This...is Berk. The best kept secret this side of, well, anywhere. Granted, it may not look like much, but this wet heap of rock packs more than a few surprises.
It was a rather warm day for the Isle of Berk as the sun slowly made its way through the sky. A group of sheep were huddled together as they hid nervously between buildings from the shadows of passing dragons that raced by them. They moved as one, receding into a shadowy alley, then the majority of the herd pushed one of their own out into the open. The poor sheep was then snatched up and carried away by a dragon.
Life here is amazing, just not for the faint of heart. See, where most folks enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer a little something we like to call–
Dragons of vibrant colors sped past all the buildings, their riders swiped, kicked, and rolled into one another as they wove neck in neck with one another between the huts, docks, and revamped structures that lay throughout the village.
DRAGON RACING!
"WHOOOOOOOO!" Fishlegs shouted in glee as he rode atop Meatlug's back, who had a sheep clutched within her claws. That is until Snotlout and Hookfang side-checked the unsuspecting Ingerman and Gronckle, stealing their sheep in the process.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Fishlegs! Did you want that?" Snotlout asked smugly and that earned a glare from the other Viking.
"No, Snotlout! That was mine!"
The Jorgenson fell back towards the Thorston twins, who were lagging behind on their dragon Barf and Belch. With a chivalrous grin, Snotlout tossed the sheep towards Ruffnut. "Here ya go, babe."
Ruffnut caught the sheep with a sneer and a grumble of annoyance.
"Did I tell you that you look amazing today? 'Cause you do." Snotlout flirted, which made Ruffnut look at him with disgust.
"Ugh. Come on, Barf. It's starting to stink around here." The female Thorston complained, urging the Zippleback to get ahead of the Nightmare. Barf spewed some gas as he and Belch flew ahead, the male Thorston atop Belch's side mocked Snotlout with a mugging grin.
"Nope. Still hates you." Tuffnut said to the other male Viking before he looked forward. "Let's blow this place, Belch! Alright!" He shouted and Belch lit up the gas that Barf had just released as they flew away.
When the gas was lit up it went off in a flashy explosion, leaving Snotlout behind in the smoke. As the twins speed past the main bleachers at the lap crossing, Ruffnut drops the sheep into one of five of the baskets that were suspended over a chasm. Each board above the baskets bore an image of the head or heads of its corresponding dragon. A Night Fury, a Deadly Nadder, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Hideous Zippleback, and a Gronckle.
The Barf and Belch basket was filled to the brim with sheep, and the Hiccup and Toothless basket was halfway full. The Stormfly basket held a few sheep as well, but the Hookfang and Meatlug baskets were empty. As he was chief of the village, Stoick the Vast was presiding over the game.
"Ha-ha! That's nine for the twins, Toothless just behind with four, Astrid lagging behind with three, and Fishlegs and Snotlout trail with NONE!" Stoick listed off as he turned to the frenzied crowd, then he rested upon his chair once more and sighed as he looked at Hiccup and Toothless' basket. "And Hiccup is...nowhere to be found. Hmmm."
"I think you scared Daddy off earlier Grandpa." Kala said as she climbed into the chief's lap and situated herself to watch the race.
The youngest Haddock had on a rather adorable outfit, albeit an odd one. She had on a small black flight suit that was mostly made of leather that was painted black from a mixture of her, Hiccup's, and Toothless' scales, some of said scales decorating the flight suit on the sides of her arms, legs, and torso. The areas that were made up of cloth were green. Kala also had on a leather chestplate that was painted black like the rest of the leather on the flight suit that also had shoulder pads attached to it, the right one having a red Night Fury design adorning it. She had on a pair of black wolf fur boots, a simple kransen that matched Astrid's that she was given for her fifth birthday, and a small cotton cloak that was dyed black and had Hiccup's scales as well as her own scales decorating the shoulders. Her hair had been styled into a loose side braid that rested on her left side, somewhat following the tradition of their tribe in that sense.
Stoick chuckled and wrapped his arm around his granddaughter's waist to keep her from falling off his lap. "Aye, maybe so lassie."
Back with the young adults racing one another, Astrid and Stormfly clipped a still smoldering Snotlout. Astrid glared at Snotlout as Stormfly flew beside Hookfang.
