N/A: -sheepishly laughs- Well I got this itch that wouldn't go away and finally decided to just do the thing. If you haven't yet, you should read Nightfall and its growing collective sidestories by Le'Letha. I've got my sort of spin-off story going off of Nightfall(with permission) with one of my original characters named Alekt(called Learning from the Masters if you haven't read it yet) and I got a really bad itch to write my canon version of Alekt rather than the AU one I did for LftM to fit the HTTYD universe so I decided to do a drabble.
To be entirely honest I can't get enough of this version of feral!Hiccup and Toothless so that's why I'm doing it this way instead of with canon!Hiccup&Toothless X3 and playing with "what if" scenarios is my addiction.
This is after the events of Nightfall, in case any are wondering, so after having met Astrid and Stoick and fighting the Red Death. Enjoy~
The Isles of Avaris
A How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction
Based off of Le'Letha's "Nightfall"
It is a long flight and Toothless's wings are tired.
They were flying to far places, beyond the Nest and beyond the islands that they have already explored and still they are wanting and restless because there is still always and ever more places to see that are new and strange and sometimes dangerous and sometimes wonderful. They have flown too far before but this has been the too-farthest yet and they are tired and there is nowhere to land except for open ocean and that is no place to rest for them.
The only other things they have seen in the long stretch of blue are pfikingr - Viking - ships and those are no place for dragons to be. Pfikingr are threats. They catch and kill dragons and even though they are dumb and cannot fly they can make things that are clever and dangerous and while they have snuck into pfikingr places and raided them before they were not keen on resting in a pfikingr place and letting down their guard.
Now they are simply riding the wind as it flows because it aches to keep flapping wings but letting the wind do most of the work helps ease some of the struggle as they search for a safe place to land and rest and do not try to think that maybe the ocean simply keeps stretching on without end.
Now is one of the times that Hiccup feels most frustrated. Frustrated because of a revelation that struck him some seasons ago because of a She-pfikingr of which Uh strrrTT is the closest sound he can make. In body, Hiccup is human, but in heart he is all dragon and half of Toothless and Toothless is half of himself. To be without each other is inconceivable because together they have always been two-who-are-one and this has always been the way of things. His shape doesn't and hasn't ever mattered to Toothless or the nest: he is a dragon.
Its because of this though - he realizes now - that he has never grown wings like his nestmates, nor a tail, and that this is why he has never been able to breathe fire; why Toothless has had to carry him when they fly, even though Hiccup has made his own wings that are good for gliding and some flying when the winds are good.
What frustrates him now is that he cannot be the one to fly for Toothless and carry him so that Toothless can rest even when there is no land to perch on. He doesn't explore the thought far enough to realize that if he were big enough to do that, he would be too big for Toothless to carry anyway and it would be a moot point, only enough to feel guilt and frustration.
He can do many things that his dragon kin cannot even lacking wings and a tail and fire; he has clever paws which are good for freeing nestmates from traps that snap and coil and it has saved many dragons that otherwise could not be freed. It makes him a valuable member of the Nest and he is proud of what he can do to benefit in a way no other dragon can but there are times when his lacking in other things still trouble him. It sometimes keeps him up trying to work out the problem and create a way to be more dragon than he already is, as he did when he made his own wings, but some things cannot be fabricated no matter how much or often he has tried. Size is one of those things, and while he doesn't particularly dislike being smaller than Toothless and many other dragons, he simply knows there are advantages to being big, just as there are also advantages to being small.
Hiccup stretches his body and lightly curls muscles that are growing stiff from laying in the same place on Toothless's back, lazily rubbing his face against the black dragon's head-scales in affection before sitting up properly to look even though all the other times he has seen nothing worth noticing.
He looks down and he sees the shape of some flocks of fish near the surface that are tempting but he draws no attention to them. He is hungry, but they can hunt later because hunger can wait while they sleep but they cannot fly while they sleep and if they fall into the sea from exhaustion they will drown, and he sees occasional bigger shapes that he knows are sharks and sharks are threats with teeth that can tear through even dragonhide which is even more reason to avoid the deep waters.
Hiccup trills a question flying far good you good little more yes love tired flying you we good farther?
Toothless glances back and wavers a little to the side enough to concern the dragon boy but corrects his path with a few light flicks of his wings and assures good yes yes reassurance love farther flying good yes love reassurance yes.
