AN/ So, I'm not dead (yay!) and the story isn't on hiatus, even though it probably felt like one. I hope everyone had a wonderful time for the holidays and a happy new year. A shoutout to StoryGirl1997 because it's her birthday today and she has been really supportive and helpful. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Now that that's over with, I'd also like to thank toothlessgolfer for beta reading this chapter. He really is the unsung hero of this story. (A little dramatic, perhaps, but he deserves it all the same.)

CAPS LOCK will represent things written by Hiccup to communicate with humans.

On with the story...

An Unexpected Gift

Chapter Ten

A

I was on one of our ships returning to Berk. By the time we found Hiccup he had already transformed fully. At the time my mind was too preoccupied with the rescue mission to think too much about it though. Now I could. For some reason Hiccup was sleeping and wouldn't wake up, Fishlegs called it "hibernation". After Toothless blasted the wall between the cell and corridor (Hiccup couldn't fit through the door frame anymore) it became quite the daunting challenge to get him to the ships. Even though Night Furies are light for their size, Hiccup was still very heavy. We managed to haul him up on Toothless's back and he carried him through the tunnels with us on either side of him making sure Hiccup wouldn't slip off. After we got him on the ship I remember vaguely someone reporting to Stoick that Alvin was nowhere to be found even though they searched the island. I think Stoick ordered another search but I'm not sure. In any case we left the island a few hours later. By that time all the Outcasts we found were dead or dying but there was no sign of Alvin from what I heard. He must have escaped. Normally I would have gladly helped our warriors clean out this rat's nest of an island but I didn't. I felt really protective of Hiccup for some reason which made me stay on the ship watching over him while the battle raged on.

About an hour after we cast off, Toothless flew off to the direction of Outcast Island. By the time he got there, we couldn't see him. We could see however a dot of light descending from the heavens which exploded into a huge fireball when it hit the island. And by huge I meant absolutely gigantic. It was also extremely loud even from this distance. A couple minutes later another one hit, and yet another one came two minutes after that. I guess Toothless really could have partially destroyed the old dragon nest, judging by this display of power. A few minutes after the last blast Toothless returned and promptly went to sleep with the majority of the Vikings on our ship staring at him in awe.

And now I'm here, staring at my sleeping boyfriend who somehow got himself turned into a dragon. Could a relationship even work between us, now that he was fully transformed? It went against every Viking rule there was about this sort of thing and then some. Wait, Astrid the warrior-maiden in training thinking about relationship stuff? That's new.

I concluded after a moment of thought that the best course of action was to help Hiccup figure out how to become human again. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to do that, but hopefully he finds out some way to tell me. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he had already invented something for that purpose, just in case something like this would happen. I wouldn't even be surprised if he saw this whole event coming somehow, thanks to that brilliant mind of his. I honestly have no idea how he manages to do half the stuff he does. I mean, how does one just make a working tail fin for a dragon? While said dragon is still pondering whether to kill you or not and while you've been brought up being tought to hate all dragons? I mean, his own mother and countless Vikings were killed by dragons and he ignored all that to help a fellow intelligent being in need. A fellow being whom he could have easily killed and thereby gotten everything he had ever dreamed of.

But no, he decided to throw away his entire foreseeable future, just to help Toothless. Then he went one step further and decided to try to get a full village of dragon-hating Vikings with stubbornness issues to accept dragons who they had warred with for seven generations. Just like that. And when his father disowned him and chained what was at this point Hiccup's best friend to a ship, planning to kill Toothless afterwards no doubt, he still decided to help the Berk Vikings. The very people who had mistreated and insulted him his whole life and had just cast him out of the tribe. He still risked his life to help the people who deserved it the least, losing a leg in the process. That's probably what I like the most about him, he's so forgiving, kind, and fair; it's just ridiculous. I'm willing to bet there's not a soul in Midgard as forgiving and smart as he is.

Wait, why did I just go on an internal rant about Hiccup's best qualities? Is this what 'love' feels like?

H

As I woke up I felt... strange. Really strange. The Outcasts must have done something to me. I opened my eyes.

As I opened them and scanned my surroundings I saw that I was back in my room. So they must have rescued me then. Why didn't they wake me up? Well, maybe the Outcasts had drugged me so that I wouldn't wake up. That seemed to be the only explanation that made sense. Okay, next question, why was my head on the ground? I should be very uncomfortable right now if I was in such an awkward position for a long time, so why wasn't I?

I searched myself internally to get to the bottom of this and the strangeness intensified. All my limbs seemed... out of place... disproportionate... wrong. My wings seemed to have grown tremendously as has my tail and everything else seemed shorter. What could account for this?

It was then that the early morning haze fell away and everything clicked. I had known this would happen for a while now, but I never really comprehended it fully until now.

The transformation was complete. I was a dragon now. A true, full Night Fury. I was now... truly one of them, as my father would have put it a few years ago. I had scales. I could breathe fire. I could learn to fly. I probably couldn't speak Norse anymore. I couldn't draw normally. I couldn't wield a hammer. Oh gods!

I would eventually have to get up. The people would have to see me. Astrid would have to see me, as would my other friends. This was a true nightmare.

Most Vikings would be wallowing in misery at this point and would probably end up killing themselves, but I was no ordinary Viking. I preferred to be optimistic and this was no exception.

I could learn to fly. I could learn to breathe fire. No one would be able to hurt or bully me ever again. This was a true dream.

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a growl. Just as I suspected.

First things first: learning to walk. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Well, I was half right. Just hobbling along wasn't too hard, but that wasn't exactly what I wanted. A big problem was that my room really wasn't big enough to practice walking. Going outside to try to figure it out would be embarrassing though.

