Chapter One

A/N: Hey guys! Welcome back! :D Just a few things to be aware of before you start...

1. This first chapter is set-up for what's to come. Slight Hiccstrid but not really.

2. This chapter, in particular, could be considered a 'prequel' of sorts for HTTYD 2... (you'll see)

3. I'm going to try to keep this one decently short and make sure the pacing isn't too fast or slow. (That was a bit of an issue in Blood Letter, or it was in my opinion at least.)

4. This was inspired by a prompt I received from Slowpoke09 (it was fairly vague so I just built a story around the two scenarios they gave me.)

I hope you like it and don't forget to REVIEW! :D

In response to...

Slowpoke09: AT LONG LAST! Your request has been posted! (Sorry for the wait...)

OinkyThePiggy: Yay! I'm glad my posting schedule helped you out in the morning. XD I'm not exactly a morning person, myself...

InfinitiumAce: Oh my god. XDD Just...the whole review... XDDDD I read that in the HALLWAY at SCHOOL and I was laughing OUT LOUD and people gave me the weirdest looks...but I don't care. Because it was funny. *Ahem* Good job on finishing your exams! And like I said before, I LOVE long reviews! They're not useless, they make me happy!

NightFury999: Unfortunately, Venomous is not a continuation of Blood Letter...although I am thinking about another sequel for Hope and Heir/Blood Letter... Eventually.

Foxlight The Dragon Trainer: D'aww, don't be sad! The new story is posted so...buck up! :D

Blue - The First Traveller: W-wow...! Thank you! (God, I'm such a DORK. Like always, the only thing I can think of is 'thank you'.) But seriously! THANKS! And yeah, I can imagine Blood Letter not holding everyone's attention all the time. The pacing, admittedly, was pretty slow at times. Which is something I'm going to try to fix here. And once again, thank you for such a wonderful compliment!

Jo: Lol! *bows for the crowd* Thank you! Thank you! I will treasure this cheesy-ending award forever!

Breyannia: I honestly don't know if there will be a sequel. I wasn't planning on one but I feel like there could be one if I tried hard enough... I don't know. We'll see, I guess. And I'm glad you liked the story! :D

Angelic915: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed Blood Letter and I hope Venomous is worth the wait!

Jesusfreak: Well I'm glad you didn't think the ending was cheesy...even though it pretty much was. XDD Whatever. I'm corny and I'm proud! And that's fine you didn't always review, I understand just not being able to think of something or simply not feeling like it. And I guess you'll just have to wait and find out if you're right about your guess for this fanfic...

On the isle of Berk, most every day is spent beneath a thick layer of grey clouds or within a flurry of white snow. Especially during the winter, when the Viking occupants of the island's village simply content themselves with wrapping up extra tight in their thick, fur clothing and braving the harsh weather. Of course, now that dragons have become a daily part of the Hooligan's lives, heat is a bit easier to come across. But no less necessary.

Which is why, on days when the clouds finally break and the sun's rays are able to grace the tiny village below, the Vikings practically flood the dirt streets outside their homes. Lingering by the Great Hall and dragon pens, where they feed and play with their new companions, their jubilant booming voices so loud they can heard by the smallest of their members as he glides overhead on the back of his jet-black Night Fury...

Hiccup smiles radiantly as he and Toothless arc upward toward the cloudless sky, his dragon's wings twisting in circles through the clear blue. "C'mon, bud!" He shouts over the roar of the wind. "We're headed east today!"

Toothless drones in response, his powerful body rumbling beneath his Rider as he obediently banks to the east. His ears twitch at the sound of paper flapping wildly in the wind. Glancing over his shoulder, he finds his human flattening his father's map of the known Viking world across the saddle in front of him, eyes intent as they flicker over the page.

When Hiccup notices his dragon's curiosity, he smirks. "I finally convinced my Dad to hand it over." He explains proudly, motioning to the map. "Now that the whole issue with the Outcasts and Berserkers is over and the Screaming Death has left the archipelago, we finally have some free time. Might as well use it productively."

