Wanna hear the story of my life? Got slapped in the face with a white glove of homework, and I'm still trying to recover.

PLUS.

I am regularly walloped in the face with plot bunnies. Yep. Got a Christmas/Snoggletogg fic and a twelve+ chap RTTE fic stewing up here in this brain of mine. Lord help me.

So that's why I didn't update this as soon as I'd wanted to. Not that I wasn't working on this fic at all, mind you. I now have two more chapters in the works making a grand total of five unposted chapters that are somewhat completed.

Additionally, I wasn't completely happy with this chapter. I edited the crud out of it until I was satisfied. Plus this first scene you'll be stepping into is a completely edited in piece. Different POV, yes, but I think it adds to the plot in giving us a better grasp on where our characters stand. Either way, this chapter is a little longer than usual, so I hope that makes up for being two weeks late. I'm pretty happy with this chap. anyway. Have fun, and review if you like what you see!


The meeting had just ended and the villagers who'd attended were going their separate ways. Men grumbled and women fretted as they all went to their homes to prepare themselves for the days to come. As the Great Hall was relieved of its occupants, the slight form of a woman moved about from table to table with practiced care. Valka cleared the tables, piling mugs and pouring out unfinished drinks as she brooded.

Another search. She didn't like the idea of her husband going out on another fool's errand to find the Nest. The others were right. Those ships never came back. Three hundred years of searching never brought their people any closer. Why should it be any different this time?

Valka knew better than to protest though. The minute a plan formed in Stoick's mind, it was there to stay, and she could do nothing to deter him. The boys picked up that little vice from him. Unfortunately. Not that she herself was any better, mind you.

Pigheadedness would be the death of the Haddock clan one of these days, she swore it.

Valka sighed.

"Val!"

Stoick waved her over from his seat next to Gobber. He looked rather miffed. Surprised, Valka set aside her work and went over to the pair.

"Something the matter?" she asked.

Gobber replied, "As a matter of fact—"

"Gobber thinks that we should enroll Hiccup into Dragon Training," Stoick said with annoyance sharpening his tone. "Please, explain to this fool why that is a horrible idea."

Gobber muttered something about who the real fool of their trio was while Valka hummed thoughtfully.

"I don't see what the problem is," she said. Both men gawked at her as though she had sprouted wings and two heads. "What?"

Gobber blinked. "Never thought I'd see the day when pacifist Valka Haddock would agree to lettin' her son learn how to kill dragons."

Valka crossed her arms and arched a dainty brow at him. "I don't see why not. My youngest is already enrolled." Much to her displeasure.

"Ah, but Toothless is an entirely different case."

"Hold on; are you for or against enrolling Hiccup?"

"Ahhhhhhh…I—"

"Val, Gobber," Stoick finally said warningly. Valka shot one last look at Gobber before relenting.

"Really, what is the problem with Hiccup enrolling?" she asked.

In all honesty, she didn't want him signing up either. In fact, if it was up to her, neither of them would enroll. But she knew her boys too well. One was determined to protect his home while the other wanted to prove his ability to be self-sufficient. She couldn't stop either of them; she could only support them. Even if Valka didn't like it.

"What's the—Valka, this is Hiccup we're talking about. He'll be killed before the first dragon is let out of its cage."

She stiffened at the notion but refused to be deterred. "Oh you don't know that," Valka said.

"That's what I said," Gobber remarked.

Stoick either didn't pay attention or didn't acknowledge his best friend's commentary as he went on, "I do know that, actually."

"No, you don't," Gobber said while Valka nodded.

"No, actually I do."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Oh for the love of the gods!" Valka exclaimed. "How could you possibly know that!?"

Growling, Stoick stood up and irritably paced about. "Val, you know what he's like. From the time he could crawl, he's been…different. Not that Toothless is any better off—but at least he doesn't stand out like a sore thumb." Valka tried not to visibly bristle; Stoick didn't seem to notice. "He doesn't listen; he has the attention span of a sparrow; I take him fishing and he runs off searching for—for trolls!"

"Trolls exist!" Gobber objected.

Valka groaned. "Oh no, not this again."

This was exactly where Hiccup had gotten that idea in the first place. It had taken Valka two years to convince Hiccup that it was all a load of claptrap. The fact that he would conjure up so many "credible" arguments about the stealthiness of trolls hadn't made matters any easier for her. In all honesty, she was rather pleased with herself for that victory.

Now if only she could get that nonsense out of Gobber's head.

"They steal your socks," Gobber went on, "but only the left ones. What's with that?"

Stoick payed Gobber's talk no mind. "When I was a boy—"

"Oh, here we go," Gobber grumbled.

"Not again," Valka muttered as she seated herself next to Gobber. Gobber made sure to give her plenty of elbow room. She reached across the table for an unclaimed mug and took a meager sip (sanitation was the least of her worries at the moment). She might as well get comfortable. This was going to take a while.

"My father told me to bang my head against a rock."

