Dragon Central

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[the-dragon-central]

Hey everyone! @astrid-foreverythingelse​ again!  This ended up quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but since I have it all finished now I figured I would post it all instead of making you guys wait for a third part. So here's the second and last part to Wild Life! See Part 1 (along with the request description) here if you’d like!

~~~

“Will we get to see Windshear next time?” Zephyr said, disappointed.

“Maybe, sweetheart.  Windshear is very sensitive, though,” Astrid explained.  “She doesn’t like anyone but Heather.”

“Don’t worry, honey, you’ll get to see some more big cats today.  I promise,” Hiccup assured her.  “But right now, we need to check on Eret and his favorite animal.”

Nuffink gasped.  “The rhino?”

“That’s right, bud, the Northern White Rhino!”

As they pulled up to the next enclosure, they quickly found Eret under the shelter with the large rhino, tending to wounds on the docile beast.  Eret turned at the sound of tires crunching across the gravel, and a smile crossed his face.  “Well, if it isn’t the Haddocks!  How are we doing this lovely morning?”

“Just fine, excited to show the kids around the sanctuary,” Hiccup explained, helping Zephyr out of the Jeep.  “Would you mind-  Woah, Nuffink!  Slow down, bud!” he cried as Nuffink slipped out under Zephyr and rushed to the fence, eyes wide with wonder and legs bouncing with excitement.

“What’s his name, what’s his name?!” Nuffink cried.

Eret laughed and guided the rhino closer to the fence, allowing his audience to take in his full glory.  “This is Skullcrusher, our second-newest resident.  He’s a Great White Rhino with many battle scars, but he’s quite mild.  Very protective as well.  He only uses his strength when he needs to.”

“What happened to him?” Zephyr asked, catching up with her brother.

“Well, you see, some hunters tried to get ahold of him.  This horn of theirs,” Eret said, tapping Skullcrusher’s front horn, “can catch a hefty price as many people believe it has medicinal benefits.”  At the tap of his horn, Skullcrusher turned his head towards Eret and affectionately bumped his head against him.  Eret chuckled and pet the animal as he continued.  “This big guy has survived many an attempt to capture him, but he suffered some severe wounds.  We brought him here to fix him up and hopefully send him back soon.”

“You’re gonna send him back to the wild?” Nuffink asked, sounding disappointed.

“That’s the hope,” Eret said with a smile.  “Not all of these animals are meant to stay here forever.  The ones that we can send back, we do so gladly.  They belong back in their home.”

Astrid and Hiccup stayed back at the Jeep while the kids had their mini lesson with Eret.  Astrid leaned closer to Hiccup.  “Should we tell them why he’s named ‘Skullcrusher’ or just let that one slide?” she asked with a devious smile.

Hiccup’s eyebrows furrowed and he shivered slightly.  “Alright, kids, time to move on!”

“Already?” Nuffink complained.

“I know, bud, but we’re losing daylight.  We still have four more animals to go!”

“Who’s next, Momma?” Zephyr asked, jumping up into the Jeep.

“Well,” Astrid groaned as she helped Zephyr up, “it’s sort of two animals in one.”

“What does that mean?” Nuffink asked from Hiccup’s arms.

“I don’t think you’ll believe us until you see it,” she replied.

The two children tried to pry out the answer from their parents through the entire short drive to the next enclosure, but their parents only answered with, “You’ll see.”

They pulled up to the enclosure entrance right behind another vehicle, finding Ruffnut and Tuffnut unloading packages from the back of the car.

“New menu today?” Astrid asked as Hiccup unloaded the kids.

“Hopefully the last new menu,” Ruffnut replied.  “We’re running out of food to try out on them.”

“They definitely earned their name,” Tuffnut added sarcastically.

“What name?” Nuffink asked.

“Nuff!  What’s up, little man?” Tuffnut cried, starting an odd and over-complicated handshake with him.

Zephyr scrunched her nose in confusion before shaking her head and turning to Ruffnut.  “Yeah, what name?”

“Barf and Belch,” Ruffnut said.  When Zephyr only responded with a bewildered look, she added, “Yeah, that’s right.  Barf and Belch.  Want to know why?”

“Not really,” Zephyr said, clearly disgusted.

“Yeah!” Nuffink cried at the same time, clearly interested.

Tuffnut laughed.  “They just hate everything we give them to eat.  They’re super picky.  We can’t find a food to give them that they won’t, well...  Barf up or belch for hours on end after.”

“Want to see them?” Ruffnut asked.  She and Tuffnut gathered their bags of goodies with Astrid and Hiccup’s help before leading the family into the enclosure.  Nuffink and Zephyr hesitated, having never actually entered an enclosure before.

Astrid turned around.  “It’s okay,” she encouraged, “You have to come in to see them.  We have them sort of...  Locked away.”

Zephyr and Nuffink shared a look before shrugging and following the adults.

“What kind of animal are they anyway?” Nuffink asked.

“A cobra,” Tuffnut quickly replied.

“Woah, cobras.  Cool.”

“Not cobras.  One cobra,” Ruffnut corrected.

“But you said-”

“You’ll see,” Hiccup and Astrid snickered simultaneously.

They came to a smaller enclosure that almost resembled a very large shed.  It wasn’t until they walked inside that the kids realized the top of the shed was open, hidden by a thick canopy of trees.  Immediately inside the door they stepped into what appeared to be an observation room overlooking a dense forest space.

“Wait here, we’ll get them to come out,” Tuffnut said.  They dropped all their goodie bags but two and disappeared behind another door.

“Where did they...?” Zephyr began.

“You’ll see,” Astrid and Hiccup echoed.

Tuffnut tapped on the glass from within the enclosure, startling the children for a moment.  He laughed and waved before walking off with his twin sister towards a small cave structure.  They each threw a piece of meat in front of the mouth of the cave and waited, calling out the animal’s names.

They didn’t have to wait too long before a cobra with two heads slithered out of his hiding place.

Nuffink and Zephyr’s jaws instantly dropped.  Zephyr scrubbed her eyes with her fists and took another look, not believing what was in front of her.  Nuffink looked overwhelmed with all the thoughts running through his head as he tried to riddle through the scene unfolding in front of him.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Astrid asked.

“How...” Zephyr started, so many questions flooding her brain that she didn’t know where to start.

“We’re not sure how he’s survived so long with two heads.  It’s unheard of,” Hiccup began.  “Naturally, once people heard that an animal like that existed, it was a race to get to it first.  And not everybody cared if they brought the animal back alive or not.”

“Somehow he managed to escape every time,” Astrid continued.  “He was very lucky that a merciful man found him.  But by then Barf and Belch had so many wounds and scars that he was barely alive.  The man tried to nurse him back to health, but wasn’t experienced with caring for animals.  He was wealthy and widespread enough to have some international contacts that knew of us and we gladly took him in.”

“We built this special enclosure just for him so we could keep him out of sight,” Hiccup said.  “When people ask, we just tell everyone it’s an open enclosure waiting for a new animal.  We’re afraid that if anyone knew he was here, it’d be dangerous not only for him but the staff and other animals too.”

“Well then why is there glass in here, Daddy?” Zephyr asked.

“Well, it’s not everyday you have to care for a two-headed animal,” he explained.  “Barf and Belch really only allow Ruffnut and Tuffnut into their enclosure, but we had to be able to study them and learn how to take care of them.  So we built this observation room that wraps around the entire enclosure.”

Tuffnut and Ruffnut turned and waved to the family as the rare snake enjoyed his new meal option, the children staring wide-eyed and gape-mouthed into the enclosure.

~~~~~

“What’s next, what’s next?!” Nuffink cried, bouncing in the backseat of the Jeep.

“Nothing as exciting as a two-headed snake, but we just have a few more animals to check on,” Hiccup teased.  “Would you like to visit Great Uncle Gobber?”

“Uncle Gobber lives here?” Zephyr asked.

“He may as well,” Astrid playfully muttered.  “No, sweetie, he likes to take care of Grump.  Grump is a Bornean sun bear.”

“What’s that, Momma?”

“Well, you know those silly little black bears with the really really long claws and tongues that you like so much?”

Zephyr giggled.  “Yeah!”

“That’s what Grump is!”

As the family pulled up to the next enclosure, they found Gobber scratching his head and staring at an unmoving mass of black fur on the other side of the fence splayed out haphazardly across a rock.  Gobber shook his head before turning to greet the Haddocks.  “Zephyr, Nuffink!  Enjoyin’ the tour?”

Nuffink nodded excitedly.  Zephyr, on the other hand, had her eyes glued on the bear.  “Is...  Uncle Gobber, is he...  Is he dead?”

Gobber laughed as he closed the distance to the Jeep, scooping up Zephyr and carrying her to the fence.  “Not at all, lassie, far from it.  Dumb bear is jus’ lazy as a dragon after too much dragon nip.”

“Dragon nip?” Zephyr asked with a scrunched nose.

“Here we go again,” Hiccup chuckled, bringing Nuffink over to join his sister with his wife following closely behind.

“Dragons exist!” Gobber cried.  “They steal ya’r legs!  But only the left ones,” he added to Zephyr, who replied with a giggle.

“Yes, Gobber, we know.  And then they disappeared underneath the earth never to be seen again, right?” Astrid teased.

Gobber glared at Astrid as Zephyr turned her attention back to the bear.  “Uncle Gobber, are you sure he’s okay?”

He laughed and whistled before yelling, “Ay!  Grump!  Git up, already!”

Nothing.

“Grump!” Gobber growled.

Grump’s eyes flickered open, followed by a large yawn that left his tongue hanging out of his mouth.  Just as Gobber opened his mouth to sarcastically praise the lazy beast, he lifted his body just enough to flop back down onto the rock with his backside facing the humans.

Gobber scoffed.  “Lazy animal.”

“Uncle Gobber?  What happened to his claws?”  Nuffink sheepishly asked.  When the bear lifted himself up momentarily, the children got a better look at his injuries.  What claws were left were chipped or broken off, and they could make out thin breaks in his fur that indicated healing gashes in his skin.

“Well,” Gobber sighed, “Probably another animal or some hunters got ahold of ‘im.  He made it, though, doin’ jus’ fine now.  But ‘e’ll have to stay here for the rest of his life.”

“Why’s that?”

“He’s got no claws to defend ‘imself now, and they not growin’ back too good, either.  Then again, ‘e probably wouldn’t defend ‘imself even with the claws,” he added with a grumble.  “Bear’s got too lazy to care.  All ‘e does is sleep and eat!”

The children continued to watch Grump closely, searching for signs of life, as Gobber turned to Hiccup and Astrid.  “Have ya shown ‘em your animals of choice yet?”

“We’re going to see Stormfly next, and then Toothless and Luna are last,” Astrid explained.  “We figured we’d round out the day with our own animals.”

“Who are they?” Zephyr mused back to her parents, eyes still glued to the lazy bear.

“Well, they’re the animals Mom and I work with the most.  They take best to us, like everyone else has their favorite animals that we visited today,” Hiccup explained.  “They’re enclosures are right next to each other, so we can visit both of them at the same time.  Stormfly and Toothless get along really well, and so do Toothless and Luna.”

“What kind of animals are they?” Nuffink asked.

“Do you want to go find out?” Astrid asked, aware of the day’s end drawing near.

Nuffink looked up to Gobber.  “He’s really not going to do anything, is he?” he asked, gesturing to the bear.

Gobber shook his head.  “Not a lick.”

