Hiccup woke that night to the sound of screams, crashes, and general chaos with a smile on his face. Most would consider this abnormal. However, dragon attacks were an almost nightly event on Berk, an island where the only thing more sturdy and tasteless than the food was the people. Hiccup sprang from his bed on the nightstand, ran across the tiny scaffolding to the window, and peeked through the crack. Sure enough, the dark was alight with roaring flames as dragons battled the Vikings. Where other villages had rats or bugs for pests, Vikings had a different caliber. Dragons of all sorts filled the skies as great flaming beacons rose from the ground. From the dog-sized Terrible Terrors to the devastating Monstrous Nightmare. All were dangerous and capable of killing.
Now, most boys Hiccup’s age would run for cover at seeing such vicious creatures rampage across his home. However, Vikings didn’t run. And while he may not look like typical Viking stock, Hiccup desperately wanted to live up to their legacy. This issue was compounded by how the young boy was not only scrawny, but only three inches tall. On the other hand, being born a minizora meant that he was sturdier than most, which was good because Vikings weren’t the most mindful of where they stepped. So, disregarding his little handicap, Hiccup grabbed his personal dagger – one he’d forged to be light enough for even his puny arms – and ran out the door.
“Oy! Where do you think yer goin’?” demanded Stoic as he plucked up the tiny boy by his shirt. Stoic the Vast was the village chief and an immense fellow worthy of the name. His little finger was Hiccup’s size. “Get back inside,” he dismissively said as he tossed the tiny boy to the village blacksmith.
Gobber took the tiny boy to the smithy and deposited him at his workstation. “Nice of you ta join the party. Ah thought you’d been carried off.”
“Who, me? Nah. I’m too quick,” Hiccup boasted as he donned his work apron. “No dragon can ever catch me.”
“Sure, that’s the reason,” Gobber incredulously remarked as he hammered away. He occasionally watched the tiny boy work the system of pulleys and lifts they’d constructed together to get everything where it needed to go. Of course, the boy couldn’t lift a shield to save his life, but Gobber had to admit he was impressed with how the little fellow coordinated all those ropes.
“Say, Gobber, I was wondering if I could show you this—”
“Agh, not another invention,” groaned the smith. “Ah’m still peelin’ from yer last one.”
“This is different. I swear. I call it a launcher. It throws things here me,” Hiccup excitedly explained.
“Ah, well, that would certainly be somethin’… if it worked,” Gobber dismissed.
“It’ll work. I swear it will,” Hiccup desperately insisted. “I just need a chance to calibrate it, and—”
Then they heard the call. “Night Fury!” Then came an explosion that sent tremors through the ground, and the human screaming kicked up a notch. Unlike other dragons that stole food, Night Furies exclusively attacked battlements and crippled the village’s most potent weapons. They were black as night, hence the name, and impossible to see, let alone hit.
That’s when Hiccup saw his chance. Unfortunately, a Night Fury often meant that the fighting was already over, and all that was left was damage control. So, with Gobber gone to help the adult, Hiccup snuck off with his launcher. Well, it wasn’t exactly sneaking as he ran into the chaos of screaming Vikings. However, everyone was so preoccupied with the dragons that it was easy to overlook a tiny child working the push pump on what looked like a weird wheeled barrel.
As he maneuvered through the crowd, Hiccup stole a peek at the other kids his age. They were all on the cusp of adulthood and would soon take the trials to be welcomed into the village as true dragon slayers. Although, given his age, Hiccup was primarily interested in the girls. Some were hotter than others, but the tiny boy was in no position to be picky. If he could kill a dragon, he’d not only be accepted as a true Viking, but his chances of landing a girlfriend would skyrocket. So naturally, his eye fell upon the girl who was most out of his league, Astrid Hofferson. Oh, that luscious golden hair, those fierce eyes, legs for days, and it was impossible for a hormonal teenager to miss that bust. Although, Hiccup knew he could only look, as a girl like her would never want a guy like him. Well, except maybe as a toy.
Minizoras were rare, but stories from abroad described how some cultures liked to use the little people as pets or even toys. The people of Berk liked to tease Hiccup with promises of taking him to bed, but none ever did. They thought he was too fragile, that he might pop if someone got too rough, which was probably a mixed blessing. Hiccup didn’t hate the idea of being used as a sex toy. Realistically, that was his only chance of getting with anyone. However, if given a choice, he’d prefer someone at least vaguely attractive. His favorite nightly fantasy involved Astrid slipping his tiny body into her underwear at night and just leaving him there to do as he pleased. Unfortunately, being a pet meant he couldn’t be a proud Viking warrior. Then again, if he was Astrid’s pet, there were certainly worse fates.
However, another explosion shocked Hiccup back to his senses. No one would ever take him to bed unless he proved himself worthy, which meant killing a dragon. So, Hiccup navigated his launcher to a cliff where the Night Fury had already destroyed a catapult. It was a prime location for artillery, but had nothing else of note for the dragons, making it the perfect spot for him to set up his launcher. Luckily, the moon was full, and the skies were cloudless that night. And as Hiccup tuned out the village’s noise and scanned the sky, he could just barely make out a shape crossing over the stars. No ordinary Viking could ever hit such a target.
However, Hiccup was anything but ordinary. So, as he focused and ran quick calculations in his head, he pulled the lever and hoped for the best. He didn’t see it, but there was no missing that scream falling through the sky, followed by a crash. Hiccup’s face lit up as the truth donned on him. “Yes, I hit it! Who else saw that?”
Unfortunately, the boy was so caught up in his celebration that he missed the Nightmare stalking closer. On the one hand, he was so small that the mighty beast didn’t even notice him. On the other, Hiccup narrowly escaped before the thing casually smashed his launcher. So, as per usual, the minizora boy was ignored while all the big fighters did their thing. Many dragons and Vikings died, but the bulk of the swarm ultimately flew off with the spoils of their raid. In the end, with no proof of his success, Hiccup’s triumph was rendered hollow, especially after his dad publicly berated him for going where he wasn’t supposed to.
However, with the sun rising and everyone returning home for a brief rest before the day’s repairs, Hiccup knew that his chance was yet to vanish entirely. If he could sneak off when no one was looking, he could kill the Night Fury, bring back its heart or something, and finally earn the recognition he’s always craved. The only issue was that although the Vikings were tired, they didn’t have dragons to distract them. So, while odds were high that some careless oaf would step on him, odds were almost as good that someone might spot him.
1 Hiccup successfully sneaks out to find the downed dragon
2 Astrid catches Hiccup and decides to use him to relieve some stress
3 Ruffnut gives the tiny boy a chance to finally be useful
4 Hiccup finds the downed Night Fury, except all dragons are actually humanoid   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author