It's become a thing in the HTTYD fandom for Valka to have had Hiccup with her when she disappeared from Berk.

Like she picks up Hiccup and then Cloudjumper takes her, or perhaps he takes them both, one in each paw. But I think that it should have been done, since Hiccup had the connection before Valka recognised herself in the Dragon's personality.

This is my interpretation of it, but not of the actual kidnapping. But rather of Stoick reuniting with them.

Hiccup will be quite different from the movie Hiccups, but I hope that it's understandable and reasonable. Since he was raised by dragons as well as his Mother Valka he's gained a lot of Dragon knowledge and dragon behaviours. However I have remained true to the movie and kept as much as possible the same for all of them.

I hope you think that it's good and worth a comment or two, I'd love to hear from you.

I haven't left my other fics, I've just been too inspired by this to focus on them. They'll be updated soon! I promise.

There could be more shots like this if people ask for it and tell me they like it, and perhaps give me ideas on what Hiccup could show Stoick, or what a young Hiccup and Valka did when growing up in the Sanctuary.

Enjoy! and please give me feedback.

Stoick glared at the dragons who had him in an unbreakable grasp. The held his arms wide apart and were strong enough to stop him struggling, and the others that surrounded him made up the rest of the threat. The four winged dragon who had taken his wife and child had returned for him, with a strange vigilante riding on its back.

"Where are ye taking me!" he demanded, struggling with all his remaining strength.

Then the accomplice, a strange man riding on an accursed Night Fury, hissed at him from behind a mask. But the truly scary thing was that the dragon also growled at the same time, as if the other being was simply another muscle the other could use in time with his own reactions.

There was no response from the obvious leader in a crown of dragon horns to Stoick's yelling.

Stoick thought back – it must have only been half an hour – to a normal day on a ship.

They had been sailing to meet Drago Bludfist and negotiate a treaty that would rid Berk of Dragons. His people and himself were growing desperate, if he could offer weapons, men, ships, even host him and his people on his island in return for peace from the dragon surge then he would happily hand it over. If they could not drive them away then they would starve.

Stoick had stood on the ship and had spoken with his men as the night drew in, telling him his plans and asking for their approval, as he would not upset his own people, even if it was for their own good.

They had agreed – but as they did so they heard a thump from the other end of the ship.

When they looked they had found nothing, but now Stoick would bet his good right arm that it was one of these dragon-people listening on him. Most likely the one riding the Night fury he could blend into the night as easily as his mount.

The next early dawning morning he heard the chilling Night Fury scream, and rushed out to fight – only to be plucked off the ship by two dragons; their species unknown. His bellows of fury were met with passiveness from the dragons. He was carried a good height out of catapult range, his men's attempts to save him were useless.

He was hovering above the clouds when a dark shadow whistled across the sky.

He tried to track it, but it was too fast.

Finally it stopped before him. The Night Fury hovered before him, its rider sitting on its bare back, with the rider's hands only resting on its neck.

The rider was dressed in black leather with small red symbols on his shoulder pads and on the back of his gloves which had dragon claws on them. They looked hollowed out and slipped over the first two joints of his hands to give his fingers strength and mobility. His black outfit was simple in colour but held many buckles and stitches hinting at a superior design. Stoick couldn't see his face as a mask similar to the Night Fury's face was hiding him, acting like a helmet with some of his short auburn-brown hair exposed at his nape. Through the slits he saw green eyes like the dragon. On his arm was a dagger handle, concealed in a slot along his arm. On his legs were several other metal things that looked like weapons, Stoic didn't care what they were. Finally there were four small hoops hanging from his legs, two on each calf, their purpose as hidden as the dagger.

The Night Fury was sleek, streamline, and medium sized compared to other dragons. It had a cat-like grace in its muscles with eyes as green as poison. The wings and wing flaps shimmered slightly with shiny scales. The eyes were fixed on him with an intelligence above a dumb beast, and Stoick felt that this dragon was judging him. The way it hovered and flew to circle him demonstrated how perfect it was for flying, the wings hardly beat in the warm updrafts of the oncoming day, and the slightest tilts changed direction. All its wing flaps moved in sync, as did his rider. Even with only smooth scales to hold onto the young man didn't fear practically hanging on to a dragon tilting at a ninety degree angle to Earth.

Stoick glared when the man and dragon hovered before him. The rider stood up on the Night Fury's back, his balance and awareness of the wind was impressive. As was his trust in the beast's ability to not simply roll him off. They moved as one.

The beast came closer, and Stoick prepared to kick and fight, the young man was right in his face, he could hear him breathing inside his mask. The head tilted to the side and he inhaled deeply – was he smelling him? – then his sharp eyes darted to the axe at his hip and promptly snatched it off him.

Stoick kicked.

The young man caught his leg and moved with it, throwing himself back into the abyss of clouds. Stoick grinned in brief victory.

But the grin turned into a jaw drop when the dragon twisted unnaturally fast in mid-air to follow the human to catch him. The man flew through the clouds and into them, so Stoick lost sight. The Night Fury's vanished a split second later. Its streamline body cut through the clouds like a hot knife through butter.

Then, out of the sea of cloud, the young man rose again, standing on his dragon once more. Beside him was another figure, standing tall with a mystical staff.

He wore a helmet-mask also, with a crown of Dragon horns with stripes of blue along them and the entire mask. There were only slits for eyes too, no mouth, with the eyes spared of blue to draw attention. They held a shield painted blue, yellow and red in a pattern the reminded Stoick of fire. The armour this person wore looked light and made for speed, not for heavy blows, since it appeared to be made out of hardened and clay infused wraps of fabric. Like a shell. The staff was curled at one end and nobbled at the other, with another curve. This person had a cape which blew out behind them dramatically, the ends tattered like a phantom. The entire look was dragonish, yet also haunting with those large, sightless eyes.

Then the dragon they were standing on rose above the clouds. It was the four winged creature with large horns and a wide toothy grin that had stolen his family years ago. It was large, at least three times larger than the Night Fury, and could hold the demonic human on its neck effortlessly, the second pair of wings made it's hovering practically stillness. Its scales were coloured from salmon to peach to white for its underbelly, and its eyes were golden and the pupils narrow.

He glared at it "Come to finish the job?"

The young man and the Night Fury flew up into the air over to Stoick, the man made subtle twists in his body, turning to balance without moving at all. He had no fear of falling. He once again approached Stoic and pulled out a sword that promptly set itself on fire.

Stoick gasped at it.

The man put it close to his face in warning, saying silently not to repeat his last stunt. Then he proceeded to systematically remove all his hidden weapons and tossed them to the Terrible Terror pack that had followed the four winged dragon. Other dragon species were Thunderdrums, Nadders, Zippleback, and two or three he had no knowledge of.

