AN: This is the beginning of this story. For some reason I have an affinity to start my stories in medias res, so yeah.
"Astrid, Toothless and I are leaving." He said to the stunned girl. She was amazed by the flight they just took. He so desperately wanted to change peoples minds. Starting with Astrid. The problem was she was a 'true' viking and they landed she ran off. Hiccup wanted to chase after her. his body kept him from moving. he had to figure out a way to change their minds.
The next morning he woke up sick to his stomach. He ran from the warmth of his friend. Hiccup vomited at the thought of his 'exam' later in the day. The friend instantly ran over at the sight of his sick companion.
The dragon's mind was racing. Thinking of all the reasons the boy was getting sick. was it from the fish they ate? Toothless noticed how violently Hiccup was shaking. Was he sick from being cold? The dragon wrapped himself around the boy, trying to warm him up.
"Thanks Bud." Hiccup whispered. He sighed needing to figure out a way to show everyone that dragons weren't their enemies. The only thing that came to his mind, was that he had to do it during the exam. Not wanting to be late for the spectacle , Hiccup left his companion.
Hiccup made his way to the village. The walk wasn't long, but he dragged his feet. Taking twice as long as normal. The entire time racking his brain trying to find a way to change their minds.
"Maybe I could slowly show each villager Toothless." was one. Another was "Maybe I could just go back and we leave." he took the ladder into serious consideration, to the point of turning around and walking back. "That won't solve anything." He turned back slowly reaching the edge of the village.
When he entered the village people greeted him with happy faces. Congratulating him on being the one to slay the dragon. He soon reached his house and quietly snuck in.
To his surprise his father was waiting for him. "Hiccup sit down." The chief said in a low calm voice. Hiccup did as he was told. Not wanting to raise any suspicion, due to not returning the night before. "Hiccup I know about the dragon." The voice turning into a low growl.
Hiccup was surprised, Toothless was at stake so he tried to play it cool. "Haven't we already had this conversation?" He joked, trying to act normal. Stoick's face turned into an angry frown.
"Hiccup, Astrid told me everything. Now Hiccup, where, is, that, dragon?" Hiccup visibly stiffened. "HICCUP, WHERE IS IT?" The chief slammed his hammer on the table between them, causing everything to jump.
Hiccup slowly got to his feet. His knees were shaking out of control. "L-let me s-show you." He said holding his hands up in surrender. "Just f-follow m-me, okay?" Stoick grimaced in response.
Hiccup lead his father through the forest. Not taking his normal route. "He's in there." Hiccup pointed into the cove. Before Hiccup could jump in, Stoick placed a giant hand on his son's shoulder. "Take this." He handed Hiccup the sword from his waist. "when we get in there, I want you to kill that dragon. Just think how proud everyone would be. You'd we a true Viking." Hiccup winced at kill that dragon.
Both beings jumped in. "Dad stay here. I'll bring him out and kill him in front of you. Everyone will be so proud of me." He chimed. He slowly walked to the sleeping figure in the corner of The Cove. Hiccup patted Toothless' head, waking the napping dragon. One large eye opened, dilating in the low light. The other quickly followed. Toothless cooed and nuzzled Hiccup's stomach. "Hey Bud. Listen we're in danger. We have to leave.
"HICCUP!" Stoick yelled, sounding only feet away.
Hiccup jumped onto Toothless back. He stiffly kicked the dragon's side causing him to move with a start. They jumped into the middle of the large pit.
Stoick gasped at the sight. Growling at what he saw. "I SEE YOU'VE THROWN YOUR LOT IN WITH THEM! YOU'RE NO VIKING! YOU'RE NOT MY SON!" He howled.
Hiccup didn't care. He wasn't going to kill the only good thing in his life. "Alright Bud." He whispered. "Let's go. We need to head for home so I can get some stuff. We have to hurry." They took off toward the village, knocking Stoick over in the process.
They stayed under the cliffs edge so they wouldn't be seen. They shot into Hiccup's room. Hiccup frantically started to grab at things lying around the room. A few bags, a satchel, parchment, charcoal, The Book Of Dragons, his pillow, light blanket, and a few sets of clothes. "Next is the smithy Bud." They dashed out of the house and into the small shack. Crashing through the large window they knocked Gobber into the wall. Again Hiccup began to reach for anything within the small area. A large sheet of leather, a hammer, nails, an axe, and shears. As he was grabbing the items, Gobber regained his composure, while Hiccup was stuffing the bags. "Hiccup what in Thor's na-"
"Gobber, Toothless. Toothless, Gobber. Toothless hold him down" Hiccup said hastily. Gobber nervously laughed.
"No need boyo, I didn't plan on stoppin' yuh." Hiccup stopped grabbing at random items.
