Carried Off: Beloved, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl
Chapter 2 (rough draft)
My human is finally being a little bit brave. He creeps into the light and he is frightened of my flockmates but doesn't flee or attack them. He makes his nervous chittering as they greet him and mark him and investigate him, and he pats them with his little paws.
I'm surprised that he goes to pay obeisance to Alpha all on his own, I didn't have to make him. It's a strange human kind of obeisance, just folding his body and not calling out or making any scent-marks, but of course Alpha is not offended. Alpha loves not-monster humans, He thinks they are very so much interesting. He asks if Scared will let Him talk to him now.
Scared is OF COURSE so scared, but I guess he was brave and said yes anyway, because finally Alpha starts saying things in His Alpha-to-human way that I don't understand. All I know is that Scared is scared and confused and shocked and scared. And then tired.
"Take him back to your aerie to rest," Alpha tells me. "Poor little one, he is worn out. The same thing happened with his 'mother' when we learned to talk to each other..."
When Scared wakes up again, he is OF COURSE frightened. I'm glad he still doesn't flee or fight, even though his body very much wants to.
"Don't be scared, you're safe safe safe."
He squawks at me, he is annoyed and unhappy but I don't know why. Then he makes a gurgling noise, but he didn't make it with his mouth like usual, he made it with his stomach. He doesn't like my teeth so close to his soft belly, and that scared I understand, but he doesn't even try to protect himself. It's strange that he's so scared and brave at the same time.
His stomach is too empty, of course he's hungry. I must feed him, so I do as if he's a hatchling that can't catch his own food, but he is very much stupid and doesn't want food even though he's so hungry.
"EAT."
He is frightened and cornered, I don't like that he makes me feel like I'm hunting him even though all I want to do is take care of him.
He crouches down low. Is he submitting to me? "Here," he says.
Why 'here'? There's nothing there.
He makes a noise that I don't understand, waving his paws in front of his mouth. He makes the noise again and again, it sounds a little bit like my fire when I shoot.
My fire comes out of my mouth when I shoot. He is waving his forepaws by his mouth like flickering fire, he makes the fire noise and said 'Here'...
I shoot a blast at his 'Here' place. He's shocked and scared, but then...relieved. Yes. He did want to me shoot at 'here.'
He puts the fish on the hot stone and bares his teeth even though he feels a tiny bit happy. We crouch there for a while, then he tells me to "Shoot here" again in his strange human way.
When the fish is crispy, he FINALLY FINALLY eats it. I understand now! Stupid human, if he just told me he likes his food cooked, I would cook it for him...!
Something is wrong. I don't know what happened, but my human is upset again, he's not really scared anymore but he's grieving and his heart is hurting. I try to comfort him-
"STOP THAT!" he roars at me. Why is he angry at me?! I was comforting him!
He leaps up and roars and growls and attacks me. What?! Why?! What is wrong with him?!
He can't hurt me with his silly weak limbs and soft paws and useless teeth, but I don't like him flailing at me, so I make him stop. "Stop that," snarl, ordering him to submit because he did something strange and wrong.
He refuses to submit to me! He is pinned down and weak and helpless, but he still will not submit! What is wrong with him?!
He struggles and screeches, maybe he's crazy. I shake him and pin him again. "I am bigger than you stronger than you, I dominate you and subdue you! You are smaller than me and weaker than me, you must submit!" Why does he not understand such an obvious thing?
Still he struggles. My jaws are not enough, I pin him with my paw, too, but he already couldn't escape; he doesn't care that he can't escape even more. I think...I think maybe he is saying, "I would rather die than submit to you!" It scares me. This creature wants something more than it wants to live. It's crazy, I brought a broken crazy thing to my nest?!
But Alpha didn't tell me to throw this thing away... Alpha knows this thing is crazy, but He still likes him. It's okay. There is something very wrong with Scary Crazy Thing, but he won't hurt us, that's why Alpha let him stay.
I'm shocked and scared because I think maybe Crazy will win...he's so small and weak, but he will win anyway, I don't don't don't know how...!
But then I feel him go limp. He almost won, but he didn't, I won, it's a good thing but I feel bad. Something's wrong. Maybe...I did the wrong thing...?
Crazy is hurt. Oh no, oh no, I...I shouldn't have won, I forgot how fragile he is and I hurt him, he was so scary and strong that I forgot to be gentle, I couldn't be gentle or I would lose, maybe I should have let him win, but I didn't, I forced him to submit and now he's hurt, I think I am wrong and bad...