Nuffink jumped away from the fence.  “Yep, let’s go!”

~~~

Hiccup stopped the Jeep at a dividing fence between two enclosures; but unlike the other enclosures the kids saw that day, the entrance to these straddled the intersection of the dividing fence and the outer fence.  Astrid climbed out quickly, falling into a pattern she obviously was used to.  Hiccup encouraged the children out of the Jeep and brought them to the fence.  “Wait here,” he smiled as he followed Astrid into the enclosure.

“Stormfly!” Astrid called.  “Come here, girl!”

Hiccup knelt next to the fence opposite the kids as a hush fell over the trees.  Everyone stayed perfectly still, patiently waiting.

Hiccup sensed the apprehension in Zephyr and Nuffink growing at the gentle padding of paws drawing nearer.  They scanned the tree line fervently while keeping a nervous eye on their mother.

“Come here, girl, it’s okay,” Astrid encouraged, the smile on her face evident in her voice as well.  She carefully lowered herself to the grass, reaching out a steady hand.  “I see you, Stormfly, come on out.”

Nuffink and Zephyr looked around, now confused as to where their mother saw the animal.

“Daddy...  Where is she?” Zephyr whispered.

Hiccup gently hushed his daughter, smiling as he pointed to the trees directly in front of Astrid.

Astrid turned her head at the quiet interaction behind her.  She waved at her children before turning back to the ghost in the treeline.  “It’s okay, Stormfly.  That’s my own pack.  They’re safe.”

Nuffink and Zephyr carefully scanned the treeline again, frustrated that their parents saw something they obviously did not.  Suddenly, Zephyr gasped quietly.  Nuffink looked at her confused and tapped her arm.  Zephyr wrapped her arm around her brother and pointed at the trees just off to the left of where they were standing.

The face of a wolf with unusual coloring was watching the family carefully, eyes shifting every so often between the three figures by the fence and her usual caregiver in the grass.  Her face was mostly white fur, but a start black patch ran down her nose, and another covered from the middle of her head across her right ear and eye, down her right cheek, underneath her chin, and up across her left cheek, disappearing behind the side of her face.  She slowly emerged from the shadows of the trees, silently approaching as if she were gliding over the grass rather than stepping on it.  Her head cocked to the side in curiosity, eyes locked on the children as she walked in a confident line towards Astrid.  As she stepped away from the brush, her body of black fur could be seen, interrupted only down her spine by the same white color that dominated her face.  The white fur on her back seemed to jut out in either direction like spikes, and continued from the nape of her neck until it mixed with the black in her tail.

The wolf nuzzled her head along Astrid’s shoulder, eyes still locked on the children with a curious tilt.  Astrid combed her fingers through Stormfly’s fur and looked back to follow her gaze.  “Aren’t they beautiful?” she whispered to the wolf.  “I’m so proud of them.  And they love animals just like me.”

Stormfly turned her head to sniff Astrid’s cheek.  She licked Astrid’s chin, making her chuckle.  “You can meet them, it’s okay.  Go see Hiccup.”

Stormfly hesitated at first, looking back to Astrid but taking a few steps towards Hiccup and the kids.

Astrid laughed.  “Go on, I’m coming.”

Stormfly seemed content with that response; she turned towards Hiccup and trotted his direction as he held out a welcoming hand.  “Hey, there, Stormfly,” he said, scratching behind her ears.  “Long time, no see, huh?”  He looked to Zephyr and Nuffink, who were now frozen with fear.  “Come here,” he encouraged, “put your hand right up on the fence, flat, just like this.”

Hiccup laid his hand flat against the fence, which his children cautiously mirrored.  As Zephyr and Nuffink placed their hands against his, he slowly used the opposite hand to guide Stormfly to the fence.  Hiccup and Astrid watched Stormfly closely as she sniffed their children’s hands through the fence, ready to react if they needed to.

But the gentle wolf - just as Hiccup and Astrid anticipated - simply nuzzled her nose against the children’s hands before gently rubbing her head against the fence.

Zephyr’s mouth dropped open in awe, while Nuffink laughed and daringly stuck his fingers through the openings in the fence.

“Hey Hiccup,” Astrid called out as she approached her family.  Stormfly perked up at the sound of her voice and sauntered over, weaving between her legs.  She gestured to the enclosure next door with her head as she reached down to scratch behind Stormfly’s ears.  “I think someone’s getting a little jealous of all the attention over here.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and stood, turning around to find a black jaguar bouncing excitedly on the other side of the fence.  The children looked quizzically at their mother first before following their father’s gaze.  Hiccup held out his arms.  “Hey, bud!  Did ya miss me?”

He walked out of the door in the fence, planning to step into the jaguar’s enclosure.  The jaguar, however, seemed a bit too excited to give him that chance as he pounced on his entrance.  Hiccup placed his hands on his hips.  “Toothless,” he chided, “step back.”

Toothless growled playfully and gave Hiccup a wide berth to enter the enclosure, seemingly bowing his head in shame as he sat back on his haunches.

“Toothless?” Zephyr asked her mother, who was now sitting on the ground leaning against the fence with Stormfly curled in her lap.  “Why Toothless?”

Astrid chuckled.  “You’ll see.  Poor little guy.”

Zephyr raised an eyebrow but didn’t question further.

Astrid sighed.  “Come on, girl.  Let’s go say high to Toothless.”  Stormfly looked up at her caretaker before standing and stretching, patiently waiting for Astrid to follow suit.  She walked along the fence, waving to her children to follow from their side as well.  Finding a better spot in the corner of the fence separating the outside world from Stormfly and Stormfly from Toothless, she sat down and let Stormfly curl up again in her lap.  Zephyr and Nuffink turned their attention back to their father as he entered Toothless’s enclosure, stepping past the point where the dividing fence intersected with the outer fence to get a better look.

Just in time for the black jaguar to pounce on their father.

“Daddy!” the children cried as the big cat wrestled their father to the ground, opening his mouth and closing his jaw securely around their father’s shoulder.

Or so they thought, at least.

Hiccup was laughing the whole time, through the tackle and pounce and bite.  “Toothless!” he laughed as the jaguar nawed on his shoulder.  “Stop scaring my kids, you useless cat!”

Toothless purred happily as he burrowed his head along Hiccup’s neck.

“I know, I know, I missed you too!  Can I get up now?” Hiccup requested.  He arched his back so he could tilt his head back enough to see his children (be it upside down).  Nuffink’s eyes were open wider than his mouth somehow, but Zephyr’s eyes were full of tears as she clutched the fence separating her and her father..  “Zephyr, baby, I’m okay!  It’s alright!  See?”  He freed his hand to point to his shoulder.  For further evidence, he pulled at his shirt collar to reveal the smooth, intact skin.

Toothless started licking Hiccup’s face, attempting to steal his attention back.  “Agh!  Toothless!” Hiccup cried as Toothless started soaking his shirt collar.  “You know that doesn’t wash out!  I just saw you yesterday!  What is your problem?”

Astrid laughed from the other side of the fence.  “He’s showing off for his audience!”

As Hiccup continued to struggle with the jaguar, Stormfly lifted her head and let out a warning bark towards Toothless.  Toothless immediately jumped up like a child being caught in a forbidden act and looked around for the source of the noise.  Eyes falling on Stormfly staring intently at him, he sheepishly rolled off of Hiccup and bounced in a circle as his caretaker got back to his feet.

Hiccup jogged over to his children.  “Deep breath, Zephyr, I’m okay!”  He knelt down in front of her and let her inspect his shoulder closer.  Nuffink leaned in curiously to see the proof himself.  “See?  I call him Toothless because he doesn’t have any teeth.  And he never closes his jaw hard enough to hurt me.  He looks big but he’s pretty young.  He just likes to play.”

Zephyr released an amount of air the Hiccup didn’t realize her little lungs could hold for so long.  “Oh...  Okay,” she breathed.

“That’s awesome!” Nuffink exploded, jumping up and down.  “Well, not that he doesn’t have teeth.  But that you wrestle with a giant cat!”

Hiccup laughed.  “Jaguar, yes.”

As if on cue, Toothless pushed his head between Hiccup’s legs, curiously sniffing at the fence and the children behind it.

“See?  They’re little kids, just like you,” Hiccup said.  “Only they’re better behaved,” he added under his breath.

Zephyr giggled and Toothless cocked his head at the new sound.  He leaned forward and sniffed the fence again before lifting a paw to swat playfully at the metal, making the rest of the family join Zephyr in her giggling.

“Hey Toothless?  Where’s Luna, bud?” Hiccup asked, almost as though he knew the answer.

Toothless looked from Hiccup to the open space behind him, and then back again.

“Go get her, bud!”

And with that, the jaguar took off and disappeared into the trees.

“What happened to his teeth?” Zephyr asked after a moment.

“He was extremely malnourished,” Hiccup explained, watching the trees where Toothless disappeared.  “We’re not sure if his teeth rotted because of the malnourishment, or if he was malnourished because he was missing most of his teeth.  The few he had left by the time we got him had to be removed because they were so far gone.”

“That’s sad...” Zephyr thought.

“How come he listens to Stormfly better than you?” Nuffink accused.

Zephyr laughed as Hiccup threw Nuffink a playful glare.  “Well, he’s not a baby, but he’s still young.  He’s probably as big as he’ll grow, but he’s also only a few years old.  Stormfly is an adult wolf who lost her pack.  She got really depressed because of it and wouldn’t take care of herself.  She came to us because of the injuries she suffered, but she stayed because every time we tried to release her, she would just lay there and not do anything.  We put her in the enclosure next to Toothless just by chance, but she made quite the unique bond with him.”

“Honestly, we should have seen it coming, based on her history and his age,” Astrid added.  “With Toothless being so young, she naturally grew to look after him.  And Toothless took to her almost instantly as a mother figure.  We actually bring Toothless into her enclosure quite often now to let them bond while we can supervise.  Which is why they still have separate enclosures.  That, and because of Luna.”

“Who’s Luna?” Zephyr asked.

“Well, hopefully we’ll get to show you,” Hiccup said, turning back to the trees.  “She’s an albino leopard.  But she’s an amazing hider.  And she doesn’t come out often.  She was a pet to an exotic animal enthusiast who abused her pretty harshly.”

“Well, where is her home?” Nuffink asked.

“Here,” Hiccup said.

Nuffink rolled his eyes.  “No, Dad, where is her pen?”

Hiccup smiled.  “Here.  With Toothless.”

Toothless bounded out of the trees excitedly, running up to Hiccup and knocking him over.  Hiccup hit the ground with an audible oof.  “I hope that means you found her,” he said, a little winded from the fall.  “Because if not, that was just rude.”

Toothless bounded back to the trees and back again, as if coaxing Hiccup to follow.  Once Hiccup stood and started moving his direction, Toothless sat back and watched the trees where he came from.

“Luna,” Hiccup gently called.  “Hey, girl, you there?  It’s Hiccup, it’s okay.”

It took a few minutes of encouragement from Hiccup’s end, but eventually a white face slowly emerged from the lower branches of a nearby tree.

“There you are!” Hiccup happily said.  “You can come out, it’s just my family.  No big crowds today, alright?”  He pulled something from his pocket and held it out towards her.  “Do you want some fish?  I know it’s your favorite.”

Luna bounded down out of the trees carefully, eyes on Hiccup until she spotted the children behind him.  She hesitated for a moment, but then a light breeze drifted the scent of the fish piece in Hiccup’s hand her direction.  Hiccup knelt down to be closer to her level.  She continued out of the brush, her eyes never leaving the children as she sniffed Hiccup’s hand and accepted the gift.  As she carefully took the fish with her teeth, Hiccup allowed his hand to drift down her jaw and scratch under her chin.  When she seemed to accept the gesture, he lifted his other hand to pet her head and down the back of her neck.  “Good girl,” he whispered.

Zephyr leaned over closer to her mother and softly asked, “Why do they get to share a yard?”

Astrid shrugged.  “Honestly?  After we got Luna here, she kept finding a way to sneak in.  See that enclosure over there?”  Astrid pointed to the fenced-in area on the opposite side of Toothless’s enclosure.  Zephyr nodded.  “That was Luna’s.  But every day when we got here, somehow she would be in Toothless’s enclosure, snuggled up next to him, just snuggling the day away.  We still can’t find exactly how she did it.  But we noticed that after spending all that time with Toothless and seeing how much he trusted your dad, we finally had a caretaker that could get close to her and, well, actually take care of her.  So we gave up and let her stay with Toothless.  He obviously didn’t mind.”

The attention seemed to be too much for Luna; she froze from the moment Zephyr asked her question until she stole away back into the trees again.

“Aww,” Nuffink said, pouting out his lower lip.

Hiccup stood and brushed off his knees, walking closer to the children again.  “I’m sorry, bud.  Like we said, she doesn’t like people.”  Suddenly, Hiccup’s face bursted into a smile as he shared a look with his wife.  Astrid raised an eyebrow.  “How about we make it up to you, Nuff?”

“How’s that?” Nuffink asked, cocking his head to the side like a curious animal.  Toothless mirrored the motion behind Hiccup.

“Would you guys want to play with Stormfly and Toothless?”

Nuffink and Zephyr shared a wide-eyed look.

“Of course!” Nuffink cried.

“Can we, Daddy?!” Zephyr asked at the same time.

Hiccup glanced back to Astrid, who was already standing and walking back towards the treeline towards a makeshift gate that was obviously added to the fence after it was built.  Toothless, no longer paying attention to Hiccup, bounded over to the gate and sat on the ground inches from the opening, recognizing the movement.

“Come on,” Hiccup smiled, slipping out of Toothless’s enclosure and opening the gate to Stormfly’s.  Once the opportunity was actually given to the two children to follow, they hesitated.  Nuffink took a deep breath and willed himself to follow his father.  Zephyr, not wanting to be outdone by her little brother, sort of stumbled in after him.

Astrid waited a moment to open the gate for Toothless, carefully watching Stormfly’s reaction to the children.  Already semi-acquainted with these new humans, she curiously trotted over to them.  Zephyr and Nuffink hid behind their father as the wolf approached them.  Hiccup knelt down to the ground and held a welcoming hand out to her.  She nuzzled her head against him with her eyes on the children, head cocked to the side and eyes scanning their bodies as if analyzing them.  As if she sensed their apprehension, she lowered her head and closed her eyes, taking a careful step towards Nuffink.

He pulled back for a moment, finding himself leaning into Zephyr’s chest.  Stormfly stopped moving and dared a glance at the children.  Seeing them frozen in place, she instead lifted her head and slowly approached them, gently sniffing the air.  As she drew closer, she first sniffed Nuffink’s chest, and then Zephyr’s hand that was perched on his shoulder.  Nuffink started breathing quicker, alerting Stormfly to fear rising in him.  She slowly leaned towards him until her head rested against his chest, and then lifted her muzzle to comfortingly lick Zephyr’s hand.  The two slowly relaxed, and Nuffink found himself moving to the hug the soft fur of the wolf’s neck.  Zephyr let her own fingers dip into the fur of her head and slide down Stormfly’s neck, repeating the motion again and again.

