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Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Watchful Eyes

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Hiccup's dreams got shattered as he woke up by a feeling of stinging pain in his left shoulder. He yelped and pounced up on all fours. As he looked at his shoulder, he noticed several bite marks. They weren't deep, but enough to cause small scars in the future. Small droplets of blood were still coming out from the wound. Alarmed, he quickly looked around for the source for whoever had attempted to hurt him. The search didn't last a second, as Toothless was standing right in front of him, with some of_his_ blood covering his teeth.

"Toothless, you bit me!" Hiccup growled.

"Calm down Hiccup" Toothless said. "I only claimed you as my mate. I thought it'd hurt less if I did it while you still slept"

"By biting me? !"

"It's our way Hiccup. Don't humans do that as well?"

The question was thrown right in Hiccup's face. He wasn't prepared to get a reply like that!

"Ehh...uh...NO! Of course not! Humans don't mate for life...or... well, they try though, but it doesn't usually happen. Besides, humans don't have sharp teeth like dragons. They're more flat and square-shaped. They're not great for biting, but rather more for chewing food"

Toothless looked at Hiccup like if he had just said something utterly stupid. "Humans are weird"

"We're not!" Hiccup burst out. "...I mean, they're not. They're just...argh! Why are we even talking about this?"

"I don't know" Toothless said, just as calm.

Hiccup grumbled and looked at the mark. Luckily his black scales didn't make it that visible. If anyone finds out what really happened, he'll be dead for sure. For once he was glad the Vikings had no interest in the life of the dragons, except how they best can be killed. Come to think of it, they don't really care about that either anymore, since they're not a threat to them any longer. But it'll still be a problem if his dad were to see it, so Hiccup hoped the black color would do the trick.

"Don't worry Hiccup, I'll protect you if anything happens" Toothless assured.

"Is that supposed to reassure me? !" Hiccup laughed. "Now I'm even more worried about the others!"

Toothless hummed and gave Hiccup a light nuzzle. "I'll take that as a compliment, thanks"

Hiccup accepted the touch warmly. The touches felt so much more affectionate than before, but then again it felt so right.

"We should wash our self before we do anything else, I can't catch any scent other than the smell of sex around us, not to mention ourselves! " Hiccup said while looking down at the beach, then over to Toothless again. "We can take a quick dive in the ocean"

Toothless let the scent touch his nostrils. "Oh, but you smell just fine Hiccup. We don't have to" he smiled.

Hiccup sighed. "Maybe for you, but I doubt certain others will see it as _just fine_when they catch this smell around me. I know my tribe doesn't contain the smartest of minds, but they definitely aren't complete idiots either. Let's hurry up and then head back before anyone gets suspicious, I think we've been gone for long enough already"

-{}-

After a quick dip, Hiccup and Toothless went for the village. The smell wasn't completely gone, but Hiccup assumed it was enough to not have the Vikings react. After all, dragons had better smell than Vikings! As they walked, Hiccup noticed that Toothless was watching him. Nothing wrong with that of course, but he didn't stop; and Hiccup started to wonder why he was doing it.

"What?" he asked.

"You look sexy!" Toothless purred.

Hiccup laughed. "Me, sexy? Now that's a first timer!"

"Not for me. You've always had this invisible force that keeps dragging me towards you"

"Yeah, I've kind of notice that lately" Hiccup chuckled, with Toothless joining in.

As they made their way through the thick forest, Hiccup couldn't keep away the thought of how Toothless was able to let their conscious become one, sort of.

"You know, you seem to know a little about this mind reading thing" he started. "I mean, you couldn't just have merged our minds together unless you got some experience. You've been over this before?"

Toothless didn't answer immediately, and it took a brief moment before he spoke up.

"There are those who have the ability to break into other's mind, read their thoughts, and if they manage to go deep enough, also gain total control over that being. As hatchling I was trained to protect my own mind, creating a barrier around it that would keep others from getting in. However, it wasn't enough to protect me from the dragon queen."

"She could break into others mind?"

"Yes, that's the way all the dragons got enslaved, including me. She broke into our minds, thus gaining control over everyone. She knew everything about us, our dearest secrets and weaknesses. It was impossible to escape her grasp"

"Then what did you do to get away?"

"Nothing, you helped me." Toothless said smiling.

"Me?"

"When you shot me with that...thing, it must've broken the connection somehow. She has maybe tried to sense me again, but then it was too late. Being with you changed my whole personality, my whole being. I wasn't recognizable to her anymore, and I was free once again"

"It must have been hard, not having control over your own body"

"Painful it is" Toothless muttered.

"I'm sorry if I've pushed you too far" Hiccup said. "I didn't know it was this bad"

"It's okay" Toothless answered, forcing a smile.

They arrived to the village not long after, going straight for the fish bowl. But to Hiccup's great frustration, there were no fish. NO FISH!

"Gah! What's this all about? ! Do they want us to starve or what?" Hiccup exclaimed, and looked disappointed at the empty bowl.

"No wonder, it's been hours ago since they filled it" Toothless pointed out.

Hiccup walked up to the nearest Viking, who happened to be a normal teenager boy, not more than fifteen or so. Hiccup poked his back to get his attention. The boy jumped surprised and turned, meeting a pair of eyes at least 5 times the size of his own. "Fish!" Hiccup pleaded, releasing a long growl.

Obviously scared, the kid staggered to answer, but manage to recognize the dragon before him as Hiccup. "Oh ehe..h-hi Hiccup! Ehr, something I can uh..do for you?"

"I need food, now!" Hiccup repeated. Of course to the boy, this was only received as a series of growls. "Sorry Hiccup, b-but I have some difficulties understand what you mean" The young Viking nervously replied.

