"There's no such thing as im-POSSIBLE, Hiccup, only im-PROBABLE. The only thing that limits us are the limits to our imagination."

-Old Wrinkly, How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse

~O~

An Old Friend

~O~

Ducking through trees, Merida was careful not to be seen as she followed Hiccup deeper into the forest. She wondered how in the world did he manage to get inside her castle and he didn't even have to try to break in. He just walked in and out like he was a normal resident of Scotland.

The tall pines huddled together in a tangled greenery, bending slightly on their side to make the forest appear thick with trees. Hiccup led himself into the copse; a heavy mass of fog rising from the sodden thickets mirroring the mists that veiled the hillsides. It made it difficult for Merida to keep track of him, considering the fact she had to keep a safe distance away.

Hiccup stopped for a while to fix the giant lumps of bags he was carrying. Merida stopped as well. She couldn't see what he was doing, but was bent on finding out. Quickly, she climbed the tree, hoisting herself up on the protruding branches and sat down on just the right level to see what he was trying to fix.

To her surprise, he was nowhere to be found. Merida leaned and looked desperately, lingering her gaze from the rocks to the misty hillsides rolling in glades of moss.

"You have a knack for spying on people," Merida's pulse raced through her veins, making her jump in surprise. However, her sudden movements made her flip vertically from the branch of the tree and slam face flat on the ground. "And falling." He finished.

A reddened hue passed through Merida's freckles as she wiped her cheek from dirt. "Don't flatter yerself. Ah wasnae spying,"

"That would explain the unnecessary creeping behind my back," he smirked. "You know, I believe you're getting the habit of sneaking up on me like that,"

"Ah wasnae. It just made me curious how ye got inside the castle, sae Ah followed ye to see what ye were up tae."

"You live in there?"

"Ah…" Did she have to tell him that not only does she live in the castle but rules there as well? If she did, surely, that would limit whatever will he has to teach her. If he knew she was a princess, and the King and Queen found out about their training, he would undoubtedly get a whipping as punishment. "Just a normal peasant, nothing fancy or anything. Ah still can't believe ye got in."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "What? Because I'm all—" he pointed to himself, "—this?"

"Aye, sae tell me how."

"I got myself a job. Not trying to brag or anything, but the occupation's kind of a high stature," He answered as he blew on his cuticles and rubbed them on his vest. "See, I'm not so helpless as you think I am,"

"Of course. Wha' was Ah thinkin'?" She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "So what was the job?"

"Nah, it's just a job for the Royal Family in the Royal smithy. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, walking away. "I have work to do."

"Not sae fast," Merida ran to block him. "Ye said you'd give me dragon training today,"

"Oh great god, Thor," he groaned. "Are you serious? Now?"

She frowned. "We had a deal. Besides, we have all day to start me with Toothless."

"I don't think he likes you that much."

"Perfect. Makes it all the more exciting. Sae where dae we train?"

Hiccup blanched, unsure of what to do. Then, he remembered the first time he tried to develop a bond with Toothless by giving him a slimy, delicious cod. It worked for him once; maybe it could work on her too. With a sound of eagerness, his hand slid around her wrist.

"Come with me."

"This is ridiculous," Merida gave a snide pout. "If ye want, Ah can just get my bow and—"

"We don't have time, Arrow. Do you want to train dragons or not?"

"Ugh, fine," she ceded. Hiccup grinned and led the way to the quiet rustle of the streams. The river was a patent mirror of the sky cloaked in pale marmalade. It was like a thin silken web of water weaving through rocks perched at random gaps. Hiccup dipped his feet in, letting the water soak just up to his knees. Merida reluctantly followed, still uneasy about the fact she had nothing to catch the fishes with, only a few sticks and a bag they brandished as a net.

Her careless strides in the water caused disturbing ripples that alarmed a few fishes. "Can you try to be a little more placid? It's not helping. At all," Hiccup suggested.

"If anyone's no' helping it's definitely no' me. It's ye—gahh!" Merida yelped as she lost her balance while stepping on one of the rocks, causing a school of trout to vacate the area.

Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "We have a lot of work to do. He turned to Merida, "Over there!"

A couple of fish swam right past them. Merida waved her stick and jammed it on the river floor where the salmon had been swimming two seconds ago, yet it easily dodged her attack. She scrambled up to one of the rocks and tried standing up, but in an attempt to regain her balance, Merida's feet slipped underneath them.

Hiccup offered her his hand, which she only swatted away. He gave her a thin smile. "Are you sure you live around here? It seems like you've never tried catching fish like normal people do,"

"Ah prefer using my bow."

"Maybe I should hold the net. You stick with the twig," Merida rose with dripping hair. Hiccup took the bag from her hands as she scudded through the middle of the river, where there was an approaching school of fish.

"Remember, wait for the right fish!" Hiccup reminded. "I'll stay over here in case you give me something to catch…which I extremely doubt," he mumbled the last few words to himself.

"Aye, Ah've got this," she called out, desperate to prove herself. Two brown trout skimmed past her, while the other three circled the spot she was standing on as if they didn't notice her there. With a trod, she sprinted towards the fishes with her bag, driving them to a trap against the rock. The fishes began to flip up from the surface.

"Helmet! Quick!" Hiccup sprang into action and bolted from the rocks, splashing water as he positioned the bag where the fishes were about to plunge. They sailed smoothly inside and wriggled in a chaotic rampart in protest.

"We need some more!" He shouted as he emptied the bag and tossed the fishes inside a basket. He threw her their so-called net. "You do it this time,"

Merida nodded, seizing the bag. She approached two large rocks that split the stream into three rivulets. It led to a little cascade, a tinier version of a waterfall about a foot tall where fishes had to jump to reach the higher elevation. She kept a watchful pose, eyeing ever ripple in the shallow water. Presently, dozens of fish whammed in fleeting apparitions up from the surface. She extended her hand, hoping there were enough odds for a fish to accidentally end up jumping in the wrong direction.

Up came a fish just in front of her bag. Startled, Merida bended over, but her feet slipped beneath the slick rocks again, causing her to stumble in a noisy wade. Again, she was dripping wet and spat out some of the water she swallowed. Hiccup ran and kneeled beside her.

"Quit tripping over those rocks."

Merida grimaced. "It's nae my fault they were under my feet,"

"You seriously have to practice on your footwork. Toothless without a tail can stir himself better." He chuckled before looking down at her hand. "Did you catch any?" Merida lifted the bag she didn't realize she was still holding the entire time. The bag had a lump on the center and suddenly wiggled.

"Ah did it!" She exclaimed happily, staring at the fish that was relentlessly writhing inside the cloth. He stood up and gripped her elbows to help her stand.

"Not bad. I'll make a real fisherman of you yet," he laughed.

"Ah'll make fishing legendary, ah bid ye that," she told him, still infused with herself for having caught a trout. She looked up at Hiccup and was caught in the mystery of his dark, green eyes. Lost for words, she thought she saw one of the most beautiful pair of eyes she'd ever seen.

The swirls in his irises shone in a bride luster of green as the ginger streaks of the sky bore down it. Bead lines of water dripped to his chiseled jaw and down to his neck. She never noticed how auburn his hair was plastered in wet locks on his forehead. It gave him a roguish look and a brash charm.

They both didn't realize until now he was holding her against him while his hand gripped her elbows. Her hand rested on his chest, keeping him at bay. Quickly, she shook herself out from his grasp while muttering mild curses and Hiccup turned his back on her, a bright flush of red sprinkled on his freckled cheeks.

Merida speculated how his sallow, thin figure managed to have any traction on her arm.

Hiccup scratched his head to make himself look casual. "So we should…umm…probably bring this to Toothless,"

Merida tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Aye, we should."

He nodded and took the bag of fish from her hand. It brushed slightly over her knuckles, making her twinge in surprise at how she felt. Her lips parted slightly in relief when he turned away and walked ahead so he didn't have to see how pale she had become.

