"Modern myth".
How to train your dragon, Toothcup.
By: Sinattea.
.
.
Disclaimer: Cressida Cowell owns the book series, Dreamworks owns the movie. I own nothing but this AU.
Note: So, hello everyone! Today is update-day, and I'm so excited about this chapter! Epicness unleashes from now on! ! (In my humble opinion).
Thank you so much to everyone who's followed and commented in this story, I hope I can keep up to your expectations. I'm working hard for you! ^^
Now go: read, enjoy!
.
Chapter 3: Coincidences.
.
.
The science fair project was a total success (well of course! Hiccup didn't sleep for two days to finish this giant model of a molecule with every detail of the DNA structure), and as a prize Mrs. Cowell allowed Hiccup and Toothless to skip the next class with her. Therefore that tuesday the two boys had their first real conversation while they were sitting alone in the cafeteria, enjoying the lack of bullies.
- Feels weird to be here knowing everyone's in there having classes – mentioned Hiccup, playing with his pencil over the table. Damn! He was such a nerd.
- Well, it's not like we'd have much to do. After all, our project was perfect – responded Toothless in a low voice.
- Yeah, it was… – replied Hiccup somewhat sheepishly.
- I believe I made the mistake of not thanking you… yet – interrupted the black-haired boy -. First I'd like to know: why you did it? You owe me nothing.
- Do what? – Hiccup pretended not to know.
- Helping me – muttered Toothless.
- Didn't you read the note?
- I did – he assured -, that's why I can't understand what you did.
- You're obviously not used to have people doing favors to you – Toothless' eyes widened after Hiccup said that -. I mean no harm, really, I just… I found out you have to work, that mustn't leave you any time to do other stuff. I thought you must be tired and decided to help a little. It's nothing bad.
- How you know I work? – Toothless was openly surprised - I haven't told you.
- Well… uhm… your landlady told me – Hiccup's face turned slightly red.
- And how was it you came to speak with Mrs. Evans? – Toothless' eyes narrowed into thin green lines - How the hell do you know where I live?
Hiccup kept silent, clearly uncomfortable, avoiding visual contact with Toothless. He seemed to be getting furious, breathing deeply, and that wasn't a good sign. Nonetheless, a couple seconds after, Toothless relaxed and sighed heavily, mainly because he heard Hiccup actually hiccupped.
- So it was you! You were the one following me that day. What were you thinking?
- I didn't follow you! – lied Hiccup. What a shame he was a pitiful liar, and his hiccoughs totally gave him away. Damn them!
- Oh, come on! I didn't recognize your smell on the letter, but I do now. I'm not mistaken, you followed me home! Better accept it or bear the consequences – was it Hiccup's imagination or had Toothless' last phrase sounded somehow as if joking?
- Ok! I did! So what? That allowed me to do something nice for you, right?
- Never do good things that look as bad things – Toothless lowered his voice till it was almost a gentle murmur -. Try to remember that, Hiccup, it's very important.
Then an awkward silence, because Toothless had never called anyone neither by name nor by nickname; Hiccup was the first one. And for some reason this alleviated Hiccup's nervousness a little bit.
- I'm not telling anyone you work if that's what you're worried about – announced Hiccup -. You're already in everyone's target.
- As if they could hunt me down… – whispered Toothless, suddenly a little bit upset.
This time, nonetheless, Hiccup was smart enough to know he wasn't the cause of it.
- I'd… appreciate your silence…
- We're done, then. I got nothing left to say – Hiccup stood up and prepared himself to leave the cafeteria, but before he could walk two steps Toothless stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
- But I do… uhm… Thanks.
Olive green eyes directly met bright green, and both boys could have sworn sparks flew, as if a connection had been made. Their hands felt warm as did their faces, and something sort of tickled inside of them…
Feeling weird as hell they stepped back, looking somewhere else. When their gazes met again Hiccup simply nodded and left the cafeteria. Toothless stayed behind, trying to ignore the fact that he could still smell Hiccup's scent and hear his shoes hitting the floor at a fast pace, as well as his uneasy breath… and his oh-so-famous hiccups. Sometimes it wasn't good to have such amazing senses.
"I guess I'll just… go out for a walk this evening" said Toothless to himself. He needed to think.
.
.
That day Hiccup didn't want to spend the whole afternoon alone at home. He had no homework, his father was in the gym, and Fishlegs was suffering at the dentist (poor Fishlegs, he hated doctors, dentists, vets and every profession that involved anesthesia of any kind, it just knocked him over). What to be done?
- I'll go for a walk, then – he decided.
