Lightning And Death Itself Chapter 3

"You've given me everything I ever wanted," Hiccup repeated slowly, sadly. "Everything except the things I wanted the most. To hear the people in my village say, 'You're one of us.' To hear my friends say, 'We like you.' To hear Astrid say, 'I love you.' And to hear my father say, 'I'm proud of you.' Those are the things I really want, Toothless, and now I can't have any of them. You don't understand humans."

"You've got that right," Toothless retorted. "I've given you the world, and all you want is that dismal little village, full of dismal little people who are never, never, never going to give you the things you want."

"The things I need, you mean," Hiccup answered. "I need human companionship! Changing my body hasn't changed that!"

"But, Hiccup, what about me?" Toothless asked softly.

"What about you?"

"Does my companionship count for anything?" Toothless said. "In that moment in the forest, when you held my life in your hands, we formed a bond. It got a little stronger when I pinned you to the rock. And it got stronger yet when I saw you watching me in the cove that first time. Do you know what TrueSight is?" Hiccup shook his head.

"We dragons don't talk about our feelings. It's too easy to misunderstand each other. Instead, we share our feelings directly, by making eye contact. We call it TrueSight because we can't tell lies that way. Any two dragons can do it, as long as both are willing. We don't get many chances to try it on humans, but you and I have done it many times, even though you didn't know it. I've always known how you felt about me. You didn't get much out of it because you weren't a dragon. But now you are. Will you share TrueSight with me?"

When Hiccup didn't respond, Toothless added, "Please?"

At last, Hiccup nodded. "I guess things can't get much worse. What do I do?"

"Just look in my eyes, and relax." Hiccup did so. Those huge Night Fury eyes were fascinating to look at, anyway, and –

In the time it took for those eyes to blink, Hiccup suddenly felt Toothless' overwhelming love for him, gratitude for all the work he'd put into helping him fly, and sincere hope that he would accept his new form and thrive in it. The moment didn't last, but the memory of it did. Hiccup stepped back, stunned by how real it had seemed.

At the same time, Toothless was forcibly struck by the near-panic in Hiccup's mind, his turmoil and sense of loss, his hope that this change wasn't permanent, and his heartsick desire to get home, torn by the knowledge that it would literally be the death of him. Burning bright, off in a corner, was his love for Toothless, dampened by confusion over why his best friend would have done this to him.

"Hiccup, I really do want the best for you, just like you've wanted the best for me. It may take some time for you to adjust to all this, but until then, can you trust me?"

Before Hiccup could answer, they heard a swishing, crashing noise. Astrid-the-dragon had stepped off the edge of the cliffs that lined the cove and tumbled to the ground. Hiccup ran over to her.

"Astrid, are you all right?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

She opened her eyes and saw a Night Fury staring down at her. She screamed and kicked him hard in the chest; he landed in a heap thirty feet away. "Oww, why would you do that?" he moaned.

She stared at him suspiciously; she had heard that line, in that same tone, earlier in the day in this very cove. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Astrid, it's me. Hiccup," he said.

"Is this some kind of dragon trick?" she asked. "If you're really Hiccup, then prove it."

"What would you accept as proof?" he replied. "I could tell you about that night, just before we started dragon training, when I got chased by a Monstrous Nightmare and let a bunch of Deadly Nadders get away. I could tell you about how I was beating you in dragon training, and how you called me a son of a half-troll, rat-eating... uhh, I don't think dragons have words for that part. I could tell you how, a few minutes ago, you and I were riding on Toothless' back, up in the clouds, and we didn't have a care in the world." He closed his eyes sadly. "I could tell you all that, but I won't, because it hurts too much. We're leaving all that behind. Probably forever."

"Forever?" she demanded. "You mean I'm stuck in this horrible body, looking just like you, probably stuck with you and that other awful lizard for life because our people would kill me on sight if they found me like this?"

"Thank you for summing that up," Hiccup said.

She leaped up and put her face near his. "Hiccup, please, tell him to change us back! We'll do anything! We'll give him fish, sheep, gold, whatever he wants! He's got to change us back!"

"Astrid, I can't do that," Toothless said as he joined them. "Every dragon is born with the Power for one great transformation. Once it's used, it never comes back. Please believe me when I say, after a while, most people don't want to go back."

"It's a trick!" she almost shouted. "He's lying! He did it, so he can undo it! Hiccup, how can you trust a dragon?"

He gazed back at her. "I trust Toothless," was all he said.

"You would." She shook her head, then turned and glared at Toothless. "And you! Why did you do this to me? To us? You have a weird way of treating your so-called friends."

Toothless put his face right up to Astrid's and snarled. Her eyes went wide; she was still accustomed to thinking of dragons as being much bigger and stronger than she was, even though that was no longer the case. She backed off a step.

"Don't you ever, ever question my friendship with Hiccup," he growled. "We have been through things together that you can't even guess at. The only reason you're even alive is because he likes you. I don't give gifts like this –" he gestured at her with his paw "– to any random dragon-fighter, you know."

"If that's how you treat friends, I'd hate to see how you treat your enemies," she growled back, gaining some confidence.

He leaped at her, bowled her over, and laid one sharp-clawed foot on her throat. "My enemies get disemboweled and left for the wolves to eat," he snarled. "I understand you're uncomfortable with the transformation, but –"

"Uncomfortable!" She rolled out from under his paw and stood, shaking. "You... don't... know... anything!"

"I know much, much more than you think I do," he growled back, but not sounding so angry. "How do you think I became a Night Fury?"