Disclaimer: Don't own anything. At all.
It all started with a small nudge at the back of his head. So small, he passed it off as nothing. In hindsight, maybe he should've been more cautious about it, but the scarred man threatening his rider was more important.
Horror, sadness, and fury rose up in him as he glared at Drago Bludvist and thought of the recent Bewilderbeasts' battle. Horror at how effortlessly the Dark Alpha killed the Light Alpha, sadness that such a kind dragon soul was stamped out, and fury at Drago in general. Toothless restrained the feelings.
A signal from the dark man brought the aforementioned Alpha to his side. Instead of being intimidated and submissive to the giant, Toothless growled. He could only feel disgust and pity at how easily the king of dragons obeyed Drago, because of fear. Unlike the abomination of a twoleg, Hiccup treated him nicely, as an equal.
Suddenly, the nudge became stronger, with a slight dreamy quality to it, when the Bewilderbeast roared. Toothless ducked his head, pawing at it as the headache increased in strength. He vaguely heard his rider's calls of concern, but ignored him for the time being. The presence seemed to take over his mind, smother his senses, ensnare his consciousness; he felt trapped, and stopped resisting it long enough for it to completely bend him to his will.
An immediate sensation stole over him. It felt like he was floating, every worry, need, and want erased. A feeling of happiness, of bliss, replaced the expunged negative emotions. The sheer wonder of this new experience left Toothless incapacitated for a moment.
The presence in his mind grew fierce, directing his possessed body towards a petite boy, pupils slitted in a sea of yellow-flecked green.
When he came to, all he saw were different shades of white, grey, black, and a dark human in front of him. He was small compared to all the others he'd seen, but there was a threatening air around him, in a way that said 'I can easily kill you.' Rage not of his own rose up and became one with him, ruining his euphoria. He became livid at the loss of his happiness, livid at the figure in front of him. How dare he?
A small whisper of "Kill him," along with a trace of the previous ecstasy was all it took for him to snap for the Twig's blood.
The presence disappeared, satisfied with himself. The Dark Alpha watched with mounting delight when the Night Fury's pupils remained constricted, and he kept stalking the boy like prey. His rider would be pleased.
As Toothless closed in, he made sure to spread his wings and bare his teeth, getting the desired effect as he observed the salty tang of fear strengthen. His tail whipped in excitement. Intense heat burned his belly, wanting out.
Hiccup watched in panic as his best friend opened his maw, charging up his blue plasma fire, preparing to release. He scrabbled backwards into an ice shard, thrusting a shaking hand out in front of him in an ultimately futile attempt to keep the hunting dragon at bay. He could hear his father's calls to his left, heavy feet pounding, and it was too late, too late...
He held up his other hand in the universal signal for stop in Stoick's direction a heartbeat before the fireball was unleashed.
Toothless sat back with great relief and relish when he let go of the glowing orb. He waited for his cloud nine, to no avail. His body slowly relaxed from its tension, sensing no immediate danger, and became more alert to his surroundings. Black slits dilated to normal size, rapidly taking in the many different colors again. The first thing he realized was the small, huddled shape in front of him. The second thing he realized was the smoke and vapor that clouded his vision, and the hard-shiny-grey material's tang mixed with salt. The Night Fury tilted his head in child-like confusion at the strange sight and smell.
The third thing he realized... Was that there was a hint of a familiar scent. Of a loving hatchling-now-adolescent with emerald-green eyes, wearing a skin just like his! The scent of his rider, so faint and tainted with burning and pain.
A questioning noise emitted from the dragon when his rider's parents came running to the now definitively distinguishable black shape on the ground, pieces of bright blue ice lying around it. Tears were already streaming down the female rider's softly pointed face. Salt-water only started dribbling down the Viking chief's after he laid his ear against that bony chest, so much like a... a twig. He refused to accept his half-formed theory. He would never hurt his rider.
He crawled towards his rider, belly scraping against the frozen crystals that served as the ground, nose snuffling. Toothless flinched back when the chief snapped at him to stay away, but crept closer again when Female Rider calmed the big man, saying, "It's not his fault. You know that." That phrase only served to confuse him more. What wasn't his fault?
His brain went into overdrive, putting together clues and devising a theory; no, the truth. His original hypothesis went out the window, being untrue. The Alpha took him over, and ordered him to shoot at his rider. Of course, Hiccup was alright; they'll fix him again. But one thing struck him, one unacceptable fact, that caused adrenaline to rush through his veins again. The undeserving Alpha hurt his rider. It was all. His. Fault.
Fire erupted in him, sweeping from tail fin to nose-tip. A long, bellowing roar echoed throughout and around the now silent island as blood-red tinted his vision, unwittingly challenging the scarred Bewilderbeast for dominance and bloodlust.
