Review
DJ Rodriguez: Thank you for your review.
He doesn't technically meet the dragons yet. Just seeing them. And read it again, it wasn't Moondancer that wondered if Hiccup just hatched, it was Vahgar.
The duel was mildly inspired by a sparring duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Obi-Wan series. At least with them circling and the part where they're back-to-back. And yes, I was aware of the meetings between the Vikings and the Romans. And yes, Daemon is suspecting Hiccup knows about something.
And yes, Gobber needs to learn to keep quiet.
The fight between Astrid and Hiccup was inspired by the first meeting of Puss and Death from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish because when I was writing this story on Wattpad, I was really into The Last Wish and its villain Death.
Hiccup saying "I wasn't done with that," was more of a reference to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. But a drunken Pikachu is a hilarious image for sure.
As for why Caraxes attacked only the Thorston house, you'll have to wait another chapter. And for the origins of the Dragon-Viking War? That is actually explained in the movie already. It will be explained later on in this story.
While Hiccstrid wasn't my aim in this story, I'll admit, I enjoyed writing the interaction between Hiccup and Astrid.
Now, on with the chapter!
Chapter 6: Forbidden Friendship.
Saturday morning
It had taken the Berkian fleet nearly three days after leaving Berk to reach Helheim's Gate. "I can almost smell them. They're close." Stoick says to Spitelout as they look at the map of their tribal territory, his hand resting on the spot he stabbed the map in the Great Hall. The chief looks out towards the fog. "Steady," he calls out to the helmsman. He looks for any dragons nearby hiding in the fog before looking for a particular sea stack that the Vikings have used as an entrance to Helheim's Gate for generations.
"Take us in," he orders after a moment, and he finds it.
"Hard to port for Helheim's Gate." the helmsman called out. The helmsman of the other ship repeats, "Hard to port."
The three ships enter the fog one by one. All was silent before numerous roars were heard from above. Looking to the right, the first dragons Stoick sees are Monstrous Nightmares. He growls as he picks up his war hammer. He twirls it in his hand before giving out a war cry.
Two days later. . .
"You know, I noticed the book had nothing on Night Furies," Hiccup calls out to Gobber from where he stood. "Is there another book? A sequel? Maybe a little Night Fury pamphlet?" A stream of dragon fire shot next to Hiccup's head and hit the wall behind him. "Whoa!" he cried out. His sword was also hit by the stream. The blade glowed bright orange from the heat of dragon fire. He couldn't help but smile pridefully and feel grateful for Daemon giving him this sword. Prideful that it survived the fire of the Deadly Nadder. It was known to be the hottest of dragon fire and grateful that Daemon had given it to him.
"Focus, Hiccup!" Gobber snapped from wherever he was. "You're not even trying!"
Right, Dragon Training. In front of Hiccup was the Deadly Nadder. And he was in a maze same as the rest of the teenagers. "Today is all about attack!" Gobber shouted.
"Oh, I love it when I'm in the Maze!" the female Deadly Nadder screeched which made Hiccup think of a bird. A beautiful and deadly ire breathing bird. "It's so fun!" she jumped off the wall and charged to Hiccup.
The young heir feigns going to the left before running to the right, barely avoiding the Nadder's jaws. He runs another direction and sees Baela in front of him. "Run!" he shouts as he runs past her. He hears the Nadder squawk as Baela runs behind him before the dragon jumps on top of the maze walls.
"Nadders are quick and light on their feet," Leana said from wherever she stood. "Your job is to be quicker and lighter!"
Fishlegs looked around a corner nervously before looking up in fear as the Nadder looked down at him from her perch on the wall, she said, "I see you!" Her tail spikes stood up on end before she launched them towards Fishlegs. "Think fast, human hatchling!" The large boy screamed in fright as he lifted his shield and blocked three of Nadder barbs.
"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" Fishlegs called to Gobber as he ran, briefly bumping the wall as he ran.
"Ha! I've been questioning his methods since I was nine years old!" Hiccup exclaimed in amusement as he and Baela met up with Rheana. "What happened then?" Rheana asked as they ran.
