Title: Scales and Tails
Summary: I felt my chest constrict when Toothless lowered his head and nuzzled his nose into the nape of my neck. Toothless was still Toothless, no matter if he didn't quite look it. A human!Toothcup fic.
Rating: M
Pairing: Toothcup (human!Toothless/Hiccup)
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Chapter 2
I was still sprawled on the ground. Mud seeped into my tunic and crept down my leggings, briny water sliding over my skin and making me fidget in discomfort.
My mind drew a blank. I didn't know what to think, let alone what to say. What could I say? As a Viking, a rather horrible one mind you, I was never prepared or trained for this sort of situation—dragons suddenly morphing into humans, how and why would that even happen in the first place? Disturbed from my musings, the stranger—no, Toothless, took a precautious step forward, lowering his head. The fine-tipped ends of his hair ghosted across his shoulders and hung across his collar, a stark contrast to the tanned skin.
"Is that really you, Toothless?" I asked softly. Sensing the change in my tone, Toothless continued forward, his steps graceful and calculated. I looked away again, my face flushing at the remembrance of his nakedness. "Um, maybe you should just stay there."
This time, Toothless paid no heed to my mutterings and continued until he was right in front of me. Gaze still averted, I tried to busy myself by studying the ripples of the lake water, or how the glow of the moon reflected such an immaculate light that nearly the entire surface of the lake appeared to smolder a blazing white. Wanting to make his close proximity known, Toothless knelt low to the ground, kneecaps planting into the soft sand. I felt minute vibrations tremble through the sand and noticed that his lengthy tale was impatiently tapping at the silt. He made a snorting sound to further prove his irritation.
"Oh man!" I cried suddenly, startling him. He craned his head, a clawed finger nudging at the tip of my boot. I entwined my fingers in my hair, nails scratching at my scalp. "This isn't possible! Dragons can't suddenly up and turn into humans, can they? That can't be, it's weird!"
I turned to him then, my stare hard and calculating. I was growing restless, my agitation getting the best of me and sending me on a relentless chase for the truth. Toothless looked away, pointed teeth cutting into his lip. "Do something for me."
Toothless turned to stare at me, wide eyes blinking, before he made another groaning sound.
"Okay, you could understand me, that's good. Now…do something only a dragon would do; something only Toothless would do," I commanded, my tone of voice strangely detached. He surprised me by narrowing his slit eyes, face contorting into something that didn't quite suit his sharp-featured face: he was glaring at me, pointed teeth gnashing into a snarl. He took one last look at me, grunting in exasperation, before bolting upright and diving into the depths of the lake.
The seconds dragged out and Toothless had yet to emerge- I mean, if he really was Toothless to begin with. I was still having difficulty in believing that this strange man was actually my Toothless, the dragon I had spent nearly a year bonding with. And then, quite suddenly, a rippling bubble of water began to form on the surface of the lake, and in a matter of seconds, a gleaming crop of ebony hair emerged. Toothless waded through the water until he reached the shallow shore, taking slow and precise steps as he trudged through the mud towards me. I gaped at him, my mouth hinged open as I caught sight of a wriggling fish thrashing in desperation between serrated teeth. He plopped down in front of me and dropped the fish into my lap, turning his head away in what appeared to be annoyance. He had a scowl across his lips, black eyes glittering.
I poked a hesitant finger at the fish. I looked back up at him, at Toothless, who was staring at me intently, his brow furrowed. "So it is you." At this, Toothless grinned wryly, barbed teeth shining.
"I-I, I don't know how you got this way bud," I stuttered, my face still pointed away. "A-and…I…I'm sorry, I'm just a little confused." I turned to face him when Toothless let out a small, whining croon. His eyes were listless, seemingly detached, but the expression on his face was clearly vexed. "How did this happen?"
I tried to convey my perplexity by staring directly into his eyes, amazed at how familiar they were, at how much they reminded me that this stranger sitting here was truly my dragon- my Night Fury.
I picked the fish up by its tail and chucked it back into the water where it promptly swam away. I continued to stare at Toothless, still bewildered at this sudden transformation- this anomaly. How could this have happened, and why? Was it even possible for animals to change into humans? I've never heard of it before, save for a few fairy tales and high-strung myths, but most of the stories told to me had never held any credibility to them. For all I knew, they could have been stories told on a whim by someone with a highly overactive imagination—surely they couldn't be true. Without realizing it, my hand had lifted and started to drift towards Toothless, wiry fingers spread apart. Toothless neither flinched nor drew away, but an odd trilling sound rumbled deep at his throat, vibrations shooting up my fingertips when they hadn't even touched skin yet. Yes, this—this was familiar. Toothless, in dragon form, would often purr whenever I pet or scratched him. This Toothless it seemed, no matter what shape he was in, was still the same dragon I had befriended.
