Merry Christmas! I hope you are all having happy, safe holidays.

Here comes another re-telling of the first movie. This time, however, it's from the humans' point of view, so it'll be slightly different than the one Toothless shared in Of the Night. You could theoretically skip reading this chapter, but why not just go ahead and read it to refresh your memories of basically one of the best movies ever? There's also some stuff at the end that I'd recommend checking out.

This chapter is rather long, so thanks for your patience, friends.


"There was once a boy named Hiccup. Hiccup was named so because of his size. You see, his people were Vikings, massive men and sturdy women, all capable warriors. But Hiccup was small, and weak, compared to the other Vikings, even the Vikings his age. He couldn't lift a hammer, he couldn't swing an axe, and he couldn't even throw a bola. One thing he could do, though, was think. Apprenticed to the village blacksmith at a young age, Hiccup grew up creating countless devices and contraptions to improve life, as well as accomplish things that he physically could not. The only problem, was that these inventions had a tendency to malfunction, causing chaos and destruction on a regular basis.

"The island they lived on was located near a dragon's nest, surrounded by an impenetrable white mist, which, although they tried and tried and tried again, they could not pass through. So, the Vikings were at the mercy of the dragons' random attacks, and built their lives around the idea and necessity of slaying the monsters. It was during one such dragon raid that Hiccup realized his chance at escaping his unofficial label, Hiccup the Useless, would come if he could slay a dragon himself. So he set to work on building a device that could throw a bola for him, to ensnare a dragon, so that he could finally kill one. But not just any dragon.

"You see, there were a few different types of dragons that regularly attacked the island, each more frightening than the last. The Terrible Terror, the Gronckle, the two-headed Hideous Zippleback, the Deadly Nadder, and of course, the fearsome Monstrous Nightmare. But there was one other dragon, one that no one had ever seen. It never showed itself, it never stole any livestock, and it never missed. Its explosive plasma could destroy an entire catapult with one blast.

"The Vikings had a dragon manual, that classified the different types of dragons and listed their characteristics, not just the ones that frequented the island, but every dragon they had ever encountered. Pages and pages of facts and illustrations, all of the Viking's knowledge about dragons was in that book. Dragons like the Thunderdrum, the Timberjack, the Whispering Death, the Boneknapper… the world was full of these monsters, and the Vikings existed in that world of kill or be killed.

"But the one dragon that no one had ever encountered, the one that caused such intense and impressive destruction, well, that was the dragon Hiccup planned to slay. 'Speed: unknown. Size: unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself…' I think you know where I'm going with this… 'Never engage this dragon. Your only chance is to hide, and pray it does not find you.' Those were the only words written in the book about the dark, mysterious, legendary Night Fury."

Aeri waited as the crowd's murmurs died down. "Hiccup knew that if he could be the first to bring down such a creature, he would no longer be useless to his people, no longer worthless to his father. For you see, that was the defining shame of his life: Hiccup's father was the Chief of the tribe, a mountain of a man who had taken on dragons bare-handed from his childhood. His hatred of the dragons was infectious, and under his command countless ships sailed from the island to try and get through the mist surrounding the dragons' nest. Hiccup was sick of being the embarrassing only child of such a great and powerful Chief. He was tired of being the disaster, the accident waiting to happen…" she trailed off, trying to fight off memories of the last time she spoke to her parents.

"So, Hiccup designed his own bola launcher. His chance came one night, when the dragons attacked. Instead of staying inside as he was ordered, he ran to the forge, where the blacksmith, Gobber, was working on repairing the bent, burnt, and mostly destroyed weapons that the Vikings were tossing in his direction as they fought off the raiding dragons. Hiccup, as his apprentice, assisted him in this, barely able to lift the Vikings' massive swords to the grindstone. When Gobber left to join the fray, Hiccup once again disobeyed orders, and took his bola launcher out to the edge of a cliff, a short distance from the village…" Aeri told them of how Hiccup waited for his chance, and what happened when he took it.