"Do Ah wake him up or somethin'?" Merida asked, unsure of how she should proceed. Toothless lay curled up inside the damp cave, snoring with his tongue out.

"No. Let him approach you with this," Hiccup gave her a nudge with the trout they caught.

"Aren't ye comin'?"

"You'll have to do this by yourself."

"This is crazy."

"Crazy is a relative term in the family," he answered smugly. "Now take this and go. You're gonna love it."

Hiccup pushed her from the bush they were hiding in, causing her to stumble just in front of the sleeping dragon, which stirred and opened one eye slightly.

"Hello there, umm, nice dragon," she started off with the introduction. "Ah'm Merida and Ah'm going tae give ye this fish if ye'll—"

"I think you missed the part where dragons don't speak human language," Hiccup muttered from behind.

"What, ye think yer so smart now?" Merida hissed. Toothless was still dazed by the cod dangling from her fingers.

"Nope. Actually, I'm pretty sure." Hiccup said in amusement.

Merida stepped closer to Toothless, who slowly got up on all fours and folded his wings over his back, revealing it's ebony leathered scales dotted on its hind and back. He crept towards her with skepticism.

"Nice dragon, nice lad," she cooed. Before Toothless could bite down, she swung the fish out of his reach, giggling in the process. "Not yet. Come closer," she beckoned with a wave of her hand.

Toothless made a sound of frustration and inched a little more and lulled out his tongue. "That's it," He snaked his tongue around the trout and gobbled it down in one sitting. Curious, he nudged Merida's body with his snout, sniffing and smelling to familiarize himself with her scent. She backed up against a rock.

"I, I have some more," she told him as she brought out another fish. Toothless squealed and sat down. "Here, ah bet ye like this,"

It wasn't long before the fish was already down the dragon's throat. Toothless licked his snout in satisfaction. "Hungry, aren't ye?" The dragon nodded and sniffed her again, expecting more fish.

Toothless made a sound of disappointment. He hurried over Merida again and stood just in front of her.

What's he doing? Merida thought to herself. Toothless opened his mouth and began to gurgle.

After a few attempts, a fish dribbled with slimy dragon saliva slithered its way to her lap, appearing with its head detached from its body. Toothless sat up and began to stare at her, his gaze lingering from the fish to her mouth. Merida could only wince from the soaking trout head daubed on her skirt. You're gonna love it. Merida wanted to claw that Viking. "Ah don't see how this is lovable," She said to herself.

From behind the bushes, Hiccup waved his arms around to get her attention. Merida noticed and tried to interpret what he was trying to tell her. He gestured to the fish and pointed it to his wide opened mouth.

Hiccup wanted her to eat it. The nerve!

"No!" She protested in a harsh whisper.

"For the love of Odin, just eat the damned cod." He sighed. Even though his words were almost inaudible, she could guess what he was saying. "He'll stare at you until you do it,"

"A'right, a'right." Merida glared at him. "Just one…bite," Toothless smiled in eagerness as he watched her take a morsel. For a minute, Merida felt dizzy just thinking about what she was eating.

"Blaegh," she shuddered, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Ah think Ah just threw up in my mouth,"

Toothless, in delight, started to let out sounds of purr. "You really are like a giant cat, are ye?" Merida laughed.

Hiccup chuckled. It was fascinating to watch a flashback of his own encounter with his best friend. He didn't know why but It was hard to turn away. Every minute of it was captivating. Suddenly, he could feel something moving behind him, almost as if there was a ripple of shadows scurrying beneath copses. He could feel almost as if there was something…or someone watching him.

Hiccup shook his head. It was impossible. Nobody could have found them here. He turned away, yet there was that unnerving feeling in his gut.

Meanwhile, as Merida was about to try and touch Toothless' snout, he growled and flew away in lopsided circles while tilting on the side since his prosthetic wasn't flattened out. It brought a smile to her face. They both needed to work on their balance.