Hiccup hums in a way that says he is not convinced but there is nothing to argue until there is a place to land. Instead he watches for land or floating ice, even for abandoned ships that sometimes break into pieces and float in the sea. Sometimes there are entire parts of the ship-ground where the hollow caves underneath have filled or broken away and the ship-ground floats by itself. Other times there are ship-trees rising out of the water which could serve just as much a good perch as the ship-ground if it rises high enough.
It is when day is ending, lighting the horizon and distant clouds on fire with blazes of red and orange and gold, that they see something in the distance and it looks like an island with tall mountains and trees. The mountains are taller than any they have ever seen, narrower at the bottom and wider at the top, and most of all they extend straight up at harsh angles that would make them hard if not impossible to climb. Bordering the edges of the island are great sea fangs of stone, and some are not fangs but instead legs for the mountains where they extend over the sea and cast it into shadows.
It is an impressive place. Bigger and more impressive than the nest their Alpha has made and more than the mountain of the terrible dragon-eater Queen, and they never thought that they would be so happy to be not flying soon!
Tiredness has not made them unwary of new surroundings however and they are fast to listen and sniff for signs of things that are a threat or things that are unknown. There are no smells to indicate that pfikingr have been here recently nor any pfikingr things on the shore or beyond the trees that they can see. There is no scent of dragons at all, which is especially strange to them as it is rare for there to be no signs of dragon even in places where there are humans.
There are other scents though that they both can recognize; bird scent is especially strong here, and they think this must be a good thing because it is spring time and sea birds make big nests with many members all over certain islands, and many bird nests means eggs and chicks they can raid and eat. There is no noise to indicate this however and spring sea bird nestings of large size are usually noisy even at night. There's no telling if the birds are merely quiet or if their hatchlings have already grown and left but they know they will be listening and watching for signs of bird nests they can raid for an easy meal. Even if there are no nests where they can steal from sea birds are good at finding and stirring up big hordes of fish from the sea so they will probably get an easy meal either way.
There is the smell of other preythings too and there are also wild dogs and boars and many other creatures but most of them smaller and not worth worrying over. If any of them become a threat, they can fly away or blast it with fire.
When they deem there are no threats, they land on a higher rock and Hiccup slides from Toothless-love's back so that the black dragon can stretch out the soreness of his wings from staying aloft for so long. In the fading light things are becoming harder to see. There are some trees that may be good for tail-hanging from but he does not think that Toothless will be eager to sleep that way after they have been flying so far.
There is also dead trees that line parts of the shore, leafless and stripped of bark and white like great bones, some which are bigger than his Toothless-self is, with tall grasses growing all around them. There is one place he finds that looks like a good spot to nest, where many of the tree-bones are piled to make walls and there is lots of grass between that can cushion them comfortably and without itching like sand does. They will not be easy to see there before they hear or smell danger coming and there is still enough room to launch straight upwards into the sky or towards the sea or woods if they need to flee suddenly.
Here nest good place found here Toothless-heart of mine good safe nesting yes yes found come tired resting you he calls and the dragon follows him to investigate and croons agreement good place yes yes find tired hurting good nesting yes good you mine good tired good nesting before turning around and around between the tree-bones and patting the tall grass down into a proper circle beneath his paws to curl up and rest finally.
Before long dragon and dragon-boy are nestled together in a small pile of black scales and it is only Hiccup who stays awake as he is not as tired and one of them should keep watch and listen to the sounds of the night for signs of danger.
Occasionally he hears curious sounds or rustling and crawls from where he is laying against Toothless's scales to perch where he can peek over the tree-bones to be sure nothing has smelled them and is stalking closer but nothing worth worrying over ever comes close. At one point there is a fox that pokes its head over the wall of dead trees, sniffing curiously, but it quickly turns tail and sprints back into the dark woods the second that Hiccup starts to move. It's gone so fast that he only sees its tail disappear into the bushes by the time he climbs to the top of the wall.
More concerning is the howl of wolves halfway through the night, and there is many of them from what he hears. Toothless hears them too and stirs, but he isn't quick to take to the air, as they are still some distance away and Hiccup hasn't raised any alarms. Sometimes for fun they will mimic the sound and howl in return. A few times they have had lone or small groups of wolves appear looking confused to find dragons instead. It is a fun game but they will only play when they feel up to howling-and-fleeing because wolves are predators too and some are not afraid to hunt dragons if they can catch them and are clever group hunters.
Tonight they are too tired and so they only listen in case the howls come closer so they will be ready to leave if wolves do appear. Night eventually starts to become day and there is no sound of them again or fresh smells on the wind. They share the morning with laziness, awake but still aching and needing to rest. Hiccup takes his turn to nap for a while and Toothless watches and listens, stretching one wing out and covering his smaller self with the other.
