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howtowhumpyourhiccup · 4 years

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Whumptober Day 31: Something Within Him

HAPPY WHUMPTOBER EVERYONE!

Summary: Written for the final day of Whumptober, Day 31. Set during RttE. Viggo has always looked at him like he knows something about Hiccup that he, himself, doesn't know. Hiccup can't phantom what it could possibly be and he isn't interested in finding out. But then one day he's captured and he figures that maybe he should've at least wondered.

Rating: Mature

Characters: Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Viggo

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Words: 13 627

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Experiment

Whumpee: Hiccup

Author’s Notes: THIS IS IT! WHUMPTOBER DAY 31 HAS FINALLY ARRIVED! MY GRAND FINALE FOR THIS YEAR'S WHUMPTOBER IS HERE! ALL 13K OF IT!

I started at midday and now it's 2am for me! I said that this was going to take all day to spell-check and it did! :'D

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

ENJOY!

Ao3

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Viggo has always looked at him like he knows something about Hiccup that he, himself, doesn't know. Hiccup can't phantom what it could possibly be and he isn't interested in finding out. Whatever Viggo knows, or thinks he knows, so long as he doesn't use it against him, it matters little to Hiccup.

But then he's captured. And Hiccup wonders, staring at the bars of his cage, that maybe he should've at least wondered what it is that the Dragon Hunter Chief has on him.

The place he's being held in, it isn't their usual base. Hiccup has only seen the inside of it, but this is what appears to be a giant cave chamber. There is a large pool and so far, having been stuck in this cage, Hiccup hasn't been able to see how deep it actually is. From his position, though, he can't see the bottom.

And there is a considerably sized hole in the ceiling, where sunlight comes through during the day. But it is evening now, the sun has set and the moon can be seen reflecting what little light it can down into this cave.

Toothless isn't here, for some reason Viggo simply left his dragon behind. Viggo is here, however. It's just the two of them, no Dragon Hunters, and Hiccup wonders what he's planning as he stares at the man's back.

In front of Viggo, there is a table. On it there are books, one of which is splayed open, tools Hiccup can't quite see and are making him nervous, and a bottle with... something. All in all, everything about this scene before him brings him nothing but discomfort.

Finally, Viggo breaks this silence between them.

"Have you ever wondered where this connection with dragons of yours comes from?" He asks, a peculiar question to break the ice with. Hiccup shrugs, not interested in answering him, worried for Toothless and worried for himself. Doesn't matter if Viggo can't see him since his back is turned to him.

Seemingly receiving no answer, Viggo turns to face him.

"Well?"

"What does it matter?" This time Hiccup asks. It requires talking, which he isn't a fan of as he's a little annoyed with his current situation, but it still doesn't answer the man's question.

Viggo isn't even bothered. Something got the man in too much of a good mood and that honestly just makes Hiccup's mood even worse.

That and that this means he has something special planned for his captive tonight, which can only mean bad news for Hiccup.

"What about your natural innate ability of flight?" He asks. It's as if Hiccup isn't held against his will and they are talking under more casual circumstances.

Legs crossed and elbows resting on his knees, Hiccup's brows furrow.

"What natural ability?" He asks, genuinely curious as he, while he's quite good at it, doesn't have his own wings. He needs Toothless in order to fly, he can hardly call that natural. Certainly not innate.

Viggo, however, thinks he's just playing dumb.

"My sources tell me all I need to know and they've told me how you and your dragon have always flown so perfectly together, like you are one dragon. You're certain you don't know why that may be?" He speaks his next question and Hiccup looks off to the side for a moment. It all comes down to his bond with Toothless and how well they understand one another, it's not that mysterious.

"Let me rephrase my inquiry, how did your first flight go?" Ah, a question he can answer!

"Quite disastrous actually." Hiccup tells him nonchalantly, a slight smirk, but Viggo ignores this response.

"When the two of you were up in the air together for the first time, what did it feel like? Did it feel right? Did you feel a sudden burst, an epiphany, and suddenly you knew what to do?" Viggo asks and Hiccup hopes the surprise isn't too obvious on his face.

That managed to trigger a memory. He's reminded of his first flight with Toothless and while it had truly been disastrous, he did feel exactly what Viggo is describing to him.

He remembers letting go of his cheat sheet and simply letting pure instinct and his little experience guide him as he and Toothless weaved through those sea stacks. It had felt like a sudden epiphany, like he finally realized how flying truly worked. And yes, it had instantaneously felt right, like he was always meant to be in the sky.

But he can't tell Viggo that. For whatever reason this man is interrogating him about this and that means he can't tell him.

Hiccup wishes he has something to keep his hands busy with, they're restless. He stands up.

"What's with all these questions? If you're thinking about me teaching you to bond with and ride a dragon, you can forget it!" Hiccup reassures him that he won't, tiring of all this interrogating and not liking where all of this is going.

There is a smirk on Viggo's face as he knows that he hit the nail on the head. Hiccup is such an open book, how can he not reveal it?

"I have no interest in riding dragons myself, my Dear, this is simply more evidence to a theory of mine."

"Theory? What theory?" Hiccup moves closer to the bars of his cage, not liking those words. But Viggo has already turned his back to him again and is reading through the pages of whatever book he has lain in front of him.

It's thick and dusty. Hiccup trusts it just about as much as he trusts anything else in this cave.

"Viggo, what theory?" He tries again.

He doesn't like that he's been put in this cage. It's big, too, obviously meant to hold something that is not him. Although, the bars aren't wide enough to slip or crawl through.

Viggo doesn't care to answer and why should he? His prisoner is at his mercy, not the other way around. It does little to settle Hiccup's nerves.

Then he turns away from the table and approaches with the key in hand. Hiccup, noticing, steps away from the gate and backs up to the other end of the cage.

With a swift motion, Viggo inserts the key and turns, unlocking the cage and swinging it open before gesturing to his prisoner that he may step out of his cell.

He almost appears too trusting, seemingly relying on Hiccup not to run away and Hiccup, therefore, decides that he won't. Not because he sees this as a good sign, not at all. That Viggo is being so "trusting" only means he has this place more guarded than it first appeared to be to him.

But Hiccup doesn't step out. He crosses his arms and stares at his captor, as if telling him "you really think I'm falling for this?" As if he would ever see this as anything other than a blatant trap, no matter how suspiciously amicable Viggo is being.

"I'm giving you the choice to cooperate and let this be a learning experience for both of us. You do love knowledge, do you not? Or have I completely misread, Hiccup Haddock?" Viggo suggests, Hiccup's reluctance not fouling his mood, and so he decides to step out.

Doing this the hard way most likely means calling in the help of Dragon Hunters who would love to manhandle him until he's bruised all over. More Hunters simply means more trouble for him. If it's only Viggo he has to worry about, he might have a chance.

Besides, maybe there is something a little tempting about his foe's offer, if only to see what kind of information he's hoping to garner and how helpful it's going to be to him and the Dragon Riders.

Viggo smiles as he passes him by on the way to the table, or rather, smirks as he does. Just short of saying; "Now there's a good boy."

Hiccup tries not to let it get to him or at least not show that it is. The last thing he wants is to give him any more ammo than he already has.

Standing by his table, Viggo briefly turns back to Hiccup.

"Mind joining me?" He asks and gestures to the workspace in front of him. Probably having little choice, Hiccup joins him.

He doesn't like standing next to him, but what truly sends a chill down his spine is what he sees lying before him.

The book the Dragon Hunter Chief was reading is closed now. It's as if he doesn't want Hiccup to see what he's so fascinated by that he wants Hiccup's help of all people.

Or he guesses that's why he's here. He certainly hopes it isn't to become the subject of that fascination. Because he can now see those tools and he doesn't like what he's seeing.

There are knives of all sizes, though most likely all just as equally as sharp. A small hammer and a chisel, not the kind you would use for hard work, but rather for more delicate tasks instead. There's a saw as well as many more, but Hiccup can't imagine what Viggo would want to use this for. He doesn't want to imagine what any of these things can be used for.

Just what is Viggo planning? Those tools aren't going to be used on him, are they? And what about that mystery bottle? Whatever it's containing, Hiccup is willing to bet it can't be anything good.

He's rearranging them, making sure they lie neatly on the wooden surface. Hiccup can't tell if he's doing it out of compulsion or just to make him nervous.

"Tell me about your dragons. What is your relation to them?"

"Excuse me?" Hiccup asks, briefly glancing up at him, but then deciding that it must be a better idea to watch his hands.

"The dragon pack on Berk. My sources tell me that, amongst all the Vikings, it's you the dragons listen to the most, even above the highest authority figure in your village, your father. Why is that?" He asks so casually as if they're having a simple conversation and completely ignoring the fact that they're enemies.

The last thing Hiccup would want to talk with him about are the dragons Viggo would very much like to capture and sell. Either whole or piece by piece.

"Why would I tell you about Berk's pack? The pack that counts on me to protect them?" What Hiccup wanted was to emphasize how the man with him should not expect anything out of him, that his lips are sealed, but that isn't what Viggo hears.

"They count on you, do they? You specifically? Firebreathing dragons, a whole pack of them, rely on you, a single human, to keep them safe? And you honestly expect me not to ask you any more questions?" Viggo places a hand on the table as he faces his current "partner" in science.

Hiccup doesn't like this. He doesn't like this at all. Viggo's whole demeanor tonight is so peculiar. There is such curiosity, such fascination, and in the usual Grimborn way, they present themselves in such a malicious way.

"No, I'm not answering your questions, Viggo!" Hiccup smacks his hand on the wood, hoping to show how determined he is not to answer.

Viggo doesn't look entirely too pleased with this display, glancing at Hiccup's hand on the table.

"Are you sure that's what you want to be? Difficult? Did my offer to perform this experiment as equals not satisfy you? I can always call in outside help." So he lets out a subtle threat and Hiccup can't quite tell which one he should be more afraid of. The verbal one, or the one where Viggo gently fingers the saw lying on his side of the table.

So if he refuses to answer his questions, he doesn't just have some good old manhandling to look forward to, but whatever that saw can be used for as well?

Viggo is going straight for the kill on this one, isn't he? Whatever this "experiment" that he just mentioned is about, it's big enough that he isn't willing to take things slow. Either Hiccup cooperates right this instant until it's all over, or he risks being held down and lose a couple more body parts.

Hiccup swallows visibly, shaken by the threat. His gaze meets Viggo's.

"Well?"

Hiccup lets out a sigh. Perhaps to calm himself?

"You've heard of the Red Death before?" He asks once he's managed to regain his composure a little. He hopes he isn't shaking, he's usually good at steadying himself.

"Yes, of course. I've done my research ever since our very first encounter. At first, I thought the tale of the Boy and the Dragon who defeated the Red Death was nothing but a way for a disappointed father to make up for his disgraceful son. After all, that is the way it goes with you Vikings, is it not?" Viggo responds to his question and in a more timely manner than his "equal".

Hiccup feels himself getting a little angry at that comment and looks away. It hits a sore spot.

"But then our games properly started and I realized that, if anybody would successfully destroy a dragon that size, it would have to be you," Viggo speaks to him with an air of admiration, as if hearing the truth behind this tall tale has pleasantly surprised him.

"However, as much as I would love to discuss this story with you, we don't have the time as you've left my question unanswered." Hiccup fights the urge to sigh again.

"The Red Death, she acted like a queen for the pack that now lives with us on Berk. Fishlegs thinks that, since it was my plan that defeated her and there were plenty of dragons to see that, I may have taken her place. But it's just a theory!" He emphasizes that last part. He doesn't want Viggo to get any crazy ideas.

But Viggo, he just looks content with this information, like Hiccup just reaffirmed something he already knows.

"But you knew that already." So he states and crosses his arms, but whether it's in agitation or defense, he doesn't know.

"I had my suspicions. Perhaps I didn't take you for a "queen", but yes, I had my suspicions." The man says, taking some enjoyment out of annoying his young, and temporary, cohort.

This entire situation, Hiccup finds that Viggo is having way too much fun. This isn't some friendly meeting that they're having.

No, it isn't and he hates everything about this. Standing here next to Viggo, talking with Viggo, almost as if they are partners or fellow scholars. It feels so wrong.

And he soon finds it's about to get a whole lot worse than this.

"But now that this is sorted, I want you to undress."

"Wait, you want me to what?" Hiccup wasn't exactly making himself comfortable, but that still takes him off guard.

Viggo picks up a knife before he answers and admires its glint in the torchlight.

"You heard me. This experiment requires you in a state of undress. Don't worry, I only need you to remove your armor and your tunic." He answers as if that is in any way comforting. Especially when he's playing with that knife in that manner.

"I'm-I'm not going to..." His words end there, his level of discomfort rises dramatically.

"Hmm, I could always-"

"O-okay, fine!" He knows what Viggo wants to say, he wants to threaten him with "outside help" again. And if there is something that would make stripping for Viggo Grimborn worse, it's stripping in front of and being stripped by Viggo Grimborn and his men. It would be humiliating.

So he does it voluntarily, or about as voluntary as undressing under duress is. First removing his pauldrons before pulling his chest armor off. At his tunic, he hesitates.

"Well?" Viggo presses when he notices Hiccup's reluctance. His good mood takes another little dip, he's growing impatient.

"I-I-I can't just... Viggo, hey!" Hiccup is about to his express his hesitation when Viggo takes the knife in his hand, grabs Hiccup's tunic, and cuts right through it. Because of his carelessness, it grazes his skin and creates both a red line and an accompanying awful stinging on his chest.

Hiccup backs away startled and looks down at himself, hands grabbing the cut pieces of his clothing. The cut is already bleeding and Viggo managed to get through most of his tunic as well as his undertunic. He glares up at him and Viggo returns the favor.

"I am a man with reasonable patience, Hiccup Haddock, but my patience is wearing thin. I am not taking the time to watch you dilly-dally when we have a schedule to uphold."

"A schedule? Is there an actual schedule or are you just saying that because we're running out of time?" Hiccup asks him, angry with his current situation.

Though he asks this, neither sound like a good option. A schedule can mean that Viggo wants this to be a regular thing, undressing for whatever reason, for however long Hiccup will be held captive by him before the Dragon Riders eventually save him. Meanwhile running out of time may suggest that there is something Viggo wants done before it's too late to do it and that can make a man desperate and unpredictable as a result. So really, neither are preferable.

Viggo doesn't answer his question, instead furrowing his brow.

"Tunic, Hiccup."

So he removes them, both layers, and is left bare from the figurative belt up. As if this couldn't get any worse, though Hiccup has a feeling it might still get worse and in so many ways.

He can feel Viggo's gaze on him and he can't bring himself to meet it. After all their interactions and Viggo's subtle hints, making himself vulnerable in this way isn't exactly something he wanted to do.

Gods, he can feel Viggo's eyes on him as he passes him by, knife just grazing his arm harmlessly and making goosebumps appear on his skin.

He's doing it on purpose, he must be. He can't let it get to him.

But he does, his breath hitches when the knife leaves his skin and Viggo walks away from him. He can't tell if it's because of discomfort, his nerves, or something else entirely.

The Dragon Hunter Chief approaches something standing in the beam of moonlight coming down from the hole in the ceiling. It's elevated and flat, but still made of rock, like some sort of pedestal has been carved out. Hiccup isn't sure if he wants to follow him, nervous about what might happen when he does.

"Are you coming or not?" Unfortunately, his captor isn't giving him much of a choice.

"Viggo, what are we doing here? You demand answers from me, threaten me with force if I hesitate to give them, the least you can do is tell me what I can expect in the next... however long this is going to take." Though he's used to the cold north, he shivers as he speaks.

"You'll see." Of course, that's the answer that he gives him.

"Pedestal, get on it." Viggo orders next and Hiccup figures he has to. Otherwise, he'll just be threatened by "outside help" some more.

So he gets on it, attempting to stand, but then Viggo pulls him down onto his knees. His upper body is already bare and vulnerable, might as well be forced into a submissive position, too.

Hiccup grunts and almost fights it. He was right to think that things can still get worse.

Viggo is standing behind him now, rolling the blade in his hand. Hiccup can feel his heart pounding. He hates having that man so close and beyond his view.

His free hand settles on his shoulder and Hiccup nearly jumps straight to his feet because of how on edge he is.

His hand is warm, though, warmer than Hiccup would like it to be.

"What're you doing?"

"Calm yourself. No need to get worked up and make this experience any more unpleasant than it needs to be." Hiccup glares at his fists as they rest on his lap. How is he supposed to listen when that is the kind of reassurance he's being given?

He wishes he wasn't shaking, but he is. He's so aware of everything, he's pretty sure he can hear the man behind him breathe.

The cold of the knife touches the skin on his back, a little above his right shoulder blade.

"Viggo-"

"Relax, don't struggle and it'll be over soon."

The blade nicks into his flesh and Hiccup can't take it anymore. He jumps to his feet and spins around to face the other, removing himself from the platform.

"No, I can't do this! I'm answering your questions, I've stripped down to just my pants, and now you expect me to just let you cut into my body?! And for what?! You haven't given me any answers of your own and you refuse to explain what you're endgame is!" Hiccup raises his voice, heart pounding.

Viggo simply watches him, wearing an expression that tells Hiccup that he's not even considering changing this one-sided exchange of information.

"Fine, if you want to do it the hard way." So he calls in two of his men to grab Hiccup, one on each arm, to force him back upon the rock.

"What?! No!" Grunting, Hiccup attempts to fight them, struggling himself free on one side before a third Hunter joins them to pull the lead Dragon Rider back onto the pedestal.

"No, let go! Viggo! Viggo, all I want is some answers! I don't understand why you can't give me those. What are you planning on doing to me?!" It is frightening. To be manhandled in such a way by three men both bigger and stronger than him, to be forced back down on his knees and held down to keep him at the mercy of Viggo Grimborn and his questionable actions.

