Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any of the writing in Bold!

A/N: Enjoy :)

(Hiccup enters to see Stoick seated on a thick slice of tree-trunk. He is slouched over the fire-pit, stirring the coals with his axe. Embers waft around his beard. Hiccup tries to sneak past, up the stairs to his room. Stoick seems none the wiser, when...)

Stoick: "Hiccup."

Hiccup: "Dad. Uh..."

(Stoick stands, takes a deep breath.)

Hiccup: "I, uh... I have to talk to you, Dad."

Stoick: "I need to speak with you too, son."

(Hiccup and Stoick STRAIGHTEN at the same moment.)

Hiccup and Stoick at the same time:

"I've decided I don't want to (I think it's time you learn)

fight dragons."

(BEAT) (BEAT)

"What?" "What?"

Stoick: "You go first."

Hiccup: "No, no you... go first."

Stoick: "Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. You start in the morning."

"Oh no," Fishlegs sympathized with Hiccup, understanding the irony of the situation he was in.

Hiccup: "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 – "

Stoick: "-You'll need this."

(Stoick hands Hiccup his axe. Hiccup holds it awkwardly in his arms)

Hiccup: "I don't want to fight dragons."

Stoick: "Come on. Yes, you do."

Hiccup: "Rephrase. Dad I can't kill dragons."

Stoick: "But you will kill dragons."

Hiccup: "No, I'm really very extra sure that I won't."

"Oh Thor, Hiccup," Astrid laughed bitterly, rubbing her hand over her forehead. "I am so sorry you had to go through this, gods…"

"Yeah," Hiccup smirked. "Isn't my life just great?" he deadpanned.

Stoick: "It's time Hiccup."

Hiccup: "Can you not hear me?"

Stoick: "This is serious son!"

(Stoick forces Hiccup to hold the axe upright in his hands.)

Stoick: "When you carry this axe... you carry all of us with you. Which means you walk like us." (He makes Hiccup stand up straight) "You talk like us. You think like us. No more of..." (gesturing non-specifically at Hiccup) "…. This."

Hiccup: (he rolls his eyes, the axe slipping down in his grip) "You just gestured to all of me."

Stoick: "Deal?"

Hiccup: "This conversation is feeling very one-sided."

Stoick: "DEAL?!"

(Hiccup glances at the axe in his hands. It's a no-win argument.)

Hiccup: "Deal."

(Satisfied, Stoick grabs his helmet and duffel bag... and heads for the door.)

Stoick: "Good. Train hard. I'll be back. Probably."

Hiccup: "And I'll be here. Maybe."

(Stoick heads out the door, leaving Hiccup holding the axe.)

Several of the dragon riders were glancing at Hiccup throughout watching this exchange. None of them knew very well what Hiccup's life was like on a daily basis, and they felt like they were getting a really good taste of it just from watching this one conversation. Even Snotlout stayed quiet, pondering how little he really knew about Hiccup the Useless. He couldn't help but compare Hiccup's relationship with his father to the relationship he had with his own father.

It definitely was something to think about.

(Gobber raises a massive iron gate at the entrance of a vast stone arena.)

Gobber: "Welcome to dragon training!"

(The recruits file through the gate, and out onto the arena floor. They take it in like gladiators entering the colosseum. The walls are covered in scorched silhouettes of blasted Vikings. It's a grim yet awe-inspiring place.)

Astrid: "No turning back."

"Alright!" Snotlout said. "Now we get to watch ourselves!"

"This is the first day," Astrid said. "We get to rewatch all of you guys make fools of yourselves."

"Ah come on," Ruff said. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yeah," Tuff agreed. "We survived, didn't we?"

Tuffnut: "I hope I get some serious burns."

Ruffnut: "I'm hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back."

Astrid: "Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"Ha!" Ruff exclaimed. "I just realized Hiccup is the only one who actually did end up with a scar!"

"Last person we would have expected," Tuff said. "And it was a bad one. I mean, the whole leg is gone – "

"Shut up, you guys!" Snotlout yelled at them. "And by the way, Hiccup isn't the only one who was scathed." He pulled down his shirt to show the twins a small scratch mark on his chest.

"Ugh, gross," Ruff gagged. "Losing a leg is way cooler than that ugly thing."

"What? Where? I don't see it. Is there even something there?"

"Hush you guys!" Astrid quieted them.

Hiccup: "Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it."

(The recruits turn to see Hiccup behind them. Groans all around.)

Tuffnut: "Oh great. Who let him in?"

Gobber: "Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

Snotlout: "Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him or...?"

(The recruits LAUGH and chatter in the background.)

