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❛ ғɪʀᴇ & ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴍɪsᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇs ɪɴ
ʙᴀʙʏsɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ ꒱


❝ [ GUSTAV ] IS A SICK
MONSTER THAT NEEDS TO
BE CONTAINED, SO NATURALLY
I THOUGHT OF YOU ❞

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"Okay, gang, remember: we're only taking essentials this time," Hiccup told the group as they prepared to leave a few days after relocating the Scauldron. He stood with his arms crossed next to Toothless, who was already packed. The others were still putting things together and he observed their movements critically.

He didn't have to worry about Astrid— except that maybe she would bring too many weapons. And overseeing Fishlegs was unnecessary, though he'd need to do a once-over to make sure Meatlug wasn't weighed down with too many books. As for Dany, he was pretty sure she would be fine; if she did go over the packing limit, it would probably just be useful things like tools for carving. It was really the twins he was worried about, and he arched an unimpressed brow as he watched them try to (unsuccessfully) strap their stuffed yak onto their Zippleback.

"It has to go more your way," Ruffnut was ordering her brother, standing on one side of the massive creature with both of her hands buried in its fur.

"But that's where I sit. Besides, I need enough space for Macey. Since you don't have a plus one, it can go on your side," Tuffnut argued, shoving the yak back in his sister's direction. Their pile of stuff wobbled dangerously. Barf and Belch remained oblivious to their riders' dispute, too involved in their own as they snapped back and forth at each other.

Hiccup sighed at the fact that this was yet another disagreement he would have to solve. "Guys— guys! Uh, here's an idea: what about not bringing the yak at all?"

They both let go of the yak at the same time to stare at him in disbelief as if he'd said something completely ridiculous. "Don't bring Yogi Stigandr? He's practically family!" Ruffnut placed a protective hand on the yak's stuffed snout.

"He is family," Tuffnut corrected her. "What are we supposed to decorate the house with if we don't bring him? It'll be bare— lifeless— like a sad, empty void where Yogi should be." He placed a dramatic hand over his heart. "You wouldn't understand, Hiccup, because you don't have taste."

Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose. "First of all, you named it?" He shook his head quickly before they could respond. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Second, we're already overpacked and a massive stuffed yak is not an essential. We need to bring only what's absolutely necessary. We can't waste space on—" he gestured vaguely at the massive, tattered yak "—whatever this is."

The twins gasped in unison.

"Whatever this is?" Ruffnut echoed with offense.

Tuffnut sniffed indignantly. "He's a symbol, Hiccup. A beacon of—"

"No. Nope. Not doing this." Hiccup waved a hand to cut off whatever absurd speech Tuffnut was about to launch into. "The yak stays. End of discussion."

As the twins groaned in defeat, Astrid sidled up beside Hiccup with a smirk. "You know, you make a good point," she conceded casually. "Only essentials, huh?"

"Exactly," Hiccup stated firmly, ignoring the twins' continued grumbling as they begrudgingly unstrapped the yak.

Astrid's smirk grew. "Then what's in your satchel?"

Hiccup stiffened. He shot her a wary glance, but she only crossed her arms, waiting expectantly.

"I—" He cleared his throat, gripping the strap of his bag tighter. "Extra prosthetic legs."

Astrid's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Oh?"

Before she could press further, Snotlout— who never missed an opportunity to mess with Hiccup— perked up at the exchange. "Wait a second. If it's just prosthetic legs, then you wouldn't mind if I—"

Hiccup barely had time to react before Snotlout lunged, yanking at the satchel. The chief's son jerked away on instinct, but the bag was heavy— too heavy. The worn fabric gave way with an audible rip and before he could stop it, the contents tumbled out.

Rocks.

A lot of rocks.

There was a stunned silence as everyone stared at the small avalanche now scattered on the ground.

Snotlout scoffed. "Seriously? You get to make all these rules about 'packing light' while hoarding rocks? What, you think the Edge doesn't have enough of those?"

Hiccup opened his mouth, then closed it, his face turning quite red. He had no reasonable explanation for this. Before he could even think to stammer out a response, Dany let out a small gasp, her eyes going wide as her own face flushed pink.

Because she recognized some of those rocks.

The little, oddly shaped one that looked like a dragon's head. The smooth, dark stone she'd found after a storm. The pale, speckled one she had given him on a whim, mumbling something about how it reminded her of him.

Hiccup had kept them.

Every single one of the small, seemingly insignificant stones she had given him over the years as silent tokens of affection. Dany clapped a hand over her mouth as her heart pounded, her gaze flicking up to Hiccup, who stood frozen, staring at the pile with disbelief and mortification.

Because there was no way he could explain his decision to bring them.

There was no way he could explain why he had kept them in the first place.

Snotlout, ever the opportunist, was the first to speak, far more pleased in Hiccup's embarrassment than the actual items at this point. "Well, it looks like someone's abusing their power as leader. Pack lightly, he said. Only the essentials, he said. Guess who gets to bring fourteen mirrors now, huh?"

"Snotlout," Astrid cut in sharply, "shut up."

Hiccup knelt down to quickly gather the rocks and shove them back into the ripped satchel. His hands moved as fast possible, as if he could undo the entire situation just by stuffing them away. Although she was touched by learning how sentimental her best friend was, Dany knew— from her own embarrassed feelings— that Hiccup was probably feeling similarly. So, she hurried forward and began to help him gather the rocks, making sure that they never reached for the same one (though they did bump heads once in their haste to avoid each other.) Since no one else besides Astrid knew the significance of the rocks, they just chalked the interaction up to Dany and Hiccup's usual awkwardness. 

🏹🏹🏹

Luckily, they had a several hours' long flight ahead of them so they could recover from that particular humiliation. Once they arrived on the Edge, they parted ways to unpack their belongings. Dany busied herself with unloading Drogon, mostly just chucking things wherever with no particular order. She had never considered herself to be a very organized person— or, at least, by the textbook definition. She preferred the term 'organized chaos,' which described her new home (and old bedroom) exactly. She knew where everything was, it just looked like a mess to a normal person.

