Well, here it is guys! The part where the story really and truly begins! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter, considering the slight difficulties I had with typing it up. Ah well, I suppose that it's 's way of punishing me for being gone so long teehee x) Now, on with the chapter, eh?
Disclaimer: I, BlueSilverPandas, do not own the wonderfulness that is How to Train Your Dragon. That is the sole property of Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks, and the only thing I own of this story is the plot and the characters I made up. (If you have seen the film, then you will surely be able to tell which characters are canon and which are not.)
It was a surprisingly nice day over on the island of Berk. Surprisingly meaning that for once, it wasn't snowing, hailing, or covered in a thick fog like it usually was. On a day like today, the people didn't have to worry so much about miscellaneous objects dropping out of the sky or causing them any sort of discomfort.
Well, everyone but Hiccup, that is.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" came the yell of the young Viking as his Night Fury suddenly dove under the water and came back up again. Coughing, Hiccup wiped at his face and eyes with his sleeve before proceeding to glare at the dragon.
"What did you do that for?" he asked the beast which he called Toothless. In response, the boy recieved a slap on the side of his head from one of the Night Fury's head fins, as if to say, YOU'RE the one driving, Hiccup, not me! Focus, would you?
He was right, of course. For the entire morning, Hiccup has been utterly distracted by Odin-knows-what, and his flying of Toothless had been a bit off as a result.
The problem? Hiccup was in love.
It wasn't a problem for Hiccup of course, not in the least! He adored thinking about the girl he knew as Astrid whenever he possibly could, and was quite certain that she was thinking about him too. It was incredible, really. Whenever Hiccup had been thinking about her for all those months before, it had turned out that she had been doing the same thing, watching and waiting for him to say something. Alas, if only she had spoken up before he had discovered Toothless! What a beautiful notion that would have been!
Beautiful, just like her...
As Hiccup became lost in yet another sweet reverie involving his beloved, his dragon, meanwhile, had the final straw. Traveling just a bit closer to the ground and towards the place where Hiccup had discovered him, Toothless swooped down and landed headfirst into the chilly water.
Sputtering up for air, Hiccup turned to stare at Toothless, whom he could have sworn was wearing a smirk the size of the entire island.
"Honestly, bud?" the Viking sighed.
Toothless gave him a dragon smile in reply, his adorable grin without teeth, filled with about as much love and playfulness as the Night Fury could muster.
Hiccup chuckled and wrapped his arms around his friend's scaly neck. "I just can't stay angry at you, now can I?" he mused aloud, then turned to Toothless. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry buddy. In case you haven't noticed, I've got a lot on my mind today."
Toothless made a motion as if he were rolling his eyes, but nonetheless allowed his master to climb upon his back once more.
"Why don't we head on over to the forge?" asked Hiccup. "I've got some nice fish waiting for you there. Would you like that?"
Toothless, excited by the prospect of lunch, permitted Hiccup to start the journey home. The fact that it was nearly noon and that he was starving must have helped some, for Toothless was pretty stubborn when he wanted to be. That's how him and Hiccup were alike, amongst other things.
Once they got back to the village, Hiccup led his dragon towards the forge and got him some lunch while he went off to repair one of his father's axes. He had been working rather studiously for about fifteen minutes, when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Hiccup sighed. Another customer? Today? The forge was busy enough as it was, what with winter fast approaching and everyone suddenly wanting their weapons touched up in preparation. And since Hiccup actually had a social life now involving Toothless and the other Viking teens, well, he simply didn't have time for much else.
Just as Hiccup opened the door to tell the person that sorry, the forge was closed for now, his jaw dropped and he lost all ability to speak, as he usually did when his girlfriend came around.
"Oh, um, h-hi Astrid." stuttered the young Viking.
Astrid chuckled. "Hello Hiccup," she said. "Can I come in?"
"Sure, sure!" Hiccup replied, scrambling to let her in and make himself look a bit more presentable. As he did so, Astrid took a quick look around his workshop.
