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Chapter 10: Truly Toothless
(Toothless)
The stars suddenly vanished from the night, and, beyond a wall of heavy rain, everything was dark, the sea and clouds merged together in unified blackness, but for the bolts of light piercing the sky, like gargantuan white teeth biting the world whole. The storm was all around them, and Toothless had no choice but to let the winds lead them inside that immense mouth of churning air, water, and fire.
"You know, Toothless? I think the gods really do hate me," Hiccup yelled against the winds. "I mean, not only do they never answer my calls, but now it appears they're actively trying to kill me too!"
Toothless glanced back at his rider, but otherwise said nothing. He still was not sure what Hiccup meant by the human word 'gods'.
Hiccup crouched lower on the saddle, and Toothless braced himself, before entering the storm. They both squinted when heavy raindrops started to viciously gnaw at their faces.
Hiccup had become so adept at handling the prosthetic fin that the turbulent winds did not hinder their flight. Lightning, however, was a different matter. Not even a Night Fury could dodge the sky's white flame. Toothless lowered his altitude, hoping to avoid being hit. Dragons seldom took to the skies during storms. It was too great a risk. Alas, it was too late for them now.
"Please tell me you see some land, bud!" Hiccup shouted, spitting rainwater. "Anything will do!"
Toothless swung against the fitful gusts, yet not even his excellent eyes could see through that storm, and, with the rain washing away every scent, his nose was useless too. He could only beat his wings faster, flying towards the hope for land, not so much for himself, but rather for his rider, who had begun to shiver on his back.
Both of them fought against the winds, feeling grateful each time lightning whipped some tall frothy wave, instead of their sorry scales, though the violent roars of thunder would still painfully pierce their ears.
When the heavy rain before them appeared to disperse, a broad, powerful bolt of light curled on the horizon, revealing, with a flash, the dark, unmistakable silhouette of a mountain.
Toothless growled in triumph and beat his wings with a new strength. He cut through the air, making encouraging noises for his rider. He received no response.
Hiccup was still on his back, and the tail-fin was still being controlled, but the boy was not acknowledging his hopeful chirps. Toothless probed with all of his six ears towards his rider. There was no human voice, only a light clattering of... teeth?
What did that sound mean? Toothless had never witnessed this kind of reaction from the human hatchling. He beat his wings harder.
The landscape was not overly welcoming. Despite the darkness, the island appeared to be a dormant volcano, surrounded by its own black, solidified lava, which had burned and eroded parts of the forest, forming countless crevices and caverns. Toothless chose to descend inland, where it was safer from the elements. He saw a large opening in the mountainside, which provided shelter from the rain. When he landed, Hiccup stumbled down the saddle, shivering frantically as they made their way inside that shallow, but wide cave.
"I need t-t-t-to…" Hiccup said, his clattering teeth preventing him from speaking further.
Toothless licked Hiccup's cheek. The boy was cold. Was that why his teeth were making that disturbing noise? Dragons had no particular issues with low temperatures, yet humans were different. They had no fire. They probably suffered the cold more, especially when wet. It made sense.
Hiccup removed the basket from the saddle with trembling hands.
Toothless considered making a fire for his human, but dry wood was not available under this downpour. Besides, he did not want to leave Hiccup's side to look for it. He resorted to scorching the ground before him with his flame, to make it warm. Then, he tried to pull the boy towards his chest to embrace him.
"Wait-t-t-t," Hiccup mumbled as he spilled the contents of the basket on the floor of the cave. "Could you t-t-t-turn around?" He asked through chattering teeth.
Toothless looked around, sniffed the air, but nobody else was there, so he looked back at Hiccup, who did not appear to care about enforcing the strange request.
Hiccup had retrieved some of the human-made skins from the basket, and was now removing his own upper skins, the one which the human called the 'tunic'.
For the first time, Toothless could see the pale, freckled, but smooth skin of his rider's back, and was appalled to find that he could count the boy's ribs. Was Hiccup not fed on his island? Why was his human so bony under all those skins and furs?
Next time I bring him three rabbits, I will make him eat them all!
Hiccup replaced his wet tunic with a dry one from his belongings, and unrolled his pelt onto the ground, hands shivering. That done, he turned towards Toothless.
"Bud, c-c-can you-" He did not finish the sentence, before his knees buckled, and he fell, unconscious.
Toothless didn't have the time to growl in alarm as he caught his pale rider, clasping his gums to the neck of the boy's tunic. He pulled the boy towards the pelt, and wrapped himself hurriedly around him, trying to raise his own temperature by burning more of his inner fire, hoping it would help Hiccup recover. He tried to swallow the whimpers of concern in his throat.
Before long, Toothless checked under his wing. The boy was sleeping, and his shivering appeared to have receded.
Toothless felt fatigue finally overtake him. Reassured by the now calm breathing of the little human, he allowed his eyes to seal, and he fell asleep as well.
