Chapter Number: 2 / 9
Book Number: 1 (Lycanwing)
Planned at: 28 March 2022
Book Summary:
History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes with present. This rang true for inhabitants in Meridian of Misery. Stoick learned that keeping secrets would only hurt himself. Furious learned that future could never be set in stone. Wodensfang desperately grasping their long-forgotten past. Hiccup and Toothless came at the right time in the wrong place. It was not surprising that they played with their fate, as destiny claimed the very dragons they were meant to protect.
Pairing:
- Hiccup (Lycanwing Night Fury) x Toothless (Female Night Fury)
Warnings:
- AU and OOC characters with some movie/show canon aspects.
- Book HTTYD aspects and characters.
- Possible psychological horror.
- Female Toothless.
"What is this?" – Normal Speech
'What is this?' – Thought
"What is this?" – Telepathy / Reading / Flashback (Depends on context)
"What is this?" – Dragonese (Dragon speaking)
"What is this?" – Voiceover
Lycanwing – Unwavering Loyalty
Hiccup was not quite sure what to make of his dreams.
It had been a year since he started getting them; not that the 11-year-old boy complained. The dream had relieved him of mental woes and frustrations of his life. Unlike how most Vikings dream, it was something that he could always remember. He never brought it up to anyone, since he felt it was something personal. He did wonder why the dream seemed to continue from before, every time he got them. However, it was not something that he really cared about.
"Out of the way, you!"
Hiccup was shoved aside. He glared at the offender, who were walking away in front of him at hastened pace. The boy slumped his shoulder, before moving to walk near the corner. A hand gripped his shoulder. Looking up to the side, he saw Stoick looking down to him. He had a grim smile on his face.
It was a rare event at Berk. Traders from Northern Market had decided to tour around Barbaric Archipelago. There were a lot of Vikings roaming around, some of which were visitors from outside the archipelago. Berk was the first island that the traders went to visit, mostly because they had political significance at the region.
For Hiccup, it was a good place for him to buy books. While things that Trader Johann offered were good, he rarely had anything outside the archipelago. Unfortunately, there was not that many sellers that sell books. Not many people were literate enough to read books in the region.
"Fishes! Get your fishes here!" A man on a stand shouted.
"Bronze axe! Bronze axe for sale!"
"Need alcohol? We got them here!"
Hiccup continued walking down the stone path and Stoick followed. The whole place was bustling with people: Vikings and foreigners alike. There were makeshift wooden stands that everyone had built themselves for the occasion. Majority of the wares were behind them, with some being showcased at the stands. The back area was only accessible to the sellers and their crews.
"Books? Scrolls?"
Hiccup snapped to look at the direction where it came from. It was a rather small stand, with some books and scrolls at the front. There was no one there, and the seller looked incredibly bored. The seller was a lanky man on his thirty. He looked like an Englishman, with grey formal suit that were typically seen in mainland. Hiccup and Stoick did not recognise the specifics of the outfit.
However, it did not matter for Hiccup. He heard books, and he was going to get them. "Books!"
"Eh?" The seller turned his head to look at their new customer. It was an 11-year-old boy. "Oh! Welcome! How can I help you?"
"You said books." Hiccup started, looking up to the seller with enthusiastic expression. "I want to see!"
The man chuckled. "Not often I see someone want to read books so enthusiastically." He commented. "Well, here I have too many books! I have old scrolls and books from kings, researchers and conquerors of the past, what remains of the Alexandria Library – which is a lot, mind you! Language books and other assortments of literature!"
"Wow…" Hiccup breathed out.
The man leaned forward. "Which one do you want?"
Hiccup looked up to the side. Stoick was standing there, looking down at him. "Can I have everything?"
Stoick grimaced. He had placed a bet with Hiccup that, if he won Maces and Talons ten times in a row against him, he would have unlimited budget on his spending at the tour. He did not expect to lose against Hiccup ten times in a row. Since he was the one that offered the bet, he had to honour it.
"Yes, son." Stoick nodded at Hiccup. The man looked at the seller. "How much for everything?"
The man stared at him. "E- Everything?"
"You heard me."
"O- Oh my!" The seller looked to be in tears. "Finally, someone actually bought my books!"
"Come on." Stoick crossed his arms. "We don't have all day."
"Right, right." The man enthusiastically nodded. "It's one silver for everything!"
It was the same price as a small longship. That sounded like a fair price for everything. The chief nodded. He pulled out a silver coin and placed it on the desk. "Here. Bring them out."
The seller turned around and shouted at someone. "ALEX! BRING EVERYTHING HERE!"
Another man shouted back. "EVERYTHING?!"
"YES! EVERYTHING!"
Hiccup and Stoick waited. After some time, they saw a rather huge wooden box brought forward to them. They balked at the sheer size of it. The size was so big, there was even stairs attached to it to reach the top. It even had its own wheels. That was even bigger than Stoick!
The wooden box was being rolled out to the street. Four Vikings were moving them out. After it was outside, the seller grabbed the scrolls and books from the stand, climbed up the box, opened it and dumped them inside. When he was done, he closed the box shut.
"There!" The man exclaimed, looking proud of himself. "That's everything."
"Wow…" Hiccup breathed out. Stoick stayed silent. He was expecting a small chest of books, not this! It was an outrageously great deal for a single silver coin.
"Lots and lots of books!" The seller exclaimed as he pranced down from the stairs. "Everything's there. Journals of emperors and generals, wealth of information! Alexander the Great, Sun Tzu, Chanakya, you name it, they're all inside. I also have some puzzle games in there for you to try."
Hiccup eagerly nodded. "Thank you!"
"They are all written in different languages." The seller hummed, looking down at Hiccup. "There are language books at the very top for you to learn. You should learn those first before going through the rest. Take it from a professional librarian."
"Okay."
"There's also books about science." The man spoke as he inspected Hiccup. "You look smart. What's your name, kid?"
"My name is Hiccup!"
"What a strange name." The man hummed. "Then again, that's not the strangest name that I've ever heard. Anyway, here." He pulled out a cube and offered it to the boy. "Can you solve this?"
Hiccup grabbed the cube from him. He inspected it. The cube was made of metal, with a lot of intricate carvings and moving parts. Every side of the cube were nine buttons in square, three-by-three formation. The buttons had symbols carved on it, and there was pattern on those symbols. The boy immediately noticed these patterns.
"Yes? No? Maybe?" The man tilted his head. Then, he began lecturing. "That's fine if you can't. Nobody had solved that puzzle before, and I don't expect you to solve them. It was a metaphor made by scholars of Grand Library of Baghdad to always learn! There was no solution to that-"
CLICK!
"-puzzle…" The man looked confused and amazed. "… how did you do that?"
"Uhh…" Hiccup looked down to the cube he was holding. He tried to solve them by matching the patterns. It seemed to solve the puzzle. One of the sides was open, revealing a strange, shimmering light blue coin inside. "I tried to match the pattern on the symbols."
"Incredible." The man muttered, looking down at the cube. "Of course, why didn't I think of that?!"
"Ahem." Stoick coughed, getting their attention. "Was that everything?"
"Of course, of course." The man numbly nodded at him. Then, he looked at the boy. "Hiccup."
"Yeah?"
"You're far smarter than you looks." The man complemented. "You can keep it. And before you ask, yes. That is a Coin of Mithril. That coin is priceless."
Hiccup took a deep breath. He tilted the puzzle cube and sure enough, the coin popped out. The coin was large. It had a carving of a large, majestic building. Stoick stared at the contraption with confusion and fascination. He had no idea how it worked. Initially, he thought it might be a toy puzzle, since the seller had said nobody had ever solved it. It seemed his son had defied the expectation.
The man leaned close to Hiccup, looking down at the gold coin. "Did you know that carving there was the Library of Alexandria?"
Hiccup looked up. "No?"
"The puzzle was made months after the fall of Alexandria Library." The man explained to him, looking deep in thought. "It seemed to symbolize how greed caused everything to fall. With how priceless mithrils are, it seems to be one of a kind. But… hmm…"
"Ahem."
"Ah yes!" The man apologised, looking up to the stern chief. "I'm sorry; I'm a scholar myself, you see? I often become off track when talking about knowledges like these-"
Stoick interrupted. "I assume everything is in the chest?"
"Yes."
"Good." Stoick nodded. He grabbed the handle of the chest. "Come, Hiccup. I think we can fit this in your room."
Hiccup placed the coin back into the puzzle. He closed the latch of the puzzle and moved closer to his father. After everything was set, they both went off to their house in the village. Stoick earned a lot of stares when he effortlessly carted the huge wooden chest along with him. Hiccup was simply walking next to him, eager to read those books.
Because Hiccup was distracted, he did not notice a thief attempted to pickpocket him to try take his Coin of Mithril. Not that they got anything on him; Hiccup had nothing else on him and the coin was in the cube. The boy was more focused at the puzzle cube on his hand.
Later that night, Stoick rested at the fireplace in his house. It was the living room. The place was large; table and chairs around the corner, entrance door at the front, stairs to access Hiccup's room, another door to Stoick's room, and an open doorway to the kitchen. The place was made of wood, except for the fireplace, which was made of stone.
The man had spent few hours getting that crate up into Hiccup's room. It was exhausting, but it was nothing that he could not handle. It was something that he had to do himself, since other Vikings were busy dealing with security with the visitors. At least Hiccup was happy to see it.
Ever since the incident where he was almost eaten by a dragon, Hiccup had become more pragmatic. He spoke less of his imagination but spent more time dozing out and daydreaming; at least, according to Gobber. He also seemed to be more organised with his schedule. While he hated the fact that the incident happened, he was glad that Hiccup had at least somewhat changed.
Hopefully, the books and scrolls would distract him. Stoick did not really care about the origin of the books, or why they were so cheap to begin with. Hiccup needed to stop brooding and daydreaming. Every time Trader Johann came to Berk, Hiccup would buy books, and that stopped his antics. However, that only lasted for few days, before he started brooding and daydreaming again.
This time, there was a plethora of them. He hoped that would last for the rest of his life. However, given his track record, Hiccup would probably go through them in a year or two.
'He need to do better than this.' Stoick thought to himself.
That somehow reminded him of that Night Fury; Toothless. She was never seen again at Berk. He assumed that she had left the archipelago; most likely afraid that she might hurt Hiccup if she ever went to raid Berk. That was smart of her. For Stoick, however, it meant that they had one less dangerous dragon to deal with during dragon raid.
However, there was a rumour of another Night Fury. This one was more powerful and smarter; it knew their weapons and logistics. Vikings recognised it by its blue fire and terrifying dive. It was yet spotted at Berk during dragon raid, but it was better safe than sorry. Stoick felt like he should've known something, based off the description. However, until he saw it himself, he could not say anything.
'I hope my suspicion was wrong.'
"Toothless!"
"Amber."
"Toothless!"
"Amber."
"Toooooothleeeeeesss!" Amber whined.
"Ambeeeer!" Toothless whined back.
The Night Fury and Light Fury were resting inside a cave clearing with one cave way. There were glowing mushrooms around, meaning that they were still at the Hidden World. The place was dark, but that did not mean they could not see. The two dragons had picked the place for their roost, primarily because the light was perfect for their sleep.
"Toooothlessss!" Amber whined as she nudged her best friend. "Get out and find a mate."
The black dragon snorted. "Really?'
"Yes, really!" The Light Fury nodded, staring at her with bright smile on her face. "Someone is courting me again. You need one as well."
Toothless groaned. "There's no other Night Fury besides me and my dad."
"Then go outside!"
The Night Fury covered her face with her paws. "I don't wanna!"
"Go outside!"
"No!"
"Your dragon boy is waiting for you." Amber teased.
Toothless looked conflicted. "… maybe."
"So, he's your Precious Thing, now?"
"Maybe."
"If he's your Precious Thing, why are you here?"
"Because I don't know if I should make him my Precious Thing." Toothless snapped back. "He's a human!"
"You don't have a problem adopting your name from him." The Light Fury pointed out to her.
"Well, he's my friend." The black dragon retorted. "A friend just so happens to be a human."
"Don't you want to go out and see what he's up to?" Amber questioned her.
Toothless seem to fidget on her paws. "… maybe."
"And don't you want to find out?"
"I don't want to get out!" Toothless whined. She looked at her best friend with pleading expression. "They'll drag me into their war, and there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to get involved with this. My dad will kill me!"
"Fine." Amber harrumphed. "But you have to find a mate, at least."
Toothless snorted. "Like the past ten mongrels that tried to breed me this week? Sorry, Amber. I don't fancy being a trophy mate."
"Now you're just playing hard to get."
The Night Fury let out an exasperated sigh. "Amber, that's not what I mean."
"Yeah, sorry." The Light Fury muttered, looking away. "I just… worried, you know? You're, what, 11? You're beautiful, powerful, charming…"
"Okay, okay!" Toothless cried out. "It's hard to look for one that look at me for being… me, you know?"
"It's not hard for people to look at me for being me." Amber pointed out.
