This chapter contains minor swearing, mentions of bullying and past physical abuse.
Later that night, after Astrid had begrudgingly given up the chase to catch Hicca, Gobber and the recruits are seated at the top of an abandoned catapult tower, toasting fish and bits of chicken around a roaring bonfire.
"...and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face." Gobber states mid-story.
"Can't deny it." He mutters before getting louder and more rambunctious again. "I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg."
Gobber dramatically points at each limb as he tries to breathe more life into his story to entertain the children.
"Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon." Fishlegs takes a hearty bite out of one of his chicken drumsticks and hastily swallows so he can continue before someone interrupts him.
"Like if your mind was still in control of it you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing his heart or something." He starts to grow quiet near the end, as if he thought that what he said sounded stupid.
"I swear I'm so angry right now. I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my face." Snotlout says as he poses to Astrid.
She rolls her eyes and scoots even further away from him, towards Hicca.
Hicca stands and slowly shuffles to move her spot away from Astrid, sitting next to Tuffnut, but still a distance from him too.
Tuffnut watches her with veiled concern.
She's moving differently from earlier… Did she get hurt again…? What happened…? Wait… why should I care…?!
…Because… because she's different…
Gobber also carefully watches his charge as she scoots past him away from her female friend before turning back towards Snotlout and the others, speaking, with a mouthful,
"Un-unh. It's the wings and the tails you really want. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."
Hicca tries to hide just how horrified she is from that simple sentence. It's so obvious, and yet, the thought never crossed her mind. She glances to Tuffnut out of the corner of her eye and sees him slightly looking towards her, his eyes looking a little wider. With shock or realization, she wasn't sure.
Gobber stands and stretches as if he didn't just bring the world crashing down around two young vikings.
"Alright. I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely making our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare." He chuckles with his playful taunt. "But who'll win the honor of killing it?"
He gives a final smirk before he hobbles off, leaving the teens to reflect.
"It's gonna be Tuff." Ruffnut says in a matter of fact way.
There's a beat of silence as all the teens stare at her, each in a varying state of disbelief and/or confusion.
"It's his dumb faced destiny. See?" Ruffnut rolls up her brother's sleeve before he has a chance to react, to reveal a red dragon on his arm.
Tuffnut jerks his arm away suddenly from her action.
"Your mom let you get a tattoo?" Fishlegs gasps in astonishment.
"It's not a tattoo. It's a birthmark." Tuffnut defends while shooting daggers at his twin.
"I've been stuck with you since birth, and that was never there before." Ruffnut goads her brother on.
"Yes it was. You know damn well it was." Tuffnut's glare turns incredulous.
"It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or a today-mark?" Snotlout sneers.
"Shut up, Snotlout. You don't know anything about me or anyone else for that fact because your head is shoved so far up your ass, along with your ego, that you can't see or think about anyone but yourself. You and Ruff would fit together perfectly. As for you." Tuffnut turns towards his sister.
"If this is some petty revenge for me not helping you prank Snotface, that's some pretty degrading shit. You know damn well this mark has always been there, and to lie about that… You know what? No, have fun defending yourself from the Chief from now on."
And just like that Tuffnut storms down and away from the tower, much less stealthy than Hicca who Astrid and Fishlegs watched slip away earlier.
As Tuffnut starts storming angrily through the village, a small hand lands lightly on his shoulder from behind. He turns suddenly, sending the hand off of him along with the person to the ground. A small shriek could be heard. His eyes open as realization hits.
"Oh shit, Hicca, I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to." He reaches down frantically to help his new friend back up to her feet.
"It's all fine. I'm used to it. Anyways, you seem really mad. What happened?"
"You weren't there? When did you leave?"
"After Gobber. I realized Toothless is in danger if I can't get him back in the air. But he can't fly because he's missing a tail fin. Tuff, I didn't pierce his heart with my dagger, but I sure as Hel gave him a worse death sentence." Hicca panics, explaining in a rush.
"Hicca, calm down." He gently places his hands on either sides of her arms.
He bends his head a little to catch her eye before continuing.
"You are a genius when it comes to creating things off the top of your head. I'll help you protect him, but you may have to make him a new tail fin."
"Make a new tail fin?"
"Yes. You are an extraordinary blacksmith. You make crazy beautiful inventions. I know you could do it."
"Tuff, thank you."
She smiles softly before she gets an excited expression.
Tuffnut can pretty much see the gears turning in her head.
"Come on, Tuff!" She grabs his hand and starts running towards the smithy.
Moments later, Hicca drags Tuffunt past a curtain, almost hidden in the back of the Smith shop, into a small room. It's covered in drawings of weaponry and scale models. She lights a candle and looks around everywhere.
"Fuck. Where is it?"
"What?"
"My sketchbook."
"Oh!" Tuffnut reaches into his vest and pulls out her carefully bound sketchbook and a moment later her dragon scale pendant.
