A/N: Here is a nice long one for you guys! Enjoy!

(Hiccup is in the blacksmith shop. He cuts and stitches leather, draws and shapes steel. He works by candlelight. An overhead shot reveals what he's building: a harness, complete with handles and foot pedals.)

(The scene shifts to the cove the next day. Hiccup appears before Toothless, holding the new saddle. Toothless runs off as Hiccup chases him down.)

Hiccup: "Hey!"

Astrid laughed.

"It took me probably an hour or longer to get that saddle on him the first time," Hiccup responded to her reaction, grinning. "Such a stubborn dragon," he glared at Toothless.

"What do you expect?" Astrid replied. "He's your dragon."

(Cut to the cove the next day: Toothless and Hiccup are zooming over the pond. Hiccup holds a long rope in his hand, attached to the prosthetic tail. He yanks on the rope, sending Hiccup flying of the dragon's back.)

Hiccup: "Whoa!"

(Cut to the blacksmith shop again. Hiccup adjusts the harness and uses a metal clamp to affix himself to Toothless' saddle.)

(Cut to a grassy field: Hiccup and Toothless zip through the air – his foot is hooked through the rope this time, which is attached to the prosthetic tail. They crash-land in an open field. Hiccup recovers to find Toothless still rolling around in the tall grass. Hiccup discovers that it's a patch of 'dragon nip.' Toothless writhes on his back, tongue wagging, in complete bliss.)

(Transition to the training ring: Hiccup holds a handful of dragon nip in his hand. A Gronkle comes zooming towards him, but stops when he smells the nip in his hand. Hiccup presses it up to the Gronkle's nose and the dragon immediately goes weak in the knees. Hiccup drops the handful of dragon-nip to the ground. The Gronkle goes down with it, whimpering and blissful. From Gobber and the recruits' point of view, Hiccup is controlling the Gronkle with no more than a limp arm.)

"That's what you did!" Astrid and several of the other teens groaned.

"Dragon nip!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Of course!"

(The recruits walk home together, surrounding Hiccup and bombarding him with questions. He squirms and invents an excuse.)

Hiccup: "I left my axe back in the ring." (He turns and hurries back.) "You guys go on ahead and I'll catch up with you."

"You never caught up with us," Astrid said.

"He had a date with a dragon!" Tuffnut said. "Why would he want to hang out with us when he could hang out with Toothless?"

(Astrid sneers, suspicious.)

"Oh man, Astrid was really pissed," Snotlout said.

"I think someone is jealous," Ruffnut taunted in a sing-songy voice.

"No," Astrid insisted. "I was suspicious. I knew something was up because nothing was making sense. I thought he was cheating!"

"Which… he kind of was," Fishlegs said.

(Image cuts to the cove. Hiccup scratches Toothless behind the ear, causing him to relax and fall over. Hiccup stares at his hands in amazement)

(Back to the training grounds: An angry Deadly Nadder approaches Hiccup, and he quickly drops his mace. Just as Astrid moves in to strike, Hiccup performs his special scratching technique, which sends the Nadder down. Astrid looks at him in amazement and confusion.)

"You know I really should thank you for that, Hiccup," Astrid said. "I didn't know it at the time, but I would have hated to have hurt my girl here," she gave Stormfly a rub on her neck.

(Later in the great hall: Hiccup sits down at a table to eat. The other recruits notice him and move over to his table to talk to him - leaving Astrid alone. She slams her mug down on the table in frustration)

"Jealous…!" Ruffnut taunted again.

"Not!" Astrid snapped. She was too far away too hit her, but she wanted to.

(At the cove the next day: Hiccup is using a mirror-like object to create a patch of light on the ground. Toothless claws and chases the light patch like a cat chasing a laser pointer.)

"Oh he used this on the Terrible Terror," Fishlegs said. "That was really cool!"

(Cut to the training grounds the next day: A beam lifts from the door of another dragon pen.)

Gobber: Meet the Terrible Terror.

(A tiny, pint-sized dragon steps out and moves toward the recruits.)

Tuffnut: Ha! It's like the size of my—

(The terror leaps onto Tuffnut's face and knocks him to the ground)

Tuffnut: Get it off! Get it off! Oh! I'm hurt, I am very much hurt!

(Hiccup stops the Terrible Terror with the same light-patch trick he used earlier with Toothless. The tiny dragon retreats back to its cage. The teens approach him yet again as Astrid looks on with suspicion.)

