Author's Note – I noticed that there are no great LOTR and HTTYD crossovers. These are my two favorite worlds, so I decided to do something about this lacking. You can expect somewhat of a fusion of the LOTR book volumes and Peter Jackson's film adaptation since I think that each one better portrayed certain moments.

Length and Posting Schedule – This will not be a short story. I estimate that this will be somewhere around 500,000 words. This story is posting weekly on Saturday mornings.

Miscellaneous – The only divergence in background at the start of this story is that Hiccup is a few years older than he was in film I. Basically just shift all the events of film I so that Hiccup is seventeen. Cheers to VigoGrimborne and Blue Dragon's Rider, both of whom are providing beta editing for this story.

Ring Of Fire

A Little Vacation Forever

"What... is that?" Astrid gasped, all the while staring in abject alarm and disbelief toward the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.

Hiccup tried to imagine how this must look to her. The dragon no one had ever seen and lived to tell the tale of was right there in front of her. And it was growling deeply.

At her.

He stepped closer to the Night Fury, put a hand on Toothless's neck, and then gave Astrid a cheeky grin while gesturing toward his best friend.

"Astrid, Toothless... Toothless, Astrid..."

The Night Fury then gave Astrid a very toothy and threatening snarl, as if he was intentionally trying to be as ironic as possible given his name.

Astrid's eyes narrowed on Hiccup, and she shook her head again, still apparently unable to accept what she saw before her. Or maybe she did accept it and saw it as the betrayal of the old way that it was. If her eyes could speak, they would have shouted out that he was totally busted.

She spun around and ran from the cove at full speed, surely off to the village to tell the entire tribe the truth.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and sighed heavily.

"Duh dah duh, we're dead."

Toothless then snorted, turned tail on the entrance to the cove, and trotted off to where he had probably been resting in the shade before Astrid's arrival.

"Wha... where do you think you're going?"

Hiccup spun toward Toothless and took a couple steps, wondering how they were going to catch up to Astrid in the thick tree cover. They could fly low, wait for an opportunity in a clearing, and then...

He pulled up and stared aimlessly, realizing in that instant that his thoughts were confused at the moment. He had been determined to leave Berk just moments ago and was now rethinking the entire plan in favor of chasing after Astrid in the hope that... something might change?

He vividly remembered the moment that had forced this outcome of his planned departure from Berk, likely forever.

"Congratulations Hiccup, ya get ta kill the dragon!" Gobber shouted in acclaim.

Hiccup glanced around the Kill Ring at all the cheering people. Almost everyone else was celebrating his latest triumph and congratulating him for his prowess in the ring and how he apparently had a way with the beasts.

He glanced over at the fuming Astrid as she cursed something about a son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge bucket, whatever that meant.

"Thanks, yeah..." he mumbled.

He gave his swarm of adoring fans a cheeky grin on his way out of the Ring while waving away their pats on the back.

"I am so..."

.

"...leaving. You hear that, bud? Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation... forever," he mumbled as he finally entered the beloved cove again.

He had all his supplies stowed away, was ready to leave, and... Astrid was there in the cove. She was sitting on a rock while sharpening her ax. And she definitely saw that he was there also.

Hopefully she would believe his excuse that he had been making outfits and training in the woods or something.

.

Sigh.

It was heartbreaking that had come to this terrible choice, but this was likely the best option for everyone. Staying for his graduation ceremony would mean that he would be forced to kill a dragon or possibly die to that dragon.

He had considered trying some daring stunt in the Kill Ring in front of the entire tribe. They would release the Monstrous Nightmare as planned. He would then surprise everyone by being peaceful toward it, throwing away his weapons, taking off his Viking helmet, and showing the Monstrous Nightmare that he was not going to hurt it. That would surely convince the whole tribe that there was another, better way.

It seemed like a good plan at first. Then he realized that it would be completely stupid when considering how everyone else would probably react. They did not particularly want peace.

