Chapter 22

Hiccup's body shortened, his back half pushing forwards so that he was standing on his back two feet. His front two legs turned into arms, his paws turned into hands. All of his dragon features left except for his wings and tail. He hesitated, not opening his eyes as he tried to feel any differences in his body. It felt more familiar, maybe. Slightly more his own. But when he couldn't feel any huge differences, he opened his eyes. 

"Holy-!" Hiccup exclaimed, and he would have fallen backwards if his tail didn't instinctively stabilize him. 

With wide eyes, he stared at his reflection. The man staring back at him looked nothing like the small boy that had left Berk. For one thing, he was taller. A lot taller. His head was probably a foot higher than it used to be, so his eyes were at the same level that they were when he was in his dragon form. His hair was different too. It was longer, looked more healthy and attractive, and seemed to even be about three shades darker. His face was more chiseled, his shoulders wider, making him look like he was in his twenties. But the biggest difference? He had muscle. Not the Viking kind of muscle that mostly looked like fat, but lean and hardened muscle, like Moon Sweepers had. Even his eyes seemed to be more startling and dragon-like. 

With his dark hair, mature appearance, lean body, and green eyes that sparkled like emeralds, he looked like the personification of a Moon Sweeper in a human form. Which, he was, but it was so incredibly different that Hiccup couldn't believe that he was looking at himself in a mirror. Sure, he may not have looked like the big, fat, burly way that Vikings thought was supposed to be attractive, but Hiccup looked good.

"Wow," Hiccup stated, not knowing what else to say. 

He looked at his mother through the mirror, finding her looking at him with pride. 

"I think you look amazing, son," she said, standing up to clasp her hands on his shoulders. 

Hiccup smiled at his mother, turning back to look at himself next to her in the mirror, "Thanks, mom. I think I don't look too bad anymore." 

"I'm glad," she responded, giving his shoulders one last squeeze before walking away. 

"Where're you going?" he called after her. 

"To make you new clothes," she responded. "Unless you'd like to make them yourself?" 

Frowning, Hiccup turned to look at his reflection again. Sure enough, his once good fitting clothes were tiny and tight on his bigger frame. The clothing was even ripped in a few spots around his shoulders and down his arms. 

"That's a great idea," Hiccup said. "And actually, I'd like to help you make me new clothes. Maybe I'll add a bit of flair to them." 

* * * 

The two of them had spent the entire day working on Hiccup's new clothes, mostly staying inside of his mother's human quarters unless Hiccup was flying in and out of it to grab supplies. He had run into Toothless and the rest of his Flight as he flew back and forth, deflecting their questions and smirking at their confusion. 

By the time that the sun was down, Hiccup was standing in front of the mirror again, his shoulders higher and his back straighter than it had ever been. 

"Why don't we go show your Flight your new look?" his mother offered, and Hiccup readily agreed. 

They shifted into their dragon forms and took off for the den, quickly landing on the mossy ledge. 

Toothless looked relieved at the sight of the both of them, standing up and approaching them, "Where have you two been all day?" 

"Yeah," Sharpshot said from where he stood on Barf's head, "have you been causing trouble without us?" 

"No, we haven't," Hiccup laughed. "We've just been busy." 

"Doing what?" Belch asked. 

In reply, Hiccup let the blue light cascade over himself, shifting into his half dragon form.

"Whoa," Toothless gasped. 

"You look amazing," Sharpshot cooed. 

Hiccup laughed, glancing down at himself in pride. His outfit was now made up entirely of leather, with hidden cloth under wearings to make it comfortable. He wore a pair of leather pants that had an ombré effect that got darker the closer it got to his feet, with a small leather loop sewed into his left pant leg for Inferno. A tunic that had taken far too long to make sat on his shoulders, with dragon scale patterns etched into the leather, and two golden clasps with his own Moon Sweeper scales inlaid inside of them to keep it securely together at the front. Shoulder pads with golden Moon Sweeper silhouettes sat on his shoulders, the dark leather matching the vambraces that were tied with twine to his forearms. Using the same dark leather, Hiccup had made two shoes to match the vambraces, and a belt that wound around his waist, decorated with golden belt rings and Moon Sweeper scales. 

"Thanks, Sharpshot," Hiccup said. "I'll probably add some modifications to my clothing once I'm in my forge again, but I think it'll do its job for now." 

"You look so much older," Toothless observed. 

Hiccup smiled, "And to think, it only took me two weeks to grow this much." 

Cloudjumper nodded in respect, "He is definitely ready, Valka." 

"I agree," she replied, turning to Hiccup. "I believe that because you are now at your fullest potential, you are ready to join the world of hunting the Dragon Hunters if you so choose to." 

"Really?" Hiccup asked, "Of course I want to help. I'll do anything I can." 

