The Last Ones (Toothless X Reader)

Chapter 15 - Unsafe Haven

       Toothless and I made our way back to the cove in complete silence.

   Not even the two Scalelesses spoke a single whine.

   "That was your Alpha?" Toothless asked when we landed roughly, the two Scalelesses getting off of his back and continuing their own conversation.

   "She still is," I growled, claws digging into the dirt, mind foggy with panic and the whispering tug of her commanding voice demanding that I returned to our nest at once. "I hate her almost as much as Scalelesses."

   Toothless glared at me and huffed out a puff of smoke through his nostrils.

   "What?" I asked, agitated.

   Rolling his eyes, Toothless nudged his snout in the direction of Hiccup and the female Scaleless. I looked at the two and growled, still vary when they went off and spoke on low whiny tones I couldn't hope to understand.

   "What about them?"

   "They're not as bad as the rest, in fact, I'm gonna go as far to say that they're good."

   Normally, I'd begrudgingly agree with his statement, and try to look from his point of view.

   But not today. Not now, not after what we had gone through all because that female Scaleless decided she had to go and snitch on us and gather more Scalelesses to hunt us down. Not after all because Toothless and Hiccup didn't allow me to kill her, we got lured into a close-do-death trap.

   "And that's the mindset that'll get you killed," I growled and trotted over to the pond to drink.

   Toothless scoffed, "Like yours is any better. Caring about nobody but yourself and staying alone all your life-"

   "Will keep me alive," I snarled and rounded on him harshly. "I don't care about enjoying what I have, because I can't allow myself to enjoy it – others won't allow me to enjoy it! So why go against the wind when there's no point to it?"

   "If you never go against the wind than you're nothing more than a slave to it," Toothless grumbled back and lowered his snout to drink from the pond as well.

   "None of us were born to be free," I growled lowly and struggled to sit down in a semi-relaxed state, mind still fresh with the horrors of the evening. "It's about time you realize that."

   Toothless and I were giving each other the cold scales (cold shoulder) by the time Hiccup bid him goodbye with a pet on his snout Toothless eagerly returned by licking him in the face. The female Scaleless left a while ago, and the fading of her scent brought a fresh air of calm I desperately craved.

   My mind was still reeling.

   Scolding me.

   Telling me I failed my own pack, I failed to protect those I brought under my care.

   And her highness didn't relent either.

   She kept on roaring, snarling and threatening me, using all of her methods to try and get me to return to her, return to being her slave. I was glad all that reached me were faint whispers, like the sound of wings I hear when I'm underwater.

   I forced myself not to think of the dragons I'm putting through this – empathy will only get me hurt and killed faster.

   "Idiot," I scolded myself silently. "How could you have been so stupid as to go through with his invitation? A flight? Over an island filled with Scalelesses? Two of whom were on his back? You knew the dangers of getting closer to her nest, and yet you still did it – complete failure."

   Thoughts like these were nothing new to me, and I still didn't know what to do with them. How to satisfy them in a way that'll make them go away.

   "I'm going for a flight," I roared over to Toothless just so he knew I didn't abandon him.

   Why didn't I abandon him? All he did was bring trouble, Scalelesses and negativity in my already bad life. And then a remembered: ah, yes, he's probably one of the last ones of our kind. And he is a goofball with the brains of an eel, but it worked and achieved his goals of raising the mood.

   Toothless didn't answer, just scorched the ground in a new spot to sleep for the night.

   "Just cause you act like a kid, doesn't mean you have to act like one at all times," I thought and took off, ready to have the wind blow all my thoughts away, so far away that I'll never have to meet them again.

   The night sky was fresh and empty, no scents other than the forest and its inhabitants – including the nasty Scalelesses – detectable.

   "No raid tonight then, either... I guess she's trying to get everyone back and under her control again," I coo to myself and leave the skyline of the islands, opting to venture out over the ocean and find the calming company of the water.

   A new vertical dive, a new spin, a new splash; and yet still the same rush of adrenaline and excitement. Flying was the best thing in the whole world. Even under the service of an Alpha, no Scaled could deny the false feeling of freedom flight granted them – and I was no exception.

   The water was cold and welcome, unlike most of the Scaled that lived in it. Their Alpha was just as aggressive as mine, if not more so due to the power he held. Her highness, Read Death, only holds one grudge; and that's against Horned Triple. She knew he was safe from her reign, that there could be no battle between the two, and that she had no chance of stealing his loyal Scaleds.

   "Maybe I should just leave her and find another Alpha to serve, or become a rogue..." I pondered the thought. "Or become the Alpha of a small pack of my own."

   Ambitious thoughts, all of those were, one more hopeless than the one before it. I couldn't leave her reign behind until I had to stay on this Scaleless infested island Toothless managed to crash on until Hiccup gave him a new fin he could fly on his own. Maybe after that I could go back to Forestspine with him, serve the gentle giant rather than Red Death herself.

   Becoming the Alpha of a small pack sounded the most appealing – I had the brains, the skills and the authority to lead one. I could be a better Alpha than Read Death ever was and will be, I could prove to myself that I could have led her nest better than she did had I had the courage to challenge her and win our fight.

   "Stupid thoughts," I thought and pushed myself faster, letting some floating debris in the water collide with me before shooting out at a low angle, needing the sting of the cold air after such a bath. "Stupid, useless, hopeful thoughts..."

   I didn't return to the cove before the sun rose to its highest.