Chapter 1

I tried to do a weredragon story before, but I was younger and less experienced with writing then, so it turned out to be kinda sucky. This is my attempt to rectify that.

I imagine this would replace "Bad Moon Rising".

It all started on a perfectly normal evening on Dragon's Edge. Hiccup and Toothless were out on their regular sunset flight, while overlooking the vast forests of the island. The Night Fury was always happy to fly in the fading light; it was practically his natural environment. And sharing it with his best friend and rider…well, there wasn't anything better.

Hiccup also enjoyed flying into the night, occasionally practicing a few new air tricks with his dragon. This evening, it was going to be smooth sailing.

At least that's what Hiccup thought before an unexpected rainstorm rolled in.

The sun had nearly set completely, and dark rain clouds were moving in fast, covering Dragon's Edge in a shadow of darkness. Hiccup noticed them and quickly decided against getting caught in any sort of rainstorm. The Dragon Riders had all had enough bad luck in stormy weather.

"What do you say, bud?" Hiccup asked, patting Toothless's flank, "Should we head back?"

The Night Fury crooned in agreement.

They had just turned around when the rain started falling, first lightly, but then before they knew it, the clouds were pouring buckets.

There were strong winds, too. Toothless had to beat his wings like mad just to move forward a few feet. Below them, the forest trees were looking dangerously close to being ripped out of the ground, their straining roots being the only things keeping them in place. The two friends had nearly reached their hut when Hiccup thought he heard something over the bellowing winds. Like the cry of an injured dragon calling for help. If it weren't for their current situation, he would have turned back, but he decided it was best to wait until after the storm had passed.

"Come on, bud, we're almost there!"

With a few more patterns of powerful wingbeats, the late-flying duo made it back to their hut. By this time, they were completely soaked with rainwater.

Toothless grumbled as he shook off the water and went to lie down on the rock slab that was his bed. He didn't really mind getting wet, but he absolutely did not like flying in stormy weather.

Hiccup sighed as he sat down on his bed. "Sorry, Toothless."

The bummed-out Night Fury barely acknowledged him as he curled up and went to sleep.

Hiccup shook his head. "Hopefully this storm won't last for too long," he said to himself.

By morning, the storm had passed, leaving several trees and branches scattered around the island. While the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut marveled at the level of destruction, Fishlegs and Snotlout tried to clear the debris around their own huts. The egotistical Jorgenson was left doing all the work himself; his dragon, Hookfang, was not cooperating. Fishlegs, meanwhile, was aided by his own dragon, Meatlug, in removing the large branches.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was searching the forests for any sign of an injured dragon. There was no doubt that a few of the winged reptiles had been pinned underneath the fallen trees. But so far, he had no luck in finding the dragon that had cried out the night before.

"You're sure it was from around here?"

That reminded him that Astrid and Stormfly were helping him search. "I'm always sure about this kind of stuff."

But the look on Toothless's face said otherwise.

Suddenly, the Night Fury's ears perked up, and he directed himself into a dive. An action that took his rider completely by surprise.

"Whoa! Toothless, bud, what's wrong?"

The Night Fury's only response was an urgent warble as he landed in a small clearing near the beaches, where a pile of fallen trees was lying. Dismounting his dragon, Hiccup inspected the fallen trees carefully. There was a chance a Changewing could have been camouflaged nearby.

"W-what are you doing here?" stuttered a frightened voice.

There was a person trapped under the trees. A boy around Hiccup's age, if he had to guess. His dark, matted hair hung down in front of his deep brown eyes like curtains, and he wore ragged clothing that was soaking wet from the rain. His arms and torso were covered with scratches, likely from trying to dig himself out from under the pile of conifers.

The two boys stared at each other, equally confused and wary. They barely even acknowledged Stormfly and Astrid's arrival as the Deadly Nadder landed beside the pile of fallen lumber. Astrid dismounted her dragon and went to see what Hiccup had found.

The second she saw the trapped stranger, she asked, "What is he doing here?"

"That's kind of what he just asked me," Hiccup replied in his usual snarky tone.

The stranger's eyes widened at the sight of the blonde. He grabbed a stray branch and pulled, but he was stuck quite well. There was no way he'd be able to get out from under the fallen trees all by himself.

"Hey, it's okay," Hiccup said calmly. He lowered himself down to his knees. "We're not gonna hurt you. We just wanna help. I'm Hiccup. What's your name?"

The stranger averted his eyes and bit his lip. "Talbot," he answered brusquely.

"How did you get out here, Talbot?" asked Hiccup.

"I, uh..." Talbot seemed hesitant to answer. "I travel a lot. Guess I got lost."

Without warning, Toothless leaned his head in and sniffed the trapped boy. Talbot flinched and drew himself back as much as he could.

"This is Toothless," Hiccup said. "He won't hurt you; he's just checking you out."

