Chapter 3

It felt surreal waking up. At least to Hiccup it did. His dreams had been rather vivid lately, but he could never remember them when he awoke. He just woke up every morning believing that his dream that night had been real. It was disappointing to say the least when he found out it hadn't been, particularly when he woke up with such a euphoric sensation like this one. He imagined it must have been important, but not enough for the gods to allow him to retain it, else he would be able to recall the events of it. The sensation faded, and he was left with a dull throbbing feeling in his gut. There was no pain to accompany it, merely a steady throbbing, almost like a pulse. It rose and fell, sometimes spiking in a little tug at his gut. Again, there was no pain.

Shaking his head and trudging to his door, Hiccup looked back on yesterday, remembering his vow to come up with a brilliant plan for his test in five days' time. A plan would be easier when he had time to think. Preferably on dragon-back, as he always came in from a flight with ground-breaking ideas. Granted, most were forgotten by the time he got back to the village from the cove, but that wasn't the point.

The pot downstairs was making a shrill whistling sound, like he had seen dragons do to communicate. Hiccup shuddered involuntarily, but for once it was not due to the cold morning air seeping in through the windows. He paused, remembering the behemoth's words, its scream that seemed to promise death and destruction. The throbbing suddenly spiked again, but quickly resumed it's almost unnoticeable rhythm. As he pulled on his tunic and vest, he wondered whether all dragons could do that. Project their thoughts and voices into the minds of others, even humans. He resolved to ask Toothless the next time he visited the cove, which would be this afternoon if he could help it. Unfortunately, his father might have something to say about his only son wandering off into the forest only a day after being carried off by a dragon. Hiccup longed to tell his father that the story was fake, but how could he do so without exposing Toothless, and risking his father's wrath? He would just have to argue logically, maybe in front of Gobber or Gothi, as those two and Spitelout seemed to be the only ones in the village that could persuade Stoick to do anything other than what his gut told him.

His thoughts were abandoned as he peered out of the window at the sun. It was higher in the sky than he thought, and the fact that it was even in the sky already made him late for work. Grabbing a quick bite of the bread and stew left out for him, Hiccup hastily pulled on his boots and flew out of the door, taking off in the direction of the forge.

-The Forge-

Gobber was busy this morning, so much so that Hiccup received barely a grunt from his mentor as he entered the shop. The older Viking was sharpening a sword one-handed, well everything he did was one-handed due to the prosthetic but that was beside the point, whilst expertly whittling an arrow, holding the shaft in between his knees. Hiccup looked over the counter to see the endless line of customers that he had to serve, each seemingly carrying more weaponry than the next. The supposed raid on the nest earlier in the week had really taken its toll on the village's supplies. Gobber must have heard him enter, as he paused his whittling long enough to jab at Hiccup with the prosthetic claw he had in place of his left hand, and then moved it over to the pile of swords, axes, spears and even the occasional mace that was building up on the far side of the counter. Hiccup rolled his eyes exasperatedly at his mentor, moving over to the pile and grabbing the first of what was to be hundreds of orders for the day.

"Ah saw tha'." The Belch warned, not even glancing up from his work. Hiccup smirked and rolled his eyes again. "An' tha'!" His mentor cried in mock outrage.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say oh-mighty master smith." Hiccup jabbed back with his usual sarcastic wit. Gobber and many of their customers chuckled. It was customary for the two to be full of such banter, it was simply how they worked. Of course, they had become much more tolerable of it since Hiccup's success in the ring, something he was entirely aware of and resented slightly. However, he had a job to do, and his love and respect for Gobber outweighed his negative feelings about the village at the current time, so he set his jaw slightly and heaved the bent sword he was holding onto an anvil. If Gobber noticed his apprentice's sudden shift in demeanour, he didn't notice, but perhaps he was just grateful that Hiccup was throwing himself into work slightly more than usual. Whatever the case, Gobber mostly left Hiccup's pride alone all morning, the two far too busy to even uphold their petty insults and jibes at each other.

The two hammered in tandem, never missing a beat as they struck each sword straight, set each guard right. They moved as a well-oiled machine, too familiar with each other to need mere words. It was a spectacle that no other pair could have accomplished even with years of training, and the Vikings of Berk never truly appreciated such a wonder. They found it to be common by now. A trip to any other island would have shown them the true privilege that they held.

