Chapter Text
Before the match the teams separated for a strategy meeting. This was only a practice match of course, it didn’t really matter who won, but Hiccup was feeling unusually competitive. He wanted to show Astrid that there was more to him than fast flying, and somehow in his head their post-lesson talk would go rather better if he won. Team Hiccup was now assembled in a forest clearing with their helmet, a dented thing with large handlebar horns, resting on the ground between them.
“Alright team, let’s talk strategy.” Hiccup said, with more confidence than he really felt.
“Do you have a plan?” Fishlegs asked eagerly.
“Plans are for babies, I say we improvise.” Tuffnut declared.
“Babies don’t make plans, they don’t even have object permanence,” Fishlegs mumbled.
“Oh, we made plans.” Ruffnut chuckled.
“Yes, and they were epic! But then we grew out of plans.” Tuff agreed.
“So the first issue is protecting our helmet.” Hiccup continued, opting to just ignore the diversion. “And I actually have a pretty good idea for that.”
“Um, I’m not great under pressure, so maybe I shouldn’t…” Fishlegs began.
“We don’t really do protection,” Ruff interrupted. “Since apparently it’s not ok to use the thing you’re protecting as ammo.”
“So sad, rules like that suck all the fun out of the game.” Tuffnut agreed.
“I’m going to have the helmet.” Hiccup said firmly.
“But won’t Astrid predict that?” Fishlegs pondered.
“Probably, but as soon as she sees me she’ll change her mind.” Hiccup grinned. He changed back to human form, and placed the dented helmet on his head. “Now you see it…” he shifted back to dragon form, and all his clothes, including the helmet, obligingly vanished to whatever subspace they occupied when his human form was not in use. “...and now you don’t.”
For a moment his team just stared at him in astonishment.
“Oh well played, good sir, well played indeed.” Tuffnut said admiringly.
“Isn’t that cheating?” Fishlegs asked.
“I don’t think so. I do still have the helmet.” Hiccup pointed out.
“Technically, the only rules about concealing the helmet on your person are that you may not swallow it, or otherwise insert it into any bodily orifice.” Ruffnut stated, in her most official voice.
“Yeah I don't want to imagine what prompted them to make that a rule.” Hiccup winced.
“It was because this one time a guy-”
“Anyway, I'm not violating any rules.” Hiccup hastily interrupted Tuffnut's explanation. “Now that we've covered keeping our helmet safe, let's talk about how we'll get the other one…”
The sound of a horn signalled the beginning of the match, and Team Hiccup set about their assigned roles. At least, Hiccup was confident that that's what he and Fishlegs were doing. With the twins it was impossible to tell. In Hiccup’s plan Fishlegs was a decoy. His job was to stay as far from the other team as he could, hopefully causing them to assume that he had their helmet. Hiccup meanwhile was hunting the enemy helmet, whilst Ruff and Tuff were (hopefully) on support and diversion.
Hiccup climbed high into the air, the island shrinking below him until he could see the whole thing. There were a few older dragons out, including some deadly nadders. Hiccup watched them suspiciously. He had a disadvantage during the day. There was no night sky to camouflage him, and Hiccup's unique form was instantly recognisable.
Hiccup was so intently scanning the flashes of blue scales around the island that he completely missed the approach from above. Astrid dropped out of the cloud cover, landing on Hiccup's back.
“You always start by getting up high. Getting predictable, Haddock.” Astrid said teasingly as they fell. There was no way Hiccup could stay aloft with another dragon on his back, so instead he angled himself for a vertical dive, spinning until Astrid lost her grip and was thrown off. They both leveled out, and began circling.
“You know, if you wanted another ride you could have just asked.” Hiccup replied, quickly scanning Astrid's claws. No sign of a helmet, so Snotlout or Heather must have it.
“Thanks, but I prefer my own wings.” Astrid was also looking over Hiccup, and probably reaching the erroneous conclusion that he didn't have a helmet either.
“So, do we just go our separate ways now, or…?” Hiccup asked.
A dangerous glint entered Astrid's eyes.
“Where'd be the fun in that?”
