The Terrible Twos
Ethan and Amy flew through the clouds, high up in the sky. They had been traveling across the ocean for about a week now, searching for a place to set down; a place to live. A gentle breeze was keeping the two aloft, Amy hardly needing to flap her wings. The two had come from their village many miles away. However, after it had been destroyed by a massive blizzard, they had set out in search of a new home.
Ethan and Amy had known each other their whole lives and the village they had lived in had been peacefully living with dragons for hundreds of years. As a result, over the course of his life, Ethan had been taught Dragontongue, the language of the dragons, and Amy had learned Norse from the other dragons and humans in the village. The two became good friends over the course of their lives and were now inseparable.
Ethan leaned back in his saddle, laying down on Amy's back. Amy was a Majestic Glitterwing dragon, a very special kind of dragon that resided only in the area southwest of the Archipelago. Her eyes were a beautiful bright blue, and her scales were all a gorgeous, vibrant purple that was almost mesmerizing to look at. The scales running from the bottom of her jaw all the way down her neck and under her body to the base of her tail was an equally beautiful pink color.
Her large wings were just as magnificent, with a darker purple hue on the inside of the membranes near the top of the joints, which got lighter and lighter as it traveled down the wing. The inside of the membranes also seemed to sparkle and shimmer in the sunlight, giving the species its name. The outsides of her wings were a smooth, whitish purple color.
Amy was a bit bigger than a Razorwhip and had a couple of similar traits, namely her long neck and narrow head, although unlike a Razorwhip, Amy's head was smooth and flat on top.
At the back of her head were two fairly large horns protruding backwards out of her skull and, unlike almost every other species of dragon, she also had two narrow, pointy ears resting on each side of her head under her horns. She had sharp claws on the ends of all four of her feet. Amy's tail was quite long and ended in a sort of arrowhead shape and it, too, was a vibrant purple.
Ethan was a young man in his late teens. He had short, brown hair and eyes, and he wore no helmet on his head. He wore a simple, dark blue tunic and a maroon-colored vest over it that was clasped shut from the chest down. Ethan also wore a small belt with a buckle that had an image of a Glitterwing carved into it.
It was around midday when the two saw a large island down below. It was a giant mountain whose base spread out as it got closer to the ocean's surface. There was a small village on a smaller island that was resting on the southern side of the larger one. As Ethan and Amy descended toward the village, they began to make it out more clearly. Rising up out of the water were two large Viking statues. There were many ships sitting at the dock and the small island was loaded with houses. At the back of the island, stood a tall peak with one lone hut sitting on it. There was a plaza near the middle of the town with several other dragons in it and Amy began to slow down as she approached. Ethan patted her on the neck, and she looked back at him.
"Don't say anything to these guys," he said in Dragontongue. "We don't know them yet."
"Alright," she replied.
As they landed, Ethan and Amy were met with stares from the dragons and several young teens who had been accompanying them. Ethan didn't dismount from his saddle, still unsure of who these people were.
There were six of them. The first was a skinny Viking who wore a green tunic and a brown vest. He had brown hair that laid flat against his head, and he was missing his left leg. The second was a girl who wore a spiked, armored skirt and shoulder pads. Her long, blonde hair, she wore back in a braid. The third was a rather husky boy who wore a large brown coat and had a small helmet on his head.
The fourth was another boy who was built fairly well and wore a tan tunic with a black vest. The helmet he wore had horns on it that curled around in a sort of spiral. The last two were twins with long, blonde hair that hung down in front of their shoulders. One was a guy, the other a girl, although they looked so alike that Ethan couldn't quite tell which was which. Their clothing was almost identical as well, and their helmets also looked very similar, both having long, narrow horns sticking straight out from the sides. One of the twins wore a black vest with a gray tunic, and the other wore a yellow vest with a blue tunic.
As Ethan was looking at the young teens, Amy's gaze focused on the five dragons that were around them. There was a green Hideous Zippleback with red spots on its scales, a red Monstrous Nightmare, a tan Gronckle, a blue Deadly Nadder with a tan underbelly, and a…Night Fury?
"Hey there," the one-legged boy said warmly. His voice was a bit odd, Ethan noted.
"Who are you?" the blonde girl asked.
"I'm Ethan," Ethan replied. He leaned forward and gently stroked the side of Amy's neck. "And this is Amy."
"She's beautiful," the husky kid remarked.
"Thanks," Ethan replied. "Who are you guys?"
"I'm Hiccup," the one-legged boy said. He then motioned to the husky kid who had spoken and then to the others. "That's Fishlegs, Astrid, Snotlout, and those…" he paused, looking back at the twins, who were in the middle of a fight, "…are Ruffnut and Tuffnut."
"What kind of dragon is she?" Fishlegs asked.
"She's a Majestic Glitterwing," Ethan replied.
"I've never seen anything like her," Fishlegs said.
"That's because her kind don't live around here," Ethan told him. "We used to live on an island many miles to the south."
"So, what are you doing all the way up here?" Hiccup asked.
"There was a large blizzard that hit about a week ago. The entire village was wiped out," Ethan said.
"We were hit with a blizzard a couple of days ago," Astrid spoke up. "It came at us from out of the south."
"How old are you?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm seventeen," Ethan replied a little sadly.
