The Lost Boy II - For the love of a dragon

02 - If you hold on

A sunny but chilly morning had began on the isle of Berk, and the village was never quiet at dawn. The Terrible Terrors were chirping earlier than the first birds of the day, dragons were awake and were starting their usual commotion.

As every morning for a little bit more than two years, Hiccup awoke to the shaking roof of his house, trumbling under the paws of a Night Fury. He gave up on the warmth of his bed furs and got up yawning and stretching his arms.

When he opened the front door of the house, he saw that a sheet of snow had covered the whole village during the night. He didn't know why, but seeing it wasn't stopping the vikings in their usual activities made him proud. A part of his mind couldn't help but beam in the anticipation of seeing Joke's reaction.

The boy had always loved snow, winter was his favorite time of the year, and both boys had spent countless hours playing in the snow when they were little kids. This kind of games always ended up with a hot yak milk near the fireplace.

The young auburn-haired viking came back to present as his roof was still trumbling and the Night Fury grunting. He smiled and walked around the house to see the dragon.

''Well, good morning, mister Bossy. Yes, we're going to fly, bud.''

The dragon's ears instantly popped up and the dragon chortled at him. In a good mood, Hiccup tried to imitate the noise, yet his smile fell as his prostetic leg slipped on the frosty ground.

The Night Fury was fast enough to catch him before he could greet the ground. Hiccup grabbed his head and thanked him while standing back on his feet – well, foot.

''Stupid leg...'' He mumbled.

The dragon waryly eyes the peg leg, sniffed it, and dismissed it to dig into the snow so he could pick up the flying gear. Hiccup smiled seeing how impatient the dragon was, then he started to strap the fake fin, saddle and life lines. He made sure everything was secure before mounting his friend.

He immediatly clenched his teeth, feeling how cold the leather was.

''Remind me to put your saddle indoor, tonight.'' He told the dragon, who only grumbled and shook his head.

Hiccup smiled and rolled his eyes.

''Okay, I get it. We can take off. Don't forget to pick up Joke, before we go.''

To the simple mention of the white-haired boy's name, the dragon's mood seemed to light up, and he took off as soon as his fake fin was opened. Hiccup barely had the time to hold on the handles, he silently thanked the gods he had secured his life lines before releasing the fin. An incident had occured before, and the young viking was sure he would never forget that fall.

As Toothless was soaring above the village, Hiccup saw he wasn't the only early dragon rider in the sky. He got a glimpse of two others, and heard their voices.

''Come on, Hookfang ! Faster !''

''Watch out ! Smells like explosion, here !''

Snotlout and the twins were out, too, and the chief's son now understood why there were pools of melted snow here and there : surely it had been caused by the green gas of the two-headed dragon.

He shook his head and ignored this commotion, that was a problem for later. When the Hoffersons' hutt came into view, Hiccup had already a smile on his face, and this smile turned into a glee as he spotted a frame against it, next to the front door. He didn't even wondered why Joke was doing there, why he wasn't inside the house where it was warm. This boy really loved snow.

The white-haired boy looked up as he heard the Night Fury's whistle, he instantly got up and looked at the elegant creature landing a few steps away from him. Hiccup aimed to dismount him but didn't even have the time to undo the first life line his dragon ran to Joke, shaking his rider in every direction.