Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rhythmic pounding of iron could be heard from around the island of Berk. Closer to the forge though, you could hear the sounds of pumping bellows and the hiss of metal as it cooled. A lean, 15-year-old brunet, wearing only his trousers, scrambled around to the various stations, trying to keep all the various projects on track. An older man, who was missing an arm and a leg, watched as his young apprentice was almost making the blacksmith work single handedly. Almost being the key word. The older man's name was Gobber, and he chuckled at the sight of Hiccup bustling around the smithy. He had taught every trick he knew about metal work, carpentry, and leather working to this boy. Hiccup, was the boy's name. And though he didn't look it, he could handle many of the weapons inside the show with much more ease than he usually let on. Gobber knew that Hiccup's concern if he showed his real strength, he would be treated differently, and while Hiccup didn't like how he was being treated now, at least people were honest with him. Gobber moved in to work on a hatchet that a family wanted their youngest son, Gustav, to practice with.

Picking up a long sword, Hiccup maneuvered it to a display rack, before rushing back to the war axe that he had been working on. Gobber heard movement outside and went around to the front to see who it was. As he had expected, the owner of the battle-axe was coming back. "Hiccup, delivery time!", He called into the store. Hiccup, understanding the signal, immediately went into making it seem as if his body was struggling to hold the axe upright, and put his shirt back on to hide his muscles.

"Hello A-Astrid." Hiccup said, timidly welcoming the young lady who entered the shop. She was also 15, lean, with a unique skirt that had spikes all over it and a belt made of small, metal skulls. Hiccup had never understood the purpose of it. She moved forward and grabbed the battle-axe from his hand, without a word of thanks. Twirling it in her hand, she swung it around, liking the balanced feel of it.

"Thanks again, Gobber. You always know how to make my axe seem new again." Astrid complimented, ignoring Hiccup, whose shoulders deflated slightly at the compliment directed towards the older blacksmith. Gobber noticed this, but kept up the charade. "Anytime, Astrid. You're our most frequent customer." She jogged back out, and Hiccup's face fell. Another day, another lie he had to tell. Hiccup detested lying, but he knew that some lies were necessary evils."Don't worry." Gobber told him, moving to work on one of the other projects, "She'll come around and see you as you are, one day...I think."

Hiccup spent the rest of the day inside the forge, hammering out imperfections in weapons and armor, keeping the forge's fire going, and generally helping out. As night fell on the island of Berk, Hiccup returned to his house, not knowing that the next few months would change his life…

A/N: This is only the beginning to this story. It is an AU. If you don't like that, stop reading. Please review and give feedback. If you would like to suggest things, please do. This is my first story and I want to make it entertaining for everyone. This is YoungWriter20, signing off.