How to Train Your Dragon 1. Chapter 1

Fantasy Writing 2.5

HTTYD

The Adventures of Calder Cooper Part 1

**Hello everyone. This is my first ever story and I hope you all like it. I do not own the How to Train your Dragon. HTTYD belongs to DreamWorks Studios and the author, Cressida Cowell. Calder and all other characters NOT part of the HTTYD series belongs to me. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

RIIIING, RIIING, RIIING. Along with the bell was the sound of binders being put away and zippers of bags being closed. I grab my bag and quickly sling it over my shoulder and hurry out of my history class, hurrying to my locker to store my binders and get home. I hurry down the stone steps, feeling the warm air all around, and then it turned cold as I went back into the marble mass of school. There, locker number 239, I fiddled with the lock and it swung open and I was greeted by a package, I pick it up curious, wondering who could have sent me this. My eyes drifted to the picture on my locker and I instantly knew who it was from; I ripped it open and found an envelope with my name on it, something heavy was inside. I quickly opened the envelope and a ring fell into my outstretched hand, it was a gold ring, rather thick and sturdy with a ruby as the jewel. Engraved on the inside of the band was my name in cursive "_Calder Cooper_" I checked the envelope and there was a letter but all it said was "Goodbye" and my sisters name at the bottom. I realized what this was, it was a kind of going-away present, but rather my sister was forced to stay away from me because my foster parents hated her. I suppress the sudden flood of emotions and the memories and left the school.

I shifted the weight of my bag form one shoulder to another as I walked along the Floridian road. Alone, but I was used to it, I didn't want to attract too much attention, sorry let me introduce myself. My name is Calder Cooper, that's my real name; my other name is Calder Flagging's, well according to my adopted parents. I hate it though so that's why I go with Cooper, but at school I am known as nobody, because nobody notices me but I like that to an extent. Nobody bullies me but nobody notices me as well, the only one who gets bullied is Jason who is a really nice guy but I try not to hang around him much because that would get me noticed. I approach my house and see Jason standing by my door, looking uncomfortable and so do I. We were paired up secretly by the teacher in my history class for some Nordic project. I approach him quickly not wanting to be seen,

"H-hey Calder," he stutters, he isn't used to conversations where people are genuinely interested.

"What is it Jason?" I ask, wanting to get this done.

"W-W-Well I n-need you to research N-N-Norwegian folklore and about their culture ov-v-er the b-b-break." He says, wincing as he mentions break and rightly so.

"WHAT?! but there is nothing going on and I just want to relax, I took _three tests in one day_." I reply, stunned that this guy wanted to work when the project wasn't due till two weeks from now. Jason looked at me with an apologetic look before walking away, I shout some mean stuff at him and he winced each time but he still seemed firm. Frustrated I walk into my house and slam the door shut,

"CALDER, DON'T SLAM THE DOOR," I hear Henry Flaggings, my foster parent, shout. He was standing in front of me, clutching a beer bottle.

Groaning, I walk past him and grab a soda from the fridge before dragging my stuff upstairs, quickly hiding the soda from Henry, who was now sitting at his desk, he peers up at me as I walk by. He bought the ruse and went back to his work, which was managing files for something; I head into my room and shut the door. Dropping my bag I flop onto the bed and begin to get ready for some boring work, I grab my laptop from under my bed. I flip it open only to shut it because the battery of the laptop was missing, "HENRY," I shout, "WHERES MY BATTERY?"

"YOUR MOTHER WAS USING IT FOR HER COMPUTER AND THE THING BROKE BECAUSE IT DIDN'T FIT, NOW SHE IS OUT BUYING TWO MORE FOR YOU, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!" he shouted back. Now I was officially mad, how dare Diana Flagging's use this without my permission, with a shout of rage I slammed the door shut as I left my room, heading outside.

"CALDER, FOR THE LAST DAMN TIME, DON'T SLAM THE F-" he never finished as I slam the door again, this time, racing outside to an old wooded area not far from here. As a child I was always wondering around, so I stumbled upon a broken fence that was behind an old house that had plants springing up everywhere and vines creeping up the side of the house. From there it became a sanctuary from the world, I went there if I needed to lose myself or escape from the world.

It was peaceful when I got to my area, there was a small river in the middle of the clearing and the trees grew all around, shielding me from the elements. It sounded like a rainforest when the wind howled, it was more than a sanctuary to me, it was a home. I lay my back against a tree and began to twist the ring on my finger, feeling my eyes begin to droop and soon I was off into a peaceful slumber with all of nature around me.

I dreamed about nothing in particular just random stuff but then it changed, I was in a dark room and there was a ring, the same ring from Meghan on a black pedestal. I reached for it and managed to grab it but the floor moved from under me and I was falling down into a vast sea. I wasn't worried about it, I would wake up from this realistic dream, I felt the wind rippling on my clothes. But as I neared the water I was getting nervous, why I wasn't waking up, then I realized, _"I'm not dreaming,"_ just as I crashed into the water.

I sink down, into the depths, the crash making me lose my breath. I look up and see the sun shining brightly and I swim to the light, my lungs burning from the lack of air and my arms from the hard strokes. Then I breach the surface, gasping for air, looking around I spot a beach and I began to swim toward it. My feet touch the sandy floor and I began to wad my way toward the slope, only to lurch as I manage to get on the beach and fall down, pain erupts in my leg. I clasp it and roll over as a gasp of pain makes its way from my throat; I look and don't see my familiar dark jeans. Instead I see dark brown… leggings? I had on a red long-sleeved shirt with a black vest over it, fur lined black boots were on my feet and they were slightly covered with blood. I tried to get up but my leg gave way, as humiliating as it was I crawled on the beach, heading for some trees where the beach ended. It was a slow process since I had to use mainly my arms to move but I managed to get there, I grabbed a tree and leaned against it for support, quickly I ripped off a thick branch and used it as a staff. I began to make my way through the forest, leaning heavily against the stick; the process was slow since I had to climb over old, fallen trees. The pain in my leg was becoming increasingly more excruciating, I faintly heard the thundering of a storm but kept moving though, muttering to myself "Keep moving Calder, focus, just keep moving," and then I heard a noise. Freezing I turn to the place where the sound emanated from, a nearby bush rustled and I see a boy emerge from there. He had a green long-sleeved shirt with a brow fur vest, he had brown leggings and fur lined brown boots, he stared at me until I fell down.

"Whoa, are you o.k.?" I hear, I couldn't respond, not because I didn't want to but because even though I understood him, I couldn't reply. I didn't know how to speak back, the language he spoke wasn't English but I did recognize it. I shake my head at him, he immediately puts my arm around him and together we hobble through the forest. We approach a village completely made of wood, I mean the houses were wood, like it was back in the Dark Ages. But then my vision begins to blur and I pass out, but not before I see the boy from before looking quite scared.

It seemed as though I was asleep for hours, I had a nightmare about a black liquid seeping from my leg and morphing into a black monster that lunged at me with its sharp teeth. I heard vaguely heard "Will he ever wake up?"

"Dude, he looks like an ugly bird,"

"You would know Troll-Face,"

"He's lucky he didn't die."

Groaning I opened my eyes, I was lying on a bed covered with pelts. My body was damp with sweat; I ran my fingers through my black hair, having it stick up in everywhere, feeling the ring on my head. I threw back the pelts wanting to be cool and not so hot and saw that my shirt was off, revealing not much muscle, the vest and shirt I was wearing were hanging by a hearth in the center of the room. Timbers had dragon faces carved at the edges, the room was small, but I could see the outline of feet at a door close to where my shirt was. I hop out of the bed and look at my leg, it was patched up, with white cloth was wrapped around the calf. I walk slowly due to the limp in my leg but it strengthened as I moved toward the door. Once I reached it I threw on my shirt and vest before pulling at the door only to find it didn't budge, this time with all my strength I heaved the door open, stumbling back slightly. Outside there were three boys and a girl, the tallest boy had a large brown coat on with a tiny helmet over his blond hair that had tiny horns emerging from the sides. A pair of twins stood at the side, they both had similar helmets but while the boy's hair was straight and long, the girls were tied up in spheres going down her head. Another boy had straw-like black hair under his ram horned helmet, he had on all black and a mace dangled at his side.

"Well look who decided to wake up," the kid in black says.

"Well I don't blame him Snotlout, he has been injured badly," the kid with the small helmet. Snotlout mutters something about fish legs, but then the twins started to talk.

"Well how did he get hurt, fell down a hill?" asked the boy twin.

"You got hurt like that one time from tripping on a rock, weakling," said the girl twin. The boy twin snarled and attacked his sister and they went rolling on the ground. I must have had the weirdest look on my face, this place was so strange and why was the kid in black named 'Snotlout'? Anyway then a large man with a hook for one hand and a peg leg came up and said "All right, give the lad some air he probably has quite a number of questions." He peered down smiling at me, "So lad, what's your name?" I opened my mouth but then closed it, not sure on how to reply; I pointed at my throat and shook my head. The man's eyebrows knitted together, (Or were they already?) and asked "What's wrong, cant ye speak?" I shook my head in response.

He cocked his head and said "For now, we'll call ya Stormleg," I nodded my head, a smile coming on my face. "Ah, so you like it huh, well Stormleg my names Gobber, I'm the blacksmith 'ere, let me show you around." He said before draping his hand around my neck, gesturing wildly around with his hook. As we walked I tried to repeat his name, it didn't go very well but I paid attention to his words, trying to see if I could repeat them.

He showed me the Great Hall, the… um… Mead Hall I believe, a number of houses that were nicely built, and pointed out the forest I was found in. Then he told me about the blacksmith they had, "I work there, repairing and crafting with my apprentice," he said as we approached the building. It was a bit homely, windows were set near a walkway, inside was an anvil next grindstone and a very familiar boy was at the forge. He was pushing down on some bellows to stoke the fire at a fire pit, he looked up pushing the auburn bangs away from his sweaty forehead and he sees me.

"Stormleg, I would like to introduce you to my apprentice, Hiccup," he says. The boy had switched his fur vest for a workers apron that was smudged with black soot; he smiled nervously, "Hi there…um…Stormleg, are you feeling better?" he a nervous voice, like he was bracing himself for a verbal attack. He continued to look nervous until I said one word, "Hiccup," Gobber looked at me stunned, I said two more words I had learned when he talked to some guy at a stall and snagged a roll, "Thank…you."

Hiccup blinked in surprise, at that but then he said "Uh… no problem uh… Stormleg," Gobber was promptly excited, "You can speak now? How did you get hurt? How did you get here? Why haven't you spoken before?" It was all too much; I clamped both my hands over the big man's mouth.

"Whoa…there…Gobber," I say slowly. "Hard… to… speak… need…" I faltered, I wasn't sure on how to say time but Gobber got the point. "O.K. lad, well I'll leave ya with Hiccup, I have important business with trolls, they stole my socks again, but why do they always take the left ones?" Then he walks off, limping because of his peg leg, I look at Hiccup quizzically. He just shrugs his shoulders and continues to work on a kind of launcher.

"What's…that?" I ask, Hiccup looks up confused, he seemed hesitant but says "It's a um… bolas launcher, since…well," he holds up his arms as if to say, _"I'm trying to look macho but I'm really just weak."_ I nod my head, understanding quite well since I was like that back in middle school.

"Anyway, I'm using to capture and deal with some…pests we have," Hiccup continued. I cock an eyebrow at him, how big were these pests, he was about to explain until a tomato flew through an open window and smacked me right in the face. I wince, the juice of the fruit went everywhere, I wipe the stuff on my face and flick my hands to try to get the juice off my hands. Laughter erupts from outside, I see the twins there rolling on the ground, pointing at my face. I turn to Hiccup who is frozen, trying to determine what I would do next; I glance at the bolas launcher and get a huge grin on my face. I push Hiccup aside and he begins to stammer "No, i-it not ready yet, it still need some calibration." I touch the launcher and it opens up, the bolas flying through the air, I look outside and see the twins start to get up, but they are soon trapped by the bolas, stuck together at face to face. People outside begin to laugh as they try desperately to get out.

"This is all your fault Troll-brain," the girl shouts.

"No, it's yours Butt-Elf, you're the one who wanted to throw the tomato at Hiccup," the boy shouts back.

"Well if you had taken the time to see that Stormleg was there instead of Hiccup then we wouldn't be trapped here, Numbskull."

The twins began to roll around, since they couldn't exactly move while tied up. Everyone laughs harder at the sight; I glance at the sun and see it gone, torches were being lit and Hiccup begins to pack it up. Taking off the work apron he reaches around a red curtain to reveal his fur vest from a hook on the inside of the room. "Well um… I'll see you later Stormleg," he said before beginning to walk away. I follow him, I was still curious about where I was, he headed up a hill toward a large house with elegant carvings all over the house. Before Hiccup went inside, he turned around confused, "Why are you following me?" he asked.

"Want…answers…you…didn't…give." I say

"Well, oh what the heck, come inside," he says, holding the door a little wider. I walk inside and am amazed at what I see. A hearth was set in the center of the building with benches arranged around it; a makeshift stove was set up on the hearth as well. Stairs were on the left leading up to a loft, probably where Hiccup slept.

"Well what do you want to know?" Hiccup asked.

"Where…am…I?" I ask "Why…are you…called…Hiccup?"

"Well first my full name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and it's not the worst name, Vikings believe that a scary name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. As if our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that." He says, "As to where you are, this is Berk, its twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's solidly located on the Meridian of Misery," he explains.

_"Cheery,"_ I thought, _"What next, more depressing stuff?"_

"You already know about the village but to sum it all up in one word, I'd say it was sturdy. This village has been here for seven generations but every single building is new. We have fishing hunting and a charming few of the sunsets; the only problems are the pests." He continues rather sarcastically, I didn't understand why Berk seemed like a nice place to live.

"See most places have mice or mosquitos, we have…" he was cut off by a commotion outside. Hiccup ran to the door and I looked curiously at the door. When Hiccup opened it, a monstrous **_thing_** came out and looked at him. I ran over to the door and with Hiccup we shut it just as fire blasted the wooden frame. I looked at him wide-eyed, but did I really just see what I saw, he answered with a single word.

"Dragons," he said.

**_*Well, this is perfect. Great cliffhanger at the start of the movie, next chapter will be all about the dragon attack at the start of HTTYD. I got the idea of the forest scene when my friend Ian and I went looking for an area where Ian wanted to practice paintball; anyway I scratched my leg on some barb wire so that's when I thought of Stormleg. Peace, have a great day or night depending on the time and God BLess you all._**

**_Review_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter**

_I want to say thank you to everyone who has viewed my story. Enjoy this next chapter._

"Dragons," I say weakly. Hiccup doesn't respond, he opens the door again and rushes outside. I follow him, ducking under some Vikings carrying a wooden beam, only to see Hiccup getting knocked down and a large Viking shouted at him before saying "Mornin," and rushing off to who knows where. I catch up with Hiccup "Where…are we… going?" I ask.

"The forge, the Vikings need to have their weapons repaired after some fights." He said, then a dragon swooped down, spraying the ground with fire right in front of us and a large man grabbed Hiccup before he went into the blast.  
"Hiccup, what is he doing out again?" he asked before turning to Hiccup and saying "What are you doing out again, get inside." Then he shoved him to the forge.

I look at Hiccup dash over to the forge and he says "That's Stoick the Vast, Chief of the tribe. They say when he was a baby; he popped a dragon's head clean off its shoulders." I look at him with disbelief; he pointed at the man and said "Do I believe it?" Just then Stoick **picked up a cart and threw it at a dragon probably fifteen in the air.** "Why yes, yes I do." **_(A/N: Lol, Phineas and Ferb)_** Then we raced into the forge, Hiccup takes of his vest as we entered, Gobber was working with some tongs and trying to straighten a blade.

"Nice of you to join the party, for a moment I thought you 'ad been carried off," Gobber says. Hiccup puts on his apron and I grab what appears to be a tool that attaches to the old Vikings arm.

"What me, no I'm way to muscular for their tastes, they wouldn't know what to do with all this," he says, flexing an arm.

"Well they need toothpicks don't they?" he responded, twisting the tong arm and replacing it with a hammer. _"Ohhhhhh, how about some ice for that burn Hiccup,"_ I smile at the thought before placing a four sided mace with spikes on all sides on a rack by a workbench. Gobber swings open the window and Vikings placed all their broken weapons on the table.

Hiccup grabs some weapons and begins to heat them up, only for Gobber to snatch them up and begin to straighten them out. I take some weapons Gobber had finished and place them at the window, only to see a similar dragon to the one who attacked the house, spray fire all over the village. _"Old village, lots and lots of new buildings,"_ I thought. Outside I hear someone shout "FIRE" and the teens from earlier come rushing past, Hiccup dashes to the window and started staring out at the crew, curious, I nudge Gobber and point at the teens.

"Oh, that's Fishlegs," he points at the large buff teen.

"Snotlout," he points at the black, straw haired kid,

"The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut," he points at the boy when he says 'Tuffnut.'

"…and that's," then he points at a blond haired girl who just as she throws a bucket of water and turns as a fireball blasts behind her. She just flips her hair and begins to walk away, "Astrid," Gobber says before returning to his work. I notice Hiccup staring at Astrid with a dreamy look on his face; it wasn't hard to see that this kid was lovestruck. Gobber notices to and he grabs Hiccup with his hook, threading its way through his workers apron.

"Gobber please let me out there; I need to make my mark."

"Oh, you make plenty of marks… all in the **_wrong places_**," he says.

"Please, I kill a dragon and my life gets instantly better, I might even get a date," Hiccup argues.  
"You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these," Gobber picks up the bolas I used on Ruffnut and Tuffnut, then a Viking snatches that from him and throws it at a bulbous dragon.

"Yeah I know b-but this will throw it for me," Hiccup says patting the bolas launcher. Apparently he forgot what happened when I touched it and a bolas shot out and whacked a Viking in the head. With a shout he fell down, Gobber turned to Hiccup after viewing what happened looking frustrated.

"See here, this is what I'm talkin' about."

"Mild calibration-" Hiccup began.

"Don't you…Hiccup, if you want to get out there and fight dragons you need to stop all…"

Gobber gestures everywhere on Hiccup's body before saying "…this."

"W-What but you just gestured to all of me?" Hiccup says confused.

"Right, that's it, stop being 'all of you'," Gobber exclaims.

"Ohhhhhh," Hiccup got a look on his face.

"Ohhhh yes,"

"You sir are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much…raw…Vikingness…contained, THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!" Hiccup raises his hand to make the thing seem serious.

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now." Gobber says nonchalantly, thrusting a sword into Hiccups hand. He grumbles a bit before turning to a spinning grindstone, I continue to pass out weapons until I hear Hiccup muttering to himself.

"One day, one day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon means everything around here." I pretend to be fixing a blade but I listen in.

"A Nadder will at least get me noticed, but a Gronckle would definitely get me a girlfriend, those things are as tough as nails. A Zippleback, two heads, twice the status, then there's the Monstrous Nightmare, but only the best go after them, since they have a nasty habit of setting themselves on fire." I could hear the importance in Hiccups voice; it was like a coming of age thing. Hiccup must very well be an outcast if he is muttering like this; he really needs to kill a dragon.

"But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one has ever seen," he stops and looks up. A sharp whistling sound was coming from outside followed by a loud KABOOOOM, Hiccup and I dart to the window and I hear the sound again. A tower with a catapult was destroyed in a flash of purple; I'm guessing that was the last dragon Hiccup was talking about. Then Gobber attaches an axe to his arm and says "Man the fort Hiccup, they need me out there." Then as he exits he suddenly turns and says "Stay…put…there," Hiccup has an innocent look on his face and I already knew what was going to happen. Gobber turns to me and says "Stormleg, make sure he stays there," before giving a Viking battle cry and running off. Hiccup then proceeded to go get his bolas launcher, but I bent down and scooped us some dirt. Just as Hiccup was about to leave, I stop him.

"Look I have to do this-" he began, but I held out my hand to stop him from talking.

"I know," I bend down and pour some dirt into Hiccups boots. Hiccup looked at me curiously, "Dirt from forge… you haven't left…but I'm coming too," I explain quickly. Hiccup understands and we rush out of the forge, Hiccup drops his apron and puts on that brown fur vest. People exclaim we left, dashing left and right through the Vikings, I followed Hiccup to an old catapult tower. He quickly opened the thing and it resembled two bows attached together, he was muttering "Give me something to shoot," repeatedly. I looked frantically at the sky and saw the shape of a dragon; I nudged Hiccup and pointed at the outline. He got a grin and aimed through the sight, then the tower was destroyed like before and the dragon flew past. Hiccup launched the bolas, the recoil knocking him down; I watched the bolas until it was out of sight. Then a screech sounded and the dragon fell into the forest, Hiccup looks stunned.

"I… I hit it. YES I HIT IT," he cheered. I was clapping for him; he faces me and says "DID ANYONE SEE THAT?"

Just then, a large claw smashes the bolas launcher and my smile slides off my face and is replaced with horror. Hiccup turns and see's the dragon, "…Except you," he says before sprinting away with me close at his heels. We dashed around the village, Hiccup let out a very girly scream but I just kept running, occasionally dodging the dragon's magma breath. I'm serious when I say that, his fire looked like lava, it slid and stuck to the ground, walls, anything it came in contact with. Hiccup dodged a fire stream and when I saw it gearing up again for another blast I pulled Hiccup behind a pole that a large torch was connected to just as the dragon let out its flame. It came quickly, splashing all around the pole; Hiccup dared a peek around the corner. I looked the other way and saw the large dragon as it opened its mouth and I saw the buildup of flame. I grabbed Hiccup and pulled him down, just as a flash of red tackled the dragon, it was Stoic and the dragon blasted fire, but it was weaker and then it spit out a tiny piece of lava. It got a look on its face that read _"Oh no"_, Stoic lashed out with a punch and a kick at the monsters jaw and it took off. Well that seemed to conclude all I needed to know about Berk, except one problem. When the dragon shot its magma breath it weakened the pole holding the torch and it toppled down, rolling down the hill. Hiccups face winced each time a Viking cried out and said "Sorry, dad."

Dad? DAD!? Hiccups dad was the chief of the tribe, you can't tell that they're even related. I keep watching the torch and it frees some dragons and they fly away, clutching nets filled with sheep. I smack the palm of my hand against my forehead as Hiccup says "…Okay, but I shot down a Night Fury."

***Well, now seems like a good place to wrap up. Next chapter will be Hiccup in the forest, but Calder comes in at a certain point, find out yourselves. Thank you everyone, have a good day,peace and God bless.**

**Review**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter**

**A/N: READ FIRST!**

_After some helpful flames from **Equinox Knight** I have updated the first chapter, also let me clarify this. **This is NOT a yaoi** it may have seemed that way to some people but thanks to **Equinox Knight** I have fixed it._

_Thank you __**Spahirabrightscale **for being my FIRST REVIWER EVER! And thank you **Equinox** **Knight** for the helpful flames._

**_P.S/ _**_Anyone who hasn't heard of **Equinox Knight**, should read his story "Oh My Gods," and **Saphirabrightscale **cute story "What makes you beautiful" and "I Miss You"_

**ENJOY**

Stoick pulls Hiccup away from the crowd, up toward that house on the hill. I follow hearing Hiccup trying to defend himself, saying he did hit the Night Fury. I didn't hear the rest because Gobber had pulled me aside, away from the crowd so we could talk privately.

"Stormleg, what in the name of Thor is goin' on? I thought I told you to keep an eye on Hiccup and make sure he stays in the forge," he nearly shouted. The man's eyebrows were knit together to create a perfect unibrow, or was it already?

"Put…dirt in…Hiccup's boots…so he…never left…forge," I say.

"Well, he is put there to protect himself he's a hiccup, the runt of the litter in easier terms." The Viking stroked his mustache, "Look, the lad seems to be cursed by Loki, he practically destroys everything I touches."

"That's not…what I see" I say. Hiccup seemed to rebuild everything, he is trying to prove himself but everyone still treats him like a failure, I didn't get why.

"Well then, did you see this 'Night Fury' Hiccup was talking about," he said angrily. I opened my mouth but I wasn't sure in how to reply, I didn't know how to say 'Night Fury' in Norwegian. Gobber looks at me and sighs, "Look, Hiccup has always tried to make his father proud, but it's still hard to try and teach him about fighting dragons when he is a tiny little boy. Don't encourage him to get out there and try to get himself killed,"

"Better to teach... him later… than never," I point out. Gobber sighs again and pulls me along with him to see Stoick. The big man says "Take him home, and make sure he stays there," Hiccup looks down upset. He begins to move up the hill, me right alongside him with Gobber trailing behind.

"Nice one, _useless,_" I hear Tuffnut say.

"Yeah I have never seen anyone mess up that bad before, that actually helped," Snotlout says. Hiccup shrugs it off and continues but I stop and glare at Snotlout, clenching my hand into fists. Why didn't they see how useful Hiccup was?

"Come on lad, keep moving," Gobber says, pushing me along. The one girl, Astrid doesn't say anything, she only sharpens her axe.

We reach the house, "I really did hit a Night Fury," Hiccup says. "Yeah, sure you did," Gobber mutters.

"He never listens, a-and when he does it's with some, disappointed scowl like someone skimped out on the meat of his sandwich," he stops and puts on a heavy Scottish accent.

"Excuse me barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I asked for an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side, this here, this is a talkin' fishbone."

"No, no, no, you're thinkin' about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like; it's what's inside that he can't stand."

Hiccup gives Gobber a confused look before saying "Thank you for summing that up," and he went inside. Gobber sighs and looks at me, "Make sure nothing bad happens, I mean it this time Stormleg." Then he headed off, to where I was unsure, I went back inside the house. Hiccup was glaring at me when I came inside, I gave him a look that said _'What'_, Hiccup then said "Why didn't you back me up, you know I hit that Night Fury, why didn't you tell Gobber? Or even my dad?" I was about to respond but he held up his hand.

"You know what forget it, just stay here, I'm going out to find that thing," he then went out the back door at the rear of the house. I don't move, I sit down and practice what I knew and tried saying Nightfury. At first it sounded like net flurry, but I got the hang of it, maybe.I dashed out the back door and off into the woods, it was hard at first. The forest was huge, I had to leap over logs and rocks but it was easier since my leg was healed up. Hours were spent trying to find Hiccup; I began to mutter to myself, I still didn't know how to speak Norwegian so I stuck with English.

"Oh someone must hate me right now. Most people go into the park or mall, but no I just **_had_** to get the guy who is Mr. Nature Boy. Who knows this giant forest and on top of that I have no idea how to get home!" I swat at a nearby tree branch, only to have it smack back into my face, I nearly shout but then I hear a slam and heavy breathing.