"I've told you, Hiccup, you'll have to wait and see. Something things are better left to be experienced. Now be quiet and take it." Viggo glowers down at him. That is about the only explanation he'll be getting from him and all it does is make him even more anxious.

Viggo supposes this isn't a bad thing. A fast heartbeat just means it'll be spread through his system faster.

Taking place behind him again, Viggo replaces the blade on his back, presses, and drags it down. It is slow and methodical, he's more concerned with keeping his cut straight than he is with Hiccup's comfort.

And Hiccup, he's left to deal with it. He doesn't want to show how much it pains him to have his flesh slowly split open, but there are pained whimpers he can't suppress. And neither can he stop the shivers of his body, nor the way the muscles of his back contract, as if they stand a chance of stopping this.

Viggo is done after it is repeated on the left side of his spine as well, but the three Dragon Hunters don't let go.

"Fuck..." A curse slips past his lips this time. It hurts so bad and those two slashes aren't all that short either. His neck is starting to hurt, too, from the way he's being held.

The three men keeping him pinned let out a chuckle, laughing at his misery.

"Quiet. We aren't here for hilarity or pranks." Viggo suddenly sounds farther away. Hiccup wants to look, but his restrainers aren't allowing him to.

It sounds like Viggo is back by the table and Hiccup hopes that it isn't to pick a different torture device.

"You, let him go." The Hunter Chief orders the man holding Hiccup's neck to release him and he does. After a little push for extra measure, naturally.

Viggo returns and kneels down in front of Hiccup holding the bottle that was previously standing next to the mystery book.

"Tell me, Hiccup Haddock, what do you know about Fireworm Queens and the gell they secrete for their young ones?" He asks.

"What can I tell you that the Dragon-Eye hasn't already?" Hiccup asks in turn, still an edge to his tone despite his watery eyes.

"I am simply testing your knowledge, no need to be so hostile." He can't tell if Viggo is actually being serious or not. He does all of this to him and then expects Hiccup to not get hostile? He must be joking.

Viggo stands and uncorks the opaque bottle. A smell that is horrendously sweet fills the air almost immediately and makes everyone present gag at the intensity. Their nostrils burn.

"That's-"

"The secretion of a Fireworm Queen is contained within this bottle, but it isn't the kind fed to all her offspring. Can you tell?" He asks and Hiccup supposes that he can.

That scent is familiar, he remembers smelling it in the cavern of the Fireworm Queen he and the Dragon Riders went to, to save Hookfang's life once or when that same dragon came to them for help. But that smell wasn't as strong as the one he can smell now. This one is much, much stronger, to the point that it makes him want to throw up. He has a feeling he knows what it is.

Noticing Hiccup's refusal to respond by how he clenches his jaw, Viggo answers for him.

"This is the hormonal gel given to Fireform larvae that are meant to become queens someday. It is potent and it is the star of today's experiment. Well, the two of you share the spot." He tells him with a smirk and then moves behind him again.

Hiccup watches him go until he's out of sight, dread knotting his stomach.

"Do you know what it does? It makes a Fireworm independent from the gel that gives them their heat, it enables them to produce it themselves, changes them so they can grow in the same size and strength as the queens before them. They become a queen themselves." Hiccup can hear Viggo pull something out by the way it's dripping the gel back into the bottle. Fireworm gel shouldn't be this liquid.

"Do you know what this means, Hiccup? With a certain dosage, a Fireworm's hormonal gel can change a larvae's very physiology to the point that they become an entirely new kind of dragon. It brings out that which is hidden deeply within them to elevate them to something new. Imagine the kind of power such a gel can give if experimented with, imagine the possibilities." There is such passion in Viggo's words as he dumps all of this info on his abductee.

"You're very talkative all of a sudden," Hiccup says.

"I am merely sharing what I know."

Something is placed on his back over one of his injuries, splatting onto his person before it's properly put in place. It feels like a long strip of cloth drenched in diluted gell and it's mingling with his blood, soaked up by his wound.

It feels cold at first, until the gel seems to activate with his body heat and quickly warms up to the point of hurting. Hiccup breathes through it as much as he can. If it's this intense in a diluted form, what is the gell like in its true form?

The same thing happens to his other cut and Hiccup hisses as the second strip heats up, too.

"Can't imagine it to be too comfortable." Viggo sasses, as if that's something Hiccup wants to hear.

"Oh... Why-why are you doing this? What are you hoping to accomplish?" Hiccup tries once more, his cheeks flushing as the temperatures of his body rises. Within moments he feels feverish.

"What I am trying to accomplish? Hopefully, the exact result I'm looking for." Again, not what he wants to hear.

Viggo appears in front of him again and grabs his chin. Hiccup tries to break free, but Viggo's grip is tight.

The muffled sound of an explosion shakes the cave chamber and small stones drop down from the ceiling here and there.

"Dragon Riders." One of the Hunters mutters and another groans in dismay.

Meanwhile, Hiccup feels relief wash over him.

At least for a short moment.

"Then we'll have to hurry." Viggo's grip on his chin tightens and he forces his mouth open. Hiccup struggles to break free, but the third man joins in again and grabs hold of his hair and jaw.

"No!" A garbled yell leaves Hiccup, but it's no use. Whatever else remains in the bottle, Viggo forces it down his throat and this isn't as diluted as the gell on the strips of cloth.

The effect is instantaneous. His lips, the entire inside of his mouth, his throat, everything becomes unbearably tingly and hot. It's as if he's being burned from the inside out and it makes him panic. If he wasn't crying already, he certainly is now.

Covering his mouth and nose, Viggo keeps Hiccup from spitting it back out, smiling all the while.

"You'll have to forgive, my Dear, but considering our circumstances, I was forced to give you more than the natural doses. Much, much more." He tells him and Hiccup can feel it, with the way he's burning from the inside out.

There is another explosion, followed by another.

"I really wish I could stay and see what happens, but it is time for me to leave soon." He says as he still keeps his hand in place. He doesn't plan on letting go until he's certain it's all gone.

Or until a plasma blast sends them all flying.

It isn't aimed at them, but at the ground instead, lest the Night Fury responsible ends up hitting his own Rider. But the force behind the shot is still powerful enough to fling all five of them.

Hiccup falls to the ground and rolls in the direction of the lake. As per his luck, he falls right in, ending up completely submerged.

Or perhaps it is fortunate, the hot sensation on his lips and tongue alleviates just a tad bit with the cooling water.

"Hiccup!" That is Astrid's muffled yell and Toothless roars in unison with her.

Hiccup can't see what is happening, cringing as the freezing water cools his body and takes his breath away.

He doesn't regain any movement, body locked by cold, but he doesn't have to. Toothless dives right in to pull him out.

Sputtering out water after he's pulled to the surface, Hiccup clings to his dragon and fervently rubs at his face. That burning on his lips and mouth, it needs to go and water is his best option. He tries to wash everything off.

Toothless doesn't quite get what is wrong, but he lets Hiccup do as he wishes. If it helps him to wash whatever it is that is wrong with him off, then he will try and stay as still as he can. Hiccup is holding onto him for support.

Once the burning tingling has been taken care of, Hiccup lets Toothless pull him onto solid ground. It isn't completely gone yet, but it has lessened enough to make it bearable. Just slightly more bearable than it was before, that is.

Astrid helps him get out of the water, grabbing Hiccup's hands to pull him up. The other Dragon Riders are there, too, and they surround him immediately, helping with getting him up. Toothless follows swiftly.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Astrid asks, hands on his shoulders, but he takes them away from him. She gives him a look.

"I'm sorry, I just can't stand touching right now." His skin is still too tingly, too sensitive. The other Riders quickly take their hands off him.

"What the Hel is this?" Snotlout asks, referring to the strips of cloth covering what are clearly two bleeding cuts.

"I-I don't-I don't even know where to start. But please, get those off." Hiccup responds. The Fireworm gel seems to have cooled down from the water, a mercy considering what he felt like before.

Fishlegs moves behind him, four of the Riders looking over Hiccup's shoulders to take a look at what their healer will be doing.

"They look like they're stuck," Ruffnut states, just shy of touching the cloth.

"Well, let's hope they're not or we might be hurting Hiccup even more than he already is." Astrid retorts.

Fishlegs studies the strips before taking a corner and pulling a tad just to test the waters. Hiccup cringes.

"Oh no, they're stuck, they're very stuck." Fishlegs notices and stops.

Just like anything dragon-related, cooling it only makes it impossible to work with, much like the amber of Death Song dragons.

"Maybe it's better to take care of this on the Edge. We'll be home, you'll be in your hut, and we'll have a lot more supplies on hand than what we have now." Astrid suggests and Hiccup finds himself mulling it over.

Whatever Viggo's experiment is supposed to accomplish, leaving the gel to just sit on his skin might not be the best idea. But if he has to choose between having this issue taken care of here, in a dank cave with little medical supplies, and his home away from home, where his bed is and his workspace, then his choice is quickly made.

"Let's go home."

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It was an uncomfortable trip. Hiccup was able to fly on his own as his injuries didn't keep him from doing so. A blanket had been fashioned into a makeshift tunic by use of a belt to protect him from the freezing winds, but it couldn't stop the pulling he felt on his back.

The two wounds alone would be troublesome on their own, but with the gel sticking cloth into them makes them feel like they're being pulled on and it's unpleasant at the very least.

Dragon's Edge appearing in the distance is a blessing and they eventually reach it. Before long, Hiccup is in his hut while Astrid and Fishlegs figure out what to do about their current problem. So long as those cuts are covered, they can't treat them and that means they need to get rid of those strips first.

"And you said they felt hot?" Fishlegs asks Hiccup to repeat, wanting to know if he heard right so he can properly think of a solution.

Sitting on a chair and finding no way to sit comfortably with his back situation, Hiccup nods.

"Like Death Song amber before it cools." He nods.

"Maybe we can free you from that Fireworm gel like we free someone from Death Song amber? Heat it up until it lets go?" Astrid suggests, sitting on a chair, too, as is Fishlegs. They're both behind him, inspecting the situation before them.

"Hmmm, yeah, that could work, but we'd need to be quick. That stuff was so hot, too hot, I don't want to burn my back." Hiccup reluctantly replies. He's not looking forward to what they most likely will end up doing to help him, he doesn't want to experience that kind of burning again.

But he knows it and they know it. Astrid and Fishlegs share a look, sharing Hiccup's thought process.

"I'll go grab the Inferno," Astrid says and gets up to fetch it on the loft. Hiccup watches her go for a moment before his attention is taken by Fishlegs.

"We promise to be careful, Hiccup, and we'll try to work as fast as we can." He promises him while Astrid returns with the Dragon blade.

They both look at her, watch her check if it's still covered in Nightmare saliva before she lights it with a button and Hiccup fills with dread.

Astrid joins Fishlegs again and they get to work, Astrid holding the sword at the stiff strips to warm them up.

Fortunately for him, it doesn't take as long as Hiccup fears, the gel becomes workable when heated up and Fishlegs manages to pull the cloth off. The second they let go, Astrid takes the Inferno away and Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief.

At least that's over with, now they can properly care for those cuts.

"Oh, this is going to be troublesome." But that is what Astrid says and Hiccup tenses up in alarm.

"Hiccup, the gel is all up in those cuts. Cleaning them won't be easy." Fishlegs warns him and Hiccup nods.

"Do they need to be stitched?" Hiccup asks.

"With all of this gunk in there? Probably. They aren't too deep, but it might help to avoid further risk for an infection." He tells him and Hiccup supposes that he'll just have to resign himself to the fact that he'll be here for a long while.

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It took well over an hour, maybe two or even three. Bottom line is, Fishlegs and Astrid had to spend a long time heating, cleaning, and treating Hiccup's injuries before they could finally bandage him up.

"What was Viggo thinking?!" Astrid hisses angrily as she washes her hands.

"What does it matter? We all know Viggo's a creep." Snotlout complains. After a rejuvenating dinner, he and the twins have joined the others in Hiccup's hut to see how the treatment of their leader is going.

It's been hours since they got home and the three of them could see how much pain it was putting Hiccup in.

Cleaning open wounds isn't at all pleasant, let alone when a fire needs to be held close to said wounds in order to clean them properly. It wasn't good for neither his cuts nor his healthy skin.

His entire back is now red and tender from being burned and Hiccup trembles again from the abuse he was put through, that they had to put him through. Though they were given little choice, it angers them all.

But his wounds have been stitched and dressed and his newly required first-degree burns have been carefully cooled and treated with healing salve. He's eating now, the first meal he's had since he was taken. Or he's trying to, staring at his bowl of soup as they aren't sure what he's able to eat. Nothing warm in hindsight, the inside of his mouth is still sensitive.

He's quiet and without a doubt still reeling from this experience. He'll be fine eventually, but for a time, he'll need to recover from this mentally, too.

"I wonder what the purpose of this was, though. What was Viggo trying to accomplish?" Fishlegs asks, he's the first one to do so since they got home.

"Did he tell you anything?" Astrid faces Hiccup as she dries her hands. Viggo likes talking to him, maybe he told him something.

But Hiccup quietly shakes his head as there isn't anything to tell. He's too upset to take a spoonful and his stomach is too upset, too. Though it rumbles, he's too nauseous to eat.

"Hey, are you okay?" Noticing this, Astrid asks and approaches.

"Oh yeah, I bet he's fine." Snotlout responds sarcastically, finding her question to be a silly one.

Astrid glares at him momentarily. Of course, she knows he's not okay, but it never hurts to ask and see what he has to say.

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine, I just... I just feel too sick to my stomach to eat." Hiccup tells her, but whether it's because of the gel in his system, in his stomach, or because of the stripping of those strips, he doesn't know. Could even be a combination of all three, could be the exhaustion that this experience has left him with.

"Do you need to lie down?"

"Yeah." Hiccup hands her his bowl and she takes it before he can get up on wobbly legs. Fishlegs helps keep him steady.

Now that his injuries have been properly treated, maybe he can get some rest.

Toothless, who had been lying behind him, stands up to follow him up to the loft. He hasn't had much sleep as of late either due to his Rider disappearing.

The five watch them go up the stairs, noticing Hiccup swaying a few times before he makes it up.

"You want us to come back with your food later?" Astrid asks. Maybe they can heat it up over a fire when he does feel like he can handle a meal.

"No, I just want to be left alone for a bit." It makes sense. After what he's been through, Astrid would want to be left alone, too.

"So can we have Hiccup's food?" Ruffnut asks as they make their way out, the hut's door closing and leaving Hiccup and Toothless bathed in the light of a single candle standing by the bed.

Hiccup sits down on the edge of his bed, sighing and swaying. He feels so sick, the Fireworm gel must not be agreeing with him. He feels sick and he's tired, dying to lie down and curl up. So that's what he does.

He can feel his injuries protesting and almost doesn't go for the covers until Toothless pulls them over him, a corner between his gums.

"Thanks, Bud." Hiccup tells him, closing his eyes. He sleeps under them, not fully, with his back in the kind of state that it is. But his dragon is there to keep him warm, so maybe he can get some shuteye despite his many discomforts.

Soon after he closes his eyes, he sleeps, unaware of what Viggo's experiment has truly wrought upon him.

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A couple of days later, evening arrives and the Riders are finishing their dinner while Astrid serves a sixth plate to bring to Hiccup. After having been briefly gone, Fishlegs returns to them with the medical supplies he would need to change Hiccup's bandages.

Tuffnut watches Astrid.

"Maybe we can get Hiccup to eat here?" He suggests to her, they haven't seen him as he recovers and the only ones who do see him are her and Fishlegs.

"We told you, Hiccup is too sick for visitors," Astrid tells him, surprisingly calm in spite of the fact she's had to repeat it many times already.

"Then how come you and Fishlegs get to see him? I can change a bandage!" Snotlout protests, mouth still full of mutton.

"Hiccup can barely stand our presence at the moment, I'm not exposing him to you or the twins." She tells him, picking the extra plate up.

The truth is, Toothless eventually did cave and come to tell them of the fever plaguing Hiccup. Since then it's only gone from bad to worse.

He's burning up all the time, his temperature dangerously high. He's throwing up everything he eats and drinks, already he's lost some weight. And then there's the pain that he's in. Claiming that every part of him hurts, he lies curled up most of the time, stomach upset.

"My back, there's something wrong with my back."

Astrid and Fishlegs have checked over and over again, even removed the stitches to look at the wounds themselves when he told them to remove them. They've found nothing and believe him to be hallucinating due to the fever.

If anything, keeping Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut out of that hut is a favor to them, even if they don't see it that way.

Astrid and Fishlegs are both exhausted, barely having slept these past few days. Whatever is causing all of this, all they can do is help him be as comfortable as he can be in this.

They've already sent a message to Berk with the fastest Terrible Terror that they have. Now they'll just have to wait for Gothi, Stoick, and Gobber to come. There's no way Hiccup can make that trip back.

They go back to doing their own thing when Stormfly perks up by the entrance, where she waits for her human. Her attention seems to be drawn by something as she squawks and her head tilts like a bird's.

"What's wrong, girl?" Approaching with the plate, Astrid wants to ask her what it is that piques her interest. But Stormfly doesn't have to answer when it comes to them before she can.

It is a long blood-curdling scream that freezes them all in place.

They look at each other for a moment too long after it ends, reeling from the sheer torment in the sound.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yells and drops the plate of food she holds. They all sprint out of the clubhouse and towards the hut. Having been spooked, Stormfly is nowhere to be found.

It doesn't take them long to arrive with their legs carrying them as fast as humanly possible. They open the front entrance to permit themselves entry. As it flips open, they hurry inside and up to the loft to find...

"Oh... my..."

"... Gods..." Snotlout finishes for Astrid, who stare at the sight before them. They all stare.