Once weaponless, both Dragon and demon-in-human-shape backed off and flew next to the taller person. The young man sat back down on his mount, legs either side of his head, and before the wings. The taller person rattled the staff and pointed in a given direction with certainty, the dragons all flew North East at his command. They had been flying that way ever since.

Now the sun was high in the sky showing it was midmorning. Stoick growled, after being dangled for an hour he decided that he hated flying. "What do ye want with me?" he demanded.

Neither responded.

At least the leader stood upright, that was human behaviour, and he wasn't interested in killing him right off the bat. Vikings could be stubborn, and he would use all his stubbornness to find a way out of this mess. He may have better luck taking out the smaller one when he was on the ground, the air was his realm, but he didn't look very strong-

As if sensing his thoughts about him, the young man's head sharply turned to him and he let out a shriek that sounded scarily like the signature scream of the dragon his was riding.

Stoick flinched.

The other man riding the four winged demon sharply raised a hand at the young man in a message for obedience, a strange bark sounding too, before being followed with a low growl as the hand lowered ominously …

The demon and the devil seemed to … converse … for a moment, one giving low sounding trills and groans, and the other odd low chirps and mock growls. They finally shut up and the human-demon one let out a growl that started high and went lower – expressing reluctance but obedience, it reminded Stoick of the moody groans of a teenager, but far more hackle-raising. Then both returned to focusing on their flying with the small flock of dragons all around them, making Stoick paranoid for his life.

Finally they approached a mountain sized fortress of ice – the nest! Stoick realised.

The dragons all filed effortlessly through some rocky crevasses. He lost sight of the human-demons for a split second and the two dragons holding him tossed him onto a flat of rock. Stoick landed as gracefully as a Viking could and turned with a fierce stance to defend himself, weaponless as he may be.

All around the dim room the dragons lined the walls, and some crept onto the floors and surrounded him with growls and demon eyes.

The Night Fury entered with its rider next, the man dismounting into a crouch below the extended wing, like a protective shield. The man, even in the dim light, tilted his head at Stoick the Vast, as if fascinated.

Stoick glared at him "What do ye want with me, ya Devil?" he growled.

The young man growled back in similar tones and edged forwards in a curious four legged fashion, his arms moved while his legs stretched as long as possible until he hoped to tuck them back under him or to the side of him, all the while his clawed gloves clinked against the floor. The movement was fluid, practiced, and natural; save for a slide drag of his left foot. He often moved with all his limbs like this; like a dragon.

He was circling Stoick, watching him out of the slits in his mask, head still tilting from time to time.

Stoick kept him in his sight until the large four winged beast entered the room with the other rider on its back. He crouched also and stayed motionless and vigilant behind a raised shield while the smaller, younger man circled him with his dragonish gait.

One dragon broke the line with a growl and made to prowl Stoick also.

The young man hissed at the dragon breaking rank and stood on two legs to leap over to it. His arms landed first, swinging his lower body and legs around to land before the Dragon's face. On all fours once again as he stood before it, his face in the dragon's to express or challenge his dominance, his back to Stoick as he faced down the rouge dragon.

Stoick would have taken the chance to take out the threat when hot breath went down the nape of his neck.

The Night Fury was leering over him, eyes narrowed as he protected his rider, then the four winged beast made itself know, hanging from the roof and fluttering it's head fans threateningly. It was a chain of protection.

– that thought alone made Stoick hesitate: Dragons protecting?

But they were savage killing machines who ate like gluttonous pigs! Thieves and murderers, they had no loyalty except to themselves, so why was this Night Fury acting so protective? And how did the young man know that he was safe with his back turned?

The young man reached out to the dragon, making a low crooning noise, soothing and almost too low for Stoick to hear. The dragon tried to push him to the side. The man grabbed two of the stony lumps on its face and used all his weight and strength to push it to the floor, trying to make it submit with his bare hands. He growled and barked sternly while trailing off into a warning hiss.

The dragon kept glaring at the Viking Chief and moved to throw the young man off. But the human held firm and shoved him back down to the ground after the dragon had finished tossing its head and the human around like a terrier dog.

The young man raised a hand over the Dragon's face, drawing its eyes and making it's pupils rise up to the top of its skull to keep track. Then the first knuckle tapped between the eyes with lightning speed and probably great force, and the dragon flopped onto its belly with its eyes big and round, humming like a contented dog before an open fire with a bone fresh from the slaughterhouse.

While Stoick stared, the young man rubbed his hand up and down the dragon's great jaw and pressed his forehead against the nose, humming sadly and exhaling in several loud sighs. His mask nuzzled the creature and his entire body sagged.

Stoick warily realised that he didn't want the dragon to attack, and was sad that he had to render it helpless in a trance.

The man's face snapped back to Stoick and he resumed his prowl back to the Night Fury, who wrapped his tail around the human as the human stood up, with a slight crouch that spoke silent threats to the Viking. He clicked his glove-claws together twice and made a defensive huff. The Night Fury shook his head angrily and snarled, but didn't advance.

Finally the leader moved off the four-winged beast, he moved to stand at a half crouch also, and shook his staff. A soft rattle filled the air.

Several dragons inhaled and ignited their fire, letting it burn in their jaws and provide some light in the cave topped with ice.

Stoick backed off in surprise.

The illumination allowed him to see the pair more clearly, and the Night Fury was no longer a shadow in the darkness. Stoick glared at them both "Who are ye?" the young man hissed at his booming voice and the Night Fury reared up to appear bigger. The leader moved to the man's side and held a hand out to keep them contained, they listened to him.

The four winged beast was eerily silent, just like its master.

Stoick took a random guess "Drago Bludfist's men?" he asked.

The Night Fury stiffened and snarled with pearly white teeth while the human shrieked at the name, letting out a duet of snarls and motions that corrected Stoick's statement – if he didn't know any better he was sure that this pair were insulting the man and wishing for his death.

The leader laughed suddenly, Stoic realised with a start that the leader was a female!

She stood tall and took a side step as an approach "No. Drago Bludfist … wants to kill us," she informed him softly, her voice muffled by the mask.

"Murderer!" hissed the other man, the first Norse word he had spoken. Stoick jumped at the sound of it. It was growled, it may as well have not been a word. It was as if the word was said in all the wrong areas of the mouth. The 'er' especially was clearly in the back of the throat, a growling snarl of hate.

It was not at all like the near perfect Norse of the woman-leader. The woman titled her head and gently laid her shield on the ground. A sign of peace?

Stoick took his chance and lunged at her.

A black tail whacked his face and sent him off course.

The chief lay sprawled with the unexpected blow, his leap left him unable to land on his feet with the unexpected change of direction.