I decided to try and make my way downstairs. I was starving. It was hard making my way down the stairs safely, but I was starting to get a hang of walking, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

When I finally got downstairs I saw Toothless napping upside down. He woke up when one of the floorboards under my feet creaked. His ear flaps swiveled towards the sound, he opened his eyes slightly to see what had disrupted his sleep, his eyes went wide when he saw me, and he ungracefully fell down headfirst into the floor. I would have laughed if not for the... situation.

"Hiccup! You're awake! How do you feel?" He asked earnestly.

"I feel fine, except for the fact that my body has completely changed and every movement I make feels extremely awkward. Oh, and I'm hungry." I answered.

"I expected as much. Last time I woke up from hibernation I felt like I could eat a Nightmare." He chuckled. Well, he did the dragon equivalent of a chuckle. Hold on, hibernation? How long was I out?

"What do you mean by hibernation? How long did I sleep?" I asked him. It was a weird thought, sometimes having to hibernate during the winter. I was probably going to have to get used to a lot of things.

"After we rescued you, two weeks. I thought you'd be asleep longer though, guess it has to do with the warmth because Night Furies generally only hibernate during winter." He replied. So I was out two whole weeks. Probably more but I didn't know how long I was at Outcast Island.

"Wow, no wonder I didn't wake up to you all waiting for me to wake up at my bedside. Well, I don't fit in a bed now but you know what I mean." I said. Then my stomach gurgled loudly.

"Better get you some fish though. You're so hungry I can practically smell it." He said, starting to go out the door. I hesitated.

"Well, actually, I'm not that hungry right now." I said. He looked at me unbelievingly.

"I was not kidding about the smell part. When most dragons get really hungry other dragons can smell it and help said dragons by feeding them. I can tell that you're so hungry you could eat an eel." He responded. Did it really work like that? It's fascinating because it could be one of the reasons why wild dragons form groups even without the control of a queen. Maybe the queens control dragons by exploiting this somehow? I would have to think about that later, but for now, food.

"Aren't eels poisonous or something?" I asked, hoping to change the subject because I really didn't want the village to see me like this even though they probably all knew about me after two weeks.

"Well, they don't really do much serious harm but your stomach feels horrible for a few days afterwards, but we're getting off track here, we need to get some food in you." He said. Darn, it didn't work.

"Aren't there any fish inside the house? I'd prefer that people not see me right now." I said, finally giving in to honesty.

"No, but in case you haven't noticed it's so early that we're the only ones awake right now. Can't you hear your father snoring?" He said. When I focused I realized that I could indeed hear him snore rather loudly. I don't know how I missed it.

"Alright, if you say so." I said as I walked out the door with him and we started walking towards the feeding area. Well, he walked and I kind of crawled rather clumsily doing my best to keep up with him.

"We really need to get your senses sharpened up. I suppose it could just be that you're not used to your body but the fact you failed to notice his snoring until I pointed it out to you is unacceptable." He said. It was true what he said. I was having difficulties making sense of all the information streaming at me from my eyes, ears, scales, nose and mouth. It was amazing that I could taste the air with my tongue like a weird alternative to smelling it. It was very different to smelling in that I picked up completely different things but also similar in most other respects.

"Yeah, I think I just need practice. When are you planning to teach me to fly or breathe fire?" I asked him. I was very much looking forward to those aspects of dragonhood.

"Well, definitely not before you've mastered your senses and walking. Once you've done those things, I will teach you." He answered. It was as expected and it made sense. Flying is a highly complex art that requires you to use all your senses. I expect you also need good body coordination which is something I severely lack at the moment.

Before I knew it we were at the feeding areas and I hungrily helped myself to some fish. I wasn't entirely sure how to eat it properly but I had a general idea since I've watched Toothless do it countless times. He usually puts it in his mouth and tips his head back and lets it slide down his throat. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Well, I knew that since I had never done this before I decided that it was probably best to follow my instincts as much as possible. I lowered my head into the tray and managed with some difficulty to pick one up. The smell of it was delightful but the taste... it was something out of Valhalla. The logical part of me realized that this was probably because I was starving but I didn't really care.

Next I cocked my head up. Gravity pulled the fish down my mouth and once it hit a certain spot I felt a strong urge to swallow it. The human part of me reasoned that one isn't supposed to swallow a fish whole but the rest of me said to it that I was no longer human and decided to follow this urge. So I swallowed it. Instant relief came to my empty stomach and only now did I realize how hungry I was.

I quickly sucked up another fish and did the same thing as I did with the other one only much faster. Another one soon followed. Soon after that I had devoured five fish but after the sixth I lost count of time and number of fishes eaten.

After I had satisfied my craving for sea food I looked over at Toothless who had probably been staring at me the whole time.

"A little messy and noisy but not bad for a complete beginner. Shall we head home? I'm still a bit sleepy." He asked, seeing that I was done. I realized that I was becoming tired as well, despite the fact that I had slept for probably three weeks straight. It must be because I've just eaten, Toothless usually naps after meals so I suppose all Night Furies feel sleepy after eating. Must be something about our digestion.

"Yes, let's." I said as I started walking beside him again, a little more gracefully this time.

Once we got home I saw the door opening and my father stepping out. When he saw me his eyes went wide and I swear I saw tears starting to form at the corners of them. He stopped dead in his tracks and just stared. I did the same. After a while he broke the silence.

"You're finally awake, son." He said, his voice breaking a bit. I could tell that this was a very emotional moment for him.

Since I couldn't speak Norse I found that the only method of communication that worked was writing. So I wrote upside down in big, crude letters so he could read it.

HI, DAD.