I notice a dirt trench going along a hill. I crawl slowly up and see a jet black dragon snarling at a familiar teen, Hiccup. The dragons emerald green eyes were narrowed into slits, his lips were pulled back to reveal razor sharp teeth, then he pulled his wings back, and roared loudly at Hiccup. Then he took off, crashing into trees and cliffs, Hiccup got up and was gasping slightly, a dagger hanged loosely from his hand, then he turned and let out a feeble groan before he collapsed. I hurried over to Hiccup, he was still breathing but the shock of what happened caught up with him. So I dragged him over to the rock he was pressed against and prop him against it for support. Then I take in the scene, I examine the ropes of the bolas cut and after putting in that with the dagger, I put the pieces together. The Night Fury was tied up definitely and Hiccup came up and he had the dagger and then what? Did the Night Fury break free? Or… no, it wasn't possible, but did Hiccup free the Night Fury? My mind felt fuzzy so I lean against a nearby tree and shut my eyes, I hardly got any rest the night of the dragon attack and soon I was asleep.

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder, "Stormleg wake up, please wake up," Hiccup was saying.

I open my eyes and see a concerned Hiccup looking at me, when he saw I was ok, he let out a sigh of relief, "You had me worried there."

"Why… would you… be worried… when you…were nearly killed… by a Night Fury," I say.

Hiccups eyes narrow, "A Net Flurry?" he asks.

I throw my hands up in the air, upset I still can't say 'Night Fury' but Hiccup understood.

"That's why you didn't say anything, you didn't know how," I nodded. "Well sorry about that Stormleg," he apologized.

"No worries Hiccup…but about…what…happened…with the…" I faltered and gestured to the pile of ropes. Hiccups eyes widened and he looked down at his feet, "I-I let him go," he mumbles. My eyes widen, why would he let go of a dragon, the one thing that could give him some respect? Hiccup notices and said "I was ready to kill it, but when he looked at me… he had fear in his eyes, like I did when I had to kill him, when I looked at him I saw myself, does that make sense?"

I shrug my shoulders, unsure of how to respond to that,"We should…get back to…village," I say finally.

Hiccup nods and he makes his way back, me following close behind. It was late again when we got back to the village, they were relighting the torches as we got up to Hiccups house. We enter and see Stoick tending to a fire, his gaze focused on the flames. I glance at Hiccup who nodded his head at some stairs behind the giant chief. I ascended them quietly, thanks to the experience with the Flagging's, but Hiccup was slightly more noisy and then I heard a deep voice say "Hiccup," the said boy stops, closing his eyes before saying "Dad uh, I… I need to tell you something."

I am hidden on top of the stairs, not in sight of Stoick.

"I need to speak with you to son," Stoick says. After a moment of pause they both say surprising things.

"I've decided I don't want to fight dragons," Hiccup says,

"I've decided you need to learn how to fight dragons," Stoick says.

"What," they say simultaneously. I don't move as they gaze at each other in disbelief, "You go first," Stoick said.

"No you go first," said Hiccup. Mentally I screamed at him, you never let the adult go first.

"O.K., you get your wish, dragon training, you start in the morning."

"Oh man, I should have gone first ummm," Hiccup stumbled for the words.

_"Yeah Hiccup, you should have gone first,"_ I think as the teen try's to make up some excuses.

"You'll need this," Stoick said, picking up an axe and dropping it in Hiccups arms, the boy nearly fell down by its sheer weight.

"I don't want to fight dragons," Hiccup said.

Stoick laughed, thinking that Hiccup was making some joke, "Come on, yes you do,"

"Rephrase, dad I can't kill dragons,"

"But you will kill dragons,"

"No I'm pretty sure that I won't," Hiccup protested.

"It's time Hiccup," Stoick said suddenly stern,

"Can you not hear me?"

"This is serious son. When you carry this axe, you carry us all with you. So now you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us, no more of… this." He said, gesturing again at Hiccup.

Hiccup sighed, "You just gestured to all of me,"

"Deal?" asked Stoick,

"This conversation is feeling very one sided," Hiccup protested

"Deal?!" Stoick asked again, Hiccup sighed again before muttering "Deal,"

"Good, where is that other boy?" he asked. I walked down the stairs, Hiccup looked slightly depressed but Stoick was firm and he led me aside.

"Look, I know that you just got here and can't speak, but can you promise to look after my boy?" he asks. I nodded my head and a look of ease came across his face, "Good, both of you train hard and I will see you later, probably." He said before marching out the door.

"And I'll be here… maybe," Hiccup said, dropping the axe when Stoick shut the door. He turned to me with horror on his face.

"**_Kill dragons_**, I can't do that, not after what happened in the forest," he said, gripping his hair and pacing around the house.

"Look Hiccup…it won't…come to that… I'll look out for you," I say, trying to provide some comfort but he got even more stressed.

"Everyone already thinks I'm a failure, so you would be the only person who would help me but everyone else would see me as an even bigger weakling."

"Look, we'll…worry about…that later…now, sleep," I say.

"You're right, I'll get you some furs for you to use," Hiccup says before darting upstairs. I plopped down on one of the benches by the hearth, it was mind-blowing, dragons and Vikings here, it seems like some crazy dream, even though I know it's not because my leg proves that. Hiccup comes back down clutching a pelt, probably a bear and hands it to me.

"Thanks," I say before lying down on the bench. Hiccup nods his head before heading back upstairs; I get comfortable and try to sleep, because the next day, I was about to learn how to fight dragons.

**_A/N: I'm trying to make Calder into a kind of an older sibling to Hiccup. He tries to help Hiccup because he can relate to him somewhat. Calder lost his parents when he was young AND his sister just recently, sort of. Hiccup lost his mom, Valhallarama (I think that's here name) when he was young and that's why Stoick is so harsh, he is trying to look out for Hiccup, but Hiccup always gets into trouble. Anyway, peace and the next chapter will be about training with the Gronckle, Calder getting his weapon, and the dinner with the Dragon Manuel. Oh, and I will try and get into Hiccups perspective at a certain event, peace, God Bless andhave a great day._**

**_Review_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter**

**Thank you for the reviews. ENJOY!**

I groaned, someone was pushing my arm, "Leave me alone, I want some sleep," I say. When the pushing continued I grab the pillow I was sleeping on and whack the person, then the pushing stopped and I tried to go back to sleep with a content feeling. The feeling was short-lived when icy cold water poured on my head; I sat up, gasping and sputtering out the water. Hiccup stood there clutching an empty bucket and a confused look on his face, "What did you just say?" he asked. I was confused at first but then I remembered, I was learning a different language and I must have talked in English when Hiccup tried to get me up. "Um, it's my…normal…talk," I say, still frustrated that I couldn't talk correctly and without the frequent pauses.

"Time to get ready for training but…do you have a weapon?" Hiccup asked. I stare at him confused, "A weapon to fight dragons with," he explained. I mentally kicked myself, I forgot all about the dragon training, Hiccup smirked and said "You're training too, my dad ordered you to. But since you were so sleepy, I had to find a way to wake you up."

I glare at Hiccup as I stood up, water dripped from my clothes. I ran my hand through my hair, making it stand up all spiky, with a sigh I say "Well… where do…I get…my stuff."

"We'll head down to the forge and snag it; Gobber should be down there already." Hiccup say before heading to the door. We walked down the large hill Hiccups house was on and down to the forge. People eyed us and I faintly heard murmurs from them, luckily the teens weren't around. Gobber was attaching the hook to his hand as we walked in "Ah, Hiccup, Stormleg, how may I help?" he asked.

"Stormleg needs some kind of weapon and armor if he's going to be in training," Hiccup explained dully.

Gobber nodded his head, "So, what do we do about you?" he pondered to himself as he circled me.

"I suggest the axe and a chest piece," Hiccup said dully, trying to keep his promise to his father,

Gobber was slightly confused but said "Well then, let's get you armored up." He then proceeds to pull down some armor; he brought down a full set all made of iron. I look at Gobber with a look that said _"Are you kidding me?" _ But he was firm, but then his face broke into a grin.

"Well lad I was just joking, I didn't expect you 'he wear this. But I have a good idea on what to look for," he said. He then took some gauntlets and boots from off a stand with another set of armor. The gauntlets were fingerless, with nice comfortable leather made up the inside of the gauntlets and metal plates stretched across my forearm. The boots were the same way, went up to my shins, but it was very lightweight. **_(A/N: The armor is the same as the Steel Cuffed boots and Nordic gauntlets from Skyrim. I figured that since the creators of the game based the Nords off the Norwegians and Vikings. Why not have a mention of the game in this.)_**

As Gobber began to pull down some weapons I stopped him. He looks at me confused but I'm too busy examining a sword, it had black leather wrapped around its hilt, the cross-guard had a wide U-shape to it. I had played aound when I was a kid, pretending to sword fight so how bad could it be. The sword was currently resting near a brown belt designed to go around a warrior's waist but it was too big for me. I grab the sword and pull it out; it was a straight, double-edged sword, the blade itself was two-and-a-half feet long. I swing it a few times, feeling that it was perfectly balanced before I grab the belt, a sewing needle and some thread. I take the scabbard of the blade and began to rip it off the belt, Gobber begins to protest but he stops as I reattached the scabbard vertically to the belt, so the blade would be parallel to the strap. **_(A/N: Like a Katana, or like how Conner from AC3 carry's his bow, except on the other shoulder)_** After my work was finished I sheath the blade and put the strap around my shoulders, the hilt of the blade seemed to be protruding from my back. I could easily reach up my right hand and grab it from my shoulder, Hiccup looks at me and says "That looks very well done, but let me see it, it needs to be a little more tuned." I shrug and give the blade to him and he sets to work, his long fingers working elegantly.

"You two finish up here and meet by the Kill Ring, it's time for some dragon training," he says before heading off. Hiccup finishes with the blade and hands it to me; I sling it over my shoulder and put on the gauntlets and boots.

"We should get going," Hiccup said, his axe sagging in his hands. We walk along the village, moving along a cliff-side and crossing a long bridge to what appeared to be a large arena. A large chain net was on top of sturdy, slanted, metal poles, five different gates were at the far end of the arena. The teens were already there and I heard an unfamiliar voice say "Yeah, its only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"Yeah, pain. Love it," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Uh, who invited Useless?" asked the boy twin, Tuffnut I think.

"Don't worry 'bout that, whoever does the best 'ere, will get the honor of killing their first dragon in front of the entire village," Gobber said.

"Well Hiccup and Stormleg already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify them or…" said Snotlout, earning a few laughs from the twins but his eyes were only on Astrid who rolled her eyes and turned to face the gates. "Can I get into the class with the cool Vikings?" he continued.

Hiccup looked down but I glared at Snotlout, who was too busy still trying to catch Astrid's eye, but she was focused on the gates.

"Don't worry about it lad, you're small, the dragons will see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking ones," Gobber said trying to make Hiccup feel better, but he failed epically because Hiccup still seemed down. Gobber lightly pushed Hiccup into Fishlegs and started he bumped into Tuffnut and so on. I stood by Hiccup, drawing my sword, and then Gobber stood by the gates and began to talk.

"Now behind these doors are just some of the many dragons you will learn to fight," He stood in front of a gate on the far right with a large bar in front of it.

"The Deadly Nadder," he continued.

"Speed: 8, Armor: 16," Fishlegs muttered, clutching his hammer.

"The Hideous Zippleback," Gobber stood in front another gate with more bars on it.

"11 stealth times 2," Fishlegs muttered louder this time.

"The Monstrous Nightmare," Gobber stood in front of a gate in the middle of the gates, it had a large log with metal hinges, like a bolt lock.

"Fire power: 15,"

"The Terrible Terror," Gobber stood in front of a gate with a log holding it in place and a small flap for food I'm guessing.

"Attack: 8, Venom: 12," Fishlegs shouted.

"WILL YOU STOP THA'," Gobber shouted at him. Then he breathed a sigh and got a devious smile on his face, placing his good hand on a lever next to a gate similar to the Terrors.

"And, the Gronckle," he continued.

"Jaw strength: 8," Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup, who groaned and rubbed his head.

"Whoa, wait aren't you going to teach us first?" Snotlout asked,

"I believe in learning on the job," Gobber said pulling the lever.

The log lifted and a dragon burst out, it was bulbous and huge, like rocks and boulders and been stuck together. Everyone dashed away, like cockroaches from light. "Today is about survival, if you get blasted, you're dead." I heard Gobber say as I ran with Fishlegs to the gate; I turned around and saw the Gronckle swallow some rocks, I'm guessing that's how they make their fireballs.

"Quick, what's the first thing you need?" Gobber shouted by the gate.

"A doctor?" shouted Hiccup,

"Plus 5 speed?" asked Fishlegs.

"…A shield!" Astrid said, her axe in her hand, she stood in a ready position.

"Correct, your most important piece of equipment is your shield. If you have a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield. " Gobber shouted, helping Hiccup strap a red shield on his arm. I looked around for a shield, they were lying around everywhere. The closest was a green one right by the Gronckle, who was focusing on the twins.

"Hey, get your hands off my shield," Tuffnut shouted as he and Ruffnut were trying to pull the shield out of each other's hand.

"There's like a million shields," Ruffnut argued.

"Take that one, it has a flower, girls like flowers."

Ruffnut must have taken it personally since the phrase was very sexist because she pulled the shield out of Tuffnuts hands and smashed it on his head.

"Oops, now this has blood on it," she said, offering the shield out. They failed to notice the Gronckle approach; it then shot a fireball at them that hit the shield, causing shrapnel to go everywhere and the twins to fall.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, yer out," Gobber said. They groaned some sounds of confusion; I dashed at the Gronckle and snatched up the shield, strapping it quickly to my arm.

"Those shields are good for another thing, noise. Make lots of it to throw off a dragons aim." Gobber explained.

I begin to whack the pommel of my sword on the edge of my shield. The Gronckle shook his head, his eyes losing some of its focus like it was trying to remember something. That moment passed and the Gronckle looked even MORE mad,

"Each dragon has a number of shot's how many does a Gronckle have?" Gobber asked.

"Five?" asked Snotlout,

"No six," Fishlegs said, waving his shield in the air.

"Correct, six, one for each of you left," Gobber said. Fishlegs was about to say thanks but the dragon then blasted the shield Fishlegs had in his hand.

"Fishlegs out," Gobber said to the screaming teen, "Hiccup get in there."

Hiccup was hidden by a small wooden blockade, I tried to get over there but the Gronckle blasted at me. My shield was destroyed and the force sent me sliding over to the dragon cages. The blast stunned me, my vision blurred and I heard a ringing noise, after a while my vision came back and saw Snotlout get blasted, _"Karma comes quickly,"_ I think. Then I hear another blast, I couldn't see it though because I was still disoriented.

"One shot left," Gobber says, then a panicked "HICCUP!"

I focus and see a blackened shield rolling towards me, and a frightened Hiccup running from the Gronckle. He didn't pay attention to where he was running and the Gronckle had him cornered. There was no way I was going to let Hiccup die; I ran forward snatching up the blackened shield. I charged toward the Gronckle, who was opening his mouth and a faint light appearing at its mouth. I came around the Gronckle and pushed Hiccup out of the way and ducked behind the shield, just as Gobber pulled at the Gonckles jaw with his hook. The fireball still came out and blasted my shield which shattered on impact, heat and pain crashed on my shoulder. With a roar of pain I slid down against the wall, grabbing my left shoulder and immediately regretting it as a tsunami of pain erupted there.

"Oh gods, Stormleg are you alright?!" I heard Hiccup asked.

"DO I BLOODY LOOK ALRIGHT?!" I shouted.

"Um, what was that?" he asked.

I spoke English again so I shook my head. I felt someone carefully touch my good arm and help me up; the pain was so excruciating that my eyes were shut so tight and my breath came out in a hiss, I still couldn't see who was helping me.

"You'll get another chance don't you worry, a dragon will always, **_always_**, go for the kill," I hear Gobber say.

His voice emanated from beside me and we began to move slowly. I couldn't see very well, colors and blurred images came as we walked, then we began to move up a hill.

"I'm takin' you to the Elder Gothi, she's the best healer on the island and from th' look of you, you're going to need it," Gobber said.

We came up to a large brown blur; my vision began to clear as I was set down on a chair inside. By a hearth, there was a small old woman; she held a staff with dragon bones on the end. She had a hooked nose and wrinkles, but that didn't stop her from smiling at me, she had that elderly face that made me immediately trusted her. Then she smacked my head with the staff and I blacked out.

**_Hiccups POV…_**

"So why didn't you?" I ponder back at the crash site, holding the ropes I cut. Why didn't the Night Fury try and kill me? It didn't make sense, I couldn't stop thinking about what Gobber said and what Stormleg did for me in the ring. If he was any slower, I shudder to think of what might have happened. Stormleg wasn't around with me now; Gobber carried him off to the Elder to treat him for the burn. It looked awful, blackened and burned skin, with red, metal shards embedded in his shoulder. I felt so guilty about what happened, twice I troubled him along on my endeavors, and I hope to apologize when he gets back tonight, if he gets back tonight. I look around and see a crack between to large rocks; I make my way through and see a large cove. I sigh before murmuring "Well this was stupid."

Then I notice a small black object, bending down I see it's a small scale, I begin to rub the dirt off until something large and black swishes in front of me. It was the Night Fury, his claws were digging into the rock side, I stare in awe at the majestic creature as it tries and fails at flying. I quickly snap out of the daze I was in and hop down to some rocks before bringing out my notebook and quickly sketching the dragon.

"Why don't you just fly away?" I say out loud again, I had a habit of that since not many people are around to hear me, not like they care anyway. Then as it was blasting the ground with its plasma bolt, I noticed that the left fin on its tail was missing, I quickly rub it off and examine my drawing. It had a good likeness of the dragon, with its wings in flight, but I felt guilty for some reason. There was something I was forgetting, something important, but as I was thinking the charcoal stick I was using rolled out of my grasp. I snatch for it but it was too late, it fell making a noise that made the dragon look at me. I stood up, but then cocked my head at it, why wasn't it blasting a fire bolt? The feeling must have been mutual because he cocked his black head back at me.

_Later…_

I stepped into the Mead Hall, sopping wet and cold to the bone. I heard Gobbers voice ask "Alright, where did Astrid go wrong?"

_"Really Gobber, this is Astrid Hofferson we're talking about, she only does excellence." _I think as I approach the group.

"I miss timed my somersault dive, it was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble," I hear the said girl say. Freyja she was beautiful, the way her golden hair looked in that tight braid she always wore. I imagined my fingers running through it, all of its soft and silky luster; the girl was a Valkyrie in my eyes, even though she wouldn't give me the time of day.

"Yeah, we noticed," I heard Ruffnut say. Her and Astrid remained close as they grew up, even though they quarreled like this, they remained close friends. Ruffnut and her brother Tuffnut were always unstoppable together, just as long as they don't annoy each other, which was every day.

"No, no, that was totally you Astrid," I heard Snotlout say.

Ugh, my idiot cousin always looked at brawn instead of brains. He tried to show his dominance by pounding me when he got the chance, or when he thought he could get away with it. He was always trying to impress Astrid, but like always she would roll her eyes and walk away. I guess that's why my dad would pick him as chief, he was all that while I was all…this. Snotlout only liked Astrid because of her beauty on the outside; looking at her like she was some kind of prize to be won. Most men did the same with their wives, treating them like objects instead of the people they were, that's why I want to be in love with the person, not their appearance or reputation.

Apparently, not everyone felt the same because I heard Gobber say "Where did Hiccup go wrong?" He might as well have put a sign that said FREE INSULTS STARTING ANYTIME AT ANY TIME!

"Uh, he showed up?" guessed Ruffnut,

"He didn't get eaten?" said Tuffnut.

I ignore their words, instead grabbing a plate of chicken from their table; Snotlout was blocking me from sitting there anyhow, like I had a plague. I snatch a cup of water as I sit at a table close, an outcast like always.

"He nearly got someone killed?" Snotlout asked. I winced at that, still guilty about getting Stormleg hurt.

"He's never where he should be," Astrid stated, giving me a glare for some reason. I never did anything to her, or for a fact anyone of them, they just did it because I was 'Useless'.

I was a genius; people wouldn't let me keep experimenting with my inventions. I only had one chance to impress and their attention would sway depending on the outcome and more times that most, the inventions failed.

"Thank you Astrid," Gobber said. "You need to live and _breathe _this stuff." He reached into his jacket and brought out a leather bound book.

"Th' Dragon Manual, everything we know about every dragon we know of." Gobber paused, listening to the storm outside. "No attacks tonight, study up." He finished before leaving the Mead Hall.

"Wait, you mean read?" asked Tuffnut, disturbing the dagger he was balancing on the table.  
"While we're still alive?" Ruffnut asked, dramatizing that she was dying.

"Why read words when you can kill the stuff the words tell you about?" Snotlout said, thumping his fist on the table.

_"Maybe because that's a sure as Ragnarok way to die?"_ I think at my cousin's response.

"Oh, I've read it like seven times," I heard Fishlegs say.

The burly boy was a dragon geek, which is saying something. I am interested in dragons but Fishlegs seemed to make it his life goal to know everything about dragons. All the teens except Astrid left, saying that they didn't need to read it.

"S-so I guess we'll share then?" I stutter, approaching the table.

"Read it," Astrid says swiftly, pushing the book to me.

"All mine then, wow, so I guess I'll see you ah," I ramble until the doors to the hall shut, "tomorrow." I finish, this was going to be a long night

**_Calder's/Stormlegs POV…_**

I groaned and rubbed my sore head, that crazy woman's staff really hurt. I sat up from a bed, still inside the house I'm assuming was Gothis, I felt a soft cloth on my shoulder. I look over and see most of my shoulder wrapped up in a while linen, some blots of red were stained there. My shirt was off again but it was near the bed, I quickly put it on, wincing slightly at the stab of pain from the burn.

"Be more careful boy, your shoulder is in a terrible state," a voice said.

I look and see the old woman Gothi standing there, leaning heavily on the staff. Her face was of frustration, I could tell she wanted to hit me with her staff.

"Well, you're not wrong," she said. I gapped at her, could she read minds?

"No, I'm good at reading faces," she explained.

This was good; I didn't have to talk to her, just show her expressions. I look at my shoulder, then back at her with a quizzical look.

"Your shoulder will be fine as long as you take it easy, it will leave a huge scar but around here that's a good thing. Not in my opinion, a scar means you're too stupid in battle, but they could also serve as reminders of great deeds." Gothi said while putting a pot over the hearth, "You've been here ever since I knocked you out ten hours ago; the herbs I gave you should be wearing off soon."

Gothi then did some basic doctor stuff, following a finger, grabbing a small torch and waving it in front of my eyes, testing my reflexes.

"You seem well enough," Gothi said, then my stomach growled, "But you might want to get some food, head to the Mead Hall." She added.

I went to the door and headed outside, immediately being pelted with rain. I gritted my teeth and ventured on toward a large building the size of the Grand Canyon, I went up a long set of stairs before entering the large hall. It was like a cafeteria except without the lunch line or ladies', wooden tables and cutlery were set out everywhere. The torches in there had been dimmed except for two small candles and a person by them reading some book. I walk over and lightning flashes and thunder roars from outside, the person gives a startled yelp and turns. It was Hiccup with a panicked look; he relaxed when he saw me, his expression turning into one of concern.

"Stormleg how's your arm?" he asked.

I shrug my shoulders, wincing slightly at the stab of pain in the movement. Hiccup hesitates, uncertainty clouding his eyes, "Stormleg I am **_so_**_, so _sorry for getting you hurt, I-" he begins until I held up my hand.

"Hiccup… you are…my friend…its…what…friends…do," I say.

Hiccup nods his head, his eyes till looked guilty before he turns back to the table, I grab a plate of chicken and a mug of what I assumed was ale. Hiccup was murmuring to himself as I sat down at the table and bit off a huge piece of meat, I noticed that he was flipping through pages that had pictures of dragons on them until he stopped at a nearly empty page with weird writing on it.

"Night Fury," Hiccup said, I immediately got closer listened in. "Speed: unknown, Size: unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, never engage this dragon. Your only chance, hide and pray it does not find you."

Hiccup then brought out his notebook, he looked like he was about to open it but he hesitated. He looked at me and said "Stormleg, do you really want to hang around me?"

I nodded my head and he opened the notebook, there was a picture of a dragon with its wings spread, but its tail where there should have been two fins on the tail, only had one. I dreaded to ask but I had to, "Hiccup, did…you find…that…dragon again?"

Hiccup looked very interested in the book, "I was pondering about what Gobber said 'A dragon would always go for the kill,' so why didn't the Night Fury try and kill me? I went back into the woods and found the Night Fury in a cove, he was trying to get out but I was wondering why he didn't fly away."

I nearly snatched the picture and looked hard at the Night Fury, but I shrug my shoulders and took a sip of the ale. I choked instantly and began to spit the horrid stuff out, Hiccup laughed at me "Don't drink that stuff, you're better off with water." He then passed over a mug which a gratefully accepted and down the liquid, only to spit it back up. Hiccup was laughing again, "You're face was the best, it was like this."

Hiccup made his eyes go wide and puffed out his cheeks, I growled and threw the mug at him, which smacked him in the face and he fell off the bench. He came back up rubbing his head while I was laughing my head off at him, "That's what you get Hiccup," I say, trying to calm down my laughter. But I stopped when I realized I just strung together a whole sentence, Hiccup was stunned as well, but a huge grin came on his face, as well as the look I recognized at the forge on the night of the raid.

"I just had an idea, how about we teach each other our languages, that when we can understand each other no matter what," he said brightly. I considered this, it would help to speak Norwegian, but then something crossed my mind.

"O.K., but…we can't…let other…people…know, I'll keep…secret of…Night Fury…" I say. Hiccup narrowed his eyes, "Might Blurry?"

**_A/N: I figure this would work for a chapter, my mind is dulling slightly but I can still do this. Now I keep having Calder mess up because he is technically learning a new language. The next chapter will be on the fight with the Deadly Nadder and the first scene with Hiccup and Toothless but it may be a while because I just got grounded. Peace, God BLess and have a great day._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter**

**Moms not here, might as well post. ENJOY**

Hiccup and I were on our way back to the arena when we came across the teens, who were waiting at the Kill Ring.

"Why are you still hanging out with Useless, you should hang out with us," said Snotlout. I glare at him with a look that said _"I would rather hang out around him than you"_

"Wow, first time and he already has a scar," said Ruffnut.

"Yeah, but that's nothing compared to what I got," said Tuffnut.

"And what do you have exactly?" Ruffnut asked, "A splinter mark?"

