Soaring high up above the ocean, Hiccup heaves in a lungful of cold, fresh air. He spreads his arms out from his sides like he has wings of his own. Beneath him, Toothless' wings hold steady, allowing them to glide gently among the clouds. While things have been going well back in the village, his friendships with Astrid and Fishlegs growing when he'd never thought that was possible, this is where Hiccup feels he truly belongs. He feels light and free up here with his best friend, more at home than he's ever really felt with both feet on the ground.
Since they've been flying together more and more, Hiccup has grown more confident and eager to try new things. Gripping the saddle with both hands, he guides Toothless to fly higher, climbing almost vertically through the air. They keep pushing until the air is just a little too thin to be comfortable, before turning into a sharp dive. With Toothless' wings tucked in close, they plummet at a speed that Hiccup is still learning to get used to. When Toothless finally snaps his wings open, they level out just over the surface of the water, leaving small waves in their wake. The whole thing is so exhilarating that Hiccup can't help but let out an excited whoop of joy. Toothless lets out a happy warble to let Hiccup know that he, too, is happy they're flying together.
With a nudge of his legs, Hiccup directs Toothless back towards Berk and the Night Fury complies without hesitation. They stay low, weaving lazily through sea stacks as gulls fly overhead. As they get closer, Hiccup spies a group of Deadly Nadders on one of the secluded beaches. Leaning forward to give Toothless a pat on the head, he asks, "What do you think bud? Should we pay them a visit? See what they're up to?"
In response, Toothless slightly adjusts their flight path to lead them directly towards the beach. The Nadders, four of them, notice their approach as they get closer and back up a bit, giving them a wide berth to land. It's clear that they're slightly wary, not quite sure if Toothless is a friend or not. The Night Fury lets out a low, gentle noise that seems to assuage them. That is, until they notice the human figure perched on his back. Immediately, the Nadders tense. Hiccup can see marks on a few of them, scars that have likely come from axes or swords wielded by angry Vikings. He wonders if those Vikings were from Berk, from Vikings he knows, or if they came from Vikings on some other island. Hiccup can't blame them for the way they nervously raise their tails at the sight of him. Slowly, he dismounts and plants his feet in the sand, keeping his hands low, open, and out to his sides, he makes it very clear to them that he isn't holding a weapon.
"Hey guys," Hiccup says, keeping his voice light. "Toothless and I thought we might join you on this lovely beach." Hiccup reaches out to give Toothless' scales a pleasant scratch. The Night Fury responds by wrapping his tail around the boy's legs and nuzzling into his side.
The Nadders look at them curiously, tilting their heads at the easy display of affection between the two of them. It's rather… unusual to see a dragon and human interacting in such a way. But this human seems to be different than the others they've had the displeasure of interacting with in the past. One of the Nadders, its scales a rich gold color, dares to come closer. Toothless tightens his tail around Hiccup, letting them know that he won't hesitate to protect the boy. Hiccup, excited the Nadder is giving him a chance, slowly reaches out a hand. Hesitantly, it gives his hand a sniff before chirping in delight and pressing its snout to the boy's palm. Letting out an excited laugh, Hiccup runs his hands over the Nadder's scales.
Seeing this positive interaction has the other Nadder's lowering their tails, no longer preparing to lash out. Two of the Nadders decide to ignore them and bed down in the warm sand, using their wings to pull the sand up a bit higher around them. Another heads to the water, taking a moment to splash around in the cool water. And the Nadder that approached Hiccup? It walks towards the tree line, combing through the brush. After a moment, it gallops back over carrying a large stick in its mouth. The Nadder drops it into the sand at Hiccup's feet with a muffled thud.
"Is this for me?" Hiccup asks, bending down to pick up the stick.
As soon as he has it in his hands, the Nadder lets out an eager squawk and an excited wiggle. Hiccup gives the stick an experimental wave and the Nadders eyes follow the movement with rapt attention. Waving it back the other direction, the Nadder's gaze doesn't waver. A large grin stretches across Hiccup's face before he turns and throws the stick as far down the beach as he can. Immediately, the Nadder chases after it, snatching up the stick out of the sand before racing back over to Hiccup and Toothless. Dropping the stick at Hiccup's feet, the Nadder tilts its head and whips its tail around playfully. Chuckling at the dragon's eager behavior, Hiccup happily picks up the stick to continue with their little game of fetch.