They danced around each other, working in perfect harmony, covering areas that the other missed, each knowing their role. Occasionally they worked on the same piece, and it became hard to tell who did what, as the quality never wavered. The bellows never remained still for long, as Gobber's forge housed no careless Viking. The villagers oft complained of Hiccup's clumsiness, but the forge seemed to grant him a new grace. He shed the awkward young runt and became an equal to the master smith beside him, and Gobber knew it, was proud of him for it. It was part of the reason that he insisted that the boy stay inside on raids, because although it was true that he would cope far worse outside, his apprentice never missed a beat when he stood behind the counter.

Hiccup seemed to take on a new confidence at the forge, he spoke without the pauses and the awkwardness, almost casually, as if he had been at home with people all of his life. It was why the village had tolerated him for so long, because he made up for his mistakes when he worked. Gobber felt proud to say that Hiccup could easily surpass any smith in the known world, including himself. Anyone could learn to make a sword or a spear, but Hiccup's work was full of creativity.

At first it had been barely noticeable, even to the eyes of a trained smith, but after a while, Gobber began to see the flair that Hiccup weaved into his work. Little adjustments that made all the difference. From things as trivial as a new barrel design, with the bands reinforced in some crazy, almost outlandish manner that seemed to double their capacity for usage, to the way a guard was fitted to a blade, or a handle to an axe that made the weapon more durable, less likely to break, and every Viking's favourite; just a tad deadlier.

Eventually Gobber had discarded the old designs and watched Hiccup draft new ones, marveling at his young charge's ingenuity. It was incredibly safe to say that, should anything happen to either of the smiths, Berk would fall apart. Between their skill and newfound creativity, none could match their work, and any other blacksmith that Berk hired would fall substantially short of the quality produced by the two.

-Later that day-

Hiccup resolved that he never wanted to see another axe, sword, spear, dagger or bow ever again. He obviously didn't mean it, the forge was too close to a home by now, and he would miss coming to work every day anyway, but that didn't help his current mood. Eventually, the pile dwindled down to a few stray weapons, and the pair of Vikings could breathe easier.

"Never been tha' busy before eh boy?" Gobber chuckled, patting Hiccup on the shoulder, a gesture that the boy instantly recognised as Gobber's form of praise. He flushed slightly, Gobber didn't hand out compliments for free, especially in the forge. He smiled.

"I don't know Gobber, I think the 'Great Raid' a couple of years back had us working all week!" Hiccup proposed, and Gobber appeared thoughtful for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Nah, tha' was only because I was tryin' to keep you from burnin' the place down! Yeh were only wee, well, wee-er, and yeh couldn' lift a flamin' sword, let alone sharpen one! The amoun' o' times I had ta stop wha' I was doin' to keep you from hurtin' yourself…" The blacksmith trailed off with a fond smile at Hiccup, chuckling. Hiccup joined in the laughter, but winced at the thought of being even weaker than he was now, it was honestly embarrassing for him at this point. Years ago, Stoick had been able to explain that Hiccup was just a late bloomer, but it was approaching the point where, at this stage, the whole village knew that they were running out of excuses.

He shrugged off the negative shackles that seemed to be dragging him down more often as of late, and refocused his attention on Gobber. His mentor had not even noticed the slight dip in Hiccup's concentration, and had prattled on with the humiliating backstory that followed the 'Great Raid'. Hiccup was once again thankful that he seemed to possess a natural talent for ignoring the less useful parts of Gobber's long and obnoxiously loud stories, instead able to retreat within his own mind to find sanctuary amongst thoughts of inventions, science and, more recently, dragons.

He remembered with a jolt of anxiety the startling events of yesterday's flight. It wasn't every day that you visited the Nest, survived, and then heard dragons talking to you, and actually understood them! Then again, Hiccup wasn't exactly the average Viking. Aside from his obvious lack of physicality, he was the only human to even ride a dragon.

"That we know of." He added on to himself in a low murmur. He couldn't quite understand it, but he felt as though he was not the first human to ever ride a dragon, perhaps simply the first in the Archipelago. He wondered if the strange feeling in his gut had something to do with yesterday and was surprised to still feel it. He tried to recall feeling anything during the last few hours of work, but was interrupted by his mentor. Gobber had by now noticed that his apprentice had ceased listening and, like most responsible adults, responded by stomping over to the boy and belching loudly in his face. Hiccup recoiled quickly, startled by both the alarmingly toxic smell and the ridiculously loud noise that erupted from Gobber's mouth. Needless to say, the Belch found this highly amusing. Hiccup had to disagree, but this was Viking humour, and Viking humour consisted mostly of toilet humour.

