It had been a week since everything, the fight with the red death, the chief of Dragons Edge revealed to be Hiccup who the Hooligans believed was dead for 7 years, it all happened so fast. There had been a celebration after the chief awakened from his month long coma and his leg was healed completely. Hiccup honestly felt better knowing he didn't have to hide anymore, he only wore that mask because he had no choice but seeing his children's scared faces that day of the final battle he couldn't not take it off to show his kids that he wasn't afraid and that would come back alive. This is a promise he had kept, he didn't care he'd lost his leg.
The Hooligans were still on Dragons Edge even though Hiccup didn't want them too but he had said he'd train Astrid and Fishlegs on dragons, the others wanted to join in but Hiccup made it clear they had yet to prove they were ready. Today his children were with Alvin and it was the start of dragon training for Astrid and Fishlegs. Stoick hadn't said much to Hiccup since the day of the explanation, which Hiccup preferred. He still didn't see Stoick as his father, and why should he. His own 'father' ignored him, didn't listen to him, help him, protect him. No Stoick had cast him out for befriending a dragon helped Hiccup made Dragons Edge possible.
Standing in the academy was Astrid and Fishlegs waiting for Hiccup who was running late, very unlike him actually. "Where do you think he is?" Fishlegs asked looking to Astrid now. They'd gotten there 10 minutes ago, the twins and Snotlout were off cleaning stables still. Gobber was at the forge, and Stoick at the inn sulking in guilt over what he'd done. Hiccup finally flew in on Toothless and landed on the stone floor before getting off and approaching them.
"Mor–morning chief..." Astrid greeted.
"Lets get one thing straight. I am chief of Dragons Edge, of the Dreki tribe. You aren't members of this tribe, don't suck up to me. I'm doing this because I'm a man of my word." Hiccup stated firmly.
"So–Sorry..." Astrid and Fishlegs said lowering their heads a bit.
"Enough. Dragon training is serious work. Its hard, and dangerous. As I've stated before, it begins and ends with trust." Hiccup said with his arms crossed over his chest.
"We remember...So what's...first?" Fishlegs asked curiously. Just as Hiccup was about to reply he heard yelling and turned out to see Barf and Belch walking out. Barf was holding Ruffnut and Belch was holding Tuffnut, both by their collars, looking a little farther Snotlout ran out and hid behind Astrid as Hookfang roared out being fully flamed up. Hiccup face-palmed as he sighed.
"What did you three do now?" Hiccup mumbled.
"Nothing! We were cleaning their pens and they just started attacking us. The twins were fighting with the broom handles and I was eating left over bread I saved from breakfast as a snack..." Snotlout said quickly.
"And this is why I don't work with amateurs..." Hiccup rolled his eyes as he snapped his fingers and both dragons relaxed. Hookfang powered down purring, Barf and Belch released the twins and lowered their heads to Hiccup. "Easy boys..." Hiccup soothed them rubbing their snouts with a soft smile. "They weren't attacking you. Hookfang is hungry, Barf and Belch don't like fighting that's why they separated you two." Hiccup explained.
"And how do you know that! That dragon just chased me out while on fire!" Snotlout exclaimed.
"Did you feed him before you started cleaning his pen?" Hiccup asked now. Snotlout shook his head, "Then there you go. He was hungry and thought the bread was for him. Seeing you eat it made him want some...He wanted you to share." Hiccup stated. "How many times do I have to say it, the dragons here don't attack people unless provoked to do so..." Hiccup sighed heavily.
"That Nightmare was the one you were supposed to kill in the ring..." Astrid pointed out now.
"This is Hookfang, the zippleback is Barf and Belch. Before you ask, Runa named them when she was 4..." Hiccup said.
"They are so well behaved with you..." Fishlegs smiled.
"Because they know I won't hurt them. Its all about trust, but this is the first time I've seen then act like this...I wonder...You three, get in line with Astrid and Fishlegs...I want to see something." Hiccup ordered them. Snotlout and the twins moved to stand next Astrid and Fishlegs now as Hiccup looked towards the stable guard. "Birger!" Hiccup called.
"Yes chief?" Birger replied now with a salute.
"Release Stormfly and Meatlug." Hiccup stated.
"Aye!" Birger replied rushing inside to do what he was told. Hiccup faced the group with his hands on his hips.