"After one snow day, I asked what I could make with snow and he had me shovel snow into the fire pit, when it was all melted and the fire was out, he said," Hiccup paused and made his voice sound like the blacksmith's. "See? Yah can't jus smelt snow and ice. It's jus nah metal." The two sisters snickered before the Nadder lands in front of them. "Boo!" she spread her wings out, tail barbs standing up. The three teens let out shouts of surprise and fright and run the other direction.
"Look for its blind spot!" Gobber said as he and Leana watch from the top of the Arena. Leana nodded. "Almost every dragon has one." Leana explained. "Find it. Hide in it and then strike."
Hiccup and the Velaryian sisters run past the Thorston twins who decide it was a good idea to run in the direction they saw the heir and his friends run from and came face to face to the Deadly Nadder.
"What is this?" the Nadder said in confusion as she tries to move her head to see them, but the Twins move in sync with her blind spot. "I can smell Viking hatchlings, but I can't see them."
She wasn't the only one who could smell the Vikings. Ruffnut could smell her brother and gagged. "Do you ever bathe?" she asked in a disgust filled whisper.
"If you don't like it, just get your own blind spot!" Tuffnut snapped, elbowing his sister.
"Okay, now I hear them." the Nadder muttered and turned her head.
"How about I give you one!" Ruffnut snapped, shoving Tuffnut before the two pushed their heads against one another.
"If you hatchlings were trying to sneak up on me," the Nadder squawked, getting the twins' attention. "You failed." Ruffnut grabbed her brother by the arm and pulled him out of the way of the dragon fire that sprayed the area he was.
"Blind spot, yes." Gobber said, holding his head. "Deaf spot? Not so much." He and Leana chuckle in amusement at the blacksmith's joke as Hiccup stops in front of them.
"So, how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" he asked. "No one has ever met one and lived to tell the tale," Gobber replied tiredly before snapping. "Now get in there!"
"I know, I know," Hiccup says as he walks backwards. "But hypothetically-"
"Hiccup!"
He turns to the right and sees Astrid and Snotlout against the wall. "Get down!" Astrid whispered urgently and Snotlout nodded in silent agreement.
As Hiccup knelt down next to them, he hears the Deadly Nadder around the corner. "Come out, come out wherever you are."
Astrid peeked around the corner for a moment before she somersaulted passed the Nadder when the dragon was looking away from her. Snotlout did the same move. The two glanced back to Hiccup who looked over to the Nadder. He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it past the Nadder and it bounced off the wall behind the dragon and clattered on the floor.
"Huh? What's this?" the Nadder squawked in an excited and confused tone as she ran down the other path. Hiccup then walked over to where Astrid and Snotlout stood. Snotlout looked surprised while Astrid looked impressed.
"What? It's just a rock!" the Nadder roared in anger from where she was.
"We should get moving," Hiccup whispered urgently. Just as he walked past them, the Nadder jumped onto their path. The three teens then run to the right but then the Nadder climbed over the wall jumped in the path in front of them. "You shall not pass!" the Nadder growled.
Both Astrid and Hiccup get ready to fight before Snotlout shoves them both to side. "Hey!" Astrid exclaimed while Hiccup grunted from the shove.
"Watch out, babe. I got this!" he declares confidently to Astrid and throws his mace at the Nadder.
The mace flies past the Sharp Class Dragon and hits the wall behind her. The dragon paused and glanced at the mace clattering on the floor before she began to laugh, to Hiccup's surprise. "Lamest throw ever!" she said between chortles.
Hiccup stares at the dragon in awe. The dragon could laugh in its own way. What else was it capable of? Realizing something else, he turned his attention away and stared at his cousin incredulously while Astrid glares at him. How could have he missed a dragon that barely moved from its spot?
"The sun was in my eyes, Astrid!" Snotlout tried to defend himself. Hiccup looked up at the sky incredulously. "Sun? What sun?" he asked. "It's been cloudy all day!"
They then had to run away as the Nadder began to chase after them. "What do you want me to do? Block out the sun?" Snotlout asks as they run, apparently trying to go with his lame excuse of missing the Nadder. "I can do that, but I don't have the time to do so."