All the dragons roared and many took flight and began to swarm him. Then the young man was on his chest, snarling behind the mask with one hand on his chest to hold him steady while the other held a clawed hand over his head, ready to strike. Behind him the Night Fury stood, its weight on his legs and his mouth open in the promise of a deadly strike should his rider miss.

Then the leader barked, then called out in Norse "Stop!"

The young man tilted his head towards the woman, his attention was half diverted since he was watching Stoick out of the corner of his eye. But the gesture was enough to show she had his attention, the Night Fury didn't budge while his rider's attention was elsewhere, leaving Stoick pinned helplessly.

The woman banged her staff on the ground and settled the roaring dragons. With commanding motions she had them assemble in the circle they stood in previously. Only the human and the Night Fury remained unmoved. The woman crouched low and let out several croons and hums, she tapped the earth before her and then spoke with a soft voice "It is okay, son."

The young man glanced between Stoick and his supposed Mother, the Night Fury nudged his back to get him to listen. When he met her eyes once more she beckoned welcomingly.

The young man rolled off Stoick and the Night Fury backed off with him. They backed without taking their eyes of their prey. The woman moved to stand in between the both of them and the young man rose to look her in the eye, and to trill inquisitively. "He attacked you Mum," he partly hissed and partly whimpered, his emotions made the words messy, yet clear. Stoick realised he said it in Norse specifically so he would get the message; he was not to mess with either of them.

The woman's hand rose and rested on his shoulder, silently comforting and forgiving. The man leaned his head into his shoulder, trapping her hand briefly between both as he showed wordless affection. She then did the same for the dragon, letting her staff fall to the floor. The dragon looked at her too then sat and leaned into her hand with his eyes closed, the young man took a step closer and leaned his head on her shoulder while muttering too low for Stoick to hear.

The woman squeezed the arm around his shoulders, ran her hand back across the Night Fury's skull like petting a cat, making him relax. She nodded deeply at them both, then approached on her own while her 'son' slipped back beneath the Night Fury's wing and watched intensely from under the protection of the devil. The masked eyes twinkling and the poison green eyes of the dragon intense, but calm.

The woman waited until Stoick had stood up again and then spoke "If you do not attack, neither will we."

We.

It was a very powerful 'we', as she spoke for her son, his demonic pet, her mount who had been skulking around the room, and the other dragons breathing their own flames.

Stoick had no choice. He nodded just the once.

The woman was still for a moment then she chuckled "I never thought I'd see you agree to not attack a dragon on sight."

Stoick dismissed the jibe "Who are ye!" he demanded at last. "Yer seem to know me …" he wished he had his axe.

The woman sighed "Aye, I do." She reached up and pulled off her helmet, ducking into her hands before lifting her face from the blue bug-mask. She then looked him in the eye "I did marry you."

Stoick gasped, then gasped again, taking a step back.

Before him was his wife!

Valka!

His heat simultaneously stopped and started.

Her smooth, pale skin, her long brown hair, now with traces of grey, her large green eyes and narrow chin; her slim build, her delicate hands, her slight grace as she raised a hand to shush him as his alarm grew; it was her!

She glanced down, looking uncomfortable before she licked her lips, that gesture she always did when she was nervous.

Stoick swallowed "You … You …" he took off his helmet and pressed it to his panicking heart.

She raised her hand once again to ask for his silence "Don't. I know what you're gonna say, S-Stoick," she said, sounding vulnerable now her mask was gone. She looked down and impersonated weakly "How could I have done this?" Valka's shoulders slumped and she let out a breath before sucking it in and continuing as emotionless as possible. "Stayed away all these years, and why didn't I come back to you?"

She gasped again and clutched the mask closer to her. Her breathing hitched, Stoick listened to her self-accusations and knew, because he knew her so well, that she was accusing and punishing herself too for her choice. What demon was she fighting right now? How had she handled the guilt? Why didn't she come back?

She held her head high stubbornly "Well what sign did I have that you could change, Stoick? That anyone on Berk could." She turned the argument around, he knew and remembered how much she had pleaded her case, begged for a chance, every time she was laughed at and turned away. She was an outcast to her own people, making peace with dragons, and yet … here she was, peacefully with them.

Stoick took it all in with an empty mind as he struggled to accept the fact that she was standing right before him, living her beliefs. Her beliefs, so wrong, mystical, and fanciful that they were dangerous – but look at her and all around her! What had she done? How much had she reshaped the world? How much had she been living a truth he never considered possible?

Her eyes were teary "I pleaded, so many times to stop the fighting, to find another answer but did any of you listen?" she snapped, bordering on hysteria.

Stoick took a step towards her, wanting to stop her crying.

Valka took a step back and clutched her mask between them as if it would shield her "It was wrong of me to let you believe I was dead – but you wouldn't have understood, none of you could ever understand what I've been through, what we've been through, what I've discovered – I found the answer but you weren't ready – I," she stopped backing up as more tears escaped, she looked at her husband with wide eyes that pierced Stoick's heart: She should not fear him.

Valka sobbed and shook her head "Don't be so stoic, Stoick," she pleaded. "Shout, scream, say something! Just-"

Stoick cut her off when his free hand rose to cup her cheek. She was real …

He took his own shuddering breath as she watched him with terrified eyes. He wanted to say so many things. He wanted to ask her why, to have her explain and reason. But all the locked up words in his heart were silent. He finally, gruffly, spoke "Yer as beautiful as the day I lost yer."

Valka's eyes went wide then she closed her eyes as tears leaked down her high cheekbones, she finally leaned into his touch. The dragons where irrelevant to him now. He brought their faces closer together, she still had to look up to reach him, and kissed her for the first time in twenty years.

She returned the brief kiss and when they parted all the dragons were humming and cooing and slowly filtering away, save for the pair who belonged to the riders.

The chief breathed deeply as he tried to ride the wave of emotion "Oh Val, my dear."

Valka gasped a strangled smile and wiped at her eyes "Oh, look at me. I was so sure I could do this calmly," she turned away a little before smiling at him "Stoick-"

"How are ye alive? I saw you being taken away," he gasped out.

Valka looked up at the four winged dragon who was happily leaning down from the ceiling, "Cloudjumper never meant to harm me, he was looking to stop the fighting too, searching for another answer," the beasts golden eyes were glowing, but soft, while Valka spoke of him. Stoick glanced between them in confusion. "He was there that night to speak to the other dragons, to ask them to give up their fight and go with him for a better life, not all had the ability to leave with him, but some did. Then he heard a babe crying, all alone and afraid, and went to protect it," she smiled over her shoulder at the young boy sitting with a curious Night Fury.

Stoick's heart leapt into his mouth. "H-Hiccup?" he gasped, dropping his helmet and covering his aging heart in shock – with Valka's unmasking he had forgotten about the younger man.