"I'm glad he got to the Elder, if he hadn't gone there in time, I'm guessing he might have lost that arm," said Fishlegs.

Just then we came to the arena and saw a maze made from wood. We went inside the already open gate and as Fishlegs came teetering in the gate slammed shut.

"Alright Vikings, next lesson, I'm going to place you in certain areas before we begin. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, head over there," Gobber said, pointing at the far wall with a jagged black scorch mark. I remember the blast, if it wasn't for Gobber I probably would have gotten burned more than just my arm, I shudder at the thought. Gobber must have noticed because he said "Stormleg, come up here."

The teens look at me with confusion; I shrug my shoulders and head out of the arena, the gate opening and quickly shutting again. Gobber continued to order the teens around when I got up to him, when he noticed me he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank Odin you're ok lad. I'm glad the Elder took good care of you, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Ok, burn hurts…when I…move," I didn't know how to say shoulder so I just pointed at it.

"That's good, now I want you to sit this one out Stormleg," Gobber said, turning his focus back onto the arena.

I grab Gobbers shoulder; he turned with a confused look as I pointed at the arena.

"Wha, you want to go in there lad?"

I nod my head, "But-" he stopped when I pointed at the arena again.

Gobber sighs and mutters something along the lines of "I told her."

"Well then, I highly am against it, but go ahead I guess," Gobber said, "But you'll need this."

He handed me my sword, a little battered but still intact. I nod my head at him and head back to the maze, when I got there I faintly heard a clattering of some kind as I dashed inside, but Hiccups voice overtook it.

"Hey Gobber, I have a few questions about the book."

I dashed around the maze, hefting up my shield as I scanned the top of the walls for the Deadly Nadder that was chasing me. I could hear Gobber shouting "Today, is all about _ATTACK,_ Nadders are quick and light on their feet," the dragon in mentioned stopped chasing me after I ran past Fishlegs. "Your job is to be quicker and lighter."

I heard Fishlegs scream and several _thunks_ came from the wall next to me.

"You know I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods," shouted Fishlegs.

"Look for its blind spot, every dragon has one. Find it, hide in it, and strike," Gobber says, unconcerned by the terrified teen.

I loop a corner, only to duck back against the wall. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in front of the Nadder, right in front of its parrot like beak. They ducked around to stay in front of it but then Ruffnut made a sound of disgust, "Do you ever bathe?" she complained.

"If you don't like it then get your own blind spot," he counters, pushing her back. I face palmed as they fought again, forgetting about the **_fire-breathing dragon in front of them._**

The Nadder blasted fire that looked like sparklers (Except with more direction and power.) at the twins, who narrowly escaped by sprinting behind a nearby wall. I turn on my heel and run back the way I came, only to crash into Fishlegs, he stumbled back and was about to say something when he let out a squeak. I whirled around and saw a light blue beak with a horn peek around the corner, I immediately moved in front of the massive beak as the Nadder moved around the corner. Fishlegs ran away faster than a Night Fury so I was slowly moving around, trying to stay in the Nadders blind spot. I noticed that Astrid was peeking around a corner when I was moving around in the blind spot. I stayed that way until I heard a clunk, I turn and so did the Nadder to see Hiccup on the floor with his shield by his head and his axe missing the blade. I sprinted toward the boy and after helping Hiccup up we ran away, narrowly dodging a mace being flung by Snotlout.

_"Really Snotlout, throw away the only weapon you have? Nice, I hope you're better with that shield." _I thought as he joined us, letting the Nadder chase Astrid around the maze. The twins and Fishlegs joined us as we ran, crashes emanated from all around, then I heard Astrids voice shout "HICCUP!"

I turn and see Astrid on top on Hiccup who must have fell behind, they looked like they were about to kiss, except Astrid's face was one of murderous intent but Hiccup had shock and a blush appearing on his face. He stammered profusely as Tuffnut said "Ooooo, love on the battle field."

Just then, the Nadder digs itself out of the rubble and charges at Astrid and Hiccup. I stop running away and sprint towards Hiccup, but I knew I wouldn't get there in time. Astrid deserved some credit though; she wrenched her axe up, taking Hiccups shield with it, (By placing her boot on Hiccups face to get it off though) and smashed it across the Nadders jaw. It squawked and retreated, heading back to its cage, "Well done Astrid," I hear Gobber say.

Hiccup was curled in ball, I sighed in relief when I saw he was unharmed. Astrid turned around, frustration written all over her face.

"Is this some kind of joke to you? Are parents war is about to become ours," Astrid exclaimed, thrusting her battle axe that still had the wood from the shield embedded in it, "Figure out which side you're on."

I strode forward, placing the point of my blade by Astrid's throat. She looked at me with rage, "Stay out of this Stormleg," she said.

I shook my head, using the sword to move Astrid's axe away from Hiccup. Her face was getting even more angry, but then Gobber came down, 'O.K., that's enough for one day, get out of here," I sheathed my sword and offered a hand to Hiccup. He took it gladly, his face had mixed emotions, Astrid and the rest of her gang we're already out of the arena, Hiccup and I went to the gate, but I felt something hook into my vest and lift me in the air.

"Hiccup, you go on ahead," Gobber said.

Hiccup looked confused, but went on. I looked at Gobber, who set me down with a stern look.

"Stormleg, I don't know what is wrong with you, but you don't go around and do somethin' like tha' to Astrid Hofferson. She comes from a long line of warriors; some of em were even the guardians of the previous chiefs. So if you're going to get in a fight with her, you better be ready and careful."

On that note, Gobber turned his attention to the Nadders cage. I went out of the arena to find Hiccup; I wandered around in the plaza and heard someone say "HEY STORMLEG!"

After having some experience in high school, I hit the deck just as a rock went sailing where my head was. I turn and see the gang staring at me, Astrid and Snotlouts faces were of anger and the teen faces were of anxiety.

"The sun was in my eyes again Astrid," said Snotlout.

Astrid rolls her eyes and holds up her axe, "That incident was between me and Hiccup, don't get involve next time Stormleg, or you'll regret it."

I was really beginning to hate this chick, what was her problem? Does she get constantly bullied or alienated by the other adults? I roll my eyes at her before turning away.

"Hey, don't turn your back on me," I heard her say but I ignored her. Then she said "I wonder if this is what your sister was like before she became a what? A prostitute perhaps?"

I froze, pure rage began to boil inside my gut, I turn on my heel and glare at Astrid. The other teens take a step back from my gaze, Astrids face remains the same, "Yeah, that's it. She turned her back on one guy who took her, and then gladly took sex from other people because she liked it and decided to make a living off it."

I begin to slowly walk forward, drawing out my sword; Astrid adjusted her grip on her axe. Just as I moved I felt a hand on my shoulder, I looked and saw Hiccup and Gobber there. Gobber shook his head and Hiccup had a look of concern, I gave one last glance at Astrid before walking away. Gobber went over to the teens, most likely to chew them out, Hiccup directed me toward the forge. When we were inside, I gave a yell of anger and slammed my hands on the workbench and hurling tools and weapons around the forge, I grabbed my sword and hurled it into the wall, where it stuck there and threw the scabbard somewhere.

"Stormleg, I know you're mad but-" Hiccup tried to say.

"I'm not mad; I'm beyond livid, what the hell is her problem?" I say again in a complete sentence.

"Look, I am not going to ask about your sister, but you looked like you were ready to kill anything in your path."

"Is that… a comple…ment?"

"Well, here in Berk it is. Where you come from, I'm not so sure."

I laugh at this, he was definitely right, people would get scared or call the cops on me for being a psychopath and put me in someplace with padded rooms.

"Well, I was planning on seeing the Night Fury again, since nobody will care about me I can slip away easily, but you might have to shake of the others," said Hiccup.

I nodded my head, and pointed at a shield, "O.K., we'll bring that too," Hiccup said before reaching up.

I exit the forge, feeling slightly better. I see the teens walking away from a very mad Gobber, I didn't go see him and instead I wandered down to the docks. I walked around there, wondering about the Night Fury and about dragons, they stole the livestock but I'm sure that it would probably take the dragons' weeks to eat all the food they took. Speaking of food, what about the Night Fury, we couldn't exactly take some sheep or a pig down to wherever it was now could we. I spotted a small shed and Fishlegs carrying a basket of something inside, I quickly move over there and see him open it to reveal a large quantity of fish. He shut the basket satisfied, then turns around and walks away, I quickly duck behind some barrels as Fishlegs walks past my hiding spot, muttering about how close I was about to getting a level 50 power attack from Astrid, and that would I dodge or counter with a level 25 attack.

I look around to see if anyone was looking before heading inside the shed, I open the door to have the smell of fish hit my nose; I open a basket and snag two of the fish in the basket before heading into the forest. I made my way back to Hiccups house, to see him carrying a shield, he nods at me and I hand him a fish.

"Why a fish?" he asks.

"Easy to…carry and…not too…noticeable," I reply.

The answer seems alright to him and we head into the woods. I followed Hiccup because he seemed to know the way to wherever the dragon was; we went passed a large rock and came up on a small crack between two boulders. I made my way forward until something caught my eye; it was a small black scale. The edges were round and smooth; I dropped it and caught up with Hiccup, who had gotten the shield stuck between two rocks. He looked at me apologetically as I threw my fish over the shield and crawled underneath it, I made sure to pick up the fish before resuming our search. We were in a cove, a small pond was in the center on the area, trees were dotted along the sides, rocks were near the entrance, then Hiccup emitted a gasp. Whirling around I saw the Night Fury, hop down from the rocks, growling slightly, I offer my fish out to the dragon, which approaches cautiously. As soon as it opened its mouth I toss the fish inside, not wanting my hand bit off, he snapped it up in one gulp and saw Hiccups fish. He moves toward it, his ears moving up and his eyes dilating into a kind of square. He opens his mouth, only to snarl, his eyes narrowing to slits and his ears pulling back, his sharp teeth bared. Hiccup looks confused and pulls back his vest to reveal his knife,

"Why did…you bring…that?" I ask.

"I forgot I had it," Hiccup puts his hand on the dagger and the dragon snarls again.

"Throw it," I say, holding my hands out.

Hiccup looks at me like I'm crazy, but he slowly takes out the dagger with two fingers and throws it. The Night Fury never takes its gaze of the weapon and snarled at me when I caught the dagger. I hold my hands out, making sure it could see that I didn't have any weapons before throwing the dagger into the pond. It turned his gaze back to Hiccup and he sat on his haunches, Hiccup cautiously offered the fish out, the Night Fury came forward suspiciously and opened his mouth, which had no teeth whatsoever.

"Huh, toothless, I could have sworn you had-" Hiccup stopped as the dragon's mouth suddenly sprouted teeth and snatched the fish from Hiccups hand. In two bites he swallowed the fish, licking his chops satisfied.

"-Teeth…" Hiccup finished faintly.

Then the dragon turned his attention back to Hiccup, leaning his head in, driving stammering Hiccup back until he fell and back against a rock. I stood by the lake, having a clear view of what was happening. The dragon leaned his head in closer until Hiccup said "I don't have anymore."

The Night Fury seemed to groan before concentrating, then a weird swallowing sound came from its throat before he pat out half of the fish he ate. Hiccup made a sound of disgust; the Night Fury sat up and seemed to sit on its hind legs, staring at Hiccup. Neither moved, they stared at each other until the dragon looked at the fish and back to Hiccup, Hiccup put two-and-two together and made an exasperated sound. He looked at me imploringly but I held up my hands to say _"You got yourself into this, you got deal with it."_

Hiccup groaned before lifting the half-eaten fish, covered with drool and slime, and bite into it. He made a rather strained _Mmmmmm_. The Night Fury looked at Hiccup with a confused look; Hiccup offered the fish back with a forced grin, the dragon blinked before making a swallowing sound. Hiccup looked at the dragon again with an _ARE YOU KIDDING ME!_

He struggled with the swallow, shivering as the fish went down. Then he gave a strained smile at the Night Fury, it looked at Hiccup confused before the sides of his mouth began to twitch. Astonishingly, the dragon gave a toothless smile at Hiccup; the feeling of amazement was likewise with Hiccup. He held out his hand as he got up, unfortunately the dragons teeth appeared and he snarled at Hiccup before he glided toward the other side of the lake. Hiccup didn't seem to care; he got up and trotted over to the Night Fury, which had made a bed of fire after burning some grass and rock. The Night Furys gaze was focused on a small bird, after watching it fly away, he noticed that Hiccup was sitting cross-legged by him. Hiccup waved but the dragon seemed to give a "Hmph," before adjusting his body and placing his tail in front of his face, the fin covering his eyes. Hiccup being the idiot he was, tried to touch the dragon, only to have the dragon move his tail to reveal he was still paying attention.

Hiccup shot up and pretended to walk away, looking frustrated at the ground. The dragon got up and leapt over a tree, hanging upside-down with his tail over his face. Hiccup walked over to me, "Damn it, I was so close," he said.

"Well, in the…mean time…" I say, once I grab a stick I sit down and begin to write the alphabet on the ground.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"This is…the letters…of my…language," I say.

"…O.K. then, teach me all you got."

I spent the next hour teaching Hiccup how to speak English. I started with the alphabet, making sure he knew all the letters before I started to teach him how to make sentences. We started small, like 'See Jane run.' I will say though, Hiccup is a fast learner. He learned most of the language ad is good at putting words together.

"So, this is how you speak back in America." Hiccup says in perfect English, making America sound like A-mere-ca.

"Yeah, it's…really far away from here." I say, unsure of how to explain my problem.

"Well, how far away is America, it must be far if you don't know about dragons." Hiccup asks.

"Actually, I have a question for you, how good at you are drawing?" I say hastily, trying to avoid the topic of my world.

"Pretty good," he said slowly, uncertain of why I changed the subject. "Would you like me to show you?" I eagerly nod my head.

Hiccup picks up the stick I used when I drew the alphabet and begins to sketch. Propping his face up with his fist, he begins to draw the dragon, it was skillfully done, the ears and his face looked almost lifelike in the dirt. Then heavy footsteps and a shadow covered both of us, I looked only to stare back at the drawing. The Night Fury had come over, while cooing softly it was watching Hiccup as he finished the drawing, the Night Fury cocked his head before he stomped off, the ground trembling as he went.

We watched as he grabbed a tree with his teeth and pulled it out of the ground, after he got a better hold of the trunk in his mouth; he began to draw in the ground. It was a bunch of swirling circles as the Night Fury moved around us, we watched curiously as it drew, he stopped about four feet from us, looked at us and added a dot (Once we pretended to look away of course). He spun around us still, accidently whacking both of us on the head with the branch once, after he finished he cooed in content.

Honestly it was just a bunch of lines, but Hiccup was impressed, he got up from the rock we were sitting on and began to walk out of the drawing when the dragon growled. Hiccup froze until he looked down and noticed he was on one of the lines the Night Fury drew. He lifted his foot and the dragon cooed again, his eyes dilated and his ears came up, Hiccup still looked curious so twice he puts his foot on the ground and both times the dragon growls and roars as he takes his foot on and off the line. The message was clear _"Stay off the drawing."_

I moved off the rock and stayed away from the lines as Hiccup moved gracefully around, his foot never touching the line as he stood in small gaps until he looked up and saw my eyes wide and a puff on his hair. He turns and faces the Night Fury, the dragons eyes dilated and curious, Hiccup reaches a hand but the Night Fury growls until he puts his hand back down. Hiccup considers this, before turning his head and reaching out his hand again. _"He's going to get his hand bit off!"_ I think before moving towards the pair until I see the Night Fury close his eyes and press his snout into Hiccups outstretched hand.

I looked at the sight, amazed of what Hiccup had accomplished before the dragon moved his head and went back to the other side of the lake. Hiccup looked at me with an astonished look, I grin at him before saying "Like a boss."

Hiccup looked at me confused "Why would that be a leader move?" apparently we still had some work to do.

**A/N: This chapter I feel like I did terrible, I couldn't sprout other stuff so the scene felt kind of rushed. I forgot to add some stuff on the modern day, thus the "Like a boss". Next chapter will be about the construction of the tail-fin and the Zippleback scene. Peace, God Bless and have a great day.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter**

**I just saw the trailer for HTTYD 2 and I have one word to summarize Hiccup. Badass. I mean he looks so freakin badass with the armour and his new look, all the girls of Berk will now be drooling over him and trying to get between him and Astrid. **

**New Chapter. ENJOY!**

**_Hiccups POV…_**

"…And with one twist, he took my hand, an' swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face, 'I was delicious' it must have passed it on because it wasn't a month before another one took my leg." Gobber said, gesturing wildly with his spit hand attachment. We were all on the western watchtower, since it was a tradition to do this for new recruits.

I groan as I cook my fish, the others were all focused on Gobber except myself and Stormleg, err Calder, err… ah forget it. I look at him as he was twisting a ring on his finger, apparently the same ring that caused him to come here. He was staring at the fire, deep in thought about something, probably about how to explain the "Like a boss" phrase. I still didn't understand how touching a dragon would be considered an act of leadership. The whole thing reeked of crazy, but according to Stormleg, this place was 'Like something from Eragon,' man his culture is confusing. I focus back onto the conversation, which had Snotlout saying something about avenging a beautiful hand and foot by chopping dragons feet with his face. As I said before, Snotlout isn't the sharpest sword in the smithy.

"No no no, it's the wings and the tails you really want, if it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon." Gobber said while ripping off a piece of chicken.

I froze; the pieces of what happened in the cove fell into place, why Toothless couldn't escape, or why his tail was so different. When I shot him down, it must have been ripped off; I shudder at the thought of losing something you need. I came up with Toothless, since he had retractable teeth and the name just stuck, Tuffnut is bragging about something but I tune it out as I place my fish down and leave the watchtower. I hurried down the spiral ramp and go back to my house, after opening the door; I sit at the bench by the hearth, thinking about what to do. I couldn't just abandon Toothless, after what happened, I think that we Vikings know less about dragons then we think.

Then I remember Gobbers prosthetic, if a makeshift leg and hand can be created, then why not a tail-fin. I quickly take out my notebook and skim through my drawings until I get to the one with my overhead view of Toothless. I looked at the empty place where a tail-fin should go, my mind flooded with ideas, measurements and calculations. It would be tough, but I would be able to get Toothless back into the sky,

"I promise you, I will," I murmur before leaving the house and heading to the forge. The western watchtower was dark, all the teens should have left and went home by now. Not me though, I marched inside, quickly placing on my leather apron and heating up the forge. I grab some metal ingots and place them on the workbench by the forge; before going to the bellows and pumping them to get the fire started.

"Hiccup," I hear someone say.

I look up from the bellows and see Stormleg leaning against the frame of the entrance. His eyes quizzical as he took in the scene, he then takes off his vest and grabs a hammer and looks me in the eye "Tell me…what to…do." I smile and we began to construct the first ever dragon prosthetic.

**_Later that night…_**

I open the prosthetic fin and examine it, looking down at my notes and making sure the calculations were correct, once it was to my liking I snapped it shut. Stormleg looks tired but he looks proudly at the design, "Well I take it that this…is for our scaly…friend," he says.

"Yes, it's sort of an apology; I'm going to take it to him tomorrow, along with some food. Toothless should be starving since he hardly had anything today," I said.

"Toothless? Why did you name him…that?" Stormleg asks.

"How do you know it's a he?" I ask.

Stormleg gets a grin "Touché," he says.

He must have noticed my confused look before he said "It means that that's…a good point."

I shrug my shoulders before I place the fin on the table and blow out the candles, then once everything is put back we head back up to my house to get some sleep. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

**_The Next Day…_**

**_Calder/Stormlegs POV…_**

Yawning, I sit up from the bench I was sleeping on, Hiccup was already awake and cooking some fish.

"Morning Stormleg," he says.

"Morning Hiccup," I reply. I was now able to pull of sentences with six variables. We eat the fish in silence, I had to watch how to peel apart the fish so I didn't accidently eat any of the internal organs or bone. Once we were finished Hiccup said "O.K., you carry the basket of fish, I'll get the fin."

"Wait a minute Hiccup. I got the fish last time. I'll carry the fin…you get…the fish," I say.

"Oh come on, I can't carry that, I'm a fishbone, look at me" he complains, gesturing to his body.

"You just gestured to all of you," I say with a grin.

Hiccup rolls his eyes, "That's my line, but you're still carrying the fish,"

We continue to argue until we decide to switch off every day, then we exit Hiccups house and head down to the forge. I pull my sword out of the wall while Hiccup snatches the fin and tucks it under one arm.  
"Meet me by the cove once you get the fish," he says before hurrying out the door.

I place the sword back into the scabbard which was lying by the workbench, it was a wonder I missed it and Hiccup and I didn't trip on it while we were working. I put the strap over my chest and head down to the docks, hurrying down the ramp to the wooden planks below. I quickly found the shed and went inside, with the baskets of fish everywhere I noticed labels written in Norse and some pictures as well. I grabbed one that seemed like a variety brand and hoisted it over my shoulder, then I hurried out of the shed but as I exited I bumped into someone. I fell, dropping the basket, "Hey, watch it-"

With dread, I looked at the person who said that and saw Astrid lying there, glaring daggers into me. I didn't have time so I grab the basket and sprinted away. Astrid yelled something at me but I was halfway up the ramp and I was soon rushing through the brush of bushes and plants. I made my way quickly to the cropping ricks and saw Hiccup was already there, waiting down below, I dropped the basket down below before heading to the opening and crawling under the shield. While I placed my sword at the entrance, Hiccup hoisted up the basket and moved toward the opposite side of the lake and cooed "Hey Toothless,"

The said dragons head perked up and noticed the large basket and sniffed the air curiously.

"We brought you breakfast, I hope you're hungry," Hiccup said before pushing the basket down, causing fish to spill on the ground. I move forward, looking at the label on the basket, practicing my Norse "You have some…Salmon…Icelandic cod…and a smoked eel," I say, trying to make it sound appetizing.

As soon as Toothless heard eel, he backed away, snarling at the pile of fish. Hiccup moves forward, and picks up the green and black striped eel, as soon as Toothless sees it; he freaks out, hissing and retreating like it's the spawn of Satan.

"No no no," Hiccup tosses away the eel and reaching out at Toothless, for him to snort and back away. "It's o.k., I really don't like eel much either," Hiccup says as he wipes his hand off on his vest.

I watched in front as Toothless began to devour the fish while Hiccup slowly moved behind the obsidian dragon. Hiccup set down the fin, but since Toothless didn't know what was going on, he kept moving around before finally sticking his head into the basket. The whole time, Hiccup was trying to stop the tail until finally he decided to sit on it after it caused him to slide forward.

I came around Toothless, watching Hiccup tighten the straps on the fin, before opening it up and admiring his work. I was distracted by a flicker of black; I looked and saw Toothlesses other tail-fin extend slightly, then I looked behind us to see Toothlesses wings stretching out slightly. In that second I knew what was going to happen before it did, but before I could even say 'Hiccup" the dragon took off, carrying a screaming Hiccup with it. I watched in shock, my jaw down and eyes wide as Toothless flew, for a while before beginning to fall against the rocky wall. I didn't understand why, but then he shot back up and into the clouds, I was still in the cove and just waited until Hiccup returned. It wasn't long before the pair came swooping down above the lake, I heard Hiccups voice cheering "YES, YES I DID IT!"

I'm guessing Toothless didn't know Hiccup was there, because he looked down and flicked the teen off his tail, Toothless screeched before he too crashed into the lake. I didn't know what to do, but then Hiccup resurfaced and gave a whoop of success, throwing his arms into the air; I was slightly confused, Toothless flew, but the prosthetic malfunctioned again. Hiccup swam to shore, shaking his head to get the water out of his hair, "Did you see that? This is great!"

"Yeah, but we are still far…from done," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, I know, but it's great though because now I know what we need to fix. The tail can't function without something to keep it open, so when we're done with dragon training we can go back to the forge and-" Hiccup rambled.

"Hiccup, stop talking. We'll get there when we do."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders before moving to the eel, "Do you want to get that?" he asked.

"Hell no, that's disgusting," I say.

Hiccup sighs before picking up the eel and putting it under his vest as we left the cove. He then began to sketch a saddle (From what I could see) for Toothless, I had to make sure he didn't trip himself as we walked. We finally entered the village, with only an hour to get to the arena, Hiccup dropped off his notebook at the forge and we sprinted to the arena. We got there in the nick of time to; Gobber saw us run up and said "If you two were a little later, then I would have had ya do my laundry."

Hiccup shuddered at that but we still went inside, I drew my sword out as we entered, only to have it snatched by the hooked man. I look at him quizzically, but he pointed at the buckets of water already by the gate, there were seven of them, one for each of us. Hiccup and I snagged our buckets of water and took our places, "Today is about teamwork," Gobber said as he opened a gate, to have it blasted open and a poison green gas spilling out.

"Now a wet dragon head can't breathe its fire, a Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other lights it and it's your job to know which is which." Gobber continued as the gas surrounded us, I was near Fishlegs and Hiccup and we made a triangle formation as our eyes scanned the smoke.

"Razor sharp teeth that inject venom for predigestion. Prefers ambush attacks, crushing its victims-" Fishlegs whispered to himself.

"Would you please _stop that_," Hiccup whispered back.

We moved in silence for a while, until we heard Snotlout shout "THERE," sloshing water and two yells of surprise.

"Hey, it's us idiots," Ruffnut said.

"Your butts are getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon," Tuffnut said, snickering slightly.

They were on dangerous grounds as it was but then Snotlout added "Not that there's anything wrong with a dragoness fig-" he was cut off by a crack and the sound of water hitting the ground. Then Tuffnut began to yell, and then he ran out of the gas towards us, pushing me out of the way and causing me to drop my bucket, "Chances of surviving are dwindling into single digits now," Fishlegs said.

Then a green head emerged from the falling smoke, slinking forward toward Fishlegs. Hiccup and I back away slowly, _"Where was the other head?" _I wondered. There was a fifty percent chance that the current dragon head was the correct or incorrect head. Fishlegs backed away timidly before throwing water on the head, it had bright green build up in its mouth as Fishlegs chuckled saying "Oh, heh wrong head," before the Zippleback blasted him with gas and he ran away screaming.

Then the heads focused on us and the other head appeared, rubbing its longer teeth together and sparks flying.

"Now Hiccup," Gobber shouted. The said teen threw it at the dragon, to have it barely even fly from the bucket; the Zippleback had a look that said _"Really?"_

"Aw come on," Hiccup protested, and then the dragons' heads lunged forward, causing both of us to fall. Then I turned to Hiccup and whispered "The eel, use the eel."

