Author's Notes:

While I stick very closely to the HTTYD movie/TV show lore, I take liberties with the LoZ elements. Please read with an open mind, as if this were a new game.

New chapters on Wednesdays. The whole thing, 30 chapters plus Prologue, is written and will be posted!

The blizzard had subsided, but the two boys still made slow time tramping through the deep snow.

"Hey," Hiccup tugged Link's sleeve. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "Race you to the bottom." Then without another word, the gangly boy jumped chest first onto his shield and shot down the glittering slope.

A trail of powdery white flew into the air as Hiccup cut through the fresh powder. Keeping his knees bent and ankles hooked together, he leaned with the drifts, avoiding hidden rocks and other fallen branches. The icy wind rushed through his hair, and he could almost imagine he was riding on Toothless. Soon. One way or another, he would find a way back, but at the moment, he had a race to win.

He leaned hard to the right to aim for a jump, but as he was about to launch off the rise—SWISH. A shower of snow blasted him as another sled zoomed off the jump. Hiccup diverted just in time to not be knocked off his shield and looked up. Link soared above, upright, knees bent. Hiccup whooped as Link sailed through the air and made a perfect landing, the snow spraying in the most satisfying of puffs.

Eventually, the slope leveled off, and the two came to a stop.

"Wow, you're a natural!" Hiccup said, slapping Link on the back. There was that infectious enthusiasm again, and Link almost said he wanted to go again. Then his eyes caught the bracer, the amber gems dazzling in the afternoon sun. The joy of the last few minutes evaporated.

He wiped off his shield and replaced it on his back. "Really, it wasn't that hard."

Hiccup noticed Link's sudden change in attitude and tried to keep him from spiraling. "Hey, let me tell you, not everyone can land a twenty-foot jump like that." He chuckled as he recalled when the other teens had pressured Fishlegs into sledding. "It doesn't always end well."

The path led to a glorified shack or a rundown outpost. Standing like a cheap gem in the bleak snowscape, Hiccup tweaked his eyebrows as they approached.

"This is where we're supposed to get transport?" he said, eyeing the gaudy, oversized, wooden chicken carving perched on the roof.

"Apparently. Let me do the talking."

"No complaints here," Hiccup said, throwing up his hands.

The floorboards whined as they crossed the threshold into the cramped interior, as if it were inconvenient to be stepped on by the pair of adolescents.

A pair of boots and thin fingers holding a ragged book were all they could see of the man behind the counter. A voice squeakier and somehow more irritating than the floorboards assaulted them.

"It's about time you showed up. You have any idea wha—" The book plopped onto the counter, and the thin face went from annoyed to panicked. In a flash, the man was on his feet, back straight, hands behind, and a smile so wide his eyes were nearly closed.

"Welcome to Vince's Air Adventures!" the reedy voice sang. "Are you looking to—"

"Yes," Link interrupted flatly.

The man continued unperturbed. "Do you wish to sail through the sky on the back of a—"

"Yes."

"Dear traveler this is not for the faint of—"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

There was a pause as the man gave a savage glare. In a moment, though, he recovered his overly zealous smile.

"The fare is ninety rupees." Link choked. The man continued to smile but said nothing. Link rolled his eyes and began rifling through his pouches, dumping dozens of red, blue, yellow, and green gems across the counter.

"This should cover us."

Vince scanned the hoard with one eye, then returned to his impossibly wide smile. "Beg pardon, my lord," Vince said. "That's ninety rupees per customer." Link's jaw actually dropped.

Hiccup stepped forward. "It's really important that we leave as soon as we can," he said, pointing to Link. "See, he's the—"

Link threw his hand up. "It's no problem. Give me a moment." He stomped back outside, the wooden door slamming shut behind him. For a few moments, Hiccup thought Link was simply blowing off steam because of all the yelling and grunting. Hearing the swish of a blade, Hiccup decided to check. He was about to open the door when Link stormed back in with an armful of gems. A mound of rainbows bounced across the wooden counter.

Vince peeked before resuming his massive smile and bowing. "Thank you kindly for your patronage. This way to adventure!"

Hiccup glanced at the enormous pile of gems before following Link and Vince down a narrow hallway. "Where did you find—"

"There's always rupees in the tall grass," Link whispered. Hiccup pondered that statement several moments before dismissing it.

"What do you think the transport is?" Hiccup asked. "You… kind of skipped over his intro."

"Relax, I've been shot from cannons, carried by giant vultures," the Hero said. "Whatever it is, I'll get you through."

