Hiccup was sitting on cliff watching the slight amount of snow fall, his legs dangling off the edge, and Nightling laying her head on his lap while he stroked it. Toothless was hanging from a tree like a bat, taking an afternoon nap. It had been a week since he decided to stay. He spoke with his father and the tribe, telling them stories from his travels, he worked with Gobber at the forge again, and Stoick even allowed Toothless to sleep in the house if Hiccup did. Hiccup hadn't spoken to the teens much, except for Fishlegs. Fishlegs was really interested in learning about dragons; Toothless especially. He had received apologies from all the teens, except Snotlout and Astrid. She was still mad at him for the algae thing. No doubt she was planning Hiccup's funeral this past week. And Snotlout was too proud to apologise, not to mention an asshole. Back to Astrid though, Hiccup did feel bad about what he did, and tried to apologise, but he could never get a moment alone with her. So, he went to her house, only to be greeted by her mother. Hiccup told Astrid's mother that he needed to talk to Astrid, and that he'll be waiting for her on the cliff.
As Hiccup was lost in his thoughts, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, expecting to see his father, Gobber, or even Freya, whom he had become very attached to. Low and behold his surprise, when he sees… Astrid, looking enraged.
"She actually came." Hiccup mused in his head.
"Hello Astrid." Hiccup said in an emotionless tone. She glared at him and sat beside him, at least a metre away though.
"What do you want?" She hissed. Hiccup sighed.
"I wanted to apologise." Hiccup said calmly. Astrid looked at him with wide eyes.
"I know that what I did was uncalled for. You didn't deserve that, and I'm sorry." He said regretfully. Astrid just glared at him.
"You think saying sorry can undo the dishonour that the Flightmare did to my family?" Astrid growled. Hiccup shook his head.
"I do not. But I know what can." He replied. Astrid looked at him with wide eyes.
"Let me tell you something about the Flightmare. Something you'll like." Hiccup said with a smirk.
"Go on." She asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"The Flightmare, like most dragons, breathes fire. But, it can breathe something else as well." He said, still smiling.
"Being?" Astrid asked.
"A blue mist that, when inhaled, paralyses the victim. The Flightmare uses it to catch prey, and get away from enemies." He said. Astrid's eyes widened.
"Your Uncle Finn wasn't frozen by fear, but by the mist." He said as tears fell down Astrid's face.
"Flightmares are actually one of the gentler dragon species, if they trust you." Hiccup finished. Astrid nodded and wiped her tears away. She smiled at Hiccup.
"Thank you Hiccup." She whispered. Hiccup smiled and nodded. They chatted for another hour before Astrid had to go help her mother, who had a slight case of food poisoning. They both got up and looked at each other. Suddenly, Astrid punched his shoulder.
"That's for my axe and the algae." She said with a playful frown. Hiccup chuckled. Out of nowhere, she kissed him on the cheek.
"That's for everything else." She said with a blush and ran off before Hiccup could say anything. He just stood there, blushing.
"Hiccup?" Nightling asked.
"Yeah?" Hiccup responded, snapping out of daze.
"Is that female your mate?" She asked with innocent curiosity. Hiccup exploded into a blush and Toothless fell out of the tree, laughing.
"She is not." He responded in a whisper, looking like a tomato.
Hiccup, Toothless, and Nightling headed back to the house. Nightling didn't like small spaces, so she just lay down and took a nap on the roof while Hiccup and Toothless went inside. They found Stoick, laying back on his chair, with a block uof ice on his head.
"You OK Dad?" Hiccup asked. Stoick turned to face him.
"Aye son, just a little stressed is all. The villagers are getting anxious because I haven't named an heir. Snotlout is my only choice, and you know how he is." Stoick explained. Hiccup felt guilty.
"I can't be Chief Dad, for more than one reason." Hiccup said. Stoick nodded.
"I know son, you have a life, I won't take that away." Stoick said with a gentle smile.
"Like I said, more than that." Hiccup said as he sat down. Stoick raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Such as?" Stoick asked, putting the block of ice down. Hiccup sighed.
"There's one aspect of my transformation I didn't tell you about." Hiccup said. Stoick nodded and made a 'go on' gesture.
"Longevity." Hiccup whispered with a sigh. Stoick's eyes widened.
"When I turn 24, I'll stop aging. I will still be able to die, but only if someone kills me, or if I get a lethal sickness. Both of those unlikely, since true Dragon Riders have immensely strong and durable bodies." Hiccup said calmly, though Stoick could hear the depression in his voice.
"You seem depressed about this." Stoick said, momentarily forgetting his shock at the revelation. Hiccup sighed and nodded.
"I am. Don't get me wrong, I love the thought of having so much time to learn about dragons and such, but…" Hiccup trailed off with a sad frown.
