[HTTYD] Brothers: Scaring Away Monsters

Brothers

(rough draft)

A DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl

Part 1 - Scaring Away Monsters

Summary:  A Night Fury fledgling finds a six-year-old Viking boy lost in the woods. Pre-canon; Toothless's POV.

A/N:  Until I find out how fast or slow dragons are supposed to age relative to humans, I'm just going to write as if they're always the exact same age. :/

Posting it here with Proper Appreciation because it doesn't fit with any of the others.

o.o.o

Mama doesn't like these islands, She thinks they are bad and wrong, but I don't know why.  I know She will fly away forever as soon as me and my clutchmates grow up.  I don't know if I should go with Her or stay here.

Reckless and Stubborn love this place because there are so many interesting things to smell and see and do.  They are mean and stupid and bigger than me, so I don't want to like it here the way they do.

...There are a lot of interesting things to smell and see and do.  I haven't decided if I like it or hate it.

Mama was hungry, so She couldn't sleep and She went fishing.  She said to stay away from the west forest because there are rotten monsters called 'humans' on the other side, and stay away from the northeast ocean because there's another rotten monster over there too, who is always trying to call Her away from us.  Me and Reckless and Stubborn never hear anything, so I don't know why She says that.

Now that Mama's gone, Reckless wants to go explore the bad forest, and Stubborn wants to go explore the bad ocean.  I want to go to the forest, but I don't want to agree with stupid Reckless, so I don't say anything.

Reckless pounced on Stubborn and pinned him, and now he's chewing on one of his head flaps.  He's using the little white teeth that started growing in his mouth, and Stubborn is whimpering, so I know it hurts, hah.  I like when they're mean to each other because then they're not being mean to me.

"Are you scared of the human monsters, huh, are you a tiny weak little helpless newborn?"

"I'm not scared!  I'm not No Teeth, he's the scared little newborn, not me!"

"I'm not scared and I'm not a newborn and I do have teeth," I say, but quiet so they won't notice me.  I hate their name for me....  I DO have teeth, I can feel them sleeping deep inside my mouth, I just can't make them come out yet the way Reckless and Stubborn can.  I don't like Mama's name for me either, but I'd still rather She call me 'Runt' than they call me 'No Teeth.'

Stubborn hit Reckless with his tail and surprised him and got loose, and now they're rolling on the dirt again.  This time Stubborn wins.  His claws are caught in Reckless's wing.  His claws aren't as sharp as Mama's, but I know they still hurt.  "You're the weak little newborn!  You're scared to fly over the ocean because you think you'll get tired and fall in!"

They fight some more and Reckless finally wins for good, so we have to go to the forest.  I'm excited so I forget and start running ahead, then Reckless cuffs me and makes me stay behind Stubborn.  "I'm troop leader, I lead.  You're the useless runt, so you stay in your place."

"I'm not useless!" I say, and they both cuff me for arguing.  I hate it.  I know I'm good and I can do good things, but they never believe me.  Someday when I find a real flock to join, I'm gonna have a queen who knows everything I can do and loves me and listens to me.

We follow Reckless through the forest, creeping low to the ground so other animals won't see us, and flying up into the trees to look at the leaves and nests, and running when we provoke bigger animals who try to chase us.  We have wings and they don't, so they don't catch us, and it's fun.

It's been a long time, I know Mama must have come back to the cave and found us gone, but Reckless won't go back until we see a human monster.  I'm tired now, so this isn't fun anymore; I'm hungry and I want to go back to Mama so She'll feed me.

"Look!"

We hide, like predators and not prey.  There are strange sounds and strange smells, and finally we see a troop of the strangest animals I ever knew.

They're LOUD.  They crash through the trees as if they're calling for big animals to come eat them.  They're fat and lots of colors and don't have any scales or fur on their faces and front paws.  The rest of them is covered with very strange skins that are dead and don't smell much like skin, and dead fur and metal shells.  They walk on only their hind legs, but they have no tails or wings at all; how do they balance?!

"Wait...wait, I already saw this rock - I knew it, we're going in circles!"

"Ugh.  Get out of the way, Snotlout, I'M leading from now on."

"Come on, Astrid, you have no idea how to get home!"

"I know better than you do."

"Hey, cool, a forest gremlin!  Maybe it'll lead us home if we give it a treat."

"That's your shadow, Tuffnut."

"Hey, where's Hiccup?"

"Who cares about that loser?"

