Hel-lo all. Sorry for the recent absence. More like a hiatus. But anywho, here's another story. Hope you're all well and cheery just like I although I sound quite bored. Well, anyways, a little background info on this story.

I enlisted and am participating in the Secret Odin gift exchange hosted by Berk's Grapevine, a popular HTTYD new fansite. If you'd like to check them out visit . Now, this story is my gift to my Secret Odin person thingy, and I figured I'd post it on here as well, because, well, it is a fanfiction and I have this supposed bundle of stories yet to finish. So here we are, and I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: Do I sound like Miss CC or Dean Deblois? Nope. Sorry. Don't own it.

The Ladder to Trouble

"No you do it!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

The familiar bickering of the Twins echoed across the plaza into the musty, yet bright, forge. An immediately recognizable figure stood, pounding his hammer against the anvil, with his back to the plaza. He gave a grunt and a slight nod in the direction towards the loud twins and let out a heaved sigh, and began to speak.

"Will those two ever stop?" said Gobber with an annoyed tone.

"Probably not," responded Hiccup, as he entered the forge doorway.

"Nice ta' see ya show up, finally," replied Gobber with his usual scrutinizing look at the russet-haired boy.

"Yea..." said Hiccup with a grimace.

"I ran into some... well lets call them holdups."

"You gonna tell me what they were or simply leave your tardiness in Thor's hands?" questioned Gobber.

"Oh I'll tell you. But you're sure to laugh. I am Hiccup anyways. What's to expect from me." Hiccup made a face and continued.

"See, when you have a very happy dragon, like mine, they can become quite demanding and request certain tasks that may be difficult for you to complete in your current time frame. In my case, Toothless decided he'd like to go flying and maybe hunting while he was in the air. Naturally, you had called for me, so I was pressured to get here. Yet, when you have an anxious and highly stubborn Night Fury standing between you and the door, it's quite a quest to venture outside. So there I was, stuck in a staring competition with Toothless." Hiccup paused in his rant and Gobber took the chance to interject a question.

"An' how'd ya make it outta there in one piece, eh?" He asked with a grin.

"Just the usual 'Astrid comes to save the day' routine."

"Oh?"

"Oh, yes. There I was, staring at my dragon, and a knock comes from the blocked doorway. Immediately Toothless turns around and bites the door open. There stands Astrid, curiously looking between myself and Toothless, hands on her hips and a disapproving look forming upon that face of hers."

"She does do that quite often doesn't she?" added Gobber. Hiccup smirked and nodded his head.

"She inclined her head and asked me what we were doing. Of course, me being me, I rattled off the whole situation and she simply look even more disapproving by the finish of my rant." Hiccup took a deep breath.

"So she shakes her head in pity, and starts to bargain with Toothless. Basically putting me in a please one and all situation."

Gobber chuckled

"Gotta please the girl and the dragon eh?"

"Not simply please them, but agree to Astrid's wonderful deal to let me head here, and then take Toothless on an extra long flight and hunting trip, along with a bath and talon rub."

Gobber shook his head in disdain.

"You sure got yerself in a fine situation."

Hiccup nodded, and grabbed his apron off the wall, fastening it around his skinny waist. He looked questioningly at Gobber.

"So what did you want me to do?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A little more than an hour later, Hiccup emerged from the now swelteringly hot forge, drenched in sweat and covered in grime. His thoughts wandered to the metal washbin around the side of his house, and how pleasant a nice cold rinse would be after the bout in the forge. But he knew he had to fulfill his promise to both Astrid and his dragon; therefore, setting off a brisk pace towards his house. Muscles aching from the hammering, and metal leg creaking, he clambered over the last tricky stone step of the hill and found himself face to face with an expressionless pair of green eyes. He stared right back at them with just as much earnest.

It was a few minutes before Hiccup finally asked the dragon what he was waiting for. Jumping up and down, the dragon spun and faced his saddle side towards the boy. Hiccup laughed and climbed on, fully aware that his arms would not survive this trip without going numb once or twice. Gobber had given Hiccup the task of twisting and constricting multiple lumps of metal. The hammer itself was enough to tire his wrist, but his arm muscles took the brunt force of the tough metal he was to shape. Bringing his consciousness back to the dragon now below him, he pressed his metal leg into the pedal and had the dragon leap at an alarmingly fast speed, and soar into the quickly darkening sky.

Circumnavigating the island for two hours at most, Hiccup finally landed his dragon back outside his house, and slid off, wincing from the aching pain emanating from his sore arms and wrists. He gave a sideways grin at the dragon and led him inside, where Toothless cheerfully cawed at his rider, as if to scold him for denying flight earlier that day. Hiccup was perfectly aware that both he and his dragon had enjoyed the flight, but that didn't mean he was going to admit it to Astrid or the Night Fury. So he simply took off his fur vest, and clambered onto the rough wooden bed, instantly falling asleep to the throbbing pain his muscles produced.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hiccup could tell he was late for the morning routine at the academy, just by noticing the light slanting on his floor. It was usually farther back the earlier it was in the morning, and the light showed it was halfway to noon. He scrambled out of bed, grabbed his vest, and towed his dragon out the front door and down the hill, across the bridge, and into the academy.

