Two Outcasts and a Dragon
Chapter 1: Berk
This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death.It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the only problems are the see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have...dragons.
Soon a battle takes place between vikings and dragons with a boy running through the chaos.
Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues. My name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But, it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that.
As he runs, he begins dodging other vikings and soon after an explosion goes off he trips and soon another viking roars in his face.
"ARGGGHHHHH! Mornin'!" he said before taking off. Soon as Hiccup is about to get up, he finds a hand reaching out to him and looks up and smiles at a girl with blond hair smiling back at him.
"Morning Milady." he told her.
"Morning Hiccup," she replied as she helped him up and the two had a quick kiss before running again.
Now you might be wondering who the girl is with me and well, this is Astrid Hofferson, my girlfriend. She once was a little bit rude to me like everyone else so how did this happen you may ask? Well, it's quite an interesting story. She was once hoping to be the best warrior training so hard to kill dragons and especially after her uncle got attacked from a dragon called the Flightmare, and one time after her parents were killed in a raid and it was just her, it slowly began to go downhill for her. She spent so much time training to become a better warrior, she didn't really focus on anything else. She had difficulty cooking because everytime she tried, everything caught fire and some ended up with the house burning as a result. Eventually to the point where everyone got fed up with her mistakes, they stopped helping rebuild everything and slowly started treating her like me. I still remember how she felt that cold night I found her.
(Flashback)
One snowy cold night, Hiccup was on his way back home after another long day, however on his way back, he soon heard someone crying and went looking for the source and soon found Astrid curled up in a ball on the ground hidden in some rubble of her house, crying her eyes out after another failed attempt at something.
"Astrid?" he called out to her.
"Hi-Hiccup? Wh-What are you doing here?" she asked as she looked up with a few tears in her eyes.
"I heard you crying from a distance and I wanted to see if you were okay," he replied.
"Things haven't been going so well for me, but how would you understand how it feels to be rejected and picked on like someone who is useless." she said with her voice slowly cracking at the end.
"Believe me… I do… that's been everyday of my whole life." he said.
Astrid then pulled him into a hug, which he was surprised about before accepting, wrapping his arms around her. They stayed like this for a while, him holding her close, and her enjoying the safe feeling that came with his embrace.
"Hiccup, I'm so sorry for being rude to you. Do you think you can forgive me?" she asked.
"Of course. Now let's get you out of the cold." he replied and soon picked her up and soon headed back home.
(Flashback End)
So yeah, since then, things have still been the same for me, but the only thing that did change was that Astrid was always next to me. She soon began living with me and my dad as soon as I explained her situation. I let her help out with my little work area and she quickly adapted to it and we became a couple soon after and began dating for a while which has been amazing for the both of us.
As the two resume running, they soon pass other vikings telling them things like, " What are you doing here?! Get inside!, What are you doin' out?" Get back inside!" As they run, someone soon grabs Hiccup by the collar of his shirt.
"Hiccup?! What is he doing out aga-?! What are you two doing out?! Get inside!" the person told them and sent them on their way.
That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders.
Stoick then threw a wooden cart at a dragon, knocking it out mid-air.
Do I believe it? Yes, I do.
"What have we got?" Stoick asked another viking.
"Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare." the viking replied before an explosion went off behind them.
"Any Night Furies?" Stoick asked.
"None so far." the viking replied.
"Good," Stoick said as burning embers landed on Stoick's shoulder and casually brushed it off.
"Hoist the torches!" someone shouted as two enormous torches were raised and lit with the dragons swarm around them. Hiccup and Astrid then run into a blacksmith shop and put on some aprons.
"Ah! Nice of you two to join the party! I thought you'd been carried off!" a man said happily at work.
"What, who us? Nah, come on! I'm waaaay too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all...this. Besides, Astrid is waaaay too beautiful for their taste." Hiccup replied with Astrid blushing and then kissing his cheek.