"What are you doing, Snotlout?! They're going to win now!" She complained.
"She's my princess! Whatever she wants, she gets!" Snotlout said defensively.
"Ruffnut?! Didn't she try to bury you alive?!" Astrid asked, flabbergasted.
"Only for a few hours!" Snotlout said offhandedly.
The other dragons used to be a bit of a problem here. But that was five years ago. Now, they've all moved in. And, really, why wouldn't they?
The racers chased one another through a sprawling hangar and into a vast cave, teeming with colorfully painted dragon stables, but one racer was missing from the group. Snotlout took notice of this as they exited through the far side and started to circle back through the village.
"Any of you seen Toothless?!" He shouted as they all sped past many of the dragon-friendly additions to the village.
Astrid smirked knowingly to herself, knowing exactly where her nephew was hiding. But she kept her mouth shut.
"Not since he last scored!" Tuffnut answered, the others nodding in agreement.
Snotlout groaned in annoyance. "Great. Knowing him, he'll swoop in for the win last minute, like always." The Jorgenson complained.
We have custom stables...all-you-can-eat feeding stations...a full-service dragon wash... Even top-of-the-line fire prevention, if I do say so myself.
Below the racers in the village, a baby Gronckle sneezed and accidentally set one of the huts ablaze. Astrid took notice of this and peeled away from the group, yanking open one of the spouts of the overhead aqueducts Hiccup installed throughout the village, dousing the flames with a surge of water.
Stoick, Kala and the other Vikings watch the racers as they lap around the village searching for sheep. The chief then looked towards Gobber and nodded.
"It's time, Gobber." He stated and the blacksmith nodded right back with a smile.
"Righty-ho!" Gobber said cheerily, then he turned to the crowd. "Last lap!" He shouted, then a horn was sounded and all the racers turned to each other excitedly.
"The Black Sheep!" Astrid exclaimed then put her attention back on the race. "Come on, Stormfly! We can still win this thing!"
"Come on, Barf!" Ruffnut shouted, her excitement clear in her words.
"Let's go!" Tuffnut added, just as excited as his sister, a bit of smugness within his words.
"Go, Meatlug!" Fishlegs encouraged as they all sped up to try and get to where the Black Sheep would appear.
Gobber made his way to the catapult and loaded the poor sheep in question onto it.
"Whooo-hooo!" Astrid yelled as joy seeped through her from the speed and exhilaration that came with Dragon Racing.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Tuffnut urged, rather impatiently as he was eager to get the win under his and his twin's belt for once.
"This is your moment." Gobber said to the sheep as he was preparing to launch it. "Have a nice flight!" He exclaimed as he pulled the lever, launching the poor sheep into the air.
Astrid spots the Black Sheep and steers Stormfly into a steep climb toward it. "Up, up, up!"
In a flash, the sheep was snatched up by Fishlegs and Meatlug.
"NO!" Astrid complained, stopping Stormfly to keep them from crashing into the Gronckle and Ingerman as they passed by.
"YES! Good job, Meatlug!" Fishlegs shouted as he scratched Meatlug's head, then he tossed his prize to Ruffnut, who caught it with a smirk. "Here you go, darling! Mine's worth ten!"
"Yeah! The Black Sheep!" She giddily exclaimed.
Astrid looked toward Snotlout, shocked over what she had just witnessed. "You guys are fighting over Ruffnut?!"
Snotlout didn't look at the Hofferson as he scratched his cheek with a drop of sweat falling down the side of his face out of embarrassment. Not wanting to get whacked to death by the girl atop the Nadder like he usually did.
"I'm totally winning!" The female Thorston shouted, sure in herself that she and her brother would be able to score before anyone else got the sheep out of their grasp.
"We're winning together!" Fishlegs said, a love-struck look on his face and a dreamy air about his voice.
Ruffnut then rammed into Meatlug, sending Fishlegs into an uncontrolled spin, the poor Viking shrieking as she did so. This made him and Meatlug slam into Snotlout and Hookfang, sending all four of them to tumble head over tail, which made the crowd go wild. Kala on the other hand, watched them crash through her fingers as she had covered her eyes, not wanting to see her father's teammates get hurt.
"Oh, no!" Snotlout yelped just before all four of them crashed into the earth below in a heap of Viking and dragon.
