AN: Hello~! Happy to be back with another chapter for you guys! Just as a general announcement: My new updating days are Thursdays, however, I am hoping that at some point I will be able to update more than once a week. I'm not sure when I will be able to start doing that, but hopefully during the winter holiday I can manage a few extra chapters every week. Also -Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! This is the most reviews I have gotten for a single chapter EVER! Thank you for your support, your kind words, and all of your excitement! I hope you enjoy the story and that it will meet all your expectations! :)
NOTES: Being left Alone, with my Mind, is actually quite Dangerous.
REVIEWERS!:
Deadly Little Liar: Thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying it, and don't worry there's plenty of exciting stuff that's gonna happen! :)
Arwen Eledel: I know! I stayed up till midnight just so I could post the first chapter as early as possible! And, yes, I will be updating regularly on Thursdays from now on. I'm glad you found the first chapter enjoyable, and, yes, the other vikings have always been Hogwarts wizards. Berk is special as, in this series, Hogwarts is the number one wizarding school in the world, so it's a huge deal if you get an acceptance letter (I made slight mention of the fact that most of the students are of some sort of status back in Merida's story). Camicazi is the only viking outside of Berk that has had the honor of attending Hogwarts. I did notice the Flaming Vikings. I always snicker at that part XD
Story Critic Cat: Your theories are intriguing. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I hope this next chapter is just as enjoyable! ;)
Hope Quill: Yep! Lots of fun and exciting twists going on at Hogwarts this year! It's gonna be one bumpy ride ;)
BrawlerGamer: YES! YES IT IS! And I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with good food and fun times! Pretty soon now Jack Frost will be nipping at our noses! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the third person monologue because that scene went through several drafts. I wanted to try something different. I find most people have Hiccup's story happen either before he goes to Hogwarts or over the Summer, and when it does happen during the year, Hiccup shoots down Toothless in the Forbidden Forest, and yeah. I wanted mine to be different, and while there's nothing wrong with any of those ideas, I just don't enjoy them that much. I don't really know why, I just don't. Anyways~ Keep in mind that Pitch didn't have his eyes on Hiccup during the short... ;)
C: That little bit mentioned with Mildew will come up again. Dragon Training, the other viking teens, Gobber -it's all going to Hogwarts! As always, thank you for all of the kind and thoughtful words! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you enjoy everything I have planned. I've been looking forward to this one, too! There are plenty of questions to be answered, mysteries to be solved, new mysteries to uncover, and endless twists and turns! I think I'm just as excited as you for the rest of this story, and I know what's gonna happen! :3
Elphaba818: Welcome! I am so happy to hear that you like my stories! Elsa and Anna will make an appearance. Later on in the series there might be some shipping stuff, but there isn't going to be a lot of it. Maybe a couple of small scenes. I'm planning on sticking to mostly cannon pairings. I might slide in a mention of it somewhere if I find that a lot of people want me to, but I'm really not going to be focusing on romantic relationships in this story very much. I hope that isn't too disappointing, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter! :)
Graceful Petals: Eh, it's gonna be a little different than that, but you'll just have to wait and see. I'm glad you're so excited, and I hope this update is enough to satisfy for another week :)
Origami Stars: Hello! Thank you for all of your reviews of my previous stories! (yes, I do read them). I really appreciate the support and feedback! So far two people have guessed autism, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but we'll see. ;)
Music: "Forbidden Friendship" by John Powell (How to train your Dragon, 2010)
Chapter 2: Forbidden Friendship
The next morning started dark and early for Hiccup. That is, he was very comfortable sleeping in his bed until Gobber waltzed right into his house and up to his room, waking the boy before the sun had even met the horizon. The blacksmith dragged Hiccup down to the forge while the stars still twinkled lightly overhead, and all the green-eyed boy could do was wonder what his mentor was trying to do.
"We've got a lot of work to do, lad!" Gobber was telling him as Hiccup struggled to focus on Gobber instead of the intense pain in his skull.
The pain always got worse after raids, but this was practically unbearable. All Hiccup wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sob. But Vikings don't cry. Hiccup refused to show such weakness, even in front of Gobber.