Hiccup and Toothless are both nowhere to be found. What they're staring at instead is nothing but blood.

Sheets, bed, pillows, bucket, everything is splattered with blood. It's even on the walls and on the ceiling.

"What the fuck happened here?!" Tuffnut asks what they're all wondering, but can't say, too speechless to.

Something on the floor catches Astrid's attention and she leans down to grab it.

It's a torn stitch.

"Fishlegs," She calls him over to take a look.

"Is that..."

"From his back? I think so." Astrid responds, not wanting to imagine how or why it's on the floor and not where it's supposed to be. Snotlout looks as well, an expression of disgust on his face.

"Uh, that's not the only one." Ruffnut mentions and points towards several more pieces on the ground.

"Did they get torn off? What was Hiccup doing to himself?" Snotlout asks, that scream had to be coming from somewhere.

Nobody answers simply because no one can provide him with one. But from the patterns of the blood and the pieces of stitches, it almost looks like an explosion of blood had occurred, like it all came bursting out of the wounds on his back. That alone is mindboggling.

"Hey Astrid, considering our situation, maybe we should tell them how Hiccup was really doing," Fishlegs suggests and that doesn't make them feel too good with what they're about to hear.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They have left a convenient trail for them. It's a trail of blood, but it's something to find their friends with now that they've gone missing.

"Oh, I hope Hiccup's okay," Fishlegs wonders out loud, his arms full of medical supplies.

Snotlout rolls his eyes, too angry with Fishlegs and Astrid to even say anything now. Though the latter of the two sees it as a blessing, he's sure to make up for his silence soon.

"I'm sure he's fine. Or at least as fine as he can be and Toothless is still with them. They're probably waiting for us." Astrid reassures him.

"Uh, and how do we know that?" Tuffnut asks.

"Yeah, why would they be waiting for us if their first instinct was to run away?" Ruffnut asks and she has a point. That they would run away after an utterly puzzling experience like that is a strange thing to do. Especially for Hiccup, who should know better.

"I'm sure it was just the shock of... what must've happened." Astrid tries to give the incident a term, tries to call it something as things always feel better with a name, but finds she isn't sure what to call it. She also isn't sure anymore if it's a good idea to do this on foot as she naturally thought Hiccup and Toothless wouldn't be getting far. And yet, at the same time she can feel that they're close.

If they pass these trees, they'll find them. If they get past this rock, push through these bushes, but each time they end up being further away than she thinks.

"Ugh, this plan is dumb! We should be getting on our dragons and-" As Snotlout breaks his angry silence to propose a different plan, there is a loud rustling up ahead and they all grow quiet. It sounds like a dragon taking off and breaking through the trees to reach the sky, quite a specific sound, but one they're familiar with.

Recognizing this, they search the nearest opening in the greenery and look to the sky. High above them, they spot a black dragon with a little speck of red leaving the Edge. They would've thought it was Toothless and they would've given chase, if not for the fact that this species has four wings instead of two.

A new species of dragon? Now?

The Dragon Riders can only stare, too perplexed to climb onto their dragons to follow or to even grab a spyglass and see what it is, like it's their first time seeing a dragon.

But as exciting as it is to see another new dragon, they can't follow it. They need to find their team members first.

"What was that?" Tuffnut asks and no one can give him an answer.

They continue on the trail and while it ends quickly after, Hiccup and Toothless are nowhere to be found.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They tried to find their missing friends. The ceiling window was open and they figured that must be how they got away unseen. But after deducing that, they didn't get very far as the blood trail they followed ended after a little while with no further leads. It's like Hiccup and Toothless just vanished into thin air. Dragon's Edge isn't a small island either, finding them again will be hard.

But they've tried. They've searched the forests, they've searched the caves, any place where a human and a Night Fury could hide, only to come up with nothing.

So the Dragon Riders have decided to make a detour.

"You two shouldn't have lied about Hiccup!" Angered by the hiding and the deadends, Snotlout scolds two of the other Riders. He rides on top of Hookfang as they're all mid-flight.

But for once, Hookfang agrees with his human. He is of the opinion that Stormfly's and Meatlug's humans should've been more honest with the group.

"We didn't lie, Snotlout. Hiccup was sick, nobody could see this coming." Astrid is having none of that. She worries and she's been mulling the past few days over and over, trying to think of anything that she thought of as suspicious, but there really is nothing she can think of. She knows Fishlegs has been doing the same in vain.

There is nothing that pointed towards his back bursting open at the seams. The seams being the cuts Viggo put there.

"I still think you should've told us!" Snotlout exclaims.

"So you've mentioned." Astrid retorts, but before the former can say something again, Fishlegs speaks up.

"There it is!" He shouts, pointing towards the island in the distance.

They've left Dragon's Edge and their search to take another look at the place where Viggo held Hiccup and experimented on him. They don't expect to find anything, but finding Hiccup and Toothless first without a way to help might not be so wise. If there is anything this place can tell them that'll help, they would love to know.

What a first glance tells them? That the Dragon Hunters have packed up and left, the island is abandoned. Not surprising and not entirely a bad thing as that saves them the trouble of a battle, but only if Viggo left behind some clue to what he's done to their leader.

They find the cave quickly and ascend down the hole in the ceiling, steering there as they have little interest in the rest of the island for the time being. The hole is big enough even for Hookfang's wings to fit through.

Unsurprisingly, this place has been cleared as well. Everything's been taken.

Everything, except for one thing, a single book.

"Huh, that's weird." Snotlout remarks, most likely saying what they're all thinking as they land. His voice, Hookfang's last wing flaps, everything echoes here.

"Why would Viggo just leave something like that here? That not like him." Fishlegs wonders out loud. Meatlug, who he still sits on, gurgles worryingly in agreement. It is strange and she doesn't like it a bit.

"Maybe he forgot?" Tuffnut hesitantly suggests an explanation.

"Eh, I don't know, looks more like a trick to me." But Ruffnut offers a different perspective.

They all dismount, standing near the pedestal-like carved rock that still has Hiccup's blood on it. There isn't a lot, definitely outweighed by the bloodbath they found in his hut, but their eyes are still drawn to it.

"Ugh," Snotlout shows his disgust for what happened here.

Leaving her dragon's side, Astrid approaches the pedestal to get the book.

"Careful, what if it's a trap?" Fishlegs fears.

"No, I don't think so. I think Viggo left this here for us to find." Astrid thinks, picking the old book up with little problem. Which is a worrying thing to think. Because knowing Viggo, it most likely means he's done what he set out to do and that he wants to gloat to the Riders about another victory by leaving this behind.

The question now is, what will this book mean for them? Will it be an explanation or just more questions?

Astrid returns to her friends with it and they all gather around her to see. She flips it open.

At first glance, the book seems a little odd. There are pages showing strange creatures, texts detailing myths and legends even older than Vikings, a whole section on dragons. There is even something about the Fireworms and their queens, which is one of the pages bookmarked by the man who left this book for them to find.

Because, oh yes, Viggo has bookmarked a few pages for them. He's telling them what they should read, even leaving the occasional note to show which parts are important to read. And they know it's addressed to them as Viggo mentions Hiccup by name.

So clearly he expects his rival to be alive. If anything, it slightly eases the worry that Hiccup might be lying dead somewhere with Toothless in no state to get their friends.

Though it hurts their pride to give into Viggo's mockery, Astrid releases a deeply agitated sigh and turns to the first bookmark.

It is the aforementioned section on Fireworms, their queens, and their gel.

"So what is all of this supposed to mean?" Snotlout asks. Though the Dragons have a slightly easier time to see what is being shown, the Riders are all squeezed together behind Astrid to look over her shoulder and read what's been written.

What they read, isn't new information. They know how the gel works, they know how Fireworm Queens are made.

"For as sophisticated and handsome as he is, Viggo's a dick," Ruffnut says, feeling offended by the Hunter Chief's need to belittle their dragon knowledge.

"So we know from Hiccup that Fireworm gel was used on him, but this information doesn't explain why it was used on him or what it was supposed to do." Fishlegs mentions, so Astrid turns to a different bookmark and that's where the book's strange nature reappears again, causing even an array of befuddling reactions from the Dragons.

The pictures are the oddest part so far and they haven't even gotten to the walls of text yet.

"Uh, are those...?" Snotlout can barely finish his sentence, too spooked and confused.

"Awesome dragon people?! Sign me the fuck up!" Ruffnut excitedly declares, practically climbing over Snotlout to take a better look.

What they're looking at is indeed a page full of sketches with humans in possession of some very draconic traits. Horns, claws, spines, even large and majestic wings. The way they were drawn was in a strange mixture of both beauty and creepy. There appears to be a thin line between the two.

"Oh, yeah, sounds like real fun. I, too, want blood spurting out of me with such force that it hits the ceiling." Snotlout claps back at her, disgruntled with her words, whatever these dragon people have to do with what happened to Hiccup.

"Fishlegs, what do you make of this?" Astrid asks and hands the book over to him. Fishlegs takes it and pages through it, skimming the contents to get a general idea of what it's saying, paying special attention to the parts Viggo has marked for them.

"I'm not really sure. The author of this book clearly likes to talk about these stories revolving around a winged kind of people in this section. Like, a dragon species that look like humans or are something between humans and dragons or were once humans and turned into dragons." Fishlegs explains the gist of it, still paging through the book.

"So like the Wingmaidens?" Snotlout asks, curiously attempting to take another peek. He brings up Atali and her people because he wants to make sense of this. Things like books didn't always mean what they said, they were tricky like that. People with tiny dragons to carry them make a lot more sense to him than people who are dragons themselves.

"No, no baby dragons. More like, these people had wings of their own, they were born with them!" Fishlegs replies, fascinated by the very concept.

"Had?" But Astrid can't help but notice the wording he uses. Is it a coincidence or on purpose?

"Yes, had! This book talks about them supposedly having gone extinct a few generations back. During the time when Hamish the First became chief of Berk!" He responds.

"But in order for something to go extinct-" Fishlegs cuts Astrid off.

"They first need to have existed! And that's what this book is implying. That they weren't legends at all, but real!" He claims. This book implies that about a lot of things they know aren't real.

"So what's that got to do with Hiccup? He doesn't have wings. Or claws, or horns, or fire, he's not a dragon! Not in a literal sense." Snotlout brings up a point.

"Uh, obviously he is." Ruffnut rolls with her eyes in amusement.

"That's why he's also a magical creature because he's a dragon!" Tuffnut agrees, neither of them knowing how right their attempt at helping everyone relax will end up being.

The remaining three Riders and the Dragons focus back on their biggest clue so far, the book

"We should put him a year in the wild."

"Yeah,"

"He'll be so feral!"

"Yeah!"

"Can you two please take this seriously! The only way we can help Hiccup is if we take this seriously and find out what exactly Viggo wanted with him." Astrid scolds them when she has heard enough.

"Viggo wanted Hiccup to grow wings and you want us to take this seriously?" Tuffnut protests at the ridiculousness of it all. Viggo gets to do this and they let him get away with it?

"Uh yeah, not likely," Ruffnut says with a shake of her head.

"Viggo didn't want Hiccup to grow wings, that's ridiculous!" Astrid raises her voice.

"It kind of looks like that's exactly what he wanted to do, actually. He wants us to know about the Fireworm gel and the tales of these ancient people? This might be exactly what he's hinting at." Fishlegs argues in defense of the twins.

"But Hiccup is human!"

"Remember the cuts Viggo made? Those can't be a coincidence!"

"Okay, so let's pretend that's what he wanted to do, does it matter? We're here to find out what happened to Hiccup in his hut, not try to crawl inside a creep's head!" Snotlout puts an end to the discussion by diverting it just a tad.

"Except if... you know... he succeeded?" It's an outrageous suggestion, but Fishlegs still makes it.

They'll all have to take a moment to stare, the notion that that's what caused the mess in his hut not quite what they thought of. Even the Dragons are surprised.

"Okay, that's it, you're fired from dragon nerd duty." Snotlout decides, arms crossed.

"A winged Hiccup, you say. I'd tap that. The question is, will Astrid? Because if she won't I'm available." Ruffnut jokes, her brother nodding in agreement.

"Ugh, muttonheads."

Meanwhile, Astrid makes her way back to Stormfly, who lets her on her back.

"What're you doing?" Snotlout asks.

"We're going back to the Edge. We've done everything we can here and we know what we need to know." Astrid says.

"So what? You're just accepting this stupid theory?" Snotlout asks in disbelieve. But without answering him, Astrid and Stormfly take to the sky.

"Wait, seriously?! I thought you and Fishlegs were the smart ones of the group!" He shouts to her, but still, he and Hookfang follow her home, they all do.

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Once on the Edge, the plan was to search again, to see where Hiccup and Toothless might've gone. That new dragon species might've thrown them for a loop, but not this time. They have tracker dragons and enough medical supplies and a general idea of what has happened, it was time to find them.

Of course, emphasis on "was" as the Dragon Riders arrive home late at night and Smidvarg comes to them with terrible news.

"Smidvarg! What's wrong, Buddy?" Tuffnut asks, a smile still on his face as he's always happy to see his Night Terror buddy.

The Night Terror screeches and shrieks flying off into a direction and expecting the humans and dragons to follow.

"We're following Smidvarg! Come on, Gang!" Astrid decides and they give chase, following the lead Terror to wherever the fire must be.

A fire is exactly what Smidvarg leads them to, a percentage of the forest on the East side of Dragon's Edge is burning, a large plume of smoke rises to the dark sky. And underneath it all, Dragon Hunter ships.

And just to make everything even worse, a plasma blast shoots free of the mess and creates a distress signal that briefly illuminates the sky.

"That must be Toothless!" Fishlegs cries out.

"And Hiccup is probably with them." Astrid acknowledges and Stormfly makes a dive.

Though a quick and effective surprise attack from above was probably the better option, Astrid and Stormfly let out a battle cry together. If only so it may take the Hunters' attention away from their missing friends.

It's a good attempt as a Hunter looks away from their captive to look at the source of that brave yelling.

"Dragon Riders!"

"Guys!" Hiccup shouts, overjoyed to see his friends. Toothless, who has just run out of fire to spend, can feel the relief as well.

"Quick, get a move on!" A Hunter orders, axehead clanging loudly against the cage Hiccup's been put in. The cage located on a cart, it starts to move as it's being pulled away.

"Bud!" Hiccup calls for his Night Fury before a tarp is thrown over him, completely blocking him from view.

"I've heard that a darkened cage is good for an animal, now calm yourself." The Hunter growls mockingly. But Hiccup can't calm, not even now that his friends are finally here and he can hear them engage the Hunters in combat. He doesn't know what took them so long, but they're here now.

"Riders, take care of the accompanying ships! We need Viggo for some answers!" Astrid orders and watches as a tarp-covered cage is moved onto the middle ship. She can hear Toothless and his sounds are coming from the forest. Hiccup must be under there.

The ships that have come for their friends are heavily armed, rightfully expecting a fight, but the Dragon Riders aren't about to be scared off by a few arrows and ballistas.

"Here we go!"

"Oh yeah!" Ruff and Tuff shout as Barch releases a toxic cloud of gas that envelopes a group of Hunters before it is sparked alight. The group screams as they are blown away, their cries cut short much too sudden.

"Come on, Hookfang, let's show them what we've got!" Snotlout tells his dragon and the Nightmare snarls in anticipation. He can feel the fire burning in his throat and he releases his fury onto one of three ships, burning the mast and the majority of the deck.

Meatlug helps, spewing lava in what remains and creating holes through each floor until the molten rock reaches the sea below.

Stormfly, she goes directly for Toothless, grabbing the net thrown over him while Astrid leaps from the saddle and runs at the nearest Hunter, axe raised.

With a cry, she brings it down and it meets the Hunter's sword. They engage each other in battle.

On Viggo's ship, the cage with Hiccup halts before the man himself and the tarp is lifted on one side.

Hiccup, though injured, backs up and hopefully stays out of Viggo's reach.

Viggo stands there, gripping the bars as he takes the sight of Hiccup in, everything that he can see in this darkness.

"You are more then I could've hoped for, my Dear Hiccup. Beautiful results." Viggo remarks and Hiccup hates what he's hearing. These are truly the last words he wants to hear come out of this man's mouth.

But at least he can see the familiar glow of fire, a ship must be burning to a crisp just out of his view. A good thing, it means his friends must be close.

"Viggo!" Astrid screams and Viggo lowers the tarp to hide his prisoner.

Astrid runs up the gangplank, axe bloodied and prepared while Stormfly and Toothless follow her onboard. There are still plenty of Hunters to take care of on this ship. And in the meantime, the other Dragon Riders sink the other ship accompanying the main one.

Viggo has come prepared, more men than usual are present and while the dragons take care of them, Astrid focuses on their Chief. She takes a leap and a swing and makes Viggo step away from the cage.

"Hiccup, we're here for you!" She tells him, loud enough to make sure she's heard through the cover and over the fire. She would like to lift the tarp and have a look at him, but the enemies surrounding them won't allow that. Though she can hear their dragons making quick work of them.

"Yeah, thanks." Hiccup's reply is surprisingly short, like he can't decide whether he should be thrilled or worried. A possible reason nags her in the back of her mind, but still having a hard time believing it, she pushes it away.

"What are you incompetents standing around for?! You're Dragon Hunters!" Viggo's temper flares when it seems like he may lose his experiment's precious results.

His men are useless and as his second ship begins to sink, the other Dragon Riders can all target this one.

With a growl, Viggo draws his sword and faces Astrid. After all his work, he'd rather not lose Hiccup now.

"You're surrounded, Viggo. Give up." Astrid challenges him, axe twirling dexterously in her hands. She's been waiting for this moment ever since Hiccup first got captured.

