Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD
A/N: The theme song for this chapter is 'You're the Reason' by Victoria Justice.
Chapter Four – Questions Answered
Toothless' eyes snapped open as he woke, disturbed by Hiccup shifting against him. He craned his neck round to look at his rider, who was squirming a bit and moaning quietly. He wasn't fidgeting in a trying-to-get-comfy way…it looked more like was trying to get out of something he'd gotten stuck in. *Hiccup, what's wrong?* he asked with a worried croon, shifting a bit so he could try to nuzzle the young man awake.
Hiccup just kept shifting, mumbling something that sounded like "No" and "Toothless", and finally rolled off the dragon, grabbing at thin air with a wordless yelp of alarm. He jerked awake then, panting, disoriented. *Hiccup?* Toothless asked cautiously. Hiccup twisted round to stare at him, eyes wide in fear; for a brief moment, Toothless was worried that Hiccup was afraid of him, but that was quickly proven wrong. Hiccup scrambled over and wrapped his arms tightly around his dragons' neck, holding on like he didn't intend to let go any time soon. "You're alive" he whispered.
Toothless hesitated, and then did something he'd never tried before. He lifted one paw and placed it awkwardly on Hiccup's back, attempting to return the hug. *I'm alive* he agreed…and felt Hiccup stiffen.
The events of the previous night came back to Hiccup…the nightmare he'd just had and was now trying valiantly to forget, that wasn't real, but the dragons talking and everything else was. He slowly let go of Toothless and shifted to sit cross legged on the cave floor, wincing as he did so. He was aching all over. Now that he got a better look, the cave walls were covered in blue-green algae, and crawling with little glow bugs. There were so many of them, that together they made the cave light enough for him to see Toothless.
He'd been too tired and Toothless too tense to notice before, but there was a sound of running water in the cave with them…a small underground stream trickling along the side. Toothless looked at the water, and then at Hiccup, and back at the water again. *Are you thirsty?* he asked. The dragons' voice, Hiccup realised, sounded rather like his own, only deeper, smooth as ice and warm as flame.
Hiccup nodded. Toothless carefully helped him move closer to the stream, nice and slowly. Hiccup scooped some water up in his hands and drank it greedily; it tasted odd, probably from the rocks, but he ignored that. He was about to scoop up some more when he caught sight of his reflection…it was blurry, and misshapen, but he could still make out the dark bruise on his cheek.
His heartbeat picked up and he shuddered a bit. Slowly, he pulled up his tunic and tried to look at the scar on his side, just below his heart. He had no idea if Hauke had intended to miss his heart, and make him suffer more, and he didn't particularly care to know. It was obvious, however, that if Hauke had aimed just a little bit higher, or Toothless hadn't done…whatever he had to…then Hiccup would be dead. He'd come close to dying plenty of times, but this last time had shaken him.
He looked up at Toothless, confused but trusting, and helplessly asked, "H…How?"
*I'm sorry*. Toothless whined sadly, his wings, tail and head tucked in submissively. He looked guilty. *I'm sorry* he repeated; he knew he had to explain, Hiccup deserved that much. *Our blood – dragon blood – is…special. It gives us our long lives* he began. Hiccup was fascinated. *Different dragons live for different ages, but…Night Furies can live for…three to four hundred years.*
Now came the hard part. *If two dragons feel, in their hearts, that they…can't live without each other, there's a…ritual they can do. Heart binding…the two dragons blend their blood in each other's veins and…bind their life forces together. If one dragon is injured, the other feels their pain, and the strength of the other dragon will be shared with them and heal them faster than normal. If…one dragon dies, the dragon they are heart bound to…dies with them.
*Last night, you were dying, and I couldn't save you, so I…I bound my heart to yours. It shouldn't have worked, it's never been done with a human…but it has. I can feel it. So long as my heart is beating…so will yours* Toothless admitted. It was more than just Hiccup being alive, and understanding him...he felt something deep in his core that told him they were inextricably connected now.
Hiccup felt the same way…neither of them could quite express it, the feeling went beyond words…it was overwhelming, and yet comforting at the same time. Hiccup closed his eyes, trying to wrap his head around the idea of living for three or four hundred years. He couldn't…it was just too big. His emotions flared and wavered…relief at being alive, guilt at leaving home…sadness at the thought of outliving everyone else he knew…and joy at the thought of not having to leave Toothless alone.
