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As he had for the past two weeks, Hiccup woke to the sound of Toothless being, well, Toothless.
It was still dark out when he opened his eyes but that was not a deterrent on the Night Fury who was hanging upside down from the rafter, his red tail fin firmly in his mouth. He had his wings wrapped around himself but his eyes were open and locked on the young viking. His lips were peeled back in what could have been a grin if not for the constant low sound coming from his mouth, though Hiccup knew his teeth were retracted so as not to damage the fin in his mouth. Toothless was unhappy with what was going on and had absolutely no qualms about making that very very clear. Ever since he had agreed to go on the hunting mission Toothless's behavior had become increasingly erratic. Hiccup knew the dragon was coming from a good place, that he was worried and upset that Hiccup was leaving and he couldn't come along. But the hunt was part of becoming a viking. And even if he didn't want to kill dragons, Hiccup still wanted to be a viking. Not a one hit wonder. With a groan at how early it was and how unhappy his dragon was, Hiccup flopped back on the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes even though it made very little difference given the light in the room.
"Hiccup?" the knock on his door was soft for his father, "son, are you up yet?"
"Huh? Yeah! Yeah I'm up dad," he said, sitting up in bed and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
It had only been a few months since he had lost his foot and part of his shin when he saved the world. But a few months made a huge difference. He could maneuver his leg and as long as he was careful, he didn't feel like the bottom part of his foot was being burned off again. The skin had toughened as well, making it easier to get around and to put on the prosthetic that he'd modified for himself. That part he knew he had Astrid to thank. Even if it had quickly become clear that bandaging him wasn't the only reason she came over, she still made sure his leg was tended to in the peculiar way that only viking women seemed to know how to do. Between her tending and him finally learning to take it slightly easier, his leg had healed much more quickly than he would have thought. He was not at the point where he could forget that his leg wasn't there, but he knew how to deal with the pain. For the most part it had become manageable. When he looked down and saw his right and left leg, the one that went to the foot and the one that just ended, he did not do a double take.
Reaching over to the side, Hiccup pulled up the prosthetic he was using. He had a multipurpose one and another that worked much better for flying and the quick changes that were required for Toothless's tail fin. But he was going to be walking, not flying. The prosthetic he was using was designed for walking. It fit higher up on his leg and it was padded so that his stump would not get irritated and Hiccup had designed it so that part of the lining was fur. The foot of the prosthetic was designed for stability, especially with the ice and the frost. The best vikings slipped on the ice of Berk and Hiccup knew that if he wiped out now it would probably mean recovery time. Time that he couldn't afford. Sliding his stump into the fur lining, Hiccup pulled the straps of the prosthetic up and around his leg. He pulled on his cloths, taking in maneuvering the prosthetic. This task, and most others, were slowly become thoughtless. He didn't have to focus on getting from one side of the room to another or sitting down or putting on his cloths. Fully dressed in his first layer of cloths, Hiccup cast his eyes around the room, trying to locate the next layer. It was nowhere to be seen. A little while ago and he would have looked but at the moment, he knew exactly where it was.
"Toothless," he said, turning over to the dragon.
Toothless stared him down, tail fin still clenched in his mouth as his wings tightened around himself, a dead giveaway he was hiding something. Namely Hiccup's winter gear. Hiccup walked over to the dragon, keeping his steps as smooth as possible. He still walked with a slight limp and knew that he probably always would, but it was a far cry from the awkward shuffle-step he'd hobbled around with those first few pain filled weeks. Hiccup's eyes darted from his foot to his face, as if checking to make sure that he was not in danger of tripping and not in too much pain. Hiccup finally stood right in front of the dragon. The rafters in the house were high enough that Toothless's face was directly in front of Hiccup's nose. Upside down, the dragon still locked eyes with the boy, his lips tightening around the tail fin in his mouth as his wings trembled with how tightly he had them wrapped around himself.
"Hey, buddy," Hiccup said, "I know you're worried," Toothless closed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air, "buddy listen, I know you want to come on the hunting trip," he said as one of Toothless's eyes peeped open in response, "but you can't. This is something vikings have to do alone. Didn't you go on your own first hunt?" slowly the other eye opened, "I've got to go on mine. I promise I'll be careful. And i'll have Astrid with me. And Snotlout and Fishlegs and the Twins--we'll take care of each other."