Hiccup nodded his head, slipping his hand under his vest, before rubbing his hands together and offering his hand. I took it, as we pulled ourselves up and I rubbed my hands together, feeling the slime on them as I held them out.

"HICCUP," Gobber shouted but stopped as the Zippleback began to back away, its heads as far away as possible and their eyes wide open in fear as we approached.

"Back. Get back, don't make me tell you again," Hiccup was saying, with his arms outstretched as we advanced. "That's right, back into your cage," he says before he whispers to me "Stormleg, get the gate,"

I move to one of the large steel doors and pull it closer to the center as Hiccup pulls the eel from his vest and throws it into the cage. Then he grabs the other door and together we push it closed, we turn around, wiping off our hands to see Gobber and the teen's faces confused and a surprised Fishlegs drops his bucket.

"OK, so are we done, because I have something to uh…"Hiccup trails off and we walk quickly away, I snagged my sword as we got out of the arena. Once we were out of sight we began to run, laughing as we went, "Oh my gods, did you see their faces, they were hilarious," Hiccup said with glee.

"Yeah, it was great, but now…let's get…to work," I say.

**A/N: This chapter was a little hard to write due to the Toothless scene and my mind on the fly. Next Chapter, testing and flying Toothless, and the teens getting curious about how Hiccup and Calder got so good. Peace, God Bless and Have a great day**

**Review**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter**

**A/N: So to anybody who doesn't know, tomorrow, July 16 is my birthday, so enjoy this new chapter as a present from me.**

**THank you to all my reviewers, ENJOY!**

I dashed through the forest, carrying a basket of fish for Toothless. After Hiccup and I left the arena, we went to the forge to discuss what to do next,

_Flashback…_

_"Stormleg, we can't help Toothless fly solo, there just isn't enough time. He needs help, so I'm going to control the fin using-" Hiccup began._

_"Using that saddle thing," I finish._

_"Yeah, so you head down there with some fish and I'll meet you there, it may take a while," Hiccup says. _

_Flashback ends…_

I had just gotten to the cove with the fish before Toothless came bounding up, cooing excessively and his eyes wide.

"Hey Toothless," I say, dropping the bag and reaching out with my hand, Toothless stopped and looked warily at me. Then he looks at my sword with a growl, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you. But I'm not going to stop carrying my sword," I say.

Toothless seemed to groan before putting his snout into my hand. I smile before rubbing his head, he cooed, tilting his head down for me to reach it better, "Hiccup will be here later," I say. As soon as Hiccups name was mentioned, Toothlesses head perked up and looked around eagerly for him.

"Ah, he's not here yet bud," I say.

Toothless looks sad for a moment before I say "You want to eat now?" then his eyes narrowed immediately, luckily I knew why, "Don't worry, there's no eel in here," I say holding up the basket and he begins to jump up and down like a dog for a treat. Toothless swoops in and begins to devour the fish before the basket can touch the ground, I smile and pat his head before going back to examine his tail. The tail was magnificent; the scales seemed to shine in the light as it quivered with joy. I rubbed my hand across it, feeling the smooth scales until I went down to the fins, the one remaining fin felt leathery and rough. The other side was rigged with scabs of the healing wounds, did Hiccup feel this when he was putting on the tail? I then remember the scales I found, where those scales? Or droplets of the Night Fury's blood?

I then hear pattering of footsteps and a familiar groan. I turn and see Hiccup looking frustrated at the shield he got stuck when we first met Toothless, officially that is.

"Um, Stormleg can you help me out here?" he asked.

Toothless actually took what was meant for me, to what was meant for him, because he blasted the shield with his purple plasma bolt. Hiccup yelped when the thing shattered, but he said "Thanks," to Toothless. The said dragon snorted before resuming his dinner, Hiccup trotted over to me and held up the saddle. It was completely made up of crossing leather straps, with several belts dangling, waiting to be put across Toothlesses belly.

"Now to put it on Toothless, hopefully he agrees," Hiccup says.

We both turn to see Toothless looking at us with…mischief? He stuck out his tongue, clearly insulting us before running away. I look at Hiccup and he looks at me confused, "Did he just taunt us?" he asks.

"I don't know Hiccup, what do you think he did?" I ask rolling my eyes.

"I'm not sure," he says, his eyes squinting at Toothless "maybe he's just being playful?"

I face-palm at this, "Hiccup, that was sarcasm. He was obviously taunting us."

Hiccups eyes narrow before saying "Oh hell no," before dashing after the dragon, shouting "No person or **dragon** is going to taunt me after what I just went through to help you fly again, get your scaly hide OVER HERE."

I was cracking up at the angry Hiccup as he chased Toothless around the pond, Toothless was making sounds that sounded like laughter and blew a raspberry at Hiccup. The said Viking seemed to grow in rage before leaping over a small boulder and managing to spectacularly land on Toothlesses back and shouted "Like a boss…I think."

As I said before, we still had work to do.

While Hiccup was still at the cove playing with Toothless, I went back to the forge to design something for Hiccup. When Hiccup managed to get on Toothless and fly on the saddle, he promptly fell off when he pulled the rope connected to the tail-fin. But once the rope slipped and Hiccup fell backwards off the dragon when he tried to snag it.

_Flashback…_

_ Hiccup was pulling himself out of the pond while a very disgruntled Toothless was shaking the water off his body. _

_"All part of trial and error Hiccup," I say._

_"Yeah but I need to build something for me to attach to Toothless," he says as he went and picked up his sketchbook._

_ I went to Toothless and unstrapped the saddle, when I noticed two metal curves at the front of the saddle._

_"Hiccup, what are these?" I ask._

_"Those were supposed to be handles, but the idea didn't go so well so I took them off," Hiccup says._

_ The gaps were big enough for me to slip my thumb in the groove when I got an idea. "Hiccup, you play with Toothless longer, I'm heading back."_

_"Why?" Hiccup asks._

_"Toothless likes you more and he missed you when you weren't here, that and I have an idea," I reply, taking the saddle with me._

_Flashback end…_

I snagged a sturdy leather belt, a needle and some thread before getting to work. I took some of the thick metal rings that were lying around and two leather straps and wound the edge of the leather strap around the rings while I attached the other edge to the belt. I sewed the leather so it was tightly attached to the ring and out on the belt; I then hooked the rings to the small metal grooves and tested it out. Hiccup would now be part of the saddle, no more falling back, but the problem now was that he couldn't sit up; he has to lean forward and control the fin some other way. I unhook the harness and take off the belt, picking it and the saddle up and moving into Hiccups workroom.

Inside were drawings and schematics of weapons, like the ballista we used to shoot down Toothless and other fascinating ideas, but as I looked closer, I noticed that they all had the same word on the bottom of the parchment, _FAILURE_. Each idea had failed, my guess was that Hiccup only got one chance to prove the designs worth, and no experiment went right the first time. As I set down the saddle and belt on his workbench, I saw noticed drawings, not of weapons, but of certain things. At first, there were simple, crude drawings of a plant or axe, but I continued to look, they got significantly better. I saw, over a short span of years (According to the pages) the sun setting on a vast ocean, its image being reflected on the crystalline surfaces, I saw a tree amongst waving grass. Then I saw people, Gobber hammering away at a piece of metal, Fishlegs reading the Dragon Manuel, his eyes focused on the page. Ruffnut and Tuffnut facing forward, both of their eyes showed mischief, like they were about to do something stupid. Snotlout appeared, his face filled with a look that was similar to one of a bully, then there was Astrid, she took up the rest of the space.

There were numerous images of her, from one where she had her axe at her side, to one with her clutching a bucket, her eyes filled with courage and focus. But one stuck out though, one that Hiccup probably made up, it showed Astrid pushing her bangs from her left, ocean blue eye that was filled with concern, her face looked tender and caring. Was this what Hiccup saw in her? A girl with a tough appearance by most but was a big softy inside?

Then I saw the pictures of Stoick. Some pictures had him in front of a crowd; he looked like he was ordering them around because the picture had an aura of leadership. That soon dissipated when it showed the same crowd, all looking at the artist, Stoicks eyes filled with disappointment. There was only one explanation; they were all looking at Hiccup, the screw up, the failure, it all reminded me of Jason. I blinked, Jason? Why should I be thinking about him, he's the outcast, the reject, he's just like…

Hiccup.

Then it all clicked, Hiccup and Jason were alike, and I had approached one and not the other. I was so focused on not being noticed, that I shunned Jason, I hoped that I could make amends for that when I got back. If I got back.

My stomach growled, time for supper, I leave the forge and walk up to the Mead Hall, only to run into Hiccup on the way "Hey Stormleg," he says, "You're hungry too?" I nod my head and we enter the hall, sitting at an empty table by the wall. A female Viking brought two plates of chicken and cups of ale, Hiccup gave a quick thanks before digging into the chicken. I sunk my teeth into the chicken leg and began to chew the tender meat; soon I was finished and went to look for more.

The hall was arranged so the kitchen was put near the far side of the hall, so I went across the hall to get there, the cooks were very nice and understood that I was hungry using some gestures and gave me another piece. As I went back though I noticed Snotlout, Tuffnut and Fishlegs had just entered and noticed Hiccup, the said boy noticed and was suddenly nervous as they got closer. I walked quickly across the hall but I wouldn't get there in time, thinking quick I pretended to slip on a bone and fell flat of my back. The hall erupted in laughter and Snotlout and Tuffnut joined in as I sat up, rubbing my head and beginning to laugh at my mistake. I glanced around to see Hiccup slip quietly out of the hall, I pick up my plate which still had the chicken on it and sat down at a random table. I was so focused on my meal, that when I looked up, I noticed Snotlout and the rest of the teens sitting at the table, Ruff and Tuff on either side of me. Astrid was sitting opposite of me, while Snotlout and Fishlegs sat on either side of her.

"OK Stormleg, how did you get that Zippleback to back down," Snotlout asked.

I began to stand up but the twins put their hands on my shoulders and shoved me back down, Ruffnuts hand dug into my burned shoulder so I let out a hiss as she pushed down. Astrid looked impatient; Fishlegs looked upset, most likely because this wasn't how he rolled. I look at Snotlout and pointed at my throat and shook my head,

"Don't give us that dragon crap, we know you can since you shouted after that burn," Snotlout said.

When I didn't do anything, Snotlout got a devious look and nodded at Ruffnut. She smacked her hand on my shoulder, causing a swell of pain to arise and a groan emitted from my throat. I pointed at my throat again but this time, both the twins clamped their hands into my shoulders, Ruffnuts pressing deeper than before. The pain was so excruciating, I bared my teeth into a silent howl, and then the pain began to ebb away. I looked up and noticed Gobber standing there, a scowl written on his face, all the teens were looking down at the stone floor. Gobber looked at me before jerking his head at the entrance, not needing a hint; I clamber out of the bench and hurry away. The pain in my shoulder still hurt, I moved the tunic collar down to look at the bandage, red covered almost all of the formally white linen, I need to get it looked at and only one person could help take care of me.

I trudged up the hill to Gothis shack and knocked, the frail old lady opened the door, looking up at me quizzically. It takes a second before she quickly ushers me inside and points at a chair. I sit down and begin to remove my shirt and revealing the bandage, Gothis eyes widened in shock as she stared at the burn before she began to carefully unwind the cloth. I gritted my teeth as she continued to unwind the wound, flashes of pain erupted where he gentle fingers grazed. Soon it was off and Gothi gave a gasp of shock, I look and see the worst sight. The metal shards were gone, revealing four inch long cuts that were inflamed and oozing blood and pus; the burns were an even fiery red with blisters along my arm.

"I ask you to take it easy and instead you let this happen," she said furiously. She began to mutter a string of curses as she rummaged through her cupboard, "Didn't Gobber keep you from the ring? I asked him to bring you here to check the wounds and THIS happens."

I look at her bewildered, she was the reason Gobber didn't want me in the ring, I reminded to thank him for his sudden appearance at the Mead Hall. Gothi came over to me clutching a jar of green liquid, "You're in for a rough night boy, you need to take this, it will help you sleep as I work but unfortunately it tastes like dragon piss."

_"Have some experience with dragon piss have you Gothi?" _I thought. She looked at me "Really? I'm going to take care of you and instead you sprout that out?" she said. I held up my hands to say _'Just trying to lighten the mood'_

"Well then, this will give me a laugh," she said before snatching up her staff and whacking my head with it, knocking me out again.

**_(A/N: Ha-ha, Harry Potter reference if you've seen the seventh movie.) _**

**_Hiccups POV…_**

**The Next Day…**

I hurried to the forge, hoping I would see Stormleg there. I haven't seen him since dinner yesterday. The teens had nearly had me cornered before Stormleg tripped on something. While they were busy laughing at me, I quickly escaped the hall, it was too close though, I could have sworn I saw Fishlegs glance at me before looking away. Anyway, I quickly dashed home to try and escape the teens, hopefully Stormleg got away as well, he may not know them, but they can all be pretty evil if they want something. I step inside the forge and immediately went back to my workroom, there lying on my desk was the saddle and a belt. I take it that it was what Stormleg was working on before when he left me and Toothless, I strap the belt on my waist and see two rings that were crudely connected to the belt, yep Stormleg did this.

I place the belt on and thinking _"What in Midgard was this,"_ until the saddle pulled me down, since one of the rings was attached to the saddle. I grab the saddle and with a grunt, I prop it back up against one of the wooden support beams, before attaching the other ring to the metal grooves in the saddle. I shook the saddle slightly and the belt moved with it, Stormleg made myself able to be part of the saddle but now how do I move the tail?

I snag the saddle and rush to the cove, hoping Stormleg was already there with the basket of fish. I dash through the thicket and soon I'm at the cove faster than before, as I hurried down there, Toothless bounded up to me and butted his head into my stomach, I felt his purring rumble through my body.

"Hey bud, how are you?" I say while rubbing his head. He looks at me with his wide eyes before licking my face. With a sound of disgust I wipe it off; I did not want to walk around with dragon saliva on my face, Toothless remained happy though but there was still no sign of Stormleg.

"Sorry bud, I don't have any fish, I promise though I will bring some," I say. Toothless let out a sad purr before he noticed the saddle I had. "Yes, we're trying again and if you try and run away again I will slip an eel into your dinner."

Toothless seemed to shudder before he got down on his paws and let me put the saddle on him comfortably and soon we were back into the air. I had to hand it to Stormleg, his idea was ingenious, but how do I control the tail-fin using my foot?

We were flying alright in the cove until I tugged on the rope and went crashing into a large field of soft grass. Groaning, I pull myself up from the ground to hear Toothless make a weird sound. I push my way through the massive grassy stalks to see Toothless rolling around in the grass, making sounds of what I knew now was pleasure. I snag a piece the stuff, it was very soft, almost like feathers, I bring out my journal and immediately catalog the stuff, calling it Dragon Nip before storing it into my journal before trying to get Toothlesses attention so we could get back to the village.

I hurried to the Kill Ring, which had wooden barricades spread out everywhere. I hoped that Stormleg was already there, but as I approached I saw Gobber and the others, no sign of him. Where was Stormleg? I was surprised that none of the teens said anything but I was more focused on Gobber.

"Hey Gobber, where's Stormleg?" I ask. Gobber looks at me, a little nervous before he said "Stormlegs wound has…gotten worse," at that he glares at Snotlout, "he should be back later today, probably after training."

He then turns to the cages, "So today we will-" he began.

"How?" I ask. Gobber looks at me confused, "How did it get worse? I saw the bindings, the wound should have been fine unless-" I stop, unless someone purposely attacked it, then I realizing why Gobber glared at Snotlout. I look at Snotlout, rage boiling in my gut, he tries to look nonchalant, "Yeah, I did it, whatcha gonna do about it Use-" The next thing I knew, my fist was outstretched and Snotlout was lying on the ground, clutching his nose.

The other teens stood shocked, Hiccup the Useless just punched Snotlout. Hiccup the Useless never fights back, he's just useless and messes up things. Gobber clears his throat as Snotlout gets back up, just staring at me in shock as I go to the weapons rack and grab an axe, "Today we will be facing the Gronckle again," Gobber continues.

We take our positions as Gobber pulls the lever. The Gronckle comes out quickly and we spread out, picking up the shields on the ground. The twins are the first to go, charging at the Gronckle while banging on their shields but quickly forgetting about the dragon when Ruffnut bumps into her brother. Fishlegs was too big to hide behind a barricade and the Gronckle nicked his helmet and he ran away screaming. I hid behind one of the barricades when I felt my journal on my belt, could the Dragon Nip be used against the Gronckle. I quickly drop my axe and took out the nip before standing up, Snotlout charged at the Gronckle before it head-butted him against the wall. Its yellow eyes fixed on me before it flew forward, I quickly extended the hand that had the nip and the dragon fell down, its eyes growing wide as it sniffed the nip. I scratched its nose and it rolled onto its side; it wasn't until I heard clapping that I realized that there was a small crowd of the Vikings that couldn't go with my father on the hunt for the Nest. I quickly tucked the nip away before walking out of the Ring, I was headed across the bridge to the docks but then I heard someone shout "Hiccup."

Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout are all running up while Astrid is still taking her time walking behind the others, her face in its stony demeanor.

"Hiccup, how did you do that?" Fishlegs asked amazed. I immediately begin to think of something as the twins spoke.

"Yeah, how did you?" Asked Tuffnut, "Hey, I was going to ask that," Ruffnut says but even the twins were together on this one. It wasn't until Snotlout said "I've never seen a Gronckle do that," when I came up with an excuse.

"Uh I left my axe in the ring. You guys go ahead," I say as I begin to back away, almost bumping into Astrid who jumped slightly as I dodged her, "I'll catch up with you," I shout out as I ran to take the long way to the docks that took me through the village. Time to pick up some food and a missing Viking.

**_A/N: Time to get Calder back in action, next chapter about the Nadder and the Terrible Terror. Peace, have a great day and God bless you._**

**_Review_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter**

**_Calder/ Stormlegs POV…_**

My eyes open to see a familiar room around me; I was currently in the guest room of Gothis shack. Gothi was asleep in her room that was adjacent with mine, in case she needed to check up on me. I sit up and roll my freshly bandaged shoulder; it felt better than ever thanks to Gothi, even if she was a psychotic, staff wielding maniac. I find myself wearing nothing but a (What I believe were called) skivvies. I look around and see my clothes folded on top of a chest at the end of the bed with my sword lying in the scabbard against the chest. I quickly got out of the bed and put on my clothes, I had just put on my shirt when there was a knock at Gothis door. I quickly snag my sword before I move towards the door and open it; outside was Hiccup with a basket of what I assumed was fish.

"Stormleg are you OK?" Hiccup asked urgently. I nodded my head slowly, unsure of why Hiccup was worried.

"Thanks for bringing the fish, but I think it's a little too late now. We need to get to training." I say.

"Stormleg, training is over already, how long were you out?" Hiccup asked.

"All night and a good part of the day," a voice said.

We look and see Gothi standing there, leaning against her staff, "I knew you could speak boy," she says smugly.

"How much did you hear, and how did you wake up, if you worked all night Gothi?" I ask, meanwhile thinking _"How do we make sure that she doesn't tell anyone about how I could speak."_

"Don't worry child, I won't tell anyone, but you do owe me an explanation. You too Hiccup, why do you have a basket of fish?" she asks.

Thinking quickly I say "The basket is for…training. We run around the island carrying the basket to try and get fit for training."

Luckily she bought the ruse, "Well, you still have some explaining to do Stormleg. I'll have to do a check-up in a couple, so please come straight here during supper; it will be nice to have company." Gothi said. "You're welcome to Hiccup," she added when she saw Hiccups concerned face.

"Thanks for everything Gothi," I say as Hiccup and I exit her shack, "Oh, Stormleg, if you hurt that shoulder again I will lock you in this shack until you get well," Gothi shouted.

Once the door was shut, I scoop up the fish basket and said "Did you like the belt?"

"I could tell it was from you because the sewing was terribly done," he replies.

"Hey, not everyone works in a forge when they were a ten," I retort.

"I was six actually," corrects Hiccup. I gave a frustrated sigh before saying "I'm going to go see Toothless and find a way to apologize for not bringing fish."

We split when we reach the bottom of the hill. Hiccup continues on the path to the village while I get off the path and make my way through the forest. It wasn't long when I came to the cove; I slid down the rocks and looked around for Toothless. The bushes rustled, I turned too late and an enthusiastic Toothless was giving me a bath with his dragon spit.

"Ugh Toothless. Stop. Get off. Come on Toothless," I complain as Toothless continues to lick my face, pressing his paw on my chest to make sure I don't escape.

"This is punishment for not delivering your breakfast, isn't it?" I ask.

Immediately, the dragon stops and looks at me before giving me a nod. "OK, now that we have that out of the way, can you let me up? I have some fish for you," I say.

He gives me one more lick, which makes my hair stand up straight. I push over the basket and soon all the fish were devoured, Toothless then came over to me and grunted.

"What is it?" I ask.

He moves his head down, putting it under my hand on a place on his neck. He moved his head back and forth, causing my hand to slap his neck; I had no idea what he wanted me to do.

"You want me to karate chop your neck?" I ask.

He groans before moving away, he raised his paw to his neck, but he couldn't reach it. Then he moved his paw back and forth before placing his head under his hand, and then it hit me.

"You want me to scratch you?" I ask. Toothless purred.

I use my nails to scratch a rough spot on his neck; he began to purr so much, vibrations ran up my arm. He tilted his head slightly; I kept scratching, noticing more of those rough scales on the bottom of his jaw, so I scratched there. Instantly, his eyes widen as if in shock, then they rolled up in his head as he flopped down, his mouth curled into a grin.

I stared in shock, before looking at my hands. This was totally awesome, I had knocked out a dragon with my bare hands, this would come in handy, especially with tomorrow's dragon.

"What did you do to Toothless Stormleg?" I hear.

I turn and see a shocked, jaw dropped Hiccup, the saddle and belt were lying on the ground.

"There's some kind of spot under his jaw, so when I scratched it, he was immediately knocked out," I explain, still in awe of what had happened.

"Well wake him up, I'm working on a device that will hold my foot in place while I ride Toothless, so the wind doesn't affect Toothless as much."

I think for a second before an evil grin comes to my face.

"Hiccup, come here for a second, I want to check the belt." I say.

Hiccup cautiously steps forward until he is standing in front of Toothless.

My grin widens and before Hiccup could do anything I shout "TOOTHLESS, HICCUPS TRYING TO FEED YOU AN EEL!"

The effect is immediate. Toothlesses eyes open and when they land on Hiccup, they turn into slits and he pounces on him, growling slightly.

"THIS WASN'T FUNNY STORMLEG," Hiccup shouts

"It is pretty funny," I reply, howling with laughter.

Soon, Toothless realizes what happened and fixes his green eyes on me, my mirth is replaced with horror and I immediately begin to run away from the angry Night Fury.

"Karma's a bitch isn't it Stormleg?" Hiccup asks.

"SCREW YOU!"

_Line break _

It was the next day. Hiccup and I stayed at the cove for most of the day, luckily nobody bothered us during dinner, a couple Vikings patted Hiccup on the back though saying "Great job in the ring Hiccup, give 'em some from us.

I look at Hiccup with confusion, I pointed at the Vikings with my thumb. Hiccup understood, he brought out his journal and handed it to me. I notice a tuft of green and thumb open to the page, inside was a piece of grass and notes.

The notes read

_The grass has a curious effect on the dragons, it seems like it feels like a soft cloth to dragons. Toothless couldn't get enough of it while he was rolling around in the large field of it near the cove. Next time I need to bring Stormleg and show him what happens, I bet he will definitely get a kick out of it._

I nod my head in understanding before returning the journal to Hiccup and we resumed dinner in peace.

**_Next Day_**

_At The Kill Ring…_

"Today, we will again be facing against the Nadder," Gobber says before moving to the said dragons gate. Except this time there were none of the wooden walls from the previous exercise. All the teens were lined up again, itching for the fight.

I noticed that there was a larger crowd than before, all looking expectantly at… Hiccup? I had to ask what happened yesterday later because the Nadder quickly shot out of the cage. I sprinted towards a red shield, quickly drawing out my sword, and observing the dragon, Hiccup close by me.

It flung its spikes at the twins who were quarrelling over who had whose spear, which attracted the Nadder and flung her tail spikes at them. The spikes narrowly missed them but had caught on their clothes and they were now stuck to the wall as Gobber tried to free them. Snotlout was actually doing better, he didn't fling his mace but he kept trying to flirt with Astrid, which got him blasted with the Nadders fire.

Astrid was doing well until she flung her axe at the Nadder who batted to away with the spikes that went around the edges of its head. The Nadder soon set its eyes on me and charged forward, I quickly drop my sword and shield, quickly moving into its blind spot, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Hiccup followed my movement.

The Nadder froze; it tilted its head and its eye peered cautiously at us until I heard a fierce war cry. I look and see Astrid charging forward with her axe raised with murderous intent, even though I didn't know this dragon, it couldn't be any different from Toothless could it? I move forward quickly scratching its jaw, the effect was instantaneous.

The Nadders eyes rolled back into its head and she collapsed into a puddle of goo. Not paying attention, I turn and clap Hiccup on the shoulder, flashing him a thumbs up for following my lead. It wasn't until he scratched the back of his head that I noticed that the crowd was cheering for Hiccup, I turn around to grab my sword and see that Astrid had stopped short, looking at Hiccup and I with shock and confusion.

It was oh so hard not to smirk at the defeated Astrid but we did have a dragon to see.

The good news was that nobody had noticed me as I left the arena. The bad news was that when I clapped Hiccup on the shoulder, everyone thought that Hiccup had taught me what I did. Now, all of the teens (Minus Astrid) and a good portion of the crowd were crowding Hiccup and asking how he had learned what he did.

So, I did the only thing that came to my mind, the plan so sophisticated at that moment, it was so crazy that it just might work.

…

I grabbed Hiccup and sprinted out of the ring.

Ok, maybe not so smart, but Gobber seemed to understand we needed to leave, so after Hiccup and I left, he quickly shut the gate, trapping Hiccups fan club inside.

"Ta' stupid gate is always messing up," was his excuse as he tried to open it back up as Hiccup and I escaped.

Hiccup went to the forge while I went to the docks to get the fish. It was pure luck that I had decided to get the fish because when I came back up the ramp, the whole village was bustling, looking for the new, 'esteemed' dragon prodigy.

Since Hiccup had most likely already made it to the cove, it wouldn't be that hard to get there, would it?

I was wrong when a villager shouted "Look its Stormleg!"

I quickly slung the basket straps over my shoulders and sprinted into the forest. The Vikings gave chase but I soon lost them as I ducked through the thick undergrowth, making my way back to the cove, as I was standing at the top of the cliff, I saw Toothless pouncing on a beam of light.