"He pulled the trigger, falling backwards as the bola flew out into the night, and then— a terrible shriek filled the night as the bola found its target, and Hiccup watched as a dark shape plummeted towards the forest on the other side of the island. In disbelief, Hiccup stood up and cheered, hoping that someone, anyone had witnessed his triumph. The only one around happened to be a Monstrous Nightmare, who proceeded to chase Hiccup back into the village, spewing fire at him and snapping at him with its enormous jaws. Just when it had him cornered, Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, tackled the beast, and barehanded, drove it away. But the damage had been done. The enormous torch the Vikings used to light up the night when the dragons attacked collapsed, sending a giant circle of fire crashing through the village, leaving Hiccup standing in front of his father and a gathering crowd of frustrated Vikings.

"Yet again, Hiccup's actions had proved disastrous. As the sun rose, he was once again scolded by his father in front of the entire village, before being sent back to his house. But without anyone's knowledge, he slipped out the back door, heading out into the forest.

"Now, in my opinion, if you just so happened to shoot down the most terrifying creature known to your people, you probably shouldn't go looking for it alone. But that's what Hiccup did. With a hand-drawn map (Hiccup was also an excellent artist) he scoured the forest, coming up empty-handed. Just when he was about to give up and turn around, he saw a tree that had been broken in half, before a deep trench that disappeared over the top of a small hill. Climbing into the trench, Hiccup followed its path, looking over the hill… and immediately fell back. For there, at the bottom of the hill, was the dragon that no one had ever seen. A creature black as night, with great bat-like wings, its entire body tangled up in the bola.

"It was completely motionless, and so Hiccup approached it slowly, and when it still didn't move, he shouted in triumph, putting his foot up on the creature's shoulder. "This fixes everything! I have brought down this mighty-" The dragon suddenly groaned and shifted, pushing Hiccup back.

"Hiccup quickly pulled out his dagger, and stepped closer once again, listening to the heavy breathing of the beast. Slowly his gaze slid along the length of the dragon, and he peered around the edge of its wing to see a bright green eye staring right at him.

"He mentally steeled himself. He was going to cut out the beast's heart and take it to his father. He was a Viking. He could do this. But looking into the creature's eyes, he saw there something he had never imagined, something that stilled his hand. But the urge to prove himself was too strong, so he raised his dagger, preparing to strike, and the dragon let out a small noise of defeat, closing its eyes and dropping its head to the ground."

The crowd was leaning in, listening with awe. "As Hiccup prepared to bring his blade down, something changed in his heart. He could not kill this dragon. He saw in its eyes not the mind of a vicious killer, but the depth of a living being, with thoughts and feelings and a spirit that reflected his own. He had caused this creature pain enough. So he kneeled down and began slicing through the ropes restraining the dragon, loosening its bonds. Suddenly, it leapt to its feet, shoving Hiccup to the ground. Trapping him with its razor-sharp claws against a rock, it stared him down, as though reminding Hiccup of its power. Hiccup, though certain his death was imminent, was stricken by the dragon's enormous green eyes, so vivid and expressive and angry. It reared back, inhaling, as if to strike, before letting out a wild roar in Hiccup's face and launching itself away, flying through the forest, smashing into trees and rocks. Its cries of pain and confusion echoed through the misty woods, and in shock, Hiccup got to his feet, dagger still in hand. He turned to walk back to the village, when his knees gave out and he collapsed.

"Later that night, he crept through his front door, trying to slip past his enormous father, who was stoking the fire…" she described Hiccup's conversation with Stoick, how despite his protests, Hiccup was forced to promise his father that he would participate in dragon training, before his father left on yet another expedition to reach the dragon's nest. "Miserably, Hiccup watched him leave, wondering just how he was going to fulfill his promise, and more importantly, how he was supposed to survive the next few weeks."


Shade listened to Aeri speak from about block and a half away, hidden in some bushes at the edge of the forest. He assumed she was in the forge, a structure he couldn't see from behind the row of houses down the street. The entire village was gathered around her. This wasn't a short story, not by a long shot. He'd heard it many times, from his father, his mother, Stormfly, Hookfang… come to think of it, a lot of dragons seemed to enjoy retelling it, although Shade was relatively certain most of them hadn't actually been present for the majority of the events, if any of it at all.

