Chapter Text
This is berk.
The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere. Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock packs more than a few surprises. The scent of salt and wood smoke may be overwhelming but, oh, you will get used to it. Life here is amazing. Well that is for most, just not for the fainted heart. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues and our pride.
And my life?
It was just about to get started, or flying?
.
The horn sounded every morning to signal the vikings it was time to get up and get on with their ‘todays’. Far up the hill lives a very well-respected and honorable chief, Stoick the Vast, he led many battles and showed his worth to be in control of Berk.
However, his only son was quite the opposite.
He goes by ‘Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III’, short form, ‘ Hiccup ‘. He is scrawny and has no ambition or vikingness in him. Constantly compared to his father and ‘friends’, Hiccup became more self-aware and conscious of what he does. Whatever he does, he always gets glared at, turned down and completely ignored. What can the title of being the chief’s son even do if he couldn’t even get the chance to earn the respect from his future followers?
He couldn’t be anything but helpless and useless.
Just a walking, talking fishbone.
Right now, he stands awkwardly in the mass of other children his age, trapped in the arena.
Okay, that may be an exaggeration but he really wants to get out of this place.
“Alright vikings, today will be about defending against a Hideous Zippleback, grab your weapons and prepare, ye!”
Hiccup internally shivered, gulping down his saliva before walking over to the weaponry deck along with the rest. He grabs a dagger and a shield and walk back until someone decided to make a mock out of him,
“Well isn’t that cute? Hiccup with his tiny toy and a shield big enough to cover his whole tiny frame!”
And there goes Snotlout, the ever egoistic thick-headed guy that is unfortunately his cousin and also someone who could never hold the weight of his words. Insulting him once brings him to tears immediately.
Crouching down to Hiccup’s height and acting all pony about his taunt, but someone cuts to the chase and shuts him up.
“Just shut up and let’s get started.”
Ah.
Astrid. Hofferson. The best viking out of the whole bunch and wow, she’s just so cool. She shoved Snotlout aside and swung her axe up into both her hands, getting into a fighting stance. She was so bold and confident enough to not bring or need a shield and no one could blame her for that, we all recognized her fighting skills. No one could make a fool out of her for bringing a shield because she does not need one, she was the best of the best, and give her the mad respect for also being a girl. This era looked down on women too much and Astrid is definitely the right person to prove that stereotype wrong.
Hiccup flusters at the sight of the Hofferson, he has the biggest crush on her, well at least second to Snotlout. He was constantly all over her and even causing fights between other vikings if they so, glanced at her. He even goes as far as proclaiming her as his, which is completely absurd and definitely making a plague out of him. But what could he do? He wished to do so much to push Snotlout away but he’s so weak.
Lost in his turmoil, he unconsciously backed up into the back of the crowd, too afraid to face the dragon head first.
A yell echoed and the gate wood-lock slipped out, releasing the dragon, however everyone was only met with dead silence. The gateway to hell still shut tight, caging the monster behind the seams.
“Hey, is it just me or isn’t this thing supposed to open?”
“Oh come on Ruffnut, let’s be thankful that we got our butts saved from all the labor of defeating a gassy dragon.”
Speaking of the devil, green gas started smoking through the seams of the gate below and flowed through the surroundings of the arena.
Pzzt.
A deafening explosion blew up and the gate slammed open to reveal two blobs of dragon heads darting left and right.
Everyone started backing up and relaxing their shoulders, a stance that signals that they were about to swing their maces or axes at a dragon.
Cries of young vikings and soon everything went downhill, going into a complete mess.
Hiccup ran in fear while the others charged forward.
He hated it.
Why, why, why?!
Why can’t he be brave?
When will he ever be recognized?
Will he ever be able to kill a dragon?
.
The battle was over however everyone failed to complete the task other than Hiccup.
The instructor was furious but was assessing everything and he could see the potential of some.
“Ye guys were supposed to defend! Not charged in mindlessly, are you crazy?!”
“Oh come on, we were all gonna die if we didn’t!” Snotlout bit back.
“You mean just you right.” Astrid responded.
“The only one who actually listened to my words was none other than the chief’s son! Don’t you feel embarrassed?!” The instructor yelled while brashly pointing at Hiccup, as though he was being accused of something he did wrong.
“Well duh, he’s good at running away from things.” Ruffnut cackled.
The instructor sighed exasperatedly and dismissed the class, knowing that nothing would’ve mattered and registered in those young vikings’ heads.
Hiccup walked away defeatedly and towards the blacksmith, the only place he feels most confident in but not even the bare minimum to feel proud of himself. It feels like slavery working there everyday, supplying the village for the weekly war against the dragons’ raids. Well whatever, he was going to die being a disappointment either way.
It was hitting early dawn, everyone in the village was tired and were ready to retire back into their huts and sleep away the time to the next day to repeat the next cycle. When the sound of piercing wind came and…
“NIGHT FURY! GET DOWN!!” Someone managed to breath out.
Pow.
