Well, look at this! I only uploaded the first chapter yesterday and here is the second one already!

That is because I already had the prologue and these two chapters finished prior to deciding to post this story here on . The third chapter is still being worked on and so it will be a little while before I update this story again, though I do have a general idea where this plot is going.


What Friendship Can Do: Chapter 2 - The Daily Drag

The rest of the day was spend working in the heat of the forge in complete silence. The moment Gobber closed off an apparently sensitive topic, the two worked without another word spoken. The mentor because he was too busy humming a happy tune and his apprentice because he was simply brooding instead.

But still work remained unbroken as the two blacksmiths took care of their entire list of repairs while time ticked by slowly, just like every single other day for Hiccup on Berk. Working, sweating, occasional breaks, like a drag did his daily routine continue on with nothing to look forward too except for a warm meal and his bed in the comfort of his own home.

After the night he spend in his workroom in the back of the forge, that was something he looked forward too.

Hiccup wouldn't have minded this routine so much, he really wouldn't have. He loved working in the forge and keeping his hands busy with either big metal and wooden chunks or small and fine details, his mind occupied with either his own thoughts or the task at hand. And when his mentor, Gobber, wasn't present for a little while, like he wasn't at the moment, it provided him with some needed privacy too.

The teen enjoyed it, found it to be a way to clear his mind and spend his time doing something useful for his village. It was why, out of all the professions his father could've given to him on small Berk, he was glad it had been this. At first a dad's way to build some muscles on his scrawny boy, it was now something he had truly come to love doing.

That was the reason Hiccup didn't mind so much, wouldn't have minded so much, if it wasn't for one single thing.

Or rather, one single person.

"Yeah, I'm totally gonna nail it as heir."

Snotlout.

People might say it's a mere coincidence, but Hiccup knew better when he heard that voice dripping with smugness and looked up to see a dark-haired man of his age walking by his place of work, followed closely behind by two lanky blonde figures that looked almost exactly like eachother save for a few differences.

Snotlout Jorgenson was a stout teenager. What he lacked in length, he made up for in size and had the second broadest shoulders in their age group after Fishlegs, another boy they had Dragon Training with. He wasn't the brightest one around, a true Hooligan one would even say, but had the muscles and strength to make sure a brain wasn't what he needed.

The two following him were Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, a pair of identical twins. Both blonde-haired, tall, lean, and neither of them smart besides a few bright moments, what made them stand out was their ability to get in trouble. On purpose. It had been no surprise when the two announced they'd devote their lives to Loki, the Trickster God.

"Those Outcasts are not gonna know what hit them when I finally become chief. And the dragon raids? They won't be a problem either." He boasted loud enough to make sure Hiccup could hear and the brunette decided that it was still much too early in the afternoon to be dealing with Snotlout.

Then again, when was a good time to deal with a Jorgenson? Or any Jorgensons for that matter?

"Yeah, sure they won't. What's going to keep them away? Your devilishly good looks? Last I checked, you haven't downed or killed a dragon yet, Snot." It was a rare occurence to hear either twins say something that made sense, but these moments did exist and this time it was Tuffnut who questioned Snotlout's claims.

"Yeah, none of us have! The only one who's ever come close is Hiccup. You were beaten by Scrawny, Snot."

"Shut up, Ruffnut." The dark-haired man oh so cleverly responded.

The hissing tone his cousin finished with would've made his day better as an attempt to get under Hiccup's skin backfired, but that was shortlived.

"At least when I down a dragon, I won't try to befriend it and get my ass kicked instead!" The slightly embarrassing slip-up from seconds earlier now restored, Snotlout send the brunette a smug and taunting smirk.

Hiccup briefly wondered in how much trouble he'd be in if he grabbed this hammer he was holding and threw it. Preferably at his face.

Probably more than Snotlout was worth it.

"Don't listen to him, Hiccup. Snotlout is just being an idiot. Again." Any further comments about grave mistakes made three years ago went unheard the moment a fair blonde Viking girl put herself between the two boys, shielding Hiccup's view of the taunting self-proclaimed new heir.

Oh, Astrid Hofferson. How could he ever even begin to describe her? Her beauty was only matched by her sheer strength and skill with an axe, capable of flipping a grown man over her own shoulder with her bare hands. She was the most promising warrior out of all six of them, a true asset to Berk.

How she became somewhat of a friend of his is something Hiccup would never understand.

