When Snow Meets Lightning (Httyd x Male!oc)

part 5

Hiccup walked through the woods alone, retracing his steps to where he first encountered the Night Fury. He weighed the bola in his hands, pondering the question that had been gnawing at him.

"So, why didn't you?" Hiccup asked aloud, though the only response was the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.

Entering a secluded cove, Hiccup surveyed its emptiness with a mix of disappointment and determination. "Well, this was stupid," he muttered to himself, shaking his head at his own recklessness.

His eyes fell upon something gleaming on the ground. Kneeling down, Hiccup picked up a few shiny black dragon scales, marveling at their smooth texture and dark luster. The discovery filled him with a sense of awe and excitement.

Suddenly, the Night Fury swooped past overhead, its shadow momentarily casting over Hiccup before it landed awkwardly on the ground, clearly struggling. Hiccup instinctively hid at the cove's entrance, heart racing with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

Pulling out his notebook, Hiccup flipped it open and retrieved his sketching pencil. "Why don't you just... fly away?" he murmured softly to himself, his voice barely audible over the sound of his own breathing.

With focused determination, Hiccup began sketching the Night Fury. He carefully outlined its form, capturing the sleekness of its scales and the sharpness of its features. As he worked, he noticed something crucial—the dragon was missing one of its tail fins.

Erasing the fin on his drawing, Hiccup adjusted his sketch to match the dragon's current state. But in his concentration, his pencil slipped from his fingers, clattering against the rocky ground. The noise startled the Night Fury, which turned its head sharply, fixing its piercing gaze upon him.

In that moment, as Hiccup met the dragon's eyes, there was a flicker of recognition between them—a silent acknowledgment of each other's presence in the cove, bound by curiosity and circumstance.

The forest around them remained tranquil, the only sound the faint whisper of leaves in the wind. Hiccup held his breath, uncertain of what would happen next, as the Night Fury watched him with a mix of wariness and intrigue.

Later that night, they all sat around a table in the great hall, the room dimly lit by flickering torchlight. The air was filled with the smell of roasted meat and the distant murmur of other Vikings sharing their evening meals. Ludic sat at another table, scribbling furiously in his notebook. He couldn't shake the thoughts of Frostbite from his mind, the white dragon that seemed to haunt his every step. Each time he walked home, he felt the dragon's presence above, and when he went fishing by the sea, Frostbite would circle overhead like they were somehow bonded. Ludic's sleepless nights were filled with dreams of the dragon, and it was starting to take a toll on him.

"Alright. Where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?" Gobber's booming voice cut through the clatter of the hall, drawing everyone's attention.

"I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy. It threw off my reverse tumble," Astrid admitted, her voice tinged with frustration.

Ludic looked up from his notes, his dark blue eyes piercing through the dim light. "Actually, you messed up by taking your eyes off the dragon to start with and taking unnecessary risks like doing flips and turns in the air, especially on smooth surfaces like the rock in the arena. That was dumb."

Astrid stared at him in shock, her cheeks flushing slightly. "No, no, you were great. That was so 'Astrid,'" Snotlout interjected, trying to win her favor and deflecting the criticism.

"Where did Hiccup go wrong?" Gobber continued, his gaze shifting to the quiet boy at the end of the table.

"Uh, he showed up?" Ruffnut quipped, earning a chuckle from her brother.