The demon's acid green eyes peered down, looking at the human sprawled out on the floor. "You only did 10 pushups before collapsing?"

"Shut up." Hiccup sat upwards groaning. "I'm not used to this. . . running and stuff."

"It's called exercising."

"I know what it's called! You useless reptile." Hiccup spat as he stood up with wobbly legs. They were still sore and burning from the multiple-mile run through the thicketed forest. He swears that this demon is trying to kill him. Toothless for his part was just sitting there with an unsettling smirk and warbling occasionally. He was finding this too amusing.

The cove was now transformed into a pseudo-training arena. There are practice dummies and various weighted objects to increase Hiccup's strength and endurance. Although the demon was sarcastic 300% of the time, to his credit, he was a fantastic instructor.

"Maybe soon you will be able to summon the sword without it throwing you backwards." Hiccup shot a glare at the demon, who then threw his hands up in surrender. "No shame, but you need to be at a certain fitness level to wield the sword."

Hiccup sighed, "I've never had a divine weapon, there was never a need to train like this." Hiccup stretched his back and heard a loud pop.
Toothless tilted his head, "I thought all humans had a divine weapon?"

"No, you are either attuned as a baby or never at all."
"Why not just make a divine weapon for those not attuned?"

Hiccup stared at the demon incredulously, "You can't make divine weapons, everyone knows that."

Toothless scoffed, "Well obviously not, I made the weapon you are currently attuned to."

Hiccup summoned the weapon. The drastic release of energy made him stumble, but he was able to stay standing. He inspected the weapon closely, the intricate handle, the dark onyx blade. It was perfectly balanced and felt extremely powerful, as if it was overflowing with energy. It was so sharp it felt like it could cut the air itself. It was well and truly a work of art, from who Hiccup thought was a master smith.

He held the weapon up, "You made this?" Toothless nodded. "It's amazing. Quite possibly the most beautiful weapon I've ever seen. Can you teach me how to make divine weapons?"

Toothless shrugged, "Yea? I don't see why not; it's not that difficult."

Hiccup was staring at the demon. Humans have been unable to make divine weapons for hundreds of years. And here was a demon, nonchalantly throwing around the idea that making divine weapons was a possibility; an easy endeavor. Hiccup may have had his reservations about working with a demon before, but all of that flew out the proverbial window the second that he realized that he could learn to make divine weapons.
"What are we waiting for Toothless, let's go!" Hiccup ran over and grabbed the demon, nearly picking him off the ground, and began marching back to his workshop.

It turns out that creating divine weapons is a lot easier in theory than practice. Toothless described the process: collect a coagulation of divine energy into a singularity, superheat the collection of energy, then rapidly cool. This should create a divine crystal that is used as the base for the weapon. The smaller the crystal can be formed, the more versatile it is in weapon making. This crystal acts as a catalyst of divine energy that is able to passively collect divine energy on its own, turning a normal weapon into a divine one. Easy, right?

After Hiccup's fifth try, he was able to make a gray, slightly opaque crystal the size of a baseball. Still far too large to fashion into a weapon. He threw himself back into his chair.

"This is never going to work." Hiccup said defeated.

"To be fair, this is quite an astonishing size for a first-timer. Most demons take their entire lifetime to just get a crystal of this quality." Toothless stated while inspecting the crystal that Hiccup had made. "It may be rather large, but the purity is on another level."

Hiccup began cleaning his workspace, "Doesn't matter how pure it is, if I cannot turn it into a weapon."

"That's not necessarily true, the more pure the crystal the easier it is to attune."

Hiccup stopped and picked up the baseball crystal, "What is attunement exactly? I know it means that you essentially become the owner, but how does that work if it is just crystals."

