-Chapter: X-

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`There is an old legend that the village Elder, Gothi, would often recite to younger children. It was a tale that told how two people could become spiritually connected. She said that it meant that two people could come around to understanding one another on simpler terms. I always thought it was simply a story explaining 'marriage' and why people would do so. Then she explained that it spreads deeper than just marriage, to a connection of soul. To this day, she has never fully told the full tale...

The sun was already past it's prime by the time that Hiccup had found his way to the gorge. He decided to map out the route that he took, in his journal so that he would be able to get to it easier next time. Why he was thinking of a next time he wouldn't guess. His mind was swimming with thoughts of what to do in certain situations.

'What if it doesn't like the fish?'

'What if it tries to eat me?'

'What if it's not here?'

Hiccup had decided to go and visit the Night Fury that he had the incredible chance of escaping its wrath twice now. It appeared stuck in the gorge and didn't seem capable of catching the fish that lived in the waters of the pond. It could be hungry. Maybe if he brought a fresh fish, it would think twice about eating him instead. They were foolish dreams from a foolish boy. Why would a dragon not kill him? Then again, why did the dragon not kill him? The question was as fresh in his mind as the fish that was in his hands. The stench was strong. If the dragon was alert, it would have already known of the boys approach, or at least, of a fish's approach.

He decided that caution was a must. Last time he was here, the dragon was on the far side and he was perched atop a cliff ledge. This time however, Hiccup was setting foot into the gorge, down on the solid ground. On even footing. There would be no cliff ledge to protect him.

'Plop!' He lobed the fish he was carrying over a mound of rocks, listening for possible movement. 'Was it not here?' The question eased back into his thoughts as he looked around for any sign of any dragon. None. He took off his thick cloak, placing down next to the entrance.

Slowly, he picked up the fish as he made his way out of the rocks. He padded forward. 'Oh this is a bad idea!' Still no sign of any dragon. Any Night Fury. 'Maybe it had left.' He answered himself as he padded across the ground. The water lapped at his right as a wall of rock loomed over his left. A boulder covered exit was behind him while more dirt and grass spread out before him. Nothing.

What sounded like a low, guttural growl came from behind his left shoulder. Hiccup dared not move. He knew exactly what was making that sound, and he knew exactly what it was thinking.

It was only when he spied the dragon moving into his field of view and set itself a dozen arms lengths away, did he actually see it; and see it he did! It was so much more intimidating up close than from afar. He could make out the tense muscles that gripped it's limbs. He could make out the slitted pupils as it eyed the intruder conspicuously. He took in the unique head shape it had. It's head was much wider than most, slightly triangular with two large flaps set at the base where it's head met the neck, flanked by six more smaller plates set between the large ones, on the under side and left and right sides, respectively at the same area where the head met the neck. 'Those must be its ears.' His technical mind kicked in as he gazed across it's streamline shape that bent and twisted as it shifted under the strangers gaze.

'The fish!' His mind immediately snapped to attention when he remembered what he had brought with him, as a gift to say the least. He brought up the fish that he was clutching at his chest up in front of him, much like a peace offering between tribes. The dragons nostrils flared as it focused its attention on the food. Slowly, it moved itself forward to get the fish when it snapped back, snarling at the boy. It was then that he remembered his knife that he kept in his belt sash. 'It knows I have a weapon!' He quickly brought his hand to his side, brushing away the vest as he made to pick the knife out.

The dragon was not a fan of this potentially hostile action. It snarled at the boy again, before he picked out the knife and dropped it at his feet. It snarled again, motioning towards the waters.

'Throw it away?' Hiccup knew better than to go against the wishes that this dragon had, so he deftly scooped the knife up with his foot and kicked it into the pond waters; sinking fast into the depths.

'I liked that knife, it took some time to make..' His thoughts were broken as he moved the fish-gift before him again, weaponless, vulnerable. Truth be told, he was vulnerable even with the tiny knife.

The dragon noted the lack of weapons on the boy and gingerly moved forward. It stopped only a yard away before opening it's wide mouth. Its head was at least as big as Hiccups entire upper body, even though Hiccup is quite small. He also saw, that unlike other species, this Night Fury had no teeth in it's mouth!

His thoughts ran back to the first encounter he had, when he saw the vicious snarl it had, and the gleaming white teeth it bared at him.

"Huh, toothless, I could've sworn you had-" His words cut short as two complete sets of sharp teeth shot out of the dragons gums as it yanked the fish out of the boys hands, swallowing it in two. "-teeth..." He was speechless. 'retractable teeth? Never have I heard of that before.'

The dragon would not let the boy have any moments of contemplation as it moved towards the boy, making a sound that could have meant to ask if he had more tasty fish for it. He ended up stumbling backwards into a rock as the dragon pushed its snout into his face, starring at him intently. "No no, don't- I don't have any more." He put his hands out to gesture at his lack of fish. The dragon noted the lack of food and stared at the boys face for a moment more. Its eyes lifted back as the dragon hacked up half the fish it had eaten, directly into the boys lap.

