Here's chapter eleven. Its a shorter chapter than normal but we deal with some seriously emotional stuff here.

The sun is setting when Toothless and I return to the canyon and unfuse from the Shade Fury, or rather, Tannski. The good news is that my father is okay and will probably be back home in a week or two. The bad news is I've personally enraged the Queen of the dragons, who is probably sending raiding parties to other villages in hopes of finding me. Great, the next raid on Berk is going to be all my fault.

But my mental breakdown is nothing compared to the crisis Toothless is going through. "I can't believe we just did that. Hiccup, why did we do that?!"

"Why did we deny the Queen? Well, for one, she wanted to eat me. The reincarnation thing may be mostly about gems being thrown into volcanoes but I don't think any two-legs would ever come back as a dragon, no matter how many memory stones he had. I'm pretty sure she warped that particular religion to suit her needs. Lastly, she doesn't have to consume so much food. If she's a fusion, she can unfuse to eat. I mean, that's what we do."

Toothless keeps trying to defend her, not that I blame him. She raised him, groomed him to be loyal and always by her side. In all but blood she has been his mother. "Maybe this is just one big misunderstanding. Yeah, if we just go talk to her we can-"

"No!" I quickly sit up, the wind hitting my bare back, and grab the sides of Toothless's head. "Toothless, she's ordered a death sentence on me. I've been labeled 'kill on sight.' It's not like we can just waltz back into the nest and expect her to hear us out."

Toothless's fearful expression slowly turns to one of anger and he starts growling. "Of course, you can't return there, and I can't go anywhere without you thanks to this!" The angry dragon slaps me with his injured tail. I fall right into the pond, soaking my kilt. The water is freezing and I bite back a yelp of shock, not wanting to further annoy the fearsome Night Fury. Toothless follows this by shooting several plasma blasts at the canyon walls, though none are aimed in my direction. After using up most of his remaining soul-fire, he falls to the ground, exhausted. "What have I done?"

Seeing the anger is mostly cinders now, I stand up, wringing most of the water from my kilt, and sit at Toothless's side. He's too busy sulking to notice me. "I've found that complaining helps in most situations. Care to tell me who, where, and what went wrong?"

The Night Fury looks me in the eye. "Where do I even start?"

I rub his ear plate. "How about the beginning? Or whatever bugs you the most."

It takes him a moment to find the start. "So it starts when you shot me down. That was one of the single most painful and humiliating moments in my life. A puny little two-legs big-horns might be able to defeat a Monstrous Nightmare or a Hideous Zippleback, but never a Night Fury. At least, that's what the Queen always told me. Then you spare me and the world is no longer us and them. Then we fuse, something that should not be possible! Things start to get better when I slowly start to see you as an exception to the rule. All other two-legs big-horns remained evil, but you were different. But when I take you to the nest (where you would be appreciated) the Queen, the one who raised me as her son, turns out to be the bad guy who might be the sole reason for this stupid war's existence! Then add salt to the wound when the Vikings, including one Stoick the Vast, renowned dragon slayer, is willing to hear us out when the Queen wouldn't even give us the time of day!" Toothless takes a moment to breathe, despite the fact he isusing the dragon thought-speech. "And the worst part is, even after all those years in the nest, I was too much of a coward to confront her."

That last bit catches me off-guard. "You, cowardly? Sorry but I don't see it."

He looks at me. "Whenever I've killed something, its always been at a distance. But with you, well, it was the first time I could look into my victim's eyes and see the fear and acceptance of death. I kept telling myself I was simply returning the favor, but now I see that I was just too afraid to kill you. Even now, I don't want to confront the Queen. I want to smooth things over with her. I can see she's the bad guy in this scenario, but I keep making excuses for her!" Toothless turns his head to look at me. "In the nest, when she heard my name was Toothless, she thought it was fitting, not because of some physical traits unique to my breed, but because she knows I've been the cowardly sort all my life!" He puts his paws over his head, covering his eyes. "You both were right. I am just a Toothless reptile." This last bit comes out as a sob. Tears, actual tears are leaking from under his paw-covered eyes.

I'm struck speechless by Toothless's confession. Toothless, the Night Fury. The same dragon who spared the enemy who personally crippled him. Who not only stood up to the Queen, but stood up for said useless Viking who crippled him.

Except, I'm not seen as useless by him. To Toothless, I'm a force to be reckoned with. One that all dragons should fear, and now, thanks to the Queen, I'm the ultimate prize. Just like Toothless is for Vikings all over the archipelago.

The fearsome two-legs sharp-eyes, who finds your every weakness and exploits it, a useless Viking.