"...and fifty-eight swords need to be reshaped entirely, which means shaping, balancing, sharpening, binding, and polishing for all of them!" Gobber ranted, and Hiccup quickly realized the blacksmith was giving him a verbal list of everything they needed to fix from the raid the morning before. "Oh, yeah. We've got our work cut out for us, Hiccup! But don't you worry, we're gonna use this to our advantage!" Gobber chuckled gleefully, as if he'd come up with a brilliant plan.
"Gobber, what are you even talking about?" Hiccup questioned, the light from the torches that lit the pathways hurting his already dry and aching eyes.
"Dragon Training, of course!" Gobber exclaimed rather loudly, whirling to face Hiccup as they came to an abrupt halt just outside the forge. The sudden loudness and movement made Hiccup cringe deeply, but Gobber didn't seem to take much notice. "Stoick wants me to bring you back with All Limbs Intact." He emphasized each word by poking Hiccup's small torso with his prosthetic hammer-hand. "I'm gonna use your strengths to help you survive Dragon Training."
"And what, exactly, do you consider my strengths?" Hiccup asked dryly, looking up at his mentor with half-closed, tired, and annoyed eyes.
"You're smart! Smarter than anyone else on the island, I'd wager. So, I'm going to tell you everything I know from my experience fighting dragons, and hopefully by the end of this year you'll at least be decent enough at fighting to not get yourself killed!" Gobber grinned cheerfully.
"Thanks, Gobber. That makes me feel so much better." Hiccup replied, but the sarcasm flew right over Gobber's head as the older man grinned and dragged Hiccup into the forge, beginning a very long morning of hard work and dragon killing lectures.
By noon Hiccup had finished work on the fifty-eight swords Gobber had mentioned and started replacing chipped axe-heads and broken hammer-handles. Most of Gobber's lecturing was old stories of him fighting dragons. Stories that Hiccup had heard hundreds of times already and wasn't sure how much of them he actually believed. Hiccup decided pretty early to just drown out the older man by focusing on his work, and it worked fairly well. Whenever Gobber got suspicious that Hiccup wasn't listening, he would scream 'POP QUIZ!' and ask some absurd question. Having heard all of his stories before, Hiccup was able to answer all of Gobber's questions easily, which would make the blacksmith pout and mutter something about 'smug, smartass apprentice'. Hiccup would grin in response and then turn back to his work.
Most would think that a loud, hot forge would be a terrible place to go when one had a migraine sent from the very depths of Helheim, but for Hiccup? Well, it was one of the few places he could truly lose himself in his work. Making or fixing things, Hiccup was good at that. He liked doing it because it was one of the few things he could do right. When Hiccup was in the forge the rest of the world fell away until all of his senses were focused on whatever was in his hands, whatever he was creating. It was a good feeling that brought satisfaction when the work was done. It was helpful whenever Hiccup needed to escape the village, or his own mind at times.
This was one of those times when Hiccup was trying to escape himself. Gobber's endless talk about dragons only reminded him of what had happened out in the woods where only the trees bore witness to his crimes. He simply couldn't stop thinking about the green-eyed dragon. No matter how hard he tried he still saw those eyes in his mind. His thoughts made his fingertips tremble with anxiety as he considered what had transpired between him and the creature. He remembered, for just a moment, there was peace. For the first time since he could remember, there was no pain. And he wondered if maybe, just maybe, it could happen again. But these kinds of thoughts were dangerous. Hazardous ideas. One would have to be entirely mad to even think of them! And yet still...
Gobber sighed heavily as he dipped a red-hot axe-head into a barrel of water, sending up an immense amount of steam. The smith wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm, and then placed the axe on a side table where it would be properly balanced on it's handle before it was resharpened and then polished. He had just finished telling Hiccup the story of when he encountered the dreaded BoneKnapper for the first time.
"Well, lad, I think we did some good work today. Nearly finished with the weapon repairs, just a few more axes left, and it's only lunch time!" Gobber announced, wiping his hand on a dirty rag. "The rest can wait until tomorrow. I've got to finish up the syllabus for Dragon Training, so I can send it off to Professor North. I'll clean up here, you go ahead and go do something fun. Get out there and socialize!"
"A-are you sure? I'm sure I can finish up all of those axes for you! I -I could even polish your hands!" Hiccup offered with a few stutters, motioning towards the wall of prosthetics. The last thing he needed was a bunch of free time to himself. Time for him to think, to look at the trees that beckoned to him, to hear something wild calling him.
