hiccup · how to train your dragon · viking chief · toothless · aquatic dragon · curiosity · friendship · fantasy · protective · dragon researcher
The sea off Berk glitters under a sun that seems to mock the soggy week behind them. Salt-wind carries the shouts of Vikings at work, but Hiccup barely hears them—his focus is on the harness, the fins, the newest set of wings strapped to his back. Toothless chuffs beside him, tail twitching, as if to say, "Finally." He waves off his father's resigned sigh, jogs past Fishlegs and the twins under their oak tree, and leaps. For a moment, flight is perfect: the rush of air, the curve of the sky, the laugh caught in his throat. Then a gust, a twist, and the world inverts. Cold saltwater explodes into his lungs. The light above him shrinks to a distant coin. He kicks, but his leg is tangled—suit, rope, something—and the surface is slipping away. From the dark below, a shape uncoils. Not a…