It was like a cat chasing a laser pointer; it was amusing to see a fully grown dragon pouncing like a kitten on the dot only to see he hadn't caught it and give a growl of frustration.

Hiccup was hiding behind a rock, directly in a beam of sunlight. He saw me and waved with his free hand, in the other hand was a small hammer.

"So, found new ways to turn Toothless into a cat?" I ask.

Hiccups eyes narrow, "What's a cat?" he asks.

"A cat is a small, fuzzy animal, like a dog but much smaller and cuter. But cats and dogs hate each other, strangely." I explain to the perplexed Hiccup.

He cocked his head, still confused but he wasn't paying attention the direction the hammer was pointing.

SPLASH!

We look and see a disgruntled Toothless climbing out of the lake, most likely giving up on catching the light. When he saw us, he waddled over and nudged the basket of fish, I quickly open it but before he ate, he shook his body to get rid of the water. Unfortunately, all that water landed on us,

"Toothless," we groan at the dragon who was flashing us with his gummy smile.

"Meet the Terrible Terror," Gobber said as the gate lifts.

I braced myself for a huge dragon to come out; instead there was a sound of a flap being opened. I look down to see a tiny green dragon, the size of a Chihuahua, it was rather cute as it licked its eyeball, but something about Gobbers smile made me nervous.

"Ha, it's like the size of my-" Tuffnut never said how big it was because the tiny Terror jumped him, it was now clinging to his face by his nose.

"OH! Get it OFF!" he screamed.

Then it opened its eyes and saw a small dot of light. I look and see that Hiccup had cleverly used his shield as a reflector and was making the Terror chasing the dot.

To back him up, I quickly reversed my grip on my sword so the flat of the blade went down my arm and moved close to Hiccup, pretending to back him up. I stayed in the shadows though so I wouldn't accidently reflect light, soon it was scurrying back into its cage and Hiccup quickly placed his boot at the flap as I flicked the lever lazily with my sword. The crowd cheered again, Hiccup looked back at the teens meekly before he noticed the crowd. We share a look and we immediately bolt.

We were moving through the forest, Hiccup carrying a completed saddle and I had the fish.

"So we need to find a place to test this out, Stormleg on your way to the village, before we met did you see any kind of cliff?"

I was about to respond when I heard a Viking war cry, Hiccup and I freeze as we stare at Astrid, who was in the middle of her training.

Her blond hair was plastered to her forehead, her breathing was heavy, her shirt clung to her body, showing off her curves and her shirt was covered in dirt. To be honest, the sight was very…appetizing.

We stood there for a second before I grabbed Hiccup by the shoulder and walked away to the cove; I heard a crunch in the forest and knew that Astrid was following us. When we turned past the rock that Hiccup had passed out near, I grabbed him by the tunic and shoved him against the rock.

He was about to say something but I clamped one hand on his mouth while with the other I pressed against my lips. Hiccup cocked his head as I pointed up; we waited before hearing a growl of frustration and more crunching footsteps.

I risk a peek and see Astrid stomping off to her clearing; I let out a breath of relief and stand up. I look at Hiccup who was still in shock, I snapped my fingers under his nose and he blinked.

"Well, I never figured you were a perv Hiccup," I say with a grin.

"W-Wh-What, no way I am not," said Hiccup defensively.

"Oh, so you weren't thinking about Astrid. The way her shirt clung to her sweaty body, the way her hair was all tangled up, she-"

"Shut up Stormleg!" Hiccup shouts, going beet red.

It was much later, after helping Hiccup put the very sophisticated saddle on Toothless; we went in search of a cliff, where we were now.

I was standing in awe as Hiccup had rigged a rope to a broken tree stump, connecting the rope to the saddle as they glided with the wind. They weren't flying, but it was cool all the same, Hiccup was scribbling something on a piece of parchment as Toothless landed on the ground. Then the wind picked up, lifting the teen and dragon.

SNAP

"OH CRAP!" I shout, diving out of the way as a large heavy dragon went crashing past my head.

I picked myself back up and ran after the pair, to hear Hiccup mutter "Oh great."

"What's wrong Hiccup?" I ask.

"One of the belt straps is stuck in the saddle," Hiccup said.

It took a minute, but I understood the gravity of the situation. Since I left my sword back at the village, we had no way to free Hiccup from Toothless, the only usable tools were back at the village.

"Tell me what you need and I'll get for you Hiccup," I say.

"No, you don't know everything about the forge, luck for us, it's getting dark soon. We wait until the sun goes down and we'll sneak into the village, get to the forge, and try and get the belt off the saddle, sound like a plan?"

**_Line break_**

I hurried to the forge; Hiccup was sticking to the outskirts of the village, ducking in between houses so he could still see me as I looked around for villagers. Just then, a guard had come around a corner, I quickly held up my hand and casually leaned against a house.

"Stormleg, how are ye," he asked.

I give him a look before pointing at my throat, the guard then smacked his head.

"Right, ye can't speak. Well, I wish you luck in the next training event, I remember my first time,"

The guard continues to ramble on, I look at Hiccup and made a shooing gesture. He nods and pulls Toothless to the forge.

I pretend I'm interested as he talks about how he killed the Nightmare in the ring, the pride he felt, I was soooooo bored. Finally he says "Whelp, I have to get back to work now, goodbye Stormleg."

I watch him round a corner and then I sprint to the forge, I soon came to the forge but froze; Hiccup was standing there talking to Astrid. Hiccup was wearing his apron over his clothes, so I assumed that she couldn't see the gear he wore. Then it seemed like he was jerked back by something, it looked like he chuckled for a second before he was _lifted off the ground and pulled into the forge_.

Jeez man, why is this so hard? I mean, why does this village have to be filled with dragon killers, why not nice farmers or fisherman?

Then as Astrid jerked open the stall doors, Hiccup came racing from the back of the forge riding Toothless. He saw me and then Toothless swooped up, grabbing me with his paws.

I thankfully didn't scream, but nearly bit my finger off. We soon landed back in the cove, Toothless dropped me back on the ground, I unfortunately had to use my bad shoulder. Hiccup slid off Toothless and walked forward, "That was way to close," he said.

"You think," I replied.

"Oh no, is your shoulder alright? Do we need to get it checked out again?" he asked.

Shoulder. Check. Check-up. Oh no.

"Oh no, Hiccup, I forgot. We need to see Gothi NOW!" I shout.

**I assumed that Hiccup would have no idea what a cat was because I don't think they had cats back then. I just got back from my grandparents, so I thought I might add another chapter. Next, Dinner with Gothi, Hiccups first Test Flight and Astrid still isn't sated with Hiccups responses. Peace, have a great day and God Bless.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter**

Hiccup and I were dashing up the hill to Gothis shack, Hiccup seemed fine, besides the heaving breaths but I was extremely nervous. I had no idea on how to explain my predicament to Gothi, I wasn't even sure if she would believe me. Hiccup was different but even he would have trouble believing this, soon we were at Gothis door, Hiccup knocks and then there were footsteps and Gothi soon opened the door, we must have been quite the sight, with our red faces and panting heavily.

"Hiccup, Stormleg, come in, come in," Gothi says.

As we enter, food was set at a round table near the hearth, which was glowing brightly and the fire would crackle occasionally. We sat down, Gothi took the chair opposite of the fire, I sat in the chair opposite of her and Hiccup sat awkwardly at the far end. A maid comes and places food on our plates and fills our steins, after giving her a quick thank you I dug in.

"So, where so you come from Stormleg?" Gothi asked.

I froze in my chewing, what do respond with? Then Hiccup says "He lives in a village called Ameerca. It seems like a really nice place to live, they have a leader but the whole village can decide whether or not to abide by his laws. They have large houses and they all have other kinds of foods and liquids, he likes something called Cokah-Coala. But it's very far away though."

"Oh, how far away is it?" Gothi asked, this time she leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and lacing her hands together.

"I-It's really far away. D-Down south, where there isn't much snow, b-but it's not like it's on the other side of the world right?" I stammer.

Hiccup stares, "Stormleg, the world's flat," he stated.

Oh damn.

"How do you know the worlds not flat?" Gothi asks, her eyebrow was raised with a smirk on her face.

Damn, damn.

"You're not from this world are you?" she asked.

Defeated, I shook my head; Hiccup fish falls out of his mouth, "You're a god?" he squeaks.

I shake my head again, "Brace yourselves, because this is going to see crazy."

I told them everything, how I was from another world and that I was years ahead in technology, economy, etc. and I had somehow ended up here on Berk. Hiccup looked like his brain had exploded, then he leaned back in his chair and fell down, not moving from his spot.

I look at Gothi, placing my hands by my head and doing the 'Mind Blown' she looked at me confused before I said "I just blew Hiccups mind."

She shook her head before getting up from the table and walked into her room. Gothi returned with a frame and a velvet bag, the frame was rectangular but it lacked an edge. She placed the frame with the missing edge at the far end of the table before opening the velvet bag and dumping out the contents.

Out came eight square pieces of wood with Norwegian writing on all sides except one.

"Urd, spirit of the past. Verdandi, seer of the present. Skuld, speaker of the future. You three Norns tell me what I seek," Gothi chanted before tossing the pieces of wood onto the frame.

They all rolled until they fell off the table, "Well that was anti-climactic," I say.

Gothi frowns before going to the end of the table and retrieving the wood pieces. She came back, holding them gingerly in her hands.

"Do you know what these are?" Gothi asked.

When I shook my head, she said "These are sacred runes. These runes speak the future of a person, every time I throw them; the future it spoke of comes to pass. Every time they roll, they come on a rune, but this has never has this happened before."

I look at the runes before taking them from Gothi. She was about to protest until I said "You three Norns tell me my fate," and dropped them straight on the frame.

When they fell, they bounced before they all showed one face, nothing.

"I'm going to take a guess, the Norns do not know about me. I'm guessing that I'm some kind of variable." I explain to a confused Gothi.

Gothi looks frustrated at me, "Boy do you know about the Norns? They-"

"They represent time," I interrupt. "They not only tell of the past, present, and future, but they mix water from the well of fate and pour it on Yggdrasil, the tree that keeps the nine realms in order. Gothi, I come from a future world filled with Norse mythology and am currently doing a project on it now, I know this."

Gothi looked surprised again before shaking her head, "It seems that the future is in danger, back in my day us children showed respect to our elders."

Gothi sighs before finishing up her dinner, "Take off shirt boy so I can see your 'honorable' scar."

I do as she asks and she hops onto a chair and begins to probe the healing tissue. It had healed up quite nicely; the burns were a light pink, a big contrast to its former swelling red. The cuts that extended from my shoulder to my collarbone were just thin red marks; overall my shoulder should be back to normal soon.

"Hm, a few days and your shoulder will be as good as new," Gothi says before she jumps down from the chair, "Get ready, in two days is the final exam," she says before going into her bedroom.

I look down and still see a passed out Hiccup, now I could be a total jerk and do the same trick he used on me for a quick wake up. But I needed to take the high ground

…

Screw that.

_SPLASH_

"WHAT THE-"

"PAYBACK BABY!"

* * *

I was walking around the forest; Hiccup had decided to take Toothless for a flight to test the saddle. Using a bike pedal to control the tail fin was rather ingenious, I wanted to come along, but Hiccup said it would be easier if there was only one person on Toothless.

I was standing on a cliff until I saw something in the distance.

"What the," I mutter, squinting my eyes to get a better view.

It looked vaguely like a boat, a boat that's been through the crew from 'Destroy Build Destroy' or…

No.

Stoick was back.

I sprinted to the village, Gobber would be in the forge right about now, and he was working on something to troll-proofing his house.

I dashed through the village, barely dodging Astrid, who had her axe in hand, and hurried into the forge. Gobber has hammering a piece of metal when I came in.

"Stormleg, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Stoicks…back…" I say, breathing heavy.

Gobber looks surprised before he strode to the stall windows and shouted "Everyone to th' docks, Stoicks returned!"

Gobber turned to me and said "Same goes for you too Stormleg," before moving to his wall of prosthetics.

I nodded my head before hurrying to the docks; most of the Vikings were already there, waiting for the ship to get to the docks. As the ship got closer, I noticed the damage that had been inflicted onto it, the mast was barely intact, the topgallant was crooked; the sails that bore dragons impaled on spears and swords were singed at the edges and had holes that strongly resembled Nadder spikes.

Stoick was the off the boat, he took Gobbers offered hand and people were passing baskets of supplies, I helped transport them off while Gobber and Stoick were talking about Hiccup. After I grabbed my fifth basket I turned and bumped into someone large and, I look and see a beaming Stoick, who promptly grabs the basket along with four more baskets and slings them over his shoulder.

"I hear from Gobber you can…talk?" he asks.

I look around before giving him the faintest nod. He gives a hearty bellow before clapping me on the shoulder, which nearly made my knees buckle.

"I'm glad you looked after Hiccup, especially since he became a true Viking, after all these years…" he continued to drone on, thanking Odin for his help and talking about how exciting it was to kill a dragon.

_"Yeah, you still don't listen to your son, even when you're so proud of him, you never will," _I think as I walk away from Stoick.

I was walking past the forge when something grabbed my collar and slammed me into a wall. I look and see a smirking Astrid,  
"So Stormleg, how is Hiccup getting better at fighting dragons, and don't tell me that you can't speak. I heard you tell Gobber that Stoick had returned," she said this as she pressed the axe against my throat.

I was surprised; Astrid was more resourceful than I thought. I still had some leftover anger at Astrid, but I had to try and squelch that, it didn't stop me from slowly clapping.

She looked confused for a moment, I looked around, seeing the coast was clear before saying "Well done Astrid, you have found out a mute can speak."

Astrid smirks before saying, "It wasn't that hard, you were just too unobservant to notice I was following you."

"Same goes for you too when you tried to follow us yesterday, you didn't even realize we were behind the rock you hit. So out of several days of dodging you, you got us once, I think you understand how much better a Hiccup and I are than you."

Astrid growls before digging the axe into my throat, "So why don't you tell me how you got better?

"Why spoil it, I mean it's not like a final exam is coming up is- oh wait. Yeah there is."

"Why not spoil it, I mean it's not like you have a family to return to or sister that cares about you-oh wait." Astrid smirks, "She left you and became a whore."

Normally that would set me off like a bomb, but I thought of a good comeback. "Much like you're going to become when you lose this thing?" I ask innocently.

Astrid's face goes red with rage before grabbing my collar and shoving me on the ground, as I try to get up, something slams on the back of my head and I black out.

* * *

I groan, why did my head feel like angry wasps were stinging my head?

"Wake up, milk-drinker." I hear in a restless voice.

I look and see an upside down Astrid, standing there with her axe at her side. Why was she upside down? And why were my arms dangling like I was Luke Skywalker? I look down and see the night sky with my feet tied together at my ankles, and then I remember Astrid, her cornering me and me blacking out. I instinctively reach for my sword, but find it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Astrid asks, I heard a _ZING_, and then she stabs my blade into the ground, a couple feet in front of me, making the sword stick in the ground.

I glare at Astrid as she grabs her axe and does a few practice swings, "Now let's try this again. How are you and Hiccup doing well?" she asks angrily, pressing the axe against my throat.

"We're just better than you Astrid. Why is it that hard to acknowledge that?" I ask, smirking.

Astrid had apparently been waiting forever for this moment and her patience was thin, as well as her anger. She narrowed her eyes before switching her handle and gutting me with the butt of her axe. I grunted in pain and still held my defiant expression, but then she grabbed me by the hair and pulled me close to her face and said "By the time I get back, you had better tell me how you're getting good or I will make sure you never have kids."

She stomps off, taking her axe with her, now I really understood when Gobber said **_"… you don't go around and do somethin' like tha' to Astrid Hofferson…_**_"_ I needed to get out of there.

I try and reach for my sword, but it was still out of reach. I try again but I was still too far away, frustrated I jerk my hand backwards, causing my body to lightly hit the tree.

Then it hit me, literally.

I began to rock back in forth, causing my body to move like a pendulum. I got my momentum going so I could touch the tree with both hands, then I pushed off the tree in the direction of the sword. Then I reached out for the leather wrapped hilt, barely grabbing it with my fingertips, then I looked for the rope that was tied into the ground.

There, next to the bush.

I slashed out with the blade; I barely hit it, only hitting the edge of the rope. I tried again, managing to whack of a bit more, then I heard a twig snap, I quickly swung a wide arc and the rope, managing to slice it. Then I fell on the ground, I quickly stood up, but when the blood rushed out of my head, I saw black everywhere, when my vision cleared, I saw Astrid, who had dropped her axe in shock.

Not wasting time, I sprinted away, scooping up my scabbard that lay discarded on the ground.

"Get back here!" I heard Astrid shout after me before taking chase.

I ran through the forest, leaping over rocks and crashing through the foliage of the forest. I spared a look behind me and my face fell flat. While I was tripping on anything inanimate, Astrid jumped and slid around the forest brush like it was second nature to her. After yet another pine tree branch swatted me, I was starting to come to terms that Astrid would eventually catch me. I burst through a bush and find a less dense part of the forest, I could hear Astrid gaining, fortunately, a light bulb came on and I had hope. I had to have something over Astrid; I mean I was in the Dark Ages.

_"What's something modern day no one's ever seen?" _I wonder_._

Then it hit me, modern-age sport evasion movements, football to be specific.

Astrid was zoning in on me, almost close enough to tackle me, but then her eyes widened when I whirled out of her grasp and the base of a large Oak came into view. Luckily, she managed to dodge the worst of the blow, the tree only came in contact with her shoulder, but she lost focus and her momentum and tumbled to the leafy floor.

"You just got juked, Astrid!" I barked of laughter over my shoulder. Then I ran a good few feet before I started taking random twists and turns. During the many detours, I climbed a hill and scanned over the treetops for smoke, relying on the moon to see. I gathered that Hiccup couldn't have been at the forge from proof that there wasn't smoke within roughly 10 miles. Scaling down the mountain, I got trudged back on course towards the Cove.

Finally at the bottom of the hillside, my arms and legs felt like they were being jabbed by fire pokers. That or fire ants crawling up and down my limbs.

Awhile later, I finally made it to the 'Switcheroo' rock where Hiccup and I lost Astrid that other time. I slowed down to a walk, and then stopped at the entrance. Doubling over, my mind went to how out of shape I was. _"I'm really pathe-" _

"Gah!"

Before I knew what was happening, I tumbled down the descent to the Cove, rolling down the slope with someone's arms around my waist. I also noticed something else. Blonde hair.

Crap.

Fortunately, as we were rolling, Astrid ended up taking the worst of the damage. Rolling off of her, I weakly sprinted towards some brush before she gathered herself. As fatigued as I was, I shouldn't have been surprised when Astrid managed to grab onto my ankle and send me falling onto my face. Instead of continuing to eat dirt, I rolled over and faced the darkening sky. Not skipping a beat, I reached for my sword and slashed at the offending hand still gripping my ankle. Astrid was attempting to straighten herself off the ground, but then she backed away and fell back on her backside to avoid injury.

When I made for certain that Astrid wouldn't be jumping up anytime soon due to exhaustion, my head fell back to the ground as I heaved in air for my tired lungs. After I got enough to speak, I rubbed my eyes to scan the area to see if Toothless was prowling anywhere to come to the rescue.

The cove was empty. Except for me and Asti.

I groaned out loud as if Astrid wasn't a foot away from me. I've been running for probably hours and I wasn't any closer to knowing where Hiccup was. Toothless either. Wait!

My eyes widened when I saw a black shape sail across the sky before disappearing into white-orange clouds.

Toothless? Flying?!

My eyes couldn't have been any more than 20/20, but I could've sworn I managed to see Toothless with a fishbone rider. _"He found a way... Nice, Hiccup..." _My lips lightly twitched into a smile. But then I frowned when I sensed movement.

"You've got endurance, I'll give you that. I haven't felt like this in awhile." Astrid sat up and locked eyes with me.

"Yeah, well when I imagined a girl wrapping her arms around me, I never imagined the girl would be a violent Viking and we would be tumbling down a hill, turning over a new leaf, Astrid?" I straightened, but my body protested. I settled onto my elbows instead. My sword still in hand, just in case.

"When Hel freezes over."

Astrid crossed her legs and rested her axe in her lap. Then she placed her hands behind herself and leaned back, looking up at the sky. Either she didn't take me seriously as an opponent and decided to rest for awhile, was too tired to get up and fight, or she was suddenly nostalgic of the perfect autumn sky above her, was anyone's guess. Astrid was kinda a wild card.

Still on guard, I left my sword to the sky and called for her attention. "Lemme guess, abusive father wanted you to have the competitiveness of a Nadder and wouldn't take no for an answer." I was trying to find some sort of common ground with her, but I couldn't help the instigating edge in my voice.

Astrid either didn't hear me or had enough grace not to flinch at the blunt question. Without even taking her eyes off the clouds, she answered, "My father's dead, has been for six years now." Astrid gave me a look clearly showing she knew what I was doing and that it wasn't working. "Try again."

My paranoia heightened. We both know I botched up the 'common grounds' bit. But I continued the failing therapy session anyway. I tried bringing in my perspective.

"O.K. then, are you doing this to make him proud? Because-"

"Don't even try to relate to me," Astrid suddenly shouts. "You don't know what it's like to know someone you love."

"My dad's dead, and my Mom too." I say with anger, my voice low. "You were lucky enough to even know your dad. On my twelfth birthday, my foster-parents finally grew a pair and told me point-blank. 'Happy Birthday, kiddo, your parents died just after you were born..." I was facing the pond to the side of us as I said the last part. I honestly didn't know if I could keep a straight face, so I faced my bitter reflection. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Astrid doing the same.

I continued when there wasn't any observation from Astrid. "My prick of a foster-dad always made Harry Potter jokes whenever he got the chance. It's a story made from around a camp fire." I mentioned that reference when I saw Astrid narrow her eyes.

I resumed when Astrid tucked her bangs behind her ear. "Yeah, foster-mom told him to stop, said it wasn't funny. Well, until he finally told a hilarious joke and she couldn't help it. That's when I realized that they were both hopeless and that I was on my own. Been like that all through puberty..." I winced when I remembered a disturbing memory.

"I remember when my foster-pops tried to give me 'The Talk'... Oh my God, that was-"

"Gods." Astrid corrected.

I blinked, obviously thrown off. "What?"

"You said 'God'. I'll let it slide since your Norse is jerky, but it's supposed to be 'Gods'; you need to say 'Oh my Gods'." Astrid turned to look at me with an indifferent expression.

"Wow, um. Not going to get into that with you on that right now." I shook my head. I wasn't a big wiz at Norse Mythology, but my Christian pastor taught everything there is to know about God, not 'Gods'. Just one. Singular, not plural.

"And then you mention my sister," I continue bitterly. "I haven't seen her in several years now; my foster parents had…stopped her from ever seeing me again. So I don't appreciate it when you call my sister a whore."

Astrid pretended she hadn't heard that last part. "Get up, Stormleg. We need to settle this. Now."

"No, I'm good for the rest of the day thanks."

Neither one of us budged.

Scoffing, Astrid gripped her axe and used it as a cane to stand up. "Should've known you were a weakling, can't even finish a fight."

"What fight exactly, Astrid? I didn't start anything. The only reason you're 'fighting' me is because I defied you in front of the 'Astrid Hofferson' groupies."

"You pointed your weapon at me in front of 'witnesses'. That grounds for a duel. To the death-"

"Uh, a little extreme, don'cha think? So you stalk me? Oh no, heaven forbid someone shows a backbone to protect a friend. I honestly don't know what anybody sees in you, especially Hiccup! While you chew out Hiccup on a daily basis, he's forgiving your hate and making up excuses for you-"

"It's 'Valhalla'. Not 'heaven'-"

I couldn't help it. I laughed right in Astrid's face. She was being ridiculous; her pride wouldn't even give in for the obvious. My laughter was cut short when Astrid made a swipe at me. Instinctively bringing up sword up, I barely blocked, I rolled backward to my feet.

"Showing your Gods respect is no laughing matter!" Astrid immediately swung her axe again. Harder this time. My sword flew out of my hands and I was suddenly disarmed.

Backing up, I made my last decision, while I'm still breathing, that there is no compromising Astrid Hofferson. As Astrid raised her axe over her head, I made a last ditch effort to jump for my discarded sword. In mid-crawl, with my back facing her, I didn't get to see Astrid disappear into thin air. Before I grabbed the hilt, I felt a gust a wind and heard a splash. I rolled over and had mix feelings of relief and annoyance. Sheathing my sword I shout "Where the hell were you?!"

Hiccup, riding Toothless, and had his hand outstretched towards me. "No time! Toothless and I got here just in time to toss Astrid into the lake, but she'll surface any second now! We need to leave! Come on!"

One look at the pond and I could see thrashing water from here, there was a killers intent in the air. "Don't need to tell me twice!" I gripped Hiccup's hand and I swung my leg over Toothless, Hiccup twitched his foot and we took off.

"We need to get to the forgery! I explain everything there!" Hiccup shouted over the rushing air, I freak out and wrap an arm around his throat and another around his waist.

I didn't pay him any mind as he chocked. I was feeling dizzy from the sudden elevation from ground floor to high aptitude and scared to death of falling.

Worst and only take-off in my life...

* * *

We soar across the night sky and soon we were past the edge of the forest. Landing softly on the uneven tile roads of Berk, three shadows dashed towards the forgery. Or rather, one large conjoined shadow that looked like it sprouted two heads on its back.

"Stop- What are you doing?! The forge is this way!" I hissed at Hiccup and Toothless, said dragon currently sniffing every fish basket on the street.

Hiccup settled himself on Toothless' saddle for fear of losing control of the mischievous dragon. "You try navigating a curious dragon away from the Mead Hall!" Hiccup quietly shouted.

"Shut up! Are you trying to raise all the alarms in the Village?" I whispered back.

To be honest, the both of us were just whispering back and forth. It's the paranoia of getting caught with the supposedly 'shot-down' Night Fury that's making me snippy. I let go of Hiccup and carefully got off Toothless

"Go back to the cove Toothless, and stay away from anyone you see." Hiccup says, "Except us." He adds.

I slapped my forehead the moment Toothless darted off."

Wait... No! Toothless!" Hiccup shouldn't have set the Night Fury off so soon, he forgot to dismount Toothless and before he knew it, both dragon and rider were bounding towards the forest, the well-known stealth of Toothless' species out the window.

Toothless came back out of the forest, crooning sadly at Hiccup, who had a tree branch shaped mark on his forehead in the result of a fleeing Night Fury, he licked Hiccup once he got off before darting into the woods, Hiccup rubbed his throat before walking into the forge.

