"And here we are," Valka said. "My own little home within the nest."
Toothless looked all around, sniffing at the air. This place indeed smelled of his Hiccup's dam, and it smelled of her dragon companion as well. He saw a near-shapeless nest of furs in one corner, with a well-charred stone slab immediately next to it. A large firepit lay in the centre, with a couple of cooking pots on the ground nearby. A series of tools hung from nails hammered into the stone, with a variety of baskets haphazardly lying around.
Valka's lair was bright and roomy. It had space for far more dragons than just her and Cloudjumper, who looked on silently from the lair's entrance. A series of other openings revealed the main nest area, bathing the lair in sunlight.
"I have tools here," Valka said. "Stolen from trappers, of course. And materials, too," she added, pointing to a few of her tall baskets. "Leather, metals — whatever you need."
She was smiling, but Toothless could tell that it was forced. Her body language was that of a human who was eager to please, but that eagerness clearly didn't extend to an apology. That, Toothless decided, just wouldn't do at all. Perhaps they needed to get her on his back somehow, and give her a ride as wild as what he'd once given Astrid…
Toothless eyed her, flashing a toothy smirk. Valka saw it, flinched slightly, and looked away. Good.
Hiccup, by this time, had left Toothless' side. He was looking around at what was available, nodding thoughtfully. "Yeah, this…this should be plenty. Thank you. Really," Hiccup said.
"Anything you need, son," Valka said, right as a roar sounded through the caverns.
Toothless stiffened. Hiccup had tensed a little too, he noticed, while Valka and Cloudjumper seemed to noticeably relax. A great commotion sounded from the main nest area, and through the openings, Toothless saw a variety of dragons taking wing.
"Ah, the King calls us," Valka said. "Feeding time." She began to leave, but then she looked back their way. "Don't worry. We'll bring food back. For both of you."
She hopped onto Cloudjumper; Cloudjumper then turned and rushed off, leaving Hiccup blinking in his wake.
"Umm…bye then?" Hiccup went. He groaned, his shoulders slumping. "Well, this has all been…different."
"Very," Toothless agreed with a quick rumble.
His Hiccup, sadly, couldn't understand dragon sounds. But Toothless still spoke to him out of habit, and Hiccup usually understood the meaning well enough.
"Come on, bud," Hiccup said. "Let's get that gear off,"
"Yes yes!" Toothless warbled, hopping with his forelegs. After all, the faster the gear came off, the faster they could be back in the air!
This was a dance they did at least once a day; they did the opposite dance almost every morning. Toothless kept still at first, as Hiccup unclasped various pieces of Toothless' rigging. Then Toothless raised his forelegs one-by-one, letting Hiccup slip off those wide metal rings. He lowered his head, letting Hiccup remove the leather around his neck. Then Hiccup peeled away the rest of the harness steadily, Toothless keeping still for him all the while.
Toothless squirmed and ruffled his wings, scales itching from long hours of the saddle. Then he was purring at hard fast scratches along his back, courtesy of his Hiccup's clever and dexterous paws. He relaxed, his wings drooping slightly, his head lifting up and up…
…whereupon Hiccup scratched that spot under his neck, and Toothless collapsed into a boneless purring puddle.
"I get you for that," Toothless rumbled, his eyes just barely staying open. He was a Night Fury, and he had his pride, and such indignity demanded retribution…as soon as he found the will to stand and stop purring…
Hiccup scratched Toothless' back some more, coaxing out even more purrs. He worked fast and hard, the speed and pressure just right, scratching every last itch away. Then he moved to Toothless' head, bringing their faces close. He smiled, stroking Toothless' jaw with his thumbs.
Toothless took the opportunity to lick his face.
"Eww! Toothless, that's gross!" Hiccup groused. But he was still smiling, and there was no bite to his words, so Toothless knew it was fine.
"Got you", Toothless warbled, gazing straight into his human's eyes.
Shortly afterwards, their playtime finished by mutual unspoken agreement. Hiccup laid out Toothless' rigging and looked it all over, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Toothless settled onto the cool rock to watch him, his forelegs loosely crossed.
