Hello again. I wanted this chapter to explain how Toothless managed to get to the cove as well as get his viewpoint about Hiccup. Posted 4-22-2014. Please enjoy & thank you for your time.

...

Her ears still ringing, she remained motionless with her eyes closed for a good two minutes before she realized she was alone. Slowly fluttering her lids open, her vision blurred till it focused to tree branches and small glimpse of murky haze.

If she had to guess, it was close to noon. The morning fog was beginning to disappear leaving the air humid and misty.

Coming to the conclusion she was still in the land of the living, she inhaled a hefty chunk of air before letting it out exhaustively.

She laid there unmoved for a moment longer before regaining her strength to take a seating position, her legs curled to her chest and shivering arms wrapped around them.

"Oh, what have I done?"

She let it go. She let the only thing that could have changed everything in her life go. And why?

Because she couldn't kill a dragon.

Three hundred years of proud Viking heritage and she just turned around and went against everything her ancestors set out to do when they colonized Berk. All those centuries of unchanged authority shattered by a weak little hiccup who was not Viking enough to do something anyone else in the Archipelago would have done.

What would she do? What could she do? What would the villagers say if they knew? What would her father...?

She didn't want to think about it. An act of treason like this would mean immediate banishment, even execution seemed a more appropriate form of punishment for her crime, it didn't matter if she was the daughter of the chief.

She felt faint, a cold sweat enveloped her body as she slowly rocked herself back and forth.

"If they find out. If they find out," she mumbled, terrified.

The fear of total isolation scared her far worse than being eaten or burned alive by a dragon.

At least to her people, there was honor in that. But this, being cast off with no place to go, alone, was torture.

She played it in her head, someone would say they saw her release a Night Fury. She would bring shame to her family's name. She'd be forced off Berk with no recourses and she'd die miserable and unloved.

"If they find out," she continued till she made a sudden realization. "If..."

She had look around before setting the dragon free. She was alone in the forest when it happened.

Everyone was back in town repairing from the raid. Nobody knew she was out here. To the best of their knowledge, she was still home as her father had instructed. She had an alibi, albeit a weak one, but still they could without a shadow of a doubt attempt she was to be sent home and stay there.

"This could work," reassuring herself she stopped shaking and calmed down a bit.

She just never had to say anything to anyone about the little incident and she'd be perfectly fine.

Just one small detail was off, she wasn't home.

If her father or anyone else noticed she was out, her only alibi would be shattered.

She thought back on the day, retracing her steps from the moment she woke up to the here and now. What did she do today that would possible give her a reason to be in the forest. Alone. With no witnesses?

Raid, help in the forge, sent home, bath, eat, walk in forest, free a dragon, now. One event matched oh so wonderfully which explained her being here. Blueberries!

She ate blueberries. If she had a reason to be in the forest, it would be to look for food, considering her plant-based diet. No one would question it.

Hiccup, why were you not home?

I was looking for food in the forest.

Well that seems like a perfectly 'Hiccup' activity, I question you no further.

Of course she didn't like lying to others, she was terrible at it. But it wouldn't be a lie if she did go out and find food. She did consider it before actually finding the dragon.

All she had to do now was pick a few things, head back to the village casually and no one would be the wiser.

With her strength back, she lifted herself up. It took a while for her to get her bearings back, but soon she was good as new.

Hopefully the dragon was long gone and she'd never have to see it ever again. Her mind played back the events taken not too long ago. It had the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. But it let her go.

Why?

She let the thought sink in before brushing it off to the side. What mattered now was her building her cover, not worrying about why a dragon allowed her to survive.

She made her way deeper into the sea of trees.

...

He was having a difficult time getting into the air. This had never happened to him before. Night Furies were natural flyers, agile and sharp. Now he was bumping into tree limbs and felt sluggish.

What's going on here?! he paused and examined his wings.

Nope, still powerful and airborne.

He brought his tail to his face and there he saw it, or lack of it, his ears and scales dropped. My fin... He inspected to only find one. The other, completely gone.

Panic set in, Where? What? How?... His internal struggle ceased when the sound of footsteps set nearby. He crouched down to remain unseen.

