(Notice): Chapter 13-1 is the first chapter of a multi-chapter portion of the story. Essentially, it's one big chapter, split into smaller ones. In the case of multi-chapters, updates are closer together.

-Chapter: XIII|I-

-Offensively Defend -Order -

`Dragon training. The time of every young Viking's life where they learn to fight and kill dragons. So why am I here? I have no intention to fight dragons, much less kill them, so what am I to do? Toothless, as I have dubbed my Night Fury friend, has shown me enough to prove that dragons are not mindless creatures. They are possibly more mindful than most if not all Vikings. I know that my father and my entire village would ridicule me and shun me for what I have done, but something tells me that what I am doing is more important than anything that has been done before, so, I have to do this; no matter the cost...

Darkness.

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes, shuffling under the dragons form. He had slept dreamlessly, it was all blank. As he stretched his eyes, he wondered just how long he had slept. His wonder was short lived however as the blackness retreated to let an eye sizzling brightness attack the boys unadjusted eyes.

"Agh! Bright!" He yelped as the bright sun infiltrated his sleepy eyes. He could feel a resounding rumble come from the dragon. This was all so funny wasn't it. Hiccup felt Toothless squeezing the boy out of his embrace. "Could you put your wing back over, just a few more moments..." He pleaded. He was so very tired. He couldn't think straight.

Hiccup had no choice however, as the dragon moved out from under him and nudged him awake. Hiccup looked over to his friend. Toothless was gesturing towards the sun.

"Yeah, it is late. I should probably be getting back." He nodded as he saw the position it was in. He didn't need a stone calender to read the suns position. With that, he plodded over to the rocks covering the entrance, but stopped and turned to his friend. Toothless looked almost sad, watching over the boy.

"I'm sorry, but I can't miss this or I might get in trouble." It was a sorry excuse for leaving his best friend, but he knew that questions would rise from his disappearance. He gave his friend a pathetic wave and moved out of the rocks, up and out of the gorge, then began his walk through the forest to the village.

The walk was slower than usual, his mind ached as he tried to think about what happened. He could barely see straight let alone walk straight. His clothes smelt of fish and were slightly damp. His hair was completely a mess, not one strand stood well enough. His feet moved by some one else's mind and his hands were numb with ache.

"What happened?"

He voiced his one question. Normally, being tired from waking up is normal, but he didn't feel tired. He felt void. He didn't feel like he was fully here,in this body. Soon enough, the numbness grew too much and he collapsed onto a fallen log. The softness of the decaying wood provided a simple cushion as he cradled his head with his stiff hands. He tried to think, but that only made it worse. The pain in his head grew to the point where he couldn't see at all. Nothing was before him, just darkness.

The darkness felt cold, warm, tingly, numb. It felt to be there and not. It didn't last long though. Within moments of the darkness forming, it dissipated. The effects were immediate. He could feel his hands and feet, his mind no longer pained with thought. He could remember all that had happened before he fell asleep.

He remembered the failed effort at flying, he remembered the campfire and the story telling of his life. He remembered how he had told his entirety of his life to his friend at that moment, how he recalled every memory with perfect clarity. He would of felt uncomfortable telling such a clear tale to anyone else, but Toothless, it felt like he was accepting everything he said with dignity. He didn't stop and ask a question, not that he would understand anyways. He didn't interrupt the boy. He just laid there, curled around him by the fire, and listened to the boy, as he learned who he was and what he had to become. He felt a moment of happiness, as he realized how carrying Toothless was, and how he was willing to put up with a very sad story just to comfort the boy. To make him feel safe and warm. Hiccup never felt this way since his mother died. He remembered it clearly, like it was burned into his retinas. He could see the burns and markings on his mother, even from the crowd that gathered. He could smell the blood, as Stoick kneeld over her, tears falling from his face. There were few days when one would accept a Viking for crying. Stoick was accepted even more so.

While Stoick lost his wife that night, Hiccup lost a Mother and his Father. Stoick never looked into Hiccups eyes the same way again since that night. He never said good-night, he never showed any desire to know how his boy's day had been. Ever since that night, Hiccup had been alone, fending for himself when the outside world betrayed him. The very people who knew who he was and betrayed that.

Now, he had gained a new care taker. A best friend. A brother who would stand by him and let him lean on his shoulder when the pain was too much.

All the memories and understandings swept over Hiccup as he was sitting on the log in a wave of emotion. Tears fell from his eyes as he felt every pain and hurt from the years built up. His vision blurred as he made no effort to wipe away the pain. He let it come, and let it go.

Things would be different now.

The forest was living and breathing as Hiccup sat on the log. The sun was slicing through the leaves, cutting swathes of glistening rays as the silent boy slowly started to his destination. Everyone says that tears ease the pain, but in truth, they expand on it. Tears let one know just how much pain has been caused. They serve as a reminder, to let one know where it hurts most. Hiccups eyes were clearing now, the tears having washed away his guilt and sadness. He knew who he was and what he had to become. He knew the road leading to his destination had no end. It will continue on over the hills and across the seas. It will continue on even when his body collapses under him. He only knew that the road was littered with danger and misfortune. Every step he took, took him closer to the village. He could smell the burning wood, and the smoking meats. He could hear the bustling of the people as they milled about in their day. Slowly, but surely, he made his way through the paved stones and cracked dirt paths leading to the ring. This would be different. A different day, a new age to become.

