It had been two months now and Hiccup had fallen into a regular pattern. In the mornings he would wake up and half-heartedly join the others in dragon fighting. He had drastically improved in almost all areas, but only showed what he wanted people to see of his new-found strength. Even so, he quickly became the top student.

Then, in the afternoons, he went to study with the Night Fury, which Hiccup had taken to calling Toothless. He had been learning so much from Toothless that he had never known before. And, he had discovered that dragons could feel and react, just as the Vikings could. This made them seem more and more like people. They could think, they could learn, they adapted.

The biggest example of this was that he and Toothless had become friends….somewhat. He didn't quite understand it. But, he seemed to have gained some trust from Toothless. Hiccup had taken careful sketches and measurements of the dragon's tail, and with supplies he borrowed from Gobber's forge he created an artificial tailfin to replace the one torn off in battle. The only thing that he had neglected to include in his month of development was some form of control, so that Toothless could change direction and gain elevation on his own. Hiccup realized that he would have to learn how to hook the tail to a saddle of some kind, so that he could ride on the dragon and change the fin for him.

His first test flight had been extremely rough, but he learned so much about dragons in that one experience. He figured out that he would need to move his foot in the stirrup the way that Toothless needed to point his tail, in order to keep the dragon in flight. It was more of an instinctual motion, instead of a prescribed action driven by a chart. After that flight, he and his new friend found themselves resting on a small outcropping of rock in the sea, with Toothless happily devouring a fish he had caught. The scent of food brought a group of Terrible Terrors, which fiercely ganged up on the Night Fury for a share. The larger dragon held his ground, even shooting a burst of plasma into the gaping mouth of a tiny intruder. "Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" Hiccup chuckled, tossing it a few scraps. The little one, contented, proceeded to curl up against the Viking's leg and settle down to sleep. Hiccup gently rubbed its scaly hide, amazed at how wrong everything he had known about dragons was.

And now he was finishing one of the final tests of Dragon Training. The goal of this was to at least try and take down a Gronkle, without getting killed. Only he and Astrid were left, and that surprised a lot of people. Not that Astrid was left, but that Hiccup was still alive. Hiccup jumped out into the open, only to have to dive back into to cover to avoid the incoming fireball. This landed him next to Astrid, who rounded on him and hissed, "This one is mine." She moved off, ducking behind cover again and again. Hiccup charged right up the middle, drawing the Gronkle away from Astrid, before scratching below its chin, effectively bringing the beast down. He heard both the crowd, roaring its approval, and Astrid, bellowing curses as she swung her axe in frustration. Hiccup tried to sneak off but Gobber caught him.

"Oh, no you don't." Gobber said, pulling him and Astrid, who was still giving him the evil eye, to stand in front of the Elder of Berk, Gothi. She was an old woman, the oldest Viking on the island. She was the only person who was a smart as Hiccup. Unfortunately, as smart as she was, she had long ago lost her voice, forced instead to draw her pictures on the ground for others to interpret.

"Gothi, these two have proven themselves the most worthy. Who shall be allowed to fight the Monstrous Nightmare?" Gobber asked, as the entire arena was covered with a blanket of silence, as everyone awaited her decision.

She looked at them both for several long minutes before drawing something on the ground. Gobber, one the only ones who could interpret these drawings, looked at what she had drawn. "A cup?" He asked her, to which she smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow…oh!" Gobber exclaimed, the realization hitting him like a mace to the face. "I present, this year's dragon fighter…Hiccup!" A cheer went up through the crowd, Gobber was smiling, and Astrid looked ready to murder him, heir status be damned. And all Hiccup could feel was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Later, Gothi found Hiccup outside her door, looking troubled. "Gothi, I need advice on a matter." Gothi looked at him inquisitively, waiting for Hiccup to explain, "Well, the thing is…why you choose me? Astrid and—and, Hel, even Fishlegs would to better than I would. Why me?" The elder looked at him for a long moment, seeming to contemplate why, in fact, she had chosen him. Then she took her staff and drew a few symbols in the ground.

"You…want…eat?" Hiccup read confused at what she was drawing, earning him a quick blow to the shoulder. Hiccup looked closer, "Oh. You want…peace." He looked back at Gothi, "How did you know?" Gothi began to walk, and Hiccup followed her. She didn't walk very fast as she was so much shorter than Hiccup, so he allowed himself to dawdle and cast his gaze around the forest as they moved.

