Whoops! Whoops! I have mock exams guys! ... Yeah, I know you know that I haven't been studying nearly as much as I should. Life of a freshman sure is hard... Whatevs. Sorry, I don't actually count fanfiction as my life's top priority. Sociology still beats all :)
But-! The mock exam is next Tuesday, so I should finish this stupid story by...the end of the year! How's that sound?! No? F U, IDK!
The next morning was filled with dread for Hiccup. Even as she and Toothless flew, her thoughts were on the Nightmare the village - her father! - expected her to slaughter.
"Toothless," she spoke with an unnaturally serious tone. They were descending, meaning it was almost time for the final exam.
Toothless lifted an ear and crooned when she didn't continue immediately.
"Right, erm... I've gotta keep the saddle on you."
He cocked his head. 'Why, you never do that.'
"I just- Just to be sure. Not everyone likes dragons."
He lowered his ears, growling. 'The boy!?"
"Nono, it wasn't Asher! I just- It's complicated..."
So she left the saddle on his back, and hugged him. "See you later bud," she said, waving and exiting the cove. Hopefully.
Toothless didn't seem too concerned, so she let herself relax as well. No doubt, Toothless would be asleep when she came back to give him the good news. When, not if. She couldn't risk an if.
It was anticlimactic to her. Walking to her house and putting on her helmet, only to go back out and walk to the ring. It should have taken longer, and it should have been dreadful. Instead, she saw her father grin almost all day, Gobber sang, everyone she passed congratulated her and everything in general emitted a cheerful feeling.
Once she was just behind the barred entrance of the arena, she felt the expected dread arrive. Asher walked up to her, careful to keep the mournful atmosphere as it was. Hiccup suddenly missed that morning, when she was nonchalantly speaking to Toothless, joking as if the exam wasn't frightening her to her core.
She sighed.
Stoick spoke.
"Well, I can finally show my face again!" The crowd found that hilarious. "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well, Hiccup to placing first in dragon training? Well, I would have tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear that he'd gone mad! Yes, and you know it!"
That didn't help Hiccup's shriveled ego, but it caused her more guilt than before. Today, they'd all know. She hadn't gone from Hiccup to placing first. She'd gone from Hiccup to Insane Hiccup, dragon rider.
"But here we are, and no one is more surprised...or more proud than I. Today, my daughter becomes a Viking. She becomes one of us!" The crowd uproared and Hiccup had to look away.
He continues his speech, and Hiccup turns around to finally greet Asher. She offered a grimace.
"Careful with that dragon," he said.
Hiccup scoffed and glanced at the tribe again. "It's not the dragon I'm worried about..."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm ending this," Hiccup kept herself firm. The helmet slid forward slightly, disgracing her statement. She pushed it back, glaring at the encumbrance from below.
Asher gave her an amused, albeit small, smile. But just as swiftly, it turned into a frown. He was doubting her.
"I have to try, Asher," she paused, remembering that morning. She'd left Toothless with the saddle on, hoping she wouldn't have to come back to him in a hurry to run away, but realistic enough to know that would probably happen. What if she couldn't come back at all?
"Asher, if something happens to me, just promise me...promise you'll take care of Toothless."
For a moment, she din't think he'd agree, but the hesitation was short. "Okay, but...promise me nothing will go wrong." He looked her in the eye, a spark that hinted he cared.
Hiccup couldn't lie to him like that. She was about to speak, to say she couldn't promise something when she knew keeping it wasn't in her hands.
Gobber's hand pulled her back and turned her over. She faced the arena.
"It's time Hiccup. Knock 'em dead!"
Who? She wanted to ask, if only to give one last sardonic joke before facing a Nightmare.
She looked up to find her father looking at her, pride clear in his eyes. He nodded encouragingly and she offered no smile.
Now that she thought about it, Nightmares were pretty big. The caught on fire and definitely went for the kill, based on her experience.
The small dagger she chose started to dig into her hand, just a bit. Only enough to leave a red mark, and hopefully no blood.
