A/N: This is an AU story of how Hiccup's life could have turned out if he failed to shoot down Toothless when he did.
I apologise for the longer period between updates, I'll try to improve this in the future.
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon.
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The four men walked leisurely back towards their village, laughing and joking along the way. Hiccup had never felt more accepted and comfortable than he had today, all thanks to the efforts of his uncle, the man who was a better father to him than the cruel, callous father the God's had saddled him with, and, to his continued disbelief and amazement, his cousin.
The ties of friendship and togetherness between the four men had been strengthened, and in the case of Hiccup and Snotlout, it was clear to the two older, wiser men that the foundations of a strong bond of brotherhood had been formed, finally, between the two cousins.
After drilling Hiccup for nearly two hours, improving his speed and technique with his beloved bow, Snotlout had been drafted in by Teacher Spitelout to spar with his scrawnier cousin, with strict whispered warnings from his father not to go too hard on the former heir. It was a surprise, even to Spitelout who had been privy to his son's vow of protection, that the larger boy took to his role with aplomb, never trying to show off or beat Hiccup into submission, merely keeping pace with the boy and offering words of encouragement and advice. Spitelout had never been prouder of his boy.
For Hiccup, the day had been one of the very best in his short life to date. It was a fact that, after just one afternoon of hard work and dedication, he'd nearly tripled his skills with a sword, capable of actually handling the weapon without being a risk to those around him as well as himself. Why, if he were to be pitted against his younger self of only a day ago, it wouldn't even be a contest! He wasn't falling into the trap of over-confidence and arrogance (he wasn't Astrid, after all), he knew that compared to literally everyone else in the village including, to his shame, children much younger than himself he was a complete novice, he had never felt as much a Viking as he did at this very moment.
He'd wanted to carry on long into the night, but Gobber had quickly stepped in with orders for his young charge to feed himself and rest, lecturing the boy that it was no use making such progress today if he were too tired tomorrow to carry it on. After a few minutes protest, Hiccup had relented to his guardians' sage advice, helped along of course by the incessant rumblings in his stomach that raised chuckles from the other men due to its sheer volume.
"Well lad, with all the hard work you've done today, it's no wonder you've built up an appetite! Maybe you might finally eat a proper Viking's portion, eh?" Gobber teased his apprentice, snorting at the boy's uncustomary silence, figuring the boy's lack of response was down to simple weariness. Spitelout, however, looked closely at his nephew, and it didn't take him long to figure out the reason for Hiccup's detachment, if the light frown and constant quick glances towards Snotlout were any clue. The Viking surreptitiously tapped his son on the shoulder and nodded towards the smaller boy, who had by now fallen behind the group, so engrossed in his thoughts was he. With an understanding nod, Snotlout dropped his pace, falling into step with his younger cousin, who had yet to notice his fellow straggler. Once the minute mark had passed, the burly teen cleared his throat, causing Hiccup's head to snap towards him.
"You did brilliantly today, Hiccup! At this rate, you'll be beating me in no time at all." Snotlout clapped the bony boy on the back, nearly causing him to keel over until Snotlout's hand shot out to steady him. He smiled apologetically at his cousin, who stared at him with confusion "Erm, thanks? I guess...". Hiccup trailed off and really looked at his, until today, antagonistic cousin who had suddenly turned into, well, a friend. There was none of the deceit or cunningness in Snotlout's face that were common whenever the other boy was trying to harass him, his face was open and honest, which left Hiccup more perplexed than ever.
All his life, Snotlout had been his biggest detractor and cause of dejection in his life, along with the Chief, yet after the worst moment of Hiccup's life here Snotlout was supporting and helping him? He just didn't understand, the Snotlout he'd grown up with would never have given up such a prime opportunity to ridicule and humiliate his younger cousin. But Hiccup was forced to accept that he'd never be able to wrap his head around this sudden change of attitude without actually asking the other boy. Mustering up all the courage he had, Hiccup turned towards his childhood bully, ready to confront him.
