[IC] How To Train Your Dragon: Spreading Wings

[AHeartlessNobody]

She HATED doing this. Hated that she was forced to do as those despicable humans told her. She had been under their command for the past twelve years of her life. They had taken her when she was an older hatchling at the age of four(in their years any). They kept her locked away in a dark and damp prison for all the dragons, chained up until it was time to ride them into the battle. Going out, to ride into the battles, was the only time she got to see the world outside of their prison. The only time she got to fly, and even then it was with a person on her, saddled, and them controlling where they wanted her to go. She wanted to badly to stretch her wings and fly, just once, where she wished to go. To feel the wind under her wings and carrying her away. To feel that freedom.

But, she never got it. And once again, she was being forced to do as her human owner said. She growled and jerked at the shackle around her neck and the chains that were connected to it in which he pulled on to get her out of the prison. She didn't want to be saddled. She didn't want this man to ride on her. Growling more, she lept into the air, but the chains that the man held were used by he, as well as some of the men with him, to jerk her back down. She hit the ground hard with a painful thud and was held down by the men as they attached the saddle to her tightly, as well as a muzzle so tight around her mouth, that both hurt. As soon as that was done and the man was on her, the other dragons were saddled. With a harsh kick to her sides, the man had her take off flying.

It wasn't even an hour before she saw what she knew to be the human's targets. How did she know this? Because the people they were targeting were ready, and with dragons of their own. But, there was advantage the other people had. Unlike she and the other dragons forced to fly these humans around, the dragons with the humans didn't have their claws clipped or their mouth's covered. They could help fight. And so they did. It battle was bloody, but short. Her human forced her right in the middle of the battle, where the other dragons clawed and bit her painfully as her human fought. She couldn't help herself. She couldn't protect herself and her human had no intentions of helping her either.

Before she knew it, her human was shot off of her back, yet the dragons kept coming at her until she felt a horrible pain in her right wing. She couldn't flap it anymore and in that moment, fell to the ground, crying out in pain as she smacked into the hill and layed there, an arrow stuck into her wing.

....

The battle was lost on their part. As she layed there, wounded, she could look around and see the many dead humans, whom she didn't care for on tiny bit, and the poor innocent dragons who had been forced to carry them. They were not the evil ones here, and yet they died. It was not right.

Weakly trying to get to her feet, she whined under her muzzle, falling back onto the ground. She tried a few more times, only to hear the voices of humans, "Hey, there's one moving!"

Fear struck through her and she attempted even harder to get up, but before she could even make it a few steps, a small groups of humans had intercepted her, making a circle around the injured rainbow colored dragon, "Whoa, what kind of dragon is this?"

"I don't know, but its hurt. We need to get it some help."

One of the humans tried to move closer and she growled under her tight muzzle, swinging her tail at it, "Hey! Stop that! Be still! We're only trying to help!" But hose words didn't help to calm her at all. She wasn't even listening to these humans. The only thing on her mind was escape. But, she would not get that at this moment, because the humans held her down in attempt to keep her from injuring herself further as she growled and wiggled under them, "Someone go get Hiccup! Tell him its a emergency!"

[Toothless]

It hadn’t seemed like there was any other dragon riders until recently but maybe they had just never seen them before. The small army had been spotted closing in on Berk long before it reached shore and as such they were properly prepared when the enemy descended upon their land. Hiccup had instantly recognized the restraints upon these foreign dragons but learned from years past that calling out among fighting Vikings would only be words tossed to the wind. With a battle on hand they would be seeing only the red of their enemy. Blood baths were what the people of Berk excelled in (along with, recently, riding dragons) and he was partially ashamed to play part in it knowing that the dragons on this opposing side were most likely unwilling participants. As soon as the enemy had been disabled and efforts became a different kind of collective with clean up on the horizon- he managed to get a word in. It was their intention to look for survivors but more than the enemy to question he wanted them to seek out the dragons. They deserved a second chance- some had flown away to freedom but there were others that were unable. Ones to far gone and others that just needed to heal.

It was the second group that his tribe was flustered about. The most sensible thing he got in being called over was ‘hurry’, maybe he was just to distracted to hear the rest.

Toothless touched down with a soft thump upon hard ground, just beyond the circle of people and he slid from his back. “Stop!” He ordered quick and then slowed both his steps and the haste of his words. “Just… back away.” It was obvious that a downed dragon wouldn’t be going anywhere fast and the obstruction of them on its back was causing more distress than good. Only when the other Vikings had eased gradually, “slowly” cautiously off, could he really get a look at the dragon and the breath momentarily caught in his throat. She looked like Toothless.

