A/N: This fic doesn't tie into 'Before Hiccup' or its sequel (which I'm still currently writing) but it does take part in the same universe.
Disclaimer: I do not own the How To Train Your Dragon Franchise (books or films). I'm not making any money from this fic.
Something was wrong with Toothless.
He had never acted this way. In a way it was worse than when they first met. At least then Toothless openly despised him. Now he was secretive. So, something was very, very wrong.
It was the third time Toothless had disappeared this week. Everyone had noticed. Astrid was sympathetic for a Viking. Fishlegs was worried for Meatlug as his imagination ran away with him into thinking there were dragon kidnappers going around. But that couldn't be the case; Toothless always came back. After several hours but he did.
As for the twins – Ruffnut and Tuffnut – and Snoutlout. They couldn't really care less but took great amusement from Hiccup's distress. They teased him relentlessly and constantly made jokes about hunting for a shadow. Har har, not.
His dad. He was a completely different story. He thought the dragons were going rogue. That Hiccup and the other dragon riders were losing control over them. That wasn't – couldn't – be true. It was only Toothless that disappeared. All the other dragons stayed where they were supposed to. It was just Hiccup having problems with his dragon. It worried him considerably. They had always understood each other perfectly. Someone said once that it was like they could read each other's minds.
At the moment Hiccup was out in the woods looking for him. He knew it was pointless but he could not, do nothing. A Night Fury would never show itself if it didn't want to be seen. Hiccup learnt that the hard way.
As he walked he found he was walking a familiar path. The path that led to the cove. Where he and Toothless had first met, where Hiccup fixed his tail, gained his trust, learnt to fly (again in Toothless' case) and in the end where they became best friends.
Hiccup felt tears prick in his eyes. Could it be that Toothless didn't want to be his friend anymore? Hiccup knew that was a ridiculous thought; their bond was unbreakable but the thought was still there – eating away at him.
Just one hour more, then I'll go back. Hiccup thought to himself. You never know, maybe he's come back already. He snorted out loud in laughter at the thought startling some birds in the trees around him. Yeah, right. Hiccup shook his head and turned to head back the way he had come. He came face to face with teal eyes. They jumped out from the black scales the dragon had. Hiccup suppressed a scream and backed away slowly.
Being a so called 'Dragon Conqueror' he knew to be wary of unfamiliar dragons. If and when it came out into the light he would be able to identify its breed and proceed from there. But it didn't. The dragon stayed were it was, watching him. It blinked occasionally but other than that it made no movement, just watching.
It unnerved Hiccup. He had never seen a dragon be so still. He was frozen in place by the dragon's eyes. Except for the colour they were incredibly similar to Toothless'.
He was about to reach his hand out to the dragon like he had done with Toothless all those months ago when a sharp short whistle sounded. The dragon's head snapped up and turned in the direction the whistle had come from. It paused for half a heartbeat and then with a rush of wings it was gone.
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief finally free of his starring prison. Toothless would definitely be back by now, Hiccup had lost track of time in his starring match with the dragon.
As he headed back towards the village he realised that he never found out what breed of dragon it was. He smiled. He had a reason to go looking for it again.
It was a few days later and Toothless had disappeared again. This time Hiccup was determined to find him and then that other dragon. Hiccup had started to think him imagined the whole thing so he had to be sure the dragon was real. Or not. Just to put his mind at ease.
He found the place where he thought he met the other dragon. It wasn't there. Hiccup was disheartened but decided to look around the area a bit. Maybe find its nest.
As he wondered through the woods lost in his own thoughts and plans of how to win this new dragons trust he heard the unmistakable cry of the Night Fury. Toothless! It sounded like it had come from the direction of the cove. If Toothless had fallen in there he wouldn't be able to get back out!
Hiccup ran. His thoughts consumed with saving his dragon – his best friend. He hit branches out of the way, tripped over things in his haste and skidded to a stop just before he fell over the edge himself.
What he saw shocked him and took his breath away. It was beautiful and incredibly dangerous.
He saw the inky blackness of Toothless and another inky black creature that was dragon shaped. They heard his gasp and both heads snapped up to his. Toothless' green eyes looked guilty but it was the other dragons that held his attention. They were teal.
The other dragon was a Night Fury.
Hiccup backed away slowly in his shock. Another Night Fury! He thought they were all gone apart from Toothless. He had never seen any other than him. Maybe it was because Toothless wasn't from the Barbaric Archipelago. The world was big, if trying to map it proved anything so maybe Toothless wasn't a local dragon like Terrible Terrors or Deadly Nadders. It was possible that Toothless could be from somewhere completely different. He could have a family – a mother.
