The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter 11

I called Phlegma that evening after dinner to check on Meatlug. She wasn't happy that Astrid and I had gone amongst the dragons all alone and unsupervised. Actually, that's putting it mildly. I had to hold the phone away from my ear she was yelling so loudly.

"But Phlegma, the dragons were perfectly calm," I said when she had finally begun to calm down. "That puffin is more dangerous than the dragons."

"A puffin does not breathe flames and have six-inch claws," Phlegma retorted, although I could tell from her voice that she was actually amused now and trying not to show it.

"But he has a six-inch sharp beak and he nearly snaps my fingers off every time I feed him," I told her. "He's torn three of my shirts ripping the sleeves."

"Hiccup, if you're trying to convince me that a puffin is more dangerous than a dragon, I think you're going to lose that argument," Phlegma said firmly.

I glanced over to where Toothless was stretched out on my rug, batting lazily at the little ball of wool I had found for him to play with. He grinned gummily at me. "She's right. We're very dangerous."

I rolled my eyes at him. Truth be told, Toothless had been pretty upset at first too, when I had told him about our tending to Meatlug. I had already had to listen to him lecture me about how not all dragons were as nice as he was. When I had pointed out that the Center dragons and I were familiar with each other and they had always seemed pretty friendly, he had simply huffed at me and gone to lie down on the rug.

"I'm sorry, Phlegma," I apologized. "It's just that Meatlug was hurt and we wanted to help her. How is she?"

Phlegma sighed. "She's fine. You and Astrid did a good job caring for her, and the cut should heal within a few days. But I want you kids to be careful and not risk hurting yourselves."

"We will," I assured her cheerfully. "Thanks, Phlegma. See you tomorrow."

Then I looked up Astrid's number on my phone and stared uncertainly at it for a long moment. Was I really brave enough to call Astrid Hofferson, the most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago—no, make that the whole world?

Apparently, I stared so intently at the phone that it got Toothless' attention. He pulled himself to his feet and stepped close to my bed to peer down at it too.

"What is it, Hiccup?"

"Oh, nothing, bud." I scratched under his chin. "I'm just trying to decide whether I should call Astrid."

"The most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago?"

I had to smile. "I've mentioned her then?"

"Only a few hundred times." Toothless stretched his neck out. "Hmm, that's nice. Keep scratching."

I obliged and Toothless hummed contentedly for a few minutes before flopping back down to the rug.

"Call her," He advised.

"You think I should?"

"She asked you to call, didn't she? She gave you her number, didn't she?" Toothless pointed out. "So call her."

"Well, when you put it like that…" I took a deep breath and hit the call button.

Astrid answered on the third ring. "Hiccup? Hi."

"Um, hi, Astrid. I was just calling about Meatlug, cause you said it was all right to call, and so I did," I stammered. Then I closed my eyes and scrunched my face up at how pathetic I sounded.

Toothless smacked the back of my head lightly with his tailfin and shook his head at me. "Relax."

I took a deep breath. "I just talked with Phlegma and she said Meatlug was fine."

"Oh, good. I was worried about her—Meatlug, that is," Astrid clarified. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Um, you're welcome."

There was an awkward pause while I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was blank.

Then Astrid asked, "So how was your afternoon?"

"Oh, it was good," I answered quickly before abruptly coming to a stop. I couldn't exactly elaborate on that. I was perfectly comfortable flying now and Toothless and I had spent the afternoon trying out some aerial acrobatics, doing some upside-down loops and spirals and sharp dives. It had been fantastic fun.

But I certainly couldn't tell Astrid about that. I couldn't even say something like that I had been hanging out with a friend, because Astrid knew that none of the kids on Berk were friends with me.

Then I thought of asking about her afternoon. "How was your tae kwon do class?"

"It was great!" Astrid exclaimed enthusiastically. "We had several sparring matches and I won all of mine."

"Congratulations," I told her. "You must be really good."

"Well, I've been studying it since I was little," Astrid replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging."

"No, you didn't. I think that's really great," I said.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Another awkward pause.

