JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW I'VE STOPPED WITH THE DISCLAIMERS BECAUSE TO BE HONEST WHAT ARE THEY REALLY DOING?! WE ALL KNOW THIS IS FANFICTION SO NONE OF US OWN THE STORY WHY DO WE HAVE TO PUT IT UP THERE? ANYWAY I DOUBT THAT WITH THE MILLONS OF PEOPLE THAT WRITE ON THIS SITE THEY COULD TAKE ALL OF US IN AND THEY CAN'T TAKE SOME AND NOT THE OTHERS IT WOULDN'T BE FAIR! SO THAT JUST TO LET YOU KOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO DEDICATE THIS STORY TO fandomk FOR BEING A LOYAL READER, YOU GO GIRL! FOR ANYONE WHO HAS ANY QUESTIONS MY INBOX IS ALWAYS OPEN!

MODES OF TALKING
Normal writing
"People Speaking"
"Dragon talking"
Thoughts

Tuffnut hurried through the village, Hicca was still dozing on his chest and her petite figure was curled up in his arms emanating a feeling of protection within his chest. He couldn't help but stare at the bruises on her face, the angry colours blossomed across her face and he worried for her, if the other bruises she had were worse than these than how bad would they be, she was so innocent, who would want to hurt her? He growled and it vibrated through his chest, Hicca sighed quietly in her sleep and she shifted slightly, her hand tightening its grip on his shirt, her other hand gently sliding back and forth through the hair near his neck.

Tuffnut smiled and moved faster, making sure to lighten his steps as he ascended the stairs to the healers hut, Hicca cradled to his chest like a precious bundle. He halted suddenly when he encountered the door and Hicca moaned in her sleep as his hand around her waist brushed against her ribs, "Sorry," he whispered, gently shifting so his hand was further away, he made sure she was safely positioned before carefully balancing on one foot using the other to kick in the door, quickly rushing into the hut before the door could shut. Tuffnut smirked and moved swiftly across the room, crouching down before one of the end beds and carefully laid her out on it, he made to move away but Hicca still had a firm grip on his shirt that she refused to let go of.

He sighed and gently shook her, watching as her eyes fluttered open and fixed him in their gaze, her soft pink lips parted lightly in surprise before she blushed and released her hand, realising that she had had a firm grip on his shirt. He smirked at her and moved back as Gobber came barrelling through the door, heading straight for his apprentice. He stopped in front of her bed and stared down at her with a stern expression that made her wriggle uncomfortably. "Okay Hicca off with the shirt," Gobber ordered as Hicca's eyes widened, she glanced quickly in Tuffnut's direction and blushed a cherry red, Gobber noticed where she was looking and shook his head, turning back to face Hicca, "Sorry lass but he has to stay, I need him to help me, now off with that shirt before I force you out of it," he growled and Hicca stubbornly shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and setting her jaw defiantly.

"Tuffnut I'm going to need your help," Gobber said, moving forward and pulling Hicca's arms off her chest, holding them down by her side as she shrieked and kicked out at Gobber, catching him several times with her booted feet. "Quickly boy, grab your knife and cut it off, I'll buy her a new one," Gobber instructed and Tuffnut obeyed, his hand drifting towards his belt as he stepped forward, sending Hicca an apologetic look as she glared angrily up at him, considering this a great betrayal of her trust. He used several deft strokes and her shirt fell into strips that were soon thrown to the side and forgotten. Tuffnut's eyes wandered over the wide expanse of bare skin on display and there was a lot of it, his eyes caught the path of creamy skin that led into her bindings, his eyes widening as he saw the start of the soft globes.

Hicca blushed as she saw his eyes scanning her body, his eyes lingering much longer on her chest, she made to cross her arms and saw his eyes narrow not understanding what he was mad about until she remembered the bruises on her arms and ribs, moving her arms had uncovered both lots and she inwardly yelled at herself, berating herself for showing them to him. Tuffnut could feel a hot swell of fury building up in his head as he observed the bruises from his spot above her, the handprints on her arms were a dark angry purple and red showing a distinct shape of fingers and palms on the otherwise flawless skin. His gaze moved to her chest and ribs and he clenched his fists, his eyes studying the expanse of colours that stretched across them, green, blues, purple, reds, yellows and even black spread across them and he looked up to her face, seeing her flush a dark red under his gaze.