"You've been breeding with Light Furies ever since you've come to age and got your adult name." Toothless monotonously listed. "And you got yourself several clutches of eggs. You're not looking for a mate; you're there for the breeding."
"What? It's a perfectly natural thing!"
"I know, but you're a Light Fury. I'm a Night Fury. Different tradition."
"Technically, we have the same tradition."
"Then I'm traditionalist."
Amber let out a sigh. "Yeah, well, how are you going to find a mate, then?" She asked.
Toothless sat up on her hindlegs. She tapped her chin with her claws. "Hrr…" She hummed. "I want one that… interest me."
"Oh?"
"Maybe a dragon that know a lot of things." The Night Fury hummed. "Someone that wouldn't jump me the moment I showed up."
"That's…" The Light Fury was not sure on what to make of it. "That's hard to find. I don't think there's any smart dragons around."
"I don't think there's any Night Fury around." Toothless dryly corrected. "With how much we're being hunted by humans. I swear; I felt like the only remaining Night Fury out there was just me and my dad."
"Well, that Night Fury part is not a problem. I know there's one outside-"
"WHAT?!"
Amber backed off, surprised by that reaction. "Err, what?"
"There's a Night Fury outside?"
"Uhh, yes?" The Light Fury nodded. Then, her eyes widened in realisation. "Wait, don't tell me you're interested."
Toothless pondered for a moment. After some time, she looked at her best friend with serious expression. "Tell me more about this dragon."
"Well…" Amber sat on her hindlegs. "It's just rumours spread around amongst the alpha dragons. There's news about a male Night Fury looking for a mate. He's the same age as you. He's smart, big and handsome, with big-"
"Too much detail!" Toothless hastily interrupted her. "I don't want to know that part!"
Amber gave her a canary expression. "Hrr, krr…" She giggled. "… anyway, he's fast – like, really fast."
"That's a common trait for us."
"Yeah, but I mean, like, he's really, really, really fast." Amber insisted. "Dragons that came in praised his speed. There's also that Skrill he chased off during a storm – he caught them and made that dragon submit to him!"
"I think I remember my dad doing something like that." Toothless commented.
"It's not your dad." The Light Fury insisted. "Trust me on this one."
"… Okay." Toothless spoke with blank expression. Was she implying incest?
Amber was ignorant of this. "Anyway." She started. "One more unique thing about him is that his name. He shared the same name as your dragon boy."
"… what?"
"Oh, yes." Amber sagely nodded. "His name is Hiccup."
"That's his-"
"Hatchling name, yes."
"Wait, I meant to ask if that's his-"
"It's not his adult name. He doesn't have one."
Toothless spluttered but interested. Amber gave her a canary look. The black dragon tilted her head, intrigued. "… but what is he doing outside? Is he a soldier?"
"I don't know." The Light Fury shrugged. "That's just as far as I can tell. I heard this when my pack alpha was talking about it. Apparently, he's considering on sending Light Fury to be his mate."
Toothless looked outraged. Amber saw the expression. The white dragon had gained her attention. "Aren't you mad that a Night Fury gets to mate with a Light Fury before you?"
"N- No!" Toothless vehemently denied, but her will was faltering. "He's probably an arrogant, pretentious dragon anyway. He probably just want a trophy mate. Not what I'm looking for."
"Oh, come on." Amber whined. "I got punished for overhearing it. At least appreciate that by checking him out!"
"Were you checking out males during alpha meeting again?" Toothless dryly asked.
"You know me." Amber smirked at her.
Toothless shook her head. "… maybe if he's here, I might consider it." She finally admitted. "But he's outside and we barely know him. Not worth the risk."
Amber look crestfallen. She thought about how to convince her best friend to at least find the dragon. Toothless lay back down onto the ground. The conversation exhausted her. Then, the white dragon got an idea.
"… you know." Amber slowly started, getting her attention. "I heard this Night Fury have a lot of human knowledge."
"Oh?" Toothless tilted her head, intrigued.
"Oh yes." The Light Fury sagely nodded. "I heard he can draw; you know, capturing the image of something into physical surface."
The Night Fury was interested. Toothless knew how to draw, thanks to Hiccup teaching her that the first time around. She had not told anyone that she could draw, not even Amber. That raised her interest, but she was also sceptical. "Okay?"
"I heard that he was being held back from coming here because of the war." The Light Fury continued speaking.
"Not surprising." Toothless blandly replied.
'Hook is in place.' The white dragon mentally cackled.
Amber paused, before continued speaking. "The reason why we got the news was because Furious is looking for a mate for him."
"So, he's a soldier then." Toothless rolled her eyes. "Figures. He's part of the Dragon Rebellion."
"Not yet." Amber corrected him. "Furious wanted to recruit him because of his vast knowledge about humans. He gave Furious a condition. If he can find a mate for him, he will join the Dragon Rebellion."
"WHAT?!" Toothless roared. She stood right up, utterly shocked by that information.
'Line is in the water.' Amber mentally giggled.
"Oh yes." The Light Fury sagely nodded. "They've sent a Light Fury to him as we speak."
"There's no way I'm going to let that happen." The black dragon snarled. "Where is he?!"
'And sinker.'
"He's at Barbaric Archipelago, spotted somewhere close to Dragon Island." Amber told her the location.
"I'm going out to see this." Toothless fumed as she started walking out from their roost. 'I will not have the only male Night Fury dragged into Dragon Rebellion. I'll drag his arse here if I have to!'
Amber simply smiled as she watched Toothless walking out from their roost. She felt bad for the deception, but she thought it was necessary. Her best friend needed a mate. It did not feel right for her that she had been breeding and laying eggs, but Toothless did not.
"Oh, and Amber?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell anyone. Especially my dad."
It had been weeks since Hiccup had received the books. The boy had been reading every language book that was available there. It was interesting to learn, mostly because he had never heard of anyone speaking other languages before. While that knowledge may not be useful unless he went off to travel, he needed them to read those books and scrolls.
Hiccup yawned. The boy was resting on his bed with book on his hand. It was night-time outside. The lantern on the table illuminated the room, giving him the light to read the book. The wooden chest was at the corner, taking quarter of his room for its place. Notably, there were stacks of books on the table. The metal cube puzzle was there as well.
Hiccup had been reading books all day and night. When he was not busy doing anything, such as doing his work at the forge or eating, he would stay in his room to read his books. There would be times where he fell asleep while reading. That was a common occurrence for him.
In this scene, that was exactly the event that was about to happen. The boy was dropping his eyes. He was struggling to stay awake. Eventually, he closed his eyes. The book fell off from his hand to the ground. He had fallen asleep while reading the book.
Moments later, the door slowly opened. Stoick peeked to see what his son was up to. The boy was asleep. The man felt relief. The books had done its job. Hiccup had stopped brooding or daydreaming, and more focused on reading. The man silently congratulated himself, before moving back to close the door.
If Stoick had stayed for longer, he would've seen his son snap open his eyes, revealing his forest green, Night Fury eyes.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!"
"KRAAAA!" BOOM!
A giant torch blew up, expelling coals and oil all over the place. Hiccup smirked as he looked down upon the chaos under him. The village he was attacking was foolish enough to have one giant torch at the centre. While it worked on revealing the dragons above, they did not anticipate him blowing them up.
The Night Fury circled around and began analysing the situation. The dragons were pulling back, meaning that the raid was beginning to end. Satisfied, the black dragon began to pull back. It was time for him to get back to Dragon Island.
'What a great time to be alive.' Hiccup thought, feeling happy. Raiding villages in his dream had become his way of venting emotion. It felt nice to stop holding them back.
Since Hiccup was the first one to leave early, it was just him that flies in the sky. The dragon enjoyed the feeling. There were times where he flew back along with raiding dragons. While they thanked him for his support, most did not care about him at all. Furious did not want him to check on the raiding party.
It made him feel lonely. However, he was used to that feeling.
Suddenly, Hiccup saw something unusual in the sky. The stars were flickering in a pattern. That meant one thing; there was another one of his kind somewhere there.
'Enemy dragon?' Hiccup thought, before dashing off to the black silhouette.
The unknown dragon obviously saw him. It began speeding away from him. Despite its speed, Hiccup was slightly faster. The dragon sped up to reach an island. Hiccup went off to follow whoever that was.
Reaching the island, they began manoeuvring around obstacles, dodging rock pillars, walls and trees alike. Hiccup was able to keep up with it, as it was something he could do. At some point, he heard a loud boom, and he stopped hearing the sound around him. He heard another boom, meaning that whatever that dragon was, it also caused it.
'Sound barrier.' Hiccup thought. 'It broke the sound barrier too!'
Finally, they made it through the island. They were flying extremely fast. The dragon made a turn to dodge a wall; barely scraping its body. Hiccup, however, had something else in mind. He turned, but instead of simply doing that, he kicked off the wall to turn tighter around the corner. The dragon winced, as it was not really a good idea to do that when going supersonic.
It seemed to work, however. Turning bled a lot of speed. Since Hiccup had utilised that tactic, he was able to catch the foreign dragon. He bit its tail and pulled it onto him. It was after he reached it that he realised what that dragon was. It was a female Night Fury!
"What the-" Hiccup started.
"GET OFF!" The female Night Fury roared at him. She unsheathed her claws and slashed his face.
"Ow!" Hiccup let go of her and the female Night Fury sped off.
Not giving her any chances, Hiccup shot a plasma blast. The female barely dodged it, but as it went past her, the ball exploded right in front of her face. That surprised the female black dragon. Seeing that she could not run, the dragon pulled into a tight loop, before firing a purple plasma blast to his direction.
Hiccup shot his blue plasma blast in retaliation. The attack struck at the centre, creating an explosion. The Night Fury nearly jumped when he saw her snarling and charging at him.
"KRAAAA!"
Hiccup unsheathed his claws. The female dragon moved to scratch his stomach, but he blocked it with his arms. It scratched him. Hiccup slashed downward right into her, which scratched her belly. The female dragon did not expect this.
"Ow!" She roared in pain. "You mongrel!"
Seeing a distraction, Hiccup instantly fired his plasma blast. The female dragon did not react fast enough. She was struck right on her chest. "AAAH!"
The dragon fell from the sky. Hiccup simply stared as she fell to the ground. After that, he swooped down to land close to her.
The female Night Fury was struggling to get up. While the impact did not make her bleed, it had scorched her chest. The shockwave from the explosion most likely had caused internal injuries, since she felt pain in her ribs. That was not a problem, it could heal itself overtime. However, the problem was that it takes time for them to heal.
"Krrr…" The female growled as she collapsed on the ground.
Hiccup quickly moved in and pinned her down. He went right on top of her, grabbed the base of her wings and locked it with his arm. The other paw went around her arm and locked that in place as well. As a final measure, he moved his tail and wrapped them around hers.
"Krrr…" the female dragon growled as she struggled from his grip. "Let go of me!"
Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Yield."
"I will not submit myself to some mongrel!" She roared.
The male Night Fury tightened his grip. The female gasped as she suddenly felt herself completely immobile. She was completely at his mercy. However, she would not have herself being bred by this random dragon!
"Yield."
There was also something in his voice; it was demanding her to submit. There was dominance in his voice. The female dragon whimpered. Her training did not equip her for outside world. She had tried her best and she had failed. Night Fury mating tradition was for her to be caught by a male. He did exactly just that. It meant that he would breed her.
"… I yield." The dragon whimpered.
Hiccup leaned down and inhaled her scent. He did it to remember who she was and in case he needed to track her. The female dragon whimpered as she braced herself for the inevitable. She limped her body. She wanted to get it over with.
However, not only Hiccup did not do that. He released her.
The male dragon let go of her. Hiccup jumped off from her and stood right in front of her. "There we go. Now, would you mind telling me why you…"
The female dragon was angry and confused. She sprung up and growled at him. "How dare you, you…"
Both dragons trailed off. They felt some sense of familiarity. Acidic green eyes stared at the forest green ones. Their pupils grew wide, as they suddenly felt attracted to each other. They were so busy fighting each other; they did not realise what they look like. They both felt drawn onto each other, as they lost themselves in their eyes.
The female dragon inspected the male in front of her. He was slightly bigger than her. He was definitely a strong male, as she could see muscular figure underneath those black scales. Most dragons could not see it, but she could see the chiselled figure underneath them. There were scratches on his arms and face, presumably from her claws. There were a lot of other scars on his scales, signifying that he had gotten himself into a lot of dragon fights before.
The female dragon found herself lost in his appearance. He was attractive, very much so. She did not smell any foreign scent from him when he pinned him down, which meant that he did not have any mate. He was the same age as her. She did wonder why he had not claim her right there and then. Maybe this male was different?
Hiccup seem to have similar opinion of her. The female dragon in front of her was the most beautiful dragoness he had ever seen. Everything about her was beautiful: her scales, her eyes and her strength. She managed to keep up with him, which was a sign of her strength. There were scars and a scorch mark on her body, which obviously came from him. Nobody had ever kept up with him before, not even Speed Stingers when he was on the ground. He wondered why this female Night Fury was here.
