The first thing I could make out was the sun streaming in from the window. It stung my eyes, so I naturally just rolled over and covered my head with a pillow.

The fact that I could do this jolted me awake.

Wait a sec, hadn't I been screaming in terrible agony last night? And before that, hadn't I been literally knocking on Hel's door and saying "pardon me ma'am, do you have room down here for me?" Nervously I wondered if I had actually died during the night and this was heaven, but looking around, I knew it couldn't be. Heaven would be full of angels and valkyries and Odin and whatnot. It so wouldn't be my dad's hut in Berk.

I scowled, thinking. But if I wasn't dead, and I was still here, then how in Odin's name was I not almost dead? Turning my attention to my missing limb, I was amazed to find that not only did it not hurt anymore, but what used to be red, angry flesh was now just a bunch of scabs and scarred skin.

It was completely healed.

"DAD!!" Joy filled every part of my small frame as I pulled my fake leg on and hobbled out of bed. "Dad, come here! You gotta see this!"

I felt more than okay. I felt better than I had in a long time. Run a marathon? Sure! that's how good I felt.

But where was Dad? Pulling open the heavy doors and stepping into the sunlight, several villagers gasped in surprise to see me up and about. I grinned like an idiot and waved. "I know! Isn't it great!?"

"YOU."

I didn't even have a chance to turn around before I found myself face first in the grass with a throbbing shoulder. "Ow! Astrid, what was THAT f--"

She tackled me, eyes red from...crying? Astrid could cry? "You son of a half troll, you scared me!! You spent all week practically dead, and now all of a sudden you're up and running like nothing happened?!" Astrid gritted her teeth and punched my arm HARD. "THAT is for scaring me."

"It wasn't my fault, I swear!" I covered my head with my arms and cowered on the ground, silently cursing the fact that my girlfriend was more than capable of breaking me in half. "I didn't mean to get suddenly better, I just DID!"

She thought it over and sighed, pulling me in for a kiss. "That's for....you know, not dying." Astrid looked down and bit her lip, rubbing at her eyes slightly. "This was different than when we fought the Red Death, you know. There, well....there had been hope you survived. Here, Elder Vanja said you wouldn't live the night, and---" Her voice broke, and she wiped her nose. "--And oh Hiccup, you looked so pale and thin and---"

I gently patted her shoulder, unsure of how to react. Astrid was so much stronger and tougher than anyone I knew, and here she was crying. And not just crying either, crying over ME! "C'mon Astrid, it's ok. I'm ok!" I smiled awkwardly. "Shouldn't we be, you know, celebrating that?"

Astrid nodded slightly and the ghost of a smile passed her lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She stood suddenly, pulling me up with her. "C'mon, we gotta get Toothless. After he bit you, they locked him up--"

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute. Toothless BIT me?!" I almost fainted. My best friend was a bit proud maybe, and very protective, and had been known to snap at the occasional passerby who looked at him the wrong way, but biting me?! Toothless?! "That's not like him at all! Why'd he do that?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. No one does. Closest thing anyone's come up with is maybe he thought it'd wake you up." She snickered. "Technically, it worked."

Normally, the old training arena would've been a bit too long of a walk for me with my new leg, and Astrid offered to carry me part of the way, but that strong healthy feeling I'd had moments before didn't quit. It actually got bigger the more I walked, and the more I walked the better I felt. Trilling with excitement, I forgot about my missing limb and ran ahead of Astrid, ignoring her annoyed pleas to slow down in favor of running. Oh sweet running, how I'd missed you!

She was red faced, out of breath, and very annoyed when she finally caught up to me. "Did you forget that you're kind of missing something vital to running, chowderhead?!" Astrid scowled fiercely. "Keep this up and you'll get sick again."

I laughed loudly. "Astrid, I feel better than I have in months! Whatever Toothless did really hit the spot!"

I had never felt this way before, to be honest. So wildly happy, and so STRONG...

My heart leaped. I couldn't wait to see Toothless and ask him what happened.

It had been a good week since the craziness with my leg went down, and life was pretty much back to normal again.

Toothless had been overjoyed to see me, of course, and knocked me off my feet in his excitement. Dad was too shocked to say anything at the time, but later on he made sure my favorite dinner was waiting for me. I had to smile knowing that my tough old man had been worried about me.

It was being called a miracle, what happened. Even I had to admit I did wonder what exactly happened. My memories were all jumbled, full of fever and horrible burning sensations. All that anyone seemed to know was this: Toothless had bit me, I got better the next day. Needless to say, some of the more superstitious vikings were looking at my dragon with the awe usually awarded to the Gods. Some even thought he was Odin in dragon form!

Me, I knew better. Sitting on the edge of our cliff, what I liked to call our "hang out spot", I lazily reached back to rub under Toothless's chin. He wasn't a god, though that'd be cool. No, he was just very very special.