Beady eyes gleamed as he accepted the challenge, preparing his slow-charging flames. Too late, he realized, when it was struck with many blistering shots in the span of a few seconds.
"It's your fault, you flightless lizard! It's your fault!" Toothless stood up on his hind legs and spread out his wings to appear bigger and to keep his balance, shooting off searing hot plasma blasts. The other hypnotized dragons slowly regained their sense of self and joined the Night Fury as flame after flame hit the Bewilderbeast. They watched in awed horror as the blue-glowing dragon single-handedly obliterated the giant, eventually leaping onto his target and sharpening his claws on whatever loose scales he could find. The beast soon retreated into the ocean, badly injured.
Toothless, however, was still thirsting for blood, and set his sights on the next best thing: Drago and his troops. Soon, the island was a burning mess, with everybody alive keeping well away from the now sated and tired dragon.
Green eyes stared morosely at his rider's home. Hiccup's parents never let anybody in, and never came out. Everybody carried on with their normal routine, not in the least worried about anything. He had sat a ways away from the wooden house, watching it closely for the past week. It was taking a long time to fix his rider. He was okay though. Or he was going to be. Then they'd fly again, just like last time.
He gave an excited squeal when Female Rider walked out of the house, carefully and quietly closing the door. She startled when Toothless bounded up to her and danced around her, the most movement he'd done in awhile. He was quickly deflated when Valka said, "Hiccup... He's... still healing," and left to check on her own dragon flock, unwilling to tell him the truth.
A deep whine vibrated in his throat. Had he really hurt his rider that much? He should've been careful; he knew what Alphas were like, what they did! His head dipped and bobbed as he dragged his paws towards the forest, avoiding any Viking and dragon he happened to come across.
The clawed feet instinctively followed a path unfamiliar to his conscious brain; the path that led to the cove he had been trapped in when he was shot down. He laid down next to it, not allowing himself to jump or fall into it. Hiccup might not know he was down there when he was better, then he'd be stuck!
Toothless struggled to stay awake as day turned to night, but his eyelids gradually closed, and darkness clouded his vision.
He awoke with his mouth wide open mid-yawn. Bright sunlight streamed past tree branches and rock cliffs, chasing shadows to the very edge of the cove and piercing his eyes. The obsidian dragon got to his feet and stretched like a cat, freezing when he felt his tail brush against something that wasn't a tree, rock, bush, or dirt. Curiosity reanimated him, and he twisted around himself to see warm green eyes staring at him.
The sleek creature immediately engaged Hiccup in games, tagging him and running away, knocking him over (and helping him up afterwards), drawing, short flies across the forest (not too far, Hiccup still needed rest), and racing (he went easy on his rider). What was best of all was that he seemed completely unharmed from his recent... roasting. The only strange thing was that he never made a sound, whether vocally or by scraping against some material. Maybe that was the harm? Was that even possible? Toothless dismissed it soon enough. Worrying was no good when there was nothing to worry about anyway. If his rider could play, then he was fine in his book.
Hours later, the two parted, Toothless back to the village and Hiccup back to... wherever and whatever he had to go and do.
His antics with his rider, coupled with the noises they (he) made, caused him to be ignorant to the sound of skin against leaves. Dark blue eyes peered out of the undergrowth and watched the lone Night Fury with concern.
The next day, early in the morning, a shadow-like dragon slunk out of Berk, careful to avoid making any sounds. The Vikings would question his motives if they found him. A 20-year-old blonde followed unnoticed. This was too reminiscent of Hiccup sneaking off a few years ago.
Astrid's interest was piqued when they followed the exact same path leading to the cove where the Night Fury had crashed. Now it served as a sort of playground for any hatchlings that decided to stay after Snoggletog. But Toothless didn't go to the boxed in clearing, he stayed clear of it and trotted even further away from town, only stopping at a big patch of bare land. He seemed to be alone, so she stepped out of the forest behind him.
He scented his rider's mate. How did she get here? Did she follow him? He turned inquisitive eyes towards her. What?
Astrid looked downcast. A deep breath, then, "Hiccup is gone."
No. No. Hiccup was fine; he was playing with him yesterday! He was just healing, just recuperating. She was lying. As if in answer, a small, scarred hand patted his head.
"He died when you... You know... We had his funeral two nights ago. We were going to get you, but nobody knew where you were."
His rider wasn't dead! He wasn't even hurt! He was right there! Didn't she see him? A cross between a growl and a whine sounded deep within his throat to get her attention. Green orbs darted from her to Hiccup and back again, willing for her to notice her mate. All he got was a sad and confused look.
Toothless huffed at her retreating back, turning his own to her to face Hiccup. There was an unreadable expression on his rider's face that quickly turned into that boyish excitement he always loved. He didn't know what to make of the mask, and so brushed it aside.