"Well, they need toothpicks and a damsel in distress, don't they?" the viking jokes.
The meat-head with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well... littler. Astrid has been an apprentice ever since I let her help out like I mentioned earlier.
Meanwhile, Stoick had arrived on one of the watch-towers and began ordering, " We move to the lower defenses. We'll counter-attack with the catapults." A dragon then swoops down and sets another house on fire.
See? Old village, lots and lots of new houses.
"FIRE!" one of the vikings shouts, alerting as some viking teens pass by carrying buckets of water.
Oh, and that's Fishlegs, Dogsbreath, the Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and...Snotlout. Normally, I'd think that their job is so much cooler, but I'm perfectly happy with the girl of my dreams being with me.
Hiccup tried to lean out of the smithing window to get a better look, but Gobber soon lifted him up and back into the shop.
"Oh, come on. Let me out, please? I need to make my mark!" Hiccup complained.
"Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places!" Gobber replied.
"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better." Hiccup begged.
"You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these!" Gobber said holding up a bola and another Viking grabs it and uses it to bring down a dragon.
"If anything, Astrid has a better chance at going out there." Gobber claimed.
"You know I won't let that happen Gobber." Astrid said before standing next to Hiccup leaning into him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"We stay together." she finished.
"Besides, this will throw it for me." Hiccup said as he patted a wooden machine, which opened and shot a bola randomly, hitting a Viking standing in the background.
"See, now this right here is what I'm talking about!" Gobber said.
"Mild calibration issue" Hiccup groaned.
"Don't you- no- Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all... this." Gobber said.
"But, you just pointed to all of me!" Hiccup complained.
"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you!" Gobber said.
"Ohhhh…" Hiccup started.
"Ohhhh, yes." Gobber finished
"You sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw... Viking-ness... contained? THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!" Hiccup stated.
"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." Gobber said.
Hiccup was beginning to get a little down, but soon smiled as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.
"Don't worry Hiccup. I'd say you don't have to stop being all of you. You're perfect just the way you are." Astrid said as she shared a quick kiss with Hiccup before helping him out with work.
One day, I'll get out there. Because, killing a dragon is everything around here. A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed. Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend except that I already have the most beautiful girl in the village in my opinion as a girlfriend so I don't have to worry about that. A Zippleback? Exotic. Two heads, twice the status.
Meanwhile, Stoick was talking to one of the operators on one of the catapults.
"They found the sheep!" The operator said.
"Concentrate fire over the lower bank!" Stoick ordered to which the operator fired the catapult.
And then, there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire.
Stoick soon looked down as he saw a Monstrous Nightmare growl and alighted itself as it climbed up the catapult.
"Reload! I'll take care of this." Stoick orders as he fights the Nightmare, which takes a few hits before retreating… but then a high pitched whistle is heard.
But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen. We call it the–
"NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!" a viking shouts as an explosion tears the catapult apart.
"JUMP!" Stoick shouted.
This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and... never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury. That's why Astrid and I are going to be the first.
"Man the fort, Hiccup and Astrid. They need me out there!" Gobber ordered as he attached an axe to his arm and began to run out, but turned around at the doorway.
"Stay. Put. There. You know what I mean." He said before joining the battle.
Hiccup began thinking for a moment to which Astrid noticed.
"Are you thinking of going out there?" she asked.
"Yeah. This is my one chance to at least try and be one of them." he told her.
"Okay, but I'm going with you. Where you go, I go." she replied and after a quick kiss, the two went off with Hiccup pushing a cart with the automated catapult on it.
Meanwhile, Stoick manages to capture several Nadders in a net and wrestles them with one trying to blast him with fire.
"Mind yourselves! The devils still have some juice in them!" Stoick said.
Hiccup soon sets up his bola catapult on an empty hill and looks around.
"Come on. Gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at." he told himself.
"You can do this babe." Astrid told him.