Oh, Hiccup had totally forgotten that! So, speaking with the same way he had always done with Toothless; by body language, Hiccup opened his mouth, trying his best to indicate that he wanted food. Now, first thing: never open your mouth right in front of a terrified young boy, especially with your teeth out! The poor victim of such an encounter, it's only obvious that he will think you're going to eat him... Then of course this resulted with the boy running down the village, his arms stretched out while screaming like a ten year old.

Disappointed, Hiccup returned at Toothless' side, who rolled his eyes at Hiccup's way of handling the situation.

"Wise move I must say!" Toothless chuckled.

"Shut up" Hiccup grunted. "I was desperate. All these earlier...actions have leaved my stomach as empty as this bowl"

" 'Actions' I hope soon will repeat itself" Toothless purred affectionate.

"Definitely" Hiccup answered, thinking back at it.

Another figure then chose to represent itself.

"Ohoy Hiccup!" Stoick roared, walking up to the two. "Looks like ye're late for breakfast! Pity that, but no worries! Luckily for you I got an extra bag here with cod, caught just this morning!"

Stoick tossed the bag in the bowl, fish streaming out of it. Hiccup's eyes immediately enlightened.

"Lusty eyes you got there, son!" Stoick laughed. "Eat all you want, it's just for you two! You should be happy that I even took time taking the bag all the way up here, but I'm in a happy mood today! A fine trade we did today with one of the other tribes. Stupid people they were, considering even tra-"

Stoick couldn't finish sentence, because the last bit of air got sucked out of him as Hiccup leapt at him, causing him to fall on his back. Hiccup continuously cuddled him while happy purrs loudly escaped him.

"Boy, you've gotten heavy!" Stoick hummed, giving Hiccup a few pats on his head. Hiccup stepped away from Stoick so he could get himself up. He burst some dust of his clothes, righted his Viking helmet before saying, "Now, before I make my leave, because a chief got a lot of duties ye know, I came to tell that ye're needed at the forge with Gobber. He said he needed yer flame again, and got something to tell you as well. You should get up too him after ye're done here."

Hiccup vigorously nodded, and didn't wait a moment longer before he engulfed himself as much fish he could. Stoick then turned to Toothless.

"As for you Toothless, you're free to do whatever you like. For saving my son, twice actually; you deserve treatment nothing less than the Gods themselves. And of course, looking out for Hiccup, so he doesn't do anything stupid"

They exchanged simple nods, common thing by them, before Stoick took his leave. Several minutes went past before Toothless suddenly sensed another presence. "Hiccup" he said.

"Not now" Hiccup replied between munches. "Eating time"

Toothless sighed and went for the thing that wouldn't get disturbed by annoying sounds, his mind.

"We're being watched" He said, this time between their unique connection. Hiccup's ears perked up as if the sound came from the outside. He looked at Toothless, who gestured him to look up the hill above them. There, steadied against one of the houses, an old lady stood watching down at them.

"Saga.." Hiccup said, a little surprised.

"Who's that?" Toothless asked.

"One of the elders," Hiccup explained. "But it's weird for her to be outside like this. It's rare to see her anywhere but inside her home, or at a meeting actually. She's known as the silent speaker. She never shows herself unless something is about to happen. Some say she even can see into the future, but I doubt it. Still, now that Saga's out, something's bound to happen"

"When does she usually appear?" Toothless asked, looking suspiciously up at her. He smelled the scent of her, and it felt...different from the other humans.

"The last time I remember must've been when the last dragon raid occurred. Now that those don't happen anymore, I wonder what's going to take place this time"

"It looks like she doesn't take her gaze from us" Toothless whispered. "Think it got something with us?"

Toothless didn't think of this as some ordinary old human. There was something different with this one, she certainly smelled different!

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so. You can never be certain about anything when it comes to Saga. She's a mystery to everyone"

She didn't move before Hiccup and Toothless was done eating, slipping through the alley between the houses and disappeared. Hiccup and Toothless thought of it no longer, and made their way up Gobber's forge. Inside they were greeted by the Viking with interchangeable hands, at least as much happy as Stoick had been!

"'Ey Hiccup, my fiery apprentice!" He welcomed. "Come closer, come closer; I got something extra special to show you today" When he had gotten them where he wanted, he stopped them. "Okay, just wait there, I'll be right back!"

Then he hurried further into the forge. Noises and scrambling could be heard in the room Gobber went in. Hiccup and Toothless exchanged confused looks, wondering what the smith could be so enthusiastic about.

"Now where did I put those old swords... by Thor what a mess this i-OOH there's one!"

Gobber return with two swords; one sheathed, the other not. Gobber brought the unsheathed sword up to Hiccup, so he could take a better look at it.

" See here, just a normal sword, right? Nothing special about it. I mean, for Vikings of course. It's a masterpiece by normal standards; much better than what any Romans or any other, less significant people can even dream about to forge...." Gobber spoke away, clearly lost in his own arguments. Hiccup stared at him with a look that clearly indicated "What are you getting at?" which stopped Gobber once he noticed.

"Right" he mumbled, "to the point. The sword you just saw was one of the old ones made. After I started forging with your blue flame though, something else happened"

He unsheathed the other sword from the scabbard, placing it at the table beside him. " Look at this beauty!" he proudly presented.

Hiccup's eyes widened at the sight of it. Before him was a sword unlike anything he had ever seen! The blade wasn't of the ordinary gray color. Before him lay a sword, its blade covered in dark blue!

"Fantastic isn't it!" Gobber grinned. "And look at this!"