"Where did you find…" Hiccup said, trying to change the subject.
"Amy?" Ethan said.
"That's a bit of an odd name for a dragon," Fishlegs commented. "It's a little-"
"Human?" Ethan finished. "Well, she's family. When I was a toddler, my dad brought home a dragon egg that he had found alone in some bushes. He couldn't find any nests nearby, so he took it home. After she hatched, Amy and I became inseparable, and it's been like that ever since. She's like a sister to me."
"And how old is she?" Fishlegs asked.
"In human years, she'd be about fifteen," Ethan replied. "I was only two years old when my dad brought her egg home. But, being a dragon, she reached maturity a long time ago. Dragons live about as long as humans, but they reach adulthood much faster. I was about three-and-a-half and she had already gone from being a newborn to about how tall I am now. She was fully grown a few years later and she hasn't grown much since."
"What can she do?" Fishlegs asked.
Ethan was about to answer when he was suddenly stopped by the twins.
"No, wait, don't tell us," Tuffnut, the one with the black vest said. "Whatever she can do, test it out on Ruffnut."
Ruffnut suddenly turned and punched him in the arm and the two started fighting again. Everyone soon turned their attention back to Ethan and Amy.
"I'll keep that as a little secret," Ethan said. "It'll be a fun little surprise. If we end up staying, of course."
He looked over at the five dragons before turning back to the riders.
"So, tell me about yourselves," Ethan said. "I couldn't help but notice you all have dragons too."
"Well, this is Berk," Hiccup said. "It snows nine months of the year and hails the other three. Life here is amazing, just not for the faint of heart. We're the Dragon Riders. Up until about a month ago, we fought dragons, but now that we've made peace with them, we ride them, live with them, and train them. You're welcome to stay with us if you'd like."
"Do you really have to make a production out of everything?" Snotlout asked.
"Are you sure your chief won't mind?" Ethan asked.
"My dad's the chief," Hiccup replied. "Trust me, it's alright."
"Ask him about the Night Fury," Amy said.
"Is that a Night Fury?" Ethan asked.
"He sure is," Hiccup replied. "His name's Toothless."
"I thought they were a myth," Ethan said. "Where did you manage to find a Night Fury?"
"Yeah, that's kind of a funny story," Hiccup said. "I actually shot him down one night during a dragon attack. He lost his tail fin when he crashed, and I built him a new one. It wasn't long before we made peace with the dragons and now here we are."
"Do you guys fly often?" Ethan asked.
"All the time," Hiccup answered. "Why?"
"Well then, let's just see how good you guys are," Ethan said. "How about a race through the forest?"
"Ha!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Is that a challenge?"
"I guess it is," Ethan replied, smiling.
"Then you're on." Snotlout turned to the Monstrous Nightmare. "Let's go, Hookfang."
The riders took off toward the forest, but Ethan and Amy stayed behind for a moment.
"You didn't tell them that you can talk to dragons," she said.
"I want to get a feel for them and this place first," Ethan replied. "That's why I didn't tell them that Dad asked the dragons in the village about your egg when he found it. I just want to wait until the time is right, okay? So no talking to them either."
"Okay," Amy agreed as Ethan got on her back. "You told them I was your sister."
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
Amy smiled warmly. "Yeah, you have a point. I guess you kind of are my little brother."
"Little?" Ethan asked, smiling at the jab. "Hey, I'm still older than you."
The two took off and headed after the other riders into the forest on the larger island. Amy soon spotted them in the air and flew over to them, hovering next to Hiccup and Toothless.
"So," Hiccup said, "what are the rules?"
"How about…don't crash," Ethan replied.
"Wow, you must really think we're bad at this, huh," Hiccup remarked.
"Well, I guess we're about to find out," Ethan smiled before Amy dove down into the trees with the others soon following after her.
Ethan looked down at Amy as everyone split up and weaved through the trees.
"So," he said to her, "how do you think they'll do?"
"Well-" she began, but paused as they both heard panicked screaming coming from their left. They looked over to see Snotlout and Hookfang crashing wildly through the trees.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Snotlout shouted at Hookfang. "We gotta go back. I think you missed a branch."
Hookfang suddenly dove into a thick grove of trees and all Ethan and Amy could hear was Snotlout grunting as he seemed to hit every branch he came across. Hookfang eventually surfaced with Snotlout covered from head to toe in leaves and twigs. The group eventually came out at the other side of the forest but noticed they were down a rider.
"Has anyone seen Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.
"I saw him yesterday," Ruff replied. "Does that count?"
"Found him!" Ethan called and Hiccup steered Toothless down to where Ethan and Amy had landed. They arrived to find both Fishlegs and his Gronckle, Meatlug, stuck in a tree.
"There you are, Fishlegs," Hiccup said. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Fishlegs replied casually. "Just hanging out. It's not like I crashed or anything. Okay, I crashed. There, I said it."
Hiccup jumped up and grabbed onto Fishlegs' legs to try to get him down, but it was no use and he only succeeded in tearing his pants off.
"And there goes my dignity," Fishlegs sighed.
"Yeah, you're pretty stuck," Hiccup said. "I think I know how to get you down, but you have to stay completely still."
"Why?" Fishlegs asked. "What are you gonna do?"
"Careful, bud, he's not wearing any pants," Hiccup whispered to Toothless.