"Think of the crystal as an empty cup." Toothless grabbed a crystal and lifted it up for demonstration. "It is completely fresh and new once it is made. But if I try to pour divine energy into it–"

The crystal he was holding began to glow. It was dark and ominous. The grey crystal developed a dark, shadowy and gloomy appearance. It felt like it could suck the energy out of you just by looking at it. The energy had a faint purple tinge, that was dancing in the ebony pool. Toothless shook the crystal and all of the energy disbanded, releasing a faint pop. When he gave the crystal back to Hiccup, he noticed that the appearance had changed. Although the energy was gone, the crystal itself was not the same, grey and opaque look, but it was now dark, cracked and purple.

Toothless broke the silence, "My energy has a unique identity. My connection with divine energy is also unique as well. As is each and every other living thing. By pouring divine energy into the crystal I aslo embedded a small part of my own energy into it as well. That caused the whole crystal to change structure until it matched my energy. It is now attuned to me. No one else should be able to use this crystal."

Hiccup nodded, "So the crystal is like a battery for divine energy and since you were the first to use the crystal then it is attuned to you. Forever now your crystal."

"That is correct Hiccup. However, it is a lot more complicated than that. Although my connection to the divine energy is unique, as is yours, there are still some people that have compatible energies; family members, sometimes spouses, and the bonded."

Hiccup took the crystal and began trying to pour divine energy into the crystal. To his surprise, it slowly started to fill with the same black, and ominous energy. However, this time instead of a purple thread it was a bright green.

"You said we are bonded?" Hiccup asked the demon. Toothless nodded. "So that is why I can use a crystal you attuned to?"

"It's much more complicated, but in simple terms yes."

Hiccup looked at the other large crystals he made. They had this intense feeling. Almost a draining feeling, waiting to receive divine energy. Hiccup smiled. Although they may not be useful for making divine weapons, they still might be extremely useful to him. And this will allow him to keep his promise to the demon, who seems to be much more useful than Hiccup had imagined. Hiccup ran over to the tools on the wall and grabbed the hammer he uses for straightening molten metal. He ran back to the large crystals on his desk and promptly began smashing each of them.

Toothless grabbed Hiccup and pulled him away from destroying their hard work, "What has come over you! I know they aren't perfect, but you don't have to destroy them!'

Hiccup shrugged him off, "Relax Toothless. They are perfect, just not for making weapons." Hiccup then grabbed one of his old devices, the cube catcher and popped open one of the canisters, he shot out the net that was contained inside and placed a small fragment of the divine crystal into the cube. He flipped it over and began tweaking with the release mechanism and the sound system.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to turn the cube into a divine weapon? The crystals need to be whole."

Hiccup shook his head, "No, im adding a fragment of the crystal into the cube and modifying the speaker into a frequency modulator. This will make a frequency search for the resonant frequency of the demon causing a forced attunement. Similar to what we do with human kids when attuning them at a young age. Since the cube will not turn off, it will capture not just the divine energy, but unique energy ID as well. Forcing the demons to possess the crystal as if it were a beacon."

Toothless was staring slack jaw at his companion, "That's brilliant Brother! That can capture demons without killing them! It's brilliant! It–" Toothless closely inspected one of the fragments, "–won't work."

Hiccup spun around to face the demon, "What do you mean it won't work."

"Well, any demon in their right mind can cancel a possession, especially a forced possession."

"Didn't you say that all the demons are not in their right mind? So it should work."

Toothless paused, thinking it over once again, "It's brilliant!"

Hiccup laughed, "Glad that you like my idea."

"It just needs one more thing Brother," Hiccup raised a brow, "A field test."

Hiccup and Toothless began their search of the city. Waiting for a demon to make it's appearance. Usually, most members of the Order would just wait for a concerned citizen to make a call regarding a demon attack, but they wanted to be the first to find the demon. Better to not have any prying eyes during their first field test. Normally it would be difficult to find demons, but having a demon with you was very handy to find other demons. Sure enough, they came across their first victim. It looked humanoid, with brown scales down the side of its face. The snout at the front was flat rather like a slobbery pug. Gronkle class, small D-rank demon. Perfect for their first test.

