Not a single member of the Hooligan tribe knew what to say or do at this moment. A Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself was in the village and being friendly as fuck with Hiccup. It wasn't attacking him, it wasn't growling at him, it was...hugging him almost and Hiccup was returning it. Hiccup was actually crying too, overjoyed this dragon had returned to him but when the heck had they even met? That's what everyone wanted to know right now. Nothing made sense anymore, they were all standing there in utter shock.
Finally after a minute of two, Hiccup released the dragon and pressed his forehead to the Night Fury's forehead. "Oh Toothless...I'm so glad you're back...I was starting to think you forgot about me...it's been two years after all." Hiccup told him, Toothless purred contently warbling in delight.
"Okay...what is going on here...I think we'd all like to know..." Astrid asked first after so much silence.
"Hiccup...do you know this Night Fury...?" Gobber asked next.
"He's my best friend, I didn't think I'd ever see him again when we parted ways two years ago..." Hiccup smiled wide as Toothless licked his cheek and their mouths dropped open in shock, again.
"B–but he's...a dragon...a Night Fury!" Stoick boomed, Toothless became defensive and wrapped his tail around Hiccup protectively.
"Woah woah...Easy bud...They won't hurt me again...Will you?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes. Stoick was about to say something but quickly shut his mouth. He didn't want to push Hiccup over the edge again, he wouldn't lose his son. Not over this.
"Alright...Can you tell us about all...this?" Gobber questioned.
"If Toothless can stay with me...I'll tell you everything, but you are not...hear me? NOT allowed to take him from me. Fair enough?" Hiccup asked firmly his eyes mainly on Stoick now, the man finally nodded to him sighing.
"Alright, but he better not hurt anyone..." Stoick stated.
"Him? He's harmless, nothing more than a big old flying lizard aren't you boy?" Hiccup scratched under his chin making Toothless stick his tongue out in delight.
"Fine, just tell us what's going on..." Stoick said now. Hiccup sat down on the grass as Toothless laid beside him, curling around him contently.
"It was two years ago on my 13th birthday...right after I got hurt in the forge. After Gobber told me to take a walk to calm down...I wandered the forest and came across a torn up area with split and downed trees...I followed the path to a cove just below Raven Point...and when I went inside, I saw Toothless. His wing was broken and he was weak and tired, I slipped on the rock and fell in. I thought he was going to kill me you know because legend says whoever gets this close doesn't live to tell the tale...but after a minute...I realized that he didn't shoot me. Toothless crooned at me, as if trying to get my attention so I stayed there and gave him the 5 fish from my bag so he could eat. I knew what it felt like to be hungry, weak, tired...and hurt so I guess I sympathized with him. While he ate, I told him I'd bring him more until he healed and could hunt again...After we finished our food, he saw my arm still bleeding from the forge injury. I told him I'd heal and then he licked my arm and the wound closed...like what you saw before. I told him I wanted to help him, so I made a wing splint for him. Then he coughed up half a fish for me, I ate it, and he let me touch him...the hand thing you saw a second ago...and then for two weeks...I'd go to the cove every day and just sit with him and talk...well I talked, he listened. When he healed...I told him I hoped I'd see him again...and since then...it's been two years..." Hiccup smiled softly as Toothless nudged his cheek.
"So...you befriended him, you two helped one another." Fishlegs blinked.
"You could say that...yes. He healed my arm, I fixed his wing. He...became my only friend, my best friend." Hiccup leaned against Toothless.
"Wait...he's...the friend you talked about in your journal...When you said your final goodbye..." Astrid gasped. Hiccup's eyes narrowed now and she instantly regretted saying something.
"You went through my stuff?..." Hiccup asked.
"I–it was yesterday...when you were unconscious from trying to kill yourself...W–we wanted to find out what drove you to wanting death...so we could help you when you woke up..." Ruffnut jumped in now.
