Toothless- Mistake

Too soft. That's what I heard her say. My nose crinkled up as I snorted with my tail thrashing. I asked, "what's that supposed to mean?" Her response had left me shaken. A surge of pride coarse through me; my body moved on its own. I moved towards her unfurling my wings.

My wingtip grazed the length of her back. Her small spikes bumped under

my wingtip. Does she not know we can grow larger spikes? I heard her gasp softly. From out the corner of my eye, I saw something move. I looked down. Her wings were unfurled touching the ground.

I slipped my tail under her left wing. I brushed it against her. I tensed up when the tip dipped a bit. A change in texture and depth. I had lowered my head when she tail whipped my face. Recoiling back, I wiggled my nose. She spun around to face me. Her wings flew up doubling her in size. She let out a deafening roar. My pupils shrunk.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed through her roar.

Stunned, I fell onto my bottom. Disgust washed over her face. She flew up and away, her wake breaking the water's surface. I sat there for some time. Frozen in place. The sound of Hiccup's voice made my ear twitched. Worry hung in his tone. I turned tail and flew back to the beach.

Hiccup ran over to me as I landed. My tongue lolled out when I gave him a gummy smile. He crossed his arms. My tongue slipped back into my mouth.

"Bud, where have you been?" Hiccup asked. The corners of his mouth twitched upward. He scratched behind my ear laughing. He said, "ya could have waited for me before going after her."

His lips curved down at my ears flattening. Eyes softening, he softly said, "oh...didn't go so well huh?"

I responded by shaking my head.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck as he stood up. He turned to look back at Astrid. Her expression mirrored his. Fishleg came scampering over a scroll in hand. Unrolling it, he shoved it in Hiccup's face.

"Hiccup, look! We've been here too long! We won't make it in time for Mala and Dagur's visit!" Fishlegs blurted out.

Pushing the scroll away, Hiccup laid a hand onto Fishlegs' shoulder. Hiccup smiled and said, "Fishlegs calm down. We'll get back to Berk in no time."

"How?!" everyone yelled.

Breathing in deep, Hiccup replied, "by leaving now."

Late into the night we flew back home. At the crack of dawn we made it back to Berk. Stoic's stone face greeted as we landed. The village spilled from their homes, shops, and ships surrounding us. Gobber limped over to us hugging Hiccup. After a hard squeeze, Gobber let Hiccup go before smacking him upside the head.

"Ow!" Hiccup yelped, rubbing the spot.

"And where have you been, huh!" Gobber yelled, dragging Hiccup by the arm. I followed after them. We walked through the village to the main hall. All the way Gobber chided Hiccup. His tone was harsh and firm, yet how he clung to Hiccup told a different story. Gobber rubbed his temples when we reached the top step.

Lowering his hand, Gobber gazed at Stoic's face. Sighing, he said, "ah Hiccup. I don't mean to throttle ya. I don't want to lose you. You're all I have left since your dad..."

Hiccup patted Gobber's back. No words were exchanged as they walked through the door. Sitting at a table was Valka who was surrounded by journals and inks. Hiccup called out to her. Head turning, Valka had an ear to ear grin on her face.

"I knew you'd make it in time," Valka said, putting her inks down.

"Oh really?" Hiccup said as he sat down next to her.

Valka nodded. She pushed the papers in front of her son. Hiccup tilted his head his eyes scanning the pages. Scratching his chin, Hiccup murmured, "are you updating the Book of Dragons?"

"Yes! A few entries had some correct information. Most though need serious updates to help the village care for the dragons better," Valka replied, pointing at an old entry. I stood on the opposite side of the table. My heart swelled with joy as mother and son talked.

Gobber planted his hands on Hiccup's shoulder. I saw Hiccup jump in his spot. Valka furrowed her brows at Gobber. Her glare could melt a Bewilderbeast's ice. Gobber smiled at her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we should get ready for the Defenders of the Wings' visit."

Evening rolled around when Mala and Draug arrived. I stood beside Hiccup at the docks. They had come on their dragon who bowed to me. I dipped my head at her. She slithered past with her riders to the village. Hiccup and I followed a few paces behind.

Hiccup leaned over and said, "thanks bud, I know this isn't fun. We'll go back to that island as soon as we can. I promise."

I grumbled at him. Chuckling, Hiccup laid his hand atop my head.

After a huge feast and a toast, I slipped away to the other dragons. Most were asleep in their nests. A few were still roaming about. One of which was Meatlug. I glided over to her catching sight of her babies on her back. They locked eyes on me.

"Oh no," I said.

All six hatchlings swarmed me flying all around. They chattered amongst themselves. It all sounded like baby talk to me though. Fluttering over, Meatlug laughed heartily.

"Yes, yes, that's Uncle Toothless. I'm sure he sees you all. Now get to bed!" Meatlug barked. Her kids hovered in place. One pressed his paw against my face. They all fluttered back to Fishlegs when she came at us. Meatlug bowed to me in apology.

"I'm sorry bout that. Kids just seem to love you," Meatlug said.

"Guess they do," I said walking by, "hey, have you seen Cloud Jumper anywhere?"

After some searching, I found him. Cloud Jumper's silhouette was bathed in moonlight. Waves crashed against the cliff side where he sat. Straight as an arrow his back was. With cautious steps, I walked up to him. Cloud Jumper swiveled his head around looking at me.

"Uh, hey," I said. He twisted his head forward. I scrambled up the path and take a seat by him. I flicked a pebble off the side, it drops into the sea. My throat felt tight. Cloud Jumper cleared his throat then.

"Advice, Toothless?" Cloud Jumper asked. He twisted his neck looking at me sideways. A laugh escaped me.

"Yeah...I think I messed up." I said.

He blinked at me once.

Head lowered in defeat, I said, "I know I messed up."

"What happened?"

I told Cloud Jumper the entire story. He listened quietly through the entire tale. His face was stoic and not even his eyes shined with any emotion. When I reached the part of what I had done, I looked away. A loud boom echoed from far across the sea. We both looked towards the source. Thick black clouds swirled in the distance, inching closer to the island. Lightning cracked across the sky.

Head tilted again, Cloud Jumper commented, "weather matches your mood, Toothless." I squinted at him. Cloud Jumper closes his eyes and added, "so what help could I offer you?"

"I need advice on how to fix it. If I don't, it could be—"

"You misunderstand. I can't offer you advice on this matter."

I flinched and ask, "you don't want to help me?"

Cloud Jumper draped his wing over me. His eyes filled with warmth and kindness. In a gentle tone, he said, "I'll help you when I am able to. Right now though you don't need me. You've realized your error already. I think you know what you have to do."

Rain began to fall at a hard and steady pace. Despite being under his wing, I was soaked to the bone. I leaned up against him. I sighed and said, "I do. Thank you for listening."

"Any time."

Had the picture done for this like week ago. Was gonna try and get all the current legacy chapters illustrations done last week. Did not happen. Dah well! Working on it now! Got next chapter done so there's that. 4 down, 5 to go!

Enjoy and any constructive criticism is appreciated!

How To Train Your Dragon franchise © Dreamworks

Midnight © Myself