When I Was Seven Years Old

Two

The next day, Hiccup was up before his father was, surprisingly. He quietly exited their hut and walked to the forest by leaving through the back door, as that was the quieter door between the front and the back. It also was a bit of a shortcut to the woods. Hiccup would often retreat to the woods as it gave him comfort and peace.

    He wondered around for a bit, just taking his time to enjoy the scenery and noise that surrounded him. The fresh scent of pine tickled his nose and the sound of a babbling brook danced in his ears. The early morning sun shone on leaves and stones and grass and sticks in a way that made the world around the little seven year old glow.

    It was truly magical.

    Sadly though, although our dear little Hiccup was enjoying the sweet bliss and peace around him, he wasn't as happy as he should be for his conversation with his father still played in his head as well as the other days events.

    The young Haddock shivered.

    "Odin, Thor, even Loki! Can one of you please tell me what I have done to upset you? And can you please tell me how to become the Viking my dad wants me to become? You can even just click your fingers and turn me into the son he wants and in return make me do your biddin or whatever! Please! I beg of you!"

    Hiccup cried out to the heavens, wanting so dearly to be what everyone wants him to be. They want and expect him to be a big, strong, tough, fierce Viking that came tame seas and level mountains and clear forests with a snap of his fingers! But no matter what he tried, and no matter how hard he tried, Hiccup could never even scrape off even a speck.

    Too caught up in his pleads to the gods, Hiccup failed to see a ground up root in his path and accidentally tripped over it, causing him to trip and tumble down a open ledge and fall into a cove.

    Groaning, Hiccup sat up and rubbed his head where he had hit the hardest "ow..." he groaned softly with a wince. Hiccup stood up and looked around to take in his surroundings and awed at the sight.

The cove he had fallen in had vines and moss covering the stoney walls, a huge lake in the center that had a waterfall flowing into it. There were boulders and a large tree that held a little birds nest. Fish swam in the lake, avoiding a dragon while the chicks in the nest chirped for their mother to feed them.

Wait.

Dragon?!

Hiccup gasped and began to slowly walk backwards, but being the klutz he is and with his fear, the young Haddock tripped over his feet and landed on his toosh, catching the large, scaley, black reptile.

The dragon snapped its attention from the annoying fishies and towards the terrified child. It crept forwards towards Hiccup curiously, though terrifyingly in Hiccups eyes.

"P-please don't eat m-me!" Hiccup pleaded, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He felt as though he was going to pass out once the dragon was just a few feet away.

Hiccup studied the dragon once it stopped moving and was just staring at him as well. It was small for a dragon, and was slim, most likely making it easy for agility. It was pure black with acid green eyes that pierced the young's boys soul.

Hiccup knew what type of dragon the beast standing before him is; and although no one has seen one up close to tell the tale, the scared Haddock just knew. It was the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. A Night Fury!

The dragon stood up and leaned back on its back legs, putting itself in a sitting position as it observed the trembling figure before them. It tilted his head curiously. Sensing that he wasn't in too much danger, Hiccup moved into a better sitting position as he kept his own forest green eyes fixed on the beast.

"Y-you're not going to e-e-eat me?" Hiccup stuttered with hopeful eyes at the night fury. The dragon didn't move or make a sound for a bit till it nodded its head. "Oh what a relief! Wait, you can understand me?!" Hiccup exclaimed with bug eyes. Again the dragon nodded. "This is amazing! But wait. Mister Gobber, my teacher and only friend, said that dragons always go for the kill though. Why aren't you killing me?" He asked innocently.

The dragon roared and garbled something, clearly answering the boys question in his own tongue. "I wonder what you are saying, Mister or Misses..?" With an embarrassed blush, Hiccup looked down at the dragon "Mister Night Fury!"

The Night Fury huffed and shook his body as though he were shaking off water. "Well uh, my n-name is Hiccup! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third! Not a very cool name like most Vikings, but dad said it is to keep the gnomes and trolls away from me, which I find dumb. It makes searching for gnomes and trolls so much harder!"

The dragon made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh, which caused Hiccup to laugh as well. "You know, out of all the scary dragons, I have feared you the most. But now? I find my fear silly." The dragon moved back down so it was on all fours and walked up to the boy till he was up close and personal. He rubbed up against Hiccup and gave him a quick lick on the side of his face, making Hiccup giggle.

"Ew! That's gross!" Hiccup exclaimed and used his tunic to rub it off. "Mister Night Fury? Can we be friends?" He asked once he calmed down and had most of the dragon slobber off. The dragon jumped around and stood back, and to Hiccups surprise, the dragon smiled at him, though showed he had no teeth.

"Toothless? I thought all dragons, especially your kind, had-" just then the dragon retracted its teeth, showing off some white, sharp teeth that could easily break and crush bones "-teeth... say, can I call you Toothless? It's easier to say that then Mister Night Fury all the time." The dragon seemed to ponder over the question for a bit before nodding.

"Toothless it is then!"

Toothless pranced around the boy and rubbed up against him, making Hiccup giggle at the action. "Toothless my best friend."

Words: 1099
Date: September 22, 2019
Status: ongoing and unedited
Comment: this isn't the best chapter, I apologize. But what do you think anyways? And what would you like to see Hiccups and Toothless's relationship like? I kinda want to make Toothless more like a father to Hiccup if that makes sense. Yes they are the same age in the movie, but for the story I am going to make Toothless older. After all, dragons do live longer than humans.