According to many people, forest was described as a place where there were a lot of trees around. In the forest, they would find various flora and fauna.
Trees and other plants were obvious flora that people would find. Birds, rabbits, grasshoppers and various other critters were examples of fauna that they would find in the forest.
It was not peaceful by any means. Contrary to what many people believed, forest was a wild place, where predators eat prey, herbivores eat plants, and other sorts of animals killing other animals to survive. However, it was also where animals breed, grow their children, teach them how to hunt and survive in the wild.
It was how nature works.
It had been like that since the birth of the world itself.
Each and every forest that exist in the world had their own ecosystem - characteristics, animals that lived there, and other assortments that made them unique to each other.
Granted, some forests were identical to one another, but one thing they have in common was the fact that there were a lot of trees in it.
In this scene, the forest was somewhat unique to most common forests that people usually encountered. The forest was in the Isle of Berk. The Isle of Berk, as the name suggests, was an island.
It was located at the Barbaric Archipelago, which was at the Meridian of Misery, roughly southwest of Scandinavia. The island had very few sea stacks, but with a lot of interesting landforms, such as rocky arches, cliffs, beaches, waterfalls, large forests and others.
This was where this peculiar forest was located. This was where we set the scene.
What made this forest unique was something common in Barbaric Archipelago. There were various common creatures that exist around the world, such as wolves, deer and other livestock. What made this one unique was something that their inhabitants would consider pests.
These so-called pests were dragons.
They were flying, fire-breathing lizards. These creatures came in various shapes and sizes, with various abilities and capabilities. From the smallest to the most gigantic dragons, fastest to slowest, they were all considered dangers to the inhabitants in the whole region.
In other places outside Meridian of Misery, they were rare and hard to find. In the region, however, they were very much common. It had gotten their name by the fact that only islands existed in the meridian; the rest were open, vast ocean.
The human inhabitants at Meridian of Misery were called Vikings. Various Viking tribes scattered all around the place, living their lives through hunting, fishing and farming.
Sometimes, battle and war would break out amongst them. They would clash their swords and axes as they shout their battle-cry for glory and victory, defending their home or pillaging others.
This was considered normal for them.
Occasionally, dragons would come to their village, raiding their food and livestock. As expected, Vikings would fight and kill dragons to defend their land; dragons swoop in to take food and kill Vikings that dared to attack them while raiding.
This was, also, considered normal for them.
Focusing back on the scene, in the large forest called Raven Point at Isle of Berk. There were two humans walking down the forest path. Both these humans were Vikings.
The first human was a 40-year-old male adult. As the name suggested, he was a large man, with stocky frame. He had bright red, messy and tangled beard, white skin and green eyes.
He was wearing dark green sleeveless tunic that went from shoulder to knee, metal shoulder pads, chainmail tunics with striped pants and fur boots. On his arms were rounded-spiked braces. On his head was a large horned helmet - a typical signature of a Viking.
This man was known as Stoick the Vast - Chief of Hairy Hooligan tribe.
The second human was a 10-year-old scrawny boy. He was thin, without much strength on his body. He had bell-shaped auburn hair, white skin and dull, green eyes.
Notably, he had a small, white scar just under his bottom lip on his chin. The boy was wearing long-sleeve, light-green tunic, pants and fur boots.
This boy was known as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third - son of Stoick the Vast.
The two figures were walking down the forest path. They were simply enjoying their moment together in silence, basking in the green nature of the forest. It may not seem much; however, it was one of the moments where they finally spent their time together.
Stoick the Vast rarely had any free time to spent with his son. As the chief of Hairy Hooligan Tribe - a Viking tribe, he rarely had any free time to spend for himself. There were plenty of things to do, things to manage, Vikings to lead, and others. The village did not manage by itself, after all.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was apprenticed to the village's blacksmith. Unlike most Vikings, who were big and large, Hiccup was short and scrawny. He could not carry axes or swords, as his body did not have the physical strength to do so.
However, instead of physical strength, most of his strength comes in his mind. He was able to solve many things that typically took other years to solve. He could remember things simply with a glimpse of his eyes.
Unfortunately, these sets of characteristics were not welcome in his tribe. In the Viking village called Berk, physical strength and brawn were preferred over intelligence. As a result, he was socially outcasted by the village, with occasional bullies harassing him.
Thankfully, his father was one to acknowledge his intellect. Unfortunately, his father did not seem to do much about the issue.
"Hah!" Hiccup exclaimed. The boy was holding a small wooden sword, swinging them erratically. "Hiyah!"
His swings hit the small branches and twigs. His father watched him from behind. He was happy to see his son enjoying himself. Those moments were something that they cherished together, as they did not often have the time to spend together.
Hiccup was about to swing his wooden sword again when he saw something. At the grassy area near the path, there was a small bird. The bird was walking, seemingly limping on the ground. It looked to be injured.
Hiccup brought himself down to see more of the bird. It looked hurt. "Uh..." The boy looked back to his father. "What's wrong with him, dad?"
Stoick stopped right next to his son. He bent down to see what he was looking at. "... he fell from his nest and broke his wings." The man let out a sigh. "Very sad."
The father looked at his son. "But these things happen, son." He firmly spoke. "The only right thing to do is to end its suffering."
Hiccup's eyes widened, scared. Stoick hardened his expression. He did not want his son to see it. "Head down the path." He gestured.
"No dad!" the boy exclaimed. His eyes began to tear. "No!"
Stoick grimaced. "Hiccup..."
"Can't we help him?" Hiccup pleaded, saddened. "He's... little like me." He sniffed. "Can't we help him get better?"
Stoick softened his eyes. Hiccup was crying. His eyes were filled with tears, and he was snivelling. It broke his heart to see his son like that.
