Vǫrðr Inn Verǫld Svíða
Some men just want to watch the world burn
ACT I: embers
1: Arrival
This, is Berk.
Ships with brightly coloured sails – mostly red – were boxed into the harbor of the island that appeared to be a forest springing up out of the churning gray sea. The fierce wind made the boats rock, and carried the loud and excited voices of the people below to the dragon riders above.
Before our six-month, spleen-freezing winter, an annual get together between the six Viking tribes of the Barbaric Archipelago is starting. This year, it's being held on Berk. Since us Vikings are oh so creative, we call it a Thing.
A lanky, skinny teen with a freckly face and mop of auburn hair stood on the docks next to a huge man with a large red beard. "Stand up straigh' Hiccup," the man said, looking at him quickly before turning back to the horizon.
Hiccup's a great name, I know. But at least my dad says it with pride in his voice now.
Hiccup hurriedly tried to adjust his posture, but his father had already strode forward to shake the hand of another large man who had just walked out of one of the ships. The man had a dented helmet and a large, braided blond beard. "Stoick!" the man greeted, chuckling.
"It's good ta see yeh again Knuck," Stoick said cheerily. "An' of course yeh know my son Hic'up."
Stoick clapped a hand on the young teen's shoulder, which made his knees – well, knee buckle.
"I can see by tha leg tha' tha stories are true," Knuck said, gesturing to the metal and wooden prosthetic that replaced the majority of Hiccup's left leg. "Yeh'll have ta tell me tha full story some time. Can never be sure how reliable tha trader's tales are, yeh know?" He gave Hiccup a wink.
Knuck was the Chief of the Mangy Muttonhead tribe, our closest neighbours. He was alright, pretty nice and had a good sense of humour. His son, however, makes Snotlout look like a saint.
Hiccup internally groaned as a tall, wide teenager with stubble and dark, slanted eyes pulled up beside Knuck. Blond hair was pulled into a short braid in the back, and there was a brown fur cape wrapped around his shoulders.
"It's been quite a while, hasn't it Hiccup? Berk's changed so much," Knuck's son, Gringuts said. He grinned, revealing two rows of yellow, crooked teeth. A couple were missing.
The war with the dragons had ended roughly five months ago. The dragon-integration into Viking life hadn't gone completely smooth, and it still wasn't. Some Vikings still didn't like dragons. However, nobody was throwing their axes or ripping people to shreds with their claws. And everyone agreed it was better than when it had been kill or be killed.
However, the last time Hiccup had seen Gringuts had been when the older boy was shoving him into the mud, and what had been said didn't have a tone that was too friendly, so Hiccup uneasily returned the smile, unsure of what to say.
Their fathers were already walking down the docks, surely wrapped in a conversation about trading and weaponry, since Knuck had tapped the hilt of the long sword strapped to his left side.
Thankfully a distraction came in the form of a Monstrous Nightmare landing next to them. Vikings grumbled at the smaller space to fit their wide bodies through as Hiccup's cousin Snotlout leaped down from the saddle.
"You should go help the others Hookfang," Snotlout said. Many multi-coloured dragons were flying overhead, taking cargo to the Meade Hall where all the Vikings were congregating.
Hookfang gave his rider a pointed look and huffed – don't tell me what to do! – but flew off and started to do the task anyway.
After the short and obligatory greetings between Snotlout and Gringuts had been exchanged, Snotlout turned to his cousin. "Astrid said Toothless is looking for you – I think he's at the Meade Hall."
Hiccup sighed – his father had made him leave his dragon, Toothless at home. But Toothless was just too curious and well, Vikings probably wouldn't have the best reaction to him being around them. Some of Berk's villagers still shouted "Night Fury! Get down!" when the duo flew back home from their evening lap around the island.
"Great," Hiccup muttered. "Gringuts, can we head to the Meade Hall now? My dragon's there and well..."
"Of course," Gringuts replied, eyeing him warily. The three teens started to walk among the throng of Vikings. "Hiccup, is it true your dragon is a Night Fury?"
"Yes he is," Hiccup said, with a bit of pride coming into his voice. The most powerful dragon was his best friend after years of being seen as nothing more than a screw-up, the most powerful dragon preferred his company over everyone else's. He couldn't help the small smile that came to his face.
"He's not as cool as my Monstrous Nightmare though," Snotlout bragged and continued to talk Gringuts' ear off. Hiccup remained silent, happy to stay out of the conversation, and concentrated on walking.
It had been five months, but he still hadn't fully adjusted to his new leg. Gobber had said it took a while depending on the person, or the limb. For the blacksmith's right leg, it had taken a year. For his left arm, it had taken only a few months.
Hiccup carefully walked over a large tree root that had woven itself out onto the path. He did not want to trip, not without Toothless there to catch him.
Dumb dragon, Toothless was going to get himself hurt one of these days – a bad scenario of what could be waiting at the Meade Hall flashed through Hiccup's mind and he sped up, going ahead of the other two boys.
