User blog:Invisiblewing/HTTYD Fanfiction/Retelling: Part 6

For those of you in the United States, I hope you have a happy Independence Day. Anyway, thanks yet again if you took the time to read the previous sections that I have posted. I hope everyone is enjoying this story so far. Here's part 6 of my story based on the movie.

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Day four, I thought as I dropped my supplies in my little office. Ten days left, if that. I sat down at my drawing board and stared at it. I had been working like a maniac, trying to get Toothless back into the air. Where he belonged. And I was doing this…because I could? No, that wasn’t right. It ran deeper than that. I just didn’t know why.

I sighed as I put my head in my hands and tried to mull it over. There was no answer at the moment. But something didn’t feel right about all this. I pulled my head back and looked at my hands. That was what was missing. I couldn’t feel any pain in my hands from what the cable had done to them. All thanks to Toothless. I smiled a little bit, thinking he could do anything.

Eventually, I stood up and decided to get the improvements done on the saddle. No more wondering. I walked back into the armory. Gobber had already gone home for the evening, so it was just me again. Time to set up shop.

The guide slot was easy to build. I fashioned a reasonably thick guide tube out of cast iron and attached it on the outside of the loop that wrapped around Toothless’s leg. I had made it strong enough to keep from deforming when the cable ran back and forth through it. But more importantly, Toothless would be able to keep the skin on his left front leg.

Thirty minutes. A record for building stuff for a dragon. I just felt that the tube wasn’t enough. Other nights stretched on and on. There were those two nights when I was in the armory for until what seemed like the next daybreak, and now it just didn’t seem right that I was done so quickly. I looked around for something else to make. My eyes wandered from object to object, trying to come up with something useful. After a couple of minutes, they eventually settled on a large, unbroken sheet of leather. My mind raced, trying to think of some use for the leather that was currently collecting dust. How about a flight vest? Something more aerodynamic than a fur-lined vest that I always wore. Easy.

Thirty minutes later, I had a flight vest made out of leather. It held itself together right in front of my breastbone. The four straps coming from the sides all met in the middle, so I just sewed them together. I could put the vest on like a shirt. I cut out strips from the unused portions of the leather sheet and braided them together. I also fashioned metal hooks and secured them to the front of the saddle. Made loops and outfitted both ends of the two braided straps. Finally, I made hooks that went onto the sides of my vest. I hung the saddle on the wall and hooked up using the newfangled straps. Perfect. I grinned, knowing I had a little extra measure of security while Toothless was flying.

I stowed everything in my little office, extinguished the main lantern in the armory, closed the front vista and left. Looked back. I had never seen the armory from this point of view before. Even though it was shut, there was a little sliver of orange light peeking out from the gap between the vista and its shutters. The heating coals. We never let them get too cold because it was difficult to get the heat chamber back up and running. I thought it was curious that the armory had been my second home, and yet, I never really paid attention to it. I continued looking for a few more seconds and then turned toward home.

I walked upstairs, avoiding the fifth step as usual, and washed off. Crawled into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

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I woke up early the next day. Walked over to the great hall like it was just another standard day in Berk. I passed only a few villagers, mainly because it was too early for most people to be up right now. One of them stopped me and looked me in the eye. My mind froze, trying to think of who he was. Couldn’t place it. See, I knew several people in Berk called “What’s-His-Name.”

“Hiccup! I’ve heard great things about you,” he started. My mind snapped, remembering his name: Ack. Now what was his family name?

“Uh, thanks,” I said.

Before I could say anything else, he continued, “I’ll be watching the dragon class today. Sounds like it’s been exciting for the past few days.”

“Oh. Uh, yeah. It has,” I said. I was trying my hardest to make this conversation not awkward, but it wasn’t working. “Um, thanks for your support.”

