It was a sunny day on the island of Berk. Everyone was out and about, doing their daily chores… except Hiccup. He was scouring the entire village for his dragon, Toothless, but ever since he gave him a new tail that allowed him to fly without him three days ago, he was nowhere to be seen. He worried that with this newfound freedom, he would abandon his friend and leave the village. But Hiccup knew that would never happen, for he was the one who gave him a new lease on life.
As Hiccup reached the top of the hill that overlooked the ocean, he thought he saw something speeding towards him. Pulling out his spyglass, he expanded it and peered into the eyehole. Something was coming towards the village! He grinned and put his spyglass away, for he knew what was coming: Toothless! He raced down the hill and onto the beach, ready to greet him with open arms.
Toothless sped over the ocean, spraying water with every beat of his wings. He had been flying for four days, and was getting tired, especially with his recent meal resting in his stomach after being "lightly" digested. He wanted to show his friend what he caught, sort of like a souvenir. That was why he warbled with delight at the sight of Berk and the boy that was waiting for him on the shore. He sped ever closer towards the beach and nearly tackled Hiccup to the ground. But just before he was to make contact, he quickly spread his wings out and landed in front of his trainer.
Hiccup smiled as Toothless finally hit the shore, sending water and sand in his face. "Toothless! Where have you been, boy? I was worried sick!" he said, hugging his dragon tightly. He then moved towards his tail, where he undid the replacement tail and tossed it aside. While Hiccup was busy, Toothless began to gag, his body ready to spit out his "souvenir". Hiccup heard the gagging and rushed to his dragon's side.
As Toothless was bringing his prize up from his stomach, a crowd of villagers came to see them. Among them were Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, Gobbler, the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Snoutlout and Astrid. With one final gurgle, Toothless opened his mouth…and couldn't summon up the strength to finish the job. Hiccup stepped in and shoved his hands into his dragon's throat. After digging for a bit, he felt something within the bowels of the esophagus: human hair.
"Astrid!" Hiccup called out "Can you give me a hand?" Astrid rushed to his side and started to massage the dragon's throat, trying to encourage him to spit out whoever was inside. Toothless gurgled and continued to hack up his catch, the bright blonde hair emerging from his mouth, like a woman giving birth to a baby.
Several in the crowd gave a loud "Eww…" as Toothless slowly hacked up the rest of the body, stumbling backwards as the feet left his mouth. The whole crowd swarmed over, staring down at the digested mess that was lying on the sandy beach. Several vomited, while others looked away in disgust. Hiccup and Fishlegs felt sick to their stomachs, Astrid gagged, and the twins made faces in disgust as Snoutlout poked it with a stick. That made the corpse shiver in response, and the crowd gasped in horror. "He's still alive!" Tuffnut shrieked as several women fainted. Gobbler pushed his way through, crouched beside the "corpse" and took its pulse. It was there, barely notable, but it was there. "The kid's alive, alright," Gobbler announced, rising to his feet "But he's got some nasty burns. I doubt he'll survive, even with the right treatment." Several people lowered their heads or took off their helmets in sorrow as two men picked up the boy and carried him towards Gobbler's house.
Hiccup stared as the crowd followed the men, murmurs and whispers spreading over the crowd. He then turned to Toothless, who was confused at his trainer's facial expression. Hiccup looked from Toothless to Astrid, then from Astrid to Toothless, then back again. How in Thor's name can Toothless swallow a human…whole? Hiccup wondered as Astrid placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup…" Astrid began, taking a breath in before continuing "Did you know that Toothless can do such a thing?" Hiccup pulled away from her, his eyes staring at the ocean. "No, I didn't." Hiccup replied "But…who was he?" "I don't know, Hiccup, but whoever he is…he must have had a long journey to get here." A gentle breeze swept over the pair as they headed towards Gobbler's place, questions floating in their heads.