video, @hiccup

[thisisamazing]

[When the video clicks on, Hiccup comes into focus, leaning back from where he was propping up his phone on the table. He's softly casual in a loose t-shirt bearing the logo of one of the Riverview University science clubs, probably biology or engineering, but it's difficult to make it out. He's sitting at the table in the communal kitchen of Floor One, with one of those small, round layer cakes so ubiquitous in grocery stores in front of him. A birthday cake for one, with swirls of white frosting and colorful sprinkles, and 'Happy Birthday' written in red icing across the top.]

So, the nice lady at the grocery store seemed amazed I'd never had a birthday cake. I had to tell her we don't have this kind of thing on Berk. [He laughs a little, quietly, and a black blur from the side indicates Toothless slipping into the frame, seating himself on the floor next to Hiccup and planting his head on the edge of the table to peer at the camera. The dragon purrs out an inquisitive noise as Hiccup cuts himself a thin slice of cake and tries it.

He's immediately making a face, setting it back down on the plastic tray.] Oh, wow, that's- sugary? That's so sweet. [His palate is accustomed to sparing amounts of honey as sweetener, not modern processed white sugar. Toothless leans in a little more and sniffs at the sliver of cake, then wrinkles his nose.] Yeah, I probably won't finish this. It'll be in the icebox if anyone on my floor wants it, though!

What kinds of birthday traditions do you have in your worlds? Anything fun? Something better than cake, hopefully.

Comments

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup is in agreement there, judging from how he makes a face and says,] Blue is not a food color. [And this much sugar does not belong in any one confection.

At the mention of mothers, though, his expression softens a little, grows a little sad, though he keeps his smile up.] That sounds like a really nice tradition. Is it a really spicy food?And what if you... never knew your mother? Do you still...?

[As if sensing his rider's mood, Toothless' head fills more of the frame as he pushes against Hiccup, who thoughtlessly throws an arm over the top of his scaly head and leans against him comfortably.]

[billyrocks]

No, but it's good. I think in English it's called seaweed soup, and it can be made with a beef, or seafood, based broth. It's said to be good nutrition for the mother during and after pregnancy too, so that's where the link comes from.

[Billy's eyes flick up in thought for a moment before coming back down.]

I'd say, even if you never knew her, there's no doubt that a woman gave birth to you, or else you wouldn't be here. The least you could do is give thanks for her giving you life. Everyone's got a different way of doing that, I've noticed.

[During his travels with Goody, Billy came into contact with many different cultures.]

[thisisamazing]

Oh, that sounds- we have something kind of similar. Sort of. Berk is an island, so we eat a lot of fish. [Fish, yak and mutton, with the occasional chicken, although Tuffnut has kind of put a ban on poultry within their friend group.

He hums softly, thoughtful.] You're right. That sounds like a nice tradition. Maybe we'll do that. It- My, my mother. She kind of, uh, gave me life twice. She was carried off when I was a baby, protecting me. That's how my dad tells it, anyway.

[billyrocks]

[He's about to ask what sort of island Berk is and if dragons are common there, until he's slightly startled by what Hiccup says about his mother. Billy furrows his brows.]

Carried off?

[thisisamazing]

By- by a dragon. [Which is really the most common cause of death for most people on Berk up til about five years ago. Sad, but true. Either way, it seems to be an uncomfortable subject for both rider and dragon, because Toothless is pushing his head against Hiccup's chest, almost nuzzling against him while Hiccup throws an arm over him in turn.] We, uh. Nobody really understood dragons back then. Things are different now.

[billyrocks]

So then, dragons are common in your world. I was wondering when I saw that one with you. It looks different from the ones I grew up with.

[Hold on...]

That is, the pictures and statues I saw in my birth country. I don't even know if they're just a myth or really exist in my world since I never saw one.

[And Billy's not usually superstitious, he's the type who will believe those sort of things when he sees it for himself. (It's why he tried to dismiss Goody's "visions" as only dreams.) He shifts uneasily.]

Sorry if I dug up bad memories.

[thisisamazing]

Oh! Yeah, yeah they are. There are dozens of different kinds, hundreds of them all over the archipelago. I know they're not common for other worlds, but they are where I come from. [A pause, because he was kind of hoping he was going to say that he grew up with actual dragons. There are so few people who know anything about dragons at all.]

You have pictures and statues, but no actual dragons? I wonder where they all went... [He trails off thoughtfully, a little sad but also curious.]

Huh? Oh, no, no that's- I guess I was just thinking about that kind of thing already. It's the first birthday I've ever spent without my dad.

[billyrocks]

[He shrugs.]

Some people say they live in bodies of water, or in the heavens. There are even stories of people being reborn as dragons if they deserved it.

