AN: This was written at the request of Astrid Goes For A Spin, who wanted a story of modern AU that paralleled a scene from the movie, and then Hayden (the modern version of Hiccup) would imagine himself, through a creative outlet, as a Viking in a fantasy world where he could escape from reality. I think I went a little bit of a different direction, but when I showed it to her, Astrid Goes For A Spin was fine with it, and really seemed to like it, so I decided to also post it here for others to enjoy and to get any constructive feedback that could help me improve my writing for future stories. Let me know what you think!

Also, if you have a request of your own you'd like me to do, please feel free to ask!

"Hey! You're, um…Hiccup, right?"

The lanky teenager with chestnut hair and green eyes turned around with a sarcastic retort on hand. Hiccup was one of the (ironically, more polite) names that the bullies and jocks used to mock him…along with the girls…and just about the whole student body in general…and sometimes the teachers too, if they thought they could away with it (and they could). Hey, just because the teachers liked his grades, but that didn't mean they liked him.

But any sarcastic comeback he had died in his mouth when he saw who had called out to him.

Ashley Hopperson.

Ashley; the head cheerleader and all-around most beautiful, stunning, popular, and one of the most athletic girls in school. Every teenaged boy's dream. And in just this one (and perhaps only one) respect, he was exactly like every other teenaged boy.

"Uh, that is your name, right?"

He jumped back and embarrassingly realized he had been staring at her like a fish gulping for air for several seconds now.

"Oh, um, it's Hayden actually," he mumbled out and then mentally slapped himself.

You idiot! You don't correct Ashley Hopperson! If she says your name is Hiccup, then for once in your life, you go along with it! Smooth, Hiccup; realllyyy smooth!

"Oh, sorry," she continued on without any real conviction, "but can I ask you a favor?"

A favor from Ashley Hopperson? Either he had finally done something very good for the "Man Upstairs", or said "Man" had finally decided he'd had enough of having unruly Hayden under his jurisdiction and traded away his soul to the Devil as punishment.

Either way, just so long as he got to do something for Ashley Hopperson, then he would happy with the outcome!

"My car is in the shop and one of my friends was supposed to pick me up and take me to the field for cheering practice," she gestured down at her cheerleading uniform, as if it wasn't already apparent to every male student (including Hayden, who was standing right in front of her) that she was the head cheerleader. "But something came up and now my cell doesn't work out here. If it's not out of the way, can you give me lift? Or at least let me borrow you cell?"

His soul must have been traded to the Devil, because God had never been this merciful to him.

Hayden either nodded or stuttered yes or something along those lines (he was still in a daze and wasn't sure which, only that is wasn't nearly as suave or smooth that he would've liked). He tried his best to recompose himself as they walked across the school's empty parking lot.

He had stayed long after class to finish up his woodshop project. He signed up for it as a compromise between his father, who had wanted him to sign up for a sport, and with his own body…which, by its own inadequate nature, automatically precluded him from actually being good at any type of sport.

He had pleaded and begged to try and get out if it. But now, walking Ashley Hopperson to his car, he swore he would never doubt his dad again (or at the very least, he would wait until he next saw him at dinner). However, the kind thought for his father left his mind when he suddenly remembered just what kind of car he was escorting her too.

Everyone knew Ashley's dad had bought her a brand new, top-of-line, bright blue, Cadillac Stormfly convertible and that she would go ballistic on anyone that she thought might have even accidentally scratched it even a tiny bit when they opened their own car door after parking next to it.

Hayden's dad, on the other hand, had bought him a used mid-90's model Honda Night Fury, which, despite the awesome-sounding name, was really just your basic no-thrills Japanese compact, except for the small tail-fins…and one of those had been sheared off. It was painted black when it was brand new, but now it had dulled and rusted through in several places.

Though still in a nervous daze, Hayden at least had his wits about him enough to act like a polite gentleman and open the passenger door for her. He glanced at her anxiously. She didn't seem concerned about the car. She did seem a bit peeved that he had opened the door for her, as if she couldn't do it herself.

Hayden sighed and went around to the driver's side.

Smooth, Hayden; realllyyy smooth. She's right; you deserve the name Hiccup.