Snotlout ran in one direction and Astrid the other with the Nadder on her tail. The Nadder slid into one of the walls and knocked down some of the walls of the maze while chasing Astrid who screamed and ran past Hiccup who had stopped to talk to Gobber and Leana again. The Nadder ran right past him, ignoring him entirely and focusing on Astrid. "I'm going to get you! I'm going to get you!" the blue and yellow dragon growled in a playful tone.
"Night Furies, they probably take the day off, like a cat or a bat, right?" Hiccup asked Gobber and Leana, ignoring the teens running past him. Behind him, most of the walls of the maze were knocked down by the Nadder as it chased Astrid. "Has anyone seen one napping?" He asked.
"Hiccup, pay attention!" Leana shouted urgently, pointing behind him. Turning around, Hiccup saw the large wall falling, and Astrid was on the top trying to avoid the Nadder's jaws. She had no choice but to jump towards Hiccup. "Hiccup!" she shouted.
Dropping his sword, Hiccup caught Astrid but the two fell down in a tangle of limbs and Astrid's axe ended up embedded in Hiccup's shield. Looking upward, Hiccup saw the Nadder running past them and apparently, she had thought that the teens were under the pile of rubble and fallen walls.
To the right of him, Hiccup sees the Thorston twins looking at him and Astrid with shit eating grins. "Ooh! Love on the battlefield!" Tuffnut said teasingly.
"She can do better," Ruffnut said with a grin.
Ignoring them, Hiccup looked to Astrid as she manages to stand up. "Are you okay? he asked but then he heard a crash behind him. Looking up, he sees the Nadder lifting a rubble off of her. "Aha, there you are!" she squawked. Astrid gasps in fright and grabs her axe still stuck in Hiccup's shield. She plants her left boot on Hiccup's face and pulls on her axe harder.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Hiccup exclaimed. This was both painful and disgusting. These were not new boots and she's clearly been running for a while in them. It's quite possible the dirt on their soles is hurting him more than the pain from being stepped on.
"Hey! Don't step on his face!" Baela cried before Astrid managed to pull the shield off Hiccup's arm with a yank. She then swings her axe at the dragon who was less than three feet from her. The Nadder staggers away, stunned by the blow and the pain. "Ow," she whimpered, leaving the teens in the clear.
"Well done, Astrid." Gobber complimented while Leana entered the Arena and escorted the Nadder into her cage.
Astrid had a shaken expression from the encounter with the Nadder before it turns into a scowl. She turns to Hiccup who was being helped up by Baela. "Is this some kind of joke to you?" she snaps angrily.
"What?" Hiccup says in confusion while Baela and Rheana narrow their eyes. "Our parents' war is about to become ours." Astrid replied.
"You're the warrior. I'm a blacksmith." Hiccup replied firmly. Astrid narrowed her eyes and held up her axe.
"Figure out which side you're on." she said. Hiccup narrowed his eyes as she walks away. Baela and Rheana moved forward to say something, but Hiccup held them back. "We need to talk," he said to them. He glances to Leana who was closing the Nadder's cage and had saw the brief conversation with Astrid. He looks up and sees Daemon watching from where the Chief sits. The Targaryen glares at Astrid's retreating form before he glances down to Hiccup.
When Astrid was out of view, she grimaced and facepalmed as her words replayed in her head. Great, her anger seemed to have gotten the better of her again. She glances back to the arena before she sighs deeply and continued walking.
"Unbelievable," Hiccup said in anger as he paces in the forest while Daemon and his family sit on a log or lean against a tree. "Figure out which side you're on," he said, imitating Astrid. "Has she forgotten that I've been making and fixing weapons that she and the warriors of the village use to fight when I'm not inventing? Hel, I even made her axe! And I sharpen it for her too!" He lets out a yell of frustration. "I know I caused damage to the village in the past, but she seriously doubts whose side I'm trying to support?!"
"You've done your best for this village," Leana said as she stands up and walks to the pacing boy. "Hey," she places her hands on his shoulders. "You've done the best anyone could ask of you. If they couldn't see that, it was their fault. And their fault alone. You have nothing to be blamed for."