For example, she had already started working on some new projects— like building furniture (which she had never particularly enjoyed) and carving the newest dragons they'd found— but had abandoned a lot of her designs at various stages when she'd gotten bored. They now lay haphazardly around her small space and impeded foot traffic. When Astrid had complained about it, Dany had made the argument that it was unintentional fortification; if she couldn't get around it, then an enemy certainly couldn't, either. (To which the Hofferson had begrudgingly conceded her point.) Plus, she'd hear if anyone tried to enter her room by the amount of times they tripped.

In addition to her projects, she also had scrap wood laying about the place, sometimes even precariously balanced across the backs of two chairs or acting as a fourth leg to a three-legged table. Sawdust made a fine carpet over her floor, only broken up by patches of bare-footed footprints that showed where she treaded often. All in all, Dany was quite proud of how her home was coming along, even if no one else was especially supportive.

After unloading her most recent additions, she still felt the weight of rocks in her pockets from the earlier spill. Dreaded was too strong a word, but she felt. . . hesitant to go face Hiccup after this latest revelation. While she was pleased he cared so much about her little gifts, it only confused her in the end. What did it mean? Was he just sentimental? Did he keep them because he actually liked rocks? Did he keep them because he liked her?

She shook her head to clear it, unwilling to even entertain that last thought. He was the chief's son— the very reason why she promised herself that she would never admit to her crush on him. He could do so much better than her, and that wasn't because she had low self-esteem; it had everything to do with their statuses. She was logical enough to know that he needed to marry a chiefess or at least the leading family's daughter. She didn't have anything to offer besides a tainted name and three very large dragons. What chance did she have? None, that was it— and that was how it was going to stay.

Dany came to the firm decision that Hiccup was just sentimental and the rocks meant nothing beyond the fact that they were nice to look at. She left her house and walked the few paces over to his, knocking to announce her presence. Once she'd gained entrance, she walked in to find him still in the midst of his own unpacking. The brunet straightened hastily, brushing his hands on his pants as he— for once— failed to meet her gaze.

"Uh, hey," Hiccup greeted her uncomfortably, clearing his throat after a moment. "Did you— uh— need something?"

Dany hesitated, her fingers curling slightly at her sides before she took a slow breath and reached into her pocket. "I just. . . thought I should return these." She held out the small handful of rocks she'd picked up earlier.

Hiccup finally glanced at her, his green eyes flickering to the stones in her hand before he quickly reached out to take them. "Oh. Right. Thanks."

Dany shifted on her feet, debating whether or not to bring it up. Eventually, she steeled herself and asked, "so. . . about the rocks. . ."

Hiccup tensed immediately. "We don't have to talk about it."

Dany tried not to let her disappointment show, but she could feel herself deflate a little. She had wanted some kind of explanation— something to make sense of the confusing swirl of emotions inside her. But if Hiccup didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't push him. Still, she offered him a small smile. "It's okay," she reassured him gently. "The fact that you kept them. . . it made me happy."

Hiccup finally looked at her fully then, his expression softening. Some of the tension in his shoulders eased, and the air between them felt a little less suffocating. "Yeah?" Then, after a beat, he added, almost sheepishly, "is it weird?"

Dany's heart gave a tiny, unexpected flutter. "No," she promised, her voice sure. "It's not weird."

A flicker of relief crossed his face before he nodded, shifting his weight slightly. "Good." He glanced down at the rocks in his hand, then back at her. "You, uh. . . you wanna help me take a look at the Dragon Eye?"

Dany blinked, caught off guard by the offer. "Really?"

Hiccup shrugged. "We've got time before dinner and you're good at spotting details I miss."

"Yeah," she agreed, a small, genuine smile appearing on her lips. "I'd like that."

🏹🏹🏹

That soon became how they spent most of their time together. Sometimes Hiccup would let Dany push the buttons on the Dragon Eye, but most of the time her job was to take notes about how it operated since she had neater handwriting than her best friend. However, it was harder for her to sit for long hours and she often grew antsy while Hiccup was still deep in his investigation. She would get up and pace or go over and pet Toothless to entertain herself, though she never grew so fidgety that she was tempted to abandon their project altogether.

There were a few times, though, that she had stopped paying attention and Hiccup suddenly exclaimed 'oh!' as the Dragon Eye did something particularly interesting. She would react on instinct and come over to hover at his shoulder, sometimes unconsciously pressing against him to get a better look at what had happened. Although he tried, that would usually cause him to lose his train of thought. He became distracted by the feeling of her warmth at his back, or the puff of her breath against his cheek, or the soft brush of her hair on his skin as she leaned over and it was only once she her interest had abated that he could actually explain what he'd found.

They were currently trying to figure out what else the Dragon Eye could tell them. Hiccup took out one of the lenses and let his breath fog over the glass before he wiped in on his tunic to try and clean it. When he put it back, he offered it to his dragon. "Okay, give me a slow burn, bud."

Toothless opened his mouth and let the purple light at the back of his throat shine through the lenses. A familiar map appeared on the wall. "Okay, we've seen this before, but what happens if I push. . ."

Dany perked up as the purple light changed to red. She'd been zoning out and doodling on their official notes but dropped her charcoal when she realized that they were ready to start again. "Oh! Are we pushing buttons now? Let me try!"

She stood from her chair and came closer, just like the dozens of other times she had before— and this one drove him no less crazy than the first time as she leaned over him, her silvery-blonde hair falling over one shoulder as she reached out a hand to press one of the levers.

"It's dragon classes," he told her, acting with surprising ease like her current position wasn't affecting him at all. "Let's try the Night Fury one."

He glanced at Toothless as he spoke, but his dragon merely sighed and moved his head slightly to the left. "Try to contain your excitement, would you?"

The Targaryen pushed the indicated button as the Night Fury let out a warble that sounded an awful lot like a laugh. After she pressed the button, he turned the lens to the right setting. "Now, Monstrous Nightmare gem plus Night Fury equals. . ." The light went out. "Nothing. . . okay."

