Chapter Six

A/N: *Peeks around corner* ...hi there. Um. Yeah. Been a while, right? ...ahem. Sorry about that.

In response to...

InfinitiumAce: Ugh ugh I don't even know anymore. XD Man, I haven't written in so long I forget my own story! LOL! Just go with it!

Disneyfan14: Thanks :3

xFaerieValkyriex : Thanks, I took so many antibiotics. So. Many. o_o XD

Breyannia: Hmm, he could possibly visit it someday I suppose. Don't know when or if I'll write about that... It's a possibility though!

FrodoBaggins1415: Thanks :D I'm glad you like the story!

OinkyThePiggy: I'm glad you're enjoying!

Forever Me: Sorry to probably kill your happy dance with such a long wait... o_o But I'm glad you like it...

CherryPika91: Thank you :D

Guest: WOW! Okay so...honestly, I wasn't planning on updating this story until I was completely better (I'm still pretty sick at this point) but your review made me think that maybe I should. I'm so happy you like it and I'm really really glad you like my OC. (That's a big deal to us writers XD) So, to thank you for your amazing review, here's another chapter! Hopefully, I can update again soon.

A few hours have passed since Esmond's distant attack on Hiccup and now the young Chief lays asleep in his room, his face expressionless and peaceful as he finally gets the rest he so desperately needed. The room is pitch black, save for the subtle glow of the dying embers that are still flickering beneath Toothless as he snoozes on his rocky slab against the wall. And downstairs, Valka is sleeping in the room she once shared with her husband... Obviously, it's a restless sleep. The woman stirrs and mumbles, still unused to the feeling of living in a house, no longer surrounded by hundreds of dragons. But lulled by Cloudjumper's warmth, she manages to doze off.

However, the entire night doesn't pass with this level of relative ease. It's a little after midnight when Toothless's eyes suddenly snap open, his scales bristling as his body tenses instinctively. He growls quietly, searching the darkness for Hiccup's presence. Yes, his human is still in bed... And by perking his ears, he determines that Valka and Cloudjumper are as well. So...who is walking around outside?

The Alpha narrows his eyes as he slinks toward the open window above his slumbering Rider. Its ledge creaks below his weight as he perches on its narrow surface, glaring into the dark village below. He doesn't see anyone and he doesn't pick up any unfamiliar smells... But just as he's about to return to his bed, he hears the sound again.

CRACK! Like a heavy foot snapping a branch. And it sounds close. With a snarl, Toothless leaps out the window and stalks in the direction of the noise, determined to scare off the threat before it can do any harm.

Esmond watches as Hiccup's Night Fury follows the distraction he created. Even though he doesn't smile, there's a satisfied air about him as he stands up from his hiding place in the brush. The man dusts himself off as he calmly walks toward the Chief's house, reaching into his pocket to draw out a tiny velvet bag, about the size of half his palm. From the other pocket, he produces a slim, ornamental dagger.

Toothless chases the figure through the trees. It's moving fast and he can barely keep up with it on foot. But he manages to stay on its trail, despite the number of sharp twists and turns it takes through bushes and under fallen logs. By the time Toothless manages to catch up to it...he's unwittingly too late.

The real threat is already standing in his human's bedroom, looming over Hiccup with a dagger in his fist.

Esmond stares down at his quarry with cold, grey eyes that almost appear black in the darkness of the room. Hiccup's eyes are closed, his chest rising and falling steadily as he slumber beneath the shadow of the witch, who is now slowly reaching out a hand toward him...

There's a peculiar gentleness to Esmond's movements as he prods the Chief's head to the side, causing the young man to stirr and mumble under his breath as he almost wakes up. But Hiccup remains cradled in his deep sleep, his body too exhausted from the long, stressful day to come alive right now.

And after a moment, Esmond seems satisfied that Hiccup won't notice as he slowly lowers the blade, leveling it with a lock of the boy's hair which has been braided into a convenient bundle. With a quick flick of his wrist, the knife cuts through the braid and it falls into the witch's hand.

But this does not go entirely unnoticed. Hiccup groans in irritation at the sharp tug of his hair that forces him out of his peaceful sleep. Without opening his eyes, he blindly swats at Toothless, who he's sure is the perpetrator. After all, who else would bother him at this hour? "Go'way, Toothless..." He grumbles. "It's too early..."

However, he doesn't get the response he expected. His dragon doesn't coo at him or nudge his side, as he usually would. He doesn't hear anything, in fact. And for a moment, that's almost enough consolation for him to simply let himself succumb to his weariness again.

...almost.

"Toothless...?" He mumbles, peering over his shoulder through squinting, tired vision. But he finds nothing. His room is empty. With a frown, Hiccup rolls over and pushes himself up on his elbows, rubbing his bleary eyes. "Bud?"

His Night Fury's bed is bare and there is no one in the room.

With a confused grimace, he reaches up to touch his head, where he felt his hair being tugged...only to blink in shock at the few short strands of severed hair that come away into his hand. A sick feeling twists his stomach as he sits the rest of the way up. A piece of his hair has been...cut?

Toothless stares wide-eyed at the small dragon before him. The Terrible Terror's eyes are glassy, unseeing and it sways dangerously. The Night Fury growls, his pupils narrowing angrily as he slams his Alpha will over the small creature. By doing so, he feels someone else's hold slip and eventually fail.

This Terror was being controlled by someone.

And Toothless's stomach sinks when he realizes...this was a set up. A distraction. Hiccup...! The black dragon wheels around and sprints back through the dense forest in the direction of the house, where he foolishly left his human all alone!

By the time he reaches the Haddock house, Toothless's heart is pumping so fast he can hear it in his ears. He never stops running but manages to take a wary sniff of the air, searching for that pungent, coppery odor that marks the spill of blood. With a great blossom of relief, he doesn't smell any. And even from where he's now standing at the foot of his human's window, he can hear Hiccup shifting inside. He's awake now. Awake and alive. Thank gods...

