In this one, we get a little look into both Hiccup and Toothless' first experiences with their new roles, as well as some pure Hicctooth fluff (because as I was writing this, I couldn't resist having a brotherly love moment). There's some humor, and hopefully a lot of heart!
Enjoy!
Ch 25: Learning to Lead
"Toothless?"
I open my eyes, getting my foggy vision to focus. Finally, it does, and I see Valka standing in front of me.
"What are you doing on the stairs?"
I lift my head, realizing I'm still laying on the steps outside the Great Hall, and curled up in my wings is a sleeping Hiccup.
"Where's Hiccup?"
In response, I unfold my wings, the jostling waking him up.
"Toothless…" Hiccup groans, before seemingly spotting his mother. "Mom!" He practically leaps to his feet, losing his balance from still being half asleep. I catch him before he can fall, which gets me a glance of both gratitude and embarrassment. "Uh, sorry."
"No need to apologize. I was just about to head into the Hall. You should come too; maybe talk a bit. You know… about our next moves?"
Hiccup's face falls. "Oh. Yeah."
"Don't worry, son." Valka pats his shoulder. "You'll do great." She makes her way to the cavernous building, and Hiccup sighs.
"Well, I guess this is it, Toothless." He turns to look at me. "Time to be the chief…" I purr encouragingly, and Hiccup starts toward the doors. I start to follow, only for a voice to yell from behind me.
"Alpha Toothless!"
I turn, confused for a moment before remembering. That's right; Hiccup's not the only one with new responsibilities. From my left, Stormfly flaps to the ground, landing beside me.
"Alpha Toothless, we need your help."
"Toothless is okay," I tell her, a little weirded out by my closest dragon friend calling me such a formal name. "What happened?"
"One of Drago's former dragons. It's causing some trouble at the forge."
I look toward the Great Hall, desperately wanting to support Hiccup, but knowing I need to fulfill my own roles. I turn back to Stormfly. "I'll meet you there." She nods, then takes to the skies again. I look at the doors once more, hoping Hiccup is alright in there. I'll be right back, I tell him. And with that, I begin running to the forge.
Once I get back to the main part of town, I can immediately see the problem. A Windgnasher, adorned with metal armor, is tearing up the unfinished saddles laying around the forge.
"No more! Evil humans!" It roars, shredding a leather piece I recognize to be one of Hiccup's own projects.
"Stop!" I shriek at it. "Leave that alone!"
The rogue dragon looks at me, its teeth bared.
"You…" it growls. "You took down my Alpha. You're the human sympathizer."
"Your Alpha is no more," I say. "You will listen to me now."
"Never," it spits. "Humans are dirty, traitorous thieves, and anyone who helps them is of no meaning to me."
"Just because you knew one bad human doesn't mean they're all bad," I try to reason.
"That monster used me. Used my Alpha. No human is good." The Windgnasher steps toward me, lowering itself into a fighting stance. I step back, fear creeping into my skin. I thought that being the Alpha meant being listened to; why is this dragon threatening me? Its cold yellow eyes look me up and down. "Well, 'Alpha'? I'm waiting."
What do I do? It's been a long time since I've been in a situation like this. The last time I can really recall fighting another dragon over humans is when Hiccup was in the Kill Ring five years ago. But back then, I was able to show Hookfang- and everyone else- the truth.
The Berkian dragons had been used, yes. Captured and put in a cage, so the humans could learn how to kill them. But Drago's dragons… they were in a different kind of torture entirely. I don't know if I can get through to this one… not before it hurts me, at least. A short whimper escapes me, desperately wishing Hiccup was with me, to tell me what to do.
No.
I can't think like that.
I need to be able to do this on my own. I'm the Alpha, now. I have to be stronger than that. I shake my head, crouching into my own defensive stance.
"Stand down. I don't want to fight," I warn my opponent.
"You had no problem fighting my Alpha," it sneers.
"Have it your way," I say, then leap forward, teeth extended. We tumble on the dirt, our jaws gnashing. The dragon swipes at me, nicking my leg with its claws. But still, I push forward, firing a warning shot and growling. It backs up slightly, seemingly surprised by my fight, and I take this as my opportunity. "Leave this island! Leave and never return! As your Alpha, I command you!" I roar at it, firing another small plasma blast. Finally, it backs down, spreading its wings and taking off. I watch it leave, my eyes fixed until I can no longer see it. It's only then that I let myself relax, and retract my teeth.
"Toothless!" Stormfly says. "Thank you! You truly are a worthy Alpha…" I barely hear the words, as my mind returns back to my human. He's all alone, trying to talk to his people for the first time… he needs my help.
"I have to go," I say quickly, not even bothering to wait for her response before I take off running. Within a minute, I push open the doors to the Great Hall, ready to rush to my human's aid- and stop. Because the sight I'm met with is far from what I was expecting.
