Dragon Prince- A HTTYD Fanfic

Chapter 7: An Unexpected Visit

Nightwings worked with Hiccup until he could produce a satisfactory jump every time. Then, they moved on to actually flying, and Hiccup practiced until sundown. They made good progress, but it would take time until he was as good as a born dragon, and even longer to be as good as Nightwings. So, more practice. His morning routine now consisted of a sprint around the island, one thousand push-ups, combat practice, and then he would change and they would spend the rest of the day working on flying. One year later, he has mastered the basics and intermediate level skills of flying, he was as good as most any dragon. Hiccup just had to get a hang of the master skills. One day, Nightwings wanted to expose Hiccup to a variety of different winds, so they took off across the ocean, flying around. Not paying attention to where they were going, just teaching Hiccup how to fly in different types of air, weather, and temperature, the two Night Furies flew over Berk. However, one Astrid Hofferson noticed, and ran to grab two bolas, one for each dragon. She threw them one at a time, and the midnight black dragons crashed into the forest. Ironically enough, they ended up in the cove near where Nightwings crashed last time. After releasing the bolas, Astrid immediately raced down into the forest, searching for her quarries. Upon finding them, she saw a man with a black mask sitting next to a Night Fury, who was tangled in a net. The man was using his knife to free the dragon, so they could escape as Astrid raced out of the forest into the cove. She knocked the man off the dragon as it snarled at her, but it was still caught in the net. She faced off against the stranger, confident in her abilities. The strange man, in a crouch, slowly stood upright as he realized Astrid wasn't attacking right away. He pulled out his sword and prepared for combat. He seemed to be letting Astrid make the first move, an advantage she would gladly take. It rarely took her more than one anyways, and this twig seemed hardly worth the effort. Little did she know that she would be the one to lose this fight.

Astrid lunged at the man, who dodged and rapped the flat of his blade against the back of her knees, causing her to fall. Cursing, Astrid stood up, warier this time. It wouldn't pay to underestimate this man, as she had just learned. She then attacked again, yet was ready if he should dodge it. Surprisingly, he just blocked the ax and pushed back, which also caught her off guard. Astrid then tried to batter the man into a pulp, smashing her ax into his sword over and over. However, the sword didn't waver, nor did Astrid see the stranger lag. He seemed to have limitless endurance, and she knew eventually she wouldn't be able to keep up. So, she tried to run, but the man was much faster than her. He didn't even seem to be trying, he so easily outstripped her. Uneasy, she tried to climb a rock wall in hopes of losing the dragon man. That didn't work either, he climbed the wall with such speed, he had to wait for her at the top. Which he did, with some sort of camouflage so Astrid couldn't see him. The first thing she knew about him was being kicked to the ground, and her ax taken away.

"Why do you fight for the dragon?" Astrid asked with venom. "They've killed my only love, and that's why I kill them, but why do you fight to protect them?"

"A chief protects his own." The man replied in a gruff voice. "I am one of the dragons, so I help protect them the best I can."

"What's your name?" Something seemed familiar about this guy, but she didn't know what.

"For now, you can call me Rider." The man replied. "Ever since I joined the dragons, I have had trust issues with giving people my name."

Astrid didn't know what else to ask, so she just laid on the ground.

"If I may ask, who was your one love?" The man asked.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. At first, I was mean to him because all of a sudden he was doing better than me in dragon training, yet he still looked like Hiccup! So I followed him into the forest to see what he does in there, and when I confronted him, a Night Fury, I'm guessing yours, knocked me out. When I woke up, they were both gone, so I assumed the worst."

"You shouldn't do that." Wondering how far he should go, Hiccup decided he could go a little further. "I've seen Hiccup, and he lives with the dragons. My dragon, NIghtwings, realized that he didn't have a killer's heart."

"Hiccup's alive?" Astrid breathed, "How is that possible?"

"He tamed the Night Fury enough for him to ride it. Then, they came to the Sanctuary, where Hiccup gave up flying, deciding it wasn't really his style, and now makes metal things for the dragons and me. He made my sword out of a metal called Gronkle Iron, which is strong and durable, yet pretty lightweight. So you don't need to worry, I'm sure Hiccup will return eventually."

"But why would he want to? We all gave him plenty of reasons not to."

"He has a crush on you, and he loves and loved you even though he never expected anything in return. Once I return home and tell him about this, I have a feeling that he'll want to come back. In the meantime, would you like to meet my dragon?"

"What? Uhh... sure. I mean, I'm sorry about knocking you guys out of the sky. Do you know where the other Night Fury went?"

"I already set him free, he headed home. Let's go talk to Nightwings."

The two then climbed back down the wall, walking over to where Nightwings was still waiting. The dragon huffed at the sight of Hiccup, turning his head away.

"Aw, are you mad, big Baby Boo? Did the mean old rider leave you here, stuck on the ground?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just get me out of this thing!"

"As you wish... baby."

Hiccup let Nightwings out of the net, and when he did so, they immediately started to play wrestle, rolling back and forth, having a good time before Hiccup remembered Astrid was there.

"Oh! Sorry, I completely forgot you were there, M'lady."

Astrid blushed at the nickname the rider gave her, and then forgot about it to look at Nightwings. When he wasn't trying to escape, or kill you, he was actually quite cute. She hesitantly stepped forwards, then offered her hand to the dragon. Nightwings, realizing what Hiccup wants, closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hand, humming as he did so.

Amazed, Astrid didn't know what to say. They had everything wrong about dragons! And since the raids had already stopped a year ago, why not give dragons a try?

"He's amazing... you both are." What? Where did that come from? Astrid, get a grip on yourself. The young Shield Maiden silently berated herself for her slip up.

"Thanks, I guess..." Hiccup blushed and looked down, taking the compliment to heart.

"Can I see you without your mask on?"

"What do you think, bud? Feel like we can trust her? If she puts things together, we can always take her home."

"Do it, you've had a crush on this girl for the longest time and you haven't even seen her for three years."

"Thanks, bud."

Hiccup slowly reached up and took off his helmet, his auburn hair somewhat matted down, but still fluffy. He looked at Astrid expectantly, and nervously.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Oh wow... um..." Astrid blushed and looked down. "I ... uh... wow."

"Hey, Astrid?"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Do you want to come back with me? We could get you your own dragon, you could see Hiccup again, and I will be able to tell you my two biggest secrets."

"Yes! I would love to go with you! Can we leave now? I don't really have much at home, and we can always come back to get it. I just want to see Hiccup again."

Well, you're in for a surprise, Astrid. I'm right in front of you.

"Hey Nightwings, you catch all that?"

"Yeah, fine, okay, let's get this show on the road!"

Hiccup and Astrid climbed on Nightwings and started the long journey back to the Sanctuary.