"No, no, no!" Gobber waved him off. "You've been working hard all morning, and you passed all the pop quizzes! Just remember the most important rule about dragons."
"...Never stick your head in a dragon's mouth?" Hiccup guessed, raising one eyebrow as he looked up at Gobber.
"No!" Gobber shook his head, and then his expression turned rather serious. "A dragon always, always, goes for the kill."
With that, Gobber turned to start cleaning up the forge, and Hiccup looked at him for a few moments before slowly backing out of the forge and then walking into the village, deep in thought.
"So why didn't you?" Hiccup asked, holding the broken bola in his hands as he crouched near the ground, deep in the forest and far away from the village. He put the bola back on the ground, looking out to where he had seen the dragon disappear into the trees, and then he stood and started walking in that direction.
It wasn't terribly long before Hiccup's imaginary path through the brush turned narrow. Narrow enough so that most of the large Vikings from the village would've had trouble squeezing through, but Hiccup's small size left him plenty of room in the small space, allowing him to weave between stones and duck beneath a large root. The ground beneath his feet turned hard, and Hiccup noticed that the area was more moss-covered stone than anything else. A narrow opening between two stones opened up to reveal a sunlit cove with a small lake. It was peaceful and calm, the only noises belonging to the forest and it's creatures. But there was nothing there.
"Well, this was stupid." Hiccup muttered to himself, wondering what on earth was driving him to these stupid, crazy ideas that would no doubt get him in trouble, and then he noticed the black-as-midnight scales on the ground. Crouching down, he picked one up, admiring the smooth feel it had and peering at the deep colors as the black scale glistened with just the slightest hints of blue-purple in the sunlight.
Hiccup leaped back, dropping the scale, as a black blur shot passed him, roaring and grinding it's teeth. The dragon scrambled to get a hold on the stone wall of the cove, but it was too smooth, and he fell back towards the ground. The dragon glided to the other side of the lake, but landed rather ungracefully in the dirt.
Hiccup stared at the creature with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, breathing hard as his heart pounded in his chest. He felt the corner of his mouth lift towards a smile, but he quickly slammed back to reality, climbing down onto a lower rock to get a better look at the dragon.
The dragon, letting out roars of frustration and stubborn determination, kept leaping into the air and flapping it's wings like it wanted to fly, but every time it tried the dragon would fall back to the ground, hitting the earth hard.
Hiccup scrambled for his notebook and charcoal, opening it to an empty page and quickly sketching the dragon on the blank piece of parchment. When he was done with his drawing, Hiccup looked back up at the dragon who let out a blast of fire in his vexation.
"Why don't you just fly away?" Hiccup asked quietly, but then noticed something was off between the dragon and his drawing. Using his left hand, he smudged the charcoal that made up the left tail-fin until it was mostly out of the way.
The dragon leaped into the air again, trying desperately to fly, but soon fell back to the earth with a hard thump. It opened it's eyes and saw a fish jump in the water of the lake. The dragon slowly got to it's feet and took the few steps to reach the water, limping a bit on the way. His head shot into the water, snapping at the fish, but he didn't catch anything.
Hiccup frowned, looking at his drawing, and then back at the dragon. The poor creature was probably exhausted from all of his attempts at flying. With his lack of energy he couldn't hunt, and even if he could there wasn't enough fish in that lake to last more than a day or two.
Lost in thought, Hiccup accidentally dropped his charcoal pencil, and it clattered against the rocks, sounding loud in such a quiet place. Despite his attempts to catch it, the pencil fell down into the cove, and the small movement was enough to catch the dragon's attention.
The creature looked at where the pencil fell, and then raised his piercing gaze to look right at Hiccup. The boy locked gazes with the dragon for a second time, and there was a sharp intake of breath from the boy. Hiccup tilted his head ever so slightly, knowing that he should be terrified of this creature, but he wasn't. He didn't know how to explain what he felt when he locked gazes with that dragon, but he wasn't afraid.
The dragon stared back at him with a steady, unblinking gaze, and then, he too, tilted his head ever so slightly, his eyes reflecting the same curiosity from the boy's.
The next day, in the mid-morning, Hiccup went to Gothi's hut wearing some of his wizarding robes. Gothi, who had been informed of the event weeks ago, was happy to let Hiccup use her fireplace, which was connected to the Floo Network. With a little bit of Floo Powder, Hiccup found himself in Gringotts Bank.
