This is so great! The website accepted my category!!

This is just a prologue, but it will continue. A lot of it is fluff and doesn't have toooo much to do with the rest of the story. It takes place IMMEDIATELY after the end of the movie, the afternoon after Hiccup woke up. He's still getting used to his new leg, and this chapter answers a lot of questions.

Please R&R!! Enjoy!

Hiccup smiled and looked up to the sky, the sun dipping low and orange on the horizon, casting the coastline in sepia. He was relaxing, mind wandering, hearing his name. He hated his name – it was somehow even less mature than Fishlegs, and mysteriously made people burp at the sound of it – but not when she said it. Not when she whispered it in his ear. He loved his name only then, because it was coming out in her voice. It wasn't his father's gruff tone, Gobber's condescending orders, nor his friends' playful utterances, but Astrid's soft yet strong words. It had a ring to it then. Hiccup.

Toothless was curled behind them both, giving them a little seat on the rocky shore to just stare at the ocean. Astrid had recently trained a Deadly Nadder, whom she'd named Adlina. But that didn't mean that the dragon had any less inclination to be wild, and wouldn't just happen to be trying to squash every single last seagull on Berk's beach. Both of the young Vikings laughed at the clumsy scene, though Toothless was visibly rolling his eyes. Sometimes that dragon just seemed too intelligent, like he knew more than he let on. To Hiccup, the entire place, the time, the dragons, the atmosphere was perfect. Perhaps there would be many more days like this… after the winter of course.

Astrid's head was somewhere between Toothless' belly and Hiccup's shoulder, turned to the endless expanse of golden ocean. Her eyes were closed behind the blond hair that fell from her headband. She didn't bother to take it off - it was strangely comfortable to her, like much of her armor. Hiccup didn't mind; he liked how her hair fell across her face.

They had been like that for a while now, sitting and occasionally giggling when Adlina would go on a fury across the water. But for the most part they were silent, just together for the first real time. Suddenly, Astrid sighed and reached forward to the wooden and metal rod in front of them, tapping it.

"Does that hurt a lot?" she seemed transfixed on the new leg.

Hiccup bit his lip. "It did when I woke up. I'm still trying to get used to it, so… yeah."

"Yeah." Another moment of awkward silence passed, and she started again. "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" There must've been several ways to interpret that. And very few of the clean ones passed through Hiccup's mind.

"I mean, now the dragons aren't a threat anymore. And we're just… done. What are we going to do now?"

He thought for a moment. Astrid was a warrior at heart, a daughter that made her father proud for lack of a son. When she wanted to, she would close her eyes and be like this. Still, whatever happened, she would always be on the frontlines. But, there were no frontlines anymore.

"I guess we'll just wing it," he concluded, letting his head fall back in finality. But the girl lifted her head and grinned.

"I like the way you think."

Hiccup would never have imagined beforehand that such a tough girl could have such soft lips.

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup!"

Fishlegs bounded down the hill to where his two friends were walking back from the waterfront. He ran surprisingly fast with a pair of such stubby legs, but luckily he didn't trip on his way down or the result would have been utterly disastrous for all involved. Hiccup and Astrid waited for the large boy to stop running, then huff and puff before giving an announcement.

"Hiccup, Stoick the Vast has asked you to attend an urgent meeting of all the warriors in the Great Chamber tonight. He said that Astrid and I could attend too."

"Really?" Hiccup's father couldn't have started another war that soon. Maybe a celebration?

"Yeah," Fishlegs then looked at his best friend sheepishly. "Can you please go? I've never been to a war meeting or anything before."

Hiccup laughed and patted his buddy on the shoulder. "Of course I'll go, it's probably important if he wants me. When is it?"

The chubby boy grew even redder with embarrassment now, he looked like a spring beet. "Well, you see, I was actually supposed to let you know a couple of hours ago. But I knew what you guys were doing so… the meeting is starting right now."

