It's a bit short but I hope you like it! Christmas break is starting soon and I'm actually going to try and finish this story. There is about 10 more chapters planned.

The weather had warmed up drastically by the time they were over the ocean. Hiccup had set a brisk pace for the cadets to keep up with yet as the day progressed they became more and more comfortable with flight. The dragons themselves seemed simply content to be flying for real and tamely followed behind Toothless. The cadets seemed to realise that dragon riding was a team effort.

As the day wore on the cadets joked between themselves and followed behind Hiccup. They hadn't asked much questions since they had left, they hadn't even bothered to ask how Hiccup figured out the location. He was grateful for that.

After a while they began to attempt some of the flying maneuvers they would need to know. Hiccup was badgered until he gave them a list of the easier ones and showed them a few examples. Then he was roped into practising with them. But as the day moved on the students settled into simple flying, the dragons all raised their heads to catch whiffs of the ocean air. Hiccup slowed down to a more comfortable pace, much to the joy of his cadets and his own aching hips.

As they soared through the sky the dragons had adopted something Hiccups clan called a relaxed formation. Except for the leader the dragons were staggered, more or less side by side, they all followed Toothless without hesitation. This was a formation dragons would take instinctively when they flew with a group that they felt extremely comfortable with. In all his service he had never once seen war dragons fly like this.

It brought him back to his days at the cocoon. And Hiccup couldn't help but be gripped with nostalgia as they flew, how long had it been since I traveled with people this way he wondered. This thought, and the feeling that the moment gave him thrust the memories into his head. He let himself slip into his mind.

He was named the prince the day after his sixth birthday. It changed everything for him, and not really for the better. From that day onward he was ostracized by the other children his age. His life consisted of tutors and studies, learning a hundred different secrets for hundreds of different dragons. Map making, map reading, sword fighting, hand to hand, dance. Half the things he knew would probably never help him protect dragons but he still had to know it all. As a prince he would become the figurehead and leader of the clan. He would oversee both dragons and people, though the council would help him on the human parts.

Outside his room he would watch the other children wrestling the dragons trying to tame one. He would catch a glimpse before he would be forced back to studying. Soon they would fly by in wild elation, shrieking gleeful cries on the backs of their dragons. Meanwhile Toothless would be fast asleep by Hiccups feet while Hiccup continued to recite memorized flight patterns.

When he was eleven the constant pressure of his book studies was alleviated and Toothless was old enough to ride. Once they got him on the dragon it became impossible to get him off. He refused to be taught be flight tutors deciding instead to develop his own style, and after a few months he had surpassed them all anyways.

The better he was at flying the stronger the tools he needed and the clan just couldn't provide. Because of the lack of tools he started to try to develop some on his own. Once he was done building the necessities he found himself hooked on the process of creation.

He would often visit the forge where his uncle worked, building strange things that others didn't understand. The extensive study of books that had been forced upon him had aided in his curiosity. This was the only hobby he was allowed to keep, the only outlet for his creativity and he showed it with the mass amount of failed experiments that littered his room. But as time passed and he got better none complained about the wasted metals left in his wake.

Even though he was fitting into the technical role of a prince well, the other children still wouldn't accept him. He was so different. While they ran about the ice cocoon playing games, wrestling, or left on the backs of their dragons to go hunting and adventuring, Hiccup only studied or flew his dragon. It wasn't long before his body adapted to this, making him lean with muscles in all the right places for the quick slight of hand movements that high-speed dragon riding called for, but not such hunting and rough-housing.

He looked different then them, thought differently then them, was treated differently then them; he wasn't surprised they didn't like him. Yet he hardly ever faced any open remarks, most likely due to his status, which made him feel even more alone. He ended up just trying his best to avoid them.

Because of this it was more common to find him speaking with dragons then with humans. He developed a close friendship with the alpha and many other dragons of the clan. It wasn't a strange sight to see Hiccup hoping from dragon to dragon as they zipped through the air, only to dive off one and be caught be another. His connection with dragons was stronger then that of his with the humans of his clan, and they all knew it.

After his fight with the other alpha things slowly started to change, other members of the clan started to acknowledge him as a prince. It wasn't long after that that the war broke out.

Once again everything changed.

Suddenly it became all about the military, keeping track of grain stores was replaced by keeping track of spies. Book study became war strategy. They had to be prepared for everything. He stopped flying Toothless and made his first weapon. And then he was told he would become a spy himself and he became lost in his own web of lies and deceit.

