Greetings, citizens of Earth

I hope your day has been pleasant. Happy holidays.

The image used for the cover is one of the paintings in the credits of the second HTTYD movie. (I don't own it, is what I'm trying to say)

Disclaimer: I do not own Dreamworks, HTTYD, anything affiliated with it, etc. etc. hooray everybody.

Chapter One

"Valka, d'you know where Hiccup is?" Gobber asked the slim, brunette woman.

She shook her head. "It wouldn't surprise me if he'd taken off again. Being the chief scares him to death."

"You'd think that he'd be a bit more responsible, seeing as Berk is still half-covered in ice." The large blacksmith grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and first finger, even further smearing his face with the omnipresent ash of the forge.

Valka sighed. "You'd think you would be more understanding." She looked up from the saddle that she was working on. "Hiccup is used to a lifestyle of freedom. He's accustomed to taking off whenever he likes. And from what I can tell, he does this sort of thing a lot, running away from responsibility."

That earned a chuckle. "Aye, that's true enough." He shook his head. "I don't know, Valka. Yes, I know that Hiccup's been different his whole life, but he's the chief now, whether he likes it or not. And he has to stay on Berk more because of it." He turned. "Grump! Get the forge going again. And don't bring the roof down on us this time."

The obese dragon lazily lifted a head, and shot a blast of fire that was poorly aimed, and nearly hit Valka. However, the forge's fire was once again glowing.

"If it really means that much to you, have Astrid or someone go after him." Valka said, turning to work once more.

Gobber nodded and stuck his head out of the forge building. "Hey, Hofferson! Go tell that daughter of yours to go after the chief or nothing will ever get done around here." When the reply came in the affirmative, he chuckled, and continued making saddles.

~o~O~o~

Hiccup sighed and lay back onto Toothless. The dragon gave a concerned chirrup and Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not running away. I just...need a break."

He watched the sky race past above him, emerald eyes flicking back and forth across the clouds. He pulled off his leather mask, idly dangling it from his fingers, letting the wind whip past his face. Sitting up, Hiccup ran a hand through his choppy auburn hair. "I don't know bud. I'm not ready to be chief. I can't just leave you, leave my best friend. But I don't have time to take you out flying anymore, I don't have time to do much of anything anymore..." He buried his face in his hands. "It's all so messed up."

Toothless turned to start going up into the sky, and Hiccup obliged by clicking the prosthetic tailfin into place. The lithe black dragon climbed through the clouds, and rolled over slightly, motioning for Hiccup to jump off.

"I don't really feel like it today." He said in response, but Toothless would not be deterred to easily. He rolled again, more insistently, and a smile tugged at Hiccup's mouth. "Oh, alright."

He unclipped his harness, and pulled his mask back on. Locking toothless' tailfin, he gave the dragon a pat. "If I start falling and you don't catch me, I'm blaming you."

Toothless rolled his eyes, and Hiccup laughed. "On your own head." Unhooking his metal leg from the stirrup, Hiccup took a deep breath and slid over the side of the Night Fury. He closed his eyes as he fell, and spread his arms, yelling in exhilaration. Toothless was diving alongside him, and let his tongue loll out, letting it flap in the wind.

Hiccup grabbed the saddle and swung himself back onto Toothless, grinning wildly. "Thanks, Toothless." He said softly. "I needed that.

Toothless' reply was to begin climbing again, so that the whole process could be repeated. The worry gnawing at Hiccup's mind was still prominent, but he ignored it, content to enjoy an afternoon.

~)_(~

Dragon and rider lay on the white sands of some island, worn out, but not exhausted. Hiccup had his hands over his eyes to block out the swiftly setting sun. Toothless was contemplating.

It had been five years, almost six now, since he had met Hiccup. Toothless still remembered all too well their first meeting, and the fear that had racked his body, as he knew that he was going to die.

And yet, here he was, assuredly not dead.

In all that time, Toothless had been on several adventures with Hiccup, more than he could co, and never had the Viking seemed so concerned. It hurt him to watch Hiccup frustrated with his inability to lead Berk. Toothless wished he could share advice with Hiccup on leadership-he should know, considering he had years of experience in that department.

He just needed to be more confident in himself. If Hiccup would just acknowledge his strengths, he would be a fine chief. Yet, Hiccup was still so obsessed with the thing that made him different from all of the other Vikings.

Toothless shook his head sharply, and looked up. Black clouds had swept across the horizon, and barely visible was the stormwall and sheets of rain that pounded the Earth relentlessly.

Toothless flicked his tail across Hiccup's face, and the man's hands came away from his eyes. Blinking to adjust his vision to the light, he asked "What's wrong, bud?"

In response, the dragon inclined his head to the rapidly approaching stormclouds, and Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, we should probably head back to Berk anyway."

The Night Fury shuddered a bit as the familiar weight of his rider settled on his back. Bunching up the muscles in his legs slightly, Toothless launched into the sky, hoping they would get back to Berk before the the worst of the storm hit them.

~)^(~

Astrid and Stormfly hit the rocky edge of Berk with a muffled thump. She slid off of her drago's back, and when she turned, was greeted by Valka, a hopeful and worried expression on her face.

"Did you find Hiccup?" She asked, and Astrid shook her head.

"No, I had to come back-there was a huge storm." Valka's face darkened, and Astrid asked a bit more tentatively, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Of course." Valka answered stiffly. "Hiccup's weathered worse."

I hope to Valhalla and back that's true, Astrid thought as she watched the sky darken, the first black clouds hanging threateningly on the horizon.