Chapter 2
Let's assume that the scenes that aren't featured transpire exactly as they do in the first movie.
Eating dinner at the top of one of the catapult towers with Gobber and the other trainees wasn't the first place Hiccup wanted to be. Not after his embarrassing stunts in their training sessions with the Gronckle and Nadder, and especially not while he was so fascinated with the Night Furies.
But if he didn't show up, he was sure it would arouse suspicion.
"...And with one twist, he took my hand, and swallowed it whole!" Gobber embellished, telling his latest war story.
There was a collective ooooh amongst four of the six trainees.
"I saw the look on his face," Gobber went on dramatically. "I was delicious! He must have passed the word, 'cause it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg!"
He showed off his peg leg, which got another round of oooohs. Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs were fascinated, their faces showing off a sense of awe. Astrid was silent, but she leaned forward with a strange intensity, made more dramatic by the firelight reflected in her eyes. Hiccup remained unresponsive, his mind swimming in a sea of wonder about the Night Furies.
"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon?" Fishlegs inquired. The pudgy, nervous teenager was clutching two plump chicken legs in his fists, though they went ignored for the time being. "Like, if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something."
All he got were a mix of blank and exasperated stares.
"I swear, I'm so angry right now!" growled Snotlout, glaring at his burnt chicken as if it had just insulted his family. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand, and your beautiful foot! I'll chop up the legs of every dragon I fight...with my FACE."
"It's the wings and the tails you really want," corrected Gobber, twisting a wing off of his own chicken and waving it around for emphasis. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon...is a dead dragon."
There was silence after that. The statement echoed in Hiccup's mind, and he couldn't help but wonder what kind of position he would be in if the lead Fury had been injured in the crash. He scarcely heard his mentor as he dismissed them so they could turn in for the night.
He lay in his bed awake the whole night through, his thoughts in too much turmoil for his mind to relax. He would doze off every now and again, only to fully awaken when a stray question or two popped up.
He didn't realize how much time had passed until he noticed the line of pinkish-orange that signaled the approaching sun outside his window.
If he moved quickly, he'd have time to visit the Night Furies before training.
There was hardly anyone up and about that early in the morning, so it was easy for Hiccup to run across the village to the food stores, snatching an apple for himself from a wheelbarrow in passing. Slipping into the building, Hiccup grabbed a spare basket and filled it with chicken and yak meat, among other things. With preparations complete, and some assurance that he was not really stealing because it was all free for anyone who needed it, Hiccup slung the basket over his shoulder and raced for the woods.
Once he was deep in the forest, Hiccup allowed himself to slow down. The Night Furies were all sleeping on the other side of the lake when he arrived at the cove, basking in the sunlight like a group of overgrown lizards.
"Hey, Toothless," Hiccup greeted the lead Fury by nickname for the first time, keeping his tone light and friendly. When he reached the dragon, he relieved his straining back by letting the basket drop to the ground. "I brought breakfast, I hope...I hope you guys are hungry."
He unfastened the latch and kicked the basket over, allowing its meaty cargo to come pouring out, spilling over each other with a distinct raw stench. Toothless obligingly approached the pile of food, licking his chops in anticipation.
"Okay, that's disgusting." Hiccup remarked. Carefully, he began to make his way toward the Night Fury. "So, we've got some chicken...some nice yak chops...and a whole smoked eel."
Toothless, who had been eagerly nosing the pile of meat, drew back and growled when he heard Hiccup mention the eel. Confused, Hiccup reached into the pile of food and extracted a black and yellow striped eel, holding it out at arm's length. In the span of a second, Toothless went into full-blown panic mode. He reared up onto his hind legs and screeched, recoiling as though the eel was deadly poison.
Somewhat shocked that such a mighty creature would be scared of something as small as an eel, Hiccup yelped, "No, no, no, it's okay! It's okay!" He threw the eel into the lake as if it had just bit him. Toothless began to settle down, and Hiccup made sure to wipe his hand on his vest after the Night Fury recoiled when he held it out to reassure him.
"Yeah, I don't really like eel much, either," Hiccup muttered.
