Dragon Claims and Human Change
By: Selim
Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon. This is a piece of fiction and all persons and events are fictional. There is no profit being made from this work.
Rating: M
Summary: Hiccup didn't know it, but he's been chosen as a Dragon Mate. The world as he knows it changes, leaving him to decide – does he stay with humans or move on with dragons?
Pairing: Toothless x Hiccup (Anthro-Toothless)

Thanks to: Jessica499499, MWA220, Grim1989, Jozs001, Twistedsister-Emogirl, Rogue Blade, Fullmoonwolf950, BasilMacVae, Superfan8, Loti-Miko, Brightsidetolife, Alrye, Isaiah Doppelganger Bethlehem, Tendencia, Angel Shinigami, Dude, Kitren, Darkblue91, NatyKaramia, Ellieandra, Lillyluvesruby, Mantinas, Kidiu, Lilsis1232, Mo Person, Shadowofmyself435, Addicted-to-the-Madness, Naruke3176, Izzbit, Sunshine-Aki, Kichy-Chan, Spidermaster, Luna's Moon1100, Hetalia Freak, SplashMountain, Maho Kijutsu, Hihihi111, Anon, Lapaige08, Lightbeauty, Nuriko Kurosaki, Nightscurse, The Dragon Knight, Heinz246

Author Note: An apology is due for the lateness of any chapter. I do intend to rewrite this story as I feel somewhere the plot was loss and there was information set forth that would never be used. This chapter is rather short and it primarily closes a lot of extra detail until a rewrite is possible. So why is this so belated? Well…writer's block, school work, practicum, deleted my entire Windows Platform for 2 months, more writer's block, rewrite of this chapter 4 times, and a few other problems including a rediscovery of video games. I hope to get the next chapter out much faster and from there it's a lot of plot, including a leading to that beginning.

Without further ado…

There had been a time when Hiccup's future was unclear. It had occurred a week after his mating period, the first second he stepped outside of Toothless' chambers to find food in Hadak. What as he supposed to do now? While there was no question that he was pregnant (the necklace he wore shined brightly with magic after their first coupling), it would be months before he would have a baby to care for. Until then, he had to find something to do.

He tried his hand at various jobs and was, more often than not, met with Toothless denying him right. He spent many mornings running after dragons, taking in their language and learning he would not be capable to make many of their phonemes. It did not mean he wasn't able to comprehend their body language and low growls and it gave him a spark to learn.

Pages tucked around him, Hiccup settled himself by a toasty fire deep inside Hadak, Hiccup hummed a soft tune to himself that had been taught to him by the mothering dragons that lived up in the columns above Hadak. He had learned recently that each child was raised by the village. There were families, such as mother, father, and child, but real family was the group which was lived with. Toothless was Hiccup's mate but his family was the tower dragons that lived in the palace. It was a good note to make in his footnotes before he went into depth on the development of a Terror, from legless baby to flying Terror.

"Child."

Jumping, Hiccup tucked his graphite next to his faded pages, a timid smile on his face. "Y'Von." He nodded to the old dragon and the Nightmare carrying the familiar crate he'd given up prior to his mating. Strange, he realized, he'd been so busy he'd forgotten about it. "Did you open it?"

"The magic seal has been broken." Y'Von settled across from him, nodding at the Nightmare Guard to leave them and the crate. "How much have you learned from our people."

Hiccup smiled, rubbing his eyes. "Not much, I'm still learning your language. There're a lot of words I still don't know. Vizar – he works in these kitchens – was telling me about his flight from the North but I don't know why. His words grew more complicated after that." He picked up his pen, making narrow scratches at the bottom of his page. "Gronky was telling me about when he was a little hatchling, before his succession into power. Apparently there was a war but he didn't go into a lot of detail about it."

"And he wouldn't." Y'Von nodded. "We do not like to think of our brothers in the North. We abide by Our Queens' rule because she has shown she can destroy all that Hadak stands for."

"Please, can you tell me everything that happened?"

Y'Von's hazy eyes burned into his soul. "You would not want to hear of Hadak's bloody past, what I remember of it."

"I do." Hiccup settled his pen, pushed it away.

The Nadder sighed, pointing toward the chest while instructing him to bring it forward. Hiccup did, opening the chest. The contents inside the chest had long since returned to the planet, Hiccup learned. There was a few crumbling remains of rock at the bottom but its story would forever be lost like the small village under Hadak. It wasn't a complete loss, however, as his fingers brushed over deep engravings inside the box. Words, he realized with some surprise.