The mighty Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, a cowardly dragon.

Laughter bubbles up from my gut, so much so that Toothless stops crying into his paws and looks at me. 'Why are you laughing hysterically? Is my shame amusing?'

Still giggling, I offer my train of thought. "I'm laughing at the irony bud." I gesture to us both. "We're both ridiculed by our fellows and acknowledged by our enemies. The worst of both worlds, if you will. The useless Viking and the cowardly dragon. What a pair we make!" My laughter dies down at the end, but Toothless just stares at me, waiting to see if I've finished my mad tangent.

When he's sure I'm done, he repositions himself so he's looking directly at me. "Hiccup, you're in no way useless-"

"Exactly!" I interrupt him. "Toothless, when I entered the canyon for the first time all those weeks ago, you, a starving dragon, didn't simply attack me and take the fish, you gave me a chance to get to know you. You, as gross as it was, offered food in return even though you'd been going hungry. When I offered my trust, you did the brave thing and opened yourself up to being hurt. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of the bravest individuals, human or dragon, I've ever met!" I remember the song I was working on for Toothless. "In fact, there's something I've been working on. I hope you like it."

I find a boulder to sit on, clear my throat and mind, and begin by projecting a few harmonizing notes from my memory stone, followed by a sort of rippling key. Then I began to sing.

"You fascinated me,

Cloaked in shadows and secrecy,

The beauty of a broken angel."

A pause. I make sure to project various notes to emphasize points in the lyrics. I also project flashes from when I first found Toothless in the canyon.

"I ventured carefully,

Afraid of what you thought I'd be,

But pretty soon I was entangled."

"You take me by the hand,

I question who I am."

Flashes of the moment before we first formed Tannski race across the intensifying tone. Which is followed by more intense reverberations.

"Teach me how to fight,

I'll show you how to win,

You're my mortal flaw,

And I'm your fatal sin,

Let me feel the sting,

The pain,

The burn,

Under my skin"

Next, I show off scenes of our first flight together. How we managed to maneuver through the sea stacks and our first time going incorporeal.

"Put me to the test,

I'll prove that I'm strong,

Won't let myself believe,

That what we feel is wrong,

I finally see what,

You knew was inside me,

All along."

The last scene I flashback to is the moment we spare and acknowledge one another as forces to be reckoned with.

"That behind this soft exterior,

Lies a warrior."

I pause, the background music and flashbacks I've been projecting no longer there. "That's all I've got so far, I wanted to finish the song before singing it to you, but I thought it best you hear what I have so far." I rub the back of my head. "I hope the music that comes with it was heard properly. I haven't tried anything like that before." I stare into his eyes. "So, what do you think?"

Toothless just stares at me for a full minute in frozen shock. I'd told him about songs before but those were from transferred memories. This was the first song he's heard in person, and delivered in such a manner, it must be quite offbeat. (No pun intended.) Eventually, he gets up and embraces me with wings and forelimbs. "That was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. I'm looking forward to the finished product." He decides to show his gratitude by licking my face. (Though not with copious amounts of saliva, thank goodness.)

"Really? You know that doesn't wash out!" I rub what little saliva there is off my face onto the grass.

Unfortunately, Toothless is not deterred. "Shut up and let me show you my gratitude." This continues for several minutes. (Thankfully, he isn't actively drooling on me this time.)

When Toothless is finally done showering me with gratitude, (and saliva) he wraps me up with his wings. But there is something I can't get out of my head. "Toothless, earlier you called me 'partner of life.' I appreciate it, but why?"

He looks down at me. "We may have only known each other for the span of a moon, but I've never felt closer to anyone like I am to you, and not just because you're the only one I've fused with." Toothless pulls me closer to him. 'You're the only one that understands me for who I am. You're not just my friend, you're the pillar that holds me up.' Toothless rolls onto his back so we face the sky. It's a crescent moon tonight. 'Plus, it's not one-sided, Hiccup. I know you've come to see me in a very similar manner, and I'm honored to be the pillar that holds you up.'

There are no words in Norse for how I feel. So I simply project my emotions to Toothless. 'Infinite gratitude. I feel blessed.'

Toothless simply purrs and goes to sleep. I follow suit shortly after, the moon and stars shining down on us.

And that's chapter eleven with Toothless's mental breakdown.

To those curious, the song Hiccup sang to toothless is Warrior by Beth Crowley.

Midnott: That's basically it. I honestly don't remember what it was I wrote.

7sky: I would Imagine Stoick accepting dragons would be difficult right off the bat. but people do crazy things when desprate.

Soulinvoker: Hope you like this one too.

In the next chapter Stoick returns to Berk.