"So you went through my stuff, my private things...I guess I wouldn't of cared if I were dead but...come on. I was still alive..." Hiccup grumbled, Toothless growled at the group making them back up a little. "Relax Toothless...we aren't staying here much longer..." Hiccup now got up and Toothless did the same. "But yes...he's the friend I was talking about...not like any of you people were my friends..." Hiccup mumbled.
"Hold on a second...this dragon...he's the one who saved you yesterday when you jumped..." Gobber said quickly.
"Come again?" Hiccup looked at him curiously.
"Yesterday...after you jumped, we saw a black blur fly out from Raven Point. It grabbed you and brought you back up to the cliff...then flew off after glaring at us..." Astrid informed him.
Hiccup looked at Toothless with a little shock. "Yo–you saved me bud?" Hiccup asked, Toothless nodded to him. "You came back...to visit. You were in the cove, weren't you? Waiting for me then when you saw me jump...you flew out to save me?" Hiccup asked him. Toothless shook his head and nudged his arms where the cuts were once open. "You...smelled the blood, you recognized it from all the way over there...? You knew I was in trouble...didn't you?" Hiccup said softly.
Toothless nodded to him. "He actually understands you, doesn't he?" Gobber asked.
"Seems too, he can hear and answer my questions with facial expressions or nodding." Hiccup shrugged, as Toothless wandered from his side them came back holding Hiccup's bag and put it at his feet. "Yeah bud, don't worry. We'll go to our spot in a minute..." Hiccup smiled at him.
"Y–you're still goin to leave?" Gobber questioned.
"Of course I am...I still haven't forgiven any of you...Toothless, are you staying with me...or just visiting?" Hiccup asked him. Toothless whacked him with his tail, "Okay okay I get it. You're staying...you don't want me hurt again..." Hiccup smiled. Toothless nodded smiling back at him.
"Hiccup, he's a Night Fury...he can't stay on Berk with us...have you forgotten the war..." Stoick started to say, Toothless growled at him now.
"Then I'm leaving with him. Believe me dad...I'd rather be cast out and marked a traitor as long as it means staying with Toothless. Who is he gonna hurt? He saved my life, without him...I wouldn't be standing in front of you right now. I think he's more than proved his place here, or at least with me..." Hiccup argued. "And what war...If I recall...I stopped your raid last night..." Hiccup grumbled out.
"That doesn't mean you can stop them all, Hiccup." Stoick sighed.
"I'll be the judge of that, but for now my friend and I are going to the cove...and remember what I said. You leave me alone...I'll come here two times a week, when I want too and yes he's coming with me...These are my terms, if you can't agree then is shows me you've not changed at all and you still can't listen to me so it'd make you a liar and I'll still leave. Make your choice..." Hiccup said calmly.
"Why does he have to come..." Astrid mumbled.
"Because he's my best friend. He was there for me, he saved my life, and now he's back to keep me safe. In fact...I'll even admit that if he wasn't here right now...I'd probably kill myself tonight in the cove." Hiccup said coldly. Toothless whined at him sadly, "I'm alight bud...I've got you. Everything is okay now...I'm not alone anymore..." Hiccup smiled as the dragon licked his cheek affectionately.
"Hiccup...he's a dragon! It's not...natural for a 15 year old boy to be friends with a dragon, a Night Fury no less. Now I'm grateful to the dragon for savin you yesterday but I'm not letting a Night Fury live on Berk...And that is final." Stoick said firmer. Toothless now stood in front of Hiccup snarling at Stoick making them back up, "Call off your dragon..." Stoick told Hiccup now.
"No...He knows you people hurt me, I told him about it when his wing was broken and stuck in the cove for two weeks...I told him everything you put me through then...And now he knows I tried to kill myself, because of all of you...Dragons are fiercely loyal to once bonded, Toothless isn't just my friend...he's my bonded dragon. He'll never leave my side again, and he will protect me without hesitation...and right now the group of you are a threat to me...If he can't stay here, then neither will I." Hiccup retorted as he picked up his bag and rubbed Toothless's head softly. "Come on bud, time to leave..." Hiccup said softly.