Hiccup stared at her before smiling in gratitude for her words. "I wish I could call you Mom," he said, and Leana's eyes widened, and the others perked up at hearing that. "You're about everything I pictured my mom would be."
"Oh, Hiccup," Leana cooed as she hugs the boy. "I would be honored to be called your mom." Her daughters run up and join in the hug, almost knocking them down. Daemon chuckled and he walked up and hugged Hiccup. No other words were said. They didn't need to be.
They all stayed like that for a while before pulling away. "If the Vikings really don't want me, I guess I'll see what the dragons have to offer."
Baela's eyes widened while Daemon and Leana tensed ever so slightly. "And how do you plan on that?" Rheana asked nervously.
Hiccup pulled out a fish from his vest. "I'm going to visit a Night Fury." he declared.
The sisters stare at him in shock and surprise while Leana and Daemon don't look that much surprised.
"So, you did shoot down a Night Fury," Daemon states. "And you want to be friends with him?"
"And that's why you were asking about Night Furies in class," Leana said in realization.
Hiccup shuffles in his spot. "Well, to be fair, he hasn't really tried to kill me after I set him free." he replied.
Both Daemon and Lean looked at him with a more surprised expression. "You mean that you set the Night Fury free after shooting him down?" Baela asked before punching him in the shoulder. "What were you thinking? He could have been furious that you shot him down."
"And he was!" Hiccup replied. "But all he did was just roar in my face."
"Does this have anything to do with you losing your drive to be a dragon killer after the last raid?" Daemon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Honestly, yeah." Hiccup nodded. "I found him trapped in my bolas and I tried to talk myself into cutting his head off," he trailed off. "Yet, I saw the fear in his eyes, I could see in his eyes that he was just begging me not to kill him." He didn't go any further than that. Who knows how they'd react if they heard that he could understand dragons.
"Goes against what Vikings have been claiming that dragons have no fear, doesn't it?" Leana asked softly. Hiccup nodded. "I was just so guilty all of the sudden and disgusted with what I was trying to force myself to do, and I just cut him loose. He pinned me down and I thought he was going to kill me, but he didn't."
He gestures to the trees. "He's in a cove up ahead with three other dragons." he said, turning back to his friends and parental figures. "And they know your scents."
Baela and her sister slightly grimaced in shame while Leana and Daemon looked to each other. "Hiccup, you know, as well as most of the village know, that we are from a far-off land called Westeros, correct?" Daemon asked. Hiccup rose an eyebrow but nodded.
"What we have not told anyone is that the people there live in relative peace with the dragons there." Leana explained making Hiccup's eyes to widen in surprise. "Yes, our people are not at war with dragons there." Leana went on. "We do not see them as demons from Hell, instead we see them as magnificent creatures, back in the past people have ridden on the backs of dragons to war. We can introduce you to our dragons if being friends with the Night Fury doesn't work out."
"Wait, how do you know that the dragons know our scents?" Rheana asked curiously.
Hiccup sighed. "Okay, this may sound crazy, but I can understand dragons," he explained, nervous that he will be ridiculed.
"On the contrary," Daemon replied. "You are not the only one. For Riders like us," he gestured to himself and his wife and Baela. "We can understand our dragons if our bond is strong and more."
"More? Like what?" Hiccup asked. "We can share each other's emotions or in some cases, pain." Daemon replied. Hiccup nodding silently saying, "Oh."
The Viking heir turns to Rheana. "So, wait, are you a Dragon Rider too, Rheana?" he asked. Rheana shook her head. "The nursery back home could not produce an egg for me when I was born," she replied a little sad. "While I would not have a strong bond with Moondancer as my sister does, she does let me ride her."
Hiccup nodded in understanding before they arrived at the cove. Hiccup looked around before taking a deep breath. "So, just to be clear, these dragons won't try to eat me, right?" he asked.
"You're too skinny to look appetizing," Baela replied in a snarky tone before going serious. "Though, we can't really say anything about the Fury. He's wild and unclaimed."
