A/N: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon
Okay, just a few things to get out of the way, I will not be able to do consistent updates, it just seems like my life and my schedule do not agree... I have found a couple of new places where I can get feedback before I post these chapters, so that means that I might be slower updating, but the quality of the chapters should increase. I also discovered that my writing does not like my chapter outline, and that I cannot read all the notes I made... As such, this chapter will include what I originally had planned for both chapters 4 and 5, meaning it will probably be a bit longer.
I would like to thank Whiskerface for his inspiration for Gobber's words in this chapter. When I read his story, "Careful," I just had to include it. If you want to read it, it is in my favorites list.
Flashbacks are in bold, dragon thoughts are in italics.
As Hiccup finished setting his workspace, he thought to himself, "I could really use some weapons and armor," but he was not quite sure what to make it out of. At first, he thought of using steel, but discarded that idea when he realized it would be too cumbersome in a fight. He then thought of using leather, but it would not be sturdy enough to offer him protection from blades.
Suddenly, Hiccup was struck by a flash of inspiration, "I can use some of Toothless's scales on a leather base to allow flexibility, but add small plates of metal to give strength."
Idea in mind, Hiccup moved to his desk and began to draft, basing the shape off that of a night fury. It wasn't long before he had the leather base laid out before him, ready to sew on the scales and integrate the metal plates.
Once Hiccup had finished designing and constructing a space where he could work, he set out on the task of designing himself a weapon.
Hiccup thought, "A hammer or axe is too heavy for me to wield and I can't fly Toothless while carrying a spear, and a knife wouldn't give me the reach I need against bigger opponents. I think that a sword might be the best option for me, now to figure out what type of sword."
He spent the next several hours drafting sketches of swords that he could use, but he kept running into trouble dealing with the limitations of various materials. Normal iron wasn't strong enough to make a light sword, but he couldn't effectively wield a heavy sword. He needed something stronger to make his sword from.
The last raid was very costly, destroying almost all of the catapult towers positioned around Berk. Hiccup had decided, against his father's wishes, that he wanted to see more of the destroyed catapult. As he approached it, he spotted something black on the ground, black like the night sky. It was a piece of metal, about half the size of his palm, and he picked it up, curious about what had made it black. He was surprised at how light it was, but when he tried to break it, it had withstood the attempts.
He began to think about what he could do with a metal like that, and then he picked up one of the sketches that he had set aside; a sketch of a thin, double bladed sword, something to give him reach and flexibility.
#
It took him two days to make the sword, to ready it for the final step, knowing that he couldn't do much once it was finished.
He called to Toothless, asking him if he could give the sword a small plasma blast.
Toothless spent the next couple minutes trying to nudge Hiccup behind him to keep him safe, but the boy was just too curious. Soon, Toothless decided to just cover him with his wing and give the sword a blast.
Hiccup came forward and took a look at the sword, now a deep black, then picked it up. It was the same color as the chunk from the wreckage, and when he swung it at the wall with all his might, it stayed intact.
He spent the rest of that day making a scabbard for his new sword, before it too was turned into what he had begun to call night steel.
That night, he slept peacefully under Toothless's wing knowing that he could now defend himself.
#
The next morning, Hiccup was woken by an irritated Night Fury who wanted to fly. Although he was tired, he agreed, knowing that it would help him with the coming battle against the Red Death. He put on his armor, strapping his sword to his hip, ready to fly.
When they finally came back, Hiccup was sore from the hours of flying, but he could not rest yet. During the long flight, he had noticed quite a few things that he could improve on the saddle and his armor. The first thing he did was to begin working on a new tail, this time sewing Night Fury scales onto it, and using night steel for the components. He shaped the various pieces, the rods in the fins, the pedal mechanisms, and all the other metal components in the flight rig. He also forged small pieces of chain mail that he could use to reinforce his armor, replacing the regular metal in it.
He called Toothless over, asking for some more plasma blasts, and creating a great deal of night steel to use in the rig and armor. Once Toothless was done, he went back to sleep, tired from the flight. Hiccup began to work the leather into the shape of the fin before sewing the scales on. It had taken him several hours of hard work to build the rigging, but it was finally done. As much as he wanted to test it right away, he knew that waking up Toothless again would not be a good idea, considering how tired he seemed. He decided to begin working on his armor some more.
When he finished, Hiccup fell asleep at his workbench, thinking of even more ideas on what he could do.
#
The day after, Astrid approached Gobber again, still shocked by what he had told her about her axe and asked, "Did Hiccup really make my axe?"
Gobber replied, "'Hiccup didn't just make your axe, he made most of the village's weapons, even his father's hammer. If ye don't believe me, ye will find 'HHHIII' engraved on the handle of any weapon that he made."
After she left, she began to ask people if she could see the handles of their weapons, and sure enough, Hiccup's initials were engraved on many of them.
Soon, everyone knew that Hiccup had made their weapons, and people began trying to break them, not wanting Hiccup's tainted work, but they were just too strong. The weapons that he had made were just too strong for them to break, so they tossed them into the sea.
#
On the edge of a cliff, overlooking the harbor, Gobber saw the vast figure of a man, arm drawn back, hammer in hand. He yelled out, "Stoick, don't throw that hammer!"
Stoick turned to face him, "Why shouldn't I throw this, it is cursed."
Gobber replied, "If ye toss that hammer, you will have proven to 'iccup that you don't care about anything he has done. You are still his father. Remember what your dad told you about your sister. If your father could see you now, he would be ashamed of what you did to your son."
Stoick lowered his arm and gave Gobber a glare that would have most men shaking in fear, yelling, "Who are you to tell me what to do and not to do! I am still the chief of this tribe!"
Gobber calmly replied, "I wasn't telling you what to do, I was making sure that you knew about the consequences of your actions."
A/N: This is my first chapter back, and I am doing my best. I apologize for the long wait, and I hope that it was worth it. I will try to get into a more regular schedule, but I cannot make any promises.
As always, please feel free to let me know what you think about this story.