"What?" Hiccup was wide-eyed. If there were two things that Stoick the Vast didn't like these days, they were Romans and tardiness. In no time, the three friends had made their way through an empty town, up the stairs and to the great doors of the Chamber. Maybe they were just waiting for him patiently. He was the chief's son, after all. But, Vikings weren't exactly the patient type. After collecting himself and fixing his shirt, Hiccup sighed and opened the door with both hands, Astrid and Fishlegs behind him, an excuse already formulated in his head.

"Sorry I'm late, Dad, my leg is -"

He didn't get to finish. He was cut off by the joyous cheers of a packed chamber; men, women, and children at every table and standing in every space of the building, arms raised in incredible applause. It was hard to tell who was more surprised, Hiccup (who just walked into a surprise party) or Fishlegs (who instantly thought that every meeting must be like this, and he'd been missing out). But it wasn't long before both of them were set straight. Stoick, a big bearded grin spread clear across his face, clapped loudly and strode up to his son, giving him a big hug and a hardy slap on the back.

"Son, I really am proud of you. And so is everyone here." He motioned to the slowly quieting crowd that was the entire village. Even Snotface, Roughnutt and Toughnutt were leaning against the wall, smiling. Or rather, smirking. None of them could really smile, but that was okay. The chief continued.

"During the time that you were unconscious, word of this little island called Berk has spread around. Your actions have greatly and directly influenced the entire Barbaric Sea and even beyond. You are a legend, Hiccup. Your story will be told for generations to come. And for that, not only am I the proudest father in the entire world, but I have organized the greatest feast that you have ever seen." He turned to his people. "Right?!"

The room was filled with deafening noise for a whole minute before Stoick signaled the town's resident musicians to start drumming and blowing their flutes. Everyone was lively, drinking a seemingly endless supply of wine and eating a kill of over a dozen boars, but it still probably wasn't enough music played and the villagers danced, while Hiccup was in the middle of it all. He didn't know how to react, and couldn't say thank you to his father, who had walked back to his chair at the end of the Chamber. Someone gave him a mutton leg in the mix, and another thrust a cup of red drink into his hand. Everyone was patting him on the back, shaking his hand, and cheering for him when he walked past. Several of the village girls asked him to dance all at once. But to their disappointment, he set his food down and grabbed the hand of the only person he wanted to dance with. It was an endless night of celebration and feasting, Viking contests and even a play act of Hiccup's story complete with actors and a paper dragon, but eventually ended with the abrupt opening of the doors and the exit of all the guests, still partying as they walked back home.

Before Hiccup knew it, he was holding Astrid's hand for what must've been the hundredth time that night, except they were all alone in the center of the room; only Stoick, Gobber, the Elder, and several of the leading warriors stood watching them. In a sudden wave of embarrassment, both young Vikings let go of each other and stood awkwardly in the sight of the adults.

Stoick laughed out loud. "The feast was a grand one, was it not, Hiccup?"

"Yes." His son's voice cracked a little at first. "Yes, it was fun."

"I'm glad to hear it." The leader of the village stepped forward to face his boy, smiling. "We are here now, for the first time after your battle." Astrid quickly realized that she was way out of place and moved to the side with the other warriors, including her own father, and let the chief continue. "You may ask us any questions you have, Hiccup. About anything."

The Viking boy stared long and hard into his father's kindly eyes, before looking down at his replacement leg, searching for a question. When he had one, he was as confident as he could be.

"How long was I out, exactly?"

Stoick chuckled softly. "Winter is already almost upon us. You were in that bed for half of a moon, while your leg healed and Gobber fitted you with a new one."

"Wow," Hiccup gasped. "No wonder I was so hungry today. And no wonder word got around by now."

