Salutations

I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to update, but I will try to as consistently as possible.

I'm aware that I am essentially transcribing the movie right now. The canon-divergence doesn't happen until the 'See You Tomorrow' scene, though, so until then, transcribing it will be.

Another note, just something I thought was interesting. In studying Hiccup's behavior for this fanfiction, I noticed that he is considerably less sarcastic when he is with people he loves and trusts. However, as soon as he is insulted, it turns on like a switch, and he becomes arrogant and sarcastic. I realized-it's a defense mechanism. It' s common enough. But if you watch him, you will notice that he really is not a very sardonic person in nature, it's only when he feels threatened.

Also, his FvsF instinct is flight.

Anyways...

Chapter Two

Always, always

Hiccup awoke the next morning to a fusillade of pounding at the front door. Groaning, he pushed back his blankets and sleepily made his way downstairs. When he opened the door, he was greeted by Gobber, Berk's blacksmith and resident teacher of Dragon training.

"You're late." He said gruffly.

Hiccup ran a hand through his messy auburn hair. "Sorry."

"I don't want your apologies, I want you ready for Dragon Training. Now get a move on!" Gobber shook his head, muttering about his job as he walked away.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup pulled on his vest and hefted the axe his father had given him the night before. Speaking of his father, it was a nice change, being able to wake up without all of the disappointed stares and heavy sighing that usually accompanied the dawning hours.

He combed his fingers through his hair, deeming that good enough before setting off towards the arena. The sky was gray and dim as the sun rose, though the clouds obscured much of the light.

When he arrived, all of the other teenagers-Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins-were waiting. Snotlout sneered. "Well look at that, you finally decided to show up."

"Good morning to you as well." Hiccup replied sarcastically, almost unconsciously. It was habit, a reflex. As soon as the insults started, he had to defend himself somehow.

Gobber, ignoring them, opened the gate into the arena. The other teens stepped inside eagerly, bubbling over with excitement, while Hiccup stuck to the shadows in the back. He felt most comfortable there, and besides, that was where everyone seemed to want him.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut said.

His sister smiled. "I'm hoping for some mauling, like maybe shoulder or lower back."

Sighing heavily, Astrid remarked "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"No kidding right?" Hiccup mumbled. "Pain. Love it."

Ruffnut scowled. "Ugh, who let him in?"

Gobber clapped a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Don't worry. You're small, weak, that'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick, or insane, and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." He chuckled as he stepped to the front of the group.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, unsure of how that was supposed to make him feel better. Couldn't they see he wasn't scared? He was only being cautious, being smart. That's how the dragons were, and they had survived long enough.

"Alright, let's get started!" Gobber shouted, calling them all to attention. "The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

"Uh, Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him?" Snotlout asked, and when the others began laughing, grinned like a hero returning home from a quest.

I shot it down, you arrogant bastard. I just was more merciful than you could ever be. Or at least, that's what Hiccup was telling himself.
Gobber ignored them. "Behind these doors lay some of the dragons you will learn to fight. The Hideous Zippleback-" He walked down the row of doors in the arena, saying the name of a species of dragon as he gestured to each. "-the Deadly Nadder...the Terrible Terror-"

The boy next to Hiccup, Fishlegs, was muttering some sort of statistic as Gobber said the name of each dragon. Speed? Armor? What the hell was this kid on about?

Gobber seemed to have had enough as well, as when Fishlegs announced "Attack 8, Venom 12!" to the Monstrous Nightmare, the blacksmith roared "Would you stop that?!"

Rolling his eyes, he stopped at the final door. "And, the Gronckle."

"Jaw Strength 8." Fishlegs murmured to Hiccup. As if he cared.

Gobber put his hand on the lever to open the door, and Snotlout started forward. "Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?"

"I believe in learning on the job." Gobber said, and with that, released the dragon onto the unsuspecting group. Startled cries rang out as the Gronckle burst through the door, with its meaty body and buzzing wings, which would have been comical had the beast not been so dangerous.