"Whoo-hoo! No one can stop me now!"
"Except for me." Tuffnut noted to his over-excited twin. "We're attached, genius! Quit trying–" Tuffnut said as he grabbed at the sheep, Ruffnut fighting back as he did ending up with a tug-of-war starting.
"Hey!" The female Thorston shrieked in annoyance.
"–to steal all my glory!" Tuffnut finished as they continued to fight over who got to score.
Astrid saw this as an opportunity to steal the sheep from them, but before she could get close enough she heard the whistling sound of none other than Toothless himself and stopped Stormfly fast enough to miss the Night Fury in question as he came barreling past, a small smirk residing on her lips.
"Get 'em, Toothless!" Stoick shouted from the stands as he took notice of the arrival of his grandson.
Kala noticed and bounced excitedly in her grandfather's lap as she watched her brother speed into view. "You got this brother!"
"It's MY glory!" Tuffnut complained.
"Always ruining EVERYTHING!" Ruffnut argued.
"NO SHEEP, NO GLORY!" Tuffnut shot back, neither of them hearing the whistling that came off of Toothless' wings from the speed he was flying at.
The Night Fury in question swooped in as they argued and snatched the sheep from the twins with ease. "Gotcha! Ha-ha!" He cheered as he sped past with the sheep in his clutches.
Toothless was in his hybrid form in order to communicate with the riders as they raced. The outfit he had on was very similar to his little sister's. Unlike the other racers, he had on a black flight suit that was mostly made of leather that was painted black from a mixture of his, Kala's, and Hiccup's scales, some of said scales decorating the flight suit on the sides of his arms, legs, and torso. The areas that were made up of cloth were a bright red instead of the green cloth his sister's was made off. Toothless also had on a black metal chestplate that had shoulder pads attached to it, the right one having the same Night Fury design as Kala's adorning it. His boots were not much different than Kala's, the only difference being that his were not lined with fur at the top, but rather leather to match the rest of the flight suit.
"Whoa!" Tuffnut exclaimed out of surprise.
"Toothless!" Ruffnut whined in anger.
"Well played! Ha, ha, ha!" Stoick cheered, then he looked towards the crowd. "That's my grandson!"
"Go Toothless!" Kala cheered just as excitedly as her grandfather had.
"Whoo-hoo!" Fishlegs cheered as he witnessed the skilled steal once he and Snotlout were able to take to the skies once more.
He then looked toward Snotlout and the both of them nodded at one another as they came to a truce and raced towards Toothless, each of them on either side of him. Fishlegs made to ram into him, but Toothless easily dodged and that made Fishlegs ram into Snotlout, who yelped in surprise and struggled to get Hookfang back on course.
"Oh!" The crowd exclaimed as they watched, Kala covering her eyes and peeking out of them again.
"Sorry!" Fishlegs apologized and Toothless laughed at the failed attempt.
"Nice try guys, but this Night Fury always gets away!" Toothless shouted at them, then he sped his way to the finish line and he happily dropped the Black Sheep into his and Hiccup's basket as he went past it.
"That's fourteen! Toothless takes the game!" Stoick shouted and the crowd erupted with wild cheers for the young Night Fury as he flew over the crowd with a smile upon his face as he basked in his victory, transforming into his dragon form and scooping Kala up from their grandfather to let her have a lap around with him.
The youngest Haddock giggled in glee as her brother tossed her up in the air and caught her on his back as they looped around the crowd.
Yep. Berk is pretty much perfect. All of Astrid and I's hard work has paid off. And it's a good thing, too, because with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger.
~~~HTRYNF~~~
Away from Berk, the missing Night Fury in question was taking a solo flight over the ocean as the race was coming to an end.
~~~HTRYNF~~~
The air felt refreshing on Hiccup's scales as he sped through it, the warm rays of the sun being soothed by the cool breeze that washed over his draconic body. It was a clear and crisp day, perfect for a fun flight across the waters of the Barbaric Archipelago.
This is what unbridled freedom looked like. Being able to go wherever you pleased without anyone telling you otherwise.