But he had never actually heard it told from the human's perspective. And as he listened to Aeri share with these strangers the failures and trials of her father as a teenager, he realized just how incredible the story really was. Hiccup wasn't just anybody, not just a random Viking who had a change of heart. No, as they had all learned, he was his mother's son, full of compassion and wit, with the gift to see the world as it could be, rather than simply what it was. With one lucky shot, he changed his destiny. No longer would he be the disappointing, weak, useless Hiccup. With one lucky shot, he began a journey, an epic tale that would bring out the greatness in him, the greatness that no one on Berk had ever suspected could come from such a scrawny person. With one lucky shot, he changed the fates of humans and dragons everywhere.

Shade listened as she told them of his first, rather disastrous day of training, ending with an angry Meatlug nearly blasting his head off. Of course, Aeri didn't use names, or really even go into the specifics of the dragons.

"Their teacher, Gobber, who also happened to be the blacksmith, if you recall, said this as Hiccup sat in shock in the ground beneath the smoking wall. "Remember, a dragon will always- always go for the kill." But Hiccup knew this wasn't true. The deadliest and most fearsome dragon had not killed him, or even harmed him. But why?"

His rider's voice filtered through the crowd, echoing through the empty streets. "Hiccup returned to the place where he had cut the Night Fury loose. Carefully, he followed its trail… Eventually finding the dragon trapped in a cove in the forest, Hiccup discovered that half of its tailfin was missing, and that it could not fly away."

Shade thought of his father's red tailfin, the one that Hiccup had designed for him. It allowed him to fly on his own, without a rider, granting him any freedom he desired. Without Hiccup, his father would most likely have died, and Shade would never had existed. Come to think of it, without Hiccup's whole "breaking every tradition and belief and expectation ever held for Vikings" thing, Aeri wouldn't be around, either. Or any of the other Night Furies.

"Hiccup's next training session didn't go much better. A maze had been set up in the dragon fighting arena, and he and the other Viking teens were running about, trying not to be killed or maimed by the dragon of the day. Hiccup tried asking Gobber about Night Furies, but the tough blacksmith had nothing to tell him, except to "Get in there!" and train. This time, though, the dragon ended up chasing another recruit, destroying the maze in the process. Her name was Astrid, and she was the most beautiful and most deadly of all the Viking teens. She ended up on top of the maze as it collapsed, and leaping off, she landed directly on top of Hiccup, her battle axe buried deep in his shield. But the dragon had spotted them. Desperately they tried to untangle themselves, until Astrid tore the entire shield off Hiccup's arm with her axe handle and bashed it against the dragon's face just as it came upon them, sending it running off.

"Turning around, she saw Hiccup, curled up on the ground, and her anger overcame her. Hiccup would never forget her speech, as it became a pivotal moment in his life. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" she shouted. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. Figure out which side you're on!" Well, Hiccup had never really been accepted by the Vikings. Only Gobber was ever really nice to him, the only one who seemed to think he was somewhat worthwhile. But Astrid's words got him thinking. Maybe it was time to see things from another side. Maybe it was time to see where he really belonged.

"He returned to the cove with a fish and a shield. The shield quickly became stuck between two rocks, so all Hiccup had left was the fish. Hopefully that would be enough to prevent the dragon from killing him. He quietly stepped into the cove, looking around, but the dragon was nowhere in sight. As he walked along, he heard a noise, and turning, he saw the great black creature climbing over a pile of rocks, sniffing the air.

"Fighting his fear, he held out the fish, and the dragon slowly began to approach, before dropping back in a fearsome snarl. Instinctively, Hiccup reached for his dagger, but that was exactly what the Night Fury was growling about. Slowly Hiccup pulled his knife from his waistband and dropped it on the ground. The dragon gestured for him to kick it away, and he did, picking it up with his foot in a surprising show of dexterity and tossing it into he lake.

"In an instant, the dragon sat back on its haunches, ears forward, pupils wide. Now, I'll just tell you this. When a dragon's pupils are wide, it means several things. Firstly, it means that it is in a relatively good mood. Second, it means that it is receptive to being approached. Third, it can show a level of trust and affection, depending on the relationship you have with the dragon. I bet you didn't know that, because I bet the only interaction you've ever had with a dragon was with a weapon between the two of you." She paused, and Shade picked up the sounds of whispering in the crowd, before someone hushed them loudly.