It took a few seconds for the dragon to become calm again, going back to nosing the food. Reassured that everything was alright, Hiccup retreated several paces back to give Toothless and the other Night Furies some room. He sat in the grass and took a bite out of the apple he'd brought with him. It wasn't an ample breakfast, but he usually didn't eat very much, anyway.
The baby Fury bounded over to greet him, eyeing the apple with curious interest.
"Sorry, buddy," said Hiccup, "This isn't for you." He didn't want to risk a repeat of the carrot incident.
The dragonet let out a sad croon, pawing at the ground before leaving to join its mother.
Hiccup quietly observed the Furies. Toothless was at the front of the pack, slurping down one of the larger yak chops. On his right was the dragonet's mother, but it was too early to tell whether she was the lead Fury's mate or just another member. The dragon on Toothless's left had a rather beautiful pattern of white, ribbon-like spirals on her body, legs, and above her eyes. They vaguely reminded Hiccup of the streaks left behind by shooting stars.
Besides Toothless, Junior, Mama and Starstreak (Hiccup's naming skills could use some work), there were three other Night Furies. Well, if you could call them that.
One was green and had a yellow, webbed-looking pattern on its wings, ankles, tail and ears, long horns, and two webbed yellow sails - a small one on its head and a larger one on its back. Another was lightning blue with lightning yellow wings, geode-like spikes on its ears and ankles, a pronged tail, and a prominent spine and head crest that crackled with electric energy. The last Fury was a purplish color and, oddly, covered in feathers - everywhere from its wings and back and tail to its ankles and ears - the tips of which were a fiery orange.
Greenweb, Lightning, and Feathers were definitely the most un-night-like Hiccup had ever seen.
Toothless spotted the scrawny heir sitting by himself, and tilted his head curiously. Why was the boy spending so much time among the Night Furies? Didn't he have his own pack to return to?
Hiccup paused mid-bite when he noticed the dragon staring at him. Toothless was wearing an almost perfect imitation of his curious expression. Lowering the apple, Hiccup pushed himself to his feet. He planned to leave the cove to give the Night Furies some privacy.
What he wasn't expecting was for Toothless to come padding over.
The lead Fury's nostrils flared as he took in Hiccup's scent. The boy and the dragon stood face-to-face for what felt like eternity.
Then, in one swift movement, Toothless grabbed Hiccup in his talons and shot into the air.
The Night Fury flew up past the grotto's wall and over the tops of the trees. Cold wind slapped Hiccup's face, and he closed his eyes by reflex. However, when he dared to open them again, he saw an incredible sight: the Berk forest far below and nothing but blue sky all around!
"Oh my...we're flying!" Hiccup whooped, his heart lifting as surely as Toothless just had.
Toothless did a spin, launching Hiccup into the air, and straightened out just in time for the boy to land on his back. Hiccup felt an incredible tingle in his gut as they flew, and he kept his eyes wide in spite of the wind. Adrenalin was flooding his veins and his bones buzzed with an electrical sensation. Flying was the most exhilarating feeling in the world!
"This is amazing!" he cheered, unable to contain his newfound emotion.
At that moment, Toothless swiveled his head around, as though noticing Hiccup clinging to his back for the first time. With a playful growl, the dragon executed a hard right turn that sent him diving back into the cove and into the lake. Hiccup managed to grab a quick breath of air before he and Toothless became completely submerged.
The splash of water from the impact of their bodies hitting the surface doused the other Night Furies. Annoyed at the unexpected shower, they collectively shook the water off their scales.
Except for Junior. The dragonet squealed with delight as he dove into the lake to join Toothless and Hiccup. The little Fury splashed the water with his wings and tail, eager to play.
But not even an impromptu morning swim could douse Hiccup's mood. It bubbled up in an uncontrollable swell, bringing an ecstatic grin to his face, and he brought his arms above water for a joyful cheer.
When Hiccup returned to the cove the following day, he was carrying a basket full of food and a saddle tailor-made to fit over Toothless's back, with straps that would wrap snugly around his body. While Hiccup didn't have the Night Fury's exact measurements, he was confident that it was close enough to get the job done until he could construct a more specific model.