"Uh…" Hiccup started. "Sorry, but I-"
"I- It's fine!" The dragoness hastily replied. "I was-"
"No, no, no! It's fine, I mean-"
"Sorry, but I-"
"Okay, okay, stop." Hiccup interrupted.
The female dragon stopped speaking. They had been talking over each other, feeling nervous with each other's presence. They stayed silent for some time, lost in their eyes. After some time, Hiccup asked. "What's your name?"
It took some time for the dragoness to speak. "Toothless."
"Toothless." Hiccup paused. That was the same name as his Night Fury friend outside his dream. "O- okay. Err… my name is Hiccup."
"Hiccup." The female dragon – now known as Toothless – carefully replied. "Nice to meet you."
They stayed silent for some time. It was awkward. Hiccup decided to break the silence. "I uh…" He started. "Sorry – I'm nervous. I just never seen or met one of my kind before."
"Me neither…" Toothless quietly whispered.
"A- Anyway." Hiccup straightened himself. "What are you doing here? You're not really supposed to be in this area."
"I was just observing." The female dragon replied, narrowing her eyes. "What do you mean I'm not meant to be here?"
"Well." Hiccup nervously shifted on his paws. "This whole area is restricted because there's a dragon raid operation. Foreign dragons aren't meant to be here, unless you're here to join in or interfere."
Toothless took a step back. She looked at him with fear in her eyes. She knew what it meant. She had been looking for him to see if what Amber said was true. For the most part, yes; there was a male Night Fury outside, and he was slightly faster and bigger than her. However, what she did not accounted for was him already serving in Dragon Rebellion.
It was then Toothless realised what had happened. 'Amber, you lied to me!' She internally seethed. She could hear her cackling in her head back at Hidden World.
"So, you're here to observe?" Hiccup questioned.
"Y- Yes." Toothless nodded, not wanting to bring down the wrath of Furious' dragons onto her. "I'm just here to observe."
"… well, you're still not supposed to be here." Hiccup grumbled, eyeing her with distrustful look. "Can you still fly?'
Toothless flexed her wings. "I think so. Yes."
"Follow me." The male Night Fury spoke as he spread his wings. "I'll escort you out, so others don't jump you."
"Okay."
The two Night Furies took off into the air. They circled around for some time, before heading off together to one direction.
After flying for some time, Hiccup and Toothless landed on an island. The male Night Fury looked around, before speaking. "Right. We're outside the restricted airspace. Just be careful with where you're flying."
"Okay."
"It's best to detour around restricted airspace rather than going through them." Hiccup lectured her. "You'll know the places when you ask surrounding dragons for it. They should have information about places that was restricted from any dragon."
"Okay."
"If you need any questions, you can always…"
But Toothless was not listening anymore. She was lost in his eyes. It was so beautiful. She wondered why such a powerful Night Fury had to serve Furious in his crusade. She felt like it was unfair; strong dragon like him should not be wasted raiding Viking villages.
It was then Toothless noticed he had stopped talking as well. He was staring at her into her eyes. They were both frozen there, enchanted by each other's eyes. They were hypnotizing and beautiful. They did not know what to make of it.
After some time, Hiccup felt Furious calling him back. It was that itchy feeling at the back of his head. The male dragon snapped from his trance. "Oh! Uh… I gotta go now." He hastily spoke. "Duty calls. Good luck in your flight!"
Hiccup took off into the sky, leaving Toothless alone. He did not see the disappointed look on her face when he did so.
Flying back to Dragon Island, Hiccup could not stop thinking about Toothless.
It was a new feeling for him. Outside his dream, before the incident a year ago, he was somewhat attracted to Astrid. However, ever since that incident, he saw her more as a nuisance more than anything. This time, however, in his dream, he felt attracted to Toothless.
As he dared to say it, he wanted to feel it again.
Suddenly, Hiccup saw a wall of rock right in front of him. "WHOA!"
He swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding it. He remembered that he was flying through Helheim's Gate, heading back to Dragon Island. The dragon shook his head. He was daydreaming about Toothless again. It was hard not to think about her. What does she like? Does she like him? She was staring at him the whole time when he was escorting her.
Reaching the Dragon island, Hiccup went to the top and swooped down into the place. He absentmindedly looked up into the sky. He wondered when he would meet Toothless aga-
"LOOK OUT!"
Hiccup did not react quick enough. He crashed into a smooth pile of something sandy. "Hrrk!" He yelped. The black dragon went limp as he tried to process what had just happened. He had crash landed. He was not paying attention where he was going.
The Night Fury poked his head out. He could finally see what it was. He had crashed into a smooth pile of sandy charcoal. Looking around, there were a lot of Timberjacks and Deadly Nadders there. The dragons were shocked to see him there. There were a lot of hatchlings there too, burning up woods and turning them into smooth, dusty charcoal.
A Deadly Nadder approached him. "Are you okay?"
Hiccup stood from the pile. "I'm fine."
"Halt the practice." He heard another dragon shout to the crowd. "We need to throw away the pile."
"Do you need help with that?"
"I'm okay." Hiccup insisted as he went out from the charcoal pile. The dragon sneezed, before continued speaking. "Thanks for worrying me."
"Hiccup." He heard Furious called him. "I need you in my chamber."
Hiccup slumped his wings. He looked at his body to inspect them for injuries. There were none, as the charcoal dust had greatly softened the impact. However, it resulted in his body covered in charcoal.
'I couldn't be any blacker than this.' He thought as he looked over himself.
Deciding to get it over with, Hiccup leaped down into the volcano. He glide all the way down, close to the lava. Once he reached the spot, he landed at a large balcony, where there was a cave entrance into a pitch-black cavern. the entrance was massive.
Hiccup waited for some time. Suddenly, there was a giant, yellow dragon eyes staring down to him. The eyes took the whole cave entrance. It stared at Hiccup with its slitted pupil.
"Hi dad." Hiccup greeted Furious.
"Hiccup." Furious spoke. His eyes dilated as he stared at him. "Why are you covered in charcoal?"
"… I crashed into one." Hiccup admitted.
Furious let out a sigh. "Come forth."
Hiccup walked forward. The eyes disappeared into the darkness. Once he was close enough, a huge tongue came forward and licked his whole body. The tongue was so massive, it left him covered with dragon saliva. The Night Fury did not complain. He turned over, and the tongue worked its way to the other side of him.
"You need to be careful, Hiccup." Furious softly scolded him. "I thought you were better than that."
"Sorry. I'm just not paying attention."
"Well, now you smell like charcoal." The gigantic dragon replied.
Hiccup blinked. He shook himself to clear out the excessive saliva. He smelled his own paws; while there was a lot of Furious' scent in him, there was also a smell of charcoal on him. The Night Fury let out a sigh. "Fantastic."
"It should be gone by your next shedding season."
"In couple of months, yes."
"Hiccup." Furious' voice was threatening.
Hiccup shrugged his wings. He stretched himself, before looking into the void. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"I believe it is time for you to receive your inheritance."
The Night Fury tilted his head. "Inheritance?"
"Oh yes." Furious purred in his voice. "As my son, one day, you would lead the Dragon Rebellion. You remember your mother, yes?"
Hiccup sat on his hindlegs. He did not really remember much about his mother. His dam died three years after he hatched. The thought about his mother darkened his thoughts. She was tortured and killed by humans; all the while using him to make her obedient. He was forced to watch her die and harvested for her organs.
His father came and killed the humans. However, that changed him. Hiccup despised humans ever since. It was what drove him to join the Dragon Rebellion, despite his father being insistent not to, 8 years ago.
'7 years of service well spent.' Hiccup darkly thought.
"Your mother… was special." Furious spoke, getting his attention. "She was a very peculiar kind of Night Fury with varying… abilities. I'm sure you're curious as to why your fire is blue instead of purple."
"… I never really questioned it." The Night Fury admitted.
"You are from a very, very long line of powerful Night Fury." Furious explained it to him. "Once upon a time, your ancestors brought dragons from Hidden World to the surface. They were godlike creatures, dragons that could change the world with mere thought. It was said that they created Hidden World."
Hiccup tilted his head. That information was new to him.
"However." Furious lamented. "One day, humans attacked, and resulted to what you see today."
"… sounds about right." Hiccup commented.
"Now…" The gigantic dragon continued speaking. "Your inheritance. I have something that could… improve your inevitable. You will not come to your inheritance until you are 15. However, we could amplify them, so you would come out much, much stronger during your inheritance."
"I can't say no to that."
"We will only do this once." Furious spoke. "And once you do, there was no stopping it. Once you reached 15, you will take my place as the Greater Alpha of Barbaric Archipelago."
"Yes, dad." Hiccup replied.
"Now, lay down."
Hiccup rested himself on the ground. Slowly, there were sparks of lightning. Then, a large lightning spark struck the Night Fury.
There was a bit of discomfort, but they were merely annoyance. Hiccup felt something trying to reach him; something deeper inside him. It was figuratively clawing for release. The dragon embraced that feeling, relaxing his body. After some time, the feeling stopped. There was still something yearning for release, however. It was something that he need to get used to.
"All done." Furious declared.
Hiccup stood from the ground. "Thanks, dad."
"Come back again in a few days." The gigantic dragon spoke. "I will teach you something that not all Night Furies know about."
"Yes, dad."
Toothless landed in a cave mouth. She was at a small, tiny island with a large rock that served as a cave. It was inaccessible to humans, since the island itself was tall, there was no way for ships to dock there. It was her place to stay, whenever she went to visit Barbaric Archipelago.
Going into the cave, the large path led her into a clearing. It was a large cave clearing. There were some scorch marks on the ground somewhere at the corner. It was where she usually slept in, whenever she went to rest. It was a nice nest for herself.
"Prryu…" Toothless yawned as she stretched herself. She reared her body and wings and rewarded with pops on her joints. Feeling relief, the dragoness went to the makeshift bed. She circled around as she fired stream of plasma onto it. Once it was hot enough, she rested on the ground.
While resting, she thought more about the Night Fury she just met. Hiccup.
For some reason, she could not stop thinking about him. The way he fly, spoke and behave; he was interesting to her. She admitted that she found him attractive. It was not like dragons that tried to woo her; where most of their species found her attractive, and so eager to claim her as their own.
Toothless was not interested in them, not even finding them attractive. She had grown bitter by the fact that dragons were so eager on wooing her. There was so many of them, it was not even funny anymore. Most dragons tried to court her, and some tried to breed her straight away. There was a reason why she rarely had any friends to begin with.
This time, however, she found herself attracted to this Night Fury: Hiccup. He was an enigma to her. He had caught her and made her submit. She was completely at his mercy, and she had resigned herself to become his breeding stock and trophy mate. Yet, he let her go and told her that she was trespassing.
'Not that I mind having him as a mate.' Toothless bitterly thought. 'I think I just got myself a taste of my own medicine.'
There was also something that reminded her of her human. It was a coincidence that Hiccup the human and Hiccup the Night Fury shared the same name. The difference was that Hiccup the human was a small fledgling that could not help himself. Hiccup the Night Fury, however, was a large and powerful, human hating dragon.
'One does not join the Dragon Rebellion willingly.' Toothless thought as she rested her head onto the heated bed. 'Especially Night Furies.'
Toothless never understood why Amber often talked about her sex life with her. As her friend, she was willing to listen to her accomplishments and woes about her breeding stories. While she did not understand them all that much, at least she listened. However, now that she have someone that she fancied, she found herself understood what Amber was talking about.
At this point, she could not stop imagining things.
Toothless covered her eyes and wailed. "DAMN YOU, AMBER!"
Toothless was cunning. Toothless was patient. A strong dragon like Hiccup should not be wasted killing humans. She could do it. She believed in herself. She would pull him out of the war. They would become mates together. Toothless was completely unprepared and did not know what to do in this situation.
'If only Amber was here.' Toothless woefully thought. 'She would know what to do.'
Toothless stopped that thought. 'If Amber was here, she would seduce him, and he would breed her instead of me.'
"Krr…" Toothless growled. It was decided. Hiccup would be her mate, no matter what it takes.
That did remind her of something. She should probably check on Hiccup the human.
Days passed. Hiccup had been studying languages in his room.
The language books were clear and comprehensive. Hiccup found himself learning them at relatively fast pace. This really surprised him. Certain languages, such as English and Latin were somewhat easy to learn, mostly because they were somewhat like Norse, at least in his opinion. Other languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, Russian and others took some time to learn. Hiccup hoped that he could finish them all that year. He wanted to read the actual books.
The boy was sitting on the chair in his room. He was reading a book. The window was open, revealing the bright blue sky outside. It was evening. There was not much that was going on outside, since everyone was busy doing their own thing.
Suddenly, Hiccup heard noises coming from his stomach. He was hungry. He stood from the chair and walked out from his room, leaving everything there. The book was left open, so he could continue reading them when he returned to it.