Hiccup stood as if to reset the Dragon Eye, but it was also to put space between him and Dany— as much as he didn't mind the way she made him feel, it was not conducive to a productive investigation. As he returned to the purple-lit diagrams, Astrid burst in, disrupting the images. "Oh! Astrid class."

Astrid was clearly not in the mood for jokes, but it was hard to see her expression against the sudden brightness that shone through the hut. Dany squinted a bit against the light, her eyes having adjusted to the darkness several hours ago. When the Hofferson spoke, she was out of breath— almost like she'd run all the way there. "Guys, we have a huge problem."

When Astrid said that there was a problem, that meant there was a problem. Both teens instantly became serious as they looked at her with concern. Hiccup's brows furrowed as he guessed what she was referencing. "Dagur?"

"Worse," she declared.

Dany frowned and tried to think about who else they may have angered in the past. "Do we have any other enemies?"

"I wish it was an enemy," Astrid complained, but she didn't get any farther than that.

The shout of a young boy reached their ears first before a large, brightly colored Monstrous Nightmare soared in through the open door. His rider didn't have the best steering skills so they landed right on top of Astrid, crushing her under the weight of the dragon.

"Gustav!" the boy greeted them.

"Gustav?" Hiccup and Dany echoed in alarm.

"Gustav," Astrid confirmed, sounding winded from being knocked over.

Hiccup took several careful steps backwards, tucking the Dragon Eye behind him so the younger teen wouldn't see. He eventually opted to retake his seat on the stool he'd occupied a few minutes ago with his back resting against the chest behind him. "Gustav, what are you doing here?" He rethought his words and stammered out, "I-I mean, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Gustav didn't answer him for a moment, more interested in his new surroundings. As he took in Toothless' dragon tails on the walls, Fanghook finally stepped off Astrid to follow his rider, slapping the Night Fury's snout with his tail as he did so.

"Hiccup, did you hear Gustav is. . ." Snotlout and the other riders ran inside, the former stopping abruptly as he laid eyes on the teen in question. ". . .standing right beside you. Perfect."

"You're looking different there, Guster," Tuffnut observed.

He jumped down from the chest he'd been standing on and tilted his chin upwards proudly. He placed his hands on his hips and straightened as he boasted, "yeah, I'm growing a beard."

"Really? Let me see." Tuffnut pushed past Snotlout to rush towards the boy. He leaned in and peered closely at his face— and then laughed. "Even Ruffnut has more hairs on her chinny-chin-chin than that."

His sister smirked at the insult as she came to stand behind her brother. Tuffnut didn't hesitate and yanked out the singular strand. Gustav yelped in pain and his hands flew to his chin as he stumbled backwards from the unexpected assault. This, unfortunately, allowed him to notice exactly what Hiccup had tried to keep hidden from him: the Dragon Eye. Naturally, he was immediately fascinated by it.

"Hey, what's this thing?"

Dany was all the way across the room— having gone over to help Astrid to her feet— so there was no way she could've reached it in time. Hiccup made a valiant effort to snatch it from the boy's grasp, but Gustav was too fast. He was intrigued by the bright light that emanated from it and (stupidly) turned it towards his face. He swiftly learned his lesson as the light messed with his eyes. He jerked the Dragon Eye away from his face as he blinked rapidly. "Oh. Whoa. You see these spots? Some sort of sun sword?"

"I-I'll take that," Hiccup stated hastily, reaching his hands out just as Gustav dropped it by accident. He let out a relieved breath when he caught it. The brunet lectured the teen as he handed it off to Fishlegs for safe keeping: "no, Gustav, it's not a sun sword."

"It's the Dragon Eye," the blond went on as he took it from his friend, "and it's very old and fragile."

Gustav was too disoriented to pay attention. He continued to stumble around, his arms waving as he tried to keep his balance. "Whoa, these spots, they're not going away." It was a good thing he was wearing his helmet since he hit his head hard on one of the prosthetic tails— hard enough to make it fall to the ground with a clatter.

"It isn't something to just be touched," Fishlegs continued, oblivious to the teen's lack of attentiveness to his scolding.

"Relax, Fishlegs," Gustav dismissed him confidently. "I know what I'm doing."

As soon as he spoke, he hit the wall again. This time, all of the tails fell off, making Dany flinch from the loud noise. Gustav really did lose his balance this time and he grunted as he hit the floor. Fanghook was unconcerned about his rider and decided to amuse himself by picking one of the tails up with his teeth. He placed it on a very disgruntled Toothless' head.

"Gustav, Gustav, over here," Snotlout called as the boy picked himself up. He stumbled towards the sound of the older teen's voice and the Jorgenson stopped him by putting his hand on his helmet. "Uh, when are you leaving?"

"That's funny, Snotlout," Gustav chuckled. He tried to poke his finger at Snotlout but missed. "But I'm not leaving. I'm moving here."

"No!" Dany gasped along with everyone else. Her stomach twisted at the thought another person like the twins or Snotlout joining them. "No, no, no. We've already reached our quota for annoying people on this island, sorry."

Tuffnut was the only one who started laughing at the news. "Yeah, yeah you are," he chuckled in disbelief. "Imagine. . . he would never. . ." But, when he saw everyone else's grave expressions, the realization caught up to him. "Wait, he's serious? I'll get the stake and firewood."

"I'll help," the Targaryen agreed. She had just gotten used to ignoring most of the terrible trio's antics; she didn't want to have to go back to square one!

"Oh, hold on," Hiccup protested, holding out a hand to stop them from leaving. "Hold on. No one is burning anyone at the stake."

"Hiccup's right," Ruffnut conceded to their surprise. But then she suggested, "let's just throw him off the cliff. Or, better yet, if the Targaryen's in, we can have Drogon drop him from the sky."

Dany brightened at that. "Yeah! I'm sure if we asked him nicely—"

"Guys!" the chief's son cut in, shooting the blonde a rather disappointed look for going along with the twins that made her falter. "I'm sure there's a simple explanation." He glanced back at the teen. "Please tell me there's a simple explanation, Gustav."