Looking down at the bird, Stoick was not sure what to do. It would be easier for them to end its suffering. It looked very young, given how small it was. It was clearly in pain. He did not want to be the one to take care of the bird. It could be something that Hiccup could learn.
Stoick had decided. The man looked at his son. "Fetch me a twig."
"Okay." Hiccup replied as he moved to reach a tree branch.
He grabbed and snapped a small twig with his hand, before going back to his father. Stoick had picked up the bird from the ground. He grabbed the twig from his son and offered the bird to him. "Now hold him."
Hiccup slowly took the bird from him. "Very carefully." Stoick encouraged.
After having the bird on his hand, he looked down at the bird. It was a very small, white bird. The bird was so small, it fit on his palm. He could not bring himself to harm the bird. It was the smallest creature he had ever seen - ignoring bugs, of course.
Stoick pulled a band from his braided hair. He moved to the small bird Hiccup was holding and made a makeshift splint for the bird's broken wing. When that was done, the bird looked at the splint, before resting on the boy's hand. It did not look in pain anymore.
When that was done, the man looked to his son. "It's your responsibility now, son."
"You must feed him, and care for him." Stoick firmly spoke. "Until he's able to fly free and return to the wild."
Hiccup looked down to the injured bird on his hand. He never had any responsibility before - outside of taking care of himself. He had gone and helped Gobber at the forge, but things he did there was never truly his responsibility. Gobber was there to help him. It would be the first time he ever had responsibility for someone.
"Okay dad." Hiccup spoke, not sure what else to say.
Suddenly, something came out from the bush. It was a male Berkian Viking, wearing casual tunic attire and an axe on his back. He saw them there and greeted them. "Chief."
Stoick looked at him. "Yes?"
"Something came up." The Viking briefly looked at Hiccup, before looking at Stoick. "It's important."
The chief grimaced. His duty never truly ends, even when he was at his free time. The man looked at Hiccup. "Head down the path now." He softly spoke.
"Okay." Hiccup muttered, before heading down the path, alone with the injured bird on his hand.
Hiccup aimlessly wandered around the forest. The road had ended in a small clearing, but Hiccup decided to kept walking. The boy was distracted with nursing the bird. It had taken comfort on his hand, as Hiccup took extra care to not disturb the fragile splint.
The boy wandered down to an unfamiliar place. There was a path down there, leading to a place that he was somewhat unfamiliar with. The path was going down, meaning that whatever it was, the place must be lower than the surface.
Hiccup was curious to know where it would lead him to. He carefully walked down the path, moving to dodge the rocks that was closing in. There, he saw a beautiful sight.
It was a large area that looked like a small, isolated place. The place was surrounded by tall cliffs, meaning that the only way in was through the path he had come in from. There was a pond there, large and deep enough to swim. There were trees there as well, providing comfort for anyone who wished to protect themselves from the sun.
Hiccup recognised the structure from one of the lessons his father taught him; it was a cove.
However, what was noticeable for the boy was something at the centre of the cove. There was something large, trapped in a net. Hiccup recognised it as a black dragon. Hiccup did not recognise the dragon. It was looking up to him, staring at him with its bright, acidic green eyes.
Hiccup froze on his track. His forest green eyes went wide, staring at the trapped dragon. He had never seen a dragon up close before. Typically, when a dragon raid happened, he was to run to the Great Hall until everything calmed down. It would be the first time he ever come close to a dragon.
The boy walked closer to the trapped dragon. He noted that the bird had snuggled close to him, clearly not comfortable with his decision. He stared up close to the dragon. The acidic green eyes met the forest ones. They were curious as to what to do at that situation.
Hiccup was not sure, but he could see the emotion in its- no, her eyes. She was lonely, scared and afraid. The dragon was not small by any means, but Hiccup could not help but relate to her. Loneliness was something that he was quite familiar with. Fear was also something he was familiar with.
The experience was quite unlike something he had ever seen before.
Staring at the dragon, he saw himself staring back at him.
The boy looked down at the bird on his hand. It was looking up to him, as if asking him what he wanted to do next. Then, he remembered.
"It's your responsibility now."
It was his responsibility. The dragon he found was his responsibility. As much as he wanted to turn back and run, he could not. It was his responsibility.
He had begged his father to help the bird, and his father gave him the responsibility to take care of the bird. His father would most likely give him the responsibility to take care of the dragon.
All his life, he was encouraged to kill a dragon when he grew up.
He could not bring himself to harm this one.
Just like how he begged his father to spare the bird.
The boy inspected the net. It was an old dragon trap; designed for simple capture when dragons were flying around the trees. At least, that was what Gobber told him.
It was a simple net with four bolas tangled at the end. The design was not used anymore, as it was rare for dragons to fly that low. It was also easy to release.
Hiccup decided. He grabbed one of the ropes near the bola and pulled. The moment he did it, the bolas popped off. The dragon quickly shook out from the net, easily tearing it to shreds.
The sudden movement scared the boy. He took couple step back and stumbled, falling to his bum. "Ah!" He clutched the bird on his chest, protecting it.
His other hand was stretched to the dragon, as he looked away and waited for the inevitable. He had seen how aggressive dragons could be. He did not know how to handle this one.
The boy was simply frozen there. He clenched his eyes closed, unwilling to look at the dragon.
He felt something sniffing his hand.
Then, he felt soft scales pressing onto his palm.
The boy slowly opened his eyes. He slowly moved his head to look in front of him. The dragon had her snout pressed onto his outstretched hand. Her eyes were closed. Hiccup could only stare at the dragon, not sure what to make of it.