"Thank you," Aeri said, to whoever had done the shushing. Shade wished he could see the gathering, but knew his hiding spot was as close as he was going to get for now. "Anyways. Its pupils were wide, which somehow made it look infinitely less frightening. Uneasily, Hiccup held out the fish once again, and slowly the dragon approached, opening its mouth wide, revealing pink gums. Hiccup peered closer, confused. "Toothless? I could have sworn you had-" without warning razor-sharp teeth appeared in its mouth and it snatched the fish out of his hands, swallowing it in one bite. "- teeth." Hiccup finished with a gulp."

Aeri told them of the dragons' ritual of regurgitating a fish in gratitude or in companionship ("I know, I know, it's gross, but in order to not risk offending the dragon, he had to take a bite.") "Then, when Hiccup smiled, to prove that he had indeed swallowed the fish, the dragon did something that no one could have ever expected. Its face twisted into a strange grimace, to Hiccup's concern, before one corner of its mouth stretched open, followed by the other side. The dragon was smiling, a toothless impersonation of a human gesture."

She spoke of Hiccup's experience of drawing with the dragon, how the strange patterns it drew in the dirt led Hiccup on a strange sort of dance that ended with his back almost touching the creature's chest. The moment they bonded. When Hiccup realized that if his newfound friend couldn't fly, he couldn't get away. 'A downed dragon is a dead dragon.' "Hiccup knew in his heart that he would never let anything harm that dragon if he had anything to do with it, so he did what no one else could, or even would if they knew the truth. He constructed a prosthetic tailfin for the dragon, who he called Toothless, and so began their attempts to return him to the sky."

Vahna stood in the crowd, flanked by Asti and Alkaa. She listened closely as Rádgatá shared the story of her father. All the mishaps along the way to real flight, from the first jump to falling from the sky. Hiccup's learning of so many dragon secrets that allowed him to mysteriously do exceedingly well in his training. When Hiccup's father returned and found out his son was succeeding miraculously in dragon training, and gave him his very own helmet ("breast hat" as Rádgatá so eloquently put it.)

"Then came the final day of training, to determine which recruit would come in first. It was Hiccup against Astrid, who had become increasingly frustrated with Hiccup's magical ability to control dragons in the ring. She told him in no uncertain terms to stay out of her way. She was winning this thing. The two were in the ring, before a crowd of excited onlookers. Even as Astrid prepared herself to strike, the dragon had found Hiccup, who was forced to use one of his tricks to knock it out, rather than harm it. The elder decided: it would not be Astrid, the most capable warrior of her age. It would be Hiccup, the weakling, the screw-up. He would be the one to go on to take the final exam, something he dreaded with all his heart. For the recruit who did best in training earned the (dubious) honor of killing his (or her) first dragon in front of the entire village.

"Needless to say, that wasn't an option in Hiccup's mind. So he packed up a basket and headed to the cove as the sun started to set. He called out to the dragon, kneeling next to a large rock to check his supplies. But instead of Toothless, when he stood up, he saw Astrid sitting before him on the rock, sharpening her axe. Something had boiled over in her, and she was determined to learn Hiccup's secret. For she knew he had one. No one got as good as he did, especially him.

"She confronted him, setting in motion a series of events that would change Hiccup's life forever. After seeing and nearly being mauled by Toothless, she ran, forcing Hiccup and Toothless to essentially kidnap her to try and change her mind. Toothless, with his usual mischievousness, performed a series of intense and purposefully terrifying maneuvers, flying up high before diving straight down into the ocean, as though trying to shake her off. Finally, as they spun almost uncontrollably from the sky, Astrid broke. She apologized, profusely, begging Hiccup to let her off.

"As if he had been waiting for those words, Toothless suddenly leveled out, soaring smoothly through the sky. Astrid opened her eyes to see the beauty of the setting sun, and was filled with awe. Toothless flew higher, taking them through the clouds, before emerging in the night, lit by the full moon. They flew out over the island, seeing the tiny lights glimmering far below them.

"Something changed in Astrid's heart, then. Hiccup wasn't a useless weakling. He had trained a Night Fury, and introduced her to a world she never knew existed, seeing her life from above. Nothing would ever be the same. But the evening wasn't over. She was asking Hiccup what he was going to do about his final exam when suddenly, a strange noise filled the air, and Toothless dove into a bank of fog. Confused, Hiccup asked him what was wrong, but the dragon only shook his head. Out of nowhere, a Monstrous Nightmare appeared, carrying an enormous fish in its claws. Hiccup and Astrid ducked low onto Toothless's back, as the dense fog suddenly seemed to fill up with hundreds of dragons, all apparently hauling in their kill.

