Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the slightly changed plotline.
Moments in this chapter are mostly canon, with the exception of added and changed dialog and scenery, as well as added thoughts. I just loved these scenes between Toothless and Hiccup so much that I had to use them, so... enjoy :)
Gothi impatiently tapped her staff against her floors, creating a loud noise in an attempt to quiet down the playing, squealing children. The voyage Stoick orchestrated took all of their warriors, leaving only the elderly and young children, as well as Gobber and the recruits, within the village. The Hairy Hooligans were one of the smallest tribes in the archipelago, and not every child had a grandparent to take care of them. So, for now, the left over children were in her care. She would let them play outside, but it was dark out, as well as raining heavily; she also feared that they would be careless and fall from her porch, and her house was built too high to survive such a fall.
The children went silent at the sound of her staff, and she used it to point them to the other room. Her main room was filled with breakables, as well as medical supplies, and she doesn't want anything shattering or spilling over. The children obeyed, their laughter picking back up as they ran into the back room just as her front door opened.
Gothi turned her attention to Hiccup as he entered her home; he was soaked to the bone, and he quickly closed to door behind him so as to not let the rain in.
He gave a small grin. "Hey, Gramma," He said, "I need some herbs."
Gothi immediately held up a hand to his forehead and cheeks, and he flinched back a little. She gave him a look; it was always freezing on this island, and it was raining out, so it was only natural to check if he was ill. As a matter of fact, he did feel a little warm.
He simply returned her look with a weak grin, and she rolled her eyes a little before turning to her shelf of medical supplies. She grabbed some crushed herbs and roots, as well as honey to get rid of the oncoming fever before it got any worse.
She held up her spoon of honey. He made a move to turn his head, but stopped at the stern look on her face. The honey was meant to sooth any soreness in the throat, as well as sooth any coughing. When he swallowed, she dipped her fingers in her cup of muddy looking, vile smelling crushed herbs and root, and he cringed a little. She's given him this treatment before when he came about the flu one year and, although it helped, he didn't like it very much; then again, who did? She spread the herbs across his forehead to placate the fever, then she spread it along his throat to placate any soreness, and then, after untying the strings of his tunic, along his chest to placate any aching or coughing. You were supposed to rest while the herbs did their jobs, but she knew he was simply going to wash it all off before going to sleep; however, having them for a short while was better than not having them at all.
He re-knotted his tunic as she put her medicine back in its proper place, his face thoughtful.
"Gramma?" He said a bit hesitantly, "Can sleep medicine be spread on fish jerky?"
Gothi narrowed her eyes at him, but he simply returned her stare rather confidently. He was up to something, probably something stupid, but she wouldn't stop him. He was fifteen, almost sixteen, he could make his own decisions; after all, it was his business.
She returned to her medical supplies, shuffling through to find the sleep medicine and handed it to him. He took it gratefully before walking off, glancing down at something in his hand, and, looking closely, she could see it was a black scale.
She wouldn't question him. It was his business.
Hiccup left his home early the next morning, when the sun was just rising, turning the sky a bright a pink. What he was doing was probably really stupid, but he was going to do it anyway.
He had his supplies ready; a scalpel, sleep medicine covered jerky, spreading herbs, and some gauze.
When he came across the ravine, he stopped at the top of the hill. The Night Fury was there, sleeping inverted from a branch once again, but it opened its eyes to gaze up at him the second he reached the hill. It uncurled its tail from the branch, landing on its claws in a manner eerily similar to a cat, and it remained crouched, gazing up at him suspiciously.
Hiccup sucked in a breath before sliding down the hill, stopping next to a large rock, giving the dragon a respectable distance. He reached into his vest, and the dragon narrowed its eyes, though they softened slightly at the sight of the small sack of fish jerky.
Hiccup held up the sack in offering, and the dragon sniffed at the air a little. Hiccup untied the sack before removing several strips of jerky and tossing them into the air. The dragon snapped its head up, catching them, releasing a rumble as it chewed and swallowed the dried fish.
"You really like that, don't you…?" Hiccup mumbled, and the dragon looked up at him, a deep, curious rumble escaping it.