"And don't forget that you still shot him down." Rheana added. Leana placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Don't worry, son. We can order our dragons to protect you, if needed." she said. Hiccup smiled in response.
"You have to gain his trust if you want to be his friend and eventual rider." Daemon said sagely and serious. "Show him that you can be trusted." Hiccup nodded with a stern expression before he walked down the small path into the cove.
Hiccup walked out between two boulders and looked around. The small female dragon, Moondancer, lifted her head and stared at him before her lips curled upwards in a smile upon seeing Baela walk towards her. "Baela! Oh, how I've missed you sister!" she crooned as she nuzzled the Velaryion with her snout. Baela giggled and hugged the dragon in response.
Hiccup smiled at his friend being happy before he hears another voice. One he knew belonged to the Night Fury. "Back again, huh?" Turning around, he sees the black dragon looking at him from behind a tall rock, tail swinging back and forth slightly like a hunting cat.
"You have guts, I'll give you that." the Night Fury growled as he moves down from his perch and now stood before Hiccup, ready for anything. "So, what are you here for? A rematch? Well, don't think that I'll be an easy fight because I can't fly. I'm still more of a match for the likes of you."
Hiccup exhaled heavily. He has a feeling that there was a high chance of failing and going wrong, but he's willing to try. After all, what does he have to lose? Besides Daemon and his family?
His home? Please. Almost every Viking in the village had shunned him, spat on him for as long as he was Gobber's apprentice, even his own uncle. His father, the Chief? A man who didn't listen to him, didn't believe in him, didn't train him and even publicly humiliated him more than once? There was a time, when Hiccup was smaller than he was now, that Stoick was a loving father. But apparently, he stopped being one when Hiccup didn't show any signs of being a real Viking child.
His friends? The only friends he had were the Velaryian sisters. The other teens? None of them were his friends. His own cousin was his main bully. The Thorston twins sabotaged his inventions, pulled pranks on him, framed him for their pranks and bullied him with Snotlout. Fishlegs was once his friend but now he didn't talk to him other than saying hello. Astrid just flat out ignored him until now. Now she was doubting his loyalty and had told him to figure out which side he was on.
Gobber? Maybe. That was maybe the only person Hiccup would miss after the Targaryen-Velaryian family if he died. But even Gobber could get on Hiccup's nerves easily.
"Look, we got off on the wrong foot," Hiccup said as he held up the fish to the Night Fury. "How about we start over? My name's Hiccup."
The Night Fury eyes the fish and glances to Hiccup. "I don't know what you're playing at, Hiccup," he said, moving close and opening his mouth. "But, ah, that fish looks tasty." Then he glanced down at Hiccup's waist and crouched down, growling.
"Ha! Pretty clever, kid," he growled. "But I wasn't hatched yesterday."
Hiccup stared in confusion before he remembered that he had a dagger under his vest. "Oh, sorry." he pulled his fur vest to the side to reveal his dagger. He looks back to the dragon's wary expression and sighed. "Look, even if I tried to fight you with this dagger, I wouldn't be able to fight you with it. Not for longer than five seconds that is." He grabs the knife by its pommel and drops it. "I mean you no harm and I physically cannot harm you."
"Not good enough," the Night Fury growls. Hiccup picks up the dagger with his foot and kicked it into the pond with a splash.
The dragon glances at the pond before his behavior changes instantly. He sits up, pupils round and looks at him with an open, friendly and interested gaze. Unholy offspring of lightning and death or not, it's clear the Night Fury is at the very top of the list when it comes to cute looking dragons.
"Better. Now then, you were offering an afternoon snack?" the Night Fury crooned. Hiccup held the fish out to him again. The dragon stares at him before moving forward like a caterpillar. "Oh, by the stars of Draco, I'm so hungry." he croons as he opened his mouth. "Go ahead, put it in my mouth."
Hiccup would have done so, but he saw something that surprised him. No fangs in the dragon's mouth, just gums. "Huh. Toothless." he commented. "I could've sworn you had-"
"Bottoms up!" the dragon declared before his teeth shot out of his gums and he snatches the fish from Hiccup's hands, startling the boy, before throwing it in the air before gulping it down in two pieces. "Hmm, tasty."