"Yeah, very simple," he replied, rubbing his eyes to get the last of the bright spots out of his eyes. "By the way, do not look right into that sun sword thing. Anyway, you said when I was ready, I could join the Dragon Riders. Well, I'm ready and here to join. Where's my hut?"

Hiccup simply stared at him, completely shocked. It took a moment for him to recover enough to laugh nervously and usher Astrid and Dany out of the hut. The brunet explained his plan to keep Gustav busy until they could find a way to return him to Berk without him causing too much trouble. But that meant he'd have to be under twenty-four-seven supervision— something that the Hofferson was not happy about.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at Hiccup, annoyed. "Wait a minute, why do I have to watch him?" She flung a hand out towards her friend. "Why can't Dany do it?"

The Targaryen sent her a betrayed look and opened her mouth to come up with an excuse, but Hiccup beat her to it. As if to prove his reasoning, he grasped her wrist and gave her arm a sharp tug so that she stumbled closer to him as he exclaimed, "I need her!" He felt his face heat up and rushed to tack on: "help. I need her help. We're making some just— major breakthroughs with the Dragon Eye."

Astrid arched a brow, entirely unconvinced at the sight of her friends' pink-tinged faces. "Uh-huh."

"Look, I did promise him that when the time was right, we would train him to be a Dragon Rider," Hiccup reminded them, "but I just didn't think that said time would be today."

"What am I supposed to do with him in the meantime?" she demanded.

"I-I don't know. Just keep him occupied!"

Astrid crossed her arms, looking even more displeased by Hiccup's lack of help. "Great, so I'm a babysitter."

"No, I mean, come on. He's-He's sixteen," the brunet insisted. "How much trouble could he possibly be?"

"Uh," Dany spoke up, trying desperately to not pay too much attention to the fact that Hiccup was still holding onto her wrist, "not to be the devil's advocate, but you do remember what you were like at sixteen, right?"

The chief's son tried to laugh off her accusation. "Oh, please, I was a delight."

Right on cue, a large, white dragon flopped down on the deck beside them. Concerned, Dany hurried over to his side and knelt next to the Night Terror. She gingerly helped turn him over so he was at least looking at them properly even if he couldn't get back on his feet yet. "Smidvarg, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Although he couldn't answer them, they didn't need long to figure out what the problem was. (Surprise, surprise, it was Gustav.) Their newest rider had found out the Night Terrors' grouping habits and were taking full advantage of them. Every time 'the gang' tried to form a dragon to fend them off, Hookfang and Gustav flew straight through them to scatter the small dragons. The teen laughed as they squawked in protest. "Hey, Hiccup, did you know they could do this? Awesome!"

"Please?" Hiccup implored Astrid, whose glare had never left. "I just need a little more time."

"Fine," she grunted, then raised her voice to address the boy as she climbed onto Stormfly's back. "Gustav! Arena, now!"

By this point, Smidvarg was able to stand again and he trotted over to Hiccup once it was just him and Dany again. The chief's son gave him a deadpan look. "By the way. Your timing? Impeccable."

Smidvarg screeched at him reproachfully, then took to the sky to rejoin the other dragons. Hiccup turned to the blonde who was still waiting patiently for him. "You don't have to stay, you know. I just thought that, out of all of us, you'd like being around Gustav the least, so I was just trying to. . . save you from that, I guess," he finished sheepishly.

Dany's expression softened and she smiled at him appreciatively. "Thank you. And. . . if you don't mind, I'd really like to keep working with you on the Dragon Eye."

The brunet grinned at her happily in response and gestured to the doors they'd just passed through. "Then lead the way, milady."

🏹🏹🏹

Dany made the mistake of leave Hiccup's house to fetch something to fidget with while he worked. After all, taking notes could only keep her occupied for so long before there was nothing new to write down. So, she decided to make a quick trip back to her place to bring over her carving supplies so she could continue to work on Smidvarg's likeness. That was where her downfall happened.

Ruffnut caught her on the unawares and shoved the teen towards her so hard that he stumbled. "It's your turn to watch him now, Daenerys. We've got a boar pit to uncover." She gave the boy a disgusted look.

The blonde's eyes widened in alarm. "No!" she protested heatedly. "No, I can't watch him! I've-I've got. . ." She remembered that he was supposed to stay away from the Dragon Eye. "Stuff to do. Really, really boring stuff."

"Sorry," the Thorston said with a shrug, sounding as unapologetic as possible. "But he's a sick monster that needs to be contained so naturally I thought of you. Bye!"

For the first time in her life, Dany wished Ruffnut wouldn't leave, but the blonde walked away without a backwards glance. Gustav remained unphased at being passed off to her and smirked as he looked her up and down. "I don't usually go for the crazy ones, but I could make this work."

Dany grimaced at his comment. It had taken her years to be able to (mostly) ignore Snotlout's similar remarks. Now she would have to start all over from square one with this. . . kid. She hadn't spent much time around Gustav before, but she recalled how much he'd looked up to the Jorgenson when the academy had first formed. It looked like he'd mimicked Snotlout's personality but made it twice— or three times— as annoying.

She wasn't even sure how to interact with children. The only young creatures she'd been around were dragons, but she loved that. They were adorable, with how they struggled to stay on their feet and made little cooing noises that would one day turn into a roar. Human kids? They were loud and messy and sticky and clingy— all things she couldn't stand. She thought momentarily about dropping him off with Snotlout or Fishlegs but decided to reserve that as a backup option. Maybe her friends her were making a bigger deal out of him that it was. Astrid and Ruffnut weren't really the 'motherly' type, to be fair.

"No dice, kid," she responded shortly. "I really was in the middle of something, but I guess I can put it off for a bit." Hopefully Hiccup wouldn't wonder too much about where she'd gone. Honestly, he probably wouldn't even notice with how wrapped up in the Dragon Eye he was. The thought made her heart sink a little but she pushed the feeling away. "Let's go."

Dany led Gustav back to her hut, already regretting her decision. The kid strutted behind her like he owned the place and she could practically feel his smug grin burning into the back of her skull.