Hiccup entered the Mead Hall. The door was left open because it was lunch time. The place was somewhat crowded, with Vikings eating and drinking around the tables. Like many other places around Berk, the building was made of wood. It was one of the largest buildings at Berk, since it was often packed at certain times.
The boy walked towards the front side. There were foods on the table there. He grabbed a plate and took some fishes. He took a glass of water, before moving away. Hiccup walked to the corner and sat there. After that, he began eating his lunch.
While eating, he noticed that his father was sitting with Gobber. They were listening to a tall, lanky old man with grey hair and blue eyes. He wore simple leather shirt and kilt, and a Viking helmet. The man also held a wooden staff with bones on them. Hiccup recognised this man. This man was Mildew.
"… tramped over my cabbage!" Mildew complained to the chief. "You need to do something about those wolves."
"Everyone's getting ready for the wolf culling." Gobber pointed out, reminding the old man. "Give it some time. 'need to sharpen the axes and get the traps ready."
"We should be ready by tomorrow morning." Stoick rumbled his voice. "We don't have the supplies. If we attack now, we will not have anything to rebuild in case of attack."
"It's not like there's going to be any attack." The lanky man argued.
"We'll never know." The chief grumbled. Mildew scowled in response.
Gobber wanted to get it over with. "Is that all?"
"There's another." Mildew started. He leaned closer to them. "It's about Hiccup."
Stoick let out a sigh. "What did he do this time?"
"Are you sure he's going to be the next chief?" The lanky man questioned. "He's not even as big or strong as children of his age."
"He will become the chief. It was his birth right."
"Yes, but that boy? He can barely lift an axe!"
"It's a bit too early to talk about it." Gobber pointed out. "He haven't gotten his growth sprout yet. That comes to age at 13."
"Oi, oi, oi, what's this then?" Another man joined in. This one was a muscular man, wearing leather tunic dress and Viking hat. This man was the father of Snotlout; Spitelout. "Talkin' about puberty?"
Stoick and Gobber looked at each other. Then, they looked back to him. "We were talkin' about the kids."
"Ah." Spitelout slowly nodded. "Just to report; Snotlout had his growth sprout weeks ago."
"See?" Mildew smirked.
"There's more to chieftain other than muscle and brawl." Stoick argued.
"Mind is something that can be changed in the future." The lanky man responded. "But you can't change body shape, especially when the boy was born that way."
The chief wanted to argue, before stopping himself. He paused as he stared at Hiccup at the corner. The boy was eating, seemingly oblivious to the interaction. His eyes softened. He stared at his son with sad expression. Gobber noticed this. The blacksmith grimaced.
"It goes both ways." Gobber commented.
Hiccup had finished his lunch. He pushed them aside, as it would be taken away by the kitchen staff. The boy relaxed himself, feeling content that he had eaten and full of food. It was best to take a break for a few minutes from reading. He could practice speaking some of the languages there, somehow.
Thinking about books reminded him of Toothless. He wondered what happened to her. Ever since that day last year, she had completely disappeared. He had been looking for her for some time. He hoped that she was okay.
Coincidentally, she appeared in his dream recently. He wondered if it meant anything.
"Boy."
Hiccup snapped out of his thought. The boy looked up from the table. Mildew was standing at the opposite side. The man was scowling at him. He wondered what he wanted from him.
The boy stared at him. "Yeah?"
"Chief said you're gonna be the chief one day." Mildew spoke to him. "But you can't be the chief if you stay like this."
"What do you mean?"
Mildew snorted. "You're not stupid, boy." He sneered. "if you're gonna be the chief, you gotta help around the village!"
"But I'm a blacksmith."
"Not enough!" The lanky old man snapped. "Future chief shouldn't bother with blacksmithing. You need to do something better; something to prove yourself to the village."
Hiccup tilted his head. "How can I do better?"
Mildew smirked. His eyes glinted for a moment. "You can always make new things." He responded. "You're a blacksmith, aren't you? You can make something to make our lives easier. You can do more than just…" He gestured to him. "… this."
Hiccup pondered what Mildew just said. It sounded like a good idea. He had made contraptions before, but those were experiments to see what would happen if he made them. He did consider making things that might potentially help the village live for the better. He had the skills and knowledge to do it.
However, there was a risk of sabotage and theft. Snotlout and others had a habit of stealing things from him. They could possibly steal his contraptions and claim them as their own. Reporting them typically resulted in nothing, as nobody seem to believe him when he told them about the theft or sabotage. His father did not believe him either.
It was worth considering, however. If things were brighter for him, he might do just that.
"I'll think about it." Hiccup eventually responded to Mildew.
The lanky old man scowled. "Think fast, boy." He sneered. "We don't have forever to think. You better prove yourself to the village, or nobody want you to be the chief!"
Hiccup nodded. He looked back down at the table, thinking about it. Mildew frowned. "If ye want to be useful now, ye can always get some berries for the chief." He suggested. "He likes them wild and picked from the woods."
With that, Mildew walked away, leaving Hiccup pondering what he had just said.
Later that day, Hiccup decided to follow Mildew's advice. The boy was wandering around the forest, carrying a woven basket on his hand. He had been picking up wild berries for his father. The forest path there was the safest for him to wander around.
"Hn…" The boy hummed. Walking down the forest path, there was not much to see. There were barely any critters around, which was somewhat unusual.
After some time, Hiccup reached a forest clearing. There were a lot of red berry bushes somewhere around the corner. Entering the area, he walked to the bushes. He placed down the basket and began picking berries from the bushes. While picking them up, he noticed that the forest had gone very quiet.
That made him shudder. The last time the forest had gone quiet, he got almost eaten by dragons. The boy slowed down his pace, as he began looking around for signs of threat. He did overhear that there was a problem with wolf population around the forest. He hoped that there was no wolves wandering around the area.
Half an hour later, he had filled the basket. He did pick one up and smelled them earlier. The taste was sweet. The boy was lucky to find a bush that was ripe for the picking. It was time for him to come back to Berk and bring it to his father.
"Prryu?"
Hiccup almost jumped. He turned around to look at the centre of the clearing. There, he saw a familiar black dragon sitting on his hindlegs. "Toothless!"
The Night Fury was smiling at him. She stared at him with her wide, acidic eyes. "Krr…"
Hiccup ran to her. He crashed onto her and enveloped her into a hug. Toothless looked happy to see him as well. She wrapped her head around him. "Hrr…"
After some time, the boy let go of her. He looked at the dragon with bright expression. "You're back!"
Toothless gave him her signature toothless smile. Hiccup looked relieved to see her there. "I'm so glad you're okay. You disappeared last year, and I thought those dragons got you."
The dragon snorted, as if telling him that those dragons stood no chance against her. The boy scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry you have to show yourself. I was looking for you at the cove and you didn't come. My dad was looking for me. I didn't mean to get into trouble-"
"Krr…" Toothless growled. She leaned forward and nudged him, as if telling him to stop apologising.
"Okay, I'm sorry-"
"Hrr…"
Hiccup reached and scratched her neck. Toothless widened her eyes as she felt itch that she had never felt before. "Hrrr…" She leaned closer to him, trying to get more of the scratches.
"I guess you like this, huh?" Hiccup teased.
Toothless' eyes dilated. The boy moved to scratch under her chin. The black dragon gasped, before collapsing onto the ground, feeling content. "Hrr…"
The boy was concerned for the dragon, fearing that he accidentally hurt her. "Are you okay?"
"Mrrrr…" Toothless purred as she stared at him with adoring eyes. Her pupils fully dilated as she rested on the grassy clearing. Hiccup relaxed; she was simply resting.
The boy let out a sigh. "Well, at least you're fine." He spoke as he began walking back to the berry bushes. Toothless stood from the ground and followed him behind. "You saved me from eaten by a dragon. Thank you."
Toothless looked proud of herself. Hiccup bent down and began picking berries for the basket. "… You know, my dad told me not to try befriending dragon."
"Hrr?"
"Except you. He said you're special." Hiccup admitted, recalling what his father told him a year ago. "… I guess you are, since you're a Night Fury. I just didn't expect him to accept me befriending you, but not other dragons."
"Mrr…"
"Sorry, it's just that…" The boy paused as he picked more berries from the bushes. "… Hooligan tribe is a dragon hunter tribe. It's been like this since… forever. My dad proved himself as a chief after killing five Titan Wing Monstrous Nightmares at once, all by himself."
Toothless sat on her hindlegs. She tilted her head. "Hrr?"
"That's what he told me." Hiccup shrugged. "I never see the proof of it. My dad doesn't like to keep trophy, not like most Vikings there, so I never know. I always wondered why, but everyone have different answer."
"Hrr…"
"… come to think of it." Hiccup pondered. "They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off its shoulders."
"Mrr?"
"Do I believe it?" The boy paused. "… maybe. That's what the village told me. My dad told me not to question it."
"Hrr."
Hiccup paused. He looked down to the basket. It was full of berries. It seemed that the bushes had more berries than he could collect them. "Then, there's my mom…"
Toothless perked up at the mention of Hiccup's mother. "Hrr?"
"My dad told me she died; taken by a dragon." Hiccup muttered, staring down at the basket. "Others said the same, but I felt like something isn't right."
"Mrr." Toothless moved to nudge him.
Hiccup looked back and pat her head. The black dragon purred as she stared at his eyes. "Hrr…"
"I mean." The boy paused, thinking. "It's fine to say that they died when they were taken by a dragon. Why else they would take someone away?"
The Night Fury gave him a deadpan look. Hiccup frowned as he looked back to the basket full of berries in front of him. "It's something that made me think for years, and I don't know why. Why would a dragon take my mother? Why not just… attack her right away?"
"Hrrm." Toothless huffed. She moved over to the side. The dragon noticed the basket of berries. "Hrr?"
"This?" Hiccup spoke as he moved to the side, showing more of the basket. "It's a basket of wild berry."
"Mrr…"
Hiccup picked one from the bush. He offered it to the dragon. "Here. Try this."
Toothless opened her mouth and the boy placed it into her tongue. He pulled his hand back and allowed her to eat it. The dragon instantly swallowed it. She blinked, unsure what to make of it. The Night Fury shrugged her wings, as if telling him that it was bland.
"… huh." The boy blinked. "Is it sweet? Sour?"
Toothless shook her head.
"… Bland?"
Toothless nodded.
"Hmm…" Hiccup hummed, thinking. He slowly plucked another berry from the bushes. The boy squeezed the berry, exposing its internals. Sweet fluid dripped from the fruit, which made Toothless curious.
The boy offered it to her. "Here."
Toothless took the offer and ate the berry. Her eyes widened when the berry touched her tongue. After he pulled his hand back, she happily swallowed the fruit. "Prryu…" The dragon purred, feeling the sweet taste of it.
"Is it sweet?"
"Hrr…" The Night Fury leaned forward and began licking his hand. Hiccup simply watched as she licked his hand clean of the fruit juice. Once that was done, Toothless licked her lips. The boy's hand was covered in saliva.
"I guess you like it crushed." Hiccup hummed, looking down the basket. "… I need to get this back to my dad."
"Hrr?"
"Mildew suggested me to 'be helpful' around the village by picking wild berries for my dad in the forest." The boy spoke, somewhat sarcastic. "I don't think I should complain. I get to see you again!"
"Mrr."
"I heard him complaining to my dad about me." Hiccup absentmindedly spoke as he picked up the basket. "He said I'm not worthy to become the chief."
"Krr…" Toothless growled.
The boy turned around to face the dragon. "I'm not really the strongest Viking around." He admitted. "The others doesn't really like how I turned out. They want someone strong that can lead the village."
Toothless purred as she nudged him. "Hrr…"
Hiccup smiled. "My dad told me it's my birth right." He explained to her. "But Mildew told me I need to prove myself; make myself useful to the village. Here I am. My first attempt."
"Hrrm." The dragon looked pleased.
"Although…" The boy frowned, looking ahead into the forest. "It's kind of strange he told me that after complaining about wolf population in the forest."
Toothless narrowed her eyes, as if realising something from what he told her. Hiccup continued speaking. "I guess it's just that… something doesn't feel right when he said it."
Suddenly, Toothless perked up. She looked at a direction somewhere at the forest, before taking off flying elsewhere. Hiccup knew what it meant. Someone was coming to the clearing. The boy looked at that direction where she was looking before flying away.
Several minutes later, Spitelout came into the clearing. The man had an axe on his hand. He looked around the clearing, before noticed that Hiccup was there. He looked surprised to see him there.
"Hiccup?" He asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just picking wild berries for my dad." Hiccup explained.
The man eyed the boy. "It's dangerous to wander here, lad. Wolves could be anywhere. Did your dad tell you that? Who told you to pick berries here?"
"No." Hiccup shook his head. "Mildew suggested it to me."
Spitelout was surprised to hear it. "Mildew?"
"Yeah."
The man grimaced. Stoick would not like this. "Why don't ye go back to your father? He's just in another clearing down the path."