In that moment Hiccup made up his mind. He needed a forge.
He ignored everyone for several days. They all wondered what was wrong with him. Astrid brought him food but he didn't eat it. He was fully focused on his task. Gobber brought him metal and leather when he asked for it and those were the only times he spoke.
Stoick was worried. Hiccup didn't come home. He slept in the workshop and was up with the sunrise and slept when the sun set. He hadn't seen Toothless in days either but he wasn't with Hiccup.
The sound of hammering, sawing, quenching, ripping and the fire roaring were the only sounds that could be heard from the workshop. Hiccup was tired but the quicker he finished his task the quicker he would be happy again.
He made two in the end. A spare, just in case. He tested the cogs. Filed them so they would run smoother. Treated the leather so it was strong and would last for many years to come. And finally they were done. Two mechanical tail fins.
He left under the cover of darkness. No-one saw him go and that was the point. He didn't want anyone to know about the other Night Fury. He could only imagine a billion horrible situations if the other Viking's found out about it.
He reached the cove in record time considering the blackness of the night and the heavy load he was carrying. As he climbed down the sun was starting to rise. They would notice he was gone soon, when there wasn't any hammering or fire roaring. He had to move quickly.
Toothless was glad to see him. It was apparent from the way he collapsed on top of him in, what was for Toothless, a hug. The other Night Fury was still wary but seemed to recognise him and trusting in Toothless' judgement came closer. Now that it was closer and Hiccup wasn't frozen in place he could see that this dragon's face was more feminine then Toothless'. This dragon was a girl.
The dragon nodded at him slightly in a very human gesture for a dragon. Hiccup smiled slowly not wanted to startle her.
He moved to the back of Toothless and started to remove the tail he had made for him, the one he controlled when they flew. Toothless curious at what he was doing kept turning around to try an look but it resulted in them just moving around in circles. He told Toothless to stay still which he did. The female Night Fury watched in confusion. After a while of removing and tightening straps and making sure the tail was in the right position to get the most lift and was as aerodynamic as it could be; Hiccup lent back to admire his handy work. It was perfect Toothless would be able to fly by himself now.
The thought made Hiccup a little sad but ultimately proud of himself. Toothless was free to go back to whichever part of the world he came from.
"Okay Bud," Hiccup said as he came back round to face Toothless "All done. You can fly by yourself now. You can go home." He patted Toothless gently on the head and turned to leave, not wanting to be there when Toothless flew away.
Then Toothless did something that neither Hiccup nor the female Night Fury were expecting. He turned and furiously fought with the tail fin. He clawed and bit at it. Thrashed it against the ground and dragged across the rocky wall of the cove. In short he destroyed it.
Hiccup stood there open mouthed. All that work for about half a minute of it being used!
After it was destroyed enough to Toothless' satisfaction he sat down and looked at Hiccup in a way that said 'Why'd you do that?'
"I – I did it so you could be free. You obviously have a family somewhere." He choked out gesturing at the other Night Fury.
Toothless cocked his head to one side in a 'you idiot' manner. If it wasn't apparent already Toothless considered Hiccup his home now. Besides how was Hiccup to know that he didn't have a home to go back to? How was he to know that Caramel had come to tell him that they were the last?
Hiccup reattached the tail fin he controlled and was back to his normal self. The village didn't know what had happened but they didn't question it. Only Astrid wouldn't leave it alone but that was just how Astrid was.
They disappeared together now. One moment they were there, the next gone. Astrid tried to follow him but even Stromfly wasn't quick enough to catch the shadow that was a Night Fury.
He never disappeared far; only to the cove. If Astrid tried hard enough she would have found them. Hiccup and Toothless and the female Night Fury he had called Bright Light because of her eyes. It didn't take long for Hiccup to win her trust. If Toothless liked him then he was okay by her.
One night in winter next to the fire he had made Hiccup led there gently running his fingers over the mechanical tail fin he had hidden in the cove and smiled – just in case. He looked at Toothless and Bright Light in the fire light. They appeared to be dancing. If dragons could dance.
He always wondered why Bright Light had stayed. It had clicked one day, he didn't know what made him think of it but as soon as he did he knew it to be true. She stayed because they didn't want to leave the other alone. They were all they had left in the world now. They were the last of the Night Furies.
He smiled again, slowly, sadly as he watched them by the flames. He would cherish them and love them for as long as he had them.
His two shadows.
A/N: Let me know you think of this one.
Not really much to say other than it was a plot bunny that came to me one night.
I hope you enjoyed it!