That was all the warning Hiccup had before Astrid dived towards him, white hot fire blazing from her jaws. Hiccup dipped out of the way, feeling the heat of the flames wash past. All dragons were fireproof to a point of course, but Hiccup hadn't been able to test his own personal limits yet, and wasn't interested in doing so now. He looped up over Astrid, hitting her square between the wings with a small plasma blast. She dropped a few feet, and then suddenly went into a tight compact spin, sending a barrage of spiny quills shooting upwards. Hiccup hurriedly pulled in his wings and tail fins. A hole through one of them was something he definitely didn't need. The spikes didn't have quite the same force as when launched from a standing position, so the spines that did make contact with his chest clattered harmlessly off his scales.
“Mid air spike shot? That's new.” Hiccup commented. It was an impressive feat.
“Well, someone told me to focus on what drew me to this dragon.” Astrid said, with just a hint of a flirtatious lilt to her voice.
Hiccup's brain momentarily shorted out, and when he pulled his focus back Astrid was almost upon him. Hiccup was just about to twist into another hairs breath dodge, when something solid and on fire slammed into him. The impact was jarring, and Hiccup twisted away and countered with a much more powerful blast than he'd used on Astrid. It was a reflex, and he felt a bit guilty when Snotlout grunted and wobbled in the air. He rallied though, and didn't seem too much the worse for it.
“Snotlout! This wasn't the plan!” Astrid snapped.
“I'm a maverick, babe, I go where I'm needed.” Snotlout bragged.
“I need you to follow the plan!” Astrid said exasperatedly.
“Oh, so you can carry on flirting with Toothless over there?” Snotlout argued back.
“I have teeth!” Hiccup corrected automatically. Both Astrid and Snotlout seemed to remember that he was there.
“Fine.” Astrid said curtly. “Keep him busy. I'm going to check the others.”
Astrid dipped away, and Hiccup's move to follow her was dutifully blocked by Snotlout.
“Come on, Hiccup, round two!” The Monstrous Nightmare growled.
“Fun as that sounds, I've got better things to do.” Hiccup abruptly dived, skimming over the tree tops.
“What…you…don't run away from me!” Snotlout wasn't as nimble in the air, but he could still go quite fast in a straight line. Hiccup allowed him to gain slightly.
“I'm not running! I'm flying, actually.” Hiccup called back. Looking down between the trees Hiccup was relieved to see telltale wisps of green seeping up between the snowladen branches. For a wonder the twins had both stayed where he'd put them, and been watching for his approach.
“Yeah, well you're flying away like a coward!” Snotlout had almost caught up.
“Nope, just leading you into a trap.” Hiccup pulled up sharply, just as the gas exploded through the canopy. Twigs went flying, and the heavy snow cover vaporised, filling the air with a sudden dense fog that engulfed Snotlout completely. Hiccup hovered just above the cloudy layer, taking only a second to check Snolout's location from the eddies in the mist and the sound of cursing. Hiccup dived, striking true and pushing Snotlout into the now bare branches of a large spruce.
“Oh come on! Again?” Snotlout raged as his long limbs tangled painfully.
Hiccup didn't stick around to gloat. Powering back up above the now dispersing fog layer Hiccup scanned the island again. The explosion had drawn quite a bit of attention, a few dragons now hovering or circling lazily to watch the action. From the east side of the island Hiccup caught a flash of silver. It vanished quickly, ducking behind a large rock outcrop, but Hiccup had seen enough. Heather's silver plate scales were just as easy to identify from a distance as Hiccup's own black ones. By the process of elimination Heather must have Team Astrid's helmet. Heather must have realised her cover was blown, as before Hiccup could reach the rocky outcrop Heather broke cover and dived into the dense forest. It was a smart move, forcing Hiccup to pursue on foot and costing his speed advantage. He was still in with a chance though. Heather was forcing her way through the undergrowth, whilst all Hiccup had to do was follow the dragon-shaped path of flattened vegetation. He'd almost caught her when Heather slipped out into a precut trail, and picked up speed. Anxious not to lose her now Hiccup did a quick calculation and hit Heather with a plasma blast, just large enough to cause discomfort through her thick scales. Heather yelped, dropping the helmet which she'd been carrying in her mouth. So far so good. Unfortunately, Team Astrid's helmet had extremely small horns, and a very circular rim, and it rolled off down the path, gathering speed as the track suddenly steepened. Now it was both Heather and Hiccup chasing after the helmet, as it broke out of the forest and started rolling towards the cliffs. Both pursuing dragons took to the air, but before either of them could catch it the helmet disappeared into an overgrown crevasse in the rocky ground. A moment later Fishlegs erupted from the tiny cave, enemy helmet gripped in his mouth. Hiccup took approximately three seconds to marvel at the chances of the helmet rolling into Fishlegs's hiding spot, before seizing the golden opportunity.
