Thirteen year old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Chief Stoic the Vast and heir to the throne of the island of Berk stared down onto his home from atop the mountain overlooking the village. He could see the lights and hear the sounds of merriment coming from the Great Hall. The villagers were celebrating. Why? Because only hours earlier the elder of the village had chosen him, the boy rumored to be the worst Viking in the history of the Archipelago, to kill a dragon as part of finishing Dragon Training at the top of his class.

For most young Vikings it would have been a dream come true. But for Hiccup, killing a dragon had become an impossibility. Because weeks earlier he had found and befriended a dragon. But not just any dragon, a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself. He had learned so much about them from his friend. How they could think, learn, and understand. How they could be gentle and kind or curious and inquisitive. Toothless had become the most important thing in the world to him and because of that he couldn't bring himself to kill a captured dragon that had done him no harm. Now he and his dragon had to leave. They would never be accepted as they were by his tribe and if he ever revealed Toothless' existence to them they would likely kill him. No, the only option left to them now was to leave. To exile themselves and pray that they would find peace somewhere far away from Berk and the Barbaric Archipelago.

Toothless crooned with concern for his rider as he felt the melancholy and despair that filled his friends being. "I'm fine bud," Said Hiccup in his nasally voice. "I'll just…I'll feel better when this place is behind us." Toothless crooned again and Hiccup rubbed him gently on the head before turning away from the scene of the village. "Let's get out of here bud." He said quietly.

Toothless hummed and spread his massive wings before leaping off the small ledge where they had stopped. When they reached a decent height they angled away towards the east. But before they lost sight of the island, Hiccup looked back, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Goodbye dad…goodbye…Astrid." And Berk was lost to his sight behind a thick gray cloud.

~oOo~

Astrid sighed once again as she made her way back to the village from the forest. She had spent the past few hours searching for Hiccup, intent on questioning him about his abilities with the dragons, and if she was honest, to give him a little punishment for embarrassing her and making her look weak in front of the whole tribe. She had searched for hours and had found absolutely nothing, and so she had walked back, both angry and disappointed at the same time.

Just as she had reached the edge of the village the familiar sound of flapping dragon's wings reached her ears and she instantly drew her axe in preparation for battle. But when she finally spotted the source she gasped and almost dropped her beloved weapon. Flying away from the village was a dragon, as black as night and at a speed that astonished her. But what really shocked her was that sitting on the monsters back was a small rider.

"H-Hiccup?" She asked. However, the creature and its mysterious passenger disappeared behind a thick cloud before she could get a clearer look. With a wary look back, Astrid sheathed her axe and continued into the village.

The next day, no-one could find Hiccup, and for ten years the war against the dragons raged, however, the terrifying and mysterious Night Fury was never heard from again…at least for a while.