16 - Occupied
Black wings beat a rhythm through the night as Toothless and his rider, Firefly, made their way home. Both were lost in their own thoughts as they enjoyed the beautiful view of the scenery. Above, the half moon cast a comforting glow, surrounded by uncountable twinkling stars. Below, an expansive field of clouds stretched out below like a bright, wide, lumpy plain of freshly fallen snow.
They have been fighting a headwind ever since taking off yesterday, so progress was slower than normal. However, after eating a bunch of fish and sleeping until night to resume their usual nocturnal habits, flying became easier. Flying at night was so much better than the day, especially an unusually warm day that forced Toothless to dunk himself in the ocean to cool off a couple times to avoid overheating.
Toothless had come to one important conclusion about those females on that island they had visited for several days: those are some of the most wonderful land-striders in the world! The way they would rub his belly and scratch him under the chin would make his mind melt. Initially, they were very timid, but by observing their reactions, Toothless found the perfect way to widen his eyes, the most charming curl to his lips to reveal a toothless smile, the best arch to his back to look like an adorable feline, and the most irresistibly adorable way to lay belly-up and paw at a wet hide hung up to dry.
It started with the hatchlings and younger land-striders, but even the older ones joined in. With a single gesture, Toothless could break down their barriers of fear and trepidation. On his command, they would throw all caution to the wind and dive in to give him the most wonderful belly rubs. He would just relax every muscle in his body and melt into a big black panting puddle. The threat of fiery retaliation if they tried to attack him, combined with the allure of befriending dragons, was enough to make them very peaceful. They were a lot more open-minded and willing to accept allies than Firefly's people were at first and Toothless took full advantage of that.
Of course, the flying duo couldn't stop themselves from doing some stunts in the air, which made the young females want to massage the dragon even more. Once Firefly showed them how to work the tension out of his muscles, Toothless would just dive right into a crowd of them after a flight, roll onto his back to present his belly and flanks, and lose himself in bliss and purring and warbling and licking. He wished he could have stayed there forever!
On their last day, they even managed to help those land-striders befriend some dragons. Well, one land-strider, at least. That was actually what delayed them in returning home. They were with that friend of Firefly, whose land-strider name was something like "Self-Sacrifice". Toothless ended up just naming her Troublemaker as that really fit what she did every day. They discovered the presence of some mink dragons on the island, or terrors that are terrible, as the land-striders called them.
One of them was badly injured. Aside from a gash along his flank, the main support bone for his left wing was snapped and his right foreleg was also broken. Initially, they were very distrustful and full of fire and hissing and warnings. However, Firefly and Toothless were able to win their trust. Well, maybe it was the fish offering that won their trust. It was a close call.
The injured one was quite immobile and in great pain. The mink dragon trio was trying to decide if it would be merciful to just give him a quick death. A dragon that couldn't fly would quickly go mad. Walking was next to impossible with a broken leg and a broken wing dragging along. Troublemaker really wanted to help. She delicately inspected the injuries, heedless of the teeth snapping in agitation. In fact, she even put her hand in the injured dragon's mouth as a show of trust before asking him to trust her.
Toothless and Firefly flew to the land-strider nest to grab some supplies while Troublemaker remained behind. On returning, they used sticks and slender vines to provide support for the broken bones so the injured dragon could at least limp around relatively pain-free. It would be good enough for now, but Firefly was convinced the dragon needed more help than was available on that island. The land-striders back home had developed in their abilities to help dragons heal from injuries and could provide better assistance. He convinced the injured mink dragon, ignoring Toothless' objections, to ride home with them.
The other mink dragons, a male and a female, actually took a liking to Troublemaker. Smoke practically poured out of her nostrils as she contemplated what she could do with her new friends. It had something to do with playing games that involved stealing the most valuable shiny stones. Convincing them to play such a game would be easy. Getting them to release said shiny object, though, would be next to impossible.
That was when Firefly realized they really had to go. He made a promise and his sire, the Beast, would be beside himself with worry if Firefly didn't return soon, fearing the worst from those females. Then, those two flocks of land-striders would probably kill each other and Toothless would feel a little guilty about that.
No amount of belly rubs would make that any better.
