Viking Heart & Dragon Soul
Author: Nightstar Fury
Rated: M
Pairing: HiccupXAstrid
*Disclaimer: I do not own anything from HTTYD movies, series, or shorts.
*(Authors Note; Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated this yet! I got distracted with Healing Hearts and also I just got a cold too. But, not to worry because I will keep writing it. Healing Hearts is almost finished completely and if no one else has noticed, there is a new pole up on my profile for what everyone wants to see after HH and Viking Heart & Dragon Soul finishes! Thank you for your patience! -Nightstar)*
New Riders
The night went by peacefully for the group of them residing in the ice nest for the night, when morning came, they were all excited to get started with dragon bonding, training, and riding as Hiccup had promised to teach them the night before before they all agreed that they needed sleep from the long journey and then birthday festivities for Emma. Now it was morning and all of them were up, except for Hiccup and they knew that since they slept in his room with him. Emma was up too because they heard her playing with Stingwhip and Windstrike. Why was Hiccup still asleep though, had he been that tired?
"You think he's okay?" Hilda asked while they were just sitting in the room.
"Probably just tired," Tuffnut mentioned, "He had a long day yesterday between the flying, the headstones, the party,"
"True," they nodded. Without warning, Emma rushed into the room right past them and leaped onto her father full force giggled. Hiccup shot up in bed quickly as the wind was taken out of him and he coughed hard while holding his stomach.
"Emma Selena Andarsen-Haddock!" Hiccup yelled as the others blinked, they'd never seen him take a tone like that before. "What have I told you about jumping on me like that!"
"I sorry, Papa. I thought you were awake already..." Emma said quickly.
"If I was awake, I would be up and moving around. You can't do that or one of these days you're really going to hurt me. I'm a twig remember," Hiccup sighed as Emma climbed off him and he coughed a few more times.
"Are you okay son?" Stoick asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine...Was I the last one up?" Hiccup asked curiously now as they nodded to him. "Huh, more tired than I thought. However, since someone decided to wake me up, I guess I'll start my day..." he added as Emma giggled as Hiccup got off the bed and grabbed her in his arms, she screamed joyously and Hiccup kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly.
"Well, she has a long name..." Astrid blinked a little.
"Selena is her middle name, it means moon because she was born on the night of a full one. And well, Andarsen stands for itself. It was Reynir's, Selby's, and mine's last names before the truth came out of who I am..." Hiccup said as he placed Emma down while exiting the bedroom and returning to the main one where Hiccup started getting stuff for breakfast out. Fish, bread, and water. It was really all he had to work with for breakfast until they got back to Berk, Hiccup began cooking everything and set it on the table for them to eat as he stretched his back a little before heading down the tunnel where the springs were.
"Where are you going, aren't you gonna eat with us?" Valka asked.
"Papa doesn't eat breakfast, he says it makes him feel sick if he eats right after waking up so he's gonna go take a bath in the hot springs to wake up more," Emma said after Hiccup walked out of sight.
"Think he's still to teaching us how to ride dragons?" Hilda asked curiously.
"Papa doesn't go back on his word, if he said he would, then he will," Emma said while eating her fish. The rest of them ate for the next forty minutes or so and then Hiccup returned wearing black boots, dark gray pants, lighter gray shirt, then black armor with the Night Fury symbol on the right shoulder. Hiccup was towel drying his hair as he came back in, it looked a mess but eventually fell the way it always did.
"Feel better son?" Stoick asked calmly.
"Nothing beats the heat in those springs, that is a fact." Hiccup chuckled slightly as he tossed the towel into one of the baskets and grabbed one of the fish to eat, after swallowing the first few bites, he looked at them again. "So, who is ready to learn how to bond?" he asked next.
"We are!" they shouted as he laughed.
"Alright, let's get started then. Mom, you're already bonded to Cloud Jumper so you can just watch for now. The rest of you, follow me to the heart of the nest. The first thing you have to do is pick the dragon," Hiccup stated as they got up to follow him while he was eating. Now in the heart of the nest, the dragons were flying around and actively enjoying themselves.