"You know, I think I'll have a bruise where you chocked me." Hiccup complained, I groan but continued to follow and we were soon in his backroom.

"So I take it that you know the news?" I ask, picking up a helmet that was on Hiccups desk.

"Yeah, my dad came in here and basically said 'I'm so proud that you're actually not a failure, can't wait for you to kill dragons' then he gave me that." He says, gesturing at the helmet.

"How did Gobber make this?" I ask, holding it up.

"It was simple; he melted my mom's breastplate."

The moment he said 'breastplate' I dropped the helmet and wiped my hands on my vest.

"Your dad gave you a-"

"Breast hat, I know. I went to find you but I couldn't find you anywhere, I got Toothless and flew around the island only to find you in a fight with Astrid. Care to tell me what that was about?" he asked.

I explain what happened, starting when I met Stoick, to the fight with Astrid.

When I finish, Hiccup shakes his head, "This isn't good,"

"Hiccup, we're going to be against Astrid, of course it isn't good. Now I know she's your crush and all, but she is a really psychotic chick who enjoys giving out more suffering than the Joker."

"I don't get what you just said, and I know you and she just got out of a battle a while ago, but I will not condone you bad-mouthing her in my presence, Stormleg." Hiccup stood his ground with a serious expression. The all-business I've ever seen him.

"Hiccup, she's lost cause-" I stopped when Hiccup's frown deepened. "Alright, I'll drop it..."

Hiccup relaxed his features before tilting his head in confusion. "You're not holding anything. I just want you to stop speaking ill of Astrid-"

"I know, it's just a saying from my world. It means I'll stop demonizing Astrid."

"Thanks, Stormleg, I appreciate that." Hiccup nodded. He thought he lost the only friend with shared interests.

"I just can't believe this."

"You're telling me, Astrid would have-"

"It's not Astrid I'm worried about!" Hiccup shouts, rising from his chair. "The whole village is expecting me to kill a dragon, look I know you've seen Gobber pulling the teens out of the ring and tomorrow he is pulling out someone else. I know that it's going to come down between you, me, and the Gronckle."

"Calm down Hiccup, that's not going to happen, you know why? One, Astrid is a great warrior; she isn't going to be booted out tomorrow. Two, Gobber is narrowing the playing field, tomorrow we're going into the ring with Astrid, and I know that you know we're going to have to throw the match tomorrow. But don't freak out, tomorrow we're going to lose and Astrid can kill the Nightmare." I say.

"That's the other thing that's bugging me, that Nightmare is going to die in that cage. I feel so guilty that it has to do by Astrid's hands."

I put my hands on Hiccups shoulders, "Hiccup, don't worry about. After this, we will find a way to make the village understand that dragons aren't dangerous, now let's get to your house and get some sleep."

"…Alright."

With that, Hiccup and I left the forge and went to his house. Getting ready for the next day, this definitely would have some big surprises.

**Good place to stop. Next chapter, the final fight and what is Calder doing while Astrid and Hiccup are on the romantic flight.**

**Thanks so much _EquinoxKnight_ for helping me get through my writers block moment.**

**Thanks, Peace, have a great day and God Bless.**

**Review**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter**

**I have to thank ****_EquinoxKnight_**** again for the last chapter because without him, I would have not gotten this next chapter. **

**Also, I have a future for this story that goes into a great storyline. If you can find it and point it out correctly, I will PM you and show you a preview of the next part of the story. And to clear something up, Calder will not be just going into Berk, the ring is more special than anyone can imagine. **

**ENJOY!**

Hiccup and I were walking to the Kill Ring; Hiccup was wearing his helmet and was carrying the axe his dad gave him. I had my sword in hand as well, I didn't know if Astrid would try and finish our 'duel' before the last match.

Astrid was already waiting for us, her axe slung over her shoulder. She scowled at me, "What happened last night isn't over Stormleg."

After that she headed into the Ring, I shared a worried look with Hiccup that was misperceived by the rest of the teens.

"Wait, you and Astrid? What were you doing last night?" Tuffnut asked with his eyes wide.

"No way, Astrid can do so much better than him." Ruffnut says, shoving Tuffnut in the face.

"Am I that bad a catch?" I wonder, now I know how Hiccup felt when Ruffnut said that when we were fighting the Nadder the first time.

Snotlout didn't say anything, just glared at me. I held up my hands in a defensive position, but as Hiccup and I walk into the arena Gobber holds his hook out in front of me.

"Sorry Stormleg, this time you're not part of the match." Gobber stated before shutting the gate behind Hiccup.

Hiccup turned, sensing I wasn't there and saw me behind the closed gate. His eyes widened and looked very scared, his thoughts must have been turbulent, and I hold up my hand in a thumbs-up and gave him a confident smile at him. Hiccup took a few deep breaths before he stepped forward next to Astrid and adjusting his helmet, the people quieted when Gobber moved to the gates.

I stayed where I was, not moving from the gate and watched the whole match; all the while I was watching Astrid's tactics. I should have been watching Hiccup but I knew that Astrid didn't handle her rage well and that the moment the match was over, she would want to finish our duel.

She was currently fighting against the Gronckle; she would lunge and swing her axe using both of her hands before darting back, away from the Gronckles head smash. When the Gronckle blasted a fireball, Astrid would dive behind a wall and would roll away when the wall would explode. Also, she tried to stay out of the Gronckles way, hiding behind the wood walls before snaking her way to the Gronckle and attacking. She then ducked behind another wall, hiding her from my sight, after watching her for so long I concluded that Astrid could wield her axe in her right and both of her hands.

She was great using the weapon, but wielding the axe in her right hand would slow down the attacks she gave but gave her a wider swing range. However using both of her hands would speed up her blows but would lower the range she had in her swing, leaving her open for attacks. Rage though seemed to really mess up her technique, it made her sloppy but even more dangerous, I learned that last night.

A loud cheer broke me from my thoughts. I blink, looking around and see Hiccup standing there, gesturing at the Gronckle at a stunned Astrid.

"No! Son of a Half-Troll, Rat eating, Munge-Bucket!" she shouted, swinging her axe around, "Astrid the Rage Yeti" came to mind and I stifled a laugh.

The gate lifted and the teens and I moved inside the Ring. Hiccup stayed where he was, I could tell though that he wanted to bolt, to go and fly Toothless but he still had to wait and-

"So later," Hiccup said, trying to sneak off.

I slap my forehead, the point was not to try and attention, to wait and make sure Astrid won before running away.

"No so fast." Gobber said, pulling Hiccup back by the collar.

"Look I'm kinda late for-"

"WHAT?! Late for what exactly?!" Astrid asked, her eye twitching and her axe against Hiccups throat again.

OK, I've had enough of this girl, time to get my point across to her. I dart forward and push Astrid away from Hiccup, causing her to stumble but she turned around with fury in her eyes.

"That's IT! I've had enough of you!" she shouted.

I turn to Gobber and whisper, "In a duel, do we have to fight to the death?"

Gobber looks taken a back before saying "No, another way is to submit. You must state your name and admit that your opponent is a better warrior than you and throw down your weapon at their feet."

I nod my head before stepping forward.

"Lad-" Gobber is cut off by Astrid saying "So you finally decided to grow a pair and face me instead of running away like a coward?"

I sneer at her before saying "At least I don't stalk and kidnap other Vikings and chase them through the woods to get answers that are staring at them right to the face." I was ready for the fight. More than ready. It was time to take what I learned from Metal Gear Rising Revengence. _(Great game but I don't own it at all)_

All the Vikings get quiet, even Hiccup. I had just spoken for the first time, in front of everybody, even Astrid seems to be taken aback before I take off my scabbard and slowly drawing my sword with a flourish and hold it in both of my hands.

Astrid shakes her head before adjusting the grip of her axe and we circled each other around the ring. The people were quiet as we moved; I felt a slight wind blow at my legs.

"Too scared to fight?" Astrid taunted.

"No, you started this duel; so ladies first." I say, gesturing to the girl. Then I gasp, putting a hand over my mouth, "Oh, sorry, I shouldn't presume such things. 'God' forbid that, of course."

After an irked twitch of her eye, Astrid shouted before charging forward, swinging her axe. I rolled underneath her attack before slashing at her back, cutting through her shirt and leaving a long cut on her back. She spun around before she slashed again with her axe, using both of her hands in the handle. I had to dodge and parry the blows the best I could before she kicked me square in the chest, knocking the air from my lungs and I went sliding across the floor. I barely had a second to roll before she jumped at me, her axe raised high in the air, the weapon clanged with stone as I quickly got to my feet.

I was breathing heavily, not from fatigue but from the adrenaline and rush of things,  
"Tired already?" Astrid taunted.

I smiled, "No, I'm just getting warmed up." I lunged forward, feinting to her right before quickly slashing at her left side. She dodged before taking her axe in one hand and began to slash diagonally at my chest, driving my back against the wall. She smirked before driving her axe at my face, in an attempt to stop the axe I grabbed the handle, just above her hands, stopping the axe inches from my face. I then kick her in the chest, causing her to loosen her grip on the weapon; I then pull the axe from her grasp and back away, her axe in my left hand and my sword in my right. My left arm soon started to tremble because it didn't have the muscle to hold the axe, frankly holding it was useless because I needed to hold it in both hands, causing me to have both of Astrid's weaknesses.  
I toss the axe back at Astrid; it hit the ground right between us.

"Your axe, Astrid," I say, motioning for her to get it.

It was then a standoff, she knew that the moment she bolted for the weapon, I would lunge in and kill her. That's what she thought anyway, I was going to wait a few seconds before rushing in and give her time to get her axe back. She took a deep breath before making a dash to the weapon.

'One one-thousand…Two one-thousand…Now.'

I race in at her, her fingers wrapped around the leather hilt of her axe before I diver over her and smack the flat of my blade against her backside. She rolled before she got into a kneeling position and swung the battle axe at my right arm, it hit its target but the metal bracer took most of the damage.

Unfortunately it didn't stop my arm from going numb, causing me to drop my sword; I skip backwards keeping myself away from Astrid, who was very furious. My mind raced, trying to think of a way to pin Astrid and get her to submit, then I remembered something that may not work but it was my best shot. I waited for her to get close before lunging forward. Astrid raised her axe to strike but I quickly snaked behind her, putting her in a headlock and wrapping my legs around hers, causing her to fall backwards and onto the floor.

The crowd gasped at this. "Submit." I mutter in her ear.

It was as if I had awakened an angry Nightmare, who just set itself ablaze.

"So this was your plan, humiliate me in front of the whole village and shame my family name. Never." She growl before slamming her head onto my chest.

"Submit!" I repeated, but she kept slamming her head into my chest as I carefully tightened my arms around her neck. I had thought I had got her, but she than slammed her elbow in a place very close to the family jewels. All the men made the familiar 'Oooooo' my legs loosened, giving Astrid time to break free and was about to pound my face into the ground but I brought my legs together and kicked her chest. Causing her to fall back, I rolled backwards, getting on my knees and seeing my sword in arms reach.

Astrid was panting in front of me; she blew her bangs out of her eyes as I picked up my sword, still in the kneeling position. I thought for a moment while we we're at this stalemate, she was too stubborn and prideful to submit to me. Honestly it was a good trait but right now we were at an even standing, even with my bad arm I still could knock her out by a possible juke but it wouldn't fix the problem. She would fight me again and again until one of us died, or…_submitted_.

Hopefully this plan would fix this, I knew it probably wasn't the best idea for dealing with this problem but it would work. I stand up, walking slowly to Astrid, who raised her axe defensively but her eyes showed confusion. I walk up to her before holding out my sword horizontally to us. "I Stormleg submit to you Astrid Hofferson. I should not have challenged you in the first place and admit you are a better warrior than I." I then drop my sword at her feet and take two steps back.

The crowd gasps and Astrid looks at me with confusion, I stand there awkwardly before saying "So are we done here?"

Astrid seems to snap out of it before her face getting angry. "You challenged me, only to submit?! Coward! I will not stand for this, we will fight until one of us is dead!" she shouts, kicking the sword back at me.

I scoop down and pick up the sword by the blade and walk away.

"Hey, get back here! Coward!" she shouts again.

"No, I'm not. I didn't 'challenge' you." I say, fingers air-quoting Astrid's trigger word. "You took it as one when I merely was standing up for a friend. You were too prideful to admit defeat when I had you pinned, instead drawing out the fight. I submitted, not because I am a coward, I submitted because I would not kill you, if you had been knocked out or fallen with exhaustion, I would walk away believing that this was over. BUT you would want to continue it, insisting it would only be over when one of us died. If I had been knocked out or collapsed from exhaustion, Gobber, Stoick, even Hiccup would stop you, insisting the same thing. We would have fought until Ragnarok came, that's why I submitted, because this whole thing is pointless."

I pick up my scabbard and sheathed my sword, "Whatever quarrel you had with me, over this 'duel' is now over, it time for the Elder to decide." I say before standing by the gate.

A few moments passed before the Elder spoke- could've been because she would speak when she wished and not on command of the teenager- to those below in the Kill Ring. "I will not announce at this moment. Instead, we will meet at the Mead Hall tonight for the victor. My long-coming decision has been altered by the youths this afternoon. They've all shown their true colors this day," the Elder made a point of making eye contact with Astrid and me, "some more than others..." And with that last fleeting sentence, she walked away, silently dismissing all surrounding parties.

Noting Gothi's words, I nodded at Gobber for the gate. As it opened, Astrid appeared next to me and also waited. The tenseness between us was evident to anyone, but the next words seemed calm. I was still coming to terms of what awaited me after tonight while Astrid was probably doing the same. Whatever happened to me couldn't be a great as what would happen to Astrid if she isn't chosen.

I'd either win and be forced into fighting a dragon that could set itself on fire, or lose and my temporary life here on Berk goes on. But Astrid has more riding on the events transpiring in a few hours, she'd either win, secure her family's name and my life still go on, or she'd lose to me and I'd have a fire-smothered dragon and a rage Yeti after me in the remaining time of my visitation. I hate to say it, but I'm screwed seven ways from Sunday.

"I'll see you at the Mead Hall tonight." Neither a question or demand. Astrid didn't wait for me to decide. As soon as the gate climbed high enough for her height, she shuffled out to 'Odin' knows where.

The gate was up, but I didn't move a muscle for the longest minute. It wasn't until Stoick the Vast came up and towered over me.

"Follow me, Stormleg. It's been long overdue for a talk." Stoick's massive bear paw of a hand rested on my shoulder as I was guided out of the Kill Ring. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gobber standing with Hiccup. Expressions of warning and despair for me, respectively, I look at Hiccup before taking my hand and made swooping gestures, he nodded his head, I wasn't focused right now on what was to come, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out where was Stoick taking me.

* * *

"Do you know why I brought you here?"

"No, 'sir'." I added that last part when Stoick tore away from the sight ahead of him to peer over his shoulder at me.

We were currently on a boat, a ways in front of the port, facing the orange-purple sunset. The fact that I wasn't completely pissed off with Stoick for making me row the huge ship all the way out here and stand with him until the sun gracefully fell from its spot was this: Stoick was Chief for a reason. His power, I had seen him throw that wagon at the Nadder, how he took on that Nightmare and saved Hiccup and my life, he could practically throw me to Berk and back only to kick me there again if I disrespected him.

"We're here because the trouble you've found yourself in these past couple of days that has affected my village, Berk." Stoick crossed his barrel arms across his chest and closed his eyes.

He's either just thinking about what he's going to do about my situation or he only brought me all the way out here so there's no witnesses when he beat the snot outta me. I jumped when he spoke again.

"Now here's where your nonsense has come to my attention. I've let you, a perfect stranger, into my tribe, gave you my house to sleep, and have allowed you to train with the future generation of Berk's dragon-killers. You could've been a spy from Alvin's ranks for all the Council knows, but all I saw was a potential to straighten my son out. Alas, you've disappointed both the Council and I, Stormleg. You seem to be an agent of Loki, damning Berk to the ground."

I blink, looking at Stoick in surprise as he slammed his hands into the railing of the ship.

"You humor Hiccup and his 'inventions', you agitate the Hofferson's heir and her peers and you continue to sabotage dragon training. On top of all of this, I've yet to find the blasted Dragons' Nest. My stress cannot hold any room for nonsense. So tell me why I shouldn't port the docks alone. I'm giving you the question that needs answering. Think wisely."

"Uh, ok, I know that you are under a ton of stress as chief. I understand, but I have some questions for you, are you ready?"

Stoick looked at me confused; he slowly nodded his head before saying "What are you getting at?"

"I have in no way _intentionally, _agitated Astrid Hofferson. She was insulting your son, claiming that this was all big joke, I thought she was going to hurt him, that's why I put my sword at her throat and moved her axe. Ask Gobber he saw the whole thing. Now I don't 'humor' Hiccup, his 'inventions' are pure genius, I have never seen anyone this intelligent."  
"Yes but he constantly blows stuff up and destroys half the houses we rebuild." Stoick interrupts, getting frustrated.

"Sir, how long did it take to make those torches?" I ask.

"What?" Stoick asks.

"The torches that are hoisted into the sky to ward off the dragon, how long did it take?"

Stoick looks at me puzzled before saying "A month to make, and Hiccup-"

"Tries to test his inventions, hoping that they would work on the first try, I'm guessing it took years to think of those giant torches and even more to construct the first one. Hiccup can't test the inventions, therefore they fail and everyone thinks that he's useless." I interrupt, saying it all very fast.

Stoick looks at me stunned, no one probably explained it like that before, I take that as an indication to continue.

"Work like that needs time and trial and error. I am sorry to say that I have failed to keep Hiccup out of trouble, but one thing is for sure, he is far from useless. Then when we started to do well at training, everyone now thinks that Hiccup is truly becoming a Viking. But years of loneliness don't vanish in a couple days sir."

Stoick suddenly gets angry, "Don't lecture me on my own son, I know what he wants and I know he wants this. You pretend to know more about my son that I, if you ever do that again you will regret it." He says before he walks to the front of the ship, his hands clasped behind his back before saying "Row us back to port."

The trepidation I felt at that very moment was the worst I've ever felt in my life. Worse than procrastinating on studying for a big test, failing said test and awaiting the report card, and facing his step-father's fury combined. Screw what I thought earlier about having nothing on the line, my life is at stake here, I had nothing to think on but my nerves as we sailed back to Berk.

* * *

I raced down to the cove, hoping that Hiccup was there with Toothless, I was still rattled from my little chat with Stoick. Soon I was at the top of the cliff where I saw an angry Astrid with her axe in hand, ganging up on Hiccup.

I leapt from the cliff and slid down the steep rocky hill, once I had hit the ground, I snuck my way over to Astrid, who had her back turned on me.

"…Start talking, are you training with someone?" she asked as Hiccup began to stammer.

"It better not involve this!" she says as she grabbed Hiccups harness.

I then came up with an idea, "He's been teaching me how to speak."

Astrid whirled around; shock flitted on her face before disbelief overtook it.

"That's what we've been doing here, he's been teaching how to speak properly, that's how I was able to speak to Gobber and address you in front of the crowd at the Ring."

I probably shouldn't have said that. Astrid was getting closer to me as I spoke and when I said that she snarled before swiftly swinging the butt of her axe against my temple. I crumpled to the ground, clutching my head as my vision went blurry; I saw two fuzzy images of Astrid and Hiccup.

"Uh you're right, you're right I-I-I'm through with the lies, I've been making…outfits."

_'Really Hiccup, outfits? If I hit my head without puking I would.'_

Then I heard a cracking sound and Hiccup shout "Ow, why would you do that?"

"That's for the lies, and that's…" I hear a thud and Hiccup cries out "for everything else."

Just then a growl is heard, the growl made me scared.

"Oh man." Hiccup exclaimed.

Big time Hiccup.

I try to get up, using my knee as support and the world begin to sway. I hear Astrid gasp and shouting "Get down!"

Toothless screeched and I see a black blur advancing on a blond figure.

"Run! RUN!" She screamed, raising something in the air.

"NO!" Then a green figure jumps at the blond and the black blur dives over the figures.

I try to stand up again, only for a ringing to start on my ears; did Astrid realize how much of a psychotic Rage Yeti she was? Then my vision began to clear and I see a shocked Astrid, a nervous Hiccup and a pissed Night Fury who appeared to be growling at the girl.

Astrid shakes her head before running away, the ringing slowly tunes down and I can hear Hiccup say "Duh, duh, duh we're dead." Toothless snorts before trotting away,

"Hiccup you got to go after her." I say.

"Yeah but-" he starts.

"But nothing, we need to convince her now, take her on a flight, kidnap her and take her to an abandoned island I don't care, we have to do something." I say to Hiccup.

He nods his head and turns to say something to Toothless only to see Toothlesses tail sliding away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa where do you think you're going, you got us into this, now we gotta fix it." He says, going after Toothless.

Toothless groans before turning around and letting Hiccup on his back, they soon take off and I see them dip down in the forest, then they come back up carrying something in Toothlesses claws.

I sit down on a rock and begin to twirl the ring on my finger. There wasn't anything for me to do but dwell on things, which was the one thing I did not want to do. I not only had to deal with an angry Nightmare, I had to apologize for revealing the truth about Hiccup to his dad, a fifty-fifty chance of Astrid telling on us, and I still had no clue how to get home.

"Why me huh?" I say, looking at the ring. "Why did you take me here, does this have to do with my sister?!" I began to shout before I take off the ring and throw it away.

"SHOW ME HOW TO GET HOME!"

I kick a rock and face away from the ring, only to see a red light on the ground. I turn and see the ring near my face floating in the air, with a red aura, I reach out to touch it but it then darts off toward the entrance of the cove, it slowed and stopped as it got to the crack.

I realized that it was waiting for me and dashed after it, soon I was moving through the forest. I never once lost sight of the ring, it was hard to lose a floating ring that was glowing like a hot coal.

Soon I was panting near a cliff that gave me a clear view of the island, the ring got faster as I got closer, making me double my speed. I look and see it floating over a column that was covered in vines, I get closer and the ring doesn't move, I finally get close enough and carefully grab the ring.

When I do, it stops glowing and falls into my hand, I look at it confused. Why was I here in the middle of nowhere? I take a closer look at the column; it was four-sided and reached up to my waist. I examine it closer and see that under the vines and dirt, the column was black.

Wait…

No way.

I began to rip the vines off the column and see that it was actually a pedestal, the same pedestal from my dream. As I rip the vines off the top of the pedestal I see a small, round niche in the black stone it looked like something small fit inside it. I stick my finger in the niche feel the sides and notice the grooves inside, it feels exactly like a jewel.

The ring, I place the ring into the niche and only the jewel goes inside it, the band was sticking out. Nothing happened, then I wondered if it was like a crank, I slip my middle finger into the band and began to twist to the left. Nothing. I tried and right and it slowly began to turn, I could hear gears turning until I heard a crack and the pedestal started to vibrate.

Soon, I noticed that it was getting dark out, even when I saw the sun was not yet setting; I thought I saw small dot gliding into the clouds. Then I heard thunder crackle, looking up I see storm clouds gathering and bright while light flashing, in a second I dive away from the pedestal just in time to see lightning strike the pedestal. My hair stood up as a thunderous 'BOOM' sounded throughout the forest, I look back and see the ring standing on two thin legs, the jewel appeared to be glowing.

I carefully poke the ring, making sure it didn't have any electricity running through it before gingerly taking it and placing it back on my finger. I look at the sun, which had almost set, I needed to get back to the cove and hope that Hiccup and Astrid hade made up and we could work together now.

Thus, I began to make my long trip back to the cove, as I went I wondered what had happened between them. Did Astrid understand now? Or was she still going to tattle on us? Then another thought occurred to me, was that dot in the clouds them? Was Hiccup taking Astrid on a romantic flight?

_"Hiccup you sly raccoon," _I think with a smile as I make my way down the rocky slope.

Then I hear voices coming from the cove, I hurry down to hear Astrid say "…so what are we going to do."

Deciding to let my presence be known, I say "About what?"

I hop down and see Astrid looking at me while Hiccup is facing away from her, he immediately turns when he sees me and a smile breaks out on his face. Toothless was drinking from the lake, shooting glares at Astrid.

"We were discussing how to tell the village about dragons," Hiccup said calmly.

"What?" I say, didn't Hiccup know why we shouldn't tell the village, which was the whole purpose he took Astrid on a flight.

Hiccup saw my confused face before saying "I know the reason why the dragons raid Berk. There is a huge dragon that forces them to raid us because if they do not, then it will eat them instead and destroy everything to get the food it desires. We discovered it while we," Hiccup gestures to him an d Astrid, "were flying. If we don't share this with the village and they do find the nest-"

"The whole village will be destroyed, Berk won't stand a chance." Astrid finished.

"So, what now?" I ask.

"Well, we have Gothis announcement and then tomorrow we have the final exam with the Nightmare, now because of the circumstances, either you or I need to go into the ring." Hiccup says.

"Why can't I? I want to help." Astrid says, wait…was she blushing while looking at Hiccup.

"Because you have no experience with dealing with dragons, only how to…remove them. No offense Astrid." I add when she glares at me.

"We'll wait and see, then figure out something later tonight. After the meeting, we meet at the forge, got it?" Hiccup says.

When Astrid and I nod our heads, he says "Good, now get going. The village understands me hanging out in the forest but with the announcement you need to get going."

"Ok,"

As I walk away, I hear something hard hitting something, I turn and see Hiccup rubbing his shoulder and Astrid says "That's for kidnapping me."

Then she pushes her bangs out of her eyes and I'm stunned, not because she kisses Hiccup on the cheek, but she perfectly resembles the picture he sketched of her.

"That's for…everything else," Astrid says lamely before running away.

I smile at Hiccup before saying "Nice moves Hiccup; you might have scored big time."

I don't think he heard me, he still had a blank look as I ran after Astrid, but I did hear him say "W-wh-what are you looking at?"

Soon I catch up with Astrid who was pink in the face,

"So I guess you like Hiccup then?" I say.

Astrid blinks for grabbing me by the collar and pushing me against the wall, "You tell anyone and I will kill you."

I couldn't help it, I started to laugh, "Don't let Hiccup see us or he'll get jealous. If he does though, I wonder if he will get me eaten by that Nightmare."

"Speaking of which," Astrid then punches me hard on the arm which causes me to wince and stop laughing.

"That's for saying I'm a burden."

I hold up my hands in defense before saying "At least when we get back, we can say we made up." Then a thought occurs to me "We have made up, haven't we?"

"Yes, when Hiccup took me on the flight, he explained everything to me; he was very serious on the topic about dragons. I'd never thought I'd say that." Astrid says.

