I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. Quotes that are directly from the movie will be in bold.

This is my first HTTYD fanfic, and I hope people like it. If there are any mistakes or I've done something horribly wrong, please point it out nicely xD

Night Fury Hunting

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was currently sprawled on his bedroom floor, scribbling madly in his beloved notebook. The moonlight that filtered in through the cracks in his roof illuminated the pages, allowing him to see his notes better. His best (and only) friend, Sunset Hockerson, was perched on his bed, her emerald eyes watching him curiously.

"So, what exactly are you drawing this time?" Sunset hesitantly asked, unsure if the answer she would receive was one she wanted.

"I'm just triple-checking my latest invention to make sure that it'll work when I want it to," Hiccup answered.

"And the invention is...?"

Hiccup grinned proudly. "My Night Fury catcher!"

"Oh, Thor help us all," Sunset moaned and collapsed against the wooden headboard. "You're still going through with this ridiculous plan?"

"It's not ridiculous," Hiccup said indigently, snapping his notebook closed. "If I catch a Night Fury, I'll make my father proud, prove that I'm Viking material, and I might even get a girlfriend."

"Okay, even though I'm against the whole 'Viking violence' thing, can't you at least settle with catching a Nadder? Or a Gronkle?" Sunset suggested, trying to persuade her friend out of his crazy plan. "Even a Monstrous Nightmare wouldn't mangle you as badly as a Night Fury."

"I believe in achieving the greater things in life."

Sunset crossed her arms. "And that 'great thing' is a Night Fury?" she asked dubiously.

"Yes!" Hiccup exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Sun, aren't you tired of being treated like an outcast? Of everyone thinking you're not good enough? That you're weak, worthless?"

"Hiccup, you're brilliant. You're sophisticated. You're also the size of a twig. That's not Viking material." His redheaded friend pointed to herself. "Me? I don't know how to use a sword or an axe. I don't help hunt for food and I'm against slaughtering dragons. I'm against violence in general! That's definitely not Viking material. We're just not meant to be like the other Vikings."

"But we can change all that!" Hiccup cried. "When we catch a Night Fury, our lives will get infinitely better!"

Sunset frowned. "I don't think I'm getting through to you."

"And I don't think you understand what this can do for us!" Hiccup retorted.

Before they could squabble further, sudden shouts rang out from outside. A second later a deafening blast echoed across the island of Berk. Hiccup gasped and raced downstairs, Sunset right on his heels. He threw open the wooden door and almost instantly shut it again as a Monstrous Nightmare unleashed a torrent of fire.

"Dragon attack!"

"I didn't notice," Sunset drawled. Her green eyes widened as Hiccup opened the door once more and charged outside. "Hiccup! You're not really going through with this, are you?"

Her friend continued running in the direction of Gobber the Belch's forge. With a moan Sunset reluctantly set off after him, her small legs working double-time to keep up. "Hiccup! Stoick is gonna kill us! You know he hates it when we're outside during a dragon attack!"

"He won't even notice-" Hiccup began but was cut off when he crashed into the man himself.

Chief Stoick the Vast glanced down to see who had run into him. Anger crossed his face when he realized it was his son and he grabbed Hiccup by the collar. "You! What are you doing out here?" His sharp gaze locked onto Sunset, who shrunk back. "What are you doing out here? Who let these two out?!"

A few Vikings mumbled and shrugged their shoulders as they passed, axes slung over their meaty shoulders.

"You two! Back inside! Now!" Stoick ordered before running off, sword in hand.

Hiccup waited until his father was out of sight before turning on his heel and dashing off. Sunset groaned in exasperation and hurried after him. The duo entered Gobber's forge, where Hiccup immediately started helping Gobber hand axes and other weapons to the eager Vikings.

"Look who decided to show up," said the blacksmith sarcastically.

"It was a last second decision," Sunset muttered, leaning against a wooden table and eyeing the sharp weapons warily. Despite the uneasy feeling she always got while in the forge, she hung around mostly because of Hiccup.

"I'm surprised you two haven't been carried off yet," Gobber said as he motioned for Hiccup to start sharpening the swords.

"Please," Hiccup snorted. "No dragon can handle all this!"

"He's right you know," Sunset drawled. "Any dragon who comes across Hiccup will be laughing too hard at his attempt to fight them to actually do any damage."

"Says the girl who refuses to lift an axe," Hiccup shot back.

"You're both fit to be a dragon's dinner, alright?" Gobber interjected. "Now stop squawking and start sharpening."