He picked it up and started waving it. As Gobber moved the sword about, the color of the blade would shimmer and shift, displaying all the blue colors Hiccup could think of!

"All this because of you flame. It must be something magically about ye creatures!"

"If you only knew" Hiccup though. He'd love to comment, but in his form he couldn't. Gobber didn't seem to bother, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the sword.

"And that is not the best part" He exclaimed. "Watch this!"

He steadied the sword, and focused on the working table before him. Then he struck it with a downward attack, the blade slicing through the wooden material as it was nothing but air!

"See that? !" Gobber roared in enthusiasm. "Cut it right in two like it was made of thin paper!"

Hiccup looked at it with amazement. Even Toothless seemed to take interest in the metal's abilities.

"With this we'll be unstoppable! We'll be legends once others acknowledge us with these extraordinary weapons. A new metal, who would've thought? I should give name to my discovery! Like, Gobber's super metal! No, that's too dumb. More like, Gobber's metal of fury: weapons more awesome than the Gods'! No no, that's too long.."

And so he went on. "It was really my flame that did it" Hiccup thought. But he could let the bulky Viking have this one. He was so happy too, and Hiccup didn't want to ruin any of it.

"We must make more!" Gobber suddenly said, interrupting his own, rather awkward name suggestions. "We must make weapons for the whole tribe! Let's get to work!"

And then Gobber would keep Hiccup at the forge the whole day, not even letting him take any breaks! By the end of the day Hiccup was too tired to even utter a single word, and fell right down on the floor in his room once he got in. Toothless curled around Hiccup, transferring a little of his own energy through the connection to him, before he too fell asleep.

-{}-

Hiccup woke fully rested next morning. Toothless did as well, not wanting to let him out of sight.

"This time you're not going anywhere without me" he assured.

"Neither do I want to" Hiccup smiled back. He knew Toothless couldn't stand having him around neither people nor dragons, especially Astrid. Jealous he is, Hiccup thought and grinned for himself.

"You know I can clearly hear you" Toothless pointed out in his head.

"Crap..."

Hiccup had forgotten that. He really needs to stop forgetting things... Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Astrid since their last encounter in the woods. Maybe she was avoiding him? That was just fine by him anyway, and probably best for her too, if she didn't want some serious injury.

"Anything else you want to point out before we step out?" Hiccup asked dryly.

"Yeah, stop thinking of Astrid. The mentioning of her name is irritating my mind!"

*sigh*

Later that day, while Toothless took a nap outside their house, Hiccup decided to use the opportunity to get to know the other dragons in the village a little better. A too overprotective mate had given him little time to do this, so Hiccup thought now would be the best time. He had studied the different dragons quite a bit, and they were all different in behavior. Gronckles were the lazy ones, bathing in sunlight when chances given. Although they greeted him kindly, they weren't much talkative. They preferred letting themselves transfer to the world of dreams, like if they didn't have a care in the world.

The Zipplebacks would talk alright, but it always ended with the two heads arguing with each other, no matter what the subject was! This led to a fight Hiccup quickly withdrew from, not wanting to get involved. They reminded him of the twins, so having a Zippleback as their dragon was definitely a perfect match for them.

The Nadders was usually too important cleaning their scales to even take notice of him. They were extremely proud dragons, and wanted to show off themselves as best as they could.

The Terrible Terrors was the least smartest of all the dragon species, but still intelligent. For Hiccup it seemed like they never really reached adulthood, not the way they acted at least. They jumped around playfully, and reminded Hiccup very much of the young Vikings in the village. They were eager with the talking, telling Hiccup all sorts of stories they'd experienced, that he could hardly catch up with what they said! He got a warm feeling as they moved on by telling how thankful they were for saving them from the dragon queen's grasp, often referring him to as the "dragon savior".

"The little ones are right about what they tell you" a voice said, as a Monstrous Nightmare stepped up beside him. It was Fireworm, Snotlout's dragon. The largest of the dragon species on their island and dominant over the others. Except for Toothless of course. To Hiccup, it looked like Fireworm was the leader over the dragons, taking care of the others whenever needed, and broke up fights when those occurred. When someone got a problem of a sort, they would go to Fireworm for advice, and she'd provide them with one.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Toothless," Hiccup answered. "He was really the one that did most of it"

"Nonsense" Fireworm chuckled. "You were the mind behind the plan weren't you? Without your aid, the war would still rage to this day"

"I guess so" Hiccup simply replied.

"Then give yourself some credit for once; you deserve it" She smiled. "It's a reason we call _you_the dragon savior, not Toothless."

"I suppose she's right about that" Hiccup thought to himself

"Thank you" he said, smiling back.

"None required! We are in our debt to you. If you ever need any help, make voice and you will see it done"

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind" Hiccup promised.

The sun had set itself high in the sky, and Hiccup assumed it was around midday. This was the busiest time of the day, and everyone was outside doing their chores, jobs or whatever tasks his father had given them. The dragons were mostly napping on the roofs, except for those who were needed by their rider.

"So Hiccup, how are you handling your new form?" Fireworm asked. "I hope it doesn't hurt you being like this?"

"Oh, no really it's not" Hiccup answered. "Sure there were some complications in the beginning, but I'm quickly becoming used to it"

"That's good" Fireworm said, and while dropping her head down to his level, added; "Sure smelled like it too", and then she released a deep humming sound inside her belly.

"What?" Hiccup asked, not quite getting it.

"Oh you know, when you two came trotting into the village last morning"

"Wow wow! You say you know?" Hiccup asked, his eyes widening in surprise. His secret was already discovered? He blushed in embarrassment.

