Because I gave you guys so many angsty feels, here are some random non-angsty moments in the Nest.
The prey was below him, unaware of his presence. Unaware of the threat the lurked in the shadows above. For he, the ultimate predator, was unrivaled in stealth and ruthlessness.
No creature could best him!
And he proved it now as he carefully avoided patches of ice and snow, opting instead to crawl across rock and dirt that muffled his movements. Even the slightest noise could alert his prey. The soft crunch of snow was as loud as an avalanche; the slightest creak of ice could be as loud as the crack of an ice sheet breaking.
Hiccup's breathing was steady, but his heart was practically quivering with excited anticipation.
Too much time and planning had gone into this hunt.
For Hiccup, the great predator, had planned and schemed and waited patiently for the perfect moment and the perfect setting. His knowledge of the prey was well-sourced.
It was an important aspect for a hunt: knowing one's prey.
Hiccup knew his prey well, almost intimately so.
And above all, he understood the hunt. It had been engrained within his being since his earliest memories when he had watched his own kin crawl and swoop about with deadly grace. In the hunt, no movement was to be wasted, no hesitance to stall the strike.
Hiccup moved forward, crawling on all fours with a fluid grace that no other human could ever truly match. Not even his mother could best him in regards to such mobility. It came from years and years of watching his dragon kin walk about; observing and understanding each movement and internalizing it until it was as familiar as walking on two legs.
The target was lying on their belly, content and safe in their ignorance. Was he asleep? Foolish!
Hiccup's heart began to beat faster and faster as he readied himself for the attack. Oh, he was nearly trembling with excitement!
For this was it.
His moment was now at long last!
Hiccup leapt!
His body collided against a warm, scaled form. The dragon yelped in surprise, and perhaps even fear. Emboldened, the predator latched his arms around the neck, holding on tight. Refusing to let go.
"I've got you!" The attacker yelled in declaration.
The dragon squirmed and wiggled, trying to wrest the hunter's unrelenting grip from its neck, but to no avail. Realizing the futility of freedom, the target gave a pitiful yowl of defeat and collapsed on the ground.
I did it, victory at long last!
"Ye-aah!" Hiccup cheered, throwing his hands up in jubilation. "I beat you! I totally beat you-whoah!" His celebration was cut short as he yelped in surprise as the defeated dragon, who was suddenly not defeated, flipped on his back, pinning Hiccup down with enough of his weight to prevent escape, but not enough to crush the boy.
The young vigilante gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs by the sudden pressure; valiantly, he struggled against the dead weight of the dragon, only to fail miserably. Wide luminous eyes peered down at him from behind a veil of pitch black scales.
Hiccup pouted in defeat.
"Aw no fair," Hiccup whined, lying his head down on the hard stone. "I almost got you!"
Toothless just gave a low, chuckling warble and affectionately licked the boy on the face.
The boy giggled at the tickling sensation, "S-Stop!" He managed out between fits of laughter that was nearly unheard due to Toothless' low rumbling purrs and growls. "Y-You win, ahaha!" Gloved hands lightly pawed at Toothless' snout, but the action was more of a playful teasing than a genuine attempt to pry free.
"That was fun. What do you want to do now?" Hiccup asked cheerfully, between laughs.
Toothless cocked his head to the side, debating. Hiccup followed his movements, and briefly pondered what the two best friends should do.
Suddenly, an idea grew in his mind.
Hiccup glanced at his best friend. Toothless stared back, his bright green orbs glowing. The Night Fury's eyes looked at him almost knowingly in the darkness, as though Toothless had read his mind.
Immediately, both sets of eyes twinkled in mischievous.
The weight of Toothless' body suddenly lifted as the dragon stood back up. Grinning like a fool, Hiccup got to his feet and settled himself against the Night Fury's bareback in a single graceful leap. Hiccup had long since perfected the art of mounting the dragon's back until it had become as natural as breathing.
Toothless padded across the cavern, leaping up the boulders that led to an exit where they would be able to fly. After few moments of climbing, and for Hiccup that including ducking to avoid bashing his head against the rocks, they were suddenly standing on a grassy patch of dirt that very quickly led to a sharp precipice.
Toothless leapt off the cliff, and Hiccup experienced the familiar sensation of weightlessness as the cold wind whipped past his hair and stung his cheeks until they were beet red.
It was exhilarating: flying.
A scream of pure joy threatened to burst from his lips, but the boy managed to squash it down for the meantime. Now was not the time for yells; it was a time for silence. Stealth.
Another hunt. A new target. This one would require a new tactic.
