As I wandered around the edge of the island, I wondered if I had possibly made a mistake. Now away from the other teen and his dragon, my brain started to put everything that had happened through an actual, somewhat rational, thought process. Hiccup seemed upset by what his father had said, even going so far as to chase after me. He tried to talk to me. He tried to explain.

But I couldn't believe him. I couldn't afford to.

I heaved a sigh as I looked around. I was standing on a rocky beach, the ocean's waves gently lapping at the shore. I bent down and plucked a few stones. Turning to the ocean, I began tossing the stones underhand. Most of them plunked and immediately started sinking, never to be seen again. One or two managed to bounce off the surface a few times, but they never went more than a dozen feet or so.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered after throwing the last one in my hands. The sun had sunk into the ocean, though its light still bathed the sky in a light pinkish orange.

If I was expecting an answer, I didn't get one. I picked up another stone off the ground, hefting it and looking it over. I felt my heart clench, only to flare in anger a second later.

"It's not FAIR!" I spun around, launching the rock towards the trees. A solid *thunk* signified that I hit a tree. What I wasn't expecting was the sharp roar that followed. My eyes snapped up and I froze. I thought it was Toothless at first, but when it stepped into an opening in the brush, I realized it was a completely different dragon.

It was rubbing head with a paw.

"…To whatever gods are watching. Screw. You." I muttered as I backed up with wide eyes. I stopped when I heard a splash. My foot got cold.

His pupils shrank to slits. I knew that look anywhere.

The dragon shook its head.

There was no way I could get away, not from a hunting Night Fury.

The dragon looked around before laying eyes on me.

He moved closer, his spine curling up in a show of aggression.

It tilted its head, observing me.

His back had to reach past my head.

My heart felt like it skipped every other beat even as it picked up pace.

He only appeared to grow more animalistic.

There wasn't going to be any saving me. There wasn't going to be a warm dragon curled around me, staving off the cold.

The dragon took a step closer, its wide, blue eyes blinking. I looked over my shoulder. Would drowning/freezing be better than being mauled?

Probably not…

I began to back down the beach, holding my hands in front of me as the dragon stepped out of the brush.

Was it getting darker? I glanced around, only to see a storm front casting itself over the sky like an evil blanket. The dragon approached where I had originally been standing, even as I tried to put some distance between us. I wasn't going to turn my back though. It sniffed the air and then the rocks before looking at me. The world was losing color as the sun continued to retract its gift of light.

A single glance between the dragon and the trees was all it took before I was off like a shot. The dragon let out a cry before the sound of rocks shifting signified it was giving chase. I felt solid dirt beneath my feet, giving me more traction. I could barely see amongst the branches and brush, leaving me to scramble like a blind child. The dragon was much larger than me but could probably see better. It let out a cry and I threw myself to the side. It slammed face first into a tree, shaking the forest.

I scrambled to my feet and ran again, only to repeat the dragons actions. I fell back, holding my nose as I cried out in pain. A curious croon made me flail, realizing how close the beast was. I crawled back as the dragon came within a few feet. Its charcoal coloring was just another shadow among the forest.

"B-back!" I shouted, making it jump. I tried to run around the tree, but my foot caught on a root. I hit the ground hard.

The dam finally broke. I slammed my fist into the dirt as I cursed everything under the sun, and then the sun itself. What had I done to deserve such a cruel fate? Was just being born enough to justify the things that had happened to me? Tears soaked the dirt as my diaphragm spasmed.

Death never greeted me. But I couldn't find myself to care.

I couldn't guess how long I laid there, my hands stained with dirt and my face streaked with tears. They slowly ran dry, though my lower lip still trembled as I sucked in each hollow breath. My clenched my fists as much as my tired body would allow, before pushing myself onto my side, cringing in expectation.

Nothing.

The forest was empty. Devoid of life. There were no fangs sinking into my side to shake me like a doll. There were no claws to spill my guts onto the forest floor. I wheezed a few more times before it sunk in. I wasn't even worth killing. My heart tore, strand by strand, each piece falling to the floor in a tear.

