Green-eyed shadow

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot.

KEY

'Thoughts/memories'

Emphasis/yelling

*Symbiote speaking*

*Symbiote think-speaking*

(A/N: More of in-between events.)

Review responses

Umbra Lycan: Thank you, here you go.

Arraia: Thanks, that might be difficult for them to do. If you don't believe me look up venom hulk, yes, it's a thing… a very cool thing.

Anonymous Noob the 2nd: thanks.

B1ack0ut: Thank you, I was a bit of an undertaking trying to keep them in character. My idea was that Hiccup was doing his way to try to get accepted by someone, but he bonded to his symbiote, and it became his friend. Now that his has a friend, Hiccup would be willing to do what the village needed him to do and thus be much more accepted. I was the same way, but then I found a HHTYD fanfic and fell in love with it.

INFERN0BOLT: They're going to meet a fury… just not toothless.

FanBoy1: 1-a glimpse of what's to come. 2-yep, and he's not alone.

Back to the action!

Chapter 7: Kindred Spirts

Nar POV

A few days later, Berk village

"Fight me, Haddock", Astrid followed behind Hiccup, who did his best to ignore her. Several villagers watched the aspiring shieldmaiden march after the sulking heir, the pair's antics had become common place after a few days.

"No", Hiccup replied, not looking back. Normally, he would be happy having his crush willingly seek him out. After several days of constant challenges, his joy quickly turned to aggravation.

"Fight me!", Astrid kept pestering him after 'losing' the fight against him. He tried to convince her that their bout wasn't official, and she should forget about it.

"No", He huffed. When that failed to satisfy the Hofferson, he said their fight was a stalemate. Astrid again didn't accept that either, she began challenging him to fights almost daily.

"C'mon, fight me", the only places she wouldn't bother him was his family's home, the forge and when he was working with Eric.

*Her attempts at goading you were amusing at first, but now she's starting to get on my nerves*, Hiccup neared the forge, *Say something!*.

He stopped at the door, then spun around, "Astrid, don't you have some training to do or something?".

"My training can wait, and the next class isn't till tomorrow", Astrid placed her hands on her hips, just above her spiked skirt's skull decorated belt. "Now fight me", she waited for him to accept.

"No", Hiccup placed his hand on the door behind him.

"Why not?!", she screeched, "Why won't you fight me, Hiccup?".

"Good question, hold onto that thought", he replied, just before darting inside the forge and closing the door.

"What, hey!", Astrid tried to open the door, only to discover he had locked it. "Open the door, Haddock!", she began to hammer her fist on the door. "Hiccup, I'm warning you, unlock the door or else!", she tugged harshly at the knob. "If you don't open this door, I'm gonna chop it down…", after hammering and tugging at the knob, Astrid unhooked her axe. She raised it above her head, "That's it, I'm coming in rig-!".

"Astrid, yew betta not be tryin' ta' break ma' door again", she heard Gobber warn behind her.

"Gobber, when d-did you get h-here?", she nervously shuddered while hiding her axe behind her back.

"Astrid, I told ya' befo', yew can't be botherin' ma' apprentice when 'e's workin' in ma' forge", she stepped aside to let him enter his shop.

"I just need to speak with him for-", the blacksmith held up his hand to interrupt Astrid.

"Lass, 'e already knows an' yew kno' 'is answer", Gobber sighed.

"B-bu-but", she tried to speak up.

"Astrid, 'iccup's on ma' time, so yur' only allowed ta' talk ta' 'im when yew need yur' axe sharpened or fixed", Gobber pointed to her axe in her hands, "Until 'e's off tha' job, go on about yur' way". Astrid frowned and trudged away, Gobber stepped inside and closed the door, "Those Hoffersons are mo' stubborn than an old yak". The blacksmith looks around and sees Hiccup working on a few worn tools, "So 'iccup, 'ows yur' day been goin'?".

"You already know, Gobber", the teen sighed.

"Ah, so tha' rumor 'bout tha' fight true?", Gobber raised an eyebrow.

