The Courtship of Toothless Chapter 6

The flight back to Berk was mostly uneventful, and all four of them liked it that way. Guana was still shaken after her brush with death, Hiccup and Astrid were humbled by their failure as teachers, and Toothless' emotional maelstrom had only gotten deeper after the day's events.

As they approached the island, they passed over a lone fishing boat, dragging a net. "Isn't it unusual for them to be fishing in the afternoon?" Guana wondered.

"They must have had a bad night," Astrid nodded, "and they're putting in some extra fishing time, in the hope of not going home completely empty."

Hiccup glanced around. "That looks like a nice school of fish, about a quarter of a mile off their starboard beam. I guess they can't see it."

"Starboard beam?" the other three asked simultaneously. Hiccup had to explain what that meant.

"I didn't know you were a sailor," Guana wondered.

"I wasn't," he replied. "But when I worked in the forge, I had to make a lot of pulleys, cleats, and other parts for our fishing boats. The sailors would stop by to pick up their parts, I'd listen to their salty talk, and I picked up some of their lingo here and there. I wonder if those fish are worth catching."

"They're probably pollock," Guana decided. "I spent a year on the fish-sorting team when I was nine years old. I know my fish pretty well. Pollock are pretty good eating."

"Too bad the sailors can't see the school from sea level," Toothless thought out loud. "If we had a sand table or some dirt to write in, one of you could tell them exactly where to drop their net."

"It might be easier to bring the fish to them," Hiccup replied, with a calculating look. He outlined his idea.

"That'll work," Astrid agreed, "except for one thing. We can shoot three firebolts at a time, not four. Guana hasn't learned about her fires yet – remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Hiccup said. "Three won't be enough, so we'll make two passes each. Guana, stay at this altitude and watch what we do." She nodded, and the other three peeled off and dove.

The sailors had no inkling that this day might be different from other bad fishing days, until they heard the terrifying whistle of a diving Night Fury, multiplied by three. They frantically searched the sky for the source of the bad news. When they spotted their ancient adversaries, they realized that their ship wasn't the dragons' target. But what was their target? The Night Furies dove in line abreast, spat out their fireballs into a patch of empty ocean, then gracefully pulled out of their dives and into a high loop-the-loop together.

The five sailors were nearly mesmerized by the flight of the Night Furies, but one of them glanced down at the sea where their firebolts had struck. "Look!" he exclaimed, for lack of anything more creative to say. The water was boiling with activity, a sure sign of fish just below the surface. The dragons swooped down and fired into the sea again, and the troubled patch of water began moving. The Night Furies were driving the fish to them! In less than two minutes, their ship was in the middle of the school, and their net was showing signs of strain. When they hauled it in, the ship barely had room for all the fish they'd caught. They took off their helmets and waved them as a salute to the dragons, who dipped a wing in acknowledgment and flew away.

"I understand why we did that, from a human view," Guana asked, "but what was our reason, as dragons?"

"Lots of reasons," Hiccup and Astrid said together. Hiccup laughed and said, "You go first."

"For one thing, both Hiccup and I probably know those sailors from our human days," she began. "Maybe you do, too. For another thing, some of those fish will probably end up in our feeding trays. For a third thing, it's always good to keep the humans and the dragons getting along well. And for a fourth thing, when those sailors get to the Mead Hall and tell their story, all the fishermen will think nice things about us. If we ever need a favor from them, they'll give it gladly."

"And for a fifth thing," Hiccup added, "sometimes it's good to do something nice for somebody, whether they can return the favor or not. That's just as true for dragons as it is for humans." Toothless nodded in agreement at that.

"Do all the dragons do stuff like that?" Guana wondered.

"The Nadders have probably thought about it," Hiccup answered, "but their spikes of fire don't get the fish moving like the concussions of our firebolts. The Gronckles could do it, but they'd never think of something like that on their own. The other types like their chosen individual humans, but they just aren't that interested in people as a group. Face it, Guana – you're part of a very small, very special team."

"I knew that," she replied, but it was heartfelt, not sarcastic. They flew the rest of the way home in silence.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless lighted easily on the edge of the Nest. Guana landed heavily on the ground in front of the dragons' home. "Would it be okay if I took some fish from that feeding tray?" she asked hesitantly. "I haven't eaten all day."

"That's what the tray is there for," Hiccup nodded. They all watched her eat; she hadn't taken many meals as a Night Fury, and she was still working on the art of swallowing her meal whole. She also had trouble finding fish that appealed to her. It was a slow process. After a few seconds, Toothless took wing and headed out to sea.

"Where's he going?" Astrid wondered. Hiccup just shrugged with his wings. Guana eventually finished her meal and padded back to the ground in front of the Nest.

"That wasn't the most appetizing thing I've ever eaten," she said, "but at least I'm not so hungry now. Those fish have been there all day, by the smell of them. I just can't force myself to eat any more of them! If you two could step back so I don't crash into you, I'll try to flap up and join you."

"Hold that thought," Astrid said suddenly. She'd spotted Toothless returning, and he was carrying something in his teeth. He landed next to Guana with a nice redfish, about a foot and a half long. He dropped it at her feet and took a step back.

She glanced at the fish. It looked a lot more appetizing than the ones in the tray. "Is this a peace offering or an engagement ring?" she asked.

"It's a fish," Toothless answered, head down, very self-consciously. "I caught it for you."

She looked back and forth from him to the fish several times, then bent down, bit the redfish in half, and swallowed both halves. Toothless blinked and began to turn away, but Guana cleared her throat forcibly and brought his attention back to her. She coughed three times and deposited half of the fish at Toothless' feet.

He stared at her for a long moment, then took the half-fish and swallowed it with obvious enjoyment.

"Where did she learn how to do that?" Hiccup whispered.

"Don't fight the dragon," Astrid whispered back. "She's learning. I think she might be teaching him something, too."

Once the twins returned from their day's adventures, the six of them curled up together and slept in a tangled black heap. They all slept very soundly that night, even the ones who weren't accustomed to bundling with other dragons. They'd had a busy day.