"You three." Toothless ordered. "Stay here and make sure that when they get back you get them out of the water as fast as possible. Hiccup is going to be in a bad way, he's your top priority, you understand me?"
"Yes, sir." They all said. The trio gained height and began to glide, watching the water.
At the bottom of the sea Hiccup was fighting between getting enough air from the small pocket the party found, and the cage where the last dragon was trapped. The only light he had was the bioluminescence from Black and Blue, not that opening his eyes was much of an option with how much it hurt each time he did. But he was losing air quickly and the more they fought the cage trapping the other one, the more it became obvious to them that it was a lost cause. Not to mention the amount of time the dragon they were trying to save had been under already. But Hiccup kept going from air pocket to wedged cage. And he would have kept going until he'd completely run out of air if Black and Blue hadn't stopped him. They forced him to stay in the air pocket so they could talk him into going back up. He tried to fight them about going back up but they played dirty. Instead of telling him that it was too late for who they were trying to save, they reminded him that he had someone he needed to think about. He tried to fight them about that too. Telling them that Toothless knew the risks but went along with it anyway.
Both heads of the Seashocker, were for the first time in a long time in a unanimous decision.
"If you think it's okay to kill yourself over this, over someone you don't know, then you don't deserve your mate." The leg head stated.
" How dare you." Hiccup yelled. "Toothless knows that I'm like this. He's okay with it."
"I hope you don't actually think that." The right head said, softly. "If somehow you do then you need to talk with him cause there's no way he would put himself in a position like that. Do you really think he'd make a lifelong bond with someone he wouldn't get as many years out of as he could. If you really think he's okay with you throwing your life away down here then you can stay. But the rest of us are leaving. We did what we could and saved as many as we could. It's unfortunate that we lost one but that's just how it is.
Now you're either coming with us by choice, or were dragging you back to the surface. Cause we're not losing two down here today. It took Hiccup a second but agreed to go quietly. He climbed back onto the Seashocker and were back on the surface just as Hiccup needed to take a breath. The dragons who had been ordered to wait swooped down as they breached the water. They picked up Hiccup and raced him back into Helheim's gate. They set him down next to the others who'd been saved. Food had been placed out for the others and the Fireworm princess and her fireworms were working to reheat the dragons. Having seen Hiccup's return Toothless joined him, wrapping his body around Hiccup, and began blowing hot smote against Hiccup's back.
"I failed Toothless." Hiccup shivered. Not realizing just how cold he was.
"Couldn't get the last one?" Toothless whispered.
"Nothing we did could get the other cage out of the way.
"Well while you may have failed that one, you saved the rest and you should be proud of that. And from what we can tell they'll all make full recoveries. Personally I'd rather be at the bottom of the sea than tortured and eventually made into someone's pants." That made Hiccup smile a little.
"Toothless, I owe you an apology."
"Oh? Why's that?" He continued to blow the hot smoke at Hiccup.
"When they told us that one more was stuck down there, I got short sighted. I knew that I wasn't going to be any help down there but I put myself in danger anyway. Then when I was down there Black and Blue had to force me to stop, and I tried to fight them on whether or not you liked that I was going down there. I tried to convince them that it was okay for me to push myself too far, and I guess die if I thought it would be justified. Knowing full well that you basically hate when I do things like that.
The first ever thing they've agreed on was that I don't deserve a mate. And I have to agree with them." Hiccup choked up. "I've been selfish, not thinking about what you want. I've been a complete monster to you, and I'm sorry.
I'll do better by you, I promise."
"While it's true that I don't like that you always put yourself in danger like that, I know it's because you feel like you need to prove yourself."
"What? I've never said that."
"It's not about if you said it or not. It's how you act that gives it away. Always pushing yourself as hard as you can. Some would say too far, but that's how it is. You hate when people look down at you and don't like to be questioned when it's obviously just a power move by who ever asked it. And that just causes you to push harder and strive to make them eat their words. Everyday you try to make this place a better place for them, and it makes me worried that you never think about yourself. Ever since mating season ended every action you've taken has been to make them feel more at home.
That's why I don't like that you push yourself so much. Hiccup, I think you need to look around at what you've done and be… Overjoyed with your accomplishments. You've done a lot more than you think, and you need to take a step back and realize that with the exception of a few, everyone is happy with you. And that means you can be happy too.
And don't you say that there's still more to do, I know that. I know winter is going to be rough for us, and I know that you're trying to lessen the stress on all of us.
Hiccup I'll always be behind you, pushing you forward when you need it. And I'm happy when you go out in front of me pushing yourself faster than I can, or do. But sometimes I worry that you'll go too far and I won't be able to get to you in time if something happens. That's why I worry."