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“Dad!”
Toothless shook, his vision fading away from bloody and rust colored splotched back to the icy blue and white reality he stood in. He glanced around, nostrils flaring as he shifted his weight back, righting his body as he tried to find the chaos.
His eyes landed on his family before him, Hiccup, Valka and Stoick, but unlike any other time he saw them, Toothless felt his veins grow cold and tingly. His back shivered with a chill and his ears twitched, and the sudden smell of darkness and stone filled his nostrils.
Looking upon Stoick’s body, Toothless widened his eyes, before swerving around as he heard the thumping of dragons landing behind him. His shoulders tensed at the thought of Drago returning, before he realized it was only his friends upon seeing them.
Toothless watched as Astrid, eyebrows titled and blue eyes sparkling with worry, climbed off of Stormfly. Upon seeing Hiccup leaning over Stoick’s body, her mouth dropped slightly and she rushed over to Hiccup’s side, right past Toothless, who felt his own heart turn as she did so.
Something was definitely wrong.
His attention was again turned to Stoick’s body, and as Gobber approached and removed his helmet, standing by Valka’s side, Toothless then decided it might be alright to approach.
He did so slowly, eyes wide. He leaned down and sniffed Stoick’s hand, remembering how much they’d learned to care about each other, bonding over their need to protect Hiccup.
Toothless nuzzled Stoick’s hand, feeling a weak warmth from it that was unnatural for Stoick. His hands had always been extremely warm from their large size and the work they’d been put through.
But this wasn't right.
It was too cold.
Then he felt a harsh hand shove into his face, pushing him back, causing him to widen his eyes.
“No! Get away from him!”
Hiccup shouted at him.
Toothless felt his heart drop into his stomach and do a flip, a strange pit forming where his heart was supposed to be. It felt weird. It felt wrong. He felt sick as he felt his rider shove his face backwards, a knot suddenly rising into Toothless’s throat.
Hiccup never shouted at him.
Raised his voice whenever Toothless was misbehaving? Of course.
But Hiccup never shouted at him.
The anger that cracked through Hiccup’s voice followed by the heart wrenching break into hoarse, croaky and weak as Hiccup shooed him away.
It hurt.
Not just because Hiccup was mad at him, but because Hiccup was mad at all and Toothless didn’t know why. He didn’t know why. And whenever Toothless didn’t know why he could always lay his head in Hiccup’s lap and Hiccup would calm down and feel better.
He couldn’t do that this time.
Hiccup pushed him away.
“Go on, get out of here! Get away!”
Not understanding caused Toothless to whine pitifully, his mouth salivating as the knot forming in the back of his throat burned. He looked at his rider, the fire burning in his forest green eyes, before skittering away like a pitiful puppy.
What could he do?
He looked back at his rider briefly after fleeing away, his wings shifting and tail swaying low. Hiccup collapsed onto his knees, and even from a distance Toothless could tell Hiccup’s breathing was heavy and forced.
The Night Fury’s gaze then shifted to the limp form of Stoick that he had barely touched before Hiccup snapped, the dulling warmth still on his scaled nose.
No.
No, no, no, no.
Did he-
The loud roar of the Alpha burst through the sky, its icy breath fuming across the sky. Toothless felt the uncontrollable urge to fly to the Alpha’s head and circle above it in the crown of dragons that the Alpha wore above him.
But for a brief moment, while his vision flickered between red splotches and reality, Toothless remembered what happened. The memory flashed before his eyes and he felt his stomach turn again.
The buzzing of the alpha’s call thrummed in his ears, the Night Fury huffing and shrieking.
This could not happen again.
As his vision flickered again to red, blotches of the horrible color filling areas of his vision like blood spattered on a battlefield.
Toothless huffed, feeling his entire body go tense.
He was not in control and he knew it.
But he had to try.
What if it happened again? What if this time no one could save him?
What if he hurt Hiccup more, what if-
Toothless shrieked, before feeling his wings raise and flap, tail spinning in an attempt to get into the sky. He saw red and nothing else for a split second as his weight lifted off his paws and shifted to his wings, taking him into the air.
He would not serve this alpha.
He couldn’t.
Toothless, still locked in a red daze and a lack of control, fell to the ground, slamming his head into the chilled, white powdery snow, before it all went black.
-^-
It was a still night, the dark sky being ignited by white, milky moonlight. The air was silent, and the forest made no sound nor move. Scratchy, hoarse snores filled the homes of the nearby village, while heavier, deeper snores filled the stables that hung off the side of the island. Stars winked from the navy blue sky above.
Toothless stirred from his corner, his tail swatting back and forth as he grumbled, his wings tensing. He snorted, shifting in his sleep while pressing his eyes closed tightly, nostrils flaring.
On the other side of the room, Hiccup slept soundly, cocooned in his bundle of blankets, which were draped over the lower half of his face. His side rose and fell as he snored, one hand barely poking out of the top of the blankets.
Toothless stirred again, his tail flicking back and forth agitatedly. He grunted, shifting again in his sleep, rolling onto his belly from off of his side. His wings shifted again, ears swerving back and forth.