The catapult burst into splinters and was on fire, lowering their offenses. All vikings that are experienced got in line and in battle format, ready to defend their island with their lives. Hiccup wanted to join and help, eager to prove his worth, eager to prove he’s not useless, wanting to take this welcomed opportunity to change his life.
“Oh no-no, you don’t. You stay here with me unt-” The main and the one of the two only blacksmiths in Berk, right man of Stoick the Vast, whom is Gobber, stopped Hiccup instinctively when he was immediately interrupted with a rumble over the roof of the iron fort that holds the workshop. Worried, he grabbed his weapon, pushing Hiccup back into his corner, ordering him to stay here and not to act, at all.
Too bad, ‘Horrendous’ exists in his name.
Grabbing his newly-made invention that he has been spending months inventing, he rushed out with a cart carrying it and towards an empty cliff, skillfully dodging the fire bullets coming from the air full of many dragons.
He swiftly started setting up everything, not wasting another second.
He invented a manual catapult that has ten times more recoil compared to larger and heavier catapults. He invented it to fit his frame so he could carry it and use it easily without lifting heavy rocks, which could probably result in a scoliosis diagnosis.
Tonight.
He will catch a dragon.
The familiar and eerie sound of air-piercing wind came again. The dragon could hardly be seen, camouflaged in the dark, scales’ pitched black as the night, wrapping in the night’s ‘warmth’. However, Hiccup has a keen eye sight and managed to spot it from the moonlight reflecting off its scales. He steadily maneuvered his self-made weaponry at it and,
Fwop-shhhhh…
A dragon cry sounded and Hiccup took a second to register what he just did before leaping into the air in victory,
“I caught a dragon!”
.
Hiccup made it back to the iron fort unnoticed and placed back his items before packing up for the day, he looked around and saw the island half-burned. He felt more bold now. He felt more at ease for the village for he had shot down a dragon. Hiccup wondered what species he shot down though.
He was busy in his thoughts when suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder and turned him around,
“Son.”
Ah.
Here’s the mighty Stoick the Vast, his father, and said father is glaring daggers at his already thin frail body, knowingly what he did just now.
His fur coat slightly burned and some stains of charred wood particles were found nearly everywhere on his body. Eyes, embodying many emotions, looking down below at his son, Hiccup.
“Where did you go?”
He questioned, however his tone gave off how uninterested he was in knowing. It honestly felt he was just obliging to his fatherly duties over his son, but Hiccup was high on adrenaline and just blabbered.
“Dad! You wouldn’t believe it but I caught a dragon! You need to follow me tomorrow, we can go find it together tomorrow! We can hangout after so lo—”
Stoick just looked uninterested, his face was just deadpanning as he waved his hand dismissively, and sweeped on his feet to head out.
“Nevermind. You’re grounded, return to the hut and stay there to tidy up the place for tomorrow.”
Hiccup just jerked backwards, flailing his arms and shot back an exasperated expression.
“What. Dad, you haven’t even heard me out yet!”
Stoick continued striding forward, eager to leave the scene.
“Hiccup. I will not tolerate any more of your nonsense, listen to me now or I’ll extend this period from a day to three.”
Hiccup chased after him and blocked him from the front, before complaining,
“Why won’t you just listen to me first?! Dad, have you ever once thought of listening to your one and only son other than the village? Just think about it, we hardly ever talk as if we’re not even father and son, maybe we’re better off being strangers as if that’d make a difference. So—”
“Hiccup Haddock. Shut your yak dunk mouth and retreat back into the hut. As you suggest, maybe we should just be ‘strangers’, so as chief and not your father, I command you to do so.”
Stoick repeatedly jabbed his finger into Hiccup’s chest, emphasizing the difference between them.
Hiccup was flabbergasted and emotionally hurt, he pushed past his father and ran back home, if he could even call it one now, with tears threatening to spill.
‘Oh for Thor’s sake, why? Why do I have to pay the price for one thing for another? Can’t I have both? I hate everything.’
He dragged his feet towards his hut, or their hut. It doesn’t even feel like home for him anymore.
Hiccup hovered his feet over one of the steps to his hut and paused,
“The dragon. Maybe if I brought back its head, people would believe me! Yes, that’s it!”
Hiccup mumbled to himself, his eyes glistening at the idea as he turned around and ran the other direction towards the forest.
Hours passed and Hiccup was starting to get lost and was about to give up. Tree branches scraped his arms and twigs were tangled in his hair, making him look like a mess.
‘Maybe the dragon got away, ugh. I knew my trap wouldn’t wo-’
Thoughts cut off when he heard a low rumble from his left.
He flinched and quickly hid behind a tree before slowly poking his head out from behind the tree.
Nothing in his sight?
He crept slowly towards the sound as he tried to get over the huge rock blocking his way when he caught a glimpse of a black dragon.
Grrrr…
It was a dragon. It was real and alive enough to shock Hiccup back to reality. He pressed his body against the rock, slowly getting back on his feet to take another look at the dragon.
Matte black wings, wider and bigger than its own black scaly anatomy, the whole dragon is just plain black but uniquely majestic like it belonged in the night.
