(HTTYD) To Protect Its Own

Your First Lesson

Astrid POV

Hiccup's a dead man. I promise you that. He thinks he can just drag me to a god-knows-what island and lead me through the thickest forest a Viking could most likely get lost in. He never answered my questions and while he claims he couldn't hear me with the wind, his grin tells otherwise.

For a moment, I let my mind think Hiccup was a good guy and I admired his strength when he wrestled that Nightmare to the ground. No regular Viking could've done that. Especially not a Viking like Hiccup. He was very agile as he hanged on the roof, placing himself quickly before striking. Though anyone can see, the Nightmare and he were playing and that infuriated me even more because Hiccup can still do more than most Viking,  wrestling with a dragon like it was an exhibition match.

But it was for just a moment. Because if looks can kill, Hiccup would've been six feet under the ground. He was just so damn confusing! He leads us to a rock, in which opens. With that annoying Hiccup around, nothing shouldn't surprise me anymore.

I cautiously stepped inside, faintly noticing the moss on the ground. With every step, I hear a dripping sound. I quickly followed Hiccup, closely behind him until he stopped suddenly. Hiccup started to trace something on the wall. I was curious, trying to peek over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Hiccup lifted his oil lamp higher, revealing a large picture. It was a man surrounded by dragons, the crest I  saw on his chest in the center. It was breathtaking. Though, the really fascinating thing about the mural was the inscription beside it. It suited the mindset of Hiccup, telling us to think of the answer themselves. What is the judgment? Who were the beasts?

Hiccup laid his hand on the inscription, pressing slightly before it revealed itself another entrance. And the sight was even more amazing.

"Welcome to Dragon's Edge, guys."

We stepped inside a cave, twice the size of Berk. The area was lit by torches hung on the walls and hot spots were scattered on the ground. But what surprised me the most was the dragons. And their.....babies. I glanced at mother Gronkles dropping their eggs in the hot water spots, only for them to minutes later to explode and babies swimming to the top. Zipplebacks were crouching among their young feeding them fish from their mouths. My feelings of anger disappeared when I rested my eyes on a family of Thunderdrums, the mother and father nuzzling their baby.

"They're amazing." The dragons took this moment to stare, their wings cautiously covering their young and growing lowly. Then, Hiccup took off his mask and let out a large roar, taking me by surprise. It echoed throughout the cave, the dragons not saying a word. Hiccup grinned and gave a final wave.

That's when all hell broke loose. All the dragons practically ran to Hiccup, with all the young quickly following. Hiccup's eyes widened as they came closer and he attempted to run away. But to no avail, a Gronkle jumped on him and soon enough, the dragons piled one after one. But Hiccup didn't yell, didn't shout, not even flinched. He laughed. His laugh sounded like pure joy and happiness as he somehow did not end up squished under their weight and accepted their affection. He was nuzzled one after another and the babies were no exception as all the mothers pushed their young in front of him. His eyes were shining and he smiled so wide that I thought it wasn't possible. He then glanced at us and gave us a mischievous grin. He gestured to us and the next thing he said made me draw back in fear.

"I shouldn't have all the attention." He looked down at the little ones and smiled. "Go have fun."

The next minute the babies started running toward us and warbling happily. I backed up but it did nothing as a baby Gronkle jumped on me, making me fall down. I heard a stifled chuckle, making me glare at the perpetrator. Hiccup made a straight face, but his eyes are not even close to innocent. The adult dragons surrounded us, overseeing their young I bet. They didn't trust us one bit, but I can tell they trust Hiccup. That whole debacle proved that. 

I focused on the Gronkle in front of me, its body upside down and struggling to turn upright. Cautiously, I helped it back on its feet and I stifled a laugh as it rocked back and forth before gaining some momentum. It blinked its abnormally large eyes at me and awkwardly walked up to my lap. It sat down with a thump and gave me a wide grin. I couldn't help but grin back and before I knew it, I stroked the dragon. Its skin was scaly as expected, but his skin was warm. It proves the claims of a dragon to have cold blood false. The baby had the same temperature as me. I looked at the others and they have gotten used to the offspring, playing with them as well. I looked at the baby once more. They are just like us.

After a few hours, Hiccup clapped his hands, gently shooing the young away. I stood up, brushing off my skirt. I didn't want to admit this but I had fun. It was adorable playing with the babies. I glanced at Hiccup, who was just staring at all of us with a soft smile. He then led us to another door, leading to a room, a dining room I assume by the looks of the table and a cauldron on a fireplace. There was another room, in which I bet led to a bedroom. Was this his home?

We all sat down, Hiccup staring at us one by one. It was just silence, so I decided to speak up. "Where are we?"

"A safe house, I guess? I have others but this was my first." He sat down, his hands on his knees. "If you been everywhere like I have, then having places everywhere is essential."

He then gave me an open-mouthed smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "But with the seasons and all, it becomes a temporary birthing place." I looked at the activity beyond the doors, nodding in agreement. For sure.

"I thought we were training." Snotlout rudely asked, making me glare at the conceited oaf.

"You are.", He said with a raise of an eyebrow. His expression was amused and humorous as he turned to Snotlout. "What's a rider without learning the most important lesson of all?"

"And what is that?"

"The similarities we both share.", He said with no hesitation, his green eyes staring straight at Snotlout. Snotlout flinched and looked away with a humph. Hiccup smiled and hugged around Toothless's head. " Families, love, protection, innocence."

Toothless accepted his affection eagerly, crooning softly. His eyes were closed as they bumped heads, both smiling as they did so. "Is that what you felt for Toothless?"

Hiccup looked at me with an open look before relaxing yet again. "Yeah." Hiccup's eyes softened so much that his eyes looked so clear, so happy, so serene. It made my heart soften as well.  "When I met Toothless, I was scared, sure. But when I used my eyes instead of my fear, I realized that he was me. I looked at him and I saw myself. And that's when I knew I couldn't kill him. Crazy right?" We all said nothing, just glancing among ourselves. Hiccup turned to his dragon, his face still lively and glared mockingly.

"And I guess this old rascal saw the same thing, huh buddy?" Hiccup nudged Toothless with a laugh, making him growl slightly. Toothless gave him a dead stare before blowing smoke through his nose, making him laugh when Hiccup coughed. We all watched the whole exchange and I bet we were all thinking the same thing. They held a special bond, something that didn't let anyone in. It was more of just a relationship full of trust, loyalty, or even companionship. It was one of love, an obvious love that had everything, that even a fool couldn't help but see. It was such a unique connection that I felt there wasn't anything like it. They protected each other, trusted each other, and respected each other. It was truly one of a kind.

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