Content with the deed, the dragon placed itself on the base of it's tail, gaining considerable height in the seated posture, and looked down on the boy.

Boy and Dragon exchanged looks of uncertainty and patience, respectively. The dragon not moving from its spot, and the boy not knowing what to do with the fish in his lap. The dragon looked from the half-fish to the boy then back to the half-fish.

'It wants me to eat it, doesn't it...' Hiccup didn't need to second guess himself, the dragon clearly intended for the boy to eat his fill. He didn't have anymore, so the dragon is sharing. With that, Hiccup sealed up his distaste and bit down on the slimy, scaly piece of flesh. It was raw, it was slimy, it was slippery, and it was disgusting. He held the piece in his mouth, not daring to swallow. He looked up at the dragon, hoping to see some sign of acknowledgment, but the creature just made a gesture to suggest swallowing. That sealed Hiccups fears. He summoned his courage, and swallowed back the chunk of raw fish, barely containing the reflex to throw it back out of his throat. His face contorted as the taste lingered on in his mouth. He looked up at the dragon, trying to smile so that the dragon may have mercy on him, to not finish the rest.

Something else happened, not to finish the fish, but to finish Hiccups very understanding of the beasts. The dragon looked down on the boys face, on the smile, and made an effort to smile itself. It was contorted, forced, and downright silly as the toothless dragon shared a toothless smile with the boy.

Hiccup wasn't sure what he was doing, but he felt like he had a connection with the being before him. He reached a slow hand up to the dragon, to feel its scales. The Night Fury did not like this. It unsheathe its teeth at the approach, snarled threateningly before flipping across to the other side of the gully. The boy watched, and moved slowly as he admired how it would torch the dirt, heating it up to a warm glow. He sat down next to the dragon, cross legged, much as he would when listening to the village Elder recount an old tale of brave warriors and adventure. The dragon looked down from the bird that was fluttering by to see the presence of the boy. Hiccup waved, to just say 'hello'.

The later portion was spent with Hiccup wandering the gully aimlessly. The dragon had taken to Hiccups presence and decided to sleep from a tree limb, high up, away from the pestering child. Now all Hiccup had left to do was sit down and wonder as to what was going on. He looked over his shoulder and took in the sight of the dragon, wrapped up in a winged cocoon.

It was nearly dead when it slept. Still as stone, noiseless as could be. The only sign of life was when it would breath in and out steadily. He could see the slight rise and fall in the dragons chest, in rhythm. Hiccup looked back at the ground under his feet and started scratching at it with a stick. He was drawing lines, and curves, slashes here, slashes there. He was ebbing the time away before he started to put small, slanted shapes in the picture. He must have been drawing the dragon, at least its head anyway. He had brought his journal with him, but he didn't have the desire to get it from his vest. He took to the simpler stick and canvas of sandy dirt.

He was so caught up in the picture that was slowly coming to life before him that only when he felt the presence of a much larger, and more resounding dragon behind him, did he realize he had an audience. He didn't want to focus on it though, instead he turned his mind back to the drawing. He had only just realized then how distinct it was. Despite its medium being dirt, he had etched into the ground a near perfect replica of the dragons head. Its characteristic, triangular head, its ear plates and smaller companions, the rounded out nose, and the charming, careful eyes. He knew those same eyes were scanning over his work, following the motions of his hands as he trimmed in the wings, with precise creases.

'Snap!' Hiccup turned his head at the sudden sound as the dragon had taken to lifting a young sapling from the roots and was dragging it along. The dragon stopped in front of Hiccup and gingerly slid the tree down his teeth, to the point where the end dragged across the dirt. A giant stick. A drawing stick.

Much to the boys wonder and surprise, the dragon started bouncing around, twirling and leaping as it cried joyfully in the dance-like action it was partaking in. It spun and dipped, lifted and heaved. Hiccup looked on in awe as the dragon finished the dance with a slight twist and stopped outside the weaving lines on the earth.

He had stood up on the small rock he was sitting on to get a better view, but the whole picture was wrapped around him, like a cocoon of flightful dancing patterns. He stepped down, to move out of the picture, when the dragon snarled at the boy. Stunned, he looked over and saw the dragon pacing around the edge. He noticed that it was moving its paws with an interesting gait.

It would move its left front leg forward, twist a slight bit, move its back right foot forward, move around some more, twist its left front leg again with moving of its right front foot. It was rhythmic almost. Then the thought hit him. 'a dance? Does the dragon want to dance?' Hiccup didn't know how to know if he was right or wrong, so he simply started moving in respect to the lone figure circling him.

No threatening sounds came. Only soft crooning, and a low...'Humming? Was the dragon humming?'

Hiccup looked over his left shoulder as he twisted his hips with a lifting of his right foot as he circled in motion. It was a simple form, and as he listened closer, he could indeed hear a slight rhythmic humming sound emanating from the creature. It was soft, despite the source. He could sense the pride the dragon emanated from getting the human to dance with it.