After the Night Furies had finished their breakfast, Hiccup showed their leader the saddle. Toothless responded by running around the cove, with Hiccup chasing him.
It took a long game of chase, but soon enough, Hiccup and Toothless were on their first official flight over the forest. Hiccup sat comfortably atop Toothless's back thanks to the saddle, finding it much easier to hold on tight turns when he was in a stable riding position. The other Night Furies followed their leader in a tight formation, with Junior flying safe and secured right in the middle of the pack.
It didn't quite go as planned. One sudden, sharp turn around a large tree sent Hiccup tumbling off the saddle and onto the ground. Bruised, but otherwise unharmed, he lay there to gather his bearings.
Toothless went on flying for a good couple of miles before he realized his rider was absent.
When Hiccup next met up with the Night Furies, he arrived with a streamlined brown harness in place of his usual fur vest, and a couple of tweaks made to the saddle. He had added a hook to his belt and a matching one to the saddle, between which was threaded a cord that granted Hiccup an effective safety line. This way, he wouldn't fall off Toothless during any unexpected turns.
This time, the flight went off without a hitch. A few strong turns had Hiccup leaning slightly off the saddle, but his safety line kept him from falling.
Up until the point when the Night Fury pack unexpectedly dove into an ocean of tall, sweet-smelling grass.
Hiccup emerged from the field, brushing stray blades out of his way as he stumbled away from the crash site, a bit dazed. Although he was grateful for the soft landing, the sweet scent of grass was almost overpowering. He pushed through the long stalks toward where the dragons had landed...
...only to find a group of writhing, snuffling, playful Night Furies rolling and frolicking on a green mattress of flattened grass. Each and every one of them looked the very picture of bliss.
Unable to do anything but gaze at Toothless in wonder (and some amusement), Hiccup plucked a dozen or so clinging blades from his sleeve and stared at them in interest. He was reminded significantly of the eel, if only because of Toothless's reaction to that, too.
Dragon training was supposed to begin shortly, Hiccup realized. I wonder...
Another day, another visit. They didn't go flying this time, but the rest of the Furies were starting to warm up to their human visitor. Mama didn't even growl once whenever Hiccup reached out to pat Junior on the head.
After about an hour of playing with Junior, Hiccup ambled over to Toothless and patted his muzzle affectionately. The Night Fury leaned into his touch, producing a rumble that sounded a lot like a cat's purr. Hiccup pet the ebony dragon with more and more vigor until he was scratching feverishly at Toothless's neck, carried away by his own enthusiasm and Toothless's encouraging purrs.
Then, his fingers reached under the chin, and Toothless dropped like a stone. At Hiccup's feet, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself lay limp and content, made helpless by nothing more than a simple touch. The six other Furies stared at the boy, their expressions reading, What did you do?!
This, Hiccup decided, I should test in Dragon Training tomorrow.
Another morning meant more work on the saddle. This time, Hiccup took the liberty of bringing his tools to the cove so he could study the Night Furies and make more accurate adjustments.
While Hiccup was hammering away at one of the buckles on the saddle, a touch of sunlight bounced off the shining metal of the hammer, reflecting onto the ground in the form of a small white circle of light.
The second Toothless noticed that shiny dot, he was after it like a cat chasing a ball of string.
Amused by this, Hiccup angled the tool to make the dot move, and the Night Furies all shot after it. Toothless tried to pin it with his paw, but when he lifted it up to examine his catch, the dot moved again. Junior pounced on the dot, but it swiveled away to the other side of the cove.
Hiccup chuckled to himself as he witnessed the Night Furies getting themselves tangled up with each other as they scrambled to catch the uncatchable shiny dot of sunlight. Then he smiled, silently reveling in another characteristic stroke of genius.
At last, he'd done it. After several long nights of thinking and sketching and experimenting, Hiccup was one-hundred-percent certain that he had come up with the perfect saddle for dragon-back riding.
The leather had been coated with a substance composed mainly of ground-up Night Fury scales, which, if it worked correctly, would make the saddle and gear fireproof while maintaining a comfortable seat for the rider.
Hiccup couldn't wait to try it out.
