It was almost laughably easy to escape Berk in the middle of the afternoon with a jet-black dragon who was insistent on diving down every few seconds to try and catch one of the pesky birds that taunted them on the ocean's surface.

Packing the essentials had been easy enough, and hey, Hiccup had even been nice enough to leave a note! Maybe not that nice, because he had been in a hurry, and all that was written on the scrap parchment he left on his desk was a few words explaining that he'd be back someday.

Someday, Hiccup thought to himself as he looked over his shoulder to peek at the shrinking island of Berk, but definitely not for a while. For now, he and Toothless needed to leave, find someplace safe, and start formulating a plan how to bring peace between dragons and humans.

Well, technically Hiccup would make the plan, as Toothless could only respond in non-human noises, but whatever, same thing.

"Bud, this is probably the stupidest and craziest idea I've ever had," Hiccup said, leaning down and giving scratches behind Toothless' ear flap, just how he liked it.

The dragon gave a rumbling coo of agreement. Or it could've meant I'm hungry, judging by how the Night Fury would sometimes eye the vast and blurry ocean below them with a hungry glint in his eyes and his tongue lolling out.

"Right," Hiccup said, and suddenly, there was a hard lump in his throat that turned into a boulder in his stomach when he swallowed. "Right."

The full consequences of this whole - quite frankly for a lack of better work - fiasco was sinking into him, except it was more like claws digging into his skin and bleeding into his brain all the things that were really and truly happening right now. Berk may not have been the happiest or most supportive home, but it was still that - home. He'd been born and raised there, and he was leaving it all behind, the smell of the forge and melting metal, the peers his age that he so admired, his father.

And most of all, above that, he had a very scary and very real realization that he was just a boy. A very scrawny, weak, and not particularly good at handling weapons boy. For a split second he hesitated, his sweaty hands clutching onto the saddle, and he squeezed his legs ever so slightly. Maybe this really wasn't the best idea - after all, he was probably either branded as a traitor or being searched for, so being in public wasn't going to be good. That meant he had no guaranteed way of making sure he and Toothless stayed alive, safe, protected.

Maybe they should turn back, maybe there was still time and his dad hadn't seen the note of farewell yet -

Toothless let out a soothing croon, and he tipped his head up to let his ear flaps slap Hiccup on the sides of his face gently. The rumbles of Toothless' purr relaxed Hiccup's muscles, and he sagged on the saddle, running a hand down his face and then sighing with fondness, his worries melting away. It was strange how such a simple action, without words even, could smooth over his doubts so quickly.

The boy patted Toothless' head and said, "you're right. Of course you're right - everything's going to be fine."

Toothless let out a chirp of agreement, and just like that, Hiccup crouched down, breathed, and didn't look back.

It actually wasn't too bad of a flight - his legs had gone numb after about three hours without stopping, and his face was numb from the wind blowing directly at him, but the breeze wasn't strong enough to stop him from jotting down a few notes in his journal. He took notice of every island or patch of land they passed, already making mental reminders to check them out later.

By the time it was sunset, Hiccup knew they were far out of reach of Berk's hands, so he gave Toothless a small pat on the back of his neck and said, "I think that's enough for now, bud. Don't want to overwork yourself. Look," he pointed. "There's a nice island right there - why don't we settle down for the night?"

When Toothless made an eager noise of confirmation, Hiccup knew he had made the right call - it was getting pretty obvious that they both were tired and drained from the ride, and with that, they circled over the tree tops and hills of the island to make sure no one was inhabiting it before landing neatly on the shore.

"Not too bad," Hiccup said as he hopped off of the saddle and gave Toothless a brief scratch behind the ears. "Could be worse, huh? Alright, bud, think you can help me set up?"

Toothless gave his rider a look that could only be described as how dare you doubt me before the dragon waddled off in search of what Hiccup hoped was wood for a fire.

As Toothless lumbered into the forest and a series of snapping noises followed shortly after, Hiccup began to dig through his basket of supplies and quickly smoothed out a large folded up piece of paper.

There was a loud noise as Toothless dropped a mouthful of broken off twigs and branches right beside Hiccup's legs, and after nudging the wood together into a more huddled pile, Toothless then opened his jaws and let out a small blast of fire that allowed the branches to begin to burn.

The dragon cooed at the sight and then leaned down to sniff curiously at the paper that Hiccup was painstakingly beginning to draw on.

"It's a map," Hiccup said, patting Toothless on the snout. "You know, for us to look back on. I think going around and trying to bring peace between dragons and humans is going to be awesome, but we need a game plan. I think we should first go around and explore some of the more less, uh… kill-on-sight-y towns and see if we have more luck with them than Berk."

Toothless let out a warm huff of air out of his nostrils before leaning down and then giving Hiccup a small lick on the side of his face. The boy groaned and grimaced when he touched his cheek and pulled away with strings of saliva attached to his fingers. "Thor, that's gross - go away you big baby, I'll finish this up while you go hunt for something."

