Kind Dreki

(Three months after Gift of the Night Fury)

With Snoggletog over, the only thing to enjoy about winter was the cold.

Which was to say, not anything.

Admittedly, having dragons did help, and it saved the effort of constantly warring with them, but—

Bang Bang Bang.

Astrid peeled her eyes open. She didn't normally sleep this late, but with it being so cold there wasn't really anything to do.

And on those days she could sleep in, she hated being disturbed.

Bang Bang Bang.

Cracking her neck side to side, she threw off her cover and stalked downstairs, eyes bright. Reaching for the door, she threw it open.

It was Hiccup.

"Hi Astrid," Hiccup nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Hi, Astrid. Hi Astrid…"

"You've said," she half growled.

"Yeah, so. Hi. I mean… can I come in?"

Astrid narrowed her eyes, but stepped aside. To say something was off would be to state the obvious.

Once the door was closed Hiccup just stood there awkwardly, but obviously upset.

"Spill," Astrid crossed her arms, resting her weight on one hip.

"Well," Hiccup averted his eyes, "really, it might be nothing."

"Yet you're here."

"Yes, it is kind of important,"

"And?"

"Toothless is missing,"

Astrid waited.

Hiccup sighed.

"So, after Snoggletog you know that he broke the new tail," Hiccup finally said, "the one that lets him fly alone?"

"I know which one, Hiccup."

"-and I was happy and all that he wanted to be with me, but, every other dragon on this island is self dependent as far as flying, and I still felt bad, so I created another one, and then another, well, few, and finally got him to accept it two days ago. Now he's missing."

Astrid pursed her lips. "Maybe Toothless is just enjoying his first morning flight for the first time in a while."

"I know, I thought that too, but, how many times does Stormfly ever fly off without you?"

Astrid nodded. "Okay…"

"Or Meatlug? Or Barf and Belch, heck, or Hookfang? They always wait for us."

"And now yours is gone on his third day of freedom."

"Yes."

Astrid nodded. "So you want me…"

"To help me look for him."

From Hiccup's face she could tell that he expected her to be upset. But really, he should know her well enough to understand that she knew how important this was.

"Okay, let's go."

Hiccup started. "N-now?"

"Yes, now, the longer he's gone, the further he gets. And being your dragon, the more trouble he finds."

Hiccup gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Astrid."

A day later and a dragon short, Astrid dropped off Hiccup at his hut. Though he was trying to hide it, she could tell he was upset. They had even roped the other riders into looking, though it was questionable how helpful Snotlout had been.

"Thank you, Astrid," Hiccup said at the door. "I'll think of, uh, something else tomorrow."

"And I'll be there to help," she superimposed before he dismissed her from his misery, in typical self-sacrificing Hiccup style.

A wane smile, and he headed to bed.

"Well, if you ask me, especially during this time of the year, it may not be unusual for him to disappear for a while."

They had recruited Fishlegs into formulating ideas.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, looking miserable.

"Well, this is the season when all the dragons are looking for mates, as we found out during the week of Snoggletog. However, I've been tracking the movements of the dragons here on Berk, and I've noticed that some are leaving at later times than the main group. I'm assuming that there are some groups whom have different mating seasons."

Hiccup perked up. "So since we know that Toothless didn't disappear during Snoggletog to go to the mating grounds-"

"And since he now has the ability to fly on his own-"

"You think he's just looking for a mate?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Even though we have never seen another Night Fury, I wouldn't doubt that he knows where some are."

Hiccup nodded. "So maybe he's going to the mating grounds."

"It's worth a look," Astrid said.

"But don't be too discouraged if he isn't there," Fishlegs added. "Not all dragons go to that island to have babies."

Fishlegs was right. Night Furies, if this was their season, did not go to that island.

Toothless had been missing for five days now.

Taking a deep breath, Astrid put her hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Just give it some time," she tried to encourage him. "We will all keep an eye out for him in the meantime."

"So, I heard your down a dragon," Gobber was hobbling his way down the street. "Don't worry about it, lad, one as loyal as that will be back soon enough. Unless something happened to him."

Hiccup glared.

"While you wait," Gobber plowed on, "I can use some help in the armory, you know, if you need to take your mind off of it."

Astrid was worried for her friend. He followed Gobber without a word.

Two weeks. Two weeks and not a sound or sight.

Hiccup knew that he was more upset than he could process at the moment. Finally he had found a friend, his place, a reason for his father to be proud. He had only been trying to help Toothless.

And now he was gone.

Had he gone feral? Had the tail broken? Was he injured? Lost?