Toothless crooned at him as he stepped back and lowered himself down as Hiccup looked confused, Toothless motioned with his head for Hiccup to get on his back and Hiccup smiled softly as he strapped his bag to his back then got on Toothless's back. "Where will you go...no one is going to accept you when you're riding that thing..." Stoick told him.
"I don't know...and I don't really care...Toothless will find us home. I trust him to take care of me..." Hiccup glared.
"Stoick...jus a minute there..." Gobber started as he pulled Stoick back a little to talk to him. "Look...The lad is different, Stoick. He always has been and this proves that point. He said he would stay here if his dragon could stay too...I know where the cove is, its just below Raven Point, he'll be safe. He knows these woods like the back of his head...he'll be safe...you heard him...he would of kill himself tonight if the dragon hadn't come back...let the dragon stay...For once...think about Hiccup...You know he won't survive out there...but he'll survive here on Berk...I know it might not be what you wanna do, but you have to if you want to get Hiccup's forgiveness...The boy stopped a raid by showing nothing more than kindness...we could actually learn a lot from him...if nothing else...having dragons on our side could be really beneficial to us...Consider it because if he takes off right now...you'll never see him again..." Gobber explained.
"Gobber's right...we said we'd do anything for his forgiveness...And right now...this is the happiest I've ever seen him." Fishlegs added.
"His friend came to save him...that's loyalty...we have to take the first step, and if it means we let a dragon stay here...then we'll do it. It won't hurt us as long as we don't hurt Hiccup..." Snotlout interjected.
"You're right...I don't want to lose him again...Hiccup is different and we have to accept that, even if it involves dragons. Val was the same way...but she never got where Hiccup was now, where they are calm and friendly. He's just like his mother, and far exceeded her too...Hiccup...wait...I–I've changed my mind..."Stoick started walking back towards Hiccup looked back at him. "He can stay with you...as long as...you're alive...and happy, then I don't care what you do or whom you are friends with..." Stoick sighed.
"You mean that...?" Hiccup asked him. Stoick nodded with a small smile. "Hear that bud, we get to stay!" Hiccup cheered quietly. Toothless warbled lightly still glaring at the Hooligans. "Alright Toothless, lets go to our spot...and you...remember what I said...stay away from me for a while. You'll see me twice a week and I decide those days..." Hiccup reminded.
"We understand...We'll give you your space, Hiccup." Astrid replied, Hiccup pulled a rope from his bag and tied it around Toothless's neck then held on to it tightly.
"Lets go bud!" Hiccup called out, Toothless took a crouching stance before leaping in to the air and beating his wings. "Woohoo!" Hiccup yelled laughing as the two did a back flip midair then leveled out heading towards Raven's Point.
"I cannot believe I just agreed to my son and a night fury being friends..." Stoick slapped his hand over his eyes.
"We do what we can for our kids, Stoick...he's happy right now, might speed up his recovery. Like you said, we have to play this game carefully and by Hiccup's rules. The dragon saved his life, and came back for him after two years. That's true friendship." Spitelout patted his older brother on the back.
"I can't believe he's riding it..." Tuffnut blinked in shock.
"Huh..." Gobber started when he felt something tap him on the shoulder, he looked down to see Gothi there as she began to write in the dirt with her staff. When she was done, Gobber looked at her with a little shock and she only nodded with a smile.
"What did she say Gobber?" Stoick asked.
"The 300 year prophecy will come to pass. Hiccup is destined for greater things and he will be the one to change the world for the better." Gobber recited the runes.
"What prophecy, Elder Gothi...?" Astrid questioned now. Gothi began to write again, as Gobber watched closely.
"I remember that prophecy...it's been handed to every Viking chief since the war began..." Gobber's eyes widened a bit.
"Well out with it Gobber!" Stoick ordered.
"Two worlds will come together by one boy and one dragon. And only together they will show everyone the truth that lies beneath. They will come together through pain and loss and rise above it all, forming an alliance, a friendship, a bond so strong that no army can stand against it. They will end the war, and change the world forever." Gobber stated.
"And...she thinks that...Hiccup is the one the prophecy is talking about?" Fishlegs asked.