What he had been thinking of doing would be a direct insult to the entire Berk way of life, which was everything that everyone knew and had known for several generations. They were not going to listen to him or change everything about what it meant to be a Viking just because he defied their traditions at one of their most important annual rituals.

No, it was more likely that they would just incite a fight between him and the Monstrous Nightmare, possibly by spooking it, just to get a good show out of it. Even if he survived, he would basically be announcing himself as a traitor after that display anyway. They would just outcast him right then, and that would leave Toothless abandoned in the cove without any hope of survival.

He knew what side his father would pick if he was forced to choose between his son and the village. The village was always more important than a complete disappointment.

That is what the choice was.

He had to figure out whose side was on, exactly as Astrid had once told him.

This last encounter with Astrid had finally convinced him. It had given him the choice between his best friend and an old crush who, despite truly trying to protect him as a fellow member of the tribe, had just attacked him, physically threatened him, tried to kill said best friend, and had no intention of listening to anything he had to say. What, was taking her on a peaceful, romantic flight on Toothless going to suddenly undo over a decade of her experience with dragons and all the training she had done to combat them?

Also, while everyone complained about the dragon raids and occasionally mourned a death, there was a significant part of Berk that reveled in the tradition. Fighting dragons and singing songs in the Great Hall about acts of valor and bravery or celebrating those who died before was part of their identity. It tied their fates and struggles together by giving all a common enemy. The family squabbles and disagreements always seemed to fall away during the raids. Everyone on Berk seemed to truly like and find comfort in the us against them thinking.

It was who they were.

All considered, what he had to do was not a hard choice, at least in theory.

He sighed deeply, realizing that he had to let go, painful though it would be.

What is wrong with me? Why do I care if she knows? I was planning on leaving before she found us here anyway.

There was still a faint pang in his heart, knowing that he was unlikely to ever see his childhood crush again. Or his father. Or Gobber, the blacksmith who had been a teacher and almost a surrogate father when Stoick was away for long periods of time or being a dedicated chief.

They will know the truth. They will know that I figured out what side I am on. There is that. Maybe they will learn from what I did even with me gone.

Sigh.

Alright, it is go time...

"Toothless?"

Hiccup strode over to the resting Night Fury who had just lifted his head and crooned happily at his approach. He gently stroked the great head and stared warmly into the great green eyes in which he saw a soul that reflected his own.

"Hey there bud, how are you doing? Not too spooked by her, were you?"

Toothless rolled his eyes and snorted softly.

"Yeah, didn't think you would be. You are such a brave dragon."

These words were rewarded with a purr of approval. He moved to Toothless's side and worked at the rigging to strap in the supplies he had brought with him. These supplies included the map of the entire Archipelago, his journal, cooking essentials, a few changes of clothes, select tools, some coin, and what for him was a generous supply of food and drink. Then he checked on the tailfin and related pulley, gears, and pedal system one more time to make sure it was in working order. It might be a while before he would ever have another chance to work a forge or see civilization in any shape or form.

It was time.

"Well, this is it. Time for us to take a little vacation forever."

Toothless blinked and turned to look at him, the black dragon's warm croon never wavering. Then the Night Fury stepped forward out of the shade, crouched down, unfurled his wings, and barked softly his direction. Hiccup could not help but grin at how clever his best friend was.

"Bud, you never cease to amaze me. I swear you can understand me."

Toothless looked up at the sky and gave a happy growl.

"You got it!"

Hiccup ran forward, jumped up into the saddle, smoothly strapped himself in, and the pair jumped for the sky an instant later. Dark wings were thrown wide and hungrily ate the sky as they tore higher toward the clouds. It was all instinctive now, his feeling the slight slant whenever Toothless adjusted flight and knowing what position the tailfin needed to be in. Up into the chill wind blowing from the West as they leveled out.

Then they spun in a loop, momentarily feeling the true weightlessness of falling, and Toothless roared with joy to leave the ground behind again.