Cautiously he lifted his head over the small hillside where he was and saw... Her! A slight growl in his tone, his ears slicked back and nostrils inflamed.

She did this! Her and that binding contraption of hers! I should have killed her when I had the chance. Because of You, I can't fly. You worthless piece of garbage! He so wanted to just pounce out and rip her apart for ripping a part of him.

He had to be smart about this. If he just appeared, she could scream, others might come and that wouldn't be good. No, he had to be stealthy. Observe, and at the right moment, strike.

Killing her wouldn't bring his fin back but at least he'd feel better about himself if she was gone. She didn't seem like much of a Viking anyways so maybe he'd be doing the humans a favor by eliminating her.

He waited.

...

Walking deeper into the forest, Hiccup stumbled upon various wild herbs and root vegetables. Carefully, she'd pick what she needed and placed them into her satchel.

Despite the incident last night, the incident at the forge and the incident with the dragon, it was a pretty good day for her. After all, she was still alive and that counted for something, right? She got to help Gobber in the forge during the raid and they had a heart to heart, which was good she supposed.

She wished she could have that kind of connection with her own father. He usually seemed too focused on other things to actually bond with her. Of course she didn't blame him for it; he was the chief after all.

But no matter how busy he was, he'd always find the time to bond with Aarne. How well he did or how much stronger he's becoming, it made her... jealous.

Aarne could never do wrong it seemed, he was perfect in every way a Viking could be. Strong, fearless, ruthless, smart, and on top of everything he had to be handsome; he had everything.

All she ever wanted was a simple: "Good job, Hiccup. I'm proud of you."

Was it too much to ask for? She went as far as learning how to prepare and cook all the things he enjoyed eating, from wild game to seafood, just to maybe get a response or something out of him.

He was just impossible to please.

She made it to a clearing where she heard sounds of leaves rustling behind her, she flinched and turned. From a distance she spotted a black shadow.

Oh no. Just stay calm Hiccup, it's probably more scared of you than you are of it.

Turning back nervously, she pressed on, finding a gooseberry bush plastered with fruit. She opened a small pocket in her satchel and began picking at the red beauties till she could fit no more.

She heard the rustling again.

"H-hello?" she scanned around. From a nearby bush she could see something moving, it appeared.

...

He was tracking her not too far behind, allowing a good distance between the two of them. It was fairly easy to follow her as he could still smell her fragrant odor. She would occasionally stop to pick things then continued. He found her actions odd to say the least. Most humans didn't seem to bother with berries and edible plants, why was she?

Not paying much attention to his footing, he brushed by a bush. He stayed low, but she had heard the noise. To his relief, she just paused to look around then return to her business.

This stalking continued for quite some time before she took rest by a berry bush.

From a distance away, a bush began shaking. He heard her say something meekly and out of the bush a fawn appeared. Not older than a year it slowly made its way towards her. She watched it closely, making no sudden movements.

It began sniffing at her and her bag, taking interest in whatever she had in it. Taking something out of it, she presented it with a decent sized root vegetable which it eagerly took from her hands. It munched on it greedily. She placed her hand on its head and gave it a gentle rub.

The fawn didn't seem to mind the affection; rather it seemed to be enjoying it. Finishing it's meal the fawn continued insisting a petting from her, nudging at her palms before she began rubbing under its chin lovingly.

What an odd pair. A human and a fawn getting all buddy-buddy. Disgusting.

After a few more pets, she said her farewells to the little guy who followed close behind her before trailing off to other places.

She was alone again.

He watched her make her way to a high stone structure where she entered through a small opening big enough for her. Looking around, he spotted an entrance not too high up. Despite his inability to fly, he managed to climb up with a bit of a struggle at first and made his way after her.

It was an enclosed space, a garden to the far side of it where she was kneeling.

This is my chance, he had her in the perfect spot. Too far for anyone to hear her cries, if she managed to get any out by the time he was done with her.

...

