A/N: Hello there! So, a while back, I was tossing around the idea of a girl-Hiccup. I loved the HTTYD movie (it's my favorite ever, hands-down) and was inspired to write for it, especially after the dvd came out. I saw several fanfics with ideas similar to my own, which further inspired me. Especially one, I believe it was called How A Girl Trains Her Dragon – a fic I really enjoyed, one I recommend reading, and which gave me the motivation to actually write this whole beastly thing out. Most of the fics I read, however, seemed to really stick to the movie, the exact dialogue, etc. Don't get me wrong, they're great stories still, but I wanted to try something different, just to see how it would turn out. My original idea was to stick exactly to the storyline, but create my own dialogue more suited to a female Hiccup.

Well, pretty soon, the story took on a life of it's own, demanding extra scenes, adding extra depth, etc. I also really wanted to provide a great look into the bonding period between Hiccup and Toothless. All in all, this fic does not deviate from the plotline, but I did my best to put my own spin on it, make it my own. (as much as it can be, given that this is FAN fiction, not anything of my own creation.) I'm pleased with how this is turning out, and I really hope you will enjoy this too. So please, stick with me for a little while. The start of this – especially the first chapter – is very similar indeed to the movie. The story will come more into it's own pretty soon, I think, and while not hugely different from the movie, it's enough to be nice and fresh. Enjoy, and I'll love you forever if you review!

Oh, ps: this is my first fanfic! Whoo!

Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD in any way, shape, or form

Chapter One: Disappointment and Fury

Berk. Ten days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing-to-death. It was located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. The village was, in a word, sturdy. It was seven generations old, yet every single building was new. It had hunting, fishing, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problem? The pests. Other places had mice or mosquitoes, but Berk had...

"Dragons!" a young girl cried as she opened the door of her home, only to see a great flying beast spit fire directly at her. With a frightened yelp, she slammed the door shut, bracing herself against it as the dragon's fire hit the outside. Wide green eyes peered outside when the attack subsided, more cautiously this time. Seeing it was clear, the girl ran out into the night, the sky uncharacteristically bright because of the fire spewed by the attacking beasts. Her chin-length auburn hair flopped in the wind, going into even greater disarray than before.

She noticed her people charging at the dragons, yelling and shouting, as was the Viking way. Most people would leave, she thought dryly. Not us. We're Vikings. We have...she paused to note one man pounding the head of a short, fat dragon even as it flew away. ...Stubbornness issues.

"What're ya doin' outside?"

"Git back inside!"

"Get outta here!"

Ah, yes, the charming, welcoming greetings she received from the townspeople. Ignoring their words, she charged ahead, her long, green, dress-like tunic reaching almost to her knees as it slapped against her running legs. A too-big fur vest further protected her from the cold, belted at her waist with a thick band of leather. Dark green leggings provided another barrier between her skin and the freezing night air, and brown leather boots with fur on the inside kept her feet warm.

Her name? Hiccup. It wasn't a great name, to be sure, but it wasn't the worst. Parents tended to think a hideous name would frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that, she scoffed inwardly when a townsperson roared, "RAAAUGH! Mornin'!" right in her startled, freckled face.

Regardless, she pushed onward, looking over her shoulder as she ran. Suddenly, a wall of flames rushed towards her, and she only avoided getting burnt to a crisp when a giant hand yanked on the back of her vest, hauling her backwards and out of mortal danger. Hiccup was left dangling from the arm of Stoick the Vast, chief of the tribe.

"What is she doin' outside agai-" he changed tact, turning Hiccup to face him as he bellowed, "What are you doin' out? Git back inside!"