"We should've just let her beat us down", Hiccup brushed back his white streaked hair, "Maybe she would go on ignoring us".

*Nope, I would've taken care of her myself*, his other warned, *Remember Hiccup, there are two of us in here*.

"Glad yew didn't", Gobber swapped out his hook for his hammer, "If word got back ta' Stoick, 'e wouldn't take too kindly ta' someone 'urtin' ya'". Hiccup knew how much his father loved him, but he also didn't want him attacking everyone else.

"Believe us, we know", he shuddered. A few moments passed, only the sounds of hammer striking metal and the hiss of glowing ingots being quenched filling the shop. "So Gobber-", Hiccup decided to break the silence, "-What's the next class going to be?".

The blacksmith set down his tongs, "Well, tha' next one I'm thinkin' would be tha' zippleback". He hobbled over to his wall of attachments, "Ya' kno', gettin' tha' teens ready fo' tha' larger dragons", switching his hammer for a wire brush. Gobber groom his long-braided moustache, "All I'm gonna need ya' ta' do is fill a couple 'o water buckets an' watch".

"Huh, sounds easy enough", Hiccup shrugged.

The next day, Dragon arena

Boom, the double doors flew open and greenish gray smoke billowed out, "Now a wet dragon can't light it's fire". The fume crept out towards the teens, slowly breaking their group apart, "Tha' hideous zippleback is extra tricky". Snotlout and Tuffnut lost sight of Astrid and Ruffnut, leaving Fishlegs by himself, "One head breaths gas, tha' other one lights it". A gurgling trill echoed out from inside the smoke cloud, "Yur' job is ta' kno' which is which".

Hiccup was once again sitting with his legs hanging over the edge of the arena, observing the haze overtake the other teens, *Hmm, a natural smoke screen… how interesting*.

"Razor sharp serrated teeth that inject venom for predigestion", Fishlegs fearfully muttered to himself as he scanned the surrounding smoke, "Prefers ambush attacks, crushing it's victims-".

*Ugh, the large one's murmuring to himself*, Hiccup's other groaned, *How pathetic*.

Astrid and Ruffnut quietly looked around the fog surrounding them, keeping themselves back-to-back. Snotlout and Tuffnut on the other hand were less silent, "If that dragon shows either of his faces…". He sees a horned silhouette inside the cloud, "There!", both threw their water at the shadow.

The smoke clears to show Astrid and Ruffnut, "Hey, it's us, idiots!".

"Your butts are getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon, he-he", Tuffnut chuckled.

Snotlout tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere, "Not there's anything wrong with a dragonesque fig-!", which earned him a punch from Astrid. Ruffnut followed up by throwing her full bucket at her brother's face, knocking him down.

"Uh, wha-woah!", something drags the dazed male twin into the fog.

"Wait", Astrid holds back Ruffnut, hearing his cries of coming from within the smoke. "Wha!", a scaled tail sweeps the legs of the two girls from under them, just as Tuffnut scrambles out of the smoke.

He crawls over his sister in a panic, screaming, "Ohhh, I'm hurt, I am very much hurt!".

Fishlegs looked around at his disarmed classmates, "Chances of survival are dwindling into second digits now". A lone nose horned head snakes its way out of the cloud, sniffing and huffing at the large teen. "Whoa, ugh, ah!", Fishlegs back peddled away from the head, finally dumping his bucket's water on it. The dragon gurglely trilled while weakly spewing gas, "Oh, wrong head".

It sprayed the large teen with thick green smoke, making him flee. "Fishlegs!" Gobber cried out as the dragon continued to fill the arena up once more with its smoke, leaving Astrid, Snotlout and the twins trapped. With one more spray, the zippleback completely covered the huddling teens.

Hiccup sighed and got to his feet, then stepped away from the edge before vaulting onto the caged roof. He sprung off a chain and dove into the arena, reforming his left hand into wiggling tentacle. The dragon's left head was about to spark the plume of gas before something spun around it and muzzled it shut. Hiccup landed on the right side of the zippleback, he pulled with his whole body and made the spark head crash into the other. He reeled back his limb, watching the dazed dragon recover.

