Life As We Know It

Rated; M for Mature
Pairing; Hiccup & Toothless(Tallon)
Disclaimer; I do not own anything HTTYD-related. Everything belongs to its original creator.

Author's Note; Hey everyone! I feel like I should apologize for the long wait on a new story. I sort of hit a writers block on what to do next, but something came to me and here we go with it. Hope you'll enjoy! It's gonna have some supernatural stuff, so bear with me I'm trying something new, and hoping it goes well. I'm going to say this hear and now; if you don't like the story, don't read it. If you don't understand something, wait and see because it likely gets explained later on. Please, do not leave reviews and messages about not liking things. You make the choice to read or not; I don't make you say through if you're not enjoying it. Also, I am deeply sorry for the delay in posting a new story; things got a bit crazy and needed to be handled. I appreciate the patience! Also, the Descendants of the Archipelago part two story is still on hold for a bit longer. That being said; I hope you enjoy! -Nightstar.

1)

=Normal POV=
(2/28/2015-10:00 am)
(Archipelago; Isle of Berk)

"HICCUP!" boomed the voice of his father. Hiccup instantly winced at the sound; it was bad that he could hear his father call him from any point on the island.

"Well, let's go see what he wants, bud," Hiccup sighed heavily, patting the side of his Night Fury's neck. Toothless warbled lightly and headed into the air to locate his father, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, which resided on the Isle of Berk in the; one of the many islands in the Barbaric Archipelago. Finally, Hiccup saw his dad standing outside the Great Hall on the stairs. Toothless landed as Hiccup slid off and stood before him. "You yelled for me?" Hiccup asked.

"I need you to gather the riders and wrangle a wild dragon, and locate Trader Johann's ship," Stoick informed.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked, now seeing Trader Johann beside his dad.

"A wild dragon attacked my ship last night and left me in the water as my ship floated off in the heavy winds, Master Hiccup," Johann said in a torn up voice.

"Can you and the riders handle it?" Stoick asked.

"Toothless and I will trail the ship; the riders can search for the dragon and wrangle it," Hiccup nodded.

"Alright, son," Stoick nodded, approving the idea his son pitched. "Go on," he urged. Hiccup nodded, getting back on Toothless's back and heading to locate the other dragon riders while thinking of everything since dragons became part of their lives two years ago now.

The dragons entered their lives when Hiccup was fifteen and befriended a Night Fury he shot down with one of his inventions to help in dragon raids. Astrid discovered Hiccup to be harboring a dragon on the island, and went to rat him out. Instead, Hiccup kidnapped her and showed her that dragons weren't bad. Astrid was on his side, but the truth came out during his final exam. Hiccup's father was furious at the reveal, taking Toothless after telling Hiccup he wasn't a Viking, and wasn't his son, to the Dragon's Nest to destroy it and stop the raids for everyone. Astrid's encouraging words got Hiccup to act, while she rounded up Snotlout Jorgenson, Fishlegs Ingerman, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut Thorston to help. These were other kids Hiccup and Astrid's age. Hiccup taught them to fly dragons, then they raced to the nest, stopping the assault on the tribe, and ending Red Death; the queen of the nest which sat on an island West of Berk, about an hour or so away. Hiccup and Toothless ended the dragon wars, bringing peace to the Archipelago. Since then, dragons are welcome on Berk and form bonds with some Vikings. Most people now had their own dragon and could ride it.

One of the first big changes was converting the dragon kill ring into the dragon training academy. Hiccup was the leader of the dragon riders, and head trainer as he trained a Night Fury. However, not everyone likes this way of life. Alvin the Treacherous, Chief of the Outcast Tribe started a battle over things, but reformed when Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Berserker Tribe, betrayed him. The outcasts are now allies to Berk, having been enemies before. And the Berserkers, after the war Dagur started with Berk, are enemies and Dagur is locked up on Outcast Island from his crimes. Since then, things have been pretty peaceful. Nothing was going wrong, no major problems, and Hiccup was actually getting bored with just being around Berk all the time when there was so much more beyond the island. Dragons to find, islands to explore. Hiccup was never one to be like everyone else, hence being the first Viking to befriend and ride a dragon.

"Hiccup, there you are!" Fishlegs flew over on his Gronckle, Meatlug. The other riders weren't far behind; Astrid on her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. Snotlout on his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang. And then Ruffnut and Tuffnut sharing their Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch since the twins decided to each name a head of the two-headed dragon.