"But?" Stoick asked. Hiccup sighed again.
"I have to watch everything and everyone I care about die, while I stay as I am. I can't get married or fall in love without getting hurt. I can't have children with anyone who is not a true Dragon Rider. Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to give a woman a child." Hiccup said sadly. Stoick looked at his son with wide, yet sad eyes.
"And the worst part is: I'm the first true Dragon Rider in millennia. And probably the last. The odds of another one appearing are slim to none. And that's me being optimistic." Hiccup said grimly. Stoick looked at his son and hugged him softly.
"I'm sorry son. I wish there something I could do." Stoick said sadly. Hiccup hugged his father back.
"Thanks Dad. I'm sorry I can't give you grandchildren." Hiccup said with a sad chuckle. Stoick chuckled sadly too.
The next day, Hiccup was headed to the forge to make Astrid a new axe for Snoggletog. He had excellent idea for the blade he was going to make. He entered the forge, finding Gobber sharpening a sword.
"Hey Gobber, do you have any steel I could use?" Hiccup asked as he entered.
"Ah Hiccup!" He responded happily.
"I have a few ingots of steel in the back, along with regular iron and that 'Gronckle Iron,' as you called it, that I got from Johann." Gobber said as he sheathed the blade and gave it to the owner.
"Thanks Gobber. I just need regular steel though." Hiccup said as he got a steel ingot.
"What are you making?" Gobber asked curiously.
"A new axe for Astrid, since I broke her old one." Hiccup said with an embarrassed smile. Gobber smirked.
"You still got it bad for the lass, don't you?" Gobber teased. Hiccup blushed and shook his head.
"Even if I did, it wouldn't work. I'm ageless. It's part of being a Dragon Rider. I wouldn't be able to give her a child, and I would have to watch her grow old while I stay the same." Hiccup said sadly. Gobber nodded.
"Aye lad. Stoick told me. That's really sad." Gobber said with a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup nodded at his mentor.
"Why don't ya show me your blades?" Gobber said, changing the subject. Hiccup smiled and drew Nightwing and Cloudwing.
"How did you colour them like that?!" Gobber asked in amazement as he beheld the black and white blades. Hiccup chuckled.
"I forged some Toothless' and another dragon's scales into the billets." Hiccup explained. Gobber looked at him with wide eyes.
"That's genius!" Gobber exclaimed. Hiccup chuckled and sheathed his katanas.
"You ain't seen nothing yet. Check this out." He said with a smirk and drew his dagger from his boot. Gobber gasped with wonder at the dagger. It had swirly patterns going all over the blade.
"A little trick I picked up in Damascus." Hiccup explained.
"It's called 'Damascus Steel.' You forge two ingots of different steels into one billet, fold the billet over itself a few times, and then forge it to shape. After all the work on the blade is done, you submerge it in diluted acid, and the pattern shows." Hiccup finished with a smile. Gobber looked at him.
"Teach me please?" He squeaked in excitement. Hiccup laughed and nodded. He got an ingot of Gronckle iron from Toothless' saddle bag, and got to work.
Hiccup had Toothless weld the 2 ingots on top of each other, and then to a bar of steel for a better grip.
"Pretty clever there Hiccup." Gobber mused. Hiccup smiled at his mentor and continued.
"First, you have to make sure the two ingots weld together properly. You do this by hammering on the stronger steel for about three heat cycles." Hiccup said. Gobber nodded and did so with his own billet that he asked Toothless to prepare. About an hour later, the pair had finished stage one of forging their Damascus blades.
"OK, next step: extend the billet to be longer." Hiccup said. Gobber nodded and did so along with Hiccup.
"Now, using an old axe, cut though the billet about halfway through, by hammering on the axe." Hiccup explained. He demonstrated and Gobber followed his lead.
"Now you fold the billet over on itself, and repeat the same action a few times. Ten times should do for your sword." Hiccup said. Gobber nodded with excitement and got to work. It took the pair another 3 hours to finish folding the steel.
"Now that the billet is completely homogenous, you just forge it to your chosen shape." Hiccup said and they got to work. Gobber made a typical Viking sword, while Hiccup made a double side Viking axe. The pair finished their blades and quenched them. After sharpening the blades, Hiccup got a bottle of Changewing acid from Toothless' saddle bag and poured it into a large clay bowl. He filled the rest of the bowl up with water, and placed the blades in the bowl.
"Now we just leave them there for an hour, and we'll make the handles." Hiccup said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Gobber nodded and did the same thing.
"That's hard work." Gobber mused and took a sip of water from his waterskin. Hiccup did the same.
"Aye, it is." Hiccup said. The two went outside to cool off in the cold air.
"Hiccup!" A voice called. Hiccup turned and saw Astrid running towards him with Freya in her arms.