Tuffnut: (rubbing his nose) Wow, he's better than you ever were.

"Oh yeah, that's gonna help," Snotlout said to Tuff. "Isn't it obvious that she's pissed off enough?"

"Hey, I'm never afraid to say out loud what everyone else knows to be true," Tuff declared.

"I was not jealous!" Astrid insisted again. "I was… being competitive," she justified.

"Sure you were," Hiccup whispered with a smirk, quietly enough that she couldn't hear.

(Cut to the forest: Astrid furiously hurls her axe at a nearby tree. She notices Hiccup walking by in the distance, carrying one of his trademark harnesses. She quickly tries to follow, but he loses her in the woods. She HUFFS, frustrated, slamming her fist against a rock.)

"Hiccup, you really were driving her nuts," Fishlegs laughed.

(Back in the cove, Hiccup straps a newly designed harness onto Toothless. With Toothless tied to a nearby post with a rope, Hiccup rides him in the air - while stationary. Toothless looks like a giant kite tied to a tree stump. He adjusts a pedal, causing Toothless to land, and marks a note on his 'cheat sheet.')

"Alright!" Fishlegs said. "Now it's starting to come together."

(Then, the rope breaks and the pair CRASH into a tree. The harness line is stuck on the saddle hook.)

"Or not!" Ruffnut refuted.

Hiccup: "Oh, great."

(Berk at night: The streets are empty save for a lone Viking who crosses Hiccup's path.)

Viking: "Hiccup."

(Hiccup nods, trying to look casual. Once the coast is clear, he covertly steers Toothless into the Blacksmith's stall.)

"You brought him into the village?!" Astrid exclaimed. "Do you realize how dangerous that was?!"

"We were attached to one another, Astrid," Hiccup said. "Literally! What was I supposed to do?"

(Toothless PRESSES himself inside, rooting through stuff and making a racket. Astrid, walking nearby, is alerted.)

"Oh my gosh, he was in there with you?!" Astrid's jaw dropped. "I cannot believe I was that close to figuring you out!"

Astrid: "Hiccup?"

(Hiccup FREEZES. Then frantically tries to pry the ring off the saddle hook. It won't budge.)

Astrid: "Are you in there?"

(Too late - she's right outside. ON ASTRID walking along the outside of the Blacksmith's. Hiccup JUMPS OUT the window and CLOSES the shutters behind him. Hiccup's harness line is stretched through the window, still attached to Toothless' saddle.)

Hiccup: "Astrid. Hey! Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid. Hi Astrid."

Astrid: "I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird." (Toothless spots a nearby sheep and makes a move toward it. As a result, Hiccup is suddenly PULLED TIGHT against the window shutters.) "Well, weirder."

"Well its no wonder you were acting weird," Astrid contradicted her past self. "You had a dragon in the shop with you!"

"Yeah, I agree with Astrid," Snotlout said. "As far as horrible plans go, that is probably the worst one I've seen." He paused. "Unless you count the catastrophe that was your final exam."

"Snotlout!" Hiccup and Astrid both yelled.

"What? Its like Tuff said. I'm just saying out loud what everyone else knows to be true."

(He gets PULLED THROUGH the shutters. They snap back in Astrid's face. Astrid reopens them and finds nothing but an empty stall.)

(In the distance, Toothless and Hiccup slip off unseen.)

"You have to admit Hiccup does get lucky a lot though," Fishlegs pointed out.

(A lone, battered ship is pulled into a slip, overloaded with equally battered-looking men. They disembark to a crowd of onlookers, looking like a team of hometown heroes who just had their butts kicked. Gobber hobbles through the MUMBLING crowd to find Stoick - last to disembark and glowering with battered pride. Stoick lumbers past Gobber, leaving him staring at the trashed ship.)

Gobber: "Well, I trust you found the nest at least?"

Stoick: "Not even close."

Gobber: "Ah. Excellent."

(Gobber follows Stoick up the ramp and snags his duffle bag with his hook appendage, sharing the burden.)

Stoick: "I hope you had a little more success than me."

Gobber: "Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then... yes."

(Stoick stops. What does that mean? A group of merry villagers rush past.)

Viking 1: "Congratulations Stoick! Everyone is so relieved."

Viking 2: "Out with the old and in with the new, right?!"