Deep breath. "I'm ready..."
A Nightmare had almost killed her... If that weapon hadn't come out of nowhere that morning-
The gate opened, and the biggest dragon she'd seen yet cam out, craving freedom and a meal like a wild animal.
The helmet sunk again, but she kept it up, unwilling to look away from the dragon. She was terrified of it, but it was a dragon! As far as she knew, dragons were better companions than Viking ever were.
It scaled the walls, firing at random before its eyes finally found her.
There's a sudden silence, in which Hiccup knew every single Viking was hoping for her to do her magic and take out a Nightmare. That was definitely not happening. How was a hiccup to take down a dragon?
The silence unnerves her, but the point is to calm the Monstrous Nightmare down. She had to stay calm and time her movement as well.
The shield and dagger fall from her hands, one at a time, but their sounds coexisted for a single second before silencing.
Murmurs began. She'd "taken down" dragons without weapons before. Some were excited, others doubtful.
The Nightmare eyed her curiously, displaying the same amount of intelligence Hiccup had seen in Toothless since day 1. She extends a hand, slowly, but it never fails to alert the dragon in front of her. Only this time, the dragon was big, red and probably hungry.
Toothless had been hungry too.
Hiccup reassured herself with that and took a slow deep breath. "It's okay," she whispers to him, "It's fine."
The dragon eyes her dubiously. 'All Vikings harm dragons,' it leered at her, glaring at a point above her head.
Of course. Her helmet. The only proof she had to her Viking heritage. (She wonders for a second if Toothless knows she's a Viking. She must've mentioned it at least once in the past two weeks, right?)
Dragons wouldn't trust Vikings, just as Vikings didn't trust dragons. Even Asher didn't trust Toothless, she knew.
"I'm not one of them," she trumpets, finally taking off the helmet. It dropped to the floor, clattering loudly and echoing for longer than the shield and dagger had.
Gasps. Murmurs. They were all perplexed, but they were keeping quiet, just as Hiccup needed. She neared the dragon. He was calmer now, still alert, but willing to hear her out. A ceasefire.
"Stop the fight," he father's loud voice spoke, alerting only her.
"No," she yelled, still eyeing the dragon. "I need you to see this. All of you. They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."
Her hand neared it's snout. It was warm, almost hot, which should probably be expected from a dragon that set itself on fire daily.
"I said 'STOP THE FIGHT'!"
PAANGG-G-g-g-g-gg!
It was all it took. One second, her hand was inches away from the Monstrous Nightmare's snout, the other, she was snatching it back before it was bit off. They looked each other in the eye for less than a second before she ran.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" She was being chased by a Nightmare. Again. She would never admit to it, but that dragon had been in more nightmares than she'd care for these past two weeks, and one of them started exactly like this.
"Hiccup!" Asher yelled. She turns to glance at him, narrowly avoiding a blast.
Searching for cover, Hiccup runs behind the weapon's rack. It's blasted away in seconds, dropping weapons everywhere, melting others.
The Nightmare almost catches her until a hammer comes in, striking it in the neck and granting Hiccup a temporary egress.
"This way!" Stoick's voice cuts through them and they both begin to run to him. He's holding up a gate, waving a hand for them to take the exit. Asher slides through.
Hiccup almost makes it, but red hot lava appears out of nowhere, burning the path in front of her and cutting her off. She turns immediately and runs.
"Aaah!" Hiccup yelps. The Nightmare catches her and slams her underneath it, slicing her shoulder and barely skimming her throat.
Hiccup was terrified. She looked up at the Nightmare's eyes, but they're clouded with fear and anger. The Nightmare would have no qualms killing her. As a matter of fact, it was going to in a matter of seconds.
Hiccup felt she should have seen this coming. She should have, actually. But she hadn't, so knowing she was going to die by the hands of the creature she was trying to protect was all the more gut-wrenching.
FFFWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOUUSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH
"Night Fury! Get down!"
