A/n: Back again, with something a bit different that came to mind. So, not a continuation of the last chapter, but I'm working on that!
"Whoo!" Hiccup yelled, unable to contain his sheer joy as he and Toothless soared through the skies. They were off to expand the map, broadening their horizons and - hopefully - discovering some new dragon species on the way.
Hiccup patted Toothless gently and the night fury bobbed through the cloud layer in response, the two getting a light coat of water as they passed through. It had taken Hiccup quite a while to get over the 'clouds aren't actually soft - in fact, they're damp and unpleasant' thing; Toothless had nearly crashed the first time he took Hiccup into the cloud layer, laughing too hard to fly properly in amusement at Hiccup's shock.
"Let's stop here for a bit," Hiccup pointed down at a nearby island, "I need to add on everything we've seen so far."
Hiccup set out this morning with the map of the archipelago and a few extra sheets of paper. The other dragon riders hadn't come with him on the trip; they were helping his dad set up a proper arena for the new game they'd recently invented: dragon racing. Hiccup thought it could be an interesting game, if not for the fact that he, riding the fastest and most agile of all the dragons, would win every time.
Toothless touched down lightly on the new land. It was quite similar to Berk - they were, after all, still quite close - with its expanses of grass and visible forests in the distance. It wasn't somewhere Hiccup recognised as a Viking island though, so there was no telling what the inhabitants were like. If there were any humans, the safest bet was to assume them unfriendly though; this was Viking territory, and very few Viking tribes followed a 'questions first, killing later' ethos.
Regardless of the possible danger, Hiccup sat down and began to sketch. It was a relaxing activity, one that Toothless could join in with, via the use of an uprooted tree and the dirt in the ground. When both dragon and rider were finished with their drawing, Hiccup folded the map away and hopped back onto Toothless's back.
"Let's go, bud," Hiccup prompted, clicking his prosthetic into place. The pair set off to explore the island from the air, sticking close to the tree level so they could still see the details on the ground. They hadn't been flying for long when they saw a group of people. "Hey, how about we go say hello?"
Toothless twisted his neck to look at Hiccup. The Viking could almost hear what his dragon must've been thinking - Seriously? Not bothered about the 'dragon killing' thing anymore, are we?
"Oh, come on," Hiccup argued, "It's not like we're defenceless, Mr Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself."
Toothless rolled his eyes, but he complied, swooping down to meet the small group of people.
They looked like Vikings, though not the type you found around Berk. The effects of the Green Death's mind control hadn't reached dragons this far away from the nest, so Vikings in these parts were unused to dealing with dragons. That didn't mean they were friendly with them, just a lot more scared. And, since Toothless was a night fury...
"Night fury!" one of the Vikings screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Toothless. The dragon snorted in amusement as the other humans turned tail and fled, not even staying long enough to notice the boy perched on the dragon's back, sharing in his mirth.
"That went well," Hiccup chuckled, wiping an eye as it started to tear up from his amusement. "Okay, so maybe approaching them like that wasn't the best idea..."
Toothless looked at him. No kidding, he said, expression enough for Hiccup to understand his speech.
"Well how was I supposed to know they were all going to have a head-for-the-hills approach to dragons?" Hiccup asked defensively. "So..." he continued, a mischievous grin spreading on his face, "want to go scare some more people?"