"Uhm, Snotlout? Not that I'm not grateful or anything, b-because I am, but...I don't understand? Why..." Hiccup, despite his resolve, just couldn't find the words to ask Snotlout just why he'd changed, why he wasn't being awful to him anymore, because how do you ask someone that? What if he asked him, and Snotlout got angry and reverted to his old ways? Hiccup rather liked having his cousin on his side, he'd never really noticed before how much his rejection had hurt him.
To his credit, Snotlout seemed to get the gist of Hiccup's stumbling attempt at investigating, and nodded sadly to himself. Rubbing the back of his neck with embarrassment and shame, the teen sighed to himself before trying to explain himself to his cousin. This was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do, but he owed it to Hiccup to explain himself and to apologise.
"Hiccup, I-"
But Snotlout's answer was drowned out by a sound no Berkian ever wanted to hear, yet heard all too often.
The warning horn blaring from the highest watchtower, signaling incoming danger.
The dragons were raiding Berk again.
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Astrid jumped up instantly, the warning blare still ringing in her ears. Quickly, she grabbed her trusty axe before she raced up the stairs into the unfamiliar room she now had to sleep in, coming to a skidding halt in front of the large wardrobe. Opening the heavy door, she peered inside and felt relief that there was a green tunic hanging ready for her, as the girl had forgotten to pick up the discarded garment from the Mead Hall after Hiccup had thrown it away the night before. With haste, the blonde girl donned the tunic, it wouldn't do for the villagers to see their new heir battling back the raiding devils without it after all.
Stoick shouted for her, and she raced back down the stairs, jumping the last three and following the huge man out of the door. Her eyes scanned the horizon, she could see that the beasts were nearly upon them. Stoick barked out orders to his warriors the second he'd departed the house before he turned to his new heir.
"Astrid, I need you to take charge of the other teens. Make sure they are in place to douse any houses that are alight, got it?" The Chief looked at the girl, expecting her to nod in acceptance, but to his surprise she shook her head and piped up "But Chief, think. I could get them organised before leaving Fishlegs in charge, and then take some warriors to the paddocks. The Dragons always steal our livestock, if we guard them, they won't be able to take them, Winter is coming soon Stoick, we can't afford to lose any more livestock to those Hel spawns."
The man stared at her, calculating her ideas, before deciding that it was worth the risk and nodded. Astrid felt pride that he trusted her to lead not only the other teens but a small squadron of experienced Vikings in protecting Berk's animals. She gave the large man a quick salute, affirming that yes, she could do as he asked. The Chief nodded at her once, before he raced away towards the catapults, shouting out orders as he went. Astrid spent but a moment admiring the man's leadership skills, knowing that one day, she too would lead Berk with the same unyielding authority and skill.
Astrid ran towards the village well, where the twins and Fishlegs were already filling up their buckets. Good, they were already armed and ready. She arrived at the well, eyes tracking over the other teens. The twins were, unsurprisingly, looking excited for the coming raid, no doubt hoping to see some destruction and chaos. Fislegs looked terrified, sweat dripping from his brow. Snotlout...was nowhere to be seen.
No! She needed all of them here, without her around they were one teen down already, they couldn't afford another!
With a growl, she turned towards the three awaiting teens and ground out "Where is Snotlout? He should be here by now, Odin knows he never misses an opportunity to show off!"
Ruffnut and Tuffnut both blinked at the irate girl and simply shrugged their shoulders in unison, infuriating Astrid more, whilst Fishlegs looked around wildly, as if only just noticing the absence of the other male. With an audible gulp, the large blonde answered the heir "I-I don't know Astrid, he's not been around all day. What are we going to do? With only four of us and the size of the village, we'll only be able to safely cover sixty-four percent of-".
Astrid cut him off with a sharp motion of her hand, frantically looking around at the bustling Vikings running through the village. They needed reinforcements to replace both her and Snotlout, but where could..aha! Gustav and Woodnut were just over there, being ushered away towards the Mead Hall by Grandma Ingerman. They could bolster the ranks, sure they were a bit too young, but they needed all the help they could get. Determined, she strode over towards them and shouted towards the elder Ingerman to halt. "Hey, stop! I need these two to come with me, they'll be helping to douse the fires with the others."