His Night Fury switches his attention back to flying but continues to wonder what Hiccup is planning to do with that map. He mentioned they would have more free time to fly now...so does that mean they're going somewhere special? But then Toothless decides it doesn't matter. So long as they're together and they get to fly more often, he's totally fine with it!

Hiccup seems to sense his friend's approval of their little field trip and chuckles to himself before returning to the map, where he's trying to fiddle it into the notches he used to keep his cheat sheet in. The space is a little small but as long as they don't pull too many crazy stunts, it should stay in place... Once it's been secured, he reaches into his vest and fishes for the compass Gobber gave him before they left earlier this morning. It's small and rusty and he's pretty sure it might be slightly less accurate than it probably should be but, in all, it should work.

Lining it up with the pencil lines on the map, he steers Toothless a bit more to their right, bracing himself when the Night Fury's wings bank upward and the two of them almost turn sideways because of it.

"Easy, Toothless." Hiccup says soothingly, patting his friend's side. "Dad'll kill me if I lose this map..."

Toothless coos apologetically and levels off once more. But that's when he tilts his head a little, ears twitching back and forth as he listens to the familiar sound in the distance...

"Hm? What is it, bud?" Hiccup asks him, turning around in the saddle to try and spot what his dragon obviously hears. But he, too, hears them before he sees them.

"Hiccup!" It's Astrid's voice that catches his attention and he turns in the right direction, waving at his friend as Stormfly picks up the already-feverish pace of vibrantly colored wings.

"Slow down a bit, bud." Hiccup suggests, stroking his Night Fury's side once he and Astrid are flying side by side. "Good morning, m'lady." He greets with a pleasant smile.

The Viking girl smirks back at him and eyes the map curiously, her blonde braid and bangs flying wildly in the rushing air. "And what're you two doing all the way out here?"

Hiccup shrugs and awkwardly shifting his weight in the saddle. "We were just going to do some exploring a little further from the island. Care to join us?"

She arcs an eyebrow, still grinning at him. "Exploring? Sure, I'm in. But...what exactly are you expecting to find out there?"

Her friend shrugs again and starts folding up his father's map, now that he has a sense of direction. "I don't know. That's what exploring is for, I guess: to find out."

Astrid rolls her eyes at his sarcasm and guides Stormfly a little closer to his Night Fury so she can get a peek at the map before he puts it away. Her expression suddenly turns thoughtful, almost dreamy, when she says, "Imagine how many species of dragons there must be out there... I mean, just in last few months we've discovered tons of new kinds...and that was without even leaving the archipelago."

Hiccup stares at her distant gaze for a moment, remembering how many times he's wondered exactly that. "I don't know." He admits. Then, finally stuffing the map back into his vest, he faces forward again and offers her a challenging grin. "But we certainly won't find out by flying around the same spot forever."

Astrid seems to agree with him, having snapped out of her reverie. "Then let's get going." She decides. "We've got seven generations worth of information to compensate for!"

Hiccup chuckles at her as they speed up, the two dragons and their Riders leaving Berk far behind as they begin to glide over long-forgotten waters, glittering waves lapping at the bases of nearby sea stacks. However, the further they fly, those same rock towers seem to wider and wider apart...leaving nothing but open ocean and sea dragons below them.

An hour passes, then another. The sun glares down over them, its rays feeling hotter than either teen can ever remember. Eventually, Hiccup shrugs off his vest and stuffs it into his satchel, determined not to let something like a little heat ruin their flight. Besides, the dragons don't seem to mind. And neither does Astrid, for that matter. Then again, without her shoulder guards -which she shed long ago- she's actually wearing a very light outfit, well-suited for such a heat wave.

She seems to notice him staring and offers Hiccup a quizzical smirk. "How are you holding up over there, Long-Sleeves?"

He chuckles at her joke and shakes his head. "Uh, a little...toasty. But fine otherwise. You?"