Hiccup took the cube out of his backpack, trying to make as little noise and not disturb the demon. They were out in the forest hunting the demon and watching it as it drank water. Hiccup stumbled nearly dropping the cube and alerting the demon, it looked up from its perch forcing Hiccup and Toothless to duck down behind cover. After a few baited breathes they looked back to see the demon once again drinking. Hiccup pressed the button on the side of the cube and threw it at the demon. Once it was in range, close to the demon, it began beeping and unleashed a piercing screech, the sound was modulated and changed through every frequency sounding much like a very powerful slide whistle. When it hit the proper frequency the demon began convulsing, and the tone changed to a constant noise. After a few seconds the demon twitched and got sucked into the cube, letting out a loud roar as it's body dissolved into the cube. It beeped a few more times before becoming still on the floor, the demon no where to be seen.

Hiccup jumped into the air cheering, Toothless doing the same. They both gave each other a hug in celebration before coming to their senses and separating. Hiccup ran over and picked up the cube. There was a demon inside of the cube. He captured his first demon! Hiccup felt like screaming to the heavens he was so excited. With fumbling hands he hit the release button and the cube opened. Inside was a now glowing brown divine crystal. Hiccup laughed and grabbed the crystal and thrusted it in the air to show Toothless.

"Toothless look! We caught the – OW!" The crystal was burning hot and singed Hiccup's hand. He accidentally dropped the crystal and it exploded the second that it hit the ground. A puff of smoke appeared and the gronkle from before was now laying on the ground next to Hiccup. It sat up quickly, looked at the human, hissed then ran away in fear of what just happened. Toothless doubled over in laughter while Hiccup glared at him.

Hiccup sighed, "I guess we need to fix the heat problem." Hiccup looked down at his hand and saw a red mark beginning to form where he was burned. Hiccup smithed long enough to know that the burn was going to blister as well. There was already a million thoughts running through Hiccup's head. He had already solved the heat issue, he just needed a way to remove the shards carefully and recharge them. Maybe a shard capsule and ejection system? Easier said than done.

"-ICCUP!" Toothless shouted.

"What?"

"Were you listening to anything that I just said?" Toothless placed his hands on his hips trying to look stern. It just looked like an awkward position for the demon.

"Sorry, was in my own head."

Toothless huffed, "I said that was very well done. At least we know now that it doesn't hurt the demons, so all around a major victory."

Hiccup smiled, not many people complimented his work. He finally felt like there was someone who appreciated what he was doing. "Thanks, Toothless."

The demon opened his mouth to object the nickname, but threw his head to the right growling at whatever was there. Hiccup followed his gaze but didn't see anything. "What is it Toothless?" The demon didn't respond. He just vanished into thin air. Hiccup felt his purple energy flow into his ring, whatever was coming it spooked Toothless and he didn't want to stay and meet whatever it is. He quickly grabbed the used cube catcher and tried to stuff it back into his backpack, ripping open his bag. When he did so more of the cubes that were in there flew out onto the ground. The rustling in the leaves behind him got louder and he sped up to throw the remaining cubes into his bag, scooping up dirt as he went. He heard a thunk directly next to his head and cold steel on his ear. A trickle of blood slowly ran down his cheek. He carefully turned his head to the right to see a double-headed battle axe embedded into the tree next to him a mere millimeter away. Hiccup slowly raised his hands in the air and stood up. Turning around to face the assailant.

Standing across the opening was a blonde valkyrie, with blue eyes that reminded him of a clear summer's day. But right now they looked pissed. She stormed over and stood at her full height in front of him. Normally, Hiccup would be taller than her, but as he cowered he felt much smaller. She grabbed her axe and violently ripped it out of the tree, throwing splinters in every direction. "Hiccup! What on Midgard are you doing out here in the forest!" She yelled, fuming.

Hiccup held up the cube catcher that was in his hand, "Testing out some new equipment."

"You couldn't do that, oh I don't know," she threw her hands around exasperated, "anywhere else!"