Viggo isn't too happy with her calls for his surrender, he would much rather just leave, but Astrid clearly isn't about to let him do so. His ship is burning all around him anyway, he won't be getting out of this unless he has a dinghy somewhere or something to distract her or stop her.

But then a burning mast comes falling down and Astrid needs to jump out of the way. It separates her and Hiccup.

"Astrid?!" He calls to her, having heard and felt something heavy fall right by his cage where she stood.

"I'm okay, Babe! Don't worry about me!" She shouts at him from over the roaring flames, looking back at Viggo over the fire only to find him gone.

"No!" She yells, frustrated with the Hunter Chief's disappearance.

Under the tarp, Hiccup makes use of what dragons put in a cage such as this can't take advantage of and that is a pair of hands.

In the dim light, he seeks the lock and thinks of a way to unlock it and free himself. Unfortunately, he has nothing on him, nothing besides his prosthetic. He could try to pry the door open with it.

Removing his prosthetic, back burning and hurting with every move, he uses it to force the cage door open. It takes a lot of effort, but the lock eventually caves with a groan. The door swings open and he's free.

Now what does he do?

Staying isn't an option as the tarp hiding him from view catches on fire. He has no time to think of his next move, his only choice is to get out of here.

Get out of here and expose himself.

Hiccup swallows the dread he feels, knowing he has to come out and reveal himself to the Dragon Riders some time. Now is as good a time as any.

Outside the Dragon Riders have finished the Hunters off, what few there remained, and their search for Viggo proved useless. If that man doesn't want to be found, they won't.

"Where did that bastard go?!" Snotlout growls, still needing to deal him some good old fashioned Jorgenson vengeance.

"Forget Viggo! Hiccup is trapped inside this thing, we need to get him out!" Astrid denies him his revenge, her eye has fallen on the burning tarp and she wants to get it off. She can't remove it with her hands, so her axe will have to do.

Or so she thinks until Stormfly takes initiative and grabs the tarp with her large talons, pulling it off and revealing the cage to be empty.

Astrid stares as Hiccup has apparently managed to slip out in the chaos? The lock appears to have been pried open.

"I'm-I'm here... I didn't leave."

Everyone looks toward the burning quarterdeck and find Toothless already there with his Rider. And Hiccup, he stands there with a mindboggling surprise for them.

Still shirtless, blood stains him and contrasts against his skin. On his back are the results of Viggo's experiment, two large, leathery, black wings akin to that of a Night Fur decorate his back. And in the light of the blaze consuming all around them, he makes for quite a sight.

None of the Dragon Riders say a word, too stunned to even think. The book was telling the truth. These people exist and Hiccup is now one of them.

"Do they hurt?" Astrid asks as she and Fishlegs tend to his back again, wiping down and cleaning the base of their leader's newly acquired wings.

Hiccup has told them how the day he got them went. How the pain in his back grew and grew, like something was dying to break from his skin until it eventually did, erupting out of him with all the blood and gore you'd imagine would accompany a birth such as that.

And when he heard the Riders come, he'd panicked and told Toothless to take him somewhere safe and isolated. This experience had left him a little rattled, to say the least, and he wanted to figure out what had happened to him, what was still happening to him, and if he wasn't just madly hallucinating it all.

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"They do." Hiccup replies and Astrid lightens her touch.

The base certainly looks like something has torn right out of his skin. And though Fishlegs hypothesizes that this will heal nicely and grow to blend together seamlessly, they can't help but cringe at the sight now.

The burns on his back are gone, however. Fishlegs wanted to discuss what this could mean, but Hiccup had made it clear that he is too tired. That and he probably doesn't want to talk about underlying issues or whatnot just yet.

"We're going to leave you alone once we're done. Can't imagine how tired you must be." Astrid promises. They are all back at the hut anyway, so he can get some well-needed rest.

Or rather, they're at Fishlegs' hut since Fishlegs should probably keep an eye on him.

"Yeah, you look like you got dragged behind Meatlug again." Snotlout helpfully states. The twins are here as well and have been looking through the Grimborns' book. Upon closer inspection, much like the Dragon Eye, this book about legends that ended up being true also belongs to the Grimborn family, surprise, surprise.

"Oh, you think that I don't look too hot after growing extra bones, blood, muscle, skin, and what have you overnight?" Hiccup sasses back, so at least that is still intact.

"Eh, I don't know about that. I think the wings just make you look hotter." Ruffnut chimes in.

"Thank you, Ruffnut." Hiccup deadpans and Ruff clicks with her tongue and winks.

But the matter of his relationship with Astrid does bother him. Before Toothless, he couldn't even imagine himself together with her as a normal human being. But now that he's... that he's... this? What will happen to them now?

Astrid can see him think it, noticing first by the drooping of the wings she and Fishlegs are tending to. They're expressive, just like the rest of him, and to her, that means that they are definitely a part of him.

She moves to sit on his edge of the bed and draws his attention. His complexion is a ghostly pale after this experience and his eyes tired. It's a surprise he's even still sitting up after all of this.

"This doesn't change anything between us. I still want to be there for you through everything, the good, the bad, and the unexpected." Astrid tells him with honesty, lightly brushing one leathery wing only to have both of them freak out and spasm at her touch. Hiccup cringes, hearing a bowl clatter to the ground.

"Sorry, Fishlegs." Hiccup apologizes, looking over his shoulder at his fellow dragon enthusiast as he cleans the mess.

"Oh, don't worry about it! They're so new, I bet it's going to take a while to get used to them." Fishlegs accepts the apology, telling Hiccup not to fret.

Ruff and Tuff meanwhile, they share a mischievous look.

"Sensitive?" Astrid asks and Hiccup awkwardly nods. She makes a mental note to be more careful next time she touches them. He doesn't have control over them yet.

"Just promise me one thing. If I ever end up growing wings, that you'll still accept me in your life, too." She requests with a smile.

"You growing wings would be amazing. Just hopefully with less blood and screaming." Hiccup responds, voice still hoarse from that screech he had released when it happened to him.

Astrid smiles at him. Wings or no wings, she still loves him just as much.

"So what exactly does this mean?" Snotlout asks and grabs the book from the twins, who both protest at his thievery.

"If I had to make a guess, I'd say that at least one bloodline must still be alive to this very day." Fishlegs proposes a theory.

"If that's true, then why is Hiccup the only one? And why did Viggo have to make it happen?" Snotlout asks as it would make a lot more sense to him for Hiccup to have just been born with them.

"Survival? The book clearly states that their numbers dwindled rapidly. And Fireworm gel meant to make Fireworm Queens "bring out what was already there", so to speak. So if what makes the dragon people was even faintly present inside of Hiccup, the gel brought it out. And it came out a lot faster than was probably healthy because of the overdose Viggo gave him." Fishlegs give the most likely explanation of what he thinks might be going on here.

"Can I see it? When did this start happening?" Hiccup asks and Snotlout hands him the book. Before he can find the number himself, Fishlegs already has an answer ready for him.

"350 to 400 years ago."

Hiccup finds himself in shock, they all do.

"So when..." Astrid's voice trails.

"When the Red Death began her tyranny and demanded that dragons steal food from newly settled Vikings. These people... my people...? Either way, they must've been hunted down because Vikings thought they might've been the cause." It pains him to say it and he feels hurt thinking these might be his people that this happened to them.

That he's not entirely human, it's still too strange to think about. Even with those two things on his back to prove it.

He hands the book back to Snotlout, who takes it and closes it.

"Does it explain the hand thing?" Tuffnut asks curiously.

"The hand thing has nothing to do with this, Tuff, you can all do it." Hiccup replies. He's too tired to think any more of it. As fascinating as this discovery is, he's completely drained.

"Yeah, except for the fact that we can do the hand thing because you taught us how to understand dragons, Hiccup." Astrid reminds him, gazing at him. She's been holding his hand.

"Toothless taught me!"

"And maybe you understood because you were born with the ability to understand."

Astrid is giving him that look. That look that tells him that, as scary as it is, he should consider the possibility of what this might mean. And Hiccup supposes he doesn't have a defense for that one.

"So we kill the dragon people and it's a dragon man who saves us from all eventually dying from a tireless war against a faceless and nameless foe? Now that would be ironic." Tuffnut states and Ruffnut nods in agreement.

"So great, Hiccup is a dragon man. Which parent did he get it from?" Snotlout has one more question that needs answering.

And since none of them would know, they all look to Hiccup.

"After I got my mom's gift for me back, he told me that she sympathized with the dragons and that this is why she made me a dragon doll. She wanted me to sympathize with them as well. As much as he loves her gift for me now, it used to be his biggest gripe back then, with the whole war still going on. But dragons took her and, well, ate her." Hiccup explains and then looks at Toothless, who's apologetic rumblings draw his attention as if he was the one who did it.

"So I don't know who I would get this from. If I even got this from either of them." Though there is the dragon expert inside of him that tells him that dragons don't prefer humans as food, but fish. And that includes dragons as large as the Stormcutter who took his mother before he even turned one.

And besides, if she were still alive after all these years, she would've come back somehow, right?

Having a feeling what he might be thinking of, Astrid takes and squeezes his shoulder.

"You should rest." She tells him and Hiccup nods. There will still be plenty of time to figure everything out, including what he's going to wear now that none of his tunics are going to fit.

Though some vague ideas might be growing in his mind already.

Astrid and Fishlegs leave the bed, allowing Hiccup to lie down. He's only going to be able to sleep on his side and front from now on. Unless he pulls a Toothless and sleeps upsidedown. Now that would be fun to try out.

"Sleep," Astrid says and presses her lips on his in a kiss, still happy to do so. With or without Snotlout pretending like he's about to throw up his lunch in the background.

Toothless pulls a blanket over him and roars at the others to leave already.

"We know, T, we're leaving," Tuffnut says, hands up, and he leaves together with everyone else. They all give Hiccup one last glance, glad to have him back safe and sound, before they close the door and bathe the hut in darkness.

Hiccup watched them go, petting Toothless on the nose when he comes purring. After the days he's had, he wonders if he'll be able to sleep at all.

He knows the changes aren't done yet. He can feel that his body is still all kinds of wrong and he fears going through another excruciating experience like the birth of his wings.

And when the physical changes to his body are done, there will be other changes. The Riders have alerted him to the Terror mail they've sent to Berk, his father, mentor, and Gothi will be coming to the Edge tomorrow or the day after. They aren't going to take this well and Hiccup worries for his father's reaction the most. After Hiccup deals with those reactions, he'll have to worry about Berk's next.

And then there are the many unanswered questions. Clearly, those draconic humans existed, Hiccup is now living proof of them. But is he truly related to them? And what does that mean for him and his dragons? Has Toothless ever suspected anything?

Pulling his head away from the petting, Toothless rumbles and nudges his Rider, telling him to close his eyes and sleep.

"I will, Bud." Hiccup tells him, eyes heavy with sleep.

He supposes he'll have to wait and let the changes of the future come to him.

Hiccup closes his eyes and hopes his dreams will at least take him to more reassuring places.

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just-my-fandom · 5 years

Text

The Hidden World (Eret x Haddock! Reader)

So I heard you saw the third How to Train Your Dragon, and I was wondering if I could get an Eret x Haddock! Reader where the reader is the first child and by the third movie, is married to Eret and is pregnant. She isn't allowed to battle the man searching for her brothers Dragon, Grimmel and is put in danger during the last fight

Characters; Hiccup, Astrid, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Valka, Eret, mentions ofk Stoick, Grimmel, The Light Fury, and Toothless

Warnings; SPOILERS FOR THE NEW MOVIE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Dt: @theperksofbeingafangirl2

This story is a long one. Have fun reading!

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"Where could it be?"

You watch with a frown as Hiccup runs a hand through his dirty brown hair, his fingers trailing over the map on the ground,

"Dad has searched high and low for the Hidden World. Are we sure its still there?" You ask your younger brother, who looks up at you, watching you poor a cup of tea and place your free hand on your large bump,

"I promised him I would find it. I just need to do something to make him proud," Hiccup sighs, and blinks as you sit down next to him, hand at his shoulder,

"Hiccup, there is nothing you can do that could make Dad more proud than he already was of you. You're chief for heavens sake," You explain,

"So are you," Hiccup raises an eyebrow, and you laugh warmly, a laugh you've inherited from Valka,

"Yes, but only because Im first born. Im not as great of a chief as you are," You wink, looking up at a creak from the flooring above you,

Smile dropping, you set down your cup, Hiccup rising to his feet and pulling out his flame thrower,

"Who is it? Its the middle of the night," You speak quietly, Hiccup raising a hand, then spins around, weapon drawn,

"Awe, how cute," A figure steps out from the shadows, eyes training on you as Hiccup helped you stand, arm out in front of his older sibling, "Like brother like sister,"

"Grimmel," You breathe, Hiccup glancing over, "Who?"

"Eret told me of him. The one who kills night furys," You run your hand down your stomach, Grimmels eyebrows raising with realisation,

"You're the famous wife who married a past dragon hunter? So stupid I must say. You're the first child of Stoick the Vast, you must set an example to your people!"

You clench your jaw, Grimmel holding up a dart. Hiccup quickly stands in front of you, blocking you, but the dart is instead impaled into Toothless' sleeping form across the room

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouts, teeth baring as he looked back at Grimmel,

"What do you want with us?"

Grimmel laughs, loudly, "I want your dragon. I want them all!! Ever since I was little, Ive killed dragons bigger and smaller than me. Youve got no chance against me boy,"

"Really?" Hiccup presses his fingers to his lips, sharply whistling, five forms jumping out with weapons, Fishlegs sitting up with a fake dragon mask and slurring his words, seeming he was hit by the dart instead,

"We got you," And he falls forward, out,

Grimmels laugh lowers into a dark chuckle, snapping his fingers to alert his own poisoned controlled dragons, "No," His eyes lock with yours, "I got you,"

Two dragons bust through the wood of your home, spitting out green venom that spread through the walls and erupted in flames,

"Everyone retreat! Get out of here!!" Hiccup stumbles back, swiping at a dragon, and you turn around, pushing past a table to rush across the room,

Flames envelope into a blockade in front of you, the red reflecting off your orbs, stomach tightening in fear,

"This way!" Valka takes your arm, leading her daughter to the left, outside of the burning building,

You look up, gasping, scanning the town of Berk to see every home sizzling to the ground,

. . Meanwhile at Town Hall . .

"Can everyone please be quiet!?"

Your scream brings silent to the town hall, every viking and dragon stopping to stare at the first child of Stoick,

"Yes, we are all scared, terrified even, because Grimmel now knows the amount and types of dragons we hold in our possession. But we cant fight out of fear. We fight out of the thought of loosing everything we battled for in the past, our dragons. Our home,"

You lower your head, inhaling, "When Hiccup and I are gone later in the past, we all know my son will be the one stepping up. Dont do this just for us, but for the sake of Berk and my father,"

Vikings murmur in agreement, Valka smiling softly, where you nod once, and sink down into your seat, "We'll be moving momentarily to a hidden island my brother and I found on the coast not too far from here. It'll keep the dragons, and all of you safe,"

You run a hand through your hair, sighing heavily, Hiccup putting a hand on your shoulder and squeezing,

"Let me take care of the rest. You need a break, the stress isnt good for the baby,"

You look up at your sibling, putting your hand on his and squeezing back, smiling gently,

. . Hours later . .

"Okay okay!" Hiccup laughs as the group under him lunge him into the air, catching him easily and pushing him up again, "I feel more sick than joyful,"

He is put down, dizzily grabbing onto Gobbers arm and covering his mouth,

"Heh heh," Gobber snorts, "At least your not your sister, getting sick for the past seven months straight,"

Hiccup rolls his eye's, just as your form moves past him, calling for your mother as she landed Cloudjumper, jumping off and anxiously looking around,

Hiccup watches at the two women meet up, Valka pressing her hands to the bump that held her unborn grandchild, looking up at her daughter,

"Are you harmed? Your brother?"

"What?" You breathe, "Mom, we're okay. What did you see?"

"We're being followed," Valka alerts, "Grimmel is still out for us,"

"Well what are we doing here? We need to go stop him and get it through his head thats hes not having our dragons," You snarl, Valka waving a finger and shaking her head,

"No ma'am. You are staying here. You're going to be a mother soon, you need to rest, and care for the baby whether he's arrived yet or not. Your husband can agree with me,"

You frown, turning to Eret for help, but he crosses his muscular arms and moves his eyes to you,

"Your mothers right, Y/N. I'll have Skullcrusher here with you, and take one of the other dragons. But you cant go with us, its not safe,"

"But its safe for you to go," You rub your temple, nodding and clicking your tongue, "Got it. My child could lose his father but what does that matter,"

You move away, walking towards the hut made, tapping Skullcrushers nose and directing him to follow you,

"Y/N," Eret calls in a sigh, Valka waving him off, "Its the side effects of pregnancy, dear. You should know this by now,"

Its mere four hour later before talking is heard outside, your form leant against Skullcrusher as you sung to your stomach, your own dragons head laid in your lap,

The huts curtain pulls open, Eret stepping inside, removing his armor and wincing at the burns and cuts on his arms and chest,

"You look terrible," You attempt to heave yourself up, Skullcrusher leaning his head against your back to brush you to your feet, "What happened?"