"Mmm…yeah," Hiccup said after a moment. "I can fix this easily enough. We'll have you in the sky in no time, bud!"
"Yes! Thanks-to-you!" Toothless purred.
It really was a shame that Hiccup couldn't properly understand him. Hiccup, for all his intelligence, never seemed to even realize that Toothless was talking. That unfortunate trait was shared by Astrid — Hiccup's mate-to-be — along with the rest of Berk's humans. Berk's dragons, meanwhile, had grown increasingly adept at understanding Norse over time — helped substantially by Toothless, who had known Norse since well before Berk.
Toothless didn't know how he knew Norse, or why he also vaguely recalled other kinds of human-speak. His memories of times before her were hazy, with only the faintest impressions remaining. He recalled two larger Night Furies — a sire and dam when he was little, perhaps — and he had vague recollections of a tall thin human hunter. But other than that, there was nothing; he just seemed to know Norse, and that was that.
Not that the times before her mattered. What mattered were the times after her: times with Hiccup, and with the rest of the rest of his new nest — a nest in which humans and dragons lived in harmony, thanks largely to his Hiccup's kindness and intelligence.
Toothless snorted fondly, looking on as Hiccup picked out an assortment of tools. He grabbed some leather, some pieces of metal, and some rope as well. Then he got to his knees and went to work with those oh-so-clever paws of his, with Toothless watching all the while.
As ever, Toothless couldn't really follow what Hiccup was doing — Hiccup was very clever in most respects, after all — but it was fun to try, and it was fun to simply watch him besides. After all, Hiccup was…Hiccup: Toothless' human, Toothless' rider, Toothless'…
"Rrr," Toothless went. Once again, he found himself wondering: what words did describe Hiccup, exactly?
Hiccup was smart, and he was kind, and he was just the right amount of crazy. But as for what he and Toothless shared, Toothless had never found the perfect word. Friend felt far too weak, as far as Toothless was concerned. Brother came closer, but they were not related by blood, and it still didn't quite feel strong enough. Hookfang had suggested beloved on occasion, which was just plain wrong and also rather vulgar…but Hookfang did so mockingly, and Hookfang was a fish-brain besides.
In the end, it wasn't important. Hiccup was Hiccup, and that was all that mattered.
Hiccup continued to work. He was quiet and focussed to a degree he rarely managed, except where Toothless and Toothless' gear were concerned.
Hiccup had done so much for Toothless. Sure, Hiccup had shot him down and left him down a tailfin, but that fin had been a small trade for what Hiccup had granted him. Hiccup had given him a nest free of an alpha's tyranny; Hiccup had given him friendship and family; Hiccup had shown him what life could be, had let him truly live rather than merely exist. And though he still didn't understand dragonspeak, he understood dragons on levels far beyond other humans…
"...rrr", Toothless went, remembering Hiccup's selfish and careless dam. She knew dragons even more than his Hiccup in certain ways, and she did seem to know dragonspeak. His tail twitched, and he purred. Perhaps, Toothless thought, he could make use of that…
"Mm?" Hiccup went, pausing in his efforts. "You okay, Toothless?"
"Yes yes!" Toothless warbled. He was way more than okay, in fact. Because if he was right, then he and his Hiccup would get to to actually talk — something Toothless had waited for now for way too long!
"Glad to hear it, bud," Hiccup said. He picked up another tool. "Shouldn't be long now."
Toothless purred his thanks, settling down once more.
Hiccup had been doing something with some rope, over by that 'pedal' of his. He'd already replaced one of those metal 'clasps' on the leather, and he'd also done some things with the pedal that Toothless hadn't really caught. Now though, Hiccup was focussed on that rope, connecting it up to the pedal…somehow…and then moving the other end towards the…tail fin, Toothless suddenly realized with wide eyes. This was how Hiccup would be working Hiccup's fin and keeping them airborne — of course! He purred at the revelation, and Hiccup grinned at the sound.
"Uh-huh," Hiccup went. "Nearly done."
Toothless purred his gratitude. Then some unfamiliar smells caught in his nostrils, and he stirred. "Who there!?"
He looked to the lair's entrance, and a pair of dragon heads poked in.
