So I've been obsessed lately with httyd and got into reading all the fanfics out there and there was something that bothered me; every single fic depicted the red death as a violent monster that gets killed in each fic! And I just wanted something wholesome for her. So, this is long but hear me out!!
Let's make it a world where Hiccup kinda time travelled to the past, like to the moment he caught Toothless in the first movie.
After befriending Toothless again and giving him his ability to fly back, he starts to consider alternatives to do things in a new way than the future, to protect Berk, to protect his father, to never be forced to give up on the dragons and have them go into hiding, and say goodbye to Toothless.
He starts by thinking of killing off the red death first, to free the dragons and end the war.
So he goes to the nest, without Astrid this time, and same as the scene in the movie, the red death is recieving the food the dragons brought and as she raises to eat the gronckle that had spat a tiny fish, Hiccup shoots the stalactites of the cave to save it, that makes the ceiling collapse on the queen dragon while she's open mouthed, while other dragons flee
Hiccup keeps flying around the Collapsed mountain waiting for the red death to come out so he can defeat it, but she never emerges.
So he and Toothless venture inside to look for her, and find her body after searching for a while. He thinks that it really got killed by the collapse and that this is a miracle. Only to have her wake up.
And then the scene goes like this:
The cavern reeked of smoke, charred bones, and something deep and ancient, like the breath of the earth itself. Hiccup stood frozen, a single speck of human insignificance in the massive, molten chamber. His knees wobbled as a gust of hot air blasted from the darkness ahead, rattling his thin frame like a leaf in a storm.
enormous eyes, glowing like molten gold, cracked open.
Hiccup gulped. “Oh... Thor’s left sock.”
The Red Death loomed over him, her body shifting as she rose. Cracked scales, the color of lava-streaked stone, gleamed in the firelight. She was big—no, impossibly big. A mountain with wings. Her cavernous mouth split open in a snarl, exposing fangs the size of houses.
Toothless growled, his body tensed like a drawn bowstring. He stepped in front of Hiccup, wings spread wide, a tiny but fierce shield against a dragon the size of an island.
But the Red Death didn’t strike.
Instead, she stared at him.
A deep, unsettling rumble vibrated through the ground. Hiccup felt it in his ribs, in his teeth, in his very bones.
She was sniffing him.
His heart hammered. This was it. He was about to be eaten—bitten in half like a stale biscuit. Any second now, she’d—
She recoiled. Like she just felt something she hadn't felt ever in her life.
The giant dragon jerked back slightly, her head tilting. A sound escaped her throat—not a roar, not a growl, but something almost... confused. She sniffed again, nostrils flaring. Her wings twitched.
Toothless let out a warning snarl. The Red Death’s gaze flickered to him, then back to Hiccup. She lowered her head closer—too close—and the heat of her breath made Hiccup’s hair stand on end.
“Uh…” Hiccup raised both hands, the universal sign of please don’t eat me, you wouldn't know what to do with all of ....this.
The Red Death… paused.
For the first time, Hiccup noticed the tiredness in her eyes. The way her massive frame shifted as though uncomfortable. The faint groan in her throat—not a growl, but something else.
Something old.
And in that moment, something strange happened.
A pulse, deep and wordless, hummed through Hiccup’s chest. Like standing too close to a dragon’s wings as it took off, but inside him. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t pain. It was... acknowledgment.
Does The Red Death telepathy reache humans?
The Red Death let out a long, slow breath, her massive shoulders slumping slightly. The fire in her chest dimmed, embers instead of an inferno.
Hiccup’s mouth went dry. She wasn’t going to kill him.
He exhaled shakily. “Okay. Well, uh… that’s new.”
Toothless grumbled, giving Hiccup a sharp look, as if to say, What are you doing, you tiny reckless idiot? She’s literally a natural disaster with teeth.
Hiccup, against all logical thought, stepped forward.
The Red Death’s pupils constricted, focusing on him sharply.
“Easy,” Hiccup murmured, lifting a hand. “You’re not… bad, are you?”
The giant dragon huffed. A gust of wind nearly knocked him over, but he swore it wasn’t aggressive—it felt almost tired.
Hiccup frowned. His mind spun. “You’re hungry.”
Toothless snorted. Obviously.
“No, I mean really hungry,” Hiccup insisted, eyes narrowing. He looked around—the bones, the scraps, the lingering scent of burnt everything. Dragons had been feeding her for who knows how long. But why? Why did she keep eating, devouring even her own kind?
He turned back to the Red Death, whose massive gaze had not left him.
“You don’t even know what you’re supposed to eat, do you?”
A deep, irritated growl rumbled from her throat.
Hiccup hesitated, dots connected in his brain, The Red Death confusion, like she's feeling something new, the scene of moments ago replaying in his mind. The huge dragon rising mouth wide open while rocks rained down from the collapsing cave.
He reached down. He grabbed a rock from the cavern floor—just an ordinary hunk of cooled lava—and hesitated.
Then, slowly, he tossed it toward her.
The Red Death’s pupils widened.
For a long, tense moment, she did nothing. Then, with an almost reluctant movement, she snapped it up.
The crunch of stone echoed through the cavern.
Hiccup held his breath. Toothless held his breath. The entire world seemed to hold its breath.
And then…
The Red Death rumbled.
Not a growl. Not a roar. Something deeper.
A pleased sound.
Hiccup gawked. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
Toothless screeched.
The Red Death ate rocks.
Hiccup turned slowly back to her, his expression somewhere between hysterical laughter and absolute disbelief. “You mean to tell me… that if we had just thrown some rocks at you, this entire war wouldn’t have happened?!”
The Red Death made a low, grumpy sound.
Hiccup ran a hand down his face. “Oh, this must be some kind of a universal joke.”
Toothless smacked him with his tail.
Then, before Hiccup could fully process what was happening, the Red Death lowered her head. Closer. Closer still. Until her forehead nearly touched him.
Hiccup went still.
Something unspoken passed between them.
The weight in his chest—that feeling—grew stronger.
And suddenly, it clicked.
She wasn’t looking at him like prey.
She wasn’t looking at him like a threat.
She was looking at him like…
An heir.
Hiccup barely had time to open his mouth before Toothless body-slammed him.
The Night Fury let out a furious series of grumbles, nudging Hiccup away from the massive dragon with a very clear absolutely not, you tiny idiot, do NOT adopt the giant murder monster. Or get adopted by it.
Hiccup really doesn't know where this is going but it's his life right now, he has to figure it out eventually.