"Teeth," Hiccup muttered.
"Wow, retractable teeth," Rheana commented in fascination as she watched from the side as her parents walked over to their dragons. They almost thought that the dragon had taken one of Hiccup's hands off along with the fish, but luckily, that wasn't the case.
The Night Fury licked his lips before he leaned down and began walking over to the young auburn-haired Viking teenage boy, tilting his head and crooning. "Do you have anymore?"
"Uh, no, I don't." Hiccup said nervously, walking back before he felt his back against a boulder. "Don't lie to me." the Night Fury said.
Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not. I don't have anymore." The dragon narrowed his eyes. "So, you gave me your only fish. You're a strange one for sure, Hiccup. Well, it's only fair since you shared with me." Hiccup blinked in confusion before the black dragon began to gag before he regurgitated half of the fish into his lap.
"Uh. . ." Hiccup said in both confusion and disgust while the Night Fury sat on his hind legs and stared at Hiccup blankly. To the side, Baela and Rheana were struggling not to laugh. Leana covered her mouth and Daemon held his sides as he laughed. The other dragons also seem to laugh in amusement.
Both Hiccup and the Night Fury stare at one another before glancing down to the fish on the boy's lap. "Well, sharing is caring. Eat it." the dragon crooned. Hiccup's eyes widened a little before trying to calm himself down.
It's okay, you can do this. You can do this. Hiccup mentally motivates himself. Your dad's cooking is terrible. If you can stomach that for a year, you can handle a raw fish regurgitated by a dragon and covered in dragon saliva. Plus, this had to be a sign of testing his trustworthiness. This dragon after all just gave him half a fish that he had been given for days since Friday. After gathering his courage, Hiccup takes a bite. He keeps himself from swallowing. Raw fish and dragon saliva are gross on their own. Put them together increases their grossness tenfold. He smiles up to the dragon full mouth while humming, Hmm. Delicious.
"Not good enough, Hiccup. Down it." The Fury makes a swallowing noise. Hiccup slumps in defeat before swallowing. And immediately has to force down the vomit at the horrid taste. After swallowing that too, he shudders in disgust.
"Enjoy it?" the black dragon tilts his head. Hiccup looked up to him with a smile. The dragon narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing with your lips there?" Then to Hiccup's surprise, the dragon's lips curl upwards, pulling off the first draconic smile Hiccup had ever seen with no teeth to show that he meant no harm. "Like this?" he asked.
"Wow," amazed, Hiccup sits straighter and reaches to reach the dragon. However, the dragon growls, teeth popping out and flies away, clearly not liking the attempt.
After landing on the other side, the Night Fury grumbled to himself. "Don't you think you're being a bit rude?" Moondancer asked. "He clearly wants to be friends with you."
"Yeah, but he also is the one who shot me down," the Fury replied gruffly before he began to scorch a circle in the dirt to the right temperature before settling down on it. "I'm not going to trust him that easily."
"You got to see that he regrets it," Moondancer replied. "Can you at least consider it? Baela and Rheana have spoken about him to me. The boy needs friends. And with what you have told us about life in the Nest, you need friends too."
The Night Fury paused in consideration before looking to his left and sees Hiccup sitting close by, legs crossed and smiling. "Hey." he said with a wave.
"He's persistent, I'll say that." the black dragon grumbled to Moondancer who giggled at his deadpan expression. He turns to the boy. "Fine. You can stay, just don't touch my tail." he said to Hiccup, wrapping his tail around him, getting ready to sleep. "You've done enough damage to it already."
"You know, if you let me look at it closely," Hiccup scoots closer with an awe-filled smile and reaches to the tail. "I could do something to fix it."
The Fury lifts his tail up to reveal his face, "I'm not trusting you with my tail!" he exclaimed.
Getting the message, Hiccup cringes and stands up before walking away. The Fury grumbles before getting up and walking away. "Keep your hands to yourself."
