Chapter 2

Henry's POV

I got out of school as quick as quick as I could. I want to start training as soon as possible, so I'm heading out to start my walk home. My house isn't too far away from the school, only a few blocks. It has always made walking to and from school relatively quick.

As soon as I step through the door, a giant black lab covered in scars and missing part of his tail tackles me to the ground. Next thing I know, I am being covered in slobber with the beast on top of me.

"Ugh! Toothless! I know I know, I missed you too bud, but could you get off?!" He lets me up, and I begin the processes of wiping off his drool. Once I'm finished, I look up to see him looking extremely pleased with himself.

"I'm sure glad you're so happy with yourself bud. You just know how much I love your disgusting slobber." I drawl out sarcastically. I'm answered with another round of licks to my face.

"Oh, ha ha. Just keep it up you useless mutt and I'll be leaving you at home when I go to the field." I half-heartedly threaten, which works because he instantly sits down and whines at me like I just took his favorite toy from him.

"Yea, that's what I thought. Now, just give me a sec to grab a quick snack and change and we can head out bud." Toothless barks his approval, and I quickly grab a snack and head upstairs to my room while I eat it with him right on my heels the whole time.

Whenever we are together, Toothless doesn't like to leave my side much. Back before my mom died, she use to work at and animal rescue shelter that rescued abused or abandoned animals. She loved her job almost as much as she loved her family, if not more. She loved being able to help animals that were in need and giving them a better chance at a happy life.

That's how I ended up meeting Toothless. She got a call of a wounded animal wandering in the forests on the outskirts of Berk. When she found him he was battered, bleeding, and missing part of his tail. He must have been barely a year old at the time. She remembered the reports of a dog fighting pit that was being run out of an abandoned warehouse in the same area until it was raided by the cops about a month back. She figured he must have been part of that and been living out there by himself that whole time.

He tried growling at her to make her back off, she assumed he just didn't trust humans anymore after what he went through, but he was too weak from being out there all that time to be able to ward her off. She told me he didn't even have the strength to struggle against her when she scooped him up and brought him back to the shelter, which also served as an animal clinic, to be treated for his wounds.

Even after he was successfully healed at the clinic, he wouldn't let anyone near him. The only person he permitted close to him was my mom when she came by to do a check-up to make sure the wounds weren't festering or getting infected.

One day, I came by to visit my mom at work. I loved to play with the various animals that were still looking for homes. She was busy treating an injured animal, so I just let myself into the back room where the animals were kept in separate pens. As I was going through saying hi to the different animals I recognized, I noticed the battered lab eyeing me warily.

I made a move to approach his pen, but he instantly started growling threatening at me and backing himself as far back as he could. I was scared at how menacing he looked, but at the same time I could tell he was just as frightened as I was. In a leap of faith, I opened the door to his pen and entered it, shutting the door behind me. His growling intensified, but he wasn't making a move to attack me and I wasn't backing down now. I crouched down to his level and held my hands out towards him to show him I meant him no harm.

"Hey there little guy. No need to be scared, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." I spoke to him softly and tried to sound as soothing as I possibly could. His growling ceased, but he didn't drop his defensive stance.

My mom had taught me different methods to approach animals in these situations. She had wanted me to understand that they were probably more scared of us than we were of them, and I could tell this was exceptionally true in this dog's case. Whatever had happened to this dog had made him extremely untrusting of humans, but the thought of this animal not having anyone to care for him left me slightly heart-broken.

"It's okay bud, everything's going to be okay." I kept reassuring him as I slowly approached him, still in a crouch. As soon as I had moved halfway across the pin towards him, he began growling again, although this time a lot less threatening.

I could tell he was still unsure of whether he could trust me or not. As a show of trust, I extended my hand towards him and turned my head away. After what seemed like an hour, but was really only a few seconds, I felt soft fur brush up against the palm of my outstretched hand.

I turned my head back to see him nuzzling my hand with his head and growling softly, almost like a cat would purr. He had turned from a frightening beast into what he truly was; a puppy that just wants someone he can trust to love him. It wasn't long before he was lying at my feet allowing me to pet him and rub his belly.

When my mom had finished treating the injured animal and found me playing with the dog that previously wouldn't let anyone near him, she was beaming with pride and happiness for what I had accomplished. When I told her how I approached him and how I noticed how scared and lonely he looked, she told me she has never been prouder of me for what I had done. After she told me the story of what had happened to him and I was outraged. How could people treat an animal like that?!

After the story, I asked her if I could take him home with us. I told her I wanted to make sure he never had to go through something like that again. She told me nothing would make her happier. She asked me what I wanted to name him, so I looked at him and noticed he was missing some teeth along with his other scars, so I decided to name him Toothless.

My father wanted nothing to do with him at first, but my mother worked him down and eventually he gave in. He was never able to say no to my mom when she felt this strongly about something. So not even a week after the day I met him, Toothless had moved in and in no time became the best and most loyal friend I have ever had.

Sadly, it wasn't long afterwards that my mom passed away in her accident, and with my father all but abandoning me, Toothless was the only being I could turn to for comfort and to share my grief. He was saddened at the lost as well, she was the one who had rescued him when he was close to dying and he loved spending time with her when I was busy. Needless to say, we both felt the loss of her very much so, but we found a way to be there for each other and have always done so since then.


