The Vikings were in shock at what they had just seen Hiccup the Useless and the Night Fury do.
Not only were they behaving like one being, but some were sure they heard Hiccup growling and almost understanding what the two winged creatures were saying.
And then when he gave the order to the Night Fury to shoot a blast into the beasts mouth, it caught fire making everyone gasp. No one not even Stoick knew that Dragons weren't so fire proof on the inside. How could Hiccup of found that out? people were asking but were put off the question when they saw the beast knock Hiccup off the Night Fury and both of them fall into the flames that was the beast burning from the inside out.
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As the flames began to die down, Stoick went through the ash filled air calling out to his son.
"Hiccup!" he called always looking around "Hiccup! Son!"
Just then Stoick saw something black in the distance and rushed over to it saying "Hiccup," in worried voice.
The saddle was boy free and completely ruined and the tail was only broken metal rods.
"Oh son." Stoick said his knees buckling with grief. "I did this."
Astrid and Gobber pushed past everyone and caught sight of the Night Fury, Astrid's eyes growing wide.
A arc of Vikings and a few returning Dragons all stared in silence at the Night Fury.
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Noche was hugging his brother tightly scared he was hurt, barely awake himself, in his mind hearing a voice speaking to him.
'It is alright Prince of the Night Fury's' the voice said calming him 'I promise your brother is fine.'
'No... No he is not,' Noche called back tightening his hold on the boy.
'Hiccup will be fine, Noche Oscura. If you would like, I could give his Dragon Powers a bit more power so he will heal better and quicker.'
'At what cost? Papa always says all magic comes with a price,' Noche said to the voice concerned.
'All I will ask, is that the two of you will work together to keep freeing the Dragons of the world and keep the peace between Man and Dragon.' the voice replied in a 'You-Can-Trust-Me' voice.
Knowing that there might not be any other way for Hiccup to live if he was hurt really bad, Noche did what any big brother would do, and accepted the deal, instantly feeling Hiccup's breaths soothing out so he was only in a sleeping comma letting his body heal from all the damage it took.
Just then Noche began to hear something crunching the stones that littered the land they were on.
"Oh son. I did this..." the King's voice said.
Blinking his eyes open Noche looked up to look to the King kneeling before him and everyone else behind him all with sad and worried expressions on their faces.
"Oh son," the King said "I'm so sorry."
His eyes growing a bit at hearing this Noche unfurled his wings revealing Hiccup.
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"Hiccup!" Stoick said aghast rushing over and gently picking his son up, taking off his helmet and placing his ear to his son's chest.
"Ah he's alive," he called out "You brought him back alive!"
Behind him the Vikings were laughing and cheering. The dragons showing their own ways of expressing happiness that both the Night Fury and the weird boy were alright.
Back with the Chief, his son still in his arms he slowly and gently reached out to Toothless.
"Thank you for saving my son," he said smiling.
"Well you know..." Gobber said coming over "Most of him," he said getting everyone to halt their cheers and give him confused looks as he pointed to the boys lower left leg and how it couldn't even be seen as a leg anymore.
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Getting up in a rush Noche began sniffing the leg and found claw marks from where he was reaching out to save him.
Backing away blinking his eyes to keep them free of tears and shaking his head, Noche turned and ran away.
"TOOTHLESS WAIT!" he heard Astrid cry and follow him everyone else too shocked to by Hiccup's leg to do anything.
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As the Healers who had come along took Hiccup away to tend to him, and the others who had been hurt, and those who were not hurt began to scavenge around looking for something big enough to carry Stoick, Toothless, Hiccup and one more Viking back to Berk so they can send more boats to bring everyone else home, Astrid went off to try and find Toothless to tend to him.
"Toothless!" she called looking around finding nothing. "Oh come on how hard can it be to find a Night Fury in the middle of the day?" she asked.
Getting an idea, she went to the entrance of the Nest and right away found a curled up scared looking Toothless.
"Toothless..." she said barely above a whisper and slowly began to step forward.
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Noche saw Astrid coming in and turned on her warning her not to come any closer.
"Toothless. If you're upset about Hiccup, it wasn't your fault."
'Yes it was!' he cried back his teeth showing.
"If anything it was our fault, us Viking's. If we only just listened to him, and you, you wouldn't of needed to face that thing the way he and you did and end up like that." Astrid continued with each other word stepping closer.
"But being stubborn is an issue Vikings have had for 300 years, Toothless," she said finally reaching him reaching out her hand. "Please show you're not a Viking and don't be stubborn in thinking this was your fault too..."
Not really understanding what she was saying, but having feeling of 'she's right' come to him. Toothless retracted his teeth and slowly pressed up against her hand.
'But I hurt my brother, Astrid,' Noche said lying down on his paws after a bit. 'It's my claw marks on his leg. It's all my fault.'