That day, they played with some of the older hatchlings. He had taken a liking to one male green Deadly Nadder. It was intelligent for its age, easily fighting and defeating his brothers and sister one-by-one by darting around and nipping them, then flicking not-yet-potent poisonous tail spikes directly at their head, only strong enough to knock them out. The Night Fury nicknamed him Spikeleaf. Hiccup, on the other hand, wasn't having such a great time. The baby dragons seemed to avoid and ignore him. He didn't seem to mind though.
Five days later, two weeks after the accident, his rider seemed to glow with health. Maybe he really was, but Toothless completely dismissed it. Over the past week, Hiccup stayed with him longer and longer, and now... They were ready to fly, truly fly again. He could feel it.
His rider sensed it too, and beckoned him towards Raven Point. Over the years, he'd picked up on the names of the places in Berk.
Before long, they made it to their favorite takeoff area: a seaside cliff nearby town. The area was sparsely littered with pine trees. The sea-breezes made it particularly easy or challenging to fly, depending on the winds' mood. Close to land, it would be simple to jump and let the winds catch them, but the farther out they got, the harsher conditions became. It was exhilarating, especially after fourteen days.
Hiccup was wearing his special Night Fury skin, the skin he wore when riding Toothless. This only served to excite him more. He obligingly hunkered down long enough for his rider to get on, holding his wing down like a handrail to help his handicapped friend.
A faint pat on his head told him they were ready. He didn't feel the fake tail fin snap open, or the sound of metal foot clinking into the metal foot-pedal. He trusted his rider though. Big, inky black wings and fins spread wide, prepared to fall and become one with his rider and sky.
"Wait!"
Dragon (and in turn human) swung around to face the voice's owner. It was his rider's mate.
"Toothless, you can't fly without somebody helping you." There was a desperate note, or maybe it was just worry or anger. He growled lightly. Was she blind? There was somebody helping him. Hiccup! But his rider's mate wasn't getting it. Maybe her eyes got burned or something.
"He's right here!"
"Toothless, please... You're all I've got from him."
An irritated rumble was all she got.
"Hiccup... He's gone. Whatever you're seeing... Feeling... Is a hallucination."
A tail twitch. The obsidian dragon flipped around again, but faltered. Sorrowful green eyes stared at her for a moment, a hint of regret in his deep eyes.
He took off.
"TOOTHLESS!"
It was calming, yet his racing heart said otherwise. His wings adjusted with the beat of the sky, gliding high over the Scauldrons, Thunderdrums, and Seashockers swimming in the sea. However, Astrid's scream startled him. The Night Fury wobbled. Then the rough winds hit.
A yowl ripped itself from his throat, one of pure fear. The pressure on his back disappeared, reminding him of that accident. The sky pushed and pulled back and forth, like a toy, not letting him right himself again. It ripped at his wings, clawed at his body. Finally, mercifully, it stopped for a moment, allowing him to flail and marvel at the still air. Then gravity took its toll and dragged him down into the deep blue.
He twisted around so he wouldn't face the water, unwilling to see the upcoming danger and to see where his rider had gone. Hiccup wasn't anywhere to be found.
Freezing water knocked the breath out of his lungs, hauling his light body to the seafloor. Salt water clouded his senses, filling his nose and mouth. His eyes stung, almost like he was crying (not possible, dragons couldn't cry), and his body sluggishly whipping around, desperate for its assured survival.
The last thing he saw was empty sky and Astrid reaching down to him. The last thing he felt was cold arms embracing his neck.
Two Years Later
The female chief dragon tamer stood in front of a statue, teens crowding around her to see. "This is the statue of the first dragon tamer and the first tamed dragon known to Berk. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Toothless the Night Fury."
The novice tamers 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the stone. A sleek dragon was standing proudly on all-fours, magnificent wings spread wide, mouth open and poised to flame. It only had one tail fin. A tall-yet-skinny man kneeled next to him, hand on the dragon's neck. A spiked mask covered his whole face but his eyes.
Two figures appeared in front of the statue after the horde of kids and teacher left. They didn't cast a shadow on the ground, despite the bright sun. One was a reptilian shadow himself, the other a young male, arms crossed.
"So, Toothless, what do you think?"
A warble. "Oh please, everybody's going to think I have no teeth now."
"That's why your name is Toothless, Toothless," Hiccup chuckled.
Black ear flaps laid flat against his head, back arching like a feline's. Legs tensed as if to jump, but instead took off, grabbing a laughing Hiccup in the process.
Rider eventually made it to his dragon's back, and they soared high, disappearing into the clouds, never to be seen again.
A/N: This started when I thought of the idea of dragons unable to live long without their rider, from the Inheritance Cycle, and realized I haven't written an HtTYD2 'what if.' Tell me what you think and R&R!