All of a sudden, the Night Fury's pupils narrowed into slits, and he growled at Talbot. The trapped boy bared his own teeth and growled back at him. In the span of a second, Toothless went into full-blown panic mode. He reared up onto his hind legs and screeched loudly.

"Hey!" Hiccup scolded. He darted past the Night Fury and stood his ground between him and Talbot. "Toothless, what is wrong with you?!"

Toothless leaned this way and that, but Hiccup threw himself into the dragon's path each time, refusing to budge even when Toothless tried to lunge for Talbot.

"He probably smells dragon on me," Talbot said.

"Do you have a dragon?" Astrid asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I've been around dragons a lot," was his vague reply.

Finally, Toothless backed off and landed on all fours. His roars softened to a growl and his body language calmed. Hiccup stepped up to Toothless's side, to stroke his head and neck, where he felt the Night Fury's body still taut and quivering with agitation. He cast a concerned glance over to Talbot, and said, "I'm so sorry about that. He doesn't normally act this way."

"It's alright," said Talbot. "I have that effect on dragons." He blew his hair out of his eyes - or at least he tried to, because it fell right back down a second later. "Can you help me get out of here? Preferably before nightfall?"

"Why?" snarked Astrid. "You got a hot date tonight?"

He paused, as though considering his answer. "I suppose you could say that."

Within a few minutes, Hiccup and Astrid were on their dragons again. Toothless and Stormfly perched on the top of the pile, their claws digging into the wood. Together, the Night Fury and the Deadly Nadder beat their wings and slowly, but steadily, lifted the top tree a few inches off the pile.

While they went about their work, Talbot squirmed, trying to extract himself. It was a little easier now that there wasn't so much weight pressing down on him, but he still had to wriggle his way out.

"This would be so much easier if the other riders were here," Hiccup said to no one in particular.

"Other riders?" Talbot parroted curiously.

"We'll fill you in later," said Astrid. "Now get out of there, and quick!"

Finally, with one last burst of strength, Talbot pulled himself free of the fallen lumber. But, to Hiccup's confusion, he quickly doubled back and grabbed something from under the collapsed trees before darting away.

Toothless and Stormfly let go of the tree they were holding, and it crashed loudly and messily on top of the pile. The two dragons landed on the forest floor, panting a little from the exertion.

"You okay, Talbot?" Hiccup asked.

The boy in question was leaning against a sizeable rock. He looked remarkably uninjured. "Fine, thanks."

"How are you not hurt?" Astrid asked.

"Just lucky, I guess," he answered.

He was holding something in his hands. Two halves of a wooden cane, Hiccup realized, the top of which was fitted with a golden handle in the shape of a dragon's head.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless, who was eying Talbot hostilely, and kneeled down to match his height. "What is that?"

"A family heirloom," said Talbot. "It must have broke when the tree fell on me. It's all I have left of my father."

"Maybe we can fix it," Hiccup offered. "Our base is not far from here. Come back with us, and you can meet the others while I repair your cane."

"No thank you," the dark-eyed boy said, scooting away frantically. "I don't do too well around other people. And you won't want me around, trust me. I should go. Like, far away from here."

Hiccup reached out and pried the two halves of the cane out of Talbot's hands. "It's the least I can do," he said. "And you probably shouldn't go anywhere for a while after what you've just been through. I'm sure you'll be alright with us."

Astrid marched up and grabbed Hiccup's shoulder, eliciting a startled and pained cry from him. "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring a total stranger into our midst? Remember what happened with Heather?"

Of course Hiccup remembered what had happened with Heather - the girl who had turned up on Berk's beaches claiming her home had been besieged by pirates, only it turned out to be a ploy for her to steal the Book of Dragons to bring to Alvin the Treacherous, chief of the Outcasts, in exchange for her captured parents.

Maybe she has a point, Hiccup thought to himself. "Talbot," he said, "have you, by any chance, heard of the Berserkers? Or the Dragon Hunters? Are you working for them?"

Talbot shook his head. "I don't work for anyone. Nobody would want me, anyway."

There was something suspicious about him. But Hiccup couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Likely story," Astrid snorted. "You expect us to believe that?"

"Astrid," Hiccup sighed, "he needs our help. And if it turns out he's trouble, we can handle it."

She stood there fuming for about a minute, then growled a defeated, "Fine."

Talbot looked at each of them with his mud-colored eyes. "You really don't need to do this," he said. "Please don't take me with you. No one's safe around me."

"But you'll be safe with us," said Hiccup. "And it's just until your cane is fixed. After that, you're free to go. Okay?"

The bedraggled boy gazed silently at the broken cane. There was no way he'd be able to fix it by himself - he didn't have any of the proper tools or any smithing experience. And the cane really did mean a lot to him.

Seeing that he wasn't going to convince Hiccup to change his mind, Talbot sighed in defeat.

"Okay."

What's that you say? Talbot is a Lycanwing? Whatever gave you that idea?

...For the record, it's supposed to be obvious. To us, at least. The Dragon Riders, on the other hand...they're gonna find that out the hard way.

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