After the crash. The Tale of Toothless.

This story is an attempt to fill the gap in the movie HTTYD 1 between Stoic finding the wounded Toothless and Hiccup, and the final scene of Hiccup being woken up by Toothless at home. I wrote it as a 'missing scene', true to the movie.

How does Toothless cope, waking up surrounded by his enemies, badly bruised as he is, drifting in and out of consciousness, only days after his brutal capture?

How do people and dragons get together? How do they survive and get home again?

What makes Toothless eventually go into a fit of rage, creating once more a hostile confrontation between dragon and men, Stoick in particular?

Toothless shares it with us, in his dragon-way of understanding things.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks.

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Don't take my friend away!

I know whom he grieves for, the Redbeard, who is down on his knees in front of me. This mighty warrior, chief of his tribe. It is for his son who he thinks is lost. Although in a daze, I register the shock and sorrow in his eyes. Then he speaks to me with deep regret and I cannot but open my wings and reveal to him his precious son, my precious friend. The Redbeard gathers him from me. He shouts his relief at finding his son alive. I knew he was alive, as I would have sensed death in him immediately. The humans behind him start shouting also, the noise rings painfully in my ears. The Redbeard reaches out to me. No need to avoid his hand, it is benign as are his words. But the weight of it makes my head sink back to the ground. Someone else approaches. It is the man with the unnatural limbs, by the smell of it. Then I become aware of something I smelled all along: blood. Not mine, I know the smell of that when my tailfin had been ripped off. So it must be my friend's!

You are wounded!

Panicked, I look up to see him being carried off. No, don't take him away from me. No! Frantically I try to get on my legs but they buckle under me. I call after my friend, only to be surprised at how feeble it sounds. Astrid approaches, kneels next to me uttering soothing words. NO! Hiccup! As I struggle in vain, she touches my head, strokes me, and some calm settles. But I cannot prevent myself from calling out again. Then many humans approach us. They look down on me, crowd me.

Enemies.

I want to defend myself, but my weakness confuses me. Never before have I been weak like this, too feeble to cast fire. Fear spreads in me, as I know fear by now. Then Astrid speaks up and they back away. Relieved I close my eyes. I keep smelling Astrid. She does not leave me.

Drifting… floating…

I am soaring high as I often do. Riding the winds all night long under the stars that shine radiantly above. Being one with the beauty all around…

But the oneness isn't present somehow. An unease troubles me, something is wrong… What is it? Nothing comes to mind. I find my body throbbing with pain… why? I'm becoming aware of many scents. One scent is important: my friend's, that's his smell… It makes the unease ebb away. But the pain remains and continues to roll in waves through my body. The smell of my friend is soothing… but also… not right. There is the alarm smell of blood.

Blood!

With a jerk I wake up and scan around in a flash: there he is! In the arms of the Redbeard, bundled in a wrap. I sense the host of humans around, but block it out immediately. Nothing matters but my friend. My eyes lock on the bundle. I crane my neck to get a better smell, as I seem unable to get up. The Redbeard approaches and carefully places my friend in front of me. Then he opens the wrap and I see what is missing. A strip of cloth has been neatly woven around the wound, though blood seeps to the surface. Then I observe the stillness of the body.
The Redbeard wraps him up again, sits down a few steps away and carefully places the bundle next to him. He is alive, then, and they brought him to me!

Relief takes the edge off the pain. It's the time of evening, the sky darkens. Astrid has gone. When I gaze at the bundle, memories start to flood my brain: seeing him fall down into the roaring fire. How I dived after him, grabbing him and slamming him to my body. How I closed my wings around him to protect him from the searing heat. Plummeting helplessly to earth, spinning around and around before crashing into darkness.

"Toothless!"

A strong voice pulls me out of the void. Resonantly, it calls out my name. My name! In sheer surprise my eyes fly open. It's the Redbeard again, my friend still lying next to him. I find my bruised body has stiffened, the pain a dull roar. I'm thirsty, my mouth is parched. Time has passed, it is almost midnight now.

Why did he wake me up? A fire burns nearby, the heat billows over my skin, a treat. Then water is placed before me. Water! I greedily lap it up. It's soothing, as is the kindness. So different from when I got nothing to drink since they hoisted me on board of the ship. How long ago is that? Two moons? Three? After observing the bundle with my friend, stillness there, I set eyes on the Redbeard.

We share a long gaze, probing each other. This powerful male, my mortal enemy until just a few hours ago, and now for the love of his son not my enemy anymore. I see that. Also the conflicting emotions about that; he has not yet come to terms with it. It is the same with me though. We unlock our gaze, it is… well for now. Well enough.
Understanding dawns when he gets up and with a deliberate gesture places my friend once more in front of me. It instantly warms my heart. Quickly I scan his face: you wish Hiccup to be close to me! You will not separate us again! He sees I understand and nods a confirmation. I look down onto the pale face of my friend and ever so softly brush his cheek.

My friend, be well. I will stay close to you, they let me!

Then he picks him up again. After a sigh of sheer relief I curl up as well as possible and close my eyes. Before long I find myself floating up high again, bathing in starlight, soaring the heavens in bliss.

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