"Us. No others. Come in peace. We come?" the larger one said, finishing with a questioning trill.
"You come," Toothless confirmed. He recognised the pair now, and he trusted that Hiccup was safe around them…even if they would, unfortunately, delay Hiccup's work.
The larger one was a 'Raincutter', as named by Hiccup's dam: a bulky body with spotted green scales, a long neck with a long fin on the head…and in the case of this particular Raincutter, a ripped wing. Grounded, Toothless realized, with a sympathetic croon.
The smaller one, who seemed to be constantly sniffing the air, was a 'Hobblegrunt' – small, two legs, yellow scales with blue spots, a crested head with a huge underbite…and clouded eyes. Blind.
One of them was male and one was female; Toothless could smell that, but he couldn't tell which was which at their current distance.
"...oh. Hi there," Hiccup said, putting his tools down.
They came in slowly, the Hobblegrunt leaning on the Raincutter as they moved. The Raincutter kept their head low, careful not to bang into anything. "Take scent?" it trilled.
"Yes," Toothless confirmed.
They sniffed each other quickly; the Raincutter went to Toothless' shoulder, while Toothless went to the exposed neck. Female, he detected, along with the range of scents that would be uniquely her.
"No-teeth," Toothless said.
"Dances-in-rain," she replied. Then: "You have teeth. Why No-teeth?"
Toothless retracted his teeth with a quiet snick, and then he gave her a toothless smile. Dances-in-rain purred in amusement.
"Why No-teeth?" asked the blind Hobblegrunt, his scales turning purple.
"Nightwing. Can hide teeth in gums," Dances-in-rain explained.
The Hobblegrunt trilled in interest. He sniffed and started forwards…and bumped into Toothless' leg. "Am sorry," he whined, his scales suddenly blue.
"No harm. We good," Toothless reassured.
The Hobblegrunt sniffed more carefully, turning purple once again, and Toothless returned the favor. As expected, the smell was male.
"Soars-through-fire", he said, flapping his still-developing wings. A fledgling, Toothless realized.
Dances-in-rain had spotted Toothless' missing fin by then, and she looked over his tail closely. "You can fly?" she trilled.
"No fly on own," Toothless replied. "Fly with human, yes."
Dances-in-rain tilted her head. "No understand. How fly with human?"
"Human make fin. Human control fin. We fly together." He looked towards his Hiccup, and he purred his gratefulness.
Dances-in-rain tilted her head further, looking even more confused. "How human control fin? Humans no have fin."
"Rrr," Toothless went. He wasn't sure how to explain it, really. "No can explain. We show you soon?"
Dances-in-rain perked up at that. "Yes yes!" she warbled. She flared her wings out and flapped lightly, her torn membrane all too visible.
Soars-through-fire had found Hiccup by that time. Hiccup kept still for him with a hand held out; the Hobblegrunt sniffed it and then pressed into it with a purr, scales turning a warm yellow as he did. A pang of jealousy flashed through Toothless at the sight, which he quickly pushed down. Hiccup was his, of course…but this fledgling was just being friendly, and Hiccup would never abandon Toothless besides.
"Hey there," Hiccup said quietly, scratching the fledgeling's scales with a gentle smile.
Soars-through-fire nuzzled further into Hiccup, treading on Toothless' gear…but Toothless could hardly fault the Hobblegrunt for that, blind as he was. Dances-in-rain went to check out Hiccup too, and she was soon nuzzling into his free hand.
Toothless rumbled as he watched them. Here were two dragons, both now disabled, both crippled at hunters' paws — hunters which, by the sound of it, this Drago Bludvist had been leading. Both had been in the main nest area, when Hiccup and Valka had first properly talked, and Valka had explained both of their injuries then. Dances-in-rain had had a wing sliced by razor-netting, and Soars-through-fire — a mere fledgling! — had been blinded by a tree snare and left to die alone and scared…
Hiccup was outright cuddling the pair by then, but the cute sight failed to lift Toothless' mood. Clearly, this Drago Bludvist was no friend of dragons. Perhaps just talking to Drago was not, in fact, a good idea…