There, just as he had expected to find, was a frowning Astrid and Snotlout, along with an anxious looking Fishlegs and arguing twins. Snotlout stepped forward first, conjuring his toughest face and looking sourly at Hiccup.

"You're late." He said with a bitter tone.

"And I'm perfectly aware of that," replied Hiccup in his usual sarcastic tone. Astrid brushed her bangs from her eyes and stepped forward as well. She gave him a questioning look.

"We were going to go looking for you if you didn't show up by lunch. What was the delay?"

Boy I'm just late to everything these days, aren't I? thought Hiccup silently.

"Just a long day yesterday, as I'm sure you're aware of," he said, gesturing at Astrid. Snotlout snorted.

"Did Toothless keep you up all night with his usual crying? Or was it you and your lack of excitement?"

Hiccup frowned at the boy. He was obviously grumpy today.

"Long hard and tiring day at the forge, and then two hours of flying thanks to, this one-" he nodded at Astrid "along with a rough wooden bed to sleep on. Wooden beds aren't the best remedy for a completely sore body." He glanced at the Twins who were still bickering towards the back. Snotlout made yet another sour face and turned towards his dragon, speaking as he walked towards Hookfang.

"Well he's here now. Are we going to do anything today or did I show up for nothing?" Astrid looked as if she might hit him out of sheer annoyance, but she must've dismissed the thought for she looked back at Hiccup.

"What are we doing?" Hiccup yawned and glanced around. He remembered what day it was.

"Didn't I schedule a free flight today? For everyone to just go out and fly?"

This time it was Fishlegs who spoke. He clapped his hand to his forehead.

"Ohh! You did! Why didn't I remember?" Hiccup caught Snotlout out of the corner of his eye, mimicking Fishlegs in a very girl-ish way.

"Yes Fishlegs, I did. So lets get to it. Dragons everyone." Hiccup clapped his hands once, and everyone crawled onto their distinguished dragons. Giving the flight signal, they took off one by one through the Academy gate.

Almost immediately, explosions sounded from behind Hiccup and Astrid who led the group. Astrid swiveled around in her saddle.

"Will you two cut it out? You can start blowing stuff up once we get farther out and further away from you." The twins glanced at each other and then retreated even further behind Fishlegs and Meatlug who trailed behind the rest. Both twins began snickering once they reached this rear spot. Astrid rolled her eyes and turned back around, determinedly avoiding the sounds of snickering and giggling that reached her ears. Hiccup suddenly slowed Toothless, and drifted towards the right. He spoke out over the wind so they could all hear him.

"Okay. This is it. Feel free to fly and do as you'd like, but don't go past our horizon vision. Got it?" Everyone nodded their heads, and Snotlout twitched, waiting for release to throw his dragon at anything in his way.

"You're free to fly." finished Hiccup.

Almost immediately Snotlout shot off heading North, spun back, and Hookfang took a straight nosedive into the water. Snotlout flew back from the surface, spluttering and yelling at his Nightmare. At the same time, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were attempting to make an organized run through the sea stacks surrounding them, but both heads and riders couldn't decide which direction to go. Fishlegs was teetering dangerously atop Meatlug, occasionally looking down at the sea and turning slightly green. Hiccup called to him.

"You feeling alright Fishlegs? You look a bit dragon-sick." Fishlegs steeled his face and looked back up at Hiccup who hovered above.

"I- I'm just fine. Just- not well, not the best, but I'm fine, good, just landing over here maybe." As he said this he drifted the Gronckle onto a sea stack and thumped onto it's surface. He look relieved to have reached solid ground at last. Finally, there was Astrid, who flew above the entire group in circles, doing various stunts or simply glowering at the twins or Snotlout. Hiccup recognized her features to be one of a great beast who did not get rest, therefore meaning both she and Snotlout were equally as grumpy. Toothless, anxious enough as he was, tugged his rider forward and into the air, gaining altitude. Hiccup threw his head back and glanced back at the gleaming ocean surface, quickly fading from view. He simply held his foot in the pedal and let Toothless go higher, and higher, slowing his speed until he was above the clouds and soared in a circle. From somewhere below them, Astrid called to Hiccup.

"Hiccup, where'd you disappear to?" Soon her blue Nadder's head appeared from the sea of clouds and emerged revealing a grinning Astrid. She situated herself next to Toothless and let the two dragons circle in unison. Hiccup looked over at her and smiled.

"Race you to the water?" Hiccup challenged.

"You want me to dive into the ocean while beating you at a race?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Hiccup gave her the green eyes treatment. She caved. But not before gaining an advantage.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, and then dived, passing through the cloud cover below. Toothless let out a roar, and Hiccup dove downwards after her, picturing the result of this race. The other riders simply looked dumbfounded as the two dragons sprang from the thick cloud cover and dived towards the ocean far below them. Astrid, giving a shout and a battlecry, sensed victory even before she hit the water. What she didn't sense, was the fact that Hiccup was falling behind, and for good reason too. By the time Astrid realized what was wrong, Hiccup had crashed into the water with his dragon in tow.