"Gothi doesn't think, she knows." Astrid rolled her eyes.
"It would make sense...Hiccup has a way with dragons, and befriending a Night Fury who broke its wing...Left for two years and came back exactly when Hiccup was about to kill himself...Seems pretty cut and dry to me." Gobber shrugged then felt Gothi tap him as he looked down to watch her write. "What do you mean they haven't lost anything yet?" She continued to write, "Oh so they are both going to lose something they needed to be on their own, and come to rely on another for survival...?" Gobber asked. Gothi nodded to him.
"But...what could they both lose that would make them need one another?..." Spitelout questioned now. They all shrugged not knowing what was going to happen, suddenly someone looked to the forest and pointed quickly.
"Its Hiccup!" They shouted, Stoick and the other's quickly turned to see Hiccup rushing out but the Night Fury wasn't with him.
"Son?" Stoick asked quickly seeing Hiccup trip and fall before them, Stoick went to help him up. "Hiccup, what's wrong?"
"Too–Toothless's tail fin...it's hurt...I–it got snagged on a tree when we were flying...its torn and bleeding, he needs...help..." Hiccup panted heading toward the forge, they followed him there as he pulled out a large box then tucked it under his arm and headed back in to the forest as fast as he could.
"Sh–should we follow him?" Astrid asked.
"Yes, he might need our help..." Stoick ordered as he, Gobber, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins rushed in to the forest following Hiccup's path.
(The Cove)
Hiccup reached the area and slipped through the rocks to the entrance and jumped down to the ground level, he skidded to a stop on his knees near Toothless and hugged him. "Its okay bud...its okay...you'll be alright...I promise...You saved me, now I'll save you..." Hiccup panted harshly coughing a few times. Stoick, Gobber, and the teens arrived and made their way inside the cove.
"Wow...This place does exist..." Astrid breathed out.
"Of course it does, I didn't lie...what do you want, I specifically said not to follow me..." Hiccup grumbled as he opened the box and started pulling out knives, wrappings, some ointments. Toothless whined, hissing in pain. "I know...I know bud...it hurts...it'll be okay...Ssh, just trust me." Hiccup told him calmly trying to keep himself from freaking out. Gobber hobbled over and looked at the tail.
"Hiccup...you can't save it." Gobber said.
"I'm not losing Toothless! Understand me? I. Am. Not!" Hiccup yelled angrily.
"Hiccup, it's almost completely torn off lad. It won't just heal like our wounds do...Dragons who wings and fins die, because they can't get away. A downed dragon...is a dead dragon." Gobber explained. Hiccup's eyes widened as Toothless looked down sadly and closed his eyes.
"Oh Toothless...oh no...no no no...I can't lose you bud..." Hiccup laid over Toothless's head closing his eyes to keep from crying. Toothless warbled to him and moved his tail towards his mouth as Hiccup moved back a little watching what Toothless was doing, without warning Toothless bit in to the wounded fin and ripped it off completely. "Toothless...what are you doing!" Hiccup asked quickly as he saw Toothless start licking it and the wound closed. "Y–you'll die without that, Toothless...you'll never be able to...fly." Hiccup felt tears forming in his green eyes. Toothless looked away as Hiccup hugged him again.
"Downed dragons die because not only can they not fly to get away from attack, but they also can't hunt..." Stoick sighed.
"Then I'll bring him food...I won't let him die...I can't...without him...I don't have a reason to stay anymore...if he dies...then I'm going with him." Hiccup felt Toothless lick his cheek and nuzzled against him.
"Hiccup no! You're not killing yourself if he dies, he's just a dragon that you're treating like a pet!" Stoick ordered.
"You don't get it...you just don't fucking get it, do you!? Toothless is not just a dragon to me, he's not just another winged beast you think needs to die! He's not a damn pet to me, he's my friend. Okay! My best fucking friend and I'd sooner die than live this life without him in it!" Hiccup yelled making them back up a little. "He was and still is the only one in this cove, on this island who cares about me!"