Hiccup held up another piece of jerky, and he let out a startled shout when the dragon suddenly jumped, knocking him onto his back. When he caught his breath, he glanced down at the weight on his chest, the dragon lying flat on its stomach, its large head resting on his stomach and chest, looking up at him, glancing back and forth between his face and the hand holding the jerky.
Hesitantly, Hiccup lowered his hand, and, instead of snatching it, the dragon used its large tongue to remove it, another rumbled escaping it as it swallowed.
Hiccup shifted, and the dragon lifted its head, allowing him to move and sit up. It stayed right where it was, so Hiccup tossed it another piece of jerky.
The process continued in the same manner; the dragon would rumble, Hiccup would toss it a piece of jerky, and it would rumble again, only in a more appreciative manner.
And, when Hiccup ran out of jerky, the dragon stood, stared at him for a moment, and then heated up the ground with its breath before curling up and lying down.
Hiccup stared at it, waiting for the sleep medicine to kick in. At first, he had been fearful that it would smell the medicine, but it was apparently too hungry for that.
After about an hour, he moved and waited for a moment; the dragon didn't stir. He purposely shuffled through loud twigs and leaves, but the dragon didn't react, so he quickly got to work.
He used the scalpel to remove the tattered tail fin before spreading the herbs along the wound and then wrapping it with gauze. It was a bit difficult; he was no healer, and scalpels were a bit odd to him. They were a recent invention, Gobber said. Gramma Gothi had needed to give surgery, but was fearful that their large knives would do more harm than good, so the scalpel was made in response. They were small and curved, and the handle had no covering on it, making it awkward to hold. Wrapping the gauze was also an awkward process, as he had to work around the remaining tail fin, but he managed it at least.
When he was finished, he stuffed his supplies within his vest, glanced at the dragon once more, and then took off.
He'd check on it later.
"So, Gobber," Hiccup said casually, "I happened to notice that the Manual had nothing on Night Furies. Is there another book I could read, maybe a sequel? A Night Fury pamphlet, maybe?"
It was probably really stupid to try and ask such questions; not only was it a little suspicious, but he was doing it during training. But he was curious; he wanted to know about the dragon he was helping.
He paused for a moment in thought. He was helping a dragon.
"Focus, Hiccup! You're not even tryin' today!"
Hiccup suddenly ducked, holding up his shield when a blast flew by his head. He quickly hopped to his feet, running through the maze, the dark blue Nadder following him by hopping along the tops of the wooden walls.
Gobber thought it would be a good idea to turn the arena into a maze today, and it became rather easy to lose his sense of direction.
The Nadder suddenly stopped following him, its attention drawn to Fishlegs.
"Today is all about attack! Nadders are quick and light on their feet. You will have to be quicker and lighter!"
Fishlegs let out a surprised shout when he looked up, seeing the Nadder perched on one of the walls. It held up its tail, spikes suddenly jutting out. Fishlegs quickly held up his shield, running away with a scream when the spikes were embedded into his shield and the wall beside him.
"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!"
"Look for its blind spot!" Gobber ignored him. "Every dragon has one! Find it, hide in it, and strike!"
Astrid ran down a path just as the twins passed her from a different one, and they froze when they saw the Nadder in front of them. They quickly lined up, ducking in front of its face, the horn causing the blindness.
"Agh," Ruffnut groaned as she and Tuffnut swished from to side to stay in the blind spot, "Don't you ever bathe?"
Tuffnut roughly backed up, shoving her with his backside, "If you don't like it, then just get your own blind spot!"
Ruffnut shoved him back with her fist, and the two were suddenly glaring each other down, "How about I give you one!"
They heard an annoyed squawk, and Tuffnut grabbed Ruffnut, pulling her aside when the Nadder released a blast from its mouth.
"Blind spot, yes. Deaf spot, not so much," Gobber said boredly, watching as Astrid, Snotlout, and Hiccup ran passed him. Hiccup suddenly stopped, trying to talk to him again.
"So," He said, "How would one, I dunno, sneak up on a Night Fury?"
Gobber rubbed his forehead in irritation, "No one's ever met one and lived to tell the tale. GET IN THERE!"
"I know, but hypothetically-"
"Hiccup."
Hiccup glanced over at the sound of his whispered name, seeing Astrid and Snotlout crouched next to a wall, tensed, and Hiccup immediately took a place in front of them; the two didn't seem to have a problem with him skipping in front of them.