"All righ' all righ', don' get yer tunic in a twist lad, just having some fun." Gobber said surprisingly straight-faced after a brief fit of giggles that were most inappropriate for a man of his size and stature. Hiccup truly believed that he might never see the man in the same way. "Yer free ta go." The Belch added, grinning at the look of elation that sprung onto Hiccup's face. "Jus' make sure you an' the lass don' go 'Dragon Hunting' again, if tha's what yer callin' it these days!" He cackled, gleefully tormenting the poor boy as he misjudged the reason for such a reaction. Hiccup could feel his face burning as he turned as red as the dying embers of the fire in the centre of the forge. He made a quick and graceful exit, breaking into a run the moment he rounded the corner for home. If he ever heard Gobber again it would be far too soon.

-Hiccup's House-

It was eerily quiet in the house when Hiccup arrived, slightly out of breath by the run up the hill. However, he had grown up in the silence, and he oft enjoyed its company as it allowed him to think uninterrupted, and never yelled loudly in his face like the other occupant of the home. The tricky thing about silence is that it most often pops up when it is unwanted, or even unwarranted. There's a reason that the word silence is usually following the term 'awkward', and so true silence is hard to come by. When it is chanced upon, it is the most amazing nothing in the known world. Such peace and tranquility could never be achieved by any living being, as it would be impossible to mimic, especially by such a loud and obnoxious race as humanity. Hiccup pondered to himself for a moment about his relationship with silence before realising that he had forgotten entirely what he had returned home for. Then he merely shook his head and turned towards the door, knowing that what he was looking for was not here. Except it was.

"Ah Hiccup, been lookin' everywhere for ya lad." Stoick the Vast greeted, pushing the door aside with practiced ease, even though it was heavy oak. Even on a good day with the wind assisting him, Hiccup had to use two hands and lean some weight into the door to open it. Hiccup's heart dropped slightly, sure that he was about to receive a talk on where he was allowed to go and who had to supervise him until the end of his days. Stoick had always been overprotective to the point of neglect, presumably because of the loss of Hiccup's mother, and the ordeal yesterday definitely wouldn't have helped matters.

"For me? Really Dad?" Hiccup said, faking surprise. "That's funny, because I was looking for you!" Deciding to bite the proverbial arrow sooner rather than later, Hiccup prepared to ask his father the question that had been on his mind since he had woken up. Instead, he was greeted by an awkward one-armed hug. Shocked, Hiccup's brain froze, and his mouth ceased its movement, preventing him from speaking.

"I've decided to… er… well what I meant is…" Stoick began, for once at a loss for words. The shock was soon replaced by a creeping sense of fear. It was never good news if Stoick's usual bluntness was shunted aside in favour of diplomacy. The chief drew himself up to full height and looked Hiccup in the eye, which in itself was an oxymoron because of Hiccup's small stature, and so Stoick ended up craning his neck so that he could see over his vast beard and down at his son, taking the edge off of his impressive look only slightly, but also casting an intimidating presence. Hiccup at once felt his heart sink. This was it. The moment he would be put on house-watch and guarded at all times.

"I'm allowing you to return to your training in the woods." Stoick side, his tone kinder than the harsh ones Hiccup was used to. "Provided that there are no more encounters with wild dragons. Am I clear? No hunting them until after you finish your test." Hiccup was stunned. He had expected to have to argue his case to the point of near death, but here his father was, giving him permission to leave the house alone. Once again, Hiccup found himself thinking that only a few weeks ago, his father would have grounded him until Ragnarok. He realised that Stoick was awaiting a response, a worried look creeping across his features briefly at Hiccup's lack of reaction. He finally found his voice.

"Uh, thanks Dad, you know I was just about to ask about that." Hiccup said, as a small smile adorned his face. Stoick chuckled slightly at his son's awkwardness. "So, you're definitely ok with me going back out there?" The smaller Haddock questioned, the thought that his father might be joking crossing his mind. Hiccup watched as his father's brow knitted together, clearly there was a much bigger debate that was being withheld from the situation. He supposed it was only fair, after all, they only had each other at this point, something that had been made painfully obvious in the events of the previous day.

"Yes." The Chief decided, almost sighing the word. "You're growing up Hiccup, and the only way that I'm ever going to be sure if you're ready to accept the responsibility that comes with being a full member of this tribe, let alone the next Chief, is if you go out there in a few days' time and prove it to me. Until then, you need to do whatever you can to prepare, and that includes training. By the bucket full. It's one thing to master the dragons in the ring lad, but it's an entirely different thing to kill one." Stoick straightened, seemingly satisfied with his pep talk. And why wouldn't he be? It was the perfect talk for a Viking. Straightforward, to the point, and involved death and glory. A speech like that would cause even the weakest to rise. The only trouble was that it didn't stir Hiccup. The young man forced a smile and hugged his father.

