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The Hero Reborn

Chapter 13: Pain

Hiccup woke early that morning already feeling low. He just couldn't shake the feeling he got when he remembered those eyes that had gazed at him with fear reflected in their cerulean depths. They haunted his dreams and saw to it that he got as little sleep as possible.

A week had passed since his encounter with Astrid in the great hall, and he had been avoiding her ever since. He thought that they had been friends, or at least she didn't hate him anymore, after he had let her ride Toothless. But that all felt ages ago, maybe something had changed. Maybe there were just some things she couldn't accept. It saddened him to think this way, but it was probably true.

I mean it took her until just recently to accept me for just being a human, now this…maybe I was expecting too much. After all… were we ever actually friends? Sighing to himself he pulled his heavy body up and made his way down the stairs and out into the cool morning air.

The sun had not yet risen so the sky was still a soft gray with clouds sprinkled here and there, and a cold breeze told him that rain was on its way into Berk. Great, how fitting, he thought to himself bitterly. Now at least the weather would reflect his mood.

Yawning wide, he made his way tiredly to the mess hall, his tail dragging heavily behind him. He wasn't feeling very hungry but it wouldn't do for him to start his training with Toothless on an empty stomach, he knew that he'd definitely regret it later if he didn't eat something.

The village was quiet as most of the villagers were still asleep in their respective homes, and the lack of activity in the town square gave of a slightly eerie feeling. Hiccup couldn't help but be grateful for the silence though, seeing as he'd prefer to enjoy his meal in peace for once, and the prospect of a thousand eyes being glued to his back as he eat was extremely unnerving. They would always watch him, like he was a snake and they weren't sure if he was going to strike or not.

He would hear them talking sometimes…the rumors. He wasn't sure if they knew he was listening or not, or even if they knew he could still understand them, but he could... and he couldn't help but feel the hole in his chest grow with each word.

The village still didn't trust him….never did, after all he'd always been a screw up and now, according to them, he was a monster. It's not his fault, he didn't ask for this! Just what did they expect him to do? If he could change back he would.

Reaching the giant oak doors he shoved them open gently with his large head. A fire burned softly in the hearth and the scent of fresh bread filled the air as it came wafting out from the kitchen. Thankfully the room was almost completely empty, besides himself and the cook. Glancing over to the side he saw the cook had been nice enough to restock Toothless' and his with the fresh catch of the day. So he slowly made his way over to his usual spot. Using his claws he grabbed the edge of his barrel and pulled it down onto its side, spilling it's still wet contents on the cold floor in front of him.

Settling down on the floor he rummaged lazily through his mixture of salmon and cod, still not feeling very hungry, and grabbed a small fish and began slowly picking away at it. As he chewed, or more like swallowed, his food he let his mind wonder. He'd been playing around with the idea of a new tail for Toothless for weeks. Something that would make it so he could fly without the assistance of a rider. He had a rough idea on how he could make it work but without hands he had no idea how he was going to manage using the forge or cutting out the leather. This whole turning into a dragon business was more trouble than it was worth, and he found himself getting frustrated all over again. Why? Just why did he have to turn into a dragon? And more than that, how did he even turn into a dragon in the first place? This whole thing was impossible….but here he was, a dragon.

He was just making his way through his second fish when he felt the wind blow past him as the great doors were opened, admitting another Nightfury through its large entrance.

"So this is where you were." Toothless said with obvious relief as he approached hiccup. "why didn't you wake me? I would have come down with you."

Hiccup looked away a little ashamed. He knew his recent evasive behavior had been worrying Toothless but he just couldn't bring himself to talk about it with the older dragon. Would he even understand what he was going through?

"I just wanted to be alone for a little bit to think that's all." Hiccup admitted, it was the truth… maybe not the whole truth but he wasn't exactly lying.

Toothless took a seat next to Hiccup and knocked over his own barrel, but the look on his face showed that he didn't fully believe in Hiccup's response. "To think about what? Is there something you're not telling me?" He said, suspicion clear in his voice but he wasn't being pushy. Hiccup knew that if he didn't want to talk about it then Toothless wouldn't force him, he would respect his privacy, and that just made him feel even worse about keeping it a secret.

Now that the numbness from shock had passed, he had been feeling insecure and depressed for a little over a week now and it wasn't getting any better. His only distraction from the dark feelings eating away at him was his training with Toothless, which still wasn't going anywhere fast. He knew he needed to talk to Toothless about it, but every time he tried to bring it up the words failed him and he just couldn't get it out. He felt like he would sound like he was whining, or just making excuses. Even now, when the opportunity couldn't be better, he found himself clamming up and denying that anything was wrong at all.

"No, nothing. Why?" He said shaking his head lightly.

"You've been mopping around for days, and you're trying to tell me nothing's wrong?" Toothless said skeptically.

"That's because nothing is wrong" Hiccup replied slightly defensive.

Toothless looked at him unconvinced but let it drop, he knew Hiccup would tell him when he was ready, and that trying to push his friend wouldn't get him anywhere.

"So then, if nothing's wrong then what are you thinking so deeply about?" The larger dragon inquired.

"If you must know I was thinking of a new design for your tail, I might have come up with a way for you to fly on your own."

Toothless was surprised by his response, the idea of one day flying on his own again had never occurred to him. And when Hiccup had turned into a dragon he had given up on the idea of flying again all together. So hearing that flight might be a possibility for him again, he was at a loss for words. Even Hiccups next words couldn't dull the new found excitement that was now coursing through him.

"But I don't have hands so I have no idea how I'm going to work on it without them. I mean I can't use the forge, cut out the leather, or make the cogs." Hiccup said in frustration and giving his claws an accusatory glare.