The sun was casting much longer shadows when he got to the ring. Gobber and the rest of the group were waiting by as well. They took barely a glance at the newcomer before moving into the ring. Gobber called out. "All right! Take a pail of water! Moved into groups of two!" He handed pails filled with water to each member as they entered inside. As Hiccup grabbed his pale, he eyed the rest of the teens.

'They all look so tired.' He noticed how their feet shuffled, how the sounds they made were near deafening. The glancing eyes were sagging, too tired to work properly. He saw Fishlegs who was just grabbing his pale. Fishlegs was one of the only teens in the group who ever held an ounce of decency towards Hiccup. He looked up to him, even if he didn't show it.

"Fish. Group up?" He asked the larger boy. Fish was quite like Hiccup,smart, thinking, only he was actually called a Viking. The boy in question startled at the request. "Uh, sure Hiccup." He moved over next to boy as they edged their way into the center of the ring. Hiccup wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but of all the boys, Fishlegs was the closest he could trust. They heard Gobber call out what the days training was of.

"Today, is about teamwork." At the moment, one of the gates at the far end lifted and exploded with a spray of dust and smoke. The outpour of dust settled on the ring, obscuring vision within feet. "Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky." They could hear Gobber from within the dust could. "So, a Zippleback huh." Hiccup mumbled to himself. Fish continued with Gobbers faint speech with his own. "Two heads, one breathes gas, the other lights it." He continued on. "Razor sharp, serrated teeth. Inject venom, prefers ambush attack, crushing its victim-"

"Will you please stop that!.." Hiccup quietly order the other boy. "Let's think about this without the thought of dying."

"...sorry." Fish mumbled, knowing how he sometimes told a little too much. "That happens sometimes."

"Don't think badly about it Fish'. It's just-" A sudden cry of pain sounded from nearby. "Shh!" He finished, listening to the cry of Tuffnut and pain.

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now..." Fishlegs moaned

"What does that even mean-"

Before Hiccup finished, a large green head with a single curved horn protuding from its snout emerged from the dust cloud. The head dipped and turned, the neck extending into dust, leaving the head to float without the body. Fishlegs was the first to act, he upturned his pail of water, hoping to have doused the 'sparking-head'.

He was wrong. The dragon gurgled and launched a stream of noxious vapor into the boy, leaving him screaming and running away. Its intended victim gone, the dragon head turned to the much smaller boy, a second head emerging from the dissipating dust cloud. The twin heads met together on a green and red spotted body, small crimson frills running down the length of the spine. A set of twin tails emerged out of the base and continued on. Hiccup had never seen a Zippleback so close up before. His own head was just feet from the two. The dragon approached making itself to appear far more threatening than already being. His pail had been lost in the confusion. They weren't given any weapons to defend themselves. This is it.

Time had slowly spun slower and slower for Hiccup. He felt light, his own consciousness fading to show strange images. He heard a gentle voice, ushered in a tone of surety,

"Hold your ground. Push them back."

The words were quick and fluid, there and then gone, but the message and tone lasted. Hiccup rose to his feet, shoving out his hands before the offending dragon. His own body betrayed him as he moved to put himself even closer to the deadly attacker.

His senses exploded as he felt the raw strength that the dragon had. He felt the twitching muscles in his arms continue to hold firm. He felt the tension in the air slice any noise. His ears buzzed as his heart begun to beat slower and slower with stronger and stronger pumps. His eyes dilated to the point where every shadow was no longer a dark abyss. His nose scrunched up as the sent of eel and fish infiltrated his lungs. His breathing became deeper.

At the same time, the Zippleback sensed the change in stature that the human had. The twin heads worked in unison as each leg slowly backed away, unsure of what to make of the event. Hiccup pushed them back, forcing them to think over the small humans capacity of strength. He didn't really know what he was doing or why it was working, but he kept shoving his hands out in front of him. Stepping with sure footing, moving closer and closer, farther and farther as the dragon receded back to the stone cell. The moment was there and then it was gone. He felt drained.

'Did I just force a dragon back with my bare hands?' He kept thinking to himself, flexing his fingers to see if they were still there. His mind immediately returned to the ring as he heard a bucket hit the stone floor. Hiccup turned to see the group of Vikings staring at him. Their faces having already dropped.

There would be questions, and he would have no answers. He had to get out of here, "So? Are we done, because I've got some things I need to...do. Yep, see you tomorrow." He casually walked out of the ring, as though nothing completely befuddling had happened; hoping to gain as much ground between them as possible. It wasn't the best exit, but they were stunned enough to be speechless while he made his way out of sight...