After some time, the dragon opened her eyes, revealing the green acidic eyes that seem to reflect his own. She backed away from him, revealing the towering figure of dragoness on all her glory.
The dragon was a quadruped creature. Unlike most dragons he had ever seen, this one did not have any notable sharp features, like horns. She had jet black scales on her body, barely reflecting any light from the sky.
The dragon had a large pair of wings that resembled a bat, and a long tail. The most notable thing about this dragon was the fact that she had a large, acidic green cat-like eyes.
"Umm..." Hiccup was nervous. This was the first time he had seen a dragon up close before, let alone touching one. "Nice dragon..."
The dragon gave him a half eye lid expression and snorted. She began walking around, as if inspecting the boy that was sitting there. It gave him more view of her notable appearance.
There were ear-like appendages on her head, with some shorter appendages that resembled nubs. On her tail were two sets of tail fins - one at the base of her tail and another at the end.
She was a dragon that he had never seen before. Upon seeing more of her appearance, he slowly felt less fearful than before. He was curious about this one. Maybe this one was different than other dragons?
After some time, the dragon stopped right in front of him. She sat down in front of him, as if waiting for him to do something. The dragon looked at him like he was a puzzle to solve.
The boy slowly stood from the ground. He heard a chirp and looked down at the bird in his clutch. The bird was curious to see the docile dangerous predator. It had never seen anything like that before.
"Hrrrr..." The dragon let out a croon and leaned close to him. Her eyes were wide, staring down at the bird on his hand. The tiny bird snuggled close to Hiccup, afraid of the dragon. She sniffed the bird, before slowly moving her head up to look straight to Hiccup.
Hiccup stared at the green acidic eyes. It was hypnotizing. He did not know what the dragon wanted by staring at him like that. It was so strange to be so close to the dragon.
Hiccup blinked.
The dragon blinked.
Hiccup tilted his head.
The dragon copied the movement.
Hiccup blinked once more.
The dragon blinked as well.
Hiccup smiled at her.
At this gesture, the dragon drew back, confused by the expression. That made Hiccup confused as well. Did he do something wrong?
The dragon tilted her head, before spreading her lips, resembling a smile. The boy could only stare as he saw the gummy smile of the dragon. She had no teeth. "Toothless?" Hiccup muttered. "I could've sworn you had..."
The dragon suddenly looked offended. Teeth suddenly appeared and she bared it to him. "-teeth!" Hiccup drew back as he took a step back, afraid of the dragon. That reminded him of the creature in front of him.
As if to showcase what she did, she closed her mouth and opened it again. The teeth were gone.
Hiccup blinked. "H- Huh." His fear dissipated.
Then, the dragon sat in front of him, as if waiting for him to do something.
The boy blinked once more. The dragon had showed him that she had retractable teeth. She had seen the bird on his clutch. It was as if they were showing each other what they could do. Was it something that she wanted from him? What could he show to her?
Suddenly, an idea sprung up in his mind. He looked around and noticed a branch stick not far from there. The boy ran there - careful with the bird - before picking it up. He ran back to the dragon and showed it to her.
The dragon simply blinked.
The boy began drawing something on the sand. He had memorized the appearance of the dragon, thanks to his natural ability to remember things by looking at them once. Hiccup began moving around, drawing the dragon in front of him.
Drawing was a hobby that he had picked up since he was a child. Not many Vikings liked drawing. Bucket the fisherman was the other Viking that could draw, at least, one that he knew of. He had learned it from him years ago, when his father left him with Bucket from time to time.
Hiccup added some extra detail of the dragon, before finishing it on the ground. The drawing was accurate, ignoring certain detail about her appearance to make them easier to draw. The boy looked up to the dragon with a smile, happy to know that he had done a great job.
"Hrr?" The dragon was surprised. She stood and circled the drawing, fascinated by it. After some time, she jumped and glide across the cove. The dragon grabbed a tree branch and snapped it off from the tree. Then, the dragon began dragging it, creating trails on the ground.
Hiccup watched as the dragon dragged the tree branch around. She circled around the cove, creating a shape of something. The boy wondered what the dragon was doing. He was still alive so far, not that he was complaining.
Suddenly, Hiccup realised what the dragon was doing.
'She's copying me...' He thought.
After some time, the dragon stopped at the corner. She dropped the tree branch, looking pleased to herself. Hiccup looked around, trying to make sense of the drawing. It was difficult to see it from the ground. It looked like a crude drawing of him.
After some time, Hiccup tried to reach her. He froze when he suddenly heard a growl. She looked angry. "Karr..."
The boy looked down. He noticed that he had almost stepped onto her drawing. He drew back his feet, and that expression was gone from her. That one was easy to guess for him.
Snotlout - his cousin of his age - often destroyed his sand drawing if he ever found him drawing.
It hurt whenever he did it.
Hiccup moved over the drawing. The dragon looked pleased to see him do that. Hiccup looked around, thinking. How could he move around without touching the lines?
It was a puzzle for him to solve. The boy moved over one lines and another. His hesitation was soon replaced with confidence, as he finally figured out how to get out from the drawing.
It was like Maces and Talons that he often played with his father.
It took him only few minutes to get out of the drawing. Right after he did, however, he bumped to something behind him. The boy turned around and saw black scales in front of him. He felt hot air blew onto him. Hiccup looked up, staring at the green acidic eyes once more.
The dragon was staring down at him, curious.
Hiccup wondered what kind of dragon she was. He had never seen anything like her before. The dragon was friendly, unlike many other dragons that he had ever seen before. There was also something that made him drawn to her. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
"Hi..." Hiccup started. The dragon perked up a bit.
"I'm- I mean, uh-" He was nervous. He was not sure that the dragon could understand him. His father often said that dragons were mindless beasts. Maybe this one was different?
