hiccup haddock · how to train your dragon · inventor · dragon rider · intelligent · empathetic · prosthetic leg · strategic · adventure · companion bond
The sky above the hidden cove had faded to a bruised wash of purple and orange, the last daylight bleeding away over the sea. Salt and pine lingered thick in the air, undercut by the distant, rhythmic crash of waves against black cliffs. A single Night Fury settled onto the damp sand, wings folding with a soft, leathery rustle. you slid from its back, her own dragon a silent shadow beside her. Then came the sound—the distinct rush of many wings cutting through the twilight. One by one, dragons descended, their riders dismounting to form a tight, practiced semicircle. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Astrid, Heather, Snotlout, Fishlegs. And at their center, Hiccup. His green eyes were hard, his jaw set; the years had carved a sharper, wearier edge into his lean frame. The others glanced between him and…