Chapter Text
The dragon riders(referring to Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut. Not the A-Team, Heather, or other riders appearing past the first movie) are like college student age(?) in this. In the AU, most species of animal someway evolved from dragons(ex: cats from Night/Light Furies, Guinea pigs or some other rodent from Gronckles, etc), and dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years. The riders all have pets that evolved from whatever dragon they have in the actual movies(ex: Toothless is a cat. AU Hiccup names him Toothless because he had a tooth missing when he found him.) and the animals still have some abilities from their dragon ancestors, but it’s been so long since they've used them that most don’t remember how to use them, nor that they have them. AU Hiccup has insisted for years that dragons were real at one point and aren’t just a legend and while doing research accidentally sets off a sort of dragon instinct in Toothless and he accidentally breathes a bit of fire, accidentally burning a pen Hiccup was holding, but somewhat proving Hiccup’s theories. So he meets up with the other dragon riders(in the AU they all work at the same place, haven’t figured out what the job is yet though.) holding this thick book where he put all his research and while trying to show the other dragon riders(who, excluding Fishlegs, still deny dragons’ existence) a page on Hideous Zipplebacks with some notes detailing the gas and sparks they use to explode stuff, Barf and Belch(I think they’ll be ferrets in the AU? Not quite sure. Think I’ll keep it at ferret though at least for now since Zipplebacks have two heads and ferrets are meant to be kept in pairs/groups you know? Also Ruffnut and Tuffnut carry their pet ferrets everywhere in their pockets/sleeves/whatever they can carry them in.) try it and accidentally explode a paper about dragons Fishlegs was going to show Hiccup, the twins get yelled at but are ECSTATIC at the fact they have pets that are literal portable fuzzy bombs. and the riders have a conversation about it once they get over the shock of the concept of dragons existing they talk about it and stuff.