That night the Nightmare settled in the woods, the sound of her landing covered by the rain. He had wanted to come but she didn't think that wise. The Viking nest was silent in this weather and they weren't the most observant bunch, anyway, but she was fairly certain he would blow their cover. The rain lightened up sometime after sundown and when the rain subsided completely, the Nightmare crept out of the trees. She was safe in the darkness, the rain had stopped but there were still clouds blocking the moon and she was able to sneak up to her hatchling's nest.

She had seen smoke coming from all the nests since she got here and was curious. The Nightmare smelt the back of the nest taking in the scent of wood, smoke, the Viking, and her hatchling. Little sounds came from inside, picked up by her keen ears; a fire crackling and quiet moving around. They kept fire in their nests; she could hear it as well as smell it. Weak little things indeed; they didn't even have internal fire. Keeping low to the ground, the Nightmare carefully crawled around the side as she listened for her hatchling; springs of grass tickled her belly. It was late; he probably slept and was so small she couldn't make out the sound of him breathing. She settled her great bulk next to the structure and let sleep overtake her.

They were coming for him; he could hear them calling, getting closer and he held his breath. Willing his heart beat quieter Hiccup tightened his hold on the branch. The air around him grew colder and the smell of frost and snow grew, it was a sharp cold that burned his lungs. His breath was visible when he did breathe and they might see it.

"Hic-cup." They cooed, "Hic-cup. Where are you little Hiccup? Come on out now," There were two of them; big, ugly giants with large crooked noses and canine teeth so long they stuck out of their mouths. They looked like big, dumb brutes. But Gobber said they were not as dumb as they appeared. The ground shook as they stomped around searching for him; uprooting trees and overturning boulders, the soil raining down sounding like small waves on the shore. Everything they touched became covered in frost and the air chilled around them, puffing out with their breath. Sniffing at the air they called for him as they stomped through the trees. Hiccup's branch shook with each step as they came nearer and he shrunk into himself more. One of them stopped sniffing right below Hiccup and inhaled deeply. He slowly lifted his eyes and grinned, showing all his teeth, "There you are." Frantically, Hiccup tried to think of something or somewhere to go but he was stuck in the tree. The Frost Giant stretched out his hand, "Just a little morsel, aren't you?"

A large thud from outside woke him. For a moment he thought he was still dreaming and waited for his heart to stop racing. His missing tooth was throbbing in time with his heartbeat. The room was cool but not as cold as his dream had been; he couldn't see his breath. It didn't smell like snow either, it smelt like pine, like home. Hiccup stared at the ceiling and tried to make out the grains and knots in the wood to calm himself down. His dad was snoring in his own bed on the other side of the small room and Hiccup concentrated on that. It was just a dream that was all, just a dream. There was another thump and the outside wall creaked as if something big had hit it. Hiccup almost fell out of bed in his rush to get up and to his father.

"Dad!" He whispered too quiet to be heard. Shaking his father's shoulder he tried again, "Dad!" Finally, his father shifted,

"Hiccup? What's it?"

"Dad a frotht giant'th outthide the houthe!" Hiccup was near panic now. Frost giants were huge and nasty; the ones from his dream were fresh in his mind. Gobber said some liked to eat people; especially little boys. Instead of hurrying out of bed and grabbing his helmet, Stoick simply mumbled,

"It was a dream, Hiccup. Go back to bed." He turned over.

Hiccup shook his father, "I wathn't thleeping, Dad. There really ith a giant outthide." Stoick sighed and rolled over again. Opening his eyes he looked into Hiccup's wide frightened ones.

"Do you want to sleep here?" It was the easy, quick solution. Stoick only used it when Hiccup seemed too frightened to be sent back to bed easily. Or when the Chief was too tired to deal with being woken in the night for non-urgent matters. He probably used it too often come to think of it.

Hiccup shook his head, "Dad there'th a giant." Stoick groaned. Where was this coming from?

"Gobber thaid they live up North but thometimeth roam down. They eat people, Dad."

Gobber. Stoick should have known. Sitting up he pulled Hiccup onto the bed. "It's just a story, son. Gobber's been telling you tales again. Let's go back to sleep."

"But Dad,"

"No buts Hiccup. It's late, go to sleep."

"Dad,"

Stoick ignored him and lay back down, forcing Hiccup to as well, and pulled the blanket up, "Sleep."

"Dad, I heard it. There wath a thud and the wall creaked." Hiccup pointed at the wall in question.

"For the last time, Hiccup, go to sleep." Stoick said with his eyes closed. Hiccup turned so his back was to his dad and watched the wall, keeping an eye on the window for any stray shadows. His father was snoring again and Hiccup's eyes were getting heavier. The warmth of his dad at his back was comforting; Stoick the Vast was big and strong. He could take on a giant. Hiccup turned back to his father and cuddled up to him; he was safe here. Hiccup drifted off to sleep forgetting about the frost giant.

Outside, the Nightmare shifted again, this time she avoided hitting the wall of the nest and possibly waking up her little one. She should probably go back to the woods but she wanted to be near her hatchling for the night. No one came this far toward the woods anyway. She had paid attention to that while watching the nest. The other Vikings gave her little one's nest a wide berth. Not out of fear or distaste, it was respect for the Viking. She gathered that he was the alpha of the nest from his interactions with others, which could be problematic. Stealing a hatchling was one thing, stealing an alpha's hatchling was another. She would take her chances though, when the time was right.

A/N: The frost giants described here are a mixture of Gobber's stories and Hiccup's imagination. Most frost giants from Norse mythology were more people-like and even attractive. They opposed the gods at times but didn't eat people; they were quite civil for the most part. And they didn't bring cold with them, that's purely from Hiccup's imagination, to him FROST giant = cold.

Thank you for the lovely reviews :) About the spanking scene: Stoick is very gentle about punishing Hiccup and lets him off with a lot. The other adults probably think he doesn't punish Hiccup enough. The dragon has her own methods of punishment and would most likely agree with Stoick in this case. Hiccup was using a sharp hatchet that is too heavy for him, which was dangerous. He is being spanked so he will think twice before doing something like that again. My friend pointed out that spankings are "supposed to be uncomfy for both the child and the adult; if either get used to it there is no point."

Special thank you to CB for editing and helping when I get stuck :)