Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train your Dragon or any of the spin off series. Only my OCs and my version of the tales.
Chapter 1: Henna
This, is Berk. It's twelve days north of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have…
A blast outside has the teenage viking barricading the door, "Dragons." She sighed, bracing herself against the barricade, rolling her eyes up, "Don't do anything stupid, Hiccup." Another blast hit, "Be safe."
Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues. My name's Henna. Not the greatest name. Apparently, my parents couldn't come up with anything better than to name me after my hair color. My twin brother was named Hiccup. The runt of the liter. Why would you name your son that? But it's not the worst name. Viking parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanour wouldn't do that.
"You don't enjoy killing dragons, do you Gothi?" The girl looked over at the town elder and healer as she sat in a chair by the fire place. She watched as the old woman used her staff to write in the dirt.
"Well, I know it's not supposed to be about killing them, but about protecting our village. But most of the people here consider it a sport. They like to see what dragon they can kill so they can show off their trophies of war." A blast caused the hut to shudder, "I've never had any taste for it. That's why I talked dad into letting me train with you. I want to be a healer, not a killer."
Gothi started writing again, "Well, I guess. I mean, I was training with Astrid in the warrior arts. But…" Henna trailed off, "with her, it became all or nothing. Best friend my butt. We've barely spoke in two years." That's when Henna stopped joining the fire brigade and just holed up with Gothi. "I'm not a coward."
Gothi gestured her over to her chair, "Yes, ma'am." Her teacher started writing again, "I know that it doesn't matter what everyone else says, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. I mean, Hiccup's the town wimp, runt and mistake. Me? I've become the town coward, running away from everything. They don't understand." She wrote again, "Make them? Easier said than done when your father is the Chief."
When she heard that most of the fighting had ended, Henna stood up, "I'm going to see if they need any help with the injured." And check on my brother.
She walked through town, shaking her head at the mess, when she neared the fire brigade as they laughed. She looked over to see Gobber leading Hiccup through the walk of shame. Oh, what did you do?
"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" The stout and muscled teen grinned.
"Thank you, thank you. I was trying, so..." Hiccup sighed as he avoided the glare of the blonde teen, Astrid. He kept talking to Gobber as they headed up toward the large house on the hill. Henna glanced at the brigade, glaring, and followed her brother home.
"I really did hit one." Hiccup told Gobber
"Sure, Hiccup." Gobber nodded
"He never listens."
"Well, it runs in the family."
"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." Hiccup mimicked his father "Excuse me, barmaid. I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here. This is a talking fish bone."
"You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." Gobber told him.
"Thank you, for summing that up." Hiccup sighed, feeling worse. He nodded as Henna joined him, "Welcome home. Care to hear the tale of the worst viking Berk has ever see?"
"Which chapter are we on?" She joked, giving him a hug.
"Year 15. The chapter itself is still being written."
"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Gobber said, getting their attention.
Hiccup sighed, "I just want to be one of you guys." Gobber eyed him sympathy as the teen go inside their house.
"Come with me?" Hiccup asked, looking at his sister.
"With you? Always." They nodded before heading straight out the back door and into the woods.
1-2-3-4-5
Hiccup looks up from his notebook and peeks over a gorge, expectantly. But sees adds another 'X' to the page, then scratches his pencil over the whole map in frustration. He snaps the book closed and pockets it.
"Ugh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an entire dragon!" He looked at his sister, "I did hit it, you know. I'm not delusional."
"I never said you were." Henna smirked as she slung an around his shoulder, "Look, I know you. We're twins. I can tell when you're lying. Heck, we've always been able to tell when the other is in trouble or danger before anyone else. So, why, after all of that, wouldn't I believe you?"
He grinned as he whacked a low-hanging branch aside. It snapped back at him, hitting him in the face. He turned to see that Henna had ducked and was laughing at him, "Yuck it up." He looked up to see a snapped tree trunk. His eyes followed it to a long trench of disturbed earth. He pointed to it and they followed it to a downed, black dragon, tangled in a bola.
"Oh, Hiccup. He's so beautiful." Henna put her hands on her mouth, saddened by the sight.
"Oh wow. I did it. I did it. This fixes everything. Yes! " He strikes a victory pose, planting his foot on the fallen Night Fury. "I have brought down this mighty beast!" The dragon suddenly shifts. "Whoa!" Hiccup springs back, terrified.
"He's alive!" She exclaimed, frowning as hiccup turned his dagger on the dragon, "What are you doing?"
He creeped along the length of the wounded dragon and raised his dagger to strike him down. Henna watched, knowing that she would intervene if necessary, but she knew it wouldn't be. She knew her brother.
As he reaches the dragon's head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring at him. Hiccup tried to look away, but he was drawn back to those eyes. With the dragon safety tangled in the ropes, Hiccup jabs with his dagger, puffing himself up with false bravado. "I'm going to kill you, Dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking. I am a VIKING!" Hiccup raises the dagger, as his sister watches. The dragon started breathing heavily, distracting Hiccup enough to cause him to open eyes to look back down at the magnificent beast.