“Sure, sure. Go knock ‘em dead today,” he concluded with a small fist pump.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I watched him stride away. Turned around and proceeded up the steps to the great hall. I ate a quick breakfast, remembering I had to run an errand before dragon training.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I raced out of the great hall after my meal and found a patch of garlic grass. Walked in and took a deep breath. I was wondering why dragons were so affected by this stuff. I looked around, seeing the same small meadow of waist-high grass. No effect, no distortion. I sneezed, knowing that I was going to be itchy for the rest of the day. Great. Well, since I was already here, I grabbed a handful of grass and stuffed it into my fur-lined vest. And headed to the arena.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I trudged into the arena slightly behind the rest of the teens as usual. There were a few more villagers hovering around the arena, including our town elder named Gothi, a diminutive old lady who rarely, if ever, said anything. I only saw her a few times hobbling around Berk with her walking staff and never said anything to her. She seemed pretty intent on watching how dragon training would play out today.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I heard a murmur roll through the outside of the arena when I entered. They must have heard about the legendary Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the one who could (humanely) vanquish any dragon he looked at. I looked around at the crowd, who were all intently staring at the events unfolding within the arena.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">As I walked in, the garlic grass started working, and I don’t mean it was working on the dragon. My chest was beginning to itch. It took all of my mental strength to keep from scratching, because I knew that would only make it worse. And it would look suspicious. I could only hope that I could make dragon training go quickly today.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber had set up the arena similar to yesterday, where he had a few walls peppered throughout the arena. He instructed us to hide behind a wall, but gave no inkling about the dragon we would face today. Also today, the twins were not bickering about ownership of one particular wall. Thankfully.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">The ratchet clicked open and the bole slid out from the double door, where a dragon crashed out. I heard a raspy snarl, which could only mean one thing: the Gronckle. It immediately spied Snotlout, who was lining up a mace to throw and blasted a fireball at his feet. Snotlout yelled and jumped out of the way.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Snotlout, you’re done!” Gobber shouted.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“I AM NOT OUT YET!” he screamed back. “That fireball wasn’t even close!” Well, the next one was, because his shield splintered in his hand.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber rolled his eyes and said, “Now, you’re out.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Tuffnut had snuck up behind the dragon when it wheeled around. Instead of launching a fireball, it headbutted him and flew off to find someone else to torture.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I was standing stock-still in front of my wall, leaning against it with my elbow on the top of the wall. But instead of being tired, I was just watching the show. And still itching. I figured I had at least a small handle on how to deal with the dragons, so I had progressed to trying different ideas during training, like staying still. Today, I was wondering how dragons noticed things. If it was through movement, then the Gronckle wouldn’t have any idea that I was around.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“HICCUP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?” Gobber shouted across the arena. “Get down! Have you learned anything here?” I didn’t even look at him. I had a plan.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Crud, I thought. It was a flawed plan. Garlic grass. Because if the dragon smelled me, it would come racing over.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I watched the Gronckle blast a fireball at Astrid as she jumped out of the way, hunkering behind a wall. Three shots down, three to go.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">The Gronckle turned to its right and glanced in my direction. It looked at me for a second and then turned its attention elsewhere. As soon as it had turned back, it saw Ruffnut jump across a gap between walls. I had my answer: Gronckles used movement to see. I knew Toothless could see me even if I wasn’t moving, but I wasn’t sure about species of dragons besides Gronckles and Night Furies. There was only one way to find out, right?