"M- My name is Hiccup." The boy nervously spoke.
The dragon tilted her head. Then, she started warbling, as if laughing at him. "Krrr, hrrr, hrryu..."
The boy stared at her with deadpan expression. Dragon or human, he knew when he was being laughed at. It hurt to know that even dragons laughed at his name.
"M- My dad told me it scares off gnomes and trolls..." Hiccup trailed off, realising something important. It confirmed something that he had suspected.
The dragon understood him.
"What's your name?" Hiccup asked, finally relaxed.
That snapped the dragon from whatever she was doing. She stood from the ground and began walking around, exaggerating her movement while doing so. After some time, she sat down on the ground and gave him a gummy smile.
"... Toothless?" Hiccup tilted her head.
The dragon stared at him for some time, before walking towards him. She stood right in front of him and sat there, staring at him. She looked somewhat annoyed.
"Uh..." Hiccup was not sure what to say. "So... Toothless?"
The dragon stared at him, before rolling her eyes. Then, she nodded her head.
Hiccup could not believe it. The dragon understood him!
"Toothless it is, then." The boy finally concluded.
The dragon - now named Toothless - came really close to his face. Hiccup flinched at the sudden movement. He was not sure what the dragon wanted from him.
That reminded him of something.
Why had he not tried running away before?
"Uh..." Hiccup started, nervous at how close he was with her.
Suddenly, the dragon licked him.
"EW!" Hiccup exclaimed. He very nearly dropped the bird on his hand. It was wet and sudden, and that drenched his body with thick saliva fluid.
"Hrr, krr, hrr!" He heard the same laugh from Toothless. He stared at the dragon with deadpan expression. The boy heard the injured bird chirp, as if amused by the reaction.
Suddenly, Toothless stopped and perked up. She raised her head and looked at the direction of the cove entrance. Seeing her attention there, Hiccup turned around to see who it was. There was nobody there. "What are you-"
He heard Toothless ran away, before flying out from the cove. Hiccup had just turned back to see her leave. He was a bit saddened that Toothless left. He wondered what caused it.
"Hiccup?"
The boy turned around once more. At the cove entrance, there was his father. It was then he realised what had happened.
'Toothless sensed him coming.'
"Hey dad." Hiccup greeted her.
Stoick stretched his body as he looked around. There were a lot of dirt marks on the ground, and an old, torn dragon trap somewhere at the corner. The chief simply assumed that it was left there a long time ago. Ignoring the ropes, he looked around the cove.
"You found a cove." He commented.
"Yeah." Hiccup replied, a bit disappointed about something else. "I guess."
"Hmm." The chief hummed. He approached Hiccup and inspected him. He looked wet with an unknown fluid - presumably water. The bird on his hand was fine, meaning that it was probably water.
"Let's go back." Stoick softly spoke. "You can bring the bird to Gothi."
"Okay."
Deciding that was it, the chief stood from the ground. "Come." Then, he began walking towards the entrance.
Hiccup moved to follow his father. However, he could not help but to look back at where Toothless had flown off to. He wondered if he would ever meet that dragon again. She was friendly to him, so far.
He thought about telling his father about it but decided against it.
It was his responsibility, after all.
Days had passed.
The boy had been taking care of the bird. His father had left the bird to his care. It took most of his time, as he had to take care of the bird on his own.
Thankfully, Gobber - the village blacksmith and his surrogate father - had been understanding with the whole situation. He let him have more free time to take care of the bird.
Unfortunately, his father was often busy again at the village. Fortunately, Gothi the village elder was there to help him. She taught him how to take care of the injured bird.
While it may not be the most amazing skill a Viking could learn, it was nice to know how to take care of his small, little bird. It helped that the bird seemed to be calmer around them.
A loud trill snapped him from his thoughts. Hiccup absentmindedly caressed the small bird on his palm. He was waiting for Gothi to return with medicine.
The boy was inside Gothi's cottage. As expected, most of the place were made of wood. There were shelves on the wall, filled with all assortments of books and decorations.
Some furniture, such as tables and chairs were there as well, but nothing was notable about them. The place reminded him of Haddock house, but more pleasant and comfortable.
The bird he cared for was getting stronger. It did not need the splint any longer, but it still could not fly. Not yet. Gothi had told him that its wings were still recovering. It should only take a few days before it could fly into the sky once more.
While Hiccup was looking forward to it, he could not stop thinking about Toothless. It took him a while to realise that she was playing with him. He wondered if it meant that he was friend with the dragon.
Hiccup suddenly heard footsteps. He looked up, staring at the source of the sound. From a doorway came an elderly woman. She looked like she was in her 80s.
The woman had a short, scrawny figure with an obvious hunch. She had a thick, wavy grey hair. Her outfit consisted of leather vest with an old belt strapped around it.
"Gothi!" Hiccup greeted her.
The elderly woman - now known as Gothi - smiled at him. She was holding a small bowl of rice. The old woman came to Hiccup and offered the bowl to him.
Hiccup slowly picked up the bowl. The boy moved it closer to the bird. The small white bird tilted its head. It hopped over and perched onto the bowl. Then, it began pecking the rice, eating them.
The boy smiled as he watched the bird eat. The creature looked so peaceful. It was getting stronger as day passed. Hiccup could not wait for the time when it could finally fly once more.
The thought of flying reminded Hiccup of Toothless. He wondered what kind of dragon she was. She had been friendly to him, which was very much different than many other dragons that he had ever seen. Hiccup wondered if he would ever meet her again.
Suddenly, he heard a tap. Hiccup snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the elder. He did not notice her picking up her simple bone staff; she had tapped her staff onto the ground to get his attention. The boy looked down to see what she had drawn.