The lithe dragon was across the river, marking a boundary between him, and the princess. He crept up on one of the branches of the trees and used his tail as a lever to hoist himself up, making him appear like a large bat taking a quiet slumber in the lazy afternoon.

Instead of approaching the annoyed dragon across the streams, she imitated Toothless, sat down on the ground and pulled out an apple she packed for this very reason. Since Merida had nothing to do, she began to grope on the pebbles around her and started philosophically skipping them over the surface of the water while chewing on the apple.

It aroused Toothless' attention; curious of what strange activities humans do when they seemed bored. He scrambled down from the tree and perked his ears up. Merida, seeing she had garnered his notice, started to skip a few more pebbles.

Scanning the ground, Toothless started to pull on a few large rocks engraved to the ground, so when he had finally dug them out, it revealed small niches like brown, freshly tilled patches.

Toothless hovered over the river while clutching the rocks between his front paws. One by one, he let go of it in a straight pattern. It looked like it was a path to cross the other side of the river. Then, as quickly than it might have seemed, he hovered near Merida and stole the bag that still had a few apples and cheese in them.

"Hey!" She tousled along the ground in an attempt to retrieve the bag, but to no avail. Toothless sloppily flew to the other side, the strap of the bag still glued to his snout.

Merida stood up, unsure of what this dragon wanted her to do.

He bobbed his head to his direction, like he was beckoning her to cross if she wanted her food back. With hesitation, Merida dipped her feet in the cool waters, which apparently earned her a growl from Toothless.

She steps on the water, he growls. She retreats to land; he beckons her to cross the river. Where did he want her to go? Merida furrowed her brows in confusion that was, until she saw the perfectly still line of jutting rocks Toothless made not too long ago.

She wasn't sure. Was that what he wanted her to do? The princess lifted her feet and stepped on the rock.

Toothless purred. Merida smiled.

The water crashed along the slippery pile of stones, letting Merida know if she walked a little too briskly, she'll slip. Carefully, she let her boot jump swiftly from each rock.

Toothless flattened out his wings in suggestion and stared intently at her. In response, Merida exhaled, spread her arms out, and walked again. It was a funny thought that the dragon was teaching her. She found out it was much easier to keep herself from stumbling when she kept her eyes focused on one object and spread her arms to even herself out. She kept her feet slightly apart and bent her knees a little to stay light on her toes.

She gasped every time her foot made a subtle slip, but managed to regain her poise by waving her arms around in a circular motion. She moved as if she were dancing; twirling, skipping, and shifting her positions in a matter of minutes.

Fishes passed by her in fleeting currents, cutting through the surface with their fins. Merida's feet traveled over the stones in slow, careful steps. She kept her eyes on the streams as she hiked by. The waters were so shallow she could see the bottom thickly strewn with drab pebbles eroded by moist soil. The vines that were wreathed around stems of tall pine trees offered a fresh shade of canopies as it suspended above her like olive curtains.

Ignoring leaves that spiraled downwards when a gust of wind blew, she skipped two more rocks, her wet skirt flapping against her skin.

Suddenly, her feet slid on one of the stones. She was about to let out a scream when something stood solid against her back, stopping her tilt. It took seconds for Merida to realize it was a tail that stopped her from tipping over.

Toothless prodded her back with his tail, giving her a push to the riverbank. Merida staggered in front of the dragon, staring intently into its sea green eyes, qualms of distrust, suspicion and a wide range of interest swimming in its iris. He was near enough for Merida to pat him on the snout.

She cautiously raised her arm, and instantly it made Toothless turn his head away and snarl.

Merida drew her arm back, thought for a moment, and turned her head away as she closed her eyes. And then raised her arm again.

Toothless gazed onto her hand, its sense of familiarity overwhelming him. This human seemed…different in all means physical with his rider, but strangely similar in other senses.

He too closed his eyes, and brought his snout to her palm. Her hand was warm against his snout.

"Hmm, not bad," Hiccup commented, smiling as he watched Merida's fingertips graze down the dragon's jaw and scratch deftly. "I'll make a trainer of her yet."

