Something is up with Hiccup, and Snotlout knows it.
Since most of the village left to look for the nest, things have changed. Hiccup went from being the hiccup he always has been – quirky, dorky, bumbling, unsociable Hiccup – to someone unfamiliar. Still quirky and dorky, but more coordinated than before. Snotlout expected him to be constantly tripping over his own feet during training, but Hiccup has gotten the dragons to do what he wants, even if he hasn't managed to maim any of them. And his social life? Hiccup has always been a loner, but suddenly he's eating lunch with Astrid and hanging out with Fishlegs. Now, the three of them disappear after training every day.
So yeah, Snotlout knows something's up. He tells as much to Tuffnut and Ruffnut when, once again, training has ended and Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs are nowhere to be found.
"I don't know why it matters," Tuffnut says. "They're not interesting enough to be doing anything fun. Like, stealing some sheep? That sounds like fun. But they're probably just watching Astrid throw her axe at a tree. Boring."
"Are you suggesting we steal some sheep?" Ruffnut asks. "Because I'd be down."
"Would you two knuckleheads stay focused? The three of them are obviously up to something!" Snotlout insists.
"You know what I think? I think you're jealous." Ruff says.
"Pfft. Me? Jealous of Hiccup? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." And it was, but only because Snotlout had never had a reason to be jealous of Hiccup before. "I just think the whole thing is suspicious."
"You know what this calls for?" Tuffnut asks, eyeing his sister with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"Spy mission!" They shout simultaneously.
Snotlout slaps his hand to his forehead. "Oh brother."
The next day at lunch, Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs are sitting together again, just like they have been all week. Snotlout carefully chooses a table for him and the twins across the Great Hall. It's far enough they shouldn't be caught staring, but their view is unobstructed by other tables.
"I don't know how new you are to the spying business," Ruffnut says, "but eavesdropping is kind of impossible from this distance."
"Yeah," Tuffnut chimes in. "If we want to be dropping-eaves, we need to be a lot closer."
"Good thing we aren't trying to eavesdrop then," Snotlout says, rapping his knuckles against Tuff's helmet.
The twins look at him like he's confused.
Snotlout rolls his eyes. "There's more than one type of spying, you knuckleheads. We don't need to hear them; we just need to be able to see them leave so we can follow them."
Snotlout is so focused on watching them, he hardly touches his food. But the second they start heading for the door, he's ready. He elbows Tuffnut hard enough in the side that he chokes a little on his mutton.
"Come on," Snotlout hisses out, "that's our cue."
Tailing them through the village isn't difficult. There are plenty of houses to hide behind, allowing them to stay undetected. It becomes a little more challenging once they hit the woods. The trees provide them with cover, but also make it harder to keep the others in sight. Noise is an issue too. Moving silently through all the grass and leaves is no easy feat. At one point, Ruff pushes Tuff, which causes him to stumble into Snotlout. The motion causes the shorter Viking to bring his foot down on a particularly dry stick. The sharp crack that follows causes Snotlout to hold his breath, but Odin must be on his side today because they remain undetected.
Just when Snotlout is beginning to think they are going to be hiking to the far side of the island, the others vanish.
"Where did they go?" Snotlout whispers harshly. He pauses a moment, hoping to notice some movement in the distance, but Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs don't appear.
Snotlout lets out a growl of frustration.
Tuffnut keeps marching ahead. "Calm down, Snot," he says, looking back over his shoulder. "They have to be around here somewhe-" The rest of his sentence gets replaced with a yelp as he stumbles into a large divot in the ground – a divot that marks the start of a path Tuffnut is now falling down. Ruffnut immediately heads after him. That's when Snotlout notices the drop-off. Ignoring the racket the twins are causing, he creeps over to the edge. What he sees makes his knees go weak.
Down below, growling at the commotion Ruffnut and Tuffnut are causing, is a dragon with scales the color of pitch – a Night Fury. For a moment, he thinks he's about to watch the twins get eaten. Then he sees Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs down there too, and realizes he's about to watch all of them get eaten. Running seems like a good option, but before he can convince himself to turn and flee, Hiccup suffers a lapse of sanity and decides to touch the dragon.