"Wait a second!" Fishlegs panicked. "What does my lack of pants have to do with-"
Hiccup signaled for Toothless to fire a plasma blast at the tree. The low powered blast hit the tree just below where Fishlegs was stuck, the force of the impact knocked him free, and Toothless quickly caught him before he hit the ground.
"Thank you," Fishlegs said quietly as Hiccup tossed him back his pants.
"Now what are we going to do about Meat-" Hiccup began. He was interrupted when the branches holding Meatlug suddenly broke, and she fell to the ground.
"-lug."
"Could you not tell the others that Meatlug broke the trees?" Fishlegs asked, covering Meatlug's ears. "She's sensitive about her weight."
"How did this happen?" Hiccup asked.
"I was just flying along, taking notes on the flora and the fauna," Fishlegs replied. "And then something weird jumped out of the bushes. It was like a…like a flaming squirrel."
"Really, a flaming squirrel?" Hiccup asked skeptically.
"Or a chipmunk," Fishlegs replied. "Or some other flammable rodent. I don't know, Hiccup, it scared us. Isn't that enough for you?"
Fishlegs got on Meatlug and the two flew off. Hiccup looked over to Ethan as they mounted their dragons.
"Did you hear that?" he asked. "A flaming squirrel. Everyone knows there's no such thing as a FLAMING SQUIRREL!" Hiccup suddenly shouted as a small ball of flame shot directly in front of him and Toothless.
Toothless suddenly came to a stop and Hiccup flew over his head and onto the ground.
"You saw that, right?" Hiccup asked Ethan.
"Yeah," Ethan replied curiously. "What was that?"
They both looked over in the direction the fireball had gone and saw a small dragon hiding under a rock. It was about the size of a small dog with a white, semi triangular head and an orange body. It only had two legs, both with large, sharp claws on them and used its wings to walk around with. It also had two large horns protruding from its head. Hiccup and Ethan carefully approached it.
"Hey, little guy," Hiccup said. "Who are you?"
The strange dragon suddenly snapped at Hiccup's hand, and he jumped back a little.
"Whoa, settle down, big fella," Hiccup continued. "I've never seen anything like him."
He then turned to Ethan.
"Have you ever seen a dragon like this before?"
"Never," Ethan replied, shaking his head.
Toothless approached the dragon, but almost immediately became uneasy, letting out an unsettled grunt.
"You're not helping," Hiccup said to him before turning back to the little dragon. "I think we may have discovered a new species."
Amy walked up to Toothless, who was still very uneasy about the new dragon.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Toothless replied. "It's that thing I'm worried about."
"Why?"
"I just have a bad feeling about him."
He walked up to Hiccup and tried pushing him away from the orange dragon.
"Toothless," Hiccup exclaimed. "What has gotten into you?"
"It looks like he's hurt," Ethan said, noticing the dragon favoring his left wing a little.
"Let me try something," Hiccup said, slowly approaching the dragon. "Don't be afraid. I'm a friend."
He pulled out a bundle of grass from his vest and used it to slowly coax the little dragon out from his hiding place.
"Do you just always keep grass on you?" Ethan asked.
"It helps relax them," Hiccup replied. "The dragons love it."
"He's right," Amy replied. "It's amazing."
Ethan simply turned and looked at her with a bit of confusion. Toothless suddenly roared at Hiccup and the little dragon jumped into his arms.
"Come on, play nice," Hiccup told Toothless when the orange dragon suddenly dug its claws into Hiccup's chest, and he quickly pulled it away.
"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Little dragon, big claws!"
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Hiccup replied. He then turned back to the dragon which he was now holding at arm's length. "Come on, let's go. We'll fix you up."
The four of them flew back toward Berk, meeting up with the others on the way. However, the group passed right over the village and headed toward an arena with a chained dome on top that sat on a cliffside.
"What's that? Ethan asked.
"That's our dragon training academy," Hiccup replied. "We used to kill dragons there, but now it's where we train them."
The riders flew into the arena and dismounted their dragons. They all gathered around the new dragon, except for Ethan and Amy who stood by the arena wall, watching. The other dragons were there too, and Amy soon began talking with them. Stormfly was the name of Astrid's Deadly Nadder, Barf was the right head and Belch was the left head of the twins' Zippleback, Hookfang was Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare, and Meatlug was Fishlegs' Gronckle. It was then that Toothless approached them and Amy started talking with him.
"We haven't gotten to talk yet," Amy said as he walked up to her.
"It's Amy, right?" Toothless asked.
Amy nodded, still a little lost for words at being in the presence of a Night Fury.
"I know," she said. "Not a very dragon-like name."
"What does that matter?" Toothless asked. "I like it."
"Thanks." She paused for a moment, shifting a little restlessly. "Sorry if I look a little nervous. I've just never met a Night Fury before."
"That's alright," Toothless replied. "I'm used to it."
Ethan stood next to Amy, listening in, but still not revealing his secret to the other dragons. Amy noticed this and nudged him with her head.
"Go on, tell them," she said.
"I'd rather not right now," he replied with a whisper.
"Ethan, what harm can it do?"
"I said I'm not comfortable about it right now, alright?" he said with a slight snap in his voice.
The others looked between them, confused.
"What are you doing?" Stormfly asked.
