A/N: So hey guys! (again) [Cia] wanted to only do one author's note… buuuuut that's not how [Nicole] rolls and [Nicole] feels like [Cia's] chapter got more A/N love than this equally-important second chapter. Puh-leez give me (us) critique on not just the writing—which is [Nicole's] mimic of Credissa Cowell's—but on the characters too please.

How to Train Your Dragon (this chapter anyway) is copyright Credissa Cowell.

IMORTANT: Dragonese is in italics unless it's in the middle of a sentence, then its emphasis, Norse is regular.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, a very small boy who happened to be a very big hero with a very long name, was currently freezing down to the teensy tips of his very blue toes. Berk was in the middle of the worst snowstorm in a hundred years and it was up to the heir of Chief Stoick the Vast (O hear his name and tremble, ugh, ugh) to go with all the other heirs of the tribes of the archipelago to find the Drache Stien to awaken the dragons from their hibernations and defrost the Archipelago.

Unfortunately, Stoick's heir, the future chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe happened to be Hiccup, the very small boy with an even smaller dragon, who was named Toothless and was currently curled up in Hiccup's shirt because he refused to hibernate out in the snow.

On a particularly unsafe ship on Woden's Bathtub, the future Chieftains of the Archipelago sailed through the Mazy Multitudes together to defrost their villages. Hiccup stood next to Camicazi, the heir to the all-female Bog Burglar tribe, as her plethora of blonde hair that had never been touched by human hands was attacked by the wind and shoved into Hiccup's face. Stormfly, Camicazi's Mood Dragon was slowly turning blue, either from the cold or from feeling cold, around Camicazi's neck.

"Stormfly," Camicazi said "Why don't you do down below?"

Stormfly's head picked up sluggishly and she slowly said in perfect Norse: "I'm not cold."

Stormfly's body slowly turned violet to show her lie. Stormfly wasn't only a compulsive liar; she was a compulsive liar who just happened to be a Mood Dragon that spoke Norse. Hiccup thought about his own hunting dragon, as Toothless was very much not hunting: and keeping Hiccup's stomach warm and safe from the icy winds of the Archipelago.

"Any sign of Looselegged Island?" Thuggory, the heir to the Meathead Tribe and one of the only three heirs that actually liked Hiccup, said.

The other two heirs who weren't fazed by 'Hiccup the Useless' were Camicazi and Tantrum, the daughter of Ug of the Uglythugs. Tantrum wasn't on the quest for the Drache Stien because she was on her honeymoon with Humungously Hotshot the Hero, who could have been Hiccup's father if it weren't for Alvin the Treacherous (it's a long story).

"No," answered Meatbog the particularly smelly boy who was the heir for the Smushbody tribe. Meatbog was made ti keep lookout at the stern of the ship. Downwind from everyone else.

Camicazi scoffed "Boys," she said before whistling shrilly, sending Stormfly to the sky a few meters from the frosty tip of the boat, hovering there.

Hiccup looked curiously at Camicazi "The Stormfly has the best nose of all the dragons, well except for a Skullion… She's sniffing for quicksand."

"Quicksand?" Hiccup gulped "No one said anything about quicksand."

Toothless' little green head popped up from Hiccup's collar, stuttering as he was prone to do: "S-s-s-stormfly not best s-s-s-smeller, T-t-t-toothless Daydream the b-b-best," Toothless may have been infatuated with Stormfly , but his pride came first.

The tiny dragon scuttled away from Hiccup and became airborne, quickly flying clumsy loop-de-loops around the long golden dragon. Toothless attempted to show off despite his wings slowing up from the cold snow.

"Oh suffering scallops," Hiccup moaned at his occasionally-faithful dragon's less-than-helpful antics. "Toothless, please stop; you're going to freeze your scales off!" Hiccup said in Dragonese.

Hiccup was the only Viking that could speak Dragonese. (Shh. He wasn't supposed to due to a law passed by Vikings long ago.)

"Oh let him have his fun, Hiccup," Camicazi countered. "Stormfly likes him a little, I think," She added as an after-thought "For a boy of course."

Thuggory walked up to Hiccup and asked "So how is that large-nostrilled boy treating you?" He was, of course, speaking of Snotface Snotlout who was Hiccup's cousin, a bully and the best student in Gobber the Belch's pirate Training Programme.

Thuggory had protected Hiccup from Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare Fireworm (Note: only future chiefs are supposed to have Monstrous Nightmares and Snotlout had bragged that he would be a better chief than Hiccup) at the Dragon Training Presentation sever months earlier on Thor's Day Thursday.

"Oh, you know…" Hiccup stammered, not wanting Thuggory to think less of him for not being able to stand up to Snotlout.

Before Hiccup could think up something clever to say to Thuggory, a high-pitched trill was sounded from the bow of the ship as Stormfly, tired of Toothless–

Wait.

That was Toothless.

Toothless was falling.