Hiccup smirked to himself as he decided to stop basking in the wonderful weather and dipped in the air, rolling into a dive towards the pack of Thunderdrums that were swimming below to their next destination. He pulled out of the dive and sped over the water, then shot back into the sky and pulled a daring maneuver here and there as he did, enjoying being able to go nuts without worrying about his daughter falling off his back.
He broke through the clouds and tumbled about in the fluffy clouds that floated past, his scales gaining drops of water upon them as he passed through each one. He then flew with some Timberjacks that were flying high above in formation, most likely heading to a new island to call their own.
Once Hiccup got bored of that, he dived once again with his eyes closed. He purred softly from the feeling of the air rushing past him and the telltale whistling of his wings started up. As he got closer to the water, he splayed out his wings and bolted over the water, disturbing it as he went past from the speed he was going at.
He closed his eyes once more to bask in the exhilarating feeling of freedom, but once he opened them again he panicked. Hiccup had gotten too close to a sea stack as he was flying with his eyes closed and he could tell that he wouldn't have enough time to dodge it.
At the last second he blasted through the rock with a plasma blast, wrapping himself in his wings as he flew through the newly formed gap as the obliterated pieces of the sea stack rained down around him. Once through that, Hiccup crashed into trees on an island that was right ahead of the sea stack, which ended up with him tumbling down the uneven terrain, screeching as he tried to come to a stop and finally coming to a rest on a small plateau.
He groaned in pain as he shook out his wings and stood, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness.
"That came out of nowhere.." Hiccup whined just before transforming into his human form and looking around the newfound area he found himself in. "Huh. Looks like I found a new island though."
As he looked around the island, he ran his hand through his messy hair as he calmed down from the adrenaline high from the flight. His outfit was very similar to his daughter's, albeit with some differences. For one, while Kala's flight suit was black and green, his was regular leather and green with some black on the sides from a mixture of his and his hatchlings' scales. His chestplate and shoulder pads were the same as Toothless', as were his boots, but his kids' flight suits did not have anything attached to them for adding to the map they were making of the Archipelago like Hiccup's did. But other than that, their attire was very much like one another's.
After a good look around the island from his spot on the plateau, Hiccup opened a journal that was built into his flight suit on his arm and grabbed the charcoal stick that was tucked away right next to it. He held onto the charcoal stick with his mouth as he dug out the map that he and his kids had been piecing together for the past couple years, folding it out onto the ground, then he tore out a new piece of parchment and added it to the map. He then sketched the island out on the new piece once he knew what the coordinates were.
He leaned back as he looked around the island once again when he finished the sketch, considering what to name it before he decided on a name he knew his daughter would definitely choose for the place if she were there with him. He leaned back down and quickly jotted down the name 'Autumn Isles' above the island.
"There." Hiccup said happily as he stashed the charcoal stick back in its hiding spot on his arm, then looked around the island again in thought. "Wonder what kind of dragons live here.. Might find a few Timberjacks in the woods, an odd Whispering Death or two in the rocks. Hel, maybe there's another Night Fury hiding out here. That would be something else."
A Nadder screech catches his attention and he turns to find his chosen sister Astrid astride her Nadder Stormfly coming in to land, Toothless following right behind in his dragon form.
"Afternoon family. Where have you guys been?" Hiccup asked as he smiled at them.
"Well, letting your son win races. What else?" Astrid said as she dismounted Stormfly's back. "The real question is...where have YOU been?"
"Avoiding my dad." Hiccup said bluntly, but before he could do anything else he was tackled to the ground by his son, getting a laugh out of him as he blocked the bats of Toothless' paw.
"He's down! And it's ugly! Dragons and Vikings, enemies again, locked in combat to the bitter–" Hiccup said playfully, but was cut off as his son attempted to pin him down with his head, which didn't work that well since Toothless still wasn't matured, but Hiccup pretended anyway. "–URFFF!"
Toothless smirked slightly and licked his father's face. Hiccup groaned and pushed his son off him as he stood and wiped the saliva off himself.
"Okay enough playing. You KNOW that doesn't wash out." Hiccup said as he tried the best he could to get the dragon saliva off his flight suit and face.
Toothless laughed as he transformed into his human form, clutching his stomach as he laughed while pointing a finger at his father. Hiccup glared at him playfully and flicked some of the saliva at him, which hit him right in the face. Toothless stopped laughing and looked at him flabbergasted, which got a chuckle out of his dad and giggles from his aunt at their shenanigans.