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“HICCUP, WOULD YOU PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I’M TELLING YOU!?” Gobber shouted.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I turned to him and said, “What if I’m trying something?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber shouted, “HICCUP!” and pointed urgently at something behind me. He did this at the exact same time as I heard a hoarse snarl. The Gronckle had seen me. Oh, well. I used the cover of my arm resting on the wall to surreptitiously pull out the garlic grass and hide it behind my axe.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I casually turned back to the Gronckle, who was just starting to head in my direction. I saw an intent to hurt in its eyes. It was really tempting to think I was in huge trouble because Gronckles are large creatures, even though I was pretty sure that nothing would happen to me today. I dropped my axe and held the handful of garlic grass out in front of me, not caring if anybody saw my little magic trick. The dragon landed and immediately began sniffing at my hand. I watched as the Gronckle kept smelling, and then rubbed the garlic grass against its snout. The Gronckle relaxed and happily fell over onto its side. Looking at it laying down like this, I noticed just how big this creature was. Even standing at full height, I was still shorter than the Gronckle was from side-to-side. But regardless of the dragon’s size, I had figured out yet another way to render them harmless. All this time with Toothless was starting to really pay off.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup! How did you DO that?!?” Ruffnut screamed in excitement.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I just looked at her, smirked and shrugged. My little secret wasn’t getting out anytime soon.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber lumbered over in my direction and asked, “Hiccup, I don’t know what you’re on, but nobody is learning anything here. You had better find a way to help everyone else here besides yourself.” He glared at me, making sure I understood the message. I just looked back at him blankly. “All right,” Gobber said. “You can go back home today.” We left.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">On the way out of the arena, Snotlout perked up and exclaimed, “I’ve never seen a Gronckle do that before! How did you make it do that?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Before I could even respond, Fishlegs broke in and said, “Ooh! I think we can update the Gronckle page in the Book of Dragons!” And with that he broke off into a run toward the Great Hall.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">As the other teens closed in on me, I came up with an excuse to leave. “Uh, I think I left my axe in the ring. I’ll see you guys later.” I wheeled around to pick up my axe, colliding into Astrid. She shoved me away and continued walking, frustrated that I had showed her up three times in dragon training so far. And I wasn’t planning on stopping there.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I went back into the arena and grabbed my axe. And scratched because the itching was unbearable. I walked out of the arena before anyone noticed, dropping the garlic grass near the wall at the entrance to the arena. My next stop was the armory to retrieve the saddle, cable and a basket for fish. I had taken a step outside of the armory when I remembered the winch. It was a small handheld winch that was good for tightening cables and ropes. I had designed it about a year ago, and today would be the third time I got to use it after making the cable last night. The first time was while I was building Mangler. After getting my supplies, I slinked around the back of the great hall to fill the basket, but a surprise met me there.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">No fish.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup,” a voice said behind me. I jumped and whirled around to find a Viking lady named Phlegma the Fierce. She was pretty much like Astrid except in full-grown form, a tomboy who could probably beat most of the men here in a strength contest. “Someone has been sneaking off with the fish we keep back here. If you need some extra fish, you’ll have to ask for them in the great hall. And if you do find who or what is taking them, let me know.” She walked off.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I just stood there in shock. I had a basket and saddle that wouldn’t fit any horse in Berk in full view, and Phlegma did absolutely nothing about it. She even seemed nonchalant about the whole “stealing fish” ordeal. If she would have thought through it, she’d have been able to put two and two together. I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn’t get caught, but I had another problem. How was I going to get fish for Toothless? I could try to catch some, but that would be an arduously slow process. I’d have to figure something out soon, but for now, I had to see if flying would actually work today. I put the saddle in the basket and started on my way to the cove.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Every step I took on my path brought more of a smile to my face. Today was the day that all the little kinks would be worked out. All I had to do was get the saddle onto Toothless’s back. As I got closer to the cove, I could feel the destiny in the air. We were going on an exhilarating adventure today, and there was nothing that could stop us. I ducked under the shield that was silently guarding the entrance to the cove and looked down toward the bottom. Ready. I almost danced my way down to the bottom of the cove and called, “Hey, Toooooooothless.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Nothing happened. “Toothless?” No Night Fury, no yellow-green eyes. “Toothless, where are you?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">This wasn’t normal at all. Even on that day I didn’t think to bring fish, Toothless came right up to me, ready for the day’s adventures. Even if they were doomed to fail. My mind started whirring through the possibilities.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Maybe he escaped and ran away.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Maybe someone found him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I cautiously made my way deeper into the cove, hoping to find him waiting for me somewhere. Maybe he was playing a little game with me, like hide-and-seek.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">There was a small outcropping of rocks in one corner of the cove, clear on the other side of where I had first met him with a fish he regurgitated as a gift. It was about as far away from the entrance as you could get. Something just didn’t seem right in this area. My nose wrinkled in distaste because I smelled something…different. It was sour, almost rotten. As I got closer, the smell intensified. This can’t be good, I thought. Something was definitely wrong here. I slowly peeked around the largest rock, afraid of what might be on the other side.