It just means he gets blasted first.
Hiccup peered behind the wall before immediately ducking again, the dark blue Nadder walking closer to them. He waited until it looked away before rolling across the path, using his shield as a push-up; Snotlout did the same. Astrid tried to copy their movements, but the weight of the shield was too much for her, bringing her down, catching the Nadder's attention.
It snapped at her as she scrambled up, running away. The Nadder hopped onto the walls again before jumping back down, directly in front of Snotlout and Hiccup. Hiccup readied his axe, but Snotlout pushed him aside.
"Watch out, Hiccup, I'll take care of this." He threw his mace at the Nadder, and the dragon casually watched as it hit the wall next to it before looking back at them and squawking.
Hiccup gave Snotlout an annoyed look.
"The sun was in my eyes, little cousin," Snotlout said irritantly before he and Hiccup jumped out of the way of the dragon's fire, running through the maze again. "What do want me to do? Block out the sun? I mean, I could do that, but I don't have the time right now!"
Hiccup let out a startled shout when he realized that the Nadder chose to follow him instead of his chatterbox cousin, dodging when it tried to headbutt him, and its momentum caused it to slam into one of the walls. The maze immediately started going down, and the bird-like dragon continued following Hiccup as the maze fell apart around them.
Astrid was pushed around as Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout ran passed her, and she looked up at the sound of Hiccup's strained voice shouting across the arena, watching as he suddenly hopped onto the tops of the falling walls, jumping from one to the other as he tried to dodge the Nadder.
"They probably take the daytime off, right!? Like a cat!? Has anyone ever seen one napping!?"
Gobber glanced down at Astrid, seeing that she wasn't going to move in time and that Hiccup was paying no attention to her, "Astrid!"
Hiccup's eyes widened when he leaped up onto the last wall, seeing that it was right in front of Astrid, who didn't have enough time to move, watching him with widened eyes. As he went down, he immediately shouted in a panic, "ASTRIIIIID!"
Astrid didn't move out of the way in time, and Hiccup collided with her, both of them tumbling to the ground. Hiccup's shield landed beside them, and he was on top of her, his axe embedded into her shield, and he immediately began struggling to untangle himself and his axe. Astrid began struggling to sit up as well, but his weight held her down, and the two's struggling caused them to end up in a tangle of limbs.
"Can you - well, maybe if you just-"
Astrid was cut off by Ruffnut's croon.
"Ooo, love on the battlefield."
Astrid felt her face heat up. That was the last time she ever tells Ruffnut about any crushes. She should've known she would tease her about it.
"He could do better," Tuffnut snickered, and Hiccup suddenly stood, ignoring his axe in favor of grabbing his forgotten shield. He chucked it in their direction, smacking Tuffnut right in the face, and Ruffnut laughed as she watched her twin go down.
Hiccup looked back down at Astrid as she struggled to sit up with the extra weight on her arm, his brows furrowed in annoyance. Suddenly, there was a crash, and Hiccup released a breath when he saw the Nadder shove a downed wall out of its way, making its way toward them. He immediately grabbed his axe with both hands, trying to remove it from Astrid's shield. In his struggling, he absentmindedly shoved his foot onto Astrid's stomach, and she released a startled breath as Hiccup yanked with all his strength. The shield slid off her arm, but the axe remained embedded in it.
Hiccup didn't have time to dwell on it, using the shield embedded axe as a hammer, swinging the axe and shield together just as the Nadder closed in on them. The shield shattered against the Nadder's head with a loud crunch, and it let out a squawk, shaking its head and waddling away.
Hiccup panted, glancing at his axe; there were some remains of the shield still stuck to it.
"Well done, Hiccup."
Hiccup huffed, his expression turning annoyed at Astrid's carelessness, and he glanced down at her. She was huddled on the ground, holding her head in her hands. Sensing eyes on her, she cautiously peered up, catching Hiccup's irritated eyes.
She gave a hesitant, nervous smile.
Hiccup simply released a breath through his nose, rolling his eyes a little as he bent down, offering her a hand. "You need to move faster," He mumbled as he helped her up.
"Right," She said, watching as he walked off after looking her up and down for any injuries, "Right…."
