(Hiccup's POV)
The arena roared with noise.
Students leaned over the railings while Gobber the Belch waved his hook toward the dragon gate.
"Last round for today!" he shouted.
Hiccup stepped into the center of the training ring while the others watched.
The gates burst open and a Monstrous Nightmare stormed into the arena.
Flames flickered between its teeth.
The dragon lunged.
Hiccup moved.
Not fast.
Not panicked.
Just calm.
The Nightmare snapped at empty air.
The crowd murmured.
Hiccup raised his shield slowly, guiding the dragon's attention away rather than attacking.
The dragon hesitated.
Confused.
Gobber folded his arms.
"Well now…"
Hiccup stepped sideways again.
The Nightmare lunged.
Missed.
Gobber blew the whistle.
"That'll do!"
The arena erupted in cheers.
Everyone was impressed.
Everyone except Astrid Hofferson.
She didn't cheer.
She watched.
Carefully.
Hiccup avoided her eyes as he left the arena.
Later
The forest path was quiet as Hiccup hurried toward the hidden basin.
He checked behind him once.
Then again.
Nothing.
Satisfied, he slipped deeper into the trees.
The waterfall came into view first.
Then the pond.
And beside it—
Toothless.
The Night Fury lifted his head when Hiccup stepped into the clearing.
"Hey, bud."
Hiccup tossed a fish.
Toothless caught it easily.
Hiccup sat down beside the pond and opened his notebook.
"Training went well today."
Toothless snorted.
"Turns out dragons are a lot easier when you understand them."
He flipped through several pages of sketches.
Wing positions.
Attack patterns.
Behavior notes.
All learned from the dragon sitting beside him.
Above the clearing, hidden high among the branches overlooking the basin, the bat-winged dragon watched quietly.
Her ears turned slowly as she listened.
Below, the human and the Night Fury sat peacefully beside the pond.
The trust between them had grown strong.
But the forest around them had changed.
Someone else was here.
Toothless noticed it first.
His head snapped toward the path.
A low warning rumble rolled through his chest.
Hiccup looked up.
"What is it?"
The Night Fury stood slowly.
Hiccup turned.
A figure stepped out of the trees.
Blonde hair.
Battle armor.
Eyes wide with disbelief.
Astrid.
She stared at the dragon.
Then at Hiccup.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Toothless spread his wings slightly.
Astrid grabbed her axe.
Hiccup jumped to his feet.
"Astrid, wait—"
She charged.
Toothless reacted instantly.
The Night Fury lunged forward and grabbed both of them, pinning them against the ground with his forelegs.
Astrid struggled.
"Get it off me!"
"Don't move!" Hiccup shouted.
Toothless looked at him.
Hiccup scrambled quickly toward the saddle strapped to the dragon's back.
"Okay, okay, okay…"
He climbed into place and slammed his foot down on the pedal.
Behind them the artificial tail fin snapped open.
Toothless's wings spread wide.
"Astrid—hold on!"
The dragon launched.
The ground dropped away beneath them as the Night Fury surged into the air.
Astrid screamed as the forest rushed past below.
Hiccup gripped the saddle tightly.
Toothless climbed higher, wings beating powerfully as they cleared the treetops.
High above the clearing, another dragon watched them rise into the sky.
The bat-winged dragon opened her wings slowly.
The moment she remembered had finally arrived.
And the flight that would change everything had begun.