"So how do we do this. Do they pick us like Cloud Jumper picked your Mom?" Astrid inquired.
"It does happen that way sometimes. Toothless and I picked each other, gained each other's full trust when we were three. Stingwhip and Emma did the same thing." Hiccup explained. "The nest is filled with dragons, all types too. Just wander around and use what I've already taught you to get close to them. You can talk to them, you just don't hear what they say back."
"You're still not gonna teach us that, are you?" Ruffnut asked.
"Probably not, takes years to learn, even for me. You will understand them by their reactions," Hiccup said calmly as he waved his arms for them to scatter to enjoy the nest while he finished his fish. After maybe an hour, Hiccup was laying against Toothless on the rocks, half asleep again until Hilda, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut approached with dragons following them. Hiccup opened his eyes to look at them now, a Razorwhip was following Hilda, then a Zippleback behind the twins.
"They've been following us for fifteen minutes..." Hilda said.
"They might have chosen you. Only one way to find out, do what my Mom did last night. If they press their noses to your palms and you feel that bond, then you've bonded." Hiccup said standing up now. The three young adults nodded and did as Valka had done the night before, the Razorwhip did bond to Hilda right away and Hiccup could tell because of the wide smile on her face when the snout touched the palm. Hiccup watched each head from the Zippleback touch a palm. The right head touched Ruffnut's and the left to Tuffnut's.
"So how does it work if only head touched?" Tuffnut asked.
"It means that you two will be sharing a dragon, each riding on the side that accepted you. Ruff, you will ride the right, and Tuff, you the left so you have to work together. Now, next, you'll want to determine gender and give them a name. Oh, also, Ruff and Tuff. You two might want to figure out which head does what," Hiccup chuckled a little.
"Well, you taught us that...on males, the right has the gas and the left females are opposite," Ruffnut remembered with a finger up.
"Oh, and male Zipplebacks are prone to greens, blues, purples, and reds with side colors while females are lighter in colors also ranging in pink, yellow, and oranges," Tuffnut added in.
"Very good you two. Impressed you remembered that. So what dragon is yours?" Hiccup asked.
"It's a male, so...what do we do? Each name a head?" Ruffnut asked.
"Whatever you wanna do. How you four doing?" Hiccup called to the others seeing Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Stoick.
"Nothing so far..." Stoick sighed as Hiccup pondered a moment.
"Come back up, I think I can help you out," he called to them as they nodded and came back up to the main level where he was. Hiccup put his fingers to the corners of his mouth and gave a loud whistle then put his fingers down when he saw three dragons peering over one of the rocks higher up. "Stormfly, Skullcrusher, Hookfang, Meatlug. Get down here, I see you spying..." Hiccup called to them. A Deadly Nadder, Rumblehorn, Monstrous Nightmare, and Gronckle came down.
"Oh, wow...she's...beautiful," Astrid said slowly admiring the blue and white Nadder that had blue and yellow on the tail along with reds and purples on the wings.
"You saw she's female right away, good eye, Astrid. Must have something to do with those ax throws to the trees on Berk." Hiccup chuckled as Astrid blushed a bit looking off to the side. "I notice a lot of things on the early morning flights with Toothless. Well, I called these four down because they've been watching you since you started wandering the nest."
"I like him," Snotlout said motioning to the Nightmare.
"Want to take a whack at trying to bond with them?" Hiccup asked. They nodded taking their spots near the dragons they liked most. Astrid with the Nadder, Snotlout with the Nightmare, and Stoick with the Rumblehorn. "Now these three have names already so let me introduce you. Dad, that dragon before you is a male, tracker class, and known as a Rumblehorn. His name is Skullcrusher. Snotlout, that is a Monstrous Nightmare, male, stoker class and goes by the name Hookfang. And Fishlegs, this Gronkle is female, boulder class, and responds to the name Meatlug."
