Review

Goxo: Wow, thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it. It makes my day.

Guest: Glad you enjoy it so far.

Lydia443: Hehe. Not necessary to pay. But thanks.

DJ Rodriguez: Well, I wish you luck on watching House of the Dragon. If you're familiar with Game of Thrones, expect the same elements.

I understand that the HTTYD franchise isn't for everyone but it's a childhood joy of mine.

And yeah, Hiccup has some friends that stand up for him.

Now I'm not really planning on Astrid being the love interest in this like the movie. I plan on someone else. . . from the HTTYD book series.

Glad you're enjoying this. I hope to hear more from you.

Reader- Yeah, I thought they were the kind of characters Hiccup would meet and have great influences from. As for meeting Toothless, Caraxes and Vahgar, just wait and see. ;)

Now on with the story.

Chapter 2: The Night Fury and Dragon Training

Daemon entered the Great Hall that was built into a large cave in the mountain. Most of the warriors were already there. He walked through the crowd until he was by Stoick's side as he spoke to the crowd. "Either we finish them, or they finish us." He said firmly over the murmur of the Vikings. "It's the only way we'll be rid of them."

Daemon subtly rolled his eyes. He had a feeling where this was going. "If we find the Nest and destroy it, the Dragons will leave." Stoick said before grabbing a dagger from the table. "They'll find another home." he added before stabbing the dagger into the nautical map of Berk's territory, on the area known as Helheim's Gate. "One more search. Before the ice sets in."

"Those ships never come back," hesitantly spoke Horak.

"We're Vikings. It's an occupational hazard!" Stoick said stubbornly. "Now who's with me?"

Daemon looked around and saw more Vikings looking hesitant. "Today's not a good day for me," Ack, Just Ack said.

"I got to do my axe returns," Molefeet Ingerman said.

"Count me out," another Viking said.

A few years ago, Daemon would have said something that would motivate them to join the voyage, but he could understand their hesitation now after going on a few voyages himself. But apparently, Stoick has an ace up his sleeve. "Okay, then. Those who stay will look after Hiccup."

And just like that, hands shoot up. Volunteers galore! Everyone was eager to search for the Dragon's Nest. "To the ships!" cried Phlegma the Fierce.

"I'm with you, Stoick." Spitelout said supportively. Really brother in-law, Daemon thought, rolling his violet eyes. And a really loyal uncle too. Choosing to go on a dangerous voyage instead of staying with your nephew. And your son, not to mention.

What Horak said wasn't wrong. More often than not, two thirds of the search party return alive. Sometimes. Daemon just couldn't believe that these people would rather sail to their imminent deaths than just do something as simple as watching over the heir. That and the fact that Stoick himself came up with this 'threat' three years ago.

"That's more I like it," the Viking Chief said drily.

"I'll pack my undies," Daemon heard Gobber grunt from his seat as Vikings began to leave the Great Hall. The Targaryen turned and saw the Blacksmith sitting on a bench, hook hand replaced by a tankard.

"No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits while Daemon is acting chief." Stoick said as he and Daemon walked over to his table. Daemon nods to the chief in acknowledgement as he sits down across from Gobber.

"Oh, perfect," Gobber said sarcastically. "And while I'm gone, Hiccup can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself," he listed, shaking his tankard. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"You make it sound like he hurts himself," Daemon retorted. While every Blacksmith got hurt in their work, Hiccup was past that unless he wasn't paying attention, or he was hurting himself intentionally. Which he doubted that he did that.

Stoick sighs as he sits down. "What am I going to do with him, guys?" he asked his two closest friends.

"Put him in training with the others," Gobber said instantly. Daemon nods his head. "He needs to test his training against a dragon."

"No, I'm serious," Stoick said sternly.

"So are we," Gobber replied with a stern of his own shared by Daemon.

"He'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of his cage." Stoick protests.