His entire world, his whole life would be turned upside down by this…but there was one thing he was certain of. He looked up at Toothless again, and reached a hand out; the dragon leaned forward and pressed his muzzle against it. "I'm not mad" he said softly, petting Toothless, who squeaked in surprise.
*You forgive me?* he asked. Hiccup had forgiven him for having to bite his foot and making him lose it, and Hiccup was a forgiving person, but Toothless had worried that he might not forgive this. Toothless disliked 'might' and 'if'.
"I can't" Hiccup replied, but he was still smiling, "I never blamed you in the first place. You saved my life, Toothless. Thank you. You are amazing" he beamed, holding Toothless' head affectionately. Toothless stretched his mouth into a gummy smile and nuzzled his rider, purring and crooning with joy. He was so happy that the 'might' had become an 'is', and a good 'is' at that.
The two of them settled back down to sleep; the more they rested, the sooner Hiccup would heal. Toothless thought he was very silly and stubborn to want to stay with the Night Furies when they could have been taken home – even if Toothless disliked being carried – but here they were. Toothless would follow Hiccup to the ends of the earth, and if Hiccup wanted to gain the trust of the Night Furies, then Toothless would help him.
The newly heart bound pair were awoken hours later, by the smell of fish. A pile of fish lay on the ground several feet away from where they'd curled up beside the stream, and beside it were several broken branches. The Night Furies might have disliked Hiccup, but at least one of them seemed to realise he couldn't eat raw fish. They crawled over to the pile; Hiccup snapped the branches into smaller pieces and built a fire, which Toothless obligingly lit, and speared several fish on a particularly sharp stick.
Whilst he waited for the fish to roast, the mouth-watering scent filling the cavern, he asked, "Do you know what this cave is for?"
Toothless struggled to remember. *I think it's a healing cavern* he replied. When Hiccup just looked puzzled, he explained, *If some dragon was injured and couldn't fly, they could rest in here until they had healed.*
He heard and scented another dragon's approach and his eyes fixed on the entrance, pupils narrowing. Shadow stepped into the cave, looking at his brother and ignoring Hiccup entirely. *Hello, Midnight. When you've eaten, Black Fire and I will take you and the human to the Queen* he told Toothless, who bristled.
*My rider's name is Hiccup* he said with a pointed stare, *And I haven't been called Midnight in twenty years. I go by Toothless now.*
Shadow's eyes widened, his pupils narrowing. *You're not serious. Don't tell me that 'Toothless' is the name it gave you.*
*Hiccup is not an 'it', Shadow* Toothless gave a small growl of annoyance, *Now go away and let us eat.*
Shadow glared at him. *We'll be waiting outside* he said at last, before turning and leaving the cavern. Toothless grumbled, glaring at the entrance until he felt Hiccup's hand scratch under his chin, and he purred almost involuntarily.
"I'm sorry about your brother" Hiccup said apologetically, feeling bad that he was the reason Toothless and Shadow were so at odds.
*Don't be. It's not your fault that my brother is an egg-for-brain.* Hiccup figured that was a dragon insult and stifled a giggle. He gingerly poked at the cooking fish and winced as the heat burned his finger. They seemed to be done, at any rate, so he carefully split them open – not an easy task without a knife – and waited for the white flesh inside to cool down enough for him to eat it.
A thought occurred to him, and he hesitantly asked, "Um, Toothless?"
*Yes, Hiccup?*
"Uh, I just wondered…do you…want me to call you Midnight?"
Toothless stared at him as if he'd asked the most ridiculous question the Night Fury had ever heard. *Why would I want that?*
"Well, it's your name. Your real name" Hiccup pointed out, with a twinge of irrational guilt. He'd had no reason to suspect that dragons gave themselves names – and Toothless wouldn't have been able to say his name if Hiccup had asked – but he still felt rather bad about naming his dragon without asking for said dragon's opinion on the matter.
*Yes, but you didn't know that* the Night Fury pointed out, *Before I learned your name I just called you 'small scared thing' and 'curious'. I used to think my name was 'Night Fury' because it's what I heard yelled out during the raids. I didn't remember my old name so when you gave me a new one I just got used to it. Besides, I think the only reason I was called Midnight is because I was born in the middle of the night* he explained.
"Yeah, but…are you sure you don't mind?" Hiccup questioned, still uncomfortable. He was leaning back against Toothless, and the dragon could feel how tense he was. Why was he still upset? Toothless had turned the questioning 'if' into a good 'what', but Hiccup still had questions – nothing new there – and he was still uncomfortable.