Later that day, when the sun was lowered, blemishing the sky oranges, pinks, and purples, Astrid returned to the cove.
She was curious about the Nadder. It seemed rather mellow compared to all the other dragons she's seen, and she wondered if she could actually... befriend it.
A fish silently flew into the cove from between two large rocks, and, after a moment, Astrid hesitantly poked out her head, looking around. Seeing nothing, she tried to walk forward, but her shield got caught between the two rocks. She tried to dislodge it, but it wouldn't budge. She ducked under it before trying to dislodge it again. When it wouldn't budge, she huffed, annoyed.
She walked toward the fish, glancing around cautiously. She picked it up by the gills, walking around the cove. She looked out toward the lake, craning her neck to see across the other side. She jumped a little when she heard a noise behind her, whirling around to find the Deadly Nadder looking at her from a few feet away. How could that thing possibly move so silently?
It continued staring at her, its head constantly cocking at different angles, its eyes constantly blinking, looking very much like a bird. Slowly, Astrid held out the fish, stretching out her arm as far as it would go.
It cocked its head again, its eyes drawn to the fish. Cautiously, it took a few steps forward before stopping, glancing back up at her again. It reminded Astrid of a child looking to its parent for permission to talk to a stranger. When Astrid made no movements, it walked forward again.
Astrid held her breath when it reached her hand, and she lifted it a little higher in offering. The Nadder simply looked at her.
A small pause.
Wow. Awkwardness just loves to follow her around, doesn't it?
"...Um..." Astrid started hesitantly, her voice hushed, "I... I hurt you, and... I'm sorry... I'm not here to do it again, I promise... I just want to feed you."
The Nadder cocked its head again before slowly lowering its head to the fish. It took it from her, throwing the fish in the air every few bites before it was chewed enough to swallow.
Then it just stared at her.
Astrid stared back for a moment before glancing around awkwardly. She looked back at the Nadder. It cocked its head. Astrid licked her lips before speaking, wanting to see if it truly understood her.
"You know..." Her voice still a bit hushed. "My village has a Deadly Nadder in it."
The Nadder perked up a little, and she knew it understood her perfectly.
"He's not as beautiful as you, though." She could've sworn the Nadder began preening at the comment. "His scales are dark blue, and his spikes are yellow. He's not unique like you. You kind of remind of a storm in the daylight. Have you ever seen one before? It's odd, you know? Watching it rain while the sun's still out."
Dear Loki, she was actually talking to a dragon.
The Nadder perked up some more at the word "storm", and its yellow eyes lit up as well. It cocked its head curiously, taking a step toward her.
Astrid bit her lip. "Do you like storms?" The Nadder cocked its head again, releasing a bird-like rumble. "You do, huh? They can be pretty, I guess. Do you like to fly in them?"
The Nadder let out a quiet squawk, taking another step forward, and Astrid let a small smile appear on her face.
"You do, don't you? I bet you see some pretty amazing things. I wonder what it would be like to fly. My friend, Hiccup, he's a craftsman, and one of his designs looked like a flying suit. I hope it works. I would love to see the world through a dragon's eyes."
It cocked its head again; it took another step. Astrid's breath, while quiet, increased in speed with her excitement.
"I think Hiccup does, too. He likes exploring. He always talks about seeing the world outside of Berk. It made me curious, too. I've never left Berk before. I wonder what's out there, you know... Storm...fly...?"
The Nadder let out a happy snort, finally stepping directly in front of Astrid.
"Stormfly...?" The Nadder squawked again. "You like that name, huh?" Astrid cautiously lifted a hand, keeping her eyes on the Nadder's. "Stormfly." It squawked again, and Astrid gave a smile filled with awe when she finally touched the Nadder's snout, letting out a single laugh of amazement.
"Stormfly."
Another happy squawk.
"Stormfly."
Squawk.
"Yeah," Astrid smiled excitedly, running her hand up Stormfly's snout, "I like that name, too."
Hiccup carried the fish by the gills as he walked toward the ravine. The Night Fury appeared to have been waiting for him; it immediately perked up when it saw him, crouching down and releasing a growl.
Hiccup stopped at the top of the hill for a brief moment before he slid down. The growling increased in volume when he reached the bottom of the ravine, and it looked back at its bandaged wrapped tail fin, flailing it irritantly before looking back at Hiccup.