They drove down the straight, dusty, two-lane rural road. The all-purpose sports field, which was shared by all the small towns in the sparsely-populated county, was about a half-hour drive out.

Silence ensued.

Hayden would've offered to turn on the radio, but said radio only got AM stations, and all of the AM stations in the area had stopped broadcasting a few years ago. So he fiddled around, his hands nervously tapping against the worn and peeling rubber around the steering wheel, trying to think of something, anything, to say that wouldn't make him sound like a bigger loser than he already was.

Fortunately for him (or perhaps not), it seemed that Ashley wanted to beat him to the punch.

"Sooo…um, not to sound nosy or anything, but I could've sworn I've heard people call you Hiccup?"

He didn't know whether to feel relieved that she wanted to talk to him, and even better, had apparently actually noticed him before, or to feel horrified that her first impression of him was associated with his, well, being a loser.

"Oh, that's just ahhh, err, little nickname the guys call me. O-Only out of jest, of course. You know, like, "Butterfingers" or, um, something. J-Just because I may have done something clumsy…maybe…once or twice."

"Actually, it was the girls that were calling you that, not the guys."

"O-Oh," he tried not to sound disappointed, but failed horribly.

"Uhh, yeah. Hey, isn't your dad the mayor?"

Hayden had to squint so that he wouldn't seem rude if he rolled his eyes.

Of course she would know that his father was the town mayor. She didn't even know his real name, but she knew his dad was the mayor. Yep. Of course.

Hayden didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like they were a large city or anything. Berkston barely had a thousand souls, and the town's main sources of income came from farming and oil. The town once had a few thousand more people, decades ago, but then they had pumped most of the oil out of the ground and most of the town just, well…died. Hayden was often tempted to point out that they were now pumping water out the ground faster than it could be replenished, just like they had done with the oil, and that it would inevitably end up with the same results all over again, except this time the town would have nothing to fall back on.

Somehow, he didn't think he would be very well received. If there was one word to describe the people of Berkston, it was stubborn.

And Hayden usually hated it when people brought up his father's position. Really, all his father did was attend the council meeting once a month and then once a year he'd helped draft the city's (extremely meager) budget. But everyone acted like he was the governor or something. However, considering that this was Ashley Hopperson he was trying (and failing miserably) to impress, he would take every advantage he could get, real or not.

"Oh, yeah! You know my dad; big-shot decision maker and all…um…that."

The words sounded hollow even to him.

Hayden would've slammed his forehead against the steering wheel if it wouldn't have made him look like an even bigger idiot in front of Ashley than he already was. But for some reason beyond his comprehension, Ashley seemed to pity him, (or more than likely, was embarrassed by his response) and moved to change the subject.

"Well, what were you doing after school so late? I thought everybody had left except me and the janitor."

"Oh, I was finishing up a project in woodshop. You know, I like to work with my hands and all; being creative and what-not."

"That's cool. So, what were you making?"

"Oh, you know, it was a, umm, birdhouse."

Ashley burst out laughing, and Hayden scowled. But after a moment he realized that it wasn't the cruel and malicious type of laughter that he was so used to, but actually the humorous, good-hearted type. Hayden couldn't help but also laugh along. It had been a long time since he had a good-natured laugh with another person.

"H-Hey it's not that funny!" he chuckled.

Ashley snickered, "Of course not! Hey, you know what they say about birds; they have to- LOOK OUT!"

"Uh, wha-? OH CRUD!"

SCREEEECCCHHHHH

Hayden felt his body slam against Ashley's shoulder as he suddenly jerked the steering wheel and the car nearly side-winded off the road and into a ditch. If the situation weren't so harrowing, he would've been cheering internally that he actually touched Ashley.

"A-Are you okay?" he gasped out shakily, after they had screeched to a halt, the smell of burnt rubber wafting into the air.

"Y-Yeah, I think so. Geez, what was that?! It came out of nowhere! Was that a dog?"

"I don't know," Hayden replied as he undid the seat belt and got out of the car to look back down the road.

Just mere inches from the still-smoldering black tire-marks in the road was what appeared to be a limping dog.

"Did we hit it?!" yelled Ashley worriedly from back inside the car.