Hilde Ingerman was shocked at the new heir's words, surely she could see that these two were much too young, it wasn't safe for them to be outside when the dragons were attacking, they'd be in danger! She drew herself up to her fullest height, ignoring the creaking in her old, tired bones and spoke sharply to the blonde girl before her. "Now you listen here, Astrid Hofferson. These two most certainly will not be helping with anything. They are but youngsters, who have never even seen a raid before, and you expect them to be able to perform under fire? Why, I have half a mind to-"
Before the respected elder could build up a real head of steam, Astrid cut her off, matching her tone "I expect you to listen to what I am ordering you. I am Stoick's heir and the future Chief of this tribe, and if I tell you that these two are coming with me, they are coming with me, understand?" Astrid brought her axe up to rest under the elder's chin, eyes unyielding and fiery. Gustav and Woodnut stared between the two, both fearful over what could happen. Yes, they wanted to help their village, but nobody as young as they had ever been out during a raid, it was much too dangerous.
Grandma Ingerman looked back into the eyes of the young girl who was ordering her around as if she were Freyja herself, looking the threatening blonde up and down disdainfully. She remembered, many years ago, this very girl coming to her, eyes full of tears, with a scraped knee from playing with her grandson and that Hiccup boy too roughly. Hilde had patched the girl up, gave her a few words of encouragement and sent her back out into the world, with a few sharp admonishments towards the two boys Astrid counted as her best friends to be a bit less rough with her. That girl had been sweet and full of joy, yet now that self-same girl, much older, sharper and tougher was threatening her into obedience with that axe of hers.
"My my, how the mighty have fallen. So this is the future of Berk? Thank the Gods I won't be around to see the mess you'll make. You want to take these two, fine. But if anything happens to them, on your head be it." The elder Igerman spoke cooly, before veritably draping herself in dignity and grace and walking away from the girl, but not before stopping before the two youngsters, holding them close and speaking softly to them, too soft for Astrid to here, before walking away with nary a backward glance.
Astrid watched the older woman leave, seething to herself. She'd deal with her tomorrow, right now she had more important matters to attend to. With a motion of her hand, she ordered the two youngsters to follow her and led them back over towards the well where the older teens had observed the confrontation with open mouths. Astrid ignored the furious gaze of Fishlegs, and spoke with authority to the group "Right, listen to me. These two will be joining you tonight. I won't be joining you, as Chief Stoick has asked me to lead a group of warriors in protecting the sheep. While I am gone, Fishlegs, you are in charge. I will hold you personally responsible if any building burns down, got it?"
The mismatched group stared at the girl, not believing what she was saying. How could two children be expected to keep up without any training or experience? But before they could answer her the girl had whipped around and stalked off, hollering out orders and asking for specific Vikings, seemingly satisfied that they would follow her orders. And they would, no matter how much they may disagree.
After all, she was the Chief's chosen heir, and she must know best.
They only hoped that they wouldn't be proven wrong.
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Hiccup raced through the last bit of forest, trying to keep pace with the other men. They all knew what that horn meant, and they each had their own duties to fulfill. For Spitelout, he was needed on the front lines, helping to battle back the beasts and keep the village safe. For Snotlout, he was needed to help the fire brigade, trying to eradicate any fires. For Gobber, he was needed back at the forge, mending broken weapons and handing out spares for any who needed them. And Hiccup was needed at the forge, under Gobber's watchful eye, out of the way and not causing any damage.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the village the four stopped and turned to each other. No words were spoken, they were Vikings after all, but their eyes told the others of what each wanted to say.
Stay safe.