Toothless folded back one of his wings and revealed the bag full of half eaten apples and dragon-bitten cheese to Merida.

It had been six days.

Both Hiccup and Merida had been training non-stop before the capture of the Beast. They'd start from midnight to dawn whenever they had finished their own tasks at home. Merida would wait until her mother would think that she was already in bed, and only then would she sneak onto the catacombs she used to escape Maudie's pursuit earlier and use the rupture along the wall to break out.

Hiccup would tell Dagur and Rugad he'd stay up a little later than usual to continue crafting his blades. Of course, both men were glad to hear this so they bid him to do as he wished. Little did they know, he was out deep within the forests teaching the princess (of who he was still oblivious with her true identity) dragon training.

Only thing was, they had to meet each other every other day so they could at least get some sleep. So they merely had three days worth of practice.

Merida had gotten the hang of being around Toothless. She could saddle his back easier than before without getting trampled. She could order him basic commands. She could even sit on his back and make him gallop like a wild horse over acres of grass that stretched for miles and never got tired of it.

She was grateful Toothless taught her how to work out the balance between her feet. It made riding him much more easier when she didn't tilt from the saddle every time he made a sharp turn.

The only problem was that she couldn't get him to fly. Maybe it was just she hadn't worked out yet the mechanics of the tail, or maybe Toothless just doesn't trust her to stir him in high areas.

"Maybe you should be a bit gentler. You gotta have a new approach," Hiccup told her between bites of cheese. They were sitting down just beside the streams where they always practiced with Toothless after an exhausting night of training. The river surface gleamed in the fading light between the breaks of the trees shading it. The moon rose with a glorious splendor, its fervent lusters glinting a hint of color on the tall maple squatted beside them.

Merida shook her head. "Ah don't think that was it. These past few days, he had been acting rather strangely." She glanced at Toothless. He was perched into one of the large boulders, ears perked up and eyes wide. "Like he was afraid of something,"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes into thin slits. "Yeah. He wouldn't let me ride him either yesterday,"

"Is there something wrong with Toothless?" Merida asked, concerned. She pulled her hood over her head, her skin frostbitten from nightly chills.

"I... I don't know. But I have this really bad notion that there's something wrong." He said quietly. But before he finished his sentence, something shrieked. An ominous tone mixed between a cry of agony and a bellow of rage that sounded like wails of tortured ghosts. There was suddenly a cold, shrill feeling in the air.

Toothless let out a sound of anxiety the minute it reached his ears. He scrambled down the boulder and half flew half ran towards Hiccup. He shoved Hiccup's chest with his snout towards the opposite direction of which the sound was coming from.

"Cut it out, Toothless. Stay here,"

"Wha' was that?" Merida stood up, leaning towards the source of the sound.

"I don't know. But I intend to find out," Hiccup examined the foothills. "Come on."

They both ran to where the sound was coming from, stopping only when they reached a clearing where charred sprigs, branches and leaves were fallen and scattered. A gasp escaped both their chests when they saw what was marked in the middle of the moor.

Amidst splintered rubbles and burnt shrubs lay a perfectly shaped pattern of a spherical scorch mark. Like the rings of a chopped tree, it expanded with each circle projecting from the center of the mark, stopping only when until the field it burned was enough to be occupied by an entire armada of Vikings.

He had never seen a scorch mark that big.

"Hey, I…I know this mark," Hiccup said, running his hands along the burnt soil.

Merida knelt down beside Hiccup. "Helmet, what is that?"

"It's a Typhoomerang scorch mark," He replied breathless. "A really, really large Typhoomerang scorch mark."

"Why dae Ah have this feeling it's not some sort of bunny or mutated squirrel," Sweet cakes, she wasn't ready to face another mindless beast yet.

"It's a pretty rare type of dragon. From the looks of the mark, it's probably already an adult Typhoomerang, wingspan the size of three fields, neck length a few meters above forest level…"

"How did ye gather all that?" Merida asked.