"Wow," she commented, surveying the variety of weapons that were scattered about, each at a different stage of repair or completion. "It looks like you've been pretty busy here."
"Yep." replied Hiccup, absentmindedly running a hand through his reddish-brown hair. "People have been asking me to tune up all of their weapons to prepare for winter and make stuff for their dragons, but they forget that I'm only one person." He gave a sigh. "I just can't be everywhere at once."
"You don't have to be," Coming up from behind him, Astrid wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist and leaned her head on his shoulder, just the way she had during their first flight together on Toothless. "Just be you. That's what helped you take down the Green Death, isn't it? That should be good enough for anyone."
Hiccup grimaced slightly in thought. "You think?" he asked.
"It's good enough for me." replied Astrid with a grin as she turned her boyfriend around to face her.
Hiccup couldn't help but smile back at his girlfriend. "I must admit, that makes me happy to hear." he said. Leaning forward slightly, he planted a gentle kiss upon Astrid's lips, of which she was more than happy to reply to. A little whine coming from outside immediately caused the pair to break apart.
"Toothless!" cried Astrid, seeing the dragon's big, soft eyes gazing in at them through the window.
Hiccup laughed and went over to gently pet the not-so-fierce beast. "We didn't forget you." he assured Toothless.
The dragon flashed his version of a smile, signifying that all was forgiven.
Astrid then turned towards Hiccup. "You should get home." she said. "Gobber told me to tell you that your father is looking for you."
"Really?" the Viking teenager raised an eyebrow. "I wonder why."
"I don't know," replied Astrid. "It wasn't my buisness to ask."
"Alright," Hiccup said. "I-I suppose I ought to go and do that then. Umm, hey Astrid, do you, uh..." he gulped really hard all of a sudden. "D-Do you want to meet me later? I-In the cove?"
Astrid blinked for a moment to be sure that she had heard him right. Then, she smiled at him. "Sure." she said. "I would love to."
"O-Okay then," Hiccup blushed. "I-I will see you later then, Astrid."
"Bye, Hiccup." Astrid kissed him lightly on the cheek, before turning around and exiting the forge. After she had gone, Hiccup went about packing his supplies and closing the forge, all while wearing a goofy, euphoric smile upon his face at the prospect of where he would be later in the day.
Once he was done, Hiccup went outside with Toothless and began the long walk back to his home, high upon the hill. He was careful not to place too much weight upon his stump, for although it had been two months since he had battled the Green Death, Hiccup's leg still became sore from time to time.
I wonder what my dad wants? thought the boy. Despite the fact that his father seemed to understand and listen to his son a bit more than he had before, Hiccup was still a bit dubious whenever Stoick requested his attention. He hoped it wasn't going to take too long, on the grounds that he didn't want to be late for his date with Astrid.When Hiccup finally arrived home, he left Toothless outside to play by himself. Going inside, he found Stoick slumped in his favorite chair by the fireplace, his head cradled in his hands. On the little table next to him there lay a slip of paper, obviously forgotten.
Hiccup's eyes widened. It wasn't like his dad to be in such a forlorn state. Stoick rarely ever let things get to him in such a manner, even when times were dire. Something had to really be wrong if he was this close to a breakdown.
"Dad?" Hiccup hesitantly went over towards his father. "Is everything alright?"
Stoick sighed and lifted his head, allowing Hiccup to see the immense pain swimming in behind his seafoam-colored eyes. "Sit down, my son." he said at last. "I'm afraid I've just recieved some very bad news..."
AND THAT'S THE END! Well, I hope you all enjoyed the story! Take care now!
JUST KIDDING! XD Fooled ya, didn't I? ;) There's no way I could possibly end the story NOW, there's too much that I'm dying to write! Instead, I will leave you all with another cliffhanger as I diabolicaly type up my next chapter. ^-^ As per usual, reviews are much appreciated and I shall see you all in Chapter 2.
Peace!
~Pandas