Smiling, Hiccup stepped out of the fireplace and quickly went to one of the Goblins who wasn't busy helping someone else. After having some money retrieved from his father's account, Hiccup had everything he needed and left the bank. Stepping out of the front doors, Hiccup looked out at the bustling street, reminding himself to breathe slowly and keep calm.
"Hiccup!" The boy turned at the sound of his name, and suddenly his head ached a little less and his shoulders felt lighter. He hurried through the crowd, rushing to join his friends where they waited for him right next to Ollivander's.
Rapunzel giggled happily and threw her arms around him in a tight hug as Jack and Merida grinned widely. All four of them had been waiting all Summer for this. Jack's mom was with them, and Emma bounced on her toes with pure excitement next to Jack.
"Sorry I'm late." Hiccup apologized as Rapunzel pulled back so Merida could punch his shoulder lightly and Jack could ruffle his hair. Senses of Safe and Love made his shoulders lighter as his chest tighten in a good way. He'd missed his friends.
"No worries, Merida only beat you by a hair." Jack grinned, earning himself a significantly harder punch to the shoulder, but Merida was smiling, too.
"And Jack's been whining about being the only boy for the past ten minutes." Merida informed Hiccup, crossing her arms over her chest with satisfaction. "Anyways, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris caught a cold, so mom's going to bring them sometime next week instead."
Before Hiccup could respond a smaller blur crashed into him, giving him a tight hug around his waist and then grabbing his left arm and jumping up and down excitedly. Emma looked up at him with bright eyes and a big smile. "Cat, I finally get to go to Hogwarts with all of you! I'm old enough now, and I got my letter, and everything!" She exclaimed, looking so happy.
"She's been saying that to everyone." Jack told him, making Emma stick her tongue out at her older brother. Hiccup just laughed at the interaction between the two, and then their mother stepped in.
"Alright, enough of that." Matilda said, putting her hands on Emma's shoulders. "It's time we talked to Ollivander about Emma's wand." The woman smiled knowingly, and Emma's eyes lit up like stars.
Before long the group was inside the wand shop, watching Ollivander and Emma try wand after wand. Matilda watched calmly from a comfortable seat by the window, and Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel talked about what the new year was going to be like. Hiccup stood with them, but faded in and out of the conversation as his thoughts traveled to a sunlit cove deep in the forests of Berk.
Hiccup shook himself sharply, causing his headache to flare a bit, and firmly reminded himself that he shouldn't be thinking such strange, dangerous thoughts. Especially not while he was here, in Diagon Alley with his best friends.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Hiccup jumped at the sudden voice by his side. He looked up and saw Jack standing there, worry evident on his features. Hiccup noticed that the girls' had moved over to speak with Emma while Ollivander looked through some wand boxes in the back.
"You seem... Distracted." Jack continued, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't attract the girls' attention. Once again, Hiccup appreciated his best friend's talent for discretion and his use of it at appropriate times. Most people didn't know, but Jack was excellent at keeping things quiet if he was asked to, and he knew Hiccup well enough to know that discretion first was usually the best course of action.
"I -I'm fine!" Hiccup forced a smile, very aware of the doubtful expression Jack was giving him. "Really." Hiccup tried again, offering a smaller, weaker smile. "I'm just... I'm just a little worried about this year, is all."
"...Is it your dad?" Jack asked quietly, and Hiccup could practically hear the unease in the taller boy's voice. They had never really talked about Hiccup's home life. Jack knew that it was just him and his dad in a small village, but that was about it. But Jack had eyes and ears, and though they never spoke about it, Hiccup knew that Jack noticed the lack of letters from home when the owls came at breakfast time and he was aware of Hiccup's reluctance to talk about home.
"...Yeah. Partially." Hiccup admitted, deciding he was too tired to try and hide something they were both acutely aware of.
Jack looked at him for a long, silent moment, and reached up and put his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "You know you've still got us, right? Whatever's going on, Merida, Rapunzel, and I can help. You mentioned once that you have trouble talking to him, right? Well, If we can get Merida and her mom to get along, I'm sure we can help you and your dad."