Fireworm chuckled. "The right question should be; how could I not? The smell was impossible to escape! I would be more surprised if the other dragons in the village did not know of this already"

"Great, so everybody knows now" Hiccup sighed. "So how are they and uh...you reacting to our decision?"

"It was expected" Fireworm said calmly. "Oh don't give me that bewildered look; have you seen how you two are always sticking together? It was destined to happen sooner or later, neither gender nor differences can stop the power of love. As long as you're happy together, there should be nothing else that prevents you from being so"

"Thanks for the calming words; I'm glad you're all accepting this so easily. When it comes to my dad though, I don't think I can ever let him know." There was a little disappointment between the last words in Hiccup's voice. "He'd kill Toothless without hesitation, or die in the attempt. The latter most likely"

"You're race can be very foolish" snorted Fireworm.

"That, and too proud to show off their soft side...if they have any at all," Hiccup muttered. "If he only could see through the barriers of violent nature that's clouding his mind..."

"Even though he's your father, always think about the orders he's giving you. I know he means you all good and no harm, but the violence of your people tends to break through them pretty easily" Fireworm said.

"I've kind of been having that as a habit already" Hiccup chuckled. Fireworm joined in as well.

"I'm guessing since you're here alone, Toothless is not aware of it?" she wondered.

"Yes. If not now, I left him while he was sleeping" Hiccup answered.

"Well that explains it. Now..." she said, nudging him slightly, "you should maybe think about going back to your mate then; I'm sure even in his dreaming state he's missing your presence" She smiled.

Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if that was true. They made farewell before he set direction for his house, towards Toothless. As he did, he couldn't help but notice the figure in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to identify who it was. It was Saga, again; just standing still like last time, with the same unreadable face gazing at him. Her eyes were following his every step, and the thought of what Toothless had said returned to him. "Could it really be us it got something with?"

He let the thought pass and continued his pace; she was probably just interested in his new form anyway. Still, he would be a tad bit more aware in case she would continue looking at them this odd way.

-{}-

A week first passed, and it mostly went like normal. Unfortunately for Gobber, he needed to stop the making of the new weapons after he announced his metal to Stoick. He's opinion was that the weapons worn too much value, and would only fit a person in a position like...well, like himself. "The lesser the quantity is, the bigger the value would be" Stoick had said.

He commanded Gobber and Hiccup to make a hammer of the same metal for himself to wear, and let the remaining being locked up. Although it saddened Hiccup to see Gobber such disappointed, the bright side of this was that he now was out of work, and that of course meant more free time! Not surprisingly, all of it was spent with Toothless. All week Hiccup went with Toothless to practice his underwater skills. And yes it was harder than he had thought. He took the swimming technique in just a couple of days, but catching fish was downright impossible! His failures were of much amusement to Toothless though. By the end of the week he had yet to have any self caught meal.

Saga had not stopped her looking either. She never took her eyes of them, never spoke; just stood there beside a house not far away with a stick to steady herself, which by the way is why the normal week only went mostly like normal. One time they had tried to follow her, but she would just slip through an alleyway and vanish out of thin air. The second week was no different from the first. Hiccup would now agree with Toothless that her appearance outside her little house was caused because of them somehow. The only thing they could do was wait and see what'd happen.

When the moon was the lighting source in the sky, and before the sun had set its mark for a new week, an opportunity would represent itself for Hiccup. After finally convincing Toothless that he only wanted some fresh night air, he had stepped out and spotted Saga standing on the very same hill he had shot down Toothless. She was looking over the ocean before her, with her back against Hiccup.

"At least now she's gazing anywhere but at me" he thought. It didn't seem like she had noticed his presence, so Hiccup tried sneaking a bit closer to her. "If I could only manage to reduce the distance a little bit more..."

"I know you're there Hiccup; it's pointless continuing sneaking up on me" she suddenly spoke up, her voice sounding scrawny.

"How did she know?" Hiccup though. "I couldn't even hear my own footsteps..."

Hiccup walked up beside her and sat down. At least she didn't make any attempt to leave.

"Your interference is caused by your curiosity is it not?" She asked, still looking over the horizon.

Hiccup nodded.

"Cannot blame you for it though, I admit I have been rather noticeable around you for quite some time. But everything comes with a reason, as do my actions. I will still your curiosity young Hiccup, but only to a limited extent. I will only tell what I feel comfortable with, the rest I will keep to myself. Certain things are best to go unspoken, understood?"

Again Hiccup nodded.

"Good," she said. "Now, you may not know much about me, nor do anyone in the village. Only a handful of people in this world do. But I know much about you young Hiccup, a lot more than you probably think. I have been watching you ever since you came to this world, and I knew the moment you were born, that there was something special about you. Which you have already proven by the way"

"But why?" Hiccup questioned himself.

"That I am getting at, Hiccup" Saga grunted.

"What? You can understand me?" Hiccup asked in astonishment. Saga had maybe thought his question was directed at her, not to himself.

"Yes, but before you ask something else..." She answered firmly; Hiccup had already opened his mouth, "I will remind you of what I just said. There are some facts I will keep to myself, this is one of them"

Hiccup shut his mouth, chagrined.

"That is better. Anyhow, the reason comes with the feeling that you are destined for something more, young Hiccup. You have already proven yourself a hero amongst the people here in the village, but it does not stop there. Your life is meant to be lived not only on this small island, but beyond it! I have always had the feeling that your one day would leave this island. I have watched you every day now for two weeks because, I feel that day is nearly here"

"I'm to leave this island?" Hiccup thought surprised. "I don't want that! I don't want to leave my tribe, my family, my friends.."

"I don't understand..." he said.