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">A wave of rancid air hit me around that rock, and I found a black form lying motionless in the grass.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Oh, no,” I mumbled. I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt, trying to block out the smell as I edged closer to the Night Fury in front of me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless was dead. Someone had found him and killed him between yesterday afternoon and now. Flies were buzzing around his carcass as it was rotting. I just stood there in shock. I had no idea what to do. Should I tell someone? If I went back to Berk, would anyone confess that they killed him? Or would they just laugh it up? I slowly staggered back to the opening in the cove with tears in my eyes, forgetting about the basket next to Toothless. I thought about when I would have to come back and bury him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I had gotten about ten feet away when the black shape hitched and made a gagging sound. Toothless raised his head slightly and vomited a clear liquid with a reddish tint into an already standing pool of stomach contents. The flies buzzed around him before settling back down and resuming their meal.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Oh, no,” I said again. Toothless wasn’t dead, but seeing a violently ill Night Fury in front of me didn’t do anything to help my state of mind. I strode back over to him, unmindful of the smell and knelt by his head. His eyes were closed and his breathing was labored. Toothless had a trail of bile leading from his mouth to the pool of sick in front of him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Slowly, I stroked the side of his head. He opened his eyes slightly and looked at me. I saw how unfocused he was, like he was staring straight through me. “Hey there, buddy,” I whispered gently. He gave a weak groan, barely acknowledging my presence before closing his eyes and putting his head back down. “Toothless, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Somehow, I had to take care of him. It didn’t matter how he had fallen ill. But I couldn’t go rushing back to Berk and ask where any medicine for a sick dragon might be. That would get Toothless killed before I could say “dragon training.” So what could I do for him? Feeding was definitely out of the question. I didn’t think that he’d be able to hold any food down for at least today. But maybe he could hold down water. If he had thrown up several times, then I figured he must have been really dehydrated. And if he couldn’t get up, then he was in serious danger. That was it. I’d go back to the armory and fetch a bucket or two for water. I just hoped he wouldn’t die on me within the next hour.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“I’m gonna get you some water, Toothless” I whispered to him. He didn’t respond. I strode toward the entrance of the cove, climbed the ledge and crawled underneath the shield at the entrance/exit. As I made my way toward Berk, I picked up the pace, eventually breaking into a run. When I arrived at the armory, I was completely out of breath.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber noticed me and said, “You look worn out, Hiccup. What are you doing out there?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I put my hands on my knees and looked around for buckets, not even acknowledging him. We usually kept them in the far corner of the armory, where we could stack them out of the way. As usual, they were exactly where they should have been. I stumbled over to the buckets and grabbed two of them.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup, what are you doing? Get started on today’s orders.” Gobber motioned to the parchment at the front of the armory, which I didn’t even look at.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Gobber, I’m really sorry, but I can’t help you today. I have to go now.” I made for the door with the buckets and was nearly there when Gobber’s prosthetic forceps grabbed my vest and pulled me back into the armory.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“No, you don’t. You’re staying right here. Get to work. Now.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Can I please make it up to you tomorrow? I really can’t stay. Really.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gobber was getting angry with me. “All right, Hiccup! What in Odin’s name is going on!? Why do you think you have to leave all of a sudden?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I couldn’t tell him any fragment of the truth. If I even mentioned the word “dragon,” Gobber would be on me like black on a Night Fury. “Uh, I don’t think you’d believe me even if I did tell you.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup, quit hiding this from me! Why are you being so…so…this!?” he asked through clenched teeth as he motioned in my general direction.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">By this time I had caught most of my wind back. I noticed I was standing between Gobber and the door. In other words, I had a clear exit. “I’ll tell you later,” I said and bolted out the door with the buckets.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“HICCUP, GET BACK HERE!” he shouted, chasing after me. I knew if I could get at least some separation between him and me, I could get back to the cove without him following. And I had two feet. Gobber had only one. I could run faster than him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I heard Gobber collide with another Viking milling around Berk, which couldn’t have been good. But I wasn’t going to turn around. I had to take care of a sick Night Fury. I could hear both Gobber and the other Viking shouting after me, but they were distant. As I got into the forest, I took one of the longest routes I knew to the cove entrance, hoping to throw them off.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">By the time I was near the entrance, I glanced around, making sure that no one saw me. As a general rule, I knew that Vikings here on Berk weren’t too cunning when chasing something. They never really kept quiet or out of sight. I saw nothing and heard even less, so I ducked quickly underneath the shield, grateful I hadn’t gotten rid of it yet. I clambered down to the bottom of the cove and filled the buckets with water. Toothless was still lying there in the same position I had left him. He was still breathing, but it sounded even more labored than it was earlier today.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hey there, Toothless. I brought some water for you,” I said as I placed the bucket in front of his snout. No response.