A/N:
Thanks for joining me again, and thanks to Deadly-Bagel for betaing. Wow, I got a lotta comments. Thanks y'all for dropping a line!

JustANormalHTTYDFan, Toothless as a human (and as a dragon too) has been a really fun character to work with. I'm no psychologist, and I'm kinda making up my rules as I go, but dragons and humans are both intelligent creatures in my universe, they simply think differently because of the hardware they have. Therefore, I'd think it'd be natural for Toothless to think a little more like Hiccup, like a human with more imagination and emotion. Throughout my stories, Hiccup and Toothless have always had an impact in shaping each other's growth, and I don't see why this experience should be an exception, even were they to switch back to their regular bodies.

Epclaymore, every time I finish a story, I tell myself that I'm done with HTTYD fanfics… and this is my 7th story lol, so we'll see. I'm currently trying to talk myself out of trying a Hidden World adaptation, and the fact that the plotline needs more than chicken wire and duct tape to fix makes it feel easier to resist trying.

Wodenfang, Yeah, I can just imagine Toothless with the Skrill babies – Skrillbies™! {You want a fish? You want it? Sit. Good, now lay. Good. Roll over. Now, reaffirm your vow to never hurt me or my Firefly!}

Toothlessgolfer, Yeah, Hiccup's decision to let Toothless whack the eggs definitely would be outta character for him normally, especially in my universe where his black-scaled bodyguard has allowed him to become increasingly more bossy while still trying to be an idealist... until Stoick's death. I figured, since I always have Toothless following Hiccup's lead in part because the dragon can't make the blind leaps of logic or follow intuition, It'd be fun to give Hiccup a taste of that medicine.

Hicstridalways, thank you for the kind words! Funny you ask about the gemstone and lightning…


Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Hiccup approached a fallen tree and stared at it contemplatively for a small fraction of the blink of the eye. The wood didn't smell too rotten, so it would be a good candidate. The trunk was too large to break with his own strength, at least for the bottom wingspan, but the branches could be broken off and trimmed to size with some decisive bites.

One quick bite and jerk of his head tore a branch from the trunk near the base, and another bite, with the branch held steady under one paw, broke it to the appropriate length. Some more bites and flicks of his paw removed anything splitting from the branch, leaving him with a relatively straight and smooth beam.

Branch in mouth, head held high, he trotted over to the clearing to deposit it alongside the others that he had already stacked. This completed the second row, which was laid crosswise to the first. Three more to go, or maybe four just to be safe. Progress was swift; this would be done in no time at all.

He liberated and trimmed another branch from the felled tree, but as he trotted back, he noticed Astrid stiffly walking across the clearing towards him with their child cradled in her arms. She must have wanted to talk to him, so he dropped his load and bounded over to her to save her from having to walk all the way.

"Thanks, but I want to stretch out a little bit," she said, and Hiccup could tell just by looking at her that she was trying to figure out a diplomatic way to voice an objection she had, so after a few quick sniffs at the healing wound to verify that there was no infection, he flanked her in silence, allowing her to decide when to spill the beans.

As they approached his construct, she gave him a flat stare. "I thought so. Really? You're making a pyre for the two dragons that almost killed you, me, Stormfly, and Toothless?"

Hiccup gave her a gummy smile and picked up the branch again to place it on the third row.

"I know why you're doing this…" she started to say, and Hiccup had absolutely no doubt that she was spot-on. Though he had come to accept what had happened, it still rankled him to have been part of killing two dragons and leaving them to rot. Building a pyre for them was his way of showing respect. He still could not conceive of any alternative outcome that would have left himself and his loved ones intact, but the thought of doing this brought him a feeling of satisfaction. Nobody would have to know, when he would light the pyre, that he would silently say a prayer to the gods that such a catastrophe would never happen again.

"... but the only reason I'm allowing this is because it's only practical to burn these stinking carcasses so they don't– MMPH!" Hiccup dragged his tongue across her face and gave her an innocent smile. "HICCUP!" She glared at him. "If I wasn't holding Nuffink right now, I'd rearrange every feature of your body!"

Hiccup offered his tailfin to wipe her face off with, and though he yelped when she bit it, he didn't mind her claiming vengeance. In retrospect, he knew he had it coming.