"Just came from talking to dad," Hiccup replied. "We got a job to do,"

"What's up?" Astrid inquired.

"I guess a wild dragon attacked Johann's ship; it landed him in the water until he got picked up and brought here as the closest island. The ship sailed off in the heavy winds; you guys try to find the dragon; I'll go after the boat," Hiccup informed.

"Got it," Snotlout gave cocky grin and thumbs up.

"Let's get on it then. Astrid is in charge of your task, don't let me find out you gave her a hard time," Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Come on, Toothless…Let's track down the ship," Hiccup said as Toothless darted off.

. . .

(5:00 pm)
(Archipelago; Southeastern Boundary)

Hiccup checked everywhere he could before decided that he should base his search for the ship by recalling the winds from last night. Hiccup and Toothless had been all over that general vicinity, but nothing turned up. At the same time; they were enjoying the peace and quiet while flying together. Hiccup and Toothless snuck out pretty often to take night flights because it was the only time his father wasn't hounding him for village-related things. Not only was Hiccup a member of the tribe and had his daily share of work to do, but he was also the next Chief. His father was already on him about studying laws, traditions, and learning the job. Official training would begin when Stoick decided it would. Hiccup hoped not any time soon. Reaching the boundary markers, Hiccup didn't see anything at first and it was kind of foggy around this area.

"See anything, bud?" Hiccup asked his Night Fury. Toothless crooned, and shook his head side to side in response to Hiccup's question. "I give up…It's long gone," he sighed. "I feel bad for Johann; that ship is his life, literally," he stated. Suddenly, Toothless caught the sight of something that shifted in the fog and shot for it. "Woah, bud. Easy…What's up?" Toothless warbled, moving closer as Hiccup saw the ship sailing further than the markers. "Hey! I think that's it! Nice work, bud!" Hiccup smiled. Toothless growled with achievement as they headed forward and set down on the boat. "Yeah, this is it for sure," Hiccup nodded. "You know…We make a good team, Toothless. Odin knows if I brought the others; we likely would have missed it. It's nice that even though we don't talk; I still understand you as you do me. I know we can't talk, but I wish we could," Hiccup set his forehead to Toothless's.

Toothless warbled at Hiccup contently, nuzzling his face as the ship kept heading past the markers. "Well, let's get this-," lightning suddenly stroke the ship with a quick wave of electricity as it passed the boundary statue. Hiccup had covered his head and closed his eyes during all this, hoping nothing fell on him. However, upon feeling nothing but warmth; he panted a bit and looked around seeing so much that he never had before. There were…Crystal clear waters, blue skies, other islands! "Wow…" Hiccup gasped. And the ship was totally fine too. "Freak storm, but this is amazing. You seeing this, Toothless?"

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," came a voice. Hiccup froze. "Flying in this would be great," Hiccup slowly turned around seeing where the voice was coming from; he laid eyes on another male. Before Hiccup was a male-tanner skinned, sort of in a crouch; he had black hair and green eyes, there were some dark freckles across his cheeks and nose. On top of it all; this male, who Hiccup felt like he knew who it was, was entirely nude. "Want to before we go back?"

"T-Too-Toothless?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, Hiccup?" the male looked at him now with a smile. Human or not, Hiccup knew that goofy little smile his dragon gave him. This male is his dragon; this was Toothless. Hiccup's eyes widened in surprise. What had happened? Hiccup didn't understand any of this. "You okay?"

"I, uh…I don't know? Did…The lightning hit, and we died?" Hiccup asked.

"No, we passed the boundary markers," Toothless responded with a smile. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because we're talking…And I'm looking at you…As a human…" Hiccup said, not sure how else to put it.

"What?" Toothless said, suddenly looking at himself with surprise and wonder. "Huh…Well, would you look at that," Toothless shrugged.

"How are you calm about this!?" Hiccup asked quickly. "Toothless, you're a human! You're…Supposed to be a dragon! We're talking! Not just…Me talking and you making sounds that I somehow understand!" Hiccup began to breathe heavily, backing against the side of the ship.

"Hiccup…Hiccup, easy. Alright, I know it's…Weird, but…It happened. I think it's kind of cool. Just relax, I'm sure we can figure it out…" Toothless stood up to try and assure him. Hiccup shielded his eyes; he knew they had the same parts, but it had been different when Toothless was a dragon and he didn't have to see everything so explicitly like now with Toothless being human.

