Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Being chief is hard. Harder than Hiccup could have ever imagined. He only took the mantle from his father a year ago, yet he still feels outmatched against all the work required of him. Having his mother back in his life plus Astrid's company have really helped, but no one could lead Berk as well as Stoick the Vast. He knew that, but regardless he still tried to live up to both his and his fathers expectations. As his mother said, he has the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. Because of this, Hiccup was now following Toothless through the woods off to gods knows where for a reason he wasn't sure of yet. He and Astrid had been sitting up on the cliffs spending time together between their hectic schedules when his companion had signaled him from the ground. Stormfly flew them both to the ground, and they walked together talking about chiefly duties as his dragon walked through the woods, surely looking for something. Toothless had caught the scent of something, and tracked it through the brush, weaving between large trees until he reached a clearing. The ground was covered in foliage and most of the area was shrouded in trees, but this clearing allowed for moonlight to bathe the ground in a heavenly glow, revealing a black figure in the distance. He stopped short before the clearing, cautiously sniffing and gazing out at what was looming in the shadows. He let out a soft croon and walked the perimiter of the clearing to get a better look at what was now hanging in one of the trees. Hiccup and Astrid had caught up with him by now, and were standing at the edge of the clearing he had reached just a minute ago.

"Toothless?" Hiccup called quietly in an effort to not spook whatever was in the tree. They could both see it now too, but were unsure if it was even alive or simply a figment of their imagination. Clearly it had piqued the interest of his dragon, so he followed suit and slowly paced around the edge of the clearing, giving Toothless room to inspect. His dragon turned back toward him, his ear fins raising to attention. Hiccup stopped, getting the wary look from his dragon and waiting for Toothless to get closer.

"Can you tell what it is?" Astrid asked, her voice a whisper amongst the sounds of the forest. Hiccup turned back to her, shaking his head.

"Whatever it is, Toothless is on high alert. Stormfly is nearby, if he's in danger we'll take care of it. Let's wait." He crouched down and she followed suit, blending into the darkness.

The creature had been asleep until she heard rustling coming from the clearing. Wrapped in a protective position while hanging from the tree, she cocked her head and opened an eye, giving a wary glance to the dragon approaching her. She realized quickly that it was a night fury, wearing something unknown to her. With his attention turned away from her, she unfurled her wings and slithered amongst the tree branches.

The rustling of branches and leaves alerted Toothless who quickly turned his attention back to the tree. The hanging figure was gone, now just a shadow hiding between the branches. He still couldn't tell what it was, but cocked his head in an appeasing manner to indicate he did not approach it as a threat. The dragon opened her eyes, revealing piercing blue pupils that were slitted in a sign of caution. They were familiar eyes, Hiccup realized. He'd seen them before, but couldn't be sure. She began to crawl down the tree and closer to the light. When she reached the end of the clearing, it became obvious.

They had found a night fury.

"Oh my gods.." Hiccup breathed, his eyes widening, Astrid gripped his hand in hers, a similar expression on her face. Toothless's pupils widened, his mouth opening slightly as a soft croon escaped. The night fury matched his croon, with a soft one of her own. Her eyes softened, and her body language relaxed. She realized this dragon wasn't a threat, but had not seen the humans behind him yet. He padded closer very slowly, unsure of what he was seeing. Toothless had been alone for many years before Hiccup found him, and night furies were rare this far north. He lived in a more tropical area when he was younger, but became separated from his pack around adolescence after a skirmish with a sibling. He wandered north looking for home, and instead found Berk. He never thought he'd see another night fury again, but another one had somehow managed to make it up here.

Hiccup brought a notebook out of his pocket along with a charcoal pencil. He began to sketch what he could see of the dragon in the little light they had. Toothless backed up, allowing her to approach into the moonlight, obviously wanting a better look at her as well. They began to circle eachother warily, sniffing and gazing at eachother. She had a build similar to his, with blue-black dragon skin and scales across her head and body. Her ears were shorter and rounder, but she had the same number as he did except for the small notches under his chin. Her head was a bit smaller and rounder than his, and her eyes were a cold icy blue. She had spines down her back and along her tail, but none on the backs of her legs like Toothless. Their claws and tails were the same, as well as their large black wings. Toothless was a bit larger than her, but they looked nearly identical. There was no mistaking that this was another night fury, after all these years. Hiccup could tell slight differences in their builds, which helped paint a better picture of what the species as a whole looked like.

