Taken, the dragon boy (HTTYD)

Chapter 1

Wordcount: 1007.

Berk, twelve days north of hopelessness and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It is located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. Even though it has been here for seven generations, all the buildings are new. We have fishing, hunting and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problem are the pests. Most places have rats or mosquitoes, but we, we have dragons!

Dragons mostly only appeared when they raided for food. But the village would occasionally run into dragons lurking around. Stoick, the chief of the village was one every dragon feared as he had come to be known as the one who doesn't think twice about fighting dragons and dared take on a Monstrous Nightmare with his bare hands. Stoick had a son, but not one he would brag about to others. His son Hiccup was, well, a hiccup. Small skinny and frail. Though Stoick's best friend Gobber, told him to give it time and that he believed Hiccup would become the strongest of them all. Even if Stoick didn't show it, he loved his little five-year-old son.

Whenever he had time, which was not often, he would take Hiccup with him to try various activities for them to bond over. Stoick would take him fishing and Hiccup would go looking for trolls. The only thing that could keep his son putt in one place was if he got to visit Gobber in the forge. Since he was prematurely born into this world, Stoick and Gobber planned to make Hiccup an apprentice at Gobber's blacksmith-shop to help him build up some muscles.

When both Gobber and Stoick was busy, Hiccup would play with his friends, or rather, friend. Astrid would join him looking for trolls in the woods and had quickly established their relationship. They had found a cove further into the forest one day and made it their own place. They had a simple blanket nudged under a rock to keep it dry. They would huddle up together with it while eating the fish Astrid had caught for them in the little lake in the cove. The adults had gotten used to them staying in the wood for hours before coming back. They all knew Astrid was cleaver enough to keep Hiccup from falling down cliffs and staying safe. Astrid was already permitted to carry a knife with her despite her age. That's how much the adults trusted her.

Astrid and Hiccup were now making their way out of the cove to go back to the village before it got too late. "Come on Hiccup!" Astrid shouted with a smile while dragging Hiccup up to his feet. They began walking though the forest on a secret path they had made. Their trail consisted of cloth-strips hanging of the branches. "Wait for me!" Hiccup said trying to catch up with Astrid who had started running when they could see the lights from the arena. There must be a fight going on.

Hiccup never liked to watch dragons' fight; he didn't know why he felt like that, but he did. Astrid stopped running and reached out her hand for Hiccup to grab. Hiccup had only ever asked to grab her hand once when they were three years of age. The first time he asked was during the first dragon battle they had seen. She must have remembered it because now she wouldn't let Hiccup watch one without her hand around his.

They made their way to the chief who sat in his chair while everyone else were standing. He had gestured for them to stand beside him before he was back at watching the game. They looked down into the pit and saw a Monstrous Nightmare Fighting a Deadly Nadder. They were covered in blood and had both lost scales that littered the ground. Hiccup turned away hiding his face behind Astrid while she put on a brave face but squeezed his hand, so he knew she was still there.

Hiccup didn't know who won, but he preferred it that way. He would much rather not fight dragons at all, but his father had already told him to start training with the other kids. Hiccup wasn't much of a talker and preferred to stand behind Astrid and only speaking in a low tone stuttering out the words he could. He was not stupid, quite the opposite. He was a smart lad with a knack of drawing and designing. When Astrid was with the other kids, he would sit at home drawing up some weird contraption before running down to Gobber begging him to make it. He would sit there for hours waiting for Gobber to make it, and he memorized everything. He even came up with a self-rotating wheel for sharpening tools. Those times, he would receive praise from others in the village, even from his father. Other times, he would only get 'the look of disappointment' when one of his inventions would go wrong and set fire to one of the houses.

Astrid dragged him away from the 'Kill Ring' as they called it before Hiccup managed to see the dead Nadder on the ground with a chopped of tail. Astrid wished she didn't see it either as she dried her tears. "Are you okay Astrid?" Hiccup said pulling her to the side. She nodded looking back up at Hiccup, "Yeah, I'm fine Hic" she said giving a smile that Hiccup thought could outshine the sun itself.

They walked quietly back with a comfortable silence. They parted with a hug and a kiss on Hiccups' chin given by Astrid.

Hiccup walked a small path up to his house and made his way into his room picking up a needle and thread and continued working on a scarf made with black and grey sheep-wool and leather. He had been taught to sew by his mother before she passed away a year prior. Hiccup finished up with a tight knot before hanging it on his bedframe and tucking himself into his bedsheets.