"Today's lesson is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead." Hiccup glanced at Gobber. You think? "Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

"A doctor?" Hiccup shouted.

"Plus 5 speed?"

"A shield." Supplied Astrid confidently, who was the only one of the six who had managed to keep her head.

"Yes. If you have the choice between a sword, or a shield, take the shield." Gobber sat casually watching them, as though he hadn't put their lives in immediate danger. Everyone swerved towards the pile of shields in the arena, the twins immediately bickering about it. Hiccup, naturally, could hardly lift the thing, and opted to put down his axe so that he could carry it.

"Shields are good for another thing-noise. Make lots of it, to throw off a dragon's aim!"

Those still left began banging their weapons against the metal part of the shield, and sure enough, the Gronckle shook its head, confused, giving Hiccup the time to dodge away.

"Now, every dragon has a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"

"Five?" Snotlout tried.

"No, no, six!" Fishlegs shouted triumphantly.

"Correct! That's one for each of you!" At that moment, the Gronckle sent a blast of fire Fishlegs' way, blasting the shield out of his hand, and Gobber announced "Fishlegs, out."

Hiccup had holed up behind a stack of wood. Perhaps not the most Viking-esque approach, but definitely counting for the staying-alive-esque option considering that a few moments before the Gronckle had shot a bolt at him. However, when he saw his chance, he stood up again, just as Snotlout was called out. Since the twins were the first to be disqualified, he said to Astrid "Well, I guess it's just you and me then."

"Nope, just you." She said, and rolled out of the way as the Gronckle aimed a blast of fire at Hiccup, knocking his shield out of his hands.

"One shot left!" Gobber informed them.

Hiccup began chasing after his shield, which had begun rolling away, but when he turned, found himself face-to-face with the dragon, backed against the wall.

He had a momentary flashback to the day before, when he had been slammed against the rock by the Night Fury, the dragon glaring down at him with vindication in its eyes. Although here, the Gronckle seemed to have no hesitation about killing him.

The world slowed. He vaguely heard his name being called warningly as he shrank away, as if that would do him some good. The dragon reared back, preparing to fire, and for the second time in a day, he said a final farewell to his life. Not that it mattered to anyone anyway.

"That's six." Hiccup opened his eyes to see that the dragon had fired into the wall, as Gobber had pulled its mouth up at the last second. The other teenagers were standing around, watching their teacher as he pulled the Grockle back to its cage.

Hiccup tried to contain the shaking that had started, hoping that no one was paying any attention to him. No such luck-Astrid had kept a keen eye on him during the entire thing, though she didn't make any comments.

"Remember," Gobber said, kneeling down in front of Hiccup. "A dragon will always, always go for the kill."

~o~O~o~

Always, always. Gobber's voice rang in his mind as Hiccup walked through the woods, tracing his path down to Raven Point where he had first found the Night Fury. He probably should have left it alone-hadn't he risked death enough already dealing with this whole dragon business. Yet he was drawn to the dragon, and Gobber's warning had only served to intensify his curiosity, so after eating a bit had set off.

"A dragon always goes for the kill." He murmured aloud, picking up the bola which was still lying discarded on the ground. "So why didn't you?"

His eyes wandered off in the direction that the dragon had flown. Surely it had flown off by now, but...it was worth checking. Following the path of broken trees and scraped ground, Hiccup arrived at a cove. It wasn't unfamiliar to him. He explored too much for anything to really be 'exploration' on Berk anymore. But there was not a sign of the dragon.

"Well this was stupid." He muttered. Just as he was about to turn to go back however, he noticed something black and gleaming on the rocks at his feet. Frowning and furrowing his brow, he knelt to pick it up. It looked like...scales?
With a screech, a large, black form shot up, scrabbling over the rocks to try and find purchase, though the sides were too steep. With another angry, cry, the dragon landed back on the ground. Hiccup's eyes widened. Odin's beard! He had found the dragon. Fumbling for his notebook and pencil, he quickly began to sketch the shape of the dragon. How lucky had he been, finding the thing.

