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Chapter 10: Teach me how to fly

Hiccup was waiting, feeling a little embarrassed, for his father to cease laughing. He hadn't seen his father laugh like that since he was really young. He almost forgot the sound, which was a deep, baritone song. Although his situation was embarrassing, and his father was currently laughing at his expense, he hadn't felt such joy in a long time. The sound swept through him, warming him to his very core like sunshine on a cold morning. He finally had his father back, and it was more than he'd ever dared to hope for. Sure they still had a long way to go, they would never be the way they were before his mother disappeared, but they weren't total strangers anymore.

It was another minute before Stoick finally stopped laughing, but a huge smile was still present on his thickly bearded face. Hiccup rolled his eyes in exasperation but he couldn't help the grin that cracked over his lips, if dragons even had lips that is.

"Well then, let's get to it." Stoick said matter of factly while rubbing his large burly hands together.

Hiccup tilted his head, and pulled his ear like appendages back, in confusion. Get to what exactly? He couldn't fly. Just what was his father thinking?

Stoick must have picked up on his skepticism, because he patted his son's shoulder in reassurance. "Don' worry, we'll get ya out." He said with laughter still audible in his voice.

We, who's we?

That was when Hiccup finally noticed the large black shape sitting patiently on the edge of the cove's steep cliff side. Toothless stared down from his perch observantly and nodded when he saw Hiccup looking up at him. But why was he up there and not down here like his dad was? Then he almost smacked himself in the head with his tail for his own stupidity. How could he have forgotten so quickly about Toothless situation, after all wasn't he just agonizing about it not but a few minutes ago.

That's right, without his tailfin Toothless is flightless, which means if he came down into the cove…..he wouldn't make it back up.

Two flightless dragons stuck in a cove wouldn't be helping anybody. So just how was Stoick and Toothless planning on getting him up and out of the cove? He couldn't fly, and since Toothless couldn't get to him without getting stuck too, getting a crash course in that subject wasn't exactly an option. He'd seen Toothless try to climb out of the cove before, something said dragon only succeeded after months of trying and under dire circumstances. And seeing as Hiccup wasn't exactly used to having his very own set or claws just yet, his chances of replicating it was nearly impossible. He was too big to fit through the walk way in and out, which he'd already discovered when he tried to get into the cove, now turned cage.

So he couldn't fly, couldn't walk out, and climbing out wasn't an option. He was fresh out of ideas, his father on the other hand, seemed to be scheming something.

Before he could dwell on it too long, Stoick produced a rope and an axe from his belt. Then he proceeded to tie the rope tightly around the axe handle, before tugging on it hard to test the knot. Then the gears in Hiccup's head finally clicked into place and his dad's plan finally became clear. Swinging the axe back and forth, like a pendulum, Stoick chucked the weapon high up over the lip of the cove. He kept a tight grip on the other end of the long rope, and when he heard a thud of metal digging itself into dirt, Stoick gave the rope an experimental tug. Satisfied that the line was secure he turn to face Hiccup.

"Now I wan' ya ta tell that dragon of yours ta pull on the rope when I tell him ta."

Hiccup nodded his understanding and turned his attention to Toothless. Who was now sitting near the axe, with a look or curiosity on his face, as he meet Hiccup's gaze.

"Did you hear him Bud?" Hiccup called up, still a little shaken when his voice came out in growling noises rather than his old high, crackling one.

Toothless nodded in acknowledgment before walking over to the rope and gripping it in his strong jaws, and waited for the signal. Stoick then turned his attention back to Hiccup and preceded to practically hog tie the young dragon. Hiccup couldn't help the small yelp of indignation that escaped his lips, as his father tightened the rope to a painful death grip. As if he wasn't already humiliated before for even getting himself stuck in this situation, now his father had him tied up like a hog before Snoggletog dinner.

This day just couldn't get any worse.

"Okay that's good and tight" Stoick said after giving his new handiwork a hard tug to see if it would hold. Satisfied with his work, the chief then turned his attention to Toothless up on the cliff face. "Alrigh' Dragon, get pullin'".

Toothless tug sharply back on the rope, and dug his claws deep into the dirt and rocks. It was a slow process, but with each tug and jerk of the line, Hiccup was inched closer and closer to the top of the cove. Before finally toothless was able to yank the smaller, but still surprisingly heavy, dragon up and over the edge.