The four spread out, each running towards their areas of responsibility. Hiccup raced up the hill towards the forge, reaching the stone building before the old blacksmith. He dropped his bow and the sword he'd been using that day by the door, before lighting the lamps. With practiced ease, he speedily stoked the fire and gathered up their tools, so by the time Gobber had limped his way up the hill they were ready. Within moments, the two were working in their usual perfect rhythm, dancing around each other and bantering back and forth, sharpening weapons and manning the hatch which had soon been swarmed with Vikings needing their wares.
This continued for a while, until a sharp pain-filled shout echoed around, loud enough to be heard over the banging and clinking in the forge. Hiccup stopped in place, a shudder running down his spine, eyes wide with terror. He knew that voice.
"Astrid"
Without a thought, the blacksmith's apprentice raced out the door, picking up his bow and sword as he went, before speeding towards the sheep pens, ignoring Gobber's panicked shout. He heard Astrid scream out again, and he ran as quickly as he could towards her location. Within minutes, he'd arrived at the pens where a fierce battle had clearly taken place. Hiccup stopped, unable to process what he was seeing. Distantly, he was aware of Snotlout arriving and coming to a stop by his side, but Hiccup had no words of greeting for his cousin, and he gazed around the scorched land, trying to make sense of everything he was seeing.
Dragons were flying into the pen without any opposition, picking off the sheep and flying away without a care. Three Vikings were lying face down on the ground, Nadder spikes jutting out of their bodies, weapons and shields lying scattered around them where they had fallen as the Vikings dropped down to the ground, dead. He could see, just across the pen, two other Vikings battling back a Monstrous Nightmare, and as he watched, the great beast reared back and blew out a stream of deadly fire which quickly engulfed the two. Hiccup tore his eyes away, unable to watch as the two unfortunate souls as they fell down. But he couldn't block out the screams of pain and terror, try as he might, but it was worse when the screams stopped. He knew what that meant.
He snapped back to awareness when he felt Snotlout touch his shoulder, and he snapped his eyes over to his cousin. Snotlout was pointing towards his right, and Hiccup followed the line until he could see what Snotlout had spotted. Astrid was lying on the ground close to the wall of the pen, a Nadder spike embedded in the right side of her abdomen. Without a thought, Hiccup ran over to the girl, kneeled at her side and checked her vitals. The girl was groaning in pain even as she was trying to get back to her feet, but she was deathly pale, and there were copious amounts of blood pooled around her. Hearing a screech, Hiccup shot to his feet and looked to the sky. Nine dragons, four Monstrous Nightmares, three Gronckles and two Nadders were flying towards them hoping to make away with the last of Berk's livestock.
Hiccup watched their approach, feeling oddly calm and at ease. He switched his footing around so he was standing over Astrid protectively, feeling more than seeing his cousin stand behind him so they were back to back. Hiccup turned his head slightly so he could make eye contact with Snotlout, barely having time to nod his head in thanks before the dragons were upon them.
Drawing his sword, Hiccup slashed out, catching a Gronckle that had dive-bombed him, catching it across the side and wing. The beast tried to right its flight course but collided with the wall of the pen, struggling to regain altitude with its slashed wing. Hiccup stabbed the sword into the ground before him and withdrew his bow. No thoughts went through his mind as he notched his arrow and took aim. He fired, and noted with subdued satisfaction that his aim was true as the arrow thudded into the beast's head. It dropped to the ground, falling slightly to the side before lying still. It would not rise again.
He turned back to the direction the dragons were approaching from, only just ducking in time when a Nadder shot its tail spikes towards him. He felt a brief moment of panic that his duck had inadvertently placed Snotlout in danger, but he had nothing to worry about as his cousin managed to dive out of the way before rolling back into postion at Hiccup's back.
It was a shame, really, that the only witness to the battle that began to take place was a half-dead teenage girl that couldn't be sure if what she was seeing was real or not. The two cousins battled back the beasts in a flurry of violent swings, defending and attacking in perfect unison, never allowing their foes to get close enough to harm either of them or the one they were protecting. If Hiccup attacked, Snotlout defended him with his shield, and if Snotlout attacked, Hiccup readied his bow, ready to shoot any dragon who held thoughts of attacking his cousin out of the sky.
