A/N: Ok, a bit of an update. This chapter was the first chapter I wrote around 3 and a half years ago after rewatching How To Train Your Dragon for the first time in like 5 years. At that time, I was writing another story that will never see the light of day. So I kinda ripped off Hiccup's situation at the beginning of the first film. I ended up re-finding the story and decided to include it in this one. So please enjoy and don't yell at me "It's just a knockoff Hiccup" because that's what I was kind of going for.
PS: This chapter is all OCs until the ending which should have a familiar moment.
"ERIK, WAKE UP ALREADY!" the booming voice of the chief echoing throughout the house.
A tired Erik slowly wakes up out of his bed, knowing that a hunt was scheduled for today and he was in no way prepared. He also just didn't feel like messing with the wrath of his angry father.
He walks down his steps to meet the most menacing-looking man you will ever lay your eyes on. He stands at a menacing 7'4" with thick black hair and even darker black eyes. Most are surprised that the very scarred face even belongs to a human, and his personality still manages to be even more intimidating than his figure.
"What took you so long to get up, we have a hunt today and I do not need you embarrassing our people once again," his father growls at him. Erik can only manage to nod before grabbing his things and leaving the house.
The island has always been a fairly nice looking one, covered in woodland and lucious plains, but the village is a different story. The village is made up of old run-down 'houses' if you can even call them that. The fact that people actually live there is absurd in its own right. Erik walks around before being tackled from behind. His sudden fear quickly washes off when he sees Draven, his best friend. Draven is a very handsome and well-built man with fitting black hair, and an even better warrior. He usually leads the boar hunts and has the record for the most heads won from a hunt at a staggering 22 in the previous hunt.
"Hey, Erik, what's going on, you skinny little wimp?" Draven asks Erik in his usual mocking tone that Erik had gotten used to at that point, knowing he meant it only as a joke.
"Nothing much, I'm just getting ready for today's hunt."
Draven stares at him in a mocking confusion, "You've never managed to kill a single boar ever, do you really think today will be any different?" Erik stares back at him, now looking clearly annoyed.
"I WILL kill a boar today."
Draven waves his arms up and gives a smirk, "Ok, if you say so. But I would also like to let you know that I have just announced my betrothal to Seraphina. And in her honor, I will break my boar record today during the hunt."
Erik looks up at him with a smile, "Congratulations Draven. I know you've been talking about this for a while now."
Seraphina was a girl that was absolutely stunning and Erik had been thinking about asking her out around 2 years earlier. But, Draven beat him to it, but Erik never held that against his best friend and he was happy that the 2 of them were happy with each other and would soon marry.
"And I would like to announce you as my best man, Erik." Draven tells his best friend with confidence in his tone. Erik looks up at him and gives a strong smile.
"I would be honored. Now let's get ready for this hunt."
Hunts would only occur when a different tribe was visiting and this one would be with the dreaded Frostfang tribe, known for their fierceness in battle and almost borderline insane leadership. The 'Nirs' as they were referred to were the definition of a loose ballista, often acting in ways that others would find dangerous and disturbing. The ships of the Frostfangs slowly approach the harbor and dock while Erik, his father, Draven, Seraphina, and a few others wait to introduce them.
The ramp of the boat opened to reveal 2 men, one was almost as large as Erik's father but not quite as, with white hair and icy blue eyes. The other was smaller but still much larger than Erik. He had short and spiked brown hair with white tips, but the same icy blue eyes his father has.
"Haldor The Ruthless, it is my pleasure to be your guest." The larger man says.
"And the same honor is mine, Grimnir," Haldor responds.
Erik, watching on, suddenly is tackled hard to the ground. Erik groans as he looks up to see the smirk on the Frostfang heir, Thornnir. And a thorn he was.
"Hello Erk, see that your dad has kept the little runt as heir, wouldn't be my choice, but…" A very annoyed Erik looks up at Thornnir and gives a sigh.
"And hello to you too, Thornnir."
Thornnir suddenly picks Erik up by the collar, hoisting him off the ground. "And you're just as light as when you were, what, nine?"
Erik, thinking of multiple possibilities on how to get out of this scenario without having a major injury, opens his mouth, "Or maybe you've just gotten stronger."