She shrugs. "Toasty's a pretty accurate word..."

They both laugh at their predicament and then Hiccup suggests that maybe they should find a place to land and cool off before they head back. "I want to add something to this map, anyway and I can't do that while I'm flying."

Astrid blinks in surprise. "You want to change the map? Don't you think your dad will get angry if you do that...?"

Hiccup shakes his head, seeming sure of himself. "I won't change it, just add pieces. I'll take some pages from my notebook and attach it to the sides or something..."

"Alright, if you say so." And so the two Riders start looking for a good place to land. So far, all they've seen is little half-submerged sandbars or tiny piles of rock jutting out of the water. Not exactly optimal places to rest...

That is, until Astrid spots something in the distance. "Hey, look! Sea stacks!"

Hiccup leans forward in the saddle, squinting through the sun and glaring water to see what she's pointing at. Surely enough, there is a group of about a dozen or so rocky towers standing proudly out of the sea, gleaming green with moss and little bursts of grass. He looks over at her and nods approvingly. "We can cool down there and then head back once we're feeling up to it."

And moments later, Stormfly and Toothless are flapping down onto the tops of the largest sea stack. Their Riders slide down onto the slippery ground and stretch their legs as Hiccup fishes through his satchel for the map and his notebook, which he tears a page out of and taps his chin contemplatively, trying to recall everything they saw as they flew past.

He makes a quick sketch with his charcoal pencil before sliding it back into the cover of the book so he can paste it onto the actual map later.

"Hiccup, look!" Astrid gasps as she rushes to the edge of the stack, pointing an excited finger out across the water. "Are those Scauldrons?!"

He hurries over to join her, curious what she's talking about. A small gasp escapes his lips at what he sees below.

The ocean beneath them is practically roiling with fins and wings. They spot flashes of blue, green, grey, even white as the pod of Scauldrons dance through the water, spraying their mist and hot steam into the air. The high-pitched squeal of their calls suddenly breaks the air as a handful of them dive out of the sea, instantly fanning open their wings and rocketing straight up into the sky!

They bypass Astrid and Hiccup without a second thought, not sensing them as a threat, and simply disappear into the clouds as if they, too, were waves and water.

"Wow..." Hiccup breathes as he stares up into the sky and then back down to the ocean, where more of the sea-dwelling dragons are passing by. "Have you ever seen a Scauldron act like that?"

"Never..." Astrid assures in a voice of awe that matches his own. When she looks over at him, she finds his green eyes alight with fascination. What he says next doesn't surprise her in the least.

"We need to keep doing this..." He mutters, referring to their exploration. "Just a few hours and we've already seen dragon behavior no one has ever found before!"

Astrid smiles at him in amusement. "On the other hand, the Book of Dragons will be overflowing in no time if this keeps up..."

Hiccup glances up and meets her eyes, his lips tugging up in a knowing smirk. He opens his mouth to say something but is cut off when one of the Scauldrons explodes out of the sea and up into the sky, the water that clings to its scales dumping over the sea stack and drenching the two Riders so suddenly that they both cry out in surprise.

Dripping wet and shocked, Hiccup and Astrid just stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Well! I think we're cooled down now!" He exclaims, shaking the moisture from his arm.

"Definitely." She agrees as she wrings out her braid.

Toothless waddles over and sniffs Hiccup curiously, his nose wrinkling up as if he's grossed out by the smell. Stormfly, too, squawks and flaps her wings, seeming flustered.

"What's the matter, girl?" Astrid asks as she reaches out to soothe the Nadder, her brow drawn in concern. "We don't smell that bad, do we?" She looks questioningly at Hiccup, who shrugs in reply from where he's also stroking Toothless's neck.

"Wet-human smell, maybe?" He jokes weakly.

Astrid rolls her eyes and is about to call him out on his poor sense of humor when Stormfly suddenly lurches away from her and snaps open her wings, shrieking in terror. The Nadder's yellow eyes are focused intently on the ground a few feet behind Hiccup... Turning, Astrid finds the source of her dragon's distress.