The young man stiffened at the name and backed into the Night Fury's wings, clearly uncomfortable with Stoick looking at him like that. He gave a low keen and the Night Fury wrapped his tail around the masked man, nuzzling his mask as he did so to try and bring him comfort. The man nuzzled back.

Valka gave Stoick an apologetic look "Yes … He's just nervous," she excused.

Stoick kept staring at Hiccup. His son was alive … his heir and baby, though clearly not a babe anymore. He looked on with a pained expression when Hiccup kept hiding from him.

Valka tucked her hair behind her ear "When I saw Cloudjumper breaking into the house I rushed to protect our son, but what I saw … Cloudjumper was playing with Hiccup," she laughed, as if she could barely believe it after all this time. Stoick blinked a few times and looked up at the beast. Valka smiled at him too "He was making sure Hiccup was no longer afraid. What I saw was proof of everything I believed …"

Cloudjumper hummed lowly and purred through a peculiar nose.

Hiccup looked up at him and hooted back, making Cloudjumper snort and deadpan at the youth. The Night Fury break into a gummy smile as his master laughed. Cloudjumper leered down and made a low noise of annoyance. Hiccup rolled out from under his dragons' wing and lay looking up at the four-winged beast, Stoick imagined a wide smile on a face he didn't know. Hiccup raised his hands just as Cloudjumper lowered a claw, Hiccup batted with the claw like a cat would with a loose string.

Cloudjumper made a few playful jabs at Hiccup's chest.

But it was enough to make Stoick worried.

He moved to stop them, but Valka took Stoick's hand "They're only playing Stoick, he is not a savage beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature. His soul reflected my own," she and the creature shared a meaningful look "We are the same. We want peace, we want to find another answer, to see other lands, to protect what we believe in, to protect our own. We are both fierce and gentle, and he loves our son as dearly as I do, treating us like his family … I couldn't kill him that night when I saw myself in his eyes …"

Stoick felt confused and slightly angry at the calm, deep understanding and trust that went between his wife and the beast who took her.

His hands tightened on hers "Then … why did he take yer away?" he asked. "If he understood yer so well, why didn't he understand that you had family there?"

Valka looked regretful "When you rushed to defend us Cloudjumper decided that here was too dangerous for such gentle souls as me and our son. We're too different, Stoick. Hiccup and I would have never of been happy on Berk – the land of kill or be killed, we were just born different. When I snatched Hiccup from the cradle to get him out of the burning building Cloudjumper snatched me, and off we were, forever." She let Stoick's hands go and placed one on his face "It broke my heart to stay away, but after a few days here I knew we'd be safer, and happier if we stayed away from that dreadful place."

Stoick took in her explanations with a heavy load of sadness. She believed in peace so much that she wouldn't return to the battle field where he had been mourning her. Valka believed that Hiccup, heir of Berk, would have been unhappy at home, their ancestral home. He would have been happier amongst, supposedly, peaceful dragons. It was a heavy blow to his pride.

"But … Valka it's our home, Hiccup's home."

Hiccup shook his head mutely, his Night Fury curling its tail around him possessively while Valka looked at Stoick with her large, sad, green eyes "No, Stoick. We don't belong there, as soon as I was over the kidnapping I realised that I'd never felt so peaceful here." she looked around the cave "I was living with peaceful dragons, my dream, with no fear of Hiccup being harmed by Viking or Dragon, and he was free to grow as he wished, outside your Viking norms. I realised once we had lived here for many years, we're not Vikings, and we never have been," she held his hand once again "Home is where you feel you belong. I belong here, Hiccup belongs here."

Stoick felt more and more sadness building on him "Val …" he looked down and knew it would be a while before he could accept her reasoning, if he ever could, but he knew she was unhappy with Berk's dragon killing ways, even in her youth. But dragons were more likely to eat a person than care for them "Dragons are extremely dangerous, how did you survive? With a baby?"

Valka laughed and rolled her eyes "The dragons are kind, amazing creatures, if you respond in violence they'll defend themselves, if you respond to them in friendship and trust then they'll be loyal 'til their dying breaths," she looked up at her dragon and moved to him to place her hand to his nose and gently scratch under his chin. He hummed with half closed eyes "Cloudjumper never meant us ill or harm, he just thought we belonged here, in the home of the great Bewilderbeast. Come, let me show you," she reached out a hand to him.

Stoick shook his head and rubbed his temple "It's … a lot to take in …"

Valka smiled "I understand, but please, come. This way!" she called and took off running down a corridor of stone.

Hiccup looked up and followed her, running on two legs, but using four to jump off rocks in the way, and through small gaps. His Night Fury called after him, then dived through a neighbouring tunnel, as did the four-winged beast.

Stoick felt his heart wrench when his wife and son vanished from sight. He snapped out of his mournful state and followed them "Wait. Valka! Where are ye going?" he squeezed after his nimble wife and son, pushing past rocks and through ice until he spotted them again.

Hiccup was in front of Valka, hiding behind her so she was between Stoic and himself. He tensed when he appeared and ran ahead.

Valka just smiled "Come, this way," she called again and jumped from foot hold to foot hold as gracefully as a leaping goat, all the way down towards a light exit. Hiccup, however, moved like nothing Stoick had ever seen. He jumped like Valka, gripped onto ice and stone with clawed hands, and twisted in mid-air like a dragon to land at the right angle. He disappeared into a vertical tunnel and was pulled up by a black tail. Valka led Stoick along a few more paces, up a steep stack of stone and then out into an area bathed in light.

Stoick had to crawl through the final gap, but when he exited his eyes went wide in amazement at what he saw; there was ice covering the ceiling and huge stacks of rock and land the served as pillars to the ceiling, each bit of land covered in lush grass or moss and flowers, it was a tropical paradise. There was a waterfall below with a lake the filled the lower sections, there were caves and rocks as the ice enclosed a mountain side and a number of sea stacks. There were holes in the ice on the ceiling where golden sunlight filtered through, the top was above the clouds to only filter through sunlight. Then there were thousands of dragons; flying, relaxing, sitting, wrestling, flaming, scratching and … dare he say it, playing.

There was every different type he could imagine; Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, Monstrous Nightmares, Terrible Terrors, Thunderdrums, Whispering Deaths, Timberjacks, Changewings (who promptly disappeared) and many, many more.

Stoick could only stare.

His hand twitched for his battle axe, which wasn't there. His first instinct was to defend or fight, but his second reaction was to just stare in pure amazement. "Valhalla," he whispered. He could have believed such a place was part of heaven, if there weren't so many dragons.

There was a chuckle above him.

He turned and saw his wife sitting on the four-winged beast, who's horned head turned from upside down to look at him right way up. His eyes were merely curious, there was no malice.