"Okay." Hiccup responded. He looked at the path Spitelout was referring to. Upon spotting it, he began walking towards that direction, leaving the chief's second in command alone at the clearing.
Hiccup found himself walking down into a clearing. Unlike others, this place had a table and bench. Stoick was sitting there, with a game board called Maces and Talons. The boy assumed that he had been playing all by himself.
"Dad?" Hiccup called out as he walked towards him.
The man looked up from the game. He was surprised and confused to see him there. "Hiccup?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I gathered wild berries for you." The boy spoke as he reached the table. He placed the basket onto the table, next to the game board. "Mildew suggested it."
Stoick held back a scowl. He softened his expression. "Hiccup, do not listen to what that man says." He scolded him. "We have wolves in the forest. You could be in danger."
Hiccup slumped his shoulder. "I'm sorry, dad."
The chief eyed his son for some time. It was surprising that he was in the forest. Hiccup should not get back home alone, as it would risk him getting attacked by wolves. He did not want a repeat incident. Stoick were waiting for Spitelout to finish his part and get back to him. It was best that Hiccup stayed there with him.
The chief had decided. "Take a seat."
Hiccup sat at the opposite side. Stoick rearranged the pieces on the game board. "Do you like the books?"
The boy nodded. "I'm still learning new languages."
The man hummed as he rearranged the pieces. "It's good learning new languages." He commented. "You can talk to foreigners from far lands. They speak language other than Norse."
"I just want to learn everything from the books." The boy shrugged.
"Yes." Stoick nodded. "But when you grow up, you will thank your younger self for learning them. It is important for you to learn as much as you can now, because you won't have time for them when you're older."
"Okay, dad."
The father and son began playing Maces and Talons. While the game had its own importance, they had their fun playing them. Stoick was leaning on his hand as he rested his elbow on the table. Hiccup was staring down on the board, thinking on his manoeuvres on the pieces. It was how they spend their time. It was how they had fun.
While playing, Stoick noticed something. Hiccup looked a bit distracted. He did not seem to focus onto the game, but he did move the pieces anyway. He noticed this when the boy made some mistakes that he did not usually make.
"You're not paying attention." Stoick commented.
The boy perked up. "Huh?"
"You are not focused to the game." The chief repeated himself. "But you keep moving your piece. You're not thinking this through. You need to pay attention, because if you don't…"
Stoick moved his piece and took Hiccup's piece. The boy looked down and blinked. Where his Viking Chief piece had been, there was Stoick's Impostor piece. Hiccup internally cursed himself. Looking over the board, he noticed several disparities in piece location and mistakes that he did without noticing.
Hiccup looked crestfallen. "Oh."
"Yes." Stoick commented as he took a berry from the basket. "Be very careful. Even when distracted; think before you act."
The boy pondered for some time. He began rearranging the pieces as Stoick was eating the berries. Once that was done, Hiccup looked down to the pieces on the board. "Think before I act."
"Yes."
The son and father began playing once more. Hiccup was still distracted about something else; mostly about the books that he had. However, Stoick noticed that he was slower in taking decisions. He wondered if he was trying to focus two things at once. It would not be surprising, while Hiccup had the attention span of a sparrow, he could do multiple things at once.
Few moments later, the chief grimaced. He noticed that his Viking Chief piece was locked between Chief of the Marauders, Accomplice and Longship pieces. The Dragon pieces had his Chief Marauder piece stuck. The Impostor pieces had been eaten, meaning that the game was slowly ending. It seemed Hiccup had taken his advice, despite not doing it like he intended him to.
After some time, Stoick moved his piece. It took him some time to realise that he had fallen for Hiccup's trap. The boy moved his own piece; his Kingship moved and ready to take Stoick's Viking Chief. "Checkmate."
The chief looked up to his son. The boy was smiling at him. Stoick smiled back, proud of his son for defeating him. "Well done."
"Chief."
Hiccup and Stoick looked to the side. Spitelout was walking towards them. The man had an axe holstered on his hips. Upon reaching them, he looked at Stoick. "the traps are ready."
The chief nodded. He looked back at his son. "Stay here."
"Okay."
With that said, Stoick stood from the bench. He turned to face Spitelout. "Show me."
Spitelout nodded. Both Stoick and his second-in-command went off walking down the forest path, leaving Hiccup alone there.
After Stoick and Spitelout disappeared into the forest, Hiccup began rearranging the board. There was some strategy and scenario that he wanted to test. The game was entertaining for him, because it focused on logics. It was something that he liked to think about.
Just as Hiccup finished arranging it, a black dragon swooped in. Toothless landed right behind him. The boy turned around and gave her a bright smile. "Toothless!"
Hiccup stood from the bench and moved to hug her. The Night Fury purred, pleased to see him there. "Prryu."
After some time, the boy let go of her. He took several steps back and see her. "You came back."
"Hrr." Toothless rumbled, before walking to the table. There was the basket full of berries from before, and there was the board game. The dragon sniffed the basket, before moving to look at the board. She tilted her head. "Hrr?"
Hiccup moved over to sit on the bench. "It's a board game called Maces and Talons." He explained to her. "It's a game of two player. Everyone gets eight Hunter pieces; two pieces of Kingship, Longship, Dragon and Accomplice each; and one pieces of Viking Chief, Chief Marauders and Impostor. White pieces versus black pieces."
The boy began explaining how it was played. "Viking Chief piece can only move one block in all direction." He pointed to the said piece. "Chief Marauder piece can go in all straight or diagonal direction…"
As Hiccup was explaining it, Toothless paid close attention to it. She observed the boy pointing and explaining each of the pieces and what they do. The dragon was curious, as she never really knew what humans play. This seemed like a hobby that humans do.
"… the winning condition is simple." Hiccup finished his explanation. "If you can get the Viking Chief piece, you win."
"Krr." Toothless growled a bit as she moved over to the opposite of the table. She sat on her hindlegs and looked down onto the game board. The dragon tilted her head, thinking. After some time, she carefully moved a piece with her claws. She had made the first move.
After she made her move, Toothless looked at the boy. Hiccup blinked owlishly. He did not expect her to make a move. However, it meant that she wanted to play. The boy moved his own piece, as they began playing Maces and Talons together.
It did not take a while for Hiccup to win. That was expected. Toothless was new to the game; she was simply moving the pieces that she thought was a good idea to move. The dragon looked sad when Hiccup took her Viking Chief piece. It meant that she had lost the game.
"Mrr…" Toothless let out sad croon.
"It's okay to lose." Hiccup encouraged her. "I didn't win the first time, either."
"Hrr?"
"This game is a thinking game." The boy explained. "It makes you think. Thinking makes you smarter, at least that's what my dad said. They said it's a game to test abilities and decision-making expertise of future chiefs in the heat of battle. The more you play them, the better you think."
Toothless slowly nodded, understanding the purpose of the game. Hiccup looking down to the board, before gesturing to some of her pieces. "Here's what you did wrong." He explained. "You're moving them for the sake of just moving the piece. You have to guess what move I'm going to take, and then make a move from there."
"Hrr."
Hiccup began rearranging the board. Toothless simply watched. After it was arranged, they began playing once more. The boy gestured to the board. "White piece. You go first."
The boy and the dragon began playing Maces and Talons once more. Hiccup noted that Toothless seem to think through on her moves. It made the game slower. That was good; it meant that she was on par with human intelligence. The boy was happy that the dragon could be reasoned with. He was happy that she was willing to spend time with him.
Like before, Hiccup defeated Toothless. The dragon looked dejected when Hiccup took her Viking Chief piece. "Mrr…"
"You're getting better." Hiccup admitted as he began rearranging the pieces. "Say… how old are you?"
"Hrr?" Toothless tilted her head.
"I'm 11." The boy responded. "What about you?"
The dragon looked surprised. She tilted her head, before pointing her claws to him. "Hrr…" And then back to her.
Hiccup blinked. "… same age?"
Toothless nodded. The boy simply stared at her. "I guess that's something we have in common." He commented, before continued rearranging the pieces. "Most people my age don't really like things like this. I'm happy that you want to play with me."
The dragon looked pleased with herself. Hiccup finished rearranging them. The boy looked at the dragon and gave her a smile. "I'll teach you as we go. You're white, so you go first."
Hiccup and Toothless played Maces and Talons for many hours. Both were entertained by the game board. The dragon would lose games against him, and the boy would tell her what she did wrong. She tried her best not to repeat her mistakes, but there were times where she could not help herself. Hiccup was somewhat amused to see her change in expression. She looked pleased when she made a move; thoughtful when he made a move; and panicked when he was about to defeat her.
The dragon was improving. Hiccup was happy; he considered her his best friend. She had interest in his games and things, which was nice. It meant that they have something to relate to.
"Check." Hiccup called as he moved his piece.
"Hrr…" Toothless looked exasperated. Her wings were slumped on her sides. It seemed that she was getting tired of the game.
"… you know." The boy spoke, getting her attention. "If you moved your Kingship to that position, you could've checked my Viking Chief piece. I've been on offensive the whole time."
"Krr…" Toothless growled a bit, cursing herself for not noticing it.
Suddenly, the dragon perked up. She looked at the direction of the forest path, before running back and took off into the air. Hiccup knew what that meant. Someone was coming into the clearing.
Sure enough, someone did. Stoick the Vast walked into the clearing. He had his axe on his hips. The man walked to him and sat on the opposite side. "Ah…" He let out a relieved sigh.
"Hi dad." Hiccup greeted him.
"Hiccup." His father replied as he took a berry from the basket. Those were still there for some reason. He did not complain, however. He needed to take some rest.
Stoick looked at the game board. He noticed that it looked like someone had been playing with it. There were some scratches on the pieces, as if someone with claws had been playing with it. The man stroked his beard. No pieces were missing.
The chief looked up to his son. "Why are there scratches on the pieces?"
Hiccup was nervous. He shifted on his seat. "I was playing with Toothless."
Stoick stayed silent. The boy wondered what his father was thinking. After some time, his father asked. "She came back?"
The boy nodded. Stoick stroked his beard. "What have you been doing with her?"
"We were just playing games." Hiccup spoke as he gestured to the board. "She came after you left."
The man nodded. "Anything else?"
"… she came back when I was getting wild berries." The boy admitted. "I've been talking to her. She understand. She's very smart dragon."
"Hmm…" Stoick frowned. He inspected the boy in front of him. There was no injuries whatsoever. That was a relief. The dragon did not mean any harm so far. However, he still did not know the motive of that Night Fury. Looking down at the game board, it seemed they really had just been playing.
The chief grabbed the basket of berries. "It's best if we return now." He spoke as he stood from the bench.
"Okay, dad."
The father and the boy were walking down the forest path when they noticed how quiet the place was. Hiccup grabbed his father's hand. The man gave him the berry basket. "Hold this."
The boy grabbed the basket. "Okay."
Stoick pulled out his axe. They casually walked down the forest path, as the man kept being vigilant to his surroundings. His eyes roamed around the forest, careful with his observation. He listened to the sound or any disturbance in the forest.
Suddenly, Stoick let go of Hiccup. He turned around as he swung his axe. A leaping wolf was instantly sliced in half by his axe; it went sailing past him and crashed behind the bushes.
"Stay close!" The father shouted as he readied himself.
There was a long, chilling howl came from the forest. Those were the wolves. Stoick narrowed his eyes. Moments later, three wolves sprung out towards him. The man swung his axe and sliced through their heads. It nearly incapacitated them, but it will do the job. More would most likely come to them soon.
"Let's go!" Stoick spoke as he hurried himself along with his son. They both ran down the forest path, intending to go back to Berk as soon as possible.
Running down the forest path, they came to an open, somewhat rocky field. The path was still clear for them. Behind them, they heard more wolves howling after them. Stoick glanced backward to see wolves running out from the woods. There were dozens of them. They were heading towards them, intending to kill and feast on them.
Hiccup was running as fast as he could. He looked back for a moment and suddenly tripped on a rock. "Aah!" He fell onto the grassy ground. Berries went flying as the basket was flung into the air. It fell right in front of him.
Stoick turned around. The wolves were getting closer! "HICCUP!"
Suddenly, they heard a familiar, chilling shriek. "KRAAAAA!"
A purple plasma blast came down and struck the crowd of wolves. Overhead, they saw a familiar black dragon flying and snarling at the wolves. "KRAAAOOOOOOO!"
Upon spotting the dragon, the wolves instantly fled back into the woods. Toothless was not feeling merciful, however. She kept flying ahead and fired another plasma blast. The explosion struck something in the woods. The Night Fury disappeared from their sight, but they could hear faint screeching and explosion in the distance.
"ka-ka-ka…" boom!
"krooaaaa…" boom!
"kraaa…" boom!
There was a faint chilling shriek at the distance. A large explosion struck deep into the forest. After some time, there was a large plume of smoke at far distance.