"Keep yourselves at arms length away from one another...and no sudden movements." Hiccup said to them. They all spread their arms apart and made sure they weren't touching, Hiccup nodded as he heard Birger walking out with the dragons he'd been asked to get. "Thank you." Hiccup said as Birger returned to his post. Stormfly and Meatlug both looked happy to see Fishlegs and Astrid there. "Easy girls...Don't worry..." Hiccup calmed them.
"So...What are we doing here?" Astrid asked.
"This is dragon training, actual dragon training. Everything you learned on Berk...forget it. You'll never need that knowledge again..." Hiccup began. They nodded to him. "As I told Astrid and Fishlegs, this is no game. Its serious, its hard, and dangerous. I will teach you how to train dragons, how to understand them, take care of them, ride them...If you agree to my terms." Hiccup stated.
"What are your terms?" Fishlegs asked.
"One. You do exactly as you are told. Two. They are not pets, they are your friends, they are your partners. Three. They are not to be used for your enjoyment. Dragon training and riding is a bond, and once a bond is established it never fades. Where ever you go, they will follow unless instructed otherwise." Hiccup said sternly.
"We agree." The group said together with a nod.
"Good. I hope you all got enough sleep because you're about to have a long day...We'll break at lunch, and stop for dinner. That being said, if you have any hidden weapons on you. Get rid of them, you won't need them in here." Hiccup said. He watched as they took out small daggers from various places and put them in a bucket near the wall. "First thing is first, establishing trust and a bond. I will be guiding you in how to do this so let you arms and upper body relax." Hiccup said.
"We're ready." Astrid nodded.
"Good because you are first." Hiccup said walking towards her and standing behind her, he then gave a whistle to Stormfly pointing at her. "Remember, let me control your motions. Now...I want you to talk to her. Introduce yourself, show her you want to be friends. But most of all, don't be afraid. Dragons can feel your emotions and if they feel your fear, they know you don't trust them." Hiccup told Astrid.
She nodded taking a deep breath looking at the nadder known as Stormfly before her and brought a smile to her face. "Hi Stormfly...I'm Astrid..." She paused glancing back at Hiccup who gave her a nod to continue. "You're really beautiful...I remember you from Berk...I uh...just want to say I'm sorry for...hitting you with my ax...I–I hope...we can be friends and work together from now on..." Astrid said lightly as she felt Hiccup turn her body to the left and slowly lift her right arm up, positioning her hand so the palm was up.
"Now close your eyes and turn your head towards me slowly. This is the trust...don't be afraid." Hiccup whispered to her. Astrid closed her eyes and turned her head gently, not more than a moment later she felt the scaly snout of Stormfly touch her palm, she heard Stormfly squawk contently purring. "You feel it?" Hiccup asked.
"Y–yeah...I do...its amazing..." Astrid breathed out smiling wide now.
"You can look at her now. Good job, Astrid. Stormfly is now your bonded dragon." Hiccup told her with a nod of approval. Astrid looked over at Stormfly seeing her head bowed to Astrid and eyes closed just like Astrid had done when she turned her head and closed her eyes. It was incredible how much closer she felt to Stormfly now, is this how Hiccup felt when he met Toothless? "Alright, now for the rest of you..." Hiccup said as he moved away from Astrid and to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. "You two are going to share a dragon, and the lucky winner is Barf and Belch here..." Hiccup said to them.
"How do you...share a dragon?" Ruffnut asked curiously.
"What do you remember about Hideous Zippleback's from training on Berk?" Hiccup asked them.
"Uh...One head breathes gas, and the other lights it...Our job is to know which one." Tuffnut said now.
"Right. Now here's a fun fact and something Gobber didn't know...For male zippleback dragons, the head on right breathes gas, and the left lights it. For females, the left breathes gas and the right lights it. Barf and Belch is a male dragon because of the brighter colors, females are prone to be darker." Hiccup explained.
"Wow...That's impressive...How'd you find that out?" Fishlegs asked him.
"I studied all dragons for year in my travels. I mentioned this already...Moving on...Given how these two separated you earlier...I'm going to guess that Barf has chosen Ruffnut, and Belch has chosen you Tuffnut. So I want you two to do what Astrid did...talk to them calmly, address them by their names, and then close your eyes, turn your heads and put your right hands out with the palm up." Hiccup said.
"O–okay..." The twins said together and did what they were told, the same happened. Both Barf and Belch accepted them by pressing their noses to the twins' palms. Hiccup moved away from them and looked over at Fishlegs who already had bonded with Meatlug.