His dragon bumped his nose into his back and he pushed backwards against Toothless’ snout with a mumbled “wait”. With a displeased shuffle Toothless sat as Hiccup took another slow step forward, showing he was unarmed. “It’s okay.” He assured, “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

As soon as the Vikings were off of her, the first thing she did was attempt to fly, but that of course failed miserably and painfully with the arrow in her wing. She fell back to the ground, and slowly stood up, limping backwards, growling once more as this new human was trying to step toward her. Her rainbow colored eyes searched him over, and seeing no weapons on him visible it made her a little less worried of an attack by him, but that didn't mean he didn't have hidden weapons or could hurt her without them. Humans had done it to her before. She wouldn't be surprised if they tried it again. As he moved closer, her growls continued and the more he grew closer, the more she attempted to move away from him, circling, never leaving her back to him. Smoke rose from the tight metal muzzle that covered her mouth, as if she was ready to burn him with fire, but the muzzle kept her from doing so, just as it always had when those humans put it on her. It was fairly easy to see the metal of the muzzle cutting into her skin from how tight the human had place it on her, but she ignored it. It was always like that on her anyway, so she had grown rather used to the feeling of the pain. Not that it was a good pain. Far from it actually. But the other pains she was feeling from the wounds she got from the battle drowned that pain out easily.

She slowly circled around, her rainbow eyes hard on the human and when she felt the dragon behind her now from her circling, she jumped and turned her attention to the dragon, hard eyes on it, seeing him as more of the threat the human. After all, this human controlled him, correct? So, the human could easily get him to attack her. She was smaller than the male dragon by just a little bit, and unlike her, he had ways to fight at the moment, but that didn't mean she was going to make herself an easier target. She bent low, growling under her muzzle louder before she lept forward, and doing the only attack she could do right that second, head butted him in the chest as hard as she could, which in reality, wasn't very hard considering how weak she was at the moment. Just the exertion from that one act made her whimper and shake her head as she fell down.

Though after a moment, she was back up again, weakly moving away from the dragon now, though it seemed he and the human were going to give her no ways of escape because soon she found herself backed against the bottom of the nearby cliff, against the rocky wall, more whines escaping her now as she attempted to stay out of both of their reaches.

[Toothless]

Toothless considered himself to be a rather proud dragon and one of a kind to boot but he had heard stories of ancestors different than himself- that weren’t of the shadows but of the sun. As his eyes glazed over this dragoness’ scales he wondered if this was one of those legends, a living legend. His human was making careful advances but these attempts were not received well. Perhaps they were cut of the same cloth after all. He slunk closer despite the request to ‘wait’ and she whirled on him with wild eyes. He spread his wings- puffing up in warning before she lunged. The strike barely budged him. “Toothless!”

Hiccup moved towards his dragon. “Toothless stop.” Reaching for his snout and encouraging him to look towards him rather than glare this new dragon down. “Let’s… just give her some space. Okay bud?” He lead him a few steps away and when Toothless still looked tense about the matter he began scratching at his neck until his was leaning into him with a content murmur.

(Just a quick one before I went to work)

[AHeartlessNobody]

She wasn't sure what to make of these two. She stayed there against the cliff wall and watched as they took a few steps back from her. It was beginning t look as though they were in a stalemate, she not letting them close to her, and at the same time, they were not allowing her to leave. Of course, she couldn't see it was for her well being. With her injuries she wouldn't last a day on her own. But she didn't think about that. All she could think about was how she didn't want to be there in the presence of humans. With the human stepping back though, she grew a little less tense and her rainbow eyes searched about for some sort of escape route. Yet, there was none. Even if she got past this human and his dragon, there were other humans near by who would surely stop her from leaving. There was nothing she could do but wait this deadlock out.

She moved to lay down there against the cliff wall and moved her front feet to try and pry the painful muzzle from her mouth with no success. She had even less luck with the saddle on her back. She just couldn't get a grip on them. She didn't even try to remove the arrow in her wing. It was too painful for her to barely move that wing, much less try to remove the thing causing the pain. Giving up on these three tasks, she let out a frustrated sound and just layed there now, her eyes on the black dragon and his human.

These two seemed to have a very...strange relation for a human and a dragon. Her who life she had seen nothing but the humans being forceful and abusive to herself and dragons around her. But, it didn't seem to be the case with these two. The human spoke to the dragon firmly, yet gently and was very kind with his gestures toward the dragon. She lifted her head slightly in curiosity when the human scratched at the dragon's neck and the dragon made a content sound, leaning against the human. When either of them attempted to move closer to her now, her reaction was slightly different. She made an obviously unapproving sound that was close to a growl, but didn't move away. She continued to lay there, her wings pressed close against her sides despite the pain in one of them, her body tense.