"I'm not sure!" yelled back Hayden as he ran out towards the animal and inspected it.

Ashley heard him mumble something along the lines of, "Oh crap!" before he quickly ran back to the car and opened the back door, taking out a spare jacket that was strewn across the back seat.

"Well?!" she inquired impatiently.

"It's injured, but we're not the ones that did it!"

Ashley yelled out at him to ask him what he meant, but he was already gone. Straining herself, she turned around to watch as Hayden cautiously approached the animal and then wrapped the jacket around its head and part of its body before crouching down and then gently, but hurriedly, lifting it up and trotting back to the car. As he got closer, she could see something hanging down from the one of the animal's hind legs.

Hayden approached her side of the car.

"Um, could you switch to the back-seat? We need to get it to a vet and I don't want it moving around back there where I can't see it."

"Hicc-…Hayden, I don't think that's a dog!"

The shape was undeniably canine, but much lengthier and leaner than a typical dog, and despite its young age, Ashley could tell that it was also much larger than most dogs would've been. Finally, the scruffy and dark grey, almost black, fur gave it away.

"No, I think it's a coyote," he said

"A coyote!"

Ashley would've jumped out of her seat had she still not been wearing her seat belt.

"Yeah, and it's injured!" he stated the obvious.

Ashley could see the metal snare clamped down solidly on the creature's hind leg along with an old rusted chain attached to it with one of the links broken off. The leg itself was open and grotesque, with muscle and even a bit of bone showing through.

"I think it tried to chew through the trap, but busted its teeth against the metal. It must have tried gnawing through its own leg to get it off."

"Hayden, it's a COYOTE!"

"Yes, we've been through this!" Despite his best efforts, he was becoming frustrated and resorting to his defensive sarcasm. "Now can you please switch seats already?"

"For a mangy coyote?! No way!"

Hayden sighed, "Look, I promise I'll drop you off at the stadium, it's on the way to the vet, but I really need you to move first!"

"Just leave it on the side of the road! It's a coyote, not a dog! I'm not going to ride in a car with a wild coyote!"

"Then just get out of the car!"

"What? No way!"

"Look, I'll give you my cell phone so you can call somebody, but it's my car and one way or another, this coyote is coming with me, so decide now please!"

Through the slight panic in his mind, he knew that he just blew any chance he'd ever have of Ashley ever wanting to become his friend, but right now he didn't care. The injured animal he carried in his arms was going to need his help if it was going to survive and Ashley didn't really need him for anything, except maybe a one-time ride to the practice field.

Despite that, Ashley looked worried. She glanced up and down the road from her seat, looking for any passing cars or signs of civilization other than endless cotton fields. There were none. Hayden could tell she really didn't want to be left out here alone, despite the fact he was sure a strong girl like her was more than capable of defending herself.

She finally acquiesced, huffing out a reluctant, "Fine!"

"Good! Now you can either get in the backseat or I can put him in your lap, which one is it?"

Ashley spent little time in unbuckling and quickly crawling over into the back seat, not even bothering to open the door for fear of being near the wild animal, and leaving Hayden to awkwardly reposition himself as he opened the door with one hand, while still holding the injured coyote in the other. She froze for the half-minute that it took Hayden to set the canine down, close the door, and run around to the driver's seat and then hit the gas and sped off; fearful that the coyote would suddenly lunge at her the second she was alone in the car with it. She grabbed her backpack and held it in front of her as a shield, even though the coyote had done nothing but lay there and whimper in pain.

After several minutes of silence, with her courage built up, Ashley tried to plead with him again.

"Hayden, coyotes are rabid, disease-carrying nuisances! They eat people's pets and livestock! My dad loses dozens of his sheep to them every year! That's why people lay traps out for them in the first place!"

"They're only trying to survive just like any other animal. It's not like they're attacking our livestock because they're malicious or anything. They're just doing what millions of years of instinct tell them to do. You shouldn't try to exterminate a creature just because it's doing what God created it to do. Besides Ashley, there are better ways to prevent coyotes from attacking livestock than by setting out inhumane traps that just leave them to either slowly die of starvation or kill themselves while trying to bite their own legs off. At least when a coyote kills something it's natural and not trying to be cruel; what's our excuse?"

