Nightfury- Reunion

After so many sleepless nights, I had found him. And a human. Fear bubbled up deep in my belly. I crouched closer to the large rock I hid atop of. I then looked back at Toothless. He was.. smiling? I tilted my head at this human. Another smile. That's when I saw Toothless running; his wings about to open. I scrambled and leaped from my spot. I roared. Everything slowed down at that moment; Toothless turning his head at me and his human standing up.

I slammed into Toothless. We both rolled a couple times with me on top. Face to face now I stared him down. His jaw dropped. His eyes though...they remained soft? Blood pumped to my ears as my mind raced. "I...Did I...just do that..?" I asked myself. Footsteps hurried over from behind. Twisting my neck, I saw the human running over. Despite the pounding in my chest, I growled low. He stopped. His eyes flicked from me to Toothless. He takes a single step. I dug my claws into Toothless' chest.

The human flinched.

Hands held out he said to me, "ok, ok, I won't come any closer. Just please...don't hurt him."

There's a shakiness to his voice. I can hear the genuineness in his voice though loud and clear. Speechless, I slid off Toothless' chest and sit down. Toothless rolled onto his feet shaking the dust off. He sides-eyed me. He then ran over to the human.

Human threw his arms around Toothless' neck. I jumped to my feet. I stopped in mid-stride though. Toothless mirrored the human pulling him close. I sat down once more. My eyes grew wide in disbelief.

They pulled away from each other before setting their sights on me. I froze. Human crossed his arms. A huge grin spread on his face. He gently patted Toothless' shoulder and said, "Well would you look at that! She flew all the way here. And for you, bud! Seems like you got an admirer."

Now it's my jaw that dropped. Toothless awkwardly laughed. He gave me a grin before standing in front of the human. Squinting, I stand on my hind legs. Moment I done so, Toothless stands on his legs. I huffed. He then tilted to the right. Then the other. I crinkled my nose at this. That's when I heard the human groan. He suddenly jumps out from behind Toothless side to stare. He points at me though Toothless unfurled his wingspans hiding the human. Another loud sigh.

"Alright Toothless, I get it. I'll give you two some privacy. Just let me..." The human trailed off. I saw him slip around Toothless towards his tail. Dropping to all fours, I watched curiously as the human fumbled with something. I heard a click. From the human happy sigh, I guess it was important? Dusting his hands on his legs, human said, "there ya go bud. Just come home when you're done, ok?"

Human pets Toothless' chest before waving at me. He then runs towards the cove's entrance, climbing out of sight. Toothless watches him off then looked at me. I licked my lips. In slow steps I moved towards him. His ears flicked. He whipped around and fires a fire ball. I jumped back in horror.

The cove entrance is charred and smoking. Then there's loud coughing. Smoke fading away reveals the human. He sheepishly grins. Patting his legs, the human said, "I'm just...I'm just gonna go. See ya Toothless!" And with that the human vanished from sight.

Shaking his head, Toothless turned to face me. His ears flatten down. He lowered his head and said, "Heh, I'm sorry bout that. He got kinda excited when he saw you."

"Excited? About me?" I asked. Toothless nodded at me. I shake my head and started to pace. My tail thrashed about. Brows knitted together, I said aloud, "Me...me..ME? Why would- I don't understand."

Toothless appeared in front of me. His eyes flashed with concern towards me. My stomach twisted from this, so I forced my gaze down. Toothless cleared his throat. He then said, "It's nice to see you again."

I looked up at him.

His forelegs shifted weight. Tongue licking his lips, he takes a step towards me. I flinched. He pauses briefly before he moved to his right. Slowly he made his way around me. My eyes followed him. His eyes trailed down my body. A surge of embarrassment courses through me.

"What are you doing!?" I snarled, snapping my wings open. My outburst made Toothless jump back. Eyes wide, he simply stared.

I swallowed a breath ready to scream. It stuck in my throat. His eyes. I saw that they weren't focused on my face- but on my side.

In the most gentle tone I've ever heard, Toothless asked, "who did that to you?"

I curled my wings in. I said nothing. Instead I looked way and asked softly, "what are you doing?"