"Good work, Fishlegs. Now for you Snotlout...Looks like Hookfang has picked you. He picks up on your rough nature and he likes it because he's just as rough, cocky, and stubborn." Hiccup chuckled a bit.
"Hey!" Snotlout grumbled.
"Quiet..." Hiccup ordered as he put his hand out first and Hookfang sniffed it as his eyes dilated from slits to contentment. Hiccup used his right hand to take Snotlout's wrist and move it up to Hookfang's snout, Snotlout resisted and tried to pull back. "What did I say, don't show fear. He won't hurt you. If you're calm then Hookfang will be too. Now put your palm up." Hiccup stated. Snotlout gulped and turned his hand up with the palm open. Hiccup brought his hand away and placed Snotlout's in its place as Hookfang pressed his snout to Snotlout's palm and purred happily.
"Hahaha..." Snotlout said, amazed it worked. Hiccup stepped back now beside Toothless.
"Good work, all of you. These are your bonded dragons. From this day forward you are their caretakers, their trainers, friends, partners, and depending on how good you do on the next section, their riders. I'll be the judge if you're ready for it or not. Now...before we go forward, I'm going to see how many dragon facts you know...Can't ride a dragon you know nothing about." Hiccup stated. The others nodded, Hiccup snapped his fingers as the dragons all moved behind the group and sat down gently.
"Wait if they are supposed to listen to us then how come they follow your orders." Tuffnut asked curiously now.
"Because the chief is the head dragon trainer." Valka said coming in on Cloud Jumper. "Every dragon that comes here goes through him first. They are your bonded dragons yes, but they've all been made from wild dragons to domestic by Hiccup." Valka explained.
"As such, they will always listen to me." Hiccup added. "Hey mom, what's up?" Hiccup asked.
"Just coming by to check on you son." Valka smiled hugging him.
"Mom...I'm not a kid anymore...I think I can handle the day without needing to be checked on." Hiccup chuckled.
"Well forgive me chief for wanting to spend every chance I get with the son I lost for 16 years." Valka retorted.
"Yeah I know...But I'm in the middle of a class right now. Why don't you go help dad with the kids, I'm sure he's ready for a break." Hiccup smiled back.
"Will do. See you at lunch son." Valka got back on Cloud Jumper and flew off out of the academy. Hiccup chuckled and shook his head a little.
"Alright, back to work. I'm going to ask basic facts. We'll even make it a game. First to 20 points gets to learn how to ride before lunch." Hiccup grinned a little. They nodded ready for the questions. "What does most every dragon have?" Hiccup asked.
Fishlegs put his hand up quickly now, Hiccup pointed to him. "Limited number of shots and a blind spot." Fishlegs answered.
"Right. Another fun fact, they also hate eels except for Typhoomerangs." Hiccup stated. "What is the shot limit of a nadder?" Hiccup asked.
"Oh! 6!" Astrid exclaimed with her hand up.
"Good. Shot limit of a Night Fury?" Hiccup grinned watching their faces go to worry, he knew they wouldn't know it. The book on Berk had nothing on Night Furies.
"10?..." Snotlout tried.
"Wrong. The Night Fury has no shot limit..." Hiccup remarked. "Though I'm curious where you came up with 10 and didn't assume 6 like the rest were?" Hiccup asked.
"Fight with the red death...when you were firing at her, I counted 10..." Snotlout answered.
"Huh, little impressed you were paying attention to that. Nice work, Snotlout. I'll give you a point for that. Next question, which dragon has the best fire for welding?" Hiccup asked.
"Uhh..." They all trailed off slowly.
"Deadly Nadder?" Astrid suggested shrugging.
"Correct, now tell me why?" Hiccup chuckled.
"Umm...I–I don't know..." Astrid looked down.
"Nadder's fire burns with the heat of the sun, magnesium and that makes for a perfect welding fire." Hiccup told her, she nodded. This continued for close to two hours, Hiccup asked questions about the types of dragons they were familiar with but mainly the ones they'd be working with so Nadder, Zippleback, Nightmare, Gronckle. They were simple questions that he knew were in the dragon manual on Berk, Hiccup had read it after letting Toothless go so he assumed the others had read it as well since they said that night they did. Clearly that was a lie because they barely knew anything.