"You forgot these in the Hall, I thought I'd return them to you but I kept forgetting." He scratches his head sheepishly. "I promise I didn't look in it."
She slowly accepts both, putting on the necklace and tucking it away before she gently lays her sketchbook out on the desk, opening it to the drawing of Toothless. With a look of determination. Hicca picks up a charcoal stick and re-draws the missing tail fin, a crude little rough of the shape she's trying for.
Tuffnut and Hicca get to work, after some convincing on Tuff's part. He carefully follows her instructions to do whatever she needs.
He pumps the leather bellows, each time earning a creak from them. The stone forge glows with every pump. Hicca uses tongs pull intricate iron pieces from the coals. They're dropped onto the anvil, twisted, lightly hammered, and dunked in a barrel. She then takes the pieces and carries them to her workbench and laid out in place on a one-to-one schematic. It's a larger sketch of the mechanical fin.
"Hey, Tuff? Can I ask what made you so mad earlier?" Hicca hums while they work.
"Huh? Oh. Simply put, I finally got tired of playing stupid and putting up with their bullshit. Ruff, well, she was lying to the whole gang about a mark I've had for as long as I can remember. Then Snotface starting goading me on. I guess I just snapped." He sighs quietly.
"I doubt they'll forget my outburst any time soon."
"Oh, that's got to be tough. Try not to stay mad at your sister though. Sometime the closest bond you have is the one you most need and rely on."
She pauses in her assembly.
"I suppose you'd like to know what's going on with me?" She says so quietly he almost misses it.
He slowly walks over, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to or you're not ready, Hic."
She gives a small laugh at her new nickname. She finishes the assembly quickly in silence before carefully moving the new tail fin out of the way. Jumping up on the workbench, she pats the spot beside her, signaling for Tuff to sit with her.
"It's not an easy story, but I think I'm ready to confide in more than just Gobber and Fish.
"Gods, where to begin? The begining? Astrid, Fishlegs and I are all really close friends. I don't really tell Astrid anything because she'd probably kill everyone involved. Gobber is hard enough to handle.
"Anyways. You know how everyone calls me the village fuck up, runt, death trap walking? All that shit? Well it got to be too much that my father decided I needed to handle it myself. Quite honestly, for a few years I just felt like a burden that he couldn't quite handle. I still do most times, but I understand he does all that he does because he loves me. He's quite different at home than in public.
"I digress. From that upbringing, I've always found it hard to talk to him about anything personal, even topics regarding my health. That leads to one of my more major problems. It's not just you guys that bully me around.
"There's another group that's just relentless… I've been beaten to within an inch of my life. 'Oops, lost my footing near a steep drop. I've broken several bones at once. Guess I shouldn't have been a klutz in the woods.'
"Everything that makes me look like a terrible person, a fucking shitty viking, it's all excuses. It happened again today, and after that, I ran into Astrid. I thought maybe she would apologize for earlier, but no. In short we had a little fight and yeah, it's a stupid reason to avoid her, but, she even said 'You're supposed to be a viking!' And by the Gods did that hurt.
"Fuck. I already know I'm a failure, but to hear that from someone I thought of as a sister. She even knows how inadequate I feel! And now here I am, telling you all this shit when you probably didn't even want to know half of it, and trying to help a fucking dragon of all things!"
Hicca gets more upset the more she rants, eventually getting up and pacing before walking back over and sadly resting her forehead on Tuffnut's shoulder.
He slowly lifts his arms and loops them lightly around the smaller girls frame, as if he were afraid to startle her.
"Damn. That's a lot to take in. I really wish I knew sooner. I'm sorry, Hicca. Is there anyway I can help? Maybe if I'm around you more they wont be able to hurt you anymore?" Tuffnut suggested, a feeling of protectiveness washing over him.
"I don't want to drag you down too. Look what I did to Fishlegs. He was fine with everyone, then he became my friend. That's why no one knows Astrid is my friend. I refuse to ruin her reputation and jeprodize her becoming a shield maiden."
"Honestly? I already have a terrible reputation in the village. If anything, they'll think being around you is good for me, tame me a little bit and become more behaved or some shit."
"Tuff…"
"I want to stick around you. Besides. We have a dragon to train." Tuffnut ends the heartfelt discussion with a shit eating grin.
Just before dawn they head down to the cove. They ended up spending the whole night talking, crafting and creating. Before they brought the fin to the dragon, they snuck down to the docks and managed to smuggle a large storage basket of assorted fish.
Tuffnut had insisted on carrying the fish since Hicca had to carry such a large and delicate object. A prototype as she called it.
Toothless approaches, sniffing him.
"Hey Toothless. We brought you some breakfast. I hope you're hungry."
Tuffnut takes that as his que to drop the basket and kick it over, spilling out the abundance of fish.
"Okay, that's more than just a little disgusting." Tuffnut speaks up.