Berk was a very important touristic destiny because it was in the middle of an ancient, large and magnificent forest. Mountains weren't far away, and if you had the guts to venture in the woods you could even find a lake. Sometimes Hiccup liked to visit the forest on his own; when he was a child he went there in his mother's company to fight every kind of imaginary beasts.
He hadn't been there for a while, perhaps today was a good day to regain the habit.
Weather was quite merciful, besides (Berk was also known for its unpredictable and sometimes extremely cold climate), and weather was always a good sign. Yes, he would go to the forest, maybe even deep enough to visit the lake.
So Hiccup grabbed his backpack, put pencil, notebook and the "Eragon" book in it, stole a cookie or two or a whole pack from his father's secret supplies (a box hidden beneath his bed that literally read "Stoick's Secret Supplies", because being a famous fighter, Stoick felt a little ashamed of his addiction to sugar) and left his house ready to venture in the ancient forest.
He took a bus and got off at the city's borders to continue his journey on foot. He walked for about an hour before he fished the cookies out of his backpack and started munching them, and another hour later he finally found a nice spot where he could sit, relax and draw, having an astonishing view of the lake at the horizon.
.
Hiccup's mind surprised him most of the times, especially when drawing; sometimes he wouldn't be aware of what he did until it was finished. This was one of those times. When Hiccup awoke from his artist-trance he realized he'd drawn a dragon. But not any dragon, it was the silver dragon that usually hung from Toothless' neck.
"Why am I drawing this?" Hiccup questioned himself.
His thought couldn't go any further.
There was this huge column of smoke rising not far from where Hiccup stood. It had appeared so suddenly, as if someone had just set fire to a pair of threes. But that wasn't all. After the smoke came a frightened shriek, as if an animal was persecuted. Hiccup had no time to think that hunting was forbidden in those forests, because after that a threatening growling could be heard, followed by something Hiccup could swear sounded like panicked human screaming.
And then… a fireball, a blue fireball like a surrealistic explosion.
- Oh, gods… what's that? – Hiccup couldn't help his curiosity, and sooner than expected he was already running towards the place where the explosion came from.
Hiccup ran, faster by the step, ignoring the mud that made him slip or the branches that scratched his face. He'd never seen anything as weird in there, and he'd spent a lot of time in those woods.
It wasn't until Hiccup seriously tripped down and almost broke his ankle, that he realized something so important he should have noticed earlier: the forest was absolutely, abnormally quiet. No animal could be heard: no birds singing, no bugs buzzing, no reptiles sliding near the trees. Something had happened that scared all the animals away.
Something bad.
"Alright, Hiccup, time to listen to the rational part of yourself. This could be dangerous, and is a big stupidity to go on, so turn around and better start walking home, before it's late and dark". Recriminating himself for not thinking of that before, Hiccup backed away slowly, but then he noticed something else that was weird enough to catch his attention.
People. There were people not too far from him. Two or three persons, all of them wearing long orange gabardines and black, heavy military boots. They haven't seen him, so Hiccup hid behind a tree. In such a strange situation, no one could be trusted.
- It can't be far – said one of them, the tallest -. It must be hiding in the treetops.
- If it's true that's it. Maybe you confused it, maybe it's just a regular swedish- - -
- It's the Night Fury! It spat blue fire at us!
Only then Hiccup realized that these men in orange carried weapons: huge, highly destructive guns. He gulped incredibly nervous, trying to keep quiet.
- That's the last Night Fury and we'll kill it today. Am I clear?
- Yes, sir!
The men kept studying the trees above them, searching in the shadows to decipher the agile silhouette of a dragon hiding in them. Hiccup couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Could it be true? Could those men really be talking about dragons? He'd heard the name "Night Fury" before, in a bedtime story many, many years ago.
Unfortunately, as Hiccup attempted to follow the men's movements with his eyes, he forgot to watch after his own, and he stepped on a branch that broke with the noisiest "crack" ever. The men in orange discovered him in a second.
- Who's there? – they shouted.
But before they could shoot at Hiccup, something incredible happened. From the highest tree descended an amazing black figure that attacked the men with blue and explosive fire-bolts, black wings and sharp claws. The fight lasted no more than five minutes, in which the men tried to defend themselves with their giant weapons and the black beast mercilessly scratched and gnawed and burned. The men in orange died fast, but the tallest one managed to shoot before life drained from him… The weapon, however, didn't shoot bullet as expected, it shot some sort of electric shock, and this time the artificial lightning reached the dragon as it tried to fly away.
An agonic screech echoed through the entire forest as the dragon fell down, wounded.