I was expecting to walk into a scene where my rider is struggling to get people's attention, fighting for the right words to say, maybe even giving up on trying. But instead, he's standing at the end of the building, the Berkians attention focused on him, his voice clear and decisive.
He catches my eye for a moment, giving a brief smile before continuing his address. "So what I'm asking is that each one of you plays your part. Do what you can with your homes, and Berk will be back on its feet in no time." The Vikings cheer, and I see Valka, who had been standing behind Hiccup during his speech, give him a quick squeeze. The people scatter, some staying in the Hall, others leaving and presumably returning to their homes, and once there's a clear path, I make my way to Hiccup.
"Are you okay?" I rumble, as Hiccup hugs my head.
"There you are, Bud. You missed my first big speech!" He laughs. "I'm glad to say that I managed to speak coherently."
"That's surprising," I tease. "Sometimes even I can't understand you." I lick his face, getting a groan from my human.
"Please, Toothless, I don't want to wash my hair again," he says, still giggling. Just to annoy him, I drag my tongue across the top of his head, giving him a new hairstyle. "Gee, thanks. I've always wanted my hair to stick straight to the side." He tries to fix it, only to shake his hands out in disgust. I laugh, proceeding to lick the rest of him, which gets me a death glare… though I know he doesn't really mean it. "Alright, fine. Whaddya say we stop by the Cove so I can fix this?"
"I still don't think that's necessary, but whatever," I say, turning so Hiccup can mount my saddle. He does, and I run out of the Great Hall, taking to the skies once we're clear of the doors.
We land in our little private place on the island, and Hiccup slides off me, making his way to the lake. Once he's at the edge of it, he pulls off his shoe and outer armor pieces (which I had managed to get a good coat of slobber on), then kneels down to dip his hands in the water- and a thought crosses my mind. I tiptoe up behind my human, then throw my head against him, knocking him face first into the water.
"Augh!" Hiccup pushes himself up, now sopping wet, and turns toward me with a look of mock fury. "You are going to regret that, you useless reptile!" He throws himself at me. "Come here!" Hiccup tries to wrestle me into the water, but no matter how hard he pulls on me, I don't budge. "Toothless! Just let me have this!" Hiccup steps to the side, trying to get a different angle on me, only for his metal foot to get caught in the muddy lake floor and him to trip back into the water.
I laugh, a grin seemingly stuck to my face. "Fine…" I flop down into the water beside him, and he splashes it in my face. I bat at him, only for him to notice the cut on my leg.
"What happened to your leg, Bud?" Hiccup asks, his voice now worried, as he picks up my paw and examines it. "Looks like a dragon got you…" I nod. "Was this where you disappeared to when I was talking?" I nod again. He frowns, and I know by that look that I'll be getting treatment later. "Why were you fighting a dragon?" I nudge him with my nose. "What about me?" I lightly lick his forehead, where the chief's mark had been drawn yesterday, then stand in a regal position. The connection clicks in his eyes, and looks down. "I guess I wasn't the only one who had some leading to do today, huh?"
"I almost failed…" I admit.
"It's okay, Toothless. You're going to be a great Alpha. I know it."
Hiccup crawls out of the lake, sitting at the edge with his toes in the water, wringing out his clothes. I join him, shaking my scales out (which of course just resoaks him). Hiccup gives me a look, then kicks his foot at me, getting some water in my face. We both laugh a little, before the mood quiets down.
"I really meant that, Bud." Hiccup says softly. "You just need to figure out your way to be Alpha, just like I need to figure out mine."
That surprises me, because based on what I saw in the Hall, he's already got it all figured out. I grumble questioningly.
"I almost didn't know what to say. When I was standing up there, looking at all those people counting on me to tell them what to do… but you know how I got past it?"
"How?"
"I thought about you, up there against that Alpha. And then, it was like all my thoughts came clear, and I remembered what I wanted to say."
I think back on my attempt to get the rogue dragon to listen to me, and how I too was thinking of giving up… until I thought of Hiccup. My human and I are a lot alike. I've always known that, of course, but it's becoming clearer and clearer with each passing milestone we reach.
Hiccup looks up at the sky, at the sunlight filtering in through the foliage surrounding the Cove. "It'll be dinner soon. We should probably get back to Berk." He pulls his armor and boot back on, and I stand, stretching out my legs and wings. "How about we make good on my word and do our part in the clean up?"
"Do I have to?" I pretend-whine.
"Come on, you don't want to live in a glacier forever, do you?"
"You're not the one who has to carry all that ice," I tease.
"I'll… get you some dragon nip tonight…" Hiccup persuades.
"Fine…" I grin, and Hiccup sets my tail for takeoff.
We have a lot of work to do.
ONE CHAPTER LEFT! I hope you'll all join me for the finale :D