"Thanks Dad." He whispered. Although a part of him was grateful, Hiccup couldn't help but feel a small amount of bitter resentment rise up inside at the way his people worked. He was given freedom only because he seemed to be excelling in the traditional areas of their culture; mindless killing and violence, yet he was suppressed everywhere else. And the root of it all was the dragons. Ultimately, Hiccup didn't fit with the tribe because of the dragons. They were on the opposite end of the spectrum to him when it came to that. His father had been right though, it was much harder to kill a dragon than it was to pacify one in the relative safety of the Kill Ring, not that Stoick knew he'd experienced both things. His father smiled slightly, before straightening and walking towards the door.

"Now Hiccup, I want you to behave yourself, is that understood? I know you're both young, but you and Astrid need to be responsible with how you handle things. Especially since you're going to be chief one day. I want no children out of wedlock, understand?" Stoick said this seriously, but there was a twinkle in his eye, and Hiccup groaned at the implications.

"No, Dad, it's really not like that..." He protested weakly, but his father brushed him off with a grin.

"Right! Now I have some chiefing business to attend to, you know how it is." Stoick began, shifting his mammoth-like bulk. "I'll see you for dinner I take it?" He added, glancing back at Hiccup, who nodded absently, remembering that he was now allowed into the forest. The shock had faded slightly, allowing him to think clearly, and he realised that he didn't need anything from the house anyway, as everything was still in the cove from yesterday's excursion.

The door clanged shut after his father took his leave, but Hiccup barely registered the sound. The feeling in his gut was getting stronger, and a faint buzzing entered his head, akin to the resounding ringing that comes after being too close to a large explosion but deeper and more animalistic in tone. By now it was worrying the young Viking, and he wondered if it was a possible side effect from being in close proximity to the Red Death, as he had taken to calling it in his head. He needed to find Toothless. If anyone could help, it would be the Night Fury. It was hinted at that Night Furies were among the most ancient of dragons, so perhaps Toothless would know of his ailment. Then again, it would be an astounding task to get Toothless to give up his information, and an even bigger one to somehow understand or translate it. He sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation, and resolving to find out exactly what the cause of such a thing was.

-The Cove-

Hiccup's apprehension grew as he approached the entrance to the cove. It was as if the events of the past few weeks had never happened, and he was approaching the Night Fury again for the first time. It was made slightly stranger by the fact that the buzzing in is head and the pull in his gut got stronger with each step, leading him to believe that Toothless was indeed the key to figuring everything out.

"Toothless?" He called out, seeking his draconic companion. "You here bud?"

There was a crooning behind him, and there sat Toothless, hind wiggling like an excitable puppy. The buzzing grew louder and louder in Hiccup's head, and there was a final tug in Hiccup's gut before it ceased, and Hiccup's internal organs finally settled into their natural positions. Toothless' excitement grew, and the dragon bounded over and licked Hiccup's cheek, unintentionally catching most of his left side as well.

"Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup complained. Luckily the day was slightly warm for Berkian weather but even so, Hiccup didn't dare remove his clothes to wash them in the lake. The buzzing faded slightly as the Night Fury had the decency to attempt to look sheepish, and Hiccup's brain whirred, making a seemingly impossible connection. He could feel the Night Fury's emotions.

"It's you, isn't it, bud?" He breathed, so sure of the fact that he was in tune with the dragon on some level or another. "You're this buzzing in my head, aren't you?" The Night Fury froze, eyes wide as Toothless too seemed to put yak and sauce together to make stew. His ear plates quivered, before letting out an elated sound that to Hiccup sounded like a prideful rooster. He laughed as the terrifying spawn of lightening and death danced around, tongue hanging out like a dog. The black dragon crowed again, before settling down into a warble after Hiccup shushed him. His head was reeling after the discovery. He and Toothless were connected. Bonded.

"Yes. Bonded. Good word, two-legs." Came a smug, friendly voice, that Hiccup immediately placed as the Night Fury.

"Thanks bud, it feels weird to know…" He trailed off, realising that he hadn't just imagined Toothless speaking. Usually, Hiccup talked, and then while the dragon made noises, Hiccup turned them into sentences in his head. But this time there were no noises. And Hiccup hadn't imagined the voice. He turned on the spot to look at Toothless, who sat perfectly still, concentrating hard.