Hiccup automatically flinches and closes her eyes as the cage surrounding the ring is blasted open and smoke covers the area momentarily. Before she knows it, the Nightmare is no longer on her and Toothless is right in front of her.
He pounces, fighting the Nightmare with scorn. They roar and claw at each other, going for throats and trying to kill each other. It's so fast, Hiccup can barely focus on the black blur that is Toothless.
The Nightmare yields first. It walks away with a slight limp, growling irritatedly.
And then the Vikings are upon them.
Hiccup doesn't take the time to thank her best friend for saving her life. She runs towrds him and commences to push. "Okay Toothless, that's enough. Go! Get out of here!"
They close in, all with weapons at hand and scowls on their faces.
They were going to kill Toothless, and it was all her fault! "Go! Come on, Toothless, just leave. Please!" She pushes away and he moves. For a second, she hopes he finally got the idea, but it's all thrown into a ditch when he sweeps his tail across the floor, taking down three Vikings at once.
"Night Fury!"
"Take it alive!"
"Go go!" She yells now.
"Stoick, no," she hears Asher yell, sounding panicked and completely unlike himself. Hiccup turns automatically, and sees her father wielding an ax and stalking towards the dragon.
"Dad, no! He won't hurt you!"
Her father doesn't pause for a second, brooding menacingly and glaring at Toothless. The Vikings clear way for the chief, letting Stoick through in no time.
"No, stop! You're only making it worse," she yells.
Stoick pounces. Hiccup screams, horrified by the image of her father and best friend fighting each other. Similarly to the Nightmare and Toothless; They were going for the kill.
"Stop! No, dad! He won't- Toothless don't! Stop!" She yells fruitlessly, struggling to choose who to yell at. Neither stop to listen to her.
It should have been obvious to them that the Night Fury ended on top, beating even Stoick the Vast. She hadn't wanted to see the end of this fight, though. She'd wanted to be able to live with Toothless, happy and together and not lying.
Toothless took a familiar pause, vibrating slightly as blue gathered in his mouth, ready to fire.
Her dad... No, not her father, not her-
"Nooo!"
Finally, Toothless pauses. He glances at her, confused. Why not kill a Viking? Vikings are bad.
Because she was one? Because they all were. Because the Viking underneath him was her father. Because everyone in this village, whether they accepted it or not, was her family? There wasn't one answer, but there was a solution.
She hesitated, opening her mouth to explain. Before she can say anything, a pair of arms grabs Toothless by the neck and slams him unto the ground, followed by various Vikings dog piling to keep him pinned. It takes many to do so.
"No!" Hiccup starts running, but another pair of arms - much thinner, but just as strong - grabs her and restrains her. "No! Please- just- just don't hurt him! Please don't hurt him!" She feels herself shake, and lets out another anguished cry as more villagers come to help tame the Night Fury.
Idiots. Even she couldn't do that. They had to befriend him, not kill, no. Toothless wasn't gonna die!
Hiccup fought harder against Asher, flinging herself forward. It was useless. Like her. Eventually, time passed and she numbed. The loud noise, the cries of both war and pain lessened and it was suddenly very quiet.
Her arm hurt. It took her a moment to realize why. Stoick had grabbed her and was currently dragging her away from the ring. She turned back to see Asher glancing from her to Toothless.
She was going to kill him if he left Toothless alone with those- those Vikings!
Wisely, he stayed, throwing her one last glance, full of pain, distress and apology.
Stoick led her to the mead hall, where he flung her inside and shut the doors. They just bounced open again.
"I should have known," he muttered, begining to pace, "I should have seen the signs!"
"Dad."
"We had a deal!"
"I know! We did, but that was before- ugh! This is so messed up," Hiccup grabbed her bangs, wishing the pain would wake her up or...do something! No. Toothless was going to die and she was going to be exiled or killed and her father was so mad!
"So everything in the ring; a trick! A lie!?"
"I screwed up. I wanted to tell you before- but take it out on me! Please don't take it out on Toothless!"
"The dragon!? That's what you care about? Not the people you almost killed!?"