The zippleback hissed when it spots Hiccup, the teen unintimidated by the large twin headed dragon. It tried to charge, Snap, the whip-like tentacle's cracking stopped the zippleback and made it retreat. Hiccup cracked his limb again and again, making the dragon slowly move towards its enclosure. The zippleback roared defiantly, flapping its wings and dispersing the gas. *Hiccup, we're losing cover fast!*, the teen retracted his limb and reformed it back into his sleeve.

'Here goes nothing', Hiccup pulled over his hood just as the cloud separating him and the zippleback from Gobber and the teens scattered. The instructor and his class were stunned, the dragon screeched, both of its heads coiled away from the marching Hiccup. His face was shadowed under his hood, small appendages mimicking black and bright yellow eels sprouted from under his cowl. The 'eels' snapped their eyeless jaws, striking fear into the zippleback. From the other's point of view, Hiccup was seemingly driving the large dragon back into its cage with just his mere presence. He closed the double doors after the zippleback crawled into a corner whimpering, then quickly deactivated his medusa-like form.

"'iccup, 'O-ow did ya' do that lad?", Gobber stuttered after his assistant pulled down his hood.

He looked to his teacher and the surrounding amazed students, "Oh, um… w-we didn't show fear?". Gobber raised his eyebrow, "Y-yes… yeah, yeah that's right", Hiccup coughed. "We showed no fear", The twins and Snotlout both believed him, "Dragons only attack people who are afraid… we guess". Gobber had his doubts since he had been fighting dragons long before Hiccup's generation was born, Astrid shared his disbelief while her jealously grew. "Okay, so are we done?", everyone just looked at him silently, "Cuz we've got some things we need to uh…". Gothi observed from above the arena, "Yep, uh… s-see you tomorrow", Hiccup quickly made his way out.

Later, the forge

Hiccup packed a small box of nails he made after asking Gobber if he could use the spare scrap iron. After a few more tools, he tossed in his hammer and tighten his bag closed. Hiccup moved over the curtain door to his backroom, only for the sound of someone throwing open the forge's door to stop him short. "Hiccup, I know you're in here", Astrid's tone gave away her frustration.

*We should find another way out*, his other suggested.

'Right, uh… there!', Hiccup sees her wander over to the anvil, getting some distance from the door. Step by careful step, he crept towards the door while keeping an eye on Astrid. A little ways from the door, she knocks a small hammer off the anvil.

"Uh-oh", Astrid looks over and sees it bounce on the floor. She bends over the anvil, trying to get the hammer back to keep Gobber from finding out she broke in. Hiccup was within arm reach but looks back one last to make sure Astrid hasn't spotted him. He freezes when his eyes land on her backside, her spiked skirt wiggles when she bounces trying to get back the hammer.

*Hiccup*, his host continues to stare at the girl's bouncing bum, *Hiiiccuuup*. The teen's eyes remain locked on Astrid's rump, *Hiccup, I know you're enjoying the view of your female's rear*. His other's quip barely manages to shake him free from his trance, *But if you remember, she's trying to hurt you*.

'Right, my bad', Hiccup shakes his blushing head and sighs, realizing how he was thinking about his crush. His bag slides off his shoulder and knocks off one of Gobber's attachments from its place on the wall, clang.

Astrid spins around and sees Hiccup holding open the door, "Hiccup!".

*Run boy, run!*, he bolts out, locking the door after him.

Astrid runs into the door, "Damn it, Haddock!", she screeches while tugging at the handle. She dives out the ordering window and rolls, then springs to her feet and sees him running towards the marketplace, "Get back here, Hiccup!". Hiccup's slender build allowed him to weave his way through the crowd, many of whom were just out shopping. Astrid's similar build let her do the same, occasionally bumping into a few passersby.