Soon he catches a glimpse of a shadow, visibly blotting out the stars. It fires at another catapult, and an explosion illuminates it, showing a visible shadow. Hiccup then shoots, and a loud cry is heard as the shadow is seen plummeting down into a forest.
"Oh, I hit it! YES! I HIT IT!" Hiccup cheered.
"YOU DID IT HICCUP! YOU DID IT!" Astrid cheered as the two hugged each other and Hiccup picked her up a little and twirled her around.
"Did anybody else see that?" Hiccup asked as a Monstrous Nightmare showed up and crushed Hiccup's bola launcher.
"Except for you." Hiccup continued.
"I hate it when something comes back to bite you in the butt." Astrid stated.
A couple of shrill cries sound from the hill and catches Stoick's attention. He turns to see the Monstrous Nightmare chasing Hiccup and Astrid, and gets up to go help them.
"DO NOT let them escape!" Stoick ordered.
"Right!" another viking says.
The couple soon runs behind a torch pole and hides. Hiccup wraps his arms protectively around Astrid just as flames reach around the corner. He looks behind it and on the other side, the Nightmare reaches to get them. Stoick then punches the beast and jumps back to defend himself. The dragon tries to breathe fire, but coughs up only a few drops of flaming liquid instead, having exhausted its shots.
"You're all out." Stoick said as he promptly defeats the Nightmare, which quickly flees.
Oh, and there's one more thing you need to know…
The torch pole then collapses, which sends the torch tumbling down into the village, leaving ruins in its wake.
"Sorry, Dad." Hiccup says. The torch then rolls onto the Nadders Stoick netted earlier, freeing them. The dragons manage to escape, hauling off most of Berk's food and livestock. Soon everything becomes quiet as everyone stares at the couple until Hiccup decides to break the silence.
"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury." Hiccup said before Stoick grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him towards his house with Astrid soon following the two.
"It's not like the last few times, Dad! I mean, I really actually hit it! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it–" Hiccup started.
"He's right, Stoick. I was there with him when he–" Astrid also started.
"STOP! Just... stop. Every time you two step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!" Stoick interrupted.
"Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?" Hiccup remarked to which Astrid had to put a hand over her mouth to hold back a giggle.
"This isn't a joke, Hiccup! Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" Stoick asked.
"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad." Hiccup said.
"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them. Take Astrid and get back to the house." Stoick finished before telling Gobber, "Make sure they get there. I have his mess to clean up."
"Quite the performance." Tuffnut said.
"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout said.
"Thank you, thank you. I was trying." Hiccup remarked.
Snotlout was then about to flirt with Astrid but soon got pushed back by Gobber. It was a little bit silent on the way back until Hiccup broke the silence.
"So...I really did hit one." Hiccup started.
"Sure, Hiccup." Gobber said.
"He never listens." Hiccup complained.
"Well, it runs in the family." Gobber said.
"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich. Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fishbone!" Hiccup said while trying to imitate Stoick which got Astrid to laugh a little.
"Sorry. It loo- It looks funny when you try to do your dads voice" she said between giggles.
Now Hiccup, you're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand." Gobber said.
"Thank you for summing that up." Hiccup said.
"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not." Gobber told him.
"I just want to be one of you guys." Hiccup said before going through the door to the house.
"Don't worry Gobber, I'll cheer him up and talk to him." Astrid said before following him in. Gobber smiled for a few seconds thinking about how close those two have been before heading off. However, he was unaware of the couple exiting through the back of the house and running into the forest. Meanwhile in the Meade hall, Stoick had everyone gathered to try and form a plan.
"Either we finish them, or they'll finish us! It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave. They'll find another home! One more search. Before the ice sets in." Stoick planned out.
"Those ships never come back." One viking claimed.
"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard! Now who's with me?" Stoick asked to which he got no response, to which he made a claim for what happened to those who would stay behind.
"Alright. Those who stay will look after Hiccup." Stoick said to which everyone then agreed with the voyage.