Not just any words – human words.

There was the occasional mark that he wasn't familiar with, perhaps a word loss to the tides, but it didn't make the language unreadable. Bjon Jesk Haddock…settled near Herserm (at least that's what Hiccup believed the word to be)...children, three…married…Emperor…Drak-…Hiccup climbed nearly on the table, reading the ring of letters around the top of the chest, labeling the item for delivery to avoid someone else taking possession of the contents.

It was never sent out but apparently it used to house documents and currency for the Emperor's mate, this Bjon Jesk Haddock. Hiccup's eyes narrowed. That name was familiar because it had spiraled from his father's mother's side. She had given him the Haddock surname out of pride even though it wasn't clear whether he'd live through the night. Had his relatives really came from this land and he was related to…an emperor?

"I am the last of the Old Lands, no more than a new hatchling when the war happened. What I know was told to me by my mother, in my youth before her death. The dragons you see before you are the New Age. I am the last surviving Old Age, not even an active participant." Y'Von closed her bleary eyes. Hiccup chewed on his lip, afraid to ask what had happened to the "Old Age" dragons. Better yet: why isn't Gronky one of the Old Age?

"This will be my four hundredth summer. How time flies." The dragon hummed softly. "Dragons," she explained, "usually do not live past two hundred or so summers. The Queen says humans took away our life span, I disagree."

"Did your father live long?" If he remembered correctly, before his mating ceremony, the old dragon had admitted her father had been a mix of dragon and human. Maybe that would explain why Y'Von had lived so long. "And why doesn't anyone else remember humans and dragons being mates?"

Y'Von shook her head. "My sire died at the beginning of the human-dragon split. Eggs and hatchlings were brought to the world in the heavens, for safety. Those born to resembling humans were eliminated at birth. The dragons from the North, who had not partaken in the human flesh as we had, came and performed the service and mated those who were once mated to humans. My mother hid me in the lands telling me the stories before the war and the causes. By then, there were only four Old Age dragons left. Every day another died and our past was being hidden by those of the North."

"I'm confused." Hiccup admitted. "I thought we were at peace—what happened?"

"Four hundred summers ago, a human murdered his mate – the crowned heir of our lands. My mother never understood why it happened or maybe she did and never explained it to me. I do know the Royal family had the human and his family called in. The human, at the time, was pregnant – much the same way you are now. We dragon…do not normally attack those unable to defend themselves. She says they killed the human there before his family – ripped the baby out of him and watched the child die beside its mother."

Hiccup swallowed hard as his stomach turned. How…barbaric.

"The humans retaliated. For every two dragons killed, four humans were murdered and vice versa. Four to every six, twelve to every nine – a chaotic civil war. Mates were at each other's throat, unsure who to trust. My sire, like so many that was born from a mixed mating, were brought out and murdered by dragons, slain in the middle of town. I was born somewhere within the bloodshed, the night my brother helped human mate flee into the night before having his own wings ripped off by the guards for being a traitor."

"So the humans fled these lands?" He touched the chest. "This person was mated to the Emperor?" He pointed out the symbols. Y'Von's hummed.

"There may be more dragon in you than believed just as the human side of us sometimes overpowers our own self."

"Gronky said it was because our Island of Berk was floating into Hadak."

"For the New Age, that is part of the problem. They know that at one point our kind and your kind are in harmony but all that remains is the stories the North gave us for why we fight, to save our kind."

"Who is the North?" He'd been hearing nothing but bad about them and it occurred to him that the dragons that had landed in the old lands that first day, the ones that had destroyed possible answers, had flown in from the North.

Y'Von's lips forced back. "The North are...they are our family, yes, but they are our enemy at the same time. Hadak believes that humans can be managed if taken caution to. We once lived with them in peace, perhaps we can obtain that. It's easier, of course, to preach this than abide by it. We shift into this form willingly because it's an accepted part of us and nota final attack from the humans as those of the North are raised to know. Those in the North scorn this form and will not shift into it."

Those Nadders didn't, Hiccup recalled.

"Njáll came from the North." Y'Von whispered offhandedly.

"What?"

The Nadder nodded. "Originally he was the Queen's Heir, her planned mate. He came to Hadak twenty summers in what we believed was an effort to force us to give up our human-like ways and join our people as one human-hating kind. Only, he never demanded we stop transforming. He took our half-form one evening, so many summers ago, and requested to be a doctor, like our leader."

