Chapter Two

A/N: Yay! Chapter two! It's a pretty short chapter, though...sorry.

"I just don't get it..." Back in the Hooligan village, Stoick is pacing across the floor of the Great Hall. A few other vikings watch their chief with a mild curiosity but look away once they decide it's probably nothing that concerns them. Only one other man, the Blacksmith named Gobber, who happens to be Stoick's best friend, shows any real interest in his troubles.

"I'm telling you, Stoick!" Gobber grunts as he picks at some yak meat between his teeth. "Hiccup is a smart boy, even if he did get caught in the storm, he'll be fine! Plus, he's got Toothless with him. You know how protective that beast can be..."

But Hiccup's father isn't listening to him. "I just don't get it, Gobber!" He repeats, sounding highly annoyed and concerned at the same time. "I warned him that Bucket felt a storm brewing! I told him not to go too far! And what does he do?! Flies off so far that none of the other Riders know where he's gone! I swear, I've never seen anyone so reckless! So unable to listen to orders!"

"And what, exactly, was your 'careless' son doing when you told him all that?" Asks Gobber, who is now inspecting the chunk of meat that is on the point of his hooked hand.

The red-headed chief flashes him a stern look, clearly not knowing why he asked such a seemingly pointless question. "He was...drawing some kind of sketch or something, I think."

"Ahh," Gobber nods and smirks at him, flicking the chewed meat onto the table. "Well that explains a few things, anyway."

"What?"

The Blacksmith chuckles and shakes his head, hobbling to his feet and placing a hand on his friend's shoulders. "Stoick, you forget...I've been Hiccup's mentor for many years now. I know a few things about when he is and is not paying attention to what you're saying."

"Oh?" Stoick grumbles, folding his arms.

"Yes, and I happen to know that when that boy has a pen in his hand, you'd might as well be talking to a yak! Chances are, he doesn't hear a word yer saying."

"Oh..." The chief huffs a sigh and tugs away from his friend. He paces to one of the many windows and looks out into the raging snowstorm, a worried frown on his face. "But that doesn't change the fact that my boy is still out there somewhere... Maybe...maybe I should-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Stoick!" Gobber interrupts, already knowing what he's about to say. "Going out there wouldn't just be dangerous, it would be stupid! You'd never be able to find him in this dense snow."

Stoick glares at him. "I have to try, Gobber!"

"And what good would you be to anyone if you ended up getting stuck out there? Hiccup'd come home and then have to go back out again to save your sorry behind!"

And that was just the prod Stoick needed. He glares heatedly at his blunt-mouthed friend, his face beat-red with fury. But before he can tell him off, Gobber takes his shoulder again and offers a supportive smile.

"All I'm saying is, you're better off here than out there. After all, for all we know, Hiccup could be on his way home right now. He's done more impossible things than weathering a measly snowstorm..."

However, that snowstorm is anything but measly. It may have appeared so within the comforting warmth of the Great Hall, surrounded by friends and family... But out in midst of this monster blizzard, huddled in a cave and completely alone other than Toothless, Hiccup is feeling a little less than optimistic about his situation.

He sighs for the hundredth time and pulls his knees up to his chest, hoping to retain some more body heat. But he's still shaking, despite Toothless's best efforts to start a fire on the rocky floor of their cave. The flames just won't stick without anything flammable to catch. And so the two sit in the dark cavern, unable to see anything but the blazing storm outside. The only sounds being the growling of the wind and the groaning of tree branches.

"Th-this s-sucks..." Hiccup grumbles through chattering teeth. Toothless drones in agreement and shifts his weight, laying his head on his paws. So far, he seems pretty unaffected by the cold...but that doesn't stop Hiccup from worrying. Reptiles are cold-blooded after all... So despite the fact that he's so cold he can't take a steady breath, Hiccup is somehow even more worried for his friend.

What if Toothless starts getting too cold...? Hiccup wouldn't be able to do much to help him... What if he gets frost bite or even hypothermia? What if...what if...?

Apparently, the dragon can sense his Rider's distress because no sooner than Hiccup begins to worry about those things, does Toothless start to coo affectionately at him and nuzzle his head against Hiccup's. The Night Fury wiggles his big body closer to him and fans open one of his wings.

Hiccup stares at its dark silhouette with a curious eye. But his confusion is put to rest when he feels the intoxicating warmth radiating off of it. Purely out of instinct, he's drawn to the source of heat and before he knows what he's doing, Hiccup has curled against his dragon's side, trying to get as close as physically possible.

Toothless purrs, happy that his Rider understands. Then he rolls onto his side and, using his little clawed feet, pulls Hiccup a little closer and hugs him to his chest, the same way he did after rescuing him from the Red Death's fire. In one final adjustment, he folds his wing over the both of them, creating a kind of canopy to block the wind.

And at this point, Hiccup is practically purring as well. "How are you still so warm...?" He wonders, mystified. "Lizards are cold-blooded..."

Of course, Toothless can't answer him but he does his best. Giving a very unnatural, warbling drone that could only be made by a dragon... His way of saying 'I'm not just some useless reptile'.

An hour passes and the storm rages on. Hiccup and Toothless remain cocooned in their feeble shelter, eventually lulled to sleep by their conjoined warmth. It's while the two friends are snoozing peacefully, that a very disheartening sound rumbles through the cave...

Like that of a stampede of yaks rushing down the side of the mountain. Or even...a ton of snow tumbling over itself, down and down and down, further and further down the cliff until it eventually spills over the edge and fills the clearing to the brim.

Blocking out the cave's entrance as if it never existed.