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Gently, I slid my hand underneath his head, noting that he was burning hot to the touch. A fever, I thought. I had to keep him hydrated. He probably wouldn’t survive the night without any water. Toothless murmured weakly in discomfort as I lifted his head so that he could drink the water in front of him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I was thinking like Hiccup would, trying to observe what Toothless was doing. I knew overall that fevers start off as chills. I had been sick enough in my formative years to realize that shivering from sickness meant the onset of fever. Toothless wasn’t shaking at all though. He must have had this fever for a while. If he was anything like me when I had been sick, he was feeling too hot right now.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Come on, buddy. You can do this,” I whispered. His tongue was hanging weakly out of the side of his mouth, so I tried to lower his head to get his tongue into the water. As soon as it touched, Toothless groaned and turned his head so that he could lap up the water. He drank slowly as I held his head up. My muscles were burning from holding Toothless like this. He was large enough for me to ride on him, and all that size translated directly to a lot of weight.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless had taken about three sips when he made a sound and movement that seemed like a cough. He gagged and his stomach sucked in. Hard. Thinking quickly, I got the bucket away from him. For at least the third time today, he brought up a clear liquid. I heard him choking as he forcefully expelled his stomach contents. I closed my eyes before I became too sick myself. “Gross,” I muttered. This was really bad. I didn’t think it was the water, because he had just barely started drinking. I let him finish hurling and waited for a few seconds as he put his head back down on the ground. Toothless made a weak effort at a groan, eyes shut. His tongue was still hanging weakly out of his mouth, dangerously close to the growing pool of sick. He made a weak motion with his tongue, probably trying to tell me he wanted water.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Okay, bud. Just don’t bring this back up,” I pleaded. I lifted his head again, feeling his fever. I felt so helpless because I couldn’t just magically heal Toothless. I’d have given anything for a miracle cure for him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless weakly turned his head and began lapping at the water again. He took his time drinking. “That’s it. Nice and slow,” I said calmly. He finished the bucket off, licking the inside for any more traces of water. Before he could get a splinter in his tongue, I put his head back down and grabbed the other bucket. This one wasn’t for him to drink out of. I cupped my hand, gathering a little bit of water and spread it over Toothless’s head and neck, trying to cool him off. He groaned weakly in appreciation as the water met his skin. I could feel him relax under my hands, knowing that I would be here for him until he got better. Even if it meant skipping work or dragon training.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Eventually, I refilled the first bucket and lifted Toothless’s head the same way as before. He cleaned out the bucket again. I kept alternating between cooling his skin and hydrating him. I didn’t care if someone found out I wasn’t at home tonight. Or if they found me here in the cove with a Night Fury. I was gonna stay by Toothless’s side until he got better. And it didn’t matter how long it took, whether it was one night or an entire week. I was gonna look after him. And I would fight to the death to protect him if it came to that.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">After a while, Toothless fell asleep. I sat down by his side and kept his skin cool, reassuring him he would be okay. I just hoped that no one would find us here.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I watched the sun sink below the rim of the cove, hearing the crickets warming up for their nightly summer symphony. Toothless was still breathing heavily with no sign of improvement. I kept him cool through the night, trying to get his body temperature back down. I never left his side, watching as the stars patrolled the sky in their slow nightly round.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Through the night, my mind wandered from place to place like it normally does. It’s especially good at wandering during the summer, when I have lots of time to stretch out and do nothing. Sitting next to Toothless, I noticed things. Like the silhouette of the rock wall towering above us. The sound of water trickling by in the stream. I looked up at the stars, trying to find patterns. Constellations. There were the familiar patterns, like the cross I could always count on. Near the rim of the cove was a pattern that looked kinda like the main island of Berk. There were two constellations that looked like spoons, one was facing upward and the other downward. All these were familiar, so I kept scanning the sky when my eyes settled on a pattern I had never seen. It was six stars in a rough circle. It looked like an animal’s face of some kind. There were two stars above the circle, maybe forming ears. They were way too high to look realistic, but it didn’t matter. Maybe they were ear flaps, like a Night Fury’s. Inside the “face” were five stars, two in a near-horizontal line on the left and three in a triangle on the right. It only took a little bit of imagination to see that the Night Fury in the sky was winking. “Toothless, you’d love this,” I whispered to him. “There’s another Night Fury with us. He’s in the sky, watching.” Toothless didn’t respond, but I didn’t mind.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">If I would have said this anytime before now, I’d have been embarrassed. Even if nobody was around. But tonight, after seeing that winking Night Fury, I felt more at ease. It felt like I was meant to find that constellation tonight, when Toothless needed me the most. I looked back at him and realized he’d be just fine. The dragon in the stars told me so. I didn’t need to worry about him. I refilled the bucket to spread more water on Toothless.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">A question popped into my head as I massaged the water onto Toothless’s skin. Why me? This question had been in my mind pretty much from that first day I let him go. Tonight, I had plenty of time to sort it out. But really, why was it Hiccup who found this Night Fury? If any of the other Viking teenagers had found him, Toothless would have been dead five days ago. But I was the one who found him first, and I spared his life because of what? Compassion? That was a word that only existed for wannabe Vikings. Like me. It was a weakness here. You don’t just let a dangerous animal like a dragon, much less a Night Fury, live because you feel sorry for it. But I did. Why?