Ethan turned and looked at the dragons before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Alright, fine," he said with a tone that told Amy that he was upset. "I can talk to dragons."
"You speak Dragontongue?" Hookfang asked.
"Yes," Ethan replied, "for most of my life. Like I said earlier, Amy and I have lived our whole lives together and during that time, we learned each other's languages."
"So, she can talk to people?" Toothless asked.
"Yes," Amy replied.
"But I don't want them to know," Ethan said.
"Why not?" Stormfly asked.
"I don't know what they'll think of it," Ethan replied. "It doesn't seem like it's a very common thing to know how to do. That's why I was hesitant to even tell all of you."
"You don't have to worry," Toothless said. "Hiccup and the others are the most accepting people you'll ever meet."
"Maybe," Ethan replied. "But I'm also doing it for her. I want her to be safe more than anything and people might want to exploit her if they knew what she could do."
Everyone turned back to the riders who were busy marveling over the little orange dragon.
"This is so exciting," Fishlegs said, looking down at the dragon. "It's a whole new species. We have no idea what it's capable of. There's no telling what it might do."
Tuffnut knelt down in front of the dragon.
"Flame, do it," he said.
The little dragon growled at him for a moment before jumping on him and biting his nose. He struggled to pull it off and Ruffnut began laughing at him. As soon as she did, the dragon let Tuff go and leapt on her next. Tuff watched on in the same manner his sister had.
"Hey, that is funny," he said.
The dragon jumped back down toward Hiccup who picked him up.
"Settle down, guys," he said, "this is serious. We have to figure out what to do with him, he's hurt."
"He's hurt?" Tuff said, rubbing his nose.
"He's just really scared," Hiccup replied, rubbing the dragon's head. "He'll settle down."
"Um, new species, remember?" Fishlegs jumped in. "We actually don't know what he'll do."
"Well, somebody's gotta take him home," Astrid said.
Everyone took a few steps back from Hiccup, who looked at the dragon.
"Well, big guy," he said happily, "here's your somebody."
As the riders began to depart, Hiccup walked up to Ethan and Amy.
"Where are you two gonna sleep tonight?" he asked.
"It's alright, Hiccup," Ethan said. "We're used to sleeping under the stars by now."
"Well, I'll talk to my dad and see if we can find a place to build your house."
"Okay, slow down a little," Ethan said. "I still don't know if I'm staying here yet. I haven't even been here for an entire day."
"Right," Hiccup replied. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, Hiccup and Toothless walked out of the arena, leaving Ethan and Amy standing alone. Amy turned to Ethan.
"Well?" she asked.
"'Well' what?" Ethan asked back.
"Are we staying here?"
"I don't know yet, Amy," Ethan replied with the snap returning to his voice. "Can we give it more than five seconds of thought first?"
Amy sat back in silence, feeling a bit hurt at Ethan's words. He had been irritable like this ever since the blizzard. He never wanted to talk about it and kept himself closed off from her, keeping all of his pain to himself. She let it go in the arena, but she was getting tired of it and now that they were alone, she finally confronted him about it.
"Look," Amy said sternly, "I miss her too. But you need to stop being so bitter."
"Well, Amy, what do you want me to do?" Ethan snapped.
"I want my brother back," Amy replied. "I'm tired of being pushed away by you, Ethan. Ever since the blizzard, you've gotten bitter and resentful, and it needs to end. I'm trying to help you, but that's hard to do when you keep pushing me away. You have to let me in. You can't keep all of your pain balled up inside and you can't keep lashing out at people around you, or else you're going to end up losing me too. And I know neither of us want that."
Ethan looked up at Amy and after a moment, his face softened, and he sighed.
"You're right," he said calmly. "Amy, I'm so sorry for everything. I'm always in so much pain over her. There's so much grief welling up inside of me, I don't know what to do with it all, and then I just get so angry that this had to happen."
"You've never been alone in this, Ethan," Amy told him. "We're supposed to help each other through this, not push each other away."
Ethan stood in silence, looking at Amy as she gently nuzzled him. He put his arms around her head and the two stood there together for a moment. After a short while, they parted and looked at each other.
"Promise me you'll start to open up," Amy said.
"Alright, I promise," Ethan nodded. "Now, about this place. It definitely seems nice enough, but I would still like to get settled. Let's just give it a few more days."
"Okay," she said. "It is a nice little island. Peaceful, quiet."
"Yeah, it is," Ethan agreed. "I wouldn't mind settling down here. These people seem pretty nice."
"Jessica would have liked it here," Amy said.
"Yeah, she really would've," Ethan replied, a slight look of despair in his eyes as he thought about the person most dear to him that he had lost in the blizzard.
He knew he shouldn't, especially after the talk he had just had with Amy, but he pushed the grief and sorrow out of his mind, burying his feelings for the umpteenth time since the disaster. He promised himself that he'd face it, that he'd try to be more open about it. But…just maybe not today. He hopped on Amy's back as she walked up the ramp and out of the arena. They stood there for a moment, looking over at Berk.
"Where to?" Amy asked.
"How about we take a lap around the island?" Ethan suggested.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Amy replied, smiling before shooting off over the ocean.