The battle dance continued for a few furious minutes, and the song of war danced through Hiccup's veins. He'd heard stories of this feeling when he was young but had dismissed it as a mere folk-tale, designed to inspire young Vikings into a life of a warrior. It was said that, in the midst of a battle against a foe so much stronger than yourself, Freyja would sing her battle song, and the sound would carry you through the fight, strengthening you and allowing you to fight at a much higher level than you ever had before. And Hiccup felt it then, felt the beautiful song as he slashed, ducked, dived, parried and fired, and knew that they would win this battle.
Soon, the sounds of screeching, flapping wings and metal meeting scaly flesh faltered and Freyja's song began to die down, allowing Hiccup to look around him and take stock.
All nine of the dragons were lying scattered around them, never to take to the skies again. All but one of the beasts were dead, and Hiccup's eyes sought out the lone survivor. A Monstrous Nightmare, lying a few metres away, two arrows sticking out of its chest. The beast was breathing heavily, eyelids drooping, and it was clear to Hiccup that it too would soon be gone.
Hiccup sighed, now that the battle was over, he felt no hatred towards the dying creature. It needed to be put out of its misery, there was no honour in allowing it to die a long, drawn-out death. Luckily, Snotlout also seemed to be thinking along those lines, for his cousin had stepped out from his position behind Hiccup and begun to walk towards the downed beast. With a few long strides, the burly teen was standing at the dragon's side, sword raised high in the air above its neck. The beast didn't even raise its head towards the danger, accepting that it's time had come and merely closed its eyes and rested it's head down on the ground, awaiting the blow that would release end its pain.
Snotlout chuckled slightly as he looked down at the Nightmare before him "Huh, I guess I will be the first to kill one of you." And the sword swung down in its deadly arc, and time seemed to slow to a halt as the tell-tale screech was heard.
Hiccup's eyes were torn away from his cousin and to the sky. He could just the outline of that fabled dragon who no Viking had ever seen before and the most dangerous of them all. The Night-Fury.
The elusive beast was flying down from the clouds, aiming for his cousin. The screech it had given was a sure warning of what was to come, and Hiccup had barely any time to prevent what was to come.
Freyja's song coursed through his veins once more, louder than before. He had one shot, or his cousin was dead. He withdrew his bow, notched the arrow and took aim. The dragon was clearly visible now, owing to the violent purple fire building up in its mouth. Hiccup aimed three metres in front of the dragon, hoping that it would fly into the line of fire.
Time had nearly ground to a halt as Hiccup fired the arrow, and it sped up as soon as the projectile left his bow. It all happened so quickly.
Snotlout, head shooting up into the sky even as his sword cut through the Nightmare's neck. The Night-Fury, shooting out its blast even as it pulled up and away from the arrow heading for its brain, throwing off its aim if only slightly.
Snotlout, jumping back away from the blast, which impacted the large body of the now headless Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup, quickly firing off another arrow, ignoring the furious roar of the Night-Fury, which one more dodged the projectile, before flying upwards away from the danger, knowing it could no longer help its fallen brethren.
Hiccup stood, watching the retreat of the beast, was powerless to look away as the dragon turned its head back to him, two sets of green eyes locking gazes with the other. He was under its spell as the two looked at each other before the Night-Fury tore its gaze away from the Viking boy and quickly reached the clouds in the night sky, where Hiccup could no longer see it.
Even as Snotlout stumbled back towards him, shock and adrenaline racing through his body, and even as he helped his cousin lift Astrid up and carry her back to the village, the former heir's thoughts were on the Night-Fury and the eyes that had reflected his own.
He had a feeling that he'd be seeing that dragon again.
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Stoick dropped into his armchair, face resting in his two large hands. The house was empty, for his new heir was currently in the capable hands of the Gothi, having been wounded during the battle.
Astrid.