Henna watched as different emotions went across her brother's face, as if some connection had just been formed. The Night Fury closes it's eyes and lowers it's head in defeat. She could see Hiccup hesitating, as he brought his dagger up, trying to go through with killing the dragon. Finally, he lowered the blade with a frustrated sigh and looked back at his sister, "I did this." She smiled, happy that she was right.
He turned, ready to leave, before he hurried back over to cut the ropes. The Night Fury's eyes shoot open and stared as Hiccup hurriedly cut the ropes from the rest of his body. When the last rope falls free, the dragon pounced in a blur, pinning Hiccup to the ground.
"Hiccup!" Henna stepped forward, ready to defend her brother, when the dragon took a deep breath to let out a massive roar. It turned around took flight in the trees. They watched as it his a nearby mountain side and dropped out of view. She saw her brother trying to get back to his feet before he fainted, "Oh, brother."
1-2-3-4-5
They siblings entered their home to see their father sitting in front of the fireplace in thought. They tried to sneak past him, but the great Stoick the Vast was too good for that. Of course.
" Hiccup."
"Dad. Uh..." Hiccup says, Stoick stands, takes a deep breath.
"I have to talk to you son."
"I have to talk to you dad." They spoke at the same time.
"I've decided it's time you learn to fight dragons."
"I don't want to fight dragons." They spoke simultaneously, not able to tell what the other had said.
"What?"
"You go first." Stoick said.
"No, you go first." Hiccup insisted.
"Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning."
"Uh-oh." Henna's eyes widened as she tried to make herself invisible against the wall.
"Oh man, I should've gone first. Uh, 'cause I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home repair Vikings?"
"You'll need this." Stoick hands Hiccup the axe in his hands.
Hiccup avoids taking it. "I don't want to fight dragons."
"Come on. Yes, you do." Stoick said, waving his son off.
"Rephrase. Dad I can't kill dragons."
"But you will kill dragons."
"No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't."
"It's time Hiccup. "
"Can you not hear me?"
"This is serious son!" Stoick forces the axe into Hiccup's hands. Its weight drags him down. He looks up to see his father staring at him.
"When you carry this axe... carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us. You talk like us. You think like us. No more of…" gesturing non-specifically at Hiccup "... this."
"You just gestured to all of me."
"Deal? "
"This conversation is feeling very one-sided."
" DEAL?!" Hiccup glances at the axe in his hands. "Deal."
Satisfied, Stoick grabs his helmet and bag before heading towards the door. He paused and turned back, looking straight at Henna, "I know we made a deal for you to train with Gothi and I won't go back on that. However, you will also report for training with your brother. No arguments. Both of my children are going to learn how to carry on the family name. Do you understand?" She nodded, not looking up. "Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."
"And I'll be here. Maybe." Stoick heads out the door, leaving Hiccup holding the axe."
The twins sighed, "Great." Henna crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose, "You should have gone first."
"Like he would have listened."
"I'm gonna go to my room and scream out of my window."
He smiled as they went upstairs, "Misery loves company. Let me know if you'd like me to join you."
Their father's room was in the back of the house, easy access to the front door incase of attacks. Hiccup's room took up the entire upstairs. They used to share it, but as they got older, it became difficult for Henna. As a teenage girl, you really don't want to spend the rest of your young life sharing a bedroom with your twin brother. So, their father agreed to build her a room. A smaller version of the house was built onto the right side with an upstairs door for easy access. Hiccup's room had a matching door across his room. She went out the door and cross the short bridge, with blanks on the side for protection, to cross to her room. Her room also had stairs, but they led down to a storage room. She looked out her window in sighed. No need to scream. It would be useless.
1-2-3-4-5
The siblings walked in behind the fire brigade as they followed Gobber into a massive stone arena, "Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber said as led the recruits the gate.
"No turning back." Astrid said, a fierce look on her face.
"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut smiled
"I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut grinned
"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid nodded
"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." The recruits turn to see Hiccup and Henna behind them, as if they just noticed they were there.
"Oh great. Who let him in?" Tuffnut gestured.
"Nice to see you too, Tuff." Henna glared, causing him to gulp and take a step away. Everyone on Berk knew that, before she started training with Gothi and took a stance against killing dragons, her skills and fierceness rivaled that of only Astrid. And no one messed with her. Ever.
"Alright, then. Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honour of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."
"Why is that an honour?" Henna demanded, crossing her arms.
"Only you would think it wasn't." Astrid shot back.
"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or...?" Snotlout asked, oblivious to the animosity between the two girls. The rest of the recruits laughed at his comment.
"Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?" Tuffnut laughed.