There had once been a time she was simply indifferent towards the boy, even often seen shaking her head in disapproval of Snotlout's tendency to pick on his smaller cousin and the twins gladly helping him.

But then came a brief time the brunette could have been called popular when he seemed to excel at dragon training three years ago. When even his three bullies had started accepting him, she had hated him, had seen something that other Berkians, blinded by his new and sudden success, could not seen.

Astrid had worked hard to be as good as she was, had trained as often as she possibly could to become the warrior she needed to be to bring honour back to her family name and protect those she cared so deeply about. In her goal to become the best of the best, she had put blood, sweat, and tears.

So to see this scrawny runt of a Viking become so good in dragon killing school completely out of nowhere and with seemingly little to no effort had rubbed her the wrong way. Astrid was the only one who could see something just wasn't adding up.

Whenever Hiccup Haddock had disappeared into the forest to meet with the dragon he had 'befriended' and to escape his newfound popularity, she had tried time and again to follow him and expose the truth of his newly gained skills. She knew somebody just had to be teaching him, had to be helping him cheat.

If only she had succeeded. It would've saved him a lot of pain, trouble, and heartache.

After the attack, her resentment for him had soon dwindled away. Almost immediately upon hearing just why a barely breathing boy had been rushed to Gothi's all bloodied and in the tattered rags that were once his clothing, Astrid's previous dislike had left her.

She, too, had then believed him to be misled by the Night Fury, who was now also known to be a devil capable of playing with the minds of men.

Hiccup could still hear the whispers behind his back even now.

Poor Hiccup. Poor naive little boy. Tricked by a Night Fury. So lonely and desperate he'd rather associate himself with the enemy. Undone by the pressure to keep up with his peers and what it means to be heir, he foolishly thought he had found acceptance with a mindless beast. It had been such a tempting idea, he was seduced by it even!

Yes, the former heir of Berk was now not only completely useless in battle, but he was now also the village nut too.

No one in Berk could question his smarts. Though he's lacked the brawn since birth, his way of handling things with his brain was something no one doubted. But as Gobber once said, his way made grown men uncomfortable.

Being tricked by a dragon wasn't smart.

But Astrid wasn't like the others. She didn't look at him in pity, she knew there was something in him that was worthwhile, worth keeping safe.

Because that's what she's been doing the past three years.

Astrid always had a more protective side to her, but after the attack, with her ill feelings forgotten, she had taken it upon herself to protect him. As a warrior, that was her duty. To defend the defenseless.

With her protective nature, she might've even felt an irrational guilt for letting his 'friendship' with the elusive creature go that far, having been the only one to notice something was off. The boy's cousin, his father, his mentor, no one noticed. A part of her had felt like it had been her fault, that she could've done anything to help instead of jumping to conclusions.

Time spend together to keep him safe from further harm at the claws of dragons had helped the two grow closer. What had once started out as a personal duty, was now something the young woman did for a close friend, to keep a loved one safe.

Hiccup could only wish he had some way to return the favour.

"Oh, was that Snotlout? I hardly noticed." The brunette responded, now focussing more on his work instead of his cousin's successful attempts at riling him up. The warhammer he had been trying to fix was quickly dealt with, the damage to the weapon quite minimal.

Astrid allowed a smile to appear on her face at his comment as she entered the forge and looked at some of the shields hanging on the wall. After all the time spend here with Hiccup, she no longer needed an invitation. Not unless it was about Hiccup's personal study out in the back.

"You know, Hiccup, I'm not particularly a fan of Snotlout either, but he's actually not as bad as he used to be when we were kids." Mismatched eyes moved to settle on her back when Hiccup had been taking another look at the quickly disappearing list of commissions, confusion clear on his face.

"You could say he's... finally growing up? I guess?" The blonde didn't meet his gaze, instead observing the intricate details and care put into the shields either Hiccup or Gobber had made.

One of them was quite dusty, which obviously hadn't been receiving as much care as the others.

It was also a wooden shield, but one of a more unconventional kind. Though quite ordinairy at first sight, it was supposed to also have a built-in catapult, a bola-shooter, and a grappling hook. That's what the blueprints for this object had said.

When Hiccup told her about it after she had once asked what was so special about this particular one, Astrid hadn't seen a more cleverer invention before. It was deceiving, it could be used for both offense and defense, and it was the perfect tool to surprise your foe in battle.

Unfortunately, it was a project he never finished.

Now it was fated to sit there and collect dust, only hoping it would one day be finished by its maker.