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">The only answer I could come up with at this point was that Toothless was a gift to me. No Viking in Berk saw things the way I did. Nobody in Berk saw me like they saw Astrid or Snotlout. People here always saw me with a judgmental scowl, like they were looking through a veil that distorted reality. Toothless saw me without judgment. Without bias. He saw me as Hiccup and accepted me as Hiccup. Nobody had ever done that for me until Toothless came along. He was my reason for waking up every day. He was a gift from the gods to me. If it wasn’t the right answer, it would do for now.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I kept Toothless cool with water through the night until I saw dawn’s first reds and oranges trickle over the rim of the cove. As quietly as I could, I grabbed the basket and snuck out of the cove. I made my way over to the great hall and slipped inside, hoping to get maybe a few fish. I got to the back of the hall and found that my caring for Toothless was rewarded. There were several hundred fish piled up at the back of the great hall, ready for cooking. I filled the basket about halfway with fish and snuck out of the back. I saw only one Viking making a round of the village on my way back toward the cove. He was walking away from me on the lower level of Berk. Safe.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I got back to the cove just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. Inside, Toothless hadn’t improved much. He was still in the same position on his side, although his breathing told me that he was feeling better. It wasn’t as labored anymore. I placed the basket away from him and knelt by his head.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“How are you doing, Toothless?” I whispered. No response. I stroked the side of his head, noting that the fever was still there, although it had abated somewhat. Good, I thought. He’s going to live.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I sat down after spreading water on Toothless’s side again. My back was propped up against a rock. I could hear Toothless breathing rhythmically, sounding like the bellows in the armory. I relaxed and went to sleep, comforted that I had helped Toothless survive the night. My last thought before slipping out of consciousness was if Toothless saw me as a gift to him as well.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent: 0.5in; text-align: center;">___________________