Wait. Night? It couldn’t be..
“A Night Fury.”
Hiccup eyes glanced over the dragon’s body from its tail to its wing to its paws trapped in his net and to its awakened face.
Wait.
Awakened?
‘I-it’s awake!!’
Hiccup jumped at the sight of the bright emerald eyes but was quickly mesmerized by it and the whole situation.
He caught not just any dragon but a Night Fury, how amazing was that!
Hiccup started laughing and boldly came up to the dragon to put his foot on its head.
“I can’t believe it, I just caught a Night fury! I am the bravest and strongest Viking, who ever–WHA?!”
The Night Fury growled and shoved its paw under Hiccup’s feet, making him nearly fall on his back.
Hiccup staggered and backed up a little before furrowing his brows and trying to concentrate his fury on the dragon.
“I..I’m a viking! I’ll take your head and be the best viking ever!”
Hiccup’s shaken hands reached out to his puny dagger and daringly pointed at the Night Fury before lingering his armed hands over the neck of the dragon.
Muttering vile stuff on how he's going to kill the dragon as he started making frantic gestures, swinging his arms in order to remove the tension in his bones.
He took a deep breath but could not help but take one more look at the very mysterious and wonderful dragon. Big emerald eyes stared back at him and he couldn’t help but melt at its stare. An unusual and new warmth bloomed in his heart, something comforting and new, yet welcomed.
Dear Odin.
Snip. Snap.
What was Hiccup doing?
Not even he knows.
One by one , each rope came undone and soon the dragon was loose enough to escape, the Night Fury immediately lunged at him when it had the chance.
“Ah…haha..please don’t kill me.”
Hiccup pleaded under it when the Night Fury slowly brought its mouth closer to his before it recoiled and roared a deafening growl. It didn’t fly away but leaped around the forest oddly. Slamming against the trees, flying backwards and forward as though it was a newborn, just learning how to fly. Hiccup finally took a breath he didn’t know he had been holding before getting up on his feet to get out of the forest.
However, he straight-up fainted.
.
‘Ugh, what the hell…’
Willow Bark trees and fallen branches and leafs were the first thing he spotted when Hiccup was conscious again.
It seemed like it was only an hour or less since he came here.
It was all normal when he realized the last place he fainted was a different place than this dent that looks like a habitat for creatures to live in.
He grunted in discomfort and tried to find a way out of here. He wobbly searched the area for any dangers and found it absent of any other living specimens other than him.
He found a small lake that cuts across the dent and went to get a quick dip to wash his face and clear his mind.
While washing his face, he heard a loud snap of a tree branch and immediately scurried back up on, vigorously wiping the wetness of his face so he could quickly see the clear immediate danger right in front of him but was faced with the very Night Fury.
‘How many times am I going to call out to Odin for him to answer my prayers?’
Hiccup shoved both his hands behind his back before slowly waving one hand in front of him nervously to greet the Night Fury with a crooked smile.
“Hey…haha…”
The Night fury let out a half ‘meow’ and a half ‘roar’ but it sounded soft and gentle. Hiccup took a closer look at the dragon and realised how the usual slit pupils are now all doe-y and round but one thing stood the most to Hiccup was how the Night fury had no teeth.
“Toothless?”
At the word, the Night fury tilted his head as though it’s curious and intrigued.
“How about I call you ‘Toothless’? Sounds great?”
Hiccup took a closer look at the Night Fury, now named ‘Toothless’, with more boldness. With its anatomy being more broader and masculine, ‘it’ was most likely a ‘he’. Hiccup tried to reach out to Toothless to pat him when he growled and leaped away from him like a cat. Hiccup huffed but was determined, he wanted to befriend him.
After hours of trying to engage with his new friend, there was only a slight progress in their friendship, better than nothing though.
‘Guess I’ll retire from this, I have to head back.’
Hiccup got ready to climb up the wall when Toothless suddenly appeared beside him, making the cat-like sound again. Hiccup nearly tripped over from that unintentional jumpscare but asked Toothless telepathically what he wanted. He purred and shook his head towards the direction of the dent. Toothless wanted Hiccup to stay with him.
“Sorry bud, I can’t. But I promise to return back here, don’t worry!”
Toothless felt defeated and Hiccup felt a sudden pang of guilt but he knows he’ll make up for his absence tomorrow.
.
As expected, no one in the village cared for him as he could pass-by everyone and unnoticed easily, without a care or worry from anyone. He slipped into the iron fort and grabbed some fishing materials, ready to fish some food for Toothless. However,
“Where ye thinkin’ ye goin’?” Gobber sternly asked.
Of course. Only he would have realised that he was gone as he’s the only one that has to see Hiccup on a daily basis. Gobber has gotten so used to his presence to not notice it but that’s just probably out of his task as the boss of the iron fort to keep in check with his only other working blacksmith. Not out of concern or care.
“Just going fishing.”
Gobber hummed and just dismissed him with his hand, retracting his hand to get back to slamming the hot iron. Hiccup returned back to what he was doing and went to go fishing for food.
