Ch. 1

Authors note: I do not own How to Train your Dragon or anything related to it. I wrote this because I wanted to.

This is an updated story using the same premise and much of the same plot and characters as "TSNF" but is not the same story overall.


**Update 8/19/2018. I will be doing edits to improve the readability soon, expect a polished, easier to read version around the end of September or mid October. **


It was a peaceful day; the silence was broken only by the cheers from a Viking and his Night Fury out on an early morning flight. Hiccup was attempting to test out the additions he'd made to his flight suit, and Toothless never liked it when Hiccup did, it usually ended in one of them crashing spectacularly. "Toothless? Stay me with bud" Hiccup said feeling his dragon slowing. Toothless = shook off the concerns about the flight suit to focus on the task at hand, momentarily at least. He was not about to let Hiccup's inability to fly without help interfere with his relaxation time. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy being the Alpha, it was just difficult at times when he was "the Alpha" first and not "Toothless."

"Toothless? I'm ready to see how the improvements hold up." Just like that the worries came back, Toothless kept quiet knowing his opinion wouldn't change Hiccup's mind at this point. So it was, seconds later, the tailfin lock was engaged, and Hiccup was gone. The Night Fury had every confidence that Hiccup could handle himself when he was on the ground but seriously doubted his ability to fly alone. A slight twinge of panic rippled thru Toothless as he realized Hiccup was no longer within his view. Toothless dove down into the clouds in search of Hiccup, he found him not in the mists; but below them. Hiccup, unaware that Toothless had lost track of him, was not expecting his dragon to pluck him out of the sky and carry him above the clouds.

Hiccup tried to free himself but had no success. A disgruntled snort was the only response Hiccup received to his panicked movements. A few seconds later with Hiccup still trying to free himself, Toothless loosened his hold, putting an end to the struggling. "Ok, bud you made your point. Can I get back on now?" Toothless further loosened his hold, "Wait! I meant—" Toothless chuckled at this. Toothless swooped below the cloud layer once more in search of a flat landing space but instead found a smattering of rock pillars unseen from inside the clouds. Toothless, unable to dodge them, crashed into the first one unharmed but the second rock pillar hit him on his head knocking the dragon unconscious, his claws went slack instantly. Hiccup was beyond panicking as he watched Toothless haphazardly crash thru another rock formation in an unnatural and elongated manner, while he, fell towards the ocean away from his dragon.

Toothless regained consciousness with severe and very sharp pain all over his body. The worst of it remained centralized around his head and left wing, however, it was hard to tell thru the copious amounts of pain for sure. He was, unconscious a few seconds later from the pain, and wouldn't regain consciousness for quite some time. The second time he woke up to the same blinding pain, and yet it was still different somehow. He didn't have time to find out why it was different as he was unconscious again, staying awake only a few seconds longer than before. This process repeated itself three more times, each time the pain decreased and his time conscious increased. The fifth time he awoke though, he felt something new, something other than pain—stone. The pain had reduced so much he could form intelligent thoughts. After a minute of pinpointing where it seemed like the pain was coming from, Toothless attempted to open his eyes; he found he could not, this quickly became his sole focus. His efforts, after a time, become such a drain on him that he fell unconscious again. The cycle would've continued for much longer if not for the rough nudging to the side of his head the following afternoon.

He stirred and the nudging abruptly ceased, and there was a scuttling sound next to him. This puzzled Toothless. "am I dead?" he thought, "no I wouldn't be in pain then. Will I see the light if I open my eyes?" Toothless realized the only way to start finding answers was to open his eyes, this time his eyes opened without much effort, on the first try—but only a sliver. Everything was fuzzy and one solid color—white. He closed his eyes quickly, "I knew it, I saw a light. I'm dead." Toothless attempted to open his eyes farther. Success, they opened slowly, but once both eyes were half open, the surroundings began to take shape—a whole lot of grey, with some bright light thrown in. The fuzziness of objects persisted, but Toothless was happy to have his sight back. Content with this he allowed himself to drift off to sleep the first time in several days. Just out of Toothless's line of sight, however, sat a dragon, who was intensely watching and observing him. It dared not get too close after being impatient and forcefully nudging the limp dragon in an attempt to wake him up. The mysterious dragon soon left the cave where both it and Toothless were to search out food and to avoid being noticed too quickly if Toothless awoke at the wrong time.