Fully expecting the dragon to turn and bite Hiccup's arm off, he's shocked to see the dragon settle at the contact. The tension running through its powerful frame lessens, the growls cease, and the killer glare lessens to sharp mistrust.
"It's okay bud," Hiccup reassures. "They're not going to hurt us."
Bud?
"What the hell?" He says, forgetting to control his volume in shock.
All eyes turn to Snotlout. He runs.
He makes it further than he thought, no trace of the cove behind him, before the Night Fury lands in front of him with Hiccup on its back. Snotlout stumbles to a halt.
"Wait Snotlout," Hiccup says, holding his hand up. "Before running back to the village, can you just hear me out?"
"Hear what out?" Snotlout fires back. "Your absolute insanity? It's a dragon, Hiccup! And your father is the chief! How could you do something like this?"
"Because he's my friend."
"Your friend? Do you even hear yourself?" Snotlout throws his hands up in exasperation.
Hiccup slides down from the dragon's back. "Everyone has always had this idea of what I'm supposed to be. But no matter what I do, I'm never going to be strong enough or fast enough or skilled enough with a weapon for them – for my own father, even. But with Toothless," he rests his hand against the side of the dragon, "I don't have to be anyone but myself."
"But he's a dragon," Snotlout emphasizes, like he has to remind Hiccup. "You can't possibly think this is a good idea. It's a miracle he hasn't eaten anyone yet!"
"He's not like that." Hiccup insists. "Astrid and Fishlegs can see that."
"Well then, apparently crazy is catching." Snotlout says, crossing his arms.
Hiccup slaps a hand against his forehead before running it through his hair with a heavy sigh. "Look. Maybe we can talk about what your plan is here."
"My plan?" Snotlout asks. "My plan is to let Gobber and everyone else know you've completely lost it."
"Well, that can result in two possible versions of events. Version 1: No one believes that I've befriended a Night Fury, because we both know how crazy that sounds. Everyone laughs at you. Version 2: They do believe you. Then Astrid, Fishlegs, and I get arrested as traitors. We get locked up until the search party returns and my dad decides what to do with us."
Hiccup pauses, letting those options sink in. Getting laughed at is certainly not the outcome Snotlout wants. And as much as he wants to be right, having the others get detained as traitors seems extreme.
The conflict must show on Snotlout's face because Hiccup takes a few steps closer to him. "I'd like you to consider a third option."
Snotlout frowns, but he remains silent and nods, letting Hiccup continue.
"You could come back to the cove with us. You can learn more about dragons like Astrid and Fishlegs have. Then, when the time is right, we can change things for the better. No more dragon raids taking livestock and loved-ones in the night."
Snotlout tries to picture it – an end to the war that has been ravaging their village for generations. It's difficult to imagine such a world, but they would be heroes.
"You really think a world like that is possible?" Snotlout asks.
"I didn't… until I met Toothless." Hiccup gestures to the Night Fury behind him. "I can't guarantee that people will listen, but we won't know until we try."
Snotlout takes a moment to think, long enough that Hiccup starts shuffling nervously in place.
"If you want to run to the village, I won't stop you, but-"
"I'll go with you," Snotlout interrupts. "But you still have a lot of explaining to do."
"Fair enough." Hiccup chuckles.
Back in the cove, Hiccup sits down Snotlout, Ruff, and Tuff and tells them the whole story – shooting Toothless down, restoring his flight, studying dragons, involving Fishlegs and Astrid.
"Any questions?" He asks, finally reaching the end of the tale.
That opens the floodgates for all kinds of questions from the twins:
"Can we try out your highly destructive bola launcher?"
"No, I pushed it off a cliff."
"If you've been up that high, what do the clouds taste like?"
"They don't taste like anything."
"Do you know of any dragons that shoot fire out of their butts?"
"No, I don't know any dragons with that particular talent."
"How did you kidnap Fishlegs and Astrid?"
"I didn't kidnap them; they asked to join me."
Snotlout just has one question. "When do I get my own pet dragon?"
"He's not a pet, Snotlout." Hiccup frowns. "I'm just as much Toothless' as he is mine."
"Yeah yeah, whatever." Snotlout waves him off. "Back to my question – when?"
Hiccup shakes his head. "Maybe never? Bonding with a dragon is about respect and trust."