"So, Dany— can I call you Dany?" he wondered, his tone smooth— or at least, what he probably thought was smooth.

"No," she denied him flatly.

"Sure, sure," he allowed, and oh, did she want to wipe that stupid smile off his face. "I prefer gorgeous, anyway. So, what's the plan, gorgeous? A romantic dragon ride? A sunlit stroll by the cliffs? Maybe a—"

"You're going to sand wood," Dany interrupted him bluntly.

Gustav blinked. "Uh, what?"

"You heard me." She pushed open the door to her hut and pointed at the pile of scrap wood in the corner. "I've got extra pieces lying around from my carvings. You're going to sand them down."

The boy's expression finally changed to one of disappointment. "That sounds boring. What about that badass dragon I remember you having? When do I get to meet him?"

"Never, preferably. Otherwise I won't stop you from becoming dragon food," she grumbled. "Besides, if you don't do this, I'll tell Hiccup that you weren't cut out to be a dragon rider and get him to ship you back to Berk. How'd you like that?"

Gustav visibly paled. "Sanding it is."

Satisfied, Dany grabbed a piece of wood and shoved it into his hands, then tossed him a strip of sandpaper. "Work with the grain. You'll know you're done when you can run your hand over it without getting a splinter."

The brunet stared at her, then at the wood. "That's it?"

"That's it."

She didn't give him time to argue before she slipped back outside. She didn't have the patience to supervise, and honestly, if sanding kept him out of trouble, it was worth it.

Taking a seat on the small porch outside her hut, she pulled out her carving of Smidvarg and got to work, slowly whittling the wood down to match the dragon's image. The rhythmic motion helped her tune out the world and before long, she was completely lost in thought. She didn't hear the odd thumps coming from inside her hut, nor did she notice Gustav's repeated trips back and forth, carrying small piles of sawdust outside. It wasn't until Gustav suddenly reappeared in the doorway, hands on his hips and looking far too pleased with himself, that she realized something was off.

"I'm done!" he announced proudly.

Dany pursed her lips and stood, brushing off wood shavings as she stepped inside. "Let's see—" She froze mid-step, her breath catching in her throat.

Her hut.

Her entire hut.

It was organized.

Her pile of supplies? Sorted into neat little baskets. Her tools? Lined up perfectly along the wall. Her spare wood? Stacked in symmetrical piles. Even her bed looked somehow neater, the blankets tucked in to the sides.

A slow, burning rage built in her chest. "What," she began, her voice dangerously quiet, "did you do?"

Gustav beamed. "I made it better!"

Dany turned, her violet eyes blazing to life. "I had a system!"

He scoffed. "No, you had a mess. Look at this place! It's way more efficient now. You're welcome, babe."

"It was efficient before!" she snarled, only more incensed by the nickname. "I knew where everything was! Now-now I don't even know where to start!"

Gustav shrugged. "You'll get used to it."

She clenched her fists and inhaled deeply through her nose. Okay. That was it. She was done. No more playing nice.

"New plan," she decided, forcing a sweet smile. "You're Snotlout's problem now."

Gustav's smug grin faltered. "Wait, what?"

She grabbed his arm and steered him toward the door. "I think you two will have a great time bonding. Snotlout! Snotlout!"

It didn't take her long to find Snotlout and when he finally heard her calling his name, he greeted her with an eerily similar arrogant grin. "What can I do for you, babe?"

"Ugh," she complained. Normally, she would've just ignored it, but she was at the end of her rope with pompous brats today. "I need a favor."

His smile widened and he leaned on Hookfang in an attempt to look 'cool,' but his dragon decided that he didn't want to cooperate. Instead, the Monstrous Nightmare lit up in flames briefly so that the Jorgenson had to jerk his arm away from his dragon's snout so as to not get burned, making him trip in the process. Snotlout glared at Hookfang, who let his flames die down as he looked at his rider with laughing eyes. Snotlout did his best to regain his composure. "A favor? I like the sound of that."

Dany shoved Gustav forward, towards the other teen. "Good. Watch him for me, will you?"

"Wait, what?" Snotlout unknowingly echoed Gustav. "That's not what I—"

"Goodbye and don't come back," the Targaryen told the younger boy forcefully.

She spun on her heel and marched off without another word, making a beeline for Hiccup's hut. She flung the door open without knocking to find the brunet in the same position he'd been in when she'd left: hunched on his stool as he went through the levers of the Dragon Eye again and again. "Hiccup!"

He jumped at the sound of her voice, startling to his feet at her unexpected volume. She was so rarely loudly angry (she tended to get sulky and silent) that he began to get nervous and thought about everything he'd done in the past few days that might've incurred her wrath. Dany continued without letting him speak: "I'm so sick of him! He's the worst! The most insufferable, irritating little brat to ever step foot on the Edge! I've never met someone so annoying!"

It took him a minute to figure out who she was talking about, but it became obvious that it wasn't him. Once he'd come to that conclusion, he let out a quiet breath of relief. Now that he knew he wasn't responsible for her anger, he allowed himself to study the way she ranted. As he did so, a small, amused smile to tug at his lips as he watched her. There was a fire in her violet eyes, her nose flaring in frustration— and— Odin help him— it was almost cute.

Dany caught the way his mouth twitched and instantly narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, fighting to keep his expression neutral.

"No, something," she snapped, pointing at him accusingly. "You're not taking this seriously."

"I am," Hiccup insisted, though the corners of his mouth betrayed him.

Dany's glare deepened. "You think this is funny?"

"Not at all," he reassured her, but the glint in his eyes said otherwise.

She huffed in exasperation and stomped over, grabbing his wrist before he could react. "Come see what he did. Then tell me if it's funny."

"Dany, I'm sure it's not that bad," Hiccup tried to reason with her, though he made no effort to pull his wrist from her grasp.

"It is that bad," she growled, dragging him toward the door.

He sighed, letting her lead him, but when she didn't move fast enough for her liking, she let go of his arm and pushed him from behind, placing both hands on his back as she propelled him forward. He shot her a bemused look and held up his hands placatingly. "Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going."

