A/N: Ok, there's some Hiccup and Stoick angst here. Bear through it.
I'm back with Toothless, my palm pressed flat against his nose, my mind reeling.
You can't stop the Venom Winds. They don't just harbor a grudge against all Night Furies anymore. I'm the prize these dragons seek.
I feel my blood begin to boil and rip my hand off his snout. "They'll have you dead if I'm not breathing!"
Toothless blinks up at me calmly.
I force myself to stay calm and place my palm back on Toothless' nose. Hiccup, calm down. I'm going to fight these things with everything I have, okay? Just listen.
I nod silently.
But this…Venom Winds suddenly want me because I befriended a human. I befriended you and the Venom Winds see that as the deepest betrayal to our kind. After the rebellion, we swore to stamp out all humans, to purge this world of human life. When I turned my back on the vow, the Venom Winds sought to kill me. They are the most aggressive and war-like dragons of all time.
I nod. "Sounds like."
Suddenly, another thought occurs to me. "Wait. What do you mean, the rebellion?"
Gosh, I keep forgetting how much you don't know. Well, the rebellion was so long ago I often forget what happened during it…Many lives were lost, Hiccup. It is not something I should like to remember.
Besides, nothing like that will ever happen again. It was centuries ago.
When I get home, Dad is sitting stiffly at the kitchen table, some paperwork spread out before him.
I catch myself just before I call out a greeting to him.
"Where were you?" he demands.
"I was in the cove, with Toothless," I say quietly, glancing at him, checking for his reaction.
Dad clucks his tongue. "Hiccup, you know I don't like it when—
"Deal," I tell him angrily. "He's my best friend."
"He's a dragon!"
"Does it matter?"
"Listen," Dad spits fiercely from between clenched teeth. "You need to stop seeing him."
My eyes flash. "He's my best friend."
"Does it matter?" His voice is a mocking duplication of my own.
My blood begins to boil. I don't normally get angry at him, but when Dad starts riding me about my dragon, it really gets me riled up. "Leave me alone. Shut up."
His eyes widen, then flash. "Hiccup."
"Who are you to boss me?" I demand angrily. "I'm not your son."
He draws back, like I just smacked him.
A savage pleasure comes from making him feel the way I felt when he said those words.
Then I run upstairs to the safety of my bedroom.