[Toothless]

Toothless was nothing but a big softie- if one was to ask Hiccup anyhow, who happened to be scratching said dragon into bliss with well placed fingertips. He heard this new dragon make a sound that he imagined to be disapproving and finished his thorough rubbing when Toothless collapsed to the ground with a large pleasurable sigh. He chuckled and then offered the foreign dragon a gentle smile. This was going to take awhile. He’d seen her pushing at her muzzle but given the way she had responded to his previous advances he knew she wasn’t about to let him take it off. Or even get close enough to touch it. He heaved a small sigh of his own and sat down beside Toothless as Toothless immediately shot the other dragon a warning look with silted eyes. The message was clear: don’t try anything funny.

Hiccup wasn’t paying much attention to that exchange but was musing to himself as he sketched out the dragoness before him. “She looks almost exactly like you Toothless… but the book didn’t mention anything about this…” That was about as far as his thoughts got before there was a thump of another dragon landing and he sprung up. “Astrid!” He hurried around Toothless who intentionally attempted to trip him with his tail which wasn’t that hard to do given his bum leg. He stumbled but immediately straightened with a crooked smile. “Why are you here?”

“I came to get a look at this new dragon.” With that the girl purposely strolled forward but Hiccup stepped across her path. She still leaned and tried to see past him though but he was adamant about not ruining what little progress he had made. Eventually she stepped back. “Okay, I get it. What is that though? Another night fury?”

Hiccup pulled her a few steps back towards her dragon Stormfly. “No, more of a… light fury?” He suggested uncertainly with a glance back at the dragon. “Look Astrid, this is probably going to take awhile.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell your dad.” She turned to leave but paused after mounting Stormfly “so Hiccup, what are you going to call it?”

“I think it’s a girl…” Hiccup replied with little thought and then frowned. “And I don’t know. Right now I just want to focus on helping her.” Astrid probably would have gave him a quick kiss for that comment if she wasn’t on her dragon, instead she just offered a small nod and took flight. Leaving the three alone once more.

[AHeartlessNobody]

The dragoness snorted at Toothless when he gave her that warning glance, her rainbow eyes glaring back at the male. He gaze was almost like a challenge and she had never enjoyed challenges from other dragons. When she had been in captivity of those evil humans, they had often fought dragons, just to see who's was the strongest. She never lost. But then again, there had been no other Nightfury or Arcus dragons in that village either. Still, she was prideful and wasn't about to let herself seem scared of him. Even if he could easily rip her apart in the wounded state she was in right now. She began to grow disinterested into the two and instead looked up to the sky. Oh how she wanted to just fly away. She had been dreaming for years of the day when she would finally be free from her human master. And now that they day had come she couldn't even fly! Why did the fates have to twist on her like this? She let out a huff and layed her head back down on the ground.

When the new human landed down, she growled more, weakly attempting to get to her feet once again. One human was bad enough. Two just caused too much trouble. And the way this one just tried to strut right up to her made her back rise and smoke escape from her muzzle once more, one of her front paws scratching at the dirt beneath her, giving many warnings she did not want this new human to come near her. Thankfully though the other human pulled the female human away, making her leave. She snorted again as if to say 'good riddance' and watched as she flew away on a dragon. The dragons here seemed so willing to let the humans ride them, she seemed to notice again, and it sparked a curiosity in her once more.

She turned her head to look at the human and dragon. She wasn't all too scared of them much anymore, but she was still cautious. She took a careful step forward and when the human looked at her, she froze, tensing up, bending low as if ready to jump out of the way, her eyes glancing other at the male Nightfury. Then taking another step forward, her rainbow eyes moved back to the human, staring at him.

[Toothless]

For a moment Hiccup watched his… well he wasn’t so sure he could call her his girlfriend- fly away. A thought he shook his head at before taking his gaze from the sky and turning to see if the dragon was still there (though he knew she was injured so probably wouldn‘t be going anywhere fast anyhow). He paused, as she froze. He knew Toothless was keeping a wary eye on them but had chosen to keep in his relaxed position upon the ground. Or at least continue to lay, his head propped upon his front legs as his gaze followed the dragoness‘ approach. Hiccup was thankful for Toothless’ intelligence, because he knew he would not interfere until he either won over this dragon or he was endangered by it.

He let the dragon draw closer, drawing his hands in with a small smile and keeping them in sight as he remained still for a few seconds longer before cautiously reaching out but pausing short of touching her. He would not even try unless she allowed it- he could only imagine what the humans that had her before had done. The dark marks around her muzzle where scales were rubbed back by the steel was a hard enough sight to look at, especially with her in such close proximity. He didn’t dare move now.