With that, she was dropped to the ground and unceremoniously shoved towards a cluster of buildings. Hiccup ran, as she was told, and glanced back at the chief. He was one of the largest Vikings in the village, in both height and width. Not that he was fat – no Viking was fat. They were moving lumps of solid muscle. Stoick the Vast was intimidating: in addition to his massive person, he had a huge braided beard, and thick, bushy eyebrows that were often drawn in a frown over his determined gray-green eyes. Both were dark red, a color that reflected his touchy temper. His helmet was set with two very plain but very large dragon horns, a display of prowess. He wore a sleeveless dark green tunic, belted at the waist with a spiked leather strap (complemented by the arm-guards on his lower arms, made of the same material) with chain mail hanging from the belt. He wore even darker green trousers, sheepskin boots, and a bearskin cape, secured by two metal shoulder-pads, which were engraved with his most impressive kills. People said he was but a baby when he killed his first dragon. According to rumor, he popped it's head clean off. Hiccup was not skeptical; the chief was not called the best dragon-killer in history for nothing.

On Hiccup ran, past the giant torches that were raised to the sky to spot the raiding dragons. Finally, she darted into her destination: the smithy. She was safe, and now bent double, gasping for air as she clutched at the cramp in her side.

"Ah, there ya are," a deep voice rumbled a few feet away. Gobber the Belch, the blacksmith, pounded a glowing curved sword. He was just as wide as Stoick, if a little shorter, and had a long, braided blonde mustache. Though he was bald on the top of his head, it was hard to tell, for his helmet, complete with two long, thin, but very sharp dragon horns, rested on his crown. He wore a light yellow shirt, sleeveless, with a dark brown fur vest on top, and striped gray trousers. The blacksmith was missing his left forearm, which had been replaced by a prosthetic with removable attatchments (hook, hammer, mug, sword, etc. Currently he was using the hammer to pound the molten sword into shape), and his right leg, replaced by a fake peg one.

"I was beginning to worry you'd become some dragon's early morning snack. There'd be far too much work for me without my apprentice." the older Viking chuckled, as amused as if it was the funniest joke he'd ever made. Hiccup had long ago learned not to question his sense of humor: it was just plain weird.

"Me? Hardly. I'm much too much for those wimpy dragons to handle," Hiccup bluffed, straightening and trying to act as if she hadn't just been running for her life. Swiftly, she removed her waistband, discarded her vest on a nearby bench, and then replaced the leather belt as she donned her smithing apron. To prove her point, she grasped the a large hammer lying on the floor, and went to put it back in it's holdings on the wall. She gave a grunt as her virtually-nonexistant muscles strained to lift the weight, and finally hauled it off the ground. Triumphant, she turned towards Gobber to smirk, and promptly caught her foot on the uneven ground. Hiccup toppled forward, nearly dropping the hammer on her booted foot, and hit the ground with a crash and a thud.

Gobber laughed, then started forward to help her.

"No, no, I got it," she said, clambering to her feet and picking up the hammer again. This time, she managed to put it in it's place, although her arms were aching afterward. She then darted to the front of the shop and flung open the shutters, as an number of Vikings deposited damaged weapons on the sill. She scooped them up, depositing them in the glowing forge before moving on to the bellows. She had to jump up to grab the upper handle, and then it took the full force of her body weight to bring it down, air bursting from the nozzle and setting the embers aglow. The motions were routine to Hiccup, and she thought about how long she'd been apprenticed to Gobber. Ever since she was young; only eight at the time. She would have liked to think of herself as little back then; it would have implied a distinct change in the size of her body. That, however, had yet to happen. She was still more like a twig than a Viking.

As the broken weapons heated up, Hiccup darted back to the window when she heard a renewed burst of shouting. A dragon had set fire to a house across the way, and the fire was rapidly attempting to spread to more houses. Once again, the people of Berk had lots of chances to remodel.

Then she was distracted by the sight of five younger people, all around her age. They filled buckets with water from a storage barrel, flinging it on the surroundings to keep the fire from spreading too much. Unlike her, they got to go outside and be a part of the action. She wished she could be a part of their team; it was a much cooler job than hers. But no; Hiccup was too small, too weak, and much too prone to causing accidents instead of remedying them to take part.