Hiccup went back to work and Sunset turned to watch the chaos happening outside the window. Her green eyes widened in dismay as a Monstrous Nightmare blew apart her hut. "Aw! My stuff!"

"Better your stuff than you," Gobber remarked idly.

Hiccup paused as he watched five Viking teens rush towards the roaring flames, wooden buckets in hand. His eyes lingered a little longer on Astrid Hofferson, a dreamy smile curling across his face. "Their job is so much cooler."

He was about to climb out the window to join them but Gobber hauled him back. "Don't even think about it."

"How am I supposed to make my mark if I'm stuck in here?" Hiccup demanded. "There are dragons to be caught!"

"He's going to catch a Night Fury," Sunset informed.

Gobber snorted. "Now there's something I'd like to see. And the last thing you need to do is make a mark, Hiccup. In fact, the both of you have made enough marks in this place! And not good ones, either."

"If you let us out, we'll kill a dragon-"

"I don't think so!" protested Sunset.

"-and we'll be set for life!" continued Hiccup, ignoring his friend.

"Oh sure. Neither of you can use a sword or swing an axe, and one of you refuses to do anything remotely violent." He gave Sunset a pointed look.

"I can't help it!" Sunset protested. "It's not my fault that the very idea of slaughtering a dragon makes me sick."

"That's why I'll do it, and bring Sunset with me on my rise to glory!" Hiccup said eagerly.

"And how are you going to do that when you can't even throw one of these?" Gobber demanded as he held up a bola.

"I don't need to know. This will throw it for me." Hiccup smirked proudly and went to grab his Night Fury catcher. He rolled it into the middle of the forge and grabbed the bola from Gobber. He put the bola into the proper position and flicked the lever. Sunset and Gobber watched as the bola flew from the catapult and struck the Viking on the other side of the counter.

"Well, you might not be able to catch a Night Fury with that thing, but you might be able to catch yourself a girlfriend," Sunset commented.

Hiccup shot her a withering look. "Minor issue," he snapped.

Gobber shook his head. "If you two want to show everyone else that you can be Vikings, than you need to stop being..." He paused and gestured in their direction. "...that."

Sunset crossed her arms. "You just pointed to all of us."

"There you go! Stop being all of you."

"You know, keeping us repressed like this will have consequences!" Hiccup threatened.

Gobber rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Back to work."

Hiccup grumbled and grabbed the sword Gobber held out to him. "Sunset, hand me my axe attachment."

Sunset complied and watched as Gobber switched hands. "Alright, hold down the fort. They need me out there."

Gobber went to the door and paused, turning around. "And you two stay put. Right there. And don't move." With a yell, he charged into the fray.

Hiccup grinned and grabbed his contraption. Sunset hesitated for a brief moment before helping her friend roll the Night Fury catcher out into the night. She seriously doubted he would actually catch a Night Fury, and so she figured she might as well play along.

The two charged into the mayhem, dodging Vikings and avoiding fire blasts. "What do you think you're doing?" one Viking demanded as they raced past.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon!" Hiccup hollered.

They ran towards the cliff, where the viewpoint was best. Hiccup set up his contraption and stared intently into the night sky. Sunset shook her head, starting to wonder how long Hiccup was willing to wait.

And then she heard it.

Her eyes grew wide as she heard the impending sound of a Night Fury approaching. "Hiccup-"

"Ssh!" Hiccup hissed, keeping his eyes glued to the sky.

A tower behind them collapsed, illuminating the area with a wall of fire. Hiccup caught sight of his target and pressed the trigger. Sunset watched in disbelief as the bola shot off into the air, whistling for only a brief moment before striking something. A screech echoed in the air and Hiccup pumped his fist in triumph. "I did it! I did it!"

Sunset scowled and punched him in the shoulder. "You hurt it!" she accused, the shock being overwhelmed by concern for the beast.

"And I'm going to kill it," Hiccup said firmly. "As soon as I find it."

"Hiccup, you shouldn't-"

"Sun, I know how you feel about killing animals. But please, let me do this, and don't hate me for it." Hiccup grabbed her shoulders and looked at her pleadingly. "I don't want to lose the best and only friend I have, but I need this."

Sunset swallowed. As difficult as it was for her to know that the Night Fury would soon be killed by the hand of her best friend, she also knew that this meant everything to Hiccup. For so long, all he wanted was his father's acceptance and to be seen as a true Viking. Really, that's what they both wanted. They just had different ideas on how to achieve said acceptance.

But if Hiccup believed a killing a Night Fury would solve their problems, then she would not get in his way.

