Chapter Text
A small boy with too big clothes and a skinny frame ran through a forest as fast as he could. Tears were in his forest green eyes as he sprinted. The child's name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, quite a name for such a weak-looking boy. Most of the time, he just went by Hiccup the Useless, a name adopted by his cousin that became an all around nickname.
He, at first, tried to stop the demeaning name, but his efforts were futile. Even his father didn't try to help when it started to spread. That hurt Hiccup so much more than the insult. Hiccup's father, Stoic the Vast, was the chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe, so he would be able to make everyone stop with just a few words. Despite that, the leader didn't even scold Snotlout, or anyone really. The same day, Hiccup had been thrown in the well by his cousin and his friends. No one came to rescue him, so he stayed in the dark hole with freezing water for hours. At least nobody heard the wails and fearful screams of the five year old. After what felt like an eternity, an empty bucket came down gently for Hiccup to get into. When he was finally out, he say that his savior was Gobber, the only viking that showed him any love. Ever since, Gobber had been teaching Hiccup on how to blacksmith while teaching him how to read and write in his downtime. The little boy had been bullied so much during school that he had became a distraction for the other vikings, making them want to practice their punching skills instead of paying attention. No matter, they could still beat him up after 'school', which only consisted of survival teachings, dragon killing, and Norse writing/speaking.
Today was one of those days. Classes were everyday and were only a few hours long, giving Hiccup a small period pf solace. Still, there were tests at times and Hiccup always knew when they had them, for they were the days that hurt the most. So, there Hiccup ran, trying to escape his beating.
"Common Hiccup the Useless! You can't hide forever!" The teasing voices of the Thorston twins only spurred Hiccup further. He was running so fast down the steep forest that he couldn't stop himself from tripping over a branch and slamming into a tree. The almost-seven year old cried out in pain and had tears starting to form into his eyes. Blood was already pouring out of his knees and face from the fall. Hiccup tried to control himself, desperate too not be caught crying in front of the other children.
"Oh! Found him!" Ruffnut yelled, a few feet in front of Hiccup. The others gathered not too long after. From his spot on the dirt, Hiccup saw the whole group: Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotloud, Fishlegs and Astrid. The only vikings that didn't look overjoyed to beat him to a pulp was Fishlegs and Astrid. Fishlegs never really bullied him, he just followed along and watched from a distance. Rarely, he would try and make the others stop. On the other hand, Astrid had her own way of making Hiccup suffer. All the other insults didn't effect Hiccup anymore, yet Astrid's always did. Her jabs at him were cruel and personal, knowing exactly what made Hiccup cry. Along with that, her punches and kicks were the most painful because of her training in fighting.
"Hah! Look he's crying!" A loud laugh was heard from Tuffnut, his twin howling with laughter right beside him. Bending down to grab a rock, the male twin said, "Think fast!" as he threw the stone. It was a hard through, probably meant to let off some steam.
He probably failed his test like always, Hiccup thought to himself.
"You know, I really hate being related to you, Hiccup. The fact that your the heir and I'm not is just worse." Before Hiccup could raise his thin arms in defense, Snoutlout punched his younger cousin in the stomach. The other joined in until Astrid intervened.
"Stop, you idiots!" Astrid pushed the twins and Snotlout roughly. She looked at him angrily, her blue eyes bright with malice. "He's hurt enough! We won't be able to have him in hunting class tomorrow with Gobber." The others groaned but relented, walking away. Fishlegs looked at him sadly but said nothing, quickly turning back to go with his friends. The pretty girl was the last to leave, saying "Stoic wouldn't like to have to deal with Hiccup all day," as she walked away.
Not wanting to go back to the village, Hiccup stayed in the forest. His body was covered in bruises and blood, evidence of what the other children had done. The child limped until he found a familiar cove. It was quiet and hard to reach, perfect for him. It had become his safe place, a place where he wouldn't be judged or hurt. Carefully, Hiccup headed down until he was safely inside the cove.
"Why do the gods hate me?" Hiccup muttered quietly. He staggered toward the large creek in the center of the cove and began to wash his face. The regular sting of his wounds only made Hiccup wince a little, he was already used to the feeling.
SNAP!!!!
Hiccup gasped and looked around wildly for the source of the noise. He started shaking in fear. The boy froze when he heard a small whimper coming from behind him. Looking back, Hiccup's eyes widened at the black ball that was at the edge of the cove. Slowly, Hiccup walked towards it, his curiosity overpowering his fear.
"H-Hello?" His voice was small and meek. "Are you alright?" The child sat down and leaned over the large, black mass. Gently, the curious viking poked the mass.
"AAAAHH!!" Hiccup screamed when there was a small creature on top of him, snarling. It looked scared and young as it bared its gums, not having any teeth to show yet. "H-H-Hey...it's okay I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to smile at the creature. It turned its head to the side and mimicked the gesture, making Hiccup giggle.
Realizing that he wasn't a threat, the creature moved away from him and sat on its haunches. There was something about the boy that calmed to thing down. Getting a better look, Hiccup saw wings, a tail, and scales on the creature. A dragon! It was a dragon!
For some reason, Hiccup didn't run away from the apparent dragon. Instead, he smiled and gave his hand, the same way you would give to a dog to introduce yourself. It flinched away then leaned back towards his hand, sniffing and licking it. As it did so, Hiccup saw that the dragon was completely black, had a smoother design, and did not seem to have any teeth.
