A/N: Okay, we are in the meatiest chapter of meatiness (I don't know.) I'm nervous about this chapter in all honesty, I mean, I've written enough that I think I'm safe to call myself experienced, but in every story there's always the chapter, the one where your either recreating something completely awesome or trying to make a moment from scratch and I don't think any amount of experience would allow you to avoid the nervousness of these chapters. So, I really hope you enjoy this chapter and hit me with your thoughts when you're done (By that I mean arbitrarily tell me I did good whether you like it or not cause reasons.)
Hiccup shot upright in his bed suddenly, he breathed heavily as he looked around, he shook his head, shaking the images of Astrid's charred corpse from his mind 'That's a hell of a nightmare to have.' He thought to himself as he grabbed his helmet and moved through the backdoor onto the grass, the incredibly cool morning air practically froze the thin sheen of sweat that covered his body as he looked at the forest, his eyes bulged as he recalled exactly what he had forgotten about in his tiredness the night before, darting through the bushes into the forest he pulled his helmet over his head as he moved through the brush.
The boy came to a slow stop as he looked around, he wasn't entirely sure where the Dragon had gone down in the dark, so his eyes scanned the surrounding tree's and forest floor for irregularities, he found what he was looking for in the form of Wolf tracks, he turned around and stared through the tree's he could still see the edge of the village from where he was no way a pack would wander this close to a human settlement unless they were really scared.
He figured out which way the wolves had gone and moved in the opposite direction deeper into the forest.
It didn't take long before he found what he assumed was the dragon's first point of landing, judging by the snapped tree's and dark trench of sundered earth. He slid down the trench and moved behind a rock, there was no guarantee the dragon was even still confined, he glanced around the edge of the large stone, he the tail of the Nightfury before anything else, the fin on one side spread out widely, as he continued around the rock the rest of its body came into view, the smooth black scales the impressive wing span, it let out long breaths and occasional growls, it's feet kicking at the confines of the ropes tied around it.
Hiccup stopped and stared at the beast calmly, he stepped over the tail and continued towards its head, he ducked under the wing and was met with the bright green narrowed eyes of the dragon in front of him, Hiccup stiffened and lowered hand resting on the hilt of his blade, the staring contest between human and dragon lasted a few moments, Hiccup lifted his hand and removed his helmet slowly, tossing the thing aside.
The dragon's demeanor didn't change, it's eye remained trained on his, a growl of complaint moved through its mouth and Hiccup drew his weapon slowly, the dragon seemed to recognize the boys intention, the pupils in its eyes widened ever so slightly and Hiccup paused, he took a long breath and closed his eyes, attempting to better read the feelings of the animal in front of him, he placed a hand on its neck, the dragon's scales moved ever so slightly against his touch and the animal growled.
Hiccup couldn't read anything he didn't expect, it was the same as a corner wolf, fear, worry and when the boy moved away from the best it's head lulled to the ground in acceptance. Hiccup stared at his hand, mostly disgusted at himself, he was aware that the dragon's behavior didn't make since, he took another step back and moved to turn around before pausing, glancing back at the expanse of jet-black scales, his face screwed up in consideration for his safety as he darted back to the beast, moving the blade beneath the ropes he cut it quickly, pausing for only a moment to examine the knife he hadn't actually used on anything yet, when he cut the second rope he heard the dragon shift and his eyes met its bright greens again. It stared at him in curiosity, Hiccup steeled himself silently as he cut the last rope, the Nightfury felt the rope around it slacken and it tackled the boy, slamming him against the rock and glaring at him angrily.
Hiccup met the gaze flatly, doing everything in his power to prevent fear from showing on his face, the dragon opened its maw and lifted its head back, Hiccup tilted his head to the side and winced, waiting for a fireball to end his life in the center of the forest, before the front paws of the dragon landed on either side of him and he simply let out a loud roar over him before taking quick hop into a glide, Hiccup lifted his head in time to see the dragon slam into a rock and fall back down into the forest somewhere, he retrieved his helmet and blade and put them away.
His eyes drifted to the sun now well over the horizon, he realized with a start he was meant to be at dragon training, with one last glance at the direction the dragon had gone he darted back through the forest.
Hiccup made much better time coming back, simply because he knew where he was going and he didn't have to try and avoid being eaten, he passed very few people on his way to the arena, they waved at the chiefs son quietly and he didn't slow, his mind on other things than the impressions he made on the people around him.
The first was why, why hadn't the dragon killed him, the Nightmare from the night before also had the opportunity, both dragons had simply flown away, well the Nightfury was more crashed away but the question remained.