My teeth are not sharp, I didn't break his soft skin, which maybe is good but I can't tend to him. I can clean away blood and soothe cuts, but when the breakings are under his skin where I can't reach, I...I hurt him and I can't even help him. I'm bad.
I take my human back to Alpha, Alpha can do many things that we little flocklings can't. "Alpha!"
"What is it?"
"My human, my little soft human, I am bad and wrong, I hurt him... Look. I hurt him where I can't reach; I can't tend to him. I'm bad and wrong."
"You must be gentle with not-monster humans," he scolds me. He is displeased, I am very much ashamed.
"Yes yes yes yes yes."
Alpha tries to talk to Hurting, but my human startles us both when he shrieks, frightened and angry.
"He won't talk to me?!"
"Alpha, I think he is crazy."
"Yes, but he won't talk to me..." Alpha is sad.
Hurting is curled up on the ground, hurting and grieving and upset and very much distressed. My flockmates are coming to investigate him and comfort him, but he says "I do not trust you, I protect myself from you, I'm so unhappy!"
Alpha orders everyone to leave him alone, no one can help Hurting if he doesn't want to be helped. He lets me close to him without being afraid, but he won't let himself be comforted by me even though I try. I lick the bruises I made on him because I want so much to soothe him even though I know I can't. This human is too strange, I don't know how to take care of him.
Fourwing is here, he came because he loved Clever Paws his human other half, and he wants to love this new not-monster human, too. "I want to be close to her child that she loved, but he is afraid and hiding... I will wait."
"Fourwing," I ask, "do you know how to take care of scared crazy hurting grieving upset humans?"
"?! What did you do to Half's Child?!"
I want to say that I didn't do anything bad to him! But I did, I'm bad and wrong and hurt him, so I don't answer. "He is sad and scared. How do I comfort him?"
"He's hiding. Be patient until he stops hiding, then he will let you love him."
He knows because he had a human of his own. I will do what he did, I will be patient and wait.
Hurting mutters, then suddenly he uncurls and stares. He is shocked and scared of Fourwing, I don't know why! Why is he so scared, even of things that don't threaten him and don't hurt him and want to love him?!
Fourwing approaches softly, crooning reassurances, but Scared hides under my wing. He's so scared of Fourwing that he will hide with me even though he's scared of me. "Maybe we should find something that scares him more than you, Fourwing, and then he will go close to you."
"No, Nightwing! That's mean and bad."
"I know! I was just wondering..."
I'm surprised and relieved when Scared creeps out again and looks up at Fourwing, like he is challenging him but thinks he will lose. Maybe I really should name him Crazy, to want a fight he knows he'll lose. He cringes back when Fourwing leans down to mark him, but he doesn't fight. Fourwing claims my human as "child of my other half" and "thing that this fourwing protects." Me and him together will keep our scared crazy little human safe.
Scared/Crazy gets a little braver later, he goes to explore our nest. He is relieved when we shoo away dragons who want to investigate him, but he doesn't like it when it's time to eat and I pick him up. He squawks and struggles, but he's more annoyed now than scared. I like that he's annoyed more than when he's scared.
We grab our food, we claimed enough for both of us and for our human, but he only takes two fish to eat. I know now that he likes to eat his food cooked, so I cook it for him and he's pleased.
I think he's pleased. He says "I threaten you," but he seems happy instead.
"Half Of Me did that, too," Fourwing explains. "For humans, it's not a threat; for humans, it means 'I'm happy.'"
Oh. Well, I should tell my human that I'm happy he's not cowering and that he's not so crazy that he won't eat. I can't bare my teeth at him, that would be bad, but maybe I can bare my harmless gums. "I am happy," I tell him in his crazy human way.
He doesn't agree with me, he's just shocked. Humans are very confusing! I give up and eat my good fish.
When it's time to go home, my human runs from me. I'm annoyed and frustrated, but then I stop and watch him because I don't think he's fleeing even though he's running. He's not scared, he's...annoyed and frustrated, just like I am. Is he trying to tell me something?
"NO, okay? I don't want to do the hauled-around-like-a-helpless-captive thing anymore. No."
He's barking and gesturing so firmly and sharply. I think he says, "I do not want to be carried by you!"