A faint cry reached his ears, and he whirled around in a panic to look up at the mountain. His sharp eyes saw a couple specks that must have been eggs falling from the cave and down the mountainside, followed by Toothless. However, he could also see Meatlug moving to intercept from her position just below the mouth of the cave, and as he focused his senses, he could feel the panic in Toothless quickly melting away. After a quick inquiry projected at Meatlug, he learned that she had his safety well in hand – or well in paw.

Secure in the knowledge of Toothless' safety, Hiccup quickly looked away. As much as possible, it mattered to him that he remained as ignorant as possible about the fate of those Skrill eggs so that Toothless wouldn't feel any compulsion against destroying them.

Though it would have been too far away for Astrid to see in any detail, she was clearly concerned. "Was that Toothless?"

Her hands were full, so Hiccup pressed his chin against her forehead so that she could hear him. {Yes. He somehow managed to throw himself down the mountain along with the eggs, but Meatlug caught him. She says he's unharmed, except maybe mentally, or it could just be because he's in a human body with a human brain.}

"So, I'm guessing he did what we both expected with the eggs?"

Hiccup sighed. {I told her and all the other dragons that I don't want to know the fate of the eggs. Toothless can tell me himself if he wants to, but it is important to me that I remain entirely ignorant for now. However, I ruined it for myself by looking for the briefest moment and saw the eggs falling out of the mouth of the cave.}

Astrid shrugged and continued to cross the short distance to the pyre. "It's the thought that counts. Still, I'm surprised. I woulda thought that kicking them in or smashing them on the cave floor would have been more satisfying than just shoving them out to fall to the ground far below."

Hiccup offered a shrug, then trotted over to the fallen tree to return with another branch.

"Oh, and please tell me that you're not burning the Skrills as a way of retrieving that gemstone. I know it's messy, but that's a risk we shouldn't take. Just suck it up and dig it out yourself."

Hiccup patted a leaf-strewn patch of ground with his tail. Digging the gemstone from the belly of that rotting corpse was the first thing he had done before starting the pyre. It was a very messy process, and after burying the gemstone and disguising where it was, a bit of Cloudjumper's fire and rolling around in the sandy shallows had left him with clean scales and a renewed appreciation for how pragmatic dragons could be.

"Ah, smart," Astrid said. "I bet the twins will deduce the gemstone's location in no time at all, once they return from goofing around, but that'll give you time to tackle Ruffnut and stick her in a tree before she can dig it up."

Hiccup gave Astrid a very genuine grin. Only she could have guessed exactly what was going through his mind.

She stood and watched as Hiccup expeditiously built the pyre. As he was finishing the fifth layer, the approaching buzz of wings heralded Meatlug and Toothless returning from the cave.

Toothless hopped down and ran over, shouting, "Firefly, I did it! I did it!"

Hiccup pressed his snout to his rider's hand. {I know. You tossed the eggs down the mountain. If this brought you some satisfaction or a sense of resolution, then I am very happy for you.}

Toothless stepped back and stared at Hiccup as if he was slapped. "No! I drop egg and it roll out of cave and I fall, but I–"

{Yes, and that was one reason I had asked Meatlug to be there for you.} He gave his rider an evil smirk. {I figured you'd probably fall out.}

Toothless started to turn red. "No, eggs fall and I fall and Meatlug catch–"

{Yes, I must admit that I sneaked a peek to see that she caught you. It was child's play for how nimble a Gronkle is, and you know that.}

"Firefly!" Toothless shouted, upset. Hiccup planted his haunches on the ground and patiently waited. "I want tell you I throw eggs out of cave but I–"

{You don't have to explain yourself, Toothless. I'm not upset at all. There is nothing you need to justify or defend.}

It was only then that Hiccup noticed Meatlug writhing around on her back, bellowing out some mirthful chortles. She was doing as asked by offering no elaboration, but it was obvious that something about this was massively amusing to her.

Toothless grabbed the bridge between Hiccup's nostrils. "I want hatch eggs!"

Hiccup gave his cheek a little lick. {I'm afraid it's too late for that, Toothless. There is nothing to do about it but to learn from this. Life is often easy to take but always impossible to give back. A flame snuffed out may be rekindled, but it is a new flame; the old flame is lost forever.}

Meatlug snorted, gagged, coughed, spat out a bit of molten lava, and resumed her dragon equivalent of rolling on the ground, laughing out loud.

"RRRRR! Firefly!" he shouted. "I not break eggs!"

Hiccup stared at him, studying him closely for the first time. He almost dared to believe…

"I not break eggs," he said again. "I going to, but then I think about it, and it not feel right."