Toothless grumbled with impatience but didn’t make any sudden movements aside from nodding his head in Hiccup’s direction, encouraging the dragoness to bridge that gap.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Okay, so she had to admit. Maybe there was some fear in her of this tiny human. She hadn't thought there was, when she was standign for enough back, but the more she drew closer, the more she felt like she wanted to run away. Humans had gotten rid of everything she cared about. Had scarred her. Had beaten her down. Had almost killed her on more than one occasion. They had kept her away from her skies and her freedom for over twelve years. They had all been so evil to her.To try and trust a human, for a human to even be worth trusting, was something she thought to be impossible. But there was something about this human in front of her that made her somewhat want to trust him. Almost instinctively. Almost like he was one of her own kind. Which was insane, but it just felt that way.

She drew a bit closer, she bent down, ready to jump away if he pulled out a weapon suddenly, but he seemed to not make any move to harm her. So, she carefully continued forward, and when she was a short distance away from him, he reached out. Even though the gesture had paused short of touching her, it still made her jump back a few paces, flinching away for a moment, before her eyes looked back to him. He just stood there, with his hand reached out toward her. She looked over at the male dragon and when he nodded toward the human, she looked back at the boy. Cautiously she moved forward again until she was at him and carefully sniffed his hand for a moment, in search of some trick or weapon.

When she found none, she slowly allowed her head to touch his hand. It was a good feeling, surprisingly. The touch was gentle, unlike how those beastly humans had been with her, and the contact made a soft purring noise come from the dragoness as she rubbed her head against his hand more, enjoying the feeling.

[Toothless]

Hiccup had been afraid of Toothless when they first met but curiosity had overcome that fear and with each dragon they came in contact with he had a healthy respect for the strength they harbored- he’d probably always be a toothpick by Viking standards even if his tribe came to accept him as one of their own (in a sense). How easily he could be torn askewer by powerful talons… BUT he knew he knew there was more to all dragons than the threat they possessed. They weren’t so different from them and vise versa. It was the emotion he first saw in Toothless’ eyes as he had held that knife over his bound body that made him realize this. That urged him to try and make things right despite his terror at teeth and fire and the existence of a nightfury in general, when there was said to be nothing more dangerous in their book of dragons.

He saw the hurt in this dragon’s eyes and while he hadn’t been the one to inflict it he still felt inclined to right the wrong that his own race had done. Not all humans were bad, same as dragons. And as she pressed her head against his palm he felt a swell of relief. Before a bristling of surprise at her eagerness to rub her scales at his skin. She was enthused but he was hesitant, worried she might regress if he returned the favor. He curled his fingers and carefully began to scratch. “Hey now, your going to make Toothless jealous.” He joked and paused to look at the muzzle, sliding his hands closer to the metal before stilling at the angry flesh puckering around the edges. He did not think he would be able to pull it off and there was some sort of lock on it. He fingered the mechanism. “I think I can get this off, I just need some pliers.” He mumbled thoughtfully before looking towards the direction of his village. He wondered if he could take her or if all the hustle would be too much- It most likely would but could he trust that she wouldn’t take off if he left her here?

Well… Toothless and him could always track her down if it came to that. How well could a multi color dragon hide anyhow? He stepped back. “We’ll be right back.” And took another step backwards, moving towards Toothless now. “I’m just going to get something to get that muzzle off.” He said, mostly thinking out loud to himself as he climbed onto his nightfury’s back with his prosthetic clicking into place.

[AHeartlessNobody]

The scratching on her head felt nice. She could somewhat see now why the Nightfury had leaned against the human when he had been scratched. It was a comforting gesture that relaxed her and made her calm down just a little bit. When he said she might make Toothless(she assumed he meant that arrogant male dragon of his) jealous, she snorted, as if showing she could care less what the black dragon thought. Instead she rubbed her head against his hand a little more. But it was when he moved his hands to the muzzle that she tensed. It hurt, even for his fingers to just lightly brush the flesh around the edges of the metal, but she allowed him to touch it anyway, a soft whine escaping her throat. He seemed unsure about the muzzle and she worried this human wouldn't be able to get it off. What if she never got it off? She wouldn't be able to eat or drink or breath fire. She would die.Though, her worries subsided a little when he stated he thought he might be able to get it off and needed to go get something to do so. She sat down, watching as he got upon his dragon and took off, flying back to where she assumed all of the humans lived.