Satisfied with how the two did with Stormfly, Astrid chuckled as she opened the gate for Toothless.

And he was not at all so careful with his approach.

Bounding towards the family, he tackled Hiccup again, who let out a surprised yelp.  Zephyr and Nuffink gasped, and Stormfly expressed her annoyance with a huff.

“Not again!” Hiccup groaned.

Stormfly released herself from the children’s grasps and sauntered over to Toothless and Hiccup, barking at Toothless again.  He reluctantly stepped away from Hiccup and sat in the grass.  Stormfly huffed at him, to which he lowered his head so far he was nearly laying on the ground.

Which Stormfly took as the perfect opportunity to lay over top of him.

Toothless huffed and laid defenselessly under the wolf, despite the fact that he could easily overpower her being twice her size.  Stormfly gently bayed to the children, encouraging them to come closer and meet the overly-energetic animal she was currently perched upon.

The children laughed and approached the two animals, Toothless happily watching from underneath Stormfly.

As Zephyr and Nuffink interacted with the animals, Astrid joined her husband still sitting on the grass.  She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed happily.  “We did pretty good with those two, didn’t we?”

Hiccup chuckled.  “Much better than I thought we would.  And it seems like they like animals as much as we do.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to get them into the family business then, huh?”

Hiccup smiled and kissed Astrid’s hair.  “Not at all.”

[the-dragon-central]

May I request a fic about Nuffink or Zephyr's naming ceremonies? Thank you in advance! You are all such great writers!!!

Hey @queenofthearchipelago! I’ve been working on your request since last summer and it ended in a +5k words one shot… I really hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!

I want to thank my friend JoyOfBerK and @wolfie-dragon-rider who corrected it! And also @poppysfanworld who helped me a lot with the story!

P.S: Be aware, there is a nsfw scene at the beginning of the flashback…

Origins Of A Name

“I present to you Zephyr Haddock the First, heir to the throne of Berk!” proudly announced the chief of New Berk. 

The voices were then raised in the Great Hall, clapping loudly for the newborn’s entry into the tribe. Cradled in the arms of her father, the little girl did not seem to be disturbed by the loud noise. Not far behind, Astrid looked tenderly at her husband, who smiled back at her. She approached them and Hiccup wrapped his arm around her. Astrid delicately placed her hand on their daughter’s head, stroking the few hairs that covered her skull before kissing her forehead. You could see on their faces how happy they were. 

It had been almost a month since little Zephyr was born, but the naming ceremony was not to take place until you were sure that the baby was viable. In other words, if it was able to ensure the continued existence of the clan. However, it was a girl. And only the elder boys could claim the throne. But Hiccup thought otherwise. She was his first-born child, so she would be the one to succeed him. During Hiccup’s time on the Edge, he had had the opportunity to meet several women in power, starting with Mala, the Queen of the Defenders of the Wing, Atali, the leader of the Wingmaidens, and nowadays, Heather was the leader of the Berserker clan. As for Astrid, she was chieftess at his side. Besides, from what he remembered, all these tribes were known to be at peace. Then why shouldn’t women rule? No ridiculous tradition could change his mind. He was pretty clear on the issue when he introduced Zephyr earlier. 

Also, finding a name could take some time, especially since one was not supposed to think about it before the birth of the child, as the fear that the child could die in childbirth was present. And then, we could say that the couple had been a little taken aback with the birth of their daughter. To tell the truth, the little girl had almost been born into the world on the high seas. So one would think this name was chosen in haste, but no, it had its full meaning. The name had already started to make a name for itself. Hiccup could no longer hear himself think in the Great Hall. 

“I declare the banquet open!” he managed to announce amidst the general hubbub.

Further on, the gang was among those who gossiped about the little girl’s name. 

“No, but Zephyr, like, how do you pronounce that again?” Tuffnut asked. 

“Hasn’t it been a month since they’ve been coming out to say that that’s a name?” Snotlout looked up at the sky, indignant. 

“And then, Zephyr, what’s the origin of that name?” 

“Well, well… looks like our little girl’s already getting some attention…” said the chief as he approached his group of friends with a smile on his face and the child in his arms. 

“Ah guys… we didn’t see you coming…” Fishlegs swallowed in a low voice.

Fishlegs seemed to blame himself when he was the only one who didn’t say anything about it. Ruffnut moved herself in front of him. 

“In fact, yes, we did see you coming from a distance, and we might actually be discussing your daughter’s first name.”

Fishlegs hid both his eyes for fear of what would happen next. 

“So, why did you give her that name?” the twin girl finally dared to ask. 

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged a glance before starting to laugh quietly so as to not wake up the little one. 

“Well, what? What’s so funny?” Snotlout was outraged. 

“To tell you the truth, we didn’t think you’d be interested,” Astrid confessed. 

“It must be said that Zephyr is an unusual name…” said Fishlegs, again interested in the main topic of conversation. 

“Certainly,” Hiccup nodded. “It’s true that with everything that’s happened since she was born, we haven’t had much time for you.”

“This marvel requires a lot of work,” Astrid added, while playing with Zephyr’s little fingers. 

“Yeah, we understand you guys were busy. In the meantime, we still don’t know how your honeymoon went,” Snotlout said, impatient. 

“Well, we already know what came out of it…” Ruffnut replied, turning her eyes to the baby. 

Astrid turned beet red. 

“Now do you really want to know what happened or not?” tempered the chief, placing his hand in front of his wife to prevent her from jumping on the twin. 

Ruffnut displayed a satisfied grin as Astrid shook her head in annoyance. She took her daughter from her husband’s arms and sat down, scowling, all without taking her eyes off Ruffnut. 

“So,” he insisted, raising his voice before things got out of hand. “As you know, a few months after we got married, Astrid and I, we had a well-deserved honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon that lasted nearly seven moons…” said Snotlout in a low voice. 

Hiccup looked at him, looking desperate. 

“As I was saying, we had a well-deserved honeymoon,” he continued, this time emphasizing the end of his sentence.  “… which took us far beyond the already known parts of the archipelago…” 

His firm arms wrapped around her waist while his hands rested on her sweaty abdomen, rising with her panting breath. The hand of her beloved slipped over his own to caress his fingers. Her blue eyes crossed his green eyes and their irregular breath soon merged into a languorous kiss. The hands of the auburn-haired boy went up along the young woman’s body. He liked to contemplate her curves, the very ones that seemed so perfect to him. By making love to her so regularly, he knew her body inside out and if he wasn’t so meticulous, he would have sworn her breasts were bigger than before. He grabbed one of them while continuing to kiss her and she moaned against his mouth. He then stopped to observe her. 

“I seem to have hit a nerve…”

“It’s because you keep tickling them…”

“And you like it… admit it,” he blew as he defied her mouth. 

He pressed a little harder on the breast he was holding in his hand while playing with the tip of the other. Astrid refrained from moaning, wondering how he had become such an expert in this field. Her eyes were closed but she could feel his gaze on her. He was taunting her, waiting for her to crack. But Astrid Haddock didn’t give in so easily. Slowly, she slides her hand up to her partner’s budding erection and grasps it to apply pressure at the tip with her thumb. The young man let out a little scream. 

“Hey, that’s not fair!” he took offense. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” said the blonde, opening her eyes and smiling at the corner of her lips.

She applied more pressure. The young chief moaned. 

“Oh, you want to play that…” he said, catching his breath. 

He grabbed her breasts with his hands and kneaded them while pressing on them. 

“Hi-Hiccup! S-Stop it… now! Otherwise I’m gonna…”

He put his lips on hers to shut her up. Astrid was desperate. He had won. She finally gave in to her feelings that urged her to let go. Hiccup was kissing her while he continued what he had started. He accelerated his move and exerted even more pressure. His hands grabbed both breasts at the same time and he squeezed them as hard as he could. Astrid screamed with pleasure and a whitish liquid flowed from her nipples. Hiccup watched the scene, a little confused. 

“But is that… milk?” he finished saying. 

Astrid, panting, was taking a breath. She looked up at her husband before taking a look at his chest. She redirected her attention to Hiccup.

“There’s only one way to find out…”

It took the young man a few seconds to understand his wife’s request. He rose to his height and brought his head close to his chest. He kissed her gently at first before sticking out his tongue to lick the white liquid that covered them. He found himself wanting more. So he grabbed one of her breasts with his mouth and started sucking. Astrid became red, somewhat embarrassed by her initiative but also because she liked it. When he had finished, he brought his face close to hers to kiss her. 

…

Later that morning, they saw on a large cliff the remains of a temple overlooking the sea. They knew at that moment that they had arrived. 

“What was the name of their sea god again?” asked the young woman. 

“It seems to me that it was Poseidon.”  

“Poseidon, what a funny name…” Astrid whispered as she approached the young man to snuggle up against him. 

They admired the time-worn temple standing before them. This trip promised to be exciting. 

Later in the day, they had found a place to lie down and enjoy a good hot meal. The fact that Hiccup knew several languages had been very helpful to them on their journey. Of course, the chief did not master the rules of all these languages, but he knew the most common words, which allowed them to get along with the inhabitants of the different regions. And it must be said that over a glass of red wine, it wasn’t always essential to know the language of the country you were in, especially at the end of the evening when everyone ended up speaking the same language… Fortunately, Hiccup and Astrid hadn’t spent their honeymoon running around pubs but rather sightseeing the different places they went and enjoying their life together. Greece was the furthest place they had traveled to so far and they were not planning to stop there. At Lavrio, where they had moored their boat, there wasn’t much to see except the temple they had discovered when they arrived. Their goal was the capital of this part of the Roman Empire: Athens.

They left at dawn the next day for a journey of about three days. They stopped several times along the way to regain their strength or to spend the night in a hostel where they enjoyed a good meal. Greece was a strange country. At this time of year, it was hot and the air was dry. It had nothing to do with the climate of the northern countries, it was the exact opposite. Hiccup and Astrid had given up their furs for lighter clothes, they were beginning to get used to them. When they finally arrived in Athens, the young couple first became interested in ancient architecture by visiting the remains of temples like that of Zeus, which is very impressive in size. They also discovered large arenas, called “stadiums” here, where they did not train dragons but men who practiced various sports according to what they were told. Another place that attracted their attention because of its grandeur was a large theatre dedicated to Dionysus, the god of wine and drunkenness. The theater could hold thousands of people, it was incredible. 

“It’s nothing like the show we used to play at Snoggletog night when we were kids…” Astrid laughed. 

Days passed and the young couple discovered more and more things, each one more interesting than the other. They were also interested in the new religion in force in practically all of Europe, which was Christianity. They had more or less understood that it was the story of a man, Jesus then called Christ. He was “the son of God” who came down to Earth to save humankind and show them the love that God his father had for them. And according to reports, the Romans had put him to death on a cross, and he came back to life three days later. A whole cult had then organized itself around this man, and that intrigued Hiccup and Astrid a lot. 

“I really find it hard to understand how you can spend your life worshipping only one god,” Astrid whispered, puzzled. 

They were in a baptistery to attend the baptism of a citizen. They had made a point of going there to find out what customs existed outside the archipelago. 

“That’s a different way of thinking things, I guess. Maybe they’re better off that way,” the young man replied in a low voice. 

“Still, all these rituals for one being. At least we have a god for every occasion, Freya for fertility, Thor for thunder, Balder for light and Loki for the twins’ nonsense!” the blonde exclaimed. 

“Sure, but you forget that Odin is the king of the gods, so we could worship only him.”

“It’s completely ridiculous, the gods must have a leader. You need someone to run all these beautiful people. Look at us for example; you are the chief and everyone has his role in the village council. Fishlegs is in charge of diplomacy, Snotlout of everything that is put into practice and the twins of the entire organization. And you and I will handle the strategy. We’re a good team and you’re essential to make sure everyone is in their place, but you couldn’t do anything without them. You know what I mean?” 

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it into his before smiling at her. 

“Very well.”

He kissed her on the cheek. 

Astrid always had the right words to make him smile again. She was always there for him, reassuring him. At that very moment, all those present in the room rose to recite a prayer:

“Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς,

ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου,

ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου,

γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου,

ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς•

τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον•

καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν,

ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν•

καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν,

ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.”

Afterwards, the newly baptized was cheered and everyone was allowed to leave the building. Always fascinated by the architecture of the buildings in Athens, Hiccup and Astrid stopped to contemplate the architecture of the Baptistery, which, in fact, had been built long before the arrival of Christianity, judging by the deities present on the facade. 

Seeing the young couple taking an interest in the building, an old woman approached them and told them in Greek that it was in fact an ancient hydraulic clock called “Tower of the Winds” because of the allegories of each wind represented on each of the facades. She explained to them how the clock worked and to which allegory each wind direction was associated: Boreas was the north wind, Kaikias the northeast wind, Apeliotes represented the east wind, Eurus the southeast, Notus the south wind, Lips invoked the southwest wind, Skiron the northwest wind and finally Zephyr, the messenger of spring, directed the west wind. This was a lot of divinities to remember since in the pantheon of the Nordic gods, there was no wind god as such. The last allegory piqued Astrid’s curiosity.

