'Till you're far away and breathing cleaner air

by Anxiety_and_witchcraft

Summary:

In which Astrid got to the cove just a few minutes too late, and Hiccup had already left. In which, six years later, the dragon raids are a thing of the past, but now a madman with a dragon army is threatening Berk. In which Astrid, now heir to the Chiefdom, convinces Stoick to ask the mysterious Dragon Master for help.

Hiccup obliges. It's his fight, after all.

However, he may have forgotten to anticipate how hard it would be to prepare for war alongside his old friends and family without letting them know it was him. But then again, what other choice does he have?

Toothless is finding the whole situation highly amusing.

Useless reptile.

Chapter 1: What other choice

Notes:

The story you are about to see has been told before. A lot. And now, we are going to tell it again. But different.

Aka, another one of the many Hiccup Running Away AUs that nobody asked for but that I physically could not stop myself from writing.

Title from 'Icarus' by the Crane Wives, which is one of the most runaway Hiccup - coded songs I have ever heard in my life (pls go check it out i beg)

Six years ago, Hiccup packed his bags, got on the back of his dragon, and left Berk, and didn’t bother looking back. Five years ago, Hiccup and the dragon in question defeated the Red Death together, and he didn’t bother holding it against Toothless that he had to bite off his leg to make sure he didn’t die. Three years ago, Hiccup was made aware of a dragon hunting business, and didn’t bother being merciful with those responsible.

Two minutes ago, Heather flew into Hiccup’s workshop, and he didn’t bother looking up to greet her.

“Got a message.” She said, taking her usual seat across the table from him. “Someone’s looking for you.”

Hiccup shrugged and peered closer at the tailfin he was adjusting. “People usually are.”

“They’re not usually from Berk.”

He dropped the tailfin. Heather was looking at him cautiously, holding out a letter that was stamped with what Hiccup still remembered as his father’s official chief-seal. Toothless looked up from where he’d been curled up in front of the forge and padded over, wrapping his tail around Hiccup the way he always did when Berk was brought up.

“You don’t have to read it.” Heather set the letter down. She had that look in her eyes that Hiccup could never quite find a name for – not quite pity, not quite worry. “You don’t owe them anything, Hiccup.”

He huffed out a slow breath, tried not to feel like his lungs were collapsing. “Did – uh, did they know it was me?”

She shook her head. “They were just looking for the Dragon Master. Figured the only other person riding a dragon at the market would know where to find you.”

“I hate when people call me that.” Hiccup muttered. “Who delivered it?”

“Scary blonde girl with a braid and an axe.”

Astrid. Well, shit, now he had to read it.

Hiccup cursed and tore open the letter. Heather watched him expectantly and Toothless made a half-comforting-half-apprehensive rumbling noise in the back of his throat.

 

‘Dragon Master,

On behalf of the Hooligan tribe of Berk, I, Astrid Hofferson, humbly ask for your aid. Our island is being targeted and sworn battle against by a man named Drago Bludvist, who claims to control dragons and has threatened to attack us with his dragon army. Our island is small, and while we are great warriors, we do not have the resources or power to fend off such an attack.

We have heard of your own famed control over dragons and ability to tame them, and request your help in defending our community. We fear that you are the only person who may be able to match Drago Bludvist in battle.

Berk has not always been a friend to dragons, but in recent years, we have not been a foe to them either. We are willing to accommodate you and any dragons or allies you choose to bring with you should you accept our request, and will happily pay any price you ask in return for your help.

We humbly and eagerly await your response,

Astrid Hofferson, future Chieftain,

High Council of Berk.’

 

Hiccup’s lungs were definitely collapsing, now.

Berk was in danger. His enemy was trying to attack them, and they needed his help. They weren’t fighting dragons any more. Astrid was heir to the chiefdom.

Toothless crooned softly and rubbed his head against Hiccup’s chest, and he tried to start breathing again. Heather watched in that practiced, patient way of hers until his ears stopped ringing.

“It’s Drago.” Hiccup managed finally. “Drago’s attacked Berk, and they’re asking for my help in fighting him.”

Heather cursed softly and read through the letter herself. In the distance, Hiccup’s flock had stopped their rumbling and chittering and had fallen unnervingly silent. “What are you going to do?”

“Help them.” He felt, all of a sudden, tired in a way he hadn’t in years. “What else can I do? I know you say I don’t owe them anything, but they’re innocent people, and they’re right that they don’t stand a chance against Drago on their own.”

Heather studied him for a long moment. “Want me to come with you?”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that. This is my fight.”

“You’re my brother. Your fight is my fight, and don’t act like you wouldn’t say the same if our roles were reversed.”

Hiccup looked at her, green eyes mirroring his own, Dagur’s, Toothless’s, Windshear’s. Even if only Heather and Dagur were siblings by blood, it sure as hell seemed like the gods planned to have them all together regardless. Toothless rumbled against his chest.

He sighed. “Give me a week. I’ll go to Berk, figure out what it is exactly that they need. It may just be that they want my help with strategy and dragon tips, and then I can come back and we can figure out a way to deal with Drago ourselves. If not, I’ll send a terror-mail.”

“And if I don’t hear from you at all, assume it was a trap and swoop in to rescue you.” Heather nodded. “Got it.”

