Another Nightmare book 1

Chapter 16

Something nudged Hiccup's head bringing him closer to consciousness, but he didn't want to wake up and pulled a scaly leg closer to his chest. The peaceful darkness around him suddenly disappeared. Hiccup still tried to turn away from the light against the darkness of scales next to him, but he couldn't move being held as he was. Now closer to consciousness, Hiccup suddenly sensed the intent of something he had become very familiar with. His right hand, still free to move, shot up with an open palm to meet Toothless' snout. Hiccup leaned back his head and opened his eyes to encounter the larger pair as Toothless pushed his snout against Hiccup's hand. The sight brought a smile to the boy's face.

'Okay, I'm up and last I checked I wasn't injured so...' Hiccup didn't have time to finish when he was suddenly hit by a very large tongue. 'Toothless.'

'I'm not going to stop doing it, if that's what you wanted to say. Every dragon you encounter should know who they have to deal with if they hurt you.'

'So you lick me because of the scent.'

'Partially,' Toothless nudged Hiccup again. 'Sense of smell is important to dragons.'

Hiccup could tell that this was actually more important than Toothless had expressed. The dragon was marking him as... family?

'If it is that important to you, I won't mind.'

'Thank you, and don't worry. You don't have to do the same.'

'Not anytime soon,' Hiccup chuckled. 'So was I supposed to get up or...'

Toothless moved his leg to let Hiccup roll off his wing and stand up. Hiccup turned back to see Toothless do the same and stretch like an overgrown cat. Then he suddenly turned away and walked behind one of the rocks littering the cove. Toothless apparently thought he could surprise Hiccup, but the boy had noticed his dragon's intent already the previous night. It helped to be literally inside each other's heads. Soon Toothless returned with a medium sized cod in his mouth. It was still fresh thanks to the cool night.

'I saved you a breakfast.'

'I know,' Hiccup said, already on his knees piling leftover firewood for a small bonfire. 'Thanks.'

He scratched Toothless affectionately behind the ears when the dragon dropped the fish next to him. As usual, Toothless turned his head and leaned closer trying to make it easier for Hiccup to continue what he was doing, in other words he was silently begging Hiccup to do more of it. Hiccup couldn't resist chuckling a little when Toothless' tail started wiggling, but then he suddenly stopped.

'Okay, I think that's enough. I can't let you fall asleep before lighting me a fire.'

'Maybe after you eat?'

'Sure. I'll knock you out before leaving.'

Toothless purred after that except for the second that it took him to light the fire. Hiccup didn't even bother to keep a tinderbox with him anymore. It wasn't necessary with the 8-meter-long flamethrower lying next to him. It didn't take long for Hiccup to cook the fish and start eating, but he was hesitant to do so since there was no food for Toothless. That line of thought was cut off by the dragon's tail slapping his head.

"Ouch."

'Eat that fish and don't worry about me. I eat more but not so often. We can go fishing when you come back.'

Hiccup didn't need more convincing and he dug into the fish eagerly. It immediately became oblivious that the fish was actually much larger than he could ever eat at once. By the time Hiccup started feeling full, there was still a good snack left for Toothless. Instead of eating the cod straight away, the black dragon gave Hiccup a long look when the boy put remainder of the fish in front of him.