Hiccup stared at him in shock, and a quick inquiry to Meatlug was returned with a near-instant sharing of her memories of the incident. After she deposited Toothless and the eggs on the cave floor, he had asked her to bring them down to the campfire where Stormfly was willing to brood over them.

It was such a shock, he almost couldn't believe it, but then again, he knew that Toothless was telling the truth. "Like lying to a dragon," had become a saying among riders as an expression for something that was practically impossible. Having been smacked in the face with something so massively unpredictable, he could think of no more appropriate response than to flop his belly to the ground and then flip over to writhe around on his back in ecstatic joy before finally nuzzling his rider's leg.

"You WHAT!?" Astrid shouted at Toothless.

Toothless looked at her and shrugged. "I surprise me too. It just not feel right. Not know if that make sense."

"Hiccup, hold him," she said as she placed Nuffink in Hiccup's open mouth – which he scrambled in alarm to make void of any teeth.

Astrid then slapped Toothless hard enough that his cheek started to turn a little rosy.

Toothless stared at her, shocked and infuriated.

"But I do good thing!" he shouted indignantly.

"Yak shit!"

Hiccup huffed at that. {Welcome to my world.}

Astrid stormed off. "Stormfly! I have a bone to pick with you!"

########


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Hiccup awoke suddenly at a sharp sound. Careful to avoid disturbing his rider and wife pressed against his belly, he lifted his head and looked around.

The dragons were laid out around the campfire with their riders sleeping beside or beneath. Stormfly was the exception as she had three purple eggs underneath her belly, content to manifest her mothering instincts. Her distaste for the Skrill was no exception, but her trust and willingness to grant Toothless his request was enough for her.

For some reason, there was a hole in the ground a couple wingspans away, and a green mist emanated from it. Also, Ruffnut was running out of it, gasping for air. She gave a sheepish look at Hiccup, then a harsh glare at Barf, her head of the Zippleback dragon that was staring down at her.

"Spoilsport!" she hissed.

Hiccup gave an inquiring look at Barf, as the other head was still slumped against the ground in sleep.

{Nothing to worry about anymore, Firefly. I took care of her.}

That didn't make sense initially, until Barf flashed an image of the gemstone to Hiccup's mind. Suddenly, he connected the dots. He was sprawled out on top of where he had buried the gemstone… and Ruffnut was digging a tunnel underneath him.

Hiccup bared his teeth at her.

"Eee hee hee, uhh, nice dragon?" Ruffnut said coyly.

Hiccup yawned and rolled his eyes. {Barf, I'd be grateful if you could make sure she doesn't try that again.}

Barf snatched the shovel out of Ruffnut's hand – one of the twins' main go-to tools for setting up pranks on the field – and tossed it aside.

"Aww, Barf, don't be like that. I was only– Ah!"

The dragon head snatched her coat in his teeth to drag her down, and he shifted forward to lay on top of her. {You don't even need to ask, Firefly, as if I would want to be in a land-strider body, my mind isolated from the world.}

Tuffnut and Belch – the other Zippleback head – grumbled sleepily about being distrurbed for an instant before resuming their snoring with gusto.

"I will never forget this!" came the muffled shout from below the Zippleback. "My revenge will be swift and–" The dragon shifted a little. "Mmmmm, mmmmph mmmm!"

Hiccup tucked his head underneath his wing again. One becomes accustomed to such things after enough exposure.

########


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Hiccup gave a little grunt to alert his rider that they were approaching the island. Not too far ahead was where all this trouble began, and hopefully, where it would end.

Aside from Toothless, his only companion for this flight was Cloudjumper. Valka had remained behind with Astrid and the others to keep her company and aid in the minutia of caring for a child. That also left Stormfly available to lead the others on a hunt to find Hiccup and Toothless if they didn't return the next day.

Honestly, Hiccup wasn't surprised at all when nothing happened after he and Toothless had touched the gemstone. It had that mesmerizing, shifting glow once again, as when they first discovered it, but Hiccup was so accustomed to disappointment with this cursed thing that he expected nothing. Still, there was hope. When he and Toothless swapped bodies, the gemstone was resting on its pedestal inside its cave, and that might have been a significant detail.

They descended, but Hiccup gave a surprised bark at the sight of narrow columns of smoke drifting up. A little closer, he could see some smelters made from stone and mud, and Vikings were dumping in rocks and charcoal. There were a couple ships docked offshore bearing the Meathead crest.

Hiccup shared his sight with his rider, and then it hit him.