He heard Gobber addressing him to get some bandages to bind her ribs as she had broken a couple when Astrid tackled her, the added weight on the already strained ribs had caused them to break; he thanked Odin that they were lucky enough for them not to have punctured her lungs, if they did she might have died from the blood pooling into her lungs. He hurried and got what Gobber asked for, the smithy asking him to sit behind her and hold her still while Gobber bound them. Hicca blushed again as Tuffnut climbed into the bed with her, pulling her up so she was sitting before sliding behind her and allowing her to rest back against his chest, his chin rested on top of her head as he observed Gobber at work.

Thankful for many years of practise Tuffnut managed to disguise his blush as he felt Hicca leaning further and further into him, she cried out, her back arching off the bed as Gobber tugged tightly on the bandages, securing them quickly with the clip and stepping back. Hicca quietened down as she slowly became accustomed to the bandages, her weight settling back fully onto Tuffnut as he eased her back, gently rubbing soothing circles on her stomach with the pads of his fingers, something he had seen his mother do to calm his sister down on more than one occasion. Gobber watched them silently, noticing the way they seemed to fit perfectly together.

He had seen something like this when he was younger, if he remembered correctly back then it had been Stoick and Valhalarama, the two had denied their feelings for years. In most cases Vikings were unable to understand the feelings they got and since they did not know what they meant it made them angry and resentful towards the person who gave them that feeling, it was only when they got older that that changed. Tuffnut and Hicca had been natural enemies since the first time they met, Tuffnut was already learning to fight, same as his twin and all the others kids their age but Hicca preferred to sketch and invent, she was said to be useless but that wasn't true, at least Gobber knew it wasn't.

While the other kids were out roughhousing and learning to use weapons Hicca had been helping in the forge, by the time she was six she was already making weapons for the village as well as armour and equipment for construction. She had not only learnt how to handle metal but wood as well, easily crafting useful gadgets and inventions that made life a lot easier for Gobber, she had even shown him how to improve the quality of the shields that he made, no one other than him seemed to realise just how special she was. That is until now, Gobber rationalised, watching as the normally fierce and violent Thorsten boy became quiet and calm in the presence of Hicca. He wondered how he ever could have missed it but then realised that it had been of the desperate hope that Hicca would remain alone like him and he would never have to deal with overzealous boys after her affections.

Stoic should have been the one in his place, the man who should have been hanging around the young girl and making sure that she was safe and no perverted young boy took advantage of her but of course thanks to his old friends neglect it was up to him to keep Hicca safe, not that he hated the job in fact she was his daughter more than Stoic's at this point and he worried for her. He would have to keep an eye on that Thorsten boy, if he ever knowingly hurt so much as a hair on Hicca's head Gobber vowed to hunt him down with ruthless intensity. Hicca smiled up at Tuffnut as he ceased his calming motions on her stomach, his silver eyes locking with hers, she blushed and looked down, her hands moving up to gingerly poke at her bandage covered ribs, "Don't you'll just make them worse," Tuffnut scolded, softly slapping her hands away from the bandages, his own cheeks covered with a light pink blush.

"Ay lad, do you think you could carry her back to her house? I don't think that she should be allowed to walk just yet, it could put pressure on her ribs and make them even worse," Gobber asked, hiding a sly smile that occupied his face with the palm of his hand, pretending to be wiping something from his cheek, "Sure Gobber, will she still have to be at training tomorrow?" Tuffnut asked, referring to the girl who had fallen asleep in his arms, her body having shut down to deal with the pain. "Only if she's up to it lad, look there's something you need to know about Hicca. Since she was young she hasn't trusted well anyone 'cept maybe me, she'll get injured, cover it up and pretend it never happened then go about her life like normal. To Hicca acknowledging she's injured in front of others is a weakness and as such she denies it as long as possible. You watch tomorrow she'll be back at training with a smile on her face even if she's dying inside," Gobber explained, inwardly smirking as he saw the concerned look that Tuffnut shot at Hicca.

"See you tomorrow Gobber," Tuffnut said, carefully cradling Hicca in his arms, he nodded to the old smithy and hurried out of the hut missing the knowing look that Gobber shot at the retreating boy's back. "Come on you two open your damn eyes," he whispered, shaking his head at the obliviousness of the two teens. He grimaced as a sharp pain shot up his peg leg and turned, hobbling back to his home so he could sit in front of the fire and warm his aching bones, working with the younger generation often tired him out as he wasn't as fit as he used to be.

