AN/ So, the twelfth chapter is finally done. I hope you like it. If helps a lot when you leave reviews, so keep 'em coming.

Thank you toothlessgolfer for beta reading this chapter.

An Unexpected Gift

Chapter Twelve

H

I awoke when someone knocked on my door. Looking out the window I judged it to be evening. I didn't feel like getting up but I probably had to.

"Hiccup! Are you awake?" Astrid shouted through the door. Why was she here?

"I found something in one of Gothi's old tomes that you might find interesting! I can wait till tomorrow if you want!" She added. Ah yes, I told her to do that. Well, since I was already up I might as well look at it now. I got to my feet and nudged the door open. There she stood holding a dusty old book, with an impatient expression on her face. That expression left her face as soon as she noticed me.

"Hello Hiccup! I hope you had a good... nap or whatever it is you were doing. I found something interesting about Night Fury venom. How should I show it to you?" She asked. Inside would be ideal, but I can't communicate to her there without damaging something with my writing. I would have to solve that somehow. Perhaps a sand table? Wait, I'm getting distracted. If we were to go outside I could write in the dirt to communicate. Yeah, I think that's best.

I gestured outside with my head several times before she caught my meaning. Soon after we were standing outside which made communication a little easier. I started writing.

PLACE THE BOOK ON

THE GROUND OPEN ON

WHATEVER PAGE YOU

WANTED TO SHOW ME.

She did as I asked. I started reading.

´Night Fury venom is unique in that its effect is dependent on the Night Fury's will. That is to say that when hunting, it paralyzes Its prey. When defending or attacking, it causes an intense pain that distracts the enemy. When flaming, it binds the flammable material so that it only explodes on impact. And lastly, if used on someone without offensive intent, various things may occur. From getting a headache, through getting healing powers, to transforming into a Night Fury. The transformation only occurs if the Fury and the bitten share an intense bond. Be it love, friendship or something else. The full list of effects is as follows:´

Below was a long list of potential effects, categorized by the circumstances of the bite. I skimmed over the list until I found the right section.

'If the bitten one is a great friend of the one who bit him, the following things may occur. Please note that this does not cover mates and only applies to true friends who share a powerful bond. Also note that if the biter strongly wishes for a particular effect to happen, the chances of said effect happening increase dramatically until it is almost certain that they will happen.

-A headache(Temporary)

-Overwhelming confidence(Temporary, thankfully)

-Healing(Rare)

-Increase in strength and stamina(Temporary)

-Inability to speak(Temporary)

-Transformation into a Night Fury(Very rare, known only to happen to humans)'

Hmm... What is it that Astrid wanted me to see here? This is all fascinating but I don't really see the point here. The only major effects are healing and transformation. Healing... Maybe the healing completely heals the bitten of all injuries?

If this is true, I could probably heal Toothless' tailfin! But how did the author come to know this stuff? And why was it in Gothi's possession? I'll have to ask her that sometime, but now I had other things to do.

Wait, who was the author anyway?

CAN YOU TURN TO

THE FIRST PAGE?

Astrid did as I asked without saying a word. I read the first page.

'The Magic of Dragons vol. 1.

Written by Galmar Stonefist

To be used for dragon training.

In loving memory of my yak,

Tryggvi.'

Well, that didn't tell me much. I had no idea who Galmar Stonefist was, let alone his yak. Well, I'll just have to let this mystery wait until later.

THANK YOU, ASTRID,

YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT

HELP. LATER I'LL WANT

TO SEE THE REST OF

THAT BOOK, BUT I'M

DONE FOR NOW.

"Okay, see you around then." She said sweetly as she walked away. I need to talk to her sometime, see if we can still have a 'normal' relationship despite my transformation. My improved eyesight only made her even more beautiful.

I'm getting off track here. Toothless. I was going to see Toothless. Yes, that's what I was going to do.

Yet it was proving extremely difficult to take my eyes off her. Before I knew it I had started... purring? Why was I purring? Was it because I was looking at Astrid? I know that staring at her usually leaves me dreamy with a warm feeling inside so was this just a part of that? I know that Toothless purrs when he's really contented so I suppose it would be logical that I purr when looking at something that makes me feel content. This body is going to take a lot of getting used to.

Finally, after much effort, I stopped looking at her and went inside. Toothless was sleeping downstairs since there wasn't enough space in my room for the two of us. He was awake and looking at me when I got inside.

"Did your mate have anything interesting to say?" He asked me. Mate? Hadn't I explained this to him already?

"Astrid is my girlfriend, not my mate." I said, clearing that up.

"Really? But I thought you had already confessed your love for her and she accepted it." He replied, puzzled. He had not gotten up yet.