Hiccup simply stood there, paralyzed amidst the trees, watching the black beast fall not far from him. His body moving automatically, Hiccup went to the clearing where the creature had collapsed.
It was a dragon. There, in front of him, lied a black dragon: a Night Fury.
.
.
Hiccup didn't know how much time he spent frozen at his spot, breathing heavily and wide-eyed. Thousands of thoughts flooded his mind, and none of them made more sense than the others. Hiccup had dreamed his entire life of dragons, but he'd never really expected to find one. And there it was.
The dragon seemed to be knocked out. Its scaled chest moved up and down slower by the second, there was blood dripping from his body. Only then Hiccup realized this dragon was seriously wounded, and if he didn't help it, it might die.
Gathering all his strength of will, Hiccup approached the downed dragon and studied his injuries. First he panicked, for he was no vet and had no idea of how to heal animal wounds, but he solaced himself reminding that he could be described in two words: geek and genius.
If someone knew how to help a dragon, that was a geek; if someone knew how to apply in real life the geek knowledge, that was a genius.
"I can do this – Hiccup thought -, I can save this dragon".
.
.
The pain had knocked him out, and it was deep enough to drag him into unconsciousness, but something had proven to be stronger enough to bring him back to his senses. He felt better now, that was for sure, though he didn't understand why. The injuries still hurt, but not as much as before, and there was something refreshing on his forehead.
There was something else, though, something… peculiar. It was the scent, yes, his nose could detect it clearly now: the scent… "I'd recognize that smell anywhere".
Slowly, he began to move his clawed fingers and his tail again.
He heard a gasp and opened his green eyes to find a scrawny brown-haired boy kneeling before him.
.
In the moment Hiccup saw the dragon waking up, he stopped his nursing mission at once. Maybe that dragon didn't like to be touched, maybe that dragon would attack him, maybe that dragon…
- Ok, maybe I fainted as well and I'm hallucinating or something – said Hiccup to the dragon -. Why are you staring at me like that instead of burning me down like you did with those men?
The dragon didn't say anything of course, he just kept watching Hiccup in an almost human way, with the most hypnotic and cutest expression ever.
- Are you gonna hurt me? – the boy prudently asked; strangely he didn't feel so afraid, but you can never be too cautious. The dragon shook his head in negation -. You understand what I say? – now Hiccup was utterly surprised.
The dragon shook his head to say yes. With that movement something slipped down the dragon's head. It was Hiccup's wet jacket, in which he emptied his bottle of water to use it to clean the dragon's wounds. The dragon looked at it mildly intrigued.
- I thought… you know… maybe if I refreshed you a little you'd wake up. Works with me all the time – Hiccup explained, not stopping to realize he was talking to a dragon -. My father used to knock me off very often, not on purpose of course. He's a fighter, you know? He tried to make me like him, but it didn't work out.
The dragon fixed his eyes on Hiccup more intensely than before.
- …But I guess you're not interested in that story – Hiccup laughed a bit nervous -. How you feeling dragon? What I did helped you?
The dragon looked back at his wings to check their state, as well as its tail's. When he was satisfied with it he tried to stand up. He couldn't do it for much, but at least he could support his own weight on all fours. Seeing that he was better than expected, the dragon looked at Hiccup once again and enthusiastically shook his head saying "yes".
Hiccup's lips drew a big smile then, as the dragon had never seen. A genuine smile.
- Are you… are you real? – Hiccup asked. The dragon seemed to feel offended by the question, so much it sneered, to Hiccup's surprise -. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to insult you or anything, is just that… This doesn't seem real. It's almost like a dream… Maybe you're the one dreaming and I am not real…
The dragon interrupted Hiccup's philosophical speech with a gesture that, if human, would look as a raised eyebrow and a "you-serious?" look.
Hiccup immediately shut up, a little embarrassed because even dragons considered he talked too much. He was beginning to feel nervous, and to prove it there came the hiccoughs.
The dragon seemed much more intrigued with Hiccup after that. Stretching its neck as much as it could the dragon tried to sniff Hiccup, pretty much to the boy's discomfort.
- What are you doing? – he asked, stepping back. The dragon growled at him, meaning "come here and let me smell you", though Hiccup didn't get the message.
Not understanding what was going on, the boy simply reacted raising his hands in a calming gesture. The dragon's eyes then opened wider, and he nodded wildly.
- What does that mean? – the dragon stared at Hiccup's eyes, upset for the unnecessary question, then fixed its sight on the human's hands - My hands? – and finally, Hiccup understood - You want me to touch you?
