Young Dragonblood

Chapter One

For days, over a week, in fact, you had noticed you'd not been acting like yourself. Why, you asked yourself, were you suddenly spending more time with dragons? Why were you growling at small annoyances? Why did you like fish, when had never been keen on it before? And why, you thought as you rubbed your shoulder, was your back and shoulder aching when you had done nothing to harm them?
    You watched the Night Fury approach, its iconic silhouette sharp in the grey sky. Hiccup, who, it turned out, had rescued you from hunters three years ago, had noticed your odd behaviour. He'd asked you to meet him at Raven Point, which you had warily agreed to, unsure if what he was planning. As far as you had heard he'd told the Berkians that he needed time alone, after all it had only been five months since the death of the Chief, his father, Stoick the Vast. He'd left Gobber, Valka and Astrid in charge while he was gone. 
    The Fury landed beside you with a thump, his green eyes happy. From his back the auburn haired man smiled and beckoned. 
    You smiled back and climbed on behind Hiccup. Riding a dragon wasn't new to you now, you had hitched lifts to places with other people just so you could get there quicker. A Night Fury, though, had always been your favourite dragon. So swift and agile, way better than a wobbly Gronckle or a temperamental Nightmare. 
    You, Hiccup and Toothless flew East away from Berk, the wind blowing in your favour. It was cold so high up near the clouds, but you hardly felt it, the thrill of flight was so overpowering. You had often had dreams of flying when you were younger, and now they were coming true. 
    ‘So,’ Hiccup said, snapping you away from the joy of flight. ‘I've noticed you've been behaving strangely...’
    You told him of the strange things you had been doing and he seemed to understand, nodded every now and then with a serious look on his fair face. It was the first time you had told anyone about it, and it was a relief to finally speak your thoughts aloud. Though you worried that the Chief would find your troubles pointless. 
    All he said in the end was, ‘It's full moon tonight, so you had better be prepared.’
    You were confused by this at first, but then realisation dawned on you. Hiccup was a Dragonblood, having to Shift to his dragon form every full moon. Not many on Berk knew of this, but you did because of the aforementioned rescue. ‘I can't be a Dragonblood!’ You protested, yet secretly hoped you were. ‘Surely I would have known?’ A hidden dragon side? That's not something that could easily be hidden. 
    Hiccup smiled. ‘I never knew that I was a Dragonblood until a moon after I met Toothless...’ He told you his tale, starting from the day he met his bud to the night he first Shifted. His symptoms had been the same as yours, most notably the painful tingly ache deep in your shoulder. The more he spoke, the more the similarities piled up. 
    The sky began to darken before you were anywhere near the targeted island. Soon, the moon would be rising in the east, bright in the clear sky. Luckily there was a small, tree covered island less than a league away. Perfect for a hiding place. 
    Toothless circled it once before setting down on the beach. It seemed empty, only a few birds and Terrible Terrors to be seen. The bare, rocky hill in the centre of the island watched and loomed over you as you cooked a trout that had been in Toothless's saddle bags over the flames of a small fire. Hiccup had said there was enough time to eat before you would have to Shift. 
    You were nervous, finding it difficult to eat the freshly roasted fish. Yet you were excited, too. Soon, so very soon, you would be flying as a dragon over trees and land, ocean and hills. You couldn't imagine what it would be like to have wings or a tail, whole new limbs to get the hang of. 
    A tingle swept through you. You couldn't tell if it was nerves or something else until Hiccup stood up. ‘Here we are,’ he said, nodded towards a sliver of silver peering over the horizon. ‘Don't panic.’