Stoick looked at his wife who now wore a different coat of leather armour and a fur ruff for the back of her head and neck, she still carried her staff, but now wore a white cloth and brown leather skirt with a hint of other clothes beneath her lighter armour.

Stoick realised with a pang that it made her look as if she really did belong here … wild, and spur of the moment, with natural colours and inspiration.

"This is where ye've been for twenty years?" he asked.

Valka nodded, looking excited and expectant.

Stoick swallowed "You've been … living with them? Protecting them?" he asked, a hint of betrayal in his voice.

Valka nodded once again.

Stoick looked away and stumbled over to a rock to sit down. "This is a bit much to get my head around. My own wife a dragon protector, a traitor, and my own son a crazy, feral, vigilante dragon boy!" he buried his face into his hands and shuddered.

Valka winced and said "Oh Stoick …" she looped her staff around her Dragon's claw and had him lower her to the ground, she slid off his wing and landed as if she had merely stepped out of bed. She knelt in a crouch and sent a small smile up to Hiccup who had been camouflaged with his Night Fury in the shadows in the ceiling. She weakly chuckled "At least we're not boring … right?" she offered, as if trying to make him laugh.

Stoick grunted "We'll there's that …"

Valka approached warily "You're not upset?"

Stoick wrung his hands "Of course I'm upset!" he shouted. "I can't believe you would betray your people, everything we stood for, let our son, my heir, become an animal-"

Valka growled, a surprising sound that shut Stoick up. "My Son is not an animal. He just grew up with dragons, he known very little human ways other than what I've shown him. He's so happy here, content. He hates unnecessary killing and violence, and only defends his family. Don't you do the same?" she demanded.

Stoick tried to protest but fumbled. He did do the same, he defended his family and didn't like unnecessary killing of people. He gruffly cleared his throat to argue his point "But his so call family are dragons."

Valka looked cross "And?" she challenged.

Stoick grunted "They're animals."

"They're amazing creatures who can love, nurture, teach and care. They feel, like us, can get sick and injured like us, and their blood runs as red as ours. Our souls are alike, our hearts work the same; they're intelligent, more so than you Vikings ever could be with your 'kill on sight' philosophy." She looked scornful.

Stoick rubbed his forehead.

Valka placed a gentle hand on his shoulder "Stoick, please. Let me show you, that's why we brought you here, to stop you going to Drago and to show you a better way. Dragons and people, are just the names of the two different shells which hold the same essence," she explained in her curious way, so un-Viking … exactly what drew him to her when they were young; she was so different and brave and challenging, longing for peace and taming his frightful temper. That was why he loved her, she hadn't changed.

Valka was waiting for his response.

Stoick examined her large, worried eyes, and realised that she was putting her secrecy, her home and its safety and even her dragon 'family' at risk as she had revealed it all to a Viking. A Viking Chief, at that, who hated dragons and killed them on sight. She must feel endangered and vulnerable. He wouldn't endanger her. But what could she say to change his mind?

Nothing. It would change nothing: Therefore there was no harm in trying.

Stoick sighed deeply and nodded just the once "Very well, my dear, for you … anything," he vowed, though there would still be great amounts of reluctance in whatever she tried to involve him with.

Valka smiled in relief and threw her arms around him "Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance," she pulled away and took his hand "This is my home … do you like it?"

Stoick stayed seated as he looked around "I don't have the words …" he admitted.

Slowly several dragons began to approach, they snuck out of the undergrowth and out of caves and over the cliff ledge, looking curious. Stoick backed up a little and put ups his fists.

Valka covered his hands "No, no. They're just curious," she insisted. "They haven't seen many humans, many kind ones anyway," she added, reaching out to pet one's nose.

"Kind ones?" Stoick asked.

Valka stiffly stood and looked at him with restrained anger "Drago. Him and his repulsive trappers want dragons, he wants to hunt us down, and destroy our sanctuary. See here," she approached a large blue dragon who was sitting awkwardly. It had a boulder-spiked tail and a tough looking nose and jaw, its yellow eye revealed … pain?

Hiccup dropped down onto its back and ran a soothing hand over its neck, crooning lowly, he caught a dribble of water from an icicle and rubbed it into his neck, making the beast groan and shiver in delight. The youth was trying to alleviate the pain!

Valka rubbed its jaw while gesturing to a stump leg that had been wrapped in bandages, bloody bandages. "This Snafflefang lost a leg to one of Drago Bludvists iron traps," she sounded so pitying and sad. It rubbed back against her hand and Hiccup slid down its wing and lightly inspected the wrapped limb, still crooning sadly – like he was sharing his pain and loss. When the beast turned its head to see him Hiccup raised a hand and rested it on its face, still being sympathetic and gentle. The simple trust and understanding between the two beings was powerful in the humble touch.

Valka turned to another dragon, this one with a long neck and a long face with a jaw that opened all the way to where its neck connected. It was duller in colour, a mossy green-brown. It watched as Valka approached, she used her staff to lift a torn and ruined wing "This Raincutter had a wing slashed by razor netting." The dragon groaned in a deep voice when the wing was raised, pained by the movement.

Valka extended her arm to a final dragon with a flaring head crest, horse-like long-face, talon teeth and white eyes. She whimpered without realising "And this poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a Tree Snare," the dragon's crest flared as he leaned into her scent, his scales changing colour from a purple-blue-orange to a yellow-black-green as it nuzzled into her arms, shivering. "Then left to die, alone and scared," she planted a kiss on his scales.

Such injuries were common amongst the people of Berk, but to see dragons suffering the same made Stoick feel strange; he had seen how people had struggled to live with a lost leg like his best friend Gobber the Belch, or without sight like Frieda the Acid Hunter.

Hiccup lowered his head and rubbed his left leg.

Valka moved over to him and patted his leg too, Hiccup leaning his forehead against her shoulder, through a mask, showing the need for comfort. The Snafflefang breathed hot air onto his back and the Hobblegrunt lowered his chin to the ground, sniffing loudly.

Valka put both arms around her son, looking torn between furious and miserable. "Once … Hiccup was caught in an Earth-Jaw, his leg was clamped between two metal teeth, if it weren't for the dragon scales on his armour he would have lost it then and there. As it was, he was deeply cut and bleeding enough to turn the sea red."

Hiccup stiffened and kept glancing down.

She looked up at a horrified Stoick "It wasn't placed where a Dragon would stand, it was designed for us. Drago knows we protect and free dragons; he hunts us, and wants to hurt us. The trappers attacked and tried to take his life, and later I feared Hiccup would lose his leg, he was only fifteen."

Hiccup removed his odd boot and revealed several ugly, twisted scars from where the teeth had cut him, and where he had obviously been ripped free.