Erik's face drops as he realizes he probably said the wrong thing.
"Well, how about we test that?" Thornnir whispers with a dangerous smile on his face.
"Thornnir!" Thornnir looks over to see Draven and Seraphina.
"Draven!" Thornnir happily exclaims before throwing Erik like a deadweight who flies head over heels before landing on his back, groaning in pain as he lands. "And the always beautiful Seraphina. How are you two doing?" Draven and Seraphina smile at the psychotic heir before Draven breaks the news.
"I would love to inform you that Sera and I are betrothed and this will be our first hunt betrothed."
Thornnir's mouth falls open before he runs up, awkwardly hugging the new couple who give each other looks over the heir's shoulder and manage to see their own heir on his back. Thornnir pulls away the two with a delighted yet crazed smile on his face. "Congratulations! Oh, this is so exciting. I can't wait to see you two kill a boar together."
The couple only manage a nod, worried what Thornnir's next act can be. They are relieved when he gets called by his father, giving them all a break. Draven walks up to Erik, who is still lying on his back. Draven stretches out his hand at the supine heir who graciously accepts it.
"Well, it seems like this is certainly going to be an interesting hunt." Draven says as Erik nods in agreement.
The group, consisting of Erik, Draven, Seraphina, Haldor, Thornnir, and Grimnir, slowly close in on the group of boars. Thornnir screams a battle cry as he, Draven, and Seraphina jump out at the boars, weapons in hand. Thornnir efficiently buries his axe into one's neck, which falls lifelessly to the ground. Draven and Seraphina manage to collectively stun a boar, and romantically, hold Draven's dagger together and stab the boar, as they smile while looking into each other's eyes.
Haldor and Grimnir decide to let the kids have fun, but Haldor notices his son not being involved. He then notices a smaller boar and gestures to Erik, who looks out of place holding a small knife, to go take on the weaker boar.
Erik slowly approaches the small boar, clearly younger than the others in the group. It cowers in fear as Erik approaches, which can't help but notice. He also notices that the boar has an injured paw. The Gods just had to stack everything on the pity longship, didn't they, he thinks to himself.
Erik finally gets within a good distance and raises the knife, but his eyes lock with his prey, the worst move for a squeamish hunter. Erik finally gains the strength to strike, but just as he's about to, a loud roar is heard.
Erik looks over to see a much larger boar charging at him. The boar rams itself into Erik, sending Erik head over heels before landing on the hard dirt, knocking him out.
Erik's eyes slowly open, he can only make out the blurry gaze of one very large angry and embarrassed viking.
Oh Gods. He attempts to spring up but the pain rushes back into him. His ribs are probably bruised from the impact and his head is beating at a steady rhythm. He looks around to see that he's still in the woods. He also looks to see Seraphina's very worried gaze, and Draven, Thornnir, and Grimnir snickering. But what worries him most is his father, beat-red and fuming with rage and embarrassment.
"Sorry, Dad." Erik sheepishly makes out as Draven helps him to his feet. His father's face almost seems more enraged at the words before he grabs Erik off his feet and forces him against a tree.
"I asked you to do one simple task, don't embarrass my people. And all you've done is manage to bring shame to our people and our tribe. You are not fit to be heir and definitely not to be my son. Go back to the village, I don't want to see your puny face for the rest of the day."
Erik, hurt by the words said by his father, unwisely fires back. "Well, I can't fight because no one would teach me and then that same man gets angry at me because of his own negligence. He's just always too busy chiefing or mourning his dead wife that died saving me and making sure I would be raised with care! You know what, how do you think Mom would react to the way you treat me?!"
You could almost see the smoke coming out of Haldor's large ears before he delivered a very hard slap to the side of Erik's face, so hard even it even made the Nirs gasp in shock. The slap itself rocked Erik to the ground, the bruise already beginning to welt on his right cheek. His dazed look of betrayal sees his father's black eyes gazing at him coldly.
"What did I tell you to do?" he asks in a voice colder than Helheim. Erik only can look at his cold gaze before standing up to walk off, tears welling in his eyes, but not from the bruise, but from his father's words.