"As you can imagine, that was not reassuring to the two humans. The horde of dragons dodged enormous sea stacks looming in the fog, before a strange red glow appeared in the mist. Then, the source of the light was revealed: It was the dragons' nest.

"The dragons all flew in through a crack in the mountainside, emerging into a massive cavern filled with more mist. All of the dragons dropped their kill into that mist, a seemingly bottomless pit. Toothless flew them up high and hid them behind a rock column, and the three of them peered out at the glowing pit nervously. Finally, one last dragon flew in and dropped a small fish into the hole, seemingly pleased with itself. A tremendous growl filled the cavern, and from the depths of the pit an enormous head suddenly rose, its jaws closing around the lone dragon. Hiccup and Astrid looked on in horror as the immense creature began sniffing the air, as if it sensed their presence. Without warning, it lunged, and Toothless barely got out of the way in time to escape its teeth. Every dragon in the nest took off, spiraling out of the top of the mountain in a loud cacophony of shrieks and roars as the great beast rose farther out of the mist of the pit, attempting to catch Toothless with the humans on his back. They escaped, and after the shock wore off, Hiccup and Astrid realized what they had just seen. The nest was like a beehive. All of the dragons were the workers, and the enormous monster in the cavern was their queen. It controlled them."

Murmuring filled the crowd as the implications of what Rádgatá said were realized. Haku was stunned. Were the dragons that attacked Heimme also under the control of a Queen? Could the nightmare possibly end? But Rádgatá wasn't finished.

"Once Toothless had landed back in the cove, Astrid leapt off his back. "We have to tell your dad!" But Hiccup knew that he couldn't tell his father of the nest, not yet. The Vikings would surely kill Toothless if they knew of his presence on their island. "We have to think this through, carefully," he told her. This irked Astrid. "We just discovered the dragons' nest, the thing Vikings have been after since they first sailed here, and you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?" He was. All of the outrage left Astrid, and she sounded almost as helpless as Hiccup felt. "Then what do we do?" Hiccup's final exam was the next day, after all. "Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out." Then she punched him, then shocked him by kissing him on the cheek. Seeming almost as surprised as he was, she ran off into the night, leaving a pleasantly stunned Hiccup in the cove with a curious looking Toothless.

"The next day, the entire village gathered around the arena to watch Hiccup slay his first dragon. His father, the Chief, gave a short speech as Hiccup waited in the hall leading to the gate that opened to the ring, the enormous caged space where Hiccup had applied his newfound knowledge of dragons so many times. Now, it was meant to serve an entirely different purpose, one that Hiccup had no intention of fulfilling. Stoick joked around a bit, referring to Hiccup's past tendencies to wreak havoc. "But no one is more surprised- or more proud- than I am," he finished, his voice echoing in the hallway. Hiccup was in physical discomfort from what he was about to do, his heart filled with turmoil."

The entire village was silent with fearful anticipation as Rádgatá spoke. Haku realized that at some point during her story, dragons no longer seemed like the enemy. They were more misunderstood than anything else, like the boy in her story, he supposed, thinking of the time he'd spent with Rádgatá's black dragon in the forest that morning. He was clearly a fearsome creature, but with a gentler, more peaceful side, not to mention his obvious sense of humor. Were all dragons like that? With personalities of their own, with their own thoughts and perspectives on the world? Haku shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts to listen as Rádgatá continued her story.

"Astrid walked down to stand near him. "Be careful with that dragon." Looking through the bars at his father sitting in the Chief's ceremonial seat, Hiccup replied, "It's not the dragon that I'm worried about." Deeply concerned, she asked, "What are you going to do?" "Put an end to this. I have to try," he said, pained. "Astrid, if something… goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless." For once revealing her true feelings, Astrid couldn't help but say more. "I will. Just promise me it won't go wrong." But Hiccup couldn't promise her that, and before he could reply, Gobber, the blacksmith and trainer, approached. "It's time, Hiccup. Knock him dead." Grimly, Hiccup entered the ring as the gate opened, placing his helmet on his head and pulling a shield and small dagger off of the weapon rack in the center of the caged space.