"As funny as this is, can we get back to what we were talking about? What do you mean you're avoiding Stoick? What happened now?" Astrid asked, rather concerned for her chosen brother now.
Not wanting to listen to adult talk, Toothless transforms into his dragon form again and dashes off to play with Stormfly to pass the time.
"Oh you're gonna love this." Hiccup began. "I wake up. The sun's shining. The Terrible Terrors are singing on the rooftop. Kids are already up and downstairs eating. I saunter down to breakfast, thinking all is right with the world and I get: Son, we need to talk."
Astrid tries not to laugh as she begins to imitate her brother, albeit badly. "Not now, Dad. I've got a whole day of goofing off to get started."
Hiccup stifled a laugh. "Okay, first of all, I don't goof off all day. I take care of my kids and actually do my job at the forge, thank you. Second, I don't sound like that. What is this character? And third...what is that thing you're doing with my shoulders?"
Astrid bounced her shoulders again while stifling her laughter which made Hiccup roll his eyes with a small smile.
"A truly flattering impersonation, sis." Hiccup said jokingly. "Anyway he goes: You're the pride of Berk, son, and I couldn't be prouder..."
"Aw, thanks, Dad. I'm pretty impressed with myself, too." Astrid interrupted with her bad impression again.
Hiccup laughed at the way she moved about when imitating him. "WHEN have I ever done that with my hands?"
"You just did." Astrid said as she motioned to Hiccup, who indeed used his hands as he talked.
"Okay...just...hold still. This is very serious." Hiccup said as he rested his hands on his sister's shoulders.
Once he was sure she would stop, he let go and went back to recounting the conversation he had with Stoick that morning.
"You're all grown up, have two children that love you just as much as you love them, and since no chief could ask for a better successor, I've decided–"
"TO MAKE YOU CHIEF!" Astrid exclaimed excitedly as she put together where this was going. "Oh my gods! Hiccup, that's amazing!"
"Yeah, so...this is what I'm dealing with." Hiccup said as he sat down where he had left the map, Astrid following suit.
"Well, what did you tell him?"
"I didn't. By the time he turned around, I was gone." Hiccup admitted as he began to fold up the map.
"Well, it's definitely a lot of responsibility. The map will have to wait for sure, and I'll have to watch the kids since you'll be too busy..." Astrid considered, then stopped herself when she saw the look on her brother's face as he stashed the map in its compartment on his arm.
"It's not me, Astrid. All those speeches, and planning, and running the village...that's his thing. My thing is raising Toothless and Kala."
"I think you're missing the point." Astrid said as she leaned a bit closer to him. "I mean, chief. What an honor. I'd be pretty excited."
"I'm not like you, though sis. You know exactly who you are. I mean, sure, I have a good idea of who I am. I'm Toothless and Kala's dad. But...I'm scared of becoming like my dad more than anything. I can't do that to my hatchlings Astrid. They need me more than the tribe does. I can't stand the thought of them going through what I did growing up. They deserve better than that." Hiccup explained, letting his worries be known.
"Hiccup...just knowing that you don't want that for them proves that you'll do anything to make sure that never happens. And having to be chief of our tribe isn't going to change that. It's just going to take some time to get used to." Astrid said with sincerity in her tone. "Look, they're going to be okay. Those kids are way more understanding than any of the other kids in this tribe. Not to mention they're used to someone in their family running things. They'll just have to get used to it being you now."
Astrid noticed that he was messing with a strap on his arm looking a bit distraught and she smiled a bit as she continued. "And if you think about it, Kala will still be glued to your hip like she always is. You've seen how she is when she helps Stoick out around the village. Now she will be able to do that with you. Her most favorite person in the entirety of the Nine Worlds."
Hiccup mulled over her words, but before he could respond his attention was caught by something dark off in the distance. He squinted his eyes to get a better look and they widened when he noticed it was smoke.
"I hate to cut the conversation short, Astrid, but you may wanna see this." He said as he stood.
"Hiccup.." Astrid began to say, but stopped herself from saying anything else as she spotted what had caught her brother's attention, her eyes widening like his had just seconds before. "Smoke?"
~~~HTRYNF~~~