Author's note:

Hello fellow readers, and welcome to How To Become a Dragon Chief This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction. The idea came after reading a couple of fanfictions that had Heather in it. Finally, after Cke1st's enormous support, I decided to write down the idea and publish it. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: How to Train Your Dragon, its characters, plot and universe all belong to DreamWorks Studio and Cressida Cowell.

Hello. For those wondering who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, or Hiccup for short. Where I live, I'm also known as Hiccup "the Useless", a title affectionately given by my cousin Snotlout. Yeah, you probably figured by now how our relationship is. I'm also known as Hiccup "The Inventor" by my mentor, Gobber the Belch. I am his blacksmith apprentice, or I was, since I learned everything he could teach me. Somehow I learned in just a couple of years what would have taken a decade to most, and since then I've been more of an assistant there, which, together with my excessive thinking, allowed me to create various kinds of stuffs. Most of which backfired at me.

That, and the usual injuries a blacksmith sustain led me to win a third "title", as Hiccup "the Reckless", given by none other than the healer's apprentice Heather, a raven-haired beautiful girl with the most amazing green eyes I've ever seen, since their green looks like the green of the healthiest trees you could ever find in our forests… well, that's enough about her for now.

Now that you know who I am, it's time to know where I live. This is Berk. It's twelve days North of Hopeless, and a few degrees South of Freezing to Death. It is located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. In a word: sturdy. We Vikings have a sense of comradeship, and most people in my village know and help each other, as it has been for seven generations. Most of the time, when your insides are not freezing, it is a peaceful place. Except for the pest problem. You see, when you think about pests, you might think of rats, or mosquitoes, or other similar kind of pests, but here on Berk we have….

"DRAGONS!"

In a desperate attempt to avoid being burned alive, I slammed the door right after spotting the charging flame towards my house, barely managing to do it. You would think we would have already left here after finding out this problem, but we're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues. After opening the backdoor I saw a dragon flying with a Viking smashing his face with a mace, which kind of proves my point of stubbornness.

I ran through the village while trying to avoid the incoming flying reptiles. As I ran through, I could hear the adults shouting at me things like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE" "GET BACK INSIDE" since well, as I was skinny and lack muscles, being outside on a dragon raid was hardly something safe, or sane to do. I kept running, ignoring the shouts until I was yanked off the ground by a huge hand, briefly before the passage which I was going through was overrun by flames of a passing dragon.

"Hiccup! What is he– what are you doing out here?! Get inside!" I briefly stared at the huge, red bearded man while he shouted at me, before pulling me back to the ground. The man was Stoick the Vast, chief of our tribe. They say when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head right off his shoulders. If I believe that? Of course I do, he was one of the fiercest dragon fighters, and leader we ever had.

After this event, I kept going to my destination, which was the blacksmith. By some kind of twisted luck, I managed to get inside just before a dragon ran through leaving a trail of flames. I started at the huge Viking before me, which grinned before speaking

"Oh, nice of yeh to join the party" he said while busy at the anvil, repairing a warped sword. "I thought you'd have been carried off"

I replied, with my usual dose of sarcasm. I suspected the man actually liked teasing me for he knew I always would make a sarcastic reply: "who me? No, I'm waaay to muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all of this" I finished and tried, and failing, to flex my nearly non-existent muscles.

"Well, they do need toothpicks, don't they?" he asked jokingly, before replacing his hammer with one of his tongs. I forgot to mention that he had lost two limbs fighting dragons. One of them was replaced by a wooden peg-leg, while his left arm was replaced by a contraption which allowed him to place various types of tools, ranging from his tongs, to a mug to even a adapted double-head axe. Now he was changing his hammer to a tong to fix the sword.

Meanwhile I ran to open the window, and was met with a pile of broken weapons. I took all of them to the forge and started heating it, so they could be repaired. As I heated it, I looked through the window and saw a dragon blast a house, setting it on fire. Shortly after, a couple of teenagers ran with baskets to put out the fire.

The muscular one, not very tall, with dark hair and a helmet was Snotlout, my cousin as you already know. The big husky one with a small helmet, blond hair was Fishlegs. We used to be friends when we were little (well he, I was just 'littler') but then we grew up and he got distant of me so he could be accepted on their group. Though he was one of them now, I never saw him teasing me when my cousin did it. The two identical twins are Ruffnut and Tuffnut. They are both tall, have very long hair and, although skinny as I am, both of them are quite strong, perhaps because of their constant fighting. And the last one is…

"Astrid…" I said as I sighed. She was like a Valkyrie sent straight from Asgard. She was taller than I, and had a beautiful braided blond hair, with some bangs that covered her left eye. Her eyes… they were a beautiful ocean blue that would melt anyone who looked at it, either for their beauty, or their fierceness.