The Night Fury still wastes no time in scrambling up the side of the house and leaping inside, immediately hurrying to Hiccup and sniffing him all over while the Chief stares at him in confusion.

"Toothless? Bud? Where'd you do-AH! What are you doing?!" He demands as the dragon practically climbs into his lap to sniff every inch of him. And his friend begins to growl at the faint hints of a foreign scent clinging to Hiccup's hair. It's only a trace, only a whisper of a smell...

But it's there. And it's even stronger in the room itself. Someone was here...and they got close enough to Hiccup to leave their stench behind on him. As it should, that thought makes Toothless's scales bristle uncomfortably.

He never should have left! He never should have fallen for such an obvious lure! How could he be so stupid?! What if the intruder had attacked Hiccup while he was asleep?! He could have died! He could have been killed! He could have-

"Tooth-Toothless! Stop!" Hiccup barks as he struggles to escape the weight of his dragon, who has quite literally pinned him down and is aggressively roving him with his nose. "Toothless! I'm fine! Now, please, get off!" He pushes against the Night Fury, who is leaning a whole lot of weight on the young man's chest. "C'mon, bud! I can't...breathe...!" Hiccup chokes out, shoving against him again.

Finally, Toothless seems to catch the hint and backs off, lifting his weight from Hiccup's frail, little body but still remaining close enough to sniff his hair, where the scent is strongest.

"Toothless, I'm fine." Hiccup assures him again, softer this time. He strokes the dragon's head to soothe him until he eventually relaxes and sits back down on the floor, staring up at his Rider with intense, green eyes. And Hiccup sighs, nodding his head as if understanding what his dragon is trying to say. "Yeah, there was someone here. I didn't see them, though. By the time I woke up they were gone."

Toothless snorts angrily and seems to bounce uneasily on his toes, his ears folded back against his head in a threatened manner. He thought, now that he's Alpha, protecting Hiccup would be easier. He has more power now. But it's only been three weeks...and already, things have gotten bad again. His Hiccup is in danger...and he's messing up his responsiblity to keep him safe.

But Hiccup seems not to think so. "You don't have to worry, bud." He says with a gentle smile, although there's still an air of anxiousness on his features. "I think you must've scared them off when you came running. Let's just...go back to sleep. We'll figure it out in the morning."

And Toothless grumbles in acceptance. He could easily track the culprit...but he doesn't want to leave Hiccup defenseless again. Hopefully, the scent will stick around until morning. They can find the intruder then.

Hiccup lays down, although he doesn't roll over to face the wall like he usually does. He remains on his right side, biting his lip as he stares into the darkness of the bottom floor of his home. How could someone have gotten in and out without anyone hearing? Cloudjumper is downstairs and even he didn't hear! Whoever this person is, whether it was Esmond or not, they're most definitely a threat. Hiccup can feel it as he lays there, reluctant to close his eyes.

But eventually, sleep does take him again. And thankfully, he's able to remain in his slumber this time, without interruption from danger. But by now, it's only a few hours until sunrise and, all together, the young Chief has only managed to scrape together about four hours of sleep.

So it's no wonder, when he's woken by the harsh rays of the sun through the shutters the next morning, that he's still bleary-eyed and yawning, with his hair sticking up on one side of his head and a dried trail of drool running down his cheek. "Ughhhhh..." He moans, rolling over and yanking his furs up over his eyes to block out the murderous light.

In fact, it's only when he hears quiet snores coming from very close to his ear that he peeks out from below the comforting warmth of his blanket. His eyes squint in confusion when he finds Toothless asleep beside his bed, the dragons wings propped in such a way so that his Rider is completely hidden from view to anyone coming up the stairs. Hiccup sighs and shakes his head, reaching up finally push the covers away as he releases a long yawn. Toothless hasn't slept beside his bed in years. Last night really must have shaken him up... He remarks to himself.

With a frown, the Chief gently touches his Night Fury's snout. He's found that's the best way to wake his fire-breathing friend. After all, it's not exactly smart to jolt a thousand pound winged lizard awake...he's lost parts of the roof doing that. And this way, Toothless catches his human's scent strong enough in his nose to gently ease his mind awake, instead of jarring it. And soon, the dragon's green eyes are fluttering open and he warbles contently at the sight of Hiccup's sleepy smile.

"Morning, bud." He greets, drawing his hand away and using it to tiredly scratch his stubbly chin. "Come on, we've got a long day ahead of us." And then he stands, stretches his arms high above his head and carefully steps around Toothless's open wings, ducking below their protective banner and grabbing his armor and Inferno from the desk.

Toothless shifts to his feet, teeth sliding through his gums as he yawns and stretches out his front legs like a large cat. His tongue slicks over the sharp fangs and he folds in his wings, following Hiccup downstairs. The Alpha's expression fouls when he catches wind of the scent, still lingering faintly in the lower level of the house. And then he looks at Hiccup. The young Viking has approached his mother, who is sitting at the table, looking only half-awake. But her brow tightens when Hiccup sits down across from her, surely to tell her what happened last night.

Toothless sits on the floor between the front door and his human family. He glances up at Cloudjumper, who is perched in the rafters and staring at him with knowing, owlish eyes. The Night Fury growls softly and leans his head on the floor, confirming the Stormcutter's assumption. They're going after the invader who Cloudjumper hadn't realized was in their house until they were long gone. And surely, Toothless isn't going to let them off easy for endangering his Rider's life.

He's done letting Hiccup get into danger. He's Alpha, for Thor's sake...and he's going to make sure this 'Esmond' or whoever it was...knows not to mess with him. Or Hiccup.