"You should thank me," Hiccup said flippantly, "If I didn't do anything, an infection probably would've taken you."
It snorted at his attitude, and he held out the fish in offering. It sniffed at the air, probably looking for the strange smell of sleep medicine. "It's clean," Hiccup said, and it snorted at him again.
It let out an odd rumble, creeping forward cautiously, its mouth open in acceptance of the fish. It suddenly glanced at his waist, jerking back with a growl, and Hiccup jerked his hand back, holding the fish close as he opened up his vest. It growled at the sight of his axe, hooked onto his belt.
Hiccup shook his head again. "I'm not giving up my axe," He said flippantly, "It's my favorite one and it's pretty important to me. You're gonna have to deal with it."
The dragon stared at him for a moment, watching as he let go of his vest, letting it fall back into place over his axe, its eyes narrowed. It suddenly sat back, dropping its defensive stance completely. It eyes dilated, looking large and docile, and it flicked its ear plate curiously.
Hiccup wanted to laugh at the sight, but he held it back, holding out the fish again. The dragon glanced at his face before turning its attention to the fish, leaning forward with a groan, opening its mouth wide. Hiccup furrowed his brows in confusion.
It had no teeth.
He knew it had teeth; how else would he have gotten such a painful bite wound when it snapped at him? But he could clearly see nothing but gums within its open mouth.
"Huh..." Hiccup said softly, "Toothless... you bit me before, so, I mean, I could've sworn you had-"
Razor sharp teeth suddenly shot out of its gums, and the dragon snapped forward, snatching the fish and nearly biting Hiccup's hand in the process. Hiccup jerked his hand back as the dragon took only two bites before swallowing the fish hole, licking its lips.
"Teeth..."
It licked its lips once again for a quick moment before its eyes suddenly constricted again, slitting up to look like a cat's. It lowered its head a little, advancing on him, releasing an odd, rattling noise in the back of its throat. Hiccup instinctively backed away, holding up his hands in an attempt to stop it, "No, no, no..."
He fell back, slipping over a loose rock, but the dragon didn't stop, and he slid backwards until his back hit a tree. The dragon stuck its head right in Hiccup's face, its constricted eyes making him uneasy. Hiccup shook his head a little, "I don't have any more. I didn't pack any jerky, either..."
It stared at him for a moment before its eyes suddenly rolled back, its throat expanding and constricting, an odd, gagging noise escaping it. Then it lowered its head, spitting the back end of a regurgitated fish right into his lap.
"Eugh..." Hiccup muttered, his lips curled a little.
The dragon's eyes were dilated again, and it drew its head back, slowly sitting back on its haunches, looking similar to a human resting his elbows on his knees.
It stared at him.
Hiccup stared back.
It kept staring, its noise twitching as it breathed through it.
Hiccup glanced away awkwardly, unsure of what to do, and the dragon glanced down at the fish before looking back up at him.
Hiccup looked back at the fish, then up at the dragon in horror before he sighed resignedly. Very gingerly, he held the fish up to his mouth, hesitating for a moment before he took a bite. "Mmm," He rumbled weakly, smiling slightly, his cheeks puffed out.
The Night Fury tilted its head a little, its ear plates standing up straight as it continued to stare at him.
Hiccup held up the fish, nodding a little with a weak smile, "Mmhmm."
The dragon continued to stare at him. It blinked, one of its ear plates twitching back before it swallowed quite loudly.
"Mmm!" Hiccup tilted his head back with an 'are you kidding me?' face. He forced himself to swallow; it was a struggle, and he shook his head, gagging a little when he did.
The dragon smacked its lips a little, poking its tongue out for a brief moment.
Hiccup smiled a bit painfully at it. It seemed taken aback, and it narrowed its eyes in thought for a brief moment. Very slowly, it pulled its mouth back, revealing its gums in what was unmistakably a smile.
Hiccup couldn't help but be amazed.
He sat the fish on the ground beside him, sitting up a little. Without breaking eye contact, he held out a hand to the smiling dragon. When his hand came closer, the dragon glanced at it, its smile wavering. Its teeth slowly appeared, and it growled before slithering off.