The other dragons had only been gone for a week. This was twice as long. He had only found Toothless… less than a year ago. So soon? It felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of freedom and friendship. The first Viking to catch a Night Fury. The first to ride a dragon.

The first to lose one.

He sat down in the Great Hall, dejected. Even Snotlout had been nicer to him, which was, well, a bit scary, and twice the Twins had offered to search. Fishlegs was reading every scrap of paper on dragons he could find, and Astrid…

Without her, he would have lost it by now.

Fortunately, his father had been away on business, but he would be returning in two days.

What was he going to tell his father?

"I can't even imagine," Fishlegs sighed, "one week of not knowing was horrible. Two weeks?"

"I wonder if the Fury is ever coming back," Snotlout said. "Maybe he never liked it here."

"You know that's not true," Astrid snapped. "He'll be back."

"Mmhh, I'm going to miss the big black," Tuffnut said, with Ruffnut nodding in agreement. "He sure knew how to make a proper explosion."

"I'm sitting right here," Hiccup said flatly.

Hiccup had tried to plan what he was going to say to his father, but ultimately decided to cross that bridge when he came to it. Blowing out the candle he crawled to bed, looking longingly at the cold, empty pallet across the room.

Toothless please, come back.

The night was cold, and he curled up before falling to sleep.

The next morning, Hiccup slowly sat up, rubbing his face. Blankly, he stared at the-

It couldn't be.

"Toothless!"

Sitting curled and alert on his pallet, Toothless was the picture of innocence.

Hiccup leapt off the bed and collapsed onto his friend, hugging his face with his entire body.

"Toothless, how-why did you-I told you to NEVER do that again! Oh, bud, I'm so happy."

Toothless purred under him, and Hiccup couldn't stop tears from welling up.

It was a long moment before Hiccup remembered to check Toothless over. No scratches, bruises, sprains or scuffs were found.

Hiccup made it to the tail. All the pieces were there and in working order.

"'Kay, bud, I'm going to take this off…"

As soon as he reached for the strap Toothless growled slightly, leaning back and nudging Hiccup aside so that he couldn't reach it.

"I don't want you to leave again…"

In that moment Hiccup paused, looking into the bright eyes of his dragon. What was he doing, taking away Toothless' freedom after giving it back? That was selfish.

With a pained nod, Hiccup said a gentle "Okay."

Tilting his head, Toothless nudged Hiccup's stomach with his muzzle, before bobbing his head up and down and making strange sounds Hiccup had never heard.

Hiccup smiled. "I'm glad to see you too." Again Toothless made the sound, a bit more insistent.

"Hm. Well, let's go see the gang. They will want to know you are back."

When Astrid had finished grooming Stormfly, the first thing she saw was Hiccup coming around the corner, grinning ear to ear. Behind him trotted Toothless.

Gasping, she smiled back and ran over, throwing her arms around Hiccup.

"See, I told you he'd be back!"

Behind them they heard an excited, "Oohhh," to see Fishlegs standing there with Meatlug. "He's back! Everyone, he's back!"

"Well, I guess he does like it here."

"Your support, as always, Snotlout, is appreciated." Truth be told, Hiccup was so happy that all the usual annoyance had no room in his heart.

"Plasma blast, plasma blast, plasma blast, PLASMA BLAST!"

The twins were obviously ecstatic, though not as sentimental.

"He came back happy and healthy," Astrid said, "I'd call that a win."

Hearing her voice, Toothless walked over to Astrid and nudged under her arm. He stepped back, then bobbed his head up and down, making the same noise as before.

"He keeps doing that," Hiccup looked thoughtful, but ultimately the question was lost amid the chaos of his celebrating friends.

Toothless huffed.

A storm hit the ocean, and Stoick was late.

All in all, not unusual for travel in the archipelago.

Hiccup had left Toothless in his room. The roof port was closed for warmth, and lately Toothless had been sleeping more.

Hiccup, through great force of will, had decided that he couldn't supervise Toothless day and night. If the dragon so chose, he had to have the freedom to leave.

Though Hiccup doubted that he would, the thought pulled at his heart.

Now that everything was back in order, he was actually looking forward to Stoick returning. Lately he had been practicing flying Toothless without use of his steering stirrup, though he kept the other contraption in case of emergency.

At the moment he was sitting in Gobber's shop, going over the new tail's design and trying to think of a way to make it even stronger. Astrid stood nearby. She seemed to be keeping a closer eye on him ever since 'the incident.'

"So, what does that do?" she pointed to a piece on his new drawing.

However, before he could respond, a strange noise rolled through the street. Walking outside to hear better, they listened as it happened again.

"That's Toothless!" Hiccup took off running, Astrid on his heels.