Tuffnut grimaced, staring down at Hicca; she had drifted off to sleep in his arms and with her eyes closed he felt no obligations to remain polite and not stare, still having enough respect to keep his eyes off her chest, her shirt hanging in tatters still. The flourishing bruises painted her face an array of colours and they gleamed under the lanterns, his steady pace made sure that she was comfortable and she shifted in her sleep, nuzzling her head into the crook of Tuffnut's neck. The young teen's expression softened and he smiled, lifting a hand to gently brush her fringe away from her face, being careful to avoid her bruises. "Why didn't you tell us?" Tuffnut whispered before hanging his head in shame, remembering the way they treated her, she would have thought they would just brushed her off or made fun of her for being unable to defend herself and he guessed in a way she would be right. They had never shown that they cared about her even the tiniest bit, why would her being hurt change anything.

"I'm sorry," he muttered before steeling his face and his heart. He couldn't feel like this, he was a strong Viking and he would not be brought away from that by some tiny scrap of a girl who barely knew how to hold an axe even if she was utterly adorable and sweet to match. He hurried his steps and took the climb to her house as fast as he dared with her in his arms, once again kicking open the door with his foot; he looked around for a place to set her, not quite comfortable with entering her room. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he realised that he had no choice but to take her upstairs. He hissed under his breathe and fixed his eyes on the staircase taking the steps two at a time and moving quickly along the walkway, easily finding her room from the time he once snuck in there on a dare.

He pushed open the door and hurried to her bed, carefully laying her against the pillow and pulling the soft fur blanket over her tiny frame. He lingered for a moment unsure of how to proceed before he leant forward so he was hovering over her and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, smoothing back a stray piece of hair that had fallen across her face. "I'm so sorry I didn't save you Hicca," he whispered and turned to leave, quickly exiting her room and rushing down the stairs, leaving her house as quietly as he could so as not to wake the young girl overhead, the heavy wooden door falling closed behind him. He groaned and leant against it, thudding his head against the door as he slumped down, cradling his head in his hands, "Why her, why not someone else, it just had to be the chiefs daughter who couldn't fight and fit in if it killed her," he muttered, shaking his head and leaping to his feet, missing the green eyes that watched him from the window as he wound his way through the village.

"Why him, why couldn't it be someone else, someone who hasn't treated me like crap for half of my life," she moaned, hissing angrily at her train of thought and pushing closed the shutters, moving over to her closet to get another shirt. She tugged it gently over her head and glanced out the window, seeing no other sign of life in the village, the dark streets providing perfect cover for her late night trip. She pulled a dark cloak over her head and hurried out of her house, slithering quietly through the shadows, desperate to reach the forge without being found. Minutes later she entered the forge, taking off her coat and draping it over the hook, muffling a cry as it tugged on her still sore ribs.

She took her sketchbook out from where she had stashed it and laid it out on the table, gazing at the drawing she had done of the night fury, with a few determined strokes of her pencil a second tail fin was added to the night fury's drawing. She grinned and tugged on the apron she used in the forge, taking a few moments to get used to the feel of the leather ties around her bandages. Gritting her teeth Hicca moved towards the forge, striking a flint to start a flame, watching as it roared up into a merry fire. Using all of the skills she had gained over the years she began to work. The night was lit up with the sound of creaking leather bellows and for a moment Hicca worried that the others would hear but dismissed it, believing that the forge was far enough away from the housing to go unheard. The stone forge glowed with every pump, tongs pulling intricate iron pieces from the coals. They're dropped onto the anvil, twisted, lightly hammered, and dunked in a barrel. The pieces were carried to Hicca's workbench and laid out in place on a one-to-one schematic of how she had fashioned her diagram.

Hours after she entered the workshop she donned her cloak and after shutting down the blaze and returning the workshop to its former state she left, a large bundle wrapped in cloth tucked firmly under her arm, impeding her movements as she attempted to move steadily through the shadows. It would only be a few more hours before sunrise and she hoped to get as much rest as she could, the next day training was in the evening so she would have plenty of opportunities to go see the night fury in the morning. Her eyes slowly shut, flickering lightly as she let sleep claim her, her last conscious thought of molten silver eyes that peered at her through the darkness.

She woke the next morning to the roster crowing outside her window and decided to forgo having breakfast in the great hall instead grabbing an apple from her small kitchen and moving outside, tugging her boots over her feet as the chilly morning air caressed her bare arms, sending a shiver through her body. The sun was just barely poking over the horizon and from her hut on top of the hill Hicca could see the whole village laid out before her. She got her sketchbook out of her jacket and quickly drew the view from the hill into her book, thatched roofs, rolling seas, tiny figures moving about all took shape on her paper, her skilled hand giving life to the still drawing.

