Feared. He'd always been feared, whether it was among his own kind or by the Vikings that they raided to feed the constant hunger of their queen. Who, really, was the only one who didn't fear him. Why would she?
He had a reason to be feared, though. He had dead shot accuracy, for one thing. A large shot-limit. Scales that hid him in the darkness, making him deadly. Needle sharp teeth that could be snapped out at will, and, he didn't like to brag, but he was the best- and fastest- flier in Berk. Feared by all.
But then came that small, wimpy, stick of a Viking. His Viking. The first Viking to ever set a dragon free, not kill it. And that had puzzled Toothless. Why? The young Viking had feared him, he proved that by trembling, but he had let him go. The Viking who took his tail fin, rendered him flightless, formed a bond with him, helped him fly again.
Helped him kill their queen, and free the dragons from their slavery.
Toothless lifted his head from his paws, yawning in contentment. He was currently stretched out in front of Hiccups home, which the boy still lay inside of, unconscious. Toothless shook himself out and rose, stretching his legs forwards. How long had he been asleep? Clearly not long enough, seeing as Hiccup still wasn't with him. The Night Fury scowled, and turned around, pressing his head against the door, trying to push it open so he could see Hiccup.
No good. Sure, he could always knock the door down, or burn it off, but he was pretty sure that the bigger Viking that lived with Hiccup (maybe his father? He never paid enough attention, but the two had seemed close at the battle) wouldn't appreciate it in the slightest. They were still walking a tight line between acceptance and banishment, and Toothless did not want to be the one that caused it to break over the simple destruction of a doorway.
Toothless gave a small sigh, closing his large green eyes. Hiccup had been unconscious for over a week now, and he missed him. Sure, he was there, just inside, but he wasn't…well, there. Not there to fly, or to give him fish, or do anything! Hiccups mate…Astrid, he thought it was? Yes, Astrid. Now he remembered- the one that pushed Hiccup around. Astrid had tried to take him for a flight to keep his mind, and most likely hers as well, off of the absence of Hiccup. But, her lack of knowledge of the controlling of his tail fin had eventually ended up with Toothless coming down fast into a crash and bruising his nose, and the poor girl being flung clear off his back and into a puddle of mud, since she hadn't bothered to strap herself onto his saddle (he doubted she realized it was there).
They were freed from embarrassment though, seeing as only the twins has seen the incident, and a quick small fireball from Toothless exploding at their feet had silenced their laughter. The twins were stupid, but not idiots.
But that had been a couple of days ago, and he hadn't seen the blonde Viking girl since, except for when he spotted her riding atop her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. She seemed slightly more attached to Stormfly than the other Vikings were to their dragons, and, until Hiccup was back, he knew, she spent the most time in the air. Practicing, learning, bonding. She stove to be the best, and this wasn't any acceptance.
The adults still didn't have dragons, he knew. Decades upon decades of them fighting each other wasn't about to clear so easily, but they were all more comfortable around each other then they normally would be. Only the teenagers had dragons, since the arena ones were much more tame than the ones who flocked to Berk from the Isle after realizing they weren't going to be slaughtered.
"Oi, there ye are, ye big brute," Gobbers' voice rang out strong, and Toothless opened his eyes, spotting the man hobbling up the hill, his hand its normal hook. Nervously, Toothless eyed the peg leg that clunked along the ground in place of Gobbers' foot. Would Hiccup have to wear something like that? He certainly hoped not! It didn't have a foots curve, and so it wouldn't be able to control his tail fin, which meant no more flying!
"Been lookin' fer you," Gobber huffed, reaching the dragon, "the doctor says Hiccup should be wakin' up soon, and I figgured you'd want to be there when he did, eh?" He laughed. "Stoick said ye can go in, s'long as ye don't break nothing."
Toothless cooed, and bounced slightly, trying to show the Viking he wouldn't do anything of the sort. Gobber shook his head at him in wonder, still not seeming to grasp the fact the dragons understood him, and turned the knob with his hook, letting Toothless inside.
Toothless pushed past him, staring around in wonder. "I'll tell the others he'll be comin' 'round soon," Gobber said, and closed the door, leaving Toothless alone.
Toothless looked around the room curiously. So, this is where Hiccup lived? He started to nose around the place, being careful of his wings and tail- he didn't want anyone mad at him. His trek led him to stairs, which, with a sniff, told him led to Hiccup. He pulled himself up them, only to growl in irritation. Another door. He pushed it, and to his surprise it opened up, unlocked. He went through without hesitation, just in case it swung shut on him.
A happy rumble left his throat as he spotted Hiccup, but it died to one of concern as he noticed how pale and sickly looking he seemed. Burns stretched across his face from the battle, and Toothless leaned down, giving one a small lick. Hiccup shifted slightly.
Toothless sat up straight, and wiggled slightly in excitement. Hiccup! He rumbled, before leaning down and nudging his Viking, making a noise of delight as the boys eyes opened, and he weakly tried to fend Toothless' nudges off him.
"Hey, Toothless…" he muttered. "'m happy to see you too, buddy!" he laughed lightly as Toothless nudged him again. Toothless licked at him, before jumping away- accidentally pressing a foot down on Hiccups' stomach. The boy sat up sharply, clutching it with a hiss of pain that quickly turned to one of bewilderment. Toothless watched as Hiccup swiveled around in his bed, confused. "Ah…I'm in my house," his gaze fell on Toothless, and the dragon wiggled in excitement. "You're…in my house…"
Toothless couldn't contain himself any longer. He jumped up, and bolted in a circle around the room, leaping from object to object. "Yes, yes, I know you're here-" Hiccup exclaimed, misunderstanding. Toothless jumped close, and licked at Hiccup again, "Ah yes, yes-" Toothless jumped away before Hiccup could finish, leaping around again. Hiccup was awake! Hiccup was alive! He couldn't help himself! The Viking boy cried a few more things out at him, but Toothless ignored him before the boy fell silent. Toothless looked down from the rafter he was perched on as the boys face grew somber. He pulled up the blankets finally, and Toothless jumped down, giving a croon of concern. He cocked his head as Hiccup stared down, before looking back up and slowly sliding his legs off the bed. First his booted one, and then the cold, metal prosthetic that replaced his other foot.
It squeaked unnaturally as it made contact with the floor, and Toothless bent down to sniff at it, looking confused. He lifted his head again, and made eye contact with Hiccup, who was breathing heavily from the shock. He shook his head, before reaching out for a bedpost and pulling himself to his feet. He sucked in a breath, and took a few hesitant steps forwards before crying out in surprise as it slipped out from under him.
He landed against Toothless' quick moving head. The dragon rumbled, pushing his boy back to his feet, and slowly turned him, getting him moving.
"Thanks, bud," Hiccup said quietly, and Toothless glanced up at him, giving a rumble.
Hiccup had helped him, and nothing in the world would stop Toothless from returning the favor.