That night, Stoick comes into Bloom and Hiccup's room as they're working on a drawing - Bloom's drawing Toothless and Brightfire, comparing the two for subtle differences. Brightfire doesn't have Toothless' spines and is a bit slimmer, for instance. Stoick comes in looking for Hiccup, acting all serious and eventually demanding to talk about 'that dragon.'
Hiccup starts to apologize, Bloom quietly reaching for her knife to make a distraction with so they can get out and get away from the village if it comes to it, when Stoick bursts out laughing and letting on that he's messing with them.
He thinks Hiccup's been playing along with a 'worst Viking in Berk' act all this time to surprise him! He goes on about killing dragons, and says he almost gave up on Hiccup - Bloom goes very still at that, staring at their father in horror as he says they finally have something to talk about.
Not before all this, when Hiccup was coming up with inventions to take down dragons easier or when he wanted to go along with the rest of the village and kill dragons. Now. When they're both friends with dragons and Stoick has no idea. When Hiccup's success in the ring is because he's been going out in the forest every day to be with Toothless. Now he's at the edge of the seat he's on and looking earnestly at his son for bloody stories and vicious battle thrills.
Hiccup stares for a minute, and Bloom whispers "No, no we don't." and runs down the stairs. Hiccup yells "Bloom!" and runs after her.
Stoick mutters "That went well." He leaves a helmet on Hiccup's desk, the second made from his mother's breastplate - maybe it'll keep him safe in the ring.
Hiccup catches up to Bloom, who's looking near tears - a first, she's never cried once that he can remember. Or maybe she just goes out to the forest and cries her sorrows to the dragons that'll listen. Bloom hisses "He doesn't understand us at all! An act? We finally have something to talk about? We'd be better off in the forest!"
Hiccup places a hand on each shoulder, saying "Maybe. But for now, we'll just have to keep our heads down. Who knows, maybe Astrid will get chosen for the final test."
"The test? Hiccup, this is so much bigger than a stupid test! Stoick thinks you're some dragon-destroying demigod blessed by Odin himself! Either you, maybe both of us, start killing the creatures that understand us better than everyone in this whole village does or we run away forever as outcasts - because no village likes dragons, Hiccup."
"We'll figure something out, Bloom. Just…just give me a night or two." He realizes Bloom's scared - she's never scared, not of anything or anyone. But this…the prospect of having to choose between dragons and people terrifies her. And he's scared to, in all honesty. But they'll get through it, somehow. Like they always have before.
The next day in the ring, its once again Hiccup and Astrid left 'alive' against a Gronckle - Astrid tells Hiccup that this one is hers, but then finds he's got it on the ground before she can get to it, he just couldn't let her hurt the dragon.
Astrid throws something of a temper tantrum, and then again when the Village Elder, Gothi, chooses Hiccup to fight the Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup and Bloom lock eyes, and a message passes between them: we need to leave today.
Unfortunately, Astrid follows Hiccup out to the Cove Toothless and now Brightfire are staying in - Hiccup in his riding outfit, with a huge sack of fish. Hiccup calls "Alright, guys, time to pack up. We're going on a little vacation - forever."
He looks up when Astrid sharpens her axe on a rock, asking "What are you doing here?" She gets down, saying "I wanna know what's going on. Nobody just gets as good as you, especially you. So, start talking." She advances as Hiccup backs up, asking "Are you training with someone? It better not involve this," she grabs him by the edge of his riding outfit.
"I know this looks really bad, but-" Astrid hears something, grabs him, and throws him to the ground. "Alright, you got me. I've been making outfits. I'm sick of the lies." He places her hand on his chest, hoping she'll fist it and start dragging him back to the village. "Drag me back, tell everyone."
She doesn't do as he'd hoped, instead she bends his arm backwards until he falls over. When he gets up, asking why she'd do that, she sweeps his feet out from under him and drops the handle of her axe into his stomach, saying "That's for the lies, and that's for everything else."
And that'd be when Toothless loses his cool and reveals himself, going to defend his friend from Astrid.
Astrid forgets their rivalry, forgets that she currently hates Hiccup, and throws the both of them to the ground, yelling "Run!"
She swings her axe at Toothless, but Hiccup jumps and gets it out of her hands then gets between her and Toothless. "Easy, Toothless, she's a friend. You just scared him, Astrid." Where are Bloom and Brightfire?
"I scared him?! Wait, who is him?!"
"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid."
Astrid gives him a look like she can't believe her eyes, like his skin just turned purple or something, then runs away back in the direction of the village.
"That's it, we're screwed."