"What about her?" Astrid asked admiring Stormfly as Hiccup walked over to her now and took her hand to move her to the side.
"Don't stand in her blindspot. Female Deadly Nadder, tracker class, and for me at least, responds to the name Stormfly." Hiccup smiled releasing her hand now as Stormfly began to sniff Astrid and then squawk as Stormfly nuzzled against her. "She likes you,"
"Did she tell you that?" Astrid asked.
"She didn't have too, I can tell by her reactions. Ain't that right girl?" Hiccup asked as Stormfly licked the side of his face and he smiled. "She picked you as her rider,"
"Well, I don't mind at all. I think she and I will make a good team and even better friends," Astrid smiled as Stormfly squawked again.
"And we're good over here too, son. Bonded and ready to go. What's the next lesson?" Stoick asked with a smiled as Valka came over with Cloud Jumper.
"Mounting, but it's not so easy. You have to sit in the spot that is comfortable for both rider and dragon, also that doesn't interfere with their wings. Dad, ride the spot right behind Skullcrusher's horns. Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout you three ride on the necks by the horns. For you four, however, might be a little harder without rope or a saddle..." Hiccup said rubbing his chin a bit then putting a finger up, "Follow me, oh, and bring the dragons too." he said leading them back into the main area of the home. Once in, he headed for his forge area and opened up the closet which had a bunch of old stuff in there.
"What is all that stuff?" Valka asked.
"Old saddles I used to work on. Might be one that Astrid and Hilda could use, Mom, you'll have to use rope. I don't have a saddle big enough to go around Cloud Jumper, you'll have to use rope." Hiccup said.
"That's fine with me son." Valka smiled scratching under Cloud Jumper's chin.
"Astrid, Hilda, bring your dragons over. Oh, what did you name dragon, sis?" Hiccup asked her as they come over with their dragons so Hiccup could start testing saddle sizes.
"Oh! I named her Silverstrike." Hilda beamed happily, the Razorwhip had light pink eyes and medium gray body.
"I like it. Let's see, this should work for her until we get back home and I can make her something more permanent." Hiccup said as he gave Silverstrike the command to lay down more as he got the saddle on her neck, it was black leather with a strap to go around the neck. There was a small rise for the back of the seat, handlebars, and two foot holds. Hiccup got it all setup and then helped Hilda into it and positioned her feet. "How's it feel?" he asked.
"I-I like the way it feels. How's it feel for her?" Hilda asked while Hiccup moved in front of Silverstrike now.
"It feels fine for me, the padding on the bottom does well. Thank you, Hiccup." Silverstrike informed him as he rubbed her head then turned to Stormfly after picking up another saddle and adjusting the straps as far out as they would go before getting it on her and locking it in place. Hiccup got on her back then put his hand down to help Astrid up into the saddle.
"Just eas yourself down in it and if you can, sit like this with your knees bent and let me know how it feels?" Hiccup asked.
"It's actually really well padded and comfortable. How about you girl?" Astrid asked Stormfly.
"Tell her that I have no problems at all with it. I assume we're all returning to Berk with Icefire then?" Stormfly inquired.
"Yes, we are and don't worry, Astrid. Stormfly likes how it feels. How about the rest of you, got on and good grip?" Hiccup asked them looking over.
"We're all set, what about your Mom and Fishlegs?" Stoick asked him.
"They'll have to use a rope around their necks to hold on with. They not trained to ride him without something to hold onto like I am." Hiccup said as he got a rope from a bin and jumped on Cloud Jumpers back to get the rope in place then help his mother onto him and have her sit down to hold the rope. Then he did the same for Fishlegs by tying the rope around Meatlug and helping Fishlegs get on her. "Alright, everyone set to hover a bit and get the basics?"
"We're ready, teach away!" Hilda giggled. Hiccup went down Cloud Jumper's wing and got on Toothless.