"Okay, Hiccup. I promise I won't hate you," Sunset finally said. "I know this means a lot to you."

Relief coursed across his face and he enveloped the girl into a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! I swear, when we bring the Night Fury back to the village, we'll be put on pedestals." He paused. "Unless you don't want to come with me-"

"I'll come," Sunset interrupted. "But I'm not helping you kill the Night Fury."

Hiccup nodded rapidly. "I totally get that."

A soft snarling caught their attention. Turning around slowly, they stared at the Monstrous Nightmare that was glaring down at him from the lip of the cliff.

"Eep," Sunset squeaked.

"Run!" Hiccup cried, grabbing Sunset's hand and tearing down the slope. The two screamed as the Monstrous Nightmare pursued them, fire blasts nearly frying them to a crisp.

"Its times like these where I question why I'm so against the slaughtering of dragons," Sunset panted as she ducked to avoid another fire blast.

"Over here!" Hiccup dragged Sunset through the plaza and the two pressed against a post seconds before the dragon unleashed a torrent of fire.

When the attack ended, the two teens peered cautiously around opposite ends of the post. "It's gone," Sunset breathed.

They turned back around, only to see the Monstrous Nightmare leering at them. "Not exactly," Hiccup rasped.

They squeezed their eyes shut, waiting for the fire blast that would finish them off. Before the dragon could do the deadly deed, Stoick jumped in between them and attacked the Monstrous Nightmare. The two kids watched with wide eyes as the tribe leader effectively defeated the dragon.

"And that's why there are rumors that he took a dragon's head clean off its shoulders when he was a baby," Hiccup muttered.

"I don't doubt it," Sunset agreed.

The two froze when the post they were hiding behind gave a mighty creak. The post collapsed due to the damage from the fire attack, slamming into a large iron basket. The two watched in dismay as a chain reaction started, eventually leading to a herd of Nadders being freed from the nets and flying away with their sheep.

Hiccup slowly turned to face his father. "Sorry...but, uh, I hit a Night Fury."

The boy yelped as his father grabbed him by collar. Stoick pressed a firm hand against Sunset's back, bringing them both away from the glowering crowd.

"I'm serious this time!" Hiccup insisted. "I hit a Night Fury!"

"He really did," Sunset chimed in.

"And if we gather a search party, we can-"

"Silence!" Stoick thundered. He dropped his son beside Sunset and glared down at the two. "Whenever you two try to do something chaos always happens. And now because of your little shenanigans, we've lost a herd of sheep. Winter's almost here and I have a village to feed!"

Hiccup cast a brief glance at the crowd behind them. "Well, to be honest, I think most of them could do with less feeding."

Sunset pressed a dainty hand over her mouth to quell her giggles.

Stoick was not amused. "Everything is a joke to you, isn't it Hiccup?"

"Not everything-"

"And you can't follow orders," Stoick continued. "Neither of you. I tell you to stay inside, and you come rushing out to catch a dragon."

"It's in my blood, Dad!" Hiccup insisted.

Stoick shook his head. "Hiccup, you're just not a dragon killer. And Sunset is definitely not a dragon killer. Gobber, make sure Hiccup gets back home. Sunset, you too."

"Er, my home was kinda fried in the chaos," Sunset said nervously.

Stoick rubbed his temples. "Then I suppose you'll have to stay with us until we rebuild your home. I'll let your father know where he can find you after everything is cleaned up. Now go."

Like my father will care where I am, Sunset thought miserably as she followed Hiccup and Gobber towards Hiccup's house. On the way they passed the other Viking teens, who smirked at them.

"That was a great show," Tuffnut Thorston snickered.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout Jorgenson laughed.

Sunset scowled and Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, I was trying."

The trio entered the house and Hiccup immediately started pacing. Sunset sat down in one of the wooden chairs and watched her friend sympathetically. "Hiccup really did hit a Night Fury," she said to Gobber.

"Uh-huh," he answered dubiously.

"Too bad my dad doesn't listen," Hiccup muttered.

"It's a family trait." Gobber drawled.

"And he always looks at me with this disappointed scowl. It's not my fault I'm built like a toothpick."

"It's not so much what you look like," Gobber corrected. "It's what's inside that he can't stand."

"Not helping!" Sunset snapped.

Gobber shook his head. "Look, you just have to stop trying so hard to be something you're not, the both of you." He gave them both an affectionate slap on the back before leaving. Hiccup waited a few moments before whirling around and staring at Sunset determinedly.

"Let's go get that Night Fury."