"Well, thanks for letting me know about Meatlug," Astrid finally spoke. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the Center."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Oh, by the way, Phlegma isn't exactly happy that we went into the dragon pen with no one there."

"I guess I can't blame her," Astrid said. "But the dragons really seemed pretty friendly, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did."

"Well, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." We hung up and I looked over at Toothless. "I guess that didn't go too badly, huh?"

Toothless tilted his head at me. "Why would it go badly? She asked you to call."

I shrugged and looked down. "I don't know, just…none of the kids around here like me so I'm not exactly used to having conversations with them, especially Astrid."

Toothless came back over to sit beside me. He reached over to nuzzle my hair. "How can they not like you? You're the nicest person in the world."

I hugged him. "Ah, thanks bud. I need you around all the time. You're good for my ego."

Toothless wasn't distracted. "Why do they not like you?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess because I'm just so different from them."

Toothless studied me carefully. "How different?"

"Well, I'm short and skinny and not any good at sports, at least the sports that people around here care about," I began. "And I don't go to school with them, so we don't really have much in common."

I shrugged. "Sly and the twins have always liked to say mean things and push me around, I don't really know why. I guess sometimes people just don't like anyone who's different."

Toothless licked my cheek. "They are stupid then. Don't worry about them, Hiccup. I love you."

I leaned my head against him. "I love you, too. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

As we sat there, with our heads together, a tendril of worry crept through my mind. Could Toothless and I really keep our friendship a secret indefinitely? How would we manage when winter came, when we could be snowed in for days at a time? It seemed almost inevitable that someone would find out eventually, and then what would happen?

But I knew one thing for sure. Toothless was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to me and I wasn't going to let him go. Whatever it took, somehow, I was going to make sure we stayed together.

H &T H & T H & T H & T H & T H & T

The other kids were already waiting in the Center parking lot when I coasted in on my bicycle the next morning. I tensed, prepared for the snide taunts, but Astrid waved to me.

"Hey Hiccup, didn't we go into the pen and bandage Meatlug's leg yesterday?"

"Um yea, we did." I leaned my bicycle against the dragon pen wall and eyed the other kids uncertainly.

Fishlegs looked awed. "And the dragons let you? Wow, that's amazing. Weren't you scared?"

"I was at first," Astrid said. "But Hiccup was cool as a cucumber. The dragons really seem to like him."

That was the perfect opening for Sly or the twins to make a rude comment, but they just stared at me as if I had suddenly grown two heads, looking almost impressed.

It was so unprecedented that I had no idea how to respond, or what would have happened next, but the moment was broken by Sven and Phlegma arriving in their white pick-up truck. We all moved out of the way as they parked and climbed out.

Sven nodded to us. "Morning, kids. Let's get to work."

At the same time, Phlegma said firmly, "Astrid, I need to speak with you for a minute."

Astrid caught my eye and actually winked, but then she looked appropriately solemn as Phlegma warned her about the dangers of going into the dragon enclosure.

I did notice, though, that she didn't promise not to do it again.

The morning passed quickly as we did our various chores, and in fact, Sven and Phlegma let us all watch—from the outside of the pen—as they checked Meatlug's leg and re-bandaged it. Meatlug and the other dragons looked back at us, and crazy as it seemed, I thought that they would have liked for us to come down there with them. But of course, there was no way we could do that with Sven and Phlegma there.

Several more days passed. Things were definitely better with the other kids. I still wasn't really included, but Astrid always greeted me in the mornings and said good-bye when we left, and sometimes Fishlegs did too. Sly and the twins had left off bullying me, though they mostly ignored me.

But one afternoon, when I thought the others had left already, I went over to the dragon pen and watched them for a minute. Meatlug and the Zippleback were stretched out in the sun, dozing, while the Nadder polished her scales, and the Nightmare lurked in the shadows. But when they noticed me, they all came over to the wall and chirped and warbled at me.

I grinned. "Hey guys. I can't come down there now. Sven and Phlegma would have a fit if they saw me. But maybe one day, when they're not around…."

As I turned away, I saw that Ruffnut was still there, standing nearby. Our eyes met and then she grinned at me and just walked away down the lane after the others.