"Determined, Hiccup announced just loudly enough to be heard, "I'm ready," facing a large, bolted door. Slowly the heavy lock creaked open, and from the depths of its pen a Monstrous Nightmare burst forth, its entire body coated in flames. Furiously it tore around the arena, crawling upside down on the bars and chains making up the top of the cage and blasting fire at the crowd of Vikings, who barely got out of the way in time. Finally it made its way back to the center of the ring and lowered itself back to the ground, the fire on its hide gradually fading as it approached Hiccup, eyeing the boy's dagger and shield. A hush fell over the crowd in anticipation of the coming fight, but instead of raising his blade against the enormous creature, Hiccup deliberately cast aside his weapon, dropping it and his shield to the side. Curious, the Monstrous Nightmare paused, even as the Viking crowd burst into fervent whispers, and Stoick the Vast leaned forward. "What is he doing?" The Nightmare crept closer, eyeing Hiccup's helmet. "It's okay, it's okay…" he soothed it, before removing his helmet and locking eyes with his father. "I'm not one of them." He tossed his helmet to the ground, and with an echoing clang, he renounced his place in the tribe.

"Shocked, many of the Vikings gasped, wondering what in the world had gotten into the boy. As the Nightmare looked at Hiccup with newfound interest, the crowd turned to look at their Chief. Anger rising, Stoick said, "Stop the fight." Hiccup wouldn't have it, though. "No! I need you all to see this." The Vikings' restlessness built, as he continued, the dragon's pupils widening as it slowly inched closer to Hiccup's outstretched hand. "They're not what we think they are," he said firmly, doing his best to keep the Nightmare calm. "We don't have to kill them." Exploding with fury, Stoick leapt from his seat and brought his hammer down on the bars of the cage, denting them with a loud bang, shouting, "I said, STOP THE FIGHT!"

"Startled, the Nightmare's pupils turned back to slits and it snapped at Hiccup's arm, the spell broken. Hiccup leapt back with a shout, and ran as the dragon breathed fire after him. He ran to the weapon rack for a shield but the dragon was almost upon him, and it smashed the rack underfoot. Panicking, Astrid wedged an axe under the gate and squeezed through the opening, grabbing a large hammer from the weapon rack and hurling it at the Nightmare's head, causing it to turn and chase her instead. Stoick pushed through the crowd, running to the gate to the arena and throwing it open with one hand, doing the same to the inner gate. "This way!" he shouted, and Astrid ran to him, making it to the hallway. Hiccup followed, but before he could reach them, the Nightmare sprayed the doorway with a stream of molten fire, and he fell back as the dragon pounced on him, trapping him in its enormous claws. Without warning an intensely familiar whistle built, and before anyone could react the side of the arena cage exploded open and a black blur flew through the hole into the rising smoke.

"Later, Hiccup would wonder how Toothless could have possibly escaped the cove and found his way to the arena, but in the moment he was just stunned that his dragon had come to fight for him. The Nightmare was pulled off of him and out of the smoky cloud as the smaller black dragon clung to its back, clawing and biting. The Vikings were treated to their first glimpse of a Night Fury as Toothless fought to protect Hiccup. The Nightmare threw Toothless onto his back and attempted to attack him while he was vulnerable, but the Night Fury just kicked him away, leaping to his feet and getting between the angry Nightmare and Hiccup, roaring in warning, warding the other dragon away from his human. Finally, the Nightmare turned and darted away in defeat, and Hiccup ran to Toothless, who looked defiant as the Vikings began dropping down into the arena, weapons drawn as they rushed to attack. "Go!" he shouted at the Night Fury, who refused to leave his side.

"Stoick raised his hammer and charged towards Toothless, who jumped into action, knocking several Vikings away effortlessly as he focused on the human Chief running at him. He pounced on Hiccup's father, sending them tumbling end over end. "Toothless! Stop!" Hiccup shouted as the Night Fury pinned the enormous Viking, leaning back and inhaling, the familiar hiss of gas building in his throat reaching everyone's ears. "NO!" Hiccup cried, and confused, Toothless closed his mouth, looking back at his rider with some confusion. In an instant, the Vikings rushed him, hauling Toothless off of Stoick and piling on him to pin him to the ground. Astrid had to hold Hiccup back as he fought to reach his dragon, desperate to keep them from hurting his best friend. Stumbling to his feet, his father was handed an axe by another Viking, but after making eye contact with the trapped Night Fury, he shoved it back at the other man, shouting, "Put it with the others!" Then his enraged gaze landed on Hiccup."