Coming to the house, Stormfly and Meatlug were standing outside, calmly guarding the hut. Behind the two Vikings, Hookfang and Barf and Belch came sprinting up, followed by their respective riders.

"Hookfang! Get your butt back here!"

"Zippleback on the loose!"

Astrid stopped as Hiccup held up his hand.

"Wait here," he winced as Toothless cried out again, then headed inside.

"Bud? Toothless?" Another cry, then a rumble. "Hey, are you alright? Toothless?"

Quickly but cautiously making it up to his room, Hiccup approached the Night Fury, whom was curled on the pallet.

"Bud, it's me, it's all right."

Lifting his head from behind his wing, Toothless watched Hiccup with calm, heavy lidded eyes. Purring, his wings pulled back and he motioned Hiccup closer.

Gently, slowly, Hiccup put his hand on Toothless' head, before his eyes were…drawn…

"ASTRID!"

"Astrid!"

Already tense, she bolted inside, followed by Fishlegs, whom had joined the strange gathering, then a curious Snotlout and Twins.

At the stairs she calmed somewhat, intending not to stress or startle a Night Fury in questionable condition. In his room, a shell shocked Hiccup stood in front of a calmly curled dragon.

The Vikings gathered into the room, silent for once.

"Hiccup?" she asked, stepping forwards.

Stiffly, Hiccup raised a finger, pointing. "Is, is that…"

They all leaned forwards.

Fishlegs gasped. "Oh my Thor, it's an egg!"

"An egg! Just one?"

"How big is it-"

"What color-"

"Is there more than one-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Snotlout raised his voice, and the room fell silent. "I thought that Toothless here was a boy."

Another pause.

"I, did also, Snotlout," Hiccup strangled out. "but it seems he—she, she—"

"Toothless has a baby!" Fishlegs squealed.

"Wow," Astrid's jaw, for once, was almost on the floor.

"Dude, how did you not know-"

"It's not like they are as easy to tell as-"

"Wow," Astrid repeated flatly. "We are going to have another Night Fury."

Hiccup felt excitement and confusion bubble up inside, but he could only stare blankly.

"Uh, when it's all grown up, I call dibs," Ruffnut said.

Toothless glared.

At Hiccup's order they all left to give Toothless…her space.

Outside, the dragons all seemed satisfied, and followed their riders away.

"…and the fact that she came back here to lay the egg means that this is where she feels safest. Oh, Hiccup, I'm so happy for you, I remember when Meatlug had her babies!"

"She," Hiccup said to no one in particular. Astrid slung an arm around his shoulders.

"Well, now we know that she wasn't intending to leave forever."

"Is no one else addressing the fact that the girl dragons now outnumber the boys?" Snotlout drawled.

"Oh, for heaven's sake-"

"Hiccup!" Gobber was coming up the way. "Stoick's back, he's unloading from the port now."

Without fully realizing it, Hiccup and the gang listlessly followed Gobber to the docks.

All too soon, they stood before the Chief.

"Hiccup," the big man rumbled, "Gobber tells me you have had quite the ordeal during my absence."

"Yeah, Chief," Snotlout interjected without thinking. "You're going to be a Grandfather!"

The silence could be cut with a Nadder's spine.

First Gobber's jaw dropped, then Stoick's eyes widened to the size of a Viking shield. His gaze darted to Astrid. Catching on quickly, her eyes widened also, her head snapping to Snotlout, though no proper comeback formed in time.

"Son…"

Now the others had caught on, sheer horror permeating the atmosphere. Helplessly, Hiccup held out his hands in defense.

"No, wait, it's not like that-"

"Walk with me." Stoick set off quickly, Hiccup trailing behind.

Once they were gone, Snotlout shrugged. "What?"

Astrid punched him. "You-MUTTONHEAD! Do you realize how, how, that sounded?!"

Gobber looked at her. "So, you two, didn't…"

"NO!"

"It's Toothless," Fishlegs began to explain. "you see…"

"Well," Ruffnut commented to her brother, "Why would Stoick just automatically assume it was Astrid?" she huffed.

Tuffnut gave his sister a once over, grimacing. "Isn't it obvious?"

Behind them, Gobber had backhanded Snotlout.

There was silence all the way up the ramp, Hiccup practically squirming out of his skin.

"Dad, Snotlout spoke without thinking-"

"Listen to me, son," Stoick said gravely. "I understand your feelings, but this… I was gone less than a month, and this!"

"Dad-"

"You're not avoiding this, son."

"Dad, it's not Astrid!"

In the clearing in front of their house, Stoick the Vast froze.

"I…it's…oh gods, Ruffnut?!"