She sighed wistfully, watching as the other teens hurried about their job. There was a stocky, brown-haired boy with a curly-horned helmet. That would be Snotlout, her rather brutish and arrogant cousin. Then came Fishlegs, a tall, burly girl with lank blonde hair. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the eternally bickering twins, came next. Tuffnut had his hair in three tangled, pale-blonde masses, while his sister's hair of the same shade was neatly braided into three sections. And last...Astren. The blonde boy had his hair tied back, reaching the nape of his neck, and even in the red-orange glow of the fires, Hiccup could clearly discern the bright blue of his eyes. Astren was lean and strong, eternally coordinated, and a fierce fighter. He was everything Hiccup was not, but wanted to be, and that was part of the reason why she had such a massive crush on him.

Gobber rudely pulled her out of her trance by towing her away from the window. Hiccup groaned in frustration.

"Please, for once, let me out! I can prove myself! I could kill a dragon, and then my life will instantly be a thousand times better. They,"she gestured to her peers outside, "might even talk to me. You know, without the mocking."

"Not a chance. Ya've gotten out before, and it's never ended well. Ya can't throw any weapons, and ya can't even lift some of them. Ya've been lucky, very lucky in the past, but if ya push it, one of these days ya'll get yerself killed," Gobber stated dryly. Hiccup winced, for his words about her past attempts at glory were true, but was not discouraged.

"Wait! I know I can't throw anything, but I've solved that problem! This thing throws weapons for me, it's perfect!" she cried victoriously, patting the wooden cylinder fondly. In response, the machine spontaneously flung three metal balls, attatched by thick hemp ropes, into the face of an approaching warrior. Hiccup cringed, knowing that that particular incident had just cost her the chance of escape.

Sure enough, Gobber slapped his massive palm against his forehead in exasperation. "See, this is why yer not allowed out. Ya need to stop this," he gestured vaguely at her, "if ya ever want t' fight dragons."

"You just pointed at all of me!" she objected indignantly.

"Yes."

"But-"

"No, Hiccup. Now, ya stay in here. They need me out there, and I don't want ya scrambling out while I'm gone," Gobber said sternly, swapping his hammer attatchment for a long, sharp dagger one.

"One day, you'll see! I'll kill a dragon, and then-"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just stay, will ya?" Gobber brushed off her idle threat, before dashing out of the smithy with a well-practiced battle cry.

Hiccup waited five seconds before she rushed to reload her weapon-flinging contraption, dashing out the door with it and ignoring the scolding cries of the Vikings around her.

She quickly made her way to a dark, empty cliff top. Aiming her machine seaward, she paused and waited. Earlier, she was sure she heard the telltale whistle of a Night Fury attack. Night Furies were the rarest and most dangerous of all dragons. Though it was not rare for a Night Fury to be a part of the raiding dragons, no one had ever seen it. It was the only dragon Vikings never attempted to fight: every one ran for cover when they heard it coming.

Naturally, it was the dragon Hiccup was out to kill. Deadly Nadders, brightly-colored medium-sized dragons, would make an impressive kill. A Gronkle, short, squat, covered in stubby spikes and with wings that beat like a bee's, was tough to kill; her peers would instantly respect her if she could kill one. A two-headed Hideous Zippleback would double the status a Gronkle would give her. Then, of course, there was the Monstrous Nightmare. They were large dragons, covered in spikes and had long, curved claws on their paws and their wing joints. They also could set their skin on fire, which was what made them the most difficult to kill. Only the bravest and most skilled Vikings went after those. The chief, of course, had killed many of them. But Nightmares killed more Vikings than any other dragon; Hiccup's own mother had fought one and been killed by it. But the Night Fury was the ultimate prize, and she wanted to be the first to get it.

Hence the reason why she stood on the cliff, waiting for her chance. Her only clues to the location of the Fury were the sound it made as it attacked, and – she suspected – the outline it would make when backed by stars or flames.

"Come on!" Hiccup whispered desperately to herself. "I need a shot. One shot, just one shot!"