“Why is this one lying down when all the others are in action or seem to be flying?” 

After Hiccup translated Astrid’s question to the old lady, she answered tacitly: “That’s because he is represented as a woman.” 

The auburn-haired man hesitated before translating the old woman’s answer to his impatient wife. 

“What did she say? Tell me, Hiccup. Right now.”

Astrid’s glance became more insistent so he ended up repeating to her what the old one had told her. He held her back before she attacked the old lady. Luckily for him, no one could understand the swear words the young woman was uttering, otherwise the situation could have been much more awkward than it already was. Hiccup took Astrid further after apologizing to the old lady and thanking her for all her explanations. 

“Seriously, what is this domination of man over woman! For them, the woman is only good for staying at home and taking care of the children!” Astrid choked. 

“Keep calm Astrid, we shouldn’t let ourselves be noticed these days…” 

“And how can you stay so calm?”

“Well, I just accept that these people have a different conception of the world than I do. I don’t agree with that, but I have to admit that I am in their country and they offer me hospitality, so I have to live with it,” he said in a firm tone of voice. 

The blonde-haired girl was about to say something but she frowned, knowing full well that her husband was right. They had made this trip to find out how people lived beyond the world they knew and they had discovered wonderful things, but not everything could be perfect. Besides, they were just passing through, it was no time to get into trouble. So they continued on their way, blending in with the crowd and headed for the Agora of Athens where the city’s largest market was held. They went into it and discovered a thousand and one wonders. There was product coming in from all over the place. They had already had the opportunity to go to markets in the kingdoms they had previously visited, but this one offered food from afar, from a place called “Orient”. Astrid let herself be seduced by the aromatic spices, which, mixed with the fragrances of the flowers, provided the buyer a very original bath product. The young couple moved from aisle to aisle having a good time. They enjoyed conversing, whenever possible, with merchants who had nothing to do with Trader Johann. During a discussion with a carpet merchant, Astrid asked to sit down. The daughter of the woman who ran the shop brought her a chair to sit on. The chief continued to speak with the merchant, but he did not have time to finish his sentence, the merchant interrupted him with a shout of stupor while pointing at his wife who had just collapsed to the ground. Hiccup ran to his wife to pick her up.

“Astrid! Are you okay?” asked the young man, worried. 

“I… Yes… Well no… I… My head is spinning a little…” the young woman mumbled. 

“Where can I find a healer around here?” he asked in Greek to the woman whose house he was at. 

“Πάρτε τους στο Αθηνόδωρος”, she blew to her daughter. 

Without having time to translate the woman’s words into his head, the little girl grabbed his hand and invited him to follow her. Hiccup questioned Astrid with his eyes but she couldn’t get up, so he took her in his arms and followed the girl through the crowd. He fought his way through the human tide against all odds, trying not to lose sight of the little girl. Eventually they left the market and followed his little guide. They walked down a few alleyways until they reached the door of a house. The girl knocked on the door and a man, with facial features marked by time, appeared in the frame. 

“Γεια σας Αθηνόδωρος” greeted the little girl. 

Hiccup understood at that moment that the man’s name was Athenodorus, and he walked towards him to greet him and introduce himself before explaining the reason for his coming in the usual language. 

“It’s my wife, she’s fainted.” 

The man frowned with his thick eyebrows before backing away to invite them into his home. 

…

He was pacing in front of the practitioner’s office. He had waited there for over an hour without knowing what was going on. He had answered all his questions before he took Astrid to rest in his room to examine her more closely. Just as Hiccup was about to lose his patience, the door finally opened. Athenodorus beckoned him to come in and he found his wife looking better. She smiled at him and he took her hand to show her his presence. The old man made them both sit down and explained that he needed more information in order to examine Astrid more closely. Hiccup was very impressed with the very precise way he assessed the symptoms and the young woman’s experiences. It was very… scientific. In fact, he had learned that this man practiced another type of healing, which here was called “medicine”. 

He then asked them various questions, but the more he progressed, the more complex and personal they became. Hiccup had to ask Astrid when was her last menstruation, if she had observed a change in her chest or if she had a more frequent urge to urinate… He had to translate Athenodorus’ questions to Astrid and translate her answers. The interview quickly became tiring for Hiccup who was not used to speaking so long in a language that was not his. The last question somewhat baffled the young man: it concerned the frequency of their sexual activity.

It is this very moment that Ruffnut chose to interrupt Hiccup in his story. 

“He couldn’t have been disappointed with the answer!” she laughed. 

Astrid wanted to get up but she remembered that it was her who was holding Zephyr in her arms. She satisfied herself with a simple threat: 

“Another remark like that and you won’t come out of this conversation unscathed.”

Hiccup put one hand on his wife’s shoulder to soothe the beast that threatened to come out. She was even more on edge since the birth of their daughter and after her husband, it was her friends who benefited most from her mood swings. 

“Yeah, that’s all well and good, but we still don’t know why you called your daughter Zephyr!” became impatient Snotlout.

“If I wasn’t interrupted every five minutes, maybe I could give you this explanation…” the chief despaired. 

“So? Once you realized Astrid was pregnant, what did you do?” Fishlegs asked, seeking to motivate his friend. 

“Well, as Astrid was already about four months pregnant, that left us five months to go home. So we went back to Lavrio where we’d left the boat and left. From that point on, let’s just say that things have been more difficult…”

After leaving Greece, Hiccup and Astrid made their first stop in the Iberian Peninsula. They had sought shelter for the night, but no one was willing to take them in; there was a rumour that an ill-intentioned Viking couple was travelling through Europe. They’d ended up sleeping under the stars. Fortunately for them, in the middle of summer, the nights were rather mild, especially in this part of the world. The next day, they were soon back on the road, which was shaping up to be long and perilous. And they were not at the end of their surprises… In the kingdom of France and more precisely in Brittany where they stopped over, the inhabitants were no longer welcoming. Rumours were spreading between the kingdoms as fast as they were distorted: now we were dealing with ungodly Vikings who wanted to convert the Christians, preventing them from entering paradise. They had been denounced by the fishmonger, who had repeated this to the village bishop. Except in those kingdoms, religion was no joke, and Hiccup and Astrid knew that. As a result, they had been forced to spend more time than expected on Brittany’s land while awaiting trial. The two lovebirds were only released several weeks later when a young woman vouched for their good faith. They could leave but they were still far from home and Astrid’s belly was getting rounder every day. When they stopped on English soil, the locals were no more welcoming than in Brittany. They held them captive for a while, so that they could appear before their king to answer the charges against them. Fortunately, Hiccup managed to convince the king of their innocence. When they were allowed to leave again, the journey ahead of them was still long because, by going down to the capital, they would have to return to the north of the kingdom. Two months had already passed when they finally returned to their boat. They had enough supplies to last a month at sea, which discouraged them from stopping again. They went on their way, but they did not take the same route as on their outward journey and Hiccup had gotten them lost. He had gone too far, drifting them into the farthest corners of the North Sea. They were surprised by violent storms carrying huge blocks of ice that led them to the Icelandic coast where they were stranded for several weeks before they were able to leave. After that episode, Hiccup was determined to bring them home. Astrid was looking good but he felt that the fatigue was gaining on her more and more, and the situation was as stressful for her as for him. The dragon rider would have given anything for Toothless to be there to help them, but they had to fend for themselves now. All they had to do was hope the west wind was on their side.

…

The mist thickened as they went along. Astrid’s pain could be read on her face. Hiccup knew they had to get to land and fast. His face was tense, hollowed out by the trials they had had to go through and which the apparent hairiness accentuated. The former dragon master was afraid. He couldn’t lose her or he’d go down in the ship with her. The path finally cleared when he saw two familiar statues. 

“Berk…” he breathed in a mixture of surprise and relief. 

Holding his wife in his arms, he turned to her to smile and kiss her. Hope was returning, they were saved. Hiccup rushed to the boat’s sails to pull them and increase his speed. They docked shortly afterwards. The chief helped his wife downstairs while she was screaming in pain and calling him a bunch of names. Old Berk had aged well. Most of the buildings were still in place although traces of their departure are still visible. They went to the great hall where they knew they were safe. Astrid sat down on a table and Hiccup helped her undress. Blood had stained her clothes. The young woman was having trouble calming down, she was on the verge of tears and had difficulty breathing. Hiccup stroked his sweat-soaked forehead to free the hair that was hiding his eyes. He grabbed her face in both hands. 

“Astrid, look at me. Look at me… shhhh… that’s it, that’s it… breathe,” he reassured her by mimicking a calm, deep breath. “Calm down, you’ll be fine…” 

“But Hiccup, it’s too soon, much too soon! What if… what if…” 

“It’s okay, Astrid, it’s going to be okay. I’m right here with you. I’m here for you. I’ll support you all the way. Do you trust me?” 

The young woman nodded. He then brought his head closer to hers to kiss her hair. 

“Come on… let’s go, Astrid, you can do it. When you feel it coming, you push with all your might, okay?” 

The blonde-haired woman nodded her head while clenching her teeth. She was holding Hiccup’s hand firmly in hers. The young man was watching the baby’s progress, whose head he could not yet make out. A new contraction then seized Astrid’s body which started to push while shouting. 

“It was very good Astrid, you’ll do the same thing next time.” 

And the next one was not long in coming, they were getting closer and closer together. Astrid screamed. 

“I see the head!” Hiccup cried out. 

“I can’t take it anymore Hiccup… I… it’s too hard…” moaned the young woman. 

“Come on Astrid, just a little more effort… I know you’ll make it, you’re a fighter.” 

It was too much all at once, the pressure was too strong and she couldn’t control anything. Tears ran down her cheeks. Hiccup hugged her and reassured her. 

“Come on, love…” 

Contractions resumed. Astrid screamed and soon another scream came to cover hers. Time stood still at that moment. Hiccup took the baby out and placed it on its mother’s stomach. 

“It’s a girl…” he sobbed. 

“A girl…” repeated the new mother who laid trembling hands on the newborn.  “She’s very small…” 

“And she’s beautiful… just like her mommy,” added the father with emotion. “You were amazing, Astrid.” 

The young woman smiled broadly and nerves finally relaxed, she brought her face close to her husband’s and kissed him. 

“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.

The gang went religiously silent. 

“Zephyr led us to Old Berk,” the chief concluded with emotion. “ the wind brought us back.” 

“Aww,” squeaked Fishlegs. 

Hiccup smiled. 

“There you go. You know what happens next,” he concluded, turning to his daughter whom he caressed tenderly. 

“That’s it?” Ruffnut wondered, disappointed. 

“Wait, what? Did I miss an episode or something? Because I don’t get it now!” exclaimed then Snotlout, visibly lost. 

“Come on man, they talked about it when they mentioned the baptistery they had visited. An old lady detailed her facades and explained to them that they represented each of the winds,” Tuffnut recited, annoyed. 

The brunette was speechless. 

“Because you listened to what they were saying?” 

The chief face-palmed. 

“Pff, you’re pitiful Snotlout…” Ruffnut blew before turning to Hiccup and Astrid. 

“And that’s your explanation? You’re serious?” 

The couple was stunned by the twins, who looked very serious. 

“What do you mean?” Hiccup finally asked. 

“Well that’s very nice, the story of the wind helping you to reach your destination, but apart from that? Is there anything else? No particular symbolic significance?” Tuffnut intervened.

“Because Zephyr, the wind god, we already knew all that,” Ruffnut explained. 

Her brother nodded. 

“No, we thought there was something else behind that name!” added the twin. 

“Yeah, something big!” said Tuffnut. 

“And what exactly were you thinking about?” questioned Astrid whose patience had reached its limits. 

“Well we thought it had something to do with the recent departure of the dragons… it affected all of us and you, Hiccup even more so we thought you wanted to give your daughter a name that carried that legacy…” Ruffnut explained seriously. 

“And also because the wind is what carried us when we flew up there with them…” added her brother with nostalgia. 

“Oh my Thor! Twins, that’s beautiful!” sniffed Fishlegs, trying in vain to hold back his tears. 

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, moved. The chief took Ruffnut’s hand.

“Thank you, this meaning is even more beautiful.” 

By nightfall, the young couple had laid their precious little girl in her cradle. They watched her sleep peacefully huddled together. Hiccup ran one hand through his wife’s hair and wedged one of her locks behind her ear before kissing her temple. 

“I really like the meaning the twins have given to our daughter’s name,” Astrid whispered. 

“I like it very much too. Maybe she was subconsciously given that name so the memory of the dragons wouldn’t be lost.” 

There was a hint of sadness in his voice. All this discussion had brought up feelings that he had tried to bury deep inside himself. 

“We’ll never forget them Hiccup, they’ll always be there,” Astrid murmured as she put her hand on the young man’s heart. 

“Thank you, Astrid.” 

Zephyr’s birth was a breath of fresh air after all they’d been through. Her arrival in this world marked the beginning of a new era, synonymous with renewal and advancement for an entire people.

[the-dragon-central]

Hello everyone! I know that recently we haven’t been super active. So, I bring this announcement to your attention.

We are looking for new members!

All of our original members are still here but we’re hoping to bring some in who can be a little more active than we can at the moment.

Message @callieegirl if you want to apply!

[the-dragon-central]

Hey everyone, @astrid-foreverythingelse here! So this drabble is actually for a request we received on our AO3 account (hence no ask to answer) but we still wanted to be able to share it with you in case it was something you guys were interested in.  Hope you enjoy!