As they flew above the clouds on the last wing of their journey, Toothless noticed little fragments of images his rider was projecting. Firefly didn't realize he was projecting and Toothless would normally ignore such chaff, but something about it caught his attention. They were images of the day Toothless was shot down and cut free from the vines that knocked him out of the sky. In this case, though, he was completely unharmed. He had not lost his tail fin and simply flew off, never to be seen again.
Toothless didn't like what he was seeing, so he arched one of his sensor lobes back and gently slapped his rider with a quick twist of his neck. Firefly grumbled and slapped the sensor right back. This would usually start a battle between the two, but neither was in the mood for that at the moment. The dragon pressed his sensor lobe down against his neck, tilting his head up to lean it back toward his rider to show he wanted to say something. Firefly got the hint and pressed his hands against the dragon's neck.
{Firefly, you're projecting about that day you shot me down, again. It's in the past and you know I would have given much more than a silly little tail fin to escape that mind snare. You know I feel no resentment and I have no regrets. Either think about something more pleasant or don't think at all.}
Firefly did his usual, nasally, singsong way of thinking with his lips, but his projected thoughts were well-organized. {I'm sorry, but I'm not thinking about your tail, this time. I'm thinking about your family that you were a part of before the demonic queen took you. We should go find them. I have never thought about it until recently and you need me to go with you. You have dedicated yourself to providing for me and I need to be more considerate about your needs and wants.}
Toothless grumbled his annoyance. Ever since he snapped at his rider earlier, during the flight to that island of females, Firefly let the issue go for a while. However, he started stalking and prodding at this and would not take no for an answer.
{Firefly, I told you I don't want to talk about it. That has not changed.}
{Is that because your family hates you?}
{I would have no clue what they think of me. They probably assumed me dead a long time ago and who could blame them for that.}
{Do you hate them?}
The dragon froze for a moment. {Yes. Perhaps I was at one time curious, but that is gone. I am happy to forget about them. They could all be dead for all I know. Regardless, they are dead to me now.}
Firefly laughed. {Liar. I can feel it in your hum. You say that only because you don't want to drag me around to find them, but I really do feel bad knowing I'm hindering you. What Troublemaker said about how you need me to fly anywhere really got me thinking. You weren't able to tell me until I learned to hear you, so I selfishly went about using you as a beast of burden. I am ashamed and I want to make amends.}
Toothless gave a light reprimanding slap of is sensor lobe against Firefly's face. {That is not true and you know it, Firefly! You are not selfish and you know I would never tolerate you treating me like that. There's a reason I and the other dragons take on riders. We live boring lives and you land-striders are very interesting creatures. You know this. I have already told you my wings are yours and I have no regrets about that.}
{That's very kind of you, Toothless, but this isolation from the rest of your species bothers you. Don't try to deny it. I'm still coming to terms with being your declared alpha, but even as such, I cannot be content if you are not. I want to give you what you want and you need me to find your family. You know this is something you cannot easily live without.}
{What if what's good for me is bad for you? What if I want to go back to that island of female land-striders right now to receive some more belly rubs from them? What if I never want to leave?}
Firefly flicked the tailfin, sending them into a left banking turn. Toothless yelped in surprise and fought to stay on course. The injured mink dragon cradled in Firefly's lap whined in confusion.
Toothless grumbled at his rider. {What are you doing?!}
{I'm taking us back to that island we came from, of course. You said you want to go there and you need me to fly. You can project your thoughts really far, right? Just tell Skullcrusher that we will be delayed for an indeterminable length of time. He can tell Butterfly or Dragon Whisperer to relay the message.}
Toothless growled at that. Going back now would be a terrible idea and they both knew it. Firefly promised to arrive back home by the next sunrise. Beast had plans for him and it was critical to be dependable as Firefly was working on fixing his reputation to the contrary. If they went back now, Beast would be very disappointed - no, furious. Firefly would have to endure the consequences.
Sure, they could fly away and leave that island forever to spare Firefly from such consequences, but that would only crush his heart to be separated from everyone he knew. Toothless would never do that to his rider! He would never be able to enjoy the ministrations of those females knowing his rider was making significant sacrifices.