"Toothless, huh? Don't worry I know how you feel." he smiled and pointed at some of the gaps in his teeth with his free hand. The young dragon looked at him and did its dragon smile again. Wait..its. Hiccup felt guilt coarse through him, he had called the dragon an 'it'. Suddenly he felt something warm underneath his hand.
The dragon's head was against Hiccup's hand. They made eye contact, bright green eyes looking at forest green ones.
He had been wandering around like any hatchling would do. His flock had been running low on food, the result of having such poor hunting grounds. Ever since they escaped from their Queen, times have been tough. Nonetheless, the free dragons were more than willing to struggle than being under Her control again. Anyways, the Night Fury ran around the green forest, ignoring the calls of the other dragons.
"Night Fury! Come here! It is not safe!" The worried voice of an elder Gronkle was faintly heard in the distance. All the other hatchlings didn't dare leave their parent's side, too scared to be in unknown territory, so the black dragon went alone. He didn't have any parents, they had died at the claws of Her.
Not wanting to remember Her, he ran faster not paying attention to his surroundings. So, when he tripped over a rock and fell into a cove, the young dragon could only blame himself. It wasn't a huge fall, but it still hurt like Hel. All he could do was curl himself into a ball.
The dragon stiffened when he noticed another smell. It was distinct, not dragon, human. The second he felt a soft touch on his hide, the hatchling pounced onto the little human.
"Get away! I'm g-going to kill you!" He growled and bared his non-existent teeth. The human boy froze, but did not try to tackle him off like most humans would. Instead, the boy said something in a comforting tone and showed his teeth in a weird way. The hatchling decided to mimic the gesture, getting a strange noise in return.
How strange. When the boy gave him his hand, the dragon started to sniff him. He smelled sweet, like nectar or fruit, and made him feel safe
Then, their eyes met
A connection formed between the boy and dragon. Hiccup teared up as he felt the fear and sadness in the dragon. The ladder looked at him with wide eyes as he felt the connection too.
"Oh gods. I'm so sorry, you must be so scared."
"I'm not scared!"
Each froze.
"You can understand me?" They both said at the same time.
"Y-yeah?" Hiccup said, astonished.
"Huh. I can to?!" Toothless's ear flaps perked up in excitement.
Hiccup laughed in shock. Before he knew it, he started to talk to the dragon for hours, both telling stories and things about each other and laughing. They only stopped when a group of dragons flew into the cove, growling at Hiccup. It was actually easier than he thought to show that he wasn't a threat, but a friend. Probably because of his weak nature. Scratching Toothless in his apparent favorite spot, Hiccup bid him goodbye.
"Wait! Just a second!" Toothless ran back towards his friend and butted his head against his chest in affection. "I hope we meet again! You're a great friend, and you gave me a name! That's such an honor for dragons!"
"You're a Night Fury! Of course you deserve a name, bud! And, yeah, I really hope I can see each other again. You're the only friend I have ever had."
Hiccup's voice grew a bit watery, but he quickly swallowed it down and hugged himself. The dragons frowned. Why would he be ashamed of having emotions? Dragons would comfort one another and encourage their kind to not hide their emotions.
Toothless warbled and gave Hiccup's face a few licks. To the viking's surprise, his bruises started to heal and his cuts disappeared. Smiling, Hiccup hugged Toothless and buried his head into the dragon's chest. He purred and gave Hiccup another lick.
"Thank you, child. We will gladly meet again." A female Nightmare nuzzled Hiccup's messy hair and gave him a lick.
The boy waved at the flying dragons, the only beings that had shown him respect and affection besides Gobber.
.
.
.
No one gave Hiccup a second glance as he entered the village. The only viking that did was his uncle, Spitelout, who grabbed him by his baggy tunic and took him towards his father;s house.
"Stoick's been lookin' fer yah. Wants to talk to yah or somethin'." His uncle grumbled at him, annoyance very evident in his voice.
The boy only nodded and let the larger man drag him to his house. It didn't take long, and Hiccup was thrown on the stairs of his house. The viking left, cursing under his breath.
With a grunt, Hiccup managed to open the heavy door that all vikings, even children, should open with ease. Again, Hiccup was reminded of his uselessness. Still with a limp, Hiccup entered his home and headed to the kitchen, hungry from his eventful day. Not like he would ever tell his dad. That was an automatic NO.
"Dad? I'm home!" he yelled. Hiccup sat on a kitchen chair as he heard the footsteps of his father entering from another room. The chief looked tired as he looked at his only child, a look Hiccup had grown used to. He was used to too many things at this age, but, hey, that's life.
"Ah, son! Good to see yah!"
"H-Hi dad..."
The silence shouldn't have been so quiet. Especially since there was a young boy in the room. It should have been filled with what Hiccup did that day and his laughter as he remembered something funny or his questions on random things. Well, there were no words spoken, not at all. Stoic just sighed and went over to the table and sat down.
"I need to talk to yah."
Hiccup just nodded slightly.
"Uhm. I've decided that..uhm" For such a large man, Stoic looked small. "You are going tah be put back in school."
"Oh." Hiccup obviously deflated but still kept quiet. Hesitantly, the boy spoke, "You know they beat me up, right? They're mean and cruel. I'm fine with being taught at home. Really," His eyes tried to look up, but the table was more interesting than his father's face.
"I know the other kids aren't nice. But, they help yah' son! Make yah tougher. Don't worry, you'll be fine!"
Silence.
"And you will become the best warrior alive. No dragon will stand in your way. Deal?"
"Dad, I-"
"Deal?"
"D-Deal."
If only Hiccup knew what a mistake he had made.