I placed my palm against his cheek, which was predictably cold, my fingers brushing tepidly over the scales that framed his eyes. They looked so delicate and fragile, the scales, as if a mere touch would surely cause them to flake and deteriorate away, however as I rubbed against them, they were surprisingly firm and unyielding. I wondered if they would scrape off if I smashed his face into the ground…
As I continued my exploration, the pads of my fingers ghosted over even more scales that dotted across his forehead and trailed down the length of his face. My breathing was ragged; my body starting to tremble at the close contact. I traced an index finger down the sturdy line of his jaw, a place I knew Toothless was particularly sensitive to, finding myself lost in the sensation of it all—
"Ow!" I shouted, immediately retracting my hand. I stared skeptically at my index finger, a trail of blood leaking down from a minute cut at the tip. I promptly looked up at Toothless, bewilderment marring my features. Had Toothless just nipped me? When…he'd never done that before! "You bit me!"
A look of repentance swiftly scrawled across his face, immense yellow eyes drooping and jagged teeth puncturing the bottom of his lip. He let out a low whine, so soft and cavernous, before leaning in and nudging deftly at my hand with his cheek.
I patted him awkwardly for a brief moment before drawing my hand away. If he were a dragon, it wouldn't have been a problem, but with him in this humanoid form, I wasn't so sure I could do the same things I used to do with him; like riding him for instance. I grimaced, biting at my lip in embarrassment. That didn't sound quite right.
"It's okay bud," I whispered, wiping the remaining blood across the hem of my tunic; I could always wash the garment later. I looked back up at him and was startled at how close he still was. His shoulders were hunched forward and his hands were planted to the soft ground, clawed fingers gouging into the sand. I reflexively leaned away. "Can you not get so close, Toothless? It's kind of creeping me out."
Toothless snorted and withdrew, turning his head offensively to the side. He stared at me from the corner of his eye, black orbs thinning into slits. I smiled at him and held up my hands.
"What?" I shrugged. Toothless snorted again, this time averting his gaze. I frowned at him and crossed my arms across my chest. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you in anyway, but I can't help how I feel when you're so…close."
Toothless snapped his head in my direction, eyes still thinning. Geez, if he wanted to glare at me that long he might as well close his eyes, on account that they were still narrowing into harrowing slits. His lips were drawn into a straight line and his expression was schooled and removed—basically, he didn't look too chipper. And that's saying something, since Toothless never looked really keen in the first place, unless he was spending time with me of course. But if we were separated, boy, could he be a mean…dragon. Sometimes he'd snap at other people if they irritated him enough, or he'd appear hostile and trudge away, mouth parting to reveal a subdued inferno of cobalt fire. Maybe Toothless had separation issues, I didn't really know, but I was very humbled by it in some strange way.
Anyway, he was still glaring at me. I bit at my lip again and tried to look away, but his burning gaze still lingered; I could practically feel it boring holes into my flesh. "You're still a little too close, bud."
That did it. Toothless threw out his arms and placed both taloned fingers on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him. I gaped at him, eyes thrown wide as I tried to break away. I struggled in his grasp, his fingers pressing into my skin, but not enough to actually hurt. I drew a shaky breath and placed a trembling hand to his arm.
"What are you doing?" I breathed, my voice faltering. I looked away from him, my grip on his forearm getting tighter. "You're too close Toothless, this is too weird."
He jerked my head and forced me to look at him once more. This time, I couldn't break away from his irate glower. He was angry, that much I could tell, but I was still confused at why he was feeling that way to begin with. His eyes were narrowed and tapered, slotted black orbs incredibly thin and practically simmering with some indefinite emotion. Surely he wasn't that offended by my telling him to back away, right? I mean, it's comprehendible enough—what's not to get? Sure, I didn't mind Toothless getting all close and affectionate towards me, but that's when he wasn't this humanoid being with scales. Loving nuzzles and prods to the cheek didn't exactly feel as pleasant when he did it as a human, or the human equivalent, especially being the same gender—ohhhh, that had to count for something. Men just didn't go around nuzzling other men, not in Burk, you'd surely be skinned and gutted and served in the Mess Hall. I gripped his forearm harder.
"Toothless, I mean it," I said shakily, my voice slightly on edge. "You can't get this close- !"
Toothless lunged at me, sending me sprawling to the earth with a heavy thud. More mud and mucky sand caked into my backside and seeped down the length of my back—I shivered and grimaced at the foul feeling. Anger began licking flames at the pit of my stomach, spiraling through my system like adrenaline pumping through my veins. He didn't have to go and push me into the damn ground, what was with him?
"What's your prob-…" My sentence died out as soon as I said it.
