Toothless and the dragoness

"I will try my best and find you a mate, Toothless" was the hot promise I made a couple of years ago. At that time nearly everyone seemed to simply accept the fact that Toothless was the only Night Fury around. Especially when "Gift of the Night Fury" aired in 2011 and showed that all dragons got mates and hatchlings except our black dragon, I became vexed to a point that I immediately set myself to writing. I didn't have a plan, I just set myself to finding a dragoness, and somehow the writing evolved into this story.

The story takes place 13 years after Toothless and Hiccup meet. Toothless just entered the second mating period of his life. The first one happened 6 years after Toothless and Hiccup became friends. It had been unfortunate for Toothless and nearly a disaster for Hiccup. Now it is 7 years later and Hiccup is at a loss at what to do.

Hiccup and Astrid have to make a hard decision that cuts deep into their marriage. The outcome is that Hiccup and Toothless set off in search of a dragoness on a journey that will prove to be most challenging and rewarding for both man and dragon.

Please note: halfway the story and at the end is mild sexual content though nothing vulgar in my opinion, so I rated it T.

Disclaimer: the character of the dragoness is mine. All other characters belong to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks.

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Chapter 1. A hard decision

Toothless, my dragon friend, is said to be the only Night Fury around. For a long time I wondered if he truly was the last one of his kind. As often as I thought about it, my heart ached for his loneliness…

It was as I feared: Toothless had come into his mating period again. Something about him had bothered me already, but I must have banned it from thought. Now my second-born came in, a scratch on her arm. "Pa, Toothless did not seem to recognise me, he pushed me over. He is not bad, just… and he smells funny". I gave Astrid a quick look, and noticed the sharp look in her eyes. With a sigh I got up and went out to see the dragon. He was not far from the house. He stood there stiff and preoccupied, gazing up at the sky. When I approached him, there was no denying. His posture, the strong smell, the way he absentmindedly greeted me with a push so strong it almost made me fall over. I walked over to the bench and sat down, burying my face in my hands. So this was it…

It had been like this seven years ago. Same tenseness, same smell, same hardly restrained power. At that time I also understood what was the matter, as we had learnt the ways of the dragon kind by then. But even I, the Dragon Master as they call me -Why? I keep saying. I am master over no dragon, they join us of their own free will- even I had underestimated the force of his urge. If there had been mates for him nearby, like with all other dragons species, nature would have taken its course. But there were no mates, not even one. In six years, as long as I knew Toothless by then, and in seven years since, we never saw another Night Fury. But I had underestimated him, as he kidnapped me on the first flight we undertook.

After he flew away with me, he had been relentless in his search for a mate. He took me to several islands, flying further than ever before. A couple of days later, we heard another Night Fury roar. We landed on an island, but the mighty roars made Toothless hesitate. He cowered, and set off with me again, flying home. It must have been a male then, one that he did not dare to confront. Once home, he had cooled down quickly.

Indeed, what chance did he have in competing with a male? He could fight on the ground, but not engage in aerial combat. And if he was killed on some faraway island, I would perish not much later, having no means of returning home. To have the safety of an escort was impossible. A Night Fury flies faster than any other dragon species, and Toothless would not restrain himself to slower flight as he normally does in a group.

Then, what chances did he have with a female? Part of the mating ritual is a mating flight. What female would choose a cripple, a male that could not show off his prowess in flight? And no way a wild dragoness would accept a human on his back. To wild dragons, male and female alike, humans are meat like any other prey. I would just be snatched off his back and he would crash.

When we returned from his unsuccessful journey, I was weak from starvation. I had taken some food with me, as I always carry some, but I had had nothing to eat for nearly a week. It had become the worst row in our marriage. And I understood Astrid well. My friendship with the dragon almost made her a widow and would have left three children at that time fatherless. It became an issue over the years: what if his mating season starts again? It would be at least six years away, as all dragons have a cycle, and for Toothless it had come six years after we met. But surely it would come again and then Toothless would be so much more mature. Wouldn't the frustrated beast become a danger to the village, was the question many villagers asked?

After long deliberation with many sympathising villagers only one solution remained: to fly Toothless, at the first signs, to an uninhabited island nearby and leave him there until he had cooled down again. And this time he would not kidnap me, as I would outsmart him. I had become very skilled in riding him.
It's just that every time I thought about this solution, a smouldering guilt surfaced. It never died out because my happy marriage kept fuelling it: I so dearly wished that he also could have a mate, or at least have a chance. But to go on a search with him would be madness. How far would he go? How long would he search? I could only take so much food with me, and I already knew he wouldn't hunt for me and leave me no time to hunt for myself.

Two years ago, Astrid and I again had a bitter argument, because chances were that Toothless would have his mating period the next year. I bit at her "I, who live my life to the full with you and the children, how can I deny my soul mate the fullness of life?" at which she flared back to me: "Am I not your soul mate, then?". Only to continue with "Hush, my darling" at seeing the wretchedness in my face. But then she wept, one of the few times she ever did.

I stood up from the bench. I had made my decision. There was no other way: Toothless would go to the island.

Just as I turned around, I saw Astrid walk up to me. She lifted my chin, looked me in the eye and simply said "Go. You go, my love". And when she saw the shock in my face, she continued: "The children say you should go. Even the youngest. She says: Toothless is all alone, he must find a mammy, just like daddy".
My heart broke. "Do they realise I could…" "Yes, the eldest do, as far as children can."

"I can't, Astrid, I love you too much, you and the children. I will fly Toothless to the island."

"Listen up, Hiccup, I suddenly realised this: Life is not without danger. Not even here in our village in this peaceful time. I could lose you to an accident. You could lose me, or one of our children, to illness. But we live, we all live! We are a fierce and stubborn people, to us there is no life without risk. Our people have set sail for generations, not knowing if they would ever return to their families.
And there's also this, Hiccup: for generations we have lost loved ones, like your mother, in war with the dragons, taking their life. Maybe we will lose you, but that would be in your effort to give a dragon a life! And why wouldn't you return? Life is full of chances! Go, my darling".

She briskly turned around and walked away, leaving me standing there speechless.