There was no sobbing, there was no cries of outrage and frustration. There was just agony.

««{{¤}}»»

I slowly woke to the sounds of birds chirping. I didn't make a sound as I sat up, looking around. It shouldn't have felt peaceful. It shouldn't have been as light as it was. But I felt…okay. I heaved a shaky sigh, surprised I didn't freeze to death overnight.

I stood up and looked around more, looking for any threats. I could hear the occasional dragon call far in the distance, but there was nothing to worry about nearby. My next line of thinking led me to how I was going to get off this island.

"I'm going to have to build a boat. Great." I wasn't lying when I told Hiccup I had a fear of boats. A dragon flock had attacked my little sailboat near the island I had been hiding on. It was the only reason I was still there when Hiccup arrived.

"I can't tell if that was a curse or not," I muttered as I set off towards the beach. I kept an eye out for fallen trees. Even if I could only carve out the husk, if it was solid enough, I could get off this island. I reached for my waist, only to freeze. Right. The knife I always carried was gone. I had lost it in the first week on the island to some tiny dragon.

"Vermin!" I hissed as I stomped out of the forest. Nothing was going right for me. I was alive, sure, but that would only last for so long. I would need food, water and shelter. I stopped about twenty feet from the water. How would I even gather enough food to survive on the ocean? I frowned in thought. I didn't have the knowledge to survive out there. I didn't even have a way to catch fish.

I turned away from the ocean, looking back to the forest. That dragon must hunt in the area. If it nested nearby, it probably would have been more defensive. That dragon confused me. Other than Toothless, any dragon I came across met me with a feral ferocity. So why did this one not do the same? Unless it was a tamed dragon. That thought made me scan the area again.

No dragons, no humans. Good. I decided to move further down the beach, just in case. Having something to defend myself was better than nothing, so I grabbed a handful of rocks.

The next two days were uneventful, really. I managed to get a small shelter set up, probably a quarter of the way around the island from where the dragon had been. I had no doubt its territory covered the area, but I did my best to hide my shelter between two fallen trees, out of sight.

The second night soon came, and I found myself curled up under a reinforced pile of branches and leaves. It was better than open air, but it was still cold. A fire would have been welcomed, but I didn't know how to make one. I pressed my back against one of the tree trunks, hoping to cut down on the chill.

My eyes snapped open when I heard rustling nearby. I waited to hear how close it was. There it was again. Too close for comfort. I slowly grabbed a rock in each hand and pushed myself into a sitting position. The rustling continued to move around until it was near the opening only a couple feet from me. I raised my arms, ready to bring the rocks down, when the dragon from before stepped into the small clearing. I froze. It came back.

It sniffed the area, pausing at the scattered branches, before raising its head. I assumed it was looking around, but it wouldn't be able to see me from that angle; I was covered enough that it didn't see me. Yet. It sniffed around a bit before stopping. It was thinking.

'I hate it when they can do that…It means more intelligent ways to kill me,' I grimaced. Out of every action I expected it to take, it blew me away when the dragon sat down. Then it slid down and curled into a ball, facing away from me. I could only gawk at it, barely stopping a scoff of indignation. It had the spine to lay in a camp where it could clearly smell me!

'Why would it do that? Does it think it can catch me by surprise?' Well, I was about to give it a reason why that was a bad idea. I leaned forward as far as I dared and silently tossed a rock into the brush. The sound made the dragon startle and look in the direction with rapt attention. It deflated after nothing happened and went to curl up again.

I threw another rock, being sure to throw it in a different direction. The dragon jumped again, though it sat up this time, looking in the direction of the noise. It even leaned forward as if to better see in the dark.

It stayed still as a statue for about two minutes. The entire time I was expecting it to whirl around and blast me apart with its fire breath. It snorted lightly before curling up again. I was befuddle, confused, and outright lost. Why was this beast acting this way? It didn't make a lick of sense to me. Not that I knew dragon behavior aside from, you know, fire and killing.