Ethan and Amy spent most of the afternoon flying around the island. As evening began to fall, they dove into the ocean to catch some fish before settling down on a cliffside and starting a fire. After eating the fish, they put the fire out and laid down to watch the stars for a while. As Ethan was peacefully laying on his back, looking up, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye and then heard a thud on the grass. He looked over to see Amy laying on her back with her legs in the air, looking up at the night sky. He laughed a little. She liked to do this from time to time, although he never understood why.
"You know, you don't have to do that," he told her. "I know it's not very comfortable for you."
"I know," she casually responded, still looking at the stars. "It's still pretty beautiful this way. I can see why you humans like doing it."
"Yeah, it is," Ethan replied, looking back up at the stars twinkling in the sky.
"But I guess you're right," she said, rolling back over into a more natural position. "It does feel kinda weird."
Ethan sat up with her and smiled.
"We should probably get some sleep," he said.
"I couldn't agree more," Amy replied with a yawn.
Ethan rested up against Amy's body as she draped her wing over him and laid her head down. She lay awake, thinking about Jessica. She deeply missed her friend. The two of them had gotten to be like sisters, doing all sorts of fun stuff together when Ethan wasn't around. Amy greatly missed the "girl time" (as Jess had used to call it) that they used to have together.
She could understand Ethan's grief to a point. Whenever the trio were together, life was always at its best. They were all inseparable and very close-knit. But now with Jessica gone, they both felt fractured. Nothing ever felt the same without her around. As Amy closed her eyes to go to sleep, she took a deep breath, trying to come to terms with what had happened. She knew that she would need to be there for Ethan in the coming weeks.
While Jessica had been a very close friend to Amy, she and Ethan had begun an official relationship together only a few months prior to the blizzard, a relationship that was strong and full of love. And Amy knew that Ethan would need her by his side if he was going to get through this devastating loss and find peace again.
Jessica had been the apprentice of the village blacksmith and had made Amy's saddle for them as a Snoggletog gift. And as a special bonus for Ethan, she had engraved a self-portrait of herself on one of the buckles. Now that she was gone, that buckle was the only thing he had left of her. He valued it greatly and looked at it often. He now held it in his hand and looked at it as he laid under Amy's wing. Jessica had given them the saddle not long after she and Ethan started flying on Amy. It was before they had expressed any romantic emotion to each other, although now that he thought about it, Ethan figured the inclusion of her portrait on the buckle may have been a subtle hint of her interest in him. After all, it was on their first flight together that he developed his feelings for her. It had never occurred to him that she may have also been feeling the same way at the time. Ethan sighed before slipping the buckle back onto the saddle and turning onto his side to go to sleep.
Toothless was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud sound coming from the forest. He jumped out of the hatch in Hiccup's roof and rushed to the cliffside where he found Ethan and Amy already up. They too, had been woken by the sound and were looking out at the forest. There was an ominous orange glow emanating from it.
"That sound wake you up too?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah," Toothless replied. "I've got a really bad feeling about all this."
"Me too," Amy said. "How's that little dragon doing?"
"Oh, you mean Torch?" Toothless replied angrily. "He's the biggest little pain in my tail. First, he eats all of my food, and then he steals my bed! And Hiccup doesn't even suspect anything because the little rascal is too sneaky. He just thinks I'm jealous of having another dragon in the house. It's all just so-"
He stopped to try to settle down.
"Sorry," he apologized. "I just needed to let off some steam."
"No, it's okay," Ethan said. "I totally get it. Let's wait and see what tomorrow brings, okay?"
"Okay," Toothless replied.
"Are you gonna stay out here all night?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, it's the best way to protect Hiccup," Toothless replied, "and it gets me away from Torch."
"Well, we're gonna go back to sleep," Ethan said as he and Amy walked off.
They both laid back down and slowly drifted back off to their blissful rest, resuming their former position, Ethan resting against Amy's body with her wing draped over him. However, as sleep took him, Ethan began to dream about Jessica. The week of suppressed grief and guilt began to slowly come back to the forefront of his mind and his dreams slowly shifted back to the day when he had first met the young woman that he thought he would one day marry.
The two had met many years ago, when Ethan was only seven years old. Amy was five years old and was a fully-grown adult Glitterwing. Her faster growth rate had made for an interesting life with Ethan so far. In the five short years she had known Ethan, she had already served a couple of different roles in his life. At first, they were playmates, back when she had first hatched. But she quickly grew into the role of an older sibling, being pestered by him from time to time and also acting as a babysitter when his parents were away. Now that she had fully matured, she had begun to take on the role of a second mother.
But never once in her youth had they truly been able to be like brother and sister, which saddened her. She just grew up too fast. But Amy did hope that someday, when he was older, and his maturity evened out with hers, they could finally have the kind of sibling-like bond she had always wanted to have with him. For now, she was still stuck on babysitting duty, but the two of them had begun to play around more lately.
As per the tradition of their village, Ethan had just begun to learn Dragontongue, though he was still quite new at it. Amy thought it would be too hard for him to try to speak two languages at once, Dragontongue and his own native Norse, but he had been handling it surprisingly well. However, Amy still mainly spoke with him in Norse. She figured it would be easier for him.
Amy was watching Ethan one day as he was running around and playing in the town square, when he turned to look back at her and suddenly bumped into someone.