There was no retort.

Aside from the occasional whimpers of the coyote and the corresponding words of reassurance and kindness from Hayden as he let his right hand drift down to pet and soothe the animal, the car was silent for the rest of the trip. Hayden didn't dare look back at her for fear of seeing Ashley sneer at him hatefully like everybody else seemed to. When they finally arrived at the sports field, Ashley bailed out the second he stopped the car, not saying a word as she slammed the door behind her and ran off towards the entrance.

Hayden sighed and just as quickly exited the parking lot, continuing towards the vet's office. He looked down at the coyote and once again lightly petted it, wondering just how much worse his life would be when he arrived at school tomorrow and Ashley had told the entire student body about him forcing her to sit next to a "ravenous" wild coyote, the scourge of Berkston's livestock.

They'd probably call him a traitor, beat him to a pulp, and then file assault charges against him.

"Thanks for nothing, you mangy overgrown flea-bag," he said with no real conviction as he continued to scratch it gently along the back.

By the time Hayden had finally gotten home, it was late. He plopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, just glad that the town was having its monthly council meeting and that it had apparently run long because his dad had not gotten home yet. The last thing he needed was a confrontation with his dad to top off one of the worst days he had ever had (and for him, that was saying something).

He wanted to just curl up under the covers and go to sleep, but despite the fact that he was tired, his mind was running with a thousand different thoughts, and none of them were good. He would never get to sleep at this rate. He needed a distraction; something to help calm his mind down and turn the situation in his favor, even if it was just an illusion.

Hayden got up and grabbed one of the many notebooks from his shelf. He knew this one should still have a fair amount of blank pages left. Across the cover, he had scribbled the words, "Book of Dragon Ideas". Inside were sketches and doodles of dragon designs with brief descriptions. The later pages had more detailed depictions of the dragons fighting with fierce warriors of various types that, as the pages continued, became centered mostly around Vikings with comical horned helmets. The brief descriptions turned into short story ideas, intermingling next to the sketches, which also now featured whimsical lands and funny little villages with oddly-shaped homes that looked almost like something from a Dr. Seuss book.

Finally, after looking through his past work for inspiration, he reached a blank page.

But he wanted to draw something new; a new type of dragon.

A thought struck him; what would a coyote look like as a dragon?

It couldn't just be a dog with wings; that was just too…simple? Silly? It still had to be reptilian, like a dragon. But it would be sleek, with a hunched head and long, but not serpentine, neck. Sturdy. Oh! And lots of sharp teeth!

Hmm. But he didn't want it to look too menacing. More like a playful puppy, except when it was threatened, and then it turned ferocious. Maybe make the teeth retractable? Yeah, that would work. Four legs, canine posture, almost stalking-like, with a long tail. And dark skin, very dark, maybe even charcoal black. He didn't feel pulling out his colored pencils right now anyway.

He went through a few designs, each one an improvement on the last. Finally he had one that just felt right. As he stared down at the last sketch, he suddenly realized he had drawn people next to it. Two people; a boy and a girl. They were rough sketches, but it was hard to mistake the long braided hair of the girl and the lanky figure and smiling face of the boy. Ashley and himself. Petting a happy-looking dragon with an adorable, almost puppy-like, face. He really hadn't meant to draw the dragon that big in scale, but it actually seemed…well, right for some reason, now that he looked at it.

He sighed aloud. Great, even in his drawings he couldn't escape reality. But really, he found it to be okay. It was actually helping to calm him down. And for some reason, it just didn't seem right to draw any more fighting between humans and dragons anyway. Not after that little "chat" he had with Ashley in the car. Dragons would just be following their instincts anyway, just like coyotes, or wolves, or bears, or gophers, or any other animal. They wouldn't be malicious just for the heck of it. If people could understand that, then surely they could get along with dragons, and maybe even befriend them? Ride them?

So for the next few hours, he came out with an increasingly detailed series of images of people playing with dragons, dragons helping people with village life, and even people flying on dragons, most of which were of him and Ashley riding together on top of the…

Hmm, what to name it, anyway?