"What? You're not going to stop us. What happened to vikings do this, and Vikings do that? Vikings fight dragons. Vikings kill dragons?" Gobber carefully moved around Toothless. Taking deliberate steps no to trip and fall onto the dragon or Hiccup, lest it be his death. He started to hand more tools to Hiccup.
"Hiccup listen. I'm not the smartest person but i'm going to stop someone who's trained a dragon. Especially not this beast. Not that i'm in a position to anyway. Just be careful out there. An' don't worry I won't tell your father you were here. Hiccup's breath hitched.
"I-thanks Gobber, you've always been a pal." He mounted Toothless and moved through the window they entered.
They left the same way they came. Under the cliffside. For hours they flew, looking for a place to land. It was late and the frantic packing had made Hiccup tired. His body was threatening to fall asleep. Quickly panning around he spotted an island they could rest. He pointed to the nearby island wanting to land.
Once they landed, Hiccup unpacked all the bags and items from Toothless' saddle, also removing it in the process. "There yuh go Bud." He pat the dragon on the head. "I'm sorry we had to leave like that. I wish I could have help change them. I guess that won't be happening huh." Toothless nuzzled his head against Hiccup's stomach. "Thanks Bud. Besides it's not like they want me, much less need me." He whispered.
"Alright, i'll get some wood for a fire. Can you find something to eat?" An hour later a small fire was burning, with enough extra wood for the night.
Toothless came across a stream and plucked a few fish from it. When he came back he saw Hiccup wrapped in the blanket from his house.
The boy was crying, wiping away his tears as soon as they appeared. The skin around his eyes, red and blotchy. Missed tears streaked down The reddened cheeks. Hiccup heard Toothless' return and tried to hide his face. The dragon dropped their dinner and rushed to his companions side. Hiccup held onto Toothless' head, not trying to conceal his tears anymore. Toothless nudged under Hiccup's chin. Chirping to get his attention. He picked up one of the fish and gave it to the boy. "Thanks Bud." He muttered, scratching behind the dragon's ear. Wiping a few remaining tears from his face, he found a stick and speared his fish, and placed it over the fire.
He sat back, watching the fish cook. Listening to the wood pop and hiss, and the bugs around them buzz. The sound of his dragon munching on his own dinner, then the grass russel under his body as he shifted to retrieve his food.
Hiccup slowly picked at his fish. The events from the day weighing on his mind. Bitter resentment setting in. He screamed, throwing what was left his fish into the fire. Kicking up ash and embers into the air. He accidently hit Toothless while flailing his arms around angrily. Toothless whined at the painful contact. "Sorry Bud, I didn't mean to hit you."
Hiccup was exhausted. He pulled his pillow from one of the bags and laid on it. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts. "Good night Toothless." He yawned.
Toothless stayed awake, making sure nothing would attack them. Slowly scanning the area around them. He stayed that way for hours, allowing the fire to die in the process. Hiccup had forgotten to stoke the fire before he fell asleep. Toothless paid no mind to the dying fire. Not needing the heat or light from it. Soon the fire was out, allowing the cold to set in.
Hiccup's teeth began to chatter in his sleep. Toothless had never heard that sound before. Hiccup's body was shivering under the thin blanket. He inspected the boy and noticed how he was trying to curl into himself. Wanting to retain as much heat as possible. Toothless got up and shook off his own tiredness.
He breathed as stream of fire onto the ground underneath himself. Stamping it out to make a bed of ash. In the mean time Hiccup's shivering had turned violent. Worrying for his companion, he shed him of the useless blanket and picked him up by the vest. The somehow even colder air roused Hiccup from his sleep. Hiccup panicked and started thrashing around, trying to get free. Toothless growled, making Hiccup squeak. He stopped squirming as he was placed into the bed of ash. His confusion was sated when the dragon plopped down next to him. Wrapping his sleek body around him. Toothless placed a wing over Hiccup, making a small pocket he would sleep in.
Hiccup wondered what caused this protective action. He took a mental note of it. They'd slept like that before but Toothless never initiated it. He crossed his arms trying, to get comfortable. When he did he instantly found out why his dragon had done this. He was freezing, cold to the touch. All too soon the space became hot. Deciding that he was stuck in Toothless' grasp. he stripped himself of his vest and long sleeve shirt. The sudden loss of excess heat made the pocket cozy. "Thanks Toothless." He hummed, curling further into the dragon's body. Toothless cooed in response. Hearing Hiccup's light snoring, Toothless dropped his head near the boy's and slept.
In the morning Hiccup woke to the familiar sound of Toothless' stomach rumbling. "Morning to you too." He shoved the loosened wing from himself and stood. Brushing the ash from his body. He only got a step away before a slimy tongue licked up the length of his back. Hiccup winced as the air touched back. Turning to scold his dragon, he was met with the same tongue licking from the base of his stomach to his neck.