~~~~~

Modern AU Hiccup and Astrid take Zephyr and Nuffink to the Berk Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary for "Bring Your Kid To Work Day". They introduce them to their most well-known inhabitants; Toothless, a black jaguar and Luna, an albino leopard, Stormfly, a Newfoundland white wolf/Florida black wolf hybrid, Hookfang, a tigon (a hybrid born from a tiger and a lioness), Meatlug, a Syrian Brown Bear, Barf and Belch, a two-headed King cobra, Cloudjumper, a great gray owl, (Strix nebulosa lapponica), Skullcrusher, a northern white rhino, Grump, a Bornean sun bear, Windshear, an Iberian lynx, and Sharpshot, a vervet monkey and the sanctuary's mascot.

I absolutely loved the challenge this prompt was so thank you so much for submitting it, and I hope its at least somewhat like what you had in mind! It's quite a long one so it's coming in at least 3 parts. Enjoy, Parts 2 and 3 to come soon!

Wild Life

“Alright, now do we remember all the rules?”  Astrid looked down at her two children vibrating in place with excitement.

Her husband chuckled behind her.  “I don’t think they’re listening anymore.”

“This isn’t funny, Hiccup.  Some of these animals can be very dangerous.”

“I’m aware, but we aren’t seeing those animals today.”

“Guys, I’m serious.  Animals aren’t always predictable, especially when they’re hurt like these animals are, so we have to be careful today.  Understood?”

The children nodded fervently, bouncing in place.  Astrid sighed, knowing it was a losing battle, and simply opened the door to the Berk Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Sanctuary, gesturing her children into the large welcoming center.  Light poured in from the glass ceiling as the children spun slowly in awe, soaking up every bit of information their little brains could handle.

Suddenly, a Vervet monkey jumped down from his perch above the door and onto Hiccup’s shoulder.  He scratched the monkey’s cheek as the kids ran over to meet him.

“Daddy, is that Sharpshot?” Zephyr asked excitedly.

“Yes it is!  Our first resident and very own mascot!” Hiccup confirmed, kneeling down so the kids could get a better look.  “We found him when he was just a little baby. We think he was abandoned because he had two broken legs and a broken arm.  He might have fallen from a tree and his parents couldn’t find him.”

“That’s sad,” Nuffink said, puckering his lower lip as he reached out to the little monkey.  His forlorn expression didn’t last long, though, as Sharpshot immediately ran down Hiccup’s arm and onto Nuffink’s shoulder.

“It is sad,” Astrid jumped in, “But since we’ve had him for almost as long as he’s been alive, he loves being around humans.  He’s very quiet and gentle, so that’s why he’s our mascot.”

Hiccup stood up as Nuffink and Zephyr played with Sharpshot, jokingly bumping into his wife.  “Still think they won’t want to join the family business?” Hiccup smirked.

Astrid rolled her eyes and smiled.  “I never said they wouldn’t. They have far too much of you in them.”

“Oh, sure,” Hiccup added sarcastically.  “Alright, heathens, do you want to meet more animals or is this little guy all you wanted to see?”

“MORE!” the children screamed in unison.

“Then let’s get moving!”

~~~~~

Astrid and Hiccup couldn’t get enough of the wide-eyed wonder rolling off of their children in the backseat of the doorless Jeep as they drove to check on the first two animals, Sharpshot jumping between Nuffink and Zephyr’s laps and Hiccup and Astrid’s shoulders.  Astrid tried yet again to warn the children of the wild nature of these animals and how they weren’t all necessarily as playful as Sharpshot, but the warning seemed to fall on deaf ears. She knew they were listening from their distant nods, but they were also much more intrigued by the rehabilitation center flying by around them.

“Hey there, Snotlout!” Hiccup said, pulling up to the first fenced-in area.

Snotlout spun around at the sound of his name, eyes falling on the Haddocks.  “Hey Hiccup, Astrid,” he said, walking up to lean against the fence. “I should’ve known you’d be the ones to actually take part in Bring Your Kids To Work Day.”

“Hi Snotlout!” Nuffink cried from the backseat.

“Hey, Nuff!  Have you ever seen a tigon before?”

“What’s a tigon?” Zephyr asked.

Snotlout didn’t answer; he only smiled and turned his back. He took a deep breath and bellowed, “Hookfang!  Lunch time!”

Zephyr and Nuffink looked around curiously as Hiccup and Astrid smiled at each other.  The air was still, disturbed only by a gentle breeze rustling the leaves in the nearby trees.

Suddenly, a roar broke through the calm as a big cat bounded out of the tall grass towards the unconcerned Snotlout within the enclosure.  Zephyr and Nuffink screamed as the man was tackled by the animal.

Astrid laughed.  “It’s okay! Look!”

The fearful, wide-eyed pair frantically looked back to see the animal simply licking Snotlout’s face.  He laughed as he playfully pushed the big cat off of him. “Alright, alright, come on, Hookie, get off!”

Snotlout wiped off his face as he stood and looked back to the kids.  “Zephyr, Nuffink, meet Hookfang the Tigon.”

This time they truly paid attention to the big cat now rubbing his head against Snotlout’s stomach.  He wasn’t very large as compared to a lion or other “big cats” of the wild, but he was quite muscular.  His belly was covered in white fur and the rest of his body orange, with faint black stripes peppered across his back.

Well, most of his back.

“What happened to him?”  Zephyr asked quietly, eyes fixed on the large patches of exposed skin.

Snotlout pursed his lips.  “Well, do you know where tigons are from?”

Nuffink jumped up, eager to answer the question, but stopped when he couldn’t think of one.

Zephyr pondered for a moment.  “Um...”

“Exactly,” Snotlout interrupted.  “They’re not an animal that happens naturally in the wild.  Tigers and lions don’t live on the same continent. So tigons and ligers, you can only find them in captivity.”

“Oh,” Zephyr said.

“This guy,” Snotlout continued, scratching behind Hookfang’s ears, “had another owner.  This guy was an exotic animal enthusiast. He had all kinds of animals on this big property hidden back in some woods, and not all of them legal.”  He paused for a moment to reach for the lid of a cooler. “Back, Hookfang!”

The tigon obeyed, turning his back and walking away towards the tall grass.  Snotlout pulled out a large steak of meat and hurled it towards Hookfang, who lunged at and grabbed the meat before disappearing back into the grass.

Snotlout walked back to the fence, continuing his story.  “There was a big fire, no one is really sure how it started.  They think it might have been something in the barn that caught, but by the time anyone found it, the entire property was up in flames.  Including the enclosures. Most of the animals had died by the time anyone got back to the property, and the owner, too. The few that did survive the fire ended up dying because their burns were so bad.  Hookfang was the only one that made it.”

Zephyr gasped quietly, and Hiccup turned around to see tears in not only her eyes, but Nuffink’s as well.  Even Sharpshot was sitting solemnly still in Zephyr’s lap.

“It took a lot of surgeries and skin grafts and medicine, but Hookfang pulled through.  And his skin is strong and healthy now. He won’t be able to grow fur back in the places where the worst burns were, but he doesn’t seem to mind.  We can’t release him into the wild because he’s never lived in the wild before, so he’ll live here for the rest of his life unless we can find somewhere better for him.”  Snotlout smiled at Zephyr’s sigh of relief. “He’s really happy here, I promise.”

“Alright, we’ve got a lot more animals to see,” Astrid interjected.  “Thank you, Snotlout.”

“Thank you!” the kids said in unison.

Snotlout saluted the family as they took off towards the next healing animal.

~~~~~

“Is that a polar bear?!” Zephyr cried.

“Not quite, Zeph,” Fishlegs corrected.  “She’s actually a Syrian Brown Bear; see how she’s more of a gray color and has some darker brown patches on her back?  She’s a lot smaller than a polar bear would be, too. Her name is Meatlug. Go on! Go up to the enclosure and meet her!”

Nuffink’s eyes grew wide and sparkly.  “Really?!”

“Sure!” Fishlegs encouraged.  “She’s and older bear, but she’s very playful.  She fell down a cliff when she was young and suffered some brain damage.  Physically, she’s one of our healthiest residents. Mentally, she’s still just a cub.”

“Is that why she’s still here?” Zephyr asked, running up to the enclosure.

“Yepp.  At first we were afraid she just wouldn’t grow, but she did.  Now we’re just worried that she’s too young mentally to defend herself.”  Meatlug curiously watched the children bouncing excitedly on the opposite side of the fence as Fishlegs made his way inside the enclosure.  “Come here, girl, it’s okay!”

Meatlug slowly approached Fishlegs, eyes on the children.  When she was about three feet away from her caretaker, she froze and tilted her head.

“What is it, girl?” Fishlegs asked.  “Don’t tell me you’re going to be shy now!”

Meatlug turned to Fishlegs and sniffed his direction.  She paused for a moment before standing up on her hind legs, tongue hanging out of her mouth, and bouncing over to him.  Fishlegs laughed delightedly as he embraced her and scratched her neck.

“Come on, you silly bear!” he said, leading her over to fence where the children patiently stood.

Back in the Jeep, Hiccup sat with an arm around Astrid and his other hand scratching Sharpshot’s head.  Astrid laid her head on Hiccup’s shoulder as they watched their children playing with the bear, both convinced the pair will end up in veterinarian school when they grow older.

Suddenly, they heard talons on the roof of the Jeep, making the three of them jump.

“Cloudjumper?” Astrid wondered aloud, jumping out of the Jeep.  Hiccup did the same, pulling Sharpshot up on his shoulder.

Sure enough, the Great Gray Owl was perched on roof.

“That’s odd,” Astrid mused.  “He only ever perches up there when we aren’t in it.”

“Unless-”

“Hoo-hoo!  Hoo-hoo!”

Astrid and Hiccup shared a worried look.  Hiccup spun around. “Zephyr! Nuffink! Come on, we need to go!”

“Aw, but Dad!” Nuffink started.  “Can’t we just-”

“Now, guys!”

Zephyr and Nuffink heard the worried urgency in their father’s voice now as they saw their parents scramble into the Jeep.  They ran back as they watched the owl take off and fly down the road. The two were barely in their seats before Hiccup took off after the owl.

“Who’s that?”  Zephyr asked.

“Cloudjumper,” Astrid explained.  “He’s actually not a resident here anymore, he just sort of hangs around.  He had a broken wing that we fixed a while back, but after we released him, he managed to find his way here again.  We can’t really get him to leave.”

“So why are we following him?” Nuffink asked.

“Well, we figured out after a while of him being back that he doesn’t interact much with the animals.  He just sort of... Hangs back, and watches. He never makes a sound, never bothers anyone. But if any of our animals are in trouble, he finds a staff member and pretty much harasses them until they follow.  It’s the only time he approaches any other animal or human, and the only time he ever makes a sound.”