The Night Fury approached from behind as Hiccup pulled his boot back on, the beast licked his cheek and neck with a slightly forked tongue, tenderly. Hiccup hummed and butted his head into the Night Fury's, his hands coming up to scratch his chin. The Night Fury suddenly pounced and wriggled his head under Hiccup to seat him on his back. Hiccup laughed and hummed, scratching his mount's jaw vigorously from his position, the dragon rearing up to get closer to him and the scratching.

Valka laughed and joined in "If it weren't for this Night Fury, Toothless," she chuckled when he perked up at his name. "Hiccup would have bled to death." Stoick blinked and tried to see how or why the dragon would do such a thing.

Valka could have read his mind with her next words "Hiccup freed him from an old abandoned trap, the tiny little dragon had been stuck there for weeks with both wings badly broken, we took him home and Hiccup nursed him back to health. I feared he'd never fly again with the state of his withered wings, but Hiccup never doubted and taught the hatchling to fly," she sounded so proud. "They've been together ever since."

Hiccup wrapped both arm and leg around the Night Fury's neck "I save his life, he saves mine," he spoke.

Stoick jumped at his voice. Hiccup wasn't looking at him, though it was clear his words were directed to him.

"That's how it works." His voice was strong, but strange; the syllables were drawled and oddly flat, like everything he was saying in Norse was sarcastic. Nothing like the rich, honest tones of his growls and dragon noises.

Valka chuckled "Yes. Having gained his loyalty and trust when Hiccup fell prey to that human-trap Toothless returned the favour out of love and worry for his safety. He could have just flow away, and left Hiccup to those murderous trappers, but no! He stayed loyal to the end. He defended my boy when I was helpless, and put himself in danger, but they are a pair; their souls are the same and together they will, that's the beauty of dragons loyalty," she whispered at the end, Cloudjumper cooing from above in agreement.

Hiccup slid from Toothless's back and butted heads once more. He looked at Stoick properly and said "Once you've earned a dragon's loyalty, there is nothing he won't do for you."

Stoick looked into his eyes and saw how the dragon guarded him, constantly protecting him, sheltering him, demanding attention and returning it, they trusted each other as solidly as Stoick trusted his good right hook. They cared for each other's emotions, wellbeing, health and so much more.

Valka moved back into his line of sight "Is this what you meant by another way?" he asked, gesturing to the pair who were so in sync that when one moved the other adjusted without realising that they were doing it. Hiccup moved his hand, the Night Fury's tail moved to angle his body. Toothless's head snapped to something that had grabbed his attention, Hiccup's feet shifted in the earth, ready to act if Toothless acted.

Valka's eyes lit up at his question "That is only part of it, the most beautiful part, but there's so much more," she insisted, taking his hand and leading him through a crowd of dragons, which Stoick no longer feared would eat him on sight, and took him to the edge of the cliff where a small path was. "Here I've discovered so many things, and it's all because the Alpha allowed me to stay with my infant," she pointed down into the pools.

Stoick looked and froze, gasping loudly "Mother of Thor!" he spluttered, standing back.

The white dragon below was as large as a mountain!

Its back was covered in spines that went grey and rusty-red at the tips, its head was colossal with a mane of spikes from its head like the blasts of ice in the ceiling, also tipped dark and red. Its legs were stout for its long, large body made of pure muscle and weight and scales as fine as the ones on a Night Fury. There was a beard of small spikes on its face, while the main feature of his face were the tusks the size of ships. The monstrously sized dragon, for it was clearly a dragon, was submerged in water, with a long tail that looked adapted for swimming, and it appeared to be asleep.

Valka chuckled at her husband's response and placed a hand on his forearm "It's okay, Stoick. This is our … Chief, the great Bewilderbeast," she gestured to him proudly "The Alpha species, one of the very few which still exist."

Stoick grasped onto her wonder and fascination like a lifeline; he had to cling to something as his world and values were tipped more and more off balance. He looked back at her "The Chief?"

Valka nodded "Every nest has its Queen, but this is the King of all dragons," she declared with pride. She looked up and pointed to the ice in the sanctuary "With his icy breath this graceful Giant built our nest, a safe haven for dragons everywhere. And, myself and Hiccup, of course," she added with a chuckle, leading Stoick down a fallen sea stack closer to the beast.

Stoick kept his wide eyes on it "An ice dragon? A King? He's been keeping you here?" he demanded.

Valka shook her head "No, I decided I would stay long before I could understand him. If any dragon wanted to leave he would bid them well and let them go. He doesn't hurt dragons or Vikings, he is wise, gentle, caring, and truly treasures those in his nest. He protects us," she defended him with her characteristic way with words; All Stoick could do was listen.

Valka looked wonder struck again "We all live under his care, and his command."

Hiccup and the Night Fury suddenly came barrelling past, pursued by a number of bulgy-eyed, two legged dragons who were constantly chirping and squawking. Hiccup slipped and was buried under them, hands raised to fend for himself.

Stoick moved to help but Valka steadied him "All but the babies of course," Cloudjumper and Toothless pounced on the babies, scaring them off to take refuge on the King's face. Hiccup sat up looking a little ruffled but not hurt, he was shaking with silent laughter and at once started roaring challenges to the 'little' baby dragons. Toothless jumped a few times and roared too, expanding his wings to look bigger.

Valka and Stoick ducked as the little dragons moved to the King's face, Valka cooed at once at their sweetness "Who listen to no one," she chuckled.

Stoick managed to crack a small smile at the recklessness of the situation. There were adult dragons bowing with wings defencelessly spread, respecting and paying homage to this awe inspiring creature, and then there were the 'babies' who were as large as Viking teens running amok on the King's tucks and jumping on his spikes with gurgles of fun.

The King's icy white eyes with slits for pupils opened to watch them play. He allowed it for a moment then let out a gentle grunt to send them scurrying along, with all the gentleness of a leader ushering a child back to its Mother.

The being then caught sight of the small troop approaching.

Hiccup removed his helmet and dropped it at his side.

Stoick couldn't stare at his own boy yet: the beast had moved to directly look at him.

The Night Fury and the four-winged beast bowed with the same respect as the other adults, humming lowly in greeting. Hiccup swept his arms around his sides, like wings, before bringing them forwards to cross at the wrists as he bowed on one knee. Valka did the same while holding her staff, bowing with respect and humming low in her throat.

Stoick hesitated before standing his ground.

The large eyes focused on him and he stared back, feeling uncharacteristically open. Stoick was his name, stoic was his nature, but before this creature he wasn't a stone of contained thought and emotion. Instead he was open like the pages of a book, helpless to stop the wild wind from turning them to glimpse at the secrets in ink.

The Bewilderbeast looked at him for a long time before breathing a puff of icy air.