Toothless's gaze spoke of disbelief before his eyes narrowed and his wings tightened again in obvious resistance to what the boy was saying. The dragon was a smart creature and had very clearly figured out that the other vikings made Hiccup miserable enough to not act like every viking on Berk. After Astrid's apology, the dragon had accepted her. Grudgingly at first but eventually he warmed up to her. But the other vikings he had no patience for. Ruffnut and Tuffnut for instance and been caught in the dragons paws and forcibly held apart as Toothless got ready to bite them. Snotlout had been thrown in the air, caught in Toothless's tail and thrown back up before Toothless decided his Monstrous Nightmare was far more deserving of punishment despite only having charred Hiccup. Fishlegs had run away wailing before Hiccup could do anything and, thinking it was a game, Toothless had bounded after him intent on 'catching' the viking. Hiccup had to put himself in between the viking and the dragon to try and talk him down. Toothless continued to be incredibly protective of Hiccup, to the point where sometimes the boy had to convince the dragon he was able to take care of himself.
He was not, however, the only dragon to be protective.
From that day on the cliffs to now, Bluebell had bonded with Astrid faster than any dragon that Hiccup had seen. Perhaps it was because the pair spent so much time with Toothless and Hiccup, but Bluebell emulated the Night Fury and his interactions with his viking with the kind of determination that Hiccup had come to expect from Astrid. Astrid told him that even when Bluebell slept inside she slept close the door, protective of the people in the house. But the other dragons to had begun to follow. From Gobber's Terrible Terror, or T.T. as he had been christened, pushing his viking's hand out of the way of a too hot fire to the Twin's Zippleback heads trying to separate their arguing vikings, the dragons were slowly ingraining themselves into their vikings lives. No dragon treated their viking like Toothless did to Hiccup but it was a far cry from the days when the two species spent their nights fighting with each other. Still Hiccup knew that he was not the only one trying to convince their dragon to let them go on the hunting trip. As if to make a point, Toothless let out another growl and shook himself, keeping his wings tight around his body and Hiccup's winter gear.
"Come on buddy," Hiccup tried again, "I need the gear--I've got to go on that hunting trip--"
"Son?" Stoick knocked on the door, "are you--"
"Yeah, Dad!" Hiccup called, "I'm almost ready!" he turned back to Toothless, "Toothless, give me the gear," Toothless huffed and shook his head, imitating Hiccup when he refused to do something, "Toothless!" Hiccup cried in frustration, moving forward.
Toothless growled and flipped upwards, kicking off the rafter. His artificial fin still in his mouth, he held Hiccup's winter gear in his front paws as he balanced perfectly on his back. Hiccup groaned as Toothless settled comfortably on the rafter, his gear dangling easily out of reach. Hiccup walked under the rafter and raised his hand but the moment he did Toothless sat back on his haunches and pulled the gear completely out of the young viking's reach. Toothless made a mumbling sound, shifting his shoulders in another imitation of Hiccup. Jumping was out of the question. Jogging was next to impossible, there was no way he was going to be able to hop up and grab the fur gear that dangled from his paws. Toothless raised his nose in the air, closing his eyes in another defiant move that Hiccup recognized all too well. It was clear that Toothless wasn't coming down anytime soon, and if the dragon didn't come down than the gear wasn't coming down. Going on the hunting mission was suicide enough, he didn't need to add freezing to death and definite hypothermia to it. Throwing up his hands in frustration, just when Hiccup thought that it couldn't get worse, his father opened the door.
"Hiccup?" looked over as his father gently opened the door, "are you alright?"
"I'm fine dad," Hiccup said, his voice thick with misery as he looked up at the dragon sitting on the rafters, "my gear, on the other hand, is up there."
"Up there?" Stoick looked over at the dragon.
Hiccup watched his father's face anxiously. Half the time he expected his father to try and kill the dragon and while he had faith in his father's dragon fighting abilities, Toothless was a Night Fury and only toothless when he wanted to be. Even on the best days his father and the dragon tolerated each other and while Hiccup knew that Stoick's complaints were half hearted at best but they were loud and Toothless did not like them one bit. Hiccup knew he was the thing that made them tolerate each other but he was about to be removed from the equation. Toothless was, without a question, a resident of the house. But if he wasn't there to remind them that they both cared about something, how were they going to get along? Hiccup knew the whole point of going on the hunting mission was to come back home but he couldn't help but wonder if there was actually going to be a physical home to come back to. And if there was, Hiccup had a feeling it was only going to be by virtue of the fact that his house was made with lots of stone that had been proven good at not burning down.
