Swimming Lesson
On the Isle of Berk live the Hooligan Tribe. They are strong and head vast vikings that have lived on that island for 7 generations. Now you might say that that is very impressive and it is, but every single building on that island is new, not old. Which on itself is strange as vikings never had trouble with termites. We have Viking, and the rare Roman, raids from time to time. Unfortunately, they are not the problem, for we have… Dragons.
Yep, dragons! At first I thought that they were here only for the food, that they only care about killing Vikings and eating our livestock. But ever since I met Toothless that all changed for me. Call me crazy if you will but he and I have a special bond with each other. Oh, and Toothless is a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself. Though that title may make him fierce, he is much closer to a cat, I've only seen one book about that.
Ever since I shot Toothless down I've been trying to bring him back into the sky. The whole process wasn't easy as I had to constantly make new changes and adding new things just to make his artificial tail fin look like the real one. The first time I brought the fake tail fin to him, I distracted Toothless with fish while I put on his new prosthetic on the real tail. I felt the scabs of his wound on my hand when I pushed his tail down so I could work on it. What followed is som-
Hiccup was cut off on writing in his journal by the sound of his stomach rumbling. He closes the journal and puts it aside for now to get some fish to eat. After roasting his fish that Toothless had gathered, both boys are sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the village and seeing the sunset. Hiccup is resting his back against Toothless' side. He's reminiscing that it actually worked this time. He actually flew with Toothless! He can still see it as he closes his eyes with a smile on his face. Toothless looks at his human friend in the corner of his eye.
'It looks like my human is looking back at our success.' Toothless thought to himself. 'It wasn't easy for the both of us, but in the end we flew.' Toothless looks at the distant where they flew through rock pillars and nearly got themselves killed. The rush of the wind in there faces, the howling in there ears and the high of flying so fast was all worth it. 'I feel great having my ability to fly again back.' He looks at his tail as he thought to himself. A quick look at Hiccup, seeing that he is asleep, brings back happy memories with him. 'I should thank him, but what to do?'
As Toothless was thinking about all the time that he's spent with Hiccup in the cove, and the things that they both have learned from each other, that brings a smile to his face. Toothless thought that he would never be free from under the control of the evil queen, Red Death. He thought that in his heart he would never be happy again but all of that changed when Hiccup had shot him out of the sky. How that little human had done it he never found out.
Another memory pops up, one he is not fond off since he nearly lost him that day.
The human that he now knows as Hiccup got in through the opening where there was a shield wedged in the rock walls. He brought with him a leather bag and a basket off fish. He calls me by my new name. "Hey Toothless~" Hiccup drops the basket with fish and gives it all to me, naming the different fish as he circled around in front of me. When he said 'eel' I could smell it among the fish. I reeled back from the smell. Hiccup picks up the eel and shows it to me! 'I don't want that thing near me!' Hiccup notice my distress throws the eel away and cleans his hand on his shirt. With the eel gone I can finally eat the delicious fish to satisfy my empty stomach. The fish on the ground was gone but there are a few fish in the basket, I scoot forward to get the last of them. I freeze in place and the basket fell off my face. I felt shocked as Hiccup was on my tail. My precious tail that he was sitting on. I feel something at the end and I couldn't believe it. My tail fin has returned. I spread my wings open and jump in the air. I didn't stay airborne for long as I was crashing down again. 'Why won't you work, you stupid tail-' I leveled out immediately and took off straight into the sky. 'Oh, the feeling to be free again is amazing!' I thought to myself. Suddenly my missing tail fin brought me back to the cove. 'Why did you bring me back here.' "Yes! Yes I did it!" I hear Hiccup close by with a glee of happiness in his voice. I take a look behind me and there he is, holding on to my tail. I did not want him there so with one sharp turn I got him off of me. Luckily Hiccup landed in the water, but I couldn't stay in the air for long as my missing tail fin refuses to do anything. So I to fell in the water. I look at Hiccup and he isn't going up to the surface. In fact he's going down and struggling. This was not good. I dive straight in after I took a big gulp of air and brought Hiccup to the surface where he catches some air. I swim us both to the shore where I shake off the remaining water on my scales. Hiccup was shaking like a leaf but that didn't bother him because he was happy, even pointing to my tail. My thoughts where somewhere else.