He thought back to the evening, and the coyote, and the car ride with Ashley. After a few moments of nothing more original coming to him, he put the pencil to paper, and simply scribbled "Night Fury".

The next thing he knew, he was already writing a short excerpt to go along with image.

The girl, Ashley Hopperson-(Wait, no, scratch that; no real names. He wanted to escape reality; at least try to be a little bit original.)-Astrid Hofferson, hung tightly onto the manly and broad-(oh, come on!)-lanky chest of the boy in front of her. Already she was overcoming her initial fear of the mangy-(that doesn't sound right for a dragon)-magnificent beast as her entire sexy body-(was that disrespectful?)-feminine body was overwhelmed-(hmm, no, try another verb)-awash with the sensations of being in flight, amongst the stars of the sky; the dream of people since the dawn of time.

And she was living it!

All of this was possible now that she was forced to overcome her frustrating stubbornness-(come on Hayden, try to be more understanding…even if it is true; be nice…)-misgivings about the creature. All this time, she, and all of the generations that had come before her, had seen the dragons as nothing more than mindless and cruel beasts, rather than the wonders of nature that they were.

And her new understanding was entirely thanks to the kind-hearted, compassionate, and silly-(sounds too childish; fleeting)-goofy boy in front of her.

"Oh, Hayden!-(Nope! NOT using real names!)-Hiccup!-(Wait, did he really want to use that name? Well, then again, he always did have a self-depreciating sense of humor.) -You have truly opened my eyes! I see now that you were right all along! It was wrong of me to be so ignorant and hostile! Thank you for this wonderful gift of flight; you and Toothless both!" (Toothless?! Where had that come from? Oh well, maybe it was the retractable teeth?)

The hot-(No, that one was definitely disrespectful)-beautifully awe-inspiring girl leaned in closer. Hiccup's heartbeat raced as their lips-

"HAYDEN!"

"GAHH! Dad! Do NOT sca-err, startle me like that! Can't you knock?!"

"I did. You must've been too caught up in your…umm…fantasies. I honestly don't know where you come up with that stuff. It's too…vivid if you ask me. I wish you'd consider maybe joining a sport and playing with some kids your own age instead."

Hayden just rolled his eyes. He had once showed his dad some of his sketches and stories, hoping that his father would be proud of his creativity and imagination and what he had come up with…

WORST. MISTAKE. EVER.

His dad still brought it up almost every day.

"Dad!" Hayden whined. "They aren't "fantasies"; it's just, umm, creative writing! And I don't really know where the inspiration comes from. Sometimes these sorts of things just…come to me and I have to draw it out."

His dad just sighed. "Well, come on. I picked up some Italian food for dinner."

"Actually dad, I've had a rough day, so I'm sorry but I don't really feel like eating right now. Can you just put my portion in the fridge and save it for later, please?"

"Oh no you don't! I had to drive all the way into Alvin to get this food, and you know how much I hate Alvin! Now come on, Italian food tastes better when it's fresh, you know. And besides, you don't eat enough as it is. We need to add some muscle to those bones of yours!"

Hayden bit back a comment on how the bulge around his dad's waist was anything but muscle and resigned himself to another awkward "family" meal with just his dad and himself. Still, it was probably for the best. Some food in his stomach might help him feel better about his ordeal and, as much as he hated to admit it, he was getting a bit too enthralled in his fantas-err, creative writing anyways. He had actually been portraying Ashley…err, Astrid (Oh, who was he kidding; it was Ashley!) as a love-struck girly-girl anyway, and if there was anything Ashley Hopperson was not, it was love-struck girly-girl. He'd have to go back and re-write that part later.

…Maybe.

Hey, it was his fantas-um, creative writing, after all!

"Besides," interrupted his father again, "you think you've had a hard day? The council meeting went on for over two hours longer than usual! Mr. Hopperson kept complaining about how the coyotes are getting at his livestock again and demanding to know what we were going to do about it! As if the city has the resources to deal with wild coyotes! After the last budget cuts, not even the county has an animal control agent anymore. I've told him time and again that if he wants to deal with the coyotes, he'll just have to spend his own money and buy his own traps just like everybody else, but noooo, that's not good enough for him!"

