AN: This is an old story that I never got around to publishing on the site until now. It focuses mainly on the interaction and character dynamics of Hiccup and Dagur. Since the time I wrote it, Dagur's been featured in the show alot more, though to say that he's gone through any sorta meaningful "character development" is a bit of a stretch. Still, I hope that this story's insights might still apply or entertain, even after all this time.
It was a request by Catherine at the Sticks and Stones HTTYD forum, who wanted a good Hiccup-Toothless friendship/bonding fic, preferably set around the scene in the season 2 episode "The Night and the Fury" where Dagur is attempting to kill Toothless and is under the impression that Hiccup is his "brother". Dagur tells Hiccup that he can have one of the Night Fury's wings, and Hiccup responds that he'll "pretty much take the whole thing" instead.
I had always thought that this episode, had it not been constrained for time, could've delved a whole lot more into the characters' backgrounds, psyches, interactions, and motivations than it did.
Here, Hiccup is given the opportunity to have something that he had probably always wanted since he was born…a friend, and a brother even, who seemingly respected him and saw him as an equal, even though the "brother" was physically superior to him and much more Viking-like.
Of course, he already found such a connection with Toothless, and rejects an offer that would put his first, and best, friend/brother in jeopardy.
But still, I found it just a bit out-of-character how Hiccup so off-handedly pushed Dagur to the side, even with their past hostilities, without even trying to explain why Berk, and himself personally, had chosen to be friends with the dragons, or try to get Dagur to see reason. (Then again, this is Dagur we're talking about, so perhaps the clear answer is, "why even bother?")
But anyway, Catherine's request gave me the perfect excuse to expand on this concept. I hope that she enjoys it and that you do too! If you have a request for a story, please feel free to ask!
Dagur just rolled his eyes in exasperation, "This again? Fine; you saw it first, so you can take home a wing or something…"
"Uh, no, I'm pretty much gonna take the whole thing!" Hiccup then let out a howl, perfectly mimicking the call of a Night Fury.
"Ohhh, yeah!" Dagur exclaimed to Hiccup with a sly grinned as he gestured to the armada of Berserker ships waiting just offshore. Their hunt for the elusive Night Fury was now becoming decidedly one-sided… in the Berserker's favor. "We're going to drive that beast right to them, and they can finish him off!" The ships responded to his signal flare with a barrage of flaming arrows, several of them nearly hitting Hiccup, and driving Toothless closer to the edge of the cliffs.
Not even a Night Fury, the fastest and stealthiest of all the dragons, could maneuver through a sky where every square foot was literally riddled with deadly arrows.
…And this Night Fury wasn't even currently capable of flying on his own to begin with!
"Not exactly sporting," Hiccup said desperately, but also honestly; trying to think of any excuse to help even the odds for Toothless.
"I don't care about sporting; I care about killing that Night Fury and wearing its skull as a helmet!"
Dagur cocked back his crossbow. Toothless slipped backwards towards the precipice of the cliff-face, and was just barely able to maintain enough traction to keep from plunging down. If the blood-lusting Berserker chief didn't manage to hit the Night Fury, then the rest of the armada would finish the job as soon as the dragon fell off into the water or tried to fly away.
Toothless called out in distress as Hiccup's eyes widened. Hiccup could carry the ploy with Dagur no further.
"Okay, that's it," Hiccup stated in a determined tone. "I am not going to let you kill that dragon!"
Dagur just rolled his eyes in exasperation, "This again? Fine; you saw it first, so you can take home a wing or something…"
"Uh, no, I'm pretty much gonna take the whole thing!" Hiccup then let out a howl, perfectly mimicking the call of a Night Fury.
"What the…?"
Toothless bounded over the stunned Dagur, who turned to watch as the black dragon, the fabled offspring of Lightning and Death itself, landed behind Hiccup like a trained pet.
"After all," explained Hiccup, "it's only fair, since he's pretty much already accepted all of me."
That was when Dagur, now getting his first full and relatively well-lit view of the Night Fury, noticed something odd on its back…something unnatural…something man-made.