As his father came towards him, both their demeanor changed. Hiccups tail curled around the beam for extra support and his eyes opened, his head turning to watch Stoick with a sharp gaze. By the time Stoick was next to his son he had gone from walking with the gait of a normal viking fortunate enough to have both his legs to what Hiccup had long ago dubbed his 'battle walk'. Barely tolerating each other and yet Hiccup could see so many similarities between the two most important creatures in his life. They even angled their heads the same way was they glared at each other. The beams in the house were high but Stoick was a huge man. With a lightening quick motion he reached up and grabbed Toothless's leg before Hiccup could stop him. The dragon gave an outraged yowl, his mouth opening and teeth showing as he dove for Stoick's hand. His teeth scraped him but they didn't catch him. However the action caused Toothless to release his precious tail fin. The red fin landed squarely in Stoick's hand as Toothless huffed and glared down at him. If Stoick was offput by dragon drool slicking the side of his hand, he didn't show it as he glared back at the dragon.
"You get this back when you give Hiccup his hunting gear," he said holding up the red fin.
"Dad," Hiccup groaned, "don't do that. He hates it when you tease him--"
"Who said I'm teasing him?" Stoick demanded looking down at his son, "he lives in this house he has to live by the rules," Stoick held the fin up, "he's going on that hunting trip," he said, laying a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "give him back his gear."
Hiccup's heart soared at the warm weight of his father's hand. And the way he said it, like Hiccup was going to go on the hunting trip and kill something. Like he was going to go and be successful and not a complete mess up. Hiccup had never gone off to do something and had his father think that he was going to be able to do it. Whatever he had done it had been by the skin of his teeth, with his father being proud only after he'd done it. But this time his father looked at him like he had faith in him. Like he was sure that he would do the mission. His father kept his gaze on the dragon but the hand on Hiccup's shoulder tightened fractionally. Above them, Toothless let out a huff of air and opened his paws, the gear dropping onto Hiccup's head as he reached out and snatched the fin out of Stoick's hand, bounding off the rafters and jumping onto Hiccup's bed where he curled around himself, showing his back to the father and son. Stoick's hand left his son's shoulder as he picked up the fur and deposited it in Hiccup's outstretched hands.
"Finish getting ready," he said, "I'll see you down there."
"Thanks dad," Hiccup said as his father left, closing the door behind him with much less force than Stoick the vast usually closed a door.
Pulling on the furs, Hiccup looked over at Toothless. The dragon was still with his back to him but Hiccup knew on the other side Toothless hand his fin half in and half out of his mouth, his paws wrapped securely around the red fin. Stealth was not something Hiccup was good at anymore--not that it worked on Toothless anyway--but he didn't mother to be quiet as he walked around the bed to the front of the dragon. Toothless shifted so his back was still to the boy, his paws tightening on the fin. Hiccup came to the other side of the bed and walked forward until he was in front of the dragon's back. Toothless kept himself curled tightly around but Hiccup had a feeling he was being glared at all the same. Hiccup swiped a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what he could say to make Toothless understand that this was something he had to do.
It wasn't just that it was a hunting trip, it was that it would be the first time they were apart. When their friendship had been a secret they had still seen each other every day and since Toothless had effectively moved in, there was barely a minute when they weren't together. And now he was going to go off on a rite of passage that was dangerous even if one was a good viking or, at the least had both their legs. He had to go but he didn't want to go and have Toothless be made at him.
"Hey, I know you want to come with me. And I want you to too--" one of Toothless's eyes became visible as he raised his head, "but you can't," the eye disappeared as the dragon lowered his head, "and I'm really sorry about that. But I've got to do this. You understand that, don't you?" Toothless gave no reply, "maybe not. But I've got to do this. I've got to go on this trip and become a real viking--not the hunting dragon type of viking--but a real one."
Toothless gave no response.
"Look, I know this doesn't make any kind of sense, but if I do this. If I become a full viking, then my dad doesn't have to think I was just the boy who learned that dragons weren't all bad. I'll be a viking n my own merit. And my dad--" he shook his head, "my dad doesn't have to be ashamed of me. And maybe he wont have to look for someone else to lead the village after him, like he always thought he would. Maybe--" he sighed, closing his eyes miserably, "maybe it can be me."