Gobber throws a supportive arm around Hiccup and ushers him along. "Don't worry. You're small and you're weak. That'll make you less of a target. They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." Gobber pushes him in line with the others and continues toward five massive reinforced doors where they could hear the roars of dragons from within. "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight."
"The Deadly Nadder."
"Speed eight. Armor sixteen." Fishlegs mutter and Henna nudged Hiccup, grinning.
"The Hideous Zippleback."
"Plus eleven stealth. Times two."
"The Monstrous Nightmare."
"Firepower fifteen."
"The Terrible Terror."
"Attack eight. Venom twelve."
"CAN YOU STOP THAT?!" Gobber yelled, glaring at Fishlegs, "And finally, the Gronckle."
"Jaw strength, eight." Fishlegs whispered as Gobber pulled a lever to raise the beam on the last of the doors.
"Whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first!?" Snotlout asked
"I believe in learning on the job." The next thing they knew a Gronckle thunders out of its pen and charged toward the teens. Though she gave up her training a long time ago, Henna remembered her lessons all too well. She grabbed a shield and leapt behind a barrel for protection. The rest of the recruits scramble in different directions, trying to get to safety. "Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"
"A doctor." Hiccup muttered, trying to be invisible.
"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs asked, terrified.
"A shield!" Henna and Astrid said together.
"Shields. Go!" Gobber told them. The recruits scramble for shields, finding them scattered around the ring. "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield." When Hiccup struggled to lift his, Henna ran over to help him before he could fall over with it. Nodding at him, she turned and took off on her own. Ruff and Tuff ran over to a pile of shield and they both grabbed the same one; it had two skulls and fire painted on it.
"Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut growled, shoving his sister back.
"There are like a million shields!" Ruffnut shouted back, trying to pull the shield towards her.
"Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers." He said, right before Ruffnut uses the shield to bash Tuffnut in the face. He still doesn't let go.
"Oops, now this one has blood on it." She holds it out to him. The Gronckle takes aim at the distracted twins and blasted it out of their hands, spinning the twins around before they dropped to the ground.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!"
Gobber called out as the twins looked up, dizzy, "What?!"
The Gronckle flew back around and face the remaining teens on the other side of the arena, "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim." Gobber instructed. The recruits picked up weapons and begin hammering on their shields. The Gronckle shakes its head, getting dizzy, at all the noise. "All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"
"Five!" Snotlout shouted.
"No, it's…" Fishlegs started, only to be interrupted by Henna.
"Six!" He glared at her as she across, sliding under the Gronckle and got behind another wall.
"Correct, six. That's one for each of you!" Gobber said
"I really don't - " Fishlegs started to say before his shield was blasted away and he ran away screaming.
"Fishlegs, out." Gobber spots Hiccup hiding from the Gronckle, "Hiccup, get in there!"
Astrid was braced, holding up her shield and axe, waiting for the Gronckle to attack, while Snotlout decided it was the perfect time to hit on her, "So anyway, I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out," He says before Astrid cartwheels out of the way, allowing the Gronckle to shoot a blast past her and hit Snotlout's shield instead, sending him to his back. "Snotlout! You're done!" Astrid rolls to a stop beside Hiccup, who swayed a little on his feet.
"So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?"
"Nope. Just you." Astrid rolled away just as a lava blast shot out and hit Hiccup's shield out off his arm, leaving him exposed. Henna looked over in horror as the Gronckle shot toward her brother.
"One shot left!" Gobber calls. Hiccup chases after his shield, in a panic, as it rolled across the ring. The sudden movement sends the Gronckle chasing after him, leaving Astrid and Henna in the clear.
"Hiccup!" Henna yelled, leaving her hiding place and running over to help her brother. The Gronckle drives straight forward, pinning him against the wall. Just as it opened its mouth to fire, Henna throws her shield like a boomerang and hit it in its head, disorienting him. She leapt over Gobber and landed on top of the dragon. She grabbed it by it's ears and jerked it to the ground, "Not today, big boy." She used her knees as a brace to keep the dragon down as Gobber used his hook-hand to grab the dragon by the mouth.
"And that's six!" He said as he and Henna wrestle the Gronckle back into his pen, "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry." Gobber turns to the recruits. "Remember... a dragon will always," with a stern look to Hiccup "always go for the kill." Henna walked over and helped her brother back to his feet, ignoring the astonished looks she was receiving from the other teens. Hiccup looked up to see a smoking hole in the stone wall.
"Then why didn't he?" Henna whispered, following his look.
For anybody ready thins, I hope you enjoy it. I plan on doing the movie, Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge. If I do the second movie, I won't kill off Stoick. I was not a fan of that. I'm sorry for the die hard fans, but I didn't care for the third movie. They didn't mention any of their allies they made in the series, and I seriously think there was a better way to end it than that. Dragons had been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. There had to be another way. So, I won't be doing that movie. I'll probably give it a happily ever after before that. It just depends on how far I'm willing to go with the story.