Tucking her sketchbook back into her jacket she passed quickly through the village, making her way towards the town's food storage. Grabbing a large wicker basket from beside the door she readily filled it with large amounts of fish from the mountainous storage heap, adding fish of all sorts and even an eel so as to find one the dragon would like. Dragons in her village were not studied intensely so their eating, sleeping and mating habits were mostly unknown, the Vikings preferring to study how they attacked, where their weak spots were and what they more commonly went after, hoping that the dragon would be prone to one of the types of fish as she really did not want to lug the basket all the way to the cove only to find that the night fury was not a fan of any of them.

Hicca turned on her heel and hurried out of the storage, fumbling through the village with the basket and hoping not to be noticed before she made it to the forest, if someone caught her it would be difficult to explain why she was heading for the woods with a large basket of fish strapped over her shoulder and a cloth bundle tucked under her arm. Reaching the edge of the forest she exhaled a large gust of breathe, unaware that she had been holding her breath. Turning back to face the village she smiled sadly, finally understanding that she would never be like the other Vikings after all what Vikings would go into the dangerous woods lugging a basket of fish over their shoulder only to feed an injured dragon that was trapped and virtually defenceless.

"Guess I'm not like you huh," she whispered, her voice coloured like belief before her eyes darkened, "Not that you ever wanted me to be," and with that final biting statement she disappeared into the woods, just missing the group of kids that ran past her entrance spot and towards the cliffs, hollering and shouting as they hit their weapons together, hoping to have a fun morning of cliff diving before they went to training. Meanwhile Hicca crept through the woods, her small dagger held before her as she attempted to ward of the dark shadows that crossed the path and tangled around her frame. An icy wind tore across her skin, making goose bumps break out as she shivered and rubbed her arms, attempting to ward off the cold.

A long drawn out howl echoed behind her and she yelped, racing down the path, the basket of fish bumping nosily on her hip as she ran for her life. She slid into the cove entrance, skidding slightly as her boots scraped along the rock path, her arms windmilling as she attempted to keep her balance, fortunately she kept her balance but it was at a cost of the basket falling from her shoulder. She groaned and bent to pick it up, throwing it over her shoulder as she advanced into the cove, "Hey Toothless! I brought breakfast! I hope you're hungry!" she called, dumping the basket to the ground and kicking it over so the top fell off and all the fish inside slid towards the ground, "Okkkay, that's disgusting," she muttered, watching the slimy fish fall against each other. "I've got some salmon, Icelandic cod and a whole smoked eel," she said with smile only for Toothless to pull back with a growl from where he had buried his face inside the fish pie, "Evil! Devil snake!" a voice screeched and Hicca jerked back, her head whipping back and forth wildly as she attempted to discover the source of the voice.

Toothless back away further, a deep rumbling growl spewing from his chest, "Wait… was that you?" she whispered in awe, it was Toothless' go to jerk back and his massive head turned towards her at an alarming pace. "You can understand me?" Toothless asked amazed, slowly moving towards her only to step on the pile of fish, drawing back with a startled hiss, "If you can understand me remove the yellow and black devil snake," he growled and she walked forward quickly, picking it up between her thumb and forefinger, tossing it quickly to the side, "Okay I get it, I don't really like eel either," she soothed, watching as he nodded in thanks an stepped forward, devouring the pile of fish.

"So how can I understand you?" she asked "And how exactly can you understand me?" she added, curious to find the reason for the sudden change in communication, "Silly human, you're talking in dragonese not that strange language you speak. When you touched me yesterday you must have created a riders bond, one has not been made between a human like you and a dragon in hundreds of years," he spoke between bites of fish, tipping his head back to let the slimy substance slide down his throat. "A riders bond, I'm a Viking I'm meant to hate dragon but nooo I go and bond with one," she muttered, pacing back and forth and wringing her hands. "Hang on what do you mean a human like me?" she asked offended, thinking he was making a jibe at her size, "A Viking as you call yourself there have been several from a place called Greece but that was about a hundred years ago, the funny thing is they were a tribe of only women, called themselves amazons, pretty sure they're still around" he added nonchalantly, finishing the fish and nosing around the basket to see if there were any left.

"Okay so what does being a rider entail?" she asked curiously, wanting to know what she had gotten herself into, "Well normally it would mean you would be able to ride me when I fly but unfortunately I cannot fly anymore, when you shot me down you removed one of my tail fins, I am unable to stay airborn," he sighed mornfully and Hiccas eyes went wide, her lower lip trembling, "I am so sorry, I didn't think I just wanted to impress my dad," she wept, throwing herself at Toothless and hugging him around the neck, startling the black dragon. "What do you mean impress your father, does he not like you?" Toothless asked and Hicca shook her head, stepping back and rubbing her eyes, "No, I'm not big and strong like the others, I don't know how to fight, I can't even lift an axe," she groaned, and tugged on the ends of her hair, "What is that?" Toothless asked, nosing at the leather covered bundle and Hicca brighened up.