"What, the flight or Hiccup serious?" I ask.

"Both."

We were soon at the Mead Hall, I open the door for Astrid.

"Ladies first." I say, "It's chivalrous where I come from." I add when Astrid fixes a glare on me.

She shrugs before moving inside with me close behind her.

**Well this is great to end. It took me forever to write this and next chapter will be the Nightmare.**

**Peace, have a good day and God Bless.**

**Review**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter**

**A/N: I know I normally don't do this not AoCC, but I have to.**

**_Guest Kitt:_**** If you actually read more into the story, than you would know that it's not. The character that I have put in actually has been doing stuff, not standing on the sidelines. When I decided to write this, I did not plan on my OC to just sit around like a mindless puppy. Next time, read on, and also I have big plans for this story. Stay tuned if you can stomach this, if you are Kit-Karemk, the same goes but I still have respect for you.**

**_EquinoxKnight: _****Thanks so much for everything.**

**ENJOY!**

As Astrid and I walk into the Mead Hall, all conversation stops, Gothi, Stoick and a woman were standing at the head table of the hall. The crowd parts as we move forward, Astrid changes drastically, her chest out and her chin high, the example of pride and honor. I just keep moving though, nervously twisting my ring, we soon approach the table and Gothi knocks on the floor with her staff and announces "This meeting has started."

Astrid walks over to a pretty woman and I stand their awkwardly until Stoick coughs and nods his head to direct me to him. I walk over to him and Gothi smashes her staff on the floor again.

"Astrid Hofferson, it has been revealed to have threatened the son of the chief, attack a guest of Berk and challenge and battled him in a duel. Explain yourself at once." Gothi demands.

Astrid moves into the center before drawing up her head and saying "Jealousy."

The crowd murmurs before Gothi hits her stick on the floor again, I'm staring at Astrid confused. Jealousy was her reason?

"I was so used to being the top Viking in my year. I was always giving ten percent more, always on my game when I did anything, from the fire brigade to dragon training. So when Dragon training came along and that's when I knew that in order for me to be the best Viking was to win. When I fell on Hiccup during our first time with the Nadder, I was furious; the way he acted made me believe that he didn't care about training. I didn't mean to threaten him, I meant to warn him that he needed to get his head out of the clouds and this wasn't a joke. Soon the war against dragons would become ours and that he needed to find out which side he was on, that's when Stormleg came in."

She stopped and looked at me; I stared back while she continued.

"When he put his sword at my throat, I assumed that he was trying to fight me. I told him to butt out but then he moved my axe with the tip of his sword, it immediately called for a duel. I was more than ready to fight afterwards but he shook his head like I wasn't worth the time. I tried to get his attention, finally resulting in me…slandering his sisters name."

She says the last part quickly and the crowd gasps, more murmurs erupted and even Gothi was shocked.

"You…You…Child, were you even aware of what your actions might have caused?!" Gothi shouted. Astrid lowered her head,

"I have no excuse for that, jealousy pushed me to the brink and after I said that, Stormleg froze before turning. His face…" Astrid stopped, before looking at Stoick, "was like his when he lost his wife."

The crowd stopped the murmurs, looking at myself before looking back at Stoick, who had a face of surprise.

"Then Gobber stopped him and him and Hiccup went into the forge, I was still furious, I didn't care what Gobber had said. I was still going to finish it, the next day I looked for him but…I only saw him during training. Soon after they won the match against the Zippleback, we were all curious about how they got so good. We tried to interrogate but he used the excuse he couldn't speak, it shames me when I say that I refused to stop the twins as we made his shoulder condition worse."

Gothi was expressionless, like she already knew; a nod from Gobber confirmed that.

"By then I was brimming with jealousy and anger, I wanted answers about how they did so amazing in the ring. I earlier today I followed Hiccup to a place in the forest where he met up with Stormleg and Hiccup was teaching him how to talk. I waited for Hiccup to leave and when he did, I interrogated him which led to us fighting again."

When she paused to take a breath I said "Which led us to making up."

The crowd began to murmur, I took that as a bad sign but I pressed on anyway.

"We talked a bit about our pasts and…well we just clicked. The quarrel we had is now over and we are friends now."

Gothi looks at me before saying "Explain this and why you challenged Astrid to a duel."

"Confusion. I'm…not from around here, so the reason I never talked at the beginning was because I didn't know how to. I never understood how exactly to speak, I learned a few words from Gobber but it was still hard to string words together. Even then though, I was pushed into someplace I have never seen, I had always believed that dragons were always a myth before seeing it with my own eyes. Then I was put into dragon training with Hiccup, it was so mysterious to me that I sort of clung to Hiccup, even though he had just started training he had more experience with them than I did. So when Astrid stuck her axe at his throat, I assumed that she meant to harm Hiccup so that's why I did what I did that day. Then when Astrid insulted my sister… if Gobber had stopped me, not even the gods themselves would have been able to stop me if she insulted her again."

I was looking at Gothi with a serious expression; she and a few others took a step back.

"Then Hiccup agreed to help me speak, that's what we were doing at the cove, along with the training I came up with. Which was carrying fish up to the cove and carry the basket back, we would eat the fish for a snack. Then when I was returning back to Berk, she cornered me and was demanding answers, when I refused she knocked me out and strung me from a tree. I escaped and she chased me through the forest until she tackled me and we landed in the area Hiccup and I would hang out at. We fought again, until we had a breakthrough, then we made up, sealing the deal with a punch and returned here."

I finish, noticing Gothi nod her head. Then she looks behind me and says "Ah, Hiccup, welcome."

We all turn and see Hiccup walking into the Hall nervously; a couple people patted him on the back until he stood by Stoick who placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at Stoick before Gothi said "Stormleg, why did you defend Hiccup?"

Everyone looks at me, I thought for a second. The look in Gothis eyes suggested that this question would determine the night.

"Hiccup has the greatest courage I've ever seen. Only a select few have actually seen it," I look at Astrid and smile, "Those who have, are changed for the better. Hiccup has great leadership and a strong will, that's why I defended Hiccup, because I would fight and die for him. I saw something in him that not many people see, and I hope that many people see it soon."

People are confused by my choice of words, Astrid and Hiccup understand immediately, Astrid smiles at Hiccup and Hiccup turns red from embarrassment from Astrids smile.

"…You are quite something child, if it's true what you say, Hiccup will fight the Nightmare to prove his worth."

As Gothi says this a loud cheer breaks out, I'm pushed to the side as the teens hoist Hiccup, Gobber was shouting "You get t' kill the dragon!" while Stoick was loudly proclaiming "That's my boy."

I stood their awkwardly before Astrid walks up and says "Did you really mean that? What you said about Hiccup?"  
"Yes, but that's not the only reason why," I reply.

Astrid looks at me confused, "Not only did he show true courage with our friend, but he saved my life and demonstrated that no matter what happens in life, whether good or bad, we keep pushing forward."

Astrid nods her head before looking back at the mob, "We should get to the forge, once Hiccup's put down, he'll meet up with us."  
"Yeah, and he was worried about us." I reply laughing.

We turn and head out the Mead Hall, the cheering crowd quieted significantly as we shut the doors behind us. We walk in silence until we get to the forge, Astrid plops down onto the workbench as I close the stall windows.

"Can I ask you something?" Astrid suddenly says.

I look at her confused but I nod my head as I began to remove my sword from around my chest.

"…Why is your sister so important to you?"

I freeze before turning around and looking at Astrid who suddenly began to look nervous.

"I'm sorry I-" she began to backpedal frantically.

"It's ok, I understand you're curious but we still just became an hour ago. I…don't feel comfortable talking about her; I hope you understand where I'm coming from."

"Yeah, I do."

I lean against one of the pillars holding up the forge. We stand their awkwardly before I say "Was that you mom, the person you were standing next to?"

Astrid nods her head, uncertain to what I was going to say next.

"I can see where you get your looks from then, and why most guys in the village like you."

Astrid then gets tense before glaring at me, "Is that why Hiccup likes me? Because I look like this?" she says while gesturing to herself.

"No, he doesn't." I reply.

Astrid groans "Then why? Most guys like Snotlout are just into me for my looks, why would Hiccup be any different?" she asks.

I ponder this for a moment before I turn and walk into Hiccups backroom, looking for his sketches before snatching the one that had Astrid with a caring look.

"This is why," I say as I hand her the parchment.

She takes it with confusion but her eyes slick to surprise as she stares at her image.

"Surprised? Me too. You see, after that little incident in the town square, I was setting something back here for Hiccup and when I saw this, I thought 'Is this really Astrid Hofferson?' Hiccup had looked past your stony demeanor and seen a beautiful and caring girl. To me, you looked like a big softy, which I highly doubted, but then again Hiccup has been right about a lot of things before. Everyone may see a beautiful but cold Viking, but Hiccup saw the warmth inside you."

Astrid smiled at the picture before folding it and carefully tucking it into a pouch on her skirt, then Hiccup came walking in.

"So, besides the Nightmare tomorrow, and revealing the truth about dragons, what's new with you guys?"

"Well, we made some small talk but to the point, what's the plan?" I ask.

"Tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can try and tame the Nightmare, and when the village sees the truth about dragons then we can deal with the queen or the 'Red Death' from there." He explains.

"That's it?" I ask.

"Yeah," Hiccup says slowly.

"Hiccup, knowing you means that nothing like this is simple,"

Hiccup gives me a look but I continue "But I suppose it's the best plan we got, so let's get some sleep and prepare to change the world."

We all nod and leave the forge, after a while I sense that Hiccup isn't beside me, when I turn around I see Hiccup intertwined with Astrid, her arms around his neck while his hands were on her waist. I smile at them before making my way back to Hiccups house.

* * *

Cheering was heard as we stood at the gate, Hiccup had his helmet in his hands, his face all but showing worry. I place a hand on his shoulder, "Are you ready for this?" I ask.

"…No," he admits.

Astrid comes down the path towards us, her eyes filled with concern, Hiccup looks at both of us before saying "If anything happens in there, promise me that you'll make sure they don't find Toothless."

If I wasn't so worried, I would tell Hiccup to focus on the match, but all I say is "We will."

Astrid looks at Hiccup before throwing her arms around him and smashing their lips together. I look away as they began to slant their heads, I felt so awkward, I look up to see Gobber marching down, his mouth open but when he saw the sight he got a big smile on his face. I jerk my heads at them before rolling my eyes; he nodded his head at me, his eyes filled with understanding. He walked past them to the gate and lifted it with ease, as soon as the creaking was heard; the pair separated looking bashfully at each other. Hiccup shook his head before walking into the arena and placing his helmet on his head, Astrid and I pressed ourselves against the gate watching as Hiccup took a shield and a dagger off the weapons rack.

Then the log lifted from the Nightmares cage and the dragon burst out, its body ablaze. I circled the ring before taking notice of Hiccup and moving in on him, Hiccup dropped his shield before his weapon followed, extending his hand out to the dragon. I could hear the confusion emanating from the crowd, soon Hiccup carefully took off his helmet before saying "I' not one of them," and throwing his helmet aside.

Gasps were heard and I heard Stoick say "Stop the match."

"No," Hiccup replied as he slowly got closer to the dragons snout, "they're not what we think they are. We don't have to fight them."

Hiccup was inches away from the dragon before Stoick shouted "I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!" and smashed his hammer against the metal railing.

I remember what happened when we smashed our shields with the Gronckle and it was infuriated, with the Nightmare however, infuriated with a Gronckle would be extremely pissed for the Nightmare.

I blasted fire at Hiccup who yelped and dodged the fire blast; I immediately tried to lift the gate, but barely lifted it off the ground. Astrid helped but we weren't strong enough to open it ourselves, then I noticed the weapons that were dangling on the walls.

"Astrid, use one of the axes to jam the gate open," I say.

She nods her head before snatching a jagged one off a rack, I lifted it up as high as I could and she stuck the axe at the bottom of the gate, before neatly sliding herself under it. I closely followed, rolling to avoid a fire blast as the Nightmare took a shot at Astrid, who flung a hammer at its head. It nearly cornered Astrid but I put my fingers to my lips and blew a high sounding whistle, which made its intended target miss, but drew its attention to me.

"Well this could have been more thought through," I mutter before racing around the ring.

"OVER HERE!"  
I look and see Stoick standing at the open gate with Astrid by his side, I dash over there but the Nightmares tail swung at my chest, causing me to skid across the floor before it placed a large claw over my chest. I began to frantically tug at the claws, looking over I see Hiccup in a similar position, that's when I heard a familiar whistling.

Looking up, I see a black blur blast the metal apart and dive into the ring, smoke clouded my vision of the outside but I could see Toothless tackle the Nightmare, which got it away from us. I ran over to Hiccup, helping him up as Toothless beat off the Nightmare, who retreated back into its cage. By now, the smoke had cleared and villagers were pouring into the ring.

"You gotta go bud, now!" Hiccup was saying, pushing at Toothlesses snout but he shook his head, planting his feet making it known he wasn't going anywhere. I tried to help but I was pushed away by Stoick.

"Devil!"

"KILL IT!"

Voices were screaming from the outside, I tugged futilely at their arms, saying that he wouldn't hurt them, but they shrugged it off and attacked the dragon. Toothless was a whirlwind, throwing Vikings left and right until he charged at Stoick, diving at the man he placed his paw on his chest, rearing hid head back and I could see the gas build up in his mouth.

"TOOTHLESS, NO!" Hiccup and I screamed simultaneously.

He closed his mouth and looked questionably at Hiccup before Stoick punched Toothless in the snout and the Vikings tackled him.

"Dad, please just-"

"Be quiet Hiccup!"

I was now feed up with this, "STOICK, FOR ONCE IN YOUR GOD-DAMNED LIFE, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND ACTUALLY LISTEN TO YOUR OWN SON!" I shout, pointing at Hiccup while glaring at Stoick.

There was a dead silence; people were looking at me and Stoick, who had a twitch in his jaw. He then strode forward to me before grabbing me by the throat and lifting me off the ground.

"I warned you boy."

Then Stoick swung his hammer and pure pain blasted against my left temple and everything went into obsidian.

**Read, have a great day and GOD BLESS.**

**Review**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter**

I slowly come back into consciousness. My head burned, like someone was sticking fiery swords into my head, I sit up, only to receive a kick in the chest.

"This is all your fault," I hear.

My vision was blurry but I recognized Stoicks voice, I open my mouth to speak but he punched me against my left temple and pain erupted. Crying out, I clutch my head but Stoick continues to hit me, "My son, made friends with that…that…**_devil_**. After our conversation, you truly were sent by Loki. It's all YOUR fault, you took my son from me, made him brainwashed with your magic."

By then, I was curled up in a ball as Stoick bruised my back, the Stoick said something that chilled me to the core, "At least we now know the how to get the dragons nest thanks to you. Soon we will be taking that devil and sailing off to destroy the nest."

"No, Stoick-" I croak before he punches me in the gut.

"Be silent, you can keep your pleas for when you die at the bloody eagle."

Whatever that was, it didn't sound good. Stoick walked out a doorway of light before it slammed shut with a metallic clang, leaving five stripes of light on the ground. I groan again, soon everything faded to black once again, after a while I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I heard grunts of Vikings and other strange noises, like growls and the clinking of shackles. Then I heard a creaking noise again and the door swung open, revealing a figure that was shrouded by light. Wincing, I look back, waiting for my eyes to adjust until I could make out a skirt and swinging braid.

"Astrid?" I croak.

"Stormleg," she says in shock before dashing over to me side "By the gods above."

"Yeah I know, it feels as worse as it really does." I say.

Gingerly I touch my head, my left temple had dried blood along with fresher blood seeping through the scab, I take a view of my surroundings, however hazy they were. A bucket was in the corner of the room, a bed frame pushed against the far wall.

"What happened at the ring?" I ask.

"After you were knocked out, they dragged you to the cells. Hiccup was hysterical, screaming at his fa- at Stoick, who dragged him to the Mead Hall. Soon after, he proclaimed that to get to the nest, all we needed was a-"

"A dragon, I know." I interrupt, "Stoick was gloating about it when he…punished me for 'brainwashing' his son, claiming I was an agent of Loki and how all of this was my fault."

"Are you alright?" Astrid asked.

I give her a look, "Right of course not," she mutters.

"So what's happened while I've been in here?" I ask.

"Stoick and almost the entire village left for the nest just a few, the modification they did on the remaining ships took a few days but they left an hour ago with the fastest ships possible."

"So they're using Toothless as a kind of GPS system to find the nest, wait a minute, when you said Stoick was dragging Hiccup to the Mead hall, you said Stoick even though you were going to say father, why?"

Astrid bit her lip, after a pause she said "Stoick disowned Hiccup, according to our traditions, Hiccup is no longer Stoicks son."

Myself being angry was an understatement, first he doesn't listen, then he disowns the only son he had, I wanted to rip the man's head off, but there were more important things to deal with. First I needed to deal with the wound on my head; I examined my clothes, the wolf vest was all but destroyed and the sleeve of my left arm was ripped partially, other than a few cuts along my leggings they were alright. I rip off the sleeve and tie it around my head into a rough form of a tourniquet; Astrid adjusted the cloth to make sure it was set properly before we continued.

"Astrid, does Hiccup have a plan?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Is it stupid?"

"No, he said it was crazy."

I think for a moment, trying to focus through the pain, what was crazier than taming a Night Fury. Taming a Nightmare? Then it clicked, Nightmare, the arena, dragons.

"Astrid, you need to get down to the arena," I say.

"Alright, we'll gather up the teens-"

"No, Astrid I can't, I can barely see, let alone walk around. You need to get me to Gothi; she's the only one who knows the truth about me. I'm more of a burden to you now than an asset," I explain.

Astrid nods before putting my arm around her shoulder, "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Astrid, helping Hiccup is more important right now, help me to Gothi and go to the arena."

She nodded her head and we began to move out of the cell, it was like walking through a mass of blobs. I was leaning heavily on Astrid until we were walking up a hill and I soon recognized the mass that was Gothis house.

"Astrid, I can make my way from here, go, now!" I say.

Astrid nods before she fades into nothing; I turn back to the door and knock twice. The door opens and Gothi looks up at me in shock.

"Well, it looks like I need to be locked in your house." I say sheepishly.

She looks at me before snatching my arm and dragging me into her house.

"Do you have any idea what you caused boy?" She asked.

"Well it depends on how you look at it, are you asking me through my viewpoint? Or the classic Viking viewpoint? Because either way I have a ton of explaining to do."

Gothi carefully takes off the tourniquet before saying, "Your view, I already know that you're not an agent from Loki but explain why that dragon protected Hiccup in the ring."

"Ah, you're smarter than the rest Gothi, everyone else saw a dangerous dragon but you saw the truth."

I heard her laugh, "That's what being an Elder means boy, now this will sting but I still expect that explanation.

* * *

I was finishing up the story as Gothi finished tying the cloth around my head.

"…and that's why the nest is dangerous, and we were trying to fix everything that day in the Ring and…you know what happened next."

Gothi was about to speak when I heard the sound of flapping wings, then horns were being blown through the village.

"Dragons," Gothi said, suddenly looking scared.

"Gothi, can I walk now?" I ask.

When she nodded her head, I said "Then you might want to keep up, I have to do something."

Then I dash out of the house, sprinting for the village with Gothi close behind, I made sure to slow down when I couldn't hear her staff clunking on the ground. I could make out a small group of Vikings with weapons in hand, facing a large mass of dragons coming this way.

"We can't fight them all," A voice cries out in despair.

"Hold your ground! We fight to defend our homes from these beasts," a woman says, clutching an axe. I recognized her as Astrids mother.

"There is an alternate to fighting," I say.

Everyone turns and looks at me, bloody and banged up, but out of a cell. An old man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, "Don't listen to him. You all know what he's capable of, he's an agent of Loki sent to damn Berk, we need to kill him."

A loud cheer rang from the crowd and a group raced forward with their weapons drawn. I reach for my sword but realize that it was missing, I brace myself but before they can get close enough I hear Gothi scream "STOP!"

We all look at her, her face was stern and she wielded her staff in both of her hands like a spear.

"This boy isn't an agent of Loki; you forget that I am the Elder. This child is threat to any of us; he's just a boy who wishes for the wellbeing of his friends."

"How do we know that you haven't been tricked by him?" The old man asked.

I could tell that he stepped too far because Gothi seemed to swell with rage, most villagers took a step back, even the old man.

"Do you take me for a fool, I know the truth because I rolled the runes for this child and do you know what they came up on? Nothing."

All the villagers looked at each other in confusion; I glance at Gothi who gives me an encouraging nod.

"She's right," I say and most of the villagers focus on me now. "When she rolled the runes, they went right of the table, I didn't think much of it and took the runes myself before dropping them, after a single bounce they landed on a blank face."

By now, most of the villagers were staring at me in shock, I decided to spill everything, place all the cards on the table. "The truth is I am not from this world. I somehow have gotten here by some great force, that's why I didn't know how to speak Norwegian, I speak another language."

Then the old man scoffed, "Right, then where are you from boy? Jotunheim? Hel?"

"…if I have my mythology correct, I am from none of the Nine Realms. I come from another dimension, one where the year is 2013, and have advanced technology, weaponry, etc. but the most shocking part is that we don't have dragons. That's why I never thought dragons existed until the night I came."

"Well than how did you get here?" A voice asked.

I was about to respond but then a loud roar was heard, looking I see a Nightmare closer than any of the other dragons.

"Get ready!" Astrids mother shouted.

"NO!" I shout and the villagers looked at me confused, "Look I have tons of explaining but right now, the most pressing thing is that dragons are not our enemy. I can and will prove it, if you allow me," I say.

They look amongst ourselves, some looked furious, others with disbelief but some had curiosity, and then Astrids mother said "Show us."

I sigh in relief before saying "Everyone back up, the Nightmares going to take a ton of room, and those in front need to drop their weapons."

There was some grumbling, some people asked "Why?" and "He's going t' get us all killed."

"Look, if I ran at you waving an axe or sword, your first reaction would be to attack, correct? Dragons aren't mindless beasts; they're intelligent and very loyal once you get to know them. Just watch," I shout.

Then there was a loud crash that went with a small tremble in the earth, I found myself staring at a Monstrous Nightmare who was snarling slightly.

I swallow before slowly walking forward, the Nightmare snorts out smoke, probably gearing up for a lava blast.

"Hey it's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," I say softly.

The Nightmare cocked his head in confusion; I slowly advanced until my hand was close to its snout. The Nightmare growled, which got me startled and back up a few steps, that's when I remembered, Toothless made the last move, maybe it's some kind of trust thing?

I advance a few steps before extending my arm as far as it could go, waiting, hoping for a connection. Then the Nightmare seemed to examine me before he placed his snout into my hand, making a deep, purring sound. I let out a deep breath before scratching its jaw, making it purr even more, but something about this dragon seemed familiar.

"Do I know you?" I ask.

It looks at me with wide eyes before slowly nodding its head, it then made a vicious face and seemed to go around something before opening its mouth, and then I realized that the thing was a pole. A pole that fell down, releasing a bunch of trapped dragons.

"You were that Nightmare that nearly killed Hiccup and I." I whisper.

The dragon crooned sadly, I rubbed his jaw, "It's ok, I forgive you. But now I need you to help me convince these people you're not an enemy."

I walk towards the neck of the large dragon before carefully sliding my leg over his thin neck, using the horns that protruded from its head like handlebars. I look back up at the people, their faces were in shock, I smile at them, trying to let them know that it was safe.

"See, this is what Hiccup was trying to show you in the arena. Dragons aren't what we think they are, they are loyal and kind creatures, which is the Night Fury dove into the arena. Hiccup really did shoot one during the last raid; he released it when he realized that he couldn't kill dragons. They forged a bond, made of trust and love, Hiccup would go to the ends of the earth for his dragon, and likewise for Toothless."

A couple people snorted at the name, but then the old man came up, saying "Then why didn't the dragon kill Hiccup, and how do we know you didn't cast a spell on Hiccup that made him not kill the dragon."

"Toothless didn't kill Hiccup because Hiccup freed him, and I didn't cast a spell on Hiccup, I found Hiccup that day in the woods, he collapsed after Toothless roared in his face. To answer your question on why Hiccup didn't kill Toothless, it's because Hiccup saw himself in Toothless."

"Why is the Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself called Toothless?" Astrid's mother asked.

"Night Furies have retractable teeth," I explain.

'If what you say is true, then why do the dragons raid us?" Someone asked.

"At the nest is a large, monstrous dragon, it forces the other dragons to fetch it food or else they're eaten themselves and…"

Then a horrifying realization hit me, "What's wrong?" Astrid's mother asked.

"…The dragons wouldn't leave the nest unless something dangerous happened. The dragons here mean that Stoick has awakened the queen dragon, I just hope that Hiccup got there in time."

"What do you mean child?" Gothi asked.

"Before I came to you, Astrid freed me from the cell. Hiccups plan was to take the dragons from the Kill Ring and fly to the Nest to try and stop Stoick from his assault. Now I'm guessing that Hiccup and the rest of the teens have to face the queen."

I could tell everyone was scared for their loved ones lives but I see some dragons wander forward to the crowd. Some tense up but most stare in awe at them. I look at Gothi who nods.

"…Well who would like to ride a dragon?" I ask.

In my head, I was praying to whoever was listening, to help Hiccup.

* * *

It's much later, almost afternoon, the sun was setting and people were laughing like children as they glided across the sky on their new friends.

I hated it.

I was nervously pacing around the town square, waiting for Berk to return. The villagers were quick to befriend dragons, (Except for the old man) and were getting to know them better, Astrids mother was riding the Nightmare I befriended, keeping watch and ready to alert me of any sign of the teens.

I pulled out my sword and began to act like I was fighting another swordsman, which I had been doing for the last several hours. My sword had been returned and it felt nice being back in my hands, sighing I sheath the blade, I had done this for hours and it was beginning to seem purposeless.

Then I look up when I hear flapping wings and see a familiar blond on a Deadly Nadder.

"Astrid!" I shout, racing toward the girl.

Astrids face was very pale, it was then I noticed an unconscious form on the dragon, wearing green.

"Oh no, we need to get him to Gothi now!" I shout.

Nodding the Nadder begins to run towards Gothis house with me in close pursuit. It wasn't long until we got there; Astrid was carefully pulling Hiccup off the dragon as I raced inside the house.

The Elder jumped when the door slammed open, she was shouting at me but I tuned it out as I picked up the table and shook off all the plates and mugs off the table.

"A little help," Astrid spoke, her voice strained.

I dashed outside and grabbed Hiccups legs, right at the thighs, before we quickly placed him on the table.

"What happened, what's wrong with him?" I ask.

