It was dark, very dark. The only light was the moonlight, and even then, it can still be hard to see sometimes. Fortunately, dragons had better vision than humans, especially Night Furies, so Toothless had no problems seeing in the dark.
There were no sounds that night, except for Hiccup's breathing, which Toothless could hear because of his hearing. The boy was asleep with the Night Fury curled up around him protectively, staying awake in order to keep an eye out for anything that might try to harm him. But so far, there was nothing dangerous out there. But even then, Toothless wasn't going to take his chances, especially when Hiccup couldn't fight, thus, the boy couldn't defend himself really well.
It had not been long after Toothless had flown away from Berk with Hiccup, which was probably hours ago. Although, it was a little past midnight, so perhaps it had been yesterday when the two of them left. Still, it wasn't that long ago, and they had arrived on this island only three hours ago so that Hiccup could rest. But it was still a nice island. Beautiful, large, perfect in almost every way. The two could actually live him for now.
"Not bad at all." Toothless commented before looking down at Hiccup and snorted. "If Dad saw this, he'd think I lost my mind. Taking in a boy. Human, no less. Oh well. Mom wouldn't have minded much." He let out a sigh. When his father was alive, they were never really close. It was similar to what Stoick and Hiccup had, and when Toothless and his father finally got along, it was only a couple years before his death.
"At least I know he loved me." He said, sighing again. "He was proud of me."
"Toothless?"
The Night Fury's eyes widened slightly before looking at the boy in his grip. "Hiccup, did I wake you?"
"No, I just woke up on my own." Hiccup yawned before rubbing his eyes. "You okay, bud?"
Toothless chuckled, then nodded. "I'm alright, kid. You should get some sleep."
"I'm good. I can stay awake." Hiccup assured, then stood up before looking around the beach. "Seems nice, huh?"
Toothless smiled. "Yeah. You and I can settle down here. Especially when we can't just keep island hopping. It's better for the both of us."
Hiccup nodded. "Where do you think we can build a house or a hut?"
Toothless shrugged. "Anywhere that would suit, I suppose. After a while, you and I can build a much better house. But for now, we should just build a suitable one for me and you."
"Okay. Sounds fair, but, uh, we're going to need some wood." Hiccup pointed out.
Toothless grinned. "You let me worry about that. Right now, let's figure out where we want the house. I figure we shouldn't build one on the beach. Come on, let's go."
So the two of them were searching the island for a good spot for a house. There was a lot of open space here and there, but they needed to find the perfect spot. The island was somewhat larger than Berk, and there was an area by a cliff above the ocean. And several yards from that cliff seemed like a good spot for them to build a house. All they needed was wood. And it didn't take long for Toothless to go and come back with a large tree.
"Wow." Hiccup said, very impressed. "This might actually be all we need for just one house."
Toothless chuckled. "Exactly why I got it. Now, we just need to chop it up, then we can start construction."
Meanwhile, back on Berk, Astrid was having trouble sleeping. She would roll around in her bed, trying to fall asleep, only to fail before she would sit up with her knees up to her chest. Right now, she knew it was certain that she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Not with all the stress she was feeling at this moment.
Astrid couldn't think about anything except what Hiccup had said to her yesterday. How he didn't fit in, how no one on Berk cares for him. It was too true, and Astrid knew she was partially at fault for that. After all, she could've reached out to him, maybe befriended him, then he wouldn't feel the way he feels.
It made so much sense, every time he made a new invention or tried to kill a dragon, he was just trying to help out. To prove himself to the tribe. Only for it all to end in disaster each and every single time. Yes; he made mistakes, but at the very least, he tried.
But now, Hiccup was gone. Astrid has no idea where he could've gone, especially when Hiccup had probably left the entire archipelago by now. He was long gone, and even if she managed to convince Stoick to send a search party, it wasn't likely that she or anyone would find him. Where would she even look to begin with? She wasn't even sure which direction they went in to begin with. And besides, she'd pretty much be on her own if she even tried to search for him. Or would she?
"It's my only chance." Astrid said as she quickly got out of bed and quickly walked out of her house, then made her way to Fishlegs's house.
"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Fishlegs asked in surprise when he saw her walk in. He had been down stairs doing some reading.
"Fishlegs, I need your help with something. Admittedly, it's a big risk, but trust me, you could learn so much about dragons." Astrid assured.
Fishlegs became excited. "Really? Okay, what do I have to do?"
"Come with me. I'll show you." Astrid led him away from the village and to the academy.
"Okay, why are we here?" Fishlegs asked in confusion.
"Alright, Fishlegs, this is going to sound crazy, but Hiccup really did shoot down a Night Fury." Astrid stated.
Fishlegs's eyes widened. Normally, he wouldn't believe it, but he knew Astrid would never lie about something like that. "Really?"
"Yes. Long story short, the two of them became friends, Night Furies can talk, and Hiccup ran away with him."
"Wait, what? Why?"