Hiccup knew they were guessing most of the time, shocking if they got it right but then that's why Hiccup would ask how they knew the answer, when they said they didn't know or shrugged nervously it showed that it was a mere guess. Fishlegs knew the most, but even something's he wasn't aware of. Overall, Hiccup was impressed and by the end of two hours as it neared lunch time the group were all nearly tied. Fishlegs had 17. Astrid, Snotlout had 16 each, the twins had 13 each. Okay so not even but still did better than Hiccup expected.
"Alright, so you guys know a decent amount. Now I'm going to tell you a few things that you don't know..." Hiccup stated.
"Wait so who won?" Snotlout asked.
"No one. None of you reached 20 points and honestly, I'm out of easy questions. Asking anything else and I promise you won't know the answers to them." Hiccup replied. "So how about this, anything you want to know...you can ask me." Hiccup said now.
"Anything?" Tuffnut asked.
"Pertaining to dragons, yes." Hiccup replied.
"Well if that's the case...can we know about Night Furies?..." Astrid asked.
"I suppose so. The Night Fury is the smartest, fastest, and rarest of all dragons known to man. Toothless specifically is 26 feet long, with a wing span of exactly 48 feet. Unlike other dragons, the Night Fury is one color, black with some lighter spots. Night Furies have retractable teeth, echolocation, and can split their spines for better maneuverability. He is a Strike class dragon who uses a series of different types of fire that vary depending on the situation. The Night Fury somewhat resembles an axolotl in general appearance and has two pairs of wings with a shape similar to a bat, two mobile, ear-like appendages on the back of its head that show its mood and help it hear, as well as other pairs around their jaw depending on their age. Toothless here is my age, 21. They also have a pair of large, yellowish-green eyes with black orbs. Unlike most dragon species, the Night Fury has a short neck and lacks any kind of horns." Hiccup stated.
"Wow...you know so much about them..." Fishlegs said with amazement now.
"That's just what they look like...I haven't even touched behavior yet..." Hiccup chuckled.
"Wi–will you tell us?" Fishlegs asked.
"Sure...According to the Dragon Manual on Berk, the Night Fury is considered to be so aggressive that it is likened to the "unholy offspring of lightning and death itself". Night Furies are generally very aggressive to any form of threat they find, similar to how the other dragons treat the Vikings, well before I ended the war at least...But they are also curious creatures that attempt to understand new things they observe and are intelligent enough to attempt to recreate the actions that they see. Night Furies, in comparison to most other dragons, are very capable of communicating, and seemingly understanding human speech: the best evidence of this is when he makes a noise in agreement with me regarding things I ask or when I ordered Toothless not to kill Astrid and Stoick. Toothless also makes his emotions very well known, Toothless' pupils dilate when he is in a good mood, and narrow to slits when startled or aggressive. Night Furies mainly resemble cats and bats. Such behavior can be seen when Toothless licks himself, walks in a circle before laying down, and scratches himself just like cats do. Night Furies resemble bats because they hang themselves upside down, are nocturnal, and use some form of echolocation." Hiccup explained.
"Is that is or is there more?" Snotlout blinked a little.
"Again, barely touched the surface..." Hiccup sighed, "The Night Fury has the ability to shoot bursts of purple-colored flames, which are composed of acetylene and oxygen. The blasts explode directly upon impact, sometimes exploding in midair because of the cut of the oxygen supply. The Night Fury can fire at different levels of power, such as a blast weak enough to get deflected by a shield, and a blast powerful enough to destroy an entire catapult tower. The blast was called a plasma blast by me. These blast can be done with pinpoint accuracy. The Night Fury also has the habit to light and warm up the place where it will sleep, this fire isn't particularly strong, but it can be incredibly hot, and can light up fireplaces, stoves and lamps. The fire has also been seen in a blue color. Plasma blast reflection is also possible, the Night Fury's plasma blast can sometimes be reflected off walls, mainly rock. They can use this as a tactic to take out fast moving objects in narrow tight spaces." Hiccup began.