Within five minutes, they had reached the Meade Hall. Hiccup quickly scanned the crowd, looking for the black dragon that had become so familiar to him, but there was no sign of Toothless.
Stupid, useless reptile, he thought and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Hiccup slightly snapped his fingers when he realized where his dragon must have gone and groaned. "Snotlout, can you take Gringuts to the Meade Hall – I gotta go find my dragon – Gringuts you don't mind do you?"
As heir to the Hairy Hooligans, Hiccup was supposed to take Gringuts personally to the Meade Hall since the Mangy Muttonheads were the first to arrive. The other tribes would arrive sometime over the next three days.
But he didn't wait for an answer as he quickly pushed through the bustling crowd and into the dense forest of Berk.
"Odd, isn't he?" he heard Gringuts say.
"You don't know the half of it," Snotlout was saying, his voice becoming fainter. "This one time..."
Hiccup didn't get to nor care to hear the rest of the story. Luckily, he knew exactly where his dragon had gone.
#####
The young Viking carefully let himself weave around the boulders and duck the low-hanging branch that fell in between them, entering into the familiar scenary of the Cove. The birds that had made their nest in the beginning of autumn were gone, and the water was still.
Hiccup slowly scaled down the boulders onto the short bristles of grass, looking for his pesky dragon. But he was nowhere to be seen – the Night Fury must have been hiding. But Hiccup knew he had come to the right place.
This was their place. If Toothless wasn't where he should be, or for that matter, if Hiccup wasn't, they were always here instead.
"Toothless," Hiccup grumbled. "When I get my hands on you... I'm going to get in so much trouble..."
Stoick would not be pleased if he realized his son wasn't with Gringuts.
Hiccup walked towards the large pond when he felt a slight rush of air behind him and turned around, seeing Toothless leap down from on top of the boulders where the boy had stood moments ago.
"Why did you come here?" Hiccup said, annoyed.
Toothless let out a soft whine, and Hiccup's annoyance vanished. He gave the dragon a scratch on the chin and a small smile. "I know we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together this past week bud – dad's been keeping me busy." Hiccup sighed.
And Hiccup had fought his dad on it too, but Stoick hadn't budged. "You're going to be chief one day. The annual Thing is important to uphold. It helps keep the peace between the tribes."
"Don't you worry, all the tribes will be gone within two week and it'll be just you and me bud," he promised. "And we'll have lots nice, long flights."
He pet Toothless' soft nose and then went to climb on top of the saddle, but the Night Fury moved away.
"What is it bud?" Hiccup asked. Toothless wiggled his hindquarters, his tongue lolling out in excitement. Hiccup groaned. "Toothless, no, we don't have time to play tag."
Hiccup moved forwards, but again Toothless playfully leaped away. "Toothless, come here!" he snapped.
Toothless tilted his head in an innocent way, but his smug expression said otherwise. Catch me if you can! The black dragon ran away, looking back at his rider happily.
Hiccup rolled his eyes and then checked his prosthetic. After making sure it was strapped in place properly, he bolted after his dragon. Although Toothless could have made it completely impossible for him, the dragon never ran too fast, always running at a speed that left Hiccup near his tail. Somewhere between the panting and running, Hiccup found himself laughing, roaring with it when Toothless shot a gummy smile at him and almost tripped.
When Hiccup felt drained however, he sat down and slipped off his prosthetic, gently rubbing the throbbing stump. Toothless came over to nuzzle him, their rambunctious game of tag forgotten. The dragon made a soft rumble of concern.
Hiccup pet the dragon, grateful for the concern. "The stump's just a bit sore. Now can we go the Meade Hall?"
His metal leg clicked into the stirrup easily and the duo flew up into the air, gliding over the trees. The wind pushed Hiccup's hair back from his face, and although he knew there was no way his father, hadn't noticed his absence, he found he couldn't care.
He hadn't realized just how much he had missed spending carefree time with Toothless, and no matter the lecture or punishment his father handed out, it was worth it.
######
"Hic'up!"
As the lanky teen hopped off the dragon, he turned to see Gobber hobbling towards him. "Yer father's been lookin' everywhere for ya! Now git in tha hall – he refused ta star' tha meetin' wit'out ya."
Gobber herded him into the crowded Meade Hall, the villagers of Berk and the Mangy Muttonheads illuminated by the fire crackling in the fire pit.
Toothless went to follow him, but he heard Gobber say, "Nu-uh, no dragons allowed I'm 'fraid. Chief Knuck's request. Yeh'll have ta wait outside Toothless."
The large doors shut behind the blacksmith. Both of the amputees made their way towards Stoick, who was glowering at his son, the loudest sound in the hall the thud and clank of their respective prosthetics. The crowd around them whispered. Standing next to Knuck, Gringuts had a wide smile.
"We'll decide a punishment later," Stoick hissed to his son.
Then he loudly cleared his throat. "Now tha' my son is finally here, tha meetin' can officially begin. Wit' tha war wit' tha dragons being over, tha tradin' between our two tribes can be done more easily than ever. Dragons are able ta travel much faster than boats, an' we can use saddle bags ta transport goods."