"In situations like this, few does" Saga answered. "It seems like the Gods themselves have put interests in you, and now they got plans. Even I do not know what's going to happen for certain, I am only telling this so that you can be more prepared for it when the time occurs"

"When?" Hiccup asked.

"Hard to tell" Saga sighed. "By 'near' it could be anything from within minutes to several weeks, maybe months"

She now looked up at Hiccup for the first time this night, and smiled.

"Now look at you, growing faster than what any Viking has! A fine young dragon you are, a creature one should have highly respect for. Pity the world just do not know it yet"

"Being a dragon has its benefits" Hiccup agreed.

"Yes, you two make a great pair" Saga calmly said.

Hiccup stiffened. "You've been spying?" he exclaimed.

"No, but I have my ways" she grinned.

Hiccup had walked up to Saga with only one question in his mind. On his way back to his room, he had more he could even count!

"Still my curiosity to a limited extent...she's only made it bigger!" Hiccup thought to himself. The rest of the night, his mind was filled with too many thoughts that he could hardly get any sleep.

-{}-

"You said only fresh air" Toothless sighed, as they were walking through the forest; not really conscious about where they were going. Nevertheless, it always seemed like they were dragged against the cove by some force pulling them. Many memories had been shared there. It was their place, their home.

"But I couldn't just let the opportunity slip" Hiccup protested. "I know you're just as curious as I am, you'd done the same"

Toothless snorted. Yeah, he would...

"So what do you think?" Hiccup asked. "You know, by what she said"

"She's different from the others" Toothless answered.

"Yeah, she's an elder" Hiccup explained.

"No, not by that" Toothless stopped him. "Haven't you smelled her? Or felt the strong energy that she bears? This is definitely not any ordinary human, Hiccup"

Hiccup thought about it. "I've always been aware that she wasn't like the other elders, but never this way"

"Whatever she is" Toothless said, "we should take her words seriously, and act with caution. But know this Hiccup; if her words speak of truth and you are to leave this island, know that I will never leave you. If you set your course away from this island, so will I...one way or another"

"As much as you know that I'd never leave you" Hiccup replied warmly, and they both smiled.

After a moment of affectionate gazing, Toothless grin only widened as he said; "Of course, how would you get off this island anyway? You can't fly and you can hardly swim. By boat? Hah! I can picture that one!"

Then he jumped like a rabbit a few meters away from Hiccup, stopping to look back at him, his tail wiggling playfully. Hiccup was a little surprised by the sudden mood swing, but quickly got the message. He bent down and prepared to take a run at Toothless.

"You're going to pay for that" he smirked, and then raced towards him.

Toothless made no intention to move. Instead, he steadied himself, preparing for Hiccup's impact. Hiccup jumped at Toothless, causing them both to start rolling down the hill Toothless had placed himself in front of. While rolling down, both parts struggled to have the upper part, but that was more or less impossible as long as they kept rolling. Dizziness could be felt in both heads, and Hiccup had a hard time knowing what was up and down. Suddenly there was no ground under them, and Hiccup realized that they were I midair. No fear caught him though; he knew exactly where they were! They both laughed as gravity pulled them towards the lake beneath them, placing them under the water where they had bathed so many times before. Hiccup was the first one out of it, although it didn't give him much of an advantage. Toothless shot out from the liquid element and sprinted after him. He was much faster than Hiccup, catching easily up as they ran across the cove. Tired of running, Toothless tackled Hiccup and pinned him to the ground. Hiccup laughed and loosened his muscles, admitting his defeat. He opened his eyes, meeting Toothless' merely inches from his. So much joy, warmth and care radiated from them, shining and appearing brighter than the sun itself! Then another emotion chose to visit their minds, growing stronger as they kept looking at each other. They both knew, their connection hid nothing from each other; neither thoughts nor feelings. They simply waited for the other part to give the signal. At last, Hiccup was the one to break it.

"Oh Toothless just take me already!" he pleaded.

"On it!" Toothless instantly said, immediately responding to the words he just waited for to hear.

-{}-

"Come on Astrid, are you really being serious about this?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, why the stubborn mood all of a sudden?" Tuffnut added.

"I don't think this is such a good idea, Astrid" Fishlegs piped.

"They're right" Snotlout said, "It's time to let him go. Turn around and come back with us, maybe even joining me at my basement so we could work out" A cocky grin formed his face.

But they're complaints didn't stop Astrid from marching through the forest, towards the cove. After having enough of all this whining, she turned around and cast an angry glare at each and one of them.

"I'm not changing my mind!" she growled.

"Astrid, Hiccup's a dragon!" Tuffnut exclaimed, "a DRAGON!"

"I have to agree with my brother on this one" Ruffnut said. "You can't continue believing that you can still share what you two had; he's one of them now"

"No, you're wrong" Astrid said. "Hiccup got turned into a dragon. If that's possible, he can also be turned back"

She waved with her arms in the air; "Simple logic!"

And then she continued stomping through branches and trees. She had thought about it, and figured out it couldn't be Hiccup's fault for the way he acted. It's Toothless fault. He had twisted Hiccup's mind, making him into something he's not. If she only was able to talk with him again, she could maybe win him back. And that was exactly what she was going to do right now.

The gang followed of course; they didn't want miss this. Whatever that'd happen, it'd probably turn to their amusement. They were nearing the cove when Astrid looked at them a second time.

"And don't try to stop me. Just stay here and keep your mouths shut!"

Then she sneaked up to the top of the cove, and froze. She just stood there like a statue, completely still. The others looked bewildered up at her.

"What is she doing?" Ruffnut whispered.

"Has she seen a troll?"

