Right, left, a small warding growl to put fear in the female's heart. It fled from him, agile and far faster than him, but quite lacking in detection skills.

Clack! Steel nearly tied her down, a swift dance away the only save. Fiisht! The floor of leaves turned to nothing beneath her claws, her talons clinging to the edge (he should fix that) as she tried to scramble up.

Closer, ever closer.

She was running again. Hiccup chased her to her side, leading her right into-

Bam! Tripping over a vine, the Night Fury stumbled right before a log swung at her, throwing her with a heavy thunk against a before-shattered tree.

He pounced as she fell, and he had give her credit for her speed. She kicked him in the maw as she scrambled away, and he fell back with a paw to his face.

That hurt. She turned around, teeth bared, breath catching but determination oozing from her eyes.

Steadied his stance, talons on the ground and body ready for another quick pounce. His teeth were bared with anger shown.

Lies. So many lies, all to feel better. Why was he doing this? Why?

Grrr-, she growled, and then a high yelp of terror, written with surprise, tinged with wrath. The Night Fury barely jumped back, blood falling from the crimson stain of her neck, her claws having missed their true mark.

He paused, and she…

She roared at him, a dangerous and murderous sound, challenge in her eyes…

A terribly idiotic move these beasts were far too simple not to play. She seemed to realize her mistake when he, ears pressed against his neck to dull the pain in his skull, threw his weight forward, towards her, and landed by her neck.

He could feel the horror in her eyes as she realized her mistake, as she cut off her worthless roar and tried to instead dodge his fatal bite.

Ggh-whiiine…Ghgh.

She looked to him, betrayal in her eyes as sharp deadly teeth bit mercilessly into her neck.

Her eyes were wet with grieving tears.

"Why?..." It gurgled, and with a final dying whimper her eyes lost their light.

With a final whimper, Helheim had claimed her.

I did this.

She was dead.

He drew back, heart heavy in his chest and mouth tasting of molten iron. The strength of battle, his thundering heart, present in his mind.

He breathed, and he calmed.

He felt shame, in part, to kill another of this race. To doom them ever closer to extinction…

But it was his path. The path of Vikings. To live in battle, and die immortal. To feast eternal in halls of Odin's gold. To bear upon your vengeance with naught but utter will.

So he walked away, teeth bloodied in waves of crimson black, and scales shivering with still surviving tension. They deserved it, no matter what his heart told him; these creatures who had cursed him to a life as them…

They deserved every death he dealt their accursed kind.

He slumped. He felt sticky, dirty, weary. He was tired more than he had been in months, more than he could truly recall.

The wounds endured by his flanks burned, a painful reminder of his mistakes; few as they were. The fallen trees, then, the little hidden groves, misleading smells of iron and steel...All a painful and reminder of his success. It should feel glorious, to know his strength of body and mind gifted him victory…

But that grief on her eyes, that fear she felt at the sight of him…It was a terrible feeling, to be hated, to be alone.

He shook his head, then, to throw bury the thought, and his mind drifted to better thoughts. A peaceful night in a warm bath, the proud look Dad would give him as he recounted his latest hunt, washing away their immortal grief for a short and tender moment...

A moment of peace, where his father forgot his son was a Night Fury. Where Hiccup forgot of his curse.

And so he flew back home on darkened wings; eight the number of furies dimmed.

And far away, in a nest of hate…

A dragon woke to fly that day.

Chapter 1: Heir

"Hiccup!" A roar, easily heard over the crowd of Vikings running to and fro as they brought back the ships' hauls. Some fish to feed the village, of course, and a surprising cargo of a cloudy blue and white Nadder. Some fodder for the young generations to train against, Hiccup guessed, which would soon include his own age-mates. And they had been missing that exact dragon for the last week since Hrothgar accidentally killed the last one, so Hiccup was pretty sure he was right in his guess.

Still needed a Nightmare though, Hiccup thought with a snort. Can't leave out the 'reward' at the end, can they? He angled his flight towards the docks, where he was about completely sure was where Dad had called from. It didn't take long to spot the big man, standing head and shoulders above his peers as they dragged in the cage. Hiccup knew for a fact Dad could do it all alone and not get the smallest bit winded, but having the others help would build moral so who was he to judge?