That is the end of that memory. I think Hiccup forgave me for that but I'm not sure of that. There is another memory that had gave me a better insight on Hiccup.
A couple a days later I followed Hiccup to his nest. Since I didn't want to be seen by his fellow vikings I hid myself in the trees and bushes. I see the way that these adult vikings are interacting with him. They give him these disgusting looks as if he's a disease or an annoying bug that keeps on pestering them. If the adult vikings were a problem, then these teens were taking it to a whole new level. The broad one is the leader of his small gang, the two identical ones are his followers. They seem to bully him and Hiccup tries hard in his way to avoid them, it explains why I see him in bruises most of the time. Hiccup doesn't stay long in the nest and goes into the woods. Those teens were also going to the forest so I follow them. They are going to a lake somewhere in the forest with some of the adult vikings. I see some of the adults swimming but I didn't stay and moved on. I pick up Hiccup's scent, at first I thought he was going to the cove but he didn't. Instead he went to a hidden spring deeper in the forest. It was here that I see him take a... swim? He was taking off and folding his clothes on a basket. Then he goes into the water making himself wet. He grabs a bottle with a strange liquid in it, and started scrubbing his skin with it. 'No, Hiccup isn't swimming' I took a whiff off of Hiccup and now he smelled like flowers. 'I really like that smell. Maybe he can put that on me as well.' Now I understand what Hiccup is doing, he's cleaning himself like us dragons do. Once Hiccup was clean I see him going to the deeper end. He's trying to swim but it doesn't work and he goes back to shore, dries himself off, puts on new clothes and leaves the aria. Hiccup never saw or heard me, but I saw all of him for the first time without his extra skins. I walk over to where Hiccup was, the flower scent was still there. For some reason, this flower is soothing to me like dragon nip but less hard on the senses. I look at the spring, at the deep end, then to my tail and I got an idea. I run back to our cove waiting for Hiccup.
I see movement in the corner of my eye, it's Hiccup waking up from his short nap. The sun is down leaving only a red sky behind.
"Time for me to head back." he doesn't want to go back but he has to. 'I wish he could stay a bit longer with me.' He gets on my back and we fly to the cove.
"I'll see you tomorrow Toothless." He puts his hand on the side of my face. I lean in to it hoping for a scratch which he gives me and then walks to the entrance of our cove. I sit there a bit longer looking at the night sky that has shown itself tonight. It is a moonless night but a thought to myself as I spoke this line to my ancestors above the night sky. 'I'll vow that I, Toothless, shall teach Hiccup how to swim!' the ancestors most have hear me as I see them twinkling with approval. 'Tomorrow my dear friend, tomorrow I will teach you how to swim like us dragons.' I prepare my sleeping ground, curl myself up and close my eyes. Sleep came by very soon.
The next day both Hiccup and Toothless wake up to a beautiful morning. The sky is clear and the birds are chirping their song until a Terror starts to hunt them as a morning meal. The bastard. Hiccup takes a quick meal and heads on out to the arena where Gobber is waiting alone. Hiccup finds it strange and approaches Gobber. Gobber sees Hiccup and tells him that training is off for today. He also tells Hiccup that he isn't needed in the forge as well. Hiccup thanks Gobber and heads on out to the forest.