Only when they had stopped did he realize that they were at the cove. Looking panicked, he looked down at Gothi, who was smiling up at him. "You saw me here?" He asked, terrified that others had seen him too. She nodded, before writing in the sand again. "I…am…the only…one…to… see you." Hiccup read, feeling relieved that she hadn't told anyone else. Unfortunately, someone else had just found out.

"Hey Hiccup. What are you and the elder doing out here?"

"Astrid—! Astrid. Hi, Astrid." Hiccup said, whirling around to see the blonde standing behind them. "What are you doing out here? And what is this thing that only the elder has seen you do?" Hiccup wished that he could rewind time, and stop the calamity about to happen. But it only got worse as Toothless bounded out, ready to greet him, and became immediately defensive when he saw Astrid and her axe. Seeing this, Hiccup put himself between Toothless and Astrid, hoping that they could settle their differences without recourse to violence.

(A/N: Forgive my laziness here, but you guys know this part goes)

"Let me show you."

"Toothless, Toothless we need her to like us."

"It's like a giant nest, and that's the Queen. We need to tell your father."

"No."

"Are you going to keep this a secret so you can protect him?"

"Yes."

"Oh. So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"That's for kidnapping me…and that. Is for, everything else."

The next morning came, and Hiccup couldn't believe where he was and what had happened. He had found and befriended a dragon, gotten to the top of the Dragon "Training" Academy, and Astrid had just kissed him the other night. But today, he had to do the impossible. He had to kill a dragon in the arena, in front of the entire village. Not only that, he would be facing off against an enraged dragon, that he would have little hope of training so quickly. He needed a plan and quick…

"You got a plan?" Astrid asked from behind him. Hiccup looked back, and sighed heavily, "Yeah I do."

Before Astrid could ask what it was, Gobber opened the gate, "There you go, Hiccup. Knock 'em dead."

Hiccup stepped inside as the gate closed behind him and he went to the weapons rack, taking a shield and a dagger. "I'm ready." He called out. The door opened and, a Monstrous Nightmare burst forth, already engulfed in flames. Stunned momentarily, Hiccup remembered his plan, dropped the shield and dagger, and sticking his pinkies in his mouth, he let out two piercing whistles. All the Vikings covered their ears at the noise, and even the dragon seemed mildly dazed at the sudden piercing noise. It recovered quickly however and began trying to fry him. Hiccup dodged left, before bolting to the side. Now he just had to wait.

Not a minute later, Toothless showed up, blasting a hole in the metal cage that encompassed the arena. The blast had the additional advantage of raising a cloud of smoke. "Good job bud, now free the other dragons." Toothless' aim was impeccable, but now Vikings had recovered and were spilling out into the arena to contain the madness that had erupted there. "The gate, Toothless," Hiccup whispered urgently. Not missing a beat, Toothless looked behind him and blasted the gate right off its hinges. "GO GO GO!" Hiccup yelled, hoping the dragons would understand. Thankfully, they did. They all jetted out of the arena.

Now 25 feet above the arena, Hiccup looked back, looking for Astrid, ready to apologize but only saw his father, as he yelled. "YOU'RE NOT A VIKING! YOU'RE NOT MY SON!" Hiccup slumped in the saddle, "Let's go, Bud." He and Toothless flew off, their destination unknown, but suffice to say that it would be anywhere but here. As he flew he remembered a rhyme he had once written that suited this situation

Tún stija eptir, inn jǫrð stija framar

Hiccup looked back, Berk now just a speck on the horizon.

Margr leið við troða stija hér

Um myrkr, við inn elding

Fyrir inn stiarna þola til ljós

þoka eða myrkr, sky eða hlíf

The sky above Hiccup darkened as the rains came in, and Toothless was forced into a nearby cave.

Allr skulu fǫlna

Toothless did not understand what had happened earlier that Hiccup had wanted to leave, but he knew enough to know that his rider and friend was grieving. He curled himself around Hiccup, encasing him in a natural enclosure of heat.

Allr skulu

Hiccup closed his eyes and silently wept, scared out of his mind about what was and what would become, before sleep claimed him.

Fǫlna

(A/N: Sorry, there was a previous upload that was bugged by HTML text. This is the real upload. That said, A huge shout out to those of you who are still reading. And a personal thank you to Authoress Liz, who helped so much by editing and writing parts of this story. Go check out her work. Alright, a challenge to all of you who think you can do it. Translate the song that Hiccup wrote. Thank you again to everyone who reads and please review, all of this helps immensely. This is YW20, signing off.)