"Yes, I did, but that doesn't make us mates. Now, to answer your question, she did say something interesting, but it was what she had with her that was of interest to me." I said. He was still lying down.

"What was it?" He asked me curiously. Here it comes.

"Toothless, I think I've found a way to heal your tailfin." I said. He stood up, quick as lightning.

"What?! Heal my tailfin? How?" He asked excitedly yet unbelievingly.

"Using the same magic that transformed me. Gothi has a book that explains the magic of dragons. That's how she knew about my transformation before anyone else. In it I read that Night Fury venom has the potential to heal injuries." I explained. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes, but do we know that it can heal such a large injury? Maybe the book only meant small or recent injuries." He asked. I could tell that he was trying not to get excited in case it didn't work. He wasn't doing a very good job of this.

"Well, when you transformed me, my leg got healed. Night Fury venom definitely has the potential to heal you, that's for certain." I answered. I really hope this'll work, because I'm nervous that his prosthetic will fail at a critical moment. The sooner we remove that danger, the better.

"True. I'm more than willing to try it, even if you have to bite me." He said, still very excited. Oh dear, I hadn't thought about that part. I was going to have to bite him for this to work. I who was afraid of blood. This might be harder on me than it was on him. I hope some instinct or other will make this easier. He must have seen the fear on my face.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Dragon blood isn't all that bad actually, but I doubt that'll be much comfort to you. Just close your eyes and imagine you're biting into something other than me." He said, trying to be encouraging.

He was not helping.

"If you want to go through with it, we need to find some other place to do it. I think my father will ask some very uncomfortable questions if he finds blood all over the floor." I said.

"Yes, you're right. How about we go into the small clearing we used for practice? Talking about practice, you're doing great on your walking. Good job." He said. Yes, the clearing was a good place to do... it.

"All right, after you." I said.

T

I still couldn't quite believe it. Healing my tailfin? I had long ago come to terms with the fact that I'd never get it back. This prosthetic Hiccup designed works well, but it just doesn't feel right. Plus it has its limitations, so I can't really fly at my full capacity anymore. I could almost do that with Hiccup controlling it, but even then there were still some things that were impossible. For example, Hiccup couldn't withstand very sudden changes in direction, which limited my turning power. The prosthetic also severely limits my stealth.

If this works, I would break free of all those burdens. I could return to my former glory. Hiccup thinks my flying is impressive now, wait until he sees me at my full potential! A small bite from him is a small price to pay for all that.

We had arrived. I had been so engrossed in my thoughts and excitement that I hadn't noticed the passing of time.

"Toothless, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. I know that he's silently hoping I'll say 'no', and I understand why he feels that way, but this is too important.

"Yes, I want to do this. Don't worry, take all the time you need." I said, trying my best to be reassuring.

H

Okay, he definitely wants this. That leaves me no choice, I'll have to bite him. I could see him bracing himself. He was ready. Was I?

No, not at all. Still, it's better to get things you don't want to do over with sooner rather than regretting not having done so later.

Right, the book said that I should think about healing his tailfin to increase the chances of it working. Maybe if I concentrate on that enough I won't be able to think about what I'm doing.

I positioned myself by his left flank, by an area that a bite wound would cause as little discomfort as possible, one that he could also easily hide with his wings. In position, I concentrated on the idea of healing Toothless' tailfin.

It took a while, but after much concentrating I was so entranced by the idea that I finally bit him. It happened so quickly that I couldn't fully grasp what I had done before I had sunk my teeth firmly into his flesh. He roared, but surprisingly didn't move. Blood started flowing into my mouth.

Then I realized that on some primal level, I was enjoying this. I was completely horrified by that thought, but it made it easier to keep on biting him. My venom needed time to seep into his veins after all.

After what felt like forever to me, I let go of him. I was thoroughly relieved by doing so. After spitting out his blood I could see him laying down and panting, trying hard to conceal his pain.

"Is it working?" I asked after cleaning my mouth for some time.

"I don't know," He said, licking the wound. I went over to him and looked where his tailfin was supposed to be. There was something happening! I think that the prosthetic was getting in the way of his healing.

"Toothless, I think it's working! The artificial tailfin is in the way though!" I shouted. He looked at me, looking exhausted.

"Rip it off. I don't have the energy to do it myself." He said weakly. I did so immediately. Almost instantly the fin started growing back at an extraordinary rate. Judging by its speed I guess it'll only take about half an hour to heal completely.

We were both thoroughly spent so we just lay in the grass for the longest time. Even when the tailfin was finished healing we still didn't move. Well, Toothless took a moment to look at his regained fin but aside from that we were too tired to do anything.

"Toothless, don't ever ask me to do that again." I told him. He just nodded.

"Thank you Hiccup, for everything."