He really was tired if he was being sarcastic to himself.

A chortle almost left his throat, though he was quick to shake the amusement off and give a roar to announce his presence. A moment for the sound to settle and the Vikings to prepare, and then Hiccup pulled in his wings and dove.

Ahhhhh, wasn't that the best feeling? To have the wind rushing past him, the mad screech of a Night Fury cresting the village, cries of "Night Fury! Get down!" as the ground got closer and closer by the moment until his every instinct screamed at him to pull out, to move…

A quick snap, magic to blast some lift under his wings, and Hiccup – with practiced ease – landed on a flat enough stone some nine steps away from the other Vikings. Dragon steps, of course though…Although measuring them in human steps probably would end up being less confusing for his peers…

He shook himself, easily pulled his long lanky feet in, and stretched.

Pop! Khhhhrrt…POP!

Ah, those were the stuff. Stretching after a good night's sleep, and a good…Fight…

He shook his head to dislodge the sudden sadness clinging again to his mind. No use wallowing in self-pity, after all. A quick couple of bounds and he was front of his father. And the just rising form of one of the people helping pull the cage. Olaf, or maybe Fjord. His face was a little forgettable, so Hiccup wasn't entirely sure.

"Welcome back, son! I got word that you were out of the village."

Hiccup nodded, snapping his teeth in the motion he usually used to say he had been hunting.

"A hunt?" His father hummed, and Hiccup whacked the woman who, with a barrel of fish in her hands, jokingly flicked him in the neck with his tail. She stumbled, almost dropping her barrel, but moved on with a good natured laugh. Hiccup chortled a bit before nodding, and then gesturing to his own body.

"A Night Fury?" Hiccup could detect the impressed lilt to his father's tone, and it warmed his heart like nothing else to hear. He nodded again.

Stoick laughed, uproariously and unabashedly.

"Hear that, Hooligans? Tonight, we feast to honor my son's victory today!"

Cheers roared to life around them, the promise of a feast heartening even the most tired of Vikings.

Then he pounced.

A half-sheathed bite to the shoulder guard was all Hiccup got before Dad punched him in the gut. It threw Hiccup back several body-length, but he was very much used to his father's strength and rolled with the punch, easily landing on his feet and in position for a counter-attack.

They stared at each other for a moment, eyes sharp for any sudden movement.

Hiccup couldn't hold back a grin as his father laughed again. It was a sound he never got tired of hearing, that happiness that he could give his dad. Stoick dragged over the cart towards him, patting him on the neck; Hiccup in turn bumped him in his armored chest, letting out a short snort and a loving purr.

They pulled with yet another nod, and Hiccup followed as the three men pulled the cart towards the Training Ring.

Most everyone else, of course, had just moved on by, not even sparing the father and son duo a glance. It was pretty normal to greet family with a good few strikes and a friendly fight, even if it was unusual for it to involve a Night Fury with ready claws and biting teeth.

Pretty normal though, for the villagers of Berk.

…

Well, most of them. He was pretty sure there were at least some villagers who had no clue he and his dad batted heads so often.

So to speak.

Kind of.

Err…

Hiccup shook his head, and offered his help with the cages, which was resoundly answered with a shake of the head from his father. Hiccup shrugged his wings. Oh well, and instead instead eyed a passerby with a decidedly delicious looking cod on his barrel. Quick as a flash, he snapped it up-

"Hey!"

And ran away from the Viking shaking his fist at him. He set on a far-away rock, munching on his fish, and after a moment Helga gave up and moved on with a few small grumbles about useless dragons.

Then Hiccup felt it safe enough to join his father again.

"Now, son," the big man started, words seemingly punctuated by the critter cratter of the wheels. "How'd the fight go? Catch it?"

Hiccup shook his head, a 'not really' motion to his head as he bounded along with the slow delegation.

"Kill it?"

Hiccup ignored his guilt, not showing it even as he nodded decisively. It hadn't even attacked…

"Lovely then!" Stoick laughed, before pausing. He gave Hiccup a sidelong glance, taking notice of the still raw cut across his flank. "Need to see Gothi?"