"He probably fell behind again.  Should we go back and look for him?"

"It's a survival mission.  We're supposed to survive for four hours in the woods, so if he can't make it, he fails."

"But he's the chief's son...we can't just leave him to die out here."

"Yeah, we can.  Then I'll be the new heir because I'm next in line to be chief."

"Ew, Snotlout or Hiccup.  I'd rather be an Outcast."

"How could you say that, Astrid...?!"

"Guys, the sun's setting!  It's been more than four hours, and Hiccup's missing.  We should send up a distress signal."

"And fail the mission?!  No way!"

There are three males and two females.  I think they are very young, like me and my clutchmates.  There is another male somewhere, but he is far away and hard to smell.  There are no adults.  Only two of these weird animals are littermates, but I wonder if they're all still breaking the rules and wandering alone when they're not supposed to, too.

"Let's hunt them," Reckless says.

I'm surprised.  I don't like what Reckless is saying.  "We're too young to hunt for real."

"You're just scared to do it," Stubborn says.  "Come on, it'll be easy and fun."

"The first one to draw blood wins."

I don't like it, I don't like it, I'm not scared I just think it's a stupid, bad game.  But I have to play or else they'll call me a scared little newborn, so I follow them as we stalk.

"I'm gonna send up a signal."

"Don't, Fishlegs, you pathetic--!"

The strange cubs scream when we pounce.  I thought that three of them were going to be dead immediately, but the female that Reckless was aiming for rakes a paw across his nose before he can reach her, and he screams and shakes his head so that drops of blood fly through the air, and me and Stubborn are surprised and falter.

"Whoa, look, giant winged cats!"

"Those aren't cats, stupid, they're dragons!"

"What the heck kind of dragons are those?!"

"WHO CARES!  FIGHT!"

Suddenly the cubs are waving their biggest shells and also strange metal claws.  I don't understand.  I thought they were helpless, but we're going to have to fight them.

"I'm scared!"

"It hurts!  Mama, help!  Help!"

...Reckless and Stubborn are running away.  What?!  What?!  They got scared and ran and they're not gonna fight the--?!

"YAAAHH!"

They're attacking me!  I'm the only one still here, so all five of the weird crazy cubs are attacking me and hurting me!  "NO!  Go away!"  I dash away from the very scary loud female and the two big males, and I swipe at one of the others instead.

"Hey!  I'M the only one allowed to hurt my brother, you dumb flying cat!"  My claws bounced off the shell on the cub's head and now his littermate is hitting me, I'm scared and it hurts and my stupid clutchmates ran away like scared weakling newborns, so I'm going to run, too!  I hate them!

I have to slow down.  I've been running and running and running but I'm not in danger now, so I have to stop.  I have to stop and go home before I get lost.  I make myself walk on the ground instead of running and flying.

"Who's there?!"

I snarl and hiss and flare my wings.  I thought I escaped from the scary cubs, I thought--?!

I am up in a tree.  A cub comes trampling close, but he is not one of the crazy fighting ones--  Ohh, he is the other one, the far away male.  I escaped the other cubs but I found this one instead.

"Snotlout?!  Astrid...?"

He is frightened.  He is alone.  He is frightened and alone just like me, except I'm bigger and stronger and faster than him.  He doesn't even know I'm here.  I could pounce down and catch him and kill him.  Ohh....  If he is alone, I can win.  Stupid Reckless and Stubborn were the scared ones, but if I catch this alone weak cub and tear him, I'll win.

"I knew things would go wrong, I knew it...."  He sits down right under this tree.  "Oww...stupid rocks...."

There is a wound on his foreleg, and he's looking at it.  He is upset and very tired, and he's hungry.  And frightened, and angry.  So many feelings.  He is very not happy, just like me.

He takes something out of his bundle and starts to eat it.  It's food.  He eats it, and then he sighs.  "Aaaand no more food and water...ugh, I wanna go home."

I should pounce down and kill him now, but I don't feel like it.  Not yet.  I'll kill him and then I'll go home, but not yet.

After a long time, I am surprised because I realize the cub is asleep.  He was very still and quiet, and that's because he fell asleep?!  He was very tired.  I didn't have to hide in this tree for so long.

I climb down and smell the cub and look at him.  He's very soft and small and scrawny, almost no meat on his bones.  He's like a squirrel except he's too big and slow to be a squirrel.  His paws smell like charcoal and metal.