“Go Fishlegs! Back to the arena!” Hiccup yelled. If one team got both helmets back to the arena then the game was over, regardless of how much time was actually left.
Fishlegs couldn't answer with his mouth full of helmet, but he flew towards the distant arena, wings pumping frantically.
Heather fired a blast, but she missed by a generous margin. Hiccup wasn't too worried, until Astrid arrived to join the chase. They all raced towards the arena, Heather and Astrid trying to blast Fishlegs, whilst Hiccup did what he could to throw off their aim. They were almost to the arena. Fishlegs was flagging, Gronkles weren't really meant for speed, and he was pushing himself hard. His only role in the original plan had been to hide away, as the presumed holder of Team Hiccup's helmet. He'd made the switch from decoy to star player admirably. Hiccup fired across Astrid's flank, forcing her once again to peel away from Fishlegs. While Hiccup was focused on Astrid, Heather dropped back until she was next to Hiccup. With a sudden twist Heather whipped her tail around. Anticipating a barrage of sharp silver spines Hiccup climbed steeply. To his surprise though, the spines never detached from Heather's tail. The failed maneuver sent her tumbling through the air, crashing straight into Astrid, who was just looping back around. As they both struggled to recover Fishlegs crashed down into the arena, sides heaving and helmet flopping from his mouth as his tongue lolled out. Now they just needed to present their own helmet to win, and Hiccup wasn't quite ready to give up his trick to the general public. Beating his wings, Hiccup rapidly climbed up into the cloud layer, and then higher still, until the clouds were below him, looking like a soft fluffy blanket. Without giving himself time to think about what he was doing Hiccup leveled out, turned into a dive, and changed back into human form. The cold intensified, and his lungs were suddenly struggling to find enough air. Hiccup was falling, head first, towards the clouds. The helmet tumbled from his head, and as soon as he wasn't touching it Hiccup allowed himself to revert to dragon form. He snatched the helmet in his paws just before it hit the clouds, and holding it tightly he fell to earth, wind screaming across his wings in that high pitched whine he was coming to love. Pulling up at the last minute Hiccup slammed his helmet onto the arena floor, next to the one Fishlegs had dropped. Cheers erupted from the stands, and Hiccup finally noticed how much of a crowd had gathered.
“Winner, Team Hiccup!” Gobber declared.
Hiccup poked Fishlegs, who was still lying on his side, panting.
“Hey, you good?”
Fishlegs managed to nod.
The remaining Initiates flew into the arena. Snotlout still had a fairly sizable tree branch stuck in his horns.
Astrid and Heather arrived together, and from the sound of it they were arguing.
“I had to try something!” Heather said defensively.
“I just don't understand why you'd try that!” Astrid snapped. “You can't even use spine shot from the ground, how were you supposed to pull it off in mid air?”
“I'm trying my best!” Heather sounded miserable, and Hiccup felt the euphoria of his win ebbing away.
“That's enough of that, you can review your strategies tomorrow.” Gobber said firmly. “Get some rest tonight. Good job, Hiccup, Fishlegs. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you two will stay back so that we can go over the rules about traumatising sheep.”
Hiccup sighed, wondering just what the twins had got up to after he’d left them to chase Heather.
Gothi banged her staff on the ground, and they were all abruptly human again. The tree branch that had been stuck in Snotlout's horns landed on his head, causing him to curse loudly.
Astrid stretched her arms above her head, and then rolled her shoulders. She looked over to find Hiccup watching. He looked away, embarrassed to be caught watching, but when he risked glancing back she didn't look angry.