The dragon voiced his thoughts to his rider. {I was trying to make a point!}
{Then you failed miserably! It would be a sacrifice for me, but I would do it for you because you're worth it!}
Toothless slapped his rider again. {We will not go there and that is final!}
The tailfin flicked again to keep their course toward home. {If you say so, Toothless. We'll just go back home, help this mink dragon heal up, and then set off to find your family.}
Toothless snarled. {I am no longer curious about them. I no longer care what could be gained by finding them. It is dangerous and you know it. I will not risk losing you! There is nothing more to discuss!}
He ducked his head down to break contact with the rider's hand. Firefly's breath caught in his throat. It twisted Toothless' gut no less than when he did it the first time, but he needed to make a clear statement.
Firefly sighed. The familiar click of the tail fin locking into its current position could be heard, allowing for stable flight without the rider's intervention until they need to turn or the winds shift. Toothless could hear some clicking from his back and felt his rider rise up to lean forward, staring into the dragon's eyes from above.
{What if I command it as your alpha? You said your wings are mine. If I insist, would you deny me?}
Toothless did not want to respond and focused on silencing his own thoughts. Only now did he realize he had dipped below the clouds and was now flying through fog. How long he was in that fog, he did not know. However, looking down, he saw a small, forested island that he recognized as one of their favorite places to hunt.
They needed to talk snout-to-face.
He angled in for a steep landing, slamming into the ground at the edge of a dense forest, sending up a shower of pine needles and dirt. Firefly unhooked himself and Toothless practically flung him out of the saddle.
Anger boiled up. He reared up on his hind legs, fanned his wings, and glared down at his rider.
What Firefly wanted was incomprehensible. They both knew that finding Toothless' family would be dangerous. Dragons naturally distrust land-striders. They are also naturally violent creatures that fight over any disagreements – Night Furies even more so. When they see a rider on a dragon's back, they will jump to conclusions – violent conclusions. When they hear that it was Firefly who shot the dragon down and is the cause for the missing tailfin, there's no question about whether they would strike before hearing that it was actually a good thing. Firefly knew all this very well.
How dare he suggest such a foolish thing so seriously!
The rider recovered his balance as he hit the ground, gently set the mink dragon down, and stared up into Toothless' eyes in defiance. He seemed to be mildly annoyed by the rough treatment, but completely unaffected by the snarling and gnashing of teeth. Such was the downside to the absolute trust they had in each other.
Firefly just paced back and forth, talking about how they needed to do this. It would be the only way to resolve this nagging on their minds. True, the dragons may respond with hostility, but they could also respect Firefly and Toothless as the ones who defeated the queen, freeing hundreds of dragons from a fate much worse than death.
The most frustrating thing was that Firefly thought he needed to make up for something based on a fantasy that he owed his dragon something. Toothless loved his rider exactly as he was… minus the part about regularly risking his own life for the sake of another. A whole lifetime looked down upon by every other land-strider has conditioned him to believe he always owes somebody something. Toothless has been fighting against such a nature in his rider even before the Dragon Whisperer came along. This was not the first time Firefly suggested that he was acting selfishly and it made Toothless want to just use his tail to slap some sense into his rider.
Toothless tried to convince Firefly otherwise, insisting that there was no greater joy than to fly with him no matter where they went. Firefly was all he ever wanted. The rider was the destination and everything else was just extra fish on the pile. There was no substitute for such companionship and devotion. Well, Toothless had to admit that there would be so much to gain by being around others of his species. What knowledge was lost and what instincts have been eroded in the demonic queen's confinement was anyone's guess. Also, he had matured to the point where the rutting season was really starting to affect him and finding some mate would be nice and…
No! Dangerous! Insane!
To go and seek out such danger by finding the dragons he has never seen since before he even learned to fly, who may or may not be dead and will almost certainly respond to his rider with hostility... The risk far outweighs any reward. It would be reckless. It would be foolish.
It would be a very Firefly thing to do.
I will not risk my rider I have fought so hard to protect!
Toothless retracted his teeth and clamped down hard on Firefly's hand - not hard enough to cause damage, but enough to make him wince in pain. This was not the first time he got so aggressive with his rider.