"I thought we were trying to take down the Queen," Belch said. 

"We are, but I also want to help other dragons in any way I can," Hiccup said. "And until I feel like I'm ready to take down the Queen, I think this may be the best way to do that." 

"Can we help too?" Sharpshot asked. 

"All who volunteer are welcome to help," Hiccup's mother said. "But before I let anyone of you decide that you would like to join our missions, I want you to know who you're facing." 

They all nodded at her before she continued. 

"I don't know exactly how long the Dragon Hunters have been operating for," she began, "but I do have a fair amount of information about them. I know that they are lead by a man named Viggo Grimborn, a war tactics mastermind that I've only heard stories about. His older brother, Ryker Grimborn, is his most trusted employee. He does all of the most important jobs, so I've rarely ever seen him. For as long as I've known about their operation, I've watched them hunt and capture dragons to use them for their own purposes. They sell Sear Spine spines for their venom, use Lava Grubbers as slaves for their iron, fatten up Vapor Sparks and skin them for their hide, and so, so much more. Everything they do is for money, and they don't consider the pain and suffering they cause to dragons. 

"But because of how much of a genius Viggo is, every time I try to strike them harder than just raiding their boats full of dragons, the numbers I lose is great. For years, I've had Singeing Singer spies watching from within small spaces, but anytime I get a valuable piece of information, Viggo outsmarts me so greatly that the lives I'm cost is greater than any damage I could have done to him." 

She and Cloudjumper wore identical saddened looks, both recalling all of the dragons they must have known caught inside of Dragon Hunter traps. 

"We'll help in any way we can," Hiccup promised. 

"And our Captain can help you outsmart that Viggo guy," Sharpshot said confidently.

"You should not underestimate Viggo," his mother warned. "He is a foe unlike any I've ever seen, and while his brother wields the sword, his mind is a weapon just as sharp." 

"Okay," Hiccup said, his mind starting to draw up questions, "where do you have spies stationed?" 

"I've tried in the past to have Singeing Singers follow the ships we raid back to their base, but they never come back once they reach a certain point," his mother replied. "So in recent years, I've ordered them not to go past there." 

"Do you have an idea as to where the base is based on how far the spies can get?" Hiccup asked. 

"Yes, but it's too wide of an area to be completely sure." 

"Are there specific types of dragons that they target the most?"

"No, they find uses out of any dragon they can get." 

"Do all of their ships have the same kind of guard rotations and defenses?" 

"Yes. Their guard rotations are on the hour, the cages are dragon proof, they have launching grappling hooks and nets to capture dragons in the air, but their main defense mechanism against attacking dragons are their dragon root covered arrows. Dragon root has the ability to completely distort a dragons' sense, virtually making them unable to fly."

"Does dragon root affect all dragons?" 

"All dragons except Lava Grubbers," his mother confirmed. "But us Dragonborn are only affected by it when we are in our full dragon forms." 

"How many archers would you say there are per boat?" 

"At least a dozen. Maybe more." 

"Do all their boats look the same, or do they have different layouts?" 

"They all have the same layout, though the way their cages are spread out on deck varies from boat to boat."

"What do their boats look like?" 

She pondered, thinking for a moment, "We'll, it's normally dark when we raid them, but they look pretty much identical to any other Viking boat. They do have a strange crest, though. I'll have to draw it out for you." 

"Could you just sketch it out in the dirt?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to the ground. 

She nodded, shifting into her half dragon form and beginning to form shapes in the dirt. After a moment, she stepped back to reveal what looked like a closed fist with flames surrounding it. Hiccup studied it, logging the shape into his brain. 

"Okay, I'll ask Johann what he knows about the crest. As a trader, I'm sure he's seen every crest on every boat in existence," Hiccup said. 

"Thank you, son," his mother said. "I'm glad you want to help." 

"Of course," he said. 

"That was too many questions," Barf whined.

"Yeah, my brain hurts," Belch agreed. 

"Oh, shut up you hatchlings," Sharpshot said dramatically, "I, for one, am honored to have gotten to witness our great Captain's mind at work." 

"Uh, thanks, Sharpshot," Hiccup said, slightly confused. 

"Anytime," Sharpshot said pridefully.

"Alright, now let's get some rest," Hiccup's mother said. "We've had a big day, and I'm sure you'll be wanting to get back to the rest of your Flight tomorrow morning." 

"Wait," Hiccup said, turning towards Toothless, "have you not gone back to the island since the Celebration?" 

"Well, no," Toothless said uncomfortably. "I was a bit too worried about you not waking up for two weeks." 

Hiccup gave him an alarmed look, immediately shifting into his dragon form, "So you're telling me that no one has checked up on them for two weeks?!" 