Do any of the dragons around your home have a serpentine body and two long whiskers on their face? [Because now Billy can't help but be curious if there are any that resemble an Eastern dragon. He can remember how, as a boy in Korea, him and some friends would go out into the forest looking for a dragon. Or how his father used to say, "The dragon in the sea must be restless today," when Billy was with him on the fishing boat and the waves were rough.]

First time being so far away from home then? [His voice holds a touch of sympathy and his eyes soften some.]

[thisisamazing]

There are some dragons that live in the ocean. Scauldrons, seashockers, submarippers, thunderdrums... [And more, he's sure. The Tidal class is one of the ones they know the least about, simply because underwater travel isn't possible for them.] Being reborn as a dragon would be pretty cool.

Mm, Whispering Deaths are probably the most snake-like, but they're spiny, and don't have whiskers. I'm sure there are plenty of species I've never seen before, still, so you never know! There might be dragons like that. If you have statues and drawings, they must have existed at one point, right? [That's what he thinks, anyway, but he's always reluctant to imagine worlds without dragons at all.

He manages a little smile.] Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I've lived away from Berk before, but... you know, I could always fly back if I wanted.

[billyrocks]

What species is yours?

[His eyes focus more on the black dragon than its owner for a moment. The creature reminds him of the dragons that were in the master's son's story books.]

That's one of the arguments people used back home. I used to go looking for them when I was a child, but I never had any luck.

[But then Billy's eyes widen some, amazed.] Your dragon lets you ride its back? How long did it take to train him to do that?

[At least, he assumes that's what Hiccup means by being able to "fly back," considering the impressive wings he can just barely see through the small screen of his phone. Dragons were said to be very strong, too, so they could probably carry a human effortlessly.]

[thisisamazing]

Toothless is a Night Fury. [He says it proudly, reaching an arm over the dragon's scaly head to scratch at one of the spots that make his eyes close in bliss and his chest rumble with a purr. Hiccup laughs quietly, a hint of recognition there when Billy says he used to go looking for dragons.] When I was a kid, I always wandered off to go look for gnomes and trolls. I didn't have any luck either.

[He turns back to the camera, a little sheepish now.] Well, he uh, he can't fly without me. He lost a tail fin, so I- you know, I built him a new one, and now we fly together - a foot pedal attached to the saddle works the tail fin. We learned to trust each other so we're both better off.

[billyrocks]

Toothless... An odd name for a dragon, but hey--to each his own. 'Sides, some people consider mine just as strange since Billy is hardly a Korean name. And what about you?

[A deep bark sounds from off screen before a large Great Dane with a harlequin coat and red collar pushes up against Billy to get into the shot. He chuckles and pats her on the head.]

She's not a dragon, but this is Jina. I found her looking through the garbage cans here months ago.

[The dog greets Hiccup and Toothless with another bark before going quiet so Billy can listen to Hiccup, but not without laying her head down on his lap.]

You built him a new one and made a system like that? [If he didn't sound impressed before, he certainly does now.] Are you an inventor? 'Cause you sound smart like one.

[thisisamazing]

His teeth are retractable, it just sort of stuck. [He laughs quietly. Billy doesn't sound like all that odd a name to him, but he doesn't really know what Korean names typically sound like anyway.] Ah, I'm Hiccup. It's a... Berk...ian name.

[He brightens a little when the dog comes into the frame, smiling wide.] She's a gorgeous dog. I can't believe no one was taking care of her. [He's a bleeding heart for animals of all shapes and sizes, really.]

Yeah, I guess you could say I'm an inventor. I like to solve problems and improve things! Make life easier. For people and dragons both.

[billyrocks]

[Huh, never heard of a dragon with retractable teeth before, but that's definitely interesting. Hiccup would be considered another odd name in Billy's world, but he wasn't about to make fun of another man's name that was from a culture he wasn't familiar with (because he definitely knew how that felt).

He can't help but smile with pride when Jina is called gorgeous.] Thank you, I can't imagine why someone would abandon her either. She's really sweet. [Billy also had a fondness for animals, but dogs held a special place in his heart] But how did you and Toothless meet?

[Because where Billy's from, it's not everyday a human meets a dragon and befriends it.]

Inventions do help make life easier. [He nods in agreement.] A lot of the technology here isn't available in my world, so I've hardly had to struggle living in this place. I try not to let myself get too lazy, though.

[thisisamazing]

She looks like it. I can't imagine it either, but it's good that she found someone who will love her, so maybe it was for the best in the end. [Hiccup has boundless empathy for animals - mostly dragons, but others too, and it's hard to imagine what would go through someone's head to make them abandon a lovely dog or want to enslave a loyal dragon, as he'd seen back home.]

Ah, well, that's-! Kind of a long story, haha. I sort of shot him down with a bola launcher... but we're a matched pair now, he saved all of me but my left leg from the Red Death. [Only a viking makes jokes about his own limb loss.]

We don't have a lot of this either! It's really convenient. I've been trying to learn how everything works so maybe I can take some of it back home.