The people of Heimme were stunned. It was almost too much to take in, but Rádgatá still wasn't finished. The worst was yet to come.

"Stoick hauled Hiccup up and shoved him into the darkened Great Hall, sending him stumbling forward. Hiccup would never forget the following conversation, which escalated quickly. "He was just protecting me! He's not dangerous!" Hiccup cried. "They've killed hundreds of us!" his father leaned in, face dark with rage. "And we've killed thousands of them!" Hiccup yelled back with equal intensity. "They defend themselves, that's all!" he tried to explain as his father resumed his pacing. "They raid us because they have to. If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's something else on their island, Dad, it's a dragon like-"

"His father cut him off with a fearsome expression. "Their island? So you've been to the nest," he whispered harshly. Hiccup realized he had said too much. "How did you find it?!" Stoick demanded. "No… I didn't, Toothless did, only a dragon can find it…" His father's angry glare transformed into a frightening expression of dawning realization. Hiccup immediately understood, and tried to stop his enormous father as he turned and began striding from the hall. "No, no Dad, please, no!" he cried, panicking. "Dad, it's not what you think. You don't know what you're up against! It's like nothing you've ever seen!" He grabbed his father's giant arm, trying to stop him. "Dad, please, I promise you that you can't win this one!" Stoick didn't respond as he walked. "No, Dad, no. For once in your life, would you please just listen to me?!" His father shoved him away with one motion of his arm, sending him tumbling to the ground. Hiccup stared up at Stoick's silhouette in the doorway, the moment burning into his mind. "You've thrown your lot in with them," the angry Chief said icily. "You're not a Viking… you're not my son." With that he turned and shoved his way through the gigantic hall doors, his voice echoing across the village as he called out for the Vikings to ready the ships."

Aeri looked out at all of the faces watching her so intensely, and a funny feeling spread through her chest. She had managed to distance herself from the fact that this was the story of her father, but still it was strange that it had managed to captivate so many who were so vehemently opposed to the notion of not fighting dragons. Well, there was one more dragon fight to be had, but the sun was setting, and she wanted to get back to Shade.

Stretching her arms out and rolling her shoulders, she pushed away from where she was leaning against the counter, glancing back at Haku's and Vasara's wide eyed faces before turning to look at the crowd. The whole village must be out here, she thought. "I think that's a good stopping point for today, don't you?"

Immediately the villagers burst out into protests.

"No!"

"You have to finish the story!"

"You can't just leave us hanging!"

She held up one hand and everyone quieted. "I'm tired now, and I imagine that I have kept you all from your lives long enough. I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll tell you all how the story ends. Believe me, it's not close to being over yet."

Smiling crookedly, she shooed them. "Go on, get to it," she said gently. Grumbling and shooting her frustrated glances, the people of Heimme slowly drifted away, and Aeri turned back to the table, preparing to put her armor back on.

Haku watched her, still stunned. She undid a few buckles, lifting up her chest plate, when someone cleared their throat behind them. Turning, he, Rádgatá, and Vasara were somewhat surprised to see Vahna standing there, flanked by Asti and Alkaa, who were both watching Rádgatá with some awe.

"What an interesting story," the old woman began, coming closer. Rádgatá simply nodded. "I don't suppose you might come back with me to my house so I can check your stitches?"

Stitches? Haku wondered, confused.

Rádgatá replied, "No, I don't think I can. He's been waiting for me all day, I don't want to leave him any longer."

"It's been a while," the old woman pressed.

"I've been caring for the wound," Rádgatá said patiently. "It seems to be healing well."

"Come, now, surely you don't intend to remove them yourself?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I've had to do something like that." Seeing the frown on Vahna's face, Rádgatá relented. "Fine. You can check them here, right now, before I put my armor back on."

The old woman raised an eyebrow, glancing at Haku, before turning back to Rádgatá. "Are you sure?"

The not-so-strange-anymore stranger raised an eyebrow in return. "Weren't you just busy convincing me that you needed to see them?"

