Her bandaged wing was held above her back, and the scars from the lightning and whatever had attacked her stood out visibly, fresh on her hide. The bright sunlight blinded her, but she could see the outlines of many buildings and the ocean beyond.

This had been a mistake. The crowd of humans and dragons surged in, shouting, roaring and pointing at her. Hiccup and Valka stood between them and her, trying desperately to protect her and get her back inside. But she was frozen with fear and shock, and just when it seemed that she would be consumed by the din, a great roar sounded, louder than anything else. Everyone immediately silenced, as a black blur flew in between her and the village people and dragons.

"Enough!" A blinding flash erupted in the air.

Toothless was livid. Wings and tail raised, he sunk low into a predatory stance, whipping his tail back and forth. The dragons' jaws had all dropped, and the humans appeared to have no problem understanding him.

"Get out of here!" The Alpha commanded, his pupils threatening slits, sending all of the dragons scurrying. Well, all but five, who stood looking at him with no small amount of fear. The humans, in the mean time, had all turned to their Chief, who was speaking to them with his hands raised.

She caught snatches of his speech. "Washed up on shore… wounded… wild dragon… leave her alone."

Toothless had turned towards her, ignoring the few remaining dragons, and his expression made her shrink away with dread. "Get inside," he growled.

So… maybe he was the Alpha after all. She gulped and did as he said, slowly stumbling on her weak legs back into the safety of the shelter before collapsing in the corner.

Great. Now she'd actually have to take him seriously.


Stormfly and the others slowly climbed the hill to where Toothless had just sent the female Fury back into the shelter. The blue dragon had never seen Toothless get so angry. Hookfang was reminded of when he had been about to kill Hiccup in the arena. Toothless had reacted very similarly just now. The Alpha had not allowed any of their small group to visit or even see the injured Night Fury female, and it led them all to wonder why.

"Toothless?" Meatlug hesitantly called his name.

"WHAT?" he roared, turning around quickly but stopping abruptly when he saw that it was just Meatlug and the others. "I'm sorry," he apologized, his ears drooping. "I knew the reaction would be big, but I had no idea it would be like that." What had she been thinking? Toothless wondered angrily. That could have ended very badly, and as it was he had scared his dragons half to death defending her! The little voice in the back of his mind spoke up, though. Why rush to defend her? It's not like she means anything to you…

UGH. Toothless promised his loyal friends that he would see them later, effectively sending them off as the last of the most curious Vikings was ushered away by Astrid, who had appeared in the middle of the fray to support Hiccup. The black dragon met his human's eyes, and they both sighed. "Well bud, that could have gone better." The Viking paused, then corrected himself. "Then again, it could have been much worse."


Toothless allowed himself to deflate a bit before scratching on the entrance of his shelter to announce his presence. After a moment, he pushed open the door and slipped into the dimly lit space. He spotted her curled up in the corner, her good wing draped over her head.

A floorboard creaked beneath him as he moved towards her, and her wing lifted just enough to reveal a bright, silvery eye. Toothless just sat down and didn't speak. After a moment she uncurled and began to apologize profusely.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea that would happen. I just wanted to go outside… it's so dark in here and I feel like I'm losing my mind… this wouldn't have happened if you had let me out sooner!… you never told me there were so many humans, and dragons, and they were all coming straight for me…" She was shaking.

Toothless simply walked over and lay down next to her, pressing his side into hers. Uncertain, she lowered her head onto her paws and didn't look at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

She whimpered in response and peeked up at him, to see him attempting to give her a gummy smile. Not able to resist, she shyly smiled back, and managed not to jump when she felt his tail curl around hers. Quickly she looked back at the floor, not sure of how to act. Does Toothless… care?

Toothless couldn't believe what he was doing. The rush of power from being the Alpha had given him an inflated sense of confidence. So what do I do? I waltz in and make advances toward a frightened, injured dragon. She can't even get up and leave if she wants to!

His darkening thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice. "Toothless?"

He was slow to reply. "Yes?"

A beat. "Are you the Alpha?"

Another beat. "Does it matter?"

They fell asleep like that, his larger body curved around her smaller form, giving her comfort. She would not remember her dreams, but they were warm and filled to the brim with emotion. Her eyes opened blue the next morning, and she yawned happily, before turning to wish him a good morning.

But he was already gone.