*No. Now eat your fish* he insisted. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard a familiar sounding female voice say much the same thing. It must have been his mother… Hiccup sighed and did as he was told, but he was still upset, and Toothless grew impatient. *What's wrong?*
Hiccup swallowed a mouthful of fish and lied, "Nothing."
*Yes, there is. You're upset. What's upsetting you?*
"Toothless, I'm not upset." Why did Hiccup keep trying to lie to him? Hiccup never lied to him, and Hiccup wasn't a very good liar anyway. Toothless didn't growl; he just rumbled, almost a growl but not quite.
*You're lying. You're upset. You're so tense. You can't fool a dragon* he insisted, when Hiccup tried to protest.
Hiccup ate some more of the fish, trying to get his thoughts in order. Of course Toothless would notice something was bothering him; dragons were better at reading body language than humans. It was how they communicated….except now, it wasn't. That was the problem.
"You can talk" he said at last, after eating most of the fish and giving the remains to his dragon. He wasn't sure if the way the dragons spoke could be described as talking – it was more like they were literally thinking out loud – but it was close enough.
*Does that upset you?*
"No, no. It's incredible" he smiled reassuringly, "Being able to understand you…it's just…you talk like a human. You understand human speech, and…we've been treating you like pets."
*And?*
"Well, it…it's not fair. We make you sleep in pens and carry us around on your backs instead of…treating you like people."
*Of course it's fair. You let us sleep in or beside your wood caves and you groom us and care about us and protect us from hunters and each other. Letting you ride on our backs and protecting you is the least we can do. You and the other humans are part of our pack now. Packs stick together.*
It was touching to learn that Toothless and the other dragons considered him and his friends part of their pack. "Thanks, buddy" he smiled, petting Toothless' nose and relaxing. Satisfied that his rider was happy again, Toothless lapped up some water and reminded Hiccup to eat the rest of his fish.
Once Hiccup had finished the second fish and drank a little bit more water, he used Toothless as a crutch to pull himself up. Once he was standing upright, his legs shook, but he still tried to take a step forward. Naturally, he stumbled, and Toothless steadied him as usual. *Climb on* he prompted.
Hiccup hesitated. "Err…the other dragons might not like that" he said cautiously, "Me riding you, I mean."
*Who cares?* Toothless rolled his eyes, *You can bother them by sitting on my back, or you can bother them by having to move slowly because you can't walk. Your choice* he declared. Hiccup sighed and climbed onto his back, ignoring his dragon laughing. Once he was settled, Toothless carried him out of the cave, cautiously poking his head out and looking around.
Shadow and one of the Furies from the hunting party, the one with orange yellow eyes who must have been Black Fire, were lying nearby. *It's about time* Black Fire complained, getting to his feet and stretching.
Toothless followed his brother and Black Fire through the tunnels, which were lit – somewhat – by the glow bugs and shafts of moonlight that fell in through tunnels above their heads. Was it still night-time? Hiccup felt like he'd been asleep long enough for it to be day by now.
They were led towards the entrance to a cave. Shadow and Black Fire stepped aside, and Shadow motioned for Toothless to enter first. He did so, and Hiccup looked around and felt his jaw drop. It was no mere cave; it was a massive cavern, the caldera of the ancient volcano, moonlight streaming in from the distant opening far above his head. In the shadows around him were many pairs of eyes, in every shade of yellow and green – even the occasional blue. Four years of wanting to find more Night Furies…he'd gotten his wish and then some.
Layers of long cooled magma formed ledges on which the Furies could perch. On the biggest of these ledges, directly opposite the odd pair, stood a female Night Fury with iridescent scales who commanded respect and obedience with her very presence. Her golden eyes bore into them; whilst Hiccup was merely awed by the sight of her, Toothless was nearly cowed. Old instincts were telling him to show submission to his Queen, his Alpha, but instincts could not always be trusted, so he ignored them.
He tried to meet her gaze head on, but he couldn't hold it, and his eyes slid from the Queen to the Fury standing beside her. A smaller female, with the brightest, most sapphire blue eyes he'd ever seen…and he noticed, to his surprise, that her pupils were rounded, as she stared at him and Hiccup with open curiosity. He assumed she was the Queen-to-be; then the Queen herself stepped forward and stretched out her wings, and he lost sight of the female with those startlingly bright blue eyes.