The sun reaches this place at odd angles, glaring directly at them and hitting pale mountain walls on the far side in the morning, but towards the afternoon as it flies higher in the sky, the light gives way to day-shadows that encompass the entire stretch of that part of island. There are long shadows where the sea fangs block the light of day and long beams of light that hit only some parts of land where the light reaches between them.
Then there is the mountains themselves, which stretch high above and curve, like a tall top jaw of yawning stone and blocks the rest of the sun. It is an unnerving thought that an entire mountain could be a dragon's head, but they have seen that the world has a heart-fire inside it and so it too must have a mouth somewhere and a tail and wings far away somewhere. If the world is indeed a dragon and this is its mouth though, so far it has not eaten them, and there are many other things living here that are good to eat too but that it has not, so he deems they are safe and he will be sure to fly only if it intends to eat them.
It is in that afternoon that they have enough lazy-resting. Now they must hunt, for they've already ignored their hunger pains too long and it claws at both of them and the ocean smells crisp and alive with many things. They still have not heard or seen sea birds and the scent of them is staler than it was the day before. It is a sad thought that they have already missed the big-nesting-gathering and the chance of getting eggs from their nests to eat but they will do just fine with fish instead and the cold water will do good to soothe the soreness of tired muscles from long flying.
What they find when they go to the sea edge at first is strange. They have been on many beaches and islands and the water always crashes toward land, throwing foam and waves and carrying things to shore which are sometimes of no interest but on the rare occasion are good like food or pfikingr things that Hiccup can find use for. They had been too worried about watching for danger and resting the night before and it had been dark, but now they notice that the water moves strangely, like a rough-fast river just after the snowmelt.
Rough-fast waters are dangerous places. It is easy to get swept away in them and hard to get out, even for a dragon that can fly. The currents have claws that grab and pull and push to drown anything unlucky enough to get caught in them and often they are filled with lots of sharp branches that will pierce scale-skin and hard rocks that will break bones. They have both been in one before where they survived with cracked bones. They've seen other creatures die by drowning or being stabbed through on branches that the waters threw them against and at one point a dragon that had its wing torn too much to ever fly again. All are experiences they do not wish to repeat or experience.
This creates other problems for them. If the sea has rough-fast waters, then how will they hunt for fish? They ponder together what they should do because they will not risk being in such waters and being clawed or bone-broken or drown but they must eat soon and while raw meat is okay for Toothless to eat it is not okay for Hiccup because it makes him sick. They must either find a way to obtain fish or find another source of food.
They muse back and forth fast-rough waters bad danger caution and Hiccup whimpers hungry fish bad fast-rough waters fish need find go fly maybe calm water farther fish yes perhaps? and Toothless hums agreement. When they fly farther out, they can see that the fast-rough waters end past the sea fangs where the sun finally touches their backs again.
What they can also see is that there are fish, flocking in groups close to the surface. The water is deeper, but they are used to hunting over open water, so this is no problem for them. It is a simple matter of diving-and-grabbing and it is easier to succeed when there are many fish in a group. Sometimes they miss and other times they manage to grab a fish or two and take to the air again, letting the wind as they fly roll water off of their scales and skin.
They ride together for a few dives and most of them Toothless eats in the air but some he holds and saves for Hiccup and they land to finish eating what they have caught for now as they wait for the startled fish to regroup as they are swimming deeper to avoid the dragon pair. The first swallows of food hurt from the previous emptiness but all of it is good and fills them with new energy.
Hiccup eats his fill as he is smaller and needs less to eat and then they return to hunting for a while until Toothless is also satisfied. The sun and wind is warm and the water cold, both of which help to liven them and when they have finished hunting they both glide for a while and let the good winds carry them. Toothless is still tired and his wings ache for rest but he doesn't complain of it and he won't leave Hiccup to fly alone in a strange place where fast-rough waters divide land and sea.
Even though he makes no sign of it, Hiccup stills knows and chirrs hurting flying tired still? in concern.
Toothless considers denying it. He knows that his companion wishes to fly as they are and that he does not like to hold still long, but they also need their energy if they expect to fly away from this place, and if danger comes they need enough energy to make the distance or they will risk falling into the ocean and drowning or being preyed on by sharks. He thrums back tired still sore long flying resting should yes so they return to their temporary nest of tree-bones and long grass.