Stoick cringed when the whiteness of his breath touched him, but only a touch of frost littered his beard. He was unharmed.

Valka looked delighted "He likes ya," she whispered before bowing again, hands and knees and letting out a wordless sound of joy and gratitude. "He says he'll let you stay, to learn and to change. He believes you can."

Stoick breathed out in amazement as his wiped away the frost from his beard "Odin's sword …" he whispered, feeling unexpectedly, and reluctantly honoured to have won the approval of a creature beyond human intelligence.

The beast then turned to Hiccup, and Stoick followed his gaze to look at his unmasked son for the first time.

Hiccup looked exactly like Valka. He looked up at the King and watched him with wide eyes. His face was smooth and pale like hers, with some residual freckles from his youth. There was a tiny scar on the right of his chin, a line of white on tan skin. His hair was brown with streaks of auburn, it grew in locks the looked windblown and barely tamed, Valka must have cut it short. There was a hint of stubble on his jaw, which was strong like his own, and his nose was also like Stoick's. His eyes were a luminous green like his wife's with a forest green depth. His body was lean and toned, and perfectly balanced; he looked strong and confident, and moved like a dragon and a human.

The King let out a deep rumble and let out another puff of air.

Hiccup reached up to the cool air and trained his glove-claws through it, getting frost on them also. He looked at the frost on his hand, fascinated, then turned back to the King and trilled a question.

Stoick wondered how he could make such noises. It was like he had several voice boxes and two tongues!

The King and Hiccup shared another long look, understanding and communication passing between them on a level beyond Stoick's comprehension. Then Hiccup lowered his head and closed his eyes, a hand touching his chest, over his heart, and he exhaled loudly before humming. Reluctance but obedience, perhaps even understanding mixed throughout.

The King tilted his head and the tusk moved before the young human.

Hiccup raised his head and his eyes widened slightly, then a smile of awe passed over his face. Hiccup put both hands on the tusk, as he had the Night Fury's face, and rested his forehead against it. A gesture so symbolic and powerful in its simplicity, both Stoick and Valka were unable to break the silence that surrounded it.

Toothless raised his head and let out a soft call too. The King actually closed his eyes to Toothless in respect, and Toothless was also allowed to touch the King. He rubbed his head along the tusk like a cat, respectful, loving and trusting.

The King rumbled deeply, casting his eyes to Cloudjumper and Valka once more before withdrawing, after making sure that Hiccup and Toothless were a safe distance from his massive form. He retreated back to his pond and slowly walked deeper into the ocean – slowly submerging until only his white shadowy tail remained trailing behind him.

Stoick was still staring.

Hiccup looked at Stoick with the strength of an animal in his eyes, unafraid to make eye contact, and simply looking without feeling. He stood upright, he was only slightly shorter than Valka, and seemed to critically cast his eyes up and down the man. Toothless watched from just behind him, looking curious but wary.

Stoick swallowed and tried to approach his boy.

After the first step Hiccup tensed, his entire body jerked with the movement of every limb growing as taunt as a bow string.

Stoick took another step and held out a hand, unsure if he wanted to embrace him or simply touch him. But that proved a step too far for the boy.

His eyes widened, then narrowed and he dived under Toothless's wing once again, his face set into a mistrustful glare. Toothless angled Hiccup away from Stoick and breathed on Hiccup's neck gently. Hiccup growled several short times at Stoick, before glancing at his Mother and looking down ashamed.

Valka smiled and knelt from where she stood. She snapped her fingers to get his attention and hummed at him while nodding slowly and respectfully. Hiccup relaxed, cracked a crooked smile that lit up his whole face, then made an odd gurgle through an open mouth before Toothless knocked him over with a playful nudge.

Stoick looked helplessly at Valka.

She looked apologetic as she stood by his side once more "The Alpha asked Hiccup to get to know you, and told him that only through him can you understand us. He forbade him from leaving the nest while you are a guest. But Hiccup is uncomfortable … he knows you have killed dragons. He feels guilty for failing a request," she finished.

The chief felt a rock settle in his chest, his legendary skill was driving a wedge between his family, he knew that Hiccup must see him as a murderer – he had voiced as much before. Also he was only willing to let Stoick reasonably close because a dragon had ordered him to. He wasn't sad that he wasn't getting along with him, he was sad to disappoint a dragon.

Stoick watched as his son and Night Fury copied each other's head bobbing movements, accompanied by croaks and gurgles. "Ugh, Ah-ya ah-ya," they said before Toothless shook his head vigorously, Hiccup smiled and chirped before running away and hiding behind Cloudjumper. Toothless gave chase and bounded around the older dragon with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Hiccup popped out from under one wing, then hid again while appearing under another, laughing the entire time. Toothless crooned constantly. Cloudjumper looked bored and aloof, but the adults saw how he constantly shifted his wings to keep the young ones away from his claws.

Stoick cleared his throat loudly.

The two froze and Hiccup looked defensive, unsure and uncomfortable.

Stoick sighed "Son."

Hiccup stiffened and growled "No!" he growled. The sound was deep in his throat, nearly in his chest. He did not like being claimed as such.

Stoick nodded "I'm your Father."

Hiccup's shoulders rose in the place of hackles, both dragons watching the exchange with warily curious expressions. Hiccup let out several loud clicking noises before hissing and looking conflicted "Not family," he protested, backing up several steps alone.

Stoick nodded "You are my son."

Hiccup let out another distressed whine and looked to his Mother for help. She gestured to Stoick with an encouraging expression. Hiccup met the chief's eyes and peered long and hard, he tilted his head slightly at the hand extended to him and looked so torn.

Stoick stayed as still as his name.

Hiccup finally moved. But it was towards his helmet. He looked down at the helmet and then at Stoick. He looked sadly at his Mother and shook his head with a sigh. "Vikings don't understand."

Stoick withdrew sadly.

Valka looked sad "Help him understand," she coxed.

Hiccup glared at them both "He doesn't want to understand dragons!" he accused. "He wants to understand me," he made a spitting, snarling noise "He sees Viking-child, I'm not Viking! I'm not one of them!" he was getting distressed.

Toothless slinked over and twined around Hiccup's back, pressing his head into his hip while his body supported him. Hiccup looked at him with a face full of hopelessness and burden. He knelt and put his hands around the dragon's neck. The dragon returned the embrace by lowering a wing and pressing his head into Hiccup's body.

Stoick felt Valka place a hand on his arm "He is right though, you need to stop seeing him as a Viking. Hiccup has a dragon's soul, a dragon's heart, a dragon's mind, and yet each one is also a blend of human too."

Stoick looked at a loss "I don't understand," he admitted.

Valka sighed "You got off on the wrong foot," she smiled at him calmingly. "Change his mind as he is meant to change yours," she suggested.