Viking 3: "No one will miss that old nuisance!"

Viking 4: "The village is throwing a party to celebrate!"

"Geez," Snotlout said. "Your dad's gonna think you're dead!"

(Stoick is stunned, overwhelmed by the insensitivity. He turns to Gobber.)

Stoick: "He's... gone?"

"I knew it!" Snotlout exclaimed.

Gobber: "Yeah…"

"And that answer does not help matters," Fishlegs laughed.

Gobber: "…. Most afternoons. But who can blame him? I mean the life of a celebrity is very rough. He can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans."

(Stoick is doubly confused.)

Stoick: "Hiccup?"

Gobber: "Who would've thought, eh? He has this...way with the beasts."

"That's one way to put it," Astrid chuckled.

"That conversation explains a lot," Hiccup commented. "Thanks a lot, Gobber," he rolled his eyes to himself.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"Just something that happened later," he replied, waving it off. "We'll probably see it happen in a bit."

CUT TO: Toothless and Hiccup soar through a perfect blue sky. Billowing clouds rise like mountains. The ground seems miles below them.

"Is this your first flight?" Astrid asked excitedly.

"Alright!" Snotlout exclaimed. "I bet he's going to be terrible."

"You realize that this is, like, a historic event?" Fishlegs said, elated. "We are witnessing the very first flight of the very first dragon rider, ever!"

"I bet he's going to fall off and fall thousands of feet through the air, crashing headfirst into the ground!" Tuffnut declared.

"That would be awesome!" Ruffnut agreed.

Hiccup accidentally let a loud laugh escape and he quickly covered up his mouth.

Astrid looked at him wide-eyed. "No way. You did?!"

Hiccup couldn't keep himself from smiling, confirming their guess was indeed correct. Or mostly correct, anyway.

Astrid rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm.

Hiccup: "Okay there bud, we're gonna take this nice and slow."

(Hiccup checks a leather cheat sheet, clipped onto his harness. Inscribed upon it are several tail positions and their pedal position equivalents.)

Hiccup: "Here we go. No here we go...position three, no four."

"Nice cheat sheet," Snotlout snickered.

(He presses the pedal, causing the tail to flare. They roll off into an arcing bank, gloriously lit by the late afternoon sun. Hiccup tucks tight against his neck, thrilled that his new harness and vest are holding. The foot controls make the tail appendage quick and responsive. He watches Toothless' every fluctuation, trying to match it with the prosthetic. Hiccup sizes up a target - a towering arch of stone, rising from the sea.)

Hiccup: Alright, it's go time. It's go time.

(They dive toward it, lining up to pass through the arch.)

"Yeah!" Snotlout cheered. "That looks so cool. Hey can I have a turn on Toothless tomorrow?"

Both Hiccup and Toothless shot him a dirty look.

Hiccup: "Come on buddy. Come on buddy!"

(They zip through the arch. A perfect maneuver.)

Hiccup: "Yes, it worked!"

(The triumph is short-lived. They smack into one of several sea stacks as Hiccup tries to keep up with the turns.)

Snotlout and the twins laughed.

"Hiccup, spastic on a dragon?" Snotlout exclaimed with a smile. "I never thought I'd see the day. This is awesome!"

Hiccup: "Sorry."

(They hurtle into another rock pillar. Toothless grumbles.)

Snotlout and the twins laugh harder.

"Really guys?" Hiccup sighed.

Hiccup: "My fault." (Toothless swats him with his 'ear' plate.) "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." (referring to the cheat sheet) "Position four, no three."

(They pierce the clouds. For the first time, Hiccup can see the whole of the island below them. It shrinks with every passing second.)

Hiccup: "Yeah! Go baby! Yes! Oh, this is amazing! The wind in my..." (He spots the leather guide tearing free in the turbulence.)... "CHEAT SHEET! STOP!"

(Hiccup grabs frantically for the airborne sheet and NABS IT before it's carried out of reach. Toothless, however, obeys the command and suddenly STOPS beating his wings. As they slow to a stop, Hiccup goes weightless. The rings of his vest float off of the harness hooks. Hiccup suddenly finds himself detached, free-falling.)

The teens groaned.

"Couldn't have seen that one coming," Astrid gave Hiccup a look.

Hiccup just shrugged.

Hiccup: "Oh gods! Oh no!"