The tiny dragon's wings had frozen over and no matter how furiously he flapped his leathery wings, the ice he'd attempted to shake off had eventually solidified in the freezing air and sideways snow.

Stormfly dove to catch the little dragon but found she had accidentally wedged her tail in a split in the bow while playing with Toothless.

Camicazi screamed as hiccup shouted "Toothless!" and dove off the side of the boat to save the life of his occasionally-faithful dragon.

Hiccup had been in the sea before; he had been forced to stay on a boat for three months with Norbert the Nutjob, travelled to America (which, in fact, exists after all; the world doesn't just end and you fall off the side) and had spent his share of time in the water.

Hiccup was not prepared for this. The water assaulted every pore of his skin with icy pinpricks, his body screamed for him to double over upon himself for futile protecting but the small Viking resisted because he had to save his dragon. He had to save his friend.

Green; a tiny green head with bioluminescent eyes shining brightly lit up the dark freezing water around Hiccup.

"M-m-master?" Toothless asked, for dragon's can breathe underwater and speak, but rarely can a human understand them anyway.

If Hiccup had the air he probably would have sobbed with relief. Clutching his dragon tightly against his chest, Hiccup made for the surface.

As cold and dark broke through to colder and light Hiccup gasped for air and Toothless sputtered.

The boat was gone.

"Oh no," Hiccup panicked "Oh no no no no no no no no—"

"Master!" Toothless perched himself upon Hiccup's head, threatening to push the Viking under the water. Shouting over the sleet and the win and the sound of Hiccup's chattering teeth "F-f-forward Toothless s-s-smells something."

Toothless' nose was not as talented as Fireworm's (Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare), for Fireworm could sniff out treasure, but Hiccup was willing to trust Toothless.

"Which way?" he asked his small guide.

"F-f-forward," came the stuttering reply.

Without a sigh – for it's quite difficult to do so with a little dragon on your head without swallowing salt water – Hiccup began swimming with his numb arms and legs in the direction Toothless had specified.

Hiccup swam for what felt like an eternity before he finally reached the rocky shore of whatever island Toothless had found.

Standing in a dripping wet tunic and bearskin vest Hiccup was quite tired of the snow. Shivering he began to walk further inland for a shelter of sorts. At this point even a dry stick or two for a fire would suffice.

As Hiccup passed the line of trees; all was silent. There was no whistling of sleet or howling of wind, no lap of waves on rounded stone beaches. Nothing but his soggy footsteps, chattering teeth and the almost audible drip, drip, drip of his fur vest draining salt water.

There was a rustle of pine needles as toothless whizzed by, clamping himself firmly to the horns of Hiccup's helmet.

"M-m-mean Master was gonna l-l-leave Toothless!" the annoying dragon whined directly into Hiccup's skull.

Sighing, Hiccup trod on hoping for at least a very large tree for a safe place to build a fire under.

Spotting a particularly large birth tree, Hiccup sat down wirily underneath the foliage and sighed, exasperated. Reaching up, Hiccup gathered a small bundle of branches and sat them in a neat little pile before him.

"T-t-toothless, could you please…?" Hiccup asked of his dragon, acquiring a stutter of his own from the sub-zero ocean temperature.

Wanting nothing more than to sleep, and knowing a grumpy master was nothing to mess with, Toothless complied and shot a small spark onto the pile of sticks. A fire soon crackled to life.

The Viking and dragon soon became quite warm.

Hiccup jolted awake. It was very dark though their fire has remained burning inexplicably and Toothless had flown off.

"Toothless?" Hiccup called anxiously into the silent trees around him "Toothless?" a little louder.

Hearing the swish and thwip of a branch to his right Hiccup mustered up what little courage he possessed and proceeded to search for his dragon.

Hiccup stumbled through foliage of every size and texture in the dark. He ambled around and around, losing the comforting light of his fire until a wall. It was a cave wall to be exact.

The tiny hero looked up at the towering mouth of the cave, hearing the faint reverberating of air making an inaudible "H" sound back at him.

"Toothless?" Hiccup ventured cautiously, a little louder than a whisper.

Then there was a sound; a tiny tittering sound. Like a toothless dragon's stutter when saying his T's.

It was enough for Hiccup.

Walking into the darkness all Hiccup was really aware of was that the wall of the cave were damp. Slick and damp rocks jutting out at odd intervals met his fingertips as he ran his hand against the wall to keep his balance.

The silence was defeating to Hiccup's ears as he strained to hear a sound, any sound, to lead him in the direction of Toothless. Suddenly they were rewarded with tiny wig beats, leathery hums against the dank air.

"Toothless?" Hiccup called unsure

Barely a whisper, then: "M-m-master?"

Relief.

Hiccup moved faster through the slippery rocks of the cavern.

A misstep. Then air.

Falling. Falling very very fast.

"Thumbnails of Thoooooooor!" Hiccup screamed

Silence. Black.

White.