"This Toothless is going to help you fly again," Hicca said brightly patting the bundle, "Why do you keep calling me Toothless?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as he tried to hide his excitement at the prospect of flying again. "Oh sorry, I didn't really know if you had a name and well I thought you know Toothless 'caus the first time I met you you're teeth were retracted," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck and shuffling awkwardly, "I like it." he declared, nodding emphatically and nosing at the undle, "So what is this?" he asked again, nosing at the bundle till Hicca unfolded it, "Well it's a prostetic tail all I have to do is fasten it to the end of your tail and with the help of this pedal I'll be able to make it work the same as the other tail fin the only problem is I haven't yet figured out how to make it work on its own so I would have to ride on your back," she finished quietly but Toothless still caught it. "Okay," he said bluntly, surprising her. "Really you'll allow me to ride you?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course you are my rider and that means that we fly together," he nodded resolutely and she threw her arms around his neck "But first what is your name young one, with all of this excitement I have yet to learn it," Toothless looked up at her and she grinned, "My name is Hicca Horrendous Haddock the third, daughter, only child and heir to Chief Stoick of Berk and the Hairy Holligans, also known as Useless, stuff up and idiot," she quoted dully, dropping her head to look at the ground, "Who says these things?" Toothless growled, angry that someone would say that to his human, "Everyone in the village, even my own Dad sometimes says them," she whispered earning a fierce growl from Toothless as he heard that her father would say such things. "Shall we try to fly?" Toothless asked, hoping to get her mind off the sad topic, "Yes!" Hicca exclaimed, glancing up with wide eyes. She grabbed the prostetic tail and ran around to crouch by his tail, carefully strapping the fake fin so it fit snugly next to the real one.

Just as the final strap was tightened Toothless spread his wings, shuffling a few times to get used to the weight he took off in a looping gallop, throwing himself into the air as he took off, his massive wings spreading wide as the flapped sreongly, sending leaves dancing as he attempted to stay in the air, Hicca shrieked as they took off, clutching desperately to Toothless's tail as she tried not to fall off, Toothless noticed something was wrong as he began to uncontrolably fall downwards, flicking his wings desperately. Hicca took a deep breath and inched her way along his tail towards his fins, reaching out both hands as she griped his tail between her thighs, hoping to all the gods that she would survive. Her hands closed around the rough material and she yanked it open, Toothless sensing the change in the tail fin quickly changed his flight path, swooped just above the ground and jetted striaght up, making Hicca shriek as she attempted not to fall off.

They made it out of the cove and Hcca cheered, "It's working," she cried out, loosing concentration for a second as Toothless veered to the right, his tail fin changing as she did the same, they swooped back over the cove and Hicca grinned widely, "Yes! Yes! I did it!" she yelled and Toothless veered sharply, Hicca losing her grip as she plummeted back towards the cove, luckily the lake was directly below her and she dropped in, the water rippling madly as the force of the drop jolted the water. Without Hicca controlling the tail fin it snapped closed and Toothless began to fall, diving head first into the lake with a loud screech of indignation. Hicca crawled towards the edge of the lake and sat down, tugging off her sodden boots and vest, placing them neatly on a nearby rock to dry. Toothless followed her out and opened his mouth, breathing out harshly so a stream of fire hit the ground, creating a bed of fiery coals that wasn't too hot nor to cold. He circled a few times before dropping down exhausted, flicking out his tail so Hicca could remove the prosthetic fin.

She quickly undid the straps and rolled it back up in the cloth, stowing it away in a corner of the cove that was protected by a thick layer of roots. Goose bumps broke out across her skin as a cold breeze swept through the cove; she shivered and clutched her arms to her chest as she attempted to ward off the cold. A snort from Toothless drew her attention and she glanced over, seeing him gesturing for her to come over with his head. She moved quickly and his tail wrapped around her waist, pulling her over to him so she was nestled into the thick hide of his stomach, the warm coals heating her up as Toothless wrapped her in his wing like it was a blanket. "Thanks bud," she sighed, leaning her head against his leg as a makeshift pillow. "Wake me up at noon please I have to be in class by about an hour after that so yeah…" her voice trailed off as she slowly slipped into a trance like state before succumbing to sleep, her late night adventure had left her more tired than she realised. "Sleep little one, I will look after you," Toothless muttered, letting his head drops to his paws as he watched the birds overhead with a wistful air, knowing that if anyone could help him fly again it would be his hatchling, his first friend and only friend. It would be Hicca.