The dragon merely whacked Hiccup up his head with an ear flap before once again lumbering away, his pleased purrs betraying his happy mood. Hiccup watched him go with a fond smile, and said, "and not deer!" Right as Toothless disappeared into the trees once more.

Hiccup finished up the map quickly enough, though there were very obvious bald spots on the parchment where they hadn't reached yet. Still, it looked far better than the limited maps Berk had, especially since no one even bothered to go beyond the borders of their seas. Just the thought of Berk was enough to have him tense, his shoulders hunching and his brows furrowing as he rolled up the map and sealed it with a piece of twine. He felt guilty - which was ridiculous, considering the fact that nothing was his fault in regards to the dragon war, and the village hadn't exactly been the nicest to him. But he loved his dad, who he knew loved him back, but had a hard time expressing it other than with worry or anger.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said out loud into the clear night sky, tipping up his chin and staring at the half-moon that glowed lazily. Far away, he and his father were looking at the same sky, and Hiccup prayed that his dad wouldn't worry too much - or worse, try and come looking for him. Berk was still blinded by its rage, its people all too eager to spill blood, and he could still remember the mind-numbing panic he had when he realized that if he didn't escape with Toothless and soon, then his best friend could very well be killed by the hands of his father.

Hiccup drew his knees up to his chest and shivered despite the fact that they were in a far warmer area and the night wasn't chilly. How were going to do this? How could one small, scrawny boy and a goofy dragon somehow bring an end to the fiercest war man has ever faced? At this moment, Hiccup felt a strike of fear in his chest. Sure, he had befriended Toothless, but that blossomed out of an unfortunate event and their craving to have companionship. What if he couldn't do this? What if Hiccup couldn't bring peace, and everyone, dragons and vikings, kept dying because of his mistakes?

There was a low crooning noise in his ear, and the boy blinked as he looked up to see Toothless standing over him with two large rabbits in his jaws and his pupils dilated with worry.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup said quietly, reaching up to rub a hand against smooth, warm scales. The dragon cooed, and Hiccup relaxed, because at this moment, under the moonlight, it was almost painfully reminiscent of how they first connected as equals. Curiosity had been what made them reach out, but when they finally touched, trust sparked between them, and a softer flame that Hiccup now realizes as love.

Toothless chirped and then dropped the rabbits before reaching his snout out to sniff delicately at Hiccup's hand, licking it and then giving a gummy smile while bouncing up and down in what Hiccup knew meant I love you!

He couldn't help but laugh as he stood up and gave the Night Fury a good scratch behind the ears. "Yeah, I love you too, you overgrown lizard. Come on, I know you're hungry, you haven't eaten since yesterday."

Toothless settled down in the sand, curling around the fire and nudging Hiccup with his nose until the boy rolled his eyes and settled down against the dragon. Immediately, Toothless' wing unfolded and wrapped around Hiccup like some fireproof blanket, and his tail curled protectively around his feet.

"Here you go," Hiccup said, making sure to skin the rabbit before tossing it to an eager Toothless. Hiccup grimaced at the blood on his hands, but with a quick dip into the bucket of sea water he had collected, it all washed off and dyed the water a murky red.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of the crackling fire and Toothless gnawing at his rabbit. Hiccup, for the first time in his life, felt completely at ease. Sure, back on Berk he and Toothless had spent time together in the grove, but that was always with a small sense of fear at the back of his head. Even though they had been far away from the prying eyes and ears of the village, he had still been scared that someone would follow him or wander too close and discover his secret. Losing Toothless would be like losing his happiness - the dragon was Hiccup's best friend in the whole world, and no matter what, he could not let anyone take him.

But here, on this isolated island, with the moon shining her light on them, there was no danger of that. For once, Hiccup could lie against Toothless, his shoulders not tense and his brows unfurled while Toothless made noises of satisfaction and purrs that vibrated against Hiccup's back.

"This is going to be hard," Hiccup said out loud, watching as a piece of his rabbet blackened a little too much over the heat of the fire. "Really hard."

Toothless chuffed.

Hiccup smiled and tossed the rest of his rabbit to Toothless, who ate it eagerly and then gave another gummy smile at his rider. "But at least we're together, right?"

Toothless blinked slowly as if to say yes, and after swiping his tongue across his lips he settled his head down on his paws and closed his eyes.

Hiccup laughed and settled down, looking up at the inky sky and smiling at the stars. There was no guarantee that this would work, even less of a guarantee that they'd live long enough for peace to become settled - but at least through it all, Hiccup can confidently say that he is loved.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Hiccup woke up to being nearly suffocated as paws grabbed at him and wings fully cloaked him like a cocoon. The boy gasped at such a rude awakening, and he was about to bat at Toothless' arms and ask what was going on, only to be stopped when the dragon in question let out an ear-piercing roar, not unlike the one he had given when Hiccup had cut him free.