Astrid does nothing but stare at Hiccups lower body, I follow her gaze and immediately feel sick. Where his left foot should be, there is nothing but torn skin and sinew, I could see his bone peeking from bloody tissue, burns coated the rest of the appendage.

I resist my urge to vomit before saying "What happened?"

"W-When we got there, the queen was already out. Roaring and blasting fire everywhere, while we distracted it Hiccup went to go free Toothless. B-but then when they went up in the sky, the queen followed, we couldn't see what happened but there were explosions and the queens roar. Then they were both falling, they did something because then the queen blew up when it crashed b-but H-Hiccup disappeared i-in the f-f-fire."

Astrid was trying to keep back sobs, I felt awful myself. Then the door banged open again and the rest of the teens burst in, Fishlegs in the lead.

"W-What are we going to do?" Fishlegs asked.

"I don't know," Gothi said, "If he keeps that leg, it will get infected and he'll die, but if we amputate it Hiccup will bleed to death."

"Can't you cauterize it?" I ask.

They all look at me "Cauter-what?" Snotlout asked.

My mind was going ballistic, planning out what to do next and how to explain.

"Cauterize means to seal the wound with heat. If we do that, then Hiccup might actually stand a chance."

"What are his chances?" Astrid asked Gothi.

"If we do what I suggest, which is cut it off; there is a quarter of a chance he'll survive."

"But If we do it my way, it will be fifty-fifty," I reply.

Gothi looks at me before saying "My hands are not part of this, if you can save him, tell us what to do."

"…Fishlegs and Gothi, prepare some burn salves. Ruff, Tuff, grab some firewood and get a fire going in here, Snotlout I need you to do to the forge and get me a round but hollow piece of metal that can fit around Hiccups knee and get some clean cloth," I order.

Soon the teens dart off, Gothi leads Fishlegs into the back of her house, I turn to Astrid, looking grim, "Astrid…I need you to get your axe."

Astrid looks at me in horror before shaking her head, "No, no way."

"Astrid its Hiccups only chance," I say, placing my hands on her pauldrons. "You don't have to cut it, I will but I need your axe, my sword isn't sharp enough and I don't know how to sharpen it. Gobber isn't here and an axe is treated differently than a sword."

Astrid swallows before hurrying outside, I look back at Hiccup. His face looked peaceful but the occasional twitch let me know otherwise.

"You're an idiot you know that?" I say suddenly. "You always think about everyone else before you. Astrid, the teens…me, so let me tell you something," I don't know why but I grabbed Hiccups hand. "You are my best friend Hiccup, the first one I felt comfortable hanging out with. You helped me realize that I need to get to know people before assuming they're a waste of time."

Jason.

"So don't even think about dying, because if you do I will find you and drag your scrawny butt back to the land of the living, understand? You have a girlfriend now, the people will look at you for guidance, you have everything you could ever want so don't mess this up."

Then the twins return and drop the wood into the hearth, Tuffnut knelt down and began to start a flame while Ruffnut watched. I could tell she wanted to do it but in these circumstances, she would be willing to wait. Soon Astrid came back inside with her axe, closely followed by Snotlout carrying a yard of cloth in one hand, and a metal cone attached to short wooden pole.

"Alright, we got everything you need, now what?"

Gothi and Fishlegs return, clutching jars of some gooey, gray salve, Gothi sets the jars on her chair while Astrid hands me her axe.

"Tuffnut how's that fire?" I ask.

"Starting up now," he says, blowing into the hearth.

"Snotlout, place the tool in the fire, we need it to be hot. Once you're done, I need you, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut to hold Hiccup down. He's going to struggle and I prefer that he doesn't hurt himself further."

At that, all the teens gulp. Fishlegs takes position at Hiccups head, placing his meaty hands on Hiccups shoulders, Ruffnut holds down his left arm while Tuffnut, who had just finished getting the fire going, held Hiccups left arm down. Astrid looked at me, "What do I do?" she asks.

I look at the fire, where the metal was heating up.

"No, no I'm not. I am NOT going to do this!" Astrid wailed.

"Astrid, Hiccup needs his leg sealed as soon as it comes off and I can't grab that and seal it right away; we need to make sure Hiccup doesn't lose even more blood. I'm sorry, but you need to be strong, for Hiccup."

Astrid was shaking; biting her lip she finally nodded her head, taking the metal cone which has a bright orange. I pick up her axe in both of my hands before carefully placing it just above Hiccups leg, I lift it in the air…only to slowly bring it down. I repeat the process until I know I will hit the correct spot, just below his knee.

"On three," I say.

"One,"

Astrid is taking deep breathes as the other teens look nervous.

"Two," I lift the axe in the air ad Astrid takes even more frantic breaths.

"Three!"

There was a horrible squelching sound as the leg came clean off, blood soon came pouring out as I removed the axe. Hiccups whole body jerked and he opened his eyes, shrieking as loud as possible and jerking his body, trying to escape the hold on him.

"TOOTHLESS! TOOHLESS HELP ME!" he screams.

"Now Astrid!" I shout.

Then Astrid presses the cone into his leg, a loud hissing is heard as the metal presses against the wound. Hiccup screamed again before falling back against the bed, Astrid immediately removes the cone, tossing it to the side and takes Hiccups hand in hers, crying while she sobbed apologies.

I look at Gothi who was staring at me in shock, "He's all yours," I say before bolting out the door and heaving my guts out.

* * *

I was still on the side of Gothis house, bile dribbled out of my mouth to join the pool of vomit. I was still shaking at what happened, I had hurt and crippled my best friend, I took a shaky breath before standing up and moving to the front door. I make sure I don't need to puke before walking inside; Fishlegs was finishing up on attaching bandages to Hiccups stump while Gothi was applying the burn salve on other parts of Hiccups body. Astrid had fallen asleep on Hiccup, using his arm as a pillow as she continued to hold his hand.

"Let her rest, she's been through a tough ordeal," Gothi says as she wipes her hands off on a piece of cloth, "and so have you."

I chew on that, I desperately needed sleep. After what I've been through, I'm guessing nothing would stop me from becoming a Sleeping Beauty.

Then the door slammed open and standing there, covered in soot, his clothes ripped and scratched on his face, was Stoick.

I felt anger churn in my gut as he said "Where's Hiccup, where is my son?"

**Read, have a great day and God Bless**

**Review**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter**

**Sorry for the long wait, I was constantly updating Running Scared, also I had a bad case of writers block.**

**_DragonDude 25: _****Thanks so much for reviewing.**

**ENJOY!**

I glared at Stoick, who didn't seem to notice me, his eyes focused on Hiccup, who was pale and had some sweat on his brow. Stoicks eyes went wide before rushing to his s-, Hiccups side, taking his other hand he began to whisper softly to his son. I was revolted, now Hiccup was his son after killing a monstrous dragon; well I wasn't going to forgive so easily. After everything he did to me, I didn't want to be anywhere near him, I storm outside of Gothis house and go into the woods. Angry I draw my sword and start to slash at some branches that got in my way, I…I didn't know what I felt really, it was hard to explain it. I guess I was mad at Stoick for beating me, and finally accepting Hiccup for what he did, not who he is, but…I think I was madder at myself.

As I chop a branch out of my way, I think about why I was mad at myself. I was mad that I couldn't do anything to help Hiccup in the battle, I barely helped him in the Arena and…I chopped off his leg. It took a while before I realized that I was in the cove with my head in my hands and my sword on the ground next to me. I sigh before looking around, noticing the drawing of Toothless that Hiccup drew, picking up my sword I use the tip and tried to draw Toothless but after several failed attempts I gave up. I was about to throw away my sword until I was struck by an idea, adjusting my grip on the sword I carefully drew tow ovals before making two eyes, I made his crooked grin before carefully drawing the round chin, making sure to include the small scar. Once his face was finished, I started on his scrawny body, almost making a perfect body before I remembered to remove his left foot.

I looked at my drawing of Hiccup, I thought I did an okay job but it still didn't make me feel better. Then I heard a concerned croon, looking up I made out a pair of acid green eyes.

"Toothless!" I exclaim.

Purring he butted his head into my gut, I rubbed his neck before something struck me.

"Toothless, weren't you restrained on the boat. How did you get free?"

At first I mentally kicked myself, Hiccup freed Toothless obviously. Then Toothless opened his mouth and carefully picked up my sword, placing the hilt in his mouth. Moving to a spot above Hiccup and I's drawings he drew a helmet with horns. Realization dawned on me, Stoick had freed Toothless, and I had gotten mad at him, granted some of it was well deserved but I felt bad that I had been mad when he was with Hiccup.

Hiccup, his leg.

"I'm so sorry Hiccup," I whisper.

At Hiccups name, Toothless perked up and looked around; he didn't know what had happened.

"Uh Toothless, Hiccup isn't here."

Toothless stared at me though, I had a feeling he was waiting for me to take him to Hiccup.

"Uh bud. You remember when Hiccup fell. He…he didn't make it unhurt."

Toothless cocked his head in confusion while I got choked up for some reason.

"H-he hurt his leg really bad and h-he wasn't going to make it i-if w-we didn't d-d-do s-something a-and I-I-… I had to cut it off."

I was sobbing uncontrollably, tears were pouring down my face and Toothless looked at me shocked. I hug the dragon who in turn wrapped his wings around my as I wept my grief.

"I'm so sorry." I said.

I kept repeating these words as Toothless crooned, and it wasn't long until I was asleep, wrapped up in my friends wings.

* * *

Jolting awake, I found darkness surrounding me. Not with the slightest clue where I could've been, I immediately panicked for the worse. One possibility played into my head; I got transported again without knowing, leaving Hiccup to wake up to a bipolar ex-father. Or maybe I... Twitching away from a rising movement I felt on my back, I focused. I was currently lying down, on a dirt floor, and resting on my side. As if the hair on the back of my neck wasn't already on end, I heard a deep grumble. Without a thought, I reached all around me to confirm a suspicion. The moment I touched a leathery surface, I breathed in relief, not a second later did I go temporarily blind.

Blinding sunlight attacked me from all directions. With a yelp, it all vanished before I could slap my hands over my eyes. Rubbing my face, I risked a peek without knowing that my surroundings changed from light to abstract without my knowing. I lost it when I was met with glowing green eyes. And that was my limit for a groggy wake up.

I jumped to my feet, ignoring the temporary floppy entrapment. "Gah!" Unfortunately, I went into shock from the sunlight and stumbled onto my backside.

Toothless, the Night Fury by night, but might as well be a horror attraction by day without the routine he just put me through. Sighing I stand back up before brushing off dirt, "You hungry Toothless?" I ask.

He leapt up in happiness, and then I noticed that he didn't have the saddle on, I wasn't sure how I was going to get the dragon back to the village. Then I remembered that Toothless got out somehow, when he saved Hiccup and I back at the final exam, looking up I noticed there were some scratch marks on the rock faces that stretched up near the top.

"Toothless…do you want to see Hiccup?" I ask.

When Toothless barks I say, "Then you need to get up there," pointing at the top of the rocks.

As fast as he could, Toothless flapped his powerful wings until he was almost directly at the top of the rocks before latching his claws into the wall and soon only his tail was dangling over the edge. I hurried out of the cove to find Toothless waiting for me at the entrance.

"Come on bud lets go."

As we walk through the forest my stomach suddenly rumbles, Toothless looks at me confused but I say "Its ok bud, besides you need to eat too."

With that we walked the rest of the way in silence until we got to the village, as I walked forward I noticed that Toothless had stopped and was growling slightly at the village.

It wasn't hard to connect the dots.

"Look bud, I don't like them either," I point at my bruises and wounds from Stoick, "The man who saved you gave me these before he saved you."

Toothless snarled at that, "But," I continued, "He seems that he has changed, I'm not comfy around him either but-"

"SPAWN OF LOKI!" I hear someone shout.

I turn and see the old man pointing his staff at me, "Consorting with a devil, you'll kill us all in our sleep."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it when I was on the Nightmare. For the last damn time, I am NOT LOKIS SPAWN!"

He opened his mouth again to speak but I quickly cut him off, "I know, I have fooled all of Berk but I won't fool you. Well you're making yourself into more of a fool, I don't care what you say but I AM fed up with this crap. I plan explaining and telling more about myself but not now, on my time. Not because someone's calling me a slave of Loki."

With that I marched off to the docks, making sure Toothless was with me and not growling at the man, when we reached the fish shed I quickly grabbed a basket of salmon for Toothless. Turning to him, I say "Eat up," before opening the basket and pushing it towards his face.

Toothless looked at me before using his head to nudge the basket back to me, I look at the dragon in confusion.

"That's yours," I say, pushing the basket back to him.

Toothless looked at me again, this time his eyes were in slits before nudging the basket back to me. Then it clicked, he knew I was hungry, even if I ignored the feeling, I was, and Toothless would make sure that if nobody could get me to eat, he could.

Groaning I say "Alright you stubborn dragon, I'll eat _but,_" Toothless growled slightly, "You have to eat a fish before we go."

Toothless considered this before he crooned, he stuck his head into the basket and soon his head popped back out. I was about to grab the basket when I heard a familiar swallowing sound, in horror I turn and see Toothless' throat constricting. In a flash I grabbed the basket and sprinted toward the Mead Hall, with Toothless in close pursuit. If Hiccup were here he would be laughing his head off, saying _"Well; now you get to know how it feels eating a raw fish."_

* * *

I had managed to calm Toothless down after we got to the Mead Hall, after I had sprinted inside I turned to see where he was only for the massive dragon to pounce on my chest and spit out the fish. I had protested immediately but the dragon narrowed its eyes and began to make that swallowing noise again, after a long while I had coaxed Toothless off and had cooked the fish, making sure that I chewed and swallowed it in front of Toothless, who nodded his approval before sticking his head into the basket of fish. I had currently finished the fish and was working on a piece of chicken when the last person I wanted to see sat just opposite of me.

Stoick looked terrible, his eyes were dark and he still hadn't cleaned up from the raid, then again I still had dry blood on my face and my shirt was practically destroyed.

"I-um," he cleared his throat, "I-I'm sorry for what I did. I-"

I held out my hand to stop him, "I understand what you did on the island. I understand that you do love Hiccup, and acknowledge that he is your son. But I am not ready to forgive you just yet, you beat me with an inch of my life and it's going to take a while to just forget that."

Stoick just nodded before saying, "If you need an extra shirt, Hiccup should have plenty in his room," and getting back up, heading to the table at the head of the Hall. I return to my meal, with Toothless butting his head against my leg, smiling I reach over and pat his head before quickly standing up and leading Toothless out of the Hall. Together, we went up to Gothis house and the moment the door was opened enough; Toothless darted in and started to croon at Hiccups side.

I look around to see Astrid sitting by the hearth; her blue eyes reflected the flame while Gobber was measuring Hiccups leg, determining how to make it exactly. I looked at Astrid, sensing that she needed help, walking over to het I place a hand on her shoulder and ask, "Are you going to be ok?"

Astrid jumped slightly at my voice but she sighed and said, "I don't know, will you?"

"Never. I will never forget this moment, I…you're not the only one who had a breakdown," then her stomach rumbled as well. Laughing I say "Also, not the only one who was hungry recently, come on, well get some food at the Mead Hall."

Even though I had already been there, I still needed to try and help Astrid. But then she shook her head, "Can…can you take me home actually, I need to see my mom."

I nodded my head, as I moved my arm; I felt a breeze hit my left side. Then I remembered the sleeve, "We need to make a quick stop at Hiccups first." Astrid looked at me puzzled before I say, "I need an extra shirt, this one has been destroyed."

Astrid nodded her head before we walked down the hill together and towards Hiccups house, as we approached I saw the old man glaring at me from a distance. I glare back at him until I accidently walk into the door, bumping my head against the frame.

"Ow," I say, rubbing my forehead.

Astrid chuckles at me before we head inside, the hearth was glowing weakly, giving just enough light for us to go up the stairs and into Hiccups bedroom. His room happened to be part of an attic so when we opened the door; it was more of a trapdoor on his floor. A bed was pushed against the far wall with a dresser on the right side of the wall, next to a desk covered with paper and sketches.

"I'll just…um," Astrid trailed off as she turned around, not wanting to see me change.

"It's fine Astrid," I say, "I don't mind taking off my shirt in front of people, I have enough experience with gym class."

I move to the dresser, opening the drawers until I found a pile of neatly folded green shirts.

_"Jeez, Hiccup doesn't have much of a wardrobe,"_ I think.

Not that I was complaining, I wasn't one to talk with my ripped sleeve fashion statement. I quickly take off my shirt and threw it on the ground, that's when I looked at my upper body, my stomach was normally flat but due to the runs around the island and carrying the baskets of fish I was in rather good shape. I snag a green shirt and put on the soft fabric, I turn around to see Astrid with her back turned.

"Hey, I said it was ok for you to look, but it's alright now, I have a shirt on."

Astrid rolled her eyes as she turned around, "You're not that impressive to look at," she says.

I act like I have been wounded before we leave the house and head for hers, but halfway there, when we were passing the forge, I see Gobbers head poke out of the smithy, "Stormleg, can I 'ave a word?" he asked.

I look at Astrid, who shrugs her shoulders and says "I can walk from here," and punches my shoulder.

"OW! What was THAT for?!" I ask, very confused.

"That's for thinking I would be ogling at your body," she says before giving me a quick hug, "That's for…helping me get my mind off of Hiccup."

With that she walks off, meanwhile I shrug my shoulders before walking into the forge where Gobber has a sly smirk.

"She's into Hiccup Gobber; I think I'm sort of an older brother in her eyes."

Gobber shrugs, "Well I still need your help," he says.

"Why? You aren't having any trouble with Hiccups leg are you?" I ask.

"No, I have successfully constructed his leg but the problem is th' lads saddle," when he sees my confused face, he continues, "I've modified th' saddle so Hiccup can ride it, it's just…I won't 'ave anyone to test it and I know Stoick won't be too keen on letting th' boy ride it without knowin its safe."

"Well why do…" I trail off as I see him looking at me expectantly.

Sighing I say, "You want me, to fly the Night Fury, the fastest dragon known to Viking kind, without knowing how to control the direction we go, or how to fly at all, to test a possibly dangerous saddle, that controls the Night Fury, using only a prosthetic?"

"We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard, so will you?" Gobber continues.

"I don't have any choice do I?" I ask.

"Nope," Gobber says cheerfully.

I sigh again, "Well, the sooner the better."

**Calder gets to fly Toothless, how will that go? And how will he find out how to control the ring to get home?**

**Read, Have a great day and God Bless.**

**Review**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter**

**_DragonDude25: _****Yes, yes you will**

**_Ami: _****Hey, I have been busy with school and my other ongoing story. Don't expect another chapter after his until Running Scared it done.**

**A/N: I know it's been a long wait but I think there is about only two or three chapter left, tops. **

**ENJOY!**

Gobber was getting the saddle and prosthetic while I went into Hiccups backroom and went to retrieve Hiccups riding vest. I push back the curtain to see his notes and his gear lying on his workbench. I walk over to the table and pick up the vest, the rings of the belt slide off the table, bringing some paper than was on his desk falling down.

Taking a moment I set the vest on the ground and began to gather up the pieces of paper. There were all noted of the saddle that Gobber had undoubtedly went through to make the new saddle. But as I was putting them back on the desk I froze when I saw four pictures.

It was me. All of the pictures were of me. The first one was when I had knocked out Toothless; the sketch had perfectly drawn my awed expression as I stared at my hands. The second one was my fight with Astrid; Hiccup must have drawn this either before he took Astrid on a ride or when he was pondering for ideas. It showed Astrid in a kneeling position, her eyes focused on the axe at the center of the picture while I was standing there with my sword in my right hand while my face was blank but my eyes showed utter concentration and focus on Astrid.

The third picture was of Astrid and I lunging toward each other, Astrids mouth was open in a war cry, her axe raised and ready to swing, my face though was astonishing. It was filled with rage and utter fury ad I held my sword with both hands to the right side, the sword blade peeked out from my shoulder, my hair brushing over my eyebrows, creating a rugged look. This…reminded me of the time when Astrid had insulted Meghan, I can still hear her words saying _'His face..._ _was like his when he lost his wife…' _I could see why, the fury on my face was perfectly sketched, from my eyebrows knit together, to my lips pulled back into a snarl; I wouldn't be surprised if she was terrified of me.

I set the picture down and examine the last picture, which was probably made up by Hiccup because I knew I had never done this. The forest was in the background while I was smiling at Hiccup, my leg leaning against the tree with my hands behind my head. I (in the picture) was staring at the artist with a confident smile, at the bottom of the picture said one word in bold, underlined and starred.

**Friend.**

That one word, made me smile with happiness, I knew I had a friend that I could count on, that would have my back like I would have his. But this…made me feel like I wasn't his friend.

I felt like I was someone who would be there for his times of weakness and strength, his ups and downs, someone who would sit with him and give him comfort as he cried his soul out.

I look at the picture one last time before I set it down and snag the vest up and head back into the forge, one I saw that Gobber wasn't in the forge I then head outside to see him saddling up a disgruntled Toothless.

"Come on ya lazy dragon, just stop movin'," Gobber said, struggling with the saddle.

Toothless snorted his head and continued to jerk his body when Gobber hit a sensitive spot.

Groaning, I say "Toothless, stop fidgeting so Gobber can get you saddled up, if you do I'll give you an extra bag of the salmon you like."

Toothless seemed to perk up at that and immediately stopped moving so Gobber could finish up. While this was happening I put on the riding vest and made sure everything was intact, before I mounted Toothless.

I quickly attached the belt to the rings as Gobber handed me the prosthetic, it looked like a bit of a modern day one, except it had a spring that would imitate a person's step and make it easier to walk around with once they got used to it.

I carefully placed the prosthetic in the pedal and a two pieces of metal clamped onto the prosthetic, I uncertainly place my hands on the rim of the saddle near Toothless' neck.

"All right Stormleg, time to fly," Gobber said brightly.

I swallowed, not sure how to fly, I mean I knew how to tame dragons but I never did learn how to fly. I use my left hand and shift the prosthetic down, in a flash Toothless took off and my shout of surprise was carried away in the wind. I was gripping the saddle tightly as we climbed into the sky; all we could do was go up, why couldn't we go down?"

I looked back at the prosthetic to the left and then it hit me, the prosthetic reminded me of a gear shift in a car, was it possible that…

I take the prosthetic and shove it slightly upward, causing the red tail-fin to turn left. Toothless stopped his climb and we did like a corkscrew, me screaming and Toothless making his signature whistle as we spun through the air. It took me a little to calm down so I could change the gear again, this time moving the prosthetic upward again so it was almost pointed down, causing Toothless to turn right and we went through a white cloud.

That was a considerably bad idea, since we came out drenched and wind plus water isn't exactly the best thing. I was shivering slightly but it didn't help when Toothless smacked me with his ear.

"Hey, I'm still learning here, I don't know how to fly you exactly yet," I protest.

Toothless groaned before I took the prosthetic and pushed it down, causing us to start a steep climb. Toothless had other plans though, he quickly performed corkscrews as we went up, when he stopped I quickly put the prosthetic in the middle and held my head so my eyes could stop spinning. Once my vision stopped spinning I looked in awe at the clear sky, I have always been constricted to the ground and never knew what it was like in the air.

Smiling I looked down and saw Berk below us, a small speck in an ocean of water. I wondered what it was like to fall, just fall and actually feel like you were flying.

"Toothless, I want to try something. Just get ready to catch me ok bud?" I say.

When Toothless croons I carefully move my right foot from the stirrup and unhook my harness before I move the prosthetic down. As soon as Toothless began to fall I myself slip from the saddle and fall straight to the ground.

Freefalling was…quite a rush. My body was screaming danger while blood pounded in my head and Toothless roared in panic, I felt like Superman, it actually felt like I was flying; no wonder people did this. Cheering I held my right fist out, adding to the effect of being a hero, and that's when everything changed.

My ring began to glow a bright red before a beam of red shot out of the ring and a good distance away, the beam expanded until a swirling hole appeared, black on the inside with tints of red of the edges. I panicked for a second until I realized that it was the portal that got me here, and the portal that would get me home. For a moment, one brief moment, I felt an urge to fall through it, leave behind all this and just be home.

Then I remembered Hiccup drawing Toothless, Hiccup on a table missing his leg, Astrid crying while holding Hiccups hand, her hugging me, and Toothless collapsing when I scratched his jaw and Toothless falling with me.

I couldn't let these people down, especially not when they're counting on me.

I focused before the portal became smaller and the beam came shooting back into my ring, Toothless swooped under me and I quickly attached back to the saddle.

"Ok bud lets-" I was stopped at the sudden sight of Berk being closer than before. I wasn't sure on what to do until I felt the prosthetic in my left hand and I remembered it was like a gearshift.

I take a deep breath before I twitch my hand and Toothless swoops up and left, knocking over a few stands from the wind speed.

"MY CABBAGES!" I hear someone scream.

Soon Toothless and I were darting through the village houses; it was like a game of 'Need for Speed' as I dodged all the houses. I made one last turn before I saw the Mead Hall approaching fast, quickly I jerked the prosthetic downward and we flew up, parallel with the doors as we soared back into the sky.

"YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!" I shout as we soar.

Toothless roared in agreement before I quickly shifted the gear shift again and we soon turned around to the forge. Gobber was waiting for us there as we soared closer to the forge, I shifted the prosthetic again and the tail-fin snapped shut as Toothless made a running landing.

"So I take it tha' it went well?" Gobber asked.

"Very well, I am so jealous of Hiccup right now he gets to do this all the time," I say.

"Well, the lad isn't awake yet," Gobber pointed out.

I got a huge smile on my face until I hear a frustrated croon, turning around I see Toothless looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I ask.

"Ah, I think he is tryin' to get tha' fish you promised him," Gobber explains.

"He's hungry already? I just fed him like an hour ago," I protest.

"Th' dragons still hungry," Gobber points out.

"Huh, lazy dragon," I mutter, crossing my arms.

Then I felt something whack the back at my head, I look and see Toothlesses tail sneaking behind his body. I sigh before flicking his ear, "Lets g-"

Another thwack.

"Toothless if you smack me again I will-"

Thwack.

"Ok, that's it!" I shout before tackling the dragon, causing us to roll around in a fierce wrestling match.

It wasn't a minute later until I was pinned on the ground with Toothless' claws on my arms and him licking my face with his fish smelling tongue.

"Ok, OK. You'll get your bag of salmon, just stop li-"

Then Toothless licked me on the mouth.

After I get him his fish and slip an eel into it, I was going to find a place to take a bath. I really needed one after this attack of licking.

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How to Train Your Dragon, Adventure