Hiccup chuckled at Toothless's habit of doing that. Roaring for the simple joy of flight was a very dragony thing to do, so Hiccup roared as well as loudly as he could.

In other words, not very loudly, but he figured that it was the thought that counted.

They leveled off into a steady flight that turned out toward the Southeast and the ocean. Down the forest and out over great cliffs that fell hundreds of lengths straight down into the surf. Between great sea-stacks that they had once struggled to navigate between in their test flight.

He only glanced back at Berk in all of its glory once they were well out to sea. The island where he had been born, had rarely left, and would probably have died on if his life had been normal. As much as he had hope that a better way might be possible, they certainly did not want to change.

This was probably, definitely, for the better.

He did feel bad about leaving Gobber without a proper farewell. The smith had been like a father in many ways to him through the years. Someone completely unrelated to him by blood had been more of a father than his own dad. Gobber had understood that Hiccup's talents were not truly in fighting, but rather in the making of things, such as he did every day in the forge. Weapons, inventions, and anything that was new had to be meticulously planned for, built, and maintained.

Toothless must have picked up on his mood because he warbled sadly.

"Thanks bud, I'm glad you're with me. Not sure what I would do without you. Probably nothing at all."

He patted the dragon's neck.

I would still be a useless failure to them.

Then he turned his attention to the distant horizon. Hiccup closed his eyes, held out his arms, and enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his face and whipping his hair. He imagined a burden lifting away as he left behind the world he knew. Then he turned his thoughts toward the future.

The plan was twofold and simple. One, fly until they found new land. Two, figure out a plan at that point.

Watching Toothless inhale fish in the cove over many weeks had made it easy to forget one very simple truth that no one else on Berk would have had a problem knowing intuitively. That truth was something that Hiccup was vividly reminded of at the present moment.

Toothless was a predator.

The way he pounced on the deer, snapped its neck, and then started to feed without restraint was, if not worrying, still a slight shock compared to everything he knew of the dragon. Of course, dragons were natural hunters and had to do what was necessary to survive in the world. Not that he had any fear at all that those teeth would ever be turned on him. Rather, it was simply a stark reminder that behind those wide green eyes and the toothless smile there was a true, dangerous, wild dragon who for some reason had decided to be his friend.

"Hey there bud, wanna save me some?"

Toothless lifted his bloodied muzzle from the fresh catch, licked his lips, and pointedly gave him a nod. Then the dragon bent back down to the carcass, bit off a large chunk of rib meat, got up, sauntered over to him, and dropped the large strip of flesh in his outstretched hand. The hunk of meat was dripping blood and slobber. A lovely combination.

Hiccup held it up and inspected it closely.

"Deeeelicious..."

Toothless purred and licked his lips again.

"Yeah, I'm... just gonna... get some firewood and cook this..." Hiccup said as he set the meat aside, wondering if it would be there when he returned.

He returned later with a pile of sticks in hand and then made a small stack of firewood. His amazingly untouched dinner went on top of the stack after he cleaned the meat as well as he could. Toothless had finished with the rest of the deer and was standing guard over the remaining food.

"Thanks bud, think you could give me some fire?"

A fine stream of purple flame then ignited the stack of firewood. Hiccup speared the meat on another stick and held his dinner out over the fire. Then Toothless stepped closer to him and coiled partly around him and the fire.

Almost absolute silence followed. The crackle of the fire, sizzle of cooking meat, and occasional calling of crickets overlaid Toothless's soft hum, all breaking the otherwise absolute silence. The sun gradually fell lower over the horizon as twilight neared.

Peace and quiet.

The constant bustle and activity of Berk was almost a fading memory by this point more than a week since their departure. Even for a loner in his own tribe, there had always been something going on around him. The clang of a new house going up after a recent raid. The hammer of steel upon steel in the forge. Someone shouting at someone else over something important or not. A drunken contest or just a contest, the two being difficult to distinguish at times.

Civilization, if Berk could be considered that, was constant activity and noise.

The wild out here was natural silence.

