A/N: Here's chapter three~ It's mostly just Hiccup/Toothless bonding time, so, sorry people who want violence and gore. You'll get your wish soon enough!

Also, thank you very much to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed so far! You guys are awesome, keep it up. o3o

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or any of the characters, and I made no money off of this.

'Bad days' and 'Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third' usually go hand in hand, I'll admit, but this was going a little far. I had no idea where this insane dragon was taking me; I had never heard of humans being carried away before, as dragons normally just stole livestock. Maybe this one had babies to feed or something…

Either way, I was still dangling under a crazed Night Fury with some kind of agenda, with nowhere to go but down. I wasn't too pleased with that idea, especially after chancing a glance below me. Though I couldn't tell exactly where we were going, the trees were moving awfully fast, and were a tad bit too small for my taste. Eventually, I just closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn't throw up or die or something else horrible.

I couldn't tell exactly how long I was in the air, but by the time the Night Fury dropped me back onto solid ground my arms were aching and my skin felt like it was going to fall off at any second. Apparently my legs were a mite unstable as well; I tried to stand, and immediately flopped back down to the ground like a boned fish. (Yeah, I pretty much only know fish metaphors.) The one good thing about the dragon holding my upper arms (there were lots of bad things, like the huge bruises that were forming and the fact I couldn't feel my hands) was that my pack hadn't fallen off, so I still had the little bit of food I had grabbed from the house. Not that it would help at this point, because I was probably about to become food myself.

I laid in the same spot for quite awhile, wondering if it was the only thing keeping me alive. I had no idea where the Night Fury had gone; it was possible he was behind me just waiting for me to move. Or maybe he flew away to get a side course for his lunch or something. After several minutes of not being eaten though, I decided to chance a look around. Pushing myself up on my elbows, I blinked a few times and glanced side to side quickly, almost afraid of what I would see. It turned out to be pretty unimpressive, actually, and nothing like what I would expect a dragon lair to be (if this was even the Night Fury's 'lair').

It seemed to me that Night Furies enjoyed grass. Yeah, that statement's a little stupid, but…it makes sense. The dragon had dropped me beside a large river, in a clearing completely surrounded by tall grass that would probably reach up to my chest if I was standing. Deciding to test this statement, I maneuvered myself into a crouch and stood slowly, still glancing around cautiously for any signs of the dragon. The grass stretched out for miles in any direction I looked, interrupted every now and then by small patches of trees. The ground was trampled grass instead of dirt, and seemed more like a floor than anything. I had always thought that dragons lived in caves, but given the piles of bones here and there, I guess I thought wrong.

So, I didn't know where I was, or where to go, but that wasn't that bad; I couldn't go back to the village, so I was actually in better shape than before. I was farther away from the creatures, so that was good, and I hadn't been eaten yet…

Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks; everyone I had ever known and loved was gone, either scoffed up by flesh-eating, dragonesque monsters, or turned into the monsters themselves. I forgot what I had been thinking about and sunk to my knees. Sure, pretty much all of the village people had been complete jerks to me, but…they were still the only people I had ever known, and I had a few friends, kind of. My dad, for one. He always pushed me to be more Viking-like, and he wasn't one to suffer fools lightly (and I acted foolish a lot), but I never wanted him dead. Never ever, not for a second. I didn't want any of them dead, not even the other teenagers that enjoyed shoving me face first into pig sties.

But maybe some of them had gotten away. I had, after all, and I was the scrawniest kid there. (Even the babies had more muscle than me.) My dad would never let himself get bitten by one of those horrid things. Yeah, there had to be survivors, at least a few.

I felt a bit better after a few minutes of thinking, but that didn't stop the tears that I didn't bother to choke back. I wasn't sobbing or anything; I was more shocked than sad, and it felt good to let the tears come. It's not like anyone was watching. At least, I didn't think anyone was watching…turns out I was wrong about that.

I nearly screamed when I wiped my eyes and saw a big, black head sticking out of the water in front of me. The dragon was watching me like I was the most interesting thing he had ever seen, but he didn't look hungry or angry. He looked genuinely curious, and it was more than a little disconcerting. Now I was just confused; the Night Fury was…cute, and that's definitely not an adjective we Vikings use to describe dragons. Of course, I wasn't really like normal Vikings.

