Hiccup locked himself in his Bedroom. He waited the whole night for the house around him to burn down, get smashed, or filled with toxic gas. It shook and rattled the whole night. He covered his ears and tried to drown it out. The boy told himself that it would be over soon and squeezed his eyes shut. Hiccup could hear the muffled roars and screams outside. He wished they would go away. He remembered a happier time when he was little.
He was in the forest with his friend. His friend's mother keeping an eye on them as usual. They were playing tag when a number of other dragons set down near them. A Monstrous Nightmare looking rather angry trudged up to Toothless' mother, followed by two Nadders and a Gronckle. Toothless and Hiccup rushed to her side. More taking cover than anything else. She didn't flinch as the Nightmare charged her. She looked bored and yawned at his presence.
"What is that?" He roared, eyeing Hiccup. She looked behind herself at the two poorly hiding. She unfolded her wing and cupped them both in it and shuffled them around until they were in front of her. Hiccup sat down with Toothless between his legs. He grasped around the dragon's sides pulling him close to bury his face in Toothless' back.
"It's a wolf." She stated sarcastically. The Nightmare huffed and growled.
"Don't play dumb. You know it's a human. Why is it here? And why haven't you killed it?" The Nightmare stomped furiously.
Toothless' mother chuckled. "Why kill him." she emphasized. "He isn't a threat. And not only has he not shown any scorn. My kin has grown faun of him and would protect him as he would me. And I will do the same if necessary."
"So you've thrown your lot in with the humans. Would you side with them in battle? Kill one of your own if they were in danger?" The dragon's anger had peaked.
"It time for you to stop playing dumb. I haven't thrown my lot in with them. And I haven't fought in years but don't get any ideas. It's by choice not because I can't or won't. And siding with them would be impossible. They're too violent and don't trust easily. Along with our own hubris and misheld hate. It could never happen with us. But them." She motioned to Toothless and Hiccup who were comforting each other. "They could be a start to something new. Something more than friends or family. Something that doesn't exist now."
"What are you saying?" He said in a calmer tone.
"I'm saying each day they're together they grow closer. Tighter together. They move like water around each other. Watching them hunt for rabbits and even small game is a sight of its own. They act like one being and move like one too. And on an emotional level they're close to being bonded or mated. They know how the other acts and if something is off, they feel it. Like an Instinct only they have for each other. And if they were ever apart for longer than a few days I worry our chances at piece would no longer exist." She sighed.
"You think they could end this war? What about the Queen? She would never allow these two to ever see each other if she knew." He said quietly.
"Then she won't know." She growled.
"Let me see him." She nodded and separated the two. She held Toothless under her leg allowing The Nightmare access to Hiccup.
"He's gonna hurt him!" Toothless screamed. He struggled to get loose from his mother's grasp.
"No he won't." She soothed. "It would be the last thing he'd ever do."
"I won't hurt him young one. If I do, I'll allow you to kill me yourself." Toothless stopped fighting his mother and looked on as the Nightmare leaned down towards Hiccup.
Hiccup felt Toothless' mother's tail wrap around him softly. He felt a sudden rush of confidence as he got to his knees. The dragon lowered himself to be at eye level with the boy. He stared Hiccup in the eye and Hiccup stared back. He vented smoke from his nostrils, trying to intimidate Hiccup. Hiccup retaliated by grabbing the horn on the dragon's nose and tugging on it. The Nightmare didn't like that and bared his teeth but Hiccup took it a step further. He leaned forward and bit the dragon's muzzle.
The Nightmare recoiled and yelped. He hadn't made a sound like that since he was a hatchling. Looking down on the small human again he started laughing deep in his throat.
"I like him!" He bellowed. "You're secret is safe with me." The other few dragons nodded Showing their silence. "The only fear I have is when he succumbs to the queen's influence will they be able to overpower it?"
The mother Night Fury sighed and released her child. She watched him rejoin the human he'd grown so close to. They all watched as the small black dragon sat in front of the boy, allowing him to play with his ears and giggle.
"I don't know." She whispered "We can only hope."
Hiccup grew angry at himself for cowering in his room. He threw open his door and raced into the village. He made a few random turns trying to find a way to help, but in the confusion of people, fire, and screaming he found himself on the cliff hanging over the ocean. He cursed to himself and turned around. He hadn't taken a step before a large fireball climbed over the side of the cliff. Hiccup whipped around as the Monstrous Nightmare put himself out. Hiccup stumbled backwards landing on his butt. He tried to moved away from the dragon but couldn't make any meaningful contact with the ground in his frightened state. The dragon didn't move other than pointing his head up and making a sound similar to a howl.
The whole of Berk froze as the loud whistling of the Night Fury passed over. It became slowly more quiet as it approached Hiccup. The whistling became silent, replaced by loud footsteps.
Hiccup hesitantly turned his head to watch a black silhouetted creature padding up to him. He turned fully around as it drew closer to him. It was almost on top of him before he could make out any of its features other than its eyes.
He noted that it didn't look mad or threatening. In any other situation it would look cute. But that wasn't at the front of his mind as he noticed that it was close enough to sniff at him. He flinched as it dug its nose into his shirt. The dragon huffed causing Hiccup to squeak.
The dragon pulled back, slightly surprised at the sound. He sat down so that he seemed less threatening. The Monstrous Nightmare lit himself on fire again, giving them light. The large black dragon lowered himself to be face to face with the small boy.