Something wet and cold nudged his face. Hiccup opened his eyes to see Toothless's face inches from his own. The dragon nudged him again before moving his head forward and putting it on Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup looked over at the dragons closed eye, reaching up and placing a hand on Toothless's head. As if some barrier had been broken, Toothless lunged out and pulled Hiccup against his chest, wrapping his legs around him. Hiccup opened his mouth to protest before Toothless's wings snapped out, cocooning him in darkness. Toothless smelled, well, like a dragon. He didn't smell that bad, especially not since he's started getting regular baths, but being hugged by a dragon when he was trying to get out of the house was not what he wanted to be doing. His arms and legs were pinned by his sides as Toothless squeezed him against his chest. Hiccup opened his mouth to try to get free when the chest he was on suddenly pitched from one side to another. Toothless was hugging him and rocking back and forth on the bed.
"I know, I know, I'm gonna miss you too," Hiccup said with a smile in the darkness of Toothless's cocoon, "but you kinda need to let me go now."
Toothless made a loud sound of protest his chest vibrating against Hiccup's cheek.
Finally his wings unfurled and he opened his arms. Hiccup pushed himself up on his dragon's chest as Toothless put his chin on his chest and looked at Hiccup with bright eyes. Hiccup smiled down at his dragon and, after a few misstarts, Toothless returned the gesture. Hiccup rolled to the side, getting off Toothless's chest as Toothless mimicked the movement, getting to his feet and shaking himself with a snort. Jumping off the bed, Toothless bounded over to the chest by the door and flicked it open, burying his head inside as Hiccup yanked the displaced furs back to where they should be. Toothless trotted back to where he stood, his helmet in his mouth and deposited it on Hiccup's head. Hiccup pushed the hemet into place as Toothless began to walk around him, gaze roving over every inch of the young viking.
"I've got it all, I promise," Hiccup said as Toothless came back around his front, "everything's going to be fine. I'll be back before you know it."
Toothless gave him a look that plainly said he did not believe a word of that but he didn't attempt to cocoon Hiccup again.
"Come on buddy, get your fin, we don't want to be the last ones down there."
Toothless bounded over to the bed, grabbing the red fin before racing back to the door. With a quick fumble of his paw he had it open. Together the two of them walked into the main room of the house. Toothless raced over to the door and then back to Hiccup and then back to the door. Hiccup walked to the door, bending down to get his pack when Toothless stopped him. Tail streaking out, he grabbed the pack and lifted it high into the air, looking at Hiccup. Hiccup sighed and smiled.
"Okay, you can carry that down. But only until we get there. Okay?" Toothless nodded happily.
Hiccup pushed open the door.
It was freezing, even in the village of Berk. The sun was bright, shining off the snow and frost and if it had been anywhere else on earth everyone would have been at least offput by it. But it was Berk. People just went about their lives. Even if sometimes they had to shade their eyes from the glare. Even the dragon residents of the town ignored the sun. The town had always been monotonous in its color scheme, the same dull colors made duller by the weather and constant fire attacks. But now with the dragons there were bright colors everywhere. The greens and reds of the Terrible Terrors, the oranges of the Monstrous Nightmares--after so many years of seeing the same colors when he opened his door, Hiccup was sure that the sight of the brightly colored dragons everywhere was another he would never fully get used to. Toothless looked over at him hopefully and Hiccup shook his head, resting a hand on the dragons head.
"Sorry, buddy, I'm still going."
Making a sound that distinctly sounded like he was muttering under his breath, Toothless walked out onto the hill. Hiccup followed him, shifting his weight as they made their way down the hill to the main part of the road. Together they followed the winding road. They were heading to the docks first. All the hunting trips started out the same, on a boat, heading to another part of the island. The trip was designed to test their skills as vikings. Their non-dragon hunting skills. And a big part of that was being able to navigate a boat. Hiccup looked over his shoulder at the bright, clear day. It was windy out but it was still a beautiful day. One that would have been perfect for flying. As if he was reading his mind, Toothless made a sound and shook his head sadly. The two continued to make their way towards the center of the village, neither terribly happy with the idea of Hiccup going on his first hunt. Especially on a day that would have been so perfect for flying.
"Odin, could you look any more depressed? Geez Hiccup we're going on our first hunting trip."