I am currently in my room changing while Toothless just lays on my bed, waiting patiently. I changed out of my school clothes and throw on some gym shorts and a grey t-shirt with Berk High Baseball written on the front in red letters. I may never have made the team, but Gobber always managed to get me one of the extra team practice shirts. Just one of the many ways he has looked out for me.

After I finish changing, I head down to the garage to grab my baseball gear. It consists of some baseball cleats, some old baseballs and an old worn in glove. The cleats were a birthday gift from Gobber. After my father basically gave up on me, Gobber made it a sort of tradition for him to get me new cleats whenever I grew out of my old ones.

The glove is my last true reminder of when my father use to try. My last birthday I spent with my parents before my mom's death, he got me this glove in his last ditch hope that I would become a great star someday. He never did like the fact that I was left-handed, it was just another reminded of how different I am from him, but he had gotten me the nicest lefty glove money could buy.

It's mainly a dark brown leather, with some light brown areas and red lacing in the webbing. To top it off, he had the Berk High crest stitched in on the outside of the glove (basically the crest on Hiccup's shoulder in HTTYD2). The red lacing was supposed to match Berk High's school colors; red and yellow, the main color being red. It's a constant reminder to myself of the promise I made to myself to make my father proud of me and to show everyone the man I truly am.

All the other gear I would need, like bats, helmets and baseballs are all locked up in a shed by the baseball field at the school. Luckily, Gobber trusts me enough that he gave me a spare key to all the stuff at the field. It's mainly so I could set up for practice for him if he's late, but I know he wants me to have every resource available in order to improve myself.

I double check that both my glove and cleats are in my bag really quick. Seeing that they are both there, I go back inside, grab a couple waters in case we get thirsty and make my way to the front door, Toothless never more than a few steps behind.

"Alright bud, let's get going." I get an overexcited bark in return which makes me laugh. We head out the front door, and I lock it behind me before we begin our walk back to the school I left almost an hour ago. I'm bringing Toothless with me for the company and to help pick up the balls when I'm done with them. I think he just love spending time outdoors and playing with me.

We get to the school and it is basically empty, just a few stray teachers that are still packing up their stuff from their rooms to bring home for summer. All the students got out as quick as they could to enjoy their summer doing whatever it is they do, so I don't have to worry about any of them seeing me here and trying to pick on me.

Not like Toothless would let them anyway. He's become very protective of me over the years, even fighting off a punk trying to start something when I was walking home with Toothless from a park late and the sun had already set. If I could bring him with me to school to fight off bullies I probably would, but I know he won't always be there for me. I know I need to learn to defend myself, but the sad fact of the matter is that I am just not as physically strong as them.

We make our way to the open field in the back of the school where both the baseball and softball fields are located, along with a smaller field that is sometimes used by the youth leagues for practice. I walk over to the gate to the field and unlock it. As soon as I open it, Toothless begins running around the field, revealing in the freedom. While he does that I switch out of my tennis shoes and into my cleat and do some stretching.

One of the first things I remember my father teaching me when I was little was to always stretch out. He told me you want to be as loose as possible to increase mobility and prevent injury. It was one of the few things other than fundamental skills like throwing, catching, and hitting that he tried to teach me, and regardless of what he might think, I remember every single one of his lessons.

Once I finish stretching, I call Toothless over, and together we begin to run some laps around the field for a warm-up. After 5 laps, I grab my glove and one of the old baseballs from my bag. It would much easier to play catch with an actual person, but seeing how I don't really have any friends, especially on the baseball team, playing fetch with Toothless with have to do. I don't really need the glove, but I've noticed the feeling between throwing with one on and without one is very different, so I want to get used to throwing with it on.

I start throwing the ball, practicing the proper form I had studied online to make it as efficient as possible. I begin throwing it short, to get my arm used to the action, but I slowly start throwing it further and further until I am one hopping the fence on the other side of the outfield, each time Toothless faithfully bring it back to me. I swear, the energy that this lab has astounds me. He could go all day and not be tired in the slightest, so I don't feel bad about throwing it as far as I can to strengthen my arm.

I always loved the feeling of throwing the ball. Once I researched the proper throwing form online, I realized that it was the one thing that feels totally natural to me in baseball. I feel accomplished every time I am able to throw it all the way across the field without any major strain on my arm.

As I throw another ball as far as I can, trying to keep it as low to the ground as I can while still maximizing distance, I hear a voice from behind me.

"Nice throw there. You have a good arm."

I was not expecting anyone to be at the school right now, let alone the baseball field. I yelp in surprise and jump around to see who it was. To say I was surprised at who was there would be a massive understatement, because behind me leaning on the fence outlining the field is none other than Astrid Hofferson!

Astrid was in the same grade as me, and also happens to be the softball team captain. She's made the softball team both our freshman and sophomore years and even managed to beat out the upper classmen for the spot as team captain this year. She is basically the pinnacle of success at Berk High and the definition of a true student athlete, because not only is she the best softball player at the school, but she is second in our class in grade point average. Ironically the only person doing better in school than her is me, the school screw-up.

