Hello, everyone. Otter1 here back with another HTTYD fanfic! Some of you might remember me from my first fanfic, How to Live Without Dragons which focuses on some important events right after the events of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, from my perspective of course. Now this one takes place long before the events of any of the HTTYD films/tv episodes. This one will be focusing, as the title suggests, on the early days of Hiccup and Toothless. Like all fanfics, this one will be told from my perspective all the things that have happened to my favorite Dreamworks duo before they had met. But first things first, I must include a disclaimer and here it is…

Disclaimer: I do not own the HTTYD franchise. All rights belong to Dreamworks for creating the movies and the TV series (both for Cartoon Network and Netflix) and to Cressida Cowell for writing the book series. Thank you.

Okay, let's begin now!

Chapter 1: Two Expecting Night Furies

For many centuries, Vikings and dragons had been enemies. Some Viking tribes attacked out of self-defense, others out of malice. Every time Vikings attacked dragons, the magnificent winged creatures attacked back. But dragons attacked only of self-defense, never out of malice. But, alas, many Vikings did not know that. In their eyes, dragons were nothing but thieving, vicious, mindless monsters.

But that was going to change.

On the two hundred and eighty-fifth year of the Viking/Dragon War, a Viking named Hiccup and a dragon named Toothless were born. Neither Hiccup nor Toothless knew it but they were destined to change the future for most Vikings and dragons forever…

…

Night Fury Island

February 13

Sapphire the Night Fury was appropriately named for her deep sapphire blue eyes. In fact, her sapphire eyes were currently shut tight and her pink forked tongue was hanging out of her mouth as she panted heavily and rapidly. Then she shook her head and groaned uncomfortably. She had been in labor for several hours and she was almost finished but the sharp pains and the squeezing pressure were becoming too much for her to handle.

Then she heard a soft warble. Not her own but from her mate, Dusk. Forcing her dark blue eyes open, she was greeted to the sight of the warm, relaxed expression on her mate's face, his eyes a deep dark green like the tallest pine trees that grew in the forest.

He let out another soft warble. "Don't focus on the pain, focus on me."

Sapphire's expression relaxed slightly and nodded. She leaned forward and she and Dusk rubbed noses.

After they pulled away, Dusk let out another warble, gentle and encouraging. "Ready? Now push."

Sapphire nodded and squeezing her eyes shut again, she groaned and pushed…and pushed…and…There! She finally got it out. She let out a deep, satisfied sigh.

"Was that the last of them?" Dusk grunted curiously.

"I think so," Sapphire replied.

Standing up, she looked over to the spot where she had just laid her eggs – all five of them. They were all oval-shaped and twice the size of chicken eggs. Their texture was smooth save for a few scale-like bumps. Like Dusk's and her scales, the eggs were jet black in color.

Sapphire and Dusk felt especially proud for this was their very first clutch of eggs and they were to become the brand new parents of the five young ones that would soon hatch from them.

Dusk hooked his chin onto Sapphire's shoulder and looked down proudly at the five eggs. "At long last we are going to have a family."

"But if we are going to have a family, they must be kept warm and well-protected," Sapphire reminded him.

"That can be arranged," Dusk replied confidently.

Walking in a circle, Dusk breathed a low flame of violet plasma on the floor of their den, warming it up. After stepping on the small purple flames to extinguish them, he and Sapphire gently pushed the five eggs over to the now-warm spot of the den's floor.

Sapphire then laid down and wrapped her long tail, two fins on either side of the end of it, around her five beautiful eggs. As she gazed at them fondly, she thought about the five young ones that would soon emerge from them. She turned her gaze towards the entrance of their den. From there she could see the dark outline of the trees. Even through the darkness, she could make out the white late winter snow that coated them. Right above the snow-covered trees was the bright yellow moon. It was only a sliver for now but in just a few days it would be round. Of course, she wasn't the type to get her hopes up, but she secretly wished for her young ones to be born once the moon was completely full.

Lying down next to Sapphire so that the eggs would be in between them, Dusk followed her gaze at the slivered moon and purred in awe. "What a lovely island I found for us, huh?"

Sapphire nodded and purred back. "Yes, it is a lovely island."

And indeed it was. The island was pretty large in size with enough room for the new Night Fury family and the other small creatures who inhabited the island. It had lots of tall trees, a meadow that would soon be thriving with tall, soft green grass and brightly colored flowers in a few weeks and a large pond full of cool, fresh water for drinking and plenty of fish to eat. And of course, this island had the warm, rocky den in which Sapphire and Dusk currently inhabited. This den had been the perfect shelter for laying and protecting their eggs and there would be plenty of room for the whole family – at least until their babies had reached full size.

"Will our young ones be safe here?" Sapphire warbled questioningly.

"Of course they will," Dusk replied with confidence.

Sapphire looked somewhat doubtful. "I hope so. Even if this island is safe, there will still be plenty of dangers we must protect them from. Especially since our own kind has been mysteriously and rapidly disappearing."

Dusk nodded solemnly. By their own kind, Sapphire meant other Night Furies.

It seemed that such a long time ago, when Dusk had been a hatchling himself, there had been many Night Furies roaming about the world. But as he grew older and stronger and started exploring more of the world around him, he couldn't help but notice that a lot of Night Furies have been vanishing one by one without a trace. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't seem to find other Night Furies at all, apart from his mate that is.

"I know," Dusk replied and he softly nuzzled Sapphire's cheek. "I feel very lucky to have met you."

"And I'm lucky to have met you," Sapphire responded as she nuzzled him back.

And it was the truth that Dusk felt as lucky to have met Sapphire. Never in all his dragon life did he meet anyone who was as wonderful and as brave and as kind as her.

He'd never forget that day they had first met not too long ago. He'd never forget how he was instantly attracted to her – her with those long slender legs, her round ears and those beautiful, beautiful dark sapphire blue eyes.

At first Sapphire had shown little interest in him but it didn't take long for her to realize how much she was attracted to him. Soon the two Night Furies were swirling about the clouds in the sky and when they shared their first lick, oh, how they had hoped it hadn't been a dream.

It was the very thought of the disappearing Night Furies that Dusk had wanted to protect his new mate. Whatever or whoever it was that was causing all of their own kind to vanish, he was determined to make sure she wouldn't suffer the same fate. And that was how they had come across this island. After making sure it would provide them with all that they needed – food, fresh water and shelter, the two Night Furies agreed that this was the perfect home for them.

And when Sapphire had announced the news that she was carrying their eggs and would soon be laying them, never had Dusk been more excited and proud. Plus, that bit of news made him more determined than ever to keep her along with their little ones safe.

"Don't you worry," Dusk warbled, his forest green eyes full of determination. "Whatever dangers come to our home, I won't let them come near you or our family. I'll protect you all from every danger if I have to."

Sapphire nuzzled him once more. "Well, I'm not sure if you can protect us from every single danger in the world, but I do have confidence in you."

"I'm glad you do," Dusk responded, looking at her fondly. Then he lifted his wing and placed it on top of her and the eggs. And he also wrapped his finned tail around her. "Now get some sleep. You've had quite a trying period."

Sapphire nodded and laid her head down on the heated floor of the den while Dusk laid his head on top of hers. As they snoozed away, the thoughts of their future hatchlings still lingered in their minds.