{Oh, right, of course.}

"Oh, right, of course."

The Meatheads had learned about what had happened in the cave. They were all too happy to oblige the request to keep away from the cavern that had contained the gemstone as they figured that this only was cursed. The men reportedly got the shivers every time they walked near or past that chamber, so they were happy to leave it be, but that left the rest of the cave open for mining.

Also, after spending an instant thinking about it, Hiccup realized that it made sense to bring charcoal and workers to the island to smelt the ores there rather than haul so much stone back. On a good day, a hundred pounds of ore would yield a single pound of workable metal, so it only made sense to smelt it all right outside the mine.

Since the Meathead tribe was a good ally and had their own dragon riders, Hiccup circled once overhead and let out a roar to announce his presence before descending to land outside the mouth of the cave. Inside the cave, he could sense the mental projections of seven miners. Outside, he could see thirty-three Vikings hauling stones from the cave, feeding stones and charcoal into the smelting stacks, working the bellows, hammering blooms into ingots, and constructing and deconstructing mounds for turning wood into charcoal. The ringing, clanging, painful sounds of pickaxes rang out from within the cave. People turned to look at him for a moment, but everyone was familiar with the mostly friendly Night Fury that only nipped at those who treated his rider with disrespect.

Hiccup looked around for someone who appeared to be in charge. At a probing glance, one Meathead grunted and pointed to the only person who was watching over a charcoal mound.

As Hiccup studied the Viking, he realized that he knew the man. Sifting through his memories with the speed and clarity that only a dragon could achieve, he realized that the pattern of freckles on the man's forehead brought back a memory from half a lifetime ago, when some woman, probably his wife, called him "Arn" and then threatened great bodily harm if he didn't get the firewood supply replenished by sundown.

As he approached, the Viking said, "Afternoon, Hiccup–" he looked at Toothless. "Toothless–" he looked at Hiccup.

Toothless opened his mouth to correct him, but Hiccup gave a light grunt. {You know how long it can take to explain things to a Viking, and if all goes well, there will be no need soon.}

"And… ummm, Cloud… Humper?"

Hiccup and Toothless broke down laughing and rolling around on the ground. Cloudjumper made known his disposition with a tail slap to the face of everyone.

After what felt like a breathless eternity, Toothless managed to squeeze out, "Cloud Jumper."

"Oh," Arn said as he rubbed his stinging cheek, the one slapped by Cloudjumper's tail. "Hit me again, dragon, and see what I call ya."

Hiccup quickly took a step forward and gave a stern stare to both of them.

"Uh, nice dragon," Arn said soothingly and a little worriedly. To Toothless, he said, "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Hooligan chief? Or… are you still? I heard there was some sort of scuffling about that over yonder."

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a worried glance. They had been away for a week, but that wasn't something they could do anything about. Besides, his information was probably a month old at least, and any wrinkles on Berk had been ironed out for now, at least until they returned from the Hysteric tribe with news on the gemstone and lenses that they no longer needed… probably.

{It doesn't matter. His name is Arn, by the way. Just ask him to tell his miners to take a break so we can go in without my head splitting like firewood under the ax.}

Toothless nodded. "Not matter, Arn. All good. We want go in cave. Noise loud. Not like. Tell them stop so we can go in cave."

"Not even a 'please'" Arn grumbled. "Alright, I suppose they could use a break anyway. Are you going to go check out that haunted chamber?"

"Yes."

"How long will you need? I have lanterns so you can leave your dragon out here so my men can continue mining."

{Tell him we'll be out before they've even cooled off.}

"Not long. We gone before they cool off. Send them out." Hiccup grumbled. "Please."

{Well, that wasn't awkward at all.}

"There's something a little off about you," Arn said. "Something… awkward."

After an uncomfortable moment staring at a silent rider, Arn walked off towards the cave. From inside, they heard the bellow of, "Alright, c'mon out ya slack-jawed belly-achers! Get some water and fresh air and don't say I never done nothin' for ya!"

The cave was promptly evacuated as the miners threw themselves to the ground to bask in the sunlight and fresh air and groan about their backs and wrists.

Hiccup and Toothless plunged into the cave. It was too tight of a fit for a dragon as large as Cloudjumper, so he stayed outside. The air was smokey from lanterns used by the miners, but it was still breathable.

{See that lantern on the ground there? Grab it by the handle on top. Good, now wiggle it back and forth. Good, it sounds like it has plenty of oil.}

From behind, they heard Arn's voice. "Hey, Cloud… Jumper. Would an apology and some fish grant me some of your fire?"