Once Toothless sees Hiccup he is excited to go flying with him. He already got a destination to fly to this time. 'I can't wait to show him that place.' They both meet halfway. Hiccup inspects the gear to make sure nothing is broken or lose. Once that is done he mounts Toothless and they both fly high into the sky. At first they fly a bit around Berk to get a good feeling inside their stomachs. When the wind is right for Toothless he flies away from Berk. This is nothing new to Hiccup as he speaks his mind out. "Where are we going this time Toothless." 'You'll see soon enough Hiccup' Hiccup stays on Toothless as they keep on flying. They meet a couple of Thunderdrums catching some prey in the ocean. Some seagulls were flying next to Toothless and Hiccup before they left to fly who knows where. After an hour of flying, Toothless finds the island that he was looking for. He roars to Hiccup to land there, which they do.
It is a small uninhabited island with a small mountain, a dens forest, a beach and a couple of lakes. Hiccup is confused as to why they are here but Toothless knows why they're here. A happy smile is plastered on his face as he runs around on the beach. Hiccup follows his example by running on the beach. Eventually he takes off his shoes and runs barefoot on the warm sand. It feels great not having to worry what his tribe has to say or how he should act. On this island, on this beach he feels free from his burden as a viking and heir. For the first time in his life he can laugh it all off of him and be free like,… like a dragon. Both stop and take a breath to catch up from there running. Toothless looks at Hiccup seeing that he already has taken the first step by taking off his fake fur covered feet. Now he sets out into the forest to his most secret place on the island. He barks to Hiccup to follow. "Where are you taking me now, you silly lizard." Hiccup sarcasm doesn't go unnoticed by Toothless and lets it slide for now.
The forest is a dens place to walk in. Roots are sticking out from the ground and the sunlight doesn't enter much through the leaves. Rocks are no exception for the duo as they continue to walk further and further into the forest. Then Toothless spots it, a cave hidden by tree roots. 'Thank the Celestials, it still here!' Toothless runs for the cave with Hiccup running after him. He pushes his face through the roots and enters the cave with ease. He watches as Hiccup struggles a little bit to get through. Both walk further inside without a word spoken to each other. As they go deeper into the cave it becomes warmer and so Hiccup takes off his fur vest and rolls up his sleeves. In Toothless' mind he's glad that Hiccup has taken the second step. Through twists and turns they find a lake that is at the center of the mountain. Hiccup had never seen something so beautiful and mysterious in all his life.
The ground that they are walking on is made of rock but it's not smooth or rough, but somewhere in the middle. The cave walls are smooth and are reflecting the clear water. The ceiling is dome shaped with a giant hole in it. You can see the clear blue sky and birds flying. The best thing about that whole place is that it's heated up by the lava deep underground. It heats up the water, the floor and the wall.
Hiccup is amazed that Toothless brought him here. "Is this what you wanted me to see Toothless?" To which Toothless nods his head yes. "It's amazing! I've never seen anything like this before." Hiccup keeps looking around the secret cave with a happy smile. Toothless walks over to Hiccup and tugs on his gear to get Hiccup's attention. Hiccup gets the hint. "Alright bud. Let me take those off for ya." Hiccup removes Toothless' gear and sets it aside, away from the water. Toothless doesn't time and jumps straight into the water. His jump creates a wave in the big pool which causes some water to jump out of the pool. 'Ahhhh! This water is the best in the whole world. There is nothing like it!' Toothless thought to himself. He swim a bit around, letting his limbs get heated up by the warm water as well as his body. In the corner of his eye he sees Hiccup at the edge of the pool with his trousers legs rolled up so they don't get wet. 'It's a good start, but now.' Toothless swim closer to Hiccup and prepares himself. With a surprise roar he jumps up from the water with his wings open. Sending a wave of water at Hiccup and becomes completely wet from head to toe. Hiccup is not amused. Toothless laughs at his friend.
