I do not own the How to Train Your Dragon Franchise.

The Instigator

The morning sun shone down on the island of Berk. The wind was chilly and blistering as always, but for a Berk-day it was rather mild. Most of the Vikings were outside beginning their daily work, but some were gathered in the Great Hall and eating breakfast.

The six Viking teens were among them.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III idly pushed his eggs around his plate. He wasn't terribly hungry but the ritual of eating meals in the Great Hall with his friends was one he never could pass up. After all, spending years eating alone was not something he wanted to return to. And although his friends used to mistreat him, they had apologized and he had forgiven. He never was one to hold grudges.

Despite the short amount of time he had been in the group Hiccup had already picked up a few things about his friends. Whenever Astrid punched you, it was never meant to be in mean-spirit (unless you were Snotlout and continuously said stupid, sexist things). It was simply a show of affection or used to remind Tuffnut that he should be paying attention or to tell Fishlegs he needed to stop being a coward. And when she punched Hiccup...well, he had yet to figure out why she enjoyed punching his arm so much. But he didn't mind the kisses that came after.

When the twins fought it wasn't because they hated each other. In fact, they were inseparable. It was simply something they did. The Thorston siblings fought and they fought rather well. Although Hiccup had to admit that even for Vikings they took 'sibling rivalry' to a whole new level.

Fishlegs, for the life of him, could not keep a secret. One look and he would spill everything. The glares and the consistent pestering made the boy break down faster than anyone Hiccup had ever seen. Regardless, he was still a loyal friend. Just a loyal friend you couldn't tell important secrets.

And finally, there was Snotlout. Since the boy was his cousin Hiccup knew quite a few things about him from the forced family gatherings they occasionally had. Snotlout was loud, obnoxious and arrogant. But despite his smug exterior he could be a decent guy-deep down-when he wanted to be one. But if there one thing Hiccup had always known about his cousin, it was that he couldn't resist a challenge.

"So, are we still going night-flying?" Astrid asked, bringing Hiccup from his thoughts.

"Heck yeah!" Snotlout exclaimed.

The twins paused in their slap-fight to give brief nods before going at it again.

Hiccup smiled. "Hey, Toothless is a Night-Fury. The night is pretty much our realm."

Astrid rolled her eyes with a smirk and cast a curious glance at Fishlegs, who had yet to speak up. "I can't," the boy mumbled, staring at the scratched table. "My parents still aren't too comfortable with the fact that I'm flying a dragon."

"That's understandable," Hiccup assured the boy. "They'll get used to the idea and soon you'll be able to fly whenever you want."

Fishlegs perked up. "You think so?"

From the little that he knew of Fishlegs' parents, Helga and Egil Ingerman were reasonable people who cared very much for their only child. He was sure once they saw that dragon riding was relatively safe they would loosen up. "I do."

Snotlout snorted. "Fishlegs, you're a man. You can't let your parents tell you what to do anymore."

"But...I still live with them." Fishlegs pointed out. "As long as I live under their roof I abide by their rules. And they're reasonable."

"Pfft. You can't let them push you around." Snotlout said firmly. "You gotta stand your ground."

"So, if your father told you right now you couldn't go night-flying, you'd tell him off?" Fishlegs said dubiously.

"You bet!"

"Yeah, right." Fishlegs shook his head.

Snotlout scowled. "I totally would!"

Astrid crossed her arms and smirked. "Fine then. The next time your dad tells you to do something you don't want to do, show him whose boss. I dare you."

And those three little words sealed it.

"You're on." Snotlout growled.

"Snotlout!"

The boy glanced up and discovered that the source of the call was Spitelout. "Yeah, Dad?"

"I need you to help me build the new stables today. We probably won't finish until late, so eat up!" Spitelout ordered.

Snotlout froze. Astrid snickered and glanced at the ceiling. "Thank you, Loki. Well, Snotlout? Why don't you tell him you already have plans?"

"Building the stables won't be that long." Snotlout tried to weasel his way out of the dare. He was not feeling the confidence he had been two minutes ago.

"You heard him. You might not finish until late." Astrid arched an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" Tuffnut grinned. He and his sister had stopped their fighting in favour of something much more amusing. "Are you...chicken?"

"Bawk, bawk!" Ruffnut crowed.

Snotlout bristled and stood up. "Dad!"

The man turned around and eyed his son expectantly. Snotlout took a deep breath. "I've got plans today, so I can't help you out."

The few Vikings that were in the hall stopped their chattering and stared at the insolent boy. Snotlout swallowed thickly and tried to keep his chin held high. Spitelout narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry to tell you that I don't care much of what you have planned. You will be helping me with the construction."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

There. He said it. And the look of pure fury that raced through his father's gaze was not something he felt like facing at the moment.

"You're so gonna get it later!" He hissed to Astrid before racing off, abandoning his breakfast and slamming through the large wooden doors. Spitelout slowly got up from his seat and followed calmly after his son.

"I don't think we'll be seeing Snotlout for the next little while." Astrid laughed.

"Aren't you worried about what he'll dare you to do?" Tuffnut asked.

"Nope." The blonde said firmly. "I can handle whatever Snotlout wants to dish out in revenge."

"This is gonna be good." Ruffnut snickered.

Fishlegs swivelled his head between the twins and Astrid. "What's gonna be good?"

"Fishlegs, my friend." Hiccup sighed and shoved his plate away. "I think we are now about to become sucked into the horrors of a dare war."

...why am I starting another story? I really have no idea. But the teens engaging in a dare contest was too much for me to resist. This is based after the movie and during the TV series.

And here's the fun part-you guys get to give me dares! Yes! So get those creative juices flowing and send those dare ideas in. The more ideas you give the more likely I am to update :P The next chapter, by the way, will be Snotlout daring Astrid to do something. So if you got any ideas, go wild!

Review please, and no flames!