The two of them barely had to take a dozen steps before reaching her hut considering it was right next door to his. Dany all but shoved the door open, stepping aside so he could enter first.

Hiccup hesitated, expecting to find absolute destruction. Instead, his brows furrowed as he took in the room. Although he hadn't been inside her house here on the Edge, he had seen it from the doorway a few times as she was getting settled. He'd also seen her bedroom back home on Berk and he knew from both of those times that she was in no way a neat person. He took in the difference with some surprise.

"Well?" Dany demanded from behind him.

Hiccup turned back to her with an exaggerated grimace. "It's. . . neater?" he guessed, sounding dramatically horrified. "That-that warrants Gustav being sent back to Berk right away!"

It took Dany a moment to catch onto his sarcasm, but then she glared at him as she realized he really wasn't taking the situation seriously. He somehow managed to make looking serious so comically theatrical that she couldn't stay irritated for long. Despite herself, a small snort of laughter slipped out. She quickly pressed her lips together, fighting to suppress it, but the damage was done.

Hiccup smirked. "Oh? Was that a laugh?"

"No," she denied immediately, crossing her arms.

"Sounded like a laugh."

"It wasn't."

"Was too."

"That's not the point! The point is, he completely messed up my system and now I have to reorganize everything!" She gestured wildly at her newly tidied hut. "I knew exactly where everything was before and now it's all in stupid little baskets. I have no idea where anything is!"

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully, stepping further inside. He reached down, plucked a carving tool from one of the neatly arranged baskets, and held it up. "This what you're looking for?"

Dany scowled. "That's not the point, either."

Hiccup looked around the room again and considered the complaints he'd heard from Astrid and the twins. "Look on the bright side. At least he didn't burn the place down."

"That's a low bar, Hiccup."

"Well, considering it's Gustav, I'd say that's a win."

The Targaryen groaned and leaned against the doorway, still glaring at her overly organized belongings. "I just want him gone. I don't care where, as long as it's not here."

"And we will send him home," Hiccup promised. "I just. . . haven't figured out how yet."

"Dany, Hiccup!" They turned to see Astrid running up to them for the second time that day. "Have either of you seen Gustav? I went to check to see how he was doing with Fishlegs but he said he gave Gustav to the twins. Then when I asked them, they told me they handed him over to you."

The blonde frowned. "I passed him off to Snotlout."

Astrid shook her head. "I asked him too and he said he returned him to Hiccup, but if he's not with either of you. . ."

They exchanged a worried glance, more for what trouble the boy could get into than Gustav himself. "The Dragon Eye," the chief's son realized with mounting unease.

The trio hurried back to Hiccup's house and found that one of the prosthetic wings had been knocked off the wall (again), but this time was in much worse disrepair as it looked pretty burned. The trunk was open, too, and Hiccup knew without looking at it what was missing. He grabbed Dany's notes— particularly her drawings of the map they'd found on one of the lenses— and called for Toothless. He wasted no time in climbing onto his dragon's back, instructing the women, "wait here just in case he comes back."

🏹🏹🏹

Once they spotted the black speck of Toothless against the bright blue sky, Dany and Astrid gathered the other riders at the clubhouse. Hiccup was clearly angry— a rare emotion for him, having dealt with the twins and Snotlout often enough to have a high tolerance for disobedience— but Gustav was just the kind of person to break even the most patient of people. They watched as he paced back and forth over the wooden planks, the dull thunk of his metal leg making the sound of his stomping more apparent. His brows were furrowed together, an uncharacteristic scowl appearing on his face.

Gustav's smugness had lost all of its steam. He sat quietly on the bench before the riders' leader, his head bowed and his hands folded in his lap. Even Fanghook wasn't causing any trouble as he sat next to the boy, looking as apologetic as a dragon could. It was several long, painful minutes for the teen before the chief's son finally spoke, his words bursting out of him, uncontained: "of all the irresponsible, insubordinate—"

"Don't forget idiotic, imbecilic, inane," Tuffnut added, ticking off the words on his fingers. Hiccup glared at him and he raised his hands in question. "What? I've heard a lot of words for 'stupid.' I mean, come on, people use that more than my proper name."

"Well, at least he acknowledges it," Dany murmured to Astrid, who nodded in agreement.

Hiccup continued as if the other man hadn't spoken. "Of all those kinds of stunts you could have pulled, this was the worst. Do you know what Dagur would do to get his hands on the Dragon Eye?"

Gustav shrank under the brunet's anger, his voice hesitant as he tried to explain, "I just thought if I came back here with the treasure, you guys would accept me."

He didn't take kindly to that response. Hiccup stepped towards the boy, letting his irritation carry him forward. "First of all, there is no treasure," he retorted. "Second of all, we've already been there. And that entire island is honeycombed with the most unstable caverns we've ever encountered."

"I'm sorry, I just—"

The chief's son whirled around, cutting off any excuse he tried to come up with: "you could have been killed, Gustav. Fanghook could have been killed. Look, this isn't Berk, Gustav. The rules are different out here. You have to be smarter than this."

"I just wanted to prove myself," he insisted.

"Oh, you have. You have proven that you are not responsible enough, you're not mature enough, and you're not trustworthy enough to be one of us." He paused for a moment to let his lecture sink in. During his speech, Gustav's guilty expression hardened and he raised his chin, squaring his jaw. Hiccup took a deep breath and released some of the anger in his voice. "Now, it's been a long day. We all need some rest. We'll talk about this is the morning."

The riders turned their backs on the boy and walked out of the clubhouse. As they left, Astrid fell into step with Dany and smirked at her friend. "Your face is looking a little red there, Dany."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the blonde dismissed her observation. "My face is the same color it always is."

The Hofferson reached out and poked her pink-tinted skin. "I think your cheeks say otherwise. Swooning over Hiccup being angry? That's a new level of pathetic, even for you."

Dany batted her finger out of her face. "I am not swooning over anyone, thank you very much. It was just hot in there."

"Aha! So you are admitting that you're blushing," Astrid declared.

She groaned. "That is not what I said."