The others only listened in sheer amazement. Hiccup learned so much in 6 years, facts they never could of imagined about a Night Fury. "The Night Fury is also known to be very strong, can lift close to 3 tons. The Night Fury is the fastest and most agile known dragon. It is said to reach speeds that break the sound barrier, notably in a dive bomb. The Night Fury's streamlined sleek shaped body and massive powerful wings helps it obtain a speed limit faster than the speed of sound. This species also possess remarkable speed and agility on land, being able to outrun and outmaneuver most other dragons and even being able to jump to and leap from various objects like trees or walls. The only way to spot a Night Fury in the night sky...The Night Fury's jet black color and dark scales makes it nearly impossible to spot in the night sky. The only warning that it gives is the sound of the dive bombing and a loaded blast, right before it attacks with a powerful plasma blast. The only way to spot a Night Fury flying at night is when it passes its flame-engulfed blast. This is how I spotted him the night I shot him down on Berk...He shot the catapult and as he flew passed past the blast, I fired the mangler..." Hiccup felt Toothless rubbed his hand lightly now.
"I know...sorry again bud." Hiccup crouched down as Toothless nuzzled his face. "Night Furies have an uncannily great sense of hearing and they are able to hear long distance, as proven by Toothless when he was able to hear me yelling from the cove that day in the ring. Night Furies have a great sense of smell from a certain distance until they lose track. It is able to fly at night and find its way, but it is unknown if it has night vision but that's where its echolocation comes in. Night Furies, being excellent flyers in speed and agility, also have very high stamina, as Toothless has proven to fly many times without any break in between. Night Furies are also shown to be quite tough, like all dragons. They can survive falls from the sky with fairly minor injuries as demonstrated against the red death. Also they can use their wings to repel weapons. The Night Fury is extremely intelligent, its intelligence being among highest of all the dragon. Toothless can almost completely understand everything said to him. Night Furies also seem to be able to command other dragons to an extent, like the Alpha can. Night Furies also seem to be one of the few dragons who attempts to show creativity. Toothless is also able to mimic on what I do and can give expressions to respond to him." Hiccup explained.
"This is amazing..." Astrid said, impressed by Hiccup's Night Fury knowledge.
"Toothless demonstrated the ability to use echolocation the day you and Fishlegs said you felt like someone was following you, and it turned out to be Stormfly and Meatlug. When Night Furies are at locations where their visual sight is limited, making it dangerous to fly, they can use a special roar. This roar, visualized as a purple colored sound wave and bounces off all objects, obstacles nearby and allows the dragon to avoid them, even in mid-flight. Unlike bats, this roar, or at least part of it, is still low enough to be within human hearing range; humans are able to hear the dragon using the roar. Night Furies can also use this method when they are trying to find an object in open areas where visibility is low, or locating when something is nearby. This sound wave is in a sonic ringed shape, rather than a lined sound wave. Night Furies are shown to be amazing swimmers, he can swim in high speed and hold his breath for a while, but Night Furies do have a limit and will drown unless they have access to air. Night Furies also have hidden spines on their backs, that even Toothless himself didn't know about, most likely because he lacked other Night Furies to show that feature to him. I figured it out by accident when I pressed a spot between his ears on his neck. After that he is able to extend them at will. Those back fins split apart and are flat, leathery fins, placed in 'V' shape and extending from his back, to the end of tail. They gave him more maneuverability and control in flight." Hiccup chuckled as Toothless then turned to the side and split them apart showing everyone.
"I'm sure there is more I could tell you but that's all you need to be aware of for the time being. For the time being, because you've done so well...I will grant you all get to learn how to fly today, after lunch. So, take your dragons to their pens and feed them. I will see you in the hall." Hiccup stated as he jumped on Toothless's back and sped off.
"Its amazing how much he knows...I guess 6 years living with dragons did that...I learned so much about all the types of dragons when he was asking us those questions..." Astrid said as she was leading Stormfly in to the stables.
"I know right...I still can't believe Hiccup created all this..." Snotlout added.
"Well like he told us on the boat that day...we never gave him a chance...We really messed up guys, all of us did. Even me because I didn't stop the cast out, I should of said something before Hiccup left..." Fishlegs sighed.
"Well...he's trusting us with dragons...it's a start, I can't believe...he's a father, that he had a wife...and at 17 too...then losing her two years later?" Ruffnut stated.
"Well...maybe he'll open up more now that he doesn't have to hide who he is...For now lets just...do as he says..." Astrid said, they nodded and put their dragons away, then fed them before leaving and heading to the hall for lunch. They hoped they'd be given a second chance to be his friend, they knew they had all been wrong 6 years ago, if they hadn't cast him out...Berk would of been like Dragons Edge is now. Dragon friendly. All they could do was hope.