I got frustrated(read stupid) and threw the next rock right over its head. It shot up, its feet spread wide as it let out a snarl. I felt my blood curl and my spine stiffen at the primal sound. It took a few steps forward and bent down to sniff something.

I hadn't thrown the rock far enough.

The dragon turned around, eyeing the area carefully.

'Too intelligent.' Was my only thought as I used every fiber of will power not to move. The dragon tilted its head and stepped closer to my hiding place. It sniffed the branches over a few times, even coming so close that I could feel the rush of warm air as it exhaled. It looked down, through the branches. Our eyes locked. My lungs stopped accepting air, my heart stopped and my blood froze. We stared. It blinked. I flinched. We continued staring as I gritted my teeth, trying to not react further.

Then it turned around and curled up again, right at the entrance of my shelter. Its back was only two feet from me. My brain malfunctioned. Dragons attack on sight. The wild beasts kill anything that moves. But I was still intact. I was still alive. It didn't even really acknowledge me. But it had to have seen me, we locked eyes. But why did it just leave me alone?

It had trapped me. If I tried to leave, I'd brush up against it before I got out. If I tried moving the branches behind me, it would hear. I couldn't do anything except watch it. So I did. That's when I noticed that it had a fur coat. I pulled back a little, weirded out by that. Every dragon I had seen only had scales or hide. This creature was getting stranger by the minute.

It was a long night of staring at the furred form. I had to admit, with its furry body blocking the entrance, it helped keep my little hovel warmer. Not that I would admit it, but it felt nice to not shiver. The only movement from the dragon was its breathing, and the occasional shift. I felt myself fading as the sun slowly began to light the world once more. My eyes drifted closed and I snapped awake, almost sucking in a panicked breath. The dragon hadn't moved.

Then the furry creature took a deep breath and stretched out with a small roar. It looked around, seemingly confused, before looking over its back, right at me. Its blue eyes widened a little and it spun around. I jerked back as it drew closer, its nose just under the cover of branches. I lashed out with my foot.

"Get away!" It was far enough away that only the toe of my shoe hit it, but the dragon still jumped, knocking into the branches and making them collapse. Right on top of me. I let out a cry of frustration as I scrambled to get out. I broke free, only to stumble and roll forward over a random branch. The landing knocked the wind out of me and I gasped for air as I stared up at the beast. It tilted its head, blinking a few times.

I sucked in a breath and let out a cry as I lunged upwards, hoping to startle it. It leaped back, staring at me with wide eyes. I nearly fell again as I moved away, gasping for air. We locked eyes again, and neither of us moved.

Now that the sun was out, I could better see it. The charcoal gray fur wasn't a trick of the light the other day. The blue eyes seemed brighter than before. The dragon was also a little bigger than Toothless. Its main wing joints both had a single claw protruding from it.

It lifted a foot, pausing to see my reaction. I took a step back, holding my hands in front of me. It slowly stretched the leg out, finishing the motion. I took another step back, and the dragon lowered its head, its eyes displaying disappointment.

"Just leave me alone," I stammered. It perked up a little at my voice, the fur in the same place as Toothless' ear fins raised up. It took a step with its back foot, then raised its other front leg. "No, stop," I said a little louder, taking another step as well. Its eyes went to my right hand, which was stretched out more than my left, and it stopped. It noticed me shaking. It slowly put its foot down where it had been, before gradually sitting down. Its eyes didn't leave me for a moment. My confusion grew as I took another step back. It leaned forward with the action, as if it wanted to follow me.

"N-no, stay." I was a little firmer this time. Maybe it was a trained dragon that was just wandering around. It was intelligent, no doubt about that, but I couldn't have known either way. I couldn't stay. I couldn't risk it getting closer. I continued backing away, each step made it lean just a little closer, with its right foot lifting with each twitch.

I stepped behind a tree and booked it. I heard a cry but didn't hear the brush being torn apart as it chased me. I continued to run until I had to stop, gasping for air as I leaned against another tree. Sweat dripped from my hair and forehead before I wiped it off with my sleeve.