If the very faded painting of a Night Fury on its wooden surface had any say in it, it won't be.

"Are you, Astrid Hofferson, trying to justify Snotlout's arrogant behaviour?" Hiccup asked her this question with his hands on his hips, turning to face her with more than a little suspicion.

Sighing, she took her attention away from the special shield and looked back at him aswell.

"I... I guess I am." She said, her shoulder's shrugging, but not in a nonchalant kind of way. She knew how bad it sounded.

She also knew how he felt about his cousin, how their relationship, though it had been better for a brief time, had taken another tumble downwards after some recent developments that aided in Hiccup's growing frustrations and Snot's bigger ego as of late. The latter had never been all that great at understanding subtlety.

"And that doesn't just so happen to have anything to do with Spitelout's claims that dad finally found a replacement for me? This is a small village, Astrid. That kind of news spreads fast. Especially when Snotlout's evolved." He tried not to let his resentment show too much.

"Well..." Another sigh left her as Astrid quickly realized there was no use in pretending otherwise.

"Listen, I know it can't be easy to hear Spitelout brag and boast about his son and it really doesn't help that Snotlout caught on and goes out of his way to rub it in your face." She changed her mind about justifying the actions of a guy she didn't particularly liked herself.

"Astrid, if this is going where I think it's going..." Hiccup didn't want to hear it, but the blonde didn't seem to particularly care.

"But I think your dad was honestly trying to keep his decision private. You know that handling such delicate matters in secrecy isn't exactly the 'Viking Way'. Some people just don't know how to keep a sercet." Instead she continued to speak while wearing a sympathetic look on her features.

"Wow, everyone is just so sure what my dad 'means', don't they?" The brunette voiced his displeasure, recalling a very similar conversation he had that morning as he grabbed Mildew's shovel, not able to put it off for any longer.

This was a very recent occurrence. Lately, people closest to him were trying to convince him that his father meant well with the decisions he's made. Those people consisted of Gobber, the blonde now keeping him company, the man himself, and sometimes even Fishlegs.

That had been another change in his life.

The husky young man hadn't been all that friendly to him for years either, though his form of 'taunting' had been giving Hiccup the simple and old stink eye because that was as far as he dared to go, but that, too, had changed when the former heir had started excelling at Dragon Training out of nowhere.

After the Night Fury incident, the bigger boy hadn't allowed that kind of distance to return between them. They weren't as close as Hiccup was to Astrid, but he was at least thankful to have kept a friend whilst Snotlout and the twins drifted far away from him again.

"He's trying really hard for you, Hiccup." Astrid was just another person attempting to make him see what they could apparently all see. All except for him.

"Of course, and yet when I ask him about it, he still won't tell me a thing." As he observed the shovel in his hands, said young brunette still argued back to her.

"Well, he is stubborn." The Hofferson stated. After all, that was a trait every Viking man, woman, and child seemed to share.

"Too stubborn for his own or my own good." Hiccup muttered under his breath in return, forgetting that he could be much too hard-headed himself.

Seeing that the metal of the farming tool was simply too rusty and worn to be of further use, the blacksmith decided that it was most likely a good idea to simply replace it. At least the wooden shaft itself was still in pretty good condition. The whole shovel wasn't a complete ruin.

"He just wants to keep you safe and healthy." The fact that her friend was in the middle of working on what looked to be one of Mildew's stuff didn't let Astrid stop her from continuing this conversation. Even despites knowing that the man had a knack for complaining about the smallest of problems.

There was a reason why the old man's house was build so far outside of town.

"Funny. That's exactly what Gobber claims too." What was it the old blacksmith with bad breath had told him just hours ago?

'Ah, 'e just wants to protect ye.' He could hear it with his heavy accent and everything.

"Because it's true, Hiccup." Astrid seemed to agree with Gobber, much like everyone else in his life seems to be. It did little to help the anger he felt growing within.

It was always there, boiling silently in his veins, never leaving him alone and plaguing him wherever he went. It did his peace of mind little good.

It wasn't at all like him to hold a grudge, to hold this much anger inside, to have a temper his loved ones weren't familiar with. He used to be too forgiving for his own good, one more addition to the long list of traits that worried his father long ago, but in a way it had been admirable. Not a typical Viking trait, but still enough to be admired.

That new temper was flaring now too, rivaling the short fuse Astrid was currently trying to keep under control.

