(Hiccup's POV)
The training arena was louder than usual.
Hiccup stood in the sand while the other students circled nervously around the dragon in the center of the ring.
A Gronckle snorted smoke as it waddled forward, heavy body swaying as it searched for something to bite.
Gobber folded his arms and shouted over the noise.
"Alright! Who remembers the first rule of fighting a Gronckle?"
Fishlegs raised his hand immediately.
"They have thick armor plates, extremely high body density, and they digest rocks for—"
"—Less talking, more surviving!" Gobber interrupted.
The Gronckle suddenly lunged forward.
Everyone scattered.
Hiccup jumped sideways just before the dragon snapped its jaws where he had been standing.
He rolled across the sand and scrambled back to his feet.
But instead of panicking like usual, Hiccup watched the dragon.
Really watched.
The way its wings shifted when it turned.
The way it inhaled before breathing fire.
Something clicked in his head.
"Wait," he muttered.
The dragon stomped toward him again.
Hiccup stepped aside just as the Gronckle tried to bite.
The dragon's heavy body forced it to turn slowly.
Hiccup pointed toward the dragon.
"It can't turn fast!"
Gobber raised an eyebrow.
"Well look at that," he said.
The Gronckle charged again.
Hiccup sidestepped.
The dragon overshot him completely.
Astrid stared at him.
"You didn't run."
Hiccup blinked.
"…I didn't run."
Gobber scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"Interesting."
Later
Hiccup sat on the cliffs overlooking Berk.
His notebook rested open across his knees.
The pages were filled with sketches.
Dragon wings.
Dragon tails.
Behavior notes.
He flipped to a new page and began writing.
"Gronckle: slow turning radius. Attack from sides."
He paused.
Then added another line.
"Observation based on Toothless."
The wind carried the distant sound of waves crashing against the rocks below.
Hiccup looked out over the ocean for a moment.
Then closed the notebook.
"Time to test another theory."
The Hidden Basin
The pond shimmered softly under the afternoon sunlight when Hiccup stepped into the clearing.
Toothless was already there.
The Night Fury lifted his head immediately when Hiccup arrived.
"Hey, bud."
Hiccup tossed a fish toward him.
Toothless caught it easily.
Hiccup sat down on the same rock near the pond.
"I figured something out today."
Toothless blinked.
Hiccup opened the notebook again.
"The dragons in training? They all have tells."
He pointed to one of the sketches.
"Like when they're about to attack."
Toothless tilted his head.
Hiccup leaned forward slightly.
"You do it too."
Toothless snorted.
Hiccup flipped another page.
"See?"
The drawing showed Toothless with slightly raised wings and flared ears.
"You do that right before you pounce."
Toothless stared at the drawing.
Then at Hiccup.
Hiccup smiled.
"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."
Above the clearing, hidden in the high branches overlooking the pond, another dragon watched.
The bat-winged dragon stretched along the thick limb of a pine tree, her enormous ears rotating slowly as she listened.
The human had begun understanding dragons.
Not as enemies.
As animals.
Predators with instincts.
Patterns.
Language.
Below, Toothless finished another fish and flicked his tail lazily.
Hiccup glanced toward the tail again.
The missing half of the fin dragged across the grass.
He leaned forward slightly.
"Still thinking about how to fix that."
Toothless flicked the damaged tail.
Hiccup scratched his chin.
"Working on it."
The wind rustled the leaves around the basin.
Above them, the bat-winged dragon watched quietly.
For years she had studied the creatures that lived in these forests.
But now—
The human was studying dragons the same way.