Living The Dream
Rated; M
Pairing; Hiccup X Astrid
Disclaimer; I do not own anything from HTTYD; it belongs to Dreamworks/Cressida Cowell
Best One Yet
=Hiccup's POV=
(Sunday, June 10, 2018-3:45 pm)
{Denmark; Drakonian Palace}
I knew accidents could happen, but my biggest fear upon getting this opportunity to work with Dreki Heart was being on a mission and Toothless's tail rig breaking for whatever reason. Since March, just three months ago; everything has been excellent. I tuned up the platform before any traveling was announced. However, it wasn't unbreakable against other dragon attacks or natural disasters. Granted, there haven't been any snowstorms, tornados, or hurricanes…But Changewing acid yesterday rendered Toothless's tail as gone. Thankfully, the others helped me gather what I needed to create makeshift pieces of the original design to get Toothless and I back to Drakonian Palace in Denmark, which is where we're just arriving now. We got a very late start to our trip because as I assumed beforehand…The rig needed testing in case of problems. I found several and with the limited supplies I had to repair said issues…It took hours to get something stable for a almost three and a half-hour flight home. And the did not count the hour break for lunch. Finally, though, we're back, and the palace is within eyesight.
"Land in the back," Ryker reminded.
"Got it," we eight interns replied to him. We took our dragons over the top of the castle, and as my luck would have it; one more tail position change to rise and the makeshift pieces gave way as we were descending. The landing was hard, and we skidded forward a bit. Toothless claws gripped the ground to stop as I went flying over his head and landed on my back with a groan. I blinked a few times, rolling over to get up.
"Oh, no! Hiccup, are you okay?" Camicazi called.
"Yeah…I think so," I managed, forcing myself to get up. Stormfly landed as Astrid came over to help me stand. "Thanks," I told her.
"You're welcome," Astrid nodded.
"I saw the landing from the office. Are you and Toothless okay, Hiccup?" Viggo asked quickly, hurrying out with Hilda, Kelda, Vera, and Katja. Toothless growled at Kelda nearing him, and she backed up.
"Hey, Toothless…Easy, bud; it's all good," I told him. Toothless relaxed, tilting his head with a warble.
"Well, he appears fine," Kelda said.
"Yeah; it's not the first time we've crashed when the rig breaks…" Hiccup muttered. "Or during test flights,"
"Still…One of these days you're going to get severely injured," Hilda informed.
"Likely, but I wouldn't have to worry about it if I could find a rig that withstands dragon attacks," Hiccup stated.
"Well, there might not be anything like that, but we will see how close we'll get," Thuggory smiled.
"Yeah, we can put our heads together," Ragna chuckled as the others nodded.
"Yes, you have our full assistance. And my brother informed me of that you would need last night; I think will all of our combined dragon knowledge; we can whip something up to be light, but reliable to use as a prosthetic tail," Viggo assured.
"I really appreciate all this, guys…And girls…" I smiled, thankful that they were all willing to help me with this tail situation.
"We all work together to provide a secure, safer home for these dragons to reside in. That's what Dreki Heart is all about. Rescues, recovery, rehabilitation, protection, research; making things easier for them to coexist beside us. And you, Hiccup, managed to build a working prosthetic for a Night Fury; this information could change everything for a lot of dragons," Mala reminded.
"We know that this rig is designed for Toothless, but with the general idea of your trial and error process to understand that you needed to maneuver the pedal for Toothless to be able to fly, and the materials used; we can find ways to properly assemble working prosthetics for all types of dragons," Kelda added.
"Well, I'm happy to show you how I did all this," I motioned to Toothless's set up. "It needs a complete overhaul from the original,"
"Wonderful! We shall all take part in watching and helping," Vera clapped her hands excitedly.
"This is life-changing! All the dragons we could assist…And Hiccup; you'd be the creator of something where professionals have failed! Dreki Heart will be huge if we become the first group that could manufacture dragon prosthetics!" Katja squealed.
"Well, if no one minds then; I'm gonna get to work. Feel free to watch, or jump in," I invited.
"Excellent! Now, how can we help?" Dagur smiled.
"For starters…" I began.
. . .
=Normal POV=
(Thursday, June 14, 2018-1:20 pm)
{Drakonian Palace Obstacle Course}
The process was lengthy, and complicated to a couple of people who had never attempted such a thing as dragon prosthetics before. Thankfully, Hiccup seemed to know what he was doing in the building sense. The others were able to help out in suggestions for durable materials that could handle weather and other dragon attacks if necessary. Toothless's new rig was a series of gears, pulleys, cables, and stirrups. (Think HTTYD 2 set up.) The tail fin itself was black, to match the right side, and it was created using Gronckle Iron; very thin, but so far it was the most dependable, lightest metal in existence. This stuff, as a sword, could cut through a standard weapon any day, which is why it was perfect for a tail fin when hammered just right. This prosthetic was built with many features in one.