Hiccup rolls up his trouser legs and sits on the edge of the pool, absorbing what Toothless is doing from his spot. 'Toothless sure likes it here.' He thought to himself. 'Must be nice to swim like that, and not getting saved every time I drown.' He looks down at his reflection in the distorted water. 'Like that's ever going to happen to me.' It suddenly get a bit dark and a mighty roar brought him back from his thoughts as a wave came down on him. He became completely wet. After the water got mostly back in the pool he hears in some form laughter. He looks in the direction of that laughter and it's Toothless. "Thanks a lot, you overgrown water lizard." Hiccup remarks at Toothless for his surprise attack. 'Now I have to take off these clothes.' Hiccup turns around and on land takes off his vest and shirt. He rolls them up one by one to remove as much water as possible and puts them aside for later. He puts his hands on the top of his trousers and stops. 'I've never been naked in front of anyone before. Let alone in front of a dragon!'
Hiccup realizes that during his entire life so far he's always been shy when it came down to bathing, in front of the whole village. He preferred to bath alone in private, away from prying eyes. When all the villagers had taken their turn he took his chance and bathed in private. Although he never felt safe when taking a bath that everyone would see him naked. He still didn't feel safe. So one day during his many walks on the island he found a hidden cave where he could take his bathing in complete private and he felt save because his tribe doesn't know about it. He still goes there alone, but maybe he could bring Toothless with him. It might be awkward but doable.
While Hiccup was taking off his wet clothes, Toothless was watching this happen in the pool. He sees Hiccup is ready to take off his last piece but hesitates. It didn't take long for Hiccup to be naked. He covers his lower part and gets in the pool. Toothless is happy and shows affection to Hiccup by rubbing his head on his chest. Hiccup pats him on the head. He has taken the third step by removing his remaining human covers off of him. He feels that Hiccup is still uncomfortable so a bit of playing is the best thing to do. Toothless dunks his head in the water, gulps some water in his mouth and spits at Hiccup's face. "Ah, Toothless! Gross!" Hiccup covers his face with both his arms from his friends water jet. He takes his revenge by splashing the water to Toothless' face to get even. This action results in a splashing war between them. Laughter and the sound of splashing is heard inside the cave. Hiccup and Toothless are having a blast together with smiles on there faces.
After their little fun both human and dragon go to shore for some rest. Hiccup is feeling comfortable and happy. Toothless is ready to teach Hiccup how to swim like a dragon. 'It's time Hiccup.' Toothless walks back in the water. Hiccup is curious what is friend is doing. Toothless swims a bit before going to Hiccup and with his snout gently pushes Hiccup towards the deeper end, while also encouraging him to try. 'Come on Hiccup. Time to teach you.' Hiccup is confused at his friends behavior. "Toothless? What are you doing?" He doesn't understand until he sees the deeper end of the pool. This brings back the memory of how close he was to drowning. Hiccup pushes Toothless' face away and runs back to shore but is stopped by Toothless' mouth who grabs him by his arm, without the sharp rows of teeth.
Hiccup didn't understand why Toothless was dragging and pulling him towards the deep end. It scared him that he was going to get drowned by Toothless, his best friend. Everytime he goes to the deep end he feels like he's about to drown. This happened the last time several weeks ago when he tested Toothless's first artificial tail fin. He nearly drowned but got saved by Toothless. Now it's like he's back at the cove in the deep end. Hiccup looks Toothless in the eyes and sees that they are soft spoken, gentle and kind. "You… want to help me?" His friends responds is by bringing Hiccup towards the deeper end. "Alright bud." Hiccup didn't understand but he lets Toothless take the lead. "I trust you on this." Without any protest Hiccup let Toothless slowly pull him towards the deep end of the pool. Toothless lets go of Hiccup and dives underneath him. To keep himself from balancing off of Toothless Hiccup holds on to Toothless' neck and the both of them start to swim. 'Will start with something easy. So pay attention.' Toothless uses both his front and back paws to swim himself to the deep end. He gestures to Hiccup to get in the water. Hiccup hesitates at first but after a few deep breaths of air he slides himself into the water. Toothless already has his arm out so Hiccup can hold onto something. He guides Hiccup to a small rock at the edge of the deep pool where Hiccup can hold onto next. Hiccup is now completely confused at what his friend is doing. Toothless nods to Hiccup and using his left front paw he holds onto Hiccup's belly and pushes his back out on the water. With his other paw he grabs Hiccup's leg and motions it in and out like a frog. Still confused Hiccup slowly moves both his legs in and out of his body. He speeds up his movement and notice that it propels him moving forward. With his hands still on the rock he pushes a bit back to confirm his theory and sure enough it is. It starts to click in Hiccup's mind what Toothless is doing now. Both of them lock eyes with each other. No words were said as they both knew what the other is thinking. Toothless gives a nod to Hiccup, which is proof enough for Hiccup to try and swim on his own. He pushes himself off of the rock he's holding and with the help of his arms stays afloat. Toothless watches as Hiccup is slowly starting to swim, first hesitant but now confident. He smiles as Hiccup turns around towards him. He holds out his front paws to catch his friend in the arms. 'I'm so proud of you Hiccup!' They hug in the water.