“Awesome,” Nuffink whispered.

“That’s one way to put it,” Astrid agreed, smiling back at her son.

“Who’s in trouble?” Zephyr asked.

“By the looks of the path were taking, probably Windshear,” Astrid thought aloud.

“Isn’t Heather here today?  I thought she went out to see her this morning,” Hiccup said.

“Maybe she needs help,” Astrid offered.

“Who’s Windshear?” Zephyr asked.

“She’s a young Iberian lynx.  After she left her mother, she wasn’t able to thrive.  Since lynxes are endangered, we took her in, in the hopes that we’d be able to release her back.  She hasn’t really taken to anyone except Heather, though.”

“Which is what worries me,” Hiccup added.  “If Heather can’t wrangle her in, I don’t think anyone can.”

Cloudjumper did in fact lead them to Windshear’s enclosure, confirmed when the owl landed on a tree within it.  “Stay here, guys,” Hiccup ordered his children as he and Astrid stepped out of the Jeep. Nuffink and Zephyr nervously watched as their parents carefully entered the enclosure.

“Windshear!” Astrid called.  “Heather?”

“Everybody alright in here?” Hiccup asked.

No response was given, making Hiccup and Astrid more nervous.

“Do you think we should drive through and look for them?”  Hiccup quietly asked Astrid.

“I don’t know.  We don’t have doors on the Jeep, I don’t want her to jump out and grab the kids.”

“I don’t either, but these enclosures are huge.  We can’t exactly walk it and look for them.”

Astrid gave her husband a displeased look; she was not looking for his sarcasm right now.  “Maybe we should just walkie Control, they’ll know where Heather is. If she’s here, we’ll send for someone to help her.  If not-”

“WINDSHEAR, NO!”

At the sound of Heather’s voice, much closer than either of them expected it to be, Hiccup immediately took off.  Astrid spun around to the kids and cried, “Stay in the Jeep, do not go anywhere, we’ll be right back!”  She sprinted after Hiccup before they could respond.

They burst through a line of shrubs and found Heather standing off with the lynx.  She spun around for only a moment to see who it was that entered the clearing. “Astrid, Hiccup, stay back!  I’ve got this!”

Astrid took in the sight of Windshear, ready to pounce.  “Are you sure?” she asked warily.

“Yes!”

“What can we do?” Hiccup asked, ignoring her words.

“Get back behind the shrubs!  I don’t want her to feel like we’re ganging up on her, she’s just scared.”

Hiccup and Astrid hesitantly obeyed, slowly backing into the shrubs to watch in case Heather needed help.

“Hey, Windshear,” Heather cooed.  “It’s alright, girl, it’s just me.  You’re okay...”

Hiccup and Astrid held their breath as Heather slowly approached Windshear.  She may still be smaller than she should be from her low weight, but that only made her more vicious.  Her ears twitched slightly at Heather’s soothing voice, prompting Heather to continue. “That’s right, it’s just me, girl.  I just want to get a good look at you, make sure you’re okay.”

Windshear relaxed her stance slightly, laying on the ground as she watched Heather.

“That’s my good girl, Windshear.  Come here, it’s okay.” Heather slowly lowered herself to the ground now, sitting in the grass and giving Windshear the chance to close the distance.

Windshear didn’t move for a moment, carefully watching Heather’s every move.  Heather remained perfectly still, holding an outstretched hand in her direction.  Eventually, Windshear slowly slinked towards Heather, sniffing the air and listening intently.  Astrid grabbed Hiccup’s arm as the lynx slowly leaned in to sniff Heather’s fingers, desperately praying that she wouldn’t take a bite.

But instead, Windshear licked Heather’s fingers and rubbed her head against her hand, stepping into Heather’s lap and curling up comfortably.

Hiccup and Astrid both breathed a sigh of relief, catching Windshear’s attention.

Heather chuckled.  “It’s okay, girl, they won’t hurt you,” she said, petting the lynx’s head.

Hiccup and Astrid slowly stood.  “Are you alright?” Hiccup asked.

“Yeah, we’re all good now,” Heather said with a smile.  “I can take it from here. Thanks, guys.” Windshear stiffened as Hiccup and Astrid straightened, lazer eyes locked on the pair.  Heather’s smile faded as she observed her defensive stance over Heather. “Though I will politely ask you to slowly get out so she doesn’t freak out again.”

[the-dragon-central]

How about a drabble where Astrid gets kidnapped before she can tell Hiccup she's pregnant?

@mandaloriandragontrainer, many, many months late! For some reason (probably the Homecoming leak), I was struck with inspiration for this little piece of angst! Enjoy

Astrid should’ve heard them coming. She should have heard the soft creaking of the unbarred door, their footfalls on the stairs, their breathing as they crept toward their bed. She was a warrior. She spent her whole life with one eye always open, one ear always listening,one hand always curled around the hilt of a dagger. But life had become so different. No fire rained from the skies any longer. No raiders besieged their shores. Life was peaceful, and each night she drifted off to sleep beside theman she loved.

She’d let down her guard, and now she’d pay the price.

It took but a moment for her to startle awake, but by then it was too late. A heavy hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream, while others twisted her arms behind her back. Rough cords were bound around her wrists and ankles and a strip of burlap tied over her mouth. Cold dread sank through her body as she was dragged into the night, unable to process what was happening. She was already deep in the woods when her jumbled thoughts began to clear. Hiccup was on Berserker Island, renewing the alliance with Dagur. She was left to lead the village. Someone knew he’d be gone. Three strange men, from the sound of their voices, from beyond the Archipelago.

Men who’d kidnapped her.

The men bundled Astrid down the cliffsideto a small ship waiting in the dark waters, stuffing her in the cramped, dank hold.A tear escaped her hot blue eyes. Not for herself. If she were to die, she would die as she lived. With a fight.

No, she cried for her husband. Kind, brave, gentle Hiccup.

Who’d never know he would have been a father.

[the-dragon-central]

“Daddy, what was grandpa Stoick like when he was alive?”

Hello! @hiccstridgirl​ here! I hope you enjoy this drabble :D

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“Daddy, what was Grandpa Stoick like when he was alive?”

Hiccup and Astrid, who were planning the next counsel meeting froze. Their eight year old daughter sat at the table, playing with her dolls, acting as if the question was as simple as ‘What’s for dinner?’

“What?” Hiccup asked quietly, his voice suddenly hoarse.

“Grandma Valka was talking about how he would’ve loved me and Nuffink and I was just wondering what he was like.”

Nuffink heard the question and stopped playing with his toys to listen. He made his way over to his father and motioned for the Chief to pick him up, to which Hiccup complied and placed his son on his knee.

Hiccup nodded and then found his voice again. “Yes. He would’ve loved you, Zephyr. He would’ve spoiled you and given you anything you wanted.”

“Was he nice?” Nuffink asked.

“As nice as a viking can be. He stood up for what was right and was an amazing father-” Hiccup’s mind flashed back to when his father found out about Toothless.

‘You’re not a viking… You’re not my son…’

“-though sometimes a little misunderstanding. He sacrificed himself for me-” Hiccup’s voice broke.

“Your Grandfather was the most stubborn, hardheaded vikings I know, besides your father of course,” Astrid smiled slightly and Hiccup glared at her. “He did anything and everything for his family. He’s the reason you’re here.”

“Really? How?” Zephyr asked.

“Because without my Dad, I would’ve never realized who I could become that I was ready to become Chief…” Hiccup said. “He helped me through my toughest times and was always there for me and I know he would’ve always been there for you two.”

“Three.”

“Hmm?” Hiccup glanced at his wife.

“He would’ve been there for them three.”

“But we only have two.”

“Do we?” Astrid asked, smiling. 

Hiccup jumped up from his chair and set Nuffink down. “Are you serious?” Astrid nodded and her husband engulfed her in a tight hug. “I love you so much.”

“Daddy, did you love Grandpa Stoick?” Nuffink questioned.

Hiccup turned to Nuffink with tears and remember the wise words of his father. “Of course I do, Finn. But with love comes loss, son. It’s part of the deal. Sometimes it hurts, but in the end, it’s all worth it. There’s no greater gift than love.”

Zephyr and Nuffink hugged their parents. “Now, let’s celebrate,” Astrid said.

“Celebrate? Why?” Zephyr asked, confused.

“Because we celebrate the ones who can’t be here,” Hiccup caught on to what his wife was saying. “That’s what Grandpa Stoick would want us to do.”

The two Haddock children then listened intently as Hiccup and Astrid told stories of their Grandfather, the greatest Chief of Berk. 

“You’re the pride of Berk, son-” Hiccup started in a thick accent.

Somewhere in Valhalla, the man himself watched the family, pride swelling within him. “And I couldn’t be prouder,” he finished.

[the-dragon-central]

I've seen someone asking a author to write a Switched Personality AU of Hiccup and Astrid so can any of you guys do a switch personality AU of the two? I would like to see how one of you guys can write it!!

Hi Anon, @astrid-foreverythingelse here!  I hope you enjoy :)

Astrid Hofferson huffed as she trudged through the forest, thinking over the day’s events.  Hiccup Haddock, the Chief’s son, had bested her again.  Out of nowhere!  By the time she had worked up the courage to throw herself over the short wooden wall, Hiccup already had that Gronkle incapacitated.  How did he do it?!

And at that point, it was no surprise to Astrid that Hiccup would receive the honor of killing the Monstrous Nightmare.  And he didn’t even seem to care!  No, no he looked annoyed, like it was an inconvenience to have to kill the beast.

If only Astrid had that luxury…

Astrid didn’t want to kill any animal, dragon or not.  She had the ability, sure, but she didn’t want to.  But she was a better fighter than the other teens on Berk, and everyone knew it.  Everyone expected her to soar through Dragon Training and succeed in the Kill Ring unchallenged.  Even when the cocky Hiccup Haddock showed up, no one expected any different.

No, not cocky…  It may have been how the rest of Berk described the Chief’s son, but Astrid knew better.  She knew it was…  Confidence.  He understood he didn’t quite belong or fit in with the other Viking teens.  He was different, yes, but that didn’t stand in his way; he never let it get to him.  He seemed comfortable being on his own, like he knew it was his place and he was quite content with it.

Astrid groaned and began swinging her axe lazily across her body.  Why couldn’t she be like that?  Why couldn’t she have that no-care attitude that Hiccup had?

Astrid cared a little too much about what people thought of her, particularly her parents.  Which, admittedly, had never been a problem until recently.  Astrid has always excelled at anything she put her mind to, as she was much more determined than the other Vikings her age.  Eventually it was just expected of Astrid to always give her all and then some, and it was expected to result in her success.

Dragon Training was no different.  And Astrid wasn’t worried; she was stronger than Fishlegs, more focused than the twins, and much more tactical than Snotlout.  Even when Hiccup sauntered in, she didn’t think anyone could best her (nor did anyone else).  Hiccup was scrawny and was only there because his father forced him.  He was a non-issue.

But then…  The success he had was not only unmatched but unlike anything anyone had witnessed before in that Kill Ring.  He hadn’t even injured a single dragon!  But everyone was entirely impressed; he seemed to incapacitate each one effortlessly, just like the Gronkle today.  No one even saw how he did it!  But one moment it was flying towards him, and the next it was on its side, lying uninjured on the ground!  Why was everyone impressed?!  This wasn’t Dragon Subduing Training, it was Dragon Killing Training!

In Astrid’s anger, she lost focus on her axe despite continuing to swing it with increasing force; it slipped from her grasp at just the wrong time and flew into the trees ahead.  She watched as the butt of the handle hit the ground, making the axe bounce even further away and out of sight.  Astrid dropped her head and sighed.  Scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her hand, she gathered her pride and began searching for the weapon, leading her to a sudden drop in the ground.  The break in the trees revealed a beautiful cove with a sparkling pond in the center surrounded by a wall of boulders…  And her axe wedge in the ground below.

“Great,” she muttered, carefully planning a way the scale the rocky ridge.  It took some time, but eventually her feet landed in the soft ground below.  She grabbed her axe and started circling the ridges, trying to spot the best way to scale back up to high ground.

That was when she heard the nasally voice behind her.

“We’re so leaving!  We’re leaving.”

Astrid froze.  What was he doing out here?!

“Let’s pack up.  Looks like you and me are taking a little…  Astrid?”

Astrid’s eyes grew wide as she spun around.  “Uh…  Hi, Hiccup…”

He furrowed his eyebrows and dropped the basket he was carrying on his back.  “What in Thor’s name are you doing out here?”

“I, um…  I could ask you the same thing.”

He raised his eyebrows.

Astrid’s eyes flicked to the side.  “I just…  I threw my axe down here on accident and uh…  I just…”

Hiccup pursed his lips.