Astrid's running back to Berk, still not entirely believing what she just saw. Hiccup, keeping a Night Fury from attacking her. Naming it Toothless. She jumps a big log, but her feet never touch back down to the ground - white claws pick her up and she starts getting carried through the air.
Astrid can barely hear the other voice talking over her own terrified screams, but she manages to hear something like 'that's it, Hofferson!' even so. Astrid looks up, and sees a pair of familiar legs straddling the white dragon's back - Bloom's legs.
She gets placed in a tree, and Bloom lands Brightfire on a nearby one with a murderous glare on her face. "You near-break my brother's fingers, you drop your axe in his stomach, I'm tempted to let you be a dragon's lunch today, Hofferson."
Hiccup lands on the tree Astrid's currently trapped in with Toothless, and says "Astrid, you have to give me a chance to explain."
"I'm not listening to anything you have to say! Now, get me down from here!"
Bloom scoffs, and asks "Why? So you can tell everyone about Toothless and Brightfire? So you can have the four of us killed? No."
Hiccup winces, and says "You don't have to listen, Astrid. But, please, let me show you something. Let us show you something."
Astrid looks down at the certain-death fall she could take, then climbs up onto the branch Bloom unceremoniously had Brightfire drop her on and manages to get onto Toothless behind Hiccup. "Alright, now get me down."
Toothless extends his wings, looking seriously ticked - Bloom can guess what's going to happen, and whispers to Brightfire "Ready, girl?" The two dragons take off at high-speeds, Astrid screaming like a toddler the whole way.
Toothless manages to scare an apology out of Astrid, and then the flight calms down and they go flying through the clouds. It's gorgeous, they see the Aurora Borealis and millions of stars - and then as they pass Berk, Toothless and Brightfire suddenly change course and head into a huge cloud of fog.
Bloom looks around uneasily, and Hiccup asks "Toothless, what's going on?"
"Can't you hear that? I can hear something…barely, but I can hear it."
Astrid quietly asks "Bloom, what's going - get down!"
They all press themselves down to their respective dragons as dozens, if not hundreds, more appear - all carrying their kill for the day. They aren't eating anything they take from Berk, they're carrying it through fog and rocks…into a huge mountain. And throwing it all into a hole.
Astrid mutters "Nice to know all our food is being dumped into a giant hole…"
Bloom's head is pounding, she can hear not just one whisper now - hundreds of them. She focuses on one, saying I hope this is enough… and suddenly her brain nearly explodes with millions of voices coming through her ears - the dragons' voices.
She collapses into Brightfire's head while holding her own, and Hiccup asks "Bloom, what's wrong?"
"Run…queen…run…"
It's only when an unfortunate Gronckle doesn't offer up enough food that they figure out what she's talking about - that thing is huge! It swallows the Gronckle up easily, making all the other dragons cower in fear. Then, as the thing is going back down…it stops, sniffing the air.
Bloom screams "FLY!" and all the dragons, Toothless and Brightfire included, take off in flight as the massive dragon tries to get them.
When they get back to Berk, Astrid says "We just discovered their nest! We have to go to Stoick."
She turns to head back back, but Hiccup says "No, we can't. Not yet. Astrid, they'll kill Toothless and Brightfire."
Astrid's look turns disbelieving once again, and she incredulously says "Hiccup, we've discovered the dragon's nest! The thing Vikings have been searching for since they first got here! And you want to keep it a secret? To-to protect your pet dragons?!"
Hiccup looks her straight in the eye, and says "Yes."
Unlike all the other times he's interacted with her, this time Hiccup is serious as a dragon attack. No boasting, no trying to make himself seem bigger or more than he is - he is, however, completely set on this.
Bloom says "That thing will kill anything and anyone that goes near it. It was controlling all the other dragons somehow. Fear, or maybe some kind of ability it has. Either way, we can't just go pounding up to the door and yelling 'Die, dragon!' like Vikings so love to do. Besides, anyone tries to lay a hand on Brightfire..."
Astrid shrugs, then socks Hiccup in the arm, saying "That's for kidnapping me." She then kisses him on the cheek, saying "That's for…everything else."
Hiccup blushes, and Bloom's rubbing her head and didn't see - or is pretending she didn't see.
AN: Hey, everyone! the next chapter is up! The school semester is almost up! I've got finals coming up soon, so I may not get the chance between studying to update. At any rate, yes, Bloom's as protective of her dragon as she is of Hiccup. The big difference? Hiccup...doesn't have claws, can't shoot explosions from his mouth, and she's beaten up every kid their age but Fishlegs - I can't really see him taking an active part in the bullying - at least a dozen times to keep them off his back. Anyway, enjoy! I promise I'll update once my last test is over!