AnaWinchester: I know, that bothered me too. Obviously, it had to be done for plot reasons, because Astrid probably would've won everything otherwise. Aside from the dragon events, the other teens interfered with her success in every other event, like grabbing her on the log roll and making her fall, or knocking her axe out of the air... dumb plot convienence XD


Addendum 6

I think Toothless and I have finally come to an understanding. It took a while, but I've finally found something we have in common, that we can begin to bond over: how much our lives have changed because of Hiccup.

I've been rather down the past few days, because I thought Hiccup would have woken up by now. I even brought in the healers again, to see if there was something wrong. They said he's fine, just… taking some time. He's been through something pretty traumatic, and his body isn't quite sure how to handle it. So, it's just shut itself down for the time being.

I feel better that there's nothing serious to worry about, especially since I don't think I could handle any more suffering on his behalf. But still, that doesn't mean I don't wish he was awake. It wasn't any help that I was still avoiding Toothless at all possible times. And with the ice finally setting in after threatening to for so long, I can't exactly get away from him…

One day, I think he decided he'd had enough. He followed every move I made, and I could always feel his gaze penetrating into my back. I tried to ignore it, but by dinnertime, I couldn't take it anymore.

I yelled at him, asking what his problem was. He started growling and grunting in response, in a way that led me to believe he was talking back. How could he not see that I had bigger problems than this? Why was he angry at ME? I spilled everything to him, about how it's not his job to worry about winter, and he doesn't have a village to feed, and he doesn't have to care for a comatose son, and it was all HIS fault Hiccup was like that in the first place. That seemed to really set Toothless off. His grunts grew to screeches, and his growling never let up.

"This isn't easy, you know!" I yelled. "To have your life change in a matter of days! To learn everything you thought was right is wrong! To become a completely different person!" Toothless fell silent, that last statement seeming to have hit him. "What? You're telling me you know what it's like? How can you possibly understand?"

Toothless looked at Hiccup, crooning again before laying down, tail wrapped around himself and head on his front legs. He'd taken on a sudden air of sadness, and everything I'd said finally registered.

What was Toothless' life like before he met Hiccup? Probably entirely different… had he gone through a similar epiphany that Hiccup did in his writing, discovering that dragons and humans aren't so different after all? Was it a lot for him to handle, too?

And who was I, blaming Toothless for Hiccup's current state? If it's anybody's fault… it's mine. Had I just listened to my boy, we wouldn't be in this mess… No, Toothless SAVED Hiccup… I'm the one who hurt him.

"It's not your fault, dragon. I'm just angry, and needed something to take it out on," I said quietly. Toothless looked back up at me, blinking in acknowledgment before averting his gaze again. I studied his tail again; it made me wonder, if Hiccup had fixed it, who had ruined it? "Who did that to ya?" I asked, gesturing to his tailfin. In response, he simply lifted his head and pointed his nose toward Hiccup. "Hiccup did that? But I thought he was the one who rebuilt your tail." Toothless nodded, confusing me further. "Why would he fix something that would make it easy to kill you?" I asked, more to myself than the dragon. If it was Hiccup's doings that grounded Toothless, what possessed him to help him fly again? A memory crossed my mind, of the last raid we had in Berk, when Hiccup said he hit a Night Fury. I didn't believe him, of course, but now… I do. And I wonder how different things would have turned out had I listened to him back then.

-StV


its kinda impossible to think about how different things would be had Stoick actually believed Hiccup had shot down a Night Fury... but obviously, I think it was ultimately for the best that he didn't, because Hiccup met Toothless :3

Tomorrow: valentine's day oneshot!