A/N: Okay, so this is my first HTTYD story that I think is actually worth posting online. I've been working on just this first chapter for that past couple days, even though it's not all that long. I apologize for that now, lol. So, I hope you enjoy! ^^ Oh, and there will be some OCs in this story, but not very many, and there are NO OC/canon relationships. I'm not into those at, like, all.
Disclaimer: How to Train Your Dragon belongs to DreamWorks animation and Cressida Cowell. Any and all original characters that appear in this story do belong to me.
Chapter One
"Ouch!" Hiccup swung his hand up and down rapidly until the small sting of pain disappeared. He blew one quick breath on his hand where the spark had landed, and then got back to sharpening the large sword he held in his hands. Gobber probably wouldn't even feel it if a spark landed on his skin, as thick as he was. Hiccup wished he wouldn't feel it if something as annoying as a spark landed on him.
"After you're done with that sword, Hiccup, you can go off and be done," Gobber told him as he walked by, carrying several axe heads in his arms. "Whoa, whoa, whoa-!" Hiccup dropped the sword and ran to Gobber's side, quickly grabbing two of the axe heads that were about to crash to the floor. Gobber let out a thankful sigh. "Thanks, Hiccup."
"No problem… Gobber," Hiccup responded, straining a little under the weight of the two axe heads in his arms. He followed the older Viking to a table nearby and disposed of the axe heads on top of it, stretching his arms in wide circles afterwards.
"Crap." Hiccup slapped his hand to his forehead. "I dropped that sword I was sharpening. I really hope I didn't chip it or anything…" He started back over to the emery wheel and knelt down to pick the sword he had dropped back up. He scanned the blade, sighing in relief when he saw no chips or cracks in the metal. He continued sharpening it, but gasped in horror when, only after a second, a chip of the metal broke away.
"Hiccup…?" Gobber called when he heard the gasp.
"That's just great," Hiccup muttered as he observed the damage. "Fantastic. I probably should have seen that coming." He began moving over to a counter along one of the walls of the blacksmith's hut, kneeling down to look in one of the bottom cubbies. He pulled another, long blade out and compared the length of it to the chipped blade, deciding that it was close enough.
"Hiccup, what happened?" Gobber asked, hobbling over to the chief's son as he was removing the chipped blade.
"I chipped the Thor-forsaken blade," Hiccup responded angrily, grabbing the new blade and pushing himself back to his feet.
"Oh." Gobber followed Hiccup over to another table, where Hiccup placed the new blade and the hilt of the sword. He walked back over to the counter and grabbed one strip of leather about a foot long and an inch wide off the top of the counter. He held it out in front of himself, observed it, and nodded once before grabbing a blowtorch off the counter and turning to walk back over to the table where Gobber was looking at the blade and the hilt.
"I hate chipping anything, but my dad's sword? Really?" Hiccup asked, placing the strip of leather on the table as well. Gobber chuckled, patting Hiccup lightly on the back.
"It's an easy fix, you know it," he told him.
"But it's my dad's," Hiccup complained. "He'll notice the difference in blades."
"I'm sure he won't mind if you explain to him what happened. Now get it done, and you're outta here for the day. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts." He walked away chuckling, leaving Hiccup to scowl at the separated blade and hilt before him.
He took the blade carefully in his hands and positing it on the table so that the end that would be connected to the hilt was sticking off the side of the table. He pulled a small stool over to sit down on as he took the hilt in his hand. He very carefully moved the hilt against the end of the blade, making sure the blade made it inside the hilt correctly. He listened intently until he heard the end of the blade thunk against the inside of the hilt, meaning that it was all the way in. He took the blowtorch that he had set on the ground next to him and carefully molded the blade to the outside of the hilt, and made sure it was secure by swinging the blade around a few times. He dipped it in water briefly, and then walked back over to the table to wrap the leather strip around where the blade and hilt connected.
"Ow! Gods!" Hiccup set the sword on the table and put his right hand in his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut as the taste of blood invaded his mouth. He brought his hand back out of his mouth and opened his eyes to observe the damage, and immediately returned his hand to his mouth when blood instantly started oozing from the wound again. He silently cursed as he hurried over to retrieve a rag from his workspace.
"This just isn't your day, is it?" Gobber chuckled as Hiccup rushed past him. Hiccup brushed past the curtain into the back room of the shop where all of his blueprints and research were. He grabbed the white cloth lying on the table, brought his hand back out of his mouth, and quickly began wrapping the cloth around his hand. The cloth wasn't too thick, but Hiccup knew that it would have to do until he could get a better one back at his house.
