She leapt off the window ledge and melted into the night, her first and best refuge. The night had always hidden her, and that deal with the Red Death did not count. The beast's fire had made total darkness impossible. But tonight was moonless, cloudy, and perfect for hunting.

She swooped low over the forest and scented the air for her desired prey. Deer, rabbits, the ever present fish, a fox that might make a nice backup, and…oh. She unsheathed her fangs, much more impressive in this form. There it was, musky, mingling berries, honey, and meat. Such tasty prey and the fur was wonderfully thick and warm. But the scent was diluted, the prey far afield. Well, she wasn't the fastest of all dragons tonight for nothing. The air shrieked around her as a night fury shot through the sky to the east, following the smell of bear.

As she flew, Toothless thought about her life back in the castle with Hiccup. Of course, anything was better than what she'd been living, serving the Red Death like a pet or slave. Before that, it had been Father, watching, playing, hunting with her. They would soar through the sky on wings of their choosing and then land on two legs to sit by the fire and make up stories or just talk. It had been a freer time, with no servants waking her and no competitions that didn't even have halfway decent opponents. But there was Hiccup.

Hiccup. She'd meant to seduce him, having him eating out her hand. But that day, when she watched him from a tree in the forest, he'd tried so hard, and was too young to know lust intimately enough for it to dominate him. So she'd entered his life as a little thing, just a common dragon with an arrow in its mouth, not the great lady she'd been planning.

And she'd fallen in love with him, despite her objective to simply gain a place to hide while the time limit on the Red Death's chain magic wore off. But how could she not love the wit, the tender strokes down her wings, the way he talked to her as if she was intelligent enough to understand? Funny, Hiccup made her scales into skin, and the Red Death had objectified her. Perhaps that was another thing she loved about him.

And because she loved him, she would do this for him. The prey was close now, the scent much thicker in the air. She landed in one of the sturdier trees and took in the lay of the land. The scent wafted out of the cave, stunning her sensitive nose with its intensity. The creature must have been wet when it went to sleep. That stench was awful! Though, she really should have been thanking it, it had made the smell strong enough to track from the castle, which was now a good five miles away. The clearing at the foot of the cave made an ideal place to use to draw the animal out.

Well, she knew one thing that would wake it for sure. Letting the gas pool in her mouth, she unleashed a plasma blast just feet away from the cave mouth. The prey didn't disappoint. It barreled out of the cave and snarled, scanning its surroundings. It was mad, just about ready to rear up and slash those paws at the nearest thing that moved. Perfect.

Toothless flared her wings and roared for good measure. Whipping around to face her, the creature added its own roar to the din and charged. A quick sweep of her wings and she was out of the way. The beast charged again, faster this time. Again, she dodged, finally getting enough gas in her mouth. The plasma blast ignited the grass at the beast's foot, making it rear up from fright and anger.

That left his wide open. Toothless shot forward and raked her claws down his underbelly before shooting into the sky and out of range. The bear, angry and in substantial pain, ran through the brush and surrounding forest, looking for his foe. Toothless watched from the sky, keeping an eye on her dying prey. That wound was too huge for the beast to survive. It would bleed out soon enough.

A howl sounded through the sky. Apparently, she wasn't the only one hungry for bear tonight. She flew in a wide arc, trying to spot the competition. She hoped it wasn't a large group. A bear was one thing, but a pack of wolves? If it was more than twenty, she'd have to give up and hunt down the fox from earlier. It wouldn't make nearly as impressive a rug, but still a nice one.

But it looked like the fox was in luck. It was only eight wolves, and three were heavily pregnant. Perhaps the bear's cave doubled as a birthing den. They did seem to be headed there, and not for her quarry. The wolves entered the cave and she breathed a sigh of relief. The bear was quieting now, probably drawing his last breaths. She flew to a tree near him and watched as he collapsed.

After the twitching ceased, she pounced and turned him over. Her earlier cut had served the dual purpose of killing him and beginning the skinning process. She wished Hiccup was here to pat her on the wing for cleverness. She finished the first cut, and began the other two. Her claw made quick work of the bear and she soon had the skin rolled up and ready to take to Hiccup, head, tail, and paws intact. Then she looked back at the carcass. All that lovely meat was just going to go to waste, and since she wasn't particularly hungry…

The wolf males guarding the females heard a ruckus outside the cave mouth and came to investigate. The bear might be coming back for his home. And the bear had come back, just not in the way they'd expected. Toothless watched the wolves check for threats before dragging the carcass into the cave for themselves and the females. She thanked every star she knew that Hiccup never did that for her. Chocolate covered strawberries were much more his style.

This is my first Toothless-centric chapter. A little of her history, feelings about her marriage, and her capabilities as a big dragon. Do you think Stoick will like the rug she's making him?

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