"He expected us there," Eret removes his shirt, revealing a wound across his lower stomach, "We were attacked and almost trapped,"

Your eyes scan his toned chest, hand brushing the bruises littering his chest and shoulder, before gliding your hand to his face,

"But you survived, thats all that matters. Come sit down and let me clean you up," You usher, Eret placing his large hand over yours and wrapping his fingers to envelope your small hand,

"I'll be fine. Why arent you resting?" He whispers lowly, "You need sleep,"

"Stop thinking about me for once, I wont die," You huff, thumb brushing his jaw, "Let me take care of you,"

"I know a couple of ways," Eret presses his lips hot to yours, that curled upwards as you laugh warmly and press your hand to his chest,

"Nice try Romeo. Go sit down while I get the aid supplies,"

Your husband narrows his eyes, chuckling as he slides away and sinks down to sit next to Skullcrusher,

"Were you at least able to find what he wanted with the dragons?" You sit down on Erets lap, bump pressed to his stomach, and you dab a wet cloth to his busted lip,

"Hes not too fond of Toothless and the Light Fury Hiccup talks about," Eret runs his large hands over your stomach, under your shirt to get as close to his child as he could, "The other dragons are just of use for a certain venom that can control them,"

"That sounds dangerous, and something my brother would want to get into and stop," You sigh, running the cloth down his neck to his shoulder,

Eret hisses at a pierced cut, that burned as you dabbed it. "Easy," You soothe, and put your hand over his that rested over your bump, "Easy,"

"You're going to be a great mother," Eret speaks up, and you smile after placing a bandage at his wound, looking up to meet his eye's,

"And youre going to be a great father," Leaning forward, you slowly link your lips to his, his hand sliding in your hair as you both smile, before he pulls you against him and (Dragon/Name) is pulling a blanket over you with their tail,

. . The Battles Over . .

"You've had to deal with us long enough Bud," Hiccup slides a hand over Toothless' head, the dragon closing his eyes and purring, "Now its your time to go, and be with her,"

Toothless opens his eye's, confusion flickering, then looks over at a child wail,

Walking past the crowd was the first born Haddock and Eret, a bundle of blue held in your arms,

Your eyes were blood shot red, most likely from the labor, but a smile would not leave your lips as your dragon slowly leaned in, sniffing your son,

Your dragon presses their snout to (Sons/Name)s foot, then purrs as they lick your cheek lightly,

Skullcrusher scans your child, noticing how he had somehow inherited the slight gene of Stoicks hair, but had Erets eyes and your nose and face,

"We're living our life," Hiccup whispers to Toothless, "Its time to live yours,"

Toothless had pulled away from his rider, inching towards the sister of the chief and (Sons/Name)s cries had stopped at the sight of the Dragon, a squeal causing Toothless, your dragon, and Skullcrusher to jump,

You laugh softly, free hand rubbing Toothless' snout, and you lean against the dragon,

"Its time for you to start your own family Buddy. Where they'll take after you and continue your job," You look down at your son, a tear slipping down your cheek,

"The same goes for the rest of you,"

Eret slides his arms under your child to take him into his grasp, so you could unclip the saddle from your dragon and slide it off their back,

You caress her head, nose to hers, and you sniffle, "I'm going to miss you,"

(Dragon/Name) whimpers, and you pinch your eye's shut, hearing the clicks of every Viking undoing their dragons saddles,

"Go," You slide your hands away, (Dragon/Name) blinking before glancing at Skullcrusher, and they both jump up, flying to follow the rows of dragons,

Toothless looks back, watching you slide your hand your mouth, Eret wrapping an arm at your shoulder and placing his hand at your head, lips to your temple,

You walk up to Hiccup, arms throwing themselves around his neck, his own wrapping at your torso as he silently releases a sob, fingers clutching at your back side,

Toothless frowns, but lunges off, disappearing in the clouds above,

"We're going to be okay," You open your eye's, orbs glistening as your dragons roar is heard in the distance, "We always are,"

The End

A/N: DID I DO IT RIGHT?????

#how to train your dragon 3 #hiccup haddock #eret son of eret #eret x reader #eret imagine #how to train your dragon eret #httyd 3 #httyd eret #httyd eret son of eret #valka haddock #stoick the vast #how to train your dragon the hidden world #httyd the hidden world

578 notes · View notes

ficcrimes · 5 years

Text

bundle

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon, Tangled; Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons Characters: Hiccup, Rapunzel, Toothless A/N: written for @rotbtd-zine. download the full zine here!! minor spoilers for TAS / RTA. Summary: While Hiccup and Rapunzel are on the road to the Dark Kingdom, Toothless seems to have other plans in mind.

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When the invitation to the Princess of Corona’s coronation arrives, it goes to Hiccup in Stoick’s stead. It catches him by surprise, if only because Stoick had spoken rather infrequently of Corona. Hiccup can remember idle talk of a lost princess, but he supposes she isn’t quite so lost anymore. He thinks Stoick would have wanted to go, and of all the new responsibilities he’s found thrust upon his shoulders, attending a coronation doesn’t sound too bad. Accepting the invitation on his father’s behalf and as the new Chief of Berk is the least he can do.

Arriving in Corona more or less goes the way he expects. The last time Stoick would have correlated with this kingdom, Berk would have been hunting dragons, not riding them. A lot of townspeople are startled by his landing and are visibly wary of Toothless as they make their way toward the castle. Thankfully, nobody runs or screams, and that’s a nice change of pace for once.

As they step into the courtyard, Hiccup’s attention is brought immediately to the Princess, if only because of her particularly surprised gasp. He’s quick to notice, however, that there’s no fear in her, and she’s nothing short of elated to see a real, live dragon. The King and Queen, Hiccup notices on the other hand, don’t seem quite so thrilled, and he offers them the weakest of smiles while assuring them that Toothless will be no trouble.

Fred and Arianna exchange a glance, but give their permission, and Hiccup supposes that’s all that should matter right now. He’s here of their asking, and he wants to make a good impression for Stoick’s sake. So far, so good, he thinks - especially considering the way Rapunzel seems to be teetering excitedly on her bare toes, hands clasped together in front of her chest.

Seeing as he’s the last one to arrive, Hiccup sees no harm in suggesting she can pet Toothless if she wants. What better way to prove his mount is of no danger, and set the King and Queen at ease, right? Besides, it seems almost cruel to keep Rapunzel in that sort of suspense. So, he steps aside and motions for her to go ahead, while telling Fred and Arianna there’s nothing to worry about.

Rapunzel rushes forward, but stops just a foot or so shy of the dragon. Despite her excitement, it seems like the reality of the situation has finally dawned on her, and that this is like no creature she’s ever met before. Her hand comes up, and uneasily hovers between herself and Toothless’ snout while her gaze finds Hiccup’s.

“Do I just…?” she asks.

Hiccup knows Toothless wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but it’s a good a chance as any, he realizes, to prove that he knows what he’s doing. He clears his throat and steps up closer to her, gently taking her wrist into his hand.

“Here. Like this,” he instructs, and encourages her to hold out her hand, palm open.

Toothless glances between his Chief and the Princess just once before he excitedly pushes his nose into Rapunzel’s palm. The force is enough to almost knock her off her feet, but Hiccup is there to keep her steady.

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The actual coronation doesn’t exactly go as Hiccup had expected it to. For one, Rapunzel enters the hall wearing a ridiculously large and obnoxious white wig. There are other women in the hall who are also wearing similar wigs, but they don’t seem to be having any trouble keeping their balance the way Rapunzel is. Maybe it has something to do with the shoes on her feet, he thinks.

But things just get stranger and worse from there. It would turn out that one of the visiting Duchesses isn’t what she claimed to be. The Quintonian Duchess is nothing more or less than a pirate, seeking revenge on Corona’s king. There’s little time for retaliation, and soon enough Rapunzel’s wig comes off. Yards and yards of golden hair are freed and fall about the Princess’ shoulders, pooling at her feet.

All of that hair had certainly not been there yesterday. And if that wasn’t surprising enough, it turns out she can use it to fight, too.

When all is said and done, and the Lady Caine and the other lowlives of Corona have been apprehended and put behind bars again, Hiccup finds himself gravitating toward Rapunzel again. She had been uneasy and a little awkward when they first met, but that seems to have doubled now. She presumes he has questions about her hair, and he does, but he assures her that’s not why he’s come to see her. Maybe it’s a little forward, and maybe he has no place in saying so, but he tells her that she’s nothing like what he had expected.

She smiles, and idly starts to play with a thick lock of her hair. She thanks him and laughs when she says that she’s been in the habit of surprising herself a lot lately.

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When Hiccup goes back to Berk, it doesn’t take long at all before he starts receiving letters from Rapunzel. They come fairly frequently, and they detail the on-goings of the kingdom. Considering how the coronation went, it shouldn’t be quite so surprising that Rapunzel has had to deal with the things she writes to him about.

She tells him about an alchemist named Varian, and how she’d heard he had actually been a wizard. She was disappointed to find out otherwise, but still excited to meet him nonetheless. She tells him that they’ve found out her hair is unbreakable, that is no longer possesses any healing magic. Which, honestly, is news to Hiccup, because he hadn’t known her hair had been magical at one point, at all. Rapunzel also tells him that good portion of Old Corona being destroyed by machines Varian had made. They had been meant to heat and deliver hot water to the village. Something about pressure, and an explosion.

Another letter tells him about a science exposition, and another one of Varian’s machines not quite working the way it was intended. This time, however, the machine had been misused by someone else who thought they knew what they were doing.

In that same letter, she tells him about the black rocks. She tells him how when she had touched them the night before her coronation, more had violently sprouted from the ground. It had almost been like they had been chasing her. Touching the rocks had also been the cause of her hair growing back. She tells him that the rocks have reached Old Corona, and that Varian has promised to help her figure out the connection between her hair, herself, and the rocks.

Eventually, there’s another letter, and. she tells him she had been made Queen for a day while her parents had been traveling, but that hadn’t gone exactly as she hoped. He can relate a little too deeply to that, as being the Chief is still not quite settling comfortably on his shoulders. He’s trying, though, and he knows Rapunzel had tried her best, too.

There’s something else in the letter about a sudden snow storm, and how it may have been magical in nature. A curse of some sort, set upon the kingdom by an ancient evil named Zhan Tiri. They had to use a machine made by someone named Demanitus to stop the storm. And that all sounds really incredible, but the thrill is short lived as he reads on.

She writes about Varian again, and how he had come looking for her help. Something bad had happened, and she’d had to make the choice between the one or the many. As Queen, her duty had been to the kingdom, but she’s still not entirely sure she made the right choice.

The next letter doesn’t reach Hiccup for some time. Rapunzel tells him that Varian’s father had been encased in some sort of unbreakable amber. That was why he had come begging for her help the day of the snow storm. She tells him that the boy had been so angry, and he had turned his rage on the kingdom. He’d sent machines after them, turned his raccoon temporarily into a monster, and nearly killed herself, Cassandra and Arianna. She tells him that she had managed to stop him by somehow gaining control of the black rocks - which, by the way, had all but destroyed the older village.

She tells him Varian’s been arrested, and that the rocks have broken the wall of Corona and formed a path.

She tells him she’s going to follow them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiccup makes a very impulsive decision. He hears about it from Astrid and Gobber for a few hours, but they know him well enough by now to know there’s no changing his mind. Chiefs leave their tribes all the time to travel and barter and so on and so forth, he argues. Would it not be in his best interest to help an allied kingdom in a time of need?

When he puts it that way, it’s harder to argue - though they still desperately want to.

He leaves Astrid and Valka in charge (much to Snotlout’s disapproval) and promises to be back as soon as he can. Probably.

His arrival in Corona is a surprise, to say the very least. It’s a relief to find he hasn’t arrived too late, that Rapunzel hasn’t left yet. Had he left maybe one day later, he may not have caught her in time.

She’s thrilled to see him, but despite her excitement, she asks, “what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Hiccup says, and pulls her last letter into view. He gives the piece of parchment a little shake, and offers her a tilted grin. “And I figure, your caravan’s a great idea and all, but have you considered going by dragon?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roughly a week has passed since the Chief and the Princess left Corona on dragonback, and Rapunzel will be the first to admit that they are covering ground much, much quicker this way. Of course, she doesn’t want to go too fast; this is the first time she’s really able to experience the world, and she’s determined to enjoy it.

She only wishes Hiccup would do the same. Not that he isn’t enjoying the trip, per-se, she reasons with herself, but he does spend an awful lot of time with his nose in a book or map. Some of the time, she’s sure he’s more preoccupied with charting the ground they cover than actually taking it all in. But, she supposes, he’s used to the world, and though it may throw some surprises at him now and then, there probably isn’t much he hasn’t seen or isn’t familiar with.

When she thinks of things like that, she finds herself feeling a little shy. She’s nowhere near as naive as she had been when she left the tower, but there’s still so, so much for her to learn. If Hiccup has noticed her naivety (cleverly disguised as curiosity and enthusiasm) at all, he’s been kind enough not to say anything about it.

And maybe it’s this mindset, this sense of not wanting to waste a single thing the world has to offer right now, that makes Rapunzel’s brow furrow when she sees Hiccup working on a map again. She’s charted stars before, and she knows how important things like that can be, but… Charts and maps can’t be the only thing Hiccup takes away from this, can they?

“Do you want to, maybe, put the map away and, I don’t know, come look at these flowers I found?” she asks, standing at his side. She angles herself in a way that her shadow intentionally obscures some of his writing space. This works, if only for a moment.

He looks up at her, sitting back on his knees and squinting when the sun is no longer behind her, peeking over her shoulder and blindly bright. He uses a hand, still holding his stylus, to block the light.

“Can it wait just a few more minutes? I’m almost done with - ”

Rapunzel visibly deflates, letting her posture sag as a very unlady-like groan leaves her. “You’re never going to be finished,” she points out, making a vague but wide gesture to the clearing around them. “And you’re never going to enjoy the trip if all you’re worried about is how it looks on paper.”

And she must have struck a chord, because Hiccup drops his gaze back down to the map, and starts to busily fiddle with the stylus. He knows she’s right, but at the same time the charts and maps are a hard habit to break. And who knows if he’ll ever have the chance to come out this way again? He supposes he could just leave things as they are, and start thinking a little less critically for a while.

He flicks the stylus onto the map, and offers her a weak and crooked smile. “You got me there,” he tells her, standing himself back up and brushing off the knees of his pants. The pure elation in her eyes and smile is hard to ignore. It makes his smile just a little more crooked, and the bridge of his nose pink. “So. So, flowers, right?”

“Flowers!” Rapunzel does little to contain her excitement, reaching for his hands and tugging him along to the flowers she’d mentioned. They’re really nothing that spectacular, just a few small bunches of bellflowers, blue and purple and pink, growing close together. But it had been enough to get him up and away from the map, and that’s all she could ask for.

It’s while they’re hunched over the tiny flowerbed that Toothless stirs from whatever rest he had been managing to get. He watches the two of them, trilling curiously with his head cocked to one side. Throughout this whole trip, the two of them have fumbled about and over each other, and the dragon just doesn’t seem to understand. Perhaps human courtship is a little more complicated than it is for dragons. He can tell the two of them have been gravitating toward one another, and they have been since her coronation.

So, why don’t they do something about it?

Well, if they won’t, Toothless decides very suddenly that he will.

He stands himself up, stretching any kinks and stiffness from his joints and wings, then makes his way to his rider and the Princess. He sits himself closer to her, trilling again as he, too, looks down at the flowers.

They’re nothing special.

He huffs and grumbles, and shifts so that he can get a better look at the two of them. He considers just shoving her into Hiccup, but then the beads in her hair shine and he gets a better idea.

They don’t seem to notice as he gets behind her, momentarily and gently swatting at the end of her hair. He does this a few more times, and then hooks a talon into one of the ties and easily tears it away. The snap of it and the way her hair suddenly falls free, pooling at her feet, is what finally gets the humans’ attention.

“Toothless!” Hiccup scolds, but Rapunzel is quietly giggling and putting her hand to Hiccup’s arm.

“Oh, he’s fine. He was just having some fun,” she tells him, then shrugs just a little. “Besides, I have plenty more where those came from.”

Hiccup does not, for a moment, doubt that.

Suddenly, Toothless drops down to the ground, crouched over the very end of Rapunzel’s hair. He paws at it, then gently mocks a dig, gathering a good bunch of it up against his chest.

“What are you doing, bud?” Hiccup asks, catching the odd behavior just a little too late.

If dragons could grin, Toothless would have.

Instead, he trills again, and suddenly takes the end of her hair - or as much as he can manage - into his mouth. Then he’s on his feet again, prancing about the two of them and easily avoiding any attempt Hiccup makes to grab him.

“Toothless! No!” When grabbing doesn’t work, Hiccup resorts to scolding. It works just about as well. Meanwhile, Rapunzel is a little beside herself, giggles turning into laughter. There’s nothing wrong with what Toothless is doing; in fact, she finds it quite adorable.

But the thing is, Hiccup is too caught up in trying to get the dragon to drop her hair, and Rapunzel is too caught up in the moment, and neither of them really notice that they’re standing in the center of a circle of hair. Then, without much warning at all, Toothless stops his prancing, and gives the hair a firm but careful yank. And the coils of hair come up and wrap around them, tangling them together.

They’re face-to-face, chest-to-chest, and Rapunzel is still giggling while Hiccup is already trying to wiggle free.

“Wait - wait - hold on,” she finally manages. “Stop squirming, and let me - ”

Her efforts, while well-meant, really only result in more needless squirming. Soon, the two are clumsily turning around and around, gradually just wrapping more hair around themselves. One turn too many, and Hiccup’s prosthetic gives from under him, and he clatters to the ground in a heap of hair, and with the Princess snugly on top of him.

For a moment, her face is pushed into his neck, and he forgets how to breathe.

When she leans up to look down at him, he feels that heat creeping back alone the bridge of his nose, reaching his ears this time. Her hand is on his chest, and at first its just for leverage, but the touch lightens gradually, and then she’s leaving her hand there just because she can.

“If… I didn’t know better, I’d almost think Toothless did that on purpose,” Rapunzel says quietly. Hiccup pretends not to notice the way her fingers gently knead at the fabric of his shirt.