Hiccup stood up and started mentally stockpiling everything he’d need to take with him. “I don’t think it’s a trap – not really Berk’s style – but it’s nice to know you’ve got my back anyway. Thanks, Heather.”

<><~><>

Hiccup’s next stop was the woods.

It was all well and good to destroy dragon hunter ships and drop their captains into the ocean to drown, but after all the fighting was done, there still remained the question of what to do with all the dragons they’d taken from their homes. Most of them flew off once Hiccup broke open their cages, but some had been too injured or too grateful to leave his and Toothless’s sides. Several years on, coupled with the dragons he’d freed from Berk’s arena and the dozen or so individuals that had joined them from the Red Death’s island, Hiccup and Toothless were the alphas of quite a sizeable flock.

Dragons were all around them, draped across tree branches or sunning on rocks or drinking from the stream, and Hiccup let his head fill with their comforting noise. Beside him, Toothless rubbed his head up against his hand with a low croon. ‘You are worrying.’

“I’ll be fine, bud.” Hiccup said softly. “And besides, I can’t just not help.”

A low growl told him Toothless didn’t agree, but he ignored it in favour of calling a trilling whistle into the depths of the woods. Soon enough, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Sharpshot, and Barf and Belch came bounding through the trees towards him, surrounding him with friendly licks and nuzzles and puffs of warm air. Hiccup snorted and felt the knot in his chest loosen, just a little bit.

These were the dragons he’d freed from Berk’s arena the night he and Toothless left. They had been the foundation of his flock, knew him longest, and were the most loyal and trained in combat. They’d insisted on joining him in his attacks on dragon hunters before, and he figured that they’d all be offended if he didn’t at least ask if they wanted to come this time.

Toothless chirped and chattered to them all, explaining the situation at hand. While Hiccup could understand Toothless perfectly, his communication with the other dragons was still more limited to simple expressions and phrases – he was getting better every day, but for now, it was best for Toothless to make sure nothing got lost in translation.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Hiccup reminded them. “I wouldn’t be upset if you stayed, I know Berk hasn’t been kind to you.”

The dragons all looked at each other in the way they did when they thought he was being a Small Silly Human. Hookfang huffed indignantly.

‘Not scared of Bad Island. We come with you.’

Sharpshot tittered in approval from his perch on Hiccup’s shoulder, and Belch set off a couple of excitable sparks.

‘We make Drago-man go Boom!’

Belch said that about pretty much everybody, but Hiccup still appreciated the sentiment. His other head rumbled in agreement, as did Stormfly and Meatlug.

Well, then.

<><~><>

Half an hour and a very tight hug from Heather later, Hiccup was in the air with his flock in tow, headed for the one place he’d sworn he’d never return to. He had his flight suit on, every weapon he could feasibly carry attached to himself in some way, and three spare legs in his bag along with his mask, which he intended to put on the second he could be even remotely visible from Berk. Just because he was helping them didn’t mean they had to know it was him.

He almost doubted they’d still want his help if they found out it was coming from Hiccup the Useless.

Toothless rumbled below him. ‘Are you still worrying?’

“A little bit.” It was no use trying to hide anything from his dragon. Toothless was scarily good at reading his emotions. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I just wanna get this whole Drago thing over with forever.”

‘Boom!’ Barf and Belch both cried cheerfully from their position at Hiccup’s flank, letting loose a small patch of gas and torching it to illustrate their point. Stormfly squawked as it drifted into her face.

‘We’ll be fine.’ Toothless said decisively, flapping his ear frills against Hiccup’s leg. ‘I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ll eat them.’

Hiccup snorted. “You know humans don’t taste good.”

‘I’ll still eat them. For you. Because I love you.’

“Love you too.” Hiccup scratched Toothless behind his frills and laughed at the purr he received in return.

It was a long flight to Berk, and they wouldn’t be there before nightfall, but Hiccup decided he didn’t mind. The air up here was clean and cool and fresh, far from the dust and smoke he remembered from his childhood. It whistled through his hair and his outstretched hands, reminded him that he was free, that he was safe, with nothing and nobody to tether him to the ground against his will – not his father, not Viggo or Ryker or Krogan or Drago, not even the Red Death. He’d survived before, and he’d survive now, and he’d do it with his flock by his side.

Hours later, when the sun was nearly gone and Berk was more than just a speck on the horizon, Hiccup pulled his mask over his face. His flock drew in closer, and Sharpshot nuzzled at his covered cheek where he’d landed on his shoulder. Toothless crooned softly.

‘Ready?’

“Nope.”

They flew in to land.

Notes:

You can pry siblings Heather and Hiccup and soulbonded Hiccup and Toothless out of my cold dead hands

Future chapters should be a little longer!!!

Chapter 2: Expectations

Summary:

The Dragon Master arrives on Berk, opinions are shared, and Hiccup really just wants to go home.

Astrid wasn’t entirely sure what she’d expected the Dragon Master to be like. Now, standing at Stoick’s right hand and watching the dragons in question come in to land in the village square, she still wasn’t entirely sure what she thought of him in the flesh.