Iric was with his wife haggling with the butcher at his shop window, when the three heard a commotion from inside the crowd. Hiccup emerged from the crowd, "Mornin' Hiccup", Iric's greeting made him skid to a halt.

"Mr. Ingerman…", he sees him out with his wife, "Mrs. Ingerman".

"Why are you in such a hurry, dear?", Gyda wondered why Hiccup was out of breath and on edge.

"Oh, well we're uh-", a familiar voice cut him off.

"Hiccup, you get back here now!", Astrid shoved her way out of the crowd, making him resume his fleeing.

Iric sees his helper take off running towards the eastern forest entrance, the pursuing girl ran pass them a moment later. The carpenter wraps his arm around his wife and sighs, "Ah, to be young again", the Ingerman couple misread the pairs antics.

"True but in our day, the man was doing the chasing", Gyda leaned into her husband.

"Aye, the times sure have changed", they watched the pair of teens run around the corner and out of sight.

Hiccup sprinted into the forest entrance, Astrid a few meters behind him. He broke off into the thick overgrowth, hoping to lose his pursuer. He looks back just as she barreled through the brush, *That female sure is determined to fight you, how admirable… but foolish*. Hiccup continued to serpentine through the thick woods, waiting for an opportunity to give Astrid the slip.

The blonde ducked under a low hanging branch but tripped when her foot got caught on an exposed root, "Oof!".

*Now's our chance!*, Hiccup dove into a bush and sprung out the other side. He looked up and scanned the treetops above, quickly finding a decent branch. He whipped his arm back then forward, sending his limb out like a grappling hook. He reeled himself up moments before Astrid tore through the same bush, bits of twigs and leaves stuck in her hair.

She looked around but didn't find traces of which direction Hiccup could have ran towards. "Ugh, damn it!", she screeched while stomping her foot, losing track of Hiccup hurt her pride as the daughter of one of the tribe's best hunters. While she was screaming out threats and obscenities, Hiccup was perched above catching his breath.

*She sure has a colorful vocabulary-*, His other observed, *-Even more than yours*.

'Hey, I've cleaned up mine… for the most part', Hiccup thought back. His bag slipped off his shoulder, letting a hammer fall out. 'Damn', he whipped his hand out and sent strings of symbiotic flesh out. They shot out and glomped onto the hammer before it landed behind Astrid. He pulled it back just before she spun around, "Huh, I could've sworn I heard something?". She narrowed her eyes and jogged elsewhere in the forest.

Hiccup squeezed his hand around the hammer and fell back on the trunk, "Whew, that… that was too close". He tucked the tool back into his bag and reformed his clawed forelimbs and feet, then bound his way toward the cove using the treetops.

The next day

Hiccup sat above and watched the other teens in class, they were once again training against the gronckle. Tuffnut tried to charge the dragon head on, which ended just as expected with him being sent flying. The gronckle spots Astrid glaring at it, slightly bouncing from side to side. She looks past the growling dragon and sees Hiccup looking unimpressed. Astrid humphed and smacked her axe against her shield, goading the gronckle to attack her.

The dragon roared and flew at her, ignoring the other students. Astrid looks behind her, she turns back around and smirks. She takes off running at the arena wall, the gronckle closing in on her. Astrid jumps and kicks off the wall, backflipping over the dragon and sending it crashing headlong into solid rock. She marches over to the dazed gronckle and plants her boot on its snout, raising her axe proudly. Her parents and others watching the class cheer, seeing the skill of the next generation of the hooligan tribe.

Astrid scans the crowd; she smirks when she sees Hiccup rising to his feet. She spins her axe and points it at him, his response was an unimpressed huff and walking away. She was shocked then enraged, marching off the gronckle and towards the gate. Gothi follows where the future shieldmaiden was looking, seeing Hiccup walking in the direction of the bridge.

Astrid makes it out of the arena and finds Hiccup sauntering across the bridge. She tries to run after him but the audience crowds around her, "Good show lass!".

"Thank but I-", the adults keep blocking her view to the leaving teen as they followed her back toward the village.