"No! I, Dad, no, nobody human. Wait! Just…. Ugh, Snotlout was being sarcastic, I haven't…no."

Stoick was quiet, at least.

Hiccup sighed, taking his father's hand. "Come with me."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Toothless?"

"Yep."

"A female?"

"Apparently."

"Well. Good, then. Good."

Three weeks.

Toothless rarely left the egg. When she did, she would wait until Hiccup was in the room, drag him on top of the egg, then leave. Once, Hiccup had entered the room to see a crooning Stormfly babysitting.

When Toothless returned, she would bring back mouthfuls of grass and tree branches. She would pile them around the egg, and in the dead of night, set them on fire. Hiccup had had to experience that without warning.

Toothless did not need to worry about food. Hiccup would bring her barrels a day, with the gang and the occasional villager bringing treats constantly. Hiccup had even caught Stoick leaving a present on more than one occasion. The novelty of a soon to be hatched baby Night Fury didn't wear off.

Spring approached, and with it, violent storms. Lightning was striking hard and fast, and one week later, everything changed.

This storm, for a wonder, came dry. There was no rain or hail, but the sky shook with thunder, and the night lit with lightning.

Hiccup was up late, adding information to the Night Fury section of the Book of Dragons. Toothless was purring at her egg, then abruptly stood up.

"What is it, Bud?" the nickname had stuck, despite everything. Toothless met his eyes, then put the egg gently in her mouth. During his 'nesting' days, Hiccup had felt the egg, rock hard and glossy black with a purple sheen. At times, more and more frequently, it moved.

Toothless stood up and, for the first time, took the egg away from the nest. She made her way down the stairs, Hiccup at her tail.

"Is it time?"

Stoick, sitting at the dining table, stood at their approach. Growling gently if anyone got too close, Toothless pawed the door open herself, then began walking up the mountain.

Hiccup followed his dragon, and to his surprise Stoick did also. Careful not to enter Toothless' 'growling range,' they marched in chilly silence.

Past Mildew's cabbage patch, near the peak, Toothless turned back and rumbled at the Vikings. The meaning was clear; no further. They waited as she continued on.

The storm kicked up again, drawing closer. The weeks of waiting were worth it, the moment beyond words. Stoick put a hand on his son's shoulder.

And they continued waiting.

Suddenly, from atop the island a purple plasma blast lit the clouds, followed by a huge burst of lightning touching down. There was a faint blue glow, then only the occasional distant rumble disturbed the moment.

The silence was tense until finally, finally Toothless came down the mountain, trotting proudly. In her maw she carefully held a squirming, squealing hatchling.

"Well done, dragon," Stoick said, as Hiccup rushed forwards, laughing.

The next day, it was well into the evening before Hiccup let anyone come and see the baby, giving newborn and mother a good, long settling moment.

"It's. So. Cute," Astrid said, giving Hiccup a side hug.

"Yeah. even I have to agree," Snotlout said from behind.

"Well, Big T," Tuffnut said, "you have done a fine offspring."

Toothless purred.

"Guys, guys!" Fishlegs came rushing in, holding something in both hands.

Hiccup gasped. "Is that the egg?"

It was split in two and the crack…

"Hiccup, it looks like the egg was opened by lightning."

Indeed, the egg's sides were smooth and jagged. The interior was a deep, opalescent blue.

"Wow," Ruffnut said, "his room was nicer than ours."

Toothless gave a rumbling purr, and the baby-Hiccup was ninety five percent-ish sure it was a boy- squealed peevishly.

"Alright, let them sleep, he will be here in the morning," Hiccup ushered everyone out.

Once the hut was quiet, occupied with only one extra inhabitant, Stoick came up to the room, admiring the sleeping beasts before making his way to his son.

After a moment of silence, be put both hands on Hiccup's shoulders.

"You did good, son," he said. "I'm very proud of you."

Authors note: OKAY BUT HERE'S THE THING

Toothless is just awesome, but his superior and snarky behavior was exactly like one of my cat's, Blackie (she is a black cat I named her when I was four, okay. She is also now a 15 year old outdoor cat and still going strong :).

So especially during that scene in the movie, when Hiccup is putting on the tail fin for the first time and Toothless just…can't, it reminded me and my Dad of our cat so much we thought that our favorite Night Fury was a girl.

For, like, a year.

And then my little sister (Warr10r 0f 7h3 L16h7) looked it up and said "Guess what! It's a boy!"

Blew. My. Mind.

Any who, this was inspired by that little debacle, and there may possibly be continuations of Mama Toothless and her little son.

Please review, and tell me if you want to see more adventures featuring bebe Toothless.

Also: Kind (Old Norse for Baby) Dreki (Old Norse for Dragon)