"Em, you stay down here, got it?" Hiccup warned her, she saluted him with a smile. "It's real easy. When you're secure in your spot, give them a light tap with the tip of your foot so they know you're ready. After that, in order to get in the air, you give a squeeze with you legs or pat on the neck. So, let's work on getting in the air and just hovering in place first." he said as he patted Toothless's neck and the dragon lifted up and hovered there, "Make sure to spread yourselves out some and mind your dragon's wing spans so you don't collide," he added going up higher to watch them.
It went slow but they managed to do it, except for the twins. "This isn't working," the twins muttered.
"Listen, you have to share the dragon. You both have to do the same command at the same time, you have to work together." Hiccup called to them. The twins nodded as they shook hands and did what they were told as their dragon, Barf, and Belch took to the sky and they hovered with the rest of them. "Very good. Now, we'll work on landing," he said as he showed them that next and they worked on the three things for an hour, these three things were getting in the air, hovering, and landing.
"So what's next? Flying?" Snotlout asked.
"Yep. When you're in the air you're gonna wanna lean in the directions you wanna go. Forward is front, pull back is slow down, left and right are obvious. The harder you lean, the faster you go so be mindful of that. I learned the hard way..." Hiccup mumbled some recalling the day he turned too fast on Toothless and fell off. "Let's just work on a slow front fly," he added as he leaned a bit on Toothless and started forward, Astrid followed next, followed by Hilda and then the others. After ten minutes of this, he had them learn to stop by leaning back and giving a tug on whatever they were holding onto. He was glad they learned fast because they still needed to get back to Berk before Hunters figured out people were here.
"We working on turns next?" Astrid inquired.
"Yeah and I'll teach you the rest back on Berk, but right now, you've got the basics down. So turning, follow my lead..." Hiccup said as he started forward and showed them how to make the turns enough to avoid crashing, then he showed them the faster turns that could be made.
"I-I'm having trouble with turns, Hiccup. I'm terrified to fall because I don't have much to hang onto over here..." Astrid mentioned.
"Hold on, I'll be over in a second." Hiccup called to her as he patted Toothless's head and the dragon moved closer to Stormfly as Hiccup stood on his friend's back then jumped over to Stormfly and grabbed her tail to pull himself up and on, then balance until he got to her back and sat down behind Astrid with his hands on her shoulders, thank God she was facing forward because she blushed like crazy. "Just don't lean fast, gentle movements and you'll get better with practice. Like this," he said as he leaned right and pulled her with him so she would understand the feeling, then he moved left with her. "See, that's all it takes," he smiled.
"Thank you," Astrid told him.
"No problem, Astrid. One of these days I'll have to give you a ride on Toothless, that's a thrill you'll not soon forget." Hiccup chuckled as he released shoulders. "One thing you gotta remember is that even if you fall, Stormfly will catch you," he added as he let himself fall off Stormfly and fell down.
"HICCUP!" Astrid yelled in fear, then saw Toothless swoop under him and Hiccup landed on his back as they got back in the air.
"Hey, don't worry about me. Toothless has my back," Hiccup said, "I'm touched you're worried about me, though," he added as Astrid hid her face blushing still. "Well, you guys all got what you need. Everyone ready to head back home?" he asked them.
"We're ready, lead the way!" they cheered and all landed so Hiccup could pack up the remaining things and then get Emma settled in Stingwhip's saddle and buckled there. Hiccup got back on Toothless and got in the sky with Stingwhip and Windstrike joining the group.
"Ready down there, Icefire?" Hiccup called to the Bewilderbeast curiously.
"Ready, Hiccup. The other dragons will be leaving before the day is over too, some may come to Berk still but others will fan out to close by islands that are not Viking-inhabited," Icefire replied to him. Hiccup gave a nod as he looked back to the new riders with him, his family and friends. Could it get better than this? Really, could it? He found people willing to change, these people also ended up being the Tribe he had been taken from. How weird it worked out that way, he blamed fate honestly.
"Alright, follow me out, gang!" Hiccup called leading them up and out of the nest then adjusting slightly and heading right back for Berk in the Southwest direction. Things were working out well for him and he couldn't be happier.