Hiccup turned his head to see Snotlout rolling his eyes in his direction. Despite being a hero and all, Hiccup was still treated like another viking. Which was a far cry from how he had been treated. But the vikings--especially the young ones--teased each other. Of course now the insults had been expanded to include dragon related ones. Snotlout had remained largely the same after their adventures. He was still egotistical and cocky and somehow having something legitimate to brag about only served to make him worse. Hiccup had heard rumors of people being humbled by heroic experiences but he'd yet to see it with his own eyes. It was hard to be humble when everyone was constantly saying how much they loved you.
"I know, I know--"
"And I know you're all upset you have to leave your girlfriend behind--"
"Really?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow at the other viking, knowing perfectly well that Snotlout was referring to Toothless and not Astrid, "looks like I'm not the only one whose going to be missed."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Hiccup pointed to the side. Snotlout turned to see the Monstrous Nightmare peering out from the curve of the hill. The dragons had shown that though they were good at hiding, there were some things that were impossible given their size. There was a reason their previous raids had been conducted largely at night when they had some kind of cover. Sneaking around during the day, that was much harder but he could see that the Monstrous Nightmare was doing his best to sneak up on his viking. Snotlout, however, seemed less than amused.
"Oh come on! I told you to stay at home!" Snotlout shouted, throwing his hands up, "you're making me look bad!"
The Nightmare let out a sound in between a wail and a sneeze and set himself on fire before taking off across the hill like a crab.
"Great, that's just--that's just great," Snotlout said motioning to the hysterical dragon that was burning through the snow, "of all the dragons I get the hysterical one who lights himself on fire."
"You gotta admit its kind of cool," Hiccup said.
"Cool? Yeah," Snotlout snorted, "it'd be cool if he didn't keep getting upset and almost setting my house on fire. I've got marks where no-one should have them! And they're not even that awesome! No girl's gonna care about them if they can't see them!"
"The fire, its his way of letting you know he cares," Hiccup said with a crooked smile, "and you'd better catch him or he's gong to let the whole village know how much he cares about his viking," Hiccup said.
"Shit, you're right!" the young viking swore, "Sparklout! Get back here!" Snotlout said taking off running.
"Maybe try not yelling at him!" Hiccup called after the viking.
Toothless let out a low chuckle, his mouth still full of the red tail fin. The two of them made their way towards the village where they'd meet up with the the rest of the vikings. It was common for the vikings setting out to have any surviving family there, looking on with a combination of pride and fear as their children were given orders by Stoick the Vast, blessed by the town elder and sent on their way. Hiccup had never thought that the day would come when it happened to be him about to go off on his first hunting trip. Excitement and fear churned in his stomach as he realized that he would be going off to his first hunt. That this time when Stoick the Vast was giving his talk, he would also be one of the parents that was sending their child off. As they rounded the last bend, Hiccup had to fight the urge to run the rest of the way to where the other vikings were waiting. He knew that this would be a hunting trip unlike any other. They rounded the bend to where the other vikings were gathered, ready to set off. But something was different this year.
In addition to their families, a dragon stood behind each viking.
Okay so they're setting off next time.
I got a bit distracted with the Hiccup/Stoick/Toothless interactions. Anyway as Hiccup's becoming less of a screw up, I could see him wanting to make his father proud of him--even though we all know Stoick is. I wanted Toothless to be possessiveness of his red fin because there's such an emphasis on taking care of weapons and things I could see Toothless picking up on that. And since he imitates Hiccup, he'd imitate him in that way too! And I named Snotlout's dragon Sparklout because the filmmakers seem to have the -lout family all have those names (Spitelout, Snotlout) and I thought Snotlout would keep with the tradition since the dragon's part of the family--even if he keeps almost burning the house down. (fyi, Spitelouts the viking that looks a lot like Snotlout. So for creative purposes, they're related).
ALSO after an unfortunate incident allow me to make this clear: IF YOU WANT TO USE THE DRAGON NAMES YOU MUST ASK ME FIRST. You cannot just take them, any of them. Contact me and we will talk but if you just 'take' a name or plot point, even with crediting me, your story will be considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. Don't kid yourself, taking without asking is not flattering its disrespectful and offensive.
Now that we got that out of the way..
Please review! You guys/gals are kicking ass in the review department and that totally makes me want to lavish this fic with attention (aka updates). So you review, I update and everyone wins!
So please review!