"He was protecting me! He's not dangerous-"
"They've killed hundreds of us-"
"And we've killed thousands of them! They're not dangerous, they just defend themselves! They raid us because they have to. If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's something on their island, dad. It's like-"
"Island? You've been to their nest?"
He father approached her, and she'd never been more terrified on her life. Not when the Nightmare had chased her, neither the first nor the second. Not when she'd first met Toothless or when Dagur came over.
"Nest? Did I say nest-?"
"How did you find it!" The chief growled at her, and she could not recall a day in her childhood where she'd been growled at by him without being at least a few yards away.
"I didn't find it," she squealed, hoping to calm down the man in front of her, "Toothless did. Only a dragon can find it."
A glint passed through Stoick's and Hiccup knew she'd made a terrible mistake. What had she said? 'Toothless did. Only a dragon-'
"No! Oh, no no. Dad, don't-" He walked away, ignoring her cries. "Dad. It's not what you think. You've never faced anything like it. I can promise you won't survive this!"
He was almost to the door, and she knew it was probably useless. (Like her) But more than Toothless was in danger. All the Vikings, her father, best friend-
The despair grew inside her, and she clung to it to yell out the one frustration that had been bothering her since she was eight. She grabbed his arm and yelled.
"Dad. No! For once in your life would you please just listen to me!"
One second she was hanging on to his arm, grasping with all her strength. The next she was on the ground, slammed against her side.
She looked up at Stoick, eyes wide and perplexed.
Her dad had never hurt her before. Never raised a hand or pushed her away (in the physical sense, that is).
But how was this her dad? It wasn't. This was Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk. Chief first, father second. She should've known (she already knew!) but it hurt.
The chief walked away, slamming the door again. Darkness flooded the room, leaving Hiccup startled on the ground. Alone.
She'd stopped realizing how alone she was with Toothless around until then. Hiccup wanted to cry.
Toothless lay asleep, content with life as it was. Hiccup was nice and safe, ready to face another dragon in her 'training' no doubt. Asher was apparently a good enough guy, who meant no real harm (anymore, anyway). He could hear the cheering Vikings from all the way over here! All for Hiccup.
Hopefully, that would get her back on track. She was special, she should know.
The cheering became a quiet whisper that eventually faded. Hiccup must have beat the dragon already. She'd be arriving soon.
Toothless smiled to himself, shifting to accommodate for when Hiccup came to ride him. The saddle on top of him was taking the sun's heat away from him, but was warm by itself, so it caused him no discomfort.
A loud sound of two metal objects colliding broke the silence in the area Hiccup was in. Toothless ignored it for a second until the scream of a familiar voice broke through the air, causing his heart to spike.
'STOP THE FIGHT!'
PAANGG-G-g-g-g-gg!
'AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!'
"Hiccup?" He asked himself, still drowsy. Hiccup was still battling the dragon then... Hiccup was still- HICCUP!
Toothless rose immediately, ears twitching with every noise that managed to make it's way from wherever Hiccup was to the cove. "Hiccup!"
For a moment, he forgot the reason he'd stayed in the cove in the first place. It didn't matter in the end. He jumped up the cove wall and climbed.
His footing was lost various times, the same way it had been when he'd first gotten stuck, but this was Hiccup at risk! He couldn't lose her.
"Come on!" His paw reached the top of the cove for the first time. He wasn't going to let it go to waste, so he dug his claws into the ground and jumped.
Running had never been his thing, and he could see why it was so unappealing. The racing heart, terror seeping through his veins and fear of not reaching his destination on time.
A crash resounds and the sound of many object falling reaches his ears. The crowd is panicking. The noises getting louder. Hiccup's loud steps and cries for help increasing in volume.
He growled, speeding up the process with a jump. It seemed to work, and so he arrived at Hiccup's village in no time. It took too long.
'Aaah!'
Toothless took one last jump and lifted his wings. There was one last obstacle to shoot down, so he blasted it and swooped in.
Hiccup was under his claws, that wretched son of a leech! Toothless struck the dragon in the side, not wasting a second to go for the throat. They brawled fiercely, but the other was no match for him.