"Umm… So, since you haven't killed me yet, does that mean you're not going to? 'Cause I would really like it if- Hey, whoa there!" I scrambled backwards as the dragon shot out of the water, spraying me with little droplets as he made his way towards me. On instinct, because I was used to things that are bigger than me getting up in my business, I curled into a ball and tried to protect my head, though now that I think about it, it probably wouldn't have helped at all. Instead of razor sharp teeth and talons ripping me into fish food however, I felt something pulling at my pack, either trying to get it off or open. I wriggled out of the straps and backed away, watching as the Night Fury inspected my pack.

Happily accepting that I wasn't going to die, I leaned back comfortably. "What are you trying to do…?" The dragon was starting to look frustrated, as it couldn't get the pack open, and eventually picked it up in its mouth and chucked it back at me. It smacked me right in the face; luckily, it wasn't that full. "Good aim. But my bag is gonna be ruined, you have sharp…huh." Surprisingly, there were no holes or rips in the thin leather, and even the worn straps were fine. I guess I was lucky.

Being so used to having dragons destroy my home, it felt crazy weird to be having a (one-sided) conversation with one. But this dragon didn't seem bloodthirsty or destructive at all; he was just inquisitive, and was obviously more intelligent than any other dragon I'd seen. He watched me examine the pack, slightly dilated pupils following my every movement.

As I opened the bag to check the contents, I finally realized what the Night Fury had been after. "Oh, dragons love fish… You're after this, aren't you?" I pulled out one of the strips of dried fish, and the dragon's ears immediately sprang up. As much as I tried to hold it back, I couldn't help but smile as I threw the fish in the dragon's direction. It landed a foot or so away, and the dragon all but pounced on it, slurping it up with his tongue. I saw then why my pack hadn't been torn to shreds; the dragon had no teeth!

"But…I could have sworn you had-" I stopped talking as a strange, hacking noise reverberated through the Night Fury's chest, culminating in a disgusting gag as he choked up the fish. Suddenly, the wickedly sharp teeth I knew I had seen earlier reappeared in his mouth and he snatched the fish up again, this time chewing comically before swallowing a second time. "-teeth…"

The Night Fury – I decided to call him Toothless, because it suited him – then sat back on his haunches and looked at me expectantly. I was loath to give up more of the fish, but I figured keeping the dragon happy would probably be in both of our best interests, so I threw another piece at him. He caught this one in midair, and started chewing once again.

It was passed noon at this point, and watching Toothless eat was making me hungry, so I pulled out my own strip of fish and some bread and had lunch. While I ate, I wondered what exactly the dragon in front of me was thinking. Did he just want the fish in my pack? Sure, it was marinated to perfection, but I don't think a dragon would kidnap a random kid just to get at the food he was carrying. Maybe he was saving me…if he hadn't been there, those creatures would have eaten me for sure. That idea sounded a bit too good to be true, however, so I pushed it aside.

I did feel safe with Toothless though. Now that I had seen his mellow-er side, he wasn't scary anymore, and I'd definitely rather have him with me if I stumbled across anymore flesh-eaters. But dragons and Vikings were mortal enemies; we couldn't just team up because something was killing us humans. That would be good for the dragons, after all…wouldn't it?

Suddenly exhausted, and a bit fuller than I had been previously, I tossed the last piece of fish to Toothless and laid back, using my pack as a pillow. I could take a short nap, then leave Toothless and find somewhere I could build a proper shelter, and maybe start thinking about looking for more survivors, or checking up on the village. For all I knew, Dad had tracked down the creatures and killed them all, and life would be back to normal. I snorted; it was a nice thought, at least. I was nothing if not optimistic. (Sometimes.)

Just before I closed my eyes, I noticed Toothless, who had curled up several feet away from me and was now staring at me again. "Toothless…I gave you fish, so you'll keep me safe, right? While I sleep?"

Maybe it was just my shock-addled brain, but I could have sworn the dragon had nodded ever so slightly.