He flew in on the back of his Nightfury, a beast as black as the night sky apart from one of his tail fins, which was a shock of bright red. The Dragon Master himself wore a suit covered in what looked to be the scales of his beast, blending in so thoroughly that Astrid almost didn’t see him until he dismounted. He had a mask over his face, although she could see eyes as green as the dragon’s through the slits there. On his shoulder was an insignia that looked to be a drawing of a Nightfury, in the same red as the dragon’s tail fin, which had the same symbol printed in black.

Some people said he was a demon, born of the same fiery pits as the dragons. Others said that he and his Nightfury were two halves of the same soul, that he was close enough to a dragon himself, that he could sprout wings and speak their strange, rumbling language. Almost everyone said that he controlled the dragons – he gave an order, and they obeyed. That was what Berk was counting on.

Other dragons landed beside him, flanking him and the Nightfury like guards – a Deadly Nadder, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Gronckle, a Hideous Zippleback, and a Terrible Terror. He gave them each a scratch under the chin and turned his masked face towards Stoick and Astrid.

Stoick was the first to step forwards, although carefully out of reach of the dragons’ jaws, and made the typical chiefly greetings. Welcome, thank you, your help is more valued than you could imagine, etcetera. Astrid stayed put and watched the Dragon Master.

Tall, but slim. Some may even say scrawny. He didn’t carry an axe, or a mace, or a hammer, or even a sword, as far as she could see – but then, who knew what he was concealing within all of those loops and flaps and pockets in his armour. More notable, however, was his distinct lack of left foot, replaced by a contraption of wood and metal, springs and gears and moving parts. It was certainly more complicated than any prosthetic worn by the various Berkians who had lost a limb in battle.

If it weren’t for his dragons, Astrid thought she could probably take him in a fight.

Stoick finished up his greetings and the Dragon Master hummed.

“Thanks. Right – you can call me Rider. This is Toothless, Sharpshot, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch.” He gestured to each of the dragons in turn, and they all preened at the mention of their names. Astrid felt unease roil in her gut at the way the beasts acted like housepets in the Dragon Master – Rider’s – presence. “If anyone tries to harm them, or if this is all an elaborate trap to capture me and my dragons and hand us over to Drago, I’ll kill him and then everyone else myself.”

The dragons had stopped preening, and Astrid felt rather than saw the shiver than ran through the gathered crowd of Vikings at their narrowed gazes. Docile though they seemed under their Master’s eyes, they still bared sharp teeth and flexed sharp claws and hissed with the promise of fire.

Astrid stepped forwards as much as she dared and nodded. “Understandably. I hope that during your time here you’ll be able to believe me when I say that none of us wish you or your dragons any harm. We want to see Drago’s downfall as much as I’m sure you do.”

After a moment, Rider nodded back at her, and the dragons softened once more. “I’ll camp in the woods while I’m here, if that’s alright. The dragons prefer to sleep outside.”

“Of course.” Stoick took over with an approving pat to Astrid’s shoulder. “We’re happy to provide anything you or your dragons might need, and there are communal meals in the hall every evening. The forge is over there, the bakery is just behind it-”

Astrid watched them go as Stoick showed their only hope at defense against Drago’s army around the village, dragons in tow. Although, she could have sworn that the Nadder was looking at her funny as they left.

Her friends came up to her, all frowning at the Dragon Master in varying intensities.

“He’s…not exactly what I was expecting.” Fishlegs said finally.

Tuffnut nodded. “I thought he’d be bigger. Like – you know. Dragon-y. But he’s actually-”

“Scrawny.” Ruffnut supplied. “Definitely scrawny.”

“I would’ve said slim-built.” Fishlegs argued diplomatically. “And I don’t doubt that he could prove a fierce opponent, dragon or no. The stories I’ve heard about what he did to the Dragon Hunters when they tried to take his Nightfury-” he shuddered. “It’s a good thing he’s on our side.”

“For now.” Snotlout stared off into the direction where Rider had gone. It was one of the first things he’d said all day, uncharacteristically quiet since they returned from delivering their request for help that afternoon. “He’s on our side for now. There’s something about him – I’m not sure I like it.”

“You don’t like a lot of things, Snotlout.” Astrid teased, then sobered. “But I think you’re right. The way he makes those dragons act like pets… my feelings are mixed. They’ll do everything he says.”

Fishlegs hummed. “We’ll keep an eye on him. There’s not much else we can do if we want any hope at defending Berk from Drago.”

Astrid watched the Dragon Master and his flock rise into the air in the distance, barely visible against the darkening sky, and swoop towards the forest. She made a mental note of where he landed – what she was fairly certain was a large-ish clearing, uphill from the village, not too close but not too far. It was a good choice of places to set up camp.

The others all left in the direction of the hall, but Astrid lingered a moment longer.

The Dragon Master was Berk’s last hope. She just hoped he lived up to expectations.

<><~><>

Rider didn’t show up for dinner. Which was expected, really – it wasn’t a celebration of his arrival or anything, and Astrid figured he’d had a long journey. It had taken her and the others two days in each direction by boat to get to the market where they’d come across the other dragon rider, and she’d told them that it was another day’s flight to Rider’s base from there. As fast as she’d heard that his Nightfury was, she thought he must have been flying for at least a day to get to Berk.