He wasn't having the best of days in the blacksmith's shop, he concluded, as he raced back out into the main room. Gobber was switching out his axe for his hammer on his left arm as Hiccup ran past him. The young Viking finished wrapping the leather strip around the sword, tying it off as tightly as he possibly could, and swung it around a few times again to make sure it was fine for use. He let out a tired sigh as he leaned the sword against the side of the table, and yelped when he saw that his blood had already almost soaked all the way through the cloth.
"See you Gobber!" he yelled as he untied the back of his apron, slipping it over his head. He quickly switched his vest with his apron on the nail near the door, sliding his arms through the armholes.
"Wash that cut out!" Gobber called to him as he ran from the building. Hiccup ran as fast as he could through the village, not bothering to reply to Gobber's suggestion. He kept his eyes forward, pressing his left hand down on top of the bloodied cloth on his right. He barely acknowledged anybody who greeted him as he passed, but knew that no one minded either way.
"Hey, Hiccup!" Hiccup skidded to a quick stop when his name was called out. He would have kept running if he didn't recognize the voice. He turned around to see Astrid exiting her house, which he had been just running past. He put on a smile as she approached him.
"Hey," he repeated, trying to inconspicuously hide his injured hand inside his vest. Astrid gave him a heartwarming smile.
"Gobber let you loose?" she asked. Hiccup smirked.
"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way." Astrid grinned wider and reached for his revealed hand. Hiccup took a step further, grabbing her hand and pulling her in to lay his lips softly on hers. Neither of them were big on public displays of affection, but every now and then, the village would be treated to the two of them showing some sort of affection towards each other.
Without thinking, Hiccup removed his wounded hand from his vest and slid it into her other hand when they separated only a second later. Astrid immediately felt the cloth on her skin, and looked down to see the white cloth wrapped around Hiccup's hand.
"Um… what's up with that?" she questioned, pointing with her eyes. Hiccup looked down at their intertwined hands.
"Oh!" he gasped, ripping his hand out of hers. "It's, um, it's nothing. Just a little cut. I was actually on my way back up to my house to get something better to wrap around it…" Astrid squeezed the uninjured hand, which was still in her grasp, and began leading Hiccup up towards his own house.
"You should have told me!" she said to him as they walked. "That stupid rag you have on now is probably completely soaked through." Hiccup sighed.
"Yeah, it probably is."
They reached his house a minute later, and Astrid pushed the door gently open. A fire was crackling in the middle of the room, a couple of fish hanging by a wire above it. Toothless, who was lying on the floor by the fire, raised his head and looked at the two teenagers as they entered the room. Hiccup gave him a small grin.
"Hey bud," he mumbled. Toothless sniffed the air, and wrinkled his nose when he was able to smell the blood still seeping from the wound on Hiccup's palm. The dragon put his head back down and covered his snout with his two front feet, closing his large green eyes. Hiccup rolled his eyes and Astrid continued to lead him across the room.
"Sit," she ordered. Hiccup sat down on the side of the bed while Astrid turned and headed for the stairs on the side of the room. She quickly began climbing up them, and Hiccup didn't stop her; she had been upstairs in his house lots of times.
Toothless opened one of his eyes and looked over at Hiccup. Hiccup waved at the Night Fury, and Toothless closed his eye again. Hiccup looked over at his hand and saw that he waved with his injured one. He rolled his eyes, smirking at his dragon.
Astrid came back down the stairs then, carrying two other white rags. She walked over to Hiccup, placing the cloths on the bed beside him. She carefully began unwinding the bloodied cloth from his hand, cringing when the scratch came into view. Blood was smeared all over his palm and was still slowly oozing from the wound. She turned and threw the dirty cloth into the fire, which made the flames grow bigger for a second as they licked away the fabric. A slight scent of blood wafted around the room, making Hiccup and Astrid both wrinkle their own noses.
"Great," Astrid muttered, walking over to the windows. She shoved the shutters open, welcoming the cool, clean breeze when it blew into her face. She opened the neighboring window as well, and then walked back over to Hiccup.
"You could have just cleaned that rag, you know," Hiccup told her as she picked up the new cloth. She dabbed it lightly on the wound, and Hiccup realized that she had gotten it wet upstairs. She slowly and carefully began wiping the blood away, and when she was satisfied, she grabbed the other cloth she had brought down and began wrapping it around the wound.
"You didn't have to come help me with this, you know," Hiccup said softly as she tied the cloth off. She looked up into his green eyes.
"I wanted to," she replied. "I like knowing that I did something to help you feel better, even slightly." Hiccup smiled and pulled her onto the bed beside him. They sat there, staring at the fire, and Hiccup's arm wound around Astrid's waist.