Hiccup watched as it awkwardly glided to the other side of the stream before sighing and walking off.
Several hours later, the Night groggily opened its eyes, its nose twitching, curious noises escaping it. It glanced over, catching sight of something, and untangled its tail from the tree branch its was hanging from.
Hiccup was sitting on a rock, sketching at the ground in front of him. While the other side of the stream was mostly mud and grass, this side was a bit dryer, with large patches of dirt. He was using it to his advantage in his bored state, scratching at the dirt with a small stick.
He didn't want to go home; he wanted to stay with the Night Fury.
He didn't understand why he was so determined to earn its friendship, but he was going to do it.
He had stubbornness issues; he was a Viking, after all.
He heard a curious croon, glancing to the side to find the dragon standing right next to him. He instinctively tensed up for a brief moment before he relaxed, returning his attention to his drawing. The dragon's eyes followed the movement of Hiccup's hand, letting out curious purrs as it saw that he was drawing it, before it suddenly hopped up on its hind legs and waddled away.
Hiccup furrowed his brows a little, turning to watch the dragon walk toward the forest. His eyebrows lifted in surprise when it tore a branch from a tree. It suddenly danced in front of him, holding the branch in its mouth, using it to dig swooping swirls on the ground around Hiccup.
It continued to twirl around on the dirt for a few more minutes, happy noises escaping it, and Hiccup wasn't really surprised when it ended up smacking his head with the branch due to its hyperactive movements. It stopped, looked at Hiccup, and jabbed a dot into the ground before it dropped the branch, looking quite proud of its work.
Hiccup stood, looking around at the maze that surrounded him in amazement. He looked around for a moment before stepping forward, but froze when the dragon bared its teeth, growling, its eyes constricted.
He glanced down, finding his foot on one of the 'drawing' lines. He glanced at the dragon, lifting his foot.
Its eyes dilated, and it released a purr, tilting its head a little.
He stepped on the drawing again. Its eyes constricted, growling.
He lifted his foot. Crooning.
He stepped down. Growling.
He lifted his foot, stepping over the line completely, and the dragon let out a happy croon that Hiccup couldn't help but smile at. He began stepping over the lines, beginning a complicated dance of of steps and twirls as he tried to find his way out of the maze without stepping on the lines. He kept his eyes on the drawing, a small smile of his face, feeling more free than he's ever been.
He froze when he felt a hot puff of breath against his neck, ruffling his hair.
He turned, facing the dragon. Its eyes were still dilated, and it purred curiously, tilting its head at Hiccup almost fondly. He tentatively raised a hand, but the dragon released a small growl, skeptical, though its eyes were still dilated. Hiccup pulled his hand back, and it stopped, staring back at him.
Hiccup looked at it for a moment before taking a deep breath.
He turned his head away, closing his eyes, and slowly extended a hand toward the dragon. It tilted its head as his hand came closer, and it looked at him for a moment.
Then it nuzzled its snout into Hiccup's hand.
Hardly believing it, Hiccup raised his head to look at the dragon. Its eyes were closed, almost like it liked the feel of his hand.
Then, slowly, they opened. The dragon stared back at him with calm dilated eyes, and it began crooning once again. Hiccup slowly slid his hand up the dragon's noise, feeling the soft, leathery scales before resting his hand on its head.
The Night Fury leaned forward, slightly nuzzling its nose against his cheek, continuing to croon.
Yay, Hiccup and Toothless are friends! :)
Oh, and Astrid and Stormfly, too ;P
Okay, so this chapter mostly focused on Hiccup, but I am wanting to make Hiccup just as much of a main character as Astrid, so...
Okay, so I got at least four PMs asking me about my sources on Viking history, and I'm sorry, but I can't give you any website references because I'm doing it the old fashioned way. As I said before, the Viking Age is my favorite history subject, and I have about three books on Vikings. I'm using one book for this story, and it's an awesome book. It's simply called "Vikings," and it's got many, many things on Viking history and culture. It's even got a few exerts from Icelander Snorri Sturluson's writing. It's got some old runic writing, and some Norse writing so you can see the untranslated and runic versions, as well as the English versions, so... yeah, it's pretty awesome. But, as I said, I'm not using the internet, so I can't really give anybody references so... yeah.