Stoick decided not to waste the opportunity. He holstered his axe and reached for his son. Hiccup was lifted off the ground, as his father carried him away. The man ran off to the village, hoping to run away from the wolves while it was being distracted by the dragon.
Stoick barged into Gothi's hut. "Gothi!"
The old woman turned around, surprised to see him there. However, one look at Hiccup on his arm, she understood. Gothi gestured to the bed next to the table. The man moved and rested his son onto it.
Gothi quickly worked on him. She inspected the boy and found some injuries on his leg. The elder turned to look at the father. Knowing what she was asking, Stoick explained to her. "He fell when we were running from wolves."
The woman nodded. The chief spoke. "I will leave him to you."
Stoick turned around and walked out from the house. It was time for the wolf culling to start.
The Great Hall was a large, open room with chairs and tables around the place, with a large one at the centre end of the room. This was the chief's chair. The main room of the Great Hall had several doorways, which led to some rooms for Viking ceremonial purposes. There were decorations, such as shields, axes and swords on the walls, and banners of Hairy Hooligan Tribe symbol. There were not that many people there. Spitelout and Gobber were there, talking to each other.
Suddenly, the Great Hall barged open. Spitelout and Gobber turned to look at the newcomer. It was their chief. He looked angry. The man approached them. He focused onto his second-in-command. "Is everyone ready for the culling?"
Spitelout nodded. "Yes, but-"
Stoick interrupted. He pulled out his axe. "We start today."
The two men were surprised to hear that. "I thought we're starting tomorrow."
"Change of plan." The chief spoke to them. "If we don't do this now, they would go after our children. I will not allow that. Not again."
Spitelout and Gobber understood. The axe looked bloodied, meaning that he had fought against the wolves in the forest. He seemed to insinuate that someone was injured, and based on his expression, he was most likely with Hiccup when that happened.
Then again, Snotlout had been talking to his mother about things he found in the forest.
Spitelout nodded. "I will gather the others." With that said, he walked out from the Great Hall, leaving Stoick and Gobber there.
After Spitelout left, Gobber looked at his best friend. "Is Hiccup okay?"
Stoick looked at him. "He's with Gothi."
"I heard somethin' in the forest." The blacksmith spoke as he eyed the chief. "I thought it was angry dragons that attacked ye."
"… It was her attacking the wolves."
Gobber stared at him, surprised. "She came back?"
The chief nodded. "That was her killing those wolves. She came back to protect him."
Gobber shrugged as he looked at the open door of the Great Hall. "Well, that's less wolves to deal with." He commented. "She seemed to care a lot about him. I wonder if she kept watch on him the whole time."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Stoick grimaced. "She could attack the village if Hiccup got himself injured."
"I wouldn't worry 'bout that." The blacksmith dismissed him. "She didn't come up when the others started hitting him."
The man paused. "Hitting him?"
"Aye." Gobber nodded. "Every time they took his stuff."
Stoick scowled at him. He did not know they were hitting him. "Why nobody told me this?"
The blacksmith shrugged. "I thought you knew." He paused, before remembering what he had told him. "Ye said everything would change when he got his growth sprout."
The chief grimaced. Gobber carefully watched his expression. Stoick looked deeply concerned but did not say anything. That concerned him. "Did ye changed yer mind?"
"… Don't tell anyone about this." Stoick spoke with serious tone. "For Hiccup's safety."
"Aye. Ye already told me that."
"Good." The chief nodded. "Now let's get going. We need to finish the culling before dark."
"The next dragon raid is at Berk. It will begin in few hours."
Hiccup was at the Dragon Island once more. He was sitting on his hindlegs, staring at the giant, snake-like yellow eyes that was his father. The Night Fury had been summoned by Furious to his lair.
The dragon bowed to him. "Yes, Alpha."
The black pupil dilated. Furious softly stared at Hiccup. "I have decided that you are mature enough to do whatever you want in this raid." He informed him. "You're an adult dragon. I'm sorry for trying to keep you safe."
The Night Fury relaxed himself. "I understand." He admitted. "I just… want this war to be over. There's so many dragons died because of this war."
The alpha dragon stayed silent. Hiccup wondered what Furious was thinking. After some time, she spoke. "I remember telling you about teaching you something not all Night Fury knows."
The dragon nodded. "You told me that few days ago."
"Yes." Furious agreed. "Before I teach you this, let me ask you something; where do Skrills come from?"
Hiccup tilted his head. "… is this a trick question?"
"Take a guess."
"I… guess they came from where all dragons came from." The boy hesitantly answered. He was unsure on what to reply. "Everyone was born from the sky, hundreds of trillions of years ago. We appeared before the humans do. But then, a massive meteor came down from space, and we were forced to migrate to the Hidden World."
"Ah, but dragons from that time were extremely different than now." Furious explained to him. "Dragons now were descendants of them. Primordial Alpha; godly, all-powerful creatures; our ancestors created the Hidden World to protect themselves from the meteor. They birthed all dragons that exists, and those dragons crossbreed with each other to become dragons we see now."
"Night Furies were the closest dragon to our ancestors." The giant dragon continued explaining. "And as such, they inherited more of their abilities. One of their abilities was utilizing the power of lightning."
"… wow." Hiccup did not know what to respond.
"Stand up." Furious commanded. Hiccup did as he was told. "Now, close your eyes and focus."
The Night Fury closed his eyes. He heard Furious whispered into his mind. "Find it within. Once you release them, it will become instinctual for you."
The dragon focused onto himself. He heard whispers of the alpha dragon, leading him deeper into himself. He felt a spark inside him; something that he never thought was there. Hiccup reached for the spark. It felt like a ball of something in his stomach. After holding it, he pulled it out from the depths of his mind.
Suddenly, he felt something snapped inside him. Hiccup gasped as he felt something enveloped his body. The dragon opened his eyes.
The Night Fury had his body arcing with blue electric lightning. It was painless. It reminded him of a Skrill. He was awed to see his scales arcing. The dragon looked at his paw. His claws had small arcs of electricity running through them. After some observation, he thought about stopping them, and the effect instantly stopped.
"Wow…" Hiccup breathed out.
"Like Skrills, Night Furies could store electric charge and use them." Furious lectured, getting his attention. "However, the way of being used were different. You can conduct them through your scales to become invisible; infuse them with your plasma blast to enhance them."
The alpha dragon paused, before continued speaking. "There were more, of course. Your inheritance allowed you to do everything that Skrills can. That's why it was so easy for you." He purred. "But for now, we need to grow your electric charge. Keep those power contained, and you surely can have more of them."
"Just like training…" Hiccup muttered.
"Yes." Furious responded. "When you are old and powerful enough, you can generate your own charge. In the meantime, you can get them from clouds outside, or I can charge you myself."
"Thanks, dad."
"Now, it would be a shame if you don't use your new toys after learning them." The alpha dragon spoke to him. After some time, the eyes disappeared, leaving a pitch-black cave entrance to enter. "Why don't you step inside? I'll teach you everything you need to know."
Hiccup was excited. Furious was going to teach him more about his ability. "Okay, dad!" He chirped as he began walking into the entrance. "Is this going to take a while?"
"Oh, no." Furious purred. "You wouldn't even know when I'm done with you."
Toothless was flying at the night sky. The place was cloudy, covering the night stars above. It was a good time for her to fly, as it was her nature to fly at night. The dragon was flying fast, since she was venting her pent-up emotion. She had been going on for hours already.
In short, Toothless was angry.
"How dare that human…" She angrily mumbled, glaring at the empty space in front of her. "Trying to kill MY Precious Thing?!"
Toothless was not stupid. Mildew was trying to have Hiccup the human killed. Before arriving to Hiccup the human, she had noticed that there were a whole lot more wolves than usual. Humans were not stupid, either. They most likely knew about it as well. This human called Mildew told Hiccup to go to the forest to gather wild berries, and thus, putting him in danger.
She had been stalking this Mildew human for a while. She knew what he looked like. She knew where he lived. She was tempted to blow his house to smithereens. However, she could not simply do that, as what she did might reflect onto her Precious Thing. She had to play it safe, but she did not know what to do to retaliate against them.
'If Amber was here.' Toothless bitterly thought. 'She would tease me for calling Hiccup the human my Precious Thing.'
It was something that she finally admitted. Hiccup the human was her Precious Thing. That human was not like any others; he was so soft and fragile, she wondered how he managed to survive that long. When he released her from that captive, for some reason, she found him enthralling. It was a mystery to her.
'Then again.' The dragon thought. 'Everything about this is a mystery.'
Suddenly, Toothless caught a glimpse of something. It was a familiar Night Fury that she remembered; Hiccup the dragon. The dragoness internally smirked. She slowed down a bit and reached for him. She wondered why he did not notice him yet.
Deciding for the best way to get his attention, Toothless dashed forward and bit his tail.
Hiccup was a bit distracted on his patrol when someone bit his tail. "KRAAA!"
The dragon quickly turned around, ready to electrocute and blast the offender to oblivion. Upon seeing Toothless, however, all those intents disappeared in a flash. He was happy to see her. "Oh, hey!"
Toothless was smiling at him. "Hey!"
Hiccup went back to his flight path and slowed himself down. The two Night Furies began flying alongside each other. "What do you need?"
"Can't I check out the only Night Fury in the sky?"
"Technically, you are here." Hiccup pointed out.
Toothless faltered a bit. "Well, it's just boring to fly alone." She admitted.
"… I can relate to that." The male dragon grumbled, reminding himself that he was always alone in a patrol.
The dragoness saw her chance. Hiccup was alone and not doing anything. She could spend her time with him. "So, do you have anything to do right now? I can show you my cave, if you want."
"Uh…" Hiccup pondered a bit. "I'm currently doing work; patrolling around the sky, enforcing laws and restrictions."
Toothless came closer to him. "Don't you want to see?"
The male dragon became uncomfortable. "I don't want to breach your privacy."
"Maybe check out my cave to see if there's any threat." Toothless chirped, requesting his help. "I want to know if there's any human settlement near my roost."
Hiccup pondered for some time. It did not hurt to scout around her nest to see if there was any danger there. She was the only Night Fury that he had ever seen. "… Sure, why not? Let's check your roost."
Hiccup and Toothless reached her nest. The male dragon thought that it was a nice hidden place from humans. It was nice location for a nest. He remembered wandering around the area; it was a neutral space, free from any alpha influence. There was no Viking or other dragon nests around, and dragons usually did not wander around the place outside alpha influence, meaning that it was safe.
They both entered the cave. It was a large cave clearing. Hiccup smelled Toothless' scent inside, which was expected. It was her nest. "It's a nice place."
"Thank you." Toothless thanked him. She moved to stand in front of him. "What do you think?"
"There's no Viking settlement anywhere close to this place." Hiccup spoke as he looked around the cave clearing. "Dragons don't fly outside their alpha's influence. I take it, you don't have an alpha?"
"I don't. I used to when I was younger. Night Furies aren't supposed to have an alpha." Toothless informed him. "Consort, sure. But no alpha."
Hiccup blinked. That was new information to him. "I see."
"I uh…" Toothless was nervous. "Since you're here, do you want to rest for a bit? That was a long flight for us back there."
Hiccup suspiciously eyed the female dragon in front of him. No dragon ever offered him such thing; not even when he was a hatchling. Furious was the only one to ever remind him to rest. Even then, it was minimal, since he was often too busy with the Dragon Rebellion.
"… sure." He hesitantly replied. Something told him to trust this dragon.
Toothless came next to him and began rubbing her body against his. "Hrr…" She purred as she touched him. The dragoness had her sides pressed against his, inviting him to play with her.
Hiccup was not sure of what to do. He recognised the gesture. The dragoness was seducing him. The male dragon responded with the only thing he knew. He pounced onto her and pinned her to the ground. He stared down at her with amused expression.
"Hrrk!" Toothless yelped as she was suddenly pushed down.
The dragoness noticed the position she was in. She was laying on her back, with Hiccup on top of her. The two dragons stared at each other, enhanced by the beauty of their eyes. After some time, Toothless spoke. "So, this is how it's gonna be, huh?"
"You tried to seduce me." Hiccup accused her.
"… Okay, well." Toothless looked uncomfortable. "I don't know why I'm interested in you. There's just something that makes me want you. It irks me that I don't know anything about it!"
Hiccup simply stared. The dragoness took a deep breath. "… yeah, I guess I tried to seduce you." She looked away. "… sorry."
"Hrr…" The male dragon hummed. "… you do know we just met few days ago, right?"
"So what?" Toothless mumbled, not looking at him.
"Don't you want to go through the courtship process first?"
The dragoness snapped her head to look at him. Her heart suddenly started racing. 'Courtship?' She blaringly thought.
"I uh…" Hiccup was nervous. "… I like you. I guess I'm feeling what you're feeling, since I don't really know why I want you the moment I see you."