"Oh man," Snotlout groaned. "That is so messed up. I can't believe I actually said that. I mean, I was joking because I thought you were just making it up, but you weren't, and you didn't actually kill him!"

They all shook their heads, wallowing in the irony.

Tuff: "Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?"

Gobber throws a supportive arm around Hiccup and ushers him along.

Gobber: "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."

"What a comfort, Gobber," Fishlegs rolled his eyes.

(GOBBER sticks him in line with the others and continues on toward five massive reinforced doors. Terrible ROARS and BELLOWS issue from within.)

Gobber: "Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight."

(Fishlegs bounces and giggles with excitement, barely able to contain himself.)

Gobber: "The Deadly Nadder."

FIshlegs: "Speed eight. Armor sixteen."

Gobber: "The Hideous Zippleback."

Fishlegs: "Plus eleven stealth. Times two."

Gobber: "The Monstrous Nightmare."

FIshlegs: "Firepower fifteen."

Gobber: "The Terrible Terror."

Fishlegs: "Attack eight. Venom twelve."

Gobber: "CAN YOU STOP THAT?!"

"Thank you, Gobber," Snotlout muttered.

Gobber: "And...the Gronckle."

Fishlegs: (whispering) "Jaw strength, eight."

"Seriously?" Snotlout said to Fishlegs. "He just told you to stop!"

"I couldn't help it!" Fishlegs replied.

(Gobber pulls a lever, raising the cross beam on the last of the doors.)

Snotlout: "Whoa, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us first!?"

Gobber: "I believe in learning on the job."

(BAM! A GRONCKLE thunders out of its cave, charging into the ring like an irate rhino. The recruits scramble in every direction. The dragon slams into the wall of the arena, and scoops up a pile of rocks into its mouth)

"Look Meatlug!" Fishlegs exclaimed excitedly. "Its you!"

The dragon growled, remembering that this was not the most fun for her.

Gobber: "Today is about survival. If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick, what's the first thing you're going to need?"

Hiccup: "A doctor?"

"A dragon," Hiccup suggested in the audience.

Fishlegs: "Plus five speed?"

Astrid: "A shield."

Gobber: "Shields. Go."

(The recruits scramble for shields, finding them scattered around the ring.)

Gobber: "Your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield."

(Hiccup STRUGGLES to lift his. Gobber helps him and sends him running. Ruff and Tuff stand amidst a dozen shields. But only one has a skull painted on it. They both grab it.)

Tuffnut: "Get your hands off my shield!"

Ruffnut: "There are like a million shields!"

Tuffnut: "Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers."

(Ruffnut uses the shield to BASH Tuffnut in the face. He doesn't let go.)

Ruffnut: "Ooops, now this one has blood on it."

(The Gronckle takes aim at the distracted twins. Blam! The shield is blasted out of both of their hands. Tuff and Ruff SPIN like tops and go down.)

"Nice shot, Meatlug!" Fishlegs congratulated his dragon.

Gobber: "Tuffnut, Ruffnut, you're out!"

Tuffnut and Ruffnut: "What?"

(The teens gather on the far side of the ring.)

Gobber: "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim."

(The kids scoop up weapons and begin hammering on their shields. The Gronckle shakes its head at the clatter.)

"That actually turned out to be a really useful tip," Astrid commented.

Gobber: "All dragons have a limited number of shots. How many does a Gronckle have?"

Snotlout: "Five?"

Fishlegs: "No, six!"

Gobber: "Correct, six. That's one for each of you!"

Fishlegs: "I really don't – ahhh!" (Fishlegs' shield is blasted away and he goes running)

Gobber: "Fishlegs, out."

(Gobber spots Hiccup hiding from the Gronckle's molten slugs.)

"Ugh, you guys were so terrible," Astrid said. "It was embarrassing just to be in the ring with all of you."

Gobber: "Hiccup, get in there!"

(ON ASTRID bouncing on her heels, ready to dodge a blast. Snotlout appears, trying to hit on her.)

Snotlout: "So anyway I'm moving into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work out—"

"Really Snotlout?" Fishlegs said. "Hitting on Astrid in the middle of a fight?"

Astrid punched Snotlout in the arm again.

"Hey! What was that for? It was in the past!"

"It's belated," Astrid said fake sweetly. "If I wasn't in the middle of combat I would have done it then, so better late than never!" She smiled cheekily at him.

(Astrid cartwheels out of the way, allowing a shot to shoot past her and hit Snotlout's shield. He's blasted onto his back.)

"There, Meatlug did it for you," Snotlout said in annoyance.

"Thanks Meatlug!" Astrid patted the Gronkle, who laughed.

Gobber: "Snotlout! You're done!"