"That's not true, Hiccup...we care about you..." Gobber tried to tell him.
"Yeah...now you do. Where the hell was all this worry and concern for me the last 7 years of my life!? Huh, give me that answer!" Hiccup growled out, Toothless now wrapped around him protectively again, snarling at them. "I was beaten, teased, tripped, pushed, shoved every single day. By everyone in this village since I was 8. I was called worthless, useless, a disappointment, the embarrassment of Berk, a weakling, stupid, that I'd never amount to anything...that I'll always be just a Hiccup, by my supposed tribe. By the people who are supposed to stand with me, support me, protect me, be there for me. Granted not everyone is guilty because some didn't hurt me, or say hurtful things...but those people also just stood by and watched it happen." Hiccup glared.
"This Night Fury...this dragon who is likened the unholy offspring of lightening and death itself, the dragon that is told about in the dragon manual not to engage only hide and pray it doesn't find you...this same dragon let me live. He didn't kill me when he saw me that day two years ago. Everything you know about dragons is wrong! And my proof is in the fact he not only let me live, he healed my arm that day, and today. He came back, for me and he saved my life. He knew I was in trouble, I was hurt...and he revealed himself to save me. This oh so dangerous dragon has shown me more kindness, affection, more compassion than any human ever has so I will NOT abandon him when he needs me. I will never abandon him because he's my best friend and I will stand by him for the rest of my life. I will never leave Toothless because he was there for me when no one else was. He cared when no one else did. He listened to me when no one else did! He did more for me in two weeks that you lot did in my entire existence! Did that get through your thick skull old man...I will never leave him!" Hiccup yelled out.
There was now an awkward silence in the cove, other than the rustle of leaves in the breeze. "And if you try and stop me from helping him...from saving him. Then I promise you on mom's grave...I will be dead within the hour of him dying...Because I will not live this life if he isn't part of it. That's your choice, Stoick...what means more to you. Your hate of dragons...or my life." Hiccup said firmly.
Everyone there now looked to Stoick waiting for his answer, they were worried of what he'd choose to do. Finally Stoick closed his eyes and stepped back. He wouldn't lose Hiccup, he couldn't. He swore to himself he would change for his son, he'd do anything it took to get Hiccup's forgiveness. And he wouldn't go back on that now, "I won't stop you, Hiccup...and...we'll do anything we can to help too." Stoick said nodding.
Hiccup crouched against Toothless, "Don't worry bud...I'm not going to let anything happen to you...I promise." Hiccup said softly as Toothless crooned lowly. "I'll get you something to eat, I'm sure your hungry..." Hiccup told him smiling as he got up and moved to his bag and pulled out a small net, then moved to lake and tossed it in. After 3 minutes, Hiccup pulled it up catching about 20 fish then he brought it over to Toothless. "Breakfast time." Hiccup rubbed his head. Toothless started eating then used his wing to push 5 towards Hiccup.
"Guess he wants you to eat too..." Astrid smiled a bit.
"Thanks bud but I can't eat them raw..." Hiccup chuckled. Toothless moved his head over the fish and fired a small blast to cook them. "I didn't know you could control your blast size and cook a fish with it...You're the best." Hiccup took his dagger out and pierced the fish then started eating it. Then he stopped with his eyes widening in shock.
"Hiccup...what is it?" Fishlegs asked curiously.
"Tha–that's it! I know how to fix his tail! Oh Gods I know what to do so he can fly again..." Hiccup smiled wide as he got to his feet. By now all of them were looking at him in shock and like he'd lost his mind. Hiccup rubbed Toothless's head now. "Don't worry buddy, I'll have ya back up in the air faster than you can say dragon raid. Just stay here and eat, I'll be back...I promise." Hiccup finished his fish quickly then headed for the exit of the cove while the others followed him. "He just needs a new tail..." Hiccup said.
"And...how are you going to get him a new tail?" Snotlout asked. At this, Hiccup simply grinned at them.
"I'm going to build him one." Hiccup then rushed off back towards the village as fast as his legs would carry him leaving the others in complete confusion.