As I leaned to see them pass through, Gobber yanked me off the window so I would go back to work.

"Gobber, will you please let me out? I need to make my mark" I complained as he set me on the ground again, and then he rolled his eyes.

"Yeh made plenty of 'em. All in the wrong places. And Gods know how Heather get mad at yeh every time yeh make one" he remarked, since every time I "made a mark" I ended up injured and visiting her so I could be patched up. Sometimes I accidentally managed to injure someone else, which then would make me earn a smack in the head from her.

Ignoring all of this, and before he could continue lecturing me I replied: "Please, just a couple of minutes, you won't even notice. I'll kill a dragon and my life will get infinitely better. Hel, I might even get a date killing one."

Gobber snorted and then started listing on his fingers: "yeh can't lift a hammer, can't swing an axe, yeh barely can hold a shield, and can't even throw one o' these" he finished lightly waving a bola, only to be caught by a Viking and then thrown at a flying dragon, plumbing it to the ground.

"I know I can't do these things, but…" I said as I moved near a wooden container "…this will throw it for me" I finished patting the wood, which unfortunately made the box open, to reveal a contraption which resembled a pair of long bows tied together, and launched a bola at the Viking that was waiting on the window for a weapon. Shortly after he hit the ground, unconscious…

"Hiccup, if yeh want to kill a dragon, yeh need to stop bein' all of this" he said to me as he gestured to me with his hand and tong.

"You just gestured to all of me…" I replied sarcastically, knowing very well where the conversation was going. We already had those one too many times, mostly every time I made a mark as he would say.

Sadly, sometimes he fails to notice my sarcasm, now being one of those…" Yes, that's it! Stop bein' all of you!" he replied, rather satisfied that I got what he meant.

In a last attempt to try to prove my worthiness this night, I tried to look intimidating as I spoke: "You, sir, are playing a dangerous game… Keeping this raw- Viking-ness and force contained. There will be consequences!"

Then again, I'm good at being sarcastic, but I've never been at being intimidating. Mainly because of my size. Because of this, he just looked at me as if I had just told him an awful joke and replied bored: "I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now" he finished, handling me a dulled sword.

I went to sharpen it, as the battle outside raged on. If one could stop to watch it without getting blasted, they would notice several kinds of dragons raiding.

A Deadly Nadder would surely get me noticed, at the very least. Though very bird-like, this kind of dragon had the hottest fire known to us, along with a tail full of poisonous spikes to throw at first sight. They, like the birds they resembled, were very agile, making them a worthy opponent on a battle.

A Snaptrapper would get Astrid's attention on me. Because of their 4 heads, the dragon almost had no blind spot, and fighting it one-o-one was surely though, as each head would have different tactics of attack. Also, as their name says it, they are more of an ambushing dragon than fighting one, mainly because they can't survive losing more than a head.

A Scauldron would surely get at least Dad happy. These giant sea dragons, though not adapted to walk, could still make some serious damage, by shooting boiling water from their cauldron-like stomach.

A Gronckle is tough. Getting one would surely get me a nice girlfriend. They looked and flied like giant bumblebees, but with a very thick armored skin, and a bludgeon as a tail. They were the main reasons of why every raid we always had tons of swords to fix and sharpen.

A Hideous Zippleback. One word: Exotic. They have two heads, which meant twice the status to anyone who would get one. One of the heads release a flammable gas, and the other make sparks, lighting it up. Because of this, they were very good at making ambushes, or blowing up houses from the inside, rather than the outside.

And at last, the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the very best would get one-on-one with these dragons, Dad being one. They had the nasty habit of lighting themselves on fire, making bolas and conventional nets useless. To capture one either a Viking knocked it out, or would trap it with a metal net. That's why only the best went after them.

As I returned to reality, I noticed the sword was already sharpened. I handled it to Gobber. Before he could say anything a piercing screech was heard through the entire village, coming from the sky itself. Every Viking looked at the sky in panic, and started yelling "NIGHT FURY" "GET DOWN" before ducking. At the same time a giant burst of blue flames erupted at one of the catapult towers, bringing the whole thing down.

The Night Fury, unholy offspring of lighting and death itself. It was the ultimate prize that every Viking could ever dream. As dark as night, no one have ever seen one, and at every raid he shows up, he never steals any food and, most importantly, never misses.