"Why not have that loud, one legged metal worker do it for you?" Toothless asked.

"His name is Gobber, and I'm not sure if he would be able to do the precision work it would require. He is missing a hand after all." Hiccup relied "And making a tail fin is a lot more complex than an axe or a sword."

Hiccup sighed heavily. "The one thing I was good at and I can't even do that anymore."

Toothless was just about to reassure his friend when he smelt a familiar scent waft in from the entrance as the large doors were opened. He could tell Hiccup had smelt it to cause he instantly tensed up like he was readying himself to receive a hard blow.

Astrid made her way into the room and towards the hearth, rubbing her upper arms for warmth. She had not seemed to notice the two dragons yet as she took a seat next to the fire and began warming her hands. But as Hiccup began to stand up to make his escape he slipped on the half eaten fish he had been working on and caused his tail to slap loudly against the support beam behind him as he attempted to balance himself, causing a shield to become dislodged and crash onto the stone floor. Of course something like that would happen to Hiccup, it wouldn't just be as simple as leaving, not for him. The sound instantly alerted the young girl to their presence and her eyes widened in shock as her eye's met the sight of the two large Nightfuries at the other side of the large room.

Hiccup was scared, he had wanted to try to slip out unnoticed, but now that he'd been spotted he couldn't do anything else but freeze. He wanted to run or hide but he couldn't do either or as his legs currently refused to listen to him. All he could do was stand frozen in place as he stared back at Astrid from his spot across the room, which now felt unbearably small and empty.

He had been dreading this moment since their last encounter, and he didn't know what to do. He watched as Astrid stared back at him with shock and confusion plain on her face. Time seemed to stretch on forever as they just stared at each other, just when Hiccup couldn't take it anymore Astrid averted her gaze. And there on her face was the same look of fear as before. The look that he couldn't bear to see again, that had been haunting his every waking moment. Hiccup was immediately overcome with a strong emotion he couldn't place, and the urge to run was even stronger, somewhere far away. He didn't know where, just somewhere he could escape from everything. As almost as quickly as the thought had crossed his mind, he did just that, he ran.

He was out the door and exiting the village quicker than he previously thought possible, using his wings to push him faster as he ran over the rocky ground. He ran blindly through the trees as he keep going without and direction. He didn't notice Toothless trailing far behind him, he didn't care. He just wanted to escape it all. The judgmental glares, the fear of the villagers, Astrid, and everything that reminded him of what he was, and what he could never be again.

Before long he reached the shore on the opposite side of the island and came to an abrupt stop as his feet hit the water. There was nowhere left to run. He knew he couldn't just keep running from his problems like this but he couldn't help it, it was almost and instinct, like and animal fleeing from danger. His chest burned hot and his legs ached, but he could tell it wasn't just from exhaustion. Something felt wrong.

He hissed sharply as the pain in his chest blossomed outward towards his back and head. Why did this feel so familiar? The pain was almost blinding and he couldn't think straight. He felt like his skull was cracking in half, he growled instinctively as he heard someone approach him, but was instantly brought to his knees as intense pain exploded down his back. It felt like his bones themselves where breaking and trying to rearrange themselves like some sort of macabre jigsaw puzzle. He has distantly aware of someone calling his name but he was in too much pain to really take notice. He howled in agony as he felt his flesh tearing and shrinking to fit over a newly reshaping from. He couldn't take the pain any longer and gave into the darkness as he passed out.

Toothless watched in shock as Hiccup growled viciously at him like an animal in pain. Toothless was exhausted and out of breath from chasing after his friend, he was sure something had been eating away at the younger dragon but now he was sure that something was incredibly wrong. Hiccup soon began to howl in pain and Toothless rushed up to his friend while calling his name, hoping it might snap him out of it. But upon closer inspection Toothless could tell this wasn't just his friend going rabid on him, objects were poking at Hiccup's skin from underneath the surface as his bones were rearranging themselves underneath the thick flesh. Toothless watched in horror as Hiccup's flesh began to tear and change color and his back began to shorten. His arms and legs began to thin out and his hands and feet were beginning to take a new shape. His jaw soon resembled its original shape and his old chestnut brown hair sprouted out of his once bald scaly scalp.

The transformation only took a few minutes and Hiccup had passed out half way through it, but Toothless just gazed down at the new form in complete shock. Where a young Nightfury once stood was the unconscious form of a human boy with strange dragon like features. Just what in Oden's name was going on here?

A/N: Cliff hanger ending! I'm evil muwahaha. Yes, yes I know he's running away again. But for Hiccup I believe that being in the unusual situation he's in he really doesn't have very many options available to him. He can't talk to anyone other than Toothless, and because he's unaccustomed to talking about his feelings with others, (or even anyone listening if he tried) he can't really bring himself to do it. And even if he did I think he probably would have gotten a line from his father like "be a man", or "stop complaining". However seeing as he and Stoick never had a very good relationship in the first place, I seriously doubt he would have said anything, thinking he would get such a response. He also has to deal with his new enhanced animal instincts so his fight or flight response is a lot stronger then when he was human. And I feel that since Hiccup isn't a very aggressive person and tends to not favor dealing with emotional problems head on, flight is the more likely option he would instinctively choose. Especially when dealing with Stoick or Astrid. They both are focal points of some of his major anxieties so I think his reaction to flee and hide is pretty realistic. But now he has nowhere to run, what will he do next? Once again I would like to say thank you to all my loyal readers, you guys are just amazing and I love you all. Don't forget to review, favorite and follow. And I'll see you all in my next chapter.

-Tsuchihana