"With you out there, the dragons don't stand a chance", praised Burnthair.

"Thank you, I really need to-", every time Astrid tried to break away from them, another adult blocked her.

Gunther and Brenna shoved their way through, "That's my girl!", he ruffed her hair while his wife hugged their daughter. The crowd starts to disperse, letting Astrid see around. She groaned when she could see Hiccup anywhere, "Astrid, what's wrong sweety?".

She looks up and her father and sighs, "N-nothing dad, I'm fine". Astrid leaves with her parents, walking back to the village with the other teens and adults.

Later, the cove

Hiccup was working on finishing building the floor of his treehut, his symbiote's small tentacle handed him a nails to keep pace. *You know, you and your kind certainly live in a harsh environment*, the other kept helping Hiccup *Frozen rain for most of the seasons, falling chunks of ice for the rest*. The teen listened while he worked, *Its honestly quite marvelous, a very adaptable species… at least when it comes to surviving*.

"Yes, Viking culture does have a bit of a progression problem", Hiccup sighed.

*Indeed, but who knows-*, he got to his feet when he finished laying down the last floorboard, *You might be the next leader to finally change the stagnation*.

"Yeah right, a boulder loses against a viking in a stubbornness contest", Hiccup huffed mentally.

*Hey, if words don't do the trick, we can always use force*, he reformed his claws and scaled down the tree. *You've been making impressive progress with control*, the teen did a flip before landing gracefully on the ground.

"Thanks, I guess", Hiccup shrugged then walked over to the small storage cave.

He and his symbiote were discussing possible additions to their small abode, unaware that something was stalking them as they walked through the forest. *Hiccup*, the teen's stopped midstride.

"How many?", he dropped his bag and took a deep breath.

Rustling came from the brush surrounding the small clearing, *Four, maybe five*. Hiccup stayed still, *Large quadrupeds, predators… I can smell faint traces of blood*, slowly turning his head to track where the sounds were coming from.

One by one, wolves emerged from the overgrowth and surrounded the teen. "How are the odds looking?", the last one to emerge was a large one, old battle wounds dot the pack leaders face.

*Not good…*, Hiccup quickly formed his claws, making the hunters step back. *For them*, he smiled a toothy grin, showing his sharp teeth. The pack leader growled unafraid, *Time for a snack*, the teen and wolf charged at one another.

Berk, nightfall

Hiccup tucked the folded collection of wolf pelts under his bed, "We should be glad we remembered to clean up after ourselves this time".

He locked his bedroom door, then descended the stairs, *Indeed, we can't be discovered yet*. Hiccup walked into his kitchen and dug around the cupboards, breathing out a defeated sigh when pulling out a small stale loaf, *Hmm, how disappointing*.

"I can't blame dad for him not remembering to buy groceries", he tore off a piece with his sharp teeth. Hiccup munched the tough mouthful, "Ugh, still better than raw meat". "I should ask Gobber if he can help me buy food down at the market", he sat down and winced, something in his pocket jabbed his leg. The teen dug out the pouch and tossed it over to the other empty chair.

Hiccup tossed the end of the bread up in the air, Snap, then caught it. "Well…", he slumped into his chair, "That's the last food in the house".

*And you don't get paid by Gobber until the day after tomorrow*, his symbiote reminded his host. Hiccup looked over to the chair, he threw out strings of white slime to stick onto the pouch. He tossed it up in the air, hooking and reeling the bag back into his hand. Minutes passed as Hiccup casually used his power to dull the boredom, the pouch rattled every time he caught it, *Hmm, Hiccup wait!*.

"Yeah, what is it bud?", Hiccup stopped his amusement.

*What if we use some of the spoils to buy food?*, he sat up and held the bag.

"I guess…", Hiccup opened the pouch and pulled out a wolf tooth, "I was planning on making a necklace with them".

He inspected the pulled tooth, *Why don't you use the best ones for yourself*. Hiccup looked inside the fang filled bag, the spoils of his bout with the wolfpack. *People in your culture value barbaric things like trophies, right?*, the other immediately felt regret, *Sorry*.

