Found again (HTTYD FF)

★45★

A few more days passed as everyone slowly got used to each other. Hiccup and Toothless were getting used to the constant presence of people and the Vikings to Hiccup's unusual features and life in the nest.

They were making great progress.

Hiccup stopped turning around in alarm at every louder sound. Toothless stopped piercing them with murderous glares and made peace with Hookfang. Astrid and Hiccup reconciled and grew closer. Fishlegs got his precious answers about the unmelting ice and Gronckle Iron, and he was full of happiness to be able to talk to Hiccup one day - about anything he could think of. Snotlout resigned himself to the fact that his cousin was back and returned to his self-centered self. And the twins... they were just twins. They could adapt to almost anything.

So without any objection from the King and Toothless, it was time for Hiccup to confess something to his friends. He didn't need to look for them - he knew they were in their cave at this hour of the afternoon, and by some unspoken agreement, they were keeping their distance for a while. They'd been spending time together for some time now, but Hiccup's wariness had far from left him, though he tried to push it far to the very edge of his perception.

He flew into their cave, as silently as ever, and caught their dragons' attention.

"Hello, Hiccup. Sleeping with us again today?" Meatlug asked curiously, but it didn't stop her from scratching on her head frantically.

"He's more likely headed on another mission, isn't he? Right? Can I go too? Please? Can I?" begged Stormfly.

"On another mission?" Barf raised his head curiously.

"We want to go! Stormfly was last time!" the Zippleback's other head joined in.

"I think it's time for me to go," Hookfang decided.

Since the night Astrid and Stormfly had "discovered" them, the dragons had been taking turns helping, one by one. They didn't want to feel left out, so Hiccup let them. Despite Toothless' initial displeasure about how they could do it alone and that the others were just a burden.

Toothless landed in the entrance of the cave soon after the dragons started bickering. He wasn't exactly doubly happy about it, but he was here to support Hiccup in his decision. That's what brothers were for.

"You'll all fly today if we get the chance," Hiccup announced to them - silencing the dragons while drawing the attention of the rest of them.

"I... need - want - to tell you something." He waited until everyone turned to him, taking him in fully. Only then did he continue. "Toothless has finally begun to trust you-" The Night Fury growled, insulted. "What, it's true!"

"And that's it?"

"No, it isn't. Since Toothless has finally agreed to it, and the Alpha has no problem with it, there are two things you should know." Was it his imagination, or did Astrid smile a little?

He thought long and hard about how he was going to tell his friends to begin with. In the end, though, he decided to just tell them as it came out of his mouth.

"Toothless and I fly away at night-"

"I knew it!" Tuffnut jumped triumphantly, grinning from ear to ear.

"This is important, Tuff!" Astrid shouted at him.

"Wait, how do you know if it's important or not? Unless..."

"Unless she already knows," Ruffnut finished for her brother, folding her arms across her chest and frowning in hurt. "And she wasn't going to tell us."

"I've only known for a week!"

The dragons began to withdraw. They didn't want to be that close to their Riders if they were going to break out into another loud argument at any moment, which usually ended in an even louder brawl.

Hiccup wasn't sure if he ran in or flew in, but he got to the center of their circle and spread his wings to the sides to quiet them. "She didn't tell you because she promised she wouldn't. You can't blame her. If you're going to be mad at anyone, it's me. And it's important, so please try not to argue for a while." They fell silent. However, their expressions betrayed that it was only out of curiosity - otherwise they wouldn't have listened to him.

"Toothless and I fly away at night because it's our job to disarm Dragon Hunters spotted by our patrols. We attack their ships and rescue the dragons from them. Sometimes we bring volunteers from the nest to help, but I thought you might want to be a part of it." He waited a moment for their reactions.

"Is this supposed to be the big secret?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "You could have told us sooner! I love action!"

"I thought about it, but Toothless disagreed."

"Because no one likes it when one attacks the other's kind." Toothless would have been right if people weren't at each other's throats every now and then.

"Wait," Fishlegs spoke up, "did you say we could join?" Hiccup nodded. "That's awesome! I'd be honored!"

The twins high-fived excitedly. "Can we take our riders? Finally!" the Zipplenack's heads rejoiced, mimicking their human friends - one head bumping into the other excitedly.

Hiccup smiled at them, revealing his sharp canines in the process. For once, everything was working out exactly as he'd imagined.

"What's the other thing you wanted to tell us?" Astrid asked cautiously.

Hiccup's smile disappeared, but he was determined to confide in them. He'd made up his mind. And so he began: "Before I say anything, I want you to promise not to interrupt me." Slowly, one by one, they nodded. Hiccup took a deep breath. "The day those Hunters came for me on Berk..." He didn't know how to continue. It was still a sensitive subject for him - but if he told them and something happened to his tail, they'd be able to help more quickly. "I'll just show you," he finally decided.

He picked up the tail and began to remove the prosthetic from it. It loosened bit by bit, until finally the scaly skin wasn't constricted at all by it and the false fin remained in Hiccup's hand. He lowered his tail to the ground, but instinctively wrapped it around his left leg. He couldn't help it. Whatever he wanted to say was stuck in his throat, he stared at the prosthetic, trying to breathe. He hadn't taken it off since he first put it on. He'd almost forgotten about it - if it weren't for the constant reminder of his lack of feeling and the occasional click of metal parts.

When he looked up, they were all staring at one another. Even Astrid. She hadn't yet seen the empty space where the living membrane should have been.

"The Dragon Hunter did this?" Snotlout asked quietly, his face red. "I'll find him and-"

"He's dead. There's nothing you can do about it now." Hiccup's voice was unusually icy and sharp.

Snotlout nodded, but continued to rage. And so did the others.

Hiccup attached the prosthetic to his tail and quickly moved it out of sight. "It's getting dark, we should get going."

"Umm, where?"

"I told you you could come with us tonight."