Hiccup doesn't stay still on the ground and Toothless doesn't expect him to, but he warns careful you reckless silly caution still love love strange caution careful love. Hiccup purrs his reassurance in return and promise careful love love will be yes promise promise. He does not think there is much to be careful of besides maybe wolves but neither of them have smelled any and heard nothing since the late part of the night before and they know that he will not go farther than where Toothless can see and hear him if trouble happens.
There are many trees of varying sizes. Some are smaller or normal size and some are bigger than most trees Hiccup has ever seen.
Somewhere near the edge of the trees and grass some wild hares startle from hiding and bolt down a hole in the ground that Hiccup marks in his mind for later investigation and maybe hunting. He cannot eat raw meat but Toothless can and rabbit fur can be a useful thing against the cold or to line nests.
There are birds as small as his paws flitting through the trees and some of them are noisy and complaining so he thinks there might be nests somewhere in the trees so he looks and climbs some of them hoping for a nest with unhatched eggs but sadly turns up nothing.
At some point, he realizes that the fox from last night has come back and is stalking him thinking it is being sneaky. If it were a wolf he would have been concerned but foxes are small and cowardly so he does not need to fear and easily scares it away. It comes back, staying at a distance he cannot strike from but following and watching him all the same. After three short chases Hiccup gives up and lets the fox follow him because it is no threat and is probably only out to steal food he does not have anyway. Only when the fox gets too comfortable with him and ventures close enough to strike does he leap and chase it again but it is fast and knows what it is doing and it quickly becomes a game of taunt-and-run and the distraction is not a bad one.
It is when Toothless comes out from the nest they have made that the fox flees without coming back this time but the dragon-man is not disappointed at all when his partner-love invites him you we love flying yes rested good relief love love flying up up yes you we fly. Hiccup is still a little hesitant at first but Toothless is confident and he trusts his other half to know when he is good to fly and he obliges so they can take to the air.
Now they can explore the island more properly and they skim the cliffs and over the trees. There are thick woods and open patches of grass and gentle streams with good water for drinking. They sight boars mostly from above and are glad that they have not run into them on the ground because boars are dangerous preythings.
They see no wolves and there are no sea birds anywhere though there are hints of fresher scents now as they fly through the shadow of the mountains. If they are lucky they will still find a nesting-gathering of sea birds with eggs or small chicks. They are not so foolish to raid during the day because sea birds are small but they are many and will defend their nestings fiercely with sharp beaks that sting like bees and leave deeper wounds. Sea birds are clumsy and don't see well at night though and that is when it is a good time for them to raid when they can see better and are harder to see themselves with black scales.
They fly out from beneath the shadow of the cliffs and over open water, ascending to skim along the edge of mountain where it overlooks ocean, and there is a mutually felt tension. It is the tension of being watched and hunted when they cannot see an enemy but they are in the sky where only dragons and birds are and where they are fastest and most comfortable so they are not as wary as they would be on the ground but they are watching for a threat all the same.
It is as they are flying and watching that a movement above catches their eyes, something dropping from the cliffs above.
Hiccup cries a warning and instinctively leans in the same direction as Toothless and they dip away in a hurry as two huge feet lined in deadly claws launch forward from the shape and misses only by a short distance and keeps going down past them. They hear a loud, deep SNAP of air underwing and the attacker swoops back upwards and towards them. They bank sharply, reversion direction with how far they turn and zip past the ambusher with incredibly speed, trying to put distance between them and it. When they finally have, they bank to the side to get a better look.
The attacker is a bird. It is a very BIG bird, at least as big as Cloudjumper! Its feathers appear black with splashes of orange and red all around its head and neck like fire, with red and gold wings and a long and wide tail. It is not a kind of bird they have ever seen though the closest association they can make is that it is a very big crow and crows are much more clever than sea birds and now there is one here that is bigger than them and is hunting them and where there is one attacking crow there are many and they know they have to flee fast now danger bad go go fly threat away!
The big fire-color-crow comes at them and they quickly turn away from it and fly as fast as Toothless's wings can carry them and the bird chases. Their wings pump faster but the bigger bird's wing beats push it farther and there is a moment of indecision. There is open water to one side and the island to the other. If they fly far enough over the ocean it might give up, but they are still too wing-tired from the long flying to make it all the way back. They are smaller and more maneuverable though, and smaller is an advantage because they can reach places that bigger things cannot and hide until it tires and leaves.
They choose the island, but first they must slow down or confuse their pursuer. They weave between the sea fangs and the bird chases them. They immediately weave out towards the sea again, and the bird pursues, but only by weaving through a gap of different sea fangs further out. For as big as it is, it can move fast and turn through the air well, but they are still smaller and more maneuverable and can weave and change direction much better. Toothless flies and Hiccup watches; Hiccup doesn't need to say anything about which way to go, Toothless can feel his tension and the lean of his body, and instinctively they dart between the sea fangs again.