Erik didn't return to the village like his father asked, knowing that his father would continue his disownment as soon as he returned to the village.
Instead, he left for a small spot in the woods, about a 20 minute walk from the village. It was a small little field, surrounded by trees and beautiful wildlife. He had found the spot while wandering through the forest when he was younger when his father would get angry at him. Since then, he had made it his own. He added a small tent as he would stay there when he didn't want to see his father and a log for drawing in the dirt. He also had a few defenses in case a boar got in and tried to wreck the place.
He stayed there for a few hours, thinking back to the events of the day. The weak boar, the much stronger boar that had rammed him, his father. He hadn't even noticed that night had fallen, he had already determined he was probably going to stay the night in the tent. He looked up at the night sky to see the many stars in the sky. But one star didn't seem like the others.
At first he thought it was a shooting star until it quickly changed directions in the sky and got a bit closer. He then saw wings. "Is that a…" he mumbles to himself.
Realizing that this might actually be something that could impress his father, he springs up and grabs a bola. He hurls it into the sky as hard as he can. Though he is usually considered a weakling, he is an expert with many weapons. Taught well by the greatest warrior in Viking history, his father.
The bola is a direct hit as he sees the large white beast coming down towards him, shrieking as it crashes into the ground. But he also hears the faint sound of what sounded like the screams of a boy.
The beast was exactly what he thought it was, a dragon. His tribe used to capture the mighty beasts decades ago, but they disappeared off of the face of the earth and the tribe quickly switched to hunting boars, which was a lot easier and safer. But he could imagine the praise he would get if he managed to capture and take home a dragon, that would surely prove himself to the people.
But when the dragon hit the ground, he was surprised by two things. The first thing was there was a boy as well, a young boy with blonde hair who fell with the dragon. The second thing was there was a brown leather saddle on the dragon.
Was the boy riding the dragon? he thinks to himself. He had heard tales of a man who used to ride the mighty Night Fury and brought great damage to their people and tribe. He disappeared with the dragons 20 years ago, but Haldor believes the man to be still alive and wants to kill the man more than anything else, which always managed to confuse Erik.
This dragon, though, looked very similar to the way the Night Fury was described, but that dragon was described as an all black dragon, hence the word 'Night'. But this dragon was almost all white with a few black spots.
He grabs his dagger and slowly approaches the downed dragon. He thought about what his father's reaction would be when he revealed that dragons still existed and he managed to capture one in his head. But as he approached, he heard another sound, this one of a girl screaming "NO!"
He looks up to see a fast moving fireball launching at him. He barely manages to dive out of the way but the blast hit the trees directly behind him. The shockwave of the blast dazes him, but he manages to regain himself.
To be greeted to the sight of the Night Fury and its rider.
The dragon was as menacing as the stories described it, but the rider is what shocked him the most. She was absolutely beautiful, even more so than Seraphina, with blue eyes that matched the dragon and auburn hair that waved as she dismounted, axe in hand. It was at that moment that he finally realized that he was probably going to die.
"DON'T YOU DARE HARM MY BROTHER OR HIS DRAGON, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" he hears yelling out of the girl's mouth, her voice graceful and deadly at the same time.
He quickly nods to the girl and backs away from the white dragon, throwing his dagger away and hands in the air. He watches the girl free the dragon and help her brother back to his feet. With the boy back on the white dragon, she goes towards her own, but not before turning back to him.
"I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN, OR I WILL PERSONALLY BEHEAD YOU AND FEED IT TO MY DRAGON!" she yells at him. He can only manage a quick nod before watching the dragons launch back into the sky. He stares up for a few seconds until he feels a warm sensation.
He quickly realizes that the forest is on fire from the stray fireball that nearly hit him. He quickly rushes to put it out using the multiple anti-fire measures he created for this scenario. You really need to come up with something like that when you are surrounded on all sides by flammable trees.
He barely manages to put it out before it burns into a wildfire before falling onto his sleeping furs inside his tent. Exhausted from the last 5 minutes, he doesn't know what to really think about. That the dragons potentially still exist, or that he just saw the most beautiful girl on Midgard and she also threatened to behead him.
With his mind swirling, he closes his eyes, drifting off into sleep.