First Friends

Chapter 21

After I dropped off my haul for the day, I decided to stop by the arena and see what was going on. A Deadly Nadder hissed at me, then I heard Hiccup asking about the Night Fury or something of the like.

"No one's ever seen one and lived to tell the tale, now GET IN THERE!" roared Gobber, pointing.

"I know, I know, but hypothetically-" he was cut off by a curt whisper. I barely caught it.

"Hiccup! K-t," Astrid's voice was barely discernable. I couldn't catch the words exactly, but it sounded like she was clicking her tongue and teeth together.

I lay down and watched as the dragon destroyed the training arena, almost amused until Astrid leapt from the top of one of the falling walls and pinned Hiccup to the ground. They were both so entangled they couldn't get out. Finally Astrid disentangled herself and stood over him. The Nadder, who had been hissing at me while I wasn't paying attention, squawked and charged at them. She ripped the shield from his arm, coaxing a few cries from him which made me bare my teeth slightly.

She clubbed the Nadder up the side of the head, and all I heard from it was a weak-ish "ow." I snorted with laughter until she pointed her ax at Hiccup. I dropped into the arena and growled until she backed away from him. I stood over his prone figure protectively, glancing under my belly to make sure he was alright. He stank of fear, so I gave him a quick lick, then turned to glare daggers at Astrid.

"Put. The ax. Down," I growled in short, measured words. She didn't understand everything, but she got the point. She lowered her ax and I nudged Hiccup to his feet. We walked out of the arena together, he and I.

When we got home, he made for the forest and I begrudgingly went with him, grabbing an adventure bag that had the essentials in case we got stuck out in the woods. He grabbed a fish and a shield from the food bin and the armory respectively on his way out of town, and I struggled into the straps on the bag. If we were going into the woods, I wanted to make sure we were prepared this time.

Where are you going? I wondered when he trotted around a boulder a fair distance from the village. I followed him down into a beautiful grotto, marvelling at its etherial nature. Hiccup stopped between two boulders, and I joined him, my metal paw slipping a couple times. I skidded to a halt behind him. He glanced back at me in alarm, then sighed when he realized it was only me. He held the shield aloft and tossed the fish in first, peeking around to see if there was any danger. I took a cautionary sniff then growled as the stench of dragon filled my nose. Surely Hiccup wasn't going to socialize with that hideous beast?! He took a step forward with the shield in front of him, then stopped when it got stuck. He wiggled it, but to no avail, it was lodged in there solidly.

I worked at the straps around my arms until the bag fell from my back. It landed with barely a whisper. I heard the plop of something small, like a dagger, hitting the water. I peered under the shield and held my breath as Hiccup and a Night Fury interacted. All my instincts told me to run, while my heart told me attack. The internal struggle is what forced me to watch as the beast snatched the fish from Hiccup's hand and back him against a rock. It regurgitated a piece of it into his lap.

"You gonna eat that?" I heard it ask him. He seemed to get the idea because a few moments later I heard him make a noise, then a squelching sound soon followed. After that I detected several grunts. "Now swallow. Be a good hatchling-there you go. All gone?"

"Heh," I heard Hiccup say. I could hear the uneasy smile in his voice.

"No touching!" I heard the dragon growl before taking to the skies and flying a short distance before crashing to the ground. I snorted then snuck out from my hiding place, intent on getting Hiccup out of there.

I nudged him to his feet and started to guide him out, but he dug his feet in and made his way around the pond to where the creature was laying.

"Great, it's sleeping. Now let's get outta here," I said to him, though I knew he couldn't understand me. The creatures head flew up and it locked eyes with me. Hiccup was sitting not far from its tail. I tried my hardest to keep its attention on me and away from Hiccup so he could get out of danger. I froze as he reached out to touch its tail. It followed my gaze and lifted its tail high in the air. Hiccup stood ramrod straight and stiffly made his way over to me. We started to head out, but I could tell he needed a place to sit. I nudged him over to a rock that was in a sunbathed area, then went over to get him something more palatable to eat. I grabbed a loaf of bread gingerly in my mouth and brought it over to him along with a small thing of chicken. He ate these gladly and scratched me behind the ears before I trotted off to get something for myself.

When I returned I could feel a shift in the air, as though the world was holding its breath. I watched in awe as Hiccup and the dragon faced each other. Then Hiccup closed his eyes and turned his head away as he reached out a hand toward the dragon.

"Yo-you're not like them," I heard the dragon say. "I'm honored to call you an ally, and a friend." It leaned forward and touched its nose to his hand. As one, the world seemed to sigh with relief.

Hiccup looked at the dragon hesitantly, then it took off. He made his way up to me, grabbing the bag in the process, then we left. That evening, I joined the others to listen to Gobber tell tales as we all sat around the fire. Hiccup seemed lost in thought, and I could tell it was because of his encounted with the dragon. I followed him when he left the circle. We ran to the forge where he opened his book. I raised myself up slightly on my back legs to see what he was looking at. A drawing of the dragon with part of its tail missing was sketched out. He drew the tail-piece back then set to work.

Hours later, he held up the finished work and I couldn't help but think, All that work for that piece of trash? That'll never work! But I kept my opinions to myself, then we went home and to bed. He set the thing he'd made by his bed and patted the bed for me to join him, which I did gladly.