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">A low groan woke me up. Blearily, I opened my eyes to find Toothless lying down on his stomach with his head raised. He still looked a little frazzled, but it seemed he had gotten through the worst of whatever had stricken him. He just stared at me with those big round eyes, waiting.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I sat up, yawned and stretched. “Hey, buddy. How’re you feeling today?” He blinked and grunted. I stood and grabbed one of the buckets to refill with water. Brought it back for Toothless, and he eagerly lapped up the contents of the bucket. There were still flies buzzing around us, but I paid them no mind. Looked up, noticing that the sun was most of the way through the cove. We had maybe a few hours of daylight left at the most.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I refilled the bucket for Toothless and he emptied it just as quickly as the first time today. “You must be feeling a lot better, bud,” I told him. Gingerly, he dragged himself over to me and rubbed his head against my left arm, trying to get underneath my hand. I let him. I rubbed the top of his head, listening to him rumble in contentment, his eyes closed. I was relieved that Toothless was going to be okay. His skin felt like it was back to normal temperature, so that meant the fever was gone. Hopefully for good.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“So, bud,” I said animatedly. “I’ve been thinking about how to fly. I think we can do it today.” Toothless looked up with those beautiful yellow-green eyes. No grin, no sound. He just looked up at me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I stood up and wandered over to the basket and saddle. Held the saddle up so Toothless could see it. Upon seeing what I had in my hands, he lumbered over to me and sat down on his haunches with a grin on his face. I smiled too, knowing he was going to be just fine.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless let me put his saddle on without asking for food, although I knew I’d have to get him some fish by the end of the day. Well, why not now? I guided Toothless over to the basket and flipped open the lid. He stuck his face into the basket, looking for what was inside. I heard Toothless grunt in excitement as he pulled his head back out with a fish in his mouth. He swallowed it as I tipped the basket over. Toothless ate with relish as I snuck around him to thread the cable through the guide tube on his saddle.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I grabbed a bucket and filled it with water. Began washing Toothless’s stomach contents into the stream. I didn’t want a bunch of flies and other filth colonizing our perfect little cove. It took about ten bucketfuls to get most of the stench into the stream. Good enough for me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I turned and faced Toothless, who was already finished with his meal. He looked at me, waiting for another adventure. I glanced at his saddle, telling him I was ready to fly. He crouched down almost immediately. I got on and said, “Okay, Toothless. You ready?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless glanced back at me and took off. Just like the last few times, it felt out-of-control. I wanted him to land somewhere out of the way where we could tether to a fallen tree or stump. But Toothless was excited, I could feel it. I just went along with what Toothless was after, guessing at the fin positions that I needed to hit. No such luck. We plummeted from the sky just outside of the cove. Luckily, Toothless was able to salvage a rough landing, preventing any injury.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I immediately climbed off Toothless’s back to keep him from trying to fly again and walked him toward a clearing on the north side of Berk. There, I knew the wind was stronger and maybe I could find something useful to keep us near the ground. Toothless kept trying to stop me from walking him, trying to get back into the air, but I would have none of it. “Come on, Toothless.” Slowly, he followed with a quiet grumble. He was probably a little frustrated with me, especially after how close we had gotten to flying. We were almost there. No more technical issues. Now I was the one who had to learn to fly.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">We were a few steps into the forest when Toothless grunted and bounded about ten feet to my left, pouncing on something. He opened his paws to see if he had caught what he was after. I had no idea what he was on, but he looked slightly disappointed about a miss. He looked at me, seemingly asking what he had just chased. I just stared at him blankly, wondering what was going on. “C’mon, buddy. Let’s go,” I told him. And turned around. Toothless grunted again, chasing that same something. I saw it right before he pounced. It ended up on his left side.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless was chasing the glare from the hammer I had at my side. It was catching the sunlight and the bright reflection had caught Toothless’s attention. He turned around and gathered himself, looking around for that elusive reflection. I grinned, covering the hammer with my hand as I walked behind a rock. Playtime.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I uncovered the hammer and shone the reflection about five feet in front of Toothless. He grunted again and gathered himself, like a cat does. Pounced on the reflection. Opened his paws, only to find the reflection from my hammer had moved another eight feet in front of him. Toothless immediately dashed forward, trying his hardest to catch that little bit of light. I couldn’t stop giggling at him. This was so much fun, watching him chase a little dot on the ground. All the while Toothless was making a whole array of sounds, ranging from grunts to moans to rumbles. He was happy. I wasn’t sure if he knew I was the one manipulating him, but he didn’t seem to mind.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I continued guiding Toothless with the light, letting him pounce on it occasionally. I noticed that I could get him where we needed to go using this little trick, so I stood up and let the reflection guide him to the promontory that I was after. Within no time, we were there. I figured this would be yet another fearsome weapon that I could use for dragon training.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Great job, Toothless,” I said with a huge grin on my face. We were on the other side of the main mountain on the north side of Berk, where there was a fallen tree, just for us. I had a spare strap of leather I wanted to sheath the cable in, but figured I didn’t need it anymore. I nailed a stake in the stump and tied the strap around it to keep Toothless tethered against the tree. All I knew was that I needed time to determine what each foot position did for our flight. And this afternoon seemed like the perfect day for this, since we didn’t have much time for anything else.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Okay, bud. Let’s figure this out,” I said as I climbed onto Toothless’s back again. He looked at me, wondering what he should do. He knew that he wasn’t going to fly anytime soon when he was tied down like this. Before I could say or do anything, a gust of wind picked up, catching under his wings. Toothless spread his wings slightly as he lifted into the air. I checked the foot position. Neutral. The tail fin was extended but not angled. Straight flight.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I had a small sheet of parchment in front of me where I could draw the tail fin positions, the foot positions and what they meant for flight. I put neutral in the top center. Straight.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless was letting the wind keep him airborne as I clicked my left foot to the outside. The tail fin angled downward. Toothless fell gently to the ground, like a leaf. He looked back and grinned at me with a quiet rumble. He thought I was getting the hang of this, but at that moment, flight had become a gigantic mystery to me. Was his tail fin really that dynamic during flight? I clicked back to neutral.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">A gust picked back up, bringing Toothless airborne again. Clicked forward. The tail fin collapsed inward. Back down. What was going on here? Clicked back to neutral. Airborne. Clicked backward. Spread out. Toothless rose higher in the wind. Okay, that was two out of five I had figured out. Clicking backward meant lifting. I wrote it down without remembering to bring us back down. Suddenly, the leather slipped off the stake and we shot backward into the forest, Toothless coming to rest on his back and I was just off to his left. He rolled over and stood up, bringing me with him. I was still hooked into the saddle, so I reached over and blindly tried to pull my loop free. It wouldn’t budge. Looked closer. The hook on the saddle had doubled over, essentially forming a loop.