"By whom, exactly?" Daemon asks. He wasn't blind. He knew the village didn't like the Viking heir because of the destruction he caused unintentionally. Which he thought was unfair considering the Thorston twins caused just the same amount of destruction ON PURPOSE during their pranks or when they were 'honoring' Loki. (And he had a suspicion that more than half of that was blamed on Hiccup.) Back on topic, Daemon knew none of them would actually go that far as to kill Hiccup. For three years, Snotlout and the twins were bark and no bite now, Fishlegs and Astrid hardly interacted with the heir. The only ones who had the balls to kill Hiccup was Mildew. Probably. Who Daemon knew no one would miss him should Stoick or Daemon be forced (granted) to perform extreme punishments on the elder Viking.

"Gobber? The teens?" Daemon said to Stoick before scoffing. "Please, as if my daughters or wife would let that happen. And neither would I." And he would make sure that the Jorgenson boy and Thorston think twice before considering pulling a stunt similar to one they did three years ago when Hiccup was thirteen.

On another personal note, Daemon was confident that Hiccup was trained enough to defend himself from a self-centered egotistical idiot that was his cousin.

"That's not what I mean!" Stoick protests. "But you just implied that," Daemon replies without missing a beat. "You implied that the teens would kill Hiccup before the dragons."

Stoick sighs in defeat. "Besides, you don't know that for sure," Gobber says dismissively.

"No, actually I do," Stoick replied.

"No, you don't! You haven't trained him, and you don't know how skilled he is now," Daemon said, standing up with a glare to the larger man. But apparently, Stoick the Stubborn was in the Great Hall this morning.

"Listen, you know what he's like," Stoick said, pacing in front of them. Daemon could see Gobber focused on his stone tooth that fell out of place and the blacksmith almost choked on it. As the chief ranted, Gobber focused on his stone tooth in his tankard.

"From the time he could crawl, he's been. . . different." He ranted. "He doesn't listen. He has the attention span of a sparrow." Daemon gave the Viking chief a deadpan look. Are they talking about the same Hiccup? Because the Hiccup Stoick is talking about sounds nothing like the Hiccup Daemon and his family knows. "I take him fishing and he goes hunting for. . . for trolls!"

"Well, you can blame Gobber for that," Daemon remarked as the one-armed and one-legged blacksmith pointed his tankard angrily at Stoick. "Trolls exist! They steal your socks." Then his expression becomes pondering. "But only the left ones. What's up with that?"

"I rest my case," Daemon rolled his eyes.

"When I was a boy," Stoick began.

"Oh gods, here we go," Gobber and Daemon said in exasperation. They knew where this was going.

"My father told me to bang my head against a rock and I did it." Stoick said, ignoring or oblivious to his friends' exasperation. "I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"

"You broke your nose? Cracked your skull?" Daemon guesses in response in a bored tone.

"You got a headache," Gobber deadpans.

"That rock split in two," the chief answers, ignoring Daemon and Gobber's responses. "It taught me what a Viking could do, guys. He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas!"

"Yeah, no." Daemon said flatly. "Literally no one but the gods can do all that." Stoick drops his arms and gives Daemon an expression that says, That's not the point. He sits back down. "Even as a boy, I knew who I was, what I was meant to become. Hiccup is not that boy."

Gobber and Daemon both sigh. "You can't stop him, Stoick. You can only prepare him." Gobber said in a rare serious and sage tone. "Look, I know it looks pointless, but the truth is you're not always going to be around to protect him." He gestures to the Great Hall's doors. "He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there somewhere now."

As the two leave, Stoick looks down with a thoughtful expression. He replays what Daemon had spoken about Hiccup's training and how he, his father didn't know how skilled he was. He sighs. Perhaps they're right.

Outside of the village, past Raven Point, Hiccup held up his notebook open in one hand and his charcoal pencil in the other. He took a deep breath, looking up from his hand drawn map to the bush in front of him. He sighs and continues walking. He moves to write an 'X' on the map next to a dozen other Xs before his frustration over the whole day bubbles to his surface and he scribbles across the entire map in anger before it disappears, and he closes the book with a sigh and puts in his vest pocket.