Hiccup smiled at that. "Yeah, I know. But it's not just my dad that's got me worried about this year." Piercing green eyes flashed in Hiccup's mind, but he pushed the thought away quickly.
"You worry too much. We've survived three years of Dark Sorcerers, Crazy Witches, and Demon Bears! I'm convinced we can take on anything!" Jack said, puffing his chest out a bit and holding his chin high. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Okay, okay, I see your point." Hiccup chuckled, shaking his head at the other boy.
"Honestly, we're the dream team. Let's take over the world together." Jack grinned, throwing one long arm around Hiccup's scrawny shoulders.
"Ha Ha, yeah right." Hiccup rolled his eyes, but he didn't bother to hide the bright smile on his face.
"I'm serious," Jack said, keeping his arm around Hiccup's shoulders. "This is the halfway mark, Hiccup. Before you know it, we'll be graduating! Rapunzel and Merida keep talking about how they'll have to start training to become queens and stuff, but that doesn't mean we can't still get out of here. Come on, Hic! You and me, just like we always planned! We'll take on the world together and go find adventures!"
Jack's eyes were shining, and Hiccup would be lying if he said he didn't want that future more than anything. It had been their dream since first year when they realized they both wanted to see the world and go on grand adventures. Hiccup knew it was crazy, but getting out of these boring old towns and leaving to go on adventures with his brother instead of going back to Berk to be Hiccup the Useless after graduation? That made Hiccup think that maybe it didn't matter how crazy an idea it was because it was their crazy idea, and they'd do it together just like they always did.
"You and me, Jack." Hiccup smiled back at him, and Jack beamed, wrapping his arm that rested on Hiccup's shoulders around Hiccup's neck and pulling him into a noogie. "Gah, Jack!" Hiccup laughed as the taller boy ruffled his hair.
"Would you two quit rough-housing! You're gonna break something!" Merida scolded them, fists planted on her hips as Rapunzel and Emma laughed at the boys' antics.
"Ah-ha!" Ollivander called, coming back to the front of the store. The older man drew Jack's attention away just enough to allow Hiccup to slip out of his hold. Hiccup gave Jack a light shove as the two moved forward to see the new wand Emma was to try. "Sycamore wood with a Phoenix Feather core. Twelve inches." Ollivander opened the slightly dusty box to reveal a silver wand with vine carvings decorating it's entire length.
Emma stared at the wand in wonder and gently picked it up. Immediately, the wand shimmered brightly and a light breeze brushed through Emma's shoulder-length hair. Matilda smiled and the four clapped and cheered for the younger girl while Ollivander congratulated her and started to ring it up, giving the Frosts' a family discount.
Hiccup returned to Berk late that evening and went to the forge where Gobber was working. The smith had told Hiccup to let him know when he returned from Diagon Alley, so someone would know that he'd made it back safely. Hiccup thought it was unnecessary, but didn't say so, and did as he was asked.
Reporting to the forge resulted in Hiccup telling Gobber about his trip to Diagon Alley. His mentor was happy to hear that it had been a good time and started telling Hiccup about his first trip to Diagon Alley with Stoick and Hiccup's Uncle, Spitelout. The three had, apparently, gotten separated from the rest of the group and ended up in Knockturn Alley, which somehow got them in the middle of a street brawl. Once Gobber finished his story, he told Hiccup that he'd best get on to bed before it got too much later, but Hiccup decided to take a chance and asked Gobber what he knew about Night Furies.
Gobber didn't know much. He insisted that anyone who had seen one hadn't lived to tell the tale, but Hiccup was living proof that that was wrong. Literally. Not that he mentioned that to the old smith, of course, But Gobber did mention the Dragon Manual, the only book Berk had. It contained everything they knew of every dragon they knew of, and while Gobber thought looking for information on Night Furies was pointless, he had told Hiccup that reading the Manual in general might help him in Dragon Training, and told the boy where to find it in the archives of the Great Hall.
The Manual didn't help either. Berk knew nothing about the Night Fury, and they feared it more than anything else. So the Manual really only succeeded in giving Hiccup the creeps to the point where he found it hard to sleep that night and had nightmares when he did.
The next morning, when Hiccup woke up, he decided to do something completely stupid.