She paused, and had almost relaxed her stance when she heard it; the whistle of Fury wings against the air. Quickly, she turned her shooter towards the noise, waiting until she could catch a glimpse of it. Blue flames suddenly shot towards one of the catapult towers; and for a split second, she saw the outline of wings. The distant noise of battle disappeared; she could perfectly picture the trajectory of the Fury. She aimed and shot before she could second-guess herself. The machine launched the mass of stones-and-ropes, but knocked Hiccup off her feet with it's severe backlash. The butt of the weapon socked her solidly in the gut and clipped her elbow, drawing blood. She landed hard on the dirt and sparse grass, quickly scrambling into a crouch as she listened for, and then heard, the faint cry of a hit dragon. There was the faintest streak of darker black against the black sky. Hiccup made a mental note of where it appeared to have landed: Raven's Point. Then, as the initial shock wore off, she sprung to her feet, spinning happily in a circle and throwing her hands over her head.

"I did it! I did it! I hit a Night Fury! Who saw that?" she asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer – although she wouldn't have minded a few cheers if someone had seen her victory.

She did have an audience, although she didn't receive the applause she previously hoped for. Instead, there was a crunch as a Nightmare crushed her long-worked-upon machine under one wickedly-taloned paw. It snarled at her, teeth clicking together.

"Besides you!" she finished in a squeak, turning and running back toward the village for her life. As she neared the village, she could hear the beast gaining on her, and screamed in terror. Oh, Gobber was right! He was right! She thought as she dashed through the outskirts of the village, expecting to be bitten in half at any moment.

A stream of fire burst a foot from her left, and she screeched. Perhaps she would be roasted instead of bitten. Either way, the prospect was not pleasant. As she heard the rumble of the dragon preparing to fire again, she ducked behind one of the thick poles that supported the raid-torches. Sticky-looking fire erupted on either side of her, and she wimpered and cringed away from the blistering heat. Luckily, she was spared and suffered no burns. As such, she took advantage of the fact that she was still alive and continued on her mad dash, another scream tearing from her throat.

She made it ten yards, and then tripped over a rock, hitting the ground so hard that the air wooshed out of her lungs and left her breathless, unable to get up.

The Nightmare would be closing in and soon gobble her up.

She heard a roar, and due to the lack of air in her lungs, her scream turned into a squeak. Instead of the feeling of teeth tearing into her skin, she heard the sound of fists meeting scales, then thuds as the dragon when tumbling along with it's assailant. Hiccup still lay on the ground, fighting to put air back in her lungs, and listened to the sound of the battle.

There was a small burp from the dragon, and then a low, rumbling "Yer all out!" followed by a Viking's roar and punches.

Hiccup had managed to haul herself to her knees before her savior yanked her to her feet. Stoick the Vast was glaring down at her (again), scrutinizing her as if checking for any major wounds. His eyes lingered for a moment on her now-very-bloody elbow, but otherwise seemed satisfied – at least with her general health.

He opened his mouth to yell at her, but was distracted by a loud crack. One of the giant-sized torches – specifically the one she hid behind while the dragon tried to fry her – was falling, it's support pole burned away. Hiccup heard the chief curse under his breath, for the torch was headed right for them. Before she could even begin to start running, she was lifted off her feet by the back of her vest, and Stoick was sprinting with her in tow.

They made it out – barely, but they made it. The torch, meanwhile, continued on it's path of destruction, rolling, breaking a ramp, and allowing a pack of Nadders to escape with several sheep in tow. Hiccup cringed at each new development, each time glancing at Stoick, who got more and more enraged.

"Oops. Sorry," she said timidly. She was in for it now. "...Dad."

Her father glowered at her, plopping her feet-first on the ground. He just shook his head in disbelief and disappointment, and Hiccup felt her heart plummet into the ground. Once again, she'd done something to try to make him proud of her, and it had ended in true Hiccup fashion. Useless as normal, she'd botched it all up. Why did she even try?

But then she remembered that at last she succeded. She had shot down a Night Fury, for real! It wasn't a false alarm, she didn't just think she heard something. She knew she heard it cry as it fell, and she also saw it. Raven Point, her brain reminded her.

"Okay, I know this is bad, but I shot down a Night Fury! I really did, it hit around Raven Point, and if we can just go look for it, you'll see, and-" she blurted out everything fast, hoping maybe that she could get it all out before he -

"STOP!"

...interrupted her.