"Let's find out!" Snotlout said, and then they sneaked up beside Astrid. Not surprisingly, they froze as well. Down in the cove was indeed Hiccup and Toothless, but what they never expected was to see them doing something of a more...intimate nature.

"By heaven of ..sgard.."

"Wow, just wow!"

"I knew they had a close friendship, but...this?"

Hiccup and Toothless didn't seem to notice that they had an audience watching them; they were too busy.

"You go Hiccup!" Tuffnut cheered in a whispering tone. Ruffnut slapped him for his stupidity.

"Are you out of you mind" she hissed. "Just think about how Astrid feels about this"

"Oh" Tuffnut said, remembering, and looked over at Astrid's spot.

But it was empty.

"Where is she anyway?" He asked.

The other looked as well, and gave each other confused looks.

"Seeing this was probably too much for her" muttered Ruffnut.

-{}-

Astrid ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She couldn't let her friends watch her like this, they could never! She ran up to her house and slammed the door behind her, throwing herself onto the bed and poured her head in the pillow. And she cried and she cried. "_Why would Hiccup do something like this?"_she screamed in her head. The more she thought about, the more it sickened her. "He....and with Toothless!" she stammered. She wouldn't believe this, yet it was true. She can't run away from the truth, she'd seen them; and it was perfectly clear what she saw. What would the rest think of her now? Certainly not the tough girl she was known for, not after all this. Her world had been shattered, turned upside down. She could not think about this anymore, and she cried herself into sleep.

-{}-

Astrid woke up feeling like she had climbed an entire mountain. She released a moan and put a hand against her head as she felt the headache worsen by her movements. She looked out her window and noticed that it was dark. How long had she slept? As the reason for her nap dawned on her once again, she felt like crying again. But she didn't. No tears, no saddening thoughts. It was all suddenly replaced by anger. Her eyes bulged and she could feel the veins on her forehead pulse. Hiccup was going to pay for this. He was going to suffer for the pain he had caused her.

She straightened herself up and walked quietly out of the house, picking up her battle axe along the way. As she was out, she observed her weapon, the metal shimmering by the moonlight. She placed a finger on one of the edges, running it down gently to feel its sharpness. An evil grin formed her face. Making sure no one was out at this time that could follow her, she moved with quick steps towards the forest, devoured by the darkness once she was in. It was almost impossible to see where she was going, but her poor vision concerned her little. She knew the way inside out. She reached the cove less in less than half an hour. She had set her mind to the task. Killing Hiccup would seem satisfying at first, but she figured it he would suffer even more if she chose Toothless to be met by her fearsome axe. Once it was done, the sudden action would probably cause much confusion to Hiccup, giving her time to escape. She was fast, and if she could reach the village in time, she'd be safe. Hiccup wouldn't dare do her something with the whole tribe as audience.

She sneaked with light steps when she neared the opening. She observed the cove, but could see neither of the two dragons. "Damn, they must be sleeping in the shadows" she cursed. With their body covered in black scales, they would blend in perfectly. But that didn't stop her from looking. She crouched slowly around the cove, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that could resemble the body of a Night Fury. When she was a quarter of the way around it, she stopped. She heard breathing, heavy breathing. And it was right beneath her! She crawled up to the edge and looked down. She couldn't see anything, but the source of the breathing was definitely under her. They were there! She backed away a bit, hesitating a little. Should she go for it, relying on luck? Was it too much of a risk? She thought about it for a moment. They were big creatures, even if she jumped completely blind; there was still a big chance that she was going to hit one of them, somewhere. But she wasn't guaranteed a kill. Should she do it? "_Yes...yeah, I have to try"_she thought to herself. She hadn't come this way only to chicken out. That was so not her. "_Yes, this has to be done. He will not go unpunished"_she finalized to herself. She crept up to the edge again, and exhaled deeply. She took a good grip around her axe, readying herself. It was now or never. If she hesitated more now, she might not do it. She let her mind remember her of why she had come here in the first place, what Hiccup had done. With these thoughts, she jumped, releasing a loud Viking cry as she fell down, her axe pointing downwards.

-{}-

A thunderous roar echoed the forest. It could probably be heard big parts of the island, definitely by the villagers in Berk! Toothless screamed in pain, turning around and moved violently, all out of control. His tail struck Astrid in the chest, knocking the air out of her and sent her flying several meters. Her battle axe slipped from her grip, flying in a direction unknown to her. She hit the ground hard and could barely keep herself conscious! Toothless wriggled on the ground, unbelievable pain emitting from his tail. Hiccup jumped up all confused, feeling Toothless' pain and screamed out in agony as well. His pupils were changed into mere slits, a colossal combination of energy and anger building up in him. His brain worked on hyper drive, desperately trying to get hold of the situation. "PAIN! HURT! TOOTHLESS! WHERE!" he screeched. He's vision was blurry, and he looked all around him for anything that was causing this painful and chaotic situation. Still with his blurry vision, he caught hold of the body that was Astrid, and his eyes locked dead on it! Astrid or not, he didn't knew. He had lost all control over his body, and ran with all his might towards the slowly moving body on the ground. "PAIN! ENEMY! MURDERER!" Hiccup roared uncontrolled while running, he's teeth fully out. Astrid had barely come to her senses when she saw the dragon, she did not know which of them, running towards her at with a speed her eyes couldn't follow. She wildly moved her hands around the ground for her axe, but to her horror it was not there! She looked up in fear, watching the Night Fury leaping at her only a couple of meters away. The look on its face was the most frightening thing she had ever seen, revealing the true offspring of lightning and death. Panic gripped her and she screamed as high as she had ever done!