As she sat there alone, her mind wandered. Maybe she could change? Would she be able to get these things off then? She NEVER changed in front of humans, which is why she hadn't done so when the human boy had been there. Nor had she, the whole twelve year she had been captive by those human, transformed there either. Her mother had warned her against it. She said the humans would take advantage of her if they found her in her weaker state. Her human like state. But, now that she was alone, surely she would be safe? Only, when she tried, her body wouldn't change. She chalked it up at first to the fact she hadn't done so in so long, but soon after trying harder, came to the conclusion it was not her fault she couldn't transform. The tight muzzle and tight saddle, as well as the other restraints, were so tight upon her that her body couldn't shift. She whined more and shook her head. Things were just not going well for her today.

She layed back down int he grass and spread her wings just a little, fighting the pain in her right wing, when she felt the clouds blocking the sun move away. The sun shined down on her and it felt wonderful. She had missed the warmth of the sun on her scales so much. She made a content sound and soon her scales, reflecting the rainbows, and she willed the light to work on the surface of her body until the scales began to flicker slightly and reflect the light until the dragon herself, as well as the items touching her, vanished from sight. She was solidly there, but invisible to sight for the moment.

When the human dragon rider and his dragon finally touched ground once more, she stood up from where she was and walked over to them much calmer than she had before, though they couldn't see that. It was only when the clouds moved back in front of the sun that she flicked back into sight, sitting right in the front of the human and looking down at him with her rainbow eyes.

[Toothless]

The villagers were in the great hall, celebrating their victory and discussing what they would do to the prisoners over a strong brew of liquor. Hiccup could hear their rowdy voices all the way from the forge. The pliers weren’t in their proper place and he shuffled around on the floor for several moments before finding it and in his excitement- forgetting about the counter he was under, his head colliding with a loud thump followed by Toothless’ deep chuckles. “Haha! Go ahead and laugh. Don’t mind how that hurt.”

Toothless leaned in, examining him closely before snorting hot air in his face- clearly certain he was far from injured. Hiccup shoved his snout away. “Come on. Let’s hurry back.”

He thought he knew exactly where they left the dragoness but he didn’t see her as they circled down from the sky. “Where is she?” He mumbled as his eyes scanned the landscape. If he thought he was somehow missing her, he had no better luck once they landed. He looked around for a moment as Toothless stretched his wings lazily and then settled them around his back seeming very unconcerned over the missing dragoness.

“Aeh!” Hiccup scrambled backwards dropping the tool and withdrawing with an uneasy air at said dragoness’ sudden appearance. “How… how’d you do that?” He questioned, his voice strained with fright at the sudden heart stopping surprise. Toothless’ eyes widened a fraction but then a second later he scoffed and turned away to stalk off. “Toothless! Hey, bud.” Hiccup hurried to cut off his path, spreading his arms and baring his way (sort of). “Hey, what are you doing?” The nightfury sat down on his haunches before turning his nose up and Hiccup puzzled over his reaction for a moment before smiling. “You feel like you’ve been outdone.”

Outshined was more like it.

“Well alright, I see you need a moment.” Toothless was easily the most impressive dragon Hiccup had ever encountered and probably didn’t take well to his title of most ’most awesome dragon’ being threatened. Hiccup walked back over to the dragoness and picked up the discarded tool- regarding this puzzling task for a moment longer. “If you could lay down… I can probably get better leverage to pry this off.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

It....amused her slightly when she managed to surprise not only the human, but the dragon as well. The human had reacted in a more nervous way, jumping back and dropped the tool, while the only amount of surprise she saw on the dragon's face was the slight widening of his green eyes. Still, surprise was surprise and it made the proud female dragon all the more proud of herself that she managed to make the Nightfury act like that. She snorted in amusement, her colorful tail swishing back and forth as she watched the human chase after the dragon for a moment before letting him do as he wished and approached her again. She tilted her head to the side for a moment before leaning down to sniff at the tools in his hands. She didn't know what they were, it made her somewhat nervous. But still, feeling she could trust this human now, she obeyed and slowly layed down in the grass, allowing him to get to work on the muzzle.

It seemed to take forever and it hurt. A few times she had to shake his hand from her face and recollect herself before letting him continue to try. The more he went on trying to undo the muzzle, the more she worried it would never come off. But then, when she least expected of it, there was the cracking sound of metal and the the muzzle clanged hard onto the ground, leaving her mouth free. Sitting up again, she moved her mouth a little, getting comfortable and stretching her jaw, flashing her sharp white teeth before she threw her head back, allowing a white bright fire to escape her mouth. It had been so long since she had been able to breath fire! It felt so good.

Happily the dragoness leaned her head down to rub it against the human's before she turned, nudging him toward the tight saddle on her back as well. If he could get that off, as well as somehow find a way to remove the arrow from her wing, she would feel so much better. She would not only be in less pain, but also be taking her first steps toward her freedom. Once these things were removed, all she had to do was wait out the few weeks it would take for her to fully heal and then she could be free to fly where ever she wanted to fly.