"I suppose you're right. Vasara," she turned to Haku's sister, who looked surprised at being addressed. "Do you have a stool? Rádgatá here is a little too tall for me to see her wound." It was true, Vahna stood a foot shorter than Rádgatá, who looked somewhat amused. Vasara turned and began looking over the chest plate again, running her fingers along the padded regions and nodding, muttering under her breath.

Without further ado, Rádgatá undid a series of laces on the front of her leather and cloth body suit and shrugged her right shoulder out of its sleeve. Haku's eyes widened upon seeing the smooth expanse of her bare skin, until his gaze focused in on a long row of neat stitches running across her bicep.

"What happened to you?" he asked incredulously. That was going to leave a scar.

Rádgatá raised her eyebrow again, and Haku felt his cheeks redden. What the…

"Pirates," she responded matter-of-factly, leaving him feeling more confused than ever.

"Have you been bandaging it?" Vahna was asking her.

"Today is the first day I've gone without," she responded, looking away from Haku.

"Well, the cut looks like it's healing well enough." The old woman poked at it and Rádgatá winced. Noticing this, she continued, "Come see me in a few days and we'll see if those stitches are ready to come out."

"Of course." Rádgatá reached over with her left hand and began tugging her sleeve back over her shoulder. Haku found himself staring at a thin gold chain on her disappearing collarbone as she redid the laces on her bodysuit, and quickly looked away, only to see Vahna watching him with a knowing gaze. Slightly embarrassed, he looked down at the ground. The ground was safe.

Aeri stood and smiled as Vasara handed her the chest armor, looking after it longingly as she put it back over her shoulders, buckling all of the various straps and wiggling her shoulders into place. Grabbing her helmet off of the counter, she wished Vasara, Vahna, Asti, and Alkaa a good evening before turning to Haku, who was staring at the ground for some reason.

"You ready?" she asked, and he looked up as if surprised to see her.

"Ready?"

"Well, I promised you a flight, didn't I?"

Before he could answer, Vasara interrupted from behind them. "A flight? You mean, on your dragon?"

Craning her neck to look behind her, she grinned at the shorter woman, who looked incredulous. "That is exactly what I mean. Would you care to join us?"

Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "Um, that's alright. Maybe some other time." Aeri couldn't help but laugh as the blacksmith turned to her brother. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

"Well, they didn't kill me last time, right?"

"I guess so…" she didn't sound entirely convinced, so Aeri reassured her.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him back safe and sound."

"Yeah," Haku said. "I'll see you later tonight, if you're still up."

"Probably will be," Vasara said, regaining her composure.

"Alright. See you then," Haku said, turning back to Aeri. "Ready?"

"If you are."

Vasara watched as they walked back up the street, her brother next to the tall, mysterious stranger, with her unique helmet tucked under one arm. She felt remorseful over her earlier treatment of Missti Einn, but still wondered if she could trust the other woman. Her brother seemed to, even to the point of actually enjoying her company. Which was interesting, as Haku had never really shown interest in any of the women in the village before.

Maybe it was because she was so different. Who knows? With a shrug, Vasara turned back to her forge, picking up her hammer and getting right back to work.


But Vasara wasn't the only one watching as Haku and Rádgatá wandered out of the village. Ajaa's brown eyes narrowed at the sight of them walking side by side, talking and laughing. Haku looked like he was enjoying the stranger's company, which put a kink in her plans. While she could no longer count on her "friendship" with Vasara to get her close to Haku, she still intended to win him over, if not with her personality then with her looks. Without a doubt Ajaa knew she was the most beautiful woman on Heimme, with curly blonde hair, big eyes and full, sensuous lips. She had at least half a dozen suitors her age eating out of the palm of her hand, not to mention the older single (and sometimes not single) men of the village, so why wouldn't Haku?

She would just have to try harder. In the mean time, she would just have to wait and do her best to keep the stranger strange. If she could find some flaw in the tall woman's story, or her character, she could use it to persuade the other villagers to drive the stranger away for her. Then Haku would surely be hers. A wicked smile spread on her face, and smugly she turned away, her doubt abating. It didn't matter what that old woman thought. Anyone who consorted with dragons was obviously a threat, obviously insane, and obviously not to be trusted. Time to get to work.


Oh snap ;) Just how much of a problem is Ajaa going to be? I guess we will have to wait and see. See you Friday!