"But I don't like forcing dragons into relationship." The male dragon hastily retreated his stance. "Y- you can back out from the courtship, if you want! I'm not going to force you into anything you don't want-"
Toothless simply stared at him. She suddenly drew parallel between dragon Hiccup and human Hiccup. They were so similar; it was eerie for her to think about. They both had self-esteem issue. In case of dragon Hiccup, it was underneath all those strict behaviour and formal expression. She could see human Hiccup hiding those insecurities behind his sarcasm.
"I'm fine!" Toothless blurted out, interrupting him. "I- I'm fine with courtship first."
It was the first time she ever met a dragon that never tried to force himself into her. It was refreshing. It was also very lucky for her to meet one that she liked. Toothless was happy that he wanted to go through the tradition. Courtship was important, as it meant they get to know each other first before becoming mates together.
"Okay." Hiccup responded, feeling relieved. "I guess we're officially in courtship."
"You mean you're the one courting me." Toothless retorted.
"Who tried to seduce me again?"
"… good point." The dragoness grumbled.
Hiccup lay down right on top of her. He buried his head onto her neck, inhaling her scent. She smelt of fish and smoke, but also something else. It was intoxicating for him, as something in him wanted her to become his.
"Hrr…" Toothless purred as she leaned her head down. She inhaled his scent. He smelt like sulphur and charcoal. It was a strange combination, as if he was struck by a lightning and survived to tell the tale. The charcoal smell was strange, however. It was unusual. Timberjacks were the only ones that smell like that.
"… can I ask something?"
Hiccup looked up. "Yeah?"
"Why do you smell like charcoal?" Toothless questioned.
"Ah…" The male dragon stood on top of her. He looked embarrassed. "It's just something from few days ago. That smell should go away next shedding season."
"Oh?" The dragoness sounded teasing. "You jumped into a pile of charcoal dust?"
Hiccup stayed quiet for some time. "… I wasn't paying attention when flying." He admitted.
"Hrr, krr…" Toothless snickered.
The dragon stared at her with deadpan expression. "Now you're just laughing at my misery."
"No, no, no!" The dragoness stifled her laughter. "It's just that- I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but imagine you flying into one."
Hiccup rolled his eyes. Toothless continued speaking. "Say… Hiccup is your adult name, is it?"
"… no?" The male dragon was unsure. "I never got my adult name."
"Wait." Toothless spoke as she pushed him aside. The dragoness stood from the ground. She stared at him, confused. "It's your hatchling name?"
"Yeah, but this is the first time I've heard anyone talking about it." Hiccup informed her. "I do remember my dad talking about it when I was a hatchling. I meant to get them years ago, but nobody wanted to name me."
Toothless finally understood. Amber was not fully lying to her. However, she wondered how she knew about it if nobody talked about it before. "Do you want me to give you an adult name?"
Hiccup eyed her for some time. He found it agreeable. "Sure."
"Hrr…" The dragoness hummed. She inspected him. There was nothing that looked out of ordinary, except for the smell of charcoal. She could not give him pretentious name, since that seemed against who he was. "… Charcoal. How about that?"
"What? That scent is going away next shedding season!" Hiccup protested. "I can't have that! Besides, that's a terrible name."
"It's better than Hiccup at least." Toothless suggested.
The male dragon sat on his hindlegs. He thought about it, before replying. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Better than Toothless, too."
"I'll have you know; this name was given to me by someone I truly care about." Toothless retaliated.
Hiccup – now known as Charcoal as a dragon – tilted his head. "There's that, at least."
"Hey, don't be down about it." Toothless spoke as she sat in front of him. She was smiling at the male dragon in front of her. "They say that terrible names could ward off trolls and other mystical critters – at least, that's what my friend told me…"
Charcoal simply stared at her. That statement reminded him of something. He remembered telling Toothless that as a human when he named her. That was too specific. He could not bring himself to care much, however. It was simply a dream, after all. Those typically comes from his memories.
"… alright."
"Alright?" Toothless tilted her head. "That's it?"
"Well." Charcoal paused. "I could always do this!"
The male dragon suddenly pounced onto her. "Hrrk!" Toothless grunted as she suddenly got herself a face full of his scales.
Charcoal held her down and flipped over, putting her on top of him. He tightly hugged her, while expressing his gratitude for his new, adult name. "Thank you so much for my new name! It's PERFECT!"
"Get off!" Toothless shouted as she struggled under his grasp.
Charcoal did not let her go. Instead, he wrapped his wings around her body, enveloping them into cocoon. "I am now Charcoal. Charcoal the Night Fury! Operation Support Specialist of the Dragon Rebellion!"
Toothless paused, before replying. "Now you're being dramatic."
Charcoal poked his head down into his wings. He pressed his snout onto hers. "You asked for it."
Toothless huffed. Charcoal simply smiled. The dragoness decided to change the subject. "If I may ask… how long have you been serving, and why?"
"Well." Charcoal whispered, staring right into her eyes. "I've been serving for 7 years in Greater Archipelago under Merciless. This is my second year serving here under Furious."
The dragoness nearly choked at that number. "Eight…" She whispered.
"Oh yes." He purred.
"… how old are you?"
"11-year-old."
"We're the same age." Toothless whispered, horrified. "You've been serving since you're 3?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Charcoal hardened his expression. "… they killed my mother."
The dragoness gulped. "I mean, it's war. Dragons die all the time."
"… Yes." The male dragon muttered. His expression darkened. "I guess it's normal to watch your own mother being tortured and harvested by humans, does it?"
Toothless whimpered. Charcoal continued speaking. "A little bit insensitive for you to say that."
"I'm sorry."
Charcoal softened his expression. "… no." He muttered. "I guess I shouldn't bother."
He opened his wings and let go of her. Toothless jumped away from him. Charcoal stood from the ground. He stretched his wings, before looking back to Toothless. "Where did you come from?"
Toothless was terrified. She controlled her emotion, before responding. "I was born and raised in Caldera."
"I see." The male dragon whispered. "Sorry, I shouldn't be mad at you. You probably never experienced anything similar…"
"I- it's fine!" Toothless hastily retreated her stance. "I just… you're right. I'm sorry. I was insensitive. I just didn't know what to say-"
"I said I understand." Charcoal interrupted her. He gave her a sad smile. "… if it makes you feel better, I've gotten over it."
The dragoness did not know what to say.
"Anyway." The male dragon started, changing the subject. "I have an hour before I go back to my duty. Do you need anything else?"
"… no."
"Alright then." Charcoal decided as he turned around to the exit. "I'm off for a flight. Maybe scout around Berk to see what to blow up there."
Toothless was alarmed. "WAIT!"
Charcoal paused. He looked back. "Yes?"
"You're raiding Berk next?"
"Yes." The male dragon confirmed. He paused, before tilting his head. "Do you want to join?"
Toothless wanted to say no, but something stopped her. She suddenly got an idea. "Can I ask for your service?"
Charcoal eyed the dragoness behind him. "What is it for me?"
Toothless did not have anything to give him. She knew that Hiccup would be in danger if she did not act. She was desperate. "I'll give you two favours." She answered.
Charcoal knew of favour system that dragons used. It was the highest price for anything to be traded with. If she owed him, he could call his favours and she would do it, even to her own death. To give one favour for something meant that it was extremely important, but to give two meant that she was protecting something nearly invaluable to her.
"… alright." Charcoal decided. He turned around to face her. "Let's hear it."
The dragoness felt relieved. "There are two Viking structures that I want to be left alone." She spoke as she sat on her hindlegs. Toothless began drawing things on the ground with her claws. "This one is the forge… and this one is a house."
Charcoal simply watched. The drawing was there, and it looked familiar to him. The dragoness finished drawing them. After that, she looked up to him. "That's for the first favour."
"Hrr…" The male dragon hummed. He walked and sat in front of her. Then, the dragon added something onto her drawing. Toothless watched as Charcoal began drawing lines and structures, along with some landmarks there and there. When that was done, it looked like a map of Berk. "Is it this one?"
Toothless was stumped. "You know how to draw?"
"You don't get recruited if you don't know what you're doing." Charcoal absentmindedly spoke, staring down at the drawing. "I know too much about humans already. Anyway, I'll do it. What's the other one?"
The dragoness stared at him, amazed. She realised that Amber was right about him having vast knowledge about humans. Toothless stuttered. "U- Uh! I mean, right! Second favour. I want you to blow up… this house."
Toothless circled a structure on top of the mountain. Charcoal recognised it as Mildew's house. There was nothing there but that house. The dragoness continued speaking. "I want you to make sure that everyone living in this house and around it is dead."
"… okay." Charcoal nodded. "That's the second favour."
"Yes."
"Alright. Consider it done." The male dragon told her. He found it strange that Toothless would request something like that. He did not question it, however. He did not want to hear the answer to that question.
The two dragons stayed silent. After some time, Toothless decided to speak. "So… what other human things you know?"
"A lot." Charcoal admitted. "I know how to draw, play human games like Maces and Talons, use their contraptions, know their activities, ways of life, behaviours…"
Toothless grew nervous. 'This was coming from a dragon that despised humans.' She thought. 'He thinks of them as his common prey.'
"… humans are quite predictable if you know what makes them interested." Charcoal blandly spoke, staring at her. "Once you know everything about them, it's just a matter of fishing them out to kill them."
"I… never thought about it that way." Toothless hesitantly replied.
"Most dragons don't." The male dragon responded. He began drawing something on the ground. "I was more of a high to maximum priority target handler for pretty much anything back then. Now, I just…" He shrugged his wings. "… cut back on everything."
'An assassin!' Toothless screamed in his mind. She was very much familiar with that insinuation.
Charcoal finished the drawing. "Here."
Toothless looked down. It was a drawing of two Night Furies flying together. Based on the size, it was them flying together. She couldn't help but smile at the sight. The dragoness looked up to the dragon in front of her. Charcoal was smiling at her.
"Why did you cut back on everything?" She inquired.
"I got tired of it." Charcoal replied. "No matter what I did, the war kept wages on. No matter how many humans I've killed, structures I've destroyed or things I've ruined – nothing changed. So, I just… came back after finishing my tour."
Toothless simply stared at him. "But you're here serving Furious. Isn't that the same thing?"
Charcoal snorted. "Kind of. A very watered-down version of what I used to do back in Greater Archipelago." He admitted. "All I do now is just blow-up catapults or anything that helps those humans kill dragons. Back then, I had to destroy villages myself!"
"That's… understandable."
The male dragon paused for some time. He felt Furious summoning him. Charcoal stood from the ground. "Sorry, but I have to go now. Duty calls."
"I understand." Toothless softly responded. "Just remember the favours."
Charcoal nodded. "I will."
With that, the male dragon walked out from her roost. Toothless simply stared at him with saddened expression. After he disappeared around the corner, she looked down onto the drawing of them flying together.
'You can do this, Toothless.' She strengthened herself. 'You can change him.'
However, at the back of her mind, she wondered what really caused him to hate humans so much. She had never seen such hatred, where they would actively hunt humans to satisfy them. What made Charcoal who he was?
Sometime later, Charcoal was flying up high in the night sky. He had been briefed of what he needed to do. The dragon was flying towards Isle of Berk, ready to lay waste onto the village. The raiding party was already ahead of him.
Suddenly, Furious decided to speak up in his mind. "… How was your date with Toothless?"
Charcoal spluttered. "Date?"
"He-he-he…" the alpha dragon chuckled in his mind. "There is nothing you can hide from your father, Hiccup. Or is it Charcoal now?"
"It's… Charcoal."
"Hmm…" Furious hummed. "… I approve of her. You will become a fine mate for her."
"Daaaaaad!" Charcoal whined.
"Oh, shush." The alpha dragon hushed him. "Focus. You are close to the village."
Berk was very quiet at night. That was expected. Everyone was resting from the wolf culling that day. Despite how sudden the decision was, everyone felt relieved. It meant that they were safer to live in the village. Wolves should not pose any risk to them anymore.
Unfortunately, Charcoal and raiding dragons were there to ruin that peace.
The black dragon was flying up high above the sky. The raiding dragons were waiting for his signal. Charcoal wondered what to do in this situation. Blowing up the forge was out of the question. Toothless requested it.
It was then he noticed that the catapults were lined up with each other. That was an interesting coincidence. He could use electric charged plasma blast to destroy them in one go. That would provide safe path for the raiding dragons.
Deciding that was the idea, Charcoal flew to reach an angle; he needed to line them up. Once he found the right angle, the dragon charged a plasma blast and dove down onto the catapults. The loud, piercing shriek alerted the Vikings. Once he reached certain distance, the Night Fury fired the electrified plasma blast.
"KRAAAAA!" BOOM!
The plasma blast that came out were arcing with lightning. The blast sheared through the row of catapults. When it reached the last catapult, it exploded into fiery explosion. There were electricity sparking around as well.
Charcoal flew fast into the forest tree tops. He heard Vikings shouting behind him. "DRAGONS!"
The dragons had heard the signal and begun the raid. Monstrous Nightmares swooped in to take the food and attack the Vikings, while others went off to grab the food. Sheep and yaks were taken, fish storages ransacked. Vikings ran out from their houses carrying axes and begun defending their food and livestock.