{Firefly, I don't care about your reasons. We are not going because it is too risky. You are thinking reckless thoughts. I will not risk losing you!}
Toothless did not realize the mistake he made until his rider pounced on it. The fact that he was focusing on the danger told his rider that he knew he could find his family if he wanted to. After all, Night Furies could project their thoughts over long distances, which meant they could be found if they chose to be found.
Firefly shook his hand out of the mouth of his dragon, who resumed pacing back and forth and snarling and growling. The rider then stepped forward, unhooked the linkages to the tail fin, and removed the saddle.
As the saddle fell to the ground, dragon's jaw following in like manner, Firefly gave a frustrated snort. {Maybe I'm just not worthy of your loyalty! I do what is right even if it is dangerous. That is why I cut you loose after I shot you down. That is why I gave a fish to an angry, starving dragon. That is why I begged the other dragons to help me when you were shackled down and taken to the demonic queen's nest. It is not fear that guides me, but my conscience. It's just who I am and if you don't like it, then I shouldn't be your alpha!}
Toothless was furious. He couldn't even wrap his mind around the fact that his rider was suggesting such a thing. This was insane! Firefly was insane! The most frustrating thing was that Toothless knew he would eventually yield to his rider's desires, having no greater stability to trust in. If he could not convince Firefly that this was folly, then he would willingly deliver Firefly to his likely death simply because the rider wanted it.
If we fly there and Firefly gets hurt or killed, I will go insane!
In the midst of his snarling and pacing, Toothless grabbed his rider's prosthetic leg in his teeth and pulled it off with a quick flick. Firefly stumbled and the dragon sprang from his haunches, slamming his front paw into his rider's chest, pinning him against the trunk of a tree, snarling and roaring in his face.
The injured mink dragon screeched in terror, but Firefly had this frustrating habit of trusting his dragon to such a degree that nothing could phase him. He simply recovered the breath that was knocked out of him from the impact and glared.
Strength suddenly drained out of Toothless. He instantly felt regret. He always trusted his rider to do what was best. Always! To assault and overpower the one creature that gave meaning to a lonely dragon's life was so... shameful! This has always been something Firefly was working on with his dragon, controlling the rage. Toothless felt like a failure for treating his own rider - his precious Firefly - like this.
A whine clawed its way out of his throat. This was not play-fighting. This was a display of dominance to make his rider submit. This was malicious coercion. This was evil. Firefly deserved better.
How dare I handle my rider this way!
Already, Toothless was thinking about how he would apologize and appease his rider. He would flatten himself to the ground, he would whimper, he would dig a hole and bury his head in it. Of course, any other creature, dragon or land-strider, would see only fangs and fire. Only Firefly deserved to see his dragon abased. However, the savior of dragons would forgive Toothless so freely and quickly, which would only make it hurt even worse.
Toothless' vision was still swimming with red. He was about to drop his rider to release his rage by tearing up a tree, but felt a scratching sensation at the base of his jaw. Just before his eyes rolled up in a most unwelcome overload of bliss, he saw disappointment in Firefly's eyes and felt it in his thought projections.
It pierced the dragon's heart and tore it to shreds as darkness overtook him.
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Toothless couldn't believe what he saw as he blinked his way back into reality. He knew he was unconscious for only a moment, but his one-legged rider was held in the grasp of a land-strider with a shiny claw pressed to his throat. Many more surrounded them. A couple land-striders were trying to bind the dragon's maw and legs.
Panic and regret were all that could be seen in Firefly's face and felt in his hum.
Without any hesitation, the offspring of lightning and death flailed at his enemies. An arm found its way into his mouth and blood sprayed out. The other land-strider instantly found himself mashed between sharp claws and dirt.
Toothless gathered gas in his throat while lunging at the next enemy. The pathetic ape was completely unprepared and went sprawling to the ground. Without even taking the time to properly kill it, he lunged at another, taking him by surprise, and shot a fireball at another. In his haste, he missed, but the explosion knocked several of them over as he tackled one and bounced off into another. Toothless would have continued his assault, but he heard a yelp from his rider, who was desperately projecting instructions to his dragon.