And it comes in the form of a tiny, orange-yellow dragon that seems to be only slightly bigger than a Fireworm. The peculiar creature tilts its tiny head at Astrid and squeaks, its little wings flapping as it fearlessly, curiously advances on them. And in turn, both Toothless and Stormfly roar in fear and scramble away, seemingly petrified of the thing.

"What...is that thing?" Hiccup wonders as he stares at the dragon.

"I have no idea." Astrid admits. "I've never seen this species before."

"Neither have I...I don't think it's in the Book of Dragons." Hiccup remarks as he takes a little, cautious step toward it, earning him an outraged cry from his dragon.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Astrid barks. "We have no idea what that thing is capable of!"

And Hiccup pauses. Toothless definitely seems afraid of this thing...so maybe he should stay away. But before he gets the chance to move, the tiny dragon leaps into the air, its wings beating so quickly they actually buzz. Like a honeybee or a wasp. It flies toward him so suddenly that Toothless hisses and bears his fangs, trying to curl his body around his Rider to protect him.

But the little creature doesn't appear to want trouble... It hovers about a foot in front of Hiccup's face and tilts its head at him, appearing to survey him and his Night Fury before releasing a tiny squeak-sound, which Toothless replies to with a harsh growl.

"It doesn't seem very aggressive..." Hiccup comments.

"But it doesn't look scared either. And Toothless is much larger than it is." Astrid retorts, although she has to admit it doesn't seem dangerous anymore. Even though the dragons are still beside themselves with fear. "Why do you think Toothless and Stormfly are so afraid of it?"

"No clue." Hiccup suddenly smirks when the little dragon's flight pattern becomes clumsy as a breeze brushes past them and it tumbles to the ground once more, landing heavily on its bottom and shaking its head. With a chuckle, he steps away from Toothless and kneels in front of the other dragon, earning him a horrified stare from his Night Fury. "Look at that!" Hiccup says, pointing to its feet. "No claws."

"And it's so small." Astrid adds. "How does it defend itself?"

"I'm not sure." The boy gasps quietly when the little thing suddenly scurries up his outstretched hand, coming to a stop on his wrist. It squeaks at him and flaps its wings, earning a giggle from him. "Seems harmless to me!" When he looks over, he finds Astrid smirking at him. "What?" He asks, referring to her amused look.

But she only shrugs and strolls over to his disgruntled Night Fury and soothingly pets Toothless's side. "See, Toothless? That little dragon isn't a threat." Of course, the only response she gets from him is another series of angry drones and a very dark glare.

Hiccup smiles apologetically at his friend, remembering that Toothless can be very overprotective of him. "Sorry, bud." He says, gently removing the tinier creature from his hand and standing up. "Do you want to go?"

Toothless roars his confirmation before stomping over to Hiccup and biting his tunic. With a single yank of his powerful neck, he practically tosses the boy onto his back and storms over to the edge of the sea stack, eager to leave this dangerous place.

Hiccup steals a confused look back at Astrid, who simply shrugs again in response. She mounts Stormfly and guides her Nadder to the edge as well. Together, they take off back in the direction of Berk, content they've left that oddity behind.

"We'll come back later." Hiccup tells Astrid once they're far enough away. "I want to at least get a sketch of that thing for the Book of Dragons. But for now..." He motions to Toothless, who is still acting a bit nervous. "I think we should let him calm down."

She nods in agreement of the plan but is also silently eager to learn more about that dragon. It just seemed so docile. It's a shame they had to leave so soon...

But as both Riders glide off toward home, they neglect to notice the tiny, pink bump that has appeared on Hiccup's wrist, just below the cuff of his sleeve...

A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget: I love REVIEWS!

PS, for anyone who has read the HTTYD books and figured out what dragon that is: yes, I've changed some details about it and more changes will come later. (Simply for originality/time's sake)