(HTTYD) To Protect Its Own

Secrets are what keeps me alive....

Hiccup POV

"So what's the story behind the leg? It's been driving me crazy when I first laid my eyes on it!" I laughed, looking at Fishleg's excited face. We came back from my hideout and was back on Berk. We were in one of the watch towers, roasting fish on the fire. The gang decided it was time to get some answers from me, which I did promise, but boy are they eager.

"I lost it to an old enemy. I was 16 when I lost it, I think." The scene was still vivid in my head. After all, it wasn't every day you wake up with no leg. It was pretty gory and I almost gagged at the sight of it. It took some getting used to.

"To who?", Fishlegs said with interest. I glanced around and I can tell the whole gang was actually pretty interested in my tale. I bit off a piece of the chicken, throwing a fish at Toothless's side, who accepted it eagerly.

"One might say she was the queen. I call her the Red Death." I said while finishing the chicken, sucking off the remaining fat from my fingers. " She controlled the one thing you Vikings desired for, the nest."

"THE NEST?!" I winced at their loud shouts before nodding hesitantly. What's the big deal? "So that means you were the person from Trader Johann's stories!"

"Leave it to Trader Johann to not keep that to himself.", I said while rolling my eyes. I playfully saluted, leaning against Toothless. "But yeah, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock and Toothless at your service." 

"Weren't you afraid?" The twins said in awe.

"Of course I was.", I said. Who wouldn't? The dragon was huge, the size of a mountain. I literally doubted that I could have made a scratch on such a dragon like that. But it was worth it, even if I did lose a leg. After all, waking up to Toothless-- and a tribe of dragons around you was worth it. "I thought this would be the final thing I do for Berk, at least. After all, I did leave. Plus the queen was controlling the dragons to her whims. It wasn't fair to the dragons."

"Can you control every dragon?", Fishlegs asked while holding his notebook, eager to write down notes.

"Most, but they are exceptions. Plus, there's so much more dragons I bet I haven't discovered yet. My adventure hasn't ended quite yet." I searched inside Toothless's knapsack, taking out a notebook. I pitched it to Fishlegs, who caught it and looked at it with interest. "Here. It's some notes of my recent discoveries and a few sketches. I have more, but I left that behind at home."

Fishlegs opened it, awing and squealing at the pages, flipping through it. "They're amazing. New places, new dragons, new-- huh what's this?"

I glanced up, realizing that the letter from this morning fell out of the pages. Fishlegs picked the folded parchment up and starting to unfold it.

"No!" I quickly took the parchment from his hand and keeping it to my chest. The gang looked at me with surprise and I coughed awkwardly, admitting that my response was loud and surprising. "Sorry, you weren't supposed to see that"

I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head. I cautiously put the parchment in my pocket. The gang proceeded to look at me with silent curiosity, most likely wondering what I was hiding.

"What was that?" I sighed, hoping that I was just going to get away with it. But no, I should've expected Astrid to be frank. It's Astrid after all.

"Nothing you need to know of, Astrid." Astrid glowered, narrowing her eyes at me. I steeled my expression, crossing my arms and shaking my head.

"Why the Thor not?! You shouldn't keep secrets, now that you're gonna live at Berk now!" I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at Astrid. The gang murmured in agreement, nodding their head. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.