The hall was thrumming with the hushed whispers of the townspeople. Astrid knew there were plenty who didn’t agree with her inviting the Dragon Master into their midst, who didn’t trust that a friend to dragons wouldn’t turn on they who had spent seven generations trying to wipe them off the face of the earth. Spitelout, in particular, was stewing away behind his mead and mutton, sending the occasional disapproving glare at his son. Tuffnut and Ruffnut had taken over the job of sending glares back at him. Snotlout practically lived with them now.

At least if Spitelout tried to make a move against Rider it would give Astrid an excuse to punch him.

Still – they had voted on whether to ask for the Dragon Master’s help, and the majority had been in favour. If people wanted to change their minds, they should have done it earlier, because he was here now, and Drago’s army was only a few weeks from Berk, and they didn’t have any other choice.

Astrid huffed, sending ripples across the surface of her soup. Ruffnut’s hand landed on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Astrid shook her head. “Just thinking.”

Ruffnut nodded sagely. “Good for the mind, thinking. Unless you’re actually worrying instead, which I’m pretty sure you are.”

Astrid stared up at her. By the gods, Ruff could be disconcertingly observant at times. “We’ve left the fate of our entire community in the hands of a complete stranger who lives with dragons and may not be entirely human. Why would I be worried?” and maybe that came out a little sharper than she’d originally intended it to, but her friends knew her well enough by now to not take offense.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Fishlegs said, ever the faithful optimist. “Rider seems to know what he’s doing. Again, he apparently decimated the entire dragon-hunting business single-handedly; with his dragon skills and our warriors, Drago doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Assuming he doesn’t change his mind and abandon us, or switch sides and join Drago.” Snotlout pointed out. “All of which are feasible outcomes. We don’t know this guy.”

“Wow. Encouraging.” Astrid said drily.

Tuffnut just laughed at them all.

<><~><>

Hiccup flopped onto the ground the second Toothless landed and resolved himself to just lay there until morning.

Around him, he could hear Toothless getting everyone to work organising the nest – Barf and Belch were sent off for firewood, Sharpshot to watch them, Stormfly to make sure there weren’t any predators around, Hookfang and Meatlug to get some fish for dinner. Toothless himself settled at the ground by Hiccup’s side.

It was quiet, here, broken only by the twittering of night-birds and forest animals and the distant lumbering footsteps of his dragons. The ground was cool and spongey with pine needles, soft under his fingertips, just as it had been in his youth. Hiccup opened his eyes and stared up into the sky, traced the constellations, watched his breath steam in front of his face.

He felt Toothless’s tail curl around him protectively as the Nightfury nuzzled up against him. ‘You did it.’

“I did it.” Hiccup agreed quietly. “And I’m going to have to do it again tomorrow, and probably a bunch more times after that. Gods, I swear none of them have changed a bit.”

‘Stormfly says they’re all taller. She remembers from the training.’

“I was thinking more in their general personalities, from what I could gather. Of course they’ve grown up, we all have, but my father’s still as chiefly and emotionally detached as he’s always been, and Astrid-”

Well. Astrid was just as terrifying as she’d been when they were fifteen, and Hiccup didn’t doubt that she could take him in a fight if it weren’t for the dragons. Her eyes had been steely and her jaw set in the torchlight of the square, an axe on her back and a knife on her hip, standing tall and proud at Stoick’s side like the heir they all knew she was born to be. Hiccup wasn’t ashamed to admit that his heart had done something odd but not entirely unpleasant at the sight of her.

‘I think they were impressed by us.’ Toothless mused. ‘We looked impressive.’

Hiccup scratched him lightly under the chin. “That is usually the effect of six dragons flying in formation and a masked man wearing Nightfury scale armour.” He snorted. “I’m pretty sure that rumour that I’m a demon is still going strong.”

‘You’re fireproof with my scales. Most humans are not fireproof.’

“Good point.”

Barf and Belch stomped back into the clearing and each dropped a mouthful of wood into a pile a few feet away from where Hiccup was lying. Sharpshot lit it up, and soon there was a neat little bonfire going, casting shadows into the trees.

“Maybe it’s for the best that they all think I’m not human.” Hiccup said eventually, more to himself than anything else. “Might make it less likely for anyone to realise it’s me.”

Sharpshot landed in front of his face, tilting his head inquisitively. ‘You won’t tell?’

He ran a hand over his face. “No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

Toothless purred and curled his tail tighter around Hiccup. ‘It’s too late for thinking like that now. We are tired, you need to sleep.’

“You’re right.” Hiccup sighed. “I guess I just hadn’t realised how weird it would be to see my dad again, without him even knowing.”

None of the dragons said anything, but Sharpshot tucked himself under Hiccup’s chin and Barf and Belch settled themself down with their wingtip resting on Hiccup’s non-metal foot. Meatlug and Hookfang soon returned with plenty of fish in their talons, Stormfly swooping in moments later, supplying a spine for Hiccup to skewer his share of the fish on to roast. He knew they all thought his cooked, human food was disgusting, but six years still hadn’t acclimatised him to the taste of raw fish.

He leant back against Toothless and looked up into the night sky. He remembered disappearing into that same sky six years ago, the newly-freed dragons swooping and diving and cawing their relief behind him as he watched Berk fade into a speck on the horizon.