He'd thought the girl to be the perfect heir, smart and capable, but tonight had proven that he had overestimated the girl. Or she had overestimated herself, for it had been her idea for her to take a group of Vikings to protect the livestock under her leadership. But Stoick had allowed it to happen, so he must shoulder the blame for her failure. Five good Vikings were dead, all with families and loved ones, and only Astrid had survived.
And that was all thanks to his former heir, his estranged son Hiccup. When Stoick had heard the tale of all that had happened up near the pens after Astrid had fallen, his knees had nearly given out from under him in shock. The boy, who until recently had been the worst Viking Berk had ever seen, had placed himself in danger to protect Astrid despite the girl replacing him as Stoick's heir without a thought for his own safety. And he had, along with Snotlout, felled nine dragons, and driven off a Night-Fury!
Stoick's heart swelled with pride. It didn't matter that he'd disowned the boy, he was still his son, and he'd proven himself to be not only a warrior any Chief would be proud of but a hero to boot.
But the pride in his heart had to share space with the shame that filled it also. For Astrid's decision to enlist two children, both barely over the age of nine, had caused the deaths of the two youngsters.
Stoick's knees had very nearly given out in shock and grief upon hearing the story from a teary Fishlegs Ingerman. The large, soft-spoken boy had told the Chief that the two had been told by his new heir that they were to help the fire brigade, despite protestations from Hilde Ingerman (who Astrid has threatened into submission), and the youngsters had performed surprisingly admirably at first. They had helped the older teens to douse three homes that had been set alight, but upon the fourth house, they had all struggled to combat the violent flames, and young Gustav had raced into the house with his bucket, determined to attack the flames from within and shouting that "Astrid wanted us to be brave."
Woodnut, ignoring the warning shouts from her older siblings and Fishlegs, had raced after the boy, nearly passing the threshold of the house before it collapsed before her, Gustav still trapped inside. A wooden beam had struck the young girl across the face, burning her eyes and setting her hair alight. She had run around as her long blonde hair burnt down to her scalp and she had run around shouting and screaming before she had fallen down to the ground, silent. Stoick had seen such a terrible sight himself, and knew that the poor girl's brain had been roasted in her skull.
Stoick had been there when the twins had raced down to the Gothi's house, their limp younger sister held between them, shouting through grief-stricken throats for the Gothi to help her, but there was nothing to be done. Fishlegs had followed slowly, the charred, blackened body of Gustav held closely to his chest as he sobbed quietly to himself.
Stoick had announced that the two youngsters would receive a warrior's funeral each, the highest honour he could give the two brave (and, though he only admitted it to himself, foolish) children, and the only consolation he could give to their distraught parents.
Two young lives had been abruptly ended tonight, and though the inexperienced actions of both were in part to blame for their deaths, they would never have been there and in danger if not for Astrid.
Stoick was furious with the girl, and as soon as she was released from Gothi's care, she would face him and his fury.
He'd been so sure that Astrid was the right choice, he'd trusted her to be able to lead and show the village just why he had named her his heir. But Stoick and Berk had been rewarded with seven deaths where the blame could be traced back to Astrid.
A loud banging reverberated around the house, and the furious, pain-filled voices of the Thorsten parents could be heard on the other side of the door. Stoick wearily rose to his feet, steeling himself for the confrontation to come.
Because he knew he couldn't blame Astrid solely for what had happened tonight.
He was just as much to blame for the pain felt by the two parents, as well as the families of the six others lost this night due to his choice and misplaced trust.
And Hiccup? He'd proven himself a hero. Had he made a mistake with his choice? Or could this devastating night be the wake-up call Astrid needed?
The future of Berk depended on the answer to that question.
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A/N: I'm sorry! There is a reason why I've done this, which will soon be revealed over the coming chapters. I know I haven't warned you that there will be character death in this story, but I don't want to spoil the plot by revealing too much too soon, which is why no pairings, if there are any, have been declared. I hope you will all understand and will look forward to seeing what happens going forward.
Tell me in the reviews what you think will happen next, and what the repercussions will be for Astrid and if Hiccup will receive more respect in the village.
Please follow, favourite and review, and have a good one.
Goodnight.
