His Soul Reflects My Own, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl

Chapter "Not So Fireproof"

A/N: Sorry for such a short and incomplete update! (And that it's not the next chapter of Freedom. X'D) I've got another, MUCH longer HTTYD1 chapter that I've been working on (so long that I had to split it in half XD), but there have been some delays on it because it has so much dream language. Hopefully I'll be able to get the first part posted soon!

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They finally swooped down toward the shore. Toothless seized Hiccup in a sudden embrace and then dropped him into the water, laughing. Hiccup sputtered with indignation and heaved an armful of water at the Night Fury as Toothless came down beside him.

They had a water fight for a while, which was fun until Toothless misjudged their strength difference and nearly drowned Hiccup. Horrified and repentant, the dragon fussed over him even after he had recovered, and completely ignored the boy's protests when he carried Hiccup bridal-style to dry ground. "Let me go, this is not how you carry another dude, seriously Toothless! Aaarrgghh!"

Toothless growled curiously back at him. "Aaaarrgghh."

"Oh, shut up," Hiccup grumbled. Toothless dropped him onto the sand. "Oof!"

"Unu mmiri iri, Hiccup."

Hiccup flopped over onto his back and stared up at the sky for a minute. Then his mouth stretched into a huge smile and he yelled wordlessly in exhilaration.

"Ị na-enwe obi ụtọ? Okay?"

"We FLEW!" Hiccup rolled onto his stomach, propping himself on his elbows, and grinned at Toothless. "Did you see us fly? Aaahhh, we're amazing! Aaahh!"

"Aaahh," Toothless imitated.

Hiccup sat up all the way. "Oh gosh, I can't get over this. We flew. We nearly freaking died, and we fleeew~!"

Toothless moved close and took Hiccup's face in his hands. "Ị dị oké ọnụ ahịa m," he said softly, looking awed and exhilarated. "Amaghị m ihe mere na ọ dịghị ihe na ị bụ mmadụ. Mgbe m nọnyeere gị, m nwere ike ofufe ọzọ, ị bụ ihe m nku ugbu a... M hụrụ gị n'anya n'ihi na ị bụ ọkara nke onwe m; ọnụ, anyị bụ otu. M mechara ghọta na nke a echiche, abụọ halves ọnụ eme ka otu onye ofụri esịt!"

Hiccup didn't know the words, but they were spoken so tenderly that he almost understood anyway. Toothless's touch was so gentle, his expression so affectionate and content... It suddenly hit Hiccup hard that a dragon loved him and cared about him more than any human did, more than any of Hiccup's own people.

"Gịnị mere na ị mwute?!" Toothless exclaimed, looking surprised and dismayed when Hiccup's eyes filled with tears.

"I- I just-" Hiccup pulled away and ducked his head, trying to get himself under control. But Toothless tugged at him insistently and wouldn't let him hide, and Hiccup couldn't stop the sobs from escaping or the tears from running down his cheeks. He hid his face, his shoulders hunched defensively.

Toothless didn't mock him. Toothless didn't shame him or scoff at him or berate him for crying. He put his arms around Hiccup and murmured to him, completely accepting of his pain, so that Hiccup finally gave in and cried freely, letting himself be vulnerable with the only person in the world he could trust.

Even after he finally stopped crying, he stayed slumped in Toothless's arms for a long time, thinking how weird and a little scary and kind of nice it felt to be comforted like this. With his face resting close to the quiet, calming rhythm of the dragon's heartbeat, he was also starting to understand a little bit why Toothless liked to listen to Hiccup's own heartbeat.

"Jụụ nzọụkwụ, apịaji nku, ichu nta na ichu nta na ỊNWỤDE! Jụụ nzọụkwụ, apịaji nku, ichu nta na ichu nta na ịnwụde~"

Hiccup drew the line at having what sounded very much like a nursery rhyme sung at him. He pulled free and wiped his face and mumbled, "Thanks, bud."

"Hiccup, okay?"

"Yes. Yeah, I'm okay now." He gave a tremulous little smile.

Toothless smiled back and patted his head. "Nwee anụrị, Hiccup. A hụrụ m gị n'anya."

"I'm so glad I met you. I...don't know what I'd do without you."

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Author's Notes: Again, this chapter is incomplete; I'll finish it if/when I ever get around to finishing and revising the whole HTTYD1 arc. (And also if I can think of a way to adapt the Terror stuff so that's it's not so close to canon. X'D)

Ftr, that dragon nursery rhyme has its origins in parents teaching their offspring how to stalk prey. XD Also ftr, apparently the word "creep" couldn't be translated, so I had to use "hunt" instead. :/ And it's supposed to be "Be happy," not "Have fun." *facepalm*

Also again, I've got a 10,000+ word, two-part chapter drafted. I'm just working on quick-editing, and collaborating with a couple of other people on translations. After that...oh yeah, I should really get back to Freedom, shouldn't I... ^^;