I told Toothless about it a short time later when we were getting ready to fly. "I don't know, bud. When twins grin at you, it usually means…."

We were stepping out of the old stable where Toothless hid when I stopped, both walking and talking, so abruptly that Toothless bumped into me.

"Hey," he grumbled. "What is it?"

At the same time another voice was speaking. "Hiccup? There you are, I was wondering…"

Astrid! Astrid Hofferson was standing there, right on the pebbled path outside the stables. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew as big as saucers as she saw Toothless with me.

We all stood there, staring at each other in shock for a moment.

But then I realized that I needed to take control of the situation before Astrid could run off and tell anyone about Toothless. I wasn't sure if she would do that, of course, but the way she was gazing bug-eyed at him, I didn't know what she might do.

"Hm, hi Astrid. This is Toothless. Toothless, Astrid," I introduced them with a wave of my hand.

"The most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago?" Toothless inquired. "Hi, Astrid."

I could have smacked him, both for speaking in front of her and for what he said. But Astrid seemed to be so shocked that she wasn't registering exactly what Toothless had told her.

"That's a dragon," She finally managed to say.

I nodded. "Yes."

Astrid swallowed hard. "And he's talking."

Toothless nodded. "Yes."

Astrid blinked and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess that explains why you're good with the dragons."

She shook her head and looked at me. "Hiccup Vastley, how the heck do you have a dragon?"

"Well, I don't own him or anything. Toothless is like a person," I explained. "He's my friend."

Toothless nuzzled my cheek and I had to smile. "My best friend."

"I was hurt and Hiccup saved me," Toothless told her.

Suddenly I glanced around, realizing that we were all just standing out in the open. "Hey, we need to get out of sight. No one else knows about Toothless. Let's go back in the stable and we'll tell you the story."

So we went back inside and sat down on the blankets I had spread in the stall for Toothless, and he and I told Astrid about how we had met and become friends. She listened intently and when we had finished, she shook her head again, looking impressed.

"Wow, that's so incredible," She beamed at us. "I never imagined dragons were like people. Hey, do you think the dragons at the Center can talk too?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I've wondered, but it's hard to be alone with them with everyone there in the mornings. I've never heard them speak, but it does seem like they understand us."

Astrid looked over at Toothless. "Can other dragons talk, Toothless?"

"All dragons can speak Dragonese," he answered. "But I have not heard any other dragon speak human languages."

He tilted his head. "But I do not know many dragons. I was an orphan hatchling, raised by humans at a place like your Center. I was only around humans when I was small, especially one nice lady. She spoke to me all the time, and I learned human language from her. When I was bigger, she introduced me to a few other dragons, so I could learn to be like them. Dragonese was actually difficult for me at first, but a Stormcutter helped me a lot and I finally learned it too."

"Cloudjumper—the Stormcutter-and the other dragons there understood the people, but they did not speak in human language," Toothless paused, considering. "I don't know if they were unable to, or if they just chose not to. They did caution me not to speak with humans, that not all humans were nice like at our place, and that it could be dangerous to let humans know how intelligent we are."

He grinned gummily. "But when I met Hiccup, I knew he was safe so I tried speaking to him."

He licked my face and hair enthusiastically and I had to laugh. "Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out!"

Astrid laughed too. "Toothless, you're amazing."

"Thank you," Toothless turned to me. "You're right, Hiccup. She is…"

"Hey," I interrupted quickly before he could finish whatever he was planning to say. "Astrid, you've got to promise not to tell anyone about Toothless. Please! It's our secret, okay?"

Astrid nodded. "Okay. I won't tell. But don't you think someone else will find out eventually?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I guess I need to try to think of a way to tell my dad, but I'm just afraid that he'll over-react and not give Toothless a chance. You know, after losing my mom to dragons, I'm not sure how he'll take this."

Actually, that wasn't true. I was pretty sure that Dad would take the news badly. But maybe I did need to try to come up with some idea for talking with him about Toothless. If Dad happened to find out on his own, it would be even worse. And apparently, I couldn't trust that no one would ever happen to come upon us. After all, Astrid just had.