"Well, my friends. Took a few days, but I think we got something…" Hiccup smiled, stepping back to admire the work Dreki Heart helped him build. All that was left to do was test it.
"I believe you're correct, Hiccup," Brendan nodded in agreement.
"The tail is built from Gronckle Iron, hammer super thin and able to be manipulated. And this metal withstands a lot of fire attacks from other dragons," Viggo said.
"And it will allow for tight turns, and stealthy glides," Alvin added.
"It's dipped in Eruptadon saliva, which in combination with the Gronckle Iron will allow for heat resistance," Throk interjected with a smile, and nod from Mala.
"And you now have that lever to lock the tail open if necessary," Heather added.
"And your own creation; the piece that will allow you to change if the tail is automatic or manually operated. Which, might I add, was brilliant," Atali smiled.
"Well, when I was fifteen; Toothless's first Christmas was kind of lonely since that dragons go off to mate and have eggs. I felt bad that Toothless couldn't just leave, so I built him an automatic tail that he could use without me as if nothing had changed. Toothless ended up destroying it like three days later and pulled out the old rig for our morning flight. I deduced on my own that Toothless doesn't want to just carry me on his back as others hold their riders," Hiccup explained as Toothless nudged into him gently, warbling. "He likes me flying him over the freedom to do it himself. So, I thought to reuse the idea, but only for emergencies. Is that fair you overgrown lizard?" Toothless licked him. "Good. Then don't destroy this one…"
The others chuckled.
"Well, Hiccup; there's only one thing left to do…" Astrid said. Hiccup eyed her carefully as she smiled. "Test it out,"
"Ready, bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless crooned, lowering a bit as the invitation for Hiccup to get on his back. Hiccup took a deep breath as he climbed on and held the handles. "Hit it!" he called. Toothless launched into the sky after the fin was opened. Everyone below observed, hoping that after the last five days; they made something that would last a long time and wouldn't require as many repairs. Hiccup and Toothless whipped through the obstacle course, trying all the features integrated into the new rig. The best part about this was that the control piece between manual or automatic could be initiated by Hiccup, or Toothless. Toothless's switch was on the front of his chest and could be pressed with either of his front legs. Hiccup's was on the left side, a sliding piece on the pedal.
Hiccup nailed the entire course, fake attacks and all with nothing happening to the rig! Hiccup directed Toothless down on the grass as he cheered. "Oh, wonderful!" Hilda clapped.
"It's a masterpiece!" Camicazi said.
"And it's all thanks to you for helping me," Hiccup smiled.
"You assisted us too! This venture has allowed us to learn more about Night Furies, and prosthetic design!" Kelda reminded.
"I love that this rig has less pieces, and looks cleaner as if it is part of Toothless, but has various features that no one would expect," Soren stated.
"No, it's perfect. Everything blends in unless someone is up close to Toothless, and you can't see anything at night since we made everything black. And Toothless is super comfortable in it too," Hiccup informed. "And with this; I won't have to make as many repairs! Plus, we took the time to build the spare parts and tail that I can carry with me just in case something does happen. I know we made it to be as indestructible as possible, but it can still happen,"
"Quite right! And it never hurts to be prepared!" Viggo nodded.
"That was what I was going for," Hiccup replied. Finally, Toothless had a near-perfect, almost unbreakable prosthetic. Hiccup was beyond grateful for the help from the trainers, medics, and other interns; they made this possible. Hiccup never could have made something like this without them. Everyone added something to it, and he couldn't express the joy he felt knowing they all wanted to pitch in to make this happen. "Seriously, I cannot thank you enough,"
"Hey, we're all friends and family here," Thuggory patted his back.
"One that I'm happy to be around. This…This is how family should be, and I finally feel like I belong somewhere," Hiccup said as Toothless warbled, licking his cheek, then nuzzling Hiccup's face.
"I couldn't agree more," Astrid added with a smile. Hiccup and Astrid looked at one another, sharing a semi-long glance into one another's eyes.
"Well, with this taken care of; that means that you're all going back to Changewing Island on Saturday for that research bit," Viggo said.
"Aye, sir!" the interns replied.
"Feel free to enjoy the next two days off," Ryker added. Soon, the trainers and two Grimborn families were heading back inside the palace as the interns remained outside.
"I think we should grab our dragons and hit the sky," Ragna suggested.
"You know, that's a great idea," Eret agreed. Without needing anything else; the rest saddled their dragons and were all in the air. It was nothing special; just flying around and laughing. For Hiccup and Astrid, though; it was so much more. The two of them were the only two out of the eight who literally left home without warning to be there, and the decision was made that way to avoid conflict with their parents. However, now that it's been a few months and things were how they are now; this choice was turning out to be the best one yet.