.
Hiccup crouched low in the dense forest, his breath barely audible over the rustling leaves. A sleek black figure shifted in the clearing ahead. Toothless.
Hiccup slowly climbed down by the reins of the roots and found Toothless calmly drinking water when he noticed his presence. His ears perked up and waited for Hiccup to come over.
“I got you..an eel!”
Immediate mistake because Toothless started freaking out and backing away, Hiccup tried to calm him down and threw the eel away, then did he, Toothless let out an exasperated growl and calmed down. He looked angry and Hiccup chuckled nervously.
“Ok maybe not eels, how about fish?”
Toothless seemed to lighten up at the thought of that and slowly crept up to Hiccup as he took out one fish, holding it out to Toothless. He was terrified, what is he going to do? Eat him? He’s too skinny, there’s nothing but skin and bone. Please don’t eat h-
Chomp.
One gulp and it was gone.
Hiccup was left dumbfounded and was left clueless on how much can this dragon eat. He may as well just dump out the whole bag of fish and just watch him eat. And so he did and after he finished, Toothless looked at him and saw how Hiccup had no more fish and started sniffing him as though he wanted more fish.
“H-hey! I have no more fish, I have no mo-”
Hiccup was backed up against the rock as Toothless glared hard into his eyes before his eyes started rolling and it retched out a half eaten fish.
‘Gross…’
Toothless shook his head up and down.
Oh.
Oh no.
“Uh…no! I’m very full…”
Toothless just tilted his head as though there’s no place for argument.
‘Oh my yak dunk.’
Forcefully and unwillingly, Hiccup took a mushy, wet bite out of the raw fish. Hopefully he does not catch a case of disease.
“Thweh I fwimished eh-t—urgh…haha…” (There, I finished it—-urgh…haha…)
Well that was gross but when Hiccup looked back up with his unconsciously crooked smile, the dragon started imitating it too. Toothless’s mouth bloomed into a crooked smile and Hiccup couldn’t help but adore it. Dragons are amazing creatures. They’re not mindless killing machines but like any other creatures with feelings. Just like them. Hiccup once again, reached his hand forward but was met with the same fate. A snarl responded to his actions. However, this time he will be gambling it. With full faith, he turned his head around and slowly extended his hand forward. A soft, scaly matter that is real and alive right now was met with his palm. Toothless snotted out smoke and looked at Hiccup with no danger in his eyes and a much more relaxed stance.
He trusted him.
He returned the favor.
Hiccup and Toothless are now officially friends, viking and dragon.
.
Days passed and it has become a routine for Hiccup and Toothless to meet each other in the early morning and late afternoon.
They’d learn a few things about and from each other such as how Toothless came to learn how Hiccup is generally outcasted from his village and feels the same way about it, knowing the feeling all too well, and Hiccup learning how he may or may have not ripped off the left tailfin of Toothless’s tail.
They both didn't really understood each other but the look in their eyes says everything.
They both came to realize that he committed that attack on Toothless, of course, he was upset and disappointed in Hiccup after realising the truth but came to forgive him because he could understand both their circumstances. Hiccup felt guilty and bad enough about it so he spent a few inventing a prosthetic tailfin for Toothless as an apology.
“C’mon bud…!! Just let me strap it on and I promise you can leave this island , far away from me.”
Toothless kept shaking his tail as though his pride needed to be contained.
Pfft.
What pride?
After a tough struggle and battle of strength between a frail blacksmith boy and a large phony dragon, Hiccup finally managed to put it on and watch how Toothless tested it.
Toothless looked over to him, eyes telling him he was ready to leap into the sky. Hiccup was excited when he saw the muscles of the dragon’s limb contract and lowered his belly to the ground.
Shwoop.
Gust of air and snow particles flew everywhere, blinding Hiccup for a bit but when he saw how Toothless looked in the air, he couldn’t help but feel like some part of him was suddenly missing.
Well.
Some part of him was really going to be missing.
Toothless suddenly started crashing down and towards Hiccup’s direction.
“OhHH—THOR!”
He barely managed to dodge it , his lower body was squashed and bruised by the impact and he saw Toothless behind him looking saddened.
They both got back up and Hiccup took another look at the handmade tailfin and assured Toothless he will fix this.
2nd Attempt.
3rd Attempt.
4th Attempt.
5th Attempt.
6th Attempt.
7th Attempt.
8th Attempt.
9th Attempt.
10th Attempt.
And so on.
It has been at least 3 months since they met and even though there was a slight progress in every attempt, they were still far from their goal. Until one finalizing day,
“Ready bud?” Hiccup strapped on the saddle tight enough to hold his weight but not too tight to strangle Toothless.
Toothless growled excitedly.
Their friendship has grown closer and both were much friendlier to one another now than ever.
Hiccup has grown slightly more muscle mass than before when they met, from how much he has to clench his lower body around Toothless and how he has to grip tightly onto the handle to hold his whole body against the dragon, against the force of the wind the dragon is defying.