And Hiccup knows for a fact that the dragon did this on purpose, but he can’t quite bring himself to admit that. He clears his throat, and looks anywhere but her face. A nearby rock will do. “Heh. Wouldn’t, ah… Wouldn’t that be something?”

“It would,” she says, and he can feel her weight shifting against him. It makes him look back up at her, except when he does, her face is a lot closer to his than it had been just seconds ago. His breath hitches, and he’s painfully aware that she can feel his chest heave under her hand. But she’s so close, and it’s not like he has time to really think twice about his body language before--

The thick, wet sound of her hair’s end plopping back to the ground snaps Hiccup out of it first. He turns his head quickly to face the sound and his dragon, and Rapunzel’s lips barely brush the hinge of his jaw.

The almost-kiss is enough to make them both falter, and begin the struggle to untangle themselves from her hair anew, while pretending that didn’t just happen.

Meanwhile, Toothless watches, more than a little pleased with his handiwork.

#how to train your dragon #tangled #hiccup #rapunzel #hiccunzel #rotbtfd #rise of the brave tangled dragons #fanfic #au #crossover

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avannak · 5 years

Note

I know you are probably very busy right now and That it has Been a While since the last time You have written a deviation drabble but what do you think would have happened if Stoick had decided to arrange a marriage between Astrid and Hiccup before starting his search for the dragons' nest at the beginning of the first movie to secure his son 's future if he doesn't survive the search? P.s: english isn't my first language so i apologise for eventual mistakes in my text

HTTYD Deviations

(yes, it has been a long, long while but a short bit of thinking on this brought me to a startling conclusion)

“You can’t stop him Stoick, you can only prepare him. I know it seems hopeless, but the truth is… you won’t always be around to protect him…”

The rest of Gobber’s words melt into the low din of the Mead Hall as his last, clear sentence rings again and again before Stoick’s mind’s eye. Hiccup wasn’t a one-and-done deal. He needed constant protection. He needed protection from himself. It was an investment. Gobber was right: Stoick wouldn’t always be around. And if he couldn’t protect Hiccup, who would? And how?

Gods knew the boy weren’t capable of protecting himself…

When Hiccup sneaks back inside—well after dusk—with his heart still erratic and out of sync with his breath, his clothes still stinking of the feral dragon’s breath, his mind unable to focus on a single, dizzying thought… it’s to a cold hearth and a dark home.

Somehow, he’s made it home before his father, and in his troubled state he only experiences a distant sense of relief from the subconscious acknowledgment. A dozen scenarios of uncomfortable (and inevitable) conversations had played in his mind for the entire trek back from the forest. All of which could be delayed while longer.

He tries to swing the door closed behind him but it stops short. A heavy hand lands on his shoulder.

Hiccup shrieks. A Very Viking short of shriek, of course.

“Son,” Stoick greets as he too steps into the house and sets about lighting the circular inglenook.

The events of that very morning rise up to both minds, and both men swallow the discomfort back. Too much has happened to each and neither is willing to drudge up old arguments at the moment.

The room flares to life. Hiccup hastily wipes pine needles from his tunic as Stoick takes off his helmet and smooths his hair.

Hiccup is almost suspicious with how long his father spends settling his Chief’s cloak on his favorite chair, patting the matted fur with thick fingers. His great beard jostles each time he opens his mouth and nothing comes out. Something is up.

“Son,” Stoick finally manages. “we need to talk.”

Orange light dances over his quiet and steady voice, and Hiccup is set on edge.

He steels himself. “Yeah, I have something to say too…”

A pause. Both men wait for the other to start.

“It’s time you—”

“I don’t want—”

They both stop again.

“Go on,” Stoick encourages.

“No, you go first,” Hiccup insists. A decision, weeks from now, he’ll continue to regret.

Stoick takes another minute gathering his words. He takes long enough that Hiccup’s ready to just declare his choice to abstain from dragon fighting altogether. But when Stoick finally speaks, the words are enough to knock Hiccup’s breath from him.

“Astrid’s a promising young lass…”

“Uh…” Hiccup has quite a few other words outside of promising to describe Astrid Hofferson. “Uh—yeah. I mean, I hadn’t noticed. Not really. I have—obviously. Not obviously, but, you know, objectively—” He manages to stop himself knowing his traitorous mouth hadn’t a conclusion on the horizon.

Stoick wets his lips. “Hiccup…you’re fifteen now. You can’t take care of yourself. Not like you should.”

Hiccup does and doesn’t appreciate the startling topic change. “Dad–”

“Let me finish, son.”

Hiccup bites his tongue, but anger makes his jaw ache with the restraint. His father takes another breath.

“I don’t get you, but I do love you. I want to secure a future for you.” Stoick pauses. Then perseveres. “That’s why I’ve arranged a marriage.”

Hiccup manages to choke on nothing but Berk’s saline air. “Y-you what?”

“I’ve just come from the Hoffersons—”

“DAD!”

“—And me and Astrid’s father have arranged a betrothal.”

Impossibly, Hiccup’s legs feel weaker than they had hours earlier having survived a Night Fury up close. He grips the railing to the loft stairs. “Wh-what? Whoa–wait! Wait, wait–”

“The Hoffersons are strong people. Good people. And she’s a strong lass. She’ll be a good chieftess, if nothing else, and she’ll protect you–”

Hiccup’s gripping his hair hard enough to cause pain he’s unable to feel.

“What is this? You can’t be serious!”

“Should I not come back—”

Hiccup can’t breathe. Now there’s two things he can’t fathom being shoved into his reality.

“Dad, stop!”

They argue into the evening and, as usual, Hiccup feels like he’s screaming into a bodiless night where no one can hear him. Not only is he to attend dragon training in the morning, but to do it with his betrothed.

The Night Fury seems a lifetime ago, and in his troubled thoughts that night not even the childish glee of being married to Astrid Hofferson could stave a growing sense of dread.

Hiccup came into the house playing out a dozen uncomfortable conversations and their outcomes. He never accounted for the thirteenth.

The most abled Vikings leave on the morn for one last Nest Hunt before a bitter winter makes it impossible. Hours later, the newest recruits Berk has to offer begin their training.

Its more brutal than Hiccup could have imagined.

Astrid had clearly been… informed. She probably got the same short notice and the same amount of sleep as Hiccup had, and it showed. She snarls at him. Makes a point of knocking him down any chance she gets. Snotlout’s crowing and Gobber’s sharper with her than usual, but Hiccup gets the message: he doesn’t belong. Not in dragon training and not with her.

It drives him to the Night Fury. To the cove. To the reckless project of getting close to a dragon.

Dragon training commences and Hiccup slowly succeeds in the most unlikely ways as he applies his learnings with Toothless to the arena. He appears breathless and happy most days; windswept and bright eyed. And nervous. Withdrawn from Berk herself.

When Hiccup starts beating Astrid in training, she’s not only bewildered and suspicious and jealous. She’s angry. Every person she overhears singing her betrothed praises earns a personal black mark.

The boy she’s going to have to marry and tolerate, for a short while, at least, is doing something… underhanded. It’s all she knows. It’s not right. It doesn’t make sense. She’s hell bent on proving what he is: a fraud. Her efforts are doubled when he humiliates her in the final exam.

A humiliation made worse—far worse—when just the evening before the returned warriors announce their betrothal. The ribbing that followed… the congratulations, the expectations of the two most “skilled” warriors uniting… it felt like a lie. A fake smile. A weak reputation.

She couldn’t stand it. She’d been willing to marry Hiccup for duty and Berk and the leap in status—that’s why she agreed when her father and the chief sat her down four weeks ago on the eve of their voyage—but this wasn’t her.

When Astrid manages to follow Hiccup straight to the dragon he had been harboring the truth is both vindicating and horrifying. Hiccup’s crying for her to wait and listen and Astrid makes a split decision on what and who she’s more loyal to: It’s Berk. It’s always been Berk.

She runs.

She’s grabbed.

She’s forced on a flight with her betrothed. She’s forced to wait and listen and gods above she’ll remember that flight with a small, fond smile until her dying day.

Because that’s the twist here…dear readers who have read this far.

HTTYD would end exactly as it did except with an obvious reason for Astrid’s cheek-kiss and fast-track romance: they were betrothed the whole time. In the back of her mind, Astrid had been steeling herself for this. Been trying to make excuses for and about Hiccup whilst wrestling with anger at him for being… him. The second she saw a glimpse of a man she could spend her life with, she jumped on it. She embraced it. She chose to support this future for Berk and chose to romance him at the same time because they were going to be married anyway.

Thank you @nerusofrin for FINALLY finding an explanation for that rush of character. Just in time for the third installment ;)

#HTTYD #Hiccstrid #Astrid Hofferson #httyd deviation #httyd au #betrothed au #nerusofrin #Thank you for asking #betrothal #marriage #tbh this is the only betrothal story i want with these two #Astrid appreciation #am i still salty? hell yes #and i will be and continue to defend Astrid to the end

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slavicviking · 5 years

Note

For the Fanfic Mash Up. 25 & 33 for Hiccstrid!

Fairy Tale AU + Baby Fic

A fairy tale with a hiccup, one might say (*badumtss*)

it’s like we’re in a fairy tale (but slightly to the left)

“I am here, thy princess, to, uh,” a young man slides down the sleeve of his shirt and squints at the smudged letters written over his arm. “Fear no more as I-”

“Laddie, you missed a turn, ” a pulp woman of about forty buts in, hands on her hips, as she opens the door. “Seventh mountain?”

“Um. Yes?”

“That’s the sixth,” she informs him with a small smile tugging at her lips. “You need to go pass the magic forest first, son.”

“Oh. Oh gods. I am so sorry-”

The woman waves her hand, snorting a laugh. “You’re the third one this week, lord…? Prince…?”

“Uh, Haddock. Hiccup. The Third,” He pauses. “Prince.”

“Well, Haddock Hiccup The Third Prince, let me invite you in,” she chuckles when his eyes widen, mouth slightly agape. “I have cookies.”

***

I am here thy princess as I - no.

I am here to save - ugh. No. All of the no.

Fear no more because - most definitely not.

Hiccup sighs and crosses another phrase out. Mentally. In his head. Because he’s many feet above the ground, hands on the saddle, with the wind slapping his face with the his hair, and that is so not the environment for actually writing out phrases that will get him probably knived by the princess’s father, if not by the princess herself. Hiccup definitely, though, thinks that the “Ten Ways to Charm Your Cursed Beloved” book he got from Snotlout needs a quick swim in the sea below him.

Instead he slumps his shoulder and concludes, “This is so dumb.”

Toothless, the Night Fury (and also his best friend - Hiccup doesn’t do things halfways), rumbles below in concern - for Hiccup’s sanity, probably.

“Don’t worry, bud,” he reaches forward to pat the dragon’s scaly head. “We’ll get there.”

Which, okay, sounds promising enough, but the last few weeks (years, really) has taught him that there’s the normal way to go around doing stuff, and there’s Hiccup’s way. So when the king, and also his father (not the best combination, but there had been worse - like Snotlout and spiced mutton last Snoggletog and the incident which they do not talk about) told him Hiccup’s time to embark on a journey to save a princess had come, he was, uh, sceptical.

All he had to do was travel through the seven valleys, seven rivers and seven mountain, defeat the dragon, save the princess. It was a nice, simple plan - he even had a bullet point list and all. His distant cousin, Prince Charming did it, so why couldn’t he?

Well…

So he got lost, maybe.

He got lost three time, maybe. But who’d keep a record of things like that? Except Snotlout, that is, but Snotlout is approximately seven mountain, seven hills and six rivers away. Unless he’s lurking. Hiccup looks around just in case - Snotlout likes to lurk.

Somewhere between the second and the third hill, though, Hiccup stumbled upon a town. Quite literally, too, because he managed to trip and fall over an old pig that laid itself in the middle of the road. Apparently the town, the name of which he had long forgotten, had a trouble with a pesky dragon and Hiccup, the smart person that he is, decided he could change up the order of his mission a little bit and slay the dragon first.

He befriended him, instead. Yes, him, not it.

Not that Hiccup would want it any other way. Toothless proved to be an amazing companion, a true friend through many trials along the way from there on, and Hiccup’s been… happy, just happy, and that’s something new and quite exciting, really.

So he didn’t find the princess’s home effortlessly, he didn’t slay any dragons. The castle (the right one this time), doesn’t look anything like the brochure either, but he shouldn’t be surprised. It’s a bit old and rusty but it has character, Hiccup can tell. No angry dragon has appeared so far and Hiccup’s glad. However much he thinks dragon training is a good gig, it’s also time-consuming and he’s already weeks behind on his imaginary schedule.

A single tower stands a little off to the side, looking innocent enough, and Hiccup nudges Toothless to bring him closer. He hangs off the saddle and jumps in, cursing at his knees; he could never stick the landing the right way. He dusts off his trousers and straightens up, only to pause.

So.

There’s a baby.

The spacious bed in the middle of the room looks comfortable enough, clean and with colorful cushions thrown casually over the blankets. And on one of the pillows, there sits a baby. To be fair, Hiccup doesn’t know a thing about children - the kid can be six or ten for all he knows. She (he thinks it’s a she?) raises her arms and a smile splits across her pudgy cheeks.

“Guhh.”

Um.

Because what.

Hiccup rubs his jaw. “Uh.”

The baby looks happy to continue their monosyllabic conversation but then there’s an arrow swishing through the air, right above Hiccup’s head, and Hiccup is pretty sure that’s not the baby’s doing. He yelps and brings his hands close to his chest. He’s ducking as another arrow flies in his general direction, and he finds himself awkwardly flailing his arms in the air to shield the baby perched on one of the soft-looking pillows - the baby that is very, very amused by the whole situation. At least they both don’t have much of a self-preservation instinct.

“Touch her and I will gauge your eyes out,” Hiccup stops at the words and briefly looks at the baby as though the baby - she, as he found out - could have said that. He then turns around a little, towards where the arrows came from. It’s not his best idea. Probably.

He can’t decide whether the girl at the doors is more stunning or furious, probably the latter though. She has a crossbow shamelessly aimed his way. There’s a smirk dancing on her lips somewhere there but it’s overshadowed by the furrowed brow and a daring look in her eyes.

“That is,” Hiccup starts, straightening himself, and the crossbow follows his every move. “That is a misunderstanding, ma’am, and I-”

“You broke into our home,” the girl says easily, finger on the trigger. “Tried to abduct my niece.”

Hiccup doesn’t need a lawyer to know this looks bad.

So he quickly shoves out his hands and takes a step back, closer to the window. “No! No, no, definitely not, uh, doing that,” he silently sighs in relief when he notices Toothless waiting for him outside the window. Just a few more steps, and he’s out of here, never coming back, if he’s lucky. “As I said, this is just, heh, a misund-yeuh-!”

There’s a dragon at the window, and it’s most definitely not Toothless. The Deadly Nadder pushes herself inside just as Hiccup stumbles backwards, hands searching for something to protect himself with and coming short.

“Stormfly,” the girls says from behind him. “Stand still, girl.”

That’s enough for Hiccup to whip his head around. He stares at the blonde with the crossbow, and points to the dragon in the room. “She’s yours?”

The girl quirks an unimpressed eyebrow. “She may not be a Night Fury, but she’ll take your head off in two seconds. If you’d like to test that out-”

The Nadder squawks in agreement from the other side of the room.

He has no idea what’s going on. This is so far off the script, he really doesn’t know what he should do at this point. Except for maybe find a rock he can live under for the rest of his miserable life.

This. This, right here, is his life in a nutshell.

“So,” the girl starts, the crossbow twitching in her hand. “Who the hell are you?”

That’s a chance if he’s ever seen one, he decides. He can do this, he practiced this.

“I’m Prince Hiccup from Berk,” Hiccup tries to puff out his chest but that just makes him feel so much more awkward and out of place, so he rubus his shoulder instead. “and I, uh, traveled seven mountains, seven hills and seven rivers to-”

“It’s the eighth river then, dumbass,” the blonde cuts him off with a roll of her eyes. She lowers the crossbow, and prompts it on her shoulder like it’s not one of the deadliest weapons known to men, including the dragon standing across her.

“I-huh?”

When all he gets in response is a tilt of her head, he swallows. “Lady Oswaldson?” His stomach sinks when she just shakes her head, fighting off an amused grin. He sighs and mumbles under his breath. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

“Don’t tell me you got lost,” She’s biting her lower lip now but he can see the corners of her mouth quirked upwards.

“Nu-no!” Hiccup protest immediately, trying to hold onto what is left of his dignity. Apparently not much because the girl doesn’t look like she believes him at all. “Maybe.” He hangs his head. “Yes.”

She snorts. Loudly.

“Bah!” the baby butts in and Hiccup almost has a heart attack.

“Sorry, sweety,” the girl rushes in towards her niece. She unceremoniously slams the crossbow on the bed and kneels down to the baby’s level, leaving Hiccup to his internal life crisis. She coos. “Everything alright?”

“A-t’d,” the baby replies and apparently that’s the right thing to say because the blonde beams up at her and ruffles the baby’s light brown curls. Satisfied, she straightens up and turns back to Hiccup.

“So,” she cocks her hip and places a confident hand on her side. “Do you need directions, or…?”

Hiccup doesn’t reply, eyes on the ground. It’s not that he’s not excited at the prospect of traveling another day or two, and finding a princess that probably doesn’t even want him, and one that he most definitely doesn’t want, and - yeah, maybe that’s exactly it. Huh. Who would’ve thought.

“You’re not really good at this, are you?” he can hear a soft squeak of the bed as the mattress dips where the girl sits down. “You kind of suck, actually.”

He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting, and pretends he’s not behaving like a child. Or Snotlout on a good day.

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t,” she replies hotly and she’s rolling her eyes pointedly when Hiccup looks up at her. “What kind of bullshittery thinking is that?”