When the human set to work on her saddle, she glanced over at the Nightfury and snorted at him to show her disapproval. Male dragons. They always thought they knew everything and where the best things to ever happen. But then again, she herself was prideful as well. But she had reason to be! She was a pure Arcus dragon! The Nightfury was nothing but a mutt. She snorted at him once more and lifted her nose up at him, her rainbow eyes showing her displeasure at the male dragon being there.

[Toothless]

He tried to be gentle but it required quite a bit of force to work this metal out of shape. Whoever made these knew how to keep a dragon restrained. He needed the breaks as much as she did but not for the same reasons as her- there was a ache in his fingers from the effort but more than that he was stressed by how little progress he was managing to make with this. He was far from giving up though and continued the slow work each time she allowed him to and after what seemed like much too long the lock gave and he pried the latch up and just like that her mouth was free. A great burst of fire shooting skyward from it and he instinctively ducked at the sound before smiling sheepishly at her and straightening.

It was obvious she wanted him to do something about the remaining complications so with a small exhale that deflated him slightly he moved onto the saddle which was a bit easier despite the sores that surely formed beneath the pad. “Didn’t they ever take this off…” He grumbled to himself, momentarily unaware of the dragoness taunting the nightfury. At least until Toothless drew back his gums with a growl, teeth extended and exposed. Hiccup slowed to glance over at him. “Toothless.” The dragon ignored him and he halted in his task to say with more force. “Toothless, stop.” But still the night fury only shot him a look before flicking his tail and anger.

With that Hiccup got up “what’s gotten into you?” Moving towards his dragon who pulled away from his reach with a snarl and fixed steely eyes upon the dragoness- Hiccup followed his gaze and rose a brow before bringing his sights back to Toothless. “Toothless.” He said, scorning him for his behavior. “Be civil, she’s going to be staying with us until she’s healed so… I want you two to try and be friendly to one another. Come on.” He grabbed Toothless’ saddle and pulled him towards the female. “Go ahead. Give her your best smile Toothless.” Hiccup encouraged and Toothless cast him an exasperated look.

[AHeartlessNobody]

She had to hold back a snicker when the human began to scorn the male dragon. This was getting interesting. She watched as the male dragon continued to grow and she just stared at him, holding his steely gaze, amused when the human dragged Toothless over to where she was, telling him to give her his best smile. She sat there smugly and patiently, her tail flicking back and forth until the male finally did gave her a smile, but it was obvious it was a forced one. With him so close to her, she blew a puff of smoke from her mouth, purposely right into the male's face before sticking her head up again and walking a few steps away and sitting back down, waiting for the human to get back to work on the saddle that was so tight on her sides. He had almost had gotten it off. In fact...maybe she could just get it off the rest of the way herself. Her mouth was free after all and her teeth were surely sharper than his human tools.

So she sat there, she turned just enough so her mouth could reach the pad and tugged hard on the saddle. It took a few times, but finallly it snapped and she flung the evil human thing away from her, grunting in satisfaction. With that gone, she licked the sores on her side for a moment before she looked at her wing. The only thing that remained to be removed from her was the arrow. She wouldn't be able to do that on her own. It hurt too much. Her rainbow eyes looked back at the human and she extended her wing ever so slightly, to show him the arrow lodged through the skin and out the other side of her wing. She hoped he could get it out, and if he did, she hoped it wouldn't be as painful as it would be if she got it out herself.

She walked calmly back over to the human with her wing still extended and layed down to give him an easier reach, ignoring the male dragon for the moment while the human worked on the arrow. It hurt. A lot. The would whine and move slightly, but never jerk. The arrow had to be broken in half and then slid out form both sides so never the point or the end had to go through her skin again. When the arrow was out, it actually felt much better. She lifted ehr self up and moved her wing. There was still pain of course, but it was bearable. Her first thought, was to attempt to fly.

Crouching down low, she jumped, but right after fell to the ground. No, she should have known better then to try and fly so soon with her all her injuries. A sound similiar to a sigh escaped the dragoness and she looked at the human, rubbing her head against his in a thanking notion, purring louder.

[Toothless]

It was obvious to Toothless that his human would not let him back out of this- being the stubborn Viking he was (really the only trait he shared with his kin) so he forced a gummy smile that seemed to satisfy Hiccup but got him a face full of smoke. When Hiccup didn’t do anything to make the other dragon play nice despite this obvious show of dislike, he purposely swatted him with one wing and was tempted to refuse him the right to interact with this awful dragoness anymore. His little runt of a Viking was easy enough to pin but he decided to be the better dragon and let this manner less female have Hiccup’s help out of sympathy… just for her current lack of flight.