And now he was back.

The dragons were all asleep now, huffing and snoring in various degrees (especially Stormfly, who snored even louder than she roared) but Hiccup couldn’t bring himself to do the same. He just stared at the sky, imagined the stars being blotted out by a dark shape, moving almost too fast to track.

If he asked, Toothless would wake up and carry him away from Berk right now, back to the safety of his home, far from his father and his endless disappointment. If it weren’t for Drago, he’d never have come back at all. If it weren’t for Drago, he’d probably leave the second his dragons woke up the next morning.

But he couldn’t. Berk needed his help, an island full of innocent people, targeted by a madman because of a boy who left on the back of their enemy, and contrary to popular belief, Hiccup wasn’t one to leave people in danger if he could help it.

He was Berk’s last hope. He could only try to live up to expectations.

 

Notes:

Spitelout hate club unite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 3: Impressions

Summary:

Ew, socialising!!!!!!!!!!

Dawn came too soon, as it always seemed to do these days, and Hiccup awoke to a sliver of early morning light slipping in between the cocoon of wings Toothless had wrapped around him. He yawned, poked at Toothless’s chin, laughed at the responding rumble.

Ten minutes later, they were in the air.

Hiccup pushed his mask up when they were far enough away from the village, revelling in the feeling of cold, crisp air rushing against his cheeks. Below him, Toothless had his eyes closed and his tongue flapping in the wind as he curved in a wide ring around the island.

None of the other dragons had deigned to follow them, too busy with either exploring the forest (Stormfly and Sharpshot) or going back to sleep (everyone else). It was Hiccup and Toothless who were accustomed to an early-morning flight, Hiccup who couldn’t function until he’d stuck his hand in at least one cloud and Toothless who indulged him every single day.

Hiccup hummed. “Never gets old, does it, Bud?”

‘Nope.’ The dragon replied, doing a barrel roll to accentuate his point. Hiccup laughed as his head was spun through the cloudbank. ‘One more lap and then back down? I can hear people in the village.’

He squinted down at the distant cluster of buildings and groaned. He didn’t have a dragon’s senses, no matter what some people said, but he could see that the night’s lanterns had been put out, signalling the start of the day.

Which, unfortunately, meant that he would be expected in the great hall to talk about battle strategy. Which meant facing his father, and also Astrid, and also the entire village. Great.

Toothless looked back at him, frowned, and took a steep climb above the clouds until Berk was obscured from view. ‘You’ll hurt your eyes like that. Too much squinting.’

Hiccup poked him. “You sound like Mom.”

‘I’m still right. You’re smart about a lot of things, but silly about a lot as well. Especially people.’

“Right. Because an overgrown lizard is exactly who I should be taking people advice from.”

‘You need to talk to the people so we can get rid of Drago. Then we can go home. The fish here isn’t as good as the fish at home.’

“Always thinking with your stomach.” Hiccup teased, “But you’re right. I just have to get it over and done with, and then we can leave and actually never come back this time.”

Toothless nodded and took them on one final lap of the island before dropping back into the clearing. The dragons were all up by now, if a little drowsy and wobbly. Stormfly and Sharpshot had retrieved more fish, and Hiccup was happy to note that they’d left a portion each to the side for him and Toothless.

Although Sharpshot was currently trying to sneak a bite out of those portions. Apparently, stolen food tasted better.

They all ate, and Hiccup went to go and scrub at his face in a nearby stream while they dragons groomed themselves to maximum intimidation levels. It wasn’t like anyone would see his face with the mask and all, but it helped him feel a little more prepared to go and talk strategy with his father and Astrid.

They walked into town rather than flew, at Stormfly’s suggestion, with Toothless at Hiccup’s side and the rest of them following close behind. To give them more time to make an impression, apparently.

The few people who weren’t attending this morning’s meeting stood back warily as Hiccup and his dragons made their way to the great hall, but they didn’t attack, which was an improvement on six years ago. A few of the smaller children even looked awed by Stormfly’s freshly-groomed scales, shimmering in the sunlight. Nadders truly were one of the prettiest dragon breeds, in Hiccup’s opinion, not that he would ever say that around the others.

He stopped in front of the hall. The doors were cracked open, and through them he could see that the room was heaving with Vikings, all yelling and clashing weapons and calling to his father and by the gods it was so loud –

Toothless pressed himself against Hiccup’s side and rubbed his head against his hand, and he sucked in a breath. Cool, smooth scales, as familiar to him as his own skin, and a reassuring, gummy smile. The other dragons, just behind him. His flock. His family.

Hiccup straightened his spine and lifted his head high.

“Let’s go.”

<><~><>

Stoick’s eyes snapped up as the doors swung open, the clamour of the crowds silenced in an instant. The Dragon Master stood there with his beasts behind him, jarring against the sunlight outside. He looked unnatural, wrong, a man wearing the hide of a creature who walked beside him – but Stoick pushed it down. Now was the time for diplomacy, for strategy, and he could shudder to himself when he was alone.

“Dragon Master.” Stoick called out, raising his arms in greeting. “So glad you could join us.”