"Why don't you just...fly away?" He added the second tailfin, then frowned, rubbing it away, as the Night Fury had only one.

The pencil dropped out of his hands, clattering to the rocks below, and Hiccup froze. Stiffening, the dragon looked back at him. Surprisingly, instead of attacking, it tilted its head to the side, examining him.

Hiccup wasn't going to wait to see the dragon's reaction. He stumbled back into the woods, smiling to himself. He had found the dragon. Maybe he would show the drawing to everyone, get them to come to the cove. They would stop teasing him, and he would finally have some respect-Hiccup Haddock, the one who shot down the dragon of nightmares.

But as soon as he thought it, he cast the fantasy aside. If he couldn't kill the dragon, wouldn't kill it, what was the difference in having others do it? No, he had to keep it a secret from the other Vikings. Even if it meant he had to endure more scorn.

~o~O~o~

On the way back, it started to rain. "Welcome to Berk." He said aloud, trudging through the mud. "Where it snows nine months of the year and rains the other three."

When he finally made it back to the great hall for a meal, he was sopping wet, and not looking forward to dealing with his peers at all. He pushed open the door, and found the hall mostly empty, save for the Dragon Trainees seated at a table, going over the day.

"-Threw off my reverse tumble," Astrid was saying. "It was sloppy."

"No, no, no, it was great." Snotlout, always the suck-up, said. "It was so...Astrid."

Hiccup scoffed. Even he wasn't as desperate as Snotlout. Of course, he wasn't popular like his cousin, and so had essentially given up on ever trying to flirt with Astrid.

"She's right." Gobber chided gently, waving him over to the group. "You have to be tough on yourself. Now where did Hiccup go wrong?"

It was an honest question, if they were critiquing themselves. But he flinched, knowing it would turn into something more than constructive criticism.

"Uh, he showed up." Ruffnut offered.

"He's never where he should be." Astrid glared at him as he took his plate of food and moved to a separate table. There was no place for him with the other fifteen-year-olds.

"Thank you, Astrid." Gobber replied. Hiccup, for the most part, ignored them all, at least until Gobber pulled out a book. "The Dragon Manual." He said, pushing aside the plates and slamming the tome onto the table. "Everything we know about every dragon we know of. Enjoy." Gobber stood up, and began walking out.

"Wait, you mean read?" Tuffnut, who had been playing with his knife, dropped it onto the table.

"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut groaned.

"Why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you stuff about." Snotlout added, and Hiccup had to resist the urge to remark on how eloquently stated the comment was.

"Oh, oh, I've read it like, seven times." Fishlegs said. "There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face, and there's this other one-"

The teens were unimpressed. "Yeah, well, I was going to read it..."

"But now..." Ruffnut finished for her brother.

"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff." Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins all stood up and headed out.

"So, I guess we'll share then?" Hiccup said, hoping his voice wasn't too hopeful as he looked at Astrid. She shoved the book in his direction.

"Read it." And she walked out as well.

"Oh all mine then." He tried not to sound too disappointed. "Well, I guess I'll see you all...tomorrow." The door slammed shut, and he sighed. So much for that.

Retrieving a candle to read by when the braziers in the hall were extinguished, Hiccup sat down to read the Manual. It was still storming outside as he began.

Surprisingly, the book was fairly informative. Dragons Hiccup had never heard of were drawn in intricate detail on the pages, information about where they lived, what their method of attack was, but when it came to how they should be dealt with, all the book ever said was 'extremely dangerous, kill on sight.'

Very helpful for trying to sneak up on a dragon.

He was just about to give up and call it a night when the book fell open to a page that, unlike the others, was nearly empty except for a few words at the bottom.

"Night Fury." He read. "Speed: Unknown. Size: Unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only hope...hide and pray it does not find you."

Always, always.

And yet...Hiccup pulled his notebook out, turning to the drawing of the Night Fury, and placing it atop the book, and what little information he had. Proof that it was possible to encounter the dragon and survive.

And as the thunder raged outside, he began forming a plan.