"Tha' sounds reasonable," Chief Knuck said slowly. "Do yeh think yeh could 'ave tha operation ready by spring?"
Stoick nodded. "It should be doable."
Hiccup saw Mel, the local tanner and leather maker, gulp. They would mean a lot of work for him over the winter. His family, whom were all short and stocky and leather makers like him, stood beside him. His wife squeezed his hand and Mel smiled.
"However, I wan' ta see tha dragons in action first. How well they listen an' how fast they are an' all tha'."
"Of course. My son can demonstrate wit' his Night Fury. They're tha fastest dragon ya know." Stoick herded Hiccup out of the Meade Hall, followed by the Hooligans and at least twenty Muttonheads, not including the chief, his fair-haired wife and his son.
Hiccup almost tripped over Toothless, who had curled up next to the doors, dozing until his boy knocked into him. The dragon quickly stood up to catch him.
"Thanks bud," he told Toothless quietly. The duo walked down the stairs, the other villagers remaining on the platform outside of the Hall.
Hiccup climbed aboard the saddle, wiggling his good foot into the stirrup, his other clinking into place. "Now let's show them what dragons can do, eh Toothless?"
Toothless' wings spread out, and the Muttonheads oohed and awed. The Night Fury shot into the air like a rocket, spiralling into the clouds with ease. They swooped back down, doing a loop-de-loop.
Three plasma blasts came from Toothless' mouth to form faint purple targets they successfully and quickly flew through before soaring up in the air, even higher than before. Hiccup unlatched himself from the safety grip on the saddle and jumped off; the two fell through the air, both grinning.
Hiccup wormed his way back onto the saddle as Toothless flipped over onto the proper side for him to do so. The Viking's prosthetic went in and the tail fin fanned out; they glided over the Meade Hall.
Toothless landed gently in the same spot they had been standing in before. Slightly breathless, Hiccup got off the saddle. The entire crowd, even the Hairy Hooligans, who saw them fly regularly, erupted into cheers. Hiccup looked for his father, who was smiling and gave him a short nod of approval.
Chief Knuck was beaming, and even Gringuts was clapping, but he had an odd expression. It was almost... hungry.
Hiccup forgot all about it as Knuck came over and clapped on the shoulder. "Fine work m'boy, tha' was amazin'. May I see tha dragon up close?"
"Sure, just give me a minute." He pet Toothless' nose and bent down so they were at eye level. "Now bud, I know you don't like new people being really close to you. But this man's okay. So can you be all nice for him?" Toothless' eyes narrowed and he snorted, but tilted his head like nod. "Thanks bud. Extra fish tonight."
"Go ahead, just be gentle. And one at a time," Hiccup said to Knuck and to the other eager Muttonheads behind him. Knuck looked at Toothless with awe, slowly reaching out a hand to touch Toothless' flank.
Hiccup could see Toothless' claws dig into the ground a little more, resisting the urge to flinch, but he stayed nice and still, even as the other villagers slowly approached.
"So you did train it," Gringuts said softly. His dark eyes were wide, lips pulled into the smallest smile. He reached out a hand to touch Toothless' snout, but the dragon made a low growl and he quickly moved his hand away.
Hiccup knew why: that was something he, and only he, was allowed to do. Nobody else had ever touched Toothless on the snout besides Hiccup since that day in the cove. And Toothless didn't plan on changing that rule anytime soon.
The Viking scratched his dragon lightly under the chin, in the dragon's sweet spot. His low growl turned to a content purr instantly. "It's okay bud." He turned to face Gringuts. "And yes, I really did befriend him."
"Well, I doubt the other dragons and their riders are as impressive as him, but I would love to meet them," Gringuts replied.
Hiccup's eyes narrowed slightly. Gringuts had seen the tail fin, surely knew that Hiccup had done roughly half the work. Which made one thing clear: he would always be Hiccup the Useless in Gringuts' eyes. As if sensing his rider's distress, Toothless nudged his hand, placing his nose under it. Hiccup's lips twitched upwards.
"Of course," he said curtly. He looked up to Knuck, who was still looking at Toothless with as much awe as before. "Chief Knuck, would you like to see all the riders in action at the Dragon Training Academy?"
"A fine idea Hic'cup m'boy, lead tha way," the Chief said heartily.
#####
It only took a few minutes to reach the Dragon Training Academy. Shortly after waking up, Hiccup's father had given him the old Kill Ring to use for a dragon training school. The older dragons who knew what the place was were still uneasy in it, but the younger, wild ones had no trouble with it. The younger, and older, children and teens were taught here; Astrid had some of the young kids in class with her right now.
Much to her displeasure, Astrid had been tasked with teaching a class about Nadders even though the Muttonheads and the some of the traders were coming into today. But she seemed to have gotten it over as she spoke enthusiastically to the ten or so children, all of them around ten or eleven years old. Her own Nadder, Stormfly, was resting near to her in the arena with one yellow eye open.