After spending about half an hour on the beach with the Nadders, Hiccup happily climbs onto Toothless' back and knows he's made a new friend today.
Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs walk quietly through the woods, though their journey didn't start off that way. When they left the village, both Fishlegs and Astrid were questioning Hiccup incessantly, but as soon as they realized he wasn't going to give them any information about their destination, they fell silent. Now, the only sounds to be heard are the gentle sounds of the breeze passing through the trees, the rustling of Hiccup's steps, and the panting of Fishlegs' breath. Astrid manages to avoid making hardly any sound at all. If Hiccup wasn't aware she was bringing up the rear, he'd think it was just Fishlegs and himself on the trek.
Just when Fishlegs is about ready to call for a break, Hiccup holds up a hand, motioning for them to pause. Fishlegs freezes immediately, while Astrid's gaze sharpens on the break in the trees up ahead. With a slow gesture, Hiccup beckons them to follow his approach.
Where the trees end, there is about twenty feet of grass before a sharp drop to a beach – the very same beach Hiccup visited with Toothless earlier in the morning. If the Nadders are still present, Hiccup doesn't want to startle them, so as he's just a few feet from the edge, he drops onto his stomach and crawls forwards the rest of the way. A grin stretches across his face when he sees that all four of the Nadders are still present.
As Fishlegs settles on his right and Astrid on his left, they can immediately see the dragons down below. Fishlegs gasps quietly, while Astrid's eyes go wide.
"I thought we could see something a bit more exciting than a few Terrible Terrors today," he whispers.
Hiccup is pleased with Fishlegs' reaction, but it is Astrid's that he is really focused on. Fishlegs would have been excited with whatever Hiccup had chosen for today's outing, but Astrid? After demanding to be let into their little "dragon study group," Hiccup was feeling the need to impress her a bit. She already claimed they were friends and he wants to prove to her there is more to being his friend than making sure he eats his lunch and getting rumors spread about her.
Now that they're all settled in to watch, Hiccup reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out his journal and charcoal. He focuses on the one that is nesting in the sand first. It has used its wings to pull some of the warm sand up around it and create a sort of makeshift nest. Using sweeping strokes, he captures down a rough likeness before shifting his attention to the two in the water. One is a bit further in, almost fully in the water. It is using its wings to splash about a bit, and it keep dunking their head and before resurfacing and giving a good shake. Hiccup jots down a few things about the behavior, wondering to himself if it's a kind of grooming behavior or if it is just playing. The other Nadder in the water hasn't gone as deep, but is further down the beach, probably trying to distance itself from the splashing the other is doing. With a keen eye, the dragon stands completely frozen for a moment, eyes trained on the water and tail held high above its head. Hiccup watches for a moment, until suddenly the dragon dragon's tail strikes down into the water and emerges a moment later with a fish speared on the tip. He takes note of all this in his journal as well.
The fourth dragon, which happens to be the dragon Hiccup played fetch with earlier in the morning, is closest to their hiding spot. It is nose down in the sand, tailing flicking curiously behind it. Leaning over the edge of the cliff a bit more, Hiccup can see that it is investigating a little crab that is moseying its way across the sandy beach. The crab seems to be doing a pretty good job of ignoring the large creature looming over it, until the Nadder decides to give it a nudge with its nose. In retaliating, the crab fearlessly gives the Nadder a swipe with its claw. Rearing back in surprise, the Nadder give an indignant squawk.
Unable to stop himself, Hiccup lets out an amused chuckle, which just so happens to be loud enough to catch the attention of the Nadder below. The Nadder raises its head in their direction and Hiccup can tell they've been spotted.
"Shit," he mutters under his breath. He shuffles back from the edge, nudging Astrid and Fishlegs to follow suit. They all the lurch to their feet and Hiccup pushes the two of them in the direction of the trees.