“Just call me Rider.” And the man’s voice carried. “Quicker, and more accurate.” He walked forwards, and the crowd parted for him and the Nightfury that stayed close to his side, baring sharp teeth at anyone who stared too hard. The other dragons all clambered up to rest among the rafters when the Master made an odd whistle-click noise, scales glinting in the darkness, fire glowing beneath their skin.

The Master – Rider – must have sensed Stoick’s unease when he reached his empty place at the centre table. He jerked his masked chin up at his dragons. “They won’t be any trouble. They’re just protective and nosy, didn’t want to wait outside. And Toothless goes everywhere I do.”

Stoick simply nodded, not quite trusting himself to respond lest he say something tactless. The Nightfury warbled and looked up at Rider with wide, blocky pupils, a sharp contrast to the slitted gaze he turned towards the Berkians, and Rider rubbed a thumb over his head with a huff that might have been a laugh.

“Right.” Stoick clapped his hands together and spread a map out on the table. “Onto talk of battle. We know that Drago’s fleet was last seen here-” Astrid drew a circle around the patch of water in question, “- four weeks ago. We received his threat just over one week ago, but we can’t guarantee that he wasn’t already heading in our direction before that. Even still, we should have at least two weeks before he makes an appearance on our shores – so that’s two weeks to prepare.”

He turned to Rider expectantly, who nodded. “I have allies I can call on who will be here in less than half that time – a queen, a chief, and a general, and their respective tribes. We’ll need them if we want to defeat Drago, and they shouldn’t be at all difficult to accommodate. I’ll also call the rest of the dragons in my flock, and my sister, the girl you spoke to at the markets.” He looked at Astrid. “You saw her dragon. I doubt I need to say anything else to convince you.”

“A Razorwhip.” Astrid nodded slowly. “I’m sure she’ll be an invaluable addition to our forces – as will your other allies.” She added after a glance up at Stoick.

Rider nodded again (Stoick supposed he was limited in terms of expression by the mask) and whistled up at the rafters. A Terrible Terror fluttered down and landed on the table in front of him, and he started scribbling something onto several sheets of paper from the notebook on his belt, before rolling them all up and tying them to the Terror’s leg.

“Take these to Heather, and she’ll get some of the other Terrors to carry the rest of the messages on.”

The dragon chittered at him.

“Well, I’m sure you could manage the whole trip on your own, but I’m also sure that it’ll be easier for everyone if you don’t. And quicker.”

It squeaked, and if Stoick didn’t know any better, he would have said that it rolled its eyes before it took off and disappeared out of the hall.

“Terror-mail.” Rider said by way of explanation. “They’re excellent trackers, fast, and easily motivated by food. We should have responses by tomorrow morning. Oh – and I speak Dragonese.”

Stoick tried not to look too impressed. Behind Astrid, he could see Fishlegs bouncing on the spot with not-at-all concealed excitement.

And then, of course, Spitelout opened his mouth and effectively ruined the positive mood.

“You know, Dragon Master,” He began, voice thick with mocking. Stoick repressed the urge to bang his head against a wall. “how do we know we can trust these allies of yours?”

“Because I trust them.”

Spitelout leaned forwards. “And how do we know we can trust you?”

“Because you don’t have any other choice.” Rider’s tone had shifted into something cold, sharp, dangerous, his masked face blank, his Nightfury standing behind him like a shadow with hackles raised. Above them, the other dragons had started hissing. “And because I’ve been dreaming of all the different ways I want to kill Drago Bludvist for the past three years.”

Spitelout stared a moment more, and the Dragon Master stared back. Stoick felt his hand straying to the handle of his axe on his belt before Spitelout wavered and retreated back into his place, muttering to himself. The hall was silent, and every eye was trained on Rider, but he just scratched his Nightfury’s chin and turned back to the map like nothing had happened.

Astrid cleared her throat. “Okay – so if that was where Drago was last spotted, he’ll likely come at Berk from the north, so I say we focus our defences on the cliffs and docks-”

<><~><>

War talks continued until the sun was past its peak, and when Stoick finally waved the last of Berk’s citizens out of the doors, he thought he could safely confess to being utterly exhausted.

But they’d made progress, at least. Defences were going to be planned and constructed, weapons readied, guards posted in all vulnerable areas. Rider had sent off for his allies, and then, to Stoick’s surprise, volunteered to help Gobber in the forge with making sure everybody’s weapons were at their sharpest when the time came.

Astrid came up to his side, gazing thoughtfully up at where Rider’s dragons had been perched amongst the rafters. “Do you think we can trust him?”

“I think we can trust that he hates Drago as much as we do.” Stoick sighed. “And he’s right – we don’t have any other choice. Besides, lass, you were the one who wanted to ask for his help, and I trust your judgement if nothing else.”

He gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster, and she smiled back. Choosing Astrid as his heir after – well, after – had been the obvious thing to do. She was smart, strategic, and had the most warrior spirit out of anyone on the island. It had paid off, too; apart from the maniac warlord about to encroach on their shores, Berk had never such peace and prosperity before, lack of dragon raids notwithstanding. They’d even made peace with the Berserkers, although that was admittedly aided by Dagur’s sudden and unexplained personality turnaround.