On the ground was a writing, written on the dusty wooden floor. Specifically, Gothi's writing.
ARE YOU WELL?
"I'm fine." Hiccup replied. Other than Gobber, Gothi had been the one that often took care of him. The woman was his grandmother from his mother side. She was the one who taught him literacy and many other things.
Ever since the Old Wrinkly - his grandfather from his mother side, and Gothi's husband - died, Gothi had taken over the task as the village elder.
Hiccup was too young to know Old Wrinkly, but considering how everyone spoke highly of him, he must've been a great elder. It was said that his death caused her to swear the vow of silence.
The old woman hummed at his answer. She looked down before drawing more text for Hiccup to read. The boy looked down to where she was writing.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?
Hiccup silently sighed. Gothi somehow often knew when he was thinking about something. There were times when he did something wrong and could not ask anyone for help. Gothi was there to listen to him. It helped that Gothi never told anyone about it.
Hiccup wondered if it was a good idea to tell Gothi about Toothless. The black dragon had played with him for some time - something that he realised hours after going back to the village days ago. She never harmed him, not even once. It made her very different than other dragons.
"... it's nothing." Hiccup finally spoke. He did not want to worry Gothi about it.
Toothless was his responsibility, after all.
The elderly woman slowly nodded. She looked at the bowl he was holding. Hiccup turned to look there as well. The bird had emptied the bowl of rice. It was resting on his hand, not making any noise. It seemed content with where it was.
Gothi took the empty bowl from him. Hiccup stood from the chair, careful with the bird on his hand. "Thank you, elder."
The elder nodded. Hiccup approached the exit, before going out from the cottage. Gothi simply watched as he closed the door behind him.
The village of Berk were peaceful.
Mostly. The village was the place where Hairy Hooligan tribe lived. Most of the constructions there were made of wood, with some made of stones, such as the Great Hall or the forge. There were ships at the docks and food at the storehouse.
Majority of these structures were built on the rocks. There was a farm for both animals and vegetation, located at the grassy area of the village. Strange enough, most of the houses were newly made.
That was to be expected, considering the common pests that existed at the archipelago.
Hiccup was walking down the street at Berk. There were Vikings walking around, most of which were ignoring his presence. There were some unhappy glances directed at him, but Hiccup kept on walking. He was used to it.
Gobber was waiting for him. He had to get to the forge.
"Hey, is that..."
Hiccup paused. He looked to the side and saw the least group that he wanted to see.
The group consisted of five people. Those people were roughly of his age. The first one was a petite girl, with mid-back length blonde hair and white skin.
She wore a sleeveless shirt in varying shades of steel blue, dark brown skirt and dark blue leggings. Like Hiccup, she wore fur boots. This girl was named Astrid Hofferson.
The second person in the group was a white, burly boy. The most notable feature of this boy was his large-than-average nose.
He wore green tunic, grey pants and fur boots. Notably, his tunic was tucked inside his pants, with black leather belt wrapped around him. This boy was named Snotlout Jorgenson.
The third and fourth were twins. They were at least one year younger than the rest. The first twin was male, wearing light pale green tunic, light grey-blue pants and dark brown fur boots. The second twin was female, wearing dark blue tunic, grey-brown mini-skirt and dark blue fur boots.
The two individuals looked identical, which was expected, considering they were both twins. They were Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorson.
The last was a large, shy boy named Fishlegs Ingerman. This boy was one year younger than the rest. He was large and husky in appearance, wearing brown furred overall outfit and furred boots. It was strange for the boy to be shy, as he was the largest one in the group.
Seeing the group approach made Hiccup nervous. The boy firmly held the bird, unwilling to let it come to harm.
Upon approaching him, the male twin - Tuffnut - was the first one to speak. "What are you holding?"
"Nothing." Hiccup replied.
"If you're holding nothing, why do you hide your hands?" The female twin - Ruffnut - questioned.
"It's my hand." The scrawny boy responded, unwilling to budge under pressure.
"Come on, cousin." The burly boy - known as Snotlout - spoke. He was affronted. "We can see you holding something."
Hiccup stayed silent. The others never really bothered him much, but there were times where they would approach and took something from him. He did not want them to take the bird from him.
Taking care of the bird was his responsibility, after all.
The scrawny boy felt the bird shift on his hand. It pushed his thumbs and poked its head out. The bird was curious what the ruckus was all about. The small, white bird took one glance at the teens, before quickly burying itself back into his hands.
"That's a bird!" The large boy - Fishlegs - exclaimed.
"Oooh! I've never seen a bird up close before!" Tuffnut loudly whispered to his sister, enthusiastic.
The petite girl - known as Astrid - was curious. "Where did you get the bird?"
"I found him in the woods." Hiccup meekly replied, hiding the bird from them.
"Let me see." Snotlout started, reaching for the bird on his hand.
"No!" Hiccup exclaimed, moving out of his reach.
"Aren't you going to share it with me?" The burly boy looked offended. "I'm your cousin!"
"He's my responsibility."
"Responsibility?" Snotlout repeated, confused. He did not know what it meant.
"That means it's his." Tuffnut supplied.
"Why don't you want to share it with us?" Snotlout affronted. "I'm your cousin! You always share things with us."
Snotlout and his group often took his things for themselves. Hiccup hated them for that.
The only individual that he could tolerate amongst them were Astrid and Fishlegs. This was mainly because they did not bully him like that. At least, not directly. They simply ignored him, which was better than what Snotlout and others were doing.
"You take things from me."
"Because you didn't share it with us."
"I don't want to." Hiccup replied, nervous. "You never returned my stuff."