Perhaps one of the best things about flying with a Night Fury was the stealth attribute. Unlike a dragon like Cloudjumper, whose wings were mighty but deafening loud, a Night Fury could fly fast with barely any noise. A flap of the wings was practically noiseless for a dragon like Toothless, and when he glided he was as silent as a shadow. It was only when a certain speed was reached that any unaware enemies could hear the distinct whistling that was the infamous telltale sign that a Night Fury was nearby, and that one needed to hide immediately.
The Nest wasn't small in the slightest, but even for a dragon as small as Toothless, it wasn't possible to reach top speed while inside, less the rider and dragon wanted to crash into a wall. So they had to take it slow; at the very least their newest target wouldn't be able to hear them.
Their home was never silent. There was always a constant, familiar cacophony of adult dragons roaring and baby dragons squawking. The sound of over a hundred wingbeats as dragons raced, played or simply soared about freely in the air was as familiar to Hiccup's ears as his mother's nighttime lullabies. Halfway through their search, Hiccup closed his eyes for the briefest moments and simply enjoyed the presence of the hundred or so dragons that he all held dear to his heart.
Despite the sheer magnitude of the Nest, it didn't take Hiccup and Toothless too long to find their intended target. Toothless might not have belonged to the Tracker class, but he had an innate skill for tracking small distance, especially if he was familiar with the scent.
By the time Hiccup saw the familiar dark hair of his brother, Eret, standing out against the vibrant greenery, his grin had turned into something evil. He nudged Toothless gently with his heels, and the Night Fury began to glide slowly, as silent as a shadow. Hiccup leaned over and peered down below to see what the other human boy was doing.
His brother was apparently in the middle of feeding a group of rambunctious hatchlings of various species with a basket of fish. Even from up in the air, Hiccup could see that the older boy was laughing as the baby dragons raced around, earnestly nuzzling his side and licking the juices from his fingers.
He's distracted. Perfect.
Toothless quickly began to lose altitude, getting closer and closer to the ground until it was a safe enough distance for Hiccup to enact the next part of the hunt: the kill.
Pulling his legs up while staying steady on his knees, Hiccup prepared to pounce. He waited until they were almost over Eret, who still hadn't realized the danger. Until… until… now! The moment he leapt off Toothless, Hiccup let loose his war cry: "SNEEAAK ATAAACK!"
Eret looked up, "Wha-?" His eyes widened as he briefly caught the sight of his younger brother flying into view. The next second, all Eret could register was that a bony and a surprisingly heavy weight had crashed into him from above.
The two boys went down in a tangle of limbs; one of them was laughing all the way while the other was groaning.
"H-Hiccup!" Eret wheezed, clutching his side where the boy's bony elbow had dug into the tender flesh. The breath had been knocked from his lungs, but he still managed to curse at the boy.
Hiccup's laughter seemed to double. There was already a bruise forming on the boy's chin, and he'd probably be sore tomorrow, but Eret's reaction had been priceless and totally worth it.
Hiccup caught sight of something Eret didn't notice. His smile grew as he called out," Double sneak attack!"
"Wha-urgh!" Eret huffed as Toothless pounced on him, licking him energetically. The son of Eret groaned, and let his head fall back against the ground in defeat. "… You two are the worst…"
"Either of you two still hungry?" Valka asked her sons, prodding the last remaining fish that rested on dying coals.
Hiccup's answer was a mere groan of disgust as he curled up closer to Toothless. The youngest had eaten as many fish as Eret normally did, despite his much smaller stature, in order to win some sort of self-proclaimed challenge to best his older brother.
Valka would have found it hilarious had Hiccup not eaten so much that he was now in a near comatose state.
I thought for sure that once they both got older, they would stop these 'brotherly' competitions, she thought to herself with no small amount of weariness. Especially because those competitions are always so silly.
Still, Valka would admit that it was a bit funny and adorable to watch Toothless motherhen Hiccup with small licks and nibbles. The Night Fury probably didn't realize that Hiccup's state of nausea was from eating what the dragon would considerable a normal amount of fish.
Valka looked over at the eldest son, who was leaning back against a smooth rock formation, patting his stomach with contentment to both spite his brother's own sickness and to convey his victory.
Eret pretended to not care about Hiccup's challenges, but he still relishes in besting his brother whenever he can, especially since Hiccup usually bested him in flying. Thus, he hadn't backed down from the challenge, and had defended his title with great gusto by out eating his little brother.
He does look a little green in the cheeks, though. Valka noticed, holding back a smile at both her sons. Probably trying to hide the fact that Hiccup was actually keeping up with him in the beginning.
"Boys?" She prodded them, gesturing towards the fish.
Hiccup gave a pitiful moan, hands pressed against his belly, and snuggled closer to Toothless for comfort.
"You're not even feeling a little bit peckish, Hiccup?" Eret asked cheekily, even though it came out as a half-groan.