"Hiccup?" Astrid asked as she stood at the forge entry. "Hiccup?" she called out again. Upon receiving no answer, she leaves the forge and walked to the chief's house. She knocked on the door. "Hiccup?" she called out while knocking on the front door. She waited for a moment before knocking again. When silence was her answer, she slumped before walking away.
Hiccup stared up to the sky in awe as Daemon rides his dragon Caraxes, Leana on Vahgar and Baela with Rheana on Moondancer. It was now magic hour, the sun setting as Hiccup sat on a rock. He picked up a twig and looked to the dirt at his feet.
Meanwhile, the Night Fury had hung upside down from a tree branch like a large bat. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Hiccup sitting alone. "Huh. He's still here." he muttered. "What's he doing now?"
Hiccup was making a drawing of the Night Fury in the dirt with a twig. Just as he was getting the dragon's head, he hears the dragon crooning next to him. "Whatcha doing?" he asked. Rather than answer him, Hiccup continued drawing until the dragon saw what it was.
"Is that me? You're drawing me?" he asked in wonder as Hiccup was almost done with drawing wings. "Hold on a flap. I want to do that for you." Then the Night Fury waddled off.
"Huh?" Hiccup said in confusion before he sees the Night Fury breaking off a large branch and dragging it in the dirt. The dragon drags the branch in swirls around Hiccup.
"Okay, you got the eyes, the nose, and ear," the dragon muttered before pausing and glancing towards Hiccup's face. "You got some small spots on your face there." he said making some dots on the ground before dragging the branch again, accidentally hitting Hiccup on the head, but the boy didn't really care. He was too surprised at seeing the dragon draw.
"There. Finished," the Night Fury said in a pleased and proud tone as he looks at his masterpiece. A squiggling and swirling drawing of Hiccup's face.
"Hey, Hic! It's looks just like you!" Baela called from Moondancer's back as they landed with a laugh shared with Rheana.
Hiccup looked back and forth from where he stood. He took one step to the right and suddenly the Night Fury growled. "Hey, don't step on it." Hiccup winced at the growl before he looked down and saw that his foot had stepped on it.
Lifting his foot up, he heard the Fury crooning. "Thank you. I worked hard on this." This made Hiccup raise an eyebrow and stepped on it again, causing the dragon to growl again. "Stop it."
Foot off the line. Croon. "Thank you."
Foot on the line. Growl. "Don't!"
Foot off the line. Purr. "Better."
Foot on the line. Growl. "Hey!"
Foot over the line. The Night Fury relaxed. "I really don't get you." he said bluntly. Hiccup snorted while smiling reassuringly. Watching where he steps, Hiccup maneuvered around the lines before he paused at feeling air being blown on his head.
He turns around, mystified as he is now in close proximity to the Night Fury who seems to reflect his expression. Hiccup reached out again with his hand but paused when the Night Fury growled. "How do I know this isn't some trick?"
Hiccup paused to consider how to answer. "I know now that it was wrong to shoot you down." he said. "I am truly sorry. I swear that I will not harm you ever again." He turns his head away, still holding his hand out.
The Night Fury stared in wonder at the human letting him decide to take the next step or not. After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and pressed his snout to Hiccup's hand. "I trust you, Hiccup." he declared.
The boy slumped while sighing in relief before turning to look at the black dragon. The Night Fury pulled back, opening his emerald eyes. They stared at one another for a long time before the Fury snorts and walks away.
Hiccup watched him leave before glancing down at his hand in awe. He yelped as Baela and Rheana hugged him tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Hic!" They exclaimed. Hiccup chuckled and hugged them back.
"Then with one twist, he took my hand and swallowed it whole." Gobber said to the teens as they all sat at the top of a catapult. They all were roasting food over a fire. "And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious," he said proudly. Leana and Hiccup roll their eyes. Doubtful, they both thought. Especially since the two-limbed blacksmith is known to take a bath once a year.
"He must have past the word," Gobber continued. "Because it wasn't a month later until another one of them took my leg." He held up his peg leg proudly and most of the teens, bar Hiccup and the Velaryian sisters, made noises of awe. Hiccup had heard the tale how Gobber lost his limbs, so he was rather bored by this point. Baela and Rheana were rather disturbed by the tale on account of their brief shudder in disgust.