*Who are you?* the Queen demanded; Toothless pulled himself back into the present and replied, *Toothless-Hiccup, of the pack of Berk.* There was a flurry of hisses and mutters when he introduced himself and his rider; probably at his new name, or him introducing them as a heart bound pair, or him declaring Hiccup part of his pack. Not that he cared what they thought. Hiccup slipped off his back and stood, in a manner of speaking, beside him; he curled his tail possessively and protectively around the man.
The Queen looked around the cavern, and everyone submissively fell silent. *Why did you bring a human into our territory? Do you not remember our law?* she asked, mantling her wings once more.
*No, your Majesty, I don't* Toothless admitted. Calling the Queen 'Majesty' was a compromise; respectful, but he refused to call her his Queen, or his Alpha, because she wasn't his alpha. He'd had enough of Queens and Alphas to last him a lifetime. *We came here because a human visited our home and told us that Night Furies had attacked a ship off this coast.
*For the last four years, Hiccup thought I was the last Night Fury, so when he heard there might be more of us out here, he wanted to find them. When we arrived, we were ambushed and captured by hunters who had heard the same story. Their leader recognised my rider; he wanted Hiccup to train his captured dragons for war, but Hiccup refused because my rider does not harm dragons. They threw me in a pit and beat my rider for trying to help the dragons instead of them.* He looked over his shoulder at Hiccup and added, *You should show them.*
Hiccup took a deep breath, and pulled his tunic up, so the Queen and the other Furies could see the bruises littering his chest, stomach and back. There were more surprised gasps and hisses; the blue eyed Queen-to-be exclaimed aloud *That's awful!*, in a melodic voice that echoed in Toothless' ears. He tried to focus, not knowing why he was getting so distracted by her.
*Quiet, Selena* the Queen ordered disapprovingly, before admitting, *Although I agree, this is disturbing. I want no one to approach these hunters; we will watch them, and defend our nest, but we won't risk capture. Is that clear?* she demanded to the pack as a whole. There was a chorus of *Yes, my Queen*, and the Queen turned her piercing golden eyes on Toothless-Hiccup once more. *Continue* she instructed simply.
*The hunter's leader decided Hiccup would be too much trouble and stabbed him. Hiccup was dying and I had to save him, so I heart bound to him. I don't know why it worked, I'm just grateful that it did* Toothless explained, before adding, *Of course, none of this would have happened if that one ship hadn't been attacked…so this is really all your fault* he reasoned, looking around at the pack.
Hiccup spoke for the first time. "Uh, Toothless, we need them to like us."
*Yes, but I'm right.*
"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile" Hiccup deadpanned, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.
*Thank you for nothing, you stupid human* Toothless retorted playfully.
*Enough* the Queen commanded. Toothless obeyed without question, lowering his head submissively for the first time, and whilst Hiccup wasn't affected by the Queen's will he still clamped his lips together. *I should turn you both out before the hunters search for you here and you endanger us all" she told them, before fixing her gaze on Hiccup. *Shadow told me that you sent a message to humans searching for you and told them not to find you. Why would you do that?*
"…I did it because…if I could show my people that dragons aren't the monsters they once thought you were, I can show you that humans aren't all bad either. I know there are bad humans, like hunters and trappers, and I hate them; but I know humans who care about dragons just as much as I do. Besides…I wanted to give Toothless a chance to spend time with his own kind" Hiccup explained, before adding, "I asked them to give me a month. Just…please, just give me a chance."
*Please, your majesty* Toothless pleaded; part of him was annoyed that he was acting so submissively, but he couldn't help it. *It might not even be for a month; Hiccup is stronger than he looks. Just let us stay long enough for him to heal, and for us to fix my tail, and then we'll leave. I promise, we'll leave and we won't come back to Myrkr. We'll leave you in peace.*
*You can promise all you like* said Shadow; they'd forgotten he was there. *Humans talk, and if this human tells others about our nest, more humans will hear of it and come to find us and hunt us. You're not here because we attacked a ship invading our sea territory; you're here because one human survived and told others and word spread and the hunters came from down the coast. How can you have forgotten our law, Midnight? Humans in our territory must be killed on sight, before they can reveal us!
*How could you have forgotten what happened when we were fledglings?* he demanded, snarling in anger and remembered pain, *How could you let a human enslave you when humans are the ones who killed our father?*
*Not all humans are the same, Shadow!* Toothless snarled right back, *For the last time, I am not enslaved. I've been enslaved, unlike you, I know how it feels. That's why I forgot your stupid human killing 'law'. I spent fifteen moon-damned years under the thrall of a ruthless, monstrous cannibal!* he shrieked, shouting in thought-speak and charging a plasma blast at the same time.
