𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹━ʰᵗᵗʸᵈ ᵗᵒᵒᵗʰˡᵉˢˢ ˣ ᵐ﹗ˡⁱᵍʰᵗ ᶠᵘʳʸ﹗ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

【𝟎𝟎𝟔】

𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓

━†☓☯☓†━

     "𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼doing out so late?" You asked him, a hiss in your tone. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to wander by yourself? At night, no less!"

     Toothless looked at you sheepishly. "I wanted to see you again..." He trailed off. "But if It's so dangerous, why are you outside?"

     Silence surrounded the two of you. The longer the silence drew on, the smugger Toothless looked.

     You sighed, "My daughter lost her stick earlier today. She won't sleep without it; I have to find it. Speaking of that," you turned away to continue your search. You had to find it quickly, or else Blacklight would never sleep.

     "Wait--" Toothless jumped up and ran to your side. "Let me help you!" He said enthusiastically, unaware of the true boredom he would soon experience.

     After nearly an hour of searching, Toothless' boredom grew too strong to handle. Now it was entirely dark--aside from the fireflies that lit up the area. It was an ethereal sight, though not nearly as exquisite as Toothless' new companion.

    Toothless lay underneath a tree, pretending to sift through the sticks on the ground. Toothless wondered why he looked for the other in the first place. They're both males, so clearly, they couldn't reproduce.

What made you so special?

    You could feel his gaze burning holes into you. Did he expect you to say something? Did he say something? You looked curiously at him. Toothless turned away immediately, avoiding your gaze with a yawn.

Maybe he's tired.

    But you didn't want him to leave. No doubt, he'd go back to the human thing... You didn't want him to. For Odin's sake, he was the only other dragon you'd seen like yourself around your age! You couldn't let him leave that early.

    Taking a deep breath, you approached him. The closer you came, the more Toothless would fidget. You stopped in front of him and Toothless stilled. "Come," you told him, walking away. Toothless lept to his feet and followed quickly, walking by your side.

    The walk was silent. There were so many things Toothless wanted to talk about, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. Do you like humans? How would you look with a saddle? Who were the others he smelled in your cave? Are there more night furies?

    "So," Toothless began, clearing his throat. "Earlier today, when I found Hiccup in your cave... I smelled two others, but I didn't see them. Who were they?"

    You snickered. "For a stranger, you're rather nosy." You could see Toothless shrink into himself, thoroughly embarrassed. "But since you're in the same situation I am, I feel it's only fair that I tell you... Those were my pups."

    "So you have a mate, then?" Toothless asked without a thought. He didn't want to make it clear he was disappointed. The vibrant colors around him dulled to what they were naturally; before he met you.

"No."

    Toothless sighed. He felt relieved, even if there was an edge to your tone. Maybe your mate was caught by hunters. Seeing you were getting ahead of him, he sped up until he was by your side again. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. It must be hard for you," he said.

    "It's alright," you sighed. "I found Blacklight and Coalcap when they were eggs. I've been their dad their whole life; I'm all they have." You felt Toothless staring at you, but you ignored him.

    After some walking, you came across a large plane of grass decorated with wildflowers and trees. In the middle was a large tree covered in the bark that swirled until the top. An extensive array of colorful, exotic flowers littered the forest floor, glowing under the moonlight and popping against the dark grass.

    Toothless felt giddy looking at it. He ran into the flower bed and rolled, smearing the flowers' scent on himself and mixing it with his own. You watched him fondly. He reminded you of a pup discovering something new.

    After a moment, Toothless stopped rolling to see if you were still there. You were, but you were sitting quietly, staring at him--inspecting him.

    Toothless felt off-put by your stubborn gaze. Suddenly, he sprung into a playful pose and tapped your paws, inviting you to play.

    After a moment of hesitation, you reciprocated. Toothless perked and pounced at you, rolling you onto your back. He then leaped away and crooned at you teasingly, inviting you to chase him.

    You lay on the grass, astonished by his boldness, before leaping to your feet and chasing Toothless. He ran with a cry, narrowly avoiding your swats and jumps.

Good Odin, you were rusty at this.

    Eventually, Toothless grew tired and slowed his pace. Noticing this, you were quick to tackle the smaller dragon. "Gotcha," you huffed, exhausted from your little game.

    Toothless rolled to his back, facing you. Suddenly, your senses heightened as you realized the situation. You felt his deep breaths fan against your face. You notice his pupils cover most of his beautiful green iris. Amongst the muted sound of crickets, you could hear him purr as he stared up at you.

    Caught up in your adoration, you lean forward and press a quick lick to his muzzle. Toothless' eyes shut, surprised by your action. Suddenly, you weren't feeling as confident.

    With haste, you got off the smaller dragon and began your way back to your cave. You made it a few feet away before you heard him running after you. Toothless pressed his face against your torso before he caught up and pressed himself against your chin. His purrs were much more audible now.

    Your heart fluttered. Maybe you didn't know what attracted you to Toothless, but you did know it felt amazing to be next to him. You nuzzled into him, sinking to the forest floor and cuddling him.

    All of your worries melted away as you held Toothless. Everything left your mind as Toothless drifted to sleep, unknowingly clouding your senses. All you could do was hope this would last forever.

Oh, how you'd come to regret it.

[𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕] 1,035

━†☓☯☓†━