Snow
Winter is one of my favourite times of year. There's snow, there's Snoggletog, and there's plenty of cheer to go around. It's made a little less bitingly cold by the addition of Toothless- his warm fire can stop me from shivering whatever the weather. This is our first winter celebration with the dragons as our friends. It's going to be something really special, I just know it. It's going to be our first winter when we can all live without fear of being raided, without fear of starving to death because our food supplies have been stolen by rogue reptiles.
What could be bad about it?
I wake up to the feel of warm breath huffing on my face. This is Toothless' gentle way of waking me up. If he's feeling playful, he'll pull off my blanket and let me freeze or squash me with his paws.
"Hey, hey. Okay. I'm awake." I open my eyes and pull the warm nose closer. Pulling Toothless into a brief hug, I shiver as I leave the coziness of his body heat. Getting up, I glance at the skylight, and catch a glimpse of fresh snow lining our roof. Toothless jumps up, clinging to the rafters. His weight shakes the beam and causes a wedge of snow to slide off the roof, landing on the (presumably snow-covered) ground below.
"Looks like a snow day, bud," I say, leading the way down the stairs. Toothless coos in agreement, bounding enthusiastically down the stairs with one graceful leap. I quickly eat some breakfast and Toothless scoffs down some fish; in super- quick time, we are ready to face a day of fun in the snow.
Most days, we like to fly around the island and see the sights. Today, all the houses and trees are coated in a thick blanket of snow, and it's a wonderful winter scene. We land on the gentle slope of one of the larger hills around Berk. I jump off, and am immediately assaulted by a mound of snow. Once I've managed to work all the freezing snow and ice from my clothes (seriously, although my woolly vest is supremely warm, it's really bad for a snowball fight), I ball up some snow of my own. It's freezing against my fingers, but it won't stop me getting my revenge. I finish rolling a small snowball, then quickly turn and launch it towards Toothless. Unfortunately, my prosthetic skids on the powdery snow (ironic, isn't it? I've got no grip on the surface that occurs most often on Berk. I really should consider re-designing it) and I fall to the ground as I lob the snowball, turning its graceful trajectory into a rubbish anti climactical splat on the ground. Toothless looks at me, an amused expression on his face, and I quickly roll another snowball and lob it in his direction. This time, it almost makes it to its target before it's vapourised by a blue flame.
I get to my feet, and run until I am right next to Toothless. From there, I grab a handful of snow and stuff it down the gap between his saddle and his body. Toothless squeals as the icy substance trickles down his back.
"Haha!" I exclaim triumphantly. "Gotcha!" Toothless' only reply is a loud squeal. He digs his forepaws into the snow and launches another wave of snow at me. I dodge it, although not very well, the snow just catching my right side as I swerve left.
As I regain my balance, another huge mound of snow is dumped directly from above. I'm covered up to my waist.
"Toothless!" I yell. I was okay with the thrown snow, but having such a great amount of snow thrown on me was taking it a little too far. Above me, a voice laughs.
"Gotcha!" Astrid shouts down from the back of Stormfly, the latter flapping her wings and lifting them higher.
"I'll get my revenge!" I yell up at her, my shouts being joined by a threatening squeal from Toothless. "And Toothless just said he'd be delighted to help!"
"Oh, I'm so scared!" she shouts back down, her voice accompanied by a roar from Stormfly. Toothless, always the one to want to outdo every dragon, lets out a louder squeal. Stormfly replies, and Toothless squeals as loudly as he can in return. Stormfly roars, the pair of them getting more and more worked up. Toothless lets rip with an almighty roar, the likes of which I have not heard since before I befriended him.
Suddenly, behind me an ominous rumbling noise can be heard. I turn to face the mountainside, and I see something I don't really want to. I don't want to see it, because the tale usually goes that it's the last thing you ever see. That's right- the unstoppable wall of snow that barrels down on you.
I should have known. I should have seen that any loud noises would disturb the fresh sprinkling of snow. I should have stopped the roars when I had the chance.
Now, it's too late. Our jovial outing has turned into a disaster.
The snow comes free from the mountainside with a boom, and it starts sliding downwards with a mighty force; I begin to run, but I know I can never outrun the onrushing snow. Beside me, Toothless is frantically running too, nudging me madly to try and get me to climb aboard. I reach out my hands to grab the saddle, but my stupid leg skids again, and I fall flat on my face.
Toothless slides to a halt, frantically scrambling back up towards me. I wave him away.
"Go! Go! Leave me here and go!" I can't bear for my best friend to stay and die with me when he could save himself. Toothless comes right up to me, pushing his snout at me once more. I pat it gently.
"I'm sorry, bud, but you need to leave. Now." With one last fleeting touch of my skin on his, I push him away and turn to face my fate. I hear the flapping of wings behind me, and I know that my best friend has made the right choice and saved himself. I stay seated on the icy ground, staring down the wall of snow as it rushes up to meet me. The last thing I see as I close my eyes, prepared to be welcomed at the hall of the gods, is the white snow, then a sudden blackness.
I keep my eyes closed for a while. I'm wondering if this is what it's like to be dead. I mean, nobody can ever tell us what it's like or anything. I didn't even feel myself die. It's weird, because I'd always thought that you'd feel the last moment, and then there would be oblivion. But I experienced neither. I didn't feel the force of the snow crushing me; I can still think and feel the ground beneath my feet.
From this, I can only conclude that I am, in fact, not dead.
But how?
I open my eyes a crack, only to see nothing but black. It's dark and cold, but I'm not surrounded by snow. It's almost like I'm in... a teepee of some description. I stretch out my legs tentatively, then get to my feet. I walk around the perimeter of the strange tent, then I slowly reach out a hand to touch the blackness.
I recoil in shock the second my hand makes contact with the black, because the sensation is unmistakeable.
It's Toothless.
I touch his wing again, and this time, part of his head appears at the top of the dome. Seeing me, he coos proudly, then turns his head upwards and cries out. He also seems to be shooting fire upwards. I guess he's trying to get us out of the snowfall.
But... that's the incredible thing. I mean... he's here, and he saved me, and he's just... amazing.
I keep standing, just gently touching Toothless' wing and offering quiet words of encouragement. I can feel his body getting progressively colder and stiffer as the time passes.
At last, when I too have begun to shiver, I see a pale light begin to break through the thin membranes of Toothless' wings. He unwraps me from his life- saving embrace, revealing Astrid and Stormfly standing above us. I instantly run over to Toothless and give him an embrace in gratitude of his act. I hug his lukewarm body so tightly, and I never want to let go. I let go of him before, but now I see that I was wrong.
If he's willing to sacrifice himself alongside me, for us to take solace in the presence of one another as we drift away, then I will gladly accept his company. There is nobody I would want to see more at my final moment in this world.
All I want to do right now is hug my best friend and selfless saviour. Because words can never express my gratitude.
For everything.
A/N: I have joined LesserWraith in the '5 stories in 5 days'. So, five festive oneshots for you to enjoy. Don't forget to tell me what you think! You can also suggest ideas or themes, if you like.