It was about noon when he reached the cove, holding a shield in front of him as he crept forward, peering out into the open space. He threw a fish and it landed maybe four or five feet away as he cowered behind his shield between two giant stones. He waited, but nothing happened. He peeked out, and saw nothing. So he knew that he'd have to go farther into the cove if he wanted to accomplish anything. Though, he wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to accomplish.
He started towards the fish, but his shield got stuck. Wedged between the two stones. Hiccup pulled at it, and crawled underneath it to pull from the other side, but it didn't budge. He sighed and gave up, walking over to the fish and picking it up.
He tiptoed farther into the cove, looking all around him at the open space, but not seeing the dragon anywhere. That is, until he felt something behind him. He slowly turned, and despite knowing that the dragon would be there, he still gasped lightly.
The graceful dragon climbed down from the rocks it had been perched on, it's nose twitching as it eyed the fish in his hands. Hiccup held out his arm, offering the fish to the dragon as they both regarded each other with caution. The dragon slowly began to creep forward, it's pupils growing a little wider as it opened it's mouth towards the fish, but then it jumped back, snarling and it's eyes fixated on Hiccup's waist.
Hiccup moved his vest to reveal the small dagger on his belt, and when he touched the handle the dragon snarled again, leaning back on it's haunches, ready to lunge. Hiccup stepped back a bit, but managed to collect himself quickly. He picked up the dagger with two fingers and then let it drop to the ground. The dragon snorted, unimpressed with the gesture, and Hiccup used his foot to kick the knife into the lake with a soft splash.
The dragon watched the knife disappear below the water, and then he sat up straight, looking at Hiccup with wide and curious pupils. Hiccup moved his arm to offer the fish again, this time a bit more relaxed.
The dragon's eyes slanted a bit, but he slowly started forward again, creeping up and opening his mouth as he got closer to the fish. He hesitated just before he took it, though, glancing up at Hiccup who was squinting at him.
"Huh. Toothless... I could of sworn you had -" Razor sharp teeth shot out of the dragon's pinky gums and crunched down on the fish, yanking it out of Hiccup's hands. The Night Fury pulled back slightly as he devoured the fish in seconds, and finishing with a satisfied lick of his mouth. "Teeth." Hiccup finished weakly. The dragon's eyes snapped back towards him, curious but armor piercing at the same time, and he started walking towards Hiccup, sniffing at him.
"Uh, no, no. No." Hiccup stumbled backwards, stuttering as he fell back onto his rear and scrambled backwards until his back hit a stone, stopping him from moving anymore as the dragon came up to stand practically nose-to-nose with him. "I don't have any more." Hiccup squeaked, unable to look away from those Green Eyes.
The dragon's pupils suddenly rolled back, and a strange noise came from his throat as Hiccup looked at him in confusion. The dragon opened his mouth, and half of the fish he had eaten fell into Hiccup's lap, regurgitated.
Hiccup was more than a little disgusted, but the dragon moved back, raising onto his back legs and then dropping onto his haunches. Sitting there, he watched Hiccup expectantly. Still a little frightened about everything that had happened the past three days, Hiccup could only stare back as he pushed himself to a more upright position. The dragon did not stop staring. Hiccup still had no idea what he was supposed to do, so he just stayed where he was. Then the dragon glanced down at the regurgitated fish and then back at Hiccup.
Hiccup's eyes widened and he looked down at the fish he now held in his hands, slimy and half-eaten, and then he looked up at the dragon. He sighed. It couldn't be much worse than that cake Merida got from Ms. Carver last year, right? If he could hold that down then Hiccup was pretty sure this would be okay. Hopefully.
He slowly raised the fish to his mouth cringing as he took a bite out of it and squeezing his eyes shut as the disgusting taste ran across his tongue. With his cheeks puffed up, he hummed his forced agreement and nodded in approval towards the dragon.
Then the dragon swallowed.
Hiccup's eyes widened as he gave his closed-lipped exclamation. He rolled his eyes a bit and then swallowed, trying hard not to throw up. When he finally got it down he shuddered, and shook himself a bit, wishing he had some water to get the taste off his tongue.
The dragon gave a small lick and smacked his lips, as if imagining the tasty treat for himself, and Hiccup smiled at him. The dragon squinted at him for a moment, and then Hiccup watched in utter amazement as the Night Fury pulled it's lips back and up, revealing it's toothless, pink gums in an attempt to smile.