-{}-

Hiccup set his teeth in the side of the human body, immediately getting the taste of blood. Astrid's scream only increased as Hiccup's teeth poured deeper into her flesh, crushing several of her rib bones. The pain was unbearable to her! Feeling he had a good grip, Hiccup wildly shook his prey, trying to shake the life out of this pain-causing thing! "ENEMY!" he screeched while he continued to shook Astrid, her horrifying screams slowly fading as her mind started to do the same. With powerful force, Hiccup threw her away, sending her flying across the cove and into the wall, sure to break more bones. Astrid hit the ground lifeless, her body covered in her own blood.

Hiccup gasped, and looked down on the ground while inhaling and exhaling deeply. His senses slowly started to return, and he looked over to his mate. Toothless was still in much pain, but also started to gain more control over himself.

"Toothless!" Hiccup screamed, and ran over to him. He quickly analyzed Toothless body, and noticed what had caused the pain. Something had sliced right through Toothless' tail, chopping off a big part of it. The other tailfin was now gone too! Hiccup bent down and tried to lick the wound, hoping it'd ease the pain somehow. Toothless growled, but Hiccup felt some of the pain subside a tiny bit.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup whined worriedly.

"I think so" Toothless uttered. "Continue to lick the wound; dragon saliva has a small healing effect, and will weaken the pain"

Hiccup obliged with no hesitation. As he did, he thought back from moments before, getting the thought that he had actually killed Astrid. This was no time to panic though; the only thing that mattered now was to help Toothless.

"Hiccup" a new voice said. Expecting a new threat Hiccup jumped up and growled at the entrance of the cove. Saga stood there, leaning at the stick she always carried around.

"Get away! Don't come closer!" Hiccup hissed at her.

Saga stood at her place, unaffected by the warning. With a calm voice she said, "If you wish for Toothless to hurt no more, you will listen to me"

Hiccup continued to growl at her. He couldn't trust anybody now, not after what Astrid had just done. "Listen to her" Toothless said through the connection, he's voice weak. Hiccup looked worried down at Toothless.

"_Are you sure?"_he asked.

"I think so. Right now we don't have much of a choice. Let her speak"

Hiccup returned his look at Saga and gave her a nod as a confirmation to continue.

"Wise choice" She smiled. It faded a bit as she saw the dead body of Astrid at the other end of the cove. "Poor girl" she muttered. "Love can be good thing, but also a deadly poison. Especially when it's pointed at yourself..."

She shook her head. "It ended with becoming too much for her, but now she can finally rest in peace". Saga turned her attention to Toothless, noticing his tail, or what was left of it. "Let me take a look at that wound"

Hiccup moved a bit too give her room, eyeing her all the time. She took a close look at it, before sighing.

"This will probably affect his balance as well" she said. Hiccup's worried look deepened.

"But nothing that can't be fixed" She muttered.

"You can heal this?" Hiccup asked surprised. A spark of hope lightened inside him.

She hesitated, but answered; "Yes...but it comes with a prize, as most things does. Young Hiccup, before I do any of this, I need to know that I'm doing the right thing. Now, do you really love Toothless?" she asked in a dead serious tone.

"Yes, of course!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"And would you do anything to save him?" She asked.

"I'd do anything without hesitation" Hiccup answered quickly. If this elder was able to heal Toothless, he would do anything she commanded! Even if that meant that he had to chop off his own tail.

Saga seemed satisfied with the answers. "Good" she said, and looked down at Toothless again. "I am going to put you to sleep now. That way you will not feel any pain as I heal the wound. I will wake you up once it is done"

Toothless nodded slowly.

She bent down, and put a hand over Toothless head. "Verda" she uttered in a language Hiccup couldn't understand. Toothless eye lids slowly slid together, and he fell asleep.

"A witch" Hiccup gasped.

"I'd prefer magician" Saga grunted. "Witches and Wizards get their power from various spells and potions, which I do not". She moved over to Toothless' tail and started to speak in the same incomprehensible language as before. "Heilú ati dragoniens sále, un frii ene tofár jierden" she said. As the words had escaped her mouth, the tail to Toothless started to grow back again! It didn't take more than a couple of seconds, and it was all grown back, like nothing had happened. And with two tailfins as well! Hiccup looked with wide eyes and joy, but it changed to confusion as he saw that Saga was shaking with her whole body. She looked up at him and forced forth a smile.

"My prize..." She said, and had trouble standing up. Hiccup quickly walked over to her so she could use him as support. Saga accepted the help gratefully, and looked at him again.

"This magic has weakened me, Hiccup. I am afraid all my energy is soon gone, but do not take guilt by it! I have prepared for this, and it is time"

She then put her hands on Hiccup's face, drawing him closer to her. "Listen carefully. The village will soon be here, they have definitely heard the screams. And believe me, Stoick will misunderstand what has happened here, and put the blame on you and Toothless. My time is over, but I know someone else who can help." She took off a white amulet she had carried around her neck and placed it over Hiccup's. "This is a very special amulet, Hiccup. It has a twin, and they are constantly pulling themselves to each other. The owner of the other amulet is a young man who once was my apprentice, and a very good friend of mine. This amulet will lead you to him, and he will help you settle this problem once he knows the message comes from me. You understand Hiccup? You have to leave this island and find him"

Hiccup nodded, extremely focused to gain all bits of information. Saga turned to Toothless and uttered, "Varde". She then turned back to Hiccup, looking almost like she was about to faint, but pulled herself together. She gazed with serious eyes at him.

