Edited.

She didn't just go to the cove to drop food. Well, she did, but it was getting harder and harder to simply steal from the fishermen, or anyone, really. Not just due winter's short supply, but because of Berk's regular population's return. Had they always been so many?

Hiccup also wondered if Toothless wasn't getting tired of these fish, even with the variety of them, I'd be tired of only eating these, at least. Besides, growing up, she'd seen dragons take sheep, goats, and even full grown, fat cows, flying with their preys bleeding on their claws. Other than cattle, she wondered what kind of animals dragons normally ate. Were they eating only part of those farm animals or did they just see those as easier tribute their Queen bee? If Vikings weren't there, what would they be dropping on that volcano? Had they dropped humans in there? Birds? Bears? Wolves? Deer? She had seen them fishing but is it all? No, probably not.

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What? That's the third visit in the third day in a row, if she was counting right, which, she assumed she was. Toothless was growing rather fond of Hiccup's more constant presence. Not like the girl didn't went there often, but she'd wait a day or two sometimes.

She popped inside the cove bringing yet another fish basket. The fresh aquatic little things made the dragon's mouth watery, but not too watery that she wouldn't think she was, just maybe, growing tired of the same fish. Food was food, don't get her wrong, no. But it did taste different. Different from land animals. From human raised animals, even. She'd hunt deers herself, birds, wolves even. But those fluffy, soft animals the humans kept around, she'd only take pieces of her dragon brothers and sisters' hunting, always avoiding coming too near to their villages.

She missed it, still. And part of her wanted to ask Hiccup to give her a bit of it.

Toothless was growing tired of many things, in all honesty. She was surviving in this cove, true. And she was eternally grateful to Hiccup, also true. She didn't want to leave her scale-less, fur-less friend, no. But she was growing rather tired of being stuck in that nature-built cove. She wanted to at least be able to run and smell new things, see others of her own again.

Yeah, sometimes they'd bump into another wild dragons such as herself, but she wanted to meet other of her own kind again. Gods only knew the last time she saw other furies. What had happened to her mother and siblings, after all?

Well… she'd just be happy to not being stuck in a place, even if she couldn't fly away alone. Flying with Hiccup felt different. Good, not better, not worse, but different.

The Night Fury had her attention back grounded to the female human in front of her again, and an irritated puff left her nostrils when she noticed no flying gear around the human's skinny form. But then it met her eyes. She was talking, talking, but not happy, not with that sound that made the dragon hold the impression she was being told about the wonders of the world outside those stones, maybe something unique from the humans' unknown lifestyle. No, this wasn't the case. She wasn't gleeful at all.

Toothless only hoped it had nothing to do with that odd, human male that she'd very much prefer to have burnt alive the other day, even if he was rather docile in the end. And it pets her head. She wondered why Hiccup did care so much about him, though Toothless could sense their scents mingling a bit, she still wondered if that was her mate. Did humans even mate like dragons? Would I have a mate? She couldn't help but wonder. Doesn't matter, I'm too young for that anyway. Technically, Toothless could procreate, but, since dragons' mate for life, she wouldn't even get in heat till another Fury was bounded to her. Welp, I just guess if my tiny human insists in trusting that boy, I'll have to, as well… As long as he behaves.

Brushing that thought away, Toothless tried to play to sheer the glooming human, which did for a while. She offered a ride, showing her back to the Viking, even if she wasn't wearing her flying gear. It's not like Toothless understood the detailed functioning of their flight, she just knew that with some human magic, they could fly as one when she lost the ability to fly at all. To live at all, even.

They didn't fly that afternoon, for the Night Fury's dislike. But it was fine. Her wings weren't so itchy for a flight after two days of flying non-stop. Maybe her human would keep this a habit and she could fly again, though the odd, curious long bye indicated maybe she would see no two-legged beings for a while.

She sighed, for not being able to fly as much, for being stuck there, for failing at sheering her human up. And she fell asleep around her ring of comfortable fire, completely oblivious to her friend telling her she'd have to witness one of her brothers' killed tomorrow, that they wouldn't see each other as often and that she considered herself a disgrace to her tribe.