Second was what he was going to do, there was a Nightfury roaming around the east side of the island, if the other Vikings caught wind of it the dragon would be killed without question, so he had to keep it a secret.
Third was the most difficult, if he didn't actually try in dragon training his dad would hear about it from Gobber and that would most definitely arouse suspicions, he ran a hand over his mask in annoyance as he slid to a stop in front of the other teens silently, they regarded him with a simple nod but otherwise remained silent.
'I still don't know enough about this,' he thought to himself as his eyes trailed over the forest, Gobber arrived shortly after to open the gates of the arena.
Hiccup trailed a short distance behind the other teens, still lost in thought, he directed his hearing outwards to try and catch anything that might be important, he heard Astrid take a deep breath and whisper something although he couldn't quite make out what it was, the other teens were easy enough to hear.
"I hope I get some serious burns," Tuffnut grinned "I'm hoping for some mauling on my left shoulder or lower back." His sister chimed in.
"Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it." Astrid sounded as the group looked around at the cages, excitement clear on their faces.
Hiccup remained silent as he looked around, still in two minds at exactly how he should play out these classes. His hand came to rest on the hilt of his weapon slowly.
Snotlout noticed Hiccup's movement and drew attention to him "What, dragon got your tongue? You aren't excited, what have you even got behind your back?"
Hiccup drew the blade and held it against his arm "It's a weapon you imbecile, not going to be able to kill a dragon without one am I?" He growled out flatly.
The group stared at the boy in surprise, he hadn't ever really insulted any of them before, the action caught them off guard, Hiccup's emerald eyed glare turned on them slowly, each turned away quickly, save for Astrid who eyed the boy curiously.
"Now, behind these doors are just a few of the many dragon species you will learn to fight," Gobber introduced, the cage behind him shifted slightly under the weight of the dragon within it, a shrill shriek coming from inside "The Deadly Nadder."
"Speed eight, armor sixteen." Fishlegs informed excitedly
Gobber continued, each dragon seemed to press on its cage as he moved past it, hoping for release "The Hideous Zippleback."
"Stealth plus twelve times two." Fishlegs cut in again.
"The Monstrous Nightmare." Gobber gestured to the cage.
"Firepower fifteen." Fishlegs seemed even more excited with each dragon.
"The Terrible Terror." Gobber paused beside a lever.
"Attack eight, Venom twelve." Fishlegs exclaimed.
"Would you stop that!" Gobber shot at the teen in annoyance "And the Gronkle."
"Jaw strength eight." He whispered to Hiccup, who glanced at the larger teen uninterestedly.
Gobber placed his hand on the lever slowly, Snotlout stepped forward "Whoa, whoa! Wait, aren't you going to teach us first?"
Hiccup actually mouthed Gobber's response in perfect sync "I believe in learning on the job." Gobber chuckled pressing the lever straight down, the cage burst open as the small Gronkle exited it and hovered about the group of teens as the scattered.
Hiccup eyed the field slowly, darting to the small stacks of weapons in the corner he pulled a shield over his arm, he heaved slightly as the things weight descended on his arm 'Well, dodging overrated anyway.' He thought to himself wryly as the other teens gathered their own shields at Astrid's prompt.
"Each dragon has a limited number of shots, how many shots does a Gronkle have?" Gobber asked as he picked something out of his teeth with his hook.
"Five?" Snotlout offered uncertainly.
"No, six!" Fishlegs waved his shield in the air as he exclaimed.
"Correct, that's one for each of ya." Gobber responded simply.
Fishleg's seemed to be about to add something when a fireball zipped over his head, shattering his shield.
"Fishlegs your done." Gobber announced, the boy hung his head and slumped as he walked over to the one legged Viking.
Hiccup glanced at the remaining members, of everyone present Astrid was the only one even close to being able to take on dragons aside from himself. So, he simply needed to put the dragons in positions that give Astrid an easier time, make her look better without looking bad and avoiding suspicion.
A fireball flew over his head, he heard the sound of a shield shattering, realizing the twins were still arguing over a shield as he moved.
"Ruff, Tuff, you're out." Gobber told the bewildered teens quickly.
Astrid watched the Gronkle quietly hopping from foot to foot, Snotlout stuck a small distance behind her.
"Those shields are good for another thing, noise," Gobber opted to give them a simple tip "Make lots of it to throw off a dragons aim."