Hayden averted his eyes. Of course Ashley's dad would come to a town meeting to complain about coyotes at exactly the same moment he was threatening to kick his pride-and-joy teenaged daughter out of his car and into the middle of nowhere just so a coyote could sit up front.

Yep. Of course.

Hayden lost what little appetite he had.

The next day at school went surprisingly…well? At least, as "well" as usual. He hadn't been accosted by his classmates and teachers any more than usual, and Ashley hadn't shown up with the entire cheer squad or the football team to drag him to gym for a game of "dodgeball" or "send-Hayden-up-the-flagpole", and Mr. Hopperson hadn't shown up bursting through the classroom door with a shotgun in hand, demanding retribution.

So overall, it was just a usual miserable day, which was much better than the horrifying one he had been expecting. As he walked out across the parking lot, he couldn't believe he had actually made it through the entire-

"Hey Hayden, wait up!"

The blonde goddess that was Ashley Hopperson broke off from a group of her companions and ran towards him. Hayden clamped his eyes shut and prepared for the inevitable painful tackle or full-faced punch that she would undoubtedly pummel his slender frame with.

Only…after a few moments, nothing happened!

He slowly opened his eyes to see Ashley standing just a few feet away, looking at him weirdly.

"Is the sun in your eyes or something? Why are you squinting?"

"Ohh, gee, umm…"

"Anyways," she interrupted impatiently, "my car is still in the shop, and I have practice at the field again today. If you don't have any plans, would you mind driving me there again?"

Hayden stood gawking like a fish out of water.

"W-What? You want me to drive you again?"

Ashley now looked put-off.

"Well geez, if you're going to be that way about it…"

"N-No! I, mean, YES! I mean, umm, I would very much lov-umm, not mind at all driving you to practice."

Smooth, Hayden; realllyyy smooth, he thought as he once again opened the door for her. This time, she didn't look put-off by it like she did before. As far as Hayden was concerned, that was good progress.

The ride invoked a feeling of déjà-vu, as an awkward silence ensued and Hayden wracked his brain, which had to fail now of all times, trying to come up with some way to address what had happened yesterday. Getting nowhere, he finally decided to just beg for forgiveness and opened his mouth to blurt out an apology when Ashley once again beat him to the punch.

"Look, I think I might owe you an…apology for how I acted yesterday."

"N-No, that's alright! I mean, it was my fault for-OW!"

She had hit him in the arm.

"What did you do that for?!"

"I'm trying to apologize here, and that's difficult enough for me as it is, so don't interrupt!"

Hayden just nodded.

"I'll admit, I was pissed about what happened, and I mean pissed. You chose to help a mangy coyote over me."

Hayden was about to object, but Ashley glared at him and he immediately clamped up again.

"But then I started thinking about what you said, and it actually, sort of, made, well, sense."

"Why, thank you-OW!"

She hit him again.

"I'll admit, I never really thought of it from the coyote's point of view before," she continued. "I mean, they were always just the mean, hungry predators with sharp teeth that snuck in at night and killed my family's livestock of harmless fluffy sheep and cost our family money every time they did it. But you were right too. It's not like they want to hurt my family or even the livestock. They don't care about money after all; they're just animals. And they don't attack the livestock just for the fun of it. They just want to eat so they can keep on living and feed their own families, I guess."

Hayden sagely nodded and kept quiet, feeling that this was building up to something.

"A-Actually Hayden, when I got home last night, and my dad got back from the town council meeting raving on and on all about how every last single one of those "mangy, rabid, devil-dogs" should be wiped out…all I could think about was how he was the one acting like a cruel, spiteful, animal; not the coyotes. You know, I've never really told anybody this, but back when I was little, my dad gave me a cute little dashound puppy, that I loved and was my best friend and everything, but one day he got loose and ran out into the street a-and…"

If Hayden didn't know any better, he would've sworn that Ashley had to turn away to compose herself for a moment. But of course that couldn't be true. Ashley Hopperson wasn't emotional like that…was she?