Both of them stay in the water so that Hiccup can keep learning to swim. Toothless helps him by holding his onto his belly so that Hiccup can practice his legs and arm movement. After some hours of learning and having fun they both leave the pool. Hiccup is exhausted from all that swimming and feels it on his muscles. Toothless shakes the excess water off of himself and waits by the entrance of the cave. Hiccup grabs his still damp clothes and leaves with Toothless out of the cave into the forest. The walk is quiet and uneventful which is okay by them. Since it's still warm and humid today which is why Hiccup didn't bother wearing his damp clothes and since there are no humans on the island makes him feel safe.
Back at the beach Hiccup starts gathering dried wood to make a campfire and a couple of sticks to hold his clothes out to dry by the humid and warm air. Toothless grabs the blanket from the saddlebag to their spot. Hiccup places the firewood in a way that it doesn't become a hazard to his clothing. He gives the signal to Toothless, who ignites the wood, places his damp clothes on his made-up drying rack, and both enjoy each others company as the fire roars. The sky is turning pink indicating that the sun is going down soon. Toothless sees that his rider is having trouble staying awake. He nuzzles him for a job well done and to get some rest. "Okay Toothless~." Hiccup yawns in his hand. He lays down on the blanket to get some shuteye. It didn't take long and he's off to dreamland.
While Hiccup is off in dreamland, Toothless decides to stay awake a little bit longer. He looks at Hiccup as he's gathering his thoughts together. 'You have done well, Hiccup. You can now swim because of me.' He thought happily to himself as he looks at Hiccup. 'When we first met, you we're a complete mess, a nervous wreck, insecure about yourself and who you should be.' Those memories showed themselves in his mind. 'As the days rolled by I say the real you coming out, bit by bit. I didn't saw this terrible, muscle head of a viking in the cove, but a young hatchling who wants to learn, see and observe his world around him.' Toothless lays on the blanket. 'Hiccup, I took you here so that you don't have to become a viking or a human. I brought you here so you can be a dragon like me. And here you are embracing your new identity without even knowing it yourself.' Toothless looks at the sky. The stars haven't shown themselves just yet. 'Don't get me wrong Hiccup. You're a human but at the same time a dragon, a hybrid.' He looks back at Hiccup again. 'It's a good thing if you want to know.' A moment of pause to summon up the last bits of breath that he's holding back. 'Thank you Hiccup, for everything you have done for me so far. I won't be able to return every the things you did for me but this, this is a start.' He nods to Hiccup, even if he doesn't hear him in his mind, he can feel it in his heart.