"It's field equipment, it has to be tested in the field." He stated, matter-of-factly.

Astrid rubbed the bridge of her nose, "We got reports of demon activity in the forest. I am here to kill the demon." The purple energy in his ring flared slightly.

Hiccup gave her a fake smile and a thumbs up. "And I am sure you will!" He pointed over his shoulder, "I just have to – you know – very busy – testing – gotta go!" With a quick spin on his heels, he flipped around and began trying to escape. Before he got even a few steps a strong arm grabbed onto his collar and yanked him back.

"You aren't going anywhere Haddock." Astrid stood there with her arms crossed and standing with her back straight before sighing. "At least not alone. You aren't cleared for field duty. Let's go I have to escort you back."

"N-n-no. Please A-astrid. Don't bother with me," Hiccup stuttered, "I'll just get in the w-way and the demon will escape."

Astrid started moving and dragged Hiccup behind her. "I know that! But orders are orders. You need an escort unless you want to be gutted by a demon. Maybe next time you will do what you are told and the demon won't get away." She glared at Hiccup which felt like daggers piercing his skin. Everyone always thought the worst of Hiccup, well almost everyone.

The rest of the walk was rather quiet. Astrid wasn't in the mood for chatting and she frequently glanced over at Hiccup to make sure he wasn't going to make a run for it. She seemed even more confused when he turned into the Sector 8 district. That was where his current apartment was located, as far away as possible from the other knights, nearly the other side of Berk. Hiccup trudged up the stairs and fumbled with his keys. He unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside. He flicked on the lights, well, flicked on the light switch and waited half a minute for them to finally blink alive. He then threw his bag onto his chair then slumped down onto his bed. This was when he finally noticed his blonde bodyguard still standing at the precipice before stepping into his room.

"Please don't stand outside. Welcome to Hiccup's luxury resort!" He quipped and gestured around the room. Astrid slowly took a few steps inside and looked around the apartment, failing miserably at hiding her disgust of the building.

"Why are you living here and not at the Dragon's Edge?" She asked while inspecting parts of the small apartment.

Hiccup shrugged, "This is all that I can afford."

Astrid's brows furrowed, "Do you not get accommodations working for the Knight's Order?" Hiccup scoffed.

"No, my father believes that it would be unfair to the other knights if he showed favoritism."

"It's not favoritism if he gives you what everyone else gets."

Hiccup chuckled, "Any accommodation whatsoever from my father is favoritism in his eyes. I must be able to handle myself."

Astrid picked up a duffle bag and absently inspected the contents, "But we don't get paid."

"Exactly. No money and no accommodations." He gestured to the room, "That's why I live here." Astrid turned and looked at Hiccup. For the first time that Hiccup could remember, she looked at him with sympathy. Most gazed at him with scorn, disgust or aversion, but never sympathy. It felt weird.

She threw the duffle bag that was in her hands at Hiccup. Reflexively he caught the empty duffle bag and brought up a defensive posture expecting her to attack. When no blow came he opened his eyes. Astrid was rummaging through his apartment and grabbing items.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Grab your things. You are coming with me." She stated, while throwing the items she collected into his backpack with the cube catchers. Still not his best name for a gadget.

"Where are we going?" He questioned while packing his clothes, which were almost all of his personal effects.

"I am not going to let you stay here in this rat-hole–"

"Hey!"

"–Sorry, Luxury Resort." Hiccup nodded. "You are gonna be staying with me."

Hiccup froze. He just stared at her blankly. Did Astrid Hofferson just invite him to stay with her? Does that mean they will be living together? What does this mean? Isn't this like the fourth step in a relationship? Hiccup had no idea what was going on but his heart was racing a million miles an hour. Astrid started snapping her fingers to try and bring him back to reality.

"You're slacking off. Hurry up and finish packing it's getting late. You are gonna love my apartment." A slow smile crept onto her face, making Hiccup even more nervous than before.