“…I wanted it back.”

“Yeah?  Maybe don’t throw it down into a cove next time,” he said, picking the basket up and shouldering past her.

“Well I didn’t do it on purpose,” she said, offended.  She looked around, desperately wanting to escape the situation.

But then she realized…  Why was Hiccup Haddock down here in a cove?  With a basket on his shoulder and a harness-like vest around his body no less?

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to go home?” he asked, and this time Astrid caught a very slight tone of desperation in his voice.

“I just…  I’m looking for the best exit point so…  Um, who were you talking to earlier?”

“You?”

“No, before that.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes.  “Myself, now would you just get out of here?”

“Alright, alright, jeez…”  Astrid started to walk away, now looking for a place she could climb up to and hide to watch Hiccup.  He was acting strange, and she wanted to know why - and make sure he wasn’t in danger.

But then she saw the sleek, black body swallowed in the shadows on the other side of the cove.  She almost missed it, but the green eyes engulfed her soul.  She stumbled backwards.  No, it couldn’t be.  “Ni…  Night…”

Hiccup spun around, seeing her eyes trained on the black Night Fury as he slunk out of the shadows.  Great.  Hiccup ran after her.  “Astrid, put the axe down!”

She took a step back, grip tightening in fear.  “Night…”

“For Thor’s sake,” Hiccup muttered.  He saw the dragon furl back on his hind legs and pushed his own faster.  “Astrid!  Your axe!”

Wrong phrasing.  Astrid’s attention dropped to the weapon in her hand, but instead of dropping it like Hiccup wanted, she gripped it tighter and shifted to a weak fighting stance.

Hiccup managed to throw her axe to the side and push Astrid behind his back just as the dragon landed mere feet from the two Vikings.  “Woah, woah there bud!  It’s okay, she’s a friend!  Calm down, Toothless, it’s okay.”

Astrid was stunned.  He did it again!  They weren’t even in the Kill Ring and he bested her again!  But then something slipped through her internal rant.  “Toothless?” she asked, though the word was more of a squeak.

The dragon’s ears perked up as its gaze shifted to Astrid, head tilted slightly to the side.  “Yeah,” Hiccup said carefully.  “It’s his name.”

Astrid wanted to look at Hiccup to see if he was serious, but she couldn’t pull her eyes from the dragon’s gaze.  “His?  Name?”

“Astrid…”  Hiccup placated.  “It’s okay, he won’t hurt you.”

Now her gaze flicked between the large black dragon and the crazy scrawny Viking before her.  “He…  He’s…”

“A dragon, yes, but he won’t hurt you.”  Hiccup took a step toward her, hands outstretched in a show of surrender.

Toothless seemed quite curious of this new female Viking, and his male Viking friend had made it clear she was also friendly.  So he slowly approached her, wanting to familiarize himself with her scent as to not attack her if she ever came around again.  That would surely please his human.

Hiccup watched as Toothless lowered his head and slowly approached Astrid.  Her eyes immediately widened, but she was frozen in place.  “Uh, bud, I’m not sure if she’s ready for that,” he said.  But deep down he was also curious about not only what the dragon was doing but also how Astrid would react, so he didn’t try any further to stop it.