Another catapult was blown by the huge burst of blue flames as Gobber changed his tong to the modified double axe, and before leaving he turned to me. "Man the fort, Hiccup. They sure need me now out there. Stay. Put. There. Yeh know what I mean" and then he left.

Since I was alone at the forge, and every Viking would be ducking or running for cover or retreating, either with the sheep or captured dragons, I knew no one would come to the forge. And since my Mangler (the bola-shooting wooden contraption of earlier) was finally complete, I decided, totally disregarding my safety or Gobber's words, that I would capture it this night.

I took the Mangler with me as I went off the forge to a nearby cliff, where I could get a clear shot. As I went through, I saw Vikings running like headless chickens, some asking "where are you going?" or "Is he nuts? Get back inside!" but I ignored all of it.

As I reached the cliff, I armed and reloaded the Mangler, waiting patiently for the Night Fury to pass my aim. I cautiously watched the skies. Then, after what felt like hours, I noticed some stars blacking out of the skies, only to latter show up again. I immediately knew what that meant, and aimed to it, just waiting for the Night Fury to roam near the cliff. Then his signature screech erupted from the skies, before he hit a unmanned catapult. Immediately after the blast, I aimed and shot in blind faith, hoping that the bola would hit it, while the recoil had thrown me to the ground. As I got up, I heard a panicked roar, which signaled that I had, indeed, hit my target.

"I hit it? YES, I hit it!"I screamed, feeling victorious, and then noticed a small blue dot getting bigger and bigger and closer to me. I stopped just in time my victorious rant to duck before the blue ball of fire, not nearly as big as the last ones, hit the bola launcher and shattered it to pieces. Briefly checking for injuries, I noticed a stack of wood stuck in my leg. I quickly removed it. Weirdly I was not feeling any pain, perhaps because of the adrenaline of the moment, and got up.

"Oh man, still, did anyone see that?" I turned around, only to find no one. But then I felt hot air passing through my head and neck. Rather disappointed, I turned to find myself face-to-face with a Nightmare

"Except you…" I said, deadpanning, before running and screaming like I never had before so I wouldn't be burned alive, or become a Nightmare's supper. After running and screaming a while, the absent pain from the wound became very present, making me scream more from pain, as I still kept running for my life, rather than from terror or having a Nightmare on my heels.

In my last attempt to protect myself, I hid behind a wooden pole with a metal base, before a wall of flames went through it. Luckily I was unharmed from the flames, and after they suddenly stopped, I decided to peek from my right to see if the dragon was still there. Before I could turn left, Stoick flew at my side, getting the Nightmare away from me (which I didn't notice it was nearly touching me) and started to fight it. The dragon tried to flame, but failed, as I heard him mumble "you're all out" and punched its face 3 times before it flew away.

As he came near the pole, which went down because of the flamed base and with it the giant flaming bowl, he looked at me disappointed, as destruction was caused by the bowl. That's because I forgot to tell you one thing…

"Sorry, Dad"

We stood silent, watching some Nadders that were freed by the bowl fly away with lots of sheep. To break the awkward silence, and to avoid thinking of the huge pain in my right leg which was bleeding now, I (stupidly) spoke:

"Ok, but I hit a Night Fury" and was immediately yanked by the back of my coat toward my house, by him. "Come on, it's not like last few times Dad, I really actually hit it. You guys were busy, and I used the Mangler at the cliff to shoot it. He went down near Raven Point, if we only send a search par…"

I never finished trying to reason with me as he abruptly stopped and shouted: "STOP… just stop. Every time you step outside disasters follows. Can't you see I have bigger problems?! Winter is coming, and I have an entire village to feed!"

Seeing the crowd gather near us, and to lighten the mood I spoke: "Well between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding huh" it obviously was a joke to their weight, since every Viking in the village was big. Not nearly as big as dad or Gobber, but they were big nonetheless. Obviously they didn't take it very well, as many of them held their hands in their stomachs while looking at it.

"This isn't a joke Hiccup, for Odin's beard!" for some reason, he didn't get the joke, so I waited silent for him to finish, before she would get here. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't stop myself dad! I see a dragon and I just have to kill it! It's who I am, it's who you want me to be…" and my voice trailed off. I was upset that he still didn't see I just wanted his approval.

He saw my face but, before he could say anything, a thunderous shout came from behind me: "HICCUP". 'dah dah dah, I'm dead' was the first though in my mind.