"Work it did? Through I am?" Came the voice again, only this time Hiccup could actually see the dragon try to communicate. He staggered backwards, completely flabbergasted that a dragon was talking to him telepathically.

"What mean?" Asked the curious dragon.

"Wha-what?" Hiccup finally managed after flapping his mouth a couple of times.

"Tel-tela-tela-pathhhh-ical-ly." The dragon said, struggling with the unfamiliar word, and then immediately lifting his head in pride as he said it again. "Telepathically."

"How-how do I do that? Hiccup asked. "How do I say it back?" The dragon paused for a minute, searching for the words, and Hiccup realised that Toothless didn't actually speak Norse very well. "So, you learnt to speak? From who?" He wondered aloud. Toothless stopped pondering to train a bemused glance on his companion. "What?" the human asked, awaiting an answer.

"You, silly two-legs." Was the snide response. Hiccup smacked himself with the palm of his hand.

"Duh, who else would it have been?" He groaned at his own stupidity, and the dragon gave his signature warble-laugh.

"You say it back… by… think, yes?" Toothless said, addressing his original question.

"Oh, so I think it and you can hear it?" Hiccup asked, and the Night Fury nodded, looking pleased. "Well, that's sort of what telepathic means, bud. You say it with your mind and not your mouth." The human explained, and the dragon thought for a minute, before nodding to show that he understood. A forge fire lit in Hiccup's head, he could ask Toothless about the dragon in the Nest now!

Toothless winced, and Hiccup realised that the dragon had already sensed his intentions.

"No ask about Queen." The Night Fury pleaded. "Not yet." Hiccup paused, but then nodded. Toothless would talk when he was ready. Although, he couldn't help but to acknowledge the word the Night Fury used for the monster. Queen. He shuddered and suppressed the thought, not just because he knew that Toothless would pick up on it. He supposed that in the meantime, he could teach the dragon Norse.

Again, the dragon picked up on his intentions and his ear plates lifted, eyes lighting in a way that Hiccup had not understood before.

"Yes! Words! I want speak like you!" The dragon crowed. Hiccup laughed at the Night Fury's antics, but was glad that the process would go down well.

"How are you doing that? Reading my every move?" He asked. "I can sort of predict what you're going to do, but you seem to know exactly what I'm thinking." Toothless gave his gummy smile and snorted.

"Your mind not protected. Mine guarded."The dragon explained simply.

"How? Why?" The curious boy questioned.

"My kind… has more mind strength." Toothless said, although he sounded unsure of the words. "We need it… so we don't… get caught by Alphas. Only strongest get us." Hiccup frowned, but could sense that the Night Fury was uncomfortable with the topic.

"Ok," He said, rubbing his hands. "Let's get to work."

-The Cove, Three Hours Later-

"Ok Toothless, that was good. Really good. And so, so strange." Hiccup said, rubbing the nose of the sleepy Night Fury. The dragon had been awake all day and, like with any teenager, learning was making him drowsy. They had made significant progress on the dragon's Norse, but it would be a while before he could speak as well as a Viking. Well, an educated Viking at any rate, he was already beyond certain members of the Hooligan tribe. Hiccup had already learned so much, like how old his companion was, and how insufferably hard it would be to raise a child. At least Toothless wanted to learn, for the most part.

"I'm tired." The Night Fury complained. "Do something more fun."

"Alright, alright. We'll go for a flight." Hiccup relented, and Toothless instantly perked up. "But we're not going far, I don't want another trip to the Nest."

Both boy and dragon shuddered in sync, and Hiccup once again marveled at their bond, which Toothless had yet to explain. The Night Fury rose, shaking his wings and stretching, before crouching to allow Hiccup to get on. The human obliged, clambering on and clipping into the harness, before leaning over, mirroring Toothless' position on the dragon's own back. With two great flaps of his bat-like wings they were airborne, and Hiccup felt the familiar fluttering inside, as well as an innate amount of joy that he knew to be coming from both himself and his friend.

Whilst in flight, Hiccup explained his situation regarding Dragon Training to Toothless, who remained silent for quite some time. Hiccup, too, fell into silence, as both partners strove to think of a way to avoid the death of the dragons. Although they weren't Night Furies, Toothless still felt an urge to help his own kind, and eventually the crafty dragon found a way. Crowing with triumph, the Night Fury explained his idea, and Hiccup smiled.

"That just might work, bud. I like it. It even has a little flair in it." The boy said, and Toothless huffed, slapping him with an ear plate, although the gummy smirk gave the whole act away.