Charcoal flew higher up in the sky. While observing the place, he noticed something interesting. 'Is that…?'
It was him as a human, running from his house to the forge. Charcoal blinked for some time and focused to it. However, whatever that was, it was gone. Hiccup had most likely run to the forge.
'Of course.' He thought. 'This is just a dream, after all.'
Charcoal noticed that the giant torches were being hoisted. They were lit and they revealed the location of dragons in the sky. He was about to dive bomb one of them when he noticed that a crowd of Vikings were coming down from the main road. One of the giant torches were right next to the path they were using. The Night Fury suddenly had an idea.
Charcoal snapped his wing and dove down onto it. The piercing shriek alerted everyone of his presence. Vikings immediately ducked, preparing themselves for the explosion.
"NIGHT FURY!"
"GET DOWN!"
"KRAAAA!" BOOM!
Instead of heading for the giant torch, he fired a plasma blast at the base of it. The giant torch toppled and crashed onto the ground. The giant wooden pole created an obstacle on the large road. The torch head itself exploded, sending burning coal and oil everywhere.
Vikings that was running down to defend the place was halted by the sudden obstacle. They had to take the long route, since it was the closest way to reach their food storage. Dragons were busy raiding the food, and there was not that many Vikings at the other side.
Charcoal was satisfied. He had done his job providing support to the dragons below. There was something else he could do, however. A small crowd of Deadly Nadders were trapped in a net. The Night Fury flew overhead. There was another giant torch that was hoisted recently. It was next to a certain road down there.
The black dragon had decided. Instead of diving, he flew and fired a plasma blast at the base of the torch head. It exploded, throwing the torch head onto the ground. However, instead of crashing into fiery fire, it began to roll down the street. The torch head rolled down and crashed onto the trapped Deadly Nadders, burning the nets from them.
When that was done, Charcoal flew up high into the sky. He circled around and began observing the situation.
The dragon raid was going strong. It was devastating. Most of the Vikings were having trouble navigating around their own village, as there were various obstacles around the place. It slowed their movement, meaning dragons had more time to do their thing. There was nothing else that Charcoal needed to do. Everything was running as it should.
That meant it was time for him to do Toothless' request; blew up Mildew's house and kill everything around it. He wanted to do it in one shot. The night sky was very cloudy, meaning that he could gather electricity for one giant blast. After some thought, he flapped his wings and went into the giant clouds.
Moments later, everyone heard rumbling thunders in the sky. There were plenty of lightning there and there, along with some ominous screeches. The dragons did not care of this, but the Vikings were terrified. That sort of behaviour typically meant that there was a Skrill somewhere up there. The dragon raid was starting to end, as dragons were flying away. It meant that they would have to deal with a Skrill next.
Fortunate for them, it was not a Skrill. Unfortunate for them, it was Charcoal. Once he gathered as much charge as he could, the black dragon charged a full powered, electrified plasma blast. He dove down onto Mildew's house, increasing the power of said attack.
The loud, piercing shriek alerted the Vikings of his presence. This time, however, the shriek was longer than usual. Charcoal kept charging until he was extremely close to the house. Once he was close enough, the black dragon let everything loose onto the house. "KRAAAAAA!"
BOOOOM!
The explosion was so massive, it created a large mushroom-like plume of smoke. Arcs of lightning sparked everywhere, before striking the grounds below. The house was completely obliterated, and lightning arcs electrocuted anything within hundreds of meters away. Because there was only forest surrounding the house, it instantly lit up the vegetation into a fiery fire.
It was then the Vikings realised that it was not a Skrill. It was the certain Night Fury. They had heard of this dragon from passing traders, talking about how every raid with its presence would always be devastating. It seemed that they were very dangerous, and far, far more lethal than typical Night Fury that they faced roughly a year ago. Now that they had faced them, they were terrified of them.
Charcoal considered it a job well done. The house had been obliterated, leaving a large crater there. He still had some bit of charge and shots to use, meaning that he used them more efficient than before. Seeing that the dragon raid was over, he turned his flight path and flew back to Dragon Island.
'No.'
Stoick was watching the black dragon laying waste to his village. He had been busy coordinating the others that he did not pay too much mind for the Night Fury. It was just as he expected; intelligent and ruthless. However, what he did not expect was the ability to utilize lightning for its advantage.
Night Furies were not capable of doing such thing. At least, not normal ones.
'No…' He thought as he slowly walked to his house. The village was burning around him. His knuckles were white as he tightly held his axe. The man had horrified and mournful expression. 'Please, not him…'
"Chief!"
Stoick snapped out from his trance. He looked at the person who were calling him. It was Spitelout. "What is it?"
The second-in-command reached him. "The forest is on fire!"
"Get the others to put it out!" Stoick barked at him.
Spitelout nodded. He took off running to the other side, shouting at the other Vikings.
The chief ran to his house. The man barged into the living room. "Hiccup?" He called out. There was no response.
Dread filled him. He started walking up the stairs, heading to his room. "Hiccup?!"
The man barged into his room. "HICCUP!" He roared.
Stoick looked at the bed. Hiccup was sleeping there. The boy looked pale and sick. The man dropped his axe. "Hiccup." He whispered as he reached for his son.
Hiccup was still alive and asleep. It might be the reason why he did not respond to him calling his name. The man felt utter relief to see him there. When he saw that Night Fury, he thought it was over. He was relieved to be proven otherwise. Underneath that relief, however, there was confusion.
The boy stirred under his embrace. He weakly opened his eyes and saw his father. "Dad?" He croaked out.
Stoick gave him a smile. "Hiccup." He whispered. "How are you feeling?"
The boy shifted uncomfortably. "… tired." He admitted. "I'm feeling sick."
The man lifted his son off from the bed. "Come on, let's get you to Gothi."
"Okay, dad."
Half an hour later, Stoick had delivered Hiccup to Gothi. The man was standing outside her hut, staring up to the sky. Hiccup was already inside. There was nobody else around the area, since everyone was busy dealing with fire in the forest.
"Stoick!"
The chief looked at the source. Gobber was running up to him. Upon reaching him, he stared at him with serious expression. "Was it her?"
Stoick shook his head. "No." He whispered. "That was not her."
"Who was it then?" The blacksmith questioned.
"There is only one kind of Night Fury that could do something like that." The chief whispered, staring at his best friend. "And there's only one that I know."
Gobber slumped his shoulder. "Was that why you ran to your house? Spitelout told me you checked on Hiccup."
"Aye." Stoick replied, steeling himself. "What was the damage?"
"Uh…" The blacksmith scratched his head. "The forge's still there. All our catapults are gone. We just done putting out the fire in the woods. Spitelout is getting ships ready to get supplies from the storehouse on the nearby island."
"Good." The chief responded. "What's the building on the top?"
"Mildew's house was blown up."
"And Mildew?"
Gobber paused. "He was at the Great Hall with the rest of the elders." He looked disappointed when he informed him that.
"Was there any reason why Mildew's house, specifically?"
The blacksmith stroked his beard, staring up to the sky. "… I don't think there's anythin' there that stroked the ire of that Night Fury." He paused, before looking back to the chief. "Come to think of it; traders said the forge would always blown up first. It didn't blow up this one."
Stoick thought for some time. He stroked his beard as he stared to the smoked crater up on the mountain. He wondered for the reason why the target was so specific. It was then he realised something. "She was female."
That caught Gobber off guard. "What?"
"That dragon was courting her." The chief whispered as he leaned closer to him. "She must've known that there's going to be a dragon raid. That dragon just now was a male that wanted to please her."
"What do ye mean?"
"Think, Gobber." Stoick whispered. "Hiccup told her about his life here. Mildew sent him off into the forest. She was not stupid; she knew that we know there was a wolf population problem. She thought Mildew wanted him killed."
"We don't have any proof that Mildew wanted to kill him." Gobber whispered back.
"But she knew." The chief simply spoke. "Do not underestimate her intelligence. She may be unwilling to attack here, but that didn't mean she wouldn't do something about it."
The blacksmith widened his eyes. "Yer telling me, she did it?"
"For the safety of Hiccup." Stoick responded. "She will do anything."
"But that doesn't explain why it attacked-"
"He." Stoick corrected him.
"… he?"
"He was courting her." The chief informed him.
"But that doesn't-"
"Gobber." Stoick interrupted him. "… what would you do if you have a girlfriend?"
The blacksmith blinked. "I uh… I give 'er compliments and do things for her?" There was a reason why he was not married. There was too much investment he needed to do.
"Do you think they would do the same?"
Gobber pondered for some time. Then, he understood. The Night Fury that attacked them was possibly male. Toothless was female. Toothless had a boyfriend, and he wanted to please her by doing what she wanted him to do. "He was dating 'er."
"Aye." Stoick nodded. "And she knew who put Hiccup in danger."
The blacksmith was filled with dread. "Hiccup told her, and she told his boyfriend what needed to be done, and-"
"He would do it."
'It meant that Hiccup had become powerful by relation alone!' Gobber thought. 'He have two Night Furies on his side.'
"Gobber." Stoick called his name, getting his fullest attention. "Whatever you do, make sure Hiccup do not come to harm. He did not know that telling her things would make her act. Let's keep it that way, for our sake, and the sake of our village."
"… Aye, chief." Gobber whispered.
"Good." The chief nodded. "Now go on ahead. I need to check on Spitelout."
The blacksmith nodded. He ran down from Gothi's place and went to the forge. Stoick exhaled the breath he was holding. He looked perplexed, as if there was something that had been disturbing him.
'Who was that Night Fury?'
The entirety of Dragon Island rumbled. Furious was pleased. Charcoal had gotten himself an adult name, and a female Night Fury to become mates with. He did not have to look for a female Night Fury for his son. It was somewhat embarrassing asking other greater alpha dragons about it.
The alpha dragon knew who Toothless was. He approved them to become mates together. He did not even have to force them; they fell in love at the first sight. Night Furies were rare nowadays, since there were humans that was hunting their species relentlessly. He knew four so far, and it was nice to know two that would become mates together.
'Yes…' Furious purred, which rumbled the Dragon Island once more. 'That problem solved itself. They look great together.'
He wondered what her father's reaction would be like if he knew who his daughter was courting with. He would have to prepare, in case he learned of their relationship.
Author Note
Astrid and others are so mean to Hiccup.
Yes, I know. I decided that this should be the case when I realised how Hiccup was canonically treated in the franchise. At least, before the HTTYD event. I need an antagonist, or a group of antagonists, and I have the book and franchise characters to work with. This should be interesting.
Furious looks OOC in the story.
There was a back story for Furious. It relates to Hiccup the Second. I'm not going to spoil this too much. However, all I can say is, Furious truly cared about Charcoal. He did adopt him and made him his son. He's just not the perfect father for him.
You will see the difficulty and struggle of parenting as a reoccurring theme in this story. There's a lot of drama and fluff – feelings of guilt, high emotion and all that stuff. I've done my best to express them and make them as human as possible. I hope I did a good job on this, because it took me a while to stretch the details.
What is Furious?
What is Toothless both in book and canon? In the book, he's a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus. In the franchise, he's a Night Fury. Every Hiccup in the book befriended the same dragon species. Imagine what Night Fury mixed with Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus would be like. Imagine their abilities as well. That's what he is.
It's the spoiler free explanation of it. They wouldn't be like what you'd imagine them as.
Hiccup x Toothless relationship didn't go that well in this chapter.
I'm trying to be realistic with it. You can't expect a relationship to go well all the time, even when they truly fall in love together. There's always the struggle and arguments that comes with it. There's always the possibility of falling out of love.
Then, there going to be a struggle to raise their child, especially considering they don't really have good parents to begin with.
I'm trying to portray this kind of struggle for them. Based off their background, this is what I come up with. I really hope that I did it right. It's going to get a whole lot more complicated in the next few books.
Is there any difference between book Dragon Rebellion and this one?
Historically in book canon, there's three Dragon Rebellion event that happened in the whole Wilderwest. The first one was ended by Hiccup the First and Wodensfang with Dragon Jewel. The second one started and ended by Hiccup the Second and Furious. The third one started by Furious but ended by Hiccup the Third and Toothless.
In this canon, I shifted the timeline a bit. Because I've crossovered book and canon together, there need to be some adjustment. I've stretched the timeline and swapped the event between peace and war time.
Hiccup the First and Wodensfang ended Dragon Rebellion together, but something happened, and Dragon Rebellion started again. Hiccup the Second and Furious ended the Dragon Rebellion, but like before, something happened, and it started again. That's three Dragon Rebellion events.
You can already see the pattern. Hiccup the Third and Toothless would end the Dragon Rebellion. They say history repeats itself, but it actually rhymes with the present. The event that happened in the past before may look the same, but it didn't happen like it was before.
This will be the focus of the story in the next few books.
End Note
Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for leaving reviews and comments.
Next chapter will be posted around 15-16 June 2022, depending on the time zone.