"Hiccup would you listen already!" An angry voice snapped him out of his kaleidoscope of memories.

"Huh?" He looked about, seeing the annoyed face of Astrid glaring at him.

"It's getting late, shouldn't we land and take a break?"

"Oh, yeah? Um, just follow me then." Hiccup steered them towards the direction of an island they couldn't yet see but he knew was there from his map. It was another half-hour before they landed on the small islands sandy beach.

The students divided the tasks, some pitching tests and other gathering fire wood without having to be ordered. Hiccup spent the entire time napping shamelessly under the shade of a pine tree. The cool of the shade and cold of the coming night had made him sleepy. Unconsciously he rubbed his leg, both were again stiff from riding.

"Feeling okay Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, his puffy cheeks were rosy red from cold and exertion. In his arms was a bundle of kindling.

"Yeah, just a little stiff."

"That's what you get for rushing around," Astrid called out as her bundle of sticks clattered onto the ground. She set up a small fire and Toothless lit it for her. Fishlegs waddled over and dropped his sticks onto the pile. Soon all the cadets had huddled around the fire. There shadows cast behind them dancing, and their dragons lay at the head of each shadow sound asleep.

Hiccup made a move to stand and join them in the meal they were breaking out when a small noise behind him made him freeze. He heard it again, then a different one from the other side. Slowly his hand went to his belt, fingers strumming against the blades hilt. He turned ever so slightly, just to get a glimpse of what was stalking him.

A Terrible Terror looked up at him, wide eyed and mouth open, tongue lolling out. As soon as it caught his eyes it toddled towards him and stroked up against his leg. Hiccup could se the scar the ran down his back and swooped down to play with the little beast.

"Fredrick! Who would have thought I'd see you again?" Hiccup whispered in excited recognition. The little dragon, that had lived in the ice cocoon from some time, cooed and nuzzled up to Hiccups neck. Hiccup held the little heat pocket tightly. From behind him the other noises revealed themselves and various coloured Terrors peaked out from the bush. Soon a few other were flopping at his feet to get a belly scratch.

Fredrick nuzzled into Hiccup, licking up and down his neck with his rough tongue. Hiccup started to push him off when the little dragon reached up and nipped at his ear. "Ouch!"

The five military cadets whipped around at the Major's sudden exclamation, and their dragons jumped up at the sudden movement. They all took a moment to make sense of the scene. Hiccup leant up against a tree and a pack of dragons curled up against him. He didn't even notice them, to busy trying to keep all the dragons from crawling onto his head.

"How do you do it," Fishlegs asked?

"Do wha-ouch!"

"Be like that with random dragons! There fawning all over you!" Astrid barked.

"They're just so cuddly though." Hiccup pried the one currently biting him off. A few of the Terrors perked up at the smell of food drifting over from the direction of the voices. Soon a few of the dragons had scuttled over to the group and were snapping their jaws hungrily at them.

Hiccup smiled as the students let them crawl onto their laps and gave them pieces of the food they were cooking. They had warmed up to dragons. Toothless nudged Hiccup and they both went over to join in the delight.

The moon lit up the entire night tracing the silhouette of the tents and casting the shadows of the sleeping cadets inside. The waves rushed up against the sand, twisting it into little streams as it was pulled into the sea. Hiccup stepped quickly through it, letting the soft sand muffle his footsteps. Toothless followed in stealthy unison. They worked there way further from the cadets so that their take off wouldn't be hear.

Hiccup bit his lip, he felt guilty slinking away like this but they couldn't actually believe he would take them somewhere so dangerous. Of course they could, but he just couldn't find the will to let them come. He had cracked under the pressure the other night but leaving them here was the best for them all.

It might not even be the real location and anyways they would only slow him down in battle. He would make this a stealth mission, whatever, or whoever, was on this island he would take be surprise. He didn't need brash rookies rushing out and acting spontaneously trying to get recognition.

He would just return for them when he had completed his task.

Toothless shot an almost silent breath of air to get Hiccups attention. They were far enough away. Hiccup stepped into his saddle. He wiggled his feet to get the heel of his boot to mold into the stirrup, his legs whined as he got into position. Toothless silently spread his wings, head dipping and muscles tensing.

Hiccup cast a final glance to the sleeping kids. Then a quiet cluck and they took into the air. The Night fury and his rider disappearing into the black, swiftly, silently and guiltily.