Chapter 10: Dragon's Reasons and Human Ideas
Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for your support!
BTW, not to put a downer on everyone who is currently reading this story, but I've been working on a new one lately, so I'm going to be dividing my time between the two of them. My first story "Death Notes and Dragons" is still on hiatus though. And with college. it might take longer than usual. Sorry :(
But that's not going to stop this story! No matter what, I will finish it. I would even say that were getting close to the end. So keep up hope. :)
That's all I have to say for now. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.
It had been a week since the incident, but the four Night Furies soon put it behind them.
The hatchling had been surprisingly forgiving of the whole ordeal, as the first thing he asked once he got over the trauma was whether or not his new friend was in trouble. Both parents had responded in the negative.
Hiccup had gotten used to his new body; learning how to fly, how to catch fish, and even the etiquette between dragons in the society. The latter of which was his least favorite.
When a female Deadly Nadder asked whether he was available, Hiccup, thinking she wanted his help with something, naively responded yes. She had purred seductively, and then asked him to meet her back at her part of the cave. Hiccup, not knowing any better, agreed.
He never expected to walk into her cave to see her... presenting. He immediately ran from the cave, disturbed and traumatized and leaving the Nadder very confused and unsatisfied.
He still couldn't get over the fact that the females here were easier to get than the women in the Viking village. That earned him a smack over the head by the female Night Fury's tail when he said that out loud.
The Deadly Nadder later approached him and apologized, after the male Fury had searched her out to explain the situation. Both him and the Nadder were on good terms now, even though she kept trying to court him every once in a while. Hiccup refused every time.
While he no longer required clothing due to his dragon body, the male Night Fury revealed that he had kept Hiccup's torn green undershirt. Hiccup was happy that at least he could keep something as memorabilia of his past human life.
He was confused though as to why the shirt was wet and gooey. Whenever he tried to ask why, the
Male Night Fury responded that he didn't really want to know.
His question was answered after seeing the female Night Fury regurgitate fish for the young hatchling. He took one look at his shirt, and then his thoughts went back to the pile of fish he had devoured during his first days as a dragon.
Several minutes later, the four Night Furies had to move somewhere else, as Hiccup vomited on the spot, which was, unfortunately, directly in the middle of the cave home. The Furies were upset, but they were kind enough to at least help the former human become more desensitized to the fact that dragons would do certain things other humans found disgusting.
Hiccup still burned the shirt though.
Still, despite a few incidents, Hiccup began to see the dragon family as his own true family. The couple was always kind to him and the hatchling was always fun to play with. And as the Furies were happy with him, the other dragons took their cue and began to accept Hiccup as just another dragon in the Nest.
However, the one thing that bothered Hiccup was the fact that he was ignoring the dragons every time they went on a raid. At first, he had expressed his opinion openly to the Night Fury family.
"I don't get it." he said.
The male Night Fury looked up from watching his son play with his mate. "What don't you get?" he asked, looking at Hiccup curiously.
"You dragons always raid our village, and yet you seem to have it good here. Why steal our sheep and attack us in the process?" he asked.
The Fury stared at Hiccup before sighing sadly. "I hoped you can understand, but we dragons would love to be able to ignore you humans. Unfortunately, our food circumstances won't allow that." The Fury lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Hiccup was confused. "What do you mean? I've been fishing here, and there seems to be plenty to go around. Why go the extra mile and steel our sheep and cattle?"
The dragon shook his head. "While the fish right now is plentiful, there are times where the supply is too low to feed all of us. Remember, we are not the only dragons in this mountain. There are hundreds, if not thousands of us scattered all around this island. I just happened to turn you during a time where our supply was good."
Hiccup thought about this, and then shook his head in frustration. Why was this conservation so reasonable and calm? Shouldn't he be angry that the dragons were stealing and killing his people, even if he could no longer live with them?