I've had a massive crush on her since I first saw her freshman year, but I was almost positive she had no clue who I was or that I even existed for that matter. Practically every guy in the school has tried to get her to go out with them, mainly my snotfaced cousin Shaun, but for as long as she's been going to Berk High, she hasn't dated anyone of them, some even getting a sprained wrist or black eye for taking their advances to far. She's tough, I will tell you that for sure.

"As-Astrid! H-Hi Astrid! Hi! Wh-What a-are y-you d-doing here?" I stutter out. Damn, her mere presence here makes me fumble all over myself like a complete idiot. Great first impression there Henry. Just the way to win her heart.

"I was just coming down to get some practice in for next year, and I noticed someone was one the baseball field so I thought I'd see who it was. Your name's Henry right?" She's talking to me. Holy Thor she's talking to me! And she knows my name! How does she know my name?

"Y-Yea, h-how do you know that?" Great response Henry, can't just accept the fact that she knows your name, you have to go and question her about it.

"Well I mean we've been going to the same school since freshman year, and you're the only person who's doing better in their classes than me. Is it so weird that I would know your name? I mean you obviously knew my name." She didn't seem quite angry at my question, almost curious about it.

"I-I just assumed you thought my name was Hiccup, s-since that's what everyone in the school has always called me." Shit. Why'd I tell her my horrible nickname? I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut right now. Two years of imagining what it would be like if she finally talked to me, this is not even close to how I thought it would go.

"I didn't think you enjoyed being called that. If you want I'll call you that instead?" She asked, looking slightly confused.

"NO! I mean, no thanks, Henry will do just fine, thank you."

"Alright then, Henry it is. So, Henry, what are you doing out here, and how did you unlock the field since I don't see any teachers around?" I'm not sure how to answer this question, because I'm not sure if Gobber would get in trouble if she told someone that he gave a student a key to the field. I guess I can only tell her and hope for the best at this point, since she can clearly see the gate has been unlocked.

"I um, I was the equipment manager on the team and Coach Gobber gave me an extra key to unlock everything for days when he was running late to practice. I'm just here trying to get better so I can make the team next year." I'm not sure how she would react to that. Before she could reply I added, "Please don't tell anyone. I'm not sure if Gobber would get in trouble if people found out he gave a student a key to the field, and I don't want to get him in trouble over it." I hope that didn't sound like I was begging as much as I actually was.

She seemed to give it some thought before she replied, "Alright, I won't tell anyone," Thank Thor. "on one condition though." Shit.

"Uh w-what's the condition?" I ask nervously.

"You let me use the field to practice with you over summer." Wow, I was not expecting that at all.

"Uh, s-sure, but if you don't mind me asking, why would you want to practice with me, I've never even made the team." Smooth Henry. Can't just accept it, have to tell her how shitty you are.

"Well, unlike you, I don't have a key to the softball equipment, so anything I want to practice with, I would have to bring from home. Plus, I heard what you said to that idiot Snotlout in our last class today." Okay, was not expecting that, well the first part maybe, but defiantly not that part about what I said to Snotlout in class.

"Y-You heard that?" I honestly didn't think anyone other than Shaun's cronies were listening to that in class today.

"Yea. It's about time someone told that asshole off. So, do we have a deal then?" she asked with a slight smirk on her face. I wish I could see her really smile at me someday, but for now I'll just enjoy that she thinks my cousin is an asshole too and that she's willing to practice with me. Not going to question it anymore right now.

"Deal" Not a minute after I said that, Toothless tackled me from behind. He must have thought I forgot about him, which not going to lie, I couldn't remember anything once I realized who I was talking to.

"Henry!" Did Astrid actually sound worried? Nah, must be my imagination. Before I could think on that any further I feel Toothless crouch down around me, and begin growling protectively at what I can only assume is Astrid.

Before things can escalate, I quickly jump up in between Toothless and Astrid, who had ran over to the gate. "No! No! It's fine, this is Toothless, my dog. Toothless this is Astrid." Honestly, how those two didn't notice each other before now is beyond me.

"Thor Henry! I thought you were being attacked by a rabid dog or something!"

"Nope, just a spoiled dog that gets upset if he doesn't get enough attention." I laugh when Toothless gives me a look that clearly says I deserved it for ignoring him that long after he brought the ball back to me. "I hope you don't mind, I like bringing him with me when I practice." I hope she's okay with it. I don't know if I could leave him at home every time I come to the field.

"It's fine, as long as he doesn't jump on me like that." She sounds a mixture of cautious and amused.

"Oh no, he saves those assaults for me. I guess I'm just special like that." That actually got what I think was a giggle out of her before she quickly stopped.

"Alright then, let's get started shall we."


I want to thank everyone who reviewed, followed and/or favorite the story so far. I can't promise a regular update schedule, but I can promise to try to get a chapter up every week no matter what. hopefully once the story gets rolling, I'll have more motivation to write more chapters per week. Until then, please keep R&R

P.S. I'm going to keep it Hiccups pov or third person, but look forward to Astrid's pov at somepoint