I have pretty much no excuse. All I can say is that I'm sorry. So I'm really sorry.
I guess I can say I was having some troubles with technology, but I've got something new set up that I'm pretty comfortable with. Just bear with me.
I'm trying my best right now, but I can promise you that I will see this story through to the bitter end.
...to those of you who already know how it ends, I'm sorry I just said that.
Plus I can't stop at least until I get to the emotional climax! And at the rate I'm going... that might be about 15 chapters from now? This story was supposed to be way shorter.
Anyways, I'm very sorry, but thank you all for waiting so patiently!

Chapter 21: Firsts

With every step he took, guilt rose in his throat like bile. Every second he was growing closer and closer to betraying his people. And yet all he felt was relief.

Relief that Toothless was okay- alive. Injured, but alive.

He tried to justify it, no one was getting hurt right now. He wasn't being hurt, Toothless wasn't being hurt, and Berk wasn't getting hurt. Yet.

And, he was stopping the baby Bewilderbeast from getting hurt. His agreement to help Drago meant that he was probably saving the dragon's life.

Hiccup had only seen the Bewilderbeast twice- the first, only days after its hatching. The second time was only a hazy memory: he didn't remember much, so maybe he had just dreamed it.

Maybe he had just dreamed everything and would wake up back on Berk to his father's loud snoring and Toothless' loud jumping on the roof.

But he doubted it.

Just a few months ago, it had been Toothless desperately trying to wake him up. How things had changed, Hiccup begging his Night Fury to wake, or even move. Just a little bit.

He felt much better about leaving his dragon now that he had awoken. At least he was sure that Toothless wouldn't die while he was away. Hopefully.

Hiccup was so caught in worry about Toothless he didn't realize he had arrived at the arena until he heard Drago's bellow. "Bring out the Alpha."

The man who had escorted Hiccup down the hall jumped into action, leaving his post at the Viking's side and running towards where the Bewilderbeast was caged in. He grunted as he pulled a huge lever, and the heavy metal door slowly rose.

Hiccup took a deep breath, bracing himself to face off with an angry and confused hatchling. He waited.

Nothing.

Drago's scowl grew. "I told you to bring out the Alpha!"

The man stood as close as he dared at the edge of the doorway, and peered into the darkness. "It's, uh, not coming out." He glanced back and Drago and instantly started squirming under the Dragon Master's intense gaze.

"Bring out the Alpha!" Drago roared.

The man took a step into the cage, and looked back at Drago; torn between his fear of Drago's rage and his fear of the Bewilderbeast. He took another step, but his fear of the dragon won out and he backed away, shaking his head.

Drago's gaze fell to Hiccup now. "Get it, Dragon Master."

The Viking said nothing, just walked towards the cage, trying not to think about everything wrong with his current situation. And trying not to think about Toothless.

The cage was dark, and Hiccup squinted as he entered, trying to spot the form of a rather large-ish baby dragon. He shivered- it was far too cold in here to be healthy for a hatchling. Then again, he remembered, it was an ice-spitter, so perhaps it needed the cold. Or maybe it was making it so cold? Hiccup didn't have much experience with Bewilderbeasts, after all.

An old feeling of excitement washed over him- the same one he got everytime he was around a new species. Adrenaline mixed in with an almost suicidal kind of wonder and joy just to learn more about the creatures he loved so much. He wasn't sure if he should feel guilty about that, since he was only learning about the little ice-spitter for all the wrong reasons.

Lost in thought and guilt and anticipation, he tripped, falling flat on his face. Before he had even hit the ground, he knew what he had tripped over. It was something hard, and cold. But it was very much alive.

The dragon let out an unhappy yelp when Hiccup's foot slammed into it's side, and continued to make pained whines as Hiccup picked himself up. His bruised shoulder screamed in agony, but he barely took notice of it, instead reaching out for the Bewilderbeast.

His hand brushed thin, leathery scales before the dragon jerked away, startled. The anxious cries grew in volume. Hiccup knew dragons well enough to know what a distress call sounded like, and this one was certainly making one.

"It's okay, it's okay." Hiccup knelt down by the Bewilderbeast. It was pretty big, easily the size of a half-grown Gronkle. He reached out a hand, wondering if it was too young to understand the display of trust.

It didn't move, and his fingers met scales again, but this time, they stayed under his hand. It was the first time he had actually touched the dragon, even though he had seen it once- or maybe twice. The scales felt soft, which he wasn't sure was normal or not. Most dragon hatchling's scales were hard at least by the time they were a month old. Hiccup had no idea how long this dragon had been out of its shell, and he certainly had no idea of time since he had arrived.

However, he was sure the dragon's scales should be hard under his hand.

The cries of distressed started up again, and Hiccup spoke to the dragon, trying to calm it down.

Astrid had always said he had a magic touch. There was something different about him, and the dragons could just tell. Even hatchlings. Even hatchlings that had never even met another dragon before.

"It's all okay. You're safe, and it's all going to be okay." Hiccup shifted around towards the Bewilderbeast's head. He could just make out the soft glow of the ice-spitter's eyes. "How about we get out of this dark cage, huh?" The Viking rubbed the dragon's nose and then slowly rose to his feet.

It took quite a bit of coaxing and a lot of encouragement, but eventually lead the dragon into the light.

Drago stared at him for a moment, and shook his head, a smile twisting over his scarred face. "You truly are the Master of Dragons."

"And I guess that's where we start lesson one," Hiccup said, crossing the arena and then dragging a large basket of fish to where the Bewilderbeast was sniffing around. "There is no 'Master of Dragons'." He held out a fish to Drago, wishing that there was another way, any way, not to do this. "It's just you, and a dragon. No titles, no demands. You're both just equals."

Sorry for the boring chapter.

Thanks to every single person who favs, follows, reviews, and just reads! You have no idea how much it means- even though I couldn't get any notifications recently, when I was able to access them I was overwhelmed. You all rock!

There's only one thing I ask of you- the baby Bewilderbeast desperately needs a name! You can PM me or email me or something with a suggestion, if you want!

Thanks, guys!