"Well, the scorch mark is basically the anatomy of a Typhoomerang without the need of a physical encounter with one." He told her as he scanned the turf. "You can tell it's size, age and one of the really remarkable things is that it shows which direction it came from and which direction it's headed,"

Hiccup didn't notice slow, flapping sounds approaching them. It's leathered skin made heavy lunges into the air and talons the size of a man's arm scraped the forest floor as it sloped towards a frozen princess. It dove like a thunderbolt on silent wings, spurring its pace forward when it caught sight of a newfound prey.

"Did tha' dragon happen have a really long neck, two large curved horns on it's head and a nasty orange spot on its right cheek?"

"Actually, yes." Hiccup said, impressed. "Wow, you're really good at this and…hang on," he paused, catching the drift. "How did you guess he had an orange gash in his right cheek?"

"Ah didn't."

He raised an eyebrow, back still turned on Merida. As he wiped his soiled hands on his vests, he turned around to gaze at the same direction she was looking.

Merida gulped. "It's right in front us,"

They came into a vividly stark focus on the winged reptile before them. Merida could see the arch of its nostrils wafting steams of smoked victims. She could see its extra teeth jutting from its jawline, casually opening and snapping shut as if it was mentally enjoying its food already.

Warm tendrils of smoke curled around Merida and Hiccup as the Typhoomerang approached them, "Arrow, I'm asking you not to move a single muscle," Hiccup whispered hoarsely, trying not to alarm the dragon. "If we don't provoke it, we should be fine,"

"Should be?!" Merida whispered harshly back as the dragon prodded her back with its snout, testing if it was quite edible.

"Stop that," he scolded. "He'll run you through his talons."

Merida scoffed. "The only thing that will run through anything is my arrow up your neck once we get home,"

"If we get home," he corrected. "Now don't you dare move an inch…"

Suddenly, the Typhoomerang screeched as it burned the surrounding trees with a swift arc of its flames, trying to trap both of its prey inside the blazing circle.

Before the dragon managed to trap the entire place with its fire, Hiccup grabbed Merida by the hand. "Screw what I said. Run!"

"Toothless! Toothless!" Hiccup called, knowing his dragon was the only way they could escape this massive dragon safely.

But a Night Fury came there none.

"Where is he? He was just there a minute ago!" He yelled to Merida, running exhausted as the Typhoomerang chopped the trunks with its razor sharp claws, enclosing them with each heave of its wings.

"Ah see the castle!" She exclaimed in relief as the brief sight of a fortress grew larger and nearer.

The Typhoomerang flew ahead of them, blocking their path to the castle with outstretched talons.

"Back, back, back back," Hiccup nervously ranted as he pulled Merida beyond the reach of its claws, making her stumble in the process. "We have to split. It can't catch us both. Run east!" He yelled, breaking apart from her as he ran west. The dragon cocked his head on both sides, deciding which one to chase.

It chose Hiccup.

Merida looked back to see the dragon withdrawing its pursuit of her, and it began crawling on the ground using its wings to chase Hiccup. It wasn't long before it trapped him around an enclosed thicket of trees, with Hiccup desperately trying to weave himself under the roots as far under ground as possible.

The Typhoomerang was relentless. It kept clawing at the base of the trunk, systematically popping open the splintered barks that sheltered Hiccup. It's talons were so close, a few inches away from his nose. But suddenly, it stopped when it felt the smack of a few stones against its jaw.

"Hey, ye bloody git!" The dragon whipped its head around to see Merida clutching a few stones in her palm. "It's cowardice tae pick on weaklings…" she told it. "Nae offense, Helmet,"

"None taken." Hiccup said, perilously trying to crawl his way out of the dragon's trap while Merida talked to it.

The Typhoomerang wheeled its whole body around to face this fearless prey of his. "Wha' a pity. Yer wastin' yer time on him. He'll taste filthy and give ye indigestion,"

Hiccup stiffened as he pulled himself out of the wood, soil smudging his face. "Okay, maybe some taken," He risked a glance to look back at the dragon checking to see if it noticed him escaping, and when he did look closely enough, it shocked him.