"Well, no one really cared about him here. Not even his father. And honestly, I can't blame him. And it's technically our fault, especially when we could've reached out to him." Astrid explained.
"Oh, man." Fishlegs realized she was right, and now he felt guilty. "I always thought he was okay. But then again, I didn't really know him at all."
"Exactly. And I can't sleep because of it. I think maybe we should go after him, make up for not reaching out to him like we probably should've."
"Well, okay, but how are we gonna find them? Night Furies are one of the fastest dragons I know of."
"Which is why I brought you here. With your help, we might be able to train a few of these dragons, then we can go look for them." Astrid said.
Fishlegs's eyes widened. "What? Are you crazy? We'll get killed!"
"Maybe not. Look, it's crazy, but so is the fact that Hiccup befriended a Night Fury, one who's capable of talking. So maybe we can befriend these dragons."
Fishlegs was hesitant about it because of how dangerous it was, but then he remembered that if he befriended a dragon, he could learn so much more about dragons. "Okay."
Astrid smiled. "You're the dragon expert. Which one do you think we should start with?"
"Uh, well, for you, I'd suggest the Nadder. They are one of your favorite dragons, and she is like you in a few ways." Fishlegs suggested.
Astrid chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." She pulled out a piece of chicken she had brought with her for this situation, then waited for Fishlegs to open the door to the cage. Once it was open, the Deadly Nadder immediately burst out, growling at the two.
"Hey there, girl." Astrid said calmly as she slowly walked towards the dragon, holding out her hand to offer her the chicken. Of course, the Nadder looked uncertain of what was going on and what to do, but they couldn't blame her for being wary of them. "Look, I now you're nervous, but we're not gonna hurt you. Here, I brought you some chicken."
Before Astrid and Fishlegs could react, the chicken was gone, and the Deadly Nadder had gulped, obviously swallowing it.
"Wow. I did not know they were that fast." Fishlegs commented, sounding impressed.
Astrid nodded. "Neither did I." She held out her hand. The Nadder seemed confused, but slowly, she stepped forward and placed her snout on Astrid's hand, showing them that they had gained her trust.
Astrid smiled. "Okay. That went well." She looked at Fishlegs. "You ready for one of your own?"
He nodded before looking at the cages, trying to decide which dragon to go for. Then he made his decision. "Let's try the Gronckle. I like Gronckles."
Astrid nodded and looked at the Deadly Nadder she had just befriended. "Okay, girl. We need your help with the Gronckle. If something goes wrong, we may need your protection."
The Nadder seemed to nod, and the vikings opened the Gronckle cage before the boulder class dragon flew out. Fishlegs looked around before picking up a rock, knowing it was what Gronckles mainly ate.
"Here, girl." He said, holding out his hand. "I got this rock for you."
Fishlegs grew nervous as the large dragon flew towards him, and the Deadly Nadder got ready to defend him if necessary. Fortunately, it wasn't as the Gronckle stopped right in front of him before swallowing the rock. After that, she began acting playfully.
"Aw. She seems so nice." Fishlegs commented as he rubbed her head, then looked over at Astrid. "Think we're ready?"
She nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
"Wow."
The four of them looked to see Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout standing right by the entrance.
"Um, this is awkward." Fishlegs said.
Astrid sighed. "Guys, before you try running back to the village to tell everyone, just hear us out. Otherwise, me and Fishlegs will just leave anyway."
"Oh, let me guess, you're starting a dragon army!" Tuffnut guessed.
Astrid and Fishlegs exchanged a look, and they shook their heads.
"Oh, you're going to blow stuff up!" Ruffnut guessed.
"Hmm, I'm thinking you two are muttonheads!" Snotlout yelled in annoyance.
"Oh, that was my next guess." Tuffnut said.
"Look, here's the thing. Hiccup ran away because no one here on Berk has been there for him." Astrid looked at Snotlout sternly. "And aren't you supposed to be his cousin?"
"Um, well, I tried to be there for him." Snotlout said in his defense.
"Oh, really? When?" Tuffnut asked disbelievingly.
Snotlout sighed. "When we were six."
"That was nine years ago!" Fishlegs exclaimed.
"Exactly, which is why Fishlegs and I are gonna look for him, to make things right." Astrid said. "Now, you three are either with us or against us. What's it gonna be?"
Tuffnut and Ruffnut answered first.
"Oh, I always wanted to blow stuff up with a dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"Yeah, me too." Ruffnut agreed.
Fishlegs looked at Astrid. "That won't end well."
Astrid sighed. "Well, it's something."
Snotlout sighed. "Well, I always wondered what it'd be like to ride a dragon. Maybe the Monstrous Nightmare."
So with that, the teens let the two remaining dragons out of their cages before they managed to tame them. It wasn't much harder, especially when the Deadly Nadder and Gronckle were there to make sure no one got hurt.