"Why?"

"He has never said." Y'Von hummed. "Perhaps that is your job to learn what has changed his mind."

Hiccup frowned, wrapping his arms around his middle. "He was supposed to mate the Queen?" He tried.

"Njáll was supposed to but he's joined with someone else, it's near impossible for him to mate with someone else…unless something were to happen to you. Even then, Njáll may never recover to his mateship being severed; even to take on another mate. She could still… force him into their union but dragons do not bear children they do not want." Hiccup's thumb moved soothingly over his belly. "I would not worry, while I doubt Njáll has sent word of his union, I do not see our people allowing anything to happen to their human." At his confusion, Y'Von smiled. "You are as much our family as the next, human is well respected and loved."

Lowering his head, Hiccup's cheeks turned red. "I wish someone knew why the first murder happened."

"It's lost to time." Y'Von sighed. "Forgive me child, I must leave." She climbed to her feet, politely excusing herself from the room, leaving the chest with its original owner. Hiccup brushed his fingers over the old worn chest before leaving it on the table.

He found Toothless in the inner chambers that served as a clinic. The dragon was dressed in his ceremonial white symbolizing he was a healer, contrasting with his dark skin. The creature gave a wide smile at Hiccup and stepped forward, brushing his lipless mouth to the human's. Hiccup smiled when they parted before moving around the dragons laid out on the ground.

A couple dragons nodded in his direction as he passed them, allowing Toothless to glance over their wounds while Hiccup watched with interest. A few, he realized sadly, would never recover enough to return to duty. They would become fancy foot soldiers in the castle and their eyes stated how much they knew it. "That dragon…his left tail fin is missing." Hiccup blinked at the lone dragon in the corner. The creature, in his humanoid form, was a towering monster and yet looked so small at the same time. Its golden eyes watched Hiccup and it hissed lowly when he approached to check out the creature's tail.

Toothless' mouth pulled back, bearing sharp teeth. He growled lowly, the words so clear to Hiccup's accustoming ear, "You dare harm my mate."

"Hush." Hiccup glowered at his own mate. He smiled warmly at the dragon before him. "You can't fly with a tail like that." He'd witnessed so much flight these days; it seemed only second nature to guess why such a dragon would seem so upset. Hiccup would be too if something so important was gone.

The dragon glowered, it's horn-like ears pulled back. "Do not touch!"

Hiccup ignored the dragon's warning, touching the dragon's thick tail when the fin had been burned off. The scales were burned silver, contrasting with the dragon's dark skin. It blistered in some spots where concentrative curing had occurred but there was no way to fix such damage. But I can fix this…"Toothless, I need some supplies."

Toothless scowled nodded as Hiccup listed out necessary materials, including leather and screws. Opening his dragon book, Hiccup pulled out a blank page and scaled out the tail with a pleasant smile.

"I think I can help you fly but…you'll have to work with me on this."

The dragon turned his head away and Hiccup could only smile. Not completely disappointing, he decided as he worked out a prosthetic limb to replace the lost fin. It have to be light, he noted as the material was brought to him. His mate gave his a peck on the temple before returning to his own work with first time mothers and their children, having their tiny wings checked.

The prototype took less time than he expected. Sitting on the poor dragon's tail to avoid it from sneaking away from him, Hiccup worked quickly. The leather rope tied firmly and the fin, he realized, would have to be sturdy. It was going to be flying with this dragon through tight spots, keeping the dragon level in flight. Satisfied with the prototype, Hiccup removed the strap and carried it towards the door with a pointed smile. "Recover and I'll have this made up in a week."

Toothless scowled, meeting him outside the room. He seemed talkative but Hiccup only picked up few of his words. His thoughts were racing over his busy day, including his new project. If this worked he could find a thing to keep him busy. A smile slipped on his lips as he laced fingers with his mate's as they made their way to the canteen to gather some food. Hiccup was given an extra helping of fish that he thanked appropriately to the service help in the kitchens.

Meals were a time to relax in dragon culture. If gossipers had a form, Hiccup was certain that these very creatures were the epitome of it. Toothless usually stayed around long enough to make sure Hiccup was comfortably eating before disappearing for end of the day meetings. Before today, Hiccup would have wandered the castle, doing interviews and learning the language. Today, he rushed back to his and Toothless' room, dropping his materials on the ground and sought out his tools.