However, still not obvious enough from how little he’s eating.
“Ok so, feet into pedal, hands on handle, lower body to 45 degrees, and—--HEY!!!”
Toothless leaped into the sky without any warning or patience, eager to fly about to its dominant land.
Thankfully, the tailfin was originally designed to allow Toothless to fly without Hiccup. He was just there to aid him until he got used to the prosthetic.
They soared into the sky, doing spins, dives, speeding through the air and a calm flight in the air to appreciate the scenery of the orange and purple hues of the sunrise.
Hiccup never felt so alive, the rush of elation and adrenaline, and free? I mean physically he is but he felt internally free, so.
It was like a catharsis he never knew he needed. Everything felt so surreal yet not. He could feel it. Hiccup drifted into a reverie, imagining a world where dragons and humans lived in harmony. Finding Toothless in the forest felt like pure serendipity.
Wait a minute.
“Toothless…Toothless! We did it! We’re flying!”
Toothless chuckled in a dragon-y way and soared high and above the clouds that no human could ever possibly venture further across.
It was plain and cleared of any fuzzy clouds to block their way.
“Is this Valhalla?” Hiccup joked and Toothless just snorted at the idea of that, because they’d both be dead by then.
The situation started settling in as they both landed on a stone tower to rest for a while, it must be overwhelming for both the human and dragon.
Looking ahead of the luminous horizon, Hiccup tried to reach out to it. Suddenly, a core memory unlocked itself in the deep depths of his soul and he remembered a myth his father told him.
-
“Legend says that when the ground quakes, or lava spews from the Earth, it’s the dragons, letting us know they’re still here.
Waiting for us to come find them. Beneath the surface, where only the bravest of men have ventured… lies a hidden world. A place of unimaginable beauty.”
Hiccup listens intently to his father’s storytelling, wide-eyed with wonder. It reflects Stoick’s belief in the lore of dragons and the adventurous spirit he hoped Hiccup would inherit.
~
“Far beneath the mountains, beyond the reach of any Viking ship, there lies a world hidden from our eyes. The Hidden World. A place of unimaginable beauty, where the skies glow with colors you’ve never seen and the air hums with the songs of dragons. Rivers of light flow like veins through the rocks, and the dragons—they soar in harmony, free from fear, free from men.”
Stoick’s eyes glisten as he stares into the fire, his massive hand resting on Hiccup’s shoulder.
“They say it’s a sanctuary, where dragons go to live in peace. A place only the bravest have dared to search for, and fewer still have returned to speak of it. If it’s real, lad, it’s where dragons belong… perhaps even where we all belong, in time.”
“Have you ever seen it, Dad?”, Stoick chuckles, ruffling Hiccup’s hair.
“Ah, no, my boy. But it’s in the stories, and stories hold truth if you know where to look. One day, perhaps someone braver than I will find it.”
Stoick looks at Hiccup meaningfully, his voice softer.
“And who knows? Perhaps you’ll be the one, eh? The one to see it with your own eyes. I have a feeling about you, Hiccup. You’ve always had something… different in you.”
~
Stoick’s words carried a poignant sincerity Hiccup had longed to hear.
Where was the father figure he once had? He longed for that warmth and genuine love he used to receive from his dad. The sun was rising and the village would be awake again, he had to hurry back.
Toothless licked Hiccup’s cheek and that definitely snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Gross…whatever. Can you give me a ride back first?” Hiccup hopefully asked, though his phrasing of words confused Toothless slightly.
They’re back at Berk and something weird creeped up Hiccup’s throat, he felt like he didn’t belong here.
He turned away and looked at Toothless like he was going to mourn later.
“Thanks for the time bud, it’s time for you to go. I know how eager you’ve been to rid me out of your life but thanks for letting to ride on you and all, i’ll mi–”
Immediately cut off when Toothless head-nudged Hiccup in his sides before using his head to lift Hiccup over his back and ran back into the forest.
Hiccup was wide eyed and instinctively, practiced and experienced, he got into a safety stance, grabbing onto the strapped seat, and just let Toothless run wherever he wanted to.
A minute later and they were back in the den, Hiccup was confused.
“Uhm…You can go? Shoo?”
Toothless grumble and just sat down like a spoiled yak.
Hiccup was bemused and tilted his head, Toothless followed.
Oh, what.
“You want to…stay? But you can’t—I mean! You don’t have to, why degrade yourself for someone like me?”
Toothless’s eyes softened and purred while circling around Hiccup, rubbing into his warmth.
Hiccup swore to Odin that he could feel tears threatening to spill like a suppressed volcano.
This time these tears aren’t from sadness but from something therapeutic and a new lit fire in his heart.
“Toothless. Thank you."
Hiccup started unpacking and took the saddle off Toothless before waving his goodbyes to his only friend and promised to come back tomorrow.
Hiccup returned back to the village with a new glow of fire.
A fierce one.
.
It was so sudden.