Her best friend grinned, undeterred. "Oh, come on. You never see Hiccup that mad and suddenly you're all flustered? Face it, you liked it."

The Targaryen scowled at her, though the effect was weakened by the pink still dusting her cheeks. "It's not his anger I liked," she stated decisively, crossing her arms. "It's—" She paused, searching for the right words. "It's the way he cares. You saw how furious he was, right? Not because Gustav was annoying, but because he put himself and Fanghook in danger. Hiccup's not the kind of person who gets mad over small things but when he does, it's because someone's life was at risk."

Astrid's expression became a little more thoughtful, though the playful light never left her blue eyes. Dany crossed her arms and nodded, as if convincing herself. "It's not about the anger. It's about his leadership. His protectiveness."

The blonde pursed her lips, then shrugged. "Uh-huh. Sure. And that's why you were practically fanning yourself."

"I was not—!" Dany stopped herself, inhaling sharply through her nose as she glared at the other teen. "You are the worst."

"Hey, who else would listen to you ramble about your hopeless crush for hours on end?" Astrid teased her. "I'm the best."

"You know what? I'm so done with this conversation," the Targaryen decided. "Good night, Astrid."

"Good night? It's only late afternoon!" she objected incredulously, raising her voice to call after her friend as she walked back to her house. "And besides, you love me!"

Dany's only response was a sarcastic wave.

🏹🏹🏹

Unfortunately, Gustav didn't have the patience to wait until morning to hear what fate had been decided for him. The riders woke to find the younger teen missing and they immediately set about searching for him. Dany recalled Drogon with her dragon whistle. While they lived on the Edge, she let her dragon wander with the usual rule in place: as long as he could always hear her call. He was a growing dragon, after all, and he needed space— lots of it. He also needed more food, which was another issue entirely.

To this, she simply instructed him that he couldn't hunt on their island. The other dragons mostly ate a fish-based diet so the other riders would be unaccustomed to seeing bones and, except for the twins, would probably be unsettled by the remains. So, she put the ban in place to try and keep her friends' feelings in mind. That was why Drogon was gone for long stretches of time and she didn't really know where he went (or what he killed for food.) But, as long as he always came back when she needed him— like he did now— he was free to do what he liked.

Dany shaded her eyes against the glare of the sun as Drogon's large shape came into view. She couldn't really tell how he felt about living on the Edge instead of Berk but at least here, he could land in the center of their living space without worrying about crushing the surrounding houses. She was pretty sure he appreciated that as he took advantage of it whenever he returned.

As soon as he touched down (making her hair ruffle in the wind from his wings and the ground shudder under his feet), she rushed towards him and threw her arms around the part of him she could reach. These days, she had no hope of fully wrapping her arms around even the smallest part of his legs, but she hugged him regardless. She even ignored the uncomfortable press of his scales against her leathers, so relieved she was to see him. Drogon let out a steamy puff of breath and lowered his head in greeting.

She quickly clambered onto his back and took off with the others after that. They searched all day, checking every square inch of the island for the wayward boy and his dragon, but their efforts proved fruitless. She wasn't too upset about it, though, in part because of Gustav's horrible personality and because it meant she got to fly with her dragon for several hours. Still, she had to return to the Edge eventually and wound up being the last one back. Everyone turned to look at her hopefully, but soon realized she had no extra passengers with her.

"Anything?" Hiccup inquired, though the question was pretty much unnecessary.

"I checked the clubhouse, our hut again, even the stables," Astrid reported. "He's not there."

"Nothing else is on fire around here, so he must be gone," Fishlegs remarked lightheartedly.

"Well, we have to find him," Hiccup insisted.

Dany frowned. "Where else are we supposed to look? You don't think he got further than the edge of the. . . uh, Edge, do you?"

Snotlout scoffed. "If he did, then good riddance. Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that he's gone?"

"Not until we know he's safe," the brunet demanded.

"Well, we could ask Fanghook," Ruffnut suggested.

"And, Ruffnut, how do you suppose we do that?" Snotlout wondered condescendingly.

She crossed her arms against her chest and smirked. "Turn around."

The Jorgenson spun in the direction of her gaze, his eyes widening at the sight of Fanghook flying towards them. Drogon growled at the sight of the dragon, his nostrils flaring as he took in the Monstrous Nightmare's foreign-yet-familiar scent. Toothless bounded forward to check on Fanghook, but Drogon's heavy tail landed in his path, stopping his forward progress. The Night fury let out an irritated rumble at being undermined but conceded to the larger dragon.

Tuffnut ignored this interaction and hurried forward, speaking to the dragon as if it were a dog. "Fanghook, where's Gustav, boy? Where's Gustav?" He waited another moment but Fanghook just stared at him blankly. The Thorston huffed at his lack of cooperation. "He's not talking, you guys. He's completely shut down. Typical."

Fanghook continued to squawk in distress, so Hiccup took over. He held out his hands and spoke soothingly to the dragon as he approached: "hey, hey, Fanghook. Hey, it's okay. Easy, boy, easy." When he got close enough, Fanghook lowered his head, allowing the brunet to observe him more carefully. "Well, doesn't look like he's injured."

Daenerys turned to look up at her dragon, her expression becoming concerned at his. . . hostile response. His teeth were bared in Fanghook's direction and she could see his muscles tense under his scales. She placed a gentle hand on his leg to soothe him, wondering what he scented on the Monstrous Nightmare that would make him this agitated. "Calm down, bud. You've met Fanghook before, remember?"

Fishlegs glanced at Drogon with an academic's eye to take in his body language, then studied Fanghook's jitteriness. "He's definitely upset and Drogon doesn't like it." His attention caught on the scroll that had been tied to Fanghook's horn. "Guys, look."

The chief's son picked up the parchment and unrolled it, his eyes scanning over the message once before he declared, "Dagur." He, too, looked Drogon's way. "That must've been who he smelled on Fanghook."

"If only dragons could talk," Dany mused regretfully, patting her dragon appreciatively on his leg.

"He wants to make a trade," Hiccup continued, his expression hardening at the news. "The Dragon Eye for Gustav."