Astrid ended up naming her Nadder "Stormfly." Fishlegs named the Gronckle "Meatlug." The twins named their Zippleback "Barf" and "Belch." And finally, Snotlout named the Nightmare "Hookfang."
"Okay, I think we're ready to go." Fishlegs said.
"We have to hurry, before someone sees us." Astrid said before climbing onto Stormfly, and the others got onto their dragons before they were flown out of the arena and away from Berk.
"Okay, so does anyone know which way Hiccup had gone?" Snotlout asked, knowing that this would take a while.
"No. Which is why we're gonna have to start somewhere." Astrid said before taking the lead.
Elsewhere, on the island that Toothless and Hiccup were staying on, the two had managed to chop up the wood before they finished the flooring. Of course, they finished that part quickly because Toothless did the heavy lifting. Night Furies were very strong dragons.
"Okay, that looks good. We just get the walls, maybe a second floor, then the roof." Hiccup suggested.
"Already on it." Toothless placed several long boards of wood together. "Come on, Hiccup. We gotta nail them together."
Hiccup nodded before grabbing his hammer and a few nails, then began nailing the boards to one another. Since he had the easy part, he was able to nail two boards together very quickly, that and because he was used to working on things in the forge. Anyone else, well, it would take a bit longer for them to do this. But since he was an expert, and since Toothless was there to help him, they were getting this done very quickly. It made Hiccup wonder just how easy it would be build houses if there were more dragons with them.
"Alright, that's about a good quarter of the wall. Let's take a break for now, you look like you're getting tired." Toothless said.
"What? No, I can handle it." Hiccup assured.
"Hiccup, we already got the flooring done, we have a fair amount of the wall done, we can afford to rest for now. Besides, at this rate, we could actually finish building the house by tonight. Or, well, within the next twenty-four hours." Toothless said, remembering that even though it was morning, it was still technically night.
Hiccup sighed and sat down. "I guess you're right."
The Night Fury walked up to him and nuzzled him. "There's nothing to be stressed out about. But why do I feel like this isn't about the house?"
"Well, Toothless, I just ran away. I mean, I didn't like it much back on Berk, but still. It's the only home I ever knew." Hiccup explained.
Toothless sighed. "I know it's hard. Believe me, I was really unsure of things when I went out on my own. It was strange to me, and it required a lot of adjustments, but I managed. Don't worry, I'll help you get through this."
Hiccup smiled and hugged him. "We haven't known each other long, yet I feel like I can always count on you."
Toothless chuckled. "Who said you couldn't?"
Hiccup chuckled. "You're right. I just know I can trust you."
"Good." Toothless replied. "Now, let's just relax for now." Then the Night Fury laid down. "You know, this is one of the nicer islands I've been to in my entire life. Can you believe that?"
"Well, I can still hardly believe that you're immortal." Hiccup replied. "But, it is a nice island. It's beautiful."
Toothless nodded. "The perfect place to live."
"No argument there." Hiccup agreed.
There was silence as the two of them began relaxing. However, Hiccup soon broke that silence.
"Toothless. Can I ask you something?"
The Night Fury chuckled. "Well, aren't you ask me something right now?"
Hiccup chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess. But I wanna know something."
"What is it?"
"Why did you bother taking me under your wing?"
Toothless had not expected that, and for a moment, he wasn't sure how to reply. "Well, Hiccup, normally I wouldn't. After all, no one just goes and practically adopts someone just like that. But..." He sighed. "Okay, I'm going to be honest with you, Hiccup. When I looked at you, looked into your eyes, I saw something."
Hiccup raised a brow. "What'd you see?"
"Myself." Toothless replied with a sigh. "You're not the only one who felt like he was a disappointment."
Hiccup's eyes widened. "Wait, you...?"
Toothless nodded. "My father... there were times where he'd look at me, and all I saw was... disappointment. Sometimes, it seemed like he was embarrassed to be my father, as if he was completely ashamed. Here, this is what it was like." Toothless began talking in a deeper and almost darker tone. "Excuse me, Dragon God, I'm afraid I have the wrong son. I expected a stronger one, something with more decency. At least a son I could be proud of, this here, this is a fucking disgrace!"
Hiccup gasped. "Oh, my Thor. I'm so sorry, Toothless."
Toothless sighed. "And it's funny, how it takes centuries before me and him get close, and by then, he had already died no less than five years ago."
"Is that why you always move from island to island?" Hiccup asked gently.
"Ever since I had matured." Toothless stated. "Technically, I'm not fully grown. Most Night Furies are large, somewhat larger than Monstrous Nightmares. And look at me, I'm tiny."
Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not that tiny. You look like an average size dragon. And let's not forget your capabilities. I mean, immortality, and there's the fact that you're stronger and faster than most dragons."
Toothless smiled slightly. "I suppose you're right about that."
Hiccup stood up. "Let's get back to work."
Toothless grabbed the boards they were using to make a wall and placed them together. "Alright, let's go."