By the time Toothless returned from his meetings, Hiccup was testing the sturdiness of the fin by tossing it across the room and letting it glide on its own. He'd have to attach the leather bindings tomorrow and then start testing it in flight. Speeding to a stop at the door and catching the fin midair, Hiccup grinned at his mate, bending his head back to accept the heavy kiss from his mate.

"I finished the model, check it out!" Hiccup held the prosthesis up. "It's not the prettiest but I think it'll survive any flight." He tossed it towards the far outer wall, letting it fly on its own. The glide was beautiful, if he could say so himself. It wouldn't carry anything, but it could allow the control in flight that dragon was now missing. Reaching his arms to collect the fin midair, Hiccup inhaled sharply when strong arms wrapped around his belly and a flat nose pressed against his neck. The prosthetic fin landed softly in another side of the room, forgotten

Twisting, Hiccup raised his arms around Toothless' neck, bringing the dragon to his mouth. "I like kissing," he whispered as he brought Toothless towards their bed. There was so much he loved than just the kissing such as the breathless moans that escaped his lips as soft gums brushed his sensitive nipples. There was the feeling of warm scales in his own mouth as he moved down, the hard casing of his lover's shaft, the pulsing vein on his tongue. There was a power Hiccup never knew he possessed until he was on his knees between the legs of a powerful dragon, bringing delightful noises to a lipless mouth as claws tightened in his hair.

And then a powerful screech filled Hadak.

"Ow!" Hiccup winced when Toothless pulled him away by the roots of his hair. He heard the sound too but that didn't mean he had to be yanked away so hard. Rubbing his scalp, Hiccup stared out the window, trying to understand what was going on. His mate was faster though, shifting into his dragon form and flying off, leaving his semi-naked lover on the floor.

There was a flurry of feet outside his door as guards pushed the big door open and Y'Von settled in, looking more tired than she had been earlier. "What's going on?" Hiccup whispered, tightening his tunic around his body. "Toothless just flew off and…"

"I requested to stay with you until the situation is handled." Y'Von settled on the furthest chair, mindful of the two's private nest. Hiccup frowned, realizing that since his mating, no one had actually passed that threshold besides Hiccup and Toothless. "I heard you met a man whose flight was…disrupted."

"Oh yea," Hiccup nodded, searching the floor for the fin. "No big problem, with this. I figure if I rope some additional pulleys to it, he can control his direction with a tug to his tail. It'll take some training but it's better than not flying."

Y'Von shook her head. "Such planning…for naught. The young dragon, he will not need it where he is." She gazed out the window. "He has taken the final plunge."

Blood chilled. "What?"

"We have never had a solution for the flightless. Those who lose their flight so young are unable to cope…and take great lengths to avoid facing reality. That call you heard, that Njáll ran out on, was a final song, a decisive one before a dragon takes its own life."

"What?" Hiccup dropped his gaze. He was going to help that dragon; he couldn't be…dead? Only warriors could enter Valhalla and there was no denying that a dragon who committed suicide wasn't a warrior by Viking Standards. Even his father had a sword that his ancestors had died with that he was going to pass on to his son if they didn't die in battle. Only…Hiccup didn't want to believe that the dragon he was going to help would end his own life so quickly.

"You're taking this better than I thought you would, child."

"Not the first suicide." Hiccup admitted. "I'm tired…I've been working on that…toy since we last spoke." Y'Von nodded, excusing herself. "Lady Y'Von?" Hiccup chimed, staring at the dark night sky.

"Hm?"

"You didn't kill yourself when your wings stopped working so is this common?"

Y'Von shook her head at the door. "I never said my wings worked, either." Y'Von admitted. "I would have preferred to die my first flight when I landed in the water but mother fished me out, said I had other purposes than flight." She tested her wings, they barely moved. "There's nothing worse than being a dragon that cannot fly." She shut the door, leaving Hiccup alone in the room.

In the corner of his room, a grand mirror stood and he stared at his reflection for only a second. Would his child not fly? If not…would Toothless murder his child? Hiccup touched his belly, looking away from the mirror. Would his baby take the very plunge if it could not fly?

"I could have helped." He whispered to the still room.

What could he have done? He barely mentioned to the dragon what he was doing and the creature had seemed less than amused with his probing its damaged limb. Had Toothless known that this would happen?

Lying on the bed, staring out at the night sky whose silence had been shattered by the talk of many dragons at once. Wrapping his arms around his growing belly, Hiccup closed his eyes and fought off the nightmares that plagued him until Toothless climbed back as the early sun peaked over the horizon.