They sneak out the back and run into Toothless.

When Hiccup woke up, the both of them got dressed -- Hiccup in his leather-suit, Mirabel in a baggy morning dress -- and snuck out the back. The chief's home was built just under the highest cliffside, so while people would notice if Mirabel walked out the front door, she would be able to sneak out through the back.

Unfortunately, the two of them did not go unnoticed. Fortunately, they were only noticed by someone who could keep a secret.

Leaping off of the roof was a sleek, reptilian animal. It had massive wings, flippers on its head that could be mistaken for horns, a long tail, retractable teeth and it was completely black with the exception of its cat-like green eyes.

While dragons were nothing but myths and speculation for humanity, they were very real in the human imagination and so they were real here, for this was the realm of gods and monsters. Dragons came in all shapes and sizes across the many worlds. In the far east, some are worshipped as gods themselves, but in Europe they are seen as demons and beasts of pure destruction.

After Götterdämmerung ended the Aesir's era of prosperity, dragons spread across the Nine Realms like locusts, there to blight their world with fire and famine. The gods waged a war against them for many centuries. That is until Hiccup discovered that the dragons that they originally saw as invaders were mere slaves that desired freedom from a malevolent master.

Some things were said, some legs were lost, a Beast of the Apocalypse controlling the dragons was slain in a battle worthy of a saga, and things changed for the better overall. Asgard could rebuild with the help of their new reptilian friends while their worshippers told their story in the mortal world. It was a win-win.

"Toothless! Geez, bud, you nearly gave me a heart-attack!"

The beast only gave a chortle before it tried to pounce on Mirabel like an eager puppy. Its dull claws grabbed her by the shoulders as he gave her a lick on the face. She laughs, spitting out the slobber that got in her mouth as his spit coated her glasses.

"Toothless hey! I love you too, now get off!"

Mirabel didn't exactly live with dragons, but she was familiar with them. All over Central and South America, there were many mythical snakes and reptilian beasts that made their home beyond the mountains of the Encanto. Alma even once claimed they had ancestry with a few feathered serpents worshipped in ancient Mesoamerica.

Imagine her surprise when she not only saw her lover was missing a leg, but had traveled all the way to the Encanto on the back of a mighty dragon as his steed.