"The car didn't even slow down!" she suddenly yelled out in anger. "They didn't stop to apologize or offer to get me a new dog or even to just roll his bloody remains into the ditch or anything! They just left him there! And while my dad was ranting and raving about how evil and stupid the coyotes are, I realized that at least if a coyote had eaten my dog, it would have been a kinder act and would had more purpose than that stupid car and those stupid idiots that didn't even slow down! And then I started thinking…what was the difference between my dog and that coyote? So, yes, I think I was a bit harsh on you yesterday. And I want to…apologize for it."

"Oh, well, um, apology accepted," was all that Hayden could think to say. His life had just performed a complete turn-about in a matter of minutes…again.

"Sooo, I'm kind of afraid to ask, but, did the coyote…make it?"

"O-Oh yeah! The vet said the leg would probably take months before it was completely healed, and some of his teeth had been knocked out, but she gave him some anti-biotics to help limit infection, so hopefully he'll be fine eventually."

"Well, that's a relief! I didn't think I would ever be this worried over a coyote. So is he staying at the vet's, then?"

"Just for the next few days. But then she's going to take him to the wildlife park and education center over in Bertha. Unfortunately, even once his leg is fully healed, it's doubtful he'll ever be able to hunt properly again, so they'll probably keep him there on exhibit with other injured animals and use him to help teach people about the dangers and cruelty of messing with wild animals and stuff like that."

"Wow! I mean, it's bad that he probably won't get released back into the wild, but it's good that he'll get to be taken care of and help educate people like that!"

"Yeah, it really is! And you know, it's really not that long of a drive from here. I'm thinking of volunteering there during the summer; they could use the help."

"Hey, that is a good idea! Maybe I'll join you!"

Hayden couldn't help the involuntary widening of his eyes, or the way his face just seemed to melt into one big smile. Apparently, Ashley noticed, and judging from the good-natured chuckle that escaped her own smiling mouth, she actually liked the expression on his face.

"I actually wanted to be a veterinarian for the longest time when I was younger," she explained. "But now I'm not sure what I want to be and college entrance exams aren't that far away, so I could always use the volunteer work on my recommendation letters. It could be fun…working with you." She mumbled the last part, but Hayden heard it as loudly as an angelic chorus crying out from Heaven.

"Y-YES! I mean, uh, yeah, that would be nice, working with you too," he said, as if UTTERLY UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC somehow translated into nice.

Ashley just laughed; actually laughed at him in a joyous way, and not out of malice or cruel humor like he was used to. It felt indescribably wonderful.

As the laughter died down, a long-forgotten feeling of warmth and belonging swelled up, not just in Hayden, but in Ashley as well. Inexplicably, the beautifully awe-inspiring girl leaned in closer over the seat. Hayden's heartbeat raced as her lips-

"HICCUP!"

"GAHH! Dad! Do NOT sca-err, startle me like that! Can't you knock?!" the young Viking stuttered.

"I did. You must've been too caught up in your…umm…fantasies. Well, come on. If you don't hurry, Toothless will eat all of your dinner…again."

"Dad!" Hiccup whined. "They aren't "fantasies", it's just, umm, creative writing!" Stoick just rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He didn't want to discourage the boy's "creativity."

Recently, as Stoick tried to form a closer bond to his son, he had begun to notice and compliment him on his exceptional writing and drawing skills, especially when it came to the Book of Dragons and other technical writings. Hiccup, encouraged by the praise, thought it was finally time to show his dad some of his more fictional sketches and stories, hoping that his father would be proud of his creativity and imagination and what he had come up with…

WORST. MISTAKE. EVER.

His dad still brought it up almost every day.

"So, umm…" his dad started as they headed down the steps to pick up Toothless and Thornado before heading to dinner, "you're still writing about those uh, carts that roll along on their own, and people who tame those wolves-that-aren't-really-wolves, and that sort of…stuff?"

"Uh, yeah dad, something like that."

"It seems awfully…vivid. Are you sure it's just something your mind cooked up on its own? I mean, that it's not all some type of vision or a precognition of some kind?"

Hiccup just shrugged as Toothless trotted up to him, and he scratched the happy dragon under the chin, eliciting a rumbling purr.

"I don't know dad. Sometimes these sorts of things just…come to me."