Snotlout huffs. "I think you are being unrealistic."
"Unrealistic?" Hiccup asks, failing to keep the exasperation out of his voice. He turns to Astrid and Fishlegs. "A little help here?"
"Listen," Snotlout says, continuing with his point before the others can chime in. "If you want to convince a bunch of stubborn Vikings that the dragons who have been raiding us for nearly two hundred years aren't evil, one nice dragon isn't going to cut it, even if he is a Night Fury. It won't be enough."
"As much as I hate agreeing with Snotlout, he does have a point." Astrid reluctantly admits. "The actions of one dragon can be written off as a fluke or a trick. We'll need more than just Toothless to convince them."
Hiccup tilts his head back and lets out a deep sigh. "Okay, I will think about all of this – but I make no promises."
That is enough to appease everyone for now.
With all the new developments of the day, everyone is ready to return to the village and take some time to process. Hiccup hangs back.
"You coming?" Astrid asks once she realizes Hiccup is not moving to exit the cove with the rest of them.
He shakes his head. "I'm going to stick around awhile. An afternoon flight is sounding nice."
She smiles. "I get it. Sometimes a boy just needs some one-on-one time with his giant fire-breathing lizard."
"Right, exactly." Hiccup chuckles. "See you tomorrow, Astrid."
Then it's just a not-so-viking boy with his dragon best friend. With the others gone, Hiccup turns and throws his arms around Toothless' neck for a hug. Pressing his forehead against the smooth scales, he takes a deep breath.
"Having friends is nice, but gods, I never thought being around people so much would be so tiring." He pulls back from the hug to look into Toothless' eyes. "I think a nice long flight is exactly what I need to help me. What do you say bud?"
Toothless lets out a happy warble of agreement and begins to wriggle in eager anticipation.
"Yeah bud, I'm excited too, but you gotta hold still if you want me to climb on."
Toothless manages to hold himself still and crouches down a bit so Hiccup can easily hop into the saddle. Then they're off, the Night Fury not wasting a second before taking to the air.
Skimming the water, touching the clouds, flipping through the sky, diving from breath-taking heights. It's both exhilarating and peaceful – two words that can only come together under the feeling of being free.
Eventually, further from home than they normally go and feeling the need for a break, they come to rest atop a sea stack. Though not quite sunset, the sun inches closer to the horizon. Hiccup and Toothless sit in the grass and bask in the little warmth they get from its rays.
"You know," Hiccup finally speaks, breaking the silence, "I was worried today. When we went after Snotlout, I wasn't sure I could convince him to give us a chance. I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't stop him if he chose to run back to the village and tell everyone. But I wasn't going to just let things happen after that either."
Toothless looks at him, a curious tilt to his head.
"We would have left, flown off to somewhere else to start over. It's better than the alternative. Astrid and Fishlegs wouldn't deserve to be arrested for their involvement, not when they are only involved because of me. And you? Everyone else would see you killed. I could never let that happen." Hiccup runs his hand over one of Toothless' ear flaps, giving his scales a good scratch.
"They're not ready yet, but I think they could be someday." He pauses a moment. "Do you think Snotlout is right? That we'll need more dragons to convince them?"
Toothless butts his head into Hiccup's chest, causing the boy to laugh. "Don't worry bud," he reassures, "none of them could ever replace you. If we involve more dragons, it could be seen as a show of force, which wouldn't end well for anyone. Plus, I'm not even sure how to get more dragons involved. I mean, I shot you down and obviously that is out of the question."
Hiccup runs a hand through his hair in frustration before groaning and flopping back to lie in the grass. "Gods, this is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be."
The sun now begins to sink into the horizon. Just as Hiccup is getting ready to suggest they head back, Toothless' earflaps twitch and he looks off into the distance. Sitting up, Hiccup sees a large cluster of dragons not too far off in the distance.
His eyes gain a mischievous glint and he turns to Toothless. "What do you say Bud? Wanna check it out?"
Toothless lets out a displeased groan. "Oh come on," he pushes. "Just for a little bit. We can keep our distance and turn back before too long. Where is your sense of adventure?"
Toothless narrows his eyes, knowing he's being bated, but he still gives in. As he rises to his feet, he makes sure to grumble enough to show his reluctance.