So, yes, Stoick trusted Astrid’s judgement in inviting the Dragon Master to their island. Even if the thought of those dragons, of the way they followed the Master’s every order, of the way he could turn them from docile to deadly with nothing more than the tone of his voice, made his skin crawl. He wouldn’t do anything about it, because Astrid wasn’t doing anything about it, and he trusted her judgement.

And besides, he recognised the cold edge in Rider’s voice when he spoke of Drago Bludvist. Hatred like that couldn’t be feigned.

Stoick just hoped that the Master wouldn’t turn that hatred towards them when Drago was gone.

<><~><>

Astrid found her friends waiting for her outside the hall, as usual. Beyond them, people were rushing about, drawing up plans and figuring out the best places for defences, and Astrid itched to go and help, but she was stopped by Ruffnut’s arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders.

“Hey.”

Astrid levelled a cautious look at her. “…Hey.”

“We’re gonna go and make friends with the Dragon Master.” Ruff said, like it was a perfectly normal thing to say, and Tuffnut and Snotlout nodded encouragingly behind her. “Wanna come with?”

“It might be good to have more than a neutral relationship with our strongest ally.” Fishlegs suggested meekly. “Especially since he’s going to be here for at least a few weeks.”

Astrid huffed a resigned sigh. When all of them were agreeing, including Fishlegs, she had learned that it was best to just go with it and try to mitigate any damage. And anyway, they had a good point – if they befriended Rider, he’d probably be less likely to turn on them when the battle was done. “Fine. Where is he?”

They found Rider by the training arena – repurposed for hand-to-hand combat rather than dragon fighting now that the raids were a thing of the past – adjusting something on his dragon’s saddle. Astrid held her hand out to the others for them to wait and cleared her throat.

“Rider.”

He looked up, his mask black and blank and featureless. “Astrid Hofferson. Other people. What brings you here?”

Tuffnut pushed to the front. “We wanna hang out with you.”

Astrid fought the urge to bang her head against something. If Rider was surprised, he didn’t show it. “With me?”

“Yeah. You’ve got your cool armour and control the dragons and stuff. I would be a disgrace to my family name if I didn’t try to hang out with you.”

“We.” Ruffnut corrected, waving a hand at the group. “We would be disgraces if we didn’t try to hang out with you.”

The Nightfury was looking at them all, and Astrid contemplated pulling out her dagger, but the beast was as calm as it always seemed when Rider was near. It was all wide pupils and bare gums (Toothless) and a tail flipping back and forth slowly like a cat’s. It seemed almost… curious.

Rider turned back to the dragon. “Well – I was just about to do a loop around the island, see if I can find any weak spots that can only be accessed by dragon. But maybe…I guess I could come to the hall for dinner later.”

Green eyes levelled on Astrid through the slits in his mask, just barely visible, and yet she could have sworn they were seeing right through her. “Okay. See you then.”

Rider stared at her a moment more, nodded, then mounted his dragon and took off into the sky.

Snotlout whistled. “Spicy.”

Astrid whipped around to face him. “What?”

“You and the Dragon Master.” Smugness was rolling off of Snotlout in waves, his arms crossed, leaning obnoxiously against a post. “The tension was palpable, there.”

Ruffnut nodded. “There was eye contact, for sure. And honestly, my flaxen-haired friend, I can’t blame you. He’s hot.”

“He’s a man in a mask with a flock of dragons who only arrived last night and may or may not be a demon from Hel.” Astrid deadpanned.

“Yeah. Hot.”

She sighed and spun on her heel to go and do something useful somewhere else. Or, at the very least, hurl some axes at something. Anything to get away from her friends’ absurdity.

“You didn’t deny it!” Tuffnut called after her. She could hear Fishlegs scolding them even as she dropped into the training ring.

<><~><>

“OH MY GODS SHE’S SO PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!”

‘You’re scaring the birds.’

“Leave me to my mental breakdown, Toothless.”

<><~><>

Hiccup had no idea why he’d agreed to eat with his former peers. It was, by all accounts, a bad decision – they’d hated him before, and were also the most likely to recognise his former mannerisms and realising who he was.

Actually, that was a lie – he knew exactly what the reason was. The reason was a golden braid and a monogrammed axe and a calculating gaze boring straight into his.

He wanted to talk to Astrid again. Sue him.

He stopped outside the meal hall, peered in through the open doors. It was about as busy as he’d expected it to be at this time, based on memories from his youth – a few people occupying most tables, some full, one or two empty. There was a pot of what smelled like mutton stew simmering in the middle of the room, baskets of bread and baked potatoes on the table next to it, and Hiccup wasn’t ashamed to admit that his mouth started watering a little at the sight. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a proper meal that hadn’t come from his mother, and calling what she made a meal was a bit of a stretch. Heather liked to cook when she was staying over at the Edge, but they spent so much of their time these days fighting Hunters that they often just had to settle for sticking some fish over a bonfire and calling it a day – Hiccup felt guilty about bringing her into it, sometimes, but Heather was never one to let him brood for too long.

Astrid and the others were sat at the same table they’d claimed all those years ago. Hiccup felt a little bit like he was looking into another dimension; once, they’d been small and awkward, him most of all, and he would have given anything to be allowed to sit with them. Now, they were all taller and confident in a way only brought by age, and they had asked him to join them for dinner.