It had chains and whip marks on its back. Has it been caged before? Where did it come from? How did it get away? More importantly, who captured it? He didn't have time to think about it as the Typhoomerang looked ready to lunge on Merida with its head and flanks bent.

"Arrow, run!" Hiccup yelled when he was finally out of the thicket. Merida let the stones she was holding clatter on the ground. She picked up the hem of her skirt and ran for dear life. The trees fell like pillars swept off from solemn temples, crashing one after another like rattled dominos as the Typhoomerang grazed through. Merida shifted her directions as numerous times as possible to confuse and tire the dragon, but it seemed restless and unwavering to fatigue.

Hiccup noticed it seemed to be after something. Otherwise, it wouldn't possess such powerful means of purpose. Tucking something in his vest, he ran after the dragon.

Finally, Merida's legs gave up on her when she stumbled in a cascade of dirt and smoke on the ground and couldn't get up. The Typhoomerang pinned her dress so she couldn't crawl away. Merida's cheek dug to the ground, trying to avoid the dripping saliva from its mouth.

"Stop…right…there." Hiccup hollered right in front of the dragon, panting in between words. "Do you want this?" Out from his vest, he pulled out a disgusting, slimy, whole-smoked eel. Hiccup covered his nose to survive basking in its aroma.

At the sight of the eel, the Typhoomerang left Merida, who scrambled to the safety of the bushes, as Hiccup wanted it to, but it didn't step away, it camecloser. The exact opposite of what eels do to dragons. One second, the eel was dangling from Hiccup's fingertips, the next it was right down the dragon's throat.

The young Viking narrowed his eyes. It looked too awfully familiar. And instead of trying to eat Hiccup, it did nothing but stare at him.

Suddenly, a battle cry of Scottish shoulders emerged from all points of the forest; from the branches of trees to the crests and foothills tucked by shrubs. They threw in ropes around its neck and body impressively firm that the dragon couldn't budge or writhe in dispute. The men shouted triumphantly while it lay motionless on the forest floor. And somehow, it seemed to be crying.

Dagur walked towards Hiccup, caressing the tip of the axe with a knife. "Well done, Helmet. You found the beast. Took us only a while to realise you needed help,"

"I..uh..aprreciate that, thanks." He muttered, still too stunned.

Rugad rushed to their side, beaming happily. "Let's crack open the cellar to celebrate! We'll meet you there after we get this monster under the warrens," he kicked the dragon's stomach, who fidgeted in response. He then turned to the soldiers sanding before him. "We'll win this war, men!" And they all cheered in response.

As the men turned to leave in victory, Hiccup watched the Typhoomerang as it was dragged under the mercy of the men hauling it deep under the catacombs. The dragon turned to stare at him; it's eyes locking a strikingly familiar gaze. There was something different about this dragon. Why didn't it kill him when it had the chance? And that orange gash on its cheek, he's seen it before. When it ate the eel, there was only one name that slipped into his mind.

"Torch?"

Author's note:

The unoriginality of this chapter will hopefully NEVER happen again

Moving on, oyeah! It's a Typhoomerang! *break dances*

And the winners are:

Shimmer-snowflake

Doomsday Beam XD (I'm sure you meant Typhoomerang, :D)

Here are your mojos! *distributes* Thank you for your participationXD Tell me if it was any good. I haven't made mojos in a while.

I'm one thousand percent positive there are thousands of grammatical errors and mistakes here because I literally just rushed this entire thing in one night. I'm not even going to bother proof reading this since its 2 am where I live. And I haven't been fair to all of you whenever I say that I'll update faster and then I wind up updating even later than I anticipated.

BUT the whole cast is extremely excited for the next few chapters. More twists and angst shall be bombarding this story and of course, the real Mericcup sweetness will begin in the next chapter. Dagur had just recently attacked the studio, demanding more screentime in the story. We've pacified him for now, but it won't be long till he makes another scene.