Toothless awoke the following morning opening his eyes to sunlight shining in from the cave entrance. Painfully, Toothless moved his head taking in the cave surroundings. A sharp bolt of pain echoed down his spine when he moved his head too quickly, wincing at the pain he stopped. After he'd recovered from the acute pain, he slowly moved his head scanning the immediate area. He found no trace of any other dragon living the cave that he estimated could comfortably hold three Night Furies or two Night Furies with their wings fully open. He considered stretching his wings, but the thought was interrupted by grumbles from his stomach. "When did I eat last?" he thought, not knowing how long he'd been out. "Is Hiccup okay? What happened to Hiccup?" It suddenly occurred to him that Hiccup was not with him and he'd no idea what'd happened to the Viking. This thought and the persistent reminders from his stomach urged him to try and figure out where he was.

He stood only to feel a weight on his left side, he looked and found his left-wing stretched out and covered in vegetation. It confused and worried him that he'd not realized his left wing was open. When he attempted to fold his wing against his body, it terrified him that he had to close it consciously. The movement was a pained effort; his wing felt stiff and battered. The next day Toothless awoke to find he'd passed out shortly after closing his wing, he also discovered, to his great joy and relief, a small pile of food lay within reach. After devouring the small collection of fish, he looked at the cave opening determined to find out what was outside, and his body ached as he walked after being near motionless for so long. When Toothless stepped outside the sudden change in light overwhelmed him, he drew back into the cave a few steps until he'd become accustomed to the bright light of day. Toothless could finally see where he was; the island was heavily forested with several patches that were mysteriously devoid of trees. The island itself was unfamiliar, but Toothless somehow felt like he knew the place. "Am I dead? Is this what death is like?" The idea that he'd died and this was Valhalla or the path to it had only gained traction in his mind. Toothless lay down in front of the cliff trying to sort things out in his mind.

"Does he know how long it took me to arrange everything on his wing just right? Ugh. Now he's gone and ruined it." The mysterious dragon thought to itself from a concealed perch overlooking the cave ledge, which was an area Toothless hadn't noticed yet. "what is that 'thing' on his back? And his tail?" This questions had gone unanswered for days now, and she was growing impatient. She'd found the bloody and battered heap of a Night Fury splayed out on the beach days ago, and remained plagued with questions since then. Toothless failed to notice the dragon that'd been spying on him that day until late that night. Toothless awoke when something cold and scaly, brushed across his muzzle followed by a rush of air. It took Toothless a few seconds to re-adjust to the moonlight his vision still being slightly off point.

Outside the night sky was breathtaking, the moon showed thru a break in the clouds and reflected off the water in dazzling beads of luminosity. What caught the Night Fury's attention, however, was not the tranquil landscape but the dragon that was flying in and out of view. It had a certain grace surrounding its movements and flight pattern that bewitched Toothless. He watched with enwrapped curiosity at this unknown dragon executing such graceful and flawless aerial maneuvers. When the dragon that had so masterfully captured Toothless's attention, was illuminated by the moon, Toothless was confident he was dead or hallucinating. "No, it's not possible," he thought shocked. He stared a few seconds longer before retreating into the cave, worry, and panic seizing control of his thoughts. "What did I do to deserve this? Why are the Gods doing this to me? This is unthinkably cruel." Toothless laydown, attempting to silence these and other such thoughts so he could resume his sleep—he hoped.

Once the dragon that had so bewitched Toothless with its flying landed outside of the cave, Toothless spoke up his voice echoing off the cave walls. "Who are you?" This question surprised the Night Fury, and she let out a small shriek of surprise almost falling off the ledge in the process. "Who am I?" she finally said after recovering herself, "who are you?!" "How long—" "and just how long have you been watching me? Surely, you've seen dragons flying before". She stated, fully recovered from the shock, at that moment she re-entered her cave greet to her surprised guest properly. "You're a Night Fury—a female Night Fury!" Toothless said, stunned. "really? I always thought I was an overgrown terrible terror." She said dryly, choosing to ignore his surprise. "You're the first female Night Fury I've seen." This statement wasn't entirely true, but it was close enough. "This makes me special?" she said cautiously, not sure where the topic was going. Toothless remained silent, leaving her retort unanswered.

"We both have questions, I'm sure you have questions for me, and I certainly have questions for you. We can discuss everything over breakfast tomorrow. You've got to be famished, you've only had five fish for an entire week." She said cutting off any questions Toothless might of asked. Toothless was taken aback by what she'd said. "It's been a week? What happened to me?" The second dragon without waiting for a reply wandered off to the opposite side of the cave and prepared to go to sleep. Toothless couldn't sleep, his thoughts simply wouldn't allow it. "What kind of cruel joke is this? When I'm alive, I never so much as find even a trace of my family or any other Night Furies, and then I die. I awake in the afterlife to find I'm sharing a cave with a female Night Fury that is truly gorgeous. What a cruel trick." Toothless stared at the female Night Fury contemplating this. He did eventually fall asleep, but it was by no means easy.