A/N: Hope you are all ready for a different take on Hiccup and Toothless meeting. I had fun with it and I'm sure you all will too. This was a fun chapter to write, we get to see Henry noticing something off with Sharpshot and comfort him. Hiccup's remorse for trapping the dragon and realization as to why he might be trapped and Audrey noticing something is off as well. The rest of this film should be very interesting.
Johnathen Youngs: I'm glad to here that you are enjoying the story and all of the little changes I have made. Although I think that you might be a bit confused on the Stoick character. Stoick the actor in the movie and Henry's dad Steven are not the same person. Yes Steven is Stoick in this story but the character for the film Stoick is a different person. If that makes sense, the relationship that Henry and Steven have is far better than Hiccup and Stoick have in the movies and I couldn't make them be the same person. Hope that clears it up a little. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
CB73: Helga is just a pawn in a larger game at play, and it will affect the movie and the cast. I love the Henry and Steven scenes, their banter offers some comedic moments that break up the heavier ones plus I think it is nice to see a good father son relationship rather than the typical strained one. Now let's see how meeting the NightFury goes for our boy.
Guest: Henry is suspicious of Helga, Audrey is suspicious of Henry, and the NightFury is suspicious of Henry. Henry seems to be at the center of a lot of suspicion poor boy. Audrey will soon set off to find answers of her own, while Henry is doing the same. Should be fun to watch.
Thanks for all the reviews, keep those coming and I'll see you all next time.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Mexican ;p
(Saturday, October 20th, 2018)
Carefully making his way through the forest Hiccup followed the path he had taken to the crash site of the NightFury. Coming up on the scene once again he is hit with a pang of guilt. The deep cuts in the ground, the broken branches, and the splotches of dried blood that littered the ground. He could only imagine how painful the crash must have been, even for a dragon.
Despite the devastating scene he pressed on. Looking up he was able to see the path of broken branches that the NightFury had caused when it flew off after Hiccup had freed it. Figuring that he would be coming back this way again Hiccup started to mark the path with propped up sticks in the shape of an X. The sticks weren't too obvious and wouldn't draw much attention to anyone who didn't know what they were looking at but would help him greatly.
Nearing the depression Hiccup noticed the sound of rustling leaves, snapping twigs, and low growls of pain and confusion. Trying to keep his eyes forward Henry did his best not to look back since he can't exactly look at the camera. The sound of his dragon acting oddly though was putting that to the test and finally he decided that the editors could just cut this out if they need.
Pausing and taking a quick look around he saw Sharpshot trying to fly but struggling to do so. The tiny dragon was swaying back and forth in the air, dropping a bit at times, and lightly running into a few branches. Henry took a few steps toward Sharpshot, but the dragon started to growl at him, like a warning to stay away. Henry was taken back, Sharpshot rarely growled at him, and even when he did it was always playful and good natured. This was something else.
"Sharpshot what is wrong buddy?" Henry asked, his concern evident.
Sharpshot stopped his growling and looked up at Henry for a moment. Seeing the concern in his master's eyes calmed the dragon who was feeling anxious. Shaking his head, the dragon managed a weak yet positive trill. Trying to show that he was okay and could continue. Henry wanting to make sure kneeled and called Sharpshot to him, the dragon slowly and on unsteady feet made his way to Henry's gentle grasp.
"It's okay buddy, we will take things slow. We are almost there, just find a spot to laydown and keep the camera pointed at me. I'll take care of the rest." Henry comforted his dragon.
Sharpshot purred at the words and the scratches that Henry was offering. The dragon took a few unsteady steps back and gave a weak nod to Henry. Showing that he was good to go. Henry smiled seeing that his dragon was a bit better, but still concerned about the effect that Helga's trance had put on his dragon.
"Definitely have to ask Helga if she okay now." Henry whispered to himself.
Certain that his dragon would be okay for the time being, Henry continued down the path toward the depression and the Nightfury. Using the remaining time to slip back into Hiccup, he began to think of how he could use the fish to show the NightFury he meant no harm.
Walking through the trees Hiccup came upon the depression and looked down into it. He noticed a number of claw marks on the rock walls, and scorch marks on the ground, some of them were still smoldering. Certain that the NightFury was still in there he began to look for a way down.
It wasn't long before he discovered a thick branch and some vines that he could use to climb down the walls. Making sure his pouch was secure and testing the strength of the branch and the vines Hiccup began his descent. Even with his small stature the branch and vines let out a groan at the sudden weight but held strong as he reached the bottom.