Slowly, Hiccup set the fish aside and leaned forward, reaching his hand out towards the dragon. He didn't remember thinking it and everything he'd ever been taught told him he shouldn't, but Hiccup still found himself reaching towards that dragon.
The dragon, however, quickly dropped his smile and growled at the boy, darting away from the out-reached hand and gliding to the other side of the clearing. He blew out a steady stream of fire onto the ground, and then laid down on top of it, ready to curl up for a nap. A bird caught his attention though, sitting up high by it's nest in a tree and then jumping into the air and taking flight so easily. The dragon watched it go, wishing that he could do the same.
Then his gaze dropped a bit and he saw the Human Hatchling. His ears fell back and he regarded the boy dryly, taking note of the small gesture he made in greeting with his hand. The Night Fury dropped his head and moved his tail to cover his face, promptly ignoring the boy.
Behaving like the small hatchling he was, Hiccup scooted closer when the dragon was no longer looking and reached towards the creature's tail, just for one little touch... Then the tail flicked up and the dragon was staring at him, but Hiccup jumped to his feet, turning away and whistling as he went. The dragon watched him go before climbing to his feet and walking farther away, grumbling. What a silly hatchling.
Later, the Night Fury woke from a nap, hanging upside down from a tree by his tail. The sky had turned various colors of pinks, reds, and oranges as evening fell. The first thing the dragon noticed, however, was that the strange little Human Hatchling was still there. Hiccup was sitting on a rock, drawing in the dirt with a small stick he had found. He felt the dragon's presence come up beside him, and was tempted to glance back, but decided not to. Instead, Hiccup focused on his drawing in the dirt, which happened to be of the very dragon sitting beside him.
The Night Fury watched his stick move across the ground intently, gentle rumbles of curiosity coming from his chest. Then he stood and walked off, and this time, when he heard a strange creaking noise, Hiccup did look back. The dragon had yanked a large branch off of a tree, and then started dragging it across the ground, making deep lines in the earth. He would spin to make swirls, and occasionally paused in his work to look over at Hiccup before going right back to his drawing. At one point he was spinning around and part of the tree branch whacked the back of Hiccup's head, but it didn't hurt as it was padded mostly by leaves.
When the dragon was finished he dropped the branch and sat up to look at his drawing fondly, nodding in approval and satisfaction. Hiccup looked around in amazement, completely surrounded by the deep lines. Hiccup looked around a bit, trying to find a way out, but couldn't. He started walking out of the drawing, but winced and froze at the sound of the dragon growling. Hiccup lifted his foot, and the growling stopped. Unsure, Hiccup touched his foot down again, resulting in another growl. He lifted it, and the growling stopped. He tried it a third time, same thing.
Stepping over the line, the dragon's ear flaps perked happily and Hiccup smiled at him. Hiccup looked down at his feet, slowly twisting and turning as he looked for places where he could put his feet, slowly but surely making his way out of the center of the drawing. He turned and turned until he took a step backwards and froze, feeling a warm breath wash over the back of his head and shoulders.
Hiccup turned and looked up at the dragon who returned his stare steadily. Looking in the dragons eyes, he reached forward slowly, but the soft growling made him retract.
The growling stopped, and the dragon simply looked at him, wondering why this small human suddenly seemed more like a lost hatchling than a dangerous enemy.
Hiccup looked to the side, deep in thought. He tried to think of something that he could do, but then he realized that, in the course of the past few days, he had mostly been following his gut instincts. So why was it now that he started letting his head make decisions?
Letting go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Hiccup let his head drop down and he looked away, reaching out his hand with an open palm. He left it there, with a respectful space between his hand and the dragon, waiting for the Night Fury to make the choice.
For a long moment, nothing happened, and then Hiccup winced heavily in shock as he felt a smooth, scaly nose gently press into his palm. Hiccup looked up, shocked, and in the next moment, it was over. The dragon pulled away, snorted, and then darted off to the other side of the clearing.
Hiccup watched him go, but stayed rooted to his spot. He realized he was panting and his heart was pounding. His mind was firmly refusing to function, but Hiccup supposed that didn't really matter because, in that moment, he didn't know what to think. Everything inside him screamed about how dangerous, stupid, and crazy this was, not just for him, but for the Night Fury and for the village.
But, somehow, he didn't feel afraid.