"Y-You need to put some clothes on," Hiccup stammered a little as he started rummaging through the ship; he knew Johann had to have clothes on this boat somewhere. Hiccup located some pants, boots, and a shirt. It would have to do, anything so Toothless could cover up. "I-I'm sure you can handle getting them on, right?"

"Yeah, I've seen you get dressed plenty of times," Toothless said.

"Don't make it weird…Just get dressed. I'll drop anchor so we don't go too far," Hiccup muttered, moving to drop the object; the ship came to a stop and floated along the water's surface while Toothless dressed himself and sat down on a barrel. "Okay…Let's…Figure all this out," he took a breath. "We were on this boat, right before the markers when the lightning hit. We sailed past the boundary line, and now…You're like this,"

"Sounds right," Toothless shrugged.

Hiccup facepalmed. "Toothless, I know that's what happened. I want to know how in the name of Odin you turned into a human!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Is that…An ability of yours or something?"

"If it is, I'm just learning about it. I had no idea…Until you said something; I still felt like a dragon, replying to you as I always do when we talk. I guess, to you; it's just noises that you somehow make out," Toothless informed. "Maybe…It wasn't me? Maybe it's because we passed the boundary?"

"Why would that be it? It's just…More ocean past a few stone markers," Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, I don't know; I'm tossing ideas here. I'm just as lost as you-," Toothless had started, standing up with his arms out. One of them ended up touching the stone post as Toothless stopped. "Hiccup…Come here a second," he said. Hiccup got up and moved closer to him. "Check this out," he pulled his hand out. "Human hand…" Toothless touched the stone again as Hiccup saw what he was showing him. "Dragon paw,"

"That's…" Hiccup paused.

"It's like there's…Some kind of barrier here, Hiccup. And when we pass through, or at least…I do; I turn human," Toothless claimed.

"What kind of anything does that?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know. But there's a lot in this world we don't understand, Hiccup. There's something else I noticed too. On this side, looking behind us. There was a sea stack we just passed before ended up at the marker…I can't see it now. But if we get towards the back of the ship more where my hand changes…Look," Toothless said. Hiccup looked closer, putting his head in where Toothless's hand was. He saw the sea stack. Pulling his head back, same spot it was gone again. "I think this barrier shields the Archipelago,"

"Why would it be shielded, though?" Hiccup wondered, still looking. It was confusing, shocking, but also incredible and…Magical.

"Perhaps your Gods thought it be wise to cover the Archipelago? Hide it from the rest of the world?" Toothless suggested.

"I suppose, after seeing all this, it's possible," Hiccup shrugged. "But that raises the question," he paused looking out ahead of them. "What's out there they wanted to hide us from?"

"Maybe we should go explore it?" Toothless offered.

"Gods, I'd love to…But what are we supposed to tell anyone we see?" Hiccup asked. "Maybe that we got caught in a storm? Drifted too far from home?"

"I guess?" Toothless replied.

"Hard to explore with you human, Toothless. We can't exactly make a quick getaway," Hiccup informed. "And we gotta get this boat back to Johann before anyone else comes to look for us. I don't want to imagine if this can happen to any dragon who crosses the marker…"

"There's dragons beyond the Archipelago, Hiccup. I think maybe this happened to us because you wished we could talk right before it happened. I guess making me human was the only way to grant the wish. Perhaps the barrier has special properties, or maybe this was supposed to happen. All I know; is that we shouldn't waist the chance…" Toothless said.

"I agree with you, but we need a better plan than just going out there. Maybe a smaller ship too. Let's get back to Berk, for now. Return Johann's ship, and leave tonight in a smaller ship that we can take through the barrier to explore more. We can fly out, trailing a boat behind us. When we pass through, we'll take the boat the rest of the way to see what's out here. We'll also have to make sure you have clothes to change into…" Hiccup made a mental note of that specifically.

"Sounds good. Let's get back; I'll take these off first, so they don't shred when I go dragon…" Toothless said. Hiccup nodded, turning around as Toothless stripped down; he did have a blanket around his waist, though. "Ready," Toothless informed. Hiccup turned around and raised the anchor as they worked together to get the boat back inside the Archipelago. Toothless returned to Night Fury form, warbling at Hiccup.