The three dragons looked at each other, before saying all at once, "No." 

"We need to get back," Hiccup declared. "Now." 

"Why?" Sharpshot asked. 

"Because they were expecting us back a week and a half ago," Hiccup hissed. "And since we didn't, they would have sent someone to come here and make sure that we were alright. But since no one is here, then that means that something must have happened to them."

Their eyes widened, but Toothless tried to give Hiccup a calming look, "We don't know that for sure. You left Hookfang in charge. Do you really think that he would send someone here to check on us?" 

Hiccup paused, thinking. Hookfang seemed more like the type to just wait it out; not risk the well being of those under his command while Hiccup was away. 

"No, I don't think he would," Hiccup said after a moment. "But I still think we should leave as early as we can."

Toothless nodded, "Sounds like a plan." 

"When do you think would be a good time for you to come back?" Hiccup's mother asked him, drawing his attention away from his worry. 

"For what?" Hiccup asked. 

"Well, there is still one more thing I'd like you to do before I have the King clear you for Dragon Hunter raiding missions," she replied. 

"What?" 

"I'd like you to figure out what power the Moon Goddess has blessed you with," she responded. "That way you can be as prepared for the missions as you possibly can." 

"Oh, how do I do that?" Hiccup asked, excited at the prospect of getting his own power. 

"We'll have to experiment," she said, mischief sparkling in her eyes. "My power was triggered when I was visiting a Viking village in the south part of the Archipelago, trying to establish trade relations under the guise of a young explorer trying to "find myself". I had been discussing possible deals with the chief as we walked along the cliffs of his island, when he suddenly pushed me off of the cliff mid-sentence. Apparently, he had no interest in my offers and didn't want word getting out about them refusing me. But as I fell from the highest cliff that island possessed, I didn't shift for fear of the secret of Dragonborn being released, and instead reached out to my magic in my human form out of desperation. Surely enough, the wind caught me just as I was about to land in the jagged rocks, and I was able to sneak off of the island that night." 

"So, are you just going to push me off some cliffs?" Hiccup asked disappointingly.          

"No," his mother laughed. "I'm going to push you off of some cliffs and order you not to shift out of your human form." 

Hiccup groaned, "How wonderful." 

"Ooh, could we help our Captain out with this at home?" Sharpshot asked, making Hiccup's head snap towards him.

"Why of course," Hiccup's mother replied, making Hiccup bristle. "Just make sure he's not a dragon as you do whatever you wish to do to him." 

"Or I could order you not to do so," Hiccup snarled. 

Sharpshot winced, "Am I ordered not to do so?" 

Hiccup sat back stiffly, "You are ordered not to do so until further notice." 

The Singeing Singer nodded at Hiccup's stern look, before curling up into a ball in the place where Barf and Belch's heads met. The other dragons followed suit, Barf laying his neck across Belch's as the two of them closed their eyes. Cloudjumper lied across the ground a bit away from them, letting his face rest just inches from the edge of the ledge and looking out into the nest. Hiccup walked over to lay down next to Barf and Belch, Toothless curling up beside him. Hiccup's mother rested just in front of Hiccup, but still close to Cloudjumper. 

"I think you're shaping up to quite the Leader, son," she told him before she let her eyes fall shut. 

"Yeah," Toothless added, yawning. "You almost look like you've been doing this for years." 

Hiccup watched his brother fall asleep, making sure his breathing was steady before standing back up. He walked through the den, checking to make sure that everyone present in his Flight was sound asleep. He checked his mother and Cloudjumper too, just to be safe. After he was finished making sure they were all sleeping peacefully, he sat down on the edge of the ledge. 

He perched there for a while, his tail flicking slightly as he observed all of the dragons below him. Not that he could see them all, but he could hear them. Listening to their breaths, Hiccup went from the top of the nest to the bottom, making sure they were all asleep. He listened to their hearts beat and their lungs fill with air until he was sure that every dragon that resided in the nest was safe. Every single one. 

There was something calming about the act. He wasn't sure why he was doing it, but he felt like he was going to drown with stress if he didn't make sure that all the dragons below and around him were safe. Once he was sure they were all alive and well, he was about to go back to sleep when he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. 

Turning to see who was looking at him, Hiccup found the King staring at him curiously. Neither of them said anything, though the look in the King's eyes seemed to say enough to Hiccup. It was a silent conversation, yet somehow as loud as a roar. Finally, Hiccup heard the voice in his head. 

'Sleep, young Leader,' the King whispered to him in his mind. 'I watch over them. I always do.' 

Hiccup gave him a nod, both of acknowledgment and respect. He stayed still for a moment, looking away from the King and letting all of the breaths and heart beats fill his ears in a drowning symphony. Then he turned around, curled up to his brother, and went to sleep.