"Yes, I was five, and I still vividly remember that," Valka mumbled.

Which was very true. It had been quite a sight when she'd stumbled across the…demonstration that day. She could still recall jumping between wanting to laugh at the chief's son's expense and wanting to fret over the only "big kid" who gave her the time of day. It had been a rather precarious situation for her at the time.

"I thought it was crazy—"

"Which it was."

"—but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"

"You got a headache," Val and Gobber said in unison. Gobber subtly lifted his mug and Valka clinked hers against his.

"That rock split in two."

Valka formed her hands to look like the outline of a rock and made a cracking sound as she "split" the rock. Gobber chuckled at her behavior. Hiccup had certainly picked up most of his personality from Val.

Stoick went on, "It taught me what a Viking could do. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas!" He finally seated himself next to his closest friends with a heavy sigh. "Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become…Hiccup is not that boy."

Valka sighed before standing up and putting her hands on his broad shoulders. She lightly rubbed the tense muscles under her fingers with tender love and care. "Oh, Stoick. As much as it pains me to say it, Hiccup won't be our baby boy forever. Life moves on whether we like it or not. One day he'll be all grown up and will have to face the world on his own.

"Toothless tries his best to protect Hiccup, and I know he always will, but…We both know that it isn't fair for Hiccup to be sheltered like this. He doesn't deserve to be kept hidden in a little forge while his own brother is advancing as a warrior with each passing day. He wants you to give him a chance to be independent, to be considered an equal to his brother in your eyes. That isn't too much to ask. So why won't you let him try?"

Stoick didn't give her an answer. Whether he had one at all was beyond Valka's comprehension. But she knew she'd hit a mark somewhere. She could see it in his eyes.

Gobber, who had been listening and nodding along the whole time, now chose this moment to add in his input. "Val's right, you know. You can't stop him; you can only prepare him. I know it seems hopeless, but Valka has a point. None of us will always be around to protect him. He's going to get out there again. In fact, with his and his brother's combined tenacity, they're probably out there now."


Hiccup

Toothless and I know the forest like the back of our hands. Whenever the kids were bullying me when I was younger, Toothless and I would hide out here until they forgot about me. Plus, Toothless would sometimes get violent with them after they took things too far. So hiding from wrathful parents was a must.

We'd play stupid games out here, and we'd harass the local Terrible Terrors that would bug us. This was always my safe haven and Toothless's element. I can't tell you how many times Toothless dragged me up a tree only to realize that I couldn't get down. I have the scars to prove it too.

And now we used that to our advantage to scope the forest for the Stormcutter.

"Where do you think we should meet?" Toothless asked me.

"How about the fort?"

"Is it still intact?"

I shrugged. "Haven't been there since we were kids."

"I was afraid of that." Toothless sighed but finally nodded. "Alright. First one to find the dragon gets to kill it."

I nodded. One part of me hoped to find it first; the other part didn't want to see the massive creature that haunted us as kids. Stop that! I scolded myself. You can't keep being afraid of it! If you don't stop, no one will take you seriously!

With that in mind, I convinced myself that I'd go through with it. If I found it, I would kill it. Toothless would be able to do it, so I could too.

After we'd split up, I wandered through the woods for a while with my sketchbook in hand. I looked at the map I had drawn onto one of the pages, marking out the places where I didn't see the dragon. After several mishaps with unnoticed roots and low hanging branches, I was starting to get frustrated.

After a while, I vented my frustrations onto the paper and scribbled out most of the map. I groaned as I snapped my book shut.

"Ugh, the gods hate me," I mumbled as I trudged through the forest. "Some people loose their knife or mug. No, no, not me! I managed to lose an entire dragon!"

I swiped at a low hanging branch only for it to smack me right back. It got me in the eye; sweet Freya that hurt! Tears welled in that eye as it tried to eject the foreign objects, and I had to depend on my other eye to avoid tripping over anything.

I looked down as I tried to blink my eye back into full clarity. Then I realized something interesting about the ground. Dirt had been kicked up, and I realized that the branch I had just swiped had once been a scraggily tree trunk. Fresh evidence too. I quickly followed after the trail of destruction until I made it to where it banked off. I crept over, until I caught sight of it. The Stormcutter. I gasped and hid from its sight.

Eventually I dared to peek up again. Yep. That was it. The dragon. I fumbled with the dagger hidden in my vest until it was firmly in my grasp. Before I stepped out in the open, I remembered that I had to call Toothless. So I let out a loud hawk-like sound, and it bounced off into the air. I was really hoping that he was close enough to hear it. Then I went in.

The Stormcutter was about as freaky looking as it had looked this morning. Its eyes were open and slitted. And it was staring at me. But it wasn't growling. That was a little odd.

I pointed my dagger at it but didn't make any sudden movements. I got closer, but then took a few steps back when I heard it let out a low moan. It was watching me intently. Every move I made, it followed.