Setting his feet on the floor of the depression Hiccup looked up to see how far he had climbed down. It must have been at least 40 feet, maybe more. He was glad he didn't look down. Turning around and taking in the atmosphere of the depression, Hiccup felt a strange calm come over him. He felt as if all his troubles and worries were lifted from his shoulders. He drew in a deep breath and let out a long exhale, it was peaceful here and he was certain that the Gods had touched this place.
Remembering why he was here in the first place Hiccup began to look around for signs of where the NightFury might be. Knowing that there were a number of caves embedded in the rock walls he started to look through each one. some of them were far to shallow to hold anything bigger than a Terror, others were already inhabited by swarms of bats, or other small woodland critters.
Beginning to think that he might have arrived too late and the NightFury had figured out a way to escape the depression Hiccup began to deflate.
"Of course, only I could find a trapped NightFury only to find that it still escaped." Hiccup lamented.
Having walked around the entire depression and almost ending up where he began, Hiccup walked up to the last cave expecting it to be empty. Slowly walking up to it, Hiccup felt his foot slip on something at the mouth of the cave. Catching himself and looking down to see what he slipped on, he was surprised to see a hoard of shiny black scales at the mouth of the cave.
Feeling a surge of hope rush through him Hiccup saw that the scales led into the cave. This had to be where the NightFury had made its lair. Knowing that there was no going back Hiccup cupped his hands around his mouth and called out into the cave.
"Hello?" Hiccup called out, his voice echoing off the walls of the cave.
The cave was certainly deep enough to hold the NightFury, as Hiccup couldn't see more that a few feet into the cave. Getting no response Hiccup decided to try once more.
"Hello?" He called out again this time taking a few steps closer to cave.
He heard his voice echo off the walls of the cave but was otherwise met with silence. Letting out a sigh and accepting the fact that the NightFury must have gotten out Hiccup made to leave, until a low and menacing growl echoed back from the cave.
The suddenness of the growl caught Hiccup off guard and caused him to fall to the ground. As Hiccup picked himself off the ground, he heard a familiar throaty warble that sounded an awful lot like a laugh. Eyes widening as he realized that the NightFury had scared him again on purpose, just like at the holding pens.
"Okay, I probably deserve that." Hiccup admitted softly.
The sound of claws scraping against the rock grew closer and closer as Hiccup realized that the NightFury was coming out of the cave. His heartrate spiked, and he started to grow uneasy, uncertain how the NightFury would react once they were face to face.
A short and rounded black snout was the first thing that emerged from the cave followed shortly by a pair of piercing green eyes, a shade of green that Hiccup thought looked eerily similar to his own eyes. Soon the entire head of the dragon was out in the light, it was shaped like a rounded arrowhead with a number of fleshy, flap like growths around its head. Hiccup took a step back, offering the NightFury space to come out of the cave completely.
The dragon narrowed its eyes slightly, suspicious of the boy's intentions. The dragon slowly stalked out of the cave fully revealing itself to the boy. The NightFury was long and slender, its wings folded against its back showed how streamline the dragon could get and that it was clearly built for speed. A long black tail dragged along the ground, swishing powerfully back and forth. With its careful movements and slightly narrowed eyes Hiccup realized that the NightFury was sizing him up.
Hiccup remained still, he straightened his back and controlled his breathing. He stared straight ahead and only made eye contact when the NightFury was directly in front of him. He didn't blink or make any other movements when the NightFury was within his sight. Finally, after several tense moments the NightFury stopped in front of Henry and looked him up and down. Taking in huge breaths through its nostrils, Hiccup was certain the NightFury could smell how nervous he was beneath the tough front he was putting on.
He watched as NightFury perked up and diverted his eyes to Hiccup's pouch and the fish that was inside of it. The NightFury licked its lips and swallowed as the scent filled its nose. Realizing what the NightFury was thinking, Hiccup slowly raised his hands and reached into the pouch, revealing the fish.
The NightFury clearly wanted to rush the fish in Hiccup's hand but held itself back. Hiccup extended his hand offering the fish to the clearly starved dragon. The NightFury growled as Hiccup offered the fish but made no move to retreat. Seeing that he would have to reassure the dragon Hiccup figured an apology was probably in order, since he was the one responsible for trapping the NightFury.
"I'm probably not your favorite person right now. How could I be, I shot you out of the sky, and trapped you in this depression in the middle of nowhere." Hiccup began, his voice soft and full of remorse.
"I don't even know if you can understand me, but I am sorry. I'm not the same person I was when I shot you down. I came here to make amends, if you'll let me." Hiccup continued, looking the NightFury in the eye.