Toothless changes pace from sniffing around the male human and approaches the pile of fish, settling down to devour the feast.
"Uh..we've got some salmon…" Hicca starts to explain.
Toothless swallows it.
"... some nice Icelandic cod…" Tuffnut points out.
The black dragon swallows those too.
"... and a whole smoked eel." Hicca finishes the list.
Toothless nabs it, chews a few times, then spits it out. He shakes his head violently, snorts and scrubs his massive tongue on the sand. He starts hissing and growling violently.
"No, no, no! It's okay. Yeah, I don't like eel much either." Hicca gives a weak chuckle as she picks it up with two fingers and tosses it to the side.
Toothless focuses on the remainder of the fish in the pile, weary that there may be another eel. With the dragon distracted, Hicca unwraps his prosthetic fin and opens it like a fan.
"Okay. That's it. That's it, just stick with the good stuff. And don't you mind me. I'll just be back...here. Minding my own business." Hicca cautiously approaches the injured tail, but every time she gets near it, Toothless sweeps it away like a cat.
She looks at Tuffnut with an exasperated sigh, gesturing towards the rear of the dragon and his tail.
Tuffnut gives her a small smile and a little encouraging nod towards the beast.
"It's okay." Hicca drops a knee on top of the tail. Toothless' head juts up, slowing his chewing to a halt.
"Okay...okay.." Hicca says softly, in a reassuring voice.
The dragon tenses, slowly spreading his wings. Hicca manages to strap the prosthetic fin in place. She cinches the straps so that it will stay in place, but careful not to make it so tight that it hurts the dragon.
"There. Not too bad. It works." Hicca sits on the tail, appraising her work, while Tuffnut tries to get her attention.
Too late. Toothless bolts! He snaps his massive wings and takes to the air, carrying Hicca with him.
"Woah! No! No! No!" Hicca gives a panicked yell and struggles to hold on to the tail.
As the ground speeds away, Toothless immediately tips into a uncontrolled bank and dive. Hicca, thinking fast, snaps her eyes to see the folded fin rattling uselessly in opposition to its flared counterpart. Flap as he may, Toothless can't correct his trajectory. Hicca swallows her fear and starts to crawl toward the folded prosthetic. Once she reaches it she yanks it open. The flared, fan-like appendage catches the air, stabilizing the twisting tail.
"It's working!" Hicca yells in both fear and excitement over the wind, trying to tell Tuffnut.
Toothless arcs just short of the water and climbs... high into the air.
"Yes! Yes, I did it." She shouts more to herself this time, the excitement taking over.
Toothless glances back at Hicca, busily holding the tail open while trying to hold on. He decides he doesn't want the female ruining his get-away to freedom and suddenly whips his tail, riding him of the small female.
Hicca screams as she hurtles towards the lake, hoping it will be enough to break her fall but not her bones. She bounces across the water's surface and takes a dive.
Without Hicca to operate the tail, Toothless does the same, plunging in a massive cannonball. Hicca resurfaces, roughed up, but beaming. Toothless appears seconds later.
"Yeah!" Hicca screams excitedly.
Tuffnut is running through the water and then swims over to Hicca to help her get out safely.
"By the Gods Hicca, are you alright?" He questions worriedly while treading water beside her.
"Nothing I can't handle." She responds, still smiling wildly.
Tuffnut gives a soft chuckle before loosely wrapping and arm around her below her underarms, floating more on his back, and swimming back to the shoreline.
"You know I could have managed?" She asks when they're sitting on the small beach.
"I didn't want you to strain yourself, with your current injuries." He explains in a small voice.
Toothless wanders over, now realizing if he ever wants to be back in the air, he will need the female's help. His ears perk at the mention that she is hurt.
Did I cause that…?
He lies down and rests his head next to her lap, curling his body slightly around the two young vikings.
She gently places her hand on his snout again, rubbing softly in small circles.
"You didn't do anything bud. I promise I'll get you back in the air again. That's where you belong." She mumbles quietly to the downed dragon.
"Oh! Toothless, this is Tuffnut. He's a pretty cool guy, he even agreed to keep you a secret and help you get back to the sky again."
Toothless looks at the male wearily as it waves nervously at him.
Ah, Hel. I already decided to trust the female, and this male has been with her almost every time…
Toothless slowly touches his snout to the male's hand. He removes it just as quickly as he did with the female.
"These are the weirdest Vikings I've ever run across..."Toothless grumbles to himself.
The two humans look at eachother shocked. Theres no way that the dragon just spoke, was there?
They sit there confused for a few more minutes before deciding they'll figure it out later, they don't want to be late to the ring.
"We'll come back, Toothless. We have to go do some stuff today, but I promise we'll come back." Hicca says before standing up to leave with Tuffnut.
They start walking and get half way to the exit before she doubles back, picks up the slimy half eaten eel, and then continues again. She slips the thing under her vest thinking the fishermen could use it as some kind of bait.