{Fly home, Toothless. Get help. You cannot fight all of them. You cannot save me if you stay here. If you continue to fight, I die. Trust me!}
If Firefly's life wasn't in peril, Toothless might have noticed he was actually projecting his thoughts like a dragon instead of thinking with his lips. Firefly had always struggled to do that.
Toothless saw an image projected from Firefly of a shiny claw impaling his throat while his dragon fought these worthless creatures. He froze. The intensity of his rider's insistence could not be ignored, but leaving just felt so wrong.
I cannot just abandon him. He needs me! I need him! Oh, why must he be so frail?
Toothless was snapped back to the present when something started to wrap around his tail. It was some sort of vines and stones snare, but was poorly aimed. One of the stones hit him directly, causing the vines to dangle over his tail. Toothless shook it off, roaring his frustration. Another stone and vines contraption whirled toward him, but he flared his wing and slapped it to the ground. As he crouched to pounce another land-strider, Firefly yelped and a small trickle of blood ran down his neck.
The rider pleaded with an intensity that instantly crushed his dragon's spirit. {You cannot stay here and fight or we both die! Fly away and get help! I'm begging you to trust me!}
Before Toothless could think, his haunches were coiled. Before he could question what he was doing, he shot up into the air. Before he realized how loudly he was whimpering, he almost slammed into the ocean and, through some miracle, remembered to flick his tail so the fin would lock open in the neutral position thanks to the recent modifications.
He felt that same sort of internal agony on his first flight with his rider, when they both fell, separated, uncontrolled, tumbling to the ground with no hope of survival, fighting against every instinct to buck and kick. However, if that first flight was a trickle of terror, the pain of flying away was a torrential rush.
As he flew, Toothless reached out with his senses, desperately scratching for any comfort of contact with his rider. His sensor lobes pulsated, finding the optimal positions to receive the faint projections, straining to catch every little whisper. He could detect his rider and a group of land-striders surrounding him, but Firefly seemed to have calmed down. He was wondering how long it took for a broken rib to heal.
Toothless continued to look around with his sensors, as his eyesight was worthless in the fog, and his jaw dropped at what he detected. There was an uncountable number of land-striders behind him and off to the right. They must have been over water, meaning that there must be those land-strider floating vessels. There were far more land-striders than scales on Toothless' body. He had never seen so many at once.
A side wind kicked Toothless off-course and he snapped his attention back to his flight. He roared his frustration as he tried to correct his course with the limited control of the fixed tail fin. The wind was pushing him to roll and bank left, so he had to spin himself so that his right wing dipped down as he pushed his tail up to correct his course. It was a horribly inefficient and uncomfortable way to fly, but it would have to do without his rider to work the fin. Every change in the wind that threatened to throw him off-balance only reflected the turbulence in his mind.
Guilt took over as he realized who, exactly, put Firefly in this situation. It was the dragon, not the rider who forced this discussion to become a fight. It was he who was so wrapped up in his emotions that he didn't even check to see if there was anyone around before landing. It was his own unthinking actions that forced Firefly to knock him unconscious to regain control of the situation.
Toothless beat his wings as hard as he could and just wished the ocean would swallow him up.
A/N:
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
Have you ever written one of those chapters where you really want to hammer in certain content, but it just does not feel like a good fit? You hum and haw for days as you fiddle with it, but never feel quite satisfied when you post it? I think this curse hits me every four chapters, exactly. On the plus side, if this tempo keeps up, I got only one more cursed chapter coming up.
Alright, response to comments time. I really appreciate the feedback so much!
10Blue10 - Yeah, Hiccup should be really proud of his dragon ambassador skills. Nothing breaks the ice like little children. I was tempted to add some extra drama, but the urge to toss in some warm fuzzies and move on won the day. Besides, I figured that if the Bog-Burglars have bogs, then they'd be a bit far from ground zero of the dragon war and, thus, wouldn't be as hard to sway.
NitroExpress - Yes, I've have read "I Hear Him Scream". Of all the fanfics that turn dragons into Jedi knights or wizards or demigods, it's one of the few I've seen that doesn't invalidate the dialog in the movie, "They've killed hundreds of us!" - "And we've killed thousands of them!" It probably played a part in influencing my take on Stoick (we will see a fair bit of him in the next chapters).