"No! Get away from him!"
Toothless shifted again in his sleep, chuffing. His teeth showed as he growled, his discomfort causing him to roll back onto his side.
"Go on! Get out of here!"
Toothless grunted and shot awake, his heart pounding and his eyes shot wide. He felt his chest heave against his bed, the Night Fury's limbs stiff yet limp at the same time. He felt his senses go numb, his voice catching in his throat.
He shook, the pang of guilt written on his black scaled face.
The idea that he hurt Stoick.
That he had tried to hurt Hiccup in the process.
The Night Fury stood abruptly and shuffled towards the staircase that led down into the main room of Hiccup's small house, his tail trailing behind him briskly. Toothless tensed his shoulders, shuffling from side to side as he felt another wave of guilt and fear crash onto him.
"Get away!"
Hiccup had shouted at him. Hiccup never shouts at him.
Toothless pushed his way out the front door and into the chilled night, his green eyes shining silver beneath the moonlight. Toothless whuffed, looking up at the moon, the shadows of two Terrible Terrors crossing over the round sphere in the sky.
"Don't!"
Toothless's mind flashed to the anger and fear in Hiccup's forest eyes. Toothless's chest knotted again, the Night Fury whining loudly. He curled up into the grass, swallowing the howls of anguish that were caught in his throat.
He'd hurt Stoick.
And by effect, he'd hurt Hiccup.
-^-
Hiccup gasped suddenly, shooting awake from his lying position in his bed. The blankets fell from his nose as he sat up, panting wildly. His back felt chilled and his hands clenched, the burning of his ears stinging him.
His forest green eyes darted about the room, mouth agape. He panted, realizing that the black lump of scales in the corner was gone. Feeling his heart pound through his chest with immediate worry, Hiccup threw the blankets off of his lap and stood clumsily.
He collapsed, yelping as he hit the floor beneath his feet-er, foot, when he looked over to the wall that his bed was leaning against. He sighed grumpily, facepalming as he laid eyes on his mechanical leg. The chief growled at the sight, scrunching up his nose before using his calloused hands and elbows to pull himself back onto his bed.
Hiccup grabbed his false leg and clicked it onto his stump, before he then stood abruptly once again and stumbled over to the stairs. He panted, worry evident in his breath as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Hiccup?" Valka blinked tiredly as she exited her room that laid on the lower half of the house.
"I'm fine Mom. I just need to find Toothless real quick." Hiccup reasoned, holding one hand out towards her before finding the front door and rushing outside.
The cold night air was refreshing in his lungs, but an even better sight was that of his best friend lying in front of the house and staring up at the glaring full moon.
Hiccup felt a pang in his chest, swallowing hard as he read Toothless's body language. His eyes were distant and gone, and his tail remained still, curled up beside the dragon as closely as possible. Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, and slowly approached his old friend, placing a hand on the Night Fury's head.
Toothless's neck craned, and he looked at Hiccup, his eyes glittering with sadness and guilt.
Hiccup felt his chest knot. He knew his dragon well, and he knew when he felt upset about something. Sadly, the young chief couldn't tell what. At least, not very easily.
Pursing his lips, Hiccup slowly lowered himself to the ground and sat by Toothless, crossing his legs together before looking up at the moon. The young human placed a hand on the Night Fury's neck, and slowly rubbed up and down on it, Toothless leaning into the touch.
The Night Fury's tail loosened and slowly curled around Hiccup protectively, the boy chuckling softly. Hiccup looked up towards Toothless with a gentle smile, and said, "I know you're going through something, bud. We all are right now. But I want you to know that even though I don't always know what's up, it doesn't mean I won't be here for you."
Toothless whuffed in reply to his rider, looking back at the human with big, perky eyes.
Hiccup smiled again, before leaning onto Toothless's side and curling his knees closer to his small body. Toothless watched as his rider did so, and his eyes widened slightly as he came to a realization.
Hiccup really did forgive him. Hiccup still felt the same with him despite all that's happened.
Toothless cooed at his rider and sniffed at his hair, nuzzling Hiccup's head and jostling the rider just a bit. Hiccup grumbled and ignored Toothless, smirking to himself as he hugged to his best friend's side.
The stupid human was not going to move.
Toothless then curled his tail a bit tighter around Hiccup, and slowly craned his neck around Hiccup's body, lying his head in Hiccup's lap. Toothless curled tighter and felt the darkness of sleep around him close in, the moon at his back.
Valka watched the entire exchange from the doorway of her home, a proud smile blooming onto her sharp features. She chuckled to herself as she noticed Cloudjumper's shadow on top of the roof, the Stormcutter cooing at his rider.
"Let them rest, Cloudjumper." Valka nodded, before retreating back inside for a blanket. She found one in the wardrobe that was just off of the dining area, and retreated back outside and draped the blanket over Hiccup's legs.
Toothless noticed yet paid no mind to her, and simply kept himself tight around his rider.
No one was ever going to hurt him again.
Not if Toothless had anything to say about it.