"Right this way," Hiccup said as he led Knuck and Gringuts into the Academy. Astrid paused in her speech about Nadder's grooming habits and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
"Kids, this is Chief Knuck of the Mangy Muttonheads," she told them, and gave Knuck a respectful nod. He smiled at her.
"I can see this dragon trainin' academy's been put ta good use t'en," he said cheerily. "Is tha' yer Nadder in tha corner?"
Astrid walked over and pet Stormfly's nose. "Yes she is. Stormfly, c'mon girl, get up." The dragon got to her feet, shaking out her wings. Her students "oo"ed and "aw"ed. "Anything you want to know in particular, Chief Knuck?"
"I think a flight demonstration would be interestin'," he said. Astrid smiled.
"With pleasure." Stormfly waddled out of the arena through the traditional exit and the two quickly took to the air. Astrid showed off some of her tricks, which were pretty cool. Stormfly landed neatly back to the ground and Astrid leaped off the saddle and led her blue and yellow dragon back into the arena. She scratched the Nadder lightly under the chin.
"Good job girl," she said quietly. Knuck was clapping appreciatively, as were the students. Gringuts had a large smile on his face which only widened as he looked at Astrid, a little too long than normal, Hiccup noticed.
He felt a pang of annoyance but didn't do anything about it. He and Astrid weren't a couple - friends, but not a couple - and she was perfectly capable of stopping unwanted advances if she wished too. But he couldn't push down the small voice that hoped she wished to.
"Very impressive," Knuck told her. "So, I suppose yer tha Nadder expert 'round here?"
"That's right Sir," she said with pride in her voice. Hiccup grinned. "Each of us teach the kids about the different dragons and classes. When these kids turn twelve, they'll get a dragon of their own. As it is, Hiccup's currently teaching some to fly for the first time this afternoon," she explained. She flashed Hiccup a quick grin.
Hiccup felt his stomach do a flip-flop.
"Master of the skies, eh Hic'up?" Stoick was beaming at the high praise from the other Chief.
It took him a couple of seconds to come back into reality. Hiccup gave Knuck a small smile. "I suppose so, Sir."
"He's being too modest. He controls Toothless' prosthetic tailfin - it's the only way Toothless can fly."
Knuck perked up at this. "Really? How interesting. Looks like a downed dragon ain't always a dead dragon."
"It's actually the reason we became friends in the first place," Hiccup told him, feeling uncomfortable. Talking about Toothless' disability made a lump form in his throat. He doubted the guilt over it would ever go away fully, especially not until he came out and told Toothless directly he had been the one to take away the dragon's ability of independent flight.
The past few months had been so busy, there hadn't really been a good time. Or at least that's what he had convinced himself. Truth be told, he was scared of how Toothless would react, scared to lose his first and best friend...
Hiccup cleared his throat. "When I teach the new students this afternoon, would you like to attend the lesson, Chief Knuck?"
Knuck clapped him on the shoulder - he staggered forward but the Chief hadn't noticed. Gringuts had, and shot him a nasty grin; Hiccup ignored him and instead pet Toothless' nose, for the dragon had let out a soft, concerned croon. "Tha's some'ing I would love ta see Hic'up. Consider me there m'boy." He turned towards his son and Stoick. "I think it's time we went back ta tha hall, don't yeh Stoick?"
"Of course Knuck," Stoick said warmly. "Hic'up, ya can stay here an' help Astrid wit' tha lessons if ya want. An' son, ya'll be doin' some extra work for Gobber." As far as punishments could go, this was a more mild one that Hiccup couldn't really complain about. He suspected the way that Knuck had been so impressed with Toothless had softened it.
The three Vikings left quickly and Hiccup and Astrid turned back to the eleven preteens on the floor, one of whom was staring at Toothless with awe. "Are ya sure we can't learn 'bout Night Furies instead Miss Astrid?"
Hiccup tried to stifle a laugh as Astrid frowned at the boy who had spoken. "Afraid not Jargon. And we're going back to Nadders." The messy hair boy pouted.
"Okay Miss Astrid." Jargon relented when her cold stare didn't waver.
Astrid smiled. "That's what I thought. Now back to Nadders - but this time you'll be getting some hands-on experience with Stormfly."
All of the kids, including Jargon, cheered.
#####
Hiccup stayed for the Nadder lesson, although he didn't intrude. Deadly Nadders were Astrid's expertise, after all, and she knew much more than he. He helped her keep the excitable ten and eleven year olds under control while she guided a few through acting around Nadders. Then, after a little while, the small groups of kids would rotate.
Luckily all of them were fascinated by Toothless, so they were content to stay quiet while he talked about his dragon and Astrid went through the motions of being a rider of Nadder.
After the last few stragglers had left the arena to go to the Meade Hall, Hiccup walked up to Astrid. "Good job today, with Knuck and the kids."
She smiled at him - his stomach did a somersault. "Thanks Hiccup. Having Toothless there definitely helped keep them occupied. I can't have them all crowd Stormfly - you know how it is," she said, giving her dragon an affectionate pat. Stormfly nuzzled her back.