Hiccup hesitated, but eventually decided to give an unsure and quite hesitant growl and nodding shake. He wasn't injured much, his traps having made up for his inability to end the fight as quickly as he would have liked. That didn't mean, though, that the long gash on his right flank was painless – or even that shallow.

He was completely used to them, and usually it wouldn't have warranted concern. But…

Well, it was burning. A lot. And he'd cleaned it earlier too, so it shouldn't be an infection.

He was slightly worried that the Night Fury somehow had poisonous claws. Didn't warrantee a visit to Gothi thou-

Dad shook his head before nodding up towards the high placed hut of Gothi, pulling Hiccup from his thoughts with the strong motion. His ears drooped. Just his luck.

"Oh don't be like that, son; go have her give you a look over," His father gave him a look. "Rest a bit too. You look tired." Then they pulled up, and Hiccup was left behind. He could have caught up, but he'd already had his conversation with his father and Dad wanted him brought to Gothi. Gothi, and her horrible herbs.

Hiccup shuddered just thinking about it, long buried memories of that coming up which he instantly threw back into the darkest deepest most unreachable parts of his mind never to resurface again.

He whimpered for a moment, then sighed with a shake of his head. His Father did have a point, despite…Gothi. His wound was stinging more than it should, and he felt far too tired. This hadn't been a particularly hard kill compared to the ones before, so he was actually concerned that she would actually have some sort of poison or venom that he'd never encountered before.

…And it wouldn't be remiss to have a little nap, he thought with a small smile.

A powerful push of his wings had Hiccup shooting up into the air, high high above Berk. He angled towards the elder's Night Fury reserved landing/ledge/bed, already dreading the rest of the day but also looking forward to the sleep he might be allowed with the healer.

Yep, a nap sounded just great.

…

Well, unless she decided she was happier to hit him over the head. That woman was far too strong for how small and frail she was.

Sometime later and with the sun reaching its apex – afternoon – Hiccup was finally let go of. Gothi had had beaten him over the head, and his skull still rang from the noisy pain, rubbed the wound clean with a cloth drenched in a horrible smelly thing Hiccup knew far better than to evwonder the creation of, and then whacked him on the head again for good measure before finally letting him fly off.

He grumbled, rubbing a paw over his aching, abused snout. He hadn't even gotten a nap! Didn't even want to have one now, the smell having burned through any drowsiness he had accumulated through the day.

Painfully.

Gliding silently on the pleasant breeze, Hiccup thought about what he could do for the rest of the day. He'd already crossed sleep off, so not that. A glance towards the docks showed him no activity, which meant they had already done everything there (most likely; a quick glide over confirmed that yes, all the boats where completely emptied). No recent raid despite the female he'd found around the far side of the island, deep in a forest Gothi would occasionally request herbs from (because he was faster by a few weeks than the normal method of just sending out five people who knew what flower they were looking for), so stragglers he could search for to kill or capture.

That left…Some hunting? It was late fall, so he was good to go on that front.

With another sigh, Hiccup dove.

Hiccup quite liked home. Big, comfy, and so so warm. Dad usually chastised him for it, but Hiccup absolutely adored rubbing himself all over the fireplace, all over the fire, as he rested his muscles. Paired with a belly full of fish from the night's feast (a very fun affair, even if just the thought of why it was happening would sour his mood), it was perfect.

Until his dad grumbled at him for hogging all the warmth in their house and proceeded to kick his son off the fireplace. Hiccup, too, grumbled at the thieving of the great warm sun of the fireplace, ending it in a growl.

They glared at each other for a moment as Dad settled down onto his chair in front of the still alive fire, before they both let the tension go in a pair of amused, insulting snorts.

Hiccup grinned, and Dad chuckled. It was good to be home.

Slowly, the fire and the gentle murmurings of his Father lulled Hiccup to sleep. He could feel the memories of the hunt fading into ease, the blood into water, and her cries of pain into silence.

Never had a good night's sleep proceeded Hiccup's nights of vengeance…

And though he had nightmares, heart rending to pieces…It was a comfort yet to feel his father's breath.