“My father-”

“Will understand?” she supplies with a raised eyebrow. “That maybe this is not what would make you happy? Not that I believe something like this could make anyone happy…”

He doesn’t like how much he likes what she’s saying and that’s, well, confusing for one. But also comforting, in a way he didn’t expect. She makes it seem so easy and effortless and he, well, he wants that - after so many weeks, he just want to not care, for once.

“Why don’t you take a break,” she suggests, nudging his arm with her elbow. Or maybe it’s the crossbow that is back in her hands. He’d like to believe it’s her elbow. “Just for today, and then you can decide whether you want to live in a cage or-”

“I don’t,” he replies quickly, and then immediately flushes because, wow, talk about desperate.

“Good. Then,” she stands up, crossbow indeed in her hands, and a glint of something in her blue eyes. “what about a walk? Get all that stuff in order in that too big head of yours.”

First of all - “Hey-!”

But then he grins because he’s pretty sure he just met the most amazing person in the kingdom, or maybe even the world, and he doesn’t know what else to do. So he grins a little wider.

“And I’d recommend that to be less niece-abduct-ary,” she adds, pulling up the crossbow. “Because, you know.”

“I-uhm, gah-!” is what escapes his mouth, more or less, and the girl laughs.

She shoves out her free hand, easily balancing the crossbow in her other one. He stares, amazed, because all he could ever do with a crossbow is fall over, and not even in an entertaining way. “Astrid.”

He stares at the hand, then at her.

Oh.

Right.

“Hiccup. The Third,” he stammers out, shaking her hand. “Prince. Haddock. I mean-”

“Just go,” and, just like that, she’s pushing him towards the staircase behind the doors. “Take the left turn at the first floor. You think you can do that for me?”

It takes him a second to realize what she’s implying. “Har-har, very funny.”

He’s halfway out the door when he pokes his head out again. “But Toothless-”

“Will stay with me and Stormfly,” Astrid tells him like it’s obvious and they didn’t just meet. Weirdly enough, he trusts her. Sure, a person, or two, or the entirety of Berk, might call Hiccup gullible at times, but this time he really does trust the girl in the tower.

He really hopes Toothless is not a pair of dragon boots by the time he’s back.

He isn’t, thank the gods.

He made quick friends with Stormfly, though, the traitor.

Hiccup huffs, pretend-annoyed, and slides a tentative hand down the Nadder’s baby blue snout. “You know, she really is beautiful.”

Astrid beams.

“So, wait, you tripped-”

“Who leaves a pig, unattended, on a busy street, Astrid?! Who?!”

“Oh my gods,” Astrid’s eyes widen and she stuffs her mouth with another cookie. “Those are amazing!”

Hiccup, with his mouth equally full, nods enthusiastically. “It’sh from a lady f’om the cashtle at sheven hillsh, sheven riv’rsh and shix mountainsh.”

“Ha!” at Hiccup’s wide eyes and astounded expression, Astrid chuckles, cheeks flushed pink just a little. She jabs his arm with a finger. “I knew it! I knew you’ve gotten lost before!”

Hiccup squints, slowly munching on the rest of his cookie. “Shut up, Ashtrid.”

She doesn’t.

He’s really, really glad she doesn’t.

Hope you enjoyed!

You wanna request a drabble thingy? Hit me up and I’ll do my best c:

#httyd fanfiction #hiccstrid #hiccstrid fanfiction #httyd #httyd au #my writing #i tried to be funny

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luckycheesefoodie321 · 5 years

Text

I’m about to unleash a LONG review of HTTYD3: The Hidden World RIDDLED with spoilers sooooo... (this is probably trash, it’s been several days since i started this so idk the flow and my thought process was a mess but i better post this now before i forget)

Spoiler free review: 9/10, I did cry, personally felt it was on par with HTTYD2 butttt I like it in a different way to HTTYD2... the animation? ferguckin’ gorgeous, there are fracking LEVELS to the beauty of the Hidden World (the actual place and the movie)...and Astrid’s hair??? mmmm yeah goals

OK SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT (and it looooong yall)

Ok so time to explain the 1/10:

the flow wasn’t as smooth?? as it could have been... it all made sense why things happened and where the motivations came from but...the transitions from sequence to sequence seemed...a little disjointed??? there were parts (maybe it was because i had a kid with me so I got distracted in like two parts) where I was like “oh wait something is happening?? oh wait no yeah I get it sure...so it took me second to realise how one scene got to the other (but again that might’ve been because i was distracted.)...and as a result of the slightly jarred flow, the pace seemed a little disrupted??? maybe it’s just me wanting more, but it felt like things could’ve been a bit...meatier??

also, this was a very Hiccup and Toothless film (I mean obviously, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I intend to discuss how great it is later), and so it sorta left little fulfilment or finality for the side characters...they all had their moments sure, and somewhat of an end, but i feel like just a minute here and there more to give them a more satisfying character ending would’ve been nice...

NOW ONTO THE 9/10, and since we’re here already, let’s talk side characters

OUR DRAGON SQUAD

Tuffnut finally got a chance to shine for more than a second of screentime, and while he remained the comedic relief he’s always been (in the films, haven’t seen the shows or short films), it was fun to see him branch out and engage with Hiccup directly...the continuous through-line of him and his beard and trying to impart wisdom on Hiccup was great... Ruffnut also got some solid screentime and she finally made her choice of man (when really she didn’t have any for reasons I will explain later) and “accepted” Fishlegs...but idk didn’t care about that, her scene when she was “captured” by Grimmel was fantastic...Kristen Wiig delivered perfectly from intonation to comedic timing, loved her work!

Snotlout...I literally had to pause a few seconds just now after typing his name bc *sigh*...we all know Snotlout’s has mild braggadocio...he spitting words with no follow through...annnd that doesn’t much change??? He’s still trying to front and compete with Hiccup and then Eret, and that was originally his charm point...but I would’ve liked to see him find validation in himself rather than an intentional compliment from Valka...and speaking of Valka??? Snotlout just latching onto the closest woman likkkkeeee Snotlout calm down you’re like 40 years younger than her??? maybe not 40 but point is Valka is a badass dragon momma who really isn’t going your way...I just wanted Snotlout to have his moment...

Fishlegs...yeah he was all dragon daddy carrying his baby Gronkle around and also enjoying his baby Gronkle and that big dragon’s friendship...also Ruffnut has claimed him...bc Snotlout is chasing Valka...so there’s no real option for her (she moved on from Eret and her self-confidence is kinda dope)

HOMIE ADULTS

Eret, son of Eret...I wanted more of him...he just hanging around making passing comments and being the knowledgeable other about Grimmel...and then he had a little something something implied with Gobber??? they had some scenes that had me side-eyeing hardcore... Gobber basically has the same relationship he had with Stoick, but with Hiccup...general calling him out, questioning his lack of planning...just sorta done with everything...true sassy queen...and also yeah him and Eret??? suss

Valka, my queen, my dragon wizard lord who floats through the clouds... maintains her badassery and voice of wisdom role but again steps back to make way for Hiccup and Toothless...and she encouraged Snotlout, for which I am not down...like sure support him but ugh you know he’s into you so just...just...no

MAIN CHARACTERS

Grimmel...definitely a more fleshed out villain than the Red Death and Drago...not necessarily a complex villain, but he was a lot smarter and impacted Hiccup in a way the other two didn’t...rather than using blood and fire to cut to Hiccup’s core, he lured Toothless away and forced Hiccup into a sobering reality that he and Toothless can’t always be together...that said, his “death” was kinda lame...could’ve had more of a bang than probably drowning

The Light Fury was used in an interesting way...she’d already been captured and was used as bait, not just stumbled upon in the wilderness as I had assumed from the trailers...I enjoyed how she was so clearly a wild dragon...from the way she responded to Toothless and his attempts at flirting, spurred him to tap into his true potential and abilities that Valka had alluded to in HTTYD2, to how she always trying to get him to come away into the sky and away from the humans...that said I love how she gradually warmed up to Hiccup...not in the way Toothless did, but in a way where you knew she acknowledged that Hiccup was someone who was important to Toothless, and had no desire to harm her or other dragons and the fact she was the one who saved both Toothless and Hiccup at the end was great...

Astrid, once again, is the only one (aside from Valka, and apparently Eret) with any real sense, both common and fighting...she’s kept to her roots as a skilled fighter in her own right, as opposed to the others relying heavily on their dragons...her chemistry with Hiccup continued to be adorable and flirtatious and pure and wholesome and with all the mad banter...her being so firm against being married so quickly bouncing off Hiccup’s clearly apparent willingness to tie the knot was an adorable under-plot...her character was probably the most consistent of all the characters imo...and she got a fulfilling ending...plus once again, her hair, ESPECIALLY IN THE WEDDING SCENE WAS SO FRIGGEN GORGEOUS AND BEATS ALL ANIMATED HAIR EVER

And now the boys of the hour, Hiccup and Toothless

This was a Hiccup and Toothless film. No side story about his mom and dad, no arbitrary villain just there to cause conflict. This was a film about two best friends in an increasingly complicated world realising that in order to tackle that world? They’d have to separate. It’s the same feeling as realising that the people you grew up with or the friends you made in school won’t be able to stay by your side anymore. You each have a path to take and it’s not one that can be shared...maybe run parallel at times but not the whole way. This is what our boys had to face.

I love love LOVED that there were sooo many parallels to the first movie...ugh to have that footage so I can count and display all the moments that just brought you back to all the charm and things you fell in love with in the first movie, but with more meaning, more stories to tell...it’s like when I saw Miley Cyrus sing The Climb again many many years after the Hannah Montana movie...there was suddenly more depth to her performance...this was the vibe I got..and it was obviously intentional in bringing so many parallels to the first movie...bringing the story full circle and all that, and of course it culminated in the most perfect moment, the moment that started us all on this journey...

BUT IN THE MOTHERFRACKING REVERSE!!! this was the moment that let those tears slip...I had gone in expecting to cry, but had far and away found myself having more fun and slowly accepting that maybe...maybe I wouldn’t cry in this movie...we got to the big goodbye, and I embodied my inner Jake Peralta and was like cool cool cool no tears yet, I can make it through and then BAM! they did the reverse hand touch and tears were spilled, and my friends were just watching me with unbridled glee in the dark as I got emotional...I’d been watching with increasing suspicion as moment after moment echoed the first movie, but somehow I didn’t realise they would do the reverse hand thing...maybe it’s because the hand thing had been embedded in every moment that Hiccup and the dragon riders encountered new dragons that I did not expect he would ever have to do it to Toothless again?? but in reverse???? because he was letting GO?!?!?!?!?! god it hit me hard...

But then a downside: they started to overuse it in the prologue-y sorta bit with the kids and meeting Toothless again...liiikkkeeee we already had that major impactful, emotional moment...why overuse it??? i would’ve much rathered they just gazed at each other for a bit before Toothless suddenly gives his signature toothless grin...or he swoops in and grabs Hiccup by the pegleg into the air, freaks everyone out, only to do the upside down grin thing- that would’ve been great...I mean they had that moment with the Light Fury but I wouldn’t have minded if they used that one again...

my mind is wandering and this probs doesn’t make any sense at this point sooo: the separation thing! good they established the over-reliance on the dragons and Hiccup’s thinking he can’t do well without Toothless, and Astrid, my QUEEN, coming in and telling him what’s what...and also not marrying him until he was more certain of himself because she knew if he wasn’t ready to face the world alone, he wasn’t ready to face the world with her (at least that’s my interpretation and again idk where I’m going with this thought process)...also love that Hiccup was lowkey jealous of the Light Fury...also also glad she never got a name...keeps her wild, as she should be...

I think this was definitely an incredible ending to an incredible trilogy of films...maybe not Toy Story perfect, but it was full of heart and emotion and continuously brought you back to all the wonder of the first film. Literally, there were so many parallels to the first film it was insane...while I talked about disjointed flow earlier, this incorporation of these callbacks was so well embedded, becoming just a natural proceeding of events...

I’m coming back to this review after several days so idk where I was going with this soooo just gonna wrap this up:

ASTRID’S WEDDING HAIR WAS GOALS. THE END.

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thanksfornothinguselessreptile · 5 years

Text

A Shifting World Chapter 10: Back to the Ship

First Chapter

<–Previous

Work Summary: Things have been going great since Hiccup and Toothless have defeated the Red Death. He has his father’s approval, a group of friends his own age, and is leading the integration of dragons and the Vikings of Berk. When neighboring tribes call together a meeting to discuss rumors of Vikings riding dragons, however, Stoick decides to keep their alliance with dragons under wraps. Hiccup must decide whether he should listen to his father or seek to teach the other Vikings of the archipelago the truths about dragons.

AO3

Rating: T

Characters: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stoick, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout

Pairings: Minor Hiccup x Astrid

Chapter Summary: The Thunderdrums are safe and everyone returns to the ship, but there are still a few loose ends that need tying up before reaching the Thing.

Chapter Warnings: Death Mention

Despite the hours of rest everyone got, by the time they left an hour past sunrise Hiccup still felt on the verge of slumping over on Barf and Belch’s back and taking a nap, chances of being pranked or not. He’d kind of expected it, since he’d been too worried to sleep after the rescue. Of course he’d been concerned about waking up to find the Thunderdrums gone or seeing the remaining enemy ships back for a second attack. But the thought of just how upset his father would be made those seem like the best-case scenario in comparison.

It’s kind of hard to get some rest when considering all the different ways you can be grounded.

Things had been going so well for the past few months. Stoick had been more patient and open with Hiccup ever since he’d woken up with a new leg and impact on his village, and when they talked it didn’t feel like they were two actors tasked with improvising when neither were good at it. But after this fiasco with him freeing the Thunderdrum behind his back, his father would be furious. Worried, yes. Furious, also yes. And for reasons that Hiccup could understand.

And he hadn’t even gotten the chance to get to the Thing and convince the Vikings dragons weren’t their enemies yet. Regardless of the outcome that would have, Stoick wouldn’t find Hiccup going against his wishes particularly amusing.

A warm and scaly nose bumped Hiccup’s hand, and he turned around, making sure he didn’t fall from Barf and Belch’s back.

Sure enough, Toothless was there. He was perched precariously on the small of the larger dragon’s back, crouched awkwardly in a struggle not to block the path of their wings.

“Are you okay?” Toothless’s head was tilted, his mouth set into a large frown.

Hiccup forced a smile and hoped that it wasn’t a sad one. “Yeah, bud. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’d be worried if I were you.” Hiccup straightened out to glare at Tuffnut. He was half-turned around, a big smile on his face. “Stoick’s going to be so upset.”

“I know, right?” Ruffnut was sitting up straight, looking thrilled. “He might even yell louder than when we go yak-tipping!”

Tuffnut puffed up in indignation. “Wait, are you implying that Hiccup might break our record?” He placed a hand on his chest. “Unbelievable.”

Toothless snapped his jaws together, clacking his teeth in a bite to the air. Hiccup had seen dragons do this when they, or other dragons nearby, were squabbling. He guessed it was something of a rebuke to be quiet.

Hiccup reached out to pat Toothless’s shoulder to calm him down. “I wouldn’t be so sure he won’t be yelling at you, too. He seemed pretty angry when Toothless told us you had snuck off after us.”

“Toothless, you traitor!” Tuffnut threw out an accusatory finger at him, clutching at his helmet as if in disbelief.

Toothless’s response was simply to roll his eyes.

“I don’t know, bro.” Ruffnut shook her head, looking overly serious. “I don’t think he’s supposed to be here, either. Hey, maybe he’ll be the one breaking our record.”

As the twins starting arguing over who’d break whose record, a squabble that seemed to warrant multiple punches and kicks and more than one near-fall from the dragon, Hiccup tried to screen them out and focus on how beautiful the sunrise was.

It didn’t really work out well.

Since Barf and Belch were carrying three humans and Toothless on his back, and the blue Thunderdrum was flying with the purple one on his, it took a while to reach the ship. When they did, though, Hiccup had to wince. All the oars were out and churning the water at full speed, and the ship seemed to be headed in the direction the blue Thunderdrum had taken Hiccup.

As they approached, though, the rowers stopped and the anchor lowered. Even from a distance, he could see those onboard running to the side of the ship to see what was happening.

Hiccup didn’t need a spyglass to see the tallest Viking with the reddest beard was among them, and didn’t look happy.

Grounded for sure.

Barf and Belch led the way down to the ship in a calm but gentle descent, while the Thunderdrums followed more warily. Toothless bumped Hiccup’s shoulder to get his attention, then glanced at his back. Following the unspoken direction, he climbed onto the Night Fury’s neck, right where his harness would be if he were wearing it. The moment the Zippleback drew close enough to the Hooligans’ ship, Toothless leaped clear during a downstroke of their wings, clearing several heads and landing on an empty space of deck. Hiccup slid down and off his shoulders, feet meeting wood with an empty “thunk.”

The moment the ship steadied after Toothless’s landing, the twins leapt onboard as well. For all the clumsiness of their brawling, they landed on the handrail as surefootedly as cats. Their back now clear, Barf and Belch splashed down into the ocean next to the ship, the boat not being large enough to support their weight.

Getting the purple Thunderdrum onto the deck was more complicated. Thunderdrums weren’t exactly known for jumping with their small legs, and with his wing injured there was no way for him to glide clear. Ultimately, the blue one had to roll while over the ship and the purple one had to leap onto it at just the right time. The ship shook as if caught in a sudden but invisible storm, and Hiccup had to make a lunge to the railing to keep his feet. He consoled himself with the fact that most other Vikings had to latch onto handholds and each other as well. Stoick was among the few not affected. He stood in the middle of it all, feet planted firmly on the wood and watching the proceedings with a stern gaze.