"Eret." Valka gently scolded her eldest child. "Don't tease him." She eyed his sorrowful state with maternal sympathy, "I think he's had enough for tonight. I don't think he's handled well."
Hiccup's body twitched before he rolled around so that he was facing the two. His eyes were narrowed into little slits, like Toothless' did when the dragon got angry.
The boy had heard his mother defend him, only then to… instigate that he wasn't good enough in comparison to his brother?
Sibling rivalry could be a tricky thing for any younger brother. At the moment, Hiccup's regards to his only sibling was bordering carefully on either indignation or half-hearted ideas of fratricide.
Despite his age, Hiccup was still very much, according to Eret at least, a momma's boy. He idolized his mother, and constantly yearned for her attention and respect. Sharing a mother had been one of the hardest things the boy had ever done, and even now he was still territorial. Only now, it appeared as though his mother had abandoned him, or, worse, betrayed him with her cruel words!
However, what Hiccup thought and what Valka had meant were two very different things. Instead she had been referring to Eret's teasing nature towards Hiccup and that he should let up, as Hiccup obviously wasn't feeling well.
But Hiccup didn't know that. Instead, he thought what he thought he thought he had heard.
And then Eret opened his mouth to speak. The catalyst for whatever would happen next. "I'll take it, mother." He nodded his head in the direction of the lone uneaten fish.
Eret wasn't planning on eating it, because he had already eaten well enough too much than normal because of Hiccup's challenge. Rather than have it for himself, Eret was planning on giving it to a Deadly Nadder that was about to lay eggs and would surely enjoy the given food.
Hiccup, like he had with his mother's words, took it the wrong way.
Thus, the youngest of the three acted accordingly.
Shrieking like a raging dragon, Hiccup suddenly sprang to his feet before tackling Eret to the ground. The elder boy cried out, more so in in surprise rather than pain, and held up his arms as Hiccup tried to swipe at him.
"It's mine!"
Hiccup kept clawing at the other boy's face from where he straddled Eret's torso, but Eret, now angry, managed to dodge the blows and rolled to his side, knocking Hiccup off of him.
"You only want it because I want it!" Eret snarled in Hiccup's ear as he tried to pin him to the ground.
"I'm a growing boy, I need it more!" Hiccup declared as he eluded Eret's grip by twisting his body about like an eel. He kicked away another oncoming hand.
"You didn't even know what puberty was until I told you!"
"Mother thought it was irrelevant!"
Valka simply watched her two sons wrestle one another from her spot across the fire. Sighing in defeat, the mother just leaned back and waited for the two boys to tire themselves out.
A quick look towards her companion seated beside her revealed that Cloudjumper looked just as befuddled as she felt. Amber orbs flickered back and forth from the two boys to their mother, before he nudged her side with his muzzle as though in inquiry.
"Brothers." Valka said simply, as though that explained everything.
Cloudjumper snorted, puffing out a small cloud of smoke as he curled around his beloved companion, and joined her in watching the two fight.
It seemed that the two were at an impasse. Eret was bigger, stronger and overall the better fighter, but Hiccup was much smaller and squirmed so much that it was impossible to grab him. However, as a minute dragged by, it seemed as though Eret had gained the upper hand when he managed to press his elbow down on Hiccup's chest, keeping the thrashing boy still with his weight.
"Hah!" Eret panted, "Take that, you little pipsqueak! I win. Again."
Victorious, Eret turned his attention to the fish on the fire. Hiccup looked on morosely, face squished against the hard, cold stone. Eret made to grab the treasured food…
…. Only for Toothless to snatch it away from them and gobble it up in one small swallow.
… There was silence and both boys simply stared wide-eyed at the Night Fury, who stared down at them…
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out.
The boy looked thoroughly betrayed as he stared at the dragon with large, tearful eyes.
The Night Fury mewled at the sad look on his best friend's face, and his neck began to bulge and convulse. The dragon then spat out half of the fish, specifically its head, right before the two males.
Eret and Hiccup looked down at the fish head. Both couldn't help but notice just how slimly it looked when covered in dragon saliva.
And were those edges already half-way digested?
Instantly, the boys felt their stomachs protest at such a sight. It also probably didn't help that both were already feeling nauseous from strenuous overeating.
"Urgh, that's disgusting!" Eret declared with a wrinkled nose.
Even Hiccup looked ill despite his dragon-centered upbringing.
Toothless, unaware of their disgust, just nudged the fish head closer with his nose. The two got a strong whiff of the smell: an unholy mixture of half-digested food, stomach bile and dragon saliva.
"Argh!"
"Urgh!"
The play fight between them was now long forgotten as the two untangled their limbs and dashed away in the tunnels, clutching their burning stomachs.
Sighing, Valka just shook her head at their receding figures. "Boys…" she mumbled under her breath.