"Ethan!" Amy said, a little sternly. "Watch where you're going." She turned to the little girl that Ethan had run into. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the girl replied.
She looked to be about the same age as Ethan and had long, brown hair that reached partway down her back, accompanied by her hazel eyes.
"Sorry I ran into you," Ethan apologetically said to her.
"That's okay," the girl replied with a wide smile. "What's your name?"
"I'm Ethan."
"I'm Jessica," the girl said. She then looked over at Amy with a bit of wonder in her eyes. She had lived around dragons her whole life, but she had never seen one quite like Amy before. "What's your name?"
"I'm Amy."
"You're really pretty," Jessica said. "I really like your scales."
Amy smiled down at her. "Thank you."
"Can we go play?" Ethan asked.
"Sure," Amy replied. "But be careful."
Ethan and Jessica ran off to go and play together, with Amy carefully watching them to make sure they didn't get into any trouble.
The memory jolted Ethan's mind awake. As he opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was just beginning to get light. There was a soft glow from below the horizon out over the ocean as the sun began its rise. He laid against Amy's side, listening to her heartbeat, feeling her body slowly rise and fall with each unconscious breath she took.
He thought about his dream. This was the first time he had dreamt about Jessica since her death, and he hated it. It was turning good memories sour. They had had so much fun together that day, but he didn't see it that way anymore. All he saw when he thought back to the day he had met her was injustice, and an injustice done on the gods' part. They had been such good friends. Their relationship had just started to blossom. And for the short time she had been his wondrous, magnificent girlfriend, he knew in his heart that he was going to marry her someday. And then the gods had to go and steal it all from him, for seemingly no reason except to make him miserable. But there was nothing he could do now except what he had been doing; try to get on as best he could. Ethan sighed to himself before turning over underneath Amy's wing and going back to sleep.
The next morning, Ethan and Amy met with the other riders in the academy to try to learn more about Torch. Hiccup carried him in and set him down on a table.
"Alright, Torch," he said. "Let's figure out what you are."
"This is so exciting," Fishlegs exclaimed. "Documenting a whole new species, learning all about it."
"There's nothing in the Book of Dragons that looks anything like him," Hiccup said, paging through the large, leather-bound book.
"We even get to determine what it's called," Fishlegs continued, growing more excited by the moment. "That is a really big responsibility. I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"I am!" Snotlout barged in.
"Twenty inches for the wingspan," Astrid said, holding a short measuring tape up to Torch's wings.
"That's a big wingspan," Hiccup said, marking it down in the book.
"Bigwing," Snotlout shouted, "Bigspan, Big Wingspan!"
"Look at these talons," Fishlegs said. "They're razor-like."
"Sharpclaw! Razorfeet! Razorsharpclawtalonfeet!"
"Hold on," Tuff said. "Is he serious?"
Next, Fishlegs pulled an eel out of a basket and the other dragons quickly took off. Amy wrinkled her snout and almost gagged at the sight of it. However, when Fishlegs moved the eel towards Torch, he snapped it up and swallowed it whole.
"He ate it!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "He ate the eel!"
"Eel Eater!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Come on, that's perfect."
"Fishlegs," Hiccup said, "has there ever been a dragon that wasn't afraid of-"
"Never in recorded history," Fishlegs answered. "We're in uncharted waters, my friend."
"You hear that, Torch?" Hiccup said, looking at the dragon. "You're one of a kind."
"Now we need to get him to fly," Fishlegs said thoughtfully.
"Maybe if Torch saw Toothless fly," Hiccup suggested, turning up to Toothless who was sitting up on a nearby cliff outside of the arena. "Toothless, let's take a ride, bud!"
Toothless didn't move.
"Toothless!"
"Ha! So much for the 'dragon trainer'," Snotlout mocked. "We've got this."
He walked over to Hookfang, but Ethan and Amy were able to get in the air first. They soared gracefully over the ocean, performing various tricks and spins until they landed back in the arena. Torch hopped down onto the ground and began walking in circles.
"What's wrong with him?" Astrid asked.
"Maybe he can't fly," Hiccup said.
But then, suddenly, bright sparks started shooting out from Torch's wings as he ran around in a circle. He eventually lifted off the ground and flew around the arena, all the while with sparks shooting out from his body. After a time, Torch landed back in front of the riders. They looked down and saw a very strange, spiral shaped burn mark on the ground of the arena.
"Whoa," Ethan said in awe, "look at that burn mark."
Torch hopped back into Hiccup's arms, who looked at him in disbelief.
"You…are one incredible little dragon," he said.
"Did you see how he flew?" Fishlegs asked. "He spun like a typhoon."
"And he came back just like a boomerang," Astrid added.
"Hotspinner!" Snotlout shouted. "Flaming Comebackerer!"
"No," Fishlegs said. "Typhoomerang."
"Typhoomerang?" Snotlout questioned. "Nah, I don't get it."
Ethan and Amy were just starting to doze off on the cliff next to Hiccup's house that night when they heard another loud roar from the forest that jolted them awake. There also seemed to be a commotion coming from Hiccup's house and it wasn't long before Toothless leapt out of the hatch in the roof and darted past them, heading toward the forest.
"Toothless, where are you going?" Ethan called after him, but Toothless was already too far away. Ethan looked over at Amy who gave him an equally confused look before the two eventually went back to sleep.