"You guys need to hide."
Fishlegs pales, but Astrid shakes her head. "If that thing comes up here, I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself."
Huffing in frustration, Hiccup runs a hand through his hair. "Look, I need you to listen to me. I can handle this dragon, but I don't know how it'll react to you. I need you guys to go."
Astrid can hear the panicked urgency in his voice, and that's the only reason her resistance falters. "Fine, but we aren't going far." She grabs Fishlegs by the wrist and turns towards the trees.
It's too late though. Her moment of refusal was just long enough for the Nadder to abandon its curious endeavor with the crab and decide to investigate the cliff top. It only takes a few wingbeats for the dragon to reach them. Its eyes widen when it spots Hiccup, clearly recognizing him from their morning game of fetch. But when it notices Fishlegs and Astrid a few feet behind, its eyes narrow. Hiccup can feel how agitated it is, can see it in the way the Nadder begins to flick its tail about.
Fishlegs and Astrid can pick up on the dragon's mood as well. Fishlegs freezes, every muscle in his body locking up with fear – Hiccup's not sure he's even breathing. Astrid, on the other hand, has never been one to freeze in the face of danger. Hiccup notices the subtle changes in her body language that shows she's preparing for a fight. Her feet are planted shoulder width apart, knees bent slightly, hands clenched tightly at her sides. With her eyes are narrowed, she watches everything, waiting for the perfect moment to act.
The Nadder notices their changes in body language, which feeds the instinct it has that says 'these Vikings are wrong and dangerous, I need to attack them before they attack me.' As the dragon's uneasiness rises, Fishlegs and Astrid only grow more tense. Hiccup can tell Astrid is falling into the same instincts of the Nadder, thinking 'if I attack first, I have a better chance of surviving.'
Hiccup needs to deescalate this now.
Hesitantly, he reaches out his hand to the Nadder. "Hey there," he says, keeping his voice low and even. "It's okay. We aren't going to hurt you. We're friends." Without taking his eyes off the dragon in front of him, he says to Fishlegs and Astrid, "You guys need to relax."
"Relax?" Astrid hisses out quietly. "You're out of your mind. I'm not going to relax with hostile dragon standing right in front of us. I think you should put your hand down before he bites it off."
As the Nadder grows more on edge with the sound of Astrid's voice, Hiccup takes a deep breath. "Look, you both came out here today because you wanted to learn more about dragons, because you trusted me to show you more about them. I need you to trust me now. Dragons are very sensitive to body language and right now, you guys aren't giving him a reason to be friendly. If you show him that you're relaxed, he'll relax too."
Hiccup waits a moment with bated breath, keeping his eyes trained on the dragon before him, as he hopes Fishlegs and Astrid listen to him. If they don't, there's no telling how this will end. If Hiccup gets hurt, it's a direct consequence of his choice to venture into the unknown and try to befriend dragons. But if either of them gets hurt? They might have asked to join him, but it's his fault they're out here. If they get hurt, he couldn't live with himself.
Hiccup can tell the exact moment that Astrid and Fishlegs finally listen to him, because the Nadder's body language immediately reflects their change. Hiccup lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Taking a hesitant step forward, he keeps his hand outstretched. He grins when the Nadder leans forward, its beaked snout pressing into his palm.
"That's a good boy," Hiccup says, keeping his attention on the Nadder. Quieter, he whispers, "You remember me from this morning, right? We had a lot of fun together."
The Nadder nuzzles him in agreement and Hiccup laughs, responding just as eagerly by scratching the Nadder's hard to reach scales up by his crown.
Now that the Nadder has calmed, Hiccup takes his eyes off the creature and turns his head to look over his shoulder. Fishlegs stands there gaping, eyes wider than Hiccup has ever seen them. Amazed, he can't seem to tear his eyes away from the sight of the Nadder practically purring beneath Hiccup's hands. Astrid's gaze is focused on Hiccup, rather than the dragon. Where Fishlegs' gaze is one of awe, Astrid's brow is furrowed in contemplation, watching Hiccup like he's a particularly annoying puzzle that she's not sure she'd like to keep putting together.