He is cold.  I have seen furred animals shiver like this before, and Mama says it's because they get too cold sometimes.  They make heat in their bodies like we do, but sometimes not enough.  Sometimes if they get too cold, they die.

...I want this cub to be dead, right?  But I don't feel like making him dead, it's easier to just lie down here and rest.  I'm not scared anymore at all, and Charcoal Paws smells good.  I'll smell him for a while until I get bored.

After a while he stops shivering, and as he sleeps he makes a small noise and shifts, and his soft skin touches my hide.  I look at his hurt foreleg and think of something.  I lick the dried blood away, very careful and gentle so he won't wake up.  His skin tastes good, not good to eat but easy to lick.  Fresh blood comes out of his wound, just a little bit before my saliva starts healing it.  I rub the blood on my cheeks so it will dry there and be easy to smell.

I won even though my stupid clutchmates didn't see, and now I'll prove I won, and I won't even have to kill the soft little cub who smells and tastes good and is curling close into my side as he sleeps as if he thinks I'm his clutchmate.  Silly cub, you're not even a dragon...but I think you would be a nicer and not-stupid clutchmate than my real ones....

o.o.o

"Hiccup!"

I was asleep?!  But now I'm very very awake and frightened, and it's night and there are strange big animals approaching, animals who smell like this cub here and like the crazy fighting cubs but scarier.  They are adults.  The parents will see me too close to their cub and will kill me to protect him.  I have to fly run flee now.

"Ow!"

I tripped over the cub but I flap my wings and don't fall, I have to fleeeee...!

"Hiccup!"

"...Dad?  Dad!  I'm over here!!"

Flying running fleeing, Mama will be home by now, She'll know I disobeyed, She'll cuff me and tell me I was stupid to wander away but I'm not stupid, it's Reckless and Stubborn's fault, I don't like it...!

I am very tired when I reach the cave.  Mama and my clutchmates are all surprised I'm still alive, and I'm so hungry but I almost don't get to eat because Mama says She doesn't think She should waste food on a stupid runt who will probably get killed soon anyway.

"I didn't get killed!  Look, I got first blood!"

"Humans!  HUMANS!  You attacked monster humans, I am so very much surprised they didn't kill you!!!"

I am shocked.  Humans?  Humans??!?  Those were the monsters I escaped from?!  ...That cub who smelled and tasted good, and slept with me like a nice and not-stupid clutchmate was...was a monster...?

I am sad.  And angry.  "I fought monsters and survived, so that means I'M STRONG and You should feed me!"  She does feed me, and I feel better, but She's still disgusted with me and She won't come near me all night, She doesn't even lick me to lull me to sleep when the sky starts to brighten.

But Reckless and Stubborn are not as stupid as usual.  When Mama can't hear, they come close and ask eagerly, "You really did it?!"

"You really killed a human monster?!"

"Duh.  Can't you smell?" I say.  It's not true because I didn't kill anything, but I say it anyway, because I want them to think that and be impressed.

They sniff at the blood on my face and think I'm amazing.  "No Teeth killed a monster and is still alive!"

"I am strong and smart," I say.  I feel very good.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Fifteen years later

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Hiccup is FINALLY learning how to talk for real, I'm so happy~

I wish now I hadn't thought that humans are so stupid, because I think now that they can't talk even if they want to.  They can't make the right sounds with their throats and mouths, all they can do is chitter.  I didn't know that before.

But Mom uses her wood-and-stone weapon to help her talk to us for real, and now Hiccup made a new one of His strange human metal things to make sound-words for Him, just like He made a strange metal human thing to be His hind leg for Him when He lost his real one.  And like how He made wings for Himself even though He didn't have any before.  Humans are smart, not stupid, and I am very proud of my human for learning how to walk and fly and talk even though He couldn't.  My Hiccup is amazing.

"Is in nose.  Achoo!  Like that."

Finally I figure out what He means.  "Mucus!  It's called 'mucus.'"

"Mucus.  'Lout' is big mean person."

"...So his name is Mean Mucus?"

"Yes."

"What a stupid name."

"(Heh...can't argue with you there....)  Scare monsters, they run away."

"A stupid name won't scare a monster."

"I know, but is what parents' parents' parents' a lot think."

"Why do you all have to do what your family-who-came-before say if it's stupid?"

"...Because we're human."  He is smiling because He knows how stupid it is and that dragons win.

"Yes, that's why."  I nuzzle Him to show that I don't care about how stupid it is, I still love Him anyway.