Toothless woke up gradually, wiggling his ear-plates. It was still raining outside, though in a more tranquil manner than the previous day. The cave echoed with the sounds of heavy drops leaking from the rocky ceiling, pooling in large puddles of fresh water around them.
When Toothless opened his eyes, he could see daylight seep through the overcast skies. How long had he slept? How long would Hiccup need to sleep? Should he raise his wing to check on the little human, and risk waking him up? He considered this for a while, before his apprehension won.
Hiccup was still asleep against his chest, the boy's soft auburn hair brushing his forepaw. The boy's breathing, however, was heavy and irregular. Hiccup had not slept like that the day before. Was this normal?
Humans are so strange...
Toothless gave a cautious lick to Hiccup's cheek. The boy was now unusually hot. Toothless raised his wing completely, letting the chilly air wash over the human's face. Was it his fault? Had he gone too far with his inner fire? Hiccup had not complained during the night.
His heart racing, Toothless rose, allowing the boy to rest solely over the fur pelt.
"Are you all right?" He said, using human words, stomping his front paws worriedly on the ground. "Hiccup, wake up!" He tried again.
Unfortunately, he had never been able to connect to his rider's mind. He had slowly and painstakingly learnt more and more about the human language, but he could not use it himself. Dragons could not make those complex sounds with their mouths, and humans could not use their inner ear. And to think that they had such large brains.
Humans are so strange...
Toothless paced back and forth, trying to think of something. He poked Hiccup's cheek with his snout, hoping to wake him. He could not bear to wait any longer. The boy was his only means of flight.
Hiccup stirred, but did not wake.
Toothless prodded him again, harder, and the boy half-opened his eyes.
"Hey Tooth'..." Hiccup whispered hoarsely. "Oh... my head." He touched his forehead with the palm of his hand, then tried to sit up, but appeared unable to do so.
Toothless helped him up. "What is happening to you?" He asked uselessly with his inner voice.
"Bud… I think… did you... I must be… oh man... my head...!" Hiccup did not finish the sentence. He crawled on all fours towards one of the deeper puddles of fresh water in the cave, and splashed some on his face. For a moment, he seemed stuck. Then, he drank, and finally crawled back towards the spilled objects on the floor, picking up the wool blanket, a cloth, and one of the wooden bowls. He filled the large bowl with cold water, soaked the cloth in it, and flung it on his forehead with a splat as he lay back on the pelt, looking exhausted.
The little human seemed to know what he was doing, which only increased Toothless' astonishment, without alleviating any of his worries.
Why was the boy trying to cool himself, when only yesterday he had been freezing? Why was he so warm today? And why did he look so tired? Toothless' throat emitted countless little whimpers, whilst his paws kneaded the rocky floor.
Hiccup flicked his eyes open for a single glance towards him, and then shut them again, as if it had been too strenuous a task. The boy took two deep, heavy breaths, and said:
"I'm sorry, bud. I think I have a fever… I need to rest. Don't worry about me." His voice lowered to a mumble. "Don't worry…" he repeated under his breath, "don't…"
Hiccup fell asleep again, but Toothless, unable to obey his rider's request, could not help worrying even more. How could he not worry? He did not even know what the word 'fever' meant! Was it a bad kind of sickness? Would sleep be enough to cure him?
Humans are so strange!
Toothless felt stuck, powerless. He knew nothing about human health, and he was obviously inexperienced when it came to tending to others. Night Furies were by nature solitary dragons who preferred flying the skies above all other creatures, basking in the pride of their own legendary speed and strength.
Toothless had of course forfeited his pride the day he allowed his mind to be captured by the Queen. Not even he knew exactly how many moons, how many seasons, how many years he had spent as her slave, but even a single day would have been enough to break a Night Fury's spirit forever. Night Furies were supposed to be kings of the skies. Could he still hope to be one now? He did not know, but, with Hiccup by his side, at least he could pretend.
His rider was sick though. If Hiccup died, Toothless would probably follow not long afterwards. He would be stuck on that island. Maybe he could manage to survive there, but he was going to be a hostage to the earth's pull, confined to that rock forever, imprisoned and, once again, unfree. To any dragon, that was not a life worth living, and this was even truer for a Night Fury.
There was only one thing left to do. He was going to try his best to take care of the hatchling before him, even if he knew not where to begin.
Toothless brought fresh fish, and moved the bundle with dried meat closer to where the boy was resting. He did the same with the water bladder, the one that did not smell like a strange poison. He also recovered some wood branches, which he broke and dried with his flame, before lighting them up to make a fire in the cavern, just like Hiccup usually did, only much larger.
Then, for almost half a day, Toothless waited. He stared expectantly at his friend, hoping he would wake up again, if only for a single moment, just to reassure him that he was going to be all right.
Toothless stared, whimpered, and waited some more, but Hiccup would only stir or turn restlessly in his sleep. The boy's eyes kept darting left and right under his eyelids, but he did not wake once for the entire day. Sometimes, when his breathing became too faint, Toothless would panic, and he would rush up close to check whether the boy's lungs were still working, but he could not bring himself to touch his rider again for fear of disturbing him and making things worse. The little human had always looked fragile, but never like this.