Stoick rubbed his forehead "Still cryptic," he complained.

Valka laughed.

Stoick looked back at his son, who was cautiously waiting with his dragon curled around him once again. The chief felt sad that there was such distance between him and the boy. Fathers and Sons were supposed to be close, they were meant to support each other, take advice and give it, learn and be proud of the other. Then, eventually, the son would step up to fill his Father's shoes. Had he missed his chance?

Stoick fell to his knees and breathed deeply as he felt the loss between them more solidly than a wall. Valka had had such a hard time conceiving a child, then when he was born it was feared he would die, and now it seemed he had lost what he wanted most.

And he would never get a son or family back because he was a Viking. How had being a Viking seemed such a proud thing this morning and such a shameful thing a few hours later?

"I'm sorry." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for kicking you, for attacking yer Mother, for calling you an animal, and for being a Viking … I'm sorry I can't understand …" his next words were full of loss and grief and sadness "I'm so sorry."

If Stoick had been looking up he would have seen pure shock on Hiccup's face, and the same on the Night Fury's face, tinged with slight innocent curiosity. Hiccup looked at Valka, who was also looking surprised. Hiccup then looked at Toothless, who purred deeply before lightly pressing his shoulder with his nose.

Hiccup then looked back at the deeply sad chief.

Stoick heard a familiar click of dragon claws hitting each other, and looked up to see Hiccup crouching not an arm's length away from him. Stoick blinked and gasped softly.

Hiccup's face was intently looking at him, reading him as deeply as the Alpha had. Then he hummed low in his throat and pulled off one glove with his teeth, his left hand, and held it out to the chief, palm up.

Stoick looked at the hand curiously, not held like one about to shake hands, but then placed his larger one into the offered hand. Hiccup's hand was warm, and a mixture of soft and tough. Hiccup stood and pulled the Chief up with him.

Stoick looked at his son as the youth nodded at him shortly "Can change," he allowed before turning and rejoining his Night Fury.

They rubbed cheeks like a pair of cats before Toothless looked out over the cave and bounced on his front paws while trilling. Hiccup followed his sight and trilled in an exact echo a moment before they took off, Hiccup clinging to the dragon's back as the beast jumped down the sea stack and bounded across the sanctuary to play.

Stoick watched, still full of heartfelt gratitude, his son had at least accepted his apology, and had taken back his refusal to cooperate with him. They were by no means close, but Stoick could feel a potential there for the first time. He silently thanked the gods for this chance to have his family back.

Valka leaned into Cloudjumper and he hummed. She chuckled and cooed back.

The beast lowered his head before raising it to look above. She nodded and patted his wings, and he took off, leaving her with her husband.

Valka approached Stoick and put a hand on his arm, he jumped. She moved like a dragon too; so stealthy, her village clumsiness was long gone, she had truly thrived under these dragons. He felt a mixture of awe and frustration that she fit with his ancestral enemy so well. Valka ignored his inner turmoil and said "There is a sort of house above, you'll want to stay there since you don't have a dragon to use as a bed," she considered aloud. "Follow me," she ordered.

Stoick began to follow. A house. That implied a long stay. Stoic wondered if his men were worrying for him, perhaps he could send them a message, or go in person before returning … in any case it was clear that this would become a familiar place to him.

Dragons and a Viking living under the same roof. My men would think I've lost my mind.

So there you have it! Stoick was kidnapped because he was willing to bow to a madman for his people, just think about it: if the dragons kept attacking and the Queen kept growing and getting more hungry the raids were be more and more common, and eventually they would be smart enough to break into the winter stores and other stores which Berk's population would depend on, as well as the sheep and cattle and whatever else Berk has for food.

Therefore I think Stoick would become desperate enough to at least ask for assistence.

But Valka doesn't like that. She doesn't want Berk to lead the example for the other clans, then she and Hiccup will be in great danger. Therefore she kidnapped Stoick in a last ditch attempt to make peace before all is lost.

Stoick is not too interested in getting to know dragons, but he is interested in getting to know his long lost son and reconect with his wife. Hiccup's having trouble accepting him, and Stoick's ready to do anything to have his family back, so that's the key uniting point.

Now to defend Hiccup's behaviour and other changes;

1) If he grew up with dragons I believe he would be more feirce and agile since Vikings are more the stand there and take it type, while dragons get out of the way and use their speed and agility to their advantage.

2) He only speaks Norse to his Mother, and only because she insists he knows it, so I think he would speak less and have more dragonish noises and ways of communication.

3) The claw-gloves, I think that the dragons would have taught him self-defence since he's so small and they are all attached to him. They would have taught him in dragon ways, which includes claws and teeth, since he had no flames or wings. He doesn't bite much, and since he's a tinkerer at heart I think he would have come up with something like this, and it makes him act more dragonish and he probably feels more like a dragon this way.

4) He does have the flight suit, but hadn't used it yet in Stoick's company, so I haven't included it in this shot. But it is there!

5) I was conflicted on having Toothless have a saddle or not, but Valka manages without, and so I think Hiccup would have figured out all the tricks into hanging on for dear like at blazing speed and many angles because he grew up like that and has had many more years practice at it. Besides it's only because he thought like a human in the first movie that he made a saddle to ride; in this story bareback suddenly became a thing.

6) Because Hiccup was exposed to the Alpha's voice as an infant, and grew up thinking like a dragon, his brain now can hear the Alpha's voice, and the Alpha has control over him to an extend - not totally because he is human. Valka less so as she came to the nest as an adult, she can hear him but can't be controlled by him, she just respects him enough to listen and obey. However the Alpha is kind and won't use his power against Hiccup or anyone unless he believes it's for their own good. Such as requesting that Hiccup stays with Stoick though he really doesn't want to. It's going to benifit dragons, the nest, and Hiccup's own life eventually (and if all goes well).

7) Hiccup kept his leg, but there's a slight limp in it when he walks upright because the iron trap damaged it pretty bad. But otherwise it is unnoticable and had only left deep scarring. Likewise Toothless as a baby dragon was caught in a forgotten trap and when he was caught all the bones in his wings broke (even the thin ones between membrane) and it was Hiccup who fixed him and helped him relearn how to fly. They're an inseprable pair because of that, and the fact that Toothless stood up to his fear of traps and trappers to save Hiccup's life when he was caught in a trap. - I don't think that Hiccup would stand to have a peg leg, and it would make him less mobile and dragon like, likewise I don't think a flightless Toothless would be interesting either as Hiccup wasn't taught by Gobber and doesn't know how to make fake limbs, but he can make other things. That's why they both have their limbs.

Maybe I'll add to this, maybe not. Depends on what inspiration hits and if you all really want more. Please leave a comment!