It was deep into the night of Berk where everyone would be in the Valhalla dream land. Hiccup stared at the chaos of the latest dragon raid from the edge of the blacksmith’s workshop, his heart pounding in his chest.
Fires raged across Berk, and the villagers roared as they launched spears and arrows into the sky. Above it all, a Nadder screeched as it dodged the projectiles, its movements graceful yet frantic.
“Useless,” Gobber muttered, slamming a hammer onto the anvil. “All you do is stand there like a frightened lamb.”
Hiccup flinched but didn’t reply. He knew better than to argue.
He turned his gaze back to the sky, his mind racing with thoughts he couldn’t voice. These raids weren’t just chaotic—they were senseless. The dragons weren’t evil; they were hungry. They were protecting something.
And Hiccup, deep down, knew that killing them wouldn’t solve anything.
When the raid finally subsided, Stoick stormed into the workshop, his face a thundercloud. “Hiccup, we need every man pulling this weight. Enough of this skulking around. If you want to be a Viking, act like one!”
The words cut deeper than Stoick realized. Hiccup’s throat tightened, but he nodded mutely. That night, as the village celebrated another "victory" with boasts and ale, Hiccup sat alone on the cliff overlooking the sea.
He couldn’t stay here.
Not in a place where they’re killing his friend’ friends. Not in a place that saw him as a disappointment.
Not in a village that glorified destruction.
First, he had to plan a runaway.
-
It was morning, 5 hours ever since Hiccup woke up to fish, feed Toothless, and soar the skies. Now his least ‘favourite’s part of the day comes, Dragon Training.
“Alright Vikings, we gotta lot of work to do ye” The instructor yelled so everyone could hear him.
Apparently today, they’ll be fighting a Deadly Nadder. Astrid and the rest are here and they look well prepared unlike Hiccup who has been skipping classes to have fun with a dragon instead.
This time was special since his father forced him to attend.
‘Sorry bud, I might be a little late to our tea party today.’ Hiccup smiled to himself at the thought of that.
“Oi, what are you smiling by yourself for?” Of course, Snotlout is at it again.
“Not gonna lie, he looks creepy doing that.” Tuffnut mumbled yet, loudly?
“Is he going to kill us after all the comments we made about him?” Ruffnut commented and that just ruined the whole vibe in the group.
“W-what? No!” Hiccup quickly spoke up because what in Thor is she talking about?
“Hiccup, it’s uh…okay! It must be very scary for you since you’ve been skipping out on lessons and are lacking in all areas. But don’t worry! You have us to cover you?...” Fishlegs tried to break the tension, it felt like a reassurance yet, a full on insult to Hiccup.
Hiccup nodded a thanks to Fishlegs way and got ready with armed weapons and prepared to face death.
‘I should try testing some things I learned during my time with Toothless. Maybe I can make another friend? Actually no.’
Hiccup quickly shook the thought of befriending a dragon, especially in front of his classmates.
He couldn’t reveal their weakness in front of their predators. They’ll get killed!
Hiccup huffed out a puff and heard the chain grinding against each other and a high pitch roar came from behind the gates.
A fiery blast poured through the tiny gap between the gates as soon as it opened.
Everyone jumped to the side, barely avoiding the attack that could be the last they will see. Hiccup finally spotted the Deadly Nadder from its purplish-pastel scales and sharp spines and jaggery teeth.
It screeched and frantically darted between the young vikings and above. It was looking for a way to escape, it did not want to attack them.
“Guys, we should stop—”
Hiccup tried to reason things out, considering their situation but it seems like he said. Vikings. They only have their stubbornness and pride. Maybe they’re the killing machines and not the dragons.
Astrid yelled at the top of her lungs and charged in, the rest of the group following after her.
“Snotlout, oy-oy-oy!”
And what do you expect out of this reckless and stupid decision?
Pain.
Yay, we love pain.
Hiccup assessed his surroundings once more, trying to find a way to end everything immediately, once and for all. Everyone was scurried to the corners of the arena, scared and frustrated while trying to think of a plan, with the Deadly Nadder in the middle stressing out.
Hiccup musn’t wait a second, he dropped his armor and weapon, racing towards the Deadly Nadder against time.
The Deadly Nadder looked at him as its pupils slowly softened from slit shapes to slight rounder as it sensed he wasn’t any harm without the scent of rusty metal and wood.
Hiccup started waving his arms frantically around the dragon, trying to make it seem like he’s attacking it, instead he was searching for the weak spot around the area he remembered he did to Toothless when he was scratching him.
Everyone watched him like he’s an idiot but that didn’t matter, they were gonna die if it weren’t for him right now.
Krek.
The Deadly Nadder flinched, froze, then fell to the ground into a deep slumber.
“What did you just do, Hiccup Haddock?”
.
Everyone was cheering on Hiccup in the Great Mead Hall. Common words were thrown around the hall saying, “He’s finally a Viking!” “I was so scared that this boy would be our chief but now, I have nothing to worry about!” “Hiccup is finally useful!”.
Those were the words he always wanted to hear, but not like this.
Not this way.
