Together

IV | Forbidden friendships

The teens all sat around a warm bonfire toasting their food. "... and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious. He must have passed the word, because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg." [Reader] made a disgusted face listening to Gobber tell his story. "And you [reader]? You were just a couple inches away from having your hand sliced off."

"Yeah, but not by a dragon." She corrects. "Isn't it weird to think that your hand was inside a dragon. Like if your mind was still in control of it you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something" Fishlegs and Snotlout were the ones mostly interested.

"I swear I'm so angry right now. I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot. I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight with my face." Snotlout said, getting a little too close to the fire. [Reader] shook her head annoyed with Snotlout, but knew she couldn't say anything.

"Nah. It's the wings and tail you really want if is can't fly, it can't get away."

"Alright, I'm off to bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get into the big boys. Slowly but surely makes our way up to the Monstrous Nightmare." Gobber taughts the teens walking down the steps.

"It's gonna be me." Tuff said. "It's my destiny, see?" Tuff pulls up his sleeve revealing a red dragon on his arm. Fishlegs gasps, "your mom let you get a tattoo?" Tuff smirks at him. "It's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark." Ruff made a confused face. "Okay, I've been with you since birth, and that was never there before."

"Yes it was. You just haven't see me from my left side until now."

"It wasn't there yesterday. Is it a birthmark or today-mark?" Snotlout asked. "Ima go now..." [reader] interrupts. "Bye [reader]!" Ruff yells.

"Oh here!" Astrid stood up taking a dagger out her hidden pocket. "You left your dagger back in the rink earlier." [Reader] smiled at her. "Oh, thank you!"

Behind them, Hiccup sneaks off.

━━━━ ❤︎

"I worked all night for this." Hiccup said pushing a prosthetic tail up from falling. "So you're gonna try and distract Toothless with the fish and put the tail on him?" Hiccup nods his head "yep"

"I can help you carry it if you want." [Reader] tried helping the struggling viking, he only resisted.

"Hey Toothless. We brought breakfast. I hope you're hungry." Hiccup drops the bucket kicking it over, causing the fill to spill out. "Okay. That's disgusting." Toothless approaches the fish sniffing at it. "Uh... we've got some salmon," Toothless swallows it. "some nice Icelandic cod," Toothless swallows those too. "and a whole smoked eel." Toothless hisses and shakes his head violently, scrubbing his tongue on the sand.

"No, no, no! It's okay! Yeah I don't like much eel either. I'll just..." Hiccup lifts the eel with his foot tossing it in the water. Toothless focuses on the leftover fish, Hiccup unwraps the prosthetic tail opening it like a fan. "Okay. That's it. That's it, just stick with the good stuff. And don't you mind me. I'll just be back... here, minding my own business."

Hiccup sat near Toothless's tail, but anytime he tried putting the prosthetic tail close to him he'd move it away. "Okay.." Hiccup moves sitting on top of the dragons tail. His head jolted up. "It's okay." The dragon tensed up slowing spreading out his wings."

"Um, Hiccup-" Hiccup cut [reader] off, "there. Not so bad. It works. So what were you-" Toothless bolts up into the air carrying Hiccup with him. "Woah woah!" Hiccup struggles opening the tail, Toothless started diving to the floor before the tail finally opened and they went back up. "It's working!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless throws Hiccup off his tail into the water crashing into the floor.

"Yes! Yes! I did it!" Hiccup bursts from the water raising his hands. "Wow, that was amazing!" [Reader] ran up to Hiccup hugging him. He felt backwards not expecting the hug and they both fell into the water. "Sorry!" Hiccup apologized. [Reader] laughed sitting up. "It's okay."

[Reader] and Hiccup walked out the cove with their drenched clothing. "Gah, this is so uncomfortable." Hiccup nodded his head agreeing. They walked a few more steps, stopping when they heard a loud cry-like screech close by. They looked at each other cautiously. They made their way towards the crying holding onto each other the closer they got. They made it to a cave, that echoed with the cries.

Their was a large sharp metal plate on the ground, they don't know how that got there but that wasn't what they were worried about. There were two sharp claws next to it, and trail of blood was in front of the plate leading them to a cave. "Hello?" [Reader] called out worriedly. She looked back a Hiccup with her eyebrows down. [Reader] got slightly closer to the cave seeing a faint outline of what she thinks could be a Deadly Nadder.

"I think it's a Nadder, Hiccup." [Reader] whispering hoping he'd heard. It peaked its head out the darkness of the cave looking at [reader]. The head of it had a mix of blue and purple spots, and the end of its horns were red. The end of its tail peaked out, which showed both the Viking, it was not a Deadly Nadder.  Hiccup stood behind [reader] eyeing the dragon. The dragon hardly noticeable, hissed and Hiccup took a step back. It stopped hissing and showed more of itself bringing half its body out.

[Reader] looked down seeing two claws of the dragons right paw were gone, and it was still leaking with blood. [Reader] hesitantly took tiny steps closer to the dragon fumbling to get a roll of bandages out her backpack without breaking eye contact. [Reader] looked back at Hiccup, he smiled at her giving her a thumbs up, signaling to continue moving forward.

The dragon started to smell at [reader], smelling the fish from before and saltwater. [Reader] raised her hand halfway up to the dragon, it sniffed her hand then sneezed on her getting a bunch of slobber on her. [Reader] closed her eyes wiping the spit off her face. The dragon then threw its head at [reader]s nudging her. [Reader] scratched her head smiling.

[Reader] got down on her knees holding the bandage out to wrap the dragons claws. It took a step back wining a bit. "It's okay. You're okay. I won't hurt you." [Reader]s voice was soft, trying to calm the dragon. Hiccup watched her, admiring her.

[Reader] slowly wrapped the bandage around the dragons paws trying not to hurt it. She finished up the roll standing on her feet. "All done." [Reader] waved her hands signaling she was done. The dragon lifted its feet looking at it's now bandaged foot.

[Reader] put her bag back on getting ready to leave, but the dragon followed her. "Stay here. It's not safe for you over here." The dragon wined looking down. [Reader] rubbed her head pushing her back gently. "I'll be back, okay? I won't leave you."

The dragon turned around head back inside the cave watching [reader] and Hiccup leave.

"You're so... amazing" Hiccup complimented. "Thank you! I could say the same about you." [Reader] smiled happily. Hiccup looked to the side smiling softly to himself.