In his awe, he dropped his pencil, which bounced off a rock before hitting the ground. The noise alerted the night fury, and she whipped her head around to spot two humans gazing at her just twenty feet away. Her eyes narrowed to slits and she crouched in a fighting position, letting out an intimidating roar very similar to Toothless's. Toothless himself jumped back, putting himself in front of his rider defensively, giving a roar of warning. She turned her attention back to Toothless before chuffing indignantly, and leaping away from the humans. She bounded toward the trees and took flight, her wings lifting her off the ground effortlessly. Toothless watched from the open clearing as she shot a plasma blast in front of her and dissapeared into the night. He warbled sadly and turned back towards his rider.

Chapter Text

The next afternoon, the riders of Berk gathered together in their stalls to perform menial tasks, like patching up their flight suits and saddles. They also regularly groomed their dragons and checked their teeth, with the help of Gobber. After Stoick's death, Eret had been chosen by Skullcrusher, making him a full-fledged dragon rider. He originally had worked with Drago, who was hellbent on amassing an army of obedient dragons under the control of a bewilderbeast. Toothless had blasted him to bits, and the once bloodthirsty alpha retreated with its tail between its legs. Since then, Toothless had become the alpha to all dragons on Berk, though he rarely ever commanded them all as one. Most of the dragons they rescued from trappers like Viggo, Ryker and Krogan were dispersed onto nearby islands, safe under the protection of their new alpha. Berk became a well-built safe haven for all dragon-kind, even dragons Hiccup had difficulty training. Although no skrills, scauldrons or speed stingers openly roamed the island, he'd often see them on nearby islands, far away from the presence of humans.

Finally, Hiccup had found his own purpose. He wasn't a fighter nor a chief at heart, but a man who sought to create a sanctuary for all dragon-kind to live in peacefully among humans. After all, he'd been the second person in the history of Berk to tame and ride a dragon, and after compelling his people to follow him, ended the centuries long war that gripped the people and dragons. His mother, Valka, had been the first. She and Cloudjumper were the closest bonded pair of rider and dragon Hiccup had ever seen, rivaling him and Toothless. Instead of just five years of history, they had twenty. He'd looked to her in creating his dragon sanctuary, as she had done so expertly in the bewilderbeast's nest before his death. That nest had been taken over by another, similarly tempered member of his species, allowing for the sanctuary to remain intact and well protected. While he missed his dad dearly, Hiccup had never felt freer. While leading his people was not easy, he'd found out exactly who he was, created a wonderful family of his fellow tribe-members and spent the last five years beside his best friend, and the most feared dragon in the archipelago.

This afternoon, the stables were abuzz with Toothless's new discovery. No one on Berk had ever seen a night fury besides Toothless, and they had finally learned he was not the only night fury left in the world. Hiccup had begun to have his doubts, as he explored as far as he possibly could, but until last night never found a trace. He remembered vividly how elusive Toothless had been before and right after meeting him. Many nights Berk was struck by plasma blasts that would take down entire structures, and everyone had learned to fear the high-pitched whistle of incoming doom. He remembered Stoick telling him stories of great battles between vikings and dragons, but he himself had never seen a night fury. Now, Toothless was always by his side, and had become an affectionate but fearsome partner. Fishlegs sat a few feet away sketching a new drawing of a female night fury, easily able to use Toothless as a reference after Hiccup mentioned their similarities.

"I'm not surprised they're so similar," Fishlegs commented, "Looking at most other dragon species around Berk, their males and females are very similar." Hiccup nodded. The two had begun to indulge in their inevitable nerding out about a new dragon talk, where they'd compare notes and observations. Snotlout rolled his eyes, clearly disinterested in their nonsense.

"They looked and acted very similar," Astrid cut in, "I felt like she was Toothless's missing half." She had walked by to begin grooming Stormfly, who had no idea what they were talking about, but was just happy to be included.

"She was pretty wary of us, but not outright hostile," Hiccup added, a small smile bracing his lips. He was honestly relieved that she had not shot a plasma blast at him, nearly gave him a growl of warning to stay back. Clearly she had not had the best experiences with humans- if any at all, and was understandably wary. But he knew Toothless would never let anything happen to him, nor was he trying to provoke her at all. Getting a glimpse that closely was a gift in of itself, and he was not about to waste it. For years he'd dreamed of the day his best bud would find one of his own kind, and he was determined to get to know her and possibly train her. He could tell Toothless was interested in her, as this morning he often glanced curiously outside, but for now stood obediently at his best friend's side to be groomed. Plus, he always loved when Hiccup gave him scratches under the chin, less so when it came to washing. Many times Toothless would flick water at him in a teasing manner and shoot him with a disapproving look, like a big black cat.