He tucked in his wings and let Hiccup sidle past him, approaching the dragoness once more as she approached him. Given the length of her wing it was hard for Hiccup to get a good angle without leaning on the actual appendage. He went to work again, wiggling the shaft slowly until it cracked in half and then took the arrowhead in one hand to pull the other end through. He examined his work until her sudden movement knocked him on his bottom- then he watched her ascend and… fall. He had begun to stand when she returned, pushing into him and putting him back on the ground. “It was nothing. You’ll need some time to heal but I‘m sure you‘ll fly again.”

His gaze shifted towards the sky. “I should probably head back to the village.” He stood to gather up the saddle and muzzle. The metal could be melted down and used again which was his intention.

[AHeartlessNobody]

She watched as the human as he stood up after her sign of affection and looked toward the skies as well. They were starting to get a pinkish color to them, letting her know very soon it would be dark. She didn't like the dark. Night time was not for Arcus dragons. They belonged in the daylight. She hoped the human didn't leave her outside during this time. She started to follow him, only when she saw him pick up the saddle and muzzle, she froze, bending low, her eyes on the two human contraptions. If he tried putting those things on her again then she would bite his hand off. But, when she looked closer it seemed he wasn't going to make a move to put them back on her and so she moved slowly forward, following him at a distance toward the human village.

By the time they got to the village, it was completely dark and she was now walking as close as she could to the human boy, looking about warily. Yes, she had come to at least trust that this human next to her would not harm him, but that didn't mean she trusted the other humans in this village. Far from it. And the darkness around them only increased to make her tension of this new environment worse. She followed the boy to a barn in the village and stepped in hesitantly, looking about curiously. There were other dragons there, in different stalls. She supposed that the dragons couldn't exactly sleep int he houses with the humans. Fire hazards and all. At least, most dragons anyway. These dragons didn't seem to mind being in these stalls and in fact could probably jump out of the stalls if they wished. It was her guess that they actually like that they had their own little places to sleep.

She would probably like it too. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep. She walked down the way, looking into each stall before she found one unoccupied and hopped over the small wood wall, into the stall. She reached her head over the stall to rub against the human's once more before turning and nudging at the hay in the stall, making herself a bed before flopping down onto it, curling her long tail around her body and letting her go around her as well, her rainbow eyes watching the boy and his dragon as she layed there. She was still curious about these two. They were so strange. This whole village was strange in fact.

She rested her head on her colorful tail, purring and getting comfortable for now.

[Toothless]

Hiccup had thought this new dragon would want to stay out here alone when she had originally been so against company and had only just warmed up to him but as he turned to leave she followed. It took him awhile to notice though, the nightfury’s grumbles finally being recognized as something other than complaints about what was already done and he glanced back as they approached the outskirts of the village though at that point she had skirted closer to them, occasionally and probably unintentionally, bumping him as she scooted against his side. The only way she could possibly get closer was if he was on her back- he understood her need for some sort of security and patted her gently to assure her that he was here for her. Fortunately the stables were near the outskirts so the more wily of dragons could have some privacy. “You can stay here for the night.” He explained as they stepped in among stalls warmed by the natural heat of dragons.

He waited for her to examine the space and get comfortable, offering her a small as she settled into one and earned himself an affectionate nudge in turn. Toothless reeled on him with a gurgling sound of protest and Hiccup took a step back, puzzlement written across his face. He picked up the saddle in muzzle again. “Toothless, relax. She’s just staying until she’s better, after everything I’m sure she just wants her well deserved freedom…” He turned to leave and the night fury grudgingly followed him with a few further mumbles. “Let me just put this stuff in the forge and then we can go flying.”

Toothless immediately perked up, the change his demeanor rather dramatic as he sort of skipped those last few steps from the barn nudging Hiccup eagerly who chuckled and nudged his snout away as they rounded the corner. “Hang on bud.” The nightfury loved taking to the sky once it went dark, feeling within his element but he‘d try to be patient and soon they‘d be up in the air.

[AHeartlessNobody]

When the boy and his dragon began to leave, she lifted her head slightly to watch them, seeing the male dragon hop around happily at the thought of flying. She wanted so badly to fly. But she knew she just had to be patient and wait until she was well enough to do so. Sighing she layed back down and watched as Hiccup closed the door to the barn, leaving the dragons in darkness. When the dark filled the stables, she lifted her head, her rainbow eyes wide as she sat there frozen for a moment. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust tot he darkness to see just a little bit to see what she was looking for. She stood up, hopping over the wall of her stall, walking over to where the latern hung on the wall. Humans used these things to give them light, so they could see better. If they could use it for light, then why couldn't she? Lifting her head up, she blew just a small amount of white fire from her mouth, but found the wick didn't light.