Toothless crooned something soft and reassuring, pressing his head against Hiccup’s hand. Hiccup straightened his spine and lifted his head high, although he knew that logically this meal should be nowhere near as daunting as the morning’s strategy meeting.

His presence didn’t have quite the same impact as earlier when he walked into the room, although people did shy away from Toothless as he padded along by his side. Hiccup got himself a plate of stew and some bread, let Toothless try a potato even though they both knew he wouldn’t like it, and made a beeline for the teens’ table.

Fishlegs caught sight of him first and smiled, albeit a bit nervously, shuffling up on the bench to make room. Hiccup took the seat gratefully, although they couldn’t see his expression behind the mask, and Toothless made himself comfortable half-under the table.

“Hey.” Fishlegs’s voice cracked a little, and Hiccup tried not to snort. “Uh, I don’t think we’ve all been formally introduced. I’m Fishlegs, this is Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and – well, you already know Astrid.”

He gestured to each of them in turn; Snotlout gave a gruff nod, Ruff grinned through a mouthful of bread, Tuff didn’t even bother to stop eating, and Astrid just pinned him under what he recognised as her trademarked Calculating Stare™. All of them were so familiar yet so different that it made Hiccup feel off-balance, but he managed to nod anyway.

“It’s nice to meet all of you, properly. I don’t get a lot of chances to talk to people without them either trying to kill me or screaming their heads off that I’m a demon, so you’ll have to forgive me if I accidentally say something… weird.”

Ruffnut frowned. “Wait – so you’re not a demon?”

“Nah.” Hiccup said after a moment. “Just a normal guy who happens to be best friends with a dragon.”

Toothless popped his head up, accepted a chin scratch from Hiccup, and resumed chewing at his leg under the table.

Snotlout stared at him. “So you’re not normal.”

“I think it could be a lot more normal if Vikings would just give the dragons a chance.” Hiccup dropped his hands to his lap under the table so they wouldn’t see him fiddling with his gloves. “They never actually got to eat what they stole in the raids. All of the dragons in about a hundred-mile radius from here were being controlled by a – well, technically she was the queen of their nest, but really, she was more of a parasite. I called her the Red Death, this dragon the size of a mountain who controlled them with her mind and made them bring her food. If they didn’t bring enough, they got eaten themselves. Anyway, they’re much calmer when they’re not trying to avoid getting eaten by their queen.” He could see Fishlegs’s mouth hanging open slightly in amazement, so he pulled one of his old notebooks out of his pocket (a last minute decision, but a lucky one) to show the group his sketches of the dragon in question, with tiny silhouettes of him and Toothless for scale.

Tuffnut whistled lowly. “That’s a big dragon. Is it still there?”

“Nah.” Hiccup replied easily, allowing a smirk to creep onto his face. “Toothless and I killed her about five years ago. Why, haven’t the raids stopped?”

They all stared at him. Hiccup watched in amusement as Astrid looked down at Toothless, who was acting more like a cat than a dangerous wild beast, then back at him.

“You?”

“Yep. Wasn’t easy though, cost me a leg to get out.” He gestured to the peg-leg in question, and Toothless got up with a warbling laugh, walking in a circle with a false limp in his front and back legs. “Ha-ha, arm and a leg. Who told you your jokes were funny?”

‘Heather.’

“Of course she did.”

Astrid’s Calculating Stare ™ now included something that looked similar to respect, and - wow, Hiccup didn’t think she’d ever looked at him with respect before. This was weird.

Hiccup spent the next hour or so answering questions about the Red Death and dragons in general and his allies and about a million other things that he knew the others would never have found interesting six years ago. He wouldn’t even have been allowed to sit here six years ago.

Toothless pushed his head onto Hiccup’s lap and looked up at him with what he recognised as his most comforting expression. Big eyes, flat ears, retracted teeth, the lot. Hiccup didn’t bother saying anything, just rubbed a thumb over the smooth black scales on his dragon’s forehead. Heather had sent Sharpshot back with a note saying she’d be at Berk by noon tomorrow, and he decided to take consolation in that fact. At least her kindness didn’t hinge on him being able to save everyone.

But then – they were all laughing together, so much more grown-up and so much less angry than they had been before. They’d all been kids, and Hiccup knew better than most the kind of insane things a kid would do to try to impress the adults around them.

He still didn’t know if he’d ever tell them who he was, but maybe if he did, they could be friends. Or maybe they’d hate him, there was really no way to tell.

Hiccup pulled off the bottom panel of his mask so he could eat some of his dinner, and didn’t bother hiding his smile when Ruffnut told a joke.

 

Notes:

We're about to introduce more characterssssssssss omg I'm excited

Also Hiccup my beloved! It's definitely really weird for him to be treated like a hero of sorts by the kids who bullied him in various degrees for his whole childhood. Also one of my fav things from these types of fics is everyone thinking Hiccup is all intimidating as the dragon master but he's really just. some guy.

P.S -
Updates may be a little more scarce from now on since I'm about to go back to school and it's year 13 (shock horror) which I've been told is going to absolutely destroy me, so. In any case, I promise that I will not abandon this fic!!!!!!!!!! No matter how bad I am at studying!!!!!!!!