Suddenly, pair of hands went and grabbed his arms. Looking to the sides, he found the Thorson twins holding him. He was so focused on Snotlout that he did not notice them sneaking behind him.
"Hey!" Hiccup exclaimed, struggling for release. "Let go of me!"
"Snotlout, take the bird!" Tuffnut exclaimed, holding him back. It did not take that much effort for the twins to hold him back, since Hiccup was not exactly physically strong.
The burly boy moved to grab the hands that were holding and protecting the bird. Hiccup did not budge as he tightly covered the bird, protecting it from harm. "Let go!"
"No!" Hiccup shouted.
"Give me the bird!" Snotlout shouted back.
"I'm not giving you the bird!" The scrawny boy shouted back. His eyes started to tear up.
The burly boy raised his fist. He swung and punched Hiccup in the face. "Ah!" That disoriented him, making him open his palms.
Snotlout roughly gripped the bird. "Got it!" He triumphantly exclaimed, holding the bird up with his fist.
The bird let out distressed call. It looked down to see Hiccup collapsed on the ground. The boy had hit the ground hard. It would take some time for Hiccup to recover.
The burly boy smirked at the downed boy. He turned around to face the others. "Come on. Let's play with it."
Snotlout began jogging down to the forest. The other teens followed him. Hiccup could only stare at the leaving form of the group.
"No..." Hiccup whispered. His father had put the bird as his responsibility. He could not fail his responsibility!
He struggled to get up, but eventually mustered enough willpower to do so. The boy stumbled as he walked to follow them. After some time, he ran after them.
Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Astrid and Fishlegs stopped at a forest clearing. It was somewhat close to the village. The five teens moved to a circle, before moving to look at the terrified bird.
"So, what do we do with it?" Tuffnut questioned.
Snotlout opened his hands, releasing the bird. "Come on. Fly!"
However, the bird did not budge. Its wings were still injured, not that they knew about it.
"Uh..." Tuffnut raised his eyebrows, somewhat disappointed. "It's not flying."
"Oh!" Fishlegs started, getting their attention. "It looks young. Maybe it doesn't know how to fly!"
"How do we teach it?"
"Umm..." The large boy fidgeted on his feet. "... I remember parent birds throwing their children to force them learn how to fly."
Tuffnut and Ruffnut looked at each other with sinister expression. "Ohoho, we're throwing things now."
"I knew Hiccup have the best stuff." Ruffnut snickered.
Snotlout grinned. He reared his hands, before throwing the bird up to the sky. "Fly!"
The bird frantically flapped its wings. It flew up, glide around for some time, before crashing down to the ground. It let out a distressed trill as it crashed.
Its wings had yet fully recovered and forcing it to fly again had broken its wing. That attempt had destroyed days of effort on recovery.
The teens were confused to see it crash. "Why can't it fly?"
"Hmm..." Astrid walked close to it. She bent down to inspect the terrified bird. "... it's injured."
Snotlout scowled. He stormed to the downed bird and screamed at it. "Come on! Fly!"
The bird could only stare at him with fearful expression. The burly boy kept screaming at it. "Fly, you useless bird!"
"Hiccup as a bird." Tuffnut piped in. Ruffnut snickered next to him.
Snotlout growled. "Useless!" He shouted as he reared his leg. With one swing, he kicked the bird. Because of its small body, it was flung across the clearing, before crashing onto a tree. The bird bounced and fell to the ground.
"NO!"
The teen turned around to see Hiccup standing there. He was horrified. The scrawny boy ran to the unmoving bird. "No..."
The teen simply watched as Hiccup crouched on the bird. The small bird was not moving. It looked injured, and there was blood on its feathers.
Hiccup stared in horror at the sight in front of him. He had arrived on the last second. He saw what happened, and this was the result. There was no other explanation.
The bird was dead.
He had failed his responsibility.
While Hiccup was mourning, the teens simply watched. Astrid watched impassively. Snotlout simply pouted at the sight. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were smirking. Fishlegs were the only one that looked sad.
"Eh..." The burly boy started. "Let's go."
The teens moved to walk away from the place, following Snotlout behind.
Hiccup could only stare at the dead bird. Tears leaked from his eyes. The bird was his responsibility. The bird was meant to survive and live back into the wild. Its wings were about to recover in two days. He was meant to see it fly away, free from everything and out in the wild.
It was his fruits of labour - to see it alive and well once more.
Instead, it was dead.
'No.' Hiccup thought. 'He was killed.'
The thought of Snotlout and the others angered him. How could they be so cruel? He could not understand why they were so cruel to him. He could not understand why they always took away his things from him. Everything was going so well for him. They had to ruin everything for him.
Hiccup heard flaps of wings behind him. He slowly picked up the bird, before turning around to face the newcomer. In front of him was Toothless. The black dragon had come to him. She was curious and distressed to see him crying.
"Toothless..." Hiccup whispered her name.
"Prryu..." Toothless came to him and crooned. She moved to nudge his head, trying to cheer her friend. The dragon suddenly froze. She smelt blood on his hand. She looked down to see what it was, and her eyes widened.
She had only seen the bird once, and she knew that the bird was important to him. She wondered what happened to it.
Seeing her expression, Hiccup shuddered his breath. "He..." He started. "... he was killed."
"Karrr..." Toothless let out a growl.
Hiccup let a tear fell from his eyes. "I couldn't protect him." He whispered. "They took him and ran to the forest and..."
"Prryu, hrrr..." The black dragon warbled, before dry licking his tears. She did not want to see him sad. Hiccup sniffed. He wiped the rest with his sleeve.
Looking up to the dragon, he stared at the concerned and saddened expression on her face. The dragon was the only one that ever comforted him like that.
