How to Find Your Dragon's Motivation:

It was official; toothless was the most stubborn dragon Hiccup had ever seen, and hopefully would ever see. He figured the dragon just needed some motivation, something more than just quick rewards which only barely succeed 20% of the time, but what? His bond and friendship with Toothless was his dragon's motivation to do anything for him, just as he would do anything for Toothless, but either dragons didn't work like that here or hiccup and toothless' relationship wasn't quite there yet.

In any case, with days gone by with little progress and hiccup's initiation date coming ever closer, they needed to figure this out and fast for both their sakes.

"Ugh! You're being impossible", hiccup huffed after having some type of conversation with toothless. It still baffled Hiccup that he could understand and talk to dragons. The little dragon chirped something back, and if hiccup hadn't needed toothless to stay on the island, hiccup looked as if he would have been done right there.

Actually, as Hiccup observed the two, toothless with his chest puffed out and aloof, and hiccup upset with his dragon's lack of care to listen to him, they sort of reminded him of Snotlout and Hookfang. In fact, maybe that was it. Maybe instead of going about this like he would Toothless, they should be going about it like he would Hookfang. True, toothless' attitude was far worse than Hookfang's, but maybe it came from the same place.

Clearly the dragon thought himself above it all, if Hiccup was reading his body language correctly. All he needed was a plan...

000

The next day, hiccup was digging a wallow for toothless. Hiccup hoped treating him to something as big as a request as this would win toothless' favor, thinking all toothless really wanted was some appreciation and respect. hiccup was pretty sure he'd already tried that, but at this point hiccup was desperate to try anything. They only had, what, a few days left before the Thorsday Thursday celebration? While fishlegs was able to get his dragon, horrorcow, to 'go', 'stay', even 'sit', hiccup was still struggling with just the basics of 'go'. He swore toothless was trying to make him crazy.

But, as hiccup dug into the earth, toothless adorably resting on the grass beside him, he couldn't help but remember the feeling that he had when toothless' snout touched his hand. It was something indescribable, a feeling like no other mixed with awe, wonder, and something else. He had thought it'd be the start of something new, only for toothless do go straight back to his old ways as if the 'moment of weakness' never happened. He really hoped Hiccup was right about this wallow. If not, well… then he really hoped he hadn't been the poor sap Hiccup was tasked to help.

Once it was done, toothless eagerly jumped in. Mud splashed everywhere, particularly and especially on hiccup, but the happy look on toothless' face made it worth it.

"So, toothless, feeling pretty appreciated right now, right?"

"Mm… M-maybe. toothless th-th-think ab-b-b-out it."

hiccup groaned. Of course it didn't work. Nothing he did to convince toothless to work with him mattered. He was a selfish, self-centered dragon, just like any other, completely without morals. hiccup had better luck asking a shark to be his friend, than a dragon like toothless.

"It didn't work!" hiccup shouted up to the window Hiccup was looking down from in his room, sounding more defeated than he'd intended.

000

Hiccup sighed. "At this rate, we'll never get home, bud", he lamented, fist propping up his head with one hand against the window sill while petting Toothless with the other.

A longing was filling Hiccup, a feeling he'd never quite felt before. It made him want to curl up, but also made him desperate enough to want to do anything and everything to get home. Was this homesickness? Was he homesick? Over the last few days, Hiccup had been missing a lot from Berk…his Berk.

He missed the sound of his father's heavy footsteps throughout the house, the singing of Terrible Terrors in the morning, the chaos of the village each and every day. He missed the sight of his friends either joyfully bickering or fooling around, even when he was trying to say something important. He even missed the twins' antics and Snotlout's annoying boasting; even with this world's Snotlout sharing the trait, it wasn't the same. Maybe he was homesick.

"Well, well, well", Hiccup suddenly heard; speak of the devil.

000

snotlout and dogsbreath came sauntering passed, their dragons on their shoulders. "If it isn't the USELESS covered in mud, probably from tripping over his own feet. It actually quite suits you."

dogsbreath simply laughed and snorted beside snotlout, finding his friend's words absolutely hilarious, though hiccup failed to see the humor.

"That's not a dragon", dogsbreath's dragon, seaslug, an ugly Gronckle with a pig nose, joined in the onslaught with a jeer at toothless, "that's a newt with wings."

"It's an ickle newborn bunny rabbit", scoffed fireworm, snotlout's monstrous nightmare who was as big and bulky as her master.

toothless gasped in fury, jumping out from his wallow and standing like a defensive cat.

"Look what fireworm and seaslug caught down at the beach. And it only took a couple of hours…" snotlout showed an immense heap of fish he had wrapped up in his cloak.

fireworm coughed, flexed a shining muscle or two, and looked at her claws in fake modesty. "Oh, please", she drawled. "I wasn't even concentrating. If I was trying, I could do it in ten minutes with one wing tied behind my back."

"Barf", toothless commented.

"What was that, little bunny? Did you want to say something?" fireworm teased.

"toothless'll show you who's the n-n-n-newborn r-r-rabbit!" toothless roared.

"Really? How?" seaslug baited, and toothless took it.

He jumped, in the arch of lunging at fireworm, when hiccup caught him. toothless was furious, roaring and growling within his arms. fireworm and seaslug merely laughed.

"Oh no, I'm so scared", snotlout grinned with mock fear. "What's he gonna do? Gum us to death?"

dogsbreath dumbly laughed.

"Gee, Hiccup, if you can't even control a tiny thing like that pathetic excuse for a dragon, how are you ever going to be Chief? Oh, that's right, you won't. Because as soon as initiation day rolls around, it's exile for poor little hiccup the USELESS and his toothless BLUNDER."

Laughing like idiots, snotlout and dogsbreath strolled off, their dragons laughing too. toothless was steaming.

"t-t-toothless'll show them. toothless'll show them all!" he furiously proclaimed as hiccup let go, toothless dropping to the ground.

"You want to know how you can show them, toothless?" hiccup asked. "Show them all what a great dragon you are?"

"H-h-how?"

If this didn't work nothing would.

"We ace every single test at Initiation with more than flying colors and leave snotlout and fireworm in the dust."

"Y-yes! Y-yes! toothless'll beat that awful N-N-Nightmare at her own game. toothless'll destroy her!"

"Yeah! Wait, what?"

It was full speed ahead from there. toothless was actually listening, and when hiccup told him 'go', he flew without hesitation, when hiccup told him 'shoot', he shot; finally, it was like they were in perfect sync.

Noticing what was happening outside, Hiccup's head rose in wonder. "Huh", he hummed. Maybe there was hope after all.

Hate leaving it here, but I have one more chapter before the climax chapter, and this was the best place. I do plan on compacting all this into a one-shot piece when it's all done, so I guess it's fine for now. I'm starting to not like how this has been formatted/paced, but I can't exactly change it now without changing previous chapters of which have been posted, so that will have to come when I can turn the story into a one-shot.