As I turned, I saw Heather before me; with the usual 'very angry and worried' face she had every time I went outside on a raid, or tested one of my inventions.

"Really Hiccup? A Nightmare on your heels? What in Midgard were you thinking?" and before I could reply her so she didn't skin myself alive, the pain on my leg stung like a thousand spears had hit it.(I always tried hard to not show any pain for anyone. At least on this I was a Viking, and for some reason, she was the only one that ever noticed these subtle changes. Either the rest didn't care, or it is because of years being patched up by her)

She saw the subtle change in my expression because of the pain and her expression immediately softened. "don't tell me you got yourself hurt again Hiccup?" she asked in this sweet tone that always disarmed any kind of sarcastic reply I could make as she crossed her arms around her chest. The only answer I could give her now was the truth… "Right leg…" I mumbled and she peeked at it, before running toward me, grabbing my right arm and putting around her shoulder.

"Here, lean on me, your leg is pretty bad, and you shouldn't put pressure on it" she said, the sweet tone completely gone and in its place a very worried on, as I extended my arm around her shoulders. "Come on Heather, it's not that bad" but then she cut me abruptly: "YES IT IS… you'll be lucky if you don't need a cane for the rest of your life Hiccup, now lean." her voice was a mixture of my Dad's commanding tone and her sweet one as she spoke. Seeing this as a signal that I am really messed up, I silently obeyed her.

Before going to the Healer's hut she spoke to dad: "Sir, I'd like if you could finish talking to him later, he really needs to patch up his leg, before it gets worse. He already pushed it too far running from the Nightmare. I really don't know how he did it or how he is not screaming his lungs in pain right now" I thought she said the last part to put some credit for me. Vikings do not show pain as everyone knows, but when she speaks like that it gives me some pride that I can manage the pain.

As I looked to dad, waiting his command to go to the healer, I saw a mixture of pride and worry and mostly confusion in his face. He probably didn't even notice the wound. He took a few seconds to speak "Ok Heather, if it is this bad then go to the healer, we'll finish this talk later. Gobber! Make sure he gets to the healer" as we begun to walk to the healer, Gobber came up behind me and gave a light smack in my head for disobeying his orders back at the forge. As we walked to our destination, we passed by the teens, and Snotlout couldn't pass the chance to humiliate me.

"Great work Useless. I never saw someone mess up so badly" he chuckled. "Yeah, quite the performance. We couldn't do better if we wanted" said Tuffnut and his sister nodded, agreeing with him. Either agreeing, or complimenting the destruction I caused, since they pretty much loved causing mayhem.

"Thank you, thank you, I was trying" I said in an attempt to defend myself. But before we were gone I mumbled "at least now I've got a battle scar…" Immediately Snotlout's smile vanished from his face, as he demanded: "what did you say Useless?" but before he could do anything, Gobber came up and smashed him to the ground.

I briefly glared at Fishlegs and Astrid, the only ones that never teased me. For him I knew his reasons, as for her I had no idea. We used to be friends when we were children, and she even punched Snotlout when he begun teasing me, but then she grew distant with the rest and now hardly acknowledge my existence, only doing so to criticize my actions. The weird thing was when I looked at her, I saw behind her fierce mask some… worry? And… she looked like she was a little sad? Perhaps… no, I just lost too much blood and now I am raving. Yes, definitely raving.

As we arrived to the healer, I spoke to Gobber before he left. There were too many things to repair around the village, and Gobber had to help "I really hit one Gobber. He never listens to me" "runs in the family eh?" he teased me, and I knew what he meant. "And when he does, it is always with a disappointed scowl, like someone spit in his stew."

As Heather let me go to open the door, I buffed my chest, and did my best impression of dad:"Excuse me, barmaid! I I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy, with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the sides. This here, this is a talking fishbone!" he chuckled at my good impersonation.

"Now Hiccup. Yeh're thinking about this all wrong. It is not so much what yeh look like, it's what yeh are that he can't stand" as he said that, and I didn't know if he was trying to help, or just being plain honest. Perhaps it was both. "Thank you for summing that up" I replied sarcastically.

He sighed before speaking again "Look, the point is: stop trying so hard being someone yeh're not." Feeling rather upset, and tired, and defeated I moaned before entering the hut "I just want to be one of you guys…" and then I closed the door. I knew Heather would be upset with me because of my injuries, and the quicker I went with it, the quicker I could go search the Night Fury. So I just went and sat in one of the beds, waiting as she had gone to fetch some bandages and herbs.