He nuzzles me back.  "Love you too, Toothless."

"What does my name mean?"  I am excited.  For a long time He calls me this sound that is a name, and now that He can talk, I finally get to find out what it means!

"'Toothless'?  Means No Teeth."

....

....

"Half Of Me, are you okay?" He asks.

No.  No I am not okay.

I turn my back on Hiccup and curl up in a corner and cover myself with my wings and sulk.

"Toothless?!"  Hiccup comes and climbs over me and squeezes Himself between me and the wall so I have to look at Him again.

"Go away!"

"Toothless!  Hey, what happened?!"

Since He won't go away, I go away instead; I move to the other side of the fire and lie down again.

Annoying Hiccup comes and crawls up between my front paws and bares His throat to me.  "Sorry sorry sorry!"  He rubs His face against mine.  "I love you."

I want to be mad at Him, but I can't stay mad at my precious Half Of Me, so now I'm just sad instead.  I lick Him and nuzzle Him back.  "I love You too."

"Half Of Me hates name 'Toothless'?"

"...."

"...No Teeth name throw away.  Only call 'Bud' instead.  Good name, means 'friend.'  Yes?"

...His special name for me is a good name, but Toothless?  Toothless?  Why!!  "...Why do You call me 'No Teeth'?"

He is sheepish.  "First meet.  Give fish, scary dragon has no teeth.  Oh no!  Dragon has teeth, very scary!"

"You are scared of me?!"

"Not now!  Back then.  First meet."

I think I remember.  Before Hiccup was my other half, when He was still just a strange tiny human with a blade and a fish who maybe would try to hurt me but didn't.  I lick Him again to reassure myself that He's mine now and He loves me.

"Is joke.  Funny.  Scary dragon no teeth, dragon I love so very much has teeth, name is No Teeth."

"...It's not funny."

"Sorry!  Is funny for humans.  But Half Of Me hates name, throw name away.  Sorry.  I love you."

I love Him, too.  He didn't mean to hurt me at all.  I think this name for me is affectionate instead.  I'm still not happy, but it doesn't hurt anymore.  "My human name is No Teeth, my special name You call me is Friend.  It's...good.  Yes.  I love You."

He pats my head to comfort me.  "No Teeth name better than my name.  My name very stupid."

Now I am very curious.  "What does Your human name mean, Half Of Me?"

"...Don't know dragon word."  He starts making a strange noise and tries to explain, and finally I understand.

"HICCUP?!  Your human name is HICCUP?!"

"Scares monsters," He pouts.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"  So very funny.  I love this stupid name, I love my wonderful Half Of Me.  I am No Teeth and He is Hiccup, and together we are amazing and scare away all monsters.

"Half Of Me hates my name," Hiccup says, pretending to pout.

I nuzzle Him until He stops pretending and smiles and caresses me.  "Perfect," I tell Him.  "It's perfect."

o.o.o

Author's Notes:  The people who read all my fanfiction are probably tired of hearing this, but for the people who only read Proper Appreciation, I firmly ship Hiccup/Toothless platonic.

This was intended as a one-shot, and it can still be considered a one-shot, but after I wrote it and was playing with other plot bunnies, the one where Toothless ends up in the Red Death's flock was kind of acting like a continuation of this fic. *sweatdrop*  And then there might even be a third installment that goes into HTTYD1, I dunno.

In any case, Scaring Away Monsters can be seen as either a standalone one-shot or as part 1 of a miniseries.

Tooth's mother in this story is just a typical dragon mother, she's not being mean or anything.  She calls Tooth a runt because he is a runt, and her highest priority is keeping her offspring alive until they are old enough to take care of themselves, at which point her first priority will become her own survival until she has the opportunity to mate again and make more offspring to continue her species.  The dragons I write are very animalistic in that they don't have automatic affection for or loyalty to their biological family members the way humans do, though I do want to experiment at least once or twice with dragons who have more human-like relationships.

All this time, Toothless has been referring to Hiccup as the sound "Hiccup" (which is also why he refers to Valka by the same sound-name, "Mom," that Hiccup uses for her), but he never actually knew what it meant until now. XD

Heh, this also happened to me with No Need to Hide....  The little epilogue was not planned at all, but I realized that I needed to somehow resolve the fact that Hiccup's name for Toothless is also the same hated baby-name Toothless was given by his mean brothers. XD XD  I like how it turned out.