Refreshing and imposing silence.

Terrifying silence.

It would have been terrifying if he were truly out here alone. He knew that he would be fine as long as he had Toothless at his side. An overprotective Night Fury was a distinct advantage against the forces of nature or just bad luck.

A soft croon broke him out of his thoughts as he saw Toothless's head at his side. Toothless rearranged himself and lay the singular tailfin across Hiccup's lap. The dragon was inquisitively staring at the meat over the fire.

"Yeah, I need to cook it first. Don't want to get sick."

A soft hum.

"Kinda surprised you don't get it yet. I can't eat like you can, bud."

They watched as the meat cooked and juices dripped into the sizzling fire.

"Or maybe you do get it and just like teasing me."

Chuff.

Hiccup reached up with his free hand and gave the dragon a soft neck rub and scratch. The reward for doing so was more purring and a signature toothless grin.

Toothless alternated between nuzzling his hand and looking out into the darkness.

"Pretty sure that we are alone out here. I didn't see any lights from up above."

A warble of agreement followed.

Hiccup eventually finished the deer meat and then found himself warmly ensconced within a living tent of wing and warm belly. It was completely impossible to remain awake against the overwhelming and comforting purring. Not that he was at all tempted to find any other accommodations.

"Thanks bud..."

They woke up before sunrise, went through their respective morning routines on their own, and then met up for a deep drink of water from the cleanest source on the large island.

Hiccup pulled out his map and tracked their progress while Toothless continued to guzzle at the clear water.

"Hmm, so we crossed the Desolation Isles, Hopeless Rock, Upchuck Shallows, and Gutsplitter Bay. Vikings have the most vivid naming conventions by the way."

He put his finger on the map, traced their route as far as he knew it had gone, guessed at how far the flight had already taken them, and saw...

"Nothing, there is nothing on the map here. Guess we aren't even in the Archipelago anymore. This island doesn't even exist."

Toothless lifted his soaked head and looked at him.

"The map is useless now."

The dragon looked out toward the Southeast, barked softly, and then returned to drinking.

"Why not? Guess we just keep going and see what happens. Gotta run into the mainland eventually, right?"

The tail started swaying.

This must be the right direction from what I remember of Trader Johann's stories.

Hiccup then took a long drink as well and refilled his flask. There was no telling when they would find another source of freshwater. He stepped away from the stream and stared out over the ocean.

The distant horizon beckoned as though it were an irresistible summons.

Wanderlust.

It was in his blood, in his soul.

He wanted to explore, see new places, and enjoy total freedom. No one else. Just him and his best friend. They would look out for each other always. Nothing would tear them apart now.

Maybe if things had worked out differently on Berk... he could have helped them map the world after making peace with the dragons. Maybe his dad would have understood him and appreciated him for who he is instead of trying to make him into a true Viking.

Maybe... if only... could have... should have... none of those mattered anymore.

Sigh.

Toothless trotted over to stand next to him and joined him in staring out over the ocean.

"I wonder what we will find out there. If it is a place that has not seen dragons before, then they might be much friendlier to you."

Toothless purred softly at that idea.

"Maybe we can find some new tribe where we can live in peace, explore, and settle down somewhere. It would be good to change some people's minds about dragons. Maybe we will find some other dragons or even other Night Furies for you. There have to be some out there."

Another, deeper purr.

Hiccup gave a weary but hopeful sigh and scratched Toothless's neck.

"We just need to find people who want peace and a simple life. No deep desire to go be heroes by killing dragons or fighting in wars for glory. I wonder if there is anyone out there like that."

Toothless nudged his shoulder and huffed toward the ocean.

"Yeah, you are probably right, as usual. Only one way to find out."

It only took a few seconds to strap everything back onto the saddlepack, and then the pair was airborne again. Their flight took them on an angle to the rising sun, always flying further Southeast.