Hiccup hesitantly lifted his hands up to the dragon's head. He slowly stroked under the dragon's chin, feeling a small vibration as he went. He moved them back towards the its neck and up behind its ears. He slowly scratched behind them, making the vibrations more violent and louder. Hiccup gripped one of the dragon's ears at the base between his fingers and flipped it up. He did the same with the other. He started to flip them up and down rapidly. The Nightmare chuckled behind them.
"Do you remember when he'd do that when you were little?" He asked his much younger friend.
"Yeah." Toothless sighed. "He rarely did it before. And after I stopped coming because of what happened with you and my mom… I really missed the touch." He pushed his head down nuzzling under the boy's chin.
"Please don't remind me young one. I'm sorry for what I did. I wasn't in control." The Nightmare choked. "I think of myself as strong though I am not even half as much as you." He reflected.
Toothless chuckled. "Strength isn't what's needed now. What is needed is to show everyone that they're not all the same. That some are willing to give us a chance at peace. It won't be easy."
The Nightmares fire drew the attention of the villagers. It didn't move or leave with the other dragons. Most of the village grouped up to check it out. The group was led by Stoick , the village chief and Hiccup's father. Behind him was a small line of archers ready to fire. They quickly reached the area where the two dragons and Hiccup sat.
"FIRE!" Stoick yelled. Hiccup hopped up as the arrows were shot. The large Nightmare dodged the ones fired at him, but the Night Fury didn't have time to react. Two arrows laid in his leg and side, while the third meant for his neck stuck through the boy's shoulder.
Hiccup barely noticed the arrow or the pain radiating from it. He moved his way down the hurt dragon's side towards the arrows sticking out of his hide.
"What do you want me to do?" The Nightmare growled. "Burn them to death?
"No!" Toothless roared. "Just leave."
"Young one, you'll die. I can't break the promise I made to your mother." It was a low blow, but it was his only chance to reason with the Night Fury.
"Your being here is going to make it worse. And it's too late to do anything. We just have to hope now."
"Just like your mother." The Nightmare snorted. "Stubborn as a rock. Letting very few through to see the real you. Fine. I'll leave. It's up to you now. Stop this pointless war." He dropped off the side of the cliff, flying low and out of sight.
Hiccup had started lightly pulling at the arrow in the dragon's side. He placed himself so that none of the archers would think of trying to get a shot on the Night Fury, without putting him at risk. They may not like him but killing the chief's son would be their end as well.
Hiccup pulled on the arrow again, harder than before. Toothless tried to stay quiet but his body betrayed him. He whimpered softly and Hiccup stopped. Hiccup reached for Toothless' head but didn't make it. He doubled over, pain doing the same, the adrenaline in his system warring off. He wailed loudly and clutched his shoulder.
Stoick stepped forward to get his son, but Toothless stepped over Hiccup and bared his teeth. Stoick stopped a few feet from Toothless. He wasn't afraid of dragons but the Night Fury was no ordinary dragon.
"He's hurt!" Stock screamed. "He could die, you dumb animal!"
After a moment of consideration Toothless huffed and stepped back. Stoick hesitantly inched forward, making deliberately slow movements as to not startle the Night Fury. Hiccup was sobbing and reaching out for something to hold onto. As Stoick picked up his son, Hiccup's good hand found Toothless' ear, locking it in a death grip and nearly ripping it off. Stoick froze, unsure what to. Toothless took a step forward, relieving the intense pain in his ear.
Stoick carefully took a step forward allowing the dragon to follow. He didn't know what the dragon wanted with his son but he was in no place to ask questions. They made their way to The Chief's house. Stoick taking a step and Toothless painfully limping behind him.
Once inside Stoick placed his son in a spare bed on the first floor. Hiccup grip loosened on Toothless' ear and it slipped free. He pulled back to examine the boy laying on his side. The wound wasn't bleeding much since the arrow plugged the hole but it would have to be removed, much like his own. Stoick trudged back to the door and yelled something Toothless didn't care to listen to. He returned with a woman following him. Toothless have get her a once over. Deciding that she wasn't a threat, he returned to his small human.
His breathing was shallow and fast. Unconsciousness threatened to take him. He fought against it as much as possible. It took all his energy to keep from going under.
Stoick and the woman were talking about something Toothless, again wasn't listening to. Instead he decided that he was going to act and get his friend out of pain. Nudging his head under Hiccup's and crooning apologetically, he took the arrow's tip into his mouth. Carefully biting through it the tip, it fell onto his tongue. Spitting it out, he got to the other side of his friend and carefully pulled the rest out. He noted the arrows still in his side and leg but pushed the pain they caused down. Once the arrow cleared Hiccup's skin his wound oozed slowly through his shirt. Both adults in the room quietly watched the dragon work, exchanging confused glances each other's way. Carefully ripping Hiccup's shirt to get better access at his wound, Toothless took Hiccup's shoulder in his mouth and lapped at his wound. After the taste of blood was weak in his mouth he pulled off. There was nothing more he could do for his human.
The woman scooted closer to them with two large pieces of linen in her hands. She wrapped one around Hiccup's body and arm, binding it to his side. The other was tightly wrapped around his shoulder as best as possible. Some time between Toothless and the woman, Hiccup had fallen asleep. His calm breathing and light snoring a relief. The woman bid Stoick goodnight and left.