Sitting down, tilting her head to the side in confusion, she perked up, remembering something. Humans poured some type of liquid into the lanterns to light them. What did they call it.....oil! She stood up again and looked on a shelf, not too far away from the lantern was a container of oil. She paused a moment, before she looked around warily. There were no humans around. Only dragons. She would be safe, right? She nodded to herself before she shifted. The large white dragon began to change and in her place, stood a girl. She had pale skin and her hair was long, dragging a few inches across the floor. She walked carefully over to the container and picked up the oil, biting her lip as she carefully poured it into the lamp as she had seen many humans do before. Once that was done, she stood on her tip toes and when she was up to where it was, a very small amount of white fire came from the girl's mouth, the white fire finally lighting the wick. As a human, she could indeed blow a small amount of fire, but not much at all compared to her dragon form. The white fire in the lantern shined brightly, more so then the orange fire the humans always used. The light light made the girl's long white hair have a rainbow shine to it, much like her dragon form's scales.

Finding herself content with having light now, she moved over to her stall and hopped over the side once more, though this time, she had more trouble. It seemed her human form wasn't as agile as her dragon form and she tripped over her feet in her, falling face first, though lucky for her it was into the pile of hay. Huffing, she sat up, shaking the hay from her hair and sat down on it, looking about with her curious rainbow eyes. Everything seemed so much larger in her human form. She was so small and petite, even compared to the other humans. Sitting there with her knees pulled to her chest, she started to notice the other dragons in the stall making noises, seeming confused at her sudden transformation. She sat up straight and quickly started to shush them, fearing someone would hear and come in to see her in her human form.

At this thought, an idea came into her head. Whenever she as a child and the rest of her herd had been unsettled, her mother used to transform into her human form and sing. She remembered her mother's voice well, as she had heard it not only during those times, but at night when her mother would put her to sleep. Hoping a song might be able to settle the dragons down, she began singing, and just as she hoped, the dragons quieted their noises to listen to the girl's beautiful voice echoing in the air,

"Far far above the clouds, soaring with the wind,
A falcon flies alone, silent as the sky,
I hear his lonely cry, never can he rest,
I walk with you along an empty winding road,
We're far from the ones we love, never can return,
Never can we see again the countries of our birth,

When will I ever find a place to call my home,
Sadness circling like a falcon in the sky,
When will I ever find a way to speak my heart,
To someone who knows what it is to be alone,

Far far above the clouds, against the setting sun,
A falcon flies alone, silent as the sky,
I hear his lonely cry, never can he rest,
I long to spread my wings and fly into the light,
Open this lonely heart to one who understands,
When will I ever find a way to speak my heart,

When will I ever find a place to call my home,
Sadness and loneliness, a falcon in the sky,
When will I ever find a way to speak my heart,
To someone who knows what it is to be alone..."

[Toothless]

Toothless had always enjoyed flying and there wasn’t a dragon with wings who didn’t. It was a lifting experience both physically and spiritually and he use to spend days on end in the sky. However… he never realized how empty a feeling it was. There was no others of his kind to fly in a flock with and it was only after Hiccup stepped in that he realized that bothered him. He liked the company of another. Preferably one with intelligence, like his human. They had this connection in the air. Hiccup knew where he wanted to go and rarely fought to make him fly astray from his chosen path and it was fun.

He skirted his wing across the water and then rose up once more- it was getting early, his human would need sleep and so they headed inland. Touching down near Hiccup’s home. Hiccup patted his snout and mumbled a few sluggish words that he was pretty sure meant goodnight before disappearing inside. After waiting a few moments to see if he would return for any reason he slinked towards the stable, wanting to put that dragoness in her place but froze when he heard singing his ear flaps flicking uncertainly. He narrowed his eyes in its direction sinking low to the ground before galloping away.

He clawed his way onto the roof and dug at the tiles until Hiccup appeared at the wind shushing him. “Shhh. Shh. You’ll wake the chief.” Toothless snorted and jerked his head towards the stables but his human with inferior vision just squinted his eyes unable to make out the gesture and shook his head. “Go to sleep Toothless. Whatever it is… I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow…” He mumbled as he retreated back to his bed.

Frustrated with Hiccup’s inability to listen Toothless circled around and lay stiffly, glaring in the direction of the stable until eventually he dosed off himself. He still woke early come sunlight to wake Hiccup and the groggy boy set out with him to fish. The chilling wind enough to bring anyone back to awareness. Fingers numbed and cheeks reddened by the cold as he headed towards the barn with a woven barrel full of fish weighing down in his arms.

Toothless nudged towards him again as he entered and he pulled away. “No Toothless, you already had your share.”