"All too well," Hiccup replied. "Meatlug loves it though," he added. Just yesterday Fishleg's Gronkle had been playing with a swarm of kids just off the Academy while they waited for Snotlout to teach his lesson - he had been late, like always.
Astrid chuckled. "How are you feeling about the flying lessons?" she asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "Alright I guess. We won't be going too high, of course. A few of them are riding Nightmares, so that'll be interesting." Astrid nodded in agreement.
Hiccup was grateful that unlike the others, he didn't have regular lessons. He taught the flying lessons at least twice a week, and even then the others often chimed in to help with the kids who were riding their specific dragon. That was one perk of Toothless being the only Night Fury in Berk: more time for individual flying.
"How's your own flying been going?"
Hiccup grinned at her. "Really good actually. We've been trying to perfect this trick with loop-de-loops where I unlatch myself at the top and he catches me underneath but it'll mean some adjustments for the tail-"
He rambled off, oblivious to his habit and deliriously happy.
Astrid smiled as she watched him talk excitedly and shared a knowing look with Toothless. He's always like this, the dragon seemed to tell her, although he too seemed to be smiling. She did her best to listen, but found herself tuning out when he started talking about his theory of aerodynamics, which she didn't understand a single bit.
When Hiccup paused to take a breath a few minutes later, she swooped in and said, "How about we head to the Meade Hall for some lunch?"
He nodded. "That sounds good." He looked at her, puzzled, when she got on top of Stormfly's saddle. Usually they walked.
"Race ya?"
He grinned and hopped on top of Toothless. "You're on."
They shot out of the Academy's exit.
#####
The twins had decided to come to the afternoon flying lesson, seeing as the majority of the new riders, kids - six out of ten - were riding Zipplebacks. All of whom, however, were a single rider with two heads, so they had to alter their advice a little. But it was still helpful, Hiccup had noted cheerfully, and nobody had fallen this time. Which was lucky, since Knuck had indeed come to watch the lessons happen.
"You all did well," Hiccup told the kids as they traveled back to the main path of the town from the Academy. Their Zipplebacks, Monstrous Nightmare and lone Gronkle walked beside, excitable as they were still fairly young dragons, but old enough to fly and behave properly. Most of the time, anyway.
"Thanks Master Hiccup," a girl said, named Nonta said. Her flaming orange hair was pulled into three horizontal braids, her Gronkle nudging her hand affectionately.
Hiccup smiled at her and made sure all of the kids and the dragons got back to their parents, or to the Meade Hall.
"I don't see why they don't call me Master Tuffnut," the Thorston twin brooded.
"I don't see why anyone would," Ruffnut replied. Tuffnut looked like he might have started a fight, but Ruffnut was cracking her knuckles and he didn't hit her.
"Still, why's Hiccup the only one to be called Master?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" a voice said behind them. Hiccup stopped walking and even the twins slowed down to allow Fishlegs to catch up with them. He took a moment to catch his breath and gave Hiccup a grateful smile. "As I was saying before, isn't it obvious? He's the best rider - the first one - and he has to control Toothless' tailfin while flying and he figured how to do it all by himself. The kids see him as the best; and he is."
Hiccup smiled uncertainly. "Gee Fishlegs, I wouldn't say I'm the best out of all of you... But thanks. And that does make sense, I guess." He walked with the other kids back towards the docks.
Toothless nudged his backside impatiently. While the others started to head down the docks to see the newest trader ship that had pulled into the harbor, Hiccup got into his saddle. Fishlegs looked back at him, confused, but then he said, "Going for a flight?"
"Yeah, Toothless and I have some catching up to do," Hiccup said simply. Toothless made a rumbling noise of agreement. "I'll be back in time to meet the other heir that's coming today though, don't worry." The Nutty Northmen would be arriving before sunset, and like with the Mangy Muttonheads, he needed to escort their heir, Norman, to the Meade Hall and 'entertain' him.
Toothless raised his wings to hit Hiccup lightly on the side of the head. "Yeah, yeah, we're going. See you later Fishlegs!" The duo were soon high in the air.
#####
They did loop-de-loops, although they didn't practice the trick they were working on. The Viking could potentially hurt himself, and had decided his dad wouldn't be too happy if he did - it had happened before, with other aerial tricks after all, and the other tribes coming would not help matters.
Usually, flying made all of his worries go away, for the flight at least, but seeing Berk up high among the clouds and all the ships in the harbor did the opposite. Toothless seemed to sense the worry building up in his stomach, and made his soft crooning noise. It broke Hiccup out of his stupor just in time; the tailfin fanned out and they missed the column of rock they had been gliding towards.
"Wha-? Oh sorry bud, I'm just distracted is all..." Hiccup sighed. "You know, it's still hard to adjust even though it's been almost half a year. I went from being a disgrace to being a hero overnight - Hel I was even disowned and then became a hero... And I'm not a hero - you did most of the work anyway -"
Toothless slapped him in the face with an ear-plate. Now what did I say about being down on yourself?