Breathing heavily, Toothless made his way to Hiccup's side and began removing the bonds, snapping the rope with his sharp fangs. Finally free of his restricting prison, Hiccups heaved himself to his feet and was relieved when he felt the rush of air going in and out of his lungs again.

"Did he really need to tie it that tight? " He said through a few strangled coughs.

"We'll you're the one who ran off and got yourself stuck in the first place." Toothless pointed out unsympathetically. "So don't whine".

"Ouch, harsh Bud, where's the Sympathy?" Hiccup said somewhat jokingly, faking a flinch at Toothless' words.

"You had me worried sick, you know that?" Toothless asked, rounding on him, obviously not in a joking mood. "You ran off to gods know where, and now you think you can joke about it!" Toothless' ear-like flaps were pulled back flat against his head and his eyes were burning with anger and concern.

He knew what Toothless was saying wasn't wrong; after all, he had every right to be angry with him. If the situation were reversed, Hiccup would probably be furious too. But that didn't stop him from feeling a bit slighted, and he just couldn't hold his tongue.

"But I'm fine, nothing happened…" He started to defend himself but was quickly shut down as Toothless growled.

"Well maybe nothing happened this time, but what about the next time you decided to freak out and run?" Concern was clearly evident in the dragon's voice, and Hiccup had to avoid eye contact as Toothless continued. "You're not used to your new body yet, you're lucky we found you before another dragon did. You could have died Hiccup."

Hiccup felt guilt gnawing at his insides, Toothless was right. Just what had he been thinking? Wasn't he in this situation because of the very fact Toothless had just pointed out to him. He barely knew how to move his wings, let alone fly or shoot plasma blasts. If Toothless and his father hadn't found him, or if he'd chosen a different location, he might have been in serious trouble. He hadn't really thought about it at the time, he'd just been so scared. Scared that his father might reject, or throw him out of the village now that he was the very thing he once called enemy.

But just how did Toothless expect him to react? Hiccup and his father had been almost strangers living under the same roof at the best of times. So it hadn't been much of a leap when he thought his father might try to hurt him. Granted his father had been remarkably cool about it…..which now that he really thought about it was kind of suspicious in its own right. Just what had happened to change Stoick the Vast's so much in the past few days that's seeing his son as a dragon was….okay? He couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was missing a piece to this puzzle.

The approach of heavy footsteps shook him out of his thoughts and he finally meet Toothless' gaze. Toothless' large orbs burn into him and Hiccup saw fear and concern reflected in their fiery depths.

"I'm sorry Bud, I…I didn't mean to scare you, okay? I just…..I just needed to get away. I thought that my dad was going to, I don't know, try to hurt me I guess. With was stupid now that I think about it, seeing as I spent the night our house. But I was scared Bud. I still am." Hiccup finally confessed. "I have no idea what's going on and I freaked out for a minute, I'm sorry."

Toothless stepped forward and stretched one massive wing out to place it on the young dragons shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I'm sorry too Hiccup, I didn't mean to yell at you. You just made me worried, that's all". Toothless said apologetically." I understand that your scared Hiccup, but I'm here to help you just like you did for me."

"I know bud, thanks"

Toothless pulled his wing back and tucked it away as Stoick finally rounded the last corner of the path and came into view.

"Now then, " He said, retrieving his axe from the ground and returning it to its place on his belt. "Let's get back to the village before Gobber loses his head with worry." Turning back towards the direction of the village, he gestured with a shrug of one large shoulder for the pair of Nightfuries to follow.

By the time they reached to edge of the forest and began to see the roofs of cabins on the horizon, the sun was beginning its decent into the west. Suggesting that it was around late noon and lunch would have came and gone by the time they reached the mess hall.

Hiccup's stomach growled fiercely at the thought of food, and he was made all too aware of the empty state of his midsection. He only just realized that in his haste to escape he had neglected to eat anything that morning, let alone that day, seeing as he spent a good portion of it stuck in a hole. Even eel was starting to sound good at this point.