Caws and calls beckoned the travelers through the narrow doorway at the end of the shabby hall, the sinking sun blinding them to all but the shopkeeper's silhouette.

"You have so many different creatures in this world," Hiccup said, quickening his pace. "I can't wait to see what we'll be riding on!" He'd ridden two-headed Zipplebacks, a Monstrous Nightmare, even a Thunderdrum and was ready for a new experience.

As the two blinked in the sunlight, Vince stepped back, arms wide enough to catch a full grown yack. "And here you are!" he said.

Hiccup shaded his eyes. Then dropped his hand and his smile. "Seriously? If Tuff were here, he'd think he'd died and gone to Valhalla," he remarked as one of the dozen, ordinary, white and red-crested chickens pecked at his boot. He noticed Link on his tiptoes as one of the hens ruffled her feathers. It let out a squawk, and he jumped.

"You okay there?" Hiccup asked.

"Fine… Cuccos and I… just don't seem… to get along," he said as he danced around the gathering flock.

Vince coughed quietly into his hand. "I'm afraid my lords are mistaken." Link heaved a sigh of relief and skipped away as Vince led them around the wooden slat gate to another enclosure. This was the source of the caws. "Here you are. The magnificent creatures that will take you to dazzling heights!"

Vince pushed open the gate. Link's face paled instantly. In the pen before them, raking the ground with their muscular claws and tearing into wooden feeding troughs with their sharp beaks, were no less than eight colossal cuccos.

Vince leapt to a platform overlooking the pen. Calling down with his obnoxiously wide smile, he said, "Riding them is a breeze. Literally, you're on a breeze!" His hand wavered as if floating toward its own adventure. "The tricky part is getting on them. You'll have to catch them first. Go!" With the clang of a large bell, the cuccos scattered in all directions.

Hiccup jumped into the fray, singling out one which had run towards a corner. It bumped into the slat walls and turned around, bristling its milky feathers as Hiccup approached. The chicken's shadow engulfed the boy as he kept up his slow but steady approach. Backed into wooden railing, the giant cooed in a low, threatening manner. Hiccup stopped.

Standing in the shadow of the beast, he held his palm forward and bowed his head as he'd done so many times before. All he needed to do now was wait. He felt the ground tremble from the stampeding of nearly a dozen frightened creatures behind him. His nose twitched and tingled from the upturned dust. He breathed through his mouth—careful not to sneeze and startle the creature—and the sensation passed. The low coos stopped. That's it. Any moment now he expected the gentle press of a cold beak against his hand. Any moment…

After many, many moments, he opened his eyes. The chicken was pecking at the ground, quite content to let Hiccup stand like a statue. He dropped his hand, shrugged, and climbed onto its back. He slipped a few times on the slick feathers but eventually found a spot nestled between its wings where his legs could keep a good enough grip. He gave a gentle nudge with his boot, and the chicken trotted forward.

"Good show!" Vince shouted. "That was done in record time!"

"Uh, Link?" Hiccup asked as Link sprinted by, followed by a pair of chickens. "Just be neutral. They'll calm down, and then you can jump on."

Link gritted his teeth. He has a lucky break, and now he thinks he can do everything. He skidded to a stop at the edge of the fence. He was boxed in. Two giant cuccos loomed over him, their heads twitching from side to side so that each perfectly round eye could stare down at him. Hiccup was shouting something "helpful" at him. He didn't care; he didn't want to hear.

He clenched his fist, and the golden triangle, the proof of his divine calling, flared to life. With a yell, he leapt and flipped onto the back of the closer cucco. He grasped the feathers with all his might as it bucked and shrieked.

Hiccup slipped onto the ground and ran towards the chaos. "Whoah, easy there, big fella," he shouted, waving both hands in the air. The cucco howled and stamped, nearly pegging Hiccup with its large foot.

"Link! You gotta—"

"I'm fine, Hiccup!" Link spat back.

Hiccup took a step backwards. Hesitantly, he returned to his own mount and was nestled between the wings before Link had gotten his under control. Link was still breathing hard when Vince waved from his perch.

"Fare thee well, adventurers. Remember if you need high flying adrenaline to stop by Vince's Air Adventures!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Sure thing." This would be a stroll on the beach. He turned towards his friend. "You ready?"

Link's blond bangs had fallen over his eyes, and his tone was flat. "Are you?"

With a kick, the cuccos launched into the air.

Author's Notes:

What would you do if someone tried to oversell that high to you?

Fun Fact: Vince's personality was based a bit on Trader Johann from Race to the Edge (not originally intended, but it worked out).

Thanks to Ari Lewis and Luke for beta reading!