Toothless opened his mouth to speak. He closed it. His brows furrowed together as his claws dug into the dirt. He sits down tilting his head a bit. Toothless' face softens as he smiled. He finally said, "It's just that I can't believe you're actually here. Don't get me wrong! I'm happy to see you, really I am. What I mean is, well, why?"

"Why?" I repeated, to this Toothless nodded, "well the reason is..." My mind tried to claw out a good answer. He's new and different. Another dragon to talk to. I wanted to know him and his world beyond my home. I missed him. I chewed over every single one. Biting my tongue on the last one, I blurted out, "an apology!"

I jumped back away from him, wings twitching at my side. Toothless shot me a look. Unreadable. Was that good I wondered. My mind said yes though my chest grew tight. That was when Toothless lowered his head. He closed his eyes. His wings opened slightly sagging outward. My eyes narrowed on instinct.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I had to do a double take.

Head held high Toothless somberly spoke, "I shouldn't have laid my wing on you. That was wrong of me and I know better."

"Why did you then?" I asked despite deep down knowing why.

"I took your comment as a challenge," Toothless said while looking down, "I'm so sorry...If I could do our meeting over again, I would. A hundred times over."

Finished, Toothless took a step towards me. He hesitated. I blinked before laying down on my belly. He cautiously walked over to me. He laid down in front of me. He bowed his head to me and added, "Sorry that it took so long for you to hear that. And that you had to fly all the way out here. I know your place is a ways away. I wanted to see you and apologize right away. But things got hectic here. Again I'm sorry." My heart thumped like thunder in my chest.

Shyly I looked away. Clearing my throat I said, "Thank you, Toothless. You have no idea how nice that is to hear."

Toothless grinned; his ears and tail wagging.

Another skip of my heart. I crinkled my nose at him and huffed at him. Toothless ears and tail went still. Frowning, I said, "still, why didn't you come back! I was ho-" I stopped mid sentence. I puffed my cheeks up. Toothless hadn't seemed to noticed my cut off.

He crinkled his nose back. Sticking his tongue out, Toothless said, "Hey! I said I wanted to, but I had duties here and I can't fly out whenever I want to."

I raised a brow.

"Why can't you?" I asked.

Toothless grimaced. He glanced side to side before muttering under his breath. I leaned in closer to hear better. He said, "Cause of the cold and snow." I head tilted at him blinking several times. Toothless chuckled and said, "Snow is what humans call the white stuff."

Like a strike of lightning, I understood. I nodded my head. With a laugh I said, "I see. Humans have the strangest names for things." He chuckled in agreement.

Trees swayed from a gentle breeze blowing through the cove. Together we sat there. Basking in the serenity and quiet. Heavy was the moon above bathing us in light. Toothless gazed upward towards a glittering sky. Softly he said, "Perfect night huh?"

I gazed at him through heavy lidded eyes. Smiling I said, a bit too loud, "Yes...you are..." The words fell from my lips too fast. Horror flashed across my face. Toothless' head dropped. Before he even opened his mouth, I fumbled and said, "Right! Yes, you are right! Sorry I'm just.."

"Tired?"

"Aha, yes. Very tired."

For emphasis, I stand up stretching out my back and wings. I mustered up the most loud and drawn out yawn.

"I can see that," Toothless said. He gave me a once over before standing up. He looked to the sky once more. Then he looked back to me. He asked, "so what are ya gonna do now?"

I hummed to myself. Behind Toothless lay a huge flat rock. Shaking off the tiredness, I take flight. My spines tickled as I land on the rock. I threw a glance over my shoulder. Toothless' stare. I faced forward swiftly.

"I am going to rest. You were right about my home and journey being so far. It's been some time since I have been able to rest well."

Toothless voice brushes against my back. He said, "If you want you can sleep in the village?" Twisting my neck, I looked back at him confused. He pointed towards where the human left. Bounding over to my rock, Toothless stands on his hind legs. Tail wagging fast. He gripped the very edge of the rock. His eyes brighter than moonlit grassy fields.

"You don't gotta be all by yourself. Especially in a new place! What do you say?"

Fear churned in my belly. Swallowing it down, I asked shakily, "are there humans there?"