Toothless looks Hiccup up and down and since his friend is still asleep. It give him the opportunity to see how a human naturally looks like without does skins. Hiccup looks really skinny but if one took a closer look you would see that he has developed some muscle mass on his belly, arms and legs. It is a good start and it showcase that Hiccup is still a hatchling. Next was the little details, like his face for example. Toothless had seen some freckles on Hiccup's face and hands but not on his arms and shoulders. It's something new to him from Hiccup. His back and front don't have any freckles even as he went lower to his feet. That is something else to dragons. Human can make and create their weapons from anything they find. For dragons they rely on their teeth, claws and fire as their weapons. Human don't have does. He takes a look at Hiccup's tail, or lack there off. Hiccup doesn't have a tail, non of the humans have any. Even as a takes a closer look he doesn't find a single trace. What he does see are the perfect round cheeks. He touches one gently with his paw and they feel soft and firm to the touch. He likes that feeling to his paws. He gives it a gentle squeeze before releasing his paw. Hiccup didn't wake up from that only rolls on his back leaving his front exposed to the world. Toothless gets mesmerized on what Hiccup is showing, his private parts. Toothless has never seen one up close and personal before. He now sees Hiccup's penis and balls. He thinks to himself about how different they are to his own. While his are packed inside and out of sight for better flight, Hiccup is fully exposed and vulnerable. Toothless admires that off Hiccup, that he isn't afraid to show his to Toothless. Toothless takes a look at his slit, comparing them to the differences they have of each other for a little bit. He sniffs Hiccup's body to memorize the different smells of his body in case he gets sick or injured. When he gets to Hiccup's private aria, he smells a musk on them mixed with the soothing flowers. The smell is intoxicating to his nose. It makes him feel calm, happy, submissive and obedient to Hiccup. He keeps sniffing Hiccup's penis even if the smell is low the real kick are his balls. The balls have such a hard impact on Toothless's brain he can't help himself but to keep his nose there for as long as possible. Hiccup moans in his sleep which brings Toothless' brain back to the present. He sits straight not moving a muscle as he waits for Hiccup's reaction. Nothing happens as he feels himself relax. His heart is racing fast and his face feels warm. He never did this before with any other dragon, so why him. He decides that he will find his answers soon in the later future. Right now he wants to sleep. He makes himself a little nest and brings Hiccup close to him. With one last big whiff of Hiccup's scent on his hair he falls asleep.
By the time both Hiccup and Toothless wake up it is dark and the campfire is sizzling on the beach. Hiccup woke up earlier and took a look at his clothes, they were dry. Feeling hungry he went into the forest to get something to eat, other than fish. The fruits that he finds are delicious and fulfilling. His little walk in the forest is peaceful and beautiful. The full moon lit the place up showing Hiccup where to go and back again. Back on the beach Toothless woke up not knowing where Hiccup was. Once he saw Hiccup his jump walks to him. Sniffing him up and down but staying away from his balls. Hiccup is happy with Toothless, he surprises Toothless with a hug around his neck and a kiss on the cheek. Toothless purrs with happiness and gives a kiss back on the lips. This shocked Toothless as he's never done that before. He didn't get to think long before Hiccup gives him some fruits to eat which he happily took. Hiccup takes his clothes off of the made-up dry rack. 'I better get fully dress for the flight back home.' He puts on his shirt first. '… but do I really want to. Or not.' Hiccup holds on his underwear thinking about it, then looks at Toothless who is happily eating his fruits. This gives him and idea. 'You know what.' He leaves his underwear out, puts on his pants and stuffs his blanket, with his vest and underwear, in the saddlebag. Toothless is done eating his fruits and waits by his gear. Hiccup walks up to him and preps him up. Toothless waits patiently for everything back on his body. He looks at Hiccup fully dressed, or half dressed, he smells the underwear and vest in the saddlebag. 'I'm happy that you don't wear all off your skins, Hiccup' Toothless shows his gums to Hiccup which makes him laugh. 'I wish I could keep you out of those forever.' Hiccup checked everything and hops onto Toothless. With one mighty flap of his powerful wings they were airborne. 'But maybe, in the close future, it might happen. A dragon like myself can dream of that.' Without any further thought plaguing their minds, both dragon and human went back to Berk towards there secret cove. They fly under the full moon, with the Celestials twinkling their brightest for them, the duo cannot wait for there next adventure.
The End