Hiccup almost smiled. "And it's been great, being accepted, the teens are my friends, real friends now. And of course, we can spend a lot more time together than before and I don't have to worry about anyone discovering you."
Hiccup looked back down at the boats. "But today, with Gringuts and the other heirs arriving - how much will it have changed with them? Or will they still treat me like I'm Hiccup the... Hiccup the Useless...?"
Toothless whined sadly. Hiccup had talked about his old position among the villagers before, back when their friendship was a secret, and the idea that 'Hiccup the Useless' had once been his boy's nickname made him sad and angry. If there was anything Hiccup wasn't, it was useless.
"Thanks for listening bud." Hiccup stroked the dragon's soft nose. Toothless' slimy tongue reached up to lick the boy's hand. Hiccup recoiled, disgusted, but he was laughing and Toothless grinned to himself.
Hiccup looked around - the sun was just beginning to dip towards the mountains. The Nutty Northmen would arrive soon. "Alright bud, let's go back to the docks."
The Night Fury descended through the clouds with a little more flair than perhaps necessary, but Hiccup couldn't complain.
#####
Norman was a gangling fifteen year old, with a narrow face and a huge nose. His feet and hands were too big for his body, and his dark hair that peeked out of his helmet was as greasy as ever. The actual boy wasn't that bad, and after Hiccup escorted him to the Meade Hall, he immediately found Ruffnut, whom he harbored a soft spot for. Ruffnut, however, wanted nothing to do with him, but couldn't throw him off no matter how many times she punched him.
At least it took him off Hiccup's hands. He didn't have much time to think about it however; Gobber kept him busy at the forge that evening.
The next day, mid-morning, as Hiccup helped Fishlegs rewrite the Book of Dragons - the whole thing had to be rewritten, as it was pretty much all about killing them, not training - per usual, the Angry Axemen arrived.
Their heir, Lenlos, was a large lump of a teen not unlike Fishlegs in appearance, but taller, and more muscular. Curly hair stuck out of his wide, lopsided helmet. While Gringuts had been the ringleader of the heirs when it came to bullying Hiccup, Lenlos had been the one to throw the most punches, and one black eyes too many made Hiccup very irritable around him. Lenlos didn't seem to notice - did he notice anything? - and immediately went to hang out with Gringuts and Norman, who had finally given up on trying to woo Ruffnut.
Besides the occasional nasty grin or snide comment, Gringuts left him alone over the following days as they waited for the last tribe of the Barbaric Archipelago to arrive, and Hiccup was grateful.
Hiccup continued on with visiting the others with their dragon lessons and did two more flying lessons with some of the new riders so Chief Norbert of the Nutty Northmen and Chazor of the Angry Axemen could see dragon riding in action. In the evenings, Hiccup was forced to attend trading negotiations meetings between the Chiefs. The other heirs were forced to attend as well.
At least, Hiccup thought happily, most of the day was his to do as he pleases. He and the other riders had some dragon races. He helped a woman figure out what was wrong with her dragon (it had eaten a rotten fish) and helped her fix the problem. He and Fishlegs got to roughly halfway through the first class of dragons in the Book. He and Toothless were always the first up to fly in the mornings and the last to come down in the evenings. Things were going well.
Neither Norman nor Lenlos nor Gringuts had aggressively approached him. It seemed as though he had been worried for nothing; they would, albeit a tad reluctant on Gringuts' part, go along with whatever the majority of Berk had decided.
It was a comforting thought as he and Toothless glided over the moon, the stars twinkling and the norðrljós, waves of unbelievable colour, passing through the sky. The dragon rider knew he had to take advantage of what little time they had left before winter when their night flights would grow too cold to do. Toothless absolutely loved them, being a Night Fury and all, and Hiccup found an unexplained sense of peace. It was also a good way to help with his night vision as well.
"One last round before we head home?" Hiccup asked Toothless, grinning. His best friend said yes by putting on an extra burst of speed.
They did their lap around the majority of the island fairly slowly, as neither really wanted to go home. It gave the lanky teenager a good chance to observe the village below him. Many small, although now closed, stalls with canopy's on top of poles had been put up: traders hoping to sell their goods to a wider population of Vikings.
Then, a little while away from the village, was the Visitor Centre, a collection of twelve small houses that were always used whenever it was Berk's turn to host the Thing. The Chief and his intermediate family got one house to themselves, and whoever they had brought with them - usually twenty or so Vikings - stayed in the other two houses, as three houses were allotted to each tribe so it would be fair.
Just a few hills over was the Haddock house. Even though it was late, Hiccup could see a candle flickering in the windows. Stoick, looking over some official documents or something of the sort.
"Let's go in the sneaky way," Hiccup told Toothless; he didn't want to disturb his father unless it was necessary. Silently and perfectly, they maneuvered themselves into the Viking's room through the large window in it.