"All that we love becomes a part of us" she said, her voice shaking. "Toothless is a part of you, Hiccup. Losing him will cause you to lose a part of yourself. Protect him with your life; because without him, you will find life hardly worth living"

Hiccup could only nod, he was without words. Toothless had just woken up from the short sleep, and picked himself up.

"Now go" Saga whispered, before falling to the ground, with the last bit of life she had left fading from her.

Hiccup looked at her helplessly, and suddenly felt emotional affected. She had given her life to save Toothless', a dragon she barely even knew! Hiccup looked at her, then at Astrid. This has caused a Hel of a scene. Astrid's dead, and now Saga's dead. She was right, there was no way he could explain this situation to his dad; this would look too obvious to him! He and Toothless needed to escape the island and that fast! At least he could follow the words Saga had said to him, so that her sacrifice wasn't for nothing.

Toothless walked up Hiccup, who smiled back. "You're alright!" He purred, and placed his head around Toothless', as if to hug.

"So I am" He murmured.

"Your face..." Hiccup said, "what is it?"

"Mixed feelings really" Toothless answered, shrugging. "In one part I can't express my joy that I now have a completely healed tail, but the other part..."

He looked down at Saga. "..She gave her life to save mine, thought I don't know her at all"

Hiccup watched Saga's necklace around his neck. The amulet was an oval shaped, white polished stone with only a thin layer of what looked like silver around it. He turned his gaze to Toothless again, a determined expression on his face. "Then let's make sure she didn't do this sacrifice for nothing. Toothless, we really need to get off this island, and that before the tribe discover this event"

Hiccup quickly retold Toothless what had happen while he had slept, explaining the bit that they needed do find this apprentice if they ever wished to return here. Toothless listened carefully, and understood. "So it's happening after all" he thought. He looked at Hiccup, and gestured that he should follow him.

"Come, I know a way!" He said, and then they hurried away.

-{}-

"If...you told me...about this...back in the cove...I'd dragged you to a Viking ship right away" Hiccup gasped.

"Don't be such a fool" Toothless laughed. "There's no way a dragon can steer a ship. Besides, it'd look ridiculous, we have wings!"

"I'd still prefer a ship than my wings" Hiccup grumbled. It wasn't as if he didn't like it; quite the opposite! He loved flying...as long as it was on Toothless' back.

"I can't even fly!" he yelled at Toothless.

"In a couple of minutes, you will!" Toothless smiled down at him. "_Flying!"_he thought himself. Oh how he had missed it, and now he was finally able to set to the sky again!

Hiccup followed Toothless gaze and looked down. Oh Gods they were so high up! It must be several hundred meters down! Hiccup took an extra good grip at the mountain side he was desperately holding on to. Luckily his claws were excellent for climbing. He could see a bunch of torches moving in a group not very far from the cove. Soon his father would discover the dead bodies.

"This should work" he heard Toothless say above him. He had climbed up on a flat area, not more than 2-3 meters wide.

Hiccup dragged himself up beside Toothless, and gave him a stare. "You know I hate you for this?" he grunted.

"I know" Toothless said cheerfully and smiled.

They walked slowly alongside the small path, and it didn't take long before it curved a bit out from the mountain, and then stopped in a dead end. As they walked up to it, Hiccup stared at the horizon. The sun was about to rise from the ocean, it was almost morning. Toothless looked down the edge before him, staring down what must've been five hundred meters straight down. "Perfect" He said satisfied.

Hiccup dared to take a look down. He got a shivered feeling, and clung on to Toothless for safety.

"Not at all!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Oh Toothless don't make me do this!"

Hiccup looked at Toothless, who grinned at him. The grin widened, and widened, until the big smirk covered his whole face. It sent another shiver down Hiccup's spine.

"Oh no, I don't like that look you have Toothless"

Toothless still stared at him with that smile.

"Toothless listen! I'm going to die, alright? There's no way I can do this!"

*Still giving Hiccup the same expression*

And then he did the unexpected. He pushed me from the edge! Pushed me! Before I could register it I was in midair.

Toothless grinned widely at himself and jumped happily after Hiccup. It was going to be so great feeling the air under his wings once again! How long would it take Hiccup before he'd extend his wings? Toothless counted to himself.

"One...two...three...f-"

*SWOOSH*

-{}-

"Mighty Thor, what have happened here?" Gobber gasped, changing looks between the two bodies. Stoick walked quietly over to Saga, placing a hand over her forehead. He sighed. Others had run over to Astrid to check on her. "Gods, what've happened to her, she's a mess" they mumbled to each other. Gobber walked over to Stoick as he picked himself up. He studied Saga.

"Not even a scratch. What do ye think happened to her?" Gobber asked, cautious with his words.

"Does it matter?" Stoick growled. "We already know whose fault it is"

"Look, the traitors are escaping!" A Viking yelled, pointing at the sky. Everyone looked up. Far up there, glided two dragons, their color making them easy to be seen by the pink morning sky. They were heading south, it seemed. To where, they could only imagine.

"Doing something like this, I would never have thought! And yer son too...unbelievable" Gobber muttered while looking at the two.

"He's not my son" Stoick grumbled. Gobber looked at him with doubtful eyes.

"You've already said that once before, and took it back" he said.

"This is different!" Stoick growled. He looked up at the two figures. "He's different! Just look at him! Ever seen a Viking fly by himself?"

Stoick was taking this hard. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, but they never fell. "No, my boy disappeared the day he chose the life of a dragon"

He gave a last glance at them before the trees blocked his vision from them. He then examined his surroundings, and inhaled deeply.

"Gather the bodies!" He commanded. "Take them back to the village; I want the funerals to be ready by the evening"

What should've been just another morning, turned out to be one of the worst for the villagers of Berk. They would not take these losses well....