This had to be one of the longest flights that he had ever flown. Not that length of flight was any concern to him. His kind was so lean and lightweight compared to other dragons that he could easily fly for a full day without stopping if he was well-rested at the start. Further, he was eager to put his tail to that old world and leave the bad ranges behind him.

The world where dragons and humans fought for generations without end. The world which had fledged him into a nest ruled by a monster Queen. That monster Queen had some power or control over other dragons and forced them to hunt for it. He had always been beyond its power to fully control, but even back then he could hear its twisted whispering that spoke to his soul and told him that he should obey and submit. That he should embrace that ultimate destiny of all dragons.

Obey. Hunt and kill humans. Become great and feared.

Then the human whom he now carried on his back changed everything about his life. Causing him to lose a tailfin and be torn from the skies forced him to come to trust another creature, another person, in a way he never would have normally. It was a trust and understanding that he never had a chance to feel with any other dragon because none of their minds were fully free. And of course none of the other humans had ever had the choice between killing him or sparing him.

He never knew his sire or dam and had always been the only one of his dark winged kind of dragon. That the closest person to him would be a human, perhaps the only human who could have care for a dragon, was almost unbelievable. It was very unlikely that any human could hit him with a thrown weapon in the night. It was even more amazing that he had not died when he fell from the sky.

It was almost as though fate or something else had intervened.

He closed his eyes as they flew onward, his human working the false tailfin that flew in the place of the lost one.

Oneness.

Peacefulness.

They were both flying the nest in a way. Neither of them belonged in the places they had grown up. Knowing nothing of the world they were flying to, they flew anyway. They would provide for and protect each other as long as they could. Always.

He was not sure when it happened, but something changed about the sky itself.

He opened his eyes again while grumbling so softly that his human did not even notice it. There was a very faint song or feeling which was more deeply a part of the world than anything that floated through the air. This was something that he could feel in his soul-fire.

A summons to a gathering.

But the call only echoed from one place up ahead.

There was no land at all anywhere in sight. Nothing was at all except for the endless waters out to the horizon and the occasional cloud high above.

He wanted to investigate whatever was calling to him, and he adjusted his flight accordingly, his human having no trouble keeping up with the minor change in direction.

"What is it, bud?"

He wiggled his ears and also flicked his head in the direction he wanted to go.

"Why not? Lead on."

More flight followed with nothing changing except that the call grew a little stronger. More open skies followed as he gradually ascended toward the clouds. Closer and closer.

Then everything that he thought he knew about the world around him and about flight itself failed him for an instant and an eternity.

The horizons on each side closed on him and fall away at once until existence was only wide enough for the beat of his wings. The sky and waters around spun and warped like a large wave in a storm that spun around him. The sun's light faded while his flight led up into the sky and down toward the waters at the same time.

He was flying into a narrow path.

"Bud, what is going on?"

His human was getting afraid, and he was also. This changing of the shape of the sky had never happened before in all his years of flight.

Then the narrow, straight path before him suddenly erupted into a wide and large horizon. The sky returned to existing above him, the space at each side again stretched out as far as his eyes could see, and the waters were rolling down below again.

Everything was normal.

He remembered to breathe and glanced back over his shoulder toward the skies he had just flown through. They looked normal also.

His human's eyes were very wide and confused as he wildly looked around.

"That was strange, huh?"

He gave his human a worried growl, understanding well the feeling that something was not the same as it had been when he took to the sky this morning. More pondering of what had happened to them followed without any answers flying within his grasp.

"Wait, look!" his human pointed into the distance.

Sure enough, his human was correct. The distant horizon was not empty now. Instead, there was a distant shore far ahead. There were even mountains faintly visible where before there had been nothing. It became clear as he flew closer that the mountains faded away into a very large bay filled with ice.

All of it was very strange since he remembered there not being anything there before.

Still, the promise of finding land at last and being able to rest his weary wings was something he was not going to turn his tail on or snort at. Further, that calling or summons, whatever it was, had vanished completely. There was nothing now except for the open skies, his wings, a new world, and his dear human with him always.

What else could a dragon want?