"No offense taken", Hiccup shrugged it off, "Most of the tribe still doesn't treat me like I belong".

He pulled out the largest and best quality fangs out and set them aside, *Their loss, the fools*.

Hiccup genuinely smiled, "Thanks bud".

*Anytime… friend*, the teen's smile grew wider.

The next day

Astrid was the last one to remain standing against the nadder, both Snotlout and Fishlegs had enough bruises. Hiccup watched as she threw her axe at the charging dragon, Plink, the weapon glanced off the harden scales of the nadder's snout. *Hmm… interesting*, Hiccup's symbiote examined the natural armor of the dragon.

Astrid rolled out of the way, making the nadder skid as it tried to catch her. She sprinted towards her axe; the dragon close behind sees her reaching for the weapon. It flares out its spines and tailwhips a few barbs at the teen. Astrid drops and slides under the spines, scooping up her axe and hopping to her feet.

The nadder roars and charges at her, getting low to try to gore the teen. Astrid sidesteps the dragon and reels back, Smack, smashing the flat of her axe against the side of the nadder's face. It collapses at the future shieldmaiden's feet, getting a cheer from the surrounding crowd. Hiccup gets up and walks into the lively audience, hoping to avoid the hassle of trying to deal with her.

Later

Gobber and Hiccup bartered with the blacksmith's tailor friend, "No more than one".

"No less than fo'", the half limbed blonde countered. Hiccup stood quietly beside his teacher, holding the pouch filled with the teeth. "Make it three o' we walk", Gobber lightly hammered his remaining hand on the counter, hardening his glare.

The tailor breathed out defeated, knowing the village hunters don't bother hunting wolves. "Fine, I'll throw in a bundle of leather cord", he held out his hand.

Gobber held his glare for a bit, then he relaxed, "Alright, yew got yur'self a deal". Both men shook hands, Hiccup handed over the pouch.

The tailor took it from him and poured out some of its contents, "Thor almighty, how'd you come across so much?!".

Gobber motioned towards his apprentice, who rubbed the back of his head nervously, "We were walking around the woods and came across a few dead wolves, they were torn up pretty bad".

*He-he*, the symbiote giggled inside the teen's head.

The air around the three became tense, "You think they might've been killed by the beast?". Since the first incident, the following finds of mutilated game only increased the fear in the village of the beast stalking the forest. Most of the hunters began working in pairs or groups, at the behest of their families.

"Where did ya find 'em, 'iccup?", Gobber questioned.

"Umm, about an hour's worth of walking from the west forest entrance", Hiccup quickly thought.

"We'll 'ave ta' spread tha' word ta' tha' otha' 'unters", Gobber waved his friend goodbye and led Hiccup back towards the forge.

Much later

Hiccup was leaving Iric's house after finishing up a few jobs, his new fang necklace slightly ticking. The teen hefted on his frame backpack loaded with his pay, *These should be enough to get the framework up at least*. As Hiccup walked through the village, more hooligans waved at him as they passed by. Working with Iric and his new calm demeanor had changed the opinions of many villagers.

Hiccup was near the forest when someone crossed his path, "Hiccup", Astrid placed her hands on her hips.

*Not this one again!*, groaned his symbiote, *Deal with her*.

"Astrid", Hiccup tried to walk around her, only for her to step in front of him.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you", she huffed.

"Oh, and here we thought your newfound fame would overshadow us", he sarcastically spat.

"Nope", Astrid said with a bit of pride, "Now, fight m-".

"Astrid, listen", Hiccup dropped his back, Thud, its sheer weight shook the ground ever so slightly. "We're getting really tired of this nonsense", he growled, Astrid was hoping he was looking to settled things. "So, let's just settle thing right here, right now", the Hofferson beamed.

'Yes, finally!', Astrid readied herself for a brawl.

"Here's our deal", Hiccup relaxed, "You stop bothering us and finish first in dragon training, you'll get your fight".