'I agree with the girl, Noche,' a familiar cry said getting Noche to look around and Astrid to look around too thinking it was only her and the black dragon here.
The Hider from all those weeks ago, Rainbow, revealed herself coming over to the Prince and bowed her head quickly in greeting.
'If the leader of the Horn-Heads had been listening to the boy,' she began disappearing and then reappearing on the side of the wall 'Then he and the others Horn-Heads, and you mind you, wouldn't of been sailing too your doom to become the Queen's newest meal.'
'I thought Hiders stayed with their own kind Rainbow,' Noche said ignoring her words and curling around Astrid a bit smelling a small scent of fear on her - It's hard to fight what you can't see, and in a former Dragon's Nest where the fire pit in the middle was making all the walls blood red, it just made it more spooky.
'And I thought Night Fury's were not Tiny One's, Noche Oscura,' Rainbow said loving the growls she was getting disappearing again and then coming back now behind them.
'Just what does that have to do with anything?' he asked standing up teeth coming out again.
'The running away and hiding part of course Sweet Cheeks,' Rainbow said turning her scales green mocking Noche, her voice going all squeaky 'Oh look at me I'm Price Noche Oscura. One of the two sons of Artemis and Nyx and I ran away just because I hurt my baby brother while protecting him from being burned to death.'
Not taking it anymore but because he was out of shots for he next few hours Noche charged to the Hider snarling and clawing at her running right into the wall as she shifted and moved away popping back up on the right.
'Missed me!' she said as if this was a game.
Shaking his head of dizziness, he turned and charge again only for her to do the same trick.
'Oh no I hurt someone I love while saving him,' she said appearing above the two 'Oh what ever will Mama and Papa say when I say I hurt my brother when we get back to them. Oh I know I'll say he did it to me first and I was just making it even.'
'Wha... What?' Noche asked looking up confused.
'Well think about it Sweet Cheeks,' Rainbow said smirking 'Use that brain Draco gave you. Your brother shot you down and made you loose a tail fin taking away your self flying right?' she asked getting a slow nod as Noche looked to his tail 'Well, although I wager the Blonde One will make something for him to walk again, without that thing, he wont be able to walk on his own will he. An eye for an eye Prince.' she said disappearing again as Noche leaped to to her only catching ceiling.
'You have some nerve saying I think like that Hider!' he cried looking all around.
'I wasn't saying that,' Rainbow said come out in front of him. 'I'm showing you, Noche Oscura, that you care for your brother.
If you didn't care for him, you wouldn't of protected him in the stone ring back on the island where these Horn-Heads come from.
Or told him to leave when there looked like there was going to be no escape for you when the Queen burned the ships.
Or tried so hard to reach him as he was falling in to the flames that was her fire being ignited by you,'
Rainbow listed making Noche wonder just how the Hider knew all these things have happened. 'If you didn't care for him, you would of let him fall not trying to save him.
You would of not told him to go and or blasted him as soon as the belt was off your maw.
You would of let the Flame Skin hurt him.
You would of ended his life the day you met as soon as he freed you from the rock net.'
Now that really place the question on the table on how far this Hider has been watching him and Hiccup.
'Everyone, Dragon and Human who love another, at some point or another, has been hurt by or has hurt someone else.' Rainbow said looking away a bit to one of the hiding holes the nest used to have Noche looking up to smelling Hider there. 'This isn't the stars* Sweet Cheeks, this is the Real-World, and my Mama always said... 'In the real world, it's better to of loved and hurt, than hurt and unloved at all'.
Just something to think about,' Rainbow said looking back disappearing one last time not popping back up.
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Because Astrid couldn't understand Dragonese, she had absolutely no idea what had just been going on between the two dragon, but as soon as the red one was gone after everything had calmed down adding on a couple of minutes just in case, she began to walk over to Toothless and see if he was alright.
"You alright Toothless?" she asked stroking his scales gently.
All the Night Fury did was nod, slowly at first, but then getting faster a small smile coming to his lips. Full of happiness again he licked Astrid covering her with slime.
"Ugh..." she said dripping with saliva as as Toothless was rolling about laughing. "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. Bet that never washes out," she said flicking some back to the dragon, and trying to get as much off her as possible. "Well since you're all better and happy again how about we go see Hiccup?"
Toothless looked up smiling and nodded getting behind her and pushing her to the entrance of the cave.
"Toothless, Toothless I can make it there myself you know..." she said but her words fell on deaf ears.
Deaf ears that were replaying the conversation and the lesson his friend had just told him. 'It's better to of loved and hurt, than hurt and unloved at all'
AN: * This goes to either The Lion King's 'All the great kings from the past' or 'Dragon Heart (which I'm more happy with) 'In times of doubt / 'That's where the Dragons go to rest' - might have the second one wrong...
Either way I hope you still all like this and take that lesson to heart yourselves :)