The act made him elicit a small moan. He was red in the face and tried to stop his dragon. Said dragon paid no heed to the boy's pleas, liking his sides. Making sure there was no ash tainting the skin.
After his 'bath', Hiccup was wiping down his body again. getting rid of excess dragon spit and grumbling to himself about how it doesn't wash out. The dragon cooed at his work, happy with the results. Hiccup turned to face Toothless, still trying to get as much dragon spit off as possible. When he turned he saw how happy the dragon was. He smiled to himself. "Alright fine. Thank you. You useless reptile." He giggled, wrapping his arms around Toothless' neck. "Let me get dressed. I want to check out this island."
Once in the air they circled the island. Hiccup was taking mental notes of the landscape. A lot of trees, a stream that seemed plentiful, and a large almost mountainous hill stood on the far side of the island. "Toothless get up higher." The dragon did as he was told. Poking a hole through a cloud as they ascended.
Once high enough Hiccup leveled them off. Gliding slowly he looked around. Other than a few smaller islands there was no sign of anything around them. Naively content that they were safe he smiled. "Bring us down Bud. I think we'll be safe here."
When they touched down, Hiccup packed everything back onto Toothless. When ready Hiccup pointed in the direction of the hill. They trecked through the relatively dense forest. Coming across the stream Toothless found, they napped a few more fish out of it for their dinner. At midday they reached the base of the mount. "That's a lot taller from down here isn't it. Annoyance in his voice. "We need to see if there's a flat spot somewhere." He climbed onto Toothless' back, who grumbled at the extra weight. Although light he still added to the amount already packed onto him. "I know Bud. If it helps any I think I already see a place we can land." Toothless looked up at the spot Hiccup was pointing to. It was a flat spot just over halfway up. He spread his wings and shot up towards the area in question.
When they reached the spot, it was much larger than previously thought. Something had happened to the area causing half the land to be flattened, than the rest continued up into the peak.
Hiccup took off the randomly assorted items from Toothless, unhooking the fake tail fin as well. "There yuh go Bud." He smiled at the annoyed dragon. The dragon grumbled at the boy, who immediately scratched him under the chin. His one true weakness. "I know Bud. And i'm sorry about yesterday, that probably stressed you out really bad." He sighed. "I guess this is going to be our life now." He turned the dragons head. The bright jade met Dense forest.
"Toothless, I don't know how well you can understand me but…" He took a deep breath. "I promise that no matter what happens i'll protect you the best I can. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." His throat sealed shut and tears stung his eyes. "T-Toothless you've been the only thing to, to accept me for me. I can't let that go. I won't let that go. I promise. I promise. He hugged the dragons neck, laying his head on Toothless.
It had grown late, and the sun started to fall under the trees on the other side of the island. "Tomorrow we'll start to cut down some of these trees and make a shelter. Okay?" Toothless grunted in acceptance. They bedded down for the night. Hiccup didn't bother to make a fire and accepted his place under Toothless' wing. They slept soundly. The sound of thunder in the distance.
When Hiccup woke up, Toothless was missing. Replaced by a failed attempt to be covered by his thin blanket. He looked around, noticing that the cloud of rain was still over the sea. Happy that he wouldn't be rained on, he stood stretching still looking for Toothless. He stopped turning when he saw a few fallen trees. He scanned the area with the trees and watched another fall. Once the tree had settled, behind it revealed a content looking Toothless. Hiccup watched as his dragon spotted another ill fated tree, blasting the bottom it easily succumbed to the dragon.
Hiccup got dressed and went down to meet Toothless, axe in hand. Along with the axe he brought along the fish they caught the day before. When he reached the small clearing he called for the dragon. In turn the dragon leaped towards him, sitting in front of Hiccup. Hiccup tossed both fish at Toothless' feet. In a matter of seconds the fish were gone.
Hiccup began to mark and cut the fallen trees. After a few days they had enough wood to start their new house. The next few weeks were filled with chopping wood to the right size and height. Then dragging it up the hill to be placed in the small trench they dug to stand up the wood for walls.
After a month and a half, the 'house' shaped more like a giant box, was coming to. The walls had been put up and the floor had started to go in. They even had a door. It was a small door you had to duck under to get through, with some makeshift hinges that Hiccup created. The only things left were a fire pit and a roof that wouldn't leak when it rained.
Soon the house was complete. A small fire pit in the middle, lined with stone. A slanted roof with a small hole to let smoke out. It didn't even leak. Four solid walls that kept the wind out and finally a small door that opened outward. All in all a great place to live for them. The cold had quickly set in. Storms threatened them with snow. They tried to preserve as much fish and game as possible. Though when the first snow fell they were drastically unprepared…