The Queen was about to command them to cease, but the human spoke before she could. "Hold, Toothless!" he yelled, reaching an arm under his dragons jaw and tugging. At the sound of his riders voice, Toothless' rage vanished; he turned his head and pressed it against Hiccup's chest, sensitive ears picking up the young man's heartbeat. It filled the gaps between his own, the beats running together like their heart bound names. Toothless' heart, Hiccup's heart, Toothless, Hiccup, Toothless-Hiccup…..
"Shh, shh, it's okay" Hiccup whispered soothingly, stroking his head and neck and murmuring "It's okay, everything's fine. I'm right here. It's okay". The pack watched silently as the enemy, the human in their midst, calmed and gentled one of their own, who mere moments earlier had looked ready to blast his own flesh and blood.
When Toothless had calmed down, he glanced up at the Queen and said contritely, *I'm…sorry, your majesty. I overreacted.*
*I am sorry, my Queen* Shadow added; he had lost his temper as well, after all. He pushed it down but his anger hadn't frozen…it was burning even hotter as he watched his own long-lost brother find comfort in the embrace of that human.
*Do not do it again* she instructed, but she didn't punish them – there were bigger things to worry about. Toothless and Hiccup waited for her to tell them they were banished; they would find a hiding place and Toothless would defend Hiccup to their last breath, and if those hunters found them he would tear the monsters apart and he'd eat them if he didn't think they would poison him.
Yet to their surprise, the Queen did not banish them. *I will give you a chance* she told Hiccup, *And allow you to stay here and recover; you are no threat, but if you break more of our laws, either of you, or betray us, I will send you out and you may never return. Is that clear?*
"*Yes, your majesty*" Toothless and Hiccup answered as one. Shadow looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't dare, a sentiment shared by many in the pack.
*Good. You will be guarded, for your own sake and the sake of the pack* the Queen informed them, before lifting her head and calling *Nocte, Skylancer, Dusk!*
Three male Furies swooped down one by one to surround Toothless and Hiccup; one with pine-green eyes, one with sky-blue eyes and one with yellow eyes. *I am entrusting you to guard and provide for…Toothless, and Hiccup* the Queen instructed the three new Furies, before telling Toothless and Hiccup, *You may stay in the empty healing cavern you slept in yesterday. We are done here* she announced, with a finality that brooked no disagreement.
Toothless and Hiccup each gave a small bow, ducking their heads submissively. "*Thank you*" they said gratefully. Then Toothless nudged Hiccup to remind him he was too weak to walk, and Hiccup heaved himself into the saddle and tried to ignore the stares he was getting, and they returned to the cavern they'd been sleeping in before. It appeared that they had slept through the whole day, or at least Hiccup had, so he couldn't believe he was still tired.
Nocte, Skylancer and Dusk waited outside, after offering to bring more fish and wood for when the pair awoke. Hiccup was glad they all had different coloured eyes because he was a bit worried he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between most of the Night Furies. They settled down in what seemed to be their spot, at the back of the cave near the underground stream, and relaxed. They didn't have to go out into the forests where the hunters were lying-in-wait, they could rest now and figure out how to get back home later.
Toothless shifted his shoulders, squirming a little. "What's wrong?" asked Hiccup, with a concerned frown.
*Nothing, just an itch.*
"Under your saddle?" guessed Hiccup, motioning for Toothless to stand up so that he could disassemble the contraption; it was a bit of a pain to get off, and since they wouldn't be flying he figured he'd just leave it aside. He'd been meaning to redesign it, but there was only so much he could do when he needed a specialised left stirrup and a way to control the artificial tail-fin. Not for the first time, he wished that they'd met under slightly better circumstances, and not lost any body parts.
Once the saddle, harness and remains of the tail fin were all off, Toothless lay down beside Hiccup once more, purring in contentment as his rider dug fingernails into his scales and scratched hard. It wasn't long before he felt Hiccup's head resting on his back as well, and the scratching stopped and he knew his rider had fallen asleep. Toothless looked over his shoulder at his other half and smiled a toothless smile, before wrapping a wing and his tail around Hiccup and resting his head on his paws.
A/N: I think I'm getting cavities from all the Toothless-Hiccup friendship fluff ;) In case it wasn't clear, heart bound pairs introduce themselves with their names put together, like they're one being.