Toothless let out a hearty laugh. He slammed his mouth shut upon seeing me not laughing. Patting the rock, he replied, "I mean of course there are. Don't worry though, they're really nice! And so are the other dragons and—"

"Other dragons?" I screeched.

Toothless recoiled back losing his grip. He landed on his rump. Dumbfounded, Toothless scratches his chest. My ears flattened down. I dug a claw into a crack in the rock. Back on his feet Toothless perches his paws on the edge. His eyes soften. Quietly he said, "you've never seen other dragons. Not even your kind."

I shake my head replying with, "Outside my pack, yes."

"So..I'm the first?"

"Yes."

"So...the offer?"

"No..I'm sorry, Toothless."

Toothless sighed and rests his chin down. An ache formed in my chest. I simple watched as he dropped from the rock to the ground. Craning his neck, Toothless looked back up and said, "have a good night." Blood pumping to my ears, I muttered it back. He shot me a smile. I watched Toothless run off towards the cove's exit. Leaping with ease, he disappeared into the night.

I sighed and turned to face the rocky cove wall.

"He seems like a nice boy."

My blood runs cold. Heart rattling in my chest, I started to pant. A harsh shiver rocked me to my core. Ever so slowly I turned to face the voice. Swallowing a cry, I whispered, "F-Father..."

Those warm and gentle amber eyes gazed down at me. And a twinge of sadness. Father gives me a smile then nuzzled me. A cool, breathless air brushes against my cheek. My knees gave out from under me. I gasped for air before hiding behind my wings. Bittersweet regret coats my tongue. Another sweep of cold air pressed against my wings.

"Sshh it's ok.. I'm here. Don't cry, Starlight, please don't cry." Father said.

Sniffling, I lowered my wings bringing him into view. His body shimmers like the sea. And that's when the cracks began to glow. Red. Panic spreads through me like a chill. My eyes darted across Father's body, the red starting to pour. I stopped at his throat. I shut my eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I wanted to do something! Anything to help you! But I...I failed you. Please forgive me!" I yelled in a strangled cry.

Father nuzzled me.

My eyes shot open, my body shaking with each breath. Father takes a place beside me. Unfurling his wing, he draped it over me. I turned my head to face him. He shimmered like the sea again. No cracks. Lips pulled back in a smile, Father rests his head atop mine. He shuttered out a breath.

I sniffled again.

"Oh Starlight, my little girl. How I wish you'd stop saying that. There is nothing to forgive. You are innocent. How many times must I tell you?" Father asked gently.

Wiping at my nose, I replied back, "Until I believe it."

His laugh shakes us both. He gives my head a lick before staring into my eyes. His gaze hardened. Or as best he could muster. I lowered my head sheepishly. Sighing, Father said, "Child, why are you so hesitant with him?"

I winced at his question. He raised a brow and said, "you thought I'd say 'tell the truth'?"

"Heh, a little bit to be quite honest."

"It is a half truth you gave him. You will tell the other half later, I'm sure. But it seems you are afraid of him? Why?"

My jaw shifted as I mulled it over. Sucking in a deep breath, I sighed. I buried my head in the crook of his neck. I said against him, "I can't have him and his...friendship."

"Why not? He seems fond of you. And he speaks of marvelous things. A quiet and welcoming place. He could show you so much of his home."

"That's just it, Father. Where he left to is his home. But not mine."

Father laid his paw over mine. His muscles stiffened and bulged beneath my cheek. "You don't have to go back... You deserve so much more, love," Father said. His voice sounded so far and old. And filled with heartache. I laughed burying myself deeper into him.

"Before the leaves change, I must return. With him. Mother will be happy and things will change for the better. Toothless can return home. And I'll be home. As it's meant to be."

Behind me I can hear his tail thrashing. A low growl rumbled in his throat. It faded soon as it came. He asks, "Are you sure of this, Starlight?"

The backs of my eyes sting. I licked my lips and pushed down the lump forming in my throat. In a hoarse voice I said, "It's for the best..."

Father starts to say something but stopped. He sighed. He sinks into me, the fight gone. Father curled his tail around me pulling me close. I felt like a hatchling again. Warmth washed over me from the thought. And with his gentle heartbeat soothes me to sleep.