"What?!", she was confused, "Why don't we just fight right n-".

"Astrid, that's our offer", Hiccup reached down and picked up his heavy pack, "Take it or leave it".

She growled, completely unsatisfied, "How can I be sure you won't try to weasel your way out of it?".

Hiccup took a deep breath to remain calm, "Listen to us, when we make a deal, we make a deal". He held his hard glare at her, Astrid looked him in the eyes to see any sign of weakness.

"Fine, deal", she held out her hand, Hiccup huffed instead. "You better not try to go back on your word", Astrid spat.

"You better not regret it, we won't hold back", Hiccup threatened.

"Don't worry, I look forward to it", she snapped back, "I won't hold back either".

"Good, now you can concentrate on training instead of pestering us", Hiccup walked around her, leaving Astrid silently growling at his arrogance.

The cove

Black claws dug into the edge, then Hiccup pulled himself over the lip of the cove's cliff walls. He deactivated his symbiotic forearms and dusted off his pants, "We're almost done".

*Indeed*, Hiccup walked back towards the direction of the village. He and his symbiote deep in conversation when, boom, when the sounds of a distance battle perked his ears. *What was that?*, his other asked before forming an unseen grin, *Are you thinking what I'm thinking?*.

Hiccup reformed his claws, "You know I am", he said with a smirk.

Elsewhere in the forest

Bounding from tree to tree, Hiccup rushed towards the distant explosions of battle. He stopped and peered through the trees, finally spotting the source of the disturbance. Three dragons that he couldn't recognize were engaging in a brutal fight, the two larger black ones attacking a smaller white one. *What kind of creatures are they?*, his symbiote asked his host.

'I… I don't know, I've never seen them before', all three were similar in form, ignoring the color of their scales. They had long slender bodies, a pair of bat-like wings large enough to allow them to quickly maneuver their forms. A black one swiped its stubby claws at the white one, cleaving into its hide. The smaller one smacked one of its attackers with its twin finned tail, sending it tumbling. The other black one charged its fire, creating an infamous howling whistle. Seconds later, a purple blast exploded on the white one's face, making it collapse to the ground.

"Night fury", Hiccup said with amazement. The smaller one whined in pain, the other two growled as they stalked to their cripple prey, "It's not fair, it was two on one". He remembered the times Snotlout and the twins spat insults at him, or shoved him between them for fun.

*'Survival of the fittest' is a rule that spans worlds*, his other said with a hint of regret, *You and I know that better than anyone else*.

Hiccup watched the white dragon tries to weakly drag itself away from the approaching attackers, "That was before". He silently drops from his perch, "We're stronger together now", then creeps into the nearby bushes.

The small fury was pinned by the paw of the slightly larger night fury, it snorted in pride before its partner barked a warning. It looked over and spots a group of 'eels' crawl from the bushes, the other dragon barked in panic as they slithered closer. It huffed in irritation before removing its paw from its prey, they took to the sky to leave their victim to the mercy of the closing eels.

Hiccup waited for them to vanish into the distance before emerging from the brush. He retracted his imitation eel appendages back into his claws. The white fury watched in confusion as their ancient enemies' offspring drove off its would be killers with an unknown ability. He turned towards the wounded dragon, who charged a weak blast and shot it at him.

Hiccup formed a body sized shield from his symbiotic flesh in an instant, blocking the flaming projectile. The shield burst apart where the small explosion struck, then quickly regenerated the damage. *Insolent beast!*, Hiccup's symbiote roared, *You save its life, and it tries to kill you?!*.

"Calm down, you would've done the same thing in its position", Hiccup tries to soothe his friend's rage. He deactivated his shield and raised his hands in front of himself, the fury stopped charging another blast. While he kept the fury's attention, his other shot out a thin strand of white slime and latched onto the dragon's head. It dug into its flesh and in a flash, memories transferred between the teen and the fury.

*This one was fleeing from a murderous flock, she's the last of her kin*, his symbiote translated the dragon's intentions as best as he could.