And why? I frowned, trying to think of a way to ask her without being rude. But I was suddenly very curious about why in the world she had been searching for me back here by the stables. In my whole life, none of the other kids had ever voluntarily come over to my house. Even Sly only came when his parents brought him.

I looked up to see that Astrid also looked torn, like she was wanting to ask me something but didn't know how.

She spoke first. "I'm sorry about your mom. How did you lose her to dragons? Oh, I'm sorry—I guess I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's all right. She's alive and well," I explained. "I just meant that she left us to go work on a dragon preserve in the US."

"Oh, well…." Astrid trailed off uncertainly.

"Um, Astrid, I don't mean to be rude, but…?" I finally asked.

"Why am I here?" She finished. "Oh, I overheard Sven and Phlegma say that they've scheduled an operation on a sheep tomorrow afternoon, so they won't be at the Center then. I thought maybe we could hang out with the dragons again, if you wanted to."

I stared. "You want to hang out with the dragons again?"

She nodded. "Yes, especially now. I really like Meatlug and there's something about that Nadder, too. I'd like to spend more time with her."

Toothless frowned. "I'm coming too."

"Toothless, we don't want anyone to see you," I began.

But Toothless was firm. "Sven and Phlegma will not be there. Just you and Astrid and the dragons. I'm going too, to make sure you're safe. There's no more chance of anyone seeing me than when we fly."

I had mentioned flying to Astrid when Toothless and I were telling her our story, but now she focused on it.

"You really do fly with Toothless?" She asked me, her eyes getting all wide again.

"Yes, and it's the most amazing thing!" I couldn't help but light up at the thought of flying. "It's better than the biggest, most exciting roller coaster you've ever been on, but I know Toothless will keep me safe, so it's just the most fun thing ever."

Astrid bit her lip. I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to fly but was afraid to ask.

I looked over at Toothless. He looked at me and nodded.

I patted his neck in thanks, and asked Astrid, "Would you like to go flying with us?"

Astrid caught her breath. "Could I? Is it all right with you, Toothless?"

"Of course," Toothless agreed cheerfully.

"Then yes, I'd love to."

I peeked out the stable door to make sure that no one else was around, and we crept outside. A minute later Astrid and I were seated on Toothless, with Astrid sitting behind me.

"Um, I guess you need to put your arms, um…" I began.

"Like this?" Astrid wrapped her arms around my waist tightly. Part of me wondered if this was some wonderful dream and I was going to wake up in a minute.

"Um, yea. That's good." I managed to say.

But then Toothless took off and the sheer excitement and joy of flying drove any other thought from my mind. Astrid hung on to me even more tightly if that were possible, and I worried that she might be scared, especially when she shrieked in my ear. But then I realized that she was actually delighted.

"You're right, Hiccup! This is the best thing ever!"

We flew all around Berk—high in the sky so people wouldn't notice us—and then out over the ocean. Toothless took us through the maze of seastacks, though he flew more slowly since he was carrying the two of us, but Astrid was still thrilled with it. We dove and spun and finally climbed high enough to touch the clouds—literally. Astrid let go of me long enough to reach up and brush her fingertips through the mist.

We glided peacefully through the air for some time and then, just as Toothless was turning to head back home, he paused.

"Hiccup, look below," he hissed, his voice low even though we were far above the ocean.

I looked down and spotted a dark blue speedboat cruising through the waters below us.

"What is it?" Astrid whispered.

"See that boat?" I whispered back. "We're not sure, but they're sort of suspicious. Toothless and I think they may be the dragon poachers."

"Well, let's follow them," she suggested.

I looked down at Toothless questioningly. He nodded sharply.

I took a deep breath. "All right, but stay back and be careful."

Toothless nodded again and slowed his speed so that we were trailing behind the boat at a distance.

I took another deep breath and prayed that this wasn't a big mistake.

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to everyone who is reading, and especially to those who review! I really appreciate it. Thanks again to CHSHiccstrid for all your great reviews!

Everyone, please be careful and stay safe during these difficult times!