Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 36 - The Bad Place

 HICCUP'S POV

So much for not scaring the humans, I thought wryly as almost every viking on the ship pulled out a weapon in response to Toothless' exuberance, my insistence that he meant no harm falling on deaf ears. My dragon was no help, of course, not that I could blame him. He was finally free again after being captured for the first time in his life; he had a right to celebrate and bask in that victory. But he'd be right back in those chains if I didn't take hold of the situation.

"Put your weapons away," I snapped in irritation, my gaze bouncing around before ultimately landing on Stoick. He narrowed his eyes, likely not appreciating being commanded to do anything, let alone give up his only defense against a perceived threat, but I wasn't budging. Not with Toothless' safety at risk.

Stoick seemed to sense my resolve; he gave the barest of nods to Gobber, who then shouted at the rest of the men to lower their arms. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding ever since I'd heard the sharp zing of metal being unsheathed.

"I hope you know what you're doing, boy," Stoick remarked coldly, crossing his arms.

"So do I," I muttered under my breath as I turned to where my dragon perched at the bow of the ship. Toothless' nose was lifted to scent the air, but it didn't look like he planned on taking flight. He'd completely ignored the commotion he had caused, probably not even aware of it. He must've felt pretty safe to be able to let down his guard in such a way. I wasn't sure whether his ease was due to his confidence in himself or his confidence in me, but I found myself relaxing nonetheless, feeding off his calm energy.

"Toothless!" I called, speaking aloud for the benefit of the humans before adding on privately, *Come here, bud. You're freaking them out.* He startled out of his light daze, twisting his head around to blink at me in confusion, like he'd forgotten our predicament. When he noticed all the vikings looking between the two of us warily, he shook himself back to his more aloof state, his ears drooping slightly and his pupils narrowing. He leapt off the railing, gliding down on steady wings to land at my side. He circled me once while glaring at the humans, marking me as being under his protection.

I ran a hand along his neck soothingly, lifting my chin as I met Stoick's suspicious gaze. "See? He's fine. Not even a little puff of fire!" I pointed out.

"Better keep it that way," Stoick warned me, and I struggled not to rise to his challenging glare. I didn't appreciate being made to feel like a hatchling. He wasn't my Alpha, and I didn't have to bow to his whims. It was clear that this partnership of ours would take some getting used to—from both sides.

Stoick turned away then, heading back to the captain's quarters as he ordered the crew to keep an eye on us. They all gave nods of agreement before returning to their designated tasks, each of them sending us wary glances as they worked. If it felt uncomfortable to be under such scrutiny now, I could only imagine how horrible it would be when we reached Berk. Despite my reassurances to Stoick that Toothless would be on his best behavior, I wasn't quite convinced that the Night-wing would respond well to being around so many humans. I'd gotten used to it well enough over the years from visiting markets, but Toothless usually only saw them on missions, when our success depended on stealth and not being seen, and there were never more than a couple dozen men in our vicinity.

*That went better than expected...* I noted with forced cheerfulness, patting Toothless' neck.

He pressed up against me, nudging at my good leg in a silent request for me to climb onto his back. Figuring he was itching for a flight, I sagged in disappointment and shook my head apologetically.

*I can't fly, bud. I won't be able to balance with this thing on my leg.* I pointed out with a grimace, eyeing the contraption disdainfully. Riding on a dragon such as Toothless was no easy feat even with all limbs working accordingly. Being unable to put my foot in the stirrup while also being dragged off-center constantly due to the awkward weight of the boot made for near-impossible flying. Not to mention how every little movement I made sent a shock of pain through my nerves. For the time being, I was grounded. It was a terrifying realization, seeing as I'd spent the better part of my life in the air, but I would simply have to deal with the circumstances.