List of characters

Gobber the Belch: Called Gobber, he's Stoick's closest friend, and Hiccup's employer. In the How to Train Your Dragon movies he's voiced by Craig Ferguson. He's the only known censored character in the franchise, indicated by the line in the second movie "This is why I never married. This and one other reason." He lost a hand and a leg to Monstrous Nightmares, vicious dragons that can light themselves on fire. He has an interchangeable left hand, though he often uses a hook. He has a wooden peg for a leg. He's on the chunky side, has a handlebar mustache, blond hair, blue eyes, and is completely bald. He also has a missing tooth, replaced by a metal bit that kind of looks like a rock.

Stoick the Vast: Chief of the Hooligan Tribe, and Hiccup's father. He and Gobber have been good friends for years. In the movies, he's voiced by Gerard Butler. His wife, Valka, was taken away when Hiccup was a baby during a dragon attack. She is presumed dead. Stoick often has to clean up after Hiccup when his son accidentally aids the dragons in destroying the village. He is also on the chunky side, has a big, bushy red beard and a short, thick ponytail. He wears a dark green shirt with scaled armor over it. Pinned to his shoulders is a cape of fur, signifying his role as leader. He has grey eyes. He almost never takes his helmet off in public, only when necessary.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: The male lead, Hiccup is basically everything a Viking isn't: skinny, not strong, usually messing up, clumsy as all censored, and often getting himself into trouble. He has a bell-shaped haircut, green eyes, and a small scar on his chin from when he was a baby. His personality makes him an easy target for pestering and harassment. He lives with his father and rarely sees him smile, especially when it comes to his achievements. He wears a long-sleeves green shirt, a brown fur vest, a tan belt around his waist, and knee-high brown boots. He also wears black pants. Hiccup is infatuated with Astrid (see below).

Nina the Nimble: Given the nickname because of her ability to sneak around without detection, Nina is pretty much Hiccup's only friend. She hates seeing people sad, but knows that sometimes it's important to acknowledge that you're sad. She has long black hair that she often wears in a complex braid. Her skin is almost white compared to her hair. She has pale blue eyes with a solar iris. She usually wears a long-sleeved black shirt with a lovely blue corset. She dislikes wearing skirts, and rarely wears shoes. She only wears them in winter when the snow is on the ground. She usually wears an archery set her parents made for her. She's protective when she cares about someone, whether as a friend or not.

Rae and Rieta: Nina's parents. They have dark brown hair, though their daughter having black hair is not surprising as her mother's mother had black hair. Nina's mother, Rieta, is a passable cook, though she has recipe cards. Her father, Rae, taught her how to hunt using an archery set and for her seventh birthday gave her a bow of her own to use.

Astrid Hofferson: Astrid is intense. She's always trying to prove herself, especially to the other kids. She has a strong sense of familial pride, though she often joins the other kids in making fun of and beating down Hiccup. She and Nina got into a fight once and neither one came out without a scratch, but Astrid learned not to judge others based off appearance as she was sore for days after. She has long blond hair, worn in a braid. Her shirt is sky blue and she has metal shoulder pads. Wearing a spiked skirt and light brown-topped fur boots, her preferred weapon is an ax. She has blue eyes and a feisty personality.

Snotlout Jorgenson: Like Astrid, Snotlout has strong familial pride. Unlike Astrid, however, he's arrogant and egotistical. If he thinks it'll make him look good, he'll do it. He has kind of curly black hair, grey eyes, a barrel chest, and a black fur shirt. He wears bracers on his forearms, has kind of stumpy legs, and short furry boots. He tries to appear macho, but when faced with a serious threat, he's kind of a wimp. He's constantly scared of disappointing his father, Spitelout.

Fishlegs Ingermann: Fishlegs is a gentle giant. He doesn't usually participate in bullying Hiccup, but he certainly doesn't do anything to stop it, often laughing along with the others. He's chubby, wears a brown vest, and, like Snotlout, has kind of stumpy legs with short furry boots. Unlike Snotlout, however, he doesn't trying to be anything but himself: nerdy, but kindhearted and timid. He has blond hair, brown eyes, and a small helmet.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston: Commonly called the Twins, they're troublesome identical twins who may have three brain cells between them. They both have blond hair, though they treat it differently. She wears hers in two long braids and several smaller braids. Both have long vests on with matching helmets. Both are lanky, wear bracers. When they do something they think is cool, they bash their heads together, and sometimes do it just because.

Prologue

Nina was walking down the street, on her way home from playing in the woods. She spotted Hiccup, who looked unbelievably sad. Pausing in her journey, she decided to go over to him. So she did, skipping happily over.

"Hi, Hiccup," she said cheerfully.

He looked up briefly. "Oh," he said sullenly. "Hi, Nina."

"You okay? You look sad."

"Yeah, I'm okay." She stared at him, knowing he wasn't. He felt her eyes on him and sighed. "Dad's not happy with me. I'm thinking it might be best if I leave."

"Is this because of last night's raid?" He turned even further from her. "Everyone makes mistakes, Hiccup. Besides, we're only five. We can only get better, right?" His shoulders were trembling. "C'mon, let's go play in the woods for a little." He nodded, his back still turned to her. She waited for him to walk beside her. He did, his face down, looking very much like a dejected puppy.

She put an arm around him and squeezed. Hiccup began crying in earnest when they were a few feet into the woods. She gave him a sad smile and guided him to a fallen log that was big enough to hold them, but short enough for them to be able to just hop up. She let him cry for a while, rubbing his back comfortingly, like how her Mom and Dad did when she was upset over something that was legitimately upsetting.

"I'm sorry," he said after he calmed down a bit. "I'm not much of a Viking, I guess..."

"It's okay to cry, Hiccup. Everyone does it at some point. It doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you've been strong for too long." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes, looking up at her tearfully. "Do you want a hug?"

"Yeah," he said. They embraced, her letting him cry on her shoulder. Eventually he cried himself out. They walked down to a nearby stream and he splashed his face with the icy water, washing away the tear marks. He sniffed again, wiping his nose on his sleeve. They both looked West and saw the fading glow of sunset. "C'mon; we should be getting back. Your Mom and Dad will be worried."

"Okay," she said. They both walked back home, feeling better about themselves and the world in general. "Wanna hang out again tomorrow?"

"Sure!" he said as he turned into his home. She waved as she began skipping back to her house.