Hiccup slammed the hilt of his sword into the centre of his shield, the sound echoed around the arena loudly, as the Gronkle turned towards him, he nodded to Astrid who silently charged forward, Snotlout seemed to be aware of the strategy and he darted after her, either that or he was just trying to stay as close to Astrid as possible, Hiccup didn't much care.
The boy found the shield on his arm had gotten lighter as he got used to it, he could more effectively move now as he darted forward, sliding underneath the Gronkle he kicked upwards, the dragon growled in annoyance as Hiccup jumped to his feet continuing at a dead sprint, his head shifted back in front of him in time to see Snotlout in front of him, Hiccup's eyes widened as he forced his body to dive the right, a fireball slammed into Snotlout's shield.
"Snotlout your done." Gobber announced, Snotlout tossed his mace into the ground and groaned in frustration.
Hiccup barely managed to roll to his feet from the sudden change in momentum, a fireball caught the edge of his shield and the thing slid from his arm, he glanced at the Gronkle and the to his shield, making a snap decision he darted towards the shield.
The Gronkle watched the boy closely, leaning forward it flew after him, Hiccup got a hold of the shield and jumped into the air, placing his entire body behind it as the fireball left the Gronkle's mouth, the explosion sent him flying as the shield splintered around him, he flipped over quickly and slid to a stop, glancing up in time to realize the dragon was a few meter's from him with its mouth open, his eyes widened for a moment before a hook caught around the side of the things mouth.
"That was six," Gobber groaned as he dragged the heavy dragon around and it gnawed on his mission arm "Go back to bed you overgrown sausage." He scolded as he tossed the thing back into its cage.
Hiccup clenched his fist angrily as he stalked towards Snotlout "Of all the stupid, inconceivable things you could have done, what possessed you to run right in front of me!" He grabbed the boys vest angrily and dragged him forward, eyes flashing as he let out a low growl.
'I'm sorry, I looked away for half a second and you were already in front of me, it's not my fault you can run so fast!" Snotlout challenged angrily.
Hiccup's eyes only narrowed as he pulled back his fist, the limb was caught roughly and his glare turned onto the face of Gobber "Let go." Hiccup ordered angrily.
The other teens froze, it was the first time they'd seen the boy not polite, they decided an angered Hiccup was something they most definitely wanted to avoid in the future.
"I know your angry but this is training," Gobber responded flatly, meeting the teens look unflinchingly "Hopefully everyone will avoid mistakes that would put there fell Vikings in danger from now on."
Hiccup took a deep breath and let go of the boys collar.
"Well, here's one thing you learned today," Gobber announced, every pair of eyes turned to him "A dragon will always, always, go for the kill."
He prodded Hiccups chest with his hook for more emphasis.
Hiccup's face twisted into confusion as his thoughts drifted to the Nightfury and before that the Nightmare, he glanced at Astrid who was giving him a concerned look, he mistook it for pity and turned away from her and stormed off, she tilted her head in slight confusion at the boys back. Hiccup retrieved his sword and sheathed it as he left, not even saying a word to any of the other teens as he walked away.
"What's his problem?" Tuffnut questioned
"Maybe he had a rough night, it was his first dragon raid after all." Gobber shrugged, most of the teens accepted that as a good enough excuse.
Hiccup crouched over the rocks and rope that was the bola he had cut that morning "Always go for the kill huh?" He said to himself wryly, his mouth twisting into a grimace.
After he had calmed down he had mentally reprimanded himself for getting angry at Snotlout, he was already aware of the groups skill, it was his mistake not paying attention to where he was going.
He grabbed the sides of his head in exasperation as he groaned, he had a feeling Astrid was aware he was acting strange, in hindsight allowing himself to get angry and let all of his instincts take over like that so easily is bound to arouse suspicion. His eyes trailed over a few small jet-black scales and he bent down to pick them up, pushing the issue of his behavior around the humans that day out his mind he moved to follow the trail of scattered scales. He shifted the small pack on his back so he could climb a rock, he perched in a little nook overlooking a lake, the scales led to here and then dropped off.
He leaned forward a little more as a black blur let out a roar and startled him back, he landed with a sot thud as the beast scratched at the smooth rocks above him trying to free itself from the confines of cove. It failed, gliding back and landing in the dirt heavily, a fish hopped from the water in front of it and its head hovered over the water for a moment before it attempted to get a meal, that also failed.
Hiccup removed his journal and drew a quick sketch of the beast under him, his eyes once again focused on the tail it certainly seemed off, only one fin, but nobody had any information on a Nightfury that he knew, as far as he was aware he was the only human to ever see one and still be alive.