The dragon nodded once again, drawing a genuine puppy-expression.
- Oh, I get it… you want to prove me you're real?
One more time, the dragon nodded.
Feeling insecure and keeping his hiccups, Hiccup cautiously walked towards the dragon.
As if to show him there was no reason to fear and be nervous, the dragon sat quietly on the ground, like an oversized and tender cat.
Hiccup stretched out his hand to touch the dragon's muzzle, closing his eyes. Suddenly he felt the scaled head softly pressing against his fingers, as if the dragon had leaned forward. Hiccup opened his eyes after a while and realized the dragon had also closed his.
And then the dragon opened his eyes and met Hiccup's gaze. Those green eyes were so piercing, so unique… There was something intelligent and almost human in them… No, not human, it was beyond human. As their looks locked Hiccup could've sworn that sparks flew somewhere nearby, and a warm shiver shook him from head to toes…
He could've stayed there forever, truly.
.
.
That is, if his cell phone hadn't rang.
It was his father, incredibly furious because Hiccup wasn't home, and it was late and dark, and he hadn't even asked for permission or left a note. A part of Hiccup's mind knew he was in serious troubles, but the rest of him could do anything but feel terribly angry. He could think of no worse way to break such a trance.
He was establishing such a clear connection with this dragon… The moment had represented the meaning of "magic"… and his stupid father had to ruin it.
Of course Hiccup wasn't the only one affected. The dragon seemed upset as well.
- I must go now – the boy said to the dragon -. But I'll be back tomorrow, I promise. Wait for me here.
Distressed as he never thought he could be, the dragon watched Hiccup disappear into the forest. He tried to follow him, but was weak and obviously couldn't.
"I'll be waiting right here".
.
Hiccup didn't even remember how was it he made it home. He was sweaty, so maybe he'd run. He had this pain in his leg, so maybe he'd been hit by a bicycle… or a car. And he was freezing, so maybe he'd forgotten to put his jacket on… He didn't even register the furious screaming of his father, or the smack that came with it. He honestly didn't care. All he could think about was the black dragon… The Night Fury.
He dreamed of the majestic black beast that night, and as he woke up he did it with the firm determination of visiting him that day as well, and the next, and the day after that.
Hiccup barely paid attention at school; he didn't notice Fishlegs' funny way of speaking (his mouth hadn't fully recovered from the anesthesia), he didn't notice Astrid's futile attempts to be nice to him in public or Snotlout's mockery as Green Death commanded the rest of the football team to torment the nerds. He didn't notice, at least those first classes, that Dean Night had not attended school and for days was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as school was over, not caring if he had homework or not, Hiccup headed straight to the forest, carrying as many food and water as he could.
The Black Dragon waited for him in the exact place he'd left him the day before, bearing a tired and bored expression, which disappeared as soon as he saw Hiccup.
- I brought you something to eat – the boy said, proudly -. I'm not sure what you like so I just brought a bit of variety: beef, steak, pork, fish… Cooked everything myself.
The dragon didn't praise Hiccup's cooking, of course, but swallowed everything in the blink of an eye in a way that can be considered flattering. Later Hiccup discovered this dragon had a thing for fish, cooked or raw.
So, for the whole week, Hiccup visited the wounded dragon and healed him, and fed him and kept company to him. He showed the dragon some of his sketches, and started some amazing drawings of him (the dragon posed evidently flattered), and when the dragon felt tired Hiccup would sing or hum his favorite song for him to fall asleep.
It was a magical week, 'cause that's the only word Hiccup could think of to describe it.
.
.
.
.
Another note:¡Ta-rán~! Aren't you surprised? ^^
Squirrel warned there'd be dragons. Yes, this is almost a school-AU, but I'm not the kind of person who writes school-AUs, I have a thing for epicness, magic and complex plot lines. So here we are. I hope you liked the chapter and feel excited to know where this is going!
I'm still incredibly lovesick with Toothcup, they're my Top OTP at the time (they overturned Johnlock and SebasCiel respectively, how awesome is that?), so I'm working on a little drawing about them right now. Let's hope I don't kill any of the children I have to take care of in my summer job before I save enough money to buy my digital camera so I can show you. ^^
.
And now I want to personally thank:
19Yoshie27, nemo, sakurasapprentice7, somebody,
Miel110, HBluesHeart, Wilson, SmokeyStorm, LesserWraith,
Allie X 'I, Ethelred I. Echo, vampireacademygirls.
You keep this ship fueled and going!
.
.
You've already spent at least five minutes reading this...
Go on, you can use five extra seconds for a review. ^^