Chapter 11: First Test Run

We are having How to Train your Dragon 3 coming out in 2019! All I can say with that Adult Hiccup is looking nice, like damn. It seems like it was just yesterday, we were watching his scrawny self-battling the Red Death with Toothless. I know that the staff said that this will be the last HTTYD, but I wish there was more or at least another TV series. I need more canon Hiccstrid and adorable Toothless moments.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Balto or How to Train your Dragon. They both belong to their respective owners and this is just for fun, NOT for profit.

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(Hiccup POV)

The next morning, I arrived at the cavern, winded & straining to hold the two waterproof duffels full of both live and cooked fish. The minute that I slide down the shoot, I was approached by a curious Toothless, sniffing me or more specifically my bags.

"Hey Toothless. I brought you the fish, just like I promised."

I dropped of the bags and unzip it to reveal a bunch of smoked fish. Toothless wastes no time putting his whole head into the bag, starts to lay down, and chow down.

"I didn't know what you ate so I got you a little bit of everything." I said as I set the other bag down and emptied the live fish into the lake. " There's some salmon... some nice Icelandic cod... some Haddock... and a whole smoked eel."

Toothless froze and the back hairs of his fur started to stand up on end as I mentioned the eel. He withdrew his head from the bag with his teeth bared, huffing, hacking, dragging his snout against the ground, and shaking his head violently. I looked into the bag to see that he found one of the eels that I mentioned. I reach in to pull it out and immediately met with a growl when I did.

"No, no, no! It's okay." I tossed the eel into the other bag and wiped my hand on my pants. "Yeah, I don't like eel much either."

Toothless turns back to the bag, a little skeptically but was forgotten he tasted the fish again. While he was distracted, I started to pull out the prosthetic paw from the other bag and unwrapped from the cloth that kept it dry.

"That's it. That's it, just stick with good stuff. And don't you mind me. I'll just be back...here. Minding my own business." Hiccup slowly & cautiously approach the injured foot and found it surprisingly limp and relaxed as Toothless sat and ate. "Alright." I strapped the prosthetic into place on his left hindleg and buckle it into place. "There." It seemed a little loose and the stump might need some cushioning to prevent further injuries, but I say it's a good first attempt. "Not too bad. It works, but I might need a few more straps right he-" I was cut off as Toothless stood up without warning.

He stepped on me with the paw I just made for him as he wobbled around the bag that he finished eating. He staggered a little like a newborn buck as he tried to stand. Once he regained his balance, he bolted to the entrance of the cavern only to trip and fall before he was even halfway there. He gets back up and tries another running start, only to trip as he got to the base of the slope. He growled at himself as he gets to his feet once more. He took a bit more time taking a couple extra minutes to balance his stance. I approach to help him, but he growled at me to make sure that I kept my distance.

His eyes pierced directly into my eyes and I got the message, loud & clear. 'Stand back. I need to do this.' He leaps from the base of the slope, but the paw had no grip. He wasn't even halfway up when he tumbled back down the slope with a face full of dirt. Unlike the other times he doesn't get up. He slumped to the ground not even bothering to remove his snout from the embedded ground.

'Did he hurt something?' I thought as I slowly approached him. "His legs and sides looked fine, but that might be something wrong with his front then."

When I got beside him, he didn't even move a muscle. I sat down by his head and saw that he was huffing, but not in a threatening way like he was before. I dusted off the dirt that was covering his face and saw that there was something near his eyes. Tears? I realized that the huffing sounded a little more like a whimper now that it wasn't muffle by the dirt. I reached out and rubbed his head until he cracked an eye open.

His eyes now held a different message, 'Why? Why can't I?'. To my surprise, he shifted his head until it was in my lap and the action made me stop petting him. He nudged my leg a little and licked my hand, so that started to pet him again as he closed his eyes.

"Don't worry bud. I'll help you through this. I'll be your ilaxtal. (*1)"

That's where I spent a good chunk of my morning. Petting the head of the terrifying Night Fury, that was softly crying on my lap. When he finally stopped whimpering, I looked down and found that he was asleep. I grabbed one of the empty bags to place his head on so that I could check on his leg. I took notes on what to add on and adjust when I go back to the Repair Shop, but that could wait until tomorrow. I needed to make sure that he would be alright for the night.

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(*1) ilaxtal = another word for friend. I think that it has a closer bond than "Agitaadaan", but I'm not sure by how much. There could be several different meanings or levels of friendship behind it like it is with the Greek meanings for love.

Thanks for all those that reviewed, every little bit helps. If you're new to the story, please let me know what you think with a review. Constructive criticism is accepted, but no flames please. And don't be too shy to check out some of my other stories.