“That was well played.”
Hiccup shrugged. “It could have gone either way.”
Astrid nodded slightly. “So, you wanted to talk?”
For a moment Hiccup's heart kicked into high gear, thrilled that Astrid was actually offering to spend time with him. Then he saw Heather run past, caught the wet shine of tears, and he felt something twist inside him. He'd been the kid running off in tears far too often to turn a blind eye now. He swallowed painfully.
“Ah, another time, OK?”
Astrid's expression twisted into something Hiccup couldn't name, but she just nodded again and turned away.
Hiccup caught Heather up on the cliffs. She was sitting with her head buried in her knees.
“Hey.” Hiccup sat down next to her.
Heather took a deep breath and lifted her head, quickly rubbing at her cheeks.
“Congratulations. You did great.”
“Thanks. It was mostly luck though.”
Heather shook her head. “You make an incredible dragon. You were born for this.”
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He still wasn't used to getting compliments.
“You'll get there too. Look at how hopeless I was to start with.”
“I don't know. This just…doesn't come naturally to me.” Heather shrugged, and then winced, hand going to her shoulder. With a flash of guilt Hiccup realised it was the spot where he'd hit her with a plasma blast.
“Are you OK? Did I-did you get hurt?”
“It's a bit sore. I'll be alright though.” Heather said.
“Maybe you should get it checked out.” Hiccup was still worried. What if he’d miscalculated her armour level and actually burned her?
Heather hesitated, and then pulled at the laces of her tunic, loosening the neck.
“Uh, w-what are you doing?” Hiccup stammered.
“Taking your advice.” Heather said, a teasing smirk. She pulled the fabric of her tunic down, exposing her shoulder. “Does it look burned?”
Hiccup pushed his panic away and focused on the exposed skin. There was no redness, or blistering, but to Hiccup's great surprise there was a tattoo. It was a sprig of small purple flowers, lying across a dagger.
“When did you get a tattoo?”
“Oh, I forgot that was there!” Heather touched it briefly, before pulling her tunic straight and retying the laces. “I got it a few months before I washed up here.” She looked out to sea, her eyes going distant. “My dad had the same tattoo. It's one of the only things I remember about him.”
“I thought both your parents died in the shipwreck?” Hiccup asked hesitantly.
“My mum remarried, but my real dad died when I was five.” Heather said after a moment.
“Sorry. You've, ah, you've had it pretty rough, huh?” Hiccup said sympathetically.
“It's not been ideal. I know I'm so lucky to be alive, and to be here, but still…sometimes I wish I was still with my parents, in our own tribe.” Heather admitted. “I bet fishing is a lot easier to master than dragon abilities.” Heather laughed, but there wasn't any humour to it. “It's a shame there aren't any other Razorwhip's I can ask for advice. Even being able to read the entry in the Book of Dragons would give me something to go on.” Heather sighed.
“Why can't you?” Hiccup asked, surprised. The original Book of Dragons, the one that contained the Initiation ritual, was kept hidden, only brought out once a year on the Winter Solstice, but there was a public copy which only contained the entries on all the types of dragon. This copy was kept in the great hall, and anyone could read it.
“The Razorwhip entry was never copied into the public book. Fishlegs said there are quite a few of the rarer dragons you can only see in the original Book.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that.” Then again, Hiccup had never paid much attention to the Book before his own Initiation.
“Do you…” Heather trailed off and shook her head.
“What is it?” Hiccup prompted.
“Do you know where the real Book of Dragons is?” Heather asked hesitantly.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Do I know my dad's ‘brilliant’ secret hiding place? Yep.” The Hooligan's most treasured possession was in fact hidden under Stoick's mattress.
“Do you think you could lend it to me?” Heather asked, her voice soft and so quiet Hiccup could barely hear it.
Hiccup frowned. He was no stranger to breaking rules, but messing with the Book was about as taboo as it got.
“Not for long,” Heather said hurriedly. “I won't even take it from you. Just let me read that one page, please?”
Hiccup still hesitated, biting his lip. Heather winced again, rubbing her shoulder, and Hiccup's resistance crumbled.
“Alright. I'll get the Book for you.”