Hiccups mind was alight, like he was floating in the clouds on a warm day. He could feel the presence of all around him. He could feel like he was able to dance with the dragon all evening.

All his movements and thoughts came to a stop though as he was abruptly halted in place. He had no where else to go in the weaving mass of rings and twists. A gentle breath fluttered his hair as he turned to find the great dragon sitting before him.

It sat there, peaceful and content. A soft glint in the eye as the boy was eyed up and down. Hiccup didn't know what to feel in that moment. Should he have felt fear? Fear in the face of this terrible foe? or should he feel safe, knowing it wouldn't attack him. Hiccup reached up with his hand. What of touch? The dragon flinched it's head away, barred a few teeth at the gesture, but remained sitting. Hiccup retracted his hand and thought for a moment. He lowered his head to the dirt at his feet...

...and raised his hand.

He raised his hand in trust, in trust that an understanding was shared between the two. He raised his hand in hope, that all his dreams true, that the war long fought was always in vain. He dreamed to believe that all the loss could be dissolved. He dreamed to hope for the impossible, sad truth, that trust was the cure for the pain long suffering all felt dearly to in this war. He raised his hand in the impossible goal of finding someone. Someone he never had.

A friend...

A friend greeted his tender hand, a friend helped him see his dreams true.

He could feel the warm pulse under the smooth scaly touch. Hiccup looked up, he looked up, into the dragons eyes, and saw a friend looking back. He saw into the boy, and shared in his sense of connection, in sharing this dream. Hiccup and his friend shared in that moment together. It felt warming, like a soft hug to his chest. He could actually feel the vibrations the other was giving off. He could feel its being like nothing he had ever felt before. It was real, a real sharing in a very real moment. Hiccup looked into his eyes and felt his presence. He felt his soul, his very being. He felt his compassion for all. He felt the bond they now shared. A bond of heart, soul, and being. For once in Hiccups life, he shared in his being.

...He had a Brother...

Now it was his dragon-turned-brother's turn to spark the moment. In one swift movement, the dragon caught the boy in his tongue and licked him from neck to forehead, covering him in saliva. Hiccup was completely taken aback by the sudden movement, he couldn't even get out of the way from the second assault on his personal space. He stumbled backwards as his friend continued to assault him with his forked tongue. He ended up falling back onto the same rock that he was sitting against when he was drawing him. Hiccup was completely defeated. His friend continued to lick him until his licks no longer appeared to affect the poor sod.

Sitting back, the dragon admired his work and crooned, sporting a spreading smile on his face. Hiccup looked up as the attacks ceased and sat himself up, half-bracing for another attack. He moved over to the now still pond and went on his knees, splashing water in his head to clear his eyes. When he did look down into the reflection, he wished he hadn't. Looming over him, sporting a smile that spelt one word...'mischief'... Hiccup had not a moment to register what was happening as he found himself suddenly air born and moving away from the dragon. Despite his small size, Hiccup landed in the further waters with a great splash of chilling water. He emerged from the depths, coughing up water as he turned his gaze to the culprit. On the shore, his friend was belly up, exploding with could only be described as 'dragon-hoots'. His eyes were squeezed shut as he was laughing from the poor boy that went flying, if only temporarily. Hiccup started for the shore, at least glad to have cleaned himself well enough, no thanks to anyone else.

As he padded onto shore, he walked over to the up-turned dragon, with an expression of slight surprise. "I suppose this is all funny then?" Hiccup was actually mildly surprised to find the dragon had a sense of humor, an evil, misplaced sense of humor at best.

In one quick action, the dragon turned himself over and laid down, still quivering from the 'incidents' effects on his mood. He looked up at the boy, with a look that spelt. 'I'm not sorry, it was funny in every way. I would do it again.'

Hiccup looked down at the sad excuse for a great and terrifying dragon. Then he looked back up to the sky to get an idea for the time. He saw the shadows of the trees start to lick the upper section of the opposite walls. Judgment correct, which it usually was, it would be Eventide, or close to it least. He looked down at the dragon, who was now looking at the sky and walls as well, perhaps, just with a different feeling on his face.

He didn't know if the dragon would understand his expressions but he blurted out anyways, "Well, I need to get going. I am expected to be somewhere else soon." He looked to the small crack in the wall that led to an opening upwards. It was small, and it was the only way out. "I don't know where else you can go.." He felt dejected, he felt sorry for what he had caused to his new friend. His best friend. The boy made his way to the collection of piled up rocks. He put on his dusty cloak, shivering from the chill that the drenched clothes on his skin gave him. He looked back and saw his friend eyeing the walls with sadness. Words rang through his head at the sight.

'...I did this...'

With that, the boy crawled out and up the crevice, and started his walk back to his village, leaving behind his first and best friend.

His spiritual brother in heart.