(Hiccup's POV)
Dragon training was starting to feel… strange.
Hiccup stood in the center of the arena as the gates rattled open again.
Across the ring, the other students waited.
Astrid Hofferson leaned against the wooden railing, watching carefully.
She didn't look impressed.
She looked suspicious.
Gobber gestured toward the open gate.
"Alright! Let's see what you've got today!"
The dragon handlers released a Deadly Nadder into the arena.
The dragon screeched and flared its wings as it landed in the sand.
Hiccup didn't draw a weapon.
Instead he watched it.
The way its wings flexed.
The way its head tilted before attacking.
Exactly like Toothless.
The Nadder lunged.
Hiccup stepped sideways calmly.
The dragon snapped at empty air.
The crowd murmured.
Astrid narrowed her eyes.
The Nadder spun and lunged again.
Hiccup grabbed a shield and raised it slowly—not to strike, but to block the dragon's line of sight.
The Nadder hesitated.
Confused.
Hiccup took another step sideways.
The dragon turned again.
Slow.
Predictable.
Hiccup reached forward and tapped the dragon lightly on the nose with the shield.
The Nadder blinked.
Then backed away.
Gobber blew his whistle.
"That's enough!"
The arena fell quiet.
The other students stared.
Gobber scratched his beard.
"Well now…"
He looked at Hiccup.
"That was different."
Hiccup shrugged nervously.
"Trial and error?"
Astrid didn't look convinced.
Later
Hiccup walked along the docks of Berk as the sun began to set.
His notebook rested in his hands.
Page after page was filled with dragon sketches.
Wing positions.
Tail movements.
Behavior notes.
All learned from Toothless.
He flipped to a new page and added another note.
"Deadly Nadder: distracted by vision blocking."
Hiccup closed the notebook.
Across the harbor, Astrid watched him from the training grounds.
Her eyes followed him carefully.
Something wasn't right.
For weeks Hiccup had been the worst student in training.
Now he was winning.
Without weapons.
Without fighting.
She crossed her arms.
"Alright," she muttered.
"What are you hiding?"
The Hidden Basin
The waterfall trickled softly into the pond when Hiccup arrived.
Toothless was already waiting.
The Night Fury perked up when Hiccup stepped into the clearing.
"Hey, bud."
Hiccup tossed a fish.
Toothless caught it.
Hiccup sat down beside the pond and opened his notebook again.
"I won another round today."
Toothless snorted.
Hiccup grinned.
"Turns out dragons are a lot easier when you understand them."
The dragon flicked his tail lazily.
Above the clearing, hidden high among the branches surrounding the basin, another dragon watched quietly.
The bat-winged dragon rested along a thick limb, her massive ears slowly rotating as she listened.
Below, the human and the Night Fury sat peacefully beside the pond.
Training in Berk.
Learning in the forest.
Two worlds slowly coming together.
But across the village cliffs—
Astrid was already beginning to follow the trail.