The NightFury softened its own gaze on Hiccup. It looked as though the dragon could understand what the boy was asking, though it was still suspicious and held some reservations. Seeing that he needed to do something a bit more Hiccup reached under tunic and pulled out the dragon scale pendant his mother had given him.
"My mom gave me this, as a way to keep her close and to be there for me when I need help. She found this one day while walking through a forest. When she gave it to me, she said as long I have this, I'll have the heart of a dragon. At the time, I didn't know what she meant by that. Until now." Hiccup explained.
The NightFury was rapt with attention once the dragon scale came out. Its eyes widened and its pupils softened to big rounded squares. The NightFury leaned in closer to gaze at the scale that the boy was holding, it sniffed at it before gazing back at the boy and his fish.
The NightFury slowly opened its mouth to reveal nothing but gums and large tongue as reached for the fish.
"Wait, how do you not have any…" Hiccup began.
In the blink of an eye a row of pearly white, razor sharp teeth sprung from the gums of the dragon and snatched the fish out of Hiccup's hand. Hiccup slowly looked down at this hand and counted his fingers to make sure they were all there.
"Teeth." Hiccup finished lamely.
The NightFury looked down at Hiccup and the pendant again giving a small nod, as if to say that he accepted Hiccup's apology. Hiccup smiled at the dragon and reached up to touch it. The NightFury though was not amused by this and growled at the boy before retreating back into its cave.
Surprised that he was still alive and had established some kind of understanding with the NightFury, Hiccup gave a small fist pump before turning off and climbing up the branches and vines out of the depression. As he reached the top Hiccup looked back down to see the NightFury watching him with curiosity, only to scoff once it realized it had been caught. Hiccup smiled before walking away, silently promising to come back and soon.
Henry walked over to where he left Sharpshot at the top of the depression. He found the dragon putting all of his focus into staying still and trying to capture every last image. Feeling sorry for the dragon as Henry knew that something wasn't right, he picked up the dragon who instantly relaxed.
"It's okay boy, you can rest now thank you." Henry whispered to the small Terror.
Sharpshot let out an audile groan of content as he settled into Henry's embrace. Henry began to walk back toward the village, stroking Sharpshot as he walked. He whispered kind words to the dragon and did his best to soothe him. By the time they had reached the village, Sharpshot was asleep in Henry's arms and night had almost fallen. Hurrying to his hut Henry dropped off Sharpshot and made his way to the tower for the scene they were shooting.
(At the Tower)
Hiccup walked up the stairs to see everyone gathered around the fire, roasting chicken and listening to Gobber's old war stories. Grabbing a fish and taking a seat he looked like he was listening to them as well.
"I saw the look on his face, I was delicious. He must a passed the word around, it wasn' but a month later that another one took me leg." Gobber said as he gestured to his peg leg with his peg hand.
The teens were all enraptured with Gobber's story. All wanting to avenge Gobber's missing limbs by being given the honor of killing their first dragon. Hiccup though was barely paying attention, lost in thought as he gazed into the fire thinking about his encounter with the NightFury. Wondering why the dragon was still in that depression and didn't fly away long ago, like he thought it did when he cut it free.
"I'm going to cut off the head of every dragon I see, with my face." Snotlout exclaimed.
"Don't go for the 'ead, it's the wings and tails you want to go fer. If the dragon can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber said ominously.
Like a lightning bolt it hit Hiccup, what if the reason the NightFury was in the depression was because it couldn't fly away. Hiccup was racked with a new kind of guilt as he dropped his fish into the fire.
"SCENE!" An assistant director called out.
The cast members all stood up and Henry uses the distraction to make his way back to the stairs.
"Speaking of downed dragons has anyone seen the NightFury?" Finnick asked.
"Yeah where is the NightFury?" Simon asked, though he was looking pointedly at Henry.
Henry stiffened at the question but made no move to turn around. Simon and the twins chuckled at Henry's reaction and continued to talk to each other. Finnick looked a little uncomfortable but offered no real comfort to the boy either. Audrey though was watching Henry with great intent and noticed that way he stiffened at the NightFury's mention. She cast a quick glance to others before she turned back, intent on questioning Henry for his curious reaction. As she turned back though she found that Henry was gone, she looked down the stairs that led up to the tower but found that Henry had disappeared into the night.
Brow furrowing with confusion, annoyance, and a tiny amount of curiosity, Audrey begins to wonder what is going on with Henry.
A/N: Audrey is about to put on her investigator hat figure out what Henry knows. Henry has an idea as to why the NightFury is trapped but needs to get closer. I'm sure all of this will go over just swimmingly. Leave a review and let me know what you think as you can see from above, I read them all. See you all next time.
Published 3/4/2020