"Is that-…"
"…a saddle? Yes, Dagur, that's exactly what it is." Hiccup moved around in front of the Night Fury, remaining completely composed and unfazed by the beast! In fact, the dragon not only responded to Hiccup's comforting touch, but allowed the boy to mount him!
Dagur was shocked, but the pieces quickly fell into place. "So I was…"
"…right all along! We do not hunt dragons on Berk!" Hiccup moved his prosthetic into the pedal and pushed down. The tail-fin activated and popped outwards as Toothless did the same with his wings, displaying his full size to the much smaller human that had dared to threaten him just a moment before!
But if they were hoping to impress Dagur into backing down, they were sadly mistaken. The Berserker chief boiled over in rage, and stomped forward. "Your father lied to me; you lied to me!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Hiccup.
"I'm sorry that I had to lie to you," Hiccup said sincerely. "Please try to understand that it was nothing personal; my father was trying to keep the peace between our tribes, and so was I."
"By making a fool out of me?!"
"That wasn't my intention! Believe me, I know how it feels to look foolish, and I didn't mean to make you look weak or inadequate!"
"Nooo, you just wanted to make yourself look like the hero!"
"That's not it at all! I just wanted to stop you from hurting the dragons!"
"Stop me from hurting the dragons?! I guess you didn't care as much when they tried to hurt me! You ordered them to attack me, didn't you?!"
"I didn't order them to do anything! And I tried my best to make sure that nobody, including you, got hurt!" That last part was a tiny bit of a stretch, Hiccup knew, since he had "accidentally" hit Dagur a few times with his "ornate shield" while "rescuing" him from Toothless. But really, was a just a little retribution for all the pain the Berserker had intentionally put him through in the past really that bad?
"I can't believe that you would choose those stupid reptiles over me!"
"I'm not choosing anybody!" Again, a lie; or at least, a half-truth. Hiccup knew he would always choose Toothless over Dagur; or over anybody, in fact. But really, Toothless was the one who had chosen him first, not the other way around. Still, what Hiccup really wanted was for everyone, Dagur included, to be on the same side, more than anything else. "If you would just hear me out…they aren't the beasts that you think they are!"
"I cannot believe this! You're just like my dad; you care more about making peace than maintaining your pride! Don't you have any idea what it means to be a Viking?!"
"I told you that I'm not choosing sides here Dagur; I want us all to be on the same team. You're the one who has to choose. I still want to be your friend, but I can't be friends with anyone who wants to hurt or kill my other friends, even when those other friends are dragons."
Dagur roared in anger and reached for his sword, but Toothless roared twice as loudly, and his many teeth were just as sharp as any sword. Dagur paused.
"It's your choice," warned Hiccup.
Dagur looked away, "You could've been my brother Hiccup…now, you're my enemy!" Despite the harsh words, Dagur actually looked a bit upset and…sad?
Hiccup felt his heart slip a little. How often, before he had met Toothless, had he yearned for somebody to show a genuine interest in him and be his friend? To treat him like family? With a father that didn't understand him, and a tribe that thought he was always a bit...odd; maybe the two sons-of-chiefs really did have more in common than he had realized.
…But Dagur had made his choice; he had rejected his own family, and when given the opportunity to join with Hiccup's family, dragons and all, he had rejected that too. Hiccup really did want everyone to live together, side-by-side, but if it came down to it…
"Have it your way Dagur, but just to let you know, I already have brother; and yes, he is a Night Fury…and his name is Toothless!" Toothless roared and then flapped his massive wings and hovered in front of Dagur for a moment. "And remember, Berk has dragons, and we're not afraid to use them!" He patted Toothless on the head, "Let's get out of here, bud."
The duo took off to the skies, but Dagur was quick to react, bringing out his bola. He had given that miserable hiccup-of-a-Viking a chance to be his brother; but the deceitful little traitor had rejected him and his ideals, just like his own father had…and now, he would suffer the same fate!