A Thunder of Dragons

Chapter 2 - Hiccup

This is Berk. This is my home. It's north enough to be freezing but fortunately not far enough to die of frost bite. Food is scarce and what little food there is is tasteless and difficult to swallow. The attitude of the people on Berk was even more so.

But all that changed when I met Toothless. I didn't expect him to become my friend but I can honestly say he is the best thing to happen ever happen to me.

Together, we united the dragons and humans who now live in harmony on Berk (well for the most part).

And now we are at peace, as we have been for the past two years. I spend my days exploring the multiple islands around Berk as well as inventing new things to make our lives with the dragons easier. My latest invention was a dragon wash station, where dragons of any size can be scrubbed clean from teeth to tail. The invention became necessary when Gobber had an unfortunate accident involving a dirty dragon, a Mace and 6 pounds of fish. It took weeks for the stench to clear and even longer to rebuild his house...

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Toothless comes over to my desk, where I'm busy drawing the shape of the island we discovered this morning just north of Berk. It was deserted but had the most amazing artic landscape I had ever seen.

My room is pretty basic. It has a wooden bed in the centre on the room with a desk next to the wall on one side of it. On the other side is my clothes chest. What I love about my room though is the walls; they are covered in drawings of dragons and islands, pictures of Toothless soaring through the air, or crouched to the ground. There was also photos of my Dad, Astrid, Gobber, Fishlegs and many of the other village memebers. My wall helped remind me what's good about my life.

Toothless sat staring at me for a while, whilst I tried to capture the shape of the artic island before I forgot it. Toothless then stared to growl, a low playful sound he uses when he wants my attention.

"What's up, bud?" I ask, looking up from the journal.

Toothless huffs, looking toward the stairs up to my room. I follow his gaze and a few seconds later Astrid creeps up the stairs a wrapped present in hand.

She cautiously looks over to where I'm sitting and stamps her foot in anger.

"Dammit Toothless. It was meant to be a surprise" Astrid said, exasperated, staring at my dragon. Toothless grins, opening his mouth to reveal just gums as was his habit when he'd done something wrong; no one can be angry at him when he smiles like that.

I rolled my eyes at him, tapped him playfully on the shoulder before rising from my desk to greet Astrid.

She wore her usual blue leggings, tattered from use and multiple repairs (such is the life around creatures that breathe fire). She has on her fur boots along with her red demon skirt with spikes around the waist. A thick wool coat lies heavily on her shoulders while her beautiful plaited hair falls over her left shoulder.

All of this I took in before my face hit the floor.

Toothless' face appeared next to my head looking concerned.

"I'm fine, Bud. Don't worry!" I said pushing myself up. "Stupid leg" I muttered to myself.

Astrid was kneeling beside me looking worried.

"Hey. I'm fine" I tell her, waving my hands in the air to prove it.

"I know" she said, "Happy Birthday" she whispers placing my present on my desk.

"You didn't have to get me anything. I said, rising to my knees.

"I know." She repeated, smiling before throwing her arms around me and planting her lips against mine.

We both tumbled to the floor, locked in each others embrace. There was a firce sort of passion in the kiss that only came from a long time of being seperated.

Astrid and Stormfly had led the annual migration to the dragon's breeding island that year. The first time that breeding season occured after the peace with the dragons, watching the dragons leave was heart-breaking for most of the people on Berk, having grown attached to the fire breathing creatures. However, now the town knows the reasons for the dragons disappearance, they are much more accepting of it. Hiccup had arranged for one of the dragon trainers to go with the dragons each year to the island to ensure all the dragons were alright and got back safely.

Although it was a very important job, Hiccup had still missed Astrid for the month she'd been away.

Finally they broke their kiss. I stared into her bright, electric blue eyes, while she stared into mine. She was about to say something when suddenly, Toothless' head appeared above us and covered us is slobber.

"Ewww!!!" Astrid yelled, jumping to her feet and shaking her arms to try and get the goo off her clothes.

Used to it, I stood and scolded Toothless with a smile;

"Toothless, you know this doesn't wash out", I said whilst collecting the slobber from my hair and throwing it at Toothless. He ducked my missile and let out a low sound in his chest that sounded like a burb, but was really his way of laughing at me.

I laughed at Toothless' mirth then turned to Astrid. All her clothes were soaked will slobber as was her hair which stuck up like she'd be struck by lightning. She stood there, with her hands on her hips, frowning at me and shaking her head.

"What?" I ask, indignantly, pouting slightly in a way I know she finds hilarious.

She tries for a few seconds to keep a striaght face but fails when she bursts out laughing and threw her arms around my shoulders.

"Nothing, legless" she said, grinning as I cringed at the nickname. At first, after I lost my leg in the fight on Dragon Island, she was sympathetic yet that soon wore off and now she prefers to tease me about it, hence the nickname legless. I don't like the name but her and Toothless love it, so it is used frequently.

I was about to ask how her journey was when I heard a bell tolling, the sound ringing through the house like an earthquake.

Both Astrid and I strode over to the window to see the people of Berk fighing through the falling snow, making their way to the great hall.

"Dad must be calling a meeting" I say heading over to Toothless who is already by the wall ready to go.

"After you m'lady" I say while holding out my hand to Astrid to help her climb onto Toothless.

Before I follow her, I turn to the wall and seize the lever on the wall next to my bed. I watch as a hole opens up in the side of my bedroom, the walls splitting and swinging outwards. The gap in the wall is designed to be big enough for Toothless to fly in and out of so solved the problem of him getting inside; the last time he climbed the stairs, my Dad nearly got flatterned.

I hobbled over to where Toothless and Astrid were waiting. As soon as I was sat down, Toothless bent low to the ground and shot out of the gap in the wall and into the freezing Novemeber air.

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Sooo 1st Hiccup chapter

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Catherine_of_Aragon