Awesome

Sad and sweet, I really liked this!

WHat's even more amazing is that you wrote this before GotNF ever aired. I absolutely adore this. "Raised from egg" is a phrase I unknowingly plagiarized from you aeons ago! This is such a great take on it, even more so with the addition that Hiccup is not the first Viking to try and train a dragon. And early Snotlout would DEFINITELY have said that kind of thing. This, given it predates R/D, is shockingly accurate in its portrayal of the rider/dragon relationships. I know it was written a while ago but big warm kudos for it!

My chest tightened with 's beautiful.3

I thought it would end with Hiccup's angst and grief but I am teary-eyed at those last few paragraphs that were Toothless's perspective. Thank you for writing this beautiful piece. :)

I don't think Toothless would have become friends with Hiccup if Hiccup hadn't tried to be friends. Toothless isn't a human, but he's pretty smart. He's an animal with instincts that could probably tell him at least a little of Hiccup's intentions. Not everything was forced. When Hiccup gave him his trust when he reached out with his hand and looked away, Toothless didn't have to return his trust.

A good take on Stockholm syndrome...

I wasn't going to read this until I saw the sheer number of reviews, favorites, and follows this story has. I decided then that any 2,000 word one-shot with well over 400 favorites had to be read, and you know what. I'm glad I did.

Very nice story. Thank you for posting. :)

Sweet.

So Hiccup thinks Toothless has Stockholm syndrome, huh? I occasionally thought that as well, but the way you described Toothless' feelings at the end was a very effective way to assuage my feelings. Good job describing Hiccup's inner confliction!

Wow, what a fantastic piece. I've always wanted a more in-depth look at Hiccup's thoughts regarding how he and Toothless first met, and you definitely provided it here. Plus, letting us see Toothless' thoughts as well! Nicely done, and a pleasure to read!

I really like this. It's sweet. _

Amazing story. I liked how Astrid and Fishlegs both stood up for Hiccup.

You know... I've had these same thoughts before too. I mean, I'm definitely not blaming Hiccup – after all, had he known that Toothless would become his best friend, I highly doubt he would have shot him down that night (although then they very well may not have become friends at all – hmm, an interesting idea). I also don't believe Hiccup's thoughts on how Toothless only became friends because he had to, and I definitely don't think Toothless holds any resentment whatsoever. Maybe some at the very beginning, but that's long since gone, and any that may have possibly been left probably vanished completely when Hiccup himself lost his leg.

No, what I've wondered is exactly what you have written here. When Hiccup sees only the one tail fin, is he filled with guilt, at not only taking away Toothless's ability to fly, but also "forcing" him into friendship? Does he sometimes feel that this friendship is very one-sided in that, while his life was changed for the better, Toothless got the short end of the stick? Is he sorry that, as you have written, he feels Toothless "didn't get a choice"? I'm actually very glad to see something so deep insightful, and I absolutely adore the ending. I love Toothless's viewpoint on the matter: that it doesn't matter, that Hiccup wasn't the first to permanently injure and then attempt to ride a dragon (although the first by partial accident, I'm sure), and that Toothless isn't completely dependent on Hiccup to survive. Maybe he is dependent on him to fly, but in the Christmas special (which I'm not sure if you've seen), Hiccup actually makes Toothless a wing that allows him to fly by himself – which Toothless rejects. Such is the power of friendship.

And wow, what a rant! I really did not mean to ramble on so much, merely tell you what I loved about this and my thoughts on it. Sorry for the monster of a review! Aaaand I should probably shut up now. :P

Touching. Really, touching.