Ever the strategist, Astrid's eyes narrowed as Hiccup began to prepare for the journey. "I don't like this."

"Well, we have no choice."

"You sure we have no choice?" Tuffnut asked. "Like, none? Zip? Zilch?"

Hiccup paid the other teen no mind, instead sighing as he thought about the previous day. "This is my fault, anyway."

"Ninguino?"

He stood, holding the Dragon Eye in his hands with a tight, frustrated grip. "I never even gave the kid a chance!"

"Ni Portugal?"

The brunet whipped around to glower at his friend's persistent input. "Tuffnut, that's really not helping at all." He stared at the Dragon Eye accusingly. "If I wasn't so busy tinkering with this thing, I don't know, maybe I could have kept him busy."

"Uh, yeah, nobody can keep Gustav busy," Fishlegs offered supportively.

Hiccup didn't seem reassured by this and simply climbed into his saddle without another word. Dany stepped forward, one hand half-lifting as if to stop him as she pleaded, "I really wish you'd consider taking Drogon with you. At least then it would be harder for Dagur to double-cross you."

He sighed, though his expression softened to show that he was touched by her concern. "Dagur was very clear. I have to come alone. We don't know what he'll do to Gustav if I don't follow his demands to the letter. We can't risk it."

Hiccup saw the worry apparent in her violet eyes and even noticed her gesture of reaching out towards him. If Dagur hadn't been so specific in his message, he would've taken her with him in a heartbeat. The most he could do now was try and reassure her, "I'll be careful, I promise."

Dany let her hand drop back to her side and nodded reluctantly, knowing that she couldn't do anything to change his mind— not when someone's life was on the line.

🏹🏹🏹

Daenerys watched the horizon for several hours as she waited anxiously for Hiccup to return. Drogon stood sentry next to her, his strong, solid warmth a comforting support. When the pair did finally arrive, she almost gave into her instinctive urge to throw her arms around her best friend, grateful as she was for his safe return— but she maintained her composure, her skin crawling at the thought of doing so under the gazes of all their friends. She quickly distracted herself by taking notice of what was under Hiccup's arm: an antique-looking chest that he definitely hadn't had when he'd left.

After the chief's son explained what had happened and how Gustav had actually saved the day by making sure Dagur didn't get to keep the Dragon Eye, the other riders made their own variations of apologies (some— like Snotlout— didn't even use the words 'I'm sorry,' but the teen understood their sentiment nonetheless.) When it was Astrid's turn, she began uncertainly; swallowing her pride not something she was accustomed to. "Gustav, I—"

"Uh, uh, stop right there, sweets," he interrupted her with a finger on her lips. "I can't stay. My mom would kill me. She usually notices I've been gone after about three days." Astrid grimaced, disgusted by the teen's implications. He turned away from her confidently and called for his dragon. "Alright, Fanghook, let's go. You take care, babe. Don't worry! Gustav will be back soon."

Dany smirked, relieved that Gustav's 'affections' seemed wholly focused on her best friend. It would give her good material to get back at Astrid for teasing her later. Even with all of his help, no one was really sorry to see Gustav's back. Hiccup's attention soon turned to the next most interesting thing and he opened the chest he'd been holding. Having been quietly curious about it all along, the Targaryen wasted no time in leaning over to take a look at it, though perhaps not pressing as closely against him as she would've if they'd been alone.

"What's that?" she wanted to know.

"Oh, just something I found at the bottom of that cave," he replied offhandedly, taking out a lens casually. He held it up to the light and let the sun glint through the glass.

Fishlegs gasped. "Oh, a new lens!"

"Yeah, there was treasure in those caves after all," Hiccup said. "The Dragon Eye was giving us clues on how to find it all along. We just weren't looking in the right place."

"Or for the right kind of treasure," Dany added, her eyes sparking with excitement at learning more about what kind of information their discovery would hold. "Maybe it's like a scavenger hunt; there must be more out there to find!"

"Huh. And to think, we never would've found that without Gustav," Astrid mused.

Hiccup grinned at them mischievously. "Awesome, so let's tell Gustav."

The riders answered him with a vehement "no!" before they all glanced up and waved to Fanghook's shrinking form, as if making sure the teen didn't hear their leader's suggestion. While everyone was distracted by making sure Gustav didn't come back, Dany grabbed the lens from her best friend, causing him to look at her in confusion.

She simply beamed at him excitedly and waved the lens in front of him. "Come on! We've got work to do."

A/n: I'll be honest and admit that I don't know if they actually had sandpaper in the Viking times, but I'm sure they had something to smooth their wood; I'm just too lazy to do all that research. Besides, it's fanfiction, not historical fiction, so I can do what I want.

But what I really wanted to rant about today was the fact that some people just love to complain. I know I'm very lucky that most of the people who read my books like what I write, so I've hardly ever gotten hate. However, for some reason, this series in particular is garnering a lot of criticism— more than any other fandom I've ever written for. Granted, it's only two hate comments, but that's two more than I usually get.

The most recent one was accusing me of "dumbing down" Hiccup's character in act I of Stormborn and that I was having Dany take "too many" of his ideas. I personally don't think I did and I'm actually quite proud of what I've written. Sure, I may be biased, but would it have 50k reads if it was completely trash? (Okay, maybe that's not a completely valid question since there are some very poorly written books on here that are very popular, but still.)

And so what if I did? It's fanfiction— not my life's work or anything. I'm not writing my thesis on How to Train Your Dragon (though that would be pretty cool and at times it feels like I am 🤣) so I don't get why people are so bent out of shape about this series. They could just— I don't know— stop reading if they really didn't like what I've written. And the worst part is was that they were posted on AO3 under ghost user accounts so the commenters didn't even have the guts to claim their opinions. So, for the first time ever, I put a ban on those types of comments and limited the entire series to registered users only.

It really sucks since I like letting people have the freedom to interact with my stories how they wish, but then others just come along and ruin it. Sorry to end on a bummer note, but on the bright side— next chapter means we're halfway through s1!