His pen rolled from his grasp and clattered down the rock, he winced when the dragon lifted its head to look at him, it let out a low warning growl and he got to his feet and retreated, being aware of the dragon's current disposition to him.
On his way back, he could hear the sound of someone rolling around, followed by loud thunks, he moved towards the sound curiously, eventually breaking into a wide clearing in which Astrid rolled around tossing her axe into the trunks of large trees, producing the sound he had heard earlier, the axe speared into a tree and she fell onto her back in exhaustion, as he head thudded against the cool earth she finally noticed his present, she let out a surprised yell and scrambled towards her weapon, back hitting the tree before who it was registered in her mind.
"That's it! New rule, you're not allowed to sneak up on me with the mask on." She complained, wrenching her axe free of the tree.
Hiccup let out a chuckle as he removed the helmet as he sat opposite her "I'm surprised I could sneak up on you at all." He responded simply.
"There are a number of external factors that helped you," Astrid huffed giving him a mock glare "Why are you even out here?"
"Uh," Hiccup quickly searched for a solid excuse "I was just checking out the place I used to live."
"Oh, still in one piece?" Astrid asked curiously paying no mind to his hesitation.
"Yeah," Hiccup nodded "It's still there."
"I'd like to see it sometime, get a little an inside look at the great Dragon boy of Berk!" She threw her arms into the air comically and Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Yes, great." He responded sarcastically throwing his hand in the air in mock excitement.
"What was it like?" Astrid asked suddenly serious.
"What?" Hiccup questioned for clarification.
"You know, growing up out here, without any people around." Astrid gestured around the forest.
Hiccup thought about it for a moment as he looked around "Interesting, but without any people around might not be completely accurate."
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked, curiosity peaking at the information.
"It would have been a few years ago now," Hiccup began "There was this old crone, used to live out in the middle of nowhere near the bay on the opposite side of the Island."
"She taught me how to read, among other things, like how to control myself." Hiccup explained, Astrid tilted her head in confusion.
"When I get angry, I find it difficult to rely on things that aren't my instincts, like I don't trust my mine or body to make the correct decisions, it just over writes everything." He explained, rubbing his hands together slowly "Honestly, when I eventually regain control of my own head, I feel like I failed."
Astrid shifted closer to the boy as he spoke "So that's what happened with Snotlout and Gobber today right? You were angry at something?"
Hiccup nodded his head slowly "It wasn't as bad as it could have been, thankfully Gobber sort of understands my predicament, I explained this to him first, that's why he wanted me in dragon training, he was hoping to be able to make a more useable condition." Hiccup explained
"That explains why Gobber already had a solid excuse planned to convince the others," Astrid nodded her head slowly "Have you told your dad any of this?"
"Are you kidding?" Hiccup lifted an eyebrow at her unexpected proximity "He thinks I taught myself how to read and I survived completely on my own for eleven years, he doesn't even seem surprised by it, like it was what he expected from his own blood."
Astrid just rubbed at her forearms awkwardly "Are you gonna tell him?"
Hiccup sighed, his face contorting to reflect the state of his predicament effectively "I guess I'm going to have to at some stage, but I don't think now is the best time, after the trainings over I'll do it then."
"By the way, you had a number of chances to take out that Gronkle, why didn't you take them?" Astrid questioned, giving Hiccup a flat look.
Hiccup nervously chuckled " I thought I'd leave the honor you to you, milady." He flourished a mock bow and twirled his hand.
Astrid jerked back in slight surprise, she threw a light punch his way which he caught in his palm, she glared at him in annoyance.
"I've decided I'm only going to let you hit me if I deserve it," He chuckled, her other hand came up and he caught that as well before he added something with a devilish smirk "Milady."
The new tone coupled with the grin caused the blonde girl to color immediately, she jerked her arms free of his hold and grabbed her axe, avoiding meeting the boys ace "W-Well," He paused and cursed her stutter vehemently "I'm going to get back to it."
"Right," Hiccup nodded quickly, putting his helmet back on as the wind picked up "I'll see you tomorrow then." He waved as he walked away.
Astrid stole glance at his back as he sauntered off into the tree's "Yeah, tomorrow."
A/N: Oh, a shorter chapter, well mostly because I think a lot of information was covered in this one, Hiccup's had more contact with people than he lets on, anger is the trigger to his more feral instincts and he is more aware of the dragons strange behavior! Astrid's reactions are mostly to do with the fact that she has never had to deal with someone who's her physical equal at this point, I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time, peace!