He rumbled a purr deep in his chest as I rubbed, pulling me to his body with a playful flick of his tail. Laughing, I began tickling him. Who woulda thought that dragons were ticklish, right? Toothless barked a harsh dragon laugh and wriggled away, bounding around the rocks, wagging his tail. Come and get me!, he seemed to say, and leaping to my feet I obliged. "Get back here, you overgrown salamander!" I laughed loudly and ran after him, Toothless easily dodging every move I made.

Running was easier since I healed. Almost as natural as breathing.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my newfound feelings of strength a LOT. One of the things I hated most about losing my leg after it happened was being so much slower than everyone else. But...There was something about it that just didn't sit well in my stomach about it. I couldn't say what, but those feelings didn't feel NORMAL to me.

I shook my head and continued running after Toothless. Panting and slightly out of breath, I shook my fist at him. "You win this round, reptile!", I shouted, a huge grin on my face. "But I shall have my revenge.

Toothless tilted his head back and roared triumphantly, then gave me a self satisfied grin. I rolled my eyes. Alright, don't rub it in already. Flopping back into the grass, I leaned back and stared at the sky. It was an unusually nice day in Berk, warm and sunny, and for some reason, I felt like sunning myself. Toothless seemed to want the same thing, because he laid down right next to me, sprawling out to get as much sun as possible. Smiling sleepily, I closed my eyes.

"I love you."

My eyes flew open. Sitting up slowly, I looked around. Maybe Astrid....but she wouldn't just walk up and SAY it like that. Shrugging, I laid back down, my head on Toothless's chest. Must be my vivid imagination, I decided. Toothless seemed to snicker at my behavior, and gently groomed the top of my head, purring softly. It felt nice, and the sun was SO relaxing..... I closed my eyes again.

"I love you, my little human."

That time I scrambled to my feet, eyes darting around confusedly. "Alright, who's saying that?"

Toothless tilted his head to one side, mirroring my confusion. He made a small grunt, like he always did when he was confused, but this time....

"Hiccup, what's wrong?"

No.

No way.

Not a chance.

I felt my eyes widen. In spite of myself, I started laughing. "Oh man, I've had some strange dreams before, but...." Gently, I punched Toothless's shoulder and grinned madly. "Thinking you can talk? Boy, what did I EAT, right?"

He didn't move, aside from one of his head fins perking up, but his eyes narrowed intensely. It seemed like he was staring right into my soul, and I felt a small twinge of fear at the base of my spine. Slowly, he lowered his head till it was an inch away from mine, his hot and heavy breath stinging my skin. "Hiccup...", he growled, sniffing my slightly, "Can you understand me?"

I could do nothing but nod stupidly, my mouth hanging open. "I--er...um... y-yes?"

We sat for an hour just staring at each other, neither one daring to speak.

That strong feeling from before? It now sat in the pit of my stomach like a ton of hot rocks, slowly cooking my insides with an uncomfortable heat. It didn't exactly help the awkward tension that my sudden knowledge of Draconian language had created.

I had a million questions. First and foremost, what in the name of Loki's daughter was WRONG with me?! Since when could I understand Toothless?! He was a freaking Dragon! Up till an hour ago, our communication had been confined to reading each other's body language. What happened to me?!

He sensed my dull panic, as he usually did, and gently reached across to me with his wing, gesturing for me to come closer. I hesitated, but complied, finding my usual spot beneath his mighty wing. Despite how warm he was, and how hot my insides were beginning to feel, I shivered. Toothless nudged me with his head. "You are frightened?"

A strangled laugh escaped my throat. I still couldn't get over the fact that MY DRAGON WAS TALKING TO ME. "No! well, um, you know, kinda but.....It's--It's fine. Really."

He shook his head. "I can hear your heart. You are frightened."

"Well can you really blame me?!" I shivered again. "Dragons don't talk, Toothless. Either I've gone mad, or I'm dreaming. There's no other explainations."

Toothless nudged me again, a low mournful sound eminating from his throat. "You are scared....of me?"

I shook my head frantically. "No! No no, never Toothless, not of YOU."

I felt his wings tighten around me. "Good."

Since the first time we connected as friends, I had wondered what he would sound like if he talked. Maybe deep and commanding, like my dad, or gruff like Gobber. Maybe he was young, and would sound like me. For all I knew, he could've been a SHE and sound like Astrid.

But now....I didn't really have an answer. He wasn't speaking my language, it was the same sounds he had always made, but I understood them. Vaguely, I wondered if maybe I was talking like him and not the other way around. The idea of me growling and snorting like a dragon amused me slightly, and I smiled at Toothless. He had turned away to stare at the slowly setting sun, a tiny smile on his long dragon maw.

Gently, I rubbed under his chin again. Well, it was strange, but not necessarily BAD. I sighed. Maybe it was just a fluke, but a fluke I could get used to.

We stayed that way together until the sun set, our shadows mixing in the dying light.