"And stay away from her," he growled as the enemy limped away.
"It looks disgusting anyway," the other commented. Toothless snarled for good measure.
Hiccup was immediately at his side, pushing him away and trying to convince him of leaving.
Silly. They were still surrounded. By Vikings no less.
Toothless took no heed to Hiccup's senseless talk, instead retalliating against the Vikings' useless attacks. He had to protect her. They had to get away, but first he had to clear the Vikings. Should they take the annoying brat, Asher?
It wasn't until the biggest Viking of all, clearly the Alpha, appeared that Toothless halted his thoughts about leaving the wretched island.
The Viking went after him, and Toothless didn't hesitate to attack. This one was stronger, but nothing the dragon couldn't take on. It wasn't long before Toothless finally had the Viking Alpha pinned underneath his body. The ruthless alpha struggled, refusing to go down without a fight.
Toothless almost felt smug, opening his mouth wide for one of his strongest blasts. This would teach it to mess with Hiccup.
A small familiar voice that had mostly been background so far cried out in distress, making the dragon pause. "No!"
Toothless recognized Hiccup's voice, and didn't like how anguished it sounded. Did she not want the alpha Viking dead? Was she supporting Viking? Why...why would his human...
Toothless had almost no time to ponder over the sudden betrayal, for a Viking - those damn beings - had taken his pause as an opportunity to take him down. He struggled, of course. Hiccup was still there, being held back by...the Asher fellow! What was going on!?
Why!?
Toothless' struggles were feeble under the mass of Vikings, and he was eventually caged. By that time, the alpha Viking had already taken Hiccup away. Toothless tried to get away, nonetheless.
Then he saw the traitor. Asher made his appearance as the other Vikings left. He was one of them, so he had no other choice but to growl.
Asher looked guilty under the angry scrutiny. He looked Toothless in the eye, shifting uncomfortably but letting his own displeasure be known. Toothless felt no pity for the Viking.
'Her father took her,' he finally said, glancing to the side. Toothless paused.
Father?
'That's gotta be really harsh, for both of them. Him finding out her daughter's been training a dragon. A Night Fury, of all dragons. And now Hiccup's gotta face her father's wrath. Makes you wonder what it's like to be the daughter of Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, huh?'
The boy was making absolutely no sense.
All of those sentences would imply Hiccup was the daughter of the alpha. That would imply that the alpha chief had taken his daughter away, not just Hiccup. He'd taken his daughter, Hiccup. Hiccup, the daughter of a Viking. Hiccup the Viking.
It should have made sense. What else would a human be doing on an island governed by Vikings? Toothless figured he should have known, and maybe he had. Subconsciously, maybe he'd always known Hiccup was a Viking.
Bits and pieces of conversations Hiccup had held should have hinted at this. Toothless chose to ignore them.
So...Hiccup was a Viking. Toothless forgot about Asher and let the fellow take his leave, processing the unintentional news.
Toothless and Hiccup. Hiccup and Toothless. Dragon and Rider, Rider and Dragon. The girl and the dragon. The Viking and the Night Fury.
Somehow, the words still fit together perfectly.
Toothless moaned. "Hiccup..." He still wanted to see her.
And, the next chapter was the end of my two day miracle. After that, I just gave and decided I'd write the ending later. Later is still yet to come...So, anyone listened to 'Welcome to Night Vale' lately? Best friggin thing evaaaaaahhhh! But Carlos is a jackass and I love cecilos but totally despise Carlos. Friggin liar...professor...mutter mutter...scientist...mutter...sonova...mutter...mtter...Cecil should break up...muttergrowl...BARK! Cecil will be mine, goddammit! I love his voice, why must you be gayyyyyy!
Nev mind, wrong fandom. So, chapter name? It's all ogre now! No, okay, no...
Chappie name: Chappie! I wanna see that mo- fffuuuuuuuuu!
Okay, bye. I'll come up with it later...
SeeyaIguess...