"Yeah yeah," Hiccup says, rolling his eyes as he climbs into the saddle. "What's the worst that can happen?"
With the effortless speed of a Night Fury on their side, they catch up to the cluster of dragons quickly. Toothless is careful to keep them at a distance, but even then Hiccup is clearly able to see that the dragons flying together are all different kinds – mostly Gronckles, Deadly Nadders, Hideous Zipplebacks, and Monstrous Nightmares – and they are hauling their kills in their clutches. It's a returning raiding party, probably from one of the nearby tribes.
Not wanting to get caught up with them, Hiccup is ready to call it quits on their little adventure. But as he goes to get Toothless' attention, leaving is no longer an option. Another raiding party of dragons comes up from behind to join the first, cutting off their exit and surrounding them on all sides.
"Oh Thor," Hiccup mutters under his breath as Toothless swerves to avoid colliding with a nearby Monstrous Nightmare.
Trapped in the flow of dragons and dealing with extremely limited visibility, all Hiccup can do is change the foot pedal positions and trust in Toothless. He can make out the vague outlines of towering seat stacks, wrecked ships, and torn sails. Clearly wherever the dragons are returning too is protected by the surrounding environment, leaving a Viking graveyard on the outskirts. A little further and the fog lessens enough for Hiccup to see a mountain ahead of them. Without slowing, the dragons head directly for the side of it and disappear into a tunnel. It descends deep into the mountain before they emerge into a large cavern, the depths of which burn with a fiery orange glow. Toothless glides over the pit and lands on a little ledge, tucking himself behind a large stalagmite. Hiccup watches as all of the dragons release their prey, letting the carcasses fall into the cavern, eating none of it for themselves. One Gronckle brings back nothing in his claws, and instead pauses to belch up a single fish. Before he has a chance to fly away, a large head rises up from the depths, opens its giant maw, and swallows the dragon whole.
Hiccup's jaw falls open. Though clearly a dragon, it's the largest dragon he could imagine existing. Based off the size of its head, it must be nearly the size of the mountain itself. It's no wonder the dragons raid to satisfy it – it's raid the Vikings or be eaten themselves.
"We need to get out of here Toothless. Now." As soon as the words leave his lips, the Night Fury launches himself from their perch. The gigantic dragon sees them. Maybe it senses they don't belong because as soon as they are in the air, it turns and snaps its giant jaws in their wake, barely missing Toothless' tail and snagging a Hideous Zippleback to bring down with it instead.
They don't hesitate. Hiccup adjusts the tailfin for the tight turns of the tunnel, but as soon as they are out, he sets it for speed. They leave the nest of dragons and maze of broken ships far behind.
It's a silent ride back to the cove. It isn't until they land and Hiccup dismounts that he allows himself to fall apart a bit.
"Oh, this is bad. This is really bad." Hiccup says, running his hands through his hair. "I thought that the Vikings were going to be the biggest obstacle to ending the war, but no, it's actually an evil dragon the size of a mountain with influence over hundreds of other dragons." The laugh that follows is slightly hysterical.
"Toothless what am I supposed to do?" He turns to face the Night Fury. "The others have all been great, they've really welcomed you, but this? If I tell them about this it'll all be ruined." He throws his arms around Toothless and drops his head forward to rest against his smooth scales. Things have been good lately, and he can't let it all go to waste in light of this new discovery. "Maybe… maybe I don't tell them."
Toothless pulls his head back and peers at Hiccup questioningly.
"Not forever, just for now. It'll just be until I come up with a plan. It wouldn't be fair of me to dump this new information on them until I have some kind of a plan on how to deal with it."
Toothless doesn't protest, just pushes his head back into Hiccup's embrace.
"Are you alright bud?" Hiccup asks, but Toothless just presses in closer.
It's then that Hiccup remembers he shot Toothless down during a raid, that Toothless was once a member of the raiding parties. Being a part of that nest meant being under the giant dragon's influence as well.
"I'm sorry you had to go back there bud, but you're free from that now and I'll never let something like that happen to you again."
As boy and dragon huddle close, Hiccup just hopes that he and Toothless are strong enough to deal with everything coming their way.