'Wow, and I thought I had a hard life', Hiccup knelt and cautiously tried to touch the dragoness. She was at first tense at his approached but relaxed as she seen his life was eerily like hers.

*The female is accepting her death*, the fury's breathing was slowing more and more, her injuries and blood loss finally catching up to her.

'It's not fair, she had such a hard life', Hiccup gently rubbed the dragoness's crown, 'Now she's going to die alone'. She sadly trilled then weakly nuzzled his palm, 'She's lost her family, her friends and her home'.

*Strange… she wants to know if she can call you her friend*, his other translated.

'A friend?', Hiccup locked eyes with her dimming eyes, 'You want me to be your friend?'. The dragoness slightly nodded, 'Okay, I'll be your friend', she chokily trilled. "Can't you save her?", he asked his other.

*I'm sorry, Hiccup*, his symbiote replied, *I don't understand her biological makeup*. Hiccup's shoulders slumped, *If we had more time, I could've tried to examine her to learn more*.

The fury dragged herself over and rest her head on his lap, "Time… in another time we could've been… best friends". Hiccup scratched behind her ear plates, "I-I…I'm sorry, Mrs. Night fury", he forced himself to speak normally.

*I don't mean to be a bother, but I don't think her coloration would've worked at night*, his symbiote gently corrected.

"So, what do we call her… a light fury?", Hiccup shot back. The dragoness tried to trill approvingly, "You like that, don't you?", she nodded.

*Hiccup, the female is tired but wants to say goodbye*, his other passed on her message.

"Goodbye… light fury", Hiccup said, choking back a sob. "I-I wish we send her off w-without any pain", he sighed as the dragoness struggled to breath.

*We can, only if you'll let me*, his symbiote offered.

She groaned in pain, "Do it, if… if she'll f-feel no pain".

*Understood*, symbiotic flesh seeped out of his hands and thighs, slowly crawling over her torn up body. She was frightened until her pain faded as the slime overtook her, letting her relax. Hiccup stayed with the dragoness until she was completely covered, then she slowly shrunk in size. Bit by bit, her form became smaller as the symbiote deconstructed her body. Then she was gone, *It's done, Hiccup*, his other announced.

"Life… it's really not fair", Hiccup sighed, wiping away tears from his eyes.

*Hiccup*, his symbiote spoke up, *The female left a gift for you*.

"What… what do you mean?", white slime seeped out around his mouth, transforming into a stretched-out maw filled with needle like teeth. In the pit of his stomach, Hiccup felt a burning sensation grow. The uncomfortable pang grew as it traveled up his throat, the heat becoming more intense. When it reached the back of his throat, the heat was close to intolerable. The green glow from inside his mouth emitted a low howling whistle, the pressure grew with the sound. Hiccup couldn't bear it, opening his mouth and subconsciously retracting his fangs. A glowing fireball shot out at a damaged tree, exploding it into wooden shrapnel. He breathed heavily, the pain slowing fading as he deactivated his power, "Is this… is this what I-I think it is?".

*Indeed*, his symbiote confirmed, *This is what she left for us*. Hiccup thought about her, about her gift of fire. His mind wandered back to the book of dragons, pages of the book flashed, *Hiccup, I know what my name is*.

"Your name?", he raised an eyebrow.

*Yes*, the left half of Hiccup's face formed into his symbiote's visage. His glowing eye widen, and fang filled mouth twisted into a grin, *My name… is… Avarice*.

Hiccup matched his grin with his own, "We are Avarice/We are Avarice*. "And this is… ", he looked at the aftermath, "This is just the beginning".

(A/N: Yes, Hiccup and his symbiote Avarice, finally found their power… and they'll use it to protect each other. Hiccup's little hideaway is closer to completion. More of Hiccup snacking on wildlife and making a deal to keep Astrid from stalking him. Sorry for sneaking in the last part, I wanted Hiccup's life to be a bit more realistic. Just like real life, sometimes opportunities come too fast and too late to catch them.)