Secret of a Dragon (An HTTYD Story)

Chapter Ten: New Tail

The scent of fish hangs heavy in the air as Hiccup makes his way to the cove. The basket hangs behind him, but close enough to fill his nostrils with the pungent smell. He continually glances behind him, worried that a feral dragon may smell it and begin to follow him. Fortunately, he spots nothing. Unfortunately, he can do nothing to relieve himself of the odor.

Finally, he sees the entrance to the cove, and almost drops to the ground in relief. He tightens his grip on Toothless's tail, praying it'll work. What if it doesn't fit? All of that work he did last night, he will have to redo. What if she doesn't like it? He will have to come up with a different plan. But his mind is blank. He rushes forward in anticipation.

From inside, he hears noises that make him freeze. One is a dragon's; this is obvious. It is high-pitched and unintelligible. But the other voice, is human: a girl's. He is still too far away to make out any words, or be able to match the voice to a face. Something about it haunts him, as if he should know it.

A second later, there is another sound. This is a Night Fury's growl. Hiccup panics, worried for whatever girl may be trapped inside with a wild dragon and Toothless. However, when he arrives, he finds the two dragons alone, and suddenly he's confused. Did he misunderstand? Did he hear Toothless's voice and imagine a human girl's?

His thoughts are cut off when a violet Terrible Terror suddenly begins to bat his head with its wings. He drops Toothless's tail with a yell, but the Terror follows him. He then realizes what it's after and drops the basket of fish. He pushes it over with his foot, trying not to get too close in case one of the dragons is protective over food. Thankfully, both of them attack it instantly. The Terrible Terror burrows into the pile, and then bursts out, screeching. Hiccup uncovers an eel, and instantly both of the dragons panic.

"No, no, no!" Hiccup cries. He tosses the eel away and looks nervously back at both dragons. "Okay! Yeah, I don't really like eel much, either."

The dragons dig into the fish again. Hiccup laughs to himself as he scoops up Toothless's tail and crosses to the Night Fury's real tail.

At first, she doesn't pay him any attention. He scoots his tail close, and she moves her tail once to the side. Hiccup blinks and glances up at her to see her bite down contentedly on a fish, only to growl protectively at the Terrible Terror. He tries once more, but again, Toothless fidgets. But when he looks up, he sees her snapping at the Terror. Again, he pushes the artificial tail closer to Toothless's. However, now she is truly fighting with the little dragon, and she moves too much to let Hiccup fasten the tail on. Finally he just sits on her tail, praying she wouldn't whirl on him. She doesn't.

He begins to work the straps. Toothless stops moving, and he hears the two dragons communicating behind him. As he pulls one of them tight, he hears an astonished grunt come from the Night Fury. He sits back and reviews his work, spreading the leather out over the ground. "Huh," he murmurs, smiling. "Okay. It's not too bad, it works..."

He hears one of the dragons snickering behind him. He is about to turn when suddenly he feels Toothless tense, and then he slips forward on the tail, not falling off, but stuck, as the Night Fury shoots up in the air. "Ach!" he yelps, and then he begins to scream. Toothless flew determinedly up into the sky, and then she began to plummet.

"Whoa!" Hiccup shouts, and Toothless yells out in her own language.

The Terrible Terror flies up quickly and chitters urgently to Hiccup, gesturing at the tail. Hiccup blinks in surprise, wondering if all dragons were this intelligent. He grabs the tail just before they hit the ground and spreads it out. Toothless virtually bounces off of the ground and back over the cove.

"Oh my -- it's working!" Hiccup cries. He whoops as he turns the tail to his left. Toothless obediently follows. They skim across the surface of the lake, and Hiccup grins. "Yes!" he says happily. "Yes! I did it!"