When Snow Meets Lightning (Httyd x Male!oc)

part 1

This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless, and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests.

A dragon carries one sheep away while the other resumes grazing. You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have... dragons. Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have, stubbornness issues.

Ludic spots Hiccup running out of his home and sighs. "Dumb kid. When will he learn he is a snack for these dragons?" He starts running towards Hiccup, sword and shield in hand.

My name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that.

Hiccup dodges several Vikings. A nearby explosion from the blast of a teal Gronckle causes him to trip, and a male Viking roars in his face.

"ARGGGHHHH! Mornin'!" Ack shouts.

Hoark demands, "What are you doing here?!"

"Get inside!" another Viking yells.

Phlegma chimes in, "Get back inside!"

Ludic slows down as Stoic grabs Hiccup protectively by the collar of his shirt. Stoic roars, "Hiccup?! What is he doing out aga--?! What are you doing out?! Get inside!" He pushes the smaller boy away. Ludic jogs over to the older man.

"Chief," Ludic says. Stoic frowns at the tall, raven-haired boy.

"Get back to work," Stoic commands.

Ludic obeys, throwing a bollard at a dragon's wings, making it fall to the ground, then slashing it with his sword.

That's Stoic the Vast. Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby, he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders....Stoic throws a wooden cart at a dragon, knocking it out mid-air.... Do I believe it? Yes, I do. And that's Ludic Glamsson, eldest son of the Glamsson clan here on Berk. He is only one year older than me, but he is on of  the strongest soldiers we have. He is skilled in everything and will punch you in the face if you get in his way.

Stoick, standing tall and commanding, surveyed the scene before him with a furrowed brow. "What have we got?" he asked, his voice gruff yet authoritative.

Ludic, standing nearby, wiped the sweat from his brow and met Stoick's gaze. "Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare," he reported, his tone steady despite the tension in the air.

Stoick's brow furrowed deeper. "Any Night Furies?" he pressed, his concern evident.

Ludic hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "None so far," he responded, his voice tinged with both relief and caution.

Stoick nodded solemnly, his gaze sweeping across the village under threat. "Keep your guard up. We can't afford to lose any more livestock."

As if on cue, a Viking shouted from the outskirts of the village, "Hoist the torches!" Two enormous torches were raised and lit, casting flickering shadows against the approaching dusk. The dragons, attracted by the light and noise, swarmed restlessly around the outskirts of Berk.

Meanwhile, Hiccup dashed into a nearby blacksmith shop, swiftly donning an apron and grabbing tools as he prepared for the impending chaos. From his vantage point, he surveyed the chaotic ballet of dragons and Vikings, a familiar scene that was both daunting and strangely exhilarating.

"Ah! Nice of you to join the party! I thought you'd been carried off!" Gobber's voice boomed from behind Hiccup, his prosthetic hand clanking against the anvil.

Hiccup grinned wryly, adjusting his apron as he turned to face his mentor with a small smile. Gobber then looks back outside and then looks at hiccup "Ludic looked pissed off. He just cut off a Nadder's wings," gobber remarked, his voice filled with admiration and a hint of amusement.

Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Yeah, I kinda ran away from him. And also, I'm waaaay too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all... this," he quipped, gesturing humorously at his own physique.

Gobber chuckled again, shaking his head in mock disbelief. "Well, they need toothpicks, don't they?" he retorted, his tone teasing yet affectionate.

The village of Berk was in a state of controlled chaos as dragons swooped and fires blazed. Stoic, standing resolute amidst the frenzy, turned to Ludic with a firm command. "We move to the lower defences. We'll counter-attack with the catapults."

Just as he finished speaking, a dragon swooped down, setting another house ablaze. Ludic's eyes narrowed at the destruction. "FIRE!" he yelled to the younger teens, who sprang into action.

"Alright, let's go!" Astrid called out, leading the Viking teens in a coordinated effort. They formed a line, passing buckets of water to douse the flames, while Ludic helped direct their efforts. Among them were Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Astrid. They worked tirelessly, their determination evident in every move.

Inside the blacksmith shop, Hiccup watched the action from the window, a wistful look in his eyes. "Oh, their job is so much cooler," he muttered, daydreaming about being out in the field.

Gobber, noticing Hiccup leaning dangerously far out the window, lifted him back inside with a grunt. "Ah, come on. Let me out, please? I need to make my mark!" Hiccup pleaded, glancing outside just in time to see Ludic taking down another dragon, his raven hair blowing dramatically in the wind, the fire illuminating him perfectly. "Ludic is out there, so are the other teens," Hiccup added, hoping to appeal to Gobber's sense of fairness.

Gobber laughed heartily. "Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places! And Ludic is stronger than fully grown Vikings and has the skill. You, on the other hand, don't," he said, looking at the smaller teen with a mixture of affection and exasperation.

"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date. And Ludic might notice me as something more than just someone to babysit," Hiccup argued, desperation creeping into his voice.

Gobber, busy handing out weapons to other Vikings, shook his head. "You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe, you can't even throw one of these!" He held up a bola, which a Viking grabbed and expertly used to bring down a dragon.

"Okay, fine, but this will throw it for me," Hiccup insisted, patting a wooden machine he had built. It opened and shot a bola randomly, inadvertently hitting a Viking in the background.

"See, now this right here is what I'm talking about!" Gobber exclaimed in frustration.

"Mild calibration issue—" Hiccup started, fussing over his homemade contraption.

Gobber cut him off. "Don't you—no—Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all... this," he said, gesturing to Hiccup's entire being.

"But you just pointed to all of me!" Hiccup protested.

"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you!" Gobber replied with a cheerful smirk.

"Ohhhh..." Hiccup said, pointing a finger at Gobber.

"Ohhhh, yes," Gobber echoed back.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw... Viking-ness... contained? THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!" Hiccup yelled, but Gobber merely brushed him off.

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now," Gobber commanded, turning back to his work.

Hiccup stood by the forge, sharpening a sword as his thoughts drifted to the battlefield outside. "One day, I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is everything around here," his internal monologue echoed as he gazed out the window. His eyes followed the chaos beyond as he continued to dream.