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Oh, great,” I mumbled. I only had a hammer on me, and I knew that would never get the loop open. A steel rod was my only option because the eyelet was too narrow for anything else to fit. There was only one place I could get a rod: the armory. Fantastic.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless shook himself off, sending a slight vibration into my flying vest. He looked at me, wondering what I wanted to do. I looked back at him. “Try again?” I asked, glancing back at the stump. The stake was still there; only the leather had come untied. No big deal. We tethered up again. This time, I made absolutely sure the leather strap wouldn’t come untied.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">We continued soaking up the wind until sundown. It might not have been real flying, but Toothless certainly seemed to be happier now that he was somewhat airborne. Or maybe it was because I stayed with him last night while he was sick.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Great job, bud,” I said to him as we wound down for the night. I stroked his head, listening to him rumble again. Man, I just loved being around Toothless. He really was the best thing that could have ever happened to me on Berk.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I untied the leather and left the stake there. Vikings almost never ventured in this area, and even if someone did, they probably wouldn’t think twice about the stake.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Come on, buddy,” I told him as I guided him toward Berk. “We gotta get your saddle fixed.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I don’t know why I didn’t think about this problem differently. I should have just taken the saddle off of Toothless and brought it back with me. Or left my flight vest hanging on his saddle. But the first solution that popped into my head was the one I used. I brought Toothless into Berk with me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">A Night Fury. In Berk. This was gonna be a recipe for disaster. As we got closer to the houses, I became more nervous. I didn’t want anyone to see that I had a Night Fury with me. It didn’t matter whether he was tame or not. The first Viking to see Toothless would kill him, no questions asked. I had to keep him a secret.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I edged around a house that belonged to a Viking warrior. Conveniently, he was with my father, storming the mysterious island that was supposed to harbor every dragon we knew about. No one home. Glancing around, I saw Spitelout Jorgenson, who was Snotlout’s father, walk past me from the great hall. The armory was just down the way.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup,” he acknowledged with a nod. I gave a fake grin and casually waved back to him. He walked past, not knowing there was a Night Fury within ten feet of him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Until Toothless grunted. He had crept slightly out of the shadow and was looking curiously in Spitelout’s direction. Quickly, I shushed Toothless and got him back into the shadows. But Spitelout was too far away to hear. I breathed a sigh of relief and crept out of the shadow.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">We entered the armory with little fuss, but Toothless found a bucket similar to the water buckets I was using. He stuck his snout into the bucket, and finding there was nothing of interest, tossed it off to the side. It crashed against some of the axes we had leaning against the wall, where they toppled in a loud heap. I jumped as the crashing got louder, knowing that someone would find Toothless and kill him. Toothless didn’t like the sound either, raising onto his back legs and snarling in the general direction of the sound. Since I was still tied to him, I staggered backwards, dangerously close to his front legs. “It’s okay, buddy,” I whispered. I put my hands out in front of him to let him know that we weren’t under attack. He calmed down and put his front feet back on solid ground. I was too close to see it when his head came down. His chin crashed into the top of my head, causing me to stumble slightly. I groaned in pain as Toothless watched.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup?” a voice called. I sighed in frustration that our cover had been blown. The worst person who could have discovered us would have been my father, but he wasn’t here. The person trying to find me was a close second: Astrid.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I had to do this quickly. We had several metal rods lying around, so I grabbed one and wedged it into the hook on Toothless’s saddle. I had gotten it some of the way when Astrid called again, “Hiccup, are you in there?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I hid the metal rod in my belt and guided Toothless toward the front vista. I jumped through it, quickly shutting the cover behind me. Hopefully Gobber wouldn’t come around and find a fire-breathing beast in the armory.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Oh, there you are,” she said to me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Oh, uh, hiastrid,” I said way too quickly. Unfortunately, my mind was stuck in a loop, because I added two more sentences, each slowing down, making me sound even more ridiculous than I already was. “Hi, Astrid. Hiiiii, Astrid.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">She looked at me quizzically. “Where have you been for the last two days?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Uh, taking care of some urgent business,” I lied.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup, I normally don’t care what you’re doing, but Gobber has been worried about you. He thinks a dragon might have hurt you.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Me? Not even maybe. I can…I can hold my own against a dragon,” I said, flexing my skinny arms in a mock-show of strength.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Well, whatever you’re doing, get it done. Gobber is almost finished with the whole dragon-training course.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Uh, okay. What time will we be training tomorrow?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“In the morn…” she trailed off. Toothless had just found something and decided to investigate, inadvertently bringing me with him. I must have startled Astrid when I stumbled backwards with no apparent reason.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Uh…” I started. I gave a stupid grin, hoping it would get her away from me.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“And why are you acting so weird all of a sudden? Well, weird-er,” she corrected herself.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless kept moving toward the object of his interest, causing me to levitate slightly.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup! What’s going on!?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I didn’t have time to say a word as Toothless bolted for something. I disappeared through the vista as Astrid caught a very brief glimpse of a Night Fury. A Night Fury who was dragging me behind him. Toothless must have realized I was still there, because after about three strides, he stopped, allowing me to get on his back.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup, what is that!?” she yelled.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Go!” I whispered to him. He took off running into the shadows.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“Hiccup?” Astrid called. I didn’t answer.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">Toothless sprinted back toward the cove and jumped in. He landed inside and I wrenched the hook back the rest of the way. Unhooked myself. And hugged Toothless.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“I’m sorry, buddy,” I said. “I shouldn’t have done that to you.”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">He just licked the side of my face, rumbling in contentment.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” He blinked. I left him in the cove as he settled down for some sleep.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I got home, feeling somewhat validated now. Not only did I give Toothless a second chance at life, but I had protected and cared for him when he needed it. I sat down on the side of my bed, thinking about what I had gotten myself into. I was doing what I felt was right by not killing Toothless, by giving him someone he could count on. And all I could think of was how ironic this mess was. What I knew as “right” was probably the most appalling crime in our pleasant little culture.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-indent:.5in">I knew I had embroiled myself in a mess, but I didn’t care. Toothless was way too amazing to give up on him. There was no way now that I would leave his side. I lay down and went to sleep, ready for tomorrow.