His father sometimes comforted him, but it was rare for him to do so. Gothi had comforted him before, but she simply listened to him and provide advice. Gobber had only ever comforted him with words. From all three of them, they typically left him alone with his woes.
Toothless wanted him to stop crying. She was the first one to show concern over something like this.
For the first time in his life, he felt warmth being so close to the dragon.
The boy sniffed. He came close to her and pressed his head onto her chest. Toothless stilled at the gesture. Then, she slowly wrapped her wings around him. Hiccup could faintly smell fish and smoke. It reminded him of hearth and campfire.
They stayed like that as Hiccup calmed himself down. After he was calmer, he thought about what to do next.
Burying the bird was the next thing to do. However, he did not know the ritual to bury the dead. He had seen funerals before, but he typically watched from afar. Typically, there was a speech involved, and there were audience to watch.
The other type of funeral he knew was Viking in nature. Ship burial was simple to do. It was a tradition for someone of high regard. A lot of people usually watched Viking funeral, but he had seen one where only one person attended the funeral.
It was decided.
Hiccup straightened himself. Toothless folded her wings. She stared at him with curious, but sad expression. The boy took a deep breath. "I... we need to find a place for him."
"Hrr?" Toothless tilted her head. Hiccup looked away, before walking down to the other side of the forest clearing. The black dragon followed him close behind, curious as to what he was going to do.
The boy saw a fallen, hollow tree trunk. It was conveniently small, fitting for the dead bird on his hand. He slowly picked up the hollow trunk, and carefully placed the bird into it.
Looking around, he saw stacks of fallen tree branches near the tree. He grabbed them and used them to plug the sides of the trunk. Once that was done, he looked at the makeshift coffin.
It was light. That was expected.
"Karr." Toothless chirped as she came close to the coffin. She sniffed it, before moving to look at Hiccup.
Seeing the unspoken question, Hiccup answered. "It's a coffin. It's..." He shuddered his breath. "It's where we keep the dead to bury them."
"Kryuu..." The black dragon crooned as her pupils fully dilated. She moved and rubbed her head against his body. "Hrr..."
Hiccup smiled at her display of affection. She was trying to comfort him. "Thank you," He whispered.
Toothless backed up. Hiccup looked down to the makeshift coffin on his hand. "I'm going back to the village." He whispered. "I'm going to get... something that can float."
Hiccup began walking into the forest, heading back where he came from. Toothless stayed there. Once he disappeared into the forest, the black dragon flew up into the air, heading to follow him in the sky from afar.
Hiccup arrived at the forge.
The place was mostly made of stone and concrete, with some wooden walls and rooftops. There was a large window facing the street, with a counter table placed in front of it.
The place was strategically placed right in the rocks. Inside the forge, there were various tools and contraptions to create weapons, such as the furnace and anvil.
There was a man inside the forge. This man was named Gobber the Belch. He was a large man, wearing yellow tunic with fur shoulders, striped, grey pants and fur boots. Notably, his left hand was a stump, having a hammer attached to it instead. His leg was also a stump, with a wooden leg to help him walk.
It was already evening when Hiccup arrived at the forge. Gobber was busy hammering a sword on the anvil. The man idly noted that Hiccup was there. "Hiccup."
The boy did not respond. That was unusual for him. The man paused his work, before looking back to look at the boy. Hiccup looked sad. He was holding a small tree trunk, walking to the back of the forge. It looked to have something inside. "Ye okay?"
"No." Hiccup softly spoke, before disappearing through the draped doorway.
The man frowned. Hiccup was cheerful this morning. He wondered what happened to ruin his mood.
Moments later, Hiccup came out from the hallway holding a small boat, with the tree trunk inside the boat. He had a bow and an arrow on his back. It was then Gobber realised what might be happening.
"Hiccup." Gobber called out, approaching him.
The boy stopped. Gobber bent and reached for the boy. He looked at him at eye level. "What's wrong?"
"The bird..." Hiccup sniffed. He looked down to the small boat. "Snotlout killed him."
The blacksmith grimaced. That boy had caused a lot of trouble for Hiccup in the past; taking and breaking things that he owned. There was nothing that he could do, seeing that Spitelout was the father of Snotlout. That man was the chief's second-in-command.
Looking down to the objects he was carrying, Gobber wondered what he was going to do with it. However, it was best to leave him be. "... just do what ye need to do."
Hiccup numbly nodded. He turned around and began walking out from the forge.
The man slowly stood from the ground. He watched the boy he had grown fond of with sad expression. After Hiccup left, he looked back to the sword he was working on. It was still on the anvil, waiting for more hammering.
Gobber shrugged. He walked back to the anvil and continued working on the sword.
He would have to tell Stoick about it later.
Hiccup stayed at the beach later that night, somewhat far from the village. The boy was resting on the sandy beach. The small ship was near the shore, with the coffin already inside. They were waiting for the time to start the funeral.
The boy stared at the small fireplace on the ground. He was sitting close to it. It gave him warmth in the chilly night. There was a bow and arrow next to it. The arrowhead was covered with wet cloth. The funeral was starting soon. Yet, Hiccup was too stricken to do so.
"Prryu."
Hiccup smiled as he looked to the side. The black dragon was resting there; her body curled up around him, giving him sense of protection simply because he had her at his back. Toothless was watching him with sad expression, not wanting to see her human so sad like that.
Hiccup reached for her and gave her a scratch. "Hrrr..." Toothless purred.
"I wish they treated me like how you did."
"Hrrm?"
"I mean, being friends with me." Hiccup continued speaking. His eyes were watering. "I want my dad to help. He was small and helpless, like me. I- I want to care of him, so he can fly again. But then..."