Hiccup quietly got up and undid Toothless' flying gear and took it all off, even the saddle. Although it was a hassle in the morning, the leather could rub against the Night Fury's scales, which was uncomfortable. Hiccup hung it all up on a hook near the stairs in his room that led down to the rest of the house.
He sat on his bed and removed his prosthetic as Toothless circled his large stone slab in the room and burnt the rock below him with fire before resting happily. Hiccup set his metal leg beside his bed and then lay down and pulled the blanket over him.
"Goodnight bud," he whispered.
Toothless made a quiet, rumbling sound. Goodnight Hiccup.
#####
The last tribe was arriving today, and the whole village was abuzz with activity. The Big Brutes always brought the most people from their tribe and the traders were eager to restock all their supplies in their stalls, which meant a lot of trips between the small stalls and their ships in the harbor. The harbor had almost never been this full, Hiccup noted, flying above it in the early morning on this annual morning flight with Toothless.
The sun was still rising and fog was still thick around the island. The clouds were pink, shot with gold but were quickly fading away. Today would a be a cloudless, yet windy day - almost perfect flying conditions. The best ones for free-falling, anyway.
The duo landed at the Meade Hall for breakfast. Most Vikings ate there, preferring to be cooked for themselves by their large team of bakers and chefs than make breakfast in their own home. All the visitors from the tribes ate here without question.
Dragons were allowed in during meal times, as long as they behaved, (Meatlug and Barf and Belch were no longer allowed, for obvious reasons,) so Toothless trotted after his rider into the Hall.
Even though it had been five months, every time Hiccup stepped into the Hall he found a surge of happiness at seeing the other teens sitting a table, and knowing that he could sit and talk and laugh with them. That they were his friends.
He slid onto the bench next to Snotlout, who was enthusiastically ripping meat off a drumstick. "Enjoying yourself?" he teased. Snotlout scowled at him with a mouth stuffed with chicken and looked quite hilarious. Hiccup chuckled.
Toothless curled up around the table, his tail wrapped around his foot and prosthetic. Astrid slid the bowl of chicken over to him and Fishlegs handed him the pitcher of water. Hiccup gave them a smile of gratitude.
Lunch passed quickly as the twins recounted their Hideous Zippleback lesson's mishaps that had taken place this morning. The kids had been perfectly behaved, of course; the twins had been the ones who had blown stuff up. "The kids have potential for it," Tuffnut said thoughtfully. "We just have to help them get there."
"Please don't," Fishlegs whimpered. Snotlout laughed.
"Please do. But anyway, I'm excited for the Big Brutes to get here," Snotlout said, taking another bite of chicken. "Koza might finally realize what a good match we'll be."
Koza was the heir to the Big Brutes. Dark-haired, curvy and pretty-faced, her father Mosso would have no problem finding her a suitable, top-notch husband. Snotlout had failed to 'woo' her in all of the past years, and Hiccup highly doubted that anything would have changed her opinion of his cousin.
It wasn't unusual for Snotlout to hit on girls, but one thing Hiccup had noticed was that he didn't do so to Astrid as often anymore. Sure, there were suggestive comments here and there, but not nearly as much as Snotlout used to deliver them. Perhaps he was slowly picking up on the fact that she wasn't fact, whenever Hiccup or Astrid had gotten romantic attention from any of the younger or older Berkian teens, he would cast them quick grins. Hiccup still didn't know what to make of it, but it was embarrassing.
"Yeah I'm sure," Tuffnut said. "And then what'll happen? You'll go live on their island?"
Snotlout glared at him. "No way. She'd live here with me and Hookfang!"
"I'm sure that'll go over real well," Ruffnut added. The Thorstons continued to tease him and Fishlegs turned to Astrid and Hiccup.
"I think it would be interesting to interview some of the Zippleback riders. Most of the Zipplebacks only have one rider, so it would be good to add tips into the Book for future singular riders," he explained.
"Maybe we can talk to some of the students at náttverðr," Astrid suggested. "Does that work for you two?" Both boys nodded. She glanced towards the twins and Snotlout, whose argument was growing quite loud. It wasn't that the Vikings around them would hear, nor care - Vikings were always the loudest of the lot, but it was starting to grate on her nerves. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to see the traders down at the docks."
The trio (along with Toothless) walked out of the Meade Hall and down the steps. "Stormfly's been bugging me to get some new saddle leather," Astrid explained. "Spoiled dragon."
"At least you get to sleep in," Hiccup said. Astrid rolled her eyes.
"You love flying as much as Toothless does," she countered dryly. He grinned sheepishly. "That's what I thought."
#####
Two Big Brute ships - larger than any of the other tribes ships - were spotted on the horizon just before the sunset started.
Fishlegs, Astrid, Hiccup and by extension, Toothless, had spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the different traders at the docks and all the different stalls around town. Astrid had indeed found some nice leather and had already booked an appointment with Mel, the short and stocky local tanner and leather maker. Fishlegs had simply browsed, being too indecisive to buy anything. Hiccup had purchased another new notebook as his old one was almost finished, and some new charcoal for pencils. And at Toothless' begging, a special type of fish that the spoiled reptile had quickly gobbled up.