The apparent fighting between Torch and Toothless continued to get worse and more dangerous over the course of the next day. Hiccup eventually decided to leave him in the cove where he had first found him. But as soon as Hiccup got onto Toothless' back, the dragon took off, racing through the forest, intent on showing Hiccup what he had seen in the forest the night before. However, Hiccup was the one controlling Toothless' tail and he steered him back toward the cove, not seeing the massive, spiral-shaped burn mark on the ground. They landed in the cove and Hiccup hopped off of Toothless' back.
"Okay," he said. "You've gotta stay here. I never thought bringing Torch home would lead to this. I've got to separate you two until I can figure this out."
Hiccup went to leave, but Toothless jumped in front of him.
"Toothless, this is serious," he said. "You've got to stay here."
Hiccup continued to try to leave and Toothless continued to block him. But Hiccup eventually managed to trick Toothless and was able to climb out of the cove before heading back to the village.
That night, Ethan regrettably found himself dreaming about Jessica again. The grief that he had been burying deep inside of himself seemed like it was going to be resurfacing and manifesting itself in his dreams on a regular basis.
Ethan's dream that night took him back two years, back to when he and Jessica were still merely friends. He had been fifteen years old at the time and the two of them, along with Amy, had been hanging out near a river on the outskirts of the village together. It was a fairly calm day. The sun was out, there was no wind; everything was very peaceful. The three had been talking, joking, and laughing together for a while now. They hadn't really done much else, but a simple conversation could be just as fun as anything else sometimes. The afternoon was getting late, and the trio were beginning to get pretty bored. Ethan stood up and stretched as Jessica sat next to him on the bank of the river, skipping some rocks she had found on the edge of the water.
"I think we should probably head back," Ethan said. He helped Jessica to her feet before heading over to Amy. He stopped when he suddenly got an idea and turned back to Jessica. "You wanna fly back, Jess?"
"Uh…well…" Jessica replied nervously.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know," she said unsurely. "I've never flown before."
"Really?" he asked. "You've never ridden a dragon before?"
Jessica looked at him and shook her head slightly.
"That's fine," he told her. "I'm not gonna make you do anything. You can just sit behind me."
"Well…" she continued, "I'm also kinda afraid of heights."
"Hey, you'll be fine," he reassured her. "It's not very far and I'll make sure Amy doesn't pull anything up there. Alright?"
Jessica stood in thought for a moment before eventually agreeing, albeit still a bit hesitantly. But Ethan and Amy were both really good friends and she trusted them. Ethan climbed onto Amy's back and the dragon laid down to make it easier for Jessica to climb up. Ethan then outstretched his hand toward Jessica. She reached up and took it as he pulled her onto Amy's back behind him.
As Amy stood back up, Jessica wobbled unsteadily in her spot behind Ethan, and she quickly put her arms around his waist to steady herself. Ethan turned back and looked at her.
"You ready?"
She nodded a little nervously. Ethan smiled at her to try to calm her down before facing forward again. Amy spread her wings and rather quickly took off into the sky. As she left the ground, Jessica's grip around Ethan's waist tightened, her eyes squeezed shut, and she buried her face in his shoulder. Picking up on Jessica's fear and her quickened breathing, Ethan reached down and put his hand over hers to help calm her.
"You're okay," he said, grasping her hand.
Jessica didn't reply, only holding his hand tighter. Amy flew higher into the sky and eventually passed through the clouds before slowing down.
"Ethan," Jessica asked nervously, keeping her eyes closed, "why did we stop?"
"There's something I want you to see," Ethan replied. "Do you think you can open your eyes?"
Jessica remained silent for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Okay."
She hesitated for a moment before slowly pulling her head away from Ethan's shoulder. Very slowly, she lifted her eyelids and squinted as the sun shone brightly into her eyes. Once she finally opened them all the way, she looked around and was amazed at what she saw.
The sky and the clouds looked so beautiful from all the way up here. It was so much more incredible than anything she had ever imagined. Jessica dared to look down for a moment and upon seeing the ocean and their island so far below, her grip around Ethan's waist tightened a little. But she still admitted to herself that it was a gorgeous view.
Ethan turned around to look at Jessica. But when he did, something strange awoke in him. He felt an unusual feeling in his chest as he looked at the sun shining on her face. He sat and stared at her as, for the first time, he realized just how truly beautiful she was. The light of the sun made her face seem even more vibrant, her hazel eyes clearer and more gorgeous. He looked at the smile she directed at him and couldn't help but feel a newfound attraction to her. It took him a while to realize…he was in love. He had a crush on her, and he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that at the moment.
Jessica noticed the look he was giving her and laughed a little.
"What?" she asked.
"N-nothing," Ethan stammered. "I just…I guess I never get tired of the view up here."
"Yeah," she said, looking back around her. "It really is amazing."
A few more seconds of silence passed before Ethan suddenly cleared his throat.
"Uh, well, I guess we should be getting back to town," he said.
He gradually steered Amy back down toward the island, circling around it a couple of times so that they could come in and land softly, rather than diving straight down from their position high up in the sky. Amy landed near Jessica's house and Ethan helped her to the ground. Before she went inside, she turned back and faced him.
"That was actually kinda fun, Ethan," she said with a smile.