Minutes later, that's what he found himself doing, hundreds of feet up in the air, surrounded by clouds.
The Night Furies glided lazily in the wind, the breeze ruffling Feathers's namesake, the orange tips resembling dancing flames. On Toothless's back, Hiccup was leaning back in the saddle so he could enjoy the spectacular view - the clouds, the sunset, the treetops, the ocean.
Toothless swiveled his head to look at Hiccup, who felt a certain warmth swell in him. Toothless really did trust him, even liked him, and Hiccup felt the same way. They were no longer enemies.
They were friends.
Just as the lead Fury was turning to lead his pack toward a nearby cliff, Junior, who had been flying alongside Mama, suddenly darted over and slammed into Hiccup's back. The force sent Hiccup flailing in the saddle, which in turn sent Toothless off balance. The cliff's edge rushed up to meet them, and they crashed painfully, tumbling into the woods.
Hiccup pushed himself up onto his hands and knees with a groan of pain, relieved that nothing was broken. He heard Toothless getting to his feet next to him - and then, with a surprised shout, he found himself being lifted into the air by his waist. It didn't take long to find the problem: the hook on the saddle had been twisted upon impact, trapping the safety cord in place.
Which meant that Hiccup was now stuck.
"Oh, great," Hiccup grumbled under his breath. He knew what had to be done - and boy, he wasn't looking forward to it.
It had been nerve-wracking, incredibly risky, and maybe just plain stupid to bring Toothless into the village. But Hiccup didn't have any better ideas, so here he was sneaking between houses and ducking into the shadows whenever the torchlight of a passing patrol Viking headed their way.
As they neared the forge, one such patrol Viking happened to pass them by. Thinking quickly, Hiccup pushed Toothless behind a nearby house with all his strength (which wasn't much at all), then leaned against the building in an attempt to look casual.
The Viking greeted the scrawny heir briefly before carrying on with his work. As soon as the Viking was out of sight, Hiccup pulled on the cord, prompting Toothless to follow him and closely as they stalked under the cover of night through the village.
The duo finally made their way into the forge, which was thankfully empty. Gobber rarely took nights off.
Hiccup instantly started looking around for the tool he needed to loosen the hook upon which the cord was stuck. As he did so, Toothless looked around curiously. Without his human companion noticing, he picked up a bucket and, seeing that it held no tasty snacks, threw it across the room. It landed with a loud clatter.
Hiccup briefly froze at the loud noise, aware that it would undoubtedly attract attention from anyone within hearing distance. He had just managed to find the tool he needed, and get in the right place, when something else caused both him and Toothless to freeze.
"Hiccup? Are you in there?"
It was Astrid.
Hiccup dropped everything and rushed to the window. If Astrid came in and saw Toothless, she'd have his head mounted over her fireplace. He flung the shutters open and, once he was outside, shut them again as quickly as he could.
"Astrid," he greeted nervously, trying to sound casual. "Hey! Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid." He was so nervous, his poor brain was caught in a loop.
As if things couldn't get any worse, the other Night Furies just so happened to have been following their pack leader to the village, unnoticed up high in the night sky. Toothless happened to notice them landing on the other side of the plaza, partially obscured by the shadows.
"I normally don't care what other people do, but you're acting weird," Astrid said. Then she added as a sudden tug on the cord that still held Hiccup to Toothless made him stumble, "Well, weirder."
Whatever she might have been about to say next, Hiccup never got to hear it; the tugging on the cord grew stronger, and then he was lifted off the ground and yanked back into the forge.
With all haste, Hiccup mounted Toothless and swiftly fled the village, leaving Astrid to stare in bewilderment through the doors. Hearing wingbeats, she spun around, and could have sworn she saw several dragon-shaped shadows darting into the sky. But they were gone so quickly that Astrid was left wondering if she'd just imagined it.
From up in the air, Hiccup let out a relieved sigh. We are never doing that again.
Greenweb, Lightning, and Feathers are supposed to be the three Night Furies that are on Hiccup's tournament team besides Toothless (if the player chose Astrid as their character, that is). Mama, Junior and Starstreak are all original.
Expect more changes down the road. In the meantime, reviews are appreciated.