The three friends and one dragon waited at the docks as the rest of the Vikings came down as well to greet the Big Brutes. Snotlout, Tuffnut and Ruffnut eventually joined them as the ship started to come into the harbor.
"Still going to try to win Koza over?" Astrid teased, grinning at the look of discomfort that passed over Snotlout's face. He gulped.
"I've recently realized the advantages of being single," he said, trying to sound suave but completely failing. He quickly regained his composure and quirked an eyebrow at Astrid. "Unless you're interested." The blonde rolled her eyes.
Stoick came up from behind and put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We should be right down there ta greet 'em son," he said.
"See you later guys," he told the others before allowing his dad to steer him away.
"Later," the other teens echoed. Toothless started to wordlessly follow him, but Stoick turned to the dragon.
"No dragons, I'm 'fraid. Ya can stay wit' tha others Toot'less," Stoick said. Hiccup sighed; stupid, visitor-meeting protocol, but nodded at Toothless, and although clearly reluctant, Toothless obeyed and stayed with the teens.
"Now Hic'up, wit' tha way things have changed, Koza might treat ya dif'rently than before, ya know?" Stoick said awkwardly, clearly struggling for words. "An' well, don't get too caught up in tha'. Remember how she was before."
The idea that his father was implying - that he might actually be interested in Koza! - made him start laughing so hard his cheeks hurt within seconds. Stoick looked confused. "Son?"
"Thanks for the advice dad, but you don't need to worry about that," he told his father, still slightly chuckling.
Koza might have been almost as pretty as Astrid, but he knew from experience that she had none of Astrid's warmth, or humour, and those were the things he appreciated the most in their friendship. Koza was shallow and two-faced and Hiccup would never forget that, even if she did treat him differently.
Stoick was evidently relieved, judging by the look on his face. "Glad ta hear it son. Just wait a few years an' ya'll an' Astrid might be somethin'..." And the awkwardness had come back.
Hiccup groaned; this was not the direction he wanted this conversation to take. "Dad - please, you don't have to talk anymore," he said, practically begging. Stoick chuckled.
"Glad ta hear tha' too."
They waited the rest of the in silence as the Big Brutes ships as the ships finally dropped anchor on the edge of the extremely full harbor. The Chief, Mosso, a short but beefy man with a long, braided mustache and a long scar running up one cheek, stepped out. Koza followed behind him. Her mother, as Hiccup had understood it, had died shortly after childbirth and Chief Mosso had never remarried.
"Stoick an' young Hic'up!" Mosso said, quickly shaking both of their hands. "An' my daughter Koza, it's been too long. We must hear all of tha stories while we're here, shouldn't we Koza?" He didn't give his daughter time to answer as he sped on, "An' I see tha' ya've been adjustin' well ta tha leg, wonderful!"
Mosso continued to chat excitedly as they went up the docks. Hiccup noticed Koza eyeing him, even batting her eyelashes at him, but steadily ignored her. Quite quickly, they reached the Meade Hall. Decorative lights that usually only used for Snoggletog had been hung and three tables had been put end to end, piled high with trays of food and meat and large mugs overflowing with beer.
"Let the celebration begin!" Stoick announced. The Vikings all cheered - all of the adults raised their mugs in a toast and then started a hearty chorus of songs.
Hiccup quickly found his friends, who were singing along gladly and dancing. Astrid ignored his protests ("Really, I can't dance,") and pulled him onto the dance floor. Soon he forgot that he 'couldn't dance' and forgot about his prosthetic, even found his stump didn't hurt as the hours wore on.
Tonight, happily surrounded by friends and away from the other heirs, nothing could bother him. It wouldn't last forever, he already could tell, but for tonight, it was enough. They would deal with whatever problems that came along with tomorrow later.
But tonight - tonight was perfect.
A/N: Hello. I decided to post this chapter, as I've been wanting to for a while and I would absolutely love some feedback on this.
Luckily for those who have become intrigued, not will all the chapters be, hopefully, as lengthy if not more so than this one, but there will also be regular updates, as half of Act I is almost finished (chapter 3 is 50% done). So, an update every other week unless something very odd comes about.
Tell me what you liked and disliked down below, or any suggestions of improvement for my writing style. If there are any small errors, that is entirely my fault, as I do not have a Beta.
Also, an important note, Astrid's role in the movie's been altered slightly. She never kisses Hiccup, cheek or otherwise. Instead, a smile or thank you in the cove, and a hug at the end. I feel like it's more in character and I'll be happy to explain why if anyone feels like having a discussion about it - however please be civil. This way, not only is it better for her, but she and Hiccup have more time to really get to know one another as friends and build the mutual respect and trust that will be important for a romantic relationship later.
norðrljós = is northern lights in Old Norse.
náttverðr = supper in Old Norse.
Unfortunately, there are no English-Old Norse direct translators I could find, but if you know of any, please leave a link in a review and I will very joyfully check it out.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this. :)