Okay. Okay, BUT! But you have no wings, you silly little human, how will you get home if I don't carry you?!
We challenge each other for a long time, standing very still glaring at each other. Then he cautiously starts to approach me, but he doesn't like it when I move to keep him in sight.
"No! Stop that, stay put!"
He's gesturing hard at the ground. Is he saying "This place here"? What about that spot? There's nothing there!
I sniff it anyway, maybe he knows something about it that I missed, but I feel a touch and I leap away. What? He was trying to attack my back when I wasn't paying attention, what?!
"Argh, dragon!" He is so frustrated. He sighs and looks at me. He's looking right into my eyes, but I...don't think he's challenging me. He's just frustrated. "...Look, Toothless. You don't mind if I call you Toothless, right? Too bad, I'm gonna call you that anyway."
CHITTER CHITTER MEANINGLESS CHITTER. I WISH HUMANS COULD TALK FOR REAL.
"There is this other arrangement, and it's where I don't get dangled from my poor abused arms. It's where I, you know, sit on your back, and you can carry me and it won't hurt. That sounds a lot better, right? No? Well, remember, you owe me. You kidnapped me, so I'm going to start making some demands here, evening out the score a bit, you jerk."
I growl. I am very frustrated.
He GROWLS BACK. "Yeah, see, I can growl, too."
I'm about to pounce on him and subdue him, but then I remember that that is not a good thing to do to my fragile strange crazy human. I don't know what to do! I want to ask Fourwing, but he's watching like a mama watching her fledgling hunt, and I know he won't help me because he wants me to learn how to take care of a human all by myself.
My human approaches again, paws stretched out to me, his chittering softer and more coaxing. "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I know it probably makes you uneasy to have me up there where you can't see me, but I promise I won't hurt you. I wouldn't, even if I could. Which I can't, because I'm a pathetic weakling. Okay?"
He doesn't like when I edge away from him, but he doesn't sound angry anymore. He makes the "this spot" gesture again. "Stay, Toothless. Stay. Stay."
This spot. Nothing in that spot, but he doesn't like when I move...
"Stay in the spot where you already are." That's what he's saying. Yes, he is relieved when he touches my back, and he even nuzzles me a little. "That's right. See? Very good. Stay, Toothless. Good job."
I feel pressure, he's moving, his body is light but I am very aware of him on my back. I can't see him. I don't like it, but I can smell him, he's not angry or frustrated anymore, he's relieved and a little affectionate, he's crooning and caressing me with his soft paws.
...I will carry my human home on my back?
"Half Of Me did this, too," Fourwing finally says. "Humans don't like being carried, they want to ride. They are not babies. They like to be where our wings are, to pretend they have wings of their own. They are creatures of the earth, but they still long for the sky just like we do."
Oh. Ohhhhhh, I understand now. I crane my head to try to lick my human, I can only reach his knee, I understand now.
"Heh. Okay. Now we can go, Toothless."
Flying is different with him on my back instead of in my claws. Better. It's easier to fly, less drag; I'm more aware of him, of how he feels and what he needs. He is terrified but exhilarated all at once-
...He has no wings, he has been flightless his whole life. This glorious thing that we need to live...my poor human has never had it. But now he does. Now he's...living, here in the sky with me, and I know he belongs up here just like I do.
It's good to be together with my flock, but they're all too slow! I am a nightwing, I am a very good and fast amazing dragon, I want to fly.
What-?! Fourwing is up here, too! He is challenging me! Playful, but he says fourwings are better than nightwings and I will lose!
I WILL NOT LOSE.
I FLY, I race, I will beat that fourwing in a challenge, I will-
What happened? Something happened, I was flying and then something changed, bad-
My human! He has fallen off my back, he's not catching himself- He can't catch himself, he has no wings, he will fall and die; no!
I catch him. I catch him, RELIEVED worried relieved, he is okay, yes?
He is okay. I think. Maybe. He is like...happy and crazy and excited and grieving all at the same time, I don't understand it. He's making a strange noise and won't stop.
He doesn't like being carried like this, but I can't get him on my back, so I put him on Fourwing's back instead. Fourwing is worried about him, too - why won't he stop that strange happy/wild/crazy/sad sound?
Finally he does stop, he's so tired and sad and happy at the same time. There really is something wrong with my human, I'm worried about him... He's too weak to go back to our aerie with me, so I carry him there and comfort him like a hatchling until he falls asleep.
To be continued...