"That's more like it." Stoick said.
"Right, I'll pack my undies." Gobber said.
"No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits."
"Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hiccup and Astrid can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to themselves... what could possibly go wrong?" Gobber sarcastically said.
"What am I going to do with him, Gobber?" Stoick asked.
"I know, how about you let Hiccup help me out by being my little assistant in training the others." Gobber said. Stoick thought about this for a moment because if Hiccup ended up helping Gobber, he would be safe and not have a possibility of getting killed by one of the dragons in the ring.
"That just might work. Thanks Gobber. Now should we put Astrid in training with the others?" He asked.
"I don't think she'll even want to leave his side, Stoick. Ever since he helped her on that cold night and began dating, those two have been inseparable. You won't find one without the other. It's young love Stoick, you can't fight it." Gobber said as Stoick grew deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid were looking through the forest trying to find the Night Fury that Hiccup shot down. He had gotten so frustrated to the point where he just began scribbling furiously in his journal.
"Oh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me. I manage to lose an ENTIRE DRAGON?!" Hiccup said before wacking a tree branch before that same branch hit him in the face.
"Are you okay Hiccup?" Astrid asked as she checked him to make sure he didn't take the branch to the eye.
"Yeah, I'm okay." he replied and soon noticed that the branch belonged to a snapped tree trunk which soon led to a long trench of up-turned earth. The two then follow it to a downed black dragon tangled in a boa. It looked dead and Hiccup beamed as the two approached.
"Oh, wow. I did it. Oh, I did it! This fixes everything! Yes! I have brought down this mighty beast!" Hiccup said as he stepped on the seemingly dead dragon's face, but found out that it was still alive as it shoved him away.
"Uhhhh… I'd hold off on the victory speech just yet." Astrid said, a little terrified.
Hiccup then turned his blade on it. Rattled, Hiccup creeps along the length of the weak, wounded dragon, dagger poised to strike. As he reaches the head, Hiccup finds the Night Fury staring coldly at him. Hiccup tries to look away, but he's drawn back to its unnerving, unflinching stare. With the dragon safety tangled in the ropes, Hiccup jabs with his dagger, puffing himself up with false bravado.
"I'm going to kill you, dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I'm a Viking. I am a VIKING!" Hiccup said.
The dragon's labored breathing breaks Hiccup's clenched concentration. He hesitates, looking at the dragon's frightened eyes. The Night Fury, while visibly scared, makes no sound and lays still. Eventually, the Night Fury closes its eyes and lowers its head, resigned to its fate. Hiccup, unable to kill the defenseless creature, finally gives in.
"Why didn't you kill it?" Astrid asked.
"I don't know. I couldn't." Hiccup says.
"That's not an answer." Astrid responds.
"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" Hiccup asks, becoming a little irritated.
"Because I want to remember what you say right now." She replies.
"Oh for the love of-! I was a coward! I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon." Hiccup says angry and loud.
"You said 'wouldn't' that time." Astrid countered
"Whatever! I wouldn't! Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon!" Hiccup blows up. After Astrid pulls him into a hug, things soon calm down.
"So…" She drawls.
"...I wouldn't kill it because it looked as frightened as I was. I looked at it and I saw myself." Hiccup then said.
"I did this." He sighed with a lot of guilt. As he looked at his dagger, Astrid knowing what he was about to do, sighed calmly.
"You have a good heart let's set it free." she said, smiling softly.
Hiccup then began cutting the ropes that bound the Night Fury. The dragon stirs, opening its eyes. Once free, it rolls Hiccup over with two green eyes staring deep into each other. As they stared at each other, Astrid held a hand over her mouth, too terrified to even move. Suddenly, the dragon roars in Hiccup's face, and lopsidedly flies away, leaving him unharmed. Hiccup then whimpers and faints, as Astrid suddenly pulled him into a tight hug, glad that he was okay.