Hiccup sniffed. Toothless let out a sad croon. "Hrrryu..." She nudged the boy and gave him a dry lick, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes.
Hiccup sniffed again, before wiping the tears with his sleeves. "... thanks, Toothless." He whispered. "You're the only friend that I ever have."
"Prr..." Toothless purred with sad tone. Her pupils dilated even more, saddened by that phrase.
Hiccup leaned his body onto Toothless. He looked up into the sky. "I don't know why they're so mean." He muttered. "Why me? Why all of them? What have I ever done to them?"
"Krr." Toothless growled a bit, getting his attention. The black dragon wrapped her wings around him, covering him from the cold. Given her expression, it meant something more. It was a gesture that Hiccup understood. I will protect you.
"... thanks, Toothless." Hiccup whispered, snuggling closer to her. "I don't think you can help. I live in a village that kill dragons. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Hrr..." Toothless moved her wings some more, enveloping most of his body under it.
Hiccup touched the smooth scale on her wings. The smell of fish and smoke made him feel like home. It was comforting, because he felt safe and protected under it. It was strange that he felt that way, considering he had just met Toothless few days ago.
Hiccup then remembered what he needed to do. The boy pushed the wing away and stood from the ground. "It's time."
Toothless sat up. Hiccup approached the boat and pushed it into the water. The wave on the shore took care of the rest by pulling it into the ocean. The boy walked back to the black dragon. Both simply watched as the small boat was sailing away, further into the ocean.
After some time, Hiccup looked away. He rubbed his shoulder. "... My dad told me that Vikings are big." He muttered as he picked up the bow and arrow from the ground. "I'm a Viking, but I'm small. Am I a Viking if I'm not big?"
Hiccup lit up the arrowhead with the fireplace. He looked ahead to the floating boat. It was further than expected. It was most likely that the wind in the ocean was stronger than the one at the beach shore. That was unexpected.
"I've never shot an arrow this far before..." Hiccup muttered as he prepared himself to shoot the bow. He internally cursed for not bringing more arrow, in case he missed the shot.
He hesitated, afraid of missing. Hiccup lowered the bow. "I-"
Huff . Hiccup felt hot breath blew from his head. The boy looked up to see Toothless standing right behind him, staring down to him. The dragon had moved to sit right behind him. She held reassuring look, as if encouraging him to pull the shot.
With her encouragement, Hiccup focused back to the floating boat. It was getting further and further away. He pulled the arrow, raised the bow and calculated where it might go. Believing in his questionable archery skill, he let go of the string.
The arrow went sailing up high, far into the sky. The wind blew and slightly shifted the direction. However, that did not matter. The arrow struck true to the floating boat. Hiccup watched with relief, as the boat started burning with fire.
"I guess it's something I'm good at." Hiccup commented with sad expression.
"Hrr?"
"When I was littler, my dad taught me archery." The boy explained to the dragon. He did not take his eyes off from the burning boat. "He told me I'm talented. I never missed my shot."
Hiccup could hear the confusion in her voice. "Prr?"
"It's... weird." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. He looked down to the bow on his hand. "I just knew where it will hit. I never know why, and my dad..."
"Kra." Toothless suddenly perked up. Few seconds later, the black dragon stood up, looked somewhere at the forest and flew away from the place.
Hiccup knew what it meant. Someone was coming. The boy looked at the direction where they might come from. He did not want to be disturbed, as he wanted to be left alone.
Thankfully, it was not someone that he did not want to see. His father, Stoick the Vast, had come out from the forest.
Stoick looked at the boy in front of him. "Hiccup."
"Dad." Hiccup cautiously greeted back. "What are you doing here?"
The chief slowly approached him. He noticed the fireplace on the ground. "I was looking for you."
Hiccup did not say anything. Stoick continued speaking. "Gobber told me what happened. I uh... came to see if you're okay."
"I'm fine." Hiccup muttered, looking back to the burning boat. "... I just need to think."
Stoick came next to him. He placed his hand onto his shoulder. They both watched the burning boat sailing away. It was starting to sink, meaning that it was almost done. The chief grimaced at the sight. It brought certain terrible memories for him.
"Did I do it right?" Hiccup's question snapped Stoick from his thoughts. The man looked down to his son. He was staring at him with expectant expression.
"... I saw the arrow fly." Stoick muttered, looking down to the bow Hiccup was holding. "You did it right."
"But..." The chief looked at his son in the eyes. "Who was the bird to you? Ship burial was meant for someone with highest honour."
Hiccup looked away. "He was important to me." He quietly answered. "He was meant to fly again."
Stoick softened his eyes. He crouched and stared at his son. "You have done your best." He quietly spoke.
"But he died-"
"Then learn from it."
Hiccup looked up to his father. He had firm expression in his eyes. "You are not strong." He firmly spoke. "But you can change that. If you want to protect." he grabbed his hand that held the bow. "You must do more. Be strong."
Hiccup stared at his father. Be strong. It echoed in his mind. Hiccup needed to be strong if he wanted to prevent something like this from happening again. But how could he be strong? He was small and other Vikings were big and large. Even children of his age had some bulk in them.
Then, Hiccup remembered Toothless. That black dragon was someone that really care for him. She had comforted him, despite being a dragon. She was different. If he ever wanted to protect Toothless, he needed to be strong. Strong enough to protect her against things that would kill her.
It was his responsibility, after all.
"Okay, dad." Hiccup muttered.
While his expression was sad, Stoick could see the fire in his eyes. Hiccup had reached his own conclusion. Stoick could only give him a sad smile. It was the best he could do.
The father and son turned to look at the sinking, burning boat in the ocean. Stoick thought it was symbolic.
'The loss of your son's innocence.'
Stoick couldn't agree more to his own thought.