This time, Gobber spoke up. "Indeed. For years, Berk has often been the underdog of the Vikings. A tiny village built on an isolated island in dangerous dragon territory, and one of the only places where the name Gutlout was even considered. But now, in a matter of days, even the Germans revere our name as the tribe who fought against the infamous Viridus Giganticus Mortalitus. And you, boy, are known from Iceland to Persia as the child who won the battle against that great Green Death."

"Even Gaul has sent hawks with letters asking for your personal help in their war against the Romans," another man, Helmsarm noted. "You are a legend indeed."

Someone shouted, "Here, here," and everyone in the room shouted in response.

Hiccup had another question, and it'd been bugging him all day. "I don't remember losing my leg." He paused long enough for his father to grunt sadly and start answering right away.

"After the battle, it was… broken beyond repair, son."

"In several different places!" Gobber interjected.

"Yes. Needless to say, it wouldn't have done you any good."

"Not sticking out in several different wrong directions!"

"He understands, Gobber. So, son, we thought it would be best to keep you from any severe permanent pain, and we had it amputated."

"With several different axes!"

Stoick gave his second-in-command a dirty look before turning back to a boy examining his own peg leg. It started at his knee with a base drilled into the bone, made of strong oak with metal supports and a specialized foot.

"At least it came off below my knee," Hiccup noted optimistically.

Gobber, to the rescue. "It almost didn't. You're lucky I found a tendon that worked."

"Thanks Gobber," he replied while coming up with one last question. He knew deep down that it would matter more than anything right now. "Dad. What are we going to do now? With the dragons in peace, I mean?" He spotted Astrid smiling at this.

Stoick the Vast, always the one with a foolproof plan on any occasion, thought about this for a moment. For several generations, dragons were hunted and killed by the people of Berk. It was the right of passage, a tradition of old. To shift from that to a different fight – or, Odin forbid, peace – was an almost preposterous notion. Almost.

"I suppose, son," the chief tried to answer, "we'll simply have to take action as we go."

In other words, wing it. When his father looked away and around the room, Hiccup mouthed in Astrid's direction: Told you. Once Stoick had gathered himself, he turned back and spoke again.

"We will always be a village of warriors, son. Even you, the greatest of us all. But for now, it seems that our soldiers will have to be happy with, as you call it, being a 'breadmaking Viking.'"

Father and son laughed at the strange memory only a couple of weeks before the battle, and hugged once more. Hiccup didn't want to ask anymore questions. It was long past midnight, and they were all tired to the bone. But the chief had just one more event planned for the night.

"Hiccup," he began, backing away and adjusting his ceremonial horn helmet. "Your actions have spoken louder than those of any Viking for generations... May you be remembered in the annals of time with the likes of Beowulf and Ivar the Boneless, great heroes who changed the tides of history for the good of us all. For tonight and from now on, you are not just Hiccup." He waved his hand to Hofferson, Astrid's father, who carried a giant hammer in his arms. Stoick grabbed the handle, and held the weapon up to the dim light. "By the power invested in me, by Odin, with this holy artifact, you are now to be known as… Hiccup the Useful."

He held the hammer down and out, allowing Hiccup to bow and touch his forehead to the Viking crest on the front of the hammer. The Elder pounded her staff into the ground and the ceremony was over. The hammer was returned and Stoick was back to standing among his men.

Hiccup smiled and asked one last question. "Useful?"

"It was a controversy what you should have been titled," his father responded. "I offered a fair alternative between 'the Angelic' and the 'the Flighty.'"

Everyone in the hall laughed. But it was a hearty laugh. Astrid ran up to Hiccup and hugged him, almost tipping him over with the imbalance of his leg. But it was another perfect moment. Perhaps there would be many more days like this… after the winter, of course.

- Viridus Giganticus Mortalitus is latin for "The Great Green Death," which is what the giant dragon is called in the movie.

- The Gauls are the ancestors of the French, and live in the same area. The Romans are constantly trying to expand their empire into the territory.

- Hiccup didn't like "The Angelic" or "The Flighty." "Useful" works just fine for him. :)