Night's brother was once again in deep thought. You'd think he'd get used to it by now. He and Night were once again on another raid. It was the same routine; he damaged the weapons, Night rescued their fellow dragons, and they returned to their Highness when they finished.
Night heard his brother mumble something, and he sighed to himself. All he had to think about was if that blonde would try again to find him. For years, she'd been trying to take his head, the latest attempt being a few weeks ago. You think she'd show a little more gratitude to the person who spared her life six years ago. Back when he still believed peace was possible and felt sympathy for those Vikings. Seeing as the humans of this village were as stubborn as boars, he wouldn't be surprised if she hunted him for the rest of his life.
"Get your head out of the clouds, Brother," Night told him.
"Hmm?" was his only response. Night sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. The two continued to fly around, destroying the weapons and watching over their kin.
What came next, not even Night saw coming.
"Net!" he cried out the minute he saw it coming their way.
Both dragon and human looked to see a net coming towards them. Next thing they knew, they were falling through the sky. The Night Fury's body crashed into trees, causing them to break under his weight. He tumbled along the ground before coming to a sudden halt. Pain ran through him from head to claw.
"Night?" he called out weakly. Turning his head, he saw his brother entangled with him. The boy's body was bruised, cut, and oozing out blood. The dragon attempted to break free but the net muzzled him. His claws were also trapped against his side so he couldn't claw his way out. They were trapped on the island, and he had a feeling that whoever shot them down would eventually come for them.
Hiccup watched as a shadow fell from the sky with a fatal screech following. He'd shot the net from the contraption he'd built, and he couldn't help but be filled with a sense of pride. "I hit it?" he questioned himself. "I hit it!"
During his celebration, a Monstrous Nightmare climbed over the cliff side without him knowing. "Did anybody see that?" A loud, crunching sound came from behind Hiccup. He turned around with a disappointed look. "Except for you?"
The teen ran, letting out a high pitch scream, and the dragon chased after them. At any other time, he would've been embarrassed that he sounded like a little girl, but that would come later.
The dragon shot liquid fire on either side of him. Hiccup darted behind a pole holding a high lantern for safety. The blast of fire hit the base of the pole, sending liquid fire on either side of him. The heat of the flames had him scared stiff. After the liquid fire stopped pouring over the sides, he inched his way to look around the burning post. Unfortunately, the long-nosed dragon's head came around the opposite direction.
Just as Hiccup turned his head the other way to see the dragon, his father, Stoick the Vast, slammed his stone hammer into the side of the dragon's nose. The dragon backed away and tried to blast him, but nothing but a splash of fire liquid was left.
"You're all out," Stoick mumbled. He threw a couple of punches at the dragon here and there, and with one last kick, scared the dragon into flying off.
Stoick then turned to the burning post Hiccup was hiding behind. The base had become weakened enough that the top half of the post crushed the base and started to tip, revealinge Hiccup now. The post fell over, sending the flaming lantern over the hill. Hiccup winced each time it hit something as he heard it hit three things on its way down.
"Sorry, Dad," Hiccup said, looking at Stoick.
The flaming lantern rolled over a net holding down dragons, releasing them with sheep and other livestock. All the dragons flew off with something in their claws. Meanwhile, Hiccup stood awkwardly in front of his dad and could feel everyone staring at him.
"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury," he told Stoick. Stoick ignored his comment, though, and grabbed Hiccup's arm and dragged him behind him.
"It's not like the last few times, Dad. I really, actually, hit it," Hiccup tried to explain. "It went down just off Raven's Point. Let's get a search party—"
"Stop!" Stoick yelled before calming down, turning to face Hiccup. "Just stop. Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can't you see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here, and I have an entire village to feed!"
"Between you and me, I think the village could do with a little less feeding," Hiccup mumbled.
"This isn't a joke, Hiccup!" snapped Stoick. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"
"I can't help it, Dad," Hiccup said. "I see a dragon, and I have to just kill it." He made a neck-snapping gesture with his hands. "It's—it's who I am, Dad."
"Oh, Hiccup. You are many things, but a dragon killer is not one of them. Get back to the house," Stoick told his son. He raised his voice. "Make sure they get there. I got their mess to clean up."
Gobber came up behind Hiccup, landing a gentle tap on the back of his head. He started to escort him by the other teens who were laughing. His cousin Snotlout laughed, "I've never seen anyone mess up so badly." He gestured to the sky where the dragons had disappeared. "That helped!"
"Yes, I know, thank you," Hiccup responded dryly. Gobber walked by and pushed Snotlout to the ground. As they approached Hiccup's home, he told Gobber, "I really hit one."
"I know," Gobber said right after Hiccup spoke.
"He never listens."
"Runs in the family." Hiccup either didn't notice Gobber's comment or pretended not to."
"And when he does it's with this disappointed scowl, like someone skimped all the meat in his sandwich," Hiccup said. He mimicked his father's accent. "Excuse me, barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I wanted an extra large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish bone!"
"Now, you're thinking about it all wrong. It's not what you look like, it's what's inside he can't stand," Gobber clarified.
Hiccup stared at him for a moment. "Thank you for summing up," he said flatly.
"The thing is, Hiccup, quit trying so hard to be something you're not," Gobber shot back.
"I just want to be one of you guys," Hiccup sighed, reaching for the door. He entered the house and went through. He grabbed his journal, and he left out the back door to search for his dragon.