All Toothless did was raise his head and sniff Astrid’s hair.  She looked up at the dragon, now towering over her, but her eyes continued to rise and roll into the back of her head as she collapsed on the ground.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and looked at Toothless, who was still curiously sniffing the girl.  “Great.  Now what’re we supposed to do with her?”

~~~

When Astrid came to, the first thing she realized was that it was very windy.  More windy than any storm she could remember, the force of the gusts snapping her clothes against her skin and pulling her hair sideways across her face.

The next thing she realized was that she was draped over something, not just laying on the ground.  Confused, her eyes fluttered open as she tried to regain her bearings.  As her eyes began to adjust to the bright light of the sun, she realized a hand was resting on her back.

“What…?”

“And she lives,” a nasally voice sarcastically quipped.

Suddenly the imagine of a large black dragon innocently poised behind the crazy, scrawny Viking boy popped into her head.

Until, that was, she looked down to see the sea churning a mountain’s height below her.

The scream that tore out of Astrid’s mouth pierced Hiccup’s ears and startled Toothless below them.  Her sudden movement as she attempting to pull herself upright coupled with Toothless swerving slightly in his surprise just about sent Astrid toppling backwards off the scaly beast.  She saw a very vivid image of her crashing into the water below in her mind, but then a firm hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.  This high up, that water will probably shatter every bone in your body.”

Astrid wanted to pull away from Hiccup, but at this point he was the only sturdy thing for her to hold on to excluding the dragon.  So instead she just clutched to his arm for dear life.  She tried to slow her breathing and calm herself, but her eyes were crazed with fear when they met Hiccup’s.  He raised his eyebrows.  “Can I help you?” he added sarcastically.

“Get. Me. Down,” Astrid breathlessly replied.

“Nah, I’m good,” Hiccup said, shrugging as he leaned back in the saddle and propped himself up on his free hand.  Astrid moved with him to his surprise, refusing to let his arm go.

“Why?” she threatened, though the breathy tone dissipated any force.

“So you can run off and tell the whole village what the kooky Chief’s son has done this time?  I don’t think so.  Normally I wouldn’t care, but I also don’t want to be banished.  This might be the thing that actually pushes my father over the edge.”

Astrid was quickly realizing her attempts at remaining calm were failing miserably.  “Hic-Hi-Hiccup please get me on the ground,” she insisted, anxiety rising higher the longer she stared at the glassy water below.

Hiccup noticed the fear only growing in her eyes and felt slightly guilty about throwing her on his dragon’s back for a impromptu flight.  But he also didn’t know how to get her back to Berk unconscious, and he had to find a way to make her see that Toothless wasn’t a threat.  So he sighed and sat back up.  “Come on, he’s not that bad.”

She didn’t even seem to hear him.  Her breathing quickened even more and tears began to form in her eyes as she stared at the water.

Hiccup’s brows furrowed in concern.  He gave in, not wanting her to pass out again but also not liking the fear still building in her eyes.  It didn’t suit her.  He adjusted his arm from a strictly securing hold to more of an embrace, pulling her closer to his chest.  He leaned forward and patted the side of Toothless’ head.  “Why don’t we glide right over the water for a while, bud?  Slowly.” he said.  Astrid curled into his chest, still clutching his arm as he leaned protectively over her hunched form and held onto the saddle with his free hand.  Toothless gently sloped down until the water was only an arm’s length away.

Hiccup smiled down at Astrid as she curiously unfolded her head.  He loosened his grip, but Astrid tightened hers immediately around his arm.  “It’s okay,” he said with a smile.  She looked like she didn’t want to let go still, but she gave him enough slack to move.  He leaned over and broke the surface of the water with his fingers, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the wind cutting through his hairline in the same way his fingers cut through the glassy surface.  He opened his eyes again and smiled up at Astrid.  “See?  It’s not so bad!”

She wasn’t convinced enough to match his posture, but Hiccup could see her starting to relax.  Her legs were unfolded from beneath her now and hanging over one side of the dragon.  What he didn’t realize was that she was more curious about this new smiling and inviting Hiccup than the things the black beast she was currently riding could do.  Something about his excitement to share this new discovery of friendly dragons with someone was intriguing.

“Nice smile you got there,” he said as he straightened up, surprising Astrid.  She hadn’t realized her breathing had returned to a normal pace and a small smile replaced the fearful grimace.  Even more so, it surprised her that the phrase sounded like a true compliment rather than a tease.

He wrapped his arm tighter around Astrid’s waist and patted Toothless again.  “Alright bud, let’s show her what you got.”

The dragon warbled excitedly and began to climb towards the sky.  Astrid yelped and threw an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders as her opposite hand gripped his tunic collar, but she wasn’t as fearful as before.  She was able to appreciate the pure beauty of the land, sea, and sky surrounding Berk in a way she never could before.  The glow of the sunset casted warm colors over the fluffy clouds that seemed to disappear the moment she reached a hand out to touch them, yet were still clearly present and left her hands feeling as if the sea had gently sprayed them.  Birds flocked around the trio as they weaved in and out of sea stacks.  Fish happily leapt from the water as they glided along the surface of the sea.  Astrid wouldn’t have noticed time had passed at all if it weren’t for the sinking of the sun over the horizon and the darkening of the world around them.  Her arm stayed around Hiccup’s shoulders and her hand still over his chest but no longer in the death grip from before; by now her body was entirely relaxed and she held few qualms of being so high above the world.

She took a deep breath.  “I have to admit, this is all pretty amazing.”  Looking down at Toothless she added, “He’s pretty amazing too.”

“Amazing enough to keep him a secret?”

Astrid turned her head to respond, but was frozen to silence when she realized how close her face was to his.  She could feel his warm breath on her lips as she tried to form her reply.  “I…  I think I could, uh…  Could do that.”

“You think?” he muttered, though the sarcastic tone he typically responded with was replaced with genuine care and curiosity.

“Mhm,” she muttered shyly, unable to string together any other sort of reply.

“What else do I have to do to convince you?” he asked.  Astrid’s cheeks blushed and her lips desperately moved to form words.  Hiccup chuckled at her hesitation, but his desires won over; he leaned in and closed the distance swiftly, causing Astrid to stiffen as their lips brushed together.  But it took only a moment for her to relax into the kiss as Toothless made his way back to the cove.

Hiccup pulled away as Toothless landed back on the ground.  “How about now?” he softly asked.

Astrid tried to look away as she brushed her hair behind her ear, but she could keep her eyes from traveling back to Hiccup’s now kind gaze.  He chuckled again and slipped down off Toothless, holding a hand up to Astrid.  She took it, but was still quite unsteady and fell off the dragon into Hiccup’s arms.  He set her back on the ground as Toothless turned his head, gently nudging his nose against her back.  When she turned around, the dragon’s deadly stare was replaced by a pleading glance.  She hesitated for a moment.

Seeing her hesitation, Hiccup wrapped an arm casually around her waist again and held a hand out to Toothless, stroking his snout.  Astrid looked at him and smiled, admiring the soft side she’d never seen in him.  She mimicked his motion, reaching out her hand and gently stroking the surprisingly warm scales.  “I’ll keep your secret.”

[the-dragon-central]

Good News Announcement!

I know, so many announcements right?

@hiccstridgirl here with exciting news! We have someone taking over for me while I’m away! 

@avelister will be handling the applications, so if you want to apply, contact her! Don’t worry, she knows how to do everything. She will also be keeping track of Dragon Central. @astrid-foreverythingelse will also be helping! 

Thank you guys so much for helping me and I’m sure you’ll do a great job! 

Requests will open again once we get the prompts in our inbox under control! 

[the-dragon-central]

Announcement!

Hello! @hiccstridgirl here! I have a couple of announcements for you guys.

First, if you have been waiting for a long time for your drabble request to be written, we’re sorry. Writing these drabbles takes a lot of time and effort, and we’re trying our best to get them out to you. 

We want you guys to know that if your request has not been written, it will be. No request is forgotten, our lives are just super busy right now. 

Which brings me to my second announcement. A couple days ago (probably more like a week) I posted that I was taking some time off. Well, technically I still am but I have some things that need to be sorted out before I actually go “offline.” 

I will not be on Tumblr a lot throughout the Summer. Do not worry though, the other members of Dragon Central are awesome and they have this! I will be periodically checking up so, if you need to reach me, send a Private Message or an Ask in my inbox. 

More drabbles coming soon! 

~Callie, Director of Dragon Central

[the-dragon-central]

I would love to submit a prompt if you're taking them. I had an idea wherein Hiccup gets forlorn about the fact that his children will never know Stoick (and Stoick would never know his grandchildren), and he ends up discussing it with Valka, either because she overhears him talking about it or he confronts her about it. I realize this is kind of a heavy subject, but it was just something I was thinking about. Thanks, haha!

Hello Anon! @fan-writer02 here. I’m SO sorry this has taken as long as it has. I’ve been sitting on this request for weeks now and have just now had the time to get it written up. But I hope it’s enjoyable none-the-less, and is a satisfying answer to your request. Enjoy! <3 :D (I’m sorry for any spelling mistakes. My spell check still doesn’t work, so I’m depending on tumblr to do any editing.)

Here

Hiccup was undeniably tired. His head ached, his chest hurt, and his hand was still bandaged from a few days prior when Astrid had squeezed it too tight. He’d felt something crack, though he’d never tell her that. He’d merely said it was a small sprain and he’d be right as rain in a few days (which he fully intended to be, healed or not).

Poor Astrid. She’d felt awful. “I’m so sorry, Hiccup, gods…“ 

He’d been quick to reassure her. Who was he to complain about a little pain in his hand, when she had just suffered through childbirth? He’d kissed her forehead for the utmost time that day, and smoothed her hair out of her face (with his good hand). “Ast, it helped you bring this little bundle into the world. Don’t apologize." 

The little bundle, of course, meant their newborn son.

Who had, for the past five days, wailed his head off every half hour or so during the night. Astrid was burnt out past exhaustion, and with her body still healing, Hiccup had tried his best to give her a little extra rest. 

Valka had offered to take over his duties as chief until she deemed Hiccup ready to return. He’d protested meekly, saying he was more than capable of deciding when he was healthy enough to resume his duties. She’d only given him the stink eye and looked past him at Astrid for support.

His wife had agreed. "She’s right, Hiccup." 

Of course they’d gang up on him. But, though he hated to admit it, the free time was very nice, and deeply appreciated. He spent a lot of time with Zephyr, who had adjusted amazingly well to the new addition to the family. She liked to hold little Nuffink, and would try to braid his short fluffy hair. She loved helping Hiccup with the meals. It was her special chore to set the table and sweep the floor, which she pounced upon eagerly. She said it was just like when she played house in the forest, only better because this was real. 

After supper one evening, Hiccup helped Astrid come outside onto the porch. She’d been bugging him for the past two days to let her at least poke her head out the door for some fresh air. But with the constant rain, he hadn’t wanted her to get sick. Was he being a little overbearing? Probably. But… he’d never be able to describe how terrifying it is to watch his wife go through… all of that. And have absolutely no control over what’s happening or what could happen. If something went wrong, he was helpless to prevent it. 

So, if he could keep her from falling ill, by Thor’s thunder he would. And Astrid would just smile and tilt her head, consenting all too easily. He knew she was letting him coddle her, not necessarily because she liked it- but because she knew him. She knew he needed that little something.

He helped her sit down on one of their dining chairs he’d pulled from the house. He plopped down on the bottom step beside her, before pulling off his cloak and draping it over her shoulders. In her arms slept little Nuffink. Looking at his pudgy pink face, Hiccup would never accuse him of being a little screaming nightmare at any given time of the day. But, of course, he knew better. As if his body was trying to remind him, he stifled a yawn.

"You should go rest while he’s sleeping.” Astrid said quietly, looking over at him with worried eyes. “Zephyr and I can handle him for an hour or two." 

Hiccup leaned back against the steps and closed his eyes. "I’ll be fine. I’d like to spend some time with my two girls.” He peeped one eye open and smiled. “But do pardon my yawning, milady." 

Zephyr rushed by, her hand clutching a stick with a scrap of fabric tied to the end; a makeshift flag she’d designed out of ‘Momma’s ol’ rags’. In the other arm she clutched her stuffed Nightfury.

Hiccup’s smile faded, and he closed his eyes again. As it often did in such quiet and peaceful moments as these, his mind wandered. Wandered to a past that was better off forgotten, but he just couldn’t seem to forget. 

"I wonder what Dad would say, if he were here.” He suddenly said, surprising even himself. It was something he’d thought too many times to count, but not once had he voiced it. There’d only been one occasion when Stoick had been mentioned, and it was after Zephyr’s birth. Astrid had smiled through her tears and replied strongly, “You’re Dad would be so proud, Hiccup. Proud of you. Proud of us." 

Maybe his Mom had thought he hadn’t noticed, but Hiccup had. He’d noticed how she’d fallen short, her breath had faltered, and how she had quickly slipped out of the room. He hadn’t mentioned it since.

"I’ve already told you.” Astrid’s voice interrupted his musings. “He’d be proud.” Her own voice carried said virtue, he tone warm. He looked up at her, and saw how she gazed at Zephyr, then at Nuffink. She wore a smile so soft, yet so strong; anyone could tell it spoke of a fiery love. Then she looked at him with the same look.

The evening wore on, and Hiccup must’ve fallen asleep, for when he opened his eyes for the second time, it was dark, and Astrid and Zephyr were gone. His cloak was sprawled over his chest and legs. 

He sat up and blinked. A figure was drawing closer until they were near enough for him to see. It was his mother.

She didn’t say anything, only came up to sit beside him. From within their hut, Hiccup could hear the faint sound of Astrid singing a lullaby.

“And what brings you out here, sleeping on the steps of your home rather than in your home?” Valka asked, her voice carrying laughter. She looked to him with a playful smile.

He smiled softly. “I suppose I was more tired than I thought.” He sobered. “I… I was thinking of Dad." 

Her playfulness wilted away, leaving only a weathered face and sad eyes. "Ah, yes. I was wondering…” she trailed off. “I was wondering when you’d bring him up. I’ve noticed how you look at Zephyr, and now Nuffink." 

"He’ll never meet them.” Hiccup said bluntly. He felt so tired. He didn’t have the strength to cry. He only felt… empty. “Dad would talk about Astrid and I having kids. He joked about it constantly, but, deep down I knew he’d give anything to have a grandbaby to bounce on his knee. And here he has two, and he’ll never meet either of them." 

He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and draw him close, but he couldn’t bring himself to melt into the embrace. He was a man, he was strong. Or he should be.

"How is life so… so unfair?" 

"It’s the way of the gods.” Valka reassured softly. “Stoick is looking down from Valhalla, watching you raise your children. And I know- no, I can feel- how proud he is of you. He’s probably busting his buttons. Imagine him telling Odin about every little progress Zephyr makes. ‘Today me grandaughter broke her first tooth!’ ’T'day me grandbaby took a step! Was Hiccup ‘elping 'er? Bah, who cares! She lifted her own foot.’," 

Hiccup chuckled and fiddled with his cloak. Even though Valka’s attempt at Stoick’s voice was far from the truth- he could still hear him say every word.

She kissed his forehead. "Go rest, Hiccup, and don’t fret about it anymore.” She stood and straightened her skirt. “Tomorrow will dawn a new day, new beginnings. Think of the future and not the past.” She began heading towards the village. “You have two little bundles of proof to tell ye it’s going to be a bright one.” She said, more to herself than to Hiccup. 

He watched her grow further away, until the night entirely swallowed her up. The door to the hut opened, and Astrid whispered his name.

“Zephyr wants you to tuck her in bed.” She said.

Hiccup took one last look at the starry sky above, before telling her he’d be right in. He got to his feet and picked up his cloak, dusting off the few strands of grass it’d collected. He paused, then sighed before looking up again. 

“Dad, you have a new grandson.” He smiled, “A healthy boy. Nuffink. Named after Mom’s uncle…” He swallowed thickly, and tried to find something to say. Finally, he whispered. “You’d love him." 

The stars twinkled back, a silent answer.

[the-dragon-central]

We have TWO new members! 

Please welcome @rafxsulfuslovestory and @avelister !

[the-dragon-central]

Modern Hiccup and Astrid trying to get use to taking care of newborn Zephyr?

Hello, Anon! @hiccstridgirl here! I hope you enjoy this drabble!

New Parents

A cry rang through the Haddock house. A mother and father worked quickly to find out what was wrong with their daughter.

“What does she want?!” Hiccup searched through all of their blankets in a closet. “Did you hide her binky somewhere?”

Astrid groaned as she rocked the baby in her arms, trying to get her daughter to calm down. “Last time I saw it was on the kitchen counter.”

“But I checked! It wasn’t there!”

“She’s fed, changed, swaddled, why won’t she just go to sleep?!” the blonde tried to keep the tears forming in her eyes from running down her cheeks. “Come on, Zeph. Please go to sleep for Mommy and Daddy.”

Zephyr seemed to think her mother’s request was incredibly inconsiderate and began to cry louder, if that was even possible.

“Maybe call your Mom? She would know what to do!” Hiccup shouted over the wails.

“She’s probably sleeping! It is four in the morning!”

“Don’t remind me! I’m supposed to be into work by five!” Astrid passed Zephyr to Hiccup, who started bouncing the crying baby. “What do you want? You some cake? Babies eat cake, right? That’s normal?”

“Hiccup, she’s one week old! She can’t eat cake!”

“Well, we tried everything else! Every single time we put her in the crib she starts crying again!”

“Maybe we changed her diaper wrong! Can you change a baby’s diaper wrong? Is it too tight?”

“We changed it six times! I’m pretty sure it’s not the diaper!”

“Maybe I didn’t feed her enough! She didn’t really latch the first time!”

Zephyr cried louder when Hiccup began to place her back into her crib, making him quickly pull her into his arms again. “Perhaps we should stop shouting! I don’t think it’s helping!”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“I SAID I THINK WE SHOULD STOP SHOUTING!”

“I WOULD BUT THEN I COULDN’T HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!”

“LET’S JUST PUT HER IN THE CRIB AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!” Hiccup laid Zephyr in her crib and she began wailing more. When Astrid went to pick her up, her husband shook his head. “GIVE IT A MINUTE!”

When the baby didn’t stop crying Astrid sighed. “IT’S NOT WORKING!”

“WELL, THAT WAS MY LAST IDEA! HICCUP’S IDEA FARM IS NOW SHUTTING DOWN DUE TO LACK OF SLEEP!”

“WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!”

“SHE’S YOUR DAUGHTER!”

“OH, SHE’S MY DAUGHTER?!”

“WELL, I NEVER CRIED LIKE THIS WHEN I WAS A BABY!”

“YOU KNOW THAT FOR CERTAIN?!”

“WELL…”

“WELL, WHAT?”

“I’M NOT CERTAIN…. BUT I’M PRETTY SURE!”

“FINE! LEAVE IF YOU WANT TO!”

“I HAVE TO GET READY FOR WORK!”

“SO WORK’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR FAMILY?!”

“I NEVER SAID THAT!”

“OH SURE-”

“Shh,” Hiccup shushed his wife.

“DON’T YOU SHH ME! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO-”

“Astrid, be quiet!” Hiccup yelled in a whisper voice. He motioned over to crib where Zephyr was sleeping.

“You have got to be kidding me. She falls asleep to us arguing? We’re the worst parents ever,” Astrid buried her head in her hands.

“No, we’re not. We’re learning, that’s all,” Hiccup rubbed the blonde’s back.

“I’m sorry…”

“Me too. I can take the day off of work if you want. I could help with your daughter.”

Astrid scoffed. “Sure, my daughter…. Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I mean I’m too exhausted to see anything anyway.”

“I’m pretty sure we could get a couple hours of sleep in while Zephyr’s quiet. Maybe we could even do the dishes if we have time.”

“I love the way you talk dirty to me.” Astrid smiled at Hiccup’s comment and took  his head, leading him to bed.

As long as they were together, they’d get through parenthood alive.

[the-dragon-central]

Hi all of you awesome writers! I just wanted to say this blog brings a smile to my face every time I see a new drabble, and I thank all of you for spending your free time and talent to give us HTTYD fans some good fanfics to read. I'm sorry to see you guys getting so many asks from people complaining about this and that and just wanted to say thanks for every bit of time and effort y'all spend doing something you don't have to just to spread some joy!

Thank you so much! We really like writing the requests we receive and we’re glad you guys like reading them! 😊

[the-dragon-central]

I love the new blog!! It's so cute!

Thank you, Anon!

[generalhofferson360]

Hey guys! So, as many of you know, I recently joined Dragon Central here on Tumblr. At first, it was amazing! The other writers are lovely, and I enjoyed the feedback on my works. That changed recently, however, due to some decisions made recently by the majority of the group. This resulted in so much hate, and it breaks my heart to see that within this community.

How to Train Your Dragon is about bringing people together, not tearing them apart.

The main decision that most people have an issue with, is that of not writing same sex relationships on Dragon Central. People automatically assume that it’s because we’re against it, and I just have to step up and say we’re not. Personally, it’s just a matter of not shipping any of these relationships in Httyd. I have written it for other fandoms, but my heart just wouldn’t be in it for any of these pairings in this franchise.

I know many of the others have the same reasoning, and we would rather skip writing something we just aren’t passionate about than post sub par fics that aren’t our best work.

I don’t necessarily agree with how other members of the group have been responding to this hate, so I hope this helps bring some clarity to the matter and our reasoning.

Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please be polite about it. Other members of the group are younger than myself, and often haven’t been exposed to hate like this before. Thank you, the support of you guys is everything.

[the-dragon-central]

(Another) Announcement!

Hey guys! @hiccstridgirl here with a couple of announcements.

First, if you’ve tried to ask something you’ve probably noticed you can’t do it Anonymously. You can thank all the Anons who have written us hate for that.

While requesting drabbles and asking question Anonymously may return some time, right now no one will be able to... Sorry.

[the-dragon-central]

Announcement: More Writers Needed

Hello everyone! @hiccstridgirl here! 

Sadly, due to personal reasons, we have lost 2 members since we started this blog. Therefore, because of the influx of requests, we are looking for more writers! 

Please see the Rules for Applying on our blog in order to apply!