"Yeah, I'll ride you back and we'll pull the ship behind us," Hiccup said. Yeah, it was still weird to him. Hiccup got on Toothless's back after reattaching the saddle rig, which was off when Toothless transformed. Hiccup attached the rope as they made their way back to Berk in the Northwest direction.

. . .

(10:00 pm)
(Archipelago; Isle of Berk)

The dragon riders of Berk had located the dragon; it had been a Scauldron that they calmed, and semi-trained. It was enough to assure that it wouldn't attack anymore boats; then they returned to Berk to continue their day. However, Hiccup hadn't returned yet, and Stoick was worried for his son.

"Stoick, I'm sure he's fine. He has his Night Fury with him," Gobber, the Blacksmith of Berk, offered.

"Well go search for him," Astrid told Stoick.

Out of nowhere; Toothless's infamous roar got their attention. "Hiccup!" Stoick said, happy and relieved to see his son on Toothless's back and coming towards the island.

"Hey, Dad," Hiccup waved. Toothless pulled the ship into the docks as Johann was overjoyed to be reunited with his precious boat. Toothless released the rope and came around to land near the riders, his dad, and Gobber. Hiccup climbed off and yawned.

"Thank you, thank you, Master Hiccup," Johann praised.

"No problem," Hiccup replied.

"Where did you find it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Couple hours out by the Southeast Boundary marker," Hiccup informed. "We grabbed it before it went past," he added.

"Many thanks, Master Hiccup. I was petrified of the idea it would have sunk," Johann breathed some relief, shaking Hiccup's hand.

"Nah, it was fine," Hiccup stated calmly.

"As a token of my gratitude, please feel free to take anything you like; free of charge or trade," Johann smiled. Hiccup himself didn't need anything in particular, but if he and Toothless were going to be out exploring; Toothless would need some stuff while human.

"What do you have for clothes?" Hiccup wondered.

"Hiccup, you have tons. I just got you some months ago," Stoick informed.

"Well, yeah…But look at me, Dad. I kind'a hit a growth spurt between sixteen and seventeen…These are getting too small and tight," Hiccup informed.

"I suppose that's true," Stoick nodded.

"Right this way, Hiccup. I have some chests below deck that contain clothing of your particular size. Everything up here is mostly for…Bigger Vikings," Johann stated. Hiccup followed Johann below and towards the chests of clothes that Johann opened up. "I don't have a vast selection, but I hope you'll find a couple sets to hold you over until I return?" he said.

"Oh, it's perfect, Johann. Thanks," Hiccup replied as he started rooting through things, looking for a couple pairs that would fit Toothless, who thankfully, was just a couple inches taller than him. Hiccup picked some stuff, and two pairs of boots. "I think this will do," Hiccup said.

"It's all yours, my friend," Johann smiled with a light bow. Hiccup returned above deck and went to Toothless.

"Now, how about some dinner, son?" Stoick asked.

"I'm alright, Dad. I had some fruit that was in Toothless's saddle bag, and he grabbed fish while we flew," Hiccup informed. "I'm just gonna get some sleep," he added.

"Go on. You did a great job today, Hiccup," Stoick said.

"Thanks. Night," Hiccup waved, getting on Toothless as he took to the sky and headed for Stoick & Hiccup's house.

Upon arriving home, Hiccup and Toothless both headed upstairs to the loft-like area that belonged to Hiccup as an office/bedroom space. Toothless heated up his rock and laid down while Hiccup was sorting through the clothes he'd gotten from Johann's ship. "I got you some stuff to wear, bud. Not much, but a couple changes worth," Hiccup told his friend. Toothless crooned to him. "Mostly black and gray; felt like it was more your style," he smiled some. "And boots," he added. Hiccup set that stuff in a separate bag for Toothless, when that change happened again. Hiccup got to work packing some fruits, bread, and two buckets of fish for the trip.

Toothless got his attention, motioning to the rig and Hiccup felt like he understood. "Perhaps it would help to not have that rig on…But you need it to fly when you become a dragon again…" Hiccup tapped his chin a little. "Are you opposed to the automatic tail? The one I made for you before and you destroyed?" he asked. Toothless shook his head to him. "I think I still have those designs in the forge. I'll work on it tomorrow, we can leave at night, after dinner when dad thinks we're going to bed," he said. Toothless seemed to yawn and nod to the idea. "Alright, that works. Let's get some sleep," he yawned as well, climbing into bed and covering up. "Night Toothless," the Night Fury warbled in reply. Hiccup closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.