mostly because he wasn't really trying to aim for her, but still) and swept over the hatches, letting Astrid drop the black sheep into her basket. The crowd went wild, cheering and applauding Astrid for winning, and Hiccup for his daring, chivalrous rescue.

"That's fifteen!" Stoick yelled, delighted, "Astrid takes the game!"

"YEAH!" she shouted, standing up in the stirrups and punching the air, grinning madly. She and Stormfly made a lap of the stands, the dragon angling herself so that Astrid could high five as many Berkians as possible. Then to top it all off, they flew past Toothless, who was hovering above the hatches in the middle of the arena. Astrid jumped off Stormfly onto Toothless' back, and when Hiccup looked over his shoulder at her, she grabbed his face and gave him a toe-curling, blush inducing snog as a 'thank you'.

Humans cheered, dragons roared, and Gobber yelled "Get a room, you two!"

Stoick laughed. He was so proud of his son!

Astrid jumped back onto Stormfly, hovering nearby, and the two dragons raced up into the sky, spiralling around each other and firing celebratory blasts of fire into the air, their riders whooping and cheering like mad. Hiccup's cheeks ached but he couldn't stop smiling; that had been a ton of fun and oh gods, that kiss was amazing. If helping Astrid win made her snog him like that, maybe he'd do it all the time!

Yep, life is pretty much perfect. All of our hard work has paid off; and it's a good thing, too, because with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger.

A/N: So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed the prologue – and I hope you all enjoy reading Dragon Soul!