While diving, Toothless' tail had snapped loose, and was now woefully snapping at the wind as Hiccup and the Night Fury plummeted towards the sea. Hiccup prayed to the gods this would simply be another little fall, and nothing serious would happen. In the last blinding moment his consciousness registered, he glimpsed his dragon's dumb stricken face, and the terror the green eyes held as the darkness pressed hard against Hiccup's forehead, causing him to lose consciousness altogether in a blinding flash of light.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

This is always how it's going to be. The ladder to trouble. Isn't this just how Hiccup's life ran itself?

Hiccup's vision swam above him, and his hearing was muffled, voices could be heard around him but they were only murmurs, and he could sense only the wet sensation covering his entire body. He could feel an extremely warm item from his side; he supposed it was a Night Fury's body just as unconscious as him. Attempting regain consciousness, Hiccup's hearing sharpened and the sounds above him came into focus. He could hear water beside him and yet he was buoyed on the obvious water he was resting in. He assumed he was laying on a makeshift wooden raft, in the middle of the North Sea. A familiar nasally voice resounded from above him, and he recognized Snotlout making snide remarks about the way Hiccup sat.

"It looks like someone just slapped him across the face."

Hiccup registered the second voice, an obvious blonde with blue eyed character was scolding Snotlout.

"Snotlout he just fell 50 leagues out of the sky. Give him a break."

"Maybe we could try and fly him back? Have Toothless strung between the dragons?" sounded like Fishlegs.

Another voice resounded from his left.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Hiccup guessed it was Tuffnut.

"Hopefully." replied Astrid. Even as Astrid said this, Hiccup gained control of his entire body, and realized how much he just plainly hurt. His sore limbs throbbed from the day before, his head ached repeatedly from the fall, and to top it all off, the area where his metal leg attached felt swollen and useless. He silently groaned. He might as well try and talk. He raised his arm weakly, as if to say 'hey I'm here.'

"D-don't go flying off without me. I c-could use a nice suntan but n-not in this weather." Hiccup's voices sounded pitiful. As he spoke, there was a sharp intake of breath, and by the time he finished his sentence there was a sudden lurch, and Hiccup was dumped back into the ocean.

Eyes flying open, Hiccup clawed his way back to the surface where his dragon had also awoken in surprise and flapped his way back above the sudden torrent of waves. Hiccup adjusted his eyes to the sudden flood of light, and looked properly around him; meanwhile trying to stay afloat. Each rider sat on their dragons that barely hovered above the sea. A sad looking piece of driftwood was floating away a few yards away. Hiccup assumed that was what they had placed his unconscious body on before an oncoming wave swept him off. The twins were wide eyed, Fishlegs simply held his mouth open, and Snotlout smirked Astrid's way. Astrid on the other hand, looked simply terrified, and immediately hauled Hiccup out of the water.

"Are you okay?" she asked instantaneously.

"Y-yea just a little, weak." Hiccup felt his arms and legs failing him.

"Can you fly Toothless?" Both teens looked over at the Night Fury that was paddling in circles, attempted to reach Hiccup.

"If my arms and legs don't fall off first, then yea." Astrid rolled her eyes and pushed him back into the water, directly onto the soaking wet dragon. Hooking his foot once more into the pedal, he flew out of the water, showering the other riders in tiny droplets of water.

By the time they returned to Berk, it was dark and a fog had set over the island. Fires and lanterns could be seen, lit across the island to show it's inhabitants the way. Hiccup called back to everyone, still attempting to not slide off his dragon in pain.

"Alright, fly high and get directly above your houses, don't get lost in the fog. Have a good night guys." At this dismissal, everyone split and drifted towards their residencies, following Hiccup's instructions to land directly above their homes. Hiccup nodded in approval and took towards his own home, set above the others on that one hill. He landed, and could feel the waves of nausea resonating from his head. He slid off of Toothless, and then used his side to support him into the house. Stoick sat next to the fire, deep in conversation with Gobber, not registering the state Hiccup was in. He nodded a greeting at Hiccup and continued to speak in a lower tone to Gobber. Hiccup shook his head and clambered up the ladder into his respectful room.

Throwing himself onto the still wooden bed, the boy took off his metal leg, threw his vest across the room, and settled onto his sheep skin pillow, sighing in relief. The nearby Night Fury did his usual routine of plasma burning his wooden plank, and settled himself into sleeping position as well.

"Good night, bud. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little... less... uneventful..." he trailed off, and began to sleep, snoring peacefully.

Wow that went on a little longer than I meant it to. Anyways, just a day in the troubling life of Hiccup, with a little bump in the road here or there. Hope you all enjoyed, and think it was alright, I felt like it was okay, relatively speaking. Have a good day guys.

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R-W-R