"Good," he replied, smiling back. "I'm glad you liked it."
"Could we go again tomorrow?"
"Sure," he said after a moment. "I'd like that."
"Alright," Jessica replied, pulling him in for a hug before heading into her house. "I'll see you tomorrow."
All Ethan could do was wave back at her as she shut her door. Words escaped him at the moment. His mind was still too wound up in the newfound crush that he had developed on his friend.
The next morning, the riders gathered in the arena again and Hiccup told them about what had happened with Toothless. Once again, Ethan and Amy stayed more toward the wall of the arena, observing.
"You did the right thing, Hiccup," Astrid said. "He'll snap out of it."
"Yeah, but what if he doesn't?" Snotlout proposed. "Then you won't have a dragon to ride. And if you don't have a dragon to ride, then you can't be the leader of the Dragon Academy."
"Yeah, then I'd take over," Astrid replied. "Do you really want that?"
"You guys will not believe what we just saw," Tuff said as he and his sister rode in on their dragon.
"Excuse me," Snotlout replied, "we're having a power struggle."
"We're not having a power struggle," Hiccup said casually.
"The whole forest," Tuff continued. "Ultimate destruction."
"It was beautiful," Ruff agreed. "The whole thing was torched."
"Torched," Hiccup said, thoughtfully. He looked down at the dragon in his arms. "Show me."
Hiccup got on Stormfly with Astrid, and they all took off, the twins leading them back into the forest. There was a massive part of the forest that had been destroyed. The trees were all knocked down and at the end of the path was the massive burn mark that Toothless had found. Upon seeing the mark, Ethan and Amy gave each other nervous looks.
"We've seen that burn mark before," Hiccup said.
"Yeah, but not this big," Astrid added.
"You know what this means, right?" Fishlegs asked.
"Big burn mark-"
"Big Typhoomerang," Hiccup finished.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and everyone looked up to see a massive red Typhoomerang circling overhead.
"He looks really mad," Tuff said.
"Uh, it's not a 'he'," Ethan said after Amy whispered something to him. "It's a 'she'. That's Torch's mother."
"Torch is a baby?" Astrid exclaimed.
"That's what Toothless was trying to tell me," Hiccup said in a moment of realization.
Suddenly, the dragon looked down at Hiccup, who was still holding Torch and began angrily diving toward them.
"Okay, uh, go home to your mama," Hiccup said nervously after setting Torch down. "Run!"
He and the others turned and ran, but Torch took off after them.
"You guys go that way," Hiccup said, pointing toward Berk. "I'll lead her back into the forest away from the village."
He rushed off deeper into the woods, but when he turned to look back, he noticed that Torch was still flying after him.
"Oh, please stop following me," he said as he rushed toward the lip of the cove.
He called out for Toothless as he took a running leap into the crater. As soon as he jumped, Toothless saw him and leapt up, catching Hiccup in his saddle.
"I'm so sorry, bud," Hiccup apologized. "I should've listened to you."
They flew up and out of the cove, racing out toward the ocean with the Typhoomerang following close behind them.
"Why won't she stop?" Hiccup said, but then noticed Torch sitting behind him on Toothless' back. "What the…Torch? What are you doing? You need to be with your mother."
Hiccup groaned in frustration as the Typhoomerang continued to follow them.
"Toothless, we need to try something else," he said, before getting an idea. "We'll use her size against her."
Toothless began climbing higher and higher before dropping into a power dive. Sure enough, the giant Typhoomerang continued to follow them. As they neared the ground, Toothless quickly pulled up and the dragon behind them, failing to correct itself in time, crashed into the ground. Toothless landed next to her and after a moment, she got back up, seeming alright and uninjured. Torch hopped onto her wing, and she began to fly away. Hiccup and Toothless then met the other riders back in the arena. Amy and Ethan were with them. Hiccup dismounted and walked over to Ethan.
"So, does this stuff happen a lot around here?" Ethan asked.
"Like I said," Hiccup replied, "life here isn't for the faint of heart."
"Well, that's good," Ethan said, "cause I think we're gonna stay."
"Really?"
Ethan looked up at Amy who gave him a smiling nod.
"Yeah," he said. "We've been looking for a new home for a while and we both like it here."
"Alright then. I guess we should start working on a house for you. You guys seem to like that cliff next to my house," Hiccup said.
"It is a very peaceful spot," Ethan replied.
"Well, I'll talk to my dad, and we'll start working on it," Hiccup said. "Congratulations, Ethan. You're a dragon rider now."
(AN: I started with "The Terrible Twos" instead of the first episode largely because of the origin for Ethan and Amy. It was really important to me that they grew up together, so obviously, they couldn't have come in during the first movie. Plus, I came up with the blizzard being the thing that destroyed their village with the idea in mind that it could be the same blizzard from "Animal House" and then I could bring in Ethan and Amy the episode after.
I still want all this to work as a story in general, meaning that all of the development and plot surrounding the riders should largely stay the same because it's still their story too. I wanted them to have gotten together as the Dragon Riders and get established as the team they are, and then bring in my characters. I didn't want to mess with the first movie especially since it's arguably the most crucial part of the entire series and I felt it would be better if those events happened undisturbed. And as always, please feel free to make fanart. Just make sure to let me know where i can see it.)