The blue Thunderdrum made one large circle, then two, his eyes fixed on the Vikings below in a narrow glare. As they showed more interest in righting themselves and staring at the newcomers, he finally dove into the ocean and began to swim around the ship.

“Hiccup!”

The sound of Stoick approaching made Hiccup give a quick prayer to the gods for a quick and painless grounding. That done, he turned to face Stoick and gave him the smile that used to give his younger self a chance to get somewhat out of trouble. “Hey, Dad.”

Stoick’s expression didn’t change the slightest bit. “What were you thinking?” Stoick waved a hand in the general direction of the blue Thunderdrum. “Flying off on a wild dragon like that! You could’ve been killed!”

Hiccup winced. Definitely not lightening this punishment. “Yeah, sorry about that. But at least I wasn’t, right?”

Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose. The gesture covered most of his face not already hidden by beard. “By Odin’s ghost, son, you need to stop being so… so reckless, and acting like risking your life is fine.”

Hiccup swallowed, hoping the motion would help with the sudden feeling that some invisible force was constricting his throat. “I’m sorry, Dad.” And he was, he really was. He knew he wouldn’t change a thing even if he could, but even so, he didn’t mean to worry or disappoint Stoick in the process.

Stoick glanced around at the twins, Barf and Belch, the Thunderdrums. His expression didn’t relax, but Hiccup felt grateful that at least he didn’t look angrier.

“Hey, Chief!” Tuffnut waved at him cheerily, as if he was an old friend who’d bumped into him on the street rather than having been caught following the ship against unspoken orders. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Ruffnut glanced around at the ship. “Love what you did what this place. The scratches in the hull really sell the whole Viking look.”

“So how much trouble are we in?” If this was anyone else, they’d be sounding nervous and on the edge of running away. But this was Tuffnut. He sounded almost eager to be yelled at.

“Oh, a lot.” Stoick’s voice had lowered in volume, but no less angry.

Ruffnut leaned over to bump helmets with her brother in triumph, causing Stoick to sigh so much that if the sail had been raised they probably could’ve sailed all the way to the Thing on it.

“What even made you all think that this–” Stoick gestured at the Thunderdrums, the Zippleback, the Night Fury, and the twins “–was a good idea?”

Hiccup had thought he’d been nervous talking to the Thunderdrums. It turned it that they had nothing on Stoick. But he stepped forward. “I figured out that the Thunderdrum was in trouble.” He explained his and Toothless’s reasoning, and how it led to their decision to leave the ship. He made sure not to mention Astrid at all, in case Stoick was upset at her too. Not that he wanted any of the other lookouts punished for not noticing their departure, but she shouldn’t pay for his decision.

He also kept the part about the Thunderdrum’s betrayal rather vague as well, but from the thunderous look on Stoick’s face as he glanced in the blue Thunderdrum’s direction, he wasn’t quite sure how successful he was about that. But when Hiccup reached the part about the ships, Stoick spoke up, his expression troubled rather than stern.

“What tribe?” His gaze was unsettling, like he was looking through Hiccup rather than at him.

Hiccup shrugged and tried to swallow down any nervousness. “I don’t know. They looked like Viking ships, but they had no images on their sails, and they didn’t look like any I’ve ever seen.”

“No clue here either.” Tuffnut shrugged, the motion loose and fluid. Hiccup couldn’t tell how he or Ruffnut could be so relaxed under the circumstances.

Ruffnut shook her head. “They were pointy,” she offered.

Hiccup nodded. “They had spikes everywhere.” Stoick’s gaze snapped back at him, his attention back to him rather than some mental image. “And dragon skulls on their stemposts.”

“Outcasts.” Stoick’s voice was almost a growl. He turned his glare to the horizon, as if searching for them.

“Oh, Thor.” Fishlegs’s voice cut through the tense silence. Hiccup silently agreed with the sentiment. The Outcasts were the archipelago’s most hated residents, more even than dragons, and for good reason. Formed from Vikings who’d committed crimes too heinous to punish merely with imprisonment but not extreme enough for execution, they carried god-sized grudges against their former kin for casting them out.

Spitelout scoffed. “Outcasts don’t usually come out here just to hunt dragons.” He raised an eyebrow at Stoick, his arms crossed against his chest. “You sure they aren’t lying?”

Stoick turned to face Spitelout, his shoulders raised in anger. “You calling my son a liar?”

Spitelout stepped back, though the belligerent expression on his face didn’t change. “I’m not saying Hiccup is, but the Thorston twins?” He nodded at them.

“Normally you’d be right, but not this time.” Tuffnut raised his hand as if swearing an oath.

“And anyways, if you accuse us of lying when Hiccup is saying the same thing, aren’t you still saying he’s lying?” Ruffnut squinted at Spitelout.

Spitelout snorted, but didn’t respond.

“If those Outcasts are still in the area, then we’re in deep trouble.” Stoick rubbed at his head, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but there. “If they’re out hunting dragons, they’ll be heavily armed. More armed than we are. And with this becalming, we’re sitting ducks.” He glanced at Toothless, who was watching him with a head tilted with sympathy. “It seems that we’ll have to ask your dragons to stick around in case they decide to test their luck.”

“So does that mean we’re not getting sent back?” Ruffnut asked, her eyes narrowed.

Stoick sighed. “No. It’s too dangerous to risk sending you both back with your dragon alone, especially if Outcast dragon hunters are in the area.” Before she or Tuffnut could react, he pointed at the two of them, glaring so sharply Hiccup was surprised they didn’t flee at the sight. “But you aren’t to prank anyone or cause any trouble when we are at the Thing, or you’re going to be swabbing every ship in our harbor for the next five years. Every day. At dawn. On top of whatever your parents decide. Understand?”

Tuffnut gave him a salute, though any respect behind the gesture was undermined by how loose and sloppy it was. “Oh, yes, sir. We understand.”

Stoick stared at them for a moment longer before he decided the matter was out of his hands and sighed. He turned back to face Hiccup, face worn. “Hiccup, you and your friends are very lucky to be alive. You may have had the advantage of surprise on your side this once, but you cannot count on it next time. When we get back to Berk, you’re grounded. You understand?” There was no anger behind the words, just tiredness. Somehow that made it feel worse.

Hiccup nodded. “I understand.”

Stoick nodded and moved away. As he moved to the front of the ship, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut headed for Hiccup. Fishlegs fidgeted with his fingers giving Hiccup a look that was both concerned and sympathetic. Even Snotlout looked less confrontational than usual.

“Are you all right?” Astrid asked. She was staring at Hiccup as if expecting him to collapse at her feet.

Hiccup put on his most confident grin. He was pretty sure it looked more tired than he wanted it to. “Don’t worry, Astrid. I’m okay. I told you nothing would happen, right?”

She bit her lip. “Fighting Outcasts isn’t exactly nothing. I’m really glad that you’re okay.”

Ruffnut jabbed a finger at herself. “Hey, what about the people who actually did the heavy lifting?” she asked, though there wasn’t much heat in her words.

Astrid shook her head with her eyes raised to the skies, though Hiccup was sure he could see the corners of her mouth slightly raised in a barely unnoticeable smile. “I’m glad Barf and Belch are okay, too.”

A gurgling sound caught Hiccup’s attention. He glanced over at the side of the ship to see Barf and Belch watching them, their heads bobbing and faces set into draconic grins. Whatever they were saying, Hiccup couldn’t understand, but he could hear the mirth behind the burbles.

Ruffnut shrugged, any false annoyance immediately gone for amusement. “That’s fair.”

“I don’t mean to spoil the fun,” Snotlout said, speaking loud enough to interrupt even the twins, “but those Outcasts are still out there. You saving those dragons aren’t going to matter much if they find us floating out here, all alone.”

“I know.” Hiccup wished there’d been some way to drive them off and ensure that they’d never bother any human or dragon ever again. But while they’d been in the perfect position to kill the Outcasts and never have those ones, at least, hurting anyone else, it just didn’t feel right. Especially not while they were running.

“At the very least we’ll be safer at the Thing.” Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup’s shoulder. “My mom says that even tribes under a blood-feud will come to save each other from the Outcasts.”

“But we aren’t at the Thing, Astrid.” Fishlegs’s eyes darted from place to place, as if expecting an Outcast ship to rise directly from the waves. “And we’re becalmed.”

“You certainly aren’t becalmed.” Tuffnut leaned right into Fishlegs’s personal space, squinting as if trying to determine whether or not Fishlegs was really panicking. “You’re more…be-panicked.”

“Fishface is right.” Snotlout didn’t look at all happy with agreeing as he pointed toward Fishlegs. “You can’t predict a becalming, or when it ends. Do you have any bright ideas up your sleeve to get us moving?”

Ruffnut raised her hand. “One of us could get out and push the ship to the Thing.” Hiccup could swear that he saw her grin grow just the slightest bit as Snotlout opened his mouth to make some retort.

But the sound of water rippling distracted Hiccup. He glanced over to see the blue Thunderdrum still circling the ship, surfacing every so often to cast a wary glance at the Vikings within. He was probably trying to keep an eye on them to make sure his friend wasn’t hurt.

His friend that he’d flown there on his back. A feat he’d managed because he was strong even for his species.

“Ruffnut, you’re right.” Hiccup didn’t realize he’d said that aloud until all his friends, even Ruffnut and Tuffnut, were staring at him with jaws at various states of dropped.

“Are you okay?” Astrid was the least surprised, but even she had an eyebrow raised.

Hiccup nodded. “Be right back.” And he headed for Stoick.

His father was still glaring at the horizon where Thing Island must’ve been. But when Hiccup approached, he turned to face him. His face was still creased with stress, but Hiccup was thankful to see the frustration vanish at least somewhat as he saw him.

“Son, what’s going on?” Hiccup could hear that behind the surprise, Stoick sounded tired. He must have been up for hours before sunrise, worrying about him.

“Do we have any rope?”

Stoick blinked, the sudden question confusing him. “Rope? We’re on a ship. We have probably have more than enough for whatever you need it for.” He narrowed his eyes, frowning. “Why?”

“Ruffnut just gave me an idea.” Hiccup didn’t want to steal credit for her idea, but from the suspicious look on Stoick’s face made him wonder if he should’ve kept quiet about who originated this plan.

“If this is for a prank…” Stoick placed a hand on his face.

Hiccup shook his head. “No, but I’ve got an idea for how to get to the Thing without the wind. At least for now.” He described the kind of rope they needed, a long and straight one, something strong that couldn’t easily be ripped through.

Stoick’s face flickered as his caution warred with hope. And then his eyes widened as he cast a quick glance at the blue Thunderdrum. “You think he’d be on board with the idea?”

Hiccup shrugged. “I don’t know, but it can’t hurt to try.”

He signaled Toothless over from where he’d been talking with the purple Thunderdrum before leaning over the side of the ship and waving to get the blue one’s attention. “Hey, bud, can you ask him if he’ll do us a favor and help tow the ship?”

Toothless leaned over and shared a few words with the Thunderdrum. From how back and forth it was, and how the Thunderdrum’s pupils narrowed, he had his reservations. But whatever they’d been, Toothless managed to put him at ease.

Meanwhile, Stoick managed to get ahold of some rope and tied them to the stempost as securely as Gordian’s knot. When he threw the resulting loop into the waves, the blue Thunderdrum hesitated. Then, with a snort, he dove after it. A moment passed, and then he surfaced, rope in hand. The ship rocked back and forth for a moment after the rope went taut, before moving in the direction that Stoick gestured.

Cheers filled the air, even as the rowers went back at their job with twice the effort.

All the energy seemed to drain from Hiccup’s body, and he found himself resisting a yawn. It’d been a long night, after all.

But before he could properly considering finding someplace quiet to lie down and take a nap, a hand descended on his shoulder to get his attention. He glanced over to see Stoick looking at him, his expression serious.

“I’m glad you came back all right, son.” Stoick’s voice was deep with what could only been relief. “When I woke up and found that you, Toothless, and the Thunderdrum were gone…” He glanced out at the horizon.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” He hadn’t expected it to get so dangerous, but he couldn’t walk away when the Thunderdrum needed help. And he knew that Stoick wouldn’t have either. As much as his father was intent on only concentrating on protecting their own, he wouldn’t sit and do nothing about people who needed help who were right in front of them, either.

Stoick nodded. “I know, I know.” He tugged at a lock of his beard. “And I am proud that you stood up for what you believed in. Though I would have preferred if you hadn’t jumped into such a dangerous situation with both feet.” He glanced over at Hiccup, a wry look on his face. “And before you say it, yes, I’m aware one of them’s a prosthetic.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh a little, barely audible even to himself. “Am I that predictable?”

Stoick shook his head and laughed himself. “Well, you can't have that, can you?”

Hiccup grinned. “Someone’s got to keep you on your toes. Can’t let you get too bored with your chiefing.”

For a moment, they both laughed. Hiccup couldn’t help but relax. He’d made a big deal out of nothing, worrying about how upset Stoick would be.

But after a few moments of silence, Stoick cleared his throat. “But still, take better care of yourself, Hiccup.” He glanced at Hiccup, and Hiccup could’ve sworn his face looked more worn and wrinkled than he’d seen it. “The gods were kind with you this time. You cannot always count on having their favor.”

Hiccup shrugged. “I know. But I had to do something.” He couldn’t just ignore a dragon that needed help, even if he refused to admit he needed it.

Stoick nodded and exhaled, as he glanced out toward the dragon. “And you really came through for him and his friend today. But as much as I’m glad you resolved the situation as well as you did, it could’ve gone so much worse.”

Hiccup shrugged. “It’s an occupational hazard.”

Stoick’s shoulders tensed, just a little, and Hiccup could’ve sworn he saw something like regret pass through his eyes. “You may be willing to lay down your life for peace, son, but your life is too dear a price to pay for the first stranger you find who needs help. Too dear for me, yourself, Gobber, your friends.” He ran a hand down his face, and Hiccup could’ve sworn the gesture made him seem older, his face more creased, his hair and beard duller. “Understand?”

Hiccup nodded. “I’ll try.”

“You will.” It had all the air of a command. Hiccup couldn’t see even a god disobeying an order in that voice.

“Okay.” He nodded and looked out to the blue Thunderdrum, still pulling away at the rope.

It occurred to him that he’d never learned his name, or his friend’s.

He turned to Toothless, who’d been standing to the side with a tilted head and wide, almost sad eyes fixed on both him and Stoick. “Hey, bud, did you happen to catch those guys’ names?”

Toothless nodded. The grave contemplation turned to an expression that was more thoughtful.

First, he gestured at the purple Thunderdrum. He was currently settled toward the back of the ship, gazing at the Vikings going about their business with a wary curiosity. And he wasn’t the only one doing any observation; Fishlegs stood not too far away, staring at the dragon as if this was the only time he’d ever get to see a Thunderdrum up close.

Toothless made a sound that Hiccup hadn’t learned the meaning of, which brought his attention back to the Night Fury. The moment Hiccup was looking back at him, Toothless spun in a circle and repeated the word.

“Spin?” he guessed.

If that wasn’t the word, it was close enough, because Toothless immediately said something else. It wasn’t a word that they’d covered yet, but when Toothless extended his left wing, Hiccup didn’t need to guess.

“Spin Wing?” No, that sounded a bit clunky. What Norse word was the same as spin? “Whirlwing?” Much better, with the added bonus of wordplay.

Toothless nodded. It must’ve been a good enough translation.

“Okay, so his name is Whirlwing.” Stoick nodded, and from how creased around his eyes he got Hiccup assumed that he was committing it to memory. “And what is his name?” He turned to face the blue Thunderdrum.

Apparently, his name was harder to translate to Norse. Toothless hummed and half-closed his eyes, an ear twitching as if it’d suddenly gotten an itch. But finally, he perked up as if struck by lightning.

Whatever Hiccup was expecting, it wasn’t Toothless bounding across the deck and peering over the rails at the shields hanging on the sides, as much for decoration as for transport. He glanced at a couple before batting at one at about the ship’s midpoint.

Hiccup reached the shield and pulled it over the rails. It was a solidly built shield, a bit worn from the elements, but fine nonetheless. Painted on it in fading colors was a representation of Thor. Or rather, just his face, frozen in a dramatic yell that made it look like he was about to sink his teeth into the metallic center of the shield. Sparks of lightning flew from his mouth at whatever had gotten him so angry. The fact that metal didn’t make a good meal, perhaps.

“Thor?” Stoick asked, his nose crinkling up.

Apparently, Toothless wasn’t quite happy with the translation, but he nodded anyway, so it must’ve been the closest equivalent. At least, one which wouldn’t require hours upon hours of Dragonese lessons to get to a point where he could explain.

Toothless then brushed his paw on the bolts of lightning coming from Thor’s mouth.

“Thor Lightning?” A bit excessive, if you asked Hiccup.

Toothless wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. “No.” He then blew out a mouthful of air and beat his wings, creating a cold gust of rotting-fish-scented wind.

“Thor Thunderstorm?” Stoick sounded like he was raising an eyebrow at that one.

Toothless hummed. It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no, either. And not close enough to get a “That’ll do.”

As Hiccup wondered what could possibly be the dragon’s name, Toothless spun in a circle again.

“Thor Cyclone?” Hiccup was relieved to see Toothless shift more toward the “That’ll do” end of the spectrum.

“Thornado.”

At Stoick’s voice, Toothless nodded. It looked like wordplay was going to be the naming scheme for these dragons, at least with their Norse translations.

“Huh.” He nodded at the dragon. “Fits him, at least.” He said this begrudgingly, and Hiccup could tell that it would take him some time to forgive him for attacking the ship, and for probably sinking the other one.

Hiccup supposed that he couldn’t complain, as long as Stoick was okay with the dragons hitching a ride until they could be taken back to Berk for medical attention.

He just hoped he’d be as understanding when he revealed the truth about dragons to the other tribes.

Next–>

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