(Without Hiccup, the tail loses control. Hiccup and Toothless spiral downward. Toothless FIGHTS to get back under Hiccup.)

"THIS. IS. EPIC!" Tuff cheered.

(Hiccup extends his arms and legs, giving himself as much surface area as he can.)

Hiccup: "Alright, okay. You just gotta kinda – angle yourself. No, no...come back down towards me. Come back down—OW!"

Astrid watched the screen nervously. "Gods, Hiccup. How much did you actually fall?" She asked. It seemed like they were losing altitude rather quickly. "Do you always have to cut it so close?"

Hiccup gave her an ambiguous whine.

"Of course you do," Astrid huffed, crossing her arms.

(After a few more misses, Hiccup finally GRABS HOLD of the harness and manages to lock in - just in time to pull Toothless out of his dive... barely shy of the tree tops. They careen past the wooded cliff and directly into a treacherous slalom course of jutting sea stacks. Toothless screams.)

"Toothless looks like he wants to curse you out so bad!" Snotlout laughed. "Way to go, Hiccup!"

(Hiccup pulls the cheat sheet from his teeth and attempts to check positions. It flaps violently in the turbulence, making it impossible. With no time to think, Hiccup throws it away and steers Toothless' tail on instinct... with perfect intuition.)

"All that for the cheat sheet, and then you discard it anyway?!" Snotlout exclaimed. "What's the point of that?!"

(Together, they manage a tight, hair-rasing series of split- second turns, making it to the open water, unscathed. Hiccup takes a breath and glances back at the death-defying obstacle course, now safely behind them. He beams, relieved. He sits back and throws his arms up in victory.)

Hiccup: "YEEAHHH!"

(Toothless concurs with a happy SQUEAL and a fireball.)

"Whoohoo! Go Hiccup!" Tuff cheered.

"That was the most epic flight ever!" Ruff clapped her hands.

Hiccup sat back in his chair, trying not to be too blatantly smug. He grinned at Toothless, who gargled happily. Astrid smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow – Hey!" He glared at her. "Come on. You have to admit it was pretty cool."

"Don't make a habit out of it," she warned.

(Hiccup's glee turn to dread as they fly directly into it.)

Hiccup: "Ah, come on."

(Hiccup and Toothless lounge on a sprawling, deserted beach, snacking of freshly caught fish. As Hiccup cooks his over a fire, Toothless suddenly regurgitates a fish head. Hiccup smirks with forced politeness.)

Hiccup: "Uh… no thanks." (gesturing to his fish on a stick) "I'm good."

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs grinned. "Chilling with the dragons!"

(Several Terrible Terrors land like seagulls, hissing and nipping at each other as they approach Toothless' pile of fish. One grabs the regurgitated fish head and drags it away. Another attempts to steal it from him. They face off and blast fire balls at each other to settle the fight. Hiccup and Toothless watch, amused. That is until.., Toothless spots one of his fish leaving the pile. A stealthy Terrible Terror is exposed as the thief. They tug on the fish, and it snaps back into Toothless' mouth. He swallows it back tauntingly.)

Several of the audience members laughed.

"Fish fight!" Tuffnut joked.

(Irate, the little dragon paws at the ground and blast Toothless. He opens his mouth, the gas hiss comes, and Toothless fires a tiny flame straight into its mouth, causing the gas to backfire into the little dragon. It coughs up smoke and staggers away, looking ill. Hiccup laughs.)

"Awesome!" Tuff exclaimed.

Hiccup: "Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" (Hiccup throws the hapless Terror his freshly cooked fish.) "Here you go."

(The appreciative little dragon gulps down the meal and approaches Hiccup cautiously. He curls up next to him. Hiccup is amazed.)

"Aw," Astrid smiled. "Hiccup, you're just a dragon magnet, aren't you?"

"Oh I really wish someone had walked in on this," Snotlout said. "I mean, imagine if someone just walked by on the beach!"

Tuffnut laughed. "Hiccup would just sit there all chill and be like, 'hey,'" Tuff sat back and imitated Hiccup.

Everyone else laughed as well.

Hiccup: "Everything we know about you guys is wrong."

"Man, I can't believe we ever fought these guys," Tuffnut said. "Dragons are the chillest creatures I've ever seen."

"And then they blow stuff up!" Ruff added.

The twins laughed and butted helmets again.

A/N: I hope you liked it! Let me know your reactions in the reviews :)