They moved on, leaving the outside world behind, and easily found the "cursed" cavern. The walls were as smooth as he remembered and just as littered with runes of many languages. Toothless dug through the saddlebag to retrieve the gemstone, and it was still glowing. He walked up to the pedestal in the center of the chamber and carefully placed it back in the unnaturally smooth stone hands.

"Wait!" he said as he grabbed the lantern and looked over the walls. "Where it? Where the thoughts on stone?"

Hiccup knew exactly what he meant and nosed at a part of the wall that had the Norse runes.

"Sky light!" he spat out with disdain. "We think it fire in sky, sun, but it not. Well, maybe that too, but it lightning too."

{We don't know that yet.}

Toothless shrugged. "Not matter. I add this now." He rummaged through the saddlebag for a charcoal pencil and returned to the wall. "Hrrrr, how I put thoughts on wall?"

He had learned to draw – and Hiccup gave only praise for the scribbles he had enthusiastically produced – but he'd never learned the runes. With one hand on his dragon to hear him, he saw the shape of each rune to draw, and his other hand carefully drew them with the pencil. Sorta. Close enough. A Viking might eventually realize what he was trying to write.

With that done, they returned to the pedestal and stood looking at it, then each other. This was the moment of truth. They were about to both touch the gemstone and… well, if Hiccup was honest with himself, he was prepared to face disappointment again.

Toothless touched a finger to the gemstone, but then he pulled back in thought. "This what Firefly want?"

Hiccup stared at him and gave a confused little trill.

"Do you want become land-strider again, Firefly?"

That… was not something Hiccup had thought about for a while. The experience of being a dragon was far more intense than he had ever imagined. The feeling of the wind underneath his own wings, the thrill of the fight – even when it was just play fighting with Stormfly – the physical prowess that came with being a Night Fury, it was all so visceral and exciting!

Gods, I can run. I can run!

If he chose to remain a dragon, the tribe would likely accept him as still being their chieftain, and that could only help him integrate dragons into Viking tribes more effectively. Then again, a dragon had no arms to cradle his child, but Nuffink would probably grow up being proud to be the one and only literal son of a dragon. It would certainly be different. Nuffink would end up as an only child, but he was a male heir, so it wasn't that big of a deal. And maybe, just maybe, they might all agree that Nuffink should have a sibling and… no. That probably would not fly, and Hiccup would not suggest it.

Hiccup stared deep into his rider's eyes. {What do you want, Toothless? Don't tell me you'd prefer to be a human than a dragon?}

Toothless thought about that for a moment. "I like fingers and thumb. Drawing fun. Play with rope fun." He gave a devious grin. "I still tie you up in sleep, think I know how, now. It new thing for me. New is fun. Can always change back later if change mind." He stared at his dragon. "If we change mind. But not take away choice from you. Love Firefly. If Firefly want be land-strider again, then we change back now. I give choice to you. Not give choice back this time."

Hiccup already had his answer. If someone like him was a Night Fury and someone like Toothless had walked in Hiccup's boots from the start, the world would have been a different place. The Red Death would still command her army of dragon thralls to raid the tribes. There was a reason that Hiccup grew up as the downtrodden runt, and there was a reason that Toothless was a dragon that Vikings were told to hide from and pray he did not find them. No matter the ramifications of this change, they were meant to be who they always were, and to fight against that was to disregard the importance of what made them who they were.

Hiccup lifted a front paw and gently pressed Toothless' hand against the gemstone, and Toothless nodded.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath... and leaned his muzzle forward.


A/N 2.0:
Whew! That was quite the journey, but it feels good to have seen this story through to the end. I'd like to thank you for sticking it out with me and–

"FizzleMcSchnizzle!"

Yeah, anyway, what'd ya think of it? I like the part where.

"You are not doing this to us!"

Oh, c'mon, they're back in the cave, and the gemstone is glowing. Glowing for Thor's sake.

"I don't know who you are."

So, anyway, I'd love to hear any comments you have and–

"I don't know what you want."

Yeah, and clicking that favorite button if you haven't already–

"But I will look for you."

Alright, that's just borderline creepy.

"I will find you."

Oh, c'mon.

"And I will kill you."

… With love?

*CLICK*

Fine, I was just pulling your leg. There's still one more chapter. Don't say I never done nothin' for ya. :P