The sun was high and it lit the waters of the pond to a golden glow. She walked over to it with a bucket she kept to hydrate her growing secret vegetable garden. Every year before winter would hit, she'd harvest what she could and secretly put it into the villages' food storage, the rest she'd watch over carefully till the thaw and collect the remaining batch and seeds to start a new harvest in early summer. She made sure she had enough to help her village along as well as provide for her own needs. Occasionally a few furry critters would snack on a cabbage or two, but she didn't mind sharing what she had with them.

From behind her she heard the sound of rubble. She was starting to feel rather uncomfortable. Maybe it was her guilty conscience that was playing mind games with her?

She felt alone, but was she really?

Every sound and wind howling by caused her to flinch and freeze. Come on Hiccup, there's nothing there, you're worrying over nothing.

Thump

Over on the other side of the cove she heard a loud thump. Her breathing stopped for a second. The air seemed heavier, choking even. Instinct told her to run, but her body was paralyzed. From the end of the water-bed, she looked directly at the creature before her.

"Night Fury."

...

Both didn't move, deadlocked by the eyes. His, feral and cat-like. Hers, wide and dilated.

Toxic green to forest green.

Nothing was done for the longest time. The sun's rays slowly set and the shadows of the cove began to grow.

Everything came flooding back to her mind. Fear and confusion along with guilt and regret, it was all too much. She felt faint. Her legs were beginning to wobble as she quickly was losing balance till she finally collapsed on the cold ground.

With her down from exhaustion, he manically crept to her. She seemed smaller than he recalled yet still scrawny and hopeless. He lowered his head to hers, she was knocked out.

She's just making this too easy.

He growled lowly. No response.

Razor sharp teeth at the ready he was prepared to end it all here. He placed his jaw to her shoulder, not yet applying pressure. He wanted her to feel it slowly.

She slightly hummed from his actions sending small vibrations from his teeth to his entire body.

It gave him a warm shiver like none he'd ever felt before. He let out a faint purr involuntarily. The lingering scent on her added with the quivering sensation sent his mind in a state of bliss.

Seriously!? What is up with me today? First I let her go now I'm stirred up. This shouldn't be so difficult. I'm a Night Fury for crying out loud! She should be begging for her life, not making risqué little sounds and this sweet-smelling flavor, it's confusing me!

He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Just moments ago, he was all for ripping her apart. Now he just wanted to let it all go and keep sniffing her soft sugary being.

Letting out a dissatisfied grumble he released her yet again. He looked down at her sleeping form.

Why me?

She stirred slightly though, not enough to wake herself, just a little shiver. He paused before circling around her nonchalantly.

Getting a good look at her up close he felt rather silly feeling threatened by her. She was no bigger than a young fair-sized doe and was slender like one. Her limbs slim and appeared brittle like the slightest touch could shatter her to pieces.

She's defiantly the runt.

The deep-rooted perfume of sweet grass and wild flora danced on the tip of his snout. He was nearly convinced she was made of the stuff, it just oozed out of her so alluringly.

He couldn't help but take a sizable inhale of her motionless body. His body tingled in all the right places as he released his breath, purring like a love struck kitten.

Sigh, deep down I want to tear you from limb to limb but I just can't bring myself to do it. You're not worth the energy. You're lucky I'm in a generous mood, runt.

He walked over to a large cluster of boulders and curled up into a ball. He was exhausted from it all.

He closed his eyes and fell into darkness.

...

Her world was dark. Everything was closing in on her. She was done with dragons and done with being a Viking and done with trying to please her father. Just done.

A warm presence enveloped her left shoulder tickling her. It was soothing in a way, almost gentle. The sensation virtually melted away all her troubles and fear. It was a kind and new feeling, she enjoyed it.

Soon the feeling was gone but her troubles didn't seem as bothersome as they were before. I'm gonna be okay.

Her eyes fanned open. Lifting herself she looked around. There was no dragon. Had she only imagined seeing it? She couldn't quite tell anymore, her head hurt thinking about it.

The sky was turning coppers.

"It's late." Hiccup grabbed the bucket of water and quickly splashed it on the vegetation before making her way to the exit, "Sorry, I'll be back tomorrow first thing in the morning, bye."

She gave the cove one last look around before leaving.

She didn't feel so alone anymore.