Night fell. The cloth on the boy's forehead had become dry. Toothless hesitated for a while, then stepped closer to the boy, and, as carefully as he could, he removed the cloth with his teeth, dipped it in the bowl of water, and then tried to readjust it on Hiccup's forehead with a few cautious movements of his claws.
It was dripping. Perhaps he should have squeezed some water out of it.
"Thank you, mom…" Hiccup murmured, half-opening his puffy eyes, looking in Toothless' direction. "…sorry I got sick again."
Toothless let out a trill of joy at seeing the boy finally wake, but it turned into a confused warble when he considered the words. Was Hiccup dreaming about his mother, despite being awake? Toothless had heard Hiccup talk about her only once, and he only knew she wasn't alive anymore.
The boy stared at him for a while, his eyes lost and distant. "One day I'll become strong like dad. I promise. Then I'll never get sick."
Toothless could only watch, partly disturbed, partly worried, as Hiccup fell back to sleep. It wasn't long, however, before Hiccup woke up again, green eyes now wide with fear. In them, Toothless could see the reflected flickers of his bonfire, the sole source of light in the cavern, as the rain outside concealed the night's moon.
"Father, please! I'm sorry," Hiccup cried towards the ceiling, dragging himself up on his trembling elbows. "I'm sorry!" He spun towards Toothless, and locked eyes with him, terrified; the motion made the wet cloth fall.
Toothless tried to retrieve it, but, as he approached the hallucinating boy, Hiccup let out another hoarse scream.
"Father, no!" He yelled, raising his forearms to protect himself. "You can't feed me to the dragons! What do I have to do?!"
This time Hiccup was seeing Toothless for what he was, a dragon, but he was not recognizing him, which, somehow, felt even worse. Toothless left the wet cloth on the ground. Something about that scene had made his stomach turn. While his rider was obviously not in his right mind, it still felt like his own flame had burst in his gut.
Fortunately, after that, Hiccup fell asleep for good, although, for the following while before morning, tiny moans and jumbled cries would regularly escape his throat. At one point, water started trickling from the corners of his closed eyes. Toothless did not like it when that happened. He had learnt to associate that human impulse with the feeling of intense sorrow. He remembered, merely two days before, when the little human was sitting by the edge of a cliff, spilling so many drops. It was as if his face had been raining, which Toothless found to be an uncomfortable sight.
What was a Night Fury supposed to do in those situations? Ignore it, probably. Fly away. But he was not a proper Night Fury anymore.
That day, Toothless had produced a few timid noises to catch his rider's attention, but he hadn't been heard. He could tell the human was unhappy, though the reasons were still unclear to him. He had always thought Hiccup would have been more than glad to leave his island; that's what the boy had kept claiming for days, before finally deciding to leave.
Hiccup might have failed to carry out their departure in the way he had planned, but wasn't their freedom ultimately more important now? Was the tribe's opinion that relevant to him? All throughout that winter, when they had secretly gotten to know each other, Toothless had heard his rider often complain about his life in the village of Berk, about how he had never truly fit in with the other humans. Toothless had become certain that leaving would have been a great pleasure to the boy. Not so much apparently.
Maybe it was not easy for humans to abandon their homes. Night Furies, unlike most other dragons, had no fixed concepts of family, or kin, or home. The sky was their home, clouds were their friends, and winds were their very large, supportive family.
Fighting his instincts, Toothless kept watching over the boy.
Morning came again. One full day had passed. The rain had calmed, and so had Hiccup's sleep. Toothless, however, had not shut his eyes once. He had become a vigilant statue by the hatchling's side, with only his tail occasionally moving, slowly patting the ground, once left, and once right, expectant, hopeful.
When Toothless refreshed the wet cloth on the boy's forehead, he brushed his tongue on the boy's cheek. Was it cooler? Was it the same?
Hiccup let out a sudden murmur: "I'll be fine, bud. Don't worry about me." His eyes were still closed, but at least he was awake.
Toothless took a huge breath of relief.
Hiccup reached with his hand to scratch Toothless' chin, but his strength failed him, and he was forced to lower his arm again.
As the arm fell, Toothless slipped his head under the boy's hand, so it would rest upon his snout. It was probably selfish of him to search for comfort from the ailing boy, but he could not resist the urge. He could not hide the truth. He had been terrified.
"Tomorrow… I promise," Hiccup said, his voice raspy, but soothing. "Tomorrow we will fly again."
AN: If you notice any particularly heavy anachronisms in my story, I would really appreciate it if you could point them out to me. I've so far tried to avoid mentioning modern slang, or even words like "okay". I'm also trying to avoid the metric system, and the usage of hours, minutes and seconds throughout all narration (for Vikings had no way to measure them), as well as some technologies and tools that even pseudo-Vikings could not possess. Still, something might have escaped my attention. This is fiction, but I'd like to keep it realistic and gritty when I can. Thank you!