"Oh, the gods hate me," he said to himself. "Some people lose their knife or a mug. But oh no, not me. No, I manage to lose an entire dragon!" He whacks a low hanging branch in front of him only for it swing back and hit him in the face. Particularly his eye. "Ow!" he exclaimed, holding his eye in pain. He looks up at the tree in frustration and anger only to freeze.

The tree trunk was snapped in half down the middle. As if something came crashing down on it.

Following the direction it fell, Hiccup saw a freshly made trench. Cautiously, he walks down the trench and up a small hill. He glances at the trench before climbing over. He peeks over the hill and sees a black dragon up ahead. Gasping, he ducks down. Gathering his courage, he looks back up and sees that the dragon hasn't moved, let alone noticed his presence.

He unsheathes his sword as quietly as possible before moving forward. He hides behind a boulder for a brief moment before he slowly peeked over to get a closer look at the dragon.

It was like nothing Hiccup had ever seen before. Smooth scales black as night and a more aerodynamic body with no horns and flaps around its head. Hiccup also noticed the bolas wrapped around its body. That's when it clicked. This was the dragon he had shot down. This was the Night Fury.

"Oh, wow. I-I did it." he says to himself in disbelief before becoming excited. "Oh, I did it! This fixes everything! Yes!" He pumped his fist before planting a foot on the dragon's leg. "I have brought down this mighty beast-!"

The dragon shifts and grumbles. "Get off me." Hiccup yelped as he jumped back, his back hitting the boulder. He stands back up, holding his sword up and he sees the dragon looking at him with one large emerald, green eye.

". . . You're the one who shot me down, aren't you?" the dragon grumbled. It made sense. The Viking who finds him has to be the one who shot him down.

Hiccup faltered a little. He had long ago learned that he could understand what dragons say. In fact, he had heard the Monstrous Nightmare ranting about wanting to avenge his hatchling by taking a Viking youngling. He theorized that dragons could understand him, but he hasn't planned to test that theory.

Focus, Hiccup! he said to himself before taking a deep breath. "I'm going to kill you dragon." he said out loud, more to himself than to the dragon. "I-I'm going to cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking. I'M A VIKING!"

"Please, don't this." the Night Fury said in fear. "I don't want to die."

Hiccup faltered a little. That plea sounded too human for a dragon. No, no! his father's voice sounded in his head. It's a mindless beast! A demon from Helheim itself! Kill it before it decides to shoot you!

You can have everything you ever want! Your dad, Daemon, Laena, Gobber, Baela, Rheana, they will all be proud of you! The village will finally accept you as one of their own. Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, the Twins! They'll finally respect you! Do it! KILL IT!

Hiccup took more deep breaths before raising the sword above his head. He paused again and opened his eyes. "Please, don't do this!" the dragon said in a more desperate tone. "Please!" Viking and Dragon stared at one another. One in fear, the other conflicted. After what seemed like an eternity, the Fury's expression became resigned. ". . . Just. . . make it quick." he crooned before lowering his head and closing his eyes.

Hiccup closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pity forming within him as well as being reminded of himself when he was bullied by Snotlout and the Twins. How many times had given that same look in his eyes? As he looked into the eyes of his people, begging for help, either for help, forgiveness or just simple compassion and companionship? How many times did he plead only to be met with ridicule, hatred and loneliness? And only one house out of the whole village offered him comfort and compassion. As he stood over the dragon, he briefly wondered why it was like this, giving up. It should be thrashing around, trying to escape, trying to rip and tear him into shreds. Not begging for its life nor waiting for a quick death.

He tries to go through with it, fighting himself before sighing and lowering his sword. His dad was right. He wasn't a dragon killer. He wasn't a killer in any sense, period. He looks to the dragon before trying to walk away. "I did this." Minutes ago, he had said those words with pride but now he spoke in shame and regret.

"Yes, I get it." the Night Fury grumbled. "You did it. Just quite gloating and get it over with."

Hiccup paused and looked back at the dragon. While he couldn't or wouldn't kill this dragon