As they were making their way into the village, they had decided to make a quick stop at the chief's cabin. And they were greeted by a very eager Gobber, who was holding one of the most beautiful sites that Hiccup had seen all day, food! Gobber had a large basket of raw fish slung over one shoulder, filled to the brim with cod, salmon and what seemed like just about every fish in season. The cap of the basket was flipped open, exposing the goodies inside and allowing the tempting smells to waft their mischievous way into Hiccups nostrils. His mouth was watering in an instant, and his stomach growled loudly demanding satisfaction.

Unable to stop himself, Hiccup bounded over to the one-legged Viking and began circling him and prodding his nose at the basket of treats.

"Well, it looks like someone's hungry "Gobber said amusement clear in his gruff voice. Slowly he slid the basket from over his shoulder and placed it on the ground in front of the starving Nightfury. "Well, have at it then."

Excitement and hunger completely over took him, as Hiccup dived into the basket knocking it over and spilling it contents out onto the ground. Not caring the his food was coated with a fine sprinkling of dirt, he began eagerly guzzling the juicy treats at an alarming pace. Somewhere in the back of his mind Hiccup was aware that he was behaving like a starving animal and knew that he should feel a little embarrassed but he was just too hungry to care. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate. He didn't even stop to consider that what he was doing was strange. After all, he was eating raw fish off the ground, but then again, he was a dragon now so did it really matter? At the moment, no it didn't. Because each time a new fish made its way into his mouth and down his throat, he felt his stomach cry out in satisfaction.

As Hiccup continued to make quick work of the fish, Gobber hobbled his way over to the chief. "I figured ya might need some food, seeing a Hiccup will be eating the raw stuff for now, I'm glad yer all right. Ya had me worried there fer a moment, what took ya so long?" Gobber asked with curious relief.

"Hiccup got himself inta a bit of trouble, nothing we couldn't handle, but it took a few minutes to sort it out." Stoick replayed simply, all of the old exasperation he used to display absent from his face.

"Well at least we know that part of him hasn't changed." Gobber said lightly with click of his tongue.

"What do ya mean?" Stoick asked

"He always manages to find trouble that one." Gobber explained with an amused sort of huff.

Hiccup was guzzling down the last of his fish when Toothless sat down beside him. With his stomach finally satisfied his mind returned to him and he instantly felt both embarrassed and mortified. Just what was happening to him, he was starting to behave more like a dragon and less like a human. And it was beginning to scare him.

"Toothless….what's happening to me?" His voice came out shaky and quiet, and it made Toothless twinge to have to hear his former rider's voice so scared.

"I don't know Hiccup, but we'll figure it out." Toothless bumped his nose lightly against the side of Hiccups head. "Just don't go running off again."

"Toothless, I want you to teach me" Hiccup said with a slightly steadier voice.

"Teach you what?" Toothless ask, not quite sure what Hiccup meant.

Finally looking up at Toothless Hiccup could feel the walls in his head beginning to crumble. He wanted to run, to wake and find out that this all was a dream; it all just felt so unreal. But he couldn't and wouldn't, this was his new reality. He was a dragon now, whether he liked it or not. He could whine about it or try to ignore it but it wasn't going to go away. Gobber was right, he always manages to get himself into trouble; but for once there was no way to fix it. Just what had he done to get himself into this mess?

Whether it was from his own stupidity or from just a random string of fate, he was what he was and it looked like there was no going back. So if he was going to be stuck like this he might as well learn to work with it. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and he felt the walls in his mind begin to patch themselves back up. And once he was calm enough he opened his eye, and with a new look of determination, answered Toothless' question with a strong stead voice.

"Teach me how to fly"

A/N: I'm so very sorry for the extremely long wait on this one. A lot stuff happened, like mid terms and my car breaking down, you know...life. So I haven't had much time to write :P. But thankfully my car's now fixed and midterms are over so regular scheduled releases will resume. I had planned on having toothless teach Hiccup how to fly in this chapter, but it just wasn't coming out right so I'm going to end up dedicating a whole chapter to the subject. We'll start seeing more of the group, like astrid and fishlegs, in the up coming chapters so don't worry. Thanks again for all the support and for your understanding, you guys are the best. So until next chapter don't forget to fav, follow and review. Bye, bye. :)

-tsuchihana