"Is it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon?" Fishlegs asked, bashing his two massive chicken legs together. "Like if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed it by crushing its heart." Astrid glanced at the Ingerman boy with a raised eyebrow at that statement. Baela gagged in disgust.
"Are you trying to make us lose our appetite?" Rheana asked Fishlegs.
"I swear, I'm so angry right now!" Snotlout exclaimed, he points his chicken at Gobber. "I'll avenge your beautiful hand and foot." He waves his chicken around slightly in a chopping manner. "I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight with my face." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at that towards his cousin. How does he plan on that?
Gobber grunted in disagreement, shaking his head as he took a bite out of his chicken and broke a leg off. "No, it's the wings and tails you really want." he said. "If it can't fly, it can't get away."
Leana sighed but nodded. "He is right. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." she said. Hiccup had a thoughtful expression over their words before his eyes widened and he shares a glance with Baela and Rheana.
Gobber yawned as he stood up and stretched his limbs. "Well, I'm off to bed." he said. "You should too," he said to the teens. "Leana and I will clean up the maze in the morning. After lunch we'll be heading up to the big boys." This made the teens, Thorston Twins and Snotlout mainly, to form excited and eager expressions. "Slowly but surely working up to the Monstrous Nightmare. But who will win the honor of killing it?" Gobber asked.
"It's going to be me," Tuffnut boasted confidently. "It's my destiny, see?"
Fishlegs gasped. "You got a tattoo?"
"It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark!" Tuffnut said quickly. Ruffnut looked at him confused. "Uh, I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before."
"Yes, it was!" Tuffnut snapped defensively. "You just never seen my left side until now."
"So, is it a birthmark or is it a day mark?" Snotlout asked.
Astrid glanced upwards and saw Hiccup was gone and so was Baela and Rheana. She stands up and walks over to the bridges and glimpses Hiccup and his friends running down the stairs. She opens her mouth to say something but ultimately decides against and turns to sit back down.
Roughly three hours later, Hiccup entered the forge when Gobber was well asleep with Baela and her sister. "What is it, Hiccup?" Baela asked as they walked into Hiccup's backroom.
"I just remembered what Toothless had said." He replied as he searches for his notebook. His desk is covered with other drawings of the Night Fury. "Even if he gets out of the cove, he wouldn't be able to fly without his tailfin." Hiccup explained as he pulled out his notebook and opened it to his first drawing of Toothless. Taking out his pencil, he redraws the tailfin.
"Are you sure about doing this?" Rheana asked. "I mean, no one's ever made a prosthetic for a dragon."
"Yeah, well no one in Berk has ever shot down a Night Fury the way I have," Hiccup replied. It was bit of a dark joke, considering that the Night Fury was now his friend.
"What do you need?" Baela asked, ready to support Hiccup.
The Haddock boy looked at the drawing thoughtfully. "A great sword and a shield." he replied after a moment. "And some fabric."
Later, Hiccup pumped the bellows with the great sword in the furnace. He then hammered it down until it was a skinny metal bar. After cooling it down, he took the nails from the shield and melted and hammered them into metal balls.
Baela and Rheana had sewn the fabric into the design Hiccup had made on the blueprints for the tailfin and given it to Hiccup who pulled it over the metal.
The three teens stared at the prosthetic tailfin in Hiccup's hands before he folded it to look at the blueprints on the wall.
"You did it," Rheana said in awe. "An exact replica of a dragon tailfin. Not even Gobber could something like this."
Hiccup chuckled. "He taught me everything I needed to know." he said warmly.
"And this is you at 15 years of age." Baela said. "Imagine what you could make at 20!"
Hiccup laughed. "Now, all that's left is see if it works tomorrow." he said. He paused as they walked out of the forge. "Hey, can I spend the night with you guys?" he asked. "I don't really feel like being alone."
Rheana nodded her head. "Sure." she said while Baela thought over why Hiccup would ask of that. It didn't take long to figure out.
It was the anniversary of that one incident.
I could hear the soundtrack of "Forbidden Friendship" in my head while I was written this.