"So… What are your plans for the day?" he asked her after a moment of silence.
"I don't have any," Astrid answered, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I was hoping that you'd be open for hanging out."
"Well, I think I am…"
Right as Hiccup was leaning in, the door slammed open. Both teenagers jumped, and Hiccup took his arm away from Astrid's waist.
"Dad!" he yelled, clutching at his chest. "Don't… do that!" Stoick chuckled at first, but then became awfully serious. He crossed the room quickly, stepping carefully around Toothless, who was now sitting up.
"Sorry, sorry… I saw Gobber out in the village and knew that he must have let you go for the day. I have something I need to talk to you about." Hiccup raised his eyebrows.
"Okay then… talk." Stoick groaned.
"Privately, son. I'm sorry, Astrid…"
"No, no, it's fine," Astrid said, pushing herself to her feet. "I was actually just about to leave anyway. I'll see you later, 'k Hiccup?"
"Sounds good," Hiccup responded. Astrid gave him a small grin and then exited the house. Hiccup groaned at his dad and turned himself to lie down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling. "Okay… so we're in private now. What's so important?" Stoick sighed, pulling over a stool that sat around the fire. He looked at his son for a short moment before beginning.
"Well… the tribe of Vikings from Lakota is coming for a little visit because they've received news of our new alliance with the dragons." Hiccup immediately perked up, much more interested in what his father had to tell him. "They're setting out this evening, sailing all through the night, and should be here sometimes tomorrow afternoon. You and I will meet the chief and his family as they exit their boat, as is the right thing for the chief family to do to a visiting chief family."
"I know, Dad. Other tribes have visited us before," Hiccup told him.
"I know, I know. I'm just letting you know. Anyway… they'll have tomorrow night to get settled in, and then the following evening we will hold a welcome feast for them. And you are to dance with his daughter."
"How do you know he has a daughter?"
"Because I've met them before. I go on visiting trips all the time, Hiccup. Anyway, as I was saying… You'll dance with her, maybe get to know her a bit, and… maybe, try to become attracted to her…" Hiccup shot straight up, his eyes wide. He turned his head to face his father, whose eyes were also wide.
"…what?" Hiccup whispered.
"Now son, it would be a great thing for both our tribes if you and Ragnar's daughter were to connect and then someday get married. It'd combine our tribes and… it would just be a great thing for all of us!"
"Not. Gonna'. Happen."
"Hiccup, just think it through. You know where I'm coming from. I'm not thinking of myself or of you; I'm thinking of the tribe. This would be very good for us! The tribe of Lakota has supplies that we don't, and very good hunters. We'd be able to catch food for the winter much easier."
"Dad, I'm not going to just randomly fall in love with a girl I've never met," Hiccup pressed. "Besides, you know how I feel about Astrid…"
"You need to start thinking more about your people than of yourself, son," Stoick said. "You're going to be chief someday, and that is a trait you will need to possess."
"And I will… with Astrid at my side. Not some Lakota Viking."
"I see where you're coming from, son, but you can also see where I'm coming from. You know that this would be good for both tribes, but you're so blinded by your own wants and needs, that you're not willing to help the rest of your people. If our two tribes combine, Hiccup, we'll lose less people when the winter sickness season sets in. We'll have more medics and more herbs and medicines. You know that this would be a good thing!"
"Doesn't mean it's going to happen!" Hiccup was off the bed by now, crossing the room towards the front door. Stoick was standing by the bed.
"So you're choosing yourself over the tribe? If you do that when you're chief, Hiccup, this entire village will die." Hiccup's hand hesitated on the doorknob as his father said this. Toothless walked over and nudged Hiccup gently on his shoulder. Hiccup looked back at the dragon's wide green eyes, and then back at his father.
"Not gonna' happen," he repeated flatly, pulling the door open. He exited the house, Toothless on his heel, as Stoick sat back down on the stool and put his face in his hand.
Hiccup's one and only destination was Astrid's house, and he walked there with his brows furrowed, his mouth turned down in a scowl. Toothless nudged his elbow as they walked, asking silently to go flying. Hiccup merely shook his head and continued walking. Toothless fell behind, eventually turning back around to go back up to Hiccup's house. Hiccup didn't even notice.
He wasn't having the best of days, period, he concluded.
A/N: I'm a bit worried about the characters seeming a bit OOC... but at the same time, I feel kinda proud of myself for getting them IN character. Lol. Please, please, please, review, letting me know what you think. Reviews will keep me writing, no joke. They help me with inspiration. ^^ Thanks, guys! I'll have chapter two up as soon as I can!
(( Claire ))