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[a_real_viking]

Living on a magically beautiful tropical island and having a dragon at his back, it was easy to feel immortal. It was easy to fly up close to the sun, lean forward to grin recklessly at Toothless, and laugh as he unhooked his leg from the pedal. They were so high up that the air almost felt cool, despite the cloudless sky and warm sun, and the wind

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[lastof_five]

One of Helen's favorite things to do was watch Hiccup and Toothless fly and when she caught sight of the dragon wheeling overhead, she couldn't help but stop and stare for a moment. She did gasp, though, when they swooped toward the ground and shook her head, laughing it off; Hiccup was far more experienced in dragon maneuvering than Helen would ever be.

"That was quite the show, you two," she said fondly, beaming from ear to ear. "I do so love to see you fly."

[a_real_viking]

He'd been so engrossed in the book he found that Hiccup almost didn't notice her. Then he looked up, grinning widely, as Toothless bounded over to say hello.

"Thanks." Quickly, he flipped the book around to show her. "Check this out!"

[lastof_five]

"Oh, what is this? Some sort of field guide?"

Helen always liked to have more knowledge at her fingertips and peering at the book, she saw it was a page about Toothless, specifically, or his species anyway.

"Night Fury. Hmm, you don't seem terribly furious to me, Toothless. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret."

[a_real_viking]

Hiccup grinned, running his fingers over the runes. "He's pretty fearsome when he's angry, but right now. He's just...calm."

He flipped to another page, this one showing a Hideous Zippleback, "My friends, twins, ended up sharing this one."

[lastof_five]

"Looks rather dangerous. What's the trick to taming it? Smart as I am, I've not learned runes just yet."

Helen did want to learn, though, because she thought it would help broaden her own knowledge and make it easier to communicate with Hiccup, certainly, when it came to leaving notes.

[a_real_viking]

"Pretty much the same as taming any other dragon," Hiccup said, quickly jotting as much down in runes in the book. "You have to give them respect and treat them like they're not an enemy."

[lastof_five]

"That's with any creature, I think. I think not to respect the elegance and intelligence of a dragon is idiotic at best and life-threatening at worst."

Helen smiled a bit. "And I'm grateful to have the chance to have met you and Toothless, I've never been able to work with a dragon so closely before."

[a_real_viking]

Hiccup smiled and Toothless nosed in between them, rumbling happily next to Helen's ear, his own way of telling her that he was pleased with how kind she'd been to him and his human.

"And I've never met such an amazing teacher before."

[lastof_five]

Helen couldn't help the sweet smile that touched her face when Toothless nuzzled in. "Well, it's good students that make that possible, Hiccup, and you've taught me as much as I've taught you. There's nothing I love more than to see you learning and growing."

[a_real_viking]

"I don't know," Hiccup argued with a smile. "I don't think I'd have known so many names of bones or anything like that before you."

[lastof_five]

"It's practical knowledge. I have a fancy to learn how to blacksmith, though, so perhaps you can give me lessons someday? I don't know what I'd use it for," Helen conceded, "But I think all knowledge has a purpose. I can add it to my resume."

[a_real_viking]

The thought of getting to teach his teacher made Hiccup grin widely, nodding right away.

"I could definitely help!"

[lastof_five]

"Do you think you could teach me how to make weapons or something? I'm decent with a knife, if I have to be, and it'd be a practical goal to work toward while I'm learning."

That, and having something to defend herself in case certain people showed up wouldn't always be a bad thing.

[a_real_viking]

"Weapons were the first things I learned to make!" Hiccup couldn't help but straighten confidently. "Axes, mostly. But I can do all kinds of stuff."

[lastof_five]

"An axe might be useful," Helen said, laughing a little at the thought of wielding one. "I've used worse weapons in my day, believe me."

[a_real_viking]

Hiccup opened his mouth to raise a joking protest but then he remembered girls like Astrid or Tuffnut and just cut himself off. He'd seen plenty of girls swing an axe around like it was nothing. "What do you know how to use?"