This time when they fly towards the sea, they double back and shoot straight up, following the path of the sea fang towards the sky and cliffs above. It is enough to make the bird lose their trail, only for a few seconds, but enough that it has lost its speed and will not be able to chase them quite so much. Far above, they skim just under the roof of the mountain's maw and dive for the trees, dropping through the sky like a black bolt. It is a risky dive, but it is exhilarating and they are the best flyers! Toothless snaps his wings open and zips into the cover of the trees, and they weave between trunks and through bushes, until finally landing where their speed makes his paws skid.
They hide in the denseness of the forest and Toothless curls his long body around the base of the tree so that the thick branches hide them better and his tail is not sticking out in plain view. It is dark enough under the maw of the mountain that the shadows hide them well enough. The bird flies overhead, but it does not see them easily and they do not move or make a sound like they have seen many a prey thing do and they know from having lost many potential kills that blending and not moving is a good strategy when the lighting and terrain is right.
The bird circles a few times, but it does not attack, so they think their plan to hide and be still must be working. It opens its beak and craws a few times, and there is a whistling sound that they think must be the bird. There are other birds in the forest but they are not crow-birds and are as small as Hiccup's paws and these they pay no mind at first but then they begin to chatter angrily and swarm and attack and sting and bite like bees and even dive and poo.
At first they are nothing but an annoyance to be ignored because the bigger-than-dragon bird above is hunting them but soon there are so many small birds that they cannot see past the flurry of feathers and beaks and swiping at them with claws and quietly snarling and biting is not helping at all. Some of the small birds find their way under Hiccup's outer scales and attack his soft flesh under them and he yelps out.
Having enough, Toothless leaps forward and gallops through the trees because the air is still not a safe place and the birds chase them. It is only when they reach the edge of the trees somewhere off course from where they first flew in and there is nowhere else to hide well that he launches upwards and they fly, quickly outrunning the smaller birds and breaking out towards sea. Toothless's wings are still tired from the long-flight but they will have to make do anyway until there are no more angry bird swarms and giant hunting birds after them.
The huge bird moves to get in their way, but this time they are more ready for it and coordinated. Toothless whistles fire in the back of his throat and send the blast straight for it, not deviating from their path. The bird screeches in alarm and swerves to the side, but the fire catches it in the side of the chest near the wing and send it barreling from the sky and out of their way.
They think this is good and victorious and that they are free to fly far away if they still need to, but something jumps off of the bird's back as soon as they are flying past it. They do not expect it, so they do not react before the thing has crashed on top of them both. Hiccup and Toothless scream in alarm, but the attacking thing which is roughly the same size as Hiccup himself is has its focus more on Hiccup than Toothless and it has sharp claws that pierce him even through his scales, grappling and twisting and rolling so that they leave Toothless's back and careen through open air.
Hiccup is not afraid of falling most times because it is as much a part of flying and that is most of what he knows and lives. He is a dragon and he belongs in the sky, on Toothless's back holding onto the fly-with or soaring with his own wings that he made for himself. Falling is not something he fears, because he has his own wings and he has Toothless to catch him, but now he is falling and fighting as an enemy he does not know digs sharp claws in and holds on tightly and makes no discernible sound.
What parts his eyes catch are alien; there are things that he thinks appear pfikingr in origin and it has legs not unlike his own but there are feathers and a beaked head and claws and scent that reeks of bird and sea; he does not know exactly what he is dealing with but he knows that it is an enemy and he screams and fights to distance himself where he can spread his wings or where Toothless can catch him away from the threat before he can hit the sea because he knows hitting water still hurts and can break bones if it is from too high up.
He claws and fights and kicks and tries to bite his enemy away and eventually it is the one to kick him away and spreads open its own wings that catch air. He wastes no time in doing the same and veers in the other direction. The roar of panic in his ears is louder than an ocean storm, but Toothless's still overrides it and he knows without looking that his dragon-partner is coming to him. He trusts without looking that Toothless will catch him and is rewarded when his other half swoops just beneath him to catch the dragon-boy on his back where he can grab the fly-with and launches forward as fast as his wings can go.
Hiccup spares a glance back, but the large bird is not pursuing, but as soon as he turns to look ahead again, there is movement, and he barely has the time to glance up before another huge bird is upon them, and with a scream, both are caught in its talons and crash beneath the ocean waters.