Their cheers and cries of joy were like a constant reminder that he just became the thing he hated to be. His own father. He doesn’t want to be compared or be Stoick the Vast. He just wanted to be the son of the Chief that was well loved unconditionally but I guess fate decided to twist it.
He paced through the way given to him as he walked onto the stage where the throne stands, where his father proudly watched him from there.
“I’m so proud of you, son.”
Hiccup felt a wave of nausea hitting him, he didn’t know what or how to feel.
Happy?
Sad?
Guilty?
It was overwhelming, he was anything but happy about his current situation. Everyone slowly started to mute out and Hiccup’s thoughts started becoming louder. He was in a daze and was becoming wobbly, he felt all the blood drained from him but his heart was still pumping and beating hard against his rib cage. It ached so badly. It was cold and painful, what’s going on?
Huff. Hah…ha-huff—
Smack.
“Ugh! Ah? W-what happened?” Hiccup started relieving back into his reality and scanned the area. His father was just talking to another villager while actively ‘patting’ Hiccup’s back.
Hiccup huffed, still feeling the ache in his chest. He motioned circles into his chest, attempting to rub it off.
He tried to slip out of his father’s grasp but was tugged back easily as his father looked back at him questioningly, waiting for an answer.
“I just want to get some fresh air. Please.”
Stoick scoffed before letting him off and Hiccup finally thought he could play with Toothless but didn’t realize someone was following him.
He went into the blacksmith and swiftly got his items. Too focused on gathering his items that he failed to notice someone’s presence behind me.
“What are you—”
“GAH—what the hell?! Astrid? W-what are, what? Why?”
Hiccup jolted from the sudden intrusion, he dropped everything on the ground and waving his hands in front of him frantically.
He was slowly pushed back against his work table while Astrid stalked forward and leaned in, a little too close. He put his hands in between them, trying to put in some distance but didn’t seem to work.
“Scared for what? You literally one-handled a dragon today and you’re scared over something like this?”
“Oh yea...Right. But uh, aside from that, what are you, uhm, uh, doing here, trespassing my, hah, private property?”
Goddamn it Hiccup, pull your shit together.
Now it was Astrid’s turn to be put in an awkward position.
Gosh.
She backed up and crossed her arms before looking straight into Hiccup’s eyes. WIth a heavy frown on her face came with her heavy words.
“I know what you’re hiding.”
Well, the pensiveness is very intense right now because say what now?
Astrid shouldn't know anything about him, I mean, who would waste their time finding about what's going on in THE Hiccup Haddock's life?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Hiccup said with slight confidence because Astrid could be referring to anything else right now but ‘him’.
Hiccup swore everyday he made his back and forth from the dent that he wouldn’t allow anyone to follow him and there’s no way he’d never spot Astrid from how much he constantly looked back to check out for anyone.
He was still shaky in his voice because he was absolutely petrified.
That caused Astrid to frown even more, it’s like she’s calculating everything that could go wrong or right and wants to exact out her words so she can get her answer.
Hiccup was starting to feel the same thing he felt at the Mead hall again.
It was getting hot in here as though there wasn’t oxygen to breathe in but he felt so cold and that unyielding banging in his chest hurts so badly that it’s making him struggle to breathe. He wanted to pull out his hair and scream to make sure he’s still alive because everything is slowly starting to disassociate.
Until Astrid finally, and thankfully spoke again, kicking him back to reality once again.
“You…you’ve been training in secret behind our backs. What are you doing? What are you hiding? You definitely cheated your way into the ranks. You think you’re better than us now.”
All that panicking for nothing. But that was a relief, she doesn't know. Hiccup gradually got back his senses and wanted to almost tell Astrid, the person he has made the most exceptions for, to piss off.
Because what?
Where did that even come from? He's a guy that's constantly tweaking out and always failing to do the most 'easiest' tasks.
Hiccup lost his touch of reality for a moment and just spoke cockily, and for what reason? He doesn't know, he literally lost touch with reality.
“So what? So what if I had been training behind your back? None of y’all even wanted to see my face, it’d just be an inconvenience and irritation to you, so I trained in secret. Is it that embarrassing for someone like me to be better than you?”
Well it was sort of the truth, he wasn’t really training to kill dragons but to befriend them.
Astrid’s face started glowing red. She grabbed Hiccup by the collar and started lifting him off the floor slightly where his toes were barely holding him up straight.
Hiccup barely held a stoic resolve on his face when Astrid started crashing out on him.
What?
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? You think you’re the only one capable of being the Chief? So suddenly, now?
You think the rest of us are just too dumb to see it, right? You’re not the only one who’s been thinking about being the strongest, Hiccup.
At least, not for the longest. I spend every minute and second in my life, thinking how I can get the recognition of being a Viking qualified to be the Chief’s right hand man but you! You achieve that way too easily just by humbling a dragon to sleep!
Worse of all, it’s obvious that the Chief has more mercy and bias towards you, as his son…You sure have it the easy way, while I had it the hard way.
You started off with silverware and water fresh from the seas while I, with scraps and murky water."