"The truth is..." The dragon began, "We do this to survive Hiccup, not to kill you humans. You Vikings just happen to be in the middle of our problem."
The Night Fury walked over to the opening of the cave, using his paw to address the hundreds of dragons that colonized the dormant, hollow volcano. The red light gave everything an orange hue, but Hiccup had gotten used to this.
"It always happens every winter. Our fish move away after the water begins to freeze over, and usually we have to store the fish to survive the sudden change." He explained this in a melancholy tone. Hiccup stared, suddenly feeling the gap in logic he had seen slowly begin to fill with understanding.
"Usually, we divide it as evenly as possible, but near the end of the winter is when we have our first deaths." The dragon stood on his hind legs, closing his eyes and sighing. He looked back to his son, who was currently taking a nap with his mother. Hiccup meanwhile, simply looked on in pity.
"The first ones to go are typically the parents. We value our lives just as much as you Vikings, but we would rather die quietly of starvation than watch our hatchling squeal desperately for food." The Night Fury heard a gasp, and turned his head towards Hiccup, whose eyes were currently shimmering.
The dragon looked down, clenching his eyes in sadness, before continuing.
"While we Night Furies usually get first pick due to our leadership, there are those days where my mate and I have to feed our son what scraps we have left." The Night Fury shivered. "It's hard to explain to him when he can't find any of his young friends, but he eventually stopped asking." A large sigh escaped the Night Fury as he walked over and nuzzled his sleeping son. A low rumbling escaped the young hatchling's throat.
Hiccup felt his shoulders shake. He never expected to hear any of this! Why was he the only human who could know the truth? These dragons were always said to be mindless beasts who cared only about killing humans and stealing livestock as a personal reward, when really, the dragons were doing what his tribe would do when in desperate times.
The male gave his son one more nuzzle before turning back to Hiccup, who eyes were dripping with tears.
"If there were some other alternative, we'd take it, but so far we've come up with nothing." He glanced at the cave entrance. "It's going to be a few weeks before the rationing begins, but this year has been lucky so far. We send out more dragons to collect fish, but considering we can only store a few at a time, it makes it tiring, even for us."
Hiccup was going to respond, but then froze at the last statement. His eyes widened, no longer crying. The silence caught the dragon's attention, and he turned to look at the human, who was currently staring ahead with a blank look on his face.
Before the Night Fury could ask anything, he saw a grin slowly beginning to form on the human's face. He was half-tempted to read the human's mind to see what was with the sudden mood change, but after Hiccup had begun showing annoyance toward this ability, he tried to restrict himself from doing so.
Hiccup rubbed his eyes, laughing a little, as though he had just thought of something very amusing. "What if I gave you guys a method that could provide you with enough fish to feed ALL of us? Even during the winter time? Then there wouldn't be as many deaths as before!" He said jubilantly, all the sadness from before replaced with excitement. Even if he could no longer live with his tribe, if this idea worked, then both the Vikings and the dragons would no longer be at each other's throats.
The male Night Fury stared at Hiccup, then tilted his head skeptically. What did the human have in mind? Did he think that just because he was a Night Fury, he could just collect fish faster?
Hiccup, sensing the dragon's confusion and skepticism, explained.
"Remember how you told me that you guys tire out when getting fish for yourselves?" He asked. The Fury nodded. "Well, have you ever wondered how we Vikings seem to get just as many fish as you guys do?" The Fury shook his head, but his ears perk up.
"The thing is we have those rope things called nets..." The Fury's eyes narrowed at that last statement. What did those stringy things the human's trapped them in have to do with any of this?
"And their best use, besides using them to trap you guys..." The Night Fury growled slightly, making Hiccup roll his eyes.
"Is catching enough fish to feed everyone. They're light, easy-to-use, and versatile." Hiccup stated in a voice that sounded like he was trying to sell something to a very stubborn customer.
The dragon stopped growling, sat on his rump, and proceeded to give Hiccup his full and undivided attention.