By now, though, Hiccup knew what it was - a warning, a scream to stay away.

Hiccup froze when another shriek filled the air, this one longer and not as loud as Toothless'. Dragon. And not just any dragon, because that roar was far too familiar, and Hiccup had spent enough years obsessing over dragons to realize that it was just like Toothless'.

"Toothless - bud - c'mon, you gotta - argh!" Hiccup finally managed to shove himself away from Toothless' grip and falling unceremoniously into the sand, getting more than a few grains into his mouth. He spit them out, grimacing at the crunchiness between his teeth, before lifting his head and dropping open his jaw at the sight before him.

Toothless was on his feet and his spine flaps upright, like he was bristling. He stood over Hiccup protectively, wings spread wide to make himself look bigger, and the smell of something burning told Hiccup that he was ready to shoot a plasma blast at a moment's notice. The Night Fury before them - Hiccup had been right, after all, no other dragon could make such a roar - was crouched low on the sand, the sun reflecting off of its scales and giving off an almost purple-ish sheen. Dark green irises held narrowed slits of pupils, and it let out a low hiss that had Toothless stomping a paw and screeching.

"Whoa," Hiccup couldn't help but breathe, crawling out from Toothless' attempt at caging him and standing up to stare at the new dragon. Night Furies, he knew, were a rare species of dragons - they were more partial to the south so almost none were where Berk had resided. But he knew that realistically there had to be more, maybe even flocks of them, because there was no other way Toothless would be there beside him. Yet to find one so quickly, and without effort on his part! It was enough to have him grin madly and hold back his giggles of delight.

"Toothless, stop it!" He scolded when Toothless thrust his snout forward and gave a low growl at the highly tense dragon. Hiccup gave Toothless a reassuring pat on the nose and said, "stay here, bud. It'll be okay, I promise."

Toothless, of course, would absolutely not have it - he clamped his teeth on the back of Hiccup's tunic, shaking his head in a vehement no and even raising his wings a bit.

Hiccup merely rolled his eyes and tugged his shirt away, smoothing down the fabric before giving Toothless another scratch underneath the chin. "It'll be fine, Toothless. Now don't follow me, okay? Look - the poor thing's scared to death because of you."

Toothless made a heavy grunt and glared at Hiccup, and it was obvious that he was saying something along the lines of, it should be scared of me, you idiotic human. If you go, I'm going to chew your leg.

"It'll be okay," Hiccup repeated, and finally, very, very reluctantly, Toothless tucked his wings back in and bowed his head in submission. He still snapped his tongue when Hiccup gave him another rub and slowly approached the other dragon, but other than that, he stayed in his spot.

"Hey there," Hiccup murmured in what he hoped was a soothing voice. The Night Fury before him had several differences from Toothless, he realized. For one, even while it was bigger, its ear flaps were rounder, softer in appearance - its eyes were a deep, emerald green, and when it unsheathed its claws in warning, they were a light gray color rather than the jet black that were Toothless'.

"My name is Hiccup," he continued to say quietly, stopping about ten feet away and then dropping to a sitting position on the sand. He ignored the feeling of grains crawling into his shoes and said, "and that over there is Toothless." He pointed behind him, and Toothless let out a short snort before flopping down onto his paws with a glum look.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and said, "he's just being a big baby. So, uh, how'd you get here? You know, Toothless and I come from a place called Berk, it's pretty far away and honestly you should be glad you've never been, vikings are a lot of things but bath-takers are not one of them."

On and on he rambled, hoping to convey a sense of gentleness and lack of aggression, and thank the gods, it seemed to be working. Slowly, the dragon lowered its wings and started to lie ever so gently on the sand, watching him with wary but curious eyes. It seemed startled when he sneezed, but after realizing that it wasn't something meant to be offensive, it even let out a small chuff of laughter.

Finally, Hiccup thought to himself as he kept inching closer and closer to the dragon. It'd been slow-going, enough for him to feel sweat pool at his collarbone from the heat of the sun and for his voice to start going hoarse. But it was all worth it, especially when the Night Fury didn't seem too against his not-so-subtle movements.

He stopped when he was a mere foot away from the dragon's snout.

"You're beautiful," Hiccup murmured more to himself than it as he observed its scales and the way they shined dully in the light. It let out a huff of hot air when he tried to get closer, and its dilated pupils quickly became slits in warning. He knew a line when he saw one, so he pulled back and merely smiled at the dragon.

After a moment, it calmed down and began to lick at its paws, seemingly losing interest in the human and instead far more invested in washing itself.

Hiccup had to laugh.

It wasn't perfect, but he hadn't been blasted to bits, so it was certainly a start.

It was a great way to start the morning.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Hello! I'm back and better than ever.

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