"I'm…I'm gonna kill you dragon," I said to it. It just kept staring at me. "I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father."

Its eyes bored into me in a way that sent chills crawling up my spine. My nerves were already running on double time, and my hands were clammy and cold. My breath hitched every time the dragon shifted or moved its eyes. Every blink sent chills running down my spine.

"I'm a viking…" I muttered to myself, trying to convince myself that I could to this. "I am a viking!" It was working like a bad pep talk from Gobber.

And the dragon. It seemed to…give up almost as it laid its head on the ground and closed its eyes. I lifted my dagger in the air, ready to plunge it into the dragon that had been terrorizing Toothless and I for the past six years.

My mind would flash back to every incident since I was nine. It would chase after us, shooting fire in our paths no matter how far we ran. I remember Mom screaming whenever it got too close, whenever it almost got us. I can hear her screams even now. Toothless wouldn't let me out of his sight for days after when we were smaller, fearing that the Stormcutter would find me if he wasn't nearby to protect me. Dad had tried to kill it several times, but it couldn't be taken down. It was too strong, too smart. I remember being afraid of it.

I still was.

But I couldn't do it. I don't even know when I'd let down my dagger, and my arms went limp. I looked at my dagger and looked at the dragon. It looked exhausted. I glanced at the ropes and saw that one set of its wings were indeed bound while the other set was free. But it's so massive, it needs both wings to support it for long-distance flights. It couldn't escape.

"I did this…" I muttered while backing up.

Looking back at its form, I realized it wouldn't last long while still bound. I could just leave it. I could get Toothless, and let him kill it. Put it out of its misery, you know? He wouldn't mind. But I also knew that Toothless wouldn't notice what I saw. He wouldn't see the frightened animal. He'd see the monster that has tried to carry off his brother in the past. Multiple times.

It wouldn't have a chance.

I sighed. I'm going to do something stupid, aren't I? I gave it another glance and realized, Yep. I am.

Soon enough I found myself using my dagger to cut its ropes. It took a while. The bola had been wound tightly around it. I made a mental note to be more careful about the force of the throw in relation to the distance of my intended target. Not that I expected to be using the Mangler again anytime soon.

Finally I cut through the last bit of rope, and they all fell away in a nice pile. Next thing I know, I'm on my back with the dragon standing over me. It had its front paws pressed down on my chest. I was gasping for breath as it looked down on me. Its massive form was standing over me with menacing yellow eyes looking down at me. This was probably the single most terrifying moment of my life.

Then something weird happened. It started smelling me. I was stock still as it pressed its nose in my hair and trailed down to my chest. Its eyes met mine, and I found myself looking straight into the eyes of the creature that was probably going to kill me in the next few seconds. But I wasn't scared. That was the insane part. It didn't feel like looking at a killer. It was like…looking at something more…human.

And then, the moment was broken as it let out a violent roar that nearly busted my eardrums.

And it ran off. Its double-paired wings spread open and it took to the air. I watched as it disappeared into the grey, cloudy sky; I was still dazed by my close encounter. I quickly released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I tried to stand up, but my legs nearly gave out under me. So I slid back to the ground and let myself get swallowed by darkness.


I hope that read well. I hope I made it clear that there will be a few subtle differences in this AU to cannon material concerning characters. The most prominient one I hope you may well notice is why Hiccup a) tries to kill a dragon, and b) chooses not to do it in the end.

a) While public acceptance is still one reason, it isn't a huge one since he isn't quite as lonely because of Toothless's presence. Being left alone at the corner table of the cafeteria is less lonely when your friend comes to sit right there next to you.

No, the drive behind trying to "fit in" now derives from the factor of comparing himself to Toothless who, frankly, is better at "blending in" while still being the odd man out plus the fact that Hiccup is treated differently than Toothless by Stoick. As Valka said, Hiccup wants to be acknowledged as being just as independent as his brother despite being physically weaker and, by comparison, a much more prominent maverick.

b) While in cannon, Hiccup spares the downed dragon because he saw his fear reflected in Toothless's fear, in my universe, Hiccup does it because he sees the dragon give up. He himself most likely had moments of wanting to give up in being accepted, and Toothless would always help him get back up again. He finds himself, once again, being reflected in a dragon, thus seeing its humanity.

Now I know that some might say that I'm ruining the impact of that moment between Toothless and Hiccup in the films, but really, I am not trying to do that at all. I believe that fear is what begets every other negative emotion, and to find that particular emotion in Toothless at the same moment as Hiccup himself was feeling it strongly is the root of the connection because he not only sees the humanity in Toothless but he also can identify with Toothless on a more intimate level. To find a less prominent and, frankly, reversible emotion like the desire to give up only gives him the sense of humanity but not the intimacy. To put it simply, it only ignites his compassion which then begets guilt.

Sorry if that was complicated. My brain just works that way.

I hope you didn't get bored to death reading this whopper of an author's note! Reviews make me smile so don't be shy :D

Tenchiko