Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. It belongs to Dreamworks Animation.
Naming Her
At this point, I can safely say that everything should be smooth flying from here on out.
With Grimmel's army thoroughly wrecked and the dragons safe from possibly the most dangerous dragon hunter of all time, New Berk was sufficiently out of harm's way. Hopefully, this time for good. Sure, we could probably return to the old Berk, but since everyone has been getting really settled down here and Berk was definitely on people's maps as opposed to New Berk, our new home was most likely the safest place to be for us all.
By Astrid and I's estimations, the Hidden World was not that far from where we were, so I guess you could say we had unofficially become the guardians of the Hidden World. Plus, with Toothless as the alpha, it was convenient enough for him to go settle dragon problems there and come home without issue. The Hidden World also solved our complications with the dragon population. Once Gobber found out we knew where it was, he suggested taking all extra dragons from the raids there so that people didn't have to jump across dragon backs to cross a road, or so dragons didn't get into people's food.
Back on old Berk, I didn't have the heart to put dragons in a place we didn't consider part of home, but if the Hidden World was going to be protected under our jurisdiction, I could be persuaded to relocate them there. It is the ancestral home of the dragons, after all.
Needless to say, the sheep were happy to ditch the dragon costumes once all the excess dragons were relocated.
Now that the island was well under construction, it seems like there were a few matters left. Like, Toothless's new mate for example.
As I settled down on the stoop of my new house, Toothless, Astrid, and the Light Fury joined me in watching our people and dragons get settled.
"So, everything is becoming more and more permanent," I said conversationally, making one human head and two dragon heads turn in my direction. "I'd say that includes you." I looked at the Light Fury.
She warbled, obviously confused what I was talking about. She hissed something to Toothless, who warbled back and shrugged with his forelegs.
"We can't keep calling you 'the Light Fury', okay?" I explained. "If you're going to be the alpha's mate, much less Toothless's mate, you need a name we can call you by. We saw several Light Furies in the Hidden World, and giving you a name would help keep people from getting you and other ones confused."
Astrid nodded in agreement, leaning against me. "He's got a point. Even though you don't have a rider, and probably don't want one, a name helps give you an identity." She looked up thoughtfully. "A name like… Flashcloak, because of that thing you do to disappear."
The Light Fury made a face at the suggestion that said she hated the name.
I offered, "You're bright, like those giant crystals in the Hidden World. What about Crystaldive? A dragon does have to dive in order to get there, after all." Those crystals in the main cavern did bear a similar color to her.
Toothless was the one to shoot that name down. He smacked my shoulder with his tail. Um, bud? Ow, you know that smarts when you do that!
Astrid looked back and forth between my dragon and his mate, thinking more about a potential name this time. "Maybe we should come up a name closer to Toothless's. We already named her species similar to his, so why not do the same for her personal name?"
"Not a bad idea." I looked over the Light Fury, trying to find inspiration for a name. Recalling back to when I first named Toothless, I remembered how his retractable teeth caught my attention. It was sort of like how the twins had named the heads of their dragon, Barf and Belch. Barf spewed gas with the color and odor of vomit, and Belch ignited the gas in a way that could be interpreted as a burp. Not very creative, but fitting. Aside from the different colors compared to Toothless, the only other differences between them were the lack of nubs around her head that Toothless had, and instead of those ridges down his back, she had one long dorsal ridge.
Hmm, lack of nubs and ridges. Toothless.
"I think I've got a winner," I said after a moment. I stared the Light Fury in the eye. "What do you think of Nubless?"
Toothless appeared taken aback by the name idea for a moment before a gummy smile formed on his snout. He turned towards his mate, warbling his opinion to her. She tilted her head in confusion, allowing him to explain further.
Astrid lifted away from my shoulder. She was smiling like Toothless was, but with a full set of teeth. "I think that sounds beautiful, and it goes perfectly with your dragon's name. Toothless and Nubless, I can see that."
"Me too," I agreed, then gestured to the Light Fury. "But, let's see what she thinks of it first."
Toothless finished talking with his mate, presumably concluding the whole story of how and why he got his name from me. She returned to staring at me, eyeing me almost skeptically.
I thought maybe she didn't like it.
To my surprise, she gave a nod of her head. Huh, I managed to get her approval again. Didn't think that would happen a second time, at least not so soon after she saved me from falling to my death.
"Okay, Nubless it is." I stood from my seat on the porch, and walked over to her. Warily as ever, she stepped back when I approached. "Welcome to clan Haddock." I held out my hand, like I always do when befriending a new dragon.
It took a little convincing from Toothless, but his mate eventually touched her nose to my hand. Nubless touched her nose to my hand.
The contact sealed it. Nubless was now officially a member of the Haddock family. Considering her history with Grimmel and other dragon hunters, she'd probably never accept a rider, but that was okay. She was a Berkian dragon through and through.
Even though the movie crew avoided giving her a name to allow her to represent the wild, she should be given a name if she's going to be the mate of a main character. I certainly can't imagine Hiccup and his family calling her 'the Light Fury' year after year. When I saw people calling her 'Nubless' on Tumblr, I fell in love with the name and wanted to share it with others. I've seen other names thrown around, but I think Nubless would fit best with the naming scheme for the dragons in the series.
Regarding the setup for this fic, I wanted to arrange a compromise for the dragon situation because I don't agree with separating the riders from the dragons so the series ended the same way the books did (even if I've never read the later half of the books). The old Berk was overpopulated with dragons and was on the map so people could sail there. New Berk seemed to be well-hidden and uncharted, and is close enough to the Hidden World that a boat can be taken there or a dragon can take a modest flight. With the new tail, Toothless is able to come and go as he pleases, leaving for the Hidden World to sort out dragon issues, and give him and Hiccup some independence from each other for a couple days at a time.
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