"By wasting years of work, coddling me so much I feel like I might suffocate, and taking away any opportunity to prove myself to my own people? Does that sound fair to you, Astrid?!" It was still a strange kind of thing to hear him raise his voice to anyone, let alone a loved one, but it was what he did now.

Astrid didn't let that stop her.

"Can you blame him?! He's a father who nearly lost his son! In a brutal way! And you won't push this Night Fury out of your mind when it hasn't even been heard from for the past three years! You know he's already lost your mother. He just doesn't want to lose you too." Her voice matched his, without a doubt drawing the attention of everyone who might be outside.

If Snotlout and the Thorston twins, Ruff and Tuff, were still outside, they could very well be watching too.

Though previously trying to wrench the rusty part of the shovel loose, Hiccup took a good long moment to glare at the young Viking woman before he spoke again. She had hit quite a sensitive note this time.

"Thank you for reminding me, her son, that she's gone, Astrid. That was really appropriate." His tone, though no longer so loud, still betrayed the anger and hurt he felt.

Hiccup couldn't remember his mother because she had been taken when he was so young, but had she still been alive and with him, his life would've probably played out very differently.

Brushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes, Astrid did recognize the mistake that she made and let a few seconds of silence pass between them as she let the lean young man work, knowing she had hit a soft spot with her words.

Sometimes they could be even sharper than her mother's axe, a weapon which had been so lovingly bestowed onto her years ago when the time for her to attend Dragon Training was approaching.

"You're missing the point." She did eventually spoke up again when Hiccup made quick work of replacing the head of the shovel with a spare piece still lying around the forge.

"Don't I always?" This was muttered under his breath too, but Astrid did not fail at picking up on the slight sarcastic tone.

In the name of Odin, if he was going to start being sassy again...

"Hiccup, for Thor's sake, just-" The one cut off this time was Astrid herself.

"Just stop, Astrid. Stop trying to make everything sound okay when they're not, when they haven't been for three years already. The more you, Gobber, and dad try to convince me, the less I believe it. So just drop it." Hiccup turned to face her again, brows dipped angrily and a deep frown present.

His ruined eye was always so distracting, so hard to look away from.

Growing selfconscious at her staring, he quickly looked away, tousled brown bangs just not long enough to cover the scar tissue. He held a lock of his auburn brown hair thoughtfully.

A final sigh left her lips and Astrid realized it was time to leave.

She had come here to check in with her friend, see how he was doing as another long day at the forge was slowly coming to an end, reminding him that Snotlout Jorgenson was still an idiot already on her mind when she had noticed the trio of troublemakers purposely standing in Hiccup's line of sight.

A heated discussion with a bitter man is not what she signed up for.

"Fine, I'll leave. But don't think this discussion is over, Hiccup. It's time that you forget about that dragon and let go of the past. This isn't like you." She thought it best to let things cool down for a little while and with these final words did she leave the forge.

Hiccup liked Astrid, he really did and probably more than he should. He would always feel grateful to be able to call her one of his few friends, but sometimes he could do without her company.

Placing Mildew's broken shovel down, he rubbed in his eyes as he felt a headache brewing, minding the sensitive skin on the right side of his face.

Of course, Hiccup was aware that she only meant well, that she simply couldn't stand to watch him torture himself over the past, and it made him feel guilty for snapping at her like that. At her and Gobber alike.

She was right, it wasn't in his nature to get snappy so easily, to hold a grudge against anyone weither they were man, animal, or dragon.

But how could he let go of hatred rooted so deeply? He hadn't been torn apart by that despicable Night Fury solely on the outside alone.

It was hard to let go.

Each time he tried, it felt like he held on even tighter.

Glancing back out of the forge now that Astrid had left, Hiccup caught a glimpse of his cousin Snotlout, who apparently had watched the entire argument take place. Ruffnut and Tuffnut had already moved on with their lives.

He wore an expression Hiccup couldn't quite read and it unnerved him, but the dark-haired man soon went about his usual business.

Now alone and finally left in peace, Hiccup continued to work, his mind sure to continue to mull for hours to come over his less than pleasant talk with one of the few friends he had ever known.


Well, that was pleasant. And it will only grow even more pleasant from here! Holding a grudge, especially for so long, can be very destructive to a person. I know from experience. Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as what Hiccup is going through right now.

And we have officially been introduced to some of the other characters in this story. Most notably Astrid and Snotlout.

In the next chapter, we'll be seeing Stoick himself!