"Just...stop with the excuses, Hiccup. You know yer not allowed out! Every time you get out, you just cause chaos! I don't have the time to deal with yer messes! Winter is coming soon, and I have enough problems as it is. Do you know how hard it is to feed a village?"

"I really don't think they need feeding," Hiccup muttered under her breath. It was true. Vikings were rather oversized.

"I'm not listening to this," her father turned, motioning Gobber forward. "Take her back to the house. I don't need her causing any other catastrophes today."

As the blonde Viking came forward, Hiccup felt her head drop in shame. Dissapointment, anger, and exasperation. What she had come to expect from her dad over the years. And even though she'd actually managed to take down a dragon – a Night Fury! - it made no difference to him. She felt tears well in her eyes, but was well-practiced in holding them back.

"C'mon, you," Gobber said, ushering her forward. "And didn't I tell ya to stay inside?"

Hiccup didn't respond to his reprimand, as they were approaching the other teens. She hoped for once they would pass up a prime opportunity to mock her.

"What a failure!" Snotlout jeered with enthusiasm.

Well, so much for that.

"Shot down a Night Fury? Please," Ruffnut sneered.

Her brother couldn't resist the chance to join in. "Haha, you messed up big time!"

Fishlegs laughed weakly, looking immensely uncomfortable as she did so. Astren was at the back of the group, watching the retreating figures of the dragons. He did not comment, just ignored her.

"Shut yer gobs, ya lot of ruffians," Gobber warned them, cuffing Snotlout sharply on the back of the head.

Hiccup just hurried onward, head down, eyes misting but not spilling over.

It was a long trek to the top of the hill, where her house stood. She passed most of it in silence, which wasn't broken until her mentor spoke up.

"Well, ya had a tough mornin', but I'm sure things'll be lookin' up soon!" he said with forced cheer.

"I don't know why I even bother. Nothing's ever good enough for him," she responded dejectedly.

"Now, that's not true! Sure, he's disappointed a lot, but there's plenty of things ya've done that he's been pleased with. There's, uh...that one time, when you...ah, built that...thing...that almost worked."

"Let's face it! I'm useless, and everyone knows it. I bet he spends time wishing he'd gotten anyone but me for a child. 'Sorry, I'd like to return this child. She's much too scrawny, like a fishbone! And she can't do anything right. I'd like a warrior, preferably a nice, tough boy who grows fast and kills things all the time!'" she mimicked her father's tone of voice.

Gobber opened his mouth to respond, but hesistated, wondering what he could say that wouldn't upset her further. Hiccup saw this and only shook her head at him, hurt and pent-up frustration spilling on to her face. "Don't bother. I know how things are. I've overheard other people's conversations. They run along those lines."

With that, she turned and opened the half-charred door, slamming it behind her. She plopped on the floor, resting her back against the wall, and buried her face in her hands. Why do I always screw things up? It can't possibly be that hard to do one thing right!

She paused. But she had done something right, even if no one believed her. She shot down a Night Fury. Suddenly, her self-pity vanished in exchange for anxiety. She would find that dragon and prove to everyone that she was telling the truth! Now she itched to go looking for it. Quickly, she darted up to her room, scooping up her notebook and charcoal pencil, and slipping her tiny little dagger into her belt.

She opened the back door, checking to make sure no one watched, and ran full-tilt off into the woods.

TADAAAAA! first chapter of AtSO, my first (planned-to-be) full fanfic-story.

I find the Hiccup character to have more traditionally 'feminine' traits than traditionally 'male' traits. Don't get me wrong, this is part of what makes the movie unique and so wonderful, but it also made me think of writing a fanfic with a female Hiccup. The character is overall somewhat 'feminine', which made it feasible to make Hiccup a girl. And yes, the 'Astrid' of this tale is male. I find the Astrid character to be more unisex in traits, especially given the violent nature of Viking lifestyles, but that also makes it easy to switch the gender.

Also note: there are no original characters/characters belonging to me in this story. This is a RETELLING. Hiccup is a girl here, but the traits of the 'Hiccup character' are the same, and I've done my best to stay true to that. The same goes for the male-Astrid.

Please review, your thoughts are always appreciated.