"Why don't you guys start heading back to the village? Give me a few minutes and I'll catch up. I want to make sure this guy heads back down to the beach." Plus, that give him a few minutes to mentally prepare for Astrid's full reaction to this disaster of a day. He's imagining a lot of yelling, maybe she'll even tell Gobber what he's been up to.
It's a testament to how angry she must be that she doesn't protest at all. She simply turns and heads into the woods, leaving Fishlegs to hurry after her. Earlier, she refused to leave him to face the dragon alone – now, she could clearly care less if the thing decides to eat him once her back is turned.
Once Fishlegs and Astrid are out of sight, Hiccup lets out a heavy sigh. "Oh gods, why do I always screw everything up?" He flops down onto the grass, gazing up at the sky. "Today was supposed to be the day she realized how amazing dragons are. Instead, I manage to spook you and cause both her and Fishlegs to think they're going to have to fight for their lives. I totally blew it. Hel, I'll be lucky if she doesn't immediately tell Gobber."
As the clouds drift overhead, Hiccup thinks back to that morning, when he was soaring with Toothless. Dragons are so much easier to interact with than people. With Toothless, it's even easier – almost like the Night Fury is an extension of himself. But Vikings? They're so much harder to read and Hiccup constantly feels two steps behind in almost every interaction.
As much as he'd like to put of the impending confrontation a little bit longer, it is inevitable and he'd rather Astrid yell at him in the middle of the woods than the middle of the village. So he bids the Nadder goodbye, waving to him as he glides down from the cliff and rejoins the other Nadders down on the beach.
When Hiccup finally catches up to the others, Fishlegs is sitting atop a large rock, watching as Astrid paces and wears a path in the forest floor. Hiccup takes a deep breath, mustering up as much fortitude as he can.
"Hey guys." They both turn to face him. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened back there." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "I understand if you guys don't want to come with me next time. Actually, I'd completely understand if neither of you ever wanted to talk to me again." He almost asks that they don't tell Gobber what happened today, but he doesn't want to bring it up incase they haven't though to tell the blacksmith yet.
Fishlegs hops down of the rock and tilts his head in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"
"Um." Hiccup wasn't expecting them to want a specific apology, but he can manage that if it's what they want. "I'm sorry for spooking the Nadder and putting you guys in danger? He didn't notice us until I laughed, so it's kind of all my fault he flew up to us."
"No Hiccup," Astrid says. "What he means is – why are you apologizing? If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."
"What?" Now he's really confused.
"You asked me to trust you, and I almost didn't. I was almost too headstrong to admit that someone else might know better than me when it comes to dragons. If I had acted on that instinct, I could have gotten all of us killed." She crosses her arms defensively in front of her chest, like she's trying to protect herself from all the vulnerable things she's saying.
"But you were right," she continues, forcing her gaze to hold Hiccup's. "You knew why that dragon was upset, why he was so agitated. Anyone else would have attacked first and probably not even have asked questions later, but you sought to understand that dragon. And you did it. You calmed him down – he let you pet him for Thor's sake."
"Not gonna lie," Fishlegs chimes in, "that was definitely the coolest thing I've ever seen."
"Look Hiccup," she says, brushing her bangs out of her face. "What I'm trying to say is – I saw you do something today that I never thought was possible. I'm not going to walk away from that. Fishlegs and I talked before you got here, and we're both in this now. We are with you, and we aren't going anywhere."
"Even if I'm just a hiccup?"
"You are not 'just' anything." Astrid says, a small smile on her face.
Fishlegs starts walking in the direction of the village, calling out as he goes. "Yeah! Besides, if a hiccup can face a Nadder head on, that word is about to take on a whole new meaning."
As they get closer to the village, the conversation between Fishlegs and Astrid shifts to the repairs that are still going on in the wake of the last raid. Hiccup doesn't feel the need to participate, his mind too busy swirling with all that was just said. He managed to show them that dragons can be understood, that fighting them isn't the only option. And they want to know more. Well, he's got just the thing in mind.