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"Hiccup". A deep voice in between the sheering sounds called for her. A command, rather than a calling, really. She walked towards her father, against the moving crowd going to celebrate Gothi's choice and she knew he deserved it; regardless of any events of that season, Artichoke winning this thing should have surprised nobody.

In fact, while his errors, his miscalculation was a surprise, hers were the rule. No more that told-like pompous expected information Gobber and other adults might have told Stoick when he arrived the other day.

"Dad…", she was barely audible considering the still on-going amount of Vikings chatting. It was more of a recognition, usual habit of her to say it.

"Did ya really just ran to that old sausage, as if it wouldn't get to ya?", Gobber called for her, being there before she could have noticed, relieving the father-daughter tension. "I know you wanted to win, but haven't I taught you anything, lass?" no, not really. He sure would yell lessons, boringly to everyone, but she never actually learned anything from it.

"Gobber. Leave." it could be considered rude, and it's not like being around everyone in their tribe, even if they weren't paying attention, was exactly a privacy thing. The older Viking knew better than to argue and just turned around, blending in with the others perfectly, in a way she never could.

"Well, I… Can't say I'm not surprised", Stoick, the Vast was not angry nor stern, no, he was frowning. "I would, in fact, I have trusted my life to Gobber's word more times than I can count, and I believe him when he said you were getting better at this".

"I can- dad, I" but it was no use, it was never worth trying to argue or explain yourself to someone with deaf ears.

"Were you embarrassed of something? Anxious about the test? My eyes almost betray my trust in Gobber, till the elder took her time on ya", he continued his monologue, as if wandering out-loud, stealing her lines every time.

Even if Hiccup thought she didn't actually deserve the helmet, she feared her father would take it back, away from her. She'd much rather just leave it in her hut, a possession of hers to wear when she thought the time was fit, instead of having to give it back.

"Aye, it was just the pressure of the test, wasn't it?", his features were gentler now, as if understanding even if by not personal experience. Yea, sure, let's go with that, she thought, knowing that although her lack of fighting skills was the same, that last reaction wasn't something she could explain to herself, even. "It's just a shame I haven't seen you fighting those beasts, but we have time, eh? Gobber told me a few of the names of those who passed the initiating process, you made it, kid", there it was. That strange look of good-enough, tickling pride, the hope it was just a stray line from the right, common path.

Her father chuckled a bit, wrinkles of age around his eyes and a way-too-strong-but-gentle-intended tap on her shoulder. She wondered, yet another time, if being his daughter made things easier or harder.

Hiccup didn't want to do anything at all but fly on Toothless' back, slicing-sharp wind against her face, holding on to the saddle as a lifeline, going higher enough to touch the ancient fires of spirits who lived into the night sky. That was all her body wanted to do, to run for her best friend's company, it was all her mind craved to neglect her responsibilities, until a young blonde man approached her with husky murmurs. "Hey, what happened there? I thought we agreed-" that she would let everyone, anyone else win this thing? Yeah, they did. And the only thing she knew was that she didn't want that dragon to die.

She didn't want to see its blood dropping from her husband's dangerously sharp axe. She didn't want to see the life leaving those green-yellow-ish irises. She didn't want any dragon to die just as much as she didn't want any Viking to die. Even if one could debate both species' instinct was to fight to death. And Hiccup told Artichoke that. And he wasn't disappointed, nor enraged, as anyone would expect. He was oddly understanding.

He told her it was a propositional error, not a miscalculated attack, but didn't matter. He'd kill the Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow in front of them all. A few weren't present for today's final test, but tomorrow would be nearly mandatory. All sets of functioning – and even the few blind ones – eyes would be facing the arena, expecting their new child to bathe in dragon's blood. Or to make Hiccup a young widow. Yes, there were times where the dragon won. Even if they did let it weak, languishing in the darkness and almost starving, rotting… She hadn't encountered a Monstrous Nightmare personally ever since she met Toothless, but her beliefs made her inclined to the concept that all dragons could be friendly in the right environment. She couldn't run inside tomorrow, and when she let out a yell, nobody, not even her, would know who she was rooting for.