"What's wrong?!" Hiccup asked worriedly as Astrid stopped in front of him, panting.
"Freya… Nightling… Shock…" Astrid panted.
"Hey, calm down; take a deep breath and then talk." Hiccup said calmly. Astrid did as instructed and calmed down.
"Freya was playing with Nightling, and Nightling shocked Freya." Astrid said. Hiccup's eyes widened.
"I brought her to you because you know more about dragons and would probably be able to treat Freya better than Gothi could." Astrid explained. Hiccup nodded and took the sobbing girl from Astrid.
"Hey Freya, it's me. Are you OK?" Hiccup asked the girl, who nodded shakily.
"Where does it hurt?" He asked her. Freya showed Hiccup the back of her right hand. There was a large burn there.
"Don't worry; you're going to be OK. Nightling is still a baby, and doesn't know how to control her lightning yet." Hiccup explained as he brought Freya over to Toothless, who licked the wound. Freya nodded as Nightling came down, looking very sad and guilty with herself.
"Do you want to tell Nightling you'll be OK?" Hiccup asked. Freya nodded and Hiccup put her down. Nightling walked over to Freya, slowly, and sniffed her hand. She gave a sad croon and licked Freya's cheek in apology. Hiccup smiled when Freya said it was OK and hugged the young Skrill's snout.
"Hiccup, please tell her I promise not to hurt her again." Nightling requested. Hiccup nodded, and was about to translate, but was shocked, when Freya spoke.
"Don't worry, I know you won't." Freya said. Hiccup's and Toothless' eyes widened at Freya.
"You heard her?!" Hiccup asked in shock. Freya tilted her head and nodded.
"Is that bad?" She asked. Hiccup shook his head.
"Can I see your hand again?" He asked. Freya nodded and held her hand up to Hiccup when he kneeled. He placed hand gently over the burn.
"Wyees Hael." He chanted. His eyes flashed yellow, and a purple glow emitted from under his hand. He removed his hand, and examined the girl's hand. His jaw dropped at what he saw.
"Hiccup? What's wrong?" Astrid asked. Hiccup gestured to Astrid to come see. She did so, and got the same look Hiccup had. There, on the back of Freya's hand, was the Dreki Insignia. Even though it was subconsciously, Nightling had marked Freya.
"Is that…?" Astrid trailed off. Hiccup nodded.
"It is." He said, staring at Freya with wonder.
"What is it?" She asked and looked at her hand. She gasped at the insignia.
"Look at this Freya." Hiccup said and showed her the back of his left hand. He put his hand next to hers.
"They're the same." Freya observed. Hiccup nodded.
"What are they?" Freya asked curiously.
"Nightling has marked you as a true Dragon Rider, like me." Hiccup explained. Freya's eyes widened and looked at Nightling, and then back at Hiccup.
"Nightling wants to be your dragon, like how Toothless is mine." Hiccup said. Freya looked at Nightling. She extended her hand, and Nightling rested her snout in Freya's palm. Freya gave a small smile.
"You want me to ride you?" Freya asked in amazement.
"I do." Nightling said and licked Freya affectionately. Freya giggled and hugged Nightling.
"I want you to be my dragon too." Freya said with happy tears. Hiccup smiled at the sight of the two children; Nightling was technically still a child.
"That settles it." Hiccup said as he got up.
"Settles what?" Astrid asked in confusion. Hiccup looked at her with a smirk.
"For one thing, Freya is now a true Rider." Hiccup responded. Astrid nodded, still bewildered.
"And one other thing. I need to talk to my Dad and Gothi about it though." Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless and took off.
He landed outside his father's house and entered, finding Stoick sharpening his axe.
"Dad?" Hiccup called out. Stoick looked at his son.
"Yes Hiccup?" he responded.
"I need to talk to you about something with Gothi. Can you meet me at her hut?" Hiccup asked. Stoick nodded and got up. Hiccup thanked him and mounted Toothless again. The Night Fury took off and landed in front of Gothi's hut. Hiccup knocked on the door, and Gothi opened.
"Hey Gothi, I wanted to talk to you and my father about something. He's on his way. Is that OK?" Hiccup asked. Gothi looked at Hiccup with a small smile and let him and Toothless in. Hiccup sat on one of the chairs and Gothi did the same. Toothless lay his head down on his front paws and drifted into a small nap. About 10 minutes later, Stoick arrived at the hut. He sat down on the last free chair and looked at Hiccup.
"What did you want to talk about?" Stoick asked. Hiccup took a deep breath.
"I want to adopt Freya." He said simply.
A/N: Hiccup's going to be a Daddy! Or is he? O.o
Lots of reviews for the last chapter, so I updated again. ^^ Thank you for the support!
BTW, new poll! No votes = no updates. XP