"Knowing what Toothless was like when you first met him, I'd be careful," Snotlout finally chimed in. The twins were throwing buckets of water at eachother, completely oblivious to the conversation. It was unusual for Snotlout to say something so wise, but he was right.

"Trust me, I remember," Hiccup commented.

"Y'know, when he took down the entire village, fought off Hookfang and pinned your dad down in the ring?" He continued on, seemingly as if this was helping.

"Plus there was that time he went all alpha mode-"

"Thank you Snotlout, I get it," he cut him off with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Always like Snotlout to get carried away.

"We're going to patrol the island and see if we can find her, I'll be back later." Hiccup got up, taking off his apron and hanging it next to the stall. Astrid walked over to him now and put a hand on his arm.

"Are you sure you want to go alone? We have no idea what she's like." Her concerns were valid, but he knew he had to do this alone.

"I'll be careful, I promise. Plus she seems pretty spooked by humans, so maybe it'll be better if it's just Toothless and I." After he finished speaking, Astrid gave him an understanding smile and kissed his cheek.

"I know you will, but if you need anything, I'm there." He gave her a quick kiss in return, and with an appreciative glance, he and Toothless took to the skies.

...

They'd been flying for a few hours by the time Toothless picked up her scent. He glided down just above the beach on the far side of the island, still high in the air until he could spot her. She was at the water's edge, clearly looking for fish.

"Let's land in the woods nearby, and you can find her on foot. I think without your saddle she'll be less wary." Toothless warbled in agreement and dove down into the cover of the trees, virtually silent. They landed effortlessly, and Hiccup turned to remove his friend's saddle. Along with his saddle he removed his prosthetic tail fin, leaving Toothless looking like any other wild dragon- almost.

"Good luck," he whispered, gesturing towards the shore with his hands. After a nervous look towards his rider, Toothless set out for the beach, with Hiccup trailing far behind. The dragon had the sense to roll in the bushes to mask the scent of human before peering out at the top of the hill down onto the sands below. There was a fairly steep incline for thirty feet before the ground evened out, so making his presence known, Toothless leapt into the air and landed effortlessly a few dozen feet away from the night fury. This piqued her attention, and she turned to face him, with a wary glance toward the top of the cliff. Hiccup came to the edge a few moments later, ducking behind a gnarled tree stump and watching closely the interaction between the two dragons.

When she saw the coast was clear, the dragon began to pad over to Toothless, an interested look on her face. His expression mirrored hers, and he padded in her direction until they were just a few feet apart. She growled once, likely inquiring his reason for being here, which he returned with a soft growl of his own. The two dragons seemed to understand they both were interested in eachother, and began to circle eachother again. From the look in her eyes, it had also been a long time since she'd seen another night fury, and was just as stunned as Toothless was. The two dragons circled eachother, gave wary sniffs, and exchanged growls for a long time. Hiccup had no idea what they were saying, but he came to understand that they trusted eachother. Neither looked hostile, and both their pupils had dilated to convey friendly expressions. Toothless brought his nose to hers and touched it softly, likely indicating friendship. These were behaviors Hiccup had never seen before, which he discovered must have been night fury forms of communication. Toothless had not forgotten his roots, and she seemed as grateful as he was to be among her own kind. Eventually, Toothless shot a glance at Hiccup, indicating that it was safe to come out. Anxiously, the rider rose slowly from behind the trunk, and stepped into the fading light. Sunset had come and gone, leaving beautiful streaks of orange, pink and red in the sky. Although Hiccup had some trouble seeing, the dragons did not. When she saw him, she took a step back. She shot an anxious growl at Toothless, who returned it with a soft, calming croon of his own.

"Yeah, I'm not a threat," Hiccup mumbled to himself, hoping she'd believe it. She did not take off, but her stature had changed to one with more fear. Toothless warbled softly again, as if reassuring her that Hiccup was a friend. Spotting a cascade of roots nearby, Hiccup decided to take that route down the hill and decrease his risk of falling on his face and scaring the dragon away. By the time he made it down, he was standing ten feet away from them. This dragon looked a bit calmer than before, but was still definitely cautious. He was determined to show her that he was not a threat, as he knew how much this mattered to his dragon. But she let out another warning growl, though a bit quieter, and Hiccup feared she would never trust him at all.