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]

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.