(Astrid ROLLS to a stop beside Hiccup, who stirs awkwardly, trying to look cool.)

Hiccup: "So, I guess it's just you and me, huh?"

"Compared to Hiccup's lame attempt to flirt on the battle field, I'd say I did way -"

Astrid held up her fist again warningly.

"Nevermind! Nevermind!"

Astrid: "Nope. Just you."

(Astrid ROLLS away. A split-second later a lava slug knocks Hiccup's shield clear off of his arm. Hiccup is exposed.)

Gobber: "One shot left!"

(Hiccup panics and chases after his shield as it rolls across the ring. The sudden movement sends the Gronckle chasing after him, leaving Astrid in the clear.)

Gobber: "Hiccup!"

(The Gronckle drives straight toward Hiccup, pinning him against the wall. It opens its mouth and cocks its tail, ready to fire point-blank.)

"Little did we know that that was not the first time you were in that situation, Hiccup," Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, you know for a split second I actually wondered if she was really going to blast," Hiccup said. "A completely deluded thought, I know, but he hadn't so…"

"That's crazy," Astrid said.

(Gobber lunges in and hooks the Gronckle's mouth at the last second, causing its head to jerk back and fire against the stone wall above Hiccup's head.)

Gobber: "And that's six!" (he wrestles the irate Gronckle back into his pen.) "Go back to bed, ya overgrown sausage! You'll get another chance, don't you worry."

Meatlug grumbled, not very pleased to watch herself be treated like that.

(Slam! Lock. Gobber turns to the recruits.)

Gobber: "Remember... a dragon will always," (with a stern look to HICCUP) "always go for the kill."

(He hoists Hiccup to his feet and walks off. Hiccup looks overhead to see a steaming pit in the solid stone wall.)

"So you already knew at that point that that wasn't true," Astrid said to Hiccup.

Hiccup nodded. "Then I had to find out more." He rubbed Toothless on the head again. "I had to know why this dragon was so nice to me," he joked. Toothless stuck out his tongue and made a silly face as Hiccup scratched the soft spot under his chin.

(Scene shifts to the COVE, showing HICCUP, battered after another disastrous day in the ring. He studies the remnants of the discarded bola... revealing that he's back at the scene of the crime.)

Hiccup: "So...why didn't you?"

(He drops the bola and presses on in the direction it flew off. He drops into a rocky crevice and follows it to an... ISOLATED COVE complete with a pristine spring pool.)

"You really thought he would still be there?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "Not really, I guess. But I was curious, and you never know…"

Hiccup: "Well this was stupid."

(He scans the high stone walls... then notices a single black SCALE on the ground. He crouches and picks it up, studying it. SUDDENLY, the NIGHT FURY blasts past him. Hiccup recoils, watching the massive beast struggle to climb the walls. It flaps violently, then peels away to a rough landing. The dragon is trapped.)

Toothless gargled, pleased to see himself back on the screen. He smiled at Hiccup, and Hiccup smiled back.

(Hiccup grins, excited to see it again, and slips closer. He watches as the dragon, exhausted and frustrated, leaps into the air, beating its wings furiously. Again and again, it rolls uncontrolled and CRASHES heavily. As if remembering to snap a photo, Hiccup pulls a leather-bound book and flips past drawings of weapons to a blank page. He sketches the dragon quickly, desperate to record the image.)

"Oh yeah," Snotlout said. "Pull out a notebook and draw it. That's the first thing I would do if I saw a dangerous fire-breathing dragon," he joked, dripping with sarcasm.

The others chuckled. "Only Hiccup," Fishlegs agreed. "That is the first drawing of a Night Fury, maybe ever!"

Hiccup: "Why don't you just...fly away?"

(He spots the problem. He adjusts his drawing, carefully erasing one half of the dragon's tail. The dragon claws at the steep rock walls, trying to climb out of the cove. It SLIPS and falls hard, crushing several saplings. The dragon rolls back to his feet and slowly crawls to the water's edge. He spots fish in the shallow water and snaps at them... but comes up empty. He lowers his head, looking weakened. Hiccup looks at the dragon sympathetically, and then accidentally drops the charcoal stick. It rolls off of the rock outcropping that hides him from view and bounces into the cove. TINK. TINK. TINK. The Night Fury raises his head, spotting Hiccup. They exchange a profound, unflinching stare.)

Toothless let out a happy purr, and Astrid smiled excitedly at the screen. Her heart quickened as she watched the interaction, a small voice in the back of her head telling her that she was completely enamored with this boy. Then she frowned and looked down, forcefully pushing away the thought. So not, she told herself. But smiled nonetheless when Hiccup next to her gave Toothless a tender, loving hug.

A/N: Don't forget to review!