Hiccup was astonished, is that really how Astrid felt?
Trust him, the very Haddock being strangled by the very Hofferson, would have so much sympathy to give and start humbling himself to Astrid right now, but he’s different now.
And how dare she assume nonsense like him never trying hard to get recognition, it was in-fact the complete opposite.
He was constantly chasing after that recognition his whole life.
Was it not clear enough to the whole of Berk, or perhaps the whole exterior and extension of the archipelago, that he was in constant anguish just to achieve that worthless and meaningless respect from a village that always degraded him?
He really couldn’t believe it and it infuriated him. He shoved his knee into Astrid’s upper abdomen, making her drop him and argued back.
Years of pent up anger unraveled in front of Astrid.
"I had always been looked down on and treated like a child. I’ve always wanted to try and help but everyone kept protecting me because I’m the Chief’s son. Sure, thanks a lot! But that---that gave me little to no experience in combat, that’s why I’m so weak and seen like I never did anything—I just couldn’t!
My vision is obviously far off from what you perceive things to be. It's not about right or wrong, I just want to exercise the privilege I have; Freedom.
You don’t see it the way I or others behave differently towards to similar stuff because you’re too focused on doing things the way they’ve always been done and what seems right.
You’ve always liked it to have it your way and ignore everyone’s opinion.
I’m the one who’s actually looking forward, trying to figure out how we can solve this problem. The dragon problem.
Why do they keep coming? Where? And why attack us?
I’m the one who’s actually thinking about what needs to happen, but no one listens! They don’t even bother trusting in my plans once, even though I’m their future Chief!
No one does, and you, Astrid, you’re reckless and charge in without a plan like you’ve always been, chasing after the recognition from my dad, and trust me, it’s not worth your lifetime, because chasing after validation your whole life is not life at all.”
Hiccup's throat practically ran a whole marathon because it was left dry and hoarse. He had so, so much more to say but that was enough.
That was the most he could hope anyone could hear him out on.
That alone suffice a lifetime of neglect.
Astrid was dumbfounded and Hiccup took this as a sign to let it all out, once and for all.
He hesitated before opening his mouth once more.
“You’re right. I’m no viking, I’m nothing like any of y’all. I should’ve just died during the ‘Iron-ed Dragon’ raid, maybe then, I could’ve been with my mom that would’ve loved and respected me no matter what or who I am.
Everyone here is so heartless, especially you. I don’t want to see you ever again. Get out of my workshop, now.”
The grip Astrid had on his collar eventually loosened and swung back to her side.
Astrid awkwardly left, letting Hiccup to finally let out his tears now.
He felt so light now, like all the burden on him has finally been lifted but he still felt heavy in his heart and he knows what more he needs to do.
Hiccup gathered all his items once again, carried onto his back while grabbing the saddle.
Not bothering to cover his items anymore because this will be the last time the village will ever get the chance or to even see it.
.
Hiccup still cautiously walked through the woods and constantly looked back to make sure no one was following him because he wanted to leave this place quietly.
He was near the den.
He threw his bag down and quietly went down the reins, careful not to wake up the possible sleeping Toothless.
Hiccup was exhausted and Toothless, who suddenly appeared right in front of him when he got down from the reins to look back and find a pair of emerald eyes glowing in the dark, jolted him awake.
“Toothless!...You’re awake? Oh, have you been waiting for me the whole day? I’m so sorry…”
Toothless just purred into Hiccup’s pair of palms, rubbing against the only source of warmth in the pitch cold darkness of the den.
But it’ll be the last time he’d do that because today was the day he’s going to leave Berk for good.
Toothless lowered his neck down for Hiccup to strapped the saddle on and hung a bag onto the side of the strap that got him curious about it.
Toothless growled at the sight of the bag and Hiccup just explained it was his necessities.
“Toothless, we’re leaving.”
Toothless’s eyes widened but quickly accepted it.
"We should also make a short trip to retrieve your fellow dragons."
He wanted to get out and bring Hiccup out of this wrenching place already but he just puffed a smoky breath.
Hiccup straddled onto Toothless and without looking back at Berk, both of them soared into the sky, swooping back down to the arena as Hiccup and Toothless blasted through the gates, making quick work on freeing the dragons.
Thankfully the dragons were calm and followed the duo out of the arena as the Hurd never looked back at Berk ever again.
Hiccup felt everything being lifted off of him as the gravity of the sky and feather weight clouds carried him through the night.
The way Toothless cuts through the clouds is so beautiful and he is starting to lose himself in nature, mesmerized by the things that he could be discovering right now since he’s out and free from Berk now.
He couldn’t believe it.
He is free.
The other dragons grumbled gratefully towards Toothless while eyeing Hiccup intriguingly.
Toothless let out an annoyed grumble, perhaps telling them to stop staring at his best friend.
The dragons cackled softly together, and despite not understanding the dragons, Hiccup chuckled along.
Eventually they parted aways, leaving Hiccup and Toothless an awaiting adventure ahead of them.
.