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DISCLAIMER: Nein!
Mortal Weaknesses
The sky was so impeccably blue, stretching on and on, his kingdom of wonder. Toothless felt his heart clench tightly. Releasing a melancholy exhale, Toothless walked through the village, slouching a little from the unfortunate event.
I had to do it.
Toothless knew very well he had no choice—it was the decision of his life…or Hiccup's.
He smirks at the memory; of course, he would choose Hiccup over himself. There had never been a choice. The only thought, when he witnessed Loki beginning to plunge his sword, all that ran through was the mantra: Not him! Not him! Not him!
The god of deception had made it worse.
"When you tell the boy you love him, only then may you have your original form."
At first, when agreeing to the bargain, Toothless had thought it would be simple. But when he saw Hiccup wincing and hobbling on that prosthetic leg, dirt caked into his hair, tiny lines of crimson welling from cuts on his face, hands, and neck, Toothless knew nothing but pure exultation that he had not died.
And when he pulled Hiccup close, relieved that he had been granted a miracle, Toothless felt his heart pounding, as though Thor's very hammer was banging against his ribs. In that instant, he realized he loved Hiccup more than he should…
In a way he was not supposed to.
Loki knew how to make his mark. Toothless smiled bitterly.
Annoyed with pacing through the homes of Berk, Toothless forced his legs to stop and sit, however grew antsy further. Trying to remain still, the dragon curled his hands into fists, consumed by rage.
"Hey!"
Toothless looked at the children in surprise. "Hello."
"You're Toothless, right?" the boy asked, speaking for his two friends behind him.
The dragon nodded.
"See? I told you!" the leader remarked, smiling at his quiet companions. "He is human now! Mom said so!"
The anger flamed brighter and Toothless stood abruptly, causing all the boys to bunch together in an odd cluster and watching the imposing figure fearfully. Whether he was a dragon or not, they all knew he would be deadly.
"We're sorry!" the smallest cried.
As quickly the rage came, the quicker it vanished. Reprimanding himself, Toothless was ashamed with himself. It wasn't their fault for one, and they were just stating the obvious, like all children do. He reached out to ruffle the smallest child's hair.
"I'm sorry," he murmured sincerely.
The first boy looked up, nodded with a nervous smile, and hurriedly pulled the others with him.
"Wait, we didn't ask him if he liked being a person yet!" the smallest shouted again, looking back at Toothless and waving frantically goodbye as he was dragged away.
Toothless was relieved the older child took the others. His response would have been too harsh for their ears, things no one deserved to hear.
He was furious all the time in this cursed body, feeling it boil under his skin like an infectious disease. His reactions weren't as calm as before, and he felt he had to struggle to maintain composure, centuries of patience of no use to him. This human heart was a constant storm, fighting a war within itself.
This body was terrible… In his form from birth, he always felt strong and complete. This body was a shattered and withering corpse. He could feel this mortal body dying all around him, in the air surrounding him out and in, every second counting down, weighing him down.
How could they not feel themselves dying in the very spot they stand on? It was so vapid!
…How could Hiccup live like this?
Putting his fingers to his temple, Toothless kneaded the throbbing, continuing to walk till he found himself the ledge of a cliff. Settling down, legs dangling over the side, he watched the vast cerulean scene. He knew saving Hiccup's life was worth anything, even his immortality. However, he never expected the weakness of these forms to be so large. They were so susceptible to too many ailments and he wished nobody had to suffer through them.
Toothless, through the eyes of a mortal, was now more determined to see he would protect Hiccup. This was completely irrational of course. He knew very well that he could tell Hiccup what he must. Become a dragon once more, protect Hiccup till the Viking perished or visa versa—it didn't matter, the boy's soul was worth more than the world, the sky and the stars. But… what if he said it, and Hiccup rejected it? What would he do then?
He could remain human… Death would be around every corner, haunting every precious second, speeding time, but he could stay like this and be with Hiccup. This body would give him the ability to be nearer to Hiccup—all it would cost him was his very being.
What a mockery he has been subjected to by Loki.
Fighting the urge to curse at the heavens, Toothless rammed his fist hard into the ground, pain shooting upwards.
"Toothless?"
Whirling around, Toothless looked up at the surprised features of Hiccup, the Viking's hand instantly thrown out.
"Hiccup, what is it?"
"Back a little away from the ledge, that's what! You might fall!"
Perplexed, Toothless looked down; he had gotten much too close to edge when he turned. Not wanting to upset him, the dragon followed the command and slowly moved back till he was five feet from the precipitous ledge.
"I wasn't going to fall." said Toothless then.
"That's what you say," Hiccup snapped, "But you don't know how the cliff might be—it could be wearing down from all the recent moisture in the air for all we can guess!"
Toothless mouth curved into a frown. "I was not going to fall. You're being too paranoid."
"Toothless, I'm serious!" the younger man remarked, kneeling beside the dragon, awkwardness be damned.
"Just because I can't fly anymore doesn't mean I'm foolish enough to fall off!"
Hiccup's eyes narrowed, his face as stone as the dragon's ever seen it, and Toothless mimicked it perfectly. The minutes seemed to pass by and, to Hiccup's surprise and appease, Toothless broke the eye contact first.
"I'll be more careful, next time."
Hiccup gave Toothless a surreptitious look before him, too, relented. Not even thinking of it, the Viking seated himself carefully on the ground. He instinctively winced; the crash from a few days prior had really messed up his prosthetic leg.
"Are you hurting again?" inquired the dragon, quickly moving close to inspect the leg.
"Huh? What?—Toothless I'm fine." Hiccup replied, fighting the urge to scoot back. Toothless plaintively ignored him and gently grasped the leg to still it. Hiccup stopped; afraid any wrong move would tear at the still sensitive tissue and to avoid Toothless drawing closer.
There was a complete difference between a dragon and a man invading your space.
"Do you need me to take you back?"
Hiccup shook his head vigorously. "No, thanks, I'm really okay."
Toothless didn't believe him; he knew the Viking too well.
Knowing he'd been found out, Hiccup attempted to hastily make his retreat. "Look, we should probably head back. I was worried about where you were and now that I found you, we can go back home."
Toothless, reluctantly, obeyed.
Hiccup was already walking on ahead, and Toothless caught up with him easily. On instinct, he offered an arm for Hiccup to hold onto. The younger man hesitated, looking at the proffered aid with almost a sense of anxiety.
"It's not as though you can hold onto my head or neck anymore." Toothless said.
"Right…" But he continued onwards either way. Toothless felt an awful stung; he took it in quietly, drowning in the sense of weakness. Hiccup was going to trip at any moment, but he, clearly, didn't want the help. Toothless sighed in defeat.
As predicted, Hiccup took a wrong step and was about to impact onto the earth. Toothless rushed over and swiftly took hold of him. Suddenly, he saw Hiccup's maneuverability falter even lower in his eyes, the thought of mortality made panic swim through his conscience. Holding Hiccup closer, Toothless never wanted anything more than to find ways to keep Hiccup's life from entering death's bay. He was more aware than ever that humans were the living dead.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" the other assured him, turning red from the sudden embrace; Toothless, however, didn't like the tone.
"Don't make me carry you."
Hiccup ceased and, this time, took the arm, but an uncomfortable silence rang. And before they entered the village's clearing, Hiccup released Toothless' arm and strode into it.
Toothless couldn't understand Hiccup's behavior, and the feeling of weakness filled him to the brim.
AN: I have school in the morning and it's close to 12 a.m. Oh well. LOL Hope you all liked!
