Hey everyone, sorry for the kinda late update. School work and all has been keeping me busy. Now, just so you know, these chapters take place in the 'Race to the Edge' series of HTTYD, the only problem is, I dont have Netflix. So all the information I am basing my chapters off is from the episodes I have been able to watch on Youtube. All of those are really shit quality, and I only take notes on the basic storyline of each chapter. Anyway, a warning for a few chapters ahead (which are still being written), there will be scenes of very steamy romance and kissing and intimacy. Do not fear, there will be no sex scenes... just a lot of heat and intensity with kisses. hehehe. but that doesnt come for a little while yet. This chapter is to really get the ball rolling. Please review. :D
Hiccup watched as Shadow paced back and forth in his room. Her tail was swishing back and forth like an agitated cat, while she mumbled curses under her breath in as many languages as she could speak. She was as restless as a caged animal.
Hiccup had never seen her get so angry at one person before, not in a long time, and definitely not to that degree. The moment she set her sights on the hunter, Grey, she had roared in absolute fury and jumped at him like she was going to tear him apart. But after what Shadow told him on what happened, he supposed he couldn't blame her.
He knew that Shadow had suffered many horrific things in her life, and couldn't blame her for getting enraged when she saw him, but the fight that ensued in the docks had made people wary of her again. Every time she relapsed, it took everyone a while to stop being so tense around her, and it had been months since the last one. He thought that her anger and animalistic relapses were taken care of, but apparently not.
Sometimes Hiccup forgot that she wasn't a real human, he forgot that there was a lot of dragon in her. He shook his head at his own stupidity. It was as if he thought he could tame a dragon to renounce every part of its being and behave like a human, no matter what, it would still be a dragon. And dragons were dangerous.
Shadow had been pacing for about half an hour by now, and Hiccup was getting dizzy from watching her, so he sighed and stood up then made his way towards her. Without a word, he walked right into her and put his arms around her, being mindful of her wings, and hugged her. She stiffened at the gesture, but soon relaxed, and even wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.
Despite her being partly a cold blooded animal, Hiccup noticed that she was actually quite warm, and tightened his grip on her to feel closer to that warmth. Even the scales on her shoulder were soft, despite their tough and sharp appearance. He continued to hug her for a few minutes, letting the anger flow out her before speaking.
"You don't need to worry about him anymore, he left the island with trader Johan yesterday. Johan was told to drop him off on the next island he came to and leave him there. He won't be coming back here." He said softly.
As he spoke, he laid his cheek on top of her shoulder, with his face buried in the crook of her neck. Shadow tightened her grip on him, and subconsciously flexed her claws into his back, but he dint deem to mind.
"It's just been thirty years since I saw Grey last, even now it is too soon. What he did has haunted me for years, and I wont soon forget it. I just hopped that I would never set my sights on that monster again." She sighed. "Funny isn't it, that the worst monsters don't have scales, wings and claws, but are hidden within the hearts of regular people."
He could feel her shaking now, and nuzzled her neck in an attempt to make her feel better. She responded positively and gently nuzzled him back, purring slightly from the affection.
The two of them just stood there in each-other's arms, absorbing the warmth the other gave off, and secretly loving the way the other person's body fit perfectly in their arms. Hiccup continued to nuzzle into Shadow's neck, enjoying the feeling of intimacy probably a bit too much, and wondered to himself what it would fell like to press his lips against her pulse.
But sadly, Shadow's grip on him loosened and she slowly pulled away before he could. He let his hands trail down her bare arms, touching the surprisingly soft scales there, as she pulled away. He held onto her clawed hands and looked into her eyes, showing the care and dedication he gave her in his own deep, and expressive eyes.
She dropped her gaze from him and looked at the floor. "There was something else. Something Grey said… He's hunting another one of my kind." She said.
"I cant let him roam around, trying to kill one of my own kind. Our numbers are already low enough… but I don't know what I can do to find the other Black Moon." She said softly.
"Well, we can always get the team together and expand our search barriers, explore surrounding islands. Or we could go into some of the other villages and keep an eye out for him. But he could be anywhere and we have no way to track him." He said.
Shadow nodded in understanding. There truly wasn't much she or they could do, but Hiccup was willing to help however he could anyway. Sometimes she thought to herself that she must be dreaming, for whoever could care so much for a monster? Surely not Hiccup, but he kept proving her wrong.
He gently held Shadow's hand in his and brought it up to his lips, then placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. A small violet blush dusted her cheeks, but it went away quickly. Hiccup only just noticed, and gave a little lopsided smile.
It was some days later that they got an alert. Trader Johan was found and brought to Berk, wailing about how his ship and loot were stolen. As soon as they got to the details, they realised just how dire his robbery meant.
Dagur had escaped from prison and was assembling an armada. Not only that, but Grey, who had been on board the ship when it was attacked, decided to join the escaped Berserkers in their quest to hunt dragons. The minute that all the details were gathered from the flustered and crying trader, the Riders of Berk assembled in the arena.
Hiccup was leaning over a table covered with the largest map of the world they could find, with Shadow standing to his right, and Astrid to his left, the rest of the riders were strewn around the table leaning in as he spoke.
"Ok, here's what we need to do. Trader Johan gave me the location for his stored goods and wares, some place known as the Ship Graveyard. That's were Dagur and his men are heading so they can take whatever they find and use it to invest in a new fleet. We have to get to that location and try and stop him from getting started so he can't wreak havoc on everything.
We head North-East to the Graveyard, and if we can, save Johan's treasures and keep them from getting into Dagur's hands. Our main objective is to capture Dagur and his crew and incapacitate them, with minimal casualties. I want Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to search the wreckages, while Astrid and Snotlout provide cover from the air." He commanded. Everyone nodded at his orders. Then he turned to Shadow.
"I want you to fly overhead once we get there, completely out of sight and double back over the areas we check. You are to remain completely invisible and to keep an eye out for Dagur's arrival if we end up getting there first. Only engage if necessary." Shadow nodded at her commander.
She then walked over to a large area of ground and crouched down on all fours, willing the transformation to commence. It had taken almost two years to perfect this, and even now, she was still learning and stretching the capabilities of her forms, but now she had developed the ability to change at will.
Her body grew in size, and scales morphed over her skin. Her neck and face lengthened and her bones reformed from bipedal to quadruped. Her horns lengthened, as did her wings and tail, and soon, the transformation was complete. Thankfully it was a lot less painful than before.
Hiccup smirked while she changed, watching the muscle shift and reform. Once she was done, her massive dog-like head swung towards him, her silver eyes expressing her thoughts.
"Smug bastard, watching a girl while she changes. What would your father think?" She growled in the dragons tongue. The rest of the riders mounted their dragons and headed for the gate.
"Don't think I've forgotten you leaving yourself out of the mission brief. What do you plan to be doing while everyone is completing their task?"
"Johan told me about a particular ship, the Reaper. Said it was covered excessively in traps. Almost killed him when he tried to venture on board once. I'm thinking that there has to be something very important on that ship that someone wanted to hide. If we beat Dagur there, I want to check it out." He said to her.
Shadow huffed and growled a warning, not to needlessly risk his life for something that may not be important. "Nothing is more important, neither treasure nor knowledge, none is worth more than your life. Don't gamble it away."