"I, really, hate dragons." I grimaced as I looked at the sky through the trees. Then I heard flapping and my shoulders slumped. "Oh you've got to be kidding me…" Landing in a clearing only a stone's toss away was the furry Fury. It sniffed the ground, but luckily that was the direction I had originally bene going. My scent wasn't over there.

'Why is this thing so obsessed with me?!' I mentally screamed. While the fear of it killing me was still there, it was starting to be matched by the frustration of this thing toying with me. I quietly backed up so I was behind a tree. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see the path I had made. If I could backtrack, then I could split off somewhere down the path and confuse it. I took it as slow as possible, but the dragon sniffed the air and began walking in my direction.

I spun around and dashed into the trees once more. The dragon followed without hesitation. I ducked under low branches and jumped back over dips in the ground. I glanced back to see the dragon gaining, but just barely in sight. I threw every drop of energy I had into moving faster, and when I found a ticket of trees, I dove behind them. I landed with a withheld grunt and froze, breathing through my nose. I wanted to pant, but I forced myself to breath slowly. I squeezed my eyes shut as the dragon thundered past, nearly shaking the ground. The crashing faded into the distance and I gasped for air, rolling over.

It was standing over me. I let out a shrill scream as I kicked and punched, but a single paw landed on my stomach, knocking the small amount of wind out of my lungs. The dragon slumped down, its chest on my legs and its paws on my arms. My screaming devolved into sobbing when I realized I was trapped. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. All I could see was Toothless in my nightmare, the fangs, the pupils as sharp as grass blades, the corded muscles coiled like a spring.

The dragon nudge my chin with its nose, but I jerked my head to my right. It let out a croon. A shaky whine was all it got in response. A few seconds later the weight vanished. I thought maybe it was rearing back to blow me apart with fire, but it didn't happen.

I slowly opened my left eye, flinching when I saw it sitting at my feet. It was watching me intently. I pushed myself away from it with my arms, still waiting for it to go for the kill.

It never did.

It simply watched, the eyes blinking occasionally. My breathing gradually returned to a less spastic pace, though my heart was still trying to tie itself into knots. I was pretty sure I was getting dizzy from dehydration with the amount of sweat that had been pouring off my body for the past few minutes.

After a few minutes, the dragon stretched its head forward by a hair, as if encouraging me to do something. Well, I flinched, as I had nearly every time it had moved. It sniffed, as if offended, and stood up. From my prone position, it only made it seem that much bigger. I cowered as it stepped over my body again. It reached down and nosed my shoulder, making me pull away from the contact.

"P-please, just do it. I'm too tired. I give up." I closed my eyes again, my face twisting up in grief over a life I never had. The nose pressed into my shoulder, but this time stayed for a few seconds. The dragon shuffled around before I felt something press against my left side. I looked to see it laying down next to me. It grabbed me with its left arm and leg and pulled me closer to it. I squirmed at first, but when it didn't let go, I went limp. It was true, I was too tired to go on. I simply didn't have the strength. I had been fighting my entire life, and it was this fuzzy dragon that had finally broken me.

As it tucked me close to its chest, I found my head resting on its right forearm. The fur did feel soft and warm against my cheek. I would say the embrace reminded me of a mother's hug, but I had no idea what that felt like. The dragon pressed the bottom of its jaw against the back of my head. The purr that came from it traveled through my entire body, sending a shiver down my spine. I wasn't used to contact that wasn't harmful but the dragon refused to loosen its, admittedly, gentle grip. Its gray wing slowly spread over us, draping like a blanket.

"…Why are you doing this?" I whispered, the pain made it hard to speak. It gently nosed the top of my hair as it crooned again, though it matched my volume. I curled my legs up to my chest as I hid my face in its leg.

"I can't live like this. Please, don't make me live like this." I continued to weakly plead with the dragon until I drove myself unconscious. It laid there, listening to my breathing, until it was sure I was asleep. Then it took the opportunity to rest.