~LITTLE HICCUP~

"Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing." I sat, crouching behind one of many wooden barriers in the ring. A Gronckle buzzed overhead, searching for a human target.

Astrid held her axe to my throat, her eyes filled with pure hate and rage. I knew this wasn't the moment, but I couldn't help but notice that they were as blue and as endless as the sky itself. "Please, by all means," I responded politely to her previous demand. She sped off, closing in on the bulky creature.

I stood, and saw amidst the crowd my father, pride radiating off of him. He returned my glance, giving me a reassuring nod. Reassuring me that this wouldn't end well for neither me nor Toothless. I grinned half-heartedly as I adjusted my helmet, wishing I was never in this situation in the first place. A short distance away was Tufflout, giving me the same reassuring nod, but for a different reason.

That was when I noticed the sound of wings. The deafening sounds of cheering and chatter from the crowd had silenced the slight flutter of the dragon. Uh-oh. Turning around I came face to face with the Gronckle. Its breaths ruffled my hair slightly. As if a reflex, I scratched the dragon's head, itching its spot under the chin until it collapsed onto its side, legs twitching slightly. I stopped the dragon. Again.

"No! No!" I looked up to see Astrid. She was... well, let's just say angry was an understatement. I shrugged, trying to show that I hated this as much as she did.

"NO! NO! SON OF HALFTROLL RAT EATING MUNGE BUCKET!" She swung her axe I all directions, luckily away from me.

A clacking sound echoed throughout the ring. I peered up to see Gothi, the village elder. She tapped her staff for everyone's attention. Dad's booming voice could be heard from even far away. "Wait! Wait!"

I attempted to make my getaway. "So, later."

"Not so fast," Gobber snatched me by the scruff with his hook appendage.

"I'm kinda late for--"

"What?" Astrid pressed her axe to my neck once more, "Late for what exactly?"

All my dad needed to do to silence the village was raise his hands in the air. "Okay quiet down. The elder has decided."

Astrid and I stood side by side as Gobber held his replacement arm over Astrid's head. The whole village, myself included, held their breath. Please don't be me, please don't be me, please don't be me, I chanted inside my head. With a small shake of her head, Gothi denied Astrid the right to kill the dragon. My heart sank.

Goober pointed down to me, and Gothi nodded, aiming a finger in my direction. The crowds cheered, and I grimaced at the final results of dragon training. I glanced over to Astrid, who was seething so much you just might have been able to see the smoke coming out of her ears. Her glare could have scared any dragon away.

"You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber shouted, believing I was just as excited as he.

Dad's booming vice could be heard from across the ring. "Ha, ha! That's my boy!"

The recruits, save Astrid, of course, hoisted me up onto their shoulders, an easy feat for the muscular vikings. I cheered along with the village, pretending I had wanted this as much as my father.

"Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait. I am so... joyous on this wonderful occasion!" I exclaimed. The other teens gave me a strange look, but brushed it off. I was still Hiccup, the weird, skinny viking after all. I gazed up to where Tufflout stood. He urged me on as the rest of the Berkians did, though his eyes deceived his actions. They were so... calm, so reassuring. As if he knew that this would happen. As if it was all part of his plan. Either way, Tufflout wouldn't tell me any time soon.

~~~

The sun was beginning to set on Berk, and I had a basket slung over my shoulder with all the necessities packed for our journey. I wore my vest to attach to Toothless' saddle, ready to take off at a moment's notice. "We're leaving. We're leaving," I searched for the pitch dragon, who was hidden amongst the boulders. "Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation... forever." I set down the woven basket by a nearby rock and opened it, sighing at the mess I made. I avoided Tufflout at all costs, making sure he wasn't able to seek me out. There was no changing my mind. "Oh man," I worried aloud. Shink!

"Aggh! What the--" I stumbled on my words and back on my feet before recomposing myself. "What are you doing here?" Astrid had perched herself on the large rock in front of me, sharpening her axe, while I had been swimming in the pile of concerns I had. She hopped down, cornering me like a viking would a flightless dragon. I searched for Toothless, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I want to know what's going on. No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with Tufflout?"she interrogated hardly without pause. "

"Uh...training?" I asked meekly. "I mean, no! Tufflout is not training me

She wielded her axe threateningly. "I know there's something going on with that man! Hiding something, just like you." Astrid took me by the harness. "It better not involve... this."

"I know this looks really bad," I admitted nervously, "but you see...this is, uh..." A rustle came from the bushes across the cove, signalling for Astrid to drop me on the hard dirt so she could investigate further. "You're right! You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making... outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go." I took Astrid's hand to put on my scrawny chest for her to 'drag me back'. Instead she bent my hand backwards, forcing me to the ground. "AAAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?!"

"That's for the lies," Astrid stated simply, before bouncing the hilt off her axe off my body, which was still laid out on the ground. "And THAT'S for everything else."

My shout of pain was responded by Toothless' growl, concerned for my being. Astrid raised her head to meet the almost luminous yellow-green eyes of the Night Fury. Snarling he came towards us. "Oh man."

I was unready for the impact when Astrid dove on me, 'protecting' me. "Get down!" She rolled off me, taking hold of her axe, ready for the one-on-one combat. "Run! Run!"

"NO!" I knocked the axe out of reach forcing us out of the way to keep the several tonnes of pure dragon muscle from hitting its target. "No. It's okay! It's okay..." Toothless stopped abruptly, spraying Astrid with sand. I held out my hands to keep Toothless back, his wings beating back and forth to seem more threatening. "She's a friend."

Toothless settled down but made a disagreeing snort. Astrid was wide-eyed and frozen in shock. The Night Fury kept his glance on Astrid, teeth bared. I forced his head back with my full body weight. "You just scared him," I told her.

"I scared him?" Astrid shouted in doubt. "Who... is him?"

"Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid," I used my hands to gesture between them. Astrid eyed us as she backed away before running, to the village no doubt. "Dun dun dun. We're dead."

The dragon gave a satisfied snort, turning back to the cove.

I didn't let him go that easily though. "Whoa whoa whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

With some protest from Toothless, we managed to take to the air after her. The forest was almost impossible to see through, just trees, and trees, and trees-there! "Come on, bud!" I whispered, diving down for Toothless to grasp hold of her as she ran.

Astrid screamed, truly terrified that she was doing to die. "Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!" she gasped. I knew it was an inappropriate time, but it took some effort not to laugh at her last remark.

We landed gently on a tall pine after Toothless plopped Astrid rather unceremoniously on a lower branch, the young Viking dangling dangerously by her arms. The dragon, along with Astrid and I, caused the towering tree to creak and flex under our weight.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screeched, "Get me down from here!"

I tried reasoning, "You have to give me a chance to explain."

"I'm not listening to anything you have to say!" She inched her hands closer to the trunk of the pine.

"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you." I reached out my hand for her to accept. "Please, Astrid."

She eyed Toothless and I, then the ground far, far below. Astrid opted for us. Hoisting herself up, she swatted my hand away and clambered on. Finally she was settled behind me, avoiding and body contact with me like the deadly flu. "Now get me down."

"Toothless? Down. Gently," I patted the dragon on the head. He spread his scaly wings, the draft filling his wings with air. "See? Noting to be afraid of," I reassured Astrid. Toothless could be completely harmless.

Just not right now.

He launched himself upwards, his powerful wings beating relentlessly against the strong winds. "Toothless! What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!" I reprimanded Toothless.

Astrid's screams were the soundtrack to the frightening flight, which must have been terrifying considering she wasn't holding on to me. She clawed at my shoulders, finding her grip on me to cling on for dear life.

"He's not usually like this," I tried to assure Astrid. "Oh no..." Toothless stopped beating his wings. We were now free falling. Great. The Night Fury plunged and dragged us in and out of water, soaking us from head to toe. "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!" I shouted at him, frustration coursing through me.

The dragon shot back up into the sky, tumbling recklessly through the air. "And now the spinning." My voice reeked with sarcasm. "Thank you for nothing you useless reptile."

Astrid gave in. "Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She apologized, clutching me with her iron grip so tight I wouldn't be surprised if she broke my ribs. "Just get me off of this thing."

Toothless levelled off and rose into the pink-orange clouds, satisfied. For a few seconds Astrid kept her choking grip on me. Then she relaxed, and I could only imagine she truly saw the world in that moment, just